#finally a good wildlife chart

[absurdthirst]

The Wolf in the Woods {Werewolf!Marcus Pike x F!Reader}

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 14.4k

Warnings: Oral sex (male and female receiving), vaginal sex, wildlife, secrets, werewolves, monster fucking, werewolf tongue, werewolf cock, rough sex, harsh sex, cream pie

Comments: You finally convince Marcus to take you up to his remote cabin in the mountains. Not realizing that there is something in the woods. Something that has Marcus chaining the cabin doors shut to keep out.

**Monster fucking! Don't like it, don't read**

Co-written with @storiesofthefandomlovers

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|| MasterList || Marcus Pike MasterList ||

Click Keep Reading only if you have read the Rating and Warnings and understand the warnings may not be complete to avoid listing spoilers. As AO3 says 'creator chooses not to use warnings'. You also agree that you're the right age to be consuming anything here.

“Come on baby, it’ll be perfect. Me, you, alone for the first time in forever.” You plead your case over the phone, slightly annoyed that your boyfriend had to cancel yet another date but you don’t try to take it out on him. He’s the in-charge agent, the department head of Art Crimes. You know his job is stressful. “We can relax, sleep in.” You hum suggestively. “Spend all day in bed if we want to. I know you’ve been so busy, a weekend at that cabin of yours would be wonderfully refreshing for us both. I’ll even do all the cooking.”

Marcus smiles against the other home at the thought of you and him curling up in bed all day. Something neither of you have the luxury of due to your demanding jobs and Marcus yearns for that kind of intimacy. He pulls up the lunar chart to see when the full moon is. Shit, it’s on Saturday. He will be in transition all weekend. It’s only once a month but he has to be careful with his more feral nature around you. He bites his lip, wondering if he can lock himself out while he transitions. You are getting frustrated with him and he doesn’t want to make you walk away because he keeps flaking on you. You don’t know about his true nature and he wants to keep it that way. “Or not.” You say due to his silence and he can hear the disappointment in your voice and he knows he can’t say no. 

“Okay baby. This weekend. You wanna come to mine on Friday after work and then we can head over there? Get groceries on the way? It’s not stocked up.”

You smile, relieved that he’s not blowing you off, afraid that he has been losing interest and is too much of a gentleman to break things off. “That sounds great, we can have a nice, quiet weekend getaway.” You are happy that there’s no chance of starting your period, it’s at least two weeks away so there can be a lot of sex. Having every intention of waking Marcus up with a blow job one morning. “I’ll see you on Friday, baby. Don’t worry about tonight,” you tell him, letting him hang up after a quick goodbye so he could get back to work. 

**** 

Knocking on his door, you bite your lip. The bag slung across your shoulder is filled with lingerie and things to entice your boyfriend and you hope he enjoys the surprise. “Hey baby.” You smile when he opens the door almost as soon as you pull your hand back, like he had been waiting for you.

Marcus is nervous but he’s determined to give you a good time. He does love you. He hasn’t told you yet. He’s too afraid that if he gets too close, you will find out what he truly is. He smiles at you, hoping you don’t realize he’s been standing by the door. He takes your bag, leaning in to softly kiss you. 

“Hey sweetheart. I’ve missed you.” He murmurs, “how was the drive over?”

“It was good.” You feel like Marcus’s scent has changed. It’s muskier, bolder than the normal scent he wears from body wash and cologne. Very primal and you like it. “I was daydreaming about this handsome hunk I’m going away with for the weekend.” You tease, giving him a playful wink.

Marcus inhales your scent and he swallows down the growl that threatens to work its way up his throat. He clears his throat and guides you inside. “You ready to hit the road or do you wanna use the bathroom first?”

“Oh, I probably should.” You lean in and press your lips to his. “I’ll be really quick.” You promise and rush off to the guest bathroom Marcus had down the hall. He’s perfect and you know that you want to tell him that you love him this weekend.

Marcus curls his fingers into fists, trying to stop himself from wanting to give in to the animalistic urges inside of him. The ones that want to claim you as his. He inhales deeply and carries your bag into the garage so he can place it in the trunk of his car. He has the padlocks and chains in the other bag along with his own overnight bag.

Washing your hands quickly, you come out of the bathroom just as Marcus comes in from the garage. “I’m ready whenever you are, baby.” You promise with a smile. “And I have packed a few surprises for you.”

Marcus bites his lip, smirking at you. “Yeah? I can’t wait to see ‘em. Come on. Let���s hit the road. It’s a few hours to get there and I don’t wanna get caught in Friday night traffic.” He opens the passenger door for you, helping you in and as he rounds the car, he exhales shakily, begging himself to be good this weekend. Once the car is out of the garage and he’s certain everything is locked, he hits the gas to get out of D.C.

“So I am hoping you have a grill.” You tell him once he’s off the Highway. “Maybe a couple of steaks tonight or tomorrow?” You ask. 

“Rare.” Marcus nearly growls the request and your eyes widen slightly. 

“Got it. You like your steak rare.” You laugh.

Marcus grips the steering wheel a little too hard and he cracks his neck. “I have a grill. Tonight maybe?” He suggests, his inner wolf growling at the thought of a rare steak. He pushes him down and turns on the radio to distract himself.

“Tonight is good.” Marcus seems a little distracted and you feel bad. Poor man has been overworked for months now. “Some red meat, Some wine, a little sex and then some sleep.” You reach over and lay your hand on his thigh. “Come back from the cabin a new man.”

Marcus chuckles nervously, “I hope.” He reaches for your hand to squeeze it and he brings it up his lips to kiss the back of it. “You’re too good to me.” He murmurs and he sighs when he lowers your hand to squeeze the gear shift with your hand in his.

Your heart melts. “I love you.” You blurt out. It’s not the romantic, sexy way you imagined telling him, but you don’t want him to doubt this for a second. You are completely head over heels for him. “I know it’s odd to say in a car, but I love you Marcus.”

Marcus is taken back by your confession and his heart melts, “I love you too.” He says, turning his head to look at you. “It’s - I wanted to tell you this weekend. Properly. Romantic. But I love you baby.” He smiles at you, kissing your hand again.

“I’m sorry.” You grin, not really sorry for it but you’ll pretend. “I just couldn’t wait. And I don’t know what it is, but you just seem….more dominate today. It’s really sexy and…” you break off, feeling slightly embarrassed by your confession.

Marcus swallows down the growl that threatens to make its way up his throat and he clears it, turning slightly to smirk at you. “Yeah? You like a bit of dominance?” He asks. Your love making so far has been just that. Soft and sensual since Marcus has been trying to conceal his true nature, even biting into the pillow when he has the urge to bite.

“Don’t get me wrong.” You hastily try to reassure him. “I love our sex life. I’m always satisfied with you.” The last thing you want is for Marcus to think you are unhappy. “I just know that exploration is always healthy in a relationship.”

Marcus flusters, knowing you want more from him. He wants to give you more but he’s afraid he’s gonna go too far, lose control. “I know. Maybe this weekend we can experiment a bit.” He compromises, knowing it might be good to let his more animalistic urges come out a little.

You don’t say anything, just lean over in your seat to kiss his cheek. “I’m going to make you the biggest, rarest steak I can find.” You promise happily. “We can split a bottle of wine. Get a little tipsy and then…” you bite your lip. “I want to suck your cock. Let you relax.”

Marcus groans, “you are too fucking good to me, baby. I- shit. I don’t know what I did to deserve you.” He says, flexing his fingers on the wheel as the urge to just pull over and claim you hits him again. The drive isn’t too long to get out of the city and soon enough Marcus is pulling up outside of his cabin in Virginia.

“I’m glad that little grocery store had everything we needed.” You had been impressed by the little country store. It seemed quaint, but inside was a good selection of food, obviously catering to people who weekend up in the mountains. “Oh this is so cute, Marcus.” You coo, taking in the rustic little one bedroom cabin. “No wonder you like to get away up here.”

Marcus smiles, trying not to frown because there’s a reason why he comes here. “Yeah it’s a nice place to escape from the hustle and bustle. I enjoy it.” He hums and kills the engine after parking the car. He gets out and scoots around the car to open your door, still a gentleman despite his biology. “Let me open up and then I’ll grab the bags.” He says and walks over to the door to open up the front door.

He seems distracted and you wonder if he was regretting bringing you. Perhaps his escape from the hustle and bustle also included you. You feel a little guilty for pushing him but you didn’t want to spend another weekend apart. “If you don’t mind, I’ll get started on dinner right away.” You offer.

“Of course babe.” Marcus smiles as he lets you in after unlocking the alarm and he prays you don’t see the scratch marks adorning the door. He should fix those but there’s been no point until now. No one else has ever come out here. He lets you in and rushes out to grab the groceries so you can start dinner right away.

It’s far more simplistic than you imagined and yet, it fits your boyfriend. “It’s rustic.” You remind yourself, knowing that it could be even more so. It could not have electricity or running water. The minimal furniture looks comfortable and you wonder if Marcus just reads or sleeps when he comes up here.

“Yeah it’s uh pretty basic.” Marcus says as he sets the bags down. He got sick of replacing furniture so it’s bare bones but it gets the job done. There’s no TV because he ripped that off the wall the first weekend he stayed in the cabin. “I’ll get our bags.” He says and kisses your forehead before he heads back out to the car.

You hum as you start to organize the groceries, pulling them out of the bags and you frown when you open the refrigerator door. The appliance was completely empty. No old jelly or even a left behind beer. “You weren’t kidding when you said it wasn’t stocked.” You shake your head, wondering if he just didn’t keep anything here or if he went out to a local restaurant while he was here. “At least we gave the pans and plates.” You tell him as he comes in. “I don’t mind basic at all. Better for snuggling up to you.”

Marcus leans in to kiss your hair, “exactly. I want this to be a good weekend.” He hopes that down to his core, and he murmurs your name as he takes the milk from your hand to put it away. He wants you to be comfortable here and he’s terrified he’s going to do something wrong. You soon get to work on making dinner and Marcus turns on the radio. “You want some help baby?”

“Would you fire up the grill?” You ask with a grin as you look up from the cutting board. Marcus had grumbled about the vegetables, although he normally is the one to want a salad. It’s cute though. “The steaks are ready to grill.”

Marcus nods, happy to do whatever you want. He wants to make sure you’re happy during your weekend, especially since he doesn’t want you to get suspicious. He playfully smacks your ass as he passes, driven by his instincts as he heads outside to get the grill ready.

“This is going to be good for us.” You smirk as you toss the salad together and take the steaks outside. “Thank you, baby.” You hum as he closes the lid on the grill, all fired up.

Marcus is a good cook, able to grill up some steaks and he makes his extra rare, the rumble in his stomach from both hunger and being restrained. He sets the steaks down on the table when they are done, thanking you for the wine you let breathe. “To us.” He toasts, wanting to make this a good weekend together.

“To us.” You had been surprised when he had taken over grilling, but you don’t complain. It makes it better, fixing a meal together. Cutting into your steak, you groan at the taste. “This is so good, baby.” You praise. “How is yours?”

“Perfect.” He practically growls, almost picking up the steak to tear into it with his teeth but he controls himself. The steak is barely cooked - a minute on each side at most. He tries to swallow down some salad but he’s so starved for meat he ignores most of it.

“Do you want some of mine?” You are startled by how quickly Marcus wolfs down his steak, but maybe he’s really hungry. “I’m stuffed.”

Marcus should tell you no but the steak looks too good so he reaches out to grab it with his hand, barely managing to grab a knife and fork to cut it when he wants to just sink his teeth into it.

“Next time I’ll get another steak.” You promise, smiling indulgently as you watch him eat. There’s something almost animalistic about his hunger and you wonder if he will carry that through to the bedroom tonight.

Marcus groans when he finishes the steak, his stomach full but it’s still not enough. “Thanks for the, uh, salad, baby.” He blushes as he looks down at his uneaten salad on his plate. “Sorry. I just really wanted steak.” He murmurs, cutting his gaze across the room.

“That’s okay.” You shrug and reach across the table to take his plates. “I don’t mind.” Standing up, you smirk. “I’ll get these washed up and meet you in the bedroom?”

Marcus nods, knowing it’s late. You left after work so it’s getting dark and he knows you want him. He can smell it on you. He wants you too, more than you could ever imagine. He growls softly under his breath when you walk into the kitchen and he stands up, not bothering to lock the doors. He will lock them later. He makes his way to the bedroom and works on stripping out of his clothes, leaving him in his boxers.

You bite your lip after you finish washing the dishes. You had let him take the bag into the bedroom, so you can’t surprise him with lingerie, so you just decide to strip down. Knowing that he would never think that was a bad thing. Quickly peeling off your clothes, you saunter towards the bedroom, eager to see his reaction to your need for him.

Marcus sees you as you enter the bedroom and his jaw drops. Fuck, you look delicious. He groans and his cock hardens in his boxers, shifting as he sits on the foot of the bed. “Fuck baby.” He murmurs, his dark eyes drinking you in and he swallows down the urge to grab you and make you his, mark you, claim you.

“I should have thought about getting out the lingerie before you came in here.” You admit, shrugging as you appreciate the possessive look in his eyes. He looks positively feral, like he just wants to eat you up and that makes your pussy throb. “Take off your boxers, baby. I want to suck your cock.”

Marcus groans, working fast to push his boxers down his legs and when you kneel in front of him, his heart pounds in his chest and he struggles to restrain himself. “Baby. You look so pretty like this.” He murmurs as you rub his thighs, looking up at him. He groans when you take his cock into your hand and he growls softly.

You aren’t sure why he’s so growly lately, but don’t mind it at all. The sounds shoot straight to your pussy and you feel yourself growing wetter. Smirking up at him, you keep eye contact as you lean in and press your tongue to the head of his cock.

“Fuckkk.” Marcus hisses, his fingers digging into the sheets and he tries to keep his eyes open as your hot tongue presses against the underside of his cock. “Fuck baby. You- shit.” He hisses, closing his eyes to keep control.

“I want you to relax.” You tell him when you pull your tongue away. Starting to slowly stroke his cock up and down before you take the head back into your mouth.

Marcus is tense, unable to help himself as he tries to control the beast within him. He doesn’t want to hurt you. It’s the last thing he wants. He struggles to not rip the sheets as you take him deeper into your hot mouth, your tongue pressed against him, and his eyes roll back when you hollow your cheeks. “Fuck baby. Jesus.” He hisses as he tries to keep his hips on the bed.

You moan around him and eagerly start to bob up and down on his cock. Wanting to feel the way his thighs tense against your breasts and he growls your name. Wanting to make him cum and fill your mouth.

“Fuck. Oh Christ. It’s so good, baby. Fuck, you’re so good to me.” He groans, his neck tensing as his cock twitches inside of your mouth. He moans your name, rocking up to push his cock deeper down your throat.

Marcus isn't overly thick, but he is long. The thrust up makes you choke slightly but you don't pull away. Making it your mission to take everything he wants to give you this weekend and beg for more. You want to make sure that this cabin and what happens in it is burned in his memory and tied to you. Letting go of his cock, you grip his thighs and let him fuck your mouth as you push down.

Marcus can’t resist, thrusting up into your mouth. He groans your name as you stay still, just letting him fuck your throat. “Fuck baby. I- I’m gonna - shit. Shit. Shit.” He hisses and his ass cheeks clench as his cock twitching, his cum hitting your tongue as you pull your head up.

Your whine is cut off by the cum flooding your mouth. It feels like he’s not cum in a year. Feeling him grab the back of your neck and hold you while his hips rock up. Your cunt is dripping at the rougher treatment. One hand slipping down and rubbing your clit as you swallow him down in big gulps.

“Fuck baby. So good to me.” Marcus hisses as you swallow every drop and his eyes open to find you rubbing your clit. Fuck, you’re so gorgeous. The sheet rips beneath his grip as he shakes through his orgasm. “Get - need to taste you.” Marcus growls as he shifts to lay down on the bed, his cock flopping from your mouth. “Sit on my face.”

You are never one who is shy about taking your own pleasure but this time it’s almost an order that you don’t want to take. To see if he would just grab you. Slowly straddling his chest, you don’t move any closer, looking down and caressing his cheek.

Marcus growls, unhappy with you not sitting on his face. He grabs your ass, fingers digging into your flesh as he drags you up his chest and over his face, his tongue diving in to slide through your folds. His growl is muffled as he samples your cunt and he sucks on your clit, ravenous for you.

Squealing in surprise, you grab onto the solid headboard to hang on as Marcus seemingly devours you. “Oh fuck, Marcus.” You moan, head dropping back and body rocking forward as he pulls you closer.

He is like a man starved, his tongue pushing into you as his nose presses against your clit. He groans your name even though you can’t understand it. He wants you. In every damn way he can have you. His fingers dig deeper, certain to leave bruises but he doesn’t care as he wants you to rock on top, take your pleasure.

You start to follow his silent command. Rolling your hips and grinding down onto his face like you are giving his face a lap job. In a way, you are, but you’re too busy massaging your tits while you moan his name again. “Marcus, oh fuck baby, your tongue is so deep.”

Your cry has him smirking against your pussy. His tongue is extra long when he’s close to the full moon and he’s glad he can use what he is for something positive. He groans into you, his nose pressed against your clit. He wants to hear you cry for him. He yearns to hear you scream.

Your eyes slip close and you whimper again and again as you rock your hips over his face. “Oh fuck baby, you’re gonna make me cum.” Panting as you get closer to the orgasm that is building up, your tongue gets looser. “I love you, oh baby, I want you, this forever.”

Marcus’s heart pounds in his chest at your words, loving how passionate you sound as you chase your orgasm. He groans as you rock faster, little whines escaping your lips and he curls his tongue, his fingers shifting to caressing your puckered hole between your cheeks after he spreads them.

“Oh shit.” Your eyes spring open in surprise. Marcus has never even ventured close to your other hole but you don’t mind, “please.” You whimper.

He understands what you need and he pushes his finger inside of you a little, desperately needing you to cum for him. He loves how you taste and how you sound when you cum.

When he slides his tongue deeper, you wail his name. Body convulsing and seizing up as you come apart. Your walls clench down around his tongue and you soak him with your juices.

Marcus laps you up, his cock now hardening at your orgasm. One of the perks of his composition is his ability to recover even as he gets older. "I fucking love you." He groans when you lift up off of him and he kisses your soaked thighs.

“I love you too.” You moan softly, giggling quietly at the post orgasm rush and wiggle down his body to press your lips to his. “Are you ready to fuck me, Agent Pike?”

Marcus nods, feeling loved and yet he’s still feral. Wanting to claim you but he channels his softer side to give you what you need tonight. “Lay down baby.” He says, lifting you off of him and you shift to lay down. He wastes no time kneeling between your legs, his hands sliding along your body until he’s cupping your tits.

Your legs drape onto his hips, eagerly wrapping around him and there’s something different about Marcus. He seems harder, sharper almost in the light of the cabin. Squeezing your tits until you gasp and arch up under his touch. “Take me, baby.” You moan.

Marcus pinches your nipples, getting a little rougher than normal. He shuffles closer on his knees and he grips his cock, pumping himself a few times. "My girl needs me to fuck her?" He coos, asking you as he jerks his cock.

“Yesssss, oh fuck yes.” You whimper, finding it incredibly sexy to watch this man stroke himself so confidently. Whatever is happening, you love it and it is making you desperate for him. “Please baby, fuck me. I need you inside me.”

He doesn’t torture you anymore, knowing he needs to be inside of you. He shuffles even closer to notch the head of his cock at your entrance after swiping it through your folds and he hisses as he pushes into you. You’re so wet. So hot. So tight. He is hesitant to be too rough but his instincts are telling him to just push deep and set a frantic pace until he cums.

The first thrust tells you that this time is going to be different. Marcus is a very careful and thorough lover. Always making sure that you are completely satisfied when you are done, but he’s very restrained. You can tell there are times that he wants to go harder or deeper and even though you assure him you can take it, he doesn’t give in.

