Tumgik
#like oh my god. there's lines. they're EVERYWHERE. i can't!!!
ria-starstruck · 1 year
Text
wip hornet parry for the animatic i've been working on!
hk gjinka designs from + inspired by @/foileadeux's gjinkas!!
40 notes · View notes
headspace-hotel · 24 days
Text
Nature is healing.
I burned the Meadow a couple weeks ago. At first it looked like nothing but charred ashes and dirt, with a few scorched green patches, and I was afraid I'd done something terrible. But then the sprouts emerged. Tender new leaves swarming the soil.
My brother and I were outside after dark the other day, to see if any lightning bugs would emerge yet. We had been working on digging the pond. That old soggy spot in the middle of the yard that we called "poor drainage," that always splattered mud over our legs when we ran across it as children—it isn't a failed lawn, and it never was.
Oh, we tried to fill in the mud puddles, even rented heavy machinery and graded the whole thing out, but the little wetland still remembered. God bless those indomitable puddles and wetlands and weeds, that in spite of our efforts to flatten out the differences that make each square meter of land unique from another, still declare themselves over and over to be what they are.
So we've been digging a hole. A wide, shallow hole, with an island in the middle.
And steadily, I've been transplanting in vegetation. At school there is a soggy field that sadly is mowed like any old field. The only pools where a frog could lay eggs are tire ruts. From this field I dig up big clumps of rushes and sedges, and nobody pays me any mind when I smuggle them home.
I pulled a little stick of shrubby willow from some cracked pavement near a creek, and planted it nearby. From a ditch on the side of the road beside a corn field, I dug up cattail rhizomes. Everywhere, tiny bits of wilderness, holding on.
I gathered up rotting logs small enough to carry and made a log pile beside the pond. At another corner is a rock pile. I planted some old branches upright in the ground to make a good place for birds and dragonflies to perch.
And there are so many birds! Mourning doves, robins, cardinals and grackles come here in much bigger numbers, and many, many finches and sparrows. I always hear woodpeckers, even a Pileated Woodpecker here and there. A pair of bluebirds lives here. There are three tree swallows, a barn swallow also, tons of chickadees, and there's always six or seven blue jays screaming and making a commotion. And the goldfinches! Yesterday I watched three brilliant yellow males frolic among the tall dandelions. They would hover above the grass and then drop down. One landed on a dandelion stem and it flopped over. There are several bright orange birds too. I think a couple of them are orioles, but there's definitely also a Summer Tanager. There's a pair of Canada Geese that always fly by overhead around the same time in the evening. It's like their daily commute.
The other day, as I watched, I saw a Cooper's Hawk swoop down and carry off a robin. This was horrifying news for the robin individually, but great news for the ecosystem. The food chain can support more links now.
There are two garter snakes instead of one, both of them fat from being good at snaking. I wonder if there will be babies?
But the biggest change this year is the bugs. It's too early for the lightning bugs, but all the same the yard is full of life.
It's like remembering something I didn't know I forgot. Oh. This is how it's supposed to be. I can't glance in any direction without seeing the movement of bugs. Fat crickets and earwigs scuttle underneath my rock piles, wasps flit about and visit the pond's shore, an unbelievable variety of flies and bees visit the flowers, millipedes and centipedes hide under the logs. Butterflies, moths, and beetles big and small are everywhere.
I can't even describe it in terms of individual encounters; they're just everywhere, hopping and fluttering away with every step. There are so many kinds of ants. I sometimes stare really closely at the ground to watch the activities of the ants. Sometimes they are in long lines, with two lanes of ants going back and forth, touching antennae whenever two ants traveling in opposite directions meet. Sometimes I see ants fighting each other, as though ant war is happening. Sometimes the ants are carrying the curled-up bodies of dead ants—their fallen comrades?
My neighbor gave me all of their fallen leaves (twelve bags!) and it turns out that piling leaves on top of a rock and log pile in a wet area summons an unbelievable amount of snails.
I always heard of snails as pests, but I have learned better. Snails move calcium through the food chain. Birds eat snails and use the calcium in their shells to make egg shells. In this way, snails lead to baby birds. I never would have known this if I hadn't set out to learn about snails.
In the golden hour of evening, bugs drift across the sky like golden motes of dust, whirling and dancing together in the grand dramas of their tiny lives. I think about how complicated their worlds are. After interacting with bees and wasps so much for so long, I'm amazed by how intelligent and polite they are. Bumble bees will hover in front of me, swaying side to side, or circle slowly around me several times, clearly perceiving some kind of information...but what? It seems like bees and wasps can figure out if you are a threat, or if you are peaceful, and act accordingly.
I came to a realization about wasps: when they dart at your head so you hear them buzzing close by your ears, they're announcing their presence. The proper response is to freeze and duck down a bit. It seems like wasps can recognize if you're being polite; for what it's worth, I've never been stung by a wasp.
As night falls, bats emerge and start looping and darting around in the sky above. If the yard seems full of bugs in the day, it is nothing compared to the night.
I'm aware that what I'm about to describe, to an entomophobe, sounds like a horror movie: when i walk to the back yard, the trees are audibly crackling and whirring with the activity of insects. Beetles hover among the branches of the trees. When we look up at the sky, moths of all sizes are flying hither and thither across it. A large, very striking white moth flies past low to the ground.
Last year, seeing a moth against the darkening sky was only occasional. Now there's so many of them.
I consider it in my mind:
When roads and houses are built and land is turned over to various human uses, potentially hundreds of native plant species are extirpated from that small area. But all of the Eastern USA has been heavily altered and destroyed.
Some plants come back easily, like wild blackberry, daisy fleabane, and common violets. But many of them do not. Some plants need fire to sprout, some need Bison or large birds to spread them, some need humans to harvest and care for them, some live in habitats that are frequently treated with contempt, some cannot bear to be grazed by cattle, some are suffocated beneath invasive Tall Fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, honeysuckle or Bradford pears, and some don't like being mowed or bushhogged.
Look at the landscape...hundreds and hundreds of acres of suburbs, pastures, corn fields, pavement, mowed verges and edges of roads.
Yes, you see milkweed now and then, a few plants on the edge of the road, but when you consider the total area of space covered by milkweed, it is so little it is nearly negligible. Imagine how many milkweed plants could grow in a single acre that was caretaken for their prosperity—enough to equal fifty roadsides put together!
Then I consider how many bugs are specialists, that can only feed upon a particular plant. Every kind of plant has its own bugs. When plant diversity is replaced by Plant Sameness, the bug population decreases dramatically.
Plant sameness has taken over the world, and the insect apocalypse is a result.
But in this one small spot, nature is healing...
5K notes · View notes
sentient-stove · 5 months
Text
"Oh my god he’s dead- we killed a vigilante, OHMYGODOHMYGOD—" A hysterical voice screeched out, decidedly feminine and loud enough that the comn line picked it up.
"He broke in here for no reason first! We have probable cause as to why you brained him with our wok!" The second interjected, calmer than the first, but there was still a line of tension, like they were uncertain about what they were saying.
"Oh my god, oh god we’re literally so dead Batman’s literally going to murder me and you and us and—"
"We're already mostly dead, he can't kill us. Although I thought he had a no killing rule anyways, so maybe we’re safe? Ancients, that is a lot of blood. You think we should call an ambulance?" Static filtered through the comn line before stabilizing again and wow. The residents of the apartment were really just having a full conversation over an unconscious Nightwing- in earshot of a microphone recording every word- like this was a normal occurrence. Maybe it was a normal Friday night for them, Barbara couldn't exactly judge.
"I'm not calling an ambulance, they might arrest him. Hell, they're probably gonna arrest us! Danny, we're fucking unresgistered metas in Gotham, I’m a clone—"
"—Not metas and I won’t let anyone arrest you—"
"—It's the same thing to the government at the end of the day. You're right though. I think I hit him too hard, we're going to lose the deposit with the amount of blood getting everywhere. Head wounds bleed a lot right? Maybe he's not dead."
"He's not dead, we'd know if he was."
"Oh. Right. Man. That is a lot of blood, our IKEA rug is ruined. I liked that rug, you think we could ask him to buy a new one when he wakes up or is he on the normal vigilante salary of nothing?"
“Mhm. I'll go get the med kit, you handcuff him to the table so he doesn't jump us when he wakes up. Keep the mask on- I don’t want to piss off whatever buddies he’s got listening in.”
8K notes · View notes
facefullofsadness · 3 months
Text
hybrid!aespa in heat
subby!aespa x dom!reader
smut, 1k wc
Tumblr media Tumblr media
I'm going crazy, I haven't been able to stop thinking ab this since my SEVEN THIRTY AM CLASS, but I cannot stop thinking about hybrid!aespa in heat for the first time??
Tumblr media
like maknae line are very bby girl in ur relationship, you treating them like a princess in and out of bed, and them just sitting still looking pretty for you! yizhuo seems more of a switch in my head than minjeong does as a hybrid, but when they're in heat, they both become the subbiest babies ever!
