#gt july home
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Adjustment Period
Day 17 Home. Back to alien au with Mikhail and Ian.
Ian's adjusting to living with Mikhail, but from his point of view it's not that great...
Adjustment Period
Ian hadn’t had an easy time adjusting to life with Mik.
The first night after Ian learned the man was an alien was harsh. He woke up to those earth shaking steps. He couldn’t bring himself to move at first, but Mik noticed he’d woken up. The giant moving closer and hovering over him was hard to accept. One of those massive hands was placed in front of him. He had no idea what to do.
“Ian,” Mik said. His voice struck through his spine. He could hear the hint of demand in the voice. He wasted no time in climbing out of the blankets and onto the offered palm. As much as he didn’t want to feel that strange silky skin, he wouldn’t risk retaliation. He couldn’t read the solid eyes that always felt locked on him.
The hand was moving as soon as he’d reached the center. He wasn’t sure what to expect, but the tree trunk fingers curling over him didn’t help. It didn’t seem like Mik had even considered that his steps were heavy as he walked. They still made it up to him and rattled his bones. Mik stopped soon enough, lowering him down to the place he’d made the translators.
Ian climbed off, happy to get away from the strange flesh around him. Mik stared at him before reaching all over the table. All Ian could do was stare up as the huge arms kept moving. He thought back to the movies of aliens dissecting humans. He just had to hope that wouldn’t happen here. Mik set something that looked straight out of a sci-fi movie in front of him.
“I need to do a body scan of you, please step inside,” Mik said.
Ian nodded and walked into the machine. He shivered once it started whirring, a green light flashed over him. It reminded him of the newer metal detectors he’d seen in some movies. The lights died down, but the machine didn’t open up. He stepped up to the edge and pushed against it. The door didn’t budge, he was trapped. He started to bang against the wall. He couldn’t get out. He had to get out.
“Mik!” he cried out. The metal screamed as it tore apart above him. He fell to his knees as the machine was pulled away. He was still locked in the strange metal while he stared at the alien above him. He screamed when the metal still blocking him was flattened by massive hands.
“Are you hurt?” the alien asked. Ian managed to shake his head. The terrifying smile of sharp teeth hovered over him. “I’m not sure what malfunctioned, but the scan did complete.”
Ian watched as the massive arms reached over him. Mik tapped the wall, but nothing happened. It didn’t help that he was only just noticing how little emotion Mik had in his voice. He couldn’t tell if that was just the translator or the man himself.
“There should be a small display here, it will give you a way down.”
Ian nodded and finally stumbled to his feet. He tripped over the flattened metal, satin skin caught him. He pushed himself off, relieved Mik wasn’t insisting on anything else. He’d felt the metal, it was sturdy. He didn’t ever want to be on the receiving end of Mik’s strength.
Once he reached the wall a glowing panel became visible. He pressed his hand to it, two parts of the wall slid open. One revealed stairs, the other something that looked like an elevator. He chose the stairs, he didn’t want to see what would happen if he got trapped in the elevator. An image of Mik ripping open the wall like in horror movies hit him like a brick. He got back to the blankets and hid under them.
That had been horrifying, but it wasn’t the worst. It was what Mik decided to do the next night that took that spot.
“Ian, we should retrieve your belongings,” he said. His footsteps had been a bit less horrible that day. Ian climbed out of the blankets, it was starting to feel like a pet bed. Mik did mention he’d made it for him. It gave him a strange feeling. The alien’s solid eyes locked on him. He hated failing to read them. “We can go once you’re ready.”
“Let’s go,” he mumbled.
He had expected the hand placed in front of him again. Instead Mik waited, just watching him. Eventually he started towards the door. Mik followed behind him, it wasn’t comforting. The heavy steps landing near enough he could have been underneath each time made him shudder. They got to the door and Mik pressed some panel high above Ian. The ship’s solid wall lit up in a large square before slowly lowering down.
Again Ian expected a hand that didn’t come. He led the way back to his campsite. He looked back at Mik once, but that had been a mistake. Seeing that the alien truly was taller than the trees around him almost made him run. He forced each step to be calm, ignoring the eyes locked on him. The uneven world shaking steps trying to match his pace. The campsite entering his sight was the best thing he could imagine.
He ran up to it, biting back a scream when Mik kneeled. The knee next to his small camp was terrifying. It just made him realize how massive the alien was. It reminded him of the idea that there was a planet sized to Mik’s species. He busied himself gathering what he’d left out that day.
Ian didn’t have much to gather. He had everything in only a few minutes. He turned to tell Mik they could go, but the alien’s eyes were locked on the tent. Ian forgot all about Mik’s weird gift the second day they met. He followed Mik’s hand as he reached over towards Ian. He got a good view of how small the little tent was. It was easy for Mik to pick it up and walk away at any time.
There was silence between them, but no move was made to lift the tent. Ian’s blood ran cold when he realized the intent was for him to be in the tent. Slowly he walked forward, sealing the door once inside. He wasn’t looking forward to this. He didn’t want to ride along in a nice carrying case for the alien. He crawled under the bed and curled up hugging his knees to his chest.
Mik made a noise he hadn’t heard before, but he could feel once the tent was lifted. There was a bit of relief once the warmth of a palm seeped through the floor. He didn’t want to think about being carried in the open air. How easy all of it was. That he would just be placed somewhere. He wanted to avoid this, but he knew better than to make someone stronger than him angry. He wouldn’t make that mistake again.
He was jolted from his thoughts when the warmth left him. His stomach stayed in the air as the tent was quickly lowered. He could feel the impact of Mik sitting on the ground. It was distinct from the heavy steps, stronger and bounced him. He made his way out from under the bed and dropped the things he held close. Slowly Ian walked out and faced the alien sitting nearby.
“This should be a sufficient place,” Mik mumbled. Ian looked around. The tent was set on the ground right next to the pile of blankets. That meant he was given a corner in Mik’s room. The solid eyes locked on him kept him faking a calm. They kept him from admitting that this felt like a sick joke. He was given a fucking dog bed and a nice little dog house. It didn’t seem like he had any way to change things. It wasn’t like the ship would open for him.
“Y-Yeah…” he said. Mik made another terrifying smile attempt. Ian did his best to smile back at the alien, it wasn’t easy. When he said he cared and wanted an assistant Ian thought it would at least be better than growing up. Now it just seemed like he was going to be a lab rat, or a cute thing to watch. If he could at least read the giant alien’s eyes he could maybe handle this.
The saving grace was getting to keep the tent thing Mik made him. It felt like his own room even if he was stuck in a corner. The earth shaking steps were becoming easy enough to ignore. Plus inside the ship the tent had a screen like Mik’s weird tablet. For once Ian could spend time uninterrupted doing what he wanted.
“Ian!” Mik’s voice rocked the walls. Ian grimaced. He had no idea what was next for the alien to want from him. He’d been hearing something like a dog barking the few times the steps were close enough to shake the tent badly. Poking his head out he found Mik staring at a table nearby and not at him. “Food.”
He sighed and made his way out to the table. The dog barking he heard was probably Mik learning how to train human pets. Probably thought the videos were showing how to train him and not the animals. He just did as was expected and climbed the stairs that opened when he pressed a glowing panel on the leg of the table. He ignored the noise Mik made and just sat down to eat.
That pattern continued, but Mik ate with him at least once a day. He assumed it was meant to remind him just who he was staying with. When it was pointed out he was nervous, that Mik cared that he was nervous, he just wanted to adjust. He wouldn’t risk it being used against him. Although the alien stopped eating with him altogether.
Instead at least one meal had a conversation between the two. Usually it was just questions about human culture, health, or the planet. He made up answers a lot, the idea of Mik getting annoyed at what he didn’t know kept him on his toes. Outside of mealtimes he started researching everything he could. He would learn everything possible to avoid an angry giant deciding to punish him. He wasn’t ready to see an alien one up the crappy authority figures of his life.
Life continued like that for weeks. Now and then a hand would appear and his name called. Ian obeyed each time. Usually the hand was pulled away before he climbed on, it seemed like a test to make sure he was listening. Mik’s steps were getting lighter as time went on, a bit of a relief. He could get used to it, but it wasn’t easy for his body to stop reacting.
The nightmares weren’t helping either. He couldn’t stop thinking about that strange satin skin wrapped around him. Tightening until he couldn’t breathe. Worse were the ones where those sharp teeth were opened in his face just before he was buried in darkness. He woke up and took long showers after those ones. He wanted the feelings gone. All he could do was hope things would improve.
Of course the times Mik hadn’t been careful weren’t helping. Sometimes his tablet was too loud and he heard a few strange comments. Things that definitely sounded like training. He’d started sleeping with the translator on, waking up to the machine repeating something about proper human habitats. He just hoped it was better than living in the woods, or with the people in his past.
There were days he tried to explore the ship. Mik didn’t seem to mind, most of the time. As soon as Ian started towards the main door Mik would start to follow. He assumed it was to make sure he didn’t run away. There hadn’t been a reason to escape yet though. He felt more like a rehomed stray cat than a dog. Given the freedom to do what he wants, but eat at the expected times and don’t leave. It was an easier life at least
“Ian?” Mik called. He sighed, but slipped out of his ‘room’. He didn’t want to keep thinking of it as a tent or a dog house. The alien was sitting on the floor with the tablet in his hands. He stared up, waiting for Mik to do anything. The solid eyes seemed to be on him, but there was a chance they were locked on the tablet.
“W-what’s up?” he asked. The alien leaned forward, the shadow was intimidating. It was a lot worse than Ian liked to consider. He was constantly reminded how small he was compared to Mik. It made it a lot harder to think about running away, about never coming back. There was no telling if Mik had some way to hunt him down.
“Would you be able to acquire this from the settlement we visited?” Mik’s huge tablet was placed in front of him. On it was a children’s book. Jack and the Beanstalk. It made him shiver, but that should be easy enough to buy. The little money he had could afford it.
“Yeah, I should be able to.” A sharp tooth grin met him. He had to force himself to avoid stumbling back from the alien. It didn’t seem like Mik noticed at all.
“I would greatly appreciate that you acquire this today.”
Ian didn’t get to respond before Mik started to stand. He couldn’t hold himself back from stumbling away while that happened. They were close together, someone bigger than the tallest trees was not fun to watch stand. It didn’t help that when Mik set his weight on his foot to push himself up it knocked Ian backwards. He tried not to think about it, but when he was on the ground staring up like this all he could see was a giant monster.
“I will accompany you to the entryway,” Mik just stared down at him. Ian nodded and scrambled to his feet. He ran in to his ‘room’ to grab a bag before leaving. Mik following him remained terrifying. One misstep, one moment of distraction, and he would be gone. The alien didn’t falter, never took a single hesitant step. He didn’t know how cared about he actually was.
Ian held his breath as the giant metal wall opened. He walked out, the door stayed open. The world shaking steps walked away. He was alone, he could run, he could just skip town. Except he didn’t have money or any kind of education that would get him a job. His life here would be better than anything he’d do on his own. Steeling his nerves he made his way to town.
The trip itself was uneventful. He made it to town, found a bookstore and found the book. It took all the money he had left, but he got it. Now all he had to do was make it back and hope the time it took doesn’t make the giant alien angry. He knew he should go back right away, but a part of him couldn’t do it. The only thought on his mind was that he’d never come back here. Mik would probably take him to be some example of how obedient humans could be. Eventually they’d force everyone into this weird situation he was in.
Someone bumped into him as he let his thoughts run wild. It knocked him forward, throwing the book from his hands. He stared in fear as a puddle started to ruin the small paperback story. He rushed to grab it, but it was too late. The pages were ruined, at least a lot of them. He hadn’t realized it rained recently, his own fault for not checking. Now that he thought about it, a storm probably would have left him homeless without Mik taking him in. He just had to hope whatever punishment Mik gave him for failing wouldn’t kill him…
The sun had set by the time Ian got back to the ship. A part of him almost hoped the door would be closed and he’d be waiting for Mik to remember to look for him. It might even convince him to walk away. That wasn’t what he found. Mik was standing at the entrance. An intimidating and imposing figure with eyes that stood out. It didn’t feel right that he could see their color so clearly. His legs froze as he stared up at the creature who supposedly cared about him.
“Ian,” Mik’s voice cut through the darkness of the forest. Every nerve in Ian’s body was itching to run off, but where would he go? His stepdad was long gone, plus he didn’t want to cover up bruises anymore. His mom would only make things worse, be useful or get out… He walked forward accepting whatever fate he’d be subjected to for failing the giant alien. “It is good you’ve returned.”
“Y-yeah, got the book too,” he said. He knew he should just admit it was destroyed, but he didn’t want to get punished out in the open like this. Whatever Mik did, leaving him to beg for forgiveness or nurse bruises, he wanted to be back in that tent at least.
“Good. If you would accompany me, I have something to show you.”
Mik shifted, the alien just moved and Ian nearly crumbled. He wasn’t ready to face this. Yet he knew putting it off wouldn’t help, it never did before. He walked forward, right into the ship. The door closed as Mik took the first of his steps next to him. Ian was in what would someday be his coffin. He just hoped he learned the rules fast enough he could avoid it for a while.
Mik took single steps to lead the way. Ian would catch up and Mik would take a new one. Each time it was harder to stay pretending everything was fine. The wall slid open as they approached it. Ian didn’t even know the ship had a place like this, he could still see Mik’s bed. It was a section that was hidden… from him…
Mik continued leading for only a few more of his steps. Admittedly Ian had already been tired from the trek to and from the city so this wasn’t helping. His limbs ached, but he wouldn’t put any ideas in the alien’s head. Not until he knew about the punishment for failing. Oddly, Mik stopped near a door that was only a few feet taller than Ian.
“Please go inside,” the alien’s voice was strangely quiet. Ian almost picked up some emotion in it. Maybe a bit of nerves. He didn’t understand why that would be it.
Taking a deep breath Ian walked forward. He held a hand up like he did for the stairs around the ship. It made a panel appear that scanned his hand. That was new, but almost scarier. Why did it need to know it was him?
Ian shut his eyes as the door slid open. Blindly, he took a few steps in before taking the risk to look around. He was in a shockingly normal by human standards room. A bed that looked too big was covered in sheets that had pretty much every superhero he could think of on them. An open closet with more clothes than he thought a single person could wear in a lifetime. Dresses, skirts, pants, shirts, blouses, styles he’d never learned the name of too.
He started to spin around. One corner had a desk that looked a bit too big, but the chair was properly sized. It actually looked comfortable, a lot more than the one Mik had in the giant room. A bunch of blankets were piled in another corner and he actually smiled. Mik definitely had no idea what blankets were actually considered. On the desk was a normal computer, notebooks, books, even a few sketchbooks. Hanging on the wall were a few guitars. It was like everything you could have an interest in existed in this room.
“Was this my reward if I didn’t fuck up,” he whispered.
“What does ‘fuck up’ mean?” Mik’s voice shocked him. Ian spun around and the alien was there, in the room, antennae brushing the ceiling. His heart started to pound, Mik could easily hurt him without killing him now. Ian started to shake as the alien tapped a tablet that looked way too small in his hands. “Ruin something? Ian, did something happen?"
Ian backed away as the alien’s impossible to read eyes locked on him. The alien stepped closer, head tilted to one side. Ian’s back slammed into something he hadn’t noticed. Books rained down around him. His vision grew blurry. He didn’t want this.
“Ian, what-” Mik started. An alarm blared that almost deafened Ian. Mik stiffened before reaching towards Ian. What looked like a snarl on the alien’s face.
“Activating Emergency Protocol.” A deafening voice sounded. Mik was surrounded by a strange ice-like pillar. His body stopped moving, but the tablet in his hands was thrown to the side. “Freezing researcher. Checking databases. Species classified: Human. Human, you will be given time to leave. The researcher will not follow. Emergency defenses in place. Upon departure, return to home planet is imminent.”
Ian stood there trying to process what he’d heard. An emergency protocol… that was giving him time to escape. Time to get away from the alien with a frozen snarl on his face. He couldn’t move. Falling to his knees as tears fell from his eyes and his body refused to stop shaking. All he could think of were the things that could happen. That Mik could come after him… The computer said he’d leave though.
