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the-fiction-witch · 2 years ago

Text

The Farm

Media Godless

Character Whitey Winn

Couple Whitey X Reader

Rating Sweet AF

Concept Farm Girl

I rose from my bed before dawn pushing my blankets off me, I fixed my bed and immediately slipped into my boots, lacing them up as tight as I could even if my blisters and sore spots were already aching. Once both were on I stood on my dusty floorboards readjusting my underdress where it had shifted in the night I got my much more flexible corset tying up the ribbons, I slipped on all my various skirts then my little cream dress over the top, I got my brown apron from the rim of my almost completely shattered mirror almost being unable now to see my reflection at all I tied it at my back with a bow. I put my hair in a long braid with a ribbon and grabbed my tools from my pocket heading out of my little wooden house to be faced with the early morning grey before the sun rises but I didn't bother taking much interest. I had far more important work to do.

"Oh for god- Danny. Get back here" I complained chasing after Danny duck who was halfway across the farm already "you clever little thing, how do you keep getting out of there" I complained taking him back to the pen. I went to the shed grabbed the feed for the horses, taking it to the stables and letting them eat while I merely spot-cleaned their stables. Then going along with my shovel leaving feed and water at all the animal's pens and scooping any muck that needed to be taken away, the ducks, the chickens, the goats, lastly I fed the pigs giving them a good clean and some water to freshen up their mud trying to go but finding a tug on my dress turning back to see waddles the little piglet almost all pink with only one brown spot over his left eye and ear the runt of his farrow and really only survived his baby stage because I brought him into the house and fed him myself if I didn’t he would have past away not long after he was born or been crushed under his mother and siblings, he was holding my skirt in his mouth looking at me

"Alright" I sighed letting him waddle around behind me squeaking happily all the while

I went out and checked everything in the fields making sure no birds or other animals had gotten in it, going to the well to fill up my watering can in order to water everything as we were days from a good rain. Using my little trowel to dig up any weeds I spotted trying to make their way up in the world often I could just give them waddles to devour. I let the animals who could be allowed to play in the yard out of course while I worked on planting in the field and making sure the farm ran smoothly all with waddles wandering behind me. But as I was pulling up a fresh pale of water from the well I noticed something, a horse heading this way. I knew the horse immediately so I set everyone back into their pens trying to put waddles back with his family but he wasn't having it "alright. Come on then" I sighed letting him follow me to the gates where the horse stopped and its rider climbed down

"Hiya y/n"

"What do you want Mr Winn?" I glared crossing my arms

"Same as always, come see my lil darlin" he Cooes leaning over the fence to give my cheek a kiss

"Fine" I sighed unlocking the gate and letting him inside immediately waddles went to his leg

"Awww Hiya little guy, sorry forgot ya carrot today," he told him giving waddles a pet "ya gettin' chubby guy maybe we'll have to make ya into tasty bacon"

Immediately waddles squealed and ran behind my skirts at the mere mention of that word

"Whitey! Don't you'll scare him, you know he doesn't like that word" I told him off giving poor waddles a pet as he was now shaking "apologize"

"Sorry waddles I was only jokin'"

"put ted on the stable with Millie and Maggie," I told him

"Course, he's missed his girls" he chuckled giving ted a pet

"I'm sure they missed him too"

"Ya sure, ya don't just keep me around so ya have access to a couple healthy stallions?" He smirked

"Shut up whitey" I told him slapping the back of his head and knocking his hat off he tied ted up in the stables and I went to the hen house with my basket gathering eggs with now both waddles and whitey following along behind me

"So… have ya missed me?"

"I suppose whitey"

"Cause I missed ya. I missed ya a lot"

"Well I've been busy whitey, this place doesn't run all by itself. Even when I do come to town for supplies you're always in the office or asleep anyway"

"cause ya come town at six in the mornin' darlin" he says "I miss not seein ya" he says wrapping his arms around my waist

"I missed you too whitey" I smiled giving him a kiss "now bugger off I have work to do," I told him pushing him away

"Ya need a hand?"

"Look for eggs." I told him

"Alright." He smiled helping where he could to clear the henhouse

"Ohh dear"

"What?"

"Poor Henrietta. Fourth round no eggs. Only a couple more before we'll have to make stew"

"Really?"

"One of those things whitey hens don't lay forever."

"Hu. Hope when I stop bein' useful ya don't turn me into stew"

"I'll consider it" I smiled heading out with my eggs in hand and taking them to the sorting table "what exact use to me are you now whitey?"

"Hey! I'm useful."

"For?"

"..... I. Bring ya stuff. Sometimes"

"Think faster whitey the waters boiling" I warn sorting the eggs into ones I'd keep, ones I'd take to labelle and ones I'd put back for future chickens

"I'm useful" he pouts cuddling me again kissing my shoulder "I'm a pillow. I'm a blanket. I'm… ya future husband"

"Are you now?"

"Hummm"

"Somebody has to ask first"

"workin' on it. Waitin' for bill to give me a raise"

"Is it really a good idea for Labelle's deputy to have a wife out on a farm?"

"I gotta have a life away from work darlin"

"I guess so whitey" I laughed holding his hands so we could cuddle

“Ummmm I missed ya, so bad my lil darlin” he cooes giving me little kisses and squeezing me tightly “I wish I could come out and see ya more often,”

“Well you're here now best make the most of it”

"I am" he cooes kissing my cheek "Maybe I should... move a bit more of my stuff out here? keep my stuff here on the farm with ya"

"Oh?"

"Maybe, so I get used to the trip back and forth. That and it'll make it easier when I do move onto the farm"

"I don't think you'd like living out here whitey"

"why not? fresh air, space for ted, plenty of space to practice without shootin' anybody, a waddles to pet, and a beautiful lil girly to snuggle"

"I think you'd get bored out here"

"why there's always stuff do? or at least ya always doin' stuff?"

"Alright, go fetch water from the well, then go clean out the duck pen, then stock the stables with hay, then chop firewood, then sweep the yard, then repair that loose fence post, then -"

"Alright, alright I get it." he laughs "Ya a busy lil darlin', but I really mean it y/n. I wanna move up to the farm with ya, I know it's a lot of work but surely ya want an extra set of hands," he says "I know its a lot of work but, Ya worth it lil darlin" he cooes turning me to face him

"You're sure?"

"of course I am, it's a lot of work but, this is your home. And soon it'll be mine too"

"Umm I love you" I smiled hugging him tightly

"Love ya too lil darlin" He cooes squeezing me tightly I smiled moving back a little and giving his lips a sweet kiss he happily kissed back slowly and gently until we were interrupted by waddles who was squeaking for attention at our feet "Yeah we love ya too little guy," he laughs giving waddles a pet

"Humm my silly boys" I giggled at them

"well works all done, so Can we go inside and cuddle?”

“Alright” I laughed finishing up my work he happily tugged me top the house little waddles going to the porch bouncing excitedly

“Sorry little guy, we’re gonna have a little alone time,” he said pushing him towards the pig pen and tugging me inside the house.

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justaturtleindisguise · 2 years ago

Note

I just found your Artemisia post and i absolutely need more info on the girlie. She has my heart!!!

Some prompts if you need inspo:

She loves bugs, but would she eat a bug? Did she try as a little kid maybe?

When she is older, does she learn to control the gravity aspect better? If she masters it eventually, does she go on flights with donnie as quality time???

Her nickname is artsie literally, has she tried to draw or otherwise be... artsy? If she did wll, does she bond through that with mikey? If she is baadddd then how did her bros console her? How did mikey specifically comfort her? (I need more mikey and lil sister)

You can answer these as text or maybe take one and draw a like a lil doodle 👀 ? Anything you give me will be tasty tasty meal. Ty for feeding me ^^

-@lunya-lunacy though my main bc I am too lazy to switch accounts just to leave an ask.

Heheheee I'm so glad you like my baby girl !!! :D

I'll give two answers for each question, because both Artsies are very different from each other :]

She loves bugs, but would she eat a bug? Did she try as a little kid maybe?

12!Artemísia definitely would eat a bug. She's absolutelly facinated with them because she never saw anything like bugs before and will admire them like they're sparkly glass marbles, but she's also very impulsive and likes to chew on stuff to try new textures, so eating a bug is not off her list- I like to imagine Raph seeing her happily chewing on something and then he notices is a goddamn ROACH and he absolutely panics and starts trying to make her spit it like she's a puppy chewing on plastic, like, "Oh no no no, spit it out for the love of GOD, THIS ISN'T GOOD FOR YOU-"

As for Rise!Artemísia, I don't think she'd even dream of eating a bug- Her interest and facination about bugs is more delicate (and nerdy) than her counterpart. She keeps entire ant colonies and spiders in glass terrariums and she takes care of them very attently. She names all her bugs and gets extremelly attached to them, and she's also a very picky eater. She'd see Raph snacking on a beatle and imediatelly start to cry her eyes out lmao-

When she is older, does she learn to control the gravity aspect better? If she masters it eventually, does she go on flights with donnie as quality time???

Flying is very hard for her, I think that even as a adult she'd struggle a little. But Artsie is good at finding the best parts of things and making them her streight, so instead of using her mystic gravity to go up, she'd start using it to press down. Make her punches heavier, to press her enemies against the ground and be more grounded during fights, the flying part working more like a way of traveling around or to make battles more favorable to her to avoid being attacked. Her and Donnie would absolutelly bond about it too, like to imagine them being the absolutelly chaos beans they are and testing her gravity control to the max and bending increasingly stronger materials like tin cans.

Rise!Artsie is not so good at material art like drawing/sculpting/sewing, but she's very good at musical art! She can play the guitar, the drums and the piano. I see Artie playing songs with her guitar and shaking her bow-mask like she's in a rock show while Mikey sings. They're so noisy and silly /aff She wouldn't let Mikey do things like paint on her shell tho, because is made out of cartilage and it's very sensible, but she'll watch him painting their brother's shells and giving lil ideas. When she feels sad she gets very snappy with everyone and doesn't like to talk a lot, so Mikey being the responsible big brother he is, makes her silent company, some times he makes her a lil snack or they turtle-pile until she feels like opening up to him.

12!Artsie is not much of an artist. She draws and doodles together with writing to express feelings to her family, but she's still learning to put things together. Mikey is absolutelly delightful everytime she draws something anyways and will show whatever it is to everyone. He's very excited to be a big brother for the first time in his life and he absolutelly loves that lil turtle kid. They do basically the same thing (as Rise) when she's feeling bad about something, but Mikey is still learning how to be a silent companion (under the threat of having his finger bitten off during Artzy's outbursts). Still a lot of trial and error, but he's getting the gists of being a big bro :)

Thank u for all the questions, it always makes me so happy to answer stuff about my characters !! /gen I'd draw some silly doodles to follow my answers too but is 6AM and I'm in the bus to school KAJSKA ;u;

#ask answered #rottmnt oc #tmnt oc #<3

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mintmatcha · 4 years ago

Text

ukai keishin - grumpy

amy!!!! ty so much for the request- i really admire your writing and i hope you like this!!!]

Summary: just a snapshot of your relationship with keishin

Contains: NFSW, 18+, no reader pronouns, reader has a vagina, new relationship/established relationship, soft smut, slight mention of relationship issues.

ukai x reader

word count: 4k

cross posted: ao3

The woody vine digs into the pad of your thumb as you pluck another pepper. The repetition has dug a noticeable indentation into the skin, one that makes you wince every time you harvest a vegetable. In the low light of pre-dawn, sun still tucked behind the mountains, you can't see the bruising on your fingers, but you can feel how it pulses. Popping the digit into your mouth, the warmth of your tongue is automatically soothing, so much so that you can ignore the soft taste of soil on your skin.

“I told you to bring gloves.” Keishin chides, barely looking up at you. He’s squatted a couple feet away, elbows resting on his thighs as he works. The rubber boots, with his oversized overalls crammed into the top, squeak every time he shifts. Pick, squeak, pick, squeak. You open your mouth to tease him, but the way his eyes meet yours, steeled and firm, tell you he’s not in the mood. Cinching his teeth around the worn leather, he pulls his hand from the glove and leaves it dangling from his mouth, lips curled to avoid touching the dust directly. Even in his goofy attire, there’s something about his focus- the downward cast of his eyes, the hint of his canine over the leather, the steadiness of his hands- that makes your heart flutter. Wordlessly, he takes the glove out of his mouth and tosses it your way. You catch it with a fumble.

“Are you sure?�� you ask as you pull it on. The tips of the glove gap above your fingertips, bending outward as you clench your fist. “What about you?”

He shrugs and returns to work. Even in the darkness you can see his scowl. “I guess I’m not as delicate as you.”

You didn’t blame him. He doesn’t mean to be this… grumpy. This was the worst time of year for Keishin; harvest season overlapped with volleyball preliminaries. The late nights he had been pulling with the team after work on top of these early mornings at his family’s farm had to be draining. It was no wonder that date nights had become nearly nonexistent. It didn’t help that your work schedule often led to you working on the weekends, meaning that between the two of you there were no free days. Sleepovers are far and few between; both of you still live at home and, despite the fact you are both well into your twenties, your parents weren’t too keen on your sleeping next to someone while unwed. No free days, no free nights.

Again, you didn’t blame him. It wasn’t like he was trying to avoid you, three jobs was a lot for anyone. It was hard to ignore your concern for his well-being, but he was always quick to dismiss your worries. ‘I’m an adult.’ he always insisted. ‘I can balance myself.’

Was it selfish to miss him? Was it selfish to wish there was an extra hour in his day for you?

“You didn’t have to come.” Ukai says, matter-of-fact. “You should be sleeping right now.”

“I want to be here.” you insist. It’s almost a lie. Do you really want to be here, squatting in the dirt, picking vegetables at 5:30am? Of course not, but you wanted to be here for him. With him.

The metal thermos at your feet wobbles as you adjust, the deep squat you’ve been sitting in starting to ache deep in your thighs. Dropping forward onto your knees, the gravel of the path digging into your kneecaps, you wrap your hands around the metal, pressing it against your chest to feel the ambient warmth. The blonde doesn’t turn from his work, but he does tilt his head towards you, a small sign of his attention.

“You gonna hold it or drink it?’

You huff before taking a delicate sip, trying to avoid burning your lips. “I’m savoring it, ‘Shin.”

“ ‘Savoring it.’ ” he repeats. The grit of sleep still clings to his voice. He sounds weathered, tired. “Are you gonna let me ‘savor’ some of that?”

“Maybe.” you take another sip before placing the cup back down, this time closer to him, a silent invitation. It’s like trying to feed a stray cat, luring him in with the promise of something tasty. “If you’re good.”

A long moment passes and he doesn’t move, he just studies you. There may have been a flicker of a smile, a hint of a good mood hiding underneath the surface, but it's gone before you can process it.

“You know.” he says, “I don’t know how you do it.” he continues working with bare hands and, even without protection, he works so much faster than you. You can tell he’s been doing this for years; every twist of his wrist seems practiced. It’s something you try and emulate each time you’re here with him, but it only slows you down more.

“Do what?”

Keishin finally stops. He chews his cheek for a moment, eyes flickering across your features. He opens his mouth, then shuts it with a sigh as he weakly gestures to the thermos at your feet. “The coffee. How do you make the coffee?”

You can’t help but sigh as you fall back onto your seat. You cross your legs as you grab the thermos, taking a deep pull. Again, you savor it with a hum and Keishin snorts at your antics. He picks from the row of plants once more before standing. Hands on the back of his pelvis, he stretches slowly, popping his back with the same care an old man would. It reminds you of his grandfather, but you keep that remark to yourself.

“ ‘Shin, you make yourself coffee every day- probably the same way I do.” you say as he plops himself next to you. The cup is already waiting for him when he reaches for it.

“But yours is always better.” he doesn’t say it with the sweetness of a compliment- he says it like a fact. It shouldn’t make you smile this wide, but it does. He blows over the lid of the mug, watching the steam twist into the air for a moment before taking a drink. It was your coffee, but you had made it for him- just a splash of cream, a crazy amount of sugar: just the way he likes it. The crinkle at the corner of his eye as drinks tells you that he notices.

“Are you savoring it?” you ask. He just closes his eyes and sighs.

"I guess I am."

