#g/t fiction

[sweetestpieces]

So upset they never went deeper with Cait and Vi’s height difference. I would’ve melted if we got a scene of Cait tilting Vi’s chin up to look her in the eye. (Art credit it luskbook here on Tumblr.)

And I was secretly hoping when season 2 started that they were hiding a height reveal for Vi. Like all this time she’d been taking some drug while fighting in the pits. Her and Caitlyn eventually meet and we finally see Vi is like 6’6” and fucking massive. (Art credit to Wuzeirou on Twitter.)

[narrans]

A Small and Tall Collection | Chapter Ten | Battle Scars and Boundaries

Chapter Ten | Battle Scars and Boundaries

Her entire body shook violently. Unable to keep anything down and running on a completely empty tank was obviously taking its toll on her, but Ashlynn didn’t care. She had to get out of there – and now.

Trapped in a drawer just a few inches taller than she was, the Borrower woman knew she had maybe a minute before the human man named Soren showed back up with something that was either going to contain her or maim her so she couldn’t escape. She drew her injured arm close to her chest, afraid to use the tender limb, and glanced up at the edge of the drawer.

On occasions where she had to jump and catch herself, she would use her right arm or both arms to support her weight. This time was going to be different, and she only had the one shot. Her heart was starting to thump louder and louder, creating a roaring sound in her ears while her head throbbed.

Jump. Catch. Swing. Get away.

Ashlynn stood on the socks to give her a minute boost up and, bending her shaking legs, sprung up with as much energy as she could muster. Her fingertips barely cleared the top, but her grip didn’t last. The edges of the drawer were rounded, something she didn’t account for, and her weakened body couldn’t maintain her hold on it.

No! Curses! Come on… one more time. You’ve got to get out of here.

Ashlynn gritted her teeth and crouched again before jumping as high as she could. This time, she felt a groove in the wood as her fingers slid over the side of the drawer. She latched onto it. Even as she felt a dull throb begin in her palm as her nails bent backwards, she held on as tightly as she could. Her instinct and sheer will to live helped drive her leg upward, heel snagging the edge of the drawer.

Yes!

Ashlynn had just barely managed to drag herself up onto the edge when she noticed her surroundings within the human man’s room – and it wasn’t good.

From her vantage point, she could see there were two closets at the far end of the room next to the door. There was some kind of large cabinet she remembered him getting not too long ago and a bedside table that was at least a foot from the bed, which was where she was. The drawer she’d been carried here in was on the bed in the dead center. The good news was that if she fell now, it wouldn’t be the end of her.

The bad news was that there was no clear way down.

If she were on the bedside table, she could’ve used the weird looking lamp cord to belay down to the ground, but that was too far away for her to jump in her current state. Perched up high where she was, Ashlynn could see that the blankets on the bed draped over the edge, but she couldn’t remember if they went all the way to the ground.

Did she dare risk the climb and the potential drop down for the chance at freedom? And, if she made it to the ground, could she make it to a loose electrical socket in time before Soren got back?

All of this thinking was making Ashlynn’s head spin, but every dizzying thought came to a screeching halt when she heard a soft, “Oh,” of surprise come from the door.

She’d been looking all around the room instead of the one place that really mattered most – the door. Standing there was Soren holding some kind of red case in one hand and a clear plastic container with a turquoise lid in the other. It startled her so badly that, out of sheer instinct, Ashlynn leaned backwards to try and duck away from being seen by those almost golden eyes.

It was a mistake.

Her already poor balance sent her off of the edge of the drawer. She didn’t fall far, but her lack of balance and slowed reaction times left Ashlynn landing directly onto her injured arm. The squashy blankets did nothing to cushion the fall. A scream of agony erupted out of her before Ashlynn even had time to fully register the pain. Like hot coals being shoved beneath her skin, the burning throb in her arm reminded her of how little she could do now.

Fresh tears sprung to her eyes and she shoved her free hand into her mouth to prevent another vocalization; but did it really matter at this point? Did it count as talking to a human if they heard you scream? The shock of the weight of the body slamming into her injured arm sent a ripping shock wave through her body and, all at once, the nausea returned and the gag she’d suppressed came out of her.

What little bile was left in her spurted out onto the comforter, making Ashlynn burn hot in embarrassment and shame, but also fear. The one oldest human seemed reasonable, but would he have the same kindness now that she’d gotten sick on his bed? No coherent thought surfaced as Ashlynn lay there on the bed cradling her injured arm, the smell of her stomach acid permeating through the air.

This is it. He’s going to come over here and grab me. It’s over. I can’t get away. I can’t escape. I have to be a pet. All that stuff Soren said was just for show. Real person… yeah…

Those two words rang in Ashlynn’s head.

Real person…

He called me a real person. And… and he’s not over here.

Ashlynn’s concept of time was discombobulated, but what she did know was that some time had passed, and Soren wasn’t hovering over her handling her and picking her up to put her back into the box. Even with her eyes stinging from the salty tears, Ashlynn realized she had to look. She reluctantly let her eyes travel from where she was toward the door where she had seen Soren.

To her surprise and utter relief, he hadn’t moved. Not even an inch.

His jaw was locked, and his hazel gold eyes were transfixed on her. The expression on his face was a hard one to read, but Ashlynn knew she didn’t see malice. Concern? Worry? Unease? Eagerness? She wasn’t sure, and her blurring vision wasn’t helping.

What else wasn’t helping was the fact she didn’t know what Soren was thinking; and she wasn’t alone in that feeling.

Soren had stepped away just for a second to grab his medical kit as his mind scrambled to comprehend what had happened over the past ten minutes. A small woman was found in his brothers’ bedroom, and she was sick and injured. His brothers were upset, but they also needed a lecture about the importance of asking for help and also the importance and value of life, no matter how small. He’d just woken up. Part of him wondered if all of this was just a dream.

Then, the moment he made it back to his bedroom to tend to the first of many objectives he needed to tackle, he was greeted with the scene of that same small woman balancing precariously on the edge of the drawer he thought she was contained in before she fell onto the bed, landing harshly on her injured arm. Guilt riddled his mind as he realized he had made some sound of surprise, which probably surprised her. His heart lurched when he heard the woman scream in agony followed by the sound of her gag and subsequent vomiting. The instinct to rush over and make sure she was okay had never been stronger in his life. It was ingrained into who he was. So often he’d rush to his brothers’ sides when something was wrong, but now he forced himself to wait.

She’s hurt.

She’s scared.

She’s sick.

She’s probably alone.

She doesn’t know me.

I have to treat this like ground zero for anyone else. I’ve done this a million times. This is just a million plus one… a very… very… small… one.

Soren felt some switch in the back of his mind flick on and, just like that, his facial expression neutralized. He felt his pulse slow and his mind quiet. For several minutes, Soren simply froze in place and waited as the small woman shivered. It was when his impulse was to take a cautious step forward that the small woman opened her eyes after averting her gaze from him all this time and slowly let herself look at him.

There was no way to know what she was thinking, but Soren knew he needed to start working on her arm as soon as possible. He had to risk saying something to her first. The words usually came to him when he was out in the field working on one case or another. Trusting himself, he took a slow, deep breath and cleared his throat.

“Hey there, little miss. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare or startle you,” Soren stated gently. His heart started to quicken, but he let himself continue. When there was no response, Soren continued. “And… I’m sorry for the way you were treated. Dorian and Rey are young. Just kids. They’ve given me plenty of battle scars too, all from being careless kids. They should know better, but I’m sure they didn’t mean to hurt you. It’s not like them to do something like this on purpose.”

Ashlynn wasn’t sure where Soren was going with this apology, if that’s what it even was, but now she felt like the conversation was being tossed back to her. Was Soren expecting a response? Should she respond? Would saying something help her or hurt her?

No. It’s a trick. I’ve got to refrain from speaking. A scream of pain doesn’t count, right? Don’t all creatures make sounds when hurt?

“Well, I’m here to… I guess… try and make it up to you? You don’t look like you’re feeling well, and your arm is either broken or dislocated. I couldn’t tell which from a glance. I know how to fix stuff like that. So, I’m asking if it’s okay for me to help you.” Soren’s words hung in the air for several, long seconds while Ashlynn processed them.

Do I want a human grabbing and poking and prodding me? No. No! Of course not!

Ashlynn glanced from Soren to her arm as her fingers tingled numbly.

Then again… do I really have a choice?

I can’t get away like this.

I’m sick.

I’m hurt.

I’m alone.

Ashlynn looked back at Soren and then back to her arm.

He might be my only chance at fixing what’s wrong with my arm. I might have to trust him…

The thought was a nauseating one, and one Ashlynn was uneasy to accept. At the same time, what other choice did she have?

The expression must’ve been easy to read on her face because Soren cleared his throat again before asking, “Why don’t we start fresh, yeah? You don’t know me. I don’t know you. So, let’s start at ground zero. My name is Soren. I’m twenty-two years old. My favorite color is pale mint green. I have a sixth sense. Finally, I have a knack for helping people. There. Your turn.”

Ashlynn’s heart raced. She wasn’t sure what to do. The Borrower woman was in the same precarious situation as she was before, but now time was running out. What would happen if Soren wanted the answers now and wouldn’t help her unless she responded? Would she suffer because of her silence?

Soren’s light chuckle drew her attention back to the human across the room. “Well, it’s okay. You don’t have to say anything. I mean, the point is for you to get to know me, right? Earn trust, not just give it away?”

Ashlynn couldn’t believe what she was hearing. This had to be fake, right?

“Tell you what. If you want me to leave… no, that won’t work either because I don’t know if you can understand and because you might not feel like talking,” sighed Soren. “Okay, new plan. I’m just going to talk this out in case you do understand, which I believe you do. Regardless of how you feel about me, it doesn’t change that your arm is hurt. So, slowly, I’m going to come over there and I’m going to fix your arm.

“If you don’t want that, say something. Back away. Squeak. Throw something. Anything. If you do understand, just… be patient with me, and I’ll do the same. Right? We’ll make some boundaries from there.” Ashlynn had to give kudos to Soren. He certainly was direct and thinking of every scenario. Was this what happened when you had kids? Especially two rowdy boys? There were obvious flaws with Soren’s plan with trying to communicate with someone who didn’t want to talk, but no one was perfect. If Ashlynn was being honest, it was the best case scenario.

She clenched her teeth and, as her head swirled, forced herself to hold still as Soren slowly took the first step forward. He took another. Then another. Each step felt like he was right there on top of Ashlynn, but it wasn’t until he was actually there beside the bed kneeling that the Borrower woman started to lose her nerve. The true moment she felt like breaking was when she craned her neck to look up into the human’s hazel eyes and swore she saw tiny flecks of green mixed in with those pools of gold.

Her whole body was shaking. Thoughts raced around her mind while being sucked into the void like dust bunnies succumbing to the vacuum cleaner hose. Only now did she register that Soren was still speaking to her, saying the same thing repeatedly.

“You’re okay. I’m not going to hurt you. I promise I’ll keep you safe.”

Now merely a foot or so away from her, Soren could see minute details of the tiny woman’s face. The way her features twitched and shifted from resolved to absolute panic. The glistening sweat from her forehead. Every shiver and shake as she obviously fought off every impulse to run. Most importantly, he could see even beneath her oversized clothing that her arm was dislocated and not broken.

Heavens… she’s so human. I can’t imagine being that small. What does the world look like from her eyes? What do I look like?... probably some kind of monster.

Soren’s brief thought let him reflect momentarily on what he wanted to say next. Already, his practical mind was switching into high gear again. He’d helped do so many things in the field before like popping in dislocated shoulders and reviving people who had lost consciousness. He’d never felt so nervous to do what had always come so natural to him.

Get it together. It’s just like all the others. Just smaller. Just take a breath.

Soren followed his advice before setting down the medical supplies he brought with him and focusing on the miniscule woman in front of him.

“Okay. First things first, yeah? Let’s get your arm taken care of?” Soren asked. He received no response, but he didn’t really need to. All he needed to do was inform and perform. “Right. So, I’m going to walk you through this first, okay? What I need to do is slip your arm back into joint. It’s dislocated, not broken. It’s a good thing. Now, I’ll need to touch your arm and your shoulder to get everything back into place. Okay? It’s going to hurt, but after it will feel much better.”

Ashlynn didn’t like the sound of any of what Soren said. Touching. Hurting. Joints. The only acceptable parts were that it wasn’t broken and that it would feel better.

Ashlynn watched as Soren’s fingers crested over the edge of the bed, fingers slightly splayed in a surrendering motion and hovered there for several long seconds. The Borrower woman choked back a sob as she saw Soren’s immense fingers beginning to approach her. Every horrible scenario filled her head and flashed before her eyes. Those fingers wrapping around her, crushing her with as much ease as breaking a cracker. Her fears surrounded her, making the Borrower feel small and powerless. She had no voice. She had no way of escape.

“Hey, little miss, it’s okay. I promise.” Soren’s voice, deep and soothing like a summer rain, was so close that it sounded all encompassing. Unlike her fears of being contained in the fleshy digits, however, the sound of the human’s words was like that of a stack of blankets on a cold winter day. Comforting. Warm. When he said she would be okay, Ashlynn felt like she could believe him.

“Please… will you let me fix your arm?” asked Soren in a tone Ashlynn could only describe as earnest and pleading. Perhaps it was desperation. Perhaps there was something pleading in Soren’s eyes that was just enough to convince her. Ashlynn glanced from the human inches from her down to her cradled arm before, after several agonizing moments, she held out her injured appendage.

It was with increasing difficulty that she felt the tips of her fingers. Even stretching out her arm made her wince. She felt a whimper in her throat, but kept it down as she kept her arm extended. Ashlynn could’ve sworn that she saw Soren’s eyes flare with curiosity and wonder, which he clearly kept at bay as he slowly reached out toward her.

The tips of his fingers easily dwarfed the small woman’s entire arm. Soren knew he had to be careful to not cause more damage, and he hoped she could forgive him. Based on the way it looked and the way she was moving, Soren recognized the injury – a dislocation. Before, he wasn’t sure, but now he was. The pads of his thumb and index finger gingerly grasped the woman’s forearm, making her lean away as her chest rose and fell rapidly.

This is crazy. This is crazy. Both thought silently at the same time.

“So, good news and bad news. Bad news is this is going to hurt a lot. Good news is that your arm isn’t broken, so your recovery time is going to be a lot shorter,” said Soren. Ashlynn’s eyes flicked up to Soren, down to her arm, and then back up to the human whose fingers now practically encased her limb.

Okay. Not broken. I can work with that.

“Okay, there’s two parts to this,” stated Soren as he placed his other fingers by her shoulder. Her eyes, which Soren could see now were a stormy blue gray, were wide open while she continued to suck in beath after breath. I need to be quicker so she doesn’t freak out. “First, I need to get your arm into the right position. Second, I’ll need to pull up and toward you to get your shoulder back into joint. Don’t be afraid to pass out or scream if you need to. It’s going to hurt. Now, lay back on your back and I’ll get you fixed up in no time.”

