#he could point his arrow right at me and i'd thank him for it

[smilesflower]

junhui in his element 🏹 🎯

[blingblong55]

Taste- John 'Soap' MacTavish NSFW

Based on a request:

I really love your writing and all of the work you have done!! 🤩🤩 Is it okay, if I to make a hint of smut request of demolition expert reader x soap? Reader was brought in to join forces to help tf141, its a love of first sight for both. Once soap got to know reader is the same position as him, bratty and sassy, he was a goner. Thank you!! 🫶🏻🫶🏻

F!reader, smut, 18+, MDNI, unprotected!sex, P-in-V, solider!reader

As a well established military group, 141 was looking for another soldier to join their team and that is where they found you. The piles of files that Laswell had given Price and Ghost were huge that and their own recommendations for potential teammates.

When you were brought to base to meet your other two teammates, thats when cupid threw the arrow. Soap MacTavish, a sergeant in your team. Alongside him is your now closest friend, Kyle Gaz Garrick, he was the one who essentially forced the magic to work between you and his best mate. It took weeks for him and you to properly introduced yourself to the other, but at the end it was worth the wait.

"So, lass, tell me, wha' did they bring yer 'ere for?" his accent became easier to understand the more time you spent with him. "Well, I'm a demolitions expert and I have training in sniping-"

He smiles and pats your back, "Lass, you are now my favourite." You smile and pat his shoulder. "Thanks, Soap."

Time went on and he slowly studied who you are not as a soldier but as a person outside of the profession. He loved how you'd have friendly banter with the lieutenant or Gaz, who at some point became like a brother to you. One night at base, you and him were left behind by the rest of the team. You were exhausted and he was working on some new techniques for sniping. He turns to you, your legs spread apart, head rested on the pillow of the sofa, hands in between your thighs. The images he started to create in his head, what a sight.

He soon sat next to you, you open your eyes and turn to him, "Yes, Soap?"

"Yer're so beau'ful lass I think I want to kiss you." his boldness making an impact on you. "Oh yeah, I'd like to see you try MacTavish."

"And if I succeed, I better see yer in less." he tugs at your clothes. You chuckle and nod, not believing him for one second. He was very serious of this, wanted you and nothing else. His bulge noticeable through his trouser, the arousal growing tighter by the second. He cups your face and in an instant kisses you, tongue lapping with yours, his hands trailing to your thick thighs.

You let out a small gasp at this, but he does more to get a better reaction. His hands now tugging at your shirt, the common room filled with noises from you both. He smiles and then out of nowhere carries you in his arms, "Soap, what are you doing?" You weren't asking out of panic but more out of curiosity. Gaz was right though, you did like Soap and maybe this was a good step into a future with him.

"I told yer, lass, I want to see yer in less." His voice low and seductive. Once in his room, he lays you on his bed, "I like ya' R/N, more than I should and if I'm honest, somethin' needs to be done about it."

"Soap, you can't do that, you were busy and-" a tender kiss cut you off. In his room, he lays you on the bed, doing so delicately, hands traveling your soft skin, his stare like a predator to his prey. "What a sight, R/N." His lips on your neck, how could you stop someone when you also want this? It was a need that had to be fed and he happened to have the same hunger.

His hands slowly unbuttoning your trouser, belt on the floor, shoes thrown to the side, all clothes on the floor and this is the sight he yearned for all along. His pretty girl in his bed, ready for him. His hands begin to tease your wet cunt, he licks his fingers and soon they thrust into your needy cunt. "Fuck, Soap" you moan, hand on his wrist, not to stop him but to guide him more.

His other hand sliding up your ass. His legs parting yours, your fingers on his hair. The need you have for him, you grind on his fingers, nipples hard against his chest, the way your movements are rubbing on his chest, what a perfect way to make you need him more. "Shit bonnie..." he grew desperate, needed himself inside you, touch you and fuck you like no one else will. He slowly uses his two hands to make your legs part more. His aching and needy cock at the entrance of your cunt, he looks at you, now he's asking for permission? You nod, your head thrown back as his thick and lengthy cock makes its way inside of you.

"Oh...oh my lass...yeah...you-..fuck..you feel so...so good..ahh" His lips on your chest, kissing your now needy hard nipples. Your nails digging into his skin, leaving the marks to prove to himself that you need him as much as he needs you. "Soap...i...I can't...you-- you're too big.." you whine and cry. "Be my good girl and ...ah..take me, okay?" he kisses your lips passionately and caresses your face, trying to convince you. Your eyes shut, a small nod from you. "Use your words, lass." You moans your words, "Okay..i..-fuck...i..I'll be a good...good girl" He smiles and kisses you once more.

His thrusts go deeper, skin contact making noises, echoing the walls of the room. "R/N, what a goddess you are." he leaves hickeys and bite marks on your chest and neck. Soap begins to go faster, his head thrown back as his hands guide your hips, your tits bouncing from the movements. Your hands gripping the sheets and when you least expect it, he switches positions. Now, you are riding him, he under you. Hands still guiding your needy hips. "Fuck baby...I need this...oh..oh my pretty girl.." he praises you as he fucks you harder. Your body weak, stomach in a knot, your body now leaning on his. He slaps your ass the kisses your cheek. "His thrusts go deeper, skin contact making noises, echoing the walls of the room. "R/N, what a goddess you are." he leaves hickeys and bite marks on your chest and neck. Soap begins to go faster, his head thrown back as his hands guide your hips, your tits bouncing from the movements. Your hands gripping the sheets and when you least expect it, he switches positions. Now, you are riding him, he under you. Hands still guiding your needy hips.

"Fuck baby...I need this...oh..oh my pretty girl.." he praises you as he fucks you harder. Your body weak, stomach in a knot, your body now leaning on his. He slaps your ass then kisses your cheek. "You're so pretty you know that? And you are a very good girl." he smiles and kisses the top of your nose. You giggle, your body now weaker. "Cum for me, my baby, can you do that?" He moves the strand of hair from your face to your ear, "Can you cum with me?" you couldn't respond verbally, your brain melted by the sensations. He thrusts into you faster until they become animalistic. "Fuck...oh...my lass." his cum filling your tight walls. Your nails into his shoulder, teeth biting his neck as the obscene moans leaves your mouth.

Your own juices leaking on his cock, "my beautiful girl, you took me so well." his voice soft as he leans in, kissing your cheeks then your forehead. "I really like you, R/N." he kisses your collar bones then shoulders. He looks up at you, "Do you like me?"

"Very much." you respond. "Thats my good girl." he kisses your once more, hands cupping your face, keeping your cheeks warm.

A/N: I have no idea how to end this...help

[spidey-x-male-reader]

Howdy! Could i make a request for arsenal Roy harper from young justice?

Lian is adamant that reader is her uncle Roys boyfriend.

Reader teases Roy about it everytime it happens (for this, I'd prefer that Roy is coming to terms with being bisexual, and reader is also bi)

Pairing: Roy Harper x male!reader

Summary: Roy is babysitting Lian when she once again refers to you as his boyfriend. shenanigans ensue

A/N: AAAAAAAAAAAA Finally I have written something again and hopefully I will manage to do it more in the next time. I will probably work on my Roy Harper Requests first because...well...he's my husband. Thank you for everyone who's supporting me :3

REQUESTS ARE OPEN

Roy Harper was leaning against the kitchen counter, watching Lian, his niece, bouncing around the room with boundless energy. Well…he called her his niece. At some point he just got tired of the whole ‘Yeah i got cloned and that clone had a child with an assassin’-talk. But he liked Lian. He really did.

"Uncle Roy!" Lian's voice cut through his thoughts as she came to a skidding halt in front of him. "When is (y/n) coming over again?"

Roy raised an eyebrow, trying to suppress a smile. He almost hated how easy the mention of you made him smile. "Why, Lian? Getting bored of me already?"

Lian giggled at that. "Maybe! And besides, I wanna show them my new art project."

"Your art project, huh? You know I’m really not sure if (y/n) has time to come by today. You know how busy he is with Uncle Dick and the whole crew”

Of course Roy loved Lian. He loved hanging out with her, even if babysitting was not on his usual agenda. But the thought of you being out there on a mission without him made him…he wasn’t sure. He didn’t like it.

Lian's eyes widened innocently. "He’s there without you? I thought he was your boyfriend.”

Roy nearly choked on the glass of water he had been drinking, caught off guard by Lian's bluntness. At this point it shouldn’t even surprise him anymore. Lian did mention it a lot. He had no idea what made her so insistent that he was dating you.

It wasn’t even realistic considering you were way out of his league. (he would never say that outloud)

"Well, Lian," and of course in that exact moment you had returned to Will’s apartment because who are you to say no when the little girl begs you to come by. Roy was hoping you hadn’t heard anything but his hopes weren’t high. "I don't know about being Uncle Roy's boyfriend, but I do like spending time with him."

Lian's face lit up with excitement. "See, I told you!" She pointed at Roy, triumphant. "I knew it!"

Roy rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a warmth creep up his cheeks. "He said he likes hanging out. He also likes hanging out with Dick and Will and Kaldur.”

You chuckled and draped an arm around Roy's shoulders. "He’s right, Lian. Cut your uncle Roy a break. We’re just good buddies.” you looked over at him, giving him a quick wink. “Even though I do like hanging out with him the most.”

Lian rolled her eyes dramatically, clearly unconvinced. "Sure, just good buddies. Like I believe that."

Roy groaned playfully. "You're impossible, you know that?"

You just chuckled. “Wonder who she got that from.” he lightly hit Roy in his side with your elbow. “Surely not from Roy Harper who never manages to keep his mouth shut.”

“Hey!” He gave you a playful pout.

“To be fair, Will isn’t better so it might just be the Harper gene.”

“Oh wait, I can show you the picture I drew!” Lian grinned and skipped out of the room, leaving you and Roy alone. 

Roy sighed, looking at you with a mix of exasperation and affection.

"You know, one of these days, she's gonna get it into her head that she's some kind of matchmaker."

You laughed, leaning in to bump your shoulder against Roy's. "Well, can you blame her? She's got a great judge of character. Can’t blame her for wanting me in the family either. Do you have like…arrow family game nights"

Roy's gaze softened as he met your eyes, not being able to hold back from giving you a soft smile. "You're something else, you know that?"

You winked again. “I’m gonna take this as a compliment, Arsenal.”

The way you looked at him made his heart skip and it was hard to deny that he had some feelings towards you. 

You knew of course. Or at least you thought about it. You were the last person to just assume Roy’s sexuality especially after the guy apparently had been frozen on ice for some time and now had to pick up on all the stupid shit you do as a teenager. 

Like figuring out your sexuality which you thankfully already had behind you. And you were really glad about that. Because you know how hard it is. Especially if you have literal world ending scenarios to worry about.

He opened his mouth to say something when Lian raced back into the room.

“Here, Uncle (y/n)! Look!” she said and held up a piece of paper to you.

Roy leaned over your shoulder to also catch a look at it. His breath hitched in his throat.

It was the usual colorful and stickman drawing you would expect of a small child. It took you a few seconds but you eventually managed to recognize the figures in the picture. The small one and the big one were Lian and Will. There were Oliver and Dinah, and Chesire on the other side. And on the far left of the drawing were two figures that were unmistakably you and Roy, holding the others stickman hands and having a few hearts drawn around each other.

You moved to kneel down in front of Lian. “This is really beautiful.”

“You like it?!” her eyes were basically glowing.

“We like it, right?” you looked up at Roy.

Roy was a bit speechless for a moment, hoping no one was able to see the faint blush on his cheeks. “Yeah…yeah it’s nice.”

“Yay!” she excitedly started jumping around in a circle.

That’s when you heard your front door open. “What are we being excited about?” Willa asked while walking in.

“I draw (y/n) a picture! He likes it!” Lian said with a wide grin, running over to her dad.

“Really? That’s–” Will stopped when he looked at you and Roy. “...are you two crying?”

And you were TOTALLY NOT getting really emotional over the child’s drawing of you.

“No.” both you and Roy said at the same time.

“...ooookay” Will slowly nodded. “Well..eh…thank you for babysitting, Roy.”

“No problem.” Roy awkwardly looked at you.

You looked at him at the same moment before looking at your watch. “...I know this really great Italian place. Hungry?”

“Are you paying?”

“Aren’t you using Ollie’s credit card? Isn’t he like a billionaire?”

Roy looked at you for a moment. “...good point. Let’s go.” 

With that Will watched you two leave the apartment after you both said goodbye to Lian.

“...they are going on a date, aren’t they?” he looked down at Lian.

“No. They are just very good buddies.” she giggled while going back into her room to get another picture she drew for her dad.

Will just decided not to question it.

[smoking-jakelane]

Str!ke

Greta Valentines

Pairing: Jake Kiszka x reader!insert

Word Count: 2.2k

Warnings: fluffy fluff, little makeout session, mentions of bad childhood/ bad relationship w parents | all in all really just heartwarming jake boyfriend

Summary: Jake has planned a Date for you since you completely forgot about Valentines Day.

I saw this post from @seenoversundown and I KNEW that I wanted to write a little blurb to the Valentine's Day theme. So I picked the Bowling Date idea

Soo here it is! I hope you enjoy. Please note: English is not my first language so ignore weird wording or idk anything that you think makes no sense. My dms are open for everyone in case you want to know anything or just to say hi <3

"Could you like, at least tell me where we are going?"

"Absolutely not my angel." Jake said as he mindlessly caressed your thigh with his hand.

"Uurgh." You pout and lean back against the headrest of the passenger seat.

You hear Jake laugh as he turned the music up.

You closed your eyes even though they were covered with Jake's bandana.You silently tapped your feet to the beat, thousand thoughts wandering through your brain; wondering where the hell you two would go this evening was the main one.

The last week has been very stressful to say the least, so you were more than thankful for Jake to make up for it. It did catch you by surprise when he came home today and told you to get ready. When you asked him more than one time what he had planned,he smiled to himself and kept quiet.

You felt the car making a turn and eventually coming to a stop. You turn your head to Jake in anticipation to finally get your vision back.

"Come here." Jake said in a soft voice and carefully turned your head away from him so he could untie the knot at the back of your head.

You grabbed the cloth from your eyes and pinched them together as they were adjusting to the light.

The neon red colored arrows pointing to the entry of the bowling alley catched your eyes. Your lips turned into a smile as you progressed and you turned back to Jake who was watching you.

"We're going bowling? Babe that's awesome!" You laughed as you leaned in and gave him a kiss.

He cupped your face with one of his hands and pulled you back in for another, more deep connection. You sighed into the kiss as you felt your heart beat faster and the warmth of his fingers spiraling from your cheek through your body.

You were at loss for words and even thoughts.

Jake was the first to break the kiss. You didn't even notice that you two were losing yourself in a whole makeout session in the middle of a public parking lot.

Jake brushed the strands of hair out of his face and smirked at you. "As much as I'd want to continue this, I also would like to not miss our reservation."

You giggled at his words. Even after more than two years of dating, it felt like you were still at the start with how much emotions he brought up in you with just the simplest of things he did.

Whether he brought you something from a shopping trip that made him think of you, or the little notes he left on the counter to let you know he loved you and couldn't wait to come home again.

He felt like home. He brought peace in your hectic life and thoughts. Sometimes he could silence the whole world around you and all what mattered stood right in front of you. With hair that reached his collarbones, eyes that had just that sparkle to them and a little mustache which made him look older than he was.

"Oh before I forget, I got something for you. Saw it in a window and immediately thought you would like these."

"Jake..." you tried to stop him but he silenced you with his hand. You softly swatted it away from your face.