Tumblr media Tumblr media
minjeong would be RED, cheeks completely flushed and skin hot to the touch. her eyes darting everywhere and hands as fists clutching her clothes, her sheer clothing suddenly feeling too hot. you'd crawl over her squirming body on the bed and she'd whine so hard. "idk what's happening to me y/n-ie. b-but, fuck, please help me," she'd say during her first heat. her hands would reach out blindly for any part of you to clutch onto and pull you into her, her shoving her heated face into your neck. you kinda worried about her, not knowing what was going on, but after she whimpered against your neck by your hot breath whispering into her ear, it clicked. extremely sensitive and respondent to every single brush of your skin against hers, having the most reactive effects on her body. trembling, jolting, shivering, whimpering. the way she would be so loud and whiney when you finally give her what she wants, rutting her hips against your mouth or fingers, could be both! or your own hips too. "so hot, so hot!" she whines desperately, shoving her hips against you as she falls apart.
yizhuo wouldn't be so naive as to what was happening. as soon as she felt her stomach twist and that feeling consuming her entire body with every passing second, her heart started to pound and muscles would tense. immediately dragging herself shakily to look for you and burying her body into yours, sitting in your lap and purring softly in your ear on your skin. suddenly becomes a lot more clingy and whiney, not really feeling any shame or embarrassment unlike the latter. so it's not surprising when she grinds her clothed cunt against your lap, long and deep rolling of her hips against you, just to feel anything. "y/n-ie, I-I think it's happening... you smell fuck- you smell so g-good... you feel so good... I need more, this isn't enough, please give me more..." taking her right then and there on the couch and having her head thrown back as you fuck her with the utmost stamina you can give, her always begging you to give her more. would go so many rounds with you because she can't stop how the knot in her stomach would never fully be relieved, rutting against you even as you try to ease her orgasm, overstimulating herself but immediately ready to go again.
as for the unnie line, it's like night and fucking day. they're definitely wearing the pants in your relationship, having you close to them when you're out in public, pulling you into them with their hand on your hip or wrapping their arm around your shoulders. jimin is a gentle and firm lover while aeri is confident and loves to show you off (under her supervision ofc). but when they're in heat, oh my god the thought makes me dizzy. complete 180.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
jimin's eyes would darken as lust and sexual desire consume her. her stare would trail your relaxed body, laying back on the bed. her core started to throb and her hands formed fists against the blankets. crawling up to you, a pained and needy expression spreading across her face. you would look up at her in confusion, your usually quiet and reserved gf looking intense, her eyes drilling holes through your body which made you feel conscious suddenly. "y/n..." she said your name so low and croaky, her voice triggering something in your brain. at this point you understood what she wanted, but you hadn't expected how badly she needed it. "I need you so badly. I need you to fuck me..." taken aback by the sudden advance had your head spinning, but seeing your girlfriend soooo needy, cheeks flushed pink and hot breath hitting your skin, her chest rising up and down with each pant she released, you had to listen to her! you pleasuring her while she's on top of you, grinding her hips down into you and releasing whiney moans with each roll of her body. mumbling incoherently how good it feels and how much of a good girl you are for listening so well to her, her fingers patting your head as her orgasm builds to the wet sounds coming from her aching core.
aeri hated being a hybrid at times because she knew going into heat would make her subby! born to be a dommy mommy, forced to be a baby girl! she absolutely rocks your world whenever you guys fuck, but when she finally experiences it, it's almost comical how different she suddenly is. pushing you up against the door having just come home from dinner, greedily feeling your body with her big hands and lips bruising against her's. when your thumb traced her nipple, she'd moan embarrassingly loud into your mouth, shocking both of you. you pull back to look at her and her eyes are squinted shut, leaning her body into your touch more when you try to take your hand away. "fuck y/n, don't you dare pull away, give me your all right now. I need you sososo bad, it hurts so fucking much..." she'd moan and whine like a sub while demanding you to fuck her like the natural dom she is. sitting in her lap with your lips around her neck, your tongue dragging across the length of her throat as she pulls you by the waist further into her, trying to maximize the amount of sheer pleasure you were giving. releasing deep guttural groans with every roll of her hips, the occasional high pitched loud moan escaping, her fingernails digging into your skin.
and I didn't really mention it but my headcanons for hybrid!aespa are kitten or wolf!rina, puppy!aeri, bunny!winter, and kitten!ning. BUT TO EACH THEIR OWN! (I wish they OWNED me- what who said that?)
482 notes · View notes
norrisleclercf1 · 8 months
Text
Letter 2
Pairing: Lando Norris x Reader x Charles Leclerc
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Angst, just plain Angst
Words: 677
A/N: Yes yes this part is short but it's supposed to be this way as it mainly just focused on Nico's letter
Our Boy Series Masterlist / Previous: Broken Hearts and Duct Tape / Next: Memories of Old and New
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
"Ducky, don't be alarmed at the empty apartment. I'm coming back," 
I swear I am. I know you're looking at the apartment and thinking I've freaked out and left. I swear I haven't. 3 days ago, you told me the most incredible news anyone could ever hear from the person you want to spend the rest of your life with. 
Not once did I think about having children, but with you? I cried. You are the first person I've ever truly loved. Who cares what people will say? I'm going to protect you, Ducky, and our unborn baby. Whenever I think about us having a baby, I cry all over again. I'm sure you're scared, I would be too, but really I can't wait. 
I keep picturing a little baby with my eyes and your gorgeous hair, their little laugh. When they say their first word, everything. I'm sure you don't care about all this, but I've returned to Germany. There's something I need there: a ring. A specific ring I want you to have. My stuff is gone because I've bought us a house. 
A pretty house boarding the line of Monaco and France. Lavender is everywhere. It's just like you told me that night. Walking the streets of that little Greek town under the stars, we talked of our future. I want to win the title, and you want nothing more than to have your dream home. Well, Ducky, I got us that dream home. 
On the back are the directions. Movers are coming tomorrow for your stuff, but forget it all. I'm here waiting, painting the nursery. I picked a soft blue, not that boyish blue, but that blue that reminds me of a cloudless sky. It's perfect, you'll love it. I even have little stincles to paint ducks on the wall. 
Ducky, I love you so much. I've retired from racing to focus on our family and build on it in the future. Fuck, I have to call your Dad and ask his permission to marry you. He doesn't like me very much, probably the age gap. I don't blame him. I'd react the same way with our little one. Oh, I forgot the house has a little nook for you. Where you can read and watch the lavender fields. 
We have our problems, Ducky, but we can work through them. We always do. So please, grab your stuff and join me here at home. We can talk more when you get here. I love you. 
God, I love you so much, Ducky. 
Nico 
"He called her Ducky," Elijah whispers, looking up to see his Dad with tears in his eyes. Elijah turns to his Pa, Charles, staring out into the garden, but the slight sniffles also let them know he was crying. "Charlie," Lando reaches out for Charles, who turns face crumbling. "He loved her. He loved her so much." Charles didn't understand why he was crying. 
Maybe it was because if Nico had reached out or Y/n read the letter, he wouldn't have had this life. Or it could be he was crying in relief because he was the one honored to raise Elijah and love you. He didn't know. "I have to make a call," Charles stands, ruffling Elijah's hair and kissing the crown. His hand slips out of Lando's, who moves to pull his little boy into his arms. 
"Is Pa okay?" Lando hums, fingers untangling those blonde locks as he watches Charles hold the phone to his ear. "No, Ducky. He's not okay. But, he will be." Lando refused to lie to his children. It's the one thing he wouldn't do. "Dad?" "Yeah?" Taking a deep breath, Elijah folds the letter back up. "We need to tell Mama what the letter said." Lando hates the anger that flares up but shuts it down quickly. 
"I know," Charles comes back into the room, flinging himself into the chair and rubbing his face hard. "They're on their way," "Who is?" Lando asks, sitting up, and Elijah leans in more. "Nico," 
--------------------------------------------
Taglist: @thomaslefteyebrow @a-stray-soul @formulas-bitch @mickslover @myescapefromthislife @glow-ish @kittyfluffypaws28 @ryntro @copper-boom @allabouthappiness @jaydaaasworld @christianpulisic10 @lyraleclerc @daddyslittlevillain @dreamerrosie @driveswiftly13 @harrysdimple05 @sueesstuff @why4anne @nataliambc @cwiphswmwasohmm @buckybarnessweetheart @makingmyway-downtown @elijahslover @kapsylia @zeusmyster
678 notes · View notes
fatale-distraction · 5 months
Text
BG3 Companions Social Media Headcanons Part 1
I was bored at work and couldn’t stop. 🤣 I’ll make another post with Halsin, Minthara, Jaheira, Minsc, and some NPCs!
~~~
Astarion - Pre-Tav, Astarion's social media is mostly thirst-traps for some kind of nefarious, Cazador-related money-making plot. They barely scoot past the TOS on lewd content. Very little real personal content, anything that isn't a thirst trap is heavily doctored lifestyle content to make it seem like he's living a much more luxurious life than he actually is.
After meeting Tav and getting rid of Cazador, he deletes all of his old accounts and opens up new ones. They're not exactly private, but he's much more careful about who he follows and who can follow him back. The posts become much more genuine. Still a lot of selfies, but they're sexy in the way of a guy just finally living his truth and being comfortable in his own skin. There's more shots of his daily life; waking up with his partner's obnoxious pets strewn across the bed, morning coffee and his current favorite book, new outfits that make him feel more himself. Tav features heavily in most of his posts, and there are probably as many pictures of them as there are of himself.
Karlach - chaos. No rhyme or reason. Lots of parkour and Jack-ass parodies. Constant flood of pictures of her stuffed animal collection. Stupid filters abound. There's several videos of her just flexing. Lumberjack videos. Seven hundred pictures of Tav, tons of selfies together. Videos of her literally sobbing over some cute stuffy she found or a dog she got to pet. "How many times can I say the fuck word before I get suspended." Memes. Memes everywhere.
Lae'zel - She follows three accounts and never posts anything, but somehow she's constantly scrolling through. What does she even do? Her profile picture is still the default. She doesn't have any profile information filled out. It just says "No." Her screen name is just Lae_zel. Every single item in her favorites is a cat video. She has One photo and its a gym selfie. All of her comments seem really mean at first, but they're all weirdly supportive things along the lines of "your teeth are sharp and your visage terrifying".
Shadowheart - total E-girl influencer vibe. Everything is #nofilter. She doesn't need filters. She's god's most perfect princess. You can't even be mad because it's not vanity its just how she Is. Ends everything with Prayer-hands-emoji hashtag Shar'sblessings or Selune'sblessings depending on where she is in that journey. Hairstyle and makeup tutorials and she makes it look so damn easy. "Dye my hair and cut my bangs with me." "Get ready with me" videos nearly every day. Every picture has a comment from Astarion that just says "oh fuck off" because even he can never hope to be as perfect as she is. Or at least that's what her forty-five thousand followers think.
Wyll - The official Blade of the Frontier social media account(s). Fencing videos and promos. "How to polish your horns for newbies" video that's been taken down twenty-seven times for lewd content even though it's literally for polishing actual horns. Accidental thirst traps because damn. Lots of disability advocacy, especially for visual impairments. Weekly Demon/Devil PSAs. Constantly featured in Karlach's vids and vice-versa. Buddy selfies. Once in a while a pic of him with his dad. Pics with Tav are rare, but when he does post them they're the sweetest pictures and he gushes about them for paragraphs. It's a little gross how gushy they are. Astarion comments with vomit emojis and Wyll just replies with an angry face emoji. The purest content. He's so wholesome. Not a swear to be seen. Lots of gentle hype videos. "You've got this. You can do this. I believe in you."
