#adventures in crate digging

[rollinouttahere-writes]

And You'll No Longer Burn

Sanji x Fem Reader

6.1k words

Summary: Following the destruction of Germa Kingdom, the pirate crew you're part of is able to locate part of the remains of it in hopes of finding treasure. Instead of treasure, you are shocked to find a survivor among the ruins.

Warnings: takes place in an AU, reader is female but it's more so implied than anything tbh, graphic depictions of death and gore, insects, starvation, Sanji and reader are both teens in this, nothing romantic here this is purely platonic, spoilers from the wci arc

A little fic I made for Sanji's birthday this year. It's based on an AU I've had on my mind lately. This is definitely something I'm going to be adding onto and fleshing out more later.

If there’s one thing that you never tire of, it’s the air of adventure right before your ship hits land. The chattering of excitement as the island slowly comes into view, the way your fellow crewmates bustle around you as they prepare everything they would need, the fluttering in your heart as you think about what new discoveries await you. All of it is intoxicating and addictive.

“Land ho!”

A pang of thrill shoots through you as one of those things you love happens. You spring up from where you were sitting by the bow to look out at the approaching land. Well, you suppose it’s not really land. Germa Kingdom had been comprised of a series of platforms carried on the backs of massive snails. You dig out the telescope from the bag you had been packing and use it to get a better look since it was still too far out for the naked eye to see clearly.

When it comes into focus, the first thing that you notice is that you can’t see the snails supporting the platforms, which was admittedly a little disappointing. You can’t be sure if they’re beneath the water because that’s normal for them, or if they sank below the surface because they’re all dead.

“Alright everyone, listen up!”

The booming voice of the ship’s captain startles you and almost results in dropping the telescope overboard. You fumble with it for a moment as it bounces between your hands, then finally catch it. You sigh in relief, then quickly turn around to face your captain properly as he speaks.

Zeff moves to the center of the ship and does a quick look around to ensure that he has his crew’s attention before continuing, “We’re getting close now to part of the remains of Germa Kingdom. When we get there, all of you are to disperse and check the ruins for treasure or anything useful that might be left. Understood?”

A chorus of “yes, captain” echoes around the ship before everyone resumes their previous duties. Zeff, seemingly satisfied, nods and goes on the move again. This time headed straight for you. His feet create dull thuds as he makes his way to the bow, then stops and sits down on a nearby crate, crossing his arms as he stares at you.

His eyes flit down to your rucksack, eyebrows raised, and he looks back up at you, “You planning on parting ways here? You’ve got everything but the kitchen sink in that thing.” One of his feet hooks a strap and drags it closer so he can rifle through it.

You groan in annoyance and grab the other strap, trying to pull it back, “Dad! I just like to be prepared. Stop messing with my stuff, it took forever to make it all fit.” Your attempts to retrieve your bag are absolutely useless, Zeff’s leg doesn’t even budge as he starts pulling things out and dropping them on the deck.

A sleeping bag, some firestarter, and a first-aid kit are all discarded by him. With some effort, he manages to pull out a small skillet you crammed in there. He pinches the bridge of his nose and gives you a look, “You do know that we’re only going to be here for a couple of hours at most and not several weeks, right?”

“I already told you. I just want to be prepared for anything that might happen. What if one of the platforms comes loose and drifts away when I’m on it?”

Zeff heaves a sigh and rests his arm on the railing of the ship, then props his chin up on his fist. “If that happens, we’ll follow it and get you back. You won’t be lost at sea for more than a few minutes. You definitely won’t need to be starting a fire or taking a nap in that timeframe.” 

“Yeah, well,” your eyes glance downward to find something you can give a valid reason for needing. They settle on the first-aid kit, and you confidently look Zeff in the eyes again, “But I could get hurt and need to take care of myself. Or maybe I’ll find a survivor who needs help!”

A dry chuckle slips out of your father, “A survivor? There aren’t any of those after a buster call. It’s honestly a miracle that any of the platforms Germa Kingdom consisted of are still afloat.” Despite his reaction, he does lean down to pick the first-aid kit back up, “But I suppose it isn’t impossible for you to get hurt climbing around the destroyed buildings.”

“See? I-”

Before you can celebrate your perceived victory, he holds up his hand to silence you, “But you still need to unpack most of this. How do you expect to carry anything you find back if your bag is a hairpin away from bursting at the seams?”

“Oh, that’s easy.” You drop down and pull open another compartment, then yank out something, “I packed another bag.”

The bonus bag is snatched out of your hands instantly by a disgruntled Zeff, who then rolls it up and smacks the top of your head with it, “Just empty out the first bag! You’re going to tip over the second you try to put on the first one, much less the second.” He drags a hand down his face and levels you with a glare, “You’re giving me white hairs, you know that?”

You roll your eyes at his baseless accusation, “You’re blond, you can’t even tell if you have any.”

He glowered at you more, not that it did anything to actually intimidate you, “Don’t sass me, you snot-nosed brat.”

This makes you bristle. You put your hands on your hips and stomp your foot, “Ugh! Quit calling me that! I’m fifteen, I’m practically an adult!”

As per usual, your outburst left Zeff entirely unphased, “Only a child would think that being fifteen makes them “practically an adult”. A real adult knows that you’re still a child at that age.”

“Whatever!”

Now Zeff was rolling his eyes. He quietly grumbled under his breath, “Such a damn handful.” He shakes his head as he gets back up to his feet, “You’re lucky that I still keep you around. Now empty out that bag of yours so you’re only carrying what you actually need. I’m going to check before we split up.”

Recognizing that there was no point arguing with him, you sigh dramatically and acquiesce, “Fiiiiine. You win this time.”

His gruff expression breaks as he chuckles, then reaches out to ruffle your hair before walking away. You stick your tongue out at him behind his back as you fix your mussed hair. Your sight falls on your rucksack yet again. Perhaps you did over pack it. A little. 

By the time the purging of your backpack had finished, the Cooking George was right next to the remains of Germa Kingdom. The sails were lowered and a couple of your crewmates leapt onto the platform to tie some ropes to it to keep the ship from drifting off while you all explored. The now much lighter backpack is slung over your shoulders, and you hurry to join everyone else in jumping off the ship and onto “land”.

Once you're standing on the railing, you can't help but stare out in a silent awe of the destruction before you. You've never seen the aftermath of a buster call before, and while you knew it would be bad, you were still surprised by the pure devastation in front of you. Nothing was left intact. There wasn't a single building left standing. The once proud kingdom was nothing more than a desolate pile of rubble. 

But there was something else that caught your eye, a detail that hadn’t been noticeable through your telescope. Dead bodies were everywhere. Most of them were wearing identical uniforms, though there were a handful in your immediate sight wearing different attire. 

A hand grabbing your shoulder snaps you out of your trance, and you would have lost your balance if not for that same hand keeping you steady. 

“Having second thoughts?” Zeff is staring down at you with a neutral expression, neither pushing nor discouraging you. “You can stay here and watch the ship if you want to.”

The question makes you shake your head and meet his stare with one of your own, now filled with a renewed sense of determination. You were a pirate, a Cook Pirate. The last thing you wanted to do was shy away from something just because it was a little off putting. “No, I want to go. I was just surprised… I didn't think it would be this bad. Do you think we'll even find anything here?”

“Hard to say… If the Vinsmoke’s had anything in vaults, that may have survived. And that's me assuming we're the first people here. Every pirate in the area was no doubt looking for any surviving platforms in hopes of finding treasure.”

“The Vinsmoke's?” The name didn't sound familiar to you. Were you supposed to know who they were?

Zeff stared out at the destruction before you, “Never heard of them? That was the family that ruled this kingdom. The head of the family ran this country with an iron fist, but then he got too cocky and gave the Marines a reason to wipe out everything he ever worked for. Now this is all that is left, and with everyone dead, it’s only a matter of time before their whole existence is completely forgotten about.

“But enough about that,” you were abruptly lifted off your feet as Zeff grabbed you by your rucksack and jumped to the platform. It groaned upon impact, but ultimately held strong. You were set back onto your feet, and he gave your bag a shake. “Seems like you actually listened to me for once. Did you remember to pack a lunch for yourself?”

“Sure did. Made it myself.” You make an attempt to start walking so you can explore, but you're brought to a halt because Zeff was still holding onto your backpack. “What’s wrong?”

Before he even answers you, he unzips your bag and starts rummaging through it, “I just want to make sure what you packed is edible.”

You groan in annoyance, “Dad, I know how to cook! Have some faith in me!” You squirm in an attempt to get away, but his strength surpasses yours by a wide margin. 

Entirely unsympathetic to your protest, Zeff pulls out your lunch box and pops the lid off, scrutinizing it. He lets out a quiet ‘tsk’, then snaps it shut before pulling his own out of his bag, “Unacceptable. Here, just take mine.”

“There's nothing wrong with it, you're just being difficult!” Ignoring the one being offered to you, you lunge forward in an attempt to grab your own. 

Zeff easily side steps you and holds it out of reach, “I'm being difficult? That's rich coming from you. Just take the damn thing.”

His attitude makes you huff and cross your arms. “You know, I'm starting to think that the reason you keep swapping our lunches is because you like my food more than your own.”

“Oh, please. Now you're just getting full of yourself,” he rolls his eyes dramatically. Which is precisely what you wanted. 

As soon as his eyes leave you, you leap up and grab your lunchbox. Your feet hit the ground, and you immediately break into a sprint, running in a random direction. You can't help but laugh when you look over your shoulder and see your dad looking visibly startled. 

“I'll see you later! Love you!” With that said, you return your focus to what's in front of you.

All of the fallen structures makes it hard to decide where to even begin. You slow to a jog as you survey your surroundings, hoping to see something, anything, that sticks out and screams ‘There's treasure over here!’ to you. Alas, it doesn't seem like it's going to be that easy. 

What you were seeing, however, was more of the corpses. You were already able to get a whiff of them from the ship, but now you were in the thick of it. The grotesquely sickly sweet smell of death was assaulting your senses and threatening to make you lose your breakfast, but you managed to keep it down despite the rising bile at the back of your throat. Vomiting would only make this place smell even worse.

Despite knowing that it was a poor idea, your eyes couldn’t help but drift to the dead surrounding you. The bodies were bloated and a white foam was dripping from many of their mouths. Some of them had their organs spilling out, either from the attack or as a result of scavenging wildlife tearing them open. There was also a mix of disembodied limbs scattered all over from the bodies that weren’t able to stay together under the force of the buster call. Both bodies and limbs had insects swarming around them. Your stomach once again threatened to revolt when you saw maggots writhing in the hollowed out eye sockets of a nearby corpse.

You come to a stop after a while in an area where the bodies were more sparse and shrug the rucksack off your shoulders. If Zeff had given chase, he absolutely would have caught up with you by now. Might as well put your lunch away before you drop it and waste the food. That, and frankly you doubted that you would be having anything resembling an appetite before you returned to the ship. And took a long shower. You unzip it and put the meal away, but then you hear something. 

clang clang clang

The noise distracts you from the task at hand, and you pause to listen closely to ensure you aren't just hearing things.

clang clang clang

Okay, you definitely heard that. But exactly was ‘that’? Did one of your crewmates find something? Maybe they were able to uncover one of the vaults Zeff had mentioned. 

Regardless of what it was, it sounded like they needed help with it. You zip your backpack shut and put it back on quickly before hurrying in the direction of the noise. It didn't sound far away. You're pretty sure they're just on the other side of this pile of rubble. 

Climbing it is a little challenging. The crumbling bricks and stones keep shifting under your hands and feet as you scale the pile, but you eventually get to the top and look down. While you hadn't necessarily known what to expect, it certainly wasn't what you saw. 

Someone was at the bottom, but it wasn't anyone from your crew. You lower yourself, pressing your body down against the torched building materials as much as you can to avoid detection as you assess the situation at hand. 

The person- male, it would seem- was sitting down and holding a rock. On his head was what appeared to be an iron helmet that completely obscured his face, at least from your point of view; though you could see what appeared to be blond hair sticking out of the bottom of it. His clothes were torn and burnt, and what you could see of his body wasn't any better. He was covered in injuries from the neck down. Cuts, bruises, and burns littered his skin and left him encapsulated in a sheen of red. His chest is heaving, and you're able to hear his ragged breaths from where you're hiding. Then he raises the rock and brings it down on the front part of his helmet. He does this over and over again, seemingly trying to break it.

Was this… a survivor? It makes sense considering the severity of his injuries. But how did he survive a buster call? Your dad said that no one ever survived after one of those. But what your dad said doesn't matter right now. This person needs help, and you're going to give it to him. You push yourself up onto your feet and call down to him, “Hey!”

The stranger damn near jumps out of his skin, dropping the rock and scrambling back as his head snaps up to you. You're able to see that there's a slat in the helmet for his eyes, and they're wide and terrified. 

Oh, right. He's clearly been through a lot. Yelling at him probably wasn't your best call. You hold out your arms in a placating manner as you carefully begin making your way down to him. 

“Sorry about that, I didn't mean to scare you. I'm not going to hurt you, okay? I just want to help.” The voice you speak in is much more calm and soft now, but he doesn't look any less scared. You make it to the bottom, stumbling a bit when you make the final leap. 

Now that you're right in front of him, you pick up on a detail you had previously missed. This man was emaciated. It looked like he hadn't eaten in weeks. Looking at his helmet, you think you can surmise why. The slat in it is only wide enough for his eyes. Both his nose and mouth are covered. Even if he could find food in this wasteland, he wouldn't be able to eat it. 

Taking slow, steady steps towards the trembling survivor, you speak to him again, “It is stuck? Your helmet, I mean. Do you want me to help you get it off?”

He shrinks back more, but he responds to your question, “K-Key… I can't find the key.” His voice stuck out to you. He sounded so young. You had assumed him to be a man, but it sounded more like he was a boy.

It needs a key? Your eyes widened at the new information. Finding a key in all of the rubble would be next to impossible, and that's you generously assuming that it wasn't broken. But… you do know how to lock pick a bit. It'd be worth a shot. 

You pull out a bobby pin from your hair and hold it up for him to see. “I know a thing or two about picking a lock. Will you let me try? Please?”

For a moment, all that he does is stare at you, and you're worried that he's going to be too scared to let you help him. But then he nods slowly and turns around, presenting you with the back of his helmet where the keyhole is. 

A sigh of relief escapes you at the cooperation, and you mutter a quiet thank you as you approach him. The plethora of tears and burns in his shirt gives you an all too clear visual of how dire his state is. You can clearly make out every vertebrae in his spine from how underweight he is. The wounds on his back are severe and showing very obvious signs of infection. The sour smell of it makes your face scrunch up and you have to suppress a gag. If it weren’t for the rotting corpses desensitizing your sense of smell, you’re not sure you would have been able to.

What you need to focus on is getting this helmet off, then you can escort him to the ship and pray that doctor Chervil happened to stay behind. You start to jab your hair pin into the lock, hoping that it's simple and will click open easily.

It takes a few tries, but it thankfully unlocks without much hassle. First you hear the click of the lock, then what sounds like a metal plate dropping. The boy's hands jut up and grab the helmet. He hunches over as he frantically tries to pull it off, prompting you to leap into action to help him. You move to be in front of him and hook your fingers under the base of the helmet.

The damned thing is holding onto his head with everything it's got. You're about to leave to run down one of your crewmates to help when it finally gives. It pops off, sending you stumbling back and falling onto your rear. 

Landing ass first onto a bunch of bricks and stones is enough to leave you groaning in pain and needing a moment to collect yourself. By the time you refocus on the matter at hand, the boy is on his knees and hunched over. His hands are threaded through his lengthy, clumped together hair as he rocks himself back and forth. 

Your eyes drop down to the helmet in your hands. What's most striking about it is the weight. It was heavy. Carrying it in your arms would become uncomfortable after a short while. You can't imagine what it would be like to wear it. 

And how long had he been wearing this thing for?

The helmet is tossed away as you get to your feet. You carefully approach the boy, then sit down across from him, close but with a respectful distance. As much as you want to rush him back to the ship, he's so skittish that you're afraid he'll run away if you push too hard. You've already earned at least a little bit of trust from him, you don't want to throw it all away. It's obvious that he won't be able to survive much longer if left alone. 

His rocking stops as soon as you sit down. Through his shaggy hair, you can faintly make out his eyes intently staring at you, watching closely for any indication that he needs to act in the name of self preservation.

Slowly, so as to not spook him, you hold out your hand to him. “I'm (Y/N). What's your name?”

All that you get in response is his prolonged stare flitting between your face and outstretched hand. His own hands remained firmly planted in his hair and showed no signs of returning your friendly gesture. Understandable, you suppose. With everything he has going on, it's not hard to imagine why he might not be paying mind to things like social etiquette. Poor thing is seriously injured and starving. 

Starving…

That's right! You have food on you right now. Your hand is withdrawn and you hastily shrug off your backpack. The quick movement makes the survivor flinch, but you don't stop your movements, instead choosing to sooth him with words.

“It's okay, I'm just getting something for you. You're hungry, right?” The question was entirely rhetoric, but you were talking to fill the silence. The lunchbox is pulled out, and you smile as you crack open the lid and hold it out to him, “Here. It's all yours.”

Despite your words of encouragement, all that he does is stare at it, visibly dumbfounded. After a moment of inaction on his part, you take initiative and pick up the spoon. You scoop up a good-sized bite of food and bring it to his lips, “It's good, I promise. I made it myself.”

Finally, much to your relief, he opens his mouth, allowing you to feed him. The spoon is withdrawn and you focus your attention on getting another mouthful for him.

Soft cries catch your attention, and when you look back, you can see tears running down his face. His head is raised enough that you can finally get a good look at him. Not only did he sound young, he looked it too. Early teens if you had to guess. His sallow face served to emphasize how large and round his blue eyes were, and you could see some patchy attempts at facial hair growing on his chin and upper lip. You also couldn't help but take note of the way his eyebrows were… swirled? That's a first for you. 

He hiccups and lets out a sob, “It's so good…” 

There's a painful pang in your heart at the sight, but you force a smile onto your face while holding out the lunchbox to him again, “Well, there's more where that came from. Please, take it.”

After a moment of hesitation, his shaky hands reach for it, brushing against yours in the process. You keep your hands on it for a second to ensure that he has a good grip on it before relinquishing your hold. Now that you've seemingly gotten through to him, he's enthusiastically wolfing down the meal. You doubt that it'll last more than a minute or two. A part of you questions if giving him this much food is really a good idea given his current state, but your desire to get anything into him overrides that fear.

