#fauna corridors

[vagabond-umlaut]

tryst, too tempest

Icarus fell for loving the Sun.

You will, for loving your lover.

▸ trueform!sukuna x wife!reader; 1.1k wc; comprises of elements inspired by the tale of 'hades and persephone' & 'fall of icarus'; warning: sukuna is sukuna, so expect the expected [mentions of violence, murder, cannibalism]; warning 2.0: the reader is not very keen to leave or not love her husband; uraume is the BEST WINGPERSON none of you two ever deserved but still got; FLUFF & ANGST & A MADLY DEVOTED LOVE YOU AND SUKUNA FEEL FOR EACH OTHER

▸ belongs to the series 'mine? yes, mine.' – same universe as the work 'six seeds, like rubies...' — but you can treat this as a stand-alone fic if you wanna!

▸ i don't own the characters, the image or the divider used. please don't plagiarize or translate or repost this. enjoy reading! ❤️

Foul winds howl through the land, the first year of your life as one Ryomen Sukuna's wife.

Servants cower before you the moment your shadow falls within their field of vision, yet their gaze stays steeped in pity and envy the entire time it remains trained on your feet. Grocers mumble to one another, eyes looking away when you move to look at the things in their shops. Even the very flora and fauna, you loved so much growing up, writing poems on them from the day you knew how to pen a poem– even the same flora and fauna feels so foreign to you—

"You do realize your importance to Master, don't you?"

Uraume's quiet question floats in through your thoughts, much akin a gentle breeze creating small ripples over the water surface. You smile. "Given how I haven't been eaten by him or sent to be murdered by his subordinate curses, I think I do."

Emotion, too similar to humor, flits across the mien of your husband's loyal follower — you decide not to think much of it. Too many days of having only them as someone to speak to, outside of requesting for a second serving of the soup or asking for the cost of yukata, has led to you imagining a smile on a person who is famous for their poker face. Shaking your head, you return to your poems, the quill fluttering over the roll of parchment you found lying at the breakfast today morning, and let out a content sigh — only for your peace of mind to be broken by the bursting of a guard into the garden, appearing too terrorstruck to utter a single coherent word.

It takes you nothing save one glance, moving from him to Uraume to your ink-stained fingers, before you find yourself keeping the papers on the ground beside and rising, feet breaking into a hasty giddy run down the corridors of the palace to the throne room where, certainly enough–

"I was under the impression you've run away in the extra while I spent sleeping, wife."

The world around you comes to a dead stop as the visage of Sukuna comes into your line of sight; you feel your heart skip two beats then begin a thundering rhythm against your ribcage.

Four years ago, if someone were to tell you there is someone who is going to free you from the gilded cage you were forced to call 'home', is going to share with you his name and is going to be the reason you will ponder the meaning of love, you would have given them a second of your time before walking away with a polite excuse.

One year before, if someone were to tell you there is someone who is going to free you from the gilded cage you were forced to call 'home', is going to share with you his name and is going to be the reason you will ponder the meaning of love, you would have huffed a quiet laugh. The first two have already come to pass (with too many lives lost and too many lives threatened) — yet the very last prediction? You would have considered it to be highly improbable, if not outright impossible.

Yet, now, if someone were to tell you the same three things, you think you wouldn't have shown much of a reaction. You would have simply turned to that 'someone' mentioned in the prediction, and gazed and gazed and gazed–

"I left the roll of parchment you bought for Mistress at the breakfast table, just as you asked, Master," Uraume's voice cuts your thoughts into half and you twist to catch them offer you both a very deep bow before hurrying out, to the left towards the kitchen, four baskets full of radishes in their arms.

You look back at your husband, only to find him seated stiffly on his throne, eyes landing anywhere but you. Stifling a giggle, you tilt your head to the side.

"Why do you act so embarrassed, my king?" you ask, stepping a timid step towards him, then another. Gleaming ruby eyes dart to your face then to your approaching feet. Something tingles through your veins. Climbing the stairs leading to him, you hum, smiling, "I don't think it's embarrassing – quite the opposite, in fact. To me, giving one's wife a thoughtful gift as that... it seems quite adorable to me."

"Be careful of your words, woman," the King of Curses growls, rising and taking a large menacing step in your direction; your smile grows intentionally too innocent, which does apparently nothing to quell his increasing fury: the precise outcome you've been wishing so fervently for.

He pulls you by the waist, flush to himself and lowers his lips close to yours, tantalizingly so. He smells very strongly of those bath salts you bought from a travelling merchant three moons back; faintly of blood and death, of the priest he diced last night after dinner — you wonder if you're worthy to be called a human, after finding the curse you have sworn yourself to forever, so terribly dear despite these.

Certainly not — but you reckon you're too far gone to care anyways, so you stop wondering such things – and lift yourself on your tiptoes to brush your lips with your husband's, then pull away a touch, words leaving your lips in a breathy whisper.

"What if I'm not careful with my words? What will you do then, hm? Will you devour me like the monster everyone says you are? Or, will you throw me away like everyone warns me you will one day– when you find someone prettier, smarter, better than me, huh?"

Two moments pass in pin-drop silence between the two of you.

Barking a noisy guffaw, Sukuna weaves his fingers through your hair, still damp from the bath you took a short time ago, and plants a deep kiss to your lips. Then parts his lips from yours, although a mere hair's breadth away, and grins, features teeming with that exotic species of malevolence you never saw yourself regarding to be charming.

Until your gaze met with his, one fated evening, that is.

Your nails dig crescents into the broad muscles of his shoulders.

Your lover's grin sharpens. "Let time tell the tale— yes, my queen?"

The next morning, you find a dozen or so heads waiting for you at the breakfast table, severed by a neat slice at the root of their neck– eyes and mouths which once looked down on your wedding with the King, frozen forever now in a scream of terror.

Forsaking the wonted theme of nature, you decide to pen a poem on scathing, soothing love, instead.

or... everyone: your husband is a despicable monster!!! you: uh-huh everyone: he might leave you for someone better!!! you: uh-huh everyone: you better not stay in this union anymore. you: nuh-nuh. i'm so gonna stay and love and fuck my hubby <3

▸ masterlist

[earthtooz]

x : THE JOKER AND THE QUEEN :*+ﾟ

in which: you are the best thing to ever to childe, but what will happen when you find out the truth about his profession?

warnings: 4k wc, fluff to angst, ambiguous ending huehue, childe is a whipped loser in love, set in canon, reader has undescribed trauma with fatui (ooo), reader is not referred to with pronouns or a gender but there is a mention of 'queen' (it's up to you how you see it), mentions of violence, childe being referred to as 'ajax', argument, both reader and childe cry, aether and paimon appearance!

a/n: this one might hurt. apologies. (girl u know i want ur love...)

The sun is radiant gold when Childe walks down his peaceful, routine path, away from the bustling commerce centre and towards a peculiar place that he’s called home in Liyue. There are still a million tasks yet to be completed, but for now, his feet take him to the solitude that waits for him at the end of day. 

When Childe arrives at the manor that is his residence in this foreign city, there’s a lifeless kind of calm, the rustling of leaves and flowing stream are the only things to welcome him, but he knows better. Doesn’t need to confirm it when his feet naturally take him upstairs, winding through corridors and towards the balcony that overlooks the horizon. 

The view is very picturesque, overlooking the grandiose Liyue mountains that are decorated with incomparable flora and fauna, but you are there, and he can’t bring himself to look anywhere else. 

You are the best reprieve for his tiring days, and although he will be returning to the Northland Bank to try and solve some of his troubles, the majority of them can be quelled by your presence alone. 

“My darling,” the words slip past his lips without any trouble, and the relief he feels when you turn around and smile at him is insurmountable. Suddenly his hardships dissipate, his lungs are cleared, and his limbs don’t feel as heavy anymore (he can’t think of many people who grin up at him like you do. He hopes you never stop smiling at him like that).

Still, he walks to stand in front of you, and collapses to the floor, resting on his knees by your feet like a faithful jester to his queen. His armour drops and Childe becomes nothing but a man in love before you because there is nothing more human than loving someone more than yourself. 

“Why so exhausted, Ajax?” You ask. 

“The days are bothersome, my love,” he murmurs quietly, slightly muffled, but he then turns his head to look up at you, arms now hugging your calves. “But coming home to you make them infinitely better.” 

“Any good home will bring you comfort,” you deflect, but your words reminds him of a distant, golden memory back in Snezhnaya. The unforgiving, snowy plains had always been his home, the frost that clung to dead tree branches, and the footsteps that he and his siblings left behind in the blankets would were memories of easier times, but here, sitting by you with a chin on your knees, is a memoir of his favourite home. 

The sensation of your hand running through his orange locks take him out of his daydreams, and he melts right into your touch, blood-stained hands completely and wholly attached to you. He commits you to memory, savours the feeling of your warmth against his so he can feel it even whilst he’s away from you. 

Can a home be a person?

He dares to close his eyes. Here, he is safe. Here, he can rest peacefully.

“How was your day?” Asks Childe, stimulating pointless conversation so that he could talk to you and hear your voice that will power him through the tedious night to come.

You begin to talk about the things you had to do today, about the customers you had to deal with, about the errands you still need to run, and all the pressing orders you needed to attend to- hearing it all places an aching weight on his chest. If Childe could have things his way, you wouldn’t need to work at all. You would live life peacefully by his side, without a day of stress as you roam around Liyue Harbour or anywhere else you would want to go, with him holding your arm (would you return to Snezhnaya with him?). 

Alas, life is not so easy nor carefree, but you make it significantly better.

“How pretty is the sunset,” you comment. “Look.” 

He almost doesn’t want to, doesn’t want to put any space between the two of you because looking at the sunset means turning around to face the rays that warm his back, but it’s you who asked him, so Childe turns around and observes the gorgeous blend of colours. He then decides that it’s nothing compared to your beauty.

“Yes, yes, splendid,” the orange-haired agrees, promptly turning back around to look up at you, with a sickening amount of love evident in his eyes. 

“You didn’t even look properly.”

“I’m looking at something much more important right now.”

You shy away at your lover’s blatancy, pushing his face to the side to break his gaze. “Such unabashed flattery, do you have no shame?”

“None! None at all!”

You sigh, a smile creeping at the corners of your lips, timidity teasing Childe as he aches to see more. Reaching for your hands, he intertwines his around them, feeling light as he basks in the softness of your touch that starkly contrast the roughness of his hardened palms. 

His gentle action causes your bracelets to jingle, pure gold and the finest gems of Liyue tinkering quietly against each other. They are gifts from him, he knows because he only buys the best for you. 

“Will you be staying tonight?” You ask. 

His gaze sadly falls to the ground as a regretful, ‘no, I won’t be’ slips past his lips. Tonight, instead of being in your company and resting beside you under the gentle beams of the moonlight, his dedicated Fatui subordinates will be with him instead. The blood on his hands will accumulate and pool by his feet as outstanding debts and scores will be settled, signed with fear and horror as the silence of Liyue sees an unspeakable monster. 

Then, the monster will come crawling to you, fatigued and dirtied with an unrestrained desire to be by your side for as long as time will allow. 

“That’s a shame,” you mutter and Childe winces at the disappointment in your tone. “You work too hard, you know?” 

“It’s just what I need to do,” murmurs the orange-haired, “wish I could spend more time with you, though.”

“It’s alright, as long as I get to see you, I’m happy.” 

He rests his cheek on your knee once more, eyes drooping close. Frighteningly quick, the fatigue he feels from all of his laborious duties catch up to him, latching onto him like a parasite. A nap wouldn’t hurt, 

Nothing can take you away from him, not without a fight. He will bear his teeth, slash his swords until the blades dull, until his bow snaps in half, and until all that’s left of him is a pulp that lies helplessly on the floor, the love pouring from his wounds. Childe only hopes that his last moments are spent in your embrace.

But what will become of this warrior when you’re his opponent? What if you are the one he fights against- what then?

When you wake up one, unassuming morning, you wake up alone. No Ajax to accompany you, the only indication that he was here being the breakfast he had prepared for you that sat atop the counter top. The warmth of the meal lingers, meaning that he must not have left that long ago, and you have to wonder how he knows you so well to guarantee that breakfast is still warm by the time you come down. 

Retrieving a book from the main entrance’s bookshelf, you catch a glimpse of a large box sitting on the entrance table. There is a note beside it, addressed to ‘Traveller’ and signed with ‘Childe’- the name Ajax has supposedly taken up whilst here in Liyue; a merchant name of sorts, he claims. 

You mentally note to listen extra carefully for any knocks at the door, but for now, the promise of a day of relaxation and no work relieves you. Being swamped up in all of your duties meant that you kept forgetting to tell Ajax that you were free for the day, but perhaps you’ll surprise him with a filling and hearty dinner. Work didn’t seem to be all that easy for him either, so you’re sure he’d appreciate the gesture. 

What you weren’t prepared for, however, was discovering a secret that your lover had been hiding from you all this time- in the form of two travellers. 

The anticipated knock on the door came near noon, and two voices from the other side are muffled by the heavy material of the entrance. “Childe said no one would be home, why would you knock?” A high-pitched voice berates.

“Because manners, Paimon!” A male voice retaliates, “even if no one was home, it’s nice to make sure. We shouldn’t barge in without warning.”

“Can you unlock the door yet? Paimon’s dying to know what inside looks like! This property looks so expensive, can you even how much Mora this place is worth! I bet the inside is even-”

The conversation is cut short when you open the door with a soft click, pulling it open slightly. What you’re greeted by, however, is a blond boy with a floating companion, who both wear similar expressions of shock.

“Uh, hello!” You greet with a small smile, feeling slightly awkward.

“Hello, is this Childe’s residence?” The floating one- who you assume is Paimon, asks. 

“You’re at the right place.”

“But he told us no one would be home today!”

“He would be right normally, but I have the day off work. Are you two travellers?”

“Yeah, we are! And who are you?” 

“My name’s Y/n, I’m Childe’s significant other.”

“Childe has a lover?” Paimon’s eyes widen even more if that was even possible. To be honest, this whole scenario was incredibly entertaining. “Since when!”

“We’ve been together for a while. Has he never mentioned me?”

“No! I didn’t even think he could have one with his line of work-”

“-Uhm, we’re kind of in a hurry, I apologise for cutting the conversation,” the blond boy apologises, giving his companion a look before glancing back at you, friendly smile and shining eyes to match his innocent demeanour. “We’re here to pick up something.”

“Ah yes, I did see it. It is rather big, though, could I trouble the two of you to help me bring it out?” You ask, feeling rather embarrassed to bother your guests, but you don’t feel confident to carry the package alone. 

“No trouble at all,” he reassures.

“We can come in, right?” Paimon asks, voice lilting up an octave as mirth shines in her eyes.

“Yes, yes, no need to take off your shoes.” You open the door wider for the two, the floating one flying in first, immediately marvelling at the interior, admiration tangible whilst the blond is a little more reserved, thanking you first before coming in.

What an intriguing pair.

“My name is Aether, and that’s Paimon. I just realised we hadn’t introduced ourselves.” 

“It’s lovely to meet the two of you. Do you do business with Childe often?” Your tongue almost strains at the mention of his business name, but if your boyfriend had appearances to keep, then you needed to try to uphold it too.

Paimon flies over to Aether, joining the conversation. “You could say that. Sometimes he causes more trouble than it’s worth!” 

“That sounds like him,” you huff, an affectionate smile appearing on your face. “The package is right here, but like I said, it seems quite heavy.”

“Allow me,” Aether volunteers, stepping forward to carry the box by himself. He stumbles a little due to the weight, and you hold your hands out just in case.

“Are you sure you don’t need any help?”

The blond merely huffs before shifting the box to one arm. “No need, we’re troubling you enough already.”

“I see. I apologise, if I had known what time you were coming I would have brewed some tea for you two, Liyue has a very fine selection,” you say, fiddling with your thumbs. 

“Aww! Paimon would have loved to try some!”

“Thank you for the offer, I would have liked to try some too, but we are short for time,” Aether explains.

“Then just wait here, I’ll fetch a bag for you to keep on your travels.”

You leave the entrance room before either of them have the chance to reject your offer, and you’re back almost immediately. A new batch you ordered just came in yesterday, so it did not take long for you to try and figure out which one you would like to gift Childe’s… ‘client’. 

“Here,” you hand it to Paimon, who hugs the bag closely to her body. “Travellers need to be at their top shape, right? Hopefully this is something that will rejuvenate you on your journey.”

“This is too kind,” Aether begins, “thank you. We’ll make sure to great care of it.”

“It’s fine! Anyone that is associated with Childe are welcomed here, so long as they’re a nice person that is,” you laugh.

“You can bet we’re the nicest of the bunch!” Paimon exclaims. “I doubt he meets many nice people being a Fatui Harbinger and all!”

A… what? 

Sensing the sudden shift in your mood, Aether’s eyes widen and he tugs at the leg of his companion. “Uh, it was nice meeting you Y/n! Paimon and I will be off now, thank you for the package and tea!” The last statement is nothing but a blend of words toppled over each other as the two practically hurry out of the estate, door slamming behind them in their rush. 

Their abrupt leave didn’t impact you much though, because what did Paimon mean when she said ‘Fatui Harbinger’? Was… Ajax hiding something from you? Or is he Childe? What is the use for a merchant name, anyways? Businessmen don’t usually have identities to keep, but how dire could it be in his industry? After all, second names are only used when wanting to protect yourself from harm, to keep people from knowing who they truly were… a code name for… an organisation like the Fatui to identify them by.

