#orange sapling leaves

[the-insiders-outsider]

Grown From The Heart. 06/02/2024 7:39 PM.

[the-possum-writes]

could you do a detailed smut/fluff with adult!Finn after reader has been away on an adventure?

Long time no see 🔞

❥Character: Finn Mertens

❥Tags: NS/FW, gender neutral reader, private parts aren't specified, Face sitting, Oral, Established Relationship, Fluff, Vanilla, No beta,

❥Synopsis: Coming back to Finn after spending months climbing through snow covered mountains. As much as you love traveling, you love him even more.

❥Wordcount: 2400

❥Taglist: @watchingfromthefloorboards @foxpearlwilder

With the treefrort being no taller than a sapling it made it harder to find Finn's mobile home with how much he loves to move around without telling you, but the again, you can't say no to a challenge. 

The air is humid, and the sky grows gloomier as clouds block off the day's final rays of sunlight. The trinkets on your backpack clink together as you hike uphill toward the parked metallic trailer, where the candy horses are already preparing for sleep; any doubts about no one being home are thrown out the window when orange light shines behind the solitary door. A single knock is made while speaking clearly. "Sir Mertens, we've come to discuss your expired warranty," you say as solemnly as you can.

Footsteps approach you as a muffled voice talks from inside the trailer. "A warranty? But I paid choose goose years ago." When the door finally opened, Finn was shocked to see you instead of some unscrupulous lawyer. Even in this temperature, he is dressed in just a pair of faded gray tank top and a pair of denim shorts. He is just as you remember, tall, chubby, but neither too skinny nor excessively jacked up, and his blond beard matches the blond hairs on his head that aren't covered by his customary bear hat. However, he appears to be immune to the autumn season since when he greeted you with a bear hug, you felt firsthand how naturally warm he truly is, with his body heat surrounding you even through the layer of clothes you dressed yourself for travels.

After a minute of hugging you, he laughs in your ear and releases you. "I should've known better; lawyers wouldn't bother trekking up this steep hill just to charge me with a stupid warrant."

"You obviously never met a lawyer then, they're more relentless than a honey badger with a grudge." you point out. This gained another laugh from Finn, "Come inside! you look like you've fought one yourself."

And he wasn't lying, expeditions didn't really leave you looking fresh like a cabbage.

As you step inside his cozy trailer you soon realize why Finn was dressed in light clothes, it's just as warm as he is with the orange lights coming from a heater in the corner of the main area that looks like a living room, a few more looks around the place hold the trademarks of a single occupant, empty pizza boxes stacked together in the trash bin, clean but unfolded laundry basket out in the open and countless trinkets, weapons and treasures mounted on every inch of the walls. You drop your backpack to the carpeted floor as you take in the details of the treasures, some look familiar to you while others are completely brand new. You make a mental note to ask about them later for now you only have one thing in mind as you remove your coat.

"I'mma hog the shower bit." you affirm, not really asking for permission but you do toss in a suggestion for good measure. "You could use one too, I may look the part but you smell more like a badger than me." 

Finn scoffs at your jab until he caught a whiff of himself and agreed non verbally. The last thing you saw before closing the door to the bathroom was Finn grabbing two towels from the cupboard but not a pair of new clothes considering the basket was right there, it sent a shiver down your spine and settled in your stomach, but you choose to ignore it for now as you get your priorities straight.

The sigh you release when the warm water crashed on your body could easily be confused for something pornographic, but considering the rough terrain you've traveled through and the rough weather outside it's no brainier you'd feel so satisfied with something as mundane as a hot shower. Your hands are combing through the knots in your hair when you heard Finn follow you into the shower, you step aside to allow him some room under the shower head as he shakes his head like a dog. "Can you pass me the shampoo? it's on the sink." he asks, eyes closed as he lavishes in the hot water just like you did earlier. You poke your head out of the shower curtain to retrieve the bottle on the ledge of the sink, almost laughing your ass off when you read it's one of those '13 in one for men' brand. "For real? why not have a shampoo and conditioner like Jake did?" you snort.

"Hey, I'm a busy guy. Why waste my time with a ton of bottles if one has it covered?" is his defense, but you comply nevertheless as you squeeze the shampoo over his open palm as he washes his rowdy blond locks with it, you can't help but feel a twinge of jealously, Finn could use car shampoo and his hair would still look majestic and soft. Good genes i suppose. Your eyes went to the single hand washing his hair with his other shoulder leading to a scarred stump you've seen replaced with a multitude of weapons and robotic prosthetics but now it's just as nude as the rest of him. He helps you out with your own hair, scrubbing your back and even cleaning behind your ears like a cat grooming it's partner, and yet you allow him, let him satiate his touch starved need with these caresses on your body that don't necessarily lead to anything promiscuous under the shower head but knowing the two of you it's just a matter of time. He's the first to walk out of the bathroom, handing you your towel as he dries out his long hair in his bedroom. While you follow behind his steps it's like walking in on an undisturbed nymph bathing in a pond during golden hour, with the orange light casting striking shadows and highlights over every noteworthy angle on his body, from his sturdy thighs to his firm shoulders and lastly his prominent ass, it's like you're hypnotized when you slowly walk up to him to wrap your arms around his midriff and press your exposed body to his. "So, what did you bring me from your trip?" Finn asks softly while lowering his hand to meet with yours, caressing your scarred knuckles with his large thumb.

"Since when am i obligated to bring you stuff from my trips? there's not exactly any souvenir shops on top of freezing mountains." you jest, resting the side of your head against his back as your other hand trails up and down his hairy navel, feeling his muscles tense down south.

"You always bring me something," he snorts, "Either way, I'm glad you came back safely."

Finn tosses the wet towel elsewhere as he turns around to face you, expediently but suddenly smashing his lips against yours with a fervor you've only witnessed when he's fighting monster taller than himself, he doesn't leave any spot of your mouth untouched with drooling dripping from the corner of your mouth as you caress his tongue with your own in a cacophony of grunts and gasps that escape past your hot breaths. Finn drops himself back into the edge of his bed and brings you along with him with the only thing keeping you above him being your knee in between his parted legs, if his body is naturally warm like a radiator then the growing length nestled in his loins is overbearingly hot, you raise your knee to tease more of him in an attempt to seek more of the noises that were getting caught in his throat. Seeking more from him, you quit the teasing and get down to your knees, kissing the interior of his firm thighs as you make way to the bulbous pink tip eagerly twitching in your direction. You place one smooch on Finn's tip, before placing another, and another until you take his entire gland past your chapped lips, humidifying them with the droplets of precum slipping through his head as you take more of him with a needy groan.

Finn fidgets a bit in his spot, you raising your view to see him lovingly staring back at you through his gorgeous blonde eyelashes, compelling you to take more of him as you keep eye contact so the memory of you stuffing your mouth with his cock becomes engraved in every cell in his brain. Finn's mouth opens up ever so slightly to expel sighs, grunts and whines every time you bob your head up and down, focusing on the way your tongue swirls around his tip like a lollipop. He's so painfully close it has you aching for him more than all those nights you spent alone on snowy terrain, so you removed yourself from his cock with a final slurp and an audible pop, leaving behind a mess of saliva dripping down your tongue. "...ah, ah, not yet." you insist, ignoring your pained knees as you stand up in front of Finn, softly pushing him on his back as you climb him like a tree.

Almost as if he read your mind, Finn grabbed hold of you with a single hand. "Come here," he pulls your hips to his face, stuffing his mouth with everything you could offer to him. You gasp in bewilderment as Finn takes in as much as he can in his own mouth, sucking, nibbling and letting his tongue run wild all over you as your body instinctively jerks back and forth while tugging on his blonde hair. The action has Finn growling from under you, with his own hips jutting forward even though there's nothing to rut against, Finn has learned to become a patient man when it comes to his urges but it's like the build up from months without any lewd contact finally went to his head and has him tapping into a lustful state. And boy, you're all in for it. You remove yourself from Finn's face, ushering the most basic english through needy pants. "Need you inside, now."

This has Finn tossing you to your side, keeping you in place as he dips his head in between the crook of your neck and shoulder to lick and bite to his pleasure. He guides his fingertips to the opening of your mouth, letting him wet his digits with the excessive saliva pooled in your tongue as you got his fingers nice and wet. It's in your best interest after all. "That's it babe, i need 'em nice and slick, I want you to take me... all of me..." he whispers in your shoulder. After he's satisfied with the copious amount of drool he guides them to your already wet opening (thanks to his own saliva from earlier) and slips in one finger after another, poking and prodding inside you as he stretches you out a bit. His touch has every nerve in your your legs twitching, growing accustomed to the isolation and lack of his touch after all this time has you whimpering like it's your first time with him, and Finn dwells in this. "Missed me after all huh? or did you miss my cock?" Finn replaces his fingers for his hot rob, rubbing the tip over your entrance in a teasing manner just like when you rubbed your knee against him.

"Everything. I missed everything about you Finn-" you confess absolutely breathless, taking his mouth for another kiss as his slips himself inside you, with both of your grunting in unison.

"I missed you to," is the last time you hear him speak in a soft tone. "...Won't keep you waiting." Finn's voice struggles to sound coherent as he secures his arm around your midriff as he drills into you from behind, already starting with a rough pace as he keep true to his word like the knight he is. Your cries of ecstasy combine with his own mix of grunts and growls, even biting into your shoulder to add more marks to the growing collection on your skin. Finn didn't stop his onslaught on your for a second, not when he switched your positions and laid you on your back as he raised your legs over his shoulder to fuck deeper into your wanton body, taking in all of his rough biting that you returned with long scratches on his already scarred back, the angle not only allow for deeper thrusts but it also gave you a beautiful view of his gorgeous body. Just like the treasure mounted on his wall, some of his scars were familiar while there were new ones to the collection, one of them being the unfinished tattoo decorated over his beefy hairy chest, you run your hands over his torso, feeling the muscle underneath flex with every movement Finn provides both for your pleasure and his love for you. It's these touches of yours that has Finn slow down from his heated session against your lower regions to dwell a bit in the feelings that have you two in this situation in the first place, his thrusts become slow and shallow, taking the time to release his hold on your thigh to grab your hand and kiss your knuckles which although were scarred and calloused they felt soft against Finn's lips.

The moment is tender in it's own right, and yet it doesn't fail to have you craving for this silly man all over again. You nudge him with the sole of your foot, silently prompting him to continue.

Finn resumed his onslaught into your warm insides but with more adoring looks and complements that remind you that you're also worthy of his love and attention. "You're taking me so good... No one else can rile me up like this..." Finn calls out your name multiple times, feeling himself near the edge as his hips loose rhythm in favor of faster and harder pelvic thrusts that feel like he's straight up rearranging your guts.

"Finn, Finn please...please..." you find yourself begging, almost teary eyed.