A barking dog made him jump. The tablet Mik had lost when the strange ice appeared was playing a video. Not knowing what to do, Ian crawled toward it. He wasn’t sure his legs would work. Sitting on his knees he stared down at the tablet. A video showing kids from some movie playing with a dog. On it were notes in a script he couldn’t read.
Reaching out with a shaking hand, Ian picked up the tablet. Immediately the language coming out was english. The notes were translated too.
Many forms of media show humans playing with these creatures. It is hard to understand the relationship this means. Some treat them as an equal, others do not. Once Ian has adjusted I will ask him about it. Perhaps it’s an expected part of hooman lives. It would be hard to be my larger sizes with this, but it would not be hard to live smaller to ensure Ian is content here.
The note didn’t make sense. Mik was… Mik definitely just thought he was a pet or something. There wasn’t real care here. It… Ian looked around the room again. Really paying attention this time. He noticed things that started not to make sense. The clothes for one, if he took it off media why did Mik include so many skirts? The guitar on the wall looked almost exactly like the one on the cover of his notebook. The bed wasn’t just superheroes. It was the ones from the blanket he’d kept for himself the day they met. It was every variation of them.
Ian swiped the screen of the tablet. It moved to another video. This time it was someone probably around his age. They were cooking, it looked foreign now. They turned and set the food down, staring at it calling out a name. They followed up the shout with food and moved on. A new note popped up, translating once he tapped it.
It appears for non parental relationships it is common to announce a meal then leave it behind. This seems odd. If hoomans do not need to be together for meals, wouldn’t leaving access to them be better? I will mimic this for now, another thing to ask Ian about later.
Ian looked back at Mik. The snarl almost looked more like a worried grimace now. Less anger. The frozen body of the alien reaching out was losing the menacing aspect. He’d grown up with people out to get him, people manipulating him. His worries were always behind everyone else’s, but Mik was trying for him… At least it looked like he was.
Ian swiped again and again. Video after video played. Pretty much every single one had two people, close in age, with a sibling relationship. Followed by a section of notes on behavior. Some were simply saying this was proper behavior, others were questioning it with a promise to ask for more information later. All of it sort of made him smile.
Then he found a new one. One with a house that felt too much like the one he left. It had someone revealing some past traumas, maybe current traumas. His tears hitting the screen made it switch to the notes, notes that almost broke him.
This video details relationships with some kind of guardian. It seems… unhealthy. I am unsure what to make of this. Many of the terms make little sense. Foster system being a big one. Research did not reveal enough, I would like to ask Ian. I do not think I will be. When researching his behavior on meals I found many things referencing this foster system alongside abuse.
Ian swiped again, but it stopped showing videos. This time it was just notes. He felt like he shouldn’t read it. That this wasn’t just a note on humans and things they did. A tap on the screen translated it, Mikhail’s Personal Logs. He turned to look at Mik, his eyes almost looked to be pushing him forward. Ian didn’t think he’d suddenly learned to read them, but he wanted Mik to have him see this. He wanted to understand.
After researching human media I believe I understand the best interactions with Ian. I will need to determine the proper words. Translation will make it hard. I will also need to work on the more advanced translators, tone in speech appears important for hoomans. This will be confirmed when I conduct the scan. The explanation I was taught to give seems to hold back too much information. The most important aspect will be the things hoomans eat. I will have to work on a diet suitable once scanned if my own food is unsafe. I will also be glad once the security is up.
He looked back at Mik again. The security couldn’t be this emergency protocol right? Ian focused on the tablet again, scrolling to the next part.
The scanner malfunctioned. Ian had been trapped. It was completed, but the malfunction makes me concerned. I will be conducting maintenance on the rest of the ship before giving him access. I would not want him trapped until I find him. This should be his home as well as mine. Luckily it has registered him properly, the test with the wall paths proved it. I will have to retrieve the temporary housing after all. Ian likely has belongings he needs and this would be a good chance to show I do not expect to always carry him. The scanner malfunction was the bigger issue, but his immediate move into my hand has me concerned. I would not want him to think he is required to respond to me in that manner.
So… Mik was following him around because of the scanner issue. It was to make sure he wouldn’t be hurt. He gripped the tablet tighter before sliding to the next part.
I am concerned. Ian does not seem comfortable in my hands and yet stayed in the temporary housing when we went to retrieve it. I had been trying to find the right words to describe my concern before picking it up, but then he walked in. My worried whine went ignored so I did as he seemed to want. At least he did appear happy with the temporary location. I hope that the research about blankets was right. They bring comfort for the hoomans, the ones I offered should do the same.
“So… that noise you made was worry?” Ian mumbled. He turned around to face Mik while he read. This… this was changing things. He thought he’d moved on, he’d gotten better, but maybe he hadn’t just yet. Maybe… maybe he still had a lot to recover from after his life. Another scroll to another part.
I have noticed Ian responding badly when we eat together. My research indicated hoomans eat once a day at minimum with others. I do not want him to think he cannot have what hoomans expect here. I am finding myself lost more often. There are few one to one translations in the hooman language Ian speaks. I have realized that the word Ian called himself, ‘assistant’, may have translated to assistant. The word does not explain things correctly, but that can be dealt with after the meal issues.
“Are you serious?” Ian muttered as he looked to Mik. “The stupid thing translated the word the same way. I can’t tell what assistant is supposed to be. How can your alien tech not be a little better than this?” Mik’s eyes almost looked like he was laughing. He scrolled more.
I have found stories of beings of my stature. Many paint them as creatures who eat others. While I know my kind eats meat, we would never treat others how the stories explain. There is one that seems most prevalent, Jack and the beanstalk. I would like to know more about this, but that is for later. Based on my research I have decided to discuss with Ian his troubles with meals around me. It is clear my size could be a problem, I will begin preparations to maintain a smaller size soon.
“I thought you needed that machine to be small… although I guess this situation already shows I was wrong.” Ian stared at Mik again. He was still terrified if he saw Mik eating. The massive teeth that could crush him in an instant. He’d just stopped eating with him after talking about the issue. It was considerate, but he expected it to be used against him. He scrolled to the next one.
I found more hooman media. It is becoming clear Ian has likely not lived a normal hooman life. I would like to give him something similar. We won’t be able to share meals, but perhaps something else. Starting today I will try to mimic some conversations I’ve found in my research… There was one that worries me. It is something we have not had issues with. It seems hoomans have distinct family units that we do not hold. A very different lifestyle. It is making the struggle to translate assistant make more sense. I will begin trying to find the proper word to explain to Ian… I hope I am able to make him feel safe here.
“Ugh, what is it supposed to mean?” Ian groaned. The panic from before managed to fall away. He was literally reading Mik’s diary. The man was frozen and he was sitting there on the floor… inching closer. He wanted to understand. Mik was different, like the good foster parents he had. More like their son, the brother he sort of had.
It took some time, but all the checks are completed. I have been trying to find a way to tell Ian, but each time I go I fail. I… the more research I do the more I worry he has misunderstood. It seems our species have similar bonding habits. The furry creature I’ve started to find leads me to believe so. I just cannot find the right words. I’ve been nervous to suggest the new translator as well. I have updated it with my own research. I do not know what words will change between us once that happens.
“I guess that makes sense.” Ian had gotten right next to Mik. He scrolled past a few parts while keeping eye contact. He didn’t know what he was looking for anymore. “I can’t tell if you actually are awake in there. What any of this is… I thought you were gonna hurt me once you looked up what I said. I… the book got messed up all the pages are soaked.” Tears blurred his eyes, he blinked them away and went back to reading.
I have finally finished updating the security. It was not reacting properly to Ian, I didn’t realize that. I will let him know how it works once I can show him his room. It should make this simpler, I will also be living at a smaller size once that happens. The only times I need to be my preferred height will be for meals and some reports. It is not uncommon, I am glad I came to this planet now. Others would struggle more.
“The pictures were ruined and the words all mashed together. It took all the money I had left. I thought about running away, I didn’t want to know what you’d do… I couldn’t afford to go anywhere else.” Another scroll through a few passages. He got to the last one, the one from today.
I have requested Ian retrieve the story I’d found. Jack and the beanstalk. I plan to have him explain things from it once he gets back. While he is gone I will finally set up his room. I researched all I could and made things that I felt he would like. I noticed he had some pictures of himself in those clothes called skirts. I’ve added any clothes that fit similarly to what he had. I also made a copy of the image on his book he would normally be reading. I do not know what a guitar is, but it seemed important to him. The thing I hope he will like most is the blanket. I learned of superheroes and their incarnations. I found all that I could of the ones on his blanket from when we met and added all of them before making it. Admittedly this was also my way of giving him the chance to leave. I worry he thinks he is trapped so I have given him a chance where I am far away to let him stay gone. I will not be looking for him… Today I will explain the emergency protocol when he returns. I hope he returns, I found the right word too. I would like to clarify he is not what hoomans call an assistant.
“What am I then?” Ian mumbled. The solid eyes in the ice pillar almost looked sad. At best he could guess Mik wanted to talk. He didn’t know how to let it go either.
“Calculated escape time has passed.” The deafening voice blared again. “Please clarify with an affirmative word in your language if you are trapped, human. Otherwise release protocols for Researcher will begin.”
Ian stared at Mik. This was his chance to run. To get Mik away from him forever. It almost seemed like the better option. Ian wasn’t a normal human, he’d been through enough that he couldn’t help. He had questions though and Mik’s notes said he could leave. Maybe… maybe that meant it would be worth the risk. Staring into the solid eyes, Ian chose not to move.
“Silence taken as negative. Initiating release protocols. Please update the protocols for humans if this was improperly activated.”
Ian flinched when the voice said that. He didn’t think about changing it. Panic gripped him as the pillar started to fade. It turned into a vapor and Ian scrambled back. Mik blinked as the pillar continued to fade. Soon his upper body was freed, a head that still sat at least three feet above Ian. The snarl stayed and that made it almost worse. Now Mik would be angry.
Ian realized he was still holding the tablet. He threw it closer to Mik to avoid the alien coming close. When the man was frozen it was easy to see the weird guy who hung out in the woods with him. Now he had to face the completely free mini giant form of an alien who could crush him without knowing.
Mik stared at him. Ian stared back. There was a terrifying silence that hung over the room. Finally Mik started to move and Ian flinched. The alien didn’t stop moving, until he was outside the room. Then he turned back, their eyes met, and the alien sat down. Ian reluctantly started to crawl forward.
“Don’t,” Mik said. Ian froze, fear controlling every nerve. This wouldn’t be such a bad room to be trapped in for a punishment. “I do not know how I sound, but the room itself will translate my words. Place your translator on any surface and the updated translator will take over…”
“...I thought you weren’t sure you wanted me to hear the clearer words?” Ian said. It was probably stupid, but it was clear Mik knew he read it. The alien did hear everything he was saying.
“I would prefer the risk so your tone receptors will potentially understand better. I fear we have not communicated well until now.”
“I don’t know, been pretty clear to me. You give me a place to stay and I do what you want to help you learn about humans.” The weird noise sounded from Mik, the noise that meant worry. Ian bit his lip, but slipped the translator off his ear. He set it on the desk, a light glowing beneath it. “There it’s out.”
“Thank you.” Ian’s eyes went wide. For the first time, Mik actually sounded relieved. “Are the tone translators working? I had to adapt the translator we used for what humans would call an avian species. They used similar tonal indicators.”
“You sounded relieved then curious so I think so… What happens next?”
“I am sorry for making you feel unsafe. This was not the intention. In the time since you have agreed to stay I learned there were many issues with our translations at first.”
“I noticed.” Mik made another strange noise.
“That is true. I am quite relieved I made those logs now. They seemed unnecessary at the times I was writing them. A habit I kept from my past travels.”
They sat in silence for a bit. He couldn’t understand what Mik’s point was. So Ian knew he’d misunderstood so far. Then there was the weird security that went off. Now he was sitting on the floor of a room made for him. Maybe the word did translate as pet. Mik’s notes said they were similar in bonding, humans pack bond with anything. Maybe Mik does too and he really was just a cute pet for the alien, but he got to choose to be one. Mik made a noise that made him focus on the present again.
“I am… unsure about the right words. Knowing the translators are not perfect as I had mistakenly assumed has made me more cautious than originally. I… Can you tell me how I caused your panic to trigger the security system in order to avoid it again?”
“What do you mean? It’s not like I know what made that go off. You can just update it so it doesn’t happen again.” Ian crossed his arms and looked away.
“The system is set up to match what the scan detects as an extreme response. In my research I believe you would call it fight or flight. I do not intend to make you fear for your life…”
The pain in Mik’s voice made it hard for Ian to keep his head down. He was scared to look up though. To see the snarl on the man’s face. “It was nothing, don’t worry about it. I just got too in my head.”
Another strange noise. Another period of silence. Another moment that Ian wondered what he had signed up for. In all his life he’d never had someone this worried. All the things the alien wrote promised care about him. It didn’t make sense. He was just some guy, some assistant or pet. Honestly with everything Mik wrote about the wrong translation pet was probably the nicest outcome.
“I do not know the proper human responses. Please tell me if I am making some mistake.” Ian managed to look up and see the snarl almost deepen. It was making this somehow easier to handle. Anger he could try to understand. He nodded. “I had spent time editing the security. Other species my kind has met did not have their bodies react with such high intensity. I… I fear I have caused a problem inadvertently.”
“It’s fine. It doesn’t matter. You can fix it so it doesn’t happen again and we can move on.”
“I have no intentions to change the system. Clearly it reacted at the proper time.” Ian flinched hearing that. Mik knowing that something had been wrong was worse. That he was terrified could lead to more trouble in the end. “I wonder if I should not change it to make it react more quickly. This offer I made to stay here… the word you used did not translate well. I was offering a home and the word I heard would now best translate as brother.”
“Brother?”
Mik nodded and Ian felt strange. He’d been so scared of being a pet, but being a brother that… That was nice. He had wanted a brother when he was younger. One to protect him from his stepdad. To help handle meeting the needs and expectations of his mother. To go with him from house to house once he was taken from that mess of a home… A brother and a home sounded nice.
“I would also like to clarify how this system works, in the event this happens again. Should you leave, my vessel shall ensure I am frozen until reaching my home planet again. Once that happens I will likely be moved to a position there. Whether that happens or not I will not be the one who returns here, nor will any of my kind attempt to contact you to aid in understanding.”
“So you’ll just leave… I can make you leave, one bad dream and off you go.” Ian couldn’t believe that was possible. “As if…”
“That is correct. I would not want you fearing for your life once leaving if that was the best course of action you could take.”
“Why? Isn’t it just easier to move on? Fix it so I don’t set it off. I’ll get used to all of this.”
“I do not agree with that. It would be easier, yes, but that would not make this a place you feel at ease. As I said this offer was for a home and what humans call brotherhood. It would not be that if you were to adapt merely to what I am used to. That is not how I personally view things, I’m sure someone else may prefer such an approach. I find it… wrong. I do not know if the word translates well even with the modifications.”
Ian was honestly lost. No one had ever treated him like that. The best families still wanted him to match things. He couldn’t react strongly, his distaste for touch most times was treated like a problem. It was his responsibility to get over what bothered him. It was the only thing he could do and Mik didn’t want to make him.
“Ian?” Mik’s voice shook him. It wasn’t using the translator and this time Ian really listened to his voice. A tone that held more concern than he’d heard in his life… It terrified him more than Mik’s size. “I… This section of my home has most structures built to your size and my current height. I had intended to discuss an adjustment period where I remained like this. If you prefer to leave I will aid you how I can.”
“When did the security system start working?” Mik sat up, the snarl on his face finally disappearing. Now he looked almost neutral, less angry. The alien’s reactions probably weren’t the same as humans had. He almost forgot that, the smile alone should have told him that.
“I had to adjust it as I said so this morning was the first day of proper operation. I apologize for the delay. I assume this means there were times it should have activated.”