"I just wanted to say that you didn't have to do all this. I mean it's a normal Friday evening. What is all this for?"

"Okay look." He stopped and took both of your hands in his. His thumbs slowly stroked the back of your hands.

"I know that you've been busy as hell the last couple of weeks. I feel it the way you are asleep almost every day when I come home. And how you have no motivation or energy on the weekends. So since today is Valentine's Day-"

Oh shit.

He was right. Today was Valentine's Day. You absolutely forgot! Your heart sank and so did your eyes. You were ashamed for the way you neglected him the past weeks and the way he put it in perspective for you now. The sting in your chest hurt and you didn't dare to look at him.

"No don't you dare my sweet angel." You felt his fingers at your chin, slightly tilting it upwards to make you look into his eyes.

"I love you and I want to do anything I can to help you take the load off of your shoulders. You shouldn't feel bad for having a stressful time. Remember me when we prepare for touring? I know how hard it is. And how you are always there for me. So let me do this for you. I swear I love seeing you smile about things that I did. It's an immense boost for my ego you know."

He ended his little monologue with a wink and a playful smile. All you could do was listen and feeling yourself so full of love for this man in front of you. You didn't know how on earth you deserved him.

He squeezed your hands briefly before releasing them. His hands grabbed something from inside his Jacket and handed it to you.

You looked at the item in your hands. It was a black square box with a small satin bow sitting on top. You couldn't wait to see what's inside but you wanted his approval to open in right here in the car. You looked back up at him and he gave you a slight nod.

With your pointer finger and thumb you pulled on one side of the bow and let it fall down in your lap. Slowly you opened the box and let out a silent gasp.

"Jakey..." you whispered and he laid his hand on your thigh.

Inside the box was a pair of beautiful silver earrings. They looked like little swords and had some kind of rhinestone in the middle of the handle.

You began to smile and looked back up at Jake. "They are beautiful, oh my god.." He smiled with you, glad that you liked them as much as he did.

"So.." he started as he began to put away strands of your hair so he could change your earrings. "I think you might know for what these stand."

Of course you knew.

"Starcatcher." You smiled and he nodded.

"Exactly. I thought that when you eventually join us on our next concert, you might as well want to match."

He finished changing your jewelry and looked you up and down.

"Stunning." He said and patted himself on the shoulder; proud that he found something so fitting for you.

You couldn't help but laugh. That was his way of showing you his love, but also playing it down like he was a shy school boy.

His eyes had a spark to them and they seemed  to enchant everybody within reach. But right now, right here, they were sparkling just for you. You held your arms out and he immediately leaned in, returning the hug.

"Thank you Jake. I love them. And I love you." You nestled your head into the crook of his neck, the cold silver of the little daggers on your ear sending shivers down your spine.

You breathed in his cologne, mixed with the smell of hair conditioner you both shared. The love you felt for him filled your head and heart.

When you ended the hug his hands were at your shoulders and he looked you in the eyes. "I think we should get going now." He quickly placed a kiss to your forehead before he turned to get out of the car.

You smiled to yourself and opened the passenger door.

——————

"Yes, I found you guys. Reservation for 8pm on the Name Kiszka right?" the Lady at the reception had a friendly smile and her hair was colored in a soft purple.

Jake nodded and gave her the number of your shoe sizes. She turned around and searched for them before returning to the desk. In the meantime you let your eyes wander over the many bowling alleys. The light was dimmed and the air kind of thick.

It wasn't too full, maybe three or four alleys still unused. You smiled to yourself. It has been a while since the last time you went bowling.

The lady returned to the desk and handed you the shoes. "Thank you and have fun you guys." She smiled polite as she let her eyes fall back to the monitor in front of her.

"I love your hair, it really suits you." You said and smiled at her. She immediately looked back up and raised her eyebrows in surprise. You caught her offguard by the way it took a moment for her to react to your words.

Her face began to visibly light up and her hand flew to the strand of hair that was hanging loose from the messy bun. "Oh my god thank you so much!"

You felt your heart grew big in your chest. That was exactly why you started to give other people compliments. It was your mission to make the people around you feel good about themselves.

Nowadays, those words slipped easily out of your mouth. But that wasn't the case right before you've met Jake.

From your childhood on, you were surrounded by nothing but egoism. Your parents, your siblings; everyone put themselves first without thinking about how others might feel. In the end all they did was hurt themselves and the people around.

Everything inside of your body was rebelling against this behaviour they showed you. So you wanted to change. It was a hard battle, especially when you still lived with them.

When you moved out of your parents house and in your own flat, that was the turning point for you and your life. Finally, after years, you've felt at peace. Not only with yourself but also with your parents. It was in your hands when you wanted to see them. And that was almost never the case.

While you were working in that little music shop in Nashville you've met Jake. He was there almost every weekend renting out a huge variety of guitars and basses. Jake always wanted to talk to you, even though he almost never had enough time to do so.

And when you weren't there, he let your coworkers give you little handwritten notes with questions or random stuff that were going through his brain.

He never failed to make you smile.

You felt Jake's hand in yours and he patiently smiled at you before he led you to your designated bowling alley.

„I love the way you're always in your head after giving away compliments to strangers." Jake said with a soft voice.

You looked at him while he smiled to himself. „Stalker!" you laughed and softly shoved him.

When you arrived at your Bowling Lane for the night, Jake typed in your names in the little computer. You sat down and looked at the drinks menu, deciding that a little alcohol would be the right perfect way to go.

Shortly after Jake was done, the waiter came and you ordered for the both of you, knowing exactly what he would want to drink.

"Ready to get destroyed?" Jake asked and wiggled his eyebrows with a devilish smile.

"Uuh cocky." You smiled and got up from your seat. "Let's hit it."

————————

„I absolutely destroyed you there you know that?" the satisfaction of winning against Jake made your cheeks hot and your heart pumping in your chest.

„I'm never going again! It's not fair how good you are!" he playfully whined and slowed down in his steps.

You didn't notice as you kept walking to your car. You felt so happy, this whole evening making up all the stress from the last couple of weeks.

Your slightly drunk mind was still singing that one song that the bowling center played in the background and you started dancing on the sidewalk. You hummed the melody of the song and let your arms sway from side to side. As you turned around while dancing you caught Jake standing still with his phone pointed at you.

He sheepishly smiled at you and stored it in his back pocket before making his way to you. As he came closer, you tilted your head up and put your hands on your hips.

„Did you just film me?" you said and squinted your eyes at him.

Jake came to a stop, just millimeters from your body and you could feel his breath on your skin.

„I wanted to keep this as a memory." he whispered and put his hands around your shoulders.

You smiled and layed your head on his chest, his heart producing a steady beat. „Oh Jakey... thank you so much for tonight" you sighed and closed your eyes.

„Not for this Angel." Jake smiled and softly kissed your head.

When you released yourself from the hug, he let one arm laying around your shoulder as you continued your way to the car.

„Oh did I tell you about how I absolutely ended your bowling career?" you started again and the vibrations of his laughter shook both of your bodies.

„You're going to hold that against me forever, aren't you?" he said while smiling down at you.

„Oh absolutely I will."

[be-dazzled]

JUVIA DAY 2023: Hare Hare

Gray Fullbuster, Juvia Lockser June 3, 2023 Posted: June 30, 2023

Writer’s Corner: Before June ends, I'd like to share this something I came up with for Juvia Day. A little bit late but I heard we are experiencing some Gruvia drought, so here's me trying... Enjoy!

P.S. thank you for the correction regarding Keyes/Keith, @groovyah!!!

HAPPY JUVIA DAY!

All rights reserve to Hiro Mashima, original creator.

Masterlist

---

How long has it been since Gray had been dragging his feet along the rough road? He stopped caring two towns ago. All that thinking only made the road grow wider. So, he decided it was better to keep his mouth shut behind the redhead leading their journey. All Gray wanted was just a little bit of information about the next dragon god they are trying to seal away. Was that too much to ask? He’d really like to put some timeline into this journey because, if he was being honest, Gray was not getting any younger and there were some things he wanted to do after this quest. But if he was really, really, being honest, he kinda, sorta looking forward to seeing a certain someone.

“Oh, this looks familiar.” It was Lucy who first noticed.

How she kept that cheery spirit in her voice was beyond Gray.

But, true enough, Gray was greeted by a familiar intersection, marked by shabby and wooden signage. He’d seen it far too many times not to recognize the arrow pointing to home – Magnolia.

Magnolia. Fairytail. Home.

That’s how that thought always flowed. Fairytail has always been home. Lately, however, his thoughts ended on something else.

Fairytail. Home. Juvia.

He wasn’t sure when it started. When she became the end of that train of thought. All he knew was when he thought of home, the picture of her blue waves, sparkling eyes, welcoming smile, and soft voice that called out to him lovingly, started to stake a claim on his consciousness.

Gray-sama, welcome home.

“It’s been a while since the last time.”

The Requip mage suggested they regroup at the guild and return to their journey after gathering some intel. Besides, they all needed to recuperate and deserved to have fun after the draining fight at the Labyrinth.

“Alright!” Exclaimed the fire-dragon slayer. “Let’s meet everyone!”

The anticipation brought some energy back to the travel party. So much so that they all agreed on how they looked forward to seeing their guild members. In Gray’s case, there was one particular member whose picture slowly and clearly appeared in his mind.

Gray-sama!

He probably didn’t notice it himself but the thought of seeing Juvia had its wicked way to arc the line of Gray’s lips.

...

The guild was rowdy as ever but the chaos brought in by Team Natsu, with two other dragon-slayers in tow, was most welcomed. They greeted each other with the excitement of an unexpected reunion. Yet amidst that chaos, Gray was able to cut through the cacophony of crazy and made his way to where his thoughts had lain lately – Juvia Lockser. Before he could take a step further, the water-mage was already walking toward him.

“Oh! My! Gray! Samaaaaaa!” Her every step was accentuated by her sweet greeting.

Juvia tackled him to the ground with the sheer force of her embrace. Then she said something, something about thinking so much of Gray that she had physically turned into him.

“That makes no sense!” He barked without thinking.

They were always like this. She’d say something ridiculous and he’d react like Juvia’s thinking was outside the realm of logic. He was so used to the crazy that his responses had become automated. But it’s not that she always said something impossible. His consciousness would like to correct him, however, when he suddenly remembered the fight he had with Sai.

Love Bond

His tone quickly dropped as the memory hit him like an arrow.

I transmuted your “bond”…

“No… it was that…” Gray avoided Juvia’s expectant gaze, scratching the back of his head thinking it might somehow redirect her attention away from his face.

“Could it be that you took on Juvia’s form as well?”

with the woman you’re in love with.

He didn’t want Juvia to see him fight this sudden rush of heat. So, he played it cool, like always.

“Well, it’s just…”

While he was thinking of a way to properly formulate his answer, so that she wouldn’t twist it into something out of this world, the alchemist’s words kept repeating in his head, louder by the minute.

the woman you’re in love with

Cornered, Gray mustered enough courage to take a peep at the water-mage, who was beaming at him with the smile that seemed forever imprinted on Gray’s mind. She looked like she wasn’t really waiting for an answer, content in just making conversation. That gave Gray some space to breathe. He wasn’t really sure how to explain to Juvia what the love bond alchemy was without confessing–confusing! without confusing her. But come to think of it, Juvia’s theory about why she turned into Gray that day wasn’t too far from possible.

As if sensing his intention, Juvia quickly dropped the subject. He led Gray towards the table where Natsu was already starting some commotion. The ice-mage didn’t need an invitation to join that circus. He effortlessly merged into the chaos – an old habit. Juvia was more than happy to stay out of the riotous entanglement. Glad on simply hollering for him at the sidelines – her old and still most favorite hobby. It shouldn’t come as a surprise how easily they both fell into the usual.

Gray ought to laugh at himself though. He should have realized it by now; Juvia was so attuned to his feelings that he didn’t even have to say it. Juvia just knew. She already knew.

The snow fairy toys with the women sleeping in the depths of your heart.

Gray-sama…

...

The reunion at the guild wrapped up in a tangled mess of passed-out drunks and beaten-up sobers. Good thing Gray still had full control of his faculties, and so did Juvia. He had the mindfulness of being sober enough to walk Juvia home; finally getting some alone time with her.

The walk to Fairy Hills was, in fact, far but seemed too short to recount all of Gray’s stories of his travels. He wasn’t the talkative type. Actually, he’d much rather let his fists talk than his mouth. But they’ve spent so much time apart that there were a lot of funny and incredible moments worth sharing. As Gray retold his stories, Juvia filled all the spaces with small reactions, going through the entire spectrum of emotions. When he ran out of things to say, he’d notice the few changes his absence did to Juvia – like how her hair grew a bit longer. Her bangs started to level to her eyes and framed her face a bit differently than he remembered. There was something about her, something he couldn’t pinpoint exactly. In the way she walked or spoke, it felt as if she matured in his absence. Has she grown taller? Her clothes, he noticed, were becoming tight around some areas of her body – he scolded himself at the last one because it brought back the memory of Juvina-sama stripping naked in front of him.

“You don’t look all right, Gray-sama. Is something wrong?”

Gray had to push that memory to the farthest back of his mind. He knew, even if Juvina was a spitting image of Juvia, the water-mage would never forgive her for flashing Gray. She would hunt the poor celebrity down.

Imagining what Juvia would do to her, Gray actually felt bad for Juvina-sama.

“N-nothing.”

When they reached the front of the female dormitory, Gray felt a tug of disappointment. An anxious nag that he was leaving something important. It wasn’t too big a feeling but enough to recognize what it was. And with it came another, one that told him he couldn’t wait to see her again or made him wonder when the next time would be. Team Natsu was planning to travel to Gazania and visit Sabertooth’s comprehensive library for some information. It would take Erza one more day to gather all the essentials for the long trip. After that, he wasn’t too sure when would be able to see Juvia again. The thought pushed Gray to resolve his feelings and decide to see her again if her schedule would allow it.

“Juvia, are you free tomorrow?”

“Juvia will make herself free!”

Gray panicked at Juvia’s sudden change of demeanor. And here he was, feeling regretful that she had actually matured in his absence, that maybe she’d changed into someone he wouldn’t recognize. And while it wasn’t all too new and surprising, Gray still wasn’t okay with the fact that Juvia would abandon everything for his sake.

He didn’t deserve it.

“No, I only meant…” it wasn’t like he didn’t like it, “if you’re… coincidentally if you don’t have anything to do, y’know.” It just felt like he was asking too much from her if she had to rearrange her day to accommodate him.

“Juvia can get out of anything to spend time with Gray-sama.” Seeing how her enthusiasm put Gray in an awkward position, Juvia clarified, “Since, Gray-sama will be gone for a long time again.”

“That’s…” Guilt clawed at Gray and he would have let it gnaw at him if it wasn’t for Juvia’s gentle smile and understanding gaze. So, he expelled a sigh of complete resignation. He was allowed to be selfish sometimes, wasn’t he?

“Alright, then. Let’s go out tomorrow.”

“D-d-date?!”

Gray could easily predict what would happen – and that’s carrying Juvia into the dormitory, bridal style, and explaining to the agitated swordswoman why exactly was Juvia mumbling ‘gray-sama, juvia, first date’ in a trance.

...

Gray wasn’t particularly nervous about today. He had everything in order. He wasn't a planner. Gray was the kind that lived life day by day. Went with the flow. Sailed with the tides. Nevertheless, he had a general idea of how this day would go down. He already had the checklist in his head, mentally ticking off the boxes per accomplishment.

