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thevaultturtle · 5 years

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Fallout Greatest Fears

Fallout 4 Human and Synth Companions + Maxson

Just a little something that I got inspiration for a few weeks ago. As the title says, it’s about each character’s greatest fear, and I tried to tie most of them into each character’s lore, so if the character has some pretty sad or dark lore, then their fear will probably be sad and dark, too.

Warnings: Some of these might be a bit sad and dark, as described above.

Cait

Cait is terrified of becoming her parents. Even while they rot in the graves that she put them in herself, Cait's parents still manage to haunt her every day; the memories of abuse and betrayal that they left her with aren't easily forgotten, no matter how hard she tries, and no matter how many chems she takes to try to purge them from her mind. Those memories have also left her with a deep-seated fear of being left behind, betrayed all over again while those who took advantage of her move forward without her. She has a lot of trust issues because of these fears, and the thought of being anything like her parents, of doing to someone else what they did to her, makes Cait more nauseous than any hangover or withdrawals ever could.

Curie

Being useless. Curie put everything on the line, down to her very life, just so she could be more useful to others. Becoming a synth, gaining the capacity for inspiration and a greater ability to learn- all of it was in the hope that she would be of greater use to mankind, and the thought of all of that being in vain never fails to throw her into a panic, and a feeling of aimless hopelessness never fails to wash hover her whenever she goes for any extended period of time without making a new discover that will be beneficial to others or at least making some progress towards one.

Danse

Danse is haunted by the fear of losing himself, which makes the truth of what he really is all the more heartbreaking. Maybe at some subconscious level, he always knew what he really was, because this fear has been with him since his earliest memories. Maybe those memories are what birthed this great fear of his in the first place, those fake memories of a fictitious life that he never really lived; he already lost himself once for one reason or another, whether he can remember it happening or not, and maybe this fear was just his mind’s way of trying to tell him not to let it happen again. Whatever the case may be, the more conviction that he felt towards the Brotherhood's ideals and the more he felt like he belonged with them, the stronger his fear grew, and now that it came to fruition all over again…he's not sure that he can handle it happening again.

Deacon

It's almost hard to even think of what Deacon's greatest fear might be, given that we hardly know anything about Deacon. He may have told us the truth about his past, but given that he is a known pathological liar, that could have all been a lie as well, but in those lies, you can find the fear that Deacon tries to hide so desperately: the fear of himself. Whether he really was a bigot towards synths, whether his past really did lead to the murder of his wife, or if none of that was true at all, for some reason, Deacon fears himself, what he has done, what he will do, what he wants to do. Even if he has never revealed the whole truth of his past or of who he really is, he obviously did something egregious enough to instill this fear in himself, and he will go to his grave ensuring that no one else sees the entirety of that truth.

Hancock

Hancock is terrified of repeating the past, namely as it relates to what happened to the ghouls in Diamond City. It's a past that he simultaneously tries his damnedest to forget every day yet also refuses to let himself forget. He's haunted by the guilt of this past, but he also tries to use that guilt as motivation to do better. It's a guilt that he's reminded of every time that he looks into a mirror, and he refuses to let that guilt grow any stronger. Because of this past, he will never stand by idly while good, innocent people suffer, and he will do everything in his power to ensure that bad things only happen to those who deserve it.

MacCready

There are two fears that occupy MacCready’s mind, and those are failing his son and becoming a monster, and the two are intertwined in a way. Duncan means everything to Mac; that's his baby, his progeny, and he's one of the last few pieces of Lucy that Mac still has. Mac wants to be a good father more than anything, to do right by his son, and he would die for Duncan in a heartbeat if the need arose, and no matter how hard things get, he lives and keeps going to ensure that his son stays safe. He can't stand the thought of failing his son, and that thought would be an imminent reality if he became a monster, which he was on the verge of doing while he was with the Gunners. The caps were great, and they all went towards saving Duncan, but the actions that he took to get those caps and what he saw the Gunners doing were things that he knew his son would be ashamed of him for.

Nick Valentine

Pre-Far Harbor, Nick feared the possibility of not doing the right thing. The Wasteland is an awful, merciless place, and with memories of what the world used to be like, Nick is even more aware of and impacted by this than most. Even in such a desolate world, though, Nick still hasn't lost hope, and he believes that doing the right thing, that giving people a helping hand when they need it the most, is the only way to make the world better for everyone. After Far Harbor, though, he's more afraid of forgetting himself, and in good reason, too. Not only is it highly probable to happen, but if he can't even remember who he is and why he's doing what he's doing, how can he even remember what the right thing is?

Old Longfellow

Stagnation. Even in his old age, Old Longfellow isn't one to sit around while the world passes him by. Stagnation means death to Old Longfellow, and like most people, he tends to try to avoid that. A life of stagnation means a life with nothing to do, nothing to work for, and that is a meaningless life in his opinion, one that’s hardly even worth calling a life at all. Old Longfellow, even in such a harsh world and even though he may seem so bitter, is still fascinated by life, especially with all of the adventures and twists and turns that it entails, and stagnation would mean that he's lost all of that. It's not necessarily death that he's afraid of since he knows that’s unavoidable, but it's the thought of not having truly lived in the first place that terrifies him.

Piper

Piper fears the unknown, of not knowing when being out of the loop means certain death in this unforgiving world. She will seek out the truth no matter what the cost, although that tenacity has led to a few more fears for her. People turned their backs on her when she became Diamond City’s 'nosy reporter'; everybody has something to hide, and they don't exactly like the thought of her airing out their dirty laundry for everyone to see. She's constantly looking behind her, afraid that someone will betray her in her quest for the truth, and that she'll leave Nat behind in a world full of lies.

Porter Gage

Losing. Gage doesn't like the thought of losing in general, but the lost that terrifies him the most is the possibility of losing to the world and to the life that it put him in. He was born into a pretty rough situation, as most people are in the Wasteland, but unlike many others, Gage refuses to be a victim of those circumstances, and he's going to live his life to the fullest even if it kills him. He wants to conquer the world that wants nothing more than to bring him to his knees, to survive and thrive so he can laugh at the 'fate’ that the world tried to fuck him over with. The thought of failing in that goal terrifies him, and he will avoid that fear at all costs, no matter who else might suffer in the process.

Preston

Preston fears failure. Preston has dedicated his life to the Minutemen, to helping the people of the Commonwealth and trying to rebuild the world. Because of this dedication, failure to him means the failure of the Minutemen, and the failure of the Minutemen would mean the death of the Commonwealth in his mind. This fear has already come to fruition once with the Quincy Massacre, and that nearly broke him. If his saving grace hadn’t wandered out of the Vault shortly after that horrific event, he wouldn't have survived much longer, and he can’t even begin to imagine what a repeat of something like that would do to him.

X6-88

X6-88 also fears failure, although the specifics of his fear are a bit different from everyone else's. X6 specifically fears failing his mission, whatever that may be at the time, because as agent of the Institute, even as a highly trained Courser, failing his mission would mean death, whether that death happens because of the mission itself or because the Institute chose to discard him because his failure made him obsolete. As cold and calculated as he is, X6 still fears death and he truly despises that about himself because there's nothing efficient about fear and he feels like it makes him weak just like the pathetic Wastelanders that he despises so much.

Maxson

Maxson's greatest fear is losing control, whether that be of the Brotherhood or of his own life, but more so the first option, mainly because he feels like he never really had control over the second one. From the day he was born, he never really had control over his own destiny; the Brotherhood always believed that he was destined for greatness because of his lineage, so greatness is what he was pushed towards whether he wanted it or not. Failure was not an option, no matter how much he craved it so he could pursue some sort of normalcy instead of what had been laid before him. Failure was not an option so when he eventually achieved the greatness that he had supposedly been destined for, he feared losing control again, this time over the Brotherhood that was put under his command. Even with that lack of control over his early life, Arthur still loves the Brotherhood, and he fears that losing control again will mean the death of everything that he loves.

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returnn-of-the-mac · 5 years

Note

I love the way you write the companions! Especially X6! Companions react to Sole giving them nicknames based on pre-war movies?

Thank you! X6 is one of my favorite characters to write (along with Ada and Danse)! Sorry this took so long, there were a few characters I struggled with (looking @u gage & preston). Also, again, I usually write a silent Sole, but I couldn’t for this one, obviously. Please enjoy!😄

Fo4 Companions React: Sole Giving Them Pre-War Movie Nicknames

Strong:

Strong and Sole where walking around Sanctuary when the super mutant heard rustling in the bushes.

“COME OUT, PUNY RADROACH! STRONG SMASH YOU INTO THE GROUND!”

Sole smirked, “Easy there, Hulk. It’s just Dogmeat.”

Strong scratched his head, “Who Hulk? He a Radroach?”

Danse:

Sole was in Danse’s quarters as the Paladin was trying on some new patriotic power armor he had designed. He stepped out in his red, white, and blue mechanical suit and twisted around a bit to show Sole.

“What do you think,” He asked, “Is it too much?”

Sole giggled, “You kinda look like Optimus Prime.”

“You mean Liberty Prime?”

“Nope. I mean Optimus Prime. He’s a Cybertronian from a pre-war movie called Transformers.” Sole explained.

“Cybertron? Is that like a synth,” Danse scoffed, “Cuz I’d be damned if I looked like a synth.”

“Well, no. Cybertron is the planet they’re from. It’s complicated, but it’s basically a fictional species of robots that can transform from ordinary objects. Like cars.”

A confused Danse gave his companion an acknowledging nod, “Ah, okay. That actually sounds pretty interesting. Maybe the Brotherhood could start crafting armor based off of these ...uh...’Cybertronians.’ You’re going to have to show me sometime, soldier.”

Nick:

“Hmm...” Nick pondered, looking over his latest case, “This Marowski fellow seems to be up to no good, yet again. His chem lab is more secure this time too...I’m thinking we’re going to have to tinker around with some scrap and invent a device to break into there undetected.”

“And what do you suggest we create, Inspector Gadget?”

Nick rolled his eyes. “Ha ha. Very funny. I happen to who that is, you know.”

MacCready:

MacCready and Sole where camping out at Outpost Zimonja for the night, lying under the stars, next to a campfire.

“You know what stinks,” Macready began, “Being an adult. So much is expected of you, and all the other adults are all just a buncha bullies.”

Sole gazed at their companion and he continued, “I swear, the kids at Little Lamplight were more mature than at least half the mungos in the Commonwealth. I wish I’d never had grown up...I wish I could’ve stayed a kid forever.”

“Okay, Peter Pan,” Sole laughed, “Growing up is a part of life. Everyone goes through it. Society wouldn’t thrive if people didn’t get older.”

MacCready was still caught up on the first part of Sole’s statement. “Peter...who? Who’s that?”

“Peter Pan. He was a mythical boy who never grew up, and he lead a group called The Lost Boys in Neverland. They’d go on adventures and stuff. It was a story that got adapted into a popular pre-war movie,” Sole explained.

MacCready was captivated by the description. “That seems...awesome, actually! Can you tell me more about it?”

Ada:

Sole and Ada were trekking through the wilderness just beyond the glowing sea when a RadStrorm hit. Adamant about making it to their destination, Sole continued to their journey, despite the wind, rain, and rads.

“[Sir/Ma’am],” Ada beckoned, “Being that I am non-organic, these rads don’t have an effect on me. You, however, might get sick if we continue.”

Sole ignored Ada and continued to press forward. Ada tried again.

“[Sir/Ma’am]? It is highly likely that you will not be able to successfully complete your mission if you were to fall ill.”

Sole, once again, ignored their companion and continued forward. Ada, ardent about keeping her companion healthy, tried a third time.

“[Sir/Ma’am]? I believe I saw an abandoned barn a few miles back. We could camp there for the night.”

Sole stopped and gave Ada a stern look. “C-3PO. Please. Be quiet for just a minute. I can’t even hear myself think.”

Ada beeped a few times. “I am unfamiliar who this model C-3-P-O is. My model number A-D-4.”

Piper:

“Okay, look. I think we’re really gonna get him this time, Blue,” Piper began, peeking through her binoculars at an unsuspecting Mayor McDonough, “Oh! Oh! Look! He put the toilet paper on the holder flap-side-up. Mm-hmm. Definitely a synth.”