Even without looking, his pinky finds yours, looping together gently. It's the gloveless hand, finding yours. Bare skin against bare skin, warmth against warm. Your body prickles with warmth as he squeezes; something about him pulling you closer, even if it’s just a finger’s width closer, makes your heart jump. It’s funny how the smallest gesture makes you melt. Keishin didn’t always have a lot to give you; your relationship was a collection of these small moments together, settled between his jobs and yours, but it was enough.

Every moment together is restorative.

“Cinnamon.” you press a kiss into his shoulder as you snag your cup back. He peeks at you through one open eye, “I put cinnamon in the coffee.”

Keishin leans into you, resting his head against your shoulder. He nuzzles into your sleeve, drawing in a deep breath, before pulling away to sit up straight again. Reaching back into the row of plants before you, he plucks one carefully before dropping it into the bucket. “Nah, that’s not it.”

You blink. “Uh, yeah. It is.”

“Nah. It’s because it’s made with love.” he smirks.

You pretend to think for a moment. "Actually, I didn't make this cup with love- so you're wrong."

He rolls his head back to watch you. "Oh yeah?"

"I made it with hate."

"Really." he tilts his body, chest pressed against your shoulder.

"You didn’t taste my loathing?" you tease.

The tip of his nose grazes your ear, nudging you softly. His breath warms the side of your face, lips just a moment from your skin. He’s patient, waiting for you to come to him. You try and resist for just a moment, but he nudges you with a huff.

You can’t help but crumble.

There’s a hint of a chuckle as you finally turn to meet his lips. The kiss is off center, connecting at the corner of your mouth. You try to pull back to correct it when a leathered hand grips on to your jaw and he holds your face steady, squishing your lips with sheer force. Ukai doesn’t hesitate to deepen the kiss, his tongue swiping your lower lip before dipping into your mouth. He tastes like coffee and cinnamon, sweet and bitter. With every movement, he savors you, pulling you deeper and deeper until the both of you are twisted into each other's embrace.

When he pulls away, it’s too soon. It’s not until he’s panting against you that you realize your own lungs are burning for air, almost as if your hunger for him had outweighed your need to breathe.

He hums thoughtfully. “I dunno, tastes like love to me.”

You roll your eyes, trying to bite back your smirk as you lean in for another kiss. “God, you’re the worst, Shin.”

This time, he doesn’t connect. Instead, he pulls away, mouth downturned once again as he stares back into the sea of green. It’s an unfocused stare, focused more on his thoughts than his surroundings.

“Yeah, I kinda am, aren’t I?”

“Hey, what-” you struggle with what to say. “Don’t be like that.”

“I mean, it’s true.” he shrugs. “This is our first date in, what? 3 weeks? And we’re working on my fucking grandpa’s-”

Your elbow cracks against the soft of his ribs, a bit harder than necessary. He wheezes slightly as you knock the air out of him. “Negativity be gone.”

He whines a bit too dramatically. “Oh my god, what’s wrong with you? Did you learn that from Sugawara? I’m never letting you watch a game ever again.”

It’s hard to hold back your smirk. “I mean- it worked! I’m not going to let you ruin the moment with your nega-!”

“Shut up for a second!” he says and this time he’s the one throwing an elbow. “I’m trying to apologize for being a shitty boyfriend!”

“You shut up!” you mirror him, but he’s ready this time. His response is quick, catching your arms against his. You two continue, poking back and forth roughly, laughter bubbling up. “You don’t need to apologize for being busy!”

“Well, I’m going to.” he grabs the edge of your shirt, leaning into you once again. “Come here and accept it.”

The gravel shifts under your feet as you scramble to stand, pulling out of his grasp. He watches you in confusion as you back away, but his look quickly transforms into something playfully predatory. The shift is wordless, but both of you understand the game that’s about to unfold.

“Come. Here.”

“No way.”

You turn on your heel and run. Keishin’s quick, grunting with effort as he throws himself forward. The sound of his shoes, squeaking against the rock, is faster than you anticipate and you have to force your legs to pump quicker. The cool morning air burns your throat as you barrel down the row, the dew covered leaves brushing against your arms and leaving wet stripes. Something about the simple act of moving dissolves all your tension, all your worries.

You turn your head to check in on your pursuer. Keishin is behind you, running with just as much force as you, but he’s grinning ear to ear with breathless laugh. It’s not his usual mischievous grin, but a soft one. A relaxed one. His baseball cap is halfway off of his head, caught by the wind, but he doesn’t reach to save it. He’s too busy reaching for you.

Everything is quiet except the two of you, laughing breathlessly as you chase each other like children. The sun has just started to crest the mountains, illuminating the sky with a blur of pastels. The pink of the sky reflects in his hair, catching in the glint of his eye as his gaze meets yours, and something in your brain tells you that you’ll remember this exact moment for the rest of your life. You want the moment to freeze, to stay in this childish bliss forever-

-but, of course, it doesn’t.

The rubber toe of Keishin’s boot catches a rock, sending him tumbling forward into a slow fall. He stumbles, catching himself for a moment before falling onto his knees, then his face. With a wince, he rolls on to his back, arms and legs spread eagle in defeat. Oversized pants, chunky boots, a stupid baseball cap: he looked more like an exhausted toddler than an adult. You slow to a jog, trying to pretend his fall wasn’t absolutely hilarious, but your stomach is clenching with the repressed laughter. Backtracking, you join his crumbled form.

“You okay?” you’re panting much harder than you should be. God, shouldn’t the smoker be less athletic?

“No, I think I’m really hurt.”

“Where? Your knees?” you drop to your knees immediately and reach for him, taking his hands in yours. The palm of his non gloved hand is scraped, but there’s no sign of blood.

“My ego.” he groans, “I think I bruised it.”

You let out something that isn’t quite a sigh or a groan. “You jerk.” you lean down and place a kiss on the bridge of his nose, right over where it crinkles when he smiles. “You had me worried for a second.”

He cranes forward to press his lips against yours, but only going as far as to brush his lips against yours. Every movement of your lips is a ghost against his, each breath more present than the feeling of skin. Each kiss is just a tease, barely a taste, and it makes you feel hungry. His hand circles your waist before drawing a line up your spine and your hunger deepens, burning deep into your core.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been around lately.” he says against your skin, hand guiding you closer to him. You lay down next to him, resting your head on his bicep. It should feel silly, to be laying in the dirt, in the middle of the field, but there’s something so natural about being with him that makes you forget about your surroundings. There’s something natural and unadulterated about being quiet with each other.

“It won’t be like this forever, I promise.” he’s the first to break the silence. “One day, we’ll see each other every day. Just- be patient with me.”

You kiss his shoulder. “You’re worth the wait.” you place another one a few inches upwards. “I miss you, but you’ll always be worth the wait.”

Ukai rolls, throwing a knee over your hips to loom over you. His bangs tickle your forehead as he kisses you. It’s short. “I miss you.”

He places another peck on your lips. “Every day.”

Another kiss catches you off guard. “Every night.”

Another one. This one is long enough for you to kiss back. “Constantly. I miss you constantly.”

You hook a leg over his ass, fingers starting to fiddle with the buttons holding his overalls up. “Prove it.”

He hesitates. Tilting his head up, he holds his breath as he scans the row, searching for any signs of movement in the distance. Until now, you had forgotten that other people even exist. The air is still, only the distant sound of crows cutting through the silence. His muscles relax against you after a moment, gaze returning to study your features.

“I missed you.” he leans in and breathes into the shell of your ear before sinking his canines into the lobe. The sharpness sends you keening in surprise, pressing yourself farther into him. He takes the opportunity to tuck his arm under the arch of your back, using the angle to hold your hips against his, his forming bulge pressed right against your core. Your hands are still twiddling with the clasp on his overalls, your proximity to him making the simple task much harder than it should be. Every one of his movements is pulling you into him, like he can’t get you close enough to be satisfied. He sucks on the soft on your neck finishing the hickey off with a bite.

“Why’d you wear these stupid, ugly pants?” you huff as you finally free a button. Ukai breaks away from your neck to laugh before tracing his tongue across the bruise. The warmth surprises you and you can’t stop the whine that escapes you.

“Fuck off.” his free hand easily unclinches your pants before shoving them down. The denim digs into the plush of your thighs as he struggles to place himself between your legs. The ground is cold and coarse against your bare skin, but you can’t focus on anything other than the heat of his breath trailing down your neck.

“Fuck- I missed you.” he repeats as you finally unclasp his overalls and slide them down. They hang off his hips, just low enough for his erection to hang over the fabric, his dooling cockhead resting against your stomach. Firmly, he taps his cock against you with a soft thwack, watching the translucent strings of precum connecting you stretch and break. It dribbles on the hem of your shirt and you want to admonish him for it, but when your eyes meet, his blown out pupils take your words away. The way he watches you, eyes hazed over with lust, is borderline feral. All you can do is kick down a pant leg, freeing your leg and allowing it to fall farther open for him.

Keishin slides further down you, greedily dragging the spongy head of his cock through your folds, gathering your slick. Each pass across your clit makes you twitch, thighs squeezing around his hips. With a wolfish grin, he splits your cunt with his free hand and whistles at the sight.

“I missed this pretty little pussy.” he pressed forward unceremoniously and the head of his cock squeezes into you with a pop. The stretch aches, but something deeper in you is burning for more. “Fuck, look how wet you are… “

He’s quick to bottom out, slamming his hips into yours as if he can’t hold back any longer. His eyes are struggling to stay open as he rolls his hips against you faster, struggling to continue watching your poor pussy struggle to take him. The weeks without him have left you desperate, hips uncontrollably bucking against his. The rhythm is off, your bodies struggling to keep up with each other and just ending up slamming against each other unevenly. It’s wild, it leaves you breathless but your approaching high is so painfully close, neither of you can slow down to gather yourselves.

“You’re so good, fuck, so tight…” his head lolls forward, eyes fluttering closed, “You… so good… so hot�� fuck, I missed you.”

Your hands wander up the front of his shirt, nails scraping against his chest. “Ple-ase, Keishin.” you beg, too breathless to say anything else. The sound of your voice makes him crumple over with a whine, fingers digging painfully hard into the fat of your hips as he struggles to pull you impossibly close. His cock twitches, spilling pulse after pulse of hot cum deep inside you.

“Shit. Shit, shit, shit.” he murmurs, hips dragging out of you slowly. The movement makes you feel sloppy, the mixture of his cum and yours spilling down the crack of your ass. The sheer lewdness of it makes your core clench with desire, but the fading heat in your core makes you feel borderline nauseous.

As you begin to untangle yourself, trying to hide your disappointment, he pulls you back in.

“Don’t.” he whispers into your chest. “I’m not- I’m not done with you.”

Ukai’s headband has slipped backwards, barely hanging on to the back of his head. The mess of blonde, half of it plastered to his forehead, tickles your cheek as he kisses your cheek. The edge of desperation is gone, replaced with something gentler, as he rolls back into you. Every bit of friction has been replaced with the slick, warmness of his cum.

“I wanna wake up next to you every day.” Something about cumming has made him sappy. His hand dips low to circle your clit, tracing those practiced patterns you love so much. This time, instead of a fast, dangerous rise, the heat inside you pours slowly, like magma flowing through your core.

“I’m going to buy you a big ol’ house.” he mumbles into your chest, looking up at you through his eyelashes. “And a pretty little ring. And -oh fuck you feel so good- and, and you’re never gonna miss me again.”

God, the term making love is corny, so impossibly cringey, but as he whispers those promises into your skin, you understand it. It’s more about the need to feel closer, the need to hold and be held. It’s three weeks of emotions that neither of you can vocalize.

Fuck, you feel so full. Physically, emotionally. Every caress is tender, delicate and appreciative. Your thumbs trace over his crow’s feet and for the umpteeth time this morning, you savor the moment.

“I wanna be with you forever.”

Everything feels in focus- the friction of his jeans against your knees, the fabric clinging to your stomach, prickled with sweat, the ministrations of your lover’s lips against your skin as he whispers sweet nothings into you- but everything fades as you cum. Your orgasm hits slowly; you don’t even know you’re there until your legs are kicking out uncontrollably. Fingers tangled in the cotton of his shirt, you keen one last time. In the blur, you’re faintly aware of him joining you, his words dissolving into whines.

It takes a heartbeat for everything to still again. Keishin tilts his head up, studying you for a moment before speaking.

“‘M so tired.” he essentially collapses on you, knocking the air out of your lungs. The lay he goes immediately slack in your arms would have been cute if whte weight of his body wasn’t pressing our bare skin into the gravel under you. “I’m gonna nap.”

After quickly ruffling his hair, you press him up, gentling encouraging him to get off. “Come on, sleepyhead, your grandpa’s gonna start looking for us if we’re gone for too long.”

Keishin grimaces, propping himself up onto his elbows as he withdraws from you. The air against the mess on your thighs makes you shiver. “Please don’t mention the old man while I’m still inside you.”

He falls back into his heels and leaves you laying there. Before adjusting himself, he takes your bare leg by the ankle and tries to slip your pant leg back on. The hem gets caught on your heel and he fumbles.

“I can dress myself, Shin, you don’t have to.” you sigh, even as you adjust to make it easier. Denim sticks to your wet skin and he continues to work, completely ignoring your protest. As you lift your hips, letting him slide it past your waist. “Did you mean it?”

He hums a question, buttoning your pants.

“You really wanna spend the rest of your days with me?”

Ukai looks up at you. “Well. Yeah, of course.” he smiles, “Who else is gonna put cinnamon in my coffee?”

#haikyu #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu x reader #fluff #smut #ukai #ukai keishin #ukai x reader #keishin x reader #ukai keishin x reader #mint's musings

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coopers-kitchen · 3 years ago

Photo

We’ve all been sick of Spider-man messing up our plans, but I have a plan nobody else has tried.

It starts off with feeding him up. Whenever I saw him out and about I’d offer him a pizza, a crate of beer, cake, pie, anything fattening. Crime’s been way down lately, and the lack of exercise plus getting fed helped him put on the pounds. My superpower (cooking addictive, extra fattening food) may seem pretty tame compared to some of my colleagues, but hey, I’m not out to rule the world, I’m just after a good meal, and within a few weeks Spiderpork was swinging by every day. It was all too easy to convince him to move into my spare room, rent-free, and I’d give him all he could eat.

Too bad his spidey sense didn’t go off. I guess it’s only if he senses danger, but I honestly had no bad intentions for him. I just wanted the best, and what’s best for this hero is to be cooked up and eaten. Pretty soon we were fucking, and it was all I could do not to take a bite right there.

Then it was just a matter of drugging him, tying him up while I shaved and cleaned him, then strapped him down while I prepped him. He woke up as I was in the middle of stuffing him, but he went nice and still while I slid the spit in. I chose a spit because, let’s face it, he has a habit of escaping some pretty impossible situations, so I think an oven would be too easy. Whether he was gambling on being able to escape the spit - or be rescued - if I didn’t tear his insides up too badly, or whether he’d fantasized about being cooked up and eaten, I don’t know - but when I asked him to help me guide the spit to avoid piercing his heart, he willingly complied. After that it was just a case of shackling him to the spit and the longpig was helpless. I don’t know if it was hotter finally sinking my teeth into that spiderpork, or the fact that some of his enemies joined me for dinner.

Now, if only I could get that new spiderman into my kitchen? I’m sure he’ll be just as tasty.

#longpig #gay longpig #fat longpig #male longpig #dolcett #gay dolcett #male dolcett #cooking vore #gay vore #gay cooking vore

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arcadejohn127-9 · 4 years ago

Note

Ahhh I love your writing sm!! Could I request how the brothers would react to an MC that's super doting and overly loving from the get-go?. Always insists on helping w cooking duty, brings the brothers coffee if they look busy, etc? pls & ty!

Tbh I don't really have a love language over than verbal but this speaks to me

In game I make my MC very much like this, overly positive and always wanting to help. Not because I have to, I could easily pick more honest or teasing options but when it comes to it. My first instinct/Response is those options because I like the idea of being helpful to people

It's only when people start using that for their advantage or make me help them out even though I'm busy or just don't want to do it. That's when there's an issue.

Lucifer:

"oh~ Luci! You still working?"

You peered over at him at his desk, peaking from the space between the wall and the stair railing

He looked up at you with a tired expression, frowning

"I am, what do you need?"

you trotted down the rest of the steps, walking over to him with a bright smile

A tray in hand with coffee and biscuits and apple slices

"I made these for you, I know it isn't much but you're always working so hard... perhaps I can help?"

