#geologists? your thoughts?

[vega-and-me]

What

[togglesbloggle]

It's interesting to me how much people struggle to intuit differences of scale. Like, years of geology training thinking about very large subjects, and I'm only barely managing it around the edges.

The classic one is, of course, the mantle- everybody has this image of the mantle as a sort of molten magma lake that the Earth's crust is floating on. Which is a pedagogically useful thing! Because the intuitions about how liquids work- forming internal currents, hot sections rising, cool sections sinking, all that- are all dynamics native to the Earth's mantle. We mostly talk about the mantle in the context of those currents, and how they drive things like continental drift, and so we tend to have this metaphor in mind of the mantle as a big magma lake.

The catch, of course, is that the mantle is a solid, not magma. It's just that at very large scales, the distinction between solids and liquids is... squirrely.

When cornered on this, a geologist will tell you that the mantle is 'ductile'. But that's a lie of omission. Because it's not that the mantle is a metal like gold or iron, what we usually think of when we talk about ductility. You couldn't hammer mantle-matter in to horseshoes or nails on an anvil. It's just a rock, really. Peridotite. Chemically it's got a lot of metal atoms in it, which helps, but if you whack a chunk of it with a hammer you can expect about the same thing to happen as if you whacked a chunk of concrete. Really, it's just that any and every rock is made of tons and tons of microcrystal structures all bound together, and the boundaries between these microcrystals can shift under enormous pressure on very slow timescales; when the scope of your question gets big enough, those bonds become weak in a relative sense, and it becomes more useful to think of a rock as more like a pile of gravel where the pebbles can shift and flow around one another.

The blunt fact is, on very large scales of space and of time, almost everything other than perfect crystals start to act kind of like a liquid- and a lot of those do as well. When I made a study of very old Martian craters, I got used to 'eyeballing' the age based on how much the crater had subsided, almost exactly like the ways that ripples in the surface of water gradually subside over time when you throw a rock in to a lake. Just, you know. Slower.

But at the same time, these things are more fragile than you'd believe, and can shatter like glass. The surface of the Earth is like this, too. Absent the kind of overpressures that make the mantle flow like it does, Earth's crust is still tremendously weak relative to many of the planet-scale forces to which it is subject- I was surprised, once, when a professor offhandedly described the crust as having a tensile strength of 'basically zero;' they really thought of the surface as a delicate filigreed bubble of glass that formed like a thin shell, almost too thin to mention, on the outside of a water droplet. On human scales, liquid is the thing that flows, and solid is the thing that breaks. But once stuff gets big or slow or both, the distinction between a solid and a liquid is more that a liquid is the thing that doesn't shatter when it flows. And it all gets really, really vague, which I suppose you'd expect when you get this far outside the contexts in which our languages were crafted.

[wickjump]

noooo you will get kuru

Why am I chill with most color ships but eh or 😡 and 🙄 or 🫤 on most killer ships

[fantomette22]

Do you approve my geologist friend?

(would love to hear what you think it is too <3)

Crow... you have no idea of what you just unleash.... I went CRAZY over this thank you for activating my neurones! XD

I thought I talk about it before but no, it was about the Doll & Maria's pendant with Katy. It allow me to think about it even more thank you!

Short answer: I guess it's probably a weird opal gem stone yeah.

Long answer: whatever I am going to explain below XD

But first little disclaimer: I can't be certain and completely sure what were the devs intentions about it. Which gems did they really wanted to put in it and if they even had a clear idea in mind to begin with. If they did, it's also possible they didn't represent the right gem correctly. And I could never blame them for that! They aren't geologist or mineralogist. They aren't geographers or historians. They are not architects either, they are video games developers! And besides that, they still try their best to be faithful to their inspirations and create such vivid and beautiful worlds! Beautiful locations and buildings, realistic weapons, armors, clothing (with bits of fantasy), realistic battle and moveset as well etc. They already do a crazy job for all of this so we can't blame devs in general for unrealistic map (I like trying to understand the video game map geography/geology) or minor details that aren't 100 percent realistic. Or in this case the accurate depiction of a minuscule gemstone. This is a fantastic video game who's a mixt of Dracula, brotherhood of the Wolf and Lovecraftian cosmic horror stories (& fishes). Not a documentary on the 19th century. But anyway.

So yeah I'm just gonna give my 2 cents about it and maybe make you learn cool stuff thanks to my studies in geology 👍

And even if it's not completely accurate the beautiful world of HEADCANONS is here!!! XD More seriously this post may be very useful for fanfic references for exemple! That would make a cool discussions between characters or even allowed to describe more little objects like those!

Now let's begin!

The Doll Tear Stone

"Silver-shining tear stone. Use to change into a droplet blood gem that fortifies any weapon. A doll sheds neither blood nor tears and thus its nature remains unknown. Whoever thinks this is precious must be troubled by severe naivete."

"A blood gem that fortifies weapons and adds various properties. Droplet blood gems are special gems that adapt to various weapons and shapes. Created from a shining silver doll tear, this blood gem is a quiet but unfaltering friend that continually restores HP, the life essence of a hunter. Perhaps the doll's creator had wished for just such a friend, albeit in vain."

(Also can we appreciate how OP this gem is when it's your first playthrough?! Really a must have. Really worth it to go find the small hair ornament, and not just for lore.)

So it indeed look like an opal a bit. But there are other alternatives I considered as well! The first being the moonstone (or belmonite). They both are very similars, but they have different chemical formula. Also the moonstone is less rare and less expensive! It especially state in the description that the doll tear isn't precious at all. An opal is very precious and expensive in comparison.

opal SiO2 n H2O

moonstone/belmonite (Na K)AlSi3O8 ---

I can't show many references in this but on the internet you might find various colours of both moonstones and opals! With some less or more transparent.

Another moonstone for exemple.

But the doll tears also have the particularity of refracting light and shining of differents colours too. (Or diffraction into a rainbow for crystal). Opal and moonstone both have this particularity as well (even if it shows more in opal for exemple). Those phenomenons are called adularescence (moonstone), opalescent (in opal), or iridescence (bubble, fuel, cd, some fossils).

I didn't really thought about the rocks meaning too. Everything alike to "stone healing properties" are similars to an horoscope /zodiac/astrology for me. But stones meaning as in flowers meaning is very interesting! And I'm not going to dev to much but i guess they all fit well!

Moonstone: Feminity, divine wisdom, moon, calm balance, protection, spiritual healing"

DID SOMEONE SAY HEALING?! what a coincidence 🤭 But I mean almost all stones have protection meaning XD But hey it fit well with Bloodborne themes, The moon presence, the fact that it's not precious etc

Now I also need to mention other not precious stones (very common) and crystals as well, even if they don't show rainbow colours:

Quartz is well quartz but many expensive minerals can be found among it. they are formed via hydrothermal fluids.

Calcite is still very basic it's the crystal version of limestone.

Halite is salt. And guess what's in the composition of tears... SODIUM CHLORIDE/ NACL! :D ... 💀 so I thought that maybe you know... is the doll tear could be made from that....

Me now: hm do you think the tear stone is salty? 🤔

Me from almost 3 years ago: WTF is wrong with you?!?!?!

(I swear it's a true identification method for calcite to lick it but hear me out! you break the stone first to have access to a part who was never expose to air! We were all shock our teachers did this...anyway)

It's not very clear what the Doll is even made off but if indeed her face is made of porcelain well I could consider kaolinite then. Porcelain is made from it so.

In the end like the description said "it's nature remain unknown" and because it might have an organic origins as well I guess it's just it's own thing, but it resemble something that already exists. Maybe something about the old blood or bc of some eldritch mysteries. Mixed with unknowns material to become a crystal that could exist. (So new minerals just drop?? let's go)

I'm not gonna pass too much time on that (or it's never gonna be over XD) but you see the bloodstone and blood gem stones found in the game? Well there's tons of those in bb universe but in real life it's not possible.( I mean blood clot are a thing but the ones in game seems like a weird mixt being that and a real mineral structure). I hypothesis or headcanons that it's produce because of something in the old blood. Something in the great ones. But can a parasite or microorganisms really do that hm 🤔? Something that made the blood crystalize in some conditions. That amalgamate some minerals or impurity that are in too much concentration...

Quicksilver bullet can be made of blood too and we know they are made from mercury most likely (and not silver but maybe silver too)....

So yeah it's my theory to explain the weird bb biology. Because even if they had BYRGENWERTH NO ONE IS EVER GOING TO EXPLAIN TO US HOW THIS WORLD WORK SCIENTIFICALLY (and magic) SPEAKING!!!!! AND WHAT DID THEY LEARN IN ALL THOSE RESEARCHES!!!!

Why do I have such crazy ideas you ask? Well if I want my headcanons/fic to be coherent I need to think of many things to make everything stick together. Like for exemple I need to theorise things about this ^so that one day Laurence can explain to the gang WHY A GIANT MUTATED DOG IS ON FIRE AND VOMIT LAVA SOMEHOW MAKE SENSE!!!!!

YES I HAVE AN HC FOR THIS AND FIRE BLOOD MAGIC!!!! Of course it's fantasy, it's sci-fie not everything have an answer. But I cannot just say "it's magic shut up" x)

Hm let's have a lil pause before looking in the Doll's and Maria's pendant now.

Mini geology class interlude or how stones, minerals & gems are made:

About crystallization:

"Crystallization is a process that leads to solids with highly organized atoms or molecules, = a crystal. The ordered nature of a crystalline solid can be contrasted with amorphous solids in which atoms or molecules lack regular organization."

There's tons of things that can be crystal for ex water when you freeze it or salt: If you put salt in the water, it dissolve. If you heat the water and evaporate it, salt crystals are going to appear. For minerals, the longer it's exposed to heat and pression (underground) the bigger the crystals are going to be!

For exemple when lava burst out and grew colder and solid, crystals aren't visible or non existent bc the processes is very fast. That's the pitch black stone with tons of holes in it, basalt. But when the magma take thousand or millions of year to cool down the crystals are way bigger! Then erosion allowed us to discover them (like granite, gabbro or peridotite).

Of course these is for magmatic stones but the process is similar yet different for the gem we talked about, Quartz and even metals like gold who are made from Silice & found in sedimentary stones.

They are formed via hydrothermal fluids:

To put it very simply: the water get trap in the earth, get charged in lot of minerals on it's way + heat, get stuck at one place, evaporate and left behind all the minerals who become solid and amalgamate together, it crystallize and boom. You got lil crystals if not giant ore deposit.

For the geodes it's a similar processus; the water get trapped, dissolve minerals then it cristalize in the space it have;

So for Opal it's basically like this:

the best Opals are found Australia bc of the arid climate. Moonstones are made from granite mainly so it's found in lots more places.

------

End of the mini geologic lesson.

So...do you realise how much warmth the Doll might have feel from the hair ornament to create such a beautiful crystal?! Wow it's incredible. (I am so sorry this is a joke ok ?! 😂😭 But am I wrong?!)

Ok now let's get back to business. After thinking about the tear it sparks new ideas about Maria and the Doll's pendant. I couldn't identified them before but I might be into something.

----

Maria's pendant

Alright what about Maria's shiny, greenish pendants?

Well it's complicated. It's very shiny compared to the little others. It seems green too. Maria's and the Doll's one seems to alternate between silver and green depending the light or concept art or clothing descriptions. It's a mess... But at least it's based on real gem right? (If they are depicted correctly of course it can still be a mistake as well) but let's say Maria's a green one and the doll's is silver.

Well a green opal doesn't look like this 🤔 Even worst for a green moonstone.

An emerald don't look like this either they had clear marking and I don't see Maria just walking around j-hunting with a HUGE emerald that would belong to a queen or king and that cost more than the entire grand cathedral XD

I got a crazy idea at some point... maybe not about the big pendant after reconsidering it but at least the little one on her attire. What if... ok hear me out,

WHAT IF IT'S A BLOODSTONE?!

No not the one in the game! Those!

Also called heliotrope. It's a variety of chalcedony (same formula as quartz SIO2)+ red jasper spots or hematite (iron)

But they are some who are almost entirely green LOOK.

And that would fit with al the themes and stuff!?

But it's still very dark and not really shiny and while doing research I found Chrysoprase or green jasper.

The same stone can very different how it's polished too. So did the devs had a precise idea for smt or just made a pretty gemstone and didn't thought about making it too accurate to smt real? We'll never know... I know it doesn' look quite the same but I am proposing a few ideas here and I hope it could help and spark inspiration for someone! So instead of just giant it's a big green gemstone we can be more precise within fiction and let our creativity grow!

The doll's pendant

The doll pendant now. Well while doing the research for the tear stone I thought that the moonstone would fit so well for the doll pendant! Until I remembered that it basically act like a mirror 💀(and we can see the alpha ver of the hunter dream). So it can only be made from something metallic right?

So if you want to be poetic sure Moonstone will be nice. BUT I remembered thinking about another idea a huge while ago and I think it could be it! Perhaps this pendant is artificially made and is indeed a kind of mirror!

Ok hear me out x2. Gehrman made the Doll and her outfits right? Well he probably made the pendant by himself too.

So if you didn't knew mirrors are made from glass with a layer of silver pr aluminium. Then a layer of cooper or lead. In the 1800s they were made from tin and MERCURY! (mercury again our beloved).

Gehrman made weapons. Out of iron and other metallic minerals right? BRO MADE A SCYTE OUT OF SIDERITE hello!!! He made the doll clothes too isn't he? Pretty sure it would have been easy for him to make a little shiny metallic pendant who's almost like a mirror...(maybe I am not crazy in my hc that he might have made the hair ornament too let's goooo). Problem solve!

And that's it, hope you guys like those ides and this little lesson ^^

----

Also have my post about basalt in Nightmare frontier and the fishing hamlet x)

[laughtalelogs]

impossibilities pt. 2 - different mindsets

PAIRING - zoro x fem!reader

WORD COUNT - 5.1k+

WARNINGS - mentions of sex MDNI, no beta, minor injuries, enemies to lovers, no use of y/n, strong language, zoro bullying, slight mentions of anxiety, reader is a geologist, reader is pretty highstrung and combative in this fic- this is all setting up for eventual smut in pt.3

SUMMARY - after getting lost for hours, you and zoro continue to find yourselves in the same problems as before. will you both be able to handle yourselves after spending so much time alone?

AUTHOR’S NOTE - I spent an unnerving amount of time sitting on this fic (3 fucking months), and have came to the executive decision to split it into multiple parts. this is so different from the first part, and I use it more as inspiration than a true continuation of that story.

you can honestly skip reading part 1 if you want!

pt. 1 (x) , pt. 2 (you are here) , pt.3 (coming soon)

In the hour that followed Zoro’s hack job on the engine, the caravan filled with silence, accompanied by soft breathing that made you grip the steering wheel tighter.

Must be nice, you thought as you peered over your shoulder.

Zoro’s arms were crossed, short tufts of green poking out from his winter hat. His head was dipped down, nodding with each rock of the vehicle. The ruddy blotches that covered his cheeks and nose told you he had to be cold, despite his stubbornness. You thumb the scarf around your neck with hesitation.

Fuck it.

You let go of the wheel and pulled off the fuzzy scarf that suddenly felt like lead in your hands. You leaned over Zoro for a moment and stared down at his peaceful face. His breathing was slow and even, the tell-tale signs of a deep sleep. Testing the waters, you poked his cold cheek, jerking back as if you expected him to jump at you.

He didn’t though, gentle breaths rose his chest up and down.

He’d be cuter if he stayed like that, you thought. Rather than doing everything in his power to get under your skin. Even so, you held your breath and carefully draped it around his neck, wrapping it around twice. You sighed, turning back to the sea of white as you settled back down in the driver's seat, rubbing the crease in your brow.

Why the hell did I do that?

You glanced one more time over your shoulder. Zoro’s face sunk into the fabric on his neck, the wool nuzzling his nose.

You quickly turned around again, taking your sweaty palms to grasp the wheel again as you continued to drive.

Maybe it wasn’t that bad. At least you had a moment to think with him asleep. With the silence, the fog of annoyance cleared from your mind. Before the storm, you spotted a small structure that you had wanted to explore, but Zoro was hellbent on getting back to the ship.

Maybe you’d be able to find some semblance of shelter there— though that was proving to be difficult with the passing minutes.

You smacked your lips together, and mixed emotions bubbled to the surface when thinking about Zoro’s warnings of the storm.

You tried to pinpoint the exact moment that it all went wrong.

What the hell was taking him so long?

You fanned your scowling face and covered your eyes from the sun, pacing on the bank of the beach. Zoro‘s absence already put a sour taste in your mouth, and the expedition hadn’t even started yet.

Luffy was crouched by the sand while he dug into the sand with a stick. “Can’t we go yet?”

“Not until Nami is finished.” Sanji said, blowing smoke from the corner of his lips.

Luffy whined and flopped onto his back. “But Robin, Usopp, and Chopper already got to go!”

Beside you, Nami scanned the horizon of the island and jotted notes in her logbook, tapping her foot impatiently. She threw Luffy a stern, pointed look, snapping her book close. Its echoing clap stopped your restless feet, and you shot a glance their way. Luffy rolled onto his stomach and muttered under his breath, poking at the ground again, not willing to fight the beast inside his Navigator. she shoved the journal in her bag, and dug around for something else before pulling it out.

“Luffy, Sanji, and I will circle the island going east using the waver,” She held the transponder snail out toward you. “That leaves you and Zoro to cut through the middle while Jinbe, Brook, and Franky watch the ship. If you see anything of interest or run into trouble, call us on this.”

You couldn’t stop the groan that slipped from your lips and plucked the snail from her hands. Its wide eyes stared back at your disgruntled face. “Can’t you or Sanji switch with him?”

Nami let out an exasperated sigh, her freckled nose scrunched up in disappointment. “You said you were fine with this.”

“I said I’m fine with making sure that dumbass doesn’t get lost,” you grumbled, “I didn’t say I was fine being alone with him that long.”

Sanji turned around. “I mean, I don’t mind-”

Nami held up her hand and cut him off, “-It’s an hour tops, they’ll be fine.”

Before you could protest more, Nami continued, “you both are very capable, mature adults and crewmates. I am sure you both can handle yourselves for an hour.”

“Luffy, help me here?” You whined to your captain.

He turned attention away from the sand beetle he dug up, and it burrowed back into the ground. Luffy’s head swiveled towards you, a frown on his face. “Huh?”

“Do I have to go with Zoro?” You asked again. You watch him think on it for a moment, and the words he said made you deflate.

“We pulled straws, it would be unfair if we changed now.” A rubbery hand stretched forward and wrapped your shoulder, giving it a good shake of encouragement. “Come on, it’ll be fun!”

“You think getting punched in the face is fun.”

But you couldn’t argue further than that, and you weren’t going to go against your captain. You shrugged his hand off. “Some help you are…”

“-It's not like I bite, you know.” Zoro's voice cut in from afar, the sound of his swords jostling behind you as he climbed off the ship.

Your shoulders rose to your ears, and you turned to face him as he made his way towards you and the remnants of the crew.

“Doesn’t mean you aren’t a pain in my ass. You better not slow me down.”

Zoro’s shadow eclipsed you as he leisurely strolled over with crossed arms, blocking the festering heat.

“As long as you don’t get me lost.”

You scoffed. “Me? Get us lost? What a joke.”

“You’re the joke,” Zoro lips twitched upwards. “Acting selfish as usual, like a pathetic baby. Nami said we were adults, right?”

“I am not a baby.” But as soon as the words came out, they felt childish. His words ring in your head, anger stirring inside of you.

Zoro stuck his chin high and glowered down at you. “That’s what a baby would say.”

“Babies can’t talk.” You always felt ridiculous under his scrutiny. “So you were just up there wasting time eavesdropping?”

“No, I was doing my job. You wouldn’t know about that, though?” He reached into his haramaki and pulled out a wrinkled piece of paper, shoving it your way.

You took it between two fingers. When you flipped it around, you found notes on how to operate the vehicle that sat off in the distance.

“Franky stopped me to give you this. In case you forgot.” He added.

“Oh,” Your voice faltered as you averted his gaze, folding the note and slipping in your pocket. “Why didn’t you just say that in the first place?”

He shrugged, scratching his neck. “You’re welcome.”

“ …Anyways,” Nami ignored the both of you and placed her book into her rucksack. “I have a sneaking suspicion a snow squall is approaching. I put two snowsuits in the brachio for you two just in case. Make sure to head back before then. I just want to chart this place and dodge, but keep your eyes peeled for treasure.”

“A snow squirrel?” Luffy jumped up with newfound purpose. “Sounds awesome!”

Sanji took Nami’s bag from her hands and placed it on his back, his gaze flickered in between you and Zoro. “-Sounds like a bigger pain in the ass than Moss.”

“Shitty cook, I’ll show you a pain in the ass-”

Zoro’s proclamation made you double over in laughter. Sanji doesn’t miss the way Zoro stiffened at the sound.

How could that idiot be so emotionally constipated? The cook thought to himself.

You smiled Sanji’s way, amusement bright in your face. You miss the way Zoro’s eye darted from you to him. “Good one.”

Sanji shook his head and eyed you, who straightened up and inched away from the other man, stepping out of Zoro’s shadow. Not like you were faring any better.

“Can I fight the snow squirrel, Nami?” Luffy was bouncing in anticipation, ignoring his quarreling crew.

“It’s not a-” She pinched the bridge of her nose. At this rate, the crew, this island, and the weather was going to give her a headache. “Sure, whatever. Let’s move out.”

You watched Nami grab Luffy, stomping away as Sanji followed suit. You try to say something again, but the three of them are already off, waving their goodbyes.

“You two don’t kill each other, okay?”

“If you find the squirrel, save it for me!”

“Don’t do anything stupid, Marimo.” And with that, they were on their way.

You and Zoro stood there for a second, the awkwardness from your desperation to get rid of him sat in the air. He cleared his throat before beginning to walk off. “Come on, we’re already losing time.”

“Wrong way, genius.” You crossed your arms, motioning with your head. “Brachio’s the other way.”

He stopped in his tracks, and grumbled, turning around, “just testing you.”

You rolled your eyes, “sure, whatever makes you feel better.”

As time went on, you had made several stops on your way down the middle of the island.

You were surprised how many rock formations you found. This made it a perfect time to grab undisturbed samples. You itched with anticipation as you thumb a rock on the ground and slip off your backpack, taking a small vial and placing the pebble inside.

“The hell are you doing over here?” Zoro's voice pulled you out of your excitement.

“My job.” You snapped back, His comment earlier still stung. It wasn’t the first time he had called you immature, and it had dug into the wound he created long ago. “I just thought I saw something, just making sure.”

“You said that at the last two stops, too. We’re running out of time before the storm.”