He is feral, his chest heaving as he looks down at you. His eyes dark as he twitches deep inside of you. Usually he’d take his time letting you adjust to him but he doesn’t give you that luxury. He starts to move inside of you, harsh thrusts that makes your body jiggle.

Your eyes widen and your fingers dig into his shoulders as he starts to fuck you ruthlessly. Stealing your breath at the brutal pace that makes your entire body lurch up on the bed. “Fuck!” You scream, eyes rolling back from pleasure.

Your scream spurs him on, thrusting harder, his hands grabbing your thighs to lift them higher until he decides to push them back into your stomach. His weight pressing you into the mattress as he fucks you hard and fast. “Fuck baby. Fuck. Need you. Need this.” He growls, leaning down to lick along your neck.

​​You don’t know what possessed Marcus, but all you can do is cum for him. His cock hits something magical inside you and with a squeal, your walls clench down around him and soak him in a torrent of your juices.

“Fuckkkk.” Marcus hisses as you soak his stomach and pelvis with your cum, hot and wet and so fucking sexy. He hisses your name, thrusting a few times, hard and deep until his cock twitches as he cums inside of you. Painting your walls as he practically roars, unable to believe how good you feel.

It’s beastly and you are utterly captivated by the sight of Marcus, straining and grunting over you as he fills you up. The heat of his cum flooding your womb and making you moan.

Marcus kisses along your neck, refraining the urge to bite your neck. “So good.” He murmurs, “You’re so good to me.” He coos and you caress his back, “so good.”

“Baby.” You moan quietly, turning your head and kissing along his jaw. “I love you so much. That was- incredible.”

Marcus murmurs, “I love you too.” He nudges his nose against yours, trying to be affectionate and he stays inside of you but shifts to lay on his back, you on his chest. He strokes your back, knowing that once you’re asleep, he’s going to need to get the duffel bag from his car so he can prepare for midnight.

His heart is galloping in his chest and you hum, stroking his shoulder affectionately. “That was amazing.” You murmur before you yawn. “Wore me out.”

Marcus chuckles, “wore me out too, baby.” He murmurs, caressing your back as you relax on top of him. He can smell himself all over you and that makes him hum. He loves it. He loves you. “Baby, you want a snack or some water?”

“I’m good.” You purr quietly. “I’m going to go to sleep and wake up early to make sure that you get the best blow job you’ve ever had.”

Marcus snorts, “you already did that.” He kisses your hair, “but you can try to beat it baby.” He murmurs, “just go to sleep. I’ll clean you up.”

One of the best things about Marcus is his aftercare. You smile as you settle down against his chest and close your eyes. You have the best boyfriend in the entire world, one that you love.

Marcus lets you drift off to sleep before he rolls you onto your back. He pulls out of you and shuffles into the bathroom to grab a rag to clean you up. He works fast to clean you and covers you with the comforter. He kisses your forehead and makes his way into the bathroom to clean himself up. Exhaling heavily as he looks into the mirror, his fingers curl into the sink as he feels the moon is high in the sky. He needs to prepare and keep you safe inside.

**** 

You wake up to Marcus curled around you, his nose pressed against your neck and he is snoring like he's not slept in ten years. Your plans for waking him up to a blow job are temporarily on hold. He needs sleep more than he needs sex and you slowly slip out of his arms. You'll make some coffee and take it out to the porch so he can sleep.

Marcus had a long night. After you fell asleep, he grabbed his bag from the car and locked up the house, making sure you were secure before he chained himself to a tree a couple of miles away. He doesn’t really know what happened after midnight - he gets flashes during his sleep if it’s been a while since he’s transitioned - and last night was one of those times.

When you’re pouring a cup of the coffee, you hear Marcus whimper, making you frown as you look toward the bedroom. Deciding that he does need to rest more, you shut off your alarm before it can ring, a habit of your weekends to make sure you don’t sleep all day, and slip outside the door to the fresh morning air.

Marcus should wake up but he usually sleeps most of the day when he’s out here. Only coming here once a month when it’s needed. He curls into a ball, pulling your pillow close to breathe you in.

You sigh softly, smiling as you look out at the valley through the small clearing of trees. It really is a beautiful view, although you know you are quite isolated. There hadn’t been one light besides yours on the mountain last night. You turn back to check to make sure you closed the door and gasp loudly, almost a shriek. Deep gouges in the wood, resembling claw marks, decorate the door and frame. Many of them, as if some large creature was trying to get in. “Oh shit.” Your eyes start flickering around the woods surrounding the cabin as if you expect a creature to attack you right now.

Marcus doesn't stir until he hears your scream. He wakes with a fright and stumbles out of the cabin. "Baby. Baby. What's wrong?" He pants, still in his boxers and wondering if there's something else out there besides him.

You grab onto Marcus, turning him towards the door. “There’s something- it tried to get into the cabin!” You cry out. “Is it a bear? Did a bear try to break in?”

Marcus's eyes widen at the claw marks on the door. He tried to get in the door. He tried to get to you last night. That makes his heart pound as he steps out to look at the door frame. "Fuck baby. I- it was probably a bear. This has happened before. I - you're safe." he promises you, "I will keep you safe."

“Oh my god.” You shiver and reach out to touch the marks. “That’s a big fucking bear.” You tell him. Something seems odd, Marcus had nearly had a heart attack when he saw the marks. If it happened before, why does he look so upset? “Look!” You rush down the steps. “Tracks.”

Marcus is terrified that you’re going to find out his secret. He reaches for your shoulder. “It’s gone now. Probably smelled the food. Just - let’s go inside and have some breakfast. Probably a bear. It’s long gone, baby.” He says, trying to sound convincing.

Something about that sounds wrong but you don’t argue. Instead, you let him guide you into the cabin and close the door firmly behind the two of you. “Should we store the food differently?” You ask him, knowing he spends a lot of time up here. He would know.

Marcus shakes his head, “no. No. I don’t think that’s necessary. Why don’t we head inside and - God, I need a coffee, baby.” He tries to change the subject, his hand hovering on the small of your back to get you inside. He’s trying to keep cool but he is freaking out a little that the beast inside of him tried so desperately to get into the cabin…to get to you.

That does the trick, immediately distracting you from the animal marks on the door. “Oh baby, I’m so sorry, I woke you up.” You cup his face, feeling guilty about disturbing his sleep. “Let me go get you a coffee and I’ll start breakfast. You can lay down again if you want?”

Marcus softens and relaxes as you cup his cheek and he nods, reaching for your wrist and turning his head so he can press a soft kiss to your palm. "I'm up now sweetheart. Let's get a cup of coffee and we can work on breakfast together. I, uh, kinda just want bacon."

“Just bacon?” Your eyes widen dramatically. “Marcus Pike doesn’t want pancakes?” Teasingly, you touch the back of your hand to his forehead. “You don’t seem to be sick.”’

Marcus chuckles, "I just really want bacon." He confesses, knowing he usually loves pancakes but for some reason, he just doesn't want them today. He wants meat.

“Then bacon is what you will get.” You promise, leaning in and pressing your lips to his before you turn back to pour him a cup of coffee.

"You're too good to me." Marcus repeats for the hundredth time. He means it. You are too good for him. He's terrified of you finding out the truth. That's what sent his first wife running. He swallows harshly as you pour him a cup of coffee and he sits down at the kitchen table. "I thought maybe today we could go for a hike?" He suggests, knowing that the exercise might wear him out enough to not run too much at night.

“Sure.” You had expected to relax, but if Marcus wants to hike and show you some of the area, that’s fine with you. “I can make some sandwiches if you want? Or- no, we shouldn’t do that.” You decide. “We might attract that bear.”

Marcus doesn’t argue, wanting you to believe it’s a bear. He sips his coffee as he watches you cook. He offered to help but you told him to relax. Little do you know that it’s almost impossible since he is worried about the claw marks. He stands up when you set the bacon off to the side to drain and his hands find your waist, his lips on your neck.

“Hmmmmm.” Closing your eyes, you tilt your head to the side to give him better access to your skin. “I love when you kiss my neck. When you do anything to me, really.”

Marcus smiles against your skin, “me too. I mean, whatever you do to me…always so fucking good.” He murmurs and continues kissing along your neck, dragging the strap of your shirt down to kiss your shoulder. “Taste better than bacon.” He chuckles against your skin. “Delicious.” He says as he licks along your neck.

The hard length of his cock is starting to press against your back and you don’t mind it at all. Moaning softly as you grind back against him. He’s apparently in the mood and you aren’t going to discourage him. “Want a quickie while the food cools?” You pant out, wishing you could kiss him.

Marcus groans, grinding a little harder against you. He murmurs your name and spins you around, lifting you onto the kitchen table and he grabs the hem of your shirt, lifting it over your head. “So fucking beautiful.” He hisses as he looks at your tits, wasting no time ducking down to take a nipple into his mouth.

“Fuck, Marc-“ your moan is strangled as he attacks your breasts with a ferocious hunger. His hands grabbing your ass and sliding you forward to press against your core. You aren’t wearing panties, he had put a shirt on you but no panties so his boxers are starting to rub against your clit. “Fuck. Baby.” Your eyes close as you wrap your arms around the back of his neck. “Fuck me.”

He growls, low and deep in his chest as he squeezes your ass. Fuck, he needs you. His fingers trail down from your breast to your core, groaning when he finds you wet for him. He hisses your name and moves fast to shove his boxers down, his cock hard and aching for you already. It doesn't take much to get him going during the full moon. He grips his cock, pushing your thighs further apart with his free hand as he positions himself until he is pushing into you,

He pushes the air out of your lungs in a squeal. The full length of him pushing inside you until he is grinding deeper, as if he wants to burrow inside your cunt. Your legs wrap around his waist and your own kisses start to scatter over his skin. “Oh god, I don’t know what’s happening but I love it.” You whine, incredibly turned on by how rough he’s being.

His hands grab your ass, pulling you even closer, and he starts to move inside of you. Low groans escaping his lips as he rocks into you, hard and fast. His lips find yours, smothering both of your moans, and he hisses when you bite down on his lower lip.

There’s something unique about the way that Marcus is acting and you can’t sort it out. Not that you are trying very hard when your sweet and loving boyfriend is fucking you like his life depends on it. Making your entire body sing with pleasure.

He thrusts hard and fast, the kitchen table scrapping the floor below as he fucks you like aj animal. His hand comes up to grip the back of your neck, tilting it to expose the flesh to his gaze and he leans down, his teeth grazing the sensitive skin above your pulse.

“Ohhhhhh fuck.” You gasp out, shivering in pleasure and submission as you let him take what he wants. “Please.” You whimper. “Use me. Take me.”

Marcus grunts as he thrusts into you, his other hand finding your clit to rub harsh circles every time his hips pull back. It’s too much and not enough all at once. “Fuck. You feel - like a goddamn vice.” He groans as your walls flutter around him.

His voice is lower, raspier and it makes you whimper. All those times you claimed you didn’t care about dominant men going out the window as this man claims you. “Yours.” You promise. “All yours.”

“Mine.” He growls, unable to stop himself and he hisses your name as you clamp down on his cock. “Cum for me, baby. Cum for me sweet girl.” He demands, rubbing your clit a little faster and he bites down on your shoulder.

Shuddering, you can’t help but give him exactly what he wants. Crying out his name again, everything but the feeling of your cunt spasming leaves your thoughts.

Marcus hisses when you clamp down on his cock and soak him, your nails dig into his back but he doesn’t feel a thing. “You’re so - Jesus Christ. Baby. I’m gonna - you’re gonna make me. Oh fuck. Fuck!” He yelps as he cums, pushing deep to paint your walls again.

Panting, you kiss his sweaty skin as he rides out his high, lapping at his pulse tenderly and cuddling closer. “Fuck, I love you.” You whisper softly. “So much baby.”

Marcus pants as he comes to a stop, resting his forehead against yours. “Love you too. All of you.” He murmurs, wanting you to know that when he dreads you not feeling the same way about him. He’s terrified about you finding out his secret.

He clings to you for a moment and you smile as you pull away. “Me too, sweetheart. Now” you run your hand down his chest. “I need to get you fed.”

He sighs, pulling out of you, and he knows you’d never accept him, all of him. The darkest parts of him. He kisses your forehead as he steps away from you, bending down to pick up his boxers and pull them on. “I’ll get you something to clean up.”

“Handsome and helpful.” You tease, reaching out and slapping his ass as he turns around to get you a rag. “I’ll fix your plate of bacon.”

Marcus chuckles, making his way into the bathroom. He wets a rag and sees some tissues in the wastepaper basket. He frowns, bending down to pick them up and he gasps when he sees blood. “Shit.” He hisses, trying to figure out how to conceal them. He probably wiped himself off before he got back into bed with you after sunrise. He winces when you call him and he makes his way back into the kitchen.

“Breakfast is served.” You smile as you set the entire pack of bacon that you put on his plate in the spot where you moved his coffee. “Where were you thinking of hiking to?”

“I was thinking of going further up the mountain. There’s a really nice spot that looks out over the valley. I figured we could take a book or two and some drinks. Snacks should be okay. Bear likely won’t venture up that high.” He says, not wanting you to be concerned. “Thanks for the bacon baby.” He says as he hands you the rag.

“That sounds good.” You smile again, thinking that he’s the sweetest as you take the rag to clean up. “After breakfast, we’ll pack up and head off?” You ask, tossing the rag down after you clean up and sit opposite from him as he starts to wolf down the bacon with the same appetite that he had attacked the steaks last night.

Marcus is ravenous, chewing on the bacon like a rabid dog but he’s starving. He always tries to keep his meals to pure meat when he’s here but he suspects you might get suspicious of that if he doesn’t at least have some potatoes.

Watching him, you are slower to eat than he is, seeing a different facet of your normally mild mannered boyfriend. Pouring some syrup over your own pancakes, you cut into them and take a sip of your coffee.

Marcus groans as he finishes the entire plate. “Shit. Baby. I- I didn’t leave you - fuck. I’m sorry.” He shakes his head, feeling guilty that he ate the entire plate without you getting even a strip.

“That’s okay.” You wave off his concern and fork up another bite of your pancakes. “I’m happy with the pancakes and my coffee.” You don’t have anymore bacon, but you look towards the fridge. “Are you still hungry? There’s some eggs in there.”

Marcus bites his lip, not wanting to eat all the food that was bought for breakfast this weekend. "I'm fine." He lies, not wanting to take more than he needs, even if the beast inside of him roars for more.

“Are you sure, baby?” You ask, concerned because he is biting his lip guiltily. “I don’t mind cooking some for you. Or, I can make sure that I make you really big roast beef sandwiches for the hike.”

Marcus smiles, “a beef sandwich sounds good. Lots of beef.” He adds, his stomach already rumbling at the thought. God, he needs more food but he doesn’t want to take from you. He’s certain he will eat when he’s outside tonight. “Finish your breakfast honey. I’ll clean up.” He says, kissing your hair as he carries his plate over to the sink.

Marcus is so damn good to you. Happily, you dig into the rest of your pancakes and by the time Marcus is ready to wash your plate, you’re finished. Kissing him as he takes it from you, you move over to the fridge. “I’ll make the sandwiches really quickly and then get dressed.”

“Sounds like a plan sweetheart.” Marcus winks at you as he finishes washing up. “I’ll go shower real quick so you can take your time.” He kisses you softly as he walks by and he makes his way into the bathroom. He glances at the trash can and looks down at his hands, seeing the small scratches that you haven’t noticed yet. He turns on the shower, waiting for the water to get hot before he steps in.

Humming to yourself, you make thick roast beef sandwiches for the both of you. Yours is thinner and you make Marcus three sandwiches to your one. Sure that the hunger that he’s been displaying is going to continue on. You had brought a backpack and you toss the bag of sandwiches in there along with a bag of beef jerky you had as well.

Marcus gets out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist and comes into the bedroom just as you approach him. “Hey babe. I left more than enough hot water. Take your time.” He insists, “I’ll get the gear ready.”

“Sandwiches are done.” You promise, smirking at the way his chest is covered in droplets of water. “Give me ten minutes and I’ll be ready.” You just want to clean up and then throw on some hiking clothes.

Marcus nods, walking over to his case to grab the clothes he needs for hiking and he dresses while you shower. He knows these woods like the back of his hand and he knows you'll be safe with him. He is tying his boots when you come back into the bedroom.

“I’m so glad we got away this weekend.” You tell him, unwrapping your towel from around you so you can get dressed. “It’s beautiful here and I’m already in love with this place. I see why you try to spend time here every month.”

“Yeah. It’s gorgeous.” Marcus murmurs as he sits up, realizing he’s never really taken the opportunity to admire the area. He’s usually just been happy to have a secluded place to escape to. He picked this cabin because nothing is around it for miles. His eyes trail down your body as you grab your clothes and he bites his lip, cock twitching in his pants as he admires you.

Getting dressed, you lace up your own boots and turn towards him with a smile. “Ready whenever you are, handsome.” You admire the almost rugged look of him since he’s not shaved and turn to grab your backpack and water bottles.

Marcus nods, standing up as he makes his way into the kitchen to grab his backpack that you put the lunch into. “Come on baby.” He says, not bothering to lock the front door since the only dangerous thing out here is him.

Following him, Marcus leads you into the woods and you amble along behind him. Still a little nervous about the claw marks on the door, you don’t let him get more than a few steps in front of you. “Do you hike every time you come up here?” You ask. “Obviously not when it’s snowing, but ohhhh Marcus, I bet it’s gorgeous up here during the winter.”

“Not every time.” He answers your question as he follows a path he regularly takes when he does hike. “Sometimes I like to just relax and get away from the stress of work. If I’m at home, I’ll still check my phone and my emails. I’m totally at peace here. Like it’s where I’m supposed to be.”

“Maybe it is where you should be.” You could imagine it when he’s here. “Living like a mountain man. Chopping wood with your shirt off.” That thought makes you drool. “Too bad you can’t be an FBI agent from here.”

“Exactly.” Marcus sighs, stepping over a log and he turns back to hold his hand out towards you. “Careful.” He says as he helps you over it. He sniffs the air discreetly, checking for any danger. One perk of his composition and it definitely helps him in his job.

It's nice that even out here, he is such a gentleman. You squeeze his hand before letting go so he could continue to guide you deeper into the forest. "It's strange." You frown slightly. "I don't hear any bird or anything, do you?"

"No. It's - maybe there's a storm coming." He says as he looks up and ignores the fact that he knows exactly why the birds aren't singing. They always fly away when he is around, sensing his presence.

"Maybe that's it." You can accept that, although looking up doesn't do much beyond looking at the canopy. "Then we won't make it a long hike, just in case."

"Yeah." Marcus says, looking at the trees for another moment until he looks back at you. "Let's go. You gotta see this view." He offers you a grin and he makes his way through the trail he knows well until you are pushing through the bushes to a clearing.

"Oh Marcus." You gasp as you take in the view of the valley. Nothing but mountains and trees for as far as you can see. No roads that you can see. Really driving home how isolated you are. "This is- this is beautifully remote."

Marcus turns his head to look at you as you admire the view. He is in awe of how beautiful you look in the sunlight and he wishes he could take a picture. “I love you.” He blurts out, tempted to propose to you but he can’t. Not when you don’t know who he truly is. What he truly is.

Looking back at him, you smile. "I love you too, Marcus." He's sweet and his soft smile makes you fall even more in love with him. "Thank you for bringing me up here." You thank him again. "I know this is your fortress of solitude, but I feel like we are getting closer, you letting me in like this."

Marcus nods, stepping closer to you to wrap his arm around your waist. “I love you, baby.” He kisses your hair, “I’m glad I can share this place with you. It’s - it’s where I belong but life keeps bringing me back to D.C.”

“If you want….” You turn to look into his eyes. “I’ll come out here whenever you want to get away.”

Marcus nods, hesitant, but unable to say no as he looks at your beautiful face. He wants to tell you everything but he can’t. He can’t see those eyes that look at him with such love and affection turn into fear and disgust. “Wanna set up the blanket? Hiking has me starving.”

“Sure baby.” You agree quickly, sensing that something is bothering him. You pull out the blanket from your backpack and spread it on the ground. “You know…” you talk as you fuss with it. “Maybe this will become our little ritual.”