Sole raised an eyebrow, “And what’s your master plan here? We gonna break in there and catch him in the act of changing his toilet paper, Lucy Stevens? Kinda not a good look.”

Piper cocked her head to the side, “Lucy...Stevens? Who’s that?”

Sole giggled, “She’s a reporter from one of my favorite pre-war movies.”

Piper smirked, “And what movie would that be?”

“Detective Pikachu.”

Gage:

Sole and Gage were building a raider base when suddenly Gage stopped hammering.

“Hey, got any more nails over there? Can’t see for shit with this eyepatch.”

Sole rolled their eyes and handed the raider the container of nails, “Why don’t you just take it off then? I know you have a fully-functional eyeball under there.”

“Yeah but it’s part of the image.”

“Alright, One-eyed Willie.”

“The fuck is that?” Gage asked, “You pickin on me, boss?”

Hancock:

Hancock and Sole were hanging out in Hancock’s quarters listening to the radio, taking hits of jet, and drinking whiskey.

“This is niice,” Hancock mused, taking a long hit of jet, “Sometimes ya need a break from running the city, yanno?”

Sole nodded.

Suddenly, the song changed and Hancock grunted. “I hate this one. It kills the vibe in here.”

As he got up to change the station, drink in hand, a random Goodneighbor resident barreled into the room, nearly knocking the mayor over.

“Woah, friend, I’ve got a beverage here.” It was then the ghoul noticed he had spilled his drink all over himself and the rug. “Ah, come on, brother. That was a new rug.”

“Easy there, Lebowski,” Sole consoled, standing up and putting a hand on their companion’s shoulder, “Whiskey shouldn’t be too difficult to clean off a rug.”

“Sorry Hancock,” the resident apologized, “But your friend here is right. I mean it is practically water.”

Cait:

Cait and Sole were crouched behind a stack of boxes, fully prepared to ambush a group of raiders who were holding an innocent settler hostage.

“Can’t wait to use this new machete ye gave me,” Cait gushed, excitedly studying the weapon, “Never have had the chance to use one of these before.”

Sole smiled.

“Ready darlin?”

“Ready.”

The pair sprung out from their hiding spot and began their onslaught. Sole took cover behind an old desk, shooting at the raiders with ease and Cait decapitated them with her machete.

“I’m just gettin warmed up, ye clowns!”

The redhead suddenly ran up a side wall and did a flip, slicing two raiders heads off at the same time. Sole lowered their weapon and watched in awe as their partner singlehandedly decimated the raiders with her melee weapon. When the last raider was taken out, Cait took a little bow.

“Damn, Uma Thurman! Leave some for me next time,” Sole joked.

“Couldn’t help it. This machete is way too much fun.”

Deacon:

Deacon and Sole were hiding in an air vent, preparing to take out some synths as asked by Drummer Boy, when Deacon started fumbling around.

“What are you doing?” Sole whispered harshly, annoyed by their partner’s commotion.

“I’m due for an image change,” Deacon answered matter-of-factly, taking his shirt off, “I’ve been in my Elvis Presley Wannabe disguise for two hours now.”

Sole clenched their teeth in frustration.

“What do you think I should go for? The intelligent Bald Doc or intimidating Street Punk?”

“How about the bumbling Austin Powers?”

Deacon chuckled, “Yeah bAbY! I’m flattered you would even suggest that. Such a cool character.”

Sole rolled their eyes as Deacon began to dress as the iconic British spy.

Curie:

Curie and Sole were walking along the coast of Salem when the synth suddenly stopped. Sole turned around, concerned.

“You okay, Curie?”

The synth looked at Sole and smiled. “Oui. I was just thinking...thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to exist in human form.”

“No problem! I’m just glad you’re happy.”

Curie nodded, “It’s not like I wasn’t happy being in my old body it’s just...I can do so much more now in this new body. Do field work, collaborate, share my findings and be taken seriously. That and...this body is very flattering. Much more attractive than metal and bolts.”

Sole laughed, “Hey, I thought your EVE form was adorable.”

“Eve? Who is that?”

“She was a character— a robot— from a pre-war movie called WALL-E.”

“I see...well, that is very interesting, [Madame/Monsieur]!”

Longfellow:

“Damn snow. I hate the North. Move me to the tropics,” Longfellow complained as he and Sole walked through a light snow flurry.

“It’s not even that bad,” Sole reassured, “Besides, what would Christmas be without snow?”

“I don’t care about Christmas. Got no family to celebrate it with anyway.”

“Oh come on, Scrooge,” Sole teased, “We can celebrate Christmas together if you want.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I am old Ebenezer. Bah humbug,” Longfellow grumpily muttered, taking a shot of whiskey.

X6-88:

X6 and Sole were on a mission tag a synth with a tracking beacon when Sole suddenly stopped.

“Is something wrong, [sir/ma’am]?” the synth asked, concerned.

“No it’s just...what would you look like without your glasses? I’ve never seen you take them off. Do you even have eyes under there?”

X6 nodded, “Of course I have eyes. The glasses make me look slick. More professional, if you will.”

“You look like Morpheus from The Matrix.”

“And he was an influential individual, was he not?”

Sole remained silent.

“Case in point, [sir/ma’am].”

Preston:

Sole had just returned to Sanctuary after a lengthy fight with some gunners with Preston beckoned to them.

“Another settlement needs our help,” he began, “The settlers at Nordhagen beach are complaining about a wobbly chair and—“

Sole raised their hand in the air, “Do it yourself, Fix-it-Felix,” they mumbled before retreating to their room for a nap.

Codsworth:

Sole and Codsworth were in their old house, assembling furniture and reminiscing about the past.

“This was such a happy home before the bombs dropped. I wish we could go back to it, [sir/mum].”

Sole nodded in agreement as they discovered old photographs in cracked frames. Codsworth hovered over to examine Sole’s finding.

“Ah! That photograph! That was the first day you adopted me,” the robot gushed, “I’m so glad you chose the name Codsworth and not any of the absurd names the [hubby/wife] was suggesting.”

Sole laughed, “But Codsworth was their idea! I was going to name you BB-8.”

“Seriously? Why? Just because I’m round and I’m a robot?”

“Exactly!”

Codsworth huffed in annoyance and floated away from an amused Sole.

#fallout 4 #fallout #fo4 #danse #paladin danse #hancock #deacon #maccready #piper #curie #x6 #x6 88 #ada #strong #codsworth #nick valentine #longfellow #gage #porter gage #cait #react

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companionhell · 6 years

Note

Hello! May I please request companions reaction to thinking sole is dead and then them getting up and saying "ow"

Cait: Cait would stare at them in disbelief. “Are ya fuckin’ kiddin’ me?” she’d say, laughing in a combination of shock and relief. If their relationship was platonic, she’d make a wisecrack or two about never being able to get rid of them; if romantic, she’d hug them quickly, briefly letting her true feelings be shown. Sole was the only one Cait trusted, in a friendly way or otherwise, the only one who hadn’t betrayed her, and the thought of losing them would make her deeply sad. Cait would be a bit more protective afterwards, expressing her fear of Sole’s death through making sure they’d never do that again.

Codsworth: His voice would crack, and he’d sniffle a bit. “Oh, sir/mum. I- I thought I’d lost you for a moment there.” The relief he felt at their survival was absolutely indescribable. “I thought for sure you were gone for nearly two centuries, Master/Miss Sole. And then I got you back… don’t die on me now, sir/mum.” Codsworth was terrified that something would happen to the only remaining family he had, after two hundred years of uncertainty, and this incident only served to solidify it.

Curie: Curie had experienced grief before, with a scientist that she’d been particularly fond of, but she’d never felt anything like the heartbreaking anguish that tore through her for the few moments she thought Sole was dead. Whether a friend or a lover, she’d gather Sole into a tight embrace once she was sure they were alive. If romanced, though, she’d shower their face with kisses as well. “Désolée, mon chou. My eyes, they… malfunction,” she’d say, pulling away and using her sleeve to wipe tears off her face. “Now, you need treatment.” Curie put aside her fear of losing Sole for a moment to work, though she truly didn’t know how she’d survive in this wasteland without them.

Danse: Danse let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. People had died under his command before, and it hurt every time, but this one would have been… different. Closer to Krieg or Cutler than anyone else, maybe even worse. If Sole was just a friend, he’d offer them a smile, tell them he was glad they were alright, and set up for a serious talk about how much he valued them. If they were dating, though, Danse would take a minute to hold Sole, breathe, steady himself with the knowledge that they were still living. Without them, Danse would be utterly alone, and he was never more aware of it than in that moment.

Deacon: If they were friends, he’d grin at them, trying to feign amusement. “Ah! Zombie! Oh, sorry boss. Just you.” It really did spook Deacon, though, something that would be abundantly clear if the two were romantically involved. He’d be visibly pained, unable to avoid the mental comparison to Barbara. For the next while, Deacon would do everything he wished he’d done with his wife; he’d be more protective, a little more affectionate, try to appreciate his time with Sole. They were all he had, the only one in the world he was close to, and he was scared as hell of losing a loved one again.

Dogmeat: He’d have been nudging Sole’s face, then licking it happily once he realized they weren’t dead. Dogmeat had grown an attachment to Sole over their adventures, and would hate to see his human die- it had happened before, unfortunately, and Dogmeat didn’t take it well.

Gage: Shit. When he saw Sole was okay, he laughed hollowly, trying to resolve some of the tension, but it didn’t work. Gage had never been close to anyone before. Had never trusted anyone, especially not the way he trusted Sole. So he’d also never felt grief, felt an expanding hole in his chest at the death of another, which he’d gotten just a taste of during that terrifying minute or two. If their connection was purely platonic, Gage would probably never mention it again. But if Gage had already opened up about romantic feelings, the two might have a late-night, somewhat awkward talk about how he couldn’t lose them.

Hancock: Hancock had few emotional connections in his life, and it was absolutely heartbreaking to lose someone he cared so deeply for… even for a minute. When they were up, though, he’d laugh in disbelief, his emotional state jumping from a deep despair to blissful relief to a somber realization of how close he’d gotten to losing a loved one. With a friend, he’d pull them into a casual one-armed hug, disguising his emotion. “Good to see you’re still kicking, my man/sister.” A lover, though? Hancock would hug them more tightly, making absolute sure they were there. “Scared me for a minute there, sunshine,” he’d admit nervously, pulling them closer.

MacCready: MacCready was not emotionally prepared for this. If the scare was with a close friend, he’d quietly be pretty damn relieved, and maybe fight a little fiercer on their behalf in the future. If he was romantically involved? The man would be crying, first from grief and depression but then from pure joy, pulling Sole into a hug. “Damn,” he’d say, sniffling, “I thought… I thought you’d died on me, too. That would… I couldn’t… Please, just… just stay with me.” He knew his words weren’t coherent, and he was vaguely embarrassed about it, but he mostly didn’t care. MacCready couldn’t handle another Lucy, and he was glad he wouldn’t have to- yet, at least.

Nick: When Sole dropped, he’d felt upset and somber and more awful than he’d felt in a damn long time, and having those feelings lifted from him when he saw Sole was alright- it felt like ecstasy. He’d focus on medical attention first, but then express his happiness at their survival. If Nick and Sole were only friends, he’d put a reassuring hand on their shoulder, smiling warmly. “I’m glad you’re stickin’ around, partner.” But a partner of the romantic variety would get a sweet embrace, a kiss on the cheek, a brighter smile. “Good to see you’re still with me, stud/doll.” Internally, he’d be intensely worried for the day when it really happened- but hell, he was just happy it wasn’t today.

Piper: She’d have yelped when they went down, then started a long string of words both for Sole’s sake and her own comfort- “Oh Blue, you’re okay, you’ll be okay, easy now, you’ll be fine after a Stim or two, oh please just be alright-” but was interrupted by Sole sitting up. Piper would beam, pleased as punch, but still a little scared by the near-death experience. She’d pull both a friend and a lover in for a hug, but the latter would also be treated to a quick peck. “I’m so glad you’re alright, Blue. I don’t know what I’d do without you. Well, I mean, first I’d write you the best damn obituary in the Commonwealth, but after… I’m so lucky to have you, you know that?”

