Orchid Mantis

[whitecrow10]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

It’s my birthday, but yall get the gift!! It’s an early update!! Chapter 43 is live!!

Keep reading

[whitecrow10]

Mandragora Chapter 43 Preview

Here’s the sneak peek for the upcoming interrogation in next week’s chapter!

Grunt crossed the room and took a seat opposite of the trio, keeping the same serious expression he had worn earlier.

He placed the folder on the table and started flipping through it, looking at document after document and photograph after photograph. They sat there in silence as he leafed through the folder. The atmosphere was tense as they waited for him to say something. This was all a game—he was trying to get them to crack under the pressure, make them so nervous that they would say anything. Erwin was almost relieved that Grunt hadn’t seemed to learn anything from their last meeting.

After a couple more minutes of silence, Grunt sighed and closed the folder, looking at the three of them with steely gray eyes.

“Alright,” he said, his voice gruff. “Who would like to start?”

Erwin cleared his throat, shifting in his seat as he let go of Alice and Caleb’s hands. “I will.”

“So now you’re willing to talk,” Grunt huffed. “Or are you going to pull more of that lawyer shit?”

“No, no lawyer shit,” Erwin said. “I’ll tell you everything.”

Alice turned to him in surprise. “Wait, Erwin—!”

“It’s okay,” he said, meeting her eyes. He gave her a look that he hoped said “I know what I’m doing.” The message must have been clear because she settled down, a sober look crossing her face. Caleb reached over and placed a hand on Erwin’s knee, encouraging him to go on. Erwin looked back at the General. “We came here to kill Her—the plant.”

[orchidmantis-studio]

J̷̧̨͈͎̜͝Ỡ̵͎̞̞̓̇̀͋̓̃̈́̄̈́̚͠I̴̡̛̠̬̱͈̫͙̅͛́̌̃͌̒̾͘͘N̸͎͈̠̘͇̺̫̗̲͔̭̩͙͔̒̏̃̆̀͒̽͒̏̔̐͝͝͠ ̴̢̛̟̮̱̓͑͋̍̉̕̚Ů̵̡̫̠͗̀̓͝S̷̠̞̦̤̱͈̲̮̖̮̠̅̽͆̋ ̴̢̝͖̳͔̦͇̺͎̙͚̌́̓̐I̴͎͔̰̜̗̦͚͔̮͑̌N̵̨̧̢̡̜̩̝͙͓̬͔̯̟͎͈̑̆̄́̉͑́̋͗̓̃̍̋͘͝ ̸̨̙͖͓̦̠̤̩̝̰̞̦̌͆̆̏͐̿̋̋́̑̍͘Ṯ̵̫̪̦͇̮̫͎̯͕̩̤̭͉̋̊̽̓̋̃̒̚H̶͇̠͓̠̳͎̼̖͔̜͉͙͆̒ͅȨ̵̨͖͔̼͚̝̤͉̻͂̌̎̂̌͛́̀͘͠͝͝ ̴͇̙̐̒̌C̶̢͍̤̱̥̘̦͊̈́̀̌̿̀̽̀̋͆R̴̯̣̲͓͒̊̐̍͋̏͐͊̀̍̊̕̚Ḁ̶̬̯̼̙̜̱̬̖̱̩̹͇̌̋Ţ̵̢̪̜̟̟͚̗̩̣̅̐̂Ȩ̶͔̩͔̮̹͈̜̤̟̎̎̓̚͜R̴̛͇̰̳͔̓̓̊̓͋̀̂͊̚͘͠

Some possessed Erwin from @whitecrow10 ‘s fic “Mandragora.” Art by @chikao-art

[orchidmantis-studio]

