#im doing my own things and i prefer to keep those things in my Real Private Life

[luxeberries]

i think about bo burnham saying 'if you can live your life without an audience, you should do it' at least once a day

[pippeebottom]

Of course you need to be cucked, sweetie. There are only two types of girls and I don't think there could be any doubt about which one you belong to:

Women. Real women. Dominant. Assertive. Full of self-esteem. The kind of girls men -and other women- turn back to gaze at. The girls you'd probably envy back in High School. Maybe even your own bullies. Sexy, confident women that just loooove bossing around tots like you.

Toddlers. Cute little infants who don't know better. Pissy, messy, smelly babies who can't process any emotion and throw a loud tantrum every time they don't get their own way. Blushy little things who can't keep their panties dry and whose only purpose is to entertain real Women. Stupid toddlers who are not sexy. Just cute.

Do you really think your Daddy would doubt for a moment who to do the grown-up stuffs with? Do you even know what those things are? Wouldn't you actually prefer to be sound asleep in your crib, sucking on your pacifier, not even wondering about the thrusts you can hear coming from Daddy's bedroom? I think so.

i get sooo blushy every time i read this 🫣

Daddy tells me all the time he needs big girls to talk to and be with because i’m such a little baby but i jus wanna stay up and find out what Daddy is up to and why i have to go to bed so early when his big girl friends are over!!! and what they think is so funny when they look at me!!

i do know what grown-up stuffs is!!! 😝 i guess im not THAT much of a a baby huh? and Daddy gives me my paci even if i am having grown up stuffs because im so good 🥰

[the-s1lly-corner]

Sending this because I think Tumblr might’ve eaten it, but did you ever receive a request for the TADC crew with a small, but EXTREMELY feisty S/O? Tumblr has a bad habit of eating my asks when I’m on anon I’ve found. 😭

TADC crew w/ a short and feisty reader!

hello hello anon! im so so so sorry for not seeing this sooner :( i truly did not mean to take so long to answer this! rechecking through my inbox, i dont see the original request :( but ill be answering it here so not to worry! getting silly by hopping onto my laptop/computer since its in the dining room rn and this way i can keep an eye on my macarons (literally not baking them, drying them out before i do and i wanna make sure no one touches them)

CAINE:

honestly in the most blunt way possible i think he might actually be into it. he always liked him someone who has a little bite in them (and by always he means like, when he first met you because its highly likely youre his first partner)

if you get all riled up trying to defend him he might comically tug on the collar of his shirt, of which steam will stream out of... doesnt have much of a preference for height, but with you being on the shorter side it makes carrying you around a little less awkward!

POMNI:

absolutely taken aback when you just let it rip one day and you go off on someone (most likely jax lets all be real here for a minute), just stands there appalled before you eventually calm yourself down and turn your attention to her

not to yell at her, she hasnt done anything wrong

honestly... nervous anxious ball x angry defender is probably another trope of mine that i think about every so often, but honestly i love it so so much. thats literally just the embodiment of you and pomni's dynamic

not much to say here unfortunately </3 just that you tend to defend her when things get ugly and you dont tend to stop until the issue is resolved

RAGATHA:

honestly maybe im biased for ragatha because ive grown on her since ive opened requests, but i think that she would be the queen of getting you to chill out when something has you all riled up! is so so kind and doesnt make fun of your height, i mean its not like you or anyone can change it. very good at not making you feel less than for being shorter than nearly everyone else

holds

if you get angry on her behalf and attempt to defend her she would be so so touched, but really most things probably roll right off her back, so she just takes you and walks you away from the scene

JAX:

honestly he thinks its a little funny that you get so worked up over things! probably calls you an ankle biter as a joke, which might make you a little mad. definitely picks you up by the scruff or the back of your shirt or whatever! really any equivalent of that works! jax has an entire arsenal of nicknames for you, all based on your height and energy. he loves seeing the way your face scrunches up a little in disdain when he calls you one of those names. all in good fun, for the most part, but he might let up if its something that makes you genuinely upset...

KINGER:

okokokokok so we dont know anything about queenie (i think, i must admit i dont keep up with gooseworx at all and am only relying off of the pilot) but i hc her to also be more on the feisty side

is this relevant? really it depends, because i think kinger would be comforted by the familiarity of your attitude, but also this could be a gateway for angst because it makes him think and dwell on the loss of queenie.... up to you!

subconsciously kneels down to your height to talk to you; he doesnt mean to be rude! it just sort of happens! thinks your fierceness is endearing in its own silly way!

ZOOBLE:

probably thinks that you can get a little overwhelming sometimes. i mean yeah sure its nice to have someone in your corner whos ready to help you out but zooble seems to be the type to not seek that help out; and in fact i can easily see them getting annoyed by someone constantly speaking for them. so you guys are going to need to communicate and work on this together lest there be a build of resentment

remember guys resentment is a real thing and it can ruin so much !! communicate!!!

that aside, i dont think they would comment much on your height, they really could not give less of a flying fuck

GANGLE:

torn between having her be intimidated by you or having her also find it endearing (and perhaps even attractive? shy person liking the one who always speaks their mind, you know?) while im not writing these to be explicitly romantic, i dont quite totally comfy with the idea of intimidation in a relationship.. though this can be applied to platonic relationships too... hmm... mayhaps a mix of it all? not quite sure! probably goes to you for tips to be more bold, love the idea of someone teaching gangle to grow a backbone

similar to zooble, no comments on your height!

[definitelynotshouting]

Okay, so, question I've had for a while but never got around to asking, what the FUCK is up with Grian's wings?

If all physical differences in players (like those particularly ascribed to 'Hybrids' in mcyt fanon) in Hunger AU are a result of conscious altering of your own code for the express purpose of achieving YOUR IDEAL BODY(tm) then what does that mean for Grian and his wings? No one seems to regard Grian's wings as "What The Fuck, You Can DO That?!?" so presumably wings aren't so big of a change from normal biology that players can't do that. If so, why is it not more common? Man, if I could have wings I'd jump on that in seconds. Especially with the sheer utility the ability to fucking FLY gives players. Are wings (and maybe other larger alterations) just like, REALLY HARD to code in? If so, that might add a really cool layer of "Oh wow! They must be a really good coder!" to players who meet people like that.

On a related note, Grian seems to have a positive regard for his wings, which is interesting because I would be willing to bet he didn't have that before *insert sounds of worm-bursting and non-consensual body modification*. I imagine seeing his wings would likely feel like a reminder of the Watchers and what they did to him. BUT, Watchers manipulate their own code when they change like Grian did to, y'know, not be a worm anymore so Grian probably specifically chose how he looked, right? So, unless he did so really rushed and somehow made a mistake while doing so (which he might not be able to risk the structural damage of correcting), keeping the wings was a conscious decision. Does Grian just not associate his wings with the Watchers or is it something else? Does he just really enjoy having wings?

HELLO I AM SO GLAD YOU'VE ASKED THIS BECAUSE I HAVE ‼️‼️‼️‼️ MANY THOUGHTS ABOUT IT ‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️

Okay okay so these are all SUCH valid questions, lemme go through them one by one. Wings are indeed something anyone could have if they wanted to code them in-- and in fact, i do believe many other Players have wings throughout the universe!!! As far as body mods go, i like to think of them as decently popular, so its definitely not anything too weird to see. In chapter 5, i even make a mention to Pearl having moth wings she occasionally codes in due to preference!!! So wings of many different types are definitely available-- but the catch is that they're real fiddly to code. You cant just give yourself wings, you have to code in the bone structure, the muscles, the tendons, etc etc, and then you have to change your entire body structure as well to work with and fully support them. They can be awkward and unwieldy, as ive tried to show in the fic itself, and i think that alone can be a big discouragement for Players considering coding in wings, along with the sheer coding effort needed to obtain them and make them functional

And the thing is, elytra already exist-- they're far more compact, they dont take up as much space, you can take them on and off super easily without having to mess with your coding, and they basically do the same thing. Sure, its a pain to get one, but a lot of Players really enjoy the sense of accomplishment, and i think theres a bit of cultural prestige too in that regard. Server milestones are a huge thing in Player culture, and getting your first pair of elytra is a big one!!! So it makes sense to me that people who just dont want to go through the effort of coding in wings (which can then in turn complicate how they code other future modifications) primarily stick to elytra.

And everybody is different-- some people prefer attributes that arent wings. I like to think everyone in hermitcraft generally is a mix of "jeez thats effort, i could be building my base instead of doing that" and "eh im fine how i am, i like it" and "well we have elytra shops everywhere so why bother".

So in short, yeah!! Wings are a bit complex to code in. They're still pretty popular, i think plenty of Players do choose to incorporate them, but it takes a lot of hard and thorough work to make sure they function right and wont bug you out when you use them. There are billions of Players scattered across the universe, so what you're seeing in the fic right now is truly just a drop in the ocean when it comes to Player body diversity :] and then, elytra basically already help Players achieve a form of flight without the hassle of recoding their entire body structure, so i think the majority of Players just prefer to use them instead.

AS FOR GRIAN'S WINGS IN PARTICULAR......

Well..... its complicated. Particularly his feelings about them-- in the fic, i referenced them as the only good thing the Watchers ever gave him, and thats how he sees it, i think: a thin silver lining. He's had many, many years to get used to them, and i think he goes through periods where he hates them and the memories attached, too. Ultimately, he's kinda stuck with them, so i think he hit a form of acceptance (as bitter-tinged as it may be) out of sheer necessity for his own sanity.

As for why he has them, and hasnt coded them out: i think of it as a particular quirk of biology/structural coding. Watchers have a more instinctive way of coding than Players, but a Player-minded Watcher is still going to think like a Player, and thats going to muddle things a lot. Grian essentially had to relearn how to code, in a way that satisfied both Player and Watcher-style coding, and the results at first were.... a little rough around the edges. Once he managed to finally take on his original former appearance, the wings from his true form just kind of.... stuck. I like to think it took a few increasingly desperate tries before he realized he just could not figure out how to get rid of them (bc of how different his new code was), and had to accept that this was just how he was gonna have to live for a while until he finally figured it out. And then, well.... you can get used to anything, if you're stuck with it long enough. I think after a while it just stopped being a huge priority, and then he reached a point where it would be more awkward to live without them than with them, and he eventually dropped the idea altogether. And i think sometimes, they function almost like a scar, to him-- a reminder of what he went through, yes, but a reminder that he did manage to escape. And, ofc, he also just really, really likes flying skdjskdjdj

So yeah, loads of complicated feelings there about his wings, and its stuff i do plan on exploring later in the fic!!! This got a little rambly, but i hope this makes sense and answers your questions!!!! :D its a fun little complicated knot that im glad someone has gotten curious enough to ask about!!!!

[candy8448]

Photo (for the one word prompt)

Used a fic idea i had since i basically joined this fandom but never wrote so i got carried away and wrote 1580 words 0.0

This fic idea came to me when playing totk for the first time when it first came out, i took a photo of the old champions photo and put it in the gallery of my new house

Get ready for some fluff! (From me? I know, shocking!)