You shrugged, looking up at the sky as you stood. You weren’t an expert like Nami, but the soil was compacted, the rocks eroded by wind. If there was a storm coming, It would be the first time the island had it in years. “It’ll be fine, plus It’s hot as shit right now.”

“I don’t get why you’re so interested in finding anything here.” The look you see Zoro shoot your way showed he was unconvinced. “All we’ve found are just some dumb rocks.”

You walked past him and let a finger swipe against the hilts of his blades as you passed him. You saw his jaw tighten from the corner of your eye. “These just dumb rocks to you, like those are stupid swords to me.”

“Don’t disrespect them like that.” Zoro bristled behind you, his heavy steps following yours.

“Then don’t disrespect my rocks like that.” You offered.

You see something shine on the old trail, a glint in the terrain that jutted out from the tough ground, as well as a shack off into the further distance. You buzzed with excitement. Maybe it was a precious stone you could dig up, or even some sea prism stone that would help further your research. It all was worth checking out.

The obnoxious moan that you heard behind you as you made your way to the rock only spurred you forward. As you crouched to reach for it, a strong gust of wind dislodged the stone, and it tumbled away, rolling into a patch of grass.

“We don’t have time for a treasure hunt anymore. Look up.”

You turned your head to the sky, watching as a sheet of gray creeped at an alarming speed towards you. You cursed under your breath and chewed your lip. Shit.

“We still have time to make it back.”

A prickle of embarrassment rose up your neck and made you shivered, but you shoved it down and tried to make sense of the snowy tundra.

It’s too late now, no matter who was right.

The objective was to either find the crew, or find a signal for the transponder snail, who was also taking an undeserved nap on the control panel. That plan definitely didn’t include the thoughts of him swarming in your brain.

Besides, you swim back to the surface of your murky thoughts, nothing else could go wrong.

Right?

The brachio mini’s power flickered, jerking you back to reality.

The bright lights waned off above you— a short warning before the emergency power kicked in again. There was not enough time for you to brace for impact. You lurched forward as the wheels jolted to a halt, the engine sputtering out sparks from the gash. The hull screeched against the ice like a dying whale.

“No—” No. It had become your personal mantra.

No. No. No. A prayer to whatever omnipotent being that found your suffering entertaining. “—No!”

You screamed and banged a fist on the control panel that you were unceremoniously splayed over. It screamed back in response, flooding the cabin with bright red light as bold letters flashed on the screen: Engine Failure. Please contact Franky immediately.

Your eyes darted to the mini transponder snail again, but its stupid, sleeping face mocked you, turned on its side from the sudden stop. You were out of range. Still.

“Not working?” Zoro grunted behind you, voice coated in grogginess. You whipped your head around, surprised to find him leaned over you, staring at the screen beneath you. The tassels of the scarf you donned him dangled in front of you. You’re shocked to find he hadn’t removed it. The fresh scent of mint mingled with vanilla and fanned across your face. You flinched.

“You tell me, Sleeping Beauty.” You swiveled your seat around and shoved his shoulder, leaning further back to gain distance.

Of course, he didn’t budge an inch, “I wasn’t asleep, you’ve got a real bad staring problem, you know.”

“Must have been some weird dream, as if I haven’t seen enough of your face today.”

“Whatever makes you feel better.” He mocked, throwing your forgotten words back in your face.

You scowled, but decided to change the subject for both of your sakes. “Head still hurt?”

Zoro blinked, and his gaze softened at your question. “Nah, I’m good now.”

“Good,” you sighed in relief. At least that wasn’t another problem to deal with. “I’m glad.”

Zoro raised an eyebrow, and something flickered in his gaze that made you more restless. “That crash didn’t really help, though. You’re a horrible driver.”

“I didn't crash!” You snapped back. “Maybe you can actually help instead of letting me do all the heavy lifting for once.”

Zoro frowned. That’s more like it, you thought.

You continued, “Franky’s gonna have our asses for this.”

“Eh,” Zoro offered an uninterested shrug, as he backed away. Air willed itself into your lungs again.“He’ll get over it.”

You threw your arms up in exasperation, balling your fists up as they fell. “You tell him then.”

“Sure,” you watched his jaw tighten, “Whatever.”

He climbed the ladder beside him and opened the hatch. Cold air surged forward and nipped at your skin.

“What are you doing?” You winced at the sound of your own voice echoing off the tinny walls.

“We’re walking back? Don’t see this as something that’ll come back on.” Zoro doesn’t even look your way, unbothered by the wind that bit at his face, gesturing around at the hunk of metal that encased you both.

Nothing unusual, just snow. Zoro thought after he scanned the area.

He climbed back down and tightened his swords to his side. They clanged together awkwardly, hitting the seat behind him as he tried to keep his distance. He had had his fun, but it was starting to become too suffocating, being stuck with you.

He stole a glance at you and watched your furled up fists tremble from the cold that began to creep in.

Cute, he thought.

He didn’t think about the word that popped up frequently when he looked at you. The way your snowsuit had crumpled in the crash had mangled it, the zipper halfway down, hat sliding down the back of your head.

Annoying, but cute.

He suppressed the urge to reach out and fix it, to pull it over your frozen ears.

He frowned. Why the hell would I want to do that?

Zoro tried to roll the thought down his shoulders, stretching through the tension that surged up his spine.

The idea made sense. You mulled over his words, but you watched the snow falling from the porthole and felt your body fill with dread. The last thing you wanted to do was trudge through snow. Zoro tapped his foot impatiently, each second passing by quicker.

“No,” You said, “we should wait for someone to come get us.”

“That’s what we did last time, remind me—” Zoro’s voice low and calm, “—how’d that work out for you?”

You unclenched your fists and buried your face in your hands; letting out a long, frustrated groan. “We’re both at fault, don’t pin this on me.”

“Of course,” his chuckle tight, “and how long has it been since we left?”

“Four hours,” you mumbled into your palms, “four hours and thirty-seven minutes.”

Each of those minutes weighed heavier than the next.

“I don’t plan to wait longer.”

“Plan? You know what that is?”

“Cut the shit already.” He bit back. “Get the stick out of your ass and let’s go. If we move fast, you won’t have time to get cold.”

You threw an incredulous look his way, not surprised when you are met with his serious face.

“Of course, a dumbass like you would think that.”

Normally, your spats would be short-lived moments of anger before one of you gave in and escaped somewhere else in the ship. You could run to Nami or Sanji and spew vitriol about Zoro with no judgment. By then, enough time would have passed for you both to calm down from the other, and didn’t affect the ways of life being on the same crew.

This, though, was probably the longest you both had to be together; and definitely your first time alone like this. It chipped at your patience, and by the strained look he kept throwing your way, you suspected Zoro wasn’t far behind.

You racked your brain for a solution, an escape from him, yet nothing came to mind. A gentle tap on your shoulder jerked you from your thoughts.

Peering in between your fingers, you found Zoro, close again. He gave you a once over with a soft, unreadable eye. It made you want to curl up into a ball.

“Come on, we’ll do it together.” he offered a hand, his calloused palm an unexpected olive branch. “Trust me.”

Your heart thrashed in your chest like a wild animal as the moments of an hour ago flashed in your mind. You felt heat rise up your neck. You squeezed your legs shut, reminded of the heat of his own between them, his shadow that engulfed you as he loomed over you. Your mind was flooded with thoughts you reached out to control.

Horrible, horrible thoughts you couldn’t get rid of.

“-Fuck you.” The words stumbled out of your mouth like a bad habit you couldn’t quite shake. They were words that come out too quick, too harsh— ones that you don’t even truly mean.

But, they’re better than the alternative: staring at his hand, imagining it in places that would make you lose your mind.

Before he could respond, you shot up and snatched the transponder snail, shoving it deep in your pocket. You shuffled awkwardly through the limited space and squeezed past, scrambling up the ladder. You kept your eyes glued forward as you faced the frigid unknown.

“Real adult of you,” You heard him call out below you. The guilt that bubbled at the back of your throat tasted bitter. You swallowed it down and leapt into the snow.

As you sank down, your socks soaked up the wet, cold slush that piled up at your legs. You regretted the decision to not fight him more on leaving.

That's what you get for being distracted.

Refusing to turn around, you marched forward, despite the numbing cold that is crept through your snowsuit. The faint crunching of snow behind you was enough to tell you he was not far behind. You kept your eyes on the snow as you tried to settle your nerves.

There had to be some way to get out of this wintry hell.

Zoro drank in your silhouette, a stark image compared to the snow before him.

He narrowed his eye. You were pissier than usual, maybe even more than on a bad day. He thought he might’ve pushed you too far, but it was too easy, and it wasn’t like he didn’t have time to kill.

He adjusted the scarf around his neck and your forgotten backpack he’d slung over his shoulder. With each tug, vanilla and sea salt filled his nose and clouded his judgment. It felt like he was going to be choked by the strong aroma.

Still, he didn’t move to take it off, and didn’t want to think about why he pressed his face deeper, letting his breath fog in the material.

His eye flicked up from your waist, trailing up the back of your annoyingly pretty head that shook in anger.

How desperately he wanted to grab it and hold it still. He wondered what thoughts you had rattling in there that made you so irrational. Your hat desperately clung to you, before it slid down your back, into the snow.

You were always like that, Zoro thought as he plucked your forgotten headwear as he passed by, stuffing it in his pocket.

He forced his eye to not creep back upwards and watched your feet march forward.

Damn body, reacting on its own.

Zoro ignored the stirring in his chest that travelled like an inferno further and further down, where the desires he kept a tight lid on lay dormant. Sure, he meant to make you riled up, but he didn’t expect himself to still be affected. He tried to steady his heart beat, to focus on the dire situation you both were trapped in.

But still — He couldn’t shake away the thought of you, peering up at him, thighs clenched around nothing for the second time in a row, before you delivered the most immature ‘fuck you’ of the century. The beating of his chest he still couldn’t quell reminded him — you were so distracting while doing so.

Exhaustion pulled you down into the slush with each step you took.

At some point, Zoro fell in line beside you. You trained your eyes to the ground and watched your feet and Zoro’s disturb the fresh blanket of snow, only to steal a look at him out of the corner of your eye. You saw something oddly familiar slung across his back.

“When did you get my bag?” You asked.

“Finally noticed?” His lips stretched into a grin. “While you threw your temper tantrum, I grabbed it.”

“I can carry it, give it here.” You reach for the bag, but his hand swats yours away, adjusting the strap.

“Just for you to leave it again? No chance. I thought you wanted me to do the lifting, anyways,”

The silence stretched for what felt like an eternity as you continued to walk. You wondered what he was thinking, or if he was at all. Maybe he was using this experience as some weird training technique, but the quick gazes you shot his way show that same, unreadable face, eye locking with yours for a moment only to look away, far into the distance.

He must be exhausted, especially from you.

Anxiety had begun to gnaw at you, thinking of that outstretched hand from earlier as your eyes darted back to the snow. Thinking of the words he called you before, selfish. immature. control freak.

You had been giving him a hard time, you thought.

Insecurities of being too much, too commanding, too, well, you, bubbled up to the surface. Maybe what he said about you was right. You had been unforgiving all day. The same warnings he had told the crew before you had joined all those months ago ring like alarms in your head. It was your fault you guys were in this situation, ultimately, no matter how much you twisted it in your mind.

Before you realized it, the word slipped off your tongue.

“Sorry.”

His walk faltered for a moment, a strangled noise coming from his throat. “Huh?”

“For earlier.” You garbled out and picked up speed, as if your body was searching for an escape from the awkwardness of it all. “For everything.”

“Say it again.” He demanded, jogging to keep up with you, “Don't think I caught that right.”

You felt the hole he was boring into your skull, but you kept pushing forward, willing your burning thighs to go faster. You felt clammy and hot all over, despite the freezing temperatures. “You know what I said.”

“Is this a prank?” He laughed, and you felt every nerve in your body set ablaze. “-or are you seriously apologizing?”

How was this funny?

Humiliation swallowed you whole. Your poor attempt at sincerity had been brushed off, despite the nerve you had worked up to do so. To hell with it all. If he wanted you to be annoying and high-strung, you would give it to him.

You turned to tell him off, to give him what he wanted.

But, as you stepped closer, your foot gave way underneath the slippery surface below you. You yelped as your foot twisted in the other direction, erupting in a searing, blinding pain.

Zoro was next to you in a flash.

Concern and shock laced his face as he carefully pulled you back to sit up. Jaw tightening as he wiped the snow from your face. The snow mingled with the tears that threatened to spill. You felt the heat radiating from Zoro’s body and fingers, soothing the burn on your cheeks. It was ridiculously comforting, and that thought unnerved you.

“Oi,” he brushed off your back and front, snow falling to the ground, “you good?”

You bit back the pain and blinked back the tears and ducked your head down. “Peachy.”

“Idiot,” He sighed, and his hand reached into his pocket. When did he get that? Before you can ask, your vision is darkened when you feel something pull over your eyes. “You need to watch where you’re going.”

“Hey!” You reached up, pulling the hat he had unceremoniously crowned you with above your brows. You were about to counter, how could you see anything underneath the snow? But the stormy look Zoro’s eye that pored over made you forget whatever you were about to say.

You shivered. He frowned, taking off the scarf you placed around his neck, draping back over yours. “You sure?”

Zoro's genuine question made you feel worse.

You let out a shaky breath. “I’m sure I want to get out of the cold, hurry up.”

You stood up and tried to walk, wincing at the shooting pain with each step.

Zoro sighed, and began to walk with you.

Only after a handful of steps, your footing buckled again, but this time Zoro caught you before you could hit the snow. Suddenly, your feet weren’t touching the ground, swept up in his arms.

Zoro smacked his teeth, breath warming your numb ear. “Impossible.”

“Are you a broken record or something?” You mumbled, wiggling in his grasp.

Zoro shook his head, adjusting to make you comfortable, “I’ll keep saying it the more stupid shit you do.”

You said you were fine, but he wasn’t having it. Zoro motioned with his head for you to tell him a direction. You wordlessly point, trying not to think about his hands holding you to his chest.

As he walked, you see those same rosy splotches on his cheeks begin to darken again. You carefully wrapped the end of your scarf over his neck, and he stood straighter.

“What are you doing?” He hissed, glared down at you, his face close to yours.

“You’ll get cold too,” you murmured and turned away.

“I’m not, though.”

“Your face says otherwise,” You tugged on the side of the scarf still wrapped around your neck, adding some slack. “Don’t get yourself sick, or we’ll both freeze and die.”

His quiet chuckle rumbled through his chest and vibrates against your side. “You know, you’re the most positive person I know.”

“Haha, but really,” you turned to face him again, and Zoro was the one to turn away that time. “How does the cold not bother you?”

You watched him tilt his head up, contemplating the question for a moment before finally giving you an answer. “It’s a mind over matter for me. You’ll be surprised how things can change with a different mindset.”

You mulled over the thought as you admired his tenacity to be so unbothered. His lips pink and soft, the small clench of his chiseled jaw, the way the muscles of his neck peak from behind the scarf, stretching as he swallowed. You cleared your throat and leaned against his chest.

Just for heat, you told yourself, and your body relaxed a little in his gentle hold. His heartbeat was steady in your ears. You tried to ignore the thumb that traced tiny circles on the side of your knee.

A different mindset.

You looked up, Zoro’s earrings shimmered in the snow. He glanced down at you, raising an eyebrow, but didn’t comment on your ogling. He looked back down at your finger that was lazily outstretched, using it as his guiding compass as he continued to walk.

If you ignored everything about the day, if Zoro was anyone else, you would have considered his actions sweet. Gentlemanly, even. You feel a slow heat bloom in your stomach, spreading warmth towards your ankle, soothing the ache.

Maybe he was onto something.

“Your scarf stinks. What did you spray on it?” And just like that, he dashed those kind thoughts from your mind.

“It doesn’t stink, it’s just a little perfume!” You scowled, craning your neck up at him. “You weren’t complaining earlier.”

“It’s making me nauseous, you don’t need that sweet shit.” He turned his nose upwards, averting the fabric that swaddled him. You hit his chest.

“I like it! Doing a lot of complaining and not enough walking.” You hit him again, harder this time as you continued to point.

“I should just leave you here to freeze.” You felt Zoro’s loosen his hold, and you slipped slightly in his hold. You clutched onto his shirt, screeching as you felt gravity threaten to pull you down.

“You ass! You wouldn’t dare-“

“-That’ll teach you to be nicer to your ride, hm?” His laugh is wicked.

Even though you grumble, you can’t stop the twitching in your lips. “I can’t wait to get away from you.”

AND END SCENE! Finally, thank the heavens that this part is done.

Not sure how I feel about this one, I started hating it in the middle of writing it because I didn’t have any real direction of how I wanted this to play out. This took very long to write because I realized I never gave a reason for their rivalry which took me forever to come up with. I still feel like zoro’s still ooc, but I feel like I learned a lot while writing this nonetheless.

Probably will pivot and try to get one of my sanji fics done now, but part 3 is already 60 percent completed.

thank you for your patience with me! school continues to kick me in the ass :’)

liked this? check out my other stuff :) - (x)

[outerwildsgeology]

What is a Rock?

Hey folks!

Before we get started with sharing our full survey notes, we thought it would be a good idea to go over some basic terminology to ensure we're all on the same page!

What is a Rock?

No, seriously! What counts as a “rock”? Geologically speaking, a rock is a solid, naturally-occurring collection of minerals. It might be made of a single mineral type, or multiple, but it is an aggregate of many individual mineral crystals that are interlocked together.

Fig. 1: An image of a coarse-grained granite showing individual crystals of feldspar, mica and quartz. Note that the entire rock is made up of these interlocking crystals.

What is a Mineral?

Okay, so we know what a rock is now - it's made up of minerals. But, what is a mineral? A mineral is a building component of rocks, and they have a very specific definition based on particular criteria that must be met. For something to be considered a mineral, it must meet all the following criteria:-

It must be solid

It must be naturally-occurring

It must be inorganic

It must have a definite and known chemical composition

It must have a defined crystal structure

What does this actually mean? Let’s walk through it. Criterion one discounts anything that is a liquid - such as water. As you know, rocks and minerals can become liquid when exposed to high temperatures, magma and lava for example, but in this form, they are not minerals, and therefore not rocks! They can only be classed as minerals once they solidify, provided they meet the other criteria alongside.

Fig. 2: Image of lava (a non-mineral due to its liquid form) and basalt (a fine grained, igneous rock, and the solidified form of many low viscosity lava flows).

As for the other criteria, naturally-occurring and inorganic are self-explanatory. No crystals that can only be manufactured in a laboratory setting are true minerals, because they cannot exist in nature! Crystals that are commonly lab-grown but can exist in nature (such as moissanite) still count as minerals. Inorganic means the mineral can be formed by inorganic processes. Something like calcite can be produced by animals (such as clam shells) but can also be formed by geological processes without the involvement of any living thing. This actually discounts amber as a mineral - since it is tree resin (formed organically) and is not replaced by any other minerals as is the case with fossilisation - therefore amber is not a mineral!

Having a definite chemical composition is also pretty much what it sounds like - it needs to have a chemical formula - a sequence of elements organized to form a compound that we know the definite composition of. For example, the chemical composition of quartz is SiO₂, which means it is a compound made up of atoms of silica and oxygen. Similarly, the composition of potassium feldspar - KAlSi₃O₈ is made up of potassium, aluminium, silica and oxygen atoms. When dealing with specific types of rocks, such as fine grained igneous specimens, the fine grain size of the individual crystals often makes it impractical to determine rock type via crystal analysis alone, so some geologists will use chemical analysis to aid in this - hence why it's important to know the definite chemical composition of your specimens!

Lastly, a mineral must have a crystal structure - but what is a crystal structure? The simplest way to imagine this is with building blocks. Each block is the unit that defines the chemical composition - for example, SiO₄ for quartz. So, one “block” of quartz will be a unit of SiO₄. By arranging these blocks in a repeating pattern, a larger structure begins to take form. Crystals are naturally orderly structures - imagine the blocks are piled nicely on top of each other, this is why many crystals have such well defined shapes!

Fig. 3: Diagram showing the atomic "building block" structure of quartz using a 3D model and ball-and-stick diagram; diagram showing "building blocks" arranged in the natural crystal structure; image of a quartz crystal - note the same crystal structure!

Something like glass, or a naturally-occurring glass, like obsidian, has these blocks arranged randomly, like if you were to take your tower and throw it into a storage bin. Because obsidian lacks this order on an atomic level, it isn’t considered a true mineral!

Fig. 4: Image showing a fragment of obsidian. Note the conchoidal fracturing on the obsidian - this is caused by the lack of organisation in its structure. The disorganised nature of natural glass and obsidian exclude them from being a true crystal, and therefore they are also not considered true minerals.

Unfortunately, we aren’t going to be able to run any chemical analyses in Outer Wilds, but we’ll do our best to compare what we see to real-world rocks, minerals, and features, and hopefully this will be able to steer us in the correct direction regarding some of these criteria to ensure we are making the most scientifically informed analyses possible!

What is a Fossil?

Now, we just said that minerals and rocks can’t be organic, and you’re probably thinking, well hold on a second, what about fossils? How can something that was organic become inorganic, and then a rock?

Let’s start by defining what a fossil actually is. Fossils are described as “any preserved remains, or trace of a once-living thing from a past geological age.” This includes anything from the fossilised skeletons of dinosaurs, to the delicate imprints of leaves and plants. Now, it’s important to note that not all fossils are rocks. Objects preserved in amber, for example, are classed as fossils - but as they remain organic they cannot be classed as a rock.

How do we go from something organic, like a bone, to an inorganic version of it? Probably the most well known form of fossilisation is via replacement - where organic remains are replaced by inorganic minerals. Most bones are made up of calcium phosphate and other organic materials. When an animal dies and is buried by sediment, these organic materials are replaced by inorganic crystals in a process known as permineralisation. Permineralisation occurs when the pores of the original specimen are infilled with mineral matter from the ground or water - which then, bit by bit, replace the original organics with minerals, eventually completely replacing the whole specimen! When this occurs, you no longer have your original animal bone, but instead a replica of it with a completely inorganic composition - a fossil! The minerals involved in replacement can vary widely, which can produce spectacular finds such as these pyritised ammonites, or opalised vertebrae!

Fig. 5: Fossilised remains of two opalised Iguanodon vertebrae; a pyritised Ammonite.

Other fossils, such as footprints and burrows provide a record of an organism’s life, as opposed to actual remains of the organism itself. These fossils are known as trace fossils and are normally impressions that have been made in soft mud/soil that has then lithified. The cool thing about trace fossils, and especially footprints, is that you’re left with a cast of whatever part of the creature made contact with the substrate - sometimes with incredible detail of footpads, claws, and/or skin. Other trace fossils include things like coprolites, gizzard stones, and nests! A trace fossil is also completely inorganic, as it’s simply an imprint of a creature, or something a creature left behind, and as such, technically classes as a rock!