Lucifer wasn't too surprised, you were always offering your help whenever you could but it still surprised him you were so quick to offer

He didn't know how you had all that energy to face the day and then do more for others but he always enjoyed your company

"be my guest."

You grabbed a mini stool and sat beside him, you'd read over papers with him, massaging his hand whenever you noticed it cramped

He shared the snacks you got him and even revealed the mini snack draw he had in his desk

He put a finger to his lips with a smile

"don't tell my brother's, this will be just between you and me."

He showed you what he had and you picked whatever caught your fancy, happily eating as you looked over the papers

Mammon:

He wasn't use to Someone being nice to him so when you came along and offered acts of service - he was blown away!

Even over time he wasn't really use to it

Speaking of you and your acts or service; you were whistling a happy tune

A thick wallet in your pocket, you headed straight to mammons room

It was as if he could smell the money, he rushed to your side and started eyeing the wallet

"Stop peeking - it's a gift."

He looked at you confused but was grinning

"oh? The great Mammon can't refuse a gift!"

You placed the wallet in his hand, he let out a yelp at the weight of it

It was completely loaded!!! It was stuffed with money!

He couldn't believe it - it had to be a trick! There was no way you were giving him this much money!

"Are ya playing with me? Ha ha human."

"no tricks, you've been struggling with your debt to the witch's so I thought I'd help, I heard you've been getting in trouble with Lucifer more because of it so I wanted to help!"

He didn't even realize he teared up, he jumped towards you and hugged you close

Nuzzling your faces together as he hugged you tight

"You-! YOU DAMN HUMAN- NO YOU ANGEL! YOU'RE THE BEST THING THAT'S HAPPENED TO ME!"

You patted his arm, laughing and it wasn't long before he was planning to spend a big splurge on you despite his issues with money already

Levithan:

He was shuffling into his room, headphones on and just starting to calm down

Today was hectic so he was happy to finally be back home

"Evening! Don't worry, I still used the secret password."

"HUH-?! THAT'S NOT- WHY ARE YOU IN MY ROOM?!"

He threw his headphones off, face bright red

He should of known you were up to something, you kept humming whenever you entered his room

Talking about cleaning up after himself but he kept forgetting due to getting distracted

"I noticed it's gotten really messy so I decided to clean it for you but before you say anything, I know you hate when it's cleaned because you don't know where anything so I've labelled where everything has been stored if it's changed places."

He was still upset, he REALLY hated it when things are changed without him knowing first

But he looked around the room and sure enough, things were still in the cupboards and places he stacked them in and the labels were correct

Everything was completely organized! All the piled up ramen was even gone!

He exhaled a long breathe calming himself down, he was happy - really really happy

"Thanks.... just - can we arrange something next time? But I do like what you did! It looks nice - it's much better now!"

"of course, I'll ask next time - also~ I got you some special ruri-chan themed chips in hopes to make you feel better."

He moves before he knows it, hugging you tight

"STAY WITH ME FOREVER!!!!"

He's definitely embarassed afterwards and gets you out of his room before he makes himself look more like a love sick fool

But don't worry, he texts you wanting to hang out later

Satan:

Satan has been locked in his room after having a big outburst earlier that day

He got overwhelmed from all the noises and threw a book at mammon

You waited awhile before going after him, wanting him to calm down and looked after mammons sore head

You grabbed the book he threw, making a nice calming tea and even made some Apple pie

When you knocked his door he freezed

"Who is it-?! Lucifer, I'm not in the mood for your scolding-"

"it's just me, I got you something!"

He opened the door for you, letting you inside

His room looked clean for once - you didn't doubt he continued his rage into his room and cleaned up to calm down

You offered him a smile, placing the tray on his bed

"I hope you like it, I made it myself."

He looked at the fresh apple pie, his stomach rumbling at the mere sight of it

"you did this...for me? Didn't I scare you?"

You hummed, sitting close to him

"yeah a little but everyone has their bad days, you having one doesn't change anything - though you do need to apologize to mammon."

He sat down by his bed, placing the tray on his lap

"you're right I do, thank you for not just seeing me as some angry creature....I didn't intend to blow up like that."

You patted his arm, still smiling

You two sat together, you read his book for him whilst he ate and drank

He was very bashful at how supportive you are but that was you, you've always been so quick to offer help or do things for people ever since you've arrived

You were good to him, he'll always appreciate that

Asmodeus:

His love language is affection and words

Yours is acts of service

It's perfect!

Though, when it was established you were quick to help and offer your service - prepare for MANY innuendos

He'll come skipping to you, draping himself off the nearest object and asking if you want to help him de-stress

Most of the time you just have spa days or lay around doing nothing

You decided to treat him today seeing as exams were stressing him out

"Asmo! Won't you help me? I have this lovely new-"

He's skidding as he appears in the doorway, ready to do whatever you want

But you just grinned, knowing your plan worked

You grabbed him and shoved him into a chair

Before he knew it; his hair was tied up and his jacket and scarf has disappeared

"oh? What's all this about? Does my love want some special care?"

"nope, I just want to look after you today~ you've been stressing over exams so much, I wanted to treat you like a prince."

He had the biggest grin on his face after that

And treated like a prince he was

You did his skin routine, brushed his hair and curled it

If he even mentioned being thirsty you were straight to getting him a nice refreshing drink

If you're able to - please carry him bridal style - he will love every second of it

"you treat me so well, I know I'm already a blessing to this demonic world but you're just pure light."

He's so love sick, an absolute fool in love

"nonsense, I'm just helping you like usual."

Which is true, you were always being helpful to him

Thats why he loved doing whatever he could for you

"Never leave the Devildom, I couldn't bare not seeing your beautiful face everyday."

You just laughed, massaging his face and gave him a quick kiss

Beezlebub:

Another person who does acts of service as a love language

Though, do forgive him if he forgets due to hunger - he'll immediately make it up to you

At this point he's become a subconscious challenge/game of service - always trying to one up each other

Currently, he was really anxious about his up coming game

It was the biggest one that R.A.D was having and was against a smaller school in the Devildom

The brothers all agreed to come watch him play and even made banners and levi brought glowsticks

You were no were to be seen

The weeks running up to the game you were always busy and whilst you still do some things for him here or there - you were mostly out of the house

But it was but a long lasting plan

You planned on supporting him the best way you could!

When he finally rolled onto the field he felt dread when he didn't spot you in the crowd

He couldn't stop frowning until he saw you, shaking pom poms and running with the cheersquad

That's right, you joined the cheer team to show your support for the lovely demon

"I WANT TO DEDICATE A CHEER TO OUR STAR PLAYER - BEEZLEBUB!!!"

He's so flustered and absolutely shining with joy under his helmet

As soon as he could he came running towards you and hugged you tight

"I was so worried I did something that made you drift away....you did this for me?"

"of course! I'm sorry I made you worried, I wanted to surprise you."

He had to take off his helmet after trying to nuzzle your face, you yelped when it bonked you

"This is the best thing anyone has done for me, thank you (Y/N)."

"you're welcome, now go win that game! Prove those losers that R.A.D is the best school around!"

It was no surprised that R.A.D won

The players all cheered and partied, inviting the band and cheerleaders to celebrate with them

But you decided to have a sleepover with Beelzebub, feeding him plenty of tasty foods as your own type of celebration

"Open wide."

You almost choked on the cake basically shoved in your mouth, laughing as frosting covered your nose and cheeks

You got your revenge but he happily licked what he could

This is the best celebration he could ever get

All because of you!

Belphegor:

Even if your love language wasn't acts or service, you definitely got in the habit of doing it with this guy

He was spoilt from always being carried and pampered by his twin

He could get away with sleeping anywhere as long as he got things done and good grades

But you were always the helpful human, giving him snacks or fluffing his pillows

He's joked about getting a bell so he could call you whenever he needed you

That never happened

"Belphie!! You awake? I got something for you."

He immediately popped his head up and waved to get your attention

You showed him the cup of hot mocha you've recently made; sweet and delicious and has an extra kick to help with keeping awake

"Smells delicious, you made this?"

"yep! Now drink up, we got plans today."

He happily drunk it, feeling more awake with every gulp

By the end of the Cup he was absolutely overjoyed from the taste

Though you almost groaned in frustration when he yawned, so happy that he got sleepy

"you have anymore~? I could drink loads of these- make me more, you know how to make them, I'm too sleepy - it's your fault I'm sleepy."

You flicked his head

Reminding him to not act like a brat

But you did make him more and throughout the day you'd give him a large cup

You needed to do studies and make sure belphegor kept his grades up - Lucifer's orders

But he was already a star pupil regardless so you weren't sure why you had to

But spending time with your favourite demon was never an issue, regardless of his attitude

"We need to do this more, I love it when you look after me."

"I know, now write your answer, I need proof you're working so I don't get strung up."

#obey me #obey me shall we date #gamingclubpresident #aracadejohn217 9 #obey me mammon #obey me mc #obey me asmodeus #obey me satan #obey me belphegor #beelzebub obey me #obey me leviathan #obey me luficer #obey me imagine #obey me headcanon #obey me x you #obey me x mc #obey me x reader

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netheritenugget · 3 years ago

Note

this is very very late but i've just been so swamped with work on top of having terrible memory that i kept forgetting to ask you about the soup recipe

if you're free and only then, i'd love to hear it

the weather's getting colder and soup sounds wonderful

soup sounds great actually

(great work on ranboo's ambience track btw knocked it out of the park with that one)

Aww, ty! I worked really hard on it and I'm glad you liked it!

My memory is also terrible so I also kept forgetting about the soup. But here it is!

It was a tossup between the jambalaya recipe, and the turkey gumbo (we don't live the south but we ended up with these recipes from... Something to do with my preschool when I was little? Idk). And I couldn't decide which one. So here's both anyway.

Jambalaya

"Preparation and cooking time about 1 1/2 hours, this will feed at least four people, and is even better reheated the next day, just add a little water when reheating.

2 Tablesp. Butter or Margarine

2 Tablesp Fresh Garlic, chopped 1 Green Bell Pepper, chopped

1/2 Yellow Onion, chopped

4 sticks of celery, chopped

1 Large can 28 oz. chopped, peeled Tomatos

112 oz can of Tomato Sauce

1 cup water to start

1 pound of either Hillshire Farms Hot Links or Hot Sausage links cut into bite size pieces

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts Cut into bite sized pieces

1 1/2 Cups cooked white rice

White Pepper, Black Pepper, Red Pepper and Salt

*1 pound Jumbo Shrimp or Prawns, cleaned and deveined (Optional see below)

Melt butter in LARGE pot or cast iron Dutch oven, add garlic, bell pepper, onion and celery. Cook for a few minutes, then add tomatos, tomato sauce, water, hot links, salt and peppers to taste. Stir, cover and let simmer. Lately I leave out the red pepper, and add only the white and black. Add chicken when mixture begins to boil, cook for 15 minutes then add rice. Stir and let cook a few minutes more, add more spices to taste if needed. It should be slightly salty, and SPICY!! Add water depending on how Soupy or Stew-like you want it. I like mine more soupy, since it thickens up a great deal as it cools

*Optional Shrimp or Prawns*

You may add Shrimp or Prawns or substitute it for one of the meats above BUT be warned. Seafood does not need to be cooked for very long before it becomes tough. The above meats are fine to let simmer for a while, but if you are adding shellfish, do so after cooking the ice in the jambalya for a while, and then only cook it a few minutes longer after adding the shrimp or pravns, I would say no more than 5 minutes."

The jambalaya recipe is a very tasty soup, and pretty easy to make. We have it all the time. The leftovers are indeed delicious. Also, try scooping it and eating it with corn chips like a chillie, it's pretty good, especially when it's too hot to eat spoonfuls of!

The only things I have to note for this recipe as far as making it is concerned, is that you should take into account the amount of spice in the sausage, it can make it hotter than expected, so taste test it frequently. You can substitute white rice for brown, and add things like diced broccoli slaw veggies (obviously without the mayo) if you want to make it healthier. And we usually do not make ours with shrimp, it is very easy to accidentally make it rubbery, and I find it isn't as good in leftovers.

Turkey Gumbo Soup

"Ingredients:

1. Broth from boiled turkey carcass with leftover meat pulled off and reserved for adding later or bouillon cubes with water/canned broth if more liquid is needed.

2. 1 lb. Italian sausage (mild) in bulk, browned well and drained of fat. Remove sausage filling from casings prior to cooking, sauté like ground beef.

3. 1 chopped onion

4. 1 chopped green bell pepper (or 2-3 celery stalks)

5. 3 cloves garlic

6. 2 bag of frozen cut up okra

7. ½ tsp pepper

8. ½ tsp. Salt (to taste)

9. bay leaf (optional)

10. 1 tbsp A-1 steak sauce

11. 2 or 3 14 oz cans of tomatoes (I used stewed tomatoes, but Italian style works as well.

12. Italian seasoning (1 tsp was recommended but a little goes a long way with me, especially if you use Italian style tomatoes)

Saute onions, garlic, celery in large pot. Add broth, cooked and drained sausage and rest of ingredients. Simmer for at least an hour. This works great in a crock pot as well."

The turkey gumbo is delicious but sadly it's best to make it if you have leftovers of a holiday turkey, and it's not even October yet. 🥲 So that's partly why I also included the jambalaya recipe. But hey, saving recipes for later is always a good idea!

If someone already threw away the turkey bones before you could stop them and tell them why you need them, that's alright, store bought turkey broth really is an ok substitute.

That's the soup! Enjoy!

#food #long post

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crimson-mage-02 · 4 years ago

Text

Curse of the Immortals

Summary: Rachel Roth, an agent to a secret organization is a single mother and works night shifts hunting monsters and demons to ensure her home’s safety until one day, evil has spread over the city and is forced to work together along with a half-demon and half-angel Damian to hunt them down.

A/N: This is day 2 prompt: Enemies to Lovers/Fantasy and Fairytale. Mixed with Alternate Universe. I hope you will enjoy this because I do enjoy this a lot! I have been considering this as my new series! Let me know what you all think if you want to see more of this concept!

Please sit and enjoy reading! Please comment and give feedback!

In a rainy night, she was reading a book in her hand and was looking around at the customers that were minding their own business, going about their day, and walked around the mall. She drank her warm coffee and felt a ball hit her foot, almost startling her.

The young, beautiful woman with black hair and purple streaks, bent down and grabbed the ball and past it to the young girl who smiled at her cheekily. “Here you go.”

“Oh, sorry about that.” The mother apologised sheepishly.

“You are good, kids these days, so spirited.”

The mother chuckled and nodded in agreement and rubbed her daughter’s face. She looked back to see the young woman in front of her has a badge on her and a holster. “Oh, you are a cop?”

“No, I am just an agent. I am off duty. Just….be myself, I guess. I’ve forgotten what it feels like.” The young woman replied, putting her hair behind her ear where her piercings can be seen.

“Where are my manners? Sorry, what’s your name?”

“My name is Rachel Roth, but my friends call me Raven.” Rachel replied, shaking the mother’s hand. “And you are?”

“Sharon. I am a teacher nearby this mall. And I just picked up my daughter. On the way home.” Sharon chuckled.

“It is nice meeting you.” Rachel smiled as the mother and daughter took their leave while she watched them crossing the street. She smiled at the sight of Sharon interacting with her daughter and reminds her of her mother.

She heard some clanging noises and saw the waitress was giving her more coffee. She nodded politely at her and then drank more coffee while finishing up her book. She stood up and returned the tray to the employers.

She walked around the food court and looked at her phone seeing dozens of text messages keeps on coming. She looked at the GPS seeing a red dot appearing. She sighed. “Back to work.”

Rachel made a turn to go walk down the fire escape to the alley and saw her fellow agents getting their gear on. “Ready?”

“All set, sir.” Rachel said as she got her black leather jacket off, revealing a bow on her back and on her waist, there was her quiver filled with her arrows and on her thigh was a pack of knives along with her gun.

“Ten seconds.” Said her leader, looking at the GPS on the computer. Rachel got herself ready with an arrow pointing out in the air, waiting for the demon to come. She heard faint running footsteps and then she shot her arrow with an explosive with a demon appearing and roared loudly in agony, with blood spilling out from its eye.