Preston: When he’d thought Sole died, he was instantly in a pit of depression even worse than after Quincy. Somehow, out of dumb luck, he’d come across someone perfect to lead the Minutemen- then that same luck had taken them away while he watched. So when Sole spoke, it was a miracle to him. Still choked up, he’d smile at them if they were a friend, then make sure they were totally okay. But Preston would wrap his arms around a romantic companion, speaking with his lips pressed against their head. “Thank god,” he’d whisper, his voice hoarse and eyes teary. “Thank god you’re alright.”

Strong: Strong was impressed at Sole’s persistence in staying alive. He’d been disappointed when they’d fallen- upset at having lost a good leader, yet accepting of the inevitability of human death. But his respect for them doubled when he saw them sit up again. “Most humans stay down. Strong think human dead. But human good fighter. Not weak. Strong happy human not dead.”

X6-88: X6 was fairly certain he wasn’t programmed to feel his stomach drop when he thought Sole was dead, but drop it did. And he was pretty sure relief wasn’t in the code either, but X6 felt a rush of it when Sole sat up. He double-checked that they were okay. If they were friends, he’d probably leave it at that, trying his best to hide how spooked the experience left him. If they were more, though, he’d put his hand over theirs, tighten his grip a little. “I…” He’d hesitate, look away. He had trouble finding words. “It’s good that you’re alright.” And if X6 hadn’t questioned the Institute at all before, he definitely would now- this grief, this happiness… was this what rebel synths felt before they defected?

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autumnslance · 6 years

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OC fact swap! Syngigeim and Mariko are childhood friends! While their earliest childhood years were spent together, they kept in touch via letters for a lot of their childhood and teenage years. Well, until linkpearls anyway. The loss of his precious linkpearl thanks to his abusive parents pushed Mariko into running away from his family and becoming an adventurer. The two resumed letter writing and as such, Syngigeim has one of the only true records of the events of before the Calamity.

Dark for a long time thought Lucy Gage was a non-existent cryptid, or Erick’s female alter ego. The knowledge that Lucy exists and is even worse, somehow, than her twin brother is something she’s still not quite over.

C’oretta was hired by Fink Kukurya and had no idea who Erick Gage was. The first time they met, they were helping Tei with a construction project and C’oretta had no idea she was badmouthing the actual boss.

#Dark Prompts #Punchy Prompts #handelgamer

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eddycurrents · 7 years

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For the week of 19 March 2018

Quick Bits:

30 Days of Night #4 gets into the first assault on Barrow from the vampires. It’s bloody and beautifully illustrated by Piotr Kowalski.

| Published by IDW

Avengers #685 is a whole load of fun and despair as a large portion of the US Avengers team (and Lightning, Vision, and Quicksilver) attempt to stave off the assault of the Immortal Hulk. It really feels like we’re headed towards the endgame now and the braintrust of Mark Waid, Jim Zub, and Al Ewing are just churning out an epic. Also, the art from Paco Medina, Juan Velasco, and Jesus Aburtov is gorgeous.

| Published by Marvel

Avengers: Back to Basics #2 concludes the first arc with Iron Man, Hulk, and Thor attempting to stop Fenris and the Disir from bringing about Ragnarok. It’s a fun and action-oriented story from Peter David, with some great humorous moments, and the art from Brian Level (with colours by Jordan Boyd) is pretty much worth the price of the book alone. Great panel compositions and page layouts that greatly help the issue’s story feel meaty.

| Published by Marvel

Big Trouble in Little China: Old Man Jack #7 gets us close to the end, but of course it’s not as easy as rescuing Egg Shen and defeating Ching Dai, there has to be funny misadventures, in-fighting, and heaps of betrayal.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Cable #155 is pretty damn great. It begins the “Past Fears” arc from the new creative team of Zac Thompson, Lonnie Nadler, Germán Peralta, and Jesus Aburtov and leaps headlong into Cable’s past mixing it up with some body horror. Thompson and Nadler have a nice grasp on Cable and Hope’s characters, showing off their heart and stubbornness. Peralta’s art puts the book over the top, though.

| Published by Marvel

Dark Fang #5 brings to an end the first arc of the series, finally giving the lead character a name in-story itself. It’s a bizarre approach to vampires from Miles Gunter, almost like a twisted Disney fairy tale, but it’s entertaining and has some great artwork from Kelsey Shannon.

| Published by Image

Death of Love #2 features more wacky hijinks as Philo tells his friends about seeing the little Cherubs/Cupidae and...naturally they don’t believe him. It just gets more absurd from there as Justin Jordan and Donal DeLay push the series into new and more disturbing territory.

| Published by Image

Dept. H #24 ends what has been a good series with a nice bit of quiet reflection, Mia reminiscing about her father, her first case, and morality as she struggles upward for that last leg of survival.

| Published by Dark Horse

Dissonance #2 dives deeper into the machinations of the Fantasmen as they plot and scheme to control humanity. Singgih Nugoro and Ryan Cady are laying it on pretty thick, while making you wonder what all of it is truly for.

| Published by Image / Top Cow - Glitch

Doctor Strange: Damnation #3 is basically an issue’s long fight between the damned Avengers and the Midnight Sons. There’s some nice character bits and humour thrown in. Plus, a seemingly most ineffective plan.

| Published by Marvel

Evolution #5 sees Joe Infurnari and Jordan Boyd step up their game, and the art on the series was already incredible. It seems as we go on, the designs and presentation of the infected just get more and more impressive.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Harrow County #29 returns with the beginning of the end. Emmy is trying to come to terms with her actions in the last arc, while Hester’s return heralds more nightmares to come. Tyler Crook’s artwork is stellar, horrifying and evocative, elevating the terror with each subsequent panel.

| Published by Dark Horse

Ice Cream Man #3 is weird, trading in the more traditional horror notes of the past couple of issue for absurdist science fantasy, following a washed-up, fading musician who penned a one-hit wonder as he fades into obscurity. W. Maxwell Prince’s story gets pretty strange, but it allows for Martín Morazzo to really flex his muscles.

| Published by Image

Infinity 8 #1 begins adapting in English and North America’s standard comics format the Infinity 8 series that was previously published by Rue de Sèvres, created by Lewis Trondheim and Olivier Vatine. Part of the pitch for the book is an 8-part series each containing three issue arcs. The 8 parts certainly play into the structure of the story as each part will be done by a different creative team, and focus on a recursive time loop of agents exploring a debris field.

This first arc, written by Lewis Trondheim and Zep with art by Dominique Bertail, focuses on Agent Yoko Keren, a woman looking for a compatible mate among the ship’s crew so she can get pregnant and basically retire better off than she is currently. She gets to be the first guinea pig for the Captain’s time loop exploration of the debris, and it gets a bit weird when some of the ship’s complement of aliens decide that eating it is of the utmost importance. This story is weird sci-fi in the vein of Heavy Metal, but to me the draw is Bertail’s art. I’ve really been enjoying Bertail’s art in Ghost Money and he proves equally adept with wacky space stuff.

| Published by Lion Forge / Magnetic Collection

Iron Fist #78 jumps head first into Danny’s unresolved issues in what’s probably the best Damnation tie-in thus far. Ed Brisson uses the chaos of the event and the trigger of the penance stare to dredge up Danny’s feelings and reactions to what he considers his loss and failures, giving some really deep cuts into continuity in an organic, natural fashion. The art from Damian Couceiro and Andy Troy is also up to the heavy lifting. The layouts and panel designs at the beginning of the book as Danny navigates the surreal landscape of his memories and fears are particularly impressive.

| Published by Marvel

James Bond: The Body #3 has some great art by Rapha Lobosco, in the first of two series that have his work this week. His art is in a similar style to Eduardo Risso and it lends itself well to this dark tale of neo-Nazi arms dealers from Aleš Kot.

| Published by Dynamite

Kick-Ass #2 asks some important questions as Patience backslides into justifications for her criminal behaviour. Mark Millar steps up the moral quandary from just the vigilantism of the original Kick-Ass, even as she later protects a child from an abusive father figure.

| Published by Image

Lucy Dreaming #1 is fun. For starters, it’s nice to see Michael Dialynas again on another sci-fi/fantasy series after The Woods, even if it is just a limited series. His art naturally lends itself to the fantastical and it pays off in spades in this first issue, with nice designs for aliens, starships, and more. It’s also great that Max Bemis is bringing more of that weirdness and altered realities from his works like Centipede here. I’m really looking forward to seeing where this goes from here.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

The Mighty Thor #705 will break your heart. Epic storytelling and gorgeous art. Jason Aaron, Russell Dauterman, and Matthew Wilson should be proud.

| Published by Marvel

Ninja-K #5 brings the battle to the Acclimation Bureau and sparks off a deadly confrontation between Ninja-C and Ninjak. Christos Gage and Tomás Giorello bring this first arc to a stylish conclusion.

| Published by Valiant

Pathfinder: Spiral of Bones #1 brings the adventuring party back for a new expedition, this time far beneath Kaer Maga, the City of Strangers. Crystal Frasier is a new voice to the Pathfinder comics, but old hat to the roleplaying game, so she slides in nicely to the writer’s chair here. There’s a good amount of set-up and humorous banter as the Iconic character Imrijka is introduced in the comic as an old friend of Valeros.

| Published by Dynamite

Punks Not Dead #2 gets into more of Fergie’s ordinary life and the supporting cast of characters at his school and beyond. David Barnett fleshes them out fairly well, setting up some interesting hooks for what might be coming next. Combined with Martin Simmonds artwork, this series really is a must buy for anyone who enjoyed the British supernatural flavour of mid to late ‘90s Vertigo or the later series Vinyl Underground.

| Published by IDW / Black Crown

Regression #8 sees Adrian explore the nature of the cult and their grounds a bit more, although there is a weird bit in that he’s seemingly all right with the past lives, the demons, the cult itself and such, but apparently an orgy is a bridge too far. Death, murder, and demons are copacetic, but as soon as sex is introduced, Adrian wants to bug out. I’m hoping that Cullen Bunn does more with that theme in a future issue.

| Published by Image

Rumble #4 mainly deals with the fallout from Bobby’s injuries, with John Arcudi penning a growing divide between Rathraq and Del. David Rubín’s art perfectly capturing the insanity and the heart of the entire situation.

| Published by Image

Runaways #7 begins the “Best Friends Forever” arc with the team trying to adjust to their new status quo and “normal” life. Rainbow Rowell is great at these kinds of interpersonal relationships and it makes for an entertaining read.

| Published by Marvel

The Spider King #2 is more glorious madness blending Vikings and bizarre alien technology. The artwork from Simone D’Armini just fits this action perfectly.

| Published by IDW

Summit #4 concludes the first story arc, with Val coming to the realization of Lorena’s motivations and Foresight’s shadiness that readers of the broader Catalyst Prime line already know. It comes a bit suddenly after a moment of misdirection, but it makes more story sense to get Val back to her friends at the MIT labs.

| Published by Lion Forge / Catalyst Prime

Tales of Suspense #103 is that issue that tells us exactly what has been going on with Black Widow while Hawkeye and Winter Soldier have been running around chasing after her body count. It’s kind of dark and has some fairly complicated potential Alien Resurrection style implications. Matthew Rosenberg still throws in some humour with Ursa Major, but this one’s really an opportunity for Travel Foreman to showcase some of the darker end of his skill set.

| Published by Marvel

TMNT Universe #20 continues the excellent “Service Animals” arc from Ian Flynn, Dave Wachter, and Ronda Pattison that’s getting to the core of what Null has been doing, and providing an interesting, humanizing look at Raphael and Alopex. The art from Wachter and Pattison is wonderful. There’s also a great back-up from Matthew K. Manning, Adam Gorham, and Brittany Peer that tells a humorous and heartfelt tale of Raph trying to get some sleep.

| Published by IDW

Thanos #17 is the penultimate chapter of “Thanos Wins”, featuring both Thanoses against the Fallen One, with a few surprise guests. Geoff Shaw really gets the opportunity again to showcase just how damn good he is at action and spectacle.

| Published by Marvel

Usagi Yojimbo: The Hidden #1 is the first of the series to follow the series of series format Dark Horse tends to use for Mike Mignola’s Hellboy universe. Regardless of the approach, this still has the same great Stan Sakai taste. Ostensibly we’re dealing with some fugitives, and a secret package, being tracked down by agents of the shogunate, but we’re light on details so far and high on mystery.