Ashlynn hated this. Every moment the human man’s fingers were on her was one more second she could feel his steady pulse surrounding her limb. It was one moment closer to her screaming at him to get away. It was one more moment of agony she was subjecting herself to. She hated that, with no effort, he was able to guide her body backwards onto the bed.

The faster he does this, the sooner he’ll leave, and you can get out of here. Ashlynn thought over and over.

“Don’t tense up, and I’ll go on three. Ready?” asked Soren. Ashlynn gritted her teeth as she braced herself. “One… Two… Thr-…” Ashlynn didn’t hear Soren finish the last word. Everything happened so fast. She watched as Soren rolled her arm with ease in between his fingers as he pulled her arm ever so slightly away from her body. The twisting sensation made her head spin, but the distinct *crack* was what made Ashlynn cry out as her vision darkened.

Her ears were ringing, clouding all other senses she possessed, when her vision started coming back. Reverberations in the air shifted and fluctuated around her. There was a slight pressure on her shoulder before it subsided again. The pressure and pain were gone, and sweet relief had replaced it. Ashlynn clenched and unclenched her fist and a smile spread across her face as no stabbing pain ripped through her.

The Borrower woman blinked a few times, vision clearing up, and she could see the blurry face of Soren leaning slightly over her. Something was in his hands, which were eclipsing her returning vision. Her instincts returned and she attempted to sit up and push herself away when she felt another twinge in her arm.

“Hey… hey there… little miss. You passed out on me there for a second. Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” Soren’s voice still sounded a bit muffled, but Ashlynn popped her ears a few times as he spoke, and his words became clearer with each word. He held up something that looked like a white cloth diamond. “I know your arm probably feels a lot better right now, but it’s going to be really tender and sore. Okay? So, you need to not use it and put it in something called a sling. It’ll keep your arm still while it heals.”

Ashlynn didn’t like the sound of that. Holding still? Not being able to use her dominant arm? Was this a trick? Or was this real? Soren’s fingers were fast approaching, and Ashlynn suddenly found herself scooting back until her back was pressed against the wood of the drawer that was her confinement the night before. Soren stopped and retracted his hands, sighing only for a moment as he thought about how to best address the issue. He saw distrust and unease as clearly as the sun peeking through the wintery clouds looming in the sky.

What would I do in her shoes? A massive person tells me I can’t leave and that I need to get better.

He looked earnestly into her stormy blue gray eyes and offered a look of sympathy, muttering, “Yeah, I’d have a hard time believing me too.”

This got Ashlynn’s attention. In just a single look, Soren was able to figure out what was causing the issue. He could place himself in her shoes with such ease that it almost felt unnerving. If a dull throbbing wasn’t starting to intensify in her previously dislocated shoulder, Ashlynn would have dismissed Soren’s words instantly.

Seems like he’s telling the truth. I can’t lift myself like this, especially if it’s going to be more painful than this. Ashlynn interrupted her own thought with a round of coughing before focusing back on Soren, who had the same look of concern in his eyes as he did when he first entered the room and saw her fall. He’s been right so far…

“Tell you what. Um… why don’t we… set some boundaries, yeah? Things I’m allowed or not allowed to do. Sound good?” Soren asked. Ashlynn thought about it. It wasn’t the worst idea he’d suggested. The real question wasn’t about boundaries though – it was how she was going to tell him what she did or didn’t want. It required her talking to him.

Do I talk to him? To keep from talking to him? To keep him from touching me?

“I get it. Lots of stuff happening all at once. You might be feeling the symptoms of shock as well as you being sick, but we’ll start with no touching or approaching without some kind of indicator. You seem to be the most scared of that,” muttered Soren. “And, with that being said, instead of me helping you with the sling, I’ll show you how to put it on and you do the rest. Okay?”

Ashlynn swallowed hard, feeling the nasty gloss the mucus had coated her throat with, and glanced from Soren’s hazel gold eyes to the small diamond cloth in his fingers. What on earth is this guy? A mind reader?

Soren wished he could read the small woman’s mind. It would be so much easier than guessing based only on body language and facial expressions. Whether for better or worse, Soren had delt with a lot of people of all ages in circumstances very similar to the miniscule woman currently curled up on his bed. He’d helped children, the elderly, and one too many drunks as well as a collection of everyone in between. Having two young brothers who sometimes struggled with their words didn’t hurt either.

“Well?” Soren prompted. “Sound okay?”

Ashlynn bit her lip and looked between Soren and the cloth again.

“Well, just in case you change your mind about me helping you, here’s how this goes.” Soren proceeded to show her using a pillowcase from his closet how to tie the top of the cloth around his neck in order to support his arm. He demonstrated everything as simply as he could before offering the cloth to Ashlynn.

Ashlynn, head throbbing slightly, leaned forward and snagged the cloth once Soren’s fingers were far enough away. It took her a couple of tries, but she managed to tie a knot in the end and tightened it with her teeth before sliding it over her head and lifting her sore arm into it. The whole time, Soren watched in wonder as the small woman followed his instructions perfectly, even remembering to tuck in the flap at the end to make sure her arm didn’t slide out as easily.

He decided not to make a comment about it, fearing he would make her self-conscious and shut down from future understandings and instructions, and instead grabbed a bottle of water from his kit and filled the lid with water.

“Thirsty?” he asked as he balanced the lid onto the tip of his finger. Ashlynn looked eagerly at the clear plastic cap and the clear liquid it contained. Every part of her craved water except for her throat, which felt swollen and slick. She’d tried keeping water down before but hadn’t had much luck. The Borrower woman knew she needed to try again though, regardless. So, when Soren’s finger approached slowly, she fought the urge to shy away and hauled the cap into her lap where she took small handfuls of water from her unbandaged hand.

The cool water offered little relief and, in fact, made her feel colder. The threat of nausea returned after a few seconds. Soren, however, seemed to have a plan for that. He had already placed a cracker onto a piece of tissue after crushing some of the corners and middle parts before sliding it across the bed.

“You probably need something to eat too, huh?” he asked.

Ashlynn stared eagerly at the broken saltines. She could practically smell their freshness even through her stuffy nose. Soren’s hand approached and, for the first time, she managed to clearly see some of the scars scattered about on his fingers. Some were scrapes and others were cuts, all varying in age. Most of them looked like burns.

Battle scars? Ashlynn thought quietly. What from though?

Ashlynn didn’t feel like spending the energy on trying to figure out what those marks on the human’s hand meant. For now, eating and drinking something and then keeping it down was her primary focus. The moment his fingers were far enough away, Ashlynn leaned forward and snagged a few of the fragments. She nibbled cautiously, drinking a few sips of water after each bite and waiting a moment to see how her churning insides would react. She hadn’t had a proper meal in days, and now she felt like she could finally keep some of it down.

After she finished a few fragments of cracker and part of the cap full of water, she felt her eyelids beginning to droop. The adrenaline that was keeping her upright was now completely depleted, and staying awake wasn’t an option anymore. The unease of falling asleep in the presence of a human also was a fleeting thought that Ashlynn was quickly losing her battle to.

A flicker of movement caused her to open her eyes once more, but what she saw made something in her chest and cheeks warm. Soren had another fragment of soft, fuzzy cloth he’d pulled from the other side of the bed and had set it near her side.

“Alright then, little miss. Looks like you’re getting sleepy, yeah? Okay. I’m going to leave and make sure the boys don’t bother you. I’ll be back in a bit to check on you. If you need anything, you let me know. And don’t hurt yourself getting down or anything, okay? Just get some rest and we’ll talk arrangements… well… I’ll probably talk arrangements, and you’ll probably listen. Anyway, sleep well,” said Soren gently.

Ashlynn didn’t need to be told twice. Before Soren had even left the room, she’d pulled the blanket over her injured shoulder and had laid down on her side, sleep dragging her into darkness in a matter of seconds. The Borrower wasn’t sure if trusting the human was a good or bad decision, but there was no going back now.

Desperation brought her to the brink, and now holding onto the word and a few kind actions of a being she thought would treat her inhumanely was all she had.

