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woundedoves · 6 months ago

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How They Would Suck Your Blood: Vampires (Argenti, Caelus, Kaveh, Childe x Bottom GN!Reader) Headcanons Part 3 (NSFW)

˚⟡˖ ࣪part 1 ⋆౨ৎ˚part 2

a/n: vampires…. hngf

CW: blood obviously, insecurities on kaveh’s part, reader is a switch on kaveh’s part. not proofread!

๋࣭ ⭑🕸🦇🕸๋࣭ ⭑ ๋࣭ ⭑🕸🦇🕸๋࣭ ⭑ ๋࣭ ⭑🕸🦇🕸๋࣭ ⭑

Argenti

⋆ The fact that his immortality and life depends on mortals, he who needs alive beings to sustain his undead body, thinks that the balance of it all is fascinatingly beautiful. It’s a delicate balance, just like life itself, human blood is needed for a vampire’s survival and thus to avoid extinction of humans and their sustenance the vampires have to co-exist with them as peacefully as they can manage. He believes every human’s blood is magnificent in their own ways, they all have a unique taste that he adores, and yet, they don’t nearly come close to yours. He would describe the texture as silky smooth, the smell of the roses created from Idrila’s own hands, the taste is as heavenly as one can get, the loving embrace of the sun on a chilly day, the refreshing brush of wind on your skin on a summer day. It’s so bewitching; you feel divine.

⋆ Your body feels so warm against his, your heartbeat so soothing, your lips so soft and inviting as he sinks his fangs into your beautiful veins, your blood streaming down to your fingers as he feeds on you from your wrists. Yet, it doesn’t hurt, it’s like the prickle you feel on your fingers as you pick up a rose, hurts for a second but the beauty you witness just before you is worth a lifetime of pain. He looks so ethereal, his nightgown hugs his body so well, you have a matching one, of course, his tied up hair cascading like a waterfall down onto his shoulders as his rosy lips are smudged with your blood.

⋆ He gently lays you on the bed as all lights are off except for the candles he’s brought out just for this feeding session, which smell divine, slowly takes off your nightgown as he peppers kisses to your lips, neck, collarbones, going down, down…

⋆ He is very gentle with you, makes sure that his fingers alone provide enough simulation to ease the pain of his fangs as they sink into your neck, feeling his dick throb when you moan and grind your hips against his, his brain numb with the taste of your blood and the feeling of your body, completely lost within you as he feels your body become stiff under him, cumming with just his fingers and his fangs biting down on you, how adorable.

⋆ Other times when he has you, driving his cock in and out of your tight quivering hole as he moans your name, your blood dripping down from his chin as he has your arms above you with his hands keeping them in place as he slams his hips down onto your ass over and over again until his cock throbs, twitches and with a final shove cums inside as both of you cry out in ecstasy. Moments like that, when you two become one, never leave his mind, if he had to describe divine beauty, he would talk of you, your body on full display, the fresh bite mark still bleeding as you feel mind-numbing pleasure, your body shaking with climax: that is divine beauty to him, he’s sure Idrila would agree.

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚ *ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

Caelus

⋆ Doesn’t really care that much as long as he can keep himself from hurting the ones he cares about, he hosts a stellaron nothing that happens to his body can faze him more than that. That being said, once they save you from the clutches of a once beautiful but now ruined planet, and you become a nameless alongside him, he doesn’t expect to get long with you so well! You match his energy, don’t force him to talk when he feels down, you even get him trashcan trinkets like keychains, glasses, plushies when you explore the planets with them. He’s always grateful, loves to game with you, he doesn’t need sleep, and you do your best to stay up as late as you can with him, the calming rhythm of your heartbeat and breathing helps ease his mind as he continues to game. He adores these moments the most, the silent and peaceful as he curls up beside you for your warmth.

⋆ Either not horny at all or insatiably horny when feeding on you, it’s a gamble. Loves having you on his lap when he feeds on you, he’s a messy eater though, gets it all over his clothes and yours so you’ve just decided to go naked when he feeds on you. The first time you do this, you see him blush, but he doesn’t comment on it, then as he’s feeding on you, you hear these little muffled whimpers coming out of him as you feel his hard-on press against your ass, teasing as you grind down, and you feel a muffled moan of your name against your skin.

⋆ You’re such a tease to him, and he’s so shy about it, whines as you grind on his cock, your hole so tight around his throbbing dick as he feeds from your neck, you taste so fucking good he doesn’t wanna stop. He fucking loves the way you move your hips, he already came inside when he bit down, crying out from overstimulation as you don’t stop your hips for one second, milking his weeping cock for its worth as you use it like your personal sex toy.

⋆ Loves seeing only the bottom half of your body naked as you game, your shirt haphazardly thrown as you game on his switch, spreading your legs when you notice him and of course you know he wants to feed on your thighs. It's so hot to him how nonchalant you are about it, he drags his tongue over your sex first as he indulges himself in the taste of you, the way you shiver slightly when you’re close to cumming, moaning as he makes sure to take all of your cum on his tongue, he wants to mix it in with your blood as he bites down on your inner thigh and sucks; the taste just as addicting as he thought. Whimpering ad humping your bed like a desperate mutt as he feels his body shake with arousal just from your taste, you tell him he has to wait until you finish the last stage of your game; then he can fuck you as much as he likes. He whines in protest but can’t stop feeding on you as you continue to play your game with a satisfied expression on your face.

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚ *ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

Kaveh

⋆ Very messy about it, doesn’t know how to accept himself. You and Al-Haitham are what keep him alive and well-fed, Al-Haitham can’t feed him so that’s why you’re the one that frequently feeds him, he finds you more comforting than him too. Plus you’re his boyfriend so in your mind, it makes perfect sense. There are many nights where you can find him in deep thought, sudden tears flow from his beautiful eyes as he clings onto you for support, you listen to his troubles and soothe his worries, he isn’t a monster; just another life form, different doesn’t mean evil.

⋆ Very much depends on if he’s too tired to fuck or not but, he really likes having sex while feeding on you. Just the raw feeling of his dick thrusting in and out of your whole while your thighs quiver, his fangs sucking blood from your chest as he gives a light lick to your nipple to feel you shiver under him; makes him forget all of his worries, even if for a moment.

⋆ Loves biting down just as you’re about to cum, you make the prettiest sounds when he does that, he’s addicted. Your smell is a huge source of comfort, when he’s exhausted and his body is all sore, he smells you as you walk to your house, he can’t wait to be in your arms and slowly feed on you.

⋆ Fantasizes a lot about having sex in a body of water, just the coolness of the water hitting your body as the tingling pleasure of his fangs spread throughout your body; he wants to see you all ruined and a begging mess like that.

⋆ He climbs on your lap when he’s unbearably needy as he grinds his ass down on your crotch, begging for you to just take all of his worries away, have him all to yourself. Such a whiny bottom, whimpers as he bites down on your neck, your cock/strap dragging along his walls as he feels his dick tingle and throb from the stimulation of it all. Loves to be on your lap as you give him a hand job with your fingers being covered in blood as just a few minutes ago you made him suck on them like it was your dick/strap after he just fed on you, his cum and your blood mix together as you fist his cock; feeling it throb on your palm as his hips stutter, and he cums with a cry of your name.

⋆ If you wear clothes that expose your collarbone, or thighs, or belly, he can’t help himself, he will keep looking and staring until you tell him to come and feed on you because his puppy eyes are too cute to resist.

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚ *ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

Childe

⋆ Kind of happy because on one side it gives him even more advantage in battle, enhances his fighting prowess and skills, but… He can’t go out with his siblings in the daylight anymore, which means he barely gets to see them and rarely has dates with you because he’s always busy at night. He makes up for it by showering you in gifts and his love when he can though, he’s a loving man, and he’ll never make you forget just how much he adores you.

⋆ That being said, he fucking loves the taste of your blood. It’s like, he gets the same rush from drinking your blood as he gets a rush from fighting a powerful being, it’s so fucking addicting, makes all of his senses go numb as he grips your thighs tightly and grind his hips down onto your own.

⋆ Loves quickies, whenever he has even a sliver of free time, seeks you out and has you wherever he can. Doesn’t even undress properly, takes you to a back alley, takes his cock out and fucks you until you’re a dumb cock whore on his dick as he sinks his fangs into your neck, his muffled groaning echoing back as he drives his cock in and out of your hole, your taste, and body is just so damn addicting.

⋆ When he can take his time with you, it’s always a marathon, he has stamina for days, won’t stop unless you really are hurting.

⋆ Your ass, thighs, belly will be bruised and covered in bites when he’s done with you.

⋆ Loves to have you doggy style as he grips you by the waist and slams you down on his dick over and over again as your hole tightens around his cock so fucking deliciously, licks his lips as he bites down on your back, making you cry out with surprise as you clench around his throbbing dick, feeling his pre-cum buildup inside you as he slams his hips down a few more times and cums inside with a twitch of his cock, both of you moaning in pure, tainted ecstasy as he doesn’t stop his thrusts until you cum; withdrawing his fangs only until you do, lapping up the bloodstains on your back as his thrusts slow down to a more gentle pace, bloody lkiss prints all over your spine when he’s done.

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚ *ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

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spicyraeman · 8 months ago

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Oooh, can we get a little info on your post-game Shadowheart's amputated hand/prosthetic???

Okay, sooo the concept I had was that the Sharran mark doesn’t really get any better after she forsakes Shar, and actually in fact gets much worse. Gods are notoriously petty and Shar doubly so, so it wouldn’t be much of a stretch that she would take some pleasure in tormenting Shadowheart for the rest of her life (the lifetime of mortal can only be a blip of time to a god)

It doesn’t physically look any worse bc I think it’s more interesting if it's a more invisible pain, but the pain from it does get excruciating and the ache of it lasts for hours instead of it coming and going quickly. Even after the pain ends it leaves her hand and sometimes her forearm numb (think carpal tunnel) It also comes at random times, more so than before, and even while she's sleeping.

My idea for the amputation is… a little grim. I was imagining a sleep-deprived and maybe edging on manic Shadowheart going to the kitchen of her cottage in the middle of the night, grabbing the biggest knife she can, and getting rid of it right then and there. She gets about halfway through when she sobers up and realizes what she’s doing, but by then it’s kind of a now-or-never situation so she commits and finishes what she started. Luckily she’s a cleric so there are no real repercussions for it besides the shoddy hack job

As for the actual prosthetic itself, it's a complex gnomish design attuned to her and inscribed with runes that mimic touch and pressure (it doesn’t simulate pain). It cost a small fortune to get commissioned and she keeps it on pretty much 24/7 bc the loss of autonomy freaks her out more than she'd admit

#asks #shadowheart #sry this took a bit to get to #had to scrape together the braincells for this one lol

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thebomb-thebird-andtheburntbitch · 10 months ago

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w.count: 2k - wanderer finally got his name and he feels like he's gotta tell someone... (bet yall never saw this comin)

there was a humming in his head. and it felt heavy. like he had been dunked in a bin of well water and had only just resurfaced. regaining a whole past life of memories on top of immediately being thrown into combat with the past life god version of yourself... it certain had a kick to it. that kick being the biggest headache the nameless wanderer has ever experienced... past or present.

the wanderer had only just recovered all his past memories through simulations provided graciously by the dendro archon. trying to separate the dull, mindlessly kind life he had been living in this lifetime from the one he had just remembered where he was anything but? the whiplash was enough to make anyone second guess pretty much everything.

in the background of his emotional recollection the nameless mechanical puppet could hear the traveler and paimon talk back and forth with the small buer herself. just because he could hear them though, didn't mean he was listening.

wanderer's back turned away from them for a moment and his hand lifts up to pinch between his eyes, palm resting on the tip of his nose as he swallows back a sigh. they were talking about him following nahida's guidance, and he had no qualms with it, really. he just felt overwhelmed... not that he could say so aloud.

the trio continued talking and soon decided to grant him a new name. if it didn't have any connection to that insufferable man who was the root cause of all his suffering to begin with he didn't have a preference anyway-

"are you sure?" the nameless doll asked the blond traveler who had just spoken the new name he would eventually be using. "...ah, alright, if you say so."

-at least... he thought he had no preference.

wanderer had no issue with the name itself. it was given to him by someone who- foolishly- help him regain his memories and set him straighter. a debt he would have to eventually repay somehow since even he was capable of being grateful to someone. but, the way it sounded coming out of the traveler's mouth felt... wrong. like they weren't the right person to say it first; which made absolutely no sense as they're the one who came up with it in the first place. paimon had also not yet come up with an 'ugly nickname', but that wasn't his problem to begin with.

there was this digging in the back of his mind, like he had some other place to be. his legs were itching to move, feet ready to take him out of the sanctuary of surasthana. so, without much resistance, he listened to the silent cries of his mechanical body.

"goodbye, wise deity, and you two."

even if his jumbled up mind didn't process where his body was taking him, he trusted it to take him where he thought he ought to be. besides, with his new vision in hand even if he walked into some place dangerous to the common person- he could handle it.

its crazy that just this morning he was walking through these same streets of sumeru city as virtually a whole different person. the mild-mannered boy who would return the smallest favors just to keep himself occupied. now he was different, but not the same as the 'him' who's memories he had regained. a combination of the two, just messy and unbalanced right now.

the sun was setting and casting the city in shadows and orange hues. mindlessly, wanderer had meandered down and out of the city gates. walking and casting glances to and fro before a small hut had entered his peripherals. his auto-piloted body stopped just short of a full step before kicking up speed. his easy gait turned rushed and before he knew it, he was jogging to the hut.

it was a tea hut. just a small one. a couple bench tables out front, a small chimey in the roof and what seemed like hardly enough room inside for five people and a stove to fit comfortably. still, the smell of boiled tea leaves hung in the air like invisible ribbons. just standing in front of the closed-up shop filled him with familiarity.

the memories that had been muddled started to separate into clearer views the longer he stood in the dirt just looking around at the lackluster area.

wanderer's shoulders jumped when the door that had been closed to the tea hut creaked open. a body carrying a small wicker basket with a cloth over it had pushed it open with their back, rolling it onto their shoulder before stepping out and letting it swing shut at their back.

"ah!" they- you- jolt. the sun was setting and normally people don't fancy a cup of tea at late hours where your little humble hut stood, so seeing the feet of someone in front of the building spooked you. the wicker basket had dropped to the dirt, causing small plumes of dust to breathe over your ankles. "you scared me- oh!" the stranger in which had scared you, was no stranger to you at all. "i didn't think i'd be seeing you again so soon."

"yeah..." the wanderer's voice was practically a whisper only carried by the wind. he knew you- the previous mild-mannered boy did anyway.

among his wandering, he had happened upon your hut and with nothing better to do had ordered tea from you. you were a chatter box. easily conversing and holding all sort of topics of discussion with your customers- as few as they may be.

he couldn't remember if it was because of your tea that was somehow exactly to his liking or if it was because, back then, he enjoyed the company, but he did remember frequently returning to this tea hut.

he had come several times and as embarrassing as it was to admit, he had built a sort of bond with you. to the point where he had explained to you that he had no name and always felt like he was missing something in his life. of course he didn't disclose everything there is to him, but just enough to ease the weight in his chest just ever so slightly.