Ian looked around the room. Memories of the times he was told he couldn’t dress how he wanted floated forward. That wanting to study music would be a waste. That most of his interests weren’t worth their costs. Mik just… got it all. Things Ian never thought about were here too. The sketchbook, computer… things he knew others had growing up.
“Probably. I have nightmares… a lot.” The snarl mixed with a grimace took over Mik’s face. “About you and just life… I wake up in a panic, it would probably trigger all the time.”
“I see… That shouldn’t be a problem then,” Mik’s calm answer and change of expression almost hurt. There was no way the alien could actually be alright with a constant freeze and threat to be sent home. Although he did say this place could be Ian’s home now. “It would alert me to times I should be more careful in my actions. It seems like a valid compromise.”
“What!?” Ian moved forward, his hands on the ground and staring up at Mik. “I mean you’d just let that happen. Constantly deal with the threat of being shipped off into space? Losing this whole thing you worked towards? Why?”
The antennae Ian could see now were curling on Mik’s head. “It would make you feel at ease, correct? Is that not how human brothers would act? Perhaps the translation is still wrong then. I may require aid in researching the proper terms to upgrade the database.”
“I… I don’t know if that’s how they act. No one has acted like that for me… I adjust how they want and it works. Isn’t that what you want? Shouldn’t I just get used to your steps, teeth, size, just everything? Isn’t that easier?”
Mik’s antennae stood up straight, it looked painful. “It seems my theories may have been correct. Ian, may I come closer?”
Ian nodded and reluctantly watched Mik stand. As it happened Ian managed to climb to his feet, staring up at the alien walking into the room. He didn’t know if the translator would work or if he wanted it to. If this was when the anger that hadn’t been revealed would finally seep out.
Mik stopped in front of him, a towering and intimidating form. The red skin made him think of demons, sharp teeth of monsters. The antennae reminded him of a butterfly oddly enough, but that flew from his mind as Mik kneeled. The impact was loud, heavy, and made Ian flinch. The solid dark green felt like it saw into his soul.
Hands bigger than his head settled on his shoulders. He tensed, waiting for a strike. Instead he was pulled close, the massive arms surrounding him. Mik pressed Ian’s head against his chest, where it was easy to hear the arrhythmic beating. Most of the time Ian would be terrified, but this one he sort of trusted. He didn’t think he’d get hurt.
“This home. Ian is safe. Brothers keep each other safe,” Mik said. His voice was strangled. The words didn’t sound exactly right. A nuance in each that told him that the speaker wasn’t human. Yet it broke the last wall keeping Ian from taking the risk on this promise.
“Can you at least make the system not threaten to send you careening into space?” Ian mumbled into Mik’s chest. The alien’s arms tightened and Ian almost cried. This was the first time he’d actually felt safe and it was in the arms of someone who could squash him like a bug.
“Yes.”
“Can you get me the translator? Your voice sounds all weird when you try to speak english?”
Ian didn’t expect Mik to pick him up. The alien wasn’t letting him go, but that was alright. Brothers keep each other safe… Mik would keep him safe. The hold on him was firm and gentle. A single arm kept him in place when the alien grabbed the translator. Instead of being set down Mik moved to the bed. Lying down holding Ian before handing over the translator. It was strangely nice. Maybe Ian was home here… maybe Mik would actually help him heal.
#gt#giant/tiny#giant tiny#g/t#g/t writing#gt writing#gianttiny#gt community#g/t community#gt july 2023#gt july#gt july home#oc: Ian#oc: Mik/Mikhail#alien au#finally the follow up took me a while on this#gt july the best excuse
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Don't worry wally!! you're still the most, no matter the size!! ✊😤
Frank definitely wants to study wally under a microscope while Julie is just squealing at his small sleepy face. But then howdy just gave him to them like it's not his problem
so this started off just being normal fanart, but then i thought to myself: what if wally was portable?
then I daydreamed for about for an hour and made this comic.
idk if this is a start of an au but this was fricking fun to make
anyways bye >:]
#g/t#giant/tiny#gt#gt community#welcome home#giant tiny#g/t community#g/t fluff#g/t drawing#gentle giant#g/t comic#wally darling#welcome home fanart#welcome home au#welcome home wally#Welcome home#welcome home frank#Welcome home wally#welcome home howdy#welcome home julie#frank frankly#howdy pillar#julie joyful#i think julie is just how all of us would react to seeing wally
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Juliee
#julie welcome home#welcome home#Julie puppet#giant/tiny#gt#gt community#gianttiny#sfw giant tiny#borrowers#giants#gt fluff#gt art#gt artist
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Hi. I saw your requests were open and wanted to see if i could ask for one so here goes nothing.
I have an idea thats been bouncing around in my brain for the past three days. I was wondering if you could write a story with the whole cast of welcome home. Basically reader is the neighbourhood doctor and is the one everyone goes to when they rip or tear. The reader has special sheets of felt and fabric that match the felt colour of every neighbour.
One day, Wally needs a patch after an accident, and the reader realises that they don't have any yellow felt left, and starts to panic thinking wally is going to be upset. Wally comforts them and they decide to make a nice colourful patch using some scraps they had.
Next thing they know, all the nieghbours want to replace their old patches for pretty coloured ones. What colours do you think they would want?
Thank you for at least reading this dumb idea.
Headcanons - What Colour Patches They Would Want
Hi! Cute idea! I'll just be making quick headcanons for this since I'm not quite in the mood to write a whole thing. Thanks for your patience in me getting this done!
Also, I don't remember if I already did but I'll be removing word counts from headcanon posts because they're just gonna be short. It's too much of a hassle.
Type: Headcanons, platonic
Tw: Injury, stitches/stitching/puppet repairing(?), food
Wally takes whatever scraps there are. He doesn't really care what it looks like, so long as it's colourful. Maybe he'd just go with the same sort of fabric as his pants to keep it in style with his wardrobe.
Julie wants flowers, of course! Daisies, tulips, sunflowers, roses...The possibilities are endless! Maybe with a green background so it looks like grass. That, or she'd like something with rainbows.
Sally wants something simple, yet elegant. A simple repeating pattern would be lovely. Maybe it's cut in the shape of a star? Or, if you're up for it, a star shape using one fabric with other fabrics for the trail! Red would be her colour of choice.
Frank would like something bug themed. Surely you have something of that, right? Maybe some beetles or butterflies--or both! He probably gt the injury from bug hunting, too!
Eddie would like a classic pattern like hearts or clouds. A bit symbolic of him, really; he's a lover, not a fighter, and he's always got his head up in the clouds. He'd also like his fabric cut in a heart shape, too. Or one of those people-shaped chains!
Howdy wants anything except a plain colour. Stripes to match his uniform? How fitting for his store aesthetic! Some of his products? He's a walking advertisement! Just don't make it boring.
Barnaby Complete opposite to Howdy. He just wants a nice plain colour--unless you have polka-dots. Then maybe (definitely) he'd settle for that. But otherwise, he doesn't care for fancy patterns. Just give him a nice shade of blue.
Poppy is far too indecisive to choose a pattern for herself. It becomes up to the rest of the neighbourhood to pick one for her! Eventually, she probably settles on a pattern of some eggs or some baked goods.
#rainbow square writing#memeranddreamer4432-blog#welcome home#welcome home x reader#welcome home x you#welcome home x y/n#welcome home headcanons#wally darling#julie joyful#sally starlet#frank frankly#eddie dear#howdy pillar#barnaby beagle#barnaby b beagle#poppy partridge#injury tw#stitches tw#food tw
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GT July - Thief
realizing the friendly gremlin that lives in your home is one of the fake sock gremlins you've been complaining about since you were a kid
still adjusting to actually drawing g and t in the same scene ooo
#g/t#giant tiny#gt#gianttiny#gt art#gt community#gtjuly#gtjuly2023#borrowers#oc: phoebe#oc: val#stranger swap#my art#reocs
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Pin and Needle
Whump writing masterlist | G/t writing tag
g/t sideblog here! @smallsday
content: g/t, whump, tiny whump, borrowers, animal attack, caretaking, needles/stitches, hurt/comfort, fear, past child neglect, probable medical inaccuracies, found family
Whumpmas in July Day 3: Stitches & Bandages
GT July Day 3: Impulsive
Two Weeks of Whump Day 2: Needles
of my 10 Whumpmas in July entries, 3 of them will be combos with GT July! here's the first of those! i will never get tired of writing borrower whump. i should write a borrower whump series someday. for any non-g/t people unfamiliar, borrowers are a species of tiny people who secretly live in humans' houses, like fairies without wings. if you've ever seen anything labeled "tiny whump", this is that.
-
Pin had been a dad for five years now, and he liked to think he was getting pretty good at it.
The kid was already seven and self-sufficient enough to not die on her own for who knows how long when he found her, so he didn't have to deal with any of that baby crap. Now she was twelve, and she was better at some stuff than he was.
Pin decided to go borrowing while the kid slept in today, with the human off at school. It was perfect, because then he could take his time looking for a surprise. Today was the five-year anniversary, and he wanted to make it special. There was a lot he'd missed in Chime's life, and from what the kid had said about her old parents, they weren't exactly in the habit of celebrating her.
He had to make it special.
Pin had already gathered all the food and supplies he needed to grab, so all that was left was the present. He'd been looking around every time he went out, but he couldn't see anything. The human lived by himself- mostly, aside from that damn cat he'd brought home last month- and was a starkly healthy eater. Not a lot of little bits and bobs he could use to make toys for her, either.
It had been easier to get treats for the kid with the family who used to live in the apartment, who always kept sweets around, but food was food. It was better for the kid this way in the long run, anyway. But he really wished he could get her a treat, just this once.
He didn't really go into the human's room. He was of the opinion that a man needed his privacy, and food was supposed to be kept in the kitchen, so why would he need to? Most of all, the cat liked to hang out in there, and that was a risk he didn't need to take. Apparently the human was just watching it for a friend, which was the only reason he hadn't taken the kid and moved. But maybe the guy was hiding some snacks in there. From all the studying he seemed to do in there, it was likely, right?
Just this once.
Pin approached the bedroom. He could probably have squeezed himself through the gap under the door if he needed to, but the door was open a crack. He peeked in.
The cat snoozed happily on the chair left messily pulled out from the desk. Perfect, it was asleep. All he had to do was not make noise and-
It didn't take long for Pin to find his prize. There, right on the desk, a bag of marshmallows. Bingo. The bag even proclaimed them "mini", like they were made for borrowers. He could probably fit two or three in his rucksack to surprise the kid with when she wakes up.
Even with the chair pulled away, it was a little too close to the cat for comfort. He really should turn around and just try and make the kid another toy.
Ah, fuck it.
Pin could take a little risk. The cat was asleep. He readied his sticky hand- a human children's toy, a little less reliable than a grappling hook but much quieter- and climbed his way up the desk.
No issues. He was in the clear. He ripped a small hole in the bag and stuffed three marshmallows in his pack.
When he turned around, the cat was not asleep.
It stared straight at him with huge, yellow eyes, pupils constricted and tail flickering back and forth.
"Oh, shit. Hey, kitty," Pin whispered, backing away slowly.
The cat hunkered down, its hindquarters wiggling slightly, like-
Heart pounding, Pin dropped the pack and ran. But he was too slow, of course he was too slow, he was five inches tall. Borrowers weren't made to be fast, they were made to be sneaky, and he'd done the one thing a borrower was never supposed to do: he'd been found.
The cat was on the desk in an instant and its paws pinned him to its surface in another, their fuzzy exteriors giving way to claws stabbing through his clothes, through his skin. He screamed, trying to squirm away, but that only made the agony intensify, the claws dragging through flesh as blood stained his ruined clothes.
"No! Stop!" he cried uselessly, gasping with pain, but the cat didn't listen. Its head drew closer, mouth opening to reveal a maw full of sharp teeth that could easily crush bones.
Pin wailed in despair. He was going to die a violent, bloody death before he even hit forty. It wasn't supposed to end like this!
He kicked wildly, and by some stroke of luck, he managed to land a hit on the cat's snout, causing it to rear back a little.
That was all he needed. Pin tore away from the paws, letting out another shriek as they popped through his skin, and ran toward the front of the desk as fast as he could, dropping blood behind him.
The cat spun, tail flickering and ears forward with excitement.
"Fuck off!" Pin shouted. He shoved the desk drawer open just enough to slide in, landing on the bottom with a grunt.
The cat's paw dove in after, reaching for him. He scrambled to the back of the drawer, trembling in terror.
"Calm- calm down," he told himself, trying to get his quick breathing under control. The drawer was too small: even if the cat got it open, it wouldn't be able to fit all the way in the back. He wrapped his arms around himself, quickly becoming soaked in blood as his midsection throbbed with pain.
It was so dark, the only light coming from the sliver where the cat's paw batted around, searching for him. Pin grabbed at the piece of paper he found himself sitting on, tearing off a piece with shaking hands and wrapping it over himself like a bandage. He pressed it there tightly, even as it became soaked with blood, too.
Pin always tried to be strong for the kid. But Chime wasn't here right now, so he let himself cry. It was the worst pain he'd ever felt in his life, and he might still die. What would happen to him? How was he going to get back home? What if he didn't stop bleeding and he died here in the dark?
He didn't know how long he'd been sitting there when the front door clicked open, making him startle in his frazzled state. The human wasn't supposed to be home yet, was he? Or had he just been sitting here that long?
"This is why I need to check my emails, Yarny!" the human called. Right, the beast that might have caused his slow, painful death was named Yarny.
The cat's paw retreated and it hopped off the desk, exiting the room with a loud, insistent meow.
"Yarny!" the human gasped. "Is that blood!? What happened? Are you hurt?"
Oh no. The human was going to find him if he didn't move. Pin stood up: now that the cat was gone, he needed to get out of here.
He took one step, stumbled, and sat right back down as his vision spun.
"Oh, thank god," the human said distantly. "What, then, did you catch a mouse? Please tell me it's not still running around my apartment."
The human was going to kill him.
He would die without even getting to say goodbye to Chime. She was going to be abandoned again, this time by him. No kid should have to go through that. He was supposed to be getting her a present. How had this all gone so wrong? He didn't want to die.
But the footsteps drew closer, and he didn't have a choice. He scooted back into the corner of the drawer, clutching the paper around himself like he would even have the time to bleed out. He sobbed, hoping it would at least be quick.
The door creaked as the human swung it open, pattering over to the desk. Pin's whole world rumbled around him as the human slid the drawer open, revealing him trembling in the corner.
"H-hi," Pin said weakly.
The human stared, eyes wide with disbelief. Pin had never been so close to a human before. He was even bigger up close. He looked like he might have been, well, a scrawny nerd, maybe a little more than half Pin's age if he had to guess, but things like that didn't matter at his size. A human baby could crush him, let alone a young man.
"What are you?" the human asked, incredulous.
The last thing Pin was going to do was put his species at risk. He shrugged. "Dying," he squeaked, unable to keep casual.
"Oh, oh no." The human seemed to snap out of his incredulous stupor, enormous hands reaching toward him. Pin cringed back, but the human scooped him up anyway.
Pin squeezed his eyes shut and held his breath, trying not to whimper, but no death came for him. The human's hands were gentle, carrying him out of the drawer.
"Yarny, no," the human chastised, closing the bedroom door behind him as he walked out to the kitchen. He turned his attention to Pin. "I'm so sorry, I don't even know what you are. Yarny hurt you?"
"Yeah." He slowly opened his eyes, staring up at the giant. His trembling started up again. "Are you gonna kill me?"
"What? No!" The human seemed to realize he was making Pin uncomfortable and set him down carefully on the counter. "I won't hurt you, I promise. I'm- well, I'm not a doctor yet, I'm just a med student- are you still bleeding?"
Pin let out a shaky sigh of relief. His heart still raced with terror, but if the human was able to help him- well, he'd already been found.
He pulled the paper away from his injuries, getting a good look for the first time. Several bloody marks raked down his left side where the cat had sunk its claws into him. Blood oozed from them, warm and red.
