#and we have a PEAR TREE right outside

[sharksfood]

WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!! WE ARE MOVING TO SEATTLE!! ITS FINALLY HAPPENING!!

[stevieschrodinger]

Part One TwentyTwo

This chapter is NSFW

“Okay,” Steve says to himself quietly, trying to psych himself up for this. They’ve washed up and brushed their teeth, Eddie’s already in bed and Steve is running out of excuses to hide in the bathroom.

Yesterday was a pretty long day, the couple hours of housework before watching ‘Splash,’ at lunch time, and then Joyce and Hopper's visit in the afternoon. So, last night after scrubbing the pool, Steve had been exhausted and Eddie’s new muscles had been quivering with exertion. He’d walked like an old man to get up the stairs, and showering together had been quick and perfunctory; Eddie practically falling asleep against Steve under the water. He’d barely managed their ‘last kiss of the day’ before falling asleep.

Tonight, not so much, and Eddie had been watching Steve expectantly for at least an hour before they came to bed. Or at least, it felt like he had been, maybe it’s just Steve’s imagination.

Tonight is the night. Probably.

Steve remembers the way Eddie’s dick had seemed to startle and slip back inside, like a terrified cat hiding under the couch. “It’s probably more frightened of you than you are of it,” Steve whispers reassurance to himself as he dries his hands, then heads into the bedroom and climbs into bed.

“Stee love,” Eddie says as Steve settles down.

“Hey baby? You okay?”

Eddie makes an affirmative noise, “kisses?”

“Sure,” because how could Steve possibly resist him. The prickliness has grown out of Eddie’s hair, it’s long enough to become more like a peach fuzz now, and Steve likes running his hands over it a little. He fiddles with the point of Eddie’s ear too.

“Eddie? Before...when you had a tail...did you have a, uhm, did you have a dick then?”

“Dick?”

Steve hums, leaning back to cup himself through his pants to show him, “dick. Or penis I guess, is the proper name.”

Eddie’s face lights with understanding, “no. Not before.”

“Right. Right. So...we need to work this out together.”

“Together,” Eddie latches onto the salient point there. Steve’s pretty sure Eddie would agree to pretty much anything as long as Steve spiced it up with a ‘together.’ Which is kind of nice, to be loved like that.

They kiss again, soft and gentle, Steve sometimes pulling back to rub noses, until it’s Eddie’s turn to ask a question, “pull pants down?”

Steve snorts a laugh, he can’t help it. Fond and warm inside; nothing could possibly be scary with Eddie.

“Sure baby, we can do that.”

They undress themselves, Eddie with no concern for the space around him, and Steve has to dodge a lethal elbow as Eddie strips off real quick.

Looking down the long pale line of Eddie’s bony body, a thought occurs to Steve, “did you poop before?”

Eddie shakes his head, “no poop tail.”

“Oh. So I guess you just...digested absolutely everything? There was no poop at all?”

“Yes poop,” and then Eddie makes a motion, opening his mouth and fake coughing, indicating with his fingers that he caught something, that something...came up.

“Out of your mouth,” Steve says, unable to hide how absolutely horrified he is at the image. And then flashing on all the times they kissed before Eddie had legs.

“Not...poop,” Eddie thinks for a second, “seeds. Pear…” he holds his hand above his head, a single finger sticking up, “pear hat.”

“Ohhhhh...the seeds and,” Steve copies Eddie, one finger pointing above his head, “stalk.” Eddie nods, “what did you do with them?” Steve never ever saw Eddie do this, he had no idea this was even happening.

Eddie makes a fair impression of scratching at the coverlet, and then pushing a mound of...dirt back over what he’s just imaginary buried in the covers, “you planted them. You planted the seeds. Like with the pine cones?”

Eddie nods, “planted the seeds, yes,” and then he points, their universal sign for ‘outside’, “pear trees?”

“I...I don’t know if they will grow, I don’t really know much about trees but...when the weather gets a little warmer, we can go looking for them?”

“Warm weather put tent out?”

“Yeah, yeah sure baby we can put your tent back up,” Eddie nods, content with Steve’s answer, he leans in for more kisses, the oval points of Eddie’s nails scratching gently down Steve’s back, Steve stops them again, carefully disengaging, another thought occurs to him, “did you plant things in The Upside Down?”

Eddie nods, “seeds. Black trees and…” he makes a wriggly motion with his hands.

“The vines,” Steve suddenly understands, “you planted them, for food?”

“Yes...tadpole vines best food. Not good when...parent?”

“Ohhh...they’re nicer when they’re, like young, I guess?”

Eddie hums smiling. Steve can’t help it, he kisses him again, Eddie wriggling closer, pressing them together. Eddie’s bony, but it isn’t off putting, and Steve can feel his cock pressing against the top of Eddie’s slit for a moment before he remembers what comes out of there and pulls back a little, “can I touch you?”

“Touch good.”

“Can I touch you here?” Steve hovers his hand in the space between them, wanting to make sure Eddie understands completely before he does anything. Eddie nods, rolling onto his back a little to allow Steve some access, “okay, lets do this.” There’s no way Steve’s going to be able to let himself get into this if he’s worrying about Eddie’s dick suddenly biting him.

It also means if Eddie just...didn’t have a dick before, then that means they need to figure out...everything. Can Eddie even have an orgasm? Steve has no idea how his parts work so, “I guess we can just...try stuff, okay baby?”

“Eddidie try,” Eddie confirms, shifting his legs further apart, as clear of an invite as Eddie could possibly give; Steve throws a leg over Eddie’s to get close enough. The soft light of the bedside lamp is enough to see by.

Eddie’s shifting, parting his legs, has caused the slit to gape a little down between Eddie’s legs, but nothing has made an appearance just yet, “I guess I’ll just...go for it.”

Steve traces the edge of Eddie’s slit with a fingertip, careful and soft. He figures it’s not that different to what a girl would have in placement, but it seems tighter and smaller, more flush to Eddie’s body; neater somehow. He’s also completely hairless here, and there’s no stubble, so Steve figures nothing is ever going to grow down here. Steve lets his fingertip slide into where Eddie has gaped open a little. It’s not dry inside, but it’s not exactly moist either. It just feels like more skin.

Steve rubs his finger up and down the middle of Eddie’s slit a couple of times, not going any further than the part that’s opened naturally. Eddie’s dick still hasn’t made an appearance. “This okay?” Eddie’s watching him with wide eyes, lying still for the moment. He doesn’t appear to be...well...aroused, or showing any particular interest yet, but he nods. “Okay, lets go a little...more.”

Steve lets his finger sink in. There’s no resistance, and Steve finds it’s a little more moist the deeper he goes. Eddie accepts his finger easily, shifting a little and letting out a sweet sounding sigh once Steve is as deep as he can go. The top of Eddie’s slit finally parts, just the head of his dick poking out a little. Like it’s...cautious. Curious.

“Uhm, hey,” Steve says, and then berates himself internally for how absolutely fucking ridiculous that was. Luckily Eddie has no clue what’s normal and clearly isn’t judging him for having a chat with his dick.

Steve’s been with plenty of girls, but never with a guy. And definitely never with anyone who doesn’t have human parts so, unfortunately, absolutely non of Steve’s experience is translating to how he’s supposed to deal with this…he takes a breath, and decides he needs to be all in.

“Okay,” he carefully presses down with his finger, Eddie’s narrow inside, the sides of his channel gripping Steve’s finger as he slides downward until he finds the ‘bottom’ of Eddie’s opening. He traces it with his finger, following the dip until he finds a...ridge. Or a pucker; he rubs it with his moist finger. Eddie makes a huffing noise, “feel good?”

Eddie frowns at him, “maybe?”

“Right, okay,” so Steve withdraws his finger, Eddie making a soft noise of what Steve hopes is pleasure. He carefully offers his slightly moist fingertip to the black, rounded exposed head of Eddie’s cock, and then just...waits. Eddie’s penis slithers out a little further, and then, after a brief stand off, it gently nudges at Steve’s offered finger. “Oh, okay, yeah,” Steve’s eyes flick to Eddie’s briefly to check in, only to find he’s looking down his own body, watching with as much open interest as Steve is. Right then.

Eddie’s dick slithers all the way out, the head as black as Steve remembers, fading into the usual color of Eddie’s pale flesh; it tangles gently with Steve’s fingers, and Eddie makes a noise. Just a little wisp of a thing, but it gives Steve hope that he’s doing the right thing with this. He risks a brief look; Eddie’s cheeks have a little flush to them, his mouth popped open just a tiny bit.

Eddie’s dick is nudging at Steve’s finger, drawing his attention back down, and Steve watches as the head opens up, slowly the petals peel apart. It’s pink inside, Steve sees this time, and covered in hundreds of the most minuscule little pink bumps. Like kind of teeth, or the start of teeth, but they never quite made it there. It waits, hovering uncertainly.

Steve takes a deep breath, letting it out slow, “okay little guy,” and he really, really needs to stop speaking to Eddie’s penis, like, right now.

Steve, gently, offers the pad of his thumb. The petals cup it, a soft touch, all of the tiny little nobbles pressing against Steve’s skin, just wide enough that their petal tips cross over the edges of Steve’s thumbnail. Eddie sighs, and then...kind of nothing happens.

Steve’s eyes flick to Eddie again, since his dick seems content to just hold Steve’s thumb, “Eddie, this okay?”

Eddie nods.

“Any idea what I should...do?”

Eddie shakes his head, looking at Steve helplessly.

“Right, okay, maybe I can…” Steve shifts his hand, keeping his thumb where it is, he wraps his fingers around the thick shaft. Eddie’s dick squirms a little in his grip, but otherwise it seems fine. Steve holds a little tighter, and next to him, Eddie breathes out a little sound. Maybe a little startled, “okay?”

Eddie nods real quick, the sound of his short hair dragging on the pillow, “touch good,” he insists, reaching up himself to grip Steve’s arm where Steve is half hovering over him.

“Okay,” they both look down again, past Eddie’s ribs and his still nearly concave stomach, “okay.”

Steve grips a little tighter, Eddie dick is squirming against Steve’s palm but not like it’s trying to escape or anything, just like it’s rubbing against all of Steve’s hand that it can reach. Steve figures sticking to what works is probably the way to go, so he takes away his thumb to hold Eddie properly, then tries gently sliding his hand down, in an attempt to jack Eddie off.

The flower petal head flails a little, grasping at the air. When Steve pulls down, Eddie's dick simply bends with him, and Steve is sure some of it just...goes back inside. So rather than rubbing Eddie’s dick he just ends up...moving it. Steve hums, that’s not going to work he doesn’t think. Eddie’s dick might be firm but it’s just not rigid enough for Steve to make that work. Steve draws his hand back up to the top, offering the flailing head his thumb, where once again it latches, apparently, happily.

Eddie makes another soft noise at that, he did last time too, Steve thinks. Maybe that’s where he should focus his attention. He decides to try it, gripping Eddie’s dick more firmly, it gives him purchase to rub the pad of his thumb across the dip of the opening and the petals.

Eddie’s breath comes sharp and startled, his nails digging into Steve’s arm, “did I hurt you?”

“No. No it didn’t hurt. Good. Touch many good.”

Right, well, that's about as big of a green light as Steve figures he’s going to get. He rubs again with his thumb. He rubs straight across, forward and back, the pad of his thumb following the shallow bowl shaped dip revealed by the petals, which Eddie seems to like if his quiet noises are anything to go by.

Steve changes it up, trying small circles across all the petals, the tiny little bumps dragging on his skin...almost like he’s rubbing the soft side of velcro. “Stee,” Eddie moans, shifting his hips, parting his legs even further.

“Okay baby?” Steve asks him, although he can’t take his eyes off where Eddie’s penis is wriggling against his palm and fingers, where the flower petals are opening and closing on Steve's thumb. They bend easily where Steve presses on them, alternately stretching as far open as they can before they grip at Steve’s thumb again, moving in a strange, pulsing dance.

The next time they open fully, Steve uses the opportunity to rub his thumb all the way across them, tip to tip, and Eddie’s hips buck uncontrolled, Eddie making a startled noise of pleasure.

Steve himself has started to get hard against Eddie’s hip, Eddie’s wriggling and obvious noises of pleasure causing Steve to become aroused, and he lets himself grind a little, only half aware of his own movements. The wet head drags against Eddie’s soft skin, so Steve rocks again, he’s not able to drag his eyes away from where he’s working the flower petal head of Eddie’s cock.

The drag of all the little nobbles feels a little dry, so Steve leans down, lifting his thumb out of the way for a moment to let a blob of spit drip onto Eddie’s dick, Steve presses it in with his thumb, spreading the moisture.

Eddie’s reaction is almost immediate, his back arches and the petals grip Steve’s thumb tight. Much tighter than they have up until now. Eddie’s hips are writhing against the bed, rolling like waves as Steve just holds still. Eddie makes quiet noises, and Steve flicks his eyes up for a second to check on him; Eddie’s eyes are squeezed shut tight, his mouth hanging open wide. The hand on Steve’s arm holding there loosely, forgotten as Eddie, presumably, orgasms.

The head of Eddie’s dick feels like it’s pulsing. Sucking. Gentle pulls against the pad of of Steve’s thumb, like little sucking kisses. And then it fades, becoming weaker, the petals grip loosening as Eddie’s hips relax back onto the bed and become still, his penis slowly slipping from Steve’s fingers. It withdraws some of the way, resting floppily against the bottom of Eddie’s tummy.

It looks a little drunk, the way it wobbles over.

“Stee,” Eddie says weakly, his hand flopping against Steve’s arm in a halfhearted pat.

“Yeah?”

“Good,” Eddie blinks at him, pupils blown wide but eyes all sleepy. He smacks his lips a second before shifting against Steve and frowning down at himself, “et.”

Eddie’s speech seems to have regressed back to how it was in the beginning, but Steve doesn’t mind. He kind of likes that he just blew Eddie’s mind, “wet? Where?”

“In,” Eddie answers, shifting again, one leg is still trapped by Steve’s thigh, but Eddie moves the other leg, trying to pull them together, he wriggles his free leg to scissor his thighs together.

And yeah, Steve can see it now, seeping shiny wet from the middle of Eddie’s slit, “can I?”

Steve’s hand hovers, waiting for Eddie to nod, which he does.