She hoped it would be enough.

~~~~~^*^*^*^*^~~~~~

Continue

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A Tall and Small Collection | Original Story

[stupidgtblog]

Random g/t thoughts 8 (or 9????)

I really like the concept of sleeping giants. Idk if i'm weird for it but like I really like it. Like the concept. Like the steady breathing. the COMFINESS the sleep-talking oh my god. Like I read this one fic where the giant was afraid to share a bed but he MOVED her in his sleep to his chest OHHH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOD

this one is kinda hard to explain but the almost like half-awake thoughts? Like imagine a (particularly mean) giant right before going to bed is just like 'I love you.' and tiny is just like "?????" and oh they're already asleep and will not remember this in the morning.

Also like waking them up is a whole different thing. Like I personally write all my giants to hate mornings, so getting essentially crawled and poked all over doesn't really help with crankiness. Also the fact that the tiny cant really get anywhere without them, but also we can get like accidental fear??

They couldn't wait anymore. "Wake up! It's almost noon, I've been waiting here for hours! I swear, it's ridiculous I have to deal with this every-" They are cut off by a heavy hand, pressing them deep into the way-too-hard mattress.

"be quiet," they said, groggily, but still way, way louder than they normally are.

"Ok. ok. ok, I'll be quiet - I promise." they said, still shaken.

Cut to PROFUSE apologies when they actually wake.

[hellodolleyes]

I thought it was a mouse!

I look on in astonishment, captivated by the sight before me. The once rusty-orange mouse had morphed into a tiny boy, scarcely larger than my thumb. However, even this description hardly does justice to convey his size, because I have petite little hands. He couldn't have been any bigger than a walnut.

But it didn't take long before the both of us got just a little overwhelmed-- And while I can't fault a child for crying because he was caught by someone 50 times his size. What was I supposed to do in this situation? I thought I was dealing with a cutely dressed mouse not a little boy! I'm only 14 and I'm almost positive most adults I know would have no experience with magic mice.!!

[gatoluva]

" Just a kiss. "

Lisa x Shrunken Mona WLW, G/T, SFW, MAFIA AU?? 3637 Words, moves a little slow at the beginning. Forgive me if this isn't my best writing. Open for requests.

It was a cold, rainy, dark evening. A day that the clouds swirled gray and the air was muggy from the rain, weather that anyone would find displeasure of- even those who claim to ‘love’ the rain. For Mona Megistus, it was also a hungry, hungry day, the mora-less girl hadn’t eaten- and the stars were not working in her favor this evening. She had low, long, dark purple-ombre pigtails, her outfit was mostly thrifted or donated to her, which was a black fluffy jacket, a black crop top, and purple denim jeans with black, platform boots. She walked the city’s empty streets, nobody was out because of the weather, but she had nowhere to go- bars didn’t want ‘homeless’ folks and she didn’t exactly have a home. All the girl wanted was something to munch on, but she probably can’t count on that happening this evening. So, she continued her walk, shuffling her tarot deck in her hands. 

That was until she passed by a shop with a blinding, neon purple sign that read ‘free samples’, she stopped in her tracks as she approached the shop’s window. It didn’t look like any food place, that was weird, but the sign next to the neon letters also read it was a new recipe that needed reviews, so maybe it was an up and coming business. New business or not, Mona was hungry and just reading the word ‘food’ had her stomach roaring, reminding her of the cavern she needed to feed. The girl pushed open the door to the store, a ringing sound immediately cued as she entered and a girl with short green hair, a purple, long-bell sleeved and ruffled skirt dress, with thigh-high black boots turned to look at her. Mona feels scrutinized by the lady, but as the door shut behind her and the bell stopped its chime, which was what properly greeted her instead of that staring lady, she decided to speak. 

“Hello there, miss,” she started and got closer to the supposed worker, “I am Mona Megistus, pleased to be here- I have an inquiry… is that sign still valid?” The moment Mona said anything about a ‘sign’ the green-haired girl looked pleased, appearing much more attentive towards the astrologist, Mona. 

“Ah! The free sample? Yes? Yes, yes, yes, a sample of our boss’s finest delicacy comes to you in a very, very short minute,” the green-haired lady spoke, patting Mona’s shoulder and quickly speeding off to a doorway with a beaded curtain- pushing through the beads making that oddly satisfying noise of beads clinking against each other, as she went to get the free sample…? The astrologist blinked, she hadn’t even gotten to respond to the strange worker before she ran off, huh, an odd-duck that lady was, and she spoke… uniquely… 

Mona looked around the shop, it was almost like a library- there were books everywhere, but the counter had cases of strange little potions, jewelry, and such. Almost like a magic shop… interesting. The green-haired lady came back out with a plastic container of a mysterious-looking baked good, if Mona wasn’t so hungry, surely she’d decline, but she hasn’t eaten for awhile and something like this would be fulfilling. “Our finest batch, just for you Miss Megistus~” The green-haired girl almost hissed Mona’s name, sounding almost snake-like, it was creepy in a way, but Mona bowed her head, “Why thank you, about time I’m shown some respect.” The purple-haired astrologist took the container, then the moment she looked up the green-haired girl was gone, Mona heard those beads clank- huh, it seems she went to the back again. 

Mona stared at the food, she didn’t have any utensil to eat this with, but whatever, it’s not like she hadn’t eaten with her hands before. She pinched out a piece of the food, forcing it onto her tongue and closed her mouth, chewing on it slowly. The texture was pleasing and the taste was impeccable- it was almost like it was custom-made to all her ideal likings. Of course, this made Mona only eat the dish quicker, it was so delicious, drool-worthy even, and soon enough the hungry astrologist scarfed down the whole meal. That was a free sample? It should be with a kazillion mora with how tasty it was, she lowered the container once she finished, rubbing her now happy and full stomach. 

Although that food was delicious, after a minute or so of consuming it- she started to feel ill… “Oh my, maybe I ate too fast…” she mumbled to herself because surely that was a logical explanation for eating the food. Mona looked around for a seat inside of the shop, oh lovely, in the corner of the store there’s a little corner couch with shelves surrounding, that should be a good spot to relax at until she feels better. The astrologist approached the couch, taking a seat with a hand on her stomach and laying the empty container on the floor. Mona starts to feel rather sleepy, normally she wouldn’t fall asleep inside of a place like this, but it was almost as if the food was laced with something to make her sleep almost immediately- before her eyes shut, the world was blurry but she did see a shadow of someone’s figure approach her, until everything went black and the astrologist fell asleep. 

Hours later, Mona felt her consciousness be regained- and could hear faint talking, until she felt a gigantic thud below her, recognizing she was laid on the ground and the thud shook her entire being! “Huuh, wha… happened…” she asks aloud, her speaking was slurred and slow, while her eyes slowly opened. The world was still blurry and she needed to regain her focus, looking around, everything seemed so tall, no, like really tall. The astrologist kept turning her head until she saw the green-haired girl by her, collapsed onto the floor, but the difference was the girl was humongous compared to Mona! The astrologist widened her eyes, quickly standing up but feeling herself get a little woozy once she stood.

“It’s alright, little one, that lady is all taken care of,” a feminine voice cooed from about a sky-scraper's height above. Mona slowly tilted her head back, looking all the way up, and realized the darkness was from being completely enveloped in a woman’s shadow, her eyes focused on the lady above, she was brunette, sort of long hair- at least a little below her shoulder, she was wearing black dress pants, black heels, a white dress shirt with a loose black tie, and a blazer over it. She wore excessive jewelry, earrings, necklaces, and bracelets. If Mona wasn’t scared of this unknown lady, she would swoon from how beautiful she was, but she knew nothing of this lady- she didn’t know if there were any cruel intentions or what. Mona backed away a few steps, her brows furrowed, and she looked almost defensive. However, she looked over at the collapsed green-haired girl, and something tells Mona that it’s that lady’s fault she’s this size, and that the brunette saved her. Oh the little astrologist felt so conflicted. 

Suddenly, the brunette girl started squatting down, gah- just what is she doing! Mona jumped back another step, squinting up at the lady. “Not much of a talker, are you?” The brunette girl asked with a head tilt, her eyes were so full, a pretty green that reminded Mona of a tsavorite crystal, but they were full of untrusting curiosity, the lady seemed mischievous which raised the astrologist’s guard. Though, Mona can’t get away with silence forever. “I am Mona Megistus,” she introduced with a sharp, prideful tone, “I demand that you tell me who you are and what you’re here for!” The puny astrologist crossed her arms and turned away, closing her eyes, acting as if she threw a fit, but opened an eye that glared at Lisa, just to make sure her eyes were still on the lady. Just to watch out for any unpredicted movements, of course. The brunette giggled and that confused Mona, she felt like it was disrespectful in some way, but then the brunette softly spoke, “That is fair, miss Megistus,” she nodded toward the smaller and sighed. “I am Lisa, I came here originally to shake this lady down for something, but then I saw her over here standing over you, and I’ve met this lady before- she has nothing but cruel intentions, so I saved you, you should really thank me, cutie,” Lisa said and shot a wink at the astrologist. 

Mona arched a brow at the wink. Really? Thank her? The astrologist shook her head, “Alright, find out how I shrunk then, Miss Lisa.” The purple-haired girl ordered, facing toward the brunette again. “Trust me, I intend on doing that, but that’s the least of my concerns right now… Mona. I have other business I need to focus on.” The astrologist frowned, “Like what?” Lisa is taken aback a tad by the question, “That isn’t your business,” she assertively says. The lady seems secretive. 

The brunette seemed like she was about to get up, the purple-haired astrologist really didn’t want to be left here alone, and she’d rather be with someone she has somewhat made acquaintance to. “Wait!” Mona ran up a little closer to the lady, and the brunette paused. “Hmm, what is it, little one?” 

“I can’t help but feel my size could be fate, and if it is I’d rather be stuck with someone that the stars tell me I am safe with, and I think you’re the closest person I am safe with for the time being,” Mona quickly explained, placing her hands in front of herself, hand in hand, politely. Lisa grew a pleasant smile at the explanation, “Miss Megistus, it almost sounds like you’re saying we are fate,” she teased. The astrologist crossed her arms immediately, “That is not what I am saying, I would really just like to be with someone who can protect me, and seeing that that miss over there is on the floor knocked out, you seem like someone who can protect me,” she more specifically explained. Lisa seemed amused by the re-explaining done by the astrologist, she held back her giggle though and offered her hand to Mona to climb onto then. “Then come with me, Miss Megistus.” The astrologist stared at Lisa’s hand being offered, it was gloved and looked so inviting. “I- well, alright then,” Mona dipped her head in a bow, then approached the giant hand. This hand could have the strength to pin her down or hold her inside of its first entirely, it was sort of thrilling thinking of the power it had, the power Lisa had, and that the woman didn’t use it against the astrologist, she felt oddly safe. Mona climbed into the hand, centering herself in the middle of the woman’s palm then looked up at her. “Thank you, Miss Lisa, that comes from the stars and I,” she says softly. The corners of Lisa’s lips pulled into another pleasant smile, “Of course, anything for a little cutie such as yourself,” she replied which made the small astrologist blush, and then the brunette stood herself up. 

A small gust of wind brushed through Mona’s hair as Lisa stood, she looked around at everything, it was so high up and slightly amazing. Something in Mona’s gut and brain strike fear in her, being so high up, if she dropped… that surely would be death, but something about Lisa is so comforting, so ensuring that she wouldn’t ever predict being dropped, not even the stars could predict something that is surely unlikely to occur. What was it about this woman that made her feel so safe? While Mona thought Lisa had already walked out of the store and held Mona close to her chest so she was safe in her hold, Once the astrologist realized how quickly they’ve moved, she started thinking more about her own size than thinking about her carrier, Lisa. If Mona had to walk this distance on her own, surely it’d take like… a day or more. Mona couldn’t possibly survive at this size on her own, she’s already struggling at normal-sized… 

“Little one?” Lisa asked, noticing the smaller silence had taken up for quite a while, and the astrologist was staring off into the distance as if wrapped in endless thoughts. Yet, Lisa got no response, Mona was still thinking, the brunette blinked and raised her free hand, gently poking the astrologist. The purple-haired girl squeaked in surprise, scooting from the gloved finger and staring at it. “Little one…” Lisa called again. “Oh- huh, wha…?” Mona asks, looking back at the lady’s face with confusion. “Nothing, I wanted to check if you were alright.” The purple-haired girl’s heart doted on that sentence for a bit, she’d never been checked on before, being alone for a while on the streets- fending for food, shelter, etc. Nobody has ever cared for her until this woman came along, saving her and now allowing Mona to tag along with her for protection. Lisa was unaware of the sentiment she had just given the astrologist. 

Things were getting darker though and slightly began to reek as Lisa walked down an alleyway, Mona was confused, looking up at Lisa expecting an answer just by her glare. “Where are we going?” Lisa glanced down at Mona with the question, “Well, you should know that I am affiliated with a group… and I need to take care of some business, as stated previously,” she said, kind of circling around the question- not giving a direct answer, could she really trust this girl? While she might be small, it doesn’t mean she should doubt her capabilities of going out and about saying stuff, or maybe jumping into things that roar danger. 

Mona felt weird anxiety at that response and began looking around, “Lisa, tell me or the stars will-” she threatened weakly, and at that Mona shrieked in surprise as she was shoved inside of Lisa’s blazer pocket by her waist. Lisa’s gloved hand kept Mona pinned in there and the fabric silenced Megistus, “Give me a second,” she whispered for Mona to hear and approached one of her henchmen. “Hello Kaeya,” the brunette greeted, stopping before him. Kaeya was tall, somewhat taller than Lisa, and had brown skin. He wore an eye patch and had his long, blue hair tied back with some of his bang covering the eye patch. He wore a white collared shirt with a black vest on top, black slacks, and black combat boots. Kaeya tossed a coin up into the air, catching it in his hand and looking toward Lisa with a sly, catty smirk. “Hello boss,” he returned the greeting and slid the coin into his pocket. “So, what will I be up to today?” Kaeya requested for an order, always wanting to be on his feet doing something, it was boring if he had no heavy work to take care of, Lisa knew that though, always sending the blue-haired boy running around places. “Can you do some research on that magic shop run by Katarina, the mage? Something about that free sample is off, I want all the information on it, immediately…” Lisa sharply ordered. “You’ve got it boss, but why the sudden interest?” Kaeya was nosy, he tried to press on the subject and pray some more details out of Lisa, what is so interesting about that magic store? 

“Oh nothing~ I’m just as curious as always, Kaeya,” she said and stepped past him, raising her hand that wasn’t pinning Mona in the pocket to nudge him forward, “go along now, I want that information quickly,” Lisa forced him out then. The blue haired man was suspicious, but he’ll do as ordered.  The brunette waited for him to be fully out of the alleyway, she walked deeper inside to her base and brought Mona back out as she walked. “Hypothetically speaking, of course,” she winked, “I am hypothetically the ringleader of a mafia, but do not fret, Megistus, I don’t come in harm- to you anyways, you’re far too cute for me to want to hurt little old you.”  

Mona had no idea what to feel with Lisa’s words, the interaction she had to hear between some ‘Kaeya’ guy and the woman that she was in the hands of. Just what has Mona gotten herself wrapped up in? Some mafia clan? She furrowed her brows, not sure how to handle this, sure this woman helped her but is also involved in crimes. How can she trust a criminal such as Lisa? Her eyes become pupils that translate into terror, the terror of being clueless and unable to process what she’s going through. “Do you expect me to just trust you, Miss Lisa? I- forgive me, I need a moment,” Mona escapes into her thoughts, closing her eyes and thinking about the stars, the only guidance Mona really needs is from the stars, what she trusts to be true. What does fate have in store for the astrologist? 

Lisa understood the other’s hesitance to immediately trust her, if she were Mona- she’d feel the same, so the brunette is patient, pausing on her walk to the base to give Mona the time she needs. “I have given you thought, even though I, Mona Megistus, find it distrustful and disrespectful you didn’t tell me the truth of your identity sooner- I am willing to repair that tear in this friendship and allow you to regain my trust, If I’m honest, maybe earlier you weren’t far off- pairing us two as fate because the stars and my astrology tell me to trust you, even if what you do is… fairly immoral, there isn’t much I can do… being so… small…” she shivered at mentioning her size, just processing how big the world was compared to her again. The brunette arched a brow at that realization and also smirked, “Aw, really? Well if you say we are fate, miss ��Astrologist’ then I suppose I should trust you, you’re the professional here in all things fate,” she says with assumption, daring to flirt with Mona, which brings the small purple haired girl to shock. 

Suddenly, Mona feels the hands below her raise her up higher, “Um- Lisa, what is it that you’re doing? I just said I trust you, don’t make me take that back…” Then, Lisa’s big lips came into Mona’s frame, they had a purplish-red shade on them, it suited Lisa’s face beautifully.Her skin was so clear, it looked so soft and Mona wanted to lay her hand on the other’s face, but she couldn’t. That’d be inappropriate, wouldn’t it? She had just met this lady, and she’s feeling intense emotions over her, maybe shrinking has driven Mona insane. Lisa brought Mona higher, to the waterline of her eye, squinting at her, “Forgive me if I’m mistaken, Mona, but weren’t you just admiring me?” She asked, Lisa is well aware that Mona was, but she likes seeing the little one falter. 

“Me?” Mona asks, putting a hand on her chest and referencing herself. “Please, Lisa, you suddenly raised me to your lips- of course, I’m going to look in confusion, that is far intimidating,” she responded. The brunette sighed, “What’s intimidating about them? Are they too chapped for you? Do you think I’m going to eat you? Aw, you really are bite-size, but I am not interested in making you a meal- that is… inhumane of me, Miss Megistus.” If this were a cartoon, Mona’s eyes would swirl and she’d faint with a beet-red face, however, her cheeks do pinken at the idea. “What?! This is absurd, Lisa, none of those options–” Lisa giggled at Mona, and that is when Mona realized Lisa was just teasing her. “What if I gave you a kiss?” The brunette proposed, and Mona furrowed her brows, a kiss? 

“I think I need you to provide me with more details than just that, Miss Lisa,” Mona said slowly, ensuring she understood Lisa correctly. The woman wanted to kiss her? What? Lisa smirked at the fact the astrologist didn’t exactly decline it. “I press my lips against you, a kiss, doesn’t exactly have to be romantic, it’s just an idea floating within my head, and probably yours with all your admiration,” she says with a little hum. The purple-haired girl sounds exasperated, obviously flustered with the accusation and the idea of being kissed by this woman. “Well, if you’re going to accuse me of wanting a kiss from you, then I guess… kissing me wouldn’t hurt, would it?” Mona gave in weakly, looking away from the giant woman. Lisa giggled, “What? You want me to kiss you, Mona? But we had just met,” she teased. “Oh- I thought you were rather… serious…” Mona trailed off, somewhat disappointed, thinking it was all just a pointless tease. The astrologist should’ve expected that from the brunette- she doesn’t seem the type to just give away kisses from those lovely, lovely lips, just like that… That was where Mona was quickly proven wrong. The little astrologist was lowered and brought towards a giant pair of soft, plump lips, that puckered around her entire body and smooched her. The astrologist squirmed at the quickness of it but leaned into the lips after a second, oh they were soft- and they were of a lovely and enchanting woman. However, it felt so wrong at the same time considering the reminder in her head that the two just met. If the brunette didn’t mind though, and Mona didn’t mind, then it should be okay for now. It was in fact, just a kiss.