Movement under his shirt catches your eye and momentarily leaves you simultaneously confused and disturbed. Was he infested with insects like the bodies? But wait, that lump under his shirt is too big to be some bugs. What the hell is that?

Then, a small head pokes out through a hole in his shirt, by the shoulder. It was a small, gray rat. Its nose wiggles as it sniffs the air, then quickly climbs the rest of the way out of his shirt and scurries down the boy’s arm. You’re about to try to smack it off him when you see Sanji stop eating long enough to grab a piece of food, then hand it to the rat. He rubs the top of its head with his finger for a second before resuming his meal.

Is that rat his pet? Must be. You can’t help but be touched by the fact that he was willing to share his food with something most people, yourself included, saw as nothing more than a pest. It makes you feel a little bad for wanting to get rid of it.

While he eats, your mind is running in all directions as you scramble to figure out what to do? A part of you wants to leave him here and bring the help to him due to his weakened state, but you're afraid that you won't be able to find him again if you do. Given the state of this place, everything looks the same. And with the way he's nestled in what is effectively a valley between mounds of destroyed buildings, it would be really hard to spot him. 

Your attention flits back to the survivor. He already finished your lunch and was now licking the container clean. Maybe he'll have the energy to walk with you to the ship now that he has some food in him. It isn't too far away, and you're optimistic that he trusts you enough to agree to follow you. Yeah. That seems like the best course of action. 

With a plan settled on, you nod to yourself and reach down to unclip the canteen on your belt. You unscrew the lid and hold it out to the boy with a smile, “Thirsty?”

The smallest hint of a smile tugs at his lips as he takes it from you, then guzzles the water inside of it. His smile gives you more hope that he'll be willing to cooperate with you. He stops drinking momentarily, then cups his hand and pours a small amount of water into it for the rat who eagerly starts lapping it up.

Making conversation about his pet should help to get him more comfortable with you. “Is that your pet? Does the little guy have a name?” 

His eyes drift down to his companion, a small smile still gracing his lips as he nods. He gently pets the rodent again as he speaks in a soft, albeit scratchy, voice, “Yeah… his name is Choux.”

“That’s a cute name.” You scoot closer and reach out to scratch Choux’s head. The rat allows you to, even leaning into your touch. “He’s so sweet. You must have taken really good care of him.”

“I tried to… He’s all I have.” The somber statement makes your heart ache. You can’t imagine what he’s been through. Not just from surviving a buster call, but whatever he must have endured prior to that. Based off that weird helmet he was wearing when you first saw him, he may have been a prisoner. And if his cell was underground, that could explain how he didn’t perish with everyone else. 

The last thing you want is for his miraculous survival to be in vain. You need to get him some help as soon as possible. Just as you're about to ask him if he felt like he could handle a brief walk, you're interrupted by the sound of some bricks rolling down the pile to your right. 

Your new friend cowers immediately and snaps his head up in the direction that the bricks came from, and his pet scurries back into the safety of his shirt. You follow his gaze, and what you see is the biggest relief.

“Dad! I'm so glad that you're here! I found a survivor and he's hurt real bad! We need to get him back to the ship!” You jump up onto your feet and wave at him as if he can't already see you. 

Zeff is staring down at the two of you with an unreadable expression. Before you can make a move to climb up and tell him everything, the boy latches onto your arm and pulls you down. The move is unexpected enough to make you lose your balance and fall back with a yelp. The second that you're on the ground, his arms wrap around you, pressing you against his chest. 

When you turn your head to look at him, his eyes are wide and his teeth are bared. His posture reminds you of a terrified, cornered animal.

In an attempt to soothe him, you gingerly rub one of his arms, being mindful to not touch the many wounds on it. “Hey, it's okay. That's my dad. He might look tough, but he's nice. I promise,” your voice is low and you try to make it as soothing as possible so as to not rattle his nerves any more than you already have. 

“A survivor? Is that so?” Zeff is slowly making his way down to you, and the boy's hold tightens on you with each step. He scrambles back, dragging you along with him. 

It doesn't take long for Zeff to get to the bottom, and when he does, he effortlessly grabs your arms and wrenches you out of the boy’s grasp. He eyes you up, presumably checking for injuries. His next words confirm that, “Did he do anything to you?”

“No, no! Nothing like that! I found him when I was looking around. He had this helmet,” you point over to where it's laying, “on his head, so I helped him take it off. And then I gave him my lunch since he's starving. Which, might I add, he said was really good.”

“Look at the state of him. He would call dog food gourmet.”

“Be nice!” you swat at Zeff’s arm with a scowl on your face. You shake your head, reminding yourself to stay focused. “Whatever. We need to get him back to the ship. He needs help. Is the doctor still on board?”

Zeff doesn't answer at first, instead choosing to stare down at the boy. The survivor is pressed up against a pile with a rock clutched in his hand, but with how hard he's trembling it's hardly an intimidating display.

“What's your name, kid?”

You're about to admonish Zeff for focusing on such a detail right now, but he holds up his hand to silence you. You heave a sigh, but keep quiet. Admittedly, you are still curious about what the boy's name is since he refused to say it earlier. 

At this question, the boy bristles and shifts uncomfortably. He looks down at the ground and squeezes the rock tighter before quietly muttering, “I… don't have one.”

“Well, we have to call you something.” Zeff examines him, arms crossed and drumming his fingers on his side. You aren't sure if he's trying to think of a name, or if he's hoping that the boy will cave and fess up if he waits long enough. 

You decide to brainstorm a name for him as well. Whether he was being truthful about not having a name or simply didn't want to associate with his old one anymore, you wanted to give him a new one. 

Regrettably, it would seem that every name you've ever heard has evaporated from your brain. You stare hard at the nameless boy, hoping that you'll note something about him that inspires a name. Your gaze settles on his unique eyebrows that you had gawked at earlier, and it hits you. 

“What about Arlette?” 

The swirl of his brows reminded you of the buttery, cinnamon flavored pastry Zeff made with you a while back when you were sailing through a winter climate. You just hope that the boy won't be offended over being named after a dessert. 

Much to your relief, his blue eyes shine, and he perks up at the proposed name. He nods vigorously and you get another glimpse at his ghost of a smile. 

“Arlette… I'm Arlette.” His voice was just as hoarse as it had been before, but there was a glimmer of emotion to it now. A wide smile breaks out across your face at the sight of him being happy. But, happy or not, he was still in rough shape. There really wasn't time to waste. 

You tug on the jacket sitting on Zeff’s shoulders to get his attention, “Hey, is Chervil still on the ship? You didn't answer me before.”

“No, he isn't. He thought it would be best to be out walking around in case anyone hurt themselves while climbing on all this mess.”

Dammit. That isn't convenient at all. Who knows where he even is right now. You gnaw on your lip, feeling unsure of what to do now. 

“You're dead set on helping this kid, aren't you?” Zeff heaves a sigh and shakes his head, “You're too damn soft to be a pirate, you know that?”

His comment is eye roll inducing to you, and you're quick to retort, “Yeah, well who raised me to be this way, dad? Hm?”

You make your way over to Arlette and pull him to his feet. He wobbles a bit at first, then finds his balance, but his hands don't leave yours. 

“Didn't I just talk to you about sassing me, you brat?” He turns his head, pretending to examine the horizon or whatever excuse he would elect to use this time if pressed for one, but you can see the smile tugging at his lips. “Just worry about getting Arlette there to the ship. I'll go run down Chervil.”

There's the Zeff you know and love. “Thanks, dad! You're the best.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know I am. Just go.” He waves you off as he turns his back to you.

Not needing to be told twice, you keep a firm grip on one of Arlette's hands as you begin to climb. It's going to be a slow process, you can already tell, but you know better than to try and push him to go faster than he can handle. 

You've only made a few feet of progress when Zeff calls out to you again, “Wait.”

He quickly climbs up to where you two are and pulls off his jacket, then drops it onto Arlette's shoulders. “He's such a damn twig that he's going to freeze as soon as the wind hits him.” Typical of Zeff after doing a kind thing, he makes himself scarce, lest he hear someone (you) point it out. In the time it takes you to blink, he’s already scaled the rubble and vanished from sight.

A quiet chuckle escapes you, and you turn your head to look at Arlette, “See? Told you he was nice. He's just grumpy about people noticing that fact.”

Arlette is staring down at the jacket with a perplexed look on his face. His free hand comes up and his fingers ghost over it as if to confirm that it’s really there. Choux makes a reappearance, popping out of Arlette’s shirt yet again and sniffing at the coat. He climbs out, then scurries over to a pocket on the breast of the jacket before happily curling up inside of it with his head poking out just enough to be able to see.

Zeff probably isn’t going to be all too happy about you bringing a rodent onto the ship, but you’ll cross that bridge when you get to it. The last thing you want to do is separate Arlette from his dear pet.

You gently tug on Arlette’s hand to encourage him to keep moving, which he does, “So, Arlette, have you ever been on a pirate ship before?”

[jeonqquek]

2 AM Adventures

Pairing : HAN JISUNG X READER ( lover, fluff, late night )

Summary : At 2:14 AM, Han wakes the reader for a spontaneous adventure to an abandoned record store

❆

I wake up to the sound of my phone buzzing on the nightstand. Groaning, I reach out blindly and grab it, squinting at the screen.

Han: Wake up sleepyhead, I’m outside.

My eyes widen. What? I sit up too fast, the blanket sliding off my shoulders. I glance at the time. 2:14 AM. This boy is crazy.

I don’t live with my parents anymore. Moved out a while back, got my own tiny apartment in the city. Han had been over a million times before, sometimes spending entire weekends here just because he could. We’ve been together for a while now, but he still has this habit of showing up unannounced, especially at the most ridiculous hours. And I let him. Every time.

I stumble out of bed, still half-asleep, and peek through my window. Sure enough, Han is standing outside, hoodie on, hands stuffed in his pockets. The streetlamp casts a glow on his face, and he looks up at me with a small smirk, like he knows he’s being a menace.

I text back. Y/N: What are u doin here???

He doesn’t answer. Instead, he lifts his hand and motions for me to come down. I hesitate for like, two seconds, but let’s be real, I’m already grabbing my jacket.

Slipping on my shoes, I quickly pull on a hoodie and head out, the cold night air hitting me as I step onto the sidewalk. Han watches me with amusement, hands still buried in his pockets.

“Did you really come to my place in the middle of the night just to stand there and stare at me?” I whisper-yell, rubbing my arms for warmth.

He grins, rocking on his heels. “Nah, babe, I came to take you somewhere.”

I blink at him. “Right now? Are you serious?”

“Always.” His eyes twinkle with mischief, and I already know I’m doomed.

Sighing, I shake my head. “Han, if we get caught, I’m blaming you.”

“As you should.” He grabs my hand, and even though I should be mad, I let him. His hand is warm, and suddenly, I don’t feel as cold anymore.

We start walking down the quiet streets, the city feeling different at this hour—slower, softer. The usual chaos is replaced with distant traffic hums and flickering neon signs. I can’t help but smile. This is so dumb. But this is also so him.

“So where exactly are we going?” I ask after a few minutes.

“You’ll see, sweetheart.” He squeezes my hand lightly, and something about it makes my heart do this annoying little flip.

We walk for what feels like forever, turning down streets I barely recognize until we stop in front of an old, abandoned record store. The sign is faded, the windows dusty, but there’s a certain charm to it.

Han pulls out a key from his pocket, and I gawk at him. “Tell me you don’t just casually have a key to a closed record store.”

He grins. “I might know a guy.”

With a dramatic bow, he pushes the door open, and I step inside, greeted by the scent of old vinyl and dust. Rows of records line the walls, the place frozen in time. There’s a small couch in the back, like someone had been using this place to hang out rather than sell music.

Han plops down onto the couch and pats the spot next to him. “Welcome to my secret hideout, babe.”

I sit beside him, looking around in awe. “How did you even find this place?”

He leans back, stretching his arms behind his head. “Just stumbled upon it one day. Figured it’d be cool to have a place just for me… and now, you too.”

My heart clenches at his words. The way he says it so casually, like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

“So, what do we do now?” I ask, fiddling with the sleeve of my hoodie.

Han stands up suddenly and starts digging through a crate of records. He pulls one out, dusts it off dramatically, and places it on an old turntable in the corner.

Soft music fills the room, crackly and imperfect, but perfect in its own way. He holds out his hand. “Dance with me, baby?”

I raise a brow. “At two in the morning?”

He smirks. “When else?”

Laughing, I take his hand, letting him pull me up. We sway to the music, our steps clumsy, but I don’t care. In this moment, nothing else matters.

As we dance, he leans in slightly, his breath warm against my cheek. “You know, babe,” he murmurs, “I think this might be my favorite night ever.”

I smile, feeling my heart race. “Mine too.”

We keep swaying, the world outside forgotten. The weight of the night, the secrecy of this moment, it all feels like something out of a dream. I rest my head against his shoulder, letting the music carry us.

Han chuckles softly. “We should probably head back before you fall asleep on me.”

I groan, tightening my hold around his hand. “Five more minutes, love.”

He hums in agreement, resting his chin on top of my head. “Five more minutes.”

And for those five minutes, we exist in our own little world—just us, the music, and the quiet promise of something more.

The song fades out, but neither of us moves right away. Han finally pulls back just enough to look at me, his gaze soft and unreadable. “You know,” he says, voice low, “we should do this more often.”

I scoff playfully. “What, sneak out in the middle of the night to break into abandoned buildings?”

He grins. “Exactly.”

I roll my eyes, but I can’t help but smile. “You’re impossible.”

“But you love it, babe,” he teases, nudging me gently.

I don’t answer, but I don’t have to. The way my fingers tighten around his says enough.

We finally decide to head back, the night air crisp against my skin as Han keeps his arm draped lazily over my shoulder. He hums quietly, a melody I don’t recognize, but something about it feels comforting.

When we reach my apartment, I hesitate at the door. Han watches me, his hands back in his pockets, rocking on his heels like he always does when he’s waiting for something.

“Stay?” I ask softly.

His lips curl into a slow smile. “You sure, sweetheart?”

I nod. “I mean, you did wake me up at two in the morning. You owe me.”

He laughs and follows me inside. We move through the dimly lit apartment, everything familiar and warm. I toss him a spare hoodie before crawling back into bed, and he joins me without hesitation, wrapping an arm around my waist like it’s second nature.

“You know, one day we’re gonna be old and boring, and we won’t do dumb things like this anymore,” I mumble sleepily.

Han chuckles, pressing a kiss to my temple. “Nah, baby. Even when we’re old, I’ll still wake you up at 2 AM just to take you on little adventures.”

I smile against his chest. “Good. Don’t ever stop.”

“Never, babe,” he promises, his voice fading as sleep starts to take over.

And with that, I drift off, safe in the arms of the boy who will always be my greatest adventure.

[thenoodlesadventures]

Hey guys! Is anyone in the market for a young pitty? She's a very sweet lady who is beautifully mannered in the house, walks pretty well on leash, generally confident and over all a totally lovable mush ❤️

Breed: 100% American Pitbull Terrier

Color: Red Nose

Birthdate: July 12, 2024

Age: 8 months

Weight: 48lbs

Vaccines: Rabies (2/13/2025)

Microchip: No

Spayed: No 

Potty Trained: Yes

Max Crate Duration: 5-6 hours

Commands: Paw, Sit, Stay, Down, Over, Break, Drop It

Ideal Home: older kids, no small animals, another dog companion

Meet Daisy, an affectionate 8-month-old American Pitbull Terrier seeking her forever home. This sweet pup thrives on long walks, couch cuddles, and spirited tug-of-war games. Initially cautious with strangers, Daisy quickly warms up, revealing her loving nature. Raised with abundant care, she’s been well-socialized with dogs and people, trained thoroughly, and nourished with a top-notch raw diet and regular exercise. Daisy flourishes with a consistent routine, enjoying both attention and her own space—often napping in her crate when we step out. She’s a fan of park playtime, beach digging, and any outdoor adventure. Daisy’s new family will inherit a stunning, cherished companion who wins over everyone she meets.

She's played very well with every dog I've introduced her to (which is about 8 dogs and includes some very tiny dogs) and she ADORES kids, but due to her size and energy level I feel that she'd do best with bigger and older companions who are better able to physically keep up with her. Currently she's staying with me and hangs out loose with The Noodle™️ and HoneyGirl and she gets along with them wonderfully. Let me know if anyone is interested!

[fidgetspringer-art]

So a while ago now I started writing this little AU story where Martin is an ADV rider instead of a homebody-hermit and the two of them meet out on the road. I really like the concept of this story and I might do some art for it in the near future, so i'm gonna share a snippet of it that I don't hate c:

-

Noah is still willing his hands to quit shaking when the adventure bike pulls into the small and, up until now, desolate patch of dry grass he’s in.

The bike pulling in isn’t much of a surprise, he’s heard the sound of the engine slowly approaching for a while now, the old gravel road only leading it closer, and he’d spent that time praying that whoever was on it would simply continue past.

No such luck.

Noah looks up when the rider kills the engine. It starts ticking almost immediately, the cold evening air cooling the metal quickly. The bike is big, Noah’s seen a good few of these machines on the road, even more so in recent years. This one is tall and bulky and shiny, but not new, Noah can tell that much, his eyes automatically seeking out the places where paint is chipped off or the fairings are scratched. It’s well cared for but equally well used.

Noah’s hand instinctually reaches out for the hilt of his knife where it’s resting in the grass by his knee. He’d set up his little makeshift camp less than an hour ago, digging through his saddle bags with hands that refused to stop trembling with residual adrenaline. He’d been ripping into his food rations when the stranger had intruded on his space.

The stranger slides off his bike with practised ease, trusting that his kickstand will take its weight.

He stands there for a second, watching.

At least Noah thinks it’s a man, it’s hard to tell under all the riding gear, but they’re tall and broad and they move in a way that set alarm bells ringing in Noah’s head.

Noah knows he’s staring, glaring might be a better word, but he doesn’t care. He’s alone with this stranger in the middle of nowhere, his helmet is tucked into his tent behind him, the tent that is currently tethering his bike to the ground. There’s no easy escaping, not if he wants to leave half his stuff behind and risk damaging his bike.

Any other day he’d be down for a fight, maybe even eager for it, but not today. He knows the stranger can see the bruises marring his face. The blood hastily wiped away from his eye where it had previously been streaming down from his scalp. He’s dizzy, and he’s worn down to the bone, and if this stranger wants to be an issue there is fuck all Noah can do to stop him.