The people around them all cried out in fear and all ran away from the demon with a truck coming to retrieve the demon back to their secret base. Rachel sighed as she lowered her bow down and helped her fellow agents.

She was in the truck with her closest friend Donna who just came back from her mission in getting another demon from another street. “Look at them. People are just so afraid. The world is no longer safe.” Donna said deeply as she took off her gauntlets of her arms.

“Someday, the world will be different. Someday.” Rachel hoped as she put her arrows away in her quiver. Donna nodded in agreement as she held onto her shield, that once belonged to her sister. She always wanted to become an agent just like her. Now she is. She wanted to make her proud.

“So, how is she?” Donna asked her with a smile.

“Hmm? Oh, Arella? She is doing just fine.” Rachel replied with a chuckle.

One of the men had stopped the truck with the creature roaring and growling at them as they entered a garage to a secret base. Rachel and Donna got off seeing all of the other agents all walking around with files in their hands and held on the tablets, looked through some video feeds. There are more demons on the loose and every day they hunt them in the middle of the night.

More agents were out in the field and are capturing more demons. She and Donna only take the earlier shift to capture the demons, since they both have their real-life jobs other than demon hunting. Donna checked their charts and then frowned. “Hey, Rach?”

Rachel looked at her friend while tying up her hair in a high ponytail. “Yeah?”

“It says we have another shift in about two hours.” Donna said to her as Rachel looked at the chart. She sighed deeply and then walked down the hall from the lockers and marched to the office seeing her boss, Diana holding the papers in her hands.

“I promised her. I promised my daughter that I come home for her.” Rachel said feeling guilty for her daughter.

“I am sorry, Rachel. We are on short of agents tonight.” Diana apologised to her fellow agent. “But I have given you those two hours to be prepared and have little time with her.”

Rachel nodded with a tired smile. She smacked her lips together. “Alright, thanks. I’ll give you my report over the weekend.”

“Of course, Rachel.” Diana smiled gently at the young woman. “And no need rush on those reports, you can pass them to my sister if you like.”

“Great. Thanks.” Rachel nodded as she walked out of the office. She walked along the hallways and greeted some of her co-workers with a smile and a nod like always. She walked down to the lower section of the base. She opened the door with a key card and walked in to see if her daughter was up.

“Arella? I am back.” Rachel called out to her daughter. She placed her weapons on the couch and saw a pile of books all over the place. She chuckled softly and slowly grabbed the books, putting them back on the shelves next to the tv. She also folded the clothes and put them in the closet and in the cupboard. She also put the bowls in the sink and the plates in the dishwasher. Turned off the TV.

Then she heard a door opening with her smile lit up, watching her daughter running towards her. “Mama!”

“Oh, Arella, my darling. How are you today? Did you read the book I have given you?” Rachel asked her, putting her hair back in her ear.

“Mm hmm! I was good the whole day. And Uncle Garfield has given me a new snack I could eat, but I waited because I want to try it with you.” Arella replied, going into the kitchen to show her the snack.

“Honey, I think I do need to have a healthy discussion with your Uncle Garfield about the snacks after dinner.” Rachel said seriously as she looked at the package.

“But it looks tasty.” Arella pouted, looking up at her mother. She sighed softly and then bent down to her level.

“Okay, how about this? After I finish with my work tomorrow, we can try this out. Alright? Does that sound good?” Rachel asked her, rubbing her arms.

“Yeah! That sounds good.” Arella smiled cheerfully hugging her mother tightly while Rachel frowned sadly, seeing she is going to be leaving her more in their small home. She was worried that her own daughter might resent her more. “Mama, I do understand that your job is so important to you. I will be okay. I can hang out with Auntie Diana today.”

“Is that so?” Rachel said, getting up and put the snack in the cupboard as she put the cutleries in the drawers while wiping the table.

“Yeah, she promised.” Arella nodded with her bright emerald eyes. Rachel smiled as she cleaned up the kitchen and then got her dressed up for the night so that she can walk around the base properly with Diana.

She got ready for her next mission and walked with her daughter in the hallway out of their home. Arella ran excitedly when she saw Diana opening her arms for her to run towards her. She hugged the little child in her arms. “Oh, I hope you are up for some hot chocolate and some movies.”

“Yup!” Arella giggled.

“Thanks again. You mind if you could get her to bed early? Unlike the last time, she read her new books late at night.” Rachel chuckled.

“Not to worry, Rachel, I have this wonderful warrior in bed in no time. Just be careful on your mission.” Diana smiled as she set the girl down on the ground and letting her get in the office. “So, Donna will be assisting you. And other agents will help you. Have you heard anything from Arella’s father yet?”

Rachel put her quiver on her waist behind her. She hasn’t heard anything from her ex and he barely was in her daughter’s life. She and him never got the chance to contact one another. “Um, no. He is off the grid. In fact, I never told him that I was pregnant.”

Diana looked at her friend with a sympathetic expression and placed her hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry. But I am sure you made a right decision in raising her here rather than up there.” She was well aware that her daughter was a quarter demon and angel, though she has never shown to have any supernatural abilities.

“Okay, Arella, be good for Aunt Diana. I’ll be back in the morning to spend time with you. Alright.” Rachel smiled at her daughter.

“Alright, Mama, I’ll be good.” Arella smiled as she waved goodbye to her mother.

(~)

Up in topside, puff of smoke appeared with the lights blinking brightly on the billboards. He walked along the footpath. He also sensed something from behind him and he sighed, taking a right turn into the alley. He got rid of his cigarette aside and then pulled down his hood, revealing jet black hair with emerald eyes.

He got out his charms in his hands and saw the dark cloaked figure in front of him, preparing to fight him off. “So, you finally appeared, you son of a bitch!” He got out his twin katanas in his hands and swung his blades at the demon in front of him with blood spilling out on the ground as he cut off its head off. He looked to the side seeing more demons were after him. He made a run for it in the streets, but he was grabbed by the leg by the demon dog and dragged back in the alley. “Oh, shit!”

Meanwhile on the road, Rachel was getting her bow ready for their hunt. Donna was driving the truck while listening to the music softly. She hummed to the song cheerfully until they saw people running away and then a figure was thrown onto their windshield.

Both girls shouted in surprise while Rachel got out of the truck and saw the man was their other co-worker. “Damian? What the hell are you doing? You were supposed to be with your team.”

“I very much prefer to work alone, Rachel.” Damian huffed, getting off the truck, getting off the shards of the glass off his jacket.

“It doesn’t matter, you have to report back to Diana.” Rachel pointed out while getting her gun out while Donna yelling to the people to get to safety. “And what happened to you?”

“I found another demon. Seemed to be sucking the lives of innocent people in the city.” Damian replied, getting out his whip and then captured a dog while Rachel shot at it with blood spilling all over the road.

“Hey, I had that!” Damian exclaimed, seeing her jumping on top of the car, and shot all of the demons up in the air while Donna jumped up and captured them with her lasso. The two girls and Damian all worked together to get the people to safety.

Then he saw one man from the building was falling down. He got his white wings out and flew straight up to save the man from his death. He got him down to safety, but the man squirmed and cried out in fear seeing him in front of him and ran away from him. “Yeah, you’re welcome, human!” Damian shouted out to him.

An arrow was shot onto the demon’s head behind Damian, and he turned around to see Rachel shooting the demons that were coming straight at him. She kicked one with her foot and shoved a gun in its mouth, shooting inside.

“You’re welcome.” Rachel said to Damian who scoffed and walked away from her. “You should’ve let Diana know you were patrolling the city and we thought you back in Gotham.”

“I was in Gotham. But I got kicked out.” Damian gruffly replied until he pushed her aside with a demon attacking her from behind until he used his whip to capture him and be burnt onto the road.

Donna got most of the people to safety, leaving things to the police. Rachel and Damian had cleared the main road together and walked towards her. Then the citizens started to jeer, swear, cuss and threw heavy metal and rubbish at Damian. He growled in annoyance with the other agents were getting the people away from the scene.

They all had retired for the night as Rachel and Donna both taking Damian to their base. Hopefully, the night will not be long. Hopefully, Diana won’t be giving him another lecture of not informing his return back to New York from Gotham.

The two girls got out of the trucks with Damian leaning on the side of the truck, smoking a cigarette in his mouth. He glanced at Rachel who was checking in with the other agents. He noticed she has been a lot busy the last time he had seen her. She was more reserved, more assertive, more focused, and distant. He was about to approach her, but he smelt the scent of Director Diana arriving in the garage and approached him with her hands on her hips.

(~)

In the secret agent base, Diana rubbed her temple as she leaned back on her chair with a frown while Damian sat on a chair as he glanced at Rachel who looked at her oldest friend who hasn’t said a word since his return to New York. “You have broken protocol, snuck out the base and disobeyed orders from your superiors. For what reason, Wayne?” Diana asked him tiredly.

“I do have a very good reason. To stop monsters from hurting human kind. And to stop whoever is sending up there, killing innocents.” Damian replied as he sat up on his chair. “And my father have informed me that someone from the surface was a traitor and had unleashed evil.”

“And that’s the main reason why you are here?” Rachel asked him.

“Yes, that is the real reason why I am here, Raven.” Damian nodded, taking out his cigarette out of his mouth with a puff smoke coming out.

Diana narrowed his eyes at the young hybrid in front of them. “Alright. I will make sure I have other agents to handle it rather than a hybrid scaring the people off on the streets.”

The demon scoffed softly and looked away from the director and then raised an eyebrow hearing a noise from behind him and saw a little girl holding a book. He gasped softly and watched Rachel bending down to hug the little girl. “Oh, sorry, Rachel, I had Arella walk to the library again to get a book again.” Diana chuckled.

“Oh, it is fine. And besides, it is her bedtime.” Rachel chuckled lightly as she carried her in her arms, holding her book.

Damian stood up from his seat and then cleared his throat loudly getting the two women’s attention. Rachel sighed deeply while Diana cleared her throat and then continued. “As I was saying, until further notice, you are to stay in your quarters. Rachel will be your partner again until we let you go up to the surface.”

Rachel was about to protest but she doesn’t want to argue in front of her daughter who has fallen asleep in her arms. Damian was left shocked, not liking what he had heard from the head agent of this secret agency. “I am sorry, Rachel, but it has been years since the two of you had quit being partners and well, together. I thought this would be a good opportunity to mend some bonds.” Diana smiled, encouraging the two work together as a team again. Possibly try to work things out between each other.

Diana walked out of her office with Donna by her side and walked along the hallways. “You really do think this will be a good idea?”

“Well, we have no choice, sister. Besides, this will be a good lesson for the both of them.” Diana replied as she looked at the files and photos of the scene from the traffic.

Meanwhile, Rachel was walking back to her room with Damian following her but walked silently not to wake her offspring awake. He wondered when she had her daughter and who was the father and why he hasn’t seen him in the base.

“You used my room? Where will I sleep?” Damian asked with annoyance but saw Rachel was still ignoring him. “Rachel? Where will I sleep if I am going to stay here? You have a spare room?”

“Yes, but that is my room now and you will sleep on the couch tonight.” Rachel replied with a huff opened the door with one hand. She hurried to her daughter’s room and tucked her in with the dimmed lights on.

Damian walked into her little home seeing all of the pictures on the walls. Photos of her and her daughter. No sign of the father. He raised an eyebrow seeing a box of letters. He grabbed it and saw they were the letters that he once had sent her. His past may had held her back and now she had moved on. He put the box back on the shelf, remembering the moment he had betrayed her, and they decided not to be partners anymore. And realised that a demon and a human can never be together.

He turned around to see Rachel was gathering some bed sheets and blanket for him on the couch. “Rachel, I know you are furious of what had happened years ago and the other reason why I came back is that I want to set things right.”

“Well, you are too late for that. I already moved on, Damian. I have a job, I have a home, I have a daughter to care for.” Rachel said not looking at him in the eye. “You still betrayed me that day. You worked for that demon who terrorised innocent lives.”

“He was my grandfather, and he was going to make the world a better place.” Damian argued with his nails growing slowly reacting to his anger.

Rachel stayed still from where she stood. Looking into his emerald eyes and looked away from him. “I still believe that your grandfather wasn’t really going to make the world a better place. From what I had heard, your father had you trained, but you still haven’t changed one bit the last time we saw each other. But I am willing to try and help you and in return you help us.”

Damian nodded agreeing with the terms. As he took off his leather jacket and shirt to change with Rachel glancing at his scars on his back. She bit her lip and then grabbed the sheets and laid them down on the seat and had the pillows placed on top. “Make yourself comfortable. And get some rest.”

“One last thing, Raven.” Damian called out to her as he sat down on the chair looking up at her then glanced at her daughter who was sleeping peacefully on her bed, hugging her soft toy in her arms. “Your daughter……those eyes……” He looked up at her again with his eyes filled with curiosity. “Is she, our daughter?”

A few moments of silence had passed with Rachel breathing in and out shakily before speaking up to the devil prince of the Al Ghul Royalty bloodline. She was afraid he might find out the moment he had seen her. Damian waited for her to reply, but it looked like she wasn’t going to answer, seeing her shaking and trembling. He was about to say that there was no need for her to reply so quickly. He had loved Rachel, he loved all of her even though she is human and doesn’t care what others and other demonic beings say about him.

“Yes.”

“What?” Damian’s eyes widened and looked up at the agent before him.

“I said, yes. She is….in fact, our daughter. And you betrayed me, left us for your precious little demon world.” Rachel replied bitterly as she walked away in her room, leaving him all alone in the living room. She closed the door behind her and rubbed her face tiredly while sliding against the door, falling to her knees in exhaustion. She has never, ever felt so drained in her entire life.

(~)

Later that night, Talia Al Ghul had gotten word that her son, Damian has remerged into the surface. She grinned slyly as she drank her glass of blood in her hands. “It seems the humans had made him soft. And you…you have what I have ordered, Shiva?”

“Yes, my lady. It is all here. Little damned creatures will soon eat the flesh of human scums.” Shiva smirked.

“Excellent. Inform my father. Let him know of what has become of his grandson. Surely, he’ll be disappointed how he turned out to be after a very, very, long time.” Talia chuckled softly as she put the glass on her table and walked past her servant.

(~)

Damian explored the base and walked around to see if he saw anything familiar, but they had changed a lot of things after he had left the agency in New York. He also heard a few agents were bad mouthing him, whispering to each other while he could hear them due to his enhanced hearing as a demon.

He just ignored them as he made a turn to the left and then saw Donna who dropped her files. “O-Oh, sorry. I wasn’t looking.”

Damian took a step back from the human woman and sighed deeply, helped her to get the files. He gave them to her while being mindful of his nails. The very same claws he had slain other demonic and angelic beings. He was held back by his father who claimed he could change him for the better. He is the grandson of all Demons, but he is also the son of an angelic being, Bruce Wayne.

A blade was pointed at his neck and he glanced up seeing Donna looking down at him if he were a slave. He put up his hands to show he wasn’t going to hurt her or anyone in the base. “So….” He smacked his lips together before speaking up. “You were just here to kill me?”

“No. Just making sure you are not going to hurt Rachel, unlike the last time. You left her to care for her daughter.” Donna hissed at him.

“You mean my daughter? She’s mine and Rachel’s.” Damian smirked slyly.

Donna held onto her blade tightly and then lowered it down as she breathed out slowly and softly. She stormed away from the demon prince but before she does, she turned to the Prince. “If you do hurt her, that’ll be the time I’ll be sure to kill you. For real.”

Meanwhile, in Rachel’s room, she was cleaning her guns and arrows while hearing the door opening and saw her daughter wide awake. “My little bird, why are you still up?”

“I can’t sleep.” Arella replied rubbing her eyes.

“Oh, come here. Would you like to sleep with me tonight?” Rachel asked, taking her in her arms and let her lay down on her bed, she stroked her head and kissed her goodnight.

“Mama? Who was that man from earlier? He seemed so scary.” Arella said as she hugged her soft toy in her arms.

Rachel smacked her lips together and then caressed her daughter’s cheek softly. “He was an old friend of mine who came to visit us. And he is not that scary. He is just…misunderstood. I’ll explain everything later. Now, go to sleep.”