Send me a one word writing prompt

"And this room, i actually made with you guys in mind... i didn't have space for full beds but those mattresses are a lot comfier than a sleeping roll. Sometimes i even prefered sleeping in here than in my own bedroom," imagining that i was still with you lot, he left out. Wild turned back to the chain as he finished showing them around his new home. Twilight glanced around, noting something,

"Where is the champions photo? I thought of all things you would want to bring, it would be that?"

Wild tried to hide his upset expression, "well, Zelda kept it... and she is the one with all the real memories of them... so its okay"

He tried not to think about losing the champions photo, but he couldnt help but think it was like loosing them all over again. Still, nothing would come from burdening the chain with his emotions.

---------------------

The next day, while Wild was out running errands, Legend burst into their shared room on the top floor, canvas and paints in his arms, dumping them on the table in the center of the room,

"We're painting him a new one."

"What?"

"You saw how sad he looked when he didn't have the champion's photo; we are repainting him a new one"

Warriors grinned at the vet, "wow, didn't know you were soft, collector."

That earned a glare, "You never know when you could lose someone, sometimes you need something to keep their memory alive, like a song, or a picture."

A few of them nodded in agreement.

"Right, who's doing what?" Time said as they all gathered around the table.

Wind's hand shot up first, "ooh, OOH! I can draw! Let me draw it!"

Legend looked at him, "okay, you do the sketch and i do the painting, BUT im gonna check over the sketch before we're done" ever the perfectionist.

Sky nudged Four, "bet we can make a pretty good frame eh?" Four grinned back and nodded, running off to find somewhere he could start.

Roles were assigned to each member: Four and Sky would work on a frame, Wind would sketch and Legend would paint, Warriors would find Flora and ask to borrow the original photo as reference, Time would also go with him to learn more about the champions, and finally, Hyrule and Twilight, having no artistic skill and being the closest to their cook would distract Wild until the painting was finished. It was a good plan, and they began too work.

---------------------

Legend and Wind sat in the top room all day, Wind was getting frustrated at how the sketch was just not looking right, Legend came to pull the pencil away,

"No you do it like this!" He said, rubbing out a piece of the drawing and sketching it on himself. Wind's eyes widened in understanding, and he grabbed the pencil again, fixing up other similar mistakes. Legend noted that the rito happened to look the best and he had to wonder if that was because it was the only race outside of hylians he had a lot of experience with. Wind noticed the same thing. He almost felt the spirit of the rito looking smug as he pridefully gloated on the others, and Wind giggled.

---------------------

"It's really nice you're doing this for him, i wasn't aware that he would feel upset that i kept the photo. I thought he would come and tell me if something was upsetting him," Flora said as they sat around the table in her own house in Hateno village. Warriors and Time had told Wild that they wanted to speak to her and Wild, being unsuspecting at the two 'leaders' of the group wanting to gather information, called Zelda over with the Purah Pad. She had teleported to them with the old Sheika Slate and Warriors couldn't help but gape at the glowing blue antlers and her purple and blue eyes. Zelda then proceded to take them to her house once they told her they wanted to speak to her in private, much to the displeasure of Wild, who wanted her nearby to make sure she was safe, not that anyone could blame him.

Time smiled at her, "well, hiding one's emotions do seem to come with the hero's spirit"

She nodded uncertainly.

Wars drew the girl's attention, "Can you tell us about the champions? Our friends Sky and Four would like to make a frame and were hoping to make it something special."

---------------------

Wild excitedly showed them around Tarrey town and was pulling Twilight and Hyrule along with him. When wild came running back to the house, Twilight first asked to have help with Epona, but because the house stable was already occupied, they had to go to the nearest stable. Hyrule also tagged along, hoping to use up time exploring once Wild's attention would eventually shift from horses to something else. Twilight was currently just following behind them, trying to catch up to the duo and making sure they didn't get hurt.

Wild had decided that it was a good idea to dive off the side of the town and into the water to reach the construction grounds. Twilight tried to stop him but the champion, as slippery as he is, got past him, already with his shirt off and shouting as he went down, followed by a massive splash that almost reached up to them. Twilight sighed and turned around, only to see Hyrule missing from his side. The traveler's laughter joined Wild's own as he knelt on the moving tracks platform and waved at him, Wild waving back as he swam to shore. Twilight sighed harder but smiled, at least his brother seemed in a better mood.

---------------------

Sky hummed to the rythm of Four's hammer hitting metal. The skyloftian had decided to join the smithy in the forge to spend time with him. The carving in his hands would theoretically slot into what four was making, the metal to hold the canvas in place and the wood for the details. Sky used what Warriors and the old man had relayed to them from Flora to create intricate markings which he hoped represented the champions. Four hammered away, joining his humming with his own layer to the tune until he stopped hammering and looked at his work, "how does that look?" He asked, sky stood up, halfing his unfinished piece nearby and comparing the two, looking at the but where the two would slide in together, "it looks great!"

---------------------

Hyrule excitedly dragged Wild to the top room by his arms. When the champion saw everyone in the room he looked confused, waiting for an answer. "We made something for you" Wind said, ushering him to the table.

Wild walked up to the table to see a canvas resting on it, one with a very familiar image. His breath hitched in his throat as he silently.

It was almost identical to the original image, the champions photo, but newer. Everone in the image looked perfect, careful strokes of paint marking out their individual features. Wild sniffled as he inspected the frame. Wood and metal worked into eachother. The metal sides of the frame had the words "champions ballad" indented in his hylian. The wooden sides had carvings, depicting the four regions the champions came from, it also had things which he knew the champions loved from his scattered memories. There were indentations of more things, and Wild wondered where they got this information from. The frame was detailed, he could also see where the wood and metal intertwined with one another. There were no carvings of the divine beasts, Wild noticed suddenly, no marks of duty; just six friends, together and happy.

Wild worlessly looked up at his traveling companions, and only now noticed the river of tears running down his face.

Twilight stepped forwards, offering Wild a tissue, "legend was the one who suggested we do this because we saw how sad you were about not having the original. He and Wind sketched and painted it. Wars and Time got the original image from Flora and learned about the champions for the details on the frame, which Sky and Four both made. Hyrule and I were distracting you so it could be a surprise"

Wild sniffed, happy tears overflowing him, "th-thank you guys, it really means a lot" his voice cracked, "i-um... can we take a new one? With all of us? If you dont mind" he stuttered.

---------------------

Flora held the Purah Pad, looking through the lens. She called out, telling everyone to move around and making sure they were in shot, "Time, move down, yeah like Warriors, you might not be that tall but you are still out of shot" laugheter errupted out of the others, the old man deadpanned before his face returned to his smile. Flora decided to take advantage of everyone's laughing faces, "Ready?" She giggled, borrowing Purah's iconic phrase "Click-" Twilight grinned mischieviously, "-snap!" And pulled everyone in suddenly with his strong arms.

The image was put up next to the champions painting on the top floor where they all slept. Wild took a step back, smiling softly. Everyone had a mixture of shocked and laughing faces, Wild himself, in the middle with a beaming smile and a tear running down his cheek...

Ao3 (oneshot collection)

Ao3 (the fic on its own)

I have notes and headcanons featured in this fic in the end notes of both of the Ao3 versions

Hope you enjoyed! :)

[sugar-omi]

oh my GOD SELF AWARE COVE HAS SO MANY POSSIBILITIES IM GONNA BE THINKING ABOUT THIS FOR AGES

JUST- the thought of Cove slowly realizing he’s going through a loop over and over and over and with every loop the MC starts to look and feel stranger and more far away to Cove and it’s driving him INSANE. Cove starts to keep track of these loops and notices that sometimes things get ever so slightly different or drastically different (say the players deciding to romance a different character or is doing a 100% platonic playthrough etc etc)

THE WHIPLASH COVE WOULD FEEL WHERE IN ONE LOOP THE MC IS ALL LOVEY DOVEY THEN IN THE NEXT THEYRE COLD AND INDIFFERENT TOWARDS HIM CAUSE THE MECHANIC OF COVE FEELING THE SAME WAY WOULD JUST BREAK UPON HIM BECOMING SELF AWARE

Cove having to deal with the feeling of closing his eyes as an adult only to open them and see he’s 8 years old again. What the hell just happened???? He was just at his own wedding with the love of his life and now he’s suddenly a crying child back on the poppy hill!!

AND THEN- and then Cove paying more attention to the MC as the loops go by and seeing them fade into this weird uncanny husk, they’re starting to feel more like a puppet than a person, and it terrifies him. What’s going on??? Are they okay?? Why is this happening to them????

Soon enough as he looks at the MC he finally notices and realizes that the MC “never existed”. This whole time the person he’s spent basically his entire life with never existed as someone in Coves world. No, instead they’re just a projection of someone else. Who? Coves not sure, but he feels like that whoever it is they’re the person who he’s actually been falling for over and over again.

And at that realization he come to the conclusion that he needs to meet this person beyond the veil, and he needs to meet them now.

This got kinda horror adjacent I apologize I got carried away-

NO THIS IS PERFECT

it tears him apart every time bc if you choose to romance someone else or not befriend/romance him, he can't say anything different since he doesn't have control over the system and he doesn't wanna alarm you

so he's forced to feel indifferent to you, and even in between he can't talk to you bc you're not real, the "you" that's here isn't interested in cove, and if "you" do take interest in him it's bc of the system, and everything is set in place as always

slowly he works out how to get to you, and he's leaning over you in his buff/lean, (tatted,) 6+ foot glory and teary eyed, asking why you keep playing with him, experimenting on him like this, making him watch you confess to baxter after he's loved you for 15 years. asking why you'd make that deal n choose his best friend derek over him.

well, it doesn't matter anymore. you can be together now, don't worry about his life in sunset bird, you can just build a life together just the two of you for now!!!

he actually prefers you like this compared to the game. you can say whatever you want without limits or prompting. and he can see your expression, hear your voice, actually touch you...

oh, and please don't go anywhere without him if possible or look at other men, fictional or real, with interest. he's everything you need, you've made him to fit your needs every time. you've came back to him hundreds of times in the end, so if you see smth you like on another man, cove will change his style, look, or behavior so just stop looking else were.

unless you can't, then he'll have to punish you. make you look him...

don't worry, he won't hurt you! he really could never do that, no matter how broken or.. well, twisted. he is

just wants to make sure you remember you're his, and he is yours. so if he makes you sit in his lap for hours, making you trace his face and body and features, telling him everything you love abt him inside and out, then just do it.

and if he decides to punish you in other ways, you can handle it right? you've played his 18+ dlc's multiple times, you read all those dirty stories abt him and you always kiss him n grope him when you can in the main game

he just wants to love you, and be loved by you for real. so indulge him a bit, won't you?

[tokkias]

i beg on hands and knees. i need to see jealous natsu and/or lucy 🥺🙏 (most preferably humor but im down for any :D)

this ask awoke a sleeper agent in my brain and i blacked out for 5 days and woke up with a 7000 word fic that was definitely not supposed to be longer than 2000 words, because we need more jealous lucy fics that aren't misogynistic lisanna bashing.

it's mostly angsty lucy introspection & fluffy lucy + everyone friendship, with some cute fluffy nalu bants at the end <3 i hope you enjoy!

as always thanks to @nalunalu for being my beta, keeping me sane, and at this point practically being my co-author on this fic.