The stranger stands eerily still for a little too long. Long enough that Noah’s pulse picks up, wondering what is going on inside that helmet. His hand is fully on the knife now, fingers tight around the hilt, he’s got it tucked up against his thigh but at this angle he has no doubt the stranger must have noticed.

As if reading the tension radiating off of Noah, the stranger looks away and instead turns his attention to the various bags and crates loaded onto the back of his own bike. He’s still got his visor down, so Noah has yet to get a good look at him, but the fact that he’s no longer staring at him is enough to lower Noah’s shoulders for the moment.

The man starts pulling items out of his baggage. Noah recognises the camp stove immediately. He’s always wanted one but so far he hasn’t been able to find one he can afford. He glances down at his own rations, the stale bread and dry instant noodles he has no way of boiling. He usually just lets them soak in cold water until they’re soft enough to eat, it’s not exactly a gourmet meal but it’s fine.

He watches the stranger, arms loaded up with items, turn and scan the area. Noah and his bike are taking up the prime real estate, the outskirts of the spot is dotted with taller grass while the patch Noah is in is almost barren.

For a second Noah is worried the stranger is going to come closer, it would make the most sense, to set up his burner where the ground is less uneven and where there’s less foliage around, but instead of intruding, or even asking, the biker seems to notice Noah’s shoulders draw up and he glances around at the rest of the available space instead. He finds a spot he apparently deems acceptable and kneels down, gently setting his items out in an organised sort of chaos.

Finally the man pulls his helmet off.

And it is a man, Noah was right. He looks a little older than him, a little bit of grey streaking through the hair by his ears. His hair is lighter on top than it is further down, and his beard is darker too, where it doesn’t have silver mixed in at least.

Noah is still staring. Even though the guy has decided to keep a respectful distance, he’s still too close to Noah for comfort. He’s less than three paces away and Noah is already wondering how on earth he’s going to get any sleep if this stranger decides to stay the night here.

Noah jumps at the sudden rumble of a deep voice. “You alright?”

He’s looking back at him now, the hint of a concerned crease between his eyes. “You crash out?”

Abruptly Noah remembers that half his face is still streaked with blood, not to mention the rapid swelling threatening to close up his left eye.

“No.” He says, keeping his voice even, relieved when it doesn’t waver, despite how woozy he’s feeling.

The stranger huffs and focuses back on his task of assembling his camp stove. He’s got a couple bags of what seems to be freeze dried hiking rations, the fancy expensive kind that comes in a hundred absurd flavours. He pours water into the pot from a water jug and gets the gas going.

“Looks like you’ve taken a beating.” He says next, not looking up from where he’s now slicing some kind of cured meat into chunks. The smell of it is carried over to Noah on the breeze and his poor stomach grumbles at the scent.

“Probably cause I have.” His voice comes out less steady this time and he hates when the man turns to him, obviously having noticed. He looks Noah up and down, assessing him.

Noah knows he looks bad, he doesn’t feel all that great either, but there’s no way in hell he’s about to let this guy know just how bad of a shape he’s in.

In an attempt to distract from the obvious, Noah sets to work tearing open the wrapping on his noodles. Thankfully the noise and movement is enough to draw the stranger’s eye away from his face. He’s sure he’s being judged for his poor excuse for a meal, but he’s not exactly made of money, especially not right now.

“You get robbed?” The question takes Noah by surprise but he plays it off.

“No.”

A beat of silence. “You try to rob someone?”

“You gonna stop asking stupid questions?”

For some reason that earns him a huff and the hint of a smile.

They prepare their respective meals in silence. Noah trying to not drool at the smell drifting over to him when hot water is poured into one of the packs of hiking rations. To Noah’s neglected stomach it smells like a restaurant.

He notices the stranger watching him out the corner of his eye when he snaps his dry noodles into his only still-intact travel bowl. He also notices the way he opens his mouth as if to say something when Noah unceremoniously dumps the remains of the cold water in his bottle over the noodles, followed by the spice mix. He doesn’t speak up though, just looks unhappily down into his own meal as he stirs it through.

Noah inhales his noodles before they’ve even gotten a chance to soften up as much as he usually does. His stomach is still rumbling when he’s done, so he reaches for his bread. It’s so stale it’s bordering on questionable, but he doesn’t find any mold on it so he figures it’s still fine.

He takes one bite and immediately regrets it. It’s rock hard and there’s an off taste to it, way past being edible. With a barely suppressed sigh he stuffs it back into the bag and chucks it vaguely in the direction of his backpack. He’ll just empty it into the bushes in the morning for the scavengers to find.

Noah blames the persistent ringing in his ears for the fact that he doesn’t realise there’s a person now standing right in front of him.

Instinct takes over, pushing Noah to his feet, knife in hand. He would probably be intimidating if not for the fact that as soon as he’s upright he starts listing to the side, dizziness overwhelming him. His head swims dangerously as black spots fill his vision, the ringing in his ears turns deafening.

“Hey woah!” The voice sounds far away, almost entirely drowned out by the cotton in Noah’s head. “Careful. How ‘bout you sit back down. There you go.”

Noah can feel hands on him and he wants to fight them, but he also realises that those hands holding him up is the only reason he’s not in a heap on the ground right now. He’s not so much sitting back down as he is being lowered to the ground. “You with me?” the voice asks again.

He’s sure he comes up with some eloquent answer, even if he’s not quite sure what that is. His vision is still swimming, but at least he’s now back to sitting down, even if the dirt below him feels strangely far away under his hands.

Whatever it is he said must not have been what the stranger had wanted to hear. “Hit your head pretty hard didn’t you?” He’s being propped up against the side of his bike, which he’s grateful for, he’s not sure he could stay sitting upright on his own, and weirdly letting his head fall back against the familiar weight helps to settle him a little bit.

“Wasn’t me that hit it, some other asshole did.” he croaks.

That also doesn’t seem to be what the stranger wants to hear and now he’s got a pitying look on his face that makes Noah want to punch him.

“You should be in the emergency room.”

Noah scoffs. “I’m fine.”

The man is hovering. He’s taken a step back, just outside of Noah’s personal bubble, but he’s still far too close for comfort. Noah wants him to fuck off already. He’d been considering packing his stuff and leaving if it looked like they would be sharing the camping spot for the night, but now Noah knows there’s no way he’s getting back on that bike any time soon.

“When’s the last time you ate?”

Noah glares, willing him to go away. “Literally just now.”

“When’s the last time you ate real food.”

Noah doesn’t say anything. That seems to be answer enough.

He’s had a rough go of it lately, money is running low and he’s had no luck picking up work in any of the towns he’s been through. Stealing food out of restaurant dumpsters is a good way to give yourself food poisoning, and when you’re essentially homeless that isn’t the sort of thing you want to be dealing with.

The stranger heaves a sigh and blessedly walks away. Noah lets his head knock back against his bike and winces at the way it makes his whole skull ache.

[musicmattersmedia]

Crate-digging chaos, rare vinyl gems, and the thrill of the hunt—it's Record Store Day 2025, and we're all in! In this episode of the Music Matters Media Podcast, we're sharing our RSD highlights, collector tips, and the wild stories from our multi-store adventure. From scoring limited-edition releases to soaking in the community vibes, this is a celebration of vinyl culture you won’t want to miss! Press play and relive the magic of the hunt, the finds, and the music that brings us all together.

Visit our website: MusicMattersMedia.com All Music Matters Media links: linktr.ee/musicmattersmedia

[satureja13]

🎄 Buydebug Advent Calendar 🎁 It starts -> here

☃️ December 17 ❄️ 🦎 Jungle Adventure 🦜 Jungle Adventure is also one of my favourites. I built a few lots using these objects. I think the columns are also in normal build/buy but these are the only ingame columns that can be placed without snapping to the grid, you can move them freely my pressing ALT.

The clutter. The basket to the left is very useful and I love the swimming crates.

And - again - the amazing plants! Vines and a full patch of jungle plants to quickly decorate.

What's remarkable for this pack: I think this is one of the few, if not the only pack which allows to place the rocks with the crystals, metals and fossiles. Also the excavation 'patches' where you can dig for treasures.

Two of my builds with this pack:

[eric-the-bmo]

So. Yam had an adventure yesterday aaa [summary under the cut]

Went exploring, and I was very excited to stumble upon a house. It even had a little farm! Yam's doing pretty good in terms of food.

Found some neat items! This gun is one of my favorite things to use, and I love how Yam is just? Becoming more Plant as time goes on

I also found the mine, which is beautiful, but there seems to be a generation issue? It just stops at certain points, cut off by cave systems, meaning that there's not enough Core Fragments in the mine, and I checked every single crate! That giant monster that drops a bunch of Fragments isn't even in there!! I don't want to start a new game, so I suppose the next thing to do is dig to the core of the planet to try and find some Fragments...

On Yam's way out he got caught by some bounty hunters or something, which got him in a minor death loop. He managed to get rid of them, though.

Yam's currently hanging out at the house he had found earlier. He took a quest from the Floran who lived there, Hatu, to kill a bounty hunter named Shadowy Kit. Which was awful. It sent Yam into a loop of dying, running back to try to grab his stuff (I didn't have enough for a flag yet) and do some damage to Kit, to dying yet again. This went on for a very long time, since sometimes Yam died before he even got over to where Kit was. I discovered food can become rotten.

Eventually, Kit asked to be recruited(???). So the man who one-shot Yam constantly is now part of the crew, I guess. Hatu also wants to join.

I also found some fish or something? Just in a cave??? I also stumbled upon a turtle and a kirby thing. Wagh, digging to the core of the earth to continue the main quest is going to take a while....

[danceswithsporks]

Calm Part- 7

Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6

Part 2 of 6 in the Complete Series

Wrecker x Seamstress!Reader

Chapter Summary: as the two of you continue to work through your fears big steps are taken and precious words are shared.

Authors Note: woo! 3 days after my vacation ended and this part is already ready!! For those of you who read the preview for this story you’ll notice that the same section has made its appearance. It has been changed a little though so try not to skip straight through it! Also, after looking through my outline for this story it looks like we’re roughly three more updates away from the end!! I may try to squeeze a fourth update in but I’m not positive yet.

Now without further ramblings! Let’s jump into Part 7!

Calm, life on Pabu had returned to its almost Calm existence once more. Over the past two months, your little family had begun to heal. The nightmares that had plagued the both of them had become more and more infrequent and you could see the happiness slowly returning to Omega. You knew it wasn’t solely because of you.

Chai had settled on a planet that the boys had visited multiple times, Ord Mantell. With that, a steady delivery of something called Mantell Mix had begun. It was apparently Omega's favorite snack, as well as Wreckers. Phee hypothesized that the return of the girl's favorite snack was helping to give a sense of normalcy to her once more. You were inclined to agree.

A month after she’d left, Chai had sent her first package which had been exciting for all three of you. It was like they could both smell the treat from inside the crate, having been informed by you that it was all they talked about. Within you’d found a few tins of tea, a flier for the new shop Chai had opened with Phee, and some beautiful black and red shimmered Naboo silk. There was even a letter detailing how she missed you and the cool ocean breeze. It reminded you of your final days in school when you’d pass notes to one another. Sure you saw each other all the time, just as you now holo-videoed once a week, but it had been nice to not rely solely on technology to communicate. You’d sent your letter back to her with a warm cloak for her to wrap up in. Chai had mentioned how cold Ord Mantell could get and Omega had agreed. That same week Wrecker had left on the supply run for the first time in three months.

It had been one of the hardest moments for you to date. The worry and stress that had coursed through your body as you watched the Marauder leave the planet had made you feel as though ice water had been dumped on you. You felt ridiculous thinking that he would never leave again, but you’d found yourself hoping that he never would. That he’d just stay planetside for the rest of his life with you. But that wasn’t him, that wasn’t Wrecker. That wasn’t the clone you’d fallen in love with. Wrecker was a soldier, a man who helped those in need and traveled through the stars. The only thing that had stopped you from completely breaking down as the ship vanished into the clouds, was Omega. After the events of Tantiss, it had been decided by all of you that Omega was not leaving the planet again for a long time. The girl, surprisingly, had agreed.

Where you had been her rock for the last two months, she was now your rock for the few days Wrecker was gone. Four days. That’s how long he’d been gone. It was ridiculous how stressed you found yourself during that time but after the sudden loss of Tech, you worried that you’d suddenly lose Wrecker. Omega, being the sweetheart she was, spent those four days telling you silly stories about all of the boys. Apparently Wrecker, on one of their many adventures, had gotten his arm stuck in a small opening that ended up being the den of some Ollopoms. Wrecker had seen the pretty white, yellow, and pink of the small rodent and thought it was a flower. It had taken Hunter and Omega an hour to dig his arm out and by the time it was free, three baby Ollopoms had nested in his large hand. The image made you giggle. A victory for Omega.

By the time Wrecker had returned, a bundle of gorgeous exotic flowers in his arms for you, you hadn’t felt as stressed out about him leaving. Of course, you did waylay him for an entire day in your bedroom the moment he stepped through the doorway. Omega thought you were sick and he was taking care of you. You technically had been sick, sick from a lack of Wrecker inside of you. That sweet man of yours had given you the medicine you needed to feel better many, many, many times. Sure you hadn’t been able to walk properly the next day, but it was so worth it.

Over the past two months, the two of you had continued to work on your fears together. You’d been able to handle being on the Marauder while her engines purred around you and he’d been brave enough to sit on the wall with his feet dangling over the edge. It wasn’t a lot and definitely not a breakthrough for either of you, but it was a start.

One night, two weeks ago, Wrecker had mentioned that Chai had sounded homesick during your last call and that maybe she’d enjoy some company from home. The idea of being on the Marauder off the ground had made your heart begin to race. He’d taken your hand in his and kissed the back of it sweetly. “It was just a thought.” Came as a gentle whisper from him while he stroked your arm carefully.

“It’s not that I don’t want to visit her. It’s just…” your words had been stopped as he placed a finger against your lips.

“I know.” He’d kissed the corner of your lip sweetly before falling into silence. After a few quiet moments, he’d cleared his throat. “How about…we make a deal?” You shifted against him before looking up at him and raising your eyebrow.

“What did you have in mind?” Wrecker had given you an interesting look before speaking.

“How about we go visit that waterfall you were telling me about a few weeks ago?” He’d watched as you tilted your head in surprise.

“That’s at least a three-hour boat ride from here, on a different island.” Where was he going with this?

“With the Marauder it’s only thirty minutes.” You’d noticeably swallowed at the mention of the ship. “Would give us more time to enjoy the area.”

Your throat had tightened as you realized what he was hinting at. “You w-want to fly there?”

Wrecker nodded carefully before continuing. “We fly there and then we can jump off the falls, like you used to when you were younger.”

Wait, he wanted to jump off the waterfall? “Wrecker, that’s almost sixty feet. Are you sure?” You’d watched as he chewed his lip at the new information before he nodded quickly. If he was willing to brave a sixty-foot jump for you then surely you could brave flying in the ship to the island. Right?

You were now asking yourself that question once more while you stared at the ramp of the ship. You’d been on the ship countless times now. Wrecker took every opportunity to bring you here for meals or late-night walks, as well as other activities. Trying to get you as comfortable as possible with the ship. You knew every part of the ship inside and out now, as well as how comfortable each bunk was. You preferred his bunk the most. Many times now he’d even had the engines running to get you used to the sound. But never had the ship flown with you in it. That thought was now stopping you in your tracks.

Wrecker walked by you with the picnic you’d packed in hand as well as some other supplies, his eyes taking in the way you hesitated. “We can go home if this is too much too soon.” He spoke sweetly from the doorway. Inside Gonky could be heard saying something and walking around. Apparently, he needed to come with you.

“No.” The word left you quicker than you expected. You

Could do this. This was what you’d been building up to these past two months. You facing your fear would help Wrecker face his. “I want to do this. With you.” You watched as Wrecker smirked and vanished into the ship for a moment before returning to you. He proudly walked down the ramp, wrapped his arm around your waist, and kissed you deeply. Your head spun as you felt his pride for how brave you were being course through him and into you.

He could feel the little shakes your body was doing as the fear tried to take hold. He deepened the kiss while gripping you tightly, sure enough, your legs went weak and you stumbled slightly. A hum of approval left the large clone as he felt the shakes slow. “That’s right, that’s my good girl.”

Stars, Wrecker knew exactly what to say to distract your mind. You whined against him as his words of praise danced through your head making you forget why you were even so scared. You were his good girl, his brave girl. He’d shower you with all the praise in the galaxy if you did this. Something he always made sure to do after each time you stepped onto the ship. “L-let’s go.” The sooner you did this the sooner he’d say it again and that magnificent feeling would be coursing through your body once more.

Wrecker playfully tapped the tip of your nose and motioned for you to lead the way. “That’s my girl.” Your perfect eyes fluttered for a moment before stumbling up the ramp and into the ship. Yeah, he’d figured you out quickly. He’d said it by accident the third time you’d visited the ship and the way your eyes had fluttered and you’d stuttered slightly let him know that you enjoyed it. He’d made sure not to overuse it either, only when it came to facing your fear did he use it and damn did it work every time. Your shared sex life had been flared to life by the work you two were doing for one another. Something about the race of your hearts as you faced your respective fears just seemed to fire you both up.

He watched the way your hips swayed in that short dress of yours. Something black and red caught his eye for a moment before you disappeared into the ship. By the time he’d finished all the checks on the ship and returned to pick you up for your date, you’d already gotten dressed and packed your meal. Now he wondered what exactly was beneath the cute green with tan lace sundress you wore. Wrecker followed quickly behind you and into the cockpit of the Marauder. You nervously sat in one of the passenger seats behind the pilot's chair with your knee bouncing nervously. He stopped next to you and kissed your cheek sweetly before sinking into the pilot's seat.

Every nerve in your body was alive at the moment. You felt every bump, thump, and shift as the ship creaked and began its take-off procedures. The door seemed to hiss closed even louder than it had a few days ago and you watched it carefully. The ship hummed beneath your feet and you swore you could feel it all. Was this how Hunter felt? Did he experience everything the ship did more intensely than the others? Stars, if that was the case then you really felt bad for him.

“You’re doing great, my good girl.”

Oh, there were those words again. You looked towards him instead of at the door and found his hand reaching back to you. Leaning forward, you gripped the warm strong hand tightly and in one swift pull you were on your feet and staggering towards him. Oh, he wanted you next to him, a large lump formed in your throat, near the front of the ship. Your body tingled as the ship hummed louder, no doubt moments from leaving the safety of the ground. Shaky legs carried you to the copilot seat next to him here you took a long breath while staring out the window. Even just being in the cockpit made you feel like you were incredibly high up. The ground just below the ship was impossible to see thanks to the nose of the Marauder. All you could see was the island far below you. He asked a gentle ‘Ready’ while squeezing your hand once more and you felt your heart jump at the realization that you were seconds away from takeoff. “R-ready.”

