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imperator-titus · 1 month ago

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Be My Juice Box Ch. 11

So concludes our holiday-themed, and my more well-planned, chapters. I actually don't know how I plan to end this... lmao They continue to be big dummies! I hope everyone enjoys! I've very much enjoyed reading and responding to all of your comments! Link to Ao3 on my pinned post!

Despite Rowan’s apprehensions, Astarion was the one to back off first.

He didn’t know what he was doing. Things like love were distant memories. It took him long enough to call Gale a friend.

Countless faces, most of whose names were lost to time. They knew the construct that shared his name, the mask he put on in order to get what he needed. He used to feel suffocated by it, even if it fed his pride and vanity.

‘Innumerable,’ Rowan’s voice corrected in his head.

She’d talked once about there being a ‘Work Rowan,’ a personality set aside just for dealing with her colleagues. Going out one night soon after, Astarion considered the idea of ‘Work Astarion.’

It felt strangely freeing to be so conscious of the difference. He thought it would bring too much attention to it, digging up old feelings.

When he convinced Rowan to go out with him again, somewhere a little calmer, for people looking to unwind instead of stay up until morning, he was able to leave ‘Work Astarion’ at home. They had a much more pleasant time.

But now, in the bright light of a new year, ushered in by a kiss, Astarion didn’t know what he was feeling.

He had an inkling of an idea about what it could be. Afterall, he wasn’t stupid; he’d been playing off of the concepts of lust and love for centuries.

But he’d never really felt that way himself.

After that kiss, he was desperate for any other explanation.

An explanation for wanting to make her smile. To feel her warmth pressed against him. That sharp prickly feeling that made his jaw clench when someone else was too familiar with her. How his stomach threatened to turn itself inside out just for the chance to kiss her again.

The burning rage that flared when he thought of her getting hurt.

That, Astarion feared the most. Because what if, in his uncertainty, he hurt her?

Rowan noticed his withdrawal, but she handled it well. Astarion could be odd. It was just a kiss, on a day when it was tradition to do so.

Instead of tying herself up into knots over how Astarion felt, she focused on herself.

In the end, she decided that she would only know how she truly felt about trying again when, well, she had someone to try again with. All the thinking was well and good, but time would tell.

With the holidays over, Rowan took the chance to wean herself off her mood stabilizer. It did its job, getting her through the hardest parts of grief.

Thankfully, when her boat rocked just a bit while her body got used to the change, Astarion was there.

He still wasn’t very good at being comforting. Wasn’t he supposed to help her talk about her feelings, instead of just sitting nearby and occasionally going ‘there, there’ while patting her arm?

Rowan didn’t mind. She was just happy to have him near for once. Through sleepless nights and restful days, she was able to shift her schedule to overlap more with his.

As nice as it was to fall asleep with someone else in the bed again, she wanted to spend real time with him. That was hard when she was ready to fall asleep in the middle of him awkwardly making pointedly non-flirtatious conversation.

During a lovely dinner, which Astarion tried to make less romantic by wearing his plainest clothes that still fit the venue, he hypnotized her with the minute details of the Terran-Torilian Treatise on Non-human Rights.

After a while, Rowan assumed Astarion had moved her into the same box as Gale, who he had referred to as “my best friend, if I was twelve. They really ought to make a better word.”

Well, they did use the word “best,” afterall.

Around the same time, Astarion came to the conclusion that Rowan would be a safe subject for the experiment that was “love.” Despite all of his flaws and missteps, she still accepted his invitations, even if it was just to take a walk around the park.

By the time Valentine’s Day came around, Rowan had returned to drawing blood for him for a few weeks.

Astarion once made a joke about sucking on the other end of the tubing like a straw.

It went about as awkwardly as it sounded. Rowan made a small shocked sound akin to a laugh. Astarion swiftly grabbed the bag of blood and fled the kitchen, thankful that he didn’t have enough blood to turn red.

Rowan really wasn’t expecting anything to happen on a day like Valentine’s Day. When she had someone to celebrate with, it was just an excuse to have a nicer-than-normal meal and some candy.

But by mid-day, a small bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolates arrived. The flowers were colorful, but nothing showy, and the chocolates were from a nice local shop.

She didn’t need his signature to know that they were sent by Gale. They came with a long note full of belabored and exact wording, but also a little sweet. The note attached made it clear that it was a friendly gesture and, should she not appreciate it, he would never do so again. All he wanted to do was add a little cheer to her day.

Later, near evening, another bouquet came. Rowan didn’t count them, but there had to be two dozen roses perfectly arranged in a crystal vase. All it had was their address and the note, probably written by the florist, “From your secret admirer.”

Rowan put the note back carefully in its holder and placed the vase on the kitchen counter next to the blood-draw machine before going up to her room to lie in bed and read.

A few hours passed before Astarion glided down the stairs in one of his finer outfits. It was so beautiful and perfectly made that Rowan called it his “regalia.” He liked the term so much that he even had a delicate sort of crown made to fit amongst his gorgeous curls.

With a self-satisfied smile on his lips, he descended the stairs and presented himself at Rowan’s door, leaning casually-but-deliberately against the door jam.

It took every ounce of his will to not let his face fall with the disappointment that gripped his undead heart.

“Turning in already?” he asked with a strained smile, his ring-laden hand slipping from the doorframe.

“Nowhere to go,” Rowan answered idly, not looking up from her book. It was like any other night.

Astarion stepped into her sanctum, his heels thudding on the carpet. Sitting on her chest of drawers was the small arrangement, its cute bulbous nature mocking him. Lying beside her on the bed was the box of candy, its lid half-canted.

Rowan finally looked up. The sight of him made her smile, big and bright. “Big date?”

Closing Gale’s note after briefly reading it, Astarion gazed at her reflection in the mirror. There, he could show his disappointment where she could not see.

But she seemed… excited for him?

“Is this all that came?” he asked, turning Gale’s favor as if the other side was better.

“Some roses came for you. They look really nice,” Rowan answered offhandedly, trying to find her place again in her reading. “I left them in the kitchen. I didn’t want to bother you.”

Without any further discussion, Astarion left her room and tried to keep from hurling himself down the stairs to get there faster.

Sure enough, there they were, like a big red wound sitting in the heart of his home.

He returned to her room and, as he placed the heavy vase on the chest along with the others, dwarfing Gale’s token of friendship, Rowan regarded him with confusion.

“These are for you,” Astarion explained, making sure they looked perfect.

“But how could you know- Oh.” Rowan’s heart sank into her stomach. Putting down her book and slipping out of her bed, she approached him with the expression of someone who was about to throw themselves at his feet if that’s what it took to show how sorry she was. “I’m so sorry-”

“I wanted to be mysterious,” he interrupted before she could break his heart, acting like a servant who has upset their master. “I didn’t consider the possibility that you would think they were for me.”

“They’re just so beautiful-”

“Don’t you deserve beautiful things?” Rowan couldn’t argue, but she didn’t want to say ‘yes.’ “Today is… special, for people like us. Vampires and their donors. It’s a day when we can reward you for all that you do for us.”

She didn’t know if that put her at ease or disappointed her, but her answer was the same either way.

“I’ll get changed,” she answered, emotions coming to her in waves. She was excited, and a little terrified, but most of all, she felt ashamed that she obviously hurt him. “That is… if you still want to go with me.”

“I would like nothing more,” Astarion purred, happy with her answer.

They stood staring at each other for a moment.

“Oh! Right. You’d probably like some privacy.” He chuckled awkwardly to himself as he walked out of her bedroom.

Astarion had dressed himself beautifully and Rowan knew that there was nothing in her closet that could even come close to comparing. But by now, she could be confident that he didn’t care.

Still, she had to put in a little more effort than usual, right?

When she came down the stairs, Astarion had to remind himself that he didn’t actually have to breathe.

Stopping her on the last stair, he took in the sight of her. As he fixed her donor pin on her jacket lapel, he said with no small amount of admiration, “You look positively dashing. I can’t believe you’ve been hiding a tuxedo from me this whole time.”

The suit itself was old, yes, but she’d chosen to throw on the blood-red vest that he’d picked out for her and replaced the cheap-looking shiny shoes with some subtle black boots he’d helped her find as well.

Hair carefully combed into place with some pomade, her lips painted with a shade he’d insisted she keep after he approved of its contrast with her complexion, Rowan felt like she deserved his praise.

“I try,” she answered with her eyes downcast shyly. “But it’s a far cry from you.”

“My dear, you are a feast for mine eyes. It’s only fair that I be a feast for yours.”

Astarion offered her a smile and his hand.

Swallowing her apprehensions, Rowan took it.

The venue deserved more words than “nice and fancy” but Rowan couldn’t think of any better ones. She could tell it was a place with a long waiting list, with some world-renowned chef responsible for its menu.

It always made her feel a little bad, that he took her to all of these nice places when all she could think about was that burger and milkshake.

All of these carefully curated dishes on immaculate plates and she was fantasizing about something messy and greasy.

Maybe a pickle from some grandma’s garden, sitting in an unlabeled jar behind the counter.

Hot sauces that made her nose run and her mouth tingle.

Perhaps the most perfectly fried piece of fish, served in yesterday’s newspaper, whose whole purpose seemed to be holding greasy street food and lining birdcages.

The food, and blood, seemed to be coming quickly. Usually dinner involved conversation, but Rowan had barely any time to think of something in between courses.

Meanwhile, Astarion was uncharacteristically silent. Trying not to watch too intently as she ate, he busied himself with his blood.

Both felt that there was something missing, that this was supposed to put butterflies in their stomachs.

It seemed ridiculous to just go home, so they decided to wander the city. With all of the night creatures, most places stayed open all day and it felt alive well into the night.

First, they passed an old bookshop. The kind of shop that seemed to be shoved into the spare room between its neighbors.

The narrow building became even narrower inside, forcing whatever curious soul that came in to shimmy between the unorganized stacks of books while they perused. The lighting was warm and the air filled with the perfume of old paper and leather.

“Would you mind if I took a quick look?” Rowan asked him, touching his arm as he kept walking while she slowed down to stare.

Astarion looked at the shop and then at her face. So full of wonder, glowing in the soft light from the windows, it made him smile.

“Today is about you,” he reminded her.

Excitedly, Rowan ran up the stairs in her tux and big black coat. Watching her go, and following much more majestically, gave him a thrill that rivaled that of a good meal.

Like a bloodhound, he found her in the stacks by scent. Her nose was deep in an obviously Faerûnian book. He didn’t even know she could read the Thorassian alphabet.

“Do you know this one?” she asked, turning the cover to him.

Okay. Apparently she didn’t know the Thorassian alphabet.

“Yes,” he answered simply as he tried not to laugh.

“Is it good?”

“It’s erotica, my dear.” Astarion’s lips curled into a smirk. He expected her to blush and quickly return it to its pile.

Rowan stared at him blankly, patiently waiting.

“Yes, it’s good,” he said with a huff, taking the book and putting it down, “and you can borrow my copy.”

Somehow, out of all the clutter, Rowan managed to find a Terran book and they were on their way again.

At the corner, there was a cafe. Warm light and the sound of conversation spilled out into the street.

“Would you mind if I got something?” Rowan asked with big pleading eyes that she didn’t need to employ.

Still, Astarion laughed. The kind of laugh that made the corners of his eyes crinkle and the lines in his face deepen.

“Darling, I’m surprised you can fit anymore in you.”

“They give you 8 courses but they don’t tell you that they’re each one bite,” she complained in a good-humored way. He was impressed that his comment didn’t trigger some insecurity. She was impressed as well.

“I can’t let you go hungry, now, can I?”

A few minutes later, Rowan came back with a drink. Before they started walking away, she tried to take a sip, only to hiss in pain. Her silly sounds and awkward huffing made it obvious that she burned her mouth and was trying not to rudely spit the offending liquid back out.

“You should have waited,” Astarion chided, although lovingly. It was as sad as it was entertaining to watch her work through her predicament.

“But if we keep walking, I won't be able to drink it.”

“What, you can't drink and walk at the same time?”

“And you can?”

“I suppose it wouldbe quite awkward to lift you over my head, sink my teeth into your neck, and keep walking without getting blood everywhere or running into traffic.” Astarion chuckled at the image. “Come, we can sit down and spare your shirt its messy fate.”

Since they were sitting, Rowan went back for something to eat.

“So, what’s it like?” she asked casually before taking a bite of the brownie she chose to go with her hot chocolate.

“You’ll have to be more specific.”

“Being bitten.”

“Curious, are you?”

“Looks like it hurts.”

“At first. Then you go a little numb. Then… a light-headed bliss.” Astarion waited a moment to gauge her reaction. “Afraid of a little pain?”

“It’d have to be worth it.”

“Many people must think it is. They keep coming back.”

“What’s it like to drink straight from the source?”

“Mmm. It varies, from person-to-person.” At this, Rowan snorted. “I imagine it’s a bit like your drink. Hot, a little thick, and satisfying. It clings to your mouth, coats your throat, and warms your stomach.”

Rowan’s face turned red as she looked away, busying herself with picking at her food. Astarion propped his chin on his hand and smirked at her.

“You only have to ask.”

Rowan wanted to play dumb and say, ‘ask for what?’

Instead, she finished her brownie and drained her drink.

“I think I’m ready to go back home,” she told him as she put down her empty cup.

Astarion couldn’t decide if he’d hit a nerve or she was just tired. If he could skim over her thoughts, he’d find her struggling to decide on what she would do once they got back.

“Of course,” he answered calmly, trying to come across as neutral as possible.

They didn’t speak on the way home. Astarion told himself that they were only speaking in hypotheticals, that it was just curiosity. There was nothing to get his hopes up about.

That was, until he was carefully shedding the layers of his outfit.

He’d sat at the magic vanity for some time, staring past his rare reflection at nothing. Gale would probably call that a metaphor.

His delicate fingers were about to pluck the crown from his curls when Rowan appeared behind him.

Standing in the open doorway in her white button-down shirt, whose front hid her underwear. In the mirror, it was safe for him to trace his eyes along the bare expanse of her thighs, framed between shirt hem and the garters holding up her black socks.

The first few buttons of her shirt were undone, revealing her neck.

“I don’t know how to ask,” Rowan said eventually after awkwardly lingering at his door.