When Lucy’s turn to choose their next job rolled around, she found herself picking out an easy escort mission. It was low risk, high reward, and not even her reckless teammates could screw this one up. After a handful of missions gone awry and the due date for her rent swiftly approaching, she was more than keen to take on something that wouldn’t involve potential threats of severe injury and mass destruction.

The instructions were simple: escort a wagon of goods from point a to point b through a route that had been the scene of minor bandit attacks in the past. It would be a three-day trek on foot, but for the reward, it would be well worth it. What the instructions didn’t specify, however, was that alongside the goods, they would also be escorting their employers’ daughter. It was a minor detail; she would sit in the wagon while the wizards escorted it on foot, leaving them to their own devices while she remained nice and safe inside the vehicle. That plan had been thrown to the wayside however, when the young girl had found herself rather taken with Lucy’s pink-haired partner. She had instead insisted that she join them on foot so she could spend time with him instead of rotting away on that boring old carriage for the next three days.

It should have been no real issue; she was sweet, if not a little more talkative than they might have been used to, but overall she seemed to be a nice, kind, and polite girl. There was just something about the way she clung to Natsu’s side, her arms wrapped around his as she tried to hold herself closer to him, that made Lucy’s stomach lurch. Almost immediately, she began to swoon about how big, and strong, and handsome he was. With her free hand, she began to run her fingers up and down the exposed muscles of his arm, in what Lucy found to be an egregious invasion of personal space. But the worst part was, she couldn’t even find it in herself to blame her. Natsu was strong, and kind, and handsome, and funny, and yeah, he was a bit of an idiot sometimes, but Lucy always thought that was part of his charm. She adored all those things about him, finding them so incredibly endearing, and that was why she had chosen to stick by his side through everything as his best friend. Watching this stranger so blatantly flirt with her partner made her wonder: if she hadn’t found herself so deeply ingrained in the friend zone, then maybe she would be throwing herself at him like that too.

A part of her ached for the confidence to do that—to push their relationship into something more than friendship. There was always something bubbling just beneath the surface with them, stuck between the space of more than friends but not quite lovers, and while Lucy had been content to let things stay the way they were, lately she had been longing for a little more than that. What had started as a teeny tiny little crush on her partner had grown into a full-fledged yearning for him. She was all consumed by her desire for him as more than just his best friend. Many times she had found herself wondering what it would be like to hold his hand in hers, to feel his arms wrap tightly around her body as his lips grazed her cheek. The reasonable part of her brain had been the one to hold her back; there was no way she was going to face the possibility of rejection from Natsu of all people. It would be embarrassing, but more importantly, it could prove to ruin the friendship that they had spent years building together, and that would always be worth more to her than some silly crush.

She was beginning to regret offering to trail behind alongside Gray, because at least if she were in front, she wouldn’t have to bear witness to some of the most obvious flirting she had ever seen, directed right towards the man who had long since been the object of her attraction.

"You okay there, Lucy?" Gray asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m fine,"

He shot her a sceptical look before his gaze flicked over to Natsu and then back to her, but didn’t say anything. Lucy didn’t want to talk about it, and neither did he, especially not when the daughter of their generous employer was within earshot. Instead, the pair, alongside the rest of their team, continued in silence, only filled by the idle chatter of their esctortee.

Usually, low-effort jobs like this were filled with playful banter between the wizards, but instead, an awkward hush had fallen over the group. Even Happy had forgone multiple opportunities to poke fun at Lucy, seemingly also feeling a little neglected from having Natsu’s attention taken away by the new addition to their group. She seemed more than content to chat away with Natsu—well, more at him than with him. Her eyes were glued to Natsu rather than the path in front of them, relying entirely on him and the tight grasp she held on his arm to keep her from tripping. From her view from behind, Lucy couldn’t quite gauge his reaction to this whole situation.

Usually she could be confident in how her best friend would react in most scenarios, but this wasn’t like most scenarios. Looking back, she couldn’t say that she recalled Natsu ever finding himself on the receiving end of any flirting, much less flirting of this caliber. He was most certainly not the romantic type, finding more joy in poking fun at Lucy for being such a hopeless romantic than in thinking about romance himself.

Occasionally he would nod at what she was saying, but without seeing his expression, Lucy couldn’t tell if that was because of his disinterest or because he was focusing on not letting her fall on the rocky terrain that they were traversing.

The rest of the day passed by similarly uneventfully, and Lucy was almost hopeful that Happy would find some way to insult her as they walked. It would probably have brought out a cackle from Natsu, his attention turned back to her as she and that damn cat argued about whether or not she had put on weight recently. At the very least it would have been a distraction from the self-torture she had been putting herself through as she forced herself to watch the two their whole trek. The more she thought about it, the more having Happy call her fat seemed like the preferable option.

Once the sun began to set over the horizon, the group made the most of what little light they had left by setting up camp in a small clearing within the woods. Gray, Erza, and Lucy worked away at setting up their tents, while their guest sat in awe as she watched Natsu use his magic to light their campfire. He seemed more than happy to have a chance to show off, being met with her fascinated oohs and aahs as she watched the flames flicker to life with nothing more than the touch of his hand.

While Lucy had hoped that the weird tension that had followed them the whole day would dissipate as they gathered around the fire, any chance of that happening was drowned out by the incessant rambling of their guest. It was becoming increasingly clear that this girl could talk about anything and everything at length, regardless of whether anyone was actually listening.

Gray seemed wholly uninterested, not-so-subtly rolling his eyes at every compliment she threw Natsu’s way, while Erza did her best to pretend that she was interested in what she had to say out of politeness. Any attempt that was made to add to the conversation was futile in the face of her obvious infatuation with Natsu, and Lucy couldn’t find it in herself to stick around much longer to find out how the rest of the night would play out. Instead, she excused herself to her tent to distract herself within the pages of a book.

A good romance novel was what she needed to pass the time—just her and the characters inside her book, and none of the thoughts about how much she wanted to know what her partner's lips would feel like against her own. She bit down on her lip, her brows furrowed, as she tried to allow herself to get lost in the words. It wasn’t until the last embers of their fire were flickering out and her tent buddies came in to join her that she realised how much time had passed and how little progress she had made on her book.

It was a little cramped as she and Erza had to find space for their unexpected visitor within their two-person tent, but thankfully neither of them seemed to mind all that much. Usually on jobs like this, they’d split themselves up so Lucy and Natsu slept in one tent with Happy, while Erza and Gray took the other, but there was a silent agreement between them that maybe their normal would be a little awkward to explain to someone they had just met. Natsu, on the other hand, seemed none too happy with their new arrangement, pouting at the prospect of change, though whether that was because of having Lucy taken away from him or from being forced into close proximity with Gray, she couldn’t quite tell.

Though not as outwardly upset as he was, Lucy found herself a tad bummed by the change in routine. She always looked forward to when the three of them got to wind down for the night, chatting away about anything that caught their attention until they found themselves in a fit of giggles, like a couple of preteens at a sleepover. She appreciated Erza's company, but falling asleep without Natsu's comforting presence besides her wasn't the same.

Lucy was content for the three of them to sit together in silence as she made her way through the pages of her book, but it seemed as though their new companion had other ideas for how they were going to spend their downtime before bed.

"You guys are so lucky to be friends with Natsu~" she said with a dreamy sigh. "What’s he like? Like, really like? I want to know everything!"

Erza’s silence and awkward glances towards Lucy signalled that she was deferring the conversation to her, and with a quiet sigh, she decided that she could indulge the poor girl.

"He’s... nice," she said, not really knowing where to begin or even what this girl even wanted to hear from her, but her wide-eyed eager expression as she began spurred Lucy on. "He’s really kind, and he cares about his friends more than anyone I’ve ever met." She paused as she looked down at her hand, her finger trailing over her guild mark, as she reminisced about all the time she and Natsu had spent together. "He’s fiercely loyal and would do anything to protect the people he cares about." Thinking about him had her heart racing faster, and any embarrassment she might have felt about swooning over him like this fizzled away as she continued on. "He kind of doesn’t think before he acts, which gets us into trouble sometimes, but... I suppose all of his good qualities make up for that."

"Wow~" she swooned, "he sounds like real boyfriend material."

"Yeah, I guess so," Lucy murmured in reply.

Before the conversation could go much further, the familiar voice of a certain exceed interrupted them from the outside.

"I’m coming in!" Happy cried, not leaving the trio much warning before barging in on their already cramped space, flying straight into Lucy’s arms. "Luuuucccyyyyy, I don’t like it in the tent with Natsu and Gray; all they do is fight," he whined, "can’t you just come back and sleep with me and Natsu instead?"

Lucy sucked in a breath at the exceed’s absolute lack of tact, trying to figure out a way to explain exactly why she couldn’t do that, though a mischievous glint in his eyes told her that he already knew exactly why and that he just wasn’t having it.

"Well, Erza and I have already settled in for the night; I don’t want to have to upend everything just to swap tents now," she suggested, hinting that he should drop the subject.

As much as she wanted to go back to their usual sleeping arrangements, things were already weird with the way their client’s daughter was so eagerly throwing herself at Natsu and screwing with their group dynamic entirely. Lucy didn’t want to risk upsetting the girl and risking that sweet, sweet reward money just because she was desperate to snuggle with her best friend.

She didn’t really even know if she wanted to see Natsu right now. Having spent so much of the day thinking about her most-likely unrequited feelings towards him, all the while watching this stranger have the courage to do what she did not, had her heart feeling a little tender. If she forced herself to partake in their meaningless little affections, she was sure she would simply burst at the seams and begin to cry right in his presence.

"Pllleeaaaaassseee?" he begged, looking up at her with puppy dog eyes (or at least the best approximation a cat could make). "You, me, and Natsu can cuddle together just like we do every night!"

"H-Happy!" Lucy cried as a deep red blush spread across her face.

What he said wasn’t a lie per se, but he was certainly exaggerating the truth, either to ward off Natsu’s new admirer or simply to embarrass Lucy in front of her. Regardless of his intentions, she was now getting confused stares from both of her roommates.

"I-it’s not like that!" she clarified, her blush spreading to the very tips of her ears.

"My, I didn’t know you two were like that…" Erza pondered with an expression on her face that looked as though she had just uncovered a deep, dark secret.

"That’s because we’re not!" Lucy snapped, her obvious frustration and anger dripping from every word.

She had tried to keep her voice down so that Natsu wouldn’t hear from his tent, but judging by the way his and Gray’s squabbling had quieted down, there was no way the both of them hadn’t already heard her outburst. Today’s events already had her a tad pent up, and even though she knew Happy had her best intentions at heart, she really didn’t want to hear it. Her and Natsu were friends and nothing more than that, so there was no reason to try convince anyone else that they weren't.

"Look, just drop it, okay, Happy?" She sighed, "I’m going to sleep."

"Sorry Lucy…" he murmured as he watched her roll over in her sleeping bag, her back facing the rest of them. "Can I… stay here?"

Lucy didn’t say a word but opened her arm out for him, which had him diving into her grasp and snuggling up in her chest as the two of them dozed to sleep.

There was an air of awkwardness that followed them the next morning that made Lucy feel uneasy. She knew why that was, of course; her little outburst the night before was still lingering in the back of everyone’s minds, but there was no way any of them were going to address it with their new friend still with them.

