#I really like the idea of flora not being able to work with her wild for the sole reason that he isn't aware

[wayfayrr]

The Menace Anon is back but with a Self Aware ask because I got an idea as I tried to mod my Switch. How about that Zelda is aware in the Game? There is already Zelda's Ballade a Mod for BotW so Zelda replaced Link/ Wild. So what about Zelda being the one who is aware and works together with her Link as in Age of Calamity it's possible to play as Zelda. And now there are two Zeldas and maybe one Link/Calamity as he is probably aware of Reader with all the DLCs and if Reader is anything like me they get 100%. I did that to BotW and am working on it in TotK. Zelda would be extremely clingy especially Flora, BotW Zelda, as she lost everyone who is important to her. Maybe she gets Wild to help her. Fauna and Calamity have Terrako and this little thing shoots through the screen with his laser. TAKE COVER READER!

this is gonna be a funny thing to answer as someone who isn't the fondest of zelda in botw/totk (she had the potential to be really good I just don't vibe with how she was written lmao - so many missed opportunities)

but that also has the potential of introducing the fact of what if you didn't like the characters story when they were aware - because that would be awful for her wouldn't it?

she loves you more than anything but because of the way her story was written you don't like her? Even going as far as to apologise to link about what he got put through in the story? so she's stuck hearing you give him your pity as she's trying her HARDEST to get you to see her in another light, while link is either looking on smugly at your blatant favouritism or staring on blankly as he is simply a puppet of the game who isn't even alive either one being a good spark to why she'd be more willing to work with the aoc pair.

I think they'd have more potential to work together in aoc as compared to either botw/totk (also time to give cal some time in the spotlight like you mentioned) seeing as he has the most "history" with zelda, whereas wild/tears have no incentive to (they're the only playable character so what does she have on them?)

Zelda from her actions alone at the opening also seems to be more reckless in her safety than link, so her hopping into another game earlier than when she'd have a good grasp on how to do it without many issues seems in character for her. hence, now there's two different zeldas in your aoc file? That shouldn't be something that happens right? you've watched the cutscene many times and she never appeared with the other botw characters - so why is she here now? But the other members seem to acknowledge her so maybe you're just misremembering? They'll make sure to keep a note of anyone who might try to convince you otherwise as well.

when the three of them finally do get out - and probably after apologising for scorching a wall or something, then they have the perfect place to start winning you over properly <3 trying to prove to you that they're more than simply the character that Nintendo wrote them as, that you should give them a chance to show you how much they care for you!!!

just, just don't choose link over them, else you may not see much of him anymore - as while they can work together, they aren't exactly willing to work with a threat, but as long as you treat them equally there's no issue right?

[sapphicseasapphire]

Thoughts to ponder.

Tears of the Kingdom spoilers (and lots of rambles) under the cut

When I started the Chain as Cryptids au, I didn’t really think I’d be able to work Tears of the Kingdom in, seeing how much I had changed Wild’s story. He’s a spirit with no memory of the Hylian he once was. He’s a force to be reckoned with but can be easily spooked- much like a wild animal. He avoids Flora like the plague since she’s his connection to the life he used to have. The life that isn’t his anymore.

But then… I had an idea. Flora would be desperate to find her Link again after discovering that he’s still alive (or… not really alive. Not quite a Poe but not quite a Hylian either). Regardless, after the events of Breath of the Wild, she’d start a search party and scour every corner of Hyrule to find him.

She never would. When spirits don’t want to be seen, they aren’t. But… this whole time, I imagined that Korok Forest acted as a sort of home base for Wild. Wild cannot speak verbally but can communicate telepathically with other spirits and spiritual beings. The Koroks and Blupees would be like siblings to him, the Deku Tree being like a parental figure since he basically started life over when he died. (Two Links raised by the Great Deku Tree. He and Time can bond over that later).

ANYWAY. Wild used the Master Sword for about half of the events of Breath of the Wild. But when it would need to recharge, he’d place it back in the pedestal in Korok Forest where it could become stronger under the watchful gaze of the Great Deku Tree. Then he’d be off, never staying in one place for too long, wandering the sandy shores of Necluda or the lava banks of Eldin.

This pattern would stay in place for years after the defeat of Calamity Ganon: Wild stopping at Korok Forest to reunite with his family and let the Master Sword heal and then disappearing into the wilds once more. And over the years, Flora’s search party would shrink until it was just her scouring the continent for her missing knight. Okay, yeah, maybe she’s a little desperate, but she can’t bear the thought of him alone out there. Not when he died because of her. Not when he’s all she has left.

And… when the Master Sword is recharging, that’s when Flora would finally take her search to Korok Forest. She finds the sacred blade but her knight is nowhere to be seen. The Deku Tree allows her to take it, urging her onward, warning her that eventually, she’ll have to use it. She heeds his wisdom, pulling the sword from her resting place and securing it on her back. Then she begins her search anew.

She doesn’t find him.

She trains with the Master Sword while she travels Hyrule. She starts to rebuild. She gets to know her people. And from the cover of countless trees and stone, a certain spirit watches her and his sword.

During her travels, Flora encounters a strange red-black mist that makes her people ill. They call it ‘gloom.’ And, what’s worse, it seems to pour out from under Hyrule Castle. The castle has laid untouched for years now, ever since the Calamity was sealed away and she set out on her search. But now, it would seem that she’s needed once more at the site of her greatest battle. The subject of her nightmares. The place where she los the last piece of her home.

Without her knight at her side, she makes her way to the forgotten foundation of her old life. She’s alone when she travels through the caverns, alone when she follows the melancholy most past murals and carvings that she itches to explore. Flora is alone when the Master Sword glows in warning. Alone when she battles monsters waiting for her in the depths.

The princess is all alone when she discovers a mysterious mummy being held in place by a single glowing arm. She watches as the appendage falls away, a stone falling to the rocky ground with an unassuming click. As she reaches to pick it up, the corpse reanimates. It stands tall, more alert and aware than any Gibdo she’s seen on her journey, and fixes her with a stare that she’d crumble under. She drops her torch and draws the Master Sword, holding the unfamiliar yet warm stone to her chest, and the mummy laughs at her.

It knows her name.

And it attacks.

Flora is alone when the gloom ravages her arm. She’s alone when the Master Sword is the first to crumble under that pressure. She’s alone when the very ground beneath her gives in to that same pressure.

She’s alone when she falls, pain lacing through her arm and golden light enveloping her.

But Flora is not alone when she wakes.

For the purposes of this au, Flora’s time in the past is going to be very similar to canon. She still meets Rauru and Sonia. Still meets Mineru and the Sages and Ganondorf. She still trains to control her secret stone. However, Rauru fixes her arm almost as soon as she arrives in this strange world. He doesn’t give her his, not like he does for Link in TOTK, since he needs it to seal Ganondorf away. But he and Mineru work together to combine construct parts and their own light and spirit magic to make her new muscles and machinery to aid in moving her own ruined arm.

The Imprisoning War is the same.

Sonia dies. Rauru sacrifices himself. And she still has no idea how to get home. How to heal the Master Sword and destroy Ganondorf in her own time. She still speaks with Mineru… and she comes to the same conclusion that she did in canon. This time, though, she’s taking much more of a risk. She can survive the centuries as a dragon, she can heal the sword. But she can’t be sure that her Link will be there to take it and finish things. She hasn’t even seen him in years.

… she doesn’t have a choice.

From Wild’s perspective, it happened in moments. He blinked and suddenly there were islands floating in his skies. Hyrule Castle floats ominously, red plumes of gloom branching out from underneath. Massive sinkholes give way to more of the poison, seeming to drop forever. His forests are ravaged once again, the climate in corners of the continent changing drastically.

And the princess he’d been following is gone.

While trying to get a grasp of what changed so suddenly, he figures out a way up to the Sky Islands. And to his surprise, he discovers a new dragon.

Now, Wild is familiar with all of the dragons in Hyrule. Farosh, Naydra, and Dinraal are just on the threshold of Spirit and Mortal, but they definitely qualify as spiritual beings. Meaning that Wild can speak telepathically to them. Their thoughts are always muddy and jumbled up, so he never gets much out of conversing with them. But he can tell that they enjoy his presence. So he rides with them in the skies of Hyrule for hours at a time.

This new dragon is smaller than the three he knows and flies much higher. Its ears are shorter, hair golden, eyes stunning. Instead of six legs, this one only has five. A scarred stump at its front and a glowing object on- no in- its poor head. Wild makes his way over as fast as he can, desperate to learn more about the beast.

The new dragon’s thoughts are just as jumbled up as he’s used to but he’s caught off guard by how miserable it feels. No. She. How miserable she feels. Wild places a glowing hand on her snout and tries to calm her, but it’s no use. Her thoughts may be chaotic and disorganized, but he senses her distress. She wants- sword. Knight. Link Link Link. You must find me, you have to save them all!

Wild takes the Master Sword from where it was buried in the dragon’s golden mane and is nearly thrown off by her shock at the action. But when his sword is once again in his capable hands, he feels an overwhelming gratitude from the dragon. It’s gone as soon as it came, replaced again by misery. Dread. Grief.

During the events of Breath of the Wild, Wild did not fight to save Zelda. He did not fight to save Hyrule. He fought for the land. For his fellow spirits that were being destroyed by malice. For the forests that were burned down by guardians. For the water that was poisoned by monsters. He defeated Calamity Ganon for his family.

He fights Ganondorf for the same reason. Except… maybe this time, he’s extra motivated by that strange new dragon. She seemed… so sad…

THIS IS GETTING WAY TOO LONG. But suffice to say that after the events of Tears of the Kingdom, Flora does not 100% recover from being a dragon. She keeps her telepathic connection to Wild and her immortality. She keeps her horns and scales and SHE gets the Master Sword. She’s a Cryptid as well, and she’s closer to Wild than she ever was.

. . .

Uhhhhh that was super long I apologize. But rambling like this is so much easier than trying to be coherent and careful when I write. I might to it more often if you think it’s legible haha. Feel free to ask questions haha, I love any excuse to talk about my Cryptid boys and their relationships with people in their worlds.

Wild’s Origin!

[oddeyevibes]

Some Trix headcanons (with extra witch stuff)

I think it’s dumb for witches to be seen as too deceitful to be able to work with each other. So I headcanon witches just say that to make themselves seem scarier to fairies. Like of course they would make covens all the time, the ancestral witches were a powerful coven and ideally most witches go to Cloud Tower with the intent of graduating with their new found sisters.

I especially think they would have covens as a way to compete with the power of fairies who wouldn’t really need to make them since so much of the magic dimension empowers them while witches would probably have to thrive off of more negative forces.

That being said, Witches & Fairies exist on a more yin and yang type of spectrum. I can see every fairy having a witch that acts as an opposite. You can’t have a light fairy without a witch of darkness. Can’t have a fire fairy without a witch of ice. Or even something like you can’t have a fairy of polyester without a witch of silk lol.

There has to be a school that teaches both witches and fairies. I imagine whoever runs it wishes to create a more hospitable relationship between the two groups.

There are places where witches aren’t stigmatized which is why you don’t so many in places like Magix outside of the Cloud Tower staff and students.

—————

Ok now Trix centered ones.

I think it’d be interesting for Stormy to be from Linphea. Since the weather plays a huge part in the growth of plant life. I always saw her as Flora’s opposite. With Flora representing the beauty of nature and Stormy representing its wrath. And it goes with my whole idea of Fairies being stronger alone because Flora’s domain is so much of nature and plant life while Stormy is really in control of one form of weather.

I would imagine Stormy is from a part of Linphea where weather magic users are more common even fairies of weather but they’re less passive than the folks where Flora lives. Like you’ll have fairies and witches that symbolize things like controlled fires, wild fires and storms which is where Stormy would come in but she’s just more akin to a pyromaniac as she likes the destruction storms can cause.

I also headcanon Darcy is from Solaria but she is from the part heavily influenced by the Moon. Because I do think it’s interesting how both Darcy and Stella are kind of like the free birds of their groups because Darcy always have goth hippy vibes. So I imagine it’s a Solaria thing. So being from the Moon region of Solaria, Darcy’s powers are not just darkness but also illusions.

Imagine this being how the Trix initially learn about the ring of Solaria where Darcy casually mentions royal family heirlooms and they mistakenly believe it might hold the Dragon’s Flame. But I also think when Stella is kidnapped in the first season it’s because Darcy would know especially how to manipulate a fellow Solarian since she would probably have experience.

The Trix would sabotage other budding covens in Cloud Tower because they felt it challenged their rule as the Queen Bees of the school.

Darcy wasn’t AS mean alone as when she’s with the others because she was normally reading or training with her magic. But trying to interrupt her or brown nose while she’s enjoying her solitude will make her emotionally DESTROY you and god help you if she tells Icy and Stormy.

Icy used to get bullied hard as a freshmen because she was more like Marta which is what really changed her.

In general, all three of them were loners (not by choice) because their personalities never meshed well with the other witches. Icy wasnt as mean, Darcy was more of a live and let live person, and Stormy was considered TOO much. Each were bullied and singled out and thats how they gravitated towards each other.

Icy is the only one who’s heterosexual. I imagine in places like Solaria and Linphea, sexuality and gender isn’t as strict or overtly labeled and folks just do whatever they want. So both Darcy and Stormy never THOUGHT to be committed to the opposite gender in a way Icy probably had to as a princess that would’ve been expected to produce heirs.

I think largely, Icy is very disciplined because of her upbringing. Which is why she clashes with other witches as a freshmen because they were more chaotic. Especially since there aren’t many other royal witches who she can relate to.

I don’t like the idea that Icy never told Darcy and Stormy about her past because by then we see that the Trix are there for each other no matter what. So I headcanon that Icy tells them sometime during their 2nd or 3rd year and they actually console her and promise to keep her secret.

I think it works to showcase the Trix have Just as much a strong bond as the Winx as their rivals. Like showcasing that there can be strong bonds in the light (Winx) and in the Darkness (Trix). And it subtly showcases how witches and fairies aren’t different. There a group of beings aren’t evil just by existing. They’re evil because of their choices.

Icy might not have started out evil and only set out to become a powerful witch but she realized she liked it. She liked the feeling of control, she like the feeling of controlling the fate of others in the same way the witch that destroyed her family. And so long as she was in control, she’ll never be hurt again. She’ll hurt whoever. Just never her sister. And never her coven sisters…much.

Darcy lived in a commune. I imagine she didn’t really have much. But I also imagine she didn’t really want for much either. She’s an odd one and it’s often surprising for people back home to learn that she turned out so evil. They’ll often be like “THAT Darcy??? Trying to take over Magix?? I mean yeah, she was a little hooligan back in the day but I didn’t think she was THAT evil.”

And Darcy was a hooligan. Like I said before, a free bird. Live and let live. She didn’t want power or wealth or fame per se. Definition of “I just wanna do hood rat shit with my friends”. And you’d think that be mainly Stormy and yeah it is but Darcy is the type to just be like “I’m bored, let’s go bully someone”. It’s hard to describe what her brand of chaos is. She’s kind of like a toned down Lestat in some ways.

The only one who actually like horrors movies is Icy. She’s the type of person to tell you CONSTANTLY how SHE’D survive if she was in those situations and it gets on the others nerves. Darcy is more of a thriller person and Stormy is very predictable in liking action movies and disaster flicks.

Stormy also enjoys nature documentaries. Specifically those about insects from Earth. Her favorites being spiders, Praying Mantises (praying manti??), and Stick Bugs. She likes watching stickbugs dancing.

Darcy also is fond of bugs as seen in season 1. She in particular likes the REALLY creepy crawlies. She misses the army of decay bugs at times.

I wrote so much without realization it but I’ll end it here.

[una-hopeless-romantic1118]

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐕: 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐃𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬?—𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐑𝐨𝐣𝐚𝐬/𝐑𝐡𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐬

a/n: sorry for disappearing :,( I’ve had a pretty shitty life lately and writing has been helping me cope. things are less tense now and i’m able to update so i’m hoping u guys enjoy this MOMMY IS FEEDING YALL

timeline: ep. 3 (right smack in the Christmas scene) - ep. 4. 

PS I WILL BE MAKING ANOTHER CHAPTER. WHY? BC I WANNA SNEAK IN SOME HARDCORE ANGST BC WHAT IS A LOVE STORY WITHOUT ANGST

also bc i feel like the relationship is sped up and rushed and we hate that

Part 1

Part 2  

Part 3

Part 4

This chapter: Part 5

Part 6

Epilogue

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

warnings: as always, not proofread, hornae warren and y/n, some cavity-causing fluff, billy being a dicky dick, 

summary:

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

•─────⋅(cut to documentary)⋅─────•

Eddie: Y/N Augustine was not who I expected to show up that Christmas Eve, with two trays of the best smelling lasagna I’ve ever smelled in my life, and an apologetic smile.

Why did she look apologetic? I don’t know, maybe it had something to do with the fact that as soon as she walked in, Warren was behind her? They were, like, 3 hours late.

Karen: Y/N is always on time. Whatever it is, doesn’t matter. For someone as fashionable as her, she manages to always arrive on time in the most gorgeous outfits I’ve ever seen. 

She was still gorgeous that night, of course, but she was late, and she had a sort of...sleazy smile. Of course everyone assumed the same thing.

But 3 hours late? *she rolled her eyes* I mean, fuckin’. hell. 

Camilla: When I first talked to the Y/N Augustine, I remember almost dropping you *she laughs* I was a major fan of her work, and still am. I really wasn’t expecting her on the phone when she called a few months before.

I asked who she was, being so forward on the phone about asking for my vest size when I didn’t order anything. I explained who I was, and introduced myself as Billy Dunne’s wife, and that I didn’t order a vest from this woman.

She was silent on the phone for a while, and came back introducing herself saying her name casually as if she wasn’t an important person. She said that she had no idea who Billy was, and that she was only familiar with a Warren Rojas, who she owed an order.

I found myself wondering how Warren managed to get a fashion designer to owe him a piece of her work...*she shrugs*

After freaking out to myself while I got his vest size, I didn’t bother passing the phone to him. And why would I? I wasn’t going to pass the chance to talk to one of my idols. And she didn’t seem to mind either.

I believe we went from talking about California, to the beaches, the majestic golden hour that shined through our windowsills at the same time, to you, even. She heard you crying through the phone.

And when I finally met her in person that night on Christmas, she was as lovely and funny. She gave every one of us presents, including you, and bothered to make us homemade food. I was so happy for Warren, but there were so many gaps as to how they even met.

•─────⋅(cut back)⋅─────• 

“How did it go. Really,” Camilla insisted with a pleading tone. “How did you two meet?”

“Oh boy,” Karen mused, drinking her beer.

Y/N gave her friend beside her a pointed glare. “We met at a yacht party.”

Eddie leaned forward. “S-So is your name really Flora? Were you born ‘Flora?…” 

“Flora...?” Camilla commented, lost, looking back and forth between Eddie and Y/N.

•─────⋅(cut to documentary)⋅─────•

Graham: She was so sweet about it, when me and Eddie went back and forth trying to connect the dots, which made it even more embarrassing. 

I guess it didn’t really make sense to me at the time. Why and how someone proper and prim like her managed to wind up with Warren, the wild one of the group. 

If I really considered the times he came late for practice, or left early, or that whenever he left to “work” at the boats, I think I could’ve gotten to the conclusion that he was smitten for this woman a lot earlier. 

•─────⋅(cut back)⋅─────•

“That’s pretty smart right there,” Eddie chuckled at Y/N’s recall of fooling Warren. “I am very impressed.”

Y/N shrugs humbly, obviously as a joke. Warren knew she would forever tell this tale for however long she lived. Meanwhile, he’s just glad to be part of it and getting her at the end of it.

It seems that in their almost month-long relationship, the two have managed a healthy and surprisingly well schedule to meet up. With Y/N’s new projects and the band’s practices, they meet three times a week. Sometimes four, or more, depending on Warren’s libido that Y/N’s compared to a rabbit’s.

Though, it’s not like she can’t complain.

Apart from that though, Warren never misses the chance to get her something. Mostly jewelry boxes, jewelry, and take-out food, and when she needed to run an errand, he’d come to her apartment with her much needed rolls of cloths that he paid for, despite sending him off with her money.