Astarion turned in his seat to look her properly in the eye.

“You don’t have to. I don’t expect it of you.”

“I know.”

Astarion rose to his feet and in a few steps, he could feel the warmth of her breath.

“I would be more than happy to oblige you, but only if it is something you want,” he reassured her, taking her hand and squeezing it gently.

“Can I… lay down?” Rowan asked uncertainly, eyes furtively flicking to his bed.

“If it would make you more comfortable.”

Astarion watched as she slowly approached his bed, staring at it as if it was a relic or somehow intimately important. Before she lived there, it was something he hardly thought about. No one but him had ever laid there.

Now, Rowan crawled onto it, reaching out to adjust the pillows, one knee digging into the mattress.

Astarion looked elsewhere, for once feeling like some lecherous old bastard leering at a half-clothed form.

When she was settled, he stiffly found his place looming over her.

“I don’t remember the last time I did this,” he admitted with a nervous chuckle which Rowan returned.

At first, he’d tried to straddle her, somehow the least intimate way to align their bodies. But her hips and thighs were too wide for either of them to get comfortable that way.

“Do you mind if I…?” Astarion started, trailing off like some awkward first-time lover. From the way he shifted his weight to put one of his legs between hers, Rowan understood.

“N-no, go ahead…” Blushing, she parted her legs to let his knees lie between them.

Trying to find good leverage, Astarion bent his right leg and hooked it under her left, allowing him to more comfortably support his weight as it loomed over her.

She could feel the heat radiate off of him. Had he drank so much, to be warm for her? If she held her breath, the only sound in the room save for the rustling of fabric, she could just barely hear his heart beat steadily against his breastbone.

Astarion could hear her heart hammer in her own chest.

“Am I scaring you?” he asked with regret, pulling away.

“I’m scared, but not of you,” Rowan answered hastily, her voice strained by the tension in her chest. Lifting her hands from the bed where they had been lying stiffly at her sides, she asked, “May I touch you?”

Hips and stomachs nearly pressed together, their legs loosely entangled, his arms caging her beneath him, it seemed a silly question to ask.

“You may.”

Even through the layers of his clothes, her touch felt electric as she slowly wrapped her arms around his sides and placed her hands on his back, passively pulling him back in.

Astarion buried his face in the crook of her neck, forehead pressed into the pillow her head lied upon.

There, all he could smell was her. Her soaps mixed with the primal song of her blood, calling out to him.

Something he did not normally do for his ‘meals,’ Astarion found the perfect spot on her neck and placed his lips around it. Not so wide that his fangs scratched her, but enough that his saliva coated the sensitive skin he intended to bite.

Rowan’s breath hitched. It wasn’t a love bite so much as a gentle amount of suction.

One of her hands pressed into the small of his back while the other rested on his shoulderblade.

The skin under his mouth started to tingle and grow numb.

Astarion opened his mouth and the air chilled the wetness on her skin.

“If you ever tell me to stop,” he whispered, his lips brushing her neck, “I will, without hesitation.”

Rowan barely registered the graze of his fangs before they ever-so-carefully pierced her flesh.

Astarion sank even deeper into her as her hands clutched at him in shock.

But soon, the pain was gone, and those hands went back to holding him gently.

Astarion wanted to drink forever, stuck to her neck like an overgrown leech. Such was his curse, that satisfaction meant destroying the thing he loved.

That satisfaction wouldn’t last, either. Even if he drained every drop, he would have to hunt again eventually.

Her smell, her music. He wanted to be buried in it like a pharaoh in his tomb. Wanted to subsume her, to meld into one-

“S-stop,” Rowan pleaded weakly, her loving hands now pushing him away by the chest.

It was at that moment Astarion realized he was pressing his body into hers.

He sat up like he’d been run through with electricity.

“I-”

“It’s okay.” She didn’t appear afraid, but neither her words nor her demeanor eased the tension in his body.

“I didn’t mean to do that,” Astarion insisted sadly. An icy feeling crept through his insides, replacing the pleasant warmth of all the blood he’d partaken in that night.

Rowan wanted to reassure him, but her thoughts became occupied by the throbbing in her neck. Placing a hand to it, she felt the rivulet of blood trickling down her skin. It surged and ebbed in time with her heartbeat.

Astarion pressed a finger over the wounds he left while he dug through his pocket for the stiptik pen he carried for such occasions.

He wanted to lick the blood away, straight off her sweat-salted skin, but after what he’d done, that was a little too far.

“I’m just tired, I think,” Rowan eventually said, rubbing the sleepiness from her eyes.

“You don’t need to spare my feelings, my dear.”

The sadness that he couldn’t keep from his voice made her heart hurt.

“I’m not ready yet.” Her words shocked him. “But I want to be. And I’d like to try with someone I trust.”

They sat for some time in silence, unable to look at the other, feeling seen but unafraid.

Astarion worried at his lip as a multitude of emotions and thoughts played out on his face. Meanwhile, Rowan’s remained blank as she stared at nothing.

“I haven’t-... done that… in a very long time…” he started to say, stilting around the lump forming in his throat. Rowan turned her eyes to him without turning her face as well. When she saw that he was looking off into the corner of the room, she faced him properly.

“I… would lure victims for my master. It was my sole purpose, as a spawn… That, and being his little plaything. I found it was easiest to lure them in with my best asset.”

Rowan opened her mouth to argue. It felt rude to interrupt, and she didn’t want to debate him on something so personal.

“And when he was gone… I didn’t know anything else. It took a long time to learn that I could get what I needed in other ways. That part of my life…”

Astarion had never put words to that pain. It was difficult, acknowledging the monster he’d managed to cast out without letting it back in. Sometimes, its claws found their way through the crack in the door, trying to sink back into him.

Rowan opened her hand, an invitation to be held, to be an anchor.

As he slipped his hand into hers, welcomed by a gentle and reassuring squeeze, he chuckled under his breath at his foolishness. “That is to say… I didn’t think myself capable of this… need, after all this time. I didn’t expect to need you so badly that it just felt… right. Natural.”

It had felt natural to her, as well, aside from the sudden panic and guilt. But sitting there with him, their hands clasped together, felt right. She wanted to embrace him, to smother him with kisses.

Instead, she lifted his hand to her lips and pressed a firm, reverent kiss to his knuckles.

The corners of his eyes crinkled as he laughed. “My dear, that is not the proper way. Have I taught you nothing?”

Astarion turned her hand over so he could return the gesture, but he put his thumb between her knuckles and his lips, kissing that instead.

Ruby eyes looked up at her through his lashes. “However, I enjoyed your version much more.”

Eyes flicking to his perfect lips, Rowan’s voice dipped low as she told him, “I would rather kiss something softer.”

Much like New Years, their lips met in an awkward but powerful kiss. This time, they lingered.

Navigating the particulars of noses pressed into cheeks. Finding whose bottom lip was more naturally captured and gently tugged by the other. Discovering the right amount of pressure when meeting with closed lips.

What to do with their hands. It felt like they were everywhere: on cheeks, necks, shoulders, arms, waists, chests, backs.

Without thinking, they leaned into one another.

Rowan brushed her thumb over one of his ears as her fingers slipped into the curls behind it and a desperate sound slipped from Astarion’s lips.

Swallowing that moan, suddenly aware of her body’s reaction to him, Rowan retreated.

“I’m sorry,” she pleaded, embarrassed and ashamed, bringing her thighs together tightly as she shifted away.

It didn’t help that his heightened sense of smell could undoubtedly pick up what she was hiding. Her scent washed over him, carried on the waves of heat emanating from her whole body.

Astarion needed to mix that scent with his own, roll around in it like a beast marking its territory.

A need so powerful it made his insides hurt. The only way to satisfy it was to pin her to the bed and make her cry his name as he showed her just how much he needed her.

But that was something he wasn’t going to do. Maybe he would have done it a long time ago, when his feelings were new and confusing and came from pain.

If he could be honest, it scared him, knowing that deep down, he was a sick, twisted animal.

“It’s late. You should rest.”

“I’m sorry,” Rowan repeated, on the verge of tears. She didn’t like disappointing him.

He was disappointed, sure, but not upset.

“This is what trust is for, isn’t it? Knowing that each other’s comfort is worth more than our disappointment?” Astarion smiled at her as she slowly regained the courage to look at him.

“You're sweet.”

“I know, my dear, but don't let anyone hear that. I have a reputation to uphold.” With the tip of his finger, he tapped her nose. “Besides, I know how you feel about dessert.”

Rowan scrunched up her nose playfully at his touch. “I think I was dessert this time…”

“Well, next time, you’ll just have to gobble me up.” The words sounded better in his head. “Ah. I apologize, that came out a little more suggestive than I intended…”

Rowan leaned in and gave him a kiss, more reserved than the previous ones, but it was certainly more than friendly.

Seemed he still had some good will to draw upon.

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huffle-dork · 30 days ago

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Long Live the King

Chapter 6: Potions and Dreams

Read Fantasy Masks | Read Swapboys | Read the first FM adventure | Other Multiverse Adventures | Read on AO3

Much like the previous night, the boat continues while it's dark. Sleep is a harder time coming, since with all the Phantoms up on the deck, there's more people walking around and more noise in general. When the sun rises, the tall trees and their drooping branches block it out for a while, and then it gets covered by some clouds for a bit. But eventually, as it always does, the light breaks through.

Bro has been restlessly sleeping all night- plagued by nightmares. All the things he couldn’t remember from being under the King and Mag’s control is coming back to him slowly. But only at night when he can’t distract himself. He awakes before the other swaps, breathing heavily, trying to shake the visions from his head. But, it only makes him worry for Alt more… He wants to hit something but- he doesn’t want to break the boat or the supplies…

He's not the only one who's awake early. The other Chase is there, too. He glances at Bro with a concerned expression. "Bad dreams?" he asks.

Bro blinks at his other self and then nods quietly, “…yeah…” He hugs his arms and takes a deep steadying breath.

Chase nods sympathetically.

The others wake up soon, too. Henrik is passing out more insect repellant paste to anyone who's up and ready for it. Jameson is rummaging around for food in the supplies. Jackie has walked off to the side as far as possible from everyone else and is messing with his swords, trying to quietly polish them. And Marvin is pretending to still be asleep.

Henny and Dr. J wake up soon too. Henny looks at their surroundings and sighs in awe. “oh it is so pretty! But the light bug friends are gone!”

Dr. J chuckles as he stands up and cleans up his bedroll. “They typically only show up at night, my friend.”

Jackieboy wakes up last, and he groggily looks out at the others. His blanket he used to hide his face while he slept falls comically off his face. But, he doesn’t look like he slept too well either. Being a light sleeper and an insomniac on a nosy boat with lots of people wasn’t a good combination. He blinks blearily and rubs at his eyes.

“How is everybody doing this morning?” Henrik asks. “I was thinking if everyone was up for it, we could eat breakfast and then I could show you my potions.” He sounds hopeful.

Henny looks very excited and hurries to clean up his bedroll too. “oh yes yes! I would very much like that!”

“Sure, I’m down.” Jackieboy yawns.

Dr. J nods with a smile. But, he does glance at the Chases talking with a bit on concern.

“Great!” Henrik beams excitedly. “We will go get some—ah! Thank you.”

Jameson returns with some parcels of food and hands them out, starting with Henrik. “We eat, then I show you.”

Marvin stops pretending to be asleep. “Can I sit in?”

“Of course!”

Dr. J thanks Jameson as well and takes the food. Henny laughs, “Were you just pretending to sleep, Marvin?”

“Hey I get it- sometimes people are too loud in the morning.” Jackieboy comments as he gets a parcel too and tears into it.

"Exactly." Marvin points at Jackieboy, agreeing. "And I know it'll be hard for me to sleep once we get on the ship."

"Not if you agree to take the nausea tonic this time," Henrik mutters. "Wha--hey!"

The other swaps laugh at Marvin and Henrik's banter.

Meanwhile the two Chases talk quietly to each other.

“Um… I don’t know if there’s anything I can do to help, but if there is, let me know. I’ll be here. I mean, if you can’t depend on yourself, who can you depend on? Hah.” Chase says.

Bro glances at Chase and then chuckles, giving him a weak smile. “Hah- that’s a good one.” He then grips at his arms. “…it wasn’t… a dream necessarily… I’m… remembering. What I forgot… when the King had me. And just… s-seeing Alt…” He closes his mouth into a tight line and curls up smaller, trying to hide his weakness.

Chase nods slowly. “It’s… tough to see them again,” he says quietly. Then he glances around. None of the fantasy guys are paying attention. “I saw my wife again, but… she was under an enchantment. I-it didn’t go well. But… I think it’ll go well with Alt, when we find him. Which we’re getting closer to every day.” He puts a hand on Bro’s shoulder. “It’s going to get better. And in the meantime, if you ever need time to be alone, you can use that flight of yours to go out on shore. As long as you keep the boat in sight, no one will be bothered.”

Bro looks back at Chase and he can see the tears lingering in his eyes. He rubs at his face and nods. “…I’m sorry about your wife… that’s… that’s so hard… I hope we can find something to help her in the Wyldwoods…”

He looks out at the shore and grips at his arms tighter. “…I just want to… to destroy something- I’m so… angry that this happened! But I… I get carried away and… Dr. J says it’s not good to fight my feelings with fists.”

"Better than keeping them to yourself," Chase says, shrugging. "And we're going to be in small spaces for the next three days. People can feel bad moods. But you know yourself the best. Just... something to think about." And he smiles. "And thank you. About Stacia. We can help her by freeing Jack from that spirit."

Bro smiles a bit and nudges his shoulder against Chase. "Yeah... if i need space I'll... I'll see. I wouldn't want my bad mood affecting everyone else." He nods to Chase, "... I know you guys can do this... stop that spirit. And we'll do anything we can to help."

Chase gives him a small smile. "Thank you. That means a lot." He clears his throat. "Now. What are these all talking about?"

They're talking about seasickness.

"You know Henrik has a point, Marvin. One small tonic could save you a lot of unnecessary discomfort," Dr. J comments gently.

"Alright, alright, I get it!" Marvin groans. "It just didn't seem as important if it was only two days."

Jackie gets up and walks over. "Are we talking about how Marvin spent the whole ocean journey in his cabin?"