Eddie is very wet now. He shifts, parting his legs again to accommodate Steve’s finger, and then fingers after the first one slips in so easily. It looks completely clear in the light, and it’s very viscous on Steve’s fingers. Steve pulls them out again to look at them; it’s very thick, almost jello like where it clings, all shiny. It’s super slick where Steve rubs his fingers together.

Sever rocks against Eddie’s hip again, his hard cock dragging against Eddie’s hip at the thought of sinking his cock into Eddie’s wet slit.

It’s warm inside, Steve notices first when he puts his fingers back, the slick on his fingers had chilled in the air, highlighting the difference. It’s much easier to feel around now, Steve’s fingers sliding easily through the slick. Eddie sighs, and it sounds contented, so Steve asks, “this okay?”

Eddie hums, “touch good.”

“As good as when I was touching your dick?”

Eddie frowns sleepily, thinking about it, “no. Different.”

Steve nods, he gets that.

Steve investigates properly now, touching all of Eddie’s insides that he can reach. The walls are slick all over now, some of the gooey slick being pressed out around Steve’s fingers. Steve can’t find any features but for the pucker right at the bottom, so he touches there again.

A wet fingertip breaches it far more easily than Steve expects, and Eddie yelps, suddenly grabbing Steve’s wrist, “no,” Eddie’s dick slips back inside, like it wants to get out of the way.

“Okay, okay, is it bad?”

Eddie giggles, shifting against the sensations before relaxing again and blinking, “maybe. Good bad.”

“Okay,” Steve files that away, but avoids it for now.

Steve’s hips have started rocking again, as he slowly finger fucks Eddie’s channel. All the soft wetness making slick noises as he does. Eddie makes happy noises, the occasional relaxed sigh, but he looks sleepy again, “do you think you could come from this?”

“Come?”

“Like before, it felt really good?”

“Eddie come then wet? Dick touch come?”

“Yeah, do you think me touching you like this will make you come again?”

Eddie seems to think for a minute, blinking more awake again and tilting his hips a little to rock down onto Steve’s fingers, “feel many good...not come good.”

“Right, okay,” Eddie keeps shifting, and Steve follows the movement with his own hips, his cock leaking now, leaving a little smear of precome on Eddie’s skin.

“Stee come?”

“Not yet...I want to, though.”

“Eddidie can? Help? Same before? Tail.”

“Yeah. Yeah baby you can touch this time, if you want. Use your hands?”

“Okay,” they switch positions a little, Eddie not seeming to be at all bothered by it when Steve’s fingers abruptly slip free of him. Steve uses the slick on his fingers to wet his cock first, and when Eddie’s sees this he lifts a leg, not at all self conscious, and drags his own fingers over his slit, gathering the thick wetness there.

Steve helps Eddie position his hand, wrapping it around Eddie’s hand on his cock, then moving them both. Eddie catches on fast, “I’m not going to take long,” Steve tells him, already feeling the familiar tightening in his balls.

Steve lets go, Eddie has the idea now, and he jacks Steve fast, making wet noises. His fingers are so pale next to Steve’s skin, but firm and strong, and Steve doesn’t look away from the movement of Eddie’s hand.

“Close baby,” Steve breaths out a warning, his own hips starting to tilt, fucking a little into Eddie’s movements.

Steve lets his eyes close and his head slide back, Eddie lets out a sweet sounding, “oh,” as Steve starts to come, the first pulses landing hot on his own stomach. He has to reach out again, grasping Eddie’s hand to slow him, to show him how to work Steve through his orgasm.

Steve lets himself have a second, after, blinking sleepily as the last twitches of pleasure tingle though him. Next to him, Eddie makes a sound of disgust, and Steve looks over to find he’s clearly just licked some of Steve’s come off his fingers.

Steve can’t help it, he laughs, “not good?”

Eddie wrinkles his nose, “not good.”

“You want to get cleaned up?”

Eddie nods, “wet.”

They shower again together, just to get the worst of it off, “did that feel okay baby? Was it good?”

Eddie nods, “good. Feel…” Eddie stops a second, standing under the water, trying to figure out how to tell Steve. He makes the flashing movement from the Christmas lights, with his hands, “pretty. Many many,” he rubs his tummy, but low down, making his fingers dance in little tingles across his skin, “good like Christmas food and Pizza and Pears.”

“I think I get what you mean. It felt really good.”

Eddie nods, seemingly satisfied, but then frowns, “more later? Again?”

Steve snorts a laugh. That does make him feel absolutely certain, Eddie must have liked it if he’s asking again so soon, “sure baby.”

Eddie’s not at all self conscious, and he happily cocks a leg, resting his foot on the side of the tub to let Steve clear out the goop from inside his slit. Steve figures he gets the worst of it, inspecting a particularly lumpy part that’s has stuck itself to his fingertips.

There are darker shapes inside, small dots Steve thinks, about the size of peas maybe. Steve inspects the darker splotches clinging to his fingers; he’s only found a couple in amongst the clear jello they’ve cleaned from between Eddie’s legs, “baby, what do you think these are?”

Eddie shrugs, “seeds?”

Steve lets the water catch them, washing them away, “best not plant those in the yard.”

Eddie snorts a laugh, “Eddidie trees,” and then laughs again, tickled by the idea.

Part TwentyFour

[scary-event2369]

Yandere! Alien (ONE-SHOT)

I’m sick as hell rn and I just want to write. Sorry it’s been awhile TT

Never wrote something like this before so be nice but criticism is always welcome!!

Also been awhile since I wrote smut, so i apologize if it’s not good either

Content: AFAB Reader (no gendered terms used), aphrodisiac effect (alien’s saliva), sexual themes, alien dick (ikyk) oviposition (egg-laying/having eggs inside you), breeding, brief mention of blood.  P -> V. Cunnilingus.  This is a lighter yandere.  —

You headed up to your grandparents' mountain cabin, craving some alone time to clear your head and unplug. It was meant to be a chill getaway, a routine check. The cozy rustic vibes inside welcomed you, but what caught you off guard was the sight of an alien, looking totally puzzled by a simple piece of fruit. It was almost cute, but definitely not part of the plan.

It was not even a full 24-hours before you heard a loud crash outside. Your first thought was a tree possibly falling. To your surprise, there was this odd pod thing sitting there. 

You immediately wanted to call someone, but then you remembered. No service, no humans around for miles – classic mountain problems. However, your curiosity got the best of you, so you grabbed a stick and poked the mysterious pod. It hissed open, releasing a fog that revealed a towering alien.

This dude was something else. Humanoid, but not quite right. Terrifying yet strangely captivating. Pale, almost ghostly skin, cat-like features with pointy ears and weird dark marks all over. Antennas sticking out of his head and long silky smooth white hair flowing down. 

Now, a few days later, he couldn't take his eyes off an apple, completely captivated like a kid in a candy store. His long finger reached out, gently tapping it.

"Want a bite?" I interrupted his apple stare-down. He turned to me, his language sounding weird, definitely not from around here, but the guy picked up English crazy fast.

"Can eat this?" he questioned, his voice all deep and otherworldly, like trying to put words to an alien sound. I nod, “Yeah go ahead. It’s pretty tasty.”

He snatched the apple, giving it a good sniff and admiring its vibrant red hue. Hesitating for a moment, he finally decided to take a cautious bite. His eyes widened, almost sparkling with surprise. Without wasting any time, he went for another bite, a grin spreading across his face.

A little chuckle escaped me."So, what do you think? Is the apple a hit?” I asked him between giggles. His mouth was full of the apple, the juice pouring down her cheek. “Apple... good," he responded with a few mysterious words, likely compliments, before switching back to English. "Tastes like Earth. Want more."

"More apples?" I questioned, making sure. His face lit up with happiness as he nodded. I got up from the couch and headed towards the kitchen. I grabbed more apples, including some oranges and pears for good measure. Dumping the fruity treasure on the end table, I declared, "Voila!"

He gobbled up the whole apple, even the core, and then flopped into a chair by the table. Snatching an orange, he sniffed it just like he did with the apple. A big bite, some chewing, and he declared, "Different, but good,” he mumbled with a nod. "Earth food, good." I shook my head, chuckling. "No, you can't eat the skin like that. Let me peel it for you," I said, quickly peeling it for him. "Here, give it another shot. It'll be way tastier this way." I held out the peeled orange, urging him to try it again.

He narrowed his eyes at it, unsure, then decided to take another bite. The look on his face mirrored the one he had when munching on the apple. "This is real good," he exclaimed, before launching into a stream of excited chatter in his own language. "You," he stopped to find the right word. "Smart! Lots of cool things. I wanna know more."

I flashed him a smile, saying, "Awh, thanks! I'm curious to know more about you too." We took a little pause, just locking eyes. His big, dark, almost black orbs were fixed right on me, kind of hypnotic. I turned my head and blurted out, "So, um, what else do you wanna find out?" His intense look left me a bit flustered.

I still felt his intense gaze burning into the side of my head. Suddenly, he grabbed my hand and yanked me back onto the couch, plopping down beside me. I was a bit confused, but I took this as him wanting to know what this was. “Oh, this thing? It's a couch. Like a big chair, so more people fit on it," I explained.

He gave a little nod, inching closer. Those eyes were still locked onto mine, like he had something important to say but was stuck on the words. Next thing I knew, his hands were on my cheeks, squishing them, and his forehead rested against mine. Our noses touched. If you told me a few days ago that a massive alien would nuzzle noses with me and I'd just roll with it, I'd have called you nuts. However I just let it happen. Despite us knowing each other only a few days I felt a strange trust and connection to him. 

I raised an eyebrow, still kinda confused but not backing off. His fingers, long and gentle, traced my cheek, giving me a ticklish feeling. His breath brushed against my face, and he stayed quiet. “So… is this some alien custom or what?" I questioned, getting even more confused by all the physical contact. He nodded, making a small clicking noise. Then he began to say a bunch of words in his native language. I think he could notice I wasn't understanding in the slightest because he let out a huff before he kissed me quickly.

I gasped at the sudden feeling. It wasn't like any regular kiss; it was way more enjoyable, sending a tingling and numbing feeling through me. His lips still held the sweetness from the fruit we had earlier.

His hand moved to the back of my head, pulling me in closer, while the other one continued to gently stroke my cheek. A warmth began to wrap around me, it was a strange feeling, but one I wasn’t pulling away from. 

I shut my eyes and leaned in, returning his kiss. A surge of warmth enveloped us, almost like a sweet paralysis. It was too irresistible to pull away.

The hold he had on the back of my neck got a bit tighter. It didn’t hurt but it was obvious he didn’t want me to pull away, I couldn’t even if I wanted to. His soft lips were intoxicating, both of our lips moving in rhythm. 

His tongue teased my bottom lip, coaxing them to open. It felt like an aphrodisiac, a warm and comforting sensation. Slowly, I surrendered as he pressed me down onto the couch, rendering me completely immobile.

Breaking away, he panted slightly, and we gazed at each other breathlessly. It felt like we were just staring at each other for hours, even though it was only a couple seconds. The warm feeling growing in my chest and stomach was growing, it was pure need.

Gasping for breath, he uttered "Xylorvex," a word in his native tongue. Pausing for a moment, thinking, he repeated, "Mate. You're mine, all mine." With that, he pressed his head against my neck, as he began to kiss and suck the skin.

The words hit me, making my face burn as he nibbled and kissed my neck. His teeth were sharp, but he tried to be gentle, though sometimes he bit too hard, making me bleed.

Yet, he was quick to lick and clean the wounds, sending a rush of arousal through me. My body went numb, and all I could feel was the strange alien's touch. His kisses left me craving more. "P-please," I stammered, desperate.

The strange creature stared at me, clearly confused. I let out a groan and pleaded, "I need more," hoping it would catch my drift. It took a while but then he nodded, finally understanding as his long fingers slowly pulled down my pants and now slicked covered underwear.

The cold air on my bare pussy made me flitch and shiver slightly. He brought one his face down and looked at it which only made me more embarrassed but aroused. After a while he brought his hand towards it, going up and down the folds, gathering more of the wetness. I let out a shaky moan and quivered slightly. I was so turned on it was almost painful. The creature watched as my pussy convulse around nothing. He slowly brought his face towards it as he began to carefully lap the folds. I cover my mouth as I let out a loud mouth. My breathing has gone heavy yet shallow as he continued licking and sucking. It was tingling in a way that caused more sensations than ever. I grabbed a handful of his hair, not knowing whether I was pulling him closer or pushing him away.

“Sweet. Like fruit,” he said softly, his eyes never leaving my cut as it dripped leaving a small pool onto the couch. He quickly went back towards it, slurping up all the arousal that poured out of me. He was mostly silent throughout this, a few clicks that I took as happiness as his half-lidded eyes switched from my pussy to my face. Luckily enough I was making enough noises for the both. It was only a matter of minutes before I felt my orgasm building full force. He began to swirl his long tongue around my clit sucking on it before going back towards my hole pushing his tongue in. “Nghh~ ah fuck~” I moaned out loudly as I came all over his face. The slick trailing down his chin as he made sure to give my pussy a few more kisses before sitting back up and looking at me. “Good?” I nodded as my chest went up and down heavily. I have never experienced anything like that before and it took a lot of the energy out of me. He smiled slightly as he then took off his pants showing his now fully erect dick, it was nothing like you have ever seen before. It was long and girthy, with the same black markings that were across his skin. It was veiny, and twitching. Despite being quiet it was obvious he was just as excited as you were. 

He slowly rubbed the entrance, gathering my slick onto his dick. I rarely had time to think before he pushed it in slowly, filling me up instantly. We both let out a moan as he bottomed out. The clicking noise became louder as he began to mumble something. He kissed my lips before he started to thrust his and wiggle inside me.

It was otherworldly, it was like his cock was perfectly morphing itself to my folds causing a sensation I couldn’t explain. The moans I let out came off as more of screams as I gripped the couch. However they were not as loud as they could be because of his sweet kisses, almost praising and encouraging me to take it.

You quickly learned that his species had a strong stamina. He was doing all sorts of positions with you, forcing orgasm after orgasm before all you could do was cry and take the pleasure. Hours later and after your nth orgasm did he finally cum. He gave his final thrusts as he shot his load inside you. The warmth filling you as you whined. You could  feel him depositing large eggs within you. Causing your belly to bulge as he cooed and petted your head.