She put the blanket over her and kissed her goodnight before she turned off the lights and then walked out of her room only to see Damian was not present in the living room. His weapons were still on the table unfortunately. She sighed thinking he was just out of the base to get some fresh air.

As it has been said, he was taking some fresh air, smoking a cigarette until he had heard muffling from one of the guards. His head tilted to see as he jumped off the roof and then saw one of the guard’s soul was being sucked in. He grabbed his katana to fight him off until a gun shot was heard seeing a bullet came through a demon’s head and fell down onto the ground with blood staining the grass.

He looked up to see Rachel with a gun in her hand. She panted softly seeing a demon in front of her and then looked up at Damian who approached the guard and helped him up. “You alright?”

“Yes, I am fine. C-Can you let go of my arm?” The guard asked as Damian did not realise how his grip had hurt him and slowly let him go. He watched the guard walking past Rachel who put back her gun in her holster. “And why were you out here? I thought you were asleep.”

“I was getting some fresh air. Until I heard one of my friends nearly got killed by this monster.” Rachel gestured to the now-dead monster she had shot.

“it is not any kind of monster, I am afraid, Miss Roth. It is a demon from the Underworld. Sent by the demon lord.” Damian said with a glare.

“You mean the man who you used to work with and betrayed them? Your grandfather Al Ghul?” Rachel glared at him with her bow and arrow in her hand as her lavender eyes stared into his dark piercing emerald eyes.

“I suppose. But that man has exiled me. I have no choice but to come to my father. He was the one who vouched for me. And I yielded. I wanted to become a better man, a better demon……and angel.” Damian vowed with his eyes glowing in the dark. “I am on my very own mission to hunt every last of these demons to find him and take him down.”

“And what will that accomplish? You being welcomed back to your people once more?” Rachel glared at him.

“Yes, indeed. Claiming my title as the Prince of the Demon World. As you humans, don’t seem to be very fond of me being here.” Damian nodded, putting his katana back in its sheath. “You don’t want me to be anywhere near our daughter. And I do understand that. Remember, we are working together only for 6 months. After that if we completed my mission, we can all go to our separate ways.”

Rachel huffed softly and then looked to the side as she sighed. Thinking through of their deal Damian had offered. She knew for sure he wasn’t bluffing about working together and he was desperate to take his own grandfather down. But she cannot detect whether or not, if he’ll keep his word in leaving their daughter alone and not harming her. “You swear that you’ll never go anywhere near Arella? And that we’ll never see you again?”

“Yes. You know, I never lie, my beloved Raven.” Damian smirked as he offered his hand out for a handshake.

She looked down at his hand and then back at him seeing he was still smirking. She hated that smirk. She hated every little bit of him. But she has no choice but to work with him to finish the job faster so that she can spend more time with her daughter. “All right, but to make this less painful and fair. I’ll let you spend time with your daughter. She also needs a father, Damian.”

“Last time, I checked, I am not a father material.” Damian scoffed.

“Just for 6 months only. And she needs to know who you are until our deal is off. I don’t want to lie to her anymore.” Rachel pleaded softly as Damian sighed in defeat. Of course, deep down he cannot resist those beautiful lavender eyes of hers.

“Oh, what the hell, fine. Deal. As long as we can cooperate with each other. We are enemies and allies to each other.” Damian shook her hand as she nodded in understanding. Shaking their hands on their alliance with each other.

#damirae-week #damirae #damian x raven #raven roth #rachel roth #enemies to lovers #strangers #dark fantasy #day 2 #fanfic #prompt

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mythicalshipping · 3 years ago

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this blog is everything. it gives me so much life on the daily; feeding the colony of rhink brainrot that's slowly reducing my functional brain matter. the #mythical ot4 tag is especially tasty because you get all the good good rhink without discounting their marriages (and that really eases the guilt). thank you for your service ♡

sljdfklja;lkjdf;kafksd;l OMFG TY ;-; I love the mythical ot4 tag! :3 (Also this fandom is so nice and respectful, definitely moreso than ones I've been in in the past; even those who don't use the mythical ot4 tag are still super sweet about Rhett and Link's wives. <3 )

#rhink #rhink ask

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nxrthmizu · 4 years ago

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Hello!! Could I request a number 7 and fluff for Nishinoya? platonic to romatic if possible? I'm a very friendly and energetic person. I'm very talkative and outgoing, and I tend to show my affection for others a lot! Thank you~~

| Pandas and Bamboos | Nishinoya Yuu

»»——⍟——««

prompt | #7- Animals

pairing | Nishinoya Yuu x Reader

words | 1.9k

author’s note | Hello! Here’s my first Nishinoya piece, so I hope it’s accurate! Enjoy~

»»——⍟——««

“You promise?” You asked one more time for good measure, delight making your toes curl. “You promise?”

Nishinoya Yuu, your best friend- Rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “Yes! If you help me practice, I promise I’ll take you to the zoo next week.”

“Deal!” You grinned from ear-to-ear, picking up a ball from the net. “Here we go!”

The two of you were in the the backyard of your house, where there was a small volleyball court that your older brother used to practice in. You had dragged up a wooden board that blocked the view of the other side of the court, and Nishinoya was stretching his muscles in the centre of the court.

“Here we go!” You told him, taking a deep breath and sending an overhand serve straight at the wooden board. The ball bounced off the wooden board and changed direction in less than a second. It ricocheted towards the court, but before it could touch the concrete, your golden-eyed bestfriend dove for the ball, sending it up into the air.

A wave of thrill brushed through your body as you jumped, spiking the ball towards the board. It bounced off again, like expected, and once again Nishinoya was there to dig it up. The two of you repeated the spike-dig-spike-dig routine over and over again until one of your spikes shot out of court.

Pants clouded the air as the two of you caught your breath after an exhilarating five minutes of practice.

A spark glinted sharply in his golden irises as he looked up at you. “Again!”

»»——⍟——««

In the end, the both of you had worn yourselves out for the next three hours until your muscles were sore and you were ready to drop. Nishinoya’s energy seemed to never deplete. By the end of three hours, your mother hollered for the two of you to come for dinner- Yuu was at your house so often that your mother had started making dinner for him, too.

He did keep his promise, though.

One week later, at 5am in the morning, Nishinoya had greeted your mother, who was out early to feed the chickens, and let himself into the house.

“Y/N!” He whisper-yelled into your ear, making you jump and scream simultaneously. “Let’s go! We’re going to the zoo!”

You caught your breath and your heart, wanting to slap your bestfriend for scaring the hell out of you at the crack of dawn. “The sun isn’t even up yet!” You complained, burrowing yourself back into your covers.

“We’re taking an early train so we avoid the crowd!” He yanked your blanket away from you. “Come on, I’m skipping volleyball practice for this. Get up! We don’t have time to waste!”

A groan rumbled down your throat as you begrudgingly dragged your sorry ass out of bed. “How are you always this energetic?” You whined.

Five minutes later, the two of you said goodbye to your mother, and then the two of you were on your bike, Nishinoya cycling with your seated on the main seat with you sighing sleepily on the pillion. Both of your bags were tossed in the basket in front of the bicycle, jiggling against the metal frame as the two of you descended down a hill.

A smile spread across Yuu’s lips as you leaned forward, your cheek resting on his back as you dozed off lightly. His heart fluttered quietly while he biked on contentedly, trying to pedal softer as not to wake you.

“Y/N-chan.” He whispered, feeling your stir awake behind him. “We’re almost at the station.”

You blinked sleep away from your eyes as the two of you rolled up to the front of Sendai Station, the sun just barely rising over the horizon. “That’s fast.” You yawned.

“Of course!” He huffed. “You weren’t the one that had paddle up and down numerous hills.”

»»——⍟——««

“Look at that! We’re the earliest.” Yuu said triumphantly. You gave him a deadpanned look.

“Yuu, the ticket counter isn’t even open yet.” You told him dryly. “Come on, that coffee shop’s open. We could go grab some coffee and wait for them to open.”

He pouted as you dragged him into the shop.

“Sit. Keep an eye on the ticket counter.” You told him sternly, plopping him down at one of the tables next to a window that had a view of the zoo’s ticket counter. “Don’t go anywhere, Yuu.” You warned.

A soft laugh bubbled out your throat as you watched Yuu sit quietly by the window like a freshly-scolded puppy. “I’ll have... A mocha and a hot chocolate with extra cream, please.” You requested with a smile at the tired-looking barista.

“Here you go.” The barista told you with a sigh. “Enjoy.”

“You can stop looking so sad now, Yuu.” You flicked his forehead with your finger, grinning at him. “Here’s your hot chocolate with extra cream.”

He brightened immediately. “You do love me!” Nishinoya exclaimed victoriously as you rolled your eyes and stuck your tongue out at him.

“I do not.”

“You do!”

“I do not.”

“You do!”

In the end, you stuck out your tongue at him childishly, ruffling his hair affectionately. “Fine, I do.”

“Ha!”

“But that’s only because no one else would love an idiot like you.”

»»——⍟——««

Nishinoya bit his lip, deep in his own thoughts as he waited for the ticket counter lady to give him two tickets. Did you mean it when you said you did love him? And... Did you love him romantically?

“Sir.” The ticket lady snapped him out of his daze. “Here’s your tickets. The entrance is over there.” She pointed, giving him a weird look. It was not common to see teenage boys get up at the crack of dawn just to be the first one into the zoo.

“Y/N!” He called out to you, who was sitting on a bench, scrolling through your phone as you waited for him to get the tickets. “Here you go!” He looped the ticket around your wrist, holding out his for you to do.

“Don’t move.” You instructed, tying the plastic around his wrist. “Okay, let’s go!”

Nishinoya bounced through the entrance with you, the two of you too overly-excited for the security guard’s liking.

“Thank you!” You shot a bright smile at the security guard; Nishinoya dragging you off even as you spoke, already rambling about [your favourite animal]. “Oh my god, Yuu, slow down!” You panted, your hand slipping away from his as you stopped, panting. The libero of Karasuno’s volleyball team had dragged you across half of the zoo, having already memorised where the [your favourite animal] enclosure would be.

“Hurry up, Y/N-chan!” Yuu grinned brightly. “If we hurry up, we might be able to see the [your favourite animal] before it wakes up!”

Your eyes brightened. “Really?”

“Yeah!”

»»——⍟——««

The two of you had eventually stopped running around like maniacs and had turned to walking around the enclosures one by one.

“What is that?” Yuu’s jaw dropped as he stared into the platypus enclosure. “It looks so weird.”

“That’s a platypus.” You snorted, speed-reading through the information panel next to the enclosure. “It looks like you.”

Yuu’s eyes shone brightly, his golden irises glistening like the sun. “You think I look special?”

“I never said that!” You reeled back indignantly. “Did you know platypuses are mammals but they lay eggs?”

“That’s so cool!” He exclaimed, jumping up into the air to get a better view of the platypus, who looked unamused at him. “Hello platypus! Y/N-chan thinks we’re both special!”

»»——⍟——««

“So cute!” You squealed, your eyes fixated on the giant panda that was munching happily on a piece of bamboo. “That bamboo looks very tasty, too.”

“I’m going to go steal the bamboo from it.” Yuu decided before you jerked his shirt harshly, giving him a stern glare.

“Don’t you dare steal someone else’s food.” You hissed at him, glowering. “The bamboo is very important to the panda! Look at it!” You pointed at the furry black-and-white animal. “He looks at the bamboo like it’s the thing he loves most in the world!”

Yuu nodded like he had just been enlightened about his purpose on the planet. “I see now! You’re right!”

“I wish someone could look at me the way the panda looks at the bamboo.” You sighed dreamily. Nishinoya turned to fix his golden irises on you, watching the way your [hair colour] hair swayed in the slight wind, feeling his heart flutter at the way you stared at the panda in utter adoration.

“I do.” He muttered softly.

“What was that?” You glanced up in surprise, not having heard what he said. “Yuu?”

He grinned brightly. “We’re totally buying panda plushies at the souvenir shop later!”

»»——⍟——««

“Thank you!” You squealed, jumping into Yuu’s arms, enveloping him with a bear hug. Other visitors around the souvenir shop shot the two of you weird looks, but the two of you were too absorbed in your world to notice. “It’s so cute!” You grinned, squishing the cheeks of your new panda plushy. “I’m going to name him Yuu!”

Nishinoya cackled victoriously. “You’re naming him Yuu because he’s cute like me, right?”

“Oh, keep dreaming.” You scoffed, whacking his head lightly. “Say one more word and I’m naming him Ennoshita.” An evil laugh rung inside your head as Yuu reacted, looking offended and horrified at the thought.

“You wouldn’t!”

---

“Yuu?”

He hummed in response, his feet constantly pushing the bike forward as the two of you rode out of the roads leading to Sendai Station.

“Thanks for today.” You mumbled into his shoulder, your arms wrapped around his waist. “And the plushy.”

He coughed, feeling a blush paint itself onto his cheeks in the shade of Nekoma’s uniform. “I was just repaying you for practicing with me. Practice with me again next week, and we’ll go to...”

“The fox village!” You suggested happily. “Squishy foxes with squishy cheeks.”

Squishing the cheeks of foxes didn’t sound very safe to him, but what the hell, Nishinoya thought. If any of the foxes dared to bite you, he’d rolling thunder them. “Sure!” He agreed quickly. He got to spend time practicing with you- And then he’d get to bring you out to places you wanted to go. Yuu really didn’t see any downside at all.

“And... About what you said at the panda enclosure... Did you mean it?” You asked suddenly, your voice getting softer as you burrowed your face into his back in embarrassment.

The bike screeched to a stop as Yuu pressed the brakes too suddenly, almost sending the two of you flying forward. “You- You heard that?” He turned to look at you with an incredulous expression.

“Y- Yeah.”

“Oh. Um.” He coughed awkwardly. “Yeah.”

He squeezed his eyes shut, too scared to face whatever teasing remark you would throw at him. Instead, he felt your lips on his cheek, but by the time he shot his eyes open, you had already drew back, a fierce red on your cheeks.

“Um. I look at you like the panda looks at the bamboo too.” You admitted. “When you’re not looking.”

A grin slowly spread across his cheeks as he tried to keep his heart from bursting from the sheer amount of affection he had for you. “So. We’re going to the fox village next week?”

He turned back, pedalling up the hill with renewed energy as you wrapped your arms around his waist tighter. “Yeah.”

»»——⍟——««

Thank you for the request! 💕

@owlywrites one day we are going to go to Miyagi and we’re going to cuddle foxes- Look up Miyagi Zao Fox Village, they’re too cute for me-

»»——⍟——««

#nishinoya yuu #nishinoya yu x reader #nishinoya yuu x reader #nishinoya yuu x y/n #nishinoya fluff #hq nishinoya #nishinoya fanfiction #nishinoya #cady writesss «#cady's requests #cadyh2o

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chocoluckchipz · 4 years ago

Text

The Other You - 7

Read it on A03, FF.net, WattPad

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Chapter by Maerynn

The first morning Marinette woke up in Chat Noir's mother's apartment, the most accurate word to describe how she was feeling would be "awkward".

Chat had carefully wiped the apartment of any hints of his mother's identity before bringing her here, but Marinette still felt as if she was invading this faceless woman's privacy. Sleeping in her sheets, showering in her bathroom, cooking with her appliances, leafing through her books. And yet, she couldn't help but love it. Marinette knew it was wrong, that she was playing with fire and jeopardizing her own identity, but by living in his late mother's apartment, she felt closer to her partner.

Laying on her back in that wide bed, Marinette found herself wondering what kind of child her partner had been. Had he crawled into his mother's bed at night, claiming to have nightmares to be allowed to sleep in that very same bed? Was he a picky eater, forcing his mother to deploy ingenuity to have him eat his broccoli? Was he the kind of little boy to get into trouble every day or, on the contrary, was he a little angel?

As she stretched out on the comfortable mattress, his ridiculous rent fee came back to her mind—a meal. It was kind of cute, in a way. Yet that obnoxious kitty had to go and ask for the single thing she didn't have to spare: time. Luckily though, being a daughter of two bakers, Marinette had a few quick but tasty recipes up her sleeve, and would probably be able to cater to her partner's culinary needs.

