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got excited (cried) about space things last night so had to doodle my little star kids
#space dnd#dnd#dnd characters#points at vortex and gravity#gay gay homosexual gay#himbo and brain cell haver#i would have drawn them smooching but my hand was taking offense to drawing tonight oh well#void is here too!#thats my sweet little guy!#i can and will shove void at anyone who crosses my path and asks about my ocs#sorry nebula i would have drawn you too but alas hand cramps#vortex has babygirl energy about them#void: why does gravity call you babygirl?#vortex: how about we stop talking for a little while
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đ©
You're Off-key
Prologue
Reader X Gravity Falls
Warnings â
â The Book of Bill SPOILERS HERE! Do NOT read if you don't want any spoils of the book. Other than that, enjoy. -mentions of madness, blood, cryptids, italics= thoughts, ya know..the usual. Oh! And for our old pal Stan, some swear words. â
You missed this.
Being one of the weird kids who loved the supernatural, interested in solving puzzles, uncovering secrets. Of course you ended up watching Gravity Falls.
Never really growing out of it, you'd still watch videos about ghosts or getting a heavy duty flashlight and a pair of brass knuckles for whatever made a noise in your apartment.
Ghost or not, they'd learn not to mess with you!
At some point you got The Book of Bill.
It was so cool! Little funny and silly at times. There was also the triangle's descent into madness. Man those pictures were good.
Also an axolotl?
You don't know but it looked cute.
As you kept reading, the more you wanted to experience everything you didn't get to when you were younger.
So you decided on a road trip!
A road trip to all the places that inspired the creator of the show and the final stop would be Bill's statue!
Best friend in the passenger seat! Sun glasses in the glove boxes! And snacks to last you a while before the next gas station stop!
You even brought a camera!
"Ready for the time of your life?", you asked excitedly.
"In this heat?", your best friend fanned their face with the paper map. "It'll be meh but yeah, I'm ready for the car AC."
You both were in the car, ready to begin the adventure to Oregon, but you were just double checking before it actually began.
"Ok, ok. I'll start the car.", you said and put the key in the ignition, turning it and starting the car.
Immediately putting the AC on high, both of you were ready and you slowly backed out the driveway.
"Let's get that fucking pie!", you said and put on the sun glasses.
It was really bright today.
First you went to the famous diner with the pie. It was a give in, honestly but the pie was really good. Next to the Oregon Vortex. Now that was a really weird shack! Everything was leveled but you were standing slanted a bit. Then you both went to every roadside attraction that you could and got some key chains for souvenirs. It's been really clear weather since you started the road trip, which was a bit of a surprise. It was supposed to sprinkle at some point.
Finally, the last thing on the list arrived.
Playing the song "We'll Meet Again" by Vera Lynn as you drove to the parking area and both of you were singing along to it before you had to turn off the car.
You brought The Book of Bill for fun.
Deciding to joke around, you bought some spaghetti to go and went to park the car before venturing into the woods where Bill's Statue was.
"Are you seriously gonna try it?", your best friend laughed.
"Why not?", you smiled while putting a water bottle in your pack. "It's ok to be silly. Mabel says so. Trust the silliness!"
"Yeah, ok.", they agreed with a smile. "If we get mauled by a bear, I'm sacrificing you first."
.....
"Fair."
Camera, spaghetti, book of Bill, and water! (Also a flashlight.) You were ready for a photo shoot with the oh so famous Dream Demon!
Looking back to see the sun, you guessed that you had about two hours to find Bill's statue before it got too dark. Your best friend had a map they downloaded off the internet that would lead you straight to it. Of course, with you having some attention issues, you'd get sidetracked by anything you found interesting, hence needing the two hours.
âŻ
You were right!
The two hours were needed because you were still trying to solve one of the codes in the book, while also getting distracted by some cool looking bugs around the area.
"Did you try the Caesar cipher?", your friend asked.
"Yeah, but this is new. It's something else.", you sighed. "I should have tried the website before leaving.", you grumbled sadly.
"Hey, it's totally fine!", they said and patted your back a few times. "You'll get to do that when we go back home.", then they pointed towards the right with their thumb. "By the way, Bill statue is next to us, over by those bushes."
"WHAT!?", you screeched and ran over, whispering a few ouches as the branches of the bush scratched your legs.
That's when you saw it.
In all of its odd glory was the Bill statue with its hand out, waiting for a hand shake.
"Eeeeee!", you cheered as you got closer, hearing your friend laugh behind you as you did so. "I gotta give him spaghetti!"
Opening up your bag, you took out the take-out box that held the noodley deliciousness and took a quick forkfull for yourself before putting it in front of the stone triangle.
"I really thought you were joking.", says your friend as they watch you take out the book and camera from your backpack.
"Nope!", you smile, snapping a quick picture of the statue with spaghetti. "Ok, now for the silliest part."
You take out Parmesan cheese and a cheese grater.
"Oh this is fucking hilarious.", your best friend says and takes pictures of you with their phone.
The sun hits the horizon and the sky is slowly darkening, you start grating the cheese and when you think it's enough, you stop.
"Hey, take a pic with me shaking his hand.", you say and get closer to the statue, reaching out to touch it.
"Sure thing jellybean.", they say and lift their phone up. "It's my turn after you."
"Ok!", you say and put a thumbs up as you put your other hand on the statue's.
As you look to where your best friend is, all you can see is darkness.
You call their name in confusion. "Are you there?", you ask. "Turn on the flashlight, its really dark out here."
But you get no response.
And then you hear something odd.
Kinda sounds like someone with a weird sound filter over their laughing.
"Ok, ha ha.", you roll your eyes. "Quit playing the Bill audio and take the picture already."
When you try to get a better hold on the statue, you realize you weren't holding anything at all.
"What?", you say and look at your hand. "Wait.. Why can I see my hand perfectly fine when everything else is-"
"Well, well, well!", says a familiar voice from behind you.
What?
Turning around you see a floating, glowing Dorito chip with a fancy bow tie and a top hat.
Holy shit.
"Here we are at last! I've been waiting an eternity to meet you."
How is this happening? Was one of the snacks you ate expired? Did you eat the wrong brownies!?
"Thanks for reading my best seller kid!", Bill says and twirls his cane into existence in his hand. "And for the handshake.", he blinks. Winks?
"Wait, hold on! I-!", you start.
"See you in Gravity Falls!", the triangle snaps his fingers and suddenly there's a hole beneath your feet that reveals a cartoon animated forest.
"Wha-"
"Don't break your neck on the way down!", the one eyed demon waves.
And you begin to fall.
ZKDW D QLFH VXQQB GDV
~Seline, the person.
Part 1
Taglist@
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YO-đč | GF Listđïž
#gravity falls x reader#bill cipher#the book of bill mention#Mabel pines#Mabel pines mentioned#gravity falls fic#gravity falls fanfiction#swearing#song mention#we'll meet again#don't know where#don't know when#but I know we'll meet again#some sunny day#codes#gravity falls#road trip! Woooo!#omg pie#fuck yeah!#now I want pie#pieeeeeeeeee#fanfic#fanfiction#prologue#book of bill spoils in this fic!
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gravity falls rant, cw sexual assault and harassment
seeing the gf fandom do a full 180 on billford is so odd to see and kind of infuriating because I had so many nasty rumors and lies spread about me in 2015-2018 because I liked them as bitter exes. a callout google doc was made and I never read it, but I know it framed me as a creep and an abuser. all because I thought a cartoon nerd and a triangle had a fascinating dynamic that was dark and compelling
in 2017 or 2018 someone sent like 70 messages to my curiouscat just repeating RAPIST RAPIST RAPIST RAPIST over and over again. I'd never even had sex at that point, and I had just cut my dad out of my life for actually being a pedophile and a rapist. so that was traumatizing! that really hurt me!
I also know it was because I had a NSFW account where i drew porn (i was an adult, i was clear i only wanted adults following me. and I still do draw nsfw, I'm not ashamed of that now but these folks made me ashamed of it for years) that included some porn of trans men, like Stanley or Stanford as trans men (NEVER together bc I've always been staunchly against incest or pedophilia ships) and these people framed me as a transphobe and a transmasc fetishist
well obviously I'm a trans man now and I didn't know it at the time but those drawings were a way to explore my own relationship with gender. I even look like Stan and Ford now, obviously i latched on to them as trans men because I wanted to BE them. but I believed it when people called me a piece of shit, I assumed all trans people would despise me too and I'd committed a horrible sin and it forced me back in the closet for another 5 years.
the people doing this were teenagers at the time, a few I thought were my friends/mutuals, and they made that part of my life kinda miserable. I was already miserable with other shit going on in my life. I ignored most of the harassment to make myself uninteresting and to avoid the possibility of becoming a lolcow but it involved anonymous messages both on tumblr and curiouscat, I even got a few emails just mocking me. even in 2019 when some people were like "oh yeah she's moved on to moomin, this is what her art looks like now, I can't look at it without thinking about how much she loves rape :/" which was NEVER true!!! I liked Ford and Bill as bitter exes but it was always consensual in my mind.
Anyway I don't ever expect or even want an apology. I'm sure they don't realize what an effect that harassment had on me during literally the darkest years of my life. to them they were just teasing a weird girl on the internet for fun, or very seriously warning their friends against whom they'd been lied to about being an abuser, but I was a closeted trans man trying to finish college, my home life was abysmal and abusive, I hated myself, i hated my body, my only friends were online, and when I'd log on for some escapism I was met with another message like "hey, you should block this person. they're saying some really cruel things about you on their account. I know it's not true but it looks like some people are believing it."
gravity falls was so important to me as a show since oregon is my home and it felt so authentic to my own childhood being interested in cryptids and going camping and visiting shit like the Oregon vortex as a child. but the fandom was the worst I've ever been in. it ruined my enjoyment of media online for years. so idk. I guess I feel somewhat vindicated but it would also be nice to get those years back and not be harassed and bullied online about something so stupid and unimportant
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Yes! Mr Murphy (Rewritten)
PART 46: FAMILY
Pairing: Cillian Murphy x Reader
Warning: Lots of Angst, Age Gap, Teacher x Student, Extreme Smut
PLEASE COMMENT AND ENGAGE!
When you arrived at home later that day, you asked Emma to give you some space and, as luck would have it, Nina was Danielle, giving you and Cillian some time alone.Â
"Hey babe, how did you go?" he asked as soon as you walked through the door of his apartment, his face etched with concern.
Cillian placed his arms around you gently, pulling you close to his chest. His embrace was warm and inviting, but something inside you hesitated. Even though you longed for affection and solace, this situation required a candid discussion â and one that you desperately wished to avoid.
"Well, I know why I have been getting sick recently," you finally admitted with reluctance, taking a seat on the couch with him.
Cillian furrowed his brow, his blue eyes searching yours for answers.Â
"And? Tell me," he said, his voice filled with concern as he noticed your reluctance and, just as he did, you steeled yourself against the wave of pain that threatened to engulf you.
"It turns out that I am pregnant," you uttered these words, knowing they would undoubtedly affect everything in your world, including your future together.
Silence fell upon the room like a dense fog, filling the void where air used to flow freely.
For what felt like hours, neither of you spoke, neither of you moved, your hearts throbbing loudly within your respective chests. The weight of the revelation hung heavily in the air, thickening until it became almost suffocating.
Then, you saw it. Flickering uncertainty shimmered in Cillian's eyes, betraying the fact that he hadn't seen this coming either. It dawned on you that despite all the passionate nights shared between the sheets, he too must be feeling as dumbfounded as you.
"Are you sure?" Cillian questioned you softly, a tremor lacing his tone.
Slowly, you nodded, acknowledging the gravity of the truth and the implications that came along with it. Both of you sat motionless, caught in the vortex of uncertainty swirling around you both.
Finally, breaking the silence, Cillian cleared his throat before speaking again. "But you said that you couldn't fall pregnant after your surgery earlier this year," he pointed out, his voice conveying confusion mixed with disappointment.
You bit your lip, the guilt welling up inside you. There was no use denying it anymore, and besides, you owed him honesty, especially in such matters. Taking a deep breath, you explained the entire incident leading to the conception.
"Before my operation, the doctor assured us that there was very little chance of falling pregnant. I lost one of my fallopian tubes and have a substantial amount of scar tissue on my uterus. The chances were near zero,"Â you recounted, watching as Cillian digested the information, but chuckling slightly, nonetheless.
"Cillian, I don't think that's funny,"Â you snapped, irritated at his cavalier attitude toward something that could fundamentally alter both of your lives.
He quickly looked away, shame evident on his features. "No, sorry. It's just⊠your choice of words amused me. You said that the chances were 'near zero'..." he explained before taking your hands into his and then there was an awkward pause before you decided to delve deeper into the matter at hand.Â
"I made an appointment for a termination procedure," you told him bluntly, hoping that stating it plainly might ease the tension building between you. However, you noticed that instead of reacting negatively or showing anger towards your statement, Cillian remained silent for several moments, contemplating the gravity of your words. Eventually, he spoke.
"What if we kept it?" he proposed, surprising you with his unexpected suggestion.Â
Your mouth opened to protest, but he raised his index finger and stopped you mid-sentence.
"Don't say anything yet," he commanded gently. "Just hear me out," he begged and you nooded.
"I know that I said that I do not want any more children and I know that you said that, having a child of your own, was not on your radar, but what are the odds Y/N? Maybe it was fate?" Cillian reasoned earnestly, gazing deeply into your eyes, seeking confirmation of his argument.
"I know you would be amazing as a mother and I can see myself starting a family with you," he then finally said, and his proposal left you speechless because you weren't expecting him to take this turn.
You felt like a rollercoaster ride of conflicting emotions was running wild through your body - shock, happiness, excitement, and dread all melded together. And while you could feel your heart bursting open with love for Cillian, the fear of raising a child amidst his hectic work schedule also loomed large. Yet, his sincerity touched you deeply, making it hard to resist his request.
"You really want me to keep the baby?" you asked tentatively, wanting to ensure that you understood correctly. Cillian smiled reassuringly, a mix of pride and joy spread across his visage.
"Yes Y/N. I know that, realistically, it happened too soon, but I already turned 47 and the chances of you conceiving again when we are ready are far too low, so let's start our family together now," he cupped your face tenderly, looking at you with adoration. "This could be a blessing in disguise," he insisted, adding further conviction to his proposition.
Intrigued, you mulled over his proposal.
Despite your initial resistance due to practical concerns, your feelings began to shift. Deep down, you knew that, if you were to terminate, you might be regretting it later on and, perhaps, this unexpected gift could be an opportunity for growth and a step forward in your relationship.Â
The thought resonated strongly with you, and suddenly, it seemed less daunting to consider becoming parents together.
"Fuck, okay. Let's start a family," you agreed to Cillian's plea with resignation, your heart sinking into your belly as you tried to wrap your head around this sudden change of events. The two of you sat silently once more, processing this significant pivot in your lives.
After spending a few minutes in quiet reflection, Cillian pulled you closer to him, wrapping his arms securely around your waist. Sensing your turmoil, he whispered softly into your ear, offering words of assurance. "I promise, we will figure this out together," he vowed.
"Tomorrow, I will get in contact with my real estate agent and find us a house, something with a yard, near the beach," he continued, his plan already forming in his mind. Your heart swelled with appreciation for his determination and willingness to adapt. He truly meant what he said about starting a family with you.
There was still a lot to discuss and prepare for, but somehow, in spite of all challenges ahead, a sense of optimism settled comfortably within you. Perhaps this unplanned pregnancy could indeed bring you even closer together. After all, love knows no bounds and obstacles often serve as catalysts for personal growth.
With renewed hope, anticipation blooming within you, you allowed yourself to envision a new path, one where parenthood awaited at the end of it while Cillian nuzzled your hair, sending a surge of affection coursing through your veins.
"You are going to look incredible with my child growing inside you," he murmured, pressing his lips against your neck again more aggressively this time.Â
"Really? This actually turns you on?" you chuckled in response to his growing arousal over the fact that you would soon be huge with child. Cillian grinned widely, his lust apparent.
"I suppose it does," he answered sheepishly, a blend of desire and protectiveness flickering behind his deep blue eyes.
You giggled, feeling a familiar heat igniting within your core. Glancing at the clock, you noted how late it had become. Despite your lingering anxiety regarding this major turning point in your life, a twinge of eagerness took hold as you considered indulging in something you knew would become rather rare once you became parents.Â
As if reading your thoughts, Cillian rose from the sofa, pulling you up alongside him.
"Come," he said he led you briskly toward the bedroom, his steps measured and confident and, once you were inside, he pulled you into his embrace once more.Â
"I love you so much," Cillian whispered into your ear, sending a shiver cascading down your spine. His touch was gentle, caresses light enough to leave only traces of his presence upon your skin, teasing you without fully satisfying the aching need pulsing beneath your surface now.Â
"And I love you too," you replied, your fingers tracing the curve of his jaw, marveling at the warmth radiating off his skin. The scent of his cologne filled your nostrils, evoking a memory of the night you met.
After not too long, you felt his erection pressed firmly against your stomach, and you smirked playfully. Cillian's desire for you was undeniable, despite everything else happening in his life.
He kissed you passionately, hungrily, as though trying to convey volumes with just his lips alone. Your hands found their way underneath his clothes, exploring every dip and curve of his physique. Each caress sent electric currents shooting throughout your body, creating sensual tension between the two of you.
The chemistry between you seemed stronger than ever, as if destiny herself had intervened, conspiring to make sure that these two souls would always remain intertwined.
Moving swiftly and gracefully, you slid off your clothes and made your way onto the mattress, allowing Cillian to follow suit. Your bodies meshed perfectly together, fitting seamlessly like pieces of a puzzle. As you lay side by side, Cillianâs palm rested lovingly on your abdomen, gently stroking the sensitive area, eliciting involuntary moans from your lips.