After he laid all his eggs within you he finally put out, a clear sticky substance pooled out of your entrance as you trembled. The alien held you close as he brought you to the bed, grabbing something he thought was a towel and wiped you up.

You quickly fell passed out as he cuddled up next to you, spooning you and continuing his pats to your head. He just knew that you’ll be such a kind and loving mate for the children slowly growing inside you.

[clockwayswrites]

Flashfics 1 Masterpost!

Ship, Color, Plant

Original Post CLOSED

As you can see, I asked for:

-A Danny + DC ship (/ or &) which is self explanatory.

-A color from the rainbow (roygbiv). Before anyone picked I assigned a topic to each color based on something that color evoked for me! I'm not going to lie, I didn't think too hard on these lol.

Red- fighting

Orange - trick or treat

Yellow - food/meal

Green - eldritch

Blue - sleep(y)

Indigo - smooches/cuddles

Violet - angst (violent violet)

(For those curious: 1R, 3O, 1Y, 2G, 4B, 1I, 4V)

-A plant of some type. The plant is a little vague, but it was there to provide a hook of some sort- a mood or color palette or texture. Basically the plant is the vibe!

(If anyone else wants to use this idea process (or parts of it) to do prompts themselves, feel free!)

Goal was to stay short and quick with these! Here are all the links and a bit of my thought process under the cut! The reasoning is likely spoilery for the pieces, so you might want to read the ficlet first!

Danny/Jason, Indigo, False Indigo

Danny/Jason, Yellow, Dandelions

Smooch + False Indigo just had to be fake dating! It was a must. I admittedly have more thoughts on this one than a ficlet warrants...

Danny/Tim, Violet, Iris

Food/Meal. Dandelions are seen as just weeds in the US, but actually from their roots to leaves to flowers have a ton of uses! So I wanted there to be a restaurant that was dubious from the outside, but had amazing food.

Danny & Billy Batson, Orange, Prickly Pear

Angst. I love irises. The colors of traditional purple iris with that spot of yellow reminds me of dusk. Dusk feels like an ending so we went with a dramatic deadline!

Danny/Bruce, Blue, Blue Lily

Trick or Treat. Danny brings Billy food as they plot. For the plant a prickly pear is good eating, but... well, prickly, so I went with a clear friendship with some underlying contentiousness.

Danny & Steph Brown, Violet, Violets

Sleepy. A blue lily looks a little scattered, even frayed, but it still has a lovely soft color. It was perfect for a Bruce who's trying to hard and a soft moment. (Great fun to finally write this ship.)

Danny & Arthur Curry (Aquaman, Orin), Blue, Ruby Slipper Succulent

Angst. Purple bruises clustered together like violet flowers came to mind right away- especially for violent violets. Two spirited heroes in over their heads...

Danny/Jason, Orange, Apricot Tree

Sleepy- went with exhausted here. The succulents reminded me both of the crown of fire but also coral, so I really wanted to focus on Danny visiting Arthur/Orin. As both half human kings, I thought that it could be nice to set up a mentor idea.

Danny/Stephanie, Violet, Orchids

Trick or Treat. I struggled a bit at first but had the idea of Danny throwing apricots at Danny- using the plant literally for once! Luckily the ficlet found it's way. (Ty Moku for letting me bounce ideas off of you.)

Danny/Duke, Blue, Sage

Angst that I had to make different from the other angst with these two! I leaned into the other worldliness of orchids and their bright bold colors... and what that could mean as a ghost.

Danny/Zatanna, Orange, Amaryllis Belladonna

Sleep. Sage is nice and fuzzy so first take away was the texture, but it's also an herb and so we got to sick fic! Just a soft little moment for these two and a little gator.

Danny (Phantom) & Captain Marvel, Green, Wildflowers

Trick or treat. Well, I had to do a magic show with that topic. The flowers are very soft so wanted something sappy. But with the name belladonna, even if it's not those belladonnas, had to have tiny bit of a threat or mystery.

Danny/Jason, Red, Bonsai

Eldritch. Wildflowers made me think of an uncontrollable Phantom and what would cause that and, well, look I know this isn't the angst color but... combined with the prompter very specifically using Phantom and Capetian Marvel it seemed to fit.

Danny/Jason, Blue, Sunflowers

Fight! I was first thinking of a mistaken identity brawl, but that didn't fit bonsai at all. Then I thought it needed to be delicate, but if you've ever watched a master work with bonsai, they are anything but delicate. So then we got to this metaphor!

Danny/Bart, Green, Dahlia

Sleepy. Gonna be honest here, sunflowers = sun was where my brain went right away lol. I also wanted an overall happy and playful feel!

Eldritch. Dahlia are the orbs of flowers that are fractal so a biblically accurate Danny seemed like a place to go! I like to think thanks to time travel Bart and Danny had different first meetings with each other, and none of it in the current time.

Danny/Jason, Violet, Forget-me-not

Angst. How could I not do a death scene with for forget-me-nots? Moku and I had chatted more about the apricot one, and Danny visiting the grave, so I felt this had to tie into that! At least this way you all know it has a happy end?

[lizard-shifter-noms]

Still Subject to Change Chapter 26 (NEW)

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Hello everyone! i decided to repost arc 1 of SSTC

(the chapters were way too long and had a bunch of typos but hopefully this will make reading easier)

this Story contains Vore, Dont like dont read.

if there are still any grammatical errors i’m sorry.

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Arthur then made a gesture for us to stop.

“Arthur? Something wrong?”

He pointed at the window we just passed and both me and Robin looked out of the small thing.

We were on ground level right behind the shed, technically we didn’t have to walk to the door now since the window should just be large enough to climb out.

Which Robin promptly did, almost headbutting my chin in the process.

“I'm first outside!”

Oh well, The window wasn’t big but I had to be extra stupid to get stuck in it so I heaved myself onto it and jumped down the meter or so to the ground.

Arthur followed swiftly and managed to snag his foot in the windowsill and barely avoided falling onto his Numb face by bracing himself with his arms.

Heaving him up again i looked around to try and spot Oakley, the fucker was fast i gave him that.

Arthur gave me once again a thumbs up what probably was meant to substitute a ‘thank you’.

Robin had already run ahead and I noticed that Oakley was indeed walking right into the shrubbery of the less maintained part of the castle grounds.

So dragging Arthur behind I followed the ginger into the trees that stood between the castle and the protective wall.

Arthur mumbled something incomprehensible again but I guessed it was something along the lines of ‘I can walk myself’ so I let go of his tunic.

Considering the direction Oakley was going he was heading right for the tower, well it was his now and I assumed he’d have to do a lot of cleaning to make it livable.

Who knew how long that half broken tower had been abandoned, not to mention there was an Oak tree growing out of it which probably broke the wall in some places.

We caught up to Robin rather quickly but then stopped as we heard someone call for us.

Turning around I saw Rikaad, now free of mud, walking at a brisk pace towards us.

Robin immediately waved excitedly at him as he came up to us.

“Where are you going? And what’s with Arthur’s face?”

He sounded rather concerned at the last part, but since Arthur couldn’t talk I’d explain it instead.

“He got punched in the jaw and Oakley put something to numb his face and now we wanted to ask how long that works for”

He nodded in acknowledgment before looking at the bruise a bit closer.

“Why were you punched? What happened?”

Well this was about to turn really awkward in a few seconds.

I was in Luck as Robin started explaining what happened before I could open my mouth.

Spared me awkwardly trying to coherently tell him that people in the castle tried to kill me.

Hell, that could have gone so wrong if Arthur had been just a second slower.

Better not dwell on that grimm outlook.

Besides, Judging by Rikaad's face they were going to be fired very soon anyway so it was unlikely that I would ever have to see them again.

“I will deal with that as soon as i can, for now we can go to Oakley, i wanted to ask him what he plans to do with the tower anyway”

True, he said he’d wanted the tower but not what exactly he was going to do with it, and aside from that i also wanted to finally ask him if he had anything to make that absolutely irritating itching go away

Resuming to walk where Oakley had gone, I noticed that this part only looked less well maintained.

There were no bigger branches on the ground and none of the other signs that it was abandoned.

It looked to be expertly well kept even if these plants weren’t cut into fancy shapes.

Also most of the trees were apple or Pear and I guessed that they were planted for when the castle was under lockdown.

Between two trees the tower came into view and it was just as rundown as I thought it would be.

There were holes in the walls and the top half was missing completely so that it had only three stories at most.

It was also slightly askew as the Oak Tree next to it had pushed it aside a bit, getting shelves installed would be a nightmare for sure.

There was rustling from above and it seemed Oakley was sorting trash on whatever remained intact on the upper floor.

I didn’t dare stand anywhere near the tower itself as there could be a risk of falling bricks, especially with Oakley messing about up there.

So shouting up it was and hoping he’d come down without triggering a downpour of stone bricks.

“OAKLEY! HEY! DOWN HERE! WE WANT TO TALK TO YOU!”

A head popped up over the ledge of the tower, it seemed I had been loud enough, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Robin hold his hands over his ears, maybe too loud then.

Whatever the case it worked as Oakley just jumped down and used his wings to glide to the ground.

Yeah, the Air element was a very good guess.

He landed gracefully in front of us and then tucked his wingarms closer to his body.

“Something the matter? Anyone else gotten punched?”

Of course that would be the first thing he had to point out.

I shook my head.

“No, we wanted to ask how long Arthur’s Jaw is going to be numb for”

“And also how you like the tower!”

Robin butted in, pointing at said tower.

Oakley smiled and I could clearly see his fangs again, they were almost off puttingly white.

“Well it should be numb for about one hour total, but! It’s going to remove the bruise entirely and no it does not work on anything worse than that.

As for the tower, well it’s dusty for one thing but I’m working on fixing that.”

Ah, so as soon as the stuff wears off Arthur’s bruise should be gone, That was nice.

And I could plainly see that it was dusty as hell in the run down building.

Maybe i’d offer to help later, first i had to ask if he had anything to make the fucking itching stop.

I debated waiting until the others left but they knew about it already anyway so it didn’t really matter.

Well Rikaad might feel guilty again about stabbing me but right now I just wanted this uncomfortable feeling to stop already.

Maybe he’d give me whatever he gave Arthur to simply numb it.

“Hey Oakley?

Do you have anything that helps in dealing with a painful itch?”

Okay I definitely could have worded that better.

“Did you touch poison ivy? Or what did you do?”

Maybe I should have waited after all, because this was about to be extremely awkward.

Like how the hell was I supposed to explain the fuckery that had happened? And it was my fault too.

But before I could say anything else Robin had already started talking.

“Oh no, its for the stitches in his pouch that Rikaad made after he stabbed Donovan in a snowstorm”

Oh, that was probably too much information at once blurted out in a short sentence, I could almost see Oakley’s brain working to process this strange heap of information.

Then he turned to Rikaad strangely enough.

“Aside from the fact that you STABBED him, what kind of thread did you use?”

Oakley suddenly seemed a bit bigger than before if only due to being puffed up like an angry bird.

I was a bit confused however, why would he need to know what type of thread it was?

Did that influence what type of treatment he was going to use?

Rikaad himself looked rather uncomfortable.

“Just a normal sewing thread with a normal needle, why?”

He suddenly got a face full of wing as Oakley just opened the appendage in his direction.

“A NORMAL thread?!? Are you insane?

That’s way too frayed to be used for wounds!

That just amps up the risk of an infection!

And then a normal sewing needle! That is not sanitary!

Why would you even use that?”

Rikaad had shrank back a bit at Oakleys rant but I could clearly see that where the wing had struck him it was slightly red.

It didn’t look damaged in any way however, apparently it had just been a light smack and not intended to cause damage at all.

Rikaad himself looked stunned for a second before composing himself red face and all.

“I am sorry, i was not aware of this, i only wanted to help”

Well that was nice and all but apparently I had been running the risk of infection for a few days now, which was not good.

Oh no, what if the itching was a sign that I had already gotten one?

Somewhere to my left I could make out that Robin was hiding behind Arthur who also tried to stay out of the way as much as he could without outright leaving.

Oakley was still not very happy but he turned to face me anyway.

“Aside from how the hell you ended up stabbed There of all places, How bad is it? Does it hurt a lot?

And do you have any estimation on how big the wounds are?”

“Well it’s an annoying uncomfortable itch, i’m not sure how big it is but there’s like two places i got stabbed soo uhh”

Oakley just put his three fingered hand on his forehead in exasperation.

“Alright, you are aware that someone has to go get the stitches out right?

An infection risk like that needs to be removed”

Oh fuck, that meant Oakley would-

aww dammit my luck really had run out for today hadn’t it?

He grabbed at my shirt with the end of his two pronged tail and dragged me to the other side of the tower where there was more space as the trees grew further apart from each other here.

“You stay next to the tower and shift bigger, i need to get some supplies, you shouldn’t have shifted with stitches literally lining an organ but there’s nothing to do about it now, just wait here i’ll be right back”

Without saying anything else he spread his wings and then flew up into the sky to get whatever he needed.

Well, best to heed his advice and shift bigger for now.

I chose the Ardua form as people had seen that before and the sudden appearance of a Giant might scare someone into attacking.

Soon enough I was back to being a fuzzy green Beast.

Just as I had shifted the other three rounded the tower and I could see clear concern on all of their faces.

And there was the obvious guilt in Rikaad’s still slightly red face.

I hoped he’d not be too upset by it as it was an accident, I was also pretty sure the only one that knew anything about first aid in this group was Arthur.

Well at least Robin didn’t seem too down by it as instead he came over to my sitting form and hugged my leg.

Now I had to wait for Oakley to come back from wherever he went, which was probably his old shed, and who knew how long that would take.

Sure, he could fly but I had no idea how fast so I was stuck just sitting here worrying if I had an infection or not.

Rikaad came up to me and looked me earnestly in the face.

“I want to apologize again, not only for stabbing you but about the whole issue it turned out to be now due to me using the wrong equipment”

“It’s okay i guess, you didn’t know after all, also since when is there a special thread just to sew up wounds?

But really i should have explained better back then, maybe we wouldn’t have this problem then”

He still didn’t look happy, if anyone could even tell when he was, but he seemed to let it go, at least for now.

Well, now it was waiting for that winged fucker to return.

At least there was grass to sit on instead of just dirt.