Ask Juvia on a dat-HANG OUT. Ask Juvia to hang out while he was still in town – mentally crossed off the list. Although he initially planned on picking her up at Fairy Hills, his indiscretion the night before led him to be banned from hanging around the all-girls dormitory. While his unconscious stripping was nothing new to the Fairy Tail girls, Erza still felt the need to discipline his public exhibition. Hence, the 2-year ban. So, the two agreed to meet each other at the guild.

Gray caught himself stripping midway to the guild. He quickly ran back to find his abandoned coat and slipped back into it.

“That was close!” He exclaimed. He, at least, wanted to meet Juvia on their date HANG OUT decent.

He couldn’t help it though; the sun was unusually bright today. He shielded his eyes and quickly regretted daring to stare directly up at the sun. But he was glad. The weather was fine. More than fine actually, suitable for today’s destination – the amusement park. News about a newly opened amusement park reached beyond the borders of Magnolia. He heard about the opening while traveling back and he was curious to see it since then. He could already imagine trying all the fun rides the park boasted, adding a small bounce on his steps.

He turned the corner and jumped back. He wasn’t expecting Juvia to be so early. He, at least, wanted to be the one waiting for her but the water mage was already standing under the shade of Bake Bake Shop's awning. What really surprised Gray, making his breath hitch in his throat, was that Juvia looked different. She wasn't wearing her usual clothes. Instead, Juvia opted for a flowy skirt shorter than the one she commonly used. She paired it up with a strapless top and some high boots and completed her look with a brown puffy bonnet atop her head. Juvia had never looked this casual and c-c-cute…

He wondered how long she had been standing there. And, how long has she been fending off those losers walking up to her and trying to strike up a conversation?

His astonished eyes quickly gloomed.

But Gray had nothing to worry about. He, himself, said it, Juvia was one of the strongest mages of Fairy Tail. She defeated Keith/Keyes, one of the Demon Gates. And there was no question Juvia could have ended Invel too, a Spriggan 12. The water mage was a force to be reckoned with. He didn’t need to worry for her safety, though he was allowed to, and let himself do so every now and then. He didn’t need to worry about other men hanging around the watermage; for Juvia only had eyes for her Gray-sama.

“Sorry. Juvia is waiting for her Gray-sama.”

Gray had only seen that void in Juvia’s eyes on a few occasions. When she was still a member of Phantom Lord. When she was still the rain woman, her eyes were filled with a pointed gloom of disinterest – in life and in other people’s business. It vanished when she became part of Fairytail and when he came into her life. Sometimes, he’d entertain the illusion that he was the one who brought those sparks into her lovely blue eyes. She claimed that he did but that was too grand an illusion. So, for now, he’d settle for being the center of those ocean eyes.

“Gray-sama!”

There! There it was the brightest glimmer in her round orbs. As sparkly as the ocean being kissed by the sun. They shone because and for Gray – only for him.

Gray met her half way, approaching Juvia who scampered towards him. He waited for the tackle, like she always did when they saw each other, and if he was being honest, he wouldn’t mind it. Only to show those losers why they shouldn’t be approaching the water mage. But she settled on just beaming at him in her cute ensemble; the short skirt swaying along as she moved.

“Where is Gray-sama taking Juvia?”

He answered her smile with his cool, pompous grin. Well, he wasn’t being cocky at Juvia. Gray just wanted to show those bastards.

“You’ll see.”

Oh, if only the bastards could see Gray now, his cool, cocky grin trembling at the sight of the sign plastered at the gate – CLOSED FOR RENOVATION.

"I-I… I should have ch-ch-checked yesterday." He lamented.

AMUSEMENT PARK DATE HANG OUT - X

Juvia, who was hiding an amused smile behind one hand, was not at all disappointed. She was just happy to be spending time with Gray, just the two of them. Juvia couldn’t ask for more.

"It's alright, Gray-sama." Juvia placed a consoling hand on Gray's shoulder. "Juvia doesn't mind just walking around."

Gray turned a heel, letting Juvia push him back to the road where they came from, as he kept mumbling a dejected 'no'. Now, he was the one in a daze. Because, what a major bullcrap that was; he was really looking forward to trying the rides all day.

Juvia started a conversation to keep him from sulking. He noticed, however, that she kept fidgeting beside him. She was playing with her fingers, unsure where to keep her hand between them. Gray didn't notice himself already staring at it, at Juvia's hand. Then, he started to become conscious of his own kept inside his pants pocket. There was something off about just keeping his hands in there, which he found strange because he never noticed anything wrong about it before. So, to redress this unsettling feeling, Gray pulled one hand out of his pocket and, as he was about to reach out and seek Juvia's, something swooped in between and knocked them apart.

Of course, he had to check first if Juvia was okay before he screamed at the bastard who slipped in between them.

"Hey, watch it!"

"Sorry, mister!"

It was a kid who looked no older than Greige from Edolas.

Greige.

A mental picture of his and Juvia’s child, his cute little face and aloof eyes, tugged a string in his heart.

"Storm-chan, please wait for onii-chan!"

A young man apologized to the two mages, bowing his head so desperately that Gray thought he was going to break his back. Then, grabbed the kid and went along. He seemed troubled by his little brother but now that he carried the child in his arms, onii-chan seemed unbothered by it. They laughed together as they went their way. That’s when Gray noticed the colorful donut floater the young man had circled around his arm.

The brothers were headed to the beach.

That seems like a good idea, Gray thought.

Hit with excitement knowing today may not be a waste after all, Gray grabbed Juvia’s hand, leading her in the race to the nearest beach in town. Juvia was more than happy to be dragged along by him. How could she not when Gray never let go of her hand the entire train ride? Even when he seemed to have finally noticed it because he turned his face away and spewed something about holding hands being a normal thing.

Finally, something right was happening.

or so they thought.

Now, Gray's mood wasn't the only thing dampened by the depressing turn of events, forcing the two to find shelter from the sudden downpour. They were both soaking wet.

Way to rain on Gray's parade, quite literally.

Gray scowled at the curtain of water holding them hostage under some makeshift shed. He pushed out his hand, his palm testing the stream spilling over the roof. By doing so, he’d be able to tell if the rain was about to stop and if they could still salvage whatever remained of their day. With the strength of the rainfall, it wasn’t anytime soon. He hissed.

"This isn't Juvia's doing."

Gray, surprised at the confession, turned to Juvia with a confused look. Of course, this gloomy weather wasn't because of Juvia. His face contorted into utter confusion. How could she even assume that idea ever crossed Gray's mind?

The old Gray, the one who didn't fully understand her, would have scolded her for even entertaining those thoughts. But that version of himself was long gone now. This new Gray understood Juvia at her very core.

"I know." Was all he said, offering the sulking water mage a soft smile, one that said he would never think that. Not in a hundred years.

Because Gray-sama was the one who stopped Juvia's rain.

"Know what, to hell with this." He grabbed Juvia by the hand and pulled her out into the pouring rain. "Who says we can't have fun, eh?"

Soaking wet, the two crazy teenagers, as the onlookers anointed them, sprinted to the beach, unafraid of the strong waves hitting the shore; the sheer force of it dragged Gray and Juvia as it pulled back. They played so carelessly, splashing each other or pushing one another into the water. Then they'd share childish giggles at how silly they might have seemed. They walked on the coastal lane too, feeling the wet sand on the flat of their feet, lumps sticking between the toes.

Gray would remember something stupid Natsu said or did, or an embarrassing episode happening to Lucy. He remembered that one time when he took the last stick of grilled squid, which was meant for Erza, and thought he was going to finally meet his end. Fear crossed Juvia’s face who was absorbed with the story. Knowing the Requip Mage, Gray’s apprehensions weren’t unfounded.

Juvia would recount a few of her own stories too; telling him she went on a job with Lisanna where they had to wear funny costumes. She was a tree and Lisanna was a mountain. Gray almost broke his back laughing.

When Gray's stomach started to protest, he had the bright idea of dining al fresco. Well, they really had no other choice. No restaurant owner in their right mind would let a drenched couple dine inside. So, they settled on a small coffee table and took a shed under its large umbrella. Gray had no problem ordering shaved ice despite that weather. As much as Juvia wanted to share with him, she wouldn't survive a combination of wet clothes, rainy weather, and cold dessert. A cup of hot cocoa was the far better choice.

Juvia took a sip, the hot sweet liquid sliding from her throat and down to her stomach, warming up her insides. The water mage let out a satisfied sigh as she watched Gray, who was sitting opposite her, gulp down ice. They sat in silence, calmed by the sound of rain pelting on top of the striped parasol. While she immensely did enjoy chatty Gray, Juvia equally loved moments like this when they could just be comfortable around each other's presence. It gave her time to take notice of a few changes in Gray. He seemed to have lost some weight. She asked if he was eating all right. He said he was but all the walking and fighting burned a few pounds off of him. Juvia promised to make him a bento when she sees him off tomorrow. She said it so casually as if preparing him lunch was expected of her. Gray smiled at that, just a sober slant of the lips, and told her he’d hold her to that promise. But quickly reminded her not to give it when Natsu’s around.

“I don’t want Flamebrain to steal it or somethin’.”

They fell in total but welcomed silence again, so they could listen to the faint sound of rain hitting the umbrella. It sounded like the rain was about to end soon. Lamentably, Gray and Juvia’s time might be ending soon too. Juvia let out another sigh, this time, a bit wistful.

“What’s wrong, Juvia?”

Gray’s face was contorted into worry.

“Nothing.” She pouted. “Juvia will just miss Gray-sama.”

Imagining the days she has to spend without the presence of Gray, Juvia couldn’t help but whine, slumping herself across the table at the sullen realization that Gray-sama will be so far away again. At the other end of the world even!

She snapped back up when warmth enclosed her hand. Her heart skipped a beat when she confirmed that it was Gray’s hand gently placed over hers. She stared at Gray, who returned the look with equal guilt and plea. His eyes, softened by his silent request, gave her an assurance that he wouldn’t be long. There was promise in them that whatever happens, he’ll find his way home – to her.

Juvia didn’t even have to hear him say it. She knew. She could see it in the way he softly looked into her eyes and gently squeezed her hand. Gray had conveyed his feelings through these simple gestures far better than his words ever could. And they reached Juvia, loud and clear.

I will be back.

Juvia will wait for you, Gray-sama.

Gray opened his mouth to say something but he quickly noticed the rain retreating. He withdrew from her gaze only to confirm this suspicion. Just like the way he tested the strength of the downpour earlier, Gray extended his free hand outside the roof of the umbrella. All the while, not loosening his hold on Juvia’s hand now enclosed in his.

Totally unnecessary but very much appreciated.

“Looks like it stopped raining.”

The realization widened both their eyes; a rapturous glimmer reflected in both. As if reading each other’s minds, Gray and Juvia cheered in unison, “Let’s try wave surfing!”

The hold on each other’s arm had become so permanent that wherever they went, none of them ever let go.

Even when the two of them were brought in at the police station for indecent exposure. Because Gray and Juvia were so excited to ride the waves, now that the sun had peaked through the clouds and the weather finally agreed with them, they both unconsciously stripped down and walked around in public in their intimates.

It didn’t come as a surprise for Gray since he’d been down the station on more than one occasion, all for the same reason. He was embarrassed though, for causing Juvia to spend the night in jail on their last night together.

“Juvia doesn’t mind, Gray-sama!”

The culprit for his current state – his face turning beet red – clung to him despite the warnings from the watch guard. The heat from, he wasn’t sure if it was because of getting in jail, their intimate position together inside the very small space, or maybe both, was making him nauseous.

What tipped the scale, though, was having Erza Scarlet march down the police station to bail them both out. And the Requip Mage did not look happy. In fact, she was so mad about having to wake up in the middle of her beauty rest and come down the station that she added another year to Gray’s ban from ever setting foot at Fairy Hills.

And for Juvia, to endure a year of curfew.

“As if it’s not punishment enough for Juvia not being able to see Gray-sama in the middle of the 100 year quest.” Juvia mumbled under her breath as she miserably followed Erza home.

“You were saying somethin’?”

Juvia was one of the strongest mages of one of the strongest guilds in Fiore. She was not afraid of anything, except for that murderous glint in Erza’s brown eyes that made her feel weak, small and breakable all at the same time.

“N-not-nothing, Erza-san.”

...

As promised, Juvia brought Gray a bento lunch she woke up so early to make. They met separately ahead of the others so that, as Gray requested, he could eat it in peace, away from the nosy fire dragon slayer who would have demanded a bite or two. They walked together to Team Natsu’s meeting point and Juvia wished them well on their journey to the Sabertooth guild. She sulked at Gray’s departure despite his assurances that he would be back, whatever it took. She suggested he give her a goodbye kiss so she wouldn’t miss him that much and aggravated the swordswoman for flirting too much in the open.

Juvia settled with just waving her beloved Gray goodbye, looking as their figures grew smaller and smaller by the distance. She didn’t know how long the quest would take her beloved away. But in those times that she missed him, in those hours that she’s alone and lonely, in those moments when her desire to see the ice-mage overwhelmed her, she had yesterday and today to think back to. This feeling today, the elated bliss lingering from having to spend the whole day with Gray, playing around and just having fun, without a care in the world.

In spite of the heavy rain.

Or maybe, because of it.

Gray not only took her rain away. Yesterday, he gave a whole different meaning to it.

[twoidiotwriters1]

Almighty (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: I love Apollo therefore Ara is throttling the living hell out of him -Danny Words: 2,563 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

XI: With All Due Respect, Which Is None

"Nemo, trying to lose them is pointless—"

"Do not unbuckle your seatbelt!" He gives a sharp turn to the left.

Apollo yelps. "Is your plan to avoid a fight by dying in a traffic accident?"

"Ha-ha." Percy says through gritted teeth. "I'm getting us to the beach. Ara could get this done anywhere but I fight better near water, and I'd like to better our chances."

"Because Poseidon?" Meg asks in the backseat behind Ara's.

"Yep. That pretty much describes my entire life: Because Poseidon."

Ara hears the younger girl excitedly shuffling in the backseat. "You're gonna be like Aquaman? Get the fish to fight for you?"

Ara laughs. Percy grumbles. "Thanks, I haven't heard enough Aquaman jokes for one lifetime."

"I wasn't joking!"

"He's just cranky," Ara gives him a look. 

 "Ah, I know these spirits!" Apollo exclaims. "They are... um..."

"What?" Percy urges him anxiously. "They are what?"

"I've forgotten!" The boy huffs. "I hate being mortal! Four thousand years of knowledge, the secrets of the universe, a sea of wisdom—lost, because I can't contain it all in this teacup of a head!"

"Hold on!" Percy gives another violent turn making Meg hit the ceiling with her head. The girl bursts into a fit of giggles while Ara scolds her brother. "Just another mile or so to the beach... Plus we're almost to the western edge of camp. We can do it. We can do it."

The moment he says it, a blob flies directly to their windshield, making Percy give an abrupt turn and causing the car to spin. Ara lets out such a strong curse word that Apollo covers Meg's ears and blushes. Paul's blue Prius swerves off the road and breaks through the limits of an orchard, crashing right in between two trees.

Percy unbuckles his seatbelt. "You guys okay?"

"Oh gods, this will take ages to fix..." Ara places a hand on the dashboard and glows orange, assessing all the damage the Prius took in the collision.

Meg fights with the handle. "Won't open. Get me out of here!"

"Back here," Apollo tells them. "Climb over!"

They leave the car with shaky legs and stunned brains, Ara spots the three blobs no longer looking like blobs. She curses and draws out Almighty. "The heck are those?"

