#also tree sy!

[shimaen]

Sy shizun au

Sy transmitting as a random rogue cultivator many years before the protagonist is even born.

He starts looking for the protagonist but in the way he finds a homeless child that just looks like him, they are not the exact same, but they could easily pass as family. He ends up helping out this child, he felt strangely attached to him, bringing him to his lil cabin near a forest, one of his many hidden safe zones.

The child, Sj, comes in a package with his older brother? Yqy. The 3 of them don't start as teacher and students, much less a parental figure, Sy is not a child, but he must be just 5 or 6 years older than them, but Sy becomes a safe space, he provides them with basic necessities and more.

They grow up respecting him, and he teaches them what he knows, and could be useful. Thing is, the system determines that his work in that era is done, and needs to send Sy to fix the next problem, so one day, 4 years later after meeting his 2 lil gremlins, he goes into the forest, just a normal fauna and flora exploration for Sy, he goes alone with almost nothing, after all he is not going far, they all know this.

But Sy doesn't come back.

They wait until midnight

They are still searching by sunrise

They are losing hope after a week

They think that he must have abandoned them, it was too good to be true, but it still doesn't makes sense, Sy left most of his stuff in their little cabin, all his money, his sword, his trinkets, his fan. If he abandoned them, why did he leave all his stuff too?

They don't want to think that he may have died. It isn't fair. They would prefer that Sy just abandoned them, but they know (they hope) that Sy isn't like that. Years pass, and the plot somehow reconnects, Sj becomes a peak lord, and Yqy the sect leader, they gave up searching a long time ago and just accepted the most probable "truth" Lbh enters the story, and in one of his night hunts, he separates from the group.

He ends up in a section of the forest that looks a bit wilder, somehow more mystical. He reaches a big tree, ancient looking, it almost looks alive, and in the middle of it, there is this crystal, ancient amber filled and pumping with energy, maybe the beating heart of the forest? And there is something in the middle, a figure seemingly sleeping, it looks like his shizun, but not quite, maybe a bit younger, even Lbh doesn't realize until he has his hand pressed against the crystal, blood from his earlier wounds accidentally smeared against the amber, and the figure opens its eyes.

Haha funny au Lbh helps a really confused and out of it Sy out of his amber cocoon and brings Sy to the were they were staying just to discover that his teammates went back to the sect without him So imagine the shock of an Sj that was going to look for his student when he Sees this child carrying a full adult that seems to be unconscious, he was going to scold lbh when he actually sees the face of the man, and it feels like time stopped

[rox-of-iu]

in love with @neonghostcat Liushen fic (Cultivate) ( ´ ▽ ` )ｏ♡+･｡ so I drew some destress doodles because I'm suffering academically atm lmao

please go read it also pls read The Guardian Ghost and the Bookish Fairy as well, binged it yesterday and it was super fun so go

also im sorry for the inaccuracies in design ough

[lainiespicewrites]

Electric summer Ch. 2

Here is chapter 2! I love everything about this story so far it’s so fun to write and I adore writing Sy! It was so weird I was modeling this after my time at camp and I literally got a brochure from them in the mail today😂 maybe the universe is telling me something 👀

Anyway enjoy! Comments, likes and weblogs are encouraged!

Summary: Sy and ofc are united as camp co-counselors and spend the day catching up and reminiscing!

Warnings:none? Just cursing a lil

Link for Pt 1 if you missed it 🥰

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I blinked a few times in disbelief. “How, I-I…aren’t you…” I stammered trying to string a sentence together, still lost in the puzzle my brain was trying to work out. How was he standing here in front of me right now?

“Come here,” He laughed. Throwing his arm around my shoulder and pulling me into a tight hug. I was still for a moment still in shock about the situation but I pulled myself out of it and hugged him back squeezing just as tight.

“I can’t believe it,” He chuckled. “This had to be Rebecca’s doing.” He said.She was an old counselor of ours. She was with us our last summer together.She also happened to be camp director now and in charge of assigning cabin groups. This was surely not a coincidence. Sy’s arms were still around me. Admittedly I wasn’t ready to pull away just yet either. I was afraid he’d disappear and this would all be a dream. My mind was playing tricks on me or something.

“How are you here?” I finally strung the question together, pulling back to look up at him. Did he get taller? I could have shrunk but I swear he got taller. “I mean aren’t you in the military?” I asked, obviously confused.

“Take a walk with me?” he asked. “I’ve been dying to see this place again.” He added. I nodded and we finally let go of each other. It may have been years since we’d seen each other but I could still read him. Logan was social. He loved to talk, he was extremely expressive and attentive. Right now he’s quiet. And pensive. When we walked away from the cabin he shoved both hands in his pockets staring straight ahead. Whatever had happened it was difficult for him. Like the night on the lake in the canoe. When he told me he wouldn’t be coming back to camp. It’s why he wouldn’t look at me. He knew or was afraid that after all this time I could tell when something was hard for him.

He hated coming off as weak. It’s why he was so competitive. When the boys played ultimate frisbee his team always won. In high school when he played football he was the quarterback. He had to be the best. The strongest. The leader. But not with me. He told me that once. He told me even before our summer fling, back when all we were was best friends excited to spend the summer together. That’s why he liked me so much. He could let his guard down with me. I didn’t understand it then. But eventually I figured out exactly what he meant. And I saw it in him now. Even when we’d only been reunited for minutes.

We walked from my cabin and through the park out to an open field outside the woods. There was a path that ran alongside it. If you took it left it would take you to the lake down to the dock to swim, if you followed it further you crossed a bridge and you could go sailing or take out a kayak or a canoe. If you took the path right it was a hiking trail. It had its own forks in the road one leading to a nature preserve and a small shelter where the camp housed some exotic reptiles and other animals. And one that led to a ropes course and a rock climbing station. We didn’t take either path. Sy stopped walking and stared off at the trees. I came up next to him and gently put my hand on his shoulder.

“You don’t have to tell me, we don’t have to talk about it, whatever it is. I’m just really glad you’re here.” I spoke softly. I felt his hand over mine on his shoulder and he turned to me with a sad smile. He let out a deep breath before he spoke

“I’m retired from the military. Uh, discharged. Medically.” He stared at the grass when he spoke. I could hear the shame in his voice. It broke my heart. I slid my hand off his shoulder and over his back soothingly. I didn’t say anything. He knew I was listening. “Last April, I was leading the boys into a raid. We’d been waiting on this for weeks. Trying to find these guys. Somehow they got tipped off that we were comin’ and they were ready. One of my boys was being attacked. Enemy came out of nowhere. I jumped to cover him. Told him to run up stairs with the rest of the guys to secure the building. He was alright. His chest plate protected him. But I got shot in the leg with 2 bullets. I managed to stop the attacker. But I had to be carried out of there. They sent a Med-line, it's a helicopter.” He explained. I nodded and let him keep talking.

“I was in surgery that night. They almost thought I was gonna have to lose it. But the Dr was able to get the bullets out. They uh, didn’t think I’d walk right again. So.. I was discharged from the military not long after. They transferred me to a civilian hospital for physical therapy…” He trailed off.

“How is it now?” I asked softly. He finally looked up from the grass. My voice pulled him back to reality.

“I ain’t gonna be runnin’ in the Olympics anytime soon but. Normal. Aches sometimes when the weather gets weird or cold. Probably coulda went back but no one knew how long it would take. Or if…if I’d ever get better.” He said.

“They should’ve known,” I said, “nothing stops Logan Syverson when he’s got his mind made up.” There it was. That genuine smile I’d missed all these years.

“Guess they don’t know me like you do,” He chuckled. “Enough about me, it’s been 7 years darlin what have I missed?” he asked, his hand hovering over my lower back guiding me toward the left path. We started to walk again toward the lake.

“I wish I could say you missed a lot but,” I shrugged. “I graduated. Went to school and graduated again, and at the end of this summer I’ll finally start my first job with the schools.” I explained flatly. It was nothing compared to the things he’d done and what he’d seen.

“Hey, graduating college is a big deal. I’m proud of you! Child Psychology, right?” He asked. I stopped walking and just stared.

“You, remember that?” I questioned. He laughed and threw his arm around my shoulder pulling me into his side.

“Of course I do. It was all you talked about our last summer together. You were nervous about getting into the school you wanted. I admired that because you were only a junior. I was going into my senior year and I’d never even thought about that shit.”

“But you knew you were going into the military, you didn’t have to think about that.” I argued.

“Maybe, but you were so smart, you are so smart, you had it all figured out. I was just following what everyone else in my family did. Now that I’m out, I kinda wish I’d had some other plan. Something I knew I wanted to do to fall back on.” I nodded. I understood what he meant. It must be hard for him now. The things he’d aspired to be in his adolescence had come and passed. He had to reinvent himself now. Start over. I couldn’t imagine how scary that must feel.

“You’re smart too Logan. You’re quick in a crisis. You’re logical and level headed. You’re great with people. And and from what you’ve said you’re an incredible leader. I have no doubt you’ll figure it all out soon.” We had wandered some more, now we were walking along the lake. Or what we knew as the beach. When they’d built the camp they carved out the shore and laid down sand. Leaving it more like mini beach than a country lake. I followed Logan out onto the dock. He turned to me and smiled.

“I think coming back here this summer was exactly what I needed.” He said. I smiled back giving his arm a gentle squeeze… and trying not to dwell on the fact that his muscles had gotten incredibly larger.

“It’s funny,” I answered. “I always remember it being the other way around, you giving me pep talks and encouraging me to take risks.” He chuckle the air between us becoming lighter as I watched his smile form into a playful smirk.

“That’s because you were always trying to chicken out. You were a little scaredy cat.” He laughed. I pouted. And smacked him in the arm. “Ow,” he teased as he fake soothed his arm.

“I was not!” I argued. He shook his head.

“You were too!” He challenged. I rolled my eyes resting my hands on my hips.

“Name one time,” I groaned. He eyed me with that same smirk on his face with an eyebrow raised looking at me curiously.

“You really wanna do this? He teased. “Alright, you did this to yourself, night hikes.” He stated. I frowned.

“Oh that is so not fair!” I objected. “You know I hate the dark. That doesn’t count!” I argued.

“Mhmm, rock climbing.” he deadpanned. I scoffed.

“I suck at climbing I have like no upper-body strength I wasn’t gonna embarrass myself infront of everyone.” I defended. He shook his head again trying to hold back a laugh.

“You’d never done it before. You had no idea if you were bad at it or not!”

“Okay, well… it was really high.” I pouted.

“My point exactly,” He chuckled.

“That means nothing!” I said. He groaned pinching the bridge of his nose.

“You wouldn’t even jump off the dock into the water that first summer! Because the water was deeper. You knew how to swim.” His shoulders were shaking with laughter. “You remember how I got you to do it?” He asked.

“Yeah you literally picked me up threw me in off the dock! I wound’t call that being “kind and encouraging.” I laughed emphasizing the last bit.

“It worked,” He smirked.

“It was traumatizing.” I countered.

“ I caught you blushing when I grabbed you, I think you liked it.” He winked. I glared at him crossing my arms.

“You have no proof,” I scoffed. He smirked, a mischievous glint in his eye.

“You wanna test that theory?” He raised an eyebrow taking a step closer to me. My eyes went wide and I started to back up slowly.

“Logan,” I said softly. He looked me over that cocky grin plastered on his face.

“I’d start runnin’ if I was you.” He challenged. I backed up a little more, holding my hands up in defends.

“You don’t have to do this.” I reasoned with him. He let out a low chuckle.

“I think we both know I do.” He said. “Last chance darlin’” He teased. I turned on my heal quickly back toward the beach. Only getting in a few long strides before he had his arm around my waist. Damn his long legs. It doesn’t help that mine are so short either. I squealed as he lifted me off the ground in his arms.

“No! Logan please!”

“I warned ya, told you to start running sooner.” His voice was deep in my ear as he carried me to the end of the dock and I wrapped my arms around his neck for some sort of safety net. “Would you look at that.” He smirked, looking down at me in his arms. Bastard. Of course he was right. After all this time he still had the same effect on me.

“Oh shut up!” I rolled my eyes. Which was a bold move for someone in my current position.

“You’re blushin’, after all this time, I still get your heart racing.” He rasped.

“My face is red because I was running, and it’s ..it’s warm out here.” I argued.

“You took 3 steps, you weren’t running,” He smirked. “You’re just too stubborn to admit you still feel it.” He whispered against my ear. I felt hot. And it had nothing to do with the sun glaring down on us on the pier. It had been 7 years. Did we even know each other anymore? And…he ..he left. That hurt so bad. What if he leaves again. I don’t think I could handle losing him a second time. We’re in totally different parts of our lives than we were then. But at the same time… “Answer one thing for me, all this time, did you see anybody else? Let anyone else in? I don’t see a ring on your finger.” He raised an eyebrow looking down at me intently. I swallowed hard and swatted at his chest.

“Put me down Sy!” I whined. He jostled me in his arms threatening to drop me in the water.

“You want down?” He smirked. I squealed, wrapping my arms tighter around his neck.

“Logan, Don’t!” I chided. He chuckled, adjusting his grip under my thighs. He leaned in close. I could feel his breath against my ear, his beard tickling my skin.

“Tell me, I just wanna hear it. Did you wait for me?” He sounded like honey. The way his voice hummed in my ear. He always did. It had been so long since we’d stood this close, or been this close and I could feel myself still magnetized to him. It’s like he lit up every sense in my body. I had no choice but to follow his warmth and his chaos and his light. I never felt anything like it with anyone else.

“ Sy you know, I …” Before I could answer him he leaned forward and tossed me into the water. I screamed and heard him chuckle before I hit the water. It was still a little cold since summer had only just started. As I started to come back up to the surface I heard a huge splash a few feet away from me. Logan jumped off the dock with me. When he surfaced he swam closer and I splashed him. “You’re such an ass!” I rolled my eyes. He laughed, swimming toward the shore.