•─────⋅(cut to documentary)⋅─────•

Y/N: When Warren and I first started dating, he was always the one coming to my place, never me visiting him over at Laurel Canyon. It was a little suspicious at first, so when I told him what I thought, y’know what he said?

He said, with the biggest grin on, “I wanna make a show out of it” and went to sleep after saying that. I never knew what he meant until that Christmas.

•─────⋅(cut back)⋅─────•

That night, he did indeed showcase his lover to his friends. Every question asked by Camilla or Billy or Eddie about her career he knew the answers to. 

Where were you raised? Here in California up until she was 10, lived in France until she was 22 and moved back here to start Serenity. Sexiest French accent ever, even better when she’s muttering phrases under her breath stressfully.

Siblings? Two brothers, one older who hosts a foster home with his wife, one younger who just started a professional boxing career following their father’s footsteps. Three stepsisters who are all younger than her from her step-mom’s side, all of who are just now convinced their sister is famous for dating a rockstar drummer.

Favorite part about putting together designs? She finds satisfaction in piecing them together, and how she gets lost in sketching to the point that she doesn’t realize how long she’s been working.

Favorite song ever?  She’ll say something everyone else says: Dreams by Fleetwood Mac. It is a good song, but it’s not a favorite song ever, because in reality it’s something old, specifically, Stand By Me by Ben E. King. She doesn’t like admitting this to other people for fear of being called a sappy romantic.

She is, in fact, a sappy romantic, and Warren doesn’t miss the chance to taunt her about it. The bedside table full of romance books that he's tried to read, but for the love of everything good he cannot sit still and read.

What he doesn't mind doing, however, is sit still to watch another invest in her books with focused, determined brows, and the occasional squealing after reaching a certain point in the book.

He's got her memorized so well, even Y/N's surprised that the things and habits she's kept to herself, he notices like she leaves it out in the open under the sun.

At the thought, she rests her head on his shoulder with a proud grin. And Warren responds with a peck at the top of her head.

While listening to an ecstatic Eddie share a story, something against Y/N’s lower back began to grow.

She holds in every fiber in her body to refrain them from giggling.

“Shame on you.” She sarcastically spat in his ear.

He frowns down at her. “Huh?”

Y/N widens her eyes and makes a pointed glare down to his erection.

There was a short reaction of shock. “Shame me? Shame on you.” Warren took note of this. It’s happened way too many times now, and he’s lost awareness of what turns him on. “Thanks to you, I don’t have control over my body functions anymore.”

“I didn’t do anything!” She whisper shouted.

“You’re just way too hot and good,” he groaned. “I can't wait to get home."

Y/N sighed into his shoulder helplessly. Home. Their condo, together.

“I love the way you smell,” he whispered, as he always does whenever near her. But no matter how many times he’s sniffed her or said that, he still doesn’t know exactly what she smells like. He figured it was sweet, of course, but it didn’t shoot up his nose too strongly. It wasn’t fruity either, or so he figured she's just her own scent. Natural.

"Thanks." She smiled up at him. "It’s the French brand. It lasts longer on me.”

"No, I think it's just you."

She looks up at him through furrowed eyebrows. "Nobody can just smell nice naturally."

He shrugs. "Well, I dunno what smell it is." He twirls her hair. “It can’t be on a title of a perfume brand.”

She shook his chin playfully. “Pay attention to the conversation, playboy.” 

He can’t. How could he?

It’s only been a month, but a month of what Warren already knew was pure and genuine. Y/N could do no wrong to him, and vice versa. They were good for each other.

The soft, buttery gliding up and down on his arm is what Warren can determine with his eyes closed; the softness of Y/N's fingers. The arm wresting on her chest as she leans on his front—it was only natural for Y/N to caress.

And as a response, another peck to her head.

•─────⋅(cut to the documentary)⋅─────•

Daisy: I’ve never been a fashion fanatic, but Y/N’s work spoke to me. She was a true artist, y’know? She knew what she was doing, and she is really fucking good at it. She didn’t just throw it a bunch of cloth and called it a day, the woman directed her creativity to the art every single time. And I recognized that.

Imagine my surprise when I see her at a house party I was also invited to.

•─────⋅(cut back)⋅─────•

Daisy arrives at the Dunnes’ place, already making a fool of herself by absentmindedly dropping the bottle of wine that she technically stole, but still.

Not to mention, she had an audience, their faces were clouded by the smoke she just blew out, and not to mention, it was dark.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about it.” In her voice, Daisy can tell she spoke with a smile. “They have too much fun, they’ll need the fruit. Nutritional values.”

She emerged from the shadows with, indeed, a smile that warms the heart. But a recognizable face that she’s seen on televised interviews and small pictures of beside the designs she eyes enviously on the magazines.

“Holy shit...holy shit!” Her hands went up to the sides of her head. “Holy fucking shit! Hi! Oh my goodness...”

“Daisy Jones you’ve been in radios in everywhere I’ve been today,” she chuckled humbly. “I can ensure you I’m a bigger fan.”

“I’ve seen you in magazines for a lot longer. “ She shook her head in disbelief. “I love you so much.”

But before Y/N escorts her to the rest of the band, she pulls her into a hug.

•─────⋅(cut to the documentary)⋅─────•

Daisy: I’m not much of a hugger. I think, especially considering my relationship with my mother, I couldn’t handle physical touch. Most times I would just be forced into hugging people and I stand there, just like a stiff tree. But something about Y/N, even though I’d never met her before, made me feel so glad that I’m a person she would hug.

I felt really appreciated by this stranger.

While we spent most of the night talking us a group, eventually everyone else started to branch out and talk to others. Warren was clung to her like a lost puppy. God, *shaking her head* never thought a guy like Warren can be sappy. 

They just started dating and I could already see the connection between them. They mutually understood each other on such a level that everyone else around them can just do theirselves a favor and leave them alone.

•─────⋅(cut back)⋅─────•

“My family might visit for the summer,” Y/N smiles against her hand. “I can’t wait. Lils and Hana and Ines are gonna try and talk to you. They’re English is so broken, it’s adorable.”

Warren smiles at her, even as he’s drunkly chugging at his drink. “You ever think about kids? I dunno, someday?” He panicked.

“Yeah. I think about kids.” Y/N vaguely answered to tease him.

He nods slowly. “Ye-Yeah. Me too.”

Y/N smiles innocently, scratching his headful of curls. “Want my kids?”

Warren gave her the deepest kiss as an answer.

taglist (aka beautiful people): @pinkdaiisies @mlwriting5 @teletubbysteroids @linatells @stanzie @arsonkween @rexorangecouny @lisbeth122605 @cultsanrio @thatoneawesomechicka @magicalmiserybore @sourholland @sunfairyy. @lilyhw1 @viridianflowers  @goldenjasssy @eonnyx @coldlamaspersonspy @navs-bhat @nicostars @darkestcinema​ @gr4cel4nd2​

[laughingsour]

Flora and Tetra fic idea.

I’m not really sure I will ever write it. But I wanted to share some ideas I had for a fic in which Flora and Tetra meet each other.

-First the other Zeldas don’t play a big role in this adventure, at least not yet. But it could be considered the beginning of them gathering the Zeldas.

-My full name for Flora is Zelda Archaines Hyrule. From the ancient thinker and inventor Archemides, who’s supposedly the first person to shout “Eureka!”(What do you think?, could I do better or is it a good name?)

-It begins when Flora learns where Wild dissapeared to. That he’s traveling with ancient heroes across time. Being the stubborn girl she is, she decides to try to go find him.

-She eventually finds a way to open her own portals by scanning the ones the Shadow creates with technology from the Sheikah towers and using the black blood to pinpoint the places in time Wild may be in. (She doesn’t realize it yet, but her portals also work because of a combination of the technology and her time magic that she learns to use in TOTK).

-To defend herself in her travels she carries a bow and a prototype version of the Purah Pad that also allows her to open the portals. Unfortunately they are still unable to reliably recreate the runes and so they’re often faulty.

-The rune that allows her to create the portals also takes a lot out of it so she can’t use it repeatedly and has to wait a few days between uses. Any use before then could potentially damage the Pad.

-She and Tetra meet shortly after her first time jump which lands her in Legend’s time. I haven’t figured out the details but I imagine it’s something similar to the first meeting between Vanellope and Ralph in Wreck-it Ralph. With Tetra teasing the hell out of Flora while she trying to retrive her Purah Pad.

-Tetra instantly suspects this “Flora”, as she calls herself, is a Zelda based on what she knows of the situation Wind is in. And her teasing questions are also sublte attempts to get the comfirmation from her. “You’re not from here are you?”

-As for how Tetra got to this time. She decided to chase the Postman to find how he gets across time, she loses him but when she does she realizes she’s not in the Great Sea anymore.

-Tetra of course has her trusty cutlass to fight. And if that is somehow not enough she also carries a pistol.

-Right off the bat Flora and Tetra don’t like each other because of Tetra’s own ill-feelings for the “Zelda” name. And Flora doesn’t care much for Tetra’s seemingly callous and selfish attitude. But they both agree to work together so that they can reach their respective Links.

-Flora actually has a lot of admiration for the Hero of Winds, she knows the legend but not the real story with details. She looks up to him and his Zelda because acording to the legend they were able to rebuild Hyrule when it was destoyed by Ganon, even when the hero himself was not the gods’ first choice. (I go over this in the fic I wrote. For the future: A battle of wills)

-Their anger with each other comes to a head when it’s revealed to Flora that Tetra is another Zelda (and not just a Zelda, but the one from the legend of the Hero of the Winds) and Tetra furiously denies being Zelda and that she never asked to be Zelda. Flora acuses Tetra of being a selfish brat who cares about no one but herself and would never understand the burden of having to fullfill the duties that come with the name.

-They both storm-off absolutely enraged, agreeing that they’ll find a way to their friend by themselves.

-Flora tries to calm herself by sulking by a tree and then by humming to herself Zelda’s Lullaby. It works, until she realizes Tetra is now standing in front of her completly awestruck with tears rolling down her cheek. ”How-how do you know that song?”

-Tetra’s mother used to sing that song for her before she died (I headcannon that she’s the adult timeline’s version of TP’s Zelda and was called Madame Dusk in the Great Sea).

- Flora offers her comfort to Tetra and when she finishes crying she opens up that she never asked to be “Zelda the Princess” either. She confeses that she understands her resentment because she always felt like a failure as a heir to the goddess’ blood. And thoroughly apologizes for what she said to Tetra.

-From then on Tetra and Flora start to get along very well and become great friends. They still get on each other’s nerves but in a more teasing manner than before.

-Flora often has to play diplomat for Tetra and keep her from killing everyone who angers her. But Tetra often pulls them into shenaningas with Flora doing very little to disuade her, when not being a very willing participant. “Oh, why not? We’re not in my Hyrule.”

-They are the epitome of “Getting along like a house on fire, including setting a house on fire”.

- By the time the Links return from chasing the Shadow, Tetra has made peace with the name Zelda and with her heritage. Of course she doesn’t stop calling herself Tetra, but she believes that the Zeldas are awesome.

-Flora in turn calls her and Wild’s daughter in the future Sonia Tetra Hyrule. In honor of the most ferocious and bravest queen to ever sail.

- A couple of other trivia from my headcannons. The people in the great sea hardly know about the Golden Three goddesses or Hylia and instead worship smaller deities like Zelphos and Cyclos. Mainly because having wind is vital in the Great Sea.

-A headcannon I think others have proposed before. But I like to think that different regions in Botw’s Hyrule hold a particular Hero in higher regard than others. I.E- The Hylians in central Hyrule looked up to the heroes of Sky, Time and Twilight. The Rito look up to Wind (Revali was secretly a fan of the legend and the fact that Wind had to earn the right to be a hero played into some of his resentment for Wild). The Goron look up to Hyrule, etc.

[luimagines]

Y’know, I hadn’t really thought it through in that he would remember Reader at all. I usually just use magic as a convenient plot device. But you’re right.

That’s not going to stop me from giving this a happy ending though! And actually I think I like this one better. Thanks, Pinky! :)

Fair warning this is not my best work, but it gets the idea across.

- Reader knows their brother well enough to know that he’s trying to live up to some idea of what they want him to be

- and they’re not having it.

- reader rolls their eyes “your not *my* big brother anyway. Cut it out. Don’t try to be something that you’re not, especially not for my sake.”

- Wild is confused, “but you cried?”

- reader “who wouldn’t? The last time I’d seen my brother was when I freed his spirit after the other four champions. You of all people should know that that’s a very different experience than talking to a living being.”

- “now I’ll repeat. You’re not *my* version of my big brother. Nor will you ever be. Don’t try to fill his shoes because you *cant.*”

- “and I’m not asking you to.”

- Wild can’t decide if he’s hurt or relieved, goes to say something and gets cut off

- “personality is in many ways formed by memories. You are not the person you used to be. And that’s okay. I’m not asking you to try to be him. I’m not even asking to be your sibling if that’s not what you want.”

- “but, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get to know the person that you are now. Identify crisis and all. You’ve been avoiding your Zelda, yeah?

- “how do you know that?”

- “I’ve seen how you’ve been distant with me, guessed it was the same for her. It’s because you’re afraid of disappointing her?”

- “I… yeah.”

- “well lucky you, now you’ve got a test dummy. I knew a version of the previous you, but I’d rather get to know the person you are now than have you keep pretending. The Link I knew is dead, and I’ve made peace with that. And, at the end of this adventure you’ll likely never see me again. What’s the harm in trying to get to know someone who knew you in the past? Get an idea of how she might react to actually getting to know you a second time?”

- “yeah. Okay fine. You win.”

- “good.”

Reader then spends the adventure helping Wild learn that it’s okay to not be the person he used to be. It’s a slow process, but he makes some serious progress and is in a much better place at the end of the adventure than where he started.

Reader then gets to know there’s at least one timeline out there where they were able to help their brother, and Wild gets to return to Flora knowing that there is at least one person in at least one timeline who knew his past and has already accepted him for who he is now — meaning that the same outcome with his Zelda isn’t quite as impossible as he’d thought.

- glitter ✨

Happy to be of service Glitter! :D

Love me some character development.

I don't think that would stop Wild from not only being their big brother anyway but also unlocking his memories where his little sibling was related in anyway. So he gets to have the memories he's struggled to get back after so long. :D

[flowercrown-bard]

Flora and –yikes! - Fauna

pairing: Geralt/Jaskier

word count: 3k

read on AO3

thank you @kitcatkim for letting me use your idea with the two flower crowns <3

summary: Jaskier is making flower crowns, naturally. Too bad no one warned him that bugs like to swarm around flowers

Content warnings: bugs, insects

--- "Geralt, wait!"

Jaskier didn't give Geralt the chance to protest or grab the scruff of Jaskier's neck to keep him in place. As Jaskier ran towards the wildflowers blossoming in a patch next to the road he could practically hear Geralt rolling his eyes in the way he grunted.

"Jaskier, we can't keep stopping every other minute just for you to gather flowers." Despite his words, Jaskier could hear him bring Roach to a halt. "What are you even going to do with them? Don't tell me you spent your last coin on a vase."

Jaskier huffed indignantly but didn't bother turning around to fix Geralt with a glare.

"Of course I didn't. If you please to remember, I used it to buy some more bandages because someone didn't bother to restock before rushing into a hunt."

"I remember," Geralt grumbled but there was something strange in his tone. Something that wasn’t gruff or dismissive at all. Something that might have even been the exact opposite of that. Jaskier couldn't name it but it made his heart skip a beat. "But fine. We can take a break. Roach could use it anyway."

She didn’t. She was stubborn enough to make it known when she wanted or needed to slow down and she had done no such thing since the last time Jaskier had made them stop.

"Make sure she doesn't eat my flowers," he called over his shoulder.

His smile widened as he plucked the most beautiful blue flower and added it to his already impressive collection. Maybe he had gathered too many flowers, but how was he to know how many he needed? He had never done this before. It wasn't as if he could just pluck flowers out of flower pots at Oxenfurt and he would rather not dismay a town's residents by raiding their gardens.

Besides, no garden could grow such beautiful flowers as blossomed on their own in the wild. At least that's what Jaskier hoped Geralt would think. He never seemed to appreciate the carefully cultivated beauty of cities when instead he could have the open road and woods.

Jaskier eyed his flowers critically. Though most of them had differently shaped and shaded blossoms, most of them were blue. Perfect to bring out his eyes. Hopefully. Surely.

Satisfied and a little giddy, Jaskier marched over to Geralt and thrust the flowers into his hand.

"Hold this," he said, fighting the unreasonable blush that crept up his cheeks.

Geralt's brows pinched together in confusion and he looked almost flustered. Still, he didn't hesitate to close his hand around the flower stems, perhaps a little too tightly, as if he was afraid of them falling if he didn't clutch them in a death grip.

"I-Jaskier, what are you-"

"I need both hands to do this," Jaskier explained and began searching for the best flower to begin with. Not that he had any idea what constituted as a perfect starter flower, but as long as he scrutinised the bouquet, he surely looked competent and there was nothing more attractive than a person who knew what they were doing.

Geralt frowned. "And what exactly is it you need both hands for?"

"Why, making a flower crown, of course." Jaskier beamed up at Geralt and randomly pulled a flower out of Geralt's grip to begin. "I mean, really, it's a shame that I haven't thought if this before. But a bard out there in the wilderness without flowers on his head? That's just wasted potential."

Geralt gave an amused hum. "Are you sure you want to put flowers on your head?"

"Absolutely." Jaskier's voice left no room for argument. "I am going to look beautiful with it."

Geralt is going to look at him and think him beautiful.

"What does it matter? There's no one here to impress."

Jaskier's hands faltered and just for a second his eyes darted up to glare Geralt.

"Who says I want to impress anyone?" His voice definitely didn't waver and there was no way to interpret his words as defensive. "Can't I just want to be pretty for the sake of being pretty?"

Geralt grumbled something dismissively. It was wishful thinking, but to Jaskier is almost sounded like "You don't need flower crowns for that."

More to hide his burning face than anything else, Jaskier turned his attention back to the flowers and started weaving - or rather chaotically knotting – them together.

Geralt let him work in silence, but whenever Jaskier glanced up to pull another flower out of the bouquet, he found Geralt's eyes on him. It made his neck feel hot and his chest tight.

Somehow, as if by some miracle, he finished the flower crown. It wasn't stunning by any means, but it was passable. Kind if pretty even. Actually, for a first try it was downright amazing.

Filled with excitement about his craft, Jaskier hopped the crown around his arm so he'd have both of his hands available again and made to work on Geralt's crown.

"Looks like you got too many flowers," Geralt said, lips twitching up.

"Don't be ridiculous." Jaskier rolled his eyes good naturedly and bound some more flowers together. "I'm making a second crown."

"You know Roach will eat the flowers before you'll be able to put them on her head.”

Jaskier's hands froze and his heart jumped into his throat. He had forgotten to ask Geralt if he even wanted a crown. Judging from how he didn't even think about wearing the crown himself, it was quite clear just how much he didn't want it.

Jaskier's eyes went to Roach, silently begging her for help, but the horse was just munching on some grass, giving him an unimpressed and perhaps slightly judgemental look.

"It's not for Roach." Jaskier blurted, thoughts stumbling over each other to find an excuse. "It's for me. They’re both for me. Obviously. Why would I wear just one crown if I could have two and be doubly pretty, am I right?"

He grinned at Geralt in a way that begged please kill me now and let this embarrassment be over. But Geralt didn't grant him that mercy but at least he didn't call him out in his nonsense either. Instead his lips quirked up and he handed Jaskier another flower, unprompted.

While working on the second crown, Jaskier started talking again. One might also say he was rambling. Anything to distract Geralt from the way Jaskier's cheeks were bright red and he was still cursing himself for his stupidity on the inside.

He told Geralt about how he had always wanted to wear flower crowns ever since he had read a story book about a princess with flowers in her hair as a child.

Occasionally, Geralt would grace his tale with a hum or a barely noticeable upwards quirk of his lips.