"How far along are you?" Cillian asked curiously, gliding his hands expertly across your body, mapping out every contour with his gentle fingertips. His movements brought forth waves of pleasure, drawing you closer still.
"Eight weeks," you responded truthfully, closing your eyes briefly, savoring the sensation of his deft touch. Inhaling sharply, you breathed out, letting it pass through your entire being.
"God, I can't wait for you to start showing," Cillian uttered breathlessly, his voice hoarse from passionate fervor.
His words stirred another wave of anticipation within you, heightening your awareness of the changes your body was undergoing.
"Really?"Â you mused, genuinely surprised at his remark.Â
"Yes. I reckon you will look incredibly sexy being pregnant," Cillian stated with confidence, his fingers moving rhythmically against your stomach, sparking electrical charges along your exposed flesh. You couldn't help but laugh in agreement, the idea both titillating and flattering.
Cillian leaned in close to whisper seductively, his breath tickling your ears, causing shivers to run down your spine.
"I don't know why, but knowing that you carry my child turns me on," he confessed huskily, his arm tightening possessively around your shoulder, claiming ownership over your womb.
You laughed, amused by his raw honesty but understanding completely.
"Well, you did a good job knocking me up, against all odds," you retorted, giving him a cheeky smile before you reached below his hips to grasp his member, which was beginning to throb intensely.Â
"I suppose you can't keep a good man down," Cillian chuckled before a moan escaped his lips, as your hand encircled his length, skillfully manipulating the shape and size of his cock, driving him mad. His groans grew louder, urging you onward, encouraging your ministrations.
"Let me ride you, while I still can," you demanded, biting your lip, a hint of mischief danced in your eyes.
"Please," Cillian simply begged in response as his gaze locked with yours, a mixture of surprise and admiration etched across his features before he rolled onto his back, presenting himself to you.
Your legs straddled him, sitting high above him, leaving no doubt about who was in control. Lowering yourself onto his waiting length, you let out a satisfied sigh, grateful for this brief respite.
Cillian grabbed your hips, holding them steady as you rode him slowly, enjoying the delicious friction of his hardened cock sliding in and out of your wet folds. With each thrust, a sound of satisfaction echoed between the two of you, amplifying the intimacy shared during this fleeting moment.
Cillian watched you closely, drinking in the sight of your passion-filled face and the way your body moved in sync with his own. It seemed almost surreal to him â the reality of making love to you while you were carrying his child.
As if drawn by some invisible force, Cillian wrapped his arms tightly around you, pulling you closer to him until your skin touched everywhere possible. This simple act drew gasps from both of you, acknowledging the intense connection formed in that single gesture.
"I think your breasts might feel differently soon⊠they'll grow heavier," Cillian observed, trailing his finger down your bare torso, stopping just short of your full bosom.
"Yes, at which point they will be reserved for our child to use, not you," you mocked playfully, rolling your eyes comically as you bounced up and down on his lap. His grin broadened as his gaze followed your movement, the thrilling spectacle consuming him whole.
"I think that, teaching our child how to share, is a valuable life lesson," Cillian teased, running his fingers through your hair as you continued to ride him.
"I suppose you've got a point there," you conceded playfully, lowering your head to kiss Cillian passionately.Â
He returned the favor enthusiastically, devouring your mouth with the same intensity you craved. His tongue danced provocatively against yours, matching your rhythmic pace. Your mutual want for each other escalated rapidly, becoming insatiable, fueling your desire further.Â
"I am close," you panted softly, arching your back slightly, desperately seeking release.Â
Feeling the powerful tremors coursing through your body, you dug your fingers deeper into Cillian's shoulders, anchoring yourself amidst the unstoppable pull of your climax.Â
A mere second later, your orgasm crashed down upon you like a tidal wave, bringing you to your knees, overwhelmed by ecstatic joy.
The world outside ceased to exist as you clung to Cillian, his name escaping your lips in a cry of triumph. His strong arms held you securely, shielding you from the storm raging within.
Slowly, your breath began to even out, the adrenaline subsiding gradually from your system as his speed picked up.
"Fill me with your cum, Cill. Fuck, I want it. Please," you purred, your voice heavy with desire, urging him onward. He obliged, pushing forward one last time, filling you with his essence as your orgasm finally crested. You could hear him calling your name in a low voice as you climbed higher towards the peak, feeling yourself losing control.
It was then, in those moments suspended in time, that you realized just how profoundly you loved him - despite everything that happened. The bond between you transcended mere physical connections, reaching deep into the heart and soul and, just maybe, starting a family with this man was not too bad after all.Â
Tags:
@sunbeamseas @saint-ackerman @oatmealisweird @naxxsstuff @amanda08319 @r-m-cidnah @elysiannook @cillshot @infireddabdab @tastycakee @harrysbestiee @lilybabe22 @adalynlowell @henrywintersdearestgirl @ietss @thatgirlthatreadswattpad @ryiamarie @axionn
@heidimoreton @nela-cutie @futurecorps3 @delishen @nosebleeds-247 @thirteenis-myluckynumber @gills-lounge @hjmalmed @lost-fantasy @tiredkitten @sidechrisporn @smallsoulunknown @charqing-qing @hopefulinlove @aporiasposts @shycrybaby @me-and-your-husband @hjmalmed @lacontroller1991 @galxydefender @aporiasposts
@galxydefender @hunnibearrr @saint-ackerman @lunyyx @gentlemonsterjennie1 @ihavealotoffandomssorry @nadloves @lost-fantasy @nolucesn@mcavoy-girl @hjmalmed @bloodybagels @obeyme4life @richiesgroupie @blushykiss @tatumrileyslover @teawithsatanx @orijanko @rhaenyra4ever @xcinnamonmalfoyx @budugu @nadloves @kmc1989 @bloodybagels @obeyme4life @richiesgroupie @forgottenpeakywriter
#cillian murphy#cillian murphy smut#cillian murphy x reader#cillian murphy imagine#cillian murphy x y/n#cillian murphy x you#cillian fanfic#cillian murphy fanfic#cillian murphy fic
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Collisions in Entropy [Peter Roiter x Fem!Reader]
Summary: You were drawn to him like gravity. Like the only two bodies of mass on a lattice field, dipping in the center like marbles, stretching the fabric of time with the weight of yourselves and converging at the center into a singular point.
Length: 5.5k
Warnings: 18+ MINORS DO NOT INTERACT. Romantic smut. Oral: f receiving. PiV.
Authorâs Note: I couldnât stop thinking about Peter making it to Rome and then confining himself to wait out his remaining days like an invisible stranger, careful not to disturb this timeline. I like to think his curiosity couldnât keep him away from a special event he never got to see firsthand. Enjoy!
The wedding of Callum Roiter to Rebecca Bradley took place at Creeksea Place in the Essex countryside on Saturday September 30th 2023. Is taking place, rather. Currently taking place. Peter Roiter arrives in a rented grey suit and gate crashes his own parentâs wedding, 13 months before his birth.
Theyâre taking the photographs now, the photographs that will adorn the walls of his childhood home. The same photograph he will accidentally shatter In 2032 while playing cricket in the house. He recognizes the angle of the pink jaunty bouquets up in the air, the collection of color in a joyous line on the red brick footbridge beside the white gazebo, a bridal party draped in lavender taffeta posed in what looks like âa silly oneâ where they lovingly encircle the blushing brideâRebecca Roiter nĂ©e Bradley.
The camera flashes weakly against the midday light and at the same instant a bridesmaid looks in Peterâs direction and smiles.
Heâd cut his palm on that picture frameâthe shattered oneâthe bridal party laid in fragments in that parallel future time. He looks down at his hand and the thick scar is still there. He wonders if the Peter Roiter who will be born 13 months from tomorrow will get the same cut. If he will hit the cricket ball in the same exact angle, turning his head to the same exact call of his motherâs voice from the other room. âPeter!â Crash. A vortex.
Thatâs what had ruined the photo in the end. Not the shattered glass, but the blood. Will this timelineâs Peter Roiter grow up and do what heâs done? Do it exactly the same? Blood and shattered glass in the parlor. Blood and shattered glass in the terminal 4 bathroom.
Heâs never been to a wedding like this before. Never even heard of one with so many people, unrestrained smiles, photographs, laughter, dancing⊠nowhere outside of a movie, that is. His own wedding to Helen was private, as most weddings in 2050 were. Out of necessity. Sweet and civil. She held peonies and they danced to Marvin Berry in the backyard, underneath the stars and the patio lights. He has an insane urge to make a toast to the people of 2023 and tell them, âeat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.â
Theyâre so unaware. Unbothered. Itâs beautiful to see. Like the carefree cheers-ing that mustâve been happening on the Titanic cruiseliner 10 minutes before they collided with an iceberg.
He doesnât feel sorry for them. He is jealous. Theyâre feting in the last roaring moments of civilization, right before the interminable lockdowns will begin. He conservatively guesses that half of them will be dead within the next ten years.
He stays as invisible as he can, observing his parentâs tender happy moments from afar. Theyâre so young. Heâs nearly old enough to be their father.
During the ceremony he sees both sets of grandparents for the first time in his life in person. Maybe that should be his alibi instead of âcousin of the brideâ, heâs much more believable as âcolleague of the father of the groomâ. If only he could remember what Grandfather Roiter did for a living⊠insurance, maybe?
He wonât stick around long enough for anyone to ask just how he knows the lovely couple anyway. Heâll stay invisible for now, just another speck in this world that doesnât belong to him.
This timeline might be defunct anyway, he may very well be cautiously tip-toeing around what he only assumes is a sleeping beast, but may in fact be nothing more than a carcass. Peter errs on the side of caution anyway and sips champagne from the further-most table.
Callum Roiter, looking everything like the father of his childhood, stands from the center of the high table and clinks his crystal glass. His cheeks look hurt and shiny from smiling, he holds his new wifeâs hand and makes his toast, he thanks the guests for coming and makes a joke about how more guests mightâve showed up had they hosted the ceremony on the Boleyn Ground. Heâs so young. So untroubled. The trip to Essex was worth every potential risk to the balance to see the joy in his parentâs eyes in real time. He feels supremely lucky to be a product of such an astounding love.
And then Callum raises his glass higher, winks to Rebecca and announces, âand lastly, a great big thank you to American psychologist Doctor Eliza Knight,â There is a knowing laugh amongst the wedding party who are privy to the story of the bizarre phone call from a Dr. Knight. âWithout whom, I would have never met my beautiful bride. Wherever you are, love, cheers.â
âCheersâ the crowd responds. Peter downs the rest of his glass, âto Beatrix,â he mutters.
âYou know what thatâs about, donât you?â
Itâs the first time anyone has addressed him all day. He hadnât seen her approach. The young woman from the bridal party. The one who smiled at him as the flashbulb went off. Pink roses, purple gown, shards of glass, blood, and a cricket ball.
âWhatâs about?â His voice slips into the Essex dialect like itâs nothing. He wonders how much of that is the chip and how much of it is his real voiceâ the one his mother and father taught him to use. He looks down at his lap when the woman sits beside him.
âThe American doctor story.â
Oh he knows. Heâs heard the tale his whole life, moreover heâs overturned timelines and sold out the souls of billions for the American doctor in question. âNo,â he says to the pretty bridesmaid. âWould you let me in on it?â
*******
âCanât believe you havenât heard it before,â you smile, âwould have thought Cal and Bex told damn near everyone in England by now.â
âMust be a good one.â He says with almost no defensiveness. Almost.
Heâs cute. Older than you. A little scruffy, but in a very pleasing wayâslightly overgrown at the nape of his neck and shadowed in the roughness of his sharp jaw. His eyes are kind though. So hopeful, sweet, and terribly familiar.
âCome outside with me and Iâll tell you, itâs getting warm in here.â
He glances to the high table, thereâs a line forming of folks offering their congratulations along with envelopes of money to the young couple. He nods to you, leaving his grey rented coat on the back of the chair. He offers you his arm and you take it with a âthank youâ, leading him to the French doors and stepping out onto the grounds.
The air is late summer. Warm and green. A million twinkle lights glow along the pathway to the pond, the place where youâd first laid eyes on him this afternoon.
âWhatâs your name?â You ask, trodding slowly towards the gazebo, your arm still in his. His forearm is warm under the white cotton dress shirt.
âOliver.â
âHmm.â You smile.
âWhat?â Defensive.
âCould have sworn it was something else.â You goad.
You can feel his pulse pick up from your fingertips on the crook of his elbow.
âWhatâs your name?â He counters.
You ignore him. âI didnât bring you out here to tell you my name, I brought you out here to tell you a story, remember? Do you want to hear it or not?â
Peter breathes deep as if heâs winding up to tell you something but all he does with the breath is exhale and nod, âPlease.â
âLast year, November the 23rd, 2022, to be exact, both Callum and Rebecca got a mysterious phone call from a Doctor Eliza Knight, a psychoanalyst from America, telling them that she knew their son. That he was a 39 year old time traveler sent from the year 2062 named Peter Roiter and he claimed to be on a mission to save the world. What do you think of that, Oliver?â
His grin is tight, dismissive, âsounds like a nut job.â
âThe odd thing is, Callum and Rebecca had never met each other before. Doctor Knight gave each the otherâs information and told them it was crucial that they meet and fall in love and have this child. Peter.â
Peter says nothing.
âSo they do get together. Because of the absurdity. They go out for a drink, out of curiosity, to laugh about the madwoman who told them they were going to raise the messiah of the twenty first century.â
Peter leans against the railing of the gazebo and glances back to the house where the party is winding down. âAnd the rest is history.â He nods toward the red bricked abode.
âThatâs not all,â you smile conspiratorially.
âNo?â
âNo. See, I looked into it, just to check to see if there was a Doctor Eliza Knight, and there is⊠or there was.â
He remains silent and surreptitiously fingers the raised scar on the inside of his hand while you talk. Nervous habit.
âSee, the very next day after she made the phone calls, Doctor Knight walked into an airport bathroom in New York City and disappeared⊠disappeared! They checked all the security footage. She walks into the restroom and never walked out. They did find her clothes, and a shattered syringe full of blood that wasnât her own, a tape recorder in a trash can. But her? Nowhere to be found. Can you believe it? The very next day after calling Bex and Cal. Thatâs insane, right?â
He nods, lost in thought across the lake.
âItâs funny, most people get a real kick out of that anecdote. I was excited to tell you. Brought you out to the dim ambiance and everything.â
âItâs a great story. Really. Iâm just tired is all.â He folds his arms across his chest and looks at you with a believable amount of sleepiness.
âYouâve heard it before, havenât you?â
âWhat do you mean?â
âThat would be one explanation for your boredomâ you know the story by heart⊠How do you know the bride and groom, Oliver?â You nearly whisper, stepping closer to him.
âWho are you?â He backs away a step, bumping into the rim of the gazebo and catching himself on a polished beam.
âPeter, youâre about to upset a very fragile ecosystem that weâve been curating. I had to get you out of that party, I hope you understand.â
âWe?â
âPeter, if you care about the future, you need to kiss me right now, in the next five seconds, itâs our only chance.â
Peter doesnât hesitate. With a look of solid determination he takes two steps towards you, cradles your head in his hands and presses his lips to yours, kissing you with reserved lips that didnât match the committed blaze in his eyes. You break the kiss in near disbelief and regret.
âThat was mean, Iâm sorry.â
Peterâs face scrunches and he takes half a step back, letting you fall out of his grasp.
âWhat? Wait, tell me who you are, whatâs going on? Did the W.H.O send you? Do you have a message for me? Did the project work? Any word on Beatrix?â
You press your fingertips to your lips and your eyes widen.
âAre you fucking with me?â You accuse.
His face drops from hopeful to incredulous and the two of you stare at each other with mutual suspicion for a beat.
He licks his bottom lip. âWhy did I need to kiss you? Who are you?â
âIâm⊠Iâm a friend of Rebeccaâs. I⊠hang on, are youâ is your name really Peter? I just called you that because⊠because of what the doctor told BexâŠâ you can hear your heart hammering in your ears.
Peterâs eyes narrow, âyou were teasing me?â
âHoly shit. The⊠the doctor? The story? Peter Roiter?â
Peter remains stock still, his back rigid, gritting his teeth.
You clap your hand over your mouth and laugh. âOh my god! Bex is going to murder me if she finds out I snogged her son. This is so weird.â
âHow did you know?â
âI didnât! I mean, god, no one actually believes that story about the doctor, do they? itâs insane! something straight out of a movie! I figured they met each other on tinder and wanted a cuter âhowâd you meet?â Story and made this one up for clout or something, but⊠then we were taking photos today and you were lurking in the back of the setting up, lurking the back of the ceremony, sitting all by yourself in the back of the receptionâ not talking to anybody⊠which is exactly what someone who isnât trying to alter a timeline might do. What am I saying? And god you do really look like half Bex and half Cal⊠itâs uncanny.â
âYou canât tell anyone about this, you understand?â
âTell anyone? No one would believe me if I did! I donât even know if I believe me! Besides, Iâm not joking about the whole âBex would kill meâ thing, Iâm kind of skeeving myself out right now. I mean theyâre both fit and well obviously,â You gesture to Peter up and down before slapping your forehead, âoh my god, I needâI need to shut up.â
âWait, wait, wait, just calm down. Okay. I need toâlook, if this isnât a dead timeline, I canât have you treating Cal and Bexâs son any differently than you would had you not learned that.. that Iâm him. Soââ
âHang on, dead timeline? What the hell does that mean?â
âIs the name not obvious enough for you?â Peter begins to pace around the pergola, the valley between his brows growing deeper by the minute.
Your eyebrows shoot up, âwell excuse me for not understanding your sci-fi speak, Mr. Coherence.â
âDead timeline. It means the statistical likelihood of salvaging the future of this particular timeline is⊠astronomically low. If this is a dead timeline, then there is a near 100 chance humanity will be destroyed within the next 40 years.â
âOh god.â
âIt might not be. Thereâs no way of knowing right now.â
âThatâs reassuring.â
âIt could be a loop timeline, in which case, itâs important for you toââ
âNot treat the forthcoming baby Peter Roiter any differently.â
âExactly.â He breathes with relief.