He nodded to you and then you felt it. A long-forgotten feeling of a ship hovering over the ground. More emotions than you could count hit you all at once. Delight, excitement, nervousness, fear, and most surprisingly…longing. A surprising part of you had missed this feeling. The way the ship hummed all around you and swayed side to side as it prepared to dash into space. As a child you’d adored this feeling, knowing it meant you were off on another adventure. This feeling and the jump to hyperspace had been the feelings you’d adored as a child. It's why you’d loved being on a ship in the first place.

Wrecker's eye flickered to you for a moment as the ship hovered over the cobblestone courtyard. He took in every little detail on your face at that moment. The way your eyes went wide with a mix of worry and wonder, how you chewed your lip nervously, and how your hand was blindly reaching out for him while your eyes stayed locked on the windshield. A small beep left the console as the ship indicated you were now high enough away from the ground to continue. A part of him wanted to take this slow and build up to speed slowly but there was something in your eyes, something in them was telling him to punch it. It would be a gamble to do so. He’d either terrify you to the point where you wanted to go home or…

The ship took off like a rocket making a loud squeal of delight leave your lips. This! This feeling! The last time you’d felt this feeling was the day your parents died. Oh, how you’d forgotten this feeling! The adrenaline coursed through your veins as you shot through the sky, buildings, and scenery rushing past you in a blur while the amazing power of the ship pushed you into your seat.

The squeal made Wrecker smile as he shot away from Pabu and towards the island, you’d told him about. He’d hoped that this would be your reaction. That you’d allow that delight you’d felt as a child to return to you and replace the fear that gnawed at you. He wouldn’t leave the atmosphere, no you weren’t ready for that much yet. But this was a big step and a good start. His thick fingers tapped the console a few times turning on the autopilot before swiveling his seat to face you. With a gentle tug, you were pulled from your seat and the daze you were in and into his lap. Your legs straddled his while your perfect eyes stared into his one good eye. “I’m proud of you, my brave girl.”

You’d been so lost in the magnificent feeling of the ship racing through the skies of your homeworld that you hadn’t realized you’d been pulled into his lap until he spoke and said those special words. ‘Brave girl’ now those were the words that completely undid you. He only ever said them after you’d completed whatever part of the fear you were facing. Just like every time before it sent a shiver down your spine and a heat to your core. “Y-yes. I did it.” His large hand held your cheek gently as a thumb stroked the delicate skin beneath your eye.

He watched your eyes flutter before he leaned forward and kissed you proudly. “How are you feeling?”

“G-good. Nervous still.” That feeling was being overridden by the desire for him growing within you. But it was still there, waiting for just the wrong thing to happen to allow it to shoot to the forefront of your mind. All it would take was some turbulence or strong headwinds to knock you off balance and out of whatever bliss-filled headspace you were in.

“That’s okay. Can’t expect it to go away the first time. Maybe I should bring my good girl on more trips around the planet? Would you like that, sarad?” He stroked the side of your face gently with the back of his forefinger while he spoke. Admiring the way you put so much faith and trust into him.

“Yes.” If only to hear him call you his ‘good girl’ and his ‘brave girl’. Maybe there was some kind of psychological reason as to why you enjoyed being called a good girl but you didn’t care to find out. “Will you…” you chewed your lip and thought about your next words. His mind-spinning pet names for you had done a number on you. Them plus the adrenaline coursing through your veins had worked you up. “Let me ride in your lap next time?”

His other hand dropped to your hip and squeezed gently. “Why not right now? Since you’re already here?” Shifting in his seat, his growing bulge rubbed against the heat between your legs making a little mewl leave your lips. The scent of your perfume wafted through his nose, jasmine, and vanilla, as he buried his face into the crook of your neck. An airy breath left your lips while his danced across your skin. Your thighs tightened against his making him squirm beneath you, drawing yet another mewl from you. “Ya like that idea, don’t ya?” His lips dragged across the lobe of your ear. “Maybe next time” he whispered in a deep gruff voice. “You can have my cock in ya.”

“Fuck” The word had left you before you could even think, a dark chuckle leaving him as he nipped at your ear. The way he seemed to become a different man when it came to being on the ship with you was just so incredible. He became so dominating and demanding. You’d made love on all of his siblings' bunks first before even being in his. All because he’d demanded to see you come undone on each one. He wanted your scent everywhere to torture Hunter while making sure Echo and Crosshair could see their beds in a tangled mess and know that the two of you had been there. Wrecker adored his brothers, his Vod as he called them, more than most could say about their siblings. But when it came to you being on the ship with him? Stars, he became insatiable. You couldn’t get enough of it.

Wrecker dipped his hand beneath your dress and pressed it against your needy core. Even through the material of your swimsuit, he could feel your growing dampness. Your hips ground against his lap making him groan followed by another chuckle. “Now now, gotta make sure we get there safe.” A cute little needy whine left you as he spoke. “Don’t worry. You’ll have my cock in ya soon enough, sarad.” He’d make sure you did by the end of the day. He felt you shift in his lap preparing to get off of him. With a smirk, he wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you closer. “For now, how about you let me taste what you had for breakfast?”

Your cheeks heated up at his request. Wrecker's tongue in your mouth was right up there with his tongue against your clit. “Want me to tell you first?” You licked your lips in anticipation of his against them.

“Nah, I like guessing.” He pressed his lips against yours and was instantly granted access. A smirk crossed his lips as he continued to kiss you. Chocolate and strawberries. His favorite.

-*-

You felt the excitement building as you cleared the final step of the mountain and spotted the diving point you’d climbed up to. Over that edge was a sixty-foot drop into crystal clear lavender water. The large pool of water in front of you that fed the falls glowed in a soft purple hue. The smell alone was enough to calm you in a way you adored. Turning behind you, you smiled at the large clone carrying the picnic basket and blanket.

“You brought the rope and that ascender thing, right?” A smile rested on your lips as you watched Wrecker place the basket down and pull out said items. “Perfect, there’s a good tree to tie it to over here.”

Wrecker watched as you walked towards the edge of the waterfall and looked over carefully. Something inside him tightened as he watched you kick a small rock over the edge followed by a whistle of surprise. “You should back up.” Left his lips before he could stop it. He’d agreed to this. He told you he could do this and he would. But seeing you like that, so close to falling over. It didn’t sit well with him. It was one thing being on the stone wall of your courtyard overlooking the island. But this? This was unpredictable, unsafe. The ground beneath your feet could easily give way and you could topple over.

A small laugh left you as you backed away from the edge. “Don’t worry. I was just making sure nothing changed.” Smiling, you turned and looked at the big teddy bear behind you. Your smile dropped as you took in the worried look on his face. You could see that his mind was beginning to get away from him. “Hey.” Moving quickly, you returned to his side and took the rope from him, dropping it to the ground. “We don’t have to do this. We can just enjoy a nice picnic up here and wade in the water. The pool was shallow enough at one end that you wouldn’t be swept away by the current.

He felt your warm hands in his but his mind couldn’t seem to focus on your words. It was as if his mind had switched to protection mode and all he wanted to do was keep you close. It took you saying his name three more times for him to refocus. “W-what?”

“I said we didn’t have to do this…and that you’re squeezing my wrists a little too tight.” Instantly his hand released you and he took a step back. You could tell he was fighting those thoughts again. “Wrecker, my bear. Everything is ok, I am ok. You are ok.” You took a careful step towards him and slowly slid your hands back into his.

He wasn’t sure how you managed to always find a way to recenter him, but you did. “I’m sorry, goddess.” Carefully he lifted your hands and placed gentle kisses on each of your wrists. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. We knew this wouldn’t be easy.” A hum came from you as you felt his gentle lips against your skin. “Now, let’s eat some lunch.” Stepping forward you placed your chest against him and tilted your head up. “Relax in the water and you can admire my new bikini.”

Wrecker shivered at the feeling of your fingers moving under the back of his shirt and slowly up his spine. “N-new bikini?” He remembered the flash of black and red that he’d seen earlier. Something told him already that he’d enjoy how it looked.

With a smirk, you nodded and took a step back. “My aunt on Coruscant sent it. She said it’s the latest fashion.” Reaching up to your neck, you undid the knot on the top of your dress and allowed the green and cream material to slide down to the ground with the help of a little wiggle. Wrecker's eyes widened as he took in the swimsuit and you knew his mind was officially on you. “Do you like it?”

The black fabric shimmered with red crystals as you turned slowly for him. The fabric crisscrossed on the front and wound tightly around your neck before moving under your breasts where the bottom part showed a daring amount of skin. Two more strips of black fabric crossed from the top of your ribs, across the front, and down to your hips connecting with the bottoms that accentuated your ass beautifully. A shaky breath left Wrecker as he watched you bend over and pick up your dress. “L-love it.”

Looking over your shoulder, you smirked. “Good. Now.” Turning you walked to the picnic basket and placed your dress down before looking for the blanket. “I packed sandwiches and dessert. Which would you like first?”

There was only one dessert Wrecker wanted to have and it wasn’t whatever you had in the basket. He moved faster than he intended and was soon behind you. Slowly his hands snaked around your waist and he pulled you close. Memories of your make-out session on the Marauder an hour ago resurfaced and spurred him on.

“Oh.” You giggled as you stood and placed your back against his broad chest. “Or we can have dessert now and dessert later.” Reaching a hand up, you placed it against his cheek and pulled his face into the crook of your neck. “What would my big bear like?”

Stars, he wanted to rip this bikini off of you and take you now instead of later. Bury himself in your warmth and enjoy the safety and grounding that only you could give him. “Whatever you prefer, my goddess.”

A shiver ran down your spine and you fought the urge to give in to him. “Well we did climb up here to enjoy the lavender water, so let’s relax in this lovely pool with some wine and maybe..” with a final wiggle of your ass, you stepped away. “I’ll let you enjoy some desert in the water.”

“I…” Wrecker had always wanted to fuck in a pool like this. He was a simple man with simple desires. He watched as you took your boots off and moved towards the shallow end of the water and away from the waterfall. The waterfall that you’d planned your entire trip around. That he’d made a deal with you about. “I want to enjoy the falls.. as we planned.”

“What?” You turned and looked at your clone in surprise. Yes, you’d made a deal that you’d ride in the Marauder and he’d jump from the falls. But you had zero intention of holding him to it. “You don’t have to do that, Wrecker. We can build up to it. There’s no rush.” You could easily come back another day, especially if that meant riding in the Marauder with him inside of you like he wanted.

Wrecker shook his head as he bent down and picked up the rope. “I want to enjoy what you enjoy. If that means jumping from super high up and into the water below.” He swallowed the lump in his throat. “Then let’s do it.” A small smile crept on your face and that alone gave him the courage to go through with this. If you could ride in the Marauder for him then he could do this.

“Ok. I’ll go first and you follow me?” Quickly you packed everything back into the basket before grabbing the rope. “You can lower the basket to me once I’m down there?” Then you could enjoy your date at the base of the falls instead. Maybe screw under the falls themselves? It was a promising idea. You knew from experience that there was a small alcove behind the falls.

“No.” Wrecker helped you tie the rope to the large tree before tying the other end to the basket. “I-I’ll go first.” He removed his boots and pants quickly, trying to get the jump out of the way before he chickened out.

You cooed at him playfully before stepping over and placing your hand on his chest. “I know where to jump. Follow my lead.”

Wrecker grabbed your wrist and stopped you before you could head to the edge. “W-what if I chicken out?”

“You won’t.” With a smirk, you stepped back to him and stood on the tips of your toes. “Because I’ll be waiting for you at the bottom. Naked.” Placing a quick kiss on his stunned face, you turned and sprinted for the edge. With a happy squeal, you dove off the edge and into the waters below.

“Mesh’la!” Wrecker ran to the edge and looked down, terrified that he’d see your mangled corpse against the rocks.

A few moments went by before you finally broke through the surface, a large smile on your face. You adored the rush you got when cliff diving. Looking up, you waved to Wrecker who tentatively waved back. The worry and fear were easy to see on his face. Keeping your word you unclamped the top of your bathing suit and shimmied out of it. A happy smile rested on your lips as you held the piece of clothing up for him to see.

He didn’t need you to show him your bikini. The water was crystal clear and he could easily see your nude body wading in the deep water. The desire to have that against his skin overpowered the fear inside him. With a toss of the basket over the edge, Wrecker jumped as well.

A loud splash echoed around the waterfall as he made contact with the water, his large body causing the water to ripple and push you toward the edge. A giggle left you as you swam towards him. Even before his head broke through the surface, his arms were around your waist and pulling you into him. “Wrecker!” You gasped as he finally broke the surface and pulled you into a tight hug, his lips pressed firmly against yours. His kisses always made your head spin. With a hum of delight, you wrapped your arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. “I’m so proud of you.” Came as a whisper as your forehead rested against his. Below the water, one of his hands held your thigh tightly while the other helped you two wade.

Wrecker moved his head and buried it into the crook of your neck as you spoke to him. While you may have been proud of him, he had been terrified. Your fingers ran gentle circles at the base of his neck as he quietly sobbed into your skin.

You knew this had been a big step for him. Stars, the day itself had been big for the both of you. The fear of falling, the fear of being hurt or worse had been something you’d had to convince him would be ok. “Shhh, it’s ok. We’re ok. You did it.” You felt him shake slightly as a few scared sobs left him and you simply hummed as you continued to hold him. “I got you, Wrecker. I’m here.” You remembered the way his praise always made you feel. “I’m so proud of you, my big bear.”

While your words didn’t affect him the same way his did to you, they helped. Proud of him, yes, you were proud of him. He’d done it. He’d faced his fear and jumped sixty feet. Tech would be so proud of him. “I…I did it.”

“You did!” You allowed your happiness that he’d faced his fear overflow from you and into him. “Wait until you tell Omega. She’s going to be so excited.”

Omega would, wouldn’t she? “Maybe we can bring her next time.” The walk from the ship to the peak alone would be thrilling for the curious girl. Though it would mean you wouldn’t be able to ride on his cock the whole flight.

“Oh, she would love this place. Might have to forcibly drag her back to the ship.” You chuckled before wiggling from his grasp and heading towards the roaring wall of water. “Come, I wanna show you something.” You’d both done it. Faced your fears for one another. Now it was time to have fun.

Wrecker watched your nude form swim away from him and towards the falls. Yes, it was nice having you in his arms naked. But damn was he enjoying watching you swim away like this. “Coming, Sarad.” He swam after you with a small smile on his lips. The fear of what he’d just done was now gone from his mind. All he could think about was you. As he got closer to you you vanished behind the wall of water before sticking your hand through for him. He didn’t hesitate to take your perfect hand and allow himself to be pulled through.

What he saw on the other side amazed him. There was an alcove big enough for the two of you to fit in unlike any he’d ever seen. Instead of just stone, it was a mix of sweet-smelling green and purple algae and vines with small white and yellow flowers. Looking past you and deeper into the alcove he could make out something glistening in the stone walls, but from the angle he was at he couldn’t seem to tell what they were. Movement next to him drew his attention and he watched as you pulled yourself onto the ledge of the alcove before turning and sitting with your legs hanging in the water, a perfect smile rested on your lips as you beckoned for him to join you. It took him a moment to find a good grip to hoist himself out of the water, but once he was out he turned and sat next to you. “Wow.” That was all he was able to say as he looked at the cascading water. Rays of sunlight shone through the lavender water and bathed the area around the both of you in a purple hue. Turning to look around the alcove he realized that the item he’d seen glistening in the light was a gemstone in the wall. Now that he could look around better, he realized that there were multiple purple and white gemstones in the walls and ceiling. “This place is amazing.”

You were pleased that he was enjoying the private alcove. “Isn't it? Chai, Doll, and I found it the last time we were here.” It felt like a lifetime ago now. Chai was now off planet and Doll was…well you weren’t too sure what Doll was up to. You could have sworn you'd seen her and Crosshair kissing the other night before dinner. But she hadn’t said anything to you. You put the thought out of your mind as Wrecker's hand gripped your thigh. Right, you were completely naked while he still had his shirt and boxers on. A devilish smirk played on your lips as you turned to face him, your hand tugging at the leg of his boxers. “You know, I think you’d be much more comfortable without these on.” It was time to enjoy your date now. “And inside me instead.”

A shiver ran down Wrecker's spine as you stood up and moved deeper into the alcove. His eye followed you with interest as you moved behind him. He took in the sway of your hips and the curve of your ass with an increasing appetite. Wrecker felt the air leave his lungs as you turned to smile at him. Between the lavender hue of the alcove, the growing foliage around it, and the glistening gemstones, you looked ethereal. He opened his mouth to say something but found the words unable to leave him. Instead, he took on the appearance of a fish with his mouth opening and closing.

“Wrecker?” Why was he staring at you like that? It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen you naked before. You watched him stand up and stumble over to you, his mouth still opening and closing as he failed to speak. What was going on? His hands slid around your waist and pulled you close, the bulge in his boxers pressing between your legs.

“I’m sorry. You’re just…so beautiful.” Beautiful and breathtaking and amazing and wonderful and so many more words he wished he could find to describe how magnificent you looked in that moment. It took him a moment to find the word but he realized that for once, his pet name for you was entirely accurate. Right there, in that moment, you were a goddess to him. A goddess that was his. It seemed his words did something to you because you turned your face away from his with a slight blush on your cheeks. You whispered a cute ‘Wrecker’ as you did so making him realize that you didn’t truly understand how beautiful he found you. Wrecker raised his hand to your chin and tilted your head back to face his. “I mean it. I know I tell you all the time how beautiful you are. But it’s because of how true it is. I see you as the most beautiful woman, no, the most beautiful creature in existence. No gem or nebula could compare to how absolutely gorgeous you are to me, my goddess.”

Wrecker telling you how beautiful you were wasn’t a new thing. He told you nearly every day how stunning you looked and you loved it. You did. But something about the way he was saying it at this moment was making you feel tingly. Maybe it was because of the way he was saying it and looking at you. He continued to praise your beauty and pour out his heart to you while also rubbing your hip with his thumb. Something about this moment felt special. Why? Why did you feel so different this time compared to the others? You raised your arms from around his waist up to his shoulders where they draped over as he bent down to make it easier for you two to kiss. “Oh Wrecker.” You stroked his scarred cheek gently. “I think you're the most handsome man in existence. I feel… Stars I can’t describe how I feel when I’m with you. Or how you make me feel when you call me beautiful. But…oh Wrecker I love you so much.” It’s all that you could seem to say. It’s all that would come out. That must have been what that twinging, tickling, spinning feeling that was going on inside of you was. You were so madly and so undeniably in love with him. Yes, you’d already declared your love to him many times since he’d returned but something in this moment made you realize just how deeply in love with him you were.