Happy had opted to linger around Lucy as they made their trek, feeling bad for provoking her earlier but not knowing what to say to make it better. Really, just having him there made her feel even just a little bit more comfortable in their unconventional situation. Usually it was always her, Happy, and Natsu, walking side by side, chatting away about anything and everything, smiling and laughing together the whole way through. Losing out on that on their first day had made her feel rather lonely, but having Happy by her side made up for that, even just a little.

Natsu hadn't exactly looked pleased to have his little buddy leave his side, but he also hadn’t mentioned anything about it, perhaps because he simply didn’t have a chance with his new partner chatting his ear off. Lucy hadn’t even had a chance to speak to him since they’d set off, and she had a feeling she wouldn’t get one until after they had arrived at their destination. Fortunately for her, Happy didn’t seem too interested in letting any silence linger between them.

"I’m booreeed," he whined, "and- and- and my legs hurt."

"What do you mean your legs hurt? I’ve been carrying you for the past 20 minutes!" Lucy countered.

"Yeah, well, that’s cause you need to lose some weight," he said, looking up at her innocently.

Lucy huffed at his comment, but ultimately didn’t pay it much mind. She knew Happy meant well; his tasteless teasing was just his way of showing her affection and an attempt to keep her mind off of Natsu.

"How about we play some twenty questions?" he suggested.

She had spent the whole day prior wallowing in her own pity, and the lack of any sort of conversation between her and her teammates hadn’t exactly done her much good either. It seemed as though Happy was acutely aware of this and was now attempting to compensate by filling in the silence any way he could.

"Yeah, that could be fun," she smiled.

"Okay, I’m thinking of a food!" Happy chirped.

Lucy raised her eyebrows slightly at his very obvious choice in category before making her guess first try.

"Is it fish?"

"Wh- Hey! How did you get that so fast?"

She snorted at his genuine surprise, "Because it’s always fish."

"No fair! Let me go again!" He paused to think up a new answer before speaking up again, "I’m thinking of a person this time!"

"Alright, is this person famous?" she asked.

"You could say that," he replied, coyly.

She raised her brows a little at his unconventional answer but continued to push on.

"Is it someone we know?"

Happy nodded along as she asked questions, letting the pieces of the puzzle fall into place with each answer he gave.

"Is it…" her eyes scanned their teammates before landing on the obvious answer: "Erza?"

"Yeah!" Happy cried out in celebration

"Hm?" Erza looked over at the two, her attention having been caught by hearing her name.

"Lucy and I are playing twenty questions! Do you wanna join us?"

"Well, I suppose it could be fun," she mused, "so yes, I would like to join you."

"Okay! It’s Lucy’s turn now!" Happy cheered.

A short hum left her lips as she pondered her options before settling on one. "Alright, I’m thinking of a person as well."

"Do we know them?"

"Mhmm," she nodded.

With the start of the game, Erza was quick to pick up the rules, chiming in, "Has this person fought alongside us before?"

Her unique question had Happy’s face lighting up as he looked over to Lucy to see if it would get them any closer to the answer.

"Yes," Lucy confirmed, sending the pair into an excited frenzy of questions.

"Are they a member of the guild?" Happy asked.

She took a moment to consider it, not knowing how she would fit it into a simple yes-or-no answer.

"I suppose so," she shrugged, prompting the two players to share a mildly confused glance in response to her vague answer.

They weren’t given much time to mull over her answer before they were interrupted by a familiar voice.

"It’s Loke," Gray chimed in, subsequently catching the attention of the three players.

"Yep, I was thinking of Loke," Lucy confirmed.

"No fair! Gray wasn’t playing!"

Gray simply shrugged, unphased by Happy’s emotional response to him joining, "well, the answer was pretty obvious, and you guys weren’t getting it."

Lucy could have sworn she saw Natsu turn his head for a split second, with that eager look that sparkled in his eye whenever he was given the chance to compete, only for his attention to be pulled away with a tug on his sleeve. She frowned slightly, knowing that he probably wouldn’t be taking part in their games any time soon. She would have been happy for the both of them to join; the girl seemed nice enough, if not a tad clingy, but she just didn’t seem to pay the rest of them any mind when Natsu was around.

"It’s my turn next!" Erza cried out, perhaps a tad too eager for a game with stakes as low as this, but Lucy supposed there were no stakes too low for her teammates. "I’m thinking of an animal! Now guess!"

The group of them immediately began their interrogation, throwing out questions and guesses along with accusations that Erza had changed her answer to win (before Lucy was forced to clarify to the group that there really was no winning or losing in a game like twenty questions).

Their game was cut off by Natsu abruptly stopping in his path, holding his arm out in front of his teammates to shield them from any oncoming danger. His sudden change in behaviour had the group’s guard up, not knowing exactly why he had stopped but trusting in his instincts. Natsu’s senses had never let them down before, and they weren’t about to start now.

"I can hear you guys, so either come out and fight us or go scram," he called out into the nothingness of the forest.

His demand was met with silence, save for the quiet rustle of the leaves when the wind passed as Lucy tried to tune her ears into whatever it was that Natsu had heard but ultimately was not able to find it.

That was until a hand grabbed at her arm, and she found herself face-to-face with a bandit who had picked her out as the group's weakest link. He clearly found himself regretting that choice when a brilliant light surrounded her, his eyes agape as she transformed into her Taurus Star Dress before promptly using her newfound strength to send him flying into the dirt.

With a grin on his face, Natsu looked eager to join in on the action, cracking his knuckles as he scoped out their assailants. Lighting his fist on fire, he was about to send it flying in the face of whatever fool was stupid enough to come near him, until he was stopped by a dainty pair of arms wrapped around his torso, holding him back.

"I need you to get off of me," he hissed, trying to convince her to let go before he physically threw her off of him.

"I’m scared…" she whimpered, her nose buried in the back of his shirt as she trembled.

He ground his teeth together, conflicted between protecting their obviously frightened client and wanting to get in on the fight. The rest of his team, however, didn’t give him much time to make that decision himself, with the three of them taking care of the bandits with swift ease.

"Is everyone okay?" Erza asked, being met with a chorus of nods, and a disgruntled huff from Natsu. Choosing to ignore his grouchy mood, Erza turned her attention to the wagon driver and their escortee, "and are you two alright?"

The driver flashed her a thumbs up, but the girl still seemed rather shaken up from the incident, hiding herself behind Natsu’s larger frame. He had since detached her from himself now that they were safe, but she still clung to the fabric of his jacket, seeking comfort from him despite him clearly being unhappy with the arrangement.

A very obvious pout had made its way onto Natsu’s face; his arms were crossed and his shoulders slumped, obviously unhappy with the way that things had played out. Lucy shot him a sympathetic look that she knew he wouldn’t see; his attention much more focused on the rock he was rather aggressively kicking down the path ahead of him. Any other time, she would have jumped at the chance to cheer him up, to repay him for all the times he had been there for her when she was at her worst, but the girl had quickly rebounded and attached herself to his side, demanding his attention with her constant chatter. Instead, Lucy found herself walking by his side, matching his stride as she listened in on what she was talking to her partner about. She swooned about how heroic and brave he was (which Lucy found rather ironic, considering he hadn’t actually done anything once she had held him back), which was met with little acknowledgement from Natsu. His lack of reaction did little to deter her, though, and she continued to chatter on and on, leaving no space for anyone else to join in the "conversation".

Lucy knew it wasn't right for her to be resentful of her; she hadn't done anything wrong, after all, Natsu didn't belong to her; there was no agreement between them that they were anything more than friends, but seeing her openly swoon over and flirt with him made her sick.

She didn’t want to admit why it made her feel that way, but there was really no denying her feelings for much longer.

Lucy was well and truly jealous.

Natsu hadn’t said a word since the attack, but he had seemingly loosened up from his ill-temper, his hands now resting behind his head as they walked, and Lucy selfishly decided that maybe it was because she was there next to him.

She glanced over at him, and seemingly noticing her gaze, Natsu looked back at her and flashed her a grin before returning his gaze to the path in front of them. Seeing it for the first time in days made her heart ache in the best kind of way. She had to look away before that stupid smile of his made her want to do something stupid herself.

Suddenly she didn’t mind so much that the daughter of their client had her arms wrapped around his waist, because at the end of the day, she wasn’t the one eliciting smiles like that out of him. The air of awkwardness still lingered slightly as silence befell all but Natsu’s admirer, but Lucy had decided she wasn’t going to let that bother her anymore.

When nighttime had rolled around once more, Lucy found herself sitting out beside the flickering flames of their campfire, her legs held up to her chest and her chin resting on her knees as she looked up at the stars through the gaps between the leaves. While today had gone better than the one before it, she really couldn’t wait for all of this to be over and for everything to go back to normal. Or at least, that’s what she told herself.

Was she even satisfied with their "normal" anymore? She had let herself be content with the way her and Natsu’s relationship was, but seeing someone else in such intimate, close proximity with him was starting to make her realise that that was what she wanted. She wanted to be the one attached to his arm, their fingers intertwined as he swayed their arms together while they walked. She wanted to be with him through everything, both the good and the bad, and to feel his hand squeeze hers in a way that said, "It’s okay. I’m with you. I love you."

Wait…

Love?

Where had that come from?

Sure, she loved Natsu, but in the same way she loved all her friends. She loved Natsu just like she loved Happy, and Gray, and Erza, and Wendy, but she wasn’t in love with Natsu.

Was she?

Before she could let that thought consume her, she was distracted by the little pitter-patter of their exceed friend’s footsteps approaching her.

"Hm? Happy? Why are you still awake?" she inquired, her head cocked to the side.

"Natsu snores," he stated, matter-of-factly, and almost as if on cue, Natsu let out an all-too-familiar snore.

Lucy let out a short laugh at his answer: many times she had fallen victim to it on nights where she was unfortunate enough to fall asleep after him, so she sympathised with his grievances.

She unfurled herself from her coiled-up position, repositioning herself so her legs were stretched in front of her, inviting Happy to sit in her lap—a request he eagerly took advantage of, quickly joining her to curl up in her lap.

"I don’t like her," Happy said, his voice hushed so no one, aside from maybe their very much asleep teammate could hear.

Perhaps it made her selfish for Lucy to find reassurance in his statement; Natsu and Happy had always been attached at the hip, and they practically shared the same brain. They may not have shared the same opinions on everything, but it was generally safe to assume that if Happy wasn’t fond of someone, Natsu wouldn’t be either.

It’s not like she had expected Natsu to pursue a romance with this random girl they had met only days prior, or anyone else for that matter, but even the thought of it caused her to feel uneasy. She wasn’t his girlfriend, and he wasn’t her boyfriend; they just shared a deep emotional bond that others often perceived as romantic, but that’s all it was: a perception. There was no agreement, no dates, no vows, no "I-do's." There was nothing that tethered him to her beyond their friendship, so she had no say over his love life, but the thought of him spending his life with another woman felt wrong to her. The only woman she wanted to see him commit himself to until the end of his days was her.

"I think that Natsu deserves someone really special," Happy continued, "someone who can keep up with him, someone who’s going to take care of him."

There was something that remained unspoken in his words, but he didn’t need to say it for Lucy to understand.