âEven though he will apparently grow up to be a man who potentially puts me and everything and everyone I know and love into a dead future or whatever you called it.â
âThatâs notââ
âItâs fine, Peter, the less I know the better, right?â You shift in your heels and lean against the polished railing. âMight make it difficult to take him out for ice cream knowing that I snogged him at his mumâs wedding. Bleeding Christ, I really am sorry about that.â
âYouâre surprisingly easy to convince. And youâre taking this extremely well. Iâm not used to thatâ people believing me. And itâs fine, its my fault for being here, for following you outside. I promised I wouldnât interact with anyone and now weâre getting⊠inextricable.â
âI donât know why I believe you. I mean I know itâs crazy, itâs the least likely explanation for all of this, but I just feel like, I have to believe you. I just⊠have to. Now that sounds crazy.â
He shakes his head. âI really thought I was being stealthy coming here today. It was probably a mistake.â
âWell, if we are in a loop timeline, as you called it, I donât think there can be any mistakes. And if we are in a dead end, then the mistakes donât matter, right?â
âWho are you?â
You tell him your name. He shakes his head with that same worried valley between his brows.
âI donât remember you at all from my childhood. Or hearing about you from my mother. Iâm not even sure you were in the photo that I broke.â
âThe photo that you broke? What photo?â
Thereâs a sudden cacophony from the French doors where you exited the reception with Peter. A group of groomsmen stagger out, each with a champagne bottle in their hand, singing what you can only assume is a fight song from Calâs alma mater.
Peter runs his thumb and forefinger over the stubble surrounding his lips. Those lips that you made him kiss you with. God, what is happening?
âCâmon,â he mutters placing a hand at your lower back and guides you to the path by the pond, further away from the celebration. âJust being cautious.â
Thereâs a bench aglow with twinkle lights near the pond, out of view of the estate house. It feels good to sit and take some pressure off the silk heels you bought special for this evening. You slip them off and let your feet rest on the cool grass.
âWhat photo were you talking about?â You ask.
âThe bridesmaid photos with the bouquets on the bridge. I grew up with that photo in my house. But one day I was playing footballâ no, it was⊠it was cricket. I was playing cricket in the house and the photo shattered. I cut my hand trying to hide it from my mum, look.â
You take his hand, inspecting his palm and turning it over. He continues. âBut I donât recognize you. From the photo. I donât think you were there. You werenât looking at the camera. You were looking at me.â
âI donât see a scar.â
âWhat?â
Peter pulls back his hand.
âIt is kind of dark out, so that could be why.â
âWhaâŠâ Peter holds his hands up to the twinkle lights in the willow branches above the bench. He shakes his head. âThis doesnât make sense.â
âDeja vu.â You whisper.
Peterâs hands fall from inspection, he rubs his fingers together at his sides. âWhat did you say? Did you say Deja vu?â
âYeah. Iâveâ Iâve been here before. This has happened before. With you. Whatâs happening?â
Peter sits back down next to you on the bench, grabbing your upper arms with insistence. âAre you messing with me again? Are you screwing with my head?â Heâs breathing fast. He looks scared.
âNo! No, I swear Peter. This just⊠feels so familiar. Do you feel it? The smell in the air, the champagne bottles popping, you checking your hands in the light, the kiss in the gazebo⊠whatâs happening? What does it mean that Iâve felt this before?â
Peter lets go of your arms and runs his thumbs across the smooth insides of his knuckles. âIt means⊠it means itâs elastic. This timeline is still alive. Iâm not in a loop, Iâm not in a dead end. Something is happening⊠or something will happen. Either way, weâre all still breathingâŠâ Peter laughs quietly for a few moments before silencing himself with his own hand. âSomewhere, somehow, in the past 20 minutes or so, a vortex was formedâ a shift in the timeline.â
âWhat does that mean? Is that good or bad?â
Peter shakes his head. âI donât know. Weâus in the futureâdonât even fully understand it. Itâs a technology we discovered from elsewhere in the universe. Iâve been thinking lately that we donât have the receptive capacity to understand the dimensionality. Like trying to conceptualize a tesseract.â
âWhat are you doing here? Still trying to save the world?â
âNo. That window closed. Or at least, I thought it had.â
âSo your window is closed. You didnât succeed?â
He stares into your eyes for several beats. He thinks about December 31st in Rome. How he waited on platform 23 at the piazza di Spagna until the last train came it at near midnight. And how he walked around the Villa Borghese alone when security shooed him away from the station, he walked back to the red tiled hotel alone. A doomed mission. He mustâve passed at least a dozen kissing couples that night ringing in the new year.
âNo. I didnât. Iâm sorry.â His apology feels personal.
âItâs okay.â You say with a small voice, placing a hand on his knee. âSo, now what? Do you go back, to your original time, the future?â
âCanât go back. Canât go anywhere. Even if I could, thereâs no one to retrieve me.â
âSo you just live out the rest of your days here in 2023 onward?â
Peter bites his lip and looks out over the pond. âYeah.â
âWhat happens when baby Peter Roiter is born?â
âYouâre too quick, you know that?â Peter snorts and shakes his head.
âI watch a lot of sci-fi movies,â you smile, shouldering off your lavender shawl and pointing out your tattoo. âSee. Itâs aââ
âDeLorean.â He traces his finger over the small line drawing tattoo.
âA 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 to be exact.â You grin proudly.
Peter swallows and traces his finger down your bare arm, making your hairs raise.
âYou got it the day of your 18th birthday. You had a fight with your father and you got it on a whim. You were so angry at your father that you cried when you got it and when the tattoo artist asked if you needed a break from the pain you saidââ
âHow do you know this, Peter, youâre scaring me.â
âYou said, Iâve had worse.â
âPeterââ
âI know you. Weâve been here before. This bench. The lights, the way they glow on your skin.â He swipes the side of your face lightly with the back of his unblemished hand.â He gulps. âI kiss you on the gazebo by the pond, I kiss you under a willow tree far away from the house, Iââ he shifts closer, his forehead nearly touching your own. âI carry you like a bride up the stairs and I kiss you in a room with golden leaves on the ceiling.â
You shift closer to him, your noses touching.
âDonât you remember?â He asks, cupping your cheek. âNo matter where I go. There you are. Entanglement.â
âI remember.â You nod. âTell me, Peter. Tell me what happens when youâre born.â
Peter cradles your face in both of his hands and pulls back a fraction of an inch, eyes flickering between your own before he sighs and shuts them in a near grimace.
âI die.â He kisses you. And its so different from the kiss on the gazebo. Your little lie, your little trick in back there that got him to kiss you the first time. A lieâ or so you thought at the time. Something made you say it to him youâre sure of that now. The deception was compulsory. It wasnât why you led him out at the time. But now it its.
As sure as he knows the date of his own birth, he knows he will die. In almost exactly 13 months. Or sometime before; but never after. They didnât teach him every facet at The Project, mainly due to their own ignorance; and he wouldnât have to face his demise if he had only taken himself to the extraction point⊠but that had been out of the question. And what is he doing now? With you on this bench? 100 yards from his newlywed parents. This is a new dream he is fulfilling, the erasure of his scar, these new-old memories, the fulfillment of a loop.
Your silk shoes abandoned in the grass, he scoops up your knees onto his lap, he holds your face so tenderly and kisses you, and kisses you, and kisses you beneath the willow tree.
He carries you like a bride to your bedroom at the top of the stairs. If any party stragglers notice you, you arenât aware. You cling to Peter with your face buried in his neck, holding to his broad shoulders, your bare toes make brushing contact with the walls of the stairwell as you ascend. You donât need to tell him which room is yours, heâs been here before hasnât he? You certainly have. In a dream. In another life.
He lays you gently on the bed, kissing up your ankles, sliding the satin of your sheath dress up your legs as he goes, crawling up and up and up you, his lips trailing over the rise of your knees with abject devotion. His strong hands splay and scoop under your dress, under your hips, to grab your lace panties. He looks into your eyes from where he kisses the crest of your thigh when he slides the material down your legs and tosses them to the floor.
âHow could I have forgotten you?â He whispers with a longing against your skin, pushing your dress up until it pools in a satin puddle at your middle. He kisses the tip of your hipbone before he settles between your thighs, his stubble scratches pleasantly at the sensitive flesh when he runs his nose along the junction of your hip and thigh.
Cradling your hips in his palms, he shrugs your legs over his shoulders. Heâs still fully dressed, the only disrobing he did of himself was the grey jacket abandoned on the the back of the far-table chair in the reception hall downstairs, and the blue tie he loosened and discarded somewhere near your panties. His disguise.
He crawls up further onto the bed to fully press his face into your sex. He latches onto your puffy cunt with his kiss-swollen lips and licks you open with messy, savoring swirls of his tongue. His mouth hot and slick, chin and nose pressing into you with a rocking hungry motion. You donât intend to cry out at the sensation but heâs making love to you with his mouth like it isnât the first time and you have no choice but to strangle your own keen of pleasure and fully and gracelessly recline on the bed, the prop of your elbows unable to hold you up through the slick furnace of pleasure that is Peter Roiterâs mouth.
You scrunch your eyes closed and bite your bottom lip when his tongue focuses in on your clit, hot mouth still sealed around your pussy, he lathes you with stern and steady lashings to your point of pleasure. Your hands fist in the pool, of silk at your belly. He sighs hotly into you and works his own fingers through yours, loosening your grasping hands from your dress. He laces all his fingers flush with yours, soothing the sides of your palms with his thumbs.
He never stops the hot assault of your spread sex with his tongue. Your grass stained heels rest lightly on the taut warm linen of his dress shirt. You can feel the way the muscles back there flex, your feet sliding every so slightly when his hips buck gently into the mattress. You donât open your eyes until youâre desperately close to cumming in his mouth and when you look up all you can see are flashes of gold.
Your hips lift off the mattress with the arch of your back and the contraction of your thighs. You let out a long low keen and his face tilts up to follow your clit, sucking you lovingly, his hands gripping more tightly to your own than ever before.
âPeter,â your lips tremble, you slowly open your clamped shut eyes.
There it is. The gold leaf ceiling glinting in warm yellow light. Just as he said. Just as your remember. You stare dazedly at it and you know in less than a moment Peter will crawl up your shaking sweating body and place a kiss on your lips. He does. You grab him by his thick curls and push and pull and twist him in a debauched kiss till heâs flat on his back and youâre on top. His mouth is hot and sticky and so, so giving.
He runs his hands lightly over the open back of your dress. You only unbuckle him enough, and shimmy his trousers midway down his thighs, to get him inside of you. When you sink down on him he holds your forehead against his and gasps in disbelief.
âIââ He chokes, catching his breath and fighting his eyes rolling back so he can get a good look at you when you take him all the way down.
âWhat?â You smile, stroking his cheek.
âIâ Iâve missed you. Ahh.â He grabs you hard then, sitting up slightly and clawing your dress strap down so he can bite and suck the softest parts of your chest.
You cradle his head there, grinding into his lap slowly, gasping softly at the feel of him inside you.
âYou wonât disappear, will you?â You whisper in a daze of pleasure.
No, he chants against your breast.
âNo, no, no. I canât lose you.â He holds you tight to him like he means it.
Peter has pulled the top of your dress down to your waist now and his hands roam freely over your back, plotting the elevated terrain of your shoulders, the valley between your breasts, and the maps of rivers at your wrists.
He lays fully back down and takes you with him. You smile against his kiss.
âGetting tired, old man?â
âMmm, Iâm younger than youâtechnicallyâ negative one years old next month.â He bites your ear. You laugh. He thrusts up into you. You moan and clutch him by his clothed shoulders.
Peter cups your cheek in his hand. The one with the missing scar. You turn your face to kiss his unblemished palm. You rock on him slowly, his mouth parts in bliss.
âDoes this mean anything can change at any time?â You ask, glancing at the inside of his hand.
âYes but thatâs always been a given.â Cheeky.
âNo, I donât mean just anything. Iâm not talking about normal changes, I concerned aboutââ
âDissolving out of a photograph? Ceasing to exist?â He teases, flicking your tattoo.
âOr Chuck Berry never writing Johnny B. Goode?â
âWho?â Peter delivers in convincing deadpan curiosity before breaking out into a beautiful grin.
You pinch his side. âRat.â You can feel the intensity of his jerking response to the pinch where heâs buried warmly inside you.
Peter nods, âI donât know. I hate saying that I donât know and I hate that worried little look on your face, but I promise that it doesnât change anything. We are here and like it or not the only thing certain is change.â
âThe mortal agreement.â
âThere is one thing I do know. No matter what I change, no matter where I go. I find you. Even when I send you away, you bounce back. Right back into my arms. A less scientifically minded man might think that love has itâs own special inter-dimensional set of physics. We just⊠keep extracting entropy from a closed system. No matter how hard I break the billiards they fly right back to the center of the table in formation. Not always in the same order, but⊠still⊠accounted for. I thought it was fragile, like butterfly wings, you know? But Iâm learning itâs durable. Itâs elastic, alive. And you always bounce back.â
âSounds less like time travel and more like pattern reconfiguration.â
Peter tucks your hair behind your ear and drinks in your face, nodding thoughtfully. âEverything you say. Everything youâve said. Itâs all like something thatâs on the tip of my tongue.â
You grin, bending over him, taking his pretty face in your hands, you kiss him and suck his tongue into your mouth, bobbing your mouth on the tip of it suggestively, âis it?â You smile. Heâs still hard in you. You hope he never stops. This is how you should have every conversation about everything from here on out. Joined together, the beast with two backs as Shakespeare would say.
âI donât want to cum.â He groans into your mouth, âwhen I cum Iâll have to stop being inside you, and I donât want that, I want to live inside you.â
Call it the contrarian in you, but the admission only makes you want to force it out of him against his will. To make him fall apart precisely because he said he was trying his best to keep it together.
You clench, ride him, and moan into his ear until heâs nearly tapping out from ecstasy and when he comes he calls your name.
âOh no.â You gasp, looking around worriedly.
âWhat? What is it?â Peter halfway sits up, adrenaline opening his eyes fully.
âDo you think your parents heard us?â You grin teasingly.
Peter sighs with relief and shakes his head, kissing your cheek and crushing you against his chest in a hug.
You donât worry about tonight, the shoes you left outside, the rented jacket in the reception hall, or what will transpire in the next 13 months. Everything will bounce back in the end.
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
Tagging everyone who interacted with the post asking who was interested in this Peter Roiter fic:
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#Case 63#Peter Roiter x you#Peter Roiter x Reader#Oscar Isaac#fanfiction#fan fiction#reader insert#self insert
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CHAPTER 3: THE RETURN (scibill au/shift falls)
The morning after their intense night of investigation, the team was gathered in the Mystery Shack, reviewing their findings and preparing for the next steps. The air was filled with a mixture of anticipation and tension as they awaited any new developments.
Suddenly, a familiar, almost palpable energy filled the room. The temperature dropped, and a swirling vortex of light appeared in the center of the Shack. The group watched in awe as the vortex stabilized, revealing a figure stepping out from it. It was Stanford Pines, looking older but unmistakably recognizable, his presence commanding and intense.
Stanleyâs eyes widened with a mix of relief and apprehension. âStanford! Youâre back!â
Stanford, his face a mask of complex emotions, stepped forward. His gaze was fixed on Stanley, and his expression hardened. âStanley⊠Itâs been a long time. Youâve done quite a job making things complicated.â
Stanleyâs relief quickly turned into confusion and concern. âStanford, weâve been trying to find you! We thought we lost you forever.â
Stanfordâs eyes flared with anger. âAnd youâve done so much to make things worse. I had hoped that after all these years, you might have understood the gravity of what happened. Instead, I find you entangled with forces beyond your control.â
Dipper, still processing the gravity of the situation, stepped forward cautiously. âYouâre⊠the author of the journals. Weâve read your writings. Youâre the one who documented the strange occurrences in Gravity Falls.â
Stanfordâs gaze shifted to Dipper, his anger momentarily giving way to a flicker of surprise and curiosity. âYouâve read them? So you know something of what I went through.â
Dipper nodded. âWeâve been trying to understand the mysteries of Gravity Falls. Your journals have been a huge part of that. But⊠what happened? Why are you so angry?â
Stanfordâs eyes darkened with frustration. âI was betrayed by those I trusted, forced into exile in a dimension I could barely comprehend. Iâve spent thirty years trying to rectify the damage and understand what went wrong. And now, I return to find my brother involved with entities like Bill Cipher.â
Bill, standing slightly apart, observed the interaction with an inscrutable expression. âStanford, itâs been a long time. Youâve missed quite a lot, including the evolution of Gravity Falls and the people in it.â
Stanfordâs anger flared again as he looked at Bill. âYou. Youâre part of the reason my life was turned upside down. What do you want now?â
Billâs tone was almost taunting. âOh, Iâm just a curious observer. Iâm interested in seeing how the pieces fall into place, especially with someone like you back in the mix.â
Stanley took a deep breath, stepping between Stanford and Bill. âStanford, we need to focus on the bigger picture. Weâve been dealing with anomalies and disturbances here in Gravity Falls. We need your help to fix this mess.â
Stanfordâs expression softened slightly as he looked at Stanley. âHelp? After everything thatâs happened, you want my help?â
Stanley nodded firmly. âYes. Weâre all in this together. Whatever happened in the past, we need to put it aside and focus on resolving the issues at hand.â
Stanford hesitated, then looked around at the assembled team. His gaze settled on Dipper and Mabel, who had been actively involved in the search for him. âI see that youâve been working hard to understand whatâs happening here. Perhaps thereâs something to be salvaged after all.â
With a begrudging nod, Stanford began to discuss the anomalies and disturbances with the team, sharing his insights and knowledge. As they worked together, the atmosphere slowly began to shift from one of tension to cooperation.