Fig. 6: Photograph showing a dinosaur footprint mould and a dinosaur footprint cast. Both of these are trace fossils and have been formed via sediment infilling and lithification.

Alright, there was a lot of information there, but hopefully it has provided you with a strong foundation and understanding of what classes as a true rock! In our next post, we will be diving into the different rock types and the funky structures and features that they can create!

Hopefully, you’ll soon be able to start identifying a variety of rocks in your own Outer Wilds adventures!

If you have any questions regarding what we have talked about here, or indeed just about the Outer Wilds Geological Survey in general, please don't hesitate to drop us an ask!

Catch you in the next loop! The OWGS Team

[wayfayrr]

Love like you ✧*.⚝⋆

Here's the 400 follower raffle grand prize for @wailing-whaler!! Got Sky and reader collecting rocks <3 This went a little off of the initial base, but they do definitely collect rocks together (what a geologist not going utterly obsessed with rocks? it's a miracle) But this was very fun to write!! just soft soft fluff with the soft sleepy boy himself.

[masterlist]

“I’m still sorry for dragging you into this by the way.”

“You aren’t, and you don’t need to keep apologising for something you would happily do again in a heartbeat.”

“I am - I really am, I didn’t mean to drag you here.”

“You are an awful liar.”

He drooped like a puppet cut from its strings at that, offended I bet for calling him out. Despite it being the truth, he knows as well as I do that he was bouncing from the walls when I was brought into the game, happier than I’ve ever seen anyone before in my life. And emotions are new for him, kinda. 

“No- I’m not.”

“Yes, you are.”

“Hmph.” 

“Come on, I’ve already said that I really don’t mind it, why are you still so pouty?”

“Cause I wanted to get out rather than trapping you here with me.”

Oh, that admission is new. He’s dodged the reason why he brought me here since it happened, so that makes sense more than anything… The way that he’s leaning on me is also new though, and nice despite his grumbles, which come to a halt as he snakes his arms around me and buries his head into my neck from behind with a soft sigh. 

“Look it doesn’t really matter right now, you’ve got to save zelda right? So we should really get going, gaepora asked me to help you and I really don’t want to make a bad impression.”

That got me a squeeze and a little whine, does - does he not want to save her?

“But no matter how fast I am impa is going to tell me I’m late anyway, so why does it matter… I just wanna spend time with you.”

…

How does he know that..?How does he know what will happen??? He - this is his first time going through this journey… right? But it isn’t is it, even though he’s been trying to act like it is it’s not. I’ve played through this game once already, and he can remember that. The acceptance of it is like a cold chill down my spine, Link already knows me and has been pretending that he doesn’t, half-heartedly but still pretending. Or has he? Just because he hasn’t said it outright doesn’t mean that he’s trying to hide it, maybe he just assumed I knew already. Either way, would I be bothered by him hiding it? It’s not insidious or anything, he’s just like a lovesick puppy. 

“...Love? You - are you alright? I didn’t say something wrong did I?”  

“I was just thinking… link did you know about before?”

“Before? You mean your other playthrough right?”

Well that settles that, he wasn’t trying to hide it. It was just never mentioned, no reason for it to be honest. No one on skyloft needs to know their entire life is a game which could be very easily overheard on the tiny island and sky thought that I knew he knew so why reiterate the obvious already. 

“Sure I didn’t remember completely right away but going through Faron with you here- here brought everything crashing back so quickly.”

His grip on my waist tightened for a split second before loosening, like he’s not sure if I’ll want to be held close now that he’s sharing this. It’s only made clearer by the sigh he lets out as he takes a step away from me.

“I mean I remember remembering you when I tried to get out now, it was like… like when you fell here, on skyloft that is, everything got locked away but since we met the elder kikwi, everything has come back including how felt about it all and how I fell in l-!”

“How you ‘fell in l-’, why’d you cut yourself off there link, I’d love to know what you were going to say.” 

Almost by instinct, my head turns to follow him as he’s fumbling about in his own flustered embarrassment, having said just a tiny bit more than he’d probably meant. Stopping himself mid-word so sharply you’d think he’d bit his tongue to force himself to stop, but not soon enough that I didn’t know what he meant anyway.  

I won’t lie to myself. It’s something strange to know, and honestly all of this is making way more questions than it answers. Questions that it will be pretty hard to get answers too really, for one he and I both know this is a game and yet I’m here - he’s practically a person and… and he’s said it himself. He fell in love with me. But, I don’t dislike that. I really don’t dislike that. 

“I - I fell in love with you, and how you act and all the little things you do and how you make even the smallest things seem exciting, and it’s why I wanted out so badly so that I could hold you close and tell you how much I love every part of you, from the way your hair falls, to the way you smile, how you collect things that others wouldn’t see worth in but you give them so much worth. I can’t even tell you just how much I’ve wanted to get out even if just for a second to hand you a crystal or even a cute pebble I think would bring a smile to your face - even if it meant I’d go back to being trapped in this hell afterwards.”

My face feels like it’s about to set alight, and not from being on an active volcano. He’s still rambling about what made him fall for me, and it’s only getting more and more natural, he’s getting more and more human over time. More real. As with all good things though, it has to come to an end with him looking up only to realise that he’s been going on for a good few minutes now. Ceasing up like a deer in headlights as he struggles to move his mouth again, almost reflexively licking his lips before glancing down confusedly. Better to break through the awkwardness now so that it won’t get any worse. 

“You know, I wouldn’t be against having a relationship with you…”

“- You wouldn’t - I thought that you… you’d… you’d-”

“But.”

“...b-but?”

“I think I’d like to get to know you first link.”

“Wh - What..?”

“Well, right now I haven’t spent much time with ‘you’ you, and I don’t think it’s fair for you if I’m dating you expecting to you to be exactly like the character the game had you as.”

It’s easy to tell he’s thinking about it, with the hurt but pensive look on his face from being denied something he so clearly wanted a yes to. 

“But, I think I’ve been starting to fall for you too, for who you are link. I’d like to spend some more time with you before we have anything romantic.”

He perked up at that, a lot. Which I don’t blame him for. 

“There’s plenty of time for that then, we aren’t in any rush are we?”

“But zelda-?”

“Even if we were to teleport to the end of the dungeon we’d still be too late. Why not take it slow?”

Despite his leather gauntlets his hands are still nice to hold with how he’s intertwined ours, sneaking his fingers so that they snake between mine. Pulling my hand up to rest up on his cheek, leaning into it with a gentle sigh. 

“You’ve talked about wanting rocks from Eldin to study before, how it looked like a different volcano to anything you’ve ever seen. What if we just I don't know, went off and got you as many as you could ever want of them?”

His eyes look almost pleading, begging for me just to say yes, to give him this precious time so that he can win me over to being with him romantically. And really, how could I dream of saying no? Since ending up in skyloft those few weeks ago he’s been nothing but kind, patient and caring towards me and plus even though I said I wouldn’t compare him to the character he’s come to life around, he’s still link. Still the kind-hearted hero that I fell in love with when playing the game for the very first time, who i grew to wish was real when reading comics about his journey, why shouldn’t I be a little selfish when he cares for me as much as I do for him?

“I-”

Biting down hard on his lip now, the pleading look in his eyes switching to something more akin to outright begging. Just for me to say yes. As if there were any other options available to me. 

“I think I’d love to do that with you sky, as long as you’re certain we have the time.”

No words needed to be said after that, his face lighting up like the sky at a new years celebration. I swear if you looked closely you’d be able to see the very fireworks he was initiating in his own eyes. All the while his face was graced with the softest grin I could have hoped to see. It was definitely the right thing to say. 

“So, do you have anywhere that you think would be good places to collect some?”

“You really think after all this I wouldn’t have somewhere nearby in mind?”

“It doesn’t hurt to ask though, does it?”

“Well my pride might have gotten a little bruised, but that’ll heal in time.”

“...Do you reckon a kiss could help speed up that healing?”

“...”

“Link? Are you alright?”

“Are- would you do that for me?”

“If it’ll help fix your pride then, of course… wouldn’t want an injured hero would we?”

That shut him up well and truly, not even his usual confused soft stutters could be hurt as it seemed his code bluescreened at that idea. A full reboot happening in the time it took his face to go through a multitude of different emotions, settling on a gentle, yet mildly confused, look of contentment. Kinda spelling out his answer for me, but still, I’ll wait for clear consent before doing anything more forward than a suggestion. 

“...”

“Take your time, there’s no rush on an answer.”

A nod. Clearly he doesn’t feel comfortable speaking right now, but that's more than fine. It’s not exactly like I’m not used to him being mute again, if anything it’s not an awkward silence as he leads me over to the spot he was thinking of. A small patch to the south of Eldin, littered with just so many different stones. A dream spot for any collector, so close to an active volcano to get fresh samples well as fresh as you can get without quenching the lava. 

Will they even be able to come back out with me? Link seems to think he would have been able to come out of the game, but that only dragged me in here instead. Can I even get - don't ruin this moment with that line of thinking. We can figure that out later. 

“Hey [name], mind coming over here for a moment?” 

“Hmm? Sure, it isn't an issue.”

Speaking again now is a good sign, clearly his brain - does he have one? - has finished dealing with the bombshell I dropped on it earlier. Moving over to him isn’t a bad thing to do though, with whatever he’s holding seemingly a pleasant surprise. As soon as I’m back in front of him, he takes my chin in his hand delicately tilting it upright as he stares into my eyes. Biting down on his lips as he thinks of what to say, lifting up his other hand to my eye level, like he’s comparing whatever he’s holding to them. 

“...It really is the same colour.”

“Oh, why didn’t you tell me we were doing that, I would have been looking as well.”

“No, no collect whatever you’d like for your own collection, I just… wanted to do something where I could still just um… admire your beauty really. If you don’t want this one then, I- I can just keep it instead.”

“I’ll keep it. Thank you link, but really now we've got to get you one too.”

[midala-of-the-valley]

Your Heart Pulling Against Mine - Pt 7

David 8 x reader Words: 1354 Crossposted on Ao3 Part 6 is here

“What do you mean, them?” Fifield's voice cut through the tense air, sharp and dripping with irritation. Holloway and Shaw stepped closer to the decayed, otherworldly corpse. “This looks like a door,” Holloway stated, gesturing at the massive structure. “And he’s been decapitated by it.”

You stared at the scene, torn between a morbid curiosity and the primal instinct to back away. A part of you wanted to step closer, to take in every strange detail of this alien being, but another part, the part that gripped tightly onto David’s hand, kept you frozen.

Your fingers curled more firmly around his. This was supposed to be a triumph, a discovery of cosmic significance. Why, then, did dread coil in your chest? You’d seen mummies in museums, even normal corpses - an image that you’ll never forget. Death was nothing new to you, and yet your hands felt cold.

“No, I’m out of here.” Fifield broke the silence, turning sharply on his heel. His hurried steps echoed faintly in the chamber. Shaw intercepted him, her voice rising in protest. “Fifield, where do you think you’re going?” “What? Look, I’m a geologist, okay?” He whipped around, his frustration spilling over. “I like rocks. I love rocks. Now, it’s clear you two don’t give a shit about rocks, but what you do seem to care about are gigantic dead bodies! And since I don’t exactly have anything to contribute in the gigantic dead body arena, I’m gonna go back to the ship. If you don’t mind.” His shouting startled you, an uneasy ripple washed over you at the outburst, even though you couldn’t entirely blame him. His fear mirrored your own, but the way it spilled into anger tugged uncomfortably at something deep within you.

“Anyone wanna join me?” Fifield moved toward Millburn, clapping a hand onto his shoulder “Hey? You staying?” Millburn shifted uneasily. “No. Ship’s good.” “Yeah,” Fifield agreed, already retreating a step. “Ship’s very good.”

Then his gaze landed on you. “Botany?” He extended a hand, an invitation for you to join. You shied back. The reaction was immediate, instinctive, and you hated yourself for it the moment you saw his face fall. His outstretched hand dropped as quickly as it had been offered. The hint of an apology flickered in his expression before he turned back to Shaw.

“Congratulations on meeting your maker,” He turned back to Shaw in a calmer tone, but not with less snide. Shaw met his bitter words with calm defiance. “Thank you.”

As Fifield strode away with Millburn in tow, both cast a last glance in your direction. Millburn even raised a hand in a small, almost shy wave. You managed a feeble wave back, the motion stiff and jerky. Only when they disappeared from sight did you realize you’d been holding your breath. You exhaled shakily, the tightness in your chest loosening, but only slightly.

The next thing you knew, Ford, Holloway, and Shaw were gathered around the corpse, pushing some sort of device into it, a carbon reader? You weren’t entirely sure. This wasn’t your field of expertise. You studied plants - everything about them, their growth, their environments. But here, on this barren planet, there were no plants. Nothing at all. Fifield had a point. You should have gone back with him. What were you even thinking? You couldn’t help here. Being here was pointless, wasn’t it? You-

A gentle but firm pressure on your hips pulled you out of your spiraling thoughts. Hands. Shaking you, just slightly. “Come back to me.”

Your gaze snapped upward, locking onto David’s face. You hadn’t noticed him step in front of you, his expression calm but intent, his blue eyes piercing as they met yours.

“You can’t allow your mind to spiral like this,” he murmured, his voice low, almost a whisper. “Not here.”

David. You wanted to hug him, to bury your face against him, to be anywhere but here. Back in your room, in your bed, your leg draped over his. You almost ignored the cameras in your suits. You almost leaned forward. Almost.

But the moment slipped away as Holloway’s voice broke the stillness. “Sorry to interrupt you two lovebirds, but David, do you think you can open the door somehow?”

If your gloves had not come in touch with the muddy liquid from earlier, you would have hidden your face in them.

“Perhaps.” David replied, nodding as he retrieved an extendable ladder from his bag and positioned it against the wall.

Instinctively, you moved to steady it for him, but before you could, David turned back to you, his expression calm, yet firm. “(Y/N), your vitals are outside normal parameters. You should put your helmet back on for full monitoring and take a moment to rest.”

The protest on the tip of your tongue faltered as Ford suddenly appeared at your side, her gaze scanning you for a second. “You really do look pale,” she said, her voice soft but resolute. “Come, sit down for a moment.”

Before you could argue, she guided you to the stone wall between the door and the ladder, her hand firm but gentle on your shoulder. 

After David pressed and traced some of the runes, the door opened with a low hiss, sending a cloud of dust swirling into the air. You were very glad you had put your helmet back on, breathing in whatever this ancient debris contained was not on your list of things to experience today.

Your eyes scanned the room beyond the door. The severed head of the corpse lay there, grotesquely intact, just a few feet from its decapitated body. Above it, a massive face carved into the wall loomed, expressionless and yet somehow ominous. And then there were the urns. Rows upon rows of them.

You really should have gone with the other two. Right now, they were probably back in the transport vehicle, bickering like an old married couple about nothing of consequence, safely away from...whatever this was.

But here it was, undeniable proof: the Engineers existed. Life beyond Earth existed. And yet, all you found was abandonment and death. 

Your thoughts were interrupted by sudden movement. Shaw and Ford darted forward, hastily trying to bag the severed head. Shaw’s voice was sharp, urgent. “We’ve affected the atmosphere of the room. We have to get out of here!”

The sense of dread that had been coiling in your stomach since you saw the skull on top of this building snapped. You sprang to your feet, holding the bag open as the two women heaved the head into it with practiced efficiency. You watched as they sealed it into a vacuum, their movements hurried.

The crackle of the intercom broke the tense silence. The captain's voice carried urgency. “Ground crew, this is Janek. I need you to hustle back right now. Ground crew, do you copy me? I’ve got 200-kilometer winds of airborne silica and enough static to fry your suit.”

Your fingers fumbled at the carrier bag’s straps, readying it for the head as you answered, “Copy that.” Shaw chimed in, her voice tense, “We need more time!”

Now Vickers reply came through with a cool tone. “I’ll be closing the outer doors in 15 minutes. I sincerely hope you can make it.” As if you didn’t already have enough anxiety right now.

Grabbing one end of the carrier bag alongside Shaw, you began hauling it back towards the exit, the two of you moving as quickly as you could manage. Every step felt slower than it should have, the weight of the severed head and the pressure of the clock making each second drag on.

“David?” you called out, your voice tight with panic. You didn’t turn to see if he was following, you didn’t have the luxury of stopping. “Are you coming?”

There was no reply at first, then his calm voice came through the comm. “I’m close. Just focus on getting out.”

But was he? You held onto the thought like a lifeline: In a few minutes, you’d be back on the ship. 

Everything would be fine. 

Right?

[dekkiidan]

is there a reason your hearthian ocs don't follow the naming convention of other hearthians? I know Stein translates as "stone" but I'm lost on Dusty and Mohs - and the new hatchling? Pip?

Howdy anon!

Ooh, thank you so much for the ask, this actually gives me a fun opportunity to share some cool geology facts, hehe! So - my hearthians do loosely follow the geological naming convention of the rest of their kin, but their names are not directly related to minerals or rock types, but instead to lesser known geological processes, features or diagnostic tools.

Mohs is named after the Mohs Hardness Scale - a scale used to identify minerals based how "hard" they are. The scale is a little outdated nowadays, but it's still used to help identify minerals both in the field and in the lab. The scale itself is made up of ten reference minerals, ranging from Talc which sits at 1 (softest) to Diamond which rests at 10 (hardest). Basically, if you're struggling to place a mineral, you can try scratching it and see if that helps you narrow it down.

I thought naming Mohs after a diagnostic test was a cute nod to their role as a geologist, and also to their chipped teeth, which they use themself to test rocks in the field, hehe!

Fun fact, you can actually buy a little kit of reference minerals that can be used in the field to test any samples you may be unsure of!

You are absolutely correct in regards to Stein, their name is the German word for "stone", but also as a barkeep I thought it was fitting that their name also be related to alcohol! I'm sure you know that a beer stein is one of those big, stoneware mugs used for beer, but can also relate to the old English word "stean", which is an old earthenware drinking vessel or jug! Finally, stein can also relate to a specific kind of beer known as a steinbier, which is brewed using hot stones, normally some kind of granite - so we do get that geology link as well!

Now, Dusty, I suppose is a bit more of a tentative link, haha! But, Dusty lore time - Dusty is actually a nickname for my rancher! Their given name is Loess, which is a specific form of geological deposit produced by windblown dust that accumulates into buff or hill-like structures. Loess grains themselves are pretty angular, which is why Dusty has angular markings! Yeah, I get it, Loess > Dusty is a big jump, but I think it can work, haha! After all, a loess is made specifically of windblown dust!

Finally, Pip! I know I haven't posted much about them yet, but I wanted a cute name for Dusty and Mohs' little hatchling. Pip's name comes from pipy concretions - which are basically more well defined and compact pockets of rock that sit within a softer sediment, pipy concretions themselves are often elongate or tubular in shape. Pip themself doesn't have any features aligning to a pipy concretion, perhaps other than their markings that become more elongate along their body? But really, I wanted a cute name and I thought Pip suited them, hehe!

So, I hope that answers your question, anon! Sure, my hearthians aren't as firmly linked to geological formations and minerals as others are, but they're certainly still rooted in geological terms and practices!

[moonshynecybin]

if Marc and Vale were mountains, what characteristics would they have? low and flat? very tall and isolated? in the tropics? in the arctic? with trees at the base? actually a dormant volcano?

this is a question for my BROTHER but i refuse to go to him with rpf. my first thought well they arent appalachian mountains either of them. but i COULD make a joke about vale and the OLDEST MOUNTAINS IN THE WORLDDDDDDD etc etc. hm. marc i think is actually a cliff. danger imminent. beautiful in a way that still makes your intestines clench up inside bc there some inherent hazard to life there that your lizard brain recognizes and is somewhat scared of. maybe the ocean knocks on his door every day and he patronizes young daredevils who like to cliff dive. hes striking, he demands your full attention, and he makes you think about dying like all the time. thats marc as mountain. alternatively. K-2 lmao. demanding and WILLLLLLL kill your ass. 20% death rate on that bad boy

vale. what kind of mountain is a SHOW well ladies you guessed it hes a volcano. im thinkin in the vein of mount etna. which i know is in sicily and this guy aint sicilian, but it IS an italian volcano famous in geologist circles and its where those vulcanologists who fell in love (and died) met and i think thats nice. a lil romance a lil show a lil mythology (said to be where vulcan keeps his forge. fun). mt etna ALSO contributes its ash to the soil surrounding it and supports a really robust agricultural network and i think that is SOMEWHAT what his ass does for young riders and the tavullian economy writ large. che spettacolo.

[monstersandmaw]

Male centipede-alien x transmasc nonbinary reader (nsfw)

Disclaimer which I’m including in all my works after plagiarism and theft has taken place: I do not give my consent for my works to be used, copied, published, or posted anywhere. They are copyrighted and belong to me.

Final commission from my batch of five! For @mongoose-king!

Content: sassy, confident, transmac reader, non-penetrative sex, oral sex, 't-cock' used for human's genitals, no other areas specified/mentioned. Brief threat to life (not from monster), some mention of isolation on a planet. And a giant pet slug. Wordcount: 6749

“Well. That’s… unexpected,” you croaked, staring incredulously at the small screen on the sleeve of your white space suit as it blinked a red and improbable warning at you.

The planet wasn’t exactly hostile to humans, but the harsh sun and arid air made being outside for long periods of time pretty uncomfortable for humans, and the oxygen levels were low enough that it made you dizzy if you didn’t take a gulp from your suit’s mask from time to time at the very least.

You were quite possibly the only other sapient being within about nine thousand miles, but while you were cataloguing obscure and previously unknown kinds of invertebrate, the research team on the literal other side of the world were geologists from Meliikos Prime, and they didn’t speak Galactic Common very well. They’d been polite enough when you’d hailed them out of courtesy when you’d flown in though, and when they’d discovered you were human, they’d beamed over their extensive survey data of the terrain and marked off water supplies too, which you’d thought was pretty nice of them.

Other than rocks and a few cool bugs though, there really wasn’t anything to write home about on this planet; certainly nothing that was going to win you any research accolades. It wasn’t on any of the major hyperspace links, there were no relay stations in this quadrant, and so far, other than a supremely flamboyant species of flatworm living in a toxic geothermal pool near your research ship, and a type of slug as big as a golden retriever that, rather relatably, hadn’t moved in over a week, there wasn’t anything of note here at all.