You feel sick, and your hand weakly snakes up to cover your mouth, the other gripping the edge of the table for some sense of stability in your crumbling world. 

Memories come flooding back like a tidal wave, drowning you in the heaviness of the thoughts that clasp around your ankle like anchors. It’s hard to push them away, to ease your mind from the nauseating images that still haunt you to this day: the desperation of your family, the cries, the helpless feeling of being a mere pawn in the game of the Fatui. 

(It hurts to think that you never escaped. After finally surviving through years of hardship, you’ve returned right into the hands of those who caused it, and the thought reminds you of how defeatable you always will be. 

Ajax- Childe, has likely caused devastation similar to the one that wrecked your village years ago. He has blood on his hands, the same ones that have held you tightly against him and stroked your hair. You have kissed his lips- ones that command horrendous acts for others to see through. You love his heart, the same one that probably froze over in Snezhnaya years ago.

You are with someone who has inflicted pain and suffering onto others, and will continue to do so for years to come. But worst of all, you are with a liar, who now makes you question what is and isn’t true.)

Childe returns home at sunset, the rattling of his keys against wood causing fear to crawl down your spine. 

“I’m home!” His cheery voice calls from the front door, and to his surprise, you are sitting on one of the more uncomfortable couches that is merely for decor rather than functionality. “My love, why are you sitting there? There are far more comfortable seats for you-”

“Welcome home, Childe.” 

He pauses in his steps and feels the world stop momentarily. “Darling? What’s with the name?” The Harbinger tries to laugh, but really, you’re scaring him. Very much so. “Come on, you know you don’t need to call me that. Here, I brought back some food that I thought you would enjoy from-” 

“When were you going to tell me?” You’re standing now, slowly stepping towards him as your clothes flow with your every movement. Childe has no time to admire though, not when you and this swirling premonition in his gut is frightening him. 

“Tell you what?” The pit in his stomach already knows.

“Must you act a fool?”

“To what?” He continues because it’s his first instinct to lie. “Darling, please tell me what is troubling you.”

“Please don’t play dumb, I just need the truth, especially now out of all times, are you really a…” you plead, voice trailing off as you hold yourself back from shattering. “You’re not who I think you are, are you?”

“Why do you sound so sad? What happened?” He whispers, beginning to feel the back of his eyes burn as tears invade his eyes.

“A-are you really with the Fatui? A Harbinger, too?” The words fall from your mouth like anvils and suddenly the title that brought him pride and honour through the years dulls. His eyes widen, and the gulp of his throat is all you need to know. 

“I love you,” large, blistered hands desperately reach for you, aching to hold you still because he’s terrified. What if you slip through his fingers and run? What if you go somewhere he can’t follow? “I love you-”

“Just give me the truth, Ajax. I practically know, I just need to hear it from you,” you choke. The call of his name causes him to cave, a hesitant ‘yes’ slipping past his lips, crushing you with the weight of the truth. You cry first and like dominoes, his tears follow.

“Don’t cry,” he hiccups through his own sobs, hands locking around your wrists like bracelets. “I hate it when you cry.”

“Childe-”

“It’s Ajax to you,” the Harbinger pleads, grip tightening in desperation.

“I don’t know what you are to me anymore!” You retaliate, “this whole time, you’ve been lying to me when you know about what happened. I’ve told you everything, and you still decide to keep this from me!” You stumble away from him with more force than necessary, bumping into a table nearby and causing the vase that adorns it to drop. A shrill crack echoes through the room, and instantaneously, he rushes to your aid, asking if you’re hurt as pieces of fina china lay on the floor, water pooling around his feet. 

Mixed in the puddle, are the anxieties and worries that come fumbling out of his mouth. He then pretends like it doesn’t break his heart when you scramble away from him. 

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” You ask, voice strained and quiet. 

“If I had told you, would you have stayed, or would you have ran away?”

Your silence chokes him, filling up his airways with lead as he nervously awaits your answer. “I don’t know, but I wouldn’t have stayed.”

Childe’s expression glistens with sadness, so crystal clear that it makes his eyes gleam like diamonds deep from the Chasm. “I see.”

“-But I would have appreciated it hearing from you than someone else.”

“Then how did you found out?” He demands, forcing his tone to be soft. 

“If I tell you you’ll go and hurt them,” you murmur. “I don’t want that to happen.” 

With one look at you, it’s clear that you think Childe will hurt you too with the way you cower from him, as if he could ever lay a finger on you or even point a blade in your direction, but the vision hanging on his hip feels heavier than ever. It’s a haunting reminder of who he is, and what he is capable of. 

You feel miles away, how on Teyvat is he going to pull you back?

“Who are you really?”

“I’m yours-”

“-I’m not in the mood for your flirtatious quips,” you snap, hugging yourself. 

“But it’s true, I love you, Y/n, don’t you know?”

“No, no I don’t. I don’t know what else you’re lying about.”

“Oh come on,” he exasperatedly exclaims, “we’ve been together for so long, the day we met you met the real me, as Ajax, not Childe of the 11th Fatui Harbingers. What’s the big deal? Just because I follow the Tsaritsa doesn’t mean I’m not the same Ajax you know, Y/n, please.”

“It’s not only that you’re apart of the Fatui, Ajax- the world is grey, there are things I will never understand. I’m upset because you lied. Like you said, we’ve been together for so long, yet I’m only finding out about this now, so what else don’t I know?” Your voice breaks.

He takes a step forward, but you only take one back, maintaining the distance even though the Snezhnaya native wants nothing more than to just hold you, to secure his place by your side because what can he do without you? 

“What else are you keeping from me? What can I trust about you anymore? You say your real name is Ajax, but how can I know that?” 

Seeing you so upset, so glum, so devoid of the light that makes you you causes his heart to cease, his throat to dry, and sheer terror to flood through him. 

Childe’s seen the face of death, multiple times before, yet he’s never been this scared in his whole life. He’s losing you, he can feel it, but what can he do about it? What can he say that could possibly bring you back? (What good is a jester without the throne he was sworn to entertain? You can’t desert him, he will perform a thousand tricks if it enamours you into staying, will sacrifice more of himself to you if it means you will remain here, safe and sound in his arms.)

You are the reason he returns home everyday, to make sure that you are healthy, happy, and most importantly, that you haven’t left him without a word. If he had to, he would have killed for you, fought anyone and everyone until all that remained of him was the warrior heart that beat for you. But he could have never preempted this, nothing could have ever prepared for him to be the reason that you were leaving.

“I need some space,” you murmur, “to think this all through. Give me some time.”

“What? No,” murmurs the orange-haired. “No, no, no, we can talk about this, right?” 

“Talking won’t do anything, I need time alone.”

The idea of being away from you causes Childe to almost sink to his knees and succumb to the bones in his body that ache to beg at your feet to stay. The cry of your name is weak, but so very desperate as he looks at you through a blurry vision.  

You’re walking towards the front door, each step you take is another one away from him, away from the paradise that he’s been gifted. There are many ways he can stop you right now, his options are far from limited and although they are physical, they are all very effective, but he surrenders instead. Drops his weapons as he lets you go.

“How long?” Is all that Childe asks.

“I don’t know,” you murmur, hand reaching for the door knob. 

“No more than two weeks, please.” Childe doesn’t know if he can handle being away from you for even a day, let alone fourteen. 

“I’ll try.” 

“I’ll search all of Teyvat if that’s what it takes to bring you home,” he affirms, clearing through sobs just to get the words out. He doesn’t back down without a fight, that’s just who he is, so his next words are etched with certainty and clarity, hoping to pierce your defences with arrows of undying devotion. “That’s a promise.”

“I know.” 

You shut the door behind you.

© EARTHTOOZ 2023, do not steal, translate, repost my fics and do not recommend my fics onto any other site.

apologies if there is incorrect lore + if anyone is mischaracterised LOL i have only been playing genshin for like a month.

@fallenssun for u :>

[cheezeybread]

Hello! May i have a request with Jade and the reader who is experienced on hiking and camping.

When reader found out that there is something relate with camping or mountain expedition club (the Mountain Appreciation Club) they immediately wanna join the club.

Jade might surprise (or amused) on how well prepared they were and reader explaining that they were one of the member hikers as a 'Gadget Hiker' and ever went to Appalachian Mountain that is one of a dangerous mountain when at night.

I hope you like the idea and have a good day! 💞

Fun Fact! .....mmm, Jade go brr.

He's such an interesting character to me because he plays his cards so close to his chest. Like, we get why Azul is the way he is because we know his backstory. Floyd is pretty much an open book. But Jade? He's just a silly guy who keeps his thoughts to himself. But is still just as terrifying as his twin!

So fun!

Anyway, I love the request, and I hope I do it justice here!

I got a lil carried away :/

╔═*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*═╗

Being bored was something you never thought would happen in this world. There was far too much for you to do, after all! You had to survive, for one thing. You had to help Crowley with his work! You had to clean on campus and fix up Ramshackle the best you could! You had to study for classes that you couldn't even take exams for half the time due to your lack of magic! You had to make sure Grim didn't fail his classes, because if he failed, you would, too! You had to help other students with their emotional issues! You had to-

But after some time, the distress and anxiety it all caused you to think about became...rather mundane. The worry of what might happen and what tomorrow might bring didn't seem so terrifying to think of. It had become your norm, after a while. You weren't too sure if it was a necessarily good or bad thing, but at least you weren't constantly burnt-out and an anxious mess!

With this newfound inner peace, however, came the inevitable "boredom". Or something like it. The craving for something new.

Or something reminiscent.

Walking out of Alchemy class after a particularly rough day, you hoisted Grim up onto your shoulders- as became the norm, since his stubby legs couldn't keep up with your gait- and began the trek back to Ramshackle.

But something caught your eye as you passed by the main corridor of the building. A cork-board with many different posters and papers on it that you couldn't even see the board underneath it anymore. Some of the papers were pinned with the same tack, some were stacked up so tightly that they fell to the ground in a cluster of assorted papers.

There were a variety of things to catch your eye on there- job advertisements, offerings for contracts, odd jobs to do around school, study tips, tutoring help, library hours, all sorts of things that would pertain to students at NRC.

But the one that caught your eye most was a club poster. It wasn't very good, by any means. A plain white background with basic pictures of mushrooms, trees, and fauna placed carefully around the print in the center of the page.

"Mountain Lover's Club

Meets at 5'oclock every Wednesday, Room 2-B"

There were no names signed on the paper to show who owned the club, nor the other members in it, but the word "mountain" was enough to send a delighted chill up your spine.

The intense memories of your old world, of the birds in the trees, the sound of wind rushing through bushes and water running nearby, of the feeling of rocks underneath your feet and rough tree bark scraping across your hands flew through your mind, and you stared at the paper for a minute longer than you should have.

"Oi, Hench-human!" Grim yowled, smacking his paw across your face (gently, of course, and without his claws out) to get your attention "What're you staring at that for? I'm hungry!"

"Hm?" Jolted out of your thoughts, you glanced to Grim with an absentminded smile "Oh, yeah, sorry about that. Let's get back home," as an afterthought, you glanced at the paper one last time, memorizing the time and room number before continuing on your trek "And if you ever hit me again, Grim, you're going to have to sleep on the floor."

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊

"Room 2-B, 2-B, 2-B," You repeated under your breath like a mantra, walking through the halls of the main building an hour after dropping off Grim at the dorm. It felt odd to be in here after class, you thought to yourself. It didn't seem like the same place without a horde of students rushing to their next classes, or idly standing in the hallway taking up space.

Of course, there were other clubs meeting in this building, and occasionally one or two students would pass by you, or you would walk by a room with several students quietly chatting inside, but even so. It still felt empty.

You crossed your arms together, peering at every room's door, looking for the right number combination. Eventually, you stumbled onto lucky Room 2-B! The wooden door was open slightly ajar, so you knocked quietly on it before pushing it open the rest of the way, stepping inside.

It was a classroom you've never been in before, but looked to be something relating to math, given the half-erased equations up on the chalkboard. Chairs and desks were pushed neatly to the walls of the room to allow for more floor space, and there were a stack of textbooks underneath one of the desks. Something that wasn't part of the classroom, you could guess, was the folding table set up in the middle of the room. Set on top of it was a cage, of sorts, made up of glass.

"Hello?" You called out, wincing at how loud your voice sounded in the empty room. Huh. No one was here. But this was the right room, you were sure of it. Maybe the group went out to get something and would be back soon? Either way, you could afford to spare a few minutes waiting on them.

So you curiously stepped forward, towards the table, leaning down a bit to properly look at the cage. A terrarium, you knew by looking more closely at it. Inside was a pile of loose, fluffy dirt, and on the table beside it, laying on a towel, were small containers. Some were filled with more of the dirt, one had different colored moss, one had what looked to be seeds in it, and one (with the lid tightly firm on it) held a mess of squiggling insects that looked similar to the ones on your world, but too different to be exact.

The sound of footsteps, light on the floor, could just be faintly heard before someone entered the room. Before you could turn around, you heard them ask "Can I help you?"

To say you were frightened after turning to face the person would be an understatement. To say you almost had a heart attack would also be an understatement.

You turned, and for a moment, you got a flash of when you had last met this man. Sharp teeth, sharp claws, a predatory look in his eyes as he twirled around your group like a cat playing with his food.

He stared at you, baring his teeth in a sadistic grin, his brother beside him mimicking the same expression.

"Now, now, it wouldn't do for you to accomplish your task so easily now, would it~?"

You let out a breath, taking an instinctive step back. Which, unfortunately for you, was right smack into the table behind you.

Jade's eyes grew wide as the polite, forced smile left his lips, and he moved far too quickly for someone of his size, darting not towards you, but for the objects behind you. He wedged himself between you and the table, grabbing onto the table itself with one hand, and steadying the terrarium and containers with his other arm; while propping you up so you wouldn't stumble any more.

"Careful!" He hissed, as you practically shoved yourself off of him and moved closer to the door.

You tried to catch your breath- it all happened within a few seconds of him coming into the room, and frankly, you didn't have the mental fortitude to process it all as fast as it occurred. Lifting up a hand to signal for him to give you a minute (not that it mattered much anyway, since his back was still to you and his attention on the table), you steadied yourself and took the opportunity to examine the situation.

Jade Leech, one of the twins working with Azul, hunched his long figure over the table, his hands darting between containers to check their contents. The last time you saw him was not just when he and his brother were stopping you from reaching the museum during your contract, but when Azul had overblotted. Both of the times you saw them were more than enough to leave a lasting impression on you.

They were formidable in every sense of the word, and in any form they took. In the sea, they were creatures who could squeeze you so tight you'd burst. Fast and deadly, predatory instincts ran rampant through their blood. On land, they were still just as intimidating, with powerful capabilities in magic and physical strength. Together, the twins were an unstoppable force. Even separate, they were immovable objects. With Azul and Floyd, after the incident was said and done with, you knew where you stood with them. Floyd was an open book- he had no qualms with sharing how he really felt, and although he did occasionally have ulterior motives, you knew that he was pretty straight-forward. Azul was standoffish after everything, most likely ashamed and insecure about his show of grand weakness and "cringe", as Floyd put it. Azul left you alone as long as you left him alone.

But Jade? Whoo, boy, that man was an enigma! He was silent, deadly, and just as cunning as Azul was. He was a man of few words, in most situations, and the thought of getting on his bad side was enough to make your stomach queasy.

Oh, well, best to try and get on his good side now, at least.

"I'm sorry- you just- scared the crap out of me," You began, finally able to regain the use of your voice.

Jade straightened himself up, deciding that the objects on his table were no longer in harm's way, and turned to you, a curious look in his eyes "I apologize, as well, I should have known better," He said softly, that same polite smile plastered on his face again.

Oh. You hadn't expected him to apologize. How....strange.

"Ahem, well, I guess we can put it behind us, then," You continued "Is this the room that the Mountain Lover's club meets in?" Please say no, please say I'm in the wrong room, please say no, please say no-

"Indeed it is," He responded with a gentle nod, his smile widening a bit "Do you have interest in mountains, by any chance, Prefect?"

Say no, say no! "I do," You idiot! "I was wondering what all this club does- are the rest of the members coming soon, or...?"

"Oh, no," Jade chuckled, crossing to the other side of the table and taking a seat busying his hands with building the terrarium, packing the soil down on the bottom "I'm afraid it's just myself at the moment. But as for what we- or shall I say, I- do...I hike in the mountains just off-campus and gather specimens I find interesting. Leaves, plants....seeds," He smiled and held up the container that had some small black seeds in it to demonstrate his point. As he sprinkled some of them into the soil, he continued "I also gather different species of wild fungi to experiment with, both in dishes and otherwise, as well as to grow in the Botanical Gardens on campus."

Glancing back up at you with a look that sent goosebumps crawling up your arms, he asked "If you're interested in joining, or, say...wish to understand the 'club' a bit more, then might I suggest joining me for an excursion tomorrow? I'll be spending all of the late afternoon and night looking for nocturnal flora- plants that you can only find during the nightly hours."

You wanted to say no. As much as you loved the mountains, and nature, and missed your home, you wanted to say no.

But the feeling of a cool breeze on your skin, the scent of the trees and flowers, even the itching feeling of unwanted bugs on your skin forced you to open your mouth and say:

"I'd love to."

Jade's teeth clacked together as he chuckled, the sharp things looking as if they might be ready to tear into your skin at any moment. "Wonderful. I'll meet you at the campus' exit tomorrow at...shall we say 5 o'clock? Most classes will be done by then, and it gives you a chance to get homework done." How thoughtful. As a hindsight, he added "And I do hope all of that contract nonsense is water under the bridge, to quote a land-dweller's saying, right?"