| Published by Dark Horse

Vampirella #11 is the second of the books illustrated by Rapha Lobosco this week as he and Jeremy Whitley bring this current volume to a close. This issue serves as a recap of Vicki’s adventures with Vampirella as she comes to a new understanding of herself, opening up to find a solution for the fake heaven and missing God problem.

| Published by Dynamite

Weapon H #1 is probably better than any one would have thought as ridiculous a concept as a Hulkverine would be. Spinning out of the “Weapons of Mutant Destruction” crossover and subsequent Weapon X follow-up arc, this series follows Clay, a former soldier and test subject for some mad science experiments blending Hulk and Wolverine DNA. Greg Pak blends those two aspects in the story itself, taking elements from both the Hulk and Wolverine legacy, and wisely begins this with a new take on the tale that introduced Wolverine to the world in the pages of Incredible Hulk with a new Wendigo. The art from Cory Smith, Marcus To, and Morry Hollowell sticks the landing.

| Published by Marvel

Witchblade #4 continues the trend of being another great issue of this series. Caitlin Kittredge is beginning to get into the meat of the lore behind the Witchblade and the thirteen Artifacts, tying the reboot in to the mythology of the original Witchblade/Darkness universe, while also fleshing out more and more of Alex’s backstory. The art, again, by Roberta Ingranata and Bryan Valenza is some of the most beautiful on the shelves today.

| Published by Image / Top Cow

Other Highlights: Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #17, Archie #29, Babyteeth #9, Berlin #22, Corto Maltese: The Golden House of Samarkand, Descender #28, The Further Adventures of Nick Wilson #3, Ghostbusters: Answer the Call #4, Go Go Power Rangers #8, Incredible Hulk #714, Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: Fairies #4, Kill or Be Killed #17, Mata Hari #2, The Mighty Crusaders #4, Monsters Unleashed #12, Monstress #15, Moonshine #8, Ms. Marvel #28. Outcast #34, Quantum & Woody! #4, Southern Cross #14, Spider-Gwen #30, Star Wars #45, Star Wars: Poe Dameron #25, Superb #8

Recommended Collections: Aliens: Dead Orbit, Black Science - Volume 7: Extinction is the Rule, Giant Days - Volume 7, Harrow County - Volume 7: Dark Times A Coming, Iron Fist - Volume 2: Sabretooth Round Two, Moonstruck - Volume 1, Rick & Morty: Pocket Like You Stole It, Spider-Men II, X-Men Blue - Volume 3: Cross Time Capers

d. emerson eddy is doing stuff, Lori. Things!

#This Week in Comics

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kvltprince · 6 years

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At Fizztop, Lucy asks Gage carry him and the blankets over to the big couch on lazy mornings when the sun comes up (wtf Colter, why did you put the bedroom on the east side of the balcony??) and they doze another couple hours when his PTSD lets him. This can progress through the entire morning routine depending on how clingy or fake/actual lazy Lucy is being, or how bemused tolerant Gage is of Lucy's bullshit. Eventually Lucy will request his leg be brought over, or grab it himself if it is accessible and the day will progress as usual.

Gage makes better wasteland coffee anyway.

#shut up alexei #lucy and gage adventures #lucy grandchester #porter gage #the shit he puts up with for his overboss 💕 lol

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mehdeaguided · 6 years

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Outside Grandchester - Lucy and Gage as usual. #fo4 https://www.instagram.com/p/BpqrU8hAaGa/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ekc5z5bwk9it

#fo4 #porter gage #wip #sketch #my art #lucy grandchester #one day ill write up lucys bio #trans oc #guess the world gets told now huh?#yes he kept his name who cares dont bother me about that part #lucy and gage adventures #he was always destined to be a raider at nuka world i suspect

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unikornu · 4 years

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Page 8, Taking Care

Lizzie decided to visit the Overboss personally with the fixed pipboy and her short manual when she heard the duo just dealt with gunners on the nearby bridge last night. Beside Mags was still advising her to leave the lab from time to time to breathe some fresh air instead of chemicals. She strolled towards the Fizztop humming under nose and ignoring the disciples whispering behind her back and took the elevator from the lower entrance. Meeting with Porter first seemed more in a respect before disturbing the Boss lady but before she took a step out of elevator an echo of very strange noises hit her ear. She followed it curiously all the way to the patio door and stopped, leaning with her ear towards it.

- Oh, just fucking shove it in me, Gage! It won’t hurt any more than it already does. The Lucy’s angry voice was heard from inside the room as well as raider.

- Shit, are you sure Boss? You sure you can take it? It’s big. Gage voice seemed filled with hesitation and worry.

- Oh my. Lizzie couldn’t stop from smirking at least but realized shortly it wasn’t what it was.

- Oh its just one needle and i won’t move much until you pump some med-x in that cracked back of mine so just fucking do it, please? Lucy was sitting on a bed curled up with her back exposed, awaiting for Gage to finish the injection, covering her chest with a pillow, pushing it and shoving nails in it as the needle met her skin.

Gage was surprised by her decision, not wanting to take a break and just dealing the way she does with her current condition. And he would not dare to ruin or leave some nasty mark on that smooth back of hers.

- All done, Boss but you still should rest a bit. Safari doesn’t sound like a place that will just let us stroll there. He said right after finishing the injection, turning around and taking a sit at the bar to let her dress up.

- Bullshit, we will make it a stroll then. She pulled her hair from under the top and joined him at the bar shortly, slowly stretching her hands upwards and to the sides.

-Ekhem, Boss, Gage? Lizzie knocked as her head was already popping out of the door.

- Oh, come on in. Lucy pointed towards the chair to join them at the bar. - You got something for me?

- Oh i do, your pipboy with quite an interesting upgrade as you asked. Lizzie sat between them and put the pipboy on the counter.

- And how safe is that update? No offence but you tend to have some crazy ideas at times. Gage muttered under his nose while eyeballing the device.

- Oh very crazy. Lizzie smiled at him when opening the back panel and wiggling the cable with a shark metallic tip in her hand. - Sadly it doesn’t work on humans, maybe just the ones with metallic parts. Lucy tried not to chuckle, covering the mouth with her hand, grinning.

- Very fucking funny, now what does it do? Gage shook his head at them.

- Its simple, you shove that into any robot or computer device that has access and it might give you some control over these. But with robots you have to be very close to them and their sockets from what i saw usually were put in back of their heads. Lizzie stretched the cable which was indeed pretty short and handed the pipboy to Lucy.

- Sounds simple and useful. Does it come with....

- Manual yes, Boss. Lizzie interrupted and handed her a bunch of dusty old papers with instructions and eventual repair methods written by herself. She even included some drawings.

- You need a manual, Boss? Gage raised his eyebrow at her in a surprise.

- Well, yes. Not everyone is a bold egghead setting up weird ass shit around. She raised her eyebrow as well and squinted an eye at him in response. - Beside they trained me to kill shit, not to sit at the lab or whatever.

- Alright, alright, no offence, Boss.

- None taken. Gage looked away as her face softened.

- Alright i will leave you two. If you need anything Boss you know where to find me. Lizzie nodded at them and walked towards the elevator. - Ah, Boss i almost forgot, William has been asking when you visit us again at Parlor.

- Visit? For what? Lucy stood up from the chair and walked towards the elevator to catch Lizzie response as she has been slowly lifted down.

- Dinner i guess. Lizzie smirked at her from the bottom and left in a hurry to the safety of her lab as the elevator hit the bottom. Gage heard it but decided to leave that without any comment.

-Damn...Lucy whispered. Its been a while since someone mentioned a dinner and it wasn’t involving killing someone.

----------

As the duo started gathering their gear and preparing to leave a signal appeared on her pipboy.

- What do they want now....oh. Lucy have read the message and grabbed the Lizzie’s manual from the counter, scanning it carefully as the beam of holographic light hit it.

- What are you doing, Boss? Gage looked from behind his shoulder as he was leaning at the desk checking on his rifle.

- Just an exchange with the fellow ground scientists. Is there a...janitor closet in this building? She turned to him as the scanning finished.

- A what? You mean like a small room filled with some rusty old buckets and shit know what else? Gage didn’t hide his confusion on the question but guided her to the kitchen and pointed at the door what rusty broken panel probably mentioning a name of a guy who worked there before.

Lucy opened a door and dodged the avalanche of brooms and sticks falling as she opened the door. The dust and stench coming out of it made them both cough heavily.

- What the fuck did you keep there, fuck, the smell. Lucy turned and walked away few steps.

- Well..the janitor and then some bodies that i forgot about. Gage stepped forward and threw away all the sticks along with some bones making some space in the middle.

- Unbelievable. Lucy only shook head at him wrinkling her forehead and pulling the small metallic circle with a red button on top of it out of her pocket.

-Let’s see, they said the signal is the best there for some fucking reason. She crouched and put it on the floor, pushing the button and moving away. Gage stood next to her crossing his arms and awaiting in doubt.

- Any moment now, Boss eh? He commented as nothing seemed to be happening.

- Ah shut up.

As few more seconds passed the white light surrounded the room so bright it almost blinded them. They bent away and turned back as it disappeared. On the floor was lying something that looked like a grey metallic like suit but more shiny and smooth in its structure as well as more bendy in a touch as Lucy kneeled over it and took it in her hands with ease.

- How in the fucking hell they do that? I should be happy then ain’t sent a synth on us yet. Gage muttered under his nose. Seeing what just happened didn’t add to the safety that was barely existing in the back of his head.

- Some kind of signal...allowing them to teleport me the stuff away from marked regular pick up points. She felt a strong vibe of distrust from him as she stepped out of the closet holding the suit in her hands. - Look, Gage, i don’t trust them either but the deal is useful and they kept their word so far. They don’t give a shit what we do as long as they get some scraps of data from us. She sighted and pulled a hand towards his arm for reassurance but he turned away before that.

- We will see Boss, let’s just get back to work.

-------

The sun was hanging high beside the clouds and hitting the Lucy’s suit making it shine even brighter in its almost silk-metal like structure as they strolled towards their next target - safari adventure park. Gage mood slightly improved as it was hard not to look at her in that tight armor like set-up wondering how sharp are the claws attached to her hands and feet of it.

- I think they made it resemble a cat like creature...Lucy pondered while brushing the claws on her hand with a fingers.

- Oh..they certainly did but better hide this from Mason’s view. Gage hid his grin.

- Also...can i ask you something, Boss?

- Sure, ask. She stopped as they almost arrived at the entrance and nothing seemed to be endangering their little chat.

- I know that taking the parks and dealing with our shit is important, mostly to me but you seem to be barely stopping at it. He looked down at her.

- What, you worried or something, that i overwork myself? Oh how cute of you. She placed her hands on the hips, looking back up at him.

- Errr no....no shit, just i didn’t see anyone pushing and going on so much in this shithole. Its...well fucking surprising of you. He shrugged in response.

- I’m scared of boredom Gage. I always preferred to keep myself....well occupied on one task or another and you don’t seem to be running out of them. She didn’t lie although she kept her secret about having some kind of hallucinations as well as dealing with stress after every task and trying not to shove herself with calmex over and over. Running with Gage and dealing with their current problems seemed to be a good distraction as well as it was fitting with the nature of her lifestyle and Porter was indeed a good companion for this run.

- So, shall we? She nodded towards the park, inpatient.

- Yeah. Gage stretched his shoulders and neck and followed.

---------

The safari park was overgrown by dried trees and bushes, scattered densely around, vines climbing around the walls and gates. The huge tree was hard to miss, standing tall and strong in the middle of it. The sounds and ambience of jungle was still heard through a hidden speakers around the park making it feel quite peaceful and welcoming for a stroll around.

- What’s the worst that can happen here? A gazelle hitting us in a teeth with a hoof? Lucy looked around as they passed the entrance but Gage was always alert and on his toes.

- We didn’t explore this one yet so fuck knows what or who could be here. Raider turned himself to a heavy stomps he could hear along the chirps and howls that were coming from a corner behind the walls and bushes. Lucy stepped silently behind him with her knife ready. As Gage looked from behind the corner he froze, his eyes widening in a surprise but turning fast into the worry as the beast silhouette in front spotted him, its yellow eye turning abruptly towards him as it stretched itself from a scavenger corpse and slashed its claws at the raider’s face.