Reluctantly tearing herself from the sheets, she ventured into the kitchen and opened the fridge. Chat Noir was definitely a really thoughtful man. Even though the apartment hadn't been inhabited for the past few years, the fridge was fully stocked with everything she could ever possibly need to cook delicious meals for both of them. Various fresh meat and fish, vegetables, multiple kinds of fruit, and seasonings were waiting for her. The pantry hadn't been forgotten, bursting with spices, crackers, and every possible type of oil, flour, and sugar she would ever wish to use.

With a fond smile dancing on her lips, Marinette wrote a quick list of the supplies she would need to feed her silly kitty over the course of the next week, marveling once again at the apparent infinite kindness of her partner. Why would he go out of his way like this for a girl he hadn't seen in years?

The idea that he was ready to go to such lengths for a long-lost friend made her heart clench painfully in her chest out of longing. Because if she was entirely honest with herself, Marinette wanted more out of their relationship. Way more. She was done hiding behind masks, done playing games. Yet, this recent development had thrown some sand in the gears. How could she reveal herself to him now? He would know what a complete failure she was, would know she had kissed him out of sheer selfishness, would know she had been on the receiving end of his kindness without offering anything back.

No. Keeping her identity to herself, at least up until she could manage to look in the mirror again, was a safer bargain.

She was almost done with her grocery list when her phone chimed on the countertop beside her.

Alya: Please. Let's just talk. Nothing else, I promise. No questions. I just need to see you to make sure you're alright.

Marinette groaned. One would think that if someone wasn't answering your calls and texts for a week, one would give up until that person is ready to reach back. Not Alya. She kept trying, again and again, all while Marinette hesitated. On one hand, she really wanted to avoid revisiting all the issues they had, much less having to explain her new living arrangement. But another part of her, the one that was currently lonely and lost, wanted her best friend back, no matter the cost.

So she shook her head and grabbed her phone before she could change her mind.

Marinette: I'm free around noon.

Alya: Works for me. Usual spot?

That was how Marinette found herself sitting in the café they liked to frequent, nervously sipping on a vanilla latte.

Alya came in right on time, taking a seat in front of her best friend without even bothering to order a drink but not before wrapping her arms around Marinette in a tight hug.

"Okay," Alya said in a soft voice, "I know we have a bunch of things to talk through, and we'll come to it, but first I wanna know if you're safe. A little birdie told me you were sleeping in your office, and I won't let—"

"I was," Marinette cut her rambling short. She knew she had worried Alya sick, that her famous mama bear instincts had kicked in the second Marinette had walked out the apartment. "But I'm not anymore."

"What?" Alya squealed. "Are you homeless? Where is all your stuff? Hang on, I'm going to call Nino and—"

"Alya, stop." Marinette smiled softly to herself, her heart warming up despite herself thinking of her current living arrangements. "I'm staying at a friend's place, that's all you need to know for the time being."

Her best friend eyed her critically, from head to toe. "Who? I know for a fact that you aren't staying with Rose and Juleka or Mylene. Who else could you stay with?"

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you more than that right now," Marinette sighed. "But it's not someone you know personally, and I really can't say anything."

"Are you sure you can trust this new roommate of yours? How come I have never heard of them before? This whole 'can't tell' sounds a bit fishy, don't you think?"

Marinette sipped on her latte, a fond smile spread on her lips. "I trust him with my life, Al. And he's not living with me, he just lent me somewhere to stay until I get back on my feet."

"So this mysterious friend is a he. Mari, you can't possibly be that naive. He'll expect something in return."

"No. Don't worry, Alya. Not him. He already has someone in his life, anyway."

Marinette could almost picture Tikki rolling her eyes in her purse upon hearing those words, and she had to repress a giggle. In front of her, Alya merely frowned, looking at her friend intently.

At last, seemingly reaching a decision, Alya sighed, "Look, I'm sorry, Mari. I should've realized you were stressed out much more than you let on, and instead of supporting you like a best friend should, I just yelled at you and kept putting pressure on you."

"You've had stuff going on too, with the wedding and everything," Marinette said softly.

Her best friend huffed, looking down at her clasped hands in her lap. "That's no excuse. You clearly needed someone to lean on, and I failed you. Marinette, please come back to the apartment, it's yours as much as it's mine."

The young woman couldn't help the smile that spread on her lips. This was the Alya she knew and loved. The one taking charge of everything, making sure everything was alright, caring for her friends more than herself.

"I can't, Al. You and Nino are gonna be married in a few months, I'm not gonna third-wheel you guys forever. I'm going to be fine."

The frown still lingering on Alya's face was eloquent on its own. She was still worried sick about her friend, worries that had been growing for quite a long time now. "Why don't you quit that sinking job then? Everyone's quitting; it's all over the newspapers."

"I can't quit." Marinette tried to ignore the knot tying her throat up, focusing on explaining herself, at last giving some sort of sense to her actions. "I didn't complete my degree at ESMOD, if you recall. Gabriel pulled me out of school midway, said it was a waste of time and money, that he'd show me everything I'd need to know. And without a degree, I don't really have a bright future unless I prove myself with this new collection—"

"And with him gone that's your only option," Alya ended for her. "Okay. So there's a dude at work that owes me a big favour for conveniently forgetting to mention to his wife he lost his wedding band. I might be able to score you a four-page spread covering the next Gabriel fashion show. Do you think there might be a way to have the months you spent working for Gabriel recognized by ESMOD? I mean, you have paychecks to prove your experience, and definitely the skills to own up to it. Whose ass do I have to kick or kiss to get you your degree?"

Marinette lifted wet eyes toward her friend. Alya had always had her back, through thick and thin, and for a minute, she wondered how she could have let herself forget that. At a loss for words, she ultimately mumbled weakly, "Why would you even help me?"

Alya scoffed, looking at her best friend disbelievingly. "You're my best friend, Mari, and I love you to pieces. Obviously I'm gonna help you tear yourself out of that dump."

***

That same day Marinette stood outside of Adrien's office, sighing softly to herself.

After her talk with Alya, she had devised a bunch of things she had to take care of right away to salvage what was left of her name.

And Gabriel's women's line was among them.

Clutching the heavy folder to her chest, Marinette raised her fist and landed two sharp knocks on the door, her heart beating heavily within her ribcage.

"Come in," Adrien's familiar voice compelled her, tossing all of her worries aside. No matter how she felt, no matter how hurt and lost she was, Gabriel Agreste was gone and there was no one who could help her right now but herself. She had to carry on his legacy and in the process help herself even if it meant dealing with a man she'd rather not even see right now. All that was needed was to be a professional, and that she was.

Taking in a hefty breath, she pushed the heavy door. "Good evening, M Agreste."

"Marinette?" Adrien blinked. He seemed a bit tired. "What can I help you with?"

"I have a favour to ask of you."

Adrien straightened up in his chair, staring at her curiously. He seemed to search his words for a few seconds, before replying disbelievingly, "A favour from me?"

If they were still friends Marinette would almost certainly have giggled, seeing his dumbstruck face, how his hand was still clutching the pen that had halted its course on the paper. But as of now, they weren't, so her face remained emotionless. Yet, for the first time since crossing paths with him again, she really paid attention to him. Saw the dark circles underlining his familiar green eyes behind his glasses. Saw how his hair was wildly swept back, sticking out in every direction. Saw how wrinkled his shirt was, saw how poorly his tie knot had been done.

He looked exhausted, at his wits' end.

He looked broken. Just like her.

Immediately Marinette shook those thoughts away. She was here on a mission, and couldn't let wandering thoughts distract her.

"I need some papers from your father's office in order to proceed with some of the designs. Would you be kind enough to retrieve them for me?"

If he looked surprised a minute before, now Adrien was looking completely dumbfounded. "You have full access to his office at any given time, why would you need me for something like this?"

Shaking her head, Marinette pushed the heavy file on his desk. She couldn't help but notice physics exams scattered through legal documents in front of him. "The designs I need are most likely kept in his personal office at the mansion. I scoured his entire office here without any success."

"The mansion?" Adrien's eyes widened. For a moment he remained silent before quietly adding. "I'm sorry, Marinette, ask me anything but this. I haven't been there since I moved out."

"Maybe you could send someone trustworthy on your behalf then?" She sighed. This conversation wasn't going in the direction she would've liked. "Listen, I understand that going back there might be hard for you emotionally, but those last few designs were the best pieces of the line. If I want to succeed, I need them."

Adrien stared at her for what felt like an eternity. "You need them that much?"

"Desperately."

Raking his hands through his hair, Adrien dropped his pen on the desk beside him and pulled the file she had given him closer. "So, those are the designs you need?" he asked quietly, the traces of uncertainty still lingering in his eyes.

"Yes, those are only preliminary sketches I drew for him in a creative meeting. He should have the final designs with all the specs in his personal files. If I want to meet the deadlines, I need those files. I can't start over from scratch on time."

"Alright," Adrien sighed softly, "I'll get them for you. If they're really in that office, you'll have your designs first thing Monday morning."

A sigh of relief escaped Marinette's lips as his lips twitched into a tiny smile. At that moment she clearly understood that this was an olive branch, offered to her to try and make peace between them after years of a feud that had lasted way too long. She wasn't sure, though, if she was ready to accept it yet.

As she reached forward, shaking his hand firmly while thanking him as professionally as she could, Marinette couldn't help but suddenly wonder if a teenager's mistake was worth ostracizing an adult who had just suffered the loss of his last relative and had had a withering fashion empire thrust upon him without warning, an empire he neither asked for nor wanted to deal with. Walking out of that office, she also found herself thinking that even if she wasn't quite ready to forgive him his past cruel actions, maybe, just maybe, Adrien Agreste wasn't as horrible as she thought he was.

Next >

#miraculous ladybug #adrienette #marichat #aged up #ml fanfiction #the other you #myart #my art

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identybeautynet · 3 years ago

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Shygirl Talks ‘BDE’ With Slowthai, Skincare, and Opulent Meals

Shygirl Talks ‘BDE’ With Slowthai, Skincare, and Opulent Meals Courtesy Burberry “Read my lips, I need a big dick boy. Ain’t nobody slanging it right,” the musician Shygirl raps on the opening lines of her new song “BDE,” featuring Slowthai. It’s a bold claim, and one that speaks to the East London native’s life mantra: freedom is everything. “If someone said to you, you can do whatever you want in this room, you’d do something that you wouldn’t usually do,” Shygirl says over Zoom, where she’s speaking from her home in South London. “It’s about being able to run away with some aspects of yourself, less about being something different, but in each of these spaces, you’re allowed a bit more room to breathe.” The artist, who makes bass-heavy, club-ready tracks that straddle electro, pop, and hip-hop, is known for fashion and beauty looks that match her out-there, over-the-top music. Her deepest fantasies and whimsies make both the aesthetic and the music—and fashion brands like Burberry have taken note. (The brand’s creative director Riccardo Tisci cast Shygirl in his latest Burberry Beauty campaign after stumbling across one of her music videos on Instagram.) We caught up with Shygirl a few days before the release of “BDE” to discuss her proclivity toward skincare, her grandmother’s beauty tips, and why eating an opulent meal is the ultimate form of luxury. How did you come to make your latest single “BDE” with Slowthai? I wrote this single ages ago with Karma Kid. We were in the studio and I’d actually been up the night before at some warehouse party. I was definitely really hungover—I think I was probably still drunk when I got to the studio, so I was still kind of in that party mood. The words came really quickly as I was recording, which isn’t always the case. Sometimes I think of a hook and then we flesh it out later, or there’s a funny turn of phrase I’m playing with, and I start like that. But this one was based on a frustrating encounter I’d had with someone. And I was like, I’m just going to get this out in a song. I really wanted to work with a male vocalist and I’ve loved Slowthai’s energy for ages. I’m objectifying men so much in that song, I thought it would be nice to hand the mic over and and be like, Okay, I’ve said this—what do you have to say for yourself? Ty’s the person for that platform, because he doesn’t talk about sex that much on his tracks. So it was nice to have that Shygirl effect. We met up in the studio, hung out, and I was like, okay, the theme is sex—spin it, and be as crass and vulgar as possible because that’s the way I've set the stage. Shygirl wears Burberry Beauty in her video for “BDE.” I love the fantasy of the Tasty video. What was on your mood board for it, specifically when it came to the beauty looks? Growing up, my mom was really into ‘80s music. And I loved that ‘80s look: heavy blush on the face, and how expressive that is, especially when looking at the queer community being represented in music. There’s something about that that which speaks to freedom and playfulness, and there’s a massive synergy with where I’m coming from, which is take me serious in this space, but also not that serious. There’s also something exciting about not being within the confines of my facial features, and pushing those boundaries. That’s why I bleached my eyebrows and change the space that we’re able to use with all the makeup we do. I sent a lot of references over, but I’m really drawn to color palettes; I have phases of different colors that make me feel comfortable and happy. I’ve been lucky to work with some really great makeup artists who take my garbled references and moods that I tell them and make it look sexy. Because there’s something sexy about not staying within the lines. Onto the Beauty Notes questions. When you wake up in the morning, what’s the first thing you do, beauty wise? First thing I do is wash my face, ‘cause I’m probably still wearing mascara from the night before. I use the Garnier Micellar water as a cleanser, and I bought because it’s pink. Then, I put on the Aliver 24K Gold Collagen Eye Mask eye patches. I bought a pack of, like, 100. They make me feel like a modern-day American Psycho. Then I use the Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion, because there’s something watery about their products, they just feel light on your skin. And my skin’s really sensitive, so I don't usually wear much. I have a rose quartz roller that I use after I’ve moisturized, which I find so relaxing. I’ve also got to mention that, when I wash my face, I wash it with warm and then cold water. Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion $30 See On Sephora What does that do? Something about opening up your pores with the warm water and then tightening them with cold water. My grandma told me that when I was younger—my dad’s mum gave me this obsession with clear skin from a young age. We’ve kind of got it naturally and she takes really good care of it, as does my dad. Usually, people pick up beauty tips from their mum, but my mum was a bit more tomboy-ish. What’s a piece of skincare advice that you received from your grandmother that changed your perspective on beauty? My grandmother comes up with a lot of un-PC phrases. One of the un-PC things she used to say was, never trust a man with bad skin. I remember when I’d tell her about boys I fancied and she’d be like, oh no, his skin’s terrible. Also, she uses oils on her body, but not on her face. She’s big on oils. I have naturally curly hair, so I went through such a period of using loads of different greasy hair products, and she told me that all affects your skin. Whenever I FaceTime my nan and my dad, that’s the first thing they ask: are you eating right? I can see on your skin, you’re not getting enough of this or that. What’s the one product that you can’t live without? The Charlotte Tilbury Magic Night Cream. It’s literally the best money I’ve ever spent on a beauty product. It just does what it says, and I don’t feel like I need to use it that religiously, but I need to know that I have it, especially when I’m traveling a lot. And even in lockdown, I’ve had a lot of travel for work. The air dries out my skin, and sometimes I need it before I wake up, just to start the day fresh. Charlotte Tilbury Magic Night Cream $145 See On Sephora What’s your favorite product at this very moment? I only really wear mascara for eye makeup every day, and at the moment I’ve been wearing this really good mascara that Burberry makes. I like a spiky, wider mascara, ‘cause if that’s the only thing I’m wearing, I’m going to make sure it’s visible. I’m not too neat with it—I like a slightly messy mascara look because there are hints there, where you’re telling people who you are. I want to be expressive. Ultimate Lift Mascara $30 Burberry See On Burberry What’s the best makeup or skincare tip you’ve picked up on set? Exfoliating my lips. That’s something I didn’t do enough of; sometimes when I’m on set, we use wipes with a somewhat rougher texture before we put anything on my lips. What’s your ideal spa day and where? I found this place recently called Beaverbrook in Surrey, just outside of London. In December, I just needed to get out of my house, I needed a spa break, I needed a massage, I needed to be in a hotel, I just needed something. It’s kind of a big deal spa, which I didn’t know, but I got a room after someone else’s cancellation. It was really nice—it’s in the countryside and it was raining the whole weekend, so I felt like I was in Wuthering Heights. I looked out onto the fields watching the rain, and just felt so British. Is going to the spa your favorite form of self-care? I take more care of my mind than my body—what’s sometimes good for the soul isn’t always good for your body. I’m self-indulgent, and the biggest thing that feeds me is doing something spontaneously. The idea that I can just pick up and do something that I want to do is what gratifies me the most. That could be taking the day, canceling a bunch of meetings to remind myself that I’m in control of my life. More times, it’s going out to a restaurant and eating something obscene. You know in Parks and Recreation when they’re like, “Treat yourself”? That’s my life. I really love a beautiful meal, and there’s something so opulent about being waited on in some form and having someone else make your food. We only include products that have been independently selected by W's editorial team. However, we may receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article. beauty tips: Shygirl Talks ‘BDE’ With Slowthai, Skincare, and Opulent Meals, Shygirl Talks ‘BDE’ With Slowthai, Skincare, and Opulent Meals, Shygirl Talks ‘BDE’ With Slowthai, Skincare, and Opulent Meals, Read the full article

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tfenvs3000 · 4 years ago

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Plants that Eat Insects

One part of the plant world that has always amazed me is carnivorous plants. Their very existence seems to me to be such a violation of nature’s laws! They are PLANTS that consume INSECTS, something which differentiates them from the other 99.9% of the plants on earth (which undergo the typical photosynthesis energy acquisition pathway). In this blog post, I’ve decided to go over a few common carnivorous plant species and share some knowledge about what they do and why!