“Hopefully.” Marcus offers you a soft smile as he sits down after pulling off his backpack with your water bottles in it. “Maybe we can bring our kids here for family camping weekends.” You say and Marcus bites his lip. He doesn’t know if his condition is hereditary or not. His father passed away when he was a kid so he never knew if he had the same disposition. “Uh, yeah. Maybe.” Marcus clears his throat despite the idea of being a father making his heart swell with desire.

It’s not the response you were hoping for and you’re silent when Marcus pulls out the sandwiches and hands you the one you made for yourself. His are already in his hand. Instead of trying to keep talking, you concentrate on eating, looking out at the view.

Marcus almost feels too anxious to eat. Almost. The beast inside of him growls for more so he quickly demolishes the sandwich, moving onto the next one. “Damn. These are good, sweetheart.” He says, wanting to lighten the mood when he can sense you are upset.

“Thanks.” You don’t smile at him, finishing up your own sandwich and wiping your hands on your leggings. Maybe you were wrong about what Marcus wants and now you feel like you’re intruding on his space.

Marcus can sense that there’s something wrong. The change in the air is palpable and he hates that he can’t just tell you what he is, what he wants, how he feels. He sighs and crumbles up the bag after he finishes the last sandwich. “You wanna stay here or make our way back? I don’t wanna get caught in the storm.”

“That works for me.” You agree, biting your lip and wanting to ask Marcus if he feels like you’ve bulldozed your way into coming up here and butting into his personal time. “I think I’ll just read this afternoon if you want to nap. You didn’t sleep much last night, did you?”

Marcus is tempted to nap. That's usually what he does most of the day when he's here alone after a nonstop night. "It's so nice up here. We can come back up here another day." He says and stands up, brushing himself down and he holds his hand out towards you to help you up from the blanket.

There’s some comfort in his comment and you gladly take his hand. “Then it’s settled. I’ll read and get dinner ready, you nap.” You smile at the domesticity. “Any requests?” You had gotten a roast to put in the little oven but maybe he wasn’t feeling it.

“Anything meaty.” He chuckles as he packs up the blanket and the water bottles. “I’m lucky to have you, baby.” He says as you start to make your way back down the mountain.

“I’m glad you think so.” You admit quietly. “I was afraid I was being too pushy, asking to come up here. Intruding into your private time. I know we’re in a relationship, but I think you’re a man who likes to keep some secrets.”

Marcus tries to not react to how quickly you see right through him. He is terrified that you’ll find out the truth and run screaming away from him. “I’m a pretty open book mostly.” He chuckles, trying not to sound awkward, but failing as his stomach twists with anxiety.

“It’s okay to have secrets.” You promise him, shooting him a grin. “As long as it’s not a secret girlfriend or wife. Anything else, you tell me when you’re ready. I love you and accept you for who you are.”

Marcus closes his eyes and wishes that could be true. He knows you would never accept him if you knew he was a monster. “No secret, girlfriend, or wife.” He promises, with a chuckle. “Even I am not that good at keeping a secret like that. And you know how much of a commitment freak I am. Once I’m in, I’m all in. I don’t like cheaters.”

“I know.” You promise softly. “I don’t like cheaters either. That’s why we work so well together.” You wish you could reach out and take his hand, but that would be dangerous while on the trail. “I’m all in too. I hope you know that.”

Marcus offers you a soft smile and he walks ahead of you to help guide you through the trail. It doesn’t take long until you are in the cabin again, Marcus sitting down to take off his boots. “You want some coffee or water, babe?” He asks, wanting to look after you, reassure you that he wants to be there for you.

“Some coffee would be great.” You admit with a smile. “But don’t feel like you need to entertain me. I’ll get it.” You wave him away. “Go nap, you look tired, baby.”

Marcus is hesitant but he’s exhausted. He nods as he makes his way through to the bedroom, stripping off and groaning when he slides under the covers in the bed. He needs to rest before tonight. He’s learned that if he doesn’t nap, he’s especially ferocious when he turns. He falls asleep, unaware that you’ve headed out to the porch and he left the duffel bag on the porch.

You don’t want to move around too much, so you slip outside with your coffee and a book after getting the roast put in the oven. Sitting down and starting to read when you notice a bag off to the side. “Shit. I hope Marcus didn’t leave food in it.” You groan, hoping that it wouldn’t attract that bear. Setting your book down you move to pick it up, surprised when it’s really heavy. “What the hell?” You frown and unzip the bag, gasping when you see the heavy duty chains that are in the bag. Worried about why Marcus would have these.

Marcus is asleep, blissfully unaware of you finding the chains until he wakes up and comes into the kitchen. He sees your face and the bag on the floor and he tries to not react. “Sorry I slept so long.” He says, scratching the back of his neck as he prays you don’t ask about the chains.

You have a thousand different questions but can see that he’s not going to answer you. Or he will just lie to you. The fear in his eyes makes you wonder what the hell is going on. “That’s okay, babe.” You murmur softly, getting up and moving over to kiss him. “Dinner’s almost ready.”

Marcus can tell that you’re suspicious but he’s relieved that you carried on without bringing attention to it. He sits down at the table, watching you as you work around the kitchen to finish dinner. “You’re too good to me, baby.”

"Well....I love you." You have to admit that you've wondered if Marcus has something horrible planned for you, but it doesn't even seem to be in his nature. That doesn't mean you aren't going to pretend to be asleep tonight to see what he does. Not wanting to make him suspicious, but not fully trusting that something isn't going on. Why would he have such heavy chains? Unless he locks the cabin up with them, but you doubt it. You hadn't seen them when you arrived.

Marcus looks at you, “I love you too.” He says softly, wanting you to know that he does really love you. Especially when you cast a blind eye to the bag. He watches you as you cook and he decides to open the bottle of wine he brought with him. “Want a glass?” He asks as he holds the bottle up after getting it from the cupboard.

“Sure.” You smile at him as he holds up the bottle and you have no intention of drinking any of it. Wanting to keep yourself clear headed, but you also don’t want to make him suspicious. “It will go wonderfully with the roast.”

Marcus nods, grabbing some glasses to pour out a decent amount after he uncorks the bottle and he sets the glass down. Marcus smiles at you, grabbing the plates as you pull the roast out of the oven that just barely works. He should’ve replaced it but when he’s alone, he hasn’t bothered.

Once the table is set, you slice the roast up, making sure that you just put meat on Marcus’s plate. He seems to be craving a carnivore diet and you sit down opposite his chair. “Sit down, let’s eat, baby.”

Marcus can’t help himself. He digs in before you manage to sit down with your own plate. He groans as he practically inhales the meat. “Jesus, this is amazing.” He groans as he takes a break.

You hum softly, having taken a lot less meat and filled your plate with veggies. “Want the rest of the meat babe? I made sure there’s plenty.”

Marcus finishes the plate in record time. Pushing it away once he’s done and he wipes his mouth. “Thank you babe. It was delicious.” He picks up the glass of wine, noticing that you haven’t touched yours. “You don’t like the wine?”

"No, it's -" you shake your head. "I'm sorry, my stomach is a little off kilter." You shoot him an apologetic look. "I don't think I should risk it, you know?" It's a plausible excuse for not drinking and it shouldn't make him suspicious.

Marcus nods, never one to force anyone to drink. He respects your decision so he stands up to grab you a bottle of water. “Here you go, baby.” He says and sets it down. You thank him and he sits back down while you finish eating. “I was thinking we could make some s’mores after this.”

"That would be good." You agree, knowing you would be happier if you had none of the suspicions, but it's alright. You'll build a fire and roast some marshmallows before claiming you need to sleep. To see what will happen when you are vulnerable.

**** 

You’ve been quiet. Marcus has noticed it and he is a little concerned. You had sat there and watched while he started the fire, only saying a few words while you cooked the marshmallows. “Are you okay, baby? You feel sick still?” Marcus asks once you’re back inside and getting ready for bed.

"I think I'm just going to pass out." You admit with a sheepish grin. One that you hope is believable. "I'm sorry that I'm putting a damper on the rest of night."

Marcus shakes his head as he sits down on the bed. “Don’t be silly, baby. It’s okay. I know you’ve not felt great. Best to get some rest.” He says as he pulls his shirt over his head. He’s gonna get into bed with you and then he’ll sneak out.

You finish getting ready for bed, trying to downplay your nervousness and you sigh softly when Marcus curls around you. "Goodnight, sweetheart." You whisper softly, hoping that he will believe that you fall asleep quickly so you can figure out what he is doing with those chains.

Marcus kisses your neck, “goodnight.” He breathes you in, sensing when you fall asleep in his arms. He gently shifts away from you, getting out of bed. He doesn’t bother redressing as he makes his way out of the cabin after picking up the duffel bag.

When Marcus had slipped from the bed, you had barely managed to keep from reacting. Tensing when you hear the slight clanking of the chains in the bag but you don't get up. You don't even open your eyes. Hearing him open the door and only then do you sit up. Wondering why he is going outside when there is a large, dangerous creature out there.

Marcus works fast to lock you in the cabin. He doesn't want the beast to try and get in, to try and hurt you. He can feel how high the moon is in the sky. He doesn't have long. He exhales shakily, locking the padlock in place just as he feels his spine start to dislocate. He howls, unable to stop himself as the transformation begins.

You shiver, hearing the howl so close to the house and fear trickles down your spine. Biting your lip and frowning. Marcus is out there and when you walk into the living room, you see the case with his gun locked inside still there. Moving to the door, you push the door open but it doesn't budge. "Marcus!"

Marcus is no longer outside. In his place is the beast he tries to contain. This cabin has been his sanctuary, the place he allows the beast to roam free to satisfy his primal urges. It helps him maintain control and right now, Marcus is not in control. He roars and arches his back as he fully transforms into the werewolf he was cursed to be from his father.

You hear monstrous sounds outside and your blood runs cold. Something is out there and your boyfriend can't protect himself. "Marcus!" You scream, shoving against the door again and again without it budging. Frantic, you turn to the shuttered windows beside the door and quickly unlatch one, opening it up and unlocking the window. You can't let him be out there alone. It's your fault. You were worried about the bear and he's locked you into the cabin, putting himself in danger.

Marcus growls, hearing a click and he doesn't have the recognition to know that you are calling his name. He wouldn't respond anyway. He's no longer the Marcus you know. He roars again, running into the clearing in front of the cabin.

Once you are on the porch, you realize exactly how bad of an idea this is. The howling of an animal makes you jump. Unable to move when a creature, a monstrous beast, breaks into the clearing. Seven feet tall when it stands on his hind legs. It looks like something out of a horror movie. A werewolf.

The wolf sniffs, turning his head towards you, and he moves fast to come over to you. Your scream echoes in the clearing and the beast slows down, slowly approaching you. You’re frozen in place, wheezing as you try to breathe but can’t. He comes closer until you can see the eyes.

You would have said that werewolves didn't exist. They were myth and legend. Designed to scare. However, you can't deny the large wolf-like creature in front of you. Larger than any wolf you've ever seen in real life and oddly humanoid in the way it can walk on its back legs. When you see the eyes, you gasp. You know those eyes. You've looked into them. Suddenly, the isolated cabin in the mountains and trips by himself make sense. "M-Marcus?"

He sniffs, innately recognizing you, and he leans closer to sniff you. His eyes widen and he whimpers, lowering his head towards you. Deep inside, Marcus is still there and he’s begging himself to keep you safe, to not scare you. He’s terrified you’re going to get in the car and run away. He wouldn’t blame you but he prays you don’t run.

"Holy shit." Your hand claps over your mouth as you stare at the creature that is apparently....your boyfriend. As if you are drawn to him, you take a step closer. The idea of diving back into the cabin disappearing as you try to rationalize this. "Oh my god.....you're a were-werewolf."

Marcus whimpers again. He loves you. He nudges his nose towards you as he bends over, the beast in him recognizing you as the woman he loves. You raise your hand, it’s shaking, and Marcus nudges his nose against your palm. “Oh my god.” You choke out, your fingers tangling into his fur and you shiver as you pet the wolf that your boyfriend had turned into. “How is this- oh my god.” You gasp in awe.

He can’t believe you’re accepting the beast inside of him. The moon is high in the sky and he whimpers softly once more, licking your hand as you turn your palm over.

“I have so many questions.” You murmur, laughing to yourself. “But you can’t answer them right now. No wonder you’ve been craving meat. I can’t believe this.”

Marcus knows he has a lot to answer but for now, he needs to let the beast roam free. He nudges your palm again before he steps back, standing at his full height, he roars out a warning for anything nearby before he steps back and runs off. He disappears through the trees, needing to run off his energy before sunrise.

“Oh my god.” You sink down onto the porch steps, nearly shaking with the knowledge that Marcus is a mythical creature. “I’ve been fucking a werewolf.” You huff out, surprised that the idea of that doesn’t horrify you like it should. You’ve seen the cheesy pornos that disguise themselves as werewolf movies. The beast taking the helpless woman under the moonlight. The thought of it is oddly erotic and you shake your head, even as you stand up to peel off your clothes.

Marcus runs for a minute until he circles back to the cabin. He enters the clearing to find you standing there, naked. His growls echoes through the forest and he approaches you slowly, confused about what you want.

You swallow nervously, wondering if this is such a good idea. Not sure how much of Marcus is conscious inside the werewolf. Or if it’s just pure animal instinct. “Hey baby.” You coo softly, calling him to you.

Marcus sniffs, smelling the arousal on your body and he is certain that you want him but he’s terrified he’s reading you wrong. He slowly approaches you until he’s close enough to touch you. His tongue comes out to lick along your neck as he bends over you.

“Oh fuck.” You gasp, unused to how rough his tongue is as it laps against your skin. Its warm and wet, making you shiver as the wind blows and cools your skin down. “I- if there’s something you want, I want it too.” You murmur quietly. “I don’t know- are you, do you - have you ever….” You trail off, embarrassed and unsure if he even understands you. “Have you ever fucked someone when you’re in this state?”

Marcus shakes his head, an intrigued whine escaping his mouth as he nuzzles your skin. He whimpers, licking you again but lower, his tongue flicking over your nipple.

“Ohhhhhh.” You moan at the contact and your fingers slide though his fur again, Rubbing his muzzle.affectionately. “I don’t know if you understand, but I love you.”

​​Marcus does understand, deep down, and he loves you more than anything. Especially when you are accepting him. He slides his tongue along your skin, tasting the salt and sweat and you are delicious but not in an edible way. He can’t get enough of you as he licks and licks at you, flicking his tongue over your nipple.

“Marcus.” You moan again, letting him lick at your skin, feeling yourself getting wetter by the moment. You will let him do whatever he wants, understanding that he’s the dominant one in this encounter. “I want all of you. Even when you are like this.”

Marcus knows he has to be gentle, he’s never been with anyone in this state. Isolating himself. He’s not even sure if he can but he wants to make you feel good. He shifts to kneel down, his tongue sliding along your leg until his muzzle is pressed between your thighs.

“Ohhhhh.” Human Marcus is a very generous lover, never hesitating to go down on you and make you cum. Actually enjoying it rather than just doing it because he feels like he has to like some of the men you had dated. You don’t know why you are surprised that wolf Marcus is nuzzling at your cunt to spread your legs wide for his tongue

When your tangy arousal hits his tongue, he groans deep in his throat and his tongue slides deeper. His werewolf tongue is longer so he pushes deep inside of you, curling deep until his muzzle is pressed against your folds. He is unable to believe you trust him enough to do this. That you love him enough to do this.

“Fuck!” You Yelp when his tongue pushes deep and your fingers grip his hair tight. “It’s so- fuck your tongue is so long like this.” You whine, rolling your hips down onto his muzzle even more, begging for him to continue. “You don’t have to.” You add, knowing that you don’t need to force him to do something he doesn’t want because you’re curious.

Marcus - the beast - wants you to cum. His clawed hands grab your hips, rocking you on top of his muzzle as his wet nose presses against your flesh, his tongue curling deep until he growls, wanting to feel you fall apart above him.

It doesn’t take long with that tongue curled up and reaching every inch inside your cunt. Your cry hoarse as you start to shake and tremble, holding onto the large creature while your legs nearly give out.

Marcus growls as you cum, lapping up every drop like the hungry beast he is. His claws dig into your flesh a little and he laps at you until you’re pushing on his muzzle. He doesn’t know what you want next but his cock is hard. Not like his human cock, this one is bigger, hanging hard between his hairy legs.

​​“Oh fuck.” Your eyes widen slightly when you see his hard cock sticking up when the creature rocks back. “That’s….impressive.” You’re dripping wet from your orgasm and his tongue and you cunt clenches at the thought of taking this monster inside you. “On my hands and knees.” You mutter to yourself as you kneel down on the ground in front of him. “Unless you want my mouth on you?”

Marcus growls, shaking his head, and he snorts, not wanting you to put your mouth on him when he’s in this state. He kneels, his claws digging into the dirt as he shuffles behind you, his large cock pressing against the back of your thigh.

“Oh fuck.” You have a feeling you will be saying that a lot. Still, you push back against the wall of fur encouragingly. “Take me.” You whimper. “I’m yours.”

Marcus doesn’t hesitate, sensing how much you want him, he can smell it on you. He growls and leans close, his cock nudging your ass a few times until he’s able to notch it at your entrance. Animal instincts take over as he pushes deep without giving you a moment, his roar echoing through the trees.

Your choked cry is nearly silent, unable to breathe as the wolf fills you beyond anything you’ve ever had before. Feeling like he’s pushed up into your throat. It hurts and feels amazing all at the same time until you feel like you’re going to pass out.

Marcus hisses, the tight cunt around his cock is wet and hot and it drives him deeper into the animal inside of him. His claws dig into the ground as he braces himself so he can thrust even harder into you. He growls, teeth flashing under the light of the full moon when he sets a harsh pace.

You’re being fucked by a werewolf. At least the movies have the animalistic pace right, the wolf slamming his cock into you so harshly it’s pushing you up along the ground. Scrapping your hands and knees. Still, you don’t cry out for him to stop. Loving the roughness of the animal.

He is rough, unrelenting as he thrusts deep and hard. Marcus would’ve slowed down, sensing your discomfort but the wolf only wants to hear you cum, wants to cum himself. His fur presses against your ass with each thrust, growls escaping his muzzle as he leans down to press his nose to your back, inhaling your scent.

You feel the hot breath of the wolf on your neck. Making you gasp as you rock forward again. Your fingers digging into the dirt as he takes what he wants, filling your cunt again and again. At least his cock isn’t covered in hair, you don’t know if you would have done that. “Ma-Marcus!” You Yelp when he hits something deep inside you.

Hearing his name spurs him on. Hitting that spot again and again, it’s feral and beyond comprehension. Marcus has given way to the beast inside of him and he wants you to cum. His teeth scrap over your neck, his hot breath puffing over you as he thrusts again and again.

“Ohhh, oh fuuuuuuuuck.” Feeling his teeth in your neck sends you over the edge. The danger makes your entire body burst in pleasure as your pussy tries to clamp down on the beast’s cock. Feeling him drill into you as you gush around him and soak him in your cum.

Marcus growls into your skin, almost a roar that echoes into the forest as he keeps fucking into you. His cock twitching as he gets closer to his own orgasm. Grunts escape along with snarls until he finally pushes deep. His roar reverberates as his cock pulses while he fills you with his cum.

You almost black out with pleasure. Collapsing into the dirt and unable to move as his thick cum pushes out of you with every rock of the beast’s hips. “Fuck”

Marcus pumps himself through his orgasm and he hisses when you slump down into the dirt and he licks along your neck, tasting your sweat. He whimpers, lost in the haze of pleasure as he laps at your skin.

“‘m good.” You slur out against the ground. “I-god.” You can’t help but start to breathlessly chuckle, unable to believe that this happened. You can feel it, you’ll feel him for days. “Love you.” You murmur, hoping Marcus can understand that in his current state.