The return of Stanford Pines marked a turning point in their quest. With his knowledge of the journals and his firsthand experience with the supernatural forces at play, the team gained a valuable ally in their efforts to address the mysteries of Gravity Falls.
As they continued to collaborate, the hope of resolving the challenges before them grew stronger. The bonds between the Pines family, their friends, and even Bill Cipher were tested, but their shared goal of understanding and protecting Gravity Falls united them in their quest.
.
.
As Stanford began to rejoin the team, he and the others quickly set to work analyzing the recent anomalies and disturbances in Gravity Falls. With the combined expertise of Stanford, Bill Cipher, and Fiddleford McGucket, they formed a plan to investigate the core of these disturbances.
Stanford pulled out his old journal and laid it on the table. The pages were filled with sketches, notes, and theories about the supernatural phenomena in Gravity Falls. âThis journal contains information on the dimensional rifts and the entities that might be causing these disruptions. Weâll need to use it to pinpoint the source of the anomalies.â
Dipper, eager to contribute, asked, âWhat can we do to help? How can we use this information to find the source?â
Stanford flipped through the journal, stopping at a page marked with an intricate diagram of a dimensional rift. âWe need to create a device that can track the specific frequency of these rifts. It will allow us to zero in on their origin.â
Mabel, ever optimistic, chimed in, âWe can help with the building and testing! Weâve been getting pretty good at dealing with weird gadgets.â
Stanley nodded in agreement. âWeâll set up a workspace here in the Shack. McGucket, you and I will handle the technical aspects of the device. The kids and Wendy can assist with the research and fieldwork.â
Bill Cipher, intrigued by the unfolding plan, added, âWhile you work on the device, I can help gather more information on the dimensional fluctuations. My sources might provide additional insights.â
As the team split up to tackle their tasks, the atmosphere in the Mystery Shack became one of determined activity. The construction of the tracking device required precise work and coordination, with McGucket and Stanley meticulously assembling the components. Meanwhile, Dipper, Mabel, and Wendy researched the recent disturbances, documenting their findings and testing preliminary theories.
Over the next few days, the team made significant progress. The tracking device was nearing completion, and they had gathered enough data to identify a few potential locations of high dimensional activity.
One evening, as they were finalizing the device, Bill Cipher approached Stanford with a more personal tone. âStanford, I must admit, Iâm curious. What do you intend to do once we locate the source of these disturbances?â
Stanford looked up from his work, his expression a mix of determination and uncertainty. âI intend to fix what was broken. If there are forces at play that threaten Gravity Falls and the dimensions beyond, we need to neutralize them. Itâs a chance to correct some of the wrongs of the past.â
Billâs eyes glinted with a hint of amusement. âAh, the classic quest for redemption. Well, I suppose I canât fault you for that.â
The next morning, the team was ready to test the device. They set up a field station in one of the locations identified as a potential epicenter for the disturbances. As they activated the device, it began to emit a series of beeps and lights, signaling the presence of a dimensional rift nearby.
Dipper, holding the device, looked at Stanford. âWeâre getting a strong reading. Should we proceed?â
Stanford nodded, his face set with resolve. âYes. Letâs see where this leads.â
Following the deviceâs readings, the team ventured into the woods surrounding Gravity Falls. The atmosphere grew tense as they approached the source of the rift. The air shimmered, and an unnatural energy crackled around them.
Suddenly, they arrived at a clearing where the rift was visible, a swirling vortex of energy pulsating in the air. The team watched in awe as the riftâs chaotic energy shifted and swirled.
Stanley turned to Stanford. âThis is it. What do we do now?â
Stanford took a deep breath, his expression a mix of determination and apprehension. âWe need to stabilize the rift and identify its source. It might be linked to whatever is causing the disturbances.â
As they prepared to act, the team knew that they were on the brink of uncovering significant truths about the forces affecting Gravity Falls. The riftâs energy promised both danger and discovery, and the resolution of their quest was within reach.
With their combined efforts and the knowledge gained from their journey, they were ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead, united in their mission to protect their world and seek answers to the mysteries that had long haunted them.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 4
#billford#the book of bill#billford au#gravity falls#gravity falls au#gravity falls fanfiction#gravity falls au fanfic#shift falls#scientist bill cipher au#scibill#scientist bill cipher#gravity falls stanford#stanford pines#stanley pines#mabel pines#dipper pines#wendy corduroy#gravity falls wendy#soos ramirez
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đđ§đđđ«-đđąđŠđđ§đŹđąđšđ§đđ„ - đđđ«đ đđ
đđ„đđ± đđđ§đŻđđ«đŹ đ± đđđđđđ« / đđźđ©đđ«đđ«đąđđ§đđŹ đ± đđđđđđ«
á---á
The Superfriends and several other DEO agents gathered in the DEO's bullpen, their faces marked with determination. J'onn, as the leader of this mission, led the meeting. "We have evidence that y/n was forcibly taken to another dimension. Winn and Lena found particles in Kara's apartment that indicate a portal."
Winn nodded and began tapping a holographic representation of various dimensions, which he then made appear on the nearby monitor. "Based on the tracks and energetic patterns we found, I believe she must have crossed over into a parallel dimension."
Lena, her brow furrowed in worry, continued Winn's initial sentence. "There are many dimensions, hundreds. And there are magical portals that allow you to travel between individual dimensions. But we have to find exactly the right one to bring y/n back. The human body genetics are not attuned to other dimensions and if we take too long it can have dire consequences for her."
Winn studied maps and data for signs of anything unusual while Supergirl and the others talked about what the chances were of finding the right portal before he found anything. "It appears that these dimensions are all unstable. There are energy fluctuations that suggest they are not naturally occurring. Someone or something is behind this."
"Can you locate the portal?" the Martian asked and the young man began typing furiously on his keyboard, analyzing more data. "Yes, I can trace and locate the portal's trail. However, it moves through different locations, making it difficult to search, but there is a pattern."
"Good, then let's not waste any time. We have to get y/n back unharmed. Where do we start?" Supergirl was impatient and the chances of her survival in other dimensions made her increasingly tense. She looked at everyone gathered at the round table and waited for the technician's answer on this matter. "Your apartment."
The Superfriends set off, ready to solve the mystery of your whereabouts. They followed the traces of the portal into Kara's apartment, while the magical energies revealed their presence in her living room. Winn positioned himself in the center of the room, the device in his hands beeping in a monotonous sound. "This is where the energy flow seems to be strongest. I'm opening the portal right at this point, get ready."
Everyone involved nodded in unison before positioning themselves a little further to avoid being caught in the first strong vortex of the approach. Winn, with the simple knowledge of his trade, opened the colorful portal, the stream of mixed air forming a strong suction. "There it is, we have to get through it!"
J'onn was the first to walk through the portal. The others followed cautiously, ready for any surprise on the other side of the swirling and pulsating portal as they were carried into a world unlike anything they had seen before. The surroundings were strange, the sky an unreal dark blue and the trees streaked with strange shadows. The landscape was distorted, the colors gloomy and dark, and an eerie silence hung in the freezing air. This dimension seemed threatening and scary for everyone involved.
"Stay here. I'll give you a quick overview from above," the blonde breathed and tried to activate her flight power by jumping, but it was as if the gravity was different in this world. A mixture of confusion and concern spread through her. "My superpowers don't work here."
J'onn also felt the same. His shapeshifting abilities failed and he was unable to establish a telepathic connection with you. "The laws of physics are distorted here. We have to be careful and rely on our other abilities."
Winn, using his technical skills, tried to scan the structure of this dimension to see if this National City was built the same as what they knew. Meanwhile, Lena was also looking at her self-made equipment when she realized that her scientific instruments were also compromised, but they were hitting the traces of your DNA that she had previously borrowed from the DEO laboratory. "The dimension is playing with the laws of nature that we know. We have to adapt and proceed carefully, but I have a trace and it leads directly to her and Alex's actual apartment."
Kara, who knew every inch of the alternate dimension apartments, led the group through the strange looking and empty streets. And as they got close, she felt an eerie pressure in the air. Lena's technology also suggested that it was 90% certain that you were in there, but in relatively poor condition. "Something's wrong."
"Then we shouldn't waste any more time than we've already lost." J'onn ordered and carefully entered the apartment. The lights flickered dimly and the atmosphere was heavy. Not a second had passed when they took a step into it when a figure appeared in front of them that made the blood run cold in their veins.
It was Alex, but not the loving sister Kara knew. This red-haired woman had a cold look in her eyes, and her clothes were surrounded by a deep dark aura. âWhere is y/n and what have you done to her?!â Supergirl asked, standing protectively in front of Lena and Winn, who had no combat experience.
The person addressed smiled mockingly and pointed to a captive person who was sitting motionless in a chair with magical and iron chains on his neck and wrists. Her gaze fell directly on you and your tired and exhausted figure, but your eyes met hers, in which there was a silent cry for help.
J'onn tried to make telepathic contact with you again, but it was as if there was an impenetrable barrier between you and him that he couldn't break through. Alex laughed darkly. "You can't do anything. Here I am the ruler and you are powerless. I'm sorry, but she's mine now."
The Superfriends now faced a tough challenge that tested not only their skills, but also Kara in the deepest ways. She stared at the woman as she maintained her defensive position and began to negotiate in a calm but firm voice. "Alex, please. We know that you have lost your wife and miss her dearly. But our y/n.. She doesn't belong here, she will die if she stays here any longer. This dimension is not meant for her!"
Alex smiled smugly and took long backward steps towards you. She knelt down in front of you, her fingers gently caressing your chin as she looked into your eyes. A veil of tears covered your eyes and you flinched away from her touch. "She will stay here and take my wife's place. Same character traits, same looks. I just have to train up the evilness in her."
While the redhead turned away from you, Lena took the opportunity and slowly crept into an adjoining room that led her directly to you. Supergirl didn't notice anything at first, but the other two men did and tried to keep Alex in check with distraction.
Lena quietly reached your side, but remained hidden in the doorway and whispered soothing words to you. "I'm here, honey. You just have to hold on a little longer."
You nodded slightly, restricted in your movements as your eyes reflected fear mixed with hope. Winn was currently watching the portal's activity on his monitor, keeping track of the time they had left before the portal would close forever. "It's now or never, guys. We don't have much time left." He whispered, pressing his statement.
J'onn drew attention to himself by walking towards her and threatening her in her personal space while Supergirl charged forward and incapacitated her with a well-aimed blow to the neck. Using his technical skills, Winn deactivated the energy sources of your bonds, which the redhead had enhanced with her powers, and the power on your neck that emanated from them began to fade.
At that moment Lena freed you from the chains and you gratefully threw your arms around her neck, barely able to hold back your tears. While the black-haired woman tried to calm you down, Alex was persistent and tried to recover from unconsciousness, but Supergirl kept her at a distance to keep you safe, placing the chains that had once adorned your neck around her. "She will not stay here but will leave this place. You will no longer have any power over her."
Lena stood at your side, a gentle smile on her lips as you slowly propped yourself up with Lena's help. You felt too weak, as if time in this dimension was sapping your strength, and she put an arm around your waist to help you walk. "Darling, how are you feeling?"
You tried to smile, but the exhaustion was clear in your eyes and face. "A little weak, but I think I'll survive. Thanks for saving me."
"The Superfriends always stand up for each other," the blonde suddenly spoke as she carefully stepped closer to you and gently pulled you into her arms, rubbing her hands soothingly over your back. "It's good to have you back."
"Thanks, Kara. For everything." You whispered imperceptibly and she let go of you, gently wiping tears from your cheeks that still seemed to be lost. "Not for that, you're family. But we have to be careful now, y/n/n. Returning from this alternate dimension will be very stressful on your body."
You nodded weakly and exhaled deeply. You leaned heavily on Lena as she slowly moved with you through the dark atmosphere. The air seemed to shimmer here and the surroundings seemed unreal and threatening to your eyes. The forces of this world pulled on you as if they were trying to devour your energy and you latched onto the black-haired woman wearily, the dizziness momentarily taking over you.
"We shouldn't stay here too long and move faster. The portal will close soon," said Winn, keeping a close eye on the surroundings while at the same time analyzing the remaining energy flows. Supergirl and J'onn were currently forming a protective barrier around you and Lena, feeling the strangeness of this atmosphere deep in their consciousness. "Not just because of that. It's been too long for Y/n, her body can't take it much longer. She's about to pass out."
"We have to hurry," Supergirl spoke composedly, her words swallowed by the murky air. "Y/n, we're almost there. Hang in there."
You nodded weakly and concentrated on moving forward step by step as the atmosphere continued to sap your strength. When you finally reached the portal, Lena sat on the floor with you and gave your exhaustion a break. The other two stood guard, ready for any unexpected turn of events while Winn took control of the technology. "I will ensure that no further portals can be opened into our dimension after we return."
Looking back on these negative experiences, your thoughts turned to the days you had overcome here. Only a warm hand from Lena on your shoulder let you out of them again, a touch of relief sparking within you when you saw a black vortex of wind open up in front of you.
Seconds later, you returned to the correct dimension. The swirl of paint closed right behind you and the young guy completed his job by locking it securely. It disappeared, and the eerie world of the alternate dimension was now safely locked away. You leaned against Lena, exhausted, before you briefly tipped over and J'onn caught you just seconds before you hit the ground. "She needs to get medical attentions immediately. I will fly her, meet me there.â
á---á
When you got to the medical department, J'onn immediately lowered you onto a stretcher and was happy to see that you were still conscious. Doctors immediately had their hands on you, trying to stabilize your condition with fluids and watching you to make sure you hadn't suffered any serious effects from the trip.
You closed your eyes briefly, not noticing when your real Alex reached the DEO's medical department, which she was allowed to leave a few hours ago, and quickly walked over to you before sitting down next to you. A relieved but also worried smile crossed her face as she gently stroked your hair and she carefully leaned over you, wrapping you in her arms. "Are you okay? Are you in pain? I missed you so much."
Returning the firm grip, you felt the love and concern that Alex felt for you and you also noticed that the burden was visibly lifted from your shoulders as you held her safe and sound in your arms. "I missed you too. And I'm fine. I'm just really tired and weak."
Suddenly you both let your emotions flow and she hugged you tighter, as if she could keep you close to her forever. You closed your eyes again, sheltered in her arms, feeling the familiar feeling of safety that only Alex could give you.
The silence in the room was only broken by the gentle breathing of both of you. Alex finally broke her silence, just whispering in your ear with a loving intensity. "I thought I had lost you. Thinking about it for the last few hours has been unbearable."
With the last of your strength you held her even closer to you, placing soft kisses on her hair as her head rested on your chest. "I'm here, babe. I'm with you again. Nothing will ever be able to separate us."
The redhead lifted her head to look deep into your eyes. Your eyes met, and in that moment the full depth of your love and the fears you had endured were reflected on both sides. "I love you so much," Alex confessed, her voice broken by emotion as tears began to dance on her cheeks.
You smiled, a mixture of happiness and gratitude filling your body. You lifted your upper body briefly and pressed a kiss on her lips, full of passion, tenderness and all the love and care that you felt and carried within you for her. The world outside the medical ward seemed to disappear for a moment and only your love mattered.
After reluctantly breaking away from your kiss, she placed her forehead against yours and enjoyed the closeness of you. "We've been through so much together," Alex whispered. "But that was definitely the hardest thing I've ever had to overcome."
You nodded in agreement and looked for her hand, linking it tightly with yours. "You are my rock, Alex. I am so grateful that you are by my side and it is so nice to be with you again, where I belong."
The tears of relief shone in Alex's eyes and their love was on full display. A smile played on her rosy lips. "And I'm grateful that Kara brought you back. I wouldn't have known what to do without you."
You gently wiped a tear from Alex's cheek and gave her another kiss on her wet cheeks. "We always found each other, didn't we? No matter what happens, we always end up back together."
The redhead lay down next to you in the empty space, her hand placed gently on your chest to feel the still slow but steadily improving heartbeat as she snuggled against you. Her head rested on your shoulder and so the two of you remained in your embrace, aware that an unbreakable connection existed in your hearts.
The Superfriends stood respectfully behind the glass as you shared one last loving kiss before falling asleep. The air seemed to be filled with love and warmth, and the others felt that they were witnessing a very special moment. They shared a moment of joy.
#supergirl fanfiction#supergirl fanfic#supergirl#superfriends#supergirl imagine#supergirl oneshot#supergirl cw#alex danvers fanfiction#alex danvers imagines#alex danvers fanfic#alex danvers imagine#alex danvers#alex danvers x you#alex danvers x reader#kara danvers x reader#kara danvers imagine#kara danvers#kara danvers x you#kara danvers fanfic#kara danvers fanfiction#fanfic#fanfiction#oneshot#imagines#imagine#lena luthor#lena luthor x reader#writeblr#writers on tumblr
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opposite AU? The Naâvi are a hyper-intelligent species hundreds of years ahead of humans in terms of development. They thrive of renewable and clean energy, coming to Earth to rid the planet of the humans that are destroying it. Naâvi jake sully uses his human avatar - maybe they managed to figure out semi-permanent transfer - to attempt to reason with the owner of an incredibly large agricultural megacompany in Brazil (and South America in general) that contributes to deforestation to increase their farmland. He meets his daughter (human Neytiri). Naâvi quaritch destroys Neytiris home city, killing her father. And the rest is history.
the Naâviâs technology utilises their queue in some way - maybe as a power source? Or their machines are just some really advanced biotechnology influenced by the plants in their homeworld. I was just picturing a smooth, beautiful Naâvi cruiser with no steering wheel. Just a mass of electrical wires looking like vines on a dashboard or a chair with a naâvi plugged into it.