[welcometomylittlelife]

Hey guys

Hey guys... I'm back. I'm sorry for the delay and for the informality of this post. All things considering, I'm grateful to be posting at all.

I've had a lot of things happen to me all at once. I don't want to go into all of the details, but I do want to say that I'm feeling better now. I was in a dark place emotionally and did a few rash things that I immediately regretted.

I knew it and I did it anyway because I don't even know why. I thought I had something to prove to myself. I thought I needed to do something. I thought there would be some kind of answer at the end of the road.

There wasn't.

What I learned was that I am who I am, regardless of circumstance, and shutting out the people who matter the most in my life is no way to deal with my problems. In fact, I need to be turning to the people who matter the most in my life to get through everything.

I still feel sad and angry and confused, but it's more about the circumstances and not at anyone in particular. I know how to deal with these things and I know talking these things out is the only effective way to get through it all.

Anyway, sorry for my rambling. Thanks for listening.

So long! Parker

[seraphinxxa]

i need ultraman rising g/t fics and/or art cuz that movie has so much potential that’s all i could think about

[itsgothgirlthyme]

chapter 1: the plummet of doom

next chapter

stranger things g/t

hi! i had multiple asks for this so i finally wrote something for it!! i hope i can deliver, based on what i made last year. i wanna continue this story :) ugHh! summary is, dustin finds you, and its misery. until TADA steve harrington swoops in to save you. also the borrower is a fellow girly.

borrower!reader x steve harrington

pov: you're a borrower who got herself stuck in a trash can

Stuck between plastic you tried to pry yourself out of the darkness. The stench of rotten foods you’d wished you’d gotten your hands on before made you gag. Sure, you could take the smell of a dead mouse stuck inside a trap but still cry at its death. Yet this food, it smelled foul and your hand sunk into it. It collapsed under your fingers as you gingerly pulled your hand back. You grabbed onto a piece of black plastic and pulled yourself up. 

I’m such an idiot. 

You continued to climb up the mountains of garbage bags while trying not to fall. It was slick or sticky depending where you touched it. You recalled yourself earlier in the day when no one was home, other than for that stupid cat. You’d climbed onto the tabletop and were getting quite a few crumbs of bread. A victory you awaited to celebrate in the coziness of your walls. Yet when that thing meowed at you, it scared the shit out of you. Foolishly you misstepped and fallen into the depths of rotten peels and papers. Your hook had gotten stuck on thick brown paper and wouldn’t let go, and then the worst of it happened. That damn door to the entrance boomed making you freeze up. Your grip grew tighter as footsteps boomed in your direction. A familiar high-pitched voice of the house was talking to the devil cat.

Then she muttered something about the trash being taken out. That's when you hid under the flesh of fruit and held your breath. Then find yourself trying to untangle yourself from this mess. It had taken far too long to break the garbage bag, but journeying to the top of the tin became hard labor. You were dirty, sweating, and really wanted a breath of fresh air. Things you were used to feeling, but this time you weren’t sure if you’d make it. These humans, you weren’t sure where they threw out so much food waste in the first place. Your hands trembled. Would you suffocate in this pile of trash, or worse? 

You climbed up the last black bag closest to the lid. Yet you were so far away, and when you jumped your flicker of hope vanished. 

“Shit,” you squeaked as your foot went over something slick. 

You fell on top of another bag in the darkness and looked up at the ceiling. The longer you looked at the dark metal caved lid your eyes welled up. This couldn’t be it, to die due to your own foolishness. You’d expected to die due to a fight with the whiskered beast, or crushed by the hand of a human. Not being dumped into the trash due to your own skittishness (or stupidity). 

“No,” you said to yourself. You got up and slid down the trash to hit the metal can. You started to bang it in frustration, like it would open. You shouted till your throat got sore, not remembering when you’d even shouted last. Hot tears slipped down your face, at least you wouldn’t go down quietly. Yet no one would know, the mad little borrower, screaming till they could no longer breathe. 

Your knuckles stung and your tears had stopped. Then a loud creaking noise followed by being shed in golden light made you gasp. Tearful again you turned to look up and your eyes went wide. The house you borrowed from, the boy that lived there, stared down at you in awe.

“Holy shit,” he said. 

You purse your lips together and lean into the wall. 

I think I’ll die actually. 

Your thoughts were not answered as a large hand loomed over you. You ran and tried to dig your way into the garbage. When you tried to dive in further into the trash he’d gotten your leg. Pulling you out painfully slowly and you sighed. This was worse than trash death, this was so much worse. You were held upside down and you were met with his dark brown eyes. His fingers pinched your ankle and you were terrified it would break. 

“What are you?” he asked. 

A warm cloud of air hit your face causing you to swing. You stayed silent, not daring to give this kid more reason to keep you around. You hoped. Again, your hopes were crushed as he dropped you into darkness. The small space had even you feeling cramped in as you kicked the doors of it. He shushed you but that only made you kick harder. The doors wouldn’t budge but when you heard two voices you stopped. 

Then it went quiet. Then it went still. Then something zipped and you hit the ground. 

“Ow,” you muttered.

The ground under you was colored red and felt like dust. You became distracted for a moment as you put it between your fingers. Tiny rocks slipped past your fingers, and your lips parted. You realized it was quite warm as well, and when you looked up you hissed. It was a bright light that packed a lot of heat it seemed. You’d never seen it before, or maybe you had. You looked away and blinked. Seeing the outline of the light in dark colors everywhere you looked. Then you saw the kid again, staring at you. 

You stood up and already scurried off under a piece of wood. Yet he knew you were there but you couldn’t help yourself. You’d rather die trying to survive than playing his game. 

“Aw, hey buddy. I’m not going to hurt you,” his voice was now above you. 

“Buddy,” you scoffed with a brow raised. 

This kid was trying to act like a nice guy? 

“Look, uh. I don’t know if you know English actually,” he said. You looked to the other exit of the wood tunnel and started to crawl through it. “But I’m not going to hurt you, okay?” he said. When you crawled out you saw him, staring right at you. He frowned but then his face lit up. 

“Maybe you’re hungry,” he seemed determined as he scurried out of the room. You looked back at the red dust to see it stopped at… glass. Your heart dropped and you got out of the wooden tunnel. You looked around to see your worst nightmare. You were trapped in a glass box, and the only way out was up. Your heart started to pound against your chest and your hand touched it. You wanted to cry again, and you weren’t sure if it was possible to. 

Then something fell right beside you, and you looked back up. The kids' fingers pulled away and you looked back down. There was a pile of food beside you and you licked your lips. The kid told you to go ahead and eat from the same source. He called it, KitCat? Whatever it was, it took you a moment but you dug right in. It tasted like heaven to you, it melted in your mouth and was sweet. A different kind of sweet from that one time you had the peel of an apple or any other food. 

You’d sat down beside it and ate away till you were full. When you were done, you could feel his eyes burning the back of your head. You sighed, now full, at least feeling a little better, but what now? 

“My name is Dustin,” he introduced himself. 

Your brows shot up and you looked up at him. 

“Dustin,” he pointed at himself. 

The giant child was trying to have a conversation with you. You sighed, defeated, and took in a deep breath. You stood up and told him your name. This sent him into being a crazed maniac. He was giggling, gasping, and practically shouting at you. You just stared back up at him in shock at how overjoyed he was to hear you say a couple of words. You decided to stay quiet afterward, already regretting those words. You’d hidden under the wooden log and curled yourself up into a ball. You didn’t even have your damn hook anymore, you felt naked, useless. Eventually, the kid gave up, told you goodnight, and turned the lights off. Except yours. Thankfully it was a quiet night as you tried to fight off heavy eyelids. Eventually darkness, once again, got the best of you. 

You felt weightless and then your face crashed into something. You blinked your eyes open and realized you were trapped in darkness. You rubbed your eyes and your body flung toward another wall in the darkness. You hissed in response and backed up to the other wall. You steadied yourself and then your heart sank. 

Last night flashed before your eyes and now you were here. Stuck inside the trap he’d put you in last night. Going who knows where, and you couldn't fight it. You couldn’t do anything so you kicked the opening again. Nothing happened, but you did it again. You kicked again and again until you got tired. 

Being thrown into a bag and tossed around was not ideal. All the while this kid, Dustin, said nothing to you. You sat, defeated in his trap, as loud muffled noises met your ears. It scared the hell out of you, to be in this position. Would he tell other humans about you? What was he going to do with you? It made your head hurt. 

Time passed, and finally, the bag opened. You were lying down and were immediately met with new faces. They all looked wide-eyed, mouths dropped and they were all children. 

“Oh what the…” you stood up while trying to sink back into the bag. 

“What is that?” the boy with thick black hair said. 

You raised a brow at that, that. They are referring to you as it? 

Dustin told them your name and you rubbed your temple. Your neck strained looking up at a total of five new faces. Oh, you hated this, this is bad. 

“What? Did you name it?” the boy with a bandana tied around his head asked. 

“It’s my own name,” you spoke up. 

All eyes snapped to you and you stayed seated. You looked over your shoulder and your eyes went wide. All you could see were patches of long thick green grass. 

“This is insane,” the redhead girl said. 

“Isn’t it so cool?” Dustin said giddily. 

You followed the conversation, kinda, but eventually, you lost track of the topics. Something about a creature named Dart, and how Dustin found you. You hopped over the ledge and your feet were met with a soft ground. The blades of grass met your height and the edge of your lips tugged upward. You reached a hand out to touch it but then you got scooped up into a warm hand. 

Damnit. 

You struggled against their grip but their fingers just tightened around you. The world spun until you were met by the kids' faces again. They started to blur in front of you and your breath started to get shallow. Once again you’d faded into darkness. 

—

It had been a couple of days of being handled and biting your tongue. You’d still been staying in Dustin’s glass box, which was called an “aqua-something” you couldn’t remember. You’d occasionally see his pet “turtle” slowly walking around on the floor. You sat on the log with your head in your hands. Trying to think of a way out of the cage, since Dustin put down the mesh top on it. You were close to escape two nights ago but had managed to mess up your leg. It wasn’t till you were awkwardly walking around in the morning he’d made the connection.

You perked up when you heard the door and slid under the log. You watched Dustin walk in on his lonesome. That was odd, usually the other kids joined him to just watch you (creepy). He flopped onto the bed and huffed. You rested your hands on the log and watched him look sad. It actually made your heart crack at the sight. Dustin hadn’t treated you horribly, but not amazingly either. Yet, you knew human children were complicated. You’d heard his mom complain about his teenage years when you were still in the walls.

Your brows furrowed and you huffed. Yep, now you remembered why you hated him. He took you away from your quiet, peaceful life which would have ended in a trashy death. When you zoned back into reality Dustin was no longer in bed. The hairs on your neck rose as a shadow loomed over you. Exhausted, you just let him pick you up into his warm palms. He held you in a loose fist and you stared up at him. 

“You’re still mad at me?” he asked. 

You didn’t say anything and he sighed. Clearly, you were still upset over him holding you so tightly you’d passed out. The first time he showed you to his friends, he’d left bruises for days all over your ribs. They were sore alongside your pride, now with the addition of a possibly broken leg. 

“I’m sorry,” he repeated for the millionth time. You looked away with little to no interest in his words. If you had any power over him, it was this. You didn’t give him what he wanted, and he’d leave you alone. Most of the time. This time he’d placed you in his backpack which had duck tape all over one side. You were surrounded by duck tape on the inside as well and pressed yourself up against it. He’d travel in silence the entire time and that freaked you out. The kid was always talking your ear off, even when you were pretending to not listen. Honestly, the things he said confused you but again, interested you. 

In the darkness, you finally heard Dustin whispering. Another voice whispered back and soon enough you were jostled in the bag. You landed on your bad leg and bit down a yelp. The sound of the zipper was followed by light. You dragged yourself to the corner of the pocket and were still shed by a shadow. 

“Dude, what are you talking about? There's nothing here,” a guy said. 

“She’s probably hiding, hold on,” Dustin said. 

Damn right, I am. 

You pressed your back against the wall and hugged your knee to your chest. You blinked in surprise as the surface below you tipped. You started to slide and you had nothing to grab onto. Your good leg met with a hard surface and the bag disappeared. Your eyes darted around you and you found out you were on an open table. Escape was possible. 

“What the–” you heard as Dustin cut off the voice. 

“Right?” Dustin introduced you to the voice.

You slowly turned around to be met with someone older for once. You take a step back and cringe at the pain shooting up your leg. The guy looked at you with wide brown eyes but they softened. His tense shoulders relaxed and his brows furrowed. He put his hands on the table and he looked at Dustin. 

“She’s scared, and looks like hell,” he said. Soon enough loud voices filled your ears as you started to step away to the edge of the table. You looked down at the drop which would surely end you. A shiver ran up your spine and you looked over your shoulder. 

…

Steve watched you and his chest cracked at the sight. You were pale and were shaking like a leaf. Not to mention the limp in your walk. You’d been handled by Dustin and his knucklehead friends. He ran a hand through his hair and put a hand on his hip. He’d dealt with weird shit before but you were something entirely new. He didn’t want to freak you out, considering Dustin had helped in that department already. 

“Okay okay,” Steve tapped the table, “Dustin, I’m taking her.” 

“What?” Dustin asked and your head snapped to Steve. 

Steve’s eyes went wide and he shook his head. “I mean, they’ll just stay with me. Dustin, clearly you’ve done enough.”

Dustin tried to fight his idea, claiming you’d been “found” by him. If anything you helped him, you vividly remember going insane in a trash can. That led him to opening it, so you really saved yourself, kinda.

“Dustin, just look at her,” Steve pointed at you. 

Dustin’s anger washed away but no words followed. 

“Steve!” Robin shouted from the other side of the doors. 

“Yeah, I heard you!” Steve shouted back. 

You jumped and he apologized immediately. Your tiny face finally looked up at him but he couldn’t detect your emotions. Once Dustin recapped Steve on what had happened up to this point, Robin burst in. 

“Jesus,” Steve jumped and turned around to face her. He moved himself to cover you from her vision as Robin started to complain to him. 

“C’mon doofus, it's my break time,” Robin exclaimed and continued to complain. 

Your heart raced as you let Steve’s silhouette cover you from her eyes. Dustin kept looking at you but you could never meet his eyes. You sidestepped closer to Steve and the edge of the table. Your head was spinning, and you were losing sight of your escape plan “the plummet of doom” you’d called it 5 minutes ago. 

“Oh my god, what is that?” you heard and you looked upward.

Robin, Steve, and Dustin loomed over you. Your heart plummeted to your stomach and you slid off the table. You hugged a leg of the table and made your way down. Shouts followed and then your fingers gave out. Hair whipped your face as you shut your eyes tight. Instead of being met with a hard floor you were met with something soft. You opened your eyes to see Steve staring down at you, inches away. Your face flushed at the closeness while he looked startled. His fingers cave in around you to hold you still and you don’t move.

“Jesus, who jumps off a ledge like that?” was the first thing he blurted.

[greatgigintheskiess]

A bond beyond flight

CW: Blood, Broken wings, Tiny Whump

Word count: < 2 k

On a warm spring evening, Eleonore was tending to her garden, as usual and at this time of the year, most of her flowers had already spread their blossoms. Different scents lay in the soft evening breeze as the old woman finished her work of weeding and stretched her aching back a bit. 

Day by day, she's getting older, Eleonore thought. And in fact, she clearly wasn't the youngest anymore but in her mid sixties, having her sweet years behind. Her husband had died 10 years ago, since then she barely went out to talk to other people. Her only son lived far away and had his own family to care for, only visiting her on her birthday and Christmas. And sometimes, when she's all alone, on quiet evenings like this, she noticed how lonely she actually was.

Eleonore let out a long sigh and put the last strands of weed in her basket before bringing it into her shed. No doubts, her backyard looked good like this, at least one thing she's good for in her age. She had admired her work for a while now and then slowly went up on her porch, sitting down in a rocking chair with a short breath, panting. The old woman sat there for a moment, letting the thoughts flow through her head as the birds and crickets filled the silence with their melody. 

But somewhere in the distance was a squeaking. 

No, actually quite nearby. 

Eleonore sharpened her ears, though her eyes may not be the best anymore, her good hearing still remained, for a woman her age. She looked around the backyard and slowly stood up from her chair. The sound was coming from behind her flower pots, which were standing not far away from the porch door. Carefully, the elder shoved one pot away, to see what caused that noise. 

And on the wood, right beside the wall, she saw a little moth cub. Eleonore leaned down a bit to take a closer look at the tiny one, when she realized it was wounded. One of its brown wings was so damaged that the poor thing probably will never fly again. It must've gotten into a light trap as the lamp was hanging right above.

Very slowly, the woman kneeled down and took the moth cub into her hands. With a sad frown, she looked down on it as there sure wasn't any hope it could survive without its wings. But the little one was still breathing and slightly moved on her hand, revealing its tiny body. And from this angle, it looked like a young boy, around 12 years, with fluffy chestnut hair, one side slightly lighter than the other. He was wearing some kind of green cloth, one could merely call a shirt, his freckled skin was covered in dried mud and his tiny nose bloody. 

Eleonore couldn't believe her eyes. She has never seen a tiny creature like this and wondered where the boy came from. He looked so worn out and scrunched up his tiny face, squeaking helplessly. 

"Poor little thing...", she mumbled to the boy in her hands.

As carefully as she could, the elderly woman put the child in her apron's large pocket and went inside her home. On a desk, she placed down her sewing pillow and took out all the needles, putting them in a jar. Eleonore took the moth cub out of her pocket again, feeling that he's slowly getting back his consciousness, and placed him on the pillow. 

"There you go, little one." 

The boy flapped his eyes open and stirred on the pillow, trying to push himself up but gnashed his teeth in pain. Eleonore held her hand for support, one of her fingers gently stroking his head. 

"Careful, sweetheart, careful", she said softly, watching the child sitting up on the fabric, his wings hanging down helplessly. 

Eleonore heard a thin little voice from below, a squeal sounding so bitterly, but the word, the child said, stinged the woman's heart even more.

"Hurts..." 

And that's when she saw his tiny face for the first time. Hazel eyes, full of fear and agony, met hers. The little one must be so scared and confused. Unfortunately, Eleonore didn't know what to do to help the boy. Losing his ability to fly has to be one of the most awful things for a little moth like him. 

"I know, dear, but you're safe now", Eleonore reassured, hearing a few sniffles and sobs from the child, "Shhh, it's alright. Please, don't cry." 