Natsu deserves you.

"Thank you, Happy…"

The silence that had befallen them was broken when Happy let out a long yawn as he stretched himself out on her lap.

"Time for bed?" she suggested, giving him a gentle scratch behind the ear.

He nodded lazily in response, spurring Lucy to gather the snoozing cat up in her arms and carry him back to his tent.

When she poked her head into the boys’ tent, Natsu and Gray were both, unsurprisingly, sprawled out on the floor, limbs overlapping one another as though they had both been knocked out in a fight (and knowing them, she really couldn’t rule out the possibility). She set Happy down next to Natsu, who instinctively wrapped his arm around his buddy when he snuggled into his side, and Lucy couldn’t help the soft smile that overcame her at the scene. Upon her exit, she quietly zipped up the door so as not to disturb its sleeping occupants before she heard Happy call out to her.

"See you tomorrow, Lushheee…"

"Yeah," she breathed, "see you tomorrow."

Knowing today would be their last on the job had Lucy even more excited than the promise of payment at the end. Sure, she would have her money, but even better, she wouldn’t have to endure her new form of self-torture by questioning her relationship with her best friend. Once they had dropped off their client’s daughter, the group dynamic would go back to the way it always was, and she could stop overthinking about what it would be like to hold his hand, to rest her head on his shoulder, to feel his skin sear against her own.

She squeezed her eyes shut to rid her mind of that thought before planting her gaze squarely on her feet in front of her. She could hear their client’s daughter chatting away, just as she had been the past two days, but Lucy didn’t want to look at it; didn’t even want to think about it. Right now, it was just her against her brain, trying not to think about why exactly seeing it made her upset.

They had left early, and the last stretch would only take them half a day of walking, which Lucy was beginning to feel infinitely more thankful for.

As they passed over the hill, a large town slowly came into view, and she couldn’t help the sigh of absolute relief that escaped her upon seeing their destination. Lucy took in the sights of their destination as they escorted the carriage through the streets to their drop-off point at the port on the other side of the city. It was a sweet little town and a welcome change of scenery from the two and a half days of non-stop forestry she had endured. Despite that, all she really wanted right now was to be back home and recover from the emotional turmoil this job had put her through with a nice long bath.

Their approach had captured the attention of a middle-aged-looking man, whom she could only assume to be their client based on the way he was waving for their attention and the resemblance between him and the girl who was currently attached to Natsu’s arm.

Even through all the treacherous and life-threatening jobs she had endured over the years, Lucy had never felt more thankful for a job to be over.

She found herself hanging out of the way with Gray and Happy while Erza spoke to their client, Natsu begrudgingly at her side, having been dragged over by their clients’ daughter.

"You’ve been a great help," the man smiled as he handed over their allotted payment (thankfully in full), "and thank you for ensuring that my dear daughter made it back safely as well."

"It’s our pleasure," Erza nodded, "thank you for entrusting your goods to our care."

His daughter, on the other hand, seemed less excited upon her arrival, still attached to Natsu’s side, looking weary at the prospect of him leaving.

"Oh Natsu~" she began, her hands clutched to her chest and a dreamy look in her eyes, "why don’t you stay here with me? That way, we can always be together~"

Natsu remained unphased by her proposal, his hands held behind his head as he mindlessly kicked his leg back and forth.

"Nah, sorry, but I’ve already promised that to someone else," he replied casually, "plus, I gotta stick with Lucy, make sure she doesn’t get herself into trouble."

Her shoulders slumped over at his response, eyes now trained to her feet as she stood in silence for what seemed like the first time since they had embarked.

"Oh… well…" she mumbled, "thank you for escorting me home…"

He acknowledged her thanks with a curt nod before turning on his heel when Erza approached him so the two could join the rest of their team to begin the long journey home. Before they could get too far, the familiar voice called out to them from behind.

"Goodbye Natsu! And- and goodbye everyone else!"

As soon as Natsu and Erza joined them, Lucy felt an arm slung around her shoulder, pulling her closer to his warm body. When she looked over, she was met with Natsu beaming at her as though he hadn’t seen her in days, even though they had technically been together the entire time.

"Hi," she greeted softly.

"Hey!" he replied, none of his enthusiasm waning.

All of the anxieties and bad feelings that had built up in her mind over the past few days slowly began to melt away in his presence, and she felt her entire body relax into his hold. This is what she had been craving—to feel him, his presence, his touch—not even in a romantic way. Natsu was her best friend, the beginning and end of everything good in her life, and just being by his side was privilege enough.

Now that they were alone, she felt herself loosen up, feeling comfortable enough to gently tease him about the whole scenario.

"So, you're not going to run away with the love of your life today?" She asked in a teasing tone.

"Nah, not my type," he shrugged, his voice solemn in response.

"What? Since when did you have a type?" She gawked, looking into his eyes to try and find some shred of evidence that he was just joking around with her, but his gaze remained dead serious.

He looked at her as though she had grown a second head before saying, "You didn’t know?"

Having gained this new information, she could only sit there and stare at him, mouth agape. She didn’t even realise that he could even be physically attracted to someone, let alone have a "type", but here he was, acting like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Geez, you’re kinda dense," he mumbled, "weirdo."

Wh- Her? Dense?

If anything, he was the dense one! She had been crushing on him for months now, and it wasn’t like she had exactly been subtle about it, but he never seemed to acknowledge that anything in her behaviour had changed.

"I am not dense," she ardently defended.

"Sure, sure," he brushed off, ready to move on to the next topic. "You’re pretty crappy at pickin’ out jobs Lucy."

Her first instinct was to jump to her own defence once more, but if she was being honest with herself, she couldn’t exactly disagree with him on this one.

"Well, it wasn’t exactly my best choice…" she murmured.

"Which is why you’re not allowed to pick out a job for the next three months!" Natsu declared.

"Aye!" Happy agreed, a little too enthusiastically for Lucy’s taste.

"You’re not supposed to agree with him, you stupid cat!"

While she had grown to enjoy Happy’s friendly companionship over the past few days, she secretly welcomed the return of his snarky remarks because it meant that finally things were going back to the way things should be.

"You're usually quick to complain when you don't like a job," she pointed out, "so what was different this time?"

"Yeah well, I didn’t wanna piss her off or anything," he shrugged, "otherwise, I woulda had to put up with you complaining about losing out on some reward money the whole way home."

Even though he may have used it as an excuse to get a jab in on her, his words sent her heart racing just a little faster. And to think, this whole time she had been stressing out over seeing another girl practically hanging off his arm, when the only reason he tolerated it in the first place was to make her happy.

"You did that… for me?"

He tilted his head and gave her that look again, like she had just said something completely outrageous.

"Course I did," he said, "did you hit your head or somethin’? Is that why you’re being so weird today?"

Not bothering to acknowledge his thinly veiled insult, Lucy wrapped her arms around him, an action that was quickly returned by Natsu as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Thank you, Natsu," she murmured into his chest, "that really means a lot to me."

"Oh uh- yeah, no problem, Lucy," he mumbled, clearly taken off guard by her sudden sappiness.

When she finally pulled away, her gaze was once again met with that goofy smile of his that she was certain could cure her of any emotional ailment.

"Are you guys done having your moment?" Gray interrupted, "‘Cause if you are, we’ve got another three days of walking ahead of us, so let’s get a move on."

A deep flush crossed Lucy’s face when she realised that her little emotional moment had held up the rest of their team, and she mumbled a quick apology as she lightly jogged over to join the two. Natsu followed close behind, catching up to her so they could walk shoulder to shoulder, savouring the feeling of closeness to her after being deprived of it for much too long.

Lucy was content to walk in a comfortable silence with him, just enjoying having him there and knowing that they would have all the time in the world to talk. Natsu however, didn’t seem to share in her feelings, quickly finding himself filling the silence.

"You’re walking too slow, Lucy," he complained.

"I’m walking at the exact same speed you ar-ah!"

Natsu left her no time to rebut, throwing his heavy pack over her shoulders before lifting her up onto his back, eliciting a frightened squeal from Lucy as she suddenly found herself instinctively clinging to his neck as he hoisted her up to adjust his grip on her legs.

"Natsu!" she squealed, as he began to dash ahead of their teammates, earning them baffled stares from the townspeople as they passed them by.

Despite her half-hearted protests, he continued to run, with Happy chasing behind them as the trio broke into a fit of giggles. His speed had her slipping from his grasp slightly, leading her to grip onto him even tighter and bury her face in the back of his neck until he could pull her back up.

Being back by his side, holding onto him, feeling his entire body shake as he laughed with such infectious joy was all the reassurance she needed. Any doubts she might have had about her place in his life were washed away as he whooped and howled in delight through his antics.

It was always going to be them.

[smilesatdawnmain]

I love your art! I’m new to the Lmk fandom and have a question, where did the names Mihou, Xiaotan and Liu’er come from? THEYRE SO PRETTY AND KEEP POPPING UP IN THE FANFICS LMAO IM GENERALLY CURIOUS. Thanks!!!🫶🫶

Oh of course!! Oh my gosh thank you! I’m happy to explain cause I can see why it’s confusing. I was the same way~

Alrighty! Many of the LMK have second names a lot of people refer to them by because this is their name in the Chinese mandarin dub.

(Note, in China the Surnames comes first)

MK in the Chinese dub is Qi Xiaotian. (Personally since we never learn MK’s “real name” in the shows English version, I believe this to be MK’s real name as well and so do a lot of others in the fandom)

Mei is Long Xiaojiao. I don’t use this version of her name because I prefer to call her Ao Mei off of her Great great something Grandpa Ao Lie~

Six Eared Macaque is Liu’er Mihou (basically just a straight translation of “Six eared Macaque”) I often use “Mihou” if someone is closer or more intimate with Macaque.

Sun Wukong/Monkey King is Sun Wukong/Monkey King in both. But let’s be honest, this guy has SO many names and translations of his name in all forms of media so probably best to keep it simple. 😆

Princess Iron Fan is Tie Shan Gongzhu! I like using Princess Iron Fan more as her title and those truly close to her are allowed to call her Gongzhu. Like Macaque for instance. I head cannon them both as sworn siblings, though in truth, I’ve never seen them talk in the canon show xD

And that is just a few. Every character has their own little variation of their name in the Chinese dub. I don’t personally use all of them but I like the few I listed above the most! :)

I hope this helped explain some things! :)

[big-coyote]

hi!! this may be a weird thing to ask about but ive decided to make one of my longtime ocs a coyote therian (they were connected to coyotes since the beginning) and i wanted to ask if theres stuff i should avoid when talking abt them or doing character design?

ive done some research on my own looking thru tumblr blogs ran by therians mostly, but i mightve missed some stuff!

for now they show their theriantophy as either wearing a coyote looking onesie (which is the first outfit they ever had) or when wearing other clothes they have a tail keychain on their trousers, so i also wanted to ask if you know of any other things they could have to connect with their theriotype?

again im sorry if this is a weird question! <3

(1/2) Hello! Not a weird question at all, I’m actually very honored and happy you’ve asked! I have quite a number of OCs myself that are also therians or otherkin adjacent lol. Also if anyone else has any ideas they’d like to add/advice feel free to comment or reblog!