"Look, uh," Pin didn't know the human's name. He almost never had company over, and no one just says their own name to themself. "Human guy. I know you don't know me but, you gotta help me, okay? I have a kid waiting up for me." It was risky revealing Chime's existence, but he never said he lived here, and since the human knew nothing about him, he'd have no way of knowing. His voice shook a little as he pled his case. "Single dad. She's got no one else. I can't die here, alright? C'mon. It- it hurts."
"Of course I'll help you!" the human exclaimed. He wrung his hands nervously. "It's just- I'm really not qualified, yet, is the thing. I could drive you to the emergency room? Or maybe, um, given your size, a small animal vet?"
"I'm not an animal!" Pin insisted, offended. "No, no, kid, listen. You can do this, alright? I've seen those books you keep in the living room. You got all the diagrams and shit. I can't be going to an emergency room and showing myself off to everybody. Just fix me and I'll be out of your hair."
"I haven't even done residency yet!" the human protested. "I've done a suture practice kit, but that's for normal-sized wounds, and it's just for practice, and I can't even determine that you need stitches because I'm not a doctor!" After a moment, he added, "And my name's Kendry."
"Pin," he introduced himself. "Practice kit's better than nothing. Just do that." He couldn't have this human take him out to get prodded at by a bunch of other humans, it sounded like his worst nightmare. "And I'm rushing you, 'cause I'm getting dizzy here."
Kendry looked alarmed at that. "Oh- okay!" he agreed, obviously still anxious. "Can you take off your shirt so I can examine you?"
"You got it." Pin removed the tatters that were once his shirt, wincing as the movement ignited more pain in his side.
Kendry peered closer. "I- yeah, I'm going to give you stitches. I would really like to take longer, but you can't have that much blood in you... I'm not a vet..." he trailed off.
"Good, 'cause I'm not a mouse," Pin grumbled, but the repeated broaching of the topic made him nervous. If Kendry saw him as a fellow person, he would probably be okay. But if the human saw him as an animal... who knows what he would do to him? The fact that his life laid entirely in this giant stranger's hands was terrifying.
"I'll be right back." Kendry dashed out of the kitchen, returning with a black fabric case. He unzipped it to reveal a cut-up silicone pad with all the cuts neatly sewn closed, curved needles of various sizes, thread, a bunch of different tweezers, and a few sets of scissors as tall as Pin.
Oh, he didn't like that last part at all.
But Kendry reached for the smallest curved needle, which still looked pretty damn big. "This is the practice kit. I did pretty well with the suture pad, but you're so small..." he fretted. He threaded the needle, pulled a packet from a drawer, ripped it open, and wiped the needle, thread, and one tweezer down with the tissue inside. He opened another one and held it hesitantly in front of Pin.
"I need to sanitize you first. Cats' claws can carry germs, I don't want you to get infected. It's going to sting," he warned. "I'm sorry, I can't give you anything for the pain, I'm worried you might even overdose on ibuprofen at your size..."
Pin maneuvered himself onto his other side, letting his injury face up toward Kendry, way too vulnerable. "It already stings, and I don't know what ibuprofen is. Just do it."
"Okay. Here goes." Kendry swiped the wipe over Pin's side, and he had to bite his cheek to keep from shrieking. It hurt, the fluid inside seeping into his open wounds.
"Are you okay?" Kendry asked.
"I will be once this thing stops bleeding," Pin said, voice strained.
"Alright, I just need you to hold still. Is it okay if I...?" Kendry brought his other hand to hover around him.
Pin hated the idea of being held in place, unable to move, but he nodded anyway. Whatever the doc-in-training had to do. "Go for it."
Kendry rested a finger on his back and a thumb on his chest, holding him gently but firmly in place despite Pin's continued trembling. "Just try and stay still. I'm sorry if it hurts. I'll do my best," he promised.
The needle entered his skin, dipping in and out as Pin fought the urge to squirm away. He couldn't hold back this time, sobbing harder every time the needle re-entered him. There were no more check-ups from Kendry: Pin could see, through tear-blurred eyes, all his focus was on the wound.
After way too long, Kendry released his hold, allowing Pin freedom of movement again. He didn't take advantage of it, exhausted by blood loss and his ordeal.
"Don't move," Kendry told him anyway. He grabbed one of the scissors.
Pin put his hands up, adrenaline flooding him. "I won't! What are you doing with that!?"
"Easy." Kendry wiped that down with the stinging wipe, too. "You still have the thread attached. I won't hurt you." He glanced down at the scissors, then back at Pin. "I know it must seem frightening to someone your size, but I'm just going to cut the thread. Honest."
"Right. Right, yeah." Pin forced himself to relax, lowering his hands back down as Kendry snipped the thread, leaving several wounds in his side stitched up relatively neatly.
Kendry grabbed a band-aid, one of the few medical tools Pin liked to take to keep around under the floorboards, and peeled the plastic away. He dropped some clear-ish gel from a tube onto the center. "I'm going to add some Neosporin on it just to be safe. An infection would wreak havoc on you."
"Sounds good to me," Pin agreed, sitting up. Kendry wrapped the band-aid around his body, the stitches hidden underneath. Good. He didn't want the kid to freak out about it.
"There. That went... pretty well, I think," Kendry said, almost stunned. "Where can I... discharge you to?"
"Thanks. The floor," Pin instructed. He could just get back home when Kendry wasn't looking. He'd have to find a new place after that, now that the human knew. Even if he was friendly enough to help, there was no way he'd want them to stay. "I'll be out soon as I can move around right."
Kendry tilted his head, the situation finally clicking. "Were you... living here?"
"Uh, yeah," Pin admitted. "Since before you moved in, actually."
"Oh! Well, um, I'm not going to kick you out after you just got attacked. You're... my patient. That wouldn't do," Kendry decided. "Does your daughter live here, too?"
The jig was pretty much up at this point. If Kendry wanted to hurt him, he already would have. "Yeah. Which is why I'm not telling you exactly where. I'm thankful and all, but... you get it."
"Oh, of course," Kendry agreed quickly. "You're just being a good dad."
Pin smiled at that, despite the pain. He wiped the tears from his face. "Thanks. I try, you know? She's not even my kid by blood, she actually lived here before either of us. I was scouting for a new place when I found her here all on her own. Seven years old, could you believe that?"
"What!? That's crazy!" Kendry pulled up a chair and sat, transfixed. "Seven years old, four inches tall?"
"Three tall. She was little. Apparently her parents had too many kids, so they just started kicking 'em out as soon as they were old enough. I don't think seven's old enough, but hey, what do I know?" Pin shook his head. "Today's the five-year anniversary of when we met. Usually stay out of your room, you gotta have your privacy, but I wanted to get the kid something special. Could I still get a few of those marshmallows?"
"Oh! Yeah, of course!" Kendry ran off toward the room, returning with a handful of mini-marshmallows as well as Pin's rucksack and sticky hand. "I figure these are yours?"
"Yeah. Thanks for being cool about everything." This was going so much better than he'd expected. "We'll move out soon. Probably should have the day you brought the cat."
"Um, you could stay if you want." Kendry offered, hope flashing in his eyes. "You were here first, after all."
This guy was obviously ridiculously lonely. But he mentioned having a friend? "I mean, yeah, that'd be great, if it's really alright. You okay?"
"Yeah! It's just- I lost my parents a few years ago," Kendry admitted. "You seem like... a really good dad. I don't want to make things harder for you. I don't mind having roommates."
Ah, so that was it. Pin reached out and patted Kendry's hand. He wouldn't mind having another pseudo-kid. "Me neither."
-
here's some more borrower whump i wrote if you like this! and be on the lookout for a Tiny Kane AU on thursday :)
feel free to ask to be on any of my taglists, btw!
everything taglist:
@lilac-and-lemon-whumps
@t0rture-me
@whump-for-all-and-all-for-whump
@dismemberment-on-a-tuesday-night
@whumpshaped
one-shots taglist:
@icyheart-and-friends
@kira-the-whump-enthusiast
@lilac-and-lemon-whumps
@whuarri
@whumpycries
g/t whump taglist:
@whumpinthepot
@cupcakes-and-pain
just this one
@a-crumb-of-whump
event: @whumpmasinjuly @gianttol @promptsforyourwhumpfic
#gtjuly#gtjuly2023#twow#twoweeksofwhump#g/t#whump#whumpmasinjuly2023#wij23day3#my writing#borrowers#tiny whump#caretaking#needles#hurt/comfort#medical whump#stitches and bandages#impulsive#whump writing
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MARTIAN'S MATCHING PORSCHE 911 GT2 RS CARS: A MASTERPOST
are you ready to feel parasocial about a pair of matching porsches, one of which may or may not even exist? you've come to the right place!
SECTIONS:
what is the 2010 Porsche 911 GT2 RS?
what's been said about the matching cars
timeline
unanswered questions and speculation
WHAT IS THE 2010 PORSCHE 911 GT2 RS?
well, it's her (source in watermark)
though she's been upstaged by her counterparts in the last decade, at the time, the gt2 rs was the most powerful road car porsche had ever built. only 500 were made. one of which, as we all know, came into the paws of one mark webber--another, presumably, found a home in sebastian vettel's garage. why do i say presumably? well..
WHAT'S BEEN SAID ABOUT THE MATCHING CARS
rather than making you squint at a bunch of screencaps, i'm just going to copy and paste the quotes that are out there..
“[The 911 GTS RS] is a beast! It’s got biblical power – the amount of torque is phenomenal. Sebastian [Vettel] bought one as well back in the day, we bought one together pretty much and I think he’s had a few tricky moments in his! They’re proper machines, those things. I think the engine’s probably a little bit big for the body, but in the right hands she’s a machine!”
Red Bull. july 28, 2016.
Webber said he shopped for a new ride with teammate Sebastian Vettel and both agreed that the Porsche made the most sense. He's extremely happy with the GT2's performance, comfort and race car-like driving dynamics.
Auto123, date unknown. the video in question
“I think it was around Monaco Grand Prix time, [Red Bull teammate] Sebastian Vettel and I were looking at some cars,” Webber said. “I’m not big on my road cars, to be honest, but when we started talking about this one it was a no-brainer.”
But instead of pulling any strings using his formula one fame, Webber reportedly strolled into a UK Porsche dealer to order his new wheels personally.
Drive. October 7, 2016.
“As a young guy, growing up in Australia, the Porsche 911 was definitive. I remember talking to Sebastian Vettel when the GT2 came out, about the power, the way it looked. He said, ‘what do you reckon?’ I said, ‘we should both get one’, so we did. If you take a 911 to a track day it’s the car that’s running around out there still working, with its brakes still working, at the end of the day. It’s a Porsche. You know that. We all know that. Brakes are important, you know."
Top Gear Malaysia. date unknown, but since the headline is "mark webber has retired from racing," i'm going to pin it at sometime around november, 2016
“… Monte Carlo Grand Prix, 2010. I was sitting with Sebastian Vettel, and we were looking at the new 997 GT2 RS. And he said, ‘Shit, we need to buy one of those, you know?’ And I said, ‘yeah, we need—both of us.’ So I think that night, Monaco, after qualifying, we, uh. I didn’t outqualify Seb often, but that day, lucky, I kicked his ass, I was on pole position and he was not qualifying that well. And I said, ‘you still gonna buy the 911?’ And he said, ‘yeah, we should buy it.’ So he got a black one, I got a white one...”
fan video from the weekend of oct 2-3, 2021.
and though nothing was mentioned about matching cars, they're driving the same model (DEFINITELY different car though, one purchased by the red bull ring) in the now-famous martian taxi drivers instagram post, where mark says, “At the end of the day we even drove each other for a few laps. That’s the biggest bloody endorsement a street car can have, F1 drivers wanting to do more laps for the own pleasure😉👌🏽” april 24, 2020. this is the only allusion to the car i can find that is not only from 2010, but also shows that seb so much as touched a 2010 porsche 911 gt2 rs.
now, you may ask, why are you being so cagey about seb and his porsche?
well, the thing is. sebastian vettel has not so much as breathed a WORD to the media about owning a porsche 911, much less matching one with mark. as far as i can tell from the numerous searches i've done, anyway. everything we know about their matching porsches has come from mark.
TIMELINE
so with that, let's piece it together:
some point on thurs/fri of the monaco gp (may 13 or 14, 2010): martian see the 911 and they're like. hot damn. seb says what do u think. mark says let's get one each.
saturday (may 15): mark beats seb in qualifying, then gloatingly asks if seb is still in the mood to buy the porsche. and because seb is insane, he says yes.
some unidentified point in the future, likely in the break between monaco and turkey because i sincerely doubt mark was in the mood to go car shopping with seb after that (may 16-26): they buy the porsches. mark buys a white one, seb buys a black one.
2016: they don't speak about this to anyone in the media until mark retires from racing for good. when questioned about his favourite porsche cars, only THEN does he even mention that this car matching business took place at all. and, unprompted, repeats this story to multiple news outlets when asked about the 911.
we're faced with several years of silence until 2021, when the story pops up again.
UNANSWERED QUESTIONS AND SPECULATION
have you ever thought it weird that something as clinically insane as matching cars with your rival was never given more media attention than a passing few lines in some articles? somehow, either nobody has asked about the fact that Thee most fractious relationship in contemporary f1 bought matching cars, or they DID ask and were effectively muzzled, which is telling in and of itself. and check the dates: 2016. 2016. 2016. 2020. 2021. they did not only keep this under wraps until mark retired and became a full time porsche #influencer. one of them is either STILL KEEPING IT UNDER WRAPS...
... or doesn't have the car at all.
does seb even own this porsche? why have we only heard of it from mark's mouth? there are so many articles on ~road cars f1 drivers own~ but none of them even mention seb having it. so what's the truth? did he never buy one and only tell mark he did? does it stay dusty under a cover in his garage, never to see the light of day? did he buy it and then immediately sell it/give it away after turkey? or because it was like, purposefully to match with mark, is it one of the things he's Sentimental about that he's viciously protective of and keeps out of the spotlight?
mark goes into detail and says that seb got a black porsche, so that must mean that it EXISTS? surely?? well, we take that for granted, but we may never actually know.
another thing: notice how in the Drive article, mark reportedly went to a uk dealership in person to order the car? if he and seb bought them together, does that mean they also went to the dealership... together? and if we take this to be true, does that then mean they physically went to a porsche dealership in the uk just weeks before they collided in turkey and their relationship tripped and fell off a cliff? or did they go separately in person, or did only mark go in person and seb order through connections?
yet another thing: in the "Mark Webber and his 911 GT2 RS" video linked above next to auto123, he drives a black 911 and seems to imply that the car is his: "i'm definitely not gonna be parting with this one." but the car is black. and he says he got a white one. WHAT? [EDIT: the one in the video may be the 2011 model and not the 2010 model he bought with seb]
AND ANOTHER THING TO NOTE: while the internet was surely a Widespread Phenomenon in 2010, there may very well have been printed news about the matching cars that never got digitally archived. unfortunately i do not have a time machine, so that's up in the air for now.
but that's it! that's everything we know about martian's matching porsches. i will be updating this post as more info comes to light, so if i've missed anything, pls let me know!
#WIPES SWEAT FROM BROW. WELL . HERE IT IS#martian#martian monday#sebastian vettel#mark webber#matching porsches masterpost
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Bowman of the Garden
Another GT July prompt is done! This one is "Garden", and any readers of Bowman of Wellwood might recognize that title symmetry. We have a brand new AU featuring Bowman Leafwing, living in a very different environment than the beautiful Wellwood forest. I do want to explore more of this AU, as it's very different from Bowman's origins. For now, enjoy a small sample of it!
~~~
Bowman Leafwing eyed the back of the Big House, where the humans sat talking and drinking their tea on the patio. It was a morning ritual of theirs‒tea on the patio, discussing their plans for the day. As the self-appointed scout sprite of the garden village, Bowman kept an eye and ear on these discussions every morning. If they planned anything out of the ordinary, he’d know.
It was a Wednesday, though. Not much would be on the schedule, and they confirmed it with their chatter, overheard from one of the bulky stone planters where Bowman hid. A normal Wednesday, meaning they’d go inside after tea and then be gone at Jobs all day. In the afternoon, the Lawn People would come by and cut all the grass in the yard with their awful loud machines.