I lighty shoved Robin, who was still clinging to my leg, out of the way so I could sort of lay down on the ground, even if I ended up looking like a tired dog.

That gave me an idea, Robin had compared me to a cat so just maybe i could-

Tucking my legs under me like I had seen some of the stray cats do, I ended up doing exactly what I hoped I could.

While Robin had been confused by being shoved away his usual spark returned when he saw why.

“Ohhh Loaf”

He immediately flopped onto the part of my arm that was not hidden underneath me and tried burying himself in fluff.

At least one person was sort of happy right now.

“Dude, you look like a big cat!”

Apparently Robin was not the only one that got joy out of seeing me Loaf, at least judging by Arthur’s amused, if slightly muffled, voice. Oakley's stuff was already slowly wearing off huh? well he did say it would be DONE being numb in an hour, not that he couldn't talk before that.

“So? I can kinda understand now why they do that, this is actually comfy somehow”

That much was true, my limbs actually cushioned the softer underside of my body from the ground and also kept it warmer than the cool grass itself.

Yeah, no wonder cats did this, and with the way my arms were positioned it didn’t put any pressure on my pouch either.

Now i just had to wait for Oakley to come back and do- Well, whatever would help me.

“You really are like a big cat, not that i mind as long as you don’t start pushing things of tables”

I glanced over to Rikaad and saw that he had spoken without looking at me and was staring past the tower towards the castle again.

That reminded me-

“Hey Rikaad, i had expected that now there would be guards around you at all times, did you tell them to fuck off for a bit?”

That gained the attention of Arthur who joined in on the conversation.

“Yeah, what did you tell them you were gonna do?”

Robin didn’t seem to hear anything as he still had his head buried in the floof on my upper arm.

Rikaad looked back at us then.

“I know that, and i didn’t tell anyone that i was going out, i just went out the door when no one was looking”

I just stared at him as he said this, Thus far he had not seemed the type to just do something like that.

And I wasn’t the only one that shared this sentiment as Arthur was also a bit confused by this.

“Don’t you think that’s gonna give someone a heart attack if you just vanish like that?

Also you said that there had been assassins in the past, Should you be walking around with barely any protection?”

That was a good point actually, while the assassin MIGHT have been that Vampire guy we didn’t know for certain, and I was pretty sure the one Arthur meant would get a heart attack was Norrin.

But yeah, if there was an assassin around somewhere being out in the open like this was a bad idea.

But by now i had learned that Rikaad valued his independency a LOT, And not being in control of his own actions was probably really uncomfortable for him.

Still it didn’t seem like us just telling him to go back would make him do it.

Then Robin piped up.

“Hey how far did you get with the paper stuff? Did you find the one that bans Fae folk? Oh and did you find anything cool? How much paper is it anyway?”

Oh right, I had forgotten about that, well at least i would get an answer now.

“Sadly i did not find the paper i wanted, there is so much of it and none of it is organized in any way, it looks like someone toppled the cabinet over and then just stuffed the documents back in, they aren’t even in stacks they are just shoved in and partially crumpled”

Wow, the old git really did not care about anything other than himself huh.

Well, at least Rikaad was trying to fix things now, even if it would be slow going.

“Well, since I doubt Oakley is going to need my help I will go back to try and sort that nightmare of a paper avalanche waiting to happen, and prevent Norrin from a panic attack as he surely has noticed me missing by now”

“Alright, don’t get buried under paper, and I mean that both physically and metaphorically!”

Arthur called to him, earning a rare smile.

“Don’t worry, i’m careful, and taller than the cabinet, see you later then”

And with those words he left to get back to the probably very boring task of sorting paper.

Arthur then turned to me, or more specifically Robin who had buried himself in the floof of my neck again.

“Good call! Bringing attention to the fact he’s got to do stuff in the castle was a fine idea!

If there is an assassin he won’t be in harm’s way out here anymore!”

Robin just blinked at him.

“I did want to know if he found the paper tho, i don’t want people to get stabbed in the city just cuz they have pointy ears”

That was, strangely sweet of him, and that Rikaad was back in the safety of the castle was a nice bonus too on top of that.

I turned my head so that he got a makeshift hug by squishing him into the crook of my neck.

“That’s nice of you, and i agree, nobody should get stabbed for their heritage”

He shoved at the side of my head and stuck his tongue out.

“You’re squishing me!”

He was laughing as he said it so i wasn’t hurting him by doing this, good to know.

Then I decided to be a little gremlin and moved my head away in one swift motion so Robin ended up sliding to the ground.

Before he could get up, I put my head over him and effectively trapped him under my jaw.

I made sure not to use any pressure though, I wanted to annoy him a bit and not hurt him.

A muffled

“Hey!”

Sounded from under me but then he started laughing again.

“I’m not a pillow!”

While shoving at the underside of my jaw lightly.

Arthur had heard that too and was now grinning from ear to ear.

He went next to me and got close enough that Robin would be able to hear him.

“Well now you are!-”

Then he looked at me.

“- just make sure he doesn’t suffocate, yeah?”

I gave an affirmative hum as I didn’t want to move my jaw at all.

Deciding that Arthur just grinning at Robin’s predicament wasn’t exactly fair, I unfurled one of my arms, front legs?, and sneaked it up next to him.

Just as he turned to look at what I was doing I lifted the appendage and softly ‘dropped’ it on him, trapping him beneath my lower arm.

“HEY! Get off you big cat!”

He was trying to crawl out using his arms that he had managed to stick free from under my arm.

Honestly seeing him flail like this was kinda funny, but I still made sure to be very careful so as not to squish him.

“You really are just a big cat! Now get off! This is stupid!”

He was grinning with clear amusement in his voice so I knew I didn’t overstep any boundaries.

I hummed again before slowly easing up on Arthur and lifting my head again.

“Fffffff man you could just fucking obliterate someone like that!

How heavy are you as Ardua anyway?”

Arthur got up and brushed off the dust he got on his tunic.

“No idea, and i don’t think that can be accurately measured”

Without looking I knew Robin hadn’t moved from where he was so I glanced down to what he was doing.

He was still just sitting there, and I knew he was conscious by the fact that he had his eyes open and was sitting upright.

“And what are you doing?”

He stuck his tongue out and then sprung into action.

Standing up abruptly he headbutted the underside of my jaw saying loudly with lots of amusement in his voice.

“BONK!”

The action surprised me and he managed to hit the soft part between my jaw bones.

“Ack!”

I jerked my head up and shook it like a dog which earned even more laughter from the redhead.

Well, i did just trap him under my head so-

“Yeah, i guess that’s fair for trapping you under me”

He was still laughing and had now draped himself over one of my arms like a sack of wheat.

I immediately put my head over him again, which made him laugh even more.

“While you have fun i’m going to poke around the tower before Oakley comes back, don’t worry ill be careful”

Arthur waved before he went around the tower after I gave a confirmative hum, likely to locate the entrance.

Well, there probably wouldn’t be much since Oakley had barely anything moved yet.

Maybe stuff from his backpack that he already put away.

The feeling of tiny hands brushing through my fur made my gaze swivel to the little redhead.

He had that distant stare again and was repeating the one motion over and over.

Spaced about again huh.

I let him, he was just brushing the fur so I saw no reason to stop him.

Besides, it actually felt nice, as weird as it was to admit.

I decided to blame the Ardua form for that, Entire new nervous system and all that.

So for a while I just kept still and let Robin pull his fingers through my fur.

I hummed again when the sun came out from behind some clouds which were probably a leftover from the snow madness and shone on my fur.

There was a small laugh again and it seemed Robin was done spacing out.

“Can you do that again? That humm i mean”

I wasn’t sure why he wanted me to do that again but I could see no harm in it so I did.

The moment I did Robin hugged my jawbone much to my confusion.

“That sound rattles all of my bones! It’s funny!”

Ah, so that’s why he wanted me to do it again.

Well, he could have that.

I trapped him again under my jaw and hummed louder than before which got me a laughing fit from Robin.

Somewhere near the tower I heard cursing and lifted my head again to see what was going on much to the ginger’s disappointment.

I could just about make out Arthur near the tower, He was holding his foot and insulting something I couldn’t see.

Peering closer I could see a stone brick sticking out of the ground and surmised that Arthur hit his toe.

I wasn’t the only one that had run out of luck today it seemed.

Looking up as a shadow passed over me I saw Oakley again, he was a really silent flier if he wanted to be.

I’d better remember that to avoid getting jumpscared in the future.

He landed and I could see a new backpack filled to the brim with stuff I had no way of recognizing all of it as some of it seemed like more magic fuckery.

“Oakley hey! You’re back already?”

He shook the backpack off before answering.

“Of course! Flying is way faster than walking, and I don’t have to maneuver over changing terrain or follow roads!”

He opened the bag and started pulling things out that should not have fit in it.

For example a really long and sturdy but smooth looking rope as well as a box that made a clattering sound.

PREVIOUS / NEXT / OVERSIGHT

[scribblelark]

Enchanted Tea Powders Can Lead to Parallel Universes

My collection of enchanted powders and syrups lets me make the best lattes, teas, and drinking chocolates this side of the river. The downside? Remembering what's what while I'm half asleep and concocting my morning brew. Which is why I stopped drinking them last year after a particularly potent brew’s unexpected side effect landed me in a parallel universe for five days. Now I go outside and grab a fresh peach, pear, apple, a handful of grapes and three strawberries in order to fix myself an unenchanted fresh fruit juice instead. Those five days were hair raising and I mean literally, as well as metaphorically – it took several weeks for my hair to return to normal.

Almost the first moment I landed – and I do mean landed as I dropped from a great height on arrival – my ‘adventures’ began. A large green and gold dragon swallowed me whole, which I can confirm is not the most pleasant experience. In fact, I think I’d go so far as to say it was quite the most unpleasant experience I’ve ever had.

How did I get out of it, you ask? Well, it’s not for nothing that I’m a witch of considerable repute. I used a spell to make the dragon cough and after a few minutes I found myself flying out of its mouth and crash landing in a tree.

Luckily, the dragon was both apologetic and helpful once she realised what had happened. She got me out of the tree and back onto solid ground, then helped me to find the necessary herbs I needed for poultices for the wounds I acquired when crashing into that tree. Of course, she had no problems in creating a fire for me so that I could boil some water to make the herbal compounds I use on open wounds. After I’d got that done, she insisted on flying me to wherever I wanted to go and when I explained that I didn’t know where I was since I’d arrived there by magical accident, she took me to the most powerful witch she knew.

To my surprise, the witch in question was both a princess and me! Well, not me, but rather my parallel universe self. To say that we were both shocked at the meeting would be an understatement. She fainted clean away and I had to use my magic to revive her as she showed no signs of quickly recovering her senses.

Once she was awake again I had to reassure her that I wasn’t her twin, evil or otherwise, and that I had absolutely no interest in becoming a part of her life as I had a life of my own elsewhere, thank you very much.

Once we’d established that, she was quite willing to help me to get back to my own universe. The problem was that in order to do so I needed to drink another cup of the tea I’d drunk that morning, and do you think, after the shocks I’d already had, and given my half-asleep state when I made said tea, that I could remember precisely which enchanted powders I’d used? I really couldn’t.

Which resulted in four days of experimentation. Four days of mixing up enchanted powders, four days of searching for elusive ingredients to go into those powders, and four days of bouncing back and forth between other parallel universes and the princess’ own. At least having the dragon along helped! She, it turned out, was a natural anchor to her own and the princess’ universe, so when I ended up in a parallel universe that wasn’t my own, she was able to get me back.

No, I don’t know how she did that. You don’t ask dragons those kinds of questions about their magics, not if you want to survive the day, anyway. And yes, Linnormr, for all that she was helpful to me during my time in that parallel universe, was not a dragon I wanted to cross. So I kept my mouth shut and asked no questions.

On the first day that we tried getting to my universe we instead ended up in one where I was an Imperial Knight, renowned as a mighty dragon slayer. (Imagine how  Linnormr felt when we made that discovery! Imagine how I felt, too!) We had the misfortune to arrive right where my other self was fighting an enormous red and gold dragon and losing badly. Linnormr asked me if I wanted to help and I said yes, I wanted to help the dragon, not the other me. I explained that until I met her, I’d never met a dragon as there were none in my universe so far as I knew, and she had been kind, helpful, and a good friend to me thus far, therefore I had no inclination to go around slaying dragons, including the one that was doing a good job of killing not-me.

We got out of there as fast as we could, Linnormr flying us both back to her home universe. By the time we got back it was late in the day and she was tired, so I told her quite firmly that I didn’t intend to try going home again that day and she should rest.

On the second day of trying to get home to my universe Linnormr and I ended in a parallel where my alternate self was a mighty king ruling over a vast empire that stretched for thousands of miles. The moment they saw us, the King tried to destroy us, assuming that I was a manifestation of devilry and there to unseat them. No amount of reassurances or explanations were sufficient to persuade them otherwise and the King challenged me to a duel. I explained that I’d never learned how to use any weapons, that my skills lay wholly in herblore. (I didn’t think it would be a good idea to use the word magic around the King, given their attitude to my existence.)

The King waved this objection off with a very curt ‘You’ll learn’, which meant that I spent the rest of that day in trying to learn how to use a sword. Would it surprise you to know that I wasn’t very good even after sweating over the task for six hours?

The King had had Linnormr chained up on our arrival, but the chains weren’t anything like as strong as they assumed and eventually Linnormr was able to free herself. She arrived at the duelling ground (the King had a separate area of land set aside purely so they and their courtiers could duel with anyone who disagreed with the King. Bizarre.) just as I was being led out, armed with a borrowed sword. The King, of course, arrived in all their splendour, and I was surprised to see just how good regal finery looked on me. Not that I had any intentions of ever wearing such clothing, but still. It was interesting. And then it wasn’t, as the King started to swagger towards me, a very sharp looking sword in their hand. Fortunately, Linnormr arrived at the next moment, literally swooping in to save me by snatching me up with her talons as she flew in low over the duelling ground, accompanied by a roar of outrage from the King and a rather half-hearted (it seemed to me) flight of arrows.

Back in Linnormr’s own universe we spent the rest of the day resting and recovering from our ordeal, after I’d recounted what had happened to the princess. She had been suitably appalled by our experience and assured us that when she became queen here it would not go to her head as it had clearly gone to the King’s head.