The “flagship” carnivorous plant is, of course, the wonderful Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula). The venus flytrap is different from other carnivorous plants because it is the only one that physically moves to properly capture its prey! Interestingly, it is not known exactly how this happens - but it may be that electrical currents flowing through the plant’s cellular structure are activated after an insect comes into contact with the plant’s “trigger hairs”, which allows it to close up (Eden Project, n.d.).

(A venus flytrap. Thank goodness there aren’t human-sized ones like there are in Mario! Image from: Tom’s Carnivores)

Another well-known carnivorous plant is the tropical pitcher plant (Nepenthes). This plant is essentially our equivalent to a bottomless pit with litres upon litres of chocolate milkshake at the bottom. It contains a sweet liquid that attracts the insects, who then fall into the pit of doom and drown after being unable to escape. The prey is then digested, and the plant consumes the nutrients that come from it (The Eden Project, n.d.). Freaky!

(A tropical pitcher plant. As you can see, they hang suspended from vines - so groundborne insects are far less at risk for falling into this tasty trap. Image from: The Eden Project)

Finally, the “living flypaper” of the natural world, Sundew (Drosera). This plant has tentacle-like leaves that are covered in sticky spines. These spines give off a sweet scent that attracts insects, which are then slowly broken down and digested by the plant after they become stuck. (Palomar, n.d.)

(The Sundew plant, and its tentacle-like leaves. They look almost like tiny hairbrushes! Image from: W.P. Armstrong)

There are so many weird and wacky carnivorous plants out there, each with a different method of attracting and consuming insects, that I could spend multiple days going over every one (and honestly I wouldn’t mind doing so - they’re so interesting!). However, to wrap up today’s post, I think it would be interesting to look at the evolutionary basis of carnivorous plants. Why are they the way that they are?

Well, plants like this often evolved in nutrient-poor environments, so they evolved this method of capturing enough nutrients to sustain their biological processes (Smithsonian Insider, 2015). In these areas, there was very little competition because of the poor growing conditions - so it was an optimal scenario for adaptation to occur and for these very unique plant species to evolve!

This is just one example of the unbelievable diversity of different plant and animal species within our environments. One might not think much about the “why” behind why different species are the way that they are in nature - but I think it’s important to do so, so that we can develop a better appreciation for what we are observing and more fully understand the mechanisms by which they survive. As George Harzog put it: “Interpreters seek to add the essential elements of heightened appreciation, deeper understanding, and new ways of seeing the world” (Beck et al., 2018). Hopefully, I was able to do that for you today with regards to carnivorous plants!

All the best,

References:

Barrat, J. (2018, January 18). How Carnivorous Plants avoid eating their pollinating insect friends. Smithsonian Insider. https://insider.si.edu/2015/06/how-carnivorous-plants-avoid-eating-their-pollinating-insect-friends/

Bennet, T. (2017, April 26). FAQ: What should I feed my Venus flytrap? Tom’s Carnivores. https://www.carnivorousplants.co.uk/blog/what-should-i-feed-my-venus-flytrap/

Carnivorous Plants. (n.d.). Palomar. https://www2.palomar.edu/users/warmstrong/carnivor.htm#sundew

Carnivorous plants facts. (2020, April 3). Eden Project. https://www.edenproject.com/learn/for-everyone/carnivorous-plants-facts

Beck, L., Cable, T., & Knudson, D. (2018). Interpreting cultural and natural heritage for a better world. Sagamore-Venture Publishing.

#nature #plants

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newandfiguringitout · 5 years ago

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May 1st Anchor

So This is my contribution to the May writing Challenge, I hope to do them every day but bear with me. Also the only knowledge of ships and pirates comes from Pirates of the Caribbean so expect wrong terminology. I am also not the best at writing and such so don’t expect much. The keep reading thing is just to shorten it.

Content Warning: Disassociation, bruises, kidnapped, unconventional restraints, pirates in general, dehydration, swearing

They tied him to the anchor, to the FUCKING anchor, to keep him out of the way after the second time he escaped the pirate’s brig. It had been oh so easy to pick those locks, the cheap kind with only a few tumblers, the one on the door had been even easier than the shackles. After that it had just been a matter of avoiding crew members until somebody decides - hey I'm gonna go check on that prisoner we got locked up - the bright fucker then had raised the alarm and everyone had gone on a manhunt for the stowaway.

That was how he had ended up here, tied to the anchor, over the side of the Death’s Courage. Pretty name for a ship, especially suitable for a pirate ship.

The edge of the anchor wasn’t sharp, so he had that to be grateful for, but it dug painfully into his back in a way that was slowly driving him to the brink of madness. The whole situation was not made better by the fact that the sun existed. Well, the sun is important to everything, but it’s current presence beating down on him and blinding him, was not exactly a warm and fuzzy feeling. But it was warm and fuzzy. It was so fucking hot, and his head felt like it had been stuffed with an expensive wool. Wool that could be doing anything else, the wool could be some cape for some monarch or it could keep a sheep warm. But no, it was too busy stuffing his head. All that potential wasted on making him miserable.

Deep down he knew his thoughts were being stupid and made no sense, but he was content to complain into his brain and let his thoughts drift. Silencing the irrational thoughts took too much effort. So he let himself drift and think of funny and stupid ways to put words together.

Anything to distract him from the figuratively bruising headache and the literal bruising that would form in rings around his wrists and chest. He couldn’t blame the pirates for tying his hands behind the anchor before wrapping him in ropes, but damn it hurt. It wasn’t even the cut and dry hurt of a knife, it was a silent ache that screamed for attention it didn’t deserve but somehow still got.

He winced as the boat rocked and the pressure on his back increased. He’d have bruises there tomorrow, but couldn’t bring himself to care yet. He could care when he turned his brain back on.

The pirates had the anchor lashed to the side of the ship and it rested on wooden supports where it could be pushed into the water with little effort. He tried not to think about how easy it would be for them to just shove it into the sea. It would go down fast, only stopping when it reaches the very bottom. It would drag him down and down and down until the water pressure alone would kill him.

“Havin’ fun down there?” The prisoner spared a glance up at the pirate, the man had a face, that much he could tell through bleary eyes, so he could only guess at the man’s expression.

He sent a wary glance at the sea before his eyes shot back up at the man, “The time of my life.” He had tried to cast the comment with his usual care-free tone, but had ended up betraying a smidgen of his misery. He was thirsty, hungry, his legs were cramping, headache pounding at his skull, eyes burning not to mention the thousand other pains that came with being tied to an anchor. In short, this was one of the worst brigs he’s ever been in. How long had he been out here, baked by the sun, chilled by the water and overall exhausted to the bone.

He supposed that was the point of tying someone to an anchor.

“Captain figured you should be fed, lest ye waste away.” He knew that sounded too good to not have a dagger hiding behind those words. But he couldn’t help the growl of his stomach at the thought of food. When was the last time he had eaten?

The pirate disappeared behind the railing of the boat, and he had expected for them to free him so he could feed himself. But no movement came from the heavy chain and the pirate didn’t come back

He craned his neck to try and see what they intended to do to him. Just as he began to think they had been toying with him, he saw a flash of movement over the rail.

“Just a moment sir,” a young voice called, very different from the grizzled pirate he’d seen before. A small head peeked over the side of the rail and gave him a cheeky grin. The boy couldn’t have been more than twelve, the child ducked out of sight and began to climb over the rail, down toward the prisoner. A rope had been fastened around his waist and woven between his legs to make a harness of sorts, some slack had been dropped over the side and he lowered himself down using both hands. Hanging from his belt were a couple of flasks and a canteen.

Surprised and more than a little awed, the young man watched with fascination as the boy lowered himself and tied off the slack at the top of the anchor. Then climbed down to be standing barefoot on one of the three arms of the anchor. The child had ebony skin, short, curly hair and wore a smile bigger than his over-sized tunic. He stood in a ta-da pose with his arms raised above his head and balancing on the metal.

His expression must have looked funny, because the kid burst out laughing.

He was nearly at a loss for words, but figured he should start the conversation,“I would applaud but,” he nodded at his torso, wrapped in rope, “I’m a little tied up at the moment.”

The truly terrible pun earned him a snort from the kid who moved closer, to a more balanced place on the metal contraption.

“Name’s Rig.” the kid reached for one of his flasks and carefully undid it from his belt, apparently unbothered by the swaying of the ship. “But you can calls me Riggs or Riggy.”

“Dalton,” the prisoner replied, eyeing the flask in the kid's hand with keen interest.

“I brought you some water and some porridge. Porridge is more water than porridge though, had to get it to flow out of the flask you see so I put some water in there.”

Dalton tried to swallow, but it was made difficult by the dryness in his throat. The kid kept grinning and let the stopper hang off the neck of the flask, bringing it to the captive’s lips. Dalton drank the lukewarm water greedily, trying to drink away the salty taste in his mouth. Riggy pulled the water away and Dalton tried to follow it with his mouth.

“Not so fast sir, you’ll get sick,” he said the last half as if sharing a secret, low whisper and wide eyed. The moment only lasted a few brief seconds before the kid, Riggy, broke the stoic silence with a toothy grin. “I got you some porridge too sir,” he stopped the flask and returned it to his belt where he pulled out a slightly smaller one.

“Ole’ Gin makes the best porridge, all thick and creamy, but it doesn’t pour right so I watered it down. More like broth than porridge but it’s still porridge sir.” Riggy looked up at Dalton, (despite having gangly limbs the child was short) his eyes searching for .... approval?

Dalton glances down at the flask, hunger at the forefront of his mind. “In my books porridge is porridge, and that right there,” he nodded to the flask, “sounds like a truly splendid meal.”

Rig giggled, a pure and innocent sound, and brought the flask to the captive’s lips. A slightly warm, and significantly diluted, almost bitter tasting sludge flowed smoothly into Dalton’s mouth. He nearly moaned with delight. It was food. Food. Not solid, and definitely not tasty, but it was food.

Rig fed him the porridge slowly, at Dalton’s request. He didn’t want to put too much in just to have it all come right back out. During the entire time Rig talked.

“I’m called Rigs because I can climb all over the rigging and ropes over the whole ship. I’ve climbed to the top a the main mast from the poop deck without touching a plank of wood, 14 times. None of the others in the crew can say that cause they’ve never done it. I also know all of the knots Dannon knows and I’m trying to get Jimi Bones to teach me his. The knots he ties don’t come out even in the worst weather and nobody can untie ‘em, or at least figure out how to.” The boy could talk the beak off a parrot that's for sure, it was almost a surprise he wasn’t named Parriot or some equally witty and comical name.

Dalton didn’t mind though. It was endearing watching the boy’s eyes light up as he described exactly how to get ‘Ole Gin to give the best rations or give descriptions of the sea battles they’d witnessed.

It was quite good fun to listen to his stories that only needed marginal prompting, and Dalton was exceedingly grateful that he didn’t have to contribute anything to the conversation. The metal still cut into his back, and his eyes still burned from the saltwater, but he had food in him and was now being given water liberally from the flask. The canteen hadn’t been unscrewed and it seemed they were both alright with that, Dalton didn’t care to drink unless it was to get drunk so he was content to listen to Rig’s tales.

Suddenly Rig goes quiet, he glances around at the open ocean before leaning in close and whispering, “you ever hear of mermaids?” The boy’s dark eyes were wide and completely serious in a way that made it very clear the question was not rhetorical.

“Heard of them? Yes.” Dalton answered slowly, in a far too hushed tone, “But I have never laid eyes on one.” he had purposely left the conversational mermaid door open for Rig to gush about but the lad went disturbingly silent.

“What have you heard?” The question was so open and almost urgent, that it worried Dalton.

“Bits and pieces of lore,” he answered carefully, “half of it probably false.” He almost stopped there, but those wide eyes were staring up at him with curiosity so intense he continued. “I’ve heard that they lure men to their deaths with a ghostly song,” Rig’s eyes widened in fear, “but mermaids don’t do that, Sirens do.” the boy seemed to deflate with relief at the assurance.

“What else do you know?”

Dalton paused, this was a very unusual turn of the conversation, but the boy’s intensity slightly frightened him so he continued. “I’ve heard that they are not born half human, but are the souls of women thrown overboard or who died at sea. That they seek revenge against those who had wronged and killed them. I’ve heard that they have the beauty of an angel and that their song is the most lovely ever heard by human ears, and that their kiss will save a man from drowning. But I’ve only heard this, over rumor or myth, I wouldn’t count it to be true but there is no way to be certain what is true and what are the fancies of a bard.” Rig had stayed ghostly silent, listening intently to the words Dalton spoke.

After a period of silence, Rig asked, “so you believe in them?”

“I would never say they were fable, but I wouldn’t go telling the world about them lest I see one with my own eyes.” He had said it in a way to treat it as a light hearted life lesson, ‘never believe something till you see it yourself’ type of thing, but it came off with far too much foreboding.

Rig didn’t seem to notice and began speaking quietly, “I’ve heard that Jude Hewitt saw one,” he leaned in closer, “near Remsall Bay. Swimming like a dolphin, inky black hair flowing after her. Jyll Gold said he saw seaweed, until she saw it too. Said she’d never forget the hateful eyes that she swore were filled with the void itself.” Rig nodded all too solemnly before continuing. “They say that you don’t see them first, you hear ‘em, a voice so angelic you think you’ve died. The kind of voice you would follow into hell or a reaf. The kind of voice that kills you. The first thing you see is the hair. It billows around them like seaweed, you just see little tufts of color, floating like oil stains on the sea. Then they say, they bring their heads just above water. All you can see is the face of a goddess with hair flowing around them.” He paused. “That’s when the crew starts going overboard.” A haunted look crosses their face.

It is gone in a flash of a grin across their dark skin. Dalton couldn’t help but return it with his own toothy smile. Even if the smile felt far too fake.

“I best be off then,” Rig stands from where he had been sitting on one of the arms, “best of luck to ye sir.” He tilts his invisible hat to Dalton, and begins climbing up the ropes with a practiced grace.

“Just call me Dalton,” he called after him.

Rig turned back to look at the man, “Will do Sir Dalton.” The captive let out a joyless laugh as the boy disappeared onto the deck.

Dalton turned back to stare into the sea, Rig’s words stayed with him as his eyes wandered over the rolling waves. Mermaids staying far too long in his mind.

#disassociation: tw #dehydration: tw #mentions of death #whump #whumpblr #writing challenge for may #WaterWhump2020 #ww-no.1 #anchor #unconventional restraint #Pirates #idk much about ships #or water #so expect innacuracy #I plan to continue this throughout may #but I might not #sorry for any grammar or spelling mistakes

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everstarry · 5 years ago

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chapter two: the bluebell

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Althea found waking up to be easier than she expected. She woke to the smell of cinnamon. The young woman stretched in her bed under the soft linen. She arched her back and curled her toes, flopping back down onto her bed with a small huff. It made her think of a little black cat that frequented the halls of her old home. Remi used to chase it out but it always somehow managed to find a way in. Althea wondered if it missed her as much as she missed him. All she could think about were the times where she used to sneak scraps of her breakfast to the kitten. Or how she sometimes found him playing in the flowerbeds of her garden. She smiled at the fond memories of the little creature. Althea knew she couldn’t think of the kitten all day. She would eventually have to get up. She yawned and sat up, eyes blinking blearily around her suite.