Naâvi spider grew up on Earth after the naâvi fled back to their home system (multiple planets colonised). He is shorter - stunted growth due to increased gravity - and always slumped to appear smaller, and still outcast. His greater strength means he hurts people on accident some times. He lives in a megacity with the Sullyâs in South America. When Quaritch finds him - maybe he has a human body, maybe another Naâvi one - he thinks of him as incredibly primitive in his views. When Spider is kidnapped (Jake sully leads a rebellion against the increasing colonisation of Earth - more navi are coming planetside after striking deals with multiple countries - Spider has info on the human resistance) he has no clue how to use anything on the ship he is being kept on which is very funny to quaritch.
so I guess this would be still an evil human AU - people like Neytiri, Jake and the kids donât really give a fuck about the planet. Jakeâs reasoning for turning to their side is basically human life is beautiful in its own fleeting way and deserves to be preserved. Tons of hisotry shouldnât be erased. The planet can be saved while still preserving humanity.
But this doesnât mean Naâvi are good guys. They are colonising the planet. In areas they set up camp they tear down infrastructure and attempt to restore the local ecosystem - maybe using humans as fertiliser could be a little fucked up plot twist. Any human that draws too near would die. As the ârejuvenationâ of Earth begins, population of humans dwindle and are pushed from their homes. I donât see a reason why Naâvi would use human avatars as their isnât really an advantage other than being able to breathe 100% of the time - as well as not feeling the effects of increased gravity.
I think at this point - Naâvi have colonised most of their home system - with successful colonies on other planets. So some naâvi may have evolved to withstand higher gravity. the concoction the Naâvi use in order to speed up plant growth creates dangerous megafauna. Naâvi do experiments on earth animals to cross-hybrid them with their strange funky biotech. Meaning Naâvi can pilot them likes mechs. This could help with the increased gravity thing.
Naâvi intererence using powerful gravitational waves to destroy infrastructure could creat similar phenomena as the flux vortexes. These areas could provide naâvi relief from the increased gravity - which is why they erect their encampments are puns the graveyards of cities.
this desperately needs a way to nerf the Naâvi. In the original series - itâs their primitivity and morals that nerf them a lil. They canât stand up against the absolutely giant machinery and guns the humans use - and they also wont resort to the same tactics. I donât think there could be an issue with teh Naâvi tech not being compatible with earths gravity - as they would have colonised Alpha Centari already - which is a huge gas giant. The only think I can think of is seasons and irregular weather patterns - Pandora is tidally locked so it doesnât experience seasons. They may not be prepared for winter - or might freak out once the plants they have just regrown start dying in winter.
This has been in my notes for ages - I remember trying to think of an actual plot point thatâd turn this AU into a story but I couldnât think of anything đ€·ââïž any ideas?
Sorry itâs taken me so long to reply! Iâve been terrible at updating tumblr recently âš This is really well thought out already! Youâve done 90% of the hard work , which is figuring out the premise in the first place!
Since itâs an opposite au you could focus on any part of the original A2 plot in this setting. I love the idea of Jake having a human avatar, after living his whole life as a Naâvi đŻ I think thereâs a lot to explore there but aLso the humans-being-used-as-fertiliser side plot is too juicy to ignore⊠the only question is who is going to get trapped in the process and need rescuing? đ€šđ€š
#opposite au#avatar the way of water#miles quaritch#miles spider socorro#jake sully#neytiri sully#avatar 2
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not seen you post about it. So what is T-H30's backstory or lore? if they have any ofcourse.
their name and namedropping of Hedo in the first post tagged with them I assume they're an android of some flavour
Long response to this one and lore drop so heads up!
Theodora Cellamoun is pretty much my base OC for any universe, since she ended up being a dimension traveler at a very young age. (Gravity Falls reference because that's what started me to do any of this in the first place and don't really want to forget my origins)
Each variant of this OC goes through similar events up to a certain point:
- The loss of her house and family from a young age and having to manage on her own.
- ending up in Gravity Falls and meeting up Stanford Pines and being her little assistant but also more since Ford enjoyed her presence and curiosity and wanted to teach her so she homeschooled her the best he could. (She ended up in that town around the age of 10)
- skipping to the age of 14 when on one faithful night, Cipher took over Ford's body, things seemed eerie around that time, the portal project was complete and Theo got too curious and ended up being beaten up to death by her possessed father figure and thrown into the interdimensional vortex.
- 4 years of dimension traveling on her own and having to learn how to adapt and survive through any means necessary. (There's also and AU regarding Theo in the DB universe that is different from her usual storyline but that's just because of a decision she took, but we'll talk about Never Left AU another time)
- age 18, she finally reunites with Stanford but he's much older. For her it was only 4 years, while for Ford it was 24 years and still counting as fugitives, outlaws and keeping up dimension hopping.
- 6 years later the two return to Gravity Falls, Ford acts pissy on Stanley because he tried to get his brother back, she doesn't comment anything and just listens and watches and is immediately rather pleasantly impressed by the twins.
- takes part in some cannon events of that universe but her presence doesn't affect the course of the events and they all go smoothly (even if unpleasant like the Weirdmagedon)
- post Weirdmagedon and twins leaving Gravity Falls, Theo at the age of 24 is left with uncertainty in her heart, since she feels like after all this time she no longer belongs there and thus embarcs on a journey of her own volition and continues to dimension travel on her own.
- as fun as the journey is, she still fights with that feeling of unfulfillment and emptiness and doesn't fully comprehend it.
- ends up in the Dragon Ball universe and heard the rumors of some wishing orbs that can grant you any wish, and that seemed like a fine promising idea.
- tries to steall the dragon balls from Bulma (because obviously she collected them all and that's where they all ended up) and was successful, however Goku and Vegeta chased after her, until they finally found her trying to figure out how to activate the dragon balls. Vegeta recognized Theo (they met in the past and it wasn't pretty for either of them), and warned Kakarot, but Goku used his charisma and diplomacy and ended up befriending her after finding out that she just wanted to wish for something to make her happy, but didn't really know what.
- because of Goku and Bulma being rather impressed with her skills, she ends up in the FighterZ inner circle and works at capsule Corp along with Bulma on all sorts of projects.
- Bulma and Theo would work on a very ambitious project, that will end up disastrously, since Bulma got away almost unscathed and Theo pretty much died in the process and saving Bulma from having a similar fate.
- because the dragon balls have been used at the time, and Bulma felt partially guilty about what happened, she decided to "fix her up", thus Theo's corpse being used in order for her to be reborn as T-H30.
- T-H30 has some attributes that Gero's previous creation have and even more, but even so T-H30 is still an experimental somewhat unstable prototype that needs to be under surveillance and tested periodically in order to make sure everything is in check.
At the time I wasn't sure where to place Theo/T-H30 and I thought at the time that Bulma and Hedo working together to save a life was a nice idea, but then I remembered that Trunks and Goten were teenagers at the time and the attribution of T-H30 being their babysitter wouldn't fit so instead I decided to place T-H30 somewhere, perhaps after Resurrection F. The idea of Hedo having an android lab assistant is still something I want to keep in mind and I think the two would get along nicely.
So yeah, T-H30 was still a work in progress and she still is, but at least now I have set some more things about her. Sorry that this ask was long but I wanted to explain as best and briefly as I could.
Anyways, this is basically the OC's evolution up to the T-H30 point. Enjoy!
#anon ask#theodora's replies#T-H30#theodora cellamon#dragon ball#gravity falls#dragon ball oc#gravity falls oc#theodora's art#it feels weird to suddenly see someone interested in my little nothings#i don't mind it#but it's strange cause it doesn't happen#I hope all of your questions have been answered#please don't hate me for being cringe#at least artober was good in providing me with some props for this ask#aaahhhhh-!
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No Role Modelz (ATSV Black Cat Variant! Reader Insert)
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4: Current Chapter
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
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^^links 2 chapters!! this story is also on ao3, wattpad, and quotev under the same name <;33
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Chapter Four: Far From Home
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You felt like you were being pulled apart. Immeasurable amounts of pressure was pressed against your form as you were thrown through this vibrant vortex.
You opened your mouth to make an attempt at calling out to Miles, but the only thing to escape your lips was a guttural scream as your body flung deeper into the multiverse. You kept your eyes screwed shut until you felt your stomach drop. Now falling rapidly, you instinctively reached out for your grappling hook until-
âfUCk-â
Pain shot through your system as you glitched out wildly. You faintly heard your name being called out, but the ringing in your ears muffled it greatly. You felt a line of web coiling around your waist, only to pull you towards a firm chest. Eyes screwed closed, you rubbed at your forehead in an attempt to clear your fogged-up state. Opting to use your free hand to wrap around the form that held you tight.
âMiles? What is this place-â
Finally opening your eyes, you were met with a sea of colourful patterns and textures. Buildings piled ontop of eachother, and the streets were packed with traffic. Scents of exotic spices and engine exhaust bombarded your nose alongside the overwhelming sounds of busy-city bustle.
Miles set you down gently on a nearby ledge before swinging off, calling out for Gwen. Collecting your bearings, you secured the end of your grappling hook onto the edge of the ledge and slowly inched your way downwards. You paused to take in the scenery around you. You werenât home, thatâs for sureâŠsomething told you that you were quite far from it, actually.
The gravity of your situation had begun to weigh down on you, hard. You were far away from everything you knew, everyone you knew, everyone you take care ofâ oh god, whoâs gonna feed the cats? Or help pay the neighbor's phone bill? Or donate to the womenâs shelter? Or-
âWhoâs the new guy?â
A cheery voice interrupted your spiraling spree. Swiveling your body towards the source, you were met with three masked forms, each atop a tall, pointed tower. You squinted in their direction, making two of them out to be Gwen and Miles. The third stood tall on the highest point of the tower, sending a masked wink in Milesâ direction.
âHey Pav, heâs Miles. And he wasnât invited.â
âNew guy must be in love with you~â
Taking in this âPavâ characterâs outfit, you deducted him to be another-another Spider-man. (Just how many of these guys are there?) You werenât sure if it would be a smart choice to hang low or move your way towards the Spider-squad. You were about to decide on the former until you felt a deep rumble.Â
Flying in the corner of your eye, with newfound speed and agility, was once again, Spot. You took in his new appearance. He seemed to beâŠspottier. Darker, covered in more holes than you last remember. He bounded around with confidence, aggressively popping in and out of black voids he scattered around the city. Slinking yourself off the ledge, you tried your best to hide your body in shadows as you followed Spot.Â
But before you could even come close to catching up to him, he was already near the platform base of the tower where Miles and the others still hung. You watched as he reeled his arm back to throw a disk-shaped void in their direction. Adrenaline, fear, and rage now coursing through your veins, you ripped your body away from the darkness-complete focus on reaching the lanky spotted form that stood under you. It seemed the others had the same idea as at the edge of your peripheral, Miles, Pav, and Gwen also jumped in the villain's direction.Â
âAh, hello, Spider-man.â Your eyes furrowed brows as Spot's voice reached your ears. You couldnât, however, stop the giggle from bubbling out your throat as the three young heroes confusedly tried to figure out exactly which Spider-man Spot was addressing. That lighthearted feeling quickly dissipated as you watched The Spot use the dark blot on his torso to violently fling Miles into the nearest wall.Â
âMiles!â The scream of his name left your mouth before you could think. Three sets of masked eyes flicked in your direction, followed by a head-tilt from Spot.Â
âInteresting,â The spotted villain spoke. âSo youâre here too?â Â
A groan escaped Milesâ mouth, followed by a strained mumble of your name. Pavâs pointed finger juts in your direction. In what felt like half a second, you were finally standing on the same platform as the others, mustering what you could of your strength to launch the pointed end of your who towards Spot.Â
Finger still flexed in your direction, the barefooted hero spoke.
âAnd you areâŠ?â
âIâm-â
âA friend! I-Iâll explain after-â
Miles quickly interrupted your introduction, running towards the spotted villain, who now had cockily tossed himself off the platform. Without hesitation, you followed suit. Out of the corner of your eye, a brief confused glance was thrown between Pav and Gwen before engaging in the chase.
âCan you tell Iâve leveled up my game? Iâm on a journey of self-improvement.â
Spot was way stronger than you remembered. As the four of you swung around the city, you all constantly found yourselves wrapped up in Spotâs dark vortexes. He treated you all like ragdolls, using his power to throw you off your own tracks - smash you into whatever solid surface he could. Across your body you felt the aching blossoms of bruises developing under your suit, you silently thanked the intense surge of adrenaline running through your veins for keeping you going this long - given the amount of injuries youâve probably sustained by now.Â
You winced once as Miles crashed into a billboard under you, and again as Gwen threw an agitated quip while she swung right past him. As she pulled herself infront of you, you couldnât help but furrow your brow in wonder of what kind of history they have.
âThis romantic tension is so palpable-â
You flinched as Pav suddenly appeared, swinging beside you. You noticed his full attention was on Gwen and Miles, watching intensely as they bickered about the current situation.Â
âUh-â
âWill they? Wonât they? How can you guys even concentrate?â
Now overfilled with curiosity, you couldnât help but engage in Pavâs one-man conversation, casually following beside him as you trailed behind the aforementioned couple into what appeared to be some sort of large scientific facility. With a grin on your face, you tapped Pavâs shoulder before parting your lips.
âSo⊠are those two like a thing? Or-â
âNot sure really,â
Pav responded to you with a nonchalant shrug. You watched as his masked eyes glinted with a mischievous gleam. âBut hey⊠I wonder if he knows about Hobie-â
âWhat should I know about Hobie?â
âOh, looks like he did not know.â
You couldnât help but snicker at Pavâs playfulness, immediately receiving a glare in your direction from Miles. The causality of this conversation had almost made you forget the intensity of your situation. Almost.Â
The horrified screams of the Alchemax employees filled your ears, followed by the ghoulish sounds of Spotsâ spots swallowing up the room around you. You all picked up your pace, now switching to a sprint towards the villain. Just as you were about to reach him-
âUGH-â
A grunt escaped the four of you as you bounced off of this suddenly materialized barrier that separated you all from Spot. Instinctively you began to strike at it- punching, scratching, even using your whip in an attempt to take it down, no luck. You still barely had a grasp on what exactly was going on, but when you saw the large collider in front of you start to move, a heavy pit settled itself in your stomach. This is bad. This is really bad.Â
âAnyone got any ideas!?â Gwen asked, panic laced through her voice.
âOh, I have so many, but none for this.â
Exhaustion now conquering your body, you keeled over, dropping your whip to rub at the sweat beading on your forehead. You felt helpless, completely out of ideas. âMiles, what should we do?â
âStand back,â You watched as Miles stared at his trembling hands. âIâve been working on something new.â
You, Gwen, and Pav backed up as Miles reached towards the barrier. You took a tentative breath as you watched Milesâ arms surge with energy, holding in anticipation of the barrier breaking down. In your right ear, Gwen whispered.
âDoes he usually take this long?â
You whispered back. âIâve never seen him do this before.â On your left, Pav spoke up. âHow long does this usually take?â âThatâs what I asked-â
Miles grunted. âJustâŠgive me a second.â
âDo-do you want us to do something? Or do we just stand here-â âAre you like charging it? Or-â
âNo. Iâm absorbing it so I can shoot it back.â
âDoes that hurt? That has to hurt, right?â âDoes this power have a name? OrâŠâ
âPlease, hold your questions until Iâm done breaking this thing!â âIt looks like heâs charging it.â âCharging it? Or breaking it?â âMaybe itâs both?â
âJust-Just let me do this!â
Questions towards Miles filled the room. You, too engrossed in asking questions alongside Gwen and Pav, failed to observe how the room had begun to shake. How Miles had begun to shake. The atmosphere grew warm. The collider whirred louder. Tension and aggression bubbling up as seemingly no progress was made towards breaking down the barrier. Just as it felt like there was no hope-
âOi-oi!â
â-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#miles morales x reader#atsv x you#atsv#reader insert#atsv x reader#atsv reader insert#spider-man: across the spider-verse#across the spiderverse#across the spiderverse x reader#black cat! reader#hobie brown x reader#gwen stacy x reader#pavitr prabhakar x reader#miguel ohara
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fem dreamling after the fishbowl rescue, part 2. soft caretaking and so on (follows up on songs for her)
--
The only word Hob can use to describe the way Dream arrives in her flat is blows.
She blows in, like a breeze, a storm wind that flings all of Hobâs papers into the air and knocks knickknacks off the shelves. Then she stands in the center of the room, hair sticking up in all directions like sheâs possibly forgotten to apply gravity to herself, robe swept sideways around her ankles.
Hob blinks at her from where sheâs sitting at the kitchen island with a pile of student papers that are now all over the floor. âYou alright, love?â
âThe Dreaming is saved,â Dream declares. âI have collected the rogue nightmares. I have resolved the vortex. Is there any tea?â
And she falls over.
âShit.â Hob rushes over to her, gathers up Dreamâs half-conscious body in her arms. Sheâs reminded, uncomfortably, of the moment sheâd pulled her from that glass cage, her stiff, limp form. âWhat happened?â
âStrain on the Dreaming,â says Dream as Hob half-carries, half-drags her over to the couch, âplaces strain on me as well. I have remedied the problems in the Dreaming. I will be fine inâŠâ she thinks. âA few days. Probably.â
âOh, probably.â Hob sighs. âItâs all fine, then.â
Dream either misses Hobâs sarcasm, or chooses to ignore it. âYes.â
Hob gets her settled on the couch. Dream sprawls in the corner, leaning on the arm of the couch, limbs akimbo. Her hands are shaking. She stares at them in fascination. âHmm. Interesting, how it manifests in this body.â
âYouâre telling me you werenât shaking like a leaf in the Dreaming?â
Dream shakes her head, still looking at her trembling hands.Â
Hob lets her shoulders slump for a moment, not quite sure what to do with all this. Then she pulls a blanket off the back of the couch and drapes it over Dream. âStay there. Iâll get you that tea.â
Dream doesnât move. She does pull the blanket close around her.Â
âYou know,â Hob says from the connected kitchen as she puts the kettle on. âNot that I donât want you here, because I do, but Iâd have honestly thought that if you were tired you would recover better in your own realm?â
âYou would normally be correct. But I have found thatââ she stops.Â
âDream?â Hob says, but she stays silent as long as it takes for Hob to put together their tea and come back over, which is not an insignificant amount of time.