Marcus whines softly, able to let you know the beast feels the same, and he slowly pulls out of you. The beast takes full control again as he sniffs you, a pleased whine escaping his lips as he smells you covered in his scent. He stands up on his hind legs, a howl echoing in the valley before he runs for the tree line, the beast taking over.

It takes you some time to be able to move again, literally crawling over to the steps before you can get off the ground and you wonder if it will be morning before Marcus changes back to his human form. You climb back in the window, sure that you will need a long soak in the bath after this.

Marcus runs around until he feels the sun starting to rise and his beast gives up control to allow him to transition back to his human form. He ends up unlocking the house and comes inside to find you asleep, no doubt worn out from the rough treatment. He showers and slides under the covers, curling around you.

You hum softly, stirring when you feel the warmth at your back. “Marcus?” You ask, hearing him hum. 

“Go to sleep, baby.” You know he’s tired after running around all night, so you snuggle back into his embrace and close your eyes again.

Marcus is snoring as he lays on his back, your head on his chest as you sleep until his snort wakes you up. You kiss his chest, listening to his heartbeat as he rests after an active night.

He doesn’t look any different than he normally does, just as handsome as you’ve always found him but you feel like you are closer. You know his secret and you lean forward and kiss his chest gently. “Man or wolf, I want to be with you.” You whisper.

He wakes up to you cooking. The smell makes his stomach grumble as he sniffs the air. Last night hits him, memories of you taking him as the wolf make his heart pound and he is desperate to talk to you but he also wants to run away in case you regret it. Deciding to face it, he gets out of bed and pees, brushing his teeth before he makes his way into the kitchen.

“Morning.” You smile as you look up to find Marcus creeping into the kitchen. “Breakfast is almost ready but the coffee is made.” He’s got a strange look on his face, so you don’t make a joke about moving a little slow because of last night. That seems like it might spook him. “I made steak and eggs. I don’t know if you still need a lot of meat.”

“I, uh, will probably have one more day. The moon cycle…I only need meat when it’s a full moon.” He reveals, “and I’m starving.” He chuckles softly, shifting to sit down as you watch him. “I- about last night….” He trails off, terrified that you’re going to hate him.

“I found out why you come up to the cabin alone.” You fill in, biting your lip and swallowing slightly. “I didn’t- you don’t think I’m crazy, do you? After- well, because of stripping down and basically begging a werewolf to fuck me?”

Marcus stares at you. “You think you’re crazy? After you- baby, I’m a fucking werewolf.” He chokes, “and you - you didn’t run or try to shoot me. You’re not crazy. I am. Because - because I cannot believe you trusted me. You didn’t run away. You accepted me.” His eyes sting with unshed tears, “you loved me when I was - I am a monster.”

“You aren’t a monster.” You frown, setting down the spatula and moving the pan off the stove so you can move over to Marcus. “You are an amazing man. I have questions, of course I do, but the fact that you are a werewolf doesn’t change who you are every time the moon isn’t full.”

Marcus sniffs, tears sliding down his cheeks and he shakes his head. “I- my father - he was the same. It’s only during the full moon. It’s why I come here to allow the beast to be free. If he’s free during this time, I get control the rest of the time.” He explains croakily.

Reaching out, you wipe the tears away and move so you can sit in his lap. Your pussy is sore but you ignore it to wrap your arms around his neck. “So….does that mean that our kids would be like you?” You ask curiously.

“I don’t know. That’s why- it’s why I’ve been so hesitant to take the next step with you. To be all in when you discuss kids. I- I don’t know if they’d be like me. If it’s just on the male side or if a daughter would be the same. I didn’t - I know you wouldn’t want to take that risk.” Marcus chokes, burying his face in your neck.

The man who turns into a beast, one that could kill you, kill anyone, is crying into your neck as you rub his back. “Baby….I love you. I know that you would protect our kids if they did turn.”

Marcus pulls back to look at you, his lower lip trembling. “You- you don’t want to run for the hills?” He asks and when you shake your head, he reaches up to cup your cheeks. “I love you. More than anything in the world. If you want to be mine. I’ll marry you next week. I want to have babies with you. I’m all in.” He promises, nudging his nose against yours.

“I’m all in too.” You promise softly. Marcus might be a werewolf, people may tell you that you’re crazy, but you’d rather howl at the moon with him than risk losing him. “Let’s eat breakfast and then we can spend the day in bed and you can tell me about all of this while my poor little pussy recovers so the wolf can have me again tonight.”

Marcus kisses your cheek softly, “you don’t have to. I can lock you in. He won’t get to you. I won’t get to you.” He promises, wanting to make sure that you’re safe. “You don’t have to do that again if you don’t want to.”

​​You squirm slightly, biting your lip. “I liked it.” You admit quietly, sure that he will think you’re crazy. “It was….feral. I loved how possessive you were last night.”

His cock twitches beneath you, unable to hide the fact that he likes that you liked it. “I was not in control. The beast…he wanted to claim you. He wanted to mark you as his.” Marcus confesses, “I wanted to make sure you were mine.” He admits the more feral side of him.

“I’m yours.” You promise, kissing his lips and grinning at him. “Whenever the beast wants me, he can have me. Whenever you want me with you when you change, I’ll be here.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before we came out here. I just - I didn’t want to lose you. I love you baby. I love you. I want to be yours and be with you. If you’ll have me.” He says softly, kissing your hair.

“Of course I will.” You giggle quietly and turn his head to press your lips against his. “You, me and the moon make three.” You tease. “I love you and your alter ego.”

Marcus chuckles at your teasing and he nudges his nose against yours. “I love you, baby. So much. I want to spend the rest of our lives together. Have a family together. You’re everything to me…to us. I love you.” Marcus murmurs, kissing you softly again. He never imagined he’d find a woman who could ever love the monster inside of him but he found you. The woman he loves who accepts all of him, even the wolf. He couldn’t ask for more.

#pedro pascal #marcus pike #marcus pike x reader #marcus pike x you #marcus pike x f!reader #marcus pike smut #marcus pike fanfiction #marcus pike imagine #marcus pike fanfic #werewolf!Marcus Pike #werewolf au #monster fucking

[analogwriting]

Childhood Crush

Chapter 21: Lithium

Killer x gn!reader word count: 2k a/n: got another 241 for y'all next

“You really should rest, y/n.” You look up from your clipboard at Wire who was currently in the doorway with a deep frown on his face, clearly worried about you.

You were currently on the ship Momonosuke had provided for you. After the vivre card had burst into flames and you were able to move again, there was a small sliver of paper left in the palm of your hand. You had placed it into a small glass box and used it that way. You couldn’t risk losing the paper, especially knowing that something terrible had happened to your brother.

You were a wreck the whole way there. Countless scenarios racked your brain with the possibilities of what happened. The amount of stress you had was off the charts. You couldn’t eat, you couldn’t sleep. What happened? Your brother was obviously alive but what about everyone else? How much longer would your brother be alive? Just how far was he? Just what happened?

The vivre card didn’t burn anymore, but it was glowing on the edges. That meant he was alive, but he wasn’t doing well. He was hanging on by a thread. You only had his vivre card though, so everyone else, you had no idea how they were. You had no idea who was alive, who was dead - which you hoped to fuck was no one. You were so stressed, you wouldn’t be surprised if you ended up with an ulcer or ten. You had no idea what happened, no idea his condition. Just a tiny piece of paper that you hoped wouldn’t burn anymore.

Luckily, it didn’t.

You ended up finding them on some small island. You had laid anchor and went into the jungle-like part of the island. You were basically sprinting through the foliage. Did they get attacked by a wild animal? No, that couldn’t be it. Your brother wouldn’t be overpowered by something as simple as wildlife. 

You had reached a clearing where you saw everyone looking worse for wear. When they saw you, their faces lit up as if they had seen a god. 

Though you were focused on something else. You were focused on the two that were currently looking like they were dead on the ground. Eustass and Killer. The only tell-tale signs that they were still alive was your brother’s vivre card and the unnatural twist of a smile that was on Killer’s face. You had found out when a SMILE fruit user died, their smile finally disappeared. 

You had never been so relieved to see that haunting expression.

You immediately went to work patching the two of them up and stabilizing them before moving on to everyone else. Then, you loaded everyone up on your ship and set sail. It was safer than being sitting ducks on an island. Besides, based on what everyone told you with what happened, the island was close to where the battle was, so feeling the scene was a good idea. People wouldn’t know your ship either, so hopefully people left you alone.

“Y/n?” You were pulled out of your thoughts once more as Wire spoke again. “I’m fine,” you said and he just looked at you, folding his arms.

“We all know you’re pants at lying, just like the captain.” You made a face and sighed. He was right - you hadn’t slept in days, you weren’t eating. You were just so worried. Even before you found them, you hardly ate or slept.

Wire sighed, shaking his head. “It’s like a watchpot. Just cause you’re sitting here watching over them, doesn’t mean they’re gonna heal any faster. You also can’t properly take care of them if you’re not in the right state of mind,” he said. You looked at him, narrowing your eyes and frowning. You folded your arms, pouting a little bit. He was right, but you didn’t want to admit it. Damn, he was starting to sound like you. When did he start getting all wise?

You looked over to where the two were currently resting. It had been a week at this point. They’ve both been out the whole time with no signs of waking up. Their injuries were healing, luckily enough. It took many hours of operating to really make sure they were stable. The amount of broken bones and stitching you had to do - if you never did it again, it’d be too soon. 

“I…I feel like if I stop to catch my breath, I might never breathe again,” you mumbled. You were just scared that if you rested now, you wouldn’t be able to find the motivation to get back up again.

“You’re a good doctor, y/n. They’re stable. It’s not going to hurt if you get some sleep. We���ll take turns keeping an eye on them.” Wire looked at you with a face full of concern. This wasn’t the first time he had tried to get you to sleep and you knew he was going to just keep pestering. 

With a sigh, you stood up, looking at your clipboard once more.

“Just because you look at it again, doesn’t mean it’s going to change, y/n.” You glared at the man across from you. One of the cons of growing up with someone on the crew meant that he could see right through you. “We’ll come and get you if anything changes. Promise.”

You looked at him a moment longer before sighing. “Fucking-” You tossed the clipboard on to the desk and sighed. “Fine!” You threw your hands in the air and marched out of the room. Due to your lack of sleep, you were a bit more irritable even with Wire’s smooth way of speaking. You headed down the hallway and to your room.

You didn’t think you’d get any sleep but the moment your head hit the pillow, it was lights out.

--

When you slowly came to, you noticed you were having a hard time moving. You were also very warm. It took you a moment to wake up and when you did, you realized you weren’t the only one in your bed. In fact, just about everyone was in bed with you or around you.

You blinked in confusion, trying to figure out what was going on. It was dark outside, the moon peeking through the pothole, illuminating the room slightly. You let your eyes adjust before trying to move. You were currently in a mess of limbs. You realized that Dive was curled up into a ball into you as she usually did, but you also had Heat wrapped around you. You also happened to realize your cheeks were damp. Were you crying in your sleep?

You carefully slipped out of bed, not wanting to wake up the two in bed with you. Usually, you were a light sleeper. Were you really so tired that you didn’t notice everyone joined you for bedtime? Everyone else was scattered about the room, various snores and patterns of breathing filling up the room. Sure, the ship wasn’t spacious like the Victoria Punk had been, but there were plenty of other places to sleep.

After some careful footwork, you made it out of the bedroom and back down the hallway. You needed to check on your patients. You paused in the doorway, seeing Wire sitting at the desk stitching up something. He looked up as he saw you. “You’re awake.”

“What are you working on?”

“Eh, just working on something to pass the time.”

“How long was I out?” 

“I’d say about ten hours.”

Your eyes nearly fell out of your skull with how wide your eyes became. Ten hours? You couldn’t remember the last time you slept that long in one sitting! You usually tossed and turned, getting four or five hours at most. But ten? That was insane! 

“It makes sense considering you’ve been running on fumes the last few days. I can only imagine that you also didn’t sleep on the way here either. I’m surprised you didn’t keel over already or out for longer.” 

You felt your face heat up at Wire’s words. Had you really been that bad? “Yes. You were that bad and you looked like a walking corpse.” You just glared at him. Alright, smart ass.

“I just woke up, can you ease up a little?” You ran a hand through your hair and grumbled. Wire just smiled at you, standing up. He walked over to you, putting a hand on your shoulder as he passed. “Well, I’m going to get some shut eye now. Make sure you eat something, okay?”

You yawned and nodded. “I will.” Honestly, you’d probably end up forgetting.

You quickly went to work, checking on the two unconscious men. You needed to take their vitals and run some tests. The vivre card was no longer smoldering and even seemed to regain some of its paper; and that smile was still on Killer’s face. 

This was honestly the fucking worst. Two of the most important people in your life on death’s door and you were the last line of defense. You were up against the grim reaper himself. Things looked promising, but you knew better. You knew that shit could hit the fan at any moment and they could no longer be with you, but you weren’t about to roll over and let it happen either. You’d wrestle with the grim reaper himself if you had to. Hell, you’d probably trade your own life.

“Why did you have to go and pick a fight with Shanks again, dammit,” you mumbled, looking at your brother. You sighed, pinching the bridge of your nose and groaning. 

You heard something come from your brother and every fiber of your being froze. You looked over at him slowly, eyes widened. You noticed his hands twitching slightly as well as his features. In an instant, you were at his side. You moved some of his hair out of his face to get a better look at him.

You watched as his face scrunched up. “Bigs?” he mumbled and you felt your eyes start tearing up. “Tungsten?” Your voice cracked halfway through the word, but you didn’t care. All that mattered right now was the fact that your brother had said something.

All the fear of what happened was hitting you at once. The tears started falling and showed no signs of stopping. You sniffled, wiping your tears away; well, attempting to. You watched as Eustass slowly opened his eyes, they seemed to struggle to adjust for a moment before fully opening. They weren’t particularly focused on anything before they fell on your face.

“Bigs?” he repeated, a bit louder this time. You nodded, smiling through your tears. “I’m here, mo laochain,” you said softly, using the old nickname you had given him a long time ago. The one in your native tongue. A tired smirk spread across his features as he let his eyes close again.

“C‘Mon, Bigs,” he mumbled. “‘M not little.” He let out a single scoff. It was a small noise, but you smiled all the same. That’s what he had told you one day when you used the nickname. Since it had meant ‘my little hero’, he didn’t want to be associated with being little anymore, so he had said those words. That’s when you had started calling him ‘Tungsten’ instead. Only, he’d always be your little brother. No matter how much larger he ended up being than you. He would always be little to you.

You buried your face in his chest and held him as he laid there, placing his hand on your head as he gently soothed you while you cried. Much like you had done for him so long ago.

#the last bit is what made me cry the other day bc im just an emotional wreck and i miss my own brother lmfao #one piece #one piece x reader #one piece x you #killer x reader #massacre soldier killer #killer one piece #am fics #cc

[prisonprocess]

Learning a Trade

3.

When Chandler got to college he had trouble selecting a major.  Finally he chose Environmental Studies, because there weren’t any labs and there didn’t seem to be any math and a lot of his frat bros were doing it and they were still able to party the same as always.  Better!  And everybody wants to save the planet, right?  That was Chandler’s passion.

Turns out, when you’re in Environmental Studies you can get a lot of choice internships—not like these dudes in Engineering or Pre-Med or something, where you’re stuck in some clinic with sick people or some little cube in an office building. The internships in ES were all in government projects and programs, and they were all about nature and being in nature. So you could go, like, off-roading in the desert, or you could go up in the mountains and study endangered trees and plants, or you could go down to Baja counting seals (“pinnipeds”), and a lotta other chill stuff like that.  All good.  Chandler liked the cool outdoor gear he got to wear and the parties around the fire at night.  The people were all so intense and passionate about the ecology and how we’ve got to help with climate change, and they were free spirits with their own moral compass. The parties could get wild!  It was nothing but good times, and of course you learned a lot.

So, close to the end of his senior year Chandler was in a Project about tides—you know, tide pools and ocean currents and birds and grunion and so forth-- and maybe he got a little too chill or a little too wild before he started driving back from the beach, because there was this accident that happened.  Which, let’s face it, was pretty bad.  But in the end it was good because it made his career path so easy to chart.  The judge gave him 30 years to life and he was sent to a place way up the coast where there was nothing around but Nature.  It was just a state park and a state forest and a state nature preserve, and a prison; and the highway was 60 miles away.  That’s where Chandler got his permanent job.

Chandler had a little tiny cell and a little narrow bunk and no electronics or anything, just his uniform and the food they gave him, and the lights went out every night at 10. If he went anywhere it was in the back of a truck that had 20 other guys in it.  So his carbon footprint was practically nothing.  It was like he didn’t exist.  And the best part was, he got to spend his time cleaning trash off the beach, which meant that he was helping the ecology and also that he had all day to study the tides and the erosion and the marine life and so on. It wasn’t just an internship.  It was the environment in action.

The days were all pretty much the same, but one day Chandler was surprised to see a big group of people his age walking along the beach, and it turned out that they were an Environmental Studies Group from the place where he went to college.  The professor was telling them about the millions and millions of tons of refuse that build up on beaches all over the world, as a result of bad public policy, but when the group got closer the students stopped listening and started to stare.  It’s not surprising that they did, because Chandler was in the orange uniform they give you so that people can see you from a mile or so away.  Then the students were all whispering to each other, and finally he heard one of them saying, “Yeah, that’s Chandler all right!” and the rest of them laughed.  The professor said, “What? What’s that? What’s that?” but nobody answered—they were all just looking at Chandler and snickering and laughing.  The prof kept going about “threatened wildlife,” and the group continued its hike down the beach.  Chandler watched them as they disappeared behind the rocks, and he felt bad because he couldn’t go with them.  He had to stay there and keep picking up trash in his weird orange clothes

Back in his cell that night, he told his bunkie Dylan what had happened.

“You worryin about that?” Dylan said.

“Yeah,” Chandler said.

“Don’t worry,” Dylan said, putting an arm around his shoulder. “You’re just not wildlife anymore.”        

#uniforms #orange #labor

[courtsnort-sso]

Lucifer - Origins

Word Count: 2,370

“What can you tell me of him? My father.” “A decent amount. What would you like to know?” Altair was a little surprised by the sudden willingness to speak from his mount. Normally, Lucifer would see such conversation as a waste. He’d express his disinterest and go back to grazing.  “... How did he come about you? And… Why do you dislike him? Other than the obvious reasons that Ydris states every time.”  There was a pause, and Lucifer gazed across the water, as if calculating his answer.  “That…. Is a rather long story, my Prince."

The sun had just started to dip below the horizon, remnants of its warmth lingering in the sand on the beach that the Prince and his companion sat upon. Normally, they would be back at Ydris’ wagon by now. Something was troubling Altair tonight, and he wasn’t quite ready to go back. 

His gaze traveled across the water before coming to rest on the sky. The horizon burned a bright orange before fading into a deep blue, stars beginning to peek through. Altair wasn’t even sure these were the same stars he’d seen on Pandoria- he’d charted those ones growing up so often, and even with a still-hazy memory, he could tell these ones were different. That, he supposed, was a given, considering Pandoria was a whole different realm in itself. 

“Do you miss home?” He finally broke the silence that had been accompanied by the occasional sounds of wildlife and nature around them. 

Lucifer lifted his head from where it had rested in the sand, red eyes casting the faintest of glows as he looked toward his Prince. The equine heaved a sigh. “Yes, and… no. I do miss aspects of it. But there are some things that… I’m more than happy to do without, my Prince.” 

“Like what?”

“Well, your father, for one,” Lucifer snorted, though there was no real amusement apparent in his remark. “His threat lingers, yes, but at the moment we are out of his grasp and that is good enough for me.” 

Altair furrowed his brows at that. His father, the emperor. Garnok. He’d yet to get an answer about his father from Ydris that he’d be satisfied with. Ydris was… wary, whenever Garnok was brought up. From the little Altair had learned, it was understandable, but how else was he supposed to regain his memories? It was understandably frustrating.

“What can you tell me of him? My father.”

“A decent amount. What would you like to know?”