And yet, the general alert on your space suit had just calmly announced that a heavy cruiser bearing the insignia and codes of the Porphaerian Empire was inbound to your location and all civilians of the Republic were advised to evacuate the planet as soon as possible and make their way to the nearest Bastion. You weren’t even sure where the nearest military outpost was, given that the ever-belligerent Porphaerian Empire had never shown any interest in invertebrates on remote planets before, and this planet in particular sat on the outer reaches of the known universe and was so bloody insignificant that it hadn’t even acquired a proper name. It was still just: OR-2559-B.

“The fuck?” It came out as a little strangled yelp as you looked up into the purple-ish blue of your dear OR-2559-B’s atmosphere to find the silhouette of a huge ship appearing out of the veil of wispy clouds that whisked and drifted around on the upper currents. These things were only supposed to exist in immersive VR cinemas, and only then to get blown up by plucky pilots operating under astronomically small odds. Plucky you might have been, but you were neither a pilot nor currently in possession of anything more powerful than a handheld scanner for identifying the chemical composition of various types of bug goop. Your ship didn’t even have cannons, though there was a small pistol under the console, just in case.

You snatched up the tray of samples you’d spent the last three hours taking from the placid wildlife around the stream and legged it back towards the small and laughably fragile buggy that you used to cover greater distances into the field from your research ship. By the time you’d jounced over the rough terrain of the plateau and yelled at your little buggy to please find a little more juice in her batteries to get you up the hill at a pace faster than a mildly-inconvenienced slug, you saw other shapes flitting like bats around the underside of the huge cruiser. Fighters.

“Oh come on,” you groaned. Your ship lowered the ramp as it detected your approach and you steered the wheezing buggy up the incline and into the cargo hold, tripping over the side of the roll cage as you floundered to exit the darned thing, and raced to the hatch that would lead you up into the cockpit.

Sweeping a week’s worth of papers and vac-packed ration wrappers off the console, you punched in your code and yelled at the ship to come out of its sleepy hibernation state, which it did with enviable efficiency.

“Hostile signatures detected,” she said in that irritatingly calm voice she had under all circumstances.

“Well the fuck aware, thank you. Now, can we get out of here please?”

The brief thought flickered across your mind that it probably wouldn’t help matters if the ship’s AI screamed at you in panic instead of speaking in a monotone if she blew something down in the engine room, but you had little time to dwell on that as a larger fighter roared right past the windshield and a huge energy blast swept over the ship.

Instinctively, you covered your face and closed your eyes, and when the accompanying cloud of dust and debris had finished raining down and clinking off the glass and metal structure of the ship, you realised she had gone eerily quiet. “Girlie?” you exhaled into the relative silence.

Nothing. Hell, you’d take that dull monotone over this any day.

Opening your eyes and lowering your arms, your body flooded with adrenaline when you saw that all her screens were dark, and the lights had gone off. “Oh, you fucking assholes!” you yelled in the vague direction of the enemy cruiser. “You want my bug slime? Fine! Take it! But you leave my fucking ship alone!”

It was strange what came out of your mouth in times of stress, but you weren’t given the luxury of being able to the psychology of a lone human put suddenly under the immense pressure of an unforeseen and life-threatening situation, because a small fighter landed outside and you scrabbled under the console to retrieve the pistol that you’d placed there on the off-chance you ran into something that thought a scrawny research scientist in a space suit looked more appealing than its usual diet.

A blaster bolt battered its way through the hull of your ship and several more created an enormous smoking hole where the hatch had been, and you stood there, wide eyed, as three Porphaerian soldiers appeared like cartoon villains out of the twisting black smoke. They were all wearing black, form-fitting space suits made of some fancy, matte, composite material, and a shiny, black helmet with a blacked-out visor that revealed nothing of their slightly reptilian features underneath. Their three-fingered hands were also gloved, and they all bore a weapon of some kind: the one at the front of the trio had a blaster, while the one to their left — your right — had some kind of bludgeon that zapped with a purple energy at one end, and the other had a net that crackled with the same energy and a trident with barbed points.

“What do you want?” you chirped, hoping you sounded more composed than you felt. You tightened your hold on the grip of your pistol at your side, and glared at them. “And why are you blowing holes in my baby girl’s hull? She’s a scientist. What’s she ever done to you?”

Your words and tone seemed to confuse the leader of the three Porphaerians for a moment, and they froze, tilting their helmeted head to one side. Seven foot tall, bipedal, with four arms and a long, slashing tail that whipped back and forth behind it like a lizard in a tizzy, they should have been intimidating, but you were so damned outraged at the whole situation, it was hard to be fully afraid. The one to their left let out a growl and chittered something in their incomprehensible language. That was just one of the many things that made the bloody Porphaerians think they were better than everyone else: they had the most convoluted and complicated method of communication out of almost all known species.

“Well, what the fuck do you want?” you barked. As if you had somewhere else you needed to be.

With a put-upon sigh, the leader began to talk in Galactic Common, though their mouth full of pointed teeth wasn’t really equipped for its syllables. “You are in… possession of… a substance that is of… interest to our Great and Glorious Empire.”

You blinked. “You guys… really do want my bug slime?”

“Your… what?”

“I’m a scientist. I’m studying invertebrates. Bugs. The slug outside — its name is Goldie, by the way, and it had better not have come to any harm because of you losers — has become a bit of a mascot in the week and a half it’s been resting on that rock.”

“We are not here for… ‘bugs’.”

“Then I’ve got nothing for you, buddy,” you said with a slightly wild grin that was about 99% panic. If you had nothing to offer them, they’d probably just kill you for the inconvenience of a wasted trip. “But if you tell me more about what you’re after, then perhaps I can help?” You had no intention of actually helping them, but stalling them was going to buy you a few more precious minutes to think of a way out of this, so you took it.

“You are… researching… the refractive properties of… a newly-discovered mineral,” the leader said in stilted Common. “Surrender your research and all samples, and we will leave you unharmed.”

Minerals. Shit, that was the nice team from Meliikos Prime.

“I see that you are cognisant of our request.”

“I… what? No.” You stuck your thumb comically towards your chest and grinned, “Bug guy. Not rocks. And that was not a request either. You guys need to work on your Common. Your vocab is seriously lacking.”

One of them twitched their head as if something had come in over the comms, and all three of them tightened their grip on their weapons.

“Seems like you were telling the truth,” the leader scoffed and raised their blaster.

You barely got to duck out of the way before a shot went off, but when you rolled and came up, you saw that the hole where they’d been standing was now empty. A second later, you heard scuttling on the roof of your ship and panic set in for the first time.

The tapping of many legs skittered across the roof and towards the gap in the side, and then at the top of the hole caused by the Porphaerian’s blaster damage, a creature appeared, peering down over the torn and burned edge of the hole. At first, all you saw was a pair of long, caramel brown antennae investigating the space, but a head soon followed, adorned with colossal, mean looking mandibles that could probably punch a second hole through your poor ship’s hull with even less effort than the blaster bolt.

“What the fuck?” you coughed, reeling backwards. You’d never seen any sign of a centipede that size on this planet. When you spotted one of the Porphaerians moving in the limited view outside though, raising their weapon, you yelped and flailed your arms to get it to move, “Watch out!”

In a sinuous motion, the creature looked up, hissed, and slithered on its series of many, jointed legs down to where the Porphaerian was now standing. It reared up, lashing out with forelegs that looked at once deadly and fragile, like alabaster in the strange light of the planet’s atmosphere, and then in a flash, it lunged for the neck of its would-be attacker and closed its steel-jaw mandibles around it. A green fluid burst like an overripe fruit, and you wondered if that was Porphaerian blood or the creature’s venom. The second Porphaerian was caught by the whiplash of its tail and flung into the side of their fighter ship, and the third was nowhere to be seen.

When the centipede-like creature was done decapitating, it turned around and regarded you. It wasn’t just a giant centipede, you realised, as it had more of an upper torso section, with armoured ‘shoulders’ and a couple of limbs at the top that were more like arms with hands than the sickle-like claws that adorned the rest of the legs on its long, segmented, chocolate brown body, and it was regarding you from black, beady eyes with obvious intellect.

Only when it paused, staring at you while your charred ship smoked like something forgotten on a barbecue, did you notice that it had a kind of bandoleer around those shoulders, though it didn’t have cartridges or ammunition that you could see. Instead, there were pockets and some kind of comms device, and… you frowned. “You’re… with the Republic?” you faltered when you saw the insignia.

The alien nodded.

“You have any idea why the fuck the fucking Porphaerian Empire was after my little research ship? Actually, scratch that. They said they were after some funky mineral and — oh God, the geology guys! They —”

The creature chittered something at you, and while you didn’t understand it, you realised it had a distinct air of impatience, with a touch of exasperation thrown in too.

“What?”

Its chitinous shoulders drooped and it scuttled a little closer to the blackened hole in your ship before rearing up and peering in like a dog looking out of a window. You almost laughed, and then realised you were probably a little hysterical from all the adrenaline.

In a rasping, scraping voice, the creature said in Galactic Common, “The team from Meliikos are safe. They told me about you. I came to get you. We need to leave.” Then, after casting a quick, backwards glance, they added, “Now.”

And before you could do so much as grab your favourite pencil from your workstation, the creature had slithered into the ship, scooped you up in its uppermost arms, and was retreating at what felt like a hundred miles an hour out of the shell of your destroyed ship, and out towards the rocky plateau at the bottom of the slope.

As you passed the seemingly-dormant giant slug, you chuckled as it raised its head, eye-stems appearing, and you waved. “So long, Goldie! Take care! I’ll miss our chats!”

“Are you… alright?” the centipede-alien asked, sounding genuinely concerned for your sanity.

Perhaps you’d been alone on OR-2559-B for a few months too long after all. With a shrug, you let yourself be jostled lightly along in their arms and tried not to watch the mesmeric pattern of their honey-gold legs as they rippled beneath their segmented body over the uneven terrain. “Goldie’s been by my side since I got here. I’ve shared most of my research with her. I’m 95% sure she has some pretty nuanced opinions on that comedy military drama thing that came out on earth about a hundred years ago…”

“I will have you checked out by our ship’s medic,” the centipede-alien said as they thundered over the terrain, and you laughed and settled into their arms. Your research had been funded by the Republic, so if one of their soldiers had been sent to rescue you, they could file the reports and figure out what happened next. Honestly, as much as you’d formed an attachment to the community of flamboyant flatworms and the super-gigantic slug, you were suddenly looking forward to an excuse to go off-world and, you know, interact with people again. You just had to make it past the heavy cruiser and its fleet of fighters first.

It turned out that your centipede friend was part of some kind of elite team that made extraction from a hostile environment look like a visit to the archives, and you were tucked away in the corner of their nippy little shuttle while an alien of a species you didn’t recognise, with a crown of antlers and skin like a red nebula, piloted you away from the Porphaerians and out into deeper space. It was one of the roughest take-offs you’d ever endured, but it worked, and it was oddly heart-warming when the Meliikos team all looked around and waved at you in obvious relief when the centipede-alien brought you on board the Republic ship.

The ship’s medic turned out to be really nice, and when you explained that your supplies had all been left on the research ship along with literally the rest of your life in space, they set you up again with your regular prescriptions, and checked you over. After you’d recovered from the aftereffects of the shock, they were happy to discharge you, and you headed out to explore the ship.

Just as you waved your hand in front of the release mechanism for the medbay door though, it was opened by someone from outside, and you took a step back to avoid a collision. The person on the other side halted abruptly in the doorway — literally filling the doorway — and you tipped your head up to take in the full sight of them. It was your saviour, and you grinned at them at the same time as they made a kind of chittering with their thick, black mandibles and waggled their long antennae.

“Hey,” you smiled. “Listen, thanks for getting me out of there like that. I was kind of out of it on the ride over. I never got your name.”

A series of distinctive clicks and chatters left the creature, and you grimaced.

“You got a Galactic Common alternative? My mouth doesn’t, uh… move like that.” The more you thought about their mouth though, the more interested you were in them. They really were beautiful, with a mahogany brown, segmented body and paler legs, and a head with a woodgrain pattern that you hadn’t noticed before.

The centipede alien nodded and laughed, and then said in that harsh voice like bending steel, “I’ve been called ‘Kerritt’ before by humans because of the sound of my name in my own language. You may call me Kerritt, and I use the human equivalent of male pronouns. What should I call you?”

You told him, and he nodded seriously.

“Are you feeling well? I could show you around the ship, but the First Officer would like to speak with you before we do anything else. She sent me down to see if you are well enough to have an audience with her.”

He spoke in short, stilted phrases and his upper body swayed a little. The majority of his body was like that of a giant centipede, but he had a definite waist section that was different from the rest of the segments of chitin and it rose vertically while the rest of him stayed parallel to the ground. And yes, those uppermost limbs were definitely more like arms, with hands that ended in chitinous points and sections of chitin that were more like bracers and gauntlets. His eyes were glossy black, almond shaped, and huge. The way they were placed far apart on his insectoid head was really rather sweet as he regarded you attentively, his long antennae constantly waving up and down in a slow, mesmeric pattern.

“I’m good,” you nodded. “Bit shaken up, and confused as heck, but I’m good. Let’s go talk to your First Officer. Maybe she can explain why the fuck the Porphaerians mistook the bugs guy for the rocks guys.”

He chuckled. “The Meliikosian team will take offence if you call them the ‘rocks guys’,” he said as he turned around in a sinuous curve and began to lead you up the ship’s gleaming corridor towards the bridge. “They are a proud and reserved people.”

“Nah, we’re cool. They like me. They waved at me when you brought me on board. In their culture, that’s practically a marriage proposal, right?”

Again, Kerritt laughed. “Perhaps. Though if you’re so easy to get along with, why did your university send you to one of the most remote places in the entire universe?”

“Ouch! Actually, the Head of the Department was so jealous of my research that she got me funding for a project that would take me as far from the capital as it’s possible to go…” you said in a conspiratorial whisper.

“Really?”

“No,” you snorted. “I have an insatiable hunger for the unknown, and some trader mentioned that a cargo pilot said that a friend of hers said there were weird bugs on OR-2559-B. So, I got funding and headed out.”

“That’s… convoluted,” Kerritt said diplomatically. “You went all that way to study invertebrates? Are there none on your planet?”

You eyed him up and down and watched his antennae pull back a little. Was that trepidation? “Sure there are, but what can I say? I’m a dedicated researcher.”

“Right.”

The conversation with the First Officer didn’t last long. She was a colossal Grummgarian with orange-yellow skin and horns on her chin, and absolutely zero patience. When she realised that the only reason you’d drawn Porphaerian attention was by accident, she informed you that you’d be dropped off at the Bastion and would be provided with transport passes back to your university, before she dismissed you with a wave of her three-fingered hand and Kerritt escorted you from the bridge.

“A bit of warning would have been nice,” you shot sidelong at him as the doors closed behind you with a soft thunk.

“There is no warning adequate for that woman,” he said dryly. “You were better off going in cold. Shall I give you a tour of the ship?”

You nodded and followed him as he helped you get your bearings. “Tell me about yourself?” you asked. “I mean, I’ve met a few different species, but I’ve never met anyone quite like you.”

“Oh,” he said, and clicked his mandibles. “Do you wish to study me too then? Since I am technically an invertebrate myself, after all.”

“Maybe, if you’ll let me,” you said with a wink and watched his antennae pull back again.

“I think I could be persuaded,” he replied. “I’ve not had much contact with your kind either. I didn’t expect you to be so…” he leaned down and tilted his head “… soft. How did you survive the atmosphere of OR-2559-B? I was led to believe that you require higher oxygen levels for respiration?”

“Space suit,” you said. “It did make me a bit dizzy sometimes, but you know, that can be fun too, under the right circumstances.”

“My sources were right about one thing,” Kerritt said dryly as he drew himself back up to his usual posture.

“What’s that?”

“Humans have strange preferences.”

“Baby, you have no idea,” you laughed, shaking your head. “Come on, let’s finish this tour before I keel over. I’m exhausted.”

The two of you traded light conversation back and forth as he led you up corridors and companionways until that banter devolved steadily into cautious but very much overt flirting, and when he left you at the door to what would be your quarters for the short hop to the Republic Bastion, you said, “If I weren’t so tired that I might pass out before the fun even gets started, I’d invite you in.”

“Another time,” he said with a sympathetic bow of his head. “My quarters are up the corridor, should you need me. I’m off duty for a while now.”

“Nice. And thanks for showing me round.”

Kerritt gave another nod, and then he left.

You watched him go down the corridor to another door, his legs rippling in a sinuous sequence to take him forward, and you remembered how it felt to be carried along in his arms and shivered. Your body was running on fumes, but your brain still liked the memory of that strange, chitinous creature holding you in his arms.

You barely had the energy to shower in the cramped en suite, but once you’d changed into something more comfortable and less singed and gritty than your current outfit, you fell onto the bed and slept for sixteen hours straight.

When you woke and dressed, and staggered out into the corridor, your first port of call was the refectory to silence your growling stomach, but everything was closed since it wasn’t the ship’s mealtime. A diminutive creature with four arms and scaled, purple skin looked up from one of the tables in the empty dining area though and chirped something that sounded like an exclamation.

“Wait, human! Kerritt told me about you!” They had a head like a snake and thick spines all down their back, and although they wore clothing over their top half, their lower half was a thick, sinuous tail that uncoiled as they pushed back from the table and made their way over to you. “You want some food? I’ve never cooked for a human before. There aren’t any on this ship, and I joined the Mantis straight from the academy. I had to look up recipes for you in the species guide! I’m not sure what you’d like, but I made six earth dishes for you to choose from. They’re keeping warm now. I didn’t know when you’d be by.”

Their enthusiasm was almost overwhelming after a sleep that was essentially a fully-blown hibernation, but you nodded and let them lead you into the kitchen where you chose something that vaguely resembled beef chilli, though the beans weren’t the usual ones. They were turquoise blue, but they tasted ok.

You were about halfway through an enormous bowl of it when Kerritt entered the dining hall looking tense. That was, he looked tense until he saw you, at which point he sighed and scuttled over in that smooth way you found so attractive, his body moving like a ribbon between the tables.

“You’re awake,” he said when he reached you. “Are you alright? I had to ask the ship’s computer if there was still life detected in your quarters.”

You laughed long and loud. “Yeah, I do that sometimes. Sorry. Yeah, I’m good. Turns out my faithful little research ship, rest in pieces, wasn’t actually built for long-term habitation, because my god the mattress in my bunk here is like sleeping on a cloud, I swear.” You took another spoonful of ‘chilli’ and asked, “How’s things?”

“The ship is on course to dock at the Bastion in seventeen hours,” he said, apparently not sure quite what you’d meant. “Everyone is interested in meeting a human. They have been asking me many questions about you.”

“Oh? What did you tell them?”

“That I have only known you a few hours and cannot speak on your behalf.”

You smiled at him and shook your head. “Ah, you’re a good soul, you know that, Kerritt? I like you. Tell you what, when I’ve finished this… uh… ‘chilli’, you can introduce me to your friends.”

He nodded. “May I keep you company until then?”

“I’d love that,” you replied. “You can tell me how the Republic knew about the attack in the first place.”

While he was talking, a few people drifted in and approached when they saw that you were there, talking with Kerritt. It seemed like he was something of a hero among the crew himself, and the array of non-humans aboard varied from the reptilian cook with their purple skin to another invertebrate built more like a spider than a centipede, and several humanoid species, though the differences between you and them were marked. Long after you’d finished your chilli, you were all still gathered around your table, chatting and laughing together, and as people left to tend to their duties or head to their bunks for their downtime, you remarked to Kerritt what a tight-knit crew they had.

He nodded. “We’ve seen a lot of action together in the Vith Sector. It has a way of bonding a crew.”

“For sure,” you said, turning more serious. That sector was where the Porphaerians had been making their most aggressive moves in the last decade of their expansion. You sighed and stretched your neck a little.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“Mm. Might walk around a bit for a while. Stretch my legs. Wanna join me?”

He bowed his head and scuttled back from where he’d been coiled up on himself while you’d been talking. His legs moved like clockwork parts, clicking on the shiny floor of the refectory, and you bit your lip and ached to touch.

His mandibles drifted a little further apart for a moment, and you got the impression he was scenting the air, but he took it no further and you tried hard to ignore how attractive you found him and his strange body while you walked the ship’s halls together.

Down in engineering, you visited one of the people you’d just met, and they showed you a few details of how the ship’s engine worked, until you started yawning again, and Kerritt took you back up to the corridor with the living quarters.

“You know, I’m tired, but I'm not actually all that sleepy,” you said. “I think it’s just the stress of what happened.”

“Perhaps… you would like to relax in my room? The permanent crew’s quarters are much bigger than the guest room you were assigned.”

“Sure,” you said with a smile. “Thank you.”

He continued down the corridor to his own room and you followed at his side.

“You know,” you said as he tapped a wristband to the reader in front of his door and it opened almost silently, “I never thanked you for saving my life. Those were some pretty badass moves back there. I’ve never had anyone defend me like that.”

His antennae flicked back in what you were now certain was a bashful expression, and he shrugged one chitinous shoulder. “My unit is trained to handle unusual situations.”

“I count as an unusual situation, do I?”

“I… what?”

“You handled me pretty well.”

If his entirely-black eyes could have rolled, you were certain they would have done, but he waved his hand in front of the door panel and it shut before anyone else on the ship could overhear you. 

“You are very… forward, human,” he said, coming closer; close enough to touch.

You reached slowly for his ‘chest’ — or at least, for the section of his body that rose vertically, and which had much smaller segmented parts than the rest of him — and you held your hand out, palm facing him, just a few centimetres from his body. “May I?” you breathed.

He nodded. His own body had gone utterly still. All those mechanical legs holding him rigid as he tilted his head down to regard you, antennae pricked forwards.

Your hand connected with his cool body and a shudder ran through him from head to tail. A second later, lines of neon, bioluminescent green flashed along the length of his body and you gasped, taking your hand away in surprise before pressing it back down and watching the light pulse out a second time. “God, you’re beautiful. Can you feel that then?”

“Yes. Touch is our primary sense.”

You’d suspected as much, but you’d wanted to be sure. You brought your right hand up to meet your left and stood slowly, running your hands up his chest. All the while, his natural bioluminescence pulsed along his body, beginning at the point where you touched him and zipping down the segments of his body like lightning in a regular pattern. The chitin beneath your fingertips felt like glass: smooth and cool and oddly fragile. Your fingers traced the line of one of the segments that sat like armour on his shoulders and he gave another soft gasp and a shiver.

“May I touch you?” he asked.

“God yes,” you laughed, and he brought his clawed hands to your waist then up your torso and neck to rake the points of his fingertips across your scalp. For a second, your soul felt like it left your body and you tipped your head back and moaned.

“You enjoy touch too.”

“Unnfff.”

“Yes?”