âYouâve found thatâŠ?â Hob encourages, passing her her mug.
âI have found thatâŠâ she looks slightly abashed, or maybe just uncomfortable. âThat⊠I would benefit from some company.âÂ
âOh,â Hob says quietly, charmed. âWell. Stay as long as you like, then.â
Dream sips her tea and smiles over the rim of her mug.
Hob sits beside her, self-indulgently letting herself press up, just a bit, against Dreamâs side. Last time sheâd seen her, after pulling her from that dreadful glass orb, Dream had felt just a bit cold to the touch, like sheâd come in from a wintry day. Now, she feels hot. Overexerted. But she doesnât let go of the blanket.
âOther than theâŠâ Hob doesnât fully understand how the Dreaming works. âRecent issues. How have you been holding up?â Since your imprisonment, she means, but doesnât say.
âHolding up?â Dream echoes. âI have repaired what decayed, or replaced it. The damage was quite extensive.â
âNo, I meant you, not the Dreaming,â Hob says.
âI am the Dreaming,â says Dream.
Her gaze darts to Hob, and then away again, and Hob realizes that she is not actually evading the question, but rather willing Hob to understand a different sort of answer. Oh, Dream.
âRepaired it, hm?â Hob says quietly.
Dream nods and takes a sip of her tea, relaxing minutely at Hobâs side.
âWhat was the damage like, before you repaired it?â Hob asks.
âWhen I returnedâŠâ Dreamâs gaze goes distant. âIt is hard to describe without having shown you the Dreaming properly as it stood before. But. It was⊠razed. At intermittent points in my history, Hell has tried to invade the Dreaming. Had I not known what absence I was returning from⊠I might have thought they had done so again, and won.â
Hobâs head is already spinning but she pushes the details aside to focus on the core of the story. âRazed?â
âThe land had died. The residents⊠scattered. The palace in crumbling pieces of stone and broken glass. All was smoke and ruin.â
âOh, Dream.â Hob takes her hand and squeezes it, heart hurting for the desolation she can hear, hidden deep in Dreamâs voice. She can only imagine being freed after such an ordeal and returning to a home that was destroyed â a home that was a reflection of herself.
âBut I have repaired it,â Dream says, like sheâs convincing herself.
âI know you have," Hob says, though she is not, in fact, sure of this at all. âBut⊠recover here as long as you want, okay?â
Dream looks at their joined hands. âYou would be so generous with your time, Hob Gadling?â
Hob scoffs. âGenerous? Do you know how long Iâve craved to have more time with you?â
Oh, too much, too much, shitâ
But Dream just looks curious, considering. No storming off in a fit of pique. âHow long, then?â
Hob swallows. âHow long have we known each other?â
Dream looks up at her, surprised. âI⊠see,â she says. âA fast friend, then. I regret not seeing it.â
âItâs alright,â Hob says. âThings have to come in their own time, hm? Iâve learned that more than once.â
âOr perhaps it simply requires a shift in perspective,â says Dream. âI have had many lately.â
âGood ones, I hope.â
âEventually. Yes.â
They both fall silent, and Hob takes the moment just to observe her. She still looks⊠Well. Better than she had when Hob had rescued her, but not by much. She looks like she has been â and Hob gathers this is approximately true â putting out fire after fire and using her own soul as the extinguisher.
âYour hair is⊠really a mess,â Hob observes, pushing a twisted strand of it behind Dream's ear. âCan I fix it for you?â
âI could manifest this form better,â Dream says, but makes no move to do so.
âIâll fix it,â Hob decides, and fetches a hairbrush and some detangler.
Dream looks curiously at her as Hob wets her hair, and Hob snorts. âWhat, you donât have to trouble with actual hair products in your dream realm?â
âNot as such.â
Hob keeps working the conditioner in. Itâs a good thing her hair is relatively long right now so she actually has this stuff on hand. âWell, letâs hope this is enough that I wonât yank your hair out undoing all these bloody knots.â
âYou will not hurt me by pulling my hair,â Dream says, and Hob does pull her hair then, accidentally, startled by the mental image that brings up. She really does not need that in her head right now. Nope. Not at all.
She pets Dreamâs head in mollification and starts work on the detangling without saying anything else that might become dangerous.
Dream tips her head as Hob works, and Hob wonders if she is actually yanking on her, after all.Â
âDidnât pull on you, did I?â she asks, stilling her brushing.
âNo, itâs.â Dreamâs gaze is fixed on the curve of Hobâs shoulder. âNice. I didnât think.â
Oh. Hobâs heart contracts painfully. Whenâs the last time someone touched you gently, darling?Â
âGood,â she says, swallowing around that.
Then Dream leans her head on Hobâs shoulder. Hob holds her breath, but she doesnât move, just rests there, her half-detangled hair brushing Hobâs cheek.
âAre things really alright now, love?â Hob asks.
Dream makes a noncommittal sort of noise. âI do not think I know what âalrightâ is, at the moment.â
âNo, I suppose not,â Hob allows. She oh-so-carefully winds her arm around Dreamâs shoulders, runs her fingers through her hair.Â
âSo much has⊠changed,â Dream admits. âWhile I was gone. I am trying to believe that these changes are good. Many in the Dreaming seem to think so. Still, I look around my home and⊠sometimes, I do not recognize it.â
Hobâs heart squeezes in her chest. She can just about guess how Dream feels about changes, considering how sheâd reacted when Hob had so much as suggested it as their last official meeting.
âHappens sometimes even when you are looking,â Hob tells her, anyway. âWorld goes crazy right out of the corner of your eye, and when you look back again itâs all different.â
âThe Dreaming shifts with changes in the collective unconscious,â Dream says. âBut always with my guidance. Not. Without.â
âIâm sure at least something is still the same for you?âÂ
âYou are,â Dream says, and Hobâs heart skips.
Dream finds her hand and starts playing with it, tracing the lines of Hobâs palm. âDo not misunderstand and think I do not see the changes in you year by year,â Dream adds. âIt is just. I find that I have come to trust the constancy of your heart.â
Her gaze flicks up to meet Hobâs, then back down. Sheâs so, so pretty, spun fine and delicate like - Hob has to laugh at herself - like a dream.Â
Hob is probably going to get turned into sand for this. She summons all the foolhardiness with which sheâd first declared she wouldnât die, and does what she wants to anyway. She leans in and kisses the corner of Dreamâs mouth.
Itâs a light touch, easily excused. But Dream turns and kisses Hob back, mouth opening easily to Hobâs lips. She tastes like lightning, an electrical storm, and Hob remembers what sheâd said â something about a vortex. Hob wouldnât be surprised if her own hair were standing on end, though it would be hard to say if it was because of static, or just the electric shock of finally kissing Dream.
âIââ Dreamâs speech is broken as she keeps kissing Hob, a stuttered pattern thatâs so wholly unlike her that it makes Hobâs breath catchâ âI confess that I. Have thought of you often. Since. You came for me.â
âYou have?âÂ
âMmm. No one came for me, Hob. Not after my Jessamy. My siblings did not. My creations abandoned the Dreaming. Humans who should have known better turned away and pretended not to see. No one.â
Hob doesnât like to think of it, her intensely private Dream exposed in that glass bauble. Treated as some trinket, some curiosity. Abandoned in the hands of those who would do her harm.Â
She thinks of it constantly anyway.
Hob holds Dreamâs face between her hands. She looks disastrous, still, her robe torn at the collar, hair more of a mess for being half-brushed now, eyes ice-bright as the full moon. Dream herself is the vortex, Hob thinks; she pulls in everything around her with the gravity of a star. Or at least pulls in Hob.
Not to mention activates Hobâs most violent and unsavory instincts regarding spilling the blood of anyone who would do her harm. Which has now, in fact, done. And kind of wants to again.
âThatâs over now, love,â Hob tells her. âI would always come for you.â
âYes,â Dream says, with the weight of a vow. âYes, I see. You are quite gallant, Hob Gadling.â
Gallant. Like theyâre in a story that was old even in Hobâs youth, and sheâs some knight sworn to defend her Lady.
Maybe she is. Maybe she wants to be.
âIf you say so,â Hob says, and gets a tiny smile.
âWill you stay?â Hob asks. Asks, as if she could bear to let Dream leave now. âFor a while?â
âYou wish me to?â
Instead of telling her again that sheâs always welcome, Hob simply says, âYes.â
Some as yet unseen level of stress melts from Dreamâs form. âVery well.â
Then she slips from Hobâs grasp and moves half into Hob's lap instead, pressing her face into Hobâs neck, a move which has Hob freezing in shock and then automatically wrapping her arms around her. Dream is trembling, still, just a bit. Strain on the Dreaming, Hob thinks. Too much strain, far too much.
She presses her lips to Dreamâs hair and hums, some lyricless little tune from so long ago it was probably last played on lute.Â
âHmm,â murmurs Dream, âone that I recognize.â
âBaby steps. We can get you caught up on synthwave another time,â Hob says, and gets an honest-to-God laugh out of the dream creature in her arms. Itâs glorious.
And this time, Dream stays long enough that they donât have to measure it in songs.
#i think dream might like synthwave actually it's flowy and sorta dreamlike#meanwhile hob's getting into electroswing XD#fem dreamling#dreamling#my writing#fem dream
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Vast Leitner Reading List
The full list of submissions for the Vast Leitner bracket. Bold titles are ones which were accepted to appear in the bracket. Synopses and propaganda can be found below the cut. Be warned, however, that these may contain spoilers!
Abedi, Isabel: Forbidden World Adams, Douglas: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Asimov, Isaac: Nightfall
Borges, Jorge Luis: El Aleph Bradbury, Ray: Kaleidoscope Bradbury, Ray: No Particular Night or Morning
Caine, Rachel: Weather Wardens Clarke, Arthur C.: Maelstrom II Clarke, Susanna: Piranesi Coates, Darcy: From Below Coleridge, Samuel Taylor: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Curtis, Wardon Allan: The Monster of Lake LaMetrie
Foster, Alan Dean: He
Gardner, Martin: Thang Godwin, Tom: The Nothing Equation Gonzalez, J.F.: Clickers Gorky, Maxim: The Song of the Stormy Petrel Grant, Mira: Into the Drowning Deep
Hawking, Lucy and Stephen: George's Secret Key to the Universe Hardinge, Frances: Deeplight
Inglis, James: Night Watch
King, Stephen: The Jaunt
Lewis, C.S.: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Liu, Cixin: The Dark Forest (Three Body Problem Book 2) Lovecraft, H.P.: Dagon
Macfarlane, Robert: Underland Marquitz, Tim and Nickolas Sharps, ed.: Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters Melville, Herman: Moby Dick Mortimore, Jim: Beltempest
North, Claire: The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
Oesterheld, HĂ©ctor GermĂĄn: El Eternauta
Poe, Edgar Allen: A Descent into the Maelström Pratchett, Terry and Steven Baxter: The Long Earth series Purser-Hallard, Philip: Of the City of the Saved...
Reed, Robert: An Exaltation of Larks Reisman, Michael: Simon Bloom: The Gravity Keeper
Sanderson, Brandon: Firefight Seuss, Dr.: Horton Hears a Who! Simmons, Dan: The Terror Swift, Jonathan: Gulliver's Travels
Tennyson, Alfred: The Kraken Tolstoy, Leo: War & Peace
Verne, Jules: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Abedi, Isabel: Forbidden World
"Reginald has gained a dangerous power. He can shrink anything he likes. And he wants nothing less than the world's most famous buildings. The originals in miniaturized form, of course. Gradually he builds up a huge landscape in his cellar. But Reginald has overlooked something, or more precisely someone. Otis was locked in the Statue of Liberty and Olivia had fled from the police into the famous Berlin department store KaDeWe, when suddenly at night the buildings shrank. Now the children are the size of a fingernail... While they fight for their lives, chaos breaks out in the world outside: where have the monuments gone? And who has stolen them?" Vast stuff: Otis' fear of heights is a huge plot point and he was born on a plane. While Olivia wants to become a pilot. Many scenes of being in high places and terrified, and focus on being very small in a big world.
Spoilers: This book contains two Djinns one that can change the sizes of things one that can make them small and one that can make them big. But they are running out of magic fuel so staying small is the big fear of the characters.
Adams, Douglas: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The series swings wildly between cosmic dread and comedy, from the insignificance of the Earth's destruction to the chaotic results of the Infinite Improbability Drive to the very notion of the Total Perspective Vortex, the story hammers home again and again the infinitesimal nature of our existence in the vastness of the universe.
***
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy": Seconds before the Earth is demolished for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is saved by Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised Guide. Together they stick out their thumbs to the stars and begin a wild journey through time and space.
"The Restaurant at the End of the Universe": Facing annihilation at the hands of warmongers is a curious time to crave tea. It could only happen to the cosmically displaced Arthur Dent and his comrades as they hurtle across the galaxy in a desperate search for a place to eat.
"Life, the Universe and Everything": The unhappy inhabitants of planet Krikkit are sick of looking at the night sky- so they plan to destroy it. The universe, that is. Now only five individuals can avert Armageddon: mild-mannered Arthur Dent and his stalwart crew.
"So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish": Back on Earth, Arthur Dent is ready to believe that the past eight years were all just a figment of his stressed-out imagination. But a gift-wrapped fishbowl with a cryptic inscription conspires to thrust him back to reality. So to speak.
"Mostly Harmless": Just when Arthur Dent makes the terrible mistake of starting to enjoy life, all hell breaks loose. Can he save the Earth from total obliteration? Can he save the Guide from a hostile alien takeover? Can he save his daughter from herself?
The incomprehensible vastness of the universe is a theme repeated throughout the 'Trilogy". Notable examples include the guide initially describes Earth as 'harmless", after being stranded there for several years, Ford revises this to "mostly harmless". The Total Perspective Vortex, a machine that extrapolates a model of the entire universe, along with a microscopic dot labeled "you are here" this sense of perspective destroys the victimâs mind.
Asimov, Isaac: Nightfall
Lagash's six suns means an Endless Daytime, except for once every 2,049 years, when five suns set and the only sun left in the hemisphere is eclipsed by the moon. The scientists are trying to prepare civilization and themselves for the upcoming nightfall, but when it does occur, no-one is prepared for the thirty thousand stars that suddenly appear in the night sky. This leads to the far more devastating revelation how tiny and insignificant they are by comparison.
"Aton, somewhere, was crying, whimpering horribly like a terribly frightened child. 'Stars â all the Stars â we didn't know at all. We didn't know anything. We thought six stars in a universe is something the Stars didn't notice is Darkness forever and ever and ever and the walls are breaking in and we didn't know we couldn't know and anything â'"
Borges, Jorge Luis: El Aleph
In Borges' story, the Aleph is a point in space that contains all other points. Anyone who gazes into it can see everything in the universe from every angle simultaneously, without distortion, overlapping, or confusion.
Bradbury, Ray: Kaleidoscope
First published in the October 1949 edition of Thrilling Wonder Stories this describes a scene where a spaceship is hit by a meteor and torn apart â ejecting the crew into space. Each astronaut flies off on his own trajectory, hurtling to his doom. For a time they can all communicate through their helmet comms, but slowly, as the separation becomes millions of miles apart, they wind up as solitary figures, alone with his thoughts.
Bradbury, Ray: No Particular Night or Morning
This story takes place during a long interstellar journey. The destination and purpose of the journey are unclear. There are many men (it seems only men) on a large ship. Among them are friends Hitchcock and Clemens. Hitchcock begins to struggle with the idea that there is anything that exists outside of him, that none of it can be proven to exist. Clemens tries to argue with him until Hitchcock is finally treated by the shipâs psychiatrist with the captainâs knowledge, but to no avail. He finally dons a space-suit and leaves the ship. Over the radio he can be heard muttering about how even his own body does not exist.
At one point, Hitchcock is asked why he wanted to go on this journey in the first place. Was he interested in the stars? In seeing other places? In travel? He responds that âIt wasnât going places. It was being betweenâ
Caine, Rachel: Weather Wardens
A speculative fiction series about the secretive bureaucracy that controls the weather. Consequences of this include severely pissing off Mother Earth, sentient storm fronts, and falling from great heights. Often.
Clarke, Arthur C.: Maelstrom II
This short story revolves around an astronaut named Cliff Leyland drifting in a low orbit around the moon after an accident with his capsule's launch. Much of his time is spent waiting to see if he can be rescued and reunited with his family, or is doomed to crash and die.
Clarke, Susanna: Piranesi
Piranesi lives in a place called the House, a world composed of infinite halls and vestibules lined with statues, no two of which are alike. The upper level of the House is filled with clouds, and the lower level with an ocean, which occasionally surges into the middle level following tidal patterns that Piranesi meticulously tracks. He believes he has always lived in the House, and that there are only fifteen people in the world, all but two of whom are long-dead skeletons. The status that decorate the halls and walls of the House are all gigantic and the halls themself are immense and bigger than what any human would be able to build on their own.
Coates, Darcy: From Below
"No light. No air. No escape. Hundreds of feet beneath the ocean's surface, a graveyard waits... Years ago, the SS Arcadia vanished without a trace during a routine voyage. Though a strange, garbled emergency message was broadcast, neither the ship nor any of its crew could be found. Sixty years later, its wreck has finally been discovered more than three hundred miles from its intended course...a silent graveyard deep beneath the ocean's surface, eagerly waiting for the first sign of life. Cove and her dive team have been granted permission to explore the Arcadia's rusting hull. Their purpose is straightforward: examine the wreck, film everything, and, if possible, uncover how and why the supposedly unsinkable ship vanished. But the Arcadia has not yet had its fill of death, and something dark and hungry watches from below. With limited oxygen and the ship slowly closing in around them, Cove and her team will have to fight their way free of the unspeakable horror now desperate to claim them. Because once they're trapped beneath the ocean's waves, there's no going back."