As for things you should ovoid I’d recommend straying away from the idea of therianthropy being inherently because of mental illness. While it’s totally okay for your Oc to struggle with mental health problems or other serious topics. I often see the stigma online where people assume being nonhuman or having a alterhuman identity means the person in question must have Schizophrenia, Dissociative Identity Disorder, psychosis, a delusional disorder, etc. And again while I know plenty of nonhumans who have those disorders (I have some of them) and that may effect their identities as a whole, it shouldn’t be the end all be all of their identity you know? Ovoid adding more stigma to both.

Another thing I’d stray away from is the idea of a character being a therian because of spirit animals or any mythology related to closed practices/groups. I’ve seen many indigenous people online speak about their discomfort with the word ‘spirit animal’ and how it’s been adopted into pop culture. Being alterhuman is much more then “I feel connected to this thing/this thing is just like me”, it runs much deeper then that and it is as much as a real identity as something like gender, sexuality, religion, etc. It should be taken with as much care and seriousness as those other identities because it is huge and important part to a lot of our lives.

Lastly I’d recommend avoiding making the character the butt end of the jokes. While the Oc themselves can be funny, have funny things happen to them or have funny experiences as a coyote Therian I’d ovoid making them the punching bag to other OCs. Online it’s not uncommon to see many people misunderstanding and mischaracterizing being nonhuman for a quick laugh. It be very disheartening if an OCs entire existence in a story is just “haha they think they’re a dog, that’s stupid”. Again it’s important to take any identity like being a Therian seriously instead of just being the punch line for a joke or gag.

As for the clothing I think the onesie would be incredibly cute and good to wear as well as the tail! Many therians wear tails, both real and faux fur ones, to feel connected to their identity and feel more comfortable. I’ve also known many therians who were things like jewelry with their theriotype on it, fake animal ears, t-shirts, rings, fur coats, earrings, pins/buttons, etc. Some also like collecting plushies or posters with their theriotype as well, or having stickers on their books or drawing them. Or if you’d prefer a more casual character design you could have a character who doesn’t wear any outward Therian gear and prefers to keep it low key. Both options are very valid and would be interesting to see!

But no matter what I’m sure your Oc is going to be amazing and I can’t wait to see them! Please tag me if you make any art or stories about them, or if you have any other questions feel free to ask again or DM me!

[rxttenfish]

PLEASE tell us more about virina mishra im such a sucker for nextgens

OOPS FUCK I GOT DISTRACTED AGAIN AND FORGOR TO ANSWER THIS

virina!!! my beloved virina!!!! littlest froggy!!!

aaravi and miranda very much both wanted to actually, you know, have a family. its one of those things where you come from someplace so shitty and so terrible, that you just cannot imagine someone else going through that same thing, and you cannot bear the thought of making someone else go through the same thing. to be fair, they are both TERRIFIED of just repeating the past and ending up in the exact same loop that their parents did, terrified of just heaving back on the same generational trauma and wreck of a childhood, but there comes a point in being afraid of something where you just need to get rid of this fear. its too constant, its too forever, its too eternal. sitting through it and avoiding it isn't making it go away, and they already fucked up avoiding it by finding each other and loving each other, so dancing around the issue isn't helping. instead, what they mutually land on is just... a want to prove that fear wrong. a want to prove that fear wrong, to prove that they aren't doomed to be just a weapon and just a source of death in all its forms, that they can hold something in their hands and make it grow. best way to avoid repeating the past is to take responsibility by the leash, after all. they want to go back in time, to give themselves the childhood that they always missed, and the best way they figured to do that is to give that to someone else.

this is something that very much existed since their relationship started to get serious with each other, and something that's been in the background the entire time since, so its not like its a mystery or anything. if anything, they've been using this want as a motivation, as a need to keep going even at the worst of times. they will have this happy future. they will make it through this together. they will make it work. no more ifs, no more buts, no more doubt. stop living in the doubt and start acting as though their happy end is a foregone conclusion and something that they are going to have no matter what, give no room for fear or guilt or shame or depression or self hatred to sneak in. they will be happy. they will make someone else happy. they will be someplace safe, not just for themselves, but for their loved ones too. they will be good. they will be.

even after everything blows over (mainly from miranda's family, she is still crown princess and stepping away from that was never going to be an option they gave her), it still takes a few years for them to broach the topic of having a kid for-real. just to make sure everything's settled. just to make sure everything's safe.

they have virina later in life than some of their other friends or just in general, but they were planned and wanted for so long that the wait is worth it. the name, as i've mentioned, comes from aaravi. she knows her mom was a... complicated woman, she knows her own raising wasn't perfect and that there were things that she still cant fully forgive her mother for, but she had a hard life too. she too deserved better. despite it all, aaravi still loves her mom, despite despite despite. and so she does the best thing that she can to honor her mom, to honor her memory, to give her the life that she never had the same as aaravi herself, and gives it to virina. the mishra last name was a no-brainer already, miranda already look aaravi's last name and preferred being a mishra over a vanderbilt anyday.

years later, virina also earns the nickname of "froggy" - primarily because of their own love for the animal, constantly finding them and bringing them in from outside. likewise, miranda and aaravi decide to raise them genderless, and to let them decide for themselves how they want to be referred to when they're older.

virina doesn't really take much after either of their moms, though. mostly they're quiet, shy, keep to themselves. where both of their moms are brash and dominant, very confident in themselves and willing to bowl over quieter personalities, virina seldom speaks, and when they do, its soft-spoken. they get easily spooked and cry easily, especially when it comes to other people. they cling to their moms legs, hide behind them when other people come around, prefer the company of animals over other people, tend not to like new things or new people and greatly prefer sticking to their simple, easy routine. they just can't figure out other people, seemingly, not understanding them or how to make friends or even what's appropriate or not to say in a conversation.

this isn't to say they aren't deeply intelligent and curious. they quickly learn to love venturing outside with their moms, playing in the garden or chasing bugs and frogs. they come in with sticks and rocks, make mud potions, try to build things out of sticks and befriend birds. they prefer books over people, ending up much more of a bookworm than either of their moms ever were, and ends up a very big nerd as they get older. theyre close and affectionate with the friends they do make, but this is a small handful of their very most trusted, and they never get much better at figuring out social norms.

in time, they lean a little bit more towards the femme side of things, growing their hair out long and liking long, swishy skirts that they can spin and sway over and over, that doesnt cling too tight to their legs. they end up needing glasses, and end up picking a pair thats large and circular, making their eyes seem all the more owlish. they settle on they/she, but never have particularly strong opinions about gender regardless. they can be blunt and quick to frustration, especially if they feel people arent understanding them, and are forever going to be deeply embarrassed over how their moms dote on them. i very much see them getting intensely interested and starting to study either linguistics, literature, history, geology, or any biology that takes them closer to the marshes and wetlands that they love.

they never think very much about how one of their moms used to be a princess, heir to a kingdom. beyond an instance as a kid that ended with them dropping a training sword repeatedly and crying, they never get very interested in following the slayer line of work. they fuss over small stakes, have their moms grate on them sometimes in both of their old ways, and they live a normal life.

[hopelesslyromanticshark]

hey cove! as a poc moot I feel like maybe I should pitch in also?

first of all anyone who's been accusing you of being intentionally uninclusive needs to understand that trying to guilt someone who has expressed a real interest in changing things instead of advising them will not solve the issue, just exacerbate it. they aren't offering any meaningful criticism, they're just yelling at you without offering any suggestions, which serves 0 purpose

I also get why you're hesitant about not wanting to go too far in the other direction and end up stereotyping in the name of inclusion! you value your work and don't want to give it the hallmark treatment, which is very fair of you and a much better way of writing than just resorting to tired tropes for the sake of points

I also understand why the original anon was frustrated, and I'm happy you came to an agreement with them, because you made it clear that you can see what they were talking about and didn't dismiss anyone out of hand. secondary poc ask that mentioned preferring a nonspecific reader over tropey writing hit the nail on the head in my opinion actually!

what people need to understand is that trying to be inclusive by pulling out tropes is still alienating, just in a different way? alienation by omission is what happens when you're constantly left out, which is why people like og anon feel like they're not presented equally.... but on the other hand, stereotypical writing also frustrates us because it feels almost careless, that you're treated as an afterthought who can settle for anything.

and you're aware of this, which the hissing gollum anon needed to understand! you know how disrespectful that would be so you hesitated, and the phrasing was enough to set them off, which is ridiculous because they weren't civil with you themselves.

all told I feel like your need for a break is valid, and you need the rest from tumblr for a bit to gather your thoughts. I also feel like most of your poc audience agrees that more nonspecific descriptions are the way to go, especially because you don't feel like you can suddenly switch up your writing, and you acknowledging that and wanting to try is good, whether bridge troll anon thinks so or not

i know this is very long and a bit rambly, but I feel like you deserve a more mature response than what some people have been plying you with lately (also, some of the characters you are writing for literally are poc themselves....? they're acting you've done nothing and it's so strange.)

anyway, I hope your break treats you well! and remember, it is an option to turn off anon asks if you feel like it. stay safe out there and good luck with the sem!

— aru

firstly, i appreciate you voicing your opinion!! there is nothing more comforting than to hear from those who are actually in the community!!

something that i LOVE that you pointed out that i didn't even realize is the fact that they added NOTHING TO THE CONVERSATION!! all they did was criticize me without backing up your claims or even voicing your opinions in a constructive way. i learned nothing, except that youre a dickwad.

i do regret the way i phrased it, but i was legit trying to keep the mood light because that ask had been stressing me out for a few days...like, dry heaving shaking and just completely frazzled. so, i acknowledge that there were better ways i could have phrased it, but i was like two days deep into the most stressed i'd ever been in my entire life, so im cutting myself a little slack lmao.

everything you said in this is perfect, perfect, perfect. so eloquently put while also tearing those shitty ass anons down.

ive def thought about turning anons off but i feel it would be unfair to those who use it in a respectful manner for their own peace of mind. but its def something i've been considering bc ALL the trouble i have is with anons, from illegal requests to all this junk now. but idk idk

[luke-life]

replying to your tags bc :3 thank you for your thoughts they're tasty and im chewing on them

I didn't think too hard but omg yes if he's a delivery/cargo escort boy then he can reasonably meet xingqiu, delivering his family's silk shipments or smth, or moving some books from xingqiu's random warehouse in qingce lolllll i also agree they'd have similar food prefs !! i think gaming would enjoy xingqiu's crystal shrimp dumplings haha he seems the type to like fresher dishes that have less like heavy oil/seasoning

about your proposal of chongyun angst 👀 wwww if you care to elaborate i'm looking very hard, i need to see our boy put in Situations!! i wonder if they meet... would cy feel deficient seeing gaming get along so well w everyone whereas he has to try so hard to keep his condition under control which limits how much he can get excited n stuff T_T I hope gaming can help him w it though </3 after all they can be boyfailures together (/JJJJJJJJ) with gaming's rather... unsuccessful lion dance monetization and chongyun's problems with exorcisms

it just with how Ga-Ming is described it sounds very similar ,obviously I would rather they be friends first but if not the angst please.