'maybe you lost your memory or something? i've heard lesser lord kusanali can do all sorts of things, so maybe she could help!'

you had pitched that to him one time. probably just to try and cheer him up or something. who knew that you'd end up being right on the mark.

"is something the matter?" you had disregarded the basket at your feet- it was empty anyway- and came a bit closer to the nameless boy.

"no, it's nothing." he told you. something in his tone immediately gave him away. it wasn't the soft tone you had grown used to. it sounded choked, like he was trying to act. you think for a moment before twisting halfway around back towards the hut's door.

"you stay put here," you tell him. his gaze moves to finally look you in the eyes and his own twitch and burn when they connect. he's always hated eye contact, but yours felt so comfortable. "i'll go and make a cup of tea for you. since you like it black, it won't take long."

the feeling that drops into his gut when your eyes break away from his and you back stares to his gaze instead was akin to a type of panic.

"hold on-!" his voice was quiet, clogged in his throat and he felt pretty pathetic when it left his lips. his body again moves all on its own and before he could reel himself in, his hands grab onto you.

with your back to him, his hands grasp both of your biceps and keeps you in place like a shield between him and the rigidity ol' hut. you could feel the tips of his sandals at the back of your heels and the presence of his body behind you signaling how close he really was. his forehead rests on the back of your neck, just under the dip of your skull. the tip of his nose tickles your neck when your shoulders raise with each intake of breath.

"uhm," you have no idea what's gotten into him or why he's acting so strange, but it's not like you really had time to ask before he was spilling his guts.

"i got my memories back." he sounded so solemn, as he feels your shoulder's jolt.

"really?!" your voice was loud as it echoed in the empty space around. it sounded excited, curious too. "I bet that's a loud off your shoulders, huh?" you light heartedly say.

"in a way." he couldn't admit his past wrongs to you- even if all of that was in a whole other timeline. he still did so many awful things and he wouldn't deny it. "i might act differently towards you now that i know... who i am."

"that's alright, isn't it?" against the crown of his bowed head that made a home against your neck, he feels your head tilt back. your arms shifted too, like they had moved to cup your chin. he could picture it perfectly in his head when he closes his eyes.

"its complicated."

"well, that's alright too."

"is it?" his jaw clenches as your arms go lax again.

"can i turn around?"

"not yet."

"why not?"

"because i said so." his eyebrow twitches.

"oh, so you're demanding now?" you tease.

"that a problem?" he teases back, a chuckle brushing your neck as he does. he knows what you're doing and he's thankful for it. the banter is relaxing.

"not at all."

it's a while before he's finally dropping his hands from your arms, and letting you turn around. your hands on your hips as you look at him in the face again. he's calmed down, feels tired, and a little embarrassed at how his body impulsively moved in such a mushy, romantic-coded way. if he had a gag reflex, he probably would've gagged at such a cliche action of his own limbs.

"so, do you still like your tea black?"

wanderer's arms came to cross over his chest, his stern face relaxing into what was probably a bit more of a harsh tone than you were used to in the past. you didn't say it out loud, but this version of him would take some getting used to.

"of course i do. sweets are sickening." you burst out into laughter at his words and the disgusted tone accompanying them. in the past he would've politely stated that they 'weren't to his liking' or something. not outright rejected the idea of sweets.

"that's good. i was worried i'd have to relearn your usual cup of tea." you pop your fist into your opposing hand before your changing the subject away from tea preferences. "oh yeah! since you remember things, do you remember your name?"

"i've had several," he states curtly. "none of them i use anymore." he watched your face twist in confusion before falling into something like disappointment. were you really that excited to finally get to put a name to his face? he sighs. "a... friend," he grits, "technically gave me a new one. since i have nothing else to go by right now, i'll probably be using that for the time being." your eyes relit in excitement. he feels his insides get hot.

"that's great! what is it? i want to know!" you were pushy and he scoffs amusedly at it. the traveler's voice echoed in his memory, his new name bouncing around in his mind. then it all made sense with you in front of him.

reaching up, he pulled on your cheek. you squawk and whine as he stretches the soft flesh, pinching it between his fingertips. no wonder it sounded wrong coming out of that meddler's mouth. it's because it wasn't you and his subconscious knew it before he did. gross, he hisses to himself internally again.

"i'm only going to tell you once, so you better pay attention." the not-so-nameless boy released your cheek, watching bemusedly as you rubbed the sore piece of your face. his stance shifts, relaxes with his arms crossing comfortably over his chest. and with direct eye contact and an easy, yet almost smug smile on his face, he told you...

"my name is..."

a/n: okay this is kinda sorta really messy and i apologize for that

#genshin impact #wanderer x reader #wanderer fluff #genshin impact x reader #wanderer x y/n #wanderer x you #genshin impact wanderer #scaramouche x reader #scaramouche fluff #wanderer #scaramouche #wanderer headcanons #wanderer scenarios #wanderer genshin #genshin wanderer #wanderer fic #wanderer blurb

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moeitsu · 6 days ago

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The Dark Tide Siren!Arthur Morgan x Reader Modern AU Ch 6 - Caught Between Two Worlds Summary: Hosea gathers the team for a meeting to bring everyone up to speed on the facility’s newest resident. But when the discussion turns to Arthur’s behavior, all eyes land on you. How do you explain what you’ve seen—what you’ve felt—without revealing just how deeply involved you’ve become? wc: 8.4k tw: none! Swim Back! ↞ ﹏𓊝﹏ ↠ Sail Ahead!

AN: Get ready for some info dumping about Arthur's biology. Reader is about to discover that he's a whole lot more complicated than meets the eye...

tag list: @photo1030 @v3lv3tf0x @ireallyhonestlydontcare @shygamergirl01 @cloudywithachanceofcrisis @sevikaspuertoricanwife @abducted-cowz @bomdada

I shouldn’t have been surprised when I received the group text from Hosea this morning about an emergency team meeting before doors opened at 8 a.m., but still, my heart raced with worry. No matter how much I tried to prepare myself, the weight of it all just kept pressing in, suffocating. This is real. Soon, the entire facility would know about Arthur—his existence, his pain, his torment. They would want to study him, question him, prod at the mystery of what he was. He was an enigma even to the most renowned scientists, and now, he was no longer a secret.

And he would no longer be mine.

What the hell am I even thinking? Arthur isn’t some kind of pet.

I swallowed hard, my stomach twisting at the thought. Arthur was never mine to begin with. He wasn’t something to be kept, to be held onto. He had spent his life running from chains, from being owned, from being a specimen in a tank just like this. And yet, despite all logic, despite every warning in my mind, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something had shifted between us this morning.

His words echoed in my mind with every step I took down the long corridor toward the conference room.

The space is nice, bigger than what I had before.

He had said it so simply, so matter-of-factly. But beneath those words was an unspoken truth. It’s still a cage. No walls of glass, no simulated ocean could change that. He didn’t belong here. He should be out there, in the vast, endless blue, moving freely as the tide pulled and pushed him wherever he pleased. He should be collecting treasures and trinkets, hoarding them away in whatever place he called home.

He should be with his own people. If he even knew where to find them.

The way he looked at me—like my gift meant more to him than just a token of my apology, like it was something sacred—it made my chest ache with an emotion I wasn’t ready to acknowledge. I love it, he had said, and I’d never seen his eyes so bright, so full of gratitude and something else—something warm.

But it wasn’t just the shell.

I had a sinking feeling that the shell I gave him was the first and only gift he had ever received. Judging by his reaction, it wasn’t just a trinket to him. He didn’t look at me like I had handed him a scrap of debris washed ashore, something forgotten and discarded by the tide. No, he looked at me like I had just breathed life into his gills after he had spent a lifetime suffocating. Like I had given him something he didn’t know he was allowed to have.

I was opening doors for him that will never close again.

Those crystalline blue eyes—so filled with sorrow and pain—had glimmered, however briefly, with true happiness. Real, unfiltered joy. I just wanted to dive into the water, uncaring if I drowned, and wrap my arms around him. Hold him the way he had never been held before, with a tenderness that he had been denied for too long. To press my cheek to his and whisper the words I knew he had never heard but desperately needed.

You’re safe. You’re free. You’re worthy of love.

But that wasn’t my job.

No, my job was to rescue, rehabilitate, and release. And Arthur was not mine to keep.

Not mine to love.

The weight of that truth pressed heavy in my chest as I forced myself to swallow my nerves, inhaling deeply to steady the storm raging inside me. I could already hear the loud chatter echoing from beyond the glass door, the energy buzzing in the air like static before a storm. It was going to be one hell of a meeting. Not only were we about to confirm that, yes, magical sea creatures—ones that looked half-man, half-fish—actually existed, but more than that, we had one right here in our facility.

And that I had, more than once, drifted too close to him—touched him so intimately that even the tides would whisper of it.

Shaking the thoughts from my head—or at least trying to—I pushed open the door and slipped into the conference room, sliding into a seat beside John.

“This is already shaping up to be a dumpster fire,” John muttered under his breath, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “You ready for it?”

I let out a slow sigh. “Do I have a choice? You’re the one who dragged me into this mess to begin with.”

John only grinned, shaking his head.

My heart was still hammering against my ribs, but I forced myself to sit tall, to appear unaffected. Normal. Like I hadn’t spent the last twenty-four hours tangled up in something far bigger than myself.

Like I hadn’t spent the night replaying every stolen touch, every lingering glance—fantasizing about his rugged face, the powerful lines of his body, and all the ways I could explore him further—Stop.

I needed to stop. But the more I tried to push him from my mind, the deeper he sank into me, like saltwater soaking into my very bones.

At the front of the room, Charles and Lenny stood beside a double-sided whiteboard, stacks of textbooks and research papers scattered across the table. Lenny had a dry erase marker in his hand, a few more tucked into his breast pocket. He was speaking quietly to Charles, likely bracing himself for the moment he would drop the news of his findings on the rest of the team.

The room quieted as Hosea and Sadie made their way inside, the air shifting with an unspoken gravity. Sadie took a seat opposite me, offering a polite smile and a small tip of her hat. I returned the gesture with a nod and a quick wave, though the anticipation buzzing in the room made it hard to focus on pleasantries.

I swallowed hard, my fingers curling into the fabric of my pants beneath the table. Here we go.

Hosea cleared his throat, resting his hands on the back of an empty chair as he looked around the room. His gaze was warm, familiar—like a father addressing his family.

“Mornin’, everyone. I hope you all got a strong cup of coffee in you because today’s gonna be a big one.” He let out a small chuckle, shaking his head. “I know I ask a lot from you, but that’s because I know what we’re capable of when we pull together as a team. If there’s anyone who can handle a crisis like this one, it’s the people in this room.”

Hosea straightened, his presence commanding yet reassuring as he met each of our gazes, his voice carrying a weight that settled deep in our chests. It wasn’t just a speech—it was a call to action.

“We’ve got ourselves a new resident. And he’s gonna need us—all of us.”

* ‧̍̊˙· 𓆝.° ｡˚𓆛˚｡ °.𓆞 ·˙‧̍̊ *

I had to hand it to Lenny—he gave it to us straight. No sugarcoating, no easing us into the reality of it. Hosea had just dropped the bombshell that our new resident wasn’t like anything we’d ever encountered before. Not just a rare specimen or an undocumented creature, but something entirely new, something that defied the limits of scientific research. There was no guidebook for this. No precedent. Just theories, speculation, and a desperate need to understand.

And that was where Lenny came in.

Charles’ bright young intern had spent the last day and a half buried in textbooks, research papers, mythology records—anything that could shed light on what we were dealing with. He had scoured articles, cross-referenced folklore with science, searching for even the smallest thread of truth woven through centuries of legend.

He pulled together everything he thought would be useful for us to know. But even after all his research, even after countless hours spent dissecting old stories and fragmented knowledge, there was still so much we didn’t know. Because this wasn’t just a new discovery. It was the unraveling of something ancient, something hidden beneath the waves for longer than humans had been searching.

One thing, however, was certain.

Our new resident was only half human. And while we had yet to understand the full extent of his biology, there was no denying the truth Lenny had uncovered. He was, without a doubt, part of a species long spoken of in myths and whispered about in sailor’s tales.

A siren, part of a clan of merfolk.

To my surprise, I found myself completely enraptured by what Lenny had uncovered—every piece of information another thread weaving together the mystery of Arthur. It wasn’t just what Lenny had learned that held my attention, but how much of it I had already seen firsthand. Arthur’s ability to breathe both on land and in water, his dual hearts working in tandem to circulate blood through his gills and body, the mesmerizing bioluminescence that pulsed beneath his skin—things I had experienced up close but hadn’t fully understood.

Then Lenny mentioned something that made my breath hitch. The scale colors and patterns, he explained, weren't universal amongst all sirens. It was specific to certain demographics, a unique adaptation belonging only to particular species. That revelation sent my mind racing—where exactly did Arthur come from? What did that make him? How rare was he, even among his own kind?

And then came the detail that sent murmurs rippling through the room.

“From everything I’ve been able to piece together,” Lenny said, flipping through his notes, “it appears that sirens, at least most—are naturally intersex. Meaning they can reproduce in more than one way.”

Lenny turned the whiteboard around, revealing detailed diagrams and scattered notes. As the board came into view, my breath caught in my throat—this wasn’t just a casual briefing; this was an entire body of research, as if he’d been putting together a puzzle with pieces that shouldn’t fit, but somehow did.

I heard the sharp intake of breath from a few people, the hushed whispers as some struggled to process it. As if that, of all things, was the strangest part about him. I had to bite my tongue to keep from rolling my eyes. They were still trying to grasp the enormity of what was being thrown at them, still coming to terms with the fact that a living, breathing myth was swimming in our tank.

I, on the other hand, had already had the privilege of knowing him—of seeing the depth in those ocean-blue eyes, of hearing the warmth in his voice, of feeling the raw vulnerability he had only ever shown to me. Arthur was so much more than the sum of his strange and wondrous biology.

“Alright, let’s go over the basics,” Lenny began, his voice steady and matter-of-fact, the excitement still hanging in his words. “First, we’ve confirmed that Arthur’s anatomy fits the general description of sirens from several ancient texts and reports. We’ve got a few key details that we still don’t fully understand, but we’re working on it. As long as he’s willing to work with us.”

He pointed to the large diagram of a siren’s anatomy. There were labeled sections showing gills, heart chambers, and the unique structure of their reproductive organs. “As you can see here,” he said, “sirens generally have two penises—yes, two—and they can use them in different ways depending on the situation. One for reproduction, and one that’s used in mating displays, though it’s not entirely clear what triggers which.” He glanced up at the room, letting the words sink in before moving on.

This revelation earned a sarcastic remark from our diver, Sean—delivered with his usual smirk—only for him to be swiftly silenced by a sharp swat from his wife, Karen, our ever-graceful receptionist and greeter. With a pointed look that spoke volumes, she reminded him to keep his quips in check.

I could feel my pulse quicken as I processed the information, knowing this was only the beginning. It wasn’t until he pointed to a section labeled ‘Egg Carrying’ that I felt a chill run down my spine.