You nodded.

“May I pick you up?”

A second and more enthusiastic “unnfff,” left your lips and he chuckled, lowering his mouth towards you for just an instant before he twitched backwards. “Mm?” you asked, only dimly aware that he was actually carrying you across the room towards his wide, comfortable bed now.

“I have to be careful. I have a lot of venom. It’s deadly to humans. Deadly to most species, actually.”

“Oh. I guess that means I can’t kiss you there then.”

“I have to inject my venom for it to be dangerous,” he said, “But I still have to be careful. It’s something of a reflex when I am… aroused.”

“I turn you on, huh?” you slurred cheekily.

“Yes.”

You loved how direct he was, and as he laid you down on the bed and moved his fingers to pause at the fastening of your clothes, you nodded before he could ask permission. He still did, of course, but it was more of a formality at that point. He raked his claws experimentally over your skin, so light it almost tickled, and you arched off the bed.

“I can smell you,” he said when he’d let your clothes fall to the floor. “May I taste you?”

You nodded, desperate to feel his mandibles against your skin. You were swollen and hard and sensitive already, and when he parted his huge mandibles wide to reveal his mouth and a black tongue, you bucked and whimpered and parted your legs for him.

The feel of his tongue exploring up the inside of your thighs was a torture of the best kind, and by the time he closed his mouth around your t-cock, you felt like you might come just from the touch alone. You had no idea what words came tumbling out of your mouth, but he let out a rumbling growl that made his whole body shake and pulse with light again, and you nearly yelled as he dug his claw-like hands into the muscle of your thighs.

You couldn’t think terribly clearly as he got back to work in earnest, practically worshipping your body with his mouth, his onyx mandibles raised just safely enough not to puncture your body but not far enough away that the wicked sharp tips didn’t prick your skin from time to time. His antennae glanced against your waist and shoulders from time to time and you had to restrain yourself from grabbing onto them. They were not horns, and you might even hurt him if you did. It was tantalising and you thrust your head back into the pillow behind you and let out a long, yowling cry of pleasure as you got closer and closer to coming.

Kerritt picked you up again, lifting you right off the bed with ease, and he brought the smooth segments of his lower body to touch yours as he lay down facing you on the bed beside you, encasing you in the cage of his many legs. The feeling of being held and almost immobilised was intoxicating, and you reached a hand up for his head and gripped around the smooth, curved contour of one mandible. He groaned again and you grabbed for the other with your free hand.

“How careful do I have to be with these?” you asked in a rough voice.

They parted and flexed just a little under your hold, but you could feel the immense strength behind them. You’d been right when you’d thought idly that they could punch through steel. One bite from those and you’d be dead.

“Not that careful,” he said, clearly amused behind his growing arousal.

He rubbed his glowing body slowly against you, catching your cock just perfectly with a smooth segment and you wrapped both legs around between two pairs of his legs to adjust the angle and the pressure. He was getting wet from the opening in his carapace, and the combined mess you were making was enough to set your head spinning.

“I’m gonna come,” you breathed as he picked up his pace, fucking against you more wildly with each of your pounding heartbeats. “Oh god, you’re going to make me come.”

“I’m close too,” he said, and you felt his mandibles start to shake and tremble in your grip. “I want to bite you,” he groaned. “I’m going to bite —”

The thick ring of his black mandibles slipped from your hold and in the blink of an eye they’d closed around your neck like a collar. You came with a blinding intensity, bucking against him while his hot tongue pressed against your throat.

A second later, his whole body locked up and he spilled over you in a rush of hot come that went up your stomach and down between your thighs while his whole body spasmed helplessly. His tail curled around you, locking you even more securely in place while his orgasm wracked his entire body, his legs tightening like the jaws of a bear trap against your naked body.

Eventually he stopped and went slack on the bed, and his mandibles opened slowly. All the chinks in his chitinous armour glowed a steady, quiescent green, and his antennae felt and tested at your neck. You nearly laughed at the tickling contrast between the powerful jaws and tender antennae.

“Did I hurt you? Tell me I didn’t hurt you,” he croaked.

“M’good,” you smiled and kissed one black, glossy mandible before he raised it completely out of reach.

He sighed with relief. “I’m sorry. My kind tend to lock in place during… you know. I thought perhaps with you it would be different, but… I’m sorry. It was a risk I shouldn’t have taken with you.”

“S’all good,” you said, your mind blissfully foggy in the wake of the best orgasm you’d had in months. “Come back here,” you said, petting the side of your neck to try and get him to hold you there again with his mandibles.

He did return his grip to your neck, and he slowly coiled his entire body around yours again while the two of you came down together.

“I think you’ve ruined sex with any other species for me after that,” you mumbled a while later.

Carefully, he withdrew his mandibles from you again and nuzzled the smooth top of his head against you, making a soft, crooning noise akin to purr.

“As I think you have for me,” he rumbled.

Without warning, the door to his quarters opened with its near silent sigh of metal on metal, and someone strode in, looking down at a screen in their hand. “Hey, Kerritt, I need you to sign this report for —”

Kerritt drew you even closer to him, masking you completely from whoever had intruded, and he hissed loudly at them over your head like a cobra.

“Shit! Sorry!” they barked, clearly as taken by surprise at the hissing as he had been by their arrival. “You never have company. I just… I’m so sorry! I’ll… uh… it can wait.”

You started laughing even before he set you back down on the bed, and by the time he had relaxed enough to draw back from his protective hold on you, your laugh had turned into a proper cackle.

“I don’t see what’s so funny,” he snapped.

“I’ve never had a partner hiss at someone to defend my dignity,” you said, wiping tears from your eyes and pushing up onto one elbow.

He regarded you flatly, and you reached carefully for the nearest antenna, running your fingertip along it before encircling it suggestively with thumb and fingers until he gave another huge, full-body shiver and let out a little moan, light pulsing again.  

“It’s sweet, that’s all,” you smiled and then asked, “You think you’ve got another one in you, big guy?”

“Keep touching me like that and find out,” Kerritt muttered, rolling onto his back, at once docile and provocative, and letting all the tightly-coiled segments of his body unfurl for you like a fern. That light still darted along him whenever you touched him, flaring to life to telegraph just how turned on he was by you.

This time, you rode him to orgasm, rocking your hips back and forth over his slit until you both came a second time.

Watching a creature as powerful as he was come so completely undone beneath you was probably one of the best sights you’d ever seen.

__

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[drinkabletoxicdishsoap]

I’m replaying Pokemon Sword right now, it’s so fun :3 but while playing I thought of fairly odd parents a new wish and wondered what pokemon they would have and I came up with these teams:

For Dev I mainly went based off vibes! I just feel like he would catch any Pokémon he thinks are cool. He’d definitely try to become the champion!

For Hazel I mainly gave her rock types or just any earth based pokemon because she wants to be a geologist in that one episode :3

I gave Dev Espeon for Peri and shiny Umbreon for Irep! For Hazel I gave her shiny Espeon for Cosmo and Sylveon for Wanda. I did give them Pokémon that wouldn’t include them if you think they would just hang off their shoulders and wouldn’t battle.

I think Dev would absolutely mega evolve his pokemon and I think Hazel would use z crystals!

Same for Jasmine and Winn, just based off vibes :3

I would love to hear your thoughts or suggestions on teams for them in the comments or reblogs :3 even for other characters!

[lennonrook]

Okay so first off I'm a HUGE Faroff fan, I'm an aspiring cartoonist myself and it's really inspirational seeing your amazing comic and how it thrives. I'm also a big nerd about research, and you said the geographic latitude of the Sona/Vaylin is not set in stone, but is probably near Spain and France. That would put the climate at temperate, with 4 seasons and no dry season. The Faroff mountain range, being more northernly, exposed to the coast, and higher in elevation, would have a temperate to subalpine climate, with 4 seasons, moderate summers, fierce wind and storms, and harsh winters. It's possible that the difference in elevation and latitude make the Faroff mountains specifically much colder and stormier than the rest of the island, with the subalpine climate ending at the foothills and becoming a much more agreeable temperate climate, explaining why nobody wants to be in Faroff when you could be literally anywhere else. The southern parts of the island might even potentially have a subtropical climate. This is a lot of rambling to say that the worldbuilding is great and holds up really well.

Aaaa thank you!!! And I'M SO HAPPY YOU LIKE THE WORLD BUILDING! I actually did look up quite a bit about weather and different climates, and while I'm no meteorologist or geologist, I'm glad my research has held up 😭💖

And that's awesome you are a cartoonist!!! Do you have any plans on making a webcomic??? Let me know! (Can you respond to these asks??? I don't know how Tumblr works LOLLL)

Thank you for this thoughtful ask tho, I really appreciate it! 💖💖💖

[talktomeinclexa]

My Works on Ao3

WIPs

The Royal Guard

Princess Clarke of Arkadia is kidnapped by mercenaries while on a visit to one of the kingdom’s cities. Her abductors treat her well enough, but everything becomes more complicated when their client orders them to execute her. Lexa thought this was just another job. High risk, high pay. But when push comes to shove, will she betray her orders or her heart?

Alpha Your Way Into My Heart

One moment of distraction is all it takes for Clarke to accidentally send a text admitting how much Lexa’s scent affects her to the wrong addressee. Lexa. Her Alpha roommate on the cusp of her rut. The situation would be only slightly mortifying and complicated if Clarke wasn’t also an Alpha. In a world where biology and prejudices often go hand-in-hand, will the two women get their happy ending?

The 13th Kingdom

Lexa, a half-wolf from the 10th Kingdom, is caught “sheep worrying.” Prince John gives her a choice: to rescue the 13th Kingdom’s princess, Clarke of house Griffin, for him, or to spend years in jail. Caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, Lexa accepts. She sets on a dangerous quest, unaware of the troubles awaiting her, the worst of which could be the cursed princess she is sent to rescue.

Clarke The Vampire Slayer

When Clarke, a young student with a clear idea of what her life will be, wakes up one morning with superhuman strength, destiny comes knocking on her door. Sent to Polis to prevent a demon from opening the Hellmouth, she can count on Lexa—the mysterious owner of a magic shop—and new friends to help her dispose of vampires, demons, and other evil creatures. But will she succeed in stopping the Apocalypse?

On the Ground All Can Hear You Scream (Mount Weather Clarke/Heda Lexa)

Novitiate Lexa is captured by reapers and wakes up prisoner in a cage, not knowing that the blonde who finds her there will change her destiny. Unless this enemy turns out to be who Fate had in store for her?

Main part of the On the Ground series

Complete Works

Monsters Among Us

South of France, May 1767. A large beast has been terrorizing the province of Gévaudan for nearly three years, preying on lone boys and girls tending their livestock. The press, idle since the end of the Seven Years’ War, loses itself in conjecture based on the witnesses’ descriptions. What is to blame? A pack of man-eating wolves, a lion, a hyena escaped from a zoo…? Exasperated by the creature’s growing streak of victims and refusal to die, Louis XV dispatches Lexa Woods to the area. After all, who better than a monster hunter to kill a beast that bullets fail to slow down?

Days of Crisis

Sheriff Lexa Woods’s life is turned upside down when a hurricane hits her small Californian town, bringing in its midst Clarke Griffin, a beautiful geologist as smart as she’s brave. But when Clarke returns a few months later to study Polis’s geographical situation and assess the risks in case more natural disasters occur, neither can deny the attraction anymore. Will they manage to open up before a series of catastrophes puts their lives at risk?

The Marriage Pact

Two childhood best friends swear to marry each other if they are still single by thirty-four. As the years pass and no one else seems good enough, the deadline approaches. Will they go through with it? Can one marry their best friend and truly be happy?

On the Groud You Will Grow Strong

A series of snippets taking place before On the Ground All Can Hear You Scream or between Clexa’s first meeting and their reunion 6 years later.

Code Blue at the Zoo

“Code Blue. I repeat, we have a Code Blue at the Snow Leopard enclosure. All personnel, insure the safety of our guests. Officer Woods, please locate Doctor Griffin and find the animal before it harms a visitor.”

Thank You Technical Issues

If Clarke had any hope of hiding how her day went from her mother, it dies the moment Abby sees them. […] “Mom, this is Lexa, my girlfriend.” The lie flies from her subconscious directly out of her lips.

Eternity in Your Arms

How far will Clarke go to save her dying brother? Will she dare make a deal with a creature of the night as beautiful as she’s ancient?

Mend the Heart You Broke (Heal the Wounds You Caused)

Clarke and Lexa led the perfect life. Married, two children, a big house, a group of reliable friends. Until Lexa cheated on her wife and the idyllic picture was smashed to bits. Three months later, Clarke is still trying to put the pieces of her heart together when Lexa slowly comes back into her life. The path to forgiveness will force the artist onto a self-introspection journey that won’t leave anyone unscathed. But isn’t true love worth the fight?

Tackle My Heart

Clarke and Lexa are two young professional football players often pitted against each other on the field. It’s a good thing the two enemies have found a way to relieve some of the tension growing between them.

On the Ground Your Heart Will Go On

When Raven gets her heart broken, Anya takes it upon herself to avenge her. A Ranya interlude in the On The Ground series.

A Feeling More Universal Than War (Enemies to Lovers)

Two soldiers, one Red, one Blue, are brought together by the circumstances after a devastating battle. Despite the animosity between their two countries, they will have to work together if they hope to survive. Can they let go of prejudice and personal grief long enough to make it out alive?

You Put The Wild In Wild West (Sheriff/Bandit AU)

Sheriff Lexa Woods sees the peace in her little town compromised when a gang of robbers, The Delinquents, set their eyes on the best Polis has to offer.

Ad Astra Per Aspera (Roman AU)

Sent into unofficial exile by Emperor Thelonius, Centurion Clarke Griffus Flavius crossed the Roman Empire all the way to Hadrian’s Wall to deliver orders to the garrison. Accompanied by her most loyal friends, she decided to go beyond the call of duty and traveled behind the wall to warn the Romans there of the upcoming dangers. How could she have known that her destiny was waiting for her there, in the middle of a strange land not half as beautiful as the Pict serving as their guide?

Pay It Forward

Clarke is a mess who ends up being arrested after her boyfriend breaks a window. Lexa, the unfortunate owner of the café with said broken window, comes up with a way for Clarke to repay her without ending up with a record. How will that small act of compassion bring them closer?

More Than A Makeover (Queer Eye AU)

The Fab Five are tasked with helping baby gay Lexa Woods come out of her shell and shine. But maybe all the girl really needs is for someone to notice her. For example, a certain blonde camera operator on your favorite Reality TV Show.

A Green Card for a Blue and Yellow Girl (Arranged Marriage AU)

When Clarke accompanied Sean Penn in Ukraine to film a documentary, she didn’t expect to return home with a woman and her son. And when it becomes clear that, in order to stay, Lexa needs a green card, she offers to marry her. That’s what nice people do, right?

The South Tower (Trapped AU)

When a plane collides with the South Tower of the World Trade Center, Clarke and Lexa are trapped inside.

All That Glitters Is Not Gold (Pirate AU)

Lexa, a pirate and the captain of The Flame, has been looking for the treasure of Titus the Bald for years. One day, she finally gets her hand on one part of the map leading to it. But French soldiers are in ambush and take her prisoner. Will Lexa manage to escape and resume her quest? Or will she find herself on a journey she would never have planned for, in the company of a French officer too beautiful and brave for her own good?

Stages of Grief (Bring the Light Back in Me)

Clarke releases the lever and watches as the residents of Mount Weather take their last, deadly breath. Her soul shatters under the weight of what she has done. Will she ever manage to pull herself back together? Can she forgive Lexa for her betrayal? Can she forgive herself? Not all at once, and not easily. But step by step, and one encounter after another, she finds herself closer to acceptance.

Wanna Be My Pandemic Buddy? (COVID AU)

When Clarke, a graphic designer stuck at home during the lockdown hears about the Dutch Institute for Public Health’s official guidance to find someone to “share physical contact with” to limit the risks, she realizes that this might be her chance to get Lexa, her beautiful neighbor, into her bed. They start sleeping together and the chemistry is amazing, but will they manage to get over their emotional constipation before the pandemic ends?

First Date (Modern AU)

The woman who takes the seat across the table is, by far, the most stunning she has ever seen. With her hair in a lazy but sophisticated bun, elegant clothes, and just enough makeup to show that she made an effort, she’s perfect. Lexa should have expected it; she has seen photos of her… But they didn’t do her justice, and for a moment, she finds herself tongue-tied, her mouth open in surprise.

Our Revolution (Historical/Assassin’s Creed AU)

Lexa, an Assassin saved by Titus when she was a child and trained by him since, is injured during a mission and saved by a young physician named Clarke. The two of them rapidly become close, despite Lexa’s dangerous life.

As the French Revolution plays around them and the Templar threat increases, will the two women survive long enough to see it through and get their happy ending?

Where the Sky Touches the Sea (Fairy Tale AU)

Once upon a time, in a kingdom far away from here, lived a sweet and beautiful princess. One day, she saved the life of one of the sworn enemies of her people, a young mermaid with mesmerizing green eyes. How could she have known that this fortuitous encounter would change both their lives forever?

Will You Be My Robinson? (Enemies to Lovers)

Clarke, a promising graphic designer for a marketing agency, is sent to the Philippines with some coworkers to visit the new office there. Their trip ends with a few days of vacation on Palawan Island. When a typhoon comes out of nowhere, Clarke ends up stranded on a deserted island with the one person she can’t stand, her workplace nemesis, Lexa. Will the two women learn to cooperate so they can survive long enough to be rescued? Or will they try to strangle each other before anyone can even notice they are missing?

The Iliad

Lexa, the best warrior that ever lived, and her cousin Anya accompany the Greek army on its way to Troy to recover Helen, queen of Sparta and Bellamy’s wife, kidnapped by the Trojan prince Finn. Will the two lovers and their faithful Myrmidons be able to conquer the impregnable fortress, or will they succumb to fate and the blue eyes of a prisoner?

Where the Wild Things Are (Hunters/hybrids AU)

A determined hunter stumbles onto a clan of hybrids and gets more than she bargained for. A millennium-old hybrid discovers that her soulmate belongs to a prominent family of hunters. An orphaned teenager learns that destiny has more in store for her than she could have prepared for. Threats grow in the shadows, waiting to strike at the hybrids and the hunters. Will old rancors leave enough room for new alliances and feelings to bloom?

Jurassic Park

Lexa Woods, an eminent paleontologist and a professor at Polis University, was invited by Marcus Kane, an eccentric billionaire, to visit and possibly endorse his “theme park” after she gained some popularity on the Internet through a TED talk. A few days later, she finds herself on a remote island with not-extinct-anymore dinosaurs, a beautiful vet, and two kids. What could go wrong indeed?

Eden (Canon Fix-It Post Season 4)

After the second Praimfaya, Clarke finds herself alone on Earth. Or so she thinks until the panther that swallowed the Flame and Lexa’s consciousness leads her to Shallow Valley.

We Met Again (Canon Fix-It Ending)

The last test was taken, and now it is time to face the consequences. Will Clarke finally get her happy ending?

Far safer, of a Midnight Meeting – External Ghost; Than an interior Confronting – That Whiter Host

Depressed teenager Lexa meets Ghost Clarke. The two become fast friends as Clarke helps the girl navigate life’s hardships. But what happens when feelings blossom between the two?

Not All Treasure’s Silver And Gold (Pirate AU)

Captain Clarke is taken prisoner on The Flame, the infamous frigate led by a merciless pirate known as The Commander.

Big Brother Is Watching You

A suspicious Google search history leads to a misunderstanding. Starring: klutzy Clarke and her new neighbor, shy Lexa

Hold Me Tight (Elyza Lex/Alicia Clark; FTWD AU)

On the Abigail, Alicia strikes up a conversation with a stranger on the radio. When the woman shows up uninvited and steals some of their food, neither of them knows that it’s only the beginning of their story. But the dead aren’t quite gone, and the living are hungrier than ever. Will the two women get the happy ending they deserve?

[toboldlygohome]

"Please..."

Mark Watney X Reader

Summary: Nothing could have prepared you for the pain of losing your boyfriend on Sol 6. But you were even less prepared to find out that he didn't die. You left him there. Alone.

Character(s): Mark Watney, Beth Johanssen, Chris Beck, Melissa Lewis, Alex Vogel, Rick Martinez.

Warning(s): Descriptions of grief, Mentions of death, Cursing (lots of it), Mildly sexual themes (nothing explicit), Mentions of malnourishment.

A/N: I absolutely adore The Martian, but I've noticed a criminally low amount of fan content for it, so I decided to make some! I've decided to follow more closely to the book plot rather than the movie (Just because I like the dialogue more and it's more scientifically accurate). However, there will be a couple scenes from the movie sprinkled in just because I thought they were fun. I hope you enjoy!

It was the morning of Sol 6 and you were up early to make some coffee before your EVA mission. The past few days on Mars had been busy, but far more rewarding than you could have ever imagined. You were one of the geologists in the Ares 3 crew, along with Commander Lewis of course. Mars, to you, was a playground of science. A giant sphere of discovery you couldn't wait to explore.

Today's EVA was to gather samples from near the hab. You had seen plenty of rocks on the way in that you needed to overturn almost as much as you needed oxygen to breathe.

You sensed a hand on the small of your back and felt goosebumps trail up your spine. "Morning Y/L/N. Anything to report?" A playful voice proclaimed.

"Other than bland coffee and terrible sleep, nothing of interest~" You turned back and smiled at your boyfriend. He brushed his thumb over a patch of exposed skin on your lower back before pulling his hand away.

"Hey, at least you don't have to sleep under Martinez, bastard was tossing and turning all night." He smirked as he made his own cup. "I'm barely getting by, the only thing keeping me grounded is this bland ass coffee."

You snickered and rolled your eyes. "Poor baby," You teased.

You and Mark Watney had been together for almost three years, in secret of course. NASA isn't exactly fond of sending couples into space where they might throw caution to the wind and procreate in transit. You were professionals, this mission was something you both had been looking forward to since it was announced. But that wouldn't stop the Space Administration from removing you both from Ares 3.

Nobody knew you were together. Not NASA, not your families, not even the crew knew of your relationship. As far as anyone was concerned, you were just great friends (inseparable in fact). You went out for dinners, went on morning jogs together, spent late nights gaming and going over the mission handbook. Everyone knew you confided in one another and worked incredibly as a team. But nobody would have guessed that instead of playing Yahtzee together on your evenings off, Mark was slowly and deliciously making you breathless with his lips, melting you with his touch.

