#being in a small body of water in the desert is lonely and not good

[eskititgay]

cowboy x mermaid rupphire? yes please

[vetitiscripta]

Traitor

Summary: It's been a year since you were in the desert. You never had any intentions on going back- until Derek decided to bring you along on his annual trip. Only agreeing to go after he implies he would bring someone else home with him, you soon find yourself thinking back on everything that has happened and know what you need to do.

Content Warnings: yandere behavior (if you decide to read it that way), someone dies!, stockholm syndrome

A/N: the summary is bad but thats okay. i am obsessed with derek he is my 2nd fav after ren so i decided to write something for nasty boy

It was hotter than you remembered.

Not that you actively tried to remember.

You didn’t want to be here, would have done anything to not be here, tried to do anything to not be here. But once Derek had suggested (it wasn’t a suggestion, it never was) you come with him on his annual trip to the desert, your fate was sealed.

Your breath was shaky, body trembling as you watched Derek pack away the ‘toys’ he had brought out for the evening. Luckily, he had been in a good mood and didn’t go overboard, but the bruises that would form tomorrow would say otherwise.

You noticed his change in behavior recently. He seemed almost happier, to put a word to it. His father and siblings didn’t bring his mood down as much as they normally would. He smiled and laughed more when he was with you and not in the condescending, mocking way he normally did. He was more enjoyable to be around like this.

You should hate yourself for thinking that and a small part of you did. But after being with Derek for so long after he brought you home, you found yourself growing closer to him. You lost track of how long you had been with him; you stopped counting after four months when you realized there really was no way of getting out and no one was coming to help. He was the only one you interacted with save for the maids or butlers that would come in to clean your room. You tried to make conversation with them but stopped after Derek almost cut the maid’s tongue out when he walked in on the two of you talking after a particularly bad day.

Your reminiscing was cut short when Derek got into the bed next to you, arm slung over your shoulders as he pulled you close to him. Cuddling was a new development. He didn’t initiate it often but your heart fluttered when he did. You laid your head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat and letting the rise and fall of his chest lull you into a half-asleep state.

“I’ll be gone next week,” You could hear the smile in his voice without needing to look at him. You hummed to let him know you were listening and he continued, “Going on a trip. You know the one.” He chuckled. You tilted your head slightly, racking your brain for when he talked about a trip. When you came up with nothing, you picked your head up and looked to him fully.

“What trip?”

Instead of answering you, Derek grabbed your hand and guided it across his chest. Your fingers grazed the scar tissue from where you had stabbed him last year in the desert and you almost pulled your hand back. You didn’t realize he was looking at you until his smile grew when you realized which trip he was referring to.

“Oh…” You swallowed the lump that had formed in your throat, “I see.”

“Try not to miss me too much, I know you get lonely without me,” He chuckled again, “Wish I could take you with me,” He trailed off and you were happy the conversation was ending. You could already feel the panic starting to set in from the smallest mention of the desert.

You laid your head back down and closed your eyes, intending to drift off and forget this entire conversation. But you should have known Derek would have kept going.

“I can.” At first you weren’t sure if he was talking to you, but you’ve learned to answer him regardless. You looked at him again, waiting for him to continue. He was still looking at you, smile bigger, “I can take you with me.”

You felt cold, like someone dipped you in ice water, “…What?”

“Who’s going to tell me no? You’re mine, I can do with you what I want. And those assholes could care less what I do as long as they get their rocks off.” He sneered as he mentioned the others from the desert.

The panic came back. You shook your head, eyes wide, “N-no, you can leave me here. Really,” You tried your best to smile at him, hoping you came across as relaxed and totally not seconds away from having a breakdown. “I don’t want to trouble you. You have a lot to worry about for it, why add me to the list?”

Derek stared at you for a moment, smirk slowly tugging at his lips. He leaned close, lips brushing against your ear, “Scared I’ll kill you this time?” He laughed at your expression. “As much as I’ve thought about it, I prefer you with me. My little pet.” Normally the name would make you happy, but this conversation was doing anything but.

“Derek, please,” You were really going to push the limits, but you really didn’t want to go back. “I don’t want to go back, please don’t make me.” Your voice was so quiet, you almost didn’t hear yourself, “I’ll do anything.”

His smile was gone, irritation appearing on his face, “Did you not hear me? You’re mine, you’ll do anything I say regardless.”

But he must have thought of something. Some twisted thought had entered his head as his smile returned and he turned his away from you, eyes closed, “Alright.”

“I don’t have to go?” You were hopeful, but you should have known better.

“Sure,” He shrugged, “Maybe I’ll have more fun with my new toy and decide to bring them home. Something shiny and new to play with. I won’t need you anymore.”

That small part of you was rejoicing- finally a way out of this fucked up situation, even if it was through death. But the bigger, damaged part of you was terrified at what he said. He won’t need you anymore? You spent all this time with him, grown to love him. You needed him and you knew he needed you. You can’t let him throw this all away, throw you away.

“No!” You climbed on top of him, straddling him as you frantically grabbed his face, forcing him to look at you, “I’ll go! I changed my mind, I want to go. Please, can I come with you?”

You were mentally kicking yourself now that you were here, holding onto Derek as he drove the both of you plus his captive through the desert on his ATV. He didn’t tell you much about them, didn’t even tell you when he went to buy them (you assumed he went back to the auction he got you from). The poor thing looked just like you had- white tank top and underwear with a sack over their head. Your grip on Derek tightened.

Not much longer, he slowed to a stop and you were staring at the makeshift camp. You noticed you weren’t the first ones to arrive; three masked men and three victims awaited your arrival. The man with the blank mask- you recognized him immediately, how could you not when you stopped him from killing Derek- stared at you and, despite the heat, you shivered as you felt his eyes follow you.

He wasn’t the only one to notice you though. As you got off the ATV, the men with lizard masks watched you.

“Didn’t you bring that one last year, Derek?” One of them asked, but you couldn’t tell which one. You didn’t encounter them much during your time in the desert. You only remember seeing them at the beginning before everyone was released. Honestly, you were happy about that. They gave off an unsettling energy. It could be because you noticed the knife you had stabbed Derek with was hanging off the smaller lizard’s waist. Either they had an adoration for weird things or it was theirs to begin with. You did find the knife in the secret cave on one of the desert’s hills, embedded into the body of one of the other victims that was with you at the beginning.

“Decided to recycle for this trip?” They laughed together and you could hear Derek almost growl in response.

“Fuck off! What I do with my property is none of your concerns. And stop using my name! I’ve told you before: it’s ‘Scorpion’.” Derek dragged his newest victim off the back of the ATV and turned to you, “Go sit.” You obeyed him immediately, sitting in one of the already set up folding chairs as you watched Derek bring his victim to the others, pushing them to the ground before removing the sack that covered their head.

You sucked in a sharp breath as you got your first look at her. Her dark hair was a sharp contrast to her pale skin. If one of the masked men didn’t kill her, the sun surely would. Her eyes darted around, staying on nothing specific for more than a few seconds as she tried to take everything in. Until her eyes landed on you. You shifted in your seat uncomfortably as she continued to stare. You weren’t sure why she seemed so interested in you when there was anything else she could be looking at that was more worthy of her attention. But her eyes told you everything you needed- she was scared and she could tell you were too. But you weren’t tied up like they were and she was asking for help.

Derek, either noticing the silent conversation and deciding to end it or just because he felt like causing trouble, kicked the woman in the chest, knocking her over. He laughed at her as he kept his boot on her chest, leaning over her and mocking her.

You looked away from them, a sickening feeling settling in the pit of your stomach.

The sound of another vehicle pulled your attention away from dwelling on the feeling. The man with the dog mask had arrived. Jack. He carried a struggling man over his shoulder before depositing him beside all the other victims. Like the others, his eyes caught yours and he titled his head slightly as he took you in. He looked from you, to Derek, then back to you before he turned to the group of masked men and Derek. “Are we ready?”

“Fuck yeah! Let's get this party started!” Derek smirked at the victims while the rest of the masked men nodded at Jack’s question. “Let’s skip first blood, I want to get straight into it.”

“Everyone agree?”  Once again, everyone nodded at Jack. “Machete,” The unspoken request was understood and the man with the blank mask went to each victim and cut them loose. The victims took off in different directions, not waiting for the others to be released. The woman Derek brought seemed to linger for a split second, eyes snapping towards you before running off. As soon as the victims were out of sight, Machete walked into the desert without a word and the men with the lizard masks wandered off together as well. Derek grabbed his bat, mounted his ATV, and without even so much as a look in your direction, he too disappeared into the desert.

You tried to not let that hurt you. Tried to ignore how you felt hollow when he left. You reminded yourself that this was his annual trip, that he only got to do experience this once a year and he was just eager. But a part of you didn’t believe your own words.

Jack was the only one left. He threw the cigarette he was smoking to the ground and gave you one last look before also disappearing into the desert on his own vehicle.

The sound of the wind was the only thing keeping you company. You stared at the hills of the desert, already unsure of what to do. You thought about getting comfortable and sleeping until Derek came back, but your mind was racing. You thought of your own time in the desert and how you were back.  You thought about how Derek had just left without saying anything to you, almost as if you didn’t exist. But the thing that occupied your mind the most was the dark-haired woman. You needed to find her.

Rummaging through camp awarded you with a small pocketknife. It wasn’t what you wanted but it would have to do. You needed this, especially if you encountered anyone while you were in the desert.

Gripping the knife tightly, you stepped out of the shade from the tent and into the swelling heat. You looked back at the chair you were sitting in, wondering if this was a good idea.

You had to do this and besides, Derek never told you to stay. Pushing all other thoughts to the back of your mind, you started your journey into the desert.

—

You don’t know how long you had been walking for, but you were tired. The sun was still high in the sky and its rays were beating down you. Your feet hurt due to the lack of shoes (Derek’s sadistic mind had denied you the pleasure of proper clothing while in the desert) and you were already dehydrated. You were starting to think this was a waste of time when a rustling caught your attention. You turned around and, by the grace of whatever was watching over your pathetic life, saw the woman slowly standing up from behind a bush.

She looked around before rushing over to you, grabbing your wrist and dragging you to the bush she was just hiding behind. She pulled you down to your knees with her. It was a nice hiding area; dense bushes were all around making it almost hard to see through. She poked her head above the bushes and checked the surrounding area once more before turning to you.

“Are you alright?” Her voice was filled with worry, so much that it startled you.

“What?” You winced as your voice cracked. After hours of not talking and dehydration, your body was not ready for the sudden use.

“Are you okay? Did any of them get you?” She checked you over, ensuring there was no wound that needed immediate attention. After you were deemed alright in her eyes, she sighed, “This is fucked up. What a shitty excuse of a vacation.” She laughed, quickly stopping when she realized you weren’t laughing with her. She coughed and held her hand out, “I’m Addie, by the way.”

You eyed her hand for a few seconds before shaking it. You didn’t provide her with your name, unsure if it was because you couldn’t trust your voice again or if it was because of your nerves.

Addie looked around again, “I know this is going to sound crazy, but we need to return to that camp.”

“Return to camp? Why?” You weren’t expecting her to say that and her sudden suggestion caused a slight panic to seep in. What if Derek was back at camp? The camp where you were supposed to be.

“If we can get to the camp and find one of those ATVs, I can hot-wire it. If I can hot-wire it, we can hopefully get out of here.” She smiled at you. If you weren’t panicking, it would have been reassuring.

“Why me? Shouldn’t you be worried about getting yourself out and not someone else?” You didn’t understand why she was so willing to help. She didn’t know you, didn’t know who you came to the desert with.

Her smile softened, “You don’t deserve to be here. None of us do,” She put her hand on your shoulder, careful of the red areas, “But we’re going to get out of here. We have to.”

You thought of your life with Derek. Every bruise, cut, broken bone, and gaping wound he inflicted on you since you became his. The time he grew so mad at you he had tied you to the wall and used you as batting practice. The time he didn’t like the answer you gave him and locked you in the room with no contact from anyone for a week, only opening the door when your cries and screams became hoarse.

But you also thought about the time Derek brought you books and paint to keep you occupied in the room when you were by yourself. When he first allowed you to leave the room and explore the rest of the mansion with him. How he told you stories about his day and told you jokes that made your stomach hurt from laughing so hard.

You absentmindedly brought your hand to your arm, hovering over the area where the tracker was. The knife you brought was heavy in your mind. You knew what you had to do.

“I know a place we can stay until night.” Addie cocked her head, intrigued, “I accidentally discovered it a while ago. It’s out of the sun, so we don’t have to worry about the heat killing us.” Not technically a lie, but not the entire truth.

Her face lit up with the biggest smile she could manage and she pulled you into a hug, causing you to gasp. You weren’t used to contact from anyone except Derek and you were unsure what to do. You awkwardly pat her on the back. She pulled away from you, tears streaming down her face. You worried that your lack of hug had upset her.

As if reading your thoughts, Addie shook her head as she wiped away her tears, “Sorry, sorry. I just… I’m ready to go home. Some of the others are already dead. I wouldn’t be able to forget if I wanted to. I just want to be out of this fucked up nightmare.” She sighed, “Alright. Let’s get out of here.”

You nodded to her, standing up and making your way out of the bushes, Addie following close behind you. You pointed to the hills, “It’s that way. If we hurry, we might avoid being seen.”

Addie started towards the hills, taking the lead, “Good. The last thing I need right now is to see one of those freaks, especially that blond one.”

“…The blond one?” Your blood ran cold. Maybe she was talking about the lizard, his hair was blond too, right?

“Yeah, the asshole with the bat. Already had a run in with him,” She scoffed, “He found me not too long after they let me go. Fucker almost broke my arm,” She held her arm out to show you the bruise that was already forming. “I managed to get the upper hand on him and stab him with his own damn knife. Bet he won’t be using his shoulder anytime soon.” She laughed but you didn’t hear her over the sound of your heartbeat.

That sickening feeling returned as you realized it was over for you. Derek would find her more interesting and would bring her home. You’re going to get left behind; he’ll kill you out here instead of her. He won’t need you anymore. You couldn’t let that happen, you can’t let that happen! You won’t.

You must have stopped walking because Addie was coming towards you, worry evident on her face. “What’s wrong?”

Tears welled up in your eyes and pooled over, streaming down your face. You looked at Addie and shook your head, “I can’t.”