You swallowed thickly and forced a smile, flashing him a thumbs-up "Yup! Water under the bridge- I'll see you at 5 tomorrow, bye-" And with that less-than-graceful statement, you ran out of the room as quickly as you could and back to the safety of your own dorm.

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊

At 4:45 in the afternoon the next day, you set out of your dorm, giving a tearful Grim a goodbye hug and pat. Grim was convinced you wouldn't come back alive. While you hoped otherwise, you couldn't say that you didn't think the same thing. As soon as you told Ace, Deuce, and Grim what you were planning on doing, the entire trio began yelling at you for being such an idiot...and then started mourning for your future demise at the hands of Jade Leech.

"All night, alone! In the secluded mountains! With HIM!" Ace yelled, practically tearing his hair out. As with Grim, you shared Ace's pain. But you needed some sort of connection to your homeworld, and if Jade could show you those mountains and help you establish that connection, then by Sevens, you would go up in the mountains with him!

After the boys finished their pre-funeral for you, you got to work on packing. It was fairly difficult, since you didn't have the privilege of having your old belongings here with you, but skipping out on a class and borrowing some money from Trey (with the promise of working at Sam's shop to pay him back) gave you the opportunity to buy some of the items you would need for the excursion. Bug spray, hiking boots, good pants, a jacket, hat, water, food supplies, sleeping bag (just in case), emergency supply kit, medicine....everything that you packed in your old bag back at home, you bought and packed then and there. Good thing you were used to the heavy backpack, or else you would most definitely be struggling to walk right now! As soon as you tugged that backpack on, all of the old muscles in your back that had been honed to hiking perfection perked right up, almost seeming overjoyed at being used again.

Already at the exit to the school's campus was none other than your new hiking buddy and potential murderer. When he saw you approaching, he made a show of checking the time on his watch "Prefect! You're five minutes earlier than the set time."

"So are you," You pointed out with a small smile.

Jade raised a brow, considering your point "Fair enough. Being early means being on time- being on time is considered being late for some."

"Very wise, Shakespeare." You nodded sarcastically.

"Who?"

"I, uh-" Shoot, new world, they didn't have Shakespeare here! "Nothing. Lead the way, Mister Leech."

Brushing aside your awkward blunder, Jade began to walk off of campus, his own backpack eerily similar to yours, you noticed "Now, during this trip, I will not be sharing any of my supplies unless it is under an extreme circumstance. You had time to prepare ahead, and I expect-"

"I know, I'm good," You interrupted him, holding up a hand as you jogged to walk next to him. You felt better already, more at home, as the two of you made your way to the nearest treeline. The rising slope of the mountain was enough to send an exhilarating rush through your veins.

"Oh, you are, are you?" Jade smirked "We shall see, Prefect, we shall see."

And see he did. The two of you began the trek up the mountain, taking the time to admire every bit and piece that nature had to offer on the way. When an unknown creature came into view, Jade was prepared to pull you back to safety, but was surprised to see you keep your distance, despite curiosity about the animal. When there was a pond, Jade expected you to immediately dunk your water bottle into the water to fill it back up, but was shocked to see you pull out a water purifying device to cleanse it of bacteria before filling up your bottle and offering him the use of the device, as well. Bug spray? You had some already. Bandaid to cover up that nasty-looking scrape from a rock? You had one already out of your bag. When it got dark? You pulled out a lantern of your own instead of mooching off of Jade's light.

"Prefect," He started after a few hours of hiking, his breath heavy from walking so long, but filled with a delighted energy nonetheless "Tell me, how did you know to bring all that you did? I expected to be covering for you left and right, but each time, you leave me in a state of utter confusion."

You laughed at this, pausing to look at an interesting bug perched on top of a branch eye-level to you "Ooh, well, I said that I liked mountains," You explained, catching back up with him "Back on my world, I was pretty into all this nature stuff. Hiking like this was enough of a thrill for me. I know what to pack like the back of my hand, and your world is similar enough to mine that my list of things to pack is still good."

As Jade stopped suddenly and squatted down to dig a peculiar-looking blue mushroom- one of the "nocturnal flora" that he was hoping to find, apparently- you leaned up against a tree.

"I even hiked up on the Appalachian trail way back when."

"The what now?" He asked, pulling out an empty container and gently placing the mushroom inside before locking it and stuffing it back into his bag. He stood up and began to walk again, with you alongside him.

"It's this mountain range back at home. It's considered suuuper dangerous if you don't know what you're doing." You smiled at the memory "There's a lot of things that can go wrong up there. You could get lost, trip and break a leg without getting found for a few days, tons of predators, venomous animals, you name it!" You sighed, closing your eyes for a second as you recalled the feeling you had of traveling that path "Oh, but it was so beautiful..."

Jade was quiet for a moment, and you glanced back over to him to see what if he had wandered off or something. But he was still next to you, as silent as ever. But he was just watching you with a small smile on his face. Not the same smile that gave you the willies, that reminded you of a killer ready to eat his next meal. But one that was a little softer around the edges, one more...genuine.

"What are you looking at?" You asked with a snort, lightly hitting his arm. Imagine if Ace were here to see you hit Jade Leech! He would die on the spot!

"Ooh, nothing, Y/N," He answered quickly, quickening his pace to walk ahead of you "Hurry up, we're nearing the top!"

You just rolled your eyes and tried to match his pace. It was a few minutes before you realized that that moment was the first time he called you by your own name instead of 'Prefect'.

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊

The top of the mountain was truly a sight to behold. There was a small clearing, and a pond that held even smaller fish inside of it. And alongside all of that, there were a multitude of flowers sprouting up everywhere, despite the colder temperature. They had white buds with a pink dash of color on the outer ridges, and a purple antenna-looking thing stood in the middle of the flower.

"Those are commonly called Dead Lillies," Jade explained once you remarked on their odd looks. He was currently unpacking some of his stuff, since the two of you decided to rest a bit before heading back down "They bloom in colder temperatures, and the stalks contain a sappy liquid that can be used as glue- it's popular amongst hikers, mainly because said sap can close up a wound without introducing toxins to the bloodstream, and because the petals taste of honey."

"Huh," You remarked, tugging off your backpack and sitting beside Jade. He offered you one of the nutrition bars he had brought along for the trip, despite claiming at the beginning that he wouldn't give you anything. Despite you having plenty of snacks, you accepted it with a smile "Pretty cool...you sure do know a lot about land for a mer-thing, don't you?"

"Mer-thing?" Jade gave you a sardonic look "I believe the correct term is mer-man, although what would I know, I'm just a mer-thing!"

"Shut up, you know what I meant!" You reached a hand out and shoved him lightly.

"Fufu, I suppose I do know quite a lot about land for a sea-dweller," He nodded "I find the difference in our plants and nature to be...well, rather fascinating! Under the sea, where my brother and I were raised, at least, it's quite dark. Not much grows under there, and what little does isn't quite as pretty as the flora up here. When we first came to live up here, I was taken aback by the stark differences and felt compelled to look into them more."

"Cool," You agreed, laying down in the grass to look up at the night sky.

This trip certainly was quite a...well, trip. You started out uneasy about it all, to say the least. But as the time dragged on, you noticed a difference in how Jade acted. As soon as he was in nature, not surrounded by students, he was...more calm. Relaxed. He smiled genuinely. He laughed.

And, most importantly, he didn't scare the crap out of you. Unless he wanted to- but even then, you could tell that he was just pulling a prank, and didn't want to genuinely upset or hurt you.

"I quite like the stars," Jade admitted once he settled down into the grass as well, using his jacket as a pillow to rest his head on as he stared up at the sky. His expression was one of utter delight, like a child looking at something wonderful for the very first time.

"Oh?" You questioned, propping your head up with a hand as you glanced at him "Are you interested in Astrology, too? Land and sky?"

The eel-mer waved a hand at you flippantly, not bothering to look at you "No, no, nothing like that. I just...like the way they look." With his mouth slightly ajar, the tips of his bottom teeth barely visible, and the shine of the star's lights in his eyes, he looked...oddly at peace. He finally looked his age. He wasn't the terrifying, intimidating figure that sent most of the students at NRC running away like cowards. Right here, he was...just a teenager. A teenager far, far away from his home that somehow managed to make a new home on land, in the solitude of nature.

You quite liked this teenager, you realized.

Maybe you would join the club, after all.

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[shmorp-mcdurgen]

Aftermath

After waking up from a ten year stasis, Gordon finds himself back in the ruins of Black Mesa.

Notes: Hi half life fandom this is my first fic posted for HL. Also this is the first reveal of my HL au: Aftermath! So thats pretty neato, anyway hope you enjoy this short little prologue thing

Blackness was all he saw; darkness for miles, with pure nothingness filling the gaps. He couldn’t feel, see, or hear, and even trying to think of a single thing was proving to be a greater challenge than he’d expect. His thoughts blurred together into a sludge of meaningless ramblings, leaving him unable to process where he was, or how he got here. He had vague memories flashing in his mind, glimpses of concrete corridors and alien fauna. It was maddeningly barren, with the silence being enough to drive a man mad. How much time has passed since he arrived here? Has it been seconds? Days?  Time itself felt nonexistent at that very moment, simply a construct that meant nothing in this place. It felt as if he was in a dream, trapped in his own head as he traversed his own subconsciousness, floating in a vague void, unable to act or react to anything that could possibly be in there. He all but gave up hope of escaping this dark Hell he had found himself in, until he felt himself being pulled by an invisible force, and abruptly, there was light.

Gordon’s senses came back to him as fast as a train crash, the feeling of barely healed fractures and lacerations coming back to him as his nerves fired. Ringing flooded his hearing, with the HEV’s computer voice, an artificial voice he came to despise, sounding muffled and making it hard to process any of the words being said to him. He couldn’t move, his limbs feeling as if they were being pinned down by a massive weight, as if he was on the bottom of the ocean. The numbing pain shot up his legs and arms, though despite his wishes, there was no way he could even scream, with his throat tight and his vocal cords useless. He couldn’t bring himself to open his eyes, with the weakness draped across his body making even that menial action nearly impossible. He began to wonder if the infinite void he was in before would be better than reality, with the idea of feeling nothing rather than feeling everything to a painful degree seeming like a better option than what he was forced to bear.

As he laid on the rubble, he began to hear something new past the waning ringing; footsteps approaching him. Gordon desperately wanted to move, to protect himself from the new danger, yet as much as he tried, his limbs refused to budge. Soon he realized it was multiple sets of footfall coming near, and soon, he began to make out a voice.

The words slurred together in his mind, making the message hard to decipher, but a few words cut clearer than others:

“Breathing. Freeman. Alive. Help. Out.”

Gordon felt his limp body being moved, raised from the ground by someone, or something, being dragged across the concrete floor to somewhere else. Despite his foggy mind, Gordon couldn’t help but consider the worst; Xen creatures dragging him elsewhere to slaughter him as he did to them, and Military personnel taking him somewhere to question, torture, or even execute him were among the possibilities his short-circuting mind had come up with. However, before he could even do anything to try and prevent whatever fate might befall him, he felt himself drifting off, falling unconscious yet again.

He slowly stirred awake once again to hear the sound of an engine running and tires rolling across a gravel road. He was almost afraid to open his eyes, yet when he gained the strength to do so, his eyelids opened and he took a brief glimpse around. Through his blurred vision, he saw he was in the backseat of some sort of vehicle, laid across the seats. His metal HEV pressed against his body awkwardly, making any movement he could make uncomfortable. His head was supported with a wadded-up hoodie, and his body was covered by a thin blanket that had been thrown onto him. It was strange to see simple kindness extended to him, though he couldn’t help but wonder if it was a trick to make him let his guard down. He glanced towards the front seats, seeing the back of the drivers head, but not who was in the passenger seat. They were speaking to one another, but yet again the words fell out of Gordon’s grasp. He felt himself beginning to drift off again, and despite his wishes to stay awake, he grew limp as he fell unconscious yet again.

When Gordon next woke up, he was greeted with cold air around him. As he was pulled out of unconsciousness, he began to hear rhythmic beeping beside him; something he immediately recognized as a heart monitor. Gordon felt as if a weight was taken off of him, and when he gained the strength to open his eyes again, he saw the reason why. His HEV suit was missing, and he was instead wearing a pale blue hospital gown from what he could gather. He was laying in a bed, with its stiff mattress, albeit uncomfortable, feeling like heaven compared to laying on the cold concrete floors of Black Mesa. He saw bandages covering parts of his body, old blood seeping into them. Past his bed however, he could barely make out anything, with everything being blurry and hard to make out. He must have lost his glasses somewhere, but it was the least of his worries as the pain began to seep in. 

All his limbs felt sore, making it hard to move a single finger. His leg had a throbbing pain in his knee, and he felt as if he was being slashed with knives whenever he attempted to move his arms. His heart felt heavy and his lungs stinged with every breath. When was the last time he took a break to breathe? It felt like the days worth of fighting for his life hit him all at once, making him feel nearly paralyzed, and too tired to do anything to fight it. He began to wonder if it was best to be asleep; at least he wouldn’t have to think or feel. He began to wonder how he got here, racking his brain to try and bring up any clue of what had happened. The last thing he remembered before he woke up was being knee-deep in what he could assume was blood, staring up at something…he couldn’t even begin to describe. He killed the thing keeping the portal between earth and the border world open, so why did he feel so…empty? It felt as though his accomplishment meant nothing, as if he was missing something deep inside. He closed his eyes, attempting to fetch his blotted out memories for a shred of explanation, all before he shot his eyes open, a single image returning to his consciousness.

The man.

Gordon’s memories became clear as day when he remembered the man in the dull, navy blue suit. He remembered its unnaturally piercing eyes, staring deep into Gordon’s very being as if it was examining his very soul and regrets. He remembered its face, with it looking aged, yet it felt ageless at the same time. He remembered the unnatural way it stood, as if it was being held up with strings. He recalled the way it spoke to him as if it never spoke in its entire life before that very moment. He never got its name or its motivations, but something about remembering the man and its almost human facade caused his heart to skip a beat. Paranoia crept up in his mind, and the feeling of being watched began to be overwhelming. Something wasn’t right, as if something he didn’t see was coming after him. He needed to get out of here before it arrived.

Gordon forced his arms to move as he sat up in his bed, wincing before he turned to step out of bed, clasping the side of it with one of his shaking hands. As soon as he put weight on his leg, however, he collapsed onto the linoleum floor, ripping his IV out of his arm in the process. He let out a small squeak; the closest he physically could get to a scream, a pathetic noise that reminded him just how helpless he truly was at this moment. He pushed himself up as much as he could, arms shaking at the exertion, but he couldn’t get back onto his feet. As he tried to get off of the floor in vain, the door to the room opened, and a person appeared in the doorway. It was a nurse, coming into the room only to be greeted by Gordon unsuccessfully escaping his bed. She appeared surprised, immediately approaching him to help with getting him back onto the bed, despite his best tries to escape her grasp. She said a few things to try and comfort him, but Gordon couldn’t process the words before she quickly left the room, coming back with another doctor, presumably for help.

Gordon hated the fact he was back in the bed, with a new IV being attached and bandages being replaced. He wasn’t sure when the next threat would rear its head, and he needed to be prepared for when it did. Yet, he was all but incapable of doing anything of use, and he had to accept it. He could barely even move, less shoot a gun or swing a weapon at anything. 

“Dr. Freeman?”

Gordon was surprised to finally make out what someone was saying, looking up at the doctor who had just finished reattaching his IV. 

“You’re lucky to be alive,” He stated, almost smiling slightly. It was unclear if it was to try and make light of the situation or if it was relief. “Even more lucky to be awake right now. Though please, don’t try getting up again, alright? You might reopen stitches.”

Gordon stared at the doctor’s face blankly before leaning back and staring at the ceiling as the doctor continued talking.

“A couple of scavengers found you back at the ruins of Black Mesa, or, at least that's their story. You’ll have to speak with the police about the entire situation.” the doctor continued, “The Vortigaunt said you were lucky to be found in there, apparently had to drag you out of there.”

Gordon’s brows furrowed, not recognizing the word “Vortigaunt” despite the doctor bringing it up so casually. He looked back at the doctor with a puzzled look on his face. 

“I’m sure everyone will be happy to see you’re alive,” The doctor chuckled, trying to make light of the situation despite Gordon not reciprocating the cheerful atmosphere. “You’ve been gone for a long time, so a lot of us thought you would never return.”

Gordon’s puzzled expression turned to a look of borderline anger, wanting to ask so many questions but being unable to; he didn’t even know if the doctor knew sign language, and he didn’t have paper to write on, that is if he had the strength to hold a pencil.

“You look…upset,” The doctor said, his smile fading, “I can understand why, but if it brings you any comfort, you have hundreds of thousands of people who were wishing for your return. You’re a hero, you know.”

Gordon doubted that sentiment.

“We…believe you were in a coma, sir,” The doctor glanced at his nurse, as if he wanted help breaking the news, “...one that lasted ten years, so you're...lucky to be alive at all.”