“Here’s where it gets interesting,” Lenny continued. “Sirens aren’t exactly mammals. They carry eggs internally, which is how they produce offspring. But given Arthur’s half-human biology, this part of his anatomy is still unconfirmed. We can’t say for sure if he has the ability to reproduce the same way. Though, judging by some traits in the more traditional sirens, it’s entirely possible.”

Lenny uncapped his marker and circled a spot near the siren diagram’s abdomen, where a uterus would typically be. “This is where the eggs are carried, and according to some texts, if they aren’t fertilized during the mating period, the body expels them.” He hesitated for a moment, glancing around the room before adding, “So, uh… basically, they have a menstrual cycle.”

Holy shit. Maybe Arthur and I were more alike than I had ever realized.

The revelation hit me like a tidal wave, dragging me under as my thoughts spiraled. Arthur had told me about his son, but he had spared the details of how he came to be. I had assumed self-fertilization, a clinical, detached process—something he had endured without much choice. But now, hearing that sirens could carry eggs internally, my perception shifted.

Had his body gone through the slow, grueling process of carrying life? Or was it something entirely different, something beyond human comprehension? Did he suffer through the same hormonal shifts, the same aches and exhaustion? Did he experience cramps? Did he bleed? What do siren eggs even look like? Or siren babies?

I was morbidly fascinated by all of it.

But the more I tried to piece it together, the deeper my sympathy for him grew. Reproduction, no matter the species, was taxing—sometimes dangerous, even fatal. And Arthur had done it alone. No support. No comfort. No one to share the weight of it. I swallowed hard, my chest tightening with something heavy and familiar.

What else had he endured in silence?

The more I learned, the more I was filled with unanswered questions and layers of suffering that were beyond my comprehension. My heart ached for Arthur, for the pain he had carried alone and the weight of everything he still bore.

“Now,” he said, tapping the board with a marker. “I want to talk about courtship before we get to the main event. This part is particularly fascinating.” He turned back to the diagram, showing what looked like faint patterns across the skin that followed the nervous system. “This bioluminescence plays a huge part in their mating rituals. It’s used to signal attraction and readiness, much like a bird flashing its feathers. And the patterns and brightness can change based on mood, emotions, or desire.”

I thought back to Arthur, the way his lights had flickered when he was near me, when I touched him, how they pulsed in time with his heartbeat. My breath caught in my throat. He hadn’t just been reacting to the environment—

He’d been reacting to me.

“Then there’s the purring,” Lenny added, tapping the board again on the chest region of his diagram. “Sirens, like most marine creatures, have a complex system of vocalizations, but purring in this context isn’t just a sign of contentment. It’s also an expression of affection, a way of signaling comfort and safety. It seems to be most common in pairs who are actively courting. The sound can be low, almost subsonic, and is used to build intimacy and trust.”

I thought back to the moments when Arthur’s purring reverberated in the water, the sensation so deep and primal it sent a shiver through me, like a current running beneath my skin. I could still feel it, the vibrating hum, echoing in my chest, stirring something inside me.

Had I truly made him feel safe enough to express it? The thought warmed my heart. But then again, how much of it had been instinctual? Had I been too naïve to recognize the signs?

Gods, everything I had found so utterly fascinating, so enchanting about him, turned out to be a part of a mating ritual. My heart twisted as I realized how blind I had been. He’d told me—Arthur had literally told me—that he was struggling to control his lights, that it was mating season for him, that his body was flooding with hormones and urges he was trying so desperately to tame.

I felt like an idiot. I should have put the pieces together sooner. Instead, I had been mesmerized by his allure, consumed by an attraction that now seemed to carry so much more weight than I had ever fully understood.

“Finally,” Lenny said, his voice softening, pulling me from my thoughts. “There’s the tradition of gift-giving.”

I felt a pair of eyes burning into me, and when I glanced around the room, I saw Charles standing by the door. He was leaning casually against the frame, as if he was still absorbed in Lenny’s lesson, but his eyes—those warm, steady eyes—were fixed directly on me.

Heat crept up my neck and flooded my cheeks as I met his gaze, and I could feel the weight of everything unspoken between us. The things we hadn’t addressed, the unacknowledged tension. Charles had seen it all—he had witnessed the way Arthur’s lights had flickered with intensity when he was losing control in the exam room. And more than that, he had seen the way Arthur responded to me, to my touch.

The connection that neither of us had been able to fully understand or express.

It felt like there was something unsaid hanging in the air, a heaviness that pressed down on my chest, suffocating in its silence. I didn’t know if he was concerned, or if it was something else—something neither of us wanted to confront. I couldn’t deny the pull I felt toward Arthur, nor the conflicting emotions that surged through me every time I thought of him.

But having Charles watch me like this, with that knowing look in his eyes, made it feel like there was nowhere for me to hide this secret.

And that scared me more than I cared to admit.

“In many of the texts, siren culture places a lot of emphasis on actions rather than words. Since most typically aren't capable of human speech. Giving an offering is their way of accepting courtship, of sharing mutual desire. Letting their partner know they wish to mate.”

The abalone shell.

I had found it yesterday at Clemens Cove with Charles, sharing the familiar rhythm of one of our walks along the beach. Grounding me in a moment of comfort amidst uncertainty. But when I picked it up, something in me shifted. It reminded me of Arthur. I wanted to give it to him as a peace offering, an apology for what had transpired between us.

The words had slipped out before I even had time to question them.

Charles had been there when I found it, and when I told him my intention, his eyes never left mine. His silence spoke volumes, and I realized then that I had made things more complicated than I intended. Without another word, I knew I had dug myself into a deep grave—one that would be harder to climb out of than I ever imagined.

* ‧̍̊˙· 𓆝.° ｡˚𓆛˚｡ °.𓆞 ·˙‧̍̊ *

The room erupted in a flood of chaos the moment Lenny opened the floor for questions.

“I mean, this is absolutely insane,” Mary-Beth breathed, practically vibrating in her seat. “But c’mon guys…a real siren, here? Like, in our facility? This is history in the making! We could be famous for this discovery! I can’t wait to see him in person, when do we get to meet him!?”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Tilly interjected, her expression thoughtful as she tapped her pen against her notebook. “I want to know more about his biology. How much of him is human, and how much is—well, not?” She scribbled something onto the page, “we don’t even know where he comes from. What he’s capable of.”

Mary-Beth and Tilly were part of the same internship program as Lenny, fresh-faced college students eager to make their mark in the marine biology world. Their primary focus was in the nursery, caring for orphaned animals and tending to eggs that had been abandoned or rescued. While their work was vastly different from mine, their passion for marine life was undeniable.

Mary-Beth, ever the optimist, had an almost childlike wonder for every creature she encountered—she fell in love with every baby animal that came through our doors and had a tendency to get attached to them before we could even determine if they’d stay.

Tilly, on the other hand, was more analytical, fascinated by behavioral psychology and genetics. While Mary-Beth was eager to meet Arthur, Tilly was more intrigued by what made him tick. I could already see the gears turning in her mind as she scraped her pen against her notebook, likely running through all the questions she wanted to ask, theories she wanted to test. If anyone in this facility was going to deep-dive into his instincts, it was her.

Across the table, Kieran shifted uncomfortably in his seat, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, uh—hate to be the one to ask, but, is he…dangerous?” His voice was quieter than the rest, but the weight of the question settled over the group like a net. “I mean, I know we’re all excited, but the guy’s got sharp claws and even sharper teeth. And from what I’ve heard he’s big. Do we know exactly what we’re dealing with here?”

“Big’s an understatement,” Sean chimed in, leaning back in his chair with an easy grin. “Lad’s probably built like a goddamn shipwreck with a grudge. No offense, but if he decides he don’t like us, we’re all just chum in the water.”

Kieran was the facility’s fisherman, a quiet and steady presence who kept our patients well-fed. Whether he was out on his boat catching fresh fish himself or working with local fisheries to secure a steady supply, he took pride in his work and ensured that every animal in our care had exactly what they needed to thrive. He wasn’t much of a talker, often preferring the solitude of the open water to the chatter of the breakroom, but when he did speak, it was always with careful consideration.

His concern now was understandable—he had seen firsthand what some of our more predatory rescues were capable of, and Arthur was unlike anything we had ever encountered.

Sean, on the other hand, was Kieran’s polar opposite. As the facility’s diver, he spent most of his time underwater, handling cleanings, repairs, and the occasional rescue operation. He also had a flair for showmanship, leading live demonstrations where visitors could watch him feed the larger fish up close. While Kieran kept his worries close to his chest, Sean wasn’t afraid to voice his own—with a sharp tongue and a grin that often landed him in trouble. He had never met a situation he couldn’t joke his way out of, but there was an edge to his words now, an undercurrent of truth beneath the humor.

“Sean.” Karen shot her husband a pointed look, swatting his arm. “You’re not helping.”

He smirked but held up his hands in surrender. “I’m just sayin’! You all saw those diagrams—two hearts, sharp teeth, glowing like the bloody deep sea. Fascinatin’ sure, but let’s not pretend we aren’t one bad day away from a Discovery Channel special.”

Karen was essentially the glue that held this facility together. Officially, she was the receptionist and greeter, the first warm smile visitors saw when they walked through our doors. But in reality, she was so much more than that. She handled everything from scheduling meetings and coordinating tours to reaching out to local news outlets to spread the word about our latest rescues. She even ran the facility’s social media accounts, curating updates and behind-the-scenes glimpses that helped connect our work to the outside world.

She was a force to be reckoned with. With a sharp mind and an even sharper tongue, especially when it came to keeping Sean in line. While her husband had a tendency to run his mouth, Karen had mastered the art of keeping him just reined in enough to avoid disaster—most of the time. Even now, as Sean leaned back in his chair with a smirk, adding fuel to the fire of Kieran’s concerns, Karen was the one to keep things balanced.

Karen rolled her eyes before turning back to Lenny. “Okay, but seriously—what does he eat? Is Kieran gonna have to go out there and wrestle a shark for him or what?”

Kieran paled. “W-wait, what?”

The room roared with voices once again, each one trying to speak over the other.

“Nobody’s going to be feeding him any sharks,” The room quieted as Charles' steady voice cut through the noise, silencing the lingering tension in the air. Kieran relaxed, exhaling slowly as the weight of his concerns seemed to lift. Charles gave a small nod, as if reassuring him and everyone else in the room.

“As for his behavior and temperament,” he continued, gaze sweeping over the group, “there’s still a lot we don’t know. He could be dangerous, but so far he’s given us no reason to believe he wants to cause any harm.”

There was a brief pause, and then Charles turned to face me, his eyes locking with mine. I blinked, a sudden wave of unease crashing over me.

“And as for the interaction we’ve been having with him,” he followed with my name, his voice now directed at me. “You seem to be the only one he trusts right now. How is he responding to you? Have you seen any signs of aggression that we need to be aware of?”

I froze. What the fuck, Charles?

The question hit me like a jolt of electricity, and for a split second, I was completely blindsided. I hadn’t prepared for this—not in the slightest. The thought of speaking to the entire team about my interactions with Arthur hadn’t even crossed my mind. They hadn’t told me I would be briefing everyone on the strange, quiet bond I was forming with him.

Was he asking about his outburst from last night? How was I even supposed to answer this? What could I possibly say without overstepping, without sounding...too involved?

The room seemed to tilt just slightly as all eyes turned toward me. I could feel the weight of their stares like a physical force, pressing down on me, and my throat constricted, making it harder to breathe.

Was Charles expecting me to share everything? To expose every detail of what had happened between Arthur and me? Did he want me to explain how Arthur had only seemed to trust me, how he responded to my voice with such... desperate hope? How he allowed me to touch him without flinching, like my hands had some kind of soothing magic he hadn’t known before? The thought of explaining those moments—the raw, intimate pieces of his existence that I was now learning to navigate—made me freeze even further.

I wasn't ready to voice all this out loud in front of everyone.

My heart hammered against my ribs as I fumbled for the right words, the right tone. I wanted to be honest, to tell them what I had seen—but how much should I reveal? How much was too much? I hadn’t fully processed how much Arthur’s behavior affected me, how much his actions had been stirring something deep inside my heart. It wasn’t just about him being a ‘new species’—it was about the trust he had shown me despite everything he’d been through.

Taking a steadying breath, I finally spoke, “Well for starters, his name is Arthur. And he is…unique. But from what I’ve seen, he’s not acting out of malice. He’s more… confused, conflicted—hurting.” I explained, finding my voice.

“He’s very slow to trust. There have been moments when he’s unsure of himself, especially when he’s around others or feels vulnerable. But there’s been no violence. I think we just need to give him time to adjust. To get to know us.”

I swallowed hard, my words feeling like they came from somewhere deeper than I had expected. “Arthur’s not a threat—at least not in the way we’re worried about. But he’s struggling, he’s running from something I’m still only beginning to understand. And I think...I think he’s just looking for a place to belong. There is humanity in him, and despite his looks he is deeply gentle. But he’s smart too, he feels things like any person would.”

“He’s got a smart mouth, that’s for sure,” John quipped with a grin, his sarcastic remark helping to ease some of my nerves. It was a relief to know I wasn’t the only one starting to grow fond of Arthur, that I wasn’t alone in building trust and a sense of friendship with him.

“He’s been held in captivity for so long, and hurt by some really bad people.” I continued, my gaze shifting between Hosea and Sadie. “Arthur’s truly something magnificent, and I hope you all get a chance to bond with him. But right now, he needs us to pull it together to keep him safe.”

I glanced around the room, meeting their gazes, trying to convey the sincerity of my words. There was a long silence before Charles nodded, his expression thoughtful but unreadable. He had a way of making you feel like you were being examined, dissected, even when he wasn’t saying anything at all.

“Thank you for that assessment,” he said finally, his voice softer. “We’ll take that into account moving forward. But keep us updated, alright? We can’t afford to overlook anything, not with all the unknowns.”

I nodded, grateful for his understanding, but still feeling the heavy responsibility weighing on me. I had to keep walking that fine line, between what was right for the team and what was right for Arthur—and for myself.

* ‧̍̊˙· 𓆝.° ｡˚𓆛˚｡ °.𓆞 ·˙‧̍̊ *

After Lenny stumbled through his answers to the team’s questions, trying his best to keep up with their curiosity and concern, it became clear that the facility couldn’t stay in limbo forever. Visitors were scheduled to arrive, and life needed to continue—so, everyone else returned to their duties, getting back to the normal rhythm of their work. Except for us.

We had to be careful about what we shared. The details of Arthur’s healing ability were kept under wraps for now, and we omitted the specifics about the man and group of scientists who had exploited and tortured him. It was already a lot for the team to process, and we didn’t need to send them into a full-blown panic before we had a better grasp on everything ourselves.

Sadie paced the room, her boots echoing in the quiet as she mentally ran through the details she’d gathered. Every fact and piece of evidence was a thread she was pulling together to form a clearer picture. She wasn’t one to speak lightly when it came to her investigations, and she needed to be thorough.