“Hey, hey. It’s going to be okay,” She smiled reassuringly at you, “We’ll wait until night, find an ATV, and get out of here. This will all be just a bad memory by tomorrow.”

You shook your head again, tears falling faster, “I won’t let you take him from me.”

Addie stepped closer to you, confused from your words. She opened her mouth to ask you what you meant, but before she could get a sound out, you pushed her as hard as you could. She stumbled before falling, her footing uneven on the shifting sand. You stood over her, blocking the sun and casting your shadow over her. You gripped the knife tight and tried to ignore how you were starting to shake (from fear or from anger, but you weren’t sure which answer you preferred).

Realization dawned on Addie’s face; her eyes grew wide as she tried to push herself away from you. She threw a handful of sand at you, desperately hoping to slow you down, causing you to yell as the sand got in your eyes. Addie, taking this opportunity, turned over and began clambering away, trying to get herself on her feet.

With the sand out of your eyes, you noticed Addie crawling away. Yelling in frustration, you ran towards her, kicking her side once you reached her. She fell to her side, scrambling to get back up. You climbed on top of her, straddling her as you grabbed her bruised arm and flipped her over. Addie howled, arm immediately flaring up in pain. You maneuvered your body to trap her arms beneath you and grabbed her face with your free hand, “Shut up! Stop making so much noise and just die quietly.”

“You’re crazy!” She struggled, trying to free herself from beneath you. Tears were running down her face as she stared at you, “I don’t know why you’re doing this, but it’s not worth it! Please!”

“Shut up! You don’t know anything. I would do anything for him,” You leaned closer to her, your breath fanning across her face, “Especially if it means keeping him with me.” You raised the knife over your head, sun catching the metal.

Addie screamed as you plunged the knife into her chest. Her body jolted at the impacted, her struggling slowly stopping. You ripped the knife out of her body and stabbed her again, and again, and again, and again. Her blood was everywhere. It splattered across your skin and pooled out of her body into the sand below. But you didn’t stop. You wouldn’t stop until she was gone, until she was nothing more than a distant bad memory.

You don’t know how long you spent hovering over her, knife in hand as you stared at her corpse. A low whistle snapped you out of your thoughts and you whirled around, ready to fight who had found you, but you dropped the knife immediately when you saw him.

Derek leaned against his ATV with a smirk on his face as he watched you. A warm feeling spread through you when you saw him, smile appearing on your face. Derek’s eyes went from you to Addie and you shrunk into yourself.

“Are you mad at me?” You knew how much this trip meant to him; it was the only thing he talked about the week leading up to it. Addie was his chosen victim and, while you had to do what you did, you didn’t mean to take his fun away.

Derek lingered on Addie before looking at you again, “I’m upset you’re out here. I’m upset I didn’t get to her first,” You expected him to pull out his bat or a knife of his own in form of punishment. You knew his anger and you would welcome it, but instead he laughed, “But I’m more impressed. I didn’t think you had it in you.”

You glanced at Addie’s body, “I-I wouldn’t have, but…” You trailed off, not wanting to admit it.

He titled his head, “But?”

“You said you would bring her home. That you would throw me away when you had her.” Your tears returned as you thought back on everything. “I need you. I couldn’t let her take you away from me.”

Something flashed across Derek’s face- excitement, surprise, or perhaps even both. His smile grew bigger, “C’mere.” You obeyed without hesitation. Derek caressed your face, smearing blood across your cheek. “You’re mine. You are never leaving me.”

You leaned into his touch, “I’m yours.” And he’s yours.

[friendly-alien-fucker]

Cultural Differences

Warnings: non-sexual nudity, fluff

Pairing: yautja x gender neutral! reader

Summary: the beach episode, your yautja and you go for a swim and some shenanigans happen.

___________________________________

For hunters who regularly, and quite literally, bathed in the blood of their enemies, yautia were surprisingly hygienic.

It was one of the first things you noticed when you agreed to explore the galaxy with your lover. They could be rolling around in mud, get beaten up and bruised with blood running down their mandibles, but they always returned home to you clean and smelling completely neutral.

It was pleasant, really. Seeing as you'd already made peace with saying goodbye to your sense of smell when you met them, having only known them as sludge-covered barbarians back then.

You smiled softly as you admired your body in the one-piece bathing suit and swimming trunks you'd picked for today. There were many things you didn't know about their species, in fact you still find yourself surprised by the gentler aspects of their society.

Mothers asking politely if their pups could touch your odd-looking dreads, elders stopping in their tracks to tell you you did a good job when they see the small rodent skulls you cleaned up and hung on your belt, or that group of overconfident youngbloods that promised to teach any yautja that decided your inferior strength was grounds to get touchy a lesson. 

Their species was full of unexpected kindness. And the reason you were getting ready for a swim today was proof of it.

Yautja Prime, their home planet, wasn't quite what humans would call idyllic. The atmosphere was dense and hard to breathe in, the ground rocky with little vegetation. You'd compare it with a desert, except unlike a desert, their planet had a vast amount of water, stored in vulcano-like craters.

Only problem is, the temperature there is just barely below the boiling point of water. Way too hot for any human.

So after complaining to your mate for the upteenth time, they decided to surprise you with a little trip to another, much cooler planet. Your concerns about deadly creatures lurking being quickly shut down when they told you it was a place often sought out by elders to relax after they were done hunting.

So now all you had to do was pack your few things and board the small freighter you and a few other Yautja would be flying to get there.

The thought unnerved you a little, being so close to a bunch of strange Yautja, especially since your mate would be waiting on the planet already and therefore couldn't protect you if something happened. But even through your innate fear, you knew those thoughts were stupid.

These were trusted elders, not only were their hunting days over, but they would never bother trying to take down a lone, unarmed human. Especially since you were basically trapped, with nowhere to run or hide, and therefore way too easy prey, if they could call you prey at all.

So you grabbed your small bag full everything you'd need on your trip and made your way through the long halls until you reached a much smaller ship.

Standing a little further off, you watched as different Yautja conversed with each other and walked on board, feeling your dread rise regardless of wether it was logical or not.

You tried to make out what they were saying, but despite living amongst their people for a while now, their language still only sounded like random clicking to you. You sighed.

"Okay?" a deep voice interrupted your solitude.

You flinched as a big hand grasped at your shoulder, quickly disappearing at your reaction. "Sorry."

It was another Yautja, seemingly a little older than your mate, adorned with battle scars and markings and missing a tusk. Their voice sounded stiff and robotic, like they learned their English from computer recordings, which wasn't too odd. Many youngbloods had started to learn human languages to aid the relationship between your two species.

Which made you silently wonder why this elder was learning it. Regardless, you bowed your head respectfully, and used your basic knowledge in ASL to greet them. Hearing their rapid clicks, you couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Heeelo, hello." They huffed, placing their hand on your chin to make you look up at them. When you faced them again, their mandibles were spread widely - something you've come to understand as a smile of their own.

"Ooman. I know your language, speak with me." They growled, and you nodded sheepishly. Apparently learning the best through doing is a universal experience.

And like that, your little trip seemed just a little less terrifying.

Nin'tui, as you'd gotten to know them, had shared with you stories of their greatest hunts, occasionally switching to sign language when their English wasn't enough. And while, as expected, the other elders on the ship were less enthusiastic about your stay, they didn't bother to complain. There were even a few who'd join in to chat about their own battles and the planet you were about to visit.

All in all, the trip was less unnerving than you'd thought, and a lot shorter too. Your sense of time wasn't the best up in space, but you could swear it wasn't longer than two hours until the ship gradually slowed, before setting down onto rich brown earth.

Once you set your eyes on the surrounding scenery, you couldn't get out of the shuttle fast enough. If not for your traveling companion, you would've probably been scolded for the amount of Yautja you almost tripped by running outside as fast as you did. But there was no helping it- blue skies! Brown earth! And, most importantly, air that you could actually breathe in!

And when your feet finally hit the ground you couldn't help but let out a long and joyous laugh. "Aaaaaah, I can't believe we're actually here!"

"Believe it." a way too familiar voice called from behind you, making you spin around to throw yourself at them in excitement.

Without flinching, they simply caught you, holding you high in their arms as you all but assaulted their face with kisses and thank you's. Or at least that's what the other yautja must've thought, muttering amongst themselves as if they were viewing something scandalous, a few stepping closer to get a better view of the strange ritual.

But your mate simply purred, leaning into your affection as their voice rumbled against you "You should wait to express your gratitude until you've seen the waters!" they laughed, and you shook your head as you gave them a last kiss between the eyes.

"I'm just so happy to be here! Just look!" you jumped out of their arms, gesturing towards the fields of flowers "this planet is beautiful! Almost reminds me of some corners of earth..."

You smiled at the thought, and they chuckled as they put a large hand on your back. "We should walk with the others, the waters are not far."

And so the two of you walked slowly behind the larger group of yautja, them slowing their pace to match yours as you cheerfully took in your surroundings. Beautiful was truly the right word for it.

Tall grass with taller flowers that swayed gently in the wind, going on for kilometers until reaching a distant forest, that you imagined to be just as wonderful.

After about 30 minutes of walking, elongated by your habit of stopping to sniff every alien plant you could reach, you finally made it to the lake. About 500 meters of fresh water that seemed to almost glow in the sunlight.

Standing in awe, you barely registered your mate sliding your backpack down your shoulders and throwing it to the side. It was only when you felt a claw tug at your shirt that you snapped out of it, matching their equally confused expression.

"Don't you want to swim?" They asked, and you chuckled at the misunderstanding.

"Oh, yeah. These are my swimming clothes." you explained, yet their expression didn't seem to lighten.

"No, no. Swimming." they accentuated their words, pointing towards the water as if you simply didn't hear them the first time.

You nooded, dumbfounded, "Yes. Swimming." but as they continued to stare at you like an alien (heh), you shook your head "just- here, come on."

You took their hand, leading them towards the water and to your relief they followed without complaint. At the edge of the lake, you grinned up at them excitedly, before taking a leap, splashing them with the surprisingly mild-temperature water.

Though as you came to the surface and brushed your wet hair out of your face, you were not faced with the annoyed yet amused expression you'd expected on your mate, not that you were registering their expression at all since seeing them stand there in all their naked glory practically fried your brain within seconds.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" you yelled, making them jump slightly and their mandibles flare.

"What?" they asked, way too calm for your taste.

"You're naked!" you whisper-yelled, and they simply nodded, before jumping into the water next to you.

"Yes. Swimming." They repeated your words back to you with a very deadpan expression.

"But- love, no!" you were furious as you tried to explain this to them "We're not alone out here there are oth-" but as you looked to gesture at the others around you, you were met with even more naked yautja, unashamedly bathing in the sun.

Blood rushing to your face, you try to cover it with your hands, glad to be able to stand at this point in the water. You felt a hand lay itself on your shoulder.

"I'm sorry. Are you okay?" your mate asked quietly, bending down to meet you eye-to-eye. "I didn't know you'd be bothered by this. You were fine with me disrobing, I thought..."

You simply shook your head at them, forcing yourself to be a grown up and pry your hands from your eyes. "No...no." you sighed "I'm fine."

"But a warning would've been nice, I uhm..." you couldn't help but grin at your own embarrassment "I-I guess I just didn't expect to ever see any nude yautja aside from you, you know?"

Thankfully they didn't seem to judge you for it though, as they simply looked at you with that ever present curiosity. "Humans arent nude around each other?"

"We are but....usually just around friends and family, you know." you bite your lip as you dare take another glance at your surroundings "and usually only around our own species."

You can see them nodding from the corner of your eye, "I understand." yet something still seems to bother them.

"You are free to do as you please, however... you always encourage me to partake in your culture. Perhaps you should try and see this as an opportunity to partake in mine."

Their words stung. They were said without pressure or malice, a simple suggestion- but it stung. They had always gone out of their way to make you the most comfortable, this trip was proof of it, and you liked to think you were doing the same for them.

But were you?

"But what if they'll look?" you asked, your face still a shade darker just at the thought. "Then let them look." they replied in earnest "You are very attractive. Let them see what they don't have."

And people did look.

Though, to your surprise, no more than they usually do. Seeing a human walk around and do human things could only get so exciting you guessed, and nudity truly was natural to them.

Over time and with a little coaxing you were even comfortable enough to briefly leave the water, if only to get your towel and wrap it around yourself.

Letting yourself relax in the sun that, even hours later, didn't appear to go any lower, you're interrupted by the low purring of your mate. Smiling, you turn to face them.

"Thank you for bringing me here," you begin, only for them to interrupt "Thank you for coming. And," they truly seem grateful as they incline their head "thank you for 'stepping out of your comfort zone.'"

You chuckle at the human idiom. "My comfort zone is wherever you are." you say earnestly, and they simply purr louder in response.

[vagabondfandoms]

Falls on Me

Day Two: Afternoon

Rating: Teen (For this Chapter)

Previous Chapters:

Day One: Night 2. Day Two: Morning

Characters: Gale Dekarios, F!Tav: Copper, Karlach and Astarion appear at the end, and Lae'zel, Wyll Ravengard, and Shadowheart are mentioned.

Warnings: N/A, Gale POV, Mentions of chronic pain

Gale asks for the Sword of Justice and ends up with a debate.

---

The pings of pain that usually exist in his body at all times since he got cursed with the orb were increasing in intensity. 

“Soon.” Gale thinks, “He’ll need to absorb a magical item soon.”

At first, Gale was apprehensive about acquiring magical items for his condition. He couldn't predict what kind of people he was traveling with. Were they kind souls who would give up a rare magical item for an ailing wizard? Or ones that hoard their treasures like dragons in a deserted dwarf stronghold on top of a lonely mountain?

In general people on the Material Plane are very… well, materialistic. Gale couldn't really blame them. This world is harsh and you have to have some sort of gumption to get anything in it. Or be lucky enough to be born with it. 

Gale considers himself one of the lucky ones. His father was a well-off shipping mogul in Waterdeep. While Gale was an illegitimate child, his father didn't balk at his duties to take care of his blood at least financially. 

And to be fair, his father could have adored his youngest son but Gale just can't remember. His dad died when he was 10 years old and Gale only has hazy recollections of the man. Most of those memories involved his dad stopping over at his mother's house bearing gifts. Being a little kid he can only remember the joy of receiving the gift and not the reaction from the giver. 