J̷̧̨͈͎̜͝Ỡ̵͎̞̞̓̇̀͋̓̃̈́̄̈́̚͠I̴̡̛̠̬̱͈̫͙̅͛́̌̃͌̒̾͘͘N̸͎͈̠̘͇̺̫̗̲͔̭̩͙͔̒̏̃̆̀͒̽͒̏̔̐͝͝͠ ̴̢̛̟̮̱̓͑͋̍̉̕̚Ů̵̡̫̠͗̀̓͝S̷̠̞̦̤̱͈̲̮̖̮̠̅̽͆̋ ̴̢̝͖̳͔̦͇̺͎̙͚̌́̓̐I̴͎͔̰̜̗̦͚͔̮͑̌N̵̨̧̢̡̜̩̝͙͓̬͔̯̟͎͈̑̆̄́̉͑́̋͗̓̃̍̋͘͝ ̸̨̙͖͓̦̠̤̩̝̰̞̦̌͆̆̏͐̿̋̋́̑̍͘Ṯ̵̫̪̦͇̮̫͎̯͕̩̤̭͉̋̊̽̓̋̃̒̚H̶͇̠͓̠̳͎̼̖͔̜͉͙͆̒ͅȨ̵̨͖͔̼͚̝̤͉̻͂̌̎̂̌͛́̀͘͠͝͝ ̴͇̙̐̒̌C̶̢͍̤̱̥̘̦͊̈́̀̌̿̀̽̀̋͆R̴̯̣̲͓͒̊̐̍͋̏͐͊̀̍̊̕̚Ḁ̶̬̯̼̙̜̱̬̖̱̩̹͇̌̋Ţ̵̢̪̜̟̟͚̗̩̣̅̐̂Ȩ̶͔̩͔̮̹͈̜̤̟̎̎̓̚͜R̴̛͇̰̳͔̓̓̊̓͋̀̂͊̚͘͠

Some possessed Erwin from @whitecrow10 ‘s fic “Mandragora.” Art by @chikao-art

[whitecrow10]

Mandragora Chapter 42 Preview

Here is the sneak peek for next week’s chapter! Now we get back to our heroes!

When Erwin woke again, he was being cradled in Caleb’s arms.

His eyes slowly slid open and immediately focused on Caleb’s worried face. Even though his mind was foggy, his face stung, and his body ached, he felt nothing but relief in that moment.

“Erwin?” Caleb asked and Erwin nearly broke at the sound. Caleb was real—this was all real. He was back.

“It’s me,” Erwin croaked out. His throat ached—probably from all of the screaming the Mother had been doing. “I’m still me.”

“It’s you,” Caleb said, his voice heavy with relief. “Thank god.”

Caleb pulled him close, wrapping his arms tighter around Erwin. Erwin quickly returned the embrace, holding tightly to the vampire as if he would disappear at any moment. He squeezed his eyes shut as he took in the moment, memorizing every detail from the feeling of the vampire’s rough denim jacket to the faint scent of blood and plant matter clinging to Caleb’s being. He let out a long, shuddering breath as he tucked his face into the crook of the vampire’s neck. It was over. It was all finally over.

“It’s good to really see you,” he nearly sobbed into Caleb’s neck. The vampire just held him tighter.

[orchidmantis-studio]

Chapter 41 is live!

Chapters: 41/47 Fandom: The Sims (Video Games) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Erwin Pries/Caleb Vatore, Alice Martin & Erwin Pries Characters: Erwin Pries, Caleb Vatore, Alice Martin (The Sims), Leslie Holland, Jess Sigworth, Mark Eggleston, Ted Roswell Additional Tags: Mild Blood, Explicit Sexual Content, Background Relationships, light body horror, Vampires, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, comp het, Themes of Depression/Suicide, Possession, Minor Injuries Summary:

When an accident happens at the Strangerville laboratory, Erwin Pries and Alice Martin find themselves in the middle of a government conspiracy. After finding a potential ally in the mysterious and gorgeous Caleb Vatore, their entire investigation turns upside-down. Can they work together to uncover the roots of the Strangerville mystery? Updates every Tuesday after 6:30 pm MDT.

[orchidmantis-studio]

Battle-ready Caleb! Bro’s really been through the wringer by this point…

Art by @chikao-art

[orchidmantis-studio]

“Just remember til you’re home again, you belong to me.”

A scene from @whitecrow10 ‘s fic “Mandragora.” Art by @chikao-art

[orchidmantis-studio]

Erwin’s battle-ready look for fighting the Mother

Close up on rat boy under the cut

This is the face of a man that has not slept and is surviving off of sex and coffee alone

Art by @chikao-art

Read the fic here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/72093436/chapters/187675636

[orchidmantis-studio]

Just girly things~ ☺️🌸🌈

Alice’s battle-ready look (Spoiler joke under the cut)

She’s canonically killed a man ❤️

Art by @chikao-art

[whitecrow10]

Mandragora Chapter 40 Preview!

A quick look at next week’s chapter! What’s Erwin been up to?

Erwin turned the filter over in his hands as he looked it over.

“I think this will work. We’ll need to test it a few times to be sure.” He sighed and put the filter down on his desk, rubbing his eyes. “God, I hope this works.”