Gale - oh my god he has the most pretentious social media accounts. He's worse than Astarion. "Well, actually" videos with multiple parts because they're too long. Tea and bookshelves. Tara. So many pics of Tara. Tara napping on a book. Tara swatting a fly. Tara in the window. Tara on the kitchen counter. Tara laying in the sun. Tara doing nothing. He has one of those fancy cat terrarium backpacks. Magic tutorials. Mystra simp. Surprisingly few selfies but the ones he has are IMMACULATE. Pretentious book reviews. His only saving grace is that he is HILARIOUS. He's the only one with a reasonable about of pics with Tav as opposed to almost none or way too many, but the captions are always really sweet.
~~~
Part 2 here!
Part 3 here!
Part 4
395 notes · View notes
kbagraces · 3 months
Text
Curious Time - Lando Norris
Lando Norris x Singer!reader
Multiple part series where their friendship was easy, their feelings were confusing and the distance was the hardest <3
(3rd person perspective)
PART 3 -
BUBBLEGUM
"It's sad because it just hurts. I'd do anything for you."
The week drawing to a close, a sad vibe lingered between the two of them. They cherished the moments they spent together, but with the final day approaching they both struggled to keep spirits high.
With both of their career paths, it was hard to fit into each other lives, but Lando's summer break ending and you preparing for the release for her next single, she knew contact would fall back to a minimum. They were both the most important people in one another's lives, even if they didn't speak for a year that would remain true, but bitter sweet.
The staycations would become day visits, turning to missed calls and sparse texts until their schedules aligned once more. She hated saying goodbye, she hated leaving him. She wished either of the jobs was less demanding but neither would ever give it up despite the toll it took on the two of them.
The final day was here. They agreed on day in bed as her flight was late and she couldn't be tired and miss it. The day was filled with hugs and sweet nothings, days like today is the only time she blurred the friendship line, when sober that is. Nothing too intimate, they'd never take it that far but her fingers would find their way into his curls as he's lying on her lap. Massaging any stress he has away, knowing it'll come flooding back as soon as she leaves.
"I wish you didn't have to go. Everything is easier with you here." He sighs. His head lifting up, sitting beside her so he can look in her eyes.
"You'll be fine in a week and you know it. Back to normal, you'll busy yourself with work and soon enough you'll be racing, you won't have time to give me a second thought." She smiles, she knows the first week is the hardest, but they're both cut from the same loaf, distract yourself with work and it soon enough goes. Until a hard day hits and all she needs is him.
"You're never a second thought and you know it. You're first in my life, always."
She could cry, she would never not in-front of him that's not fair on either of them. But God does she adore him. She couldn't live without him. "You're my favourite. I wish I could stay."
Silence takes over once more, nothing more needs to be said. An hour more of cuddling this way the sun has set the room dimly lit by the street lamps and the glow of the city.
"I need to make sure I've got all my stuff." She sighs shifting his head off her lap. Slithering out of bed, dragging herself to the room, her bags mainly packed but she likes to check then check again. She drags each bag to the front door, another quick glance over the now empty room making sure she hasn't forgotten anything.
Lando's now stood in the doorway once more, "I'll miss having your mess everywhere."
"It wasn't mess! It was so I was able to see what I brought with me!" She fires back, knowing he was only joking.
She falls into his arms, she has to leave now. He can't take her to the airport it's far too busy for the two of them to both arrive there. A mob at an airport is one way to piss the staff off before a flight.
She breathes in her scent once more, he kisses the top of her heard. "Don't go." He mumbled into her hair.
"That's not fair Lan, and you know it.", she looks up at him with sad eyes, their faces inches apart. His eyes dart between hers, he's leaning in.
He kisses her, she doesn't even comprehend before returning the kiss. Just like them laying together they fit. It's right. This feels right. So why is she pulling away, why is she pushing him away.
"We can't Lando, we can't do that. Please don't do that." Oh but I want to do that again, her heart says but her head is stronger.
He looks hurt and confused, "Why? y/n/n I know you feel it. Everyone says it. Come on." He grabs her hands pulling her close, not to kiss her again but to lessen the distance. He doesn't like how far she pulled away, he needs her close. Always.
"I can't do this Lando. Not now. Not when I'm leaving. I know what'll happen you'll promise me stuff and I'll promise you stuff. But we can't maintain it, not with the distance. And I'll lose you, one of us will get hurt and I'll lose you. I can't lose you." Tears appear in the corner of her eyes but she wipes them away before they can exit. Don't cry, dammit, she thinks.
Lando let's go of her hands now, running his own through his hair in frustration and upset. "You won't try? You won't even try? You'll never lose me no matter what. This could be good, so good and you won't try?" He's aware he sounds desperate, apart of him is. Having her here for almost a month has made him more aware of his feelings than even.
"We've never even discussed this Lando! You can't say all this as I'm about to leave!"
"I don't need to say it! I know you feel the same. It's us, I know how you feel. 'He's not you' that's what you said."
"I'd love it work Lan. I'd love nothing more. We can't even keep our friendship going for months, let alone a relationship. Please don't be angry at me. I need to in my life I don't want to risk losing you in case it doesn't work."
Lando knows in his soul it would work. There's nothing in the world he wouldn't do to make it work. He can't force her mind to change however.
"I disagree. But I can't force you. Im always yours. I'll always be yours, y/n/n. It's you." He pulls her in for a hug, her phone ringing in the background. The Uber having just arrived at the worst time.
He clears his throat, weak from holding back tears and frustration, "I'll bring ur bags down, I'll meet you down there, tell him to wait 5."
Y/n runs ahead, speaking to the Uber driver in her limited French as Lando loads up the boot. The driver gets in, sensing the goodbye should be private.
"Lan, I'm yours but it just won't work."
What does that mean? He wants to scream. He knows she wants him. That's why she rejects every man who's not him. She's shown no romantic interest in anyone else since they met, she hides behind the work excuse, because she wants him, she just won't give herself to him.
"I'll wait." He promises.
"You don't have to."
"Then how come I do?"
They hug for a little too long, the driver visibly getting impatient. They don't care. She kisses him, on the cheek this time, like she always does. He makes her promise to call him when she lands, she does but she knows he'll be asleep, and the drifting apart will begin again. It's only a matter of time.
Masterlist
51 notes · View notes
ughgoaway · 3 months
Text
have you ever thought about a time when Girlie is with Annie and Matty bathing the dog and it's a warm family atmosphere? and maybe then go to the park and play as a family.
Thank you so much for the cute idea 🪐 anon!! my random thoughts below the cut as always lol <3
✿❀✿✿❀✿✿❀✿✿❀✿✿❀✿✿❀✿✿❀✿✿❀✿
anyway, yes, this is so fun to think about. I love anything with mayhem, and the image of you all trying to tackle him into the bath to give him a proper wash is so funny.
I can see Matty, mayhem, and Annie coming home from a walk, and to say they are muddy is an understatement. He calls you as they're approaching the house and tells you to prepare the bath; warning you that is officially time to bathe mayhem.
You try to avoid washing him at home as much as possible, sending him off to the groomers whenever you can. Not because you don't love him, but because he is fucking massive and it's somehow a three-man job. 
Getting Annie involved was the last solution after too many disastrous attempts, but you needed an extra pair of hands. And she was the only one in the house. But Mayhem loves her so much, so she's actually a pretty good distraction. 
You line the walk to the bathroom with towels and creek open the front door slowly, and your jaw drops at the sight in front of you. Mayhem is caked in mud, staring up at you with his tongue hanging out and his tail wagging wildy, splashing more mud around.
Matty and Annie were both wearing welly boots, and they were also covered in mud. Annie even had some in her hair, but those two could be dealt with later. Mayhem was your current mission.
“Oh my god. Matthew, how did it get this bad?” You ask in shock, flicking your wide eyes over the three of them.
“It's not my fault. I swear. Mayhem got out of his harness and ran into a muddy puddle. Me and Annie ran after him, but the puddle turned out to be a bit deeper than we thought…” Matty says sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his neck with his hands, but quickly snatching them away with a grossed-out look on his face when he feels the mud in his hair.
You sigh heavily at Matty and start gently guiding mayhem in the house as Annie holds his tail to stop him from wagging it and spraying mud everywhere.
Eventually, you get Mayhem safely in the bathroom after walking very slowly the whole time. You all know from past experience that if you walk too quickly, mayhem takes it as a queue to sprint at full force through the house and rub his face on the rug in the front room. 
You really tried to get the mud out last time, but it was a pointless task. Matty still claims you somehow planned it because you hated that rug. “How else did he get so muddy when it hadn't rained in weeks?” he accuses you time after time.
You deny it wholeheartedly, but you can't deny the feeling of joy you felt when you saw mayhem rubbing his whole body over it, and let's just say you definitely didn't do anything to stop it.
But you actually like the new rug you bought, so when you finally got mayhem in the bathroom this time, the three of you couldn't help but cheer as soon as the door clicked shut.
However, you forgot that any sort of excitement would hype mayhem up to no end, so as soon as he heard the cheers, he jumped on his hind legs and pounced onto Matty.
“Woah mayhem- WAIT NO-” Matty shouts.
Now, usually, Matty caught him quite well, keeping mayhem upright and balancing him perfectly on his chest. But this time, he wasn't prepared, and before you knew it, all you saw was a massive splash of water coming out of the bath as mayhem pushed both him and Matty in it.
You and Annie stood there in shock for a few seconds, but as soon as Matty sat up in the bath, covered in mud and bubbled. You all couldn't help but burst out laughing. Matty pouted, of course, but he soon realised that this kind of was the ideal way to wash mayhem. He could keep him calm as you and Annie scrubbed him.
“Right, Annie, will you grab the peanut butter for me, sweetheart? Your dad is on mayhem feeding duty today” you say, lathering up the soap between your hands as Matty uses a bowel to wet mayhem.