So long as they didn’t mess with the landscaping or the greenhouse (and they never did), the wood sprites of the garden didn’t mind.
Soon enough, the humans finished up their morning tea and shifted in their seats. Satisfied that no more news of the day was forthcoming, Bowman backed away from the edge of the planter, further among the protective leaves of the fern growing there. Keen eyes peered out from the leafy cover that matched the leafy wings on Bowman’s back, and as soon as the humans had gone back into their tall, ivy-covered house, he turned away.
Tall boots of supple bark and sturdy cloth gave him quiet steps among the mulch and soil until he reached the other side of the planter; a basin big enough for a human to curl up in, it housed a verdant fern to break up the monotony of the lawn. Bowman, four inches tall and brown-skinned with deep green hair, blended right in among that curated vegetation. His dedication to the morning routine, to keeping an eye on those giants-of-the-house, kept him safe, but it also kept the others safe. If the humans talked of plans that could affect the denizens of the garden, Bowman Leafwing was the first to know.
Today, there was little to report. From the planter, there was a moderate stretch of empty lawn before the lush growth of flowers and grasses and shrubs covering the back third of the yard, mostly unbothered by human intervention and thriving all the same.
Among that chaos was home, where his little cousin and her mentor could use their gifts to tend to the plants, where his aunt and uncle could sing with the birds, arrange the litter of leaves and twigs like a miniature forest floor. No one spotted them there, for no one thought to look for a wood sprite, small and made to blend in among the greenery.
Bowman eyed a flowering shrub standing taller than the grasses and flower patches around it, as innocuous as any plant, and spotted a fellow sprite on one bough with ease. With one gesture, he confirmed they saw him, too. Raising his hands and wings, Bowman sent his report, or what might count as one, using silent signs that would look like leaves shifting in the breeze.
No news, good news. Lawn People later. Safe another day.
The other sprite acknowledged the report and ducked out of sight. Bowman smirked. That was his job done. If anyone wanted to find him after the morning scouting, they would have a task ahead of them.
One final glance at the Big House confirmed again that the humans had gone in and no one was watching. Bowman’s wings fanned open and his smile widened, and then with a leap and a powerful flap he was in the air, darting upwards like a leaf on a gale.
They had it pretty good, there in that garden. The verdant months gave them plenty of cover outside, plenty of resources, lots of sun on their wings. The winters in the greenhouse were cozy and close, without worry of the snow or the icy winds. They were safe from humans who never wanted to question why the growth in their backyard was so lush, year after year, and safe from worry over dangerous animals thanks to the nearly-overgrown wooden privacy fence.
Beyond that fence, though, was wilder land, not nearly enough to be a forest but full of life all the same. That less-tamed, wooded area, with its dappled sunlight and thick foliage and only the occasional reminder of the nearby humans, was Bowman’s goal. He darted over the garden, over the fence, and something wild welcomed him there.
Back the way he came, the Big House still stood peeking through the trees, but Bowman ignored it for the woods before him. In the other direction, someone else’s big human house would be waiting, but he wouldn’t get that far. He knew to stay closer to safety.
If he asked anyone else, he wasn’t really supposed to leave the garden without making it known. Bowman chose which rules to follow, and no amount of reminders had changed that over the years.
As he ducked and weaved around branches and through golden sunbeams, wind whipping through his wild hair, things felt right. Bowman belonged in the air. His wings, honed every day in his races among the trees and over the Big House, practically sang with elation. Every sunbeam they drank up spurred him to fly a little bit longer. His were the fastest wings around, and no member of the garden village could wrest the title away from him.
#gtjuly#gtjuly2023#mywriting#bowman leafwing#wood sprite#bowman of wellwood#g/t#gt#giant tiny#bowman of the garden
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GT July: Home
Decided that words couldn't do justice to the idea I had of making a little drawing of Patch's room.
It's in the walls behind a power outlet on Melody's kitchen counter. The actual electrical wiring was moved (with Mel's help) to make room for them to have a little hidey-hole to call their own. Not pictured is a curtain inside which they can close for privacy (Which TBH is only missing because i can't draw fabrics to save my life, as you can tell by the bed and the fabric rolls on the shelves oops)
Also I'm aware literally nobody cares but I still had to add some bits of Sprite Script just for Lore Funsies(tm), I didn't make an entire written language to not fit it into every piece of art I make for them
#the struggles of having a character who is an artist when you yourself can't draw to save your life#also there's a joke in here about how a queer fae's house is lit by a fairy light. but i'm too lazy to make it#g/t art#gt art#my art#giant/tiny#g/t#gtjuly#oc inspo: patch#patchwork melody#borrowers#g/t worldbuilding#kinda
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Good morning TUMBLR.
From today February 29, 2024, I have decided to publish a sort of memoir of my life in installments on TUMBLR. These are memories of travel and work experiences around the world, over a period of approximately 40 years.
The title is':
''Mr. Plant has owed me a shoe since July 5, 1971."
I hope to interest at least three or four readers.
Introduction
Why this curious title, you will ask yourselves, my dear 3 or 4 readers.
Well I have to think back to an evening way back in 1971, where I was one of the 20,000-odd spectators at a Led Zeppelin concert, the greatest rock group of all time. The concert, which had just begun for goodness sake, was interrupted by police charges, and we were forced to flee from the Vigorelli velodrome in Milan following the throwing of tear gas.
Much has been said and written about that unfortunate evening. The fact is that despite Robert Plant's appeals for calm (Smile! Smile! Smile! he shouted into the microphone) which also sounded a little ironic, given the frequent firing of tear gas, at a certain point under the pressure of the human tide who was pushing us against the stage (we were among the lucky ones in the front rows) me and the 3 friends with whom I had come to attend the concert were forced to flee towards the velodrome track, and then to climb over the fence.
In the excitement of the moment I lost one of my tennis shoes, but by then I was on the other side of the fence, and about 2 or 3 thousand people wanted to do the same thing, that is, climb over the fence! So I had to abandon the unhealthy idea of going back to the other side to retrieve the shoe. We somehow managed to escape from the velodrome, and took refuge on the floor of the FIAT 850 parked around there, in which we had come to the concert. Meanwhile the battle raged all around us. Every now and then we took a look out the windows, but the smoke from the tear gas and the burning cars didn't allow us to see much of what was happening. There were only big bangs and explosions of weapons and sirens that wouldn't stop screaming.
I remember clearly seeing and hearing a lady from one of the balconies of the condominiums around the velodrami shouting at the policemen: ''Kill all those bastards…….don't leave even one alive….!!
It all ended after hours, and all we had to do was sadly return home, happy to have saved our skin. The car - owned by the friend Eridano's mother - was full of dents, but the windows were intact. Later, when I finally got home, I threw the remaining shoe in the garbage.
INCIPIT
But who is Bruno Sironi? It's easy to say: a child of '68 and the so-called ''Economic Boom'' - one of the many (all…) who had been made to believe that ''life will always be better'' and that ''the future will belongs''(and the best is yet to come)
One who saw Italians go from the Vespa to the ''500'' and from the 500 to the 600 and then gradually the 850 and then the FIAT UNO and the Ritmo…and the butchers' boys ride in Alfa GT Junior (1,260,000 Lire in 1970) . To then understand that this was not the case and suddenly, just as it had begun, the era of continuous ''progress'' could (and did) end (and end badly). One who had to hear Comrade ''in cashmere'' Bertinotti that ''For the first time since the end of the last war there is the prospect that children will have a worse life than their fathers''. And the lawyer Agnelli declared in the famous television interview with Mixer in 1984 - to a question from the journalist Minoli on what Italy's prospects could be - he first adjusted his sypholine leg, and then replied:
''But you see Minoli… I believe that if all goes well… within a couple of decades Italy will be able to aspire to a standard of living equal to the best of the so-called Socialist countries, namely Hungary''.
And that son of so-called progress, who has now grown old, has now realized that there is never an end to the worst. Because trying to make things worse - beyond Murphy's Laws - is in the nature of man (especially homo Italicus) much more than improving them. And that perhaps human beings start out with the best intentions, but then along the way, when faced with difficulties, they choose compromise, circumventing the obstacle, and almost never overcoming it. And finally, at all latitudes, in every historical period, and under any type of regime, what characterizes human beings is the instinct of dominance. And man's obsession with dominance derives from the very origin of animal DNA, and binds the destiny of every one of us.
With these premises, and with a lot of suffering, I began my working adventure abroad by leaving for Arabia (Not Felix…) on 5 May 1980. Yes, the day of the anniversary of Napoleon's death, which I remembered (and I remember still …) by heart the poem dedicated to him by Alessandro Manzoni: He was….since immobile given the mortal sigh….He stood the remains oblivious to such a breath.
But before that first trip, there are things and events that are worth telling, because as always, nothing is as it seems.
As often happens, a friend, a certain Figini Mauro, approached me one day at the bar and said: ''You know, I have an uncle who works for a large construction company in Milan, with activities abroad'' – Really? ? I answer immediately interested - and what's his name, give me all the details, put me in contact with him, I want to try to have an interview (in short I felt inside that it could be more than one possibility)
No sooner said than done, the day arrives when I am summoned to the offices of the ''Great Society''. The headquarters was located at the end of a street in the south of Milan, the continuation of Via Savona, after Viale Tibaldi. I get there first by trolleybus 90 (the Circunvallasiun) and then by walking for a few hundred meters on a dirt road.
Admitted inside, I am introduced to a manager by the famous ''Uncle'' - who sings my praises: ''a good boy, good family, I guarantee'' (never seen or heard from the ''Uncle'' before that moment…)
It is agreed that, before leaving for Saudi Arabia (Saudi Arabia???), I should spend a few days in an architecture studio in Milan (in Via Pantano). Architect Sala will take care of me, and possibly judge whether I am suitable to be sent to Saudi to draw up the so-called As Built (an English expression meaning ''As built'') drawings, i.e. how any project has been completed, with the changes made during construction highlighted.
I thus learn (from Arch Sala) that the Big Society is building a military hospital in Dahran in the Eastern province (a military hospital which later, during the Gulf wars, proved to be very useful).
I then spent a week in the famous architecture studio, which I reached every morning with the public transport of the time: tram from Nova M. to via Farini, then the 8, which took me to via Orefici on the corner of Duomo. And then on foot along Via Mazzini, Via Larga – Via Pantano.
Declared ''Suitable'' for the purpose (after having designed a hospital stretcher beater) I was then hired by Big Society and sent to Saudi with the Milan Linate – Rome – Riyadh – Dahran flights: I have a vivid memory of the seat on the left on the plane that I occupied, and of the vision of the Pre-Alps when we turned towards the South: the mountains of my youth disappeared on the horizon… No, it doesn't seem to me that ''as if it were now'', perhaps the opposite: I have the clear perception how much time has passed, 40 or more years… even the century has changed…….
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Enchantment or Curse
gt july let's goooooo
Rhys was enchanted a long time ago. It's the time where he is near his home avoiding things, but he might not avoid everything
Enchantment or Curse
Rhys stared at the field of flowers before slowly lifting his hand. Despite the years passing, the ring was still fused to his skin. Everyone else said it was enchanted, he said it was cursed. The ring became blurry as his focus shifted to the flowers he ran through as a child. He missed those days.
Heaving a heavy sigh, he moved to the clearing he’d wait in. Usually his family didn’t go looking for him when he didn’t meet them, but just in case. He couldn’t risk them going too far, they’d get hurt. He covered so much more ground than they did. Once clear of the trees, he turned towards the flowers and sat down heavily. He was met with a shout that sent his heart pounding.
Looking around he managed to see a man lying on the ground staring at him with striking eyes, one the color of emeralds and the other of violets. Despite the intense glare he couldn’t stop himself from reaching out to grab the small person. As soon as his fingers started to wrap around the small body, tiny fists bashed against his skin. It made him pause, but he had to see this person up close.
Rhys pulled them up to his face before the punches stopped. Once he dropped them in his other palm he was frozen. The man he held was stunning. Silver hair tied back and out of the man’s face, leaving pale X shaped scars standing out against his dark brown skin. He was dressed in simple dark clothes, simple enough they managed to pull his attention from the man’s looks.
This could be a sign his so-called enchantment was ending, or at least weakening. He whispered, “You’re so big.”
“Playing with your new toy already?” the man sneered. Rhys jumped at the venom in his voice. His hopes were dashed already, everyone knew about the prince. About how he had been ‘enchanted’ to view the world from above. “Let go! I’m a person you damned monster!”
Rhys let his hands fall to the ground. He kept it slow enough the man would be safe. He waited limply for the man to leave. They weren’t from his kingdom, so the curse was still there. For all he knew this person was-
“Wait… you’re actually letting me go?” the man asked. Rhys looked down where the man sat on his fingers. He didn’t want him to go, even if there wasn’t hope of returning home he was lonely. The last time he’d spoken to another person was years ago. That last time he’d seen anyone besides his family was even longer.
“It’s what you wanted,” Rhys said. The man scrambled off his palm and Rhys closed his eyes. He was painfully aware of how tired he was at that moment. Tired of fear, of being alone, tired of everyone talking about him like he was a monster. He wanted to be normal again, to be-
“What’s your name?” the man asked. Rhys jumped as he snapped his eyes open to stare at the man. He couldn’t find his voice to answer. How long had it been since someone cared about his name? “You don’t get to play like you can’t talk. You already did twice. I’ll just leave if you don’t want to tell me.”
“Rhys!” he shouted. The man flinched, his hands shooting up to cover his ears. Fear had forced the word from his throat. Guilt filled his heart at the way the small man reacted. Taking a deep breath he focused on keeping his voice quiet. “I’m Rhys.”
“Jeez, keep your voice down. Do you want to blow out my eardrums?” The man just glared up at him with a gaze that seemed almost soft. Rhys frowned, shrinking away from the stern view. “Vincent. What are you?”
“A person?” Rhys hadn’t considered what he was. The man- Vincent- crossed his arms with a dubious look. It felt nice to have someone act like this, to act like he wasn’t a monster. He didn’t want to have an answer to what Vincent was either. He could pretend like this.
“Fine whatever.” Vincent sat down on the ground continuing to just stare up at Rhys. In an attempt to get a better look, Rhys decided to lie on the ground. When he moved Vincent tensed, but he didn’t run. Rhys counted that as a win. “So what’s your plan, let me go and follow me to my village or some shit?”
Rhys shook his head, he didn’t want to be near anyone. It would be a few weeks before he left, but he wouldn’t go near people by choice. Vincent narrowed his eyes before standing. The man patted at his pants and turned to leave. A part of Rhys was desperate to make him stay. Instead he managed to watch the small man disappear in the trees, returning to his lonely lifestyle.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A few days later Rhys was staring at the clouds through the trees. He had been thinking about Vincent more than his past. It was a nice change, usually the day that ruined his life was all that was on his mind. He knew he’d never see the small man again. It wasn’t worth the risk of seeing more people he might hurt. Of finding out he’d been gone long enough his family gave up on him.
“Hey tiny! You still out here?” Vincent’s shout echoed through the air. Rhys sat up on his elbows looking around for the man. He saw the silver hair first, those striking eyes and the scars that made his heart hurt next. “I actually thought you’d leave before I decided to come back out here.”
“You came back?” he whispered. Rhys pushed himself to try and sit up more, shocked to see Vincent walking closer. By the time Rhys was sitting up straight Vincent had settled close enough it would be easy to grab him. It left a strange warmth in his chest.
“Figured you didn’t follow me so I’d come back. Find out just what the fuck you are.” Vincent dug into his bag and pulled out a container. He opened it and pulled out something small before holding it out to Rhys. “I don’t like to eat alone, take this. I don’t care if your giant ass will barely taste it.”
Rhys brought his hand close to the small man trying to ignore the way it shook. Vincent dropped something miniscule on his finger. He used his other hand to steady it before bringing the tiny thing close to his face. It was sweet, and smelled like something he recognized. He couldn’t place it though. He opened his mouth wide before placing the tiny thing on his tongue. The blast of flavor was bigger than he expected and also something he hated. A grimace found a way on his face.