“I had to distract you. You thought I wasn’t gonna do it,” He smirked.

“Yeah I thought maybe you were like a decent guy now or something!” I scoffed.

“Aww come on honey, don’t be mad at me, you know it’s not really summer till we take our first swim.”

“Yeah I know,” I smiled.

We left the lake, soaking wet and headed back to our cabins to dry off. I couldn’t get what he’d said out of my head. I knew it was killing him to know. Why did he stop me? After drying off and changing into some dry clothes I hung my wet clothes and towel out on our cabin's little clothing line. I dug through my bag to find a new pair of shoes, because those were soaked too, and headed over to Logan’s cabin where he was waiting at the picnic table. I walked over and hopped up sitting on the table top. Something I’d made a habit of during my years at camp. And it followed me everywhere. I sit on my countertop all the time. He looked up from where he’d been writing in a notebook on the table and smiled.

“Feel better?” he asked.

“Now that my feet aren’t in squishy wet sneakers? Yeah much better, no thanks to you.” I laughed.

“Did you have fun?” He raised an eyebrow. I groaned.

“Yeah,” I muttered. He had a proud grin on his face.

“Well then you’re welcome.” He mused. I rolled my eyes and flickered my gaze down to his notebook.

“Whatcha working on?” I asked curiously. He leaned back looking down at the list one hand smoothing over his beard.

“Trying to remember all of the camp traditions. The games we played. Ice breakers things like that. Trying to set up a bit of a plan or a loose schedule before the kids get here tomorrow. I don’t know if the boys' cabins still do their prank war, but I’m bringing it back.” He said seriously.

“Ah yes, the infamous prank war, you were ruthless. But your cabin always came out victorious.” I giggled. His eyes met mine and he just smiled holding my gaze for a moment. I shook myself out of it before I could let him in too deep. “What else you got?” I prodded. He sighed. And his eyes went back to the paper in front of him, trying to hide the disappointment on his face.

“Uh, Just some of the group games we used to play, Red rover, capture the flag, the coed softball game. Shit like that.But I just wanna make sure we get everyone comfortable when they get here ya know? I always felt…”

“Safe? When we were here. Me too.” I nodded.

“Just wanna be sure everyone’s having a good time like we did. Whatever problems we were having back home, in our family, or friends, kids that were dealing with bullies, we left it behind. We didn’t tolerate anyone being left out. Just want that for our campers.” He said.

“You’re really passionate about this.” I added.

“Aren’t you, I mean, you loved this place as much as I did, … do.” He added. I nodded.

“Of course I am. I’m just really glad that you are too. I’m glad that my co-counselor is someone who loves and appreciates this place and the kids as much as I do!” I smiled. “I’ve got this book of icebreaker games. We can go through it after our counselor meeting. Find the ones we think are best fit.” I smiled. He nodded.

“Sounds great.”

Later that night after our meeting introducing and welcoming us all to camp and going over our rules and shifts, and after dinner we met in my cabin. We sat outside on the patio at the picnic table. We started flipping through the book and talking about each of the games. Some we had done when we were campers.

“Oh, here's a good one.” I said pointing to one of the pages. “Remember doing this one, ‘two truths and a lie’ we always had a lot of fun with that.

“I do! It was like being a cop trying to read a lie detector test. And trying to beat one. “He chuckled.

“You were good at it!” I laughed. “Like try me,” I nodded to him. He smiled, and cocked his head to the side thinking for a moment.

“Alright, I blew a tire going 90 down the highway last week. I shot my first gun when I was 10, or my brother broke my arm in a fist fight.”

“Jesus!” I laughed. “From the stories you told me about your brothers I wouldn’t doubt it. I know you like to drive fast but you take good care of your truck…I’m gonna say it’s the gun.” He shook his head.

“Nope, I broke his arm.” My eyes went wide and I tried to hold back my laughter.

“Your poor mother.” I giggled.

“She got used to it.” He smiled. “Your turn, see if you can fool me.” He said. I groaned. I never could trick him. He always knew. But maybe I could use this as an opportunity to answer his question back at the lake.

“Okay,” I nodded, “Uh, I have a short story published in a book. I..I’m still a virgin. I lost my phone on a cruise to Jamaica,” He looked at me quizzically, his bottom. Lip pulled between his teeth as his gears turned.

“There’s no way,” he finally spoke. “You’re not still a virgin. No way.” He added. I shook my head. My eyes met his.

“I’ve never been to Jamaica,” I said softly. He let out a shaky laugh.

“In seven years nobody.. Nobody’s tried?” He questioned.

“They’ve tried.” I said. “I tried.” I added. “I wanted to be over you. I tried to be mad at you, for leaving me. But I knew that was selfish. You didn’t leave me. Certainly not because you wanted to. You were fighting for me. For everyone you loved. I couldn’t be mad at you for that.” I admitted.

“I never intended to hurt you so bad. It hurt like hell leaving that summer.” He said.

“I know you didn’t,” I said. “When I went to college I tried so hard to put myself out there and meet other people, I went to a few parties. I made out on trashy frat couches. It was awful. I did go on a couple of dates. I convinced myself I had to. I was sure you’d moved on, found someone new. I liked them okay but it was nothing special. They weren’t… you.” I said. He nodded soaking in all the information I’d just given him.

“You have no idea how happy that makes me. To know that you were still thinking of me as much as I was thinking of you. I have to be honest with you. I slept around in high school. When we broke things off that summer I was just trying to shake it. I hate to say it but, I barely remember their names. But you’re wrong about one thing. I never found anyone, never had one serious relationship after that last summer. You said it darlin, they weren’t you.” He rested his hand on my knee softly caressing my skin with his thumb. I never thought. I’d be here again. At camp. With him. In this position all over again. I think somehow we were getting a second chance. I’m not sure I’m ready for that. But I’m willing to see what the universe has put right in front of me.

“Sy, all I wanted back then was to be with you. To kiss you. For you to be my first. I don’t know if I’m still the girl you knew then. If you still want this after all this time. I don’t know what I want, I’ve spent so much time trying to forget you and what this felt like I don’t know if I know how to do this anymore.” He saw the panic in my eyes. And his face softened. He reached up tucking my hair behind my ear his fingers resting on the back of my head, gently massaging with his fingertips.

“This is a lot, I know, it’s a lot for me too. What I want is the woman you are now. For us to learn how to be now. If it aint the same spark then maybe it’s not meant to be. But i’m not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth and let you go again. Not without saying we tried to give this a shot.” He said his eyes boring into mine My heart felt like it was overflowing with emotion. I nodded. It was all I could do. “There is one thing, we never got to do that summer that I can’t get out of my head.” He whispered.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“I never got to kiss you,” He stated almost breathless like it was a secret we’d been keeping for years. And a weight had now lifted off his shoulders.

“We never did, did we?” I blushed. He shook his head a gentle smile on his lips.

“It’s all can think about since I saw you again. That, and how you’re somehow even more beautiful.”

“Logan,” I blushed playfully shoving him.

“It’s true.” He said. I smiled.

“Well, are you gonna make a move or am I gonna have to make it for you?” Logan chuckled grabbing my waist to pull me closer and cupping my cheek. He leaned in his hot breath against my lips and…

“Hey you two!” Becca called from across the lawn. We jumped apart quickly. I could hear Logan groan no matter how hard he tried to hide it. “I just wanted to check in with you!” she said as she approached the cabin, “You settling in okay? Nervous about the kiddos or anything?” she asked. I shook my head.

“I’m a little nervous, not like I did much babysittin or anything,” Sy admitted. “But I’ve had plenty of practice with my brothers little rascals.” He laughed.

“Great!” She said. “Don’t be nervous, I’m so glad to have you guys back here, you’re our only counselrs this year that are camp alumni, and I always love having people that know the place well.” she smiled.

“It’s good to be back Becca! I never thought I’d see this place again!” I added.

“You know you’re always welcome!” She smiled. “Well I’ll leave you guys too it then, I’m so happy to see you two hear together again,” She winked. “Good night you two.”

“Well, she’s got impeccable timing.” Sy groaned. I giggled and squeezed his shoulder softly.

“This summers just getting started Sy,” I smiled. “I uh, better get some sleep, I was gonna get up early to decorate my cabin for the girls.” I said quickly. He nodded trying to hide his disappointment.

“Okay darlin’, I’ll see ya breakfast?” He asked. I nodded and turning and opening the door to my cabin

“I’ll see you then, goodnight Sy.”

“Goodnight Lainie,”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Link for Ch3

❤️ tag list 🥰

@enchantedbytomandhenry

@summersong69

@carrie80reads

@identity2212

@caramariehurst

@redheadrouge

@warriormirkwood

@gummydummy19

@deandoesthingstome

@shellyshellshell

@mary-ann84

@starfirewildheart

@foxyjwls007

@thearcana-moonlight

@chloeforde

@pono-pura-vida

@secretdream2

@wtfdudesblog

@juliaorpll78

@corrie1013

@toooldforobsessions

[raes-writing-space]

Tadashi Hamada x Reader *Academic Burnout Comfort*

Warnings: Academic burnout, mentions of self-doubt and stress. Not beta read.

Summary: After doing your best in your academics, you still feel like you're falling behind or just on the wrong academic path in general. Tadashi helps comfort reader that if they want to take a break and rethink things, it's totally okay.

Word Count: 1, 729

A/N: I haven't written for Tadashi in so long, but this was very therapeutic for me. Also Oz Pizza is an actual pizza place in San Francisco, I don't own the rights to the name or anything. However, they do have great pizza imo. Since this one was a bit longer I put it under the "keep reading" line below.

You were only a year away from graduation, that's what you kept trying to tell yourself. All you needed was to get through two more semesters after this one, and you were already half way through this semester. Still, as you're trying to study for one of your class midterms for this semester, you couldn't help but start to psych yourself out by your own motivative words. You only had one more year, and yet this semester has already felt like it's been a year already. You finally got to the heart of what your major was all about, and while you enjoyed it at first, now it's been giving you nothing but stress. The things you were learning about for your major weren't exactly what you had imagined when you first wanted to go into this major. Still, you decided to keep with it, hoping that your passion that you had for it before would simply come back. But now, you were looking towards your midterm, and felt as if you didn't know anything. Were your grades going to survive this exam? Or even this semester? This was a prerequisite class after all, if you couldn't pass this class, you wouldn't be able to go onto the next class you actually wanted to do. You'd end up staying here for longer than the year if that was the case, or would have to take on more classes next semester to catch up… Was this what you even wanted to do with your life? That question really started to get to you, if you were this stressed out now, what would it be like when you started a job that would be doing exactly this? You finally pushed your notes and textbooks away from you, as you leaned back against your chair. You were lucky that you at least had a window in your office space. You always thought that San Fransokyo was gorgeous at night. The Sakura trees they planted right outside of the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology were finally starting to bloom, coating the campus in soft pink petals. Maybe a walk would help you to think, or at least the fresh air might help. Just as the thought came to you, your door was suddenly opened. You looked to see Tadashi Hamada, your long time friend. He also happened to be a long time crush of yours too, but as time went by, you two feel into a comfortable dynamic with each other that made you too worried to even ask him out on a date.

"Oh! I saw the light was still on, but I didn't know of you were here or not." Tadashi spoke up, explaining why he had suddenly opened the door.

"It's alright, I don't know if I want to be here right now anyway…" You let out a breath, standing up and grabbing your personal belongings.

"Hey, are you okay? Is there something I can do to help?" Tadashi asked, noticing how stressed out to looked.

You shrugged, not even sure what to say at first. He stayed just in the doorway, always being patient enough to wait until you were ready to speak your mind. He could tell that the thing on your mind this time must have been really important, you eyes seemed downcast, shoulders slumped, as if you were ready to give up on something.

"I was going to take a walk… Do you want to come with? I kinda feel like crying into a pizza…" You half-joked towards the end, you hadn't eaten much yet, too consumed with studying and time constraints.

"Uh oh, I've been there before… Yeah, of course I'll come with." Tadashi tried to sympathize with you, making you smile as he quickly went back to his own workspace to grab his things.

When the two of you make it outside, your gaze couldn't help but be brought up to the trees again, something about focusing on the way the branches swayed and moved with the wind helping ground you into the present moment. It was better than losing yourself in the "what if's" that seemed to be plaguing you. The fresh air did seem to help a bit, you assumed that at some point the air in your room became a bit stale, which only added to your fatigue. Beside you, Tadashi still waited patiently, as he at least recognized that you were at least taking the first steps to clearing your thoughts.

"There's this great pizza place called Oz Pizza just a block down from here, they give some pretty big slices, great for catching tears." Tadashi joked, making you let out a small chuckle.

"That sounds like a plan then." You spoke, as he lead the way to the pizza place.

It took a couple of deep breaths, and a minute in comfortable silence for you to finally feel comfortable enough to speak about what's been on your mind.

"I don't think I'm cut out for all of this, Tadashi…" You trailed off at first, convinced that there wasn't exactly an easy way to lead into the conversation.

"What do you mean?" Tadashi asked, not wanting to make assumptions and say the wrong thing.

"My major… School… Just, I don't know… I have a mid term in two days, and I keep looking at my textbook and notes and just can't help but think… this isn't what I wanna do." You started to vent at first, further explaining your mindset.

You told him about how things started off really good, but within this year you just suddenly can't help but feel as if you had a change of heart somewhere along the way. How that you feel so close to the finish line that you just want to get it done with, but also hate the idea of having to go for another year just to even do that. How you've spent so much time on this major and your classes already, that you don't want it to all be for nothing, but what's the point if it's not even what makes you happy? Tadashi simply took all of this in at first, letting you get it off of your chest before you both went inside the little pizza joint. He considered your words for a moment, and when you finally felt as if you were done saying all that you needed to say, he lead you inside to order. The two of you ordered, and went back outside, since the place was really only big enough for the ordering counter and the kitchen in the back, most of the seating was outside.