"Jackie! I swear to every Elder--"

You really should take a tonic if the nausea gets that bad, Jameson interrupts. Suffering isn't noble.

"I didn't think it would be worth it," Marvin repeats insistently.

Well clearly, it would have been.

"I'll take a tonic this time, alright? But don't you have to make it first?"

Henrik's eyes light up. "I can show you all how to do that after you finish breakfast!" Henny smiles and nods eagerly at him, excited about the potions.

Dr. J chuckles, "I'm often telling many of these gents as well that suffering isn't noble. Just hope one day they'll listen-" He looks pointely at Jackieboy.

Jackieboy lifts his hands in surrender as he grumbles, "I didn't take pain meds one time-"

"You had a migraine for days at that point!"

Henny looks between his friends as they bicker, like he's watching a ping pong match as he eats his breakfast.

Bro looks over at the others and can't help but chuckle as he picks up the conversation. He grabs something to eat and sits down closer to everyone, "Mornin' to the rest of you-"

"Ah Chase!" Dr. J pauses in his scolding of Jackie and gestures towards him, "Since you're here and we're on the subject- why are you all so stubborn about taking medicine when you need it?"

The hero blinks, halfway through of bite of his breakfast. "ummm..." He shrugs, "I dunno. I don't like lookin' weak- sometimes I think I can just... shake it off, you know?"

Every single one of the fantasy guys stare at Bro like he's said something utterly strange.

"...everyone needs medicine, though?" Jackie says, genuinely confused.

"That's an attitude that is not common in Glasúil," Henrik says. "Though I vaguely remember something like it from back home."

"I can understand it, though," Marvin muses. "To be weak is to be vulnerable, and vulnerability is difficult. There's a fear of being hurt that comes with it."

But if it's a scenario like what Jackieboy did, where you were ALREADY hurt for a long time... I don't see the thought process? Jameson says, his expression making the statement into a question.

Bro finds himself turning red as all the fantasy boys look at him. "O-Oh... I-I don't know! I just..." He struggles with his words. ".... asking or admitting you need help is... hard."

Dr. J looks a bit concerned and then pats Bro on the shoulder, "... I didn't mean to put the spotlight on you, Chase... I know it's hard to admit that sometimes. But, you deserve help, always. Even if it's help from a tiny pill or a tonic." He chuckles. He looks back at Jackieboy and raises an eyebrow, "You too, Mr. Mann."

"Yeah yeah- don't surname me, Jems-" Jackieboy grumbles. "I've been getting better-"

Dr. J relents with a laugh, "You have, I will admit."

"And in my defense of the migraine thing- I'm a single dad with 3 kids, I had a lot of other things on my mind!" Jackieboy adds. "But yeah... not taking the medicine by then was dumb. My brain was just everywhere- eventually it just kinda faded into the background." He shrugs.

Chase raises his eyebrows. "Three children and no partner? And I thought my kids were tough to take care of. Oh, right, you said that 'Sar-uh' is away a lot last night. That must be hard."

"Oh yeah- saying single implies that I'm not married to Zara," Jackieboy laughs, "Sorry- people don't get that we're married and she's away a lot so I default to that."

"I bet you're great at it, though," Jackie says cheerfully.

"And we're not, ah, picking on you or anything. Either of you. It's just a bit of a surprise."

"I understand where you're coming from," Marvin says. "But... yes, it is a bit strange to hear. It's like that rule about how you never thank a Fair Folk because they see it as you putting them in your debt."

"Fascinating, though," Henrik mutters.

The father blushes a bit as Jackie compliments him and he grins shyly. "Thanks man... I think I nail it- my kids are my whole world." His face falls for a second before he shakes his head. "... I was gonna say I hope they're okay but... i-i know they are. They just probably miss me."

"Stacy and Oliver are taking good care of them and our animals I am sure!" Henny reassures Jackie brightly.

"And Shaun is of course taking good care of Alice too."

Dr. J smiles, "Yes, I know he is. Alice loves having time with her Uncle Shaun. I'm sure they're having a great time."

"What a story this will be for them later," Jackieboy grins. Bro shares his grin for a second, nodding. They loved spinning tales for the kids to hear.

After breakfast, Henrik pulls a bag and a couple small shoebox-sized chests from the pile in the center. He double checks everything inside and then commandeers one of the benches to use as a table, sitting down on the deck itself.

The swaps help clean up breakfast and then gather around Henrik with curious eyes. Henny and Dr. J are especially excited.

Henrik grins at his audience. Chase and Jameson aren't there, both having their own things to take care of, but Jackie is there as support and Marvin is there in case he gets to talk about more magic.

"This box is filled with normal medicines and medical supplies." Henrik opens the lighter-wood chest. "And this one is for the witchcraft and potion ingredients." He opens the darker-wood one. "And the bag is full of supplies." He starts taking things out of the bag. There's a small pot made of black iron, wooden spoons and metal cups of various sizes, thin knives that look a bit like scalpels, some rocks and crystals, and some instruments the swaps don't recognize at all.

Henrik looks completely enamored with the magic and supplies. "Oh! Such a teeny pot!" Dr. J studies all the instruments with interest.

"I am not sure how much of this you have in your world... maybe not too much. Marvin? Can you fill up the pot with water?"

"Mm-hmm." Marvin takes the pot, then grabs his amulet. A glow of light surrounds the pot as he uses magic to lift it over the side of the boat and into the water before pulling it back up.

"Don't you need fire?" Jackie asks Henrik.

"I was hoping Marvin could help with that, too. Wizard fire will either burn anything it comes to contact with, or it will only provide heat and no burns."

"I know spells for both of those," Marvin says helpfully.

Dr. J adds timidly, "Um... let's not do the spell that burns everything? Good to know you have that though-"

Marvin laughs. "Don't worry, I wasn't planning on it. That takes a lot of power in any case."

He hands the pot back to Henrik, who sets it up on a metal stand that props it up about eight inches off the ground. Then Marvin grabs some more light from his amulet and sets it down under the pot, where it turns into a small blue flame. "Usually we use bigger pots for bigger batches, but since we are traveling a lot that would be too difficult. So we make due with smaller ones for smaller doses."

"Oh, you left all the bottles in here, Henrik," Jackie points out, looking into the bag.

"Yes, that was on purpose. They are all wrapped up, I did not want to undo them for no reason." Henrik looks back at the others and grins. "What would you like to see first?"

Henny bounces a bit in excitement, "I want to see those dual potion thingys!! So many of them were like boom!" He pantomimes an explosion with his hands.

Dr. J laughs, "I might be the only one interested in the actual medicine. So, whatever you'd like to start us with is good, Henrik."

Henrik grins. "The unmixed potions take less time, so we can start with that. Hmm... what can we do with what we have?" He opens up the darker-wood box. Inside are small ceramic bottles and cloth packets. "Oooo, I have been wanting to try this. One that will attract any metal to the center. I believe we need this for that?" He grabs something from the corner: a small black stone. He demonstrates how it sticks to the metal fastenings on his tunic then sets it down on the bench.

"Oh! A magnet!" Dr. J says with a smile. "A natural one- how interesting!"

"A... 'magnet,'" Henrik repeats. "These are called lodestones here." He looks through his supplies. “We have a few other magical ingredients. Tangleweed, water roses, bark from rowan trees. These all give the liquid different qualities."

"What properties do they give?" Henny asks, leaning in.

"Nerds~" Jackieboy tries to whisper to Bro but Bro nudges him with his shoulder. He's actually trying to listen. ... Alt would have wanted to see this. Maybe they can teach him later... The least Bro can do is listen though.

Henrik grins at Henny's interest. "Rowan trees will enhance any power," he says, taking some of the bark from a packet and dropping it into the water. "Tangleweed will make the effects last." He takes some roots from a packet and adds those. "And ground-up water rose petals spread the range." Then pours in some powder from a bottle. "For this one we also need some of this: iron shavings." He pours that in from a bottle. "This gives the potion its target, that being metal." The water slowly grows cloudy, and Henrik picks up a spoon and stirs. "Marvin, increase the heat, please."

Marvin nods and the small fire gets a bit bigger.

Henrik's eyes glimmer with awe as he listens intently. "Wow! That is so-!! I do not even know how to describe it! It is- magical!"

"How do you learn all of these things...?" Dr. J muses, "Lots of experimentation I'm guessing?"

"Testing and reading." Henrik nods excitedly. "I always ask for news from my home kingdom, and one day I heard about these. I immediately started testing. Unmixed potions are quite strange, because you must divide the recipe for a normal potion in half. And increase some of the portion sizes." As he stirs, the cloudiness of the water spreads through the whole thing, making it look milky. He pauses for a moment, waiting for it to settle. It does, and slowly turns a pale blue. "It is always trial and error. Normally when one drinks this recipe whole, metal objects will be pulled towards them. I want the metal objects to be pulled to the spot where the liquids mix."

"Oh I remember that potion," Jackie says. "It's not usually much use. Very specialized."

Bro hums in thought, "...that's a brilliant idea though... you can use that to pull all their weapons away and disarm a whole group in an instant."

"It's usually purple, right?" Marvin asks.

"Yes, but this is not a whole, only half, so I think this is the best we will get." Henrik reaches into the bag and pulls out one of those special divided bottles. "These are carefully made by some of our sorcerers. I have to be cautious with them until it's time to use the potion."

Henny looks at the bottle and then laughs, "Oh! It is spilt in the center! So went it cracks it goes Boom!! I get it- that is why you must be careful!"

"Yes! Precisely!" Henrik nods excitedly. "Now. Here we go. Marvin, heat down." As the flame reduces, Henrik grabs the handle of the pot and pours it into one half of the bottle, made easier by a small divot in the lip, like a pitcher. "And now, Marvin, do you mind getting more water?"

"Mm-hmm." Marvin repeats the same magical process from before, returning with another potful of water.

"Now we add this." Henrik plops the lodestone into the water. "And two violet caps." He takes two purple mushrooms out of a packet and adds those as well. "They will add a little of the, ah... what do you say, Jackie? The 'oomph.'"

Jackie laughs. "That's it. Exactly."

Henny laughs, "The oomph! Ha- that is a funny word, I like it!"

"This has to sit for a while, so we will wait," Henrik says, sitting back.

Bro stares at the potion and pot and tries not to let the sadness overtake him. But he does whisper, "... Alt would have loved to see this. He... he likes all this- magic stuff." He laughs slightly, though the smile doesn't reach his eyes. "He'd probably be trying to write down some notes and make pictures of the stuff so he could try... just- glitching all over the place."

Henrik looks at him, enthusiasm fading a bit. "Yes... But when we find him, I will be happy to show him again." He tries for a small smile. "It may help him, even."

"We'll be sure to let him know everything," Jackie says.

"And show him anything he wants to know." Marvin nods.

Bro blinks in surprise for a second before he smiles more genuinely. "... thanks guys... that really means a lot to hear. He'd... he'd love to."

Henny looks at Bro and then pulls him into a side hug. Bro stiffens for a second before letting himself relax against the gentleman. Henny rests his head on top of Bro's.

Jackie, Henrik, and Marvin stay quiet for a while. Feels like their visitors need this moment to themselves. Then Henrik clears his throat. "I think it is done." The liquid in the pot has turned a deep red color, like wine. He carefully lifts and pours the pot like he did last time. He concentrates so hard, not even saying anything, and only breathes once it's done. "Must be delicate with that. We do not want to accidentally pour it into the wrong side." He stoppers the bottle, then takes the lodestone out of the pot, as well as some slimy remnants of the mushrooms. "These can still be used for other spells if sliced," he explains, putting them in a new cloth packet.

Henny perks up a bit as he watches. He does make a slight face at the slimy mushrooms.

Dr. J chuckles. "Waste not want not-"

Marvin takes the initiative to wash the pot with the same 'levitation into the water' process.

Dr. J studies the potion from a distance. "... incredible that just a few ingredients make such an effect..."

"Yeah- dunno how much magical plants we have back home but... if we do have stuff like this maybe I should call my folks up for lessons." Jackieboy laughs. "At the very least for you all- never was good at doin' the magic shit myself. Mam got tired of teachin' me after a while."

"It is so interesting, isn't it?" Henrik says.

"It is!" Marvin says excitedly. "I could never get the handle on potion-making myself. I didn't have the patience. Since I could just do a lot of these effects on my own with a focus, it seemed a waste to me. So I understand where you're coming from, Jackie." He laughs. "My parents also got tired of forcing me to attend lessons."

Jackieboy grins and makes a gesture like he's flipping a hat at Marvin, "Ah, a fellow unfocused lad!"

Jackie laughs. "You should see him when he's reading about magic. It's like all his focus is directed towards that."

"Well, it's hard to concentrate on something not interesting," Marvin says.

"No, I agree." Jackie holds up his hand. Marvin grabs it. Jackie grins. This sort of thing seems normal for them.

Jackieboy laughs too, "God fucking mood! Can't concentrate worth shit if it's not somethin' I like-"

Bro and him share a smirk at seeing Jackie and Marvin clasp hands.

"Oh, speaking of your magic, how long can you keep this flame going?" Henrik asks.

"Oh, quite a while. It doesn't take much concentration to sustain it."

"Good. We have to heat the water before making any medicine. Unlike potions, where the magic will burn away sicknesses, medicine has to have that burned away through normal means."

He giggles. Dr. J tilts his head, "Potions burn away the sicknesses, but medicine doesn't? ... I'm not quite sure I follow, do you mind elaborating?"

"Ah." Henrik looks at JJ. "Well, when you drink water without heating it first, you may get sick. That is what I mean. You must heat it up or purify it with magical ingredients like water roses or violet caps. Or just with magic. There are talismans for that."

"And spells," Marvin adds.

"Oh! I see-" Dr. J chuckles, " We do something similar back home! Just with a less magical solution."

"Ahhh." Henrik nods. "So you heat up the water too, then. Well, while we wait, you can ask any questions you like. I'd love to talk some more--and I'm sure Marvin can help with anything I don't know." Marvin leans forward, excited.

“Hmmm,” Dr. J thinks of something to ask, “Are all these ingredients here native to Gasuil? Or are they from other countries? If thats the cause I bet translations of what properties they have would be difficult!”