“Here you go, Daddy. Don't eat the peanut butter, though, mayhem licks from this one” Annie warns, holding the jar just out of Matty’s reach until he nods at her words. After she knows he heard her, she quite happily hands it over, grabbing the bowl from Matty’s hands and rinsing mayhem once more.
The four of you are all huddled either in or around the bath, scrubbing mayhem and watching the mud pour off him. Matty sits in front of him, holding the peanut butter jar in front of his face so he can happily lick inside the jar whilst you clean his paws.
“Daddy you look silly in the bath with Mayhem.” Annie giggles as she scrubs Mayhem’s head, giving him a mohawk with the bubbles that form. 
“I know, i know. Will you go grab my camera for me, sweet girl? I wanna get a photo of us all” matty asks, smiling down at mayhem with too much love in his eyes, considering mayhem had bowled him over not even 10 minutes earlier.
Annie scampers off and grabs the camera, leaving you and Matty alone in the bathroom. 
“You do look quite stupid in the bath, you know?” You tease, grinning down at Matty and watching him roll his eyes and hold in a laugh.
“Quite dilfy too, though” you add on thoughtfully, looking at how Matty’s soaking white shirt was starting to become completely transparent, and you couldn't help but gawk at the way his tattoos became more visible beneath the wet fabric. Matty pulls his shirt off cheekily, dropping it on the floor next to him before teasing you back.
“Mmm, I always look dilfy. S’how I got you, anyway” Matty gives you a smug smile, and you can't help but kiss it off his face, humming happily as you feel his lips working against yours. 
You both get a bit lost in the kiss, and soon it becomes a little desperate and breathless, all tongues and teeth as poor mayhem has to stand there are witness it all. But it soon enough gets interrupted by Annie walking in, and very eloquently proclaiming “ewwww!!”
You and Matty both laugh against each other's lips, and you feel a bit dizzy when you pull away, having to blink a few times before you bring yourself back to earth. 
You quickly snap a few shots with Matty's Polaroid camera; a selfie of you all, and a picture of annie grinning next to mayhem with his bubble mohawk. But, you get a particularly cute one of Matty and mayhem and you can't help but sneak that one away for yourself.
Tumblr media
(ik this is not actually mayhem in this picture… but let's all use our imaginations <3)
You eventually get him all washed up and wrangle him out of the bath onto a towel. however, as soon as things are slightly too quiet and still, you can see the mischief brewing in mayhems eyes.
“Mayhem… no. don't even think about it” but he is a dog after all, so he ignores you completely. And soon enough, he's shaking every single drop of water off his body and onto the three of you.
The only thing that's heard in the bathroom is all of your screams, Annie runs behind the bathroom cabinet in an attempt to hide from the spray, but alas, there is no escape.
After far too many seconds for your liking, he stops shaking. And is looking at Matty with his mouth open in a smile and with a wagging tail.
“You're so lucky you're so cute, mate,” Matty sighs.
“Bloody horse dog,” you mumble under your breath, looking in the mirror at your now dripping wet hair.
Annie simply giggles, grinning as she bends down to give mayhem a hug and squealing when he starts to lick her face. you forgive mayhem pretty quickly after that, blowdrying him, yourself, matty, and annie in a row and snapping another picture of you all.
Now, as for going to the park after, I think you try to avoid it for a few days, trying to keep him clean as long as possible. But before the week is over, all four of you are running around in the mud together like crazy people, and you don't even think about the carnage this is all gonna cause.
54 notes · View notes
jiminiecrickets · 7 months
Note
Seven days a week couple drabble where oc is out with jk and they see jk's ex boyfriend and oc make out with jk to make his ex jealous ?
sfw. kinda abrupt ending sorry lol
jungkook crashes into your chest with a squeak and a massive sigh of relief. he grabs you by the shoulders – his can of coca cola seems to have vanished.
"ah, baby, i've been looking for you everywhere! come, come."
you let yourself be dragged after him, away from the club's bar. you'd been using it as a central landmark to find jungkook. "o-okay."
he pauses just by the neon-lit dance floor, turning to you. he places his hands on your chest and nibbles on his lower lip. the heavy electric music pounds in your bones. "i should probably tell you what i'm thinking."
"that'd be nice, yes. you disappeared quite suddenly."
"okay, well, you know my ex? the american boy?"
"uh, yeah...? where are you going with this?"
"he's here. tonight."
oh.
you blink down at him, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. he gnaws on his lower lip, fidgeting with the edge of his jacket and watching you anxiously for a response.
eventually, you find your voice. "well, okay, that puts a damper on things. would you like to leave?"
"no, no. i don't wanna ruin our night just 'cause of one guy. instead, i was thinking we could maybe say hi... or hi."
you get what he's hinting at immediately. your eyes narrow and you place your hands on your hips. "i'm seriously just a piece of meat to you? i'm only your trophy boyfriend and eye-candy when you want to make someone jealous, but to all your friends, you're constantly greeting them with the most embarrassing stories about me?"
jungkook's eyes widen to the size of saucers and he waves his hands frantically. "what? no! they're not the most embarrassing ones. a-anyway, my love language is actually bullying people, so you should be grateful that i'm mean to you. it just means i love you a lot."
"oh, thank you so dearly for not using the worst ones. much appreciated." you can't keep up the drama any longer and the act drops with a soft huff of laughter. "so, you're feeling petty, huh?"
"yeah." he hides his grin by nibbling on his thumbnail, placed between his front teeth. gently, you pull his hand down, and he hums, swinging your hands together and pressing closer. "please? for me? i'll do something real nice for you if you do..."
"this is bribery," you murmur against his lips. "mmh..."
"is it?" he ghosts his lips over your jawline, sucking gently over your pulse. it makes your breath hitch. slowly, he guides you in his ex's direction, pulling on your hands and sticking close to the walls. you don't actually know what the guy looks like, but you trust jungkook to know where he's going.
"red shirt, black jeans," he whispers into your ear. "to your left."
you spot the guy he's referencing facing your direction, chatting with a couple of friends with a drink in his hand. you tuck your face into jungkook's neck as he positions the both of you just perfectly in his line of sight, tugging you in by your collar until his back hits the wall.
he moans softly as your lips trail over his neck and collar. "oh, he's already looking. lift me up."
you comply, hooking your hands beneath his perfect thighs and hoisting him against the wall with ease. he makes it easy, knowing where to shift his weight towards yours and how to cling to you without looking like he's trying too hard.
"hey, this is nice," you chuckle, hefting him even higher so that your face is level with his chest, rising and falling rapidly. "why don't we do this more often?"
he scoffs and blushes, glad that it's dark. "my eyes are up here."
he tightens his legs around you and lowers his lips to yours, humming as he wraps his arms around your shoulders. it's hot, electric, your breaths hot and sweet with fruity alcohol.
"he's looking. oh, god, he's looking," he whispers, hungrily moulding your lips together once again. you don't know how much of it is an act anymore. "this is so much more fun than i thought it would be. kiss me harder, hyung."
"as you wish," you reply with a grin, and kiss him until he's so full of love that bitterness has no more space to breathe.
72 notes · View notes
cheesybadgers · 3 months
Text
Narcos Fic: Old Habits Die Hard (Chap. 24)
Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, Chapter 17, Chapter 18, Chapter 19, Chapter 20, Chapter 21, Chapter 22, Chapter 23
Read on AO3
Masterlist
Pairing: Javier Peña x Horacio Carrillo
Words: 3,440
Summary: It's been 15 years since Horacio and Javier brought down Gacha in Tolú, and now they're back where their story began.
Warnings: 18+ ONLY. Brief allusions to period-typical prejudices/politics/legislation, very brief sexual references, smoking, swearing, all the fluff.
Notes: Well....I feel like I should post this with a fanfare or something (just imagine there's one playing), but oh boy, oh man, oh god. I did it. I flipping did it 😭 It's only taken 36 months, copious amounts of blood, sweat and tears, a deranged amount of research, the last shred of my sanity, and probably a fair amount of back/neck pain from sitting at my laptop for too long to get here. But hey, if I don't write a self-indulgent novel-length fix-it fic for a criminally underrated rarepair from a defunct TV show, WHO WILL, I ASK THEE? 😂
I can't fully explain the journey this fic has taken me and my writing on, or the deep love I have in my heart for this ship and the OHDH universe that has lived constantly in my head these last few years. Even when I'm not actively writing, so many things remind me of these two everywhere I go. They got me through the darkest days of the pandemic and somehow became my comfort ship, despite er, certain canon events we don't talk about in this house.
Anyway, I think you've all heard quite enough from me for the time being. So, I will just say thank you so, so, so much to anyone who has read, commented, kudosed, reblogged, liked, sent me messages, made me things, suggested music recs, generally been incredibly supportive and kind ❤️
And thank you to anyone who may stumble across this fic in future. Please never be afraid to leave a comment, even if you're reading several years down the line, I will always love to hear from people about this story.
There will also be some moodboards and playlists posted on my Tumblr at some point (and *maybe* some new - much shorter lol - fics eventually) once I've caught my breath back a bit.
For the final time (unless I randomly think of anything I've forgotten, which is more than likely lol), I’ve also added to my OHDH trivia post to cover this chapter if anyone is interested.
Chapter 24: Suerte (Epilogue)
Early evening rays painted the pastel horizon, their last act of the day transforming the shimmering ocean into an inky palate of fuchsia, violet and saffron, the golden sands at the shore still warm to the touch hours past dusk.
Come the weekend, Colombians would travel far and wide to descend on the many beaches, bars and restaurants that dotted the waterfront. Or if they were feeling adventurous, they would birdwatch, dive off the Islas de San Bernardo, or canoe amongst the mangroves.
But it was mid-week and mid-December – when most locals were at work and school or preparing for Christmas. So, for now, Horacio and Javier had the place to themselves.
There was the added bonus of the coastline turning into a dense forest of palm trees just along from their beach house, civilisation a mile or so away on either side of them, so even at peak times, they remained secluded. It had become a daily ritual to luxuriate in the peace and quiet; a pre-dinner swim with no trunks required followed by entwined limbs and sand in their hair as the sun went down.