With a glance to the others—Hosea, John, Charles, and myself—she cleared her throat before continuing.

“I’ve dug into Dutch Van der Linde’s background. And let me tell you, he’s a slippery one. This man knows how to cover his tracks.” She paused for a beat, letting that sink in. “Most of what I’ve managed to dig up is several years old, but it paints a clear picture. Last we heard of him was out of a place called Blackwater. Authorities got a tip that he was running some kind of laboratory. A facility that used a lot of saltwater and electricity.”

Her gaze hardened, lips pressing into a tight line. “Now, you know as well as I do what that means when it comes to wildlife—hell, any kind of life. He was holding aquatic animals in conditions that were, to put it plainly, illegal. Overcrowded tanks, improper filtration, and not a single care about environmental regulations. One can only imagine how bad it got.”

I felt my stomach churn with nausea, the image of Arthur in those conditions was too much to bear.

Sadie went on, her voice sharp and focused. “Things went south in that lab. I can’t say for sure what exactly happened, but from what I’ve gathered, it was bad enough that people died. Authorities found broken glass, empty tanks, signs of a hasty cover-up. It looked like some kind of accident at first. But Dutch? He covered his tracks, moved his operation, and disappeared without a trace.”

She gave us a hard look. “We don’t know where he’s gone since, but one thing’s for sure—he’s not someone who’s gonna stop just because we’re onto him now.”

The room hung in tense silence, the weight of Sadie’s words settling over us like a thick fog. She laid out the stark reality of our situation, outlining the two paths we were facing. One was the faint hope that Dutch might just disappear—forget about Arthur and move on to exploit another poor creature, leaving us to breathe easy.

But the second option, the one that seemed far more likely given everything Arthur had shared about him, was more sinister. Dutch wouldn’t stop until he found Arthur, until he took back what he believed he had a right to possess.

“I’ve got my people keeping their eyes open,” Sadie continued, her tone steady, but her gaze never wavering from us. “But for now, you need to keep quiet about your new resident. Word travels fast, and the last thing we need is for this to reach the wrong ears.”

Hosea nodded, his face thoughtful. “Thank you for doing this, Sadie. We’re taking a great risk here, but it eases my mind to know you’re on our side.”

Sadie offered a polite smile, but before she could speak again, John abruptly stood up from his chair, his frustration boiling over. “So that’s it? We’re just supposed to sit here like sitting ducks, waiting for this psychopath to show up and demand his so-called pet back?” His voice was sharp.

Hosea, ever the calm mediator, began to speak, but John cut him off. His eyes flashed with a fire that came from more than just frustration—there was something raw and deeply personal in his voice. “I’m serious. What the hell do we do if this guy shows up at our doorstep? Are we supposed to just call PETA and have him tried for animal cruelty? Is Arthur supposed to testify in a court? Come on, what’s the plan here? Where exactly do we stand in this? I need to understand how your people will stop this from happening.”

His words echoed in the room, hitting each of us in a different way. For a moment, I felt the same heat in my chest, the urgency in John's voice igniting a similar fire in me. This wasn’t just about Arthur—his presence put everyone at risk. We were faced with a man who had no conscience, no moral compass, just an insatiable need to control and exploit.

I could see the tension in John’s stance, the way his hands gripped the back of his chair as if holding on to something solid. He wasn’t the type to back down, and I couldn’t help but admire his unwavering commitment to justice—even if it was the kind that burned with reckless abandon. I had no doubt that we would all fight, but the road ahead was far from clear.

Hosea sighed deeply, his voice steady but laced with the weight of everything he knew was at stake. “John’s right to be worried. We’re not equipped to handle this kind of threat. We don’t have the resources or manpower to go toe-to-toe with someone like Dutch. We’re a small facility, and this isn’t something any of us are used to. But we’ll figure it out. I’ll be damned if that poor boy has to suffer any longer” His gaze shifted to me, a silent understanding passing between us.

We both understood how much was on the line.

Sadie nodded, her expression softening but never losing its edge of professionalism. “I get it, Hosea. Believe me, I do. But sometimes, the best we can do is wait and watch, be prepared for when he shows up. I’m putting feelers out there—keeping an eye on the local networks, my contacts in the field. But Dutch is a ghost. He’s good at disappearing when he wants to. We can’t go running around in circles panicking until we have something concrete.”

I couldn’t keep quiet any longer. “So you’re saying we just… wait? And pray he doesn’t come after Arthur?” My voice cracked slightly, but I didn’t care. “What happens if he does show up? We can’t just give up and let Dutch take him.”

Sadie’s eyes softened with something akin to sympathy, but her face remained hard with resolve. “You’re not wrong.” She paused, glancing at the others in the room, her eyes lingering on me for a moment longer. “What I can promise you is this—if Dutch comes for Arthur, if he makes a move, I’ll be here. We’ll all be here. You won’t be facing this alone.”

Hosea placed a hand on the table, leaning into it slightly, his voice firm. “We can’t risk making any rash decisions. Arthur's safety is our priority, we’ll keep him under wraps for now, and gather more information. As much as I hate waiting, it’s what we have to do. For his well being—and for ours.”

I nodded slowly, absorbing their words. I understood what they were trying to say. They were trying to protect Arthur in the only way they knew how. But there was still that gnawing feeling in my gut, the fear that Dutch might already be closer than we realized.

"Alright," I said, standing up from my seat. "But when the time comes, we act. No hesitation. We make sure that when Dutch shows up, we’re ready for him." The words felt strange in my mouth, but they were the truth.

“I made a promise to Arthur that he would never endure that kind of suffering again. And I will do whatever it takes to ensure that promise is kept.”

Sadie looked at me for a long moment before nodding, her expression tight with conviction "Undertsood."

* ‧̍̊˙· 𓆝.° ｡˚𓆛˚｡ °.𓆞 ·˙‧̍̊ *

As the last of the visitors trickled out and the automatic doors slid shut, a familiar exhaustion settled deep in my bones. But it wasn’t the same kind of exhaustion that had weighed me down in recent days. This was different—earned through hard work, the kind that came with purpose. A full day of routine tasks, keeping my hands busy, my mind occupied. And for what felt like the first time in days, my thoughts weren’t consumed by Arthur.

I moved through the motions—wiping down counters, locking up equipment, double-checking protocols—before making my way to the break room. My locker door creaked open, and as I grabbed my things, I fished my phone from my pocket. My fingers hovered over the screen for only a moment before I typed in one word.

Captain.

The familiar text thread popped to the top of my messages, and without hesitation, I typed:

Charles, we need to talk.

I hit send, pulling on my jacket and slinging my bag over my shoulder. I already knew where he was—likely in his office, finishing up for the night. So I waited, taking my time as I walked. My phone buzzed in my hand.

Meet in the tunnel? ~CS

A quiet sigh left my lips as I read the message. The tunnel. Of course.

Easily one of the most breathtaking parts of the facility, the tunnel was a curved, glass-walled corridor where guests could walk beneath the water. The sea life surrounded them on all sides, illuminated by the soft glow of artificial reef structures designed to mimic the ocean floor. Stingrays glided like silent phantoms through the currents, schools of fish shimmered in the dim light, and for a moment, stepping inside felt like being transported to another world.

See you there.

I tucked my phone away and started down the hall, feeling the weight of the conversation ahead settling on my shoulders.

Charles stood with an easy sort of stillness, hands tucked into his pockets, eyes trained on the glass where a pair of clownfish darted in and out of a pink anemone. The soft glow of the tunnel lights cast a faint shimmer against the water, reflecting off the corals in a wash of muted color. At the sound of my approaching footsteps, he turned slightly, his face lighting up with a small, familiar smile before his gaze flickered back to the fish.

“Did you know female clownfish leave the nest after they mate and lay their eggs? The male stays behind to guard them until they hatch,” he mused, his voice carrying the weight of thought rather than idle conversation. His eyes never left the tiny creatures, but I could tell his mind was somewhere else. Drifting beyond the glass, beyond the tunnel, caught in some invisible current of contemplation. “Sometimes I wonder what the advantage is in her leaving. Surely they’d be better off as a pair, keeping the young safe together.”

I stepped up beside him, folding my arms as I watched the fish weave through the anemone’s swaying tendrils, completely immune to its stinging nematocyst defenses.

“Well,” I started, mirroring his thoughtful tone, “maybe she just wasn’t ready for it. Eitherway, clownfish can change their sex. So—I guess if he really wanted to, he could become female and go find a new mate. Start over. Do things better than his traitorous ex-partner.”

A short chuckle left Charles’ lips, but there was something wry about it. “Until something bigger comes along and makes a meal out of them both.”

I smirked, though my chest felt heavy. “Ah, the circle of life. Beautiful, isn’t it?”

The words hung between us, lighthearted in tone but laced with something heavier, unspoken. Beneath the easy rhythm of our banter, something churned beneath the surface. Something neither of us were quite ready to say out loud.

We stood there in silence, the glow of the water casting shifting patterns across the floor, before I finally gave in to the question that had been gnawing at me all day.

“Charles, why’d you throw me into the flames like that during the meeting?”

His brow furrowed, caught off guard. “I—what? What are you talking about?”

“Don’t be like that, you know what I’m talking about.” I sighed and dropped onto one of the viewing benches, rubbing my temples. “I already hate public speaking, and no one told me I’d have to stand up there and explain myself. I mean…I’ve hardly wrapped my head around this, Charles! I thought we were just there to go over the basics, get everyone up to speed on the whole… situation.” I waved a hand vaguely through the air, but we both knew exactly what I meant.

Charles hesitated for a fraction of a second, then shrugged. “You were there when he was found, you were there when I removed the harpoon tip. If anyone’s qualified to speak on this, it’s you.” He paused, then added, “Besides, you seem to be getting along pretty well with him.”

It wasn’t just a passing observation or a simple truth—I knew him better than that. He made a point to say it, not just to me, but to the entire team.

I let out a scoff, shaking my head. “So that’s why you called me out? Because I’ve been trying to be a friend to him?”

Charles turned to face me fully now, his expression unreadable but sharp with something I couldn’t quite place. “I wanted to remind you that it’s dangerous. We still have no idea what that thing’s capable of.”

A slow, seething heat crept up my neck. “Thing?”

His jaw tensed. “You know what I meant.”

“Do I?” My voice was quiet, but there was a bite to it. A challenge.

He didn’t back down. “He’s been here less than two days, and you look at him like—”

“Like he’s a damn person, Charles,” I cut him off, standing now, anger pushing me to my feet. “Not a thing, not a monster, not something dangerous. What’s dangerous is the people who captured him and tortured him for his entire life.” My breath was coming too fast, but I couldn’t stop. “Arthur has known nothing but pain and loneliness. If it’s against policy to make our patients feel safe, then call Hosea and tell him to fire me.”

Charles exhaled sharply, dragging a hand through his hair, frustration etched into every line of his face. But beneath it—beneath the argument, beneath the fear and the worry—I saw it.

He meant well. And that was the most infuriating part.

“You think I don’t understand that?” Charles shot back, his voice tight with restraint. “You think I don’t see what’s been done to him? What he’s been through?” He took a step closer, his tone lowering, but no less intense. “I do. And that’s exactly why I’m worried.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but he wasn’t done.

“You’re not just some observer in all of this—you’re in deep, deeper than you even realize,” Charles said, his voice heavy with something between frustration and concern. “I know your heart is in the right place, but damn it, you can’t act like you’re the only one who cares.” He ran a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply as though struggling to rein in emotions he wasn’t ready to share. “I’m not telling you what to do, but I need you to see the bigger picture. I know you feel something for him, but this—this is far bigger than that.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but his words hung in the air, leaving me frozen. The weight of his tone cut deeper than I expected, and for the first time in a while, I wasn’t sure what to say. I had been so caught up in my own emotions, my own frustration, that I hadn’t stopped to see his.

“W-what feelings?” I stammered, feeling like I was losing ground. The way he looked at me—the understanding, the depth—made me feel exposed. Those brown eyes, usually warm, now felt like they were peeling back layers I didn’t want to confront.

Charles sighed, almost tenderly, as though he’d known this would be difficult. “You think I don’t know your heart? Know that look?” His voice softened as he said my name, but the words were weighted with something older, more painful. “I know you. And whether you like it or not, I care about you more than that damn fish. I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”

The sincerity in his voice hit me harder than I expected, the raw emotion underlying his words pulling at something inside me. His care, his concern—they were clear, and I could no longer pretend they didn’t matter.

Gathering his things, Charles turned to leave, his footsteps echoing faintly in the tunnel. "Just promise me you’ll be cautious about this. And if anything, anything happens that frightens you, you come to me about it first. Okay?" His words lingered in the air, heavy and unspoken.

I nodded without thinking, not sure if I meant it or if I was just too exhausted to argue anymore. As the door to the tunnel closed behind him, I leaned back on the bench, my eyes drifting to the vast tank before me. The room felt suddenly colder, emptier, and I let out a slow breath, closing my eyes.

The weight of everything—Charles’ warnings, my own confusion, Arthur’s presence—settled on my shoulders.

When I opened my eyes again, the room had darkened, a large shadow casting itself across the walls like the slow approach of a storm. Lifting my head, my breath caught in my throat as I saw him—Arthur—watching me just beyond the glass.

The world came to a standstill as I took in the sight of him, an otherworldly presence that seemed to dominate the space. He hovered there, still and silent, his powerful form fully illuminated by the dying light of the setting sun.

Beautiful didn’t even begin to describe him.

His body glistened in the dimming glow, long hair rippling ever so slightly with the water’s motion. The vibrant colors of his tail were like nothing I had ever seen before—rich blues and purples that shimmered against the darker water, pulsing with life that gave him the appearance of a phantom rising from the depths.

Arthur was the water, and the water was him. Like he was born to be exactly this, fierce and indescribable. Gills and fins delicately waving with each movement of the current, floating upright. He spanned almost the entire length of the glass, and seeing him like this I realized just how small and insignificant I was in comparison.

He is the ocean.

The golden orange light from the sun filtered through the water, casting an ethereal glow that made his form appear almost heavenly, like something from a legend. The intricate patterns of his scales caught the light, transforming him into a figure of pure elegance and power.

The glass between us felt like a thin barrier between two worlds. One human and one far beyond my understanding.

My heart raced as I sat there, rooted to the spot. His deep blue eyes, so full of life and yet so distant, never left mine. They spoke of something ancient, something vast, and in that moment, it was as if the entire world had narrowed down to just him and me.

His pull, my need, and everything unknown between us—pressed down on me like the ocean itself.

AN: Big shoutout to @photo1030 for giving me some devious ideas about Charles and the reader having a romantic history. I knew I wanted him to play a bigger role in this, but now I’m fully invested in him having some conflicted feelings about Arthur and the reader. Let me know what you guys think!

Oh! Also, I hope the egg-menses/double-dick thing isn’t too weird for some folks. It’s typical in a monster romance to have odd genitalia and means of reproducing. In my humble opinion, it’s what makes it so intriguing to read (and write!) As a biologist, I relate to the reader a lot, I too am morbidly fasciated by the limits of science.