Altair was a little surprised by the sudden willingness to speak from his mount. Normally, Lucifer would see such conversation as a waste. He’d express his disinterest and go back to grazing. 

“... How did he come about you? And… Why do you dislike him? Other than the obvious reasons that Ydris states every time.” 

There was a pause, and Lucifer gazed across the water, as if calculating his answer. 

“That…. Is a rather long story, my Prince. Perhaps another time-”

“No,” Altair interrupted. “We have time. And I’d like to listen. You are the only thing I have from home, and I deserve to know. Please.”

Another heavy sigh, and Lucifer dipped his head. “Very well, if you insist…”

***

It had been the early days, before the emperor’s madness. I had been taken in, serving as a part of the royal guard. I trained from a young age, only a child. Of course, when the guard gave you a roof over your head and the guarantee that you wouldn’t starve to death, you’d be stupid to decline the offer. 

My upbringing wasn’t the nicest. My father had left my mother and I shortly after my birth, claiming my existence to be a bad omen. My mother struggled to care for the both of us, but she loved me dearly. She wanted the best for me, often going hungry to ensure I wouldn’t. 

Pandoria, in those days, was still wild and untamed, even more so than it is now. It was cruel and unforgiving, hidden behind its beautiful front. Letting your guard down was the quickest way to perish. 

My mother fell victim to one of the creatures that loomed in the shadows. I learned very quickly from there on to trust nothing, no one. I no longer had my mother to watch out for me- I had to care for myself. 

The one exception was Garnok. He was the emperor, kind and caring, in those days. He promised to make Pandoria a place for our kind to thrive- we would be safe, if we followed his guidance. He saw something in me- potential, I suppose- and adopted me into his personal guard. I was to begin training immediately. 

I rose through the ranks rather quickly, surprising some of the senior officers. I excelled in combat, always pushing to be better. Upon graduating the training program, I was pushed into several missions. Usually ridding the border of beasts threatening to wreak havoc on our growing kingdom. 

Some time passed, and along with our new age, came a new threat. This was when I first noticed the change in the emperor. He was a little more… on edge, erratic. Paranoid. This was an entirely new side to him. Of course, he’d also been dabbling in different magics by this point as well, a fact that very few know. 

It was as if something dark had overcome our previously kind ruler. He was a shell of his former self, craving more power, more control. He would do anything to achieve that. The guard was his first line of defense to ensure he would hold control over his empire. And, eventually… He hoped to expand said empire to other worlds. He wanted it all, at the cost of everything. There was no reasoning with him, either; those that opposed his rule and word were dealt with immediately. There was no room for any sort of resistance.

I went from a man that many relied on for their own safety, someone they could look up to, to someone that they feared. Solo missions weren’t new to me. Having to set aside my own morals in order to uphold my emperor’s rule, was. 

Nevertheless, I didn’t let him down. He ruled with an iron fist, and I was by his side, ensuring there were no possible threats to his crown. It wasn’t a responsibility I held lightly. Garnok knew he could rely on me, if no one else. Of course, this came with its own downside- I had a lot of blood on my hands. I was respected, and feared. Maybe a part of me enjoyed the feeling, coming from nothing only to hold as much power as I did.

There was a girl. The daughter of one of Pandoria’s nobles. The moment I laid eyes on her, I knew she would be the one. Ayla was her name. A fitting name, for someone as beautiful as she. We’d danced that night, at a ball held for those of higher standing. She’d looked at me in a way that I wasn’t used to- with soft doe-eyes, completely and utterly enamored. 

I’d never gone into battle fearing an enemy, but I was scared at that moment. Never before had someone looked into me, really and truly, as if they saw not me but the soul that lay within me. And yet, she didn’t seem one bit frightened by me, by what she saw. Not a monster, but a man. 

She wanted more, craved it. And I gave it to her. I opened up, for the first time since my childhood. I allowed her closer than anyone else. In return, she showed me what love truly felt like. To care wholly for another being, to want to spend every waking moment by their side. Oh, what an angel she was. I had eyes for no one else. 

Ayla was willing to go against everything she knew to be with me. Of course, it was all in secret- her parents would have never allowed us to be together should they have found out. For the fact that I wasn’t of noble descent, and… For my ranking under Garnok. 

But Ayla was stubborn, strong. She was determined to do as she wished. How I admired her for that, having the courage to follow her own heart. She insisted many a time that I could do it, too, if I so pleased. 

She didn’t understand. My loyalty was to the empire, to my emperor. She would never understand, and part of me was glad for the fact. I wanted to keep her free spirit safe, for however long I could. Forever, for Pandorians, is a very long time. I couldn’t ensure forever, but I could promise in that moment. 

All too quickly, it came to an end. 

Seeds of doubt had long been planted in the noble families. Garnok’s reign over Pandoria was beginning to get out of hand. Executions, punishments, families torn apart… And there I was, being moved like a pawn in his game of chess. After so long, you begin to question if it is worth it, sacrificing your morals, giving up the chance of a normal life. Even if I had expressed stepping down, He would have never allowed it, it simply wasn’t an option. 

Doubt began to grow in me as well; nobody was above the emperor’s wrath. He was willing to do anything to get what he wanted, to have total control over his ever-expanding empire. My entire world came to an end the day I was given direct orders to exterminate the noble family headlining the growing resistance against the empire. 

Ayla. My sweet Ayla, who feared nothing and no one, who wanted to write her own story, who wanted to ensure that I would be a part of it… Garnok wanted her head. 

There was still a chance I could save her. I agreed to the emperor’s orders, and insisted I see the mission out alone. The mission would simply act as a front, while seeing that the family made it out of Pandoria alive. I wouldn’t be able to see Ayla again, and the thought alone killed me, but anything would be better than having her blood on my hands. 

We made it as far as the border before we were greeted with the Emperor’s guard. Garnok had caught on, he’d sensed the doubt within me- he knew I wouldn’t be able to see it through. 

And so the cruel emperor ensured I would bear witness to the noble family’s execution. And, as punishment for conspiring against the empire, He revoked my magical abilities… as well as any scrap of pride I had left. 

The transformation was the most excruciating pain I’d ever felt. My bones snapped and cracked into odd shapes, elongating, changing. My very blood felt as if it were on fire. Death would have been a far less cruel fate, but I knew better than to expect as much from my emperor. He wanted this to hurt, in every sense of the word. 

Of course, I was made out to be a spectacle, paraded around like the sad creature I had been made into. A warning to those who chose to oppose Him. If His strongest warrior stood no chance, neither did anyone else. 

It wasn’t until after the arrival of the Prince that I was given an actual job. To be the boy’s mount, his pet. How humiliating, forced to stay in the presence of Garnok’s spawn. Although, something was different about the boy. He wasn’t like his father. Dare I say, he retained that same free spirit that I loved so dearly about my late Ayla. It would, of course, only be a matter of time before that spirited nature would be stomped out of him. 

Garnok would rely on the boy to carry on the empire should anything ever happen to him. Therefore, he wanted a carbon-copy of himself, someone that would be as ruthless and rule with an iron fist as he had. 

Altair couldn’t be further from that. Despite the training, the pressure, despite it all, he remained true to himself behind closed doors. It gave me hope, that perhaps there was a chance that things could change. Up until then, there had been no threat to Garnok- but now he had a son, one that was already proving to be extremely powerful. A threat, if the emperor couldn’t get a hold on him. 

I made it my mission to protect the boy by any means possible. I couldn’t protect Ayla, but I could protect Altair. I had to. He was the only scrap of hope our people would have left. 

***

Altair was quiet for a long while after Lucifer had finished his story. The equine didn’t try to pry anything out of him, sitting quietly himself while his Prince absorbed it all. 

“He took everything from you,” Altair eventually spoke, cutting the silence that had settled between them. 

“I gave him that power. I was a monster, my Prince. That is the price I had to pay. It is the way of karmic debt.” Lucifer looked away. “It was a long time ago. It is easier to forget.” 

“But you haven’t forgotten her.” 

“I could never.”

“... Maybe she’ll come back to you in her next lifetime.” 

Lucifer snorted softly. “That’s a rather optimistic way to look at it, my Prince.” He paused. “But… I haven’t quite put that out of my mind, either. Her life was taken far too soon. I always hope that maybe she’ll come back. And perhaps she’ll find her way to me.” 

Altair hesitated, before reaching over and patting the other’s neck. “Thank you, for telling me.”

Lucifer shook his head. “You deserved to know. To know about me, and about your father’s true nature. I do not know of Ydris’s history, or of how he came to be here. As hard as it may be, it is best to let him say it in his own time as I did.” 

Altair frowned softly, before giving a nod. “I suppose you’re right, yeah.”

“Of course I am.” Lucifer grunted, before pushing himself back up onto his hooves and giving a solid shake, effectively covering Altair in a light dusting of sand. “And, my Prince, it is about time we head back. It is rather late.” 

Altair huffed, brushing the sand off and out of his hair. “Ugh, alright, alright. Give me a boost up?” 

“Absolutely not. You’re a prince, not helpless. Climb.” 

Another groan of protest, before Altair grabbed a chunk of mane and hopped up onto Lucifer’s back. The stallion snorted softly in amusement, before turning and starting back up the trail back home. 

#sso altair #sso lucifer #garnok sso #sso #star stable online #star stable #ssoblr

[funnygirlthatbelle]

 Because @jadesabre301 enables me in the best ways possible, here’s perhaps far too many details about the college au aka the good timeline and how we want things to go down post campaign as the happily ever after for Parci and Breena.

Since the kids are all currently in high school, the relevant info begins when they all finally get to college since the guys are slightly older* and the girls get to the capital as well. They’re all living in the same apartment building with two apartments across from one another**. Breena enters college with a boyfriend named Xavier- a guy who went to another school in town and is a fellow incoming freshman. Close to the end of their first semester, Breena discovers that he is cheating on her. And to add insult to injury, she forgot her keys and is locked out of her apartment sobbing, only to be discovered by the one and only Parcival Valerian Lurin Harnell Sopral von Meer aka Parci aka one of the most important people in her entire life. He’s exceptionally sweet even for him and in the days after this, Breena’s thoughts morph from “I’d like to date someone like Parci” to “I’d like to date Parci.” Meanwhile, Parci realizes that his affections towards Breena are less platonic than he’s thought in the past.

This begins what is known as the Year of Pining. Esther knows how Parci feels. Ezekiel knows how Breena feels. Parci spends the entire summer break on top of a mountain communing with a ghost so that he doesn’t have to see or talk to anyone. The mutual pining is off the charts.

It takes until the next year’s winter solstice when, after much pressure from Esther, Parci asks Breena to his father’s company’s*** winter gala. She accepts, and by the time classes resume, they are a couple! They date for the rest of the time they’re in college and it’s a grand old time- Parci gets his masters at the same time Breena gets her bachelors that’s like a triple major and a minor because she genuinely couldn’t decide between multiple earth sciences and also photography.

As they’re discussing what comes next and what Parci’s phd track might look like, he gets invited by a wizard they know from their adventures to apprentice for a year. It’s a wonderful opportunity with two major problems: one, Breena just got her dream job as a wildlife photographer for Fosbian Geographic**** and absolutely does not want to give that up and two, the apprenticeship would be in Breena’s childhood hometown where there is boatloads of trauma and also her mother*****. So they go long distance for a bit, and it sucks. During this time, Breena realizes that this is who she wants to spend the rest of her life with****** and so they start building their lives with that goal in mind.

Fifteen years post-campaign and ten years into their relationship, they get married at the summer camp where they met. It’s very cute but also we’re talking about possibly making changes to that fic so i’m not gonna go into detail here.

About five years later, Mal and Ezekiel’s daughter Amelia Precious Thompson is born- specifically, she is born with the inherent magic one might expect from the daughter of a dragon. So, naturally, as the relative with counterspell, Uncle Parci becomes the babysitter of choice*******. And being around a baby often makes them start considering expanding their own family, though it takes them a while to make any decisions and a bit longer for any results to occur.

But when they do, Salvator Finian Leroy von Meer is born! His birthday is March 9th, he has his mama’s skintone and hair color (though his father’s green eyes and gills), and is a nerd even in a family of nerds. He very much takes after his father personality wise and has interests in magic and robotics.

Two years later on October 25th, Mavis Abigail Esther von Meer is born! She looks more like a sea elf than her brother (though no gills), but more than her parents, takes after her Aunt Esther. Which is to say, she’s a goth with a strong sense of justice and an even more complicated relationship with capitalism than her father********.

And then, three years later, in a pregnancy so bad that any thought of other children was immediately gone came the twins Guinevere Selena Eleanor von Meer and Celza Morgana Ziva von Meer*********. born on June 13th, they are a 50/50 split between looking like each parent. Behavior wise, it’s an entirely different story. Gwen is a shy, sweet nature lover like her mama. Celza is as chaotic as she is intelligent, and her punk phase never really ends- not entirely dissimilar to Aunt Mal.

I could go on and on and on about these kids and the stuff we’ve figured out about this family- sexualities, what classes each kid might pursue should they become an adventurer, a specific imagined scenario regarding Mavis’ psych class and a professor who did not think through talking about the Dunkel Hill Five in front of the daughter of two of them- I could go on forever but honestly I’m aware that this is already a lot and so I’m just gonna thank you if you actually read all of this lol.

*Mal is currently 42 in game but is also a dragon so her age is... funky, to say the least.

** At some point, Ezekiel moves out of the guys’ apartment as he becomes a ceo and Esther moves in but exact dates have never been figured out.

***Elario von Meer is wizard Walt Disney; this isn’t strictly relevant but i love the phrase wizard Walt Disney too much not to include it.

****It has been pointed out to me that there was no need to change the name of National Geographic but it’s too late I did it.

*****At some point during his apprenticeship, Parci and Breena’s mom Patricia get into a very intense, public fight at a grocery store where he’s accused of stealing Breena away from her- it gets ugly.

******She also adopts a stray old man cat with a tragic backstory named Mr. Whiskers- this is never relevant to the story but I love him with all my heart.

*******Breena is Amelia’s godmother, there is no other godparent. If anything happens, she’s going to live with the von Meer’s, but Parci and Ezekiel love to tease each other.

*********Complicated relationship with capitalism is a direct quote from his character sheet; I am not including all the things they do to fuck with capitalism in this but let’s just say they do not fuck around when it comes to philanthropy.

************In part a show of affection and in part to get the last laugh, Ezekiel is godfather to the twins.

[female-malice]

Rewilding the World: Dispatches from the Conservation Revolution, Caroline Fraser (2009)

Around 2011, I came across the concept of ‘rewilding’, and having looked online for further reading material, found and ordered this wonderful book, one of the very first to be published on the subject. In it, Caroline Fraser takes us to rewilding projects the world over, and the explorations of the ecology, sociology, and politics behind bringing back wild nature are just excellent. It was my first introduction to how we don’t have to accept the continued death of the natural world all around us; that in most cases nature has an immense power to rebound if we stop the activities that are constantly preventing it from doing so; that there is hope. I often dip back into this one.

Keeping the Wild: Against the Domestication of Earth, edited by George Wuerthner, Eileen Crist, and Tom Butler (2014)

A compilation of pieces from a total of 22 writers on the global ecological crisis, this brilliant book examines what can – and must – be done to reverse it. While reading it in 2015, this was another victim of my terrible habit of underlining more important passages in pencil and making notes in the margins. But many of the pieces in this book have more lines underlined than not, thereby making the exercise somewhat ridiculous. I also marked each one out of ten for future reference, nearly all of them scoring nine or ten (one even got twelve out of ten!). Its companion volume ‘Protecting the Wild: Parks and Wilderness, the Foundation for Conservation’, edited by the same three authors (2015), is equally good.

Wilding: The Return of Nature to a British Farm, Isabella Tree (2018)

This hugely inspirational book charts the journey of a 3,500-acre farm in West Sussex, England, from industrial chemical-soaked and diesel-powered agriculture to a form of extremely High Nature Value farming. The owners, Isabella Tree and Charlie Burrell, took the incredibly courageous decision to move in a totally different direction in 2000, having increasingly struggled to make conventional farming work financially. But they were also aware of the desperate plight of nature in their area, including their own land. Following the cessation of intensive farming practices, they were witness to the return of abundant and diverse populations of wildlife, including many rare species, a remarkably powerful demonstration of how nature can and will return if we only let it.

Wild Embrace: Connecting to the Wonder of Ireland’s Natural World, Anja Murray (2023) 

Only just released on March 9th, Anja Murray’s ‘Wild Embrace’ takes us on a fantastic adventure of rediscovery: of the wild nature that still hangs on in pieces here and there all around in Ireland, and of the place within every one of us that yearns for reconnection with this hidden world. You rightly won’t find any avoidance of the desperate state of Irish nature in this book, on the contrary. But hope for recovery is identified in the “three-legged stool of wonder, knowledge and action.” In other words, by deeply engaging with the wild once more, learning a little of how ecosystems really work, and rolling up our sleeves to finally do what needs doing, nature can, and will, come roaring back. A hugely important, and simply delightful, book.

#cc

[seasthedayingreece2023]

Today is our last day staying in the International Olympic Academy! I am here to tell you about a presentation we listened to by Prof. Konstantinos Georgiadis.

He taught us about “Sports Mega-Events, Legacies, and Impacts.” To prepare for the Olympics, there are several steps in terms of hosting and administration. The bid file must be prepared, efforts to get the preliminary events ready need to occur, testing of events, intense final arrangements, and post olympic use of the facilities are decided. There are numerous roles and stakeholders required to organize the games. For example, the athletes, spectators, sponsors, IOC, and media all contribute to the organizing committee. When it comes to finalizing where the games are held, factors like political consensus, citizens acceptance/involvement, and good cooperation with international organizations are all considered in this process. Prof. Konstantinos went into discussion about various types of legacies related to the olympics such as tourism/economy, infrastructure, sport facilities, urban/natural environment, and socio-cultural. He then presented us with 2 research questions in which he went into further detail: “We’re the Olympic Games of Athens a good investment for the city and the country?” and “Did the Olympic Games of Athens create a sustainable legacy in the city?”

The Panathenaic Stadium was the first step of the modern Olympics in Athens. Construction began in 1895 and the games were held in 1896. The photo shows that the stadium was half marble and half wooden seats in order to hold the games in time. The stadium was not fully finished until 1903. Athens views this as a “negative economic legacy” at the time because it was a big financial investment. Despite this “negative” aspect, the Panathenaic Stadium is mainly seen as a “positive cultural legacy!”

The Olympics are not only about sports, it is also about education. Below are charts representing the knowledge among Athens citizens regarding the 2004 Olympics. By hosting the games in 2004, Athens reaped various benefits such as renovations to transportation, media centers, and Olympic villages. The most complex construction was the building of the roof over the stadium, OAKA, that we visited earlier in our trip! Since cities that host the Olympic Games undergo major positive changes and extensive construction, lots of actions are taken to preserve wildlife and maintain healthy natural environments. For example, all of the trees were preserved and replanted during the construction of OAKA in Athens. The list of legacies and benefits for cities that host the games is fascinating. One last major legacy of the Olympics that Prof. Konstantinos highlighted today was the Masters Program that has been developed for Olympic studies, which we have been fortunate enough to learn about here at the International Olympic Academy!

- Jill Pretsch

[youarejesting]

Wash out.5 (special)

Banner: this banner is made by me. the rest are mde by the lovely @purpleskies1999​ ​ Pairings: Dolphintrainer!Taehyung x SharkDiver!Jin,  Mer!Jimin x Reader, Scientist!Namjoon x MerKing!Jungkook, Mer!Yoongi x Mer!Hoseok. Words: 1.1k Genre: Mystery, Romance, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, little bit of Action, Slice of life, Enemies2Lovers, Friends2lovers, Social media au, Fake Texts, Fake Subs.

Summary: Taehyung and his best friend Y/N are Dolphin trainers at Wash Out; Marine Wildlife and Theme Park. When the nerdy marine biologist and resident veterinarian Doctor Kim Namjoon goes missing; the two friends form a ragtag team with Taehyung’s rival Seokjin and a…. Fish?