Today was no exception, the gentle lapping of the waves around them and their shallow breaths the only sounds to be heard, the taste of salt and scent of sun lotion heavy in the air and on their skin as Horacio rocked into Javier, slow and deep, their chests and foreheads drawn together.
It was almost dark when Javier switched on the shower taps, cascading soothing jets over his head, neck and shoulders. As he soaked his hair, the lights from inside the beach house sprung to life, illuminating the outdoor bathroom with an ambient glow. It was a feature of the premium accommodation they had splashed out on, a rare treat away for a special occasion.
The outside space was a mix of wood, tiles and natural stone for the walls and floors, encased by tall plants and trees for extra privacy. A double shower stood on a platform at the end of a walkway, with a large hot tub branching off in the other direction. On their first night here, they had opted for the tub, surrounding it with candles as a belated ode to Día de las Velitas, lost in each other beneath the bubbles and the stars.
A sturdy embrace enveloped Javier from behind, a position they had found themselves in every morning by the shore before breakfast, looking out to a tranquil sea and a kaleidoscopic sky. The day jobs kept them both on their feet and in good shape, although there was more softness around their stomachs, and Javier was stockier than in his younger years. But his upper body was even broader with muscle now.
He was no gym fiend, but he had accompanied Horacio in some of his strengthening training, wanting to keep his stamina up as much as possible. Not just for the obvious but because he was sometimes required to carry the heavier supplies at work and didn’t want to be shown up in front of his largely youthful team.
It was a welcome development to Horacio, whatever the reason. Not that he ever had any complaints before, but watching Javier blossom as he aged was a wonder to behold. Not to mention, there was more of him to enjoy now.
As for Horacio, aside from the sloping curve of his midriff, he was sheer jaguar strength. Not only in the noticeable places, but his core muscles were in peak condition, the daily horse riding improving his posture and taking him back to the drill commands of his cadet years. His skin was more weathered, and his days of being meticulously cleanly shaven at all times were long gone. But Javier assured him – a lot – the ruggedness was part of the appeal.
Javier wasn’t one to talk either, stubble being a more regular feature alongside his moustache nowadays. But that was mainly due to lack of time in his busy schedule rather than preference, so it wasn’t unheard of for Horacio to do the honours for him. For some reason, Horacio delicately scraping a razor blade across his jaw from the comfort of his lap was far more appealing to Javier than doing it himself in front of the bathroom mirror.
Their hair contained more grey patches, especially around the temples, which was easier to hide when they grew it longer. That wasn’t practical during the sweltering heat of a Texan summer, so they kept it shorter in the hotter months. But in the winter, they could run their fingers through choppy waves and coils of curls to their hearts’ content. And luckily for them, their anniversary fell in December.
“Can you believe it’s been 15 years to the day?” Horacio asked, scattering kisses across Javier’s back.
“This doesn’t even feel like the same fucking place, to be honest.”
“Tell me about it.”
Horacio let out a huff as flashbacks of leading his men on a fleet of raiding crafts towards Gacha’s hideout collided with memories from merely days ago of him and Javier island hopping in a hire boat along the same waters. They had taken a platter of fresh seafood and fruit, exploring the remotest beaches and lagoons, where their only company was the local wildlife.
He could still remember the sensation of the blood at his temple as he lay disorientated on the sand in the aftermath of the explosion, a stark contrast to dozing together under the shade of a palm tree or reading aloud to each other the words of Lorca, Gaitán Durán, Arbeláez, Neruda, Paz, Castellanos and Mistral.
“Although, I did notice signs for the barracks towards Coveñas when we were driving here,” Horacio added with a nostalgic smirk.
“Oh yeah? You didn’t want another night there for old times’ sake?” Javier tilted his head until he found Horacio’s lips with his teeth.
Horacio hummed and put up no resistance, his wet hands sailing with ease down Javier’s body, finding purchase at his hip bones. “It was tempting. But I figured you’d want to make the most of this before Christmas.”
“Damn right.”
They took turns massaging shampoo into each other’s scalps, lathering the suds through thick spirals, tenderly pulling at strands until they purred, thoroughly indulging in the sensation whilst they had the chance. And then they did it all again, rinsing off the soap, floating away on the meditative pressure of the faucet and their fingers.
“We could always see if Alejandra has more spa freebies if it gets too much, though,” Javier suggested through the haze of steam now cocooning them.
“I like your thinking.”
It had been a while since they last used such tickets, their previous visits not dissimilar to how their current vacation was playing out. But despite the chaos that would no doubt ensue, they were looking forward to catching up with Horacio’s side of the family. Between expanding businesses in Texas and Manizales and the oldest half of the brood living and working elsewhere now with the twins staying at home studying, they didn’t get to meet up as much as they would have liked.
However, Elena visited Laredo several times, swapping life stories and recipes with Chucho and joining Horacio and Javier in San Antonio one spring for the Fiesta. Her last holiday outside of Colombia had been before Alejandra and Horacio were born, so she was determined to take advantage of having family abroad before age finally caught up with her. There had even been discussions of a trip to Madrid if Horacio and Javier could arrange cover at work the following year.
“Pops is flying out on the 20th, right?”
“Yes. Marco and Raúl are covering the ranch and animals until your father’s back on the 28th. And Jorge is covering the farm until we’re home from Miami in the New Year.”
No one was keen to leave Luna, Sol and Leo, who had long since retired from ranch duties, but between work and Christmas commitments, Connie taking a full-time job in a different hospital, now Olivia was a teenager going on 30, and the earlier-than-expected arrival of Felipe’s and Juana’s second child – Óscar, a little brother to Claudia – New Year was the only time everyone’s schedules matched up.
These days, Luna, whose main residence was the cottage now, Sol and Leo spent most of their time nestled on furniture or looking for treats in the kitchen whenever food was prepared. However, Luna would sometimes still ride in the back of Horacio’s truck and keep him company in the lower fields.
Kira and Fuego had become old pros, showing their younger siblings, Cielo and Tierra, the ropes, not as replacements to the trio but as a new team with their own quirks and personalities. Thankfully, the dogs and Coco had taken well to the pair of barn cats, Churro and Tamale, who patrolled the outbuildings and dealt with any rodent intruders.
Meanwhile, Chucho showed few signs of slowing down, except one summer when he twisted an ankle, and even that was hard work to get him to rest. But he had been happy to step back from some of his more physically demanding responsibilities in recent years, trusting that the ranch and farm were in capable hands. With their expansion plans a resounding success – plus some new ones up their sleeves – he had become more involved in the business side of the operation alongside Miguel.
And, of course, he was always happy to offer Horacio advice whenever needed. But for the most part, he left him to it since Félix’s retirement, preferring to arrange for the guesthouses to be refurbished or to deliver fresh batches of cooking to aid workers and exhausted arrivals alike on the frontline of the border.
“Bet Jorge was as thrilled about that arrangement as my team.”
“Well, we can always delegate to our deputies whenever necessary. One of the perks of being promoted.”
It had taken Horacio five years under Félix’s watchful eye – and decades of experience – to be granted the title of farm manager. Then, Félix had retired the previous year, satisfied he had picked the right man as his successor and Jorge as deputy.
Horacio still had plenty to learn and likely always would with the constant conveyor belt of change to farming methods and technology that landed on his desk each month. However, there was a sense of familiarity with certain parts of the job, like the meetings, the paperwork, and the budget constraints. Except, this time, it all came without the funerals, the upper echelons of the CNP breathing down his neck, and the crushing weight of a country’s future on his shoulders.
“And a holiday on the Caribbean coast was necessary, was it?” Now that Javier’s hair was free from sand and shampoo, he turned to face Horacio, their lips almost touching.
Horacio nodded sagely and closed the gap. “A critical business need.”
------------------------------------------------------
Once dried off, they lay in a hammock in matching white towel robes under the thatched porch of their beach house with a perfect view of the sea, moon and stars.
“So, you like it here?” Horacio asked after a comfortable silence.
“It’s beautiful. I’m glad we came back – to see it how it’s meant to be.”
“Me too. Although, I fear violence will always be a parasite latched onto Colombia. Just when you think it’s gone from one place, it rears its head again in another. Or even the same place twice if you’re unlucky.”
Horacio remembered the stories he had heard from Trujillo in the last couple of years – particularly about Operation Orion. Officially, the incursion on Comuna 13 had been a success by the Colombian military against the likes of FARC. Unofficially, however, there were rumours of a leaked CIA report, disappeared individuals, and collusion between an Army General and none other than Don Berna’s subordinate. It was hard to keep faith that Medellín would ever be free from its past when history had such a predictable habit of repeating itself.
“I know. It feels like one step forward and two steps back in the States, too. Terrorism might be the new bogeyman, but re-branding to ICE and throwing a shitload of money at the DHS hasn’t stopped the drugs and the people finding their way over the border.”
Javier had heard directly from Steve about the shift in his job role since 9/11. Overnight, Steve’s whole department was removed from their current caseloads and signed up for every counter-terrorism and narco-terrorism course under the sun. It was now customary for DEA agents to be redeployed to the FBI as intelligence analysts if resources required. And if their eyes and ears were pulled away from the drug traffickers, it didn’t take a genius to figure out the consequences.
Meanwhile, in Texas, if anything, people only took graver risks in the wake of a beefed-up Border Patrol. Javier had spent a lot of the past year helping to set up new aid teams in Arizona and New Mexico, the inhospitable conditions of the desert not enough of a deterrent to stop families trying their luck or handing over their life savings to coyotes who didn’t care whether they made it across alive.
“But small things can add up to change. Bit by bit,” Javier added. “And at least they can’t arrest us for fucking in our own home anymore.”
“True. Not that the law stopped us before...” Horacio nuzzled against Javier’s neck before making a move to get up.
They may have joked in the here and now, but it wasn’t a change they took for granted. In fact, Luz and Carla had even persuaded Javier to attend a protest or two and pay bond and legal fees for those who had been arrested. After all, he’d had plenty of experience exchanging money for people’s freedom.
When news of the Supreme Court decision spread, it was another weight off their backs and one less reason to look over their shoulders, a chance to permanently put to bed memories of being spied on during such unguarded sacred moments. It was the final line to be drawn under those dark years, not to erase them because that was impossible. But it was, at least, closure.