The doctor continued to explain the situation, claiming that Gordon was lucky to have his brain still functioning despite being asleep for that long, but the words went through one ear and out the other. Gordon didn’t process the doctor trying to speak to him, only staring into the wall behind him as he leaned back in his bed. He didn’t even blink once as reality seemed to become meaningless, dissociating as his brain wouldn’t even allow him to process the time lost. To him, he was gone for a few mere moments, but an entire decade had passed in the time it took him to escape the void he was in for a brief, yet agonizing time. He wondered if his friends had forgotten about him, if they were even alive after the Resonance Cascade; they almost certainly believed he was dead at the very least. Gordon had been dead to the world for so long, he felt surprised anyone came to rescue him at all. After all, who would rescue the man who caused so much death in the span of a few days? Was he supposed to go back into normal society after everything? Was he supposed to be praised as a hero, despite the fact he was just a lowly scientist who just wanted to survive?

Gordon wished to go back to sleep. Being awake felt more agonizing than the temporary stasis ever did.

[wolven91]

Human Guardian - One Size Fits All

Jon's radio crackled to life on his hip.

"Jon, can you get across to the 'Emmalis' sector please. We have an urgent escort request." Came dispatch's dispassionate and clinical tone.

The human grunted as he lifted with his knees to put the box that he was running inventory on, back onto the shelf where it belonged. With it safely secured he grabbed for the radio and thumbed the button for him to speak.

"Jon confirms, heading to Emmalis now."

"Acknowledged" Came the immediate reply.

He returned the radio to his hip and began a swift march to the part of the station which hosted the shorter alien delegates. It had been a busy week, it felt like every race had turned up all at once and realistically it wasn't far off the mark to say that. It was the first time since the circus when Jon had first passed the Guardian Initiative selection process that it had been this busy.

Apparently there was a summit of some kind coming up and with the impressive range of creatures appearing on station, both great and small, Jon ,like his colleagues was being run ragged. Most Guardian work wasn't actually being dedicated to a single person. At least, not for a Guardian who stayed on one station. Jon's role was to just being a helpful, welcoming presence. If there was a job to do that helped the station, he was there for it.

He smiled, nodded, waved or gave short cheerful banter to the other aliens he passed on his way. Most wore the similar blue and yellow jumpsuits of Guardians, or the grey and white of maintenance. These corridors being off limits to other creatures that weren't part of the station's staff. Plenty of vulnerable points in these sections, unwise to let crowds of people into the access corridors.

The access corridors ran to every corner of the station, regardless of who's sector it was or which race occupied those quarters. Staff would always be able to reach a delegate or guest in rapid time compared to those who had to use the more formal and fancy public walkways. The warren of tunnels weren't a secret, but like the 'Disneyland' of old, they weren't readily acknowledged by station as a whole. It was easier to just be as unobtrusive as one could be while playing host to the other races.

As Jon reached the 'Emmalis' sector, the half of the station that hosted much smaller races than the majority, he slipped on his 'Escort Harness' and showed his security card to the reader.

As he waited for approval and when his harness secured, he grabbed at his radio and thumbed the button again.

"Jon at Emmalis Sector, Subdoor 'Itty bitty'."

"Acknowledged. Stop calling it 'Itty Bitty', it's the 'Ikit Bitaris' entrance." Came a different voice from the radio, but none-the-less as formal as the last.

The light flicked from red to green and the bulkhead's bolt snapped open allowing Jon to walk through the door and into the 'airlock' checkpoint. A glass booth with a canid guard sat at a desk gave him a courtesy glance before allowing him to step forward.

"Mornin' Jon." The guard drawled. "You got a delegate needing to get to the council room early, 'parently it's urgent."

Jon nodded and shrugged.

"That's fine, are they ready to go?"

"Yeah, 'got their whiskers in a twist so don't wait around."

Jon stepped through the now open sliding door to see a pair of chintians waiting together on a raised platform. Chintians were one foot tall, furred or even spined mammalians. They reminded Jon of meerkats or perhaps chinchillas? Or some demented mixer of the two. The human gave a mental shrug. All the races could be compared to old Earth fauna, but you'd think yourself mad as none of them ever fit the mould 'perfectly'. There was always too many differences to say, 'you are a bipedal X'. Christ the taurians looked like cows and bulls but were carnivorous! Ever seen a cow with a set of teeth that would be better suited to a shark? It causes the mind to lurch.

The two chintians had delegate badges pinned to their belts and turned to the human as he passed through the checkpoint. As Jon stepped up, he turned his back on the delegate and stood still. This was all protocol, they had done this before and so had he.

The two chintians clambered up onto the various hand and foot holds of the harness that Jon wore and settled themselves.

Jon waited a moment before stepping away from the platform, at first taking practised care not to go too fast or jostle the harness that had countless loops sewn into the fabric allowing for easy grabbing and carrying of the smaller races, but there was still a knack to not jostling passengers. They simply hung on and Jon, or any escort, would carry them to their destination. This way, the smaller species didn't need to worry about being hit or accidently kicked by the larger or perhaps unobservant others.

Too many diplomatic incidents had happened and all parties involved considered this an acceptable resolution.

"We need to go fast! We must be there fast!`` Came the voice of one of the chintians, over his left shoulder. He felt the weight shift as the creature clambered up the harness with ease.

"Do you consent to running? Do you understand the risks and dangers of this action?" Jon asked, hoping they'd agree.

"Yes yes! Speed is needed!" the voice confirmed.

Jon began to sprint. Avoiding the busier paths, he kept to the edges of the corridors which were usually left empty for exactly the reason Jon was using them. Go-fors, messengers, assistants. They could always been seen scuttling from one location to the others, whilst those not on a time crunch could meander in the middle of the corridors.

He made good time to the centre of the station. From afar, the giant central council room looked like a crown jewel of the station. It was truly gigantic and often would have fog or clouds develop inside due to the sheer size of it.

He crouched and dropped off the delegate who thumbed a tip for Jon, but said nothing as he scuttled away from view and into a room.

Jon shrugged and mentally asked himself what he needed to do next and how to get there the quickest.

He was interrupted as his radio crackled to life again, he grabbed at it before the voice finished speaking.

"Jon? You done with that Escort?" Came the voice of a priority dispatcher, distinct as they were more like 'Account Managers', dealing with those who pay extra for services and their role was to ensure the higher paying guests were served in the right manner.

"Yeah, he's arrived."

"You got a 'Ursidain' request, a request by name this time. You've made an impression with folk."

Jon's face scrunched in puzzlement. He wasn't aware anyone even knew him. Although the name tag's all over his uniform would not lend him any anonymity.

"Got an idea as to what it is?" Jon asked as he jogged towards an access corridor to take the shortest route to the ursidain quarters. It shouldn't take long, he'd just circumvent the Council Hall.

"It's an ursidain called Fon, she sounded a bit distressed? Does it ring any bells?"

The realisation hit Jon like a bucket of cold water.

"Ah, yeah, I dealt with her last week. She's got hefty anxiety. It's likely I'm going to be 'booked' for the rest of the day."

"Cool, no problems, I'll ready 'double pay' if you're engaged through a break or the end of your shift."

Jon wrapped up the conversation and eventually made it to the ursidain quarters.

His next role was almost certainly going to be a 'Support' role. Even some of the larger species on the station had a habit of being nervous like everyone else. On a confined, diplomatic station, it was better to devote resources to calming them down then let them work themselves up.

Jon had met this 'Fon' a couple of weeks back, a mature giantess of a teddy bear, but one with pretty severe anxiety. As it turned out however, having Jon nearby, simply holding her paw or rather being held in her paws, was enough to keep her calm. He'd made the error at the end of his work to try and reassure her that everything was fine, she hadn't been a nuisance and if she needed him; he wouldn't mind.

Jon never thought for a second that she'd actually ask for him, let alone pay through the nose for him specifically to come help her. She must have serious cash to be able to not only request him by name, but double pay due to a person request is paid for by the person who made the request.

Exiting the next checkpoint, he didn't have a chance to even look round before a massive thick paw appeared and snatched him from his own raised platform, the environment now designed for creatures far larger than a human. He was immediately pressed into a sea of thick and soft brown fur. He had to tilt his head backwards just to give himself the space to breathe as a second giant paw began to rapidly stroke his hair again and again as a deluge of words poured from a frantic, motherly voice far above the trapped human.

"Oh I'm so glad you're here! I was so worried! The speech is coming up and I don't know if it'll go well and I suddenly got a feeling that something had already gone wrong! And then I thought about you and was worried the feeling was to do with you! It was-"

"I'm fine! It's okay! Take a breath!" Jon cut in; his voice strained as his ribs creaked from the pressure of being squeezed into the matronly Fon.

Two giant bellows beneath the fur and flesh that Jon was still being pressed into began to inflate, it was humbling to feel such massive biological machine work as he was pressed into it.

The bellows deflated in a loud sigh above him.

"I'm sorry Jon. Do you need me to put you down? I-I-I can go without you if you're busy?"

Jon mentally kicked himself for not taking the opportunity to escape, but he was a resolute professional. He was one of the very first human guardians and he was glad to be the one that showed the aliens that whatever they can do; humans can too.

"No, I've nothing else to do today." He lied. "When your call came in I was twiddling my thumbs, you know?"

The pressure increased again as he was swung from side to side by the giant bear-like alien.

"Oh I'm so glad! You could sit on my lap while the speech is given! Oh that would help so so much! Thank you thank you!"

He was pulled from the chest and brought up to a familiar face, that had puckered its lips before planting them firmly against his face. The 'light' suction nearly pulled his entire head in between those lips before they disconnected with a dramatic 'mwah' and he was returned to a galactic sized bear hug and it felt like they were moving again. He rubbed the wetness from his face as the voice spoke up again, vibrating him as it rumbled through the giant's body.

"I'll get some snacks, and a blanket and we'll make it all cosy in my delegate booth!"

Jon tilted his head at that. The delegates, especially the ursidain ones,did always get the nicest food after all.

[eywaseclipse]

The Songs of Freedom Chapter 2: A New Tomorrow

Characters: Sarentu OC named Kirani, Ri’nela, Nor, Teylan, So’lek, Priya, background original characters, and a special cameo

Synopsis: The group of you make it out of the clutches of the RDA and So’lek leads you to your new life and introduces you to the resistance HQ allies and space as you acclimate to your new beginnings.

Warnings: None just a little mention of ptsd and angst

Word Count: 3k

The group of you follow So’lek into the thick of the Kinglor Forest breathing in its crisp fresh air. Your anxiety bubbles hearing all the foreign sounds of creatures humming with life sticking close by wondering how long it will take to find the place he’s promised to take you all to. After what feels like an agonizing amount of time, you see a string of run down looking shacks surrounded by the flora and fauna of the Kinglor Forest environment, in your line of sight. The strange combination of human and Na’vi activity causes you to raise an eyebrow following So’lek walking up the grated handmade ramp.

The four of you exchange looks, while So’lek presses his fingers to his throat comm. “Priya, I’m bringing the Sarentu group back, get the door ready.” He pings to someone. He turns around and looks to each of you, “Come. This is the way to your new life.” He smiles softly. A wave of relief floods your senses watching him smile, something inside of you says to trust your intuition and follow suit as the others catch on and do the same. 

There’s a large door that opens automatically with a loud creaky hiss, while you cautiously step into the compact tunnel. “You will need these Co2 respirators for the main wing where the humans dwell. The Na’vi have their own corridor.” So’lek hands you four small masks connected to a cylinder compartment strapping the clip to your waistband and slinging the mask over your neck as So’lek demonstrates. You step into the main wing, taking in the environment as your eyes advert to a seemingly run down yet newly renovated living area. You see small desks with human tech, plants, tassels. You look more closely to your right and observe lights strung up on the bannisters, with pieces of clearly handcrafted tapestry hanging from the ceiling. You look to the floor as your feet feel the artisan rugs and and plush pillows wiggling your toes on the soft fabric.

This place is a stark contrast compared to the TAP facility. Where this place is warm and inviting, your time was spent in a cold sterile metal box for the entirety of your youth. You feel tears prick your eyes, feeling a foreign emotion bubble in your chest; relief. For the first time in your life, you’re not riddled with the fight or flight gut reaction. Your eyes turn to a stunned Ri’nela as she seemingly takes in everything as well. “What is this place?” Teylan asks nervously.

So’lek hooks his fingers around his gadget belt, as a small human approaches you all slowly. “Welcome to Resistance HQ! You must be the Sarentu kids! Oel ngati kameie!” She pronounces the roughest sounding Na’vi you’ve ever heard, as you crank your head down to examine this strange little thing. So’lek just snorts out and shakes his head. “This is Priya. She is an ally to us.” He explains simply. Your ears flick with confusion. A human ally? Why.

To Nor’s disgust he practically snarls as a result. “You have allied with the humans! The very kind who are destroying our home!?” He spits out laced with venom. So’lek doesn’t seem to mind, and sighs. “We cannot win this war on our own. They have proven their allegiance here. All humans at resistance do not condone the RDA.” He defends this human.

You look back down to the woman with the oddly colored pink hair, and click your tongue in curiosity. Watching as Ri’nela, Teylan and Nor all figure out this small creature in unison. “Uhm! Right! What So’lek said!” She begins to awkwardly rock back and forth scratching the back of her neck. “I was a biologist hired by the RDA, studying the botany on Pandora. But once I saw what they were doing here I… I couldn’t continue! That was about when Jake Sully over threw the whole operation and kicked some serious ass!” She chuckles out

Jake Sully. You’ve heard his name before. He was practically a legend among all Na’vi. Once born of Earth, inhabiting a dreamwalker body like Alma, he was tasked to persuade the Omatikaya clan to relocate so the humans could steal the resources. He eventually betrayed his own kind and became the chosen one. Toruk Makto. You’d all overhear Mercer throwing fits over the ambushes Jake would line up one by one seemingly taking down multiple RDA base locations one after the other.

“Priya here assists us with the others, we have many displaced Na’vi here who joined the fight of freedom against the sky demons.” So’lek explains. To your left you overhear light footsteps approaching, as you all turn in curiosity, “You rang?” A tall beautiful Na’vi woman stands before you dressed in what you know to be traditional garments. Unlike So’lek she just wears a simple green beaded loincloth that looks to be mimicking leaf like patterns, and a matching top that cascades gently over breasts with a lush looking material you’re unfamiliar with. 

You gaze to her face, strong features standing out to you unlike your own. Her eyes are smaller, more angled, cheekbones sharp and strong hearing her beads jingle lightly in her perfectly braided hair. Your eyes advert to her figure where she stands practically as tall as So’lek looming over the group of you. “Ah. There you are. Can you get them to their new living quarters please?” So’lek looks to all of you like you’re just another order of his.

The female Na’vi chuckles and rolls her eyes playfully. “Oh Eywa, always so bossy. I’m Tani. Of the Omatikaya. Welcome to your new home. I hope this one wasn’t too much, I understand you’ve all been through a great deal.” She offers you a sweet and empathetic smile placing her hand on her chest. Ri’nela clears her throat, “Thank you. We are… so grateful. We would not have made it if weren’t for your efforts.” She speaks shyly. The rest of you nod and agree quietly.

“Follow me. I’ll show you your living quarters.” Tani flicks her head to the direction of a hallway corridor. You take one last look around you and turn to So’lek, who’s eyes are already on you. You flinch ever so lightly as his gaze takes you by surprise. You can’t quite pin the look in his eyes, catching as they scan your body up and down curiously, just like you did to him earlier. 

You awkwardly cough and begin to follow this Tani as the others do the same. “The boys can follow me.” So’lek walks beside her, all of you following blindly into the dim corridor. “I hope you’ll find our facilities much better than your previous. The showers are stocked up with handmade soaps and salves I replenished and it takes a few minutes, but the water is hot.” Tani turns and smiles.

Back at TAP you were forced to routinely clean your skin with sterile smelling anti bacterial soaps, as Mercer would call you all “dirty, and un pure” as if it was a form of punishment for being Na’vi. Sometimes you’d be forced to scrub so hard your skin would go raw, and the water was always cold. You approach a sealed door as Tani presses a large red button with an automated female voice counting down. A small hiss, and the door opens up following suit. “This is where the Na’vi stay, you don’t need the masks in here. Alright girls you’ll be right across from each other, and my room is just a couple rooms down.” She points to a door that has markings painted on with blue and white patterns and several hand crafted beaded tassels hanging from the door knob. 

She leads you into your room first, as you look around the small cozy space. It’s warm toned with multiple layered artisan rugs covering the metal floor much like the living room area. You can’t help but sit on the bed as it bounces back, plush and squishy unlike your rock hard bunk bed back at TAP you shared with Ri’nela. “I laid out some clothes for you.” Tani smiles softly. You look onto the dresser and see a neatly fold grey shirt and sweatpants. “Thank you…” You smile gratefully. “Of course. I’ll leave you to it. When you’re all set come to the living room and we can show you the mess hall for dinner.” She winks at you closing the door.

You hear Tani in the hallway giving the same lowdown to Ri’nela as So’lek explains to the guys just down the hall. You take in a deep sigh and close your eyes. All the events of the last 24 hours seem to be catching up with your body, now cranking your neck to the side and feeling tight knots formed. You grab your clothes and look to see a built in bathroom to this space, walking in slowly to examine it. The room is small, but not too confined. There’s several smaller rugs all scattered along the floor, with the toilet near the end, and the small stall to the right. It’s warm toned as if painted over the original color of metal. 

You lay the clothes down on the sink table, and find that there’s a fresh towel already hanging for you on the sliding glass door hanger. You open the door the shower and see a small plant hanging from the shower head, it smells fresh and minty as you inhale it’s invigorating aroma. You crank the nozzle of the shower and hear it hiss to life with the water pouring out, as you step aside and begin to remove your TAP clothing. The military cargo pants and labeled shirt are peeled off your body as if you’re shedding your skin, heavy with relief. You don’t even think twice and throw them in the garbage can next to the sink a symbolic act of your new beginning here.  