Once the mission actually started, it was much harder than anticipated to cut out the physical affection. There were cameras everywhere on the ship and absolutely no way to hide from them. The only place for privacy was the bathrooms, but you had a rather close call that involved Mark dragging you there under the guise of helping him with his laptop (which obviously earned an eyebrow raise from Johanssen,) only for him to kiss you with the desperation of a man dying of thirst. You were nearly caught by Beck and you both decided not to risk it again. Luckily, you and Watney were a couple of problem solvers.

Instead of kisses, you resorted to touching. A hand on the back, an arm on the shoulder, a nudge of the elbow. Casual touch became your replacement for intimacy.

Mark pulled a smug smile and wrapped his arm around your shoulder. "You know what Y/N, I am a poor baby. But I can think of something that would make me feel better..." He whispered close to your ear. You flushed and playfully shoved him back.

"In your dreams Watney." You scoffed but your hand lingered on his stomach, earning a cheeky grin from the botanist.

"How'd you know?" He laughed, glancing down at your lips briefly. You knew what he was thinking: that it had been awhile and maybe he could risk just a little peck. Mark was a reckless one, that's for sure.

"Guys, quit flirting so loudly. I was trying to get a few minutes extra sleep before Lewis pulls out the bugle," Beck strolled in and grabbed a ration packet.

"Flirting? With him?" You asked incredulously, jabbing your thumb toward Mark.

"And vice versa," Beck shrugged.

"You must be seeing things, maybe we should call a doctor?" Watney sassily took a sip of his drink.

"Hilarious," Beck replied. Chris had been fighting for you and Mark to get together for about as long as you've known him (which is a decent number of years, in case you were wondering.) Little did he know you had already jumped that fence. You felt bad for keeping it from him, but you were sure he'd understand given his thing with Johanssen.

"Oh good, you guys are already up." Lewis sighed "hey, can one of you wake up Martinez? He's not listening to a single word I say."

You gave Watney a sidelong glance. He groaned and downed the rest of his terrible space coffee. "Yeah sure, I can go get the bastard. I'll give him a piece of my mind while I'm at it." Mark stomped off to the bunks and Lewis followed him. You casually sat beside Beck, who gave you a knowing smile.

"You know Chris, it would probably happen on its own if you didn't push it so much." You mumbled against the rim of your cup in an attempt to hide a smile.

"It's obvious he likes you too. Practically written all over his face," Beck said. "Honestly though, you two don't even realize when you're flirting. It's kind of incredible."

You huffed, "Now's not the best time for all that, you know."

"I know, I know. Just, keep it on the table okay?"

"Whatever you say Dr. Beck," You snickered. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have an EVA to prep for."

Chris rolled his eyes and poked at the food on his plate, "you're excused."

~~~

"Alright team, stay in sight of each other. Let's make NASA proud today." Lewis announced.

"How's it looking over there Watney?" Martinez asked.

"Well, you'll be happy to hear that in grid section 14/28, the particles are predominantly coarse. But in 29 they're uh... much finer. That should be ideal for chem analysis."

"Oh wow! did everyone hear that? Mark just discovered dirt! Should we alert the media?" Martinez teased. Mark glanced up at you, but you couldn't see his face behind the helmet.

"Hey, you better watch it fly boy. I'm working this grid too!" You laughed.

"Sorry, what are you doing today Martinez? Making sure the MAV is still upright?" You could hear the smirk in Mark's voice.

"Well, I'd like you to know that visual inspection of the equipment is imperative to mission success," Rick preached. "I'd also like to report that the MAV is still upright."

You and Mark giggled as you worked on the grid. "Watney, you're keeping your channel open, which leads to Martinez responding, which leads to all of us listening, which leads to me being annoyed," Lewis scolded halfheartedly.

"Roger that, Martinez the captain would like you to please uh," Mark looked at you for approval and continued. "Shut your smart mouth."

Rick cackled and you playfully nudged Mark on the shoulder.

"We'd prefer you use a different adjective to describe Martinez's mouth." Beck said from inside the Hab, resulting in even more laughter from the rest of the crew.

"Did Beck just insult me?!"

"Dr. Beck and yes!"

"I'm happy to turn the radios off from here commander. Just say the word." Johanssen suggested.

"Johanssen, constant communication is the hallmark-" Watney started.

"Shut him off" Melissa gave the order.

"No-" Johanssen cut him off. Mark tossed his little hammer in the dirt and looked back at the captain like she had just kicked a kitten. You patted the shoulder of his suit and urged him to get back to work.

"I'm sorry for my countrymen, Vogel." Lewis said.

"Accepted," Vogel shrugged and glanced up at the sky. "The storm... It's closer than Houston reported."

"We've got time," Lewis said. "Focus on the task at hand. This EVA's all about chemical analysis. Vogel, you're the chemist so you're in charge of what we dig up."

"Ja, Please dig thirty centimeters and get soil samples. At least one hundred grams each. Very important is thirty centimeters down." Vogel clarified, eyes back on his work.

"Will do, stay within a hundred meters of the Hab," Lewis said.

You worked in peace and quiet for a few minutes. You measured the grid while Mark hammered the grid labels. You could hardly wait to take samples. Mark was right, it was perfect for chem analysis. Unfortunately, your work was short-lived because Johanssen had some bad news.

"Commander, you should come inside. You're gonna want to see this."

"What is it?" Lewis asked.

"Houston has upgraded the storm to 'severe.' It's going to be here in fifteen minutes." Johanssen said.

You perked your head up to get a look at the sky. Already it was getting darker.

"Martinez, how's it looking?" Asked commander Lewis.

"Not good." He said.

After a moment of contemplation, Lewis made her decision. "Back to base."

~~~

The Hab shook and the sound of wind and debris outside only exacerbated the tension within. Lewis commanded everyone to put on their flight suits and you congregated around the screen, wondering if this was the end of your mission.

"Sustained winds over one hundred kilometers per hour now. Gusting to one twenty-five," Johanssen frowned.

"Jesus, we're gonna end up in Oz," Watney said. "What's the abort speed?"

"One fifty kilometers per hour, anymore than that and the MAV's in danger of tipping." Martinez placed his hands on his hips.

"Any predictions on the storm track?" Lewis asked.

"This is the edge of it... It's gonna get worse before it gets better." Johanssen delivered the bad news with confidence. Silence fell over the group and you grabbed Mark's hand. You wished you could feel the warmth, but the gloves on the flight suit acted as a barrier. Watney met your sorrowful eyes. You'd have to end the mission before it even started. He let go of your hand and pressed you into his side. It was over. 25 sols early. You leaned your head against his shoulder and willed the grief to subside.

"Alright, prep for abort. We'll go to the MAV and hope for the best. If the wind gets too high, we launch." Lewis grabbed her helmet.

~~~

Outside the Hab, the wind was disastrous. Mark was nearly swept off his feet by the force of the gusts. He slammed into you, but you managed to keep him on his feet.

"Shit! Thanks." Watney regained his balance.

"Visibility is almost zero. If you get lost, hone in on my suit's telemetry! The wind's gonna be rougher away from the Hab, so be ready!" Lewis warned.

The Ares crew stumbled toward the MAV with ever increasing uncertainty. You had to lean into the wind to avoid being thrown backward. Mark wasn't doing much better. It didn't help that his mind wasn't on getting to the MAV safely, it was on how to keep it upright. Watney was smart, too smart for his own good.

"Hey," Watney panted. "Maybe we could shore up the MAV. Make tipping less likely."

"How?" Lewis Huffed.

"We could use cables from the solar farm as guylines. The rovers could be anchors. The trick would be getting the line around the-"

You choked on your scream as Mark was struck by a massive piece of wreckage, sending him off into the disorienting mist of dust and wind.

"MARK!" You screamed and tried to stumble after him, but you could barely see an inch in front of your helmet.

"What happened?" Lewis said.

"Something hit him!" Johanssen said shakily.

"Watney report..." Lewis said. You listened hard and prayed he'd answer. "Watney, report!" Nothing.

"He's offline, I don't know where he is." Johanssen reported as calmly as she could. You bit back a whimper as you shuffled forward.

"Commander, before we lost telemetry, his decompression alarm went off!" Beck said.

"Shit! Y/L/N, where did you last see him?" Lewis asked.

"H-he was right in front of me and then he was gone," you managed. "He flew off due west" You pointed.

"Okay, Martinez, get to the MAV and prep for launch. Everyone else, home in on Johanssen."

"Dr. Beck, how long can a person survive decompression?" Vogel asked.

"Less than a minute." Beck looked back at you. You could hear the pain in his voice. No. Mark couldn't be... He was just beside you a moment ago.

"Commander, the MAV's got a seven degree tilt. It'll tip at 12.3."

"Copy that."

He's alive, he can't be dead!

"Johanssen, Watney's bio-monitor sent something before going offline. My computer just says 'Bad Packet,'" Beck said.

"Give me a sec," Johanssen said.

"Commander, message from Houston. We're officially scrubbed. The storm's definitely too rough."

"Copy."

"Beck, I have the raw packet!" Johanssen said, "It's plaintext: BP 0, PR 0, TP 36.2. That's as far as I got."

Beck sighed and shook his head. "Blood pressure zero, pulse rate zero, temperature normal..."

Your chest tightened and your eyes burned. "Temperature normal?" You asked hopefully.

"It takes a while for the-" Beck swallowed. "It takes awhile to cool."

"Commander, tilting at 10.5 degrees now, with gusts pushing it to 11." Martinez reported.

"Copy, if it tips, launch."

"What about you commander?"

"I'm going to search a little more."

"You really think I'll leave you behind?" Martinez asked.

"I just ordered you to. You four, get to the ship." Lewis replied.

"Let me help search commander, we'll find him faster if we-" Lewis cut you off.

"That's an order, Y/L/N. Go."

Beck nudged you forward. You reluctantly allowed him to.

"Johanssen, would the rover IR camera do any good?"

"Negative. IR can't get through sand any better than visible light."

"What about the proximity radar? Could it detect Watney's suit?"

"No way. It's made to see Hermes, not the metal in a single space suit."

"Give it a try," Lewis ordered.

"Commander, I know you don't want to hear this... but Wat-... Mark's dead." Beck said.

No.

No.

Please...

Everything around you was a blur. You went through the motions from training. Strapping yourself in, readying your station, waiting for launch. You couldn't look at the empty seat beside you. You couldn't think about anything but your job right now, If you allowed your thoughts to that dark place, you'd have to be dragged along by the rest of the crew.

You couldn't do that to them. Not now.

Lewis returned to the ship and strapped herself in. "Still at pilot-release," Martinez said softly. "Ready for launch."

You swallowed the lump in your throat.

"I'm sorry Commander, you need to verbally-"

"Launch."

You felt the bone-crushing power of ascent. The g's did nothing but forcefully push the tears from your eyes.

You wish it would have been you.

~~~

Mark Watney closed out of the mission log application and stared at the computer screen for a few minutes. He couldn't fathom the hopelessness he was feeling, it was too deep to swim out of. What else was there to do but sit and wait to die? Maybe it would be easier to just go into the airlock and open the doors!

Watney turned his head to a picture of you on the wall behind the computer. It was there among other pictures of the crew and their families. You were standing with your brother in front of one of those rickety wooden roller coasters at Six Flags. He felt a painful twinge in his chest. You thought he was dead and there was no way to tell you otherwise.

He was completely alone, had the whole goddamned planet to himself. Mark rubbed his hands over his face. "Fuck..." he said. "Fuck!" he pulled at the hair on his head before looking up at the picture again. He wished he would have kissed you. He wanted to that morning when you were sharing coffee. He should have said he loved you. Mark hadn't said it in so long.

He knew you like the back of his hand. You were blaming yourself. Everyone in the crew was probably doing the same. He could barely stomach the thought.

Mark grabbed the picture from the wall and shuffled to the bunks. He was so tired and in a lot of pain from the stupid antenna. He was about to settle into his bed, when his eyes landed on yours. After a moment of deliberation, he hobbled into your bunk and pulled the covers up to his chin. It still smelled like you. He buried his face into your pillow and cried.

~~~

You sat in the dining area in the Hermes, watching as the windows slowly spun around. It had been about a week since the incident and you weren't sure you had any more tears left to cry. You did your best to keep on task during your waking hours, only allowing yourself to feel when everyone else was either asleep or taking the piloting shift.

Your fingers drummed lightly against the table, mingling with the beeps, boops, groans, and hums of the ship keeping you safe from the unforgiving vacuum of space. You thought about a lot of things. About Mark, his parents, the house he wanted so badly to buy, his favorite music, his plants growing in the botany lab... The one thing you didn't want to think about was his body, how it would be buried by sand and dust within the year, how Mars would never let it decay. You tried not to think about how if you had just reached for him, maybe he'd still be alive.

"Y/N?" A familiar German accent spoke. You tensed and dared a glance back at Vogel.

"Hey, what's up?" You plastered a grin on your face.

"I have noticed you've not been sleeping. You are... Okay?" He asked, lumbering closer. He was clearly very tired and you felt terrible he was here worrying about you instead of getting some much deserved rest.

"Yeah... Yeah I'm okay Alex, just... Can't sleep." You sighed.

"Have you spoken to doctor Beck? I am sure we have sleep medication on board."

"Oh I know... I just don't really want to bother him, you know? I mean, we're all going through it right now..." You shifted under his gaze.

"You are having bad dreams," Vogel stated. "You're afraid if you sleep, they will come back."

"How could you tell?" You peeked tiredly up at him.

"My little monkeys... before I left, some of them had bad dreams. A father can always tell." He sat down beside you at the table.

You felt your eyes burning again. You hadn't dared ask for comfort from your crew mates, not even Chris. Now that you were receiving it, you wished you had asked for it long ago. There was a hellish cocktail of emotions running through you: relief, sadness, safety, longing, despair. You were so relieved that Alex was here. You were sad to think about how deeply his loved ones must be missing him. You thought about what Alex said about his "little monkeys." Mark would have made a great father if he'd only had the chance.

"You love him. Very much," Vogel said.

"I did..." You whispered.

"You do." Alex grabbed your hand and the tears poured from your eyes. "You do..."

"I do," You let out a choked sob. Vogel pulled you into a gentle hug.

"This pain of loss we feel... It will never go away. But it will get easier to live with as time goes by. This, I promise is true."

"Thank you Alex." You whispered.

"You're welcome..." He patted your back and pulled away. "Now, shall we try some rest?"

"I'll try," you put on a brave face.

"And- what is it?-" He thought aloud. "When first you don't succeed-"

"Try try again," You said with a sad smile. "Words to live by."

~~~

LOG ENTRY: SOL 23

So, I'm still brain storming the whole, "Mark Watney can only really make his potato farm last 90 days," problem. Can't say It's going too well. I'm surrounded by the stench of my own shit. Kinda distracting.

I've made the executive decision to take a long overdue break out in the rover. Sure, logically I know I should probably utilize every spare second on planning my survival right down to the last drop of water, but riddle me this: just who is gonna stop me? Not NASA, that's for sure.

It's funny. I came into the rover to escape the rancid poop smell, but it seems to have followed me. Turns out, I was the poop smell all along! If Y/N were here, they would have forcibly shoved me into the shower. They'd say something like... "Don't even think about touching me until you smell like ocean breeze!" (What does ocean breeze even smell like? How do you smell a breeze?...)There are few things in life Y/N hates more than stink. Me being on Mars is probably one of them.

What I would give to see you right now. Even just a dream would be nice, but I guess that's asking too much.

I miss my parents a lot. Maybe that's an understatement. I haven't really let myself think about it, but sitting here in this cramped rover really has my mind wandering. I really should have told them about Y/N. Maybe if things don't work out for me, they could confide in each other.

I don't have much else to say. The calculations aren't done and quite frankly, I'm depressed.

I'll probably scrub this log from the system, It's kind of a downer.

~~~

You had been doing better. Getting at least 6 hours of sleep a day was an accomplishment and you were eating your meals, but a certain date on the calendar was growing closer. You made yourself busier and busier, but no amount of work would keep this day from coming.

LOG ENTRY: SOL 62

On Earth it's January 8th, which is a very special day. Our anniversary! It's official, we've been together for three years! Yeah, yeah I hear you. These logs are for work purposes only, but I promise no one's gonna see this one. Not even you.

I think about that day a lot. It was freezing outside and snowing everywhere. I don't even remember why we walked to the cafe that day, but I'm thankful for it. You were holding your hot cup so tightly and your coat wasn't nearly thick enough for the weather. You were complaining that the snow came early and I laughed at you.

I think we both knew for a long time that this would happen. A year at least. We kept ourselves just at arms length, on the brink of lovers without ever crossing that line. We never discussed it before, but we knew once the mission was over, we'd do it. We'd take that step.

I had wanted to kiss you all day. Want isn't really the word for it. How about craved. Desired? Yearned~

I wrapped my coat around you and you complained again, said that I'd catch a cold and it would all be your fault. The way you looked at me... Still gives me chills when I think about it. It's like I'm still standing on that sidewalk, snowflakes landing on my nose.

I told you, "I can think of something that'll warm us both up..."

You said, "Then what are you waiting for?"

I was right of course. I always am. I just didn't expect you to be so... magnetizing! Like damn babe, you had me weak in the knees! (What am I, a Disney princess?)

I'll be back with you someday. It'll be your anniversary present from me. You're welcome in advance. XOXO - World's Handsomest Boyfriend.

-P.S. You left your deodorant in the Hab. I've been using it. Totally not creepy.

-P.P.S. Who's the stinky one now?

-P.P.P.S. You better be prepared, when I get off this wasteland of a planet, I'm making up for lost time. You aren't gonna be able to walk for AT LEAST a week.

-P.P.P.P.S. I was talking about CUDDLING you perv~

(or was I? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°))

~~~

This had to be one of the greatest days in Mark Watney's life.

Contact.

Sweet, sweet contact!

[11:18]JPL: Mark, This is Venkat Kapoor. We've been watching you since Sol 49. The whole world's been rooting for you. Amazing job, getting Pathfinder. We're working on rescue plans. JPL is adjusting Ares 4's MDV to do a short overland flight. They'll pick you up, then take you with them to Schiaparelli. We're putting together a supply mission to keep you fed until Ares 4 arrives.

Watney could hardly believe it! Everything was working! They had known he was alive since Sol 49! His eyes were brimming and his breathing came out in short gasps as he fought to control himself. He used to take messages for granted, now they're the only tether he has to humanity.

He's not alone anymore.

His hands shook as he wrote out his message.

[11:29]Watney: Glad to hear it. Really looking forward to not dying. I want to make it clear it wasn't the crew's fault. What did they say when they found out I was alive?

Mark shifted in his seat. The reply was taking a bit longer than expected. He hadn't talked to anyone in so long. The thought of being so close, only to fail right in the beginning was terrifying. He wasn't sure he could survive that kind of disappointment.

[11:48]JPL: We haven't told the crew you're alive yet. We wanted them to focus on their own mission.

What. The. Fuck.

Mark covered his face with his hands and released a frustrated groan. "You've got to be shitting me!"

You didn't know. You didn't know he was alive.

"What the fuck? Wha... What the fuck?!" He took a shaky breath and wrestled with his frustration.

[12:05]Watney: They don't know I'm alive? What the fuck? WTF? Seriously! What the fuck is wrong with you?

[12:23]JPL: Please watch your language. Everything you type is being broadcast live all over the entire world.

They did not just say that.

After everything he has been through, there is no way JPL just told him to watch his language.

So, that's how they want to play it, huh?

[12:42]Watney: Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck shit fuck shit fuck! Fuck fuckity fuckfuckfuck! Oh look! A pair of boobs!-> (.Y.) How's that for watching my language, you goddamned bureaucratic felchers!

NASA got the message loud and clear.

~~~

Four months passed and you fell into a routine. Wake up, eat, work, sleep, repeat. It was predictable, which was something you were thankful for.

You took on Watney's role as the ship's botanist. You weren't as good as him, but really, who was? You couldn't match his skill even if you tried. Still, you followed all of his experiments. Took diligent notes and snapped as many pictures as you could.

Martinez joked that you took better care of the plants than yourself. It was one of those jokes meant to expose an underlying issue: You weren't looking after yourself. There was a shadow hanging over everything you did. The crew was experiencing it too. Mark Watney was one of a kind. Everyone he touched felt his loss so viscerally, so deeply.

You needed time, just like Vogel said. But that didn't mean everyone had to be okay with you beating yourself up like this.

Lewis knew better than anyone how you were feeling. As the Commander, she should have tried a little harder. And you... You were right there in arm's reach. Yes, Lewis knew how you felt only too well.

You heard a faint Knock in the doorway. You looked up from the camera and met Beck's eyes.

"Data dump will be completed soon. Care to join?" He smiled.

You managed a smile back, "Yeah, sure. I'm hoping I got something from my siblings. Maybe my niece and nephew too." You strapped the camera to the wall so it wouldn't float away, then you pushed yourself toward your crewmate.

"How about your parents?" He asked.

"Oh, that's a given. I can't get them to leave me alone," you chuckled.

You floated down to Semicone-A, where everyone else was already waiting for the data dump.

"Is it here yet?" Beck asked.

"Almost, it's at ninety-eight percent." Johanssen shot him a grin.

"You're looking cheerful, Martinez," Beck laughed.

"My son turned three yesterday." He beamed. Should be some pics of the party. How about you?"

"Oh, nothing special. Just some peer reviews of a paper I wrote a few years back."

"Complete," Johanssen said. "All the personal e-mails are dispatched to your laptops. Also there's a telemetry update for Vogel and a system update for me....Huh.... There's a voice message addressed to the whole crew."

"Play it." Lewis shrugged. Everyone gathered around the screen as Beth pressed play.

"Hermes, this is Mitch Henderson," the message started.

"Henderson? Talking directly to us without CAPCOM?"

Lewis raised her hand to signal silence.

"I have some news. There's no subtle way to put this:.....Mark Watney's still alive."

Your stomach dropped.

"Wha-" Beck choked.

"I know that's a surprise. And I know you'll have a lot of questions. We're going to answer those questions. But for now I'll just give you the basics. He's alive and healthy. We found out two months ago and decided not to tell you. I was strongly against all that. We're telling you now because we finally have communication with him and a viable rescue plan. It boils down to Ares 4 picking him up with a modified MDV. We'll get you a full write-up of what happened, but it's definitely not your fault. Mark stresses that every time it comes up."

You clenched your eyes shut as they burned painfully with tears.

"Take some time to absorb this. Your science schedules are cleared for tomorrow. Send all the questions you want and we'll answer them. Henderson out."

Silence fell over the bridge.

"He...He's alive?" Martinez beamed.

"He lives." Vogel nodded excitedly and squeezed your shoulder.

"Holy shit!" Beck laughed. "Holy shit! Commander! He's alive!"

"I left him behind," Lewis muttered.

You covered your eyes with your hands, fighting to stay quiet.

"No, hey... we all left togeth-"

"You followed orders...I left him behind. In a barren, unreachable, godforsaken wasteland." Lewis scowled and trudged off the bridge.

Everyone stood around the console. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

"Y/N?" Chris asked softly.

"Are you okay?" Beth added.

You shook your head. You couldn't look at any of them right now.

"I need a minute..." you said softly before hurrying back out of the Semicone. You retreated back to the comfort of the botany lab. It was all so much to process.

First Mark is dead, you left him behind to die. Then Mark is alive, you left him behind to die. He doesn't want you to blame yourselves, it was terrible luck. He's healthy. He can contact Earth. Mars is a desolate planet. He's all alone. On an entire planet. You left him there. He will never be safe until he's back on Earth soil. It will be four years until Ares 4 arrives.

He will be alone on Mars for four years.

You left him there.