“What? Don’t like strawberries? Thought for sure you would. Your breath smells like them,” Vincent said. The man shrugged his shoulders, taking a bite of his own version of the small thing. It was weird, Rhys couldn’t actually remember the last time he’d eaten anything. He never had liked strawberries though.
“No… I hated them before too,” he said.
Vincent looked up at him, Rhys swore the man felt larger than him. He knew it would be easy to pick up the man and knock that feeling away, but he enjoyed it. He used to be shorter than his family and his friends. He missed that. He’d never forget the fear on the faces of his friends when he walked out of his room a head taller than Ryder. Ryder was supposed to be the tall one.
“Before what?” Vincent’s question felt like ice in his veins. The last time he told someone the truth they stopped visiting. He shouldn’t be honest. At least not completely just a little bit of what it was.
“I… I was given a gift that changed me. Everyone says it was enchanted, I say it’s cursed.” It left a bitter taste in his mouth as he spoke. He hated it, hated his life since he ran away. He was getting too big, too dangerous. He was still growing years after he left. He had no idea how his family would look to him now.
“Well, it’s a curse if it needs to be broken and an enchantment if it has an end. Did you get some stupid rhyme with it?”
“It’s time you grow into your own. Spend some time, wander alone. Look on from there, see from above…’” He stopped before he said the rest. Rhys took some time to look like he was trying to remember, but the reality was he knew. Until you find your one true love. “There were more lines, but I don’t remember anymore. It's been a long time.”
“Probably true love or some shit.” Vincent stood up, once again dusting his clothes off. “Gotta head back. I’ll try a different pastry next time. See ya, tiny.”
“I-”
Vincent ran off before Rhys could speak. A promise he’d come back. A promise he wouldn’t leave Rhys to suffer alone. No matter what happened he wanted that. He wanted time where he wasn’t trapped in his mind. He returned to his original position staring at the clouds. This time he had the smallest bit of a smile on his face.
The next day Vincent was back. He didn’t have to call out, Rhys was watching the spot the man disappeared the last time. Somehow he knew Vincent would be there before sunset. The smaller man gave him a look, but continued to walk closer. He came up to Rhys’s leg before lying back against it. Fear sent his heart pounding, but Vincent didn’t react if he heard it.
“Hey tiny, what do you normally eat?” Vincent asked. Rhys frowned, what did he eat? Also why did the man keep calling him tiny?
“Why do you keep calling me tiny?” he asked. Answering about his eating habits didn’t seem fun. Admitting he couldn’t remember eating since he ran from his home would make things change. He wanted to not be alone while he waited here for time to pass.
“Why not? Would you rather I call you big guy or something?” Vincent held an arm out with something in his hand again. Rhys set his own massive digits next to the small frame. Another treat was set down with no hesitation, like this was normal.
“You know my name.” Rhys lifted the hand with the treat up to his face. It smelled sweet again. He hesitated, he didn’t want to have the taste of strawberries stuck on his tongue. It took hours for it to fade the day before.
“So?” Vincent tilted his head back to stare up at him. Rhys felt awkward staring down. The small man looked amazing, Rhys probably looked monstrous. He’d seen monsters before too. He didn’t like the idea of being one. “You worried that I’m slipping you strawberries again? It’s just chocolate cake this time.”
Rhys used that to push him to taste the sweet. It was something new, he couldn’t find words to describe it. Vincent laughed below him. Setting his hand on the ground, Rhys got a chance to see the smile on the smaller man’s face. Another thing that sent his heart racing. No one else had made him feel like this before.
“I don’t think I’ve ever tried that before,” Rhys said. Vincent’s eyes widened. The man climbed to his feet and stepped away to stare up. At first Rhys thought it was fear, but the pure shock on the small face pushed that away.
“Damn, never had chocolate. What kind of sheltered weird life were you living before?” Vincent said. Rhys sighed. He hadn’t been sheltered, at least he didn’t think he was. Vincent sat down again, this time not leaning against his leg. Maybe he was sheltered. “By the way, I looked into an enchantment record.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s this record most places keep. Has a history of the first use of any enchantment. Thought it might have the rest of yours in it.” Rhys held his breath. If Vincent knew he’d stop coming. He’d be alone again. Vincent’s demeanor changed, softened almost. “Only record was some prince a few hundred years ago. A birthday celebration that went wrong. It…” Rhys was terrified. Once he knew, once Vincent said it, he was alone. “It didn’t have the rest of your enchantment in it. Was stuck at the same place you remember. Probably… probably part of it or something.”
“Oh…” Rhys’s heart continued to pound. Something in the way Vincent looked didn’t feel like it was the truth. It didn’t matter, he didn’t know. For the few weeks Rhys stayed in the area Vincent wouldn’t have a reason to abandon him. That’s all he wanted.
“So, what was it like before you wound up like this?” Rhys jumped, but it made him smile. When was the last time he got to think about home? Not just think about it, but talk about it.
“It was… fun.”
Rhys went into stories of trouble he caused. His friends, Ryder and Felix, were a bit older and would try to make him stop playing tricks. He had fun. Vincent nodded along, even laughed at times. Rhys talked until the sun started to set. A part of him wanted to reach out, to hold Vincent as the night air started to grow cold. Before he could consider giving in to that feeling, Vincent stood up and stretched.
“Gotta head back, I’ll probably visit again,” Vincent said. Rhys nodded, if the small man took too long he’d be gone. It was how his life went ever since that horrible birthday. The similarities between the story Vincent knew and his own life were fighting to take his thoughts. He didn’t want to think it had been hundreds of years. “Jeez, don't look so sad. Make sure you don’t disappear. I’ll think I dreamt up a weird giant guy with pink eyes.”
Vincent disappeared before Rhys could speak again. He watched the spot the little man came from. Following would let him find a whole place where people might talk to him. He could see if any broke this stupid curse he had. It didn’t feel right to follow him. It had only been a few meetings, but he wanted this to keep going. Vincent… Vincent made him feel like he was normal again.
Vincent kept visiting. Each time he brought something new for Rhys to try. The man stayed later and later each time. Rhys was growing more and more tempted to hold the smaller man in his palms. It was getting harder to avoid it. Reaching forward, hovering, feeling more alone than before. The ring on his finger was making him angrier each morning too. A reminder Vincent wasn’t the one to break it. That even his own feelings weren’t important to the stupid thing.
“So, how long are you gonna keep hovering before you grab me again?” Vincent asked. Rhys jumped, staring at his hands currently trapping Vincent in the clearing. He started to pull back. Guilt ate at him.
“Sorry,” he mumbled. Vincent smirked. That at least made this less embarrassing.
“You should be. At least ask, I might even say it’s ok.” Rhys’s eyes went wide.
“You… you’d let me hold you…” Vincent climbed to his feet and crossed his arms. The stare he offered made Rhys’s heart pound. The smaller man paced before shrugging his shoulders.
“Why not, you haven’t killed me yet.” Rhys brought his hand close. Worry sank into his bones, what if his hands were sweaty? He wasn’t this nervous the last time. Just as he was about to wrap his fingers around the small, stern man a hand was placed on his finger to stop him. “I don’t think grabbing sounds fun, tiny, let me climb on.”
Rhys nodded, setting his hand flat next to the small man. When those hands touched his palm he shuddered. Vincent chuckled, making him flush. The tiny weight in his palm made his heart race. Vincent was bigger than his family, but still so small. What if he hurt him? What if he did something that killed him? What if he-?
“Rhys,” Vincent’s voice was soft, kind, and reassuring. The first time it wasn’t a nickname. “It’s fine, I trust you.”
The anxiety in his heart died down. Vincent crawled to the center of his palm. As soon as the man sat down, Rhys lifted his hand from the ground. He moved slowly, deliberately as he brought the man up to his eyes. Seeing him close like this left Rhys with a feeling of awe. Vincent’s eyes were all the more striking. His face was soft, just like his words.
Rhys brought his other hand up and grabbed Vincent’s hand. The small fingers tensed in his hold, but he didn’t pull away. Despite the size difference, he felt Vincent dig his nails into his own skin. He squeezed, just a little, trying to show he felt the small fingers on his skin. Rhys continued to hold his hand for a while. Eventually he let go and started to run his fingers up to trace Vincent’s entire body.
Vincent shuddered under his touch. There was no request to stop. He got to feel the soft silver hair. The warmth of the small man who kept coming back to him. The tiny hands that dug into his palm this time while he traced a finger down the firm arms. He moved to hover over Vincent’s chest and pressed down only a little. Rhys heard the gasp from the smaller man, but didn’t pull back. The tiny hands reached up and gripped the finger on Vincent’s chest, but he still wasn’t asked to stop.
“...why do you trust me?” Rhys whispered. Vincent’s miniscule hands tensed, trying to hold him tighter maybe?
“Why not?” Vincent said.
“I… I scared everyone before I left.” Rhys didn’t know if telling him was right, but he had to. He moved to cradle Vincent just above his mouth. A finger kept against the small face. “The first morning after this whole enchanted thing, I scared my closest friends. I was taller than one of them, he was always the tall one. Then I almost hurt my sister, she was trying to surprise me and I almost stepped right on her. I… one night I knew I was growing. My bed broke and I ran… I was supposed to see my family whenever I came through here. I haven’t in a long time though.”
Vincent sat up again in his palm. The violet and emerald eyes weren’t fierce or cruel. He rested a hand on the finger Rhys kept close. The man leaned into the large digit, and Rhys started to cry. He hadn’t spoken about those days in so long. How scared his closest friends looked. How wrong he felt, but Vincent didn’t look scared or angry. In a way it reminded him of when he was young and played pranks all over the kingdom.
“If they didn’t want you they weren’t worth it then,” he said. Rhys was shaking, he started to lower his hands. “Don’t move me. At least not to the ground. Don’t feel like sitting on the hard ground again.”
“I… I don’t know if they wanted me.” Rhys knew his voice was quiet. Barely audible even by his size. “I… I kept growing after I left. I stopped risking going near them after I saw the tops of trees. I… I didn’t want to hurt them.”
“You didn’t hurt me.”
Rhys nodded. Vincent was right, he didn’t cause the small man any pain. It was different. Vincent was definitely taller than his family. If… if Vincent came along it could be safe. It wasn’t fair to ask that of him. They were maybe friends. He couldn’t expect Vincent to trust him enough to go somewhere together. Even if it was nearby. Especially if his family wasn’t even there for him. It would seem like he lied to take him away.
“It’s late,” he said. Vincent nodded.
Vincent stretched and rubbed his shoulders. “Yeah it is, guess you should lie down so we can sleep.”
Rhys stared with wide eyes at the little man. He pulled his hand away from his face and curled his fingers over Vincent. Slowly he moved on to his side with Vincent still in his hand. Then he pulled that same hand close to his face before uncurling his fingers. Vincent moved to lie on his side staring into Rhys’s eyes. This… this felt nice. It felt normal, like they were the same. This was something he could live his life with.
“Better have that strawberry breath in the morning or I’ll kill you,” Vincent whispered.
“Probably will, I don’t eat anything to cause it,” Rhys said. He leaned forward until his nose was against Vincent. He got the faintest hint of a smell, something like copper. “I think you smell like copper…”
“Weirdo knowing what a metal smells like.”
Rhys pulled back, but smiled as he watched Vincent. The smaller man closed his eyes and looked happy in his palm. He moved his forehead close enough to rest against his hand, this was nice. He wanted things to stay like this. To be close to someone. He started to hope Vincent felt the same. He might actually feel enchanted if he could stay with the small man falling asleep in his palm.
The next morning Rhys woke up alone. Positive it was a dream he tried to stop his shuddering breaths. When he sat up he found large letters drawn into the ground. Don’t leave before I come back. A blush coated his cheeks, Vincent would be back… He wasn’t alone.
It was almost a full week with no sign of Vincent. Rhys had to leave in a few days, the meeting with his family would come and go. Once it had passed he wouldn’t stay, but maybe… maybe for Vincent he would. He frowned, the silver hair hadn’t appeared in the shadow of the trees yet. With the sun setting it wasn’t likely the man would show up today. Rhys hugged his knees to his chest, Vincent might have given up.
A grunt caught his attention. His breath caught in his throat as a small form slipped into the slowly fading light. He gathered the tiny form into his hands without a second thought, a warmth spread out that he hated. He’d felt it a long time ago.
“Sorry, tiny,” Vincent coughed. “Had some trouble getting out. They didn’t like that I was out so much. Thought I was getting ready to run away.”
“What, why?” Rhys breathed. He brought Vincent up to his eyes, tears already falling. He didn’t want the smaller man to die.
“Heh, guess you didn’t know. Takes a special person to read those enchantment books. This is the latest place that decided it was worth keeping me.” Rhys curled his fingers in, hiding Vincent from everything. He didn’t know what it meant, but he’d keep the smaller man safe. “You know, I’m pretty tired. Your hand was cold the other night, how about your chest this time?”
Rhys didn’t hesitate. He brought Vincent over his heart before lying on his back. The small man went limp and left a gaping hole in Rhys’s heart. He… he had an idea. He hadn’t tried since all of this started. Since his birthday however long ago… Probably hundreds of years ago.
“Rhys,” Vincent said. The quiet word pulled him from his thoughts. He had to remember the right feelings to use it. It would work, he’d save the small man who reminded him what it meant to be alive. To be seen. To be a person. “I lied to you.”
“What?” His own voice cracked. What possible thing could he have lied about? What would shatter the building warmth in the back of his heart? A warmth he’d abandoned for so long.
“That book had the full words. You probably even knew them. ‘Until you find your one true love’.” Vincent laughed, it was hollow. The feeling made everything happening worse. Rhys could feel the warmth of blood pooling on his chest now. “Probably wasn’t the best idea to keep sneaking in for a way to break it. Couldn’t stop myself, kind of wanted to be the answer for you. Didn’t think they’d stab me though.”
“I lied too.” Rhys focused on the better warmth, the one that he’d given up on ever trying to use. He could feel as it worked out of his heart and into his hand. The coolness overtaking the warmth of the pooling blood. His father explained it when his mother was bleeding like this once. How to heal someone. “I think… I might be that prince you read about. I am a prince, at least I was. I knew what broke what happened to me, but I wanted you to keep seeing me.”
“We’re both liars, I can live with that. I’m gonna sleep. G’night Tiny.”
“Good night… Vincent.”
Rhys closed his eyes pushing all the warmth he could into his hand. This had to save Vincent. He couldn’t lose the smaller man. It hadn’t been long, but no one else could replace him. Fuck the enchantment his true love was sitting on his chest and dying. He’d save him, find a way to solve all of this. To do something.
The next thing he knew he was on the ground without a small body on his chest. He sat up in a panic, looking for Vincent. His breath hitched when he turned to find a massive face with the scars he’d grown so curious about in front of him. As those eyes he’d been mesmerized by started to open he was frozen. Vincent… Vincent was huge now.
Emerald and violet locked on his small form. Time was still as the two stared at each other. More actions he couldn’t react to occurred. A massive hand grabbing him. His back was on Vincent’s middle and ring finger, the man’s thumb holding his stomach. His pinky and index were touching him and… and holding his wings? Rhys stared at the wings Vincent held steady.
“This is real,” Vincent breathed. That smell of copper wafted over Rhys. He was terrified. The grip was firm, the firmness that always exuded off the man. The other hand held one of Rhys’s wings still. He hadn’t even realized he was moving them. “Guess tiny is too on the nose of a nickname now.”
The smile shown on the now larger man’s face sent all the anxiety away. It was Vincent. The man who brought him treats. The man who kept visiting despite Rhys grabbing him at first. The man who almost died just to keep seeing him. To try and help him. His wings slowed. He didn’t even know they’d still grown while he was huge.
“Rhys,” Vincent’s voice was soft. It made him jump, but he nodded in response. “Are you scared of me?”
“...no,” he said. It was the truth. He wasn’t scared. The fingers holding his wings disappeared. The thumb on his stomach was released and he fell face first into a palm. It was covered in rough, calloused skin. He pushed himself up to stare at the amazing eyes above him.