The woman was soothing and shushing the boy, while one of her fingers kept stroking his head. Soon, he calmed down a bit, steadying his breath. But the child still looked very pale and so unnaturally thin, almost emaciated. There was a stinging feeling in her chest and for a moment, Eleonore remembered when her son had been a little boy and barely ate anything as he was sick of fever. So she didn’t hesitate, went to the kitchen and came back with a pipette, a plate of leftover pie and a bowl of water, carefully placing it on the desk right beside the sewing pillow, the boy lay on. He was wiping away the dirt and tears on his face and Eleonore thought of giving him a good clean-up later on, too - very softly and carefully of course. But for now, the child needs to be fed. 

She took the pipette with two fingers and brought it to the boy's lips. First, he backed off but Eleonore's veiny hand behind his back reassured the situation and a few drops of water flowed into his mouth, dripping down his throat pleasurably. Eleonore let out a relieved sigh when the child finally swallowed the water like a needy little bird baby getting some food from his mother. Not only because of his size but how he looked right now, so young and vulnerable, as if he would break if Eleonore just touched him. 

The old woman put away the pipette again and broke off a crumb from the pie, helding it out to the boy. But the child turned away, shaking his head slightly and creased his forehead. 

"Come on, dear, you have to eat something", Eleonore said softly, "you're only skin and bones." 

She tried it once again and finally the boy opened his mouth and started eating. Although the crumb looked so tiny in her hand, it probably was enough for the child, considering he was literally tiny too, the old woman thought. 

"That's fine, little one. Eat." 

Eleonore couldn't help but draw a soft but sad smile when the moth cub ate it all up and big round eyes met her gaze. She always liked the feeling to see her grand-children enjoying the food she cooked for them. But that was so long ago... By now they sure all grew up and would never look up to her with those big children's eyes. 

And this one was probably the first child in years that gave her the feeling to be needed. Because who needs an old frail granny nowadays? 

A small squeak interrupted her thoughts in a sudden when she saw that the boy tried to move his body. He let out some helpless whimpers, probably in pain of his torn wing. Eleonore thought about fixing it in a way but didn't come up with any. It just had to be nature's way and the boy was way too weak and frail to survive on his own. Good thing was that there weren't any predators nearby when he was wounded. And if Eleonore hadn't heard him, the child probably didn't have a chance. 

Pity flooded the old woman's heart at the sight of the crying boy. She reached out her hand towards the child that recoiled, still in fear. The boy didn't seem to trust her yet even after she fed him. But it was more than understandable and Eleonore couldn't blame him. Very very slowly she put her hand down on the desk next to the pillow and slightly shoved the child on her palm with the other free hand. 

The boy gave a few further squeaks and whimpers when he lay on the giant palm. His tiny hands, feet and proportions fascinated Eleonore even more now and again, she was staggered by their extreme size difference. Though he was terrified, the woman took a bit of water out of a bowl and slowly poured it over the boy's head and back, while her thumb was brushing his tiny body for comfort and to get at least a bit off the dirt on his skin. The water seemed to cool his wounds, now that the child relaxed a bit in Eleonore's palm and seemingly enjoyed the procedure by closing his eyes and letting himself get cleaned. 

After the 'bath' she patted him dry a bit with a washcloth and for once, she saw the freckles all over his skin, which were covered by dirt before and the little nose was no longer bloody. His hair was now clean too and a few light brown strands even shimmered in the light of the desk lamp.

By now it has gotten dark outside and a cold breeze blew through the opened window of her bedroom, making the child shiver a little bit, which Eleonore felt in her hand. 

Well, his hair was still a bit wet and the cloth he wore also hasn't dried yet. The woman couldn't help but look down on him in compasion, when he curled up on her palm, rubbing his tiny arms. 

"Are you a bit cold, huh? Well, it is a bit chilly outside tonight", she remarked and put the tiny one down on the sewing pillow again. 

Eleonore stood up from the chair, feeling a twinge in her back and slowly went to the window to close it again. She really overworked herself today and deserved some good rest. But the thought of the little boy didn't leave her alone now. She felt responsible for the child because it didn't seem like he had anyone else. Maybe he is lost and his parents are searching for him in vain or he is orphaned and nobody will come look for him... Eleonore couldn't know what happened to the boy unless he is willing to tell her himself. For now the child only said a word and it was mostly the woman who was talking to him. Maybe someday he will eventually tell her his name, where he is from and how he got here in the first place but it still had time. 

Luckily, she still had some scraps of soft fabric left over and took it from her sewing box. There was also a little piece that would fit perfectly for a new tiny top and little pants. Maybe she asks the kid tomorrow whether he wants some new clothes and this way, Eleonore would finally take all of her supplies out of the drawer, as she hasn't sewn anything for a while now. 

The boy, curled up on the pillow like a kitten, eventually stopped shivering when the old woman pulled the makeshift blanket up to his chin, a finger stroking down his shoulders once more before she let the child sleep in peace. 

Eleonore observed the tiny one for a while, before she stood up and would head to her bed too. Just when she had turned around and clicked off the light, she heard a soft mumble coming from the desk.

"Thank you." 

And even though it was just these two words, it still was everything to her. Said so quietly and tired but meant so sincerely, it truly made Eleonore's heart soar. That night, for such a long time in her life, she no longer felt alone.    

[ashamedart]

I'm trying out my first (kind of) g/t fic on here ahaha I'm so scared

Things not seen (title may change)

Chapter 1: The Demon

… the bell rings. Oh. I forgot I was in school… it’s the last period on the day before spring break, and it’s… terrifying. I’m graduating so soon... I snap back to attention and quickly start piling all my stuff in my backpack. A few mechanical pencils, lots of books, a sketchbook and a writing notebook… I don’t need half of the things I bring to school, but I still want to. And I feel like I should. I walk out the classroom door, avoiding eye contact with my teacher and classmates, and into the crowded hallway, packed with noise. I practically press myself against the walls to try to avoid physical contact. Thankfully, I make it outside without being trampled by the horde. It’s at one of those temperatures that makes it a bit too warm with my sweater on, and a bit too cold with it off. I feel a hand on my shoulder and jump, spinning around to be greeted by Fiona’s grinning face. She’s always been bolder than me in terms of the way she dresses, her outfit consisting of a pink sweater over a short black skirt, fishnet tights, and combat boots. There are little things in her hair, stickers on her shoes, and pins of games and shows all over her bag. I could never just have my interests on display like that…

“Oh. Um. Hi.” “Hi!!”

“Are we going to the tree today?” “I would love to, but… actually, I came to find you to tell you something… I’m gonna be gone for the whole break.”

My heart sinks, but I put on a smile.

“Really? Where to?”

“Ireland! My dad’s taking me to see my grandma and uncles.” Ireland!? She’s going to a different country!? But I was looking forward to spending the break with her! I had basically everything planned! “Oh, wow! Heh, lucky you… when do you leave?” “Uh… sometime soon?” “... like, today?” “Yeah.” “What?? That’s something you have to pay attention to!” “I dunno, my parents’ll let me know.” “You don’t know when you’re leaving! Don’t you need to pack or anything??” “Oh, I already did, like, a week ago.” “Thank goodness, why didn’t you say that??” “Why would I, you didn’t ask.”

“... I don’t know, but it would have been nice.” “You assume I wouldn’t-” There’s a muffled pinging sound. Fiona pulls her phone out of her pocket, sighing, and stops the sound. She opens her phone and I can see her looking at texts.

“What was that?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. My dad pinged my phone because I missed some texts from him. Asking where I am. Guess it’s time to go soon.” “Already?? I thought you meant, like tomorrow!” “Nah, I guess it’s now. Hey, don’t worry, you’ll be fine on your own.”

“... I wasn’t thinking that.” “I know you-” Her phone pings again, and she has to once again stop the sound.

“Fuck, okay, sorry Mallory. I’ll see you when we get back, I guess! I’ll text you nonstop!” She gives me a quick hug and sprints off. … I’ll be without my best and only friend for two weeks. I’m not a very sociable person, but one friend was all I thought I wanted and needed. Turns out, it just means I have nothing to do when she’s gone. … what do I do now? Just… go alone? … I guess. Better than being home all break. I slowly begin to make my way to the treeline behind the high school. Even though I’ve done it so many times before, it feels… wrong, going alone. I walk down the slightly beaten path to the treehouse. I put ribbons in the bushes and trees to mark the way to go, but I’ve done this so many times that I don’t even need them anymore. I recognise each tree, every patch of flowers, the creek flowing through the path…

And there it is.

A giant oak tree with a large treehouse resting in its branches. There’s a woven swing hanging from a limb, a hollow on one side with pillows and blankets piled in it, a ladder leading up to the 10 foot tall door, as well as the platforms around the tree. It’s a big treehouse, with a high ceiling, a balcony, closet, windows, and trapdoor to the roof. I didn’t build it, of course, I just found it and repaired it with Fiona and her mom. It really is beautiful, I could just stand here for a while. But I won’t, I didn’t come here to stand here and stare at the treehouse, I came here to go inside. I move to grab the rungs of the ladder, but freeze halfway there. It sounds like something’s up there. I feel my heart skip a beat. Slowly and quietly, I ascend the ladder and creep over to the door. I have to cover my mouth to keep myself from screaming, and duck out of the doorway. There is someone in there. Or, something… it isn’t human… whatever it is, it has a humanoid shape, but is way too big to be a human. … it’s flipping through my notebooks. My blood boils over with rage, despite the lingering fear. How DARE it!? Without thinking, I stomp into the treehouse and look around, picking up a fairly large stick and hurling it at the thing.

“WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!? GIVE ME THAT!!”

It pauses, and its gaze slowly shifts to me. I freeze, fear filling my mind as I realise what I did, but I try to hold my ground and seem somewhat intimidating.

“... th-that’s m-mine…”

Shit, I’m stuttering… it rises to its feet and approaches me. I instinctively back away until my back hits the wall…

“S-stay back!”

It continues in its approach, coming to a stop right in front of me, absolutely towering over me. I want to scream, run, shut my eyes, but I can’t move, other than trembling. It holds out its hand, the one with my sketchbook in it. … is it actually giving it back?? I glance between its face and the book in its hand, before quickly snatching it and stepping back. It also steps back. It’s huge, at least twenty feet tall, with tan skin, pink hair, and icy blue eyes with black sclera. It has a thick reptilian tail with a tuft of pink hair at the end, two small black horns, and I’ve caught glimpses of claws on its hands and sharp behind its lips. I have no idea what it could be…

“Is this your house?

… it talks. … I did not expect it to talk. Its voice is fairly deep with no real distinctive gender, but does possibly sound more feminine. I take a deep breath and try to talk.

“Y-y-yes…”

Still stuttering….

“Oh. … I’m sorry I was in here, then. I just smelled something good…”

Smelled something..? I glance over at the shoe box of snacks in the closet. Maybe it’ll leave if I give it something. Or at least be less likely to kill me...

“... my, uh… m-my snacks? Y-you can h-have some.. i-in the cl-closet…”

It walks over to the closet and takes the box down. It glances back at me before hesitantly opening it and looking through it. I cautiously take a step closer to the giant…

… it’s wearing clothes. I hadn’t registered that before, likely due to shock, anger, and/or fear.. but it is. A black cloak, jeans, boots, and… glasses. Where did it get glasses? Wait, where did it get any clothes that fit it? Why am I wondering this about it? … what do I think I should be wondering about it? It pulls out a plastic baggie of homemade chocolate chip cookies. I forgot I had those. I made them a few days ago. They’re a little lopsided, but still pretty good.

“What are these?”

… really? It doesn’t know what cookies are?? … it’s baffling, but it does make some sense. I don’t know where it would have access to cookies, being a giant monster…

“... th-those? Cookies? Th-they’re, uh, sweet f-food?”

It stares at me for a moment before looking back down at the bag and taking one of the cookies out of the bag and examining it. It hesitantly raises the treat to its mouth and takes a bite. Its eyes widen and I can see its face light up…

“WHERE DO YOU GET THESE!?”

Ow- oh wow it’s loud..

“I-I, uh… I made them…”

“You can MAKE these!?”

“Yeah? Just, uh, flour, sugar, sometimes chocolate, a few other things, and heat it up.”

“What’s chocolate?”

It quickly finishes the rest of the cookie. … it doesn’t know chocolate either, huh… how am I supposed to explain chocolate to someone that’s never had it? It’s such a unique flavour…

“Chocolate is, uh… how do I… th-there’s a box of chocolate at the bottom of the box somewhere… the big plastic-wrapped thing. .. brown.”

It digs through the box for the bar of chocolate, slowly removing it from the container. It glances back at me again. It struggles a bit, figuring out how to go about opening the wrapper with its large hands, but does get it pretty fast, tearing off the wrapper and biting a small piece off the corner. You could practically see the stars in its eyes, its tail thumping against the floor. I instinctively recoil at the sound, but… it suddenly seems much less intimidating…

“I think I LOVE chocolate!!”

“Yeah, it’s, uh… pretty good… you’ve really never had any chocolate before..?”

“No. I can’t really just walk into wherever you get it.”

… that’s… fair. A giant… demon thing (?) anywhere too close to the town would be a disaster… I watch it finish off the rest of the chocolate bar in one bite.

“... what are you..?”

“Wh- me? … uh… honestly, the best answer I can give you is ‘a monster…’”

“So… you don’t… know?”

“I’ve never seen another thing like me, and humans definitely don’t know what I am, so nobody’s ever told me…”

That’s… kind of sad… I wonder where it came from, what its life is like… I let out an involuntary yawn. Everything that’s happened today has been pretty exhausting… it’s probably starting to get late, too… I pull out my phone to check the time. The numbers across the lock screen reading 6:26. … it’s 6:26! I was supposed to be home almost 30 minutes ago!! No, I almost never come home more than a minute late!

“... is something wrong?"

“I-I was supposed to be home a while ago…”

“... isn’t this your house?”

“Oh, uh- no, I don’t live here. I guess it is my house, but I don’t live here, I only come here a lot. I live somewhere else. And my mom’s gonna be pissed that I wasn’t there half an hour ago…”

… it stares at me for a moment, then gets up and starts to descend the ladder. I don’t know if I want it to leave or not…

“A-are you leaving?”

It holds its hand up to me from the ground and smiles. … should I…

“Do you want me to take it..?”

Its smile grows wider. I guess I’ll take that as a ‘yes.’ I walk out of the doorway and glance cautiously between its face and hand. I don't really trust it, but... I cautiously place my hand in its much larger one. … it suddenly grips my arm and lifts me off my feet, lowering me down onto its shoulder. I let out a startled squeak and wrap my arms around its neck as my feet touch the fabric of its cloak, terrified once again.

“So, which way’s your house?”

“Uh… th-that way…?”

I say shakily and point in the general direction of my house. I’ve been here so many times, I know the way back. … is it going to take me there..?

“Alright, hold on!”

"wh-"

Before I can fully register its words, it sprints off in the direction I pointed it in. I shut my eyes and press myself against its head, my cheeks hot and heart beating fast, afraid to open my eyes and see myself falling… It’s terrifying, but… the cool evening air, warmth of the creature under and next to me, wind against my face and hair… it’s exhilarating… and oddly comforting… I slowly open my eyes, squinting them in an attempt to block out the wind rushing at them. It’s going so fast, things are rushing past me in a blur. I have so many questions and theories about it… I see my house appearing through the treeline.

“Ah- th-there! Stop here!”

It comes screeching to a halt, the momentum causing it to fall forward onto its face, and myself to fall off its shoulder and land in the dirt. I push myself upright  and brush myself off, looking over at the creature. It groans and sits up, cleaning its glasses off on its sweater. I softly laugh at the sight, and it smiles awkwardly at me.

“I probably shouldn’t go any further…”

“Yeah, people would really freak out, wouldn’t they? … w-well, uh… goodbye… I guess…” I don’t know what else to say. I turn and begin walking to my house when it puts its glasses back on and speaks for the last time.

“Emory.”

I turn back towards it.

“... what?”

“Ah- my name. It’s Emory.”

Emory. It’s a strangely human name for them, but it’s nice. It fits.

“Emory… it’s nice to meet you. I’m Mallory.”

They smile and wave at me, before slowly disappearing into the darkness of the surrounding woods… 

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

... wow. It’s hard to believe any of that just happened… I’m so tired… I turn back towards my house and prepare myself for what’s going to happen when I cross the threshold of the front door. And I approach. I stand before the entrance to my house, heart pounding. I reach into my pocket to pull out my phone and check the time again, as if I thought it might have somehow gone back. 6:31. … I steel myself and place my hand on the knob to slowly turn it, just opening the door a crack, attempting to sneak in as quietly as I can. The sound of the door creaking and clicking shut echoes through the house, seeming loud as thunder. I can already hear the sound of her green slippers stomping against the floor, approaching  from the living room, and wince. When I turn, I can practically see the smoke pouring out of her ears like a tea kettle. I flash a sheepish smile and force a small wave.

“H-heeyy, mom…”

“Excuse me?? Take this seriously, I was worried! WHERE have you BEEN!? You never come home this late without letting me know first!”

“I know. I’m sorry, I just lost track of time…”

“NO. You don’t ‘lose track of time,’ you’re always here early! So what happened? Why didn’t you tell me?? Was it that friend of yours? Were you at a party?? Did you do drugs!? Is there a boy!?” “What!? Mom, no, I hate parties. And Fiona isn't bad... I’m telling the truth, I was just reading and lost track of time…” I really hope I don't look like I'm lying. Besides, I don’t even like guys. Not that I would ever say that in front of her. I have do idea how she would react. She narrows her eyes at me, having to look up a bit. “Well. This is your first strike. I’m trusting that you’re telling the truth because I believe you’re a good kid who wouldn’t do that. But, you still got home very late, so no dinner, and get to your room.” “Yes, ma’am…”

I quietly begin to ascend the stairs to my room. I hated that. I hate that she treats me like a fucking child who can’t take care of herself. I know she loves me, and she’s just protective, but it can be humiliating… I slam the door shut behind me and wince, hoping she didn’t hear that. … thankfully, I don’t hear anything but my dad’s snoring coming from the other room. He tends to work a lot and sleep in. I feel kind of bad for him. … I might go to sleep early, too… everything that happened today has been exhausting… I flip the lights off and turn on the white noise machine. With all the noise from the other room, I need it to sleep. I climb up onto my bed, not bothering to change into pyjamas, just throwing off my shirt and skirt. I lie down and cover myself with the blankets, and as I stare up at the glowing stars stuck to my ceiling, my brain runs through today’s events. Was that even real..? My mind feels so fuzzy now as my eyelids fall over my eyes.

Ugh... I’m so… tired…

So I'm a very beginner writer, I'm not great at coming up with names, and I feel like this story might be too rushed. I am okay with and encourage constructive criticism. I am in love with these characters and they will appear again on here :D

[sweetestpieces]

Pairing: Giantess!Rhaenyra x Fem!Reader

Tags/Warnings: Giantess, Size Difference, brewing romance, fluff, idk, first time writing fic, completely separate from canon, slow

Length: 1125 words

Summary: Y/N spends her year with the princess, joins her to attend her proposals. (Part 4 of ???)

You can find Part 1 here & Part 2 here & Part 3 here.

“And don’t come back without more wine,” the princess called down to you in the courtyard. She was smiling. She’d been smiling a lot in the past few weeks. So were you.

“I won’t,” you replied and gazed back up at the princess until she disappeared back into the halls of the keep, her laughter carrying through the corridors.