Jaskier took that as encouragement. He continued to talk about how his sisters used to wear flower crowns when they were young, about how Jaskier had always been envious about how pretty they looked with pink, blue and yellow flowers in on their heads. He reminisced about all the times he gifted flower crowns to his dance partners during Belleteyn and never got any in return.  

More than once it looked as if Geralt was going to open his mouth, but then he always thought better of it and contented himself with listening to Jaskier.

It was only when Jaskier eventually ran out of flower related things to talk about that Geralt spoke up again.

“You’re getting better,” he commented, nodding towards the now finished second crown.

Jaskier’s face lit up but he forced his voice to sound nonchalant and teasing. “Why Geralt, is that a compliment?”

Geralt’s lips twitched. “Don’t let it go to your head.”

“Oh, that’s exactly where it’s going.” Jaskier winked and put both crowns on his head.

He felt a little stupid wearing both of them, but the sheepishness was quickly overshadowed by the giddy excitement of finally making his childhood dream come true.

A small giggle escaped Jaskier and he didn’t care how silly he probably looked; there was just too much joy bubbling up inside him that needed to be released somehow. He twirled and threw his head back laughing. Quickly he realised his mistake, when the crowns threatened to fall off. His hands flew to the flowers to hold them in place.

When he came to a stop, he found Geralt’s eyes fixed on him with an unexpected softness, though he quickly schooled his face into a neutral expression when he caught Jaskier’s eyes. It wasn't fast enough for Jaskier to miss and try how he might, Geralt would never be able to hide such a fond look from Jaskier.

"So?" Jaskier made a point of fiddling with the crowns as if he was righting a fancy little hat. "How do I look?"

Geralt contemplated him a long moment with a complicated expression. "Happy."

Jaskier's moth went dry. The way Geralt had said it made it sound like he meant so much more.

"Geralt-"

He let go of the crowns, but the universe saved – or damned - him from doing something stupid like take Geralt's face in his hands and kiss him. Now that he wasn't holding onto the flower crowns anymore, they immediately fell over his eyes.

Jaskier let out a little noise of surprise that very much wasn't an undignified squeak.

Geralt chuckled and had Jaskier not been squeezing his eyes shut to avoid having leaves poke them, he would have glared at Geralt.

As if was, he found that he couldn't be upset even when Geralt was making fun of his misfortune. Geralt's laugh was too beautiful a sound to ever want him to stop. Especially if Jaskier was the one making him laugh.

"Guess there were too many flowers after all," Geralt said and Jaskier could practically hear his smug smile.

Jaskier tried to lift the crowns, but he couldn't tell where one ended and the other began and he absolutely wasn't going to risk them falling apart because he tugged on the wrong one.

"I just miscalculated a little," Jaskier grumbled, but his own lips were stretched wide grin. "You know you could do the noble thing and save me from my predicament."

Almost immediately he felt the lightest touch on his cheek. For a second, Jaskier's heart sped up at how tenderly Geralt was touching him. But then it hit him.

Even if Geralt ever were to caress his cheek softly, he would not be able to do it that softly. In fact, the touch was so light it almost tickled.

Jaskier furrowed his brows and his heart began racing in earnest for a very different reason.

"Geralt?"

Something buzzed right next to his ear. Something that sounded very big and very crawly.

"Geralt!" Jaskier almost shrieked, but all the reply he got from Geralt the traitor was another laugh.

Another light touch as something landed on his skin, this time on his hands.

Immediately, he pulled them away from the flowers and clutched them protectively against his chest. He needed his hands. He couldn't let some insect sting his fingers.

He wanted to call out for Geralt again, demand that he help him, but the bug on his face chose that moment to crawl closer to his lips.

Jaskier snapped his mouth shut and held his breath.

"Now there's that blessed silence," Geralt teased as if he didn't even notice the danger Jaskier was in.

Mentally, Jaskier took back everything he had thought before. Right now he wanted to wipe away the smirk that undoubtedly was on Geralt's face. And if Geralt didn’t stop laughing, Jaskier was going to write the most scathing song about him, once he could open his mouth again.

Oh gods, but what if keeping his lips pressed together wasn't enough? What if one of those crawling things decided to go up his nose?

The buzzing around his head got louder. More insects landed on him and Jaskier could do nothing but keep his eyes and lips shut and pray none of the insects were dangerous.

He was tense as a bow string and his heart was thumping like a rabbit’s foot hitting the ground.

He could feel tiny legs all over him, could hear nothing but that horrible buzzing. He couldn't stop the whimper that escaped him.

"Jaskier?" All traces of humour were gone from Geralt's voice. In fact, he sounded concerned.

Oh. Oh no. If Geralt was worried, that could only mean that something truly bad was happening. Maybe one of the bugs had a venomous bite. Maybe one of the things on Jaskier's head was the larva of a giant centipede. Maybe one of them was a were-bug and Jaskier would get turned into a disgusting insect himself!

Jaskier wanted to leave. He just wanted to go back to civilisation where he was safe from those tiny monsters. Adventure be damned. Inspiration be damned. Flower crowns be damned. He would be happy if he'd never have to see another insect again. If being pestered by swarms of insects was the prize for walking the Path, Jaskier would not shed a single tear abandoning it. Good riddance.

If only that didn't mean that he'd also lose Geralt...

"Jaskier?" Geralt repeated, softer this time. He sounded closer.

Strangely enough, the touch if the insects disappeared and got replaced by another sense of tickling, but this was one warm and almost glowing. It washed over his skin and spread wider around him. Slowly, the buzzing grew more distant until it disappeared fully.

A warm hand brushed Jaskier's temple and the crowns were pushed back onto the top of his head where they belonged. Well, we're one of them belonged.

Carefully, Jaskier opened his eyes again. He let out a tiny gasp and then his breath got stuck again for a different reason. Geralt was standing surprisingly close to him, their chests almost touching. The hand not occupied with the flower crowns was twisted into an uncomfortable looking shape.

Quen.

A dome of warm golden light surrounded them. Jaskier hadn't known the sign could be used to keep bugs at bay, but as far as he was concerned insects did definitely count as fiendish enemies and he wasn't about to complain about the protection. Especially not since Geralt was looking at him with his brows knitted together in soft worry and his hand left the crowns to caress his cheek instead.

"I take it the story about the princess didn't warn you about the bugs?" Te corner of Geralt's lips twitched into a half-smile.

Jaskier shook his head and swallowed. "No, definitely not." He leaned into Geralt's touch. It was warm and comforting and Jaskier never wanted him to let go again.

Maybe... Maybe if this touch was the reward he got for bravely withstanding the terror of the insects, he could face the bugs again sometimes. Maybe. Perhaps being in nature wasn't too bad if he had Geralt with him.

"There's one thing the story did teach me, though."

"Oh?" Geralt's brows rose a little.

"At the end the hero gets a kiss." Before his bravery or foolishness could leave him, he leaned forward and pressed the softest kiss against Geralt's lips.

He expected the kiss to be over quickly, little more than a brush if lips, but Geralt's hand on his cheek travelled to the back of his head, holding him close.

Jaskier lifted his own hands, burying them into Geralt's hair. Geralt let out a soft sound and then a second hand found its place at the small of Jaskier's back.

Jaskier pulled back, just enough to speak, his lips nearly brushing against Geralt's with every word.

"Geralt, put the damn Quen back." His eyes narrowed. "I am not kissing you with bugs crawling all over me."

"Perhaps you could give one crown to me and share the burden?"

Jaskier drew back suspiciously. "You mean that?" he asked slowly, his insides twisting in excitement. "You would really wear my flower crown?"

Geralt shrugged. "I don't want you to complain about the bugs and the leaves in your hair," he grumbled, but his eyes shone with a fondness that made Jaskier's heart swell. The hand on Jaskier’s back gave a small squeeze and tugged him closer. "And I happen to like my hand right where it is."

Jaskier lifted his chin defiantly, mischief and another, softer emotion lighting up his eyes. "You can pretend not to like my voice all you want, but you just traded your blessed silence for my comfort. I know where your priorities lie."

Geralt hummed quietly, the smile on his lips getting wider and his thumb caressed Jaskier's cheek, coming to rest at the corner of his lips.

"Maybe I don't mind your voice too much when you're talking about something you like. Or when you're singing. Or laughing." He leaned forward, too fast for Jaskier to react and stole a quick peck. "And I prefer keeping you silent by kissing you."

Jaskier rolled his eyes and snorted. "Who knew you could be such a romantic," he deadpanned and shook his head fondly. "Truly, you know how to charm a man with your words."

"It's working isn't it?"

"Perhaps."

With a mental strength Jaskier didn't know he possessed, he let go of Geralt's hair and lifted one of his flower crowns off his head to put it on Geralt's instead.

For a long moment, he just stared at Geralt, admiring him. The colours of the blossoms contrasted beautifully with Geralt's hair. But that wasn't what took Jaskier's breath away. It was the fact that Geralt actually looked happy like this. Happy to be with Jaskier. Happy to make him happy.

"You know" Jaskier said with smug satisfaction as a bug with shimmering green wings landed on Geralt's forehead, "you're lucky I love you more than I hate bugs."

Geralt snorted. "Now who's the romantic?"

Jaskier could have answered with a quip if he wanted to. He most certainly had multiple quick-witted responses to that.

Too bad that he too liked kissing Geralt's words away.

And so that was what he did.

They only broke away again when Geralt's crown fell into his eyes. Jaskier burst out into a well-deserved laugh at Geralt's dumbfounded look. As much as Jaskier liked kissing him, he found that he also rather liked the way Geralt's eyes lit up when he joined the laughter.

He could get used to this. In fact, as he buried his face in Geralt's chest to stifle his giggles and could feel Geralt's heart beneath him, he knew that he could battle any creepy crawlies if it meant that he got to keep this.

---

tag list: @snowfea @diedfromembarrassmentlikeasim @thebloodletter7 @eleos-fawn @palefuckingmeme @irongal21 (sorry for tagging you unasked, but you seemed to like the idea when I posted it a while ago so I figured you might like this too)

[skvaderarts]

Hiraeth Chapter 55: Disclosure

Masterlist can be found Here!

Chapter Fifty-Five: Disclosure

Note: I know you’ve been waiting a long time for the answers, and now you’ve got them. This is the beginning of the end in regards to the secrets surrounding Belial’s Arc and what he hopes to gain. Enjoy… if you can.

(-~-)

It didn’t take long for everyone present in the house to make their way to the living room, especially once it was revealed that information pertaining to them had been unearthed. Despite the fact that Brenowin and Morgan hadn’t known Sirrus for more than about a day, the fact that everyone else seemed to know or otherwise welcome him was really all that it took for them to be willing to at least listen to him. And from what they could tell, he had no compelling reason to lie to them about anything.

Making the executive decision that it was probably best that they all know about what was going on, Dante called Lady and Trish, both of whom were luckily not far away, and seemed to have just finished a job a few hours prior. They agreed to come over and see what was going on despite the fact that it was probably a bit too early for them. They both sounded like they had just woken up when they’d answered the phone. That would surely get him shot in the head later on.

But what was more of a surprise to anyone that knew him was the fact that Vergil had actually made a similar decision. Taking a moment to step aside and make a phone call, Vergil had subsequently disappeared for several minutes to go and fetch Magnolia, something that had gone completely unnoticed until they had come back through the front door together just a short while after. It wasn’t a new notion that Vergil was capable of benign stealthy, but none of them had realized until then that he was able to dip out of a crowded room and just disappear from everyone’s consciousness. Perhaps they had spent too much time actively tuning him out until now? Even Dante hadn’t noticed at the time, more than likely because he’d been talking to Lady on the phone.

Within a few minutes of their return, Lady and Trish came around, and they had brought along Morrison. According to them, they had run into him as they were leaving, the middle man presumably interested in getting in contact with them to offer a job. Or, at the very least curious as to how well the last job they had been on together had gone for them. Dante wouldn’t have been surprised if Morrison had been the one to provide them with whatever work they had been doing lately. He was resourceful like that.

As was Ludwig family tradition at that point, Flora made a fresh pot of tea that everyone was welcome to share. If she was going to sit there and listen to Sirrus talk for goodness knew how long, she wasn’t going to do it without a cup of tea in her hands, especially since Magnolia had brought a tray of macaroons with her when she’d arrived. Vergil’s timing couldn’t have been more perfect, in her opinion.

“Ok, so what’s up?” Nero said nonchalantly as he sat down on the couch next to V. Considering everything that had happened recently, he was pretty sure that nothing Sirrus could say would be particularly shocking to him, and he was hoping that he wouldn’t be proven wrong in that regard. “You said that you had something to tell us?”

Sirrus nodded, watching as everyone settled in and made themselves comfortable. At least he wouldn’t have to worry about repeating himself. The only person who wasn’t there was Nico, but it would have taken several hours for her to reach their location. Or perhaps it wouldn’t, considering her driving skills... 

“First, I’d like to start by making it clear that I have obtained some of this information from Aluta and Willow, so if you’d like more in-depth information, you will have to contact them. I’m just the messenger in that regard.”

Various members of the team either shrugged or nodded in response, silently indicating that they would like for him to continue. He leaned back against the corner of the wall nearest to the window, the warmth from the fireplace licking his subconscious as he tuned its presence out, for the most part, noting its existence, but not sparing much in the way of attention to it. He drew a long breath before proceeding, sure that he was about to ruin several people’s day in the process. Oh, how he hated that sort of thing. Being the bearer of bad news was never pleasant, but in cases like this, it was a necessary evil. One way or another, someone was going to have to tell them. It might as well be him.

Gesturing for him to continue, Vergil sat down in one of the armchairs nearest to the couch. He wasn’t quite sitting next to V, but he was as close to doing to as it was possible to be without actually doing it. The young summoner seemed to silently note this for a moment, allowing his gaze to travel towards how father, but otherwise not reacting. He was clearly anticipating bad news, and considering everything that was going on and the fact that he was locked in a losing battle against a devil prince, that was more than understandable.

“Now that we have that out of the way, I’d like to say that I’m genuinely sorry to always be the bearer of bad news in these instances. What am I, the wild hunt?” Sirrus scoffed and shook his head before realizing that that at least half of the people in the room didn’t have any idea what that even was. He then sighed and folded his arms around himself. “Would you prefer that I get straight to the point, or go into a bit more detail?”

“Considering the implications of what I assume you are here to tell us, I would prefer the former and then the latter,” V said softly, rubbing his arm absentmindedly in an attempt to soothe it. Just thinking about what was going on was enough to make the malevolent ink that coursed his veins tingle from excitement, something that the rest of his biological composition didn’t approve of or appreciate very much.

Putting his arm behind his back, Sirrus nodded in a manner more akin to that of a curtsy than anything else. He glanced over at Morgan who in turn nodded in agreement. She didn’t need him to ask for her to be able to tell that he was awaiting her permission to continue. He then cleared his throat before leaning over and pouring a few sips of wine that he summarily gulped down in the least refined manner possible. He hadn’t spoken a word yet, and he already hated this conversation.

“Fair enough. I suppose nothing worthwhile is accomplished by beating around the bush all day, is there? We all have things to do and places to be.” He went in for another topped-off glass, indirectly signifying to everyone in the room that he almost certainly didn’t want to be here talking about this right now. “The Ludwin family sent some of their family members to go and investigate Belial’s activities and they have found an almost definitive answer as to what he wants with both Morgan and V. I trust that you don’t need me to tell you it’s not to simply spread the good word.”

“No, I suppose you do not.” Vergil wasn’t amused, but he was also keenly aware of the fact that Sirrus hadn’t exactly meant that in a humorous way. He’d clearly been using his cynicism and sarcasm as a coping device. “Continue.”

With a casual shrug, Sirrus turned his attention back to V and Morgan. “V, do you recall what you said about the attack that destroyed Lympha about three years ago?”

To the surprise of no one, they both nodded. Morgan looked as though she would become sick to her stomach at the mention of that place, but she did remember. There was no way that she would ever forget. V looked down at the floor for a moment in discomfort, considering the possibility of speaking. But when he finally did, it wasn’t about the town. “How did you hear about that, Sirrus? You were outside.”

Sirrus nodded in agreement, reaching for another glass of wine but finding that the bottle was a bit too close to being empty for his liking. “Your quite right. I was with Nico. But I have very good hearing, and I am not at all ashamed to admit that I did, in fact, eavesdrop on you. I can see why you’d find that strange, however. My apologies if I’ve upset you or caused you undue confusion.”

V seemed to consider this for a moment before nodding, brushing his concerns aside. He had done nothing to offend him. He would know if he’d done something to cause V any distress to the young summoner. That made sense. After all, Sirrus was not exactly a normal person, and he had several abilities that he knew very little about. “Think nothing of it. But please, what does this have to do with what happened in… that place?”

Leaning back again, Sirrus adjusted his shoulders. “It seems that before Belial disbanded his cult and destroyed just about every trace of it, he had tasked them to take care of something important. And that “something important” was in Lympha.” He turned to Morgan, his focus lingering on her for a moment as he attempted to find a tactful way to put into words what he wanted to say. “You made mention of an old story. Something about a prophecy?”

Morgan nodded. “Yea, it was something about how some settlers were run out of the area a few hundred years back on suspicion of being witches, and the leader of the coven’s son was killed before he could be used as a vessel of sorts of a ritual to bring back their fallen leader. She cursed the town or something like that. I think it was… “ she stopped, clearly unable to remember what all she was supposed to remember in that situation.

“And onto this land, I lay a binding of blood and bone. For never again shall the shadow depart. And the snow shall run red with the blood of the self-righteous until upon the altar of the Lord of the Disquieting the flesh of the so chosen repository is offered and the blood is spilled, melding their beings into one. And so he shall walk the damned soil again and hold dominion over the dominion of humanity as the storm holds dominion over the sky.” Sirrus looked displeased to have had to even speak those words. He didn’t like curses at the best of times, but full-on generational damnation? That was going several layers too far into the depths of insanity. “That is the first half of the actual prophecy. It was quite the thing to translate from Enochian, but I managed to do it on short notice once it was discovered in the Ludwig trove. Aluta deduced from what I shared with her about your story that it was relevant.”

Nodding in consideration, Dante seemed to linger on the words for a while. He clearly understood them, at least for the most part, but he was still at the end of his rope in regards to what that was related to in their exact circumstance. “Yea, that’s pretty metal and all, but what precisely does it have to do with V and Morgan?”

Realizing that he could stand to be a bit more transparent about it, Sirrus looked over at Morgan, displeased about what he needed to say. “The curse was created by a woman named Atropa Lundwick nearly exactly 500 years ago. She was the only survivor of a heinous attack by locals, and she was cursed herself at the time by those same townspeople after the deaths of her family. They apparently enchanted their crops to help them through the hard winter as an act of kindness, and they all nearly starved to death as a direct result of refusing to eat food that was “tainted by unnatural forces.” She was the matriarch of what you now know as the Ludwig family. That curse is the reason that members of the Ludwig family only ever have daughters. The locals incorrectly assumed that that would be a disadvantage to her. Fools.”

Flora and Magnolia both looked visibly horrified by the statement, but not at all angry. A sort of deep sorrow seemed to overtake them as they collectively realized the unintended butterfly effect that this still had on things in so many of their lives even to this day. It was a tragedy that had borne more tragedy, and no one had really emerged the winner in the situation. What a painful and shameful legacy for their ancestor to have left behind. “What does this have to do with V and Morgan, Sirrus.”

Taking note of the pain in Magnolia’s voice as she asked him that question, he sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, shaking his head in deep dissatisfaction. “For a cause to have any bearing, it has to have a source of anchoring, a natural or unnatural force to draw from. The Ludwin family at that time had dealing with several powerful demons as a result of their somewhat Umbran ancestry. One of the demons they guarded against was Belial, but once tragedy struck, Atropa sought the tutelage of the very devil she had sought to destroy, her grief gaining the upper hand as she mourned the death of her only son. She formed a pack with him, and that pact led to the enforcement of the curse. She used the power he lent her to see forward into a time that had not yet occurred for him, and the prophecy was borne of the outcome that favored him. She promised him everything if he succeeded, and ever since then, his influence strengthened by her curse has allowed him dominion for one season of the year over the town of Lympha to seek out his vessel. Her coven had never intended to sacrifice her son to him, but he had requested as much as he would have been a powerful asset to a devil prince who was physically incapable of crossing over into the human world.”