“So… what are you?” Rhys opened his mouth to answer, but Vincent used a finger to silence him. “Don’t say a person. Obviously you aren’t human so what are you?”
“A fairy, I thought you were one too. Just taller than my family. At least taller than I remembered them.”
“I don’t have wings, why the hell would you think I’m a fairy?” Rhys crossed his arms and glared up at Vincent.
“We’re not born with them Vincent. Obviously they grow later.”
“Right because I’d know the natural age progression of a fairy. Guess that explains why I’m not dead. You healed me right?” Rhys nodded. Vincent pulled Rhys close and pressed him against his chest. “Thanks, strawberry.”
Rhys grimaced that one was worse. He hated strawberries ever since his mom… his mom, his family. He could see them. It would be safe, he could go home! He started to struggle against the hand cradling him. Vincent let him go and he flew up to hover in front of the human’s face. His wings were buzzing behind him, he loved the sound.
“We have to go!” he shouted. He flew to the hand by Vincent’s chest and tugged on one of the fingers. “My family, this is when I’m supposed to meet them! We need to hurry.”
“Right, fairy. Guess hundreds of years isn’t the same,” Vincent mumbled. Rhys paused, there was a sour tone behind the words, but Vincent started moving. He’d worry about the sourness in the words after he saw his family.
The two moved shockingly fast. Rhys was sure it would take a lot longer, then again he always thought he’d be walking at his real height once the ring was gone. He thought someone his size would be next to him. He held the hand up that had held his curse for so long, the ring was really gone. It was over. Vincent’s shadow over him made him feel safe. It was weird, humans were always a scary story as he grew up. He barely believed they existed.
He burst out of the trees hoping to see his family hovering over the flower field. There was no one. He wasn’t giving up hope, not yet. They wouldn’t need to be there yet, it wasn’t time. The sun was still high. A curse behind him made him pause, Vincent had stepped on a flower. Vincent… he was as big as Rhys was when he ran for good. Rhys flew right back to his face.
“You need to be careful! Fairies could be out here,” he insisted. Vincent smirked before grabbing him. He was held the same way as earlier, fingers supporting his back and stopping his wings from flapping forward. The human kept walking, but the hold left Rhys with a feeling of safety.
“Please strawberry, I’m not a monster. I can keep an eye out for things that might be even smaller than-”
“Your highness!” A voice called. A voice Rhys knew. He was being pulled from the fingers holding him by hands his size. The fingers around him went limp as soon as a force tugged at him. Rhys was left with wings colored gold with hints of bronze blocking him from view. They barely moved as the fairy in front of him hovered. “We’ll keep you safe, grab the princess and return home. She’s far enough it won’t see you. This monster won’t follow you. Stay low to catch the others.”
“Wait! He’s not-”
“You really want to attack the one who helped break the strawberry prince’s enchanted ring?” Vincent sneered as he spoke. Rhys tried to look around Felix’s wings and found Ryder in the human’s face. Vincent lifted a hand up near Ryder, Rhys had his heart freeze as the human moved. All he did was press a finger to the point of what looked like a spear Ryder held. He moved it down and Rhys’s heart started beating again.
“You… broke the ring?” Ryder asked. “That was enough to free him?”
“Yup, came along for a reward. Not worth it with little brutes like you two.” Vincent had bent forward at some point. He stood straight up and glared down at both Ryder and Felix. Rhys saw the soft look sent his way. Vincent was giving him a way out, a way to go home without the truth ever being revealed. A way that didn’t include him- and that made Rhys sick.
“He’s lying.” Ryder and Felix looked at him with shock. Vincent narrowed his eyes. He would let Rhys decide what happens next. If… if his friends and family hated Vincent then he’d leave with the human. He had already been willing to give them up to keep the man in his life; this was no different. “He didn’t break the ring, he’s the answer to the enchantment. My true love.”
Rhys watched the weapon in Ryder’s hand fall. It kept going until it reached the dirt below. He waited, the anger and fear. Yelling at him for this being what happened. Treating him and Vincent like monsters. Treating the only one who made him realize he was still a person like something wrong. He couldn’t, he wouldn’t, let that be his life. Vincent was too important.
Arms his size wrapped around him. Fear seized his heart as another pair joined the ones already containing his wings. From where he floated he saw Vincent’s eyes go wide and the massive being moved his arms. Rhys fell with the two around him. They landed on the calloused palms that held him earlier. He still expected fear, but it wasn’t happening.
“You finally get to come home,” Felix whispered. Both pairs of arms around him tightened. He couldn’t believe this.
“I apologize for threatening your love,” Ryder said. It was loud, loud enough Vincent definitely heard. “We’ve had some close calls when we came to see if you’d visit. I have to admit the princess was too eager that it might be you.”
“You… you’ve always come,” Rhys whispered. He looked up to the human holding him and his closest friends. It was easy to read the subtle hints of concern on Vincent’s face. He forced himself free, and climbed to his feet on the palm. Both Felix and Ryder stared at him, gold and silver wings buzzing. “This is Vincent.”
Ryder flew up to Vincent’s face. He did a bow that he’d done since being assigned Rhys’s guard. Vincent kept a dead look and didn’t speak. Felix flew up slowly, his wings were shaking. The two shared a look before Felix joined the bow as well. Then he lowered himself so his wings were on full display. The way they faced royalty.
“We apologize for our actions. We have been assigned to defend the prince at all costs,” Felix said. Rhys stumbled, they were still his guard? Even after all this time. “Our services would be passed to you as well, as his partner. We have had some issues during these trips away from the kingdom that made your hold something to worry about.”
Rhys felt the hand beneath him warm up. He started to fly up a bit and saw the hint of red finding its way to Vincent’s face. The human was looking between the bowed fairies and Rhys. As if he needed some kind of guidance. His wings started to buzz when reality hit him. Vincent didn’t know fairies, Vincent wasn’t one. The thought faded as the words Felix said finally registered in his mind.
“You’re still my guards?” Rhys asked. The two broke from their bows and faced him. Faces warm and kind, just how they always treated him. “I thought for sure you’d be changed or at least assigned to… Wait Del’s here! You said princess where-”
The words were knocked into silence as something, more likely someone, slammed into him. He was knocked back into the large palm that had stayed hovering just below him. It didn’t take much effort to move enough that he could see who was holding him. The fairy princess, his younger sister who hadn’t been close to her wings, Delphia.
“You’re home,” she whispered. “I thought… I was so sure I made you hate us. That you wouldn’t come back. I didn’t understand, I’m sorry. I should have realized the games we played before were dangerous I-”
“It wasn’t your fault I should have been careful. I… you were young. It was…” he started. The words didn’t exist to explain. Was it his fault for doing as he was raised? Was it his fault for not pulling away? More likely, how wasn’t it his fault?
“Don’t beat yourself up shortstack, he almost sat on me and he let me stay around. Strawberry’s just worried about hurting someone,” Vincent said. This time the human’s voice was soft and kind, Delphia pulled away to stare up at him. Almost like she hadn’t realized they were currently on his hand. Her arms tightened around Rhys, she was scared.
“I didn’t almost sit on you, you were near the trees.” Vincent’s other hand came up and ruffled Rhys’s hair.
“Close enough, probably as close as you came to hurting the shortstack here.” Rhys smiled, Vincent might be right. Delphia let him go.
“I have a name!” Rhys couldn’t hold back his laughter. Currently held by a human that she’s never met and her reaction is that he’s not using her name.
“So does Strawberry doesn’t mean I’ll use it.”
“Del, this is Vincent. He’s the answer, my love.” Rhys’s cheeks were red hot. How many times would he need to say that? At least one more… Vincent’s hand got warmer too. She shot up from the palm and plastered herself to the human’s face. Felix and Ryder both gasped as she did this. Just because he was with Rhys didn’t take away the distrust of humans. If he had known Vincent was human would he have let the man stay around?
“Thank you.” Rhys pushed the thoughts away as he watched his sister hugging the cheek of a human she just met. “Thank you for bringing him back.” She pulled away before offering a curtsy before the human. “I am Rhys’s younger sister and current crown princess.”
“Uh… sure no problem.” Vincent had a tinge of red on his cheeks that sent Rhys’s heart racing. The human was kind. Even if he knew Vincent was human, Rhys wouldn’t have been able to send the man away.
“Sorry to interrupt,” Felix cleared his throat. “The king and queen should arrive soon. I would suggest the human uh… Vincent I mean lie on the ground so as not to cause undue stress.”
“Sure.”
Rhys noticed the sour tone in the word again. He wanted to understand, but Vincent was moving. Rhys fluttered to the ground with Ryder next to him, Felix had pulled Delphia back to wait. He felt the way the human’s movements shook where they stood. He’d been bigger than this, a larger force of nature. Vincent trusted him… He wanted his family to trust the human he loved.
Once again he was pulled from his thoughts. When Vincent folded his arms in front of them the others relaxed. Felix and Ryder were telling him news. Delphia was telling him how things changed. That they still couldn’t find who gave him the ring and were more careful in case someone tried to do it again. All three spoke of how his mother and father had been worried. His father was quieter since he stopped visiting, something he struggled to believe. His mother was gone more often.
Overall, he learned his choice to stay away hadn’t been ignored like he thought. Felix and Ryder kept worrying they failed to protect him, the little brother of their group. Hearing that made him smile. Delphia apologized even more for driving him away, no matter how much he promised it wasn’t her. It was nice to see no one had wanted him gone, but it was the right choice. It brought him to Vincent.
He looked up at the human, a darkness was in the man’s eyes. Rhys wanted to ask, to understand the sour tones and pain he was seeing. Why the time he’d been gone could matter. Fairies were ageless once they grew their wings… Once their magic was at full strength. His heart shattered as it finally clicked. Humans weren’t like that… Humans lived small blips of time compared to a fairy.
“Vincent,” he started as he walked away from the others. The human’s demeanor changed. The snarky attitude he expected plastered on the face above him. He didn’t have words. He watched as the arm in front of him moved until a single finger was pressed against his chest. That finger pushed him back causing him to stumble a bit.
“What’s the long face for Strawberry?” Vincent asked. Rhys could hear the hints in the human’s voice. It was harder to hide it when Rhys was the small one. “Keep getting caught up, I’m listening too.”
Rhys tried to find the words. To tell Vincent they’d be together for both their lives. He didn’t have any way to promise that. It didn’t help when Ryder’s hand landed on his shoulder as Felix turned him around. In the distance he could see the wings of his parents. Dark black, so dark you couldn’t see the pattern of her magic. Brilliant white filled with images of life. The king and queen of fairies were walking on the ground. They always walked when together, he never understood why.
Once they were close enough he started to tremble. All the stories he’d been told before that stupid ring popped in his head. His father would be strict, expect no more of his mistakes. He was to stop playing his games and having fun. It was time for him to be a respectable prince, a respectable heir.
His mother noticed him first. Her wings started buzzing as soon as their eyes met. In a flash he was knocked to the ground while she hugged him tightly. Her wings continued to buzz loud enough he was sure Vincent would be hard to hear. Her arms tightened, he wrapped his own around her. He missed his family.
“Rhys, I’m so happy you’re back,” his mother said. She pulled away and he saw the tears rolling down her face. “I’ve been so worried since you stopped coming to see us. Your father wouldn’t let me go too far to try and find you. He felt you needed your space if you weren’t coming here.”
“I…” he said. His mother climbed to her feet and pulled him up with her. She looked up at Vincent, Rhys followed her gaze. The human looked sad and happy all at once.
“This must be your true love then? A human?” Her mother flew up and offered her own bow in front of Vincent. Rhys’s heart thumped as a smile wormed its way on the human’s massive face. “An honor to meet you. Please call me Dabria. I hope my son hasn’t been much trouble.”
Rhys was distracted from Vincent’s response by his father. The man had continued his walk towards the small group. Despite being smaller than the human behind him, his father felt like a giant. A stern look, his wings frozen as he walked. Rhys tensed in an attempt to prepare for what was coming next. He knew the stories of the previous king, the iron handed rule back then. His father had been kinder, but no one expected it to last with his heir.
“F-father,” Rhys said. He could feel the concern wafting off the human behind him. In the few stories he’d told, his father was kind. That didn’t include everything he’d been told before the birthday that changed everything. His father stopped right in front of him, the white glow from his wings was intimidating. “Vincent was the answer to the enchantme-”
Rhys was cut off as his father pulled him into a hug. His father’s chin was placed on his head, the white wings wrapping around them both. It reminded him of the times he had nightmares, protected from everything by the glowing white or black of his parents’ wings. The whole world went silent waiting for what this meant.
“Welcome back,” his father whispered. Rhys melted at those words. His father wasn’t a great speaker, but he could hear the crack of tears. He felt the droplets landing on his head as his father cried.
“I’m home,” Rhys said. His own voice was too quiet. He was sure no one would hear, but the arms and wings wrapped around him tightened. A worry that his father’s wings could rip snuck into his mind.
“With a human too.” The chuckle from his father made Rhys stiffen. “I guess it runs in the family. Your mother should be telling him, but she’s human too. At the castle I’ll show you a way to craft something to share your own magic. His life and yours would be tied together.”
Rhys pulled back to stare at his father with wide eyes. He was let go just as he started to try and see Vincent. The human had a look of shock on his face aimed at Rhys’s mother. Then looked back at Rhys. There was a moment where they seemed connected, like no one could come between them. A true love always sounded like a fantasy, but as he nodded to the human who offered a smile with a nod back. Rhys knew he had found someone that would stand by his side, enchantments be damned.
#gt#giant/tiny#giant tiny#g/t#g/t writing#gt writing#gianttiny#gt community#g/t community#gt july 2023#oc:rhys#collaboc:vincent
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"The threads rip Frank. the threads rip."
i haven't even gotten that deep into this au and wally's already crying🥲
dang i havent drawn g/t angst art like, EVER, first time. it was so fun but so PAINFUL at the same time to draw this :'[
frank took things too far with his research and now it almost cost wally an arm and now he feels like the worst friend in the world
i didn't know if i should put any warnings on this since its pretty mild (just cotton after all) but if anyone thinks i should ill add em
anyways bye >:']
#g/t#giant/tiny#gt#gt community#giant tiny#gt angst#g/t angst#take this as to make up for that angsty post i made b4 lmao#g/t drawing#angst#gt comic#gt fearplay#wally darling#welcome home fanart#welcome home au#welcome home wally#Welcome home#welcome home frank#Welcome home wally#welcome home julie#frank frankly#julie joyful#g/t comic#size difference
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basic post for if you want to get into superformula
superformula is the top flight of motorsport in japan, home to the fastest single seaters after f1. it's been around since 1973, which is quite a while!
4 races of the season may have passed but it is not too late and since there is increased interest this year i thought people might want to know, so...
the format
there are 22 cars and 2 groups of qualifying, Q1A and Q1B. the top 6 of each group then go on to fight for pole in Q2. each session is 7 min long.
the polesitter gets 3 points, starting p2 gets you 2 points, starting p3 gets you 1 point. this makes qualifying more important than other series imo
the races are typically 40ish laps; over 250km. you are given 2 sets of tyre compounds and you need to use both during the race, which means everyone must pit at some point. expect strategies like an f2 feature race.
the race winner gets 20 points. p2 gets 15, p3 gets 11, p4 gets 8, p5 gets 6. p6 down to p10 gets 5 to 1 point.
the drivers
they are mostly japanese, clearly. the radio and bulk of the onsite interviews are in japanese, but english comms will translate so i think it's not a problem. also the interviewer switches languages at the drop of a hat she's insane (in a good way).
i'm going to introduce the names you might have heard of in other series. but shoutout to tomoki nojiri, the current reigning champion.
ok. if you're reading this chances are you've heard of liam lawson (#15) and his exploits in this series thus far. one of marko's twinks-in-waiting and arguably the most promising one rn. has had a decent amount of lore in his career for his age thanks to dtm. and twitch 💀 bffs with yuki tsunoda and appeared on dts bc of it
ryo hirakawa (#20), the beloved little brother in the toyota gazoo racing #8, won le mans and the wec wdc as a rookie. youngest ever super formula driver. has come close, but has never won the championship. which he should bc he's won super gt and japan f3 already and if he wins this it's the japanese triple crown. bffs with nick cassidy of fe championship leader fame (sorry i had to mention it somehow)
kamui kobayashi (#7), who is somehow driving and being his own team principal in wec (where he coincidentally also drives a toyota #7). was in f1, has multiple wec titles to his name. but no super formula title either. in fairness i doubt it was ever his main focus. still fun to have him around.
if you've followed f2 since like 2018? you'll recognise some names such as nirei fukuzumi #12 (cousin nirei if you follow albon_pets, also has been sf vice-champion), nobuharu matsushita #50 (the embodiment of that tomato girl aesthetic on tiktok), giuliano alesi #36 (son of the jean alesi), and cem bolukbasi #55 (most recent f2 to sf grad alongside liam)
the calendar
ok there are only 5 races left.
sugo, 16-18 june
fuji, 14-16 july
motegi, 18-20 august
suzuka double header, 27-29 october
that's it! i'm new to this too tbh and i understand the timezones are pretty ass for people that aren't in the asia pacific region but i hope this helps you out regardless!