“You’ll get it figured out,” Caleb said from behind him, his arms looping around Erwin’s shoulders. He nuzzled his face into Erwin’s shoulder and gave him a quick peck on cheek. “Take a break, babe. Don’t burn yourself out.”

“But I’m so good at it,” Erwin said and gave his boyfriend a wry smile, one hand coming up to rest on the vampire’s forearm. He faced Caleb just enough so that their noses were touching. The other man nuzzled close to him, pressing their foreheads together, and Erwin hummed in contentment. It was perfect—just him and Caleb, alone, with Glen Campbell’s Wichita Lineman playing quietly in the background. He could stay in this moment forever if he could. “Just give me a few more minutes? I think I’m close to done.”

Caleb gave him a smile, leaned in, and kissed him chastely on the lips. “Alright,” he sighed, parting from their embrace. “I won’t wait up for you in bed though.”

[orchidmantis-studio]

Just girly things~ ☺️🌸🌈

Alice’s battle-ready look (Spoiler joke under the cut)

She’s canonically killed a man ❤️

Art by @chikao-art

[whitecrow10]

Mandragora Chapter 39- Preview!

A sneak peek of next week’s chapter! Things are getting dire for our team. Please do not read before reading chapter 38! Spoilers abound!

Caleb ducked back down into the rubble, safely tucked away from the Mother’s eyes.

He hated to admit it, but She was right—they were bound to come to blows with Her, it was just a matter of time. They just needed a plan.

“Everyone okay?” he asked, turning to Jess and Alice. They gave him muted yet positive responses.

They had managed to reconvene after the Mother had turned the entire lab upside-down. Thanks to Caleb’s speed and quick thinking, he was able to get both of the women out of the way of the Mother’s attacks, only sustaining a few scrapes and bruises.

“Is She really just going to wait out there?” Alice asked.

“Sounds like it,” Jess huffed.

“I wouldn’t bet on it lasting for long,” Caleb sighed. “If we sit tight for long enough, She’s bound to get bored and start digging for us.”

Alice blanched. “What do we do?”

Caleb wracked his brain for ideas but came up with nothing. Erwin had been their planner, the one with the bright ideas and the will to take gutsy risks. Without him, they were in a tough spot. Alice and Jess were ordinary people that couldn’t hope to stand up to a threat like the Mother, even with Alice armed. Caleb himself was running on fumes—he had taken quite the beating from Roswell and the Mother wasn’t going to let up on him anytime soon. If he gathered all of his strength, he could push on, but not for much longer.

“I hate to say it, but…” Jess spoke up. “I think we should consider more permanent solutions.”

[orchidmantis-studio]

Erwin’s battle-ready look for fighting the Mother

Close up on rat boy under the cut

This is the face of a man that has not slept and is surviving off of sex and coffee alone

Art by @chikao-art

Read the fic here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/72093436/chapters/187675636

[orchidmantis-studio]

“Just remember til you’re home again, you belong to me.”

A scene from @whitecrow10 ‘s fic “Mandragora.” Art by @chikao-art

[whitecrow10]

Mandragora Chapter 38- Preview

Here’s the sneak peek of next week’s chapter! Please read this week’s first before you read this! Spoilers abound.

Caleb should have been able to stop it, to get Erwin out of harm’s way but it had happened so fast. Now, the Mother was safely ensconced behind a barrier of alien vines, preparing to take Her new host. That couldn’t happen—She couldn’t have Erwin, not as long as Caleb was above ground.

“Oh my god,” Alice gasped from behind him. “What is that?”

Caleb looked up at the large mass of vines that had formed in front of them. The azure vines were wound tightly together, forming an alien cone-like structure. He could just make out their slight movements, slithering against each other like a mound of snakes. Seeing them shoot through the floor had been horrifying to watch, but he couldn’t let that bother him. All he had to worry about was how he was going to get through.

“Whatever it is, I’m getting him out of there.”

“How do you plan on doing that?” Jess asked.

Alice hefted her cannon—the formula that was left in it swished around dismally. “Could this stuff burn through it?”

“I doubt we have enough left,” Jess noted, lifting her cannon. It made a sad sloshing sound. “That barrier looks thick. Even with extras we have, I doubt it would be enough.” She shot a quizzical look at Caleb. “What happened to yours?”

“She crushed it, but that doesn’t matter,” Caleb said, shaking his head. “I’ll get us in.”

Jess blinked at him. “Again, how?”

“Tearing a hole right through it to start with.”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” a familiar voice rang out.

[orchidmantis-studio]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Chapter 37 is live!!