You take a deep breath and look to your foreign reflection in the medium sized mirror hanging over the sink. At TAP you never had the luxury of mirrors, Mercer would harp on and on about how you and the others were supposed to reject vanity and embrace the life the humans gave you. You’ve only ever seen your reflection in shiny surfaces. 

Your eyes look at your naked form, riddled in puckered silky scars that will forever serve as a reminder of your past. You look to your face, bringing a hand up to cup your cheek looking at your big beautiful light amber eyes. Your nose is a strong Na’vi nose not as wide as you’d expect, with beautiful full lips and azure blue skin. You’re quite mesmerized by the bioluminescence scattered along your forehead chin and nose, tracing it everything lightly. 

Your hair has seen better days, never having learned the proper way to braid, it sticks out in all directions with your poorly woven braided beads feathers. Back as a child Mercer would not allow you or Ri’nela to braid your hair the traditional Na’vi way. Despite his attempted efforts you’d do it anyway, which resulted in him strapping you down to a chair and chopping your beautiful black locks off. Eventually he stopped badgering you once the Na’vi resistance formed after this Hallelujah Mountain war they spoke of.

You begin to slowly remove the beads and feathers, gently unraveling your sad excuse for braids now knowing that this is your choice. Your messy hair falls softly, cascading over your bare shoulders begging to be properly washed as you turn to see if the water has warmed up yet not that you can’t handle the cold.

Once satisfied you step in gingerly closing the door behind you, as the lukewarm water hits your skin deliciously. A huge sigh of relief escapes your mouth, slowly turning the nozzle down to the left, eager to feel the warmth caress your skin. Once the steam is evident you happily sigh once more, smelling the aroma of this refreshing plant. You look to the side where the small caddy hangs and observe the small jars of oils and shampoos.

You pick up a small glass jar labeled “shampoo” on it and squeeze a generous amount onto your palms as its spicy musk scent hits your nose with delight. With a good lather in your hair you begin to massage your scalp over and over feeling the dirt and grime lift out. Satisfied, you rinse thoroughly grabbing a bottle labeled “conditioner” As you repeat and twirl your hair until happy. You see a scruffy looking ball that you assume is used to cleanse your body with, and look to see the bottle “body” labeled on it. You squeeze a little bit of the liquid out as it plops onto the scrubby ball lathering it up with water.

You relish in this shower, not having experienced anything so luxurious in your entire life. After fully rinsing and cleansing your body, you turn off the water and step onto a plush rug. You reach for the towel and begin drying off your body patting slowly, hanging it back on the rack to get dressed. 

You see a cotton pair of panties clearly designed for the avatars at this base and step into them, followed by your shirt and comfortable pants. A small brush sits on the shelf next to the faucet grabbing it and running it through your freshly clean hair watching it glide down your shiny strands. For a split second you look back in the mirror and pinch your arm as if in a dream, feeling like this is all too good to be true. You don’t possibly deserve the refuge you’ve just come into, because all these years you were led to believe the RDA was your true home.

A pool of tears well up in your eyes thinking about the trauma the four of you have endured, not knowing anything but your treatment by Mercer and his henchmen. The clear erasure of your Na’vi identity will take time to slowly make amends with, you sigh to yourself. You suppose it can start here. 

After finishing up in the bathroom you turn off the lights and head into the bedroom when you see So’lek sitting on your bed. A large scream escapes your mouth causing you to clutch your chest as your heart flutters fast. “Oh shit!” You sigh. “Sorry I did not mean to frighten you. The others have made their way to the mess hall with Tani and you hadn’t so I thought to check on you.” He smiles kindly.

“Oh, yeah I have not been so accustomed to such luxuries before. I took a long shower, sorry.” You reply sheepishly feeling the guilt seep in. “No. Do not apologize. You have been through a lot. I just came to check on you.” He raises his hands up. “Well I don’t need a babysitter.” You sigh. You knew he only meant well, and you immediately wince at your harsh words. You can’t help the way you act, as if a knee jerk reaction fueled by your defense mechanisms. He just chuckles, seemingly unbothered by the little outburst. “Well if you are done being a brat, I will show you to where we dine.” He stands up tall and smirks. 

“Uhm, yeah that’d be great I’m starving.” You quickly grab the Co2 mask and secure it back onto your body, and catch him glancing down at your arms littered in various scars, like earlier as if he wants to ask how you got them. Your tail twitches uncomfortably, as you exit your room silently walking down the hallway. “They’re cigarette butt burns.” You sigh.

So’lek says nothing and turns his head to you, and back to the long dim lit hallway. “Hm.. I suppose those are not self inflicted?” He asks calmly, damn well knowing your answer. “Mercer.. he would punish us for speaking our native tongue when we were little. As you can see, I was heavily reprimanded.” You choke out as the past memory races through your mind. “If you like those you should see the cable wire burns on my back! If you need to see how much pain I can take.” You spit out with teeth gritted as a clear indication of trauma in your eyes, but So’lek just looks to you and stops you in your tracks placing his hands on your shoulders.

“Little one, I am not your enemy here. You are safe, what is your name?” He asks softly. You wince, and blink several times not even thinking about the fact that you’ve skipped formalities earlier when he burst though the doors like some fictional tell tale hero you’d read about. You swallow the lump in your throat and make eye contact with him awkwardly. “Kirani…” You just whisper. His ears perk up and flick back and forth, as he smiles “That’s a beautiful name, that’s it?” You know what he’s implying. “I don’t remember my full name..” You sigh sadly gazing to him. “We must change that…I will help you remember. You are Sarentu.” His chest puffs out proudly. 

“Right…” You lightly wiggle out of his grasp, his hands residing on your shoulders much longer than you’re comfortable with but he doesn’t seem to be insulted. “You have a fire inside of you, don’t lose that spark. But you are safe here.” He waves out his hand as you approach the dining hall filled with human and Na’vi communing together in one space. So’lek lightly pushes you forward to walk, finding Ri’nela, Teylan, and Nor sitting with Tani and Priya all smiling and eating food.

“Come, I will show you where the food is.” So’lek beckons you. You go into a cafeteria like room where he hands you a tray and fills it up with delicious smelling rations of various foods. “Here.” He hands it to you like a peace offering while he fills up his own tray, walking out and back into the main dinging area. “Kirani, you made it.” Teylan smiles as you sit down next to them. “Yeah I uh, got distracted in the shower.” You feel your cheeks heat up awkwardly, as So’lek sits beside Tani observing you quietly. 

Ri’nela laughs while Nor just picks at his food. “Hm.” He huffs. “I smell like a flower” Ri’nela smiles. “Yeah me too..” You chuckle and begin to eat the food in front of you, much larger than the rations you were given at TAP. Your belly growls aggressively begging to be satiated properly, as you eat small bites. The chatter around you seems to be a comfortable conversation watching Priya recount the findings of samples from the forest today. 

“I’ll have to teach you guys to weave traditional Na’vi garments, we can’t have you walking around like that.” Tani smiles with her nose scrunched up. So’lek laughs and your ears pin back in shame, as if he’s really laughing at you. He notices your shrunken demeanor and his laugh immediately seizes, blinking several times at you. “It’s best we look as Na’vi as possible. I refuse to wear anything that makes me look like an RDA soldier.” Nor replies. You sense a little bit of bitterness in his words, but no one says anything. 

Priya and Tani go on about how the sky people and Na’vi founded resistance HQ in this part of the Kinglor Forest, and how there’s several sites all around Pandora. “Must you go on about this. Look at them, let them enjoy their meal.” So’lek teases Tani. She just shoves him lightly and laughs, “We will teach you the ways of the Na’vi. We are your new family.” She speaks with warm conviction as her fangs poke out from her wide infectious smile. You turn to Teylan, and Ri’nela who grab your hands as you see Nor smiling cautiously across from you. The unspoken bond you hold for each other could move mountains, and you eat graciously together with the excitement of becoming true Na’vi on the horizon of tomorrow. 

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Taglist: @justtweetie

[whencyclopedia]

Homolovi

Homolovi or Homolovi State Park (formerly: Homolovi Ruins State Park) is a cluster of archaeological sites that contains the ruins of eight pre-Columbian Ancestral Puebloan (Anasazi) and Hopi pueblos in addition to some 300 other remains and petroglyphs. Homolovi lies within sight of the Little Colorado River in a floodplain, 2 km (4 miles) northeast of Winslow, Arizona in the United States. Archaeologists believe that Ancestral Puebloan peoples and the ancestors of the Hopi tribe once occupied these settlements, which spread out along a 32 km (19 miles) corridor on the Little Colorado River, at different intervals of time from c. 1250-1425 CE. Two pueblos - Homolovi I and Homolovi II - each contained more than 1,000 rooms in ancient times, and 40 ceremonial kivas are scattered throughout the park. The Homolovi ruins are unique in the ancient Southwest as they have helped archaeologists better understand the cultural transitions and social changes that occurred in the region during the 13th through 14th centuries CE. Four of the sites at Homolovi are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, and the park is currently managed by the Arizona State Park system.

Geography & Prehistory

Homolovi or Homol'ovi is Hopi for “place of the little hills,” and Arizona's Hopi Reservation and Hopi Mesas are located only 84 km (52 miles) north of Homolovi. Lying in extreme close proximity to the Little Colorado River (Hopi: Paayu), Homolovi is situated in the Great Basin Area Desert Grasslands and is 130 km (80 miles) southeast of Flagstaff, Arizona, 117 km (73 miles) from Wupatki Pueblo, and 217 km (135 miles) west of Gallup, New Mexico. Homolovi covers a total area of 1,800 ha (4,500 acres) and sits at a high desert altitude of 1494 m (4,900 ft). Homolovi only receives about 178 mm (7 in) of precipitation annually.

Scientific and archaeological research has shown that nomadic, prehistoric peoples occupied the area that now comprises Homolovi intermittently from c. 4000 BCE- 400 CE. The Little Colorado River made the area somewhat attractive to an array of fauna: cottontail rabbits, jackrabbits, beavers, prairie dogs, porcupines, waterfowl, fish, elk, deer, and antelope come to the river seasonally. Ancient prehistoric peoples and tribes came occasionally to the region while hunting and migrating seasonally, but they did not construct settlements within the region until c. 500-600 CE. The reasons for this are likely due to the area's very dry climate and lack of wood and storable food resources. When possible and climatic conditions were favorable, early sedentary people hunted and gathered like their prehistoric forebears, but they also began farming, growing corn, beans, squash, and other small crops. It is also known that they grew cotton for textile production. Yucca and rice grass have grown in the area for several millennia, and indigenous people utilized rice grass as a staple food when the maize crop failed.

There were two periods of inhabitation of Homolovi prior to the construction of the pueblos at Homolovi in the 13th and 14th centuries CE: an Early Period from c. 600-900 CE and Middle Period from 1000-1225 CE. When favorable climatic conditions existed in the 11th and 12th centuries CE, indigenous peoples built small pit houses as opposed to large-scale constructions made of adobe. These earlier occupations of the area around Homolovi appear short-lived and sporadic, lasting around a decade or two. This pattern of periodic settlement and abandonment is likely due to changing local environmental conditions and the Little Colorado River. Depending on the year, the river could be bone-dry due to lack of rain or prone to flooding due to heavy snowfalls near the river's headwaters. It is known that the Little Colorado River was flooded regularly in the early 1200s CE and that the decades leading up to the 13th century CE were wet.

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[anxiousdreamcore]

Will you ever make these Street Kid Spider fic or art? I still have your AU somewhere in the back of my mind

(Street kid!Spider AU introduction post)

I’m honestly amazed ppl still want it 😭 🫶 I’m currently a bit busy but here’s a little drabble to quench your hunger;

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Kiri couldn’t help but aww at the cats curling around her, meowing in curiosity. Their old neighborhood had little to none strays but those who survived there had been very agressive. It was a surprise to see such a big pack of animals practically welcome her in.

Then again, she always had a way with fauna.

Traversing the abandoned mall, so overgrown it long turned into a jungle, she eyes the rusted metal and fading plaques. The sight was almost apocalyptic, if not for the blooming greenery in every crevice.

And then a loud clang erupted through h the corridor. Strays jumped in surprise, hiding behind their new friend, but the noise was made by a falling metal pipe. Nothing to be afraid of.

However, the featherlight steps that followed were a more valid reason for alarm. They sounded human. Kiri wasn’t alone.

The girl was taught better than this, she told herself as she followed the noise. She was taught better than to wander the abandoned shopping district after school and follow mysterious sounds.

She knew better, she thought, carefully climbing a tree into a dark attic.

The room seemed completely empty at first, safe for the napping cats on the old mattress, but the more Kiri looked, the more evidence she gathered that the old storage space was clearly lived in. There were personal items scattered about, like stacks of old, worn comic journals and then a smaller stack of equally worn sketchbooks. There was a tattered skateboard placed against the wall, and graffiti on the other side of the room, with spray-paint bottles resting on the floor. Above the mattress hung taped Christmas lights, and under them, a number of sketch pages detailing environments, stray animals, plants, people, and even some mythical creatures from the Na’vi religion, like the strong angstik or the gentle atokirina.

A Na’vi artist? Kiri thought, smiling. The stranger she’d heard not long ago suddenly seemed much less threatening.

“Have your mama never taught you how to knock?” Then came a raspy voice from behind her, sending an immediate chill down the girl’s spine. It felt cold, but youthful. Its owner couldn’t be much older than her. Slowly she turned, her blue eyes meeting a pair of deep brown ones, staring directly into her soul.

It was a teenage boy, but quite the bulky one for his age, if his scratched and bruised biceps were anything to go by. He wore a pair of camo pants, decorated with beads and trinkets, tucked into miss-matched boots. There was some hand-crafted jewelry on his wrists, and a necklace tied around his neck two times over. Some small wooden trinket hung off of it, together with a small crystal, but the clothing was by far not what grabbed Kiri’s attention most.

This stranger had what she could only describe as a lion’s mane. His hair, pale at the ends and dark at the roots, curled and coiled around his face, then shoulders, like a pack of vipers and she could see braids, big and small, hang in no particular pattern, as if the kid braided them out of boredom and just left them there.

“Uh, sorry? I got curious. Your pets are cute…”

“They’re not pets. I don’t keep them here, and they don’t rely on me for food.” He responded, deadpan. “You can’t own a cat, or any animal really, only be part of their pack.”

Kiri’s eyes widened, surprised at the respect he payed these creatures, then proceeded to smile once more. His manner of speaking about living beings very much sounded like something her grandma Mo’at would say.

“Of course. Never thought otherwise.” She responded gently, and the stranger relaxed his stance, carefully approaching. Kiri could now see that the "print" on his old shirt was actually a painted image of a viperwolf, another mythical creature spoken of in Na’vi legends.

“Who are you?”

“I’m Kiri. Kiri te Suli Kìreysì'ite.” She reached her hand to her forehead and gestured forward, gauging if he’d know what it means. Na’vi culture often fell victim to people who liked it only for the visual appeal, but the greeting was a lesser known sign, only something the people did towards their own. “My family moved into town couple days ago.”

The blonde tilted his head akin to a feline, eyeing her face, before his brows relaxed and he repeated the gesture, proceeding to switch into fluent Na’vi, which was another pleasant surprise. “Spider. This is kind of my house.”

“I’m really sorry.”

“Eh, you haven’t stolen anything yet so I’ll let it slide.” He shrugged, smirking. “Welcome to Awa’atlu. How’s the city treating you?”

[coquelicoq]

murderbot for fandom asks?

oh good question.

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most) it's gotta be murderbot itself! in fact if i had to pick a single blorbo as supreme blorbo across all fandoms, it would be murderbot probably at least 50% of the time.

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped) i mean probably three is the closest but it feels infantalizing to say that? i'm struggling with this definition, i think. but three is definitely my cherished beloved and i have certainly clutched my hands to my bosom when overcome by the great affection i feel for it, so i feel like that should count.

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave) VOLESCUUUUU!! smartest member of a team of smartypantses is the one who goes "hmmm. i think i will retire actually" after almost getting eaten by hostile fauna/murdered by hostile corporates. he got some trauma and at the earliest opportunity fucked back off to his group marriage about it. aspirational.

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week) i don't know if i am quite that enthusiastic, but i do appreciate kaede, who's been in like two scenes and all i know about her is that she has no interest in dealing with ratthi and tarik's "sexual discussion". girl, same. i also like tural, who is an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire of indah and mensah and secunit's little glare-off in the trans lateral corridor just standing there like 🥺 please may i do my job now 🥺

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave) this is hard! i don't know that anyone really falls into poor little meow meow territory in the classic sense. in my opinion thiago did nothing wrong so i don't think he really counts, but in the spirit of picking an unpopular/controversial character who i actually like a lot, i guess he's my answer.

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason) i think it's kinda fun what a horrible day leonide is having in system collapse. like it is objectively a terrible time for her, she gets betrayed, she gets shot, but she's also experiencing such disorienting events as "weaponry says a swear" and "if it weren't bad enough that we're in a high-speed chase running from the people who betrayed me, someone in the backseat is watching a soap opera and they forgot their fucking headphones". i'm picturing a reality show where interspersed with stressful action scenes we keep cutting to the talking head she recorded about it after the fact and she's just staring into the camera dead-eyed not saying anything.

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell) whichever clients on past contracts made murderbot fight other secunits for their entertainment. fuck that extremely.