"Do you want my advice, to distract you and think about thing else, or do you want me to just listen?" Tadashi then asked you once you two were in a more private setting again.

"I think it would be nice to know what you think… see it from a different perspective maybe." You answered, as he simply nodded with a smile at first. He always did encourage others to see things in a different way.

"I think after this semester, you could take a break. You've been working hard for a long time now, and it can be a lot on your brain to process. If you don't want to take a semester off, you could always see what classes you've finished and if there's another major that brings you closer to graduation, or just something that just makes you happy again." Tadashi advised, trying to cover all of the "what if's" and "But's" that could be brought up.

"I can help you look up the different majors the school offers. You're at least almost done with all the general education classes, right?" Tadashi asked, trying not to stress you out more, but genuinely curious.

"Yeah, I'll actually finish my last class for it this semester… Then it's just more major requirements…" You answered, trying not to linger on the idea too much.

"Okay, when we back I could help you look into it, and study, if you want it. It might just be good to at least not feel alone while you're studying." Tadashi reached across to gently put his hand on yours in encouragement.

You tried not to think about the gesture too much, but you failed to hide the smile on your face when he did it, giving you away a bit. Soon enough, the man who took your order placed the slices of pizza in front of the two of you.

"Are you still planning on crying into a pizza?" Tadashi asked, changing the subject away from school, but his hand never left yours.

"Maybe. You're always welcome to join me, if you want." You joked in return, making him laugh a bit.

The two of you ate and decided to talk about things that didn't involve school for the moment. Instead the two of you decided to talk about any movies that were coming out soon, or plans over the weekend, or how Tadashi's family was doing. When the two of you finally finished up your respective pizza slices, you weren't feeling a 100% but at least you were a bit better than you were before. You had started to think about your major again when the two of you began your walk back to the school.

"Hey, (Y/N)?" Tadashi called out to you, snapping you out of your thoughts before they could get worse.

"Yeah, Tadashi?" You asked, taking a deep breath to try and calm you.

"If you do decide that school isn't for you anymore, that's okay. I just wanted you to know that I'll still be here for you no matter what you decide on." Tadashi reassured you with a warm smile, as you couldn't help but nod and feel yourself start to tear up a little bit.

He was always the type of encouragement you needed, that even if you decided to change your path, or not go to school at all, that he'd always still be there. The last thing you wanted was to somehow lose him in the process.

"Come on, we'll figure this all out. We're in this together." He further reassured you.

You were starting to feel a bit more confident that the two of you would figure it out together.

[viking-raider]

This is some Syverson energy! He'd so know how to open his belt with one hand.

It also itches that Muse I got a year ago, where Sy is a Lumberjack, (the family business), after he gets out of the Army, and falls in love with Reader, who's an Environmentalist, protesting at the site Sy is felling trees.

[hermitcraftheadcanons]

Very long + subjective hc; each of the hermits smell different; for doc its petrichor and ash; like the first rain over charred earth, bdubs, on the other hand, smells like fresh-cut grass and sap.

Redstoners carry a distinct smell that is somewhat reminiscent of ketchup chips, or battery acid, or sour candies... everyone makes up a description for it as they go, and sometimes it changes. If the redstone is activated it also smells different.

Other distinct hermit scents:

Etho - pine trees and nutmeg, along with that smell of clothes just after they came out of the dryer. He tries to cover it with the smell of redstone but the homely smell never quite leaves him.

Tango - Half the time smells like sweat and nightmares, the other half he smells like the ocean breeze even if he's nowhere near the ocean.

Xisuma - He smells like redstone, but less pungent. Most admins do, in fact. After all; they do keep the redstone and farms running smoothly...

Zedaph - Always smells like he rolled through a nice grassy patch; and sometimes he sports matching grass-stains. He also smells like ash and occasionally he smells like fire, this is usually because he's on fire.

Scar - Smells like that dream you had last night that you dont fully remember other than the fact that it had vampires... or was it elves? Either way, he smells like the lost dreams you once kept dear to you, as well as your childhood! As a result, his scent isn't the same for everyone. Ren thinks he smells more like citrus, while doc says its a smokey scent.

Feel free to debate the scents I just used some of our DID sys headmates as a frame of reference, so none of these are correct or incorrect lol-

.

[kaia001art]

I drew some Liushen!!!

This scene is from chapter 13 of: "Cultivate: Slow Life on a Monster-Infested Mountain" by @neonghostcat

I recommend to read this great fic! 💕🥰💕

Shen Yuan hugging Liu Qingge under Tao Ying, the spiritual (glowing) 4 season peach tree (+zoomed hugg version):

(@neonghostcat I hope you like it... i struggled a bit with Tao Ying and SY clothing sksks 🙈.. i hope its about how u imagined it to be.. also tagging me in ao3 is fine for me btw! 💕)

Insta: here Twitter: here

[poledancingdinos]

Hostile Territory - Chapter 18

Pairing: Captain Syverson x OFC (Leah Coleman)

Word count: 3.1K

Warnings: grief, past loss

Catch up: Series Masterlist

Taglist: @amberangel112 @utterlyhopeful-fics @marantha @kebabgirl67 @littleone65 @omgkatinka @luclittlepond @persephonepraxidikechthonios @enchantedbytomandhenry @narnianaos   @geralts-yenn @peaches1958 @avengersfan25 @sillyrabbit81 @summersong69 @identity2212 @liecastillo @lena-banena @mrsevans90 @confessionbrain-writings @eclecticfashionbookszipper @happydistraction @hannah9921 @valacircareads @toooldforobsessions

Masterlist

Day 202

Leah’s first stop after getting off the plane was her childhood home. Her second stop was the cemetery.

She walked along the path she had come to know by heart. The land was not very big and was surrounded by a line of trees to shield it from the nearby road. She came to a stop in front of the fourth headstone of the thirteenth row on the left.

“Hey Dad.” Leah set her bag down on the grass, kneeling beside it. “I’m sorry it’s been so long since my last visit. I’ve been moving around for the better part of the last three years and I haven’t had many opportunities to come home.”

Leah pulled a packet of wipes out of her backpack and began cleaning her father’s headstone. The lawn around it was well maintained by Caleb but the recent weather had left splatterings of mud on the smooth surface. Once she finished her task, she sat down facing the inscription, lifting her knees to her chest.

Gage ColemanDearly Loved,Sadly Missed,Forever In Our Hearts

She and Caleb had agonized over what to write. The man at the funeral home had shown them a bunch of examples for “loving father” and “taken too soon” but none of them had felt right.

A dozen men whose lives he had saved overseas had shown up to his funeral. There were two dozen more from the VA, the dog shelter, his work and Caleb’s year in school.

Leah and Caleb may have been his only living relatives, but they hadn’t been his only family.

“I’ve been so lost since you’ve been gone, Dad. It’s been so hard finding my place.” Leah buried her face in her hands, choking on a sob. “All I ever wanted when I was younger was to be like you. It hurt so much knowing you never wanted this life for me.”

Leah took a moment to brush her tears away with the sleeve of her hoodie, fixing her gaze on her father’s name.

“But I think I get it now—why you didn’t want me to follow in your footsteps. It’s not easy. Actually, it’s been really fucking hard, but I just know that this is what I’m supposed to be. I hope you’re not too mad.”

Leah didn’t want to spend her entire visit with her father in a blubbering mess so she blew her nose on a tissue from her bag and took a few calming breaths.

“I, uh… I met this guy. He’s more than just some guy, really, he’s my captain. I know, I know, it’s a recipe for disaster. I think if you met him he’d change your mind though.” Smiling to herself, Leah remembered how Sy had said he and her father would probably get along. She was sure her father would agree.

“I mean, Aika—she’s a german shepherd we rescued—Aika loves him and you always said dogs were the best at judging character. I think I might be in love with him and I… I’m so scared, Dad. I’m scared of what might happen if I do this but I’m also scared that if I don’t take this chance, I’ll regret it forever.”

After a few terrible attempts at dating after high school, Leah had somewhat given up on the idea of finding someone to share her life with. She was so independent and bullheaded that she didn’t think she would ever manage to make a relationship work. Then there was the whole fear that a guy would never be satisfied with her and would always inevitably cheat on her as had happened before.

“Were you happy, Dad? After mom left and you were all alone with us, were you happy? Maybe I was just a clueless kid and you were this big ladiesʼ man but based on the lack of female presence at your funeral, I don’t think that was the case. Sometimes I wonder if you were lonely without a girlfriend. I hope you didn’t feel like that was a sacrifice you had to make for us but if it was then… Thank you. Thank you for always putting us first. Thank you for being such an amazing dad.”

An alarm on Leah’s phone informed her that it was time to head back to the house. Caleb was going to be home for dinner and she wanted to have food ready and waiting on the table so that they didn’t have to worry about anything but catching up and enjoying their time together.

Leah stood, packing up her trash and getting the dirt and grass on her jeans.

“I love you, Dad.”

Sy’s welcome dinner with his family was as uneventful as ever. He hadn’t expected some big shindig but he had pictured a tad more enthusiasm. Never had he felt so much like a stranger in his own home as he did at that moment.

His nieces and nephews were barely old enough to remember him since the last time he’d visited. It was also a school night so his sisters had taken the kids home right after dessert. His brothers had stayed a while longer but once the youngsters had fallen asleep, they and their wives had also gone home to put them down in their own beds.

After helping them carry the kids to the car, Sy spent another few minutes talking to the twins before retreating to the porch. His brothers had only been twelve when he left and now they were both fathers. He’d spent more than half their lives away from them.

The screen door slamming alerted Sy to his mother’s presence, drawing him out of his thoughts. She dropped down by his side on the porch swing, not saying a word for a long time.

“I’m so sorry, honey.”

Sy was taken aback, turning to face his mother.

“For what?”

Sy racked his brain, looking for a reason as to why his mother would want to apologize but he came up blank. When she looked up, her eyes were red and brimmed with tears. A million different thoughts slammed into him, filling him with dread but none of them had prepared him for what she eventually said.

“For not helpin’ ya more when you were young.”

He knew instantly what she was referring to but he’d never expected her to mention his childhood, much less apologize for any of it. In fact, he didn’t think his mother had anything to apologize for but by the looks of things, the guilt had been eating away at her for quite some time.

“Mama, ya had two other boys who needed ya more than I did.”

She shook her head, wrapping her shawl tighter around her shoulders.

“No,” she said adamantly. “Ya needed me just as much as they did but I didn’t see it because ya always acted so strong. I wasn’t the mother ya needed me to be. I wasn’t there for you.” The sobs she’d been trying to suppress finally broke free, prompting her to lift a hand to her mouth. Sy watched, feeling utterly powerless as the women who’d raised him fell to pieces right in front of his eyes. “I didn’t see it and maybe if I had and I’d been a better mother then then ya would never have enlisted. You would be safe here with your family instead of out there, riskin’ your life and worryin’ me sick every second of every day.”

Hearing those words, Sy pulled his mother into his arms, her tears soaking his shirt as he held her. He hated hearing that she blamed herself for his shortcomings. Knowing that his parents had their reservations about his career and hearing that his choices actively caused them pain were two very different things.

“None of this is your fault, Mama. Ya can’t know that things woulda been any different.”

“Yes, I can.” She pulled away enough to hold his face with both hands. “You are so smart, baby. Ya coulda done anythin’ ya wanted, ya just needed a little more help in school than the others. Maybe if we’d caught on while you were still young we coulda found a way to make things work and ya wouldn’t have fallen so far behind.”

Sy closed his eyes, leaning his forehead against his mother’s.

“Mama, I never regretted joinin’ up. I love you and I know me being away is hard for ya—it’s hard for me too.” He pulled back to lock eyes with his mama’s. “But I never regretted it.”

“But maybe ya wouldn’t have felt like the army was your only choice. Maybe ya coulda gone to college right after high school, met a nice girl and been around long enough to give me a few grandbabies.”

Sy couldn’t help but huff at that last comment. Even when she was breaking down she was your typical southern mother—so full of love that she wanted as many grandkids as possible to share it with.

“Ya already have six grandbabies, Ma,” he admonished.

“That’s true, but I wouldn’t mind havin’ a mini you runnin’ around.” She pulled him down to kiss his cheek then wrapped both hands around his biceps to rest her head on his shoulder.

Sy kissed the top of her head in return, smelling the familiar fruity scent of her shampoo. She’d been using the same brand for as long as he could remember. In fact, when he was a teenager he’d asked his father to buy a different kind because he didn’t want to smell like a girl.

It was strange to think there was a time where his biggest concern was what he smelled like. Or that there was a time where his hair was long enough to warrant using shampoo instead of bar soap. He’d given up almost everything that tied him to a life outside the army but maybe it was time to make a few exceptions.

“I uh… I don’t know that babies will be involved, but there is this one girl that caught my eye.”

His mother immediately perked up, as he knew she would. 

“Oh?” she wiped her cheeks. “And what’s her story?”

“Her name is Leah and she… Well she’s one of my soldiers. She was assigned to my unit a few months ago.”

“Wow. She must be a real tough girl to make it into the special forces.”

Sy nodded. “But she’s got a good heart too. She’s an artist, she loves dogs and she’s real close with her brother ‘cause they’re each other’s only family.”

“Ya sound real smitten,” she teased, nudging his side.

“I guess I am.” Sy managed a half smile as he turned his gaze downward. “I just wish I’d had more time with her before she got on her flight to Denver but maybe it was better this way. If we got together while she’s still my subordinate and someone on base found out it could ruin both of our careers.”

“If she’s the one for you, ya can’t let her go. Who knows when you’ll have another chance like this. I think you should go after her.”

Looking out over the yard of his childhood home, Sy considered his mother’s suggestion. It had always been a little wild and unkept when he was young. His little brothers’ toys had always been strewn about, his own bike laying amongst them more often than not.

Now, however, the lawn was neatly trimmed. His mother had planted lush flower beds that were in full bloom and pruned daily. Even the house itself was unrecognizable after a few necessary renovations. At least the ceiling in his old bedroom no longer leaked when it rained.