“I’m so lucky to have you.” You, a woman who grew up countless light years away from him. Who experienced a completely different life than he had and who had never seen a day of battle. You’d gone through so much in your life and yet here you were, in his arms telling him how much you loved him. Never had he thought he’d experience this level of love. Never had he thought he’d have someone in his life who looked at him the way you did. With so much love and adoration it was making him feel tingly all over. He didn’t wait for you to say anything back, instead he tilted his head down and kissed your soft lips deeply.

This kiss felt so different from any other time you’d kissed before. This one felt deeper, and more important than any other kiss. His hand snaked around the back of your neck and into the base of your scalp, his fingers threading through your hair and holding you close. His tongue ran across your bottom lip asking sweetly for entrance into your mouth and you felt your head swim as the tip of it lapped at your tongue. Thick fingers pulled your head back slightly as his tongue delved deeper into your mouth suppressing the moan that left you. His hand that rested on your hip tightened slightly and you felt those rough digits dimple your skin. “W-wrecker.” You gasped his name quietly while breaking for air and taking in the way he was now staring at you. That adorable brown eye was wide and lust-filled. You took a moment to try and imagine what he’d look like with two good eyes and found that you didn’t like the image. Somehow that wasn’t your Wrecker. This was your Wrecker. One good eye, one bad, and a scar on the same side as the bad eye. Perfect in every way to you. You sighed softly as you stroked the scar with gentle fingers. “Make love to me?”

He savored the way you were staring at him, lost in whatever thoughts were going through your mind. His head tilted into the dull touch of your hand, the full feeling lost to that side of his face a few years prior. He’d tell you about it one day. How he lost his sight in that eye and got his scar. But for now, he just wanted to savor you. “Today, tomorrow, and for however much longer you’ll have me, Sarad.” He sighed as rough lips pressed against the soothing smoothness of yours, the hand in your hair loosened slightly before releasing it all together. “Here.” He pulled away from you while reaching down and grabbing the hem of his shirt. It came off in one swift movement before he balled it up and placed it on the ground near the wall with the most gemstones in it. The shirt was soaked but it would be somewhat comfortable for you to lay on while he rewarded you for your bravery that day. “Lay down for me?”

Your heart soared with the sweet words he was speaking to you. “You can have me until I draw my last breath, Wrecker. I’m forever yours.” The declaration of your eternal love for him came as a surprise to you. Never had you thought you’d be able to love someone as deeply as you loved him. He smiled that adorable crooked smile for you while scooping you into his arms. Carefully he spun you before kneeling and placing you on the ground, his hand cradling your head while positioning it over the wet shirt. You sighed softly watching him kneel next to you with nothing but his tented boxers on. You chewed your lip at the sight of the material, craving the feeling of the length beneath it inside of you. “Please, Wrecker.” You spoke with an airy needy breath. “I need to feel you.”

Who was he to deny you when you spoke that way to him? “Together forever.”

It was so silly but the way he said it made it sound like a marriage proposal. It wasn’t silly to think that you may marry him someday, but silly to think that you’d only known him for a little over half a standard year, and yet you were ready for that eventuality. You’d never believe in love at first sight or that feeling of looking at someone and knowing right away that they were the one you wanted to spend forever with. But when you thought about the first time you saw your beloved clone, you realized that your heart had skipped a beat when you made eye contact. Was that what that feeling had been? Love at first sight? You watched as Wrecker moved around between your legs and placed his hands on your knees. A year ago you wouldn’t have even thought of allowing a man to look at your most intimate places like this. Now, you shamelessly allowed your legs to fall open so he could see your glistening needy heat. He licked his lips at the sight making you let out a needy moan. “Please.” You gasped as his rough hand slid down your leg and across the delicate skin of your inner thigh.

“Of course, riduur.” Leaning forward, he ran his nose across your needy bud eliciting a little cry from your lips. Your hand was instantly on the back of his head, stroking it carefully as he continued to tease you. “So needy.”

His hot breath wafted across your core and soon you were keening his name loudly. The sound echoing around you and mixing with the roar of the falls. His tongue lapped and twirled around your bud making you see stars. “W-wrecker! Fuck!” He was too damn good at this. It was so unfair how he could make you see heaven itself with only a few strokes of his tongue. A deep chuckle left him before he pressed into your heat and you felt his teeth scrap very carefully against the sensitive bundle of nerves. Just that much was enough to push you close to your edge, his tongue dipped into you and soon you were screaming his name as your first, albeit small, orgasm washed over you. Little pants of pleasure left your lips as he continued to work you through your little orgasm. “M-more. Need you.” Wrecker chuckled while licking your release from his lips and sitting back on his heels. After a moment of admiring your soaking sex, he stood. You took it as your chance to return the pleasure.

Before he could pull his boxer off completely, you were on your knees and pulling his hard length into your mouth. “Kriff, Sarad.” He’d never openly tell you how much he loved your height difference. How when you were on your knees you came to the perfect height to take his cock easily into your mouth. The sight always turned him on even more than he already was. The two of you were truly designed to fit with one another. His hand threaded through your hair once more and he helped to set a slow pace on his cock, your tongue rubbing against the underside of him as your head lived back and forth. How you managed to fit his hefty size into that sexy little mouth of yours would always amaze him. But you did. “Such a good girl taking all of my cock like that.” You whined softly around his cock making him let out a long sigh. “Kriff, it feels good when you do that.”

You moaned around him once more and felt his cock twitch in your mouth. It was an odd sensation in your mouth and a struggle to take all of him but you did it. It had taken a few times to get as comfortable as you were with it between your lips but now you could say you were very comfortable with it. Your hand wrapped around the still visible base of his cock and you began to carefully pump it in time with your head bobs. Wrecker sighed and groaned against your touch making you grin. With a loud pop, you pulled yourself from him and stared up with your mouth hanging open.

Fuck, you looked unbelievably sexy in that moment. Your hair disheveled from his hand being in it, your mouth hanging open and your breasts on full display for him. A part of him wanted you to continue sucking him and using your hand so that he could cover that chest of yours in his seed. But the darker primal side of him just wanted to finally be inside you and screw you into the dirt. He’d coat your chest in cum later. Perhaps while you flew back to Pabu? Surely you could make it work. “Fuck that mouth of yours is amazing.” He finished pulling his boxers off from around his ankles before falling to his knees with a huff. “But there’s somewhere else I’d rather be.”

“Then what are you waiting for, my love?” You curled your forefinger beneath his chin as you slowly fell back, pulling him with you. His hand shot out and cradled the back of your head as the two of you fell into the dirt, his body caging you protectively. “Hello, handsome” you cooed softly before pressing your lips against his with a sigh. A low growl left the bear of a man kissing you before you felt his hand against your needy core. “Mmmm, fuck me, Wrecker.” His fingers danced playfully against your pearl, you needed him inside you already. Between the earlier teasing on the ship and then his lips just a few moments ago you were in desperate need of him inside of you.

“So demanding.” What would he do with you? Wrecker returned to kissing you as his hand caressed your wet core and gathered some of your release which was then rubbed against his cock. He slid the tip across your opening and with a simple grunt, he was burying himself into your warmth. Your shared pants mixed with the sound of the cascade water as Wrecker carefully worked you open, your pussy fluttering around his cock with each thrust he did. Pulling him deeper and deeper into you. Each thrust drew out a long pant of his name into his neck from you, your warm body holding him tightly. You were so wet and eager for him.

Your hand wrapped around his torso and held him close as he buried himself to the hilt within you, his balls resting against your ass. Rough lips peppered kisses against your jaw as he allowed you a moment to adjust to his superior size. It was only a moment but it felt like minutes as you waited for him to move but when he did you were instantly seeing stars. The curve of his length allowed him to perfectly hit your most sensitive spot and you knew from experience you wouldn’t last long, not in this position and not after so much buildup throughout the day. Your body arched off the ground and pressed against his as your nails gripped deeper and deeper into his back. A hiss came from him at the feeling but he didn’t relent as he continued to thrust into you. Once, twice, three times and you were howling his name like a sexed-out slave girl. “Kriff, yes. Right there! Fuck!”

You continued to cry out as Wrecker felt himself drawing close to his release. Your earlier work on his cock having gotten him close already. He buried his face into your neck while sliding his arm around your back and holding you close. Using his impressive strength, he pulled you into his lap as he fell back into a kneeling position. Now you were slightly above him and he savored the difference for now he could suck and lick your nipples with ease while also enjoying the way your face contorted in bliss. The new position allowed him a deeper reach into you and within four thrusts you were squeezing him. He knew that sign by now, you were close and all it would take is the right words to have you coming undone on his cock which would in turn have him spilling into you. Wrecker looked up at you with dark eyes as his tongue swirled your left nipple expertly. He sucked and swirled the pebbled bud for a few fleeting moments before nipping at the delicate skin around it. Your breasts were by far his favorite part of you to have in his mouth. There was something so mind-blowingly erotic about them that made him just want to have them in his mouth. He sucked a mark against your skin before pulling back and forcing you to look into his eye. With a deeper gruff than you’d ever heard from him, he spoke. “Be a good girl and cum on my dick.”

It was just what you needed to hear and after a single hard thrust, you were coming. Your orgasm raced across your eyes in a blinding light of ecstasy and euphoria as your clone gripped your sides and continued to impale you. His pacing was hard and fast as he chased his release within you. You were sore and tired but you allowed him to use you as his toy for a few more minutes until he was spilling over within you. The feeling of him filling you with his cum would never stop feeling wonderful for you. Nor would the grunting groaning sounds he’d make while leaning his head into the crook of your neck. You stormed the back of his head gently as he emptied himself within the warmth of your body, the fullness almost too much for you to bear. Almost. He’d come twice inside of you a week prior and that was a fullness that had incapacitated you. This, while still filling, was nothing compared to that day. “So good.” You whispered as you leaned down and kissed him. The high you’d been on was beginning to dissipate and exhaustion was beginning to pull at you.

Wreckers arms held you close to him as the two of you began to come down from your post-orgasm highs. It was always amazing when it came to screwing you. He could hear the exhaustion in your voice as you continued to praise him. Any other time he’d pull himself from you and lay you down. But not this time, for some primal reason he wanted to stay buried within you, his softening cock acting as a plug for his seed. Sure he couldn't actually breed you right now, not with the birth control you were on, plus the fact he was sure Nala Se had mentioned something about them being unable to reproduce. But the urge to keep it all within you was still powerful. Not to mention the intense closeness he felt with you when the two of you were like this. He felt your forehead press against his and the two of you shared a long sigh. This was bliss. His little piece of paradise was here with you.

The two of you sat that way for nearly ten minutes before he finally removed himself from your warmth. The moment he did so his sizable release was making its way out of your body and coating your thighs. The sight made him lick his lips. “Would you like to eat lunch first before you fuck me into the dirt?” You were surprisingly hungry.

The clone laughed brightly as he scooped you into his arms and began to walk towards the edge of the alcove. “I figured we’d eat quickly then I’d fuck you beneath these falls. Eat some more then have you ride my cock while we flew back home.” He placed you down near the edge and watched as droplets of water began to coat your skin.

A shiver ran down your spine at the thought of two more rounds with him before the day was out. Maybe even a fourth depending on how you were feeling when you got home. Would you be terribly sore for the next week? Stars, yes. But Kriff, would it be worth it. “Maybe we should start with dessert first then?” Who needed to eat when you had a man as muscular and sexy as Wrecker in front of you?” He chuckled with a deep bass and your thighs clenched. Oh yeah. There was no way you two were even close to being done with one another.

He pulled you into a deep kiss, swallowing the needy whine that came from you. “My poor insatiable riddur. What will I do with you?”

There was that new word again. He hadn’t called you that before. Looking up at him, a hand resting on his chest as his cum ran down your leg, you spoke. “What does that mean? Riduur?”

Oh, he’d called you that, hadn’t he? “It means…partner or girlfriend.” A lie, one of the only ones he’d ever tell you. But he hadn’t meant to slip up and call you that, not yet at least.

“Is it the same back to you? Can I call you my Riduur as well?” You’d been meaning to learn mando’a. Chai had found a droid on the island who spoke thousands of languages, Mando’a being one of them. You just hadn’t had the time to start learning. All you knew was from Wrecker and his siblings.

His cheeks flared as you spoke his language. “P-please.”

Oh, he was adorable when he got like this. If this would make him blush then you’d call him it all the time. With a happy smile, you brushed your lips against his. “You’re my riduur, Wrecker.” He smiled and kissed you once more.

-*-

Later that night, in the safety and warmth of your shared home, you tucked Omega into her bed. Her room had been fully decorated with her stuff from the Marauder as well as newer decorations. Fairy lights strung over her bed doused the area in a rainbow glow of colors while a slowly forming pile of stuffed animals and dolls took over a small section of her bed. You recounted a small amount of the day's activities to her and how brave her brother had been to jump off the falls while she recounted what happened at school.

“Omega? Do you know what ‘Riduur’ means?” You’d been running the brush through her growing blonde locs when the thought came to you to ask her. From what you knew, her understanding of the language wasn’t as advanced as the guys were, so you’d simply wanted to see what she knew.

Omega tapped at her datapad as she finished a homework assignment. “Oh, that one is a nice one. It means Husband or wife. Depends on who’s saying it to who.” She paused for a moment. “Why? Did Wrecker call you that?”

Husband or Wife? He’d called you his wife. That intense tingling feeling coursed through your body once more. Why had he lied about it? Was he embarrassed? Had he not meant to call you it? No, he’d said it twice and even asked that you call him whenever you wanted to. That meant he wanted to hear you call him ‘husband’.

‘ Together Forever’

It hadn’t been a marriage proposal, but a special promise between the two of you. A smile played on your lips as you silently spoke the word with a better understanding. You weren’t married yet and probably wouldn’t be for a while. But you were his forever. You’d tell him in a few days that you knew the real meaning. For now, though, you’d enjoy calling him your husband.

“Stitches?” Omega looked over her shoulder at you.

“S-sorry. Was thinking about something.” You shook your head and focused back on the girl. “What was your question?”

Omega raised an eyebrow at you. “I asked if Wrecker called you his riduur?”

“Oh goodness no.” A lie, but she was too young to understand the complicated relationship of an adult. “Just saw it in some research articles I was reading. Been thinking of learning mando’a.”

Oh. “I can help you! Wrecker said he really likes it when you speak a little bit you know!”

You smiled and accepted her offer. When she mentioned him enjoying you speaking the language you simply laughed while trying to hide your blush. “That he does, Omega. That he does.”

Tag List:

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[shade-pup-cub]

Febuwhump 2024, day 17: Sky & Chain - ALT Lightning Strike

Fandom: LOZ/Linked Universe

Summary: Killing gods had consequences. Consequences that Sky never wanted and it frightened him how it changed him at first. Wild and Warriors get into a rare fight that turns physical and the god power within Sky comes to life. There is a new fearful respectful for the Chosen Hero.

CW: Language (one word), slight blood

Sky was a patient person. He did well to understand each side of a story even if he didn’t agree with one or both views. He was kind hearted, giving and a sleepy head. He liked being all those things, but on days like today, his controlled anger was being pushed to the limits.

He was never the type to get angry until after he killed Demise. It started off with being short and snappy with others, getting frustrated easily and wanting to be alone more times than not.

Sky, Sun and Groose had grown close after the events that took place on the surface and they were the first to bring it to Sky’s attention. Of course Sky went on the defensive side of things, saying that they were only pointing out his flaws. Sky disappeared for a few days.

He himself didn’t see the problem until he hollered at Sun. She was trying to get him to talk about parts of his adventure so she had a better understanding of what had happened. The more questions she asked, the more agitated he got.

The sky began to darken as he closed his eyes, trying to push down his rage over the events and her nagging him for answers. Surely she already knew what he had been through. She was the Goddess Hylia afterall. Why couldn’t she just let it be and not dig deeper like it mattered any more? Hadn’t he already suffered enough? Why must she make him relive it?

Stop…

Stop…

Please stop.

Stop.

“STOP!” he had hollered at Sun. “Just stop!”

When he had whirled around, facing where she stood in the kitchen of their own home, also talking to Groose who was visiting them, she was startled and quickly took several steps back. Groose stood closer, beginning to put his body between the couple.

Electricity danced along Sky’s fingers, eyes going a bit white. Sun knew what happened now. “Link, look at your hands.”

He looked down seeing what had frightened his love and best friend. He took several horrified and panicked steps back with his hands out in front of him. Not seeing where he was walking, he tripped backwards over a crate, stumbling and ultimately falling onto his rear painfully.

“Link!” the other two said at the same time, racing forward. Their action only made Sky scoot backwards until his back hit the wall.

“No! Please, don’t get closer! I don’t want to hurt you!” His eyes were screwed shut, knees to his chest, arms held close to his head, face turned away in shame.

A gentle, slightly calloused hands touched his wrists. He flinched at the contact. “You aren’t going to hurt us. See?” Sun said, getting him to look with teary eyes. The white streaks of electricity were gone and his eyes returned to their natural blue color.

Sky promptly began to sob out of fear, anxiety and confusion. “Zel, what’s wrong with me?” That quickly got him squished between two bodies.

“Nothing is wrong with you. You killed Demise, this is the consequences of it. When someone kills a god, they get their powers. I think that might also be why you have been having a troubling time with your anger.”

“I-I don’t want it, any of it. I just want to be normal. I don’t want reminders of what we went through.” Sky in the tight embrace.

That was years ago, but his will was being tested as Wild and Warriors fought verbally. Not the typical duo to fight, but here they were.

“I’m not having this conversation with you, Warriors. What I did is done, move on!” Wild was not one to get angry, but Warriors was pushing his buttons over how he handled the Iron Knuckle when Twilight got hurt.

“Wild, we had a plan and you went against it. You can’t do that and expect to not talk about it.”

“I am expecting that. I’m not one of your little soldiers, Cap. You will not berate me or correct me like I am one. I know my limits and no one was hurt due to my actions. I can’t say the same if we kept to the plan.”

“Are you second guessing my ability to plan attacks?” Warriors stood, getting a little closer to the other.

“No, but I do think you have your head up your ass thinking that you out rank us all because of that pretty Captain title.”

Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch the scene playing out. Sky just wanted them to shut up already. He was tired, hungry, homesick and not in the mood to deal with this. Not today at least.

“I sure as hell out rank you, Silent Knight.” A hush fell over the camp with Warriors words.

“You don’t even know the men around you, do you? You are all talk. You may be a Captain over the knights in your era, but I surpassed that title by the age of fifteen.” The implied starting age that Wild became part of the Hyrulean Army was alarming, but he continued.

“I became part of the Royal Guard, then at sixteen was the overseeing Captain for the whole Guard. Seventeen I was chosen to be the Knight Protector for Zelda. I didn’t get my titles all because I became a hero or because the Triforce chose me. I worked my way through the ranks. I served for a decade before giving my life for my country, literally. It is only by special circumstances that I am here.”

“Guys, can we not have a dick measuring contest right now?” Legend’s language didn’t help Sky at all and it was ignored by the two arguing.

“Special circumstances? You mean by Hylia having to bring you back because you failed as a hero the first time and left your era in shambles?”

“What did you just say?” Wild asked, dangerously. Some of the others tried to step in, but the two shoved them away.

“I didn’t stutter, Champ.”

Wild without missing a beat decked Warriors in the face, then grappled to the ground. Warriors landed on top of Wild, giving him several hits to the face before he was grabbed around the neck, a foot tucked into his hip and flipped over Wild’s head.

The sky began to turn dark grays, thunder rolling in the distance. Sky rubbed his temples, trying to suppress his anger.

Wild followed through and straddled Warriors torso. He gave what Warriors did, then grabbed the blue scarf with both hands, hollering in his face. “We didn’t stand a chance against our enemy. You fought a man, I fought a creature in the pit of the castle and a fire beast nearly half the size of the castle! I did it alone! No army, no soldiers, every ally died the moment the enemy attacked us! I was the last stand until Zelda got her powers and I died for her. I would do it all over again too!”

Sky tried to ask them to stop again as he felt the power in him rise.

Warriors spat blood into Wild’s face and headbutted him hard, breaking his nose. It was a cheap shot, but effective.

“That’s enough you two.” Sky said as he made it to his feet blindly. Neither listened as they kept fighting. Sky met his limit.

The white web of electricity ran from his gloved hands to up his shoulders. His eyes were pure white and the aura around him was compressing and the smell of ozone was strong. He stalked over with a new confidence and grabbed the two fighting by the back of their tunics, pulling them apart with such ease that it was almost frightening.

“I SAID ENOUGH!!”

A bolt of lightning struck just behind Sky, but he was unmoving. His voice was distorted, a mix of his own and Demise’s.

“You want to talk about rankings? I outrank everyone here as the soon to be first King of Hyrule. I am the God Slayer, The Chosen One and I will not have this childishness continue or so help me gods, you will regret it. Is that understood?”

Both looked at him in paralyzed fear.

“Understood?!” Lightning struck the same place as well as either side of him.

“Y-yes.”

“Yes!”

“Now drink a potion and stay away from each other until you can start acting like heroes again.” Sky shoved them away, both landing on their rears.

Everyone stayed where they were, as Sky closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. When he reopened them, they were the normal blue and the sky above was its normal colors for pre-dusk.

Sky startled himself as he looked at the others expressions and the scorched land around him. He went pale as the clouds.

“Ooooh dear Hylia.” He mumbled as he ran his hands over his face. “I normally can keep that in check.”

“Do we wanna know?” Time asked, his own white eye wide open.

“Kill a god, get their power.” He looked at Wild and Warriors who were in a very shocked and bloody state. “Though right now I do not regret it. Didn’t I just tell you two to get potions?”

Wild, without looking away from Sky, tapped on his slate and had two potions in hand, giving one two Wars. Both drank, eyes twitching at the bitterness.

Warriors elbowed Wild. “Can we agree to disagree?”

“That and to never piss off Sky?”

“Agreed.”

Sky smirked as he went back to sitting against the tree. Maybe the power of a god wasn't so bad after all.

[karoiseka]

26) Zip

((More ARR goodness, something simple and sweet! [too sleepy to dig into the screenshots for the next one... which.. is my longest of this set, unlike this one. lol Here we go though!]))

Karo clutched the writ from the Flames tightly in her hand as she headed to the Chocobo stables just down the way, next to the grand doorway out of the city.  To have her own chocobo? Her’s truly?  It was a bit of a dream come true!  Not to have to walk everywhere–it was to make her travels so much faster, and allow for a lot more exploring.

Getting to the stables, she watched the birds mill behind the fence.  They all looked quite healthy to her untrained eye, and in good spirits, which reflected well on the stables here.  Most of the birds were the standard yellow, but there were a few mixed in of a rainbow of colors and sizes.  As she leaned up against the fence, several of the more social birds came to visit her, even as she was trying to see which personality seemed to fit her best.

A couple of the very social birds were much too small for her, being bred for Lalafells, whereas at least one of the gentle giants that had come over to attempt to preen her hair was much too large for her, despite the beautiful sapphire blue feathers. Giving him a scratch, she paced along the fence, eyes darting around and tail twitching behind her. 

A flash of pale blue zipped along the back of the enclosure before jumping high and landing with a proud squawk on top of a pile of crates left for that very purpose. Laughing, Karo noticed him perk up at the sound of her voice.  Posing confidently, the chocobo whistled, before leaping up off the boxes to the top of the overhang–one of the handler’s affectionately shoo-ing him down, even as he ran along its length, coming closer to where Karo was standing.  With a triumphant “kweh!” the bird jumped once more, gliding over the fence to stand at her side, nuzzling her shoulder with affection.

“Well then, I think you’ve been chosen!” the handler had been following the chocobo across the pen, and had sighed with amusement at the jailbreak–even if he hadn’t gone far.  “Glorfindel is his name, and he’s a feisty one as you saw!”  Karo had turned to the blue bird, quietly hooking a hand into his bridle so he couldn’t bolt (not that she wouldn’t just be dragged along like so much baggage), but also to help the handler clip a quick lead on him.  He was the perfect size for her, lithe and fit, and a sense of adventure to boot.  

“I think I like being chosen,” Karo replied, giving Glorfindel another scratch that he leaned into with a coo.  “Is–is this good enough to claim him?” she held the writ out, crumpled as it might be.

“New Flame recruit are ye? Yes, he’s available for this.  No one’s been interested in him due to his mischievousness, but I seem to think you two might get along in that,” Karo was greeted with a wink, as they bustled about, the writ disappearing in a deep pocket.  Looking up into the–no her chocobo’s face, she almost didn’t hear the wrangler continue as pure joy enveloped her.

“Let’s get him the rest of the way saddled up, and off you can be!  Let me show you how to use the whistle…”

[itsbenedict]

Two-Faced Jewel: Thunderbrush 27

Undercover & Dead Recovered

A conwoman disguised as a noble and the delegation of university students studying her have arrived in the jungle city of Thunderbrush, ruled by ancient dryads and organized crime. Will they manage to stay uninvolved in shady conspiracies? (No.)

Story so far | Session log index | Previous session

Last time, Looseleaf and Oliver recruited the Ecumene of Joy to help with the search-and-rescue operation of the soul-tethered inhabitants of Dead Jane, while Saelhen went undercover with the Ashtray to dig up dirt on the conspiracy to attack the school. Now it's time to execute on that operation- and start talking to the Ashtray's various allies- though "allies" is a strong word for it, it turns out.

Bishop Regretless sends Looseleaf and Oliver back to Dead Jane with a couple of clerics in tow to secure and disinfect the scene, while he works on organizing a task force of clerics to come in and do the heavy lifting. They get back to find that Say and Busy-Hands were able to get the black mana pump working, and... there's some complications with their plan to move it.

Looseleaf's original plan was to just stick the stuff to a dead rat using the same "tether" approach used for all these corpses- but as it turns out, death essence is heavy. It has physical mass, and there's 400 gallons of the stuff. It's self-adhesive to an extent, but it wouldn't be able to hold its own weight if suspended from a rat.

Luckily, they've got these mysterious crates the Ashtray brought, and... it turns out they're full of honeycomb latticework which itself is full of dead bugs. Takes a corpse to stick black mana in place! That's why the pump was made out of wood, specifically Dead Jane's body, so it could physically interact with the stuff at all. The crates presents a large surface area to attach the black mana to, but... well, moving it that way, there's no hiding it from the clerics.

Looseleaf's call here is to... just not hide anything, at all. What would they even do with a massive amount of black mana? The clerics should take care of that stuff- she's not planning to, like, raise a vampire army or anything. They can just have it!

Honesty ends up being a pretty good policy, once Bishop Regretless gets back and Karou can sit down for negotiations. His call is that the party can have half the black mana, but it'll be held in trust by the Ecumene of Joy, to be withdrawn under supervision if they really need it for some reason. They basically open up a bank account for it, and they agree to pay them a decent fraction of the going rate for the amount that the church takes for themselves. Karou doesn't want to disincentivize people to be honest with him!

And this deal ends up being pretty spicy, because they discover a massive amount of black mana, not just the 400 gallons or so from the spell array. They discover Dead Jane's own tether- snapped, but still huge enough that you could use the leftovers to resurrect like thirty people!

This is horrifying to the clerics.

Why? Well, normally, they get this stuff from special adventurers with church ties, who have equipment for harvesting the thanatic splashes when they go out and kill monsters and their souls fall into the thanatic sea. But you get a lot more of the stuff when people die than when monsters die, so there's some nasty incentives for thanergy farmers. Only takes a few human sacrifices to resurrect someone, compared to months of monster-slaying or years of passive swamp-tapping.

And this is a ridiculous amount of the stuff. Like, equivalent to thousands of people dying. And Curly Fry, conveniently, has careful records detailing exactly where they got it from:

From the Mementos, piecemeal, over the span of years, at a truly exorbitant cost that frustrated her to no end when Jane refused to explain the justification for those backbreaking line items and could not estimate any sort of ROI.

Still! Not the party's problem! The ecumene is going to look into their supplier's potential indiscretions. In the meantime, the party's cut is worth 18,000 gold, which is like, house-buying money. A gold is like, ten bucks in this setting's economy. The party is pretty dang loaded, now!

In the course of negotiating this deal, a few bits of trivia about the gods come up, which I should probably note here for the sake of reminder even though they're not directly relevant:

Gods don't fully inhabit their clerics- a channeling cleric only knows what they know, plus a comparatively small payload of memory and crucial divine information. Anything extra they know on top of their host must be extremely crucial info they can't afford to not know.

Karou has consistently recognized Looseleaf and Saelhen across different clerics. Hmmmmmmm.

"Divine avatars" exist- or existed, as a matter of history. Artificial people with a minimum of personality, designed for gods to inhabit as fully as possible as sort of self-inserts for extended meddling in the mortal world.

Divine artifacts, such as the bracer, were created in the bygone times of avatars as crutches and tools for the work of creation, or for convenience in the time the gods walked the Jewel to go on adventures when they weren't bored of the place yet.

Resurrection needs to be performed through the church because souls in afterlives are generally happy, and ripping them out without their consent is usually bad. Gods can negotiate these things directly, and trying to go around them is risky.

...According to Karou. Apparently different deities have completely different stories of why nonclerical resurrection is verboten, and it's not clear whether Karou's telling the truth.

In the course of all this resurrection and necromancy work, Looseleaf and Oliver gain some new abilities!

Oliver has a cool idea- you could route drinking water through a field of Jane's Death, sterilizing it by killing the microbes inside! Hook that up to the city's water system, and eliminate waterborne illness! That's a pretty cool idea! Except it's politically impossible for reasons the party doesn't know about yet! Whoops!!!!

Still, it's a useful way to sterilize and clean stuff otherwise, and he'll be putting that to some good use later.

It's time to start the actual recovery operation- but before that, let's see how Saelhen's doing!

First off, she goes out with Zeego to talk to the Sounds, Fallen's gang. And it turns out... they, uh, had no idea about these black mana boxes or the Dead Jane job. They just kind of assumed, because Fallen is the one who's big into stopping Tonnera and has the resources for this kind of thing.

She gets them to explain how they got caught up in the conspiracy- apparently, a bird showed up and told them that the Owls would be easing off on their attacks, and that they'd be working together to take down Tonnera. After comparing notes, they have what they believe to be a complete list of everyone known to be involved in the alliance! Score!

Fallen and the Sounds

Acacia and the Owls

Dionysia and the Oaken Casket

Naberia and the Lichen

Kudzu and the Gentle Chains

Redmaple and the Saplings

Will-O and the Ashtray

And who's not involved, because they refused or weren't trusted with secrets:

Comare and the Green Hats

Philia and the House

Sycamori and the Mementos

Ana and the Watchwood

And who the birds are reaching out to but haven't decided yet:

Manga Love and the Jumoku Jaguars

Dogwood and the Underdogs

Roselei and the Thorns

And who're complete ciphers, because no one's seen anyone contacting them for this stuff:

Coco and the Beech Boys

Danger Danger Danger

Ivy

Sawdust

Saelhen gets the down-low on those last three from Zeego:

Ivy is the dryad who grew into the wall and was imprisoned and experimented on by the city guard to try to find a way to kill her. No one's heard from her in years and they suspect the city guard succeeded.

Danger Danger Danger lives outside the walls- she runs an emergency safehouse/neutral zone where you can pay for protection if you need to disappear or lay low when you get in big trouble in the city. She has a small informal gang of total outcasts, and a larger force of jungle animals and monsters she's somehow enthralled into her service.

Sawdust- it's not her name, it's just what everyone calls her because that's what she'll be if anyone ever gets their hands on her. Apparently- and Zeego doesn't know the specifics- Sawdust did something to sell out Ivy to the city guard, told them some sort of secret or gave them a magic thing or whatever that allowed her to be subdued. He doesn't know the history there, but he knows the only reason she's not dead is a) ghost dryads are hard to kill, and b) she lives out in the jungle beyond the walls, where no one's super interested in going out there to try it.

Intel obtained, the Ashtray also secures the Sounds' agreement to assist with stopping Dark Lady LuSleeve and her vampire army. They apparently have a blackmailed cleric, some stake-launching devices, and a vampire of their own to help counteract domination. All useful for this fight that will definitely happen!

Next up... it's time to visit the Lichen. Who are... less friendly.

Saelhen, unfortunately, immediately gets recognized by one of the goons that jumped them when they first arrived in town, threatening to blow her cover instantly. She attempts to use her makeup kit to disguise herself, but...

...huh. It's running low on makeup for some reason and she needs to buy more. That's probably not related to anything.

Saelhen is a good liar, and manages to at least convince everyone else that this guy is racist and thinks all elves look the same, even though he's still convinced he knows her, and demands to know where she took Rundum.

(This was a while back, but after the party trounced these guys initially, one tried to run- only to get pulled into an alley and kidnapped by some shadowy figure. Wonder what was up with that! I think the players still haven't connected the dots there, actually...)

Eventually Naberia shows up, and she... is a mess. She's acting, like, drunk, though you don't know what ghost dryads can get drunk on. She's loud and angry and half of what she says doesn't make sense. She makes implausible threats at random, verbally abuses her gang members, and more than once orders them to attack Saelhen before telling them to stop what do you think you're doing you idiots. She seems to take a weird, sadistic glee in jerking their chains and hers.

Eventually Zeego gets sick of this and they rough them up and make some threats- but as they're leaving, Saelhen catches one of the defeated Lichen signing something at her in Thieves' Cant.

The only intel they really get from all this- besides Naberia's weird and erratic behavior- is that the means by which these cloaked avians control the different gangs vary. They're not all on the same page, and they're being fed different info and different stories about why they should cooperate and what the goal is. The whole thing seems a lot more rickety than it first appeared.

Lastly, Saelhen meets up with Red and goes to visit Dionysia, dryad of the Oaken Casket.

Dionysia is a font of pretty nice wine, and not a font of information. Apparently her gang- which mostly just deals in smuggling booze and party drugs to people whose ecumenes forbid that sort of thing- was already planning to put on a big exciting concert on Saturday, and the bird who contacted her was just like... weirdly interested in that? And just said, okay, your mission is do that thing you were already going to do, and in exchange we'll have the other members of the conspiracy not attack you for a while. And she was like... okay, cool! Sounds good! Why not?

Saelhen heroically resists peer pressure to do Drugs while on the job, after being offered some- but she does get some really nice wine! Dionysia apparently ages it in casks of her own flesh! Total control and monitoring over the conditions, for the perfect end result! Not gross!

After that, Saelhen goes to the store and replenishes her makeup kit, a detail that is probably unimportant.

Anyway! Looseleaf and Oliver were going to resurrect a bunch of people! How's that go?

Well, first, they have an 87% success rate on resurrections- they do lose a few because this is delicate work and the souls holding onto the tethers sometimes don't react well to being pulled back up. Considering how precarious it is, 87% is pretty good! They save 79 of 91 intact corpses- and it's exhausting. It takes all day and an extreme exertion of magical power. Whoof.

It's also exhausting emotionally.

You spend the day bringing people back from the dead- and you notice the pattern of it. These are all people who had some attachment to life so strong, something they couldn't allow themselves to let go of, that they held tight to a tether of mana for over a hundred years. They cared about something in life- and most of what constituted their life is now gone.

They also run into... one person who comes back nonverbal and laughing uncontrollably. Karou is able to determine that... her tether had her dangling into his afterlife, which accidentally wireheaded her since the background radiation of pure painless bliss has deleterious effects when you're there by accident and you're not being carefully paced on the hedonic treadmill. They end up killing her and letting her go back, to be tended to by Karou directly. Eesh.

...Also, you can apparently physically dangle into afterlives by a necromantic thread. Is a thing. That's a little weird.

After a fraught and exhausting day of tampering with the forces of life and death, it's time to go home for the night. Specifically, Oliver has a house, and he brings Looseleaf and Oyobi over to stay the night.

Whew! Okay!

After all that... next time, we're finally going to actually meet Tonnera Mighty, the ruler of the city who this conspiracy was formed to depose! She should... probably know about some of this stuff!

[this-week-in-rust]

This Week in Rust 544

Hello and welcome to another issue of This Week in Rust! Rust is a programming language empowering everyone to build reliable and efficient software. This is a weekly summary of its progress and community. Want something mentioned? Tag us at @ThisWeekInRust on Twitter or @ThisWeekinRust on mastodon.social, or send us a pull request. Want to get involved? We love contributions.

This Week in Rust is openly developed on GitHub and archives can be viewed at this-week-in-rust.org. If you find any errors in this week's issue, please submit a PR.