[eventinelysplayground]

Something Interesting

Obsidian castle in the afternoon

Gilbert and Roderich are standing in front of an ornate door.

Gilbert: Well this will be entertaining. Roderich make sure the little rabbit is ready for a guest.

Roderich: Understood.

Gilbert watched for a moment as Roderich headed down the hallway then he reached out for the doorknob with an amused smile. Gilbert had barely shut the door before the man on the other side is moving towards him.

??: Where's Emma?!

Gilbert: Not even a hello for your favorite son in law? Such terrible manners.

Akatsuki: You're not my favorite anything. Where is she?

Gilbert: It's a secret.

Akatsuki: I should of killed you when I wanted to years ago! If you've done something to Emma.

Akatsukis hand move to settle on the hilt of his katana. Gilbert stood facing Akatsuki his smile unwavering.

Gilbert: Oh I know you'd try to do it but I told you I wouldn't harm your daughter and I don't lie.

Akatsuki: I'm not her father.

Gilbert: Oh? Then business first. If I'm happy with what you brought me I'll show you something interesting.

Akatsuki: I don't want to see something interesting just Emma.

Gilbert: But I promise you'll like it.

Akatsuki sighed and began unpacking books from the big bag he uses when he travels. Laying them out on the table there are books on history, flora and fauna from severely cold climates and some romances as well. Once those are laid out Akatsuki reaches in and pulls out two more books handing them directly to Gilbert. One is a pop up book of Jade and the other appears to be a collection of fairy tales from Rhodolite.

Akatsuki: Those are the ones you especially wanted. Emma was always reading even as a child but that was one of her favorites back then. That pop up book of Jade more then meets your description of bright and full of flowers.

Gilbert: Yes these will do.

Akatsuki: You've got the books you asked me for now where's my daughter?!

Gilbert: Ehh you're no fun, always so serious.

Akatsuki folded his arms across his chest and glared at Gilbert whose smile finally fell.

Gilbert: Fine. I'm happy with all of these, follow me.

Still holding onto the books Akatsuki gave him Gilbert walked towards the door and opened it. He paused briefly speaking over his shoulder to Akatsuki.

Gilbert: No outsiders have ever seen as deep inside the castle as we're about to go. If you were to say anything to anyone about what you see well...

Gilbert left the room and headed down the corridor, the sounds of Akatsukis hurried footsteps and the clang of GIlberts cane the only sounds breaking the tense silence. After several twists and turns Gilbert came to a pause in front of a delicately carved door.

Akatsuki: Is Emma in there?

Gilbert: I told you if I was happy with what you brought I'd show you something interesting remember?

Akatsukis brows furrowed as he glared at Gilbert. The smile returned to Gilbert's face as he opened the door and called in.

Gilbert: Little rabbit I brought a guest for you.

Gilbert barely had time to finish speaking before Akatsuki was pushing his way past him and into the room.

Emma: Owner!

Akatsuki: Emma! Are you all...

Akatsuki paused his stride with the rest of his words left unspoken

Gilbert: See I promised you'd like it. I have some books that you were looking for little rabbit.

Emma: Thank you so much Gilbert, and you too Owner.

Akatsuki remained where he was as if he was momentarily rooted to the spot. He watched Gilbert cross the spacious room towards Emma who sat in one of two chairs placed between two cradles.

Emma: Owner are you ok?

Gilbert: He's fine just stunned, it's his first time meeting his grandchildren after all. Come and say hello Grandfather, but not too close.

Gilbert's words brought Akatsuki out of his fog and he crossed the room to stand between the feet of the two cradles.

Akatsuki: You're all right now Emma? Did you have any problems at all?

Emma: Yes it's already been three months and I've recovered fully from it. I didn't have any major issues just some minor ones that are normal.

Akatsuki: What type of minor issues?

Emma: I was sick a lot at first and very dizzy nothing else. Walter made sure to take good care of...

Gilbert: Ehh? What about me, didn't I take good care of you little rabbit.

Akatsuki: That doesn't matter, it's your fault she went through it in the first place. The very least you could do was take care of her.

Gilbert: I don't find that fair your daughter's just as insat...

Emma swiftly stood up from her chair placing her hand over Gilbert's mouth.

Emma: Don't say such things to other people it's embarrassing!

Gilbert removed Emma's hand from his mouth and grinned at her. He then brought her fingers back to his mouth bitting the tip of her ring finger followed by a kiss. Just then Akatsuki loudly cleared his throat as if to remind Gilbert he was still there.

Akatsuki: Do I get to meet my grandchildren or not.

Emma beamed at Akatsuki then reached into the cradle to her right while Gilbert placed the books on one of the chairs before moving to the opposite cradle. Emma lifted out a small baby and crossed the short distance between them. The baby was swaddled in a deep crimson blanket. Akatsuki studied the baby within, it looked a lot like Emma with rosy cheeks, chestnut hair and crystal clear ultramarine eyes.

Emma: This is Albert

Gilbert: And this is Lilith

Akatsuki turned his attention to Gilbert. Like her brother she was swaddled in a deep crimson blanket and she looked like Emma too. With the same cheeks and eyes as her brother. However her hair was black as night.

Emma: Do you want to hold him?

Emma started to gently place Albert in Akatsukis outstretched arms.

Gilbert: That's getting too close, I don't like it.

Emma: I'll make it up to you later tonight.

Akatsuki groaned as Albert was placed in his arms then moved to sit in the chair Emma had vacated while trying to pretend he didn't notice Gilbert's mischievous smile. Akatsuki sat in silence for a moment taking Albert in. For being so young he seemed so inquisitive and alert already, staring at Akatsuki as if he was studying him back.

Akatsuki: This wasn't the type of surprise I feared it would be. Also not everything is black in here and they're wearing deep colors.

Gilbert: Your daughter wouldn't let me have everything in black. She said that would be too depressing for babies.Now that that's out of the way though what do you think of my baby rabbits?

Akatsuki: This one is certainly a curious boy, they have such clear eyes. They're absolutely beautiful.

Gilbert: Of course they are, they're mine after all and I have such a handsome face.

Akatsuki: It's because they look more like their mother.

Akatsuki reached down grabbing Albert's tiny hand with his while Emma was desperately trying to suppress a laugh and Gilbert pouted still holding Lilith.

Gilbert: You're father's being mean.

Akatsuki: Only to you, them I'll love and adore just like I do Emma.

[little-teacupss]

The Pirate meets his Fairy.

Note: This is a cross over with MFH, but it takes place two years prior in freshmen year, so MFH doesn't exist, and they don't know each other at all, if your wondering when 'P.S - I'll always love you' is coming out, probably soon like in two or three days! Once again, big thank you to @giveityourworst, they are my co-founder of MFH, not sure if Famey is a ship that people ship, but here we are, and once again you can give criticism without being a prick.

Warnings: my bad attempts at pirate terminology and British terminology because, unfortunately, I'm a silly American. Any British people reading please forgive me

Summary: Fay is very new to Merlin Academy as she just transferred along with Maryweather, Fauna, and Flora, but as the days go by she catches the eye of certain Sea Captain with a golden hook.

___________________________________________

Fay made her way through the halls of Merlin Academy, quite lost and unaware of what kind of terrority she'd wondered into, she was also unaware of the eyes burning into her and the glint of a certain shiny hook in the shadows that followed.

But as she kept walking she heard a deep snicker, turning around she wasn't met with anything, the same hallway she'd been walking through, as she went to turn around she felt a cold metal run down her neck, turning her head she was met with a white button down shirt, looking up her eyes meet a pair of mischievous brown eyes that matched the smirk that played on his lips he began to speak. "Aye! what does a wee fairy have around a black spot like this?"

The nervous fairy wanted nothing more, but to back away still processing how she got in this situation in the first place, but she was currently at the mercy of the sharp hook dragging up and down her jugular periodically ghosting over a vain that'd make her heart quicken, but she also wore a little confusion in her gaze as she wondered what a black spot was, as she fumbled to come up with a response. "What do you mean?"

She squeaked out pathetically as the pirate gave an amused chuckle as he gazed down at the terrified fairy as he then said. "Wee fairy, you do realize you've wondered where the bilge rats loiter around?"

Fay shook her head at the new found information, as she glanced around realizing how this hallway was a lot more gloomier, then the other hallways and corridors she'd been down, before looking back up at the pirate he then went on. "Of course, I could always lead you down a safer path."

He suggested, but didn't wait for an answer as he led her with his hook back the way she came as he began to let out a wolf whistle as he turned his head to look at her. "Say, what's your name, fairy?"

Fay let out a some hum sound as she nervously looked up at the pirate and whispered. "Fay."

He hummed in response as he twirled the fairy around and leaned her against the wall, frightening her as he said. "Aye! Me hearty, my name is Captain James Bartholomew Hook, now that were in a first name basis it's bout time you know if you spent a second longer in the black spot, I know some scallywags who'd be of been happy to send you to Davy jones locker."

Fay was still very confused with the words he was saying, like Davy Jones locker? Why would someone put her in a locker? But also, she was quite terrified as she was also pressed against the wall by 'James' as he said his name was, but how could she know if he was telling the truth or not?

"There's no reason to be shy, wee fairy?" .He said as he carefully backed a little away, so she wasn't sandwiched against the wall.

Fay let out a soft sigh as she felt a little safer as she wasn't pressed against the pirate anymore before nodding and saying. "I have to get going."

James tilts his head as he gives a pout before scratching his chin with his hook, and then his eyes light up as he says. "Why don't I guide you? Your navigation is quite unwavy."

He suggested as he also jabbed at her being fairly new to the academy and not having a clue where she was going. He then continued. "Just tell me where you need to be headed."

Fay looked down as she tried to think where the place she needed to be is, before looking up at him and opening and closing her mouth unsure do what to say, James smiles at her before saying. "Well, my wee corsair, why don't we walk around for a bit and see if we can spy where you need to be?"

He suggested as he backed away from her, letting her completely move away from the wall he'd trapped her against, Fay nodded as she began to follow James down the hallway he'd led her from before as he spoke. "Don't pay any mind to the Wenches or the bilge rats."

He waved his hand around as he explained a few things about the academy, the dos and don't, the safest areas to hang around, all the while Fay nodded as she took note of everything he said before they finally arrived to a little bridge area where three girls were waiting, the one in green turns around and quickly runs over to Fay. "Fay! Where have you been?"

Fauna quickly says as she stares at Fay before her eyes travel to the looming shadow behind her, Fauna gulped before her eyes went back to Fay's face as she whispered. "Is he gonna kill us?"

Fay giggled as Fauna cowered while holding her wand in front of her, as Fay shook her head and softly spoke. "No, Fauna he led me here I would've been completely lost without him."

As Fay said that the two other varies came the red one gave her a stern look with crossed arms and said. "Took you long enough Fay?"

Fay visibly grimaced before smiling at Maryweather, who was glowering at her for being late, while Flora peered at Fay and the pirate behind her, who was giving the three fairies a mischievous look as he piped up from behind Fay. "Aye, ye should be a little more gentle with this wee fairy, little lass just lost her compass."

James looked at the group of fairies with nostalgia, he'd never been close with the fairies of neverland and in fact been the reason some passed away, but that's another story, but he'd seen this happen a lot one group of fairies believes themselves to be superior, cough, cough, Vidiya, cough, cough, so this was quite common to see as he knew fairies were very emotional beings, and then he continued. "You wee fairies should run along now, seeing as it's almost curfew, unless, of course, you're planning to run a rig?"

The three fairies looked at each in confusion as they had no clue what 'running a rig' was, but one thing they could make out is curfew, so they walked past the two and headed back towards Merlin Academy, before Fay could follow suit she felt something hold her in place, looking down she saw his hook was hooked on her wrist, she turned to face him unsure of why he was trying to keep her.

But she didn't expect to see such a somber expression on the casanova pirate she'd gotten to know within two hours, James let out a soft sigh before smiling at the nervous fairy and saying. "It's nice to be reminded of the sea, boating, plundering, rum, sail ho, sea biscuits, but most of all, neverland, so thank you wee fairy for spending the day with me and reminding me of me home."

James said as he leaned against the railing of the bridge while Fay listened to what he said. She gave him a shy smile as she answered back. "Do you think of home often?"

"Aye, but one day I shall return." .The Sea Captain said hopefully as he gazed down at the water below the bridge. The fairy listened as he recounted to her the time he'd fought off a flying boy before going overboard and losing his hand to a crocodile and adding insult to injury. The crocodile also swallowed his alarm clock, James then said. "You're nothing like the fairies from home, your much more tolerable."

Fay giggled as he then went on off, ranting about one fairy in particular named Twinkerbell. Despite being mute, she seemed to be the loudest personality aside from Peter Pan, the flying boy.

The two hadn't even realized how much time had gone by as they shared stories as they sat on the bridge, not even noticing the loud ringing of the academy bell not too far away to signal curfew had been set in motion, Fay ranted on about the other three godmother's. "Marywheather is a genius, so smart, and she has full control over her powers, Fauna is so kind. Truly, I wouldn't have any friends if she hadn't wanted to get to know me, Flora is very determined and out spoken, she knows exactly what she wants."

Yet despite having so many good things to say about the other godmothers, she seemed to have nothing of value to say about herself, Hook smiled as he listened to her go on and on about the other fairies before piping in. "Well what about you?"

Fay gave him an uneasy look as she fiddled with the hem of her baby blue skirt.

"There's not much to say about me, unfortunately. I'm not wise, or have full control, or out spoken, I'm lucky I'm even considered a fairy. Despite both of my parents being high scholars, I seemed to be the runt of the family."

Fay said as she looked up and watched the autumn leaves fall from the trees. She heard a soft humming sound come from the pirate, and then he said. "I'd say me hearty that you're quite intelligent and kind, you give so many compliments to your fellow fairies and have such great things to say about them."

James then trailed off, not sure himself where he was heading with that. He glanced at the fairy who had a bashful expression as she bit her lower lip as she looked down at her lip. He then looked away from her and finally realized how late it had truly gotten. "Say Corsair shall I walk you back to your wee cabin?"

Fay nodded as she gave him a smile, before she could help herself up, the rounded part of a hook was moved toward her to grab onto, gently gripping the rounded part she then grabbed his other hand as he hoisted her up, before leading her back to Merlin Academy and sneaking through the many hallways before they made it to Fay's dorm.

Fay opened her door and shyly waved goodbye for now, while James said. "May yer anchor be ever tight."

Before disappearing down the hall with his hands in his red coat pockets, Fay leaned against the door, watching him walk away, before closing the door and leaning against the now closed door as she smiled to herself as she tried to figure out what the future could bring with the suava pirate.

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Hello! Thank you for reading this story. It truly means so much to me, I'm not sure if people have ever shipped these two before, so if not I may of accidently found a new ship, again, or I'm just adding onto the ship, anyway big thank you to @giveityourworst, for giving me some ideas for this story and being my co-founder for MFH, go show them some love they deserve it!

If you want to be apart of the tag list just ask!

Tagged list: @giveityourworst and @brokenmilkcrates, once again show both of them some love they are both amazing and truly some of the kindest folks I've ever met!

Anyway till the next story! Ba bye!

[ecosyncrasy]

october 7th ;

spent some more time on the trail today by myself without the dogs. occasionally ( maybe a bit more than occasionally ) spamming my partner with photos and updates from the trek. i do adore it, this trail in particular is a feast for the eyes. so many moody corridors through the old growth that look appropriately mysterious and inviting. Practically beckoning you with every curve. i would say i observed a fair amount if fauna and flora— but i think i was far more observed by them. more than a few squirrels were telling me off as i disturbed their scurrying to gather supplies for the winter ahead.

[gmariam321]

I'm sure I've posted this before, since I started it years ago. But I think I can actually finish it now, so here's the beginning. Nothing deep, just a long one shot that puts Ianto and Gwen in quarantine. Because why not? Interesting dynamic, especially set after 'Meat.'

I'll be sure to share when I post it to Ao3! Enjoy!

Sunflowers and Seclusion

"You do know you're not supposed to touch the pretty things either, right?" asked Owen, his white hazmat suit failing to obscure both the tone of his voice and the roll of his eyes. He taped a plaster over Gwen's inner arm and pocketed three vials of blood. "SOP with unidentified flora or fauna in the field, Cooper. Didn't you read the manual?"

"There's a manual for flora and fauna?" Gwen asked. She sounded more upset than annoyed at Owen's rebuke.

"And Merriweather too," Ianto murmured, leaning against the glass outside the large suite where Gwen would be spending her time in quarantine now.

"Ha bloody ha," she said; now she sounded slightly annoyed, though also a bit scared. "You could have stopped me, you know."

"I believe I did say something to the effect of 'Let me get the hazmat gloves and containment box first,'" Ianto replied easily.

"They looked like sunflowers," Gwen replied sullenly. "I like sunflowers."

"A comically large bouquet of bright red sunflowers in the middle of the park didn't raise the 'Don't touch this without gloves' flag?" Ianto asked. Gwen sighed.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I thought they were nice. We never get anything nice from the Rift."

"Maybe you were supposed to think they were nice and pick them up," Tosh piped up from behind Ianto, where she was studying one of their field scanners. "I'm getting some strange preliminary readings from them."

"You're being careful, right Tosh?" Owen turned and asked.

“They’re still upstairs in the box,” she said. “I’ve got a scan running remotely.”

“Good,” Owen replied. "I don't want us all coming down with some strange intergalactic rash."

"Ooh, I had that once," Jack said, appearing behind Tosh. "Found some cute guys with tentacles to rub in some cream and was better in no time."