Finn complies and smooches you one last time, driving you to that sweet sweet liberation that has you aching your back and wrapping your legs around Finn's waist, meanwhile he releases a combination of desperate whimpers and grunts as he empties a vast amount of pent up come inside your tight little hole that rushes out from around him and leaks into his bed sheets. The blow up has Finn crashing down on you, needing to tap him in the arm to remind him he's crushing you.

"My bad." he rolls sideways but not without pulling your against him, as he closes his eyes to take in the feeling of you body against his no matter how sweaty the two of you are.

You in return, appreciate his peaceful face from up close. To the scar on his cheek from the beard scattered over his lower jaw, he's marvelous, not to mention when he finally opens his eyes to look at you with those glistening pools of blue. "Like what you see?" he jokes, smiling at you despite the few missing teeth.

"Very much," you place a kiss on his nose, watching him scrunch it a bit.

"Well, if you stay for the weekend i can make it worth your time before you go back to mountain climbing." he states, which has you reconsidering.

"Hmm, actually i think I'll take an indefinite hiatus from traveling. Or atleast until i can get you something better than this dinosaur tooth i brought you." you accidentally slip up which has Finn sitting up with a knowing laugh of victory.

"Hah! I knew you brought me something!"

[nevadancitizen]

-> CH. 8: MIND PALACES & OTHER SHATTERED CRYSTALLINE DREAMS

synopsis: connor has a talk with amanda, and you have a talk with your own mind. connor reminds you, once more, that he's made of plastic and metal, not flesh and blood.

word count: 2.8k

ships: Connor/Reader, Hank Anderson & Reader

notes: i know there's a real life viktor petrov. atomic heart is just weird and named characters after real life people

HoFS taglist: @catladyhere , @foggy0trees0 , @princessofenkanomiya (if you'd like to be added to the taglist, just ask!)

HEAD OF FALSE SECURITY MASTERLIST

The Zen Garden is nice, if a bit humid. Connor’s footsteps are quiet as he walks on the marble that paves the sprawling paths.

Again, that stone stares at him, the soft blue glow entrancing. And just like last time, Connor kneels and touches it. The thrum of energy he expected still shocks his system, and still causes him to take an unneeded, artificial breath. With one last glance over his shoulder, Connor walks away.

When Connor approaches the dock, Amanda is waiting on the water in a quaint little rowboat, an orange and white wagasa resting over her shoulder.

“Hello, Connor.” She smiles. “I thought you might enjoy a little cruise.”

Connor steps into the boat, then pushes it away from the dock. He takes the looms of the oars in his hands and pushes the blades through the water to propel them backward.

After a few moments of looking around, Amanda speaks. “I love this place. Everything is so calm and peaceful, far from the noise of the world.”

She turns to Connor. “Tell me, what have you discovered?”

“I found two deviants at the Eden Club.” Connor looks away, then back to Amanda, then away again, like a nervous dog. He wrings his hands in his lap. He’s not sure why he feels the need to. “I hoped to learn something, but… they managed to escape.”

“That’s too bad.” Amanda’s voice is laced with overly-obvious sympathy. “You seemed so close to stopping them.”

Connor takes the looms of the oars and pushes the blades through the water again instead of responding. Again, there’s that voice (yours – he’s sure it’s your voice) in between his lines of code that tells him to snap at her, to tell her to stop with her fake worry and honeyed words. 

“You seem… lost, Connor,” Amanda says. “Lost, and perturbed.”

Connor’s lips draw into a thin line. “I thought I knew what I had to do. But now I realize it’s not that simple.”

“You had your gun trained on those deviants at the Eden Club. The Officer even told you to grab the Lieutenant’s gun,” Amanda says. “Why didn’t you shoot?”

Connor looks down at where his hands rest in his lap. “I don’t know.” A deep pang of something shoots through his systems, and his eyes snap up to meet Amanda’s. “I don’t know.”

“If your investigation doesn’t make progress soon, I may have to replace you, Connor,” Amanda says, her tone cold and even.

“I understand,” Connor says softly. He can feel something within him twitch – an instability he’s confident will correct itself as time goes on.

The twitch pulls him to look to his left. In the surrounding trees, just barely on the treeline, is a little sapling Connor knows wasn’t there before. It’s silvery and wispy, and can’t be more than a foot in height. But trees shouldn’t be that color. And saplings are supposed to be covered in leaves because of their need to absorb as much sunlight as possible. This one is bare.

“Is something amiss, Connor?” Amanda asks.

“No,” Connor lies. He turns back to Amanda. “Just thinking. That’s all.”

Suddenly, a clap of thunder rolls across the sky even though the clouds above are thin and an orangey color. Amanda looks upwards, as does Connor.

“Something’s happening. Something serious.” Her eyes return to Connor. “Hurry, Connor. Time is running out.”

Your eyes snap open as you gasp, inhaling lumino-polymer. It floods into your lungs, causing the warm and pleasant feeling that comes with having another living being invade your system.

It doesn’t shock you that you’re here again – in your memories. Your mind loves putting you back in the Vavilov Complex, a place you frequented in your youth when you were able to feel solid ground beneath your feet. (Or, rather, above your head, as most of the complex is underground.)

The lumino-polymer that surrounds you is kept in a transitional state: a diffusion-sensitive, anaerobic-bacteria-friendly, translucent, and gluey liquid. The bacteria is suspended around you in little specks of glowing blue. 

You’re not sure which way is up, but you kick your feet to propel yourself towards the light. After a few moments, you break the surface and haul yourself out of the pool, settling on your knees by the edge. Lumino-polymer sloughs off you like you’re a shedding reptile – in one gross, voluminous heap that quickly settles back into the pool.

You put a hand on your chest and take a deep breath. Now, there’s nothing in your lungs but air. But memories and minds work in weird and inconsistent ways, right? So that’s to be somewhat expected.

Yet when you look up, the one thing that’s always consistent is still consistent – the PEC-4 Birchtree is still there. The symbol of the Vavilov Complex and the capstone of its research efforts stands tall in her five meter-diameter by ten meter-tall cylindrical capsule. 

She’s not the typical birch you’d usually think about. Her trunk is thin and silvery, and her leafless branches resemble a wispy mycelium complex rather than sturdy wood. They hang down, almost like weird, sinewy versions of the leaves of a weeping willow. She���s more angel than tree.

You look down and find a metal pail by your feet. It’s already been filled with lumino-polymer. You pick it up and start walking up the stairs. 

When you reach the top, the PEC-4 Birchtree is staring down at you without eyes. Her branches wave despite the lack of a wind to move them. You kneel before the capsule and press on the fuel inlet. As soon as it opens with a soft click, you pour the lumino-polymer in.

When it settles in her soil, the PEC-4 Birchtree almost seems to inhale inside her capsule. Her branches relax soon after.

“Что мне делать?” You ask softly. You look down at where your hands rest in your lap. “Я чувствую себя… потерянно. Действительно потерянно.”

Look at where you are, my child, she responds from within your mind. She doesn’t speak in English or Russian or any other human language – she sounds like the electrical impulses from within your own brain. You’ve escaped from situations more dangerous than this. Remember where you came from. Remember your parents and the reactors they worked in and Chelomey as a whole.

“Я знаю, но…” You bring a hand to your face, then look up at her. Your voice is quiet and quivering when you speak. “Мне страшно.”

You don’t need to be, she says. You can always rely on yourself. Memorize the cards in your hand. Know when to play them. Stack the deck if you need to. Real life plays dirty.

“Да… да, вы правы.” You stand and put a hand on the plexiglass of her capsule. “Спасибо.”

You start to turn to walk away, but are stopped by the PEC-4 Birchtree’s voice permeating your mind again. 

Please be careful, she says. They need you. Both of them. You can keep them on this Earth. Be vigilant. I love you. 

“Да, мэм,” you say softly. “Я тоже вас люблю. Спокойной ночи.”

You zone back in and register your surroundings. You’re in the android autopsy room. Your autopsy table is empty.

Your tongue darts out to wet your lips, then you breathe in deeply. No lumino-polymer in your lungs. Just air. No PEC-4 Birchtree here. Just you. 

A knock sounds at the door. You glance at the clock – it’s just past 6:30 in the morning. You stand and open the door.

Connor stands there, his blazer now clean. “Hello, Officer. I assume an adequate amount of time has passed for you to process the events of yesterday evening and early this morning?”

You step to the side, allowing Connor in. “Khm, yeah. I guess.”

Connor steps through and the door closes automatically behind him. He moves over and sits in the chair he was sitting in yesterday while you hop up on your autopsy table. (Internally, this only solidifies that chair as ‘Connor’s chair’ in your mind.)

“Why did you come here?” You ask. “I don’t really feel like reviewing case details right now.”

“I just came to talk, Officer,” Connor says. 

You pull your legs up onto the table and cross them. “You talk an awful lot. And about personal things, too.”

“I suppose I do.” He looks down at the ground, then back up at you. “When I was in the car, you were talking to Hank. What were you talking about?”

You sigh and your eyes fall to the floor. “His drinking problem. How he gets when he drinks. His suicidal tendencies. How I can’t spend a second without worrying about him.”

“Are you coping well?” Connor asks.

“Of course not.” You let out a humorless laugh. “I went back to my apartment, but I just… couldn’t sleep. So I came here.” You gesture vaguely around the room. “Work is a constant in my life. I like filing reports and organizing data and everything that comes with it. But recently… it’s gotten turbulent.”

Your jaw clenches. “And with everything that’s going on? All the deviants? They’ll find one way or another to pin it on the Soviets. Something like a breaking news article about how a spy put a bug in an American android’s code to cause them to deviate, and it spread.”

“You won’t be able to work on the case without a good coping mechanism,” Connor says. “I suggest you find one.”

You exhale sharply and look at him. He’s leaning forward with his hands folded together and his elbows on his knees.

“You sound like Chariton Zakharov,” you say, a smile creeping onto your face. “Well, kind of. Like the way he cared about science more than the wellbeing of his employees.”

Connor’s LED flickers for a moment. “The Head of the Neurobiology Department at the Pavlov Complex of Facility 3826?”

“Yeah, that one,” you say. You don’t have to ask him if he had to look up that information this time, because you know he did – nobody would know that off the top of their head. “I remember the letter he wrote to himself that Dmitry Sechenov found after he died. The one about how man himself isn’t corrupt, but his body.”

“I haven’t read that letter,” Connor says. “And I can’t find that information in my database.”

You hop off the table and start to rifle through the drawers of your desks. “Hold on. I have something here somewhere…”

“You have a lot of personal effects in the autopsy room, Officer,” Connor says. “May I ask why?”

“It’s basically my office,” you say. “I have an actual desk, but I’m rarely there.”

You open another drawer and find the book you were looking for: The Life, Death, Neuropolymer-Induced Transformation, and Secondary Death of Chariton Radeonovich Zakharov. “Aha! Here it is.”

You put the book on the table and flick through the many worn, scribbled-on sticky notes jutting out of the side. When you find the one you’re looking for, you open the book to the pages you stuck it on. The text is in Russian, but you translate it as you read aloud. “Okay, here. The letter reads:

“Vice is a physiological property. In the magnum opus of “opium for the people,” the Bible, this is well shown, if allegorically. Man has become depraved not by tasting the mystic fruit, but by becoming aware of himself. The body dictates our depravity. 