He wanted that for himself. A place to call his own. Somewhere to return to. A house that would change over time and age with his family. He wanted a home. Hopefully one with Leah in it.

He shook himself out of his reverie. “Mama, I haven’t been home in almost two years. I can’t run off after less than twenty-four hours.”

“Nathan, sweetie, if you feel this strongly then there’s nowhere else I want you to be than with her. I want to see you happy.”

She stood from the porch swing, tapping him twice on the knee.

“Take the night and sleep on it, but I have a feeling your heart already knows what it wants.”

Sy nodded in acceptance, standing to kiss his mother on the cheek and pull her into another embrace.

“I want you to know, baby, that I am proud of the man ya grew up to be. It scares me to death that I might lose ya but that don’t mean I’m not as proud as can be that you’re my son.”

With that, she said goodnight before heading inside.

His mother was right, Sy didn’t need to think another second whether or not he wanted to go after Leah. He wanted to jump in his truck and head out on the road but he also had no idea where to go.

Sy pulled his cell out of his pocket, tapping the screen and bringing the device to life. It was late, nearly midnight, but with any luck the man he needed to reach would see his message somewhere between when he stumbled out of the bar and when climbed into bed with whatever man or woman would be warming his bed that night.

To Sy’s surprise, his phone lit up with an incoming call as soon as the message had been delivered.

There was noise in the background as he answered, some classic rock song Sy couldn’t quite hear clearly enough to recognize it.

“Why do you need Coleman’s info at this time of night?” BJ was shouting over the music but soon the sound faded, letting Sy know that he had walked out of the bar to take the call.

“Whatever business I have with Coleman is between us. Do you have her address or not?”

“Really? You ask me for a favor and you’re gonna give me that bullshit?”

Sy knew it wasn’t fair of him. Especially since BJ had trusted him enough to confess his own biggest secret. He was the only person that knew BJ was bi. They’d lost a man a few years back and it had sent BJ into a spiral. That was when he’d confessed that the two of them had grown to be more than teammates.

If anyone was going to understand how he felt about Leah, it was BJ.

“I need to see her. I need to see if she feels the same about me as I feel about her.”

“And how exactly do you feel about her?”

The Captain sighed, sinking down into the porch swing. “You really gonna make me say it?”

“Damn straight I am.”

He scrubbed a hand over his beard which was overdue for a good trim.

“I need to know if… If she’s willin' to give us a shot. If she can’t stop thinkin’ about me the same way I can’t stop thinkin' about her.”

Sy held his breath as he waited for a response. A moment passed. Then another.

“I’ll text you her info when I get home. It’s on a scrap of paper in my pack.”

With a relieved exhale, Sy said a silent prayer to whatever god was listening.

“That’s it? No follow up questions? No snarky comments?”

“Na, I’m just glad you finally got your head outta your ass. Your moping around was getting real fucking old.”

“I really owe you for this BJ.”

“Make me the best man at your wedding and we’ll call it even.”

An image of Leah in a white gown walking down the aisle towards Sy suddenly flashed through his mind and he groaned inwardly. Fuck. He really liked that image.

“She can make you her maid of honor. I’m sure you’d look great in a fluffy pink dress.”

“Don’t think I won’t do it, Sy. I fucking love that girl, I’d do it if she asked.”

A door slammed closed somewhere on the other end of the line, a muffled male voice following shortly after. “Babe, why’d you disappear on me? I turned around and you were gone.”

“Sorry, it’s my captain. Give me a sec. Sy, I gotta—”

“All good man. Thank you.”

“Keep me posted on how it goes.”

With a brief goodbye, they hung up and Sy made his way back upstairs. He quickly used the washroom and slid between the sheets of the queen bed his parents had purchased specifically for him.

The other two bedrooms had been turned into a craft room and a proper guestroom. His, however, had been saved for these rare moments when he made it home. He’d been the only one to have his own room growing up. The girls had shared one and the twins shared the other. It must have been the only blessing of being the middle child.

They’d changed it, of course, clearing out any clutter and moving it to the attic in case Sy ever wanted to go through it all. His first time back home following his enlistment, he’d had to squeeze his newly acquired muscle into his old twin bed. His parents had taken pity on him, investing in a bigger bed despite knowing it would barely get used. They’d also elected not to remove the posters of half naked women he’d put up when he was fourteen.

Sarah Michelle Gellar had been his number one crush at the time. It seemed his tastes hadn’t changed much—strong, sassy, independent.

His phone buzzed on the nightstand and he was happy to see an address from BJ. Sy immediately booked a flight to Denver for the next morning. He was able to find a last minute car rental as well but decided to wait before booking a hotel.

Maybe it was presumptuous of him but he hoped he’d be able to stay with Leah even if it was on her couch. He still checked availability at a few local motels then set an alarm early enough to give him time to pack some clothes and get his duffle ready. He was not going to risk missing his flight on the off chance that his body managed to sleep past sunrise the next morning. That was, if his impatient ass managed to sleep at all.

Chapter 19

[rarepears]

Shen Jiu thinks Shen Yuan is his ancestor (continuation)

Because the original post is waaaaaaay too long now.

#ok but we know airplane was getting chapters out like there was no tomorrow#and he definitely stole some Pokémon as demonic creatures to pad out the abyss#so sj is like a 10 year old mortal tamed every single creature in the abyss????#sy: … yeah sure why not#lbh any time tlj implies SY ever loved anyone but him: R.U.N#sj thinks ninjas are cultivator spies#do u think SY mentions missing his phone and he explains this lost artifact that has sj foaming at the mouth#also omg huan hua is gonna be trying soooo hard to find all these ‘ancient’ relics that sj keeps mentioning and bringing up#they can’t even find a TRACE#but sqq has a first hand account of these events from an immortal who was there for it!#how else could he describe so vividly everything???#tv the answer is tv (via @caranmerya)

Oh so you want to go down that route 👀. May I refer you to my #pokemon animals in svsss au

Also I just realized that we have established that Shen Yuan is "older" than even the fucking Old Palace Master... who looks like an old man. On one hand, the cultivation world is going to have a tough time remembering that Shen Yuan is "older" than the Old Palace Master because he looks like a young person. Then again, we have Shen Yuan spouting out all this amazing historical facts and whipping out "extinct" plants like it's something from Dollar Tree.

But anyways, the cultivation world is just going to be like, oh the Old Palace Master wasn't aware of such a legendary immortal that's been hanging around for centuries? He's not that old or cracked up as he likes to pretend to be. And suddenly everyone's favorite elder and wise sage is no long the Old Palace Master (who can't go around asserting his "seniority" and "experience" to strongarm people into agreeing) but Shen Yuan.

[more in the #the great ancestor AU]

[angryschnauzer]

As Sweet As Honey - Chapter 3

Summary: Finding a new life in a new town, you stumble upon a Honey farmer at the town market. You both have pasts that have shaped the way you now live your lives, but can you find a way of putting them behind you to find happiness?

Pairing: ‘Lucas’ Syverson x Female Reader

Fandom: Henry Cavill, Sandcastle (Movie).

Ongoing Genre: Fluff, Angst, and Smut

Warnings: Slight Angst, Talk of a car accident in the past, Anxious Sy, Mild Embarrassment, First Date Nerves, Kissing

Here is my masterlist and AO3

Chapter 1, Chapter 2,

Wordcount: 4346

I do not run a tag list, instead please follow @angryschnauzerwrites​ and put that blog onto notifications, you’ll then get an alert each time i post something new. My AO3 also has my entire back catalogue of stories (going back to 2013).

Chapter 3

The water levels were rising, a steady flow coming in through the door seals. With the car hanging at such a precarious angle your full weight was pulling on the seatbelt, holding you in place. Your mind was hazy, and as you reached out for him in the driver's seat he slapped your hand away;

“Don’t touch me!” he spat out, the venom in his tone one you were used to. 

You shook your head, trying to stop the loud buzzing in your mind, the water continued to flow higher. The cold crept in, it was up to your knees now, the hem of your dress was dark where the river was encroaching.

The car shifted on the rocks, the icy waters surging with snow melt wanting to push you further downstream. Blue light flooded the windows. You wanted to scream but knew it would only be greeted with more venom. The car shifted again, metal on stone…

And you were awake. You were safe.

The soft light of the new day came in through the window, the light drapes softly moving in the breeze. The room was warm, but you were drenched in a cold sweat. 

Pulling the twisted covers off you sat on the side of the bed, your heart racing. It had been a long time since you’d had a nightmare like that, months at least. The events of four years ago were something you’d been able to finally put behind you with the relocation to this sunny little town. You’d moved on, built a new life. Taking a deep breath you stood and stripped, heading into your bathroom and the custom steam shower you’d had installed. Turning the heat up as high as you could bear you washed away the sweat and any last lingering memories of the icy water of your dream, scrubbing yourself clean and getting ready for your day.

-

As the work week rolled along you were busy with deadlines, updating papers and writing new requests. Sy had been on your mind non stop after his visit at the weekend. You’d texted back and forth, and you’d been avidly watching his social media, enjoying the regular updates on his businesses’ day to day life, and the promise of dinner at the end of the week, this time his treat. You’d put the nightmare behind you and had dived head first into work, getting well ahead of schedule with your workload, so when an invite for coffee with a good friend had come through you didn’t feel the slightest hesitation to down tools and agree to meet her.

Tamara was already sitting at the open window counter when you approached the coffee shop, looking out as the warm breeze blew along the tree lined main street. Through the trees you could see the old town water tower up the small hill behind the coffee shop, the decades old wooden structure now used for little more than water for the flower filled planters that lined the streets, the town water system updated meaning the tower was no longer needed to add water pressure. It looked rickety as hell with the wood now a dull faded grey and the painted town name barely visible, but it was part of the town and seemed a fixture that would be there forever.

Waving as you entered the coffee shop you ordered your drink before joining Tam at the window, climbing onto the high bar style stool;

“Hey”

“Heyyyy” she replied, stretching her greeting out which wasn’t normal and it made you pause.

“What?”

“How was your weekend?”

Scrutinising her face you saw she had a slight look of amusement on her face;

“It was good. What… what’s going on?”

“Oh, it was only good?”

“Tam” you said, getting frustrated

“Okay okay, i drove by your place at the weekend to return those books i borrowed”

You looked at her, knowing what she was hinting at;

“And you will have seen Lucas Syverson cutting the lavender for his honey business”

“Oh” She looked a little deflated and turned back to her drink, stirring the straw to let the ice cubes clink against the glass. She took a sip as you continued;

“But he asked me out”

Tam’s drink caught in her throat as her brain processed what you said. 

Tamara was one of your oldest friends. You’d bonded in high school and had ended up at the same college. After you’d graduated you’d drifted apart, she’d moved to a small town for a Veterinarian job but you’d had other reasons to stay on in your college town. After the accident she’d reached out and invited you to stay with her, giving you the chance to put thousands of miles between you and the trauma. 

She’d helped you get settled, find a realtor and even signed as a guarantor on your mortgage. In the last year she’d been lightly encouraging you to consider dating, but hadn’t pushed you, so the news that you’d not only met someone by yourself but had arranged a date was the best news she’d heard in years.

-

Sy paced the room, glancing at the wall as he chewed on the side of his thumb. The sound of tyres on his gravel driveway drew his attention to the incoming visitor, watching as the big truck pulled up and its owner came to a halt and quick ran up the steps of the cabin, not waiting to knock and walked straight in, only pausing when he saw Sy;

“What’s wrong?! Are you ok?!”

Sy held up two shirts;

“Which one?”

Walter paused, closing his eyes and pinching the ridge of his nose;

“Excuse me?”

“Which One?” Sy repeated, holding the shirts in turn up to his neck.

“Sy… you got some explaining to do… I was busy…”

Sy took a deep breath;

“I have a date”

“A date?” Walter cautiously repeated

“And you weren’t busy, you were still trying to build that damn racoon trap”

Walter took a deep breath. He knew what his natural response would have been. His cousin calls him on a rare day off, it's something that he’s put so much thought into and still can’t come to a conclusion. So he does what he does best; problem solves.

“Where are you going for the date?”

“Antonios on Main Street”

“What date is it? First, Second, Third?”

“First”

Walter crossed the room and plucked both shirts from Sy’s grasp;

“Neither of these, you’ll look like a lumberjack” he rooted around in the closet and pulled out a dark cotton button up shirt with long sleeves.

“Walt…” Sy started

“I know, you’ll get too hot. But not if you leave a couple of buttons undone on your chest and roll your sleeves up once you’re sat in the restaurant. Girls love that shit”

Sy plucked the shirt from Walter’s hand, pulling it on and buttoning it;

“How did you suddenly turn into a chick magnet?”

Not turning to Sy, Walter started to hang the discarded shirts back in the closet;

“They dig my big magnum” as he tapped the gun hanging in its holster on his belt. Even off duty he still carried it.

Sy coughed and muttered something along the lines of ‘bullshit’ as Walter spoke;

“The girls at the Station, they talk, and they don’t know I listen. They spent 45 minutes last week instilling the virtues of a man’s hands, and how if they say ‘you’ve got nice hands’, it doesn’t just mean that you have nice hands, it means they’ve fantasised about those hands doing things - good things - to them. We had some average guy come in to install fibre optic into the bullpen to upgrade all the computers, halfway through the job he stopped and carefully rolled his shirt sleeves up. I have not seen so little work going on at any given point since they pulled an ice cream truck up outside last summer”

He turned and saw his cousin standing still, arms held out expectantly;

“What’d’ya think?”

Walter nodded;

“Looks good, but unbutton one more, girls like a bit of chest hair”

Sy did as Walter suggested, before turning to the mirror and smoothing the dark shirt over his chest;

“It looks ok? Doesn’t stick to my gut? I’ve put on a few pounds since the last time I went on a date”

Walter crossed the room and clasped a hand onto Sy’s shoulder;

“Man, you look fine. Who is the lucky lady then?”