Gwen blanched, Tosh frowned, and Ianto rolled his eyes. If he had pound for every time Jack talked about tentacles, he could eat at the fanciest seafood restaurant in Cardiff. Owen snorted and turned back to Gwen.

"I've got what I need to start looking into whatever this is." He waved his gloved hand vaguely over Gwen's body. She was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, her arms and legs covered in bright red spots. They were perfectly circular with a pale center, and apparently quite itchy, as she laid down on the and started scratching her arms like mad the moment Owen stepped into the decontamination airlock.

"Maybe it's just hives?" she suggested.

"I don't have any allergies on file for you, though that doesn’t rule it out," Owen said, taking off his helmet in the corridor. "It could be anything— allergies, a fast acting virus, bacteria, even fungus. But I don't think those flowers are quite normal given that you found them after a Rift alert, so we're going to assume your rash isn't normal either."

"Do you have anything for the itching?" she asked. "It's bloody awful."

"The shot I gave you should start to help. I'll bring down some cream once I start some tests running. If it’s not an allergic reaction—and if it’s alien—it might be a while before I have some better answers."

Gwen sighed and laid down, still scratching. "Thanks, Owen. Make it the good stuff, yeah?"

"As long as you don’t go picking alien flowers again," he tossed over his shoulder as he turned to leave. "Hey Tosh, what kind of readings? And can you help me with some of these tests while your scan runs?"

They walked upstairs together, talking quietly. Jack watched Gwen for a moment before turning toward Ianto. "And you're feeling all right?" he asked. "No spots, no itching?"

Ianto shrugged. "Nothing," he said. "At least, not yet. I didn't touch the bouquet, not being much of a flowers man myself, but I did help Gwen to the car."

"So we'll keep an eye on you as well," said Jack. "I doubt it's contagious, as it seems directly linked to the flowers, but you were close when it happened. Let us know if you notice anything."

"I figure I would have by now," Ianto replied. "Considering how quickly it hit Gwen."

"Maybe," said Jack. "But maybe indirect contact takes longer to create a reaction."

"Thank you for the optimistic outlook, sir," Ianto replied with the driest tone he could manage. "If you don't mind, I'm going to start looking through the records for other alien sunflowers that may have fallen through the Rift and infected past agents."

Jack motioned at the door. "After you," he said with a grin. He turned back to Gwen first. "Take it easy and get some rest. We'll figure this out."

She sat up, clearly miserable. "Can I talk to Rhys?" she asked. "We were supposed to work on the wedding tonight."

"I can call him if you like," Ianto said.

"I want to talk to him," Gwen said. "I'm already going stir-crazy in here!"

"You've been here for barely half an hour, Gwen," Jack pointed out. "If you're that freaked out about being in a room by yourself, maybe you need to spend more time alone."

Ianto tried not to roll his eyes. Of course Gwen was going stir-crazy, because, like Jack, she was the kind of person who thrived on the company of others. She liked action and adventure and functioned perfectly well with chaos and noise. Ianto, on the other hand, would love the chance for some peace and quiet in the Hub once in a while—even if it was in quarantine.

"How about I call him first,” Ianto said. “I can tell him what's going on, reassure him you're all right and we're doing everything we can, then bring your mobile. I'm not sure about the signal down here, but if you’re still awake, you can try. Sound all right?"

"Thanks, Ianto."

"You're welcome. Anything else? Some water? Owen says coffee might not be a good idea with the shot." "Shit," she said, falling back down on the bed. "No coffee? Tea, maybe? Isn't that supposed to be calming?"

"I'll see what we have," Ianto replied. "Give me ten minutes."

"Always ten minutes with you," Jack murmured, wagging his eyebrows. Ianto smirked at him. "And counting," he murmured. "Excuse me, sir, work to do."

He headed upstairs to call Rhys Williams and prepare some tea. Jack winked at Gwen and followed, while Gwen sighed, flung her hand over her face, and clearly tried not to cry.

* * *

It wasn't ten minutes later, after Ianto had got off the phone with Rhys and was waiting for Gwen's tea to steep, that he noticed a strange feeling on his hands. Glancing down, he saw several familiar looking red spots dotting both the tops and bottoms of his hand. Mouthing a curse, he took off his suitcoat, rolled up his sleeves, and saw even more covering his arms. And as soon as he saw them, it was as if his mind gave his body permission to start itching like mad.

Suddenly he wanted to rip off the rest of his suit; he understood now why Gwen had insisted on shorts and a t-shirt, as the heavy wool fabric was hot and uncomfortable. Unfortunately, he didn't have anything besides long pants at the Hub at the moment; maybe he could borrow something from Jack. But first he had to let Owen know.

Walking toward the medical bay, he was hit by a wave of dizziness and found himself clinging to the railing as he glanced down at Tosh and Owen running their tests. Taking a deep breath to stop the world from spinning, he cleared his throat.

"Looks like I'll be joining Gwen downstairs," he said, his voice coming out lower than he'd expected. He rubbed the back of his neck. "And I think I'll take one of those shots you gave her as well."

"Shit," said Owen. "Get down there fast, I'll grab my gear and meet you."

"Right." Ianto nodded and turned to leave. He scratched at his arms. "Tosh, can you ask Jack if he has any shorts I can borrow?" he asked. "There is no way I can stay in this suit."

"Of course," Tosh said, looking concerned. "We'll be down right away."

"Quarantine, teaboy," said Owen. "Now." He started gathering supplies while Ianto hurried back to the suite that Torchwood had long ago set up for exactly these situations. Used only for agents compromised in the field by unknown biological agents, it was a large, sealed off chamber with several beds, a table and chairs, and its own bathroom. It was rather like something from a medical thriller, but it did what it was supposed to do even if it looked cliche: kept the pathogens in and the rest of the Hub safe. Assuming Gwen and Ianto hadn't already spread it by making their way through the Hub.

Gwen sat up as Ianto let himself into the chamber without a hazmat suit. "Oh no," she said. "You didn't get it too?"

"Yep," said Ianto, taking off his shirt and tie. He left on his white undershirt and tried not to claw at the red blotches rapidly covering his arms. "So either it's spread through contact or through the air."

"God, if it's through the air, then the entire Hub might be infected!" Gwen exclaimed. "Or the park!"

"We've got procedures in place for this sort of thing," Ianto replied. "I imagine they'll lock down the Hub and go into quarantine mode now to filter out any particles in the air. And if we need to, then we quarantine the park, though we've never done anything that big since I've been here." They'd have to disinfect the SUV as well, and keep an eye out for any reports of the rash spreading beyond the park. It was the worst possible timing, that two of them were in seclusion when there was suddenly so much to do. Jack would almost certainly have to call UNIT if the park was involved, and he always hated that.

Ianto glanced around and claimed the bed opposite from Gwen, then let his elbows fall to his knees, wishing he could rip the itchy trousers off, but not wanting to sit around in his pants with Gwen. He was rather stunned at the ferocity of the rash and how suddenly it appeared. It was exactly as awful as Gwen had said in the SUV as he'd driven them back to the Hub less than an hour earlier: the sudden dizziness, the hot and itchy spots, and increasing fatigue. He only wondered why it had taken longer for him to break out. Perhaps he hadn't contracted it from the flowers directly, but from helping Gwen back to the Hub.

"I'm sorry I picked up the flowers, Ianto," Gwen said quietly. "You wouldn't be stuck in here if I hadn't."

"They were quite pretty," Ianto replied with a shrug. "But you really do need to read the manual."

"Maybe Tosh can find a copy and you can stand over my shoulder and quiz me," Gwen said with a laugh. She scratched at her forearms. "Because I will never, ever touch another plant, flower, or seed in the field again."

Ianto snorted and let his eyes slip closed as a wave of pain and discomfort gripped his legs, causing him to tense. He breathed deeply through his nose to try and resist the urge to scratch.

"It's terrible, isn't it?" she asked quietly. He nodded silently.

"I'm going to scratch myself raw soon," she said. "It's my arms that are bloody awful."

"Legs for me," Ianto replied, lying down to try and calm the unexpected anxiety. What was it that could cause such an intense and quick reaction? Why was it affecting them in different places? Was it alien? Was it fatal? Where were the others?

"You'll need to get those trousers off," she said. "We're all friends, after all." She tried to sound light-hearted, but Ianto could hear the effort.

"I asked Tosh if she could borrow some shorts from Jack," Ianto replied. "Hopefully they’ll appear with the shot Owen is getting ready."

Gwen was silent for a moment, then abruptly giggled. "Jack owns shorts? I don’t believe you. He only ever wears blue trousers!"

"Or black," Ianto pointed out. "Occasionally grey."

"And brown, I think I remember brown." She turned her head toward Ianto. "You'd look good in brown."

Ianto raised an eyebrow. "A brown suit? Seriously?"

"I saw one at Marks and Spencer the other week, it was gorgeous. Rhys doesn't need such a thing, but you could pull it off—tan shirt, burgundy tie…" She trailed off, her eyes slipping closed with a sigh.

Ianto watched her with concern. "You all right?" he asked.

"My arms hurt," she said quietly. "Probably why I'm babbling about suits, I'm trying not to think about it."

Ianto smiled as he stared at the ceiling, wondering where Tosh was with his shorts and Owen with his shot. "There are worse topics of conversation."

There was another pause of silence. "Can't really picture you in shorts either," she said. "Seeing you in jeans is shocking enough."

Ianto laughed quietly to himself. "Believe it or not, I used to be quite the jeans guy. I've got myself a studded belt and everything."

Gwen rolled over onto her side. "Now that is something I'd like to see, Ianto Jones decked out for clubbing! And what about Jack? Does he ever wear jeans? That’s even stranger than him wearing shorts."

Ianto smirked as he thought about the last time he and Jack had gone out. They'd gone to a local pub and played pool, and Jack had looked amazing dressed more casual. He almost said something, but was saved when Tosh, Owen, and Jack all came dashing into the corridor.

"Ianto!" Jack exclaimed. "You just told me you were fine!"

Ianto sighed and sat up. "And ten minutes later I broke out in spots, so clearly I misdiagnosed myself."

"Whatever it is, it's quick and virulent," Owen said. He stepped into the airlock and started pulling on his hazmat suit again. "I want a blood draw to compare with Gwen, and I've got a shot for you, plus lots of cream for you both." Jack waved a pair of shorts and socks and tossed them into the airlock. "Oh, and we get to see your legs. Wonderful."

"I have perfectly fine legs," Ianto protested. "At least when they’re not covered in spots."

"How do you feel besides the rash?" Owen asked as he stepped into the room. "Any other symptoms?"

"It's getting more painful," Gwen said. "And I'm dead tired. Feel like I could sleep for a week if only my brain would stop running in circles."

"That might be the shot," Owen said. He tossed her the cream and walked over to Ianto to start his examination. "How about you?" he asked. "Anything besides the rash?"

"A bit achy," Ianto replied. "Tired. Head's starting to hurt."

Owen stuck a thermometer in his mouth. "Low grade fever. So maybe not an allergic reaction. If it gets worse, I'll give you both something for the fever, but right now I'd rather let your body fight whatever this is on its own before throwing something else at it that could end up making it worse. Speaking of which, give me your arm so I can get some blood."

He did a quick draw, then had Ianto turn around so he could give him a shot in his upper thigh. Gwen giggled and Jack wolf-whistled when he unbuckled his pants enough for Owen to get it in the muscle. Owen grumbled under his breath. Ianto decided his legs itched bad enough that he didn't particularly care about dropping his trousers anymore and stepped out of them. He grabbed Jack's shorts, pulled them on and changed his socks, then collapsed on the bed, the small effort exhausting.

Owen bent over him and started poking at his legs. They were worse than Gwen's, and he flinched as Owen pressed on several large red welts, finally smacking the doctor's hands away as a furious burst of itching commenced.

"Stop it," he muttered. "Hurts enough without you poking it."

"It's blanching," Owen said. "Which is a good sign. Could still be an allergic reaction, which would be a damn odd coincidence if it were earth-based, but not so much if it's alien. So slather some cream on it while we go run some more tests. Call if you need anything."

Gwen was sitting up on the bed, her face pinched. "When is the medicine going to help?" she asked, her voice laced with pain and frustration. She hissed as she started rubbing the cream up and down her arms.

"Depends on what’s causing it,” Owen said with a shrug. "Not much else I can do until I know exactly what to throw at it. I'll be back to check on you in a while and bring a steroid in case it’s worse."

He left the suite and returned upstairs with Tosh. Ianto sat down and rubbed the cream onto his arms and even more on his legs, then laid on the bed, staring at the ceiling, trying his hardest not to scratch and rub them. It was worse than any childhood illness he could remember; he half wondered if adults were in fact weaker than children, as he seemed to recall his niece and nephew going through their fair share of rashes with little complaint. Then again, maybe these things hit adults harder, or they worried about it more while kids kept playing their video games with little thought for things like aliens and death by spots.

"How are you feeling?" Jack asked quietly from the other side of the glass. Ianto sat up, surprised he was still there. Jack was standing close to Ianto's bed, watching him with a look of concern. He tried not to read anything into it.

"Pretty rotten, actually," Ianto said. "Never itched so bad in my life."

"I'm sorry," Jack started, but Ianto stopped him before he could continue.

"What for? It's not like it's your fault."

"I sent you out there," Jack pointed out.

"And did you drop the poisonous sunflowers in the middle of the park?" Ianto asked. When Jack shook his head, Ianto sighed. "Whoever went out there would be in here now—even you, I suspect."

"Yeah, but I could always—"

Again Ianto stopped him. "Don't even say it."

"Sorry."

Something occurred to Ianto, and he glanced over at Gwen, wishing he had a bit of privacy, then stood and walked around his bed over to the glass, turning so his back was to her. Jack moved closer, mirroring him as if he wanted to reach out.

"The…you know…" He tried to give Jack a look, knew it wouldn't work though. "The thing tonight? That we were going to? I won't be able to go. I'm sorry."

Jack frowned as his hand came up to the glass. "I didn't even think about that," he said. "Of course you can't, and don't apologize. We can go another time."

"You could still go," Ianto suggested, though he sort of hated it. "Maybe take Tosh? She'd enjoy it. Not Owen, though, since I'd prefer to have my doctor on call." He offered a smile, but Jack shook his head.

"Of course I'm not going without you. We're all staying here until we know what we're dealing with."

"Lockdown?" Ianto asked.

"Teamwork," Jack replied. His face softened and he smiled. "We'll go another time. I promise."

Ianto sighed. "All right. Sorry I mucked it up."

"You didn't muck anything up," Jack said. "Besides, you're wearing my clothes, and that's a good show too."

Ianto rolled his eyes, then made a motion back toward his bed. "I'm going to go lie down again. Standing is actually quite a chore."

The look of concern reappeared instantly. "Do I need to call Owen?"

"No, let him work on figuring this out," Ianto replied, slowly letting himself back down to the bed. The fatigue was a weight on his shoulders, heavy and overwhelming on top of increasing soreness and stiffness. "The quicker he runs his tests, the faster he can cure it."

"All right. I'm going to poke around the archives and see if I can find anything similar." Jack grinned when Ianto sat up, eyes wide. "I'll be careful, I promise."

"If you make a mess," Ianto said, laying back down. "I'll know it was you."

"And if I find something that helps, you won't care. I'll be back in a while to see how you're doing." He turned to leave, then stepped back. "How're you hanging in there, Gwen? Still awake?"

Gwen opened one eye and offered a crooked grin. "Can't very well sleep through all that, can I?" Ianto groaned, because he knew from that tone of voice—even sick—that as soon as Jack left, she was going to start asking questions. Lots of questions.

"I'll leave you two to it, then," Jack laughed. "Get some rest and call us if you need anything."

Ianto nodded, Gwen waved, and Jack left. Ianto closed his eyes and flung an arm over his face, hoping he gave off the clear impression of trying to sleep.

He heard Gwen turn toward him and imagined the curious look on her face.

"So," she started. "You had plans for tonight."

"So did you," Ianto pointed out without moving his arm. If his voice was muddled, he didn't really care.

"You had plans for tonight with Jack," she said. "Personal plans?" He was silent. "Date-like plans, perhaps?"

"Gwen…"

"Come on, Ianto," she said. "We're stuck here together so we're going to have to talk about something."

"How about the wedding?" he suggested. "How're the plans coming?" She snorted, which finally prompted him to open his eyes. She was laying with her head on her left elbow, her right hand idly scratching at her forearm, red lines streaking her pale skin.

"I know perfectly well you lot are sick of hearing about it," she said. "And that's not what I want to talk about. Do you have a date with Jack tonight?"

"No," Ianto grumbled under his breath. It was true, since he was stuck in quarantine.

"Did you?" she pressed, catching on quicker than usual.

"We…we had plans to meet someone," he admitted. "Piano player. Friend of Jack's."

He saw the look on Gwen's face and huffed in frustration; everyone always assumed that any 'friend' of Jack's was a 'friend' in the sexual sense of the word. But contrary to the image he worked hard to project, Jack did not sleep with everyone he crossed paths with. Yes, he had quite an impressive back catalog—that much he'd admitted was true. He'd also confessed that as the decades wore on, his usual inclinations toward such things started to slow down. Not that he was celibate; far from it. Yet he didn't sleep with nearly as many partners as he liked people to think he did. He said it was fun to keep up the reputation; Ianto suspected the playboy image was as much of a shield as his own suited archivist persona.

"Jack does have friends, Gwen," he said. "Some of whom are even aliens."

"What?" she exclaimed. "What do you mean, alien?"