~~~

Y/N,

I'm typing this letter to you because talking to you relaxes me. I won't actually be sending this to you. It's not going to be professional in nature like the other notes I've sent you. (JPL says that you have received all of them, but have neglected to send me any of your responses. The only one I have gotten from any of the crew was one from Lewis. She invited me for beer to make up for leaving me on Mars.)

Anyway, some bad stuff happened. I wish you were here. Not because I want you to have been launched by an airlock. Never that. I just really fucking miss you. I really need you right now. I almost died last night. I had to do some serious surgery on my suit to keep me alive and I had to sift through the dilapidated remnants of the Hab to find a new one.

I'm so tired. I just want you to hold me. I'm so sick of all of this. Fuck Mars, Fuck the Hab. I'm so sick and tired of getting my hopes up and being disappointed. I miss you so much. You make every one of my bad days good. I know if you were here, everything would be okay again.

Why did this have to happen?

Mars keeps throwing curve balls at me, but I'm not giving up. I've got a lot to look forward to and I'm trying to focus on that.

-Mark

P.S. Your bed stopped smelling like you a month ago.

~~~

The crew of Ares 3 met in the Rec. A secret message had arrived not even an hour ago. One that would alter their mission by 533 extra days.

"Are we going to do it?" Johanssen asked.

"I won't lie, I'd sure as hell like to. But this isn't a normal decision. This is something NASA expressly rejected. We're talking about mutiny. And that's not a word I throw around lightly," Lewis explained. "We'll only do it if we all agree. And before you answer, consider the consequences. If we mess up the supply rendezvous, we die. If we mess up the Earth gravity assist, we die. If we do everything correctly, we add 533 days to our mission. 533 days of unplanned space travel where anything could go wrong. Maintenance will be a hassle. Something might break that we can't fix. If it's life-critical, we die."

"Sign me up!" Martinez announced, causing you to smile. At least someone else was as enthusiastic to bring Mark home as you were.

"Easy, cowboy. You and I are military. There's a good chance we'd be court-martialed when we get home. As for the rest of you, I guarantee they'll never send you up again," Lewis said.

"If we do this," Vogel looked to you and back at Lewis. "It would mean over one thousand days of space. This is enough space for a life. I do not need to return."

You couldn't have possibly said it better yourself. It was like Alex was reading your mind.

"Sounds like Vogel's in. Me too obviously," Martinez laughed.

"Let's do it," Beck agreed.

"If you think it'll work, I trust you," Johanssen said.

Lewis nodded and turned to you. "Y/L/N?"

"You don't even need to ask me. Let's go get our boy," You smiled.

Wow. This is the first time you've smiled... a real smile, since leaving Mars.

'Hang in there babe,' You thought. 'I'm on my way.'

~~~

LOG ENTRY: SOL 192-2

Yep, another secret letter do my dear, long lost love~ How predictable. I don't really care, today's been a great day. I can't believe you're coming back for me! Here I was, thinking I'd have to survive without you for four years. Then there you go, riding in from the sunset to bring me home.

Logically I know the rest of the crew had something to do with it, but I kind of like the idea that maybe I am a Disney princess and you're my knight in shining armor coming to rescue me.

It's like the story of Rapunzel, except my tower is a whole planet and instead of catching my hair, you're catching my MAV. Now that I think about it, the stories are more different than they are similar.

That hardly matters though, what does matter is that for the first time I actually feel like I'll survive. I trust our team with every fiber of my being, but most of all I trust you. I'm gonna rest easy tonight. And in the morning I'll start my work on the rovers!

See you in about a year babe! I'll be counting down the hours. Literally.

LOG ENTRY: SOL 426

Happy anniversary Y/N! You thought I'd forget? Never! You know why that is? Because I fucking love you, that's why!

Four years we've been together as of today, that's assuming we are counting the year we've been apart as "being together", (which I do.) Today I'm really beating myself up over frying Pathfinder with my drill all those months ago. It was my only form of communication with you and I royally fucked it up.

You'd think that cutting myself off from Earth, NASA and humanity at large would be what upset me the most. Nope, it's the fact that I can't send you a super sneaky secret anniversary e-mail. I also missed my parents' birthdays, your birthday, Christmas AND Thanksgiving. Twice. Also, fucking Valentine's day! I used to hate that holiday before I met you.

Anyway, as you can see, I totally have all my priorities in order! Also! I got you a present~ Since you have no way to read this, I don't feel bad spoiling it for you. I found a little rock. It's in the shape of a heart.

Awwww wow! That's cute, I just realized that I'm giving you my heart for our anniversary! To be honest, you had it a long time ago.

I miss you. I miss your smell, your eyes, the feel of your skin. Most of all, I really, really miss your voice. I just want to hear you. I've forgotten what you sound like. I'm scared If I didn't have this picture of you and your brother, I'd forget what your face looks like too.

I'm starting my long commute to Schiaparelli in 23 days. It'll be a two month drive. I really hate driving in the rover. But if it gets me to you, who cares? I'm stalling. I've got a lot of work tomorrow and I just want to enjoy today. I wish I was there with you to enjoy it obviously, but we can't all get what we want (least of all, me.) I've learned how to settle.

Speaking of settling, what do you think about getting married in the woods, or a big grassy field? I'd like there to be as much green as possible. No red or orange, we're talking the opposite side of the color wheel here. I can picture you walking down the aisle. I'll be an absolute mess, but who cares. You're the love of my life. Thanks for, y'know, coming back to pick me up instead of leaving me to die on Mars.

I hope you like the rock.

-Mark

P.S. I grew a beard and my hair looks like the 80's had a baby with a grease monster. You'd hate it.

P.P.S. I hope you're into pirates~

P.P.P.S. Y/N Watney... Mark Y/L/N... hmmmmm, so hard to choose!

P.P.P.P.S. We are never eating potatoes again.

P.P.P.P.P.S And ABSOLUTELY NO DISCO MUSIC!

~~~

You stared at Mars creeping back into view. The last time you were here, Mark was sitting beside you, arm around your waist, your head on his shoulder. Maybe it wasn't your most subtle of moments, but how could anyone not be enthralled by the beauty of the red planet? Even now it was hard not to feel stricken with wonder.

Sometimes your mind played tricks on you. You'd see a speck of dust on the window and think you could see Watney on the surface. That was ridiculous of course, There is no possible way to see an individual person this far out. That didn't stop you from imagining it.

NASA had briefed everyone on the Martian's health, explained that he wouldn't look the same as the last time you saw him. You expected as much, but the thought still worried you. It wasn't that you were worried if you'd still find him attractive, there was no force on Earth or beyond that could change how much you loved Mark Watney. It was his health that worried you.

During all your back and forth questions with NASA that Henderson had arranged, you inquired about his health. They said he was doing well, but that he was stretching his little amount of food to its limits. That's what scared you the most. How would his immune system fare? How would he acclimate back to normal food on Earth? All of these questions went unanswered. NASA was honest, "we won't know for sure until he gets here."

"Mind if I join you?" Lewis asked softly, floating a short distance away.

"Of course Commander. I'd like the company," You said. It was surprising to realize you actually meant it. It'd been awhile since you wanted to spend time with anyone.

Melissa floated further into the cupola and settled beside you.

"Crazy to think that in a few days he'll be up here with us again..." Lewis said softly.

"Yeah..." you said softly, keeping your eyes ahead.

"I know how much you miss him... You two were always great friends."

You swallowed hard and tried to ignore the pit in your stomach as you nodded. "Yeah..."

You could see Lewis looking at you out of the corner of your eye. Her expression was conflicted. "I'm really sorry this happened. I know it's been hard on you. I should have searched a little longer-"

"Commander." You stopped her from continuing. "You did all you could. You made the right decision. I wish none of this had happened, but none of this was your fault. It couldn't have been easy to make the choice, and I'm willing to bet that if I were in your shoes, I wouldn't have been strong enough to do it. I'm sure everyone else feels the same exact way, Mark included." You placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Thanks, that's... Thank you," Melissa smiled.

"We're a team, that's what we do. We keep each other grounded."

"That's actually sort of what I wanted to talk to you about..."

"What do you mean?"

"NASA just sent the message a few minutes ago. They're letting us talk to Watney... Directly," Lewis said. You blinked in surprise. No matter how many times you asked, NASA wouldn't allow any kind of direct communication. You wondered why the sudden change of heart.

"Henderson thinks we need to remind him of what he has to look forward to, keep his eyes on the prize so to speak. At least, that's how he's been pitching it to the director. Anyway, the rest of the crew and I agree you should be the one to do it," she finished.

"R-really? I can talk to him?" You asked hopefully, hoping this wasn't a dream.

"Y/N, I can't think of anyone else he would need to hear from more."

~~~

Mark was waiting by the coms in the MAV for any final updates from NASA regarding the meticulous destruction of his ship, piece by piece. He had just finished taking out the main window and it was heavy as hell, even in Mars gravity. He was happy he at least had some time to rest after all that hard work. If he was lucky, maybe they'd wait too long and it would be too dark to get any work done. He could use a good sleep, it seemed like he was needing it more and more lately. Watney suddenly heard the telltale beeps that signaled an incoming message. He was expecting a barrage of questions about his progress, instead he got something so much better.

[19:22] Y/L/N: Hey, Mark.

Mark's voice got caught in his throat.

Y/N.

It had been so fucking long since he talked to you. His eyes burned and his hands shook. Watney leaned his head back in relief, thanking god for this incredible gift. "I just about gave up on you man..." Mark smiled to the sky before nervously typing back.

[19:23] MAV: Y/N!? Holy crap! They're finally letting you talk to me directly?

You released a sigh and covered your face with your hands. He was responding! Really responding! Everyone was looking at you. Beck beamed at you while Martinez watched on with interest. Lewis was waiting to see if you could handle it. No way you were gonna let this one chance slip through your fingers. You sniffed and wiped your eyes before responding.

[19:24] Y/L/N: Yes, NASA just gave the OK for direct communication an hour ago. We're only 35 light-seconds apart, so we can talk in near-real time. Johanssen just set up the system and I'm testing it out.

Mark sighed and smiled. Level headed and professional as always. How you had such self control, he had no idea.

[19:24] MAV: What took them so long to let us talk?

You looked up at Lewis, silently asking if you could relay the truth. She nodded.

[19:25] Y/L/N: The psych team was worried about personality conflicts. [19:25] MAV: Why? Just 'cause you guys abandoned me on a godforsaken planet with no chance of survival?

Mark typed without thinking and as soon as he hit send, he regretted it. He didn't want you to feel bad, It was a joke. You'd understand that right?

[19:26] Y/L/N: Not funny. Don't make me come down there and kick you.

Watney let out a choked laugh. Half a chuckle and half a sob.

[19:26] MAV: God I missed you.

You smiled at the screen and pushed down the urge to hug Martinez behind you. You were really talking to him! He was only 35 light-seconds away! Suddenly you realized you were blessed with an opportunity even more amazing than just talking with him. You could ask him what you had been asking in all of your disregarded emails!

[19:27] Y/L/N: We missed you too. I've had to take over the botany lab. You'll be happy to know I haven't killed any of your plants...Yet. How are you feeling? We've gotten a few updates from NASA regarding your health, but nothing in incredible detail.

Watney chuckled at the text appearing in front of him. 'Cute,' he thought.

[19:27] MAV: Awwww, are you worried about me?

The crew laughed and you shook your head, swiftly adding your response.

[19:28] Y/L/N: Do I really need to answer that?

Mark snickered and decided not to tease you. He wanted to tell you all of his woes and adequately prepare you for how much he had changed. But he didn't want to put a damper on the mood. Luckily, Watney was a master at sugarcoating.

[19:29] MAV: I'm doing okay. My clothing feels a little loose and I'm craving spaghetti. I'm also in desperate need of a shower. Other than that, I'm just fine. Looking forward to seeing you and the rest of the crew.

Your smile fell. You were happy he was being at least somewhat honest, but you knew it was probably worse than he was making out to be. Unfortunately, Watney was a master at sugarcoating.

[19:29] Y/L/N: We're looking forward to seeing you too. I think it's safe to say a big group hug is in order, if I can get Vogel in on it that is.

Watney hummed at the thought of holding you in his arms. The image was so clear, yet so far away.

[19:30] MAV: At this point, I'd even settle for holding hands. Group hug sounds nice. How are you doing Y/N? I wrote you a lot of emails.

You grimaced and thought your next words through very carefully. With the crew watching, it was hard to collect your thoughts.

[19:31] Y/L/N: I wrote you plenty of my own. There was only so much air time to be used outside of helping you survive. My guess is they put priority on Commander Lewis' emails. Rightfully so of course. I'm doing fine. I've missed you a lot. To be honest, a lot is probably a huge understatement. It's hard to express exactly what I want to say over message.

Mark nodded. You watched him presumably die, leave his 'body' behind, mourn his loss over a period of months, find out you left him there alive, be unable to talk to him for about a year, and suddenly he was here reading and responding to your messages, but you have to limit the details so as to keep those private thoughts private. He couldn't imagine what he would do if the roles were reversed. What you wanted to say needed to be kept between you and him. He understood. There was a lot he wanted to say too.

[19:32] MAV: I know what you mean. I'll be there soon, then you can tell me all about it in person. And I'll tell you all about my space crops and my long voyage to the MAV. Have I mentioned I'm a space pirate?

The crew laughed and for a moment, it felt like he was there. Really there.

[19:33] Y/L/N: Good to know you're still the funniest person on Mars. [19:33] MAV: Thanks! [19:33] MAV: Wait a minute! Rude! Don't make me come up there! [19:34] Y/L/N: Don't threaten me with a good time, Watney. [19:34] MAV: ;)

You were about to make some really elaborate emoji out of parentheses and dots, when you saw a notification from NASA. Playtime was over. You scowled as you broke the news to your boyfriend.

[19:34] Y/L/N: I hate to cut this short, but NASA wants us to keep the line open. We'll be in touch asking for updates on your progress, but don't expect too much witty banter.

Mark's heart sank a little, but there was no use in leaving such a perfect night on a sour note.

[19:35] MAV: Figures. NASA never lets me do anything fun! Tell the others I said hi. [19:36] Y/L/N: I'll be sure to pass it along!

Mark's leg tapped nervously. He knew NASA was right about keeping the line open, but he really didn't want it to end yet.

[19:36] MAV: Hey, thanks for coming to get my sorry ass. [19:36] Y/L/N: No thanks necessary. We'd do it a million times over.

Watney knew you meant it. He could feel the warmth through the bland MAV text on the screen. He couldn't wait to be up there with you...But what if something went wrong? Fuck, don't think about this now! Everything's going to be fine! Right? But what if... There was always a chance, especially on Mars, that things would not go your way. And the likelihood of him surviving this mission was slim at best. He needed to tell you. He should have said it a lot more. A whisper here and there in the hallways, maybe some stupid middle school secret code. Like hell he was going to pass up this one chance, consequences be damned.

[19:37] MAV: I love you, Y/N.

Your heart lurched in your chest. The room fell silent. Martinez lightly squeezed your shoulder. Your eyes flitted around the room to your colleagues. All of them stared with bewildered looks on their faces. What were you supposed to say? What if you got him in trouble? If he was worried about that, why would he send this in the first place?

'You know what, Fuck it,' you thought.

Watney watched the screen with baited breath. "Please..." He whispered. "Please."

[19:38] Y/L/N: I love you too Mark. Sleep well, we'll be there before you know it.

Mark released a cry of joy and typed through the tears.

[19:39] MAV: You too. Goodnight. [19:39] Y/L/N: Goodnight, Mark.

The line received no new messages after that. Mark rested there a moment before retreating back to the rover. Once the airlock had engaged, he removed his helmet and admired the picture of you and your brother he had taped to the rover computer.

He used to take those words for granted. Why say it when you could show it? He showed it to you as often as he could... At least he used to. You never made him question it for a second. You gave him compliments, brought him water on late nights, listened to his nerdy ramblings about plants and D&D. He'd help you to bed when you were too tired to stand, work out the knots in your shoulders while you typed. Over a year has passed and your grip on his heart is still firm. And when you said those three little words, all of it made sense again. Mark Watney would never again question the power of I love you. He was going to remind you every chance he got. He was going to ask you for it as often as possible. His mom and dad would hear it in every phone call, and no more excluding his friends. He loved them too. He would say it until the term loses all meaning, then he'd remember this night where I love you saved his life.

Mark took off his gloves and danced his thin fingers over the photograph.

"See you soon, baby..." He whispered, "I love you."

~~~

You pulled on your headset and took a deep, self soothing breath. In an hour, the love of your life was going to be launched into Mars's orbit in what could barely be considered a MAV. The thing was a Frankenstein version of the shuttle you had taken off the planet nearly two years ago.

You shook your head. What Mark needed right now was confidence. You could do that.

"How you feeling Y/L/N?" Martinez smiled over at you.

"Like I'm gonna throw up," You laughed.

"Anxious huh?" He smirked, "For the launch, or for your man?"

"Both," You smacked his arm and rolled your eyes. Martinez and Beck hadn't stopped giving you crap for the I love you texts. You didn't mind too much, it was nice being able to acknowledge that side of your relationship with Mark. Unfortunately it made for some rather awkward conversations with the NASA administrators.

"You got nothing to worry about, he's in good hands," Rick said reassuringly.

"I know, we're all badass trained professionals with years of experience," you chuckled. "I can't help it. I'm built to worry."

"You've checked and double checked the telemetry. Johanssen confirmed all of your calculations. It's going to be a smooth ride for sure."

"I'll believe it when I see it."

//////////

Mark scowled at his reflection in the mirror and stroked his beard. He looked like shit, no way around it. He hadn't taken a moment to really look at himself for a long time and he couldn't say he liked what he saw.

"It's the end of an era," Watney said to nobody as he grabbed the razor. "No more captain blonde-beard."

Mark took his time shaving his chin and trimming the hair on his head. By the end of it, he still looked like shit but slightly less so. He felt a little more like himself at least.

He patted his chest to make sure the picture was still there, tucked under his uniform. It was there, along with his anniversary present to you. He slipped the headset over his ears and turned it on. It was nearly time to go. Watney pulled the suit on over his head and double checked if it was all on securely.

"I'm leaving Mars today, one way or another..." He whispered. "About fucking time."

//////////

"Fuel engine green," Your voice seemed to cause time itself to slow down. Not just for Mark, but for the entire world. "Engine alignment, perfect." Mark closed his eyes took a series of deep breaths, trying in vain to keep his emotions in check. "Communications five by five. We are ready for preflight checklist, Commander."

"Copy." Lewis said. "Mission Control, this is Hermes actual. We will proceed on schedule. we have T minus two minutes, ten seconds to launch... Mark." The commander turned her attention to the man of the hour. "About two minutes Watney. How you doing down there?"

"I'm good." He swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat. "I'm anxious to get up to you. Thanks for coming back for me."

You sniffed and shot a smile to Johanssen, who sent you a grin of her own.

"We're going to make it happen. Remember, You'll be pulling some pretty heavy g's. It's okay if you pass out. You're in Martinez's hands."

"Well, tell that asshole no barrel rolls."

"Copy that, MAV."

"CAPCOM."

"Go," you said.

Mark's bottom lip quivered

"Guidance."

"Go," Johanssen said.

"Remote Command."

"Go," Martinez said.

"Telemetry."

"Go," you said again.

He couldn't fight it anymore, he let the tears fall.

"Recovery."

"Go," Beck said.

"Secondary Recovery."

"Go," Vogel said.

"Pilot."

Mark steadied his voice before speaking, "go."

"Mission control, we are go for launch. T minus ten," You said.

"Nine."

"Eight."

"Seven."

"Six."

"Five."

Mark closed his eyes and focused on your voice. "See you in a few, baby..." He whispered.

"Four."

"Three."

"Two."

"One."

The force of the blast was incredible, and growing more painful by the second. His breathing came out short and panicked as the Hab canvas rattled nightmarishly against the MAV. His panic only increased as the canvas ripped from the shuttle, exposing him to the full force of the MAV's thrust. He couldn't even scream. All he could do was watch the sky grow darker and darker.

"Watney." He heard your voice from far away.

"Watney, do you read me?" Your voice called again. His eyes drooped and his vision faded.

//////////

"Watney. Do you read?" You asked in the calmest voice you could muster.

"He's probably passed out. He pulled 12 g's on the ascent. Give him a few minutes," Beck said.

"Copy that." You said and turned your attention on the numbers before you. "I have interval pings. Intercept velocity will be eleven meters per second."

"I can make that work," Beck confirmed.

"Distance at intercept will be....we'll be sixty-eight kilometers apart..." You whimpered and buried your face in your hands.

"Did they say sixty-eight Kilometers? Kilometers?!" Beck cried.

"Keep it together, work the problem. Martinez, any juice left in the MAV?" Lewis asked.

"Negative, Commander."

"Then we'll have to go to him. Y/L/N, time to intercept?"

"Thirty-nine minutes, twelve seconds," You steeled yourself and focused on your coordinates.

"Martinez, what if we point the attitude thrusters all the same direction?" Lewis asked.

"Depends on how much we want to save for the attitude adjustments on the trip home."

"How much do you need?"

"I could get by with maybe twenty percent of what's left. If I use the other eighty percent... We'd get a delta-v of thirty-one meters per second."

"Y/L/N, Math."

"In thirty-nine minutes, we'd deflect....seventy-two kilometers! Use seventy-five point five percent of remaining attitude adjust fuel. That'll bring the intercept range to zero," You did the math quickly.

"Do it." Lewis said.

"Hold your horses, that'll get the range to zero, but the velocity will be forty-two meters per second."

"Then we have thirty-nine minutes to figure out how to slow down. Burn the jets."

//////////

Mark awoke to find himself spinning. Flashes of stars and the red glow of the Martian surface had him feeling a little dizzy. "MAV to Hermes?"

"Watney?" You gasped.

"Affirmative," he grunted.

"What's your status?" You asked calmly.

"Uhhh..." He winced and leaned back in his seat. "My chest hurts. I think I broke a rib. How are you, sweetheart?" He groaned.

"We're working on getting to you," you relayed. "There was a complication in the launch."

"Yeah," Watney dejectedly looked at the massive hole in the roof of his ship. "The canvas didn't hold. I think it ripped early in the ascent."

"That's consistent with what we saw during the launch," Lewis agreed.

"How bad is it, Commander?" he asked.

"We were able to correct the intercept range with Hermes's attitude thrusters, but there's a problem with the intercept velocity."

"How big a problem."

"Forty-two meters per second."

"Well..." Mark paused and tried to wrap his head around that number. "Shit."

//////////

You typed furiously, staring at your screen unblinkingly as you worked through all the possible ways to bring down the velocity.

"Hey, I've got an idea," Watney said.

"Of course you do, what have you got?" Lewis asked.

"I could find something sharp in here and poke a hole in my EVA suit. I could use the escaping air as a thruster and fly my way to you. The source of thrust would be on my arm, so I'd be able to control it pretty easily."

"How does he come up with this shit?" Martinez laughed.

"I can't see you having any control if you did. You'd be eyeballing the intercept using a thrust vector you can barely control."

"I admit it's fatally dangerous, but consider this: I'd get to fly around like Iron Man."

"We'll keep working on ideas," Lewis said.

"Iron Man, Commander. Iron Man."

"Stand by," Lewis temporarily cut contact with Watney.

You furrowed your brows at the screen, waiting for the correct course of action to jump out at you. Suddenly, there it was. "Wait! that's it!" you looked back at the Commander. "Mark's a genius! We could use the ship's atmosphere as thrust. We could blow the vehicular airlock. Seal the bridge and the reactor room. Iron Man... But bigger!"

"....." Melissa stared at you for a moment before addressing Alex. "Vogel?"

"Yes commander?"

"I need you to come inside and make a bomb," she ordered.