Gale was hoping somebody in his new party was a giver and after spending a day with his new “friends” he had a pretty good guess on who. 

Copper, the Ilmateri monk was both physically strong and tactically minded but also a firm devotee to her god’s tenets of compassion, respect, and willingness to go without. 

While all of Gale's other companions (including himself) picked over the camping supplies to make their personal tents as cozy as possible. The monk just threw together a makeshift tarp held up with sticks and called it good.

Gale was 90% sure that Copper would be willing to go without a magical item in her sack if he asked. He just needs to find the right time between battling goblins, spiders, and people posing as Paladins of Tyr. 

---

They just finished dispatching a small band of goblins dragging a terrified owlbear cub to their outpost in an old temple of Selûne when Gale saw his chance to ask Copper for a magical item.

Everybody else was either busy examining the owlbear cub they just saved or looting the corpses for items when Gale casually made his way over to Copper who was rummaging through her pack.

“Tiring business, isn’t it?” Gale starts. “All this traveling and adventuring.”

Copper looks up at him in surprise, apparently not expecting anybody to talk to her. “Are you tired already?” She stands up, guzzling some water, looking over at him from around the bottle.

“Well, maybe a little,” Gale says half truthfully. “But I was hoping for the chance to talk to you about something, well, rather important.”

Copper’s eyes narrow by a fraction and if Gale wasn’t so invested in starting this conversation he might have missed it. His nerves start to flutter in his stomach. “What if she says no?”

“Consider this a break.” Copper shrugs and tosses Gale her water bottle. “Drink some water, it’s hot out here, and tell me what’s ailing you.”

“Ailing me, ha. If she only knew.” Gale thinks as he unexpectedly catches the glass container coming towards his chest. It was aimed in a way that it would be impossible to drop unless you didn’t even attempt to catch it. Gale muscles the cork out and takes a swig of the cool water. 

“She must have filled it at the stream earlier today.” He considers, the cold water feeling good in his parched throat.

Copper sits down on a fallen log, waiting for Gale to finish. He takes one last gulp, downing the rest of the liquid before tossing the empty bottle back to its owner.

“Soooo, we’ve been on the road together for a while now, haven’t we?” Gale says, trying to make his words sound cheerful. Not desperate or needy. “Survived some perils, overcame some obstacles.”

The monk just raises an eyebrow at him but stays quiet allowing him to speak.

“Anyway, ever since you were kind enough to pull me from that stone, I’ve seen you demonstrate remarkable guile and courage.” Gale continues, half speaking the truth and half buttering the woman up so he could get the magic item in her bag. 

“The way you diffused the tension between Zevlor and Aradin. The way you prevented not one but two murders in the Druid’s Grove…”

“Gale.” Copper cuts in. “Those are things any Ilmateri monk would do for others. I did nothing special.”

“Wellll, I don’t know about that.” Gale playfully argues. “Most of the Ilmateri I’ve met are, well, weepy.”

Copper gives him a chuckle and bows her head, conceding to his point. Even though she follows the Crying God, most of his followers take that epithet too seriously. 

“Back to my point, I’ve grown to trust you enough to tell you something I’ve yet to tell another living soul, except for my cat,” Gale says seriously. “I need your help.  I have this…condition that requires me to consume powerful magical items.” 

To Copper’s credit, she doesn’t even look surprised when Gale tells her this. She just calmly assesses the man. Looking him over for any injuries. “You hide it well.” Copper finally says. “It must be serious if you have to consume powerful artifacts.”

“Yes, it can be deadly serious if I don't acquire the items I need,” Gale says gravely. “That is why I am turning to you. I need your help to find magical items to consume. It is vital. Dare I say it, critical.”

“Where do we find these items?” Copper asks calmly.

“We’ve already done the finding. In fact, you have one in your possession already.” The man says lightheartedly. Pleased this conversation wasn't being rejected outright.

“Soooo… you want me to give you the Sword of Justice?” Copper says, connecting the dots to what Gale wants quickly.  But a scowl appears as a new thought enters her mind. “Karlach doesn't want to use it right now but Lae’zel might.”

“Please, I know that sword was difficult to acquire but it's imperative that I absorb the Weave in that item!” Gale argues, his nerves jumping wildly in his stomach. “It will do far more good turning into a rusted piece of metal after I am done with it than waiting in your pack for somebody to decide to use it.”

Copper looks conflicted. She must hear the desperation in Gale's voice. But to sacrifice such a powerful magical weapon for…what?

“This magical item isn't mine to give.” The monk shakes her head, a sad look on her face. “Can you tell me more about your condition? Maybe I can try and heal it instead of destroying the sword?” Copper tries to reason. 

There's hope in her eyes that she can fix the dilemma without disappointing anybody. But Gale feels disappointed all the same.

“This condition is not a kind to be healed by any old healing spell.” Gale chastises, annoyance and vulnerability mixing together. “Some of the greatest magical minds came together to find this treatment.”

“You mean you and your cat?” Copper deadpans.

“Well, mainly Tara.” Gale deflates, not wanting to go into detail about his year-long depressive state after Mystra’s rejection.

“You mentioned healing spells won't work. Have you thought of Ki restoration?” Copper supplies helpfully.

“What! Try some quack Eastern Medicine?” Gale laughs, shaking his head. “No, what I need is the Weave.”

Copper huffs, clearly annoyed. “Ki restoration has been around for thousands of years! Instead of using outside magic to heal an injury. Ki restoration uses life force, either your own or another’s, to help strengthen the body from within so it can restore itself to a healthier state.” 

The monk crosses her arms and looks directly at Gale. Almost challenging the man to refute her. “Ki is a highly regarded field of learning just like the Arcane Arts of the Weave.”

“Sorry, I shouldn’t called it a quack medicine.” Gale quickly corrects himself seeing he got his companion worked up with his quick choice of words. “Waterdeep has one of the largest collections of knowledge in the Realms and the libraries do have a small section about Ki. So I have read up on this… energy before. It seems like an adequate way to trick oneself to relax or slightly enhance one’s abilities. But it’s still a lowly form of magic not even regulated by Mystra.”

“Ki is not the Weave. It doesn’t have to be governed by a god since it is an uncontrollable life energy that we can only harness a small fraction of.” Copper counters.

“Mystra...the Weave is everything. They make up ALL creation….”

“Ki is everything too!” Copper blurts out, uncustomed to sharing her thoughts with another person. “It's the life force in ALL living things.”

“Ki is regulated to the body,” Gale says calmly, overlooking the lack of decorum the monk is following for this discussion. Gale did throw out the first insult so he’ll let a little impatience slide. “Like I said, the Weave makes up everything. It’s the air we breathe, the ground we lay our feet on, the sun and stars. The fabric that makes up the entire universe!”

“Untrue.” Copper argues. “The Weave is one part of a whole that makes up the Universe. It's not everything. When the Weave was gone during the Spellplague, life was still created. People and animals were still born! Ki, the life force was still there. We didn’t just keel over and die without the Weave’s presence. How else do humans live when anti-magic fields are up?”

Gale feels tension forming in his jaw but it wasn’t from annoyance. He was getting excited even energized by this argument. He hasn’t had a good debate since he subbed at Black Staff Academy and had to argue with a teacher that they were teaching their class on Illusionary magic wrong. 

Looking down at the young monk, Gale realizes he needs to get down on her level so they can properly debate this. He was just about to kneel down to say his rebuttal when a couple of the party members came over to check on the two humans.

“Copper!!! Come see this little guy we rescued!” Karlach rushes over, full of excitement over the owlbear cub. Then she stops in her tracks, sensing the tension in the air. “Whatcha guys doing?”

“Urgh, they were just discussing something in-tel-lec-tual.” Astarion drags out the syllables in the last word like it is something rotten that needs to be thrown away. “So~ absolutely nothing exciting at all. Unlike this cool new dagger I found on that goblin corpse!!”

“Really, Astarion!” Gale says exasperated. “There’s nothing wrong about wanting to expand one’s mind beyond the material things of this world.”

The elf pops one hip to the side and examines his new treasure. “The only smarts I like are street smarts. At least they are useful to survival.”

“Come on now! I’ve seen you read in your tent at night.” Gale says, partially annoyed at Astarion's retort and partially because he couldn’t continue his conversation with Copper. He had so much he could say about the Weave and the Universe.

“Purely to pass away the hours of boredom,” Astarion says lazily, sliding his new dagger into his belt loop. 

Gale throws the elf a glare. He does not care for this blasé attitude Astarion always has around him.

“Well, I think break time is over.” Copper says as she gets up and brushes bark and moss off her butt. Karlach was already tugging at her sleeves, trying to lead the monk over to the owlbear cub, who was being watched over by Shadowheart, Wyll, and a reluctant Lae’zel.

Before she is fully swept off by the fiery tiefling, Copper catches Gale’s eye. “The sword is not solely mine to give. But don’t be afraid to ask the group if you really need it. They’re more willing to help than you think.”

Contemplating the monk's words, Gale watches his companions pack up their gear. They will be heading out soon to their new destination. Hopeful finding a way to cure the mind-flayer tadpoles in their heads. Gale can't help the small smile that forms on his lips as he watches the group happily give the scared owlbear cub food and affection. 

Maybe there are more givers in his group than he thought.

Author Note:

I like the fact in early access we had to give Gale a powerful magical item like the Sword of Justice for his condition. It gives his struggles more weight since the cost is so great. I'll try to sprinkle in more tidbits from early access as the story continues.

[reredram]

Experimental thingy, gonna try to make some iterator\travel logs for my iterator oc Bright Scale Among the Feathers ━┅━┅━┅━┅━┅━┅━┅━┅━┅━━┅━┅━┅━┅━┅━┅ After disconnecting himself from his superstructure to avoid death due collapse, rebuilding his body to adapt onto traversing big distances in harsh conditions and autonomy support of life without help of superstructure, Scale makes logs to keep the track of his adventure in search for answers about his group and The Samsara Experiment.

Log number 32-DF-1\4-07 Cycles after collapse:15 I am proceeding through my former territory, so far the main problem is still excessively low temperatures and the landscape destroyed by time. The idea to build an iterator high in the mountains, in a subzero temperature zone, is undoubtedly a good solution that removes the problem of overheating of our mechanisms and eliminates the need for constant access to a water source, but as soon as my superstructure stopped functioning, ceasing to heat the air in the area, snowstorms became a deadly threat, reducing the additional time for movement between cycles to minimum indicators. Surprisingly, even at such ultra-low temperatures, there are extremophile plants on my way that live in hardly suitable conditions. As my colleague, Roaming Ram, used to say, nature will always find a way. The reserves of resources taken from the superstructure are inexorably running out, but no signs of fauna or edible flora have been found. I need to focus on finding food, otherwise I'll die here, covered in snow, under my own superstructure.

Log number 32-DF-1\4-08 Cycles after collapse:21 The resources completely ran out 3 cycles ago, and this body is starting to fail. The remaining energy is barely enough to keep moving in short dashes from shelter to shelter. Recently, I almost fell off a ledge, tripping and rolling down in the snow. It would be unpleasant to end my journey on such a humiliating note. No signs of any kind of life have been detected so far. I tried to eat one of the extremophilic plants, but its bitterness almost made me vomit. There is no benefit. It's terrible to feel so helpless. Once such a powerful being, almost godlike, is dying the hell where, alone, wrapped in a metal tail to at least keep warm a little. What a pathetic sight. How low I've fallen.

Log number 32-DF-1\4-09 Cycles after collapse:29 After wandering for a long time through the lifeless snow-covered wastelands, I found a small region, which is a bunker built underground. It's not as cold as it is outside, and there are even some areas with spears on which lanterns are strung. Surprisingly, despite the fact that this primitive structure consists of luminous slime and a transparent shell, it emits enough heat to keep warm in a small radius from itself. I need to keep a couple of these in my pocket, then I'll forget the worries about my life support systems disabling due to extreme cold. However, the most important thing is that I found signs of life. I met a lone scavenger, and despite the fact that I didn't show any aggression towards him, he attacked me anyway. I tried to respond with same, launching a rapid attack, but he managed to dodge my spear, as a result of which I had to hastily retreat so that he would not injure me, this is the last thing I need. Scavengers have never been known for their love for iterators, on the contrary, these dim-witted primates were constantly an annoying problem, either damaging the exterior of my hyperstructure for weapons in the form of spears, or knocking down and destroying my overseers. I heard the news that some iterators had entire infestations of scavengers, who flooded their cities, deserted by from ancients, causing chaos there. An unenviable fate. However, I will not just leave this humiliation. I'll wait out the cycle to regain some strength and kill this obnoxious parasite.

Log number 32-DF-1\4-10 Cycles after collapse:30 Justice has been done. I cornered this scavenger, and despite his attempts to fight back, one precise blow to the body, and he's dead. My body almost shut down in the process due to lack of resources, but the deflection system worked, repelling his attack. Upon closer examination of the corpse, I found explosives on it, collected, dried and crushed fruits of explosive cherries, tightly stuffed into a dark shell. Primitive, but effective, it's good that he didn't think to throw it at me in such a narrow room, I don't think that in a weakened state my body would have survived the explosion. And now, I was faced with a dilemma. On the one hand, the corpse of an intelligent being lies in front of me. Scavengers have tribes, hierarchies, and some kind of culture. Eating the corpse of an intelligent being, even if it shows aggression towards me, is unethical and simply disgusting. On the other hand, if I don't consume AT LEAST SOMETHING, then my systems will completely run out and fail to work, and, technically speaking, I will "die". ... To hell with morality and ethics. I don't want to die.

[ashbrat488]

Flower In The Desert - Chapter 3

Captain Syverson Fanfic

"There are two tankers," Syverson begins as everyone gathers around him. He places a map on the hood of the truck and Violet presses her body against his, feeling him tense slightly before continuing. He showed them on the map where the pumping station was and where they would be dispensing the water. "Questions?"

Everyone shook their heads as Harper answered for everyone. "No, sir."

"Good, let's roll out," Syverson commands, motioning for Violet to follow him. He all but shoves her into the Humvee before crawling in beside her.

"I said no special treatment," she spits at him, noticing a few of the men looking at her.