Updates from Rust Community

Foundation

Guest Blog: Attending CISA’s Open Source Software Security Summit

Newsletters

This Month in Rust OSDev: March 2024

Project/Tooling Updates

lilos v1.0 released

medium-to-markdown v0.1.1 : Convert your medium blogs easily into markdown files

Fluvio v0.11.6 release and project updates

venndb 0.4.0 - custom validators

Tantivy 0.22: Performance improvements, new aggregations and stability fixes

Announcing r3bl_terminal_async - build async interactive CLIs in Rust

[video] Demo + architecture overview of Ferrostar, a cross-platform turn-by-turn navigation SDK with a Rust core

Observations/Thoughts

The Rust Calling Convention We Deserve

Sized, DynSized, and Unsized

Coroutines and effects

Porting a cross-platform GUI application to Rust

Adventures In Rust: Bringing Exchange Support To Thunderbird

Rust Walkthroughs

Why SQLite Performance Tuning made Bencher 1200x Faster

drop, the destructor of Rust structs

Building with AWS S3 using Rust

Rust tokio task cancellation patterns

[video] Build with Naz - Published crate r3bl_terminal_async for building async interactive CLIs in Rust

[video] Trent Billington - Bevy ECS - Power tool for data oriented applications

[video] Building a procedural art generator

[audio] Isograph with Robert Balicki

Research

A Study of Undefined Behavior Across Foreign Function Boundaries in Rust Libraries

Rust Digger: Does size matter? The biggest crate is 450MB; More than 100 crates are over 50MB

Miscellaneous

GitHub Sponsor Rust developer David Tolnay

Learn how to write TCP servers using Rust's std::net module

RustFest Zürich 🇨 Talks announced

Crate of the Week

This week's crate is scandir, a high-performance file tree scanner.

Thanks to Marty B. for the self-suggestion!

Please submit your suggestions and votes for next week!

Call for Testing

An important step for RFC implementation is for people to experiment with the implementation and give feedback, especially before stabilization. The following RFCs would benefit from user testing before moving forward:

No calls for testing were issued this week.

If you are a feature implementer and would like your RFC to appear on the above list, add the new call-for-testing label to your RFC along with a comment providing testing instructions and/or guidance on which aspect(s) of the feature need testing.

Call for Participation; projects and speakers

CFP - Projects

Always wanted to contribute to open-source projects but did not know where to start? Every week we highlight some tasks from the Rust community for you to pick and get started!

Some of these tasks may also have mentors available, visit the task page for more information.

awesome-alternatives-in-rust - Add dqy alternative to dig

fluvio - When a topic is deleted, connected clients should have their connection closed

fluvio - MQTT Connector: Prefix auto generated Client ID to prevent connection drops

fluvio - Remove localhost from fluvio in favor of 127.0.0.1

If you are a Rust project owner and are looking for contributors, please submit tasks here.

CFP - Speakers

Are you a new or experienced speaker looking for a place to share something cool? This section highlights events that are being planned and are accepting submissions to join their event as a speaker.

RustConf 2024 | Closes 2024-04-25 | Montreal, Canada | Event date: 2024-09-10

RustLab 2024 | Closes 2024-05-01 | Florence, Italy | Event date: 2024-11-09 - 2024-11-11

EuroRust 2024| Closes 2024-06-03 | Vienna, Austria & online | Event date: 2024-10-10

Scientific Computing in Rust 2024| Closes 2024-06-14 | online | Event date: 2024-07-17 - 2024-07-19

Conf42 Rustlang 2024 | Closes 2024-07-22 | online | Event date: 2024-08-22

If you are an event organizer hoping to expand the reach of your event, please submit a link to the submission website through a PR to TWiR.

Updates from the Rust Project

432 pull requests were merged in the last week

add simple async drop glue generation

llvm backend: Prevent creating the same Instance::mono multiple times

static_mut_refs: use raw pointers to remove the remaining FIXME

add a lower bound check to unicode-table-generator output

add an opt-in to store incoming edges in VecGraph + misc

add llvm-bitcode-linker to build manifest

allow workproducts without object files

at debuginfo=0, don't inline debuginfo when inlining

correctly change type when adding adjustments on top of NeverToAny

coverage: branch coverage tests for lazy boolean operators

coverage: prepare for improved branch coverage

delay interning errors to after validation

delay span bug when Self kw resolves to DefKind::{Mod,Trait}

don't ICE for kind mismatches during error rendering

don't ascend into parent bodies when collecting stmts for possible return suggestion

don't error on subtyping of equal types

don't inline integer literals when they overflow - new attempt

don't repeatedly duplicate TAIT lifetimes for each subsequently nested TAIT

fix ICE in eval_body_using_ecx

fix ICE when there is a non-Unicode entry in the incremental crate directory

fix capturing duplicated lifetimes via parent in precise_captures (impl use<'...>)

fix normalizing in different ParamEnvs with the same InferCtxt

fix trait solver overflow with non_local_definitions lint

flip spans for precise capturing syntax not capturing a ty/const param, and for implicit captures of lifetime params

give a name to each distinct manipulation of pretty-printer FixupContext

ignore -C strip on MSVC

implement Modified Condition/Decision Coverage

implement PROBLEMATIC_CONSTS generalization

implement syntax for impl Trait to specify its captures explicitly (feature(precise_capturing))

improve ICE message for forbidden dep-graph reads

interpret: pass MemoryKind to adjust_alloc_base_pointer

interpret: pass MemoryKind to before_memory_deallocation

interpret: use ScalarInt for bin-ops; avoid PartialOrd for ScalarInt

introduce perma-unstable wasm-c-abi flag

let inherent associated types constrain opaque types during projection

make suggest_deref_closure_return more idiomatic/easier to understand

make thir_tree and thir_flat into hooks

make the comments for ReturnDest variants doc comments

match ergonomics 2024: Implement eat-one-layer

match ergonomics 2024: mut doesn't reset binding mode

match hyphen in multi-revision comment matchers

opaque types have no namespace

outline default query and hook provider function implementations

prefer identity equality over equating types during coercion

print note with closure signature on type mismatch

properly handle emojis as literal prefix in macros

remove default_hidden_visibility: false from wasm targets

remove uneeded clones now that TrustedStep implies Copy

silence some follow-up errors on trait impls in case the trait has conflicting or otherwise incoherent impls

simplify shallow resolver to just fold ty/consts

stop taking ParamTy/ParamConst/EarlyParamRegion/AliasTy by ref

subtype predicates only exist on inference types, so we can allow them to register opaque types within them

tell LLVM Vec::len is invariant across growth

use raw-dylib for Windows synchronization functions

refactor clippy in bootstrap

when suggesting RUST_BACKTRACE=1, add a special note for Miri's env var isolation

miri: data_race: make the release/acquire API more clear

miri: no_std works on Windows now

miri: add localtime_r shim

miri: address reuse improvements and fixes

miri: deadlock: show backtrace for all threads

miri: directly call handle_alloc_error

miri: implement support for __rust_alloc_error_handler

miri: make realloc with a size of zero fail

miri: move read_byte_slice to general helpers file, next to read_c_str

miri: threads: keep track of why we are blocked, and sanity-check that when waking up

Box::into_raw: make Miri understand that this is a box-to-raw cast

PatRangeBoundary::compare_with: also add a fast-path for signed integers

codegen ZSTs without an allocation

stabilize Wasm target features that are in phase 4 and 5

stabilize const_io_structs

stabilize checking of cfgs at compile-time: --check-cfg option

stabilize generic NonZero

make checked ops emit unchecked LLVM operations where feasible

improve std::fs::Metadata Debug representation

fix negating f16 and f128 constants

force exhaustion in iter::ArrayChunks::into_remainder

checked_ilog: improve performance

add an intrinsic for ptr::from_raw_parts(_mut)

fix: make str::from_raw_parts_mut mut

use queue-based RwLock on more platforms

add support for Arm64EC to the standard library

codegen_gcc: fix PassMode::Indirect with params

codegen_gcc: fix check for main function already declared

codegen_gcc: fix panic when calling get_fn for a variable

codegen_gcc: fix passing custom CG_RUSTFLAGS when building sysroot

codegen_gcc: implement more type kinds

cargo install: including Locking message

cargo resolver: add default Edition2024 to resolver v3

cargo resolver: add v3 resolver for MSRV-aware resolving

cargo credential: trim newlines in tokens from stdin

cargo msrv: error, rather than panic, on rust-version 'x'

cargo msrv: put MSRV-aware resolver behind a config

cargo toml: don't crash on parse errors that point to multi-byte character

cargo toml: disallow source-less dependencies

cargo toml: error on [project] in Edition 2024

cargo toml: report _fied variants (e.g. dev_dependencies) as deprecated

cargo: fix 'cargo build' fails when list_files() with gix is triggered

rustdoc: always display stability version even if it's the same as the containing item

rustdoc: fix copy path button

rustdoc: support type '/' to search

rustdoc-search: fix description on aliases in results

rustdoc-search: single result for items with multiple paths

clippy: threadlocal_initializer_can_be_made_const will not trigger for unreachable initializers

clippy: arithmetic_side_effects fix false negative on +=

clippy: ptr_as_ptr: fix duplicate diagnostics

clippy: emit the needless_pass_by_ref_mut lint on self arguments as well

clippy: fix is_test_module_or_function

clippy: reduce single_char_pattern to only lint on ascii chars

clippy: rework interior mutability detection

clippy: the multiple_unsafe_ops_per_block test needs asm!

rust-analyzer: cargo script mvp

rust-analyzer: add convert From to TryFrom assist

rust-analyzer: allow rust files to be used linkedProjects

rust-analyzer: VFS should not walk circular symlinks

rust-analyzer: handle escaped chars in doc comments

rust-analyzer: replace Just the variable name in Unused Variable Diagnostic Fix

rust-analyzer: implement BeginPanic handling in const eval

rust-analyzer: make test harness arguments configurable and not --nocapture

rust-analyzer: render matched macro arm on hover of macro calls

rust-analyzer: try to generate more meaningful names in json converter

Rust Compiler Performance Triage

A week dominated by small mixed changes to perf with improvements slightly outweighing regressions. There were no pure regressions, and many of the mixed perf results were deemed worth it for their potential improvements to runtime performance through further optimization from LLVM.

Triage done by @rylev. Revision range: ccfcd950..a77f76e2

Summary:

(instructions:u) mean range count Regressions ❌ (primary) 0.4% [0.2%, 1.8%] 57 Regressions ❌ (secondary) 0.4% [0.2%, 1.9%] 26 Improvements ✅ (primary) -0.8% [-3.4%, -0.2%] 50 Improvements ✅ (secondary) -0.6% [-1.9%, -0.1%] 32 All ❌✅ (primary) -0.2% [-3.4%, 1.8%] 107

0 Regressions, 5 Improvements, 6 Mixed; 2 of them in rollups 62 artifact comparisons made in total

Full report here

Call for Testing

An important step for RFC implementation is for people to experiment with the implementation and give feedback, especially before stabilization. The following RFCs would benefit from user testing before moving forward:

No calls for testing were issued this week.

RFCs

Rust

If you are a feature implementer and would like your RFC to appear on the above list, add the new call-for-testing label to your RFC along with a comment providing testing instructions and/or guidance on which aspect(s) of the feature need testing.

Approved RFCs

Changes to Rust follow the Rust RFC (request for comments) process. These are the RFCs that were approved for implementation this week:

No RFCs were approved this week.

Final Comment Period

Every week, the team announces the 'final comment period' for RFCs and key PRs which are reaching a decision. Express your opinions now.

RFCs

[disposition: merge] experimental project goal program for 2024 H2

Tracking Issues & PRs

Rust

[disposition: merge] Tracking Issue for std::path::absolute

[disposition: merge] Tracking Issue for convenience methods on NonNull

[disposition: merge] Inline more svg images into CSS

[disposition: merge] Edition 2024: Make ! fall back to !

[disposition: merge] static_mut_refs: Should the lint cover hidden references?

Cargo

[disposition: merge] fix(toml): Warn, rather than fail publish, if a target is excluded

New and Updated RFCs

[new] experimental project goal program for 2024 H2

Upcoming Events

Rusty Events between 2024-04-24 - 2024-05-22 🦀

Virtual

2024-04-24 | Virtual + In Person (Prague, CZ) | Rust Czech Republic

#2: Making Safe Rust Safer (Pavel Šimerda)

2024-04-25 | Virtual (Berlin, DE) | OpenTechSchool Berlin + Rust Berlin

Rust Hack and Learn | Mirror: Rust Hack n Learn Meetup

2024-04-30 | Virtual (Dallas, TX, US) | Dallas Rust

Last Tuesday

2024-05-01 | Virtual (Cardiff, UK) | Rust and C++ Cardiff

Rust for Rustaceans Book Club: Chapter 5 - Project Structure

2024-05-01 | Virtual (Indianapolis, IN, US) | Indy Rust

Indy.rs - with Social Distancing

2024-05-02 | Virtual (Charlottesville, NC, US) | Charlottesville Rust Meetup

Crafting Interpreters in Rust Collaboratively

2024-05-07 | Virtual (Buffalo, NY) | Buffalo Rust Meetup

Buffalo Rust User Group

2024-05-09 | Virtual (Berlin, DE) | OpenTechSchool Berlin + Rust Berlin

Rust Hack and Learn | Mirror: Rust Hack n Learn Meetup

2024-05-09 | Virtual (Israel) | Rust in Israel

Rust at Microsoft, Tel Aviv - Are we embedded yet?

2024-05-09 | Virtual (Nuremberg/Nürnberg, DE) | Rust Nuremberg

Rust Nürnberg online

2024-05-14 | Virtual (Dallas, TX, US) | Dallas Rust

Second Tuesday

2024-05-14 | Virtual (Halifax, NS, CA) | Rust Halifax

Rust&Tell - Halifax

2024-05-14 | Virtual + In-Person (München/Munich, DE) | Rust Munich

Rust Munich 2024 / 1 - hybrid (Rescheduled)

2024-05-15 | Virtual (Vancouver, BC, CA) | Vancouver Rust

Rust Study/Hack/Hang-out

2024-05-16 | Virtual (Charlottesville, VA, US) | Charlottesville Rust Meetup

Crafting Interpreters in Rust Collaboratively

2024-05-21 | Virtual (Washington, DC, US) | Rust DC

Mid-month Rustful—forensic parsing via Artemis

Africa

2024-05-04 | Kampala, UG | Rust Circle Kampala

Rust Circle Meetup

Asia

2024-05-11 | Bangalore, IN | Rust Bangalore

May 2024 Rustacean meetup

Europe

2024-04-24 | Virtual + In Person (Prague, CZ) | Rust Czech Republic

#2: Making Safe Rust Safer (Pavel Šimerda)

2024-04-25 | Aarhus, DK | Rust Aarhus

Talk Night at MFT Energy

2024-04-25 | Berlin, DE | Rust Berlin

Rust and Tell - TBD

2024-04-25 | København/Copenhagen, DK | Copenhagen Rust Community

Rust meetup #46 sponsored by Nine A/S

2024-04-25 | Vienna, AT | Rust Vienna

Rust Vienna x Python User Group - April

2024-04-27 | Basel, CH | Rust Basel

Fullstack Rust - Workshop #2 (Register by 23 April)

2024-04-27 | Stockholm, SE | Stockholm Rust

Ferris' Fika Forum #2

2024-04-30 | Budapest, HU | Budapest Rust Meetup Group

Rust Meetup Budapest 2

2024-04-30 | Salzburg, AT | Rust Salzburg

[Rust Salzburg meetup]: 6:30pm - CCC Salzburg, 1. OG, ArgeKultur, Ulrike-Gschwandtner-Straße 5, 5020 Salzburg

2024-05-01 | Köln/Cologne, DE | Rust Cologne

This Month in Rust, May

2024-05-01 | Utrecht, NL | NL-RSE Community

NL-RSE RUST meetup

2024-05-06 | Delft, NL | GOSIM

GOSIM Europe 2024

2024-05-07 & 2024-05-08 | Delft, NL | RustNL

RustNL 2024

2024-05-08 | Cambridge, UK | Cambridge Rust Meetup

Monthly Rust Meetup

2024-05-09 | Gdańsk, PL | Rust Gdansk

Rust Gdansk Meetup #2

2024-05-14 | Virtual + In-Person (München/Munich, DE) | Rust Munich

Rust Munich 2024 / 1 - hybrid (Rescheduled)

2024-05-14 | Prague, CZ | Rust Prague

Rust Meetup Prague (May 2024)

2024-05-21 | Aarhus, DK | Rust Aarhus

Hack Night

2024-05-21 | Zurich, CH | Rust Zurich

Save the date - Mai Meetup

North America

2024-04-24 | Austin, TX, US | Rust ATX

Rust Lunch - Fareground

2024-04-25 | Nashville, TN, US | Music City Rust Developers

Music City Rust Developers - Async Rust on Embedded

2024-04-26 | Boston, MA, US | Boston Rust Meetup

North End Rust Lunch, Apr 26

2024-05-04 | Cambridge, MA, US | Boston Rust Meetup

Kendall Rust Lunch, May 4

2024-05-09 | Spokane, WA, US | Spokane Rust

Monthly Meetup: Topic TBD!

2024-05-12 | Brookline, MA, US | Boston Rust Meetup

Coolidge Corner Brookline Rust Lunch, May 12

2024-05-16 | Seattle, WA, US | Seattle Rust User Group

Seattle Rust User Group Meetup

2024-05-20 | Somerville, MA, US | Boston Rust Meetup

Ball Square Rust Lunch, May 20

2024-05-21 | San Francisco, CA, US | San Francisco Rust Study Group

Rust Hacking in Person

2024-05-22 | Austin, TX, US | Rust ATX

Rust Lunch - Fareground

Oceania

2024-04-30 | Auckland, NZ | Rust AKL

Rust AKL: Why Rust? Convince Me!

2024-04-30 | Canberra, ACT, AU | Canberra Rust User Group

CRUG April Meetup: Generics and Traits

If you are running a Rust event please add it to the calendar to get it mentioned here. Please remember to add a link to the event too. Email the Rust Community Team for access.

Jobs

Please see the latest Who's Hiring thread on r/rust

Quote of the Week

The learning curve for Rust is relatively steep compared to other languages, but once you climb it you'll never look down.

– BD103 on Mastodon

Thanks to BD103 for the self-suggestion!

Please submit quotes and vote for next week!

This Week in Rust is edited by: nellshamrell, llogiq, cdmistman, ericseppanen, extrawurst, andrewpollack, U007D, kolharsam, joelmarcey, mariannegoldin, bennyvasquez.