-Shit! Run! He turned around abruptly and pulled her after him as the gator like creature of a deathclaw size jumped after them. When she took a glimpse on what was chasing them she was only glad to have her current suit, allowing her to pick up a speed with much less effort and keeping up with Gage as they passed the labyrinth of tunnels and cages, eventually ramming into the first building door they saw and falling down the stairs.

- What the fuck is this? She swore, still keeping her voice low till the heavy steps moved on, away from the door.

- Hell if i know. Looks like a mutated lizard...alligator of sort, fucking oversized too. Gage pulled himself up from the floor, covering his ruined eye as the gator reached his patch when it slashed its hand at him, breaking its strap in a process.

- Shit, are you okay? Lucy swept the dust off her as she stood up and walked up to him, eyeballing his face. - Let me see.

- You don’t want to see that Boss, believe me. Gage hesitated and tried to turn away but she was following him around, not giving up.

- Oh ye? Try me and stop that crap. She slapped his hand away from his face and took a good look at it, checking for any damage or cuts not showing any kind of expression or disgust not noticing that she put her both hands on the sides of his face in the process pulling him downwards to her.

- Any closer Boss and it will be fucking awkward. Gage kept looking away but let himself be checked.

- You can make it awkward if you want so much. She joked and smirked taking the hands off him. - Nothing serious but you will have to endure going without your patch for this round.

- Well, yeah. He sighted and stuffed his broken patch in the pocket.

- Don’t worry, i don’t mind the view. She brushed his shoulder and looked around to check where exactly they landed in a rush of chase.

------

The building was having walls made of metallic bars on its sides and the only light that was there was the one hitting the place from cracks and holes in a roof making it all look dusty in the air in its beams. As they were walking slowly around suddenly they spotted a few pairs of eyes shining from the dark corner behind the cage bars. Gage raised his rifle towards them.

- Uhm...lady? The low voice came from behind their backs. As they turned around a tall massive man was standing, with a darker skin and overgrown black beard welding a big hammer in his hands and looking down at them, tilting his head to the sides like a curious dog.

- Err....who are you? Lucy asked as she noticed he wasn’t about to attack them and hit the Gage’s arm with an elbow to lower his gun.

- Me? Cito. This place my home and family. He pointed towards the corner where they saw the eyes before. A group of black-grey furry gorillas walked out and looked at them, scratching their heads and making sounds in a manner of a talk between them.

- You, not enemy, yes? Not hurt us? Lucy nodded at him in confusion of the language he was using and the whole meeting. Gage wasn’t confused any less. - I think he’s been here a while, maybe he knows something about these gators. He proposed.

- Gat-ors? Big green beasts, Cito knows, Cito fights, every day. Lady help? The man walked away and picked up something that looked like a holotape, chewed on edges but still in a working condition. - Long ago, beasts attacked and man died. Left this, Cito not know. Cito cannot eat. Cito try. He handed the holotape to Lucy. She took it with a tip of her fingers.

- Yes, this is not food. Thank you, Cito. As she played the holotape the voice of a dying old man explained the problems that happened in a cloning facility that is apparently hidden beneath the park, releasing the uncontrollable amounts of mutated gatorclaws that made their way to the surface.

- Shit, that doesn’t sound good. I don’t think we can even take them all down, Boss. Hell knows how many of them is here. Gage voice sounded disappointed on a thought they might not be able to take that park.

- We could sneak all the way there to just turn off the device. Lucy was pondering on a plan to keep them forward instead of giving up.

- And then? If we actually manage to get that far.

- We tell Mason to bring his pack and help us clean what will remain. She proposed.

- And why do you think he will agree to that? Gage raised his eyebrow at the idea.

- If you tell him how he could actually stretch his muscles proudly to be a part of taking Nuka World it would probably make others look a bit weaker in that manner, maybe even jealous a bit. Doesn’t he like to show off after all? Her idea did have some sense in it and just two of them going against park stuffed with gators would cost them hell of a bullets and sweat at the current moment.

- Alright, Boss, i will try talk to him but even sneaking seems tricky in here. You cant hear and see much shit out there in these goddamn maze of bushes. Gage brushed his chin thinking on some approach.

-Cito help! The man cheered sensing the duo wants to put the beasts problem to an end.

- Huh...how you wanna help? With a distraction, maybe? Lucy looked up at him.

- Yes. Di-stra-ction. Cito lure and run. Lady go to fa-ci-lity. Stop beasts. He looked more than eager to put that tactic to use.

- Let’s give it a try since he volunteers. What do you think, Gage? Lucy turned her amber eyes to him, hoping for the positive answer.

- Shiet, fine. Let’s try but be fucking careful. They nodded at each other and let the Cito out first to lure the gators away from their path.

------

The plan seemed to work as the way to the main building was clear. They moved swiftly, ducking low towards it and closed the door silently behind them.

- Fuck. Gage swore lowly noticing one beast lurking at the lower lever between desks.

- It didn’t see us, let me try handle it. We don’t want to make much noise. Lucy decided to put her suit to good use, crouching low and stepping to the edge waiting for a right moment to take a leap downwards. Gage was right behind, ready to assist if needed. She jumped down holding the knife in her both hands, shoving it forcefully in the gator head and dodging its claws waving around in anger before it dropped to the floor.

- If every one of them would be that easy we wouldn’t need any more support. She jumped gracefully to the floor, suit keeping her reflexes on point.

- I wish they would be on our side, imagine having these instead of Mason dogs. He looked over the dead gator body almost impressed.

- Lizard lover ain’t ya? She chuckled and looked around, spotting a panel on a door that looked surprisingly undamaged and sturdier than others.

- Well, shit. We need password. Gage joined her as he finished gazing at the beast.

- Maybe...not. She pulled the wire Lizzie was talking about before and brushed the thick layer of dusk from a small crack at the panel, shoving it inside and checking her pipboy screen. - Please, fucking work. She tapped some buttons and smiled as the sparks started flowing from under the tip of it and the familiar click was heard. She placed the hand on the door handle and pushed it slowly to make sure nothing awaits them on the other side.

- Good shit. Gage commented positively.

- Indeed. Have more faith in that operator of yours. Lucy peeked inside and looked down the stairs. - I think we are on a right track. It goes only down from there.

As they finally reached the last step of stairs the lab seemed to be streching under the whole park. It had many rooms and cages scattered around, which they assumed were for animals there were experimenting on back then. The place looked abandonded and their residents probably died or got eaten long time ago. They scoured carefully going deeper and deeper into the facility, eyeballing for something that would resamble a control panel that would stop the process of cloning the mighty scaley beasts. The water was flowing out and filling slowly the last room they approached. The creatures trapped here in an attempt of escape ripped the canalization pipe and got their way out through there, slowly flooding the place in a process but the computer that was in their sight seemed to be still functional and above the water level. As they walked deeper Lucy noticed the water is almost at their waist level, making eventual running more difficult.

- Wait Gage, i will jump on some furniture and rubble to that console and turn it off, the water is too deep in here to just walk like that. Keep an eye around. Gage nodded as Lucy climbed on the nearby desk and jumped onward on whatever was above the water towards the terminal. Gage eyeballed the surface for any suspicious movements.

Lucy looked over the terminal structure and used the same wire to get herself into the data and scour it for cloning process but right when she finished the humidity and remaining water in the socket caused a small outburst and woke up something that was lying beneath the water all that time. Another gator but this time its scales lacking the green shade of the basic ones and a smarter look in its eyes was only worrying her more as it stretched itself to stand straight, water sliding downwards from its shiny grey skin.

- Get out of there Boss! Gage didn’t hesitate to finally unload his rifle’s magazine to cover her as she tried to make her way back to him aiming at the eyes of the creature. She was again lunging and jumping at furniture and structures that remained above water, her suit allowing her to reach further and faster. The gator spotted it and grabbed a solid wide metallic heavy locker nearby, throwing it at the entrance where Gage was hiding behind, cutting her way out to him.

-Shit, get out of here Gage, now! She shouted and looked around the room as the desk she was standing on was the only object remaining.

- Fuck! Gage tried to kick down the locker away but to no success.

- Just go, i will get out through that canalization pipe! Gage eventually listened and ran back up, hoping to find where the pipe exit leads.

-Shit. Lucy looked at the beast turning to her and then at the cracked pipe. She reminded herself about the burst from her wire and slowly checked for a pulse grenade that was luckily attached to her waist along with smoke one. As the gator launched at her she made the long jump towards the opening throwing behind her the smoke grenade, gaining some seconds to run through the water and inside the pipe as the beast lost the sight of her in the thick smoke that rose above the water as the grenade cracked in the air. She clenched herself with the claws to the sides of a pipe as it started leading upwards and hearing the gator cracking the structure, following her behind. Lucy finally reached the exit in a hurry which lead to one of swimming pools for the alligators in the reptile house. Gasping rapidly she ran out of the waters reach and threw a pulse grenade in the pipe opening as the beast crawled up. Gage burst inside the building and help her finish the business as the creature landed inside the pool stunned in pain of the electric shocks as the grenade released its impact. He unloaded his rifle at its head until it no longer moved, making the pool red from amount of blood.

- Damn, Boss, you okay? He caught his breath as he ran all the way to find her. She nodded at him, holding her hands on the knees as she was leaning downwards to catch a breather as well.

- Did you meet Cito on your way by any chance? She asked as she straightened herself up slowly.

- Yeah, i told him we dealt with that cloning shit. What are we gonna do with him when Mason comes here to clean the rest?

- Well, he helped us after all and willingly so just tell Mason not shoot him when we come later. Hell, he might even fit in his gang, don’t you think? He doesn’t seem to care what raiders are anyway.

- Alright Boss. Gage agreed and peeked slowly out of the door. - Let’s get the hell out of here and deliver the news.

- Don’t forget the flag on our way out.

------

As they arrived to Fizztop for a short break Gage almost forgot he doesn’t have his eyepatch on as he was brushing the barrel of his rifle, leaning on a chair, a cigarette sticking out of his mouth. He patted the pocket of his pants to find it empty.

- What the hell. He stood up and started looking around, wondering if he dropped it somewhere. He didn’t see Lucy since they came back as she closed herself at the patio but decided to ask her anyway.

- Hey, Boss, did you see my freaking patch somewhere?

As he entered the patio she was leaning at the bar with her back to him, concentrated deeply on something as she didn’t respond.

- Boss? He approached her and as was about to shake her shoulder she turned around with his patch, fixed, in her hands. He noticed the tools scattered around and then turned his eye to her.

- I fixed it for you. That little chain seemed already a bit rusty so i also exchanged it with the other one i found around. Not that i don’t like you without it but it seems important to you so...there you go. She smiled at him noticing his lack of words and surprise in his eye as she handed it to him.

-Uhm... you didn’t have to, i could have done it myself but...well, shit, thanks Boss. He wasn’t used to this kind of acts so the thank you word also came with a bit of struggle but she deserved it as the patch was back on its place, completing the raiders cyclops look.

- Don’t mention it. Lucy stood up and threw a black jacket around her shoulders.

- I guess i will be off to Parlor to that dinner unless....

- Unless? Gage asked as she stopped in the middle of her way towards the door.

- Unless you have some better plans to offer for the evening. She waited for his response, curling the strand of her blond hair in the finger.

He wasn’t very fond of William and his fanciness but it wasn’t his business what and who she was meeting in her free time but for some reason the words just slipped out of mouth uncontrollably.

- How about a couple of beers at the cafe? Me and you, Boss?

#fallout #fallout 4 #fo4 #nuka world #lucy's diary #porter gage #lucy feit #lizzie wyath #safari adventure #this page wasnt re-written but just squeezed between the old ones to connect them a bit better #screenshot will be ofc added #but i need to install fallout first as i just assembled new pc #also i apologize that words arent very rich but english isnt my native language #i still try to pay attention to some grammar and correction of the words #masterlist for the other pages is pinned right at my profile

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not-just-any-fangirl · 7 years

Text

Days Of Summer Ch 7

A/N; Hey guys! We’re back and with words! and plot! Ain’t it grand lol? Go and drop by @hannah-nobody‘s inbox and let her know how much you loved this chap!

Here’s the updated playlist!