Sy went on to explain how he’d met you, and his trip to your house with the lavender and how you already loved Akia. At the sound of her name she came trotting over and gave his hand a small lick before sitting down at his side.

Walter nodded to the furry friend;

“You want me to babysit?”

Sy looked at the big brown eyes staring up at him;

“It should be ok, I’ll only be a couple of hours”

“You’ll be longer than that if you’re going to Antonio’s. The food is good but on a Friday night they can take a while. Plus it’ll be nice if you take her around the park, the Mayor just installed a bunch of lights and it looks all pretty and shit, girls love that stuff” Walter crouched down and roughly petted Akia; “You want to come to Uncle Walters for the night girl? Want to help me chase racoons?”

The dog immediately got to her feet, wagging her tail before she ran off and came back dragging her blanket from her basket;

“I think that’s decided then” Walter smiled as Sy let out a sigh; “You’ll do great”

-

Holding the mascara wand you were debating whether to add another coat to your lashes when there was a knock at the door which made the decision for you. Putting it back into the tube you twisted it before placing it on the table, running to the door and opening it quickly with a smile;

“Sy!”

“Wow, you look stunning” he stepped in and pressed a small bunch of red roses into your hand, resting his hand on your hip as he gave you a kiss on your cheek.

You felt the heat rise to your face, unfamiliar with a man giving you such a compliment, stumbling a little at your words;

“Th-thanks… i’ll just go put these in some water”

A few moments later Sy was holding the door to his truck open as you climbed up, and you were somewhat regretting wearing heels and a dress as you hadn’t counted on the fact the truck was considerably taller than you were used to. 

The ride into downtown was fairly quick, and the pair of you made small talk as Sy searched for a parking spot before finally finding one half a block down from the restaurant. He got out first and quickly rounded the truck, opening the door for you and offering his hand. Turning in the seat, taking Sy’s hand and resting your other hand on the door handle, and you tried as elegantly as possible to slide out of the seat until your feet could touch the asphalt below. However mid slide it became clear your plan had a flaw in it, your dress pulling up your thighs but with gravity in motion you were sliding further;

“Help!”

It took a second for Sy to realise what was happening, but he thankfully closed the gap and shielded you from the view of the sidewalk;

“What’s happened?” he asked, his body close as he did his best to avert his gaze from your now exposed thighs. You’d grasped at the hem of your dress, trying to pull it down to cover your panties.

“My dress has caught on something” you went to look over your shoulder but couldn’t turn without showing him - and everyone on the street - your ass. 

“I can go around the other side and unhook you?”

As he went to step away you grabbed his arm and pulled him back;

“No! Everyone will see!”

He nodded;

“Right… you’re right…”

He moved towards you, pressing his body to yours as he looked over your shoulders at the situation;

“Hang on, i might be able to unhook it from here”

Reaching both arms around you, his body fully pressed against yours and you were caged in by his shoulders and biceps. He pushed himself a little closer, his entire body against yours, his leg between your thighs and you could feel the rough touch of the denim through the lace of your underwear. After a few moments of trying to pull the fabric loose he pulled back and gently held your shoulders;

“The fabric is pulled too tight, it needs some slack”

You could feel your bottom lip start to wobble, your throat tight. As the tears of embarrassment started to well in your eyes you nodded as you gnawed on your bottom lip. Sy rubbed his hands over your arms;

“Listen, it’s going to be ok, we’ll get this sorted… don’t cry, you’ll be alright”

There was something soothing about this calm voice, the reassurance that he could be calm even when you were bubbling on the edge of emotional mess. You took a deep breath as you were transfixed by the pale blue of his gaze, before you gave him a slight nod of your head.

“Okay… i’ve got an idea. Brace yourself”

“For wha… ohmygod!”

Without warning Sy had grasped your thighs and lifted you back onto the high seat of the truck. Pushing the door closed he trotted around to the other side before climbing up and leaning over to your seat, pushing your dress out of the way so he could get to the seatbelt clasp. After a couple of minutes of prodding and poking with a small screwdriver that had been in the centre console he let out a triumphant ‘ta-da!’, holding your dress up to show it was now free from being trapped.

“Thanks” you said quietly, calmly taking it from him and lowering it so your panties weren’t completely on display. He softly cupped your cheek and pressed a kiss to your lips;

“C’mon, let me buy you a drink. Do you drink?”

You nodded;

“Yes. I need that”

This time when he rounded the car and opened the door, he checked that you weren’t caught up before taking hold of your ribcage and lifting you out of the truck and setting you down onto the ground. Slipping your hand into his, he made sure you were well out of the way as he shut the door, before the pair of you strolled along the sidewalk to the restaurant.

-

“You just seemed so calm when i was turning to a complete mess” you commented as you sipped your wine whilst the pair of you waited for your food to arrive.

Sy smiled at you;

“Guess it was just old habits, when i was a First Responder the one thing you can’t do is panic. I could see your anxiety was rising and i took control” he sipped at the Non-alcholic beer he’d ordered; “I’m sorry for manhandling you…”

“It was fine! I kinda liked it” the words had slipped out of your mouth before you could stop them, and you felt the heat rising in your cheeks as you watched Sy quirk an eyebrow and grin at you;

“I’ll keep that in mind”

At that moment your meals arrived, and small talk continued as you ate. When the time for dessert came you barely had enough room, Sy letting you choose something for the two of you to share. When the waiter brought over the mini churros with hot honey dip Sy looked at you quizzically;

“Honey dip?”

“I was intrigued what a honey expert would think of them”

Pushing your glasses to the side, Sy unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled his sleeves up, seemingly unaware as you watched him do so. Picking up one of the churros he gently pulled it in half, handing you one piece before you both dipped it into the honey mixture that had small pieces of fresh chilli pepper in it;

“Cheers”

Putting it in your mouth you chewed thoughtfully on it as you let the flavours hit your tastebuds.

“Another?” Sy asked to which you nodded, watching again as he snapped a churro in two and dipped it.

“Thanks” you paused; “You have really nice hands” you complimented as you took the treat from him, the two glasses of wine you’d had making you miss the blush that extended from his beard all the way to the top of his ears.

As you finished the dessert and the meal finished, Sy asked for the check. You went to grab your purse but he held up his hand;

“No no, this is on me”

“Are you sure? At least let me get the tip”

He took a deep breath and smiled;

“Sure”

As you left the restaurant Sy held out his arm for you, watching as you hooked your own through his as he nodded to the small park at the centre of town, surrounded by stores on all sides;

“Fancy a walk to see the lights? Walt told me it looked real pretty”

“Walt?”

“Walter, my cousin. He’s the sheriff”

“Oh, Sheriff Marshall. I didn’t realise you were related”

Crossing the street Sy paused as you stepped up the kerb;

“Yeah. After i was medically retired from the Fire Dept i wanted a new start. Walt had been telling me to come out West and enjoy the quiet life. Didn’t have anything keeping me in the City so i sold up and loaded everything into a U-Haul. Took a long drive with Akia in the passenger seat. Been here just over four years now”

“How long have you been doing the honey?”

Sy picked up some small pebbles from the ground and started to skip them across the pond;

“Been tending to the bees for as long as i’ve been here, their care was part of the purchase agreement for the cabin. Was only when it came to harvest time that i suddenly ended up with 40lbs of honey that i had no idea what to do with did the business start up. My nephew helped me set up with a website and social media, he’s great with all that stuff, he’s a Junior at college now”

“Nephew, would that be Walter’s kid?”

“Yeah, Mike, he’s a cool kid. Thinks he’s god's gift to women, but then so did Walt at that age, that’s how he ended up with a kid that’s in college before he’s even 40 himself”

You laughed as you rested your arms on the railings to the pond as Sy skipped pebbles across the water;

“I cannot imagine Sheriff Marshall as a ladies man. He always says so quiet, or is grumpy as hell. I had to go into the Station to apply for some permits when i had the cottage’s bathroom upgraded and needed to get the utilities company to install a new water main, i don’t think he said more than two words to me even though he was on the front desk”

“Ah, it was probably after a late night of racoon hunting”

“Huh?”

Sy laughed; 

“Walter has this racoon in his backyard. He’s been trying for years to trap it. That little bandit has outwitted our fine towns Sheriff every single time”

You joined Sy in the laughter, watching as he skipped another rock across the water, only this time it skipped into the reeds and was followed by the sound of angry quacking;

“Oops” he grabbed your hand; “C’mon, lets get out of here before we get an angry duck coming after us”

You laughed as he started to walk;

“Us? You were the one that skipped the rock”

“Yeah, but you’re an accessory to the crime, you stood by and didn’t stop me”

“Hey!” your laughter filled the space around you as you hooked your arm through his, falling into step beside him; “What did you think of that honey with dessert?”

“Honestly?” he looked at you as you walked; “You could tell it was synthetic honey, or at least a blend of mass produced honey from bees that get very little wild food”

“You should approach them”

“Who? The bees?”

“No, silly. The restaurant. See if they want to do a collaboration or something? They had a few more local suppliers mentioned on their menu since the last time i went there”

By now you were back at the truck, Sy opening the door for you;

“Do you need a boost?” he asked, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth

“I’ll be fine” you replied, struggling to get your feet up onto the kick plate in your heels and your slightly drunken state.

After trying for a few seconds you felt Sy’s hands on your butt, before he gave you a push and propelled you up and into the seat of the truck;

“You were taking too long, woman” he muttered as he shut the door, grinning at you as he circled the truck and climbed in with ease. As he sat in the drivers seat he leant across the car, his hand reaching behind you and you leaned in for a kiss, pressing your lips to his. The touch was sexually charged and as he finally pulled away he had your seatbelt in his hand;

“I was just going to buckle you up but that was more than welcome”

“Oops”

Once he was buckled in himself he started the engine and pulled away, his hand resting on your leg as he drove.

The trip to your cottage didn’t take long, and as he pulled onto the gravel driveway the security light came on, illuminating the entire side of the house;

“That’s a good light you got there”

“Yeah, got them all around the house, just to be sure”

As he shut the engine off he smiled at you;

“I’ll walk you to your door”

Ever the gentleman Sy quickly rounded the truck and was at your door, this time you were prepared and had swung your legs around to face him, placing your hands on his shoulders as he lifted you out of the truck and set you on your feet. Sliding his hand into yours he turned and walked you to your door. You stood on the porch fiddling with your key;

“Would you…”

Sy looked at the door;

“I would love to come in, but i won’t”

“Oh”

“But it ain’t because i don’t want to. Hell, i want to. But you’ve had a drink, and i’ve got to work the farmers market tomorrow” He stepped closer, resting one hand on your hip as the other cupped your cheek; “But would would very much like to kiss you, properly this time”

You nodded, already leaning into his touch as his lips met yours. His hand on your hip reached around you and grasped your ass, pulling you flush with his body and made you gasp, giving Sy the chance to deepen the kiss. And god damn it that man could kiss. His tongue danced against your own, his hands pulling your body against his as you both swayed, before he turned you and pressed you against the side of your porch. The movement had cause you to straddle one of Sy’s thighs, his hand pulling your leg up around his hip as he wedged his thigh between your legs, the thick muscle flexing against your core.

When you finally had to break the kiss for air you both were breathless, your chests heaving. He rested his forehead against yours;

“I’ve got to go”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Before i end up staying”

“Okay”

He pressed one last kiss to your lips before he stepped back, you couldn’t help but to glance down and notice the sizeable bulge now pushing at his dark jeans. You tried to hide your smile as you turned to unlock your door, hoping he didn’t spot you looking.

As you held the screen door open you turned to him, smiling as you saw him reach out to hold the door as you unlocked the inner door;

“Can I make you dinner Sunday night?” he asked

“Sure, i’d like that”

He pressed a kiss to your cheek and you watched as he walked back to his truck. You waved as he pulled out of the driveway before you stepped inside, locking the door behind you.

Setting your bag and keys down onto the kitchen table you let out a deep sigh;

“I need a cat or something I can tell about my date” you mused to yourself as you ran a glass of water. Just then your phone chimed, and as you checked the screen you smiled;

“Even better”

Dialling the number you kicked your heels off and sat on the couch;

“Hey Tam, you will not believe how my date went…”

-

Sy twisted the cap off the beer bottle, taking a drink as he held the phone between his ear and his shoulder;

“Why are you calling me? Shouldn’t you be ‘busy’?” Walter’s voice was kind as he spoke

“I’m not gonna fuck her on the first date. Plus she’d had a drink, and i got market tomorrow”

“But it went ok? Are you seeing her again?”

“Sure am. Gonna cook her dinner Sunday night”

“Nice. Hey, shall I drop Akia for you tomorrow at the market or at your place?”

“I’ll be at the market from 7am so unless you want a real early start, the market’s fine”

“Sure thing buddy. I’m glad it went well”

“Thanks Walt. Oh hey, guess what she said?”

“Go on”

“She likes my hands”

He could hear Walter sigh;

“I should never have told you that”

“And she kisses real good too”

“You know what, save it Mr Loverboy. I’ll see you tomorrow morning”

Chapter 4 >>>

[xsapphirescrollsx]

Mesquite Grove pt 2

Written Oct 25 2020

Dark! Syverson x Black Reader x Dark! Geralt Also this is post is pic heavy. I modeled the cabin in this story of off Sky Notch. I hope it’s not to much lol and that you enjoy it. Thanks for reading and reblogging!

She had offered an exchange.

The writhing twisted thing on the ground, whipped its long slimy arm along the bog’s black moistened soil. It bared its sharp teeth before bellowing a sorrowful moan.

Geralt stared down at what used to be a beautiful woman. With her once melodic voice she had promised youth, riches beyond measure, and power - if he would let her live.

Allow her to continue her own reign of terror over the small but humble village. She had brought strife, she carried sickness into their homes, disturbed their spirits. 