"STOP!" Apollo tries to sound powerful, but his voice quivers. "I am the god Apollo!"

He gives a step forward and Ara tenses. "Are you sure...?"

The boy silences her and Ara obeys out of habit, he may not look like a god but she's still aware of who he is. "Leave us or be destroyed! BLOFIS!"

Ara frowns. "Did you just scream my dad's last name as a ward against evil?"

It does nothing to destroy the creatures, if anything, they look more ready to kill. "Oh, dear." Apollo says shakily. "I remember now..." 

"What are they?" Ara asks out of obligation, because she certainly doesn't want to know.

"Nosoi. Plague spirits," he winces. "And they can't be killed." 

"Nosoi?" Percy helps Meg out of the car. "You know, I keep thinking, I have now killed every single thing in Greek mythology. But the list never seems to end."

"You haven't killed me yet," Apollo points out.

"Don't tempt me," he retorts at the same time Ara says Don't tempt him.

"These creatures are not myths," Apollo continues. "Of course, most things in those old myths are not myths. Except for that story about how I flayed the satyr Marsyas alive. That was a total lie."

"You did what?"

"Guys, could we talk about that later?" Meg grabs a random tree branch as her weapon of choice.

"Apollooooo..." speaks one of the creatures. "We have coooome to—"

"Let me stop you right there." Apollo crosses his arms. "You've come to take your revenge on me, eh?" He looks back at the demigods. "You see, nosoi are the spirits of disease. Once I was born, spreading illnesses became part of my job. I use plague arrows to strike down naughty populations with smallpox, athlete's foot, that sort of thing."

"That was actually going to be my next question," Ara says.

"Oh, really?"

"No, you self-centered doofus!" She exclaims. "Why would you antagonize the living hospital waste?"

"Somebody's got to get the job done in a respectful manner! Better a god, regulated by the Council of Olympus and with the proper health permits, than a horde of uncontrolled spirits like these."

Another spirit speaks up. "We're trying to have a moooment here. Stop interrupting! We wish to be free, uncontroooolled—"

"Yes, I know. You'll destroy me. Then you'll spread every known malady across the world. You've been wanting to do that ever since Pandora let you out of that jar. But you can't. I will strike you down!"

"What will you strike us down with? Where is your booow?"

"It appears to be missing. But is it really? What if it's cleverly hidden under this Led Zeppelin T-shirt, and I am about to whip it out and shoot you all?"

The nosoi hesitate a bit. "Yooou lie."

"Why do you speak like that?" Ara blurts out.

"Like what?"

"Elongating the o's," she tilts her head. "Is that supposed to be threatening or...?"

"Are you trying to antagonize the hospital waste too?" Percy mutters. "Listen, Apollo..."

"I know what you're going to say. You, your sister, and Meg have come up with a clever plan to hold off these spirits while I run away to camp. I hate to see you sacrifice yourselves, but—"

"That's not what I was going to say. I was going to ask what happens if I just slice and dice these mouth-breathers with Celestial bronze."

One of the spirits makes a noise that kind of sounds like a laugh. "A sword is such a small weapon. It does not have the pooooetry of a good epidemic."

"Let me give you a real nuclear farewell, then," Ara mumbles, ready to change her sword into a bazooka.

"Stop right there!" Apollo steps in. "You can't claim both my plagues and my poetry!"

"You are right. Enough wooooords."

Apollo lifts his arms with his palms facing the creatures as if to blast them, but nothing happens when he does that. "This is insufferable! How do demigods do it without an auto-win power?" 

Ara turns her sword into a shotgun. "Let's survey after I put these uglies to bed."

Meg stabs one of them with her branch and the wood sizzles like it's sinking in acid. "Let go!" Apollo squeals. "Don't let the nosoi touch you!"

Ara steps back, but Percy charges without a second thought. He rarely gets those anyway, and one of the spirits tries to seize his wrist. Meg throws a frozen peach at the head of the creature, and Ara loads her shotgun, ready to finish him off. She shoots, but the creature's body dissolves and forms again without any damage.

"We gotta run," Meg concludes.

"Yeah." Percy stumbles back. "I like that idea."

Ara grabs Apollo's wrist and drags him through the orchard easily even though he's almost the same height as Percy. "That's the western border of camp!" Her brother points further ahead. "If we can just get there..." 

He explodes a tank near them and with Ara's help, wills the water to swirl around the bodies of the nosoi, the girl glows teal as they run through the field. "That's cool!" Meg runs happily. "We're going to make it!" 

"Can y'all stop saying that!" Ara exclaims irritatedly. The nosoi burst out of the ground ahead and Percy doesn't have time to stop before he runs through one of them. "Nemo!" She gasps.

"Don't breathe!" Apollo squeaks.

Percy presses his lips together and clutches his shirt over his nose, he holds the little breath he can gather. Ara loads her shotgun again while Meg picks up another bruised peach from the ground. Ara runs through a few plans in her mind. "Can I use water?"

"What?"

"If I use water is my brother going to be okay?"

"I don't know! There is no seawater here!" Apollo screeches when another spirit charges at him and makes him crash into a tree.

"I'll take my chances," Ara summons the skies the moment the last spirit charges at her, and even if he's good at dissolving, there's nothing he can do against the speed and power of lightning. She looks between her brother and the helpless god, not knowing which one to focus on.

"Which fatal illness shall I use to kill the great Apolloooo?" The third spirit hums approvingly as it stalks the god. "Anthrax? Perhaps eboooola..."

"Hangnails," Apollo coughs out. "I live in fear of hangnails." 

Ara reaches for her octopus, fishes out a water bomb, and tosses it at Percy's feet. He closes his eyes tightly when the bomb explodes and Ara contains the detonation, making the water swirl as fast as possible, imagining whatever virus, germ, or bug is in there getting washed away. The girl glows brighter and closes her fist, dragging the water away from her brother's body, and into the plague spirit hovering over Apollo, lifting the being in a seawater ball.

"Percy, help!"

He helps her hold the ball up. Apollo is curled up in the mud, Ara glares at him feeling dizzy. "What now, Lester? We can't keep that thing trapped forever."

Just as she says this, the spirit Percy had previously run through reforms and pounces at them. Meg screams, taking them by surprise. "GET DOWN!" Everyone obeys, watching in shock as a thousand frozen peaches fly up and straight through the spirit, intercepting the one in the water bubble too. It's such an impressive display of strength and skill that they stay down even after the spirits fade.

Percy speaks weakly. "What just happened?"

Apollo clears his throat. "Meg, is it safe?"

"I—I'm not sure."

"How'd you do that?" Percy rubs his nose like he's got an itch that reaches all the way to his brain.

Meg shakes her head. "I didn't! I just knew it would happen."

A plague spirit sits up with difficulty. "But you did doooo it. Yooou are strong, child."

"Not strong enough," said the other. "We will finish you now."

"Are you kidding me?" Ara growls. "What does a girl gotta do for her murders to stick?"

One of the spirits does something that sort of looks like a smile. "Arae Jackson, soooo feisty. The girl's guardian is sooooo disappointed that he didn't find yoooou first." 

Meg kicks the ground, squealing in panic. "NO!" Another large group of peaches flies up and gets together, mixing and molding into a chubby plant-baby that reminds her of a nymph in the worst kind of way.

Ara frowns. "Is that...?"

Percy makes a face. "I hate these things."

"Wh-what is it?" Meg asks.

"It's a grain spirit," Apollo explains, visibly shaking. "I've never seen a peach karpos before, but if it's as vicious as other types..."

Ara lowers her weapon. "Let's not look threatening then... and step back veeery slowly... Meg, command your little friend to attack the nosoi."

"But I don't—"

"Do it," Ara says kindly yet curtly. "It'll listen."

With a shaky finger, she points at the plague spirits. "Eat them."

The next few seconds are a display of peach feral violence, enough to make Ara swear to never eat said fruit for the rest of her life. The baby chomps, munches, rips, inhales, and obliterates every single speck of nosoi in sight. Just as quickly, the grain spirit sits obediently at Meg's feet and burps, his green eyes attentive as he hits his chest proudly in an archaic gesture. "Peaches!"

Percy leans closer to Ara. "Do we kill it?"

"No!" Meg turns to them urgently. "Don't hurt him."

"Not planning to," Ara says. "Thank Peaches for us."

Meg pats the creature's head. "You saved us—Thank you." The creature wraps his chubby hands around Meg's leg, hugging her with such a gentle grip it melts Ara's heart, although she can't forget the way he consumed the plagues as if they were nothing but smoke.

"Peaches," he purrs.

"He likes you," Percy points out the obvious. "Um... Why?"

"I don't know," Meg blinks. "Honestly, I didn't summon him!"

"Meg," Ara starts patiently. "Your godly parent..." Something is not adding up. Ara heard the nosoi mention some guardian being disappointed over the fact that they didn't get Ara first... did they mean Meg's?

"Well, whatever the case," Apollo says dismissively, "we owe the karpos our lives. This brings to mind an expression I coined ages ago: A peach a day keeps the plague spirits away!"

Percy wrinkles his nose. "I thought it was apples and doctors." The creature shows its fangs at him. "Or peaches. Peaches work too."

"Peaches," the grain spirit nods solemnly.

Percy sneezes, perhaps the plague left him with some kind of seasonal allergy. "Not criticizing, but why is he grooting?"

"Grooting?" Meg frowns.

"Yeah, like that character in the movie... only saying one thing over and over. You know the one, Ara, you love the Raccoon."

Ara looks back at Meg. "He's asking why he's communicating using a single word."

Apollo shrugs. "I don't think a karpos tends to have a... targeted vocabulary."

"Maybe Peaches is his name." Meg pats the creature's head amicably. "That's what I'll call him."

"Good idea," Ara nods. "At least he seems to listen to you, so—"

"Whoa, she's not adopting that—" Percy sneezes again, shaking his head. "Ugh. The nosoi did something to me, my nose is all itchy."

"You're lucky," Apollo points out. "Ara's trick with the water diluted the spirit's power. Instead of getting a deadly illness, you got an allergy."

"Let me see," Ara presses a hand between his eyes. She reaches for the watering system of the orchard, willing the water out. "This will be quick, so don't breathe for the next five seconds."

In a swift motion, Ara glows teal and shoots a bit of water into Percy's right nostril and out through the left, giving him an instant nasal wash. He doubles over cursing and coughing. "A little heads up would be nice!"

"I told you not to breathe," she pats his cheek lovingly. "How's it feeling?"

Percy inhales deeply. "Good as new. You're the best, Birdy."

"No problem," Ara kisses his cheek.

"Excuse me?" Apollo speaks in annoyance. "We still need to move!"

Ara's eyes turn cold in an instant. She reaches the boy fast, making him yelp and stumble. "Listen here, you Less-tier god—you took plague spirits to where my pregnant mother lives, you almost got my brother and a twelve-year-old girl—that I still don't know if you kidnapped—killed, and you still don't understand that you're in no position to boss me around. Thank Percy for driving us here."

Apollo cowers a bit, looking back at Percy while blushing. "Thank you."

Her brother doesn't move an inch to pull Ara away from the former god, he seems to enjoy the scene. "No problem."

"Can we go now?" Meg asks like she's getting bored.

"An excellent idea," Apollo says promptly. "Though I'm afraid your father's car is in no condition—"

"I can drive you the rest of the way, if we can get it out from between those trees... Aw, Hades no...." Percy groans. Ara spots the police car stopping near the collision. "Ara, if they tow the Prius, we're dead. Our parents need the car."

"I got this," Ara eases him. "Bit of charmspeak and they'll help you tow the car back to our parking lot. You can explain what happened, and I'll be back before dinner, I'll get the car running by the end of the weekend, it'll be fine."

Percy nods at Apollo and Meg. "So you're seeing them to camp?"

Ara looks briefly over her shoulder. "Wait there, I'll be right back." She looks at Peaches. "You're in charge, bub."

"Peaches," the creature puffs out his chest.

Next Chapter –>

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen @orbitingpolaris @obxstiles @ellipsisspelled @thepixiechicksh @ebony-reine-vibes

[tarnishedinquirer]

Fringefolk Hero's Grave 2

Here I am, back at the Fringefolk Hero's Grave. I'm stronger. I've got a torch and a spyglass. I'm wearing armor, thanks to a certain someone helping me take that mask off.

Though, to be honest, still not comfortable with my face. I think I forgot how it's supposed to work.

Looking from a distance at the handless woman, comparing her to the Erdtree Favor... They could both be earlier depictions of Marika, but I can't be sure. The Erdtree Favor looks a lot more recent, even if it was also in the distant past. If the statue was holding a vessel of some kind, she would've been holding it upright, rather than pouring it out. One removed of power, one removed of identity. I feel like I'm on the cusp of a discovery here.

This time, I looked around before crossing the bridge and noticed a ledge down below. No reason to antagonize the Grafted Scions, so I jumped down. There was nothing on the ledge, so I jumped down again, and landed in shallow water.

I took some stairs and then an elevator up, and found myself on a platform overlooking the chariot track. Unfortunately, I was not alone, as another of the red-clad Banished Knights attacked me with a halberd. By now I knew for certain that his techniques were of Stormveil. These knights must have served Stormveil at some point. So what was Stormveil's connection to dragons?

As the chariot raced back and forth below, I looked up, only to find several giant pots suspended from the ceiling. Can't imagine why they would be there. Some kind of failsafe, maybe? A way to take out the chariot if its creators couldn't disable themselves? That made sense. The magics to control it might be lost to time, but a giant exploding pot would probably do the trick in a pinch.

Took me until the last pot to get the timing right, but oh was it satisfying. I'd never have to worry about that thing again.

In the wreckage, I found an Erdtree Greatbow. That seemed odd... was the thing supposed to also shoot arrows at me? Was the artifact used as a power source somehow? Or was the chariot itself some sort of mobile reliquary? Impossible to say, considering how thoroughly I destroyed it.

Greatbow featuring Erdtree styling. In times of old, when faith and battle went hand in hand, this weapon was created in tandem with the Golden Arrow.

In times of old? FAith and battle always go hand in hand. They still do, if some of these gold-clad zealots I've met are any indication. Even when not led by fanatics, the faith is still used to oppress, like with Demi-humans and Misbegotten. My god can beat up your god.

This world keeps finding new ways to horrify me. When I entered the final chamber, I was expecting something like the chambers at the end of catacombs. This was similar to that, but instead of one mass of roots at the end of the chamber, enormous clumps of decaying bodies hung down from the ceiling like rotten fruit. The guardian was a creature like a gnarled root crossed with a snake, except far worse for how its cracked skin pulsed and oozed with unknown sickness. The voice called it an Ulcerated Tree Spirit. Was this in any way related to the Avatars? Perhaps their dark equivalent.

I found it was still as "holy" as its cousins, but rather than casting magic from its hammer-stave, it breathed fire like a dragon. Perhaps that's why I found a Haligdrake talisman on someone trying to flee. He must've thought it would protect him. It afforded me some protection, but nowhere near enough.

It took countless tries before I was able to read its undulating body language. Before I could tell a feint from a lunge from the thing just dragging its bulk across the floor. Halfway through the fight, it erupted into golden flames that did not consume it, only made it more dangerous to approach. I applied burning resin to my sword in hopes that like a tree, it would burn. It helped, but again, the creature was so resilient the damage increase was marginal at best.

Then I started using everything at my disposal. Picked turtle necks for stamina. Exalted flesh for strength. Aurelia as a distraction. I found that if I hugged its belly, it had a harder time hitting me, unless it decided to just roll over top of me.