We’ll see our sweet fish boy again in the next chapter, got some really sweet/hot scenes cooking 😋

#arthur morgan #rdr2 #red dead redemption 2 #rdr2 fanfic #ao3 fanfic #arthur morgan x reader #red dead fandom #ao3 #monster x human #monster au #monster romance #arthur morgan x you #siren x reader #siren au #rdr2 modern au #charles smith #john marston

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crssvjb · 6 months ago

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Moments -Sebastian Vettel

Sebastian Vettel x Senna!reader

Summary: Moments of your relationship with the pilot Sebastian.

Warnings: Mentions of Ayrton Senna here (not many). A little long.

The Encounter - 2008

The year was 2008, and the Formula 1 tracks were both a place of excitement and nostalgia for you. As the daughter of Ayrton Senna, the racing legend, the world of F1 has always been part of her life. Now, as a mechanical engineering student, you landed an internship at Toro Rosso, an opportunity that blended your passion for engineering with deep memories of your father.

One afternoon, in the Toro Rosso pits, while analyzing the car's data, the voice of Sebastian Vettel, a young German driver, interrupted his thoughts. – "These numbers always seem very complicated." – He said with a relaxed smile.

You turned around, surprised to see the pilot next to you. – "Well, to me, they tell fascinating stories." – You replied, smiling. The connection has been made. Sebastian, curious and respectful, began to ask questions about his father and the time when Senna dominated the tracks.

– "Ayrton Senna is a legend. What is most incredible about him that people don't know?"

You smiled, appreciating the sincerity of the question. – "In addition to his incredible driving skills, my father was driven by an intense passion for competition, but also by a deep respect for other competitors. He sought excellence, not just for himself, but to elevate the entire sport."

Sebastian, his eyes shining with interest, replied: – "It's incredible how he influenced Formula 1 and all of us. I'd love to hear more about him."

Between conversations about cars, racing and engines, you got closer and became friends. Sebastian, being a promising driver at the time, showed genuine interest in his passion for mechanical engineering. The bond between you grew, even when he left for the Red Bull team the following year.

The Invitation - 2009

In 2009, Red Bull Racing became the new stage for the emotions of Formula 1. Sebastian Vettel, now the team's driver, was conquering the world with his skill on the track. Still, you remained a constant part of his life, the connection growing with each run.

The day after the exciting race in Singapore, Sebastian invites you to a quiet dinner. The atmosphere is cozy, an elegant restaurant in the city. As you browse the menus, Sebastian smiles, looking straight into your eyes.

– “These moments on the track have been even better with you around.” - He says. – "And I was wondering if you'd like to hang out with me. Not as teammates, but as... something more."

Sebastian holds his hand, demonstrating the sincerity of his words. – "I really wish this was something beyond the track. What do you think?"

The sincerity in Sebastian's words is moving. You smile, feeling a rush of emotion. – "I would love to, Sebastian. It would be a pleasure."

The Instructor - 2010

The year was 2010 and the Formula 1 season was about to start. Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel had a bigger challenge ahead of him. And you? Well, you were about to embark on the journey of a lifetime. Red Bull Racing decided that you would be Sebastian's instructor for the season.

The days leading up to the start of the season were intense. You and Sebastian spent hours on the simulators, discussing strategies, adjusting technical details and analyzing each curve of the circuit. It was a perfect elaboration, where the pilot and the engineer shared ideas and experiences.

On a rainy afternoon at the Red Bull office, Sebastian looks at you with a smile. – "You really know what you're doing. It's amazing how everything makes more sense when explained by you."

You laugh, sharing your knowledge with passion. – "It's all about understanding the nuances, the details that can make a difference. And when you drive, these details become even more crucial."

The season begins and the races bring challenges and triumphs. In a memorable race, Sebastian achieves another podium at home. The atmosphere in the pits is electric, and after the team celebrates, they turn to you.

– “This is for us, for our partnership.” – says Sebastian, and before you know it, your lips meet in a passionate kiss, revealing to the world the connection that developed behind the scenes.

The news about you two spreads quickly through the media, but you face everything head on. At a press conference, Sebastian smiles for the cameras. – “Finding someone who shares the passion for the sport and understands the madness that is Formula 1 is rare. And I’m grateful to have her by my side.”

The coming months will be one of continued celebration. Wins on the track create a unique dynamic. The world championship is an achievement for both of them, and on the podium, after the last race of the season, Sebastian surprises everyone again by holding the trophy, looking at himself and saying: “This victory is ours.

Commitments - 2012

After an intense and exciting race, you and Sebastian return to the hotel tired, but radiant from the victories achieved on the track. The atmosphere is relaxed and intimate when you find yourself in the hotel suite, with the city lit up in the distance.

Already dressed casually, you snuggle into bed, sharing laughs and memories of the day. The city lights mix with the twinkle of the stars, creating a magical scene.

Sebastian, looking at you tenderly, comments: – "You know, today was a special day. Not just for the races, but for being together. I have something for you." – He gets up and takes something from the table next to the bed.

Upon returning, Sebastian holds a small box. His eyes light up as he opens the box, revealing the dazzling ring. – “From the moment we met on the slopes, my life changed, darling. It’s not just about running for me, it’s about the journey we’re building together.”

He looked into her eyes tenderly. – "I don't just want the races, I want all the twists and turns of life by your side. So, Y/N, will you agree to be mine forever?"

The moment for Y/N is as if she were participating in a romantic movie. Your romantic movie. The city lights, the few stars in the sky and Sebastian's request create an unforgettable scene.

You, excited, respond with a smile lighting up your face. – "Yes, Sebastian. I accept with all my heart."

He gently places the ring on your finger, a tangible symbol of your commitment. The cold ring is bright and contrasts with the warm exchange of glances between you. An enveloping hug follows, as if it were a seal that transcends words. The racing heart is the echo of the emotion shared in that intimate moment. Amid the silence of the hotel suite, the kiss that follows is soft but full of meaning.

Weddings and Achievements - 2013

In 2013, on July 13th, the wedding of Sebastian Vettel and S/N Senna was a great spectacle. The lush garden was adorned with a profusion of flowers, while the mountains in the background provided a picturesque backdrop. The golden early afternoon sun cast a magical light on the ceremony, where Sebastian anxiously awaited the arrival of his bride.

The bride, radiant in her wedding dress, walked towards the altar. Sebastian looked at her in awe, and when she finally reached his side, he whispered, "You look amazing." The words were soft, but they carried with them all the depth of the love they had built since that first conversation.

The ceremony was filled with personal vows, each word echoing the unique journey that brought them here. When it was time for the vows, Sebastian held Y/N's hands gently.

– "Y/N, since the moment you came into my life, everything has changed. You are not only my partner, but my light at all times. I promise to be your constant support, to love you on good days and bad, always ."

With tears in her eyes, Y/N replied: – “Sebastian, you are my passion and my calm. I promise to support your dreams, laugh with you in the joys and face the challenges together. ."

The kiss after the vows wasn't just a symbolic gesture; it was the confirmation of an eternal promise. Under the warm applause of the guests, the celebration continued in an atmosphere of joy and happiness.

The reception was a festival of colors, twinkling lights and carefully planned details. The party continued with dancing, laughter and unforgettable moments. Each reflected the couple's unique personality and the love that permeated their union.

In the privacy of Sebastian's three-time world champion's room, the trophies and photos that told the story of his victorious career were proof of his achievements not only on the track, but now also in his personal life. The wedding photo occupied a prominent place, symbolizing the harmony between professional and personal victories.

Life continued with travel, intimate moments and the making of memories that would become fundamental pillars of the journey together.

At the end of 2013 the Brazilian Grand Prix arrived and emotions were running high. Sebastian, determined and focused, aimed for his fourth world championship. The Interlagos tracks witnessed a spectacular performance, culminating in the victory of Sebastian Vettel, who became four-time world champion.

In the pits, the team celebrated and Y/N was there, proud and excited. Y/N, with a smile lighting up her face, approached him. – "You deserve it, love." – She said, and pulled him in for a kiss.

Thus, under the vibrant colors of Brazil, the couple celebrated not just a victory on the tracks, but the victory of a love that withstood all the curves and straights of life. Sebastian Vettel's fourth championship marked not only racing glory, but also the consolidation of an extraordinary journey, where love and success were intertwined in a unique and unforgettable narrative.

Family and New Challenges - 2015-2022

The years that followed marked an extraordinary journey for Sebastian Vettel and S/N Senna-Vettel, a path full of challenges. In 2015, Sebastian embraced Scuderia Ferrari, diving into a chapter full of promises and achievements.

The space dedicated to Sebastian achievements, where his shiny trophies are kept, but now also for children's laughter and colorful toys. Elias, the firstborn, was born in January 2016, filling the house with the sweet melody of a baby's cry and transforming the world bedroom into a haven of joy and life.

Antonella's arrival in May 2019 further expanded the Vettel family's horizons. The days were filled with laughter, games and the innocent wonder of children discovering the world. The pantry room, where all the trophies are kept, now decorated with drawings and children's toys, has become a microcosm of family love.

At the end of the 2021 season, where Sebastian was at the Aston Martin team, he decided to retire and had Y/N's full support.

On a calm day, Sebastian and Y/N found a moment for a serious conversation about the future, sitting in the world room. Looking at the trophies that told the story of his victories, Sebastian began, "I think it's time for a change, Y/N. I've decided to retire at the end of this season."

Y/N looked at him surprised and, at the same time, understanding. – "Sebastian, this is serious. Are you sure this is the right time?"

Sebastian held her hand tenderly. – "Yes, I'm sure. I want to be more present for you, for Elias and Antonella. Every time I get home it seems like they grow another 5 centimeters. Life is more than tracks and races."

Y/N, despite her surprise, smiled, feeling the warmth of her decision. – "I understand. We will be by your side no matter what."

The last Grand Prix - 2022

The final Grand Prix of the 2022 season was a bittersweet spectacle. In the Aston Martin pits, the atmosphere was charged with emotion as the Vettel family gathered to support Sebastian in his final race. Watching the race, Y/N got emotional.

Six-year-old Elias watched beside her, with a mixture of curiosity and understanding beyond his years. 3-year-old Antonella was excited, fascinated by the colorful cars on the screen.

When the race ended and Sebastian crossed the finish line for the last time, Y/N was emotional and proud. As they approached the pits, he affectionately joked: – “You are sadder than me, because I am retiring”.

Y/N laughed, wiping away a furtive tear. – “It’s hard not to get emotional, Sebastian. There were so many achievements, so many laps together.”

Sebastian hugged her, looking at Elias and Antonella. – "You saw daddy run, didn't you?"

Elias, his eyes shining, nodded. – “It was incredible, daddy!”

Antonella, in her enthusiastic way, exclaimed: – “I want to run too!”

Sebastian laughed, taking her in his arms. – "Who knows, little one. Life is full of surprises."

⎊𝙘𝙧𝙨𝙨𝙫𝙟𝙗 - ²⁰²⁴

#sebastian vettel x reader #sebastian vettel x you #sebastian vettel x yn #sebastian vettel imagine #sebastian vettel one shot #sebastian vettel fanfic #formula one x reader #formula 1 x reader #ayrton senna x reader

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vintagerpg · 3 months ago

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M. C. Escher is another artist that I think has profound influence on how we collectively think about and depict fanciful places for exploration in RPGs, even if his art isn’t at the forefront of our brains. Traps and magic and other planes of existence too!

Escher was Dutch and created a large body of woodcuts and lithographs during his lifetime, though it wasn’t until the end of his life that he achieved a measure of fame, thanks initially to coverage in Scientific American. Much of Eschers art was inspired by, and serves as visual metaphor, for mathematical problems and concepts — tessellation, symmetry, reflection, impossible objects. His depictions of the latter are probably his most famous and often depict the clearest examples of dungeon-like spaces where strange laws of physics rule — something that was clearly on Jim Henson’s mind during the staging of the final scenes of Labyrinth. Escher’s tessellations, especially the ones that transform, like “Metamorphosis,” are probably the closest to a visual representation of magic yet achieved by an artist. Strange creatures creep into some frames, other illustrations present warped versions of reality. But even some of his gorgeous land- and cityscapes seem like fodder for the game master’s mind, with the bold linework of the woodcuts seeming to resonate with Dave Trampier’s work.

Maybe it’s the Trampier thing that puts me in this mind, but it feels like Escher’s mathematical art is somehow a cousin of RPGs, especially early ones that were interested in simulation through math and randomness. The graph paper maps. Or even later, when isometric maps became fashionable.

This book, M. C. Escher: His Life and Complete Graphic Work is, well, pretty great, but unfortunately out of print (I think?). However, it saw many printings from 1982 through the ’90s, at least, so there are plenty of inexpensive copies available second hand. Well worth picking up!

#roleplaying game #tabletop rpg #dungeons & dragons #rpg #d&d #ttrpg #MC Escher

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thefirstknife · 7 months ago

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The Infinite Forest

Sighs. This post has been on my mind since we saw the trailer for Echoes, because they showed us the gate to the Infinite Forest and I thought: how many people even recognise that? Let alone have been there? Or know stuff about it? It's not been in the game for over 4 years, outside of a few pvp maps.

The Infinite Forest was a victim of the yoinkening of planets at the end of Arrivals. Unlike Mars and Titan that have since returned, Mercury has not (and neither has Io) so there was really no reason to think about it until they decided to do something with that. And it appears they've decided, something I hoped they might do in Echoes, given that we've speculated from the start that it would be a Vex season.

But now that we did get the proof that we'll be dealing with it somehow, I want to get into it, and mostly because they gave us zero explanation about how is it even possible for us to consider the Forest. I'm going to have a normal time with this one. I know we'll get at least some answers in a few days, but I need to cook in the meantime so I don't descend into madness (too late). Obviously spoilers for this week under the cut, and also a long post:

What is the Infinite Forest?

How does it all work and why?

What happened to it?

Echoes

What is the Infinite Forest?

The best, and arguably only, source for this is unfortunately a vaulted campaign, Curse of Osiris. Here's a link to the campaign from Destiny Lore Vault, but there are also playthroughs around from the time it launched. It's not needed to watch the whole thing, although it is fairly short, but this is where most of the information about it comes from.

There's also the Osiris comics that accompanied the DLC; first two are available on Bungie's site. The third is only in the physical book, helpfully scanned here.

Probably the most concise explanations are from the campaign:

Reflection of Osiris: Behold — the Infinite Forest! A planet sized prediction engine, simulating trillions of realities in parallel, all geared towards a single Vex purpose. Keep going, and you'll see. Sagira: The Vex are simulating reality in here. Brute forcing the future. And before you ask: everything in here IS real enough to kill you.

And this entire lore tab:

Physically, I am beneath the surface of Mercury. That is what Sagira's sensors say. The Vex hollowed out the planet, replaced its molten heart with cold right angles. But that is not what I see. I see infinity. An infinity of possible worlds, so perfectly simulated as to be indistinguishable from the experiences I once called "reality." I can touch them, taste them, pass lifetimes in them! They grow within this machine like fruit upon a tree—no, a forest of trees, its fractal expansion nigh unmeasurable.