Geralt wasn’t a fool. Of course he had considered her offer, but knew it was nothing more than conjured filaments of promises. It would have only been real as long as she lived.

What are a handful of crowns in exchange to leaving innocent people to harm?

Though he was no saint. It took sleeping with the village’s leader’s prettiest daughter and taking half her dowry to gain his contract. One cannot ask if one is not willing to give. 

And he delighted in the taking.

As in this moment, the black eyes matched his as he stared into the abysmal void that was quickly spreading down its body. 

Geralt bared his own bright white teeth and plunged the sword further into the monster's rib cage, piercing its heart and impaling the dirt below. Green ooze bubbled out of the wound. The moan gurgled into a desperate scream, echoing throughout the forest, shattering the peace surrounding it. 

The moment Geralt withdrew his sword the ground beneath him shook. Around him, wind began to whip and the wispy clouds around him whirled above him. Thinking, calculating, Geralt wondered what new spell this was. Eyes now back to their golden color he stared at the swirling beginning to descend about him. 

He tried to take a step, strained again to pull back from the gravity sucking him upward. 

Geralt reached for the beast at the same time his feet left the ground. Out of time the rotten skin slipped through his fingers, the whirlwind carried him up and up. 

The forest chattered once more. The creature laid there dead as Geralt had planned. But there was no Geralt here, or sword.

The moon hung behind a clear pane of glass, in the room you shared with Sy. Near the bed, where you laid, within her own wooden bassinet, the soft breathing of an infant soothed some of your worries. Pregnancy had looked great on you. Actually, you had never felt better and almost disturbingly so. It was September now, a month passed giving after a near painless birth to Astrid.

The little darling, Sy’s heir and your delight, and your reason for sleepless nights. Not because she required taking care of, that came easy enough, but your system had changed. You had little sickness throughout the pregnancy, energy boundless in a way you longed for the days where you could sleep a full night. 

This was one of those nights. Sleepless wasn’t the word for it. You flipped on your side and stared out of the window. The advent of fall had begun revealing a clear cool night sky with stars dotting above the tops of the pecan tree basking in the white light of the moon. You heavily sighed and rolled on to your back. It was ill advised by the old matrons that new mothers were allowed to roam the woods like their other halves. So you were laying on the large, billowy bed, muscles twitching to wander, heart waiting for the moment your bare feet could hit the ground. 

You stared at the wood grain above the bed and listened to the dark, imprinted the sound of Astrid’s breathing to your memory, and beyond the window pane howls - distant, calling to the night, did little to lull you to sleep. Your secret weapon to combat restlessness was to wiggle your foot. Quick short bursts of movement rocked you gently. Your eyes slowly blinked followed by a deep yawn and you shut them completely. The things to do in the morning began to drift less in your thoughts and it became more important to cave into the sinking sensation of sleep. You attempted to blink again, though did not. 

Your foot stopped moving. 

The dream began with feet, steadily walking through overgrown grass, stopping at first and then started again. Night rounded around the image, the skin was coated in black smudges, blood, the hem of a dark dress dragged  and smeared it around the calves. You could smell the iron in the air along with rot, not animal death, but that of felled trees with fungus aiding in its decay. A woman, she began to run as the vision pulled back and revealed that within her arms a bundled lay there. No bigger than Astrid, could have been Astrid the love you felt was as strong as that for Astrid. 

But it wasn’t, this woman was afraid of losing this bundle. Though not to death, but to forces beyond her control, so she ran. 

The dream shifted to fog, no footsteps to be heard. Made of air and a moist breeze they walked out from the trees and surrounded the woman. The bundle lifted from her arms despite her attempts to hold on, what was soft fabric became translucent just as the beings. Her scream scratched the inside of your ears, the wail turned yelling, her mouth was moving but the voices from it did not match. Your body began to shake, the scene rattled too. 

“Wake up, Miss! - Oh, old God! Please wake up!” the voice said.

Your eyes peeled open to Peach’s deeply wrinkled face. Worried thin lips were drawn into a straight line. “Miss!”

Your back snapped up straight, head turning towards the bassinet your eyes looked over Astrid. Peach held your shoulders, “She’s okay. But you have to come down--”

You pulled her worn hands from your body and held them within your own. “What’s wrong?”

And then you felt it, a worry, deep in the pit of your stomach. 

“Is it Sloan?”

Peach suddenly blubbered, you had never seen her in such a state. The aged woman was tough, and her tears had you climbing out of bed faster than what she could answer. 

You stood above Astrid’s bed, touching her belly you turned back toward Peach’s hunched over figure as she wiped at her lined skin. 

“I knew it would happen again..god damn--I told Alpha it could happen again.” she mumbled. 

Dottie, with her curly hair pulled up tight in a high bun and tugging on old boots, rushed in. “I got Astrid.” she said hurriedly. 

Dottie’s face was lowered, her eyes staring down at Astrid. She sighed, that was the moment you noticed a subtle lemon light and then she looked back at you. Behind her, beyond the window the sky whirled with clouds. Some deep yellow, others blue, circled and churned. You moved closer to the bassinet, still staring at the sky when Dottie too turned around, Peach gasped behind you. In the hustle you had not looked at the window, had it been doing this the whole time?

Clattering from down below, near the stone den, loud voices shouted, some hollered for help. Your stomach dropped more. Dottie shot out and grabbed your wrist. “Go.” she said quietly. 

You walked past Peach, to the end of the bed, who was still staring at the window with her hands covering her mouth. Grabbing the thick navy robe you turned around back toward Astrid’s bassinet, Dottie was there, her face toward your sleeping baby. You threw it on as she waved for you to go.

It must have been later than you realized, the second floor was devoid of the usual lit sconces, instead the fiery light from below coxed up and gave you warm light to guide you down the stairs. The row of balcony doors came in to few as you quickly descended, the yelling had died down in its place hushed tones followed murmuring. 

Eyes wide you hit the bottom of the wooden stairs and turned toward the large space with the stone monument. Women were coming in from across the other rooms with clothes in their arms. You recognized the usual pack, Tator, shorter than Sy preferred tattered jeans dragged across the floor as he paced. Macon, naked, was squatted down near a figure laying flat near the stone of the large statue. Jimbo, he was shirtless as he stretched the waist of the sweats around his waist stood up erect, his normally jovial face was straight and concerned. 

You rushed forward, their eyes turned to you and you ignored their bareness as you searched for Sy. They parted for you until his naked back could be seen, “Sy?”

An older woman handed him a shirt, he turned toward you and grabbed your face. “‘You okay?” he asked. 

Before you could answer, you moved to this side, your eyes dropped to the figure laying on the floor. 

“Ya’ll back up,” Sy called out in a hushed voice. He looked to you again waiting for you to answer his previous question. 

But you couldn’t take your eyes off the man on the floor. Sy nudged your cheek with the back of his hand, moist with sweat it was enough to draw your eyes back to him. “I’m fine, so is Astrid.” you whispered, and then pointed down at the man. “Who is that?”

“He looks-” said Jimbo, but stopped.

Peach had wiggled through the men across from you and Sy. Her blue eyes stayed on the man.

“We shifted on the other side of the property, so we were running,” began Sy, as any mumbling died away. “I scraped my leg near the old pyre. I ain’t ever seen anything like it.” His voice strained as he tried to stay calm while speaking. “What I was lookin’ at split and blurred. There was flashing lights in the sky, these clouds circled us and this asshole popped out and landed right on top of me. And then other things, monsters, fell right along with him and disappeared in the woods.”

Both you and Peach met near the side of this man. His shirt was near new, though unique and more like a tunic than a cotton tee. And his boots were good, strange though.  “There was a high pitched noise, it sounded like a bomb went off in my head.” continued Sy.

You knelt down at his side, staring at the strands of dirty silver hair. “It reminded me of war.” 

Flicking down further down this man’s neck, his pulse thudded quickly underneath pale skin, around the bottom half on his chest and shirt, a medallion on a silver chain. You reached out for it, slowly at first unsure at why you were doing so, but you did it anyway. You held it, still warm from his body and swiped a thumb over the raised décor. “It’s a wolf..” you said softly. 

More than that, it matched the same motif and style of that within the crest of the Syverson heirlooms you had seen so many times. 

“Looks like what is on the wall in the dining room.” 

“I never thought I would see the day…” said Peach.

Sy moved closer, though still standing, at your side. “What’s going on, who is this?”

Your eyes flew back up to the man’s face. Even in his sleep, silver brows seemed to glower in his rest. A familiar profile stuck out to you, it was the same as Sy’s face, same shape of lips, the clef in his chin.

“He looks like you Sloan.” you said, still holding the medallion. 

And it happened fast. Peach gasped first before you realized the man’s eyes opened, yellow and pointed in your direction. He snatched your hand within his and sat up, staring down at you. Crushing your fingers around the metal, the man growled before suddenly blinking slowly. Through his nose, he breathed in deep. “You smell…like flowers...dizzy..” his lips barely moved, your eyes met his as he leaned in closer. He continued to do so, his eyes slowly shut, his hand around yours dropped as Sy stepped in time to push him off you. 

The man crumbled down to his side while Sy helped you stand. “Who is his?” he was looking down at the man, brows drawn together before he stared at Peach.

Teary eyes were still on the silver haired man. Peach, sighed, mumbled something under her breath before she sighed heavily. 

“He’s..” she turned her eyes up to you and then to Sy. “I didn’t think we would ever see him again. Alpha, this man..” she looked back down at him, her hands seeming wanting to reach out to stroke his hair but did not. “This boy is your brother.” she finally said. “Your twin.”

Members of the pack lifted the man and placed him into a bed on the second floor of the cabin. The women had undressed him, mended his scrapes and scratches as he remained unconscious. It was now late morning, daybreak had cast light into the room catching his white hair. You stood at the doorway, observing Peach check his pulse. 

“He’s still breathing, seems to be sleeping.” she said to Sy. 

Your eyes fell to the man. Something solid settled in your chest when you gazed at him. Akin to how you felt for Sy, but different because while you had no idea who he was, you yearned.

“How is that man your brother?”

The sound of your voice breaking the silence had Sy turning toward you. The disappointment in his express was palpable. His eyes rolled to Peach. “‘Feel like I’ve been lied to my whole life.”

“He wasn’t ‘pose to come back! No lie can be undone if there’s no proof Alpha!”

Sy stepped toward the man, pointed, “He’s right there woman! A whole lie laying in my house!”

“Sloan.” 

Olive came in, a large book cradled in her arms, “This was from the old times, before there was a here and our people came to live here.” Sy made to move toward her but stopped when she spoke again, “Your mama made me promise. Omega’s trust is binding.”

She handed the book to you. “In there is about you too.” she said, looking from the thick embossed leather to you.

“What about me Olive?”

“A woman unknown. A stranger no more. Alone in the world, shiftless but finds their grounding.”

You squinted at her. “That could be anybody.”

“--catches the eye of the Alphas.” Olive continued.

Sy interrupts with what you did not catch. “Alphas?”

“First Omega with two mates.” 

You blinked,  and then squeezed the bridge of your nose while struggling to understand. 

“You were destined to be here. The world, gods, -- you were supposed to always be here.” said Olive. “I just..never considered that this prophecy would happen in my time.”

“Maybe if you hadn’t of lied-” Sy growled.

“I had no choice. I was bound by your mother’s word. And her actions were bonded by blood. No way around that, believe me I tried. Your father was missing. And, damnit, your mother knew not to ask the fog for help. She had no idea they would take her son in exchange...” said Olive.

Peach grumbled under her breath. She shuffled toward the end of the bed all the while staring sorrowfully at Sy. “Alpha, this man is your brother.”

“I don’t even know his name.”

“Geralt Syverson. In that book there-” Peach stuck a knobby knuckled finger toward the thick tome. “Says right in there, that man’s name is Geralt.”

Olive sniffed the air for a moment and glanced back at you.

“The rut is tonight.” she said, still staring at you. “Whatever it is you need to think about Alpha, you best do it quickly.” She turned her eyes back to him. “Because this is happening. Destiny is willing it.”

“I don’t give a damn about destiny-”

“I think you will find it is hardly worth out running.” the man mumbled from the bed. “Believe me I’ve tried.”

“Where am I?” he said while glancing out the window. Geralt sat up, moaned deeply and held his head before shifting his eyes up to the man who mirrored his likeness. “And I need a bath.”

You stood tense outside the kitchen door. Back so tight, it was fit to snap but you pivoted from ball to heel, rested the back of your head against the grain. This man’s voice settles in the knot between your shoulder blades. It struck you even deeper in your gut, your soul, whatever that warm feeling that sat in the middle of your chest. 

You know more than not, that the reason is something more than soulmates, and connections. You can smell it from here, him, just as you suspected he could sniff you out too. It was raw in your nose, primal, and instinctual.

And you were grateful that the occasional passerby did not stop. Like you, they too avoided the kitchen while this visitor ate.

“Is she yours?” asked Geralt.

Without a pause, “Yes.”

“So she follows you everywhere you go?” he asked. “Why is she standing out there?”

Sy called your name, slowly you rolled on your arm toward the entry. The moment his yellow eyes landed on yours longing unfolded within you. 

“I find myself, once again, in a strange land.” he said lightly. Geralt chewed off a bite of toast and gestured toward Sy. “And this man says he is my brother. However, I believe I am much better looking. What do you say?” he said as he swallowed the mouthful.

Sy sat in the chair sideways, with his large legs splayed, he hunched over with his fist flat at the knuckles and pressed into his thigh. He turned his head to you, utterly gentle, soft even to Geralt’s gaze he gave you a half grin. 

“Why are you here?” You asked.

Walking over to Sy, you kept watching Geralt the same as his eyes stayed on you. His chewing paused when you grew close, his eyes fell to the arm Sy wrapped around behind your hips before looking you in the eyes.

“I have no idea.” said Geralt, and turned back to his plate. 