"I'm not." He doesn't bother looking at her as the vehicle starts and pulls away from the building. "It's my job to keep you safe the same as the other men."

"You're going to make this difficult on me, aren't you?" She glares out the window, away from him after her question and Syverson watches her.

"No more difficult than you'll make it on me," he responds softly, and she turns back to find him watching her. Her eyes catch on his for a moment and she feels the bolt down her spine before they both look away out their respective windows.

Her leg begins to shake, bouncing up and down nervously as they pass through the depressing-looking houses into the open area, surrounded by nothing but sand.

Syverson places his hand on her thigh, forcing her to stop as he gave her a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry."

She scoffs at his words, brushing his hand away. Don't worry, she thought to herself. As if it were that easy. She was a woman alone in the company of men in the middle of a warzone. Why did she ever think that this would be a good idea?

They finally pulled up to the building with the pump and everyone climbed out. She leaned against the side of the water truck, waiting for it to fill as Chutsky made his way over to her. "How are you doing, sweetheart?"

"Fuck off, Adam." She rolls her eyes as he only grins, leaning with one arm on the tank, invading her space.

"I don't remember you being so rude in ROTC."

"I was young and stupid," she mocked as he laughs, bringing his hand up to her cheek. She glared at him as a warning, forcing him to drop his hand to his side.

"Come on. The nights get lonely. We could keep each other company."

Syverson watches the interaction between Violet and Chutsky, feeling his stomach tighten as a new feeling washed over him. Was he jealous? Eddie Syverson never got jealous. There was nothing for him to ever be jealous of. But as he stood there, watching Chutsky bring his hand up to Violet's cheek, he couldn't help but imagine ripping his arm out of his socket and beating him with it.

"Sy?"

His attention is brought back to the engineer as he tried to explain to him the problem with the pump and the debris. "Right. We'll try to get you more men to help you fix it."

***

"There's a truck on the road."

"Fuck," Syverson growls out as the convoy comes to a stop. They all climb out of their trucks and Violet watches Matt pull the man out of his truck. Everything happens quickly as she keeps her gun pointed to the ground, not wanting to frighten the already frightened man any further.

"There's a little girl in the car. It's his daughter. He said he's taking her to the apothecary." The translator offers as Chutsky looks at him confused.

"Apothecary?"

"Pharmacy, dumbass," Violet snapped, pushing him out of the way as she approached the passenger side of the car.

"Becker!" Syverson warned as she ignored him, opening the door.

She smiled at the small girl, offering her her hand as she helped her out of the car so someone else could check the truck. She knelt down on the ground in front of the obviously scared little girl and placed her hand gently on her cheek. "Shh," she tried to calm her, offering her a smile as the small girl shook.

"The truck is clean."

Violet nodded, helping the girl back into the truck and shutting the door gently. She moved to stand beside Chutsky and Harper. "I don't like it," Chutsky began, "these people use kids all the time. I have a bad feeling about them."

"These people?" She repeats, scoffing. "Not everyone has malicious intent. We are here, invading their homes and their space while they are just trying to live their lives. He's trying to get medicine for his daughter."

"You're too fucking soft to be here, princess," Chutsky remarked with a roll of his eyes.

"And you're too much of a prick to be here!" Violet pushed him back hard before she felt an arm wrap around her waist, pulling her away from everyone.

Syverson set her on her feet on the outside of the Humvee, away from everyone else's earshot, pushing her back against the vehicle. "I can't protect you if you go around doing stupid shit. Chutsky may be an idiot, but he isn't wrong. Your naivety could get us killed. From now on, don't do anything without asking."

"Fuck you," she hisses angrily as he clenches his jaw, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to compose himself.

He leans in real close so she can feel his hot breath on her face. He grabs her face in his hand, forcing her eyes into his. "You will do as you are told, or I will send you home. You understand me?"

"Yes," she finally retorts, glancing away from him until he released her. "I hate you," she spit out just for him to hear, turning away from him as he chuckled.

He leaned close to her ear from behind. "No, you don't, flower."

She felt her cheeks flush, and if they weren't already bright red from the heat and sun, she would be embarrassed as she climbed back into the truck. She avoided Syverson's gaze as he climbed in beside her and everyone loaded into the trucks to leave.

Syverson watched her glance at him briefly, clenching her thighs together as she gripped her gun before locking her eyes back out the window. He chuckled softly to himself, knowing he had gotten to her as much as she had gotten to him. But he knew that it was a dangerous path they were on. Not only were relations within the unit frowned upon, him and a lower ranking officer no less, but he also wasn't sure how her father, his mentor, would feel about him being with his daughter...

Chapter 4

[oldtvandcomics]

All the crimes the 2013 movie committed, etc etc, but the sad thing is, you COULD bring magic into that world, if you really wanted. Just. Not Like That.

What I would do, is make Tonto magic. So, I fully stand with what I said - at some point in 2020, maybe? - about Tonto being a Science Superhero. He really is. In a way that is just so 1950's, the supernatural doesn't really have any place in the Lone Ranger mythos. But if it did? It would show itself in all the small ways that the story itself bends reality, to make it something softer, something more child-friendly.

Like, you have a Realistic Situation, and then these two figures show up with their horses, and suddenly Reality doesn't quite work that way, and you can outwit the bad guys and silver bullets are actually a good weapon (they are not. Silver is not a good material to make bullets from. There is a reason why we don't do that). And then they leave, and normality resumes, and you will never understand what happened there.

So it is the heroes themselves who have reality bending powers, and, well, Tonto is the one who has been doing it longer. It could explain why he is always where needed, why everyone seems to be his friend, how he always has the right medicine, why he doesn't need a tent, how he can spend weeks riding through the desert and come out looking perfectly clean and well-groomed, how the fuck he hasn't died of a concussion yet....

And John, John would kind of drop out of the Real World, and be bewildered about these things first, but the longer he spends living with Tonto, the more he himself would start to bend reality. Bullets always miss him. His horse never grows tired. One day, they arrive at a town, and he catches a glimpse of himself in the mirror, perfectly clean and well-groomed, despite having spent weeks in the desert with no water to wash his body, let alone his clothes...

(You would of course have to be very careful doing this to avoid racist stereotypes, but that is the case while writing Tonto no matter what. Also, this started out as a dig to the 2013 movie, and, come on, they had MORE than enough money for sensitivity readers, if only they'd used it)

[purplekoop]

So admittedly the Plantoids are a bit underdeveloped right now, but I've at the very least got a few basic designs to share of varying degrees of actually being used.

These guys I actually have some things to say about:

Sproutlings are among the most common Plantoids, able to adapt to many environments and populate so heavily due to their low complexity, short life cycles, and minimalist environmental needs. They're also a relative of many other species, seemingly due to their short life cycles and thus high mutation rates making them prone to branching out into new species very quickly. Sproutlings themselves are generally unimpressive creatures, but their relative harmlessness makes them a good specimen for researching further species. Their bodies resemble flowers, with their roots condensed into a lower base that stems into a few leg-like appendages, making them capable of awkward but steady walking. The number of legs can vary between individuals, and seems to be a random byproduct of their maturity. The petals of their flowers are hard but flexible, like tough flesh, which is sharpened to a point around the center. These tough petals serve two purposes: they can be used like a gripping maw to tear apart enemies, but they can also remain closed in a bud-like shape to protect the Sproutling's eye.

A key feature of all Plantoids is the eye structures that occur at least once in the body of every single species. To call them a simple sensory organ would be underselling it, as dissection reveals that in addition to advanced animal-like sight, the "eyes" are also condensed centers of the nervous system, effectively brains, which are believed to enable the enhanced cognitive abilities of Plantoids compared to normal plants. While fascinating from an evolutionary perspective, the more useful application of this knowledge is when fighting one. The eyes serve as a universal weak point among all Plantoids, as they cannot function without them intact. A well-aimed bullet or two can bring down many species with minimal difficulty. However, it's worth noting that more advanced species often have multiple eyes around their body, which once again inspires more curiosity in regards to their biology and evolution, but also should be noted for any militia volunteers who want to come back home alive from their next mission.

Back to Sproutlings specifically, it should be reiterated that a lone specimen is hardly a threat. Their only means of harm is biting into their target with their hardened petals, which while capable of tearing holes into metal, is far from immediately lethal. Their reach is also limited due to their small size (the average specimen being only about 3 feet or 1 meter tall), making them trivial to take out from a distance. And while capable of walking, which is an evolutionary achievement for a plant, they aren't especially fast, to the point where most bots can outrun them. Their bodies are also relatively thin and frail, meaning most weapons can take one out fairly quickly. Sproutlings are only threats in numbers, where being surrounded by them, especially in tandem with more powerful threats, can easily overwhelm an unwary recruit.

A close relative to the Sproutling is the disarmingly named Tumbler. This species is adapted to the harsh deserts that divide the continents between Havens 1 and 2, which due to the scorching temperatures and lack of moisture, acts as a natural barricade greatly slows the advances of the Plantoid spread. Tumblers survive these harsh conditions by, to be frank, barely being alive to begin with. As they grow from maturity, they form spiky, hard exteriors that solidify into a loosely spherical form. They also dramatically slow their bodily activity to near constant dormancy, and store very little water in their bodies. These adaptations add up to make them very lightweight, to the point where they can use the wind to carry their bodies without needing to expend energy themselves. While innovative, these adaptations also leave their bodies exceptionally brittle, to the point where it takes very little effort to destroy one. Their means of attacking foes is also questionably effective: they use the wind to hurl themselves towards enemies at high speeds, digging their thorny exteriors into the victim. This of course, relies on the direction of the wind. Recruits should keep an eye on weathervanes in their stationed outposts to anticipate the direction Tumblers come from, as the only dangerous Tumbler is the one that catches you by surprise and slams into the back of your head at high speeds.

Another species to adapt specifically to the harsh desert climate is the Cacter Ball. This species, either a descendant from or convergently evolved to resemble a spherical cactus, survives by storing a large amount of water within its body, contained firmly within its thick, spiky exterior. It moves by subtly shifting the spikes around its body, as if crawling with a thousand tiny legs, eventually rolling over itself. This is not a particularly efficient means of transport, meaning it's difficult to be ambushed by a Cacter Ball. This is a lucky blessing though, as Cacter Balls have a particularly devastating means of taking out enemies when threatened. Through a special means of contracting their bodies and reacting with unique internal chemicals, the water in their bodies can heat up rapidly. This reaches a literal boiling point when the internal pressure in their bodies becomes so severe, their bodies explode out in a blast of searing fluid and sharp spikes, dealing heavy damage to anything nearby, even including other Plantoids. This detonation is slow enough to where a wary bot can typically move out of the blast radius in time to escape unharmed. If the recruit has some way of launching the ball away before it explodes, then this can be a viable emergency means of survival. A particularly crafty bot can even deliberately send a primed Cacter Ball towards a group of its fellow Plantoids, though take care to not send them towards a teamamte instead. However, it's often recommended to be proactive when a Cacter Ball is around and take it out before it can be a problem. Their slow speed is their key weakness, but this is made up for by their thick exteriors making them take heavy fire to kill one. It's crucial that any bots with a weapon precise enough to aim for the eye do so, as the increased damage makes taking out a Cacter Ball much faster and thus much more reliable.

While rare, there have been instances of particularly large Cacter Balls, either long-lived members of the same species or a separate, naturally larger species. Either way, they're known as Cacter Boulders. While a normal Cacter Ball is easy enough to take out, Cacter Boulders, as their names would suggest, are larger than most bots, and have the thick hides and increased durability to match. Proportional to their size is the amount of potentially explosive fluid within their bodies. If a Cacter Boulder primes itself to blow, then any nearby bots need to run as far as possible before the explosion goes off. The blast radius is much larger and thus harder to avoid, so it's suggested once again that recruits act proactively when facing them. If a Boulder shows up, then it's highly advised that all capable bots redirect their attention to focus on getting rid of it as quickly as possible. Due to their immense weight, they're also especially resilient to knockback, so some tricks that work against their smaller counterparts are ineffective against them. A particularly devious pattern is that whenever a Plantoid horde has the goal of destroying a set obstacle, like a barricade halting their advances, it is very likely that the horde will send Cacter Boulders to eradicate the obstacle quickly. In these missions more than ever, dealing with them ASAP is almost always the highest priority.

(in-universe-ish explanation mode disengaged)

So those are the main guys I have really solid gameplay notes for. If you noticed, most of them are desert-themed, and all of them are low-level mooks. Remember that the missions start in what we know as the American western deserts, starting from around western Nevada and going down through Mexico and Central America with the eventual goal of reaching the root (hehe) of the invasion in South America. The desert is also a blessing, as it limits what kinds of plantoids can even survive those conditions long enough to be a threat. As the missions advance southward though, things get a lot scarier once the environment is more supportive of flourishing plant life.

Now, I also have some more general concepts I've had lying around for a while now that I haven't fleshed out into gameplay concepts yet. Don't get too attached to these, but I'll spitball some ideas anyways, along with some funny on-the-spot names.

Top left, we got the Drop Copter. I think the idea here was that the flower acts like a little helicopter, which then drops a seed that grows into a new, stronger enemy when it hits the ground. Think I'd want to reiterate the design so the flying part can drop multiple seeds, so you're actively encouraged to take out the Drop Copter ASAP.

Next up to the right of that is the Hounder. Or maybe the "Ivy Beast" or something. Either way, these would be one of the more "elite" units out of what we've seen so far. I imagine they'd be fast, high-health enemies that can strike from a distance with their tail, or pounce onto a bot and start mauling them with their leafy jaws, at least until a teammate comes to save them. Note how there's both an eye inside the mouth and also one on the visible shoulder. Again, more complex enemies tend to have multiple weak spots, some of which are only temporary ways to get in extra damage.

After that is a rose bud that... might not end up being an enemy, but may have another role. You'll see what I mean later, but expect this little bud (or at least something like it) to be a friend and not a foe.

First one on the lower row is what I'm gonna called the "Nut Gunner" for now, because I have the sense of humor of a five year old. I also imagine players would come up with even dumber callouts, like one of these guys shows up and you just panic and call out "Nut Boy on the right"... anyways. These advanced guys are the first ranged unit on display here, though I imagine there'd also be weaker, possibly stationary ranged enemies too. The Nut Gunner though would be a mix of offense and defense thanks to its cannon arm and dense armor. Its cannon has an eye of its own though, so shooting that first will disable it, and thus severely hinder the nutty lad's effectiveness. They still have a melee attack with their beefy right arm though, so still be wary. Love the design of this guy though, very fond of it.