Eventually, though, it fell, and I claimed my rewards.

Banished Knight Oleg. One of the two knights known as the Wings of the Storm. After his banishment, he attracted the notice of the Grace-Given Lord and later, having slain a hundred traitors as the Lord's hand, Oleg earned the hero's honor of Erdtree Burial.

First, this knight must've been Engvall's partner. Second, Engvall's ashes said that he was a hero of the fringes, yet Oleg is the one interred in the Fringefolk Hero's Grave. The one who rejected the Grace-Given Lord is in a tiny, waterlogged tomb on a rotten river, while the one who accepted him is buried in a hero's grave. The whole thing smacks of politics.

Finally, this "Grace-Given Lord." Godrick the Golden/Grafted was born in grace. That's basically the only thing he has going for him. A Grace-Given lord is one who was not born in grace but was rather granted it.

Conclusion: Engvall stayed watch over Stormveil while Oleg answered the summons. It's not a stretch to assume the summons was from Leyndell. Oleg distinguished himself fighting traitors, while Engvall died as a hero in exile. When Oleg died, he Engvall was stripped of his burial place and shunted off to a forgotten, disrepaired tomb, guarded only by a lone gladiator. Perhaps Engvall's master was one of the traitors, and Stormveil was the traitor's castle before Godrick took over? That would explain the disrespect.

Who is the grace-given lord?

What was wrong with this tree spirit?

Who was the former master of Stormveil, the one turned traitor?

When did Marika's iconography drop the ewer?

[vexcraft]

hi, i have a silly promt - 5 times Scar tries to flirt with Cub + 1 where Cub flirts back

couldn't quite scrape together enough ideas so have this... 3+1? i suppose? that i wrote on my phone while avoiding getting out of bed :D

1.

How had Scar managed to convince Cub to buy his very damp and rather miserable looking basement, he had no idea. Sure, Scar was a great salesman and Cub wasn't exactly known for having normal bases, but this still seemed like a rather unconventional deal.

It did, however, present some very good opportunities.

"I know it's a little… wet around the edges," Scar smiled innocently like there wasn't water dripping from the ceiling. "If it ever bothers you, you can join me upstairs."

"I'll manage," Cub hummed as he looked around, probably already calculating what he could fit here. "I managed alright in Ren's basement and this is definitely an upgrade, so it'll probably be just fine."

Not exactly the answer Scar had been looking for.

"If it gets cold at night, feel free to join me! Elven beds have plenty of space and it's very warm." Risky, but hopefully clear enough.

Cub blinked but didn't seem bothered. "Eh, don't worry about me, I'll figure out how to keep the cold out in no time. Wouldn't want to bother you."

It took all of Scar's self control to not audibly groan out of frustration. Cub was supposed to be a smart man, how oblivious could he be?

2.

This was hopeless, Scar thought as he took another bite of the wicked pumpkin pie he had sworn to avoid at all costs.

"It's not too bad," he commented, watching Cub's waiting expression brighten. It wasn't bad, per se, but Scar as a competitor automatically had beef with it.

He was still confident his cookies were much better, but this was not the time to bring that up.

"It's good, right?" Cub asked, cutting another piece of the pie for himself. He seemed excited to finally have the opportunity to get Scar's very professional opinion on this, curiously studying his reactions.

"It is," Scar admitted, hoping no one else would ever hear about this. The things he had to do to get the attention of his crush! "We should have a picnic one day, you bring pie and I bring cookies."

It was a good excuse, wanting to try the pies Cub so insistently praised again, to be able to spend more time with him.

"Oh yeah, that's a good idea," Cub agreed with a nod. "We should ask others to come too, I'm sure they have their own sweets they could bring."

Scar wanted to slap himself internally. How much more obvious would he have to get with this?

3.

Scar's Hotguy duties gave him a good excuse to go and find people every now and then, and Cub just happened to be his main target most of the time.

"You're like an evil Cupid," Cub commented as an arrow hit the ground next to him before Scar almost crash landed at the same spot, too busy staring to properly slow down.

He had spotted Cub digging through some chests around the shopping district and naturally couldn't resist the urge to go talk to him.

"Me? Evil? Nooo, never!" Scar grinned, standing up straight. He was feeling a bit reckless today. "I'll show you, I will shoot you and then you'll fall in love with me!"

Was that too straightforward? Surely not, Cub had been the one to start this joke after all, he couldn't blame Scar for getting a bit carried away.

Cub laughed, looking up from the chest. "I don't think that's quite how it works."

"I said I'll show you!" Scar took out his rockets to take off again.

"No thanks," Cub said nonchalantly as he took more things out of the chest. "I've almost just finished organizing my inventory, I'd hate for all the work to go to waste if you kill me."

At this point Scar couldn't tell where the bit ended and actual conversation began. Cub didn't seem bothered by the nature of his joke, not at all, but Scar couldn't tell if he was avoiding playing into it or simply actually valued his inventory management.

Scar was supposed to be good at this kind of stuff, how could it be this difficult with Cub?

+1

"Hey Scar," Cub called his name, interrupting Scar's probably not very well hidden staring session. "Do you have time to play a few rounds of Total Chaos?"

Scar thought about it - on one hand, it was Cub asking, and Scar would do almost anything if it was him asking. On the other hand, he was tired and while he'd love to spend some time with Cub, Total Chaos tended to get rather… chaotic with all the other people.

"I don't know," Scar replied. "I'm kinda tired."

"Oh, that's okay." Cub sounded almost sad, like he had been looking forward to this. "I just need to make some adjustments and wondered if you would help, it's nothing very big. It would be just the two of us."

Scar blinked, looking at the other. Cub seemed rather awkward, rubbing the back of his neck and shifting his weight from one leg to another like he didn't quite know what he was supposed to do. He seemed unsure, which despite how much he tended to worry about things, wasn't that common - usually Cub carried himself with confidence. He wasn't like this when he usually asked for help.

There was no way Scar was reading this wrong.

"Are you asking me out?"

Cub froze for a moment and Scar could see his face turn red. "Maybe? If you'd like to?"

"Of course I'd like to," Scar smiled, walking up to Cub to take his hands in his own, hoping to ease his nerves. "I've been nearly losing my mind, you have no idea."

[fountainpenguin]

"I'm trying to keep up as best I can! I wanna be there if you need a hand... I'm looking, looking- Looking for you!" (x)

---

New Criminal Experience chapter today!

Chapter 5 - “Tracked”

❤️ Read on AO3

💙 Start from Chapter 1

💚 More Pixels Imperfect fics

---

Mumbo and Skizz split up to find the lost allay eggs, llama respawn blankets, and Impulse. Mumbo takes a good look around Evernight: city of ever-changing blocks.

(First 1,000 words under the cut)

---

One teleport later…

Operation Llama Blanket and Allay Egg Recovery requires stealth, precision, and snap-second judgments on how many of the enderspawn hybrids can be trusted not to turn them in. In a whirlwind of shadow blots, Skizz poofs them in behind a row of composters tucked down an alley of colorful, mismatched blocks. Skizz is in a crouch; Mumbo drops to mirror him. Endermen and endermites shuffle around not far away. Every breath betrays him as a wanted man.

And any one of these chaps could heel-turn out me.

The paths out of the city glow faintly on his mental map, as they always do. Leaving sounds lovely, but not when Double-U and Buzz are missing their spawn blankets. It's not just about his girls, either. The allay eggs are his responsibility.

The last two allay eggs in the world.

So where are they? It's not about the money. It's never been about that, regardless of what his species and experience in smuggling and trading may lead you to believe. He took this job because Doc asked him to. Said he was researching; he'd give the newbies a start on Education and send them to the building when his work was done. Not unusual, and Mumbo trusts Doc more than most.

Does he know? It's the question coursing like a river through his hands, up his shaking arms, and down his back in tiny flash floods. But he can't ask - not here, not now - because Doc still lives so far away. He'll crash when he gets to Tintopia. He is going to reach Tintopia, with his llamas' spawn blankets in hand.

Okay. We can do this. Just breathe.

Mumbo shifts his eyes to Skizz, then remembers why you don't look at endermen directly and drops his gaze. "I'll have a nip around. Thanks for the drop-off. It means the world to me, mate."

The blue eyes peering back at him (carefully, off-center) don't look at all like the eyes of a man who meant to do the Allay Dragon harm. Perhaps it's foolish and maybe he's being played, but Mumbo can't help but believe it. "Without me or Impulse, you've got no escort. I'll see if I can follow from a distance, maybe along the rooftops, but if someone sees me-"

"I know. Skizz, I know what I'm getting into- It's not my first brush with the anarchy lifestyle. If someone attacks me, you don't have to get involved. There's difficult people after you." Neutral. Non-specific. Skizz shifts, tugging his jumper sleeve. Mumbo can read that stinging, shameful silence and almost wishes that he can't. He says, "I won't rat you out, but I'd rather not see you fight." BigB's got his arrows and clones. Vee's an evoker; she's got her vex. They're both spellcasters armed with magic. And Skizz is layered with unknown mods. Both sides of this fight could easily get hurt.

"I… Yeah, sorry. Yeah."

Mumbo reaches a hand through his robes. He grips the handle of his modded scythe - still sitting there in his soul slot, as it always is - and withdraws it in a crackle of blue sparks. Skizz's wings flare out behind his torso, flapping once. They scrape the composters and the back alley wall. Not much of a wall with several blocks plucked out of it, leaving holes, but that's not the point. Mumbo keeps his eye contact locked on the scythe. He doesn't give any sort of demo swipe, though that's quite tempting, actually. Skizz is halfway to flying off as it is. Can he fly with those angel wings?

"I'm all right," he tells Skizz. "I'm Mumbo Killsalot Jumbo; I can handle myself a bit."

"Ah- That's… Uh, you've got a modded weapon?"

"I transported a bit of slime and some otter spawn eggs to a vulture once." That's non-specific enough, yes. Skizz keeps his eyes away, but for the briefest moment, they flicker over. Mumbo can feel them graze his forehead.

"Are you kidding me right now, homie? Otter spawn eggs are real? I thought those were just a myth!"

"Well, you and most of Between, yes."

"So you've found the Invisible Hub?"

At that, Mumbo chuckles and tucks the scythe away again. Bad move, wandering with that on full display. "I said I traded him slime, mate. I never said I've found wherever slimes spawn." Scythe gone, he lays a hand against a composter lid, ready to swing himself to the other side of the little wall. "You find Impulse. He and Coldsnap can't still be going at it." And if they're lucky, Impulse is still alive. There wasn't a death message on the comm. He must be all right, unless Mumbo made a total spoon move and forgot to toggle the settings on. They pause in sync, fingers curling, hearts beating. IS Impulse okay?

Surely he must be. Skizz asks the same question, then, but not about Impulse. "Will you be okay?"

"I haven't got a choice." But he does have a plan.

Step 1: Get the spawn blankets. It might sound harsh, but those rank above the allay eggs as far as he's concerned. Until a new account syncs to an egg, they're effectively unfertilized; they might even get broken in a scuffle tonight and he won't feel any shame. There will be other jobs with other spawn eggs. But there won't be another Buzz and Double-U, sitting sweetly in their shed as he cleans between their toes.

I can do this. Gah, if only I wasn't down to my last invisibility potion. Since he had Impulse watching his back, he didn't stock up. Gets expensive in modern times with modern shortages, y'know? Takes up space.

And at the moment, that's as far as the plan goes. He'll leave the safety of the composter wall. Find the blankets- someone must have picked them up. Take them back somehow. Barter. He's got a few things on hand that might draw the eye. He'll surrender the scythe if he absolutely must. It's quite simple, really. 'Simple' is key if you don't want analysis to morph into paralysis and chain you to the ground. Mumbo crouches to go for the leap and swing.

"Mumbles? Do you have another skin to change into?" When Mumbo turns his head, blinking and wondering how filthy he must be for a question like that, Skizz gestures at his travel robes. "You, uh… might blend in better if you're not wearing bright blue and yellow. If someone took your llama blankets, they'll probably be watching for you."

"I might want them to, if it makes it easier to find and return them to me."

Skizz hesitates, the noise skating across his teeth. That betrays the answer even before his words: "Evernight's anarchy, man. And you know how endermen are about taking stuff just because it's there."

Mumbo shrugs. "I don't have a choice. They're my llamas, dude. And if I can save the allays too, all the better."

[Full chapter on AO3 - Link at top]

[churnedbutterr]

I'm sorry to all the people who were looking forward to this for almost 2 months now. I hope this satisfies your needs for now.

Check the bottom for more notes~

Heimdall x Reader -

Get back here

Strong language

Part 1/?

It was a typical day of Heimdall trying to annoy Atreus. The boy was only trying his best not to listen to the self-absorbed prick, however, as for most of Heimdall's victims, he snapped. A little quarrel broke out. Atreus tried gruelingly to hit Heimdall with his arrows, but eventually got pushed down into the mud, getting covered in it. As Heimdall was praising himself and degrading Atreus, the boy sought a perfect opening to get back at him. Throwing mud at the man's beautifully ironed clean clothes, leaving Heimdall dazed and dumbfounded, and Atreus snickering. Clearly agitated and previously having Odin on Heimdall's tail, he had to go to his room to get a change of garments without further hurting Atreus. Having to leave Atreus to fend in Asgard's mud for himself. Fortunately, the All-father has given you a quest that would require you and Heimdall to leave Asgard for a little while. So, let's go get him, shall we?

"Yes, yes, I hear you. But I have no other choice! He has been pestering Atreus for days, and I can't have that boy leaving! Just take Heimdall with you to Niflheim and distract him for a good while." Odin had had enough of your whining about taking Heimdall on your mission. Knowing, that if he wasn't going to be bothering Atreus, he was going to be bothering you instead.

"But, All-father!" Trying to bicker with him further was just a waste of time at this point. He already had made up his mind and wasn't going to suggest anything else.

"I've got a lot of stuff to do and I have to fix this mess. Now, shoo! Go!"

Sighing, you left the old man to his papers, research, and any other stuff he was working on. Still not being able to believe that you'll need to spend time with Heimdall. It's not like you despised him but there was something about him that just made your stomach twist and twirl in a weird way.

Making your way from Odin over to Atreus, you noticed the massive amount of mud on his clothes, making you gasp.

"Atreus! What... What happened? Are you alright?" You exclaimed while jogging up to him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. That Heimdall sure is... a lot." He said, wiping the dirt off his armor.

"Heimdall? Heimdall did this?" You asked, although, you already knew the answer. I mean, who else could it have been?

"Yeah! Of course, it was him! I can't believe Odin hasn't sent him permanently to the top of that large wall! He just haaas to be everywhere and annoy everyone."

His snout scrunched, but just seconds after you saw a smile creeping onto Atreus' face.

"Buuut, I managed to get some mud on him as well, I'd call my payback pretty successful." He said proudly, putting his fists on his hips and puffing his chest.

"Hah, that's awesome! How'd he react?" Starting to get enticed in this story, you started to forget your main goal of talking to Atreus.

"Oh, right! Speaking of Heimdall, I need him for something. Do you happen to know where he is?"

"Heimdall? You NEED Heimdall? Am I having a nightmare right now?"

"Ah, no, no." You dismissed Atreus' joke by waving both your hands in front of you. "I need him for a mission."

"Oh? Why not take me instead?"

'Uhhhh, shit.' Seems like you didn't think about this far enough.

"The All-fath- I mean, Odin told me to get Heimdall and uh get a thing from a place, and uhm he said..."