Essentially, the Infinite Forest is a simulation engine that the Vex use to make predictions and find possibilities that suit their goals. It's physically located inside of Mercury; the Vex dug into the planet and replaced its insides with the engine. So far it has only been accessible from Mercury, from a single gate. Putting my 7 year old screenshots here like grabbing pictures of loved ones from a photo album:

Ikora noted that Osiris spent a long time studying that gate back in the day, believing it's the entrance. And he was correct.

There is a Vex gateway near your location. Osiris spent years studying it. He was convinced it was the door to the infinite Forest. If it is still possible to find Osiris, we need to open that door.

Osiris, or rather, his reflection, also said:

First, I will show you where it all began. Mercury, untold centuries ago, before the Vex arrived. Here, the Vex planted the seed that became the Infinite Forest, and its Mind, Panoptes. Panoptes has a single purpose — reshape reality for the Vex.

To keep things simple, the campaign revolved around us stopping Panoptes from achieving the Vex' goals by using the Infinite Forest. We ended up killing it, of course. We did so by hopping around through the Forest, going to simulated pasts and futures.

But the Forest largely consists of a really weird constantly shifting space that looks like this:

Thank you past me for this really helpful screenshot. It looks like it's an open sky, but it's not; the ceiling is a solid flat surface. That is the surface of Mercury, seen from the inside of the planet. On the edges of the picture, there's two tall structures; one looks worn down and destroyed, the other looks newly built. These are the gates leading to the actual simulations. The left one leads to a simulated future and the right to a simulated past.

These structures are called "trees" and are the reason why this place is called the Infinite Forest. Each of these "trees" generates a simulation and leads there, but you have to go through this shifting reality with ever-changing platforms to reach them. This is the physical space needed to essentially "run" the Forest.

You can still see this on pvp maps Fragment and Convergence:

A lot of the stuff about how the Vex actually made this was not entirely confirmed at the time; the stuff about Mercury being converted back during the Collapse was something that's been in the lore since literally D1, but not much was known about how true any of that was or how it started and how it was done. This was somewhat cleared up later, in the first page of Trials and Tribulations (from Worthy). I say "somewhat" because like. Reading this page is an exercise for sanity:

Yeah. What this whole thing seems to be implying is a confirmation of Mercury being converted by the Vex during the Collapse. The Vex flooded the planet with radiolaria and drilled into it, changing its terraformed environment into a Vex world. Some of this is shown in Curse when we first visit the simulated past. The Vex appeared and started raising the spires and transforming the surface of Mercury into what we know it as. Its core was eventually fully replaced by the Infinite Forest.

After we killed Panoptes, Osiris essentially claimed the Forest for himself and returned there sort of indefinitely. He would leave years later, when he contacted us in Season of Dawn, though we know that he was periodically leaving anyway, since he was building the Sundial. It's not really been used for anything else, outside of various adventures and the quest for saving Saint which I went into in this post.

How does it all work and why?

It's always been kinda weird that the Forest was not a bigger deal, though it makes sense if we consider the out-of-game factors and the fans' general dislike of Mercury as a whole (which I personally think is a skill issue). The Forest was also difficult to work with so it was difficult to make new content for it which is probably why it was never really done, even though realistically, setting-wise, it should've.

It's mentioned in lore here and there, and Osiris spent his time there a lot up until Dawn. The Infinite Forest also alerted him that our actions drastically changed the Vex predictions which was serious and important enough for him to finally leave. So for all intents and purposes, the Forest was always a big deal, just difficult to implement into gameplay. This is quite unfortunate because it should've reasonably been something to use more, including explaining its danger a bit more in-depth over time. While Osiris did have a major influence over it post-Panoptes, the place was still largely Vex-controlled and they still had access to it.

So why is that dangerous in the first place? After all, it's just a simulation engine. That's true, but the danger is in how the Vex were using those simulations. By having access to a place that generates trillions of situations and possibilities, it allowed them to explore options that would normally be almost impossible to explore in-person, physically. Even the Vex, who can exist outside of time, would need to spend... well... time and resources to explore these options by simply time travelling. With the Forest, they could just generate them all at once, instantly, with no time passing outside of the Forest.

They could use this to simulate anything and then explore what would happen if they followed that possibility, which allowed them to predict more accurately. It allowed them to essentially run a certain scenario through every single possible iteration and see the outcome of all of them, then pick the option that suits them best and act accordingly. It could also let them study their enemies; by simulating many situations and observing how the enemies react in those situations, they could learn about the strategies their enemies use.

This is incredibly powerful and dangerous. But are there limitations to their simulations? Sort of... As we know, the Vex can't simulate Light or any other paracausality, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they can't try. This is where things get complicated because we lack a lot of the details about how this all works.

From what we can tell, the Forest can include simulations that feature paracausality and Guardians; it's seen in the intro cutscene for Curse where Osiris casually wanders into the Guardians raiding the Vault of Glass. It was also briefly mentioned in Lightfall's CE (page 28), where Elsie explores different timelines. In one of them, she finds Osiris wielding Stasis who tells her that he saw her wielding it:

"I saw glimpses of you wielding this power during my time in the Infinite Forest."

This is where things get complicated because we don't truly know if there are meaningful differences between normal simulations and simulations produced by a planet-size machine. The Vex, for all intents and purposes, can't really simulate Light and Guardians, but could they create simulations based on what they've personally experienced? After all, the Vex from the Vault of Glass experienced the Guardians raiding them; can they load up their memories and simply replay it? Would that even count as a simulation or is that simply just a recording that you can access within the Forest?

Is it accessible in other Vex spaces or is the Infinite Forest unique in some way? After all, there is also the Vex network as well as corridors of time. There's also some sort of overlap between them, according to Osiris:

...Vex security measures where the network intersects with the corridors of time.

There's even the implication that a simulation from the Forest could potentially escape the engine and enter the real world.

Sagira: Hey, team! Copies of the Cabal invasion are trapped inside the Infinite Forest. On the, uh, off chance one of them escapes, possibly armed with world-breaking Vex tech… Ghost: Wouldn’t be the first time. We’ll handle this.

There is also the whole question about timelines and realities and how that works in the Forest. Can you use the Forest to look into real timelines and realities, those that might be happening somewhere, or are they just projections and simulations of possibilities? Could you interact with them, and affect other timelines? This is an interesting question now that Echoes is going on with all the stuff about the Conductor and what's happening to Saint, but we currently don't know the answers.

What I think is the most likely is that the Infinite Forest is somehow unique and can offer a lot more than the normal Vex network; its simulation options are so well-developed and so powerful that it can genuinely simulate a lot more than the Vex usually would be able to, including showing glimpses of paracausality, especially glimpses that the Vex have themselves recorded in their interactions with Guardians. Then, they can use the Forest to try and build on that, essentially train the engine by feeding it trillions of data points to attempt to make accurate simulations that lead to good predictions.

And these seem to be the key words: accurate and prediction. The point of simulations is not just to look at things, it's to use them to be able to predict things, giving the Vex an advantage. This is directly referenced and discussed in the lore:

There's just one thing: if Osiris used the Infinite Forest to develop his prophecies, and the Infinite Forest cannot accurately simulate Light, how did Osiris predict the Traveler would wake? The Forest's very inability to predict this very thing is what prevented Panoptes from breaking ground with its apocalyptic calculations.

So what exactly is the Forest capable of? It can definitely show the past even if it involves paracausality. It can also show the future, though the accuracy of any future predictions may be in question, depending on the amount of paracausality involved. It's very much implied that it can also show other timelines and/or realities. And of course, it can simulate future possibilities, as well as show simulations of anything from the past; events or places alike. For example, Osiris simulated the Fundament, apparently:

Ghost: The Forest can generate so many Hive - it might as well be their homeworld. Sagira: We've thought about that. Ghost: Have you simulated the Hive homeworld? Sagira: Didn't go well.

If there are specific limitations, we're not sure what they may be. There probably are, but they're most likely deliberately not spelled out to prevent any kind of conflict with stuff they might want to add to the Forest later; like for example now, with Echoes. Because there's a lot of questions right now about the Forest now that Ikora has so casually told us we're going to be going back in there. So...

What happened to it?

As has been established, the Forest is physically located on Mercury. Or rather, in Mercury. Its one and only entrance is on Mercury as well. And Mercury has been eaten by the Witness over 4 years ago. So that's it then? Well no. Not only is the Forest on an inaccessible planet, it has actually been sealed, from the inside, before the planet was taken.

He struggled with his pack as a tempest beat on his eardrums. He withdrew his Infinite Simulacrum, impossibly small in this immense space, and with trembling fingers synchronized it to the frequency of the crack in the Forest. It ticked like a metronome and then… Silence. The Forest was sealed.

Instead of evacuating, Brother Vance decided to stay on Mercury, go into the Forest, and seal it. I go about it for a long time in this post, but basically he believed that it would be really bad if the Pyramids gained access to the Forest. He also believed that the Sundial did something to the timelines and that the Pyramids could exploit that, as well as the Infinite Forest being somehow "the key to all of this."

He also wanted to use the Forest to... spread hope. Through the timelines?

"I will walk into the Infinite Forest and spread hope, Guardian."

He essentially wanted to do something and prove that even Lightless people can still help. He appeared to be willing to die for this, which is quite strange mostly because this whole idea and endeavour wasn't in the name of Osiris. Hell, in a way, it was about doing something to fix the unknown consequences of Osiris' meddling with the timelines.

You notice Vance's hands are balled tightly at his sides. "The Pyramids draw close. Through this system and beyond, the Lightless are filled with fear. I am no Osiris, true, but in my small way, I will bring light to their darkness." There is clarity in his voice. "I will tell them they must believe."

Since I've gone into it in the other post in a lot more details, I won't go into it here again, although I could. But the point that I want to get across is that the sealing of the Infinite Forest was quite a significant part of Arrivals and the whole plot of the evacuation of Mercury (or rather the non-evacuation of Mercury; the sole reason for Vance staying was to seal the Forest).

In another post (you'll have to scroll through the back-and-forth insanity) I also mentioned how much of Vance's story in Arrivals seemed to be connected to him losing his mind about the effects of the Sundial on the timelines. It also directly links to the Perfect Paradox. All of these things have been quite prominently connected to this episode, especially the stuff with the Sundial and what Osiris has done with it and how it may or may not have affected the timelines and, most of all, Saint and the whole ordeal of saving him.

It's fairly unclear how many characters know what happened to the Forest though. The YW knows obviously because Vance told us directly. I do believe that Zavala would also know as we reported back to him, which also most likely extends to Ikora as well. Another issue is that we don't really have any specific proof that the sealing was successful or permanent. It seems like it was, but a lot of stuff could've happened in the past 4 years of Mercury being in an anomaly.

As I've mentioned many times before, Mercury is the last unsolved plot from Arrivals; as in, we genuinely don't know anything about it. Mars has returned in WQ and Ana's side of the story was concluded in Seraph. While Io is still gone, Asher's story was concluded in Defiance through Avalon. Titan returned in Deep, which solved the story of the planet and also Sloane. We know why these planets were taken (with the exception of Io, though it's fair to assume it had something to do with the Pyramidion because of Asher's story being tied to it), and we know what happened to all of the vendors. Except Mercury and Vance; two things inherently connected to the Infinite Forest.

We don't truly know why Mercury was yoinked, though it's once again fair to assume it was most likely for the Forest. But you know. It got sealed so the Witness couldn't do anything with it and we have no idea what it was doing with Mercury all this time. We also don't know what the hell was Vance on about when he talked about the "anchored timelines" and how the Forest is incredibly important to everything. Due to how unreliable he is, it could just be his usual cringefail. After all, Osiris himself did not have any plans for the Forest himself; he was upset that he'd lose it, but he didn't think anything more about it, even if during Dawn he insisted that the Forest cannot be sealed or destroyed yet.

But also I think dismissing it all is an easy mistake to make, and possibly a deliberate one. Everything with Vance is written to be as easy to dismiss as possible, but he did know certain things that were absolutely correct and real. Not to go on about the tones again, but. Yeah. And given the current situation...

Echoes

Failsafe has come up with a plan for which she needs data from the Vex. She specifically needs data that can be compared to the altered Vex on Nessus, so we need large amounts of information that hasn't been changed or messed with. She concluded that the best source of that data would be Saint's dead body. It exists in a specific space (and time) and would have this information; information that has not been altered or influenced by anything else because that Saint is dead and preserved as is.

Failsafe explained this to Ikora and Ikora agreed that this is the best source, she's just worried about how this will affect Osiris and Saint. She doesn't want us to tell them. So next reset, we're going to the Infinite Forest to find Saint's tomb again. Yay!

But like. How?

They presented this so casually, with Ikora even saying that the best "accessible" source of this data is the Forest and Saint's tomb. And I know that they know that we know that Mercury is gone and that the Forest was sealed. But they've already showed us the gate to the Forest on Nessus, twice: in the mini showcase and then in the intro to the season in-game:

The first picture is showing the gate when it's open. And yes, this specific portal effect has only ever been used for the Forest. The second image shows the gate when it's closed with that impenetrable barrier. The structure itself is different from the original; it's worn down, coloured differently and doesn't have the same tip - instead there's the weird orb and the statue. It looks far more Nessus-like, and closer to present-day Vex, or maybe future Vex. But it's guarded by Precursors, so I don't know. It definitely doesn't look like the original however.

We clearly aren't going to Mercury. And even if we were, how would we enter? Neither Failsafe nor Ikora have mentioned this little problem and it seems as if they already know that the gate is on Nessus; I assume they'll discuss the details of this in the Act 2 finale next week. But the problem is that without all of this context, how do they even explain the issue with the Forest? They can always shorten this to some reasonable quick explanation, but they still have to explain how are we entering the Forest. There's a few key problems.

Obviously, number 1 is that the Forest is on Mercury and as of now Mercury is still in the anomaly.

The Forest itself is sealed from the inside.

So far it has not been possible (or at least not known to us) to enter the Forest from any other location. As we've seen, Osiris spent years looking for the entrance and back in Arrivals he was quite upset about losing the Forest. If he simply had the ability to enter it without being physically on Mercury, then why bother or lament Mercury's loss?

It is, to our knowledge, one of a kind. It took quite a tremendous effort to build it and it requires a lot of power to run; a whole planet.

Possible solutions:

Mercury is back and Ikora hasn't told anyone yet because she doesn't want anyone to go there yet; perhaps it's in quarantine. I don't think this is very likely, but it's possible.

Opening a gate to the Forest from another location IS possible and we just didn't know about it.

Opening a gate to the Forest from another location is possible only because of the situation with the Echo; a powerful source of paracausal power can maybe help us do this remotely. So this simply wasn't an option before the Echo's existence.

The Vex and the Conductor have built or are still building a new Forest inside of Nessus this time. The Vex lost access to the original, either simply because of the anomaly or because it was sealed or both, so now with the Echo they're just doing it again, and better. So the Forest we're going into is not the original, but a new one; the assumption being that the data from the old Forest is accessible to the Vex so the new Forest can essentially run the same code as the old one, allowing us access to Saint's tomb.