Right of Nut Boy is the Pitcher Gulper. Maybe just "The Gulper". Maybe not just "The Gulper." I regret drawing this one so small, as I better imagine these guys as big, lumbering pods bigger than any of the cast (or at least any non-Tanks, that whole role might get immunity to some attacks just to avoid animation headaches), which would snag a bot with a tongue-like vine, then slowly drag them into their maws, slowly eating away at them until an ally does enough damage to force the enemy to spew them out. The abundance of weak points on their bodies is also a sign of high health, though you'd have to pop each of the individual eyes to most effectively get through that health. Popping an eye would also be a guaranteed way to free a trapped ally, so it might be tactical to leave some intact just in case.

Last one is the dandelion who very much has anxiety. Not sure exactly how this one would work, but I imagine they'd drift in on the wind, then start sending their (obviously explosive) seeds towards nearby bots as slow but chasing projectiles. This one might also work bigger rather than smaller, though how exactly their gimmick works would change things. Still love the design for how simple it is, definitely my favorite of this bunch besides Nut Man.

These are some oooooold sketches but I still think they hold up and show generally what to expect from the Plantoids. I hope they're not too... cute? I want them to be generally simple to understand at a glance and kinda "video gamey", hence the most obvious video game shorthand for "shoot me here" being a widespread part of the whole horde that has a biological explanation and everything. The little freaks have a charm to them I think, though again, keep in mind that most of these are the little early-game chumps you can expect to take out dozens if not hundreds of in a single mission without thinking much about it. The bigger and badder guys are gonna be a little more intimidating.

I should definitely draw more though, I remember it being fun to just draw some concepts without even explicitly having goals in mind going in. Obviously going forward I'll try to actually figure out what some of them should do in advance, but to a point I think it'd be better to figure out what enemy types are needed via playtesting rather than preemptive planning, but... y'know. that's still gonna. take a minute.

I do have a design for one more special kind of Plantoid, but it's not ready to share due to reasons that, again, will make sense sooner or later. I can tease another name though: that special species is called a "Hermit". They may be crafty, but they certainly ain't friendly.

[syn4k]

ashes question: did pix ever get up to anything interesting while alone in the desert? and how did he like. survive for so long

interesting? not really. unless you were the court up until two years after his disappearance, still sending people out into the desert and anxiously awaiting any news. as for how he survived, the answer is "barely".

for the first year and a half or so after he left, he still had a pretty good sense of self-preservation, no matter how much he tried to ignore it. (and ignore it he did- that's how he got to where he was at the start of Ashes. ignoring your personal needs goes against every instinct in your body. it takes practice. this did not happen overnight.) due to this, he'd find towns far out and knock on or hover in front of random doors, asking one thing: a roof for the night. no food, no water, just somewhere to sleep. it didn't even have to be a bed.

those who hadn't heard or didn't recognize him nodded usually, letting him in. he was always gone when they checked the next morning, sometimes with a small note of thanks. those who did recognize who he was and what he had done either let him in but with a pitied look or denied him entrance entirely. over time as news spread, he was recognized more and more.

for him, the pity was worse than being denied entry, and he began to hope for the second option. eventually, he stopped walking into villages entirely, and began avoiding them

after that, he subsided mostly on the dew that gathered on cacti in the mornings and rotten flesh. yep. rotten flesh. sometimes he found and cooked rabbits that had stayed in the heat too long and had overheated. mans got sick a lot.

he sheltered in random caves he found above or below the surface, sometimes abandoned homes (although those were a kick in the teeth to stumble upon more often than not because 1. most of them flew the pixandrian banner still and 2. they were a reminder of how he had failed Everyone which was why he had left and- you get the point.)

as time went on, he found himself needing less and less to get by. take that as you will, but it meant that eventually he could travel long distances without too much to go on

i mentioned that people looked for him, right? yeah. his own people did, his allies did (see: fwhip's comment in chapter 13), and in a way he was looking for himself in solitude too, but the sands only reflected his own past back to him and so all he saw most days was a wasteland.

the pixandrians conducted search parties, both official and not, but they dwindled fast since it was basically looking for a needle in a haystack. also, pix was scarily good at disappearing and hiding in plain sight. sometimes someone thought they saw a lone figure walking on the horizon, but when they got closer, he was gone. of course at that point he was little more than a myth and a mirage

(about 4 years after he left and the empire had mostly collapsed in on itself, a merchant was trudging through the wastes looking for abandoned houses to loot. something shiny caught their eye, and they bent down to look. it was a compass housed in copper, long since pitted and oxidized. they took out their own compass to see if maybe they could sell or maybe even replace the new one since it'd go for a much higher price, but instead of pointing north, the copper compass pointed southeast, the way the merchant had come, from the old desert capital populated mostly by stray dogs and librarians looking for legends and history. you can't sell history. they had been told that there was a lot of copper around here, though, so they decided to look around for some anyways.)

(the thing didn't even work properly, they thought with a scoff, and tossed it back into the sand. absolutely useless.)

(had they seen the "P.R" inscribed on the back in neat lettering, though, they might have hesitated a second before throwing it back in.)

[theythedisaster]

See me with your hands Pt.2

Pairing: Bakugou Katsuki x Midoriya Izuku

Content: Medusa! Katsuki x Blind! Izuku

Pt.2: Words: 1, 598

Summary: After being cursed by his goddess, Katsuki turns his back against the world and seccludes himself with the nymphs and his garden. He lives lonely, until a dumb, young demigod comes to try and take his head away and only ends up bringing more trouble to his life. 

Though Katsuki cannot really complain about it.

Pt.1

When the kid left that day -not even trying to glance backwards- the last thing that crossed through Katsuki’s mind was to see him again, but Katsuki is surprised to meet him once again not even a week later. 

Katsuki is grinding away at some dried leaves he harvested earlier that week, humming the old memory of a song low under his breath. It is no longer resembling of its original, Katsuki knows that much, but it’s been so long since he last heard it. It has just escaped him almost completely. But he still enjoys himself, being alone for so long has a way to make you appreciate even the most mundane of tasks, the most mind numbing of jobs. Everything becomes a great distraction and for someone who has no limit to his life, like Katsuki, living in misery is not a pleasing way of spending his time.

 So, he sings to his heart's content, watching how the leaves turn into dust under the polished rock when there’s a thud somewhere behind him and an immediate cry of pain. 

“Shit-” 

It’s obvious, by the way it is shouted in the form of a whisper, that the person tried their best to keep quiet and failed miserably. Already incredibly sloppy work.

Katsuki lets the rock fall from his hand, turning around and assuming a defensive pose. “Who 's there!” He calls into the garden, hearing the immediate ruffle of leaves. “Come the fuck out!” The only thing to defend himself other than his eyes is the small blade he grips between his fingers. He never would have thought he would have to fight for his life twice in a week. This is a new record.

He waits, breath held tight in his chest until he sees a small figure coming out from behind the statue of one of the sons of Zeus -like with many others in his garden, Katsuki has no name which to attach to his face-. He sighs the held breath and glares at Kota, even when he knows the kid cannot see it, for he wears the cloth from last time around his eyes. 

“I want you to know I’m glaring angrily at you right now,” hands on his hips.

The little demon has the audacity to giggle behind his hand, but it quickly turns into a sheepish, shy smile when he hears Katsuki click his tongue. 

“What are you doing here again? I thought it was clear our last encounter would be exactly that: the last.” Crossing his arms over his chest, he tries to ignore the bubbly feeling of happiness that tickles at the center of his chest. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he had wished the boy would come back. 

The mere taste of a few minutes of harmless contact with another of his own had been detrimental to his mood. It was like tasting water after weeks of wandering a hot desert, addicting. But he had felt the emotional withdrawal once the kid was gone and suddenly he was back in his teenage years, missing the life he once had. 

He feels sad suddenly, his shoulders losing some of their edge. 

"I left my sword last time. I'll be in trouble if I don't bring it back." Kota says, adjusting the blindfold once again. He stops, his hands coming together, pressed to his body and Katsuki sees something else coming. "The bread from last time was also really good…"

Katsuki scoffs, “Unbelievable, first you come to kill me and fail and now expect me to feed you, again?”  It’s all talk really, because he’s already grabbing the child’s hand gently and guiding him through the rest of the garden. The squeak of surprise from Kouta is ignored in favor of giving directions to make sure he doesn’t stumble with any roots or pots. 

Behind him, the kid seems to have lost all of the fear he had the first time they meet. He chatters animatedly and confidently, as if Katsuki would be able to actually relate to the things he talks about. 

His hand opens the door to his tiny house and with delicate fingers he maneuvers Kota in front of him and towards the kitchen. Katsuki sits him at the table and grabs his wrists to guide his hands towards a ceramic plate in front of him. 

“Keep your hands on the plate,” He instructs the momentarily blind boy as he turns to look for the fresh loaf of bread. Katsuki slices a few pieces and places them on the plate. “You’re lucky, brat. I just finished baking a new loaf this morning.”

Katsuki watches in amusement as Kota feels around the edges of the plate until his fingers come in contact with the slice of bread. He beams and quickly brings the piece to his lips to munch happily, humming. 

“This is the best bread I’ve ever tasted!” The brat says between bites and Katsuki tries his hardest to squash the feeling the praise brings to his heart. It still buzzes inside him. 

He grunts noncommittally, pouring already hot water into a pot to make some ginger tea. It is quiet, besides the munching sounds coming from the little demon, so Katsuki concentrates into the slightly bubbling water. When it is done, he starts pouring the tea into two ceramic cups. Of course, that’s when Kota decides to drop a firebomb on him.  

“Would you show me how to make it?” It is quiet and rushed, but Katsuki hears it all the same. 

The admission shocks him so much he moves too suddenly and ends up spilling hot tea all over his hand. “Fuck!” He shakes it desperately, letting the teapot fall over the counter. 

“W-what happened? Are you okay?” Kota stands nervously, but refrains from moving too much, for him being blindfolded would surely be of more harm than help. 

Katsuki sticks his hand on the charmed bucket of forever cool water close by, and turns to Kota with a bated breath. “What did you say?” 

The kid shifts on his feet, looking much more less confident than a few minutes ago. “Um, are you okay?” 

“No, before that.”

Shit, his hand hurts.

“Oh…” The kid visibly defleats, somehow turning tinier in himself. “I asked if you could show me how to make bread like you.”   

Katsuki stays quiet, staring at the unknowing boy. The admission in itself is not surprising, what sends a wave of emotion through Katsuki is what it entails. 

“You know you can’t learn how to make a bread like mine in just a few hours, right?” He’s careful when he asks. There’s something hidden in the kid’s question, one much more deep and heavy, but Katsuki doesn’t dare let his heart get its hope up. 

“Yeah, I know.” The kid is back to facing the ground and clasping his hands together like the first time they met.

“Are you asking me if you could come again?” He feels his hands tremble slightly, a confusing mix of feelings tangling inside his mind, lacing around each other like hungry snakes. 

Kota sucks his lower lip into his mouth and bites on it and, as if knowing Katsuki is staring him down, he nods silently. 

A breath leaves his lungs, one he didn’t even realize he was holding. He stays silent, his mind flying around. 

The kid wants to come back? And learn from him? 

Why? 

“Why?” It escapes him before he can stop it and it comes out with way too much emotion. He sounds weak and immediately cringes at himself. He can’t really feel the stinging from his burned hand that much anymore.

Kota perks up at this. There is a tiny smile on his lips, “I think you’re really cool.”

Katsuki cannot believe it. He feels like he’s in a dream. There’s no way this kid just barged into his garden, tried to kill him once, convinced him to feed him twice and now thinks he’s cool. After going so many years without contact with other humans, he’s forgotten how complicated kids usually are.

“And I want more bread,.” he offers over the plate in the general direction of Katsuki.  

“Ugh, are you serious?”

Kota laughs, already back to his confident kid mannerisms. 

Katsuki slices a few more pieces of bread and sits him back at the table. This time, he sits with him, the two forgotten tea cups now filled with ginger tea.

It is quiet between them, but not awkwardly so. It is more contemplating than anything. But when they finish eating and there is no more tea to drink, he decides to give his response. 

“I guess I wouldn’t be opposed to teaching you.” It is quiet and rather hopeful, because he can no longer deny that the kid’s company sounds ten times better than being alone with just his plants and the occasional visit from Ochako and Mina. 

“Really?” Kota sounds way too excited, as if him teaching the brat something would be the best thing in the world. 

“Yeah, but you have to be perfect, I don’t accept half-assed shit. Got it?”

The smile the little demon gives him makes his heart flutter and happiness sit at the bottom of his belly. 

“Sir, yes Sir!” Kota moves too wide and too fast, hitting Katsuki’s burned hand along the way. It starts pounding immediately.

“Ugh, fuck! Kota!”

“I’m sorry! I don’t know where anything is! I can’t see!” 

He can’t believe this is really happening. It feels like a dream. 

Katsuki is not alone anymore. 

[thefanbasewhore]

In Big Trouble.

Summary: Bucky never texts back until he has a reason to 👀

Warning/content: (18+) no real smut but it's little steamy

Paring: Bucky Barnes x female reader

Master list || Bucky Barnes tag list. 

Is everything okay?

Anxious eyes read over the words over and over again, hoping this will be the time Bucky Barnes will finally learn how to use a damn phone. He's been gone for over a week, you try not to call or worry too much but it's not like he makes it easy.

It's been five days since you last heard from him, called from Sam's phone claiming he'll never be able to use his own. Of course, he grew up in a era where cell phones weren't a think but you mostly think it's because he's stubborn, refusing to use any kind of technology because he's an old man at heart.

Feet nervously shuffling on the floor under your desk, chewing on the fat of your lip nervously. It's hard to sit back and act like it's okay not to hear from him, like he's not the only thing running through your mind 24/7 because he is. It's a learning curve really, not a single person in the world has ever prepared you for having a super solider boyfriend and the endless worrying that comes along with it.

Sighing loudly you throw the phone back into the drawer of the desk before getting back to work. He'll be fine. He always is.