So to add on ap, chongyun’s Yang state has a variation of responses, he has tame ones like in the poetry event those are fine. It’s the chaotic ones that are a problem “he chases people around, passed out,danced on top of furniture, broken furniture, and gotten injured and he sometimes doesn’t even remember himself being in Yang state.

and then when all is said and done he still get’s told that he’s entertainment(a sign in wangshu btw), that his Yang state is the real him and the fact that his friends always seem to be giving him chilis because they think that his Yang side is better for him.

Then here comes Ga-Ming he’s good at fighting , he can dance and perform all he wants, he’s happy and cheerful without consequences, he uses a claymore, he admires Xiao as well, he’s probably friends with his own friends.

a big slap in the face that tells him “ hey, you know that Yang side of you that causes you a lot of trouble personally, yeah well seems that they prefer you that way” and boom the angst

Now I obviously I don’t think chongyun’s friends are *that mean or that they even have bad intentions but it’s always personally bothered me the language they use around him and about him idk it always feels insensitive. Not only that but the disregard of his own feelings and boundaries always bothered me. Doesn’t help that his Yang and anything related to chilis is meant for jokes. But c’mon Xiangling’s job is literally a chef her whole job is meant to be making food, she can scold people for being picky but she sometimes puts chilis in her friends food even though he can pass out like where’s the logic. At least she makes him his popsicles. this includes hu Tao also like she is a prankster and all but she takes her job seriously and one of the things she has to do is keep the balance of yin and Yang so like you’d think she’d be like “hey my friend having a pure Yang body is probably not a good thing but nah let’s prank him even though he clearly doesn’t like)

like c’mon he’s just asking for no chilis in his food it’s not hard

anyway that’s my idea basically it can also happen the opposite way with Ga-Ming being a friend who does respect his boundaries(please just one friend) and still finds way to include him in events without triggering his Yang so Chongyun hangs out with him which leads to other’s self reflection. so yeah that’s all I have.

thank you for listening.

[holly-fixation]

Damaged Doll: Ch 11

Summary: Angeal and Zack discover a man in all black trapped under boulders in the mountains near Icicle Village: Cloud, a doll created by Jenova for reasons currently unknown. Sephiroth finally demanded the whole truth. Cloud couldn't help but obey.

Please enjoy!

Inspired by the prompt by @im-totally-not-an-alien

Please Enjoy

Chapter 11: Obedience

Cloud didn’t sleep that night. How could he? First he was driven by his desire to serve his prince, then he was terrified by the thought of seeing his prince again. He never wanted to fear his prince. He only wanted to praise his prince, but his fearful mind debilitated him once again.

Genesis was not worthy of his prince. The man was bound beyond other SOLDIERs and rotted instead of flourished. He was close to falling apart, and Cloud hated seeing the waste of his queen's power. Without a shadow of a doubt, the man in red approached his prince between their conversation and dawn. The Crimson Soldier, one of his prince's oldest friends, would tell his prince everything with false understanding. 

What else was he supposed to do? Long ago, he made the mistake of lying beyond repair. He wanted to believe that truth would spare him his former fate. 

He would never manipulate or control his prince. If control was the only option to keep his prince safe, he would sacrifice himself without question. Genesis might as well have stabbed him through the chest with the assumption alone. 

But how was he supposed to prove the Crimson Competition was false? Through his panic, he did not touch his origins or the computer. He remained trapped in his own mind- just as he did under the boulders in the north. Too desperate to calm. Too panicked to reach any of his queen’s creatures and beg for aid. Every string eluded his grasp. 

A fresh pair of sandy tears left his eyes. 

Cloud was not built to cry. Though his queen gifted him with a hollow body that mimicked life, tears were not so simple. He wiped them away, each drop scraping and scratching his skin, straight white lines marring his pale cheeks. Those would heal eventually. He hoped before his prince arrived. 

Should he run? Should he avoid his prince by exploring the building and never crossing paths again? How could he even consider such a thing?! He hated himself. He hated the way that rotting competitor weaved into his thoughts!

He needed to see his prince no matter the conflict in his mind. He needed to make this right. With each hourly tear, he felt himself getting weaker and weaker. Perhaps it was his punishment to himself before a true one would be thrust upon him once more. 

Cloud wanted to duck under the covers, hiding his chocobo-like hair the moment he heard the knock. Instead he stared down, unable to soothe his voice to invite the guest in.

Please be anyone but Him. Please be the boy that saved him. Please be the patient mentor. Please be the Turk he failed at aiding. Please be the scientist that did not want him in this tower any longer to finally set him free. Please be the red SOLDIER again. Please Don’t Be-

“Cloud.”

His pale hands folded tightly in his lap. Maybe he could call the nurse and have the guest removed? Inhuman eyes tightened in denial. He needed to accept the consequences. “My Prin-” His voice cracked with drying sobs, and again he failed to use the preferred name. Could he do anything right? “Sephiroth. I’ve been expecting you… Would you like to sit…?”

“I’ll stand.”

The blond winced as if taking a physical blow. “...Then, please… Where would you like to begin…?”

The Silver Soldier crossed his arms. “Are you truly incapable of lying to me?”

He almost looked up. “I will never lie to you, Sephiroth. I cannot lie even if I was out of my mind enough to desire the ability.”

“Is everything you’ve told me since we found you true?”

He nodded. “Of course. Every word.” Despite his inherent kindness, his prince remained cold. Distant. Tactical.

“Only me?” As if questioning an enemy, never revealing his real thoughts. 

“...I have lied to others, yes… Not all falsities but undeniably some...”

“Have you ever told me half truths to hide information from me?” 

The blond’s hands trembled. “...My Prince, please-”

“Answer the question, Cloud.” 

The air chilled. He wanted to crawl in a hole- to hide under boulders and b- No! Having a panic attack now was not an option! This may be the last chance he has to hold his prince’s trust. How else was he supposed to aid his prince and his queen? “...I have. But please, please understand-”

“Are your panic attacks real?”

The blond swallowed. He wanted to scream. “Entirely.”

“Have you ever deliberately caused panic attacks to avoid telling the truth?” 

A memory flashed through his mind. Sandy tears scratched his raw cheeks. 

“When.” Sephiroth's tone was deep and dark. 

Cloud shuddered like a frightened chocobo. “...The day I awoke here, I learned of my fear and believed I could use it to our advantage. Zack asked me how I came to be in that cave… so I caused a panic attack by recalling my worst memories of that…-” he held his head, “that horrible horrible day… I… I only did it once. I swear. I thought I could control it but I couldn't stop, I couldn't calm down, I couldn't-” He grabbed his chest, the hospital gown crushing under whitened knuckles. He tried to breathe. Tried to regain command over his breath. 

But his prince continued attacking, never giving him a moment to rest. “Look at me.”

Snake-like eyes immediately met their mirror, Cloud’s agonizingly red while his prince's burned white.

“What else have you chosen to hide from me?”

No. Please no. The blond inhaled painfully, but his voice was small and weak. “...I killed Hojo...”

Sephiroth's expression changed for a fraction of a second, but Cloud couldn't read it. 

“All connected to your mother share a bond. I do not know why they are connected. Monsters. SOLDIERs. I don’t understand it, but I used it. I tugged the bond of the strongest monster in Hojo’s laboratory. It didn't take much convincing to have it kill him. I just made it so it couldn't feel any pain and no materia could harm it, similar to myself.”

“Does any materia work on you?”

Cloud wanted to look away. To disappear. Instead he gripped the sheets of the medical bed. “I have only fallen victim to a sleep spell. Binding materia. No other direct magic has affected me.”

“What about summons?”

He shook his head. “They will not take me into their realm, thus they too do not work.”

“Why did you kill Hojo?”

No half truths. He closed his eyes. He didn't want to see his prince decide his fate. “He hurt you. You told me yourself. I was going to wait but the photo he leaked of us hugging late at night, he posted it to harm you. And the way he spoke to you when we first met… He lauded power over you. No one should have power over you.”

“Have you-?” Sephiroth suddenly cut himself off, shifting ever so slightly. Cloud waited in silence, trying to determine what his prince was waiting for. “Do you feel that?” Sudden. Confused. A crack zipping through the mask.

Mako blues lifted, attempting to read the soldier's gaze. “I do not.” He gasped, terrified of the next assumption. “I can’t make you feel anything. I promise I’m not doing anything. Sephiroth, what are you feeling-?” A warm breeze wrapped around his heart, smothering him in feather light comfort. He shook his head but couldn't deny the gravitational pull, his exhaustion from the restless night rushing up to him. “That… I feel it… the softness…”

“What is that?” He maintained his strong voice, but his eyes betrayed the truth. 

Cloud tried to focus on the feeling, to grasp the string linking it to a source, but it did not have one. “It’s…  foggy… I do not know.” The man dared to look at his prince.

Black gloves flew into silver bangs, a soft groan leaving his lips.

Cat-like eyes widened, and without thinking, Cloud appeared at his side, a hand on his arm as he analyzed his face. This close, black bags hung shamefully from perfect eyes. “My Prince, you’re exhausted. Please, lay down.”

Sharp eyes followed the gesture. “Cloud, absolutely not.”

“I will not leave your side. I don’t mind. And if a nurse asks, I will explain.” Cloud suddenly reached across, catching his shoulders.  

Sephiroth’s unglazed eyes stared in bewilderment. “What did you do…?”

“Nothing. I don't know what this is. Please let me help. I will never hurt you.” He guided his prince to the bed, the exhaustion weakening the Silver Soldier and coaxing him into small obedience. 

“Did-” the sheet delicately placed on his shoulders made him pause, his eyes closing of their own accord. When he opened them, Cloud had guided his head to the pillow. His hands were warm. “Did you cast a sleep spell…?”

Cloud winced. “No, My Prince. But may I ask you to wait until this fogginess passes?”

“How are you not tired…?” Came the last glare of cyan eyes. 

“You are more important.”

“Cloud…” it was a warning, a final attempt as his eyelids fell. 

“Rest well, My Prince. I will not leave your side. All I want is to bring you joy and comfort.” He stepped back to sit in the chair, but the soldier ensnared his wrist. 

The rise and fall of Sephiroth's chest betrayed his descent into sleep, but his hand did not leave Cloud. 

The man didn't mind. Being close to his prince was more than he could ever hope for. He glanced over at the only chair. It sat mockingly just out of his reach, especially with his forever damaged leg. He would stand for years if his prince continued to hold him. He never wanted his prince to let go, but his body could not sustain the task. The awkward hunch of his back strained his cracked ribs, and the slight bend of his knees nearly had him shouting in pain. Not to mention the fogginess he fought with everything he had. 

A sudden wave of fog forced Cloud against the bed, just barely sitting on the edge until his wrist was swiftly pulled. He gasped as he was suddenly thrown off balance, but his heart nearly burst when he saw where he settled.

Sephiroth, in this artificial sleep, maneuvered Cloud to lay on the medical bed with him. He held the blond as a child does their favorite toy, his nose buried in perfect chocobo hair. 

Cloud smiled to himself as he laid his arms above Sephiroth’s. Almost every inch of him wanted to thank the foggy exhaustion claiming them both. Another wave and his eyes closed too, a deep feeling inside him silently telling him they were safe. That the fog was not a weapon or an attack. He had no time to truly observe as he fell asleep as well.