Slowly his gaze moved from the pile of eggs to the book between him and Sy. He picked up the bottle of beer, chugged it while still staring at the words on the pages. Such an odd man, you observed, since waking he even walked around with a sword strapped to his back. Like now, his top half curved over his plate, those strange eyes shifting -- taking in his surroundings without looking too long.

“But I overheard something about a rut?” He said to Sy. “What are you some sort of animal? A pack of mutant dogs?” he chuckled.

Sy didn’t join in his amusement. 

“Werewolves.”

Sy jerked his chin, cut his eyes down to the medallion around Geralt’s neck. And casually, glanced back at that symbol on the ancient page. 

“That’s the mark of my family. Our inheritance.”

Geralt put down his beer and leaned back in the wooden chair stiffly. 

He rolled his jaw, flicked his tongue between his back teeth and looked to you first. “I’m over a hundred years old.” he said, and then stared at Sy. “Either this is some sort of time dream, or I’m your ancestor. This place doesn’t look like the Continent. Lacks greater magic, but this medallion - it’s been gently vibrating since I’ve arrived.”

“It warns me of magic and danger,” he said. “It’s no family heirloom. It was given to me once I completed my trails.”

It was absurd to think of movies or the vast stories of time travel, but it was all you had. 

“So what if you were taken there as an infant.” You looked to Sy. “Like Olive said.” 

“And time moves differently in this place you grew up in.” Geralt stared up at you, listening. 

“Wouldn’t that account for something? You’re talking about all this magic like it’s true. That’s not how it is here. And only recently have I even considered anything like it.”

You continued to stare back at his unwavering glare. “Don’t you feel different?”

A long silence followed. Sy caught you staring, the heaviness of his grip on your hip pulled you to stare back at your mate. He was still considering Geralt, the man continued to look at you until he spoke.

“He does. And by the end of the night I’m sure you’ll understand why...brother.”

The title brought Geralt’s focus back to Sy. “Odder things have happened in my long life. What’s one more?”

They, the pack, took this new/old comer in stride. Stranger than his sudden appearance was how they welcomed him back into the fold of their lives. Twelve hours since he arrived and Peach was here in front of you talking about him like he had always been.

Her eyes burst with delight as she spoke about him as a baby. How good he was, that he cried very little, and always needed cuddling.

Peach was covered in dark soil. From the creases around her knuckles to the edge of her temple. The old woman cut herbs down to the root as she spoke. 

“Are you ready?” she asked.

You blinked a few times, coming back to the moment. You nodded. 

Peach threw the last bunch of tarragon in her basket and stood up slowly. “I think your baked chicken will go good with that.”

Peach huffed, shook her head and looked to you exasperated. “That’s not what I was talking about. Don’t be coy. The rut.”

“You think Sy is really going to allow a stranger-”

“It’s not about what he will allow. It’s a bond with the land that was paid in blood before you even knew we existed. It is what it is.”

You laid Astrid down back in the bassinet. Ready for tonight's pack dinner you walked from the room you shared with Sy. You peaked back through the door at the young woman you had left your child in care of. 

She sat in the chair near, cracked open her book and smiled back at you. 

You buried the anxiety with a tight nod back. Already the house buzzed with high spirits, for the arrival, and for the eve of their time of bonding. The closer you came to the dining hall the louder it was and thicker the fragrance. 

The two of them, different but the same, had the effect within you.

Entering the voices quieted. Some familiar faces looked at you, smiled, nodded as you passed down the center of the long tables toward the one sitting long ways. Your space was empty, a vast void between Sy and Geralt. 

They stared at you. But your eyes fell to Sy only. 

And so you sat between the two big men. Something about them, their demeanor toward one another -- something had changed. And it poured over during dinner. They no longer seemed like two strangers. 

Geralt leaned back on his right hand, just behind you and whispered in your ear. “I hear we have some catching up to do.”

Sy glanced at you from the side of his eye before answering a member of his pack from across the tables. 

And you said nothing in return, and you did not look at him either. You picked at the potato salad on the plate before you and forced yourself to listen to Sy’s words. 

“I’ll be gentle.” Geralt whispered again, this time close enough to feel his breath brush against your ear. “Maybe...” he chuckled softly. “..if you’re good.”

You stared at Geralt from your place at the front of the pack on the balcony. He stood there observing the pack members, shoulders straight, chin level, and those yellow eyes stopping and studying ever so often. The weather fell, cold wind swept through the crowd of people staring at their Alpha. If not for the occasional blinks, and subtle tilt to his head, you would have thought Geralt was made of stone as Sy spoke.

“These are peculiar times,” said Sy, shifting his head and eyes from you to Geralt on his left. “But we aren’t strangers to oddities as such. As you all have heard, this man here is my brother.”

Indistinct mumbles descended through the fifteen or twenty men and a few women standing in front of you, Sy, and Geralt. 

Sy held up his for silence. “Geralt Syverson was a child of bond made in blood. Our mother’s sorrow over the loss of our father was paid by Geralt’s exchange. It carried him off beyond the world we see now.” 

Sy looked over at Geralt, who cut his eyes to him. “Carried him to distant lands where he was taken in by a woman. From what I gather his life has been hard.”

Your mate turned his focus back to the pack. “He was..changed by the people of the land.”

“Why is he back?” called a voice. “Why now?” said another.

Sy turned his head to the right and looked at you for a moment and then addressed the crowd. “The dark soul about a year back did it. The last one killed before that, was the night payment was due and my brother was taken.”

“Is he one of us?” asked a tall man, his black eyes swept from Geralt’s boots to silver hair before looking at Sy.

“‘Can’t be a Prime. There’s never been two.” he added.

Sy stared after the pack member, you could see it in his brows as he carefully considered his next words. 

“There is now.”

The crowd mumbled some more, whispers, disgruntled and blameful rolled over them once again. 

“There’s more on this land than we know.” Sy said loudly over them. “Shit we never seen is going on in the woods and my brother knows about it.”

Sy glanced over at Geralt who was already staring at him. “He will help. This is home now.”

Geralt nodded. “I kill monsters.”

His eyes drifted from Sy to you. “And as far as this being my home, it remains to be seen.”

“You will.” Sy clapped his big hand over Geralt’s leather clad shoulder and squeezed. “The air is changin’, you feel it?”

And as if speaking it into existence the wind shifted around them. The Alpha’s restless stances moved with one another feeling the resonance of their Alpha Prime’s words.

Geralt said nothing at first, his eyes traced back to the men. In the light of the balcony his skin shone slick with sweat. Sy grinned. 

“Alright, ya’ll - meet up in a few hours.”

Sy dropped his hand, the other messaged your back and wrapped around you to pull you forward through the crowd along with Geralt.

“First order down this path is claiming.” said Sy quietly while walking through the row of doors back into the house. “They have it easier, like during the change-- like me because we have mates.”

Your stomach dropped. 

Still sweating and rather perturbed Geralt grunted out unamused, “I glanced through the book Syverson.” 

“Sy?” you rounded on him taking a few steps up the stairs. “This is ridiculous. I’m not-”

Sy suddenly took to the stairs, growling in his throat forcing whatever retort back down in your throat. He grabbed your arm and began to walk you up the stairs. 

“Come with me brother,” called Sy over his shoulder. And when you glanced back at the silver haired man. He was staring at you, his breaths heavy and you recognized he could smell you just as you could scent him out.

You pulled against Sy, but it didn’t matter. He dragged you into their room. Gone was the bassinet, the child you shared with Sy and the room was lit by candle light and the night sky filtering through the large windows.

Geralt followed and closed the door behind him. 

“Try it,” said Sy. And he repeated the growl in this throat. “Think of subduing without touching.” he added, and twisted you around to face Geralt. 

“Don’t-” you said.  “I never agreed to this. I-”

Geralt stepped forward, the rumble in his throat began low and hit you harder than Sy. A deep jolt in your pelvis and wetness seeped from between your folds. The sound of his call was raw, unwavering and only grew the longer he stared into your eyes. 

“A curious creature,” his hand caressed your cheek, smearing the tear into your skin. “So lovely.”

Sy released you and stepped to the side. “She was made for us. In every way possible, brother.”

Geralt hummed, blinked slowly as your compliance melted into his psyche. He had been to the edges of the Continent, seen worlds broad and miniscule. But this, the sensation to ravish and take had never been stronger than in this moment. The urge to...plant, sow his legacy felt primal and ancient.

Sy breathed in deep, smelling the fragrance of your heat fill the room. “She’ll fight. But it only makes it sweeter.”

You fought against the rush. “You--don’t know what you're talking about Sy..please..” you strained to look away from Geralt.

“You know what the rut does to me baby..” whispered Sy. “You belong to us now.”

Sy walked from the room, leaving you to Geralt. And with him any hope that the man you loved, wouldn’t do this. But the moment the thick wooden door clicked shut Geralt tore at your t-shirt, grabbed the back of your hair and pulled you against his chest. 

His lips hovered over yours. Humming the Alpha chant he kept you there staring into your eyes. 

“I have so much power over you.” his deep voice mollified your senses. “It was confusing at first, this world, how it worked. But I feel the desperate pull to be inside you, entirely. And I fear.”

Throat dry, you struggled to speak against the cloudy haze of hormones. “--fear?”

“That I wouldn’t be able to stop myself..” Geralt pressed his lips on top of yours. He split them with his tongue, plunging and licking your teeth and tongue. 

You pushed against him, you tried to unglue yourself from the nature blossoming inside. It wasn’t nearly enough. 

“The more you resist,” he groaned and kissed around your mouth slowly making his way back to your mouth. “The worse it is..”

Geralt fumbled with his armor, shedding it fast when he released you to sway where you stood. And before you knew it, his naked form stood in front of you, the muscles with dark swirls of hair coating his chest and down a wide trail over his abdomen toward his chubby, thick cock.

You lunged to the left, but you were too overcome by the nature of your place in this culture. Geralt grabbed you about the chest and waist and walked you toward the bed. Shaking your head, crying was met with his Alpha hum. 

He tossed you on the bed back first, stripped your pants away and pulled off what was left of the tattered shirt. Head half empty, the other overpowered by lust, beckoned him to fulfil his duty. 

And as he pounced on top, before you could stop yourself, your fingers traced over the mounds of his pecks, around his shoulders and pulled him toward you. 

Geralt’s tight grin, his yellow eyes delighted in your sudden offering. But he grabbed your wrists anyway, held you down below him. And without much care, squeezed his way past your slippery folds. 

His mass pounded your body into the bed. His slick, porcelain skin slides against the tops of your nipples, you swear the briny dripping from him is your ultimate undoing. He takes from you, but his thrust gives in its own ritualic way. There was no escaping the act of completion, and as the swollen feeling in your clit cascaded into bone aching bliss you fell into his command. Your Alpha Prime, the second man in your life. 

He flipped you over, ass up and fell back into line with his rhythmic thrusting. It didn’t matter that he spread you further, had a handful of your face in his hand pressed against his jaw. He powered away inside of you, dropped his lips along your neck. And with his other hand, he held your head down, licked the stretch of moist skin there slowly. 

“I claim you,” Geralt whispered and buried his cock deep. His teeth nipped the skin of your neck, your ass arched more, craving the pain of his depth. And his bite pierced at the same time he spilled inside of you. Your whimpering, the small, surrendering mewl flared his nostrils as he bit down harder. 

The door slammed open smacking the wall, your eyes rolled in your skull before falling on the shape of Sy. He walked in and shoved it back shut. 

“I can’t wait any longer,” he groaned and began to peel off his clothes. “I can smell her down to the kitchen…”

Geralt tried to move inside of you. Another round of simpering whines called from your mouth. Sy rushed to the side of the bed where your head rested.

“Don’t,” Sy warned. “You’ll hurt her.” he said softly while stroking your hair. 

“Lay there with her, hold her. She’ll bond with you until you can pull out again.” he instructed.

Sy sat on the floor, he laid his head not too far away from your own as Geralt wrapped his arms around your back to your chest. You stared back at him as he gazed at you achieving peace.

“Good girl.” he whispered. 

Geralt turned his head back into your neck, humming low, and sniffing your hairline slowly it stimulated the vibration of love deep inside of you. The rush spread.

“Now you have two of us.” said Geralt.

“It’ll be my turn next,” added Sy. “We’ll take care of you, baby.”

The Next Morning

The brothers ran together last night. Their howls carried through the room and even invaded your sleep. Dreams of a black wolf, a white wolf, fog, wilderness kept you stuck to the bed most of the early morning. 

The night sitter brought Astrid to the room as the sun rose. And you spent time with your daughter despite the ache in your body. When the voices in the cabin began to grow louder you knew they were home again. 

You wondered if it was easier for Geralt, the change that night. Not that you saw it in person. But you couldn’t help but feel that your new mate somehow deserved a painless shift. 

And when the sitter came bounding back in off the energy surging through the home. She scooped up Astrid. 

“The Alpha Prime’s are asking about.” her bubbly voice softly rang.

Even if you did feel for Geralt, the night before was remembered. “I don’t care.” you said and got up from the bed. 

“I’ll have some coffee up here.” you added and headed toward the bathroom.

You ignored the smell of food wafting into the bedroom after the shower. Your eyes landed on a tray on the end of the bed. A platter of toast, fruit and thermos of coffee waited for you. 

And so did two tall, disgruntled men.

“Why didn’t you come down?” asked Sy, pushing away from the closed door. 

Geralt slowly walked toward the bed, but turned his back to you and Sy by looking out the window.

You glared at Sy. “You--neither of you gets to decide -”

“Ah but we do.” Geralt butted in, hands clasped behind him he turned from the window.  “The moment you felt me enter your slippery cunt you belonged to the both of us.”

You look to Sy for support but he just stared back.

“From what I’ve learned you have no choice but to submit.” Geralt glanced across the room for affirmation, Sy simply nodded. “Therefore, you will learn to love it.”

You started to snap back, yell, spit anything but a low growl began from Geralt that stopped you in your tracks. “I don’t want to hurt my...mate.”