The Vex and the Conductor only have to build a new gate that can lead us to the old Forest, despite it being in an anomaly and despite it being sealed. It essentially just brute forced another door.

And the possibilities in regards to it being sealed:

As I mentioned before, maybe the sealing wasn't as successful as we (or Vance) thought.

Vance is somehow still alive and he will open it for us from the inside, essentially concluding his role from Arrivals.

Maybe the sealing wasn't permanent; either the Vex could eventually counteract this, or Vance couldn't hold it closed for very long. He's a Lightless man and it's quite dubious how long he could survive inside. Maybe the seal automatically broke when (if?) he died.

If we're going with the option that this is a new gate to the old Forest, then as I said before, this may simply be able to counteract the seal.

If we're dealing with a completely new Forest, the seal may simply not even be in effect. The old Forest is sealed, but we're not going to the old one so it doesn't matter.

What I'm assuming is that Osiris could open the gate if he saw one again, so if the gate is simply now on Nessus (either to a new Forest or connecting to the old one), Osiris can just use his cubes as he did before and open it again, counteracting the seal. Vance's device used to seal it was made from Osiris' notes anyway, so I'm assuming it's something similar to the cubes. In that case it can just be opened with the same thing.

Ikora will just blast it open like she did back in Curse. Seal or no seal, new or old Forest, she doesn't give a shit,

There's an option for all of these that's basically just they don't mention it all. I don't think this is very likely, but hey. It's possible!

I've been running these scenarios in my head for days. Actually, I've been running them ever since the showcase for Echoes showed us the gate to the Forest, but this significantly increased when this week confirmed that we are indeed heading in there. And it was delivered so matter-of-factly as if there aren't any of these problems and scenarios I listed above. This is baffling me. I know there will be some explanations offered, but the setup completely blindsided me with how it was delivered. Ikora with the simple "Oh yeah the best place to grab data from is the Infinite Forest. Pack it up boys." And I'm standing there with a 8 hours long presentation asking her to explain how. She blocks my number on vannet.

Perhaps the situation is far simpler than I'm making it out to be. It would be really easy to just write the old Forest and Mercury away as being permanently lost. That way you don't have to explain or deal with any of the stuff with the anomaly or the yoinkening or Vance's shenanigans. I will obviously remain forever unhinged about it if that's the case because I simply need to know what happened, but it's the easiest way to deal with this. The Echo allowed the Vex to make a new Forest, they're using massive amounts of radiolaria and the core of Nessus to just recreate it all, then they copied all the data from the old one into it, booted it up and that's it.

But what if the seal is in effect? Or what if we're dealing with the old Forest on Mercury that's still in the anomaly? How do they plan to deal with that in a single mission? Well... We have no clue.

Bungie article lore time, but back last year in the State of the Game article, they said this about the pvp map Multiplex:

Although many of us had been thinking about a lo-fi Vex map for the Crucible, the challenge of this palette was the possible lack of player orientation in the play space. We thought bringing the Mars palette into the Vex Network realm would be a great way to mitigate this while adding an evocative look. Narratively, the space is in the middle of compiling the Infinite Forest, so this is what you’ll see in action.

Yes, while everyone was losing their mind about this article, I was looking for lore about the Infinite Forest. But yeah. It seems like they have information about it in the network and they were using it to compile that information; perhaps preparing to make a new one? Or simply using it for data.

So essentially, the Vex could have enough information about the Forest to recreate it, and better now with the Echo, which would allow us to simply bypass the anomaly and the Forest being locked, while allowing us to enter and still find Saint's tomb. This is by far the easiest solution.

But I want a conclusion on Mercury and Vance. I feel like this episode is the only time to really do that and they've been giving us so many Mercury things already, clearly showing that it was a big inspiration for it all. The music, the assets, the enemies. This includes the stuff about Saint and his grave, as well as the whole thing with the Perfect Paradox. There's still Act 3 of course and some still unknown exotic mission, but I feel like the quest that has us literally going into the Infinite Forest to revisit a place not even from Dawn, but from Curse, is the best spot to also deal with this.

I just have no idea how that's going to happen and I wanted to list out the stuff that would have to be somehow addressed and solved, even if the solution ends up being the simplest one. I also wanted to try and list some information about the Forest itself since this thing has not been in the game for years. I hope this was useful and that it explains things well.

Anyway, I've spent the whole week pacing around my room like a wild animal. Help.

In conclusion:

#destiny 2 #echoes #infinite forest #vex #nessus #osiris #brother vance #long post #lore vibing #i've been having a normal one this week #and yes that's me in the photo. don't even worry about it #needed to get this out to prepare my brain with all scenarios for tuesday #most likely it'll be something wild that i've not considered #but i'm really really interested to see how they'll explain the forest stuff. i'm very excited for tuesday #and scared for my emotions of course

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goldsbitch · 1 year ago

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I gave so many signs

summary: First unrequited love is not the one to ever leave your mind. Y/N looks back at her missed connection with Charles Leclerc from the time they were just teenagers and regrets having him slip away.

song fic (disclaimer: rights belong to the respectable owners)

exile - Taylor Swift Lie to me - 5 Seconds of Summer (feat. Julia Michaels) Worst of you - Maisie Peters

warning: Present time, the past

Coming back home to Monaco always brought a sour smile to her face. She loved growing up in this strange small town where everyone knew each other and celebrities came to show off and then went back to wherever, to tell stories of Monte Carlo.

They say that you get to experience three very different real loves in your lifetime - and only if you're lucky, it would be with the same person. Her first love was Charles Leclerc.

I saw you lookin' brand new overnight I caught you lookin' too, but you didn't look twice

Visiting family was the reason why she always came back, but going out with the few girls from high school who stayed there was a treat she dared not to miss. There is just something about hanging out with those people who helped one buy the first eyeshadow and with whom she pregamed at one of their step dad's dermatology office before going on trying to get into any club that would allow minors in. So there she was once again, at the old time spot, having a harder time to hold her alcohol since she'd passed the magic non hangover years. And to her luck, he walked in only a bare half an hour later than her.

Whenever she saw him, even after those years, it was like everyone else had dissapeared from the room. He seemed to age like wine.

It's 3 AM and the moonlight's testing me I know that you've been holding on to someone else And now I can't sleep

"Come here to me," she teased, moving closer to him. He tried to stop her and playfully pushed himself the furthest away possible the couch would allow. "Charlie, let me see!" she insisted and sat on top of him. She had to act quickly, there would be no way for her to keep the upper hand. He was just turning eighteen soon and the time in gym was starting to bring back results. "I do not have any hairline, Y/N," he gasped, annoyed. His tone changed. Back then she interpreted it as just him being done with her shit. Looking at it now, there probably was a different reason why he became more stiff. She sat on him, going through his hair and taking few photos, blissfully unaware. "I'll show this to you in a few years and we'll see! Ha!" Charles eyes were shooting arrows in her direction. She looked back at him, curious and not grasping the moment in the same way as he did. "What?" she asked simply. "Nothing..."

I can see you standing, honey With his arms around your body Laughin', but the joke's not funny at all

She laughed a bit at that memory as she sipped her drink and tried her best to avoid keeping looking back at him as he sat with his current friends and an absolute gorgeous girl laughing at his joke. She knew who she was. Sometimes she peaked at his socials and then blocked him again right away. She certainly knew he had her blocked.

They went to different schools and Charles had his racing activities anyway. So they'd spent a lot of time texting. A lot.

It was just one of the horrifically long school days where she doubted the point of her existence. Life had to be more than sitting in a pointless computer science class. She wanted to be a big lawyer girl boss one day, so why would she ever care about programming. There she was, staring at the assignment from the teacher who was stuck in 20th century anyway, having little to no clue what to do. As she'd usually do, she texted Charles. Bombed him with twenty texts demanding attention, before he finally responded. "OMG i thought someone had died" "i am dying charles" "no your not" "*you're" "i can go back to my race simulator if you keep being a little shit" "nooo, please dont go. you're my only hope. sorry, your. i get it, you got out of the school too early." "that's it, i'm gone" "noo, please stay, I'll be nice and say nice things about you" "i'm staying, go on" "you are absolutely gorgeous" "yes, agree. more" "you are soo funny, amazing, future heart breaker and your passion for racing is so inspiring" "i like this. more"

Second, third, and hundredth chances Balancin' on breaking branches Those eyes add insult to injury

They were inseparable, yet nobody knew. Always meeting alone, because they did not need anyone and their social circles didn't really meet together. Whenever he was back in town, the two of them would hit up their favorite café or hang out at his house and then go for a walk. The two of them walked around Monte Carlo as if they were suppose to be the cartographers creating the first map of that area ever. Those were the good old days that came to end very unexpectedly.

We always walked a very thin line You didn't even hear me out (Didn't even hear me out) You never gave a warning sign (I gave so many signs)

His hands were shaking when he sent the email. But he just could not take it anymore. He was over the moon in love with her and didn't know how to contain it.

"there is no easy way to say this. i love you. sorry. i'm stupid and i know we're just friends. but i basically live only for racing and seeing you. i'm terrified of seeing you with someone else. if there is at least a cell in your body that feels the same, please let's meet up and talk about it. if not, do not reply and i will never mention this again and deal with it. i love you."

She was seventeen when she got his message out of the blue. A scared little girl who was petrified of feelings and anything relationship related. So she never replied to his email.

All this time I never learned to read your mind I couldn't turn things around (I couldn't turn things around) 'Cause you never gave a warning sign (You never gave a warning sign)

Charles had a very little hope that she'd feel the same - why would she, such an amazing person, kind, fun and totally glorified in his eyes, so he could not even imagine him being worthy of her. But what if? What if he was enough? With every day when she did not respond to his email, his heart sank lower. Still, the pain of the first rejection is a hard one to take, because it's usually from a scared unexperienced heart to another and the clumsiness causes great deal of accidental collateral damage one remembers until the end of their life.

You're not my homeland anymore So what am I defending now? You were my town, now I'm in exile, seein' you out

She texted him from school few days after that - a normal text, as if nothing happened. Both of them were too chicken to address the situation openly. So he opted for buring his feeling and she for playing like she had no idea. Deep down, she always knew, even before he emailed her. They texted, continued to meet up. But it was never the same again.

Flashing back to New York City I was done, but you undid me Classic me to run when it feels right

It was hard to get closure for her. After all that had happened and the mess the two made for each other was a hard lesson she remembered vividly. She glanced at your first love again - and finally she met his look, after almost two years of managing to missing each other while they were both back in Monaco. She'd daydreamed about bumping into him, the two chatting and smiling again. The world stopped again for few moments. He shot her an unsure quick half smile that said it all. She knew him too well for that.

And now I wish we never met 'Cause you're too hard to forget While I'm cleaning up your mess I know he's taking off your dress

It was her prom night and she could not be more excited. All her friends were here, family, even Charles managed to get in town to watch her dance and drink all night. She had the night of her life, perfect end to end this chapter of life. The excitement her eyes held was contagious. She spent the first half of her evening with the family and Charles, sharing few dances and laughs. If felt like the good old days. But one shot of tequila led to another and there she was, drunk as pirate and unhinged like a teenage girl. Charles did his best to keep her parents at bay, keep them occupied while he got one of his friends to take care of her. He was worried she might do something stupid, like walk up to the stage and fall down breaking all of her bones. Finally, her parents decided to leave without having to saying goodbye to her after Charles spent a good half an hour convincing them she was just in the back stage and that he'd get her home safe. When they were gone, he began to search for her, only to finally find her sitting on the stairs, making out with the friend he assigned to keep an eye on her.

So take me to every party and just talk to your friends Why don't you let me down, I'll let you do it again Go on and walk all over me, just don't walk away Give me the worst of you 'Cause I want you anyway

It was like being cut open alive and having people watch. There was nothing even remotely graceful about her actions, she was literally sitting on the floor having a battle of tongues with another drunk teenager while people had to walk pass her. It was embarrassing. Charles didn't know what to do. He wanted to run away and never come back, but he couldn't leave her there alone. He couldn't bring himself to stop the two of his friends, because he was just too sad and heartbroken to do so. He just stayed nearby and kept an eye on them. It was one of the longest nights in his life.

She couldn't remember the second half of her prom night and Charles would never speak of it, even though she begged him many times. He always became stiff and started to leave the room. She only kept asking, because it marked one of the biggest shifts in their friendships. He became cold, unresponsive and after few weeks, he stopped communicating completely.

You were my town, now I'm in exile, seein' you out I think I've seen this film before

Funny how people's faces change with years, but the eyes stay the same. The eyes and the look. Charles looked at her the second time this evening. It was like staring back at the eighteen year old boy who was drowning in his feeling.

It was one of her last nights in Monaco before leaving for university. Finally, her dreams were coming true. She was more than ready to get our to show the world she was a force to be reckoned with. She sent Charles countless messages before her final departure, at that moment, she was sure she'll never ever get back to Monaco and wanted to at least understand why he became distant. One evening, he finally agreed to meet up and talk. She was over the moon. Knowing that she could always turn Charles over, she left feeling confident - he was one the very few people she was sure shared the same soul as her. It was as if they'd never stopped talking. Jokes flying everywhere, the two of them strolling around, having no idea this would be the last time (and maybe, that was better for her at the time). There was so much to share, the two kept talking over each other for hours. Charles was happy when she finally stopped to take a breath for a moment. She looked him in the eye and saw a look she'd seen countless of times on his face. There was a shift in her mind and out of nowhere, she was kissing the boy she'd been unknowingly in love for years. She'd realize that she loved him only once she started dating a random guy from her college, expecting the same feeling Charles gave her. But it never came. Had she known, she'd have stayed with him. He tried to convince her to start dating him. Almost begged her to try it with him long distance. But there was a whole world for you to discover, places to be and versions of her that needed discovering. She had kissed only once. But it was a kiss of a lifetime. He blocked her on all socials after she rejected him again.

I never learned to read your mind (Never learned to read my mind) I couldn't turn things around (You never turned things around) 'Cause you never gave a warning sign (I gave so many signs) So many signs, so many signs You didn't even see the signs

The girls were laughing at some joke she missed while digging in her memory for traces of her first love. Charles Leclerc. He was sitting few tables away from her. This time, her heart sank as he kissed his girlfriend on the cheek as they walked away from the bar. She wanted to run to him, to talk to him again after all those years. To tell him the same thing he once emailed her. To explain that she was just too young to notice she had the love of her life right next to you. But she knew all too well what his answer would be. And just like he had back then, she never wanted to hear it out loud.