***

It's hours later and once again you're staring at the stupid screen but now in the confines of your own home, on your own time but it doesn't shake the worry, it's worse.

Buck are you there? Answer me back old man.

Five days is a long time.. what if he's hurt or something went wrong and he's trapped knees deep in snow in Antarctica or some kind of freak accident happened that Bucky and Sam are trapped on a deserted island?

But then again, how would he be able to text you? No, No, everything is fine, Bucky is fine just technologically challenged. Waiting a few more minutes before throwing the phone onto the the coffee table with a loud grunt.

***

Now it's been eight whole days, still not a single word from Bucky or Sam. Not even a little thumbs up emoji and quite honestly it's worrying.

Bucky on the other hand is well aware of all the messages, reads every single one but scowls trying to press the small letters to form something even close to English but ends up getting aggravated and gives up.

Everything is fine, except for every waking minute he's either on a stake out which means he can't even take ten minutes to call you or out of reach from any kind of service. It's his last day here, the mission is finally over but the debriefings will hold him for just a few more hours.

He looks around the room of people, all politely listening to Sam as he clears up the mission, any loose ends sealed tight but Bucky can't care enough to pay attention. Except this time the phone chimes in the side pocket of his tac pants and it's not like he's doing anything anyways, why not peak?

He looks up, just to make sure no one is looking before angling it towards his face, but just enough it's hidden under the table and presses the notification, it's surrounded by hearts and 'my doll' is in big letters.

He starts to get annoyed, nimble fingers hovering over the screen as it freezes momentarily but the words aren't hard to miss on the screen.

'Miss you, big guy 💘'

It's sweet, the small pink heart after it fills a warmth over his cheeks, flushes his nose just enough that if any one cared to look over they would totally catch the Winter Soldier pinched pink. It makes him smile, a feeling all so new to the solider, never in his life having someone waiting for him, worrying and missing him.

But what happens next causes him to audibly choke, spit caught in the back of his throat as a deep, red flush claims his face which only makes it worse as he looks up to notice everyone is staring at him.

There you are, in front of the floor mirror. It's a simple pose, sitting on your legs, arm over your head while your hand ruffles your hair, back arched so high he can almost feel the similarly of it on his hands, fingers twitching to feel it again.

He notes the way your bottom lip is pulled between teeth, red and puffy, begging for his own. Eyes roam over the long muscles of your neck, small brusies from his departure still stain the skin purple, they trail down your collar bones and stop right between the valley of your breast.

His mouth waters to taste the salty tang of your skin again, bare breast high in the air, pedals pink and puffy, knowing for a fact they have been played with moments before. He can't look away, just follows the path set out from your torso to the skin of your thighs that are strategically placed to hide where you want him most.

He's so, so hot, the temperature of the room at least increased by 20 degrees in the last minute as he awkwardly coughs. "Sorry, Just need so water."

He takes a fake sip, making sure all eyes are somewhere else before looking back down pulling his collar away from his neck. Desire fills his chest and pumps throughout his whole body with a dull ache in his lower abdomen.

Fingers press more harshly then they should, he's so close, has the whole sentence typed out. 'Someone's being a bad girl' before he hovers over the send button but it's too late, there's already another picture.

This time you're laying down, phone raised in the air, thighs spread revealing everything to him. A hand rest dangerously low below your stomach and he stands so quickly the stupid chair spins behind him, he's already almost out the door before a word could be said.

It's not even ten seconds later when the contact picture pops up, letting it ring a few times and answering it with a knowing smirk. "Hi baby."

"Don't hi baby me, what was that?"

Bitting your lip with a smirk and looking around the room innocently despite a soul not being around. "What was what?"

"The pictures, you know exactly what I'm talking about doll." He sounds angry but you know him far too well to know exactly what he's feeling. Voice grovels just enough to being back the memory of the soft words that would be mumbled into your skin as he takes you and it's heaven to your ears.

"Oh those? Just missed you big guy."

It's funny how two basic words have him weak in the knees, desire burning in the pit of his stomach as you continue. "Just trying to get your attention."

"Is that what this is sweetheart? Are you feeling a lonely?" It's pure sugary, velvety smooth how he patronizes you but you want more. The desire to have him buried between your legs is too strong to fight even if you tried.

"Yes, feeling a little neglected here, Buck.." Sultry smooth, each word makes him want to palm his aching hard on as he struts down the stairs, midful of every turn and staircase he takes to avoid any awkward altercations.

"I'm sorry baby, I'll be home three hours tops. Give you all you need. Be a good girl and wait for me." It's easier said then done, a small groan is music to his ears.

"I mean it, wait for me. Don't be a brat." Taking his warning rather low as he hears shuffling on the other side of the line.

"Want another picture, to hold you over?"

His mouth snaps open, but he can't seem to get the words out. It's hard rejecting such an offer, jaw clenching in annoyance, not directed towards you but the aching, heavy feeling between his thighs. "No."

"Are you sure?"

"Don't you dar-." Before the words could even leave his mouth the phone chimed against his ear, brows narrowing in frustration. "You're in so much trouble."

[fuckingthefictional]

Hi! I would like a request about Derek from teen wolf, please. The reader is trying to approach him, taking care of him "because Derek is too busy taking care of the others", BUT IT'S BEING SO HARD because of all of his past. Derek and the reader argue one night because of the overprotective nature of the reader about him, and when she tries to leave the loft, completely upset with Derek, he tries to fix things between them. Could you do this with a lot of angst and, then, tons of fluff? Thanks!

Ignored

Pairing: Derek Hale x Reader

Warnings: Angst bbyyyy, and some fluffy goodness at the end, not checked over (so probably a crap ton of spelling errors)

A/N: hello hope you enjoy, sorry it took forever! I’m so busy with work, college and personal issues that writing has been put on the back-burner.

When the name Derek Hale was mentioned- one immediately thought of the broody, salty, sarcastic young man who lived by himself after the tragic Hale house fire.

Nobody would ever associate the name Derek Hale and caring. It just wasn’t in his nature. Because under no circumstances could Derek be remotely kind, caring or soft in any way possible.

That’s what people thought of Derek. But not you- or the majority of the pack for that matter.

Yes, you saw where others came from with their ideas and judgement (Derek’s lack of colour in his wardrobe obviously didn’t help either).

But to you when you heard the name Derek Hale, you immediately thought of the kind hearted man who would give up anything for the safety of his friends and family (as much as he claimed otherwise).

You knew him differently, you knew him like the back of your hand. You knew that his favourite food was Spagetti Carbonara without the mushrooms, that he didn’t like Coca Cola, that he secretly loved watching trashy tv shows like keeping up with the kardashians, and most importantly that he was running himself ragged.

He had bitten off more than he could chew when it came to helping everyone out. He was the one giving lifts and helping with homework and hosting pack nights, and handling Isaac’s nightmares, all of this happening at the same time as some supposed lizard creature being on the loose.

You had been ignored by Derek Hale for approximately 72 hours. Now this wouldn’t be bad if it weren’t for two things.

1. He wasn’t aware that he was actively ignoring you.

2. The idiot wasn’t your husband of 2 years.

Over 68 hours ago you hadn’t minded, you had even brushed the silence and distance off- knowing that Derek liked to have a little time to himself.

But when it hit the 5 hour mark of the 4th day, frustration and disappointment had begun to set in.

There was one more thing that made the whole situation worse. He was blatantly ignoring you- and only you.

It hurt. You could admit that to yourself easily without any qualms at all. It hurt.

Whether that was to do with the whole ‘mate’ side of things you didn’t know- all that you did know was that Derek Hale was drowning and he wasn’t going to swim until everyone else was okay.

-

Thud, thud, thud, creaak

“Der please sit down”

“I can’t. I gotta figure this shit out before the school finishes for the day.” Derek grunted from his spot in the middle of the room. His head firmly stuck in the thick, dusty book that he had been pouring through for the majority of the afternoon.

“Der please, take a break.” You pleaded with him, begging him to just stop for a second and relax.

“I can’t,” Derek murmured again, before he pivoted in his heel and walked away up the staircase.

His heavy footfalls retreated upstairs, the musty book still clutched in his grasp.

Swallowing the lump in your throat, you willed the tears in your eyes to stay put and to not roll down your cheeks in fat drops.

Why couldn’t you be enough for him?

-

The next plea came around 2 hours later, when you brought a bowl of homemade pasta and garlic bread up to Derek. Hoping that just maybe it would strike up a conversation, that maybe he would utter more than two short sentences to you.

“Babe- I made you lunch.” You elbowed your way into the room, balancing the bowl and plate in your hands.

“Just leave it on the desk.” He motioned to an empty slot on the overcrowded surface.

“I just thought that maybe we could have lunch together, have some time with each-other.”

“Y/N/N’s I would- but I have so much to do. Stiles and Scott are already on my ass about the damn lizard freak in town.”

“Der, you need to take a break.” You placed your hands on his shoulders. Instead of feeling them relax you could feel his muscles tense up.

Shrugging your hands off, he pushed the fresh plate of food away, “I can’t.” He spoke simply.

“But-“ you tried to object in protest, trying to plead with the broad shouldered man in front of you- hoping that maybe, just maybe he would come to his senses.

He did not.

“I said no Y/N.” Derek ground out, “I’m busy. Please for the love of God stop bothering me.”

The words stung you, causing you to stumble back in shock. Derek had a hard exterior, everybody knew that. But he had never spoken like that to you.

He had promised on your wedding day that he would always be kind, that he would be your biggest supporter and largest source of love.

But all those words felt like lies now. You felt alone, like an empty shell of yourself. Why couldn’t you just be enough?

-

Hours flew by, the watch on Derek’s wrist occasionally beeping to signify the new hour. If he were being honest- he had lost track of what the time was.

The only signifier was that Stiles, Scott and the others were in his presence- meaning it was at least 4pm

And judging by the sky outside of his office window, it was late evening, as the sky itself had melted from cool blues into a fantastic array of oranges and purples.

But besides the low chatters and bickering coming from Isaac and Stiles, the house felt almost too quiet.

There was no tv hum coming from the living room, no occasional flush or running of water from the restroom, no sizzle from food coming on the oventop, no sound of a page in a book turning. Nothing. Just silence.

“Hey Derek,” He looked up to see Scott staring at him, “Where’s Y/N?”

“Well-“

“Yeah, I haven’t seen her yet today.” Isaac chimed in.

“I’m not actually too sure.”

Derek was met with a sea of blank stares.

“I’m sorry- there’s a kanima out there roaming Beacon Hills, the very same kanima that is killing more people by the day. And you don’t know where your wife is?” Stiles asked incredulously, “Are you kidding me.”

“Well I’ve been so caught up on this research that I haven’t been spending as much time with her.” Derek attempted to defend himself.

“Derek, please tell me that you haven’t been ignoring your wife.”

Everybody had there eyes on him again.

“Well-“

There was an uproar of protests, all of which were yelling at Derek for ignoring and deserting his wife.

“You better find her Derek, before something happens and you regret it for the rest of your life.”

-

You really didn’t know how long you had been out here for. All you knew was that the night was closing in and the chill was setting in your bones.

But you didn’t want to go back to the loft, you honestly didn’t think you could handle seeing Derek after his outburst earlier.

The cold, damp ground soaked into your body- sucking all the warmth out of your body at a creeping pace.

The spot you sat in, hadn’t changed much since your first date with Derek. It was still isolated and it gave off the best views in Beacon Hills. Nobody knew about it but you and Derek.

Sighing deeply, you looked out over the viewing point- watching the tiny specks of light flicker in the distance. Every single light showed a different life that was being lived, each one with their own struggles. Beacon Hills was something else to say the least.

“I knew I could find you here.” A familiar voice broke your train of thought.

You kept silent, staring straight ahead, willing that your bottom lip wouldn’t start trembling and the flood gate wouldn’t open in your eyes.

“Look I’m sorry.”

You sniffed, still unable to look your husband in the eyes, “Are you though?” You briefly shut your eyes to stop any tears from breaking through, “or are you just saying that to get on my good side.”

You could feel Derek’s presence settle down besides your own. His breath creating little puffs of mist under the dark sky.

“I didn’t realise you were trying to help me, until it was too late and you’d left the apartment” He muttered, “It’s my fault, I should’ve taken your advice, I should’ve listened to you.”

You listened intently, knowing his words were sincere and heartfelt, “Why didn’t you listen to me then Der?” You responded bitterly.

“Because accepting help means showing weakness, and showing weakness is something I haven’t done since before the fire.” Derek’s voice was small now, “Before I met you, accepting help was off the table- I was a lone wolf, with no pack or family. And now I’ve found you and I’m desperate to not lose that again, I can’t lose you to this new threat in town- I can’t be alone again.”

Silence hung heavy in the air as your husband’s words set in. It made sense to you; why he was studying non-stop, why he had barely slept or ate.

It was apparent that while he was trying to protect his loved ones, he was also pushing them away in the process. That needed to change.

“You won’t be alone Der,” You lay your head down on his shoulder, “I promise that much- it’s you and me forever.”

“Through every supernatural event that happens in this town?”

You giggled softly, “Yes, and every single thing in between.”

[lailoken]

‘:Formulae:’ [Pt. 2]

“Jewell'd Waters of Radiance.

A Sacred Bath For Women; being a most excellent preparation for the rites of any sylvan goddess, nymph, female spirit or deific form. The Balneum requires generous amounts of fresh flowers, hence several hours should be allotted for gathering, being ever mindful of the spirits to be honour'd.

Leaf of Raspberry, dry. 35 g.

Rose Petals, fresh. 35 g.

Cherry Blossoms, fresh. 35 g.

Blossoms of Honeysuckle, fresh. 35 g.

Orange Flower Water. 350 ml.

Rose Absolute. 13 drops.

Let a cold infusion of the fresh blossoms be made, allowing them to steep in large seal'd vessels of well or spring water. Make a hot infusion of the Berry Leaves, with sufficient boiling water to cover. Seal in a stopper'd jar and steep for 30 minutes. When the Bath is drawn, strain the Leaf infusion decoction into the water, along with the Orange flower water and Rose Absolute. Add double the amount of Salt of Lilith to the ablution, and agitate the waters. Finally, pour in the cold infusions, leaving the fresh flowers to float freely. Let the Spirit to Be Honour'd be invoked with the Wand of Quickening, and the bath-chamber lit with candles.