The third attempt to get back to my own universe was, if anything, even more horrific than the second attempt because this time we arrived in the middle of a war. A very technological war that featured flying machines raining destruction down on the countryside, armed men and women, rolling machines that I was told were ‘tanks’, and a version of me who was the President of one of the many countries involved in this terrifying worldwide war. She was outraged at our appearance outside the government offices where her ‘war cabinet’ was meeting (I was surprised to learn that a war cabinet meant people not furniture).

To my intense relief she didn’t try to have us killed out of hand. She did, however, have us locked up before I’d barely managed to explain who I was and what we were doing there. We were, apparently, ‘an unnecessary complication’, so off we went, to the Tower of Londino, the capital city’s central jail.

We were locked up in the Tower’s topmost suite since it was the only reasonable way to get Linnormr into the building at all. Unfortunately, the chains the President’s jailers used were a lot better than King-me’s chains and it took us hours to get ourselves free. In fact, it was only by combining our magics (an experience I’d never had before since there are no dragons here!) that we managed to get ourselves free. Once we were free of our chains, Linnormr set fire to the roof and when the wood had been weakened enough, she shoved her head and shoulders through, bringing down a lot of the roof in the process. Then she picked me up in her talons and flew us out of there.

That was when my hair turned black and spiky (I’d been blonde until then). The spikiness has gone, now, but my hair is permanently black as a consequence of the mild singeing I got during our escape. Not that I blamed Linnormr in any way. It was our only recourse, after all.

Once back in Linnormr’s universe I seriously considered simply remaining there and never again attempting to return home. Princess-me was surprisingly amenable to the idea when I idly floated it over a late supper once I and Linnormr had recovered, but Linnormr told me that she thought that I would not survive long if I remained in their universe. I was, it seemed, starting to fade away. The princess hadn’t really noticed as she wasn’t spending much time with me, but Linnormr had noticed on the third day since my arrival in their universe. She speculated that it was because I was inextricably linked to my own universe and that link was starting to wear thin, particularly as I kept ending up in the wrong parallels.

So on the fifth day since I’d arrived in that parallel universe I concocted yet another enchanted powder for my tea, drank it, and crossed into another universe.

I knew I was in the right place almost immediately, not least because Linnormr cried out in shock as I suddenly ‘un-faded’ again, but also because I felt all my previous weariness drop away as suddenly as if I’d put down a very heavy weight that I’d been carrying around with me.

Linnormr was very happy for me, as was I, of course, but I was surprised when she said that she was thinking of remaining in my universe for a little while in order to try to discover whether there were, in fact, any dragons here. She invited me to go with her and I told her that while I had very much enjoyed her company and was immensely grateful for her friendship and assistance, all I really wanted was to go home and get back to my interrupted life.

Four days after she flew away Linnormr returned and reported solemnly that there were no dragons in my universe. I didn’t ask her how she knew, I just accepted that she did. We shared a last meal together, then she returned to her own universe, promising that she’d come and visit me again one day in the future.

And that, my friend, is why I always drink a glass of fresh, unenchanted fruit juice first thing in the morning.

A/N: Inspired by this prompt.

[yumenosakiacademy]

a Far Too Long lyrics analysis 4 "Black Pear Tree" by The Mountain Goats & Kaki King n how I associate it w torahime shu from charisma house, borne of me having a head full of thoughts n time on my hands at like 5:30 am.

"I dug a hole n filled it up w compost... Rested on the cool grass 4 a minute."

Him planning 2 enter the house n start his infiltration mission. The beginning of the arc, n, unknowingly, of the end n new beginnings in equal measure. He rests his head on the grass outside of the sharehouse [end of 91, where he was lurking outside], taking a moment of respite b4 he starts what could make or break them.

"I saw the future in a dream last night... There was nothing in it."

Sensei having lost all hope w the lab being lost. w the lab gone n his sensei's spirits down... what's left of there 4 their dream? Theres nothing... esp 4 poor sensei. He wont stand 4 tht. Smth must b done. Possibly additionally a foreshadowing or premonition of naka leaving him. After all, w/o the lab, what need does he have 4 an assistant aka Him? Will he b left 4 dust jus like the lab? But he hopes it's jus his anxious feelings hanging that threat over his head. He prays he won't be abandoned. Sensei, please look at me. Please keep me. I'll b trying 4 u. I'll get us what we want. What we Need.

"I set the sapling in the hole, started gently tamping down the dirt... I saw the future in a dream last night."

Tora going thru w the plan n infiltrating the house, setting the plan in motion, shown here w the metaphor of a Tree. He sees the future again in a dream, but its not nothing this time, bc he's actively trying 2 make a future 4 them. However its left vague as 2 what he's seen bc it's still unknown. He can't say 4 sure tht they'll succeed, but he can't b sure they'll fail, either. If he'll get caught or if they don't get infoz or if they witness breaks... he sees the future. mayb as a ball of light, mayb as a blur tht he can't remember upon waking up, mayb smth tht we aren't allowed 2 kno bc it's tora's life n he has a right eye withhold his fantasies... all the same it's a Future. n thts Enough.

"Somebody's gonna get hurt, somebody's gonna get hurt. I hope it's not me. But I suspect it's going 2 have 2 b."

The repeated injuries he sustained via the reckless charismas in the sharehouse, as well as a double meaning of either them or the charismas going 2 end up having a bad time [the charismas being captured or him n naka failing n possibly being on the tail end of another group break]. He knows tht he has 2 endure all of the pain he's experiencing if he's 2 get the info tht naka needs n do a good job. As much as he would liked if they'd've succeeded w their plan at the old lab, this is how things r now... Naka didnt have a backup plan, so its up 2 him. Its going 2 hav 2 b. The charismas dont remember his face- they hav no reason 2. n so there he was, in tht chaotic house. endure it. 4 the plan. 4 naka. Even if naka doesn't care abt how much hes going thru 4 him. even if all he cares abt r the charismas.1 day, mayb... he will. He'll pat his head n hug him close n say "good work". Call him "torahime".

"I dug my heels in 4 the winter, and I waited 4 snow."

Taken literally as opposed 2 giving up, he waits 4 the breaks 2 happen or 4 breakthrus w the charismas 2 occur. Also him waiting 4 the charismas 2 punish him or kick him out after rhe incident w naka [hot spring n shopping eps], which fits w the lines actual meaning of giving up n waiting 4 bad things 2 happen (the 'snow')

"But something was stuck up in the clouds. Something was stuck up there. It couldn't let go."

His yet-2-overflow/realization of jealousy n hatred 2wards the charismas. I suspect in the eps after 104, he was still in a state of High Alert ie shock n wariness of not knowing what will b done 2 him, seeing as how he startled when spoken 2 n was relatively quiet up until around 107. so at 1st, he knows smth is wrong... this tension yet warm feeling... smth will come of this, he feels, but... just living happily w these guys n being treated as a companion is nice... all the same, he can't shake a small feeling in the back of his head tht he tries 2 ignore (until 107).

"And when its time came, i could see it happen; Blossoms black n sweet as texas crude. I saw the future flowering like a ruptured vessel... Somebody's gonna get screwed. It won't be me."

The seed of the plan [see the 1st lyrics point] has grown n w it, his relationship w the charismas. At the end of 107, he's accepted by them rather than the punishment he was bracing himself 4, in2 a house tht will welcome him n w companions tht will n do care abt him, more than naka ever did. The light of the charismas shines on him, their 'flowers' covering the red rage of his breakdown n showing him tht there's hope n a place 4 him (note: 'crude' in this case possibly being the charismas' crude natures.. lol). He's been abandoned, yes but a better place awaits him where he belongs. It's not the ending he saw 4 himself, but all the same he will b 'screwed over' n neglected n 4gotten no longer.

[choccyhearts]

Apples, Peaches, Bananas and Pears - The Monkees // Steve Harrington x Reader

Note: Ahhh, what I would give to go on a picnic with Steve...(my kidney, I would give a kidney) anyways, here's some stevie fluff ^_^

CW: Fem!reader? (reader wears a sundress/carries a purse, but no pronouns used so its not rly important), talk of eating, champagne is sipped, fluffff

Summary: "Steve decides to enjoy the nice spring weather by having a picnic with his lovebug <3 (Fluff)"

♡♡♡

"To show how much I care I'll bring you apples, peaches, bananas and pears"

♡♡♡

Despite all of the rain, pollen, and chaotic weather, spring is such a nice time. This year, the groundhog was nice and brought spring early. Steve decided he wanted to celebrate the good weather by planning a picnic date for the two of you.

He found an old picnic basket in his attic and cleaned it of all dust and spiders. He loaded it up with goodies he bought from the store trip he went on with Robin.

Crackers, fancy cheese (Robin couldn't even pronounce it), champagne, little tea cakes, homemade sandwhiches (made with the help of Robin and the love of Steve), and an assortment of fruits.

Steve, being an athlete, loved himself some fruits and he loved feeding them to you. Whether it be tossing grapes into your mouth or wrapping you in his arms and placing apple slices in your mouth, he loved taking care of you. And he especially enjoyed the sweet, sticky kisses you two shared while you ate the fruits.

Who knew your kisses could get even sweeter?

Steve also packed a couple of blankets -- one to sit on and one to cuddle under -- and a radio. He just wanted to relax and bask in the sun with you.

He pulled up to your house and parked. He excitedly jogged up to your door, knocking a little tune. You knew immediately he was in a good mood.

You opened the door and nearly collapsed to the ground as your god-like boyfriend stood in front of you. A perfectly-timed blow from the wind through his hair and his outstretched hand holding your favorite flowers was enough to make your legs feel like jelly.

"Hello, beautiful", he smiles. He sees the admiration in your eyes and he feels the apples of his cheeks heat up. "These are for you."

He hands you the flowers and you let him inside. You take the flowers and breathe them in.

"You're very chipper, today", you smile at him.

"Well, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and I have the best date planned for today", he leans down and kisses your forehead. "Care to join?"

You smile widely and nod. You motion for him to stay put while you dash off to your bedroom.

"It's a picnic date, and it's a little windy!", he calls out.

You arrive back out wearing his favorite sundress. It's long, falling under your knees, and very flowy. You're also carrying your purse which holds your hairbrush since you'll know that 1. the wind will mess your hair up and 2. Steve will be the one that wants to brush it.

"Woah, so gorgeous", he breathes out. He pulls you close to him by your waist and gives a deep kiss. You pull away from him giggling.

"Stevie, we should get going."

"Right, right." He takes you by the hand and leads you outside.

♡♡♡

"Steveeee, c'mon", you whine. Steve is currently standing in his typical dad-pose, observing the park's layout. You were struggling to hold all of the things he brought.

"I just want to find the best spot!"

"Steveee", you readjust the items in your hand. "I'm about to drop everything!"

He spins around and takes the basket from your hands, "Sorry, lovebug. Let's just go under that tree."

You both trek towards the tree, happy that it provides plenty of shade.

You set up the blanket and sit down, Steve kneeling down to open the basket. He pulls out the champagne and two plastic wine glasses, along with plates and cutlery.

"I would've brought real glass but, heh, didn't wanna risk it."

He pops open the bottle, just barely catching the cork. He pours the bubbly drink into the glasses and hands you one.

"To my gorgeous, beautiful, amazing, wonderful-"

"Steeeveee", you blush.

"Alright, alright. To you, lovebug. I'm so, so crazy about you."

You clink your glasses and take a sip. He sets his glass down carefully before turning back to the basket.

Soon, tupperwares filled with treats are spread across the blanket.

A few of them catch your eye immediately.

"Ooh, what fruit did you bring?"

"Well, I was struggling at the store trying to decide so I just got...well, nearly everything." He behins to pop open the lids of the plastic containers. "Raspberries, strawberries, apples, peaches, bananas, and pears."

He looks at you as your eyes widen at all of the options.

"Is it too much?", he winces.

"No, no, I'm just...flattered that you care about my nutrition, Stevie." You lean over and kiss his cheek.

His face reddens and nuzzles it into your neck. You bring your hand up to his hair, softly toying with it. He murmurs, "I love you", and you kiss his head.

"C'mon, don't want the bugs to get to everything."

He nods and kisses your jaw before picking up a fork and stabbing an apple slice. He brings up to your mouth and you gratefully bite down, smiles on both of your faces.

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Downhill, Dread, and Dreams

Fantasy Masks AU: Chapter Twenty-Two

A JSE Fanfic

Oh wow another part :D I don’t have much to say, so I’m gonna go right on to the summary. Chase, Marvin, and Jameson are traveling to Suilthair. And on the way, Jameson has some important information to share about a vision. Then that night, Chase dreams something similar, but different. Meanwhile, Jackie and Henrik are alone, going south and hoping to meet up with other Phantoms. Nothing else to add. Have fun :)

Previous Part | More AU in Chronological Order

Taglist: @brokentimewatch 

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

Chase woke up first that morning, opening his eyes to an itch on his nose that turned out to be some sort of bug. One of the drawbacks of sleeping outside, but after suddenly leaving the town of Miryfern, they hadn’t been able to reach another town before the night. So they had to settle for laying their bedrolls beneath a large pear tree. It was starting to flower, small white blossoms dotting its branches, but hadn’t come close to bearing fruit.

“Gah!” That sound meant that Chase wasn’t the only one awake. He brushed the bug off his face and rolled over to see Marvin sitting up, swiping at his own face. Something was flying away. “Why don’t all animals respect personal space?!” he griped.

“So we’re waking up, then?” Chase said, sitting up.

“Don’t blame me, blame the butterfly,” Marvin said defensively. “I swear I covered my head, how’d it get onto me?!”

“Well, people tend to move around while sleeping.” Chase climbed out of the bedroll and onto the grass. “Is Jameson awake?”

Marvin looked to the side. “No. Not unless he’s pretending to sleep.” Jameson’s back was to the both of them. “Jair.” Marvin leaned over and shook his shoulder. “Wake up.”

Jameson didn’t move for a while, then let out a small breath, like a sigh, and sat up. Are we moving immediately? he asked.

Chase opened his mouth to say something, but stopped. He wanted to ask Jameson something. But...it could wait a little, couldn’t it? They’d all barely gotten up, after all. “We’re having breakfast first,” he said. “Where’s the pack with the food?”