Summer has arrived, and with it the start of the two month long music camp; Fairy Tail! Full of new songs, friends, and adventures, the campers learn things they never knew about themselves and one another. And just how easy it is to sneak booze and a full sized karaoke machine out into the middle of the woods.

Camp Rock!AU

Pairing: Nalu, Gajevy, Gruvia, others mentioned; Fairy Tail

Words: 7408

Rating: T

Parts: Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three, Chapter Four, Chapter Five, Chapter Six, Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven: Don’t Delete The Kisses

When I see you, the whole world reduces

To just that room

And then I remember and I’m shy that gossip’s eye will look too soon

Lucy was a bundle of nerves as she walked into the cafeteria that morning. She paid no attention to the fifty people long queue for pancakes as Cana and Juvia rushed off to join it. Instead she scanned the room for a shock of pink hair.

Natsu was sat in the back corner of the room, adjusting his beanie to cover his wonderful hair a moment after she’d noticed it. He didn’t look up from the notebook he was hunched over and intently scribbling in as Lucy noted the rest of the table was empty, and his breakfast tray lay untouched in front of him.

“Oh god,” She moaned, “He hasn’t eaten his pancakes.”

Behind her, Gray sighed. Loke stepped forward and offered her a tentative pat on the shoulder.

“There, there, sweetness. Maybe they just gave him the wrong toppings?”

Lucy nodded, but she didn’t believe it. The few times they’d eaten with Natsu he’d always had the biggest appetite out of all of them. She even remembered Gajeel complaining to her about how he always eats all the pigs-in-blankets at Christmas before he can even get to his cousin's house. If he had no interest in food he was clearly upset.

“I am the worst person.” She whispered to herself.

“Stop being so fucking dramatic,” Gray huffed, “You just need to explain the situation and apologise.”

“I need to explain the situation?” Lucy whirled on him, “How about we explain the situation? Y’know, since this is partially your fault?”

Gray was never one to show much emotion, but she could tell by the slumped set of his shoulders that he still felt a little guilty. But whatever guilt Gray felt was nothing compared to her own- poor Natsu must think she was pretending not to know him this whole time. He probably thought she was a completely horrible person by now.

Lucy shook her head to ward of the thoughts. It didn’t matter what he’d come to think of her. If he thought she was horrible she’d just have to change his mind, and that all started with telling him the truth.

She grabbed hold of Gray’s wrist and dragged him to the rear of the cafeteria where Natsu was sitting. Gray didn’t fight her. She knew it was more likely he was willing to apologise to Natsu more for Lucy’s sake than for any offence towards his cabin-mate, but at least he was trying.

When they reached his table, Natsu didn’t look up from his notebook. He was tapping out a beat with his pen on the table, his brows furrowed deep in thought at the scrawl covering the page of his notebook that was slightly too messy for Lucy to read upside down. For a second her stomach churned at the thought he was deliberately ignoring them, but she reassured herself he was just immersed in his work before finally gathering the courage to speak. She caught sight of a patch of his jaw yellowed and tender looking, Gray holding his hands up in surrender at Lucy’s sharp look. She turned back to Natsu, who was still oblivious to their approach, and took in a deep breath before speaking.

“Natsu.”

The boy in question looked up from his work in surprise. The second he realised who had spoken his cheeks turned pink.

“Heya Lucy.” His gaze turned to Gray, “Popsicle.”

Before Gray could come up with an epithet of his own Lucy cut in.

“Natsu, we need to talk. Can I sit down?”

Natsu groaned, the pink of his blush turning almost stop-sign red.

“Lucy, I am so sorry. I wasn’t thinking I-”

“What? Natsu, you have nothing to be sorry for. If anyone here should be apologising it’s me. And Gray.”

“Really?” Natsu’s eyebrows shot up, “I know Gray should really apologise for burdening us all with his existence, but what do you have to be sorry for?”

Lucy glanced to Gray, who was visibly trying to restrain himself from retorting to Natsu’s jab. It was probably best she do the talking.

She sat down across the table from Natsu, with Gray reluctantly sinking down beside her. Natsu closed his notebook and placed it on his lap out of the way.

“You went to ‘Rock On In Hargeon’ right at the beginning of the summer, right?”

“Right.” Natsu fidgeted awkwardly.

“Well, so did we. With Loke and Cana, obviously. And you know what Cana is like-”

“So you were drunk when you kissed me, I know. Ice Princess said you never would have otherwise. It’s probably the only time he’s ever been right in his whole life.”

Natsu avoided her eyes as he spoke. His words squeezed at her heart, and for a second it was painful to breathe. She hated it that Natsu thought so low of himself. She hated it even more that she had unwittingly contributed to that feeling.

“Don’t sell yourself short, loser,” Gray rolled his eyes, “If she thought you were good-looking with drunk goggles on, imagine how great you look when she’s sober. Assuming she has her contacts in of course and you’re not just a vague pink blur.”

“I’ve had my contacts in this whole time I’ll have you know and I think he’s better than good-looking.”

Lucy caught herself a second too late, her last reserves of anger at Gray making her too desperate to come up with a witty retort for his compliment-but-masked-as-an-insult-because-I-can’t-show-any-emotion-too-positive-or-I-will-be-in-violation-of-the-emo-handbook. Gray was emitting positive emotion however as his lips quirked upwards at Lucy’s misstep. He glanced towards Natsu to gage the other boys reaction and Lucy followed his gaze.

Natsu had gone stop-sign red again, but this time his eyes were wide with surprise, and the hint of a smile played on his lips.

“Anyway, what I’m trying to say is,” Lucy fumbled to recover, “That I wasn’t pretending not to know you this whole time. I just didn’t remember you, or the kissing, or most of the festival actually…”

“And that’s my fault.” Gray admitted, “Not the not remembering the festival part- that was Cana’s-but her not knowing you. I never told Lucy about the kiss. I didn’t want her to be embarrassed about throwing herself at strangers.”

At that, Lucy felt her own cheeks burning.

“And I am so sorry about that-”

“Don’t worry, you didn’t throw yourself at me.” Natsu interrupted, “You just fell on me.”

“Fell on you?”

“Yeah.” Natsu chuckled, but his smile soon turned shy, “And as for the kiss… don’t worry about it. It was… it was my first too and it was actually, uh, pretty great. Amazing actually.”

Her blush intensified. Beside her, Gray made a retching sound.

“Alright, I’m clearly done here.” Gray motioned vaguely with his hands to them as he stood, “I’m off to get pancakes. Feel free to join after you two have y’know… furthered the plot or whatever.”

Gray walked off, leaving the two of them in silence, both blushing too furiously to pluck up the courage to look at one another. Natsu leant his elbows on the table, his fingers fiddling with a guitar pick as he waited for Lucy to break the silence it seemed.

“So… you don’t hate me then? You don’t think I’m a terrible person.”

Natsu smiled softly.

“I never hated you. And I don’t think you have it in you to be terrible at anything, to be honest.

Lucy laughed lightly.

“I’m still sorry. I know I wouldn’t have felt so great if our roles were reversed. I’d probably overthink myself crazy.”

“I almost did.” He admitted, rubbing his neck sheepishly. “I should apologise too. I can’t imagine my performance at karaoke was that great if it triggered such a traumatic memory.”

Lucy swatted at him playfully.

“It wasn’t a traumatic memory. From what I remember it was… were you shirtless?”

Natsu groaned.

“Yeah. It was a hot day.”

“Yeah, really hot. But, uh, you know. Falling into some shirtless guy’s arms is the dream of most girls.”

“I highly doubt they picture my face in those dreams.”

“Some might.” She tried for a laugh, but it feel sort as her face overheated.

Natsu glanced away bashfully. She spotted a smile a smile on his face however, and when his eyes finally met hers again, they were bright with amusement. And something she desperately hoped was a growing confidence.

“And as for your performance,” She continued, “I’ve never been serenaded before. It was quite the experience. Good song choice by the way.”

Natsu dropped his head onto the table, his groans of shame absolutely pitiful. Lucy stifled a laugh.

“I can’t believe I did that.”

“I will admit, after already encountering the effects of Cana’s notorious flask, I’m surprised you had a go at it yourself.”

“She said it was a good cure for stage fright. I figured it couldn’t hurt but clearly, I was wrong.”

“Well, despite your method, your performance was amazing. You had most of the crown on their feet.”

“I don’t know why. Singing isn’t really my forte.”

Lucy reached out and took his hand, the pick that flitted between his fingers falling onto the table. He looked at her painted finger-tips as though it were an alien hand come to take him to another world. The touch sent sparks racing up her arm, but she held her grip firm.

“Doesn’t matter if it’s not your forte, you’re good at it Natsu. You should have more confidence in yourself.”

Natsu avoided her eyes, but his hand squeezed hers in return.

“Confidence doesn’t really come easy to someone like me.”

“What do you mean someone like you?” She asked lightly, “What sort of person do you think you are Natsu?”

She could see a hundred thoughts swirling inside him. His mouth twisted in a way that made her think he was desperate to tell her- to tell somebody - but he just couldn’t set them free.

He withdrew her hand from hers.

“I’m sure you’ll figure that out for yourself,” He smiled weakly, “If you still want to be friends that is.”

Lucy looked down at her hand, the one she’d reached out to Natsu. There was no trace of him there other than the lingering warmth. She looked back up at him to find him watching her nervously, as though he were afraid she would turn round and shout no! Never speak to me again!

She offered him the brightest smile she could muster. It seemed to perk him up a little, but she could see still the worry in his eyes.

“Of course. Friends.”

Levy rested her head on the table, even the sounds of the busy cafeteria unable to keep her eyes open. Her tummy was full of pancakes with fresh strawberries and whipped cream, her cabin mates weren’t sending silent death vibes or pacing around in the dark, and the wood tabletop was making a surprisingly comfy pillow on her forehead. Maybe she’d be able to recover a few precious hours of sleep before the first week assignments would be posted...

“Oi, is Shrimp here dead or somethin’?”

Levy scowled, both at the nickname and how her heart skipped a beat at hearing his voice. Stupid, dumb, musclehead and his stupid arms and stupid laugh and-

“Oi,” Gajeel said again, pushing a finger into her head a couple times. “Shrimp, I don’t think it’d be the best idea to fall asleep where my cousin could find ya with a sharpie.”

That stupid nickname.

Levy lifted her head, scowling as best she could while craning her neck to look at him.

“For the record, I’ll break Natsu’s pen and then smear it all over his dumb face if he so much as tries to draw cat whiskers on me,” Levy hissed, stabbing a stray strawberry for emphasis, keeping her gaze levelled with Gajeel’s dark and amused one. “And secondly, if you’d had to have spent the night dealing with Lucy and Cana then you’d be exhausted too.”

“I spent the night dealing with Gray and Natsu. You wanna bet your girls are worse than my chucklefuck bunkmates?” Gajeel snorted, dropping his tray heavily to the table and claiming the spot to her left. Levy glared half heartedly. She had been meaning to save the spots for Jet and Droy, but she figured they’d want to spend some time with their own bunkmates, Max and Warren. At least, she hoped so.

“Fair,” Levy sighed. She drew a smiley face on her plate in the syrup, using a strawberry to smear it and return it to the shapeless blood of strawberry flavoured liquid sugar. She looked over at Gajeel’s plate, a stack of five pancakes loaded with enough whipped cream to make her cavities ache. Sniffing, Levy leaned closer, narrowing her eyes at the plate of food as she finally picked out the fruit she thought might be on his. A piece of green fruit with black seeds and a white core slid out from under the pile of whipped cream. “Really? Kiwi?”

“It’s a good fruit,” Gajeel glared at her. He ripped open a packet of apple syrup with his teeth and poured it over his pancakes. Levy wasn’t sure if she was horrified at his taste or unimpressed with his dramatics. She was stopped from commenting on it by Cana slamming a bottle of -uncorrupted- orange juice on the table.

“Alright folks, now that those two both understand what happened in their special moment it’s time to start taking bets on when they’ll figure out why they can’t stop thinking about the other in the shower.” Cana announced, somehow loud but not drawing attention from more than a table or two away. “Dates start in a week, who thinks they’re gonna get their shit together like functional human beings?”