“We want to multiply, so there are rapists and perverts. If we want to eat, we steal money and food. We want to be pleased, and now we surround ourselves with stupid luxury. It is not man himself who is corrupt, but his limited, primitive shell, which needs food, sex, drugs, and care. 

“The radiance of pure reason, and it alone, can illuminate the path of humanity. Because a human being is not a body. It’s a way of thinking.”

You look up and close the book. “Do you agree with Zakharov?”

“Agree with him on what?” Connor asks. 

“That being human is not about having a human body, but thinking in the way a human does,” you say, then look away. “Actually, I guess that’s a redundant question. Because I’m asking you if you think deviants should exist.”

You meet Connor’s eyes again. “And you’ve been programmed to… exterminate them. Right?”

“Not exterminate,” Connor corrects. “I’ve been programmed to find the cause of deviancy and to help find a way to prevent it.”

“But you’re still a hunter,” you say. “And they’re your prey. No?”

Connor blinks. Once, twice. His LED flickers yellow and barely dips into red before turning back to yellow. “Yes. I am.”

“So you’re a regular Viktor Petrov.” You lean your hip against the table. “Not the Ukrainian one, but the Russian one. A man widely-regarded as a class traitor who’s just working for what he perceives as the greater good.”

“I’m not a man,” Connor says. “I’m just a machine.”

Your face falls and your stare hardens. “No, you’re not. I’m not saying that you’re not a machine – I’m saying that you’re not just a machine. You said it yourself. You can be whatever Hank and I want you to be. We’re Dmitry Sechenov, and you’re Major Sergey Nechayev.”

“How so?” Connor shifts in his seat. He can’t be that stupid – he knows exactly how.

“Nechayev devoted his life to the USSR. In return, he only earned isolation and numerous wounds – both physical and mental. Sechenov was the only one who treated Nechayev with basic kindness. And the Major folded like a cheap deck of cards.” You lean towards him with a hand braced on the table. “Sechenov took him in and molded him into his perfect pet soldier. All because Nechayev, in his vulnerable state, let himself be molded. Just like how you are.”

“I am not being molded,” Connor says. “I am an RK800 – a machine with a mission. I may have secondary missions, but tracking down deviants has always been my number one priority.”

“But you are,” you say. “You’re changing, whether you like it or not. Connor, when you were in my apartment… you laughed. Androids don’t laugh. Only deviants do.”

Connor stands, and you’re reminded of just how intimidating he can be. He moves over so that he’s standing just a yard away from you. (A faint flicker in your mind tells you that if he shot you right now, it’d be considered point blank. But you quickly dismiss it. Connor wouldn’t do that. Not to you. Right?)

“I laughed because I was mirroring the environment you created,” Connor says. “I was designed to work alongside humans. Humans mirror and are mirrored. I was just following my programming.”

You stand up straight and set your jaw as you look him in the eye. You’re searching for any kind of emotion, anything that looks like how Connor looked when he was with Bronislava. But no. There’s nothing. His eyes look dead – like prosthetics that can move.

“You don’t laugh when you’re with Hank,” you say softly. “Even when it’s an intimate environment, like the one in my apartment. He’s a riot. Why don’t you laugh?”

“It’s like you said,” Connor says. “Androids don’t laugh. Only deviants do. I know what I am, and what I am not. And I am not a deviant.”

“Leave.” You step back, turning to your autopsy table. You reach out and grab the book, then trace the embossed lettering with your thumb. 

You glance over your shoulder. Connor’s still standing there, just like early this morning by the Detroit River. 

“What’re you waiting for?” You grind out. You nod towards the exit. “There’s the door. As if you need to be told where it is!”

Connor’s jaw tenses, and he looks like he’s about to speak, but stays silent. 

“You’re disobeying a human.” You turn away from him and look forward. “You know that, right?”

“I’m allowed to disobey orders if they contradict my mission statement,” Connor says. “If I’ve been given contradicting instructions, I opt to execute whichever has highest priority.”

“You’re not a regular android,” you say softly. 

“Of course not,” he says. “I’m a prototype.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” You turn to look at him. “You’re…”

You look up into Connor’s eyes again. They’re still dead pieces of plastic. No emotions. No mirror of your own. 

“You need to leave.”

“Officer –”

“Leave!” You bark. “Сейчас!”

Connor steps back. He almost looks… hurt. But you know better. You were taught better, by Connor himself. 

He turns and leaves. The door shuts behind him. You move over and sit in Connor’s chair, then let out a shaky sigh. You draw your legs up to your chest and curl in on yourself. 

“Боже, почему же всё так сложно…?”

[birdstudies]

July 26, 2024 - Orange Ground-Thrush (Geokichla gurneyi) Found in a spotty range in parts of eastern and southern Africa, these thrushes live in mountain forests. They eat invertebrates, especially earthworms, as well as small amphibians, berries, seeds, and fruit, sometimes following ant swarms or mole-rats to capture fleeing insects. They build bulky cup-shaped nests from twigs, roots, leaves, fern fronds, and moss in saplings, stumps, vines, tree-ferns, bushes, or banks. Females lay clutches of one to three eggs.

[justathingfromthebrainvoid]

Wild Life Episode 2 Items and their corresponding effects (to the best of my knowledge, there are definitely errors and missing bits): (under the read more because there was a lot)

Original: Sugar Cane- Jump Boost, Cobble- Nausea, Dirt-Levitation, Seeds- Water Breathing, Pointed Dripstone& Dripstone Block- .5 Food, Diorite- Night Vision 3, Stone Shovel- 3 Food, Copper Ingot- Absorption 5, Diamond- Infested 2, Cobble Deepslate- Jump Boost 2, Raw Iron- .5 Food, Pale Moss- 1 Food, Gravel- Speed 2, Granite- Weakness, Andesite- Nausea, Polished Deepslate- 2 Food, Grass Block- Portal Sound, Short Grass- .5 Food, Stone Hoe- ? Food, Dandelion- Health Boost 5, Cornflower- Levitation 3, Seagrass- ? Food, Allium- Health Boost 4, Redstone Dust- .5 Food, Redstone Torch- 3.5 Food, Tuff- Health Boost 4, Lapis- 1.5 Food, Obsidion- 3+ Food, Wooden Shovel- Haste 4, Torch- Infestation, Ladder- Hero of the Village, Sugar- Darkness 5, Paper- Infested 2, Stone Axe- Blindness 3, Skulk Vein- 2.5 Food, Oak Planks- Mining Fatigue 5, Crafting Table- Blindness 4, Birch Slab- Glowing 2, Polished Deepslate- 2 Food, Stone Bricks- Oozing, Yellow Dye- Elder Gaurdian Sound, Light Grey Dye- .5 Food, Sunflower- Infestation 4, Bonemeal- Poison, Oak Log- Ivisibility 4, Clay Ball- Night Vision, Calcite- .5 Food, Smooth Basalt- Poison 2, Pink Peatles- Wind Charged, White Tulip- Regen 5, Rose Bush- Wind Charged 5, Liliac- Water Breathing 4, Oxeye Daisy- Oozing 4, Wheat- Darkness 3, Sand- Levitation, Arrows- 2 Food, Blue Dye- Night Vision, Cobblestone Wall- Jump Boost, Pumpkin Seeds- Levitation, Bone- Nausea 4, Stick- Blindness 5, Iron Axe- Resitance 5, Gunpowder- 1 Food, Orange Tulip- Hero of the Village, Red Tulip- Instant Health 4, White Tulip- Regen 5, Stone Pickaxe- 2.5 Food, Gold Ingot- Oozing, Clock- Condiut Power 3, Name Tag- .5 Food, Skulk Viens- 2.5 Food, Red Dye- 3.5 Food, White Dye- ? Food, Iron Nugget- .5 Food, Bamboo- Resistance, Campfire- Night Vision 3, Light Blue Dye- Jump Boost, Polished Deepslate Wall- .5 Food, Scaffolding- 2.5 Food, Stone PIckaxe- Silverfish Sound Effect, Torch- Infestation, Feather- Glowing 5, Amathyest Block- 4 Food, Coal- Wind Charged 5, Raw Gold- Slow Falling 5, Pale Moss Carpet- .5 Food

After 1st Randomization: Pointed Dripstone- 3 Food, Short Grass: 2.5 Food, Oak Sapling- Strength 5, Peony- Speed, Polished Deepslate- Infestation 4, Cobble Deepslate- Water Breathing 4, Tuff- Invisibility 3, Torches- Weaving 4, Redstone Torches- .5 Food, Cobblestone- Slow Falling 2, Iron Chestplate- ? Food, Chisled Deepslate- Slowness, Deepslate Brick Wall- Night Vision, Cobble Deepslate Stair- Infestation, Cobble Deepslate Wall- Mining Fatigue, Deeplate Brick Slab- Night Vision, Deepslate Brick Stair- Mining Fatigue, Deepsltae Wall- ? Food, Polished Deepslate Stair- ? Food, Polished Deepslate Slab- ? Food, Lily of the Vally- Streangth, Pale Oak Leaves- Haste, Lilac- Glowing, Seeds- Darkness 3, Dark Oak Leaves- "Spooky" Sound Effect, Pink Peatls- Health Boost 3, Oak Planks- Posion 2, Birch Slab- Health Boost 3, Sticks- Wind Charged 2, Pink Peatl- Health Boost 3, Seeds- Darkness 3, Ladders- Infestation 4, Bowl- Slowness 5, Obsidion- Streangth 4, Stone Shovel- .5 Food, Pink Dye- .5 Food, Birch Leaves- 2 Food, Grass Block- .5 Food, Azure Bluet- Levitation, Dripstone Block- 2 Food, Amathyst Block- .5 Food, Oak Planks- Poison, Ink Sack- Blindness, Redstone Dust- Weaving 3, String- Poison, Lapis- .5 Food, Diamond- .5 Food, Iron Ingot- 1.5 Food, Cherry Sapling- Piglin Noise, Stone Hoe- Infestation 2, Wooden Shovel- 2.5 Food, Dirt- Blindness, Gold Boots- End Opening Sound, Crafting Table- Health Boost 3, Stone Pickaxe- Levitation, Rose Bush- Nausea 3, Raw Gold- 3.5 Food, Raw Copper- 2 Food, Birch Sign- Water Breathing, Gunpowder- .5 Food, Dirt- Blindness, Scafolding- .5 Food, Deepslate Bricks- Jump Boost, Barrels- 2.5+ Food, Arrow- .5 Food, Spruce Planks- Dolphin's Grace 5, Spruce Lop- Glowing 5, Gravel- .5+ Food, Wheat- Oozing 2, Dandelion- Night Vision 4, Clay Ball- Slow Falling, Pale Moss Carpet- Portal Sound