“All of them can be found here, yes,” Henrik says. “But some can also be found in other places. For example, rowan trees also grow on the east continent, while water roses are common on the far east continent. Hmm… that probably means nothing to you. Once we get to the ship, I should convince Vsevna to show you one of his world maps.“

"Oh i would love to see a map sometime! The entirety of this world fascinates me, I would adore seeing how its structured!" Dr. J says passionately.

In any case, yes, sometimes potions can be difficult to translate. That is why one of Glasuil’s major trade items are magical plants.”

“If there weren’t so many here, we wouldn’t have much to export besides root vegetables,” Jackie says jokingly.

“Of course, if it is impossible to get something, recipes can be modified,” Henrik says.

Dr. J laughs with Jackie and nods, "That makes sense- like a baking recipe!"

"Potion and medicine making is not too far off from baking when you think about it," Henrik chuckles.

Meanwhile, Henny saw how excited Marvin was and leans in close, gesturing towards his amulet, “Marvin, mein friend, can you tell me how it is your necklace works? I have not see magic like this!”

Marvin’s eyes light up as Henny asks that. “Oh! This is my wizard focus.” He holds up his amulet for everyone to see. It’s circular, made of wood and an ivory material. “Every wizard needs one. Without it, we can’t do any magic—or at least not control it as well. That’s one of the differences between wizards and other magic users. We’re able to channel the magic of the world into nearly anything, but we need help to do it. Focuses have to be made of magical or valuable material, so they can be costly. Traditionally the making of them is overseen by the crown. Which is, unfortunately, why most wizards are on the King’s side. Easier to get a focus from him than to try and make one for yourself. Took me dozens of tries—and some help—to make this. It’s Rowan wood and dragon bone.”

Henny looks enamored as he looks at the focus- almost reaching for it but then thinking better of it. He bounces in place and pulls out his watch. "It is kind of like my watch! I do not think I can use my time magics without it- but... mine was probably not as expensive."

"Huh. If your watch is like a focus, that helps me understand it," Marvin says.

Henny laughs. Then his eyes sparkle and his jaw drops, processing what Marvin had said a bit late, "wait, Dragon bone?!"

"Oh yeah! That reminds me," Bro asks, looking at the fantasy guys, "...what happened to Wyvernlair? Did it...?" He doesn't want to finish the sentence but you can guess where he's going.

Marvin’s faint smile falls.

"Oh. Yes, uh..." Jackie clears his throat. "I already mentioned this in passing to Jackieboy, but... yea. It was discovered."

"My fault, really," Marvin mutters.

"No, it's not. We didn't know the King could read minds back then." Jackie shook his head. "There were a couple royal scouting parties sent out, and eventually one found the location. There was this dog--well, not just a dog, a familiar, a wizard's magical creature like Draco--"

"Not nearly as friendly, though," Henrik mutters.

"Anyway. That party found us so we had to leave Wyvernlair before an attack came. And... well, we still got caught in the middle of an attack, but most people were gone by that point, so it could have been worse."

"It was a good base, though," Marvin says sadly.

Bro's face falls and he looks sad too, "Oh god... That's... I'm so sorry you guys..."

"M-Maybe one day you can go back!" Henny tries to offer gently. "W-When this bad spirit is removed from the King..."

"They wouldn't really need a secret hideout then though," Jackieboy adds with a shrug.

"...Maybe they can use it for... selling... things...?" Henny replies uncertainly. "...Or... um..."

Jackie laughs. "It'd be nice to see it again, at the very least. Maybe we can convince the real King to set up an outpost out there. One manned by former Phantoms. I know that others miss Wyvernlair, too."

"Oo! Or we can use the dragon bones somehow!" Marvin perks up. "It's extremely magical, you know. And it keeps things warmer than usual. Maybe the bones could be used for potions, somehow. Or spells."

"Yes!" Henny says brightly, "Repurpose it to serve the kingdom for good! I am sure the real King would be for that!"

Bro gives a small smile, "..that'd be a sight to see. We'd have to make sure we come visit then too..."

"Please do," Jackie says eagerly. "I'd love to show you the kingdom when it's not ruled by an evil spirit."

Bro smiles more, "And I'd love to see it then too... without our stupid cat bitch messing stuff up."

"Um, Henrik," Marvin says slowly. "Should I turn the heat down or--"

"Schiesse!" Henrik notices the water in the pot about to boil over. "Yes, yes!"

"Alright!" The flame reduces quickly. Henrik sighs. "Well. I think we still have enough water in there to make that nausea tonic, if you want to stay for that."

Henny and Dr. J, since they were sitting closest, startle back as the pot boils over.

Dr. J chuckles, "I'm still curious!"

Jackieboy and Bro exchange glances before Jackie mutters to Bro, "Do you think there's enough room to train?"

"...i dunno bro- probably not?"

"Damn-"

"If you two are bored you do not have to stay," Henrik says as he opens up the lighter-wood box. "This will be a longer process. We need to use teleráil, hallowseed, ginger, rosemary--"

"Or we could use mint," Marvin says. "Mint tastes better."

"Well I did not bring mint, so we cannot use it." Henrik starts rummaging around in the chest. "Oh! But I do have lemon balm! And some valerian and feamdhe, so I could make a sleep aid."

Jackieboy and Bro flush bright and act like school kids that got caught cheating. Then Jackieboy laughs, "God... I'd kill for something mint right now-"

"You like mint, Jackie?" Henny asks.

"Alt turned me onto it- I was surprised he liked it too." Jackieboy laughs. "Has mint gum like, constantly."

Dr. J smiles, "It's also his favorite tea."

Marvin brightens. "Oh! That's my favorite tea, too! Nobody else in camp likes it! I-I know I have a supply in my tent back at the cliffs. Once we find Alt, I can make him a brew."

Bro smiles, "He'd love that Marvin... Dr. J is always telling us the best medicine is a good cup of tea."

Dr. J blushes slightly, "Well... that's what my parents taught me! Most of the time you just need a quick moment and a warm drink."

"We didn't have tea when I was growing up," Jackie remembers. "It only really caught on in the last... ten years or so? Warm drinks have always been a thing, but it was usually water with honey, or sometimes milk from the goats on the farm."

The swaps look very surprised by this. "Tea is that recent here?" Dr. J says quietly.

"Tea is native to the far east," Henrik says. "That is where that particular practice, with the pots and all the diffusion, came from. But heating up water with leaves or roots inside has been common here for a while. That is how most tonic medicines are made." He gestures at the pot, then picks up one of those thin knives and starts slicing up some long leaves. Not actually cutting through them, just into them.

Henny watches Henrik with a smile, "That is so interesting! All cultures start to borrow from one another it seems. I like that! We all learn from each other!"

"I think you broke Jay's mind," Jackieboy laughs, "He's British- so all he's known his whole life is tea!"

Dr. J smacks Jackieboy lightly, "They don't even know what being British means!"

The others smile. "I'm supposing that 'Brih-ish' is your nationality, then?" Henrik says, chuckling. "The others made similar jokes about me being Alterdan when I first arrived."

"We still do," Jackie says cheerfully. "Like your low tolerance!"

"Just because our drink is not strong enough to make someone dizzy with two fingers does not mean my tolerance is low! We drink much more in one sitting to make up for it!"

"Don't tease the man holding the knife," Marvin says, grinning.

Henrik rolls his eyes and plops the leaves into the water. "Teleráil needs to boil for a while, but not too long," he explains. "I need to remove it before it makes the taste bitter." He then drops in the ginger, already pre-sliced. "And the ginger is the main ingredient to soothe the stomach."

"What's ironic is they make fun of me for being British while living in Britain!" Dr. J says with exasperation, pointing a finger at Jackieboy.

Jackieboy laughs and holds up his hands, "Hey! S'not my fault you made friends with a bunch of Irish boys! That's your fault for going to uni in Ireland!"

Henny looks between the two bickering again before shrugging, "I am also from Britain but my Mother was born in Germany- which must be like Alderdan since we have the same accent, other-me!" The gentleman smiles. "Though, us germans are known for our drinking skills! I can drink way more than Alt can." He grins big, looking proud of himself. “Even if I am going Half-German!”

Henrik chuckles. "Perhaps in some years or so the typing will change to be more like that. But for now I must handle getting teased for not wanting to drink whiskey."

He pours a packet of small, round seeds into the water and stirs. And then he puts in the rosemary and some thin grass-like plants.

Henny giggles and nods. "I am not a big fan of whiskey either. But, Alt is!"

"Who out of us do you think could drink the most?" Marvin wonders.

"Out of the three of us, it's me," Jackie says. "No doubt."

"Ha! Do you know how much wine I can down at a party?"

"Wine isn't that strong, it doesn't count."

"Yeah honestly, Alt doesn't have the best tolerance but he can drink the rest of us under a table." Jackieboy laughs. "I got old man syndrome kicking in- drinking the night away just isn't possible with three kids!"

"I bet I could beat him-" Bro mutters.

"You can’t get drunk anyone more though, Chase," Dr. J says lightly, patting his leg. “So it’s hardly fair.”

"Yeah yeah I know..." The hero grumbles.

"Personally I think it would be funny if Jameson could drink the most," Henrik says. "He does not seem the type, does he? There would be irony."

Dr. J chuckles, "In our group I am definitely not the strongest drinker. I don't really like to drink, personally."

"I agree with ya Doc- Imagine other Jameson just beating everyone else!" Jackieboy giggles. "I'd pay to see that."

"We should go out for drinks some time," Jackie says cheerfully. "There's a tavern in every town, won't be hard to find a place!"

Jackieboy beams, “Oh hell yeah that’d be a blast!”

Henny looks excited too, “Oh yes! Alt and I go drinking often, that would be very fun!!”

"Add it to the list when we show them around the kingdom," Marvin says. "I'll bring all the gold and jasper to pay for your rounds."

"You will?" Jackie raises an eyebrow. "Well, I'm assuming that in the future I'll be able to access my family funds again."

"Access in what way?" Henrik asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Whichever is fastest." Jackie grins.

"Normally I would say something about stealing, but if anyone deserves it, it's the Tinechroi family. They can afford it, too." Henrik chuckles.

Dr. J chuckles, “I’m guessing you’re from a noble family then Marvin- one full of pricks from the sound of it.”

“Eh stealing from pricks is acceptable,” Bro comments.

“That’s not very hero-like to say Chase,” Dr. J says with a raise of his eyebrow.

“I’m off duty- it’s fine.”

"They're pricks alright," Marvin says. "My sister Thalia works for the King. Which wouldn't have been such a bad thing ten years ago, but with that spirit in charge, it means she's done some terrible things."

Jackie clears his throat. "Moving on…”

"Anyway, yes. If you all want to head off to do your own things, you can. This will take a while." He taps the edge of the pot with a spoon.

Jackieboy looks around the boat, leaning back on his hands. “…is there even room to do anything? Man- I’d actually kill for a book to read-“ He chuckles. “And I don’t usually read a lot!”

“if you want to read, it'd be a bit difficult here. Books aren't all that common and I remember our alphabets being different." Jackie brightens slightly. "Oo! Maybe Henrik can teach you our writing! Like he did for me and Chase!"

"I am a bit busy here," Henrik points out.

"I could try, if you want," Marvin says, shrugging.

Jackieboy can’t help but make a face, “Uhhh that’s okay… I have a hard enough time reading our own alphabet…”

“I’d be curious to see!” Dr. J says with a smile.

“Careful Doc, you might explode learning so much all at once,” Bro teases.

“Oh pish posh- no such thing!” JJ replies.

Henrik chuckles. "Well, we have a lot of travel time ahead of us. So might as well fill it up however you can, yes?"

"I think there's enough room for more training if we don't take out the deadly weapons," Jackie offers. "Just go through some drills. I can ask Chase and Jameson to join."

"I'll be around if you want to ask about anything." Marvin grins. "I'm always happy to talk about magic if you're all curious."

Jackieboy whoops and punches both his fists in the air, “Yeah! More training! I wanna get so good those fucking bastards and their knights won’t see what’s coming!” Bro grins at this.

Dr. J and Henny exchange looks then laugh. Luckily there was plenty of things to do- so much to learn!

The boat continues south. Soon, it will reach its destination. But there's a long time until then.

◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈

That night, Alt has a strange dream. He's in a sort of garden. There are tall trees and neatly trimmed grass and paths made of stone. But it all looks so... regular? Even? And as Alt looks around, he sees tall, boxy structures in the distance. Are those... buildings? But they're so big, and so square, and some of them are shiny. The sky above is bright blue, and yet there's no sun to see on this sunny day.

Alt blinks as the dream takes shape and looks around in confusion. Everything here seems… wrong. But also… familiar somehow? How could that be? He’s never seen buildings that shiny before.

“Where… am I…?” He whispers to himself.

As he looks around, he hears something above him. A bird call of some kind. There’s a swift in the sky. Somehow he knows that this is the same one he saw while traveling. But it looks different. It’s no longer a natural brown color but instead shades of blue with orange and pink tinging the end of its feathers. Like the colors of the sky.

Alt’s mouth falls open as he sees the swift. It was unlike any animal he’d ever seen! And it was beautiful!

It circles around him a little before flying off into the distance. Asking him to follow. He watches it circle and then as it flies off he starts to run after it.

The swift flies deeper into the garden. The tall buildings slowly shrink in the distance. The stone paths shift from solid pieces to cobbled, the grass grows taller and is joined by undergrowth, and the branches of the trees grow taller, blocking out the bright sky. This feels foreboding somehow. But the swift continues on, weaving through the trees, never out of sight for too long.

Alt cautiously looks at his surroundings as they change. He feels his heart beat picking up. Where is this swift taking him?

The ground slowly slopes. The square buildings are entirely blocked out by the trees. The swift speeds up a little, lightning and squares of harsh light trailing from its wing tips…

Alt can’t help but gasp as he sees the light coming off the swift. It was like him? He looks down at himself and tries to see if he can glitch to catch up.

He’s right on its tail until it slows and lands, feet clinging to the vertical side of a tree. This tree is in the center of this depression Alt has been walking down. Unlike the other trees, it has no leaves, and it’s bark is black and dead-looking. The gnarled roots form a lattice over a hole in the ground. A lattice that sort of looks like part of a cage.

Alt slows in front of the tree and tilts his head at it. He narrows his eyes and gets closer then looks up at the swift and growls, “This is what you brought me here for? A dead tree??”