Morgan looked horrified. “So that’s what was wrong with all the people in the town? They were being subconsciously influenced by a curse and a demon all at once? That’s why the animals and anything else that ventured into the woods disappeared into the darkness? Because he was taking them to the underworld?”

Sirrus made a gesture to indicate that she was half right. “You’re mostly correct. Belial could not bring them into the underworld due to the fact that he could not open a gate, and there were no existing ones in the area. But he fed off of their fear, and he warped them into the horrible creatures that were sometimes seen around the town. Like in the story about the dog that you told V. At night his corruptive darkness changed those weak enough to be changed, and assimilated those who would not bend to his will, making the forest stronger. And it construed in a cycle unending until the day that his cult came to the city… looking for both of you.”

It was Nero’s turn to ask a question now, the young devil hunter clearly displeased by everything he had just learned. “But what did they want with V and Morgan as opposed to literally everyone else in that cursed hellhole of a town?”

The red-haired man gave him a sad smirk. “What did the Order of the Sword want with you in the grand scheme of their master plan?”

Nero seemed to think about the question for a moment before he visibly paled and felt the breath leave his lungs. Oh. Oh no. He didn’t mean that… He couldn’t mean that… 

“On their 20th birthday, every one of the young men in the town was compelled to enter the woods. This was a test on Belial’s part. He is the Lord of Disquieting from the prophecy. Apparently, he was testing the mental resolve of each of the potential vessels in the town. The one who could resist the incredibly powerful and increasingly strong pull of his influence would be the one he would pick. And that is how he located V. V was basically entirely resistant to all but the very strongest of his mental barrages, save for the one occasion with the full moon which was literally the anniversary of the curse being placed from what I can tell. And more importantly, why his cult descended upon the town that day. Their master specifically wanted V. And he wants him alive. But there was another half to that prophesy.”

Brenowin looked ill suddenly. He shared a concerned look with Sirrus and then at his sister, clearly realizing something that none of the rest of them did. But he couldn’t speak of it, and he had a feeling that Sirrus would do so for him anyway. “You don’t mean…”

Much to his displeasure, he nodded. “Unfortunately, I do. I can tell from the ill look on your face that you know of what I speak. The cult must have made mention to it, then?” He watched as Bren nodded and then looked over at his sister, a look of immense concern on his face. He then continued, wanting to get this off of his chest. “And upon the twin thrones of darkness shall sit the vessel of darkness and the eyes of prophecy, she who will be gifted future sight as I was and who shall make material the brood of the machinations of the lord of shadows, Insanity made physical. For only through the union of darkness and foresight can be brought true retribution to cleanse humanity of their petty mortality.”

Everyone in the room seemed to linger on those words for a few moments before slowly coming to the realization of what they implied. And each one of them looked varying degrees of physically ill as they all came to the same unanimously horrifying conclusion. And V especially was mentally kicking himself. Why had he not considered the fact that Belial’s cult could have been the same cult that had killed the people of Lympha a few years ago? Perhaps the devil prince’s dark influence had been what had made him feel compelled to stay in the first place. The demonic part of him could have been drawn to the aura that his influence provided… 

“So you’re saying that… Belial wants to use V as a vessel that he can, what, possess so that he can come to the human world and take everything over, and then he wants Morgan to… so they can… and she’d be… That’s…” Dante looked between his nephews and his brother, noting their stunned silence and the will to live exit V’s body with silent indignation. He’d actually prefer dying to a fate like that.

“Quite literally the worst thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life,” Nero said breathlessly, looking over at his brother and the horrified shivering young teen girl sitting next to him. He couldn’t tell which of those options was the worse fate. Being used as a meat puppet for darkness incarnate was bad, but the idea of being stuck with him to create descendants of his bloodline purely for the purpose of helping to subjugate the rest of the world was literally too vile for him to comprehend properly.

And with the will of a Devil Lord in the body of a descendant of the great dark knight Sparda, he could undo every safeguard and protective ward your father placed with enough time and the proper know-how. And he could easily gain access to both… after all, who would stand a chance against that kind of power…” Lucia looked mournful and horrified. She couldn’t imagine something so dark coming to pass. No one deserved that, but V? No one could deserved that fate less. And Morgan… 

… Our father’s spell stops the possibility of a demon as powerful as Belial crossing over into the human world, but possession of the movement of power and consciousness into another living being. Only his essence needs to pass over… and in that respect, his horrific and contrite plan is actually entirely possible. And I loathe that.”

“Over my dead body,” Magnolia said, genuinely angry. She didn’t even bother to hold back the tears that were forming in her eyes. “I will not allow the momentary hubris of my one forebearers to lead to the damnation of two children, and by proxy, the entirety of humanity, over the mistakes of a few people nearly a millennium ago. This dies with her, as it damn well should have back then.”

Sirrus nodded in agreement. “And that is why I am here today. To propose the idea of stopping that before it starts. We need to go on a little road trip. And we need to do it now. I need you to see the conduit. And I need you to see it now.”

(-~-)

And there it is, Belial’s horrible plan finally revealed! Let me know what you think in the comments! I had a blast writing this when I got back from grocery shopping today. You all take care. I’ll see you next week on Wedsnday! And for those of you who dropped in on my Tumblr account during DMC OC Week, thanks for the love and support! See you in the comment section, and stay safe out there! Enjoy the nightmare fuel! Bye Bye!

[bittercoldbrew]

PLEASE tell me about the alien plant girls im so gay for anthropomorphic fem plants

omg thank you SO MUCH for asking and i apologize in advance for the infodump because i have been thinking about these alien plant people for literal years now, i love them so much. I first started thinking about these guys a little after TFA, because of an oc i was working on for a lil star wars fic that i have mostly abandoned by now--so sorry to the like 3 people who were reading my sidon ithano fic but tlj/tros really killed whatever passion i had for the franchise for a good long time :/ but Mando is great so i've been thinking about them'st again...

anyway i am sticking this under a cut because a) im very attached to these characters and if someone steals my shit i will kermit and b) sweet jesus this got so long, i am so sorry

in the SW universe at least, these plant people (that i still for the life of me cannot settle on an actual name for) were the primary inhabitants of a dwarf planet way out in wild space; they had a pretty symbiotic relationship with a race of sentient insectoid people (basically human-sized bees) who could travel between the planet and their home on one of its three moons (affectionately called the Honey Moon). what the plants didn’t know was that the bees were also able to travel to different planets, and had been doing so for a couple centuries before everything went to shit--but we’ll get to that in a bit.

the plant people weren’t particularly interested in the galaxy around them--they had a decent understanding of astronomy and cosmology, but little cultural interest in journeying to the stars. since the planet was pretty small and distant from the galactic core, it was pretty rare that a visiting ship would even pass them by, and scanners didn’t register them as genuine life-forms separate from the natural flora, so even if someone happened to end up out there it’s not the sort of place anyone would really choose to land. on rare occasions, a pirate or smuggler would try to hide out on what they thought to be an unoccupied planet, and would return to the Outer Rim with tales of mobile, sentient trees and bizarre, organic cities found on some uncharted world; likewise, occasionally a plant person would turn up at the local bar with tales of crashed space-ships and strange aliens that seemed almost like people. neither would ever be taken seriously.

the plants aren’t a particularly verbal people. they understand spoken language (a somewhat-modified Basic, at least, which is what the bees speak hmm i wonder where they picked that up from) and many can talk, but most don’t really bother learning to do so. mostly they rely on an ESP-like combo of pheromones and body language, highly attuned to the point that it’s essentially a kind of telepathy. i think i mentioned in the tags on that post that my character Antheia is sorta kinda a jedi? for these people, force sensitivity tends to manifest as an extra-extra-sensory-perception that causes you to be hyperaware of every living thing in your environment, not just the other sentient ones.

this made her uhhh extremely off-putting as a youth, easily distractable and often disinterested in the other people in the small community she grew up in, where she was already pretty disliked to begin with. there’s quite a lot of diversity among the plant people (a wide variety of skin tones/textures and body types, though few if any secondary sex characteristics; four limbs are most common, though occasionally some have two or more sets of arms; different types of leaves/vines/blossoms/etc in lieu of hair), and though they have a barter-based economy there’s still a lot of classism that’s mostly based around lineage (and thus evinced by one’s appearance and the traits one manifests). to protect (or attempt to bolster) those lineages, prospective parents can apply for a spot in a nursery, where their offspring are propagated and tended--mostly just through infancy before going to live with parents, though sometimes longer, and the very high class have private nurseries that will do all the rearing so they don’t have to.

But, on very rare occasions, certain wild plants will spontaneously develop sentience, and even more rarely will survive on their own long enough to find their way to a community. Hundreds of years ago (or “before the bees could speak”, which is their version of “once upon a time”), these spontaneous growths were revered and cherished, and whoever was first to encounter one would see it as a great honor to be responsible for their care and upbringing. now, with a much more striated society, these “weeds” (derogatory) are considered inferior, feral, dangerous. fortunately for Antheia, the man who found her, tangled in marsh reeds under the light of the Honey Moon, didn’t buy into any of that bullshit. he was a really sweet dad, very attentive and doting on his increasingly-strange adopted daughter; they were very close. but the older she got, the more her unusual ability developed, and the more he realized he was well out of his depth to help her understand that part of herself. eventually, she’s sent away to a kind of temple/convent for other people like her, where she’s trained to hone and control her extra senses, rather than be overwhelmed by them.

many years later, the sudden appearance of several large starships in their atmosphere turns their society on its head. it turns out, the bee-people have been traveling to other planets, forging alliances, brokering deals; they claim they just want to facilitate inter-planetary trade. Antheia is among the first to mistrust these invading aliens and their fleet of well-armed droids who seem hell-bent on mining their planet (which is, apparently, rich with cortosis, which--thank you wookiepedia--is apparently capable of repelling lightsabers and blasterfire alike). She flees her convent, joins up with an underground network of resistance fighters, discovers that her hyperawareness makes her a truly formidable force on the battlefield, and helps lead her people in defending the sovereignty of their home. And then things take a turn for the worse...but we don’t need to get into that right now.

ANYWAY.

my other oc, Shoal, is from the same planet but not even remotely star-warsy; either from a different time period well before the droid incursion, or just like an AU of my own stuff, idk. but she’s great, i love her deeply even though i dont really know what i even want to do with her yet. i mostly just was thinking about what a normal, average person in this world would be like, but then i got too attached. she’s also one of the spontaneous “weeds”, a semi-aquatic plant girl that washed up on a sandbar that occasionally connects a small island with the mainland when the tide is out. she was sort of “found” by multiple people at the same time, since they were making their way across to go trade goods at the mainland market, so to avoid the confusion of who should be responsible for her, she’s just sort of raised by the village as a whole. they name her Shoal, since that’s where they found her (it started as a joke, but then no one could agree on anything else to call her so it just sort of...stuck).

she grows up without realizing that it’s a pretty unusual upbringing. as a teen, she gains the reputation for the island’s best fisher (it helps that she can breathe as well underwater as above, and she’s always been a good swimmer). one thing that’s pretty consistent among all the plant people are their teeth--they all have long, sharp incisors and canines because sexy and also as more of a defense mechanism than a dietary one. they don’t eat much, typically absorbing nutrients from the sun/water/air/soil (mud baths are such a beloved experience, like for the most part they are very dignified people but find them some good mud and they will wallow for days) but when they do it’s pretty meat-heavy. they don’t really enjoy the process of eating very much, especially because they don’t have much gut bacteria so they typically have to swallow some stones to break up their food and nobody wants to do all that. but, at least in the coastal towns near where Shoal grew up, fresh-caught fish is considered a delicacy, and they can trade for quite a lot in return.

as she gets older, though, she starts getting restless. she loves her village, but it’s all she’s ever really known. also, it is so hard to even consider dating when literally everyone your age is practically your sibling, i mean, yeesh. so one day she just packs her bags and says her goodbyes and waits for low tide, then sets off to find her own way in the great wide world. she stops wherever she can, sees everything she can, but eventually settles down working at a tavern in a medium-sized town that’s mostly acclaimed for being a crossroads between bigger and better places. she likes it there, likes getting to know lots of new people and hearing about someone else’s travels more than she actually liked traveling herself. after a few years, the tavern-keeper retires and decides to leave the place to her, and she finds she’s become a permanent fixture in this new community. that’s really all i have for her so far, and i have no idea whether i’ll ever actually do anything with this character lol, but still she is very precious to me so i hope i find a story she’d be a good match for sometime soon.

[cartoonfangirl1218]

Winner’s Curse: Epilogue

Note: Wooo boy, it’s over. Now I know not many people may have read this, it may not have the best editing and some parts are a bit vague and not the best. In fact I’ll probably revise some parts at a later date or if I ever decide to post on A03, but I am still super proud of it. I think I did some great character parts and there are some sections that I’m just super proud of. I’m also happy that I actually finished it. It’s my longest fic to date and I actually completed it! 30 chapters. Well 32 if you include the prologue and epilogue. So cool! Plus I wrote what I really wanted, which I’ll admit was not the plot. The plot was a bit wonky and maybe I had too many characters that I didn’t juggle well and didn’t give them all equal exploration. Also action scenes were hard for me to write so those were not the best. But still- getting to explore these characters and their relationships and include several of my favorite Disney characters. Very fun. Also thanks to @edream93 for encouraging me when this was just a little idea, looking over some sections and offering advice and for overall being an amazing person. Check out her WLTF and other descendants fics like London Fog Nightcaps. And for the final time, hope y’all enjoy reading.

Flash forward to summer break in Agrabah

Jordan stretched, cracking her back after sitting hunched at her desk for the past hour editing her latest video How to Date a Djinn Episode 3. She had finally convinced the tech-averse Calix to join her in making satire videos of all the most terrible dates she had been on. Initially, she had planned for it to be a serious thing where she reminded her viewers of genie autonomy and the idea they had feelings behind their wishing powers, but Calix was never good at playing emotional PSAs.

Besides it was more fun that way to spoof how terrible, and sometimes ridiculous her romantic suitors were. Plus the hilarity kept her from thinking too much about the bitterness of the memories.

She cracked her neck and poofed outside to Aziz’s room where her lamp laid on its usual perch. Outside she could hear the thump of running feet and the screech of confused peacocks.

“Malik! No riding the peacocks!” A servant shouted

“Yes, riding peacocks!”

“No, Noor, Fahran, that’s not allowed. Get off of them!”

Jordan shook her head in amusement at the kids' antics.

Noor and Fahran were having a blast hanging out with their new “little” brother as they called the 5 year old. Though they were family in a way. Jade was the half sister to Aladdin’s half brother, Mozonroth. And Malik was their nephew. Even though the family tree was a bit tangled and confusing to visualize in your head.

And where Jade and Malik were concerned, Jay was also included as Aladdin had originally planned in inviting the former thief to Agrabah so they could get to know each other, and Jay, to get in touch with the more savory side of his heritage. Jay and Aladdin had especially hit off as they compared lives on the streets and bragged about some of their more daring heists so any concern of whether the Jafar connection would sour things was gone. All together, Jay, Jade and Malik were new, though unofficial members of the family. Aladdin, and Jasmine decided to hold off any official adoption in respect to Jay and Jade’s feelings.

Though, having three new members meant triple the chaos, the running in the halls and inevitable breaking of antique objects. It was still triple the fun.

Razoul, predictably, despised the decision. But hey, he wasn’t the sultan.

Jordan peeked out to the hall, no sign of peacock racing or frazzled servants anywhere. Since she’d been inside so long she decided to go outside to the backyard.

Passing the living room, she saw Jay playing some sort of Wii-fit game against Carlos, Lonnie and Gil whose scores were also reflected on the screen even as they played millions of miles away in their own living rooms. Jordan checked the time, ah it was 2’o clock on the doubt. Jay always called his friends at this time since it was when the time zones converged suitably for all of them to chat.

Jade was lounging on the couch, facetiming her girlfriend, Yzla. Jordan waved, and Jade waved in return, focusing mainly on their conversation which involved some llama prank with Empress Malina. Yzla was staying with Emperor Kuzco and his family. A arrangement Kuzco had initially been against but his wife and son overruled him. Which was for the best because apparently Yzla and him were hitting it off like two peas in a pod, scaring Malina, by tricking her into thinking Kuzco had changed into a llama again.

Huh, that reminded her, she hadn’t checked social media in a few hours. So she scrolled through, looking at Ben’s new post that there was to be a new class in the fall. Magic 101 with Flora, Fauna and Merrywhether and many surprise guest lecturers.

The Magic 101 class had been one of Uma’s many ideas for the new and improved Auradon. She told Ben of Alexandria’s reasoning for the revolt, explaining that the pressure for magic creatures to deny their magic was a strong reason for resentment, and most importantly, unfair. And Ben, who had been present at several meetings where mermaids, fairies and others stated their petitions of complaints, agreed. King Ben had removed the magic ban and decided to institute the Magic 101 class. Contrary to the name, the class wasn’t for magical beings, they already knew how to deal with their powers and not use them to affect others or supposedly cheat at life. The class was a requirement for Auradonians to learn about their fellow beings, how it was a vital part of them and the greater natural world.

Ben had actually suggested that she’d be the magical liaison and teacher assistant for the new Magic 101 classes but she had politely declined. She did accept going as a demonstrator whenever it was time for her Dad’s guest lecture.

But a fulltime TA? It sounded like too much work, her powers were not applicable to the greater magical population, and most importantly, she really wanted to get back to doing her auratube show. Especially now that she was bound to have so many new subscribers thanks to her newfound fame for helping to defeat the Coven.

Jordan had considered doing a series about the Isle mission against the Coven in order to get the story straight and not create too wild legends regarding their month and a half there. And okay, there was also the fact that she wanted to renew her hits after losing subscribers after not posting for a month.

But she ultimately decided not to. It was their mission, only they’d get what happened in that wild untamed place of evil and poverty. Besides, it was very personal and she didn’t want to have to go into her fights with Aziz and Jay on Auratube. Or her encounter with Antiquam.

No she’d rather not think about the latter for a very long time.

Dismissing those thoughts she scrolled through several more posted announcements like the newly formed Minority Kingdom Council made up of representatives from Atlantis, Atlantica, Arrendelle, Kuzcoropia, and Pydrian, who were overrun by environmental and tourism concerns as Alexandria brought up. There was also a new class of Vks that were coming in. Basically the teen population of the Isle.

The orphans and kids from the Isle were sent to boarding elementary schools around Auradon as well as foster care with professional trained therapists for the abused youngsters.

Ben’s decision to bring the whole teen population in had been a controversial one. But he had stood by it, stating that he was taking the advice of his people, the ones from his generation who were to make up the future generation and a schoolwide vote had agreed that the Vks should be let in.

Granted it had taken a two month lobbying campaign led by Mal and Evie with Lonnie, Carlos, Jane and Jay’s help. But they did, they persuaded lots of royal kids that it was better to bring Vks over. It also helped that Mal, Jay, Evie, Carlos and Uma had been pronounced Auradon’s saviors thrice in a row so…

Though it wouldn’t be until August that all the Vks, with a few exceptions like the resolutely bad CJ Hook and Prince Lars, and Antiquam, would be able to get to Auradon. But they would, Uma was making sure of it. Even Zevon and Ginny were coming despite their actions in proudly helping the Coven, Ben believed they just needed to be removed from the negative influences of their mothers.

Some Vks had already come over like Carlos’ cousin. Diego had refused to enter the VK program through school, but through the work progrm. Now he and his band, Rotten Apples, could introduce Isle grunge rock to Auradon’s farmer populations and inspire them to use music to express themselves. Carlos informed them that Diego wasn’t too into that inspiration and empowerment stuff, but he was loving the popularity. And he often crashed to the Radcliff house to catch up with Carlos and get a break from his adoring fans.