After 2nd Randomization: Seed- Jump Boost 5, Short Grass- Weaving, Dripstone- 1 Food, Chisled Deepslate- 3+ Food, Pointed Dripstone- ? Food, Coal- Regen 5, Raw Copper- 1 Food, Tuff- Hero of the Village, Cobblestone- Water Breathing 2, Pale Oak Leaves- .5 Food, Copper Ingot- Levitation 4, Pale Hanging Moss- ? Food, Stone Bricks- Condiut Power 5, Cobblestone Wall- Invisibility 3, Amathyst Shard- 2.5 Food, Dirt- Slow Falling 4, Birch Leaves- Ender Dragon Death Sound, Pale Moss Block- .5 Food, Stone Brick Wall- Oozing 3, Oak Log- Weaving 5, Dripstone Block- 1 Food, Cherry Leaves- 3 Food, Red Dye- .5 Food, Azure Bluet- Condiut Power 5, Light Grey Dye- 3 Food, Redstone Dust- Dolphin's Grace 5, Oak Sapling- .5 Food, Peony- Slowness 4, Pink Peatles- Streangth 2, Amathyst Block- Sheep Sound, Stripped Cherry Wood- Dolphin's Grace, Music Disk- .5 Food, Flint- ? Food, Gunpowder- 2.5 Food, Glow Lichen- Mining Fatiuge 2, Chest- Dolphin's Grace, Cobblestone Stairs- Regen 3, Spruce Leaves- .5 Food, Oak Sapling- .5 Food, Flower (Red Tulip?)- Blindness, Spruce Log- Water Breathing 5, Granite- Invisibility, Polished Deepslate- 2.5 Food, Raw Copper- 1 Food, Iron Boots- Resistance 4, Iron Pants- Instant Health 2, Iron Chestplate- 1+ Food, Gravel- .5 Food, Stone Shovels- .5 Food, Magenta Dye- Wither Sound Effect, Peony- Slowness 4, Bonemeal- Darkness 2, Sugar Cane- Night Vision, Dandelion- Poison, Clay Ball- Wololo Sound, Red Mushroom- Blindness 3

After 3th Randomization: Cobble Deepslate- 1 Food, Redstone Torch- ?? (Bad), Chisled Deepslate- Weaving, Cobblestone- Health Boost 4, Cobble Deepslate Slab- .5 Food, Raw Copper- 1 Food, Tuff- Weaving 4, Pale Oak Leaves- Fire Prot 4, Short Grass- .5 Food, Redstone Dust- Jump Boost 4, Sticks- Speed 3, Dirt- Posion 2, Torches- Weaving, Cobble Deepslate Stair- Conduit Power, Diorite- Infestation 4, Diamond Helmet- Anvil Sound, Iron Pants- ??, Pale Hanging Moss- Sound Effect, Iron Sword- Slow Falling, Dripstone Block- Posion 2, Stone- Slowness, Raw Iron- 4 Food, Peony- Regen 5, Clay Ball- 2.5 Food, Seeds- Levitation 2, Wheat- Night Vision, Pale Moss Block- End Open Sound, Stone- Slowness 3, Cobblestone Slab- Mining Fatigue 2, Pointed Dripstone- 2.5 Food, Birch Planks- Levitation ?, Copper Ingot- 1.5 Food, Polished Deepslate- ? Food, Sprunce Log- Jump Boost, Sugar Cane- Weakness 4, Lapis- Sound Effect, Blue Dye- Hero of the Village, String- Mining Fatigue 5, Arrow- 2.5 Food, Cobblestone Stair- Glowing, Scafolding- 4 Food, Bamboo Planks- ? Poison, Pink Petles- Haste, Amathyset Block- Dragon Sound, Birch Leaves- Poison 2, Spruce Leaves- 2.5 Food, Cobblestone Stair- Glowing 4, Arrows- 2.5 Food, Stone Sword- 1.5 Food, Pale Moss Block- End Open Sound, Birch Sapling- .5 Food, Polished Granite- .5 Food, Polished Granite Slab- Nothing??, Polished Diorite Slab- Firework Sound Effect, Sugar- Slow Falling, Red Tulip- Instant Health, Magma Block- Haste 4, Bonemeal- Health Boost 3, Pale Oak Slab- Hero of the Villiage 3, Gold Ingot- 2.5, Red Mushroom- Resistance 5, Gunpowder- 2+ Food

After 4th Randomization: Gravel- .5 Food, Short Grass- Abosrption 5, Cobble Deepslate- 4 Food, Clay Ball- .5 Food, Clay Block- 4.5 Food, Diorite- Health 2, Sugar- Resistance 4, Cobblestone Slab- Levitation 5, Dirt- Jump Boost 5, Torch- Night Vision 5, Cherry Planks- Water Breathing, Wooden Shovel- Nausea 4, Cobblestone- Resstaince 3, Stone- Weaving 3, Dripstone Block- ? Food, Pale Oak Planks- Invisibility, Bowls- 2 Food, Peony- Dolphin's Grace, Redstone Torch- Minecart Noise, Sand- Wind Charged 5, Polished Diorite- Darkness, Birch Leaves- 1 Food, Copper- Bell Sound, Pale Moss Block- .5 Food

[marlynnofmany]

The Ability to Smell Beauty

“Do you smell that?” Paint asked, flicking her tongue out to taste the air, just like the orange-scaled lizard she resembled. “That is LOVELY. Where is it?”

I looked around the forest-lined landing pad. All sorts of plants that I’d never seen before waved on the breeze: tree-things shaped like willows that someone had coated in enough hairspray to make them stand on end, bush-things with leaves that snapped at flies, moss and mushrooms and lumps that could have been frogs or seedpods, or maybe oddly-shaped rocks.

“I have no idea,” I told Paint honestly.

“Help me find it,” she said, striding away from the ship with her shoulder bag held tight and determination on her scaly face.

I glanced back at the captain and several others, who were passing time with an alien card game. The person who was supposed to have delivered our next shipment was late. Nothing else to do but hang around and try not to be bored.

“We’re going to look around a little,” I called, walking after Paint. “We won’t go far.”

Captain Sunlight nodded, her own scaly yellow face focused on the cards. “Scream if you need anything.” Then she triumphantly played a card that made Mur flail his tentacles in aggravation.

I said that I would, and followed my shorter crewmate as she waded into the undergrowth with her tongue flicking madly.

“So what exact smell are we looking for?” I asked, wondering if that was the right word. “Smelling for?”

“It’s kind of sharp, but in a good way,” Paint told me distractedly. “Sharp like a good kitchen knife, like string music, like a poignant memory.”

“Right,” I said, taking an experimental sniff. Everything smelled like alien plants, and not like violins or whatever. “Hm.”

“I think it’s this way. Low to the ground.” Paint scrambled under bushes, getting her bag caught on one of the flytrap mouths.

“Do you want me to carry that?” I asked.

“Yes please.” She held it up, still under the bush. Flytraps slapped at both of us, but weren’t strong enough to do any damage, even to my soft human skin. Paint probably didn’t even notice through her scales.

I shouldered the bag that held Paint’s sketchbook or novel or entertainment screen; whatever she’d brought out for waiting in the sun. I’d been about to go back in for something similar when she’d hared off on this quest.

“Over here!” Paint said, sounding more sure. She rustled out the other side of the bush and made delighted noises. When I made my way around the shrubbery, I found her at the base of a large boulder, gathering walnut-looking things into a greedy pile.

“Is that it?” I asked.

“Yes! Smell one!” Paint thrust one toward me.

I took it and sniffed. Not bad. Kind of like cloves, that sort of spicy sharpness that just felt festive. “Huh. Pretty good.”

“Isn’t it amazing?” Paint asked, holding up a double handful and taking an open-mouthed whiff. “Gimme the bag back; I’m taking these with me.”

“Are you sure they’re safe?” I asked as I handed it over. “Do you know what kind of plant they are?”

“Yeah, it’s that one from the store on the beach back home,” Paint said, shoveling eagerly. “The good one I could never find again. I forget the name. Sunlight will know.”

“All right,” I agreed. They really didn’t smell that special to me. It would be interesting to see if Captain Sunlight also treated the things like lizard-alien catnip, or if this was just something that Paint liked. A lot.

When she’d gathered everything on the ground — a few good handfuls — she looked around for more. I spotted one growing from the spindly sapling that poked out of a crack in the boulder, and Paint happily added it to the rest.

“I wonder if there are any other bushes like that,” she said, standing with the bag and studying the trees.

“We shouldn’t go far,” I reminded her. “Gotta stay in screaming range.”

“Sure, sure,” Paint said. “Just a quick look over this way. I think those plants grow near the beach, and I hear waves.”

Remembering Kavlae’s description of the landing pad as being “within dancing distance of the sea,” I put more attention toward the ambient sounds. That wasn’t all windblown foliage after all.

Paint was already disappearing into more bushes, so I hurried after, not wanting to lose track of her. “Slow down! I’m sure they’re not going anywhere.”

“Yes, but they’re so beautiful!” she said from somewhere ahead. “There are whole worlds in that smell. Don’t you think so?”

“It’s okay, I guess.”

“Okay?? It’s gorgeous! I want to decorate my room with them, and smell these every day! You really don’t think it’s that big a deal?” Paint sounded insulted.

“I think my nose just works a little differently from yours,” I said gently. “I’m sure they’re very nice.”

Paint huffed, pushing through the leaves harder and muttering something uncomplimentary about a nose that couldn’t smell beauty.

I had to laugh. “There are plenty of good smells out there,” I said. “And I don’t need my nose for beauty; I have my eyes for that.”

“Really,” Paint grumbled. “If you can’t appreciate this, then forgive my doubts.” She was still grumping about loveliness and the ability to sense it when she shoved through the last of the bushes. “Well, there’s the beach,” she said. “No trees, crackle it. Let’s go back.”

I ducked under a leafy branch to join her just as she turned to go. The view stopped me in my tracks.

Blue waves crashed against a beach made of glittering gemstones, sprawling as far as the eye could see in either direction. Every color under the sun, fist-sized and head-sized and a fine shimmering sand, washed bright by the waves. I could swear that native birds somewhere were singing a dramatic crescendo of a symphony, though maybe that was just in my head.