“Underneath Draco,” Marvin said, pointing at where his cat was curled up on top of a leather bag. “I’ll bear the burden of waking him up.”

Things were quiet as they ate. It wasn’t much of a breakfast. They may have stocked up on supplies in Miryfern, but none of them wanted to light a fire to warm anything up. Because even though they had seen all of the warriors in town disappear through a magic doorway into the mountains, the camp still felt a bit too close for comfort. So it was just rolls, with some cheese that Chase had bought in the Miryfern marketplace.

Not that it tasted like anything. Chase couldn’t speak for Marvin or Jameson, but his thoughts were too focused on their friends back at Wyvernlair to taste anything but ash. He hadn’t been able to get to sleep out of worry for them. Instead he just laid in his bedroll for most of the night, trying not to picture the battle that was surely taking place in the mountains. The others looked tired too. Maybe they both had similar problems.

“Are we all finished, then?” Marvin asked once the rolls had disappeared.

I suppose, Jameson said. I wish there was fruit.

“Not the season for fresh ones,” Chase said. “And we’ll save the dried fruit for lunch.” He laughed. “You’d think that, with all the magic in the world, there would be some to conjure up food whenever you wanted.”

Instinctively, both he and Jameson glanced at Marvin, who was feeding a piece of salted meat to Draco. He returned the look. “What?”

Can you do that? Jameson asked.

“Conjure food? No. If I was a sorcerer, I could grow a berry bush or a fruit tree. But I’m a wizard, and food is a different matter. You can’t conjure something like that out of thin air. At least, not without knowing how it’s made. But I only know the most basic of cooking. Hold it over the fire until it doesn’t make you sick to eat.”

Chase chuckled a little. Then he fell quiet. He turned his attention to Jameson. “So... is this far enough away? Do you feel ready to tell us about that vision of yours?”

Jameson looked down at the grass. Yesterday, Chase had tried to convince him to share the vision he’d had, the one that featured Chase himself. But Jameson refused. He said they should wait until the next morning. Let’s pack up and get on the road first, he said now. I’ll tell you as we walk. Can’t waste any time getting to Suilthair.

“Alright,” Chase said quietly. “But we have to talk then.”

Jameson nodded. Once. He wouldn’t meet Chase’s eyes.

They rolled up their bedrolls, made sure everything was secured in their various packs, and walked back to the wide packed-dirt road they’d been following since they left Miryfern. It sloped slightly downward, but soon it would level out altogether, and they would officially be in the flatlands. The forests, fields, and farmlands that made up most of the kingdom of Glasúil. Draco walked by Marvin’s side, constantly getting in the way of his legs, but by now Marvin had enough practice at avoiding his familiar when he got too close to his feet.

They walked for only a couple minutes before Chase cleared his throat. “Well? I don’t mean to push you, but...”

Jameson took a deep breath. Alright. The vision. Another breath, as if bracing himself. I’m sorry for making you wait so long. I had to prepare myself.

“For what?” Marvin asked.

For your reactions. He paused, reluctant, but pressed on. I’ll understand if you’re angry.

“Why would I be angry?” Chase asked. “Is my fate terrible?”

No. At least, I don’t think so, but everyone is different in what they want from their future. Are you ready to hear it?

Chase hesitated for a moment. Then nodded.

Alright. A third breath, deepest of all. Jameson adjusted the straps of his pack, making sure they were secure before he continued. I had this vision at the end of summer. I remember what I was doing at the time vividly. Playing Reversi by myself.

“Must take talent to make that interesting,” Marvin muttered.

A smile flickered across Jameson’s face.  I’d just placed a piece in the corner and gave blue a huge advantage when I felt it come on. I can do that, you know. It’s a strange feeling in my chest and head that causes my muscles to tense. If I wasn’t already sitting, I would have just enough time to sit on the floor before I got caught up in it. 

In the vision, it was storming. Black clouds overhead pouring rain. But everything was lit up, because there was a fire. A great one, distant but bright enough so I could still see what was happening nearby. There were two men facing each other. On one side of them was a forest, which is where the fire was coming from. On the other side were sheer cliffs. One man had a deer mask. The other man was the King.

Chase heard Marvin inhale sharply. He might have done the same, if he didn’t suddenly feel out of breath.

The man in the deer mask was you, Chase, but I didn’t know it until you ran into me in Abhanna, after Marvin’s planned execution. At the time, I just knew the man was in his thirties, and he came from the mountains. Jameson paused, scanning the others’ reactions. Then he continued. You and the King stood some ways away. You were talking, shouting over the sound of the rain, but I don’t know what you said. And then the King ran forward to attack you. You defended yourself, but didn’t fight back beyond that. The two of you continued to fight, and then you both fell, rolling to the edge of the cliffs. Lightning struck the ground, causing another fire that cut you off. You both sat up, and the King continued to attack, having the advantage. Then you said something. I don’t know what. But after a moment passed, the King let you go, and collapsed to the ground beside you. The vision ended there, but a phrase rang in my mind: “He has been defeated.”

“I...I’m not...” Chase wasn’t sure what he was trying to say, but he couldn’t say it anyway. The words got caught in his throat.

“Chase will defeat the King?” Marvin whispered, in awe.

If all goes well. The future is not set. Jameson went quiet for a while. Marvin started to say something else, but Chase held out a hand, sensing there was more. And he was right, because Jameson slowly raised his hands to speak again, gesturing shakily. When I awoke from the vision, the King was there. Leaning over me. He always knew when I had a vision. And with his enchanter’s powers, he saw everything I saw. He knew he would be defeated by a man in a deer mask, who came from the mountains. Jameson blinked back sudden wetness in his eyes. The very next day, I heard him talking with one of his generals about how long it would take to travel to the mountains. I heard him speak of wizard’s fire. I don’t know if I understood what he meant. Maybe I did, but pretended he didn’t.

Chase felt ice creep through his chest. A sick feeling rolled through his stomach. “What do you mean?” His voice was almost too quiet to hear.

Jameson stopped walking. He finally turned, looking Chase in his eyes. It’s my fault. He blinked again, but a few tears still escaped. It’s my fault that your home was destroyed. His shoulders shook as his breathing sped up. He saw the vision, and he knew where you came from. He wanted to stop the vision from happening, he’d done it so many times before, it was no trouble for him. It’s my fault that you’re here, that your family was taken and so many others killed. I’m truly, deeply sorry, Chase. I never meant for this to happen. 

Chase said nothing. That sick feeling was growing, and he felt as though he might throw up the rolls and cheese they had for breakfast.

“It’s not your fault, Jair.” Marvin said fiercely, walking up to stand next to Jameson. “You didn’t tell the King to burn the mountain villages. He made that decision himself.” He leaned until their shoulders were touching.

I let him see what I was seeing, Jameson said, hands moving weakly.

“What were you supposed to do? You can’t stave off the visions when they happen. And you were imprisoned, it’s not your fault he was nearby.”

Don’t say that like I was in a dungeon, Jameson protested. I had a nice room. And he took me with him wherever he went, I could have escaped on the road at any time, but I was too weak—

“Don’t.” Chase stepped closer and rested a hand on Jameson’s shoulder. “Don’t do that to yourself.”

Jameson looked at him with red-rimmed eyes. But it’s true.

“It’s not. Jameson, you were living with a man who could read your mind. The King would know if you tried to leave. And who knows what he would’ve done if you made a move?”

Marvin nodded. “He’s right. Didn’t you say that you tried to escape for the first couple years, and he knew where you would be every time?”

Jameson turned to him, surprised. You remember that?

“Of course I do.”

A moment passed. Jameson turned away, facing forward and not looking at either of them. I remember what happened after those attempts, he said slowly. I don’t want to. But I do. And that’s how I knew it wouldn’t be worth it. But if I kept trying, maybe—

“You would’ve just got yourself hurt,” Chase said gently. “It was an impossible situation. You did good for how shit it all was to you.” He gave a small smile. “And I think you’re pretty strong, you know? Not anyone could’ve lasted that long.”

“He’s right,” Marvin agreed. “And you never went back to him once you were away. Despite how much it scared you to be away. You took control back.”

“Right. That. And...” Chase cleared his throat. “You know, there was that thing we did before we left Wyvernlair.”

Jameson seemed to come back to himself. He nodded. Chase? It’s in your bag, right? Can I hold it?

“Of course,” Chase said, and took his pack off to look through it.

Marvin blinked, confused. “What are you talking about?”

“Here.” Chase pulled out the object in question, buried at the bottom with his deer mask. He handed it to Jameson. “Safe and sound.”

Jameson took the item in his hands. It was a mask. Made of white plaster. He traced the eyeholes, and ran a finger along the long ears that stuck out the top.

“That’s... that’s a Masked Phantom mask,” Marvin said.

Jameson nodded. You said something similar before, Chase. I said I wanted to be brave, and you said I already was. And in that moment, I wanted to do even more. So I decided to join. To do the same as you guys. I started to doubt myself after I made the connection between my vision and your village burning. But now I remember.

“Sometimes people need a reminder,” Chase said with a smile. “Why a rabbit, by the way?”

“It’s for your family, isn’t it?” Marvin’s voice was soft. “The Jairsolas family crest features a rabbit.”

Another nod. Jameson took a shaky breath. They would want this.

“You’ll make them proud,” Marvin said. “I’m sure of it.”

I’ll make it happen. Jameson took off his own pack and slipped it inside. I’ll keep it with me now. Thanks for carrying it so far, Chase.

“Not a problem.” Chase adjusted his pack straps. “Now. Are you alright to keep walking?”

Of course. Jameson shouldered his bags again. Daylight is wasting.

And the three of them started off down the road again.

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

The mountain forest was still wet with rain when Henrik awoke. He and Jackie had wandered for most of the day, until it became too difficult to navigate the mud and the darkness. They found a relatively dry spot beneath a large pine tree to take shelter. The branches were low, so they had to wriggle underneath and couldn’t sit up without bumping into needles and bark, but it was fine for the moment. Henrik fell asleep first.

He didn’t wake up first the next morning. That was Jackie, who somehow managed to slip out from under the tree without making much noise. When Henrik opened his eyes, Jackie was sitting out in the open, watching the surrounding wilderness.

“Jackie,” he whispered.

Jackie tensed, hand going to the sword on his hip. Then he turned around and relaxed. “Good morning,” he said, giving a tired smile.

“Good morning,” Henrik repeated. “Can you help me get out of here? I do not want to move my leg.” He hadn’t wanted to move it last night, either, but it was either move his injury, or spend the night getting rained on.

“Of course.” Jackie shifted position, and after a minute or two, he managed to pull Henrik completely out. “No one’s come by, if you’re wondering. No King’s warriors, and no one from Wyvernlair. How do you feel?”

“Dammt schrecklich,” Henrik muttered.

Jackie chuckled. He knew enough Alterdan to understand what Henrik meant. “Well, we did sleep in the mud all night.” Their clothes were covered with dirt, as were their masks, which they’d worn while they slept. Jackie now pushed his back, showing a clean face. “Do you have anything to eat in your bags? I didn’t manage to grab any in the chaos.”

“These are both all medical supplies, I think.” Henrik took off both bags, each slung over a different shoulder, and started searching one. “Ah! But there is luck.” He pulled out a small bundle wrapped in cloth that crunched when he touched it. “I think these are crackers or hard biscuits of some sort.”

“Let me see.” Jackie reached out, and Henrik handed him the bundle. Sure enough, it revealed a stack of broken crackers when unwrapped. “It’s not much, but it’s enough until we can forage. Here, you have them. Your leg is still hurt, right? I can work on that while you eat.”

“You tell the doctor to sit back while the not-doctor works on the injury,” Henrik chuckled.

“Hey, I’m trying to be nice.”

“I know you are. Thank you. The bandages are in this other bag, and the infection balms should be there as well, and water for cleaning.”

Jackie did a fairly good job at treating the bite on Henrik’s leg, though he did step in at the end to secure the bandaging, handing off the crackers to Jackie so he could eat. “Do you think you can stand?” Jackie asked, worried.

“Yes.” Henrik said quietly. “I’m more concerned about walking. I will need your help.”

“Not a problem.”

They stood, each shouldering a bag, and slowly started to walk through the Dragon’s Greatwoods. It was lucky that Jackie had a compass on him yesterday when the attack happened, otherwise they wouldn’t have known which way was south, towards the Cliffs of Feall where they had planned to meet the other Phantoms.

The general idea was to walk along the mountain range until they got there, but Jackie and Henrik spent the next couple hours arguing about whether they should stay up high in the mountains or go down into the foothills. The mountains were more difficult terrain, but they were more likely to run across other Phantoms on the way. The foothills were easier, but it was unlikely that they’d find any familiar faces on that route. They debated travel time and the need for stealth until, eventually, Henrik won. They would leave the mountains for the foothills.

“I only agreed because we’re short on food,” Jackie grumbled. “And you’re in no shape to hunt.”

Henrik said nothing, only smiled smugly.

By now, the sun was high in the sky. Not nearly as high as it would be in summer, but as high as it would get at this time of year. Henrik stared up into the sky. It was so clear. You wouldn’t have known there was a thunderstorm for most of yesterday. He stared for a while more. It felt like he was forgetting something...

Oh! Right. With the way everything went to shit yesterday, he’d forgotten to take his medicine. He reached to the flask on his belt, unhooking it. One of his arms was wrapped around Jackie for support so he awkwardly uncapped it with his free hand and took a drink. As always, the medicine tasted a bit floral, like tea. It wasn’t exactly his favorite flavor, but he didn’t have much choice.

Huh. The flask was noticeably lighter than it had been a few days ago. He peered inside the opening and saw it was half empty. That wasn’t a problem. It just meant it was time to make another brew. He capped the flask again and put it back on his belt. Then he turned his attention to the bag hanging off his shoulder, rummaging inside. He found various bags, packets, and bottles of medical supplies and potion ingredients. But...

“Ah, Jackie? I may have a problem,” Henrik said delicately.

Jackie immediately stopped walking, right next to a large oak tree. “What? Is it your leg?”

“No, not that. I am just looking for something. It may be in the bag you have. Can you hand it over?”

“Oh. Sure.” Jackie took the bag off and held it out.