Shaking listening to the water patter onto the tiles, you gently grasped your tender throat. He was scared. He didn’t mean it. You shivered and tried to breathe slowly as your throat was bruised. Drying yourself and dressing in a new swimsuit and some jean shorts you hesitantly from the locker room. Seokjin was still quiet listening to Taehyung explain he was going to take him home. 

You didn’t have time to worry about being left alone when the CEO who you had recently found out was named Robert Schmidt stepped over his shiny bald head hidden behind a bad toupee. He spoke in that authoritative tone, “You made the Mermaid listen to you just then, so I want you to establish a better relationship with him, if everything works out, he will be making me money in no time.”

Dolly was swimming slowly around her tank splashing the older male and you nodded. Sitting with your back to the merman’s tank, trying not to look back in fear he would be there. Watching a video on dolphin birth and you were trying to understand it you opened the tank divider between Dolly’s tank and the shallow tank that would come up to your belly button. This made it easier to help her, and get in with her if there was a problem. The only issue being it was directly against the other tank with him. The two tanks were connected by the shallow tank.

You watched over Dolly feeding her and trying to hold her stomach and she enjoyed it when you were supporting her tummy, it took the weight off for her. During the night you were almost asleep when you heard a knock and looked up to see the merman looking at Dolly. She looked tired. You gave her more food and saw the Merman watching. You offered him some fish but he blanched as if he didn’t like the fish in particular. Thinking perhaps you could find out what he ate you ran off to get a chart of all the available fish. It wasn’t the best method but pointing at the pictures and watching his face was all you could think of.

His eyes grew wide and a slight smile appeared when you pointed at the tuna. Bingo! Going to the food supply tanks you collected three large tuna and you took the bucket up to the catwalk. Your head was spinning as you placed the bucket down, involuntarily touching your throat. Dropping to your knees you took a fish in your hands the fish wiggled and you dipped your hands into the water and that’s when it happened. You were bitten on the wrist flailing back you kicked the bucket of fish and scrambled off the catwalk the blood was flowing as you ran down the stairs.

Cradling your arm against your chest the blood running down your elbow, you went to the small first aid kit in the corner and began wrapping the wound and wiping your tears. You laid back down on the makeshift bed by Dolly’s tank before falling asleep. 

The next morning you cleaned up showered and changed clothes and bandage, hoping that if you were clean and looked okay Taehyung wouldn’t notice. You fed Dolly and waited patiently for someone to arrive. There was a knock on the tank and you tried to ignore it when he knocked again, you went off to collect his fish you decided to get five not knowing how much he needed to eat. You came back with the bucket in hand and his eyes were on it.

Robert stopped you and from going up to the catwalk and took the bucket away dragging you by your injured wrist “Is it eating?” He asked excitedly.

“He is eating yes,” You nodded wincing before he finally let go.

“He is, good, good,” You eyed the tank to see an annoyed Merman, looking back you saw the look on Robert’s face, it didn’t look nice at all. “He doesn’t eat until he cooperates”

“Sir, I don’t know how he will respond, he doesn’t understand,” You reached for the bucket and he gripped your wrist until you cried out falling to your knees. “I understand, sir.”

“Excellent,” He walked off with the bucket and you looked at the bandage bleeding through and you sat by dolly’s tank and cleaned your wound and rebandaged it. Tap. Tap. Tap. Looking up you saw the Merman looking at you through the glass.

He tapped again and you hung your head and you tapped three times back and he watched you confused and you pointed to Robert who was telling everyone to sit down. When he asked for volunteers to work with the Merman, you raised your hand, Robert already wanted you to be in charge of him but you wanted to make sure he didn’t kick you out. 

“It is settled then,” Robert smiled, you texted Taehyung asking him to distract Mister Schmidt somewhere outside the warehouse for as long as he could. Taehyung was quick to make up something about a dangerous step that could cause the park to be liable if a visitor were to trip or slip on it. You tapped twice on the glass and ran. 

You moved the camera in the corner to face the wall and raced to the supply tanks grabbing a Tuna in your hands and running back, up the catwalk and dropping it in.

You ran back down not wanting to be caught and watched him devour the fish quickly, you were thankful he was so hungry. He tapped again but you looked at the doors prompting him to look as well and the CEO in all his suited glory stepped back in. “Just get some tape and put a sign, if they slip it in our rules that any falls are at the park goers own risk”

Another three taps from the merman made you tap back one singular and definite no. You wanted him to understand one meant no and two meant yes. Robert stepped over and looked at you, and up at the merman behind you.

“He seems to really like you,” He grinned, “Can’t say I blame him, if you can get him to cooperate, I can give you a promotion. I know it can be scary the big powerful CEO, but I want you to think of me as just Mister Schmidt”

He placed his arm around your shoulder and you felt sick and nodded, stepping aside, “I should start working with him.” You smiled and slipped from his presence and headed up the catwalk rather facing an angry man-fish than a creepy boss.

Stopping over the water, a head emerged. Concealed from the nose down so that his gold eyes could bore into yours. It was kind of cool to see him like this the way his eyes blinked twice, a clear membrane that slid across his eyes one way, and then his primary eyelid which functioned just like yours.

Tags: @backinblack1967​  @miriamxsworld​​ ​ @moccahobi​

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[tabloidtoc]

Us, May 3

You can buy a brand new copy of this issue without the mailing label for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Pregnant Meghan Markle: My Baby, My Way

Page 2: Red Carpet -- rufflemania -- Hollywood style stars are tier-ing it up in this flattering design with feminine flair -- Tracee Ellis Ross, Kaitlyn Dever, Margot Robbie, Logan Browning, Nicola Coughlan

Page 3: Lizzo, Maude Apatow, Lucy Boynton, Jessica Alba, Lily Collins

Page 4: Who Wore It Best? Anya Taylor-Joy vs. Isla Fisher vs. Regina King in Stuart Weitzman Nudist sandal

Page 6: Loose Talk -- Shonda Rhimes on the intense backlash she received over Rege-Jean Page's exit from Bridgerton, Kelly Ripa on her most embarrassing interview, Luke Bryan on his mother LeClaire's Instagram fame, Blake Shelton on The Voice's new coach Ariana Grande, Reese Witherspoon joking about wearing bottoms that aren't sweatpants

Page 8: Contents

Page 10: A Final Farewell to Prince Philip, his four children Prince Charles and Princess Anne and Prince Andrew and Prince Edward were among the loved ones who participated in the emotional ceremony, feuding brothers Prince Harry and Prince William (and his wife Duchess Kate) put their differences aside after the intimate service, due to Covid-19 protocols the grieving Queen Elizabeth stayed socially distant from the other 29 people who attended the funeral for her husband of 73 years

Page 11: ACM Awards 2021 -- Maren Morris teamed up with her husband Ryan Hurd and won Female Artist of the Year, Thomas Rhett won Male Artist of the Year, Carrie Underwood took the stage

Page 12: Hot Pics -- Rosie Huntington-Whiteley wore an orange coat during a visit to NYC, John Stamos plays a coach on the TV show Big Shot, Zach Braff goofed around on the set of Cheaper by the Dozen in L.A.

Page 13: Eva Longoria on her trampoline while aboard a yacht in Miami, Howie Mandel arrived to the set of America's Got Talent dressed as a bug in Pasadena

Page 14: Jon Hamm and his rescue dog Splash strolled around the neighborhood in L.A., Heidi Klum in all white in Pasadena, Sara Gilbert and Linda Perry take a stroll in L.A.

Page 15: Eddie Cibrian and LeAnn Rimes held hands after dinner at Il Segreto in L.A., Patrick Dempsey shot a scene for his show Devils in Rome

Page 16: Rachel Brosnahan in a blue dress and carrying a clear umbrella on the set of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel in NYC, Lin-Manuel Miranda at the opening of a vaccination center for Broadway workers in Times Square, Trisha Yearwood feeds one of her rescue pups

Page 18: Gen Z Has Spoken -- these celebs are making the young kids proud -- Baggy Jeans -- Hailey Bieber, Tracee Ellis Ross, Bella Hadid

Page 19: Middle Parts -- Busy Philipps, Lizzo, Jennifer Lopez, Kourtney Kardashian, baguette bags -- Dua Lipa, Elsa Hosk, Irina Shayk, Kendall Jenner

Page 20: Seeing Double -- stars bear a striking resemblance to their famous counterparts -- Elizabeth Banks and Chelsea Handler, Emmanuelle Chriqui and Nina Dobrev, Betty Gilpin and Jodie Comer

Page 21: Rob Lowe and Ian Somerhalder, Jaime Pressly and Margot Robbie, Isla Fisher and Amy Adams, Rupert Grint and Ed Sheeran, Kyle Richards and Kacey Musgraves

Page 22: Clueless Crew -- stars are totally buggin' over Cher Horowitz's style in yellow plaid -- Robin Roberts on Good Morning America, Katie Holmes was rollin' with her homie beau Emilio Vitolo Jr. in NYC, Vanessa Hudgens, Dianna Agron

Page 23: Gabrielle Union

Page 24: Stars They're Not Like Us -- Jay Leno took one of his vintage automobiles out for a spin in L.A., Chrissy Teigen and John Legend took a selfie with a fan while grocery shopping in Beverly Hills, Kylie Jenner has custom vending machines

Page 25: Carrie Underwood in her massive walk-in closet, Denzel Washington signs autographs for fans in NYC, Megan Thee Stallion on a private plane, Drake and his bodyguard in Beverly Hills

Page 26: Stars They're Just Like Us -- Sarah Jessica Parker catches a yellow cab after working at her shoe store in NYC, Brad Paisley picked up five pizzas to go in Montecito

Page 27: Kelly Osbourne handed out goods at a drive-thru food distribution event at the Islamic Center of Southern California, HGTV's Egypt Sherrod transformed her closet into a meditation space in Atlanta, in between filming Law & Order: SVU's Mariska Hargitay and Ice-T take a selfie

Page 28: Hollywood Dads -- Scott Porter on parenting his two kids McCoy and Clover

Page 29: Jonathan Tucker on life with twins Hayes and India, parenthood is a lot tougher than Jovi Dufren imagined, Maksim Chmerkovskiy can't wait to show son Shai his work

Page 30: Love Lives -- Rihanna and A$AP Rocky are showing no signs of slowing down -- the pair enjoyed a night out in L.A. hotspot Delilah where they were holding hands and laughing and they're not hiding the fact that they're dating but they just don't want people in their business -- they're a good match and are each other's best friend

Page 31: Justin Bieber and Hailey Bieber may look like the picture-perfect couple, but Justin admits that their first year of marriage wasn't what he expected, saying it was really tough and there was just a lack of trust and he blamed the strain on his own personal struggles and said before he didn't have someone to love or someone to pour into but now, more than two years after exchanging vows with Hailey, he has that

* Kacey Musgraves' romance with Dr. Gerald Onuoha is giving her butterflies -- the pair are so happy they found each other and while Kacey, who split from her husband Ruston Kelly last summer, is trying not to get too ahead of herself, her connection to the Nashville-based doc is off the charts and it's got the potential to go a very long way

* Today's Savannah Guthrie is thankful to have husband Michael Feldman in her life, especially given the demands of her early morning work schedule

Page 32: Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker are getting serious -- all the details on their whirlwind romance

Page 33: Adapting to parenthood has been a breeze for Emma Stone and she's soaking in all the precious moments of being a mom for the first time -- she and husband Dave McCary welcomed their baby daughter in March and Emma is super protective and a very hands-on mom and Dave is also hands-on and helps with their daughter -- thanks to the little one, Emma's marriage with the comedian has also gotten stronger and having a baby has brought them closer in a way they never expected -- Emma is looking forward to getting back to work; she's taken this time off to embrace motherhood and her number one priority is to raise a healthy baby so that's what she's focused on right now

* Britney Spears is setting the record straight -- despite her ongoing conservatorship battle with her dad, Jamie Spears, she is doing totally fine, assuring fans that she's extremely happy and she has a beautiful home, beautiful children and she's taking a break right now because she's enjoying herself -- although the legal drama with her father is heating up, Britney is staying strong and she has this wonderful ability to see the positive even when the odds are against her

* Keeping Up With Us -- production for the Downton Abbey sequel is underway, Mossimo Giannulli is a free man, Chrissy Teigen returned to Twitter 23 days after announcing that she was leaving the platform, Vanessa Bryant remembered her late husband Kobe Bryant on what would have been their 20th wedding anniversary, Helen McCrory lost her battle with cancer at age 52 according to her husband Damian Lewis

Page 34: A Day in My Life -- Whitney Port

Page 35: Colton Underwood is ready to live his truth -- during an interview on Good Morning America, the former Bachelor came out as gay, saying he's run from himself for a long time and he came to terms with his sexuality earlier this year and he's the happiest and healthiest he's ever been -- now that he feels like he can finally breathe, Colton is excited for his next chapter, which fans will get to see on an upcoming reality show with Olympian Gus Kenworthy -- a huge weight has been lifted off of Colton's shoulders and he is looking forward to being his authentic self

Page 36: Moms Tell All -- Happy Mother's Day! From milestones and manners to rules and nanny-bans, celebs and insiders talk about raising kids in Hollywood

Page 37: Bindi Irwin says life at home with her daughter Grace Warrior has been positively blissful and her family with dad Chandler Powell is so full of love, adding that the newborn has already met some of the wildlife at the Australia Zoo where Bindi and Chandler live and work and of course she's seen some crocs and really lit up when she saw them -- while the Aussie conservationist is sad Grace won't get to meet her late dad Steve Irwin, Bindi's brother Robert Irwin and mom Terri Irwin have been by her side constantly and Robert is obsessed with Grace and has been helping out so much and her mom has been the biggest guiding light and she's already taught Bindi so much about being a mother, both in how she raised her and by showing her things day by day and Terri is quite the baby whisperer and she's so great a calming Grace down when she's crying -- first-time father Chandler is also a natural with Grace and he's been the most supportive and involved dad and together, he and Bindi make such a great team -- for now, Bindi, who stars with Chandler in Crikey! It's a Baby!, is hoping Grace will follow in her animal-activist footsteps, saying having three generations of strong women working as conservationists is a dream come true

* Jennifer Garner said teaching your kids is a lifelong job, and certainly values are something you have to show them -- Jennifer, who shares kids Violet, Seraphina and Samuel with ex Ben Affleck, is staying true to her word and has led by example when it comes to things like kindness and patience and she won't let anyone in the house to judge or speak ill of people, and she enforces the same wholesome, traditional values that she was raised with and the kids have been taught to be loving, hardworking and fair -- Jennifer has always taken a kids-come-first approach to parenting, and it shows as they bake together, enjoy movie nights, read books and have very active lives and it's a very healthy, happy household filled with laughter and love

Page 38: Gwen Stefani has her hands full with her sons Kingston, Zuma and Apollo with ex-husband Gavin Rossdale, but she wouldn't want it any other way -- Gwen's a tomboy, so having three boys wasn't daunting for her at all, plus she has fiance Blake Shelton by her side to pitch in with parenting duties and Gwen and the boys have a blast at Blake's ranch in Oklahoma where they enjoy riding their ATVs, and they play baseball and football -- it's not all fun and games, though because Gwen is big on boundaries and manners and she doesn't want to raise Hollywood brats and it's important to her that her sons be gentlemen

* Meghan Markle's pregnancy with Archie was no walk in the park, as she revealed during her bombshell TV interview with husband Prince Harry, the couple had concerns over whether or not the royal family would provide security for their son and claimed there were conversations about his skin color -- but this time around, as Meghan and Harry gear up for baby No. 2 at home in L.A., she's doing everything her way, without the royals and Meghan and Harry feel blessed that they're able to raise their daughter in the U.S. and can live by their own rules and make the decisions they feel are best for their children; having independence is the most important thing for Meghan and she's got free rein to be exactly the kind of mom she wants to be -- her parenting style is really like most mothers out there, and she's been craving pasta and doing yoga two times a day as her due date nears and she keeps a lot of art supplies out to foster creativity and healthy snacks around and she's a devoted mom and wants the best for her kids

Page 39: Kate Hudson has a lot on her plate, so the mom of three, who shares son Ryder with former husband Chris Robinson and son Bingham with ex Matt Bellamy and daughter Rani with boyfriend Danny Fujikawa, knows when to put her foot down as things can get a little overwhelming at times for Kate, but when she says no, it absolutely means no, and the kids respect her very much because of that

* Gigi Hadid, who shares daughter Khai with boyfriend Zayn Malik, wants to spend every waking moment with her precious little girl -- Gigi could easily afford to employ a team of nannies but chooses not to and she prefers to do everything herself and besides, she can't bear to be away from Khai for more than a few hours

* Candace Cameron Bure's three grown kids are flying the coop, but she's still super involved in their lives, despite slowly becoming an empty nester -- the mom of Natasha, Lev, and Maksim with former hockey player Valeri Bure says it's been a very transitional time and she's been trying to help them make decisions they feel good about and it's challenging, but they're figuring it out

Page 40: Oh, Baby! Meghan Markle's due date is just around the corner, and here are all the details

* Bump Brigade -- Halsey, Gal Gadot, Shawn Johnson East

Page 42: 10 Years of the Cambridges -- a look back at Prince William and Duchess Kate Middleton's solid marriage for their anniversary

Page 44: Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez: What Really Happened -- cheating and lies? The truth behind J.Lo's split from fiance A-Rod

Page 45: Friendliest Exes -- these former couples managed to stay close after going their separate ways -- Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin, Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux, Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr, Demi Moore and Bruce Willis, Lisa Bonet and Lenny Kravitz

Page 48: Gifts for Mother's Day

Page 54: Entertainment -- Ben Barnes on Shadow and Bone

Page 58: Fashion Police -- the most daring Oscars looks -- Bjork, Whoopi Goldberg, Charlize Theron

Page 59: Rachel Weisz, Gwyneth Paltrow, Lady Gaga

Page 60: 25 Things You Don't Know About Me -- Julia Michaels

#tabloid #grain of salt #tabloid toc #tabloidtoc #bindi irwin #chandler powell #grace warrior irwin powell #jennifer garner #gwen stefani #meghan markle #prince harry #kate hudson #gigi hadid #candace cameron bure #the cambridges #prince william #duchess kate #kate middleton #catherine duchess of cambridge #jennifer lopez #alex rodriguez #ben barnes #shadow and bone #general kirigan #fashion police #julia michaels #colton underwood #whitney port #britney spears #emma stone

[mazamba]

Aftermath

“On hindsight, I suppose you’re too tall to be normal organics,” muttered Blackarachnia to her captors.

Granted, she didn’t know much about Earth’s wildlife, but the last time she’d heard of an ape that big it’d been from an old entertainment file. Kong King or something like that.

“Where are we going anyways?”

“Zee chief wants to speak with you.” he replied with what she recognized as a French accent.

“And who is-?”

“YOU’LL NEVER TAKE WASPINATOR ALIVE!”

“You ARE alive you idiot!”

Blackarachnia looked back just in time to see her test subject’s head, in a box with the rest of his body, look at a female hawk pensively before replying.

“Well played.”

She sighed, “If you can put a clamp on that one, I’m sure we’ll all appreciate it.”

The gorilla rolled his eyes, but nodded at the giant cheetah that was flanking her.

The cat seemed to grin, before unfolding into a robot mode to put a clamp on Waspinator.

“I didn’t know there were more like me.”

“We are not like you,” grunted the gorilla, “Where yuu see un curse, we see our lives.”

“So this is all you know?”

“Oui,” he affirmed, “Zis is how we were born.”

“You mean built.”

“Same thing.”

The group came to a stop at a metal door built into the side of a cliff, guarded by a purple t-rex. He was smaller than Grimlock, but still much taller than herself.

“Primal.”

“Dinotron.”

The greeting was curt and strained, giving Blackarachnia the idea that they may not get along too well. Something to file away from later, if the door in front of her was harder to leave than to enter.

“Chief?” called in Primal as he transformed, “We have arrived.”

She would later admit to be momentarily taken aback by the mech behind the door. 