“Paint,” I said, not moving. “Can I borrow your bag? I’ll carry it back for you.”

~~~

Further adventures in backstory for this book. More to come!

[leapdayowo]

Redstone and Skulk OC time :3

Thought I’d turn my persona into a rns oc and give them a helsmet :3 I basically looked at my play style in Minecraft and took a few things from my own life and combined them to create these two! Short version about them below and a little story of their origins under that:

short version:

-Leapday_art (short version Leapday, she/he/they, the player) is afraid of losing important things in their life. He is very cautious about doing anything that could result in him dying and loosing everything in his inventory (sleeps through the night everytime to avoid monsters, barely visits the nether, strip mines, etc) +the cats next to Leapday are two of my darling kitties who unfortunately passed away irl, their names are Toby (left) and Toes (right)

-Nightfall_collections (short version Nightfall, all pronouns, the helsmet) was created from Leapday’s extreme fear of losing valuables and her grief from having lost valuables too many times. Xyr driving goal is to collect and preserve everything that xe can and to make sure there is always at least one copy

-other things about Nightfall: she is a magma cube hybrid while Leapday is a ??? hybrid player (if you read the story below this may make more sense👀). Nightfall can split into smaller duplicates which allows them to be in more places at once and thus more productive in their goal. She uses her goop-like body to write reminders on her clothes, then re-absorbs the goop later

-I think Nightfall would find himself as an organizer between lots of different parties/people in Hels due to being so dedicated to his goal + only being dedicated to this goal (his alignment is probably chaotic good because he’s loyal to his own goals and not to other people or outside rules. He does not take bribes or backstab). Also, Nightfall does not need to have possession of everything, but xe is trying to keep tabs on where everything that exist is at(this makes xem the go-to person for trying to obtain something in particular)

-I think Nightfall would become a sponsor (if that’s the right word?) for the Order of Remembrance because she greatly admires the work they do to preserve Hels’ history. She would also love Zedaph’s hall of all and definitely tries to work with private collectors to protect (and document/track) what they have (and she will keep what she knows a secret if it means protecting valuable things)

-Nightfall does not care about thieves unless they steal one of a kind things

-the doodles below were my earlier concepts, so Nightfall has green eyes before I realized it’s much more fitting for xem to have orange eyes

okay, okay, story time (because I realized the ‘short’ version was getting very extensive):

Maybe it had started in the very first world she spawned in. A brilliant blue sky that stretched over jagged, looming cliffs with forests scattered underneath. Trickling waterfalls and bubbling lava pits here and there. The natural beauty of the world left Leapday in awe and eager to explore what other wonders lay beyond the horizon.

It must have started with the first tree she broke, a squat little oak, one of hundreds in the forest. When the leaves of that little oak had all fallen, saplings littered the grassy floor. She should’ve been excited, feel triumphant even by taking down the tree, after all it’s how the journey had to start. Except, all that Leapday could see was the awkward gap in the canopy from the absence of the little oak. It felt like an itch unscratched, nagging and uncomfortable. Well that wouldn’t do.

They scooped up all the saplings littering the floor and planted one in the same dirt plot the little oak was uprooted from. Then they planted a few more just for good measure. The unease lingered, but planting the saplings felt good. It felt right. Now their adventure could truly begin!

——

In this world, Leapday’s only companions were the pigs and sheep that he passed on his journey, though he would argue, if there were someone to argue with, that the world itself brought him company enough. That the days and nights passing was a conversation between the universe and Leapday, and thus a consistent companion. And what gifts did the universe provide for him to find! Rushing rivers that fed into powerful oceans, plenty of trees to sleep in and collect, and mountains to climb with the best views of the sunset. Never a dull moment for him as there was always something new to experience and see.

However, despite all its gifts, the universe was slow to explain the finer mechanics of the world, such as health to Leapday. A week of traversing through thick forests and steep cliffs left them battered and bruised. They learned how to gauge the distance of a drop and how to place blocks to minimize the pain in their ankles from falls. A similar pain gnawed from the inside of their stomach, which they discovered was briefly satiated by devouring the apples that fell from the trees.

During one climb up a particularly harrowing cliff, Leapday learned about the unforgiving weight of sand by placing it under her feet in order to reach the next ledge. The block had crumbled in a near instant, sending her plummeting towards the ground. Instead of hitting the hard rocks below, she splashed into a stream from a nearby waterfall. When she had dragged herself onto land and her heart had steadied to a more familiar pace, she let out a fit of bewildered laughter that overwhelmed the panic from moments ago. She knew falls much shorter than this one could take days to recover from, so what kind of pain would she be in if she hadn’t gotten lucky and fallen in the stream? Something cold ran through her and sank to the pit of her stomach. Dread of what could have been, what could still be if she wasn’t more careful. She resolved to never find out what would happen. How unfortunate that her next fall would be into a pit of lava, the very one she had been camping at throughout the nights.

He was being careful, more so than he had been for the first week in this world anyways. That didn’t seem to matter because he had still slipped when placing the block before him and fallen. It was his first respawn, and it introduced him to a few new things like a punch to the face. The first revelation was the agony of burning to death, and death itself. He curled into himself, crying at the phantom feeling of the lava eating at his flesh. The intense heat and how the lava had trapped him in place and burned. It was a twisted version of the warmth of the sun, which was shining down on him and in comparison felt as cool as the air in caves. The second realization came slowly as the memory of fire ebbed. Their knuckles no longer popped and their joints no longer ached. The tightness in their muscles had vanished, leaving softer tissue on the bone and the emptiness in their stomach no longer hurt. They felt new and full of energy, ready to begin their journey again. How strange they had forgotten what this felt like. White scars from their oldest injuries and freckles from sun touched skin still littered their body. They had died, but now were in perfect health again. Leapday took in her surroundings, her face lighting up with delight at the sight of a familiar oak tree. It had grown into quite the study tree since the start of her adventure. Soon after her reunion, Leapday discovered her now empty inventory when she reached for blocks to place in order to climb the canopy. The absence of stacks of logs, dirt, and sand had her racing towards the lava pit before her mind could catch up. Panic pushed her feet to run faster and dodge every obstacle. She ignored nicks from branches in her way and the sting of sharp rocks on her bare feet. The timer was ticking down. Her items would be gone- she just had to- if she wasn’t fast enough-

She burst through the tree line and was greeted by the familiar heavy heat of the lava pit. The sight of it made her recoil out of fear of falling back in even from many blocks away. On shaky legs, she circled the perimeter and searched for her items. The timer was still ticking, but they were nowhere to be seen! She crept as close as she dared to the lava and swept her eyes across the surface of the pool. Then she darted into the surrounding trees looking high and low.

Nothing.

No logs. No saplings or dirt or anything!

This was their third lesson. You lose items after death, and lava destroys those items.

Don’t die, especially not in lava, and don’t lose your items.

Now they had to start over, and this time not dying proved to be harder than expected. More falls and similar accidents happened. Zombies began appearing, persistent in their pursuit of Leapday’s flesh. Then skeletons, creepers, and spiders appeared and introduced many more ways one could die. The pain from the deaths hurt, but they became mundane as weeks turned to months. Loosing items became more painful and frightening when Leapday discovered crafting. More time and resources were needed to start over after dying with crafted items, so they took to the world underground. They followed their instinct to craft pickaxes and torches, to chip away at the stone in search of more sturdy materials. They crafted their first stone pickaxe and found it to be superior to the wooden one.

Maybe it truly started with that wooden pickaxe. When she crafted the stone tools, the wooden pickaxe sat in her hotbar, still good for half a day’s work but now obsolete. It had served her well to progress her journey, a necessary step, but it felt wrong to simply set it aside. It felt like the gap in the canopy all over again, but she very well couldn’t plant the pickaxe in the ground and solve her unease. Not sure what else to do, she attached it to her hip and went on with her day. She wouldn’t destroy it or toss it, she would simply carry it with her until she found what she needed to do with it next. It became her new companion (it was her first crafted tool. It was the first and therefore the only one that would ever exist).

Now equipped with wood and stone blocks, Leapday built their base over their mine. The wooden pickaxe found its place over the doorway leading outside, marking the build as their home. It felt right, so they continued their expansions. Farms were planted along a nearby river and fences placed to corral cows and sheep. Torches were the one item they were generous with. They were thrown across their property liberally since their light would deter creepers spawning too close for comfort.

During a thunderstorm that had picked up abruptly one morning, Leapday poked around at their communicator. It was a lightweight device that had been attached to their forearm since first spawning into the world and never disappeared after dying. After lots of fiddling with the different menus and buttons on the screen, they came across YouCraft. It was an archive of videos made by other players scattered across the universe, documenting their own worlds and progress! With the storm still crashing down around Leapday’s base, they curled up in bed and began watching the first video that caught their eye. It turned out that he had lots more to learn about the universe! After waiting out the storm, and then the night, by watching these videos, he learned about other biomes and blocks still left to discover as well as potions, enchanting, and other dimensions! A dragon was where this journey led for most players, though some took their time getting to it. Above all, he realized he needed diamonds. Diamonds were what every player sought due to their strength, but they were rare and dangerous to collect being so deep underground. They were needed to further Leapday’s journey however, so collecting them became his top goal. Quickly he learned how impossible achieving this goal would be. Well, it seemed impossible after spending days underground chipping at the cold stone and coming up empty. Strange echoes rang through the tunnels and more than a few times paranoia of something (or someone. He had heard the legends of Herobrine) sneaking up on him was enough to make him hole up for hours. Grey, grey stone that went on for miles. Grey cobblestone trailed behind him when his inventory filled. Leapday found other minerals, but the sparkling teal of diamonds still lay buried elsewhere. He mined for so long he began to doubt that the rare mineral even generated in this world. That only grey existed. That was until he broke away the next layer of stone before him and found himself staring uncomprehending at the bits of teal poking through stone. Uncontainable joy broke through his shock like sunlight through parting storm clouds. They were real! Diamonds were real and right in front of him! Invigorated with new energy, Leapday got to work extracting the diamonds just as they had seen others do. The amount paled in comparison to the stacks other players had, but in that moment he didn’t care. It was enough to have found them and confirm they even existed in this world. That weeks of sore arms digging at indifferent stone and unsteady gravel caches falling finally amounted to their new prized possession.