Being personal servant to Rhaenyra, your duties rarely kept you away from her for long. You spent mornings fetching her fruits and eggs with which she could break her fast on. Midday you could be found in the godswood with her as she spoke at length about some of the other suitors her father attempted to bring about. Some days you read to her with her head resting in your lap, the warm sunrays coming through the leaves of the great tree. At night you both retreated to her bedchambers where you would read to her by candlelight and fall asleep together. It was rather risky business as if anyone knew of your sleeping with the princess, even though it was truly only sleeping, rumors might begin to spread.

Whenever she had to serve her duties as princess, you were always by her side. It did not matter if court was being held in the throne room or if she need travel to Winterfell, you always accompanied her. The opportunity to travel was not something you’d expected to be fortunate enough to experience. For so many years all you knew were the boundaries of your family’s small farmland. Occasionally your father had you walk some five miles to the nearest village and back when in need of supplies, but that was all. By the start of your second year with the princess, you’d seen as far south as Sunspear, as far north as the Wall, and everything in between.

On one of those expeditions, this one going southeast to Storm’s End to meet a potential Baratheon suitor, among others, you rode along in the princess’s carriage. The thing was quite large to better accommodate the princess. Eight horses drew the wooden vehicle forward along the road. The spacious interior was lined with seats and cushions of the finest silks from Qarth. The princess lounged on one such seat, her long form stretched out almost to the other end of the carriage. You sat near her, watching her gaze out at the passing trees of the Kingswood. Moments like these, so near the princess in an enclosed space such as this, made her seem even larger than she was. Though recently, you couldn’t help but wonder if the princess had been growing. She seemed taller of late.

“Tumbleton’s not far from here,” the princess said. Your home. She remembered and it gave you a warm feeling inside.

“Indeed,” you said, “Just a little the other way.”

“Do you miss it?” the princess asked after a long pause.

You had to think about that for a moment. When you first moved to King’s Landing, you did feel quite homesick for the farm and your family, as strange as it was. You almost longed for the grueling farm work. As your time with the royal family got on, though, you thought about home less and less. You did miss your family still, your sisters in particular. Perhaps, you thought, you’d pay them a visit soon. “I do. I miss my sisters.”

Rhaenyra looked from the window to you and tucked her legs in closer. “What are they like?”

You recalled your childhood to the princess and told her of how you all got along most of the time, but you still bickered like true siblings should. You all worked together and fought with each other. Rhaenyra looked at you with fascination as you told each story.

Soon enough you could hear the waves crashing in the distance and knew Storm’s End was near. The head of column called for a halt and you and Rhaenyra were helped from the carriage and onto the stone path. The castle lie ahead, grey and dreary even in the sunlight. “This way, Princess.” Riders approached bearing the Baratheon standard and you knew you were in for a long visit.

The next day was the day of the proposals. Lord Baratheon kindly offered his seat in the throne room for Rhaenyra to receive her suitors. Some hours before you and the other lady servants the lord of Storm’s End offered during the royal visit all washed, dressed, and groomed to perfection. Several footstools were needed to reach the princess’s height and help with her jewelry. “It’s rather tight,” Rhaenyra said when one of the maidens tied up the back of her dress.

“My Lady,” one of the other maids said, “It’s the dress, I’m afraid. It doesn’t seem to be properly fit to your shape.”

The air in the room grew silent as they all waited for Rhaenyra’s response. Such a comment to the wrong noblewoman could mean death. Clearly, these women did not know Rhaenyra as you did.

“Bring another, then,” she said, breaking the tension. You helped remove the dress from her, thinking to yourself that this dress fit perfectly a week ago.

Instead, the princess dressed in a red dress with golden leaf patterns across the entire garment, and she went to listen to proposals that she’d already planned to decline.

After the proposals had finished, Rhaenyra returned to her chambers to “contemplate her choices”. In reality, she gossiped with you about the lords that presented. She asked your opinion on them all and which, if any, you would choose.

Upon returning to King’s Landing, Rhaenyra met with her father to discuss the suitors. You lingered near the king’s chambers pretending to be busy as you waited for the princess to finish. It was quiet for nearly an hour before the shouting started.

“I’m heir to the Iron Throne!” the princess yelled.

“You can be heir to the throne elsewhere!”

The door swung open then and the princess, in tears, stormed off down the hall. You discovered her in her chambers still crying, curled up on her bed. You approached with caution and set a hand on her shoulder. “He’s sending me to Dragonstone,” she said. You felt your heart sink. “He says there are rumors. About us.”

You climbed into bed beside her and started to cry too.

Rhaenyra boarded a ship for Dragonstone at the end of the month. You were there to see her off, the princess dressed in a black dress as you exchanged farewells with her. You could see her eyes were already watering before she boarded. You waited, along with the other maidens, watching the ship sail into the Blackwater Rush, and fade into the horizon.

[narrans]

A Small and Tall Collection | Chapter Eight | What To Do

Chapter Eight | What To Do

Rey was never really a light sleeper, but the recent sickness had thrown his whole schedule off. Every little sound woke up something in his brain, especially in the dead of night. His bedsheets felt weird, like they were too loose and trying to tie him up while he slept, and his pajamas made his skin crawl. Food didn’t quite have the same taste, which Soren said was because of his sinus stuff.

Also, more annoyingly, he’d been waking up in the middle of the night for a drink of water or to go to the bathroom.

Rey wasn’t the only one. Dorian had also been getting up too, but he didn’t like admitting it for whatever reason. Maybe he was just trying to seem tougher? Rey didn’t really care one way or the other.

What did concern him was what was on his bedside table right here, right now.

The only reason he’d rolled over was because he was feeling a bit overheated, followed soon after by the sound of someone throwing up. He had called out to his brother, but when he received no answer Rey’s concern increased.

“Dorian? Are you getting si-… what the?” Rey had cracked open his eyes to check on his brother when, quite distinctly, he saw something on his bedside table doubled over and making sounds. The hair on his arm started standing on end and he knew something was different about what he was seeing. He wasn’t sure what, but some curious part of him drew him in and, instantly, he was awake.

He pushed himself up and reached over toward the light, watching eagerly as the figure stumbled and fumbled their way off to the side by the tissue box, tap it a few times, and then vanish between the box and the light. He couldn’t wait for another moment.

The young boy wasn’t unfamiliar with this level of excitement. Every invention that didn’t immediately fall apart made him absolutely giddy and curious about what he could do next. It was the same kind of excitement he was feeling now.

“Wha-? Rey? What’s your problem? Turn off the light,” mumbled Dorian. It was obvious he was still fast asleep and annoyed with him, but Rey didn’t care. He needed his brother’s help and needed to know what was on their bedside table.

“Dorian, something’s on the table. I just saw it. It’s behind the tissue box,” Rey hissed. Once again, he saw the shadow move. They needed to act quickly if they were going to see what this thing was.

“You were probably just dreaming,” his brother grumbled.

“No! I wasn’t. I thought you were getting sick and saw something dart around the lamp by the tissue box. Come on. Help me look real quick,” said Rey. The youngest managed to catch his brother’s eyes and, in that moment, Dorian seemed to see that Rey was serious and not just messing around. He rolled his eyes and mumbled some kind of agreement, but Rey didn’t really care. He was already pushing himself up out from under the covers and preparing to reach for the lamp.

He reached over and flicked the light on.

Rey wasn’t sure what he saw, but what he did know was that something was leaving a shadow right behind the lamp. As he slid out from under the covers, Rey never tore his eyes away from the spot where he saw the shadow.

And then he saw it.

Her.

At least, he thought it was a her based on her facial features.

She was small, and pale, and she looked absolutely exhausted. It was absolutely fascinating, seeing something that looked so human and yet be so small. Rey gazed into her blue-gray eyes for what felt like an hour before she coughed and wretched, getting sick all over the bedside table. Rey could also see evidence that she got sick by his old medicine cup too, but he decided to worry about that later.

“Woah… did you hear that?” asked Dorian. Rey subconsciously nodded as he slowly inched his way forward and to the side to look at the small figure again.

“Dorian, you’ve got to see this,” breathed Rey. Rey had moved cautiously, as if one of his experiments would topple at the slightest tremor of the ground. The last thing he wanted to do was startle the figure. Dorian, on the other hand, hadn’t seen or noticed the anomalies and flopped out of his bed as if he was going to be late for pancakes.

“Wha-… woah…”

Dorian spotted her too, and immediately he understood why Rey was acting the way he was. From where he was standing beside his bed, he could see better over the tissue box and spotted the small figure that was too small, too real, to be just a toy or some weird invention of Rey’s. Without words, both boys advanced at a snail’s pace in hopes to keep the thing on the table.

Dorian watched as it fell to its knees, absent mindedly tapping at its sides as if it were searching for something that wasn’t there. It looked scared, if that was possible for something so small to have facial expressions like that.

He and Rey exchanged a quick glance before Rey reached out and grabbed the lamp while Dorian pulled the tissue box aside, revealing the small figure immediately behind. Fascination flooded the boys’ minds as they watched the figure.

She was wearing what looked like clothes, layers of them. Some kind of light tan shirt and brown pants with what looked like a green cloak or poncho over her shoulders. There was something that looked like a lightbulb on one side of her hip and a bag slung over the other shoulder. Features gaunt and hollow, she didn’t look like she was doing or feeling well in the slightest. How she looked reminded Rey of how he and his brother looked for the past few days – sick.

“Rey? That’s not… one of yours… is it?” asked Dorian, barely whispering.

“No… no way,” Rey muttered, watching how the blue-gray eyes flicked back and forth between him and his brother.

“Then what is it?” Dorian hissed back.

“I… I don’t know, but… I think it’s a she, and I don’t think she’s feeling well,” Rey muttered back. He cleared the tension in his throat with a few light coughs as he directed his words at the small figure. “Hey, are you okay?”

“You think it, or ‘she’, can understand us?” Dorian asked.

“I don’t know,” Rey stated. “But she’s looking from me to you, so she can at least hear us.” Rey watched as the figure’s shoulders began to shake, vibrating as her chest heaved rapidly. In and out, she was obviously hyperventilating. Rey, if he held his breath, could almost hear her small gasps.

“This isn’t a dream, right? I mean, she’s real.” Dorian’s hand was already in motion before Rey registered his question. Everything moved so fast.

Ashlynn, who was listening to the boys talk back and forth about whether or not she could understand or if she was real, was starting to feel lightheaded again. The corners of her vision were blurring. She wanted to vomit again, but nothing was left to give. Every sense she possessed was deteriorating rapidly, and now she was backed into a corner.

She was trying to recite the Borrower rules in her head when a massive amount of movement caught her attention. Her eyes snapped up to see the older of the two, Dorian, reaching his hand out toward her.

Fingers were extended.

Palm easily eclipsing her body.

Ashlynn felt her instincts take over her aching body as she forced herself to her feet and threw herself backward away from the child’s grasp. Sadly, she overestimated the force she would need. She jumped up and back so violently that her back actually hit the wall beside the bedside table.

She’d managed to get away, yes; but there was something she didn’t account for – the gap.

Between the bedside table and the wall, there was a gap about an inch wide, which was just enough for her to slip through. For a brief moment, Ashlynn’s body was perfectly posed against the wall and the table before her center of gravity shifted again and she began to plumet into the shadows.

A scream was lodged somewhere in Ashlynn’s throat as she began to slip, but it didn’t stay there for long. As her body fell, an immense shadow fell over her and pressure surrounded her right arm. She heard a distinct popping sound from her shoulder, as if she were cracking her knuckles but on a much larger, louder scale and the scream that was trapped erupted out of her. Her body hung limp momentarily before her body began lifting from her throbbing arm.

She didn’t want to look, but impulse overrode her and she glanced up only to see her arm was being pinched between the fingers of the one called Dorian. He was lifting her by her throbbing arm, and there was nothing she could do. Those immense fleshy columns and their vice like grip around her aching appendage would not release her, no matter how she struggled; not that she had the strength to.

The Borrower swallowed the cries of pain she wanted to release and replaced them with choked whimpers and groans. She closed her eyes tight and averted her gaze from her arm. She wasn’t sure if she was about to have it ripped from her body or if it was about to be broken into tiny pieces. Whatever the case, she didn’t want to see it. She didn’t want to look at the human child’s face as he examined her now fully exposed body.

There would be no escape now.

The words of the youngest boy sounded muffled and distant, but Ashlynn was still able to make them out in some form.

“Dorian! What are you doing?! You’ll hurt her!” Rey’s harsh whisper was followed by a scuffling. Rey had watched as the little figure had backed up and had started to fall from the bedside table to the floor. Dorian was faster and had managed to grab her arm, but the scream that followed told Rey that Dorian had either grabbed too hard or that she didn’t like being touched.

Whatever the case, Dorian had managed to keep her from falling at the cost of injuring her, so he was grateful for that much at least. Rey saw how the figure looked away from where her arm was being grabbed and felt his heart ache for her.

She was terrified beyond words, and he and Dorian were causing it.

“Dorian, you’re hurting her. Don’t pinch her arm like that,” Rey urged. Dorian grunted frustratingly and held out the partially limp figure.

“Well, then you hold her,” Dorian hissed back. Rey didn’t have time to object as Dorian lowered the tiny woman into his hands. Rey cupped his hands and prayed she didn’t do anything rash like try to run or jump out of his hands. Thankfully, she didn’t seem to be able to do either as she crumpled into a ball in his hands and pulled her arm toward her torso.

The sensation was a novel one. The life was so small, but so much like his own. Rey had held his friends’ pets before like hamsters and guinea pigs. He’d even pet a few fish before.

This was something entirely different.

In the dim lamplight, he was able to see more of her features now that she was so much closer to him. He could make out her fingers and the way her hair fell across her sweat chilled cheek. He could see her fingernails and how they grasped at the fabric of her clothes.

It hit Rey all at once that she wasn’t just some creature – she was a living being. Practically human except for her size.

Rey glanced up at his brother just in time to see him dumping out the contents of a drawer from their bedside table, the pieces and parts scattering while others stacked and lumped together. That’s what they got for shoving their random knick-knacks into the thing in the first place. Rey also saw Dorian was getting together what looked like a set of bundled socks, some of the crackers, and a lid of water.

“Dorian, what’re you doing?” asked the kid.

“What do you think? Setting up an area for her until we figure out what to do with her,” replied Dorian. Immediately, Ashlynn turned her fear filled eyes onto Rey and then to his brother. She attempted to squirm, but weakness overtook her. Not even adrenaline could force her body to flee now. Rey noticed this and felt a pang in his heart.

She seemed so scared. So helpless.

“Dorian I… I don’t like the sound of that,” stated Rey.

“Well, what else are we going to do with her?” Dorian asked harshly.

“I… I don’t know. Let her go? I mean… I don’t know… It just doesn’t feel right keeping her in a drawer,” mumbled Rey. He noticed the eager gleam in the small woman’s features as she looked up into his eyes for only a moment. It took everything the boy had to tear his gaze from the figure to his brother. “I just… I don’t know. I think we need to wake up Soren. You know? Get his help?”

“You saw Soren and how tired he was. We went to bed early and everything. He’s tired. You’re tired. I’m tired. She looks tired. It’s just for the night,” rebutted Dorian. “You want to wake up Soren when he’s feeling sick and tired?”

Rey chewed on his bottom lip in confliction before mumbling, “No.”

“And, do you see her? She looks sick too. She might’ve been the one to get us sick for all we know. Remember what Soren said about keeping the mice in the walls as pets?” pointed out Dorian.

Rude! You little germy twerps are the reason I’m sick! Ashlynn thought as her heart raced faster and faster. That lightheaded feeling consumed her again. I can’t. I can’t let them take me. I can’t break the rules, but I can’t let them keep me. I’m going to be a pet. They’re going to get me a cage and I’m going to be a pet! This is bad. This is really really really really bad! Curses! I should’ve just stayed in the walls! Why did I think medicine was going to help? That’s a human thing.

“Yeah, but…”

“Good, then it’s settled,” interrupted Dorian. “She’ll be safe in here for the night and then Soren will know what to do with her. Now, put her down in there, let’s get some sleep, and we’ll get Soren in here first thing tomorrow. Besides, he can’t do anything if he’s just as sick and tired as the rest of us.”

Rey looked down at the little figure again, the same pang hitting him again, before relenting to his brother’s idea. He walked over to the bedside table carefully and lowered his hands into the hard wood box.

Ashlynn seized the opportunity to get off of the child’s hands as fast as possible, scrambling to get off and instantly regretting her quickness of movement as her body screamed in agony, especially her arm. Whatever that boy did made her fingers tingly and numb. Already, there were bruises forming on her arm in the shape of finger pads.

She stumbled backward and pressed her spine against the hard wood directly behind her and stared up from the shadows at the faces of the two boys.

Please don’t close the drawer. Please don’t close the drawer. I can maybe get out if you don’t close the drawer. Please. Just let me go. Ashlynn’s silent thoughts went unanswered as the older boy reached out and pressed his hand against the edge. She wanted to cry out and beg them to stop, but instinct stopped her once again as she was sealed in darkness, barely the width of her hand open at the top of the container.

Ashlynn choked on a sob that rose up in her throat. Sliding down the back of her wooden prison, she curled in on herself. Her body shook like a leaf in a hurricane, but she had no tears or energy left to maintain her fear. She listened as the two boys talked for a little while longer in hushed words before the bedside light finally flicked out, leaving her in complete darkness.

No. It’s over. It’s all over. I’m caught. I’ve been seen and now I’m caught. I don’t even have my weapons to protect me. Their dad is going to put me in a cage and I’ll live off of pellets and goodness knows what else until the end of my days. Poking. Prodding.

Ashlynn shivered as she thought about the boy’s hands holding her. The warmth. The tiny flexes each finger or muscle made as he adjusted to her weight. It was a living nightmare, but what was worse was the thought that it would be all she ever knew from here on out.

Exhaustion dragged her eyelids further and further down. It wasn’t even a matter of sleep now. Between the pain and chills and sickness and the fate she knew she would have to endure, it took everything she had left in her to drag her way over to the bundled socks and lied down. For just a moment, she wanted to enjoy the simple comfort of her hip lamp, but even that was a disappointment as the lamp flickered on and off.

Even the battery is failing me. Truly the last thing to go wrong.

Ashlynn recited the Borrower rules in her head, mainly the three that truly mattered.

Don’t be seen. Don’t get caught. Don’t talk to the humans.

Well… if this is how I end, I can at least follow the last rule. Then again… is it worth it? Maybe if I talk to those boys, then they’ll let me go. The one seemed to think so.

Oh… who am I kidding? Who am I trying to convince? Myself? I’m not making it out of here. This is my life now.

Ashlynn felt a single tear drip down her cheek as, finally, the last life of her hip lamp battery drained. Lying there in complete darkness, Ashlynn curled into the top of the stiff sock and let her exhaustion overtake her.