"He said...?" Atreus waited patiently for you to continue.

"He said... That only Heimdall could help! He said he had another mission for you soon so he wanted you to have some well-deserved rest first!"

Great save.

"Oh, well, alright." Yes! He bought the excuse!

"Haha, yeah. But DO you know where he is?"

"Considering that I got mud on him, he probably went to change." Atreus answered, attempting to wipe off the now caked-on mud from his clothes.

"Oh! Thank you, thank you. Alright, gotta go, bye-bye!"

"Wha- Bye?"

Leaving Atreus to ponder the conversation, you continued on your search for Heimdall.

---slight time skip---

Nearing the end of the hall and the door to his room, you took in a quick breath before seeing the face you dreaded seeing the most. Raising your hand, you knocked on the heavy wooden door. Standing, waiting for an answer. Hearing light footsteps, you readied yourself for discouragement and name-calling. The door creaked open, leaving you stunned.

The very last thing you expected to show up in front of your face was his pale chest. His... pale, beautiful chest. 'No, get that out of your head.' You said to yourself, not moving an inch. However, you kept staring. Staring... at his chest, collar, neck...

"Come on, sweetheart. I know that I am stunning but stop admiring. What is it you want?" He said as you finished your eye journey to his face.

His voice snapped you out of your trance. Blood started to rush to your face, making your cheeks slightly pink.

"The All-father told me to..." Taking a small gulp, you continued. "to get you. For a mission. To Muspelheim." You said, hoping that he hadn't noticed the sweat dripping from your forehead.

"Muspelheim?" He asked in a teasing voice, questioning what you had said, knowing that that was definitely not what you meant.

Realizing your mistake, you quickly corrected yourself.

"Niflheim! I meant... Niflheim." You started to feel slightly embarrassed that you had said the wrong realm. Trying to calm yourself from the interaction was proving to be difficult, though, it wasn't helping that his face was inching closer to yours, as to inspect it.

"Seems as if you already went to Muspleheim before coming here."

He smirked. Noticing the blush creeping up to your ears.

"No. I. I didn't." You corrected him before continuing your proposal.

"Listen, you don't have much of a choice. Also, we need to be gone from Asgard as soon as possible, and for the rest of the day, so, get dressed." You spoke, looking over his abdomen, which had his pants almost falling below his hips, before averting your gaze to the side, to not let your thoughts wander further.

"Sigh. Well if the All-father says so." He murmured.

"I'll be out in a moment, just wait-"

Before Heimdall could finish his sentence, you both heard heavy footsteps almost rounding the corner.

"HEIMDALL."

"Shit." You and Heimdall whispered simultaneously, hearing Thor nearing your way. Turns out, Heimdall had an unfinished argument with him, that's why he exclaimed profanity. But you? You said that because you were about to be caught speaking with a man who was half-naked and leaning on the door frame. Both of you wouldn't have had a fun time explaining that to Odin if Thor were to see you.

Quickly reacting, because of reading your thoughts and agreeing with them, Heimdall pulled you by your waist into his room and pushed you with his hands on your half-exposed back into the half-empty wardrobe to hide. Naturally, he joined you, pulling you close to him and lightly holding your head to his chest. Your cheek touched his exposed skin and sank into it. Hearing every beat that resonated from his heart.

Meanwhile, Thor had barged in and was looking around for Heimdall in the room.

Your face grew redder and your thoughts started to foster in the middle of your mind rapidly, making you have a impossible way of ignoring them. What if his pants just happened to slip down further? What if you both fell out of the closet and he fell on top of you? What if you looked up at him and his purple eyes stared you down with lust? What if you made a move that would fluster him and make him suddenly want you? What if-

"Please," With a heavy annoyed sigh, he whispered, twisting his head slightly away from you. "silence your thoughts for a minute."

"Sorry." You dug your ear into his chest which appeared to be getting warmer by the second. Was his pulse quickening too?

No, no way it was. You were just overthinking, right? No way such a god would have feelings for someone like you.

...

Right?

Hold on. Did you have feelings for him? You're the one getting all flustered. No. No. This is bad. You shouldn't have feelings for him! First off, he'll never reciprocate them, and second, IT'S HEIMDALL! IT'S-

"SHUT UP" He whispered as quietly as he could.

Heimdall had swiftly leaned towards you, making you almost fall backward, the only support being his hands grabbing you by the shoulders, seeming as if he wanted to shake you and your thoughts out of your brain.

"Please, PLEASE, shut the FUCK up."

You stared at him in his glowing eyes as he scolded you. Although there was little to no light in the closet, you could feel the warmth radiating from his face and you knew that he was blushing too. Maybe even more than you.

Thor left with a loud slam of the door and angry footsteps. Leaving you and Heimdall frozen in the closet.

"Is he gone?" You whispered.

Heimdall peaked out to inspect. The thin ray of light caressing his face showed how red it had gotten. Clearing his throat, he said, "Yes, it appears so."

He hurriedly stepped out of the closet first, letting go of your shoulders. You, on the other hand, being clumsy and all, managed to trip on clothes and strings that got scattered on the floor by Thor.

Trying to quickly react, you reach out for the thing in front of you, which just happened to be Heimdall.

You grab him, and since he had busied his mind to not read any more of your thoughts, he wasn't paying attention.

You made him fall to the ground with you. You however, face-planted on the floor.

"Ouch..." Your voice got muffled by the floorboards.

You slowly looked up to see if he had gotten hurt from the fall. But instead of scolding you he was just sitting there on the floor, staring at you with wide eyes and a clogged throat.

Wondering what it was, your sweat turned cold and your eyes opened wide once you realized the pose you had fallen in.

Chest down, on your knees with your ass up. One hand grabbing his forearm that you tried to hold on to for support during the fall and the other clutching the clothes on the floor. And now, staring at him with your cheek hugging the wooden floor.

It practically looked as if you were begging for him. Not to mention, you were between his bent knees, your face merely steps away from his shaft.

You stared at each other not saying a word. It seemed as if both of your minds had gone blank.

His features started looking far too good in the morning light, hoping for something more you slowly rose up and cautiously inched closer to him as you noticed him leaning closer to you too. Your lips gravitated towards each other, leaving barely any room for breaths. Your noses almost touching.

But before you could get a taste, he stood up and grabbed the fresh shirt he had laid out on his bed previously and put it on. "Ahem, you said we needed to get out as soon as possible, right? Let's go." He said in a hurry, buttoning his clothes and tightening his belt, adjusting something in his pants.

Shortly after, he left you alone in his room with a loud thud of the door.

'That prick.'

You said to yourself, knowing damn well he just chickened out of a moment you both wanted.

You wouldn't let him get away that easily.

---part 1/?---

Soo, how'd I do? Constructive criticism is strongly appreciated. If you're looking forward to the next part, please let me know! I'll try to write it way faster this time~.

[royalwriteroftheuniverse]

Clint you and Bucky Stuck in a quinnjet during the holidays (ill think of a better name)

@hawkeyes-queen requested a specific holiday one with Clint and reader and Bucky. I tried to include everything you asked for. It's my first time writing for Clint so yea... I hope you like it.

Comments and reblogs welcome no reposting no publishing no translating.

Fluffy slight mention of loss of family/parents and injury. And a dead squirrel- don't ask. 18+ just in case but yea thats about it .

"Were you able to get through? "

"Yea" Clint sighs. "At least Nat is there."

"At least you don't have to wear that ugly sweater."

"Hey my kids made that sweater. And its ugly that's the whole point."

I was the of the only people outside of the avengers who knew clint had a family. They took pity on me, well rather his wife apprently after they had found out I basically didn't have a family Just because of life. Outside of other training I had approached him to learn about the bow and arrow.

"You wanna try Steve again?"

"No, besides Bucky is. Why do you keep asking me about Steve?"

"Because he kept asking me about you"

I confided in Clint a lot I felt like I could trust him and a lot of people I couldn't. So I'd gone to him for advice for a few things. Ok a bunch and his wife for girl stuff that Nat didn't know about.. He said he was more than happy to be my ipso facto family especially given the fact I had taken to the bow like a fish to water asomething that almost no other avenger incicutive agents had done. And also almost immediately hit the target. Which is exactly why he requested me for the mission. It was supposed to be in and out and he wanted another eye in the sky precision with a weapon that didn't cause noise.

"He likes you"

"No he likes that I just don't rely on hand to hand and guns." Thats only why I got so high so fast- talent and an Avenger likes you I'm not ashamed of it either. I'm taking every opportunity and as I see it I impressed him.

"Sure and he just stares at your ass because he's worried about your posture." Bucky chimes in walking over.

"That makes no sense Bucky. "

"That's exactly my point."

"You talk to Steve?"

"Yea says Hi so why didn't you want to talk to him."

"I did I tried to call." Getting defensive why I don't know

"He said you hung up"

"It was the signal- God I hate Tony so much right now."

"Why I thought you didn't like Steve?

"Because I want to be back home. Wallowing in my loser life" I gritted through my teeth

"We're not going to find you on a bridge are we"

"And give Tony the satisfaction of having to call him an angel no thanks"

"What are you two talking about?"

"It's a wonderful Life"

"So why are you concerned about her on a bridge?"

"No, It's a movie there a man on the bridge he was going to jump but an angel shows him how bad people's life would be in he didn't exist."

"So what were your Christmas traditions?" Clint asks.

It was something you never discussed with Clint he thought it was a sad subject for you something you never opened up about but once you said your birthday was never celebrated he had backed off... and made sure you had a nice one.

But since everyone was miserable here he thought he'd ask. He wasn't exactly going to ask Bucky as his last 70 years of being a brainwashed soilder probably included killing people probably didn't include presents and caroling

"Nothing."

"Nothing? No traditions not even opening up a present on Christmas even or getting a picture with Santa?"

"Nope. My parents weren't one for Christmas"

"Why" Bucky asked. Usually even if family didn't do birthday they usually didn't skip Christmas

"I'm Jewish" you shrugged.

"And now I understand." Clint answered and we all laughed a bit.

"If you ever want to come over and light candeles one day or 8...." it was something Buxky didn't speak about wither but now that he knew.....

You looked at Bucky and he smiled.

Clint was lost and lost in thought about the situation that was pressing and has been for a few weeks. More than a few.

"Buck you hungrey?" Clint nudges his head to the side

"Uh yea I am"

"Let's go get some rations"

"Don't worry about asking me boys I can get there myself even though you're going and didn't bother to even ask."

"Oh good" Clint replied "cause I don't care."

You rolled your eyes and then closed them. You weren't hungrey just appreciating the cold floor to sooth your muscles.

"Ok we gotta get those two together." Clint was over this song and dance. And what better time besides Christmas or Hanukkah for that matter. Ok Valentines day but thats a backup.

"Something tells me there's no dance halls I can send her and Steve to." Buck was used to the 40s still and was out of practice and Steve was still well Steve. If the serum enhances everything it definitely had to effect his shyness in women

"Uh no. How was Steve with Mistletoe?"

:readmore:

"You're kidding right. "

"Well I have an idea."

"Steve is comming to get us right"

"Yea he hasn't really celebrated holiday anything since well yea he volunteered."

Buck remembered he tried to get Steve to join in on his family celebrations after he lost his mother but he never took it. But bucky loved the holiday season. He'd always try and get his sister a little hair comb or necklace. He loved seeing her smile. No one had a lot of money during the depression, so it was usually one present for each, but thats what made the holidays special him and his family knew how to make the most out of the least. His sister always did the same. When she was little it had started with drawn pictures- what do you want from a kid. But it was on old homework assignment Bucky had. It had Bucky protecting her and a second one with thier mom and dad and maybe Bucky doing whatever he was into that year and then when She gotten older she was more creative. She had found a hat being thrown out for the tear in it. But she had cleaned it and was able to stick up the hole by embroidering a B with strings she found. Bucky loved that hat. She was young when she made it it wasnt a masterpiece but he had held onto it. He made a mental note to finally take it back from the Smithsonian. He missed it.

He missed Sarah Rogers bakeries too. Steve drew everyone pictures. Often it was portraits. And expertly done. He could've made money if he wanted to. He should have been able to.

"So I say we turn little miss scrooge there into a giant Mistletoe." Clint's eyes gleamed with mischief

"What?" Bucky still hasn't seen the sprint in stupid ugly outfits.

"Use her jacket And decorate her. It's on the chair and by the time Steve gets here it'l be looking like a Mistletoe tree and shell be forced to wear it and you just push Steve into her and he kisses her. Even on the cheek its a start."

Bucky just stands there blinking "Or we could trap them in a small supply closet and I won't let them out until I hear kissing but I guess yours is more festive."

Bucky runs outside to get tree branches and some berries and leaves that resemble Mistletoe and you lay there taking a nap.

The two of them are laughing thier asses off using tape to tape things on your jacket as you sleep. They also decided to add little d

Festive notes like branches they almost put a dead squirrel on there but rabies... they were definitely loosing thier minds.

Steve had called over the intercom link

That he was close to rescuing the three agents from the broken down quintet.

You still layed there peacefully with your eyes closed. Bucky kept looking at your chest to make sure you were actually breathing you were so still. You reminded him of his sister at times. Especially lying there. There was one time his sister did the same, but was lying in Steve's arms hurt. Sbe skinned your knee once because some mean kids pushed her so while Bucky pummeled them Steve comfort her. But Bucky was close enough to hear what was being said. Steve said people were being mean saying she were too weak to play ball with the boys. And Steve held her when she were crying and said "They say the same thing to me"

"But you still play ball"

"Because I'm not weak and you aren't either. Sometimes things like ball take practice and other times people are better than other but everyone can play."

Bucky remembered that so clearly for some reason. Maybe because it was around the holidays and she had given Steve, whom whe called Stevie a kiss under mistletoe that year, which Bucky saw and for a split second he was seriously considering pummeling his best friend to a pulp

It made Bucky a little homesick and a bit blue. He decided he was going to go visit his parents and sisters and then go to something for some kids. To make em smile and maybe spar with Steve to try and pummel him to a pulp.

Bucky nudged you to wake up with his foot and you let out a scream that was heard throughout the jet and over the comm.

"What happened whats going on?"

"I don't- I think uh um." Clint turned around spooked as well. His stomach dropped as he froze for a moment.

"Whose hurt"

"Rodgers theres three of us does Bucky scream like that?"

"Shit what happened"

"Language," Clint let out a chuckle to cover the worry in his voice.

"I'm serious Barton"

"I dont know she's been asleep most of the time"

"Most of the - great ok only 6 hours then. No one thought to check on her?"

"Bucky went to pick her up but the minute he put his hands on her."

"Ow ownow ow don't don't touch me please just don't" you pleaded.

The two men didn't realize how much you had injured yourself on the mission

"What hurts?"

"My toes"

"Your toes?"

"Your toes?" Clint echoed

"Yea they're the only thing that doesn't hurt. "

"Did you fall?" Bucky was trying to put the peices together while Clint was talking to Steve about landing sites and what needed to go now or could wait until later since you were obviously hurt and neither

"Sorta"

"How do you sort of fall?"

"A tree branch broke my fall" not an entire lie just it was a very small thin Charlie brown tree branch and by fall ur foot fell on the ground...when you stepped on said ground...

"Why didn't you say something"

"Adrenaline... shock... trying to ignore it and as still as possible and it worked until someone touched me."

"The cargo bay door opened and Steve instantly found your laying form on the floor"

Leaning down to your level

"Hey so we gotta get you gotta here and into the quinnJet"

"I'm in a quinn jet"

"One the works"

"Mnnn no Steve"

"Hey I got you," he said in a soft voice. "I'll be gentle, I promise." He gave you a small smile.