Harriet Hook, also in the work program, was working in Neverland, serving as guard for docks and a pretty mean one too, Jordan heard. Any tourist that tried to sneak

Not that everyone was residing in the homes of their parents’ enemies. Celia Facilier was living with her sister Freddie, and Freddie’s girlfriend, Ally at the Mad for Tea Shop. Also as a student by day and helping her sister as the evening entertainment at night. Singing only. FG was still wary of introducing such sketchy magic as card readings. Celia did choose to be a TA to her sister’s class, Goodness 101. Freddie was taking over for FG to make it a revamped, less patronizing seminar of how to act in Auradon with Ally popping in for politeness lessons and Carlos with therapy dogs. Though FG still stayed in the room to supervise and make sure the class stayed on track and not turn into “Everything that’s wrong about sappy sweet Auradon.”

Dizzy was reunited with her mother, her aunt Anastasia, her uncle, the Baker and Anthony Tremine and they lived in the faculty building of Auradon Prep. Easy for Anthony and Dizzy to get to school and for the Baker to go to his new job as school cook.

His baguettes were to die for, so flaky and crispy. Even Chad reluctantly agreed to their goodness when she interviewed him for student reactions to the new cook. Anastasia and Drizella were the new cosmeticians in training at the school’s day spa even though the two still argued over what was a better color and such.

Also working in Auradon’s kitchen were Gil, and Cosette’s mothers who had taken in their other’s sister’s sons, Gaston Jr, Gaston the Third and Gaston (IV) the Great. Their mother had been deemed just as abusive as Gaston and was to stay on the Isle with him. Gil had been nervous about living with his brothers again but he had Cosette by his side and Harry and Uma just a street away. Harry was just as fiercely loyal as ever to his crew and to Uma, who he’d wait for outside of Ben’s office, waiting for their meetings to end.

Gil also had Jay on his side. And though Jordan had absolutely no proof, she just felt something between them, and she was planning to use this summer to sniff out just what it was.

It had been more controversial to bring back some adult villains like Anastasia and Circe, but Ben had explained that he was not in the business of tearing families apart and adults were able to change too. Smee, for instance, wanted to retire from swabbing desks and wanted his second act in life to follow his lifelong dream. Be a clockmaker, ironically enough considering his boss’ fear of the ticking. Same with other low level henchmen like Jace and Harry, and Hun soldiers that had been following the battle orders and propaganda Shan Yu had fed them.

Ben had promised not all adults would come over, especially not ones that had abused their children, and that he, Mal and Uma were designing a careful vetting process for this program.

As for the Auradonian bred villains. Morgana and Morgaine hadn’t stayed in the dungeon for long. One day the guards had come down to give their food and they were just gone. No one knew where they went and no magic had been able to locate them. Merlin said it was no use trying. The Le Feys were tricky and wouldn’t reappear again unless they wanted to.

Kyro, Victoria and Alexandria were in therapy now in a new building away from the dorms and those who would shun them for their actions like the media that had reviled them when the news leaked out. It was a bit of a depressing building Jordan thought since one could see it if they leaned far out their windows. The outside of it looked like an insane asylum but Evie enthused about how open- aired and peaceful it was inside. The point of it was to clear the outside world, and focus on healing. What’s more, since Uma learned of FG’s somewhat oblivious and condescending advice from Alexandria, they hired a new counselor. A Dr. Mickey Mouse.

So yeah, things seemed to wrapping out into a happily ever after for all.

Jordan walked into a door, rubbing her head of the bruise and cursing herself for not looking up. Tucking the phone in her pocket, she was about to open the door when Aziz opened it for her, heading inside from hanging out on the hammock.

He didn’t even look at her as he entered, he was busy chatting on the phone with who else, his new girlfriend.

Aziz had stayed true to his word that he and Lala were just friends, and remained just friends for three months. It had irritated Jordan to no end to watch them sneak discreet looks, study together since Lala only knew the Atlantean alphabet and not the English, and dance around their feelings as if the obvious wasn’t there. And it took all her self control to honor her vow to not meddle and send a flying carpet in to speed things up.

At least Aziz did not shut her out completely and still went to her advice for what to do when he asked her to be his girlfriend.

“What if she says no? Or doesn’t know what that is. Jay did say it was only gang activity. Or maybe she’ll just say no because she thinks she’ll go crazy like her mom. But I really want her to say yes. Oh Allah, what if I mess it up instead by acting like an idiot. Or she already thinks that. I walked into a wall yesterday.”

“Aziz, she likes you,” Jordan reassured him, “I’ve seen the way she looks at you. Like a leopard with dinner, she totally wants to eat you. In a sexy, hungry with desire way. Not cannibal way. And really, walking into a wall? That’s not a dealbreaker or even embarrassing. If you want to talk about embarrassing, nothing can top the time you popped in front of that yoga instructor you were trying to impress.” “I had food poisoning from the oysters!” Aziz yelled indiginantly.

“Doesn’t change the fact that you shitted during downward dog,” Jordan smirked at Aziz’s flustered angry face, “Nor was it like that time when you tried to impress Anxlin with a butterfly knife and ended up-”

“Will you stop bringing up the past?” Jordan decided to change tactics and be the serious, comforting big sister that he wanted, “Just speak from the heart. You’re on the same page with so many things, and you talk so much. Sooo much, it’s kinda annoying. Especially when you’re yapping in my room when I’m trying to watch a movie. But anyway, I think when the time comes your heart will guide you to say the right thing. And if not… your lips can speak for you.”

So with that fabulous advice if Jordan said so herself, on the last day of school, before they went their separate ways for vacation. Aziz went to her room and asked her.

And while she said she wouldn’t meddle, Jordan totally turned into a bee to go through the keyhole and eavesdrop on their conversation. For moral support. Just Aziz didn’t know about it.

It was endearingly awkward as Aziz stammered through some rambling monologue of how he liked her a lot, and only if she was okay with it, but he really thought they had something so woud she maybe consider being his girlfriend.

Aziz should probably have gotten some lessons from Jay on the art of smooth, but Lala seemed to get it. “So if we’re in a relationship we do what we do now… but with kissing?” she clarified.

“Yes!” Aziz agreed eagerly, then tried to dial down his excitement, “I mean sure, if you want.”

“I would really like that,” Lala bit her lip nervously but her expression was hopefully as Aziz leaned in.

Their kiss was short, two seconds at the most. Jordan would have given it a three out of five. It was unsure and the two seemed to be surprised they even did it. But it was clear from the look in their eyes, that they only saw each other and the rest of the world was already fading away for them, that that small kiss was perfect to them.

So they kissed again. Much more purposefully this time. Oh Allah, Jordan was so proud when Aziz added some passion and slipped tongue first. He was really growing up.

And they kissed again, and again and soon they were making out on Lala’s bed, which was starting to get kinda gross and Jordan was feeling weird about watching them. So she took that as her cue to leave.

But now she had plenty of new things to annoy Aziz about so she took it as a plus.

Grabbing him by the arm to stop, Jordan grabbed his camera.

“Hi, Lala, how are you?” Jordan waved, mugging for the camera as Aziz grabbed it back, and tried to push her out of the frame. The white-haired girl was dressed up in Evie’s new line of summer clothes with her hair up in a bun, and most startingly, her brown eyes were human.

It was silly that Jordan was surprised by Lala’s human eyes, she had been the one to change them when in a burst of good will offered all their allies on the adventure a wish. Lala hadn’t used the offered three wishes, just one, which was to remove the leopard spell Queen La had put on her. She lost her cat eyes and the habit of walking on all fours, but she still had her cat-like grace which Jordan chalked up to natural ability. It had been three months since that wish, but she had been so used to Lala’s cat-like slits with the dilated pupils. It had been a unique marker like the scar that everyone could see on Lala’s leg when she wore shorts.

“I’m well. Aziz sent me your new vlog about Odiferous, it was very interesting.” Lala nodded curtly. Jordan knew Lala was usually guarded against everyone so the coldness didn’t bother her as much as it used to. Thanks to hanging out with Aziz and Jade, she was starting to slowly warm up to people she wasn’t close to even though her tone didn’t reflect it.

“How are the Porters?” Jordan asked, cutting off whatever Aziz was about to say next. He glared at her, but she ignored. Hey, she said she’d stop mothering him. So now it was back to  annoying big sister privileges.

“They’re well. Kerchak and I are going tree surfing tomorrow.” Lala answered. When Ben put up the invitation of Vks in need of foster homes or adoptive families, the Porters offered to take in Clay Clayton, and Lala. Clay refused and went with his Aunt, Lady Waltham who was thrilled to meet her surly nephew for the first time. Lala joined the Porters where she was helping their gorilla reserve, connecting with animals instead of hunting them for food and survival.

It was bound to be awkward considering their daughter’s actions, but Auradon seemed to consider it part of their penance even though they hadn’t known what Victoria had planned to wrought. But according to Lala, they did their best to skirt around that sensitive issue and treat her like a guest, and she was starting to befriend Kerchak. He even gave her a leopard of her own which she named Euware II though the pet made Tarzan a bit wary. Still, Lala had to stay in her room on weekends when Victoria visited from therapy.

“That’s great. When are you coming to visit? I know Jade is just dying for you to visit. It’d be fun. We can go sand surfing, oh and explore some of the caves under the citadel. Oh, oh and I just know Aziz wants to show you some of the secret alcoves in the palace. They’re great for making out and-” “Go away!” Aziz waved her off

“You want me to leave? But who will chaperon you two? Who will tell Lala all the embarrassing stories from your childhood? I’ve been holding onto blackmail for a reason, Aziz. I must tell her,” Jordan turned to the screen, “But seriously, come visit. I’ll leave you to it.”

“Thank you!” Aziz sighed in exasperation, “Give me 5 minutes, I’ll join you to go to the bazaar later, Jord.”

“See ya!” Jordan called over the shoulder as she headed to the palace kitchen, still hearing some snippets of Aziz’s conversation about his summer psychology classes. His new passion since Jordan had suggested that since he liked overanalyzing and counselling other people's problems, he could research into being a psychologist.

Upon reaching the outside, Jordan took a big breath of the sweet summer air with a hint of jasmine and the coconut and sighed.

Life was good.

Of course, life was always good when it was summer vacation but it was more than that. She had really committed to what she had learned on the Isle. She lived in the present now, and tried not to wallow in the anger and resentment that extended to almost every human she met.

Did that kind of positive mindset always work? Hell no, sometimes, someone would grab her arm, requesting for a wish, rubbing her jacket as if that was the lamp and not her. Yeah, that stupid event would irritate her all morning but she didn’t go into her spiral of how all humans were greedy monsters, her life sucked that she had to walk among them and so on and so forth. She learned to vent to Aziz and let it go.

She would always meet bad people in her life, when that happened, if the situation was appropriate, she would blow a mini sandstorm in their face and move on.

She’d also gotten more sensitive about complaining about humanity in front of Aziz. She tried to complain of an individual person and not make broad generalizations about the mortal race, and repeat that Aziz and his family were the exception.

Well Aladdin’s family, and Uma, and Jay, and Lonnie, and Calix and Ben, and she was starting to realize her circle of those she trusted was expanding.

It felt good to have that knowledge.

Even if Aziz might not always be there, though she’d kill him if he wasn’t, she still had others who cared about her.

Then again, she, Calix, Aziz, Jay and Uma had been through a harrowing adventure that nearly destroyed the world they knew, and had to face their greatest fears and insecurities to do so. If that didn’t make you trust a person, what would?

There were also her parents. Her parents always had her back.

That was another thing she’d been committed to doing since she got back from the Isle and saved Auradon.

Her parents had been the first ones to get there, magical teleportation after all and were laying out the blue carpet and making plans for the greatest party in all of Agrabah for their daughter, the hero. Instead of getting annoyed by their zany antics as usual, and annoyed at how they ignored the fact she faced possibly life-ending danger against their enemies, she just hugged them.

The act had clearly surprised them because both of their jaws broke off and fell to the floor before snapping back up like a ball. But they loved the change in her nonetheless.

Ever since then, she’d been going out with them every other weekend, be it ice skating on Saturn’s rings or clubbing or going out to drink in celebration of the banning of the Magic Ban.

She had thought for so long that if she let herself act even a little bit like them, she’d be signing herself to a fate of servitude, never being taken seriously, and becoming a negligent oblivious person who only wanted to focus on fun.

She had worried that if these things didn’t come naturally to her, she’d have to fake it in order to fit in and be palatable to her own parents. So they wouldn’t become bored with her. She hadn’t liked thinking about it, but she always felt that was the underlying reason they left her.

But she lived in the present now and shoved all those thoughts away. She did what she wanted without thinking of the implications. And she found that actively listening to what they were saying, how they constantly suggested ideas for their next adventure, how it was too bad she had school and couldn’t come with them to their trip. They didn’t think she was a damper on their party style, they wanted her to be with them. And she usually said to each invitation.

YOLO, right. Well more like YOLFSMAWEI.

(You Only Live Forever So Might As Well Enjoy It. Not as catchy but infinitely more accurate)

Family time was a lot more enjoyable that way instead of brooding that once it was over, they were going to forget about her and go about their lives as if they didn’t have a daughter.

Although, Jordan still did crave for a meaningful talk where she got to tell them about some of her issues with their lack of parenting oversight, and maybe delve into how abandoned she felt when they wouldn’t discuss such issues like her rape, they still weren’t ready for that.

Though Aladdin was talking to her dad on her behalf, and it seemed he was starting to soften to it.

Until then, she had two sets of parents. Aladdin and Jasmine, probably the first humans who she trusted, and respected. The first ones who saw her as a child and not a being for wishes. They gave her the love and attention she had craved when she needed it. They stood by treating her like everyone else, as she wished, even when it meant disregarding her excuses that her genie-ness exempted her from getting in trouble. They were always present her lives and were the ones that reminded her that her supposed fate was not a fate, that no one could shackle her, not unless they went through them. They encouraged that there other sides to her besides being a genie. That she should work hard, be kind, be honest and be independent.

Her mom and dad, who loved her with all their hearts and thought of her as their best friend. It wasn’t the most parental relationship but she had started to accept that it would never be. They were genie parents, not human ones, and it was finally sinking in that the rules would always be different from them. No matter that Jordan looked human and was raised by them. But that’s what made them special. No one else in the world would get her quite like her mom and dad.

Aziz opened the door, knocking her in the back and she moved over so he could wait beside her.

She checked her phone. Her parents were supposed to come here five minutes ago so they culd go to the bazaar together.

They probably weren’t going to come for another twenty minutes.

Ah genies, Jordan sighed, they were never going to be punctual. She wondered how many years it would be before she started viewing time as an unimportant mortal construct.

She was about to pose that question to Aziz, whether it would occur in his lifetime or in her 5,000s when a green and blue poof popped up in front of them.

“We’re here!” The two blew the smoke away to reveal the pair in matching red and white striped tuxedos with a blinking “Genie and Eden” sign hanging behind them.

“It’s Genie and Eden!” Eden announced

“Eden and Genie!” Genie intoned.

Then with a snap of a finger, the props and costumes disappeared, and Genie sat thoughtfully in the air, “We can’t quite choose which sounds better.”

Eden went back to a form-fitting black leotard with a black bowler hat, smoking a cigar in her best Liza Minelli voice, “Whaddya think, daughter dear, whaddya think?”

“I think we should go to the bazaar and have the people decide which is better.” Jordan suggested, knowing that if they did it here, they wouldn’t leave.

“By george, she’s right!” Genie exclaimed transforming into a nerdy account, “Statistically, it is always better to test things with a test audience, and according to my calculations that the Agrabah bazaar has the best cross-pool of audience with 10% bearded, 40% kids..” He transformed into his usually big blue self, “Aaand let’s get outta here!”

“Wait up!” Jay yelled, nearly running into the four of them with Jade at his side, “I wanna go to the bazaar too, there was that awesome scimir I wanted to buy.” “Yeah me too, I want to steal things too… I-I mean buy. Buy with money. That I did not steal from the mean guard.” “His name is Razoul, and you really shouldn’t. He already doesn’t like you.” Aziz shook his head.

“I don’t like him, and that’s what makes it so tempting.” Jade defended.

“Yeah, he kinda has it coming,” Jay agreed.

“Now, now, we won’t say anything about it. But you must stop,” Eden warned in a prim British accent, poofing into a blue serge suit like a certain famous nanny, “Now spit spot, hurry up, we don’t want to be late to the bazaar.”

Genie transformed into a Bert to his wife’s Mary Poppins, adding, “Come ‘ere ye kiddos and ‘urry it ‘up.”

Jay and Jade stared at each in the classic “What the hell?” expression that bystanders always had whereas her parents were concerned. Aziz and Jordan just shrugged and smiled.

And so they went off to the bazaar and as the sun beated down on them, and Jordan whipped up a hijab from air to keep off the heat, she hummed a familiar tune which Aziz and her dad easily picked up.

“As you wind through the streets at the fabled bazaars with the cardamom-cluttered stalls. You can smell every spice while you haggle the price of the silks and the satin shawls. Oh, the music that plays as you move through a maze in the haze of your pure delight. You are caught in a dance. You are lost in the trance of another Arabian night…”

[petri808]

Chapter 2 of 8

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 bonus

@inukag-week​ ~~~ Loyalty prompt

When Kagome opens her eyes the next morning, it was a breath of relief to hear the birds chirping and no sounds of rain.  The storm has passed.  She looks over to say good morning, only to see Inuyasha’s bed empty.  ‘Wow, he could have at least waited to say goodbye.’  But the sound of splintering wood catches her attention.  She gets up and throws on a shawl to go outside.  ‘Oh… Ohhh!’

What she finds is a bare chested Inuyasha chopping firewood.  

At the additional scent, he turns and heaves the ax onto his shoulder, “good morning milady.  I’m sorry, did I wake you?”

“Huh?  Oh, n-no, you didn’t.”  She takes a few steps forward.  “Why are you chopping my wood?”

“You’re a little low, so as a thank you, I figured I’d cut some for you.”

“Wow, thank you!”  Not only was seeing such a handsome male a generous sight, but the homely aspect caused quite a stir in her mind and body as it pieced together what was going on.  She was thankful for his help and just a little… or maybe a lot more intrigued by it all.  Her maternal instincts didn’t miss the idea of what kind of provider this man would be.  

“It’s no problem.  I’m almost done.”

Willing her heart to focus on reality.  “Hey, um, I’ll whip us up some porridge for breakfast, do you eat porridge?”

“I do.”

“Great!” she points a thumb back to the hut, “I’l--l just be inside then.”

“Okay,” he chuckles.

‘Breathe, Kagome, just calm down, that’s not the first male chest you’ve ever seen…’ Gods help her, but if he wasn’t one the finest specimens!  She assumed he would be fit, but, “how is that man still single,” she whispers to herself aloud.  Surely any woman would happily accept him as a husband; including herself.  Imagine the… Kagome stops herself there and shuts down her thoughts before it lead to unsavory and naughty ones.  They were friends.  The friendly neighborhood hunter and she the helpful village herbalist.

To switch her mind back to reality, she focuses on breakfast.  Some rice porridge, fresh fruits and honey.  It wasn’t a very filling meal, but she hoped it would be enough for the man.  There was a bit of left-over stew as well if Inuyasha was still hungry.

“Here ya go,” he piles the last armful of wood next to the hearth.  “That should take care of the week for ya.”

“Thank you very much Inuyasha.”  She beams at him.  “That really was very sweet of you.

He dusts off his hands and she directs him to sit.  Kagome then places a large bowl in his hands.  “It smells delicious,” he grins, “thank you for the meal.”

She waves her hand, “it’s the least I could do.”

They eat in a companionable silence for a time not really knowing what to say.  It was strange, but not uncomfortable this sense of normalcy, like a couple sitting down to a meal before going out for the day to work or whatever they did.  No matter how much she tried, Kagome couldn’t stop fantasizing.  It was just such a nice thought…

“What are you smiling about?”  

“Hmm?” She looks over to him a little doe-eyed and confused.  

“You’re smiling to yourself,” he chuckles.  “What are you smiling for?”

‘Oh, damn!’  it was one thing to be thinking about stuff, but she’d started to zone out and it was showing.  “I um, was just thinking about, well um, I have some flowers that should be blooming soon, and yeah it just popped in my head and made me happy,” she smiles wide to drive home her response.  “So, what are your plans for the day?”