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Gt July Day 9 – Rainy Day
Decided to revisit the How to Train Your Sawyer AU after a while! Good to have giant Sawyer back in action.
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The rain was coming down in buckets- the entire forest was caught in the deluge, raindrops falling thick and fat onto leaves before pooling off onto the ground, where it ran in currents through newly carved streams in the dirt. All creatures big and small found somewhere to wait out the torrential downpour.
Sawyer, all seventy-some odd feet of him, definitely counted as one of the “big” creatures. To him the downpour was a little less severe, the raindrops relatively fine, but he was huddled in his cave all the same. Big or not, he would still get wet if he went out in the rain, and he didn’t really have a way to get dry aside from waiting and hoping. It was just easier to sit underneath the cool stone of his cliff face and watch the water falling from the sky.
Normally he got antsy, being stuck in his cave, but when it rained, he found it a little easier to just sit and relax. The only reason he was worried at all right now was because it was later than he usually had company.
Sure enough, within a few minutes he perked up as he heard the sound of small, hurried footsteps splashing through the field. He wanted to stick his head out and make sure, but the thought of being wet kept him waiting impatiently instead. His predictions were confirmed as Charlie scrambled into the mouth of the cave and stopped, dripping and heaving for breath, just a few feet past Sawyer’s shoes.
“Hi,” Sawyer cheerfully greeted him, taking in the small human with some amusement. “I was beginning to wonder if you’d decided to stay home because of the weather.”
“I should have,” Charlie replied, sounding exasperated. He shook the water from his arms, droplets flying off of the sleeves of his jacket. Sawyer barely felt a couple hit his ankle. Charlie slicked his wavy blond hair back, slinging more water around, and it fell wet and dark around his pale face. His cheeks were a little pink from the chill; Sawyer didn’t really feel it, but he’d learned to tell when little humans like Charlie would. “I’m soaked, that rain came out of bloody nowhere.”
Sawyer chuckled, the sound filling his relatively small cave and rumbling through Charlie where he stood shivering. “The clouds looked dark enough,” he mildly countered. He watched as Charlie set his backpack up against the wall of the cave, and remembered that sometimes Charlie had books in there. He would probably be upset if they got wet. “Is your backpack okay?”
“Fine,” Charlie huffed. “Thankfully I didn’t have anything much in there today, just a water bottle.” Certainly some luck on his part, though it was only because Charlie had gotten most of his homework done earlier. He sighed and peeled off his jacket, since it was soaked and only serving to make him colder, and set it by his backpack.
A genuine smile crossed Sawyer’s face. “That’s good,” he enthused. He reached forward, crossing the length of the cave in moments, though Charlie didn’t so much as flinch. He was so used to this by now that he didn’t even wiggle as Sawyer cupped both hands around him and lifted him off the floor of the cave.
Instead of holding him close and getting him warm immediately, Sawyer set Charlie on his curved stomach. He picked up the hem of his shirt in both hands and began gently rubbing Charlie dry. Charlie opened his mouth, probably to protest, but Sawyer moved a thumb to ruffle his hair dry and Charlie was too covered by cloth to manage that. By the time Sawyer was done, Charlie was bright pink but a great deal drier than he had been before.
“Thank you,” Charlie said, sounding more than a bit aggrieved and embarrassed, but Sawyer just grinned.
“You’re welcome,” he happily replied. Charlie’s sheepishness rolled right off of him; He might as well help his friend get dry, after all. It was the least he could do when Charlie was really his only friend, and also walked on his little human legs all the way out here all the time. Besides, he was pretty sure having other people around was the reason for humans to get embarrassed like that, and there were no other humans to worry about. “Here.” He scooped up Charlie and held him close, his lingering shivers muffled against Sawyer’s broad chest. Sawyer rubbed his thumb over Charlie’s little arm, barely feeling the miniscule goosebumps there. “You can warm up for a bit. There’s nothing else to do in the rain like this.”
Sighing once more, though more in relief than aggravation this time, Charlie snuggled up against Sawyer. The giant really did exude body heat. Charlie looked out past Sawyer’s hands at the rain coming down outside.
“Yeah,” he said quietly, already feeling warmer. “We might as well just sit.”
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siblings and secrets (Stranger Swap)
For GT July - Secret
I live on the west coast! I have 15 minutes left of day three!!
Hollow secretly checks in on his outcast younger sibling when he has the chance and finds out Val has been keeping a much more dangerous, exotic secret from the local borrower colony.
Word Count: ~1800
content warning for fear and hand stabbing, I guess.
Stranger Swap main post
Hollow snuck along the attic rafters to the far east end of the apartment complex. Whenever he was supposed to go out and meet with traders, he got up early to run this errand first. He didn’t think anyone had ever noticed. Val certainly hadn’t, even though it was Val that he was checking on.
He dropped down and followed a pipe to the cavity overhanging the kitchen. It was a comfortably cramped space, kept at a good temperature by an overhead duct and had easy access to both a water pipe and the most important space in the inner apartment. Some day he or Chai or someone was going to have to talk to Val about installing real security, but for today he just took advantage of how easy it was to get into the loft.
He slowed as his eyes adjusted to the dim light. Val had left an electric tea light flickering on the table. A cap full of crushed mint gave a pleasant smell to an otherwise musty space. The pantry shelves were satisfactory, though the contents were bland. No perishables, nothing too fresh, and not particularly balanced, but Hollow wasn’t concerned with any of that. He wasn’t trying to ensure his sibling was living in luxury, he just wanted to make sure the runt was keeping themself alive.
In the next room over, Hollow had expected to find his sibling curled up in the corner, given the early evening hour but the bed was empty. His hackles rose as he swept through the loft more carefully, checking every nook a nervous borrower might choose to curl up in. He found Val’s bag slung over a cork stool and a knotted harness hanging on the wall, but no Val.
He tried to convince himself that it was nothing to worry about. Val didn’t need to be home, they were free to live life on their own weird, daytime schedule if they wanted. But Hollow had a gut feeling that he couldn’t ignore, that something was wrong. It had been just a few months since Val had said they’d been discovered, hadn’t it? Those tenants had left, but what if it had happened again? Or worse.
Hollow followed a stapled ladder down into the apartment and squeezed through a hole carved into the back of the cupboard. The sounds of the apartment grew less muffled and he paused. Someone was home, he could hear them chattering and moving around. They weren’t close, but they were here. It would be smart to simply come back later once the lights were off. But he was already here on the wrong side of the complex, and he had other plans for the night that he couldn’t put off without someone asking what he was up to. And he’d gone dumber places to do dumber things, really.
He picked a careful path through the cupboard. It was such a tightly-packed mess that it was difficult to maneuver through, even at Hollow’s size. He wove around haphazardly balanced packages towards the door panel and forcefully shoved his shoulder against it to get the latch to disengage.
He froze as the conversation in the apartment picked up again. The voices were still distorted, but they were much louder. A large shadow passed over the thin line of light where he’d cracked the cupboard open and Hollow drew back. How had he missed the footsteps drawing so close?
“Seriously, it’s not that hard, I promise. Kids do it, you’ll be fine” a woman said.
“You bought a fire extinguisher after last time.”
Hollow’s stomach sank. That was Val. He didn’t know what they were talking about, but that was Val’s voice. They didn’t sound afraid or hurt, at least, but that only mattered so much. Too much of anything was dangerous. And humans were too much of everything. Even their kindness could smother and crush.
Not to mention that the colony would probably kick them out of the complex if they found out Val was breaking the main rules again.
The woman with Val laughed.
“I should’ve had one before! But besides, this is basically just boiling water, you can’t mess it up. It’s barely even cooking,” the woman said.
“You said that about the eggs.”
“And now I’ve had second thoughts about how much you’ve never had to know, and came up with something easier.”
A set of fingers dug behind the door just below and Hollow staggered back into the mess of the cupboard. He dove into an empty space as light flooded into the compartment. In his rush, he tripped over a bag of chocolate chips, sending a box overhead teetering and crashing into the newly opened space where the human stood.
Val grunted and Hollow automatically leaned forward with concern. It wasn’t enough to get himself seen, but thought he could steal a look at the tenant and what the human might be doing with his sister. At first, all he saw was a downturned head of curls.
“Sorry! I keep meaning to clean that out, especially since…well, you,” the woman said.
“It’s fine,” Val sighed.
The face tilted back up to scan the cupboard and Hollow jerked backwards in horror. It wasn’t just the idea of being discovered, he was still sure that he hadn’t been seen. It was…His thoughts kept shattering before they could finish the very impossible thought.
He knew that face. He recognized it. Or, flashes of it, because it refused to add it up to a whole. The dark curls, the angle of their jaw, the tawny skin, the unusual golden eyes. Their mothers’ nose, the same shape as Hollow’s own.
As he edged further into the shadows, his elbow rubbed against the same bag he’d tripped over a few seconds ago. The rustling sound was soft, barely noticeable. Those golden eyes flicked right towards it. Right towards Hollow. His heart skipped a beat as they focused on him and flashed with recognition, then shock. The two stared at each other without moving for several long seconds.
“Hollow?” whispered the thing that looked like Val.
This wasn’t happening, this wasn’t possible.
This wasn’t worth getting caught over.
Whatever had actually happened to Val, whatever this thing was, Hollow would deal with it at another time. He bolted and if something wasn’t between him and his escape, he didn’t care to think about it. He went much quicker now that he didn’t care about knocking things over or making noise.
“Wait!”
Humans’ speed was always surprising, given their size, and Hollow could swear that this thing was even faster. They hopped onto the counter for better reach. Massive shadows danced overhead as they tore apart the contents of the cupboard.
“Woah, hey! What’s hollow? What are you doing?” asked the woman he’d heard earlier.
“There’s someone in there,” they answered as they dragged away a plastic bin that had been just in front of Hollow.
Hollow stopped suddenly, his stomach twisting with dread. They weren’t ripping away pieces of cover at random. They knew where Hollow was going. They knew more about how to get back into the walls of this unit better than Hollow did and they had a good headstart getting to them.
“Hollow, I won’t hurt you. It’s just me,” Val said softly.
They could hardly be just anything if they had figured out how to turn themself into a human, let alone just Val. He didn’t want to know what someone would have to do to become such a monster.
“You know them?” the woman asked.
“We’re siblings,” Val said.
There was a pause.
“They live here too?” the woman asked, sounding guarded.
“Not here-here, no, but closeby. I don’t know what he’s doing here,” Val said. “Hollow, could you please at least answer me? Can we talk?”
Several seconds passed. Hollow felt his throat drying out and swelling shut, he couldn’t imagine what he was supposed to say. The two weren’t close anymore. He didn’t know how he was supposed to reconcile his memory and mental image of timid, fawning Val with the giant standing in the apartment. He grit his teeth and tensed to try and keep himself from trembling.
“Hey, I’m sorry,” Val said.
Too late, Hollow realized that it was a warning.
His stomach lurched as Val’s fingers wrapped around the box behind him. He panicked at the idea of being exposed, at being grabbed again, and rammed the blade of his prosthetic into the nearest finger.
“Ow! I’m not grabbing you, shithead, just the—you don’t have to stab me!” they snapped.
They flinched backwards, yanking Hollow off the stable floor of the shelf before he could manage to free his blade. He smacked against the side of the box as Val knocked it over. He landed against a paper bag that showered him in a cloud of sugar for a few dazed seconds. Val—it wasn’t fair—runty Val had just flung them across a cupboard. Reflexively. His chest tightened as he pushed himself back up to run while they were dealing with their hand.
“He stabbed you? Are you okay? Is he okay? Oh my god, you’re bleeding!”
“No kidding!” they hissed.
Hollow risked a glance back. Val pressed on the wound with their other hand, graciously giving him the space he needed to make it to the hole in the wall and escape. Val took a breath and squeezed their eyes shut for a moment to keep their temper down.
“I’m fine,” they said. “And he’s…shit, stop! Hollow!”
There was a long, defenseless moment when Val could’ve easily grabbed him. That crack in the wall was narrow and it took time to squirm through. His heart hammered in anticipation as he fully expected to feel something clamp down around his legs and pull him back into the light. He flopped safely onto unfinished wood. His heart kept racing as half-expected those massive fingers to try to pry their way into the walls.
He didn’t sit around to wait for that to happen and got up to sprint for the ladder. He stopped to catch his breath once he reached the loft and ended up sinking to the floor in tears as he tried to make sense of what just happened. He had just wanted to make sure Val was safe. He wasn't sure how to answer that now.
The wall of the loft shuddered as something on the other side tapped against the drywall. Hollow slithered in the opposite direction.
Of course.
Of course Val knew where their own damn loft was.
“Look, I don’t know what you're doing here, if you're spying on me or... I get it if you don't want to talk with me like this. Just, don’t tell anyone about this. Please,” Val said.
As if anyone would believe me.
#g/t#gtjuly#gtjuly2023#giant/tiny#gt#giant tiny#gt writing#my writing#stranger swap#oc: hollow#oc: val#oc: phoebe#hhhhh I feel way more anxious posting writing I'm not sure about than visual art I'm not sure about#which is wild because art almost always gets put in front of more eyes#also I hate posting stuff at this time but I want to keep up the streak whoops
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Unedited post in my drafts from July 23 2022:
GT if Goten had gone as intended instead of Pan
Trunks: (maneuvering the ship around asteroids)
Goten: (being dramatic) Wo-wo-WOAH! I told you to take it easy man. I get sea sick..!
Trunks: (takes a hard turn just to piss him off)
Goten: WOAH! I felt that one in my prostate.
Trunks: SERIOUSLY? You're gonna talk about your prostrate when your father is right there, man?
Goten: What? He knows about my prostate. Hey dad you know about my prostate right
Goku: Huh? Your what?
Goten: (not embarrassed at all) Oh it's. It's like, an organ, I think.
Goku: Oh, an organ? What's it do?
Goten: Oh it, uh. It, um. Um. Hey Trunks what does the prostate do
Trunks: SERIOUSLY? I'm not answering that. (Doesnt know the answer)
Goten: (pulling out his phone) I'll ask Gohan he'll know.
Trunks: You're not gonna be able to reach him we're in SPACE (exasperated becasue hes already explained this twice)
Goten's phone screen: first text that says "hey bro do u know what the prostate does ?? I know youve been on an etymology kick lately but maybe u could pull out some anatomy books to help me out."
(Pause)
A responding text that says "Sure!" followed by highly technical jargon
Goten: Oh, I got a response.
Trunks: WHAT ?
Goten: Man I cant parse any of this. He should know better than to talk to me like I know shit
Trunks: WHAT ?
Goku: Oh you got Gohan on the phone? Hey, ask him how Chi-Chi is doing. Ask if she'll make a big dinner for us when we get home (swinging his feet excitedly)
Trunks: WHAT ?
#dballz posting#Trunks is like ''he literally cant text back he wont even get your message like physically like scientifically''#and goten is like ''no he always gets back to me he's good for it''
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