You groaned in pain. At being slightly lifted

"See not too bad I'll take you to the other quinnjet Buck get her a blanket will ya."

Bucky felt so bad there he and Clint were having fun while you were miserable. Thier ideas of setting you two up fell to the waist side completely forgotten.

"It's pretty cold out ok?"

You looked up at him with widened innocent doe eyes

"Ok" you responded in a smallish voice

And boy was he NOT kidding it was freezing you were really regretting this right now.

Steve went to place you down on the biobed

"No no no no." Please don't just dont make me move

"Sweetheart we gotta know whats wrong." Steve was ever so gentle even with his voice.

"I'll be ok until we get back to the tower just don't let go please Steve I'm fine I just I'll be fine enough to get home please.I know I will please?"

The tears filled your eyes. "Trust me. Were a team right we need to trust eachother"

Steve gave in. But to be fair he sorta gave in the minute you wanted to stay in his arms. The tears were a tipping point.

He held you ever so gently and stroaking your hair on the ride home.

"Why didn't you say something to them."

"I was sleeping Steve"

" I heard you scream I-"

"I'll be ok Can I sleep. "

"It's an 6 hour flight honey I really want to get you-"

"No Steve trust me that's not an issue. Just hold me"

"Ok"

He placed a soft kiss on your head.

"Get some rest you hungry though?"

"No just tired."

"Have some water a bite of a protein bar. Please."

"Come on you're kidding it can't hurt its like be 12 hours without food or water you want to be stuck in the infirmary over the holidays?" Clint provoked you. He knew you didn't. You had a practiced the perfect gingerbread house to load it up.

Bucky had helped give you some water and a protein drink as Steve held you.

Bucky and Clint were talking about the snow storm and navigation when they happened to see the reflection of Steve kissing your head in the mirror

"Did you?"

"Are they? "

"He's probably just trying to comfort her that's all it is you know how she is she loves hugs." Barton was regreatting his plan and already resigned to not going to be able to handle when Lila was a teenager

"He can handle with women who are hurt," Bucky's head cocked. "He's always been soft like that."

And so you slept in his arms most of the flight you were tired and Steve was always cozy and his heart beat had the perfect rhythm like a soothing clock. He was also humming I'll be home for Christmas even though he knew you were Jewish its not like there's a romantic Hanukkah song out there.

Around 3 hours in Bucky walked back to you and Steve as Clint was at the controls though the bad snow storm.

"Hey how's she doing."

"Terrified to be moved Buck how come you didn't notice?"

"Well I we - He knows her better."

"She said nothing and just laid there I thought it was because we asked her about holiday things. You know how she gets." Clint said

"Yea" Steve said with some sorrow knowing exactly how it feels being an orphan. Everyone is at some point but sometimes it happens when you're old enough to not have the legality of needing a guardian but too young to be ok on your own….. When that happens and you don't have anyone there... it's even worse.

Clint was thinking that too. He had learned about that and Nat trusted you and he did trust you too so after seeing you so upset, even though you hid it well he saw, everytime people brought up holidays plans to the point you'd sometimes leave the room he had a discussion with Laura and that was that you were an unofficial official Barton.

He was looking forward to the ugly Christmas sweaters the family did. The kids made you a star one it was more pretty than ugly they always do ugly sweater party and a gingerbread contest of who can make the craziest gingerbread house without it collapsing- even if it ended in a super fueled family. And making cookies for Santa. You loved being able to help Clint and Laura put presents under the tree for the kids. It was something you never did but he senses it was more than that more than- it was like you were apart of his family. Like you were his little sister he helped raise or his own child. He dreaded having to tell his kids you were hurt and couldn't come this year. Nat and Laura could help him tell them but still for the past 5 years you'd been a staple in thier family around the holidays It wouldn't be the same without you. You were his family as much as anyone else.

Getting close to the tower Steve woke up gentle by stroaking your cheek and softly kissing you on your temple. You blinked you eyes open and saw him sweetly looking down at you and smiling. For a moment you forgot where you were, outside of Cap's, no outside of Steve's arms that is.

"We're about to dock sweetheart. I got you. His hold on."

The quinjet docked less than a minute later and the cargo bay door opened

The med team was waiting and you felt so bad.

"Actually,"

You sat up and sort of jumped out if Steve's arms as much you could considering the , gentle hold he had on you "I'm good." leaving the three men in shock

"Please," you looked at Bucky and Clint "I was not going wear that monstrosity that you considered putting a dead squirrel on."

"You mean-"

"She just-"

"Damn-"

"She needs to spend less time with Natasha."

"Steve are we sparring tonight or what?" You winked.

"We're shipping out in a few-" Clint yelled out "It's like I already have an adult teenage child." He murmured to himself.

"Oh right shit Steve I need some help with something" you had to get all the presents carried and why do it when Steve can? And you can stare at his biceps as he is holding everything at once

Steve jogged up to meet you. Besids he had a bone to pick.

"You scared the shit out if me I thought I'd be spending the whole night in sickbay with you or worse"

"Nope. They wanted us to kiss. I had to do something. Otherwise they had a bad plan"

"What?"

"Yep."

"Why?"

"Apprently you talked too much about me to Clint!" You pinched him

"Well how else am I supposed to figure out a gift?"

"Ask me what I want you dumbell"

Steve stopped you in the hallway.

"What do you want?"

"A kiss." You smile.

"Well that I can give you right now."

Clint decided there and then he was going to lock Lila up until she was 50 years old. If he can't handle you kissing a boy, Captain America the probably nicest and most respectful guy on the earth, he's never going to be able to handle Lila and boys. Nope. He was going to lock her in her room after Christmas. He was considering even locking you in there too.

@taglist

@nana1000night @sapphire-rogers @patzammit @sparklybarbarianninja @coltrainbat

[queen-rainy-love]

Another B.A.D. 4 story!

*The scene is set in the Dark Cacao Kingdom. Milk and Caramel Arrow were walking into the kitchen.*

Milk: Thank you so much for helping me with this recipe, Caramel Arrow! Purple Yam and Whipped Cream were too busy to help, I want to surprise Dark Choco, and it is a difficult dish to make by myself.

Caramel Arrow: Of course. The Second Watcher confirmed that the Citadel's walls were secured and it had been a while since I'd done an activity with a friend.

Milk: Speaking of friends, you need to make that trip to the Cookie Kingdom soon. You haven't seen your friends in a while.

???: Yeah. Pastry and Parfait have been asking for you for a while. The kids even miss you.

*Both Milk and Caramel Arrow jumped and stood ready to fight...only to be met with B.A.D. 4 sitting at a table and eating some snacks. Caramel Arrow blinked before hitting the table.*

Caramel Arrow: How did you four get in?! The Watchers would have caught you!!

ZZ Skull: *munching on a cake slice* Did you forget that HellHound was able to sneak in the first time?

Mushy P.: He was able to find the hole again!

Caramel Arrow: I thought we fixed that hole up.

T.N.T.: *eats a Star Jelly* Cake Hounds here are quite the gossip.

Milk: Are they really?

HellHound: Yeah. You'll be surprised how much they can talk.

Caramel Arrow: Guys! Back to the point! Why are you four here?

HellHound: We're taking a break from our tour and we wanted to see the status of Dark Choco's suitor competition. So how's it going?

Milk: It's still going but it's wonderful. We were actually gonna make a dish for every-

Caramel Arrow: Couldn't this have been over text?

ZZ Skull: No. We want to talk with him face to face. We haven't seen him in a while.

Mushy P.: And we need to give him some shroomies!

T.N.T.: Also, no one is gonna believe that B.A.D. 4 is gonna be in the Citadel.

HellHound: Plus, the Cake Hounds here want to know. Again, they're gossips.

Caramel Arrow: ...Are you going to at least help with this dish?

ZZ Skull: Yeah. We have nothing better to do if Dark Choco is busy right now.

Milk: Perfect! Wash your hands and grab what we need for this recipe.

Caramel Arrow: I should report you to His Majesty.

HellHound: *mockingly places his hand on his chest* And deprive Prince Dark Choco of his friends? How could you?

Caramel Arrow: ...You're lucky you're friends with Dark Choco and Pastry.

Milk: Now, now. No more fighting. I do have a question, however.

T.N.T.: What is it?

Milk: Why are you guys in B.A.D. 4 mode?

ZZ Skull: As soon as we were close to the Citadel, we rushed in. So we didn't have time to change. Now what's the dish?

[thessalian]

Thess vs the Arena

I managed lunch! Huzzah! Now I will do a quick write-up, go run some errands, and probably actually do some main quest. Maybe. Possibly. Look, there's stuff, okay?

Okay, I will get the Rollerback bullshit out of the way first, then help Dekka.

Now. I know what happens when you hit the tail. What happens if you hit that big glowing apparatus on its back?

.............................................It spits acid all over half a block, is apparently what happens. Okay. That was useful.

Right. Got sinew, got all the other stuff, now I'll go help Dekka.

...Huh. I wonder what would have happened if I'd done this quest in order, and I hadn't cleared this outpost? Eh well. If he's quest-necessary, I would bet shards I didn't kill him.

Right. Hi Natalla. Good hiding place, though maybe you should have made some kind of noise when you worked out that someone was systematically killing every rebel here.

None of this is looking very good for Kavvoh. One of the great things about this game is that there's never any real guarantee of how things are going to go. All I really have to go on is that I'm going to have to fight something big at some point. So I'll wait until I figure out which option will have me fighting something big.

Right. Off to Fall's Edge. Thankfully I know a few folks there--

Ah. And Kavvoh apparently ... either stealthed around Fall's Edge or was checking for rebels. But trusting Kavvoh is probably my best bet for having to fight something big, so. Yes, we'll go to his meeting.

...And there are rebels at the campsite. I mean ... either way, Kavvoh knew about that spot because it's where rebels go sometimes, so this could be bad luck. Like I said - most likely option is whatever has me shooting something large.

Look. Arokkeh. Dude. I know how bad this looks. Believe me, I know. However. If he's lying, it's just one more rebel, and my Focus will help me figure that out in time to give us some warning. Also, if he's lying, I have taken out multiple rebel camps with zero help, so we'll have no trouble at all. Even with a traitor next to us ... who, incidentally, will be right next to us and thus easy to deal with. If he's not, we're going to need all the help we can get. Okay? Okay. Let's go.

OMG WILL YOU GUYS SHUT UP. Arokkeh, I promise, whatever this is, I WILL FIX.

Aaaaaaaaaaand that's a Behemoth. Huh. I thought it'd be something tough.

"Is that an arrow?" This she says after her Behemoth blows up. AAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA, you rebels are idiots. POONK.

Kavvoh ... how did you even get that hurt? The Behemoth never went anywhere near you. Dude, whoever you took on hand-to-hand? They were tough. Anyway, I'll head back.

Well, no. I'll loot first.

Hi, Dekka. Don't worry, they'll let you out soon. And yes, Kavvoh is still alive. Unless he died of his wounds in transit.

Which he did not, because probably Arokkeh wouldn't let him. At least he gets a chance to make amends. Now please let the Chaplain out of the cage, thank you.

And now we open the arena. Which I'm largely doing for data points.

And probably a bit of shopping.

Ooh. I don't want this armour for using, but this Carja armour looks great. I just want to dye it and set it as my look. I do love that function.

Okay, appropriately dyed, and some Quen face paint, which looks surprisingly good with it. ...Since I'm in the area, I want to see if this became a Slitherfang spawn point yet.

It ... did not. Boo.

Right. I have a jones to fight something. Maybe I'll be able to get appropriate bits in the arena.

Why are you people not giving me high places to perch? You suck.

...Round 2 was done in literally about fifteen seconds. I rule.

Okay, still hating the Rollerback but at least I know where to hit.

You too, Spikesnouts.

Okay, now ... what do they mean, "Rematch"?

Oh. Slitherfang. Which I will not be able to salvage anything from. FUCK.

Why am I holding a cannon? WHERE IS MY SHARPSHOT BOW? WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!?

It's dead anyway. Right. Anything quick-ish to hunt?

Tiderippers. I need Tiderippers. There are some to the southeast.

Lemme just get some Glinthawks out of the waaaaaaay...

Right. One's lumbering around on land and one's ... in ... the water. I AM NOT SWIMMING IN THAT.

Right. Overland, get close enough to get the land-lumbering Tideripper's attention but not so close that I'll be having a problem aaaaaaand...

I am getting better at dealing with these fuckers. Now. Clear some perch space and see if I can get that one that's underwater.

Little closer.

Little closeeeeeeeer...

Okay! That got its attention! POONK.

Hey, I can just POONK it every time it surfaces and it's too busy swimming to attack me!

Neck's up enough for those purgewater sacs to be hit aaaaaaaaand...

YES! WOO-HOO!

Now I really should run errands and such. I'll probably do more shenanigans when I get back. Either main quest stuff or getting my rank in the Arena past "Amateur", haven't decided.

No, seriously, I have to Be a Motherfucking Adult for a bit. Trash day approaches, for one thing, so I should empty the bins. And quick trip to the shops. And then I can go maybe find a Slitherfang I can actually salvage.

[ailendolin]

L, N and P for the fandom meme, my dear 😊

Thank you, dear! 💙

L - Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves (chars you’re neutral on are fair game, as are chars you dislike)

All right, let’s go with Kitty for this one. One aspect of her character I genuinely like is her interest in weird, gory things. I think the moment she became fascinated with Maddocks’s foot (or lack thereof) was the first time I could truly relate to her. That could have been me, 100 %, and I’m sure everyone around me reacted the way the other ghosts did when I told them about that one time I dissected mummified bat skulls under a microscope. So yeah, I love this part of Kitty's character.

N - Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice)

1. More positivity rather than discourse. Every now and then people post about ships or characters they dislike, and I just wish rather than complaining about why there’s so much content for them, they’d use that energy to support the creators who actually make the content they want to see. There’s no better way to encourage a writer / artist / gifmaker than to leave them feedback. Which brings me to point 2.

2. More interaction with fics, art and gifsets. Likes are all well and good but it's reblogs that get works seen and comments that motivate creators to make more. Fandom thrives on interaction so I'd like to encourage everyone to reblog instead of like something and leave at least a little heart or random thought in the tags of the fic, art or gifset to let the creator know they liked it.

3. More gen fics. Granted, I don’t read many fics because I'm always afraid of other people’s ideas influencing my own writing but I get the impression that a lot of Ghosts fics focus on romance (some my own included) and I’d love to see more found family type stories that focus on friendships.

P - Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas)

I always struggle with inventing AUs because Coffee Shop AUs and the like don’t really do it for me. For me, an AU only works if it retains at least some of the core elements of the show, and that makes it quite difficult to come up with an AU for something like Ghosts.   