The swift’s head cocks to the side. It’s like it’s looking down at the roots.

Alt narrows his eyes some more and hesitates. Then he sighs and walks over, kneeling down by the roots to try to peer inside.

Beneath the roots is a deep hole. And in the hole is… someone. They move, standing up, coming closer to the light.

It’s… him.

Alt’s own face is looking back at him.

Alt startles away from the other him, paling as his stomach drops. “E-Elders!”

The other him is wearing strange clothes… that seem somehow familiar. His body is shivering, caught in the middle of a glitch, and when he reaches up, the Alt on the surface can see purple lines wrapped around his wrist. Like string bracelets. Or just strings.

Alt takes a second to catch his breath then cautiously looks back down at the other him. “…y-you’re … me…? But… h-how?” He looks back up at the swift. “W-What is this?!”

The swift cocks its head again.

Beneath the roots, the other Alt keeps reaching, his fingers just inches from the surface. His eyes are wide. "Help..." he says.

Alt looks down at his copy as he speaks, eyes widening.

He starts to back up-

And then, for a moment, Alt is in the other him's place, stuck, trapped, wrists burning. And then he’s back on the surface.

Alt gasps for air and clutches over his heart. He looks down at the other him with fear. But… why? Why is he scared? If this is also him…. Shouldn’t he help? He swallows thickly then reaches through the branches to try to reach for his copy’s hand.

But before he can grab his other self's hand--

"Wake up, á klaíoh." The King nudges Alt's side with his boot. "We need to cover a lot of distance."

Alt glitches up with a gasp and clutches over his heart. His blood feels electric and his mind is buzzing… the image of the other him in his dream still so stark. It almost takes him a second to regard the King but soon enough he’s glitching up to his feet, trying to hide his storming emotions. “Y-Yes, your highness.”

The King raises an eyebrow. Was something... off with Alt? Out of curiosity, he takes a quick peek into his current thoughts.

Alt’s thoughts are buzzing with images of the colorful swift- how it glitched with lightning. The shiny buildings of his dream and the trapped him under the dead tree. He’s rubbing his wrists like they pain him.

Oh.

Oh no.

Aneirin's expression darkens for a moment but he quickly hides it. "Bad dreams?" he asks. "They're just dreams. Forget about them. They have no effect on the waking world."

Alt’s eyes pulse with green before his hands drop to his sides, pain in his wrists forgotten. He nods slowly, his eyes glazing over. “Yes, mu Ríth.”

Magnificent stretches from where he was resting and comes over, tilting his head at Aneirin. “…is something the matter…?”

Aneirin glances at Magnificent, then back at Alt. "Go scout for some time. Come back when you hear us call for you."

Alt bows slightly then disappears in a quick glitch to scout.

And then Aneirin walks over to Magnificent and speaks in a low voice. "Do you remember that bird from yesterday? I don't think it was just some sick animal anymore. It may have been a vessel for one of those infuriating Elders."

Magnificent watches him with a bit of confusion. Then he narrows his eyes, green one flashing brightly. “…those are your gods- right? The ones native to Glasúil… I remember learning about them when I first came here… is it interfering?” He giggles, “I guess your power pales in comparison to a god…”

Aneirin grinds his teeth in anger. "Maybe I'm not as powerful as them yet, but they still can't stop me. If they could, they would have done it by now. But no, they exist on the cusp of the world and can't quite reach us without a vessel." He jerks his head towards where Alt was. "But they can touch our minds and dreams. And they're doing that to Alt. One is trying to get him to remember. The Winged Elder One, if my memory serves correct."

Magnificent narrows his eyes in anger as he mentions the Elder is messing with Alt. He bares his teeth in a snarl, “Oh hell no. Not on our fucking watch!” He glances back at where Alt went then looks back at Aneirin, “What can we do to stop it? We haven’t even reached the Wyldwoods yet!”

Aneirin purses his lips as he thinks. "I have some control over dreams. I can monitor him while he sleeps, try to push him off the path the Winged One is trying to guide him down." It would mean that he can't monitor Aodhan while sleeping, but he doesn't think there's much Chase can do with him anymore. Now that the secret is out, Aodhan has nothing more to share. "And you monitor him during his waking hours. Make sure he stays obedient. In a couple more days my power will recover enough to jump us right to the Wyldwood."

Magnificent nods, “I can do that…” He sighs, crossing his arms, “It pains me to keep him on such a short leash when he’s done so well- but… we can’t risk him breaking out of this.”

"Indeed." Aneirin nods. "Alt can be very capable but if we have to sacrifice some of that capability for control, so be it."

“Agreed.” Magnificent nods. “Alright… it might be a bit more of my own power but… not an issue.” He then looks back at the King, “My offer to lend some to you still stands by the way-“

Aneirin blinks. "I am curious to see if the power will be given to me, or to this body." He tilts his head, considering. This could be a trick... perhaps not an intentional one, but Magnificent could make a spur-of-the-moment decision. But... he's been so sincere lately. A lot has changed since the attack in the palace. "Is it possible to do a small test?"

Magnificent nods, "Of course," He bubbles up purple magic in his hand then offers it to Aneirin. The King can sense sincerity from the mad magician. He wants to reach the forest and take down the rebels no matter what it takes.

Aneirin hesitates for a moment. Then he reaches out and takes it.

As the magic connects with Aneirin's hand, it dives into his veins like a burning fire. It eagerly floods into where it feels magic flowing and then settles, hot like a flame but it feels strong, flowing into Aneirin's magic and latching on, giving it a boost. It feels... odd- almost wrong. But, he can't deny the power he feels.

Aneirin's eyes widen. The green in them flickers for a second as Aodhan squirms against this wrongness, struggling hard enough to cause a visible shift. But Aneirin simply turns his hand over, watching and feeling as the magic settles. "Interesting," he mutters. "It feels so different from the magic of this world. Somehow... hotter." He grins, and his shadow on the ground beneath him spreads and stretches. "I think it went into both of us. That definitely helps."

Magnificent grins and then laughs, flicking his half cape in a dramatic fashion. "Mortals can barely appreciate the fire Black magic provides~! Everyone shrinks away from it instead of embracing it- cowardly fools, I say." He studies the King's shadow then hums, "...the danger of Black Magic though is it tends to eat up other forms. It will provide a boost but it can fizzle out quickly if not properly sustained... I don't want to drain your other magic... but- if all we need is enough to open a gate- then a quick burst could be what we need~!"

The King closes his eyes, assessing the power. "I believe I can sustain this--the half that went into me, at least. Aodhan's boost may burn out quickly." He bites his lip, thinking. "We'll ride for another day, just to close the distance so it will cost less. But by the next morning, I think I'll have enough to make a doorway there." He grins. "A day faster than expected."

Magnificent grins wide, eyes sparking with mad excitement. “Excellent- I can live with that~” He giggles.

"Excellent indeed." The King grins. "Now let's move quickly. Where did he go...? Alt, á klaíoh!"

Soon after being called Alt glitches back in front of Mag and the King and bows quickly. "Here, mu Ríth."

"We move now," the King says. "No time for a meal." He heads over to the horses and quickly mounts his. "Perhaps we can figure something out on the road."

Alt hesitates for a second, feeling his stomach growl. Did... he even eat last night...? He can't... remember. It was so fuzzy. But, he will not anger the King. He nods, "Of course, mu Ríth.” And he glitches to his spot on the horse. Mag follows quickly after.

Aneirin smiles. That was a test, to see if the spell was holding. Seems it is... for now. "Very good. Now let's go."

The horses continue to the west.

#LLTK #long live the king #another kinda chill chapter until we check back in with Alt!#i remember being blown away by the dream sequence when we first wrote it #and i drew something quick for it bacj then aghjv #i need to start sharing all my LLTK king art! GJHBK #anyways sorry i didnt post yesterday it was christmas ahjkb #merry holidays and such

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thefluffyrailway-official · 5 months ago

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𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬

During the year 1915. One night, in the city of Norwich (East Anglia/England), Lawrence Billinton, an elderly man, dark complexion, graying hair and olive green eyes, was reading a novel (Around the World in 80 Days) to a tiny baby animal similar to a steam engine.

The little one listened attentively as his adoptive father read each paragraph of the book. He was leaning on the living room carpet with his 6 small fuchsia wheels, motionless, staring at the older boy with a certain sparkle in his big blue eyes.

-An hour after leaving Bombay, the train, avoiding the viaducts, had crossed Salcette Island and was running on the mainland, - recited Lawrence with a theatrical air.

-Have you ever been there, dad? - the little train asked curiously as he slowly moved towards the older boy.

Lawrence stopped reading for a moment and smiled.

-I'm afraid not, son.- he said, shaking his head. To which the blue-eyed man responded by lowering his gaze, disappointed.

-Although, when I worked on the railway with my old tram engine, Ram, we were sometimes sent to work temporarily in Germany, France and even Uruguay, - the older was quick to say.

-Really?? Ram never told me about that!-

Lawrence put the book on the table next to the chair and placed the little engine-like pup on his lap.

-Yes, it's true. And maybe when you grow up and work on a real railway, you will travel and see other countries too- He laughed.

The pup's eyes lit up.

-Yes! YES!! I will! I will travel the world!! And I will make new friends! And I will take you and Nico with me!!- The little blue-eyed steam engine squeaked while shaking in excitement.

-Hehe. I'm sure it will be.- The man got up from his chair, with his son in his arms, and walked to the living room window. A window that looked out onto the beautiful port of Norwich.

The pup leaned on his father's chest as he looked out at the crystal-clear waters of the port in the distance, which seemed endless the further he looked.

-Someday, we'll get on one of those boats, Dad. And we'll travel around the world.- He smiled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now, a century later, that little train had grown and matured. His fur was now a shiny sky blue with red stripes and the number 1 on the sides.

Just as his father told him, he now worked on a railway on the island of Sodor; a small island south of the Isle of Man.

Thomas was glancing out the small window of his shed door in the town of Tidmouth. He'd woken up just before everyone else. And because of that memory with his foster father, he'd become quite emotional looking at the row of photos of him and his father in the door in front of him.

-You were right, dad. I managed to travel the world and meet new people. But without you and Nico accompanying me on the trip, it's not the same...- He whispered in a sigh.

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by a deep cough two places to his right.

-Do you mind? Some engines need to rest. If you knew what it was like to get up early, you wouldn't chatter that much. - Protested a very prideful big blue engine.

-I'm sorry Gordon. I was just thinking... - Thomas apologized.

-Well, it seems that now we all read minds because you can be heared even in Vicarstown!- Gordon growled, causing the others to wake up as well.

-Huh? What's going on?- Nia yawned, still sleepy.

-Come on guys. It's still early to start fighting.- Emily complained from a corner.

-Emily is right. You are ruining my beauty dream!- added James, who unfortunately found himself between the two.

-Which isn't work so well i can see...- Percy chuckled in answer.

-In that case Thomas should shut his mouth a bit so we can all go back to sleep!- Gordon snorted.

Suddenly, the sound of keys opening the door of one of the sheds made everyone pretend to be asleep.

-Good morning, sleepyhead- a tall, dark-skinned man with light eyes greeted as he opened the door for Gordon.

-No good morning or anything! We heard you arguing. Come on! get moving Gordon! Someone here fell asleep and we're already late for the express! - Liam, another man with amber eyes, dark hair, a bit of grey and a prominent beard, growled, while pointing angrily at his colleague.

-Thanks for ruining my last 5 minutes of sleep!- the big blue-eyed engine claimed.

-Now, come on and bring me my coaches, so that "waking up early" game of yours will be useful for something...- He ordered.

-Fiiiine... - Thomas huffed as he walked out of his shed.

And so, another tiring morning of work began on the bustling island of Sodor.

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

(𝐀𝐔 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐨 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐬: @steam-beasts <𝟑)

#au #thomas and friends #ttte #thomas the tank engine #thefluffyrailway #monster engines #ttte au #short story #ttte thomas #ttte goldensmoke #goldensmoke #aiden the golden pup

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xieni-logs · 1 year ago

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Ooooh how about the whole Astral Express fam but both Caelus and Stelle + Y/N at an amusement park? Like who would be grabbing onto who for dear life on rollercoasters, who enjoys the spinny and 100 mph rides and then all of them on those water raft rides or just some ride with enough room for them all?

THE ASTRAL EXPRESS: AMUSEMENT PARKS

a/n: i hope i did your request right. i havent been to an amusement park in years so im honestly just assuming these rides all exist inside one park. i did think of writing for pompom but wondered if pompom can even leave the express. i enjoyed writing this, thank you! (ˊᗜˋ)/

March 100% enjoys thrill rides and ferris wheels. she acts like the ride is scary when she's in line but has no fear taking out her camera right before the roller coaster is about to drop. does her little peace sign pose and takes a picture as the people around are yelling and someone passed out. she'll even go on a ride multiple times just for a good picture. forces everyone to go with her at least once. if you say yes easily, great: you're going on the drop tower for the third time in two hours with March now! Welt holding his poor back, Himeko is a little dizzy, Dan Heng is sweating and feeling nauseous, Stelle and Caelus are both saying they're perfectly fine but their legs are shaking like crazy, March is completely unaffected though! she's running to the next ride and telling everyone to hurry up as if she didn't just make Caelus throw up inside a little. if you're unaffected like she is, pray for your legs because you'll be standing in line for hours going on the same ride again and again.

Caelus enjoys the bumper cars and bumper boats the most. there’s something therapeutic about purposefully crashing into people, according to him. he targets people but denies it. has nearly flipped another bumper boat open and was forced to apologize to the whoever was on that bumper boat by welt later. don't be surprised if Caelus begins targeting you for no reason, he does it for everyone!

Stelle loves the haunted houses and test of strength games. nothing better than going through it all trying to prove who's better. March happily goes along with her, Caelus will too, and Dan Heng will be dragged along whether he likes it or not! Himeko and Welt wait outside, still recovering from the rides March dragged them on. most of the time, you'll walk through the haunted house no problem. the most you'll get is a sharp gasp from Caelus and Stelle or an "EEP!" from March, and nothing from Dan Heng. but if it's one of those creepier haunted houses, well... you'll walk out, all of you holding onto somewhere on Dan Heng.