~~~

"I have visual, I can see the MAV," Beck said. "Jesus Mark, what did you do to that thing?"

"You should see the rover," Mark radioed. He was ready to get out of his goddamned chair, ready to get away from this hunk of junk that could barely be considered a MAV.

"Call out my velocity to Mark every two seconds or so," Chris said.

"Copy." You responded.

"Hey Beck, the front's wide open. I'll get up there and be ready to grab at you." Watney said.

"Negative, no untethered movement. Stay strapped to your chair until you're attached to Beck."

"Copy." Mark huffed. Lewis was right, impatience would be the death of him out here and he had come too far to die now. Instead, he focused on your voice calling out the relative velocity.

"Three point one meters per second."

"Eleven meters to target."

"Six meters."

"Contact." Beck grabbed the canvas of the destroyed MAV. "Firm contact."

"You have fourteen seconds Dr. Beck."

"Copy."

Nothing could have prepared Watney for how he'd feel seeing Beck's helmet poking through the opening.

Pure. Unadulterated. Serotonin.

"Visual on Watney!"

"Visual on Beck!"

"How ya doin' man?" Beck pushed himself toward Mark, meanwhile Mark was trying not to have another emotional breakdown.

"I....I just...Give me a minute, you're the first person I've seen in eighteen months," Watney croaked.

"We don't have a minute," Beck clumsily collided with Mark. "Contact with Watney... Connected!"

"Restraints off," Watney called.

"We're outta here!"

//////////

"Houston, this is Hermes actual. Seven crew safely aboard," Lewis's voice echoed in your mind as you, Martinez, Johanssen, and Lewis pushed yourselves toward the airlock where Vogel and Beck were bringing him in.

Mark.

You could see his dusty helmet from the small window on the airlock. Already you were feeling an overwhelming ache deep in your chest. There he was, only a few feet away, behind this door. Your crewmates flew in and clambered for Watney.

"Hey guys!" He laughed.

You were frozen in the doorway.

His helmet came off.

Everything slowed down.

Everyone was smiling and laughing. High fiving. Quick hugs. They all wanted to get as far away from the smell as they could.

Your eyes met.

There were beads of what looked like water floating in the air. When did you start crying?

Mark held out his arms to you and you wasted no more time. He hugged you as tightly as he could with the bulky arms of his EVA suit. His face buried into your neck as he cried softly. "Y/N...." He whispered in a broken voice. "Y-Y/N?"

"I'm right here Mark... Right here." You cradled the back of his head, scratching that spot at the base of his neck. He always liked it when you did that

"I stink, don't I?" Watney laughed in between sobs.

"You do. You really do," You tried to keep up the joke. "But if im being completely honest, I couldn't possibly care less," you laughed.

Slowly, you pulled back so you could get a good look at his face. He was thin. Gaunt, and covered in bed sores. That should have been expected of course, It's not like he had anywhere to shower in the rover. He looked at you like you were an angel. He looked embarrassed, like he wanted to hide.

Your fingers danced over his cheek and his eyes fluttered closed at the tenderness. The crew watched on with pride and varying degrees of bashfulness.

Mark opened his eyes and stared at you pleadingly as orbs of tears flowed from their corners. "Y/N... Please..." He whispered.

You didn't hesitate for a second.

You grabbed the sides of Mark's face and smashed your lips against his. So soft... your hands are so soft and your lips are trembling. The heat of your skin, the scent of your hair. It was even better than he remembered. He couldn't breathe, he could barely even think. He wanted so desperately to kiss you back, to fall into your embrace until there's no space left between, but his ribs hurt like hell and his suit was in the way. Mark whimpered as your fingers tangled into his hair. Fuck. Fuck. 'Everything hurts baby, please don't stop kissing me,' he pleaded in his head. 'Don't stop.'

When you started pulling away, he reached out to pull you closer again, but winced when he moved his arm.

"Slow down, baby." You breathed and pressed a little smooch to his forehead.

"Alright love birds, I need to get Iron Man over here to sick bay."

"But-" Watney protested.

"No buts, you need an X-ray and a shower. Maybe three." Beck laughed.

Mark looked at you pleadingly and you caressed his face. "I'll be by once Beck fixes you up. I gotta help check the ship for damage. Okay?"

He nodded and smiled. "Don't miss me too much~"

"You seek the impossible, Watney." You kissed his forehead again and let Chris lead your Martian down the hall to his quarters.

"Wow," Martinez said "I can't decide if that was incredibly romantic or incredibly awkward."

"Shut up Martinez," You playfully shoved his shoulder.

"Honestly though, he smells terrible! You've got some nerves of steel, Y/L/N," Johanssen joked.

"My boyfriend just spent eighteen months alone on a remote planet, If he wants a kiss he's gonna get that goddamned kiss. Definitely not a quick one and definitely not a half-assed one. But I will say one thing," you grinned.

"What's that?" Lewis smirked.

"He's not getting another one until he brushes his teeth."

~~~

Mark settled into his bunk after what felt like hours. He finally had a bath. Five, in fact. The showers were on a timer to conserve water. He had to run that timer five times before he finally felt clean. The water hurt the sores on his skin, but he felt so much better afterward that he almost wanted to go in for a sixth one. Mark brushed his teeth about three times and got rid of all the tangles in his hair. He'd need someone to touch up the cutting job he did. Now that it was all brushed out, it looked astoundingly bad.

After his long grooming session, Beck took an X-ray and determined that he'd broken two ribs. Chris bandaged him up, gave him some pain medicine, made him eat, and sent him to bed for some well deserved rest. At first, Mark protested. He hated the idea of everyone else fixing the ship while their lead engineer was taking a nap. But he was painfully tired and painfully...well... in pain.

Hey! His bunk didn't smell like shit! That's a huge upgrade from his bunk in the Hab- no more thinking about that place.

With a deep groan, Watney eased himself into bed. Weird...his sheets smelled like you. He didn't mind of course, you always smelled nice. He had never been more thankful for the centripetal force spinning the ship. He would have hated having broken ribs in zero g's. He imagined trying to sleep with his body constantly moving ever so slightly. Sounded like hell to him.

Mark wondered what the others were doing. He hoped there wasn't something too terribly wrong with the ship. The subtle groans of metal didn't ease his nerves. He was never scared of the Hermes before, but he was just now coming to terms with that fact that the ship had taken some serious abuse over the past few months, not to mention the past few hours. Normally Hermes would undergo maintenance after each mission, but because they turned around to get him that maintenance was scrapped.

New fear unlocked: Dooming his team to die in space because they had to turn around and get him.

He almost thought the knocking on his door was the hull breaking apart into a billion little bite-sized pieces.

"Come in," he said.

He expected it to be Beck checking in on him, but he was relieved when you poked your head in with a shy smile.

"Heyyyy, look over there! It's the world's handsomest boyfriend!" You said with gusto.

"You are such a kiss ass," Mark laughed, which hurt his ribs, which made him laugh again from how pitiful he must look.

You scoffed as you stepped into his quarters, shutting the door behind you. "You calling me a liar?" you grabbed a loose storage box and used it as a chair so you could sit beside his bed.

"That's exactly what I'm calling you," he smirked. "Seriously. Have you seen me lately? I look like a... a popsicle stick with a bad haircut."

You looked him up and down. His sores looked a lot better after cleaning them. You had no doubt they would heal nicely. The malnourishment on the other hand... That might take some work. You and Beck already had a few dietary plans for him. You discussed it while you reorganized the chow hall. Still, Mark was the most beautiful person you had ever seen. Even now, those alluring blue eyes were mesmerizing you. And let's not forget that goddamned tantalizing smile.

"I'm looking at you right now, babe," You giggled.

"And?"

"You're still as gorgeous as ever. Just a gorgeous man who's been through some shit," you carded your fingers through his hair. Mark hummed and closed his eyes. "How are you feeling?" you whispered.

"Physically or emotionally?"

"Both."

"Emotionally, happy. Very happy. Best day of my life kind of happy," he smiled. "Physically, pretty shitty. The medicine hasn't kicked in."

"Anything I can do to help you feel better?" you asked warmly.

Watney sent you a smug look, "Oh, I can think of a few things that might help~"

"Not until your ribs are healed."

"Damn."

You leaned down and pushed his hair back so you could kiss his forehead. He gave you a dazed grin, "oh, what do you know? I feel better already," he whispered in a gravelly voice. "... I really missed you..."

"I missed you too Mark..."

"I can't believe I can... I can feel you again. I can hear you and see you and feel you... s'insane..." He reached up and cupped your cheek despite the pain. "You were always on my mind. I-I just really wanted... I wanted to make it back to you." He brought his thumb just under your eye to catch a stray tear.

You covered his hand with yours and pressed a kiss to his palm.

"I-I don't even know what to say... I've been feeling so much, I don't know how to... how to-" He swallowed hard.

"Everything's changed so fast," you reassured him. "But we aren't on the messaging system anymore. It's a long journey home, we have plenty of time to find the right words," you continued to run your fingers into his hair.

"I fucking love you... " he closed his eyes and reveled in the feeling of your nails against his scalp. "I'm gonna marry you one day, decided just now."

"Just now?" You snickered.

"No...Realistically, it was the first night we uh... slept together. Do you remember that?" Watney chuckled.

"Of course I do," you smiled, thinking of his messy blonde hair, searing gaze, and strong arms. He took his time with you that night, unhurried, attentive, and unabashedly vocal. "How could I forget?"

Mark shook his head and looked away to hide his blush, but not even his smile could distract you from it. "Sorry, sorry. Go on, continue!"

"Well, I uh..." He let out a sheepish chuckle. "Obviously every part of that night was perfect, but it's what happened after that really changed things."

"Oh?" you leaned closer, curiosity getting the better of you.

"You let me be the little spoon. I'm fine with being the big spoon most of the time, but you gotta be the little spoon sometimes, you know? No one ever let me be the little spoon before you... And when I woke up, you were still holding me." His fingertips danced down your arm, leaving a trail of chills in their wake. Once he reached your hand, Mark intertwined your fingers. It wasn't a conscious movement for him, simply muscle memory. But you couldn't keep your mind off of it. "I know I goof around a lot, but I can't stress how serious I'm being when I say... I have never felt that loved before. It was just... such a perfect night. I knew that you were the one for me well before, but that was the first time I really saw my future flash before my eyes like that."

Your eyes stung a little as you tenderly kissed his lips. "Want to know when I decided?" you whispered against him.

"Please..." He whispered back.

"Remember when I had that terrible flu during the first year of our training program?"

"Oh damn, yeah I do! You looked terrible, baby." Mark teased.

"I felt terrible. I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, and I definitely couldn't go to lectures... I was so worried about missing, even though the professors agreed there was no way I could come to class. You brought me a copy of your notes. The copy machine in the library was down, so you had to write them by hand... you even filled them with these horrible stick figure drawings," you laughed and Mark brought your knuckles to his lips and watched you, immersed in the sound of your voice. It was like he was trying to commit you to memory. You were doing much the same.

"Anyway, you stayed with me and you made some Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup. You stopped by everyday until I got better."

"We were just friends back then," he whispered against your hand.

"I know, but every time I think about how much I love you... that memory comes back, playing on repeat."

"Say that again."

"That again," you smirked. Mark gave you a sassy eyebrow. "Which part babe?" you laughed.

"The uh..." he trailed off.

You lightly kissed his cheek, "I love you, Mark... I love you so much." You peppered his face with little smooches. When you finally pulled back, he was all red again and teary eyed.

"I love you too, Y/N," He whispered. You sat together in silence for awhile before Mark suddenly remembered something extremely important! "Oh shit! I almost forgot!" He winced as he reached into his pocket. "Happy late four year anniversary!" He finally presented you with his gift.

Your fingers trembled as you took the little rock into your hands. Mark's Martian heart stared back up at you, dusting your palm orange.

"Y-you remembered our anniversary?"

"Of course I remembered! Have I ever forgotten before?" Mark smirked.

"N-no, but..." You couldn't help it, you were crying again god dammit. "Thank you Mark, I love it." You beamed and kissed him so hard he lost his entire train of thought. He sighed and pulled you closer like he had wanted to do hours ago. Fuck. There you go again, playing with his hair like it wasn't going to rile him up. He moaned and reached for your waist, only to be pulled swiftly back to reality by the jarring pain in his abdomen. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Mark." You pulled away quickly.

"It wasn't you, I was getting too carried away." He winced and took a deep breath. "My bad," Watney laughed.

You sat down on the crate beside his bed and settled for playing with his hand. While you took inventory of every new callus, Mark once again saw his future flash right before his eyes. You and him and that little house with the green shutters. He's gonna have the best garden in the neighborhood, you'll have all the time in the world for reading. No potatoes. No disco.

"Y/N... Can you hold me?"

"Oh baby, I would love to but the beds are so small-"

"Ouch, oof, oh! ow!" He scooted closer to the wall to make room for you.

You sighed and shook your head. "Mark, your ribs-"

"Please..." he whispered. Dammit! What are you supposed to do when he gives you the puppy eyes!? Beck is going to kill you...

"I can't ever say no to you, can I?" You laughed and scooted into the bed. "Seriously, you've got me wrapped around your finger."

Mark smiled as you tucked yourself into his side. He wanted to be the little spoon, but he couldn't turn over so his back was against your chest. He'd just have to heal quickly, then he could freely snuggle, (and do other things) without any constraints!

He turned his head so he could admire your lovely, beautiful face. You were already looking back at him, one hand holding your rock close to your chest, the other was draped carefully over his waist. Mark swears he's never seen anything more breathtaking in his life.

He slowly leaned closer- Fuck! His ribs hurt so bad, where the hell is the Vicodin when you need it?

You gently smoothed out the crease between his brows with your thumb and pushed his hair back again. Mark closed his eyes, succumbing to the bliss that came with knowing he would never be alone again. You kissed him again and pulled his blanket over the both of you.

"I love you, Mark."

"I love you too."

He felt your hand slip under his shirt and onto his stomach. You drew soft shapes onto his skin, but stopped when you felt the scar just above the hem of his pants. It was jagged and angry.

He swallowed.

Much to his surprise and relief, you didn't pull your hand away. You just kept tracing the new territory.

He sighed and kissed your temple. His body shuddered in relief. "Th-this isn't a dream, right? You'll still be here when I wake up?" he whispered.

You peeked your head up and smiled "I'm not going anywhere, I'm afraid you're stuck with me." You leaned in and gave him one more kiss. He smiled into it and finally allowed himself to rest his eyes.

"Don't threaten me with a good time, Y/L/N..."

[runesinthenight]

Crystal Buying Rock Guide - Are you getting what you pay for?

I went to a rock shop at the mall recently so I thought I would make a guide for all the crystal healing girlies (gender neutral) so you guys know if what you're getting is what they say it is. Now, there's probably going to be some stuff I missed but this should cover some of the more common things, and some of the stuff that stuck out to me while I wandered the store. So here is some advice from a geologist on how to spot fake or misleading rocks when at the store.

Note: This does not extend to cut gemstones. Gemology is a whole separate field and while I know a lot about rocks and minerals, cut gems are a whole separate ballpark and you'll need a gemstone expert to tell you what to look out for. This is for hand specimens, primarily rough, tumbled, or polished.

Turquoise

Not everything that's labeled as turquoise is actually turquoise the mineral, some of it is just a rock that is turquoise the color. The most common example is going to be howlite, a naturally white rock which can easily be dyed. Here are some examples of dyed howlite.

Another mineral which could be dyed to look like turquoise is magnesite. That looks like this.

Now, both of these minerals can look similar to turquoise (and it can be hard to see the difference on images alone) but there are some ways you can tell if you're looking at real turquoise or not. One is to look at the matrix as it's not the same for all three minerals. Howlite is also slightly harder than turquoise (6.5 vs. turquoise's 5-6) while magnesite is much softer at 3.5-4.5, but most shops don't like you scratching their rocks. And if they're polished, the polish will mess up your scratch test. Turquoise can also be heavier than a comparable size of howlite while magnesite is heavier than both of them

Best indicator is price. Real turquoise is much more expensive, especially for good quality pieces. The large chunk of magnesite sold on an auction website for $41. Real turquoise that size could easily sell for around 10 times that price.

Here are some examples of what turquoise looks like so you can compare.

Blue Obsidian

Look, I'm going to be real with you, there's a very high chance this is just glass. While obsidian can be blueish, it is going to be translucent, not transparent. What that means is that some light will pass through but it won't be clear like glass. If you see a piece labeled blue obsidian and it looks like any of these below, that's glass (and yes, these images I'm pulling from google were all labeled as blue obsidian).

Goldstone and Blue Goldstone

I feel like more people know this but, in case people don't, these are glass. These do not exist in nature. They're pretty, I won't argue with that, but they are entirely man made. So nothing against them, buy them if you like how they look, but if you are looking for natural rocks, these aren't that.

Rainbow Rocks

If you see rocks that have a brilliant rainbow shine to them, they're probably been treated. So things like aura quartz are quartz points or clusters that have been coated with a metal and treated to create pretty colors. I've seen titanium mentioned as one of the primary metals used. Mineral is likely real but the color certainly is not.

Bornite (may also be called Peacock Ore)

Bornite is a very beautiful mineral which can be blue, purple, or a coppery red, with the blue and purple being caused by tarnishing of the surface. However, it oxidizes quickly, becoming black. So if you have a piece which is beautiful all over, no tarnishing or anything, that's acid-treated chalcopyrite. Chalcopyrite tends to be a bronze color but also tarnishes to blue or purple naturally. These are not natural chalcopyrite.

This is san example of natural bornite. It's not nearly as vibrant.

Amber

Amber is often faked using copal (which is modern tree resin), plastic, or glass. Knowing where the amber is from is helpful as there are certain parts of the world which do export amber and those which export fake amber. Other than that, a couple of good tests are a static test and the hot needle test.

The static test is where you rub amber with a piece of work and see if it will statically interact with hair or not. Real amber will but fake amber does not. The hot needle is about what it sounds like. You heat a needle and press it to the amber. Real amber will smell resinous, plastic smells like burnt plastic. Real amber is also lighter than glass and soft enough to be scratched with a copper penny (pre 1982).

Fake amber with a bug in it will also look very beautiful and complete. Real amber will not as the bug was actively trying to not die in amber and struggled. I'll put a couple pictures up that might be fake amber but they can be very hard to tell from a picture alone. Other than the bug thing.

And an example of real amber. Had to include this one because it's absolutely fascinating to me.

Opal

Knowing where the opal is from is very important. Opals from different parts of the world will look different and there are certain areas of the world which are known opal producers. Australia is a world famous exporter of opal. Cooper Pedy is probably one of the most famous localities for Aussie opal, but Mintabie, Andamooka, Lightning Ranch, Jundah, and Quilpie are some other opal localities. Australian opal is also probably either white opal, black opal, or boulder opal. Mexico and Etheopia are where fire opals will be from. Other types of opals will be from certain locations in the world so knowing what type of opal you're looking at and where it's from is important. Any opal without a locality is probably fake, or at least highly sus.

There are also a few ways of looking at an opal to tell if it's real or fake. If there's a repeating pattern, that's probably fake. Columns in the opal are also a sign that it's artificial as real opals are consistent throughout. Also look at the opal from multiple angles, especially for jewelry. You may have a doublet or triplet, which is where a thin layer of real opal is placed on a backing and may have a clear topper (of resin, glass, quartz, or similar material) to make it appear clearer. This has real opal but is not solid opal. Some opal may also be treated to appear better than it is, so if there are dark "soot spots" within the opal then that is a sign it has been treated.

Price is also really useful. Opals are expensive, especially depending on type and locality. If it's cheep, it's probably fake.

Some examples of fake opals (with a couple pictures showing comparable differences).

Doublets

Triplet

Opalite

A nice segue from opal is opalite. It's another synthetic mineral. It's glass. It can be sold on it's own, but can also be played off as opal or moonstone. It does look different from opal and moonstone, but if you don't know to look for it you could be tricked.

Opalite looks glassier than either opal or moonstone. It's also more consistent in it's color throughout. Moonstone, because of it's structure as a feldspar, will have more of a color flash, something similar to labradorite (another feldspar). This is one where pictures are much better than words so let's just show those.

Opalite.

Moonstone.

Citrine

It's probably heat-treated. Natural citrine is very rare, but it can be artificially created by heat-treating amethyst. Just know it's probably heat treated, especially if the color is really nice.

Natural citrine for comparison

Bismuth

If it's rainbow and geometric, those really cool, beautiful pieces that look amazing, it's fake. That's bismuth that's been melted down and allowed to resolidify into those really cool shapes. This is lab grown bismuth.

This is what natural bismuth looks like.

I am out of images now. I know there are minerals I missed. And I didn't even touch rocks or fossils (and fossils are a whole other bag of worms. But hopefully, this guide helps you when you're looking at purchasing rocks so you know if you're getting what you pay for.