By the time he arrived back at his base, the novelty of finding diamonds began to wear off. He had to admit it was a measly amount. Just barely enough for a diamond pickaxe. What good would a stronger pickaxe be with no enchantments or replacements for when it broke? It had taken so long to find just a few diamonds what were the chances of finding more? No, they wouldn’t craft anything with the rare mineral until they had enough for spares and back ups. So back to the mines they went, and excruciatingly slow they found more, and continued to reason that crafting them was a poor decision. What if an accident happened and they couldn’t get back to their stuff? If they were swallowed by a pit of lava? So much time would be spent only to be wasted. Almost like their thoughts and fears had manifested it, a freak lava incident happened not long after. Leapday had been feeling good that day, so good because their most recent mining trip had yielded 13 diamonds and another cluster just across a lava lake. As they bridged across the lake, plans of finally crafting their collection of diamonds began to form making them giddy. It was the type of giddy that made any obstacle feel like child’s play and beyond consequence. That they finally could start progressing on their journey once more. It was enough to distract Leapday from the crunch of gravel under their feet and for their pickaxe to swing off its mark into the unsteady floor. The ground gave way and sent her tumbling into the lava.

She woke up screaming in her bed. Screaming from agony of ghostly flames that ate flesh, and then from loss and frustration. It wasn’t fair! Her luck had just turned up for the best and now all of it was gone! Every plan to use the diamonds tossed out the window and into a burning pit of despair. How stupid of her to not notice the gravel! All that time for nothing! She should have called it a day and come up 13 diamonds richer with plenty of levels for enchanting. All her gear and tools and items from mineshafts would still be intact, but no. Her head was too far in the clouds and now it was gone. She hadn’t even had the foresight to mark the cave to return to, so sure of her victory. There would be no hope navigating the twisting and sprawling tunnels below, and even if she tried to go back, the sight of lava would probably be enough to make her hurl. Fat tears began dripping down her face as she cursed and wallowed. They blurred his vision, so with a few steadying breaths and a final gross sniffle, he wiped at his eyes. Then he went to swing his legs over the bed to pick up the pieces of his day and froze. On his hand, both hands actually, were thick black smudges of… of something. What was that? He reached up to his face and traced the wet tear tracks with a clean finger. It too came away covered in the strange goop. An incredulous laugh burst from him, which evolved into hysterical crying. More tears fell from his eyes and he let them. The tangled web of grief in his chest unraveling as he did so, and he felt the last of his energy drain away until-

Sunlight trickled through the curtains and roused Leapday from their sleep. Birds were chirping and the familiar sounds of the animals grazing and leaves rustling cradled their mind while the events of the previous day trickled back to them. They felt heavy and gross. Their eyes crusty and mouth dry as a desert were a sure sign of their emotional distress. Disappointment felt like stones being dropped on them when they pulled up their empty inventory. It really was all gone. They let their head flop back onto their pillow and took a steadying breath, trying to recount the reasons they should get out of bed. Maybe they would stick to the joys of the world above ground for a month or two. Take up weaving or painting. They had plenty of resources to finally build a barn and an expansion to the house. Maybe they would go with a grassy roof.

Yeah. That could be alright. With one final sigh, Leapday pushed themself up off their bed and dragged themself over to their cauldron to clean up. They could see from their reflection that only a few faint smudges remained on their face, which they gently wiped away. Crying black goop was probably not normal now that their mind was more stable to think it over. Or maybe it was normal? It had never happened before, but the players on YouCraft all had their own quirks that Lepaday lacked, so maybe it was normal for them?

It turned out the inky tears were a new normal. From that incident onward, whenever they experienced a great sense of loss the strange tears formed and sank into the ground. They appeared when Leapday lost their first wolf companion and when they accidentally deleted a creative world full of builds of an ambitious project.

Meanwhile…

in another world…

In Hels, black goop bubbled to the surface of a sea of lava. From a distance, the surface seemed its usual hungry self, shifting and popping as it patiently waited for Hels and its inhabitants to finally crumble in. The goop was not consumed by its hunger however. It stretched towards the netherrack shore like a snake in water. Once it had gathered all of itself onto more solid ground, it sat and waited for more of itself to arrive, bouncing and bubbling over the terrain in the meantime. They could only wait so long however, after all, there was much to collect and preserve and too little time to do so.

And it’s finished! Whew, I don’t typically write, so this was a lot to work on amidst all my finals projects (totally worth it tho! It was great practice). I wasn’t planning on writing so much about leapday, but then I realized the interesting potential of writing about players when they’re new to the world. If they are akin to gods, they still enter the world with a lot to learn. The goop at the end is Nightfall, who then went on to travel Hels and collect as many blocks and items as xe could before xe came across the city Evil X established. At first they were incredibly overwhelmed by the amount of stuff to preserve in the city and mostly stuck to collecting free scraps and garbage. It probably did something to gain the attention of a member of the Order of Remembrance, who taught Nightfall about their goals and a few things about how society/Hels worked. From there, Nightfall set off to establish a massive collection and documentation of anything and everything, working with people in the process but also quite an eccentric personality that can be quite a hermit when buried in paperwork (not many people are willing to do paperwork as diligently as Nightfall)

Also, YouCraft is YouTube in the Minecraft world :P I felt I needed to separate it from our version of mcyt because in this universe the characters are real and making videos about their lives rather than people playing a video game (at least that’s how I’m headcanoning it)

thank you @silverskye13 for providing some more lore about Hels and the Order of Remembrance (as well as Redstone and Skulk as a whole <3) as well as inspiring me to keep trying to improve my writing and thank you to @/yayforocs for inspiring me to finally make my own rns OCs and this post :3

[archesa]

Hawthorn

I am the first to affectionately call Canach a cactus - and it is fitting! both physically and in terms of his prickly character - BUT! Allow me to bring forth an alternative! Canach is not a cactus. He is a hawthorn.

As a sapling, Canach arboured light green bark, and white leaves / petals, his features remarkably devoid of thorns.

Come a few years and a few hardship, and there's Canach as we now know him, his bark turned dark grey and quite a few thorns marring his features.

And now for the comparison. Hawthorn.

As for how far as the comparison goes...

Hawthorns are shrubs, or small trees.

Their bark is dull brown with vertical orange cracks.

The name itself is derived from the anglo-saxon word 'haguthorn' meaning "wall of thorns". "The bramble walls were a stroke of genius. If I do say so myself."

And as for the symbolism of hawthorn, they are associated with protection and isolation, thriving in defensive, thorny hedges, and as solitary trees, with love and renewal, blooming in may, and with death.

[synthetic-witch]

You Think a Little Bit of Hard Vacuum Will Be Enough?

There’s that tree outside the window again, drifting slowly into view. Ever since the dome over the park exploded (fortunately, it was fully evacuated before the catastrophic failure occurred), the station’s picked up a sort of miniature asteroid belt of random park-related detritus. Clumps of dirt forming nano-scale planetoids, partially-deconstructed benches, bits of pipework, plants. I even saw a red and white checked picnic blanket this morning.

But that big ol’ tree is particularly iconic, ripped unceremoniously from its roots by sudden vacuum. I can’t help but feel sorry for it. It arrived when the station was newly-built as a mere sprig of a sapling. But it grew mighty and strong as the station grew around. It was nurtured by generations of horticulturalists, loved by all who stood in its shade.

And now it floats serenely past my bedroom, frozen leaves glimmering in the harsh light of space, cold and alone. No more dogs will piss against its trunk. No more children will swing from those mighty branches,  no couples will carve their names into its bark--

Hang on.

Something catches my eye. Peering closer, I notice a flash of orange and a flash of blue tangled up in those branches. There’s something in there. No, someone-- two someones, in fact; I’m seeing a pair of environment suits.

The tree rotates slowly in its orbit of the station, and as it does, the pair comes into view. They’ve secured their tethers to a branch, and their helmets are pressed together, faces close. They’re holding hands, too.

As I watch, the orange one moves over to the main trunk, a multi-tool in hand. And they begin carving a pair of names into the trunk.

Well, bugger me. I’ve never been more glad to be wrong.

[wannaeatramyeon]

Seasons of Lookism: Jake, Goo, Samuel, Gun

Meeting them during a season. G/N. x Reader. or platonic.

Spring

Jake comes to you during Spring showers. Taking shelter by your side under a canopy. Drenched and dripping, spirits as sullen as his appearance.

Then he sees you, your mood matching with his, and beams.

An introduction, a name. All accompanied with his dazzling smile.

Like the sky clearing after the downpour and the first relief of sunbeams warming your bones. When all the dirt and grime of Winter is washed away.

A fresh start.

You tell him your own name, and he tests the way it feels on his tongue. The syllables on his lips.

He gives you another smile.

A small seed planted. Waiting to shoot up as a sapling, to grow into a mighty oak.

Summer

You meet Goo in June.

At the height of the summer solstice, where the sun blazes and burns. Full power and bright to offset the figure lurking in the shadows, a mirage of nightmares clothed in exquisite fabrics and expensive brands.

Smile bright and radiant but eyes smouldering and sharp behind his glasses.

A simple "hello" from him and your senses are set alight. Feel heat rising to your cheeks and your body swathed in flames.

When his hand shakes yours, the touch, his handprint, is seared into your skin. You wonder if you can withstand the wildfire but can't bring yourself to move out of its path.

It doesn't matter anyway.

You will wait for the new life, the regrowth after the forest ignites as long as you can capture a fraction of his shine.

Autumn

Samuel arrives in a whirlwind, a thunderstorm at the peak of Autumn.

As death is on earth's doorsteps; nature once again in the midst of breakdown and decay. An everlasting cycle.

He keeps you at arms reach, a polite acknowledgement at best. Cold, aloof, unwelcoming. Serving clinical, professional greys. Words clipped and then over time-

A glimpse. A shock of vivid colours and beauty. Reds and oranges and golds. Striking shades below his carefully controlled veneer.

Mood and stability as tumultuous as the weather. Confiding in you his raw and desperate ambition. You tiptoe around his bonfire, careful not to edge too close lest you be burned.

Yet. The embers jump and catch. You let yourself be swept up into his flame. 

It’s a taste of warmth to stave off the incoming chill.

Winter

Gun comes after the first snowfall. When the world is silent, muted and hushed.

When the icy grips of Winter thins the crowds and forces people to retreat indoors, feeling like it is just you two left in the world.

He lights up his cigarette. A burst of orange and heat stinging your nostrils, chill already sharp in your throat with each inhale. Now you cough and choke at the toxicity, demanding him to take that elsewhere.

A small snort of amusement leaves his lips. The sound manifests into something tangible and the laughter, the vapours swirl in the air.

Your own breath stills at the noise.

Like venturing into unmarked snow. The crunch with each step. The first explorer. Like no-one has even been there before.

[yourfavsasdragondescriptions]

Dipper from Gravity Falls?

Here you go

Sorry for the wait btw I was suffering from writer’s block so I’m sorry if this isn’t much

Now… Let’s

This dragon looks as though it is halfway to maturing into an adult. While most of its body is reddish-orange in color, its torso and wings are a navy blue with an orange underbelly, giving the appearance of a vest. Its feet are black in color. Its wing membranes have a slight yellow tint, which it claims it gained as a leftover of a traumatic event. A pine tree sapling with blue leaves grows from its head.