He was probably one of the largest bots she’d ever met, dwarfing even Megatron in height. He had four arms, a large brawny set tipped with pincers and a smaller pair below that were busy attaching an arm to a white tiger. Most startling was the long, stinger tipped tail with a bead of poison primed at the point.

She couldn’t help but think she’d seen his face somewhere though.

“There you go, good as new,” he declared as the tiger’s skin knitted itself back together under the light of what Blackarachnia recognized as a Quintesson organic welder, “do keep off that paw for a few days, yes even if Cheetor is being annoying. I swear Tigatron, you’re not cubs anymore.”

“He started it,” growled the tiger as he transformed, looking somewhat similar to the cheetah from earlier, although the tiger’s head had ended up on his left shoulder instead of his chest.

“And I’m ending it,” scolded the scorpion, “Primal reported a transwarp explosion and we need all of us to be on high alert in case-.”

“Chief!” called out Primal again, “We have returned.”

“With guests!” quipped Cheetor, vaguely reminding Blackarachnia of a certain yellow sub-compact.

“You brought them here!?” he snapped, stomping over to them with his four clawed feet, “What were you thin- oh!”

He was startled at first, as expected, followed by a smile that made her extremely uncomfortable.

“As I live and breathe,” he crooned, “Blackarachnia. My very muse is before me!”

“Excuse me?”

He chuckled, a deep an somewhat unsettling sound.

“I looked rather different when we first met, so I don’t blame you for not recognizing me,” he acknowledged, “regardless, meeting you was a life-changing event for me.”

“And why would that be?”

“Madam, you are the future,” he told her, still beaming with that smarmy smile, “the second I laid eyes on you, I saw a glimpse of the future!”

He pulled up holograms, detailed charts on cellular formation and the anatomy of various Earth animals, even humans. Judging from the pictures, he had performed most of his own dissections.

“Cybertronians and organics have their own set of advantages,” he explained, “cybertronians- Pit, technomorphs in general can live indefinitely, but only with frequent repairs, patches, and upgrades. Organics are relatively short lived, but their self-repair systems are vastly superior to ours.

“Both have their pros and cons, but I believe perfection lies in a hybrid of the two. Cybertronian metamaterials and organic repair could create a truly immortal being that has no need for upgrades or patches, so long as they have a constant energy source.”

“Maybe you haven’t heard, but I’m far from perfect.”

“That is because you, and we for that mater, have not been able to achieve true hybridization,” he pointed out, “we function thanks to a very delicate barrier that keeps our cybertronian components from mingling too much with our organic ones. A true hybrid can transcend technomorphs altogether. Best of both worlds and all that.”

“And you want me to help you create a true hybrid?”

“Oh, my partner and I have already created a transcendent technomorph,” he replied, waving her off, “the problem is, Tarantulas grew a conscience out of nowhere and took off with our prototype eight years ago, and I’ve been tracking her down ever since.

“Help me bring them back, and I’ll give you everything you need to throw your gifts away.”

“This is not a gift,” she hissed, “my organic components are aging faster than my cybertronian ones and I’ve already found that they’re too intertwined for me to survive. My source-code's been infected to the point that even a spark transplant would be useless!”

“Which is why you need me,” he pointed out, “no one knows more about technorganics than me, yes even you. Bring me my prototype, and I’ll downgrade you.”

“And how do you expect me to find it?”

“You’ve already met her,” he pointed out as he pulled up an image of a very familiar-looking teenager, “I don’t know what Tarantulas was thinking when he left her with Isaac Sumdac of all people, but I was able to track her down when she upgraded to this new form. Good for her really. Without energon, she would have expired in another year or so, but this new upgrade appears to be perfect in every single way...”

There was that smarmy smile again.

“You want to retro-engineer her,” she realized, “you want to make more like her- it.”

“I would like her cooperation if possible, so bring her to me alive.”

“What makes you think she’ll help you?”

“Sari Sumdac is a unique entity, the first of her kind,” he explained, finally losing the smile, “but she soon will realize that being unique is a curse as much as it is a blessing. At this point, she must have realized that if she does nothing, she will also be the last of her kind.”

It was when the light hit him that she was finally able to see past the chitin, and she recognized who she was speaking with.

“Megazarak!?”

She felt Primal flinch next to her, immediately putting her on high alert. The giant mech, however, was much faster and his pincer was around her neck before she could do anything.

“Never call me that again,” growled the founder and former leader of the Decepticons. 

“I-I-.”

“Megazarak was weak, a wretch that couldn’t see treachery incarnate, even as we sipped cubes on the same table,” he was calm, far too calm for the rage she could see on his face, “call me that again and you won’t live long enough to dispose of your gifts. I can guarantee you that.”

“M-Mega-!”

“I MADE Megatron!” he roared, throwing her against the opposite wall, “He was nothing more than a data clerk when we first met! An aristocrat that knew nothing but his personal oil blends and polished floors! He knew nothing of what became of the Destrons after we were forbidden from doing what made us great in the first place!”

He sighed, collecting himself as he got his temper back under control.

“I apologize,” he said, picking her up and placing her on a nearby chair as if she were nothing but a toy, “but I would appreciate it if you called me by my chosen name from now on.”

“And- and what would that be?”

“Megazarak is dead,” he explained, “call me Scorponok.”

#transformers #transformers animated #blackarachnia #scorponok #sari sumdac

[dansnaturepictures]

Monday 16th August 2021: Lakeside and home 

On a day when the sun was in and out I enjoyed seeing a nice few flowers on the balcony and in the front garden before leaving for my Lakeside lunch time walks, a pink and red geranium each looking quite lonely in their respective pots now with not as many flowers about in the balcony pots and some in a pot hanging off of the balcony and in the garden the delights of a dandelion clock, the first andryala I recall seeing a sweet yellow one and more lovely poor man’s weather glass aka scarlet pimpernel looking lovely there are so many about at Lakeside and home lately with a great little carpet of them in the front garden I took the first picture in this photoset of one. Just before getting into Lakeside I enjoyed seeing blackberries as shown in the second picture I took today in this photoset and a nice patch of ragwort I’ve enjoyed a lot lately entangled with rich green oak leaves which I tweeted a photo of on Dans_Pictures tonight. 

I took the third picture in this photoset looking over the southern fenced off nature reserve area on my way down to the lakes and also loved seeing pink great willowherb and yellow fleabane mixing nicely. I reflected today how lucky I am to have such a variety of special flowers so close to us at Lakeside. For butterfly purposes primarily we spent the weekend in perhaps the best place to see lots of wildflowers in summer meadow downland and it was amazing as I charted in my posts about the three sites. I reflected at Magdalen Hill how when seeing meadow crane’s-bill there it was quite something as probably the first place I’d seen one outside of Lakeside. And it hit me today I’m not sure I’ve seen the great willowherb or fleabane for that matter at many other places. The great willowherb especially Lakeside is a brilliant varied habitat for and I am lucky to see so many in the summer I have loved learning them the past couple of summers one I do like looking out for. 

Reaching beach lake the Black-headed Gull in the fourth picture in this photoset was a delight to see a great intimate view. I walked around Kornwestheim lake shown in the fifth picture I took today in this photoset and it became a great walk of little flowers with speedwell, chamomile and perhaps the first scarlet pimpernel I’ve seen actually in Lakeside all shinning out nicely and I enjoyed getting pictures of them. 

Alongside Coot and Moorhen well at lunch time I’ve not seen much of the former lately I was happy to get smashing views of the Great Crested Grebe pair on this lake. I saw one very closely before looking at the flowers swimming on the lake and then I was thrilled to notice the pair seem to have a nest not where I saw one last week but the usual spot at the north of the lake where they raised the three chicks from last year which is quite protected. So it may be a bit late now but its hopeful and it was good to see the pair around the nest together. A late resurgence in another dramatic and captivating breeding season I loved observing so much whilst working from home at Lakeside is hinted with all of this so we’ll see what happens. On the western shore of Kornwestheim lake the sun came out a little bit and deliciously lit the scene and my bridge camera on a rare lunch time walk with it proved a good tool to photograph a scene I have a lot with my DSLR in a different way getting more of the scene in with some reflected leaves in the sun looking especially nice. 

Walking back west of Concorde lake then along the northern path it turned into a foray into fungi with some by where I stood next to Kornwestheim lake too it was great to see a few ahead of the autumn when I love seeing so many they are certainly coming out in numbers now and it seems to be a good time for them. This included the lovely shaped mushrooms in the sixth and seventh pictures in this photoset and a nice redish one which I enjoyed here last year and another too. I took the eighth picture in this photoset of lovely watermint which I’ve seen a fair bit of across Lakeside lately and ninth of concorde lake. A bright red male Common Darter flying along the northern path was symbolic of later summer starting to replace the Emperor and Black-tailed Skimmers that I enjoyed seeing so much this of year. On a great sunny evening with nice sky scenes again I took the tenth and final picture in this photoset of this. 

Wildlife Sightings Summary: One of my favourite birds the Great Crested Grebe, Mallard, Coot, Moorhen, Greylag Geese still nicely about they stop being here daily at some point around now as has appeared to happen with the Canada Geese, Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Carrion Crow well at Lakeside, Starling, House Sparrow, Gatekeeper, Speckled Wood, Common Darter and fly. 

#fy #speckled wood #hampshire #lakeside #eastleigh #england #uk #world #beautiful #happy #photos #photography #birdwatching #wildlife #woodpigeon #water mint #speedwell #scarlet pimernel #poor man's-weather glass #birds #butterflies #butterfly #dragonfly #sun #great crested grebe #collared dove #lakeside country park #europe #monday #greylag goose

[whattodowithace]

Open, for flowers (Chan)

Title: Open, for flowers

Pairing: Reader x Chan (A.C.E)

Genre: Fluff, flower shop AU

Word count: 3201

Writer: Kpopmadness (Ju)

“Chanie, wait for me!” A little girl screeches to her best friend as she runs frantically down the gravel road. Her ponytail swinging in the breeze behind her.

“I am waiting.” The little boy answers shortly, stopping mid run to wait for her small legs to catch up to him.

She huffs as she comes up beside him. “Where are we going?” She asks impatiently.

“My book says this time of year there’s special flowers blooming. I want to go see.”

Chan loved everything flowers and wildlife. He had a big book that he used to chart when certain flowers would bloom, how long they would keep, the list going on and on. He had a sketchbook that he carried with him everywhere. Inside were thousands of sketches of flowers he had found. Some he even kept dried and neatly pressed inside the sketchbook.

“You’re weird for a boy.” The little girl teases, nudging him with her shoulder.

Chan smiles at his best friend. “You don’t have to come with me you know. I know everyone thinks I’m weird. I won’t be sad if you think the same.”

The little girl looked at him. Her eyes holding some sadness and hurt at his suggestion. “I like going with you, Yuchan.” The little girl answered truthfully, masking Chans eyes widen in surprise.

“Besides,” she adds. “You’re nicer to me than the other boys. Donghun pulls my ponytail all the time.” She rubbed her head as if she could feel his hand tugging at her hair. Making her head sore.

Chan lets out a giggle. “That’s just his way of saying he likes you.” He reassures. His smile turning his eyes turn into crescents, making her smile back.

The little girl suddenly gasps in excitement, making Chan take a step back. “Maybe when we grow up we can open a shop together, Chanie!” She squeals. “Just for your flowers!”

Chan tilts his head to the side, her suggestion new to him. “I never thought about doing that.” He admits.

“I think you should do it.” She encourages. “And I’ll help you.”

That summer day on that gravel road with the warm air circling around the two children was a pivotal point in their young lives. They just didn’t realize how much of one it was.

``

“Yuchan!” I call into the small shop. The sweet scent of flowers greeting me as i enter. The smell making me feel like i was home.

A full head of blonde hair peaks behind a door to my right, a smile on his face. “Hi love.” Chan greets warmly.

I smile at my best friend. “Hey. Have you been busy today?”

Chan wipes his hands that were smeared with potting soil off on his apron as he says, “Not too bad. But i am ready for your help if that’s what you’re asking.” He says with a sly wink.

I laugh and set my bag down on a free chair by the door. “Can i go freshen up upstairs?”

Chan nods quickly as he turns his attention to a row of cactuses lining the store window. His eyes catching a certain gleam to them that they always did when he was working in his element.

I rush upstairs to the loft where Chan lived after store hours. The old building was one Chan had been saving up for since he was eight years old. The downstairs portion was his own flower shop, the upstairs was his apartment. A small loft with a large window overlooking the town and letting gentle rays of sunlight spark across the small space.

I smile happily. I loved this place. Chan bought it right out of high school. He let me have a job with him here once it became established. I worked part time throwing papers in the early mornings, and then in the afternoon i worked with Chan. Although many nights i ended up going upstairs with him to watch our favorite movies and play games with the guys.

I change my shirt from a long sleeve to a short sleeve. The spring air getting warmer everyday. I swoop my hair back into a ponytail before tying on my apron and heading downstairs to help Chan work and arrange flower decorations and take any orders we might have had.

My foot hits the last step when i feel a hard tug on my ponytail, making me screech in more annoyance than pain.

“Would you stop doing that, you brat!” I yell at Donghun. Who wears an evil smirk on his face as he stares down at me.

“Nope. I’ve done it since we were kids and I’m going to keep doing it.” He tells me with a sly wink. His dark puppy eyes shining.

I pinch his arm before shoving past him to go behind the checkout counter with Chan. Who greeted me with a warm smile as he handed me a freshly potted cactus to place behind the window for display.

I head to the large window but quickly stop when i see the man leaning over one of the cactuses, his hand hovering over the spikes that covered the succulent.

“Seyoon, what on earth do you think you’re doing? You’re going to hurt yourself.” I scold him, pushing him away from the cactus before he did damage to himself or said plant.

“I wanted to see how sharp it was.” Seyoon whines, his bottom lip pouting.

“I also dared him to touch it.” Donghun adds in.

“I had no say in it.” Jun chimes in. I hadn’t seen him come in earlier.

“But we did think it would be fun to see if he would actually do it.” Byeongkwan adds, who was standing next to Donghun.

“We just didn’t think he would actually do it.” Donghun chuckles as he shakes his head. A crooked grin lining his face.

An older woman with silver hair walks into the store about then. The doors bell ringing as she opens and closes the door.

“If you aren’t going to help us then leave you guys.” Chan hisses. “Before you destroy my shop.”

I give the boys pointed looks, agreeing with Chan. In the end Byeongkwan and Jun stayed to help us. While Seyoon and Donghun ran off somewhere else.

But before they left Donghun was sure to give my ponytail a final tug, making me kick his shin as he scurried out. Seyoon was thoughtful enough to hug me before they left. But he always did that.

Me and Chan worked together feverishly until the sun started dipping into the horizon. Its rays and warmth fading from the streets. Jun and Byeongkwan left, leaving me and Chan to balance the checkbook and clean up for the next day.

I sat at a bar stool carefully arranging a set of red roses for display when Chan came down the stairs from his loft. Two hot cups of coco in his hands as he made his way to me.

He sat on the stool beside me as we drank our coco in silence. Our legs tired from constantly walking all day long.

But my mind wouldn’t settle down. A nagging subject i had been delaying bringing up to Chan tying my stomach in tight knots.

I set the mug of hot chocolate down carefully before taking a deep breath. “Chan?”

“Yeah, love?” Chan answers me. Not really meeting my eyes as he picks dead leaves off a chrysanthemum.

“Mom and daddy want me to go to collage soon.” I tell him bluntly. This makes Chan stop and face me. His big brown eyes going sad. But he remains quiet and patiently waits for me to finish.

“They say i cant spend all my life with newspapers and flowers.” I choke out, trying not to cry. “Daddy wants me to go to med school this fall. He says he wants me to follow in his footsteps.”

My father was the top leading brain surgeon in the US. His name well known to many and his heroic acts publicized on many social media platforms. My mother ran a fashion business. I was never much into clothes. That much showed from my jeans with rips in them and a plain T-shirt. I only ever wore one sweatshirt. And it was one Chan gave me while we were in high school. I wore it nearly everyday. Which she hated. It was too repetitive. She had scolded many times.

“Is that what you want?” Chan asks quietly. His voice unbearably low.

“I don’t know.” I sigh, hiding my face in my hands. Tears threatening to fall down my cheeks. “I do like the world of medicine.” I admit.

Chan nods, “You were always really good at identifying certain herbs that would help with illnesses when we were younger. While I was just good at naming different types of flowers.”

I let out a soft chuckle and shake my head at the memory. “But I don’t know that’s what i want to do.” I tell him, meeting his eyes. “But just for once, i would like for my parents to be proud of me.”

Chan gives me a small smile before standing up from his chair and wrapping his arms around my shoulders, his chest pressing into my back as he rested his chin on top of my head.

“You should do whatever makes you happy, love.” Chan whispers. “You know i would miss you horribly if you decide to move away to a big collage. The shop wouldn’t be the same without you. But i also want you to know that I’m proud of you. Even if your parents aren’t. I’ll support whatever decision you decide to make.”

I feel my chest tighten and tears burn my eyes. My admiration for Chan swelling at hearing his kind words.

I place my hand over his arm as he continues to hold me tightly. “Thank you, Chanie. Really.”

“Anytime, love.” Chan whispers, squeezing me tightly. “And besides,” he adds, “We have all summer before we need to worry.”

````

The days got longer and warmer as time dragged on. The shop was always at its busiest time during the summer months. New types of flowers and plants were imported in to sell, drawing people to buy them. Sometimes even in mass quantity.

I tried to ignore the pressing issue of collage and possibly having to move away. The very thought making me sad immediately.

Chan worked almost nonstop during the summer months. He loved this time of year. His skin would become a dark shade of brown from standing outside the shop tending to the flowers that preferred being outside. His hair going blonde from all the sun it was receiving.

But the summer breeze brought a lot of change with it. One afternoon i sat at the counter deep in thought. A sinking feeling plaguing me.

Chan walked in from outside, a large cement pot in his arms. He set it down gently before taking in my dream state.

“Are you lost, love?” Chan asks with a chuckle. A smile tugging at his lips.

I smile and let out a sigh. “Do you realize i have never had a boyfriend before, Yuchan?” I blurt out.

Chan blinks at me, his eyes wide. “Umm...”

“I mean,” I continue, not noticing him tense. “I went through high school with no love life whatsoever. And now I’m faced with maybe going off to collage this fall and i have no idea what it feels like to kiss someone or even be in love.”

Chan hesitates, his jaw slack. “Maybe...maybe you just haven’t found the right person.” He stutters. Trying to keep the tightness out of his voice.

I give him a wistful look. “I know half the boys in this town, Chan. The right man is taking his sweet time coming my way.”

Chan shifts his weight nervously. “Maybe... you.. I mean. Maybe you should wait?” He says quietly. His voice so low i can barely hear him.

“What do you mean wait?” I ask.

“I mean just wait until you know if you’re going to collage or not before thinking about having a boyfriend.” He answers. His voice holding a certain clipped tone to it i had never heard before. His ears a bright red against his tan skin.

“Are you okay?” I decide to ask. Genuinely worried about him.

Chan stares at me. Holding my gaze for much longer than needed. Making my heart pick up its pace.

Chan picks up the cement pot against before grumbling, “Just forget it .” And storming off. Leaving me feeling confused and not any calmer.

````

Rain beats heavily against the shops windows. Thunder rumbling across the sky with lightening streaks occasionally lighting up the night sky.

I rush into the store, my hair and clothes soaking wet from the heavy rain. I see Chan cleaning up the shop, a mop in hand as he takes in my appearance with a smirk.

“Is it raining?” He asks sarcastically.

I give him a glare as i pull my wet hair off my neck, a shiver going down my spine.

“I came to see if you needed help bringing some of the flowers in. The storm is only supposed to get worse as the night goes on.”

“I’m okay, love.” Chan reassures. “I brought all the plants in earlier today. I’m sorry, i should have called and told you to stay inside.”

I shake my head, dismissing his apology. “I needed to get away from home anyway. You were my excuse.”

“Well then help me mop the floors and shine up this place.” Chan tells me as he hands me a dust rag.