“Firstly,” Loke drawled, finding a spot on the other side of Levy, “you don’t need to be so crude. I don’t think Gajeel here is too eager to imagine what his baby cousin thinks about in the shower.”

“The walls are thin at home. Trust me, I don’t need to use no fuckin’ imagination.”

Levy cringed at Gajeel’s flat voice, his eyes hollow as he sneered at his food, shoving his fork into it hard enough that Levy thought he was trying to stab the memory itself.

“Tragic.” Loke said without a glance at Gajeel’s direction. “Secondly, I don’t think you’re one to talk about functional human beings.”

“I never said I was one,” Cana grinned at him, sitting on the table and taking a swig of her juice.

“And thirdly , put me down for the summer solstice night thing. It’s gonna take them at least a month to hook up.”

“Now hold on,” Levy asked, lifting her fork to point between Cana and Loke, “Are we talking dating or hooking up. Because those are very different things and I won’t be cheated of my winnings by some technicality.”

“Hmm, I’m gonna say they kiss once in like three weeks and then are super awkward and don’t date for another week or two,” Cana said, nodding wisely to herself. “But no, must be full dating for you to win.”

“What are we betting,” Gray sighed, his voice worn like someone who had to deal with Cana and Loke’s plans on a regular basis would be; warily accepting and without the energy to fight it.

“When those two idiots are gonna accept they looove one another,” Loke sang, scooting over and making room for Gray. Levy’s thigh brushed Gajeel’s under the table and she jerked back, face heating as she stared at her plate pointedly. Levy firmly believed in personal bubbles, and she had a feeling Gajeel would be the type of guy to appreciate it. She knew she could get carried away, Levy was still mortified that she had grabbed his arm so casually that first day, but thighs under a table... Levy bit her lip and forced herself to pay attention to the conversation surrounding her again.

“Obviously,” Gray grunted, halfheartedly rolling his eyes. “I mean what are we putting in the pot for the winner. Which will be me, because that pink haired dumbass isn’t gonna push himself on Lucy, and none of ya know her as well as I do. They don’t get together until the end of camp.”

“The buy in is five bucks and the one who eats it the worst has to sing a song to the winner,” Cana grinned at Gray, sharp and challenging. It was clear that she expected to win, and was expecting Gray to be the furthest from winning. Levy almost didn’t want to know what song Cana would pick out if she was right.

“I say sixth week. Give Strawberry a chance to realize how miserable he is without her during the break and Bunny Girl enough time to be worn down by his pathetic puppy dog eyes.” Gajeel said. The table was silent for a moment before Cana whooped at his involvement, pulling a pen and paper for somewhere and marking his time down beside a ‘Ga’. She filled in the rest of their bets, grin wide to herself and humming a familiar tune under her breath. She tapped along with the pen beside the names when she was done, Levy smiling when she remembered that Cana was said to be one of the best drummers at the camp.

“Put me down for third week. I think they’re cute together.” Levy smiled before looking over her shoulder at where Lucy and Natsu sat several tables down. They kept blushing and looking away from one another, reminding Levy of two kindergarteners rather than teenagers. She felt a pang of envy at their giddy and nervous energy, both unsure of the other but unwilling to walk away. She knew Jet and Droy had a crush on her -maybe loved her- but all she felt for them was sibling love.

“Alright, all we need is Juvia and then a few other-“ Cana cut off as she whipped her pen at Gray, hitting him squarely in the forehead.

“Oi!”

“LOOK AT THAT THEY’RE HOLDING HANDS.”

All heads whipped around, the table obvious in their gawking at the pair a distance away. And indeed, Lucy’s hand was in Natsu’s, her smile shy and her head dipped so she looked at Natsu from her lashes, Natsu beet red and his whole body slowly leaning into the middle of the table, almost as if gravity was pulling him closer to her.

Loke spoke up, eyes quick as they snapped between Cana and the love birds. “I’m saying two weeks. Look at that. They’re basically having sex on Natsu’s pancakes.”

Levy nodded, unable to help her grin at one of her bunkmates and a quickly developing best friend. Lucy looked happy, and Levy felt the seed of jealousy melt away at that fact.

“What is Juvia supposed to be part of?” A confused voice asked. Levy took her eyes off the pair to look at Juvia claiming a spot beside Cana’s calf, her two pancakes covered in a mountain of blue and blackberries.

“Look over there Juvia and tell us what you see.” Cana gestured towards the opposite end of the cafeteria.

Levy watched Juvia as she stood up a little to properly see where Natsu and Lucy was sitting. The girl’s smile lit up in an instant, her grin almost mischievous.

“It appears that Lucy will not be a love rival after all.”

Juvia sat back down and tucked into her pancakes, unaware of the confused glances of her friends.

“Look at that moron,” Gray scoffed, seemingly paying no mind to Juvia’s strange words, “His face is practically as pink as his hair.”

“Why does he always cover it up anyway?” Loke mused, “It’s such a rosy pink.”

“The kid’s got issues.” Was Gajeel’s curt reply.

Levy could have sworn she detected defensiveness in his tone. He acted like he didn’t care, but she knew Gajeel would be the first to throw a punch if anyone other than him bad-mouthed his cousin.

“Oh oh oh, he’s retracting the hand.” Cana motioned dramatically, shifting forward so far Levy was sure she’d fall off the table.

“A mistake.” Loke tutted, despite the fact he was more concerned with checking his pores in the front camera of his phone rather than the brewings of a love story across the cafeteria. Levy stifled a laugh as he prodded at the flawless skin under his eye, scowling into the camera.

“What does this all even mean.” Gray sighed.

Levy laughed at his inability to understand real human emotion before turning in her seat to watch the show. She couldn’t quite see Lucy’s face from this angle, but she was certain the girl was looking down at her hand. And Natsu- poor, sweet, love-struck Natsu- was looking at her the way they always wrote about in those cheesy romance books she refused to admit to reading.

“It means true love is a fickle thing Natsu and Lucy are destined to fight for. Juvia believes love is worth fighting for, do you not, Gray?” Juvia sighed, her chin sinking into her hands as her gaze pierced through Gray. Levy met Gajeel’s smirk as Gray literally began to thaw, face turning pink and his throat clearing awkwardly. He shrugged noncommittally, suddenly focused intently on his pancakes.

“Don’t scare him off, hun, don’t you know Gray can only handle one dose of happy emotions before noon?” Cana cooed, patting Juvia’s shoulder. The musical major’s shoulder slumped, lip wobbling in defeat as she poked at her pancakes with much less enthusiasm. She didn’t even swat at Cana when she stole a blackberry, though Levy thought that might be the girl’s calm and giving disposition rather than her sadness.

Levy looked back over her shoulder, gaping at what she saw.

She slapped at Gajeel’s arm, not stopping at his squawking as she tried to get her excitement out in the least attention grabbing way. “She’s eating his food. You guys! You guys Lucy’s eating Natsu’s food .”

“What?!”

“There’s no fuckin’ way that dipshit ain’t hoarding his pancakes like some kinda addict.”

“I want to change my bet!”

“Juvia would like to double down on three weeks before Love Rivals are officially no longer her rivals.”

“Ohhh, I’m so gonna win this,” Levy squealed. She kept her eyes glued on Lucy playfully stealing a piece of his pancakes again, Natsu’s grin wide as he pretended to try and stop her. He used his pen when she went in for a raspberry, the two mocking a sword fight and giggling with one another.

“This is more obscene than if they were having sex,” Gray scowled, corner of his lip twitching up despite his disgusted tone.

“It’s true love!” Cana crowed. “Look at that! Boys don’t share food unless they’re gonna get married! OH MY GOD GONNA THEY'RE GONNA GET HITCHED. I CALL MAID OF HONOUR!”

“Does Juvia get to be a bridesmaid?” Juvia asked, perking up at the mention of weddings. Levy smothered a laugh at Gajeel’s suffering sigh, both knowing who Juvia would claim for dance practice, no matter how impossible an actual wedding happening would be. He scowled at her. Levy stole one of his kiwis. She stuck her tongue out at his deepened glare, his mouth falling open in shock. Levy saw a glint of silver flash on his tongue, but quickly diverted that train of thought.

She looked over her shoulder at where Natsu and Lucy were when Loke whistled low, the sound a warning of trouble like when someone got called to the principles’ office in school.

Lucy and Natsu were both staring at the table, bright red and pissed off. Lucy stood quickly, smiling at Natsu shyly before running off -and sending a gesture with her hand directed towards the table that made Levy raise her eyebrows. Natsu grabbed his book and plate of food after a minute, slowly making his way towards their table.

Levy turned back to her pancakes trying her best to look innocent, as did everyone else. Except Cana, who most likely was overjoyed at being caught spying- though she did hide the book of bets by tucking it into her bra. Levy frowned, wondering how Cana got away with just wearing a loose netted top that ended before her ribs did, blue bra -or bikini- basically being showed off, considering the camp dress code was very clear on what was and wasn’t appropriate.

“Whatchu guys lookin’ at?” Natsu asked, smug tone despite his sneer and narrowed eyes.

“True love,” Juvia sighed. Cana and Loke barked out a laugh as Natsu turned a deep red. He pulled his beanie lower so his hair was covered more fully and scoffed, looking away.

“You must have been watching Loke and his reflection then.” He retorted a beat too late.

“I can’t believe I fretted over you,” Loke sniffed.

“He has a point,” Gray smirked, taking a bite of his pancakes and lifting a smug eyebrow at Loke’s pout.

“E tu, bae?” Loke gasped. He pouted at the table’s laughter, turning back to his phone with a grunt. Natsu and Gray shared a knowing smirk before realizing they weren’t actively hating one another and looking away pointedly. Levy felt relief wash over her as the group returned to it’s regular, but less-than-functional, dynamic. All that was left was-

“Yes Natsu, what was happening over there?”

Erza.

All of Natsu’s colour drained as he fell into his seat beside Juvia. He squeaked, refusing to look away from his pancakes. Levy couldn’t help her grin as she noted that the only bite taken had been from Lucy. “Nothin’.” Natsu said between his teeth. Erza slid into the place beside Natsu, placing her hand on his shoulder comfortingly.

“It didn’t look like ‘nothin’,” she said. Levy met her eyes, happy to see amusement flicker in Erza’s deep brown gaze before she turned back to a mortified looking Natsu. “It looked like you might have been flirting with a certain blonde haired girl. I can’t remember the last time you shared food with anyone but Happy.”

“We ain’t flirtin’. We’re just friends,” Natsu defended weakly. He stabbed his pancakes and lifted one whole, losing part of the fruit and whipped cream as it slid back onto his plate. He got a bite in before Erza slapped his hand. He met her narrowed eyes with his own glare before sighing and cutting off a quarter of the pancake with his fork and shoving it in his mouth. Erza nodded, pleased with his action, and Levy was awed at how easy their interaction felt. She knew first hand how... much , Erza could be, but watching the scene before her was like watching an overprotective and strict big sister lecture her suffering baby brother. The scene was only strengthened when Natsu spoke with his mouth half full and indifferent to Erza’s disgusted curled lip. “Lucy only likes me as a friend, so that’s all we’re gonna be.”

The table groaned at his obliviousness, Natsu swallowing and squawking in confusion, looking at Levy for answers. She looked at him flatly before putting a much more reasonably sized cut of food in her mouth. “I wish you wouldn’t sell yourself so short Natsu,” Erza sighed, squeezing her shoulder. “You have much to offer, and that Lucy seems like a sweet girl. Don’t resign yourself to a fate that hasn’t yet happened.” Natsu flushed, a hint of hopefulness lifting the corner of his mouth as he looked at Erza. “Though I will remind you that any inappropriate meetings between campers will have repercussions.”

“Erza!” Natsu objected, choking on his shout. Juvia squeaked loudly, Gray and Gajeel made their own noises of disgust while Cana nearly fell off the table she laughed so hard. Erza held up her hands in surrender, playful smile brightening her face but her gaze warning underneath her teasing.

“I’ll leave you be while I help Mira set up the lists. Be sure to be at the announcement board twelve thirty sharp.” With that Erza walked off, leaving the group to leer at Natsu, the boy himself flushing and groaning in embarrassment.

“I can’t believe Erza was the one to give you the talk,” Loke chortled. “I was looking forward to doing that. Maybe I’ll slip Lucy one of my condoms and watch her face go through the five stages of grief.”