“Thank you.” Henrik leaned back against the oak’s trunk and looked through the bag Jackie had. Slowly. Then a bit faster. Then he checked his bag again. Twice. And Jackie’s bag, now frantically searching through the supplies packed inside.

“What is it?” Jackie asked, the trepidation in his voice already anticipating bad news.

Henrik looked up at him. “I am missing an ingredient for my medicine.”

“What?!” Jackie’s shout startled a nearby bird, which flew away and caused them both to jump at the sudden movement. “What do you mean?” he asked again in a harsh whisper.

“I cannot find the ghíneol root,” Henrik said in a hushed voice.

“Can you make the medicine without it?” Jackie suggested.

Henrik shook his head. “It is the most important ingredient. And before you ask if we can harvest it, no. The properties I need only appear if you pluck the plant when it is mature, and that will not be until fall. We—we need to find a town. One where we can buy preserved ghíneol.”

“Okay, I’m fully on your plan to get to the foothills now,” Jackie said. “We need to hurry. Should I carry you?”

Henrik barked out a laugh. “I do not think that would affect our pace that much.”

“What? I could definitely go faster.”

“Yes, but you will get tired sooner. Don’t deny it.”

“I wasn’t going to,” Jackie protested.

“Yes you were, it was in your face.” Henrik pushed away from the tree, standing up straight. “I still have some medicine left. Things will be fine. I can be careful to ration it.”

“You mean taking smaller doses?” Jackie asked. “But won’t that make it less effective?”

“It will, but it is better to be less effective for a longer time than to run out sooner. Things will be fine,” Henrik repeated.

Jackie stared at him for a moment. Then he nodded. “Okay. We better start walking again, then. Here, give me the bag back. And give me your arm.”

They started off again, now silent. Henrik tried not to look at Jackie, though it was difficult when he was so close.

The truth was, his reassurances were hollow. The chances of finding ghíneol root at this time of year were rare. Especially with the way the King had spent the past few years making things difficult for doctors. Many of them would be hoarding their precious ingredients, only offering to sell at high prices that Henrik knew he and Jackie couldn’t afford. There hadn’t been any money in their bags, nor anything valuable enough to trade for something like that. They may have to resort to thievery.

He had to make his remaining supply of medicine last as long as possible. If he ran out, he’d be no use to anyone.

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

Chase, Marvin, and Jameson managed to walk to a wayhouse before night fell. It was a small place. Wayhouses were built to host small parties of travelers walking along the kingdom roads, so they were rarely more than two stories. Chase had never stayed in one before. Even when he went with the others to prevent Marvin’s execution. Their group had been too big for wayhouses that time. But now, they were just three people. Marvin did most of the talking with the owners, an elderly couple, and the two of them agreed to let the three stay a single night, in exchange for a single silver coin.

It wasn’t too different from being in an inn, just without the noise of other patrons leaking through the walls. Chase fell asleep the moment his head hit the bed.

And while he slept, he found himself back in a familiar garden, one that he had never once stepped foot in.

Through the dreamlike quality of the world, Chase was confused. This was the same draísling he’d been having before. But he stopped having it when he set out from Wyvernlair with Marvin and Jameson. He half-thought they were over completely.

But maybe he should have known better.

Things in the garden looked the same as he remembered. Trees and flowers hadn’t grown or wilted, and the moon above remained in the same spot, unblocked by clouds.

The deer with the golden antlers stepped forward. Chase tried to ask what was going on, why the dreams were back, if the deer was trying to tell him to do something. But he couldn’t speak. The deer’s head tilted slightly, as if nodding, acknowledging his unasked questions. Then it looked towards the distant well as it always had.

Chase stared at the well. He looked back at the deer, but got no other response. So he started walking. Just like the previous times he had the draísling, there was an invisible force trying to push him back from the well. It had been a while since he’d felt it, and he staggered a few times, but he always recovered. He walked steadily forward, and the well slowly approached. Its gray and brown stone bricks grew defined. His eyes flicked down to see one with a crack in the middle, in the third row from the bottom.

The well was in arm’s reach now. So he did just that: reach. Chase grabbed onto the edge of the well, latching tight onto it to anchor himself against whatever was pushing him back. He felt he was about to fall backwards at any moment, so he focused, remembering what he heard the last time he had the draísling.

There it was. The voice. It came from inside the well.

Chase braced himself and leaned forward, putting a whole arm into the well in an attempt to prevent the force from knocking him away. The well stretched downward, shadows consuming its end. He couldn’t see anything. Yet there was no denying what he heard. He didn’t expect it to work, but he opened his mouth... and out came his voice, calling, “Hello?”

The voice stopped. Then he heard it again, and now he could understand the word it said. “Hello?” It wasn’t just his own voice echoing back. It was someone else’s, though in this strange dreamy state he couldn’t identify anything about it. Not its pitch or timbre, not its accent or even language.

“Hello!” Chase said again, surprised that he could talk now but not earlier. “Do you... do you need help?”

A pause. Then the voice asked, “Who are you?” The question was cautious, nervous as it echoed from the depths.

Chase paused. “You’re not supposed to share your name with strange voices,” he said slowly. It was a lesson that he learned from stories about the strange, magical creatures lingering in the forests. You didn’t want to give them your name, because they may literally take it. “But I’m a friend... probably.”

“That’s not that helpful,” the voice said, a bit lower as if they didn’t want him to hear that. He did, though.

“Do you need help?” Chase asked again.

Another pause. “I may or may not,” the voice answered. Clearly, they were also reluctant to share information with him. “What would you do if I did?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know how I could help.” He looked around the garden. There was nothing that could possibly reach into the depths of the well to pull out whoever this voice was coming from. “But I’d like to. Do you see anything useful?”

“...no.” The voice was so quiet, he almost mistook the word for an exhale. “There’s nothing around but darkness. It’s all... dark.”

“Oh. Do you... feel anything?” Chase asked.

“Just the walls of this room. They’re... circular. There is no door. No windows. Just walls and... nothing more...” The voice faded away. “Where... am I?”

“You’re at the bottom of a well,” Chase answered.

“Why am I here?” There was a hopeless tone to their question.

“I don’t know. I don’t know why I’m here, either.” Chase paused. “But... I’ll help you get out of there.”

“What do you want for it?”

“Huh? Why would I want something? I don’t need... well, if you were going to offer, I wouldn’t deny anything.”

The voice laughed, the sound hoarse and unused. “I suppose... you could help. I wouldn’t deny your aid. You said I was in a well. Is there anything around that I could climb up?”

“I didn’t see—”

Suddenly, the voice screamed.

“What?!” Chase tried to lean forward to get a better look, but the invisible force buffeted him back.

“The water! It’s rising.”

“Can you swim?” Chase called.

“Yes, but not now. My leg, it’s—” The voice stopped. “Thank you for offering. It was nice. A relief in this version of the nightmare.”

“You’re dreaming?” Chase asked. “I’m dreaming, too.”

“Of course you are.” The voice sounded somewhat amused.

“No, I mean, I’m real. I’m someone out there, I’m asleep like you—”

Suddenly, the force grew stronger. Chase cried out as it felt like a solid wall slammed against him, throwing him back—

And he bolted upright and screamed, “No!”

His eyes darted around the room. It was dark, except for the faint sliver of moonlight coming from in between the drawn curtains. There was another bed against the opposite wall where Jameson was sleeping. On the floor between them, though he couldn’t see him in the dark, Marvin slept curled up under a bedroll, having lost the game of wind-rain-fire that decided who would have the beds.

Chase’s breathing gradually slowed down, but he still felt his heart pounding in his chest. A few moments passed before he felt ready to lie back down. But he didn’t close his eyes.

He still didn’t understand the draísling. He didn’t know why it had returned, why the Horned Elder One had chosen him to have it, or even if it was truly the Horned Elder One giving him the dream. There was one thing tonight had revealed, though. Its purpose. He didn’t know why, but there was someone else in that dream world. They were trapped at the bottom of the well.

He had to rescue them. He didn’t care how many dreams it would take. He didn’t care if they were even real, or if their words about nightmares were misleading him. He was going to get them out of there. He couldn’t stand by and let them suffer.

[sparklingly-defective]

I posted 17,227 times in 2022

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I tagged 215 of my posts in 2022

#ace attorney - 37 posts

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Longest Tag: 134 characters

#and they’re like ‘oh yeah we think he used to live here and we don’t know much about him and we’re not entirely sure he’s not a ghost’

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I just realized the critical oversight I made when I asked you about all those ships:

Villefort and Edmond!! I just think that would be an interesting plot point 👀

It's one of my favourite rarepairs, so I can't believe I forgot to include it 😩

Thoughts?

I think it’s a really interesting ship, definitely up in my favorites as well! It’s interesting to see the two interact both in the initial chapters and during the Count of Monte Cristo segment (especially since Villefort’s my favorite of the three antagonists), the two definitely have a dynamic not present in Edmond’s dynamics with the other two since Villefort was the only one that didn’t hate Edmond in the beginning and how Count is so disturbed and even regretful when he sees both how he’d assisted in the only poisonings he hadn’t expected or wanted for his plan and that he’d driven Villefort to madness

I feel like the two could’ve gotten along well pre-Chateau d’If if the circumstances were different, and I think it’s interesting to consider after the events of the Count’s revenge, since it poses two largely different and both interesting dynamics with the same characters

It would be a really interesting plot point, that’s for sure

3 notes - Posted February 18, 2022

#4

GREETING.

You introduced me to the ship of Edmond and Caderousse, and I have to admit that this ship has not left my head since. Therefore, I have chosen to show you this song I found that makes me think of Them. Please enjoy and consider it a 'thank you' :]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5-KOZl5CLbU

YOU’RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT IT’S THEM

I am VERY excited because I love this ship so much but no one ever talks about it-

4 notes - Posted May 25, 2022

#3

Okay I'm sorry to keep sending you so many asks but

Edmond when he finds out that both of his adopted children are in love with the same Villefort

Edmond: “I sure am glad my revenge against the Villeforts is going smoothly. There’s nothing that could ruin this.”

Haydèe and Maximilian standing outside the room:

5 notes - Posted February 17, 2022

#2

Okay, I'm going to list some more TCoMC rarepairs to get your opinion, because I'm excited about this now :D

Albert/Benedetto

Valentine/Haydèe

Albert/Beauchamp

Villefort/Danglars (maybe not AS rare but y'know)

Villefort/Hermine (technically canon but I haven't seen anybody talking about it and I find their few interactions to actually be quite sweet, despite Villefort being the way he is)

These are all positive since I have never been able to decide on a ship in my life but here we go:

Albert/Benedetto: This ship and Villefort/Danglars are the two on the list I’ve written for before, I really enjoy this one! It’s probably tied with Franz/Albert for my favorite Albert ship

I think the two would have an interesting dynamic both before and after Benedetto’s reveal, also that Albert would probably grow into the only one that really got to see Benedetto’s personality before his identity was revealed

Valentine/Haydèe: I really like this one too (it is. Vastly superior. To a certain canon ship involving Haydèe)

I do wish we got to see these two interacting with each other (or more Valentine in general because I love her dearly) but I think they’d have a nice dynamic, probably one of the less chaotic ships for the two

Also very funny to imagine Haydèe revealing she’s in love with a Villefort to Count

Albert/Beauchamp: I’d actually never considered this one, but I’m absolutely thinking about it now

One of my favorite chapters in the book is the one where Beauchamp tells Albert about Fernand’s treason and then comforts Albert and does his best to erase the knowledge of the article or the Janina plot from the public eye

Because it was a chapter where you could tell just how much he cared about Albert, especially since he could’ve just fought in a duel with Albert, but instead took weeks out of his life to go on a trip to Janina specifically so he would know to tell Albert or take back what he said

Like he very clearly cares for Albert, especially from that chapter to the duel with Count chapter and it’s really nice to see

A good ship, a good character dynamic, 11/10

Villefort/Danglars: I mentioned it at the top, but I have written for this pairing before and it’s probably my favorite Villefort pairing (my favorite Danglars ship is probably tied between this one and Danglars/Caderousse)

I think these two have a dynamic that’s really unique to them, one you can’t really find much in other ships

I do think one of the things that make ships from TCoMC so good is the strong characterization a lot of the characters have, and these two are a really good example of that

Definitely one of my favorite ships

Villefort/Hermine: I like this ship, their interactions in the book were really interesting, and with Benedetto, it was a really interesting plot point

I definitely think the two loved each other, even if they weren’t able to really be a proper couple, and I feel like their relationship wouldn’t have ended the way it did without the supposed death of their child

I do think it would’ve been interesting to see more of the immediate aftermath of the whole Bertuccio stabbing Villefort incident, especially how Hermine reacted and how the two grew apart slightly after everything

But yeah, despite it being in the book, I’ve not seen much content for it

Other than Renee/Villefort (and sort of Danglars/Villefort), I don’t see much of Villefort being shipped with anyone in the fandom, honestly (I might be managing to miss it entirely, but overall I can’t think of many times I’ve seen him shipped with other characters)

Overall, there aren’t many ships in the book I don’t like, I have favorites, but I’m definitely a multishipper 😅

6 notes - Posted February 17, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

I've been meaning to draw something about this but haven't been able to get it right yet so I'm just sending it rn but... Scenario where Edmond takes Caderousse along to that party and Danglars is just internally screaming bc he's the only one who recognizes him but he can't say anything about it bc he'd look insane, and Caderousse purposely avoids talking to him the whole time so he's just trying to figure out what in the world is going on like

Absolutely hilarious idea that I couldn’t not draw something for-

What is the proper response to seeing your ex with the Count of Monte Cristo

How do you recover from that

8 notes - Posted May 31, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[tinyshe]

Garden Report 22.12.03

The Feast of St Andrew,, we finally got the red, stiff neck garlic (Music variety) into the soil. It wasn’t where I had anticipated but my plans have become fleeting like patches of sunlight before an incoming storm. Raking aside the leaves in the grow box it was determined that the soil was too shallow to protect against the winter cold. We amended that with a good amount of potting soil that was hoarded up for the Spring seedlings, a liberal dose of cow manure and a thick layer of used sponge (recycled straw bedding from the aviary, given for a outside urine sponge for the old dog then used for layering compost/mulch). It was a delight to find an owl pellet while cleaning out half of the box. Imagining my owl friend (who I haven’t heard nor seen for years), sitting three meters from my bedroom window in the pear tree made me very happy on several levels. It made me feel that things were still right in the world, that I still have a connection to the wild things I love. I still have a barn owl nest box in the carriage house ... I wonder what the neighbors would think if I put That up!