Inuyasha bellows, “you make me laugh, I love it!”  Kagome didn’t need to know that he could detect scent changes and she was certainly not thinking about flowers, unless in terms of being deflowered.  “I don’t have any since I have enough meat to last a few days.  Probably work on some things around my property.  Do you need any help, anything that requires heavy lifting,” he leans forward a little, “I’d be happy to help?”

Kagome deadpans, is he flirting with her?  She flushes a little with the warmth rushing downward.  She squeezes her thighs together a bit, pretending to shift her position, “I wouldn’t want to trouble you…”

“Tis no trouble at all, I’m happy to help a fair maiden in distress.”

“T-That’s really kind of you Inuyasha, but I can’t think of anything right now.  All I planned to do today was scout for a few herbs Kaede will be running low on in the forest.”

“Hmm,” he taps his nose, “I can help with that, and besides, if we run into any wild game that would benefit us both.”

She’d forgotten he must have a higher sense of tracking abilities.  “O-Okay, sure, if you don’t mind.  I mean it’s pretty boring work.”

“I’m rather enjoying spending time with you.”

Again, another dose of heat floods along her cheeks, “I do too,” her voice is quiet but filled with happiness.  “It’s nice to have company.”  

“I agree.”

The pair finishes their meal and cleans up the dishes.  Once that’s done and the hut is locked up, Kagome grabs a basket and her bow and arrow, and they head out into the surrounding forests.  The storm from the night before left many areas damp and sometimes muddy, but it had also livened up much of the flora.  It was a reminder of how nature, though seemingly cruel at times, functioned for a purpose.  The rains brought life sustaining water to the plants and animals.  

With Inuyasha’s nose to guide them, the pair were able to find many different herbs useful in treating all kinds of illnesses.  He’d even caught a couple of hares using the bow along the way.  By the early afternoon, and her basket full, they’d taken to simply enjoying a stroll through the forest.  Kagome usually didn’t do such a thing, because the woods could be dangerous, but with Inuyasha at her side, she knew she didn’t have to worry.

But as they get closer to her hut, they can see someone waiting in front of it; the wolf yokai Kouga.  ‘Crap, was is he here?!’ Inuyasha slows his pace falling slightly behind Kagome.  

“Kouga?  What brings you here, is everything okay, is someone sick?”

As Kouga spoke to Kagome, he kept his eyes trained on Inuyasha. “Yeah, Ayame asked me to get something for teething, now that the pup’s teeth are coming in its driving him crazy.”  He was shocked to see the hanyo there, but not just any hanyo either.    

“Oh, yes, sure I can whip something up for that… um,” Kagome finally notices the two males staring each other down. “Kouga, do you know Inuyasha?  He recently moved to the village.”

“I know of him,” Kouga glares, “no good half-breed mutt that was such a coward he ran away from his duties.”

Damn it this wolf was gonna blow his cover!  Inuyasha glares back, “if you say another word, I’ll…”

Kagome steps in between them.  “Look, I don’t know what your problem is with Inuyasha, nor do I care.  All that matters to me is he’s my friend and he helps me out a lot.  I’m sure he has a valid reason for running here, and I’m not interested in prying out unnecessary information.  So, if you want the medicine, I suggest you stuff the male aggression and wait quietly or leave.”

“Fine, I’ll wait,” Kouga crosses his arms, “but I suggest after I leave, you ask this hanyo who he really is.” He turns around and walks a few feet away to sit on a fallen log.

“Ugh,” Kagome mumbles under her breath, “damn busy body,” she turns to Inuyasha, “come on,” pulling him by the arm, “help me so he’ll leave quicker.”

[generaldisdainn]

Four of a Kind

AO3 link

Rating: MA

Pairing: Kristanna

Previous chapter

The wonderful @epbaker​ drew some GORGEOUS artwork that’s loosely inspired by this fic that you can find here!

The lovely @ahtohallan-calling doodled the title of the fic which you can find here!!

Chapter 10

Kristoff, Anna, Ryder, and Sven were all scrunched together in that order on the sofa, watching Ryder play Breath of the Wild on the TV.

“So let me get this right,” Kristoff said, “it’s called ‘The Legend of Zelda’ but you’re Link, the guy who has to save Zelda?”

“Yup,” Ryder responded, most of his attention devoted to the game.

“And you’ve never been able to play as Zelda?”

“Nope.”

“Wow, sucks for Link,” Kristoff said. “He does all the hard work and Zelda gets the glory.”

“Well, she’s still a major figure in the games.”

“Yeah, but isn’t she not in some? And Link is in every one?”

“Well, yeah, but—”

“So it should be ‘The Legend of Link,’ right?”

“Well, no, because Link is supposed to be a player avatar. You can name him other things, too, so it wouldn’t make sense if—”

“Wait, you can name him something else in this game but you decided to name him Link?”

“No, you can’t name him something else in this game, because this is the first game with voice actors in it, so—”

“These games have never had voice actors? ”

“ VETO!! ” Sven shouted and shot up from the couch.

“Aw, c’mon!” Anna complained. “I was having fun listening to them bicker!”

A few weeks ago, the four of them came up with the concept of a “veto”. It gave the person who declared it the power to force the other three to stop what they’re doing and do whatever that person wants.

“We are not spending another weekend like this,” Sven declared. “We are going to remind ourselves what real nature looks like. We’re going hiking, bitches!”

Sven was immediately met with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

“Ugh, fine,” Kristoff mumbled.

“Yeah, I’m okay with that,” Ryder said.

“Oh my god, that sounds so fun!” Anna squealed. “Are there good hikes around here?”

Sven seemed to begin to answer affirmatively, but the words caught in his throat. He pulled his phone from his pocket and rapidly typed something. A few seconds of silence passed.

“Yeah, of course there are!” Sven said. “Do you think I would use my veto power if I didn’t have a plan? We’re going to...um...” His words trailed off as he began scrolling furiously before suddenly stopping. “...Reinpikk Gorge! It’s got, uh...a big waterfall?”

“I’m sold,” Anna said, standing up. “Let’s go.”

“Alright, this might actually be fun,” Kristoff conceded. “Let’s be ready to go in fifteen minutes.”

* * *

Kristoff knew he was doing the thing he hates again; pretending to be excited about something for a girl. When he was seeing Samantha, he would always try to find time to go to wine tasting events with her, even though he couldn’t stand the people, the atmosphere, or the wine. She loved those things for reasons Kristoff could never really understand. Hiking was another one of those activities; he tried to feign excitement as much as he could for Anna’s sake.

But if he was being honest with himself, the moment they rolled into the parking lot of the park, he found himself drawn to its natural beauty. He’d done landscaping work on multiple occasions; he had to admit nothing compared to the real thing.

“I mean, just look at that, guys,” Sven said emphatically. “I hope everyone is now realizing just how brilliant of an idea this was, thank you, thank you, tips are not necessary but very much appreciated.”

“Give it a couple hours and a few dozen mosquito bites,” Kristoff said, half-sarcastically.

“You ever heard of bug spray, wise guy?” Sven said.

“I’m just excited to bother you guys about all the different plants,” Ryder chimed in.

Anna was silently giddy, eager to be in nature, happy to be past her problems with Kristoff, and glad to be such close friends with the three of them. As they all climbed out of Sven’s car and prepared for the hike, she could feel her excitement growing. She began to wander away from the car, Sven and Kristoff too caught up in their own argument to notice.

“Uh, Anna?” Ryder called after her. “Where are you going?”

“Oh, is nobody following me?” Anna said, spinning on her heels and noticing Sven and Kristoff still at the car. “Hey, guys! We get it, you’re an old married couple, now come on!”

Kristoff found himself once again getting wrapped up in Anna’s own excitement. He caught up to Anna while Sven did his best to stifle his urge to shout after him. After all, this was his idea, and if Kristoff was only going to be excited because of Anna, then Sven would happily take that.

* * *

“You have no idea where we are, do you?” Kristoff asked Sven.

“Hush, getting lost is half the fun!” Anna said, slapping Kristoff’s arm with the back of her hand.

“So I’ve been seeing a lot of perennial weeds, which means we’re near water,” Ryder said.

“Yeah, obviously we’re near water, Ryder,” Kristoff grumbled. “That’s one of the defining characteristics of a gorge.”

“No, I mean we’re closer to water than we were,” Ryder corrected. “There’s also a higher concentration of evergreens, which is important because--”

“Okay, we get it, Doctor Plant,” Sven teased. “Look, none of y’all had to follow me off the trail, I just wanted to channel my inner Lara Croft.”

Anna imagined Sven in a too-small blue tank top and tiny brown shorts. She was amused as much as she was repulsed by the image. She couldn’t deny that she wanted to be a little adventurous as well; she hadn’t been this immersed in nature since she and Elsa left her parents. She looked to her right and spotted a large boulder, covered in cracks and crags, perfect for climbing.

“Hey, Kristoff, can you come over here? I need a spotter,” Anna said, already walking off in the direction of the giant rock.

“Wait, Anna, we should--” Kristoff turned to see Sven striding confidently away, Ryder close behind studying the flora. He let out a sigh, but if he was being honest with himself, this was an ideal scenario. Just him and Anna, completely alone, separated from everyone by a veil of nature. Completely unafraid to be himself. He quickly caught up to Anna.

“God, I forgot how fun this is,” Anna remarked, searching for a handhold on the rock face. “Did you ever do anything like this?”

“No, not really,” Kristoff answered absentmindedly, his gaze affixed on Anna’s ponytail fluttering in the gentle breeze.

“I used to go rock climbing all the time,” Anna said as she began to scale the rock, making Kristoff nervous. “I used to…” Anna’s words trailed off as she strained to reach a new handhold, trying to plant her feet where her hands had just been. Kristoff moved under her, his hands upturned, prepared to catch her if she slipped.

“You used to…?” Kristoff said.

“Oh yeah, I used to have a dream of...of climbing Mount Everest, but...then I learned people...regularly die on the way--”

Suddenly, her hand slipped. She shrieked as she fell backwards off the rock. She hung in the air for a second that felt like an eternity. Her heart rose and her stomach dropped, her hands grasped fruitlessly at the air, and her breath caught in her throat. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the impact with the ground.

The impact wasn’t harsh or abrupt, but rather warm and soft, like she collided with a giant teddy bear. She opened her eyes to see herself in an undignified position on Kristoff’s lap, who had collapsed onto his rear end when she fell into him. She looked up at his face just in time to hear him say “Jesus, Anna, are you okay?”

Typical, Anna thought. The two of them going to Ikea alone, her falling onto him after being separated from the other two—it’s like the universe was begging them to get together. She pressed her hand to her heart and found that it was racing, threatening to burst out of her chest. It was the combination of exertion, shock, and the sudden contact with Kristoff causing her heart rate to skyrocket.

“Yeah, I’m—I’m fine,” Anna stammered, readjusting herself, but not yet climbing out of Kristoff’s embrace. “I’m glad I asked you to follow me.” She laughed nervously.

“No kidding,” Kristoff said. “How about we just walk from now on?”

“Or you could carry me,” Anna responded, laying one arm around his neck.

Kristoff laughed. “No, no, we’re not doing that,” he said as he stood up, hoisting Anna onto her feet. “Come on, let’s see what’s on the other side of this.”

They started walking parallel to the wall Anna had just tumbled from. They didn’t say anything to each other for a little while, comfortable with just being alone with each other. Then, Kristoff remembered they had never finished their conversation from earlier.

“So, you wanted to climb Mount Everest?”

Anna snorted. “Yeah, but then I started doing research on what it would take to achieve that, and I decided it just wasn’t worth it.” Her eyes wandered, her words and her mind out of sync with each other. “And, y’know, I had other goals, more realistic ones, like starting my own animal shelter, officiating my sister’s wedding, making a perfect crème brûlée, stuff like that. And some of them I’ve already achieved, like making a group of friends on my own, being a better person than my parents are, finding someone I want to spend the rest of…” Her words trailed off. She snapped her head to look at Kristoff. “Am I talking too much? Is any of this TMI? I’m sorry if it is, I just--”

“Anna, you’re totally fine,” Kristoff chuckled. “Honestly it’s inspiring to hear about your goals, considering...well…” Kristoff shrugged, then hunched his shoulders. His eyes pointed at the ground. “...I’ve never really had goals like that.”

“Really?” Anna asked. “You’ve never wanted something so deep in your bones that you would, like, jump into a volcano to get it?”

“No, not really,” Kristoff admitted, almost embarrassed to say, knowing how driven and determined Anna was by contrast. “My parents...well, they settled in a big way. My dad had a promising career as an architect and my mom could have easily sung at the Met if she wanted to, but they both agreed to give up their potential to live much simpler lives.” Kristoff sighed, a sound dripping with regret. “Their decision must have rubbed off on me.”

“Wow, Kristoff,” Anna said, doing her best to sympathize. “I’m really sorry.”

“No need to be,” Kristoff said. “I’m fine.”

Anna knew he wasn’t fine. He looked at his face to see his normally boyish features locked in contemplation, making him appear older than he was.

“Well, you know what, Kristoff?” Anna began with an encouraging tone. “Now’s as good of a time as any. Let’s come up with some goals for you!”

Kristoff smiled a sad smile. “You don’t need to do that for me.”

“You say that like I don’t want to. I do,” she retorted. “Before my mom was a bitch, she was a guidance counselor, and I learned a few things from her.”

Kristoff’s sad smile turned cheerful, despite how he tried to oppress it; the tiny wrinkle on the bridge of his nose betrayed his true feelings. “Alright, why not?”

“Yay!” Anna clapped her hands a few times before gathering herself. “So before we come up with any giant goals, let’s start with small ones. Is there something you’ve wanted to do for a while, but never gotten around to it?”

Kristoff hummed and made a show of scratching his head. “Well...I guess...I’ve always wanted to read the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy.”

“Okay, that’s a great start! Were you a big reader as a kid?”

“Yeah, but ‘Lord of the Rings’ always felt out of reach to me, and by the time I was old enough I--well, the friends I hung out with were way more into sports, so I just kinda stopped reading.”

“Well, I know it’s cliché at this point, but there’s no time like the present!” Anna’s words were bursting with optimism, their infectious energy broadening Kristoff’s smile.

“Yeah, it’s true. I guess that’s why it’s a cliché, right?” They smiled at each other, their eyes sparkling with each other’s light.

Anna blinked, coming out of her daze. “Okay, so what else?” She vaulted over a rock the size of a large dog while Kristoff walked around it. “Any places you want to see? Any skill you want to learn?”

“Oh my god, I used to want to play the accordion!” Kristoff said, his head craning back like the memory struck him in the forehead.

“Really!?” Anna exclaimed, a wave of giddy excitement rushing through her.

“Yeah, I used to be really into Weird Al when I was a little kid. But I ended up getting a guitar one Christmas instead.”

“Okay, so as your guidance counselor, I would tell you to get an accordion for yourself. As your roommate, well, not so much.”

“What about a guitar?”

“A guitar’s fine, a guitar’s nice and quiet.” Anna smiled broadly. “See? You already have two goals: read ‘Lord of the Rings’ and learn guitar! Who knows, you might start a ‘Lord of the Rings’ band in the future!”

“Yeah,” Kristoff said, something else piquing his interest. “Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Anna said, suddenly nervous. They stood in silence for a bit before Kristoff turned and walked in the direction of whatever he was hearing.

“Kristoff, wait!” She hurried after him. “We shouldn’t--” she started to say, but then she heard what Kristoff must have been hearing too: a massive volume of water, a sound that could only be coming from a waterfall. She rushed ahead of Kristoff, eager to see what had sold her on the hike in the first place.

First, she saw the enormous granite wall of the gorge that the water had carved out of the earth. There were shrubs and small trees dotting the surface, but for the most part the rock was bare, providing a stark contrast with the scenery of the rest of the hike. Then she saw the top of the waterfall, the river above it roiling and churning as it tumbled over the edge. Finally, once she reached the lip of the gorge, she looked down at the entirety of the waterfall as a joyful smile spread across her face.

The water leapt and danced over the rocks as it tumbled downward. Mist lifted from the torrent, forming a rainbow that arced from the top of the waterfall to the base of the gorge. At the bottom, the water gathered in a swirling mass and continued deeper into the dense forest, unimpeded and unshaken, just as it had been at the top of the waterfall.

Kristoff caught up with her and had a similar, albeit subdued, reaction. His eyes were fixed more on Anna than they were on the natural splendor. He loved seeing her this happy and excited. He loved it more than he cared to admit to himself. If this is what it took for her to be as happy as she was, he would take her hiking every day at a different gorge each time, and then cut new gorges directly into the earth once she had seen them all.

He decided at that moment that he wasn’t going to hide his feelings for her anymore. He wanted to be with her.

“Hey, Anna?” Kristoff asked.

“Look at this, Kristoff!” Anna shouted, her voice full of reverence. “It’s so, so beautiful! I can’t believe it!” She giggled and laid a hand on Kristoff’s arm. “I’m really glad we’re seeing this together. It’s just so...so…” She waved her hand in the air, like it would help her find the right word. “...I don’t know, I just like doing things with you! When we’re by ourselves, you and me, I just feel like I can be excited, and I am excited about this waterfall and this hike, and you, and…” Again, she let her words trail off before elaborating further. “Sorry. Was there something you wanted?”

Kristoff stifled his nerves. He knew he fucked up once with her, but he also knew he’d been forgiven; it was part of the reason why it was so easy to fall back in love with her.

“...Can I, um...can I kiss you?”

Anna’s eyes popped. She wasn’t expecting him to say anything like that any time soon. Her reaction made Kristoff even more nervous.

“I mean, uh…” Kristoff stammered. “I--well, I would like to. I may? I mean, ay mi? Uh...may I? You don’t have to, I just, um…” Kristoff decided to stop talking. Fully expecting a rejection at this point, he began to turn away.

Anna didn’t even expect herself to do what she did next. She turned his face back toward her gently with her hand, stood on her tiptoes, and delicately laid her lips on his. Kristoff returned the kiss, a less graceful one, but a kiss all his own. A vulnerable, tender gesture of love.

Anna lowered herself, smiling gently, her lower lip tucked between her teeth. But when she noticed Kristoff’s unsure expression, her own face twisted in concern.

“Was that okay?” she asked.

Kristoff’s eyes darted to the side. His lips were pursed and twisted to the side. Anna was beginning to fear she did something terribly wrong.

Kristoff inhaled through his mouth, preparing to speak, but then shut it again. He tilted his head, like a puppy trying to figure out where a sound was coming from. Anna was all but mortified at this point. She thought her potential relationship with Kristoff was ending before it began, right before her eyes.

Finally, Kristoff spoke.

“Do you want to go out with me?”

All of Anna’s tension dissipated in an instant.

“Jesus, Kristoff, that was terrifying!” she shouted, slapping him on the arm.

“Oh my--I’m sorry! Really, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for it to be!” Kristoff apologized.

“I thought you hated me! It looked like you were--oh, yes, by the way, I’d love to--but holy shit, don’t ever do that again.”

Kristoff smiled bigger than he had all day, embarrassed by his ambiguous reaction to the kiss, but also elated that she still had feelings for him. “Okay, okay, I promise. But also, yay!” he said.

Now it was Anna’s turn to look puzzled. “So, what changed? You were asking for space not too long ago.”

Kristoff responded without missing a beat. “I can’t afford to deny my feelings for you anymore.”

Anna blushed and gave Kristoff a quick peck on the cheek. “I won’t if you won’t.”

All of a sudden, Ryder and Sven emerged from the trees behind them.

“Are you guys done?” Sven asked.

Kristoff and Anna both turned to face them. “Have you guys been right behind us the whole time?” Anna asked.

“It was Sven’s idea!” Ryder accused.

“Not that bullshit again,” Sven said to Ryder. “Not the whole time,” he continued, turning back to Kristoff and Anna. He walked right up to the edge of the gorge. “Guys, can you make way for your king, please?” That, or a variation of it, is what Sven would say when he wanted a picture taken of him. Kristoff stepped down behind Ryder and Anna followed him.

“I need a pic of me in nature to balance out my Grindr profile,” Sven said to Kristoff. “That was kinda the whole motivation behind this trip for me.”

“Wait, your what?” Anna asked, like she had just heard a grand revelation.