Email list hosting is sponsored by The Rust Foundation

Discuss on r/rust

[whitherwordswither]

Logs from the Starfields, IV

Captain's Log #0.04:

So, sometimes, when I'm visiting New Atlantis I like to take a stroll down through The Well. Sure, the air quality ain't all that great but… there's some decent shops down there. And the Trade Authority allows me to drop off a lot of random lost and found items I come across.

One shop though, the surplus market Antonio runs. I was mindin' my own, browsing his goods when a customer comes in demanding a refund for some boots. Because they bring her bad luck? What did she say now? Somethin' about… "It's like walking under a ladder with a broken mirror in my pocket!" …And he gave her a refund! I ain't ever seen this man give refunds. So, after she leaves I decide to ask him about the boots.

Turns out she's not the first to return them. Apparently these unlucky boots are cursed. Hah. Like, are ya kiddin' me? Cursed space boots? Sounds like something straight out of one of them Tamriel Adventure novels. So anyway. Apparently these boots are so unlucky Antonio just wants to get rid of them and offers to pay me some decent creds to take them to a whole 'nother system and stash 'em away somewhere.

Well, shit. I didn't have any plans when I woke up this morning so why the heck not! Looks like we're going to some place called The Den. Pretty specific locale, if ya ask me. He could've just said to drop 'em in any 'ole corner of the galaxy. Guess we might find out why once we get there maybe? I'm kinda curious m'self.

So off we go! The Wolf System. I dig the name.

…

Turns out The Den is an old UC station. According to the Vanguard folks posted here it ain't seen much action since the war ended. Fine by me. I enjoy the calm. I mosey my way around and find a nice lookin' crate to stash the boots in back in a corner down some janky hall. Surprisingly, there's some young buck here, eyeballin' me.

Real good eyes too. Spots the boots. Can tell they're his size and everything. Even offers to buy 'em off me. Tempting. But I can see the risk comin' a mile away. Antonio's an alright guy. I don't want this to somehow blow back on him. So I decline and stash the boots in the crate. I mean. The guy could just as well pilfer them from the crate when I'm gone. It's the principle of the matter. Plus… well. I ain't gonna do my contract dirty like that. And sure as hell not for 500 measley creds.

But that was it. I'm still not sure why the boots had to be put in this specific location. Suppose it will remain one of life's great mysteries.

With that out of the way I decide to explore the station a bit. I find some cute plushies in an unoccupied room past the hall and I… Sigh. …Ok, ok. I admit. I might have a tiny problem. Ya see. I love all these cute lil plush toys. I can't keep my hands off 'em. So, yeah. Frown on me all ya want. I takes 'em when I sees 'em. Have you seen how frickin' adorable the plushie Parsec Pooch is? C'mon now. Ya'll'd be nabbin' 'em for that sweet five-finger discount too!

Anyway. The Den is… has a disappointingly small interior to explore. Besides the bar on the lower deck the only other post of any interest is the Trade Authority. Though the man here does have a charm about him I kinda like… I'd almost like him to invite me to see the special stock in back, if ya get my drift. Ahem.

Well. While we're here, I do a cursory scan of the system. Nothing really of interest. It really is the ass end of nowhere. I scavenge a couple wrecked ships near the old Den station. Would've liked to board the derelict, but. Didn't see any ports to dock to. Ah, well. I jump back to New Atlantis and give Antonio the good news. He gives me credits. All is right as rain.

As I'm pondering what to do with my day next I decide to pay a visit to my scientist friend and see if he's learned anything new about his tree. He seems to think the vibrations it is sending out are like a matin' call or whatever. All that science-y stuff is a bit above my pay grade. What he needs to test his theory though, that. That I can go and get. Seems like an old tree was given when the colonies were first established here as a peace offering to Akila. Though that tree died, it's branches are still in the museum there and apparently my friend may be able to science up some of its DNA and reciprocate a response to get the tree here to calm down its ponies.

I was wantin' to visit Akila anyway so this works out! Ain't been to the Cheyenne system in a long while. Not since before I lost my haulin' ship.

…

Akila's got some nice folks. Bit of an old Earth west feel to the place. That's kinda helped by it bein' on a rocky, desert kinda planet. I don't care too much for the area around the port though. Too muddy. I'm not a big fan of mud. Gets everywhere.

Soon as I hit the outer gate of the city a guard advises caution. Some ruckus happening at the local GalBank branch. Because of course there is! And it's a hostage situation. Sounds like my kinda party to crash and wouldn't ya know. I can see it from the gate. So of course I'm gonna mosey on over and offer my assistance since the sheriff ain't makin' any headway. It don't take too long before I've persuaded the gang to release the hostages and come out all quiet like without a fuss. It's almost like I'm the main character in a sweet intergalactic space opera. Maybe I should be sheriff. Hahah. Wouldn't that be cute? But I got things to do. Did I mention Akila has one of my favorite little bookshops? No digital content. Purely physical. I could spend hours in there. The owner's a nice gal.

I swing by the museum and manage to convince the owner to let me take the tree branch out of storage and back to New Atlantis with me on the contingency I bring it back in one piece. So. I hope the science won't damage it. Before I head out I take some time to wander around the city. There's a couple cheap properties here I can afford and I just might. I run in to another little squabble between a couple of guards and a woman who has some ideas about making security safer from the local beasty population outside the gates. The head of security doesn't want to listen because "Gosh darn I done it this way for years and it works so I ain't changin'!" blah blah. It's that kinda stuck-to-my-dusty-old-guns no-woman-gonna-tell-me nonsense I don't really care for. It don't hurt no one to listen to some new ideas. Especially if the new ideas could actually increase safety. And in the end, ain't that what this is about? So I end up helpin' the lass on the sly. She gives me some modules to set up along the perimeter of the town wall and then I casually occupy the attention of one of the guards near their security tower while she adjusts some settings on one of their computers to work with the modules. Technically, she's not really allowed in there.

Might be a bit shady but… like I said. If it's something that could keep people safer, what's the worst that could happen? She'll need a good 24hrs to collect a decent amount of data. Which works for me since. Since I got a date. With science. Back to Atlantis!

…

I touch down and jog my happy ass over to give my scientist friend the branch. He does his science stuff. And then figured the best way to serenade the tree is to have the audio he's created play from a near kiosk.

I offered to sing it, but. Apparently. My chops ain't cut for it. Pfft. Figures. So anyway. I skidaddle on over to the SSNN and upload the vibrational-sound-DNA-data or whatever. Which apparently, I can just do. From a weird little wall terminal without askin' nobody. Maybe MAST is authorized to just change up the tunes? I dunno. Again. Logisticalities are above my pay grade.

According to my friend, this method seems to be working. Visually, the has tree stopped dripping its drippy stuff. But otherwise still looks like the same ole tree its been. A win for science! Or somethin'. I guess. Well. Credits for me and my science friend is sporting a bigger smile. I suppose we saved the day and no one is the wiser. And no trees got to get harmed. Sometimes good happens quietly. Roll with it.

After that's all said and done I finally decide to head back to the Lodge and talk to Sarah. She's got a lead on an artifact and wants me to accompany her to pick it up. I'll spare you a loooong story about how this led us on a bit of a system-hoppin' goose hunt full of spacers and laser fights, bouncing around the Sol system from Mars to Uranus and boy… it was a mess tryin' to get ahold of this thing.

We finally save this poor lad from being spaced in his own ship. And here we find out he had been trying to hawk the dang artifact for extra creds! Well, lucky on us since we pulled his toasty rear outta the fire he just gave it up without a fuss at that point. Sarah got to bite off a bit more than she wanted to chew. I ended up dragging her down to some crashed ship remnants I wanted to check out on a nearby moon. And then we found a secret bio-research facility. And ya'll know I just had to waltz on in and check it out. Ran in to quite a few more pirates in there. Since I'm writing this, obviously, we made it out. And there's one group less of pirates in the galaxy to pirate. Another win for the day. Found a lot of good loot. Didn't really find out a whole lot of what the facility had been used for. Just some hints. Lots of frozen bodies. Apparently attempting to alter human DNA to better acclimate to hostile planet environments. Seemed sketch.

And hey, on the way back to New Atlantis those bounty hunters caught up to me again! This time, hopefully, I sent them a clearer message. By blowing their ships up. We'll see how that comes back to bite future-me in the ass.

Got to meet a couple other members of Constellation. A father and his kid. They seem nice enough. Kid seems like a smarty. I like 'em. Sarah points me to three new leads to follow up on. But that's enough artifact chasing for me for a minute or five. I still got a whole log of stuff that seems to keep getting bigger I want to look in to. Not to mention a whole mess of loot to sell. One step closer to a better ship!

I've managed to amass almost 200k. My eye is still on that Shieldbreaker they have in the shipyard. Just wait for me a little longer, darlin'…

End log.

[rampagingpoet]

This applies to role-playing games as well, specifically to how the rules of the game interact with the setting of the game. Any rules that bring in fantastical elements ought to impact the setting, or have a reasonable explanation as to why that impact has not materialized. And you need to dig deep into interactions between rules as well.

For example, Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 and continual flame. You can drizzle some ruby dust over something, cast a spell, and that object emits light forever. Paying someone else to do this for you cost 110 gold pieces - just over three years' wages for the average labourer toiling away in someone else's fields or hauling crates around the docks. Surely that's too expensive to have a noticeable effect on the average person, right?

Well it turns out skilled professionals earn a lot more money than the people they hire to carry shit for them. About 15 times more money. It's less than 3 month's wages for a typical blacksmith or wainwright. About as much as buying good tools for the job. Even the actual owner of a family farm - the person who actually has Profession: Farmer - brings in enough income that having an Everburning Torch for the household is a realistic if expensive purchase.

Maybe that's expensive enough not everyone chooses to buy an Everburning Torch? Maybe you have some floating around and other people make due with cheaper (though limited) mundane light sources. Or that's what could happen if Everburning Torches were actually expensive to produce.

Enter the humble lantern archon. Messengers of the celestial hosts, least of the defenders of the Seven Mounting Heavens, lantern archons are dedicated to the protection of all that is Lawful and Good. They can also cast continual flame as a spell-like ability at will, bypassing both spell slot requirements and the costly ruby dust normally consumed in the casting.

One day a priestess of Heironeous prays for the heavens to bring light to her people, that they may flourish. A lantern archon answers her call. After a brief discussion of her needs and the donation of a small bundle of healing potions toward Celestia's war efforts, the archon agrees to spend one week bringing light to the city.

Lantern archons do not eat. Lantern archons do not sleep. For seven days and seven nights, this archon does nothing but cast continual flame on whatever items are brought before it. Where once there was darkness, one hundred thousand smokeless flames bring the light. Forevermore.

This costs a total of about three copper pieces per continual flame - 500 gp to compensate the caster for the 100 XP cost of lesser planar ally plus 1,000 gp to hire a 1 HD Outsider to perform a risk-free task for one week. For less than the price of a single +1 Longsword - an adventuring staple - the priestess can just give several Everburning Torches to literally every inhabitant of her city. And now we have lighting situations as good or better than a modern, electrified city because continual flame does not require you to continually pay your electric bill.

It took a combination of several rules elements to get there, but it only needs to happen once for the setting your rules imply to differ greatly from the setting you thought you were writing.

any magic worldbuilding where light is 'free' (does not require oil/candles/other material goods/etc) and people still live in completely medieval-style environments - or where this doesn't have a tremendous impact on architecture and lifestyle, bare minimum, is incomprehensible to me... access to light is like. So critical

[schoolcraziness]

Shadows of Pandora**

**Chapter 1: The Call of the Vault**

The sun set on Pandora, casting long shadows across the desolate landscape. Lilith stood atop a rocky cliff, her crimson hair catching the last rays of sunlight. The thrill of adventure coursed through her veins as she looked out over the horizon. The Vault had been opened, but whispers of a new threat had begun to surface—an ancient evil, once thought vanquished, was stirring beneath the surface.

“Hey, Firehawk! You daydreaming or what?” Mordecai’s voice broke through her thoughts, and she turned to see him leaning against a battered old vehicle, Bloodwing perched on his shoulder.

“Just thinking about the Vault,” Lilith replied, her voice steady. “There’s something out there. We need to find it before it finds us.”

Mordecai chuckled. “You always think too much. Let’s just grab some loot and call it a day.”

Before she could respond, a crackling transmission echoed through the air. It was Ellie, her voice filled with excitement. “Guys! You won’t believe what I found! There’s a lead on a new Vault! Meet me at the garage!”

Lilith exchanged a glance with Mordecai. “Looks like we have our next adventure.”

---

**Chapter 2: The Gathering**

At Ellie’s garage, the atmosphere was electric. Maps covered the walls, and a flickering monitor displayed images of a long-lost Vault. Zer0, with his mask reflecting the dim light, stood silently, analyzing the data.

“Welcome, assassins and hunters,” he said, his voice smooth and almost melodic. “The Vault we seek is said to hold the power to control the very fabric of reality. It is imperative we find it before it falls into the wrong hands.”

Ellie nodded enthusiastically. “I’ve got the maps and a few leads on where to start digging. We’ll need to gather supplies and maybe a few more friends along the way.”

“Friends?” Mordecai raised an eyebrow. “You mean more psychos and bandits?”

“Yeah, but they might have useful info,” Ellie shot back. “Besides, it’s Pandora. You never know who might be useful.”

Lilith stepped forward, fire dancing at her fingertips. “Then let’s not waste any time. We need to move.”

---

**Chapter 3: Into the Wasteland**

The group set out into the wasteland, their vehicle roaring through the rugged terrain. The sun beat down mercilessly, but their spirits were high. As they approached a rumored bandit camp, they could see smoke rising in the distance.

“Alright, let’s be cautious,” Lilith instructed. “We don’t know what we’re walking into.”

As they neared, they found a camp filled with raucous bandits, shouting and celebrating. Mordecai grinned, loading his sniper rifle. “Looks like a party. Time to crash it.”

With a flick of her wrist, Lilith unleashed a wave of fire, igniting the nearest tent. The bandits erupted into chaos, and the team sprang into action. Zer0 danced through the fray, a blur of movement and precision, while Mordecai picked off enemies from a distance.

“Nice work!” Ellie shouted, tossing grenades into the fray.

As the dust settled, they found a lone bandit cowering behind a crate. “Please! Don’t kill me! I know where the Vault is!” he pleaded.

Lilith raised an eyebrow. “Talk.”

---

**Chapter 4: The Vault Awakens**

After a tense negotiation, the bandit led them to an ancient site marked by strange symbols and overgrown vegetation. As they approached, the ground trembled, and a low hum filled the air.

“This is it,” Lilith whispered, her eyes wide with awe. “The Vault is beneath us.”

The bandit, trembling, pointed to a large stone door covered in intricate carvings. “You have to activate the mechanism. But beware—the Guardian inside will not take kindly to intruders.”

Zer0 stepped forward, examining the door. “Allow me.” With a swift movement, he began deciphering the symbols, his focus intense.

As the door creaked open, a gust of wind rushed out, carrying echoes of ancient power. The Guardian emerged, a colossal figure glowing with energy, eyes locked onto the intruders.

“Prepare yourselves!” Lilith shouted, flames igniting around her.

---

**Chapter 5: The Firehawk’s Fury**

The Guardian charged, but Lilith was faster. She unleashed a torrent of fire, forcing it back momentarily. Mordecai and Bloodwing provided cover, while Zer0 moved with lethal grace, striking at the Guardian’s weak points.

“Ellie! We need more firepower!” Mordecai called out, firing another shot.

“I’m on it!” Ellie scrambled to a nearby crate, rigging explosives with quick precision. “Just keep it busy!”

As the battle raged, Lilith felt the air crackle with energy. The Guardian was powerful, but they were stronger together. With a final surge of determination, she summoned her full power, a fiery explosion erupting from her hands.

“Now!” she yelled, and they launched their combined attack.

The explosion resonated through the air, and for a moment, everything was silent. When the smoke cleared, the Guardian lay defeated, its energy dissipating into the ether.

---

**Epilogue: A New Dawn**

As the group stood before the opened Vault, the air shimmered with untapped power. “We did it,” Mordecai said, a grin spreading across his face.

Lilith stepped forward, a mix of excitement and trepidation coursing through her. “What lies inside could change everything.”

Zer0 nodded, his voice calm. “Or destroy it. We must proceed with caution.”

Ellie clapped her hands together. “Alright, let’s see what Pandora has in store for us this time!”

With renewed purpose, they stepped into the Vault, ready for whatever challenges awaited them. In the heart of Pandora, a new adventure was just beginning.

[redmoonwanderer]

FFXIV Write 2024, Day 23 Prompt: On Cloud Nine Music

The day they are to set forth to Tuliyollal is a sunny one. Seabirds caw above the docks, ships sway on the waves lapping the shore. Sailors are lugging crates and sacks onto a large ship that’ll be westward-bound, and passengers are walking up the gangplank, some chattering away about the upcoming journey.

Erenville is walking to where he’s agreed to meet Qhol’a, and sees the man from the distance. “You’re early,” he says, because he’d himself made sure to not be late, and expected to have to wait for a bit. “And look eager to go.”

Qhol’a grins, and his tail swishes in a way that the viera isn’t used to seeing. The grim confidence is lost, made way for easy air of an adventurer who’s not burdened with the safety of a world and is simply looking ahead to some time with dear friends.

Qhol’a makes some signs, but Erenville isn’t quite used to them, yet, so he tilts his head in silence. The miqo’te doesn’t look annoyed, just digs out a notebook and quickly writes something on it. When he turns it to Erenville, it reads “VACATION!” underlined many times.

“I suppose it must feel like it after everything,” Erenville agrees, though he’s not yet sure he feels the same, at least quite yet.

Seemingly done with standing still, the miqo’te, without a warning, grabs Erenville by the upper arm and pulls him after him towards the docks. The contact doesn’t last for long, only until Qhol’a can be sure Erenville will keep up, and when he lets go, walking ahead of the viera, he seems to write again.

For a brief moment, Qhol’a walks backwards to show him what he’s written.

“I need to ask Thancred for lessons? It would be easier if he was with us.”

More writing, and Erenville worries that the man will run into someone if he doesn’t turn around and watch where he’s going.

‘Others can help, too.’

Before Erenville can say anything to it, a seabird outright screams above them, and Qhol’a looks up. If he ever expected a reply, he seems to forget about it in that instant as he turns around and sprints ahead.

Erenville decides they’re probably not in quite such a rush, so he opts to jog lightly after the man.

If he feels some of the excitement catching, well, he’d never tell anyone.