.

.

.

.

To be continued...

Damaged Doll Chapter List

Thanks for reading!

[aroacesigma]

do you have any sigzai hcs (or just hcs about sigma or dazai separately)

you're going to regret asking this . headcanons under the cut cause im gonna feel annoying otherwise . most of them are what i headcanon as happening like post canon in a nice world where everyone is alive and happy lol

sigzais <3

ok so to me they are THE transmasc qpps ever . i might be projecting a little but both dazai and sigma are both so transmasc to me. on one hand you have sigma who wears 10 billion shirt layers and a long ass coat and goes on and on about being an ordinary man, and then on the other hand you have dazai who also wears clothes like that and bandages over his chest

hc sigma as oriented aroace with ???? orientation . hes just very confused . theyre so confused . and dazai as bi aroacespec and not particularly averse to any stuff just doesnt feel the attraction most of the time

poor sigma has spent all this time around fyolai like 'god why the fuck are people like this' and then he meets dazai and is like ohhhhhhh. oh .

when sigma joins the ada (and they will u mark my words) him and dazai end up sharing an apartment

at first dazais excited because maybe he wont be living off horrible cooking

unfortunately sigma also cannot cook for shit . he fucking sucks . legitimately the only thing he can cook is cookies in a packet mix .

sigma is unfortunately going through the same phase that kids of controlling parents go through when they finally get freedom, which is making a bunch of stupid decisions . dazai , being the wonderful boyfriend he is, is encouraging all the dumb decisions because he thinks its funny

most of their dates is just going to cafes because sigma has the worlds most horrendous sweet tooth and sigma has no moral objections to guilt tripping him into it

despite being pretty bad at it themself, sigma has a tendency to hit dazai with a pillow until he takes care of himself

vice versa dazai will be a distracting little bitch and wont stop if he thinks sigma is overworking himself

sigma

he/they sigma is so real to me btw just need everyone to know this . they like messing around with neos as well sometimes i think

even though he's pretty much always tired , isnt really a huge fan of coffee , definitely prefers really fancy tea and energy drinks

decided to run with the whole purple thing cause of his hair , abolutely loves the colour. anything he owns is purple if they can get it .

smiles all happy while listening to music in a way that makes you think its something nice . its not . his only musical requirements are loud and screaming to drown out the Anxiety™

not my headcanon but i saw someone say once that they headcanon that occasionally people get an uncanny valley kinda vibe from looking at him cause of his weird origins and honestly i think thats pretty interesting

very happy to join the ada . not quite as impressed by the paycheck .

like , really not impressed by the paycheck . theyre struggling with the dwindling clothes budget . i can totally see him trying to decide whether he wants dinner or new earrings . and probably picking the earrings .

they get along with everyone at the agency really well . a few people dont really trust him straight up but atsushi and dazai vouching for him shuts that down relatively quickly

he gets along the best with atsushi

they have a friendly rivalry with kunikida . agency productivity going straight up just because those two keep trying to outdo each other

dazai

100% has multiple troll accounts online . he enjoys being a menace . not in the mean way , in the absolutely fucking infuriating kind of way

remained in denial (or more oblivious really) about being trans until he was 16 because he asked chuuya if everyone felt like that one time and chuuya was like well yeah (also trans and stupid)

on a related note (this one is kind of about dazai and chuuya but it still counts) mori was kind of like ohhh teenage boys are so much easier to deal with right ? kouyou decided it was best not to inform him that hrt gives you mood swings .

adhd. adhd. adhd.

hes a candy crush mum . its a problem .

eats everyone at the ada's food . but he doesnt eat the whole thing he'll just take a bite . its high up on kunikidas 'things that make me want to string dazai up by his legs and attach him to a ceiling fan' list

has been known to send 12 yr olds graphic violent death threats after losing to them in video games

he has the music taste of a 14 yr old cishet girl . i will let you decide what that entails .

my deepest apologies for making you read all this but i love them both dearly and i have lots of Thoughts

[enhaheeseung]

So basically ppl were trying to sexualize riki, and someone found this message: https://www.tumblr.com/jwonsite/738013651737444352/for-the-riki-smut-writers

then if u look through the comments ppl were saying that it applies to all the members but idk much, just checking to see Ur opinion on it.

Hmm interesting I mean idk I guess to each his own I personally would never write anything for niki or even feel comfortable thinking of him like that but that’s just me plus I’m only attracted to heeseung so there’s that even the older members I’d never write smut for

As far as smut writing goes for the rest of the members I can say there is an extent that I’m willing to go and I know this is gonna sound hypercritical as a smut writer myself but I’ve seen things that just aren’t my cup of tea and I feel certain things could just be left unsaid especially assumptions about how the members are in real life it’s one thing to write fiction but to actually come up and state that (whatever’s being talked about at the time) is real that’s when I draw the line

Also this may sound dumb but I feel like most smut is just tasteless like there’s just no actual substance to what’s happening it’s just boom bang bam smut end and i feel those writers probably shouldn’t write it but this is all personal and I’m not claiming im a better writer in any way

Anyways to answer your question tho I’m 50/50 I do get why people don’t want the members being sexualized (even I feel that way sometimes when it’s just tacky) and I get that others just realize it’s fiction and entertainment that being said I do feel like there’s an over sexualization sometimes and that’s the 50 that I don’t like again I know that sounds hypocritical cause I write smut but there’s just a type of smut/hard thoughts that just disgust me at times (I hope someone else feels like this and I don’t just sound crazy lol)

So basically I like smut when it’s more vanilla and tame not just some wild fantasy that would 99% never happen (not kink shaming tho this is just my preference)

Oh one more thing it’s hard for me to talk about the whole niki situation cause even tho he’s young the people sexualizing him might also be young too it doesn’t make it any better but the fact is unfortunately this is an app that underage people can access as well as other apps with adult content it does suck cause these people are young and probably don’t really see the immediate problem with it but there is indeed things that need to be implemented to protect minors being exposed to this shit and that’s a whole other problem that doesn’t involve niki or kpop but fact is we live in a fucked up world with fucked up things going on and I guess what I’m trying to say is that atp there really shouldn’t be any surprise should we try to stop it? Yes will it happen? Probably not but unfortunately thats just the way it is same shit happened with other idols too I do appreciate the people who call out underage blogs tho it helps keep things a little safer for the younger folk here so yeah even I have thought about deactivating my blog cause I know I have an influence on my readers and minors might be accessing my blog so sometimes it just makes me wonder if it’d be better to stop writing cause if I could protect just one underage person from being exposed to content like this I’d delete this app in a heart beat it’s fun writing but it’s not fun exposing people to stuff they shouldn’t be seeing and I know the whole talk about it’s the parents responsibility to keep kids off sites like this and writers shouldn’t have to quit because parents aren’t doing their jobs and blah blah blah but if you have that understanding that these kids aren’t being taught properly now is where you step in and take that role to be better than the people who raise kids up like that

Honestly I could write a whole essay but I’m sure I have bored everyone else by now

Again I was asked my opinion and this is all just my opinion so do not @ me

[himboskywalker]

SPEAKING of omegaverse Tag I’ve been wanting to ask you what it is about a/b/o that you like so much and are especially drawn to?im very picky for my a/b/o and you somehow always get it exactly right so I’m curious what you look for in your omegaverse content?

Oof this is a complicated question for me actually lol Keep in mind I’ve literally been reading a/b/o since it’s origin in the Supernatural fandom on LIVEJOURNAL. I read the first a/b/o fic,I was in the fandom space and on the forums when it emerged,so I have quite literally followed along with it since it’s inception,and have kept tabs on its various evolutions through the years and through the different fandoms I’ve been in.

Originally it was much more about the animal characteristics and what I was seeing was very coded into werewolf verses or other creature societies very similar. What drew me in originally was a lot of those animal instincts of dominance and submission,especially with the alpha biting to enforce submission. As everyone on here knows I really really like biting,it’s kind of intrinsically tied in with my views of eroticism,so anything that heavily features biting kink will have my full attention. It’s why I love vampire content so much,or a lot of creature content.

I also have a really strong sense of smell,and in the more creature focused a/b/o fics,and then in Teen Wolf when a/b/o was interwoven with werewolves,scent played a big part in their characteristics. I really really like scent based stuff,in real life the way a partner smells is a large part of my attraction to them,it’s usually one of the first things I notice. For a lot of people,even if they don’t realize it,scent and pheromones play an important role in attraction. I love universes where this is played up,and scents become,not just a more blatant form of attraction,but also a vehicle for characterization and even communication. In a lot of next generation a/b/o the scent component has veered away from the wolf stuff in the OG omegaverse,but it’s something I hold onto and love. Like the force in Star Wars,it offers an opportunity to me as a writer to explore an alternative form of communication and recognition between characters.

At its core a/b/o is a really fun way for me to explore dom/sub dynamics too and in fact the dom/sub universes you see in fanfic now stemmed from omegaverse. There’s something about these sexual preferences being instinctual in these verses that made my own exploration for these wants and preferences somehow safer for me to accept when I was younger. And being able to read stories where a submissive male partner isn’t mocked for wanting these things while also being able to be a strong and independent person helped me realize a lot of things about myself that I always found confusing.

And on that note when done right I thing a/b/o is a wonderfully subversive and unique way to explore gender and gender roles. When I wrote conceal me what I am it was intrinsically interwoven with trans and nonbinary themes and was a very safe way for me parse through my own emotions of how I perceive myself and how the world perceives me. In all,exploring a submissive male character with certain cis female sexual characteristics has been a decade long process of coming to terms with my own gender-fluid ness,and being very comfortable with it,when I think without certain fictional avenues,I would have had a much harder time wrapping my head around it and how I perceive myself.

I think maybe what you see in my a/b/o writing,and what others have seen in it,is my dislike for feminizing male characters that I use as a vehicle for gender and sexual exploitation. This is no hate in any way to writers who do,there’s nothing wrong with it,but it’s something I always found personally distressing without being able to articulate why. More recently I’ve been able to identify that I find being feminized distressing,even though I identify as a woman some of the time.And so I find reading a male character being feminized as distressing because of my own life and raising. I like a/b/o as a means to look into the other,into the liminal inbetween and the hard to identify and parse outside of the rigid gender structures society has given us. So when I go into an a/b/o story with a wanting for that exploration and then it’s a projection of typical heteronormative gender ideals onto a not typical heteronormative dynamic,I find it upsetting. So in my own writing I avoid that at all cost. Again this is not a judgement of anyone who creates or engages with content that does embrace that,I don’t view it as a moral failing in any way,it’s simply something I don’t like and so something I specifically try to circumnavigate in my own art. Or when I do explore the intervening of male and female and other,it’s in a way I understand and perceive the world,and so is a comforting navigation of things I myself am unsure about or don’t quite understand.

It doesn’t have to be this deep. All a/b/o doesn’t have to be a societal deconstruction of gender and sexuality and queer coding. Sometimes it’s as simple as mmmm inherent attraction because of instincts sexy. It can also be mmmm character smells good BITE BITE BITE. It’s what you make it and what you find meaning and/or pleasure from. There’s thousands of interpretations of a/b/o because it’s a wonderful vehicle for exploration of many things. This is just my own relationship with it.