He turned back toward the ceiling, satisfied that he'd distracted her from her original line of questioning. "Winstead Wallis is a jazz pianist. Second generation Mintoo. His family was stranded here a long time ago. Jack helped them settle, kept in touch with the family, and never slept with any of them. Now Winstead's retiring and playing some of his last shows. So we thought we'd go out and support him."

Gwen was silent for a moment. "On a date."

"Gwen…"

"Ianto," she parroted back.

"Leave it."

Silence.

"Why?"

Ianto turned toward her in surprise. The simple question sounded completely honest, with none of her usual guile, manipulation, or frustrating ignorance.

"Because it's none of your business?" he suggested as dryly as he could so she would get the point.

"If you're going out to meet aliens, that is certainly Torchwood business," Gwen replied. Sometimes she was smarter than she came across; Ianto tried not to roll his eyes.

"Then I’m sorry we didn’t invite you all. We'll plan a team bonding night to go hear the six-fingered alien pianist retire."

"Six fingers?" Gwen asked in surprise. Ianto simply smirked in reply.

"That's not the point,” she huffed. “You're good at deflecting, you know."

"And you don't know when to let something go."

"All I asked was if you were going on a date with Jack."

"And I told you where we were going."

"But not if it was a date."

Ianto sighed and sat up, his head fuzzy. He glanced around the room, trying to find something to distract him from scratching his legs, but there was nothing, so he did, letting his frustration find an outlet. "Why do you want to know? Why do you need to know? Just because there are only five of us working here doesn't mean the expectation of privacy is null and void."

"When two out of five coworkers are dating, the probability of privacy is pretty low!" Gwen said. She sat up as well, hugging her arms to her chest, her face a pinched mask of pain. "Look, Ianto, I'm not trying to pry—"

"Could have fooled me," Ianto muttered.

"But … well, you know how Jack is. He doesn’t seem…well, like the dating type, does he?"

"And you know this how?" Ianto asked, his voice both flat yet pointed. She flushed and waved her hands about.

"I don't, I'm…from the way he talks, the way he acts…" She trailed off with a sigh. "He's clearly a player, Ianto. He's not one to settle down."

Ianto grinned, showing his teeth in that same way Jack did when he was playing the shark. "Who says I want him to settle down? Maybe I don't want to settle down."

Her eyes widened, and he stood up to loosen his tense legs. A quick turn around the room convinced him to return to his bed and lay down again. The silence was uncomfortable, but the effort of walking upright and doing something was almost too much.

"I don't want to see you get hurt," Gwen said quietly. Ianto bit his lip, then released it, and with it the words he'd wanted to say for almost a fortnight came tumbling out.

"Gwen, if that was true, then all those things you said and did when Rhys was here helping with the space whale wouldn't have happened." He waited for the inevitable response of hurt and anger, protestations of defense...

[obitv]

i feel like. for the most part, pd fans dont think about the spirit world often. despite the ENTIRE ARC they spent there the ost people take away is mal = big evil guy and.. idk. the wispering woods Exists? but there is SO, SO MUCH going on there thats so much more important than youd think. just for starters

its a SERIES OF FLOATING ISLANDS IN A VOID, JUST LIKE FAUNA

mal? not so important there. his guide, ghoul (who we see a grand total of ONCE, in episode 10, and is mentioned again in episodes 11 and 12), is POTENTIALLY THOUSANDS OF YEARS OLD whereas mal i wouldnt put above 50, and thats even a stretch (i will get to the why later)

domains! those floating islands? all domains! ghoul? technically owns most of the domains! what does that mean? HE KNOWS EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS THERE AND CAN CONTROL IT.

also i think everyone forgets this but william was, visually, in his wisp form the entire time they were there

oh also ghoul has dozens if not hundreds of paintings of a man who might be jason king (ORIGAMI) in his castle.

so. ive taken the time to compile most of the information i could find on mal, ghoul, the spirit world, the wisps, an more into a handy post because im fucking insane (note: im only up to e13, the smoke samurai fight, in my rewatch. this IS where the majority of spirit world facts come from anyway, but anything i mention that isnt from those episodes wont be in as much detail bc my memory is ass. if you remember more things, let me know!) (also also, im going to avoid bringing up deadwood as much as i can because.... i think ive talked about it enough 😭)

starting with: GHOUL!

lets be honest. theres a very small chance you even remember this guy exists. but he is FASCINATING

to start with, he has a.. symbiotic relationship with mal, from what ive seen. he needs mal to interact with the physical world, mal needs him to go to the spirit world. ill go into this more in mals section

aside from that, mal is NOT the first physical vessel ghoul's taken. its not clear when he began working with mal, or how many forms he had before, but he's one of many

(also just a note because it can definitely be confusing... ghoul and mal seem to share control over the castle, but before seeing that mal is waiting for them in the dining room everyone was focused on ghoul and mal was barely brought up. its not clear if the things they see in the castle before going in to mal were his choice or ghouls but... ill include the paintings here)

on that note: the paintings!

what the fuck is going on in there

so. yeah. ghoul has.. dozens. and i mean DOZENS, hundreds if you count that they repeat over and over, of paintings featuring a man with "blond hair and chiselled jawline" in various important historical events. they line the walls of the upstairs corridor (the one that seems endless) and are never brought up again

do i think this is jason king? well im not convinced they ARENT... i will touch on this again later just keep it in mind

jumping back to domains, ghoul seems to have.. some degree of control over all of them. at least in the part of the spirit world he rules over, which i assume is. why he rules it. going by the king stuff its like. he owns all the land and "rents" it out to other spirits

rent is a nicer word, since he can CURSE PEOPLE to control domains and dictate how they behave

thats why the carnival is evil, if you remember. ghoul cursed the carnival skeleton (the REAL groundskeeper) to rule the domain and attack anyone who entered

what the fuck

also ghoul is a king

when looking for ghoul in ashes book, despite the very low roll they got some VERY important info: ghoul (who, when we see him, is comapred to antivenom from spiderman) -

this guy

HE WAS A HUMAN KING. his name is mentioned ALL THE WAY through ashes book, from front to back. a picture of a man in royal garb, was labelled with his name

something.. happened. that turned him from that spirit world king to a monstrosity.

its also never made clear if the man in the paintings is ghoul? we dont get a description of the kings face in the book and we dont get a description of the mans clothes

also, finally: when theyre in the physical world, mal and ghoul essentially share a body, with the body turning into That Thing ^^ when ghoul is in control. ghoul HAS to take control to open portals to the spirit world - he does it to william, and cantrip mentions it too when they interrogate her

he also appears separately from mal when they take william to the spirit world, but we dont see him at all in any other domains so thats a small sample size

BUT he Does have a fucking. encyclopedic knowledge of domains (which ill talk about later). he "knows all of these places [domains]"

NEXT: MAL!

where do i fucking start.

basic mal facts: asshole, british, very powerful, knows far too much about the spirit world to make any sense

just a basic overview of his powers, btw:

he can create illusions, float/fly (in the spirit world, at least), ghostshape, go intangible, and mayyybe has some sort of connection to earth or gravity powers because theres one point where he makes the ground beneath someone burst up but also that mightve been a weird ghostshaping trick and im honestly too scared to think about that

basically he seems to have most of williams powers + illusions and whatever that ground trick was. the only things we havent seen are invisibilty (which considering mechanically its just a flavouring of an advantage which isnt technically a power, makes sense) and the wisp form, though id consider the ghoul transformation to b the equivalent of that

oh in case you forgot he can also FREEZE. TIME. william isnt affected by this but im not sure if that was because mal wanted him to see what happened or because spirit shenanigans

also little aside but while williams powers manifest as wispy blue flames, mals are always black lightning (his ghostshaping, most noticeably)

the biggest mal question is.. how does he. know all that shit? youd expect ghoul to be the one who actuall has the knowledge but mal is ALWAYS the one they deal with

now you may be wondering: why is this an issue? well the thing is. we dont actually know ANYTHING about mal. we dont know where he comes from, what he wants, how he met ghoul, if his powers are his own or all come from ghoul... none of it

what we can ASSUME: mal was alive when he made some sort of deal with ghoul, because he obviously had a physical body. my personal theory is that mal is (one of?) the previous owner of ashe's book, since so far that's the only thing we've seen that allows you to summon spirits and allow them to possess you, and its full of references to ghoul. and quite honestly the thought that theres MULTIPLE books like that is terrifying. so

ok i actually just came up with that one on the spot but if mal had a better understanding of the language the book is in than ashe and wasnt so afraid to use it then actually him knowing a shitton about the spirit world makes so much sense. what the fuck

bizly bizlychannel youre prying that theory from my fucking corpse im in love with it now.

so. yeah. presumably, mal and ghoul made some sort of deal, because they work together. its not clear if mal is working to get william on his side by his own volition or if ghoul wants him to, or if its like a "ghoul brought it up and mal decided to go for it because hes better at talking and also isnt a horrifying monster" but whatever. unlike william and the wisps (amazing band name) who fight fucking constantly because william never ASKED for his powers, mal is comfortable with them

another thing mal seems to have control over is ghouls castle. he lays out the red carpet and makes every door lead to the dining room and also makes it impossible to leave

specifically, irt all the doors going to the dining room, bizly said "if he can control this castle and where it goes, thats what he wouldve done"

the corridor upstairs (without the carpet, with the paintings) also goes on literally forever. you cant go back once you walk far enough you have to go through a door. i have no idea if this was mal or ghouls choice

another thing! specifically layed out on the walls next to the carpet ("things he specifically wanted them to see") is an ornate dagger in a glass case. which vyncent with a gun steals but i dont think is brought up again ??? also the wording made me feel like there shouldve been more items listed but since condi immediately started stealing he just didnt include the rest ?? unsure

this is just a weird thing to note but theres like these freaky black tendrils that grab the table and hold it down when dakota tries to flip it. i dont know what to do with this information its just there

when william confronts mal on how much the spirits seem to hate him and ghoul, mal says "that's not what im here for" and, when pressed, says thats "a conversation for another day"

DOMAINS! AND THE SPIRIT WORLD IN GENERAL!

first: basics

the spirit world is, from what we've seen, a collection of floating islands over a void. these islands seem to all be "domains", places that are controlled by special spirits

the spaces between domains is the dead zone! this is where people go when they die, like 99% of the time. going there without special means (the hot air balloon, the carriage) will kill you.

so, how do you get a domain? ah. good... question....

one way is to kill whoever currently owns it. then its yours! congrats! you can alsp give away domains, but the only time we've directly seen this happen was the groundskeeper who was also cursed at the same time and ghoul seems to still have some control over the carnival anyway??? unclear

which leaves. william fucking wisp. because he has a domain! i am not getting into it here because ive said it all already but its there

also a little worth noting that williams domains seems to be shaped subconsciously without him even knowing it was there

i honestly cant speculate much more on williams domain because we just. dont have the answers. i could ask domain questions all fucking day like "did the wisps give william a domain" or "by being a powerful spirit did he just get an empty one or was one created just for him" etc etc we have no way of knowing

domains we know about: williams graveyard, the carnival, ghouls castle, the wispering woods (perhaps a series of domains? unknown), and the tricksters... house thing. do not ask me what the chaos zone is, i dont know and it scares me. if i had to guess itd be a series of. well. chaotic domains perhaps all partially ruled by the trickster but i also dont have ANY trickster lore written down bar "has a domain" so ill come back to that another day

and the obligatory deadwood mention: from what we can gather, the woods surrounding deadwood are where the barriers between the physical and spirit worlds are thinnest. specifically the area william died in was brought up which is totally linked to Everything about him

the wispering woods, in ashes book, is described as a "sanctuary" or "oasis". barely anybody has ever seen it and come back to say what it was like

ok bonus fact time. i dont know where to put these

WILLIAMS DAD? MAD FUCKING SUS

when they first talk to mal in his domain, he says the phrase "william! be a sport, be a pal, be my friend." its specifically noted that william recognises that phrase as something his dad said to him a lot as a child

mal is also pretty much.. the only person to call william "wisperer" consistantly. but for that phrase he said william

additionally, this entire. interaction between bizly and charlie

ill go crazy if i dont bring that up. so its here

AND! FINALLY! JASON MOTHERFUCKING KING!!! WHAT IS UP WITH THAT HUH?

in williams party city doritos induced fever dream (i am not talking about that ghost. i refuse) he sees the spirit world (floating islands) and he sees a throne made out of paper. this reads very clearly like a reference to origami/jason king, since hes dead at the start of the story

also i just want to say there IS a rolled where they say how jason died but theyre laughing really hard so i have absolutely no idea what theyre saying all i can hear is "dickass" im so sorry

so yeah. with that image in mind, hearing ghoul be described as a king (who HAS A CASTLE), and having so many paintings of a man who sounds similar to jason (am i reaching? maybe. but hes also the only prominent dead figure who already has connections to spirit world royalty and hes blond so let me have this) is just like. insane coincidence

i have nothing i can really prove here, because have o idea HOW jason an ghoul could be connected. but they are. i know it. believe me

thanks for reading this far it took me 2 hours to compile it all. if you have anything to add esp from later episodes PLEASEEEE PLEASE DO also if you wanna discuss anything i mentioned here i am always down.

[jays-rus]

My birthday is coming up soon and I was hoping I could make a request if you’re still open for it? If so, can I request a birthday scene with Kylo Ren in which he isn’t quite sure what to do or give her for her birthday so he takes a day and spoils her like she’s never been spoiled before? Thanks a lot!

A birthday to remember

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

Kylo Ren paced the dimly lit corridor of his quarters on the Star Destroyer. He could command fleets and inspire fear across the galaxy, but the thought of a birthday had him perplexed. He’d never given much thought to birthdays; he had forgotten his own more times than he cared to remember. Yet, today was different. Today was Y/n's birthday.

Y/n had once mentioned in passing how her birthdays were simple affairs back on Tatooine. A small cake, perhaps, if she could scrounge together the ingredients, but mostly just another day. Kylo knew she deserved more than just "another day."

Determined, he stepped out of his quarters and summoned a few trusted officers. "Prepare the shuttle. We’re leaving the Star Destroyer for the day," he ordered. "And see to it that everything I asked for is ready."

Y/n was on the observation deck, watching the stars streak by when Kylo found her. "Come with me," he said simply, extending his hand. She looked at him curiously but took his hand.

The shuttle ride was quiet, with Kylo occasionally glancing at Y/n, who seemed content to gaze out at the stars. He had arranged for them to visit Alderaan, a planet renowned for its breathtaking landscapes and lush greenery. Y/n had never been, and Kylo hoped it would be a good start to the day he had planned.

Upon landing, Kylo led Y/n to a secluded glade surrounded by towering trees and vibrant flowers. A picnic spread awaited them, complete with exotic fruits and pastries from around the galaxy. Y/n's eyes widened in surprise and delight. "You did all this?" she asked, looking at him with a mix of astonishment and gratitude.

Kylo nodded, a rare smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "I wanted to do something special for you," he said, his voice softer than usual.

They spent the afternoon exploring the rolling hills and crystal-clear streams. Y/n couldn't remember the last time she felt so at peace. Kylo was attentive, pointing out various flora and fauna, and even telling her about some of the history of Alderaan.

As the sun began to set, they returned to the glade, where a small cake awaited them. It was a simple cake, but it was perfect. They shared it, laughing and talking about their adventures and dreams.

"I've never had a birthday like this," Y/n admitted, her eyes shining in the fading light. "Thank you, Ben."

Kylo looked at her, his heart full. "You deserve it, Y/n. You deserve the world."

They sat there, watching the stars come out one by one, content in each other's company. It was a birthday Y/n would never forget, and Kylo realized that spoiling someone wasn't about material things. It was about making them feel loved and appreciated, and he was determined to do that for Y/n every day.

[hastalavistabyebye]

Regarding my ramblings on Jedi meditation supports, I'm rectifying something. Jedi would definitely have pictural art too.

It might just be non practical productions. I think it would be mostly murals, but not necessarily either.

What tripped me up was the iconography but I get over that.

Jedi would represent their life, in my opinion. They would represent lightsaber fighting stances in every forms. They would paint meditation scenes, alone or in groups, moving or traditional. Those paintings could orned classrooms and gyms. They're would be representations of Master and Padawan pairings, lineages, crechelings and initiates playing. Knights during missions. The different Corps too would recover the walls.

They might also paint historical figures and key moments. Famous Jedi of old and of present days. Marking moments of their history. Maybe even scenes of the Jedi and Force sensitive origins mixed with all those daily life scenes.

And landscapes. There would definitely have landscapes orning the Temple's walls. Because the Force is in all things so of course they'll depict various faunas and floras, entire ecosystems from the many planets of the Galaxy. Maybe there was a period where that was seen as the ultimate representation, the painting style of the moment so entire corridors were recovered in beautiful landscapes.

There would have different styles and periods. Maybe some figurations are so abstract and reduced to their most simplified forms that only Jedi archeologists could decipher them.

And it won't necessarily be murals like I said. What if the archives are full of illustrated manuscripts ? That would most likely require a special branch of archivists dedicated to copying again and again those books, just like monks in the middle ages, so that their knowledge is not lost at the degradation of the codex and rolls.

Where I believe that 3D productions would be following equally the artistical tradition of personal cultures and the Jedi culture, maybe pictural art would be a preferred medium for Jedi traditions. So those murals could not be in the more public parts of the Temple, as a more reserved form of art. Or maybe it's something less practiced at the end of the Order. And that's why the council chamber is so devoid of any art at all. But that's just an idea, it could be for so many other reasons.