But I have recently thought about the potential of a Primeval AU. If you’re unfamiliar with the show, it’s about prehistoric animals wandering into modern time through so-called anomalies. So there's dinosaurs and mammoths roaming the streets, but every now and then humans from the past appear in the present as well. And that’s where our beloved ghosts would come in:

Fanny still gets pushed out of a window by George but instead of landing on the hard ground, she falls through an anomaly and lands in a lake

after Thomas gets shot he staggers through an anomaly and survives thanks to modern medicine

the arrow that hits Pat vanishes through an anomaly before it can reach him. Pat ushers the kids into the bus before he investigates the sparkly thing and gets lost in time

Robin runs from the bear straight into modern Britain

Mary flees into an anomaly when she tries to run away from the witch hunters

Humphrey's anomaly opens below him when he comes out of his hiding place

Julian vanishes from his time while hiding in someone else's bedroom closet - half-naked, of course

Kitty probably went through an anomaly while playing hide and seek

The Captain stumbles upon an anomaly during maneuvers and checks it out (there might just be a possibility Havers does the same in Africa and the two of them to meet again in the future)

the Plague Ghosts cause quite a ruckus when they show up in modern times because, well, they’re infected with the plague. By the time Jemima arrives a few months later, safety measures for this sort of thing have been implemented

Alison and Mike still inherit Button House in this AU. When the government attempts to take the house from them because they need a place for all these misplaced people that’s far away from everywhere else, they strike a deal with them: the Coopers get to keep the house and the government pays them to let the people stay, thus enabling them to repair it

at some point, the government brings them a mammoth - a literal mammoth. Robin is over the moon. Alison and Mike are not. Fanny hopes the next animal will be a sabre-toothed cat.

Ask Game can be found here.

Already answered: A & O

Next up: M, U, E

[naturepointstheway]

"So who cares if I want to hang out with the lab "weirdo"?" would it be possible for you to write this?

Sooo...ahem. Apparently my fanfic department in my brain went on an extended holiday until now (about time, muses, it's already 2023!)

Anyway, some Tuggoffelees and some mute!Mistoffelees (and anthropomorphic cats edition, like some of my previous fics), with the university setting as in a few fics I'd done with this character set-up. Going with a geology class because a) I've been studying it at uni (doing a Masters in it) and b) I can imagine Misto being drawn in by the beauty of rocks and minerals.

---

If Tugger were to be honest with himself, the only reason he took that undergraduate introductory geology class was because of that cute, mute boy who never said a word in their classes. Jemima had mentioned him before as her new flatmate and how they had become tight besties from day one when he'd moved in over the summer; Mistoffelees--that was his name--was virtually mute but still expressed marvelously. Jemima had constantly gushed about how amazing he was at dancing and how fluid he was at every move, whipping her phone out at one point to show him--and it had been love at first sight. Tugger had been floored by the short videos and had asked if he might be in some of his classes. He was surprised when Jemima had mentioned that he was taking the same advanced performing arts classes as he, for he was positive he would’ve seen him. Nevertheless, Tugger had wasted no time in adding an undergrad geology class when Jemima had mentioned him taking one, though he had little interest in the subject.

He was likely to fail it, but hey, if it meant a chance...

"You're late again, Tugger."

The lead lab demonstrator's hawkish eyes landed on him the moment he stepped through the door, backpack slung over one shoulder, half-open to the point it was a miracle nothing had fallen out on the way.

Tugger leaned his hip against the doorway, winking and grinning at the disapproving demonstrator.

"I'm never late, always right on time."

The demonstrator tutted, rolled her eyes and jabbed a finger in the direction of a table with a lone student sitting there, hunched over his notes and lab book, looking deep in concentration, a rock balanced in one hand. An unopened, unused lab work sat in front of an empty chair next to the student, along with a large box of what looked like rocks.

They all look the same to me.

He glanced at the student, and then stared as he recognised the cute new flatmate of Jemima’s from her video clips and photos.

Tugger was sure that his heart rate was now triple its normal rate. Fate had seemed to favour him today!

Mistoffelees!

Throwing another wink, mouthing "thanks!" at the demonstrator (who had now turned her back on him), Tugger strode to the table, pulling out the empty chair and flopping down in it as dramatically as he could, dropping his backpack carelessly on the floor. The constant thrum of chatter and the occasional thunk from someone dropping a rock on a table didn’t appear to bother Mistoffelees at all.

"Hey," Tugger whispered by way of greeting, as he flipped the lab book in front of him open. "You must be Mistoffelees, huh?"

Mistoffelees paused to glance up for half a second at him then back down at his notes, but nodded in response, in the middle of sketching a careful drawing of the rock in his hand.His sketches looked so carefully done and not messy at all, with arrows drawn and labeled with steady fingers. Tugger caught himself staring at Mistoffelees’ fingers, marveling at how long they were.

He cleared his throat, both to get Mistoffelees’ attention and to snap himself out of it.

"My friend--your flatmate--Jemima has told me alll about you, you know." Tugger leaned back, hands clasped behind his head, completely ignoring the line of annoyance starting to form between Mistoffelees' eyebrows. "She showed me a clip of you dancing--damn. You're fabulous--I haven't seen anyone dance like you do!"

Mistoffelees’ sketching didn’t slow down any, but Tugger could have sworn up and down he saw a tug of a smile at the corner of the other’s mouth, the line between his eyebrows fading a little.

Tugger began flipping through the pages of the lab book, not really paying attention to whatever was written or drawn on the leaves.

“She told me you’re in the same advanced dance performing arts classes as me--but you couldn’t come along? Or...” Tugger caught his eye and winked. “You’re too good for us peasants right?”

Mistoffelees shook his head, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

“I was just kidding,” Tugger assured, but Mistoffelees only looked more confused before shrugging and returning to his work. “I’ll lose but I’m down for a dance off competition with you after class if you came along to them.”

Mistoffelees’ hand jerked, scrawling an unintentional line across a new sketch of a different rock. With a short sigh, he grabbed his eraser and rubbed vigorously at the paper to remove the scrawl. Was it Tugger’s imagination or did Mistoffelees’ shoulders appear more hunched, tensed? Or that his hand had momentarily quivered above the sketch before quickly resuming it like everything was fine?

Catching one of the demonstrators walking pointedly in his direction, Tugger reached forward and pulled his box of sample rocks toward him, picking one up in his hand like he had been studying it all along. It was a dark rock, it felt heavy, and it was...a rock. A short thumbs-up to the demonstrator to show he was definitely working was met with a skeptical look and then a shrug before moving on to someone else asking for help with a question.

Tugger flicked the pages until he found the intro page (so. Much. TEXT.) and began skimming over it, until he found a section explaining deeper about the three broad categories of rocks: sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic. His mind was wandering too much to really concentrate properly on them, drifting back off to the videos Jemima had shown him of Mistoffelees’ dance prowess. Those fouettes, those jetes, those arabesques! They were just...something else.And that...

That...

Conjuring Turn.

That’s what Jemima had said it was.

And he believed her when she said that the video did zero justice to that level of skill and talent.

A poke just above his elbow jerked him out of the daydream, turning his head see Mistoffelees looking at him with a hint of amusement in the slight upturn of the corners of his mouth.

“Hmm?”

Mistoffelees tapped his pencil against a blank page, where he had written, fave rock? You’re looking at it like it’s the love of your life.

A nervous laugh from Tugger, though it sounded a little strained to his own ears. “Uh, nah, rocks look the same to me.”

Mistoffelees raised an eyebrow, tilting his head as though to ask, really?

“I mean, not literally,” Tugger said, rubbing his thumb over the rock in his hand. “This one is clearly a black rock with, uh...” he pursed his lips, rubbing his chin as he scrutinised what else he could see about it. “Ooh, those are interesting patterns on its surface.”

Mistoffelees smiled, eyes lighting up in such a way it made Tugger’s heart miss about six or seven beats before pounding in his chest to catch up.

Damn. Jemima could’ve warned me how cute he is!

Tugger rubbed his thumb over the shell-like curves on the rock’s surface, feeling its tiny ridges on his skin. He didn’t care for rocks, but he wasn’t going to lie, this was a beautiful specimen.

A pencil tap on his hand drew his attention again to Mistoffelees, who pointed at more things written on the sheet.

Obsidian. Igneous. Minimal crystal growth due to fast cooling of extruded lava.  Conchoidal fracturing (shell-like). Pretty, isn’t it?

Tugger grinned. “It’s pretty, but not as pretty as your eyes right now.”

Mistoffelees’ eyes grew round at his response, pencil slipping from between his fingers as he fumbled with it, looking back down from Tugger after a second or two.

Does he know how his eyes light up with happiness?

He really needed to talk to Jemima about warning him beforehand of the cuteness of her flatmates in future.

“Jemima tells me you love rocks. I never got it but...”

Then why? Were the next two words from Mistoffelees. Why are you here?

Tugger shrugged. “Just needed an extra class, I guess.”

Like he was going to tell Mistoffelees it was just because he wanted to be closer to him. Maybe one day he’ll tell him that, but certainly not right now. He didn’t want to scare Mistoffelees off before the lab was even over.

Tossing the obsidian back into the sample box, Tugger picked up another rock, one that was tan in colour and had a couple very tiny shells in it. It felt sandy against his palm and under his thumb.

“I imagine you know what this one is too?”

He watched Mistoffelees’ hand writing across the page, recalling again how graceful his hands had looked in Jemima’s videos.

Sandstone. Sedimentary. Feldspar and quartz very common in this rock. Formed over millions of years by compaction.

“Oh yeah, quartz,” Tugger recalled from whatever he had skimmed over in the lab book. “Silicon or something, right?”

SiO2.

He also randomly remembered another snatch of information from the previous class.

“Wait...isn’t sandstone the only rock that has fossils?”

Mistoffelees shook his head, before quickly writing again.

Sedimentary rocks, including sandstone. All sedimentary rocks can contain fossils.

Tugger pointed at one of the tiny shells embedded in the rock. “So this dude here is a fossil?”

A nod from Mistoffelees, who was now smiling a little, eyes lighting up again as they had before. Again, Tugger’s heart skipped a beat when they made eye contact--even if it was only for a split second before Mistoffelees quickly looked away and back down at his own work.

He’s so...adorable? Cute? Um? Jemima, we’re gonna talk.

Tugger tried to force his brain to focus on the lab at hand as Mistoffelees pointedly busied himself with answering more lab questions, but it was hard. Hard to focus when it was so sunny outside, when he kept thinking about the dance videos on Jemima’s phone, considering if he should go ahead and ask for Misto’s number after lab, and--

“Ahem.”

A handed padded its way onto the lab-book, drawing his attention up to another girl who he didn’t know, looking intently at him.

“Hey,” she said, jerking a thumb back at her table, “Why’re you hanging out with this weirdo? Wouldn’t you rather sit with us?”

Did she just...call Mistoffelees...a weirdo? What is this, high-school again?

“What’d you call Mistoffelees?”

The girl scoffed. “He’s a weirdo, he never talks, never makes eye contact with you,” 

Tugger remembered Jemima saying that Mistoffelees had autism, and that it was natural for him to avoid eye contact or want some space, and he was also pretty much mute.

“Neurodivergency exists you know,” Tugger said airily, “And who cares if I want to hang out with the lab “weirdo”? It’s not high-school anymore.”

“Really?” the girl looked disappointed. “I thought you’d like--”

“Thanks but no thanks. I’m fine here. He knows lots of cool things about rocks, and he’s my bestie’s flatmate. I don’t think she’d appreciate you calling him names either.”

“Fine, I give up then.”

With that, the girl flounced off back to her own group.

See you never.

He felt Mistoffelees staring at him, the sounds of the pencil scratching on paper having come to a complete silence. When Tugger looked over at him with a wink, the other quickly looked down at his lab book,

“Don’t worry about her--I’ve got your back. As does Jemima.”

Thanks, but you didn’t have to. I’m used to it.

“Doesn’t make it okay, y’know? You’re worth so much more--bet she can’t even tell a fouette from a pirouette. Hell, she’s probably never heard of either of those terms. Kinda sound like pastries now I think about it. French pastries, naturally.”

Now I’m hungry, Mistoffelees wrote.

“You’re welcome.” Tugger winked. “And you’re welcome to sit with me if you ever wanted to come to the advanced dance class too you know. I wouldn’t mind having you for company.”

Thanks. I’ll see.

“Just think about it. It’d be cool to see you there too. I promise not to annoy you...” Tugger added a little laugh before, “Much.”

I’d like to get back to study. Leave me be.

“Oh yeah, course.” Tugger looked back down at the huge blocks of words. To his brain it just seemed like a wall of text. He sorely wished there was a TL;DR summary or something in a box at the bottom of the page.

And, again, his brain wandered back to those dazzling videos.

The fouettes, the pirouettes, the arabesques, the grande plies...

So perfect, so flawless, so...magical. Graceful. Phenomenal. Stunning. Mystical.

I really, really hope I see him in advanced dance class soon...

If all those videos of his dance, the way his eyes shone when “talking” about rocks, and just how adorable he looked...

If this wasn’t love at first sight, well...then Tugger had no clue what that would be instead.

Look out, Jemima, I’ll be talking your ears off asking about Mistoffelees tonight. And about how you should’ve warned me on how cute he is. He is impossibly cute and talented.

He really really hoped more than ever to see him in the next advanced dance class tomorrow afternoon, just so he could see Mistoffelees’ dance moves in real life, and not “just” from videos on Jemima’s phone.

If he’s amazing in her videos, what is he like in real life? Beyond perfect, probably.

And Tugger would no doubt fall even more in love with him.

[iridescentgleam]

12, 18, and 34 for the ask game !!

(Ask game from here!)

Thank you for asking, Crow! :D

12. If a genie offered you three writing wishes, what would they be?

I wish I could be in a productive environment free of distractions whenever I write

I wish I always had a clear idea of where the story's going when I start a WIP 😭

And I wish, sometimes, that I could write well for more fandoms than I do, but I'm working on that! hehe

18. Choose a passage from your writing. Tell me about the backstory of this moment. How you came up with it, how it changed from start to end.

(@amiharana, you asked this one too, so here's the answer for both of you! :D This was a very hard one lol)

"Just as [Twilight] got a second to contemplate this, three explosions rang out across the clearing, throwing off his balance a little as he scrambled to pinpoint the origin, only to see an electric arrow wiz right over his shoulder, barely missing him as the hair on his neck stood straight up. He whirled around, catching a glimpse of a figure descending with a paraglider. Once they were about twenty feet off of the ground, they let go and fell like a deadweight, landing in a crouch as they met the fight head-on in a blaze of glory and golden braids that caught the moonlight just right." - A current WIP entitled "Flight of the Wilds" (subject to change)

I think the prompt was asking for a piece of currently published writing and I can add that if you guys want later, but I figured I'd treat you both with my current Revalink WIP 💛 It's also a LU fic, but that's not the point lol. This doesn't even begin to cover the premise of the oneshot, as it's projected to be about 30,000+ words. I wrote most of it on paper (crying it's thirty-two pages front and back and IM NOT EVEN DONE), so you better believe a lot is getting changed as I type it out lol.

This is very early on in the oneshot when Twilight reunites with Wild for the first time. The Chain is getting ambushed by a hoard of monsters and Wild comes by and helps them. In this, he's definitely picked up a lot of his archery skills from Revali, hence the signature three bomb arrows. He's still not nearly as good at the Rito himself, though! :D hehe

This sequence likely won't change any more than it already has, as the beginning doesn't need a whole lot of work anymore imo. It didn't used to be nearly as epic, though. Originally, the scene is a lot more Twilight-centric (as the story is told from his POV), but I changed it because it didn't focus nearly enough on Wild as it really should have for his introduction scene??? Idk what I was thinking tbh. Didn't even address how Wild even got there fr, which is why I made him glide down from his paraglider like the BAMF he is lmaooooo The blond braids stayed the whole time, tho 👍 That, I can assure you lol

34. Thoughts on the Oxford comma, Go:

As someone who perhaps uses commas where they ought not be, I use the Oxford comma in my writing almost religiously and I find it hard to read anything that does not contain it lol.

As someone who is learning Spanish, though, (which does not make use of the Oxford comma, like, at all) it is a very hard habit to break, but I am working on it! lol