Their cigarette was almost done, and Horacio had left the opened pack on the kitchen counter. Once retrieved, he took out another and leaned into Javier across the hammock, pressing the tip of his unlit cigarette against the lit one until it sparked.
“But you’re right,” Horacio continued, holding Javier’s gaze between exhaling a plume of smoke. He balanced on the edge of the hammock, just enough to stop it tipping sideways. “Things can change. But only if we want them to.” He perched their new cigarette between his lips as he reached into the pocket of his robe.
Their first cigarette was little more than a stub, so Javier stooped down to the ashtray on the floor to extinguish it. Once he sat up again, a small cubed box was presented into his spare hand.
Javier stared at the black box and blew out remnants of smoke, eyeing Horacio with an unreadable expression, an unspoken question and answer lingering between them and the mist of tobacco.
He prised open the box to reveal a ring of plain silver. Or, so he thought at first glance. But as he raised it towards the moon, the iridescent light caught on the inner band to reveal an inscription.
Suerte que encontré a mi media naranja.
(Lucky that I found my soulmate.)
“Fuck, Horacio…” Javier’s voice was strained, and his words came out as little more than a whisper. He held the ring between his thumb and forefinger, letting the ethereal reflection from above capture each word.
Horacio watched every shift in Javier’s face with bated breath and a dry throat, his limbs lead and weightless all at once.
“The world’s changing around us,” Horacio said at last; swallowing his nerves and summoning his courage. “But no matter what the law or courts say in any state or country, this can mean whatever we want it to mean.”
Javier’s jaw worked back and forth, his teeth clamping down on the inside of his cheeks. But it was no use, and he let out a trembling scoff, an attempt to distract from the shining pupils he finally confronted Horacio with.
And then a broad smile crept across Javier’s features, his palm connecting with Horacio’s cheek before he plucked the cigarette from his fingers and took a drag. “Pass me my jeans.”
It took Horacio a moment to process Javier’s request. Of all the responses he had prepared for – the good and the bad – that hadn’t been on his list, funnily enough. With narrowed eyes and pursed lips, he complied and fetched the jeans that had been flung over a sun lounger when they stripped off to swim earlier. Apparently, regardless of how humid the climate in Tolú became, denim remained a reliable staple of Javier’s wardrobe.
“Check my left pocket.”
Whatever Javier was up to, Horacio was torn between intrigue and irritation at Javier’s temerity to issue orders despite leaving him hanging. But he did as he was told, and in an instant, everything made sense.
“I can always take it back if you’d prefer…”
But Horacio was already opening the near-identical box, and any teasing faded to white noise as he came face-to-face with the gold equivalent of his own proposal.
“Hold it up to the light.”
The night sky was brighter now, making it easier for the inscription to be revealed.
Mi amor, mi vida, mi hogar, mi vaquero. Siempre tuyo.
(My love, my life, my home, my cowboy. Yours always.)
It was Javier’s turn to observe, and it didn’t take long for Horacio to raise a brow in his direction, shooting him a look of feigned exasperation that only came with the territory of a relationship as enduring as theirs.
“What?” Javier said with disingenuous innocence and a vulpine smile.
It was a contagious kind of smile, one that reminded Horacio they were equals in this and that he shouldn’t have been surprised Javier had the same idea.
“I take it my mother showed you her ring?”
“On my first visit to Manizales. It was beautiful. And so’s this.”
“As is this.”
“I like to think I put my own spin on it.”
“You did.”
They sat side-by-side on the hammock, legs facing towards each other with the rings held in their outstretched hands.
Javier’s thumb slid across Horacio’s left palm, tracing patterns over new callouses born from hard labour rather than war. He circled his wrist, waiting for the familiar rhythm but finding a beat that was, unsurprisingly, drumming quicker than usual.
After subduing with his touch, Javier retrieved the gold band, gliding it carefully onto Horacio’s ring finger, easing it over the knuckle until it rested snugly at the base.
They sat transfixed, marvelling at the light dancing across it as Horacio’s thumb ran back and forth over the curved surface in fascination.
Horacio repeated the ritual of mapping Javier’s left hand, lacing their fingers together as a tangible reminder of their bond. Their devotion. Their vow. Their choice. Whether the law honoured it one day or not.
He picked up the silver to his gold, shimmying it along Javier’s ring finger and passing beyond the slight resistance at his knuckle. Not too much force, but firm enough for it to sink perfectly into place.
With palms connected and fingers interlocked, their foreheads met, chests rising and falling in tandem.
“Te amo tanto, Javier.”
“Yo también te amo. Tanto, Horacio. Tanto.” Javier whispered, over and over in Horacio’s ear like a prayer – their prayer – before brushing his lips above Horacio’s brow, the bridge of his nose, both cheeks and down to his mouth, creating their own sign of the cross with each kiss. A new beginning and a welcome home.
They untied their robes and collapsed onto the hammock in a tangle of limbs, silver and gold melding at their chests and hands; their past, present and future as inseparable as their hearts, bodies and souls.
With one smooth motion, Horacio pinned Javier’s arms down into the netting of the hammock, a dark, hungry gaze passing between them as cool metal fused with hot skin.
15 years and several lifetimes may have gone by. But when Horacio had the man he loved, the man who loved him, his media naranja, underneath him, only one word ran through his head. Mine.
Old habits die hard, he supposed.
40 notes · View notes
technicalknockout · 6 months
Note
HEY! I FOUND OK KO CRUMBS!!
I was gonna make a post about it but I cba but still wanted to share it!
So I found Iggy Craig's (one of the storyboard artists for the show) portfolio website, can't really remember how, I go on weird tangents with Google searches sometimes, and it has loads of storyboards and design work of theirs on there. It's really cool early pre-production stuff really appeals to me.
There's a lot of this stuff for the Fionna and Cake episodes and Distant Lands, and OK KO! A lot of the storyboards to look through.
I've seen some animatics for episodes before but the boards here are the much earlier versions of the episodes, and some bits are different and it's really interesting and cool. Especially since I've got lines of the episodes memorised so it's cool to spot the differences.
I haven't looked at everything yet, I don't have the time haha but I looked at the boards for Let's Fight To The End, and there's quite a big difference!
The storyboards detail a longer scene of K.O. being stuck in the subconscious at the start of the episode. I took a couple screenshots.
I really like it. I'm guessing the main reason it was cut was for time. How it was handled in the episode was just a quick version of this.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Also here's a link to the boards Tumblr says the link isn't "complete" so sorry if it doesn't work or doesn't show up just search up Iggy Craig and find their page.
There's also this site called Slideshare.Net which I think all of these boards are being uploaded from, and on that site there's also boards from Ryann Shannon and Danny Ducker. There's the boards from LFTTE where TKO disempowers everyone and they disintegrate instead of lay on the ground. (As well as other episode stuff too)
I don't know how interesting all this really is to people and if it isn't I apologize haha. I just have a fascination with storyboards and animatics for cartoons and paired with OK KO I love it even more.
OH MY GOD THANK YOUUUUU I love these kinds of stuff so much you have no idea how hard im screaming rn.. new ok ko boards auhgjfkgnfjfksnd
Theres something so appealing about storyboards.. I like animated stuff but storyboards!! They're a whole thing!! It's like im looking at the building blocks of an episode!!! Cut storyboards feel like another universe's version of it where different writing decisions were made (imagining lftte as a 40 minute special rn) and spotting lines or scenes that didn't make it into the final product is really interesting. Plus looking at storyboards makes me feel like im a little gremlin digging thru someone's treasure pile and indeed i do giggle annoyingly when i find them
Anyways thanks again for sending me these !!!! youve extended my lifespan by approximately a thousand years
+ no joke i have literally been looking EVERYWHERE for the tko actually murders everyone boards since they mentioned it in the twitter ama. I am eternally in your debt
44 notes · View notes
oceanlipgloss · 4 months
Text
These 4-71+ battles are tickling my temper
Tumblr media
⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ´ˎ˗
I understand that the battles should be harder because the story is progressing, but my God, all in moderation. I'm stuck on 4-78 now and man, it's NOT fun. The battles are annoying and they're longer than my lifespan and there are 45+ angels at least and 60+ at most and they don't die fast and there are no means for proper distribution of team members and everyone in my team is popping to death and
GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ´ˎ˗
16.1.2024
edit 1: you. I want to squeeze your eyeballs out with my fingernails and feed them to Shrek
Tumblr media
edit 2: I have no idea how many times I've repeated this godforsaken battle since yesterday, I believe, but I just finally beat it with half my team dead, and Satan on the brink of death now onto the next nightmare
Tumblr media
edit 3: MWAHAHAHA HERE COMES 4-79 WITH 66 ANGELS! FIRE ATTRIBUTE UNFAVOURABLE! Andre nooooo this is gonna suck
edit 4: just as expected. Screw u and ur eyeballs, angels🖕🏼
edit 5: at this point I'm just admiring the chibis. Look at his little handdddd I want to fluff his hair too, it's so curly and cute
Tumblr media
edit 6: and look at the puffy sleeves and tiny boots pls change them in your sprite version and tiny teddies if you can look past the pic quality and pls just look at how big the teddy bear on his head is in comparison to his body. Leraye's chibi model is one of the cutest lol
Tumblr media
edit 7: he angy. Me too, bby, me too. I am once again saying that I love him Sneak a peek at that small hand <3 'that angel! Kill it!'