Dan Heng probably enjoys the lazy river the most. thats saying a lot since he doesn't exactly like nor dislike any rides at the amusement park. this is an activity the entire astral express will partake in! as much as thrills and fun rides and attractions are appealing, you can't beat a moment of relaxation in a chaotic day. Caelus and March have fallen asleep while floating down the lazy river while everyone else sits in comfortable silence.

Welt doesn't have a preference on rides and attraction. he's an everything type of guy! will try everything at least once, mostly because you and the others ask him. feeling too nervous to go on a ride but you still want to? ask him to tag along. don't want to line up for the overpriced amusement park food alone? he'll come with you. he's like a personal plus-one for everyone on the astral express crew!

Himeko enjoys the ferris wheels. something about being at the very top of the ferris wheel, overseeing the world from a different angle that is so, so nice. March likes the ferris wheel too! she and Himeko will take pictures in the ferris wheel. the entire crew is likely split into two cabins; one having Himeko, March, Caelus and you, and the other has Dan Heng, Stelle, and Welt. of course, Himeko doesn't stay on the ferris wheel the entire time, she can be seen going through gift shops and all that; a souvenir to commemorate this occasion.

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asofterkiss · 7 months ago

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Mourning Lamb

ellie williams/female oc&dina/ellie | 1.9k | M 18+ | warnings: pov ellie, post thoroughfare, reference to past cannibalism, guilt, religion, sad all around, inspo from bones&all book, trauma, dubious consent (?), dream sequence, hums: august underground, mainfic: thoroughfare

“Violence…” The preacher opens his hands, his face so open in his emotions. He looks as disturbed and resigned as the people sitting on the pews do. “Violence is the root of evil. Violence will turn brother against brother. Sister against sister. And, by the Lord, we, the people in this very room, are all brothers and sisters.”

Ellie chews at the skin around her nail, her hand pressed close to her mouth and the other tucked tightly into the pocket of her sweater. She doesn’t want to be here. At all.

“We will not continue to live this life we have lived, brothers and sisters, if we do not forgive,” The preacher continues.

“Amen!” A woman shouts from a pew up front.

“And yet, we cannot forgive one another until we have forgiven ourselves.”

He closes his hands, taking slow steps across the room and regarding the listeners with a look that is full of judgment. He has to know he’s made about eighty percent of the room deeply uncomfortable. Violence, since the day of the outbreak, has been the way of life for most people. The ones who survived, anyway.

“Forgive and be forgiven, brothers and sisters,” He says.

“Amen! Amen, Reverend!” A man shouts.

“It is the reason we are here today,” He walks to the other side of the room with those same slow steps. “Every single one of us. Forgiveness. The Lord says ‘There is no peace for the wicked’. Don’t we all want to know peace?”

Ellie stops chewing and tries to stifle her heavy sigh, running her hand down her cheek and across her neck. She tells herself it’s not that she’s restless, not that she’s judging everyone else in the room, but she has no reason to be here. She’s not like them.

“Even the most wicked amongst us wants peace.” He goes up a step out in front, the smallest stage Ellie has ever seen. It’s like he hasn’t risen at all, still seeming the same height as those standing in the room, but maybe that’s the point. “Now, I’ve been doing these sermons for quite some time, and let me tell you, I’ve heard from every sort of person. Those who have sinned against themselves, those who have sinned against another. They come to me and they say: ‘Reverend Adam, I’m no good’. Time and time again, I hear, ‘Sometimes, it’s just too hard to be good’.”

A knot begins to form itself in Ellie’s throat.

“And to them, I say: ‘Let the Lord in. Let Him in and He will show you how to be good.’”

There is sparse clapping in the room, a few ‘Amen’s’ thrown in.

Ellie swallows hard and pushes off the wall, side stepping someone to go straight for the worn down double doors. She pushes them open and takes in several lungfuls of air, willing her heart to settle and her mind to stop thinking.

It was a bad idea to start with. There was no chance it would ever, ever do her any good to step into a place like that, not after everything. No, she vows to herself. Never again.

Hours later, sometime past midnight when she can hear the birds begin to chirp outside and see dawn peeking in, she falls asleep and she is in the chapel.

Though there is only one person besides her in the room, there is a chorus of humming. The voices overlap themselves, bouncing between her ears, churning something heavy in the pit of her stomach and ticking up her throat.

Ellie is aware that she is asleep. She’s dreamt this before, but never in this much detail. Never in this room. At times, it’s the boat. Other times, more often than not, it’s the cabin up on the mountain peak. Rarely, it’s the room where she was tied up in Birch Bay.

She can see the colors reflecting from the light coming in through the stained glass windows, sitting beautifully on the scratched wooden floorboards. It’s this that further proves that she’s dreaming. The chapel she visited doesn’t have stained glass windows.

But everything else is the same, down to the position of the crosses on the walls. Four pews on each side of the room, positioned to face the stage. Two alcoves holding candelabras, the candles emitting a saltwater smell so strong that she can taste. There is even dust flying in the air, shining in the sun, like it had been earlier.

There is one thing that draws her attention and keeps it. One definite sign that Ellie isn’t conscious, that Ellie isn’t in control.

Jude’s figure is drawn up tight on the stage, facing away from the entrance of the chapel, exactly in the middle of the stage between the rows of the pews. The bottom of the cross seems to blend into her head from where Ellie is standing, and her feet begin to move against her will. Jude doesn’t move. Not yet. She waits.

The humming lowers itself in volume as Ellie gets closer until it’s reduced to a simple buzz in her ear, but the feeling in her stomach and her throat hasn’t gone away. In fact, it gets worse. Her tongue feels colder. Her cheeks feel stiff. She can’t feel her fingertips and her socks feel wet inside of her shoes. Despite this, she keeps walking.

When she gets past the front row, there is a weight on her shoulders. It’s gentle, like familiar hands that guide her, that are there to comfort her. She can never see who it is. Can never hear the approaching steps. But she thinks it might be Joel. She doesn’t fight the weight, instead she lowers herself with it, sinking to her knees on the step below the stage. Jude is so close that she could reach out and touch her. Ellie wants to reach out and touch her, but it’s her turn to wait. And so, Ellie doesn’t move.

Her mind, however, races. Everytime, she follows the same process. Her first thought is always that Jude shouldn’t be on her knees. She has no reason to be in such a position. Always, Ellie wonders how long she had been waiting for her. Wonders if she was praying before Ellie appears, if she craves Ellie’s touch just as much as Ellie craves hers. She wonders if Jude knows. About the snow, about what came after, about Dina.

The second Ellie thinks of Dina, Jude lifts her shoulders and faces forward.

Only then, Ellie can speak. She never says the same thing, she can never control what comes out of her mouth, but tonight, after her visit to the chapel, all she can muster is a desperate plea, “Forgive me.”

“Forgive me,” Jude echos. She is the voice behind the humming, just hers and no one else.

Ellie’s arms move and she tugs on Jude’s shoulder, forcing her to turn around. She has to grab her waist, too, and it’s a struggle. Jude seems like a rag doll, weightless, staying in place where Ellie puts her. And Ellie’s grip is rough, turning her entire body around, so she faces Ellie. Jude’s face is passive, like those strange moments on the boat. Back when that’s all Jude was. A stranger. She’s just as beautiful as Ellie remembers, in her long dress and black boots, her rosary glinting against her chest.

Ellie grabs Jude’s face in her hands and kisses her lips, lingering for a long moment there, allowing it to be soft and gentle, then she kisses her again with more passion. She gives it her all.

It’s in these moments where she can get a sense of her real emotions coming through, where she can lick into Jude’s mouth and think: You’re not real, but I miss you. I think of you everyday. It's hard to sleep. It’s hard to eat. I don’t recognize myself in the mirror. I don’t know who I am without you, but I know that I don’t deserve your forgiveness. I know that I don’t deserve you. But you’re not real. You’re not real. You’re not real.

Jude kisses her back and it makes Ellie think that maybe she knows. Maybe she can understand, even without the words being spoken. It feels like forgiveness. For now, it feels like hope.

As the kiss turns hungry, violent, Ellie pushes for more of it. And the world moves behind her closed eyes and, for a moment, she thinks she will get more. She thinks Jude is tipping to lay on her back, but when the lips against hers go away and she opens her eyes, Jude is standing above her, looming and staring.

Ellie’s mouth moves again to speak. “Kneel,” She says, her voice shaking and quiet. “Kneel down with me.” Keep kissing me, she means to say. Keep forgiving me.

“Kneel,” Jude repeats. Her hands come up to rest on the crown of Ellie’s head, a solid pressure that feels strange. Painful. “Kneel down for me.” She sounds different. It’s the Reverend’s voice laid over hers, making her sound mean and judgmental.

Tears leak down Ellie’s cheeks and she says, again, “Forgive me.” The pressure in her head gets worse, but so does the feeling in her throat, her mouth getting colder and colder. Her fingertips, too. She looks down at them, sees red in the pile of snow gathered in her cupped hands. She looks up at Jude. “Forgive me.” Ellie doesn’t want to be here anymore. The dream is different. She’s afraid. Afraid of Jude, afraid Jude is going to hurt her. “Forgive me.” When she speaks, she can taste it. The snow and the blood, the human meat and the oily slickness of it. “Forgive me.”

She wants Jude to speak again. She wants Jude to go away. She prays for it. Over and over again: Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop.

But all that comes out of her mouth is, “Forgive me. Forgive me. Forgive me.”

The pressure in her head worsens and Jude remains the same. The humming comes back, dozens of different voices this time. None of them Jude’s. Ellie doesn’t have to turn around to look. She can feel it, the sudden prescense in the room, making her cry harder. She knows that the pews are full of everyone she’s ever killed, starting with Riley and ending with Tommy. There are no words to their song, but she feels it all the same. Forgiveness is not for you, they say. You don’t deserve peace.

Ellie crumbles, sobbing, releasing herself from Jude’s grip to lay her head against her feet. There is blood splattered on Jude’s boots, and the longer Ellie stays there, the more that fresh blood drips down, making her not want to look up. The song gets louder. Her body gets colder. Jude seems further and further away, despite the fact that Ellie can see her shoes right there in front of her face. She wants to reassure herself that Jude is still there, that Jude was real, that everything that happened was real, but she’s afraid of what she’ll see if she looks.

She wakes up to the sight of Dina beside her on the bed, sitting up with her back against the headboard and her hands clutching the sheet across her lap. Dina doesn’t have to say anything for Ellie to know. They don’t speak. Ellie turns around to face the wall before closing her eyes.

She desperately tries to go back to sleep.

#ellie williams fanfic #ellie williams fic #ellie tlou #ellie williams #thoroughfare #thoroughfarefic #ellie williams x oc

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whatilost · 18 days ago

Text

F this

I'm ill. I've been thinking about it non-stop for the past six months yet I don't think it's fully sunk in. I told everyone. I'm trying to adjust. But even through the constant reminders in my mind and in my body, I don't think I get it. I must be an imposter. Something else is wrong. It's just a mild form and I'm pretending, making it worse for clout and pity and drama. I'm just lazy and comfortable not pushing myself, a hypochondriac at best.

So I'm sitting on the couch after I've failed to fall asleep and I've cried myself into some kind of temporary acceptance. I have lost things, when I think about it - I keep losing things. I lose parts of myself, my strength, my face, at least the way I wanted to show it to the world. I was just becoming who I was supposed to be, already late with it. Already something eating at me, and I felt it.

I keep forgetting the things I fight with every days, that aren't normal, but that I brush off because it's not something you can see.

Every morning I wake up not knowing how I'll be. Sometimes everything hurts the moment I open my eyes and my limbs are asleep. I lie down and hold my phone and I stop feeling my pinkies. If I stand too long I can't feel my toes. If I sit too long I discover a new body part that I can lose sensation in. My hands get so stiff when it's a tiny bit cold, so much that I can't write or do anything requiring fine motor skills. They're shaky and unsteady either way. But what I really hate is when my whole body twitches, muscles, joints, for hours, sometimes days.

I sometimes get dizzy, like I'm walking on a boat in a storm that's capsizing, I'm being dragged to one side. I walk around the shops and although it hasn't yet happened, I'm panicking about walking into something, turning over a display. I always bump into people. The anxiety of floating on a tilting cloud that can potentially throw me whichever way, because it could get worse at any point. It hasn't, yet. But it's only been seven months.

I've become accoustomed to the fact that public transport is now making me sick. I take the bus to school often, worrying it will be too warm, too many people, too many smells. Preemptively take off all my coats and scarves because I can't deal with hot temperatures. I'll start sweating, I'll feel nauseated, I'll get palpitations, chest pains, diziness, feeling like I'm going to pass out. Always have to have a water bottle with me, just in case. Always have to have a case of pills with me, just in case. Pills for motion sickness, headache, hearburn, general body ache, anxiety, for keeping alert.

Before I get off the bus I move my feet to get my circulation going. If not I'm most likely going to feel light headed. I probably will anyway. I always feel a bit like I'm going to pass out getting off the bus or the train. Sometimes I have to wait it out, holding on to whatever is near and breathe. Dizzy and sweaty. Lightheaded. I'm fine. I start moving again. In a few minutes it's gonna pass. A few minutes a few times a day. I haven't thrown up, yet.

Even as I'm writing this, I feel like I'm just fishing for pity. People have it worse, I can still walk. So my legs are tingling, pins and needles. So I can't feel some toes and stumble a bit, not noticeably, just enough for me to feel something being off. Big deal.

The diziness and fatigue is the worse. My heart racing is close second. I can't do what I want to do, I can't think like I want to, I don't see things clearly sometimes. I look into my course work and I know that I can't, because of the fog and the nausea and the pain. I'm so tired, all the time, but when I read the accounts of other MS sufferers, I'm not sure I'm tired enough, if my tiredness warrants the right to complain. I have this feeling within, like something is scratching my bones, something is very off but I can't put my finger on what it is. It's like a headache of my whole body, not enough to debilitate but just enough to not be able to focus on anything properly, like a scratchy throat of my whole body. And if I ignore it, and I do ignore it, my heart racing, the sweats, the nausea and the aches. The pains that come and go, everywhere, my limbs, icepicks in my head, shooting pains through my torso, like someone's picked a bunch of nerve threads out of my chest and tugged on them.