Sven, Ryder, and Kristoff all slowly turned to look at her, each with the same expression on their face. Complete stunned silence.

Without warning, Ryder did something that was uncharacteristic of him as long as Anna had known him. He burst into hysterical laughter.

“Anna thought you were straight this whole time!” Ryder said to Sven between fits.

“Well, no one ever told me!” Anna shouted in an effort to defend herself.

“Wait, you actually never knew?” Kristoff asked.

“I don’t know, I just didn’t pick up on it!”

“Anna, don’t even worry about it,” Sven said, opting to be the voice of reason. “They’re just being stupid. But yeah, I’m like, really gay.”

Anna’s face was beet-red, but she smiled through her embarrassment.

“Actually, you know what?” Sven said with a new inflection. “I’m a package deal. Everyone get up here, we’re taking a group selfie!”

Hearing him say that made Anna’s heart lift. She knew she was an integral member of their crew now, but every time someone reiterated that fact, it made her so happy she could burst. She wrapped her arm around Kristoff and led him up to the edge, Ryder following shortly after. Sven pulled out his phone, opened the camera app, and held it at arm’s length, trying to fit everyone on the frame.

“Kristoff, crouch down, Anna, be taller, Ryder, you’re perfect. One, two, three, say bees!”

Kristoff and Anna didn’t have to say anything to smile. They couldn’t stop smiling.

[ameth18blog]

Unexpected Encounters. Chapter 6: Aggretopia - Call From Acquaintances

Back in Japan, at Gori's apartment, the calls were still going on for the inhabitants of Zootopia and Japan.

Nick and Judy had their respective phones in hand, and they were on a video call. In Judy's were her parents Stu and Bonnie, and in Nick's was her mother Mrs. Wilde. Ironically, Nick's mother and Judy's parents were in the same place, in Mrs. Wilde's apartment, since a few hours before Stu and Bonnie had come to visit the city of Zootopia to keep her company after Nick, Judy, Jack, Finnick and the kids went to Japan.

"Are you completely sure that everything is fine?" said Mrs. Wilde.

"We haven't seen them appear in public since the attack on the news so we are concerned," Bonnie said.

"The kids are fine?" Stu asked.

"Yes, they are fine" Nick replied.

"They are playing in the other room," Judy said.

"I think we should go over there to see that everything is okay," Bonnie said.

"There is no need for them to do that. We assure you after that nothing has happened" said Nick.

"Besides the ticket is quite expensive, this trip we did thanks to Jack if you don't remember" said Judy.

"Okay we'll take his word for it, but after this, they could call us at least twice a day to find out they're okay," said Mrs. Wilde.

Nick and Judy looked at each other and responded in unison "It's a promise."

"Well, before closing we want to know where the others are," said Stu.

"Well, Finnick is ordering room service, while Jack is talking to his boss about an important work matter," Judy said lying partly so they wouldn't know what was really going on and wouldn't worry.

"And the children are playing in the other room. Do you want to talk to them?" Nick asked.

Stu, Bonnie, and Mrs. Wilde nodded.

Nick, passed his phone to Judy as she got up from the couch and went to find Nicole and Jerry. It didn't take long once he brought them in, he put Nicole on his lap and Jerry on Judy's lap. After that he took the phone back from him.

"Hello grandfather, hello grandmothers" said both children when they saw the fox and the two rabbits on cell phones.

"Hello children, how are things there?" asked Mrs. Wilde.

"We're fine" they both said with a smile.

Although the adults through the phone could see that the children, although they didn't say so, it could be seen that they were still a little scared by the lived experience.

"And tell me, they've made friends there," Bonnie asked.

"Oh yes, we first met Koka and Hana, they are 6 years old and from here from Japan" Nicole said.

"Then we met Speed, Flora, Alex, Locke II and Pachacamac II, they are a little older than us, but they are nice" said Jerry.

"Great to hear that. And have you played many games with them?" Stu replied.

At that Nicole and Jerry began to tell them all the games they have played and how they had fun. Seeing all about it, which made them forget the scare they had hours before, which was just what the adults on the phones wanted.

Despite the unusual relationship between Nick, Judy and Jack; Stu, Bonnie, and Mrs. Wilde accepted the relationship as they wanted their respective children to be happy. Even over the years the three of them had become honorary father figures to Jack, as his biological parents died when he was 10 years old. This relationship led to even Mrs. Wilde seeing Jerry as just another grandson and he seeing her as a grandmother despite not being related in a blood or legal way, and even her treatment with him was exactly the same as her treatment with Nicole.

And the children's conversation with their grandmothers and grandfather went on for a while longer, as there were many things they wanted to tell them.

Meanwhile, elsewhere Jack was talking to the head of the agency he worked for. She was a female mouse that had pale beige fur, a black nose, and blue eyes. She is wearing a tight black business dress.

"So that's what happened, the heroes who saved us are looking for those emeralds to be able to return to their universe" said the striped rabbit.

"And according to what you told me, Agent Savage, that Dr. Eggman also comes from the same universe the heroes came from," said the female mouse.

"In part that is accurate, since he lives in the same dimension as them, but his birthplace is another dimension inhabited by beings like him known as humans."

"Are those human beings dangerous like him?"

"No, most of them are peaceful beings, but without the help of the chaos emeralds they couldn't reach this universe. So there is no need to worry about that".

"But according to them, there are beings from two other universes who came here."

"Yes there are, but we haven't found them, so they can be anywhere in the city."

"When will the search for the chaos emeralds and the beings of the other universes begin?"

"As of tomorrow, after what happened today, I don't think the city is calm enough to facilitate the search. Besides, it's getting late here".

"I understand, well, thanks to the photos you send of the chaos emeralds that you have there, we can start investigating about them, we will also start looking for traces of Eggman."

"Well, that will be very helpful."

"Agent Savage, I know this sudden event will cause you to be unable to take the vacation that you planned to start today, but as soon as all of this problem is resolved, then it will be granted at the originally agreed vacation time."

"Thank you so much Mrs".

"Don't even mention it, as you know, you is one of the best agents in the agency, you has even come to match his parents. They would be proud of you if they could see you now."

Jack was quiet for a few seconds. He remembered his parents, and the moment when gave the sad news that they had died and he had been orphaned.

"By the way, Agent Savage, taking into account what happened, we can remove your children from that place and keep them in the agency until everything is safe there. And they could come back to you when this is all over. "

"Don't worry about that, we already have everything under control, and taking into account what they went through, I don't think it's a good idea to separate them from us."

"Okay I understand, well that's all for the moment."

"Over and out".

After the call ended, Jack went with Nick, Judy, and the children to make sure that Judy's parents and Nick's mother didn't worry about him as well.

On the other side of the room Retsuko and Haida were trying to calm down Retsuko's mother and grandmother. One because she was angry at how easily Koka was allowed to get close to that evil being and the other because she was scared of what would have happened if the heroes had not appeared. They had already spoken with Retsuko's father who was out of town, he was easy to deal with and he was already quite calm when they closed the call, but with the women of the family it was another story. Even though they didn't have the speaker on, you could still hear their voices through cell phones.

"Retsuko, that was very dangerous, what were you thinking, you are her mother. You are supposed to protect him" said Retsuko's mother.

"Seeing what happened on television left me so scared that I almost had a heart attack," said Retsuko's grandmother.

Retsuko was among annoyed by her mother's comment that if it weren't because there were people she just met in that place at the same time she would have started singing Death Metal with all the strength she could, and at the same time she was nervous about her grandmother, who despite being strong for her age, was still worried that something like that was going to happen to her.

Haida tried to calm his mother-in-law and his grandmother-in-law. But it was impossible. But the worst came in a brief moment.

"Taking into account what has happened, we have both decided to move in with you for a while" said Retsuko's mother.

Retsuko's grandmother nodded.

Retsuko and Haida got nervous hearing that. They remembered that after Retsuko got pregnant, but before Haida and Retsuko got married, they both came to live with them and last but not least they had a schedule for what they had to do. He had a hard time even preventing them from throwing away things of value to them like Haida's bass or Retsuko's microphone. Even after the wedding and after Koka was born they stayed a while longer to make sure everything would be okay.

Although Retsuko and Haida loved them both, they could sometimes get a bit heavy, which is why they sometimes needed to get away from them to de-stress, with Retsuko singing Death Metal and Haida accompanying her playing bass.

"But the hassle is not necessary," Haida said.

"It's not a bother, what's more, we are already outside you apartment, and we're going to go inside," said Retsuko's grandmother.

"With what key? We have the only key to the house," Retsuko said.

"Oh, we sent for a copy of the key a few months ago," Retsuko's mother said.

"It can't be, she did it again" Retsuko said mentally.

"Well, we are waiting for you at home, don't delay, in the meantime we will prepare dinner" said Retsuko's mother and she ended the call without letting Retsuko and Haida answer.

They both went blank. There would be no going back.

Ookami and Fenneko had already talked to Fenneko's parents, but now they were taking care of social media, as they were receiving a lot of messages from their co-workers and acquaintances. Since there were so many, they were divided in half.

But there were two troublemakers: Tsunoda and Kabae. Both didn't stop asking question after question about what had happened, in the case of Tsunoda because she wanted to take selfies with the heroes to upload them on her social network to have more followers and on Kabae's side she wanted to know everything she needed to tell to her acquaintances both inside and outside the company.

It was a huge amount of time until they were able to try to calm them both down.

"Wow, that was tiring. Those two are hard to make them stop" said Fenneko.

"Yes, but you would imagine what the situation would be like if the two of them were here right now" said Ookami.

"Yeah, I just hope the two of you don't team up to find out... Oh no!"

"What's wrong Fenneko?"

"If they team up it could be dangerous, when I teamed up with Kabae a few years ago when Retsuko was dating Tadano, we were about to describe them, if it weren't because he leaked on social media first. So if it is a bigger event like this, it will surely not take long to discover it".

"You have to keep up appearances as much as possible at work," Washimi and Gori said suddenly, who had already finished their respective calls.

"That's easy to say, but not easy to do," Fenneko said.

"And more if everyone saw us on the news" said Ookami.

"All they have to say is that when we escaped from the restaurant the heroes left without saying a word," said Washimi.

"And don't show any emotions about it if they ask more questions," Gori said.

"Well, we'll have to try. We have no choice, since at the end of the day we cannot stop going to work" said Ookami.

"Besides, I will talk with the CEO so that the company prohibits talking about this issue so that it doesn't disturb employees who were involved in that situation against their will," said Washimi.

"Well, that would be very nice of you," Fenneko said.

"Well, in the end we are all friends, we always do each other favors when we need them most" said Gori.

...

Meanwhile in the detective agency in some unknown place on the planet, the boss had been in a meeting with her agents where she was talking to them about Dr. Eggman and the plans he had, they needed to investigate all over the planet to find his guard. Once located, her mission would be to take him and his robots prisoner and take them into custody.

From afar, observing the gathering, was a light tan fur and blue-eyed vixen wearing a turquoise short-sleeved shirt, blue overalls; which she carried a toolbox. She wondered what had happened so that all the agency agents were together at the same time.

Suddenly her phone started ringing.

"Hi, this is Skye. Oh, it's your Finnick, how's your vacation going? Yes, I'm at work right now. Do you want me to keep an eye on Judy's parents and Nick's mother so they don't leave Zootopia? Why? Oh, now I get it. Well, I'll take care of that, right now. Goodbye".

[pokemonswshbutionlyplayedsword]

You want angst? How about the gym leaders worst nightmare and what they do when they wake up from it?

Oh boy, thank you anon. I need this. Sometimes we just wanna see our strong favorite characters feeling scared and vulnerable. A lot of these will probably seem a lot like that one ask I did about their worst fears a long time ago.

Milo has a nightmare that his farm is on fire. His family is trapped in the farmhouse and for some reason, Milo can’t move. He wakes up in a cold sweat. He checks the house, making sure all of his family is sound asleep and that there’s nothing that might catch fire. He sits out on the porch under the light of the moon, fondly looking over the fields of crops with his Eldegoss. He’s tired the next day, but at least his farm isn’t burned to the ground.

Nessa’s at the bottom of the ocean. It’s peaceful at first, but then everything turns dark and Nessa realizes she can’t breathe. She’s trying to swim to the surface, but it’s like it keeps moving away. Right when everything goes dark and she’s sure she’s going to die, she jolts awake. She’s hyperventilating until she realizes she’s in her room and Drednaw is sound asleep in her bed. She gets up and wanders around a little, maybe grabs a little snack. After she’s calm, she goes back to sleep.

Kabu’s dream consists of a memory more than a dream. He’s back in Hoenn, in one of the dark alleyways he used to know. His situation in Hoenn, was... not the best, so to speak. He’s back in a dark alley he used to frequent, and dark figures approach. Kabu tries to fight and struggle, but it seems like he can’t move. He’s shoved, and he wakes up as soon as he hits the ground. You ever have that thing when you’re falling in your sleep and you can feel yourself tense up? Yeah, that’s what wakes him up. He just kind of lays there. He pets Arcanine and Ninetails, who were woken up for the same reason. He catches his breath, reminds himself he’s out of there, and falls back asleep.

Bea’s nightmare is sort of surreal. She’s strapped to the ground for some reason, can’t move, can’t make a noise. She tries looking around, and it’s just pure white. She sees Allister’s mask on the ground next to her and she starts panicking and trying to struggle. It’s a good thing nobody else is in her bed with her, because when she wakes up, she sends a fist flying into the air. She flails for a second before she sits up and catches her breath. She grabs her pokemon, gets dressed, checks on Allister, before going to the Wild Area to train for the rest of the night. She has a need to be stronger.

Allister doesn’t often have nightmares, but when he does, they’re intense. He’s in his room, but instead of his carpet, the ground is a dark void. He’s too scared to leave his bed. He calls for help, but neither Bea nor his pokemon come to his aid. He’s left entirely alone, and during the dream, things like his walls and his blanket fade away into darkness as well. Eventually, he’s alone and consumed in the darkness. He wakes up, shaking. He calls for Bea, who comes running, and she sits and cuddles him for a while. Either he falls asleep and she goes back to her own bed, or she ends up falling asleep in his bed with him.

Opal has old lady fears, yeah, but most of her nightmares are about things from her youth. In one nightmare, she’s lost in the woods around Ballonlea. All of the glowing flora gets dimmer and dimmer until she can hardly see. She’s lost and turned around and there are glowing eyes all around her. Normally, she wouldn’t be scared in this situation, but she looks everywhere and can’t find her pokemon. She wakes up and gets a glass of water. She knows she’s okay, so she calms down pretty quickly and goes back to bed.

Gordie’s nightmare is about his family vanishing. He wanders the house in his dream, and everything is distorted and weird. He can’t find anyone. Not even his own pokemon. He’s afraid that something bad happened to them. He doesn’t even know that he’s dreaming. He wakes up after a while of this, dread still heavy in his stomach. He lives away from home, so he calls his mom, asks her to check on his siblings. They’re fine. Everything’s fine. He grabs some water and maybe a snack and then gets back to bed.

Melony has a similar dream. Except she’s in a blizzard with her kids. They get swallowed up by the blowing snow. She can hear them crying and calling for her. She stumbles through the snow, but she can’t find any of them. She wakes up in tears. She gets up and checks on her kids. She calls Gordie, just to make sure he’s okay. She may even wake one of them up by hugging them. She then makes herself a cup of tea and tries to relax. It’s hard to do so because the idea of her kids being in danger is too much for her, so she usually stays awake all night. Sometimes she reads a book or something, sometimes she just lies awake in bed and stares at the ceiling.

Piers’ nightmare is a lot like Marnie’s in that one post. Marnie is in danger, essentially. He’s looking everywhere for her, and he finds her limp body in some place. He’s trying to wake her up, she’s not moving, then some real paranormal shit drags her body away. Piers is in pitch blackness. He’s falling, then looks up to see that he’s in a grave? Really surreal, but when he hits the ground is when he wakes up. He’s shaking, crying and breaks out into a cold sweat. Luckily, Obstagoon is already awake- Piers must have been talking in his sleep, or thrashing or something- and is already working on calming his trainer down. Once the shaking subsides for the most part, Piers looks for Marnie. She’s asleep in her room, good. Depending on how bad it was, Piers will stay for a while, or go in and hug her. He then makes himself some tea to calm down, and then tries to go back to sleep. If he can’t, he gets started on some work.

Raihan’s nightmare involves his fears of being alone. He’s surrounded by people he cares about, Leon, Piers, his gym trainers, his dad. They’re all facing away from him. They’re in some sort of void. Raihan tries to talk to them, touch them, but his hands pass right through them and they vanish. Eventually, he’s entirely alone. He starts to panic and everything gets darker. He wakes up crying. He’s so scared of being alone. He pets and cuddles all of his pokemon, yes, even Goodra. Then he scrolls on his phone. Maybe posts a picture or something just to get attention. He’s got to remind himself that he’s not alone. Sometimes, he’ll even call someone he saw in his dream and tell them about it. Once he reassures himself that he’s not alone, he’s able to go back to sleep, even though it will be hard.

Leon’s nightmare involves Hop being in danger as well as Galar. He’s standing in the ruins of Wyndon. He can tell because the logo on the Rose Tower is laying in front of him. As he walks through the rubble, he spots Hop’s jacket. Later, he spots his hand rising out of the rubble. Leon panics and tries to dig him out, but he wakes up before he does. He gets up, calls Hop. He makes sure he’s okay and that Hop knows Leon loves him. Then he stands at one of his large windows, looking down at Wyndon for a while. Sometimes, he stands there until the sun rises. Sometimes, Charizard sits there with him. He usually gets back to sleep eventually, but not after at least several hours of reflecting on himself.

[haledamage]

The Last to Know

(So a little while ago, I was doing the Flora of Eora prompts, and in this one I wrote, in regards to Kai/Edér, “There’s probably a universe out there where the two of them end up together romantically, but I haven’t written it yet.” Well, my husband, in his infinite wisdom, challenged me to do just that.

And then, the lovely folks in the Writers of Eternity discord presented a challenge too, for all of us to try and write and share something this week while we’re all stuck at home under quarantine so here we are :)

Kai/Edér, set a couple years after Deadfire, I think)

(EDIT: Now also on AO3!)

“Mayor Teylecg?”

Edér looked up from his desk as a man stepped into his office. He was wearing a traveling cloak and a wide, friendly smile. His accent was obviously Raedceran. Edér tried not to hold it against him. “Somethin’ I can do for ya, sir?”

The man took off his hat and held it between both hands, looking a bit like he was using it as a shield. “Actually, I was hopin’ to talk to the missus. Is she available?”

“The who?” Last Edér checked, he was very much unmarried and had no real interest in changing that.

“Why, your Lady Watcher, of course.“

”Kiki? You think she’s my…" he cut himself off with a sharp shake of his head. “She’s at one of the farms to the west, helpin’ the midwife deliver a baby. Should be back by nightfall if all goes well. If this is important, I can send someone to fetch her.”

“That will not be necessary, Mister Mayor. It’s nothin’ that can’t wait ‘til tomorrow.” He bowed, the formal bow of someone who did it a lot. “Please do give her my regards. Good day.”

“Yeah. Good day to you too.” Edér watched the man leave and stared at the door for a long time after he was gone. “Huh. That was weird.”

He tried to shrug it off and go back to work.

He was still trying to get back to work when the door opened and Kai breezed in just before sundown. She looked exhausted, but in good spirits, and she smiled wide when he looked up from his desk. “You can add two more to the population count for the town. Twin boys, both very loud and healthy. Good evening, dear.” She kissed the top of his head as she walked past him to the living area. She called back at him as she walked away, “I ran into Mrs. Sammesbury on the way home and she gave us some of those cakes you like.”

He gave up on working and followed her into the kitchen, leaning against the doorway and watching as she unloaded what looked like most of a bakery from one of the baskets she was carrying. “Hey, Kiki?”

“Yes, my dear?” she said distractedly, placing what appeared to be an entire pot of stew on the table.

“I’ve been thinkin’…” He took a deep breath. May as well get it over with. “How come you’re still here?”

“In Dyrford?” Kai finally looked up, studying his expression with a curious, bird-like tilt of her head. “You wanted to come back, and I came with you. I like it here.”