And I know that you don't, but if I ask you if you love me I hope you lie, lie, lie, lie, lie to me

part 2

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ionicxcharge · 2 months ago

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henry cavill, queer , demi male + he/him → reporting: incoming profile update …

name: simon williams alias: wonder man abilities: ionic energy form/manipulation - shapeshifting - power bolstering origin + whereabouts: marvel optics + positives: incandescent - intelligent - charming risks + negatives: impulsive - insecure - compulsive noted factors + signatures: in ionic form, his eyes are pupilless and glow red - physical form has a deep violet/bluish hue that can be completely observed on the electromagnetic spectrum - wears red visors or shades - black uniform is skin-tight with red accents and accessories with 'W' insignia on chest mentorship status: mentor (open)

ⓦ [name] simon williams ⓦ [alias(es)] wonder man - professor higgins ⓦ [age] appears 30s/40s ⓦ [species] superhuman - modified human ⓦ [affiliation] avengers ⓦ [gender] demi male ⓦ [sexuality] queer ⓦ [romance] homoromantic ⓦ [alignment] lawful neutral [swayable] ⓦ [+ traits] incandescent & intelligent - charming - cunning ⓦ [- traits] impulsive & insecure - compulsive ⓦ [hair] black ⓦ [eye color] grey-blue ⓦ [height] 6'2" ⓦ [notable features] in ionic form, his eyes are pupilless and glow red. his physical form has a deep violet/bluish hue and can be completely observed on the electromagnetic spectrum. wears red visors or shades ⓦ [physique claims] I | II [nsfw links] ⓦ [kinks] oil play - wrestling - frottage - exhibitionism - domination - foreplay - oral sex - assplay - orgasm stim - nipple play - sensory deprivation - humiliation - caging (generally always on) ⓦ [anti-kinks] bathroom play [scat/piss] - vore - gore - cbt - filth - raceplay - torture - noncon ⓦ [notes] As they were pulled into a new reality, someone pulled him into a simulation. he's spent most of his time in the recurring roles which he's lived a series of programs as he was trapped in these computer-generated simulations to attempt to control and exploit his abilities. his mind is a bit scattered and there may be very eccentric encounters where he rambles about things that didn't happen or completely distorted memories. 'a thousand lives lived' is a saying he'd adapted to describe the many films created with Simon cast as lead- think of it as a collection of user-generated media. With a new chance to redeem himself, and the many lives he's led, he wants to take this opportunity to really put motion to the plans to preserve and protect. Now, he gets to mass-broadcast his entire career's filmography --in his spare time, of course.

#herogaia.intro #simulated lifetime [about];;

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mysticstronomy · 6 months ago

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DID LIFE EXIST ON VENUS??

Blog#429

Wednesday, August 21st 2024.

Welcome back,

The hellish planet Venus may have had a perfectly habitable environment for 2 to 3 billion years after the planet formed, suggesting life would have had ample time to emerge there, according to a new study.

In 1978, NASA's Pioneer Venus spacecraft found evidence that the planet may have once had shallow oceans on its surface. Since then, several missions have investigated the planet's surface and atmosphere, revealing new details on how it transitioned from an "Earth-like" planet to the hot, hellish place it is today.

It's believed that Venus may have been a temperate planet hosting liquid water for 2 to 3 billion years before a massive resurfacing event about 700 million years ago triggered a runaway greenhouse effect, which caused the planet's atmosphere to become incredibly dense and hot.

Researchers from NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies shared a series of five simulations that show what Venus' environment would be like based on different levels of water coverage.

All five of the simulations suggest Venus may have been able to maintain stable temperatures, ranging from a low of 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius) to a high of 122 degrees Fahrenheit (50 degrees Celsius), for about 3 billion years, according to a statement from the Europlanet Society.

"Our hypothesis is that Venus may have had a stable climate for billions of years," Michael Way, one of the study researchers, said in the statement. "It is possible that the near-global resurfacing event is responsible for its transformation from an Earth-like climate to the hellish hot-house we see today."

Under stable climate conditions, Venus would have been able to support liquid water and, in turn, possibly allow life to emerge. In fact, if the planet hadn't experienced the resurfacing event, it might have remained habitable today, the researchers said.

However, the resurfacing event triggered a series of incidents that caused a release, or outgassing, of carbon dioxide stored in the rocks of the planet. As a result, Venus' atmosphere became too dense and hot for life to survive.

Creating the different simulations involved adapting a 3D general-circulation model, which accounted for atmospheric compositions as they were 4.2 billion years ago and 715 million years ago, and as they are today. The model also accounts for the gradual increase in solar radiation, as the sun gets warmer over the course of its lifetime.

In addition, three of the five scenarios assumed the topography of Venus was similar to what it is today. In these scenarios, the ocean ranged from a shallow depth of about 30 feet (10 meters) to about 1,000 feet (310 m), with a small amount of water locked in the soil.

Originally published on https://www.space.com

COMING UP!!

(Saturday, August 24th, 2024)

"HOW POWERFUL IS DARK ENERGY??"

#astronomy #outer space #alternate universe #astrophysics #universe #spacecraft #white universe #space #parallel universe #astrophotography #venus

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castlebyersafterdark · 1 month ago

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let's play a sleepover game and imagine what the cast, somewhat drunk, were like playing spin the bottle as a little last night fun! its on theme for the show haha. imagine them in the little hangout space basement set, sprawled on the couch, weird afterhours feeling in this former workspace.

the adults are there too, but they peel away after a few joke pecks on the cheek or lips, david kissing winona with gusto, then pretending to go in for a full-on smooch with one of the party and them squealing away.

then the teens' actors stay, but they are a bit more i'm 30 years old about it all haha, sat back on the couches. meanwhile the young cast are having a BALL

i think caleb would be game to kiss anyone, but it would be that kind of spin the bottle kiss where you want to show off youre a good kisser, but its not like you're freaking out and actually enjoying enjoying it for emotional reasons, you know? like imagine the grins as noah and caleb crawl towards each other across the bottle. they would GO FOR IT haha. noah a blushing mess sits back afterwards and playfully fans himself in a swoon while everyone laughs. caleb is smug and playing it cool. it was a nice kiss.

meanwhile if caleb and sadie kissed... its a little more meaningful between them but also nothing new, you know? it's tender, friends and costars. everyone kind of claps and cheers softly. end of an era.

millie is reluctant cos she is married. but in the end she kisses sadie, very sweet and girly sleepover style but a proper lip kiss! the boys kind of reboot a little because thats a surreal thought they've definitely had at some point in their teens even if they're not all into girls lol 🤭🤭 caleb especially clears his throat

then gaten and finn have to kiss and it takes them a lifetime because they can't stop laughing. in the end gaten is grabbing finn's shoulders like 'just kiss me, dude!' and finn is giggling covering his face with his hands, and everyone is yelling and quoting the show that kissing is better without teeth, obviously, finn! duh! and gaten rolls his eyes and shows off his lovely teeth. in the end they peck and grimace afterwards, taking a drink each haha

and of course the tension builds when its finn and noah's turn. everyone hollers despite (because?) they've spent a fair portion of this year kissing already. it still feels like a well-kept secret though, special until the show is shared w the world. they are suddenly more nervous than filming the actual show, looking at each other with suppressed smiles and soft eyes. they slowly move towards each other while the others quietly whoop and goad them on...

carry on vinny? 🤭🤭🤭

Spin the bottle??? 💋🍾 Well, I spun yall a tale under the cut, in typical lofty Vinny style. I certainly carried way on. I wanted to get simple and silly, but my muses had different ideas. Sentiment and sap, not spice. Here's something...

It was like the cameras were on them again. No heavy lights this time, where they tried not to focus on the brightness to the sides, or the sweat from Georgia heat and stress which always summoned the assistants to attack their subtle application of make-up with touch up brushes and towels yet again. Stop fussing. Let us get this over with. No, not over with. Do it finally. Ten years in the making.

They'd spent so much time together on and off set. And... something... had been brewing. Long conversations, soft words deep into the night, much later than responsible when call time was so early the next day. Well, the clock showed it was now that morning.

Curled into each other on the couch at Finn's house, or Noah's apartment, movie credits stuck on pause as they rolled into hour two of breaking down the movie they just watched.

How many times had Noah thought - what if I just kissed him now? We're already going to do it. We were always gonna do it. Well, not it. Actually, that's in the script, too. The scene in bed. All that kissing. And movement and simulation and how the fuck am I going to survive kissing Finn and pretending to have sex with Finn? All for a scene that is going to get edited and cut down and no one will see the hours I had to spend in bed with the guy I've had a crush on for years, skin to skin as we kiss and pretend.

I want so much more. What if I just kissed him now?

He didn't. They saved it for the scripted moment, not knowing it was something that was mutually even being saved, built up into something so big, so life changing on screen - and it was.

The set had been abuzz, with too many crew and staff lingering for The Moment that defined the show. Mike and Will screamed and argued and sobbed and Noah and Finn crashed together under simulated spray of water, passion in the rain, all to be enhanced in post but drenching them now. Cut. A near perfect take. A near perfect kiss. Noah felt like his heart and soul were somewhere up in space as his human form orbited elsewhere. In that moment he was Will Byers, and Will Byers had just been kissed by the love of his life and knew he'd gotten the boy. And Noah fell back into himself and on take two, he kissed Mike as Noah, and Mike kissed back as Finn. They both knew this. Take three they shook it off and let the bleed between realities settle. Take four.

The set was quiet, as empty as they could get away with for the other scene. A skeleton of people. Skin on skin and giggles and gasps - fake, and some real. Their eyes flashed and locked at the real ones, knowing which those were. Professional, of course, and decidedly mostly unsexy with the bright lights and cameras honing in on every pore and choreographed movement, but bodies were bodies, and bodies felt good together. How far did playing pretend take you and where was the line when someone's tongue was in your mouth and hand on your ass?

There were so many kisses in the end. The first kiss in the rain. The kiss that was meant to feel like goodbye when Will pulled Mike close, then ran into what was written to feel like mortal danger. The reunion kiss, when Will survived. The kiss at graduation, short and sweet, blink and you miss it. The kiss at the bar, a final act of bravery to prove that happily ever after could be found for boys like Will and Mike, having faced much stranger -

Yeah. There had been a lot of kisses.

This wasn't like any of them.

All the sudden they were facing each other again. No fake rain. No camera, though Gaten had his phone whipped out. No big, bright lights. Hot still, from the blush of blood on cheeks, flushed from drinking and proximity. Noah took another step closer with a crooked, nervous smile on his curving mouth. Finn had downed a lot of drinks, but he felt stone sober as Noah stood there facing him. Expectant. Scared out of his mind. So fucking happy.

Gaten shushed Caleb from goading a hurry up, dudes as he hit the record button, and Millie eyed the whole scene from her perch on top of the couch with suspicion. She'd seen right through them for a while. The whole year. She was quite over it. Wanted to yell at them to get it over with, having seen cuts of the footage already of the big, passionate moment that would push them into international conversation. Old news. Just kiss. Again. Sadie squeaked out a laugh and covered her mouth as Finn stepped closer and placed hands on Noah's shoulders, looking down at the source of his own personal conflict.

He'd wanted to kiss Noah every single one of those highly tense, intimate movie nights and afternoons stolen away in their trailers in between scenes. Never, quite, almost. Now.

The rest of the room wasn't paying much attention, save for David nudging Winona with giddy intrigue to look over. She winced and cooed and channeled Joyce's supportive smile, then turned back around before anything happened. One less pair of eyes.

And Finn leaned down and pressed terrified lips to Noah's waiting ones. Take number one. He thought he'd memorized the shape of them. Felt different. But it felt right.

Eyes slipped closed. The kiss was chaste. But Noah was up in space again and he was Will Byers, kissing the love his life. Who was he kidding? He and Will were as one. It had been that way for a long time, and for a long time he'd fought it. Where would he be without him? Who would he be? Noah kissed back, all too aware of the most important people in his life staring at him as they unknowingly watched him kiss the guy he'd fallen in love with.

Finn took Noah's face in his palms after the chaste kiss, one where their lips had barely moved as pulses raced. Take two. Noah pulled away to say something in response to the cheer and whoop from their friends recording them on the couch, but Finn pulled him back, sealing his mouth over Noah's a second time. It wasn't enough. Dozens and dozens of takes combined from all of the kisses on set and it wasn't enough.

Finn was a man in the desert and Noah was an oasis. Noah held the wrists of the hands cradling his face with a gentleness and he wished they were anywhere else but surrounded by their fellow drunken cast mates and phone cameras and an open room and a discarded bottle that had spun somewhere under the armchair.

On the last turn - Finn's spin after his kiss with Caleb - Millie had proclaimed that the bottle was pointing at Noah and Finn hadn't protested, but he knew it was pointing at her. Sometimes, friends do lie. And sometimes a lie is better than the truth.

The truth was - Finn did not kiss like Mike. Noah kissed like Will. Until he didn't, until it was all him. The part of lips, too involved for spin the bottle and just like that, all too real. Sadie and Caleb had been suppressing laughter, leaning on each other with hands over mouths as Gaten zoomed in, but he shut the video off when they all saw the way Finn pressed in deeper, opening to Noah who dropped his hands and pulled Finn closer by the elbows, then braced on his chest. Felt good under his hands, solid and defined and Noah missed the skin on skin feeling from the bed on set. He could feel it again, if they wanted. They could do anything they wanted to now. He wasn't afraid anymore.

And there was nothing funny about it as Gaten and Sadie and Caleb exchanged a look. Millie was already back on her phone. Old news. Boring. It was inevitable and there was nothing more for her to do.

"Noah." Spoken against a mouth that sought take five and six. Wanted to outnumber every kiss sitting in digital record on some hard drive to be scrutinized and edited and enhanced by dozens and dozens of people so millions and millions of people could see it and do the same.

They were going to be broadcast kissing into so many living rooms that it made Finn's head spin. They'd probably make it into the newspaper, some struggling magazine. Thousands of blogs. Some random person's lock screen. And one more recorded kiss that was to live alone on Gaten's video gallery.

Finn felt every pair of eyes, real and hypothetical, and wanted nothing more to kiss Noah where no one could ever play it back to him. He wanted a kiss that was his to give to one person only.

"Finn." Noah looked around, tried not to make eye contact with anyone still paying attention. "We should-"

"We should talk. Let's-"

Noah stepped away and backed out of the little set up couches and chairs and spared the group no glance. Finn was at his heels, pace brisk as they zipped through the scattered folks who were stoned or tipsy or both, thankfully disinterested in the antics of the twenty somethings playing a childish game off in the corner. They slipped through the door that stood in between the pinball machines and led down an open hall next to the main sound stage.

Rounding a corner, down another dark hall, Finn grabbed Noah's arm and pulled him towards the wall, where he fell against, bringing Noah up against himself like they'd been standing in the fake basement set.

"Can I kiss you?

"Uh, yeah? Haven't we done that enough that you know how I, I mean. You have to know-"

Finn, giddy, pulled at Noah's shirt and drew him closer, hand around Noah's neck, fingers tapping at his nape to sent a jolting shiver down his spine. Fitting.

"I know. I know. I just wanted to ask. I've never gotten to ask you."

"Have you... wanted to ask?"

"Yeah. For a long time."

Noah beamed and went to say something, but with permission already granted, Finn leaned in and kissed Noah for take number - didn't matter. He kissed him, finally, like no one was watching.

💋💋💋💋

#THERE I WROTE YALL SOME ACTUAL FOAH I CANNOT BELIEVE I WROTE THIS 🫣🫣🫣#Heehee who am I ? This is utterly ridiculous!!!!!!!#fwns #drabble #Queued

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