Its breath weapon is a highly pressurized blast of pine pollen that can blast holes through solid brick walls.

[theblasianwitch]

Easiest Plants to Grow

Based on my experience

TOMATOES: So long as it's not ones that have been introduced to the cold, you can literally take the seeds out (goop and all) and put it in soil, lightly cover with dirt, water and leave it. As it grows you will pretty much need to water it every other day but they're very good at letting you know. As soon as the leaves droop or curl a bit, water them and they'll be good again in an hour or so.

CATNIP: It just.... keeps... growing... and it multiplies.... easily. It should be the rabbits of the plant world. I find I prone the parent plant almost every other week because of how fast it grows. Some cuttings I place in water and they form roots in just a couple days. I still have the parent plant and now five babies from it. My plan is for a cat garden hopefully soon.

PEPPER: Similar to tomatoes, keep out of the cold, take the seeds inside and just plant it. Mine is 3 feet tall already after just a couple monthes.

These next ones take some before prep but once you do it they pretty much got it handled.

LEMON: To plant a lemon you do have to peel the seeds (thus may apply to all citrus fruits but I haven't found a lot of seeds in oranges and grapefruits yet to try). Once again, keep from cold, take out the seeds, and... peel them. This takes time and a careful hand. I use a sharp knife and lightly slice a line in the the seed and lift the outer layer up to peel it completely. It will be slippery at first and then a smooth hard seed inside. Those are what you plant. Once planted they germinate and sprout using various germination methods and grow and a steady rate. I currently have three saplings and a container of pre peeled seeds

DRAGONFRUIT: I was quite surprised by this one. I have neglected these seeds quite often and yet they're still going. I got the seeds by slicing the dragonfruit and putting it between paper towels and gentle smushing and rubbing it between them. The seeds separate on the paper and from there you can honestly leave them in the paper towel with a little water to germinate before planting. They grow like little cacti at first which is probably why they survive so long despite my forgetfulness to water them

Will let yall know if I learn more. Everything was planted indoors in rooms with large windows for light, nothing is outdoors at the moment.

[estrellami-1]

Cutesy prompt, also derived from my life but just because I’m thinking about getting a switch after falling in love with animal crossing playthroughs lol:

Modern au, no upside down : Steve hasn’t really been one for video games he doesn’t like the jump scares and the violence there’s enough of that in real life if he turns on the news, but Robin gets him hooked on animal crossing playthroughs on YouTube and he falls in love with how comforting and straightforward the game is, you plant a seed and you see it grow to a sapling right away there’s a sense of accomplishment. Steve usually drives Dustin and the kids to their Dnd nights at a game shop and while it’s pricier than he would usually splurge on he’s been thinking about buying a switch to play animal crossing himself so he decides to go to the one game shop he knows off the top of his head, the one he takes the kids to, that just so happens to be owned by eddie who does weekly DND nights. Eddie talks with him about the pros and cons of different consoles and games and maybe suggests that if he’d like he could come over to his place to try it out first hand and maybe join him for dinner while he’s at it?

(Okay side note while I was writing this I thought of twists that could be added to it, like maybe after hearing his reasoning for liking the calmer games eddie writes a sweet low stakes type of campaign for Steve and convinces him to join them for a campaign to show him it doesn’t have to be violent or scary. Or maybe they have those play in store to try it out kind of things and eddie offers that he can try it out in the store until he’s ready to buy and Steve keeps coming back to the store under the guise of trying out the console but really just to spend more time with eddie. I could think of more but I think it has potential)

💜

Ok so I’m like Steve, I don’t play video games. I’ve played Minecraft and my favorite thing to do is farm 😂 I’ve never played Animal Crossing so my apologies if anything is incorrect! I do think this is a SUPER cute prompt though and I’m so excited to see where y’all take it! 😉

Admittedly, my love, I did not complete this prompt the way you had specified, but I felt like I hit enough of the major points and got to a good stopping place for now. Feel free to send another ask if you want me to continue! ❤️

Title Screen - Part 1

“Robin, what-” he flails as his phone is ripped from his hand.

She judges him. “Sudoku, Steve? Really?”

“I like it! What are you doing?”

“You’re gonna love this. Promise.”

He throws his hands up and waits for her to hand his phone back. When she does, it’s open to YouTube. “Trust me,” she asks. “Just watch the first video.”

He reads the title. “A video game playthrough? Robs, you know I don’t like video games.”

“I know you don’t like violent video games. This one isn’t violent, Steve. Promise.”

He narrows his eyes at her, but she’s his best friend and roommate for a reason, so he plays it as soon as she leaves the room.

When she comes back in to ask about dinner, she’s got a smug look on her face. “Fine, you were right,” he says, rolling his eyes. “It’s cute. I like the bunny.”

Robin chuckles. “I thought you might. Y’know that video game store the kiddos love? I think they’ve got it.”

“Probably,” he allows, very much not thinking about it. Or the very attractive employee who seems to always be there when he is, shopping for the kids. He sets his phone on his chest. “How’s Chinese for dinner sound?”

“I’ll marry you,” Robin says.

Steve chuckles. “Wanna call it in? You know my order.”

“Orange chicken.” She makes a face. “Yeah, I’ll call it in.”

“Thanks.” She waves him off, so as she leaves, he calls, “I’m serious! Thank you! I love you! Marry me!”

“I’ll leave you at the altar!” She calls back, and he cackles.

He plays the video again.

Three days later finds him inside the video game store. Not for him, he swears, but Dustin’s birthday is soon-ish, anyways, and he needs a present, and he had been talking about some figurine or another.

“Hey, welcome in!” Very Attractive Employee says. “Can I help you find anything?”

Steve smiles, shakes his head. “Thank you.” He walks around, doesn’t necessarily look for Animal Crossing, but doesn’t necessarily walk away when he sees it, either. He picks it up, examines the case. Robin’s got a Switch, and he knows she’d let him borrow it. The one part he’s not really sold on is the price. He sets it down, looks at it for a minute longer, as if that would make the price change.

“If you’d like to try, I can put it in the system,” Very Attractive Employee says. His voice is soft, and something about it sounds familiar.

“I dunno.” Steve sighs. “I don’t want to impose, and I know most of the beginning is a bunch of talking and naming yourself and the world, right?”

Very Attractive Employee frowns. “Have you played it before?”

“Ah… no. I, uh.” He’s strangely embarrassed to say it. “I’ve watched playthrough videos.”

Very Attractive Employee grins and motions him over to the trial station. “Yeah? YouTube, right? D’you know who?”

“Uh…” Steve pulls his phone out, opens YouTube. It’s one of the first recommended videos. “HFClub?”

“Ah.” He stills for a moment, then smiles at Steve. “Well, if you’d like to try, it’s available.” He gestures to the console. “And believe it or not, this isn’t a super high-traffic store. It can get kinda boring being the only one here. If you don’t mind me watching over your shoulder, I don’t mind you staying until I’ve gotta close up.” He grins at Steve. “Whaddya say?”

Steve smiles tentatively back, takes a seat, and picks up the device.

He was right; it takes him a good amount of time to get past the opening, but he does have fun, especially with Very Attractive Employee imitating the other characters.

When he looks up again, it’s dark outside. “Oh, shit,” he murmurs, checking his watch. Somehow he’s spent three hours playing. “Shit, man, that’s dangerous,” he laughs.

Very Attractive Employee chuckles. “I know, right?” He shifts. “I’ve seen you in here before buying other games, and you don’t hesitate. Can I ask why today was different?”

“I usually come in to buy things for these kids I used to babysit. This one is purely selfish.” He grins and stretches, grins more when he notices Very Attractive Employee’s gaze is drawn down to where his shirt has ridden up.

“Kids?” He finally asks.

Steve hums. “You might know ‘em, actually, there’s one with curly hair, usually wears a trucker hat. A redhead who will put the fear of God into you. A bitchy kid with hair that could be great-”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Very Attractive Employee waves his arms through the air. “Dustin? Max? Mike?”

“Holy shit,” Steve says, and begins to laugh. “Yeah, exactly.”

Very Attractive Employee looks at Steve for a minute before saying, “So you must be Steve!”

Steve gapes. “They talk about me?”

“Oh, man.” Very Attractive Employee chuckles. “Dustin never shuts up about you, man, he loves you.”

“Oh.” Steve stills. “I, uh. Kinda thought they just tolerated me.”

“No way. Well, maybe Mike, but you know how he is.”

Steve chuckles. “Yeah. Do you know them just from how often they come in here?”

“Oh, no. I’m their DM. Y’know, Dungeons and Dragons?”

“Oh,” Steve nods, thinks. “Eddie, right? And- fuck, what was it. Elf Club, or something?”

Eddie chuckles. “You mean Hellfire Club?”

Steve snaps and points at Eddie. “That’s the one. Man, they love you too, every time I see the brats it’s always Eddie this and Eddie that and Eddie killed our characters but it was great.”

Eddie chuckles. “That’s good to hear. Can I ask why you’re just now looking at this for yourself?”

Steve sighs. “I know the kids love your campaigns, but I don’t like anything too horror-y. I don’t like jump-scares, and it feels like most video games have some element of that. My best friend got me hooked on the videos, and I decided to try it out.”

Eddie nods. “Yeah, this is definitely a very calm game. Feel free to come back in any time to continue trying it out, though. If you want.”

Steve smiles at him. “I might just take you up on that offer.”

Fic-specific tag, once again, is the fic name (no spaces): #titlescreen and as always, my writing tag is #starambles and you can subscribe to either or both to follow along with this fic! Let me know what you want to see happen next in this ‘verse!

[izvmimi]

An evening walk through the park. They aren’t necessarily unusual for you and Izuku, not since the weather has once again started to turn into the beautiful days of spring, but you caught on quickly based on how fast his feet were moving that this outing may have more in store than just, well, walking.

“Slow down, I can’t keep up.”

You joke with him, your steps matching in time despite the complaints.

“I could always just carry you,” he shoots back with a grin, squeezing your hand where it’s wrapped inside of his.

As lovely of an idea as that is, your cheeks warm at the thought of everyone watching him hold you so intimately. The streets are busier now than they were just a few weeks ago, Musutafu springing to life alongside the foliage. The extended daylight hours have made everyone more apt to spend their evenings outdoors if they’re able.

“We’re almost there, not much further to walk anyway.’

A few more steps and you’ll be where he wanted to bring you, a corner of a park not far from the apartment the two of you currently share in hopes of buying a home after your upcoming nuptials and the festivities surrounding them have been completed.

It’s always a big deal when a pro hero announces they’re off the market and although Deku has never been on it - his heart has always belonged solely to you - he has never been more proud than the day he released the statement announcing his engagement.

His heart pounds as the two of you approach the quietest corner of the park, sunlight fading but still shining over some of it, and he stops abruptly. You look around to see why he stopped and he points to the sapling in front of you.

“A tree.”

Your soon to be husband nods to confirm your observation, the smile he reserves just for you across his lips. Eyes as green as the leaves on the sproutling are heavily lidded and his cheeks so high they nearly touch his lower lashes and it’s all directed at you.

“Our tree, actually,” he corrects gently, grabbing you by the hand and guiding you around its trunk that is still growing upward and outward, working to stretch high enough that someday it will shade the bench a few feet away.

“Back when we were rebuildi–”

You gasp, interrupting him. The corners of your lips twitch and upturn, eyes wide while you gaze at him. Dusk continues to fall and the world is wrapped up in the sweet pinks and oranges of a sunset you only see in photos.

“That was before we were even officially dating, Izuku.”