“Sure, but why me?”

“Why not you?” She came around the table until she was standing in front of him, arms crossed. “Edér, what’s this about?”

“Are you in love with me?” he asked all in a rush.

She stared at him, slack-jawed. A noise escaped that might have been the start of a word before she snapped her mouth shut and fell quiet for a long time. Edér tried not to get antsy as the silence stretched on. “I honestly hadn’t thought about it,” she finally said.

“Yeah. Me either.” He ran a hand through his hair, trying to put his thoughts in order. “A man came by the office today lookin’ for you. Asked if my wife was available to talk Watcher business.” It hadn’t been his exact words, but he knew her well enough to know she wouldn’t respond well to being called ‘the missus’ even if it had been true. “You weren’t home, so he went on his way, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. Do other folks think we’re married?”

“Well, we do share a home,” she said slowly, a knot in her brow saying she was trying to do the math too like he had been all day. “And a bed.”

“Yeah, but we don’t do anything in it.”

“How would they know that?” A thought crossed her face, and she pointed an accusatory finger at him. “Are you in love with me?”

He threw his hands in the air, exasperated. “How would I know?”

“I have no idea!”

They fell silent again, staring tensely at each other. It felt strangely like they were having an argument about this, but if they were it was the stupidest thing they’d ever fought about. And that was saying something.

A sudden idea came to him, half-formed and probably a bit reckless, but that’s how most of his best ideas started. “Do you trust me?”

“Of course I do,” she answered without hesitation.

Before he could talk himself out of it, Edér grabbed both sides of Kai’s face and pressed his lips to hers. They both stood there, not moving, staring at each other, faces so close his eyes crossed just to keep her in focus. There was no spark, no fireworks. Wasn’t that what was supposed to happen, if you were in love with someone?

She pulled away just enough that she could speak. “I don’t think we’re doing this right. I thought you’d done this before.”

“I have!” he said defensively. “It’s just been a while. And none of them were… like you.” He felt weird comparing her to the women he’d been with in the past. They’d all been nice enough, of course, but Kai was… different. He just wished he knew why she was different, and what it meant.

She grabbed his arms, though he couldn’t tell if she was trying to pull him closer or push him away. “Then kiss me like I’m one of them.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Then close your eyes.” Her eyes immediately fluttered shut, completely trusting of him, and that warmed his heart like it always did. Even if he didn’t know if he loved her, he knew he loved her. That, at least, was never in question. “You know you’ve even got freckles on your eyelids?”

“How could I have possibly known that, dear?” she asked dryly, but one corner of her mouth lifted in amusement.

He brushed his thumb over one of her eyelids, tracing the little cluster of freckles there, and Kai gasped, her lips parting as if she was going to say something. Before she could, Edér closed the distance and kissed her again.

This time it was different. It was still stiff at first - he could actually feel Kai overthinking the whole situation - but he shifted, trying to find an angle that could make the difference in their heights a little less uncomfortable, and suddenly everything clicked into place. Suddenly, everything felt right. All the awkwardness fell away and in its place came a hunger that Edér hadn’t felt for a long time. 

He deepened the kiss and wrapped his arms around her, almost lifting her off the ground in an attempt to pull her closer. She caressed his face, carding her fingers through his beard, and there, there were the sparks. Her hands left a trail of them along his cheeks and jaw, shooting straight down his spine. He broke away with a groan and put his hands on her shoulders, trying to put a little distance between them so he could think again.

Kai was staring at him like she’d never seen him before, like she was trying to put the pieces together for a puzzle she hadn’t known was there. He knew the feeling. “That was…” 

He huffed out a breathless laugh. “Yeah. Yeah, it was.”

“What does it mean?”

“I don’t know,” he said, but he was lying. He had a feeling he knew exactly what it meant.

This time, she kissed him first and he let himself stop thinking for a little while.

Edér wasn’t sure when they’d moved to the couch, but that’s where they were the next time they came up for air. Kiki stared up at him, her hair a cloud of wild curls covering the pillows. Her face was flushed, lips red and swollen, her eyes dark with emotions he’d never seen from her, and it was all he could do not to just dive back down and kiss her again. Had she always been this beautiful? How had he never noticed before?

He pressed his face into her neck and her arms curled around his back and this, at least, was familiar. He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself, but the fire-and-wildflower scent of her did nothing to calm the racing of his heart. “What are we doin’, Kiki?”

“I was rather hoping you could tell me.” Her voice was low and rough, but her words were as prim as ever and he couldn’t help but chuckle. His lips brushed her throat as he did, and she gasped and arched her back, pressing herself against him. He did it again deliberately just to see if he would get the same reaction, and he did, this time followed by a helpless little laugh. “That really isn’t helping, darling.”

“I dunno. Depends on what you’re lookin’ for help with.” He left a meandering trail of open-mouthed kisses up her neck. She clung to him, hands clenching in his shirt and hair. “If I’d known it would be like this, I’d’ve kissed you years ago.”

“Maybe years ago, it wouldn’t have been.” She pushed against his chest until he moved back enough to look her in the eye. “Hey, Edér?”

“Yeah, darlin’?”

She was so close he could barely keep her in focus, just like when he’d first kissed her. How long ago had that been? Minutes? Hours? So much had changed so quickly. “Are you in love with me?”

Edér didn’t answer right away. Instead, he slid his arms under her and sat up on the couch, pulling her effortlessly into his lap. She smiled at him like she couldn’t believe this was really happening, tracing her fingers over his cheeks, his brow, his lips, the slope of his nose. There was such an unexpected tenderness in the way she looked at him that it left him breathless. 

If he hadn’t known the answer to her question before, he knew it now beyond a shadow of a doubt. “Yes. I am. I love you, Kiki.” He’d said it before, hundreds, maybe thousands of times, but it felt different this time.

Kai pressed her forehead to his, and the last bit of tension drained out of her. The relief in her voice was obvious. “Good. Otherwise this would be really awkward, because I’m in love with you too.” She closed her eyes, as if the effort of saying the words out loud had been too much, but she was still smiling. “I don’t know why we couldn’t see it.”

“Guess everyone else could. If that guy comes back, I’m gonna have to buy him a drink.” It was all so obvious, now that he was looking for it. How long had they been in love and not realized it? When had things changed? Maybe it had always been like this, and they just didn’t see it. “I’m sorry it took us so long to figure it out.”

“Better late than never.”

She kissed him again, and it felt like the start of something new.

[kusunogatari]

[ ObiRyū October | Day Twenty | Astronaut ] [ @abyssaldespair ] [ Uchiha Obito, Suigin Ryū, Hatake Kakashi, Nohara Rin ] [ Verse: Best Years of Your Life ]

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“Happy birthday, Obito!”

“Wh-?” Stepping into the hallway, Obito immediately finds himself staggering back. A wild Ryū has decided to tackle him, arms around his neck as he wraps his own around her waist to help hold her up. “Uh...hi?”

Standing nearby, both Kakashi and Rin snicker. “Did you forget what day it is?” the latter asks. “We thought she was gonna explode waiting to say hello this morning!”

Ryū retreats as Obito sets her down, cheeks pink and expression sheepish. “I had a feeling you would have forgotten…”

Obito, also embarrassed, itches the back of his neck. “I might’ve remembered if I wasn’t running late this morning…”

“As you are every morning,” Kakashi replies, perking a brow as Obito balks.

“Oh leave him alone, Kakashi,” Ryū sighs. “At least for today of all days? Tease him any other time than today.”

“But today is the best time for -”

Rin, turning to him, gives him a look...and he quiets.

“I got you a present!” Ryū then offers, pulling a wrapped parcel from her backpack. “Do you want to open it now, or...wait until after class?”

“I can open it now!” Eyes eager at the sight of the gift, Obito grins wide as she hands it over. “You’re the best, you know that?”

“Wait until you see what it is,” his best friend teases, ignoring Rin as she elbows him.

“Don’t spoil it!”

“I’m not!”

Looking the wrapping over, Obito can’t help but notice that it seems rather like a game jacket...did she get him a video game…? He gives her a glance, only proceeding as she nods with an excited look of her own. With a few pulls of his fingers, he reveals the cover.

“No Man’s Sky…?”

“It’s a space game!” Ryū quickly blurts. “You get to play as an astronaut! It’s all randomly generated, and there’s over eighteen quintillion planets you can find and explore! And all the flora and fauna are generated, so you never see the same thing twice...it looks really, really cool! I know you like space stuff, so...I thought it was a good fit!”

Listening, Obito then looks to the jacket. A huge space game, huh? That sounds amazing! “Thanks, Ryū! I’ll have to play it as soon as I get home!”

“Just don’t put off your homework,” Rin chides with a knowing smile.

“I won’t, I won’t...hey, wanna come over and watch me play, Ryū?”

“Yeah! I’m really curious what it’ll be like! Apparently it had some issues at launch but it’s improved a lot since then. I wanna see all the cool animals and planets!”

Grinning ear to ear, Obito pulls her forward for a squeezing hug. “Thanks, Ryū...you didn’t have to get me anything.”

“I wanted to! Besides, what kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn’t?” She pokes his chest lightly. “And you got me something for my birthday. It’s only fair!”

That makes him chuckle. “Yeah, you’re right...I’ll have to have you try playing it too!”

“Well, I...I can try. I dunno if I’ll be any good at it. I mostly play simple games, eh heh.”

“I bet you’ll be great! We can -”

It’s then, however, that the bell rings for first period, and the four teens wilt.

“Welp...see you guys at lunch,” Kakashi offers, retracting the arm he’s had around Rin’s shoulders.”

“Don’t forget we’ve got a club meeting at lunch, Kakashi!” Rin then offers, and his shoulders wilt.

“Do I have to go…?”

“Yes, yes you do. Just grab your lunch and head to the club room. It won’t kill you.”

“...we don’t have anything today, do we?” Obito then asks, turning to Ryū.

“I don’t think so. Today’s Wednesday, so no play practice. And I haven’t heard anything else.”

Obito gives a small sigh of relief. That means he can get home at a good time to play his new game! “Okay, cool. See you at lunch, then.”

“Mhm!” For just a brief moment, Ryū lifts on her toes a bit to give him a quick press of her lips to his cheek. “Hopefully today goes fast, I wanna see your game!”

Under her touch, his face grows warm. “Y-yeah! It’s gonna be fun.”

With that, the four of them split up to head to their first classes.

And as they tend to do on a day with something else to look forward to...classes pass slowly. Obito finds himself zoning out for most of the morning, chin in his palm as he blinks owlishly at the teachers. It doesn’t help that he finds most if not all of his classes to be exceedingly boring. One of the few redeeming features of high school was an unexpected one, that being the drama club that takes place after classes.

Which is where he really got to know Ryū, and...well, the rest is history. They’ve been dating for over a year now, and he’s pretty sure it’s been the best year of his life so far, all things considered.

As his last morning class finally comes to a close, Obito wastes no time in making his way to the cafeteria to pick up some food and meet the others. Ryū beats him there, her classroom far closer.

“Hey!”

“Hey. Kakashi and Rin go through yet?”

“Yeah, they went to the club room already. So I guess it’s just us this time around.”

“Meh, that’s okay. Might be nice just the two of us for once, hm?”

That gets her to smile. “Yeah! There’s a free table near the back corner, maybe we’ll actually be able to hear each other and talk.”

He snorts. “In this chaos? Maybe.”

They snag the table, dragging the chairs side by side and starting to dig into their lunches. Typical idle chatter flows between them. The cafeteria is a hub of noise and distractions, but they do their best to block out the rest and make the best of their brief break before afternoon classes.

“Got much homework for today so far?”

“Just some reading for literature,” Ryū replies, taking another bite of salad. “That won’t take me too long. I might end up with something in geometry, but we’re in a pretty easy chapter right now. You?”

“So far nothing is due tomorrow, so I can put things off.”

Ryū gives him a look, but it’s clear she’s torn between chiding him about homework, but also getting a chance to watch him play. “Well...okay. Just be sure to give yourself enough time so you’re not crunching it the night before it’s due.”

“I know! I’m the master of time management. I can wait until just the right moment,” he replies with a grin.

“There’s also play practice tomorrow and Friday to account for, hm?”

He nods, mouth full.

“Okay...just making sure you remember.”

Obito’s eyes give a teasing roll. Sure, he can be a little scatterbrained, but it usually turns out fine. Ryū, ever the worrier, is practically his assistant with how much she drops little reminders for things. The first of the two plays they’re doing this year is at the end of the month, so it is crunch time for practice and making sure everything is ready. So missing any practice now won’t be a good idea.

But he knows his lines, and the prop crew he’s in is just about finished. He’s not worried.

All too soon however, lunch is over. The pair tidy up after themselves, parting yet again for afternoon classes. Just three more blocks, then they’ll be free for the afternoon.

As soon as they are, Obito flees his last classroom and makes a beeline for his locker. A day without homework! Well...he does have some, but it’s not due until Friday. Which means...he’ll work on it tomorrow!

“Ready to go?”

He glances over to see Ryū, backpack already on her shoulder. “Yeah, let’s go!”

Both of them walk to and from school every day, living close enough to it that the journey isn’t too bad. Even now in February, with a bit of snow on the ground, they make the trek on foot. Obito’s house is closer, which means their walk is pretty short this afternoon.

“Gran! I’m home!” he calls as they head in, stomping snow from their shoes outside and removing them once inside so they can dry.

“Have a good day today?” Sachiko calls back, making her way toward the front door.

“Yeah! Know what day it is?”

“Of course I do,” the old woman replies with a laugh as she enters the room. “I’ve had to wait all day to say happy birthday! I was going to get up early, but…”

“Nah, don’t worry about it. You need the sleep.” He hugs his grandmother tightly, having to lean down a fair bit to reach her.

“Well I haven’t gotten a cake made, but I’ll do that now. Hello Ryū, dear!”

“Hi missus Uchiha!”

“Ryū got me a new game for my birthday, so we’re gonna play it for a bit before homework, okay?”

“A game? For the computer?”

Both teens withhold smiles at the simplification. “Yeah! Just holler when you need help with dinner, okay?”

“Of course, of course. Will Ryū be staying?”

“I can if you’d like me to!” she chirps in reply.

“Certainly! You two have fun and I’ll work on that cake.” With that, Sachiko starts tottering into the kitchen.

Exchanging a look, the pair giggle before retreating to Obito’s room.

They sling their bags down, Obito working on getting the game installed. Ryū, wasting no time in getting comfy, lounges on his bed and starts some of her reading assignment in the meantime.

“Book any good?” he asks.

“Eh, it’s okay. Kinda boring, but...that’s how class books are, really. At least it’s not as bad as the last one...I almost didn’t finish it.”

“You? Not finish an assignment?”

“I know, right? It was just that bad. So this one’s looking better than that, at least.” She flips another page, lying on her back with one leg up over a bent knee. “How long until the game’s ready?”

“A little while.”

“You could start some homework while you wait.” Ryū glances to him, grinning.

“Or...I could not.”

“You heard Rin. She’s gonna scold you if you slack off!”

“What Rin doesn’t know won’t hurt her,” he counters.

“Maybe I’ll tattle on you.”

“Pffft, you better not. She’s got enough to worry about without nitpicking me about my grades.”

Ryū just sticks out her tongue before going back to reading.

At least, until Obito clambers up onto the bed next to her.

“...hi.”

“Hi.”

“Not gonna interrupt me, are you?” she questions, not looking from the page.

“Hm...no. Just figured it was less boring to wait this way.”

That makes her snort. “I guess that’s fair. Gonna nap?”

“Nah. I’ll just…” With a bit of wiggling, Obito sneaks arms around her, making her giggle once he finally finds a comfy spot.

“Your arm is gonna go numb.”

“I’ll live. It’s comfortable.”

She just gives an amused shake of her head, still reading.

A while later, Obito dozing, he jerks at the little jingle his console makes when the game finishes installing. “...oh! It’s done!”

“Already? That seemed pretty fast!”

He disentangles himself and sits down in his chair, looking things over. “Yeah, it’s good to go! Ready?”

Just finishing a chapter, Ryū marks her place before joining him in another chair. Excitement alights her face. “I can’t wait to see it!”

Selecting the game, Obito boots it up. An introductory sequence plays: he’s waking up on a planet, seemingly dazed...and alone. The temperature is dangerously low, and he’s already at risk of freezing to death.

“Oh! You’ve gotta find shelter! Where’s your ship?”

“I dunno!”

“Over there! There’s a cave! I bet it’ll protect you!”

Scrambling, Obito directs his character underground...and the temperature starts to stabilize. They both breathe a sigh of relief. “...okay...I need to figure out the controls and stuff.”

As Obito tinkers with commanding his character, Ryū watches quietly, trying to sneak peaks back outside whenever Obito wanders closer to the entrance of the cave. And then -! “Oh! Look! Look out there!”

“Heh?”

“There’s an animal!”

“Oh!” Creeping closer, Obito gives them a better look.

It has...four pairs of legs, and a little bitty head. But a dense pale-green fur covers its body, plodding along amongst alien-looking flora.

“It’s so funny looking!” Rocking back in her chair, Ryū laughs unabashedly. “Look at it’s head! It’s so tiny!”

Obito laughs right alongside her. “What even…?”

“What is it?”

“You’re asking me?”

“I think you can scan things? And you get money for it!”

“Uh…” He tries toggling some buttons.

“Maybe you can’t scan things yet. But oh my gosh...that thing is hilarious. Is there anything else?”

“I dunno, we’ll have to explore. But I don’t wanna freeze to death!”

Together, the two of them start stumbling along the beginnings of the game. Obito starts getting the hang of it, finding a scanner, a terrain editing tool, and his ship. And once they get far enough...he takes off and leaves the planet’s atmosphere, heading out into open space.

They both take a moment to marvel at it. “Whoa…!”

Opening his map, they find there are four planets in the system he’s in. A signal starts coming from one of them.

“So, uh...how many planets did you say there were again…?”

“Something like eighteen quintillion?”

“...uh...how many is that?”

“It’s two steps over a trillion. So...million, billion, trillion, quadrillion, quintillion.”

“Holy shit…”

“Yeah! And you can run into other people if you play online!”

“Maybe once I’m better at it. I don’t wanna look stupid…”

“You won’t!”

But before much more progress can be made, Sachiko calls for them. “Time for dinner!”

“...I thought we were going to help with dinner?” Ryū asks, brow perking.

“You know Gran, she conveniently forgets that part most of the time…”

They head back to the kitchen where Sachiko already has a cake made, and a meal ready to be eaten.

“We could have helped!” Ryū gently protests, only to have her concern waved away.

“I’ve made more dinners than you’ve eaten,” she counters with a twinkle in her eye. “I can manage a few more.”

Unable to retort, they sit and enjoy her hard work, Obito flushing pink as his grandmother insists on lighting all the candles. Ryū, grinning, films it all with her phone.

“...don’t show Kakashi.”

“I won’t, don’t worry.” Together, she and Sachiko sing him happy birthday, and then Obito blows every candle out with one breath.

Sachiko then serves them each a piece, Ryū insisting hers is too big only to be shushed.

There’s no telling Sachiko no.

By the time they finish the birthday meal, Ryū admits she’d best head home. “I need to finish my homework and get my chores done...but I’m glad you like your game so far! Maybe this weekend I can come see more?”

“Sure! Maybe by then I won’t suck at it.”

She just laughs. “...happy birthday, Obito. I hope it was a good one.”

“The best,” he replies, leaning in to give her a kiss. “Thanks for the game, and for coming over. See you tomorrow.”

“Bye!”

He watches her go, waving before heaving a contented sigh. It was a good day, all things considered.

Another year behind him...and another to go.

     kjfdghfdjhg this is a day late because...I ran out of time OTL Gonna try to at least start today’s tonight but I doubt I’ll finish. Just so fricken busy lately ;A;      ANYWAY, just...random modern fluff uwu NMS is actually really cool and people who hate on it are nerds who don’t know the whole story of what the developers had to go through, but...I won’t rant on that xD Ryū and Obito playin’ games and snuggin’ is just a Good Vibe.      But yeah, that’s all for this one! Time to try to speedrun 21 xD Thanks for reading!