Tumblr media
edit 8: almost won with 7 angels left but then Satan was out and idk whether to feel upset because Satan died on me when his ultimate meter was just about maxed out (so he would've rid me of the remaining angels) or feel hopeful because I killed 59 angels/66 and almost made it to the end with most of my team still intact...
edit 9: lost again with 2 angels left this time BECAUSE SATAN DIED ON ME AGAIN
edit 10: I stopped trying my hand at the battle. I just do not have the energy to deal with it anymore for now. I'll stick to doing daily tasks for tonight. I love collecting the rewards lol
edit 11: I'm bored. I may or may not think I'm going to buy 30 keys with pancakes to actually SPEND this time. Not for hoarding. The pancakes are bountiful, the anticipation is a pleasant kind of fun definitely not shading the battles, and I might get something of use to me, so...here we gooooo
edit 12: OH MY GOD BEEL BEEL AND YELLOW SPARKLES ON THE PULL SCREEN I KNOW WHAT THAT MEANSSSS AAAAAAAAAAH LEMME SEE
edit 13: he really finally came home this time🫶🏼he's so beautiful <3 I also adore the 'I am everywhere and nowhere. But when you're around, I think it's okay to stay.' I didn't quite expect a line like that—it sounds poetic and romantic to me. I'm going to try my best to unlock his story. I can't wait to see what having him in Secret Club would be like too, obviously
Tumblr media
edit 14: the glee, the gleeeeee lol my love transcended the screen This pull also gave me Eligos, he's so cute (edit: tf is that ultimate, bro? It's on par with his description from before the game was launched, but ok) And through a greater key pull earlier today gotta get pancakes I got Glasyalabolas, I love himmm his chibi and coffin look so extra, too lol but Ronové, when is it going to be your turn?
edit 15: I don't believe it. I PASSED. Only Satan and Mammon survived, but Beel's ultimate is a banger. The wonders he would do at level 89...
edit 16: screechers and spike-shitters again! Hallelujah also wow Leviathan sent his guys to kidnap MC. Meaning she will meet him soon, meaning I might get to see Glasyalabolas soon lol I AM EXCITED just let me make it past even one of these horrific battles first
⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ´ˎ˗
17.1.2024
edit 17: Beel's expressions in Secret Club GOD I KNOW YOU DON'T APPROVE OF ME PLAYING THIS GAME BUT HELP ME My God my God my God my—
⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ´ˎ˗
18.1.2024
edit 18: no but his thighs tho kinda want to hug them like a koala bear just him in general <3
Tumblr media
edit 19: Valefor's H-scene CG looks edible, no? watch Tumblr flag this I wonder if his scene will come first and next one would be Leviathan's. And if I tell you how much I'm looking forward to interactions with Leviathan, and to his H-scene...
Tumblr media
edit 20: would you look at that! What perfect timing. The difficulty is probably going to stay hellish hardcore, more so with the one lvl 89 L card of mine, but still, does this mean that I may have a sliver of a chance? It's better if I don't hope too much that I'll make it out of Chapter 4 any time soon tho. I will have to do the best I can to avoid spoilers
Tumblr media
But PrettyBusy is amazing, honestly—just as a good company should be—they listen to players, constantly try to integrate feedback and opinions into the gameplay, and come up with ideas to better it too. They fucked up bigtime with the Pancake Shop though, ngl. BECAUSE HOW TF AM I GOING TO STOCK UP ON KEYS AFTER IT GETS REMODELLED?
edit 21: they're helping us 'prepare' for the Attack of Kings event from now, aren't they? Pffff, like I didn't know the cards would be limited
Tumblr media Tumblr media
⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ´ˎ˗
25.1.2024
edit 22: I stopped trying to get past that battle because first, it got too annoying and two, PB said that the difficulty of battles before Chapter 5 would be reduced in the latest update, so I waited, updated the game today, and... I CANNOT BELIEVE HOW MUCH EASIER THEY GOT. Honestly, I thought the difficulty would only be lowered a lick, but wow, it really was taken down a BIG notch fr fr. THANK YOU PB! I made it to Chapter 5, finallyyyyyy :D Also, Leviathan at the end of Chapter 4 made me really like him for the exact reason a number of people dislike him: his attitude and how he deals with MC. To be honest, everyone coddles her too much and blindly encourages her excessive tendencies, so there must be at least one person who sets boundaries and scolds her when she goes overboard—and that someone seems to be Leviathan (hopefully). I'm aware that he will end up feeling attracted to her at some point too, but he will obviously give her a hard time nevertheless and I'm all for it lol Anyways, I'm going to avoid spoilers like I avoid milk, yoghurt and cheese I hate almost everything dairy until I finish Chapter 5, so...yup!
24 notes · View notes
theslowesthnery · 4 days
Text
random DLC story trailer thoughts
honestly happy we're getting more of marika and how the golden order came to be, especially since the origins seem to be pretty Fucked Up. the more fucked up marika is, the better, please just let her have done massively fucked up things without any "oh well it was for the greater good" handwringing, i would genuinely love that
i'm sorry but i can't take messmer seriously, he looks so fucking stupid to me. everything he wears from his helmet to his greaves look like they're too big for him, he looks like a kid playing dress-up
(also i'm sorry but i'm already fed up with seeing him everywhere)
marika crushing an omen/crucible-related civilization, locking everything that remains in a hidden realm? no wonder she wants omen gone and hidden, they're a reminder of what she did (and also proof that she can't just lock them away and be done with it, more will always be born - even through her own body)
reaching a bit, but i do wonder if hewg is originally from the "shadow realm" - it would explain why he fears marika so much, having perhaps witnessed what she did
my theory/prediction is that radagon did not exist yet back at the time shown in the story trailer, that marika was cursed by the giant wickermen (or whoever were controlling them) after she used them to crush the omen/crucible civilization and then abandoned them and imprisoned them in the shadow realm, and she then separated the cursed part of her self into a separate body, which became radagon
if the person in black, surrounded by flames, is the gloam-eyed queen like a lot of people theorize, it would explain why she went on her godslaying spree. i always theorized that the GEQ was marika's sister, an empyrean who also could've become a god, and i wonder now if marika destroying the city shown in the trailer was her crushing the competition
i similarly predicted (based on absolutely nothing) back when the gameplay trailer released that the old man seen in it (in the painting, and with the rune/sword through him) was marika's father, so maybe the city that is being destroyed by messmer and marika's forces is her former home that she's destroying so that they can't rise against her in the future
the official subtitles for the line "a purge without Grace or honor" has grace written with a capital G, and the japanese subtitles use the same word as for the erdtree/golden order's grace, and i think that's interesting. in the end marika herself was the most Graceless of them all?
miyazaki said that the name of the dlc (shadow of the erdtree) has another meaning besides referring to the literal shadow tree, and some people theorize it means that the empyreans' shadows will have something to with it, but i personally don't think so - i think it just refers to the hidden "dark side" of the golden order
i hope one of the miquella followers is rhico (or some version of him), just because it'd be nice that the character wasn't just completely tossed away
edit: oh yeah completely forgot, considering how the entire shadow realm seem to be very strongly connected to marika and her past, i'm very curious to see how the very carian-esque area and NPC will tie in to that
edit 2: considering that both fire and snake are seen as blasphemous by the golden order now, i think either messmer betrayed marika (unlikely, considering how he talks of her in the gameplay trailer), or she just fears his power and therefore made everything related to him a blasphemy after using him to win her victories
i don't know, i've just seen people go absolutely bonkers with the theorizing and trying to connect anything and everything not only in the trailers and screenshots but also in the base game to messmer and miquella and the shadow realm no matter how much they need to reach, and i just. find that really exhausting, so i don't want to do that
i can't remember if i had any other thoughts lol
19 notes · View notes
themanwhomadeamonster · 7 months
Text
oh my GOD i deleted my rant by accident im gonna cry lemme try to remember what i wrote but tl;dr not really a theory but me trying to arrange my understanding of albrecht and tmitw
i title this: wallbrecht is everything everywhere all at once
also i wrote this at 5-6am and didnt sleep so shit's probably messy
Tumblr media
ok so a major theme in warframe that recurrs in warframe is the loss of identity or sense of self. natah/lotus/margulis, erra becoming pazuul, teshin being controlled by the worm queens, the operator dissociating and believing they're our warframe, then the operator losing themselves to the worm queen and the operator (+rell) confusing ourselves with tmitw himself , the drifter in duviri, warframes themselves losing their sense of self (umbra at some point, and potentially arthur and aoi down the line), albrecht worrying who really left the void dimension, the remaining entrati family themselves!. we're also told many times that the void gives but it also takes, and that it's heavily influenced by strong emotions
in cosmic horror stories usually the horror is a representation of something else. in lovecraft's works it's often his disgust with people of colour, viewing them as something completely alien. in bloodborne part of it is the fears of pregnancy and dealing with offspring. i haven't played darkest dungeon but i've heard that it's about trauma and how the overwhelming traumatic events become too much to bear that people go mad. in the lighthouse, part of the horror is that people will fight and kill just to know the truth, or what they believe to be salvation
so i think albrecht's horror was his fear of losing his identity. we knew from the clock's archives that his experiments hadn't been going well prior to the bell incident. he was losing respect as an archimedian, maybe he lost respect as a father and husband too. i think a lot of us theorise already that albrecht IS the man in the wall, not a doppelganger like tmitw literally was with the operator. but tmitw being omnipresent means that they can freely simultaneously be and not be other people, the paradox of eternalism. albrecht is now the void, he knows every timeline and every outcome and potentially every person (except operator/drifter because they're already void in multiple senses of the word) but he is also still one human. the human mind can't reconcile knowing everything, that's just madness. lucky that kids aren't as self aware as adults!
the void isn't evil nor good. it gives and takes merely because that's the way the universe works, very vaguely dare i say the law of conservation in (a very sci-fi way) action. the void is in the grand scheme of things is just a natural phenomenon of the universe. but the overwhelming emotion present during the 10-0 accident (if that even was an accident) and albrecht's own experiment just happened to be fear, so the void literally embodied the concept of fear and became a person, vecause that's just what the void does. it became an unknowable being behind a veil just beyond our perceptive reality that understands the plights of humanity a little too well. it could have manifested into something friendly and offered us and albrecht a deal in a polite way if the circumstances were right but it wasn't. tmitw is a manifestation of the void so whether the man - albrecht - wanted to or not, he had to approach our operator in their greatest moment of fear. what he did have a choice in, though, was to offer a deal. and what better way to secure a time loop, multiple ones even, that will guarantee your becoming wally than to be a time-space hopping entity who can exploit a bunch of scared kids who didn't know any better.
i don't know what we'll be using the vessel for but i don't think we'll be using it to fight a giant wall (and if we are it won't be the climactic final fight). i don't think we'll ever overcome the void, and we don't need to. the void just is. but the man in the wall literally is just a man. and i know people dunk on bad cosmic horror when the spooky thing is actually just a person or has sympathetic motivations but i think here warframe may be able to pull it off well. it's a cosmic horror that's made life miserable over multiple lifetimes, but the horror simultaneously is just a victim partially of his own doing because the cosmic horror never was alien, it's just a person who's scared of losing himself, just like the lotus was and just like our operator was. the cosmic horror IS the person in the stories who faced the horrors, who faced themselves in the seriglass bell - all it took to differentiate us and albrecht was an *accident* (though at this point it was probably intentional)
we need to confront albrecht/the man in the wall and try to stop his madness. but like many cosmic horror stories go, i think he's trapped no matter what. he'll either overcome his fear of losing himself and become one with the void, leaving us for good, or he'll try to return to gomaitru. but the fact that he's not the same as he was before and neither is gomaitru, with what he's seen and experienced as tmitw will be so maddening that he'll have to leave for the void once again in a suicide mission if he still can't reconcile with *what he is* now. in true cosmic horror fashion we will probably never fully know his motivations till the end, being a greater being than our scope of thinking - and with eternalism in place, maybe albrecht reconciling with himself was what already happened back in the seriglass bell
21 notes · View notes
pigeonwhumps · 9 months
Note
🫁 for Phoenix. (Laughs evilly)
"I need to do a cricothyroidotomy," says Aaron, adjusting the IV line. "Eyes on my face, Phoenix, I need to start. Eyes on me, yeah?"