The hens are not liking Winter ... they never like Winter. Alcott has her beautiful new plumage but is as white as a fish’s belly. Rossetti is putting on new plumage now but big butt Bronte ... she be cold and is letting everyone know it. She is last to get up in the morning as she lingers in the last nesting box all comfy and cozy -- until the thought of her sisters getting the best parts of breakfast before her causes the cranky one to crawl out and peck every one on the head a couple of times, just to show whose boss.

The garden is in quite a disarray. It really needs more help than I can give right now but I want to dedicate time for it. But I’m a bit like Bronte :) by the time I get out there at an appointed hour, I am very cranky. Not having the umphff does that too me. I toss up my hands because so much I am still too weak to do and when I do have the energy, I give it to someone else that has a need. It seems to be a cycle I can’t bust into. I keep telling myself, when Spring comes, when it is warmer, when there is more light, when I feel better and I ponder at all the lovely Whens and what a wonderful wall they make. In my head, I know that I love being in the garden but also When did all the Whens get in the way? Waiting for When the neighbors would quit screaming ... waiting for When the toxic air from detergents and perfumes and exhaust would clear ... they just keep tumbling in and locking into place. I have a dandy wall now that needs to be broken down.

[panoramatreeservice]

A BEGINNER'S GUIDE ON HOW TO BUY FIREWOOD

After all, as the summer months begin to wind down, fall and winter weather will be here panoramatreeservice.com before you know it. In other words, cold temperatures are right around the corner, making it important to prepare to keep your family warm.

If you heat your home with a fireplace or wood-burning stove, now is the time to start stocking up on firewood. Here we take a look at important tips on how to buy firewood to ensure that you and your family stay toasty no matter what Mother Nature throws at you. Keep reading to learn more.

Map Link: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Panorama+Tree+Care:+Tampa+Tree+Services/@27.9060412,-82.5265038,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x88c2dd2c52248f47:0x978c4960e5ff4219

THE BEST TYPES OF WOOD FOR WARMING YOUR HOME Let’s start by talking about the best types of firewood for heating a house in the winter. After all, not all species of wood are the same.

The good news is you have several types to choose from when you’re ready to preorder firewood from a local delivery service. These include oak, hickory, and maple. All 3 are dense and will provide lots of quality heat when it’s cold outside.

Other good types of firewood include cherry and pear trees. These are thick and burnable and provide a pleasant aroma, making them ideal for use with your BBQ grill.

It’s important to keep in mind that woods like pine, poplar, spruce, and cypress burn too quickly, making them too inefficient for heating your home.

MAKE SURE THE WOOD IS SPLIT AND SEASONED When you preorder firewood for the winter months, be sure to buy wood that has been split and seasoned. Why is this such a big deal? Well, wood that is freshly cut and green won’t burn well. And if the wood hasn’t been split, it will dry more slowly.

Even if you’re able to get a great deal on a cord of green firewood, you’d better make sure you have a place to store it for at least a year before burning it.

THE BEST SIZE OF FIREWOOD Next, you need to be sure that the wood you buy will easily fit inside your fireplace or wood stove. The best strategy is to look for pieces of wood that are at least 3 inches shorter than the width and depth of the space where it will be burned. This is another reason why the firewood is split before delivery to make it easy to handle.

[catsnuggler]

Degrowth, decentralization, and regionalization/localization will definitely need to be negotiated between disparate communities for nobody to be screwed. 🤔

For sure, people in the Global South who currently are coerced into mining Lithium for the Global North must not be shackled into continuing to do so because of Northern "dependency". We Northerners need to come up with our own regional solutions for less or no lithium batteries; solutions that won't kill the Earth, or enslave anyone within or upon it, up here. As far as I'm concerned, all the warning people in the Global South would need to give is "Hey, starting now, we aren't doing this anymore. Good luck." They don't owe us their lives for our comfort.

That said, I'm from America (a fact which I'm sure shocks, shocks my followers, who have known this for years, as I haven't hidden the fact), and a large part of the American economy is agriculture. We produce sooooooo much food for other countries. Our agriculture is certainly not without its flaws, such as monocropping, factory farms, the use of pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers... The general so-called "Western" thinking of putting everything in its own little boxes, rows, categories, as opposed to systems thinking, is destroying us. Further, and getting closer to the main point, international trade expends fossil fuels, and harms the environment. However, as we all know, food is essential to life, so it wouldn't be right to suddenly say to the world "Sorry, this all belongs to us now. Hope you don't starve!".

On the other hand, some places just... don't produce any food, at least not in significant quantities. The Sahara isn't a garden, filled with green fruit trees, cornucopias, and water; but oh, does it have sunshine. As far as I know, some places will always be dependent on food imports... that worries me. Not like the Sahara can be irrigated, but eternal dependence on the outside for reliable food and water sounds like a recipe for slavery.

I really need to read some books on socialist and anarchist degrowth, regionalization/bioregionalism/localization, etc. I'm also curious about xeric and desert agriculture... salmon used to be the staple here, Pre-Invasion, but there weren't as many people here before as there are now, and salmon populations are incredibly low. Part of this is because of the dams. Chemical, industrial, and agricultural runoff also hasn't helped. Then, of course, there's overfishing by settlers. With proper changes implemented, I have faith salmon can be a staple again one day, but one of the changes us non-Native folks have gotta make, I figure, is to restore and cultivate more first foods from the land, instead. Less wheat, more camas (we gotta tread rrrrrreeeeeeeeaaaaallll careful-like with camas, though); less apples, more prickly pear; dare I say it, less grapes, more... fuck, I blanked out on native edible plants, but that really is another problem, isn't it?

Just musing, is all, trying to guess at what'll be necessary. Not like I'll be Great Patriotic Glorious Comrade Leader, Chairman Catsnuggler, The Official Dictator of the Proletariat or anything like that. Plus, er, it's not like a supposedly anarchist revolution led by a white guy would be all that revolutionary. Nah, I'm essentially just a blind guy here, feeling the wall ahead of and next to me. Better to feel the wall than to stand in an empty field, having no clue where I am or what I'm doing. Just musing, on what may or may not be. All I know is, things as they are, are untenable.

[two-calicos-in-a-trenchcoat]

Uh oh

Ok....so half of these are invasive so yea don't plant them but the other half are native.....

Mimosa..invasive to the us. So yea. Don't plant them

White mulberry...also invasive

Hackberry...NATIVE

Eastern cottonwood...Native

Silver maple.. native

Bradford pear....please yes for the love of fuck stop planting them.

Let's see what his reasons are

Well. He at least gets the gist of it so thats good.

........well...theyre invasive so thats why you shouldn't plant them. Especially when red mulberries are RIGHT there and are native. Who gives a fuck about the mess. Red mulberries are great. Plant those instead. Unfortunately this guy probably also hates red mulberry

Hackberry is native. Go fuck yourself. Trees can be fucking messy cuz THEYRE OUTSIDE.

"Short lived"

My guy

His biggest issue with most of these seems to be that "theyre messy"

Like fuck right off my guy outside is supposed to be messy. The suburbs have fried your brains.

Im exploding you with my mind sir

Like

Look

Maybe theyre not good to be planted in the suburbs cuz of the potential damage

But that doesn't make them bad trees. Youre just sticking them some place they shouldn't be.

We do agree on one thing tho im not sure where he lives that people are not planting them anymore

But yes please get rid of them

They smell terrible and they never go away and choke out native plants

[coridallasmultipass]

Peruvian Apple Cactus seedlings sprouted up in just over a week! Wow! 🌵🌵🌵🌵 Okay so, "someone I might know" took a small over-ripe fruit (it was already popped open for days) off a neighbor's streetside cactus before the animals got to it. The fruit was way too old to eat, but the seeds were still worth taking a chance on, and omG THEY POPPED UP SO FAST I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH EM!! 🌵 Apparently, the longer I can keep them covered with humidity and warmth, the better they'll grow. But I'm so excited, I didn't expect this to go anywhere because the fruit was so old, and I've never grown cactus from seed. 🍑 Speaking of, just to rant a bit, I HATE that my neighbors let the fruit in their yard go bad and fall off and rot. ESPECIALLY since this summer, our apricot tree got raided and cleaned off for the first time, and I'm still so fucking mad about it. (I'm certain it's our most recent neighbors that did it since their yard faces ours.) I only got one apricot off the tree because it was ripe but too hard and needed another week to grow, but someone cleaned off the entire tree and ground of every single apricot before I had a chance to harvest. (We don't have a door cam, unfortunately.) Drives me fucking mad. If you're gonna take fruit off someone's tree, especially when it's not even streetside, it's well into our property, only take what you can eat right there. You don't fucking take everything. 😠 Anyway. This neighbor has some really amazing different cactuses on the streetside. They're humongous and grow these 2 story high flower spikes and have tons of fruit. (Again, why don't these people eat the fruit???? I pay good money for cactus fruit in the store!!) So, hopefully these seedlings will grow into big cacti and make some Peruvian Apples for me. I'll definitely plant them outside when they're bigger, so they'll still be a part of the community/help with pollination. 🌼 I s2g I'm gonna take a walk with some bags and tongs and go knock doors and see which neighbors will let me just take it all. I'd be swimming in fruit. (Maybe not swimming with the prickly pears tho.) 🌵 #cactus #cacti #sprouts #seedlings #gardening #zone9b #zone9 #zone9garden https://www.instagram.com/p/ClK2TSvLcuX/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[sussex-nature-lover]

Sunday 9th October 2-2022

Bateman’s Gardens in the Autumn

*bold type is an outside link if you click through

We’re still getting very heavy rains, fortunately over the last week or so it seems they fall mostly overnight. So now all the lawns are nice and green and of course everything’s growing like crazy. Yesterday we had Ms NWtE, her husband and their dog visiting and so we took advantage of fine, dry, sunny and really warm conditions to take a nice walk at Bateman’s (see the National Trust link in the header) It was absolutely glorious, didn’t even need a cardigan.

We go so often that we don’t always go inside the house, but yesterday there was a demonstration of spinning with local sheep wool, so we did pop in to watch that and talk to the lady while she was at work. She was taught by a local group of farmers’ wives when she moved in to the area 16 years ago. It’s quite mesmerising to watch.

When you enter into the gardens the first section you come to is the higher level vegetable beds and orchard, with far reaching views and a glimpse of the house lower down into the valley.

Despite the summer’s drought, the vegetable beds seem quite fulsome now, although it’s a slightly in-between period with some going over and some yet to reach harvest.

Above, these were the artichokes

There was some evidence of broccoli, perhaps heading for quiche in the Orchard Tearooms at some stage?

National Trust aim to be benign gardeners - we saw quite a few caterpillars from the large Cabbage White butterfly, having a feast and more evidence of nature helping nature.

One bed had a good amount of healthy looking leeks 

At the bottom of the kitchen garden the pear arch, beside the greenhouse, is a lovely feature. This is from a previous year. I’m looking forward to seeing the new scheme.

One of the things I love about visiting National Trust properties is that whether it’s in the house or the gardens, you always discover something new. Above is the Medlar tree in the orchard, but yesterday I found another round at the side of the house.

Not only is the fruit unusual looking, it has to be treated quite differently too, being stored carefully and allowed to ‘mature’ before it’s fit to eat. This process is known as bletting. I quite fancy one of the trees as they sound delightful and easy peasy to grow too. This is a description and guide through all its stages.

My other link tells what you can actually do with the fruit, which is related to apples and quince. The suggestions are mostly jelly and jam type of thing, but there is a kind of fruit cheese curd, although I do like the look of the tart...realistically I can’t see me ever getting around to the faff with the fruit and then making it.

I just enjoyed the blue skies and the photos I could take. Here’s a new flower on the Magnolia Grandiflora. It’s much later than we’ve had in our garden, but it is sheltered against the stone walls of the house.

Talking of trees, down in the wild area by the river, I did my annual sniff the air test as we walked past the candy floss tree.

Katsura Tree on the far right here  (Cercidiphyllum japonicum)

I’ve dried some leaves from yesterday, not quite the glorious colour we spotted last year. It was absolutely stunning and the perfume really is strong. I’m not sure why they’ve taken away the sign because I’m betting lots of people stroll through and don’t even register it. I want one of these too.

Back through the rose garden, which still had plenty of late blooms, we could see that the benches and seats were being well used. It was quite a busy afternoon for visitors walking dogs and enjoying the sunshine. The tea room and outside seating was absolutely packed.

In home based nature news we’re still seeing deer across the lane and the garden feeders are busy with great spotted woodpeckers, starlings, house sparrows, marsh, blue and great tits and the long tailed tits are here several times a day on a flying stopover between their nest areas and the woods. In smaller numbers there are robins, goldfinch, dunnocks and nuthatch, plus the ever present wood pigeons who are displaying - obviously to no avail! The robins have been singing and chatting. They’ve done really well again this year.

Inspector Pritchard has spent a bit less time with us, lured away next door but one by a superior brand of cat biscuits and his very own food bowl. That boy’s treated like a prince, no, a king. No wonder he hasn’t strayed further since he landed on his feet round here.

Garden tree watch: we have a real splash of colour, but apart from that, only glimpses of what’s to come with the oak showing a tiny bit of yellow.

Next door’s willow tree still has all its leaves

And in much neglected kitchen news, the smell of supper simmering earlier was mouth watering. It’s Indian spiced shepherd’s pie. One to eat and one for the freezer. The spices were cooked down and are then mingled with the meat, onions and other veg. It’s very simple but smells like a lot of effort’s gone into it. This is the basic recipe. I haven’t linked to the chef’s own site as she now skips all the spices and includes a pre mixed kit for sale in supermarkets. Years ago I invested in a couple of masala dabbas and so I have all the spices I need to hand, stored so I can see them in the airtight container that lives inside a dark cupboard.  Usually we’d have the recipe as a cottage pie, so the lamb is a change for us - one link remains though, I include carrot, mainly because I’m a big carrot fan, but more veg is good, no?  I’m watching collie dogs hunting for white truffles in Piedmont on TV, but our tastes are much more simple and this is a go-to autumn and winter staple that we never tire of.