I smile at him as i start cleaning. Both of us getting lost in easy conversation as the storm continues to rage outside. Rain attacking the windows as we work together.

Eventually, after a moments lapse in the conversation i decide to ask. “Chan, did i say something wrong the other day? When i said i wanted a boyfriend?”

Chan freezes, his shoulders going tight. “Umm.. n.. no”

He stutters. His ears going a bright shade of red.

I give him a quizzical look. Not believing him. “Chan, be honest with me. Please? Did i or did i not upset you the other day?”

Chan lets out a heavy sigh, running a calloused hand across the back of his neck. He slowly turns to face me as he admits, “I just... I don’t understand why you want a boyfriend so bad all of a sudden. There’s only two months of summer left and you decide to worry about how you’ve never been kissed before.”

“I want to know.” I say defensively. “If I’m going to be confined to studying for the next few years i want to experience things that other people have.”

“But... does it have to be with someone you hardly know? And why worry about it? It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Chan counters, trying to keep his voice calm.

“Because it means a lot to me. And i want to feel like I’m loved and appreciated by at least someone since i hardly get that from my parents.”

Chan stares at me wide eyed. He scoffs and rubs his eyes, a soft growl escaping his lips. “You just want to feel loved?” He repeats.

“Yeah.” I answer, my voice a little shaky.

“Then what have i been to you all these years?!” Chan shouts, making me jump.

Chan slowly closes the gap between us as he continues, “I have patiently listened to you, let you cry on my shoulder, let you work with me, shared meals with you, everything! What did you think that all meant?”

“Chan, calm down.” I say shakily. Taking a step back but my legs hit a table behind me, stopping me.

“No.” Chan snaps. “I’ve been patient for years. Never once interfering with your life. But all those times you stayed with me to watch movies and would fall asleep on my shoulder, all the times we would talk about how to make this place better, talk about our future, share secrets together, that all made me fall more in love with you.”

I feel my entire body freeze. I stare at Chan wide eyed, his eyes full of tears. Suddenly i feel stupid for never having seen it before.

Chan looks down at the ground, his hands going into fists beside him. “You talk of not knowing what to do with your life. About no one loving you and no one seeing you or caring what you think. But i have always cared, and I always will. But the only future I can see having is one with you in it.”

I feel tears sting my eyes from both joy and just feeling dumb for never having noticed my best friend in that way before. I quickly move forward and wrap my arms around his neck, encasing him in a tight embrace.

Chan freezes for a moment, his arms not going around my waist. His muscles tight as i hold him close to me.

“I should have known.” I tell him, my voice breaking. “I’m so stupid. You’re right. About everything.”

Chan takes my face in his hands, our faces inches apart. “You mean, you feel the same way?” He asks me in disbelief.

I let out a choked laugh, “Chanie, there is no one i would rather fall in love with more than you.”

Chans lips split into a huge smile before he closes the gap between us. The feel of his lips on mine making me tense slightly before relaxing and wrapping my arms around his neck to pull him close to me.

I smile into the kiss, getting lost in his touch and the way his lips taste and feel on mine. I feel my body go limp slightly when he runs his tongue across mine, his hands sliding up my back to pull me closer to him until there was no room between us.

I let out a gasp as he picks me up slightly to set me on the table behind me. One hand resting on my thigh as the other hand stays at the back of my neck, keeping me close to him.

His lips slide over mine softly, both of us just enjoying the feeling of being so close. I pull away from him slowly, resting my forehead against his as he breathes heavily against my lips.

“Does this mean you’ll stay?” Chan whispers, his voice raspy.

I smile and kiss his nose gently. “I’m staying with you.” I answer him, making him smile as he leans in to kiss my mouth again.

Eventually, i slide off the table. Chans face a bright red as we continue cleaning the rest of the shop before going upstairs to his loft. Where we end up talking half the night before i fall asleep on his chest while watching movies. Our limbs tangled together tightly as we bask in the warmth and feeling of security we brought each other. Our new relationship starting a new chapter for the both of us.

#a.c.e #ace chan x reader #ace chan #ace yuchan #a.c.e chan #a.c.e yuchan #a.c.e imagine #a.c.e fanfcition #ace #a.c.e x reader #ace fanfiction #fanfiction #kpop fanfiction #kpop #kpop x reader #kpop imagines #ace imagines #kpop fluff #kpopmadness writings

[fanfoolishness]

1 and 9 for Primary directives and 11 for The Scent of Whiteleaf, please :)

Questions from this ask meme! Still happy to answer more :)

1: What inspired you to write the fic this way?

Primary Directives

I never pass up an opportunity to delve deeper into canon whump for any character I adore, even if I’ve already tread ground there already.  So far I’ve written about Din’s injuries in the Redemption in immediate flashback form when Din has been trying to clean up his armor afterwards, as well as focusing on how it felt to have a friend like Cara carry him at his weakest.  Then I thought it’d be fun to focus on the extent of his injuries from an outside perspective so we can have someone commenting on his facial expressions and body language, so it was IG-11′s turn to discuss the scene.  Of course, writing from a droid’s perspective requires a very detached voice, which was fun to play with.

It watched the Mandalorian’s breathing.  His chest rose and fell, the breath strained, labored, then absent.  Breath, breath, apnea.  The cycle repeated.  This abnormal pattern of respiration suggested a severe head injury.  Perhaps that was why the Mandalorian had so resisted the female human’s offers to render aid.  

I just love seeing our heroes vulnerable and what’s more vulnerable than this?

9: Were there any alternate versions of this fic?

Nope.  Pretty much just came out this way in 2-3 hours, all in one session.

BUT you mentioned Scent of Whiteleaf so I’m gonna answer #9 for that one too!

The Scent of Whiteleaf:

9. Where there any alternate versions of this fic? 

YES.  I started out trying to write this entirely from Din’s perspective.  I knew I wanted them to hike or camp on a beautiful planet with a Mediterranean climate (all of the plants can be recognized as southern California natives.  Fire-nettle is poison oak, whiteleaf is sage...), and I knew I wanted there to have been a former Mandalorian covert so that we could get a bit of Din’s backstory.  But Din was a horrible narrator for this story.  It just didn’t work at all and I was getting bored trying to write it.

Ysedros Major was a blip on most star charts, even those focusing on the Outer Rim.  Din wasn’t sure why it had remained so unsettled; it was a habitable world, temperate, with a pleasing yellow sun and native vegetation capable of supporting a wide range of wildlife.  He’d seen ice-encrusted moons swarming with settlements over the merest scrap of mineable metal, let alone the riches this world clearly held.  It was a curious thing, then, to stand tall atop a lonely, wind-seared ridge and see nothing but nature before him.  

Him, and the kid.

The kid yawned, burrowing against his chest.  Din held the kid a little closer, reaching up with his free hand to pat his back.  “You tired, buddy?”  Little wonder that the child was getting sleepy.  They’d been traveling for a few hours now, and their destination still lay a day away.

This wasn’t Din’s first visit to Ysedros Major.  It was a world he remembered from his youth, when a Mandalorian covert had been established here shortly after the Purge.  He’d spent a few months with the Mandalorians here before they had moved on, but covert locations were long-remembered.  Perhaps others had returned here.  Perhaps they would know how to find a Jedi.  He had few other leads to go on.

Too much telling, not enough showing.  Whereas in the final version, the planet doesn’t even get a name! And there I was spending a good 10 minutes trying to come up with one, LOL.

I did like the scene of them resting and camping for the night, which was very similar to the same scene from Grogu’s perspective, but it wasn’t enough to power me through the whole story. Switching to Grogu just fixed everything and from there it flowed beautifully.  This passage is okay, but it’s much more fun from Grogu’s POV.

The night’s suddenness took him by surprise as they clambered through the canyon.  The yellow sun vanished over the edge of the ridge, and the night was with them: deep purples bleeding into black shadows.  His helmet’s interface handled the transition well, with an automatic shift to infrared, but it wouldn’t do to keep onward tonight.  The kid was hungry, making fussy little noises.   

They stopped at the bank of a small trickling stream.  No sooner had he set the child down than the kid darted forward, coming up with a frog-like creature writhing in his small hands.  Din chuckled.  “Oh, go on.”

The kid slurped the frog down with a gulp, cooing with delight.  Din focused on scanning the water for fish, switching from infrared to a more generic night vision that worked better on coldblooded creatures.  It took a few efforts, but he was rewarded eventually with a squirming fish impaled on the end of his whipcord.  

“Haven’t had to do that in years,” Din said to the kid, who was watching in fascination. Din reached into his bag of supplies and came out with a collapsible metal bowl.  It was the work of a few moments to get it set up and boiling with a touch of flame from his vambrace.  At least fish cooked quickly.

Din glanced around.  Some of the shapes of vegetation looked familiar.  He plucked a few leaves off the nearest plant.

11: What do you like best about this fic?

I loved writing how much Grogu looks up to Din.  Sure, he’ll push the boundaries sometimes -- hunting frogs, touching fire-nettle -- but he trusts him enormously.  I also loved writing what we’ve been seeing as the audience -- Din’s struggle to do what he feels he has been called to do for the Child, while simultaneously pre-emptively grieving their inevitable separation.  

“Getting sleepy, pal?” he asks. “It’s been a long day. C’mon.” He picks Grogu up, cradling him in his lap, and Grogu curls up against him. Up above Grogu can see the stars, swinging bright and glittery in the darkness. The insect chorus gets louder, and Grogu senses them, tiny pinpricks of light in the Force all around them. It makes him feel relaxed. He remembers the Jedi temple, feeling others around him all the time, safe and content in their home.

“I think we’ll make it to the covert tomorrow,” the man says quietly. “If they’re there, maybe they can lead us to a Jedi for you. Wouldn’t you like that?”

Grogu frowns. The Force contracts around the man, his normally bright signature darkening. Fear. Dread. Sadness. Grogu doesn’t understand. Usually the man’s words match the way he feels, strong and strong, sad and sad, angry and angry. But when the man brings up Jedi, the words and the feelings never match.

Grogu grips the man’s hand with his own, closing his eyes and holding on tightly. He tries to send an image of the two of them by the fire in the cool evening breeze, the sound of insects buzzing in the dark, good fish in their bellies, and he tries to send happy, safe, now.

But the man just pulls him a little closer, hand brushing over Grogu’s ears, and says, “We’ll find that place where you belong.”

#the mandalorian #writing #my mando fic #fanfiction #din djarin #grogu

[readingreylo]

Oh my gosh, you guys, I just binged Patient Zero by ProtonBeam-- and it is soooooo fucking good! Its House MD meets A/B/O meets Venom. Powerhouse prose. So engaging. Great snappy banter/dialouge. Brilliant characterizations! (Ben, Rose, Rey, Hux etc) lots of funny moments! Long chapters. Steamy AF. No explicit smut.

(Img by protonbeam)

Patient Zero by ProtonBeam (ao3)

M | 69k | complete | Reylo | Modern AU | A/B/O | Romance | House MD vibes | Venom vibes | Doctors and patients | "mysterious" symptoms | Alaska | wolf bites | mating habits of wolves | side gingerose | side stormpilot | doctor!Ben Solo | wildlife researcher!Rey | Ben POV |

Dr. Benjamin Solo, Head of Diagnostic Medicine at Coruscant Memorial Teaching Hospital has his fancy tickled by a case. Rey Niima, female, 26, a month's worth of woefully underwhelming hospital charts. A series of inexplicably linked symptoms and no diagnosis in sight.

That’s why her file arrives on his desk. He’s the most sought after diagnostician in the country. Prick extraordinaire. Mr. Dry-humour but only at the expense of others. He likes solving complex cases for the sheer thrill of unravelling what others can’t.

And he’s finally met his match.

If only she could stop saying “Alpha?”

Clinical Note: How did the omegaverse start? Or shall we call it the alphaverse? Where did designations come from? It all started with one Patient Zero.

GO READ IT NOW

#reylo fic rec #reylo fanfic #reylo #kylo ren #ben solo #reylo fanfiction #fanfiction #fanfic #reylo fandom #stormpilot #gingerose #protonbeam #reylo fic

[raspberryfanfics]

adventures of wandering nowhere (Vignettes)—nejiweek day 4

Day 4 Prompt— Fate | Freedom

     It’s Canada day:)       Also I’m not that happy with these but here they are anyway.

nulla. (prologue)

There’s a lot of things money can’t buy you. 

It’s cliche, but Neji Hyuga knows that it’s true in very many ways. Yet he also knows that money can buy you a lot of things to help with what it cannot. He always knew that the digits piling up in his bank account would be worth nothing if he didn’t save them for something good and he lets his uncle see what he wants to see until mid June before his nineteenth birthday.

Neji packs everything he needs, including his credit card, and goes to an airport. He doesn’t even know where he's going. Despite all the places he has been, the screen with way too many possible locations makes it extremely clear on how huge the world is and all the places worth going too expensive even for him. 

He wonders if he should throw a dart to a map or ask the first person he sees, following them. But he has been nearly everywhere, Paris, New York, Los Angeles, London, Beijing, Barcelona, Cairo, Berlin, Dubai...and he realizes that what the only thing they have in common, even with Tokyo, is the size. Oh, he also realizes that he really doesn’t want to go to another huge city.

So he scans the chart again and several choices are knocked away so he considers the next question: what does he want to do? 

Neji has been caged practically his whole life, doing everything his uncle wanted until now, and he was most definitely not going to stop yet. He wants to be able to run around and breathe fresh air and feel the breeze rather than the race of cars or drink from rivers so clean you could see the bottom. He wants space.

He stares at his map and thinks of space. Canada seems pretty nice. The country is huge, the population...not so much. There’s a variety of landscapes and people are said to be nice there. Honestly, he doesn’t really think much about kindness but the flight to Vancouver seems to speak to him so he books a flight as cheap as he can. 

On the airplane, he sat on the side of two friends, one with a ridiculous black bowl cut and another with two buns on the sides of her head. He hears them talking about what they’re gonna do and the places they will see. He hasn’t heard of half of them, he hasn’t studied at all and has no plan. The guy screams that he loves Canada, catching the attention of several other passengers and the girl smacks him in a playful sort of way.

But they are friendly, ask him questions, and tell them of their experience in the country and being outdoors. They offer to let him wander with them, an offer he can’t refuse. He tells them that he has money and will pay for any expenses they can’t, but they smile at him with a glint in their eyes. Because to Tenten and Lee, money can buy them more time to travel, more time to live, and that’s when Neji knows that though he won’t have any of the familiar luxuries, his adventures are going to last a whole lot longer. 

i. smaller big cities

Upon arriving in Vancouver, one thing is made very obviously clear to Neji: he will not be going to any tourist attractions. Vancouver is one of the biggest cities in Canada yet there is nothing more exhilarating about it than any other city he has been to. 

Tenten rolls her eyes at the sound of Stanley Park and Lee exclaims how unyouthful it is to keep the orca whales. He’s prepared to buy a hotel room for the three of them but instead, they go to a consignment store and sell all of the clothes in his suitcase. After that, they shop for a new set of clothes that cater more to being outdoors than going to business meetings and now his wardrobe is mostly hiking pants, cheap t-shirts, and hoodies. The purchase of a sleeping bag and a blow-up sleeping pad more than makes up for the price of a hotel room. 

Tenten and Lee then help his money again and they purchase a large second-hand pickup truck. They drive it to a nearby campsite and he’s absolutely shocked at how beautiful the mountains are. The lake is bluer than the sky and the area is filled with wildlife. He is taught how to set up their tent, sticking poles into tent gaps and held into the ground by metal pegs. A waterproof layer is thrown over. They then teach him to start a fire, which is a lot harder than it seems. 

The two have been in Canada so many times that in optimal conditions, they can start one without a lighter, or even flint and steel. He has to use several bits of crumbled newspaper. He learns that they burn more if they are in smaller bits and that some branches won’t catch as well. 

His sleep is not great, he is either too hot or too cold and when he wakes up to go to the bathroom it is pitch-black. He hears a rustling in the woods and screams. Neji never screams but the sound was terrifying and his two friends come rushing out with headlamps, blinding him. 

He learns that headlamps are stored in the tent pockets and the next time he goes to the woods to do his business, it is a very good idea to rely on those instead of the stars.

ii. wildlife

Neji very much likes the birds and squirrels in the multiple camping trips he has now been on. He never thought that he’d like bathing in rivers and a swimsuit, but he does. He still isn’t sick of campfire-made spaghetti or smores. 

He is in northern British columbia when he first sees a bear on the road. Bears are beautiful creatures. They are large and fluffy and the one he sees looks like a terrifying stuffed animal. Neji takes way too many pictures while Lee and Tenten laugh at him as they wonder when they can pull the truck away from the side of the road.

When he sees a bear when he’s camping, however, though his companions have kept all the smelly items in bear-proof containers, he is about to scream. Tenten clasps a hand over his mouth and waves her hands around. Lee lowers his voice several notches and tells the bear youthful things much slower. They talk to the bear for a few minutes, though it seems like several hours, and Neji swears he has never been as terrified in his life. In the end, the bear goes, as do they, and that’s when they realize how wrong they were not to give him the bear safety lesson.

He thinks that a bear is the most terrifying thing to happen to him though being relatively harmless if unprovoked, but one day they are just finishing packing the truck when he sees a moose. Neji is about to take a picture of the moose but it glares at him and suddenly has red blazing in his eyes. Lee is in the driver’s seat and Tenten is in the back of the pickup. Two of the four doors are still open. He is waiting for her to approach the moose in the way they did with the bear, but fear glazes in both their eyes and she screams run.

Neji is running for his life towards the truck and he jumps into the passenger seat and Lee drives off twice the speed limit, escaping a moose charging furiously towards them. All three of them are screaming for their lives and when they finally get to the highway, they look at each other and start laughing. The matter isn’t funny in the least, as Neji learns that there is no way to escape an angry moose rather than a bear, but they have just faced death in the form of a moose, right in the eye, but they survived. 

iii. canoe trip

The first time the three of them actually rent instead of buy something, it happens to be a canoe, lifejackets, and drybags. They teach him how to canoe, every stroke he needs to know, and what to do if he flips. He tosses throwbags, ties knots, and packs bags. When they deep him good on the lake, they are ready to go onto a river.

They ask an old friend to park their truck at their end destination, and they load the canoes with the waterproof bags, their tents and sleeping bags, and four days of food supplies. They camp along the sides of the riverbank, making campfires, roasting marshmallows and hot dogs. When they’re lucky, they find berries and collect them for an extra source of food. When the sun finally sets, he can see all the stars glimmering above him and time seems to stop. He no longer cares about the pressures in the world on the disappointment he was to his uncle. 

There are no problems in the middle of nowhere.

iv. talent

In the middle of nowhere, their truck breaks down. 

Neji nearly has a mental breakdown because they haven’t seen a single car on that road for an hour. However, Tenten and Lee decide to sleep in the back of their truck and camp on the side of the road. Three other vehicles pass but they don’t stop. He wants to scream.

He’s going to be stuck here, he has no battery on his phone, there isn’t any cell connection, and they were supposed to stock up on food supplies that day. Coming here suddenly seems like a very bad idea. The whole night he is awake, tossing and turning, while Tenten and Lee are fast asleep, comfortable, content.

He realizes that it was all a cruel joke because Tenten was a skilled mechanic and she fixes their truck in a matter of twenty-six minutes. It appears that their sense of humour is not as great as her ability to fix a damaged engine.

v. canada day

Neji sees freedom like the red and white fireworks in the sky. 

He isn’t scared anymore. 

The world looks down at him instead of down on him. Because there’s this feeling of relief. He can’t think of hours or dates, only knows what today is because otherwise, there wouldn’t have been fireworks. He wants this to last forever, or at least as long as he can. 

When Tenten and Lee told him that his money was time, not luxury, he completely understands it now. He doesn’t need the luxury of a roof anymore, good food, or clothes. Because in the end, the only thing they need to make this go on forever is gas and basic necessities. 

He likes freedom, much more than he ever thought he would.

#nejiweek2020 #team gai #neji #neji hyuga #au #raspberryfanfics