My stomach is never ok. Heartburn or indigestion or constipation or bloating and pains and the constant peeing. I should eat better, but I have a hard time planning for it. If I want to do something in a day, cooking is the thing I skip on.

I couldn't sleep because my heart was racing and everything hurt. Ice pick headache again. It's been a while. Sometimes I see zigzags and sometimes I see flashes of light with my eyes closed. Today I just couldn't deal with it. I just couldn't deal.

I don't know what my life will be like. I know it's not normal to take the elevator because I worry I will be a wreck in front of people if I take the stairs. I know it's fucked up to be so tired after a few hours of studying that I get a nervous breakdown. I'm never gonna be able to work full time, in anything. I'm never gonna be able to go on holidays without worrying ill spend the week feeling awful, I don't know if I'll ever dare travel to a country without finding out where the hospitals are, at the same time I can't plan ahead because what if the planned time is a bad time. I think my friends don't get it, because I don't really get it either, not to push me, how much to push me, how much to let me rest.

"Oh I'm tired too"

And I believe you are but when I say I need to rest I mean I need to rest because I will crash. When I say I'm hungry and need to eat I mean because I'm feeling like I'm about to pass out.

I keep trying to be normal, to not ruin things for people, for my boyfriend, by minimazing how dizzy and how weird and weak I feel, when we're supposed to be doing something, when we're home, when we're out on a date. I don't want to just be on the sofa and be lazy, I want to show I'm productive but I so often have to go against everything I've described, all the stupid symptoms in different constellations while forgetting words and laughing it off, while being anxious, so fucking anxious because it feels like it's a steep downward slope and I can't do anything about it, I just go on pretending that I'm at least moderately ok while I'm completely losing my shit about getting paralysed, about not having any money in the future, about really wanting to have kids but not knowing if i could ever take care of them, about being a massive burden and being so grumpy, constantly complaining of ms and of being tired but of course everyone is tired and I should just get off my ass, I should just give myself a little push and everything would work out, because it doesn for everyone and I'm not so different, I'm just a little ill, just a little bit ill.

Or, you know. A fair amount.

#multiple sclerosis #ms #chronic illness #illness #invisible illness #rant #stream of consciousness

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tia-amorosa · 1 month ago

Text

Sunset Died - Erin's Crew

Dark clouds

When Chloe and Peter returned to the base, the others were in the lounge. They were watching the sports report on the news on TV. “Hello, I hope you had a good day,” Erin greeted them both. And Chloe nodded with a broad smile.

“Hey, that was generally a good game, wasn't it?"/ ”Didn't you watch it properly? They played like idiots."/ ‘And they still won by a very narrow margin…’/ ”I'm really worried about next season. What do you think, Lee?"/ ‘They had fun at the game, that's the most important thing…’.

Chloe talked animatedly about her day off. And even if Erin was happy for her, she soon had to take the joy away again. It simply had to be talked about. “I'm asking you all to meet here tomorrow morning for a talk."/ ‘Did something happen?’/ ”You could say that, yes. But I don't want to talk about it tonight”.

“Why don't you just tell us now? Then we won't have to ponder all night…”. Erin knew that this wouldn't hit a good nerve with everyone. Because everyone is actually prepared to go back to their families in a few days. “It's possible… No, it's going to be that we might have another mission"/ ‘um, what?’.

“As I said, please let's talk about it tomorrow. It would be too much to explain now… But I promise you that this time it won't be to a war zone…”. Chloe looked at her angrily. “I don't care where it's going, I want to go home, Colonel”. She cast a slightly desperate glance at Peter. But He shrugged his shoulders a little helplessly. “Hey, let's hear what she has to say tomorrow, o.k.?”.

Chloe left the room angry and disappointed and headed towards the dormitory. In the meantime, Roman got up because he had overheard the conversation. “Seriously, we can't go home yet? That really sucks!"/ ‘Let me explain everything tomorrow…’ Erin said in a slightly exasperated voice. “I hope you'll all be a little understanding. I'm still in shock myself about what I found out today.”. But Roman just gave her a begrudging look. “tz… good night.”.

Peter arrived in the bedroom just a little later. But he quickly realized that Chloe wasn't asleep yet. “That's so shitty, Peter, really…"/ ”I know, for me too. But it seemed very important to her… That's why we should hear what it's about tomorrow first…"/ ‘If she doesn't have a good reason, I'm leaving!’ Chloe said loudly and whimpered.

“No, please don't, I don't want to go on the next mission without my best comrade. And she said it's not a war zone… I guess… The way she was acting, it must be something personal"/ ”I don't care, I just want to sleep now. That's how quickly a nice day can be ruined”. Her disappointment was clear to see, but Peter couldn't really take away her displeasure at that moment.

While the others are already in bed, there's still a bit of discussion going on outside. “Come on, you're just trying to pull a bad joke on us, aren't you?"/ ”No, I'm completely serious. As I said, I'll explain to you all tomorrow what it's all about"/ ”We were deployed for almost three months.. . We've shot people, buried the dead bodies of our comrades. What else is there to come?"/ ‘Saving lives’.

“Saving lives? Others can do that too, why us?”. Erin took a deep breath. Of course she would have liked to say more, but none of them would have had enough concentration left to listen to everything. “It's just not as simple as you imagine. Please don't rock the boat unnecessarily, I'll tell you all about it tomorrow"/ ‘I'm not rocking anything here, except maybe my balls, I'm going to bed’.

Roman also retreated to the bedroom and let the door slam shut behind him with a loud bang. Erin tried to rub the stress of the day from her face. “Hey, they'll understand, okay?” Diego said calmly and took her in his arms. She was trembling a little, not from fear, but more from excitement and exhaustion. “hhh, I hope so” .

“and if they don't want to be there, then the two of us will fly alone…” said Diego, very seriously. “Oh Diego…” Her voice was weak and quiet due to her tiredness. “Ever since the disaster, I always wanted to go there and see if anyone had survived… But I was thrown into everything here. I didn't have time to think about my old house or the others.” It was a big shock for Erin when she found out about the disaster. But she couldn't go back, she was needed here.

The conversation was interrupted when they suddenly heard the rumble of an approaching thunderstorm. And just a few seconds later, it started to rain. “Look, I think this is the first time we've experienced the rain out here."/ ‘Yeah… Oh shit, I'll close the machine in a minute, I don't want the technology to fail because of the humidity’.

“Oh, did you check the weight again?"/ ”Yes, I did. And it doesn't look very good, she can maybe carry an extra 50 to 80 kilos, but no more than that. Anything more will only make her slower and more cumbersome… And we have quite a long journey ahead of us, from summer to winter. I hope she can still manage that"/ ”50 to 80, that's really not much. OK, thank you”.

Everyone slept in their own bed that night, as usual. And thoughts ran up and down Erin's mind. The news from Jack literally threw her off track. “Actually, I would have had a vacation for a while now. But that will have to wait. I'd like to ask Chloe if she can help me with the research, but… She's angry, I understand that. But she has a great talent for hacking”.

“I also think there's something going on in the background. And the e-mail from Jack only reinforces this feeling. Who knows… Maybe my career will be over sooner than I'd like, but at least it was worth it”. To regain her mental and physical strength, Erin literally forced herself to fall asleep. At some point, she managed to calm her body down.

There was an unusual amount of rain falling from the sky that night. The people here haven't experienced anything like it for a long time. The water supply in this town comes from a huge reservoir. But they had also made sure that various watercatchtanks were distributed throughout the city in case of such a heavy downpour.

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@greenplumbboblover ⭐

#sims3 #screenshots #simsstories #sims3 story #ts3 story #ts3 gameplay #ts3 simblr #erin kennedy #chloe shearing #diego swan #roman cardona #peter lee

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monstroso · 1 month ago

Note

24 and 25

24. Did you write any gifts this year?

In a manner. I publish vanishingly little of what I actually write, because when I do actually write anything it's usually for one of two people: myself or DJ. I take a long time to finish stuff, and I won't post anything that isn't actually done, but DJ gets all the little scraps and dashed-off missives I write when I'm bored at work or when she's asleep. Don't take this as a lost archive or anything, you're not missing much. I publish anything actually worth reading lol.

That said, yknow. There's still time this year to get something in under the wire...

25. Did you receive any gifts this year?

More than I could have ever hoped for, actually. Lol.

DJ was kind enough to write both Those're His and Airplanes in the Ocean for me (and then publish them for me, because I wanted everyone else to read them). Some of our most revisited pieces of lore given form to be enjoyed by everyone! I couldn't be happier with them.

And we also received a bit of fanfiction as well! Solrika very kindly gifted us Foxtrot and Tango based on some of our boat discussions over on the vehicle sideblog. [They are both rated E, reader beweader!] And we're very happy to add them to our very modest collection of fics for tfissab!!

(It wasn't written this year technically, but don't forget to check out the fic based on our Railway Speed Record Club idea: Joe's Just Another One of Those Things).

I don't deserve the bounty that's been heaped on me this year! Thanks for the ask!

link to the game

#still doing this just getting to it late lol #as with everything #ask game #anonymous

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triponthelight · 3 months ago

Text

Chills me down to my soul

Kraken!Danny Wagner x AFAB/GN Reader

18+

Warnings: graphic sexual content, horror themes, monster AU, inappropriate use of tentacles, a tad bit of degradation, weird autonomy (octopus stuff), penetrative sex (it ain't a dick though), reader fucking dies?, death mentioned multiple times, language/cursing, hostage situation, as always..shitty writing

Word count: 1.8k

ok this is not going to be everyones thing. this was a very self indulgent fic (as per usual), I could not shake the thought of kraken danny, so here it is. can y'all tell I'm fixed on pirates?

the night was cold.

You are traveling with a small group of pirates. At the moment, you are on a small boat, paddling to shore for a minor attack, planning to rob in the night and escape by sunrise. You had been rowing for about an hour, you had to keep the main ship far away from the land as to not alert the people. There was 7 of you total crammed on the vessel, 5 of which were asleep, leaving only you and one other awake.

Neither of you had spoken, not interested in conversation at the time. The water was still, making it fairly easy to cross. Well, you thought it was still, until there was a rough rock of the boat. It woke up two other men. You all looked around in confusion, but not seeing anything, relaxed back. A moment later, it happened again, rougher and repetitive, 3 times. Now everyone was awake. You looked out, the water was perfectly still. There was something beneath you.

Suddenly, the ship was forced to a full stop. You attempted to keep paddling to no avail. It was as if you were anchored down, or had crashed into something. You looked up at the bow to the first mate of the crew, who was facing you, looking confused and concerned.

"What in Gods name is going on?"

Your eyes widened as you looked past him. A massive tentacle was rising from the water, dead silent, rippling, poised to strike.

"Holy fuck"

You were cut off as it grabbed the man and pulled him down, and before you could process it, the boat was flipped. You can just barely hear the screams of your crew before you are submerged under the water. The dark sky makes it impossible to see anything in the sea. As death begins to take you, you can ever slightly feel something wrapping around you, pulling you down.

A loud thrumming pounds in your ears, a steady beating. You awake and sit up, coughing, hurling up water. The beat comes to a stop. You blink and rub at your eyes, trying to adjust to the light.

You are sitting in a dark, rocky cave. The ground is covered in ankle deep water. The air is chilled, the water cold. You are sopping wet and freezing, shaking.

In the dim light you can just barely make out a figure in the corner. It wasn't human. The only thing you could see were its eyes. They were dark, hungry. Staring into your soul. You shuffle back as much as you can before crashing into the back wall of the cave with a thud. It laughs softly. You glance around, trying to find any form of escape, yet there was nothing.

It slowly moves towards you. As it gets closer, you can start to see it's features. The top seems to be that of a man. Tall, muscular, pale. His jaw is sharp, his nose arched. He has long, black, curly hair. It's damp, sticking to his skin. His eyes are set on you. Deep browns, focused. Your eyes travel down his body, and the sight would have made you shiver if you weren't already. From his waist down came eight, thick, long, dark blue tentacles, moving in sync as he came over to you.

"What a pretty little thing."

The end of one of the tentacles wraps around one of your ankles and roughly drags you forward. You cry out and he shakes his head, the grip tightening.

"Hush. There's no one else here to listen."

When you quiet down, it loosens, but doesn't let go, instead, slithering up your leg, coiled around it. Another comes forward, wrapping around your other leg. They were wet, yet gave a little warmth. Alive. Through the material of your pants you could feel the hundreds of suckers that lined them, attaching themselves to you.

You writhe a bit against them and he leans down until he's eye to eye with you, head tilted, questioning. You stop to look up at him. He was actually rather handsome.

"Do I frighten you?"

His voice is soft, his eyes on yours. You weren't sure how to respond. You were terrified of him, yet intrigued. Curious what this creature was. You shake your head and his eyebrows raise in surprise.

"Really, now? You don't look too confident in that."

You sit up till you are nose to nose with him.

"I'm not scared."

He slowly blinks, and when he re-opens his eyes the whites have faded into a golden yellow, the pupils narrowing to thin black ovals. He grins.

"How about now?"

You lean back away from his face, startled. He tuts and brings a hand to the back of your neck, pulling you forward, forcing you to look at him.

"Ah-ah-ah, no. Look at me. Are you afraid?"

You stare into his eyes. His glare was intense. You swallow thickly.

"No."

His nails dig into your neck just a little bit. He shook his head and smiled.

"How interesting. You should be, you know?"

He wanted you to be afraid. Usually humans were horrified of him, and the fact you seemingly weren't pissed him off. You had every reason to be scared, but you were acting like you weren't.

"Why should I be?"

You boldly questioned. He laughed, baffled. He leaned back, speaking through gritted teeth. The tentacles tightened around your thighs and pulled, forcing them open.

"Are you stupid? Blind? You do realize the entirety of your little crew is dead because of me, right? I could kill you right now. Should have just let you drown with the rest of them."

You gave the smallest bit of a whine when the tip of one of the tentacles brushed across your crotch, not purposely. The creature quickly stopped his ranting, leaning towards you again, a smirk playing across his lips.

"Oh?.. Are you….sensitive?"

You knew your cheeks were flushing red. You couldn't believe yourself, getting aroused by some monster just barely touching you. One of his other tentacles coiled around your waist and lifted you up, holding you before him. You tried to squirm away but he held you firmly in place.