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
This epic poem of a sea voyage beautifully encapsulates the horrors of the ocean, from the terrific force of horrific storms and whirlpools to the unsettling infinity of life, both beautiful and strange, that inhabits the depths below. Most of all, however, it shows the horror of being stranded at sea as the ship is becalmed in the doldrums.
"Day after day, day after day, We stuck, nor breath nor motion; As idle as a painted ship Upon a painted ocean. Water, water, every where, And all the boards did shrink; Water, water, every where, Nor any drop to drink. The very deep did rot: Oh Christ! That ever this should be! Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs Upon the slimy sea."
The crew perish one by one, apart from the narrator. He, by killing the albatross, invoked the wrath of the sea. He alone must live on while the others are permitted to escape in death.
Curtis, Wardon Allan: The Monster of Lake LaMetrie
The story of Dr. James McLennegan and his sickly companion Edward Framingham who travel to a lake high up in the Wyoming mountains. When they reach the lake, McLennegan discovers it is home to an Elasmosaurus which attacks him, but he manages to kill it and removes the brain. Shortly afterwards Framingham seemingly commits suicide and McLennegan decides to place Framinghamâs brain into the body of the Elasmosaur, as one does. While this works for a bit, the remainder of the story explores the horror of scale as Framingham's inability to adjust to his new size results in him snapping and devouring his now-insignificant former friend.
Foster, Alan Dean: He
A short story detailing an oceanographer's encounter with the last megalodon, a colossal shark that has lived for millions of years. He is feared by all other creatures and the sight of him installs a primal terror in humans.
Gardner, Martin: Thang
https://vintage.failed-dam.org/thang.htm The titular creature is large enough to grasp Earth between two fingers. It clears off all water and ice before chewing the planet, core and all, before it, in turn, is also eaten by a planet-eater eater.
Godwin, Tom: The Nothing Equation
A short story about how being stationed alone in an empty section of space drives a man mad. Like stories about lighthouses, but bigger. Short enough to link a complete ebook.
Gonzalez, J.F.: Clickers
"Phillipsport, Maine is a quaint and peaceful seaside village. But when hundreds of creatures pour out of the ocean and attack, its residents must take up arms to drive the beasts back. They are the Clickers, giant venomous blood-thirsty crabs from the depths of the sea. The only warning to their rampage of dismemberment and death is the terrible clicking of their claws. But these monsters aren't merely here to ravage and pillage. They are being driven onto land by fear. Something is hunting the Clickers. Something ancient and without mercy."
Basically, kaiju crabs invade the land -- because they're fleeing from something even bigger.
Gorky, Maxim: The Song of the Stormy Petrel
"A short poem, text can be found here. It describes the storm, vast and careless masses of water, roaring and ruthless skies, and a mighty storm petrel fearlessly taking on both elements. it even dares the tempest to get more intense, as all other oceanic forms of life (seagulls, grebes, a penguin) hide in horror before the face of the storm. stormy petrel in russian (бŃŃĐ”ĐČĐ”ŃŃĐœĐžĐș), if translated literally, means 'the announcer of the storm'. there is a short old cartoon which depicts how this poem would function as a leitner, although the cartoon is very comedic and lighthearted. unfortunately, i wasn't able to find a version with english subtitles, but i think it would be clear just from the visuals"
Grant, Mira: Into the Drowning Deep
Seven years ago, the Atargatis set off on a voyage to the Mariana Trench to film a âmockumentaryâ bringing to life ancient sea creatures of legend. It was lost at sea with all hands. Some have called it a hoax; others have called it a maritime tragedy. Now, a new crew has been assembled. But this time theyâre not out to entertain. Some seek to validate their lifeâs work. Some seek the greatest hunt of all. Some seek the truth. But for the ambitious young scientist Victoria Stewart this is a voyage to uncover the fate of the sister she lost. Whatever the truth may be, it will only be found below the waves. But the secrets of the deep come with a price.
Hawking, Lucy and Stephen: George's Secret Key to the Universe
The space aspects of it, as well as the fact that a character gets trapped in a black hole at one point, gives off Vast vibes to me. Synopsis for more info: The main characters in the book are George Greenby, Susan Bellis, Eric Bellis, Annie Bellis, Dr. Reeper, and Cosmos, the world's most powerful computer. Cosmos can draw windows allowing people to look into outer space, as well as doors that act as portals allowing travel into outer space. It starts by describing atoms, stars, planets, and their moons. It then goes on to describe black holes, which remains the topic of focus in the last part of the book. At frequent intervals throughout the book, there are pictures and "fact files" of the different references to universal objects, including a picture of Mars with its moons.
Hardinge, Frances: Deeplight
"In the old days, the islands of the Myriad lived in fear of the gods, great sea monsters that rose up from the Undersea to devour ships and depopulate entire islands. Now, the gods are no more. They tore each other apart in an event known as the Cataclysm. Fragments of their bodies (known as godware) are dredged up and sold. Hark and his best friend Jelt are petty criminals. When they embark on a dangerous scavenging expedition, they stumble across a strange, pulsing piece of godware and things begin to go very, very wrong."
Gods, the ocean depths, and poverty all play into the themes of insignificance in this novel.
Inglis, James: Night Watch
Concerns an interstellar probe which is still functional when our Galaxy is dying. The story ends with the community of probes launched by various races and drawn together by the fact that very few stars are still shining, setting out on the long voyage to a distant and still-young galaxy as the last star of our galaxy burns out behind them.
King, Stephen: The Jaunt
âAs a family prepares to be "Jaunted" to Mars in the 24th century, the father entertains his two children by recounting the curious tale of the discovery and history of this crude form of teleportation. He explains how the scientist who serendipitously discovered it quickly learned that it had a disturbing, inexplicable effect on the mice he "sent through"âeventually concluding that they could only survive the "Jaunt effect" while unconscious. That, the father explains, is why all people must undergo general anaesthesia before using the Jaunt.
The father spares his children the gruesome semi-apocryphal account of the first human to be Jaunted awake, a condemned murderer offered a full pardon for agreeing to the experiment. The man "came through" and immediately suffered a massive heart attack, living just long enough to utter a single cryptic phrase: It's eternity in there...
The father also doesn't mention that since that time, roughly thirty people have, voluntarily or otherwise, jaunted while conscious; they either died instantly or emerged insane. One woman was even shoved alive into eternal limbo by her murderous husband, stuck between two jaunt portals. The man was convicted of murder; though his attorneys attempted to argue that he was not guilty on the grounds that his wife was not technically dead, the implications of the same argument served to secure and hasten his execution.
After the father finishes his story, the family is subjected to the sleeping gas and Jaunted to Mars. When the father wakes, he finds that his inquisitive son held his breath in order to experience the Jaunt while consciousâŠHair white with shock, corneas yellowed with age, clawing out his own eyes, the boy reveals the terrible nature of the Jaunt: "Longer than you think, Dad! It's longer than you think!"â
Lewis, C.S.: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
"The Dawn Treader is the first ship Narnia has seen in centuries. King Caspian has built it for his voyage to find the seven lords, good men whom his evil uncle Miraz banished when he usurped the throne. The journey takes Edmund, Lucy, and their cousin Eustace to the Eastern Islands, beyond the Silver Sea, toward Aslan's country at the End of the World."
I mean it's a story about trying to get to the end of the world. What's more Vast than that?
Liu, Cixin: The Dark Forest (Three Body Problem Book 2)
I considered other books in the series but this book more than the others deals with the impact of discovering there is other life out in the universe and the distance between worlds as humanity learns an alien fleet is approaching earth at near-light speed. This book is both vast in the scale of the universe but also on a time scale as it covers the 400 years between the fleetâs departure and arrival at earth.
Lovecraft, H.P.: Dagon
Link
The narrator tells of being on a cargo ship that was captured by a German sea-raider in the Pacific. He would eventually escape and drift until he found himself a âblack mireâ, which was full of rotting fish and more foul stenches. The things that he witnesses in the vast expanse drive him to madness, and eventually he kills himself rather than face the creatures he witnessed there.
Macfarlane, Robert: Underland
A series of essays on "deep time" - that is, viewing the world over timeframes of billions of years, rather than the shorter timeframes we live within & understand. It is essentially the vastness of time. This concept stretches eons into the past and future and is very daunting to read about. The essays all revolve around things underground and often focus on how they're so much larger than us, existing far before us and stretching far beyond.
Also there's a chapter where the author talks about a calving glacier he saw surge upwards hundreds of feet from the sea, unbelievably huge. He recounts how the ice at its base hadn't seen sunlight in eons, and had never even been seen by human eyes, it was so ancient - it then sank underwater again, to once more be hidden. And if that doesn't sound like the origin of a vast avatar idk what does
Marquitz, Tim and Nickolas Sharps, ed.: Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters
From the forward: "Enter Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters. This collection of Kaiju shorts continues the traditions begun by Kaiju pioneers, bringing tales of destruction, hope and morality in the form of giant, city destroying monsters. Even better, the project was funded by Kickstarter, which means you, Dear Reader, made this book possible. And that is a beautiful thing. It means Kaiju, in pop-fiction, are not only alive and well, theyâre stomping their way back into the spotlight, where they belong. Featuring amazing artwork, stories from some of the best monster writers around and a publishing team that has impressed me from the beginning, Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters is a welcome addition to the Kaiju genre and an anthology of epic proportions. My inner nine-year-old is shouting at me to shut-up and let you get to the Kaiju. So, without further delay, letâs all enjoy us some Kaiju Rising."
Notable for the fact the majority of the stories within are downer-ending horror short-stories versus more upbeat monster-fighting ones. Several also tackle concepts of an unstoppable, implacable force, themes of religious horror, and other Vast-aligned concepts.
Melville, Herman: Moby Dick
Okay so Ahab is Hunt, but the thing he's hunting is 1000% Vast. The book is very detailed in its descriptions of the enormity of whales and of the sea. Also, Moby Dick is basically outright stated as being God.
***
We all know what The Whale is about. Ahab has beef with Moby Dick, so he vows to hunt it. This is a particularly intelligent, huge whale that everyone advises to steer clear of, and possibly an allegory of God. The book itself is large, it's 135 chapters and a lot of pages and for some reason mandatory reading in some schools. It's a classic and rightfully so. Trying to read it in one sitting is like trying to hunt the proverbial whale, a foolish endeavor no mortal man should attempt. Infinity is best consumed one day at a time, and so is the book. Otherwise you'll drown in (mostly descriptions of) whales.
***
Man attempts to fight a giant whale that apparently is representative of the unfathomably great and terrible power of nature/fate/God, and thus almost everyone on his crew ends up drowning.
Mortimore, Jim: Beltempest
Synopsis: "The people of Bellania II see their sun, Bel, shrouded in night for a month following an impossible triple eclipse. When Bel is returned to them a younger, brighter, hotter star, it is the beginning of the end for the entire solar system...
100,000 years later, the Doctor and Sam arrive on Bellania IV, where the population is under threat as disaster looms â immense gravitational and dimensional disturbances are surging through this area of space.
While the time travellers attempt to help the survivors and ease the devastation, a religious suicide-cult leader is determined to spread a new religion through Bel's system â and his word may prove even more dangerous than the terrible forces brought into being by the catastrophic changes in the sun... "
Why it's Vast: The main conflict revolves around the massive natural disasters caused by changes to the Bel System's sun. Moons are ripped from their orbits, gravity waves create planetary earthquakes, and the void of space is rocked by solar flares. In response to these unstoppable disasters, a religion springs up in worship of the star -- as Simon Fairchild noted, religion was once a strong vector for the Vast, though it wasn't explored in much depth within the podcast.
North, Claire: The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
"The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August" is about the titular protagonist Harry August. He is born, he lives, he dies... Except he does this a lot more than most regular people. Harry is a kalachakra (or ouroborus, the names are used interchangeably), a member of a select few people who, upon dying, simply return to when they were born with all the memories and knowledge of their past lives. This is all well and good until, while on the deathbed of his eleventh life, Harry is warned by a little Kalachakra girl that the world is ending, and he must stop it from doing so."
Vast realised in endless lives of the characters stretching before them till infinity. Vast realised in the perfect endless memory of the main character and some others. Vast realised in eternity.
Oesterheld, HĂ©ctor GermĂĄn: El Eternauta
Juan Salvo, the inimitable protagonist, along with his friend Professor Favalli and the tenacious metal-worker Franco, face what appears to be a nuclear accident, but quickly turns out to be something much bigger than they had imagined. Cold War tensions, aliens of all sizes, spaceâand time travelâthis one has it all.
Poe, Edgar Allen: A Descent into the Maelström
Inspired by the Moskstraumen, it is couched as a story within a story, a tale told at the summit of a mountain climb in Lofoten, Norway. The story is told by an old man who reveals that he only appears oldâ"You suppose me a very old man," he says, "but I am not. It took less than a single day to change these hairs from a jetty black to white, to weaken my limbs, and to unstring my nerves." The narrator, convinced by the power of the whirlpools he sees in the ocean beyond, is then told of the "old" man's fishing trip with his two brothers a few years ago.
Driven by "the most terrible hurricane that ever came out of the heavens", their ship was caught in the vortex. One brother was pulled into the waves; the other was driven mad by the horror of the spectacle, and drowned as the ship was pulled under. At first the narrator only saw hideous terror in the spectacle. In a moment of revelation, he saw that the Maelström is a beautiful and awesome creation. Observing how objects around him were attracted and pulled into it, he deduced that "the larger the bodies, the more rapid their descent" and that spherical-shaped objects were pulled in the fastest. Unlike his brother, he abandoned ship and held on to a cylindrical barrel until he was saved several hours later when the whirlpool temporarily subsided, and he was rescued by some fishermen. The "old" man tells the story to the narrator without any hope that the narrator will believe it.
Pratchett, Terry and Steven Baxter: The Long Earth series
Blueprints for an easily to build device that allows people to "step" into a nigh infinite series of alternate earths get published online. The series deals with the exploration of these alternate earths, and the way their existence and accessibility changes human society over the next 50 or so years. The earths next to our own are similar to ours except that there are no humans, but further earths diverged from our own earlier in geological history; millions of earths away are worlds where the KT extinctions never happens, billions of earths away there are worlds where jellyfish live in the sky. It's emphasized throughout the books that all of these earth's are entire planets with billions of years of history that no one will ever fully understand because there's just too much space.
Purser-Hallard, Philip: Of the City of the Saved...
It's set in a city where every human or descendant of humanity who has ever lived has been reborn all at once, and the book makes sure you understand the scope of that. To pull out a few statistics, the city is the size of a spiral galaxy and has a population of a hundred undecillion - or 1 followed by 38 zeros. There's a watchtower at the city's centre which is the width of a continent and the height of one astronomical unit (the distance of Earth to the sun), and a city council ampithetre the size of a gas giant. When I think of a book emphasising physical vastness, I think Of the City of the Saved, because it doesn't just gloss over the size and call it incomprehensible, it makes sure you begin to grasp the scale of things. And that every character in the book is just one person on that scale.
Reed, Robert: An Exaltation of Larks
The book shows the heat death of the universe, where the stars have long since burned out, and stellar formation ceased, leaving behind a dark, cold, and empty universe. Time travelers from the end of time have steadily been working their way back to the Big Bang to prevent this gradual death from happening by turning the universe into an effectively Perpetual Motion Machine that expands, contracts, and expands again.
Reisman, Michael: Simon Bloom: The Gravity Keeper
A boy inadvertently discovers the book that controls the laws of physics and learns to play with gravity and velocity, which on multiple occasions results in him taking an uncontrolled fall into the sky.
Sanderson, Brandon: Firefight
This is the second book in The Reckoners Trilogy, which is about the eponymous group hunting Epics--people who were granted superpowers by the mysterious red star Calamity, but also turned evil and destroyed society as we know it.
In this one, the Reckoners go to Babylon Restored, a.k.a NYC. The city was flooded by the hydrokinetic Regalia, killing thousands and leaving the survivors to inhabit the rooftops of the sunken buildings. Regalia has immense control over water, able to manipulate it on both a mass scale and in a more precise way to attack with tentacles and create clones of herself. Most terrifyingly, she can see out of the surface of any exposed water--which means almost nowhere in Babilar is safe from her eyes.
The fact that the city is flooded is especially problematic for protagonist David, who can't swim and discovers he has a fear of drowning--especially after he is nearly executed in this way. To make matters worse, the Reckoners' base of operations is an underwater bunker with a window open to the water. This culminates in him facing his fear in attempt to save his love interest by shooting at the window to get out of the bunker. While Regalia saves him for her own ends, she also reveals something even more grand and incomprehensibly terrifying--Calamity itself is sapient and apparently malicious.
Seuss, Dr.: Horton Hears a Who!
Hey kids! Take a minute to think about what would happen if the whole planet existed on a single speck of dust, and how easily everything you know could be eradicated by complete cosmic accident!
Simmons, Dan: The Terror
Being trapped in the Arctic? Not just in the Arctic but in the middle of an ice sheet on the ocean? With the only land being a 3 day trek away? So all you can see before you is open plains of snow and ice and knowing underneath you is also the cold, uncaring, freezing ocean? That's not even taking into account the monster hunting you and your men is easily the size of 3-4 polar bears
Swift, Jonathan: Gulliver's Travels
Plays a lot with perspective -- Gulliver is a giant on one island, and an ant on another. There's also an island that flies and blots out the sun to conquer the lands below it.
Tennyson, Alfred: The Kraken
Link to the poem
Vivid imagery of deep-sea colossi and the enormous weight of the ocean and eternity.