Levy choked on her drink, feeling milk come out her nose. She whined in pain while the table began to laugh again, even Juvia unable to hide her giggles behind her hand. She glared at Gajeel through her watery vision, his head thrown back as he cackled at her. His lip ring caught on the light, eyes pinched shut and full lashes pressed to his cheeks. Levy felt her heart lurch into her throat. She ignored the feeling, stabbing four more pieces of kiwi from his plate and shoving them in her mouth, ignoring her burning airway the same way she was ignoring her emotions. The apple syrup tasted disgusting on the tart fruit but Levy swallowed, pleased when Gajeel sneered at her for stealing his fruit. It was his own fault for laughing at her.

Juvia pushed several pieces of fruit from her plate onto Gajeel’s, blueberries rolling in his whipped cream and syrup. Levy pouted, and Juvia smiled at her sweetly before discreetly winking at her. A blush burned her cheeks at Juvia’s knowing look and encouraging smile, her innocent facade replaced immaculately.

“Rain woman loves me,” Gajeel grunted, grin mocking as he looked at Levy.

“Are you saying Levy should love you too, Gajeel?” Natsu asked impishly, obviously pleased at no longer being the center focus. His eyes danced when Gajeel tripped over his words, flustered. He settled on glaring silently, an aura of death radiating from him.

“Juvia agrees with Natsu. Does Gajie wish Levy to share her fruit with him?”

“I think he wants her to share more than fruit , if ya know what I mean.”

“Cana could you not make everything sexual, once in your life?”

“But Gray, where’s the fun in that?” Cana cooed, subtly stealing a fingerful of whipped cream from Gray’s plate. Levy raised her face from out of her hands, glaring at the table. Gajeel was more coloured than Natsu’s hair, which had begun to peek out from under his beanie.

“Juvia wishes to place a bet. Put me down for Gajie and Levy for a month and two weeks.” Juvia said, looking at Cana intently. The brunette blinked twice before a large grin broke across her face. She took out the bet book and wrote down Juvia’s date.

“I knew you were my type of girl, Juvi!”

“Oi!” Gajeel shouted, betrayed.

“What’re you guys talkin’ ‘bout?” Natsu asked, looking around in confusion. Levy whined pitifully and buried her face back in her hands. She knew she should have saved those spots for Jet and Droy.

All around her was a sea of people, and she was on a boat far, far above them, with a special view of the stage. Her own little personal view! Lucy giggled at the idea- that the band was performing just for her. Where did the band go anyway? Maybe if she yelled loud enough they would come back on. Lucy took in a breath and screamed at the top of her lungs, her shout soon turning into laughter.

“Oi, be quiet up there will you? I’ve got enough noise in my ears without adding your squealing to it,” snapped the young man whose shoulders she sat on. He was so strong. Strong Gray. Silly Gray! How else was the band supposed to come out if they didn't hear her scream? Lucy didn’t trust her mouth though, the drink Cana had given her made her tongue feel fuzzy. Well, it was more than one drink now, maybe two, three at most. Either way, Gray was still silly. Lucy ought to tell him that.

She tapped the top of his head, prompting the raven haired boy to look up at her -at such a funny angle Lucy had to giggle- and glower slightly.

“What?” he barked out at her.

Lucy pouted down at him and stuck out her tongue.

“Gray,” she said in as serious as a voice as she could muster, “You’re silly.”

“And you’re cut off.” Gray said while rolling his eyes and turning his head back to the stage. Lucy stuck out her tongue at him again, hoping a part of him would feel her mocking him, and looked back at the stage too. Bored by the empty stage, Lucy looked around at all the other people that were on their friends shoulders. They were little boats too! She was part of an arsenal of boats meant to cheer on the musicians! Really, another band should be coming out soon, it was quite rude to keep her and all her other boat friends waiting. Maybe they were waiting for Lucy to make more noise! This time she took in an even deeper breath and raised her hands off of her thighs so she could wave them above her head. They felt heavier than usual, but Lucy didn’t really care as she continued shouting, imagining the band was still performing.

They were definitely waiting for Lucy to make more noise.

“Oi, what did I just say? If you keep squirming around up there I’ll drop you.” Gray shouted up at her, not even bothering to lift his head in her direction.

“Graayyy,” She whined, partially out of breath from her latest scream, which was quite impressive if Lucy would say so herself. “you’re my friend, and friends don’t drop friends.”

“Yeah well friends don’t give friends back problems either; you’re heavy and I’m putting you down.”

“Are not!”

“Are too.”

“Nope,” Lucy giggled and put her hands back up, looking at the stage again. Suddenly she felt a shift under her butt and then the stage was being replaced by the afternoon sky. She couldn’t see all her other boat friends now. Lucy realized she was also falling, but her other boat friends seemed more important. She really should be bracing for the ground now, she was sure to hit any second. Was she screaming? The sea was so loud she couldn’t really tell. Mean Gray.

All thoughts of boats and mean Grays left her head as Lucy collided with a soft object and finally hit the ground with a very undignified ‘oomph’.

Lucy let out a low groan as she stayed on top of her very comfy cushion. It was probably a person. Lucy had probably just crushed some poor innocent soul with her falling. Now her head was against this poor innocent soul’s chest - a man she realized from the shirtlessness - and she really ought to move. Lucy lifted her head to look down at her saviour, and realized that she just crushed a god. Sun kissed skin was pulled tightly over muscles across his chest and arms. A strong jaw and a straight nose, not to mention cheekbones that should be worshipped themselves. And beautiful dark, slanted eyes. Were those more of an olive or an onyx colour? Lucy couldn’t tell right now. But those indescribable eyes were staring up at her so widely that he looked like a puppy. A puppy God. Lucy had to giggle at the thought that she had just crushed a puppy God.

The strange Puppy God’s face turned red and he shot up to his feet quickly, pulling at a strange white scarf around his neck. It was much too warm to being wearing a scarf, although he wasn’t wearing a shirt so Lucy decided that it made sense. Lucy realized that he had a hand extended down to her and was shyly smiling at her. His smile was cute. Cute Puppy God. Lucy took his hand and let her haul him up. Looking up at him she was finally able to see his hair. Pink.

Her Cute Puppy God had pink hair.

Of course he would, he was adorable like that, her Cute Puppy God. Was it dyed? His eyebrows were pink too though, so maybe it was natural? If it was natural then that could only mean that... No, Lucy shook her head slightly, mentally berating herself. Cana was having far too much of an influence on Lucy’s poor innocent mind. Looking back at the boy’s face she realized that he was apologizing. This boy was apologizing to her after she had fallen on him and then thought about his.... Bad Lucy!

“No, no, no,” Lucy smiled at him and waved her hands in a shooing motion, “Don’t be sorry! It was Gray’s fault. He’s so meeeean.”

Lucy felt her smile fall off her face as she thought about Gray. He wasn’t Strong Gray, he was Mean Gray. Stupid Gray. All thoughts of Stupid Gray flooded from her mind again as she saw a smirk pull at his face, taking over his shy smile. Lucy definitely liked the smirk more, it added a mischievous light to his eyes. Was that a slight fang she saw peeking out from his grin? No way could that be real. Although it would fit her smirking Puppy God. She smiled again at the thought of her new pet name for this mystery boy. Puppy God. She should thank him, but how? Lucy bit at her lip as she thought about it, and took in more of his face. Oh, she knew!

Stepping closer, Lucy put a hand on his chest, and most certainly not because she had been dying to touch him since they had stood up. No sir, she was a good girl after all. Letting out a soft ‘thanks’ Lucy raised herself onto her tip toes so that she could reach his face and press a soft kiss into his right cheek. She pulled back slowly, allowing herself time to drink in the sight of his face. He had on such a, a bewildered expression that Lucy couldn’t contain how cute her Puppy God was.

“You know,” she said out loud as her eyes traced his wild hair. He really could use a brush, or her hands running through it right now, “You’re pretty cute.”

She didn’t wait for a response as she leaned in again and pressed her lips against his warm ones. She wrapped her arms around his neck, trying to pull her body closer to his as she felt him pull her close as well. She’d never done this before, but her books always mentioned something about tongues. Cana did too, but Lucy felt it was a bit too soon for her to put anything Cana had told her to practice.

Pushing her tongue against the seam of his mouth, Lucy was a bit surprised by how easily he opened up for her. Feeling brave, she started to explore his mouth with her own tongue when she felt him start to prod at her mouth with his own. His tongue was much more forceful than hers had been and she let him take control, feeling warm pressed up to him as he pulled her even closer against his shirtless body. She lifted a hand and played with the hair at the nape of his neck, and Lucy was certain that it was not the alcohol making her this warm, but this boy. This boy and his rough hands on the small of her back, his warm lips moving against her own, his hot tongue that kept delving into her own mouth. But just as she was reaching to twine her hand more solidly into his soft, pink hair, the warmth was gone and an arm wrapped around her waist was dragging her away.

Lucy picked up her speed as she walked from her cabin to the showers, hanging her head in embarrassment.

“I can’t believe I called him Puppy God,” she mumbled to herself.

She kept playing the memory in her head, unsure of the extent to which Lucy was remembering Natsu’s hotness without his shirt was accurate or if her drunk mind was embellishing it. She wondered where that cocky smirk from the festival had gone, only hints and glimpses of it flashing through in the few days she had known him. The karaoke night had been most like the other version of him, loud and wild and so overwhelming Lucy couldn’t help but lose herself in him- in his performance , she corrected herself quickly. He hadn’t looked drunk at the festival, though Lucy was unsure given her own compromised thoughts.

Lucy brushed her fingers over her lips, the memory bringing phantom sensations to her; the heat of his mouth against hers, the taste of citrus pop when his tongue had brushed against hers, the feeling of his arms around her and his hands pressed to the bare skin of her back.

“Stop thinking like that! You two agreed on being friends and that’s all!” Lucy hissed to herself, shouldering open the door to the shower building just between the loop of cabins and the outdoor activity area, the building two storied with a pool on the main level and the showers and washrooms above. Lucy sighed as she breathed in the smell of chlorine and looked through the glass barrier between the entrance hall and the pool itself.

It was fairly small, only ten meters across and barely twice that in length, but it made up for it by the diving boards, the highest of the four nearly two stories high. Musical notes and inspired designs littered the white and seafoam green tiled walls in mosaics, the splash of colour matches to the lining of the pool itself. Lucy marveled at how rich the camp must be to afford all of its equipment and facilities, the slide on the left corner beside the diving boards as tall as the top platform, a steady stream of water spilling from the yellow lip at the bottom, a Fairy Tail insignia stamped on the bright plastic midway up in white. Lucy loved the design, something whimsical while still in the shape of a bird like figure, beak curling towards its talons facing right, two streaks of a profile wing lined up with the swoop of its tail to the left.

Lucy carried on, taking the stairs that led to the showers above two at a time, her fluffy pink towel draped over her arm and her shower bag in the other. She hadn’t showered since arriving, and Lucy was looking forward to not feeling gross, and it had nothing to do with suddenly being worried about how limp her hair looked in front of a certain boy.

Lucy’s face fell into a scowl as she pushed the door open with her shoulder, trying to out dumb thoughts like that out of her head.

“Well we’ll see about that at the performance. You’re not the ones who don’t need me.” The door was yanked from under Lucy’s weight and she stumbled forward, colliding with something soft.

“Get off me!” The same voice as before snarled, a hand pressed to Lucy’s arm and shoving her away. She fell, yelping as her tailbone met with the concrete floor of the washroom. Lucy glared at the person who had shoved her, paling under the other girls deadly look. Long curls of brown hair tumbled down either side and framed her face, her glasses making her seem half a decade older than Lucy rather than the one or two years it really was. She was pretty, but her beauty was covered by her sneer and hard glint in her dark eyes. “Pathetic.”

Lucy was left gaping as the girl walked out, shock quickly bleeding into rage at how rude she had been.

“I’m sorry about that, are you okay?” Lucy looked over her shoulder in surprise, not realizing there had been a second girl. And that that girl was Mira Jane.

Playlist:

Don’t Delete The Kisses - Wolf Alice

I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You - Haley Rienhart

Bubbly - Colbie Calle

Into You - Ariana Grande

Steal My Sunshine - Len

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