"You want more? Answer me."

Rationally, you should have said no. Rationally, you should have been trying to find an escape. But what did you have to lose? There was no way you were making it out of this alive, so why not indulge in one last fantasy before you're killed?

"Yes."

He grins and sets you back down. The tentacles come off of you for just a moment before one slithered back between your thighs. It nudged your shirt up your stomach before hooking into the tie holding your pants up, tugging it loose. Another tentacle snakes up and they both dip under your waistband and pull your pants entirely down and off.

He bites his bottom lip as he takes in the sight of you. You can see now his teeth are a little sharp, mainly the four front ones. Not extremely, but enough to be noticable. The end of a tentacle flicks at your inner thigh, a silent request for you to spread them more. He smiles when you obey.

The tip of the tentacle slowly runs up your cunt, brushing across your clit carefully. The sensation elicits a soft moan from you. He repeats this motion for a couple minutes, over and over until you are trembling with need. You look up to find his eyes entranced on your cunt.

"Please.."

You whine softly. He looks at your expression for a moment before he begins to slowly push the tentacle inside of you, his eyebrows knit together tight in concentration. A groan drags from deep in your throat at the burning stretch.

You could feel the suckers attaching themselves inside of you, creating a pulsing sensation, it was like nothing you had ever felt before. The creature hums softly, closing his eyes as if he was thinking deeply about something. He opened them again and leaned in close enough that you could feel his breath on your neck.

"You taste so sweet."

You looked up at him in confusion, trying to figure out what he meant, or how he knew what you tasted like. He laughed quietly.

"The suckers. That is how I taste. You've never seen an octopus before? I certainly can't taste with this."

With that, he leaned in and ran his tongue over your neck, and the feeling made you shudder. His tongue was covered in tiny little sharp teeth, scraping across your skin. A radula. You curled in on yourself, horrified of it. He sat back up, grinning.

"Oh my Gods. What the fuck-"

He cut your words off with a particularly deep thrust into you, making you stutter, a surprised moan slipping out. He continues at a slow pace, fucking you ruthlessly with his tentacle.

"Yeah? You like that, you little harlot?"

As he spoke he picked up a brutal pace, shoving it into you until you were writhing and clenching, crying as he brought you right to the edge. One of his free tentacles slid up and wrapped around your neck, not tight enough to kill you yet, but enough to make you struggle to breathe.

"So close!.."

You choked out.

"Give it to me."

His eyes flashed dark as he watched you intently. He was reaching a part of you that you didn't even know existed. This all felt so incredibly wrong, so strange, yet, you had never felt so good in your life.

You cried out as you came hard. He kept a relentless pace through it, fucking you until you were sobbing and shaking with overstimulation, begging him to stop. He slowly pulled the tentacle from you, leaving you feeling sore and hollow.

After a moment of just watching you, he moved his tentacle from your throat and instead to your waist, bringing you up by it so your face was close to his.

"Y'know, I was always told not to play with my food."

Your eyes widened at the realization. In the depths of pleasure, you had entirely forgotten just what you were dealing with. This beast had every intention of consuming you and there was nothing you could do to stop it.

Before you could even speak a word one of his hands slipped up and yanked your head back by the hair. His sharp teeth sunk into your neck, tearing through the flesh, fully ripping your jugular out.

The last thing you saw before the icy hands of death embraced you was his eyes. Far too human for the destruction they caused.

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campbells-content · 2 years ago

Text

Unedited, not spell checked un proofed au that I've randomly been adding to this past week. It is a big mess but its my mess.

I now present to you, road trip au.

It all started with Chloe wanting to confront her mother in new york. They are like 17ish in this. She asks Adrien to come for moral/emotional support he says yeah because he is all for Chloe redemption. This is partially through a redemption arc with Chloe. She's trying to do better but it's still and effort she has to make, it doesn't come naturally. Marinette, Adrien's girlfriend, accidentally invites herself but everyone is cool with it. It gets a little stressful when Nino and Alya also end up tagging along. Chloe is kind of worried about them getting in the way but keeps quite as to not hurt their feelings. She has yet to reach the forming her own boundaries in her arc, but we'll get there. When they get to new york things don't go too great. Her mom shuts her down instantly, claiming she is a failed legacy and that she'd never fulfill the potential being her daughter allowed her to have. Chloe wants to be mad. She wants to scream, but all she can do is tear up and run out the building.

Adrien McMoney is leaning against a very soccer mom-esk van, twirling the keys around his fingers. He asks how it went, already frowning at her expression but wanting to remain optimistic. She just passed him, mumbling "lets go" and, getting it the passenger side. He picks up and hurries to his seat. "So..." "No, I don't want to talk about it." "Okay, we don't have to yet." "Good." "Do you wanna go get food? Or we can pick up the gang and go out somewhere?" "Just do whatever." Chloe just stared out the window, watching buildings pass as Adrien drove to the hotel. Their friends came down and hopped in the back, Marinette leaning up to kiss her boyfriend's cheek. She also said hi to chloe but got no response. "So..." Adrien continued driving as he spoke. "Anyone up for apple beez?" Nino and Alya cheered from the back seats. Chloe hummed and Marinette said "that sounds great." They got there, Djwifi leading the way and Chloe trailing behind.

They got the big corner booth that wraps around and Adrien made sure Chloe was next to him but she also ended up sandwiched between him and Marinette. "You guys can order whatever, I'll pay." There were some protests, mostly from his girlfriend but he insisted. Chloe had been on a downward spiral and was almost unresponsive so Adrien ordered for her. While they wait for their food the class gc pinged.

Juleka: 'Tsunami, anyone in America?'

It was realnames, so they know its the serious gc.

Adrien: 'knda sme boat but we her'

Nino: 'wer u at goth gril'

Juleka: 'Arizona, my step mom is gonna push me to murder, who else is tsunami?'

Alya: 'Chloe'

Juleka: 'Oof'

Marinette: 'yep'

Adrien looked up. "Yall wanna go get her?" Everyone agreed except chloe who continued to lay her forehead on the table.

Adrien: "think u can hld up 4 2 dys"

Juleka: "I'll try not to kill someone."

There was a string of gl's and the crew got their food, ate, paid, and skedadled. Marinette was now in the front, djwifi in the back and Chloe in the middle alone. After about six hours they pulled into a gas station cause Nino had to use the restroom again. Adrien rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Marinette knew he couldn’t go much longer, but they wanted to get there as long as possible. "Chloe?"

Adrien looked at his girlfriend as she turned to the middle back of the van. "Hmm?" She looked up from her hands, still looking stressed as before but not in the middle of a break down. "Do you think you can drive for a little? No one else has their temporary license." "You don't have to-" Adrien tried to cut in but the other blonde just nodded and got out the van to take Adrien's place. He reluctantly swaped, taking Nino's seat in the back next to a almost passed out Alya. It didn't take long for either of them to fall asleep leaving Nino confused when he returned to the van after a potty break. Chloe drove silently while Marinette tried to make small talk but she was ignored by everyone but Nino.

After about 8 hours Adrien woke up, saying he'll take over. Everyone else was still asleep but they swaped out and Chloe sat in the middle next to Nino. Adrien drove for the next 12 hours and Chloe seemed to stay asleep for most of it, not even waking up when they stopped for food. They stopped for dinner and Adrien woke her up so she could eat something. 2 more hours and Chloe took over, now with Nino in the passenger seat and everyone in the back. Nino took a nap and woke up to Chloe stopped in a gas station on her phone. "Chlo?" "Yeah?" "Why are we here?" "I'm trying to pull up maps, I don't know how to get to her apartment from here." "Why didn't you just call her?" "...I can do that?" "Why wouldn't you?" "We're not really friends?" "Chloe, you just drove half way across the country to pick her up. I'm sure she wouldn't mind a call." He pulled out his phone and called Juleka, putting it on speaker when she picked up. "Hey, Jules, we're almost there but we're a little lost." He described where they were, and Juleka told them how to get there. When they got there, Nino woke everyone up and they got out to stretch their legs. The girls all hugged while Chloe leaned against the van. When they got in the van, Chloe went to the back, adrino got in the front and Juleka followed to the back while alynette sat in the middle. The four in the front talked, sometimes with Juleka, sometimes just among their seat partner or eachother. After awhile Juleka tried to talk to Chloe. "So, family, right?" "Yep." The blonde turned toward the window. "Sorry." "'S fine." Juleka ended up falling asleep as Adrien drove around, looking for a hotel. They found one and had to decide sleeping arrangements. "Chloe, Juleka, yall are kind of the deciding factor here." "Yeah, yall wanna share a room or a bed or what?" "I'm fine with whatever." Chloe looked out the window, only half listening. "Just do whatever is easiest."

"How about 3 singles. I don't think I can wait for anyone else to shower." Alya joked, already grabbing her and nino's bags from the trunk. Juleka and Chloe climbed out the back, taking their own bags and following the group inside. Adrien paid and they went to their rooms. Chloleka in one, Adrinette in the next, and djwifi in the last. Juleka got the first shower and stepped out of the room to go look for a vending machine. Instead she found ninette hanging out outside their rooms. "Hey dude!" "Hey Jules!" "Hi." Both Alya and Adrien got the first shower and hadn't gotten out yet. They talk for half an hour before Adrien and Chloe come out, looking for their room partners. Adrien is ready for bed but Marinette still had to shower so he hung out with them as the sun set. Alya came out, Nino went in, and Marinette and Nino came out at about the same time. Nino and Alya wanted food and Juleka had yet to fine a vending machine so they convinced Chloe to drive them to jack in the box. Juleka's had it, no one else has. Juleka sat in the passenger seat while djwifi watched jack in the box commercials on youtube. "I can drive, ya'know?" Chloe stopped in the middle of the parking lot, turning to Juleka. "I could be sleeping."

"Sorry." Chloe pressed her forehead to the steering wheel. "Where already here..." She drove forward and into the drive through. Djwifi gave their orders, Juleka got nervous so Chloe had to order for her and Adrinette. She pulled forward and paid then pulled forward again to wait for food. They got back, putting Adrinette's food in one of their minifridges because no one answered when they knocked. Chloe went to lay down, almost forgetting that Juleka was following behind her. She collapsed and laid there for a few minutes before turning to Juleka awkwardly standing next to microwave. "You okay?" "Hmm..? Yeah, I'm fine." "Not tired?" "I.. dunno." "I'm not gonna stop you from sleeping." "I know." "Then whatsup?"

She sat up, already missing the warmth of the bed. The broken expression on Juleka's face was one she knew too well. "You wanna talk about it?" "Do you?" Juleka sat at the foot of the bed. "Not really." "Yeah." They sat in silence for a minute. "She told me no matter how much potential I had, I would never amount to anything worthwhile." "Damn." "Yeah." "My step mom just preached that I was a going to hell for liking girls." "Shit, sorry." "It's nowhere near as bad as yours." "Is it? If anyone told me that I think I'd lose it. Its 202X for christ's sake." "... So... you like girls?" "Yeah..." "Thats cool." "Yep." Another beat of silence. "So... how about some sleep." "Yep." They laid down and tried to get some sleep. Chloe got to sleep pretty easily but woke up half way through the night and got up cause she couldn't get back to sleep. Juleka didn't get to sleep until after Chloe left, pretending to be asleep until Chloe left the room. Chloe just vibed outside the hotel, drinking a cup of coffee. Eventually Adrien came out with his own cup of coffee. She asked for a sip and then spat it out. "Thats just sugar milk." "I am but a simple man." "Your teeth will rot before you're 40." "Denchers are a thing." They laughed and enjoyed the morning, the air slightly lighter than its been these past few days. By the time Alya woke up they decided it was probably a good time to wake everyone up. They worked together to wake up Marinette before splitting up to their own rooms. Chloe didn't know the kindest way to wake Juleka up. She tried calling her name, tapping her shoulder, even shaking her. The goth was dead asleep. Chloe went to ask Adrinette for help but they were in the middle of getting ready. Then she went to ask djwifi and nino said to just throw water on her. She and Alya both said not to do that. They all got ready, agreeing to give Juleka 30 more minutes because they couldn't think of a humane way to wake her up.

Chloe got dressed and then went to Adrinette's room to hang out with the group. They talked and messed around, occasionally trying to wake up Juleka untill time came that they had to check out. Alyninette took the bags to the van, Adrien went to go check out and Chloe went to wake Juleka up. She tried everything sane again then decided to kindof listen to nino. She went and got ice from the ice machine and put it in a bag then on Juleka's neck. A couple minutes later Juleka woke up, a little discombobulated. Chloe told her they were leaving and then waited outside the room. When she finished getting ready they did a once over of the room and went out to the van. Adrinette in the front, djwifi in the back and chloleka in the middle. "Sooo, where we going?" "I have absolutely no idea." "Wanna go to skyzone?" Everyone turned to Juleka with stars in their eyes. They went there and ended up spending most the day there. Then they went to a nearby mall to eat and walk around until closing, just being kids. They got to another hotel only to realize Adrien lost his wallet somewhere so Chloe says she'll pay and somehow the hotel is out of almost all rooms but a couple doubles. A family came in behind them asking for a double so the group just got one room and crammed in there. "So..." "Anyone wanna play a game?" They agreed and they played some party games for awhile. Go fish, uno, truth or dare, spin the bottle. After a few hours Adrien was knocked out and alynette were close behind. Alya convinced mari and her boyfriend to carry Adrien to bed and then cuddle to sleep, leaving chloleka to talk or sleep in the other bed. Neither could sleep so they laid down face to face and whispered to each other. "When did you know?" "Know what?" "That you liked girls?" "I guess I've always known. What about you?" "Ladybug." "Makes sense." They tried to muffle their laughs. They talked for awhile and then fell asleep. They woke up with and made a game plan.

They went and got Adrien's wallet, but they couldn't get a flight for everyone for a week so they planned to mess around while driving to new york, now rotating Adrien Chloe and Juleka in driving shifts. They just be kids and enjoy themselves. When they make it back to Paris, Chloe offers a ride to drop Juleka off at the boat and Aladrininette go to Adrien's. Juleka asks if Chloe wants to hang out and they end up spending the next few days together. I have been working on this for too long so this is where it ends for now.

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