Tolstoy, Leo: War & Peace
real world leitner - inspires dread and fear in the hearts of millions of russian high schoolers with its enormous page count, oppressively large cast of characters and incomprehensible fragments of french inserted directly into the narrative
Verne, Jules: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Themes of insignificance and descriptions of colossal terrors abound.
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The Escape - Part 19
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 9 - Part 10 - Part 11 - Part 12 - Part 13 - Part 14 - Part 15 - Part 16 - Part 17 - Part 18
You sleep through the celebration, the fight with the marines has taken all your energy and you don't even wake up when the Buggy pirates start singing sea shanties on deck or some of them fall drunken overboard and need to be rescued. In the morning you feel groggy from sleeping so much, but also less restless than yesterday night - your body very likely needed that rest. You use the bathroom for almost an hour and decide to wear your usual clothes as you get ready for the day - the dress could have been perfect for the celebration last night but you again missed your chance to wear it.Â
As you gaze out of the window, the daylight spills into your room, but you cannot tell the precise hour of the day. Days and nights blend together in a hazy amalgamation of fragmented memories. Time aboard the pirate ship becomes a slippery, elusive entity, like a blurry, slimy glue that binds your experiences together. When did you fight the marines? When did you get back into your room? When did you get intimate with Buggy? You blush when you remember his face from being so aroused by you and your body. Despite him being so rough with you, you feel a genuine happiness, knowing that he probably just needed a bit more practice to become a better lover.
As you step onto the deck, your gaze is immediately drawn to the horizon, where a colossal structure looms in the distance. It appears to be an island, but its sheer size resembles an awe-inspiring mountain.
You find a pirate next to the main mast and ask him where the Buggy pirates ship is heading next. He points at the island and grins: "The Grand Line. Can you see? This is Reverse Mountain!" the pirate exclaims, a gleam of excitement in his eyes. You turn your gaze once more towards the towering landmass on the horizon, and now you notice a breathtaking phenomenon. There, upon the immense mountain, a waterfall defies the laws of gravity, flowing upwards towards its peak.
The Buggy pirates and you approached the daunting Reverse Mountain by evening, you stayed on deck all day, excited and scared of knowing that you all would soon enter the infamous Grand line. Wondering if Luffy was already there you hear the navigator and Captain Buggy shout commands to the crew as you get nearer the dangerous looking currents.
With the ship's hull creaking under the strain of the treacherous currents, the crew skillfully maneuvers through the raging whirlpools and surging waves. The towering cliffs of Reverse Mountain loom ominously above them, casting deep shadows across the deck. The air crackles with a mix of anticipation and apprehension as the pirates press forward, their resolve unyielding. You hold on to the rope of the main mast, ready to take orders from your navigator and from the captain.Â
Finally, with a surge of momentum, the ship finds itself at the precipice of the mountain, poised to descend into the realm of the Grand Line. The crew watches in awe as the massive gates of Reverse Mountain open, revealing a tumultuous vortex that leads directly into the legendary waters ahead. You find yourself screaming in excitement and you even start to laugh as the ship takes a speedy track down the mountain.Â
The once familiar world behind you fades away, replaced by the mysterious and unpredictable expanse of the Grand Line. The crew and you all now cheering in unity that you made it safe and sound down the mountain. You turn your gaze towards your captain, and a swell of pride fills your heart. His smile radiates with a deep sense of satisfaction, acknowledging the loyalty and dedication you have shown by following him into this unknown territory. In the euphoria of the moment, an overwhelming desire arises within youâto rush over, embrace him tightly, and express your affection with a kiss. However, you can see how he is still giving commands to the crew, not being fully out of the dangerous territory yet.Â
Deep within, you maintain an unshakable convictionâjust as unwavering as Luffy's belief in finding the One Piece and becoming the king of the pirates. Yet, in this fleeting instant, a bittersweet longing surfaces, and you find yourself wishing that Buggy, your captain, could ascend to the top of pirate glory, with you at his side as his trusted queenâŠ
The next weeks on the Grand Line go by slowly, interrupted by some mear fights with sea kings, but rarely any marines make it into these waters unless they have a special mission or order to do so. Captain Buggy, well prepared for this journey had acquired a log pose already in Loguetown and had handed it to his navigator. You were slowly approaching your first island, Little Garden and you were eager to get land under your feet again. Captain Buggy himself had ignored you the past days, not in an unkind manner - he has stopped talking about pursuing Luffy in front of you and he also still smiles at you or greets you good morning. Besides that interaction between you two has become limited, not only because Buggy is so busy getting his crew safely through the Grand Line, but also because you can feel his tension when you are near him. His body stiffens, his eyes seem to wander around to avoid your gaze. He tries to take control over his emotions again. And you are suffering, longing for him and his touch.Â
At nights you lay awake in your little chamber, thinking back of his aroused face over you when he was deep inside of you, you start to whimper and mewl as you touch yourself, you feel so deprived and empty and you wish you could just go over to his cabin and beg him on your knees to make you his again. In the daytime you try to focus on tasks at hand, occupying yourself with anything else than the thoughts of him. When you have the watch on the crows nest you catch yourself sometimes trying to peek into his captain's cabin. After three days of feeling like the longing for him is completely consuming you, you decide to take advantage of him as soon as you reach the island. Maybe you could find a place where you both would be alone together, without the curious eyes of the crew Buggy would maybe again be able to show you his admiration and not caring about keeping up the captain facade. As Little Garden is in eyesight, Buggy orders his crew to gather around and divided them into the land team and the ship team. To your surprise he orders you into the land team, but himself staying on board, protecting the ship. After his announcement his men disperse but you stay for a bit longer, looking at your captain in disbelief.Â
âMay I have a word?â, you approach him as he is on his way back to the Captain's cabin. His body tenses again you can see that he is avoiding your gaze. âSure..!â, he opens the door to his cabin, a gesture to invite you in.Â
#one piece#buggytheclown#one piece buggy#buggy the clown x reader#buggy x reader#buggy x you#long fanfic#nanowrimo 2023
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resolution was⊠watchable. fine. okay. reasonably tolerable tv. chibnall has a real talent for turning even the most exciting potential concepts (an escaped dalek attaching itself to a human and reassembling itself from scratch) into wishy-washy stand-around-a-room-and-talk half-arsed dullness. you couldnât get me to care for a second about ryanâs deadbeat dad or their out-of-nowhere âreconciliationâ. at least if heâd been forced to sacrifice himself at the end and throw himself into the gravity well to get rid of the dalek that would have been satisfying from a narrative standpoint and would have been a point of conflict to drive a wedge between ryan and the doctor, with ryan blaming the doctor for his fatherâs death and potentially even storming out of the TARDIS in anger only to begrudgingly return much later in the next series out of necessity when disaster strikes, similarly to how martha came back in the middle of s4. i was so sure that heâd end up dying, and if moffat had been writing this he 100% would have, but instead we get chris neoliberal chibnallâs âyou always have to forgive your parents because theyâre familyâ bullshit (for what?? what has he ever done for ryan but mistreat him and fuck off when he was at his most vulnerable?)
i liked some of it. the scene where thirteen was taunting the dalek was good olâ who and reminded me of s1âs dalek, especially with the way it showed just how much death, mass panic, devastation and havoc one singular dalek can wreak. really portrayed it as a formidable enemy again and that was effective. imo thirteen could have been more imposing and commanding in her confrontation (this is always a criticism i have of her and why iâm still adamant that twelve should have regenerated into michelle gomez), maybe jodieâs just incapable of going oncoming storm mode. which is a bit sad, and donât accuse me of misogyny please, it has nothing to do with her gender
all in all, i miss christmas specials. cultural christianity sucks but if youâre gonna feature the new year actually do something with it other than âooh the time vortex looks like fireworksâ. the tv movie did more with the new year than your new yearâs special, chris.
#will still post screenshots of some scenes i liked though because thatâs how we roll#resolution#jamie catches up#thirteen#thirteenth doctor#jodie whittaker#doctor who series 11#ryan sinclair#doctor who#dw#anti chibnall#jamie.txt
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With the semester ending I've got more free time but not more free energy,,, so I've been thinking about music again can't you tell
Anyway. Here's that Starset lyrics I relate to the twins post I promised like a month ago. Most of it is based on my own thoughts about them and my au tbh
And these won't include Every song in each album obviously but I do reccomend listening to them all anyway if rock is your genre
ALBUM- Transmissions
Down with the fallen- (listen recommended)
- includes guttural scream
No particular lyrics I'd like to point out, however because the lyrics suggest the singer is seeking some sort of support for uncertainty, has fallen to a low point in life, has themes of identity in war/death, I will deem it Acronix core
Halo-
While majority of the song is not stuff I'd totally associate with either of the twins, I do enjoy a few sets of lyrics for Acronix
[If it means the death of me, I won't let go]
[If you just say the word
I'll be there by your side]
Carnivore-
. Morro song actually
It has begun-
YEAH!! TWINS LORE CORE!!
[But everyone knows by now
Fairy tales are not found
They're written in the walls]
[But nothing could ever stop us
From stealing our own place in the sun
We will face the odds against us
And run into the fear we run from]
My demons-
Acronix core just by the name. I mean c'mon.
Antigravity-
Krux core just a touch, mainly because of the beginning verse
[The more I fight, the more I work
The more I dig into the dirt
To be fed up, to be let down
To somehow turn it all around
But then fate knocks me to my knees
And sets new heights beyond my reach]
The future is now-
Just this one lyric for Krux. As a treat
[I have half a life to rewrite]
Point of no Return- (listen reccommended)
!! Acronix core fr !! A song about being drawn to fight? Absolutely
[There's a memory of how we used to be
That I can see through the flames]
[Embracing the fear, chasing the fight
The glow of the fire will light up the night
The bridges are burning, the heat's on my face
Making the past an unreachable place
Pouring the fuel, fanning the flames
I know, this is the point of no return
It's uncontrollable
Such a beautiful desire
There's something sinister about the way it hurts
When I watch it burn
Because I can't go back
The ashes call my name]
Not included in what I relate to the twins, but I still highly reccomend listening to- Let it die & Telescope
ALBUM- Vessels
Satellite- (listen reccommended)
Okay for this one I'll drag my ocs into the mix, because for these specific lyrics I'd associate with Krux/Roya
[Far across the emptiness I walk the night
And search the silence in the dark you left behind]
[And I won't suppose to know why you walked away]
And. These lyrics I don't relate to anything but they're some of my favorite ever so perceive them anyway
[I seek the stars above the world to be the guides
But they all pale against the light in your eyes]
Frequency- (listen reccommended)
-Includes guttural scream
Actually. More Krux/Roya stuff
[I was scanning through the skies
And missed the static in your eyes]
[And now the silence screams that you are gone
You've tuned me out, I've lost your frequency]
[These memories
They never leave]
Into the unknown-
-includes guttural scream
The beginning verse is actually Acronix in the time vortex guys
[Dislocated
Self is fading
Falling back from what I was
Flying through existence
Tumbling towards a burning sun
Something screaming in the distance
Telling me to come
It's calling me]
Gravity of you- (! LISTEN RECCOMMENDED !)
HOLY SHITTT
Intro verse? Time twins and the iron doom.
[There's a silencing
As the machine arrives here
I feel it pulling me
I feel the past that's died here
I hear it calling me
"You can come alive here"
I hear it beckoning
Until I am inside]
[A new world is breaking]
Noww the rest of this is Acronix and Cyrus stuff for my au. Because Ow
[I feel you here with me
When all the hope has died here
It's boring holes in me
Enough to get inside]
[To fall in the star is to be nothingness
To escape is to be empty
Fall into the star and then we won't exist
Or escape into the nothing
Your sky
The beauty alone is worth it
I will risk it all to own it]
Back to the Earth-
Not much here because its mainly a song for the instrumentals, but I always associated it with Acronix in the time vortex. The end is so GOOD though. Goddamn can Starset can make a cinematic song
Last to fall-
Krux lryics? Krux lyrics.
[This world is changing
But I'm still the same]
Bringing it down- (listen reccommended)
-includes guttural scream
Ooh okay so Roya lyrics. About Krux
[There's something inside you that isn't right
There's something that haunts your dreams at night
There's something that you have lost
And you're bringing it down
You're bringing it down
On top of us]
Monster-
In a shocking turn of events, song named Monster has. Krux associated lyrics??
[I've made an art of digging shallow holes
I'll drop the darkness in and watch it grow
My heart's an artifice, a decoy soul
Who knew the emptiness could be so cold?
I've lost the parts of me that make me whole]
Telepathic- (Listen Reccommended)
Pov Acronix has a crush on Cyrus but he doesn't know what the hell that feeling IS and he thinks he just wants to be Really Good Friends with Cyrus because he's Smart
[You had me under spell right from the start
I don't have a telepathic heart]
[But I don't ever know just what we are
I don't have a telepathic heart]
[Give me the words to say to make it enough]
[Should've never felt this way
Cause you're the sun and I'm just a moon
I'm in the dark 'till you light the way]
Everglow- (you already KNOW listen reccommended)
-30. Second. Long. Scream. What more can I say
I dont even relate the lyrics to either of the twins but the scream holy hell. Immediately Acronix core
Not included in what I relate to the twins, but I still highly reccomend listening to- RICOCHET!!!!!
ALBUM- DIVISIONS
(Btw this is when they started giving each of their songs individual symbols. GOOD SOUP)
Echo-
I'm finding many more sets of lyrics for Krux rather than than whole songs like with Acronix. Probably because Starset is more themed with futuristic/Space stuff. Anyway. Specific lyrics for Krux again. And Roya. They've been on my mind alot recently ok
[I know life is a journey
So what happened to me?]
[I know life is a journey
But you gave up on me early
Tell me, why were you in such a hurry?
I don't know, I don't know]
*skips basically the entire album*
Diving Bell- (! Listen Reccommended !)
Oooooh ow wait okay Actually. Actually. Krux core. Breaking news this hits closer to how I imagine him dealing with his problems more than I ever imagined
Just. The entire song ok (except for versions with the "wake me when the new day comes" bit at the end. Ignore that)
Songs I don't particularly relate to the twins but I still recommend listening to- Other worlds than these, Faultline, Telekinetic
ALBUM- HORIZONS
Devolution- (listen reccommended :) )
-includes guttural scream
Krux lyrics yippee!
[We've been burying the pages
We've been trying to erase this
Built a wall between the truth and us
And it's not enough]
Symbiotic- (listen reccommended)
I have no good reason to call this one Acronix core but I will and you can't stop me
Dreamcatcher- (listen reccommended)
Cyrus song Actually. I relate it to how the Overlord stuff in season 3 effected him, it likely making him much more cautious about how he's developing his technology and keeping it out of the wrong hands, likely feeling a sort of duty or obligation to do so and work even harder because of the trouble it had already caused ninjago.
[I know I can't fix what's broken
If I just pretend to try
I'll follow the path I've chosen
Searching in the endless night]
Something Wicked-
-includes guttural scream
For Krux, It was mostly here for some stuff for an early draft of my au but there's still alot about it that I love
[I've been digging through the dirt that was left behind
I've been dredging through the mud for it]
[How can I tell if the sky is falling?
How can I fix what there is no mending?
How can I tell if I am not well?
I've lost myself
I have come undone]
[And all of the horses
And all of the men
Won't put it back in place
Or bury it where it had been
When all of the forces
Have been overrun
You'll whisper, serpent tongue
What you fear you have become]
Songs I don't relate to the twins but still reccommend listening to- Icarus, Infected, The Breach, and Otherworldly.
And a NOTE about Otherworldly, Has one of the song bits ever, 2:57 to 4:10. Good Soup.
I'm not gonna go into their singles or MNQN for now but perhaps in the future
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Hi Fairy! I've been trying to cook up a Superpowers AU for a while now and I thought I'd ask members of the LS Q gang for their two cents on it if that's alright?
I can't for the life of me figure out what power each LifeStealer would have sooo what's your opinion? I'm planning on having most, if not all, members make an appearance at some point so feel free to go all-out lol. I have Parrot and Flame's figured out but they're not really set in stone so like, anything goes :DD
SICK!!!! i love hero/villain aus favvrouitest thing ever <3333
Hmmm, i always give Spoke shadow travel or shadow powers. It makes sense with his skin and he is a sneaky guy!
Rek you could give like, spider sense? (aka like 5 second warnings for when things are about to go wrong) thats cause of his paranoia and how he seems to be able to tell when traps are about.
Cube you could give control over technology? mainly cause of his work with Redstone. that could also be like, increased IQ.
You could easily do something with Roshambos extra hands, Telekinesis maybe? or just give him extra floating hands.
Vortex has dragon in his name, so you could give him dragon features? Wings or scales.
I tend to see people make Spepticle into a slime creature of some sort? so maybe give him the ability to turn certain parts of his body into slime? maybe he cn remove them to throw at people.
Woogie i feel like would have something to do with winter or cold (cause polar bear). maybe the ability to summon ice or snow? or he can control temperature! on the other hand, he could always have the ability to turn into a literally polar bear. Animal transformations are very fun.
Same goes for Pangi but in the opposite way. Pangolins live in hot climates so you could make him control heat? power foil to Woogie espcially cause they where teamed in S4. Or you could give him the ability to grow scales! pangolins have strong scales and claws so those features might be fun.
Poafa could have something to do with clouds? idk maybe he can summon them? kind of like a quirk from MHA, i'll paste that in:
The quirk Cloud grants the user the ability to generate clouds. These clouds are dense enough to be touched and can carry a relatively large amount of weight.
JumperWho could have permanent jump boost? i'm not overly familer with her sorry. Same could go for Kab ig?
I like Planet being an alien, so that could work. I also sometime give him gravity control although idk how well that works for his character.
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Yeah that's all the ones i can think of! I also can think of some drawbacks of powers? like things that they'd need to work around. But! I hope at least some of these work out or give you some ideas :D
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