Phoenix looks up into Aaron's face and blinks. His eyes are very brown, eyebrows furrowed. All wavering. They can't breathe, god, they can't breathe, they try automatically and all they can do is choke on blood, oh god, they've already died multiple times they don't want to die again, but they can't–
"Eyes on me. Injection's done, I'm starting to cut, eyes on me, you'll be fine. Squeeze this, stay still, eyes on me."
Phoenix's hand feels blindly until they find... something, squeezing and squeezing and squeezing, trying to ignore the 'not breathing' part of things. But they can't breathe, they can't breathe, there's blood everywhere, it smells metallic and they're choking on it, all they get is blood, they can't breathe oh god they're dying, they're going to die again, it's over and over and it won't stop because they can't get the blood out, they can't–
"Phoenix! I need you to stay calm. I'm here for you, we're going to get you breathing, but you need to calm down. Squeeze the ball, concentrate on me, look at me, Phoenix. You'll be okay. Stay still, try and calm down, I know it's hard but you're going to be okay."
Phoenix tries. They look up at Aaron and just about see him, vision blurred and greying, squeezing less than before. They try to concentrate on staying still, not the blood, not their mouth that hurts so much, it's agonising, not– not–
There's a strange feeling in their windpipe, like something's being pushed inside. It feels weird and wrong and they don't like it.
They can't move. They can't take it out. Their windpipe doesn't hurt so much but everything else does and they can't even move. It's easier to breathe now but god, it hurts. They gasp, trying to gulp in air, that doesn't work, and then it feels weird and tastes kind of metallic but there's air, there's air, oh god there's air. It's much further down than they're used to but they can breathe again, they can do it, there's air and everything's not quite so fuzzy anymore.
Hurts, though. It's okay, they've had worse.
"You've got it Phoenix. You're doing it, you're okay, keep your eyes on me and keep breathing. It's just me here, you're doing well. Focus on me."
Phoenix tries to obey, gripping the sides of the bed for balance, the cold grounding them.
"That's good. You're doing well. The next thing we need to do is splint your broken bones, before they heal wrong and we have to rebreak them. I'll give you morphine through your IV, and another injection of lidocaine, that should help with the pain. I need to wire your jaw, it'll be scary but given your healing factor it shouldn't be for long. Okay? You're getting there, Phoenix, you're doing really well. Focus on me, try to stay calm."
Phoenix tries, they really do. They can breathe now, that's good, it's not breathing through their mouth but it's still air. But as Aaron turns to fetch the wire, Phoenix panics. The only reason they don't thrash is that some part of their brain knows that it would be a bad idea to knock the IV out. Aaron won't be pleased with them and he might punish them, or stop giving them painkillers.
Why is he giving them painkillers again? They don't need them. They don't need them to be gentle, it's weird.
"Try to calm down. It's okay, Phoenix, you're going to be okay. You don't need to look so disbelieving at the painkillers, y'know? Squeeze this as hard as you can. It won't be wired for long. You'll have to eat liquid food, but it's okay, I promise. Let's get this done before you heal wrong."
And Phoenix... they shut down. There's wire and what looks like pliers and Aaron's going to feed them and give them painkillers, and they can't cope. They're terrified and they don't understand, and they just... shut down completely.
The world is fuzzy, their heart pounding, everything seems far away. It's all... wrong.
They'll understand at some point, maybe. But not now. Not when they're not even here.
They don't know where they are. But it's not here.
Taglist: @extrabitterbrain @wolfeyedwitch @whumpinggrounds @painful-pooch
35 notes · View notes
nerizys · 5 months
Text
"For the last time, I'm not telling you where the dragon is" Akasha sighed, making her annoyance known. Her cafe has become something like a safe space to socialize and exchange information, exposing her to more... interesting customers as of late.
And that's okay! Most of it. Early in life she had realized being too popular isn't good, but she wants to pay her staff well. (God bless them, they're so precious and kind) Normally it would be Ganymede providing info to their customers, or Io when someone is too extroverted, but this person, who claims to be a 'dragon slayer', doesn't deserve Ganymede's politeness, nor Io's sunshine nature. Oh no, he needs a reality check
A little while ago, she heard about the news of a dragon coming to town. An Eastern dragon at that. They're known to wise, beautiful, elegant, all the good adjectives, etc... As opposed to Western dragons. Why it's here? Nobody knows, but they're not going to pry and risk a dragon's wrath.
There's one person who didn't get the memo though, and they're right in front of her.
"I'm telling you, that dragon is dangerous! And you're just letting it be?" She rolled her eyes
"What do you think our cafe can do about it?"
"You have the Jupiter sisters here with you. Tell them to slay it!"
"So you do have a brain. Now only if you use it to study some mythology, you'll know Eastern dragons are essentially harmless until provoked. Of course there are malevolent ones, but clearly not this one"
"Not this one? Can't you see how strong the wind has become? How snow blocks your every path?"
"That's because it's winter di- Mister. Our weather is stronger due to some special supernatural activities" It's true. This place is a lot more special than just some town. There's a reason why whatever governing body hasn't tried further urbanisation. They preferred the terrors not wreaking havoc everywhere.
"So this is how it is. You've all become brainwashed and desensitized to this danger around you. Fine then, I'll do it myself!" The slayer stood up and walked away. After he left, everything fell into a silence, save the sound of blowing wind, a silence that she soon recognizes.
Familiar colors of black and gold enters the cafe, a black cloak made of black feathers and decorated by gold lines.
"Edita! There you are" she smiled, feeling her irritation slowly disappear. To others, she's the monsters you fear in the darkness, to Akasha, she's a calm night full of stars.
"Greetings to you too Akasha. Was your previous mood due to a reckless flame heading towards the eye of the storm?" The woman asked. Perceptive as ever
"Yeah that's what happened. Tried to tell him to stop. Whatever happens to him is happening, not my problem now" She sees how Edita's lips quirked into a minuscule smile, full of amusement.
"I see" Oh boy.
The day went by uneventfully, aside from many customers complaining of an obnoxious self proclaimed 'dragon slayer'. Seems like he's been busy, preparing himself for an ultimate battle, that's probably just going to result in a slightly worse in Christmas for everyone. Hopefully Eastern dragons are as benevolent as they say. She already heard words being exchanged about the upcoming battle.
When she made her way out from the kitchen though, the cafe owner didn't expect to see her customers, her staff all so focused, staring at a projected screen. Even Edita was watching from the counter!
"Ah! Manager! Cesare got a few drones on the dragon slayer dude, so we're watching him fight" Callisto helpfully told her. The projected screen was showing the slayer trying to rile up the dragon in front of him. They were indeed a beautiful dragon, but looks can be deceiving. Even through a screen, she could already feel the rising faux tension, and everyone's getting really into it.
If there's one thing she learnt about working with all things strange and mystical, that they all have a personality beyond the limited stories humans have. Their excitement and amused would have reminded her of kids watching a movie, if it wasn't excitement to see a guy get mauled, or whatever dragons do.
Can't blame them though, she wants to see it too.
"What do you think Manager?"
"Hm? Think of what Ganymede?"
"This place, the cafe you made for yourself"
"Technically I bought it from the previous guy, but... It's nice. This is all very nice"
"But the atmosphere, the people, were all of your work. You built it up from a broken shell" She heard Edita say. Creating a safe haven when you're just a normal human at the beginning was difficult. If it wasn't for Edita protecting her, if it wasn't for...
"You should give yourself more credit Manager" Ganymede sighed
"You have broken from the systematic machine and ventured into the unknown. Surely you have the courage to enjoy the fruits of your labor?"
Right, she's no longer the old her, just another gear in the system, scared to speak her voice. She was lucky, too lucky, and that's why she was scared to get attached to happiness. Now that she looked at it, that was a dumb way of thinking. If Akasha isn't attached, she won't have a will to protect it.
The wind got stronger, as she took in a breath, as the dragon's anger reaches it's peak. The weather sure is sensitive to a dragon's feelings.
"Okay everyone. Who wants hot cocoa? It's on the house tonight!" Some yes and nods
"And eggnog" Now this got them going. She sticks by not serving any alchohol, so this is alchohol free. With her skills though, she'll make sure it tastes delicious.
The rest of the evening was spent like watching movies at your friend's house, as everyone point and laughed at the poor sap. Akasha was holding her own cup of hot cocoa, snuggling up with Edita. Edita herself was most fond of tea, so she had brewed some special Holiday Spiced Tea just for her. She's glad the other woman liked it. No one can judge unless they want to be split in half.
The next morning, unexpectedly, the dragon himself came to the cafe, tossing the human it had defeated to the floor. How he is not dead Akasha doesn't care. She just had Ganymede drop him into a clinic.
Turns out the dragon was there for a vacation. And this experience kinda the mood. As an apology and business opportunity, she offered a cup of hot cocoa. Hopefully this does enough to ease the dragon so he'll come back some time. He was a nice guy.
6 notes · View notes