Aqueum Liliya.

A lustral sacrifice for ritual conveyance of the benedictions of Lilith in her fully waxed, angelic, and tutelary lunation. The bath may be modified for succubi, nymphs, or water-spirits. All flowers should be fresh-gathered in Her name.

Petals of White Roses. 200

Blossom of Jasmine. 200

Blossom of Gardenia. 100

Blossom of Lily. 3

Blossom of Angel's Trumpet. 1

Place into the Working Basin and cover with 4 litres of cold spring water. Knead the blossoms gently between the fingers for several moments while a graven image of the Lady is silently focused upon with Eye and Heart. Let stand for three hours prior to use in a quiet, sheltered place, away from the light, with a single white candle lit for the Lady before her Idol. During the rite wherein the lustration is to be employed, the Lady should be invoked with a wand of Crooked Willow or Tamarisk, and the branch employed to quicken the florid waters. The petals should be left in the waters and the lustration sprinkled upon the crowns, brows, and palms of those who would receive the Lady's goodness.

Waters of Magnetism.

An excellent bath for increasing Charisma or one's natural Charms, ideal for attracting a mate or other sexual glamours. The Balneum may also be used prior to gambling. Owing to the seasonal nature of Cherry and Quince, the Bath is best employ'd in Spring. Cherry blossoms are rarely found at the local apothecary. Thus, one must gather one's own in Spring. One may also employ blossoms of Apple, Plum, Pear, or Peach for like effect.

Cherry Blossoms, fresh or dried. 200

Blossoms of Flowering Quince, fresh. 100

Chamomile Blossoms, fresh or dried. 100

Rose Buds, fresh. 30

Steep in enough boiling water to cover. Let the infusion sit for 10 minutes. Strain into bathwater, washing the Herb material through several times. Immerse oneself for at least 30 minutes and allow the waters to air-dry on the skin after emerging.

Lustration of Mercurius.

A bath appropriate for invoking the patron of magic, and alchymic wisdom. This Bath of the Wise grants especial gifts prior to labours of the spiritual laboratory.

Lavender Blossoms. 30 g.

Essential Oil of Lavender. 8 drops

Essential Oil of Sandalwood. 8 drops

Kosher Salt. 60g.

Epsom Salt. 60 g.

Infuse Lavender Blossoms in 1.5 litres boiling water for the space of 30 minutes. Strain and add to a 300 litre bath and stir in, adding salt and oils. For best results, soak for at least 40 minutes and drip dry afterward.

Warrior's Ablution.

A stimulating brew to lend power during confrontations with enemies, the law, or for use prior to negotiations.

Leaf of Rosemary, fresh. 70 g.

Cinnamon chips. 30 g.

Bloom of Chamomile, dry. 30 g.

Flowers of Broom. 30 g.

Add Rosemary and Cinnamon to a cooking vessel with enough water Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer 15 minutes. In a separate vessel, steep the Broom and Chamomile blossoms in 1 litre boiling water. Strain both infusion and decoction and discard Herbal material, adding the liquids to the bathwater. cover.

Earthing Bath.

For drawing stray powers back into the Corpus, centering the Mind, and subduing quarrelsome spirits.

Linden blossom, dried. 60 g.

Oak, leaves and twigs, dried and crumbl'd. 60 g.

Leaf of Wormwood. 33 g.

Infuse the Linden and Wormwood in 1.5 litre boiling water for 20 minutes. As it is steeping, simmer Oak leaves in 1 litre of water for 20 minutes. Strain both fluids into the bath tub and soak as long as is needed.

Midsummer Gold.

A Solar infusion made from traditional Herbs for washing the body and clearing and fortifying the aethyric orb.

Herb of St. Johnswort, dry. 30 g.

Herb of Vervain, dry. 30 g.

Leaf of Mugwort, dry. 25 g.

On the morning of the Summer Solstice, seal each of the Herbs in a separate steeping jar with enough water to completely fill the vessel. Allow to steep for at least four hours in the sunlight, absorbing the Solar Genius at the peak of its power. During this time of steeping, the very Fires of the Sun should be invoked and beseech'd into the Womb of the Waters of the Moon. In this conjunctio the Fruits of Our Labour arise. The exhausted plant matter is then strained out, and the resulting infusions mixed. The potentiated wash may be poured on the head while holding clear in the Imaginal Eye the Solar virtues cleansing the crown, and gradually seeping into the entirety of the aethyric orb. The wash may also be added to bathwater for extended soaking.

Floor Wash.

A general but potent Encharmed Solution for cleansing the oratory or home of Noxious Spirits or in the wake of an unpleasant event.

Leaf of Vervain, dry. 40 g.

Leaf of Sagebrush, dry. 30 g.

Leaf of Thyme. 20 g.

Root of European Mandrake. 7 g.

Steep Vervain, Sagebrush and Thyme in 1 litre boiling water, leaving to stand in an airtight jar for 7 hours before filtering. In a separate cooking vessel, add Mandrake to 400 ml. water and bring to a boil. Simmer 20 minutes. Filter and reserve liquid, burying the boil'd Root in an honourable location and with a coin and thanks. Add to Herbal infusion when it has been strained.

Purification Bath.

A relaxing bath excellent for quieting and realigning the disrupted psyche, as well as nourishing and envigorating the bastions of spiritual defence. Our Fair Decoction may be simmered longer than the 15 minutes given, up to 25. The resulting brew may be used for a cold bath as well, omitting the salts and oil.

Fir Needle. 50 g.

Atlas Cedar. 33 g.

Epsom Salt. 30 g.

Root of Valerian, chopped. 25 g.

Root of Calamus, chopped. 25 g.

Essential Oil of Sandalwood. 5 drops.

Bring 1 litre of water to a boil. Add Fir, Cedar, Calamus and Valerian. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Strain and add to hot bath water, along with essential oil and salt. For cases of extreme disruption, double the amount of Fir, Salt, and True Oil of Sanders.

Mist of Dispersion.

For banishing rude spirits or flocculum abomini. Mix all ingredients in 4 oz. atomizer bottle and agitate before use.

Essential Oil of Palmarosa. 5 drops.

Essential Oil of Fir. 4 drops.

Essential Oil of Juniper Berry. 3 drops.

Essential Oil of Atlas Cedar. 2 drops.

Essential Oil of Birch. 1 drop.

Water. 75 ml.

Perfumer's Alcohol or 100 proof spirit. 40 ml.

Asperge Sylvaticus.

A suitable brew for asperging brethren prior to Congregational works of sorcery. The ingenium derives from a subtil congressus of the Lord and Lady of the Desert, the Lord of the Forest, and the Lady of the Garden.

Leaf of Sagebrush, crumbl'd. 33 g.

Leaf of Douglas Fir, Larch, or Hemlocks, chopp'd. 30 g.

Leaf of Scent'd Geranium. 30 g.

Leaf of Wormwood. 5

Make a strong decoction of the Fir, Hemlock or Larch with 1 litre of water in a covered cauldron, simmered for fifteen minutes. Pour the hot decoction over the remaining ingredients in a steeping vessel and let stand seal'd for half an hour. Strain and asperge with a branch of the evergreen employ'd. Tincture of Myrrh may also be added in small amounts to enhance the cleansing virtue.

Mist of Severity.

Another Compound'd Mist for the more potent workings of Exorcism or in instances of stubborn hauntings. Mix all ingredients and store in 4 oz. atomizer bottle, shaking before use.

Essential Oil of Hyssop. 5 drops.

Essential Oil of Cajeput. 4 drops.

Essential Oil of Juniper Berry. 4 drops.

Essential Oil of Black Peppercorn. 3 drops.

Water. 75 ml.

Perfumer's Alcohol or 100 proof spirit. 40 ml.

The Viridian Broom.

A potent asperge for sprinkling, using a fresh bough of Cypress.

Sprig of Douglas Fir, chopp'd. 35 g.

Herbe of Pennyroyal, whole flowering. 35 g.

Leaves of Cypress. 28 g.

Berries of Juniper, crush'd well. 25.

Place Douglas Fir, Cypress and Juniper Berries in the Wort-Cauldron with 1 litre of water, and bring to a boil. Simmer, cover'd, for 20 minutes. Remove from Heat and add the Pennyroyal. Strain when cool.

Sorcerer's Hand Wash.

For hand-anointing prior to works of the Magical Arte. Place 11 Devil's Shoestrings, along with a slice of the very best Galangal Root, a twig of True Cinnamon, a pinch of Sweet Tobacco, and a small slice of True Mandrake in a bottle of dark glass and fill with 151 Proof Rum. Stopper, storing in a dark place. Gems or minerals sympathetic to the magician may also be added as desired.

Balneum of the Wayfarer.

A blessed wash especially for the feet prior to Sojourning forth in the Greenwood, or for such as wander long in lonely places, giving invigoration and purpose to the stride. Fresh-harvest'd Rhizome of Wild Ginger (Asarum spp.) may be substituted for Ginger.

Root of Ginger, fresh, sliced. 90 g.

Leaf of Bay, fresh. 50.

Leaf of Holy Basil, fresh. 40 g.

Make strong decoctions of the Ginger and Bay in separate vessels. Pour both over the Basil into a large Hermeticus and steep for ten minutes. Pour wash without straining into a basin and soak feet for 30 minutes prior to Sojourn.”

—

Ars Philtron:

Concerning the Aqueous Cunning of the Potion and its Praxis in the Green Arte Magical

by Daniel A. Schulke

[soyouthinkucanwrite]

July 2nd - Daniel Ricciardo

Based on New Year's Day by Taylor Swift and this request by @spikejonzed

Fluffly, mentions of sex, banter, nothing graphic.

BTW, I don't know how I've never paid attention to this song, it's so so beautiful and honest. I've thought about this concept before though: the "Sunday afternoon effect", when all the excitement of the weekend wears off and you're just hanging out with your friends, laughing about silly stuff, or cleaning up the house after the party. The thing is, the friends that stay till then are the ones you wanna hold on to, and the same goes for lovers. I feel kind of bad... well not BAD but you know, must be hard... when you're famous and rich, to recognize the good ones from the beginning before you give yourself too much away and it's too late.

To be honest with you guys, I think Daniel must feel a bit lonely sometimes. We all do, but to think that people are only interested in you for your fame and money must be tough... something you worked so hard, that you keep dedicating your life to, to think that that thing is the reason for your heartbreak, to your loneliness... It's a two-edged sword, isn't it? Anyway, I wrote this little something with Daniel in mind, hope you guys like it. Hope he finds someone to be like this someday. Hell, hope I find someone to be like this someday. I think everyone deserves that.

Daniel woke up in his bed, no shoes, but jeans and party shirt still on. The light coming through the windows, shining directly on his face, threatening to make his headache even worse. He let out a groan and turned to the side. There's someone on his bed with him. Shit. He just remembered. Last night was the first time he was introducing (y/n) to his friends. His birthday "small get together" (or at least that's what it was supposed to be) was the perfect opportunity for testing the waters and giving the "next step" without making too much fuss about it, after all, they've only been going out for a couple months and with his tight schedule it meant a lot of facetime calls and weekends, but almost no weekdays and routine stuff.

Yet, he was absolutely smitten with her, she was fun and easygoing, passionate about her own work and friends, but still caring and interested in him. They had amazing chemistry, mind-blowing even. But Daniel had lived enough to know that hanging out with someone on the weekends and knowing their best side was one thing, living through daily and mundane stuff was a completely different thing. Where this could go was still a mystery to him and he didn't want to raise too many expectations before he was sure. Still, she looked so beautiful sleeping, a true vision. He tried to remember if something had happened last night, but judging by his clothes still on, and hers as well, he guessed not. As if on cue, she smiled, with her eyes still closed.

"Stop being creepy" she said smiling. "I can feel you watching me sleep"

"You're not even asleep anymore" he smiled and she opened her eyes. He was taken back by her eyes staring directly into his.

"Still creepy though" she laughed, getting closer to him. He held her and they stayed like that for a while.

"Are you ok?" he asked her.

"What do you mean?

"Aren't you hungover, or sick?" he asked again and she laughed.

"Not at all. I have this really weird superpower, you know, I don't get hungover. Ever, actually" she laughed.

"I don't believe you. I have the headache"

"No, it's true. We did drink a lot yesterday, though" she commented.

"Yeah, well, welcome to having Australian friends. No such thing as light drinking with those guys" he laughed but grimaced at the pain in his brain.

"I'll get you something"

"Huh?"

"For the pain" she explained getting up from the bed.

After a while she returned with a pill and a glass of water, passing them to him.

"Thank you, baby" he took the glass, finishing it. "Come back to bed now"

"Your house... like, I'm not even sure if I should tell you to take a look or just pack your essentials and abandon it" she smiled.

"Uhh" he groaned. "I'll call someone later"

"Like a constructor with a wrecking ball?" she laughed.

"It can't be that bad"

"It's bad" she started. "But we can manage it" He looked at her intrigued. "After a shower" she pulled his hand. "Join me?"

"If I ever say no to that question, just put me in an asylum" he said. "I need a kiss though, as motivation" he smirked.

"Noo... I have morning breath"

"What? Me too" he said pulling her down and kissing her anyway. "Uh, no. You're right. Yours is worst" he said laughing while getting up and walking into the bathroom.

"Asshole!" she laughed following him.

They stripped and got into the shower, taking turns in letting the water run through their bodies.

"Come here" Daniel said, putting some body wash in his hands and spreading them over (y/n) body.

"Hum... this feels nice" she said.

"You're so beautiful" he said kissing her shoulder.

"You're so wasted" she laughed lightly.

"Hey! I'm sober. I'm just too tired. Give me a couple hours to recover, and I'll claim my birthday privileges"

"Birthday privileges? It's not even your birthday anymore" she laughed.

"Okay, but first, it's the weekend of, and second, I didn't get any time alone with you yesterday"

"Fair. And what will be your requests, may I ask?" she asked teasingly.

"Humm... you're so creative" he said kissing her. "I'm sure we'll think of something"

They finished the shower after a while, enjoying each other's company and the comfortable silence.

"Did anyone crashed here?" (y/n) asked when they were stepping out of the shower.

"I have no idea" Daniel answered. "I just remembered going to take a nap and waking up this morning. Shit, we didn't... did we?" (y/n) laughed out loud at that.