“Good morning,” Remi called from the lounge area. She must’ve heard her begin to stir.

Althea looked toward her friend’s voice before getting up and walking to the table area. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the spread of fruits, honey, and bread that decorated the top of the wood. “Did I wake up late?” she asked, popping a grape into her mouth before facing Remi.

“Not any later than usual,” Remi stood to greet her even though Althea told her time and time again not to bother. She didn’t like that whenever she entered the room Remi felt the need to stop whatever she was doing just to let Althea know she was aware of her presence. Old habits die hard and Remi’s old master was strict. “I was told to let you sleep in case you were deprived of it during the journey.”

Althea turned to the spread again and picked up a piece of the cut up strawberries that laid in a pile. “Told by who?” she asked curiously, popping one in her mouth. The red fruit was sweet on her tongue. She motioned for Remi to sit back down, grabbing for a few more pieces of the fruit.

“Cara, who was most definitely told by King Mando.” She could hear the grin in her friend’s voice as she got comfortable again. “You woke up on time anyway,” Remi pointed out. Althea was used to waking up early to tend to her garden.

“You should try the bread,” Remi urged, “It’s pretty tasty.”

Althea looked at the knife beside the loaf of uncut bread before looking at her friend. “You already had breakfast?” she asked. There was no other reason for her friend to know what the uncut food tasted like otherwise. She nearly sighed at herself for not picking up that fact earlier. “Earlier, I mean,” she corrected herself.

Remi nodded, “I went to the kitchen and it was prepared for me there.” Althea cut two slices and slathered them in honey. She walked over and handed her friend the other piece before settling down in the seat next to her. Remi took the bread with grateful eyes.

Althea knew breakfasts fed to the servants were nothing more than essentials which meant that Remi was probably just given a piece. Althea jokingly nudged her piece of bread with Remi’s in a sort of toast. Her friend grinned at her and repeated her action. “To us,” she said excitedly.

“To us,” Althea exclaimed and bit into her piece of bread. Remi was right, it was a little slice of paradise. The cinnamon and honey created a lovely savory flavor. She wondered if it was served everyday or just on special occasions. It was odd to refer to her arrival as a special occasion, the young princess didn’t believe she was all that special.

“Even better the second time,” Remi joked before taking another bite. Althea laughed, covering her mouth with the back of her free hand. She wouldn’t mind if she could spend her every morning like this. She felt happy and at peace, it was such a beautiful feeling. She thought of her marriage again and wondered if this would be her permanent residence or if she would share a room with her husband. Just the thought of waking up with the Mandalorian sent a sort of shock through her body.

She realized she hadn’t said anything for a few minutes and Remi had already finished her piece and was staring at her curiously. “Promise me,” Althea looked to Remi, “That if you are ever hungry or just want more of something you will take it from the plentiful spread they give me.”

“I couldn’t–” Remi started but Althea shushed her by feeding her a bite of her own bread. Remi began to chew which let Althea talk.

“You always go above and beyond for me. It’s the least I could do. There is no way I can finish all this food by myself anyway,” she shrugged, finishing her bread as she said it. Althea would rather share anyway, knowing that if she didn’t finish sometimes the food was wasted.

“You’re too sweet,” Remi pinched her cheek playfully between her thumb and index finger. “Then you won’t mind me helping myself to another piece of bread then?”

Althea smiled, holding her cheek, “Not as long as you get me another piece with just as much honey as my last one.”

“Of course,” Remi got right to it. She relaxed into the cushioned chair as Remi hummed a soft tune. If she closed her eyes she could almost imagine being back home in Saneca. Her new room and her old room tended to blend when she thought of home now. She supposed it was constantly correcting herself, reminding herself that this was home now. That although she could go back she was nothing more than a visitor now.

“How do you feel about exploring the garden later?” she asked, looking down at her hands.

Remi continued to spread honey on a piece of bread for her, “Didn’t we already do that?” she teased.

Althea turned to look at her with a slight pout, “It’s not the same in the dark,” she explained. “I need to see it in the day time to see where the sun is the best and–”

“I know,” Remi turned and held out the bread for her. Althea took it, swiping her thumb across the edge of bread to gather up some honey. She licked her finger and savored the sugary substance. “You want to go talk to Kuiil about planting your marigolds.”

“Guilty,” Althea said quietly but knew her friend would still hear her. “I can’t remember if I saw any last night. Plus, he was so frazzled about me knowing so much about all the flowers he wanted to show me.”

Remi sat next to her and began to eat her own bread. Her friend had piled her piece with a bunch of fruits. Remi hummed when she took her first bite. “I wouldn’t mind going down to the garden,” she brushed a few crumbs off her dress. “It’s not like we have all that much to do.”

Althea agreed. Back home she would often spend the day with her sisters. She supposed the only thing she had to do was to write to them. “When do you think the wedding will be?” The thought of the ceremony seemed to set her nerves ablaze. The longer she thought about the more nervous she became. Althea barely knew the Mandalorian king and she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with him.

“Soon,” Remi shrugged. “From what I heard you’re the only one for him.” Althea blushed crimson as Remi laughed. “I meant that you’re the only woman who has entered or was interested in an engagement with him. He’s going to want to marry you as fast as he can. Gotta make sure you don’t run away,” she grinned.

“I wouldn’t,” Althea made a face as she imagined the Mandalorian standing alone in the castle. For some reason it made her very sad.

Remi made a humming sound as she looked at her friend. “Because you like him or because you don’t want to back out of the deal?” Her blue eyes gleamed mischievously.

“It’s not like I don’t like him but my father needs the extra armies,” Althea tasted the words as she uttered them. It didn’t feel right in her mouth. It felt like something she wouldn’t say. “I was promised to him so I’m not going to back out,” she said finally.

“Even if he offered to break off the engagement?” Remi asked. “I mean maybe you have a thing for armor and a nice voice…” she trailed off.

“He does have a nice voice though,” Althea conceded with a small laugh. There was a moment of silence where Remi just blinked at her but then she burst out laughing.

“I didn’t think you would agree,” she grinned. “I’m kind of glad that you did. Now I can tease you with it.”

Althea groaned playfully. “I’m going to get dressed,” she said, changing the subject. She stood up and made her way to her wardrobe.

“Do you need help?” Remi asked, looking at Althea’s back as she rocked back and forth on her feet.

“Yes,” she said picking a blue gown. Althea knew that she needed to pick a gown that was made of a lighter material and that wouldn’t show dirt or grass stains if she decided to help Kuiil. Remi took the dress from her hands and off the hanger as Althea stripped from her nightgown. The blue dress had shorter sleeves than her other dresses. Remi soothed out her sleeves before tying the dress in the back. “Thank you,” she said as Remi crouched down to help her with her shoes.

“You’re welcome,” her friend stepped aside as Althea began brushing her hair. “To answer your other question, I wouldn’t.” She pulled a few pieces of her hair back so they wouldn’t get in the way later.

“Wouldn’t what?” Remi gave her another pin for her hair.

“I wouldn’t break off the engagement even if he told me I could,” she said simply, looking herself over in the mirror.

“Why?” Remi asked softly behind her.

She turned slightly to look at her friend. “There could be worse people to be married to.”

“You don’t even know him,” her maid said solemnly. There was something in her voice that made Althea realize that Remi was concerned. That she was worried about her princess. It gave her a glimpse into her friend’s thoughts. Althea was glad, Remi was always reluctant to sharing her worries with anyone.

“Yet,” Althea paused to brush her hand against the back of her friend’s, “I feel like I do.” She was trying her best to comfort her. “I don’t know what it is but I saw him and I just… I felt like pieces of myself—some I didn’t even know existed—fell into place,” Althea smiled.

Remi still looked skeptical. “You didn’t want to be married to him the entire journey here and suddenly, he says five words to you and you’re swooning?”

“I couldn’t explain it even if I tried. Maybe we are made of the same cosmic dust,” she met her own eyes in the mirror and gave herself a small smile. “It’s going to be okay,” Althea promised. “I’m going to be okay,” she added, knowing that was what her friend wanted to hear the most.

Remi let out a little sigh. Althea didn’t expect her to understand when she barely understood herself. “Okay,” she relented. “Are we going to go to the garden or what?”

They took their time on the walk over so they could explore a bit more of the castle. Althea wanted to look at the tapestries and carpets and all the things she missed out on when Cara took them up to their room for the first time. Kuiil met them at the entrance almost as if he expected her to return. “Good morning, princess,” he greeted with a slight bow.

Althea smiled at him, “Good morning,” she replied. “I’m sorry for dropping by so unexpectedly,” she apologized.

“I’d figured you’d want to see the flowers and other plants during the day with how much you were enthralled with them last night,” Kuiil smiled bashfully, straightening his posture as if he was pleased she loved the garden.

“I think she enjoyed being out here more than she enjoyed the actual feast,” Remi teased while Althea laughed.

“I was wondering if you could point me to your marigolds,” she inquired. “That is if you have any,” she added, not wanting to make the royal gardener upset if he didn’t.

“I’m not sure if we do,” he replied honestly, ushering them down the many rows and flowerbeds. She admired all of the plants as she passed. “I think we have some violets and pansies,” he mentioned offhandedly.

“If it’s not too much to ask,” Althea began shyly, “I was wondering if you had any empty spaces or if you could tell me where in the castle I would be able to garden?” she asked.

“I think we can arrange for your flowers to be added to the garden. I think the gesture of your flowers joining our garden is symbolic,” the gardener nodded to himself.

“I wouldn’t want to impose,” Althea shook her head. “Besides, I don’t even have the seeds with me.”

“Nonsense,” Kuiil began. “I have spoken.” He nodded to himself again. “I’ll even let you pick the spot.”

Remi smiled, “I’ll go grab the seeds.”

“Perfect,” Kuiil began walking. “There’s a few spots that I think would be perfect,” he turned to look at her, “Come along,” he motioned for her to follow him.

“I’ll be back soon,” Remi promised before leaving the garden to get the flower seeds.

“If you tell me how often they need to be watered or taken care of I can gladly help,” Kuiil began, ushering her to one sparse spot in the garden.

“I couldn’t ask that of you. I’ll take care of them,” she smiled. Having a small garden to take care of would allow her a taste of her home. She needed to be back in a garden to feel like herself again. “Besides, I love taking care of flowers,” she explained.

“If those are not enough to satisfy your need of gardening, maybe you can help with the other plants found in the garden,” Kuiil softly touched the leaves of the flowering plants next to them.

“I would be honored.” Althea felt her heart swell at the thought of helping the older man in the garden. She looked over the spot where Kuiil had taken care of her but felt like she needed a bit more sun. “Is there any spot that has full sun?” she asked.

“I have some by the bluebells,” he motioned for her to walk with him. “If you want to find it, I’ll grab some supplies for you.”

“Thank you,” she said gratefully. “I’ll meet you there.” When Kuiil had left, Althea made her way to where the vibrant blue flowers were planted. She crouched down to look at the soil and the spot where she thought the gardener meant. It was a perfect spot and she knew that the gold would compliment the blue of the flower planted next to it.

Althea looked at the small weeds sprouting from the rich soil and began to pluck them. As the first smear of dirt appeared on her hand she felt herself smile. She held onto the small weeds as she continued to get the spot ready for her first addition to the royal garden. The young princess set down her small pile of weeds and kneeled down to get more comfortable while she worked. She leaned over to start working on the bluebells, picking the flowers that looked like they were beginning to droop and the weeds that tried to overtake the soil.

“Do you not like them?” She nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the Mandalorian’s voice. Althea nearly fell back in shock when she turned and saw him standing behind her. She wiped her hands free of the dirt that clung to them and hurried to stand.

“Oh no, these are beautiful!” she exclaimed. “I was just helping, cleaning it up so it could bloom fuller as the season continues,” Althea blushed, embarrassed that he caught while she was so disheveled. He didn’t seem to mind her state as he bent down to pick up one of the delicate flowers she had plucked from the plant.

“Cara told me that I would probably find you here and that you liked flowers.” His voice was honey smooth and she wanted more than anything to hear more of it, more of him.

“Yes,” she replied breathlessly. “Kuiil is letting me plant some of the seeds I brought with me… I hope that’s okay with you,” she added timidly. Althea looked him over and wondered if he was hot in the dark clothing and armor. The sun was shining bright, she could feel the heat as it settled over her. Though, there was a slight breeze that gently swayed his cape.

“If I would have known you were coming I would have prepared the garden for you,” the Mandalorian admitted. Althea found she nearly closed her eyes to savor his words. They seemed to cover her exposed skin in a way that made her yearn for more.

“Thank you, my king,” she breathed, bowing her head slightly. “But your garden is already beautiful.” She meant it. The garden at Saneca wasn’t as big as the one before her and she found that she was in awe at the number of flowers that covered the land.

The Mandalorian seemed to want to say something but refrained from doing so. “Has everything been to your liking?” he asked finally, something close to concern dripping from his voice.

“Perfect,” she smiled, clasping her hand behind her back as she swayed slightly. “Is there anything you need me to do?” Althea asked, wanting more than anything to be helpful.

“No,” he started and then sighed, “Yes.” Althea gave him a confused look. “The Queen Mother wants to speak with you,” he explained. She picked up the disdain in his voice.

“Your mother?” she asked, hands falling to her side as her heart dropped to her stomach. He seemed to wince at the question, as if those two words had burned him.

“Sort of,” he twirled the stem of the flower in his gloved hands. “I think it’s about our wedding,” he added, sounding at least a bit more hopeful. The way he said ‘our’ made her heart skip a beat.

“I was expecting that,” Althea laughed softly, trying to put him at ease. It seemed like the Queen Mother was a touchy subject. “I have some ideas about what I wanted but I wanted to make sure those were okay with you,” she paused, trying desperately to gage his reaction when he realized that she wanted to please him more than anything. The young princess also wasn’t sure if there was traditions that she needed to abide by. “But I’m sure she’ll help guide me through some of the tougher decisions.”

There was huff of air that came from the helmet wearing man, she wondered if it was a laugh that escaped him. “Don’t let her bully you into anything you don’t want to do, Althea.” The way he said her name made her shiver. She wondered if he noticed. “I hate thinking that someone like her would take advantage of you,” his voice was soft again which made her cheeks dust with a rosy pink.

She held out her pinky before she could stop herself. “I pinky promise,” she heard herself say.

“Pinky promise?” he asked, helmet tilting to the side. The rasp in his voice was still there even with the teasing question.

“As in, I promise I won’t let her walk all over me,” Althea mumbled, somewhat embarrassed that she still held out her little finger to him. Even though her sisters told her to never mumble, even though she only pinky promised her brothers when she was much younger than she was now. “I’m sorr–”

The Mandalorian suddenly wrapped his pinky finger around hers. It was awkward because of his glove but he gripped her finger tight in his own. “It’s a promise then,” he breathed out.

“Promise,” she agreed with a smile. Althea leaned down to kiss her thumbnail, his finger seemed to tighten around hers and his eyes followed her every move. She found that she enjoyed being watched by him. She leaned away.

The Mandalorian cleared his throat. “Please don’t feel the need to apologize to me,” he began. “There was no need.”

Althea hummed. “What if I do something awful or I mess up?” she asked. “Then I would need to apologize to you,” she teased.

“There is nothing you could do that I would ever think warrants your apology.” For some reason, his words made her sad. It made her think that he thought he didn’t deserve any of her grief or sorrow. All she could see was the lonely Mandalorian in his dark castle. He let her pinky go and the distance between them seemed to grow. Althea wanted to reach out just to hold on to him, just so he wouldn’t slip away. “I told the Queen Mother that you were busy today but that only means she’ll said someone to fetch you in the morning,” he said. King again, almost not the person she was just talking to.

“Okay.” She fought to keep the frown from forming on her face. Althea didn’t want him to know just how sad that had made her. She wanted to protect him from her own feelings.

Silence filled the space between them, and the Mandalorian king looked down. He stretched out his hand to offer her the wilting bluebell. Althea noticed a slight tremble in his gloved fingers. She looked at him but found it was impossible to tell where he was looking, if he was even looking at her at all. “It goes with your dress,” he said simply.

She weakly smiled, “Thank you.” Althea took the flower from his hand as if he offered her something precious, in a way he did.

taglist: @munted-llama @bittersweetamor

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