~~~~~^*^*^*^*^~~~~~

Continue

Previous

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A Tall and Small Collection | Original Story

[kendsleyauthor]

New G/t Novel Available!

THE RESTORATION PROGRAM is available NOW in paperback and e-book! 🎉🎉🎉

Amazon |||| Goodreads

The first book of the PRINT / TRINKET UNIVERSE is finally here! It's time to meet Nicole and Ryan!

Content warning: This book contains mature themes, depictions of emotional abuse, and sexual assault. Intended for appropriate readers ages 18+.

Synopsis:

Nicole’s tragic death was only the beginning. Against all odds, Nicole Zhou wakes up from a fatal car accident to find that she is a beneficiary of a cutting-edge procedure: the Restoration Program. By transferring her consciousness into a new body, her life has been saved. The only problem? Her new body is merely ten inches tall. As she tries to continue building a life with her boyfriend, Ryan Northe, she struggles to grapple with the strange world developing around her. With each passing day, she questions whether the procedure really saved her life or plunged her into a fate worse than death. Regardless of her fears, both the Restoration Program and Ryan agree: what was lost has been restored. The first in a thrilling New Adult trilogy filled with suspense, romance, and the dawning of a new, strange world, The Restoration Program is perfect for fans of Black Mirror, Westworld, and romance books with an existential twist. It appeals widely to fans who enjoy a love story turned darkly on its head.

If you've enjoyed the stories @marydublinauthor and I have posted about the print / trinket universe, this one is definitely for you! Come and read about the origin of Prints in this universe 👀🧬

If you give our book a read, make sure to leave a review on Amazon/Goodreads!! Reviews are the best way to support indie authors, as it leads to more readers discovering our work!

Thank you so much for all the support over the years! It's time to get this trilogy going! 😍✨

[hellodolleyes]

Hmm..

Introverted human with anxiety issues plus introverted tiny with mega anxiety issues. Sounds like a fun pair.

[odybee]

G/t Secret Santa Gift

@sugarthegecko hello! I'm your Secret Santa. I'm sorry it took me this long to get this gift to you, things have been a bit hectic where I am.

I wanted to try something new and wrote a one shot! It also comes with a few colored sketches I made along the way of the two antagonists. I will put the drawings at the end of the story. Hope you enjoy!

---===+===------===+===------===+===------===+===---

Hadotrauma

Word count- 3854

Contains: Intentional fearplay, implied vore (let me know if you think I should add more here, this is my first time posting something like this)

---===+===---

It was a beautiful day to be beneath the waves. The normally dull weather that hangs over the Bermuda Triangle was set to clear for the entire week, leaving uncharacteristically safe conditions for a reconnaissance mission that Jack had been losing his little mind over for months.

A small vessel carrying a family heirloom, a gold-crested lock box dating back a few hundred years, had gotten hit by a stray wave, forcing the captain onto a lifeboat as his ship capsized and quickly sank. The good news is that the captain survived, which is how Jack got enough information to take the job at all. His recounting of where the boat was when it went under was spot on too, which is especially nice because finding out where the wreck is was only half the battle for this particular job. See, in escaping the ship with his life, the captain wasn’t able to get the lockbox, meaning it went down with his ship. The family it belonged to was less than thrilled, to say the very least.

And that’s when Jack heard about it. The family was willing to pay a fortune to whoever stepped up and got the box back; not that Jack was diving for an extra paycheck. Even before he had decided he wanted to be a marine archaeologist, he'd been enamored with stories of the mythical Bermuda Triangle. Tales of monsters appearing from its shadowy depths, however unrealistic, were something he liked to think about to keep his job interesting when things got slow. He could just see a megalodon’s lifeless eye peering up at him from the inky water, just waiting for him to get close enough to-

“Helloo, Jack? You there?” A voice sounded from the receiver in Jack’s mask, making him jump a little in surprise.

“M-Huh? Sorry Lori, yea, I’m here.”

“Good. Please try to focus? There could be sharks or marlins.”

“Of course, my bad.”

Lori is Jack’s assistant. A bit of a hardass, but he’s been getting through to her lately. Once the nerves of jumping into the water and sinking into the dark wear off and it’s just the two of them, she can be really fun to talk to. For however long the communications decide to keep working in their masks, that is. Water pressure doesn’t play nice with lightweight electronics.

As the silent descent continued and Jack made a mental note to complain to his manager, a boxy silhouette began taking form in the sea of shadows beneath him. A thin line of bubbles excitedly glimmering in the glow of Jack’s headlight made its way up from the shape,  meaning they were right on target.

“Bingo! You got an eye on it, Lori?”

“Sure do. Here’s hoping my camera’s still works, I just got a new lens for it.”

“Camera? Ooo, we actually gonna try to get a picture of a sea monster?”

“As much as I’d love to, no. Our clients just said they wanted to see where the box ended up. Plus, it’s great publicity. Tourist subs don’t get this far down. I’ll send you a postcard from the kraken’s stomach if we end up finding one though.” Lori fidgeted with the bulky tool as she descended a little ways above Jack, ensuring that nothing was gunking up the lens.

“What? You can’t get eaten! I’d be all alone down here..”

“A great white shark once said, ‘fish are friends, not food’. You can be friends with the kraken, or you can join me in its belly.”

“Yea yea, I bet the fish would be fresh in there anyways.” Jack made first contact with the wreckage now just beneath his feet as Lori playfully responded in disgust. The white plating of the boat’s hull barely had time to erode, much less allow algae growth, so it almost looked like it could float again. And it probably could have, were it not for the captain’s incompetence. Jack had thought it sounded strange for just one stray wave to send a boat under so quickly, so it was likely that the poor guy just didn’t do proper maintenance on the vessel’s coolant pipes and didn’t want to admit it. Nothing short of a missile could send a boat down that easily otherwise.

Feeling satisfied with his inspection of the boat’s port side, Jack made his way up to the open door of what appeared to be the helm. Peering in, there looked to be a small ladder leading down from right behind the captain’s controls.

“Okay, I’m gonna start looking for the box. You coming?”

“Yea, just getting some pictures of the outside first. Let me know when you find it so we can swap out. The two of us might clog up the cabin if we both go.”