Geralt and Sy walked toward you, the silver haired at the left, the bushy faced man at the right. Sy put his hands on his hips and grinned kindly back at you.

“We want you happy, dove.” Geralt carcasses your face, he dipped in and began to sniff your cheek, down your neck. “God, do you smell that?” he asked Sy.

Sy stepped over, you turned your watery eyes to him. He was softer with his eyes, gazing at you with love. Geralt held the back of your head allowing Sy to lean in toward the pulse point on your neck and ran his nose across your skin.

“It’s sweet. Like honey, or some wild flower but deeper, yes?” he asked Sy.

He knew that smell alright, the deep resonant fragrance coated the back of this throat. It flipped a switch in the back of his mind as he breathed in deep. He wouldn’t have to mate to procreate, not for a few months.

“She’s pregnant. That’s the smell..and it smells like she has both of us in there.”

....to be continued...

[catierambles]

Alternate Instincts Ch.20

Stephanie sighed again in boredom, kicking her legs as she sat on the examination table in the sterile white room that resembled every other examination room she's been in. They didn't let all five of them to be in the room with her so only Geralt was leaning against the wall, arms folding over his chest. He worked for the Council, the others didn't, so she supposed they trusted him to not do anything shady. Although she did catch a couple surprised, even fearful, looks in August's direction as they had walked inside the nondescript high rise downtown. Something she would ask him about later, if she remembered.

“We request your presence,” She said, mimicking Solo's voice and making Geralt perk a small smile, “But we're going to have your strip down to your smalls, put on a paper thin gown, and sit in a cold room for fucking forever.”

“Don't know what they expect to find.” Geralt said.

“I'm going to pop negative on a test. Every time I go for a check-up since you guys went public, they've tested me for lycanthropy along with other routine things and it came back negative every time.” She said, “And it's a feeling you guys have, not exactly something you can find a scan. Unless they hooked diodes to your head or something and had you gaze longingly into my eyes again.” He snorted at that.

“They're probably listening.” He said, “Don't give them ideas.”

“Come here.” She said, opening her arms and he arched a brow at her, pushing away from the wall. “I'm cold and you're a space heater. Get over here and cuddle me.” He snorted again, walking over to her and standing in front of her on the exam table, wrapping her in his arms and holding her against his chest.

“You are cold.” He remarked and she hummed happily as she sank into him.

“Warm.” She said wistfully and he smiled, pressing his lips to her hair as his hands moved over her back. “I'm worried.”

“About this?”

“No.” She said, shaking her head, “We haven't heard or seen anything of Jordan in a while and I—I want to believe that he's gone, that he gave up, but I don't...”

“I've felt him.” Geralt said, “Well, I've felt a Feral when I walk the territory at night. He hasn't tried anything and I haven't seen him, but he's there.”

“I don't like that.” She said, “That he's hiding out in the woods like some bogeyman, waiting for an opportunity.”

“He's never going to hurt you,” Geralt said, his arms tightening just a little bit. “Ever again.”

“Are you alone when you walk around at night?” She asked and he nodded against her hair. “Well, that's going to stop. Take one of the others with you. Buddy system, Mister.”

“I don't—”

“Geralt, for my peace of mind,” She said, “Take one of the others with you.”

“You're not going to ask me to stop altogether?”

“Would you if I did?”

“No.”

“So I'm not going to ask.” Stephanie said, “It may be Sy's territory on paper, but it's all of yours in truth. Also, please don't tell me you unzip on trees while you're doing your walk around.” He was quiet. “Oh sweet Jesus.”

“I don't always patrol on two legs.” He said in his defense and she thumped her forehead against his chest a few times in exasperation. The door to the room cracked open and he pulled away so they could look over at it.

“Is it safe to come in?” Asked the gentle female voice.

“Come on in.” Stephanie said and the door opened wider, the woman wearing a white physicians coat over mint green scrubs walking into the room.

“They told me your Mate was in here with you, and the last time I didn't ask when Mates were together, I walked in on them in flagrante delicto. Better safe than sorry.” She explained briefly, “Ms. Daniels, I'm Dr. Evelyn Mercer with the Pack Council, and this must be Geralt Rivian?” He nodded, “How are you both today?”

“Kinda wondering what you all expect to find, actually.” Stephanie said.

“Same, actually.” She admitted, “I've looked over your medical records and I contacted your GP to get current records and there are no biological signs of lycanthropy, but now that I'm in the same room as you, I can understand why they wanted me to check.”

“I don't feel entirely human, apparently.” She said with a shrug.

“We can't feel humans, exactly, they don't feel like anything in the same way that another person would feel like to you. It's more you don't feel entirely like a wolf. It's there, albeit faintly.”

“Sy said I have the “idea” of a wolf inside me.” Stephanie said and the doctor shrugged.

“Sounds about right.” She said, “Have you noticed any differences in the way other wolves acted around you after your accident versus before?”

“You guys weren't out when I had my accident so I wouldn't know who was a wolf and who wasn't.” She said, “But now that you mention it...”

“Steph?” Geralt asked.

“There was a jock asshole who used to make my life a living hell in high school, my entire friend group actually, a real walking cliche. We were kind of the social outcasts, didn't really fit in with the other groups, even though I was on the school rugby team. One day, a couple weeks after I got back, he was picking on the freshman in our group, being a raging douchebag, pushing him around. I got in his face and told him to back off. He looked like he was going to start in on me too, wouldn't have been the first time, but he suddenly backed down and apologized. He avoided us after that, wouldn't even look at us, or me.” Stephanie said.

“Dollars to doughnuts he was a wolf.” The doctor said, “He felt your “idea” of a wolf and it outranked his.”

“We have a theory that she'd be a female Alpha.” Geralt said.

“Multiple Mates, makes sense.”

“She claimed our Beta as her own.” Geralt said.

“She was able to do that?” Evelyn asked, her brows jumping in surprise.

“That's what Mike, the Beta, told me.” Stephanie said.

“Do you mind if I talk to him?” Evelyn asked and Stephanie shrugged.

“Fine by me.”

[henghost]

Twig Liveblog for Arc 13

aaaaaa ‼️‼️‼️ idk if i've metabolized my thoughts enough to be fully coherent about them but i feel like i'll burn alive if i don't get them out, so:

it's like, after 3.1-10: "oh this is fun! a little cat and mouse game with the lambs." then after 3.11: "i am ready to commit grievous acts of violence." the earlier chapters are nonetheless worth discussing as without them there could not be such a "devastating" fifth-act catastrophe. particularly the communication experiments fascinated me. what a perfect metaphor! what if a radio could feel fear? what if a a radio could feel love? might we not also ask--what if a weapon could feel horny?

of course the lillian perspective deserves special attention as well. even before she says so explicitly, we understand that she is "ruined." there is her drug use, her physiological response to even the smallest mention of sy. this is perhaps the anatomical effect of being so close as the lambs, who are essentially a single organism: losing one, especially the one to whom you were closest, is like cutting off a limb. poor girl! like the rest of them she's wrapped up in shit too vast to possibly understand much less overcome.

helen is also going through it :( maybe she'll be the next one to join sy... mary's perspective is also quite rough--this is when i realized that this sy guy is on a level of psychosis i hadn't really considered before lmao.

and then at last there's That Scene with lillian, which reads at first like some kind of fanfiction--some kind of fanfiction lillian herself might have written--complete with typically teenaged overdetail, melodramatic descriptions of flushes, body heat, etc., till finally there's a sort of "surrealist coup," we realize we are too deep in sy's subjectivity to understand the reality of the situation, there's a break, we are lost.

it's all just so (say the line, henghost!) freudian... one of freud's most correct insights is that eros permeates all aspects of life, and therefore that to deny, suppress, or compartmentalize it cannot achieve anything but to make it sick, make the host neurotic. for example, instead of simply fucking your best friend who's clearly into you, you might design an obscenely elaborate rube goldberg type contraption throughout a monument to your darkest trauma (that psychotic fucking carnival orphanage lmao) in order to "win" your ex back. it is wrong, therefore, though understandable, to say that sy has "castrated himself"--it would be more accurate to say that wyvern has his dick twisted up in knots while he's still trying to get hard, poor guy. (by the way, i really have to write something about how wyvern is an allegory for ssri's lol.)

i won't even broach the moral ambiguity, though i'm sure there's something interesting to be said about it--for me, it's like asking about the morality of a withered tree or oedipus rex. and it really is that sophoclean: it was doomed to happened; it was fate. it is written into jamie's dna. sy is a gun who wants, and a gun cannot help but fire. libido is the engine pushing us down a railway designed at best by deus sive natura or at worst by the Academy. i feel fucking sick to my stomach!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! nonetheless, i found it life-affirming. it's pessimistic, yes, but it's a pessimism of strength.

anyway, i've gotta give kudos to the author. for all the (deserved) shit i've given him, the wildbow of twig is clearly a far more mature writer than the wildbow of worm.

i must also--since this the last recorded arc for the audiobook!!--shoutout kim dauber, who provided professional-level audibook-reading for free!!! it's possible my reading will slow down without it :(

[i-dont-know-nor-care-go-away]

hey atheists!

As an fellow atheist

You are literally required to stop harassing Jewish people, and specifically about Christmas. I am gonna explain, tldr at the end

if you aren't doing anything, then no, I'm not talking to you, you did *checks notes* the bare minimum. but still, not as bad as that guy.

PS fucking A:

if a Jewish person says that they don't celebrate j-boi Christ's rescheduled bday then ITS NOT UR PLACE TO GO AND SAY "WELL IM ATHEIST AND ITS NOT EVEN CHRISTIAN ITS FROM PAGAN TRADITIONS AND IT IS NOT ABOUT RELIGION" GOOD FOR YOU, REALLY, IM NOT SARCASTIC HERE, I ALSO HAVE A GRUDGE AGAINST CHRISTIANITY AND STILL LIKE COOKIES AND TREES AND ALL THE FUN SHIT, BUT NO ONE ASKED!! IF THEY SAY THAT THEY FEEL LIKE XMAS IS A CHRISTIAN THING SO THEY DO'NT CELEBRATE IT THEN THATS NOT UR BUSSINESS!! IT LITERALLY DOESNT MATTER! THEY HAVE A. get this. 💫diff-er-ent bel-ief sys-tem💫. wow it's almost as if, they are allowed to feel what ever way they want because it's very likely* (read: almost guaranteed) they face casual antisemitism during the season of one of the main holidays of the church. lots of ex Christian atheists probably also don't like this holiday, so it's not just "the theists". people aren't hate criming you for not liking a time where there is a ton of Christian imagery everywhere. I know it's toned down, but it still came from the church and it's called "christ-mas" and is a major holiday for xtians. I'm begging you, literally none of it is a personal attack to those that like to non-religious-ly celebrate, it's about how they have felt and been treated, bc literally to any Jewish info site and see what they are talking about. they are literally just vibing, what is yalls fucking problem?

tdlr : If ur an atheist that celebrates and is happy when it's Christmas, have fun, but don't harass jewish people (or anyone, but it's mostly antisemitism I see) for simply seeing Xmas as something from another religion/culture (Christianity). also let them be mad about the antisemitism they face. it's not that hard

(I'm not jewish so feel free to correct me, I just posted about this bc a ton of atheists can have a hard time listening unless it's another atheist)

[where-are-the-spooky-gays-2]

@brandstifter-sys: short gremlin Remus x tall (or even just. regular size. Depends how short Remus is) Virgil.

me, immediately: ok but???

• Remus has A Lot of heels. among them are those octopus heels and also that pair where the heel is clear and has eyeballs and stuff floating in it. hopefully you know what I’m talking about and I didn’t just dream those up.

• tall Virgil lifting Remus for kisses. Alternatively, Remus scaling Virgil like a tree.

• or maybe the height difference is barely noticeable because Vee slouches so much (seriously, mans gotta have back problems). And then he straightens and everyone nearby goes "what the fuck"

• Virgil teasing Remus about being "fun-size" and then immediately regretting it or not when Remus says something like "oh I’ll show you fun 😏"

• sometime in the future, dukexiety starts adding on to the fun-size jokes with jokes about Virgil being family sized. (…)

• you know that one meme that goes like "my bf is too tall how do I kiss him?" look, I don’t condone violence, but Remus has kicked Virgil in the backs of the knees to get him low enough for a mouth-to-mouth kiss before. • forehead kisses. nuff said.

• regular sized Vee being like "I’m actually not that tall..?" smol Remus: shut up beanpole

• Remus: "give me some of your height. I want eight of your inches." • Virgil: "you can absolutely have eight of my inches." (I feel like this one works better the other way around but whatever Virgil gets to make dirty jokes too)

• lil koala Ree when they cuddle.

can I pick an emoji? I’d like to be this lil dude. 🐢

I L O V E L O V E L O V E this S O damn much!!! The chaotic Short King knows every solution to getting affection from his Emo Tree and from the amount of teasing and smooches it only makes him more P O W E R F U L (Also Vee getting to make dirty jokes and slouching a lot is so R E A L)

[viking-raider]

Hi 🥰

I've been rereading Southern Generation for a while now, and I realised that Lily Ana is literally her birth name "Liliana", I don't know that made me chuckle a bit 😂❤️

It is a very sweet story, hopefully, you will also write similar stories like this in the future 🥹

One question, because I got confused about her age, is she 25/26 or older? From my understanding of Sy's description and her college story, she seems mid to late twenties, idk.

Lol yeah. I've written numerous stories like Southern Generation.

Swipe

Immortal Sky

Hill Manor

Quarantine Bliss

Quarantine: Laundry Day

Quarantine: Warm Water

Quarantine: Rub

Quarantine: Trees and Antlers

Quarantine: Between the Pages

Quarantine: Early Bird

Quarantine: The Walk

Quarantine: Ink

Prince and I

As for Lily's age, I never in-story labeled her age, but from a personal, just for myself point of view, her birthday is June 19th 1989.