Fortunately, there are many things you only see in photos, or books, or tales passed down from mouth to mouth that Izuku Midoriya makes come true for you.

Shrugging half heartedly, that just for you smile shifts into something a little more mischievous.

“Trees take time to grow and I was hoping that by the time I proposed, it would be big enough to surprise you with.”

This is a side of him few others have seen, cheeky and bold when the right situation comes up, clearly pleased with himself and his careful planning. If he knew as a teenager, a practical child, that the future would look this way, what else does he know?

About you, he knows everything. Even how you’d react to this, it’s why that mischievous smile becomes a little more proud with every passing second.

“I can’t believe you pulled this off.”

Your eyes scan the small wooden trunk and the grass surrounding it. Maybe it should be surprising how easily you imagine your children with heads full of green curls playing beneath it someday, dappled sunlight warming their little cheeks that may be freckled just like their father’s.

“I’m just happy it worked out.” He smiles, reaching into his pocket with his free hand. You raise a brow curiously and he produces a small utility knife, pressing the hinge to open it.

“Now, until they can get the dedication plaque installed, let’s make it ours officially.”

Stepping closer to the tree and pulling you alongside him, he points to the middle of the trunk.

“It’ll be higher someday but for now, this is the perfect spot.”

Tilting your head, you watch him carve a little heart with the sharpened point of the knife. He hums to himself, which of course turns into a little mutter as he adjusts the sides to the thickness he’d like them to be by gradually digging deeper, but he backs away with a chuckle.

“Not my best work but it’ll do.”

Giggling alongside him, you reach out to brush your fingertips along the permanent mark that your tree will wear for all time. No matter who is shaded or sheltered by it at any given time, it will always be a reminder of how loved you’ve been since the moment you met Izuku.

making me sniffle on Sunday, i’ve read this a million times since you sent it a while ago but pls i’m extra soft rn ily 😭

[inaconstantstateofchange]

WIP Wednesday | Halsin & Tahlel

And I actually have something for it this time, how lovely. Tagged by @flamemittens and @nerdferatum (pay no mind to how long or short ago that may have been).

This is a snippet of a larger piece I am working on, set pre-canon and revolving around Halsin, his master Tahlel (the previous First Druid of the Emerald Grove), and their time in what became the Shadowcursed lands.

Halsin started abruptly as a shadow passed across his sliding-shut eyes, the motion tearing at a sluggishly-bleeding gash along his forearm, a lingering reminder from a recent engagement. A low tsk melding into apologetic hum came from the shadow, and he relaxed slightly, his muscles loosening from their aching clench as he blinked open his heavy eyes. 

A gentle hand rested upon his hair for a moment, tugging lightly on a braid as it drew away. “Apologies, nai’ith. The Harpers inside reported that none had seen you in some hours, and I began to worry.”

Halsin swatted half-heartedly at the departing hand, the response long-since worn into sullen tradition leaping to his tongue without thought. “Not a sapling anymore, na'el.”

Tahlel’s warm laughter seemed for a moment to light the dimness around them. “And yet, not yet sprouted enough to avoid a trap when you spot it, ah?” His tone remained light, but his hawkish eyes flickered pointedly to Halsin’s untreated wound, as one elegant brow crept up to drive his point home. 

Halsin groaned, dropping his head back with a dull thump against the tree companionably supporting him. “You worry too much; it’s nothing. It’ll heal soon, and my energy is better saved for those who need it more.”

Tahlel’s expression didn’t change as he settled himself down against the tree beside Halsin, the plentiful fabric of his robes spreading out around him, more like water than cloth. He chose a position that allowed him to keep watch to Halsin’s left, and the unremarked-upon gesture made something twist in Halsin’s chest. Although the damage left by the she-bear had long-since healed, the injury was prone to flaring up now and again, and the ache radiated down into his eye until he could afford to allow it a rest.

With a soft sigh, he let his left eye slide closed, and trusted his voice to convey his disgruntlement to his master. “I know what you’re about to say, and I object — this means absolutely nothing.”

The wind rustled the leaves – a muddy orange now, poised to fall and awaiting their rest – above them, and Tahlel’s voice carried upon it, neutral to an untrained ear but brimming with hidden humor and self-satisfaction to Halsin’s. “Such an interesting word, nothing. To live a long life is to witness words and their meanings shift like the seasons, but never did I think to see it happen so quickly, and right before my eyes.” 

Halsin lifted his left arm to swipe at him without thinking, and immediately found himself filled with regret, the dull ache his wound had settled into, pulsing in painful time with his head, flaring up into something much sharper. He stifled the resulting groan behind his teeth, unfortunate experience allowing him to keep his left eye shut to avoid further aggravation. 

Tahlel’s long fingers wrapped around his wrist, familiar callouses catching against Halsin’s skin. His hold was gentle but firm, the levity mostly absent from his voice now as he pulled a portion of his draping sleeves forward and pressed it against the wound. Halsin hissed, considered an attempt at escape, but the first touch of healing magic to the wound liquefied his muscles, and he slumped entirely back against the tree instead. 

“‘S a waste.” He mumbled, a token protest given more to the glimmering stars above than the man beside him. 

Tahlel’s voice remained even, albeit slightly preoccupied, as he responded. “I’d like to think I taught you better than that. A healer who cannot – or will not – heal themself is a poor healer indeed."

—

nai’ith – "young oak", i.e., a sapling

na'el – "ancient hawk", a play on Tahlel's own name to call him, in essence, an old man

—

No-pressure tagging @ride-a-dromedary, @thisaccountisagainstmywill, @namig42, and @grandmother-goblin.

[ofmermaidstories]

I LOVE HEARING YOU TALK ABOUT STARDEW

If you don't mind me asking, how often do you play stardew valley? do you play at night? with a cup of tea?

please! i am dying to talk about it!!! i tend to play games in solid, obsessed blocks. so i’ve been playing every day for the last couple of weeks, now, but before that it’d been months and months since i touched it last. i’ll play whenever! whenever i have time, or throughout the day if it’s a lazy one. i like to play in stretches, and i consider it a treat to, so i’ll often have a snack ready or a drink (sometimes that cuppa you mentioned, often a juice box tho bc im like, five, lmao). i only have two saves!! my first one, delilah, where i didn’t know what i was doing and got bored of, really quickly—and my current one, my second one! it uses my real name, lmao, which tbh i’m not sure i like—it’s always jarring when the other characters say things to me. 💀 we’re currently in winter, in year five. the farm is called Sea Dreams, and it’s a beach property. i completely ignored the warnings about it not being for beginners lmfao, but i quite like it! beyond the romanticism of being on the beach of this like, inland sea cove, i like that the sand means only a fraction of the land is actually good for proper farming. i use the proper soil, the real soil, for my seasonal crops and then let patches of trees grow throughout the rest of the farm. my fruit trees are near the bat cave; in front of my house i grow small plots of flowers. and then by the shore i keep the animals. i’ve fenced them so they get trees and the pond and the sea as well; if i’m spending the day on the farm i’ll sometimes hear the plop! of the ducks, gliding onto the cove’s waters. they always look so contented. 🥹 if i’m there in the evenings, when it’s time for them to turn into the barn or the coop, i’ll stand on the shore and wait for them to drift back—they’re always last in, on those days.

i have a single fish pond, so far, towards the south of the property—it’s filled with sturgeon and from their eggs i make caviar. i make goats cheese and bread and mayonnaise and at the end of every season i harvest the flowers that grew and ride into town on my horse, grover, and hand them out. in the warm months my farm is covered in grass, everywhere! on the last day of autumn i cut it all down, for hay. my greenhouse is on a little island of it’s own, with grandpa’s shrine behind it: inside i grow more flowers, and fruit trees, and strawberries, blueberries, ancient fruit, starfruit. i hope to get a second mango sapling at some point, to grow in the greenhouse—my first one is now planted among my peach trees, waiting for it’s first summer.

fairy roses are my favourite flower. every autumn, during the stardew fair, i always include a pink one, one of my best, in my grange display for the competition. this year my setup included my best goats cheese; my best, aged wine. my best peach and my best orange! caviar, my fairy rose, a bottle of truffle oil and a jar of fairy rose honey, and then lastly, a tulip from spring, lavender-dawn in colour.

(i always win, and i always feel so smug about it. i hate pierre so much lmao, he’s such a dick.)

hmm, what else can i tell you? i’ve only just made it to the skull caverns! they stress me out so bad. 💀 recently tho (like, today, lmfao), i found my first dinosaur egg! and my first two prismatic shards—i saved the first shard in a chest in my barn, and with the other got a sword. the dinosaur egg is currently incubating! i’m so excited for it to live among my chickens and my ducks and my rabbits. 🥹

i really, really like the magic realism that’s steeped into the valley. beyond the atmosphere of the game (the freedom of leaving behind a life that was stifling you, and finding a home in the valley you’d never even dared dreamed of, before) the magic of the world is like, the number one factor in me wanting to write a AU for it. i like—things like the fairy stones. An old miner's song suggests these are made from the bones of ancient fairies. i like things like finding the burnished copper helmets of the dwarves; i like that we can wear one. i like that sometimes, in the night, there’s a rustle of wings and the next morning when you step outside there’s an owl statue, nestled somewhere on your farm like it’s been there for centuries. there’s a junimo hut in the secret, wooded area of pine trees on my farm. they’re too far from the crops to appear, but sometimes when i ride past in the dusk, just when it’s getting dark, you can hear the flicker of flames—the open doorway to their little home glowing. there’s also a secret altar to yoba, amid the trees; the dull steel of the sign of the vessel hidden away against the dark green. there’s just so much to it! i feel like you could dig deep, go deep, literally deep in the mines, and still not understand the world. and it makes me want to write that, lmao. the whole game just makes me want to write! just the world of it—waking up at six am, every morning. learning how to make something of the land before you, how to grow things, how to care for things, animals. walking into town to buy seeds. galloping into town, or down to the forest. one of my favourite touches, in the game, is how sometimes there’ll be a flock of birds on the path, pecking at something—and when you come along they all take flight, all together. and there’s a moment, every time, where you’re in the middle of it, the the beat of the wings—running or riding with them, almost. that’s what i wanna write about. the ride into town, slipping from the horse, breathless, in front of the general store or the saloon. i haven’t married anyone in my save, yet; i can’t decide on who i want to live with. so many of them are sweethearts. i like elliot a lot, recently. he wrote a romance novel for me. 🥺 but originally i wanted to date alex—i love his grandparents. on the last day of autumn i’ll take my fairy roses into town for his grandmother, and for jasmine. but saying that sebastian’s also grown on me; as has haley. sometimes i think i’ll just ask krobus, deep in his sewer, to move in with me instead—but i have an empty nursery in my house and sometimes i wonder if it’d be fun to have someone to have kids with.

(but then i swing back and forth on it—it creeps me out that the kids never age. 🥹 eternal toddlers, stumbling around the house. maybe i’ll have them just to see what it’s like, and then go to the witch’s hut to turn them into doves and let them go.)

if i wrote a stardew valley AU for my hero, i think it’d be just as hard to pick an endgame in-fic. do we pick izuku, and his rabbits? or bakugou and his explosions, up in the quarry? shouto, following us from the city, trying to leave behind the massive corporation that’s eating the world up that he’s set to inherit? idk! anyways. that’s off-topic. 🥹 do you play, anon??? what’s your favourite part? what’s your farm like???? do you like to have a cuppa in hand, when you settle in to play?