“Aah, good thinking. Alright, I’ll let you know.” And into the wreckage he went.

---===+===---

“What the hell is that? Some kind of malformed angler fish?”

“I’m trying to tell you dude, it’s a human! I saw another one swim into that wreck, too!”

Nac layed low to the seabed, shyly pointing a claw at a tiny figure as it waved a cone of light around in the water. Every now and then it would suddenly flash an even brighter light from a box in its hands, then swim off to flash it at something else. Nac had to suppress a startled flinch in his tail at the brightness.

Nac’s more squid-shaped friend Rel rested in the seabed alongside him, squinting in confusion at the little human as it floundered about, flashing its light seemingly at random. “I didn’t know humans had lures, nor that they came down this deep. Are you absolutely positive that it isn’t just a big angler? I’m hungry.”

“Yes! Positive! I’m pretty sure that one’s ‘lure’ is just another human gadget, which I’ll bet is how they got all the way down here too. Cool, right?”

“Yea, I guess,” Rel sighed. “Oh well, they’re small but they’ll have to do. Dibs on this one,” he finished as he tried to take off from the sand. But before he could get anywhere, Nac latched onto one of his tentacles and held fast.

“Ugh, what is it Nac?”

“Jeez, chill out for a second, dude! We never get to see humans down here. Could we at least..” Nac’s tail twitched a bit as his eyes lit up. “Could we at least mess with them a little first? You’re hungry, I’m bored, it’s a win-win!”

Rel pulled back and put two fingers up to his chin, mulling over Nac’s proposal. “Mmm fine. But I’m taking both of them.”

“What? Hey! I’ve never tried human either, dude! Share!” Nac pouted, his claws subconsciously digging into Rel’s flesh.

“Ow! Okay, fine! I’ll take the one closest, you take the one in the wreck. Now would you please let go?”

“Sounds good, buddy! Have fun and don’t get hooked!” Nac exclaimed as he bolted off into the dark.

“Right.” Rel moped, staring at his prey. The passengers on this boat were supposed to have been his anyway! How was he supposed to know that it was only empty because the one thing he sank it for had gotten away?

Whatever. Perhaps this really would be more fun.

---===+===---

“What was that?”

Lori’s voice came on suddenly after silence had taken hold of the comms for a good ten minutes, making Jack bump his head against the ship’s hull. Ow!

“If you mean the sounds coming from the boat, that would be my head slamming against the hull.”

“No no, it wasn’t a sound, just..” Lori went quiet for a moment. “Nevermind. I’m seeing things.”

“We can call the expedition early if you want,” Jack checked his oxygen gauge. “I could do with a fresh tank anyway. We’re gonna have to make stops on the way up.”

“It’s fine, just keep looking for the box. I’m done out here.” Lori swiveled her head around as she made her way up to the door that Jack’d swam in through, but she couldn’t see anything. It was all black past the cone of her headlight, which was beginning to feel uncomfortably small. “Could you hurry up please? The water isn’t getting any warmer.”

“Sheesh, alright, hold on. I just need to- Ah! There it is! Lori, I found the-”

…

“Hello? Jack, you there?”

But the comms were nothing but static. It wasn’t exactly a surprise; these microphones were in desperate need of an upgrade. But something didn’t feel right this time. Something felt terribly, terribly wrong. There was a shadow, some inky blot that kept just to the corners of her eyes. It could be a shoal of fish, but then, why would it move like that? It’s almost as if.. As if..

Lori jumped violently as a few rhythmic knocks sounded from the boat’s main body, a signal that she and Jack had come up with the first time their microphones cut out to make sure they could still keep track of each other in the wreckage. She swam close to the hull to return the knocks, and as she did so, something brushed past her foot.

Immediately, Lori flipped around and prepared to bop a shark in the nose, but nothing was there. It was still just water, sand, and the void beyond her light, unknown and unyielding. She could feel her heartbeat start to pick up, the claustrophobic confines of her suit seeming to constrict her body in nervous warmth.

Just then, through the static of Lori’s mask, Jack’s voice started coming back through. “Hellooo? Loriii? Lori Dory Oreo, you there?” 

Lori steadied herself, the relief of hearing Jack’s voice overshadowed by the intense need to stay completely on alert as she took a moment to respond. “Jack, I think something is here.”

“Uuh yea? There is a boat, maybe some fish, and this totally awesome box that I’m coming out to let you take a picture of.”

“No, Jack, I mean something is in the water. I think it’s watching us.”

Jack laughed in cruel dismission. “Oh haha Lori. Good try, but I’m not that easy to scare. Good on you for taking the opportunity while we’re here, though!”

“Jack, seriously. We have to go right now. Screw the bends, we just need to-”

“Need to what?” 

… 

“Lori? Did this stupid thing cut out again?”

“It sees me.”

“What? What sees you? Lori, are you okay?”

…

“Lori, come on, this isn’t funny anymore. I’ll be out in a sec, just hang ti-”

…

The feed cut to static once more, leaving Lori completely alone, staring at two huge, luminous yellow eyes like a guppy in floodlights. She wanted to move, wanted to swim up and out of the water with all her might, but she simply couldn’t. The thing’s gaze froze her muscles into place, as if the water itself had turned to ice.

Without warning, a ginormous clawed hand shot out from the black shroud, enveloping Lori’s entire body before she could even scream.

Lori wasted no time in thrashing against the creature’s flesh with everything she had. The utility knife that’d been clipped to her belt was instantly freed, wildly slashing an escape into the walls of her pale prison. The creature loosened its grip in response, but only just enough to let Lori’s head pop out while it squeezed the life out of her. Even as dark spots began taking up her vision, she dared to look up at its face.

Dark, navy blue skin beautifully complimented the yellow eyes of a face that looked insultingly human, apart from two long, pointy ears. Long, white hair unfurled from the top of its head; each lock a set of tangling waves to further drown Lori’s hopes in. But she was too exhausted to fight now; any oxygen she had was forced from her lungs. Unwilling to gaze into the creature’s maw, she let the last of her waking moments be spent looking into its eyes.

She wondered why it looked so disappointed.

And all went dark.

---===+===---

“Lori? Lori?! Goddamnit, this stupid microphone! One second Lori, I’ll be right out!” Jack called into the dark cabins of the boat, his fists banging against the walls as he made his way out. In all his panic, Jack hadn’t realized that he made a wrong turn somewhere along the way, placing him on the starboard side of the hull’s interior.

Right where he could see a huge, perfectly circular gash that’d been punched into the ship’s metal plating.

“What the hell?! But he said-” but he had no time to waste. He had to get out of the ship right now, and he figured the breach should be just large enough to let him through, even with all his gear on.

Without a second thought, Jack grabbed the edges of the hole and prepared to hoist himself out into the open water. He only needed one mighty kick, and then he’d be able to find Lori and get the hell out of he-

“Hello~”

..!

Jack snapped his head up at the sudden noise, only to be met face-to-face with some massive thing with a human face. It had a long, toothy grin on its pale, scarred countenance, and every one of its teeth looked sharp enough to cut diamond.

…

Jack retreated back into the boat.

He clawed onto any surface he could in an attempt to force himself deeper into the ship’s body, desperate to get away from the thing just outside the paper thin walls. Jack could hear it chuckle as he clamored away, but just as he had clung onto a door, the thing started sucking water out through the breach. The force of the current was so strong that Jack’s hands were ripped away from the doorframe, sending him careening into the beast’s terrible jaws.

Rather than being instantly ripped apart, Jack growled into his mask as his stomach was met with several rows of teeth and his tank clinked against the thing’s lower set. The sharp points were catching on the fabric of his suit, just barely avoiding cutting into his skin. In an attempt to regain his bearings, he curled up and placed his hands against the monster’s lips, desperately trying to ignore the fact that he was about to be bitten in half.

“Nac, would you quit toying with it? I’m still hungry and the sun will be down soon.” another voice suddenly chided from somewhere behind Jack’s head.

“One shecond,” the sharkish creature responded, its voice rattling through Jack’s skull like a bell. “Itsh really hutting uh a hight!”

The other voice gained an edge in its tone. “Don’t speak with your mouth full.”

Jack’s fruitless struggle against the shark’s jaws suddenly came to a halt as it plucked him out of its lips like a cherry stem, thankfully with all of his lower body intact, except the utility knife that was supposed to be clipped to his hip was gone. Fingers were wrapped around him just as he tried to kick away, and there he continued to squirm.

“I said it’s really putting up a fight! See? Look at this one go! Even now it’s still wiggling around.”

“Yea, they tend to do that when they’re about to die. Speaking of, you should really be getting on with it.”

“Whatever dude, I was getting to that!”

The hand holding Jack’s entire body in place loosened up, allowing his blood to run cold and fast at the sight of an approaching maw. His headlight served to reveal every gruesome detail he hadn’t been privy to from the beast’s lips, including bits of viscera stuck between its three rows of teeth.

What if thats-

“OH MY GOD, WAIT, WAIT! PLEASE!” Jack pleaded through his mask after suppressing a gag. But his cries didn’t even reach the shark, not even a flinch came of its ears.

Flippers met the surface of the monster's tongue. It was too soft to push off of, not that anything he did would allow him to escape. The shark’s gills were probably quivering in anticipation, waiting to bring him down, down, down. What more could he do but jam his eyes shut and.. and..!

“STOP!!”

…

A pause. It seemed to last an eternity. Jack’s mouth had opened, but he didn’t know why. Let alone that it had released a sound loud enough to rival the thing he was about to be silenced by.

…

“Nac, please. This is getting old. And why do you look like that? It doesn’t taste that bad.”

The monster, henceforth known as Nac, once again plucked Jack out of his jaws, then brought Jack to the front of his face. The two stared at each other, both some strange mix of horrified and confused.

“Did.. did you hear that?” Nac spoke, almost in a coo. “I think it just talked to me.”

“Oh sure, Nac, because that makes complete sense. Listen, if you don’t want to eat it that badly, just give it to me. No need to make up such utter nonsense.”

“No, really!” Nac’s voice shot up again. Jack felt like he was going to implode. “I think it made a word! Like, a word word! Listen, I bet it can do it again, see?”

Jack was abruptly turned around and presented to a second enormous creature with a human face, this one having a tentacled lower half and extremely long hair. If the lack of care Nac had in handling Jack’s body didn’t kill him first, then surely his heart would pound hard enough to escape from his chest.

The other creature raised an eyebrow at Jack, then sighed and leaned in so he was close to its ear. He supposed that meant he was supposed to speak, but the words weren’t coming out. The lump in his throat just wouldn’t al-

“Ow! QUIT IT!” Jack yelled, feeling three rough taps against the top of his helmet. The navy blue creature in front of him jumped slightly. Jack froze in place.

“See! I told you!” Nac barked as his friend pulled away.

“B-but, how is that even-” it paused. “I’ll be.. Right back.”

The other monster’s tentacles disappeared into the abyss, leaving Jack and Nac alone together. For a moment, they just stared at each other in silence, but Nac was quick to fill it with a torrent of questions and niceties.

“This is so gnarly, dude! Oh my god, hiii! I can actually say that now and it isn’t weird! Do you think it’s weird to talk to fish? Rel says it's stupid because they can’t understand what you’re saying, so it’s even more weird that you of all things would be able to talk back! Do you have a name? Do humans even have names? Do you guys know any other fish like us? Go on, talk!” 

Nac’s smile returned to his face, somehow even larger than it’d been when Jack was trapped halfway inside of it. This couldn’t possibly be happening. It had to be some sort of decompression-induced fever dream. In just a moment, Jack would wake up to Lori squawking at him to get back on the boat.

Wait..

“LORI!” Nac’s ears twitched as Jack piped up again. “Where is Lori?!”

Nac’s slit eyes seemed to stare straight through Jack at the question.

“Aheheh, erm, uh, well, about that. The other human, they’re..” Nac looked around as though trying to catch her swimming away. “Theeeyyy’rrreee- oh! They’re right there! See? Rel has them!”

Nac turned Jack and pointed into the dark, where two yellow spots preceded the return of the second giant creature, Rel. In its hand was the comparatively small, black-and-silver form of Lori, lying completely still.

“O-oh my god. Oh my GOD! LORI! LORI!” Jack began squirming again, wanting nothing more than to make sure his friend was okay. But the shark held firm.

“Calm down, this human is fine.. Somehow. I felt its heart beating through this extra layer of skin you wear. Is it how you two managed to get down here?” Rel quizzed Jack, who had ceased struggling to lock eyes with the thing holding his friend.

“I-I, just..” Jack checked his oxygen gauge. Less out of necessity, and more out of habit for the sheer fact that not a bone in his body wanted him looking these monsters in the eyes. Forty-five minutes remaining, miraculously. He steeled himself, “Could you please, please bring us back up? I need to know if she’s okay.”

“Eh? Why would we need to go up?” Nac swam to Rel’s side, turning Jack along the way so that both monsters were in his view. “Are you trying to leave?”

“No! No, we just.. Our tanks only have enough time left for a few stops, and I don’t want Lori to get the bends. It might kill her if we don’t take our time.” As much as he wanted to get out of the water, Jack knew that it would only make matters worse if he wasn’t careful. Though he couldn’t see Lori’s actual condition, he chanced a guess that it wasn’t great if she’d passed out. Even if the monsters were just toying with him again, asking for their help was a risk he had to take. It didn’t seem like either of them wanted him gone anyway.

“Right.” Rel said promptly, though he looked at Jack like he’d just grown an extra head. “And, what exactly does that mean? Can’t you breathe here?” “..What?” Jack felt like he’d been slapped in the face. What kind of a question.. “N- Okay, you know what, wait. How about this. I’ll explain everything on the way up, and if you really want to, we can chat on the boat. I’ll also let you know when to stop and go, that way we can avoid barotrauma. Does that sound okay?”

…

“Yea, sure dude! Sounds good!” Nac, surprise surprise, put on a big stupid grin once again.

“I.. Suppose so. Just, don’t try to leave. Okay?” Though it seemed like Rel had composed himself, his eye twitched a smidge as he looked at Jack again.

Jack shrank back a little. “No problem!”

Jack wasn’t sure how long either of their composures would last in the long, cold journey back up to the surface, but he had to hope that it would be enough time for him to at least see Lori awake again. He himself had questions for the two sentient fish men he was somehow communicating with, and he had to admit that it was a bit exciting. Never once did he think that the stories he’d been told as a child were anywhere close to reality, and yet here he was, wrapped in the claws of a megalodon and conversing with a kraken, all while being in one piece. Of all the things to come of this trip beneath the waves, only one was certain.

It was going to be a long way up.

---===+===------===+===------===+===------===+===---

(This last drawing is a reference to a Spongebob scene. Just seemed in-character for a guy like Nac)

[welcometomylittlelife]

Selina's Birthday Card

Hey there!

I just realized I didn't highlight the work my friend Selina did for my birthday! Pardon the puns. It's definitely cheesy, but still thoughtful.

Thanks @selinamakesart! I can't wait to see what else you make!

Anyway! That's all I have to say about that. Do you all prefer birthday cards with or without puns?

So long! Parker