"Wow! Really, Dan?"

"We did not. I would've remembered"

"Good save. Such a gentleman" she laughed.

"I drank way too much. Sorry. Don't be mad"

"It's fine. I'm messing with you, I don't remember anything either. To be honest, I don't even remember joining you on your 'nap'" she said making air quotes.

"We're the worst hosts" he said getting out of the bathroom and going into the closet to get some clothes.

(y/n)'s heart swelled at the thought of hosting a party with Daniel. There was something so intimate about that statement, so homey.

"You want a shirt?" Daniel asked from the other room, waking her up from her daydream.

"Yeah, sure" she took the shirt, some underwear, and some sweats. Then brushed her wet hair and looked in the mirror. Not a trace of makeup left. She sighed thinking about how falling into a routine with Daniel meant letting the barriers down.

"Alright, snap out of it" she said to herself, getting out of the bathroom and walking outside, to the living room where Daniel was standing rubbing his neck and looking around.

"This is bad" he said when he saw her joining him. There were empty beer bottles and cups all around the living room and balcony, pizza boxes (with half-eaten slices left behind) in the coffee table, party decorations hanging from the ceiling, and the kitchen was even worse, with liquid spilled on the ground and bottles everywhere. There was glitter all over the floor and the couch - someone had brought some of those party poppers, which looked so much fun yesterday, but no so much now. But the best part was the polaroids, left all over the house with the craziest poses.

"Pack your stuff, we're deserting this goddam hellhole" he said and she knew he was joking, he said that about everywhere, but she still shook her head and rolled her eyes, picking a polaroid photo from the ground.

"Everyone had so much fun" she showed it to him. "I loved meeting your friends"

He took the photo from her hand, it was one where (y/n) was sitting on the couch with two of his buddies from Australia, making funny faces while holding cups. He remembered the moment because he was the one who took the photo.

"How's the headache?" she asked him.

"Almost gone"

"Good. So you don't have an excuse. Move your ass, where are the trash bags?" she laughed going into the kitchen.

"Hey! That was very sneak of you" he laughed but followed her anyway.

They spent the next hour collecting bottles, vacuuming glitter, and just cleaning the whole house. Daniel complained the whole time, but in truth, he was very glad to have her there. Sure, he could just ignore the whole mess and hire someone on Monday to clean everything (he probably would still do that anyway, for the heavy cleaning like bathrooms), but it was really nice of her to just stick around, seeming unbothered by the housework. When she finished tying the last trash bag and putting it on the entry hallway she flopped on the couch besides Daniel, who had called it a day some good 10 minutes ago.

"Done?" he asked her.

"I feel like punching you for asking me that" she answered playing annoyed. He lifted his hand in defense.

"What? I did my part!"

"Men" she shook her head. "I'm surprised you haven't complained about being hungry yet"

"Well, I'm starving! Was just waiting to suggest going out, or ordering in"

"Ordering in, please. I don't want to get off this couch any time soon"

Daniel got his phone out to order some food. It was almost noon, so he thought about something like pasta, some carbs would be nice right now. Then he felt (y/n)'s head drop on his shoulder, her hand caressing his arm. It was such a sweet gesture, so understated, he just stopped what he was doing and looked at her.

"What?" she looked at him.

"I'm really glad you're here. Thank you"

"It's nothing" she smiled.

"I don't mean the cleaning. Well, that too. But just, thank you for being you and wanting to hang out with me, you know, after the party"

"I'll always wanna hang out with you, partying or cleaning bottles" she said and leaned in to kiss him. "Happy birthday old man" this made him smile through the kiss.

"Thank you, young lady" he said still smiling. "Let's feed you now, yeah?"

"Please! Let's get some carbs on this house!" she smile.

"Hey, guys!" (y/n) and Daniel looked up to see Luke, one of Daniel's buddies walking out of the guest bedroom.

"Dude! I didn't know you were here" Daniel laughed.

"Yeah, just woke up. Definitely wasn't hiding in the bedroom waiting for the cleaning end to get out" he grinned making (y/n) and Daniel laugh.

"You know what? Just for that, you're going downstairs to pick up the food when it gets here, and taking out the trash!" (y/n) teased him, tossing a pillow from the couch at him.

Daniel just observed while his friend and his girlfriend joked and laughed. He thought about how right now he was enjoying a feeling of contempt that wasn't really natural or much appreciated by professional athletes, but this time felt right to indulge in it. He felt safe like someone's got him, finally. He took (y/n) hand on his and squeezed it three times, he knew this was already a good thing, something to last. She looked at him, she knew exactly what he meant.

[miyagihawk]

“Hi! I was wondering if you could do a Cobra Kai oneshot or head cannon where the reader is dating one of the boys and instead of Miguel falling during the fight it was the reader?❤️”

hiiii thank you for the request! this one’s gonna be a miguel one :)

should’ve been me | miguel diaz x reader

warnings: not much, just a bit of swearing i think. reader is in a coma???

summary: miguel is your boyfriend and you’re the one who fell during the school fight

Maybe you should’ve just stayed out of it. You don’t know one thing about fighting. But how could you just stand and watch your boyfriend getting punched over and over again?

It turned out to be the worst decision you’ve ever made: trying to pull Robby off of Miguel.

Because they were both too angry to see it was all going too far.

Because Robby didn’t think that much about pushing you away; he was too focused on delivering punches.

Because the railing was just too close.

It was all slow motion. Miguel running to the edge, yelling your name. Screams and gasps coming from the students who were watching.

All you could see was Miguel, the boy you love, looking down at you as you fell through the air. It felt like you were falling for a lifetime with your eyes locked on his, until you met the ground and everything turned black.

There was only the sound of Miguel’s steps ringing through the hall as he ran down the stairs towards your body. He kneeled down beside you, his heart breaking when he saw the peaceful expression on your face.

“Y/N? No, no, no. No, wake up, Y/N. Please, I’m sorry,” he touched your face, and his tears were falling down on you.

He cried out in heartbreak at the sight of you so lifeless, with no care of everyone watching. The paramedics had to carry him away from you as they laid you on the stretcher.

-

Your muscles ached and you felt as if your legs would give out any moment. The sky was an apocalyptic red in the lonely desert you were in, and even though you couldn’t see the sun, you could still feel its treacherous heat.

You don’t know how long you’ve been walking through this desert, but you were losing hope with every step you took. You must’ve been trudging on for hundred of miles, but everything around you looked the same; you can’t help but wonder if you were even moving at all.

The only thing that kept you going was his voice and the light.

Miguel.

He sounded sad. And when you kept going, it’s as if you heard him clearer. Once you heard him start to talk, you ran. Even if everything hurt, you ran, because you seemed to hear him better when you went towards the light in front of you. You pushed until you couldn’t breathe, collapsing on the dry sand, but feeling close to him was worth it.

“I’m sorry,” he would cry. “It should’ve been me, Y/N. This is my fault. What do I do without you? If you can hear me, please wake up. Don’t give up okay? I love you so much.”

“I love you!” you would try to yell back, but your voice was gone.

It was an endless torture, following the light, and the only thing that kept you going was the hope of seeing Miguel again.

-

You didn’t know when you fell asleep; perhaps you passed out from exhaustion. But you woke up in a different world.

The vicious red clouds above you were starting to float away, revealing a clear blue sky. The dead air was gone, and you could feel a fresh breeze blow through your hair.

The light. It was right in front of you. So close you could reach out and touch it.

“I love you, Y/N,” you heard Miguel’s voice ring through your ears as you stepped through to the unknown.

You gasped, your eyes shooting open as you took in your new surroundings. A white bright light made you flinch and there were tubes attached to your arms. There was a beeping noise piercing your ears and dozens of bouquets in vases were placed on the blue floor, leaving a strong floral scent in the air.

You felt yourself starting to breathe frantically, realizing that you were in the hospital and that you just came from your worst nightmare. 

You felt your hand being grabbed and you pulled away in fright. “You’re awake,” the person said from beside you, making you turn your head towards them.

It was him. Miguel. The one thing you held onto.

He looked so different. He had bags under his eyes, and his hair was longer than it’s ever been. He just looked so tired, and it made you panic, because you wondered how long you’ve even been out.

Your eyes watered as you threw your arms around him. After feeling so lonely in the coma, you dreamed of holding him. The both of you cried in each other’s arms with endless worry about the other, but you were so happy to just see him after the hell you just went through.

“I love you. I heard everything you said and it was what kept me going. It’s not your fault, okay? It’s not,” you spoke, grasping him tighter. He was crying too, and you’ve never seen him this emotional; it broke your heart.

He shook his head, “It was, Y/N. I’m so sorry. I-I really thought I lost you, and it would’ve been on me. This whole Cobra Kai thing was-”

“Just stop, okay? It was an accident, don’t do that to yourself. I’m fine,” you cut him off, pulling away from the hug to wipe your tears. Your back was starting to hurt and it sent you painful flashbacks of the fall, making you wince at the memory.

Nurses started flooding into the room along with your parents, and Miguel had to leave.

“So how long was I out?” you asked the nurse who was checking your vitals. You were scared to face the question, if you were being honest. Because you had no idea what the answer was.

“Three months, honey,” she answered softly. You blinked away the tears that wanted to surface at her response.

Three whole months. You were gone. You didn’t want to be dramatic, but missing a piece of your life, even if it’s small, felt terrible. Because your family worried about you for three months. Because Miguel worried and your friends worried and now you probably can’t walk normally and-

The more you thought about everything, the more you felt like throwing up from anxiety.

As if the nurse could sense your stress, she talked to you, “You see those flowers?”

She gestured over to the crazy amount of bouquets that were on the floor because they couldn’t fit on the table anymore. You nodded in response while she took your blood pressure. Her presence was very calming, and she had a wise energy around her that put you at ease.

“He brought you some every single time he visited. Poor Albert at the flower shop downstairs is probably sick of him,” she joked. “You are very loved.”

She didn’t even need to say his name for you to know who she was talking about. You felt yourself smiling at the sweet gesture, looking at the range of flowers. Most of them were your favorite color and some were his. But there were every kind; you told him that you don’t have a favorite flower because they’re all pretty.

“Did you feel anything?” the nurse asked, snapping you out of your thoughts. You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion. “While you were... out,” she clarified.

“Uh... no. I didn’t,” you answered, still puzzled.

She gently touched your forehead with the tip of her finger. “He left you so many kisses. Right here. And you said you didn’t feel it but I know you did, because you’re awake. I’ve treated patients like you for many years, and as cheesy as it sounds, love is the best medicine. You got a good one sweetheart,” she smiled softly at you.

“I did,” you agreed, looking through the small window of the door to see where Miguel stood waiting with your parents. You caught his eye, feeling warm when he gave you a happy grin.

Everything going wrong only showed you that he was the one, and even a coma couldn’t separate you.

A/N: this was a mess i am so sorry my writing is ass lately i just don’t know why :/

[fairy-spring]

Freefall - TP Oneshot

Word Count: 683

Summary: Being launched out of a cannon brings a strange sense of déjà vu.

Notes: I’m not used to posting something so short, but I thought it was a cute moment that wouldn’t leave me alone.

It was the only way to leave the city in the sky.  

Link approached the cannon with trepidation. Was he truly ready to do this? Getting launched out of a cannon to the Gerudo Desert was harrowing enough, having instantly eaten a mouthful of sand on impact, and his trip to the Oocca city only went as well as it did because a large pool of water was there to cushion his fall. How could he be certain that he’d even hit the lake down on the surface? What if he missed Lake Hylia in its entirety?

He glanced down at his shadow, and he sucked in air through his teeth.

“Are ya sure ya can’t warp us, Mid?”

Midna poked her head out of his shadow and frowned. She shook her head, her helmet threatening to fall off.

“Sorry, Link,” she stated in all sincerity. “We’re so high up, I don’t even know where we are in relation to Hyrule. Blind warping’s just as dangerous...”

Though Link sighed through his nose, he found himself nodding along with his friend’s explanation. For better or for worse, the cannon was, somehow, the safest solution. Hesitantly, he pulled out one of his clawshots, and he latched onto the target and was immediately yanked into the barrel. He could feel the cannon stand on its cucco-shaped legs and walk to the edge of the platform it stood on, and the blood rushed to his head as the barrel was tilted downward towards, he hoped, Lake Hylia. Without warning, the cannon fired, the boom rattling Link’s entire body as he was hurled back down toward the surface. The blond shrieked, little more than a green speck in the barrier of clouds he torpedoed through.  

For some reason, the longer and further he fell, the less he panicked. The closer he was to the earth, the more the wind whipped against his face, the greater the euphoria he felt. Link didn’t know whether it was the adrenaline kicking in, as Fyer once said so long ago, or if it was mere acceptance of his situation; all the same, he was awash with calm. There was something so familiar about what he was feeling, though he couldn’t put his finger on it.

Link couldn’t help but laugh as he looked down at the world below him. Above the clouds, he could see Death Mountain, Lake Hylia, Gerudo Desert, and even Faron Woods from where he was. Everything came together like an oil painting in the canvas of his eyes.

It was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

Without even thinking about it, he pressed his pointer fingers to either side of his mouth, and he whistled.

A loud screech sounded from the distance, and Link heard the flapping of giant wings. Suddenly, he crashed into a body of leathery skin, and he held tightly to the creature’s back. It took a moment for him to even realize that a kargarok had caught him! Still, Link’s smile didn’t leave, and he petted the side of the monstrous bird’s neck as he guided it down toward the shores of Lake Hylia. The entire way down, that same euphoria filled his soul once more, his heart overcome with a bizarre sense of nostalgia.

Within minutes, Link and the kargarok reached the ground, using a lone grassy island as a landing platform. The blond finally dismounted, his legs shaking as he petted the enormous monster. The kargarok screeched again, and it flapped its wings as it took off once again, likely returning to the skies above. Finally, Midna popped out of his shadow, her visible eye wide.

“Well, that was awfully lucky,” she remarked, humming as she threw her arms behind her head. “If that monster didn’t show up, who knows where you would have fallen...” With a small smile, Midna laughed and turned to Link. “Good thing you summoned that thing! Where’d you even learn to do that?”

Link was silent as he watched the kargarok fly towards the sun. For a second, he saw crimson feathers.

“... I don’t know.”