#I’ll win this fair & square ( dash games. )

[ultlie]

what crystal are you?

black tourmaline. you have a strength to you that has been hard earned. you don't hesitate to cut out the parts of you you despise, you're unafraid to call out others. your bluntness can off-put people at times, but you're unwilling to compromise your personal code. once your loyalty has been earned it is not easily shaken. you're a protector and you purge away anything you believe could harm you or those you love. when was the last time you relaxed, though? when was the last time you let down your guard? there is just as much strength in vulnerability.

tagging: @ultdete @ultgambles @ofhope @belovedblossoms + anyone who sees this! >:)

[3vwritesthings]

THE LONG AWAITED PART 2 OF THE “BEANS” FANFIC.

Chapters: One || Two || Three (WIP) ||

Summary: Enemies to lovers with Itto. Y/N is beginning to get used to the giant oni.

A/N: kinda rushed, school started sooo🤷‍♀️

BEANS (Pt. 2):

You lay on your bed motionless staring up at the ceiling. This continues for another what seems to be 10 minutes before turning your head to look at the clock sitting on the nightstand beside you.

2:37am. Great. You needed to get up early in the morning to re-pick those lavender melons for Ayato since they’d been dropped so carelessly earlier on the island. It wasn’t your fault either. It was because Itto had flung you over his shoulder like a sack of beans, causing you to have let go.

Itto. Right. He’s the reason you didn’t get what needed to be done, done. All because of him. That stupid, irrational, uncontrolled himbo. Your mind floats off to the same oni. The one who you spent the evening with yesterday. The one who had asked you to go to his party, and the person who just so happens to be your rival.

“Hmph”, you frown. Who does he think he is?!

You shove all other thoughts but the negative ones back down in your brain, but they can’t help but resurface the more you think about the man.

You pick up the pillow to your right and scream into it before your vision blurs and darkness consumes you.

“Hey, amigo!”

You sit upright immediately, eyes shot open, heart beating out of your chest, quickly scanning the room for whatever or whoever would have said that. Right, left, down-

“Ah!”

“Oops, sorry to scare ya compadre!” Itto says above you. The alarm clock next to your bed reads 7:30. I wanted to apologize for making you drop those lavender melons the other day, so I picked some and thought I’d drop them over.

“Oh, right! If you’re wondering how I found you, I asked one of your friends, who just happens to be the Deputy Leader of the Arataki Gang!”

You rub your eyes, startled and scared with many questions, but ultimately decide that you’re too tired to do anything about it. It’s not like he’s here to hurt you, right?

“Deputy Leader?”

“You may know her as Kuki Shinobu.”

“Kuki?! She gave you my location?-“

You’ve known Shinobu for many years and had heard rumors on the street that she’d joined the Arataki Gang, but to hear it yourself was jolting. Someone like her calm, organized, and collected self joining a gang that was the complete opposite?! Impossible!

“Yeah, she said she knew you from a while back when I asked her.

“Anyway, here’s your lavender melons.” Itto hands you a basket. “I’ll uh…get out of your house now…sorry for startling you by the way!”

After he leaves, you shuffle out of bed to get ready and then attempt to deliver the melons off to Ayato again.

All in all, you’re actually very thankful for Itto’s services…once you had checked the melons for poison.

Ayato thanks you for the delivery, and after, you decide to go out and play with the little kids outside. Some would fly kites, some would play tag, others would play hopscotch, use a frayed old rope to jump with, or play foursquare with a temari.

You’re teaching a group of kids how to weave baskets when you suddenly hear crying behind some food stalls. Telling the kids to continue their craft, you get up to investigate.

Turning the corner, you see Itto shouting with joy as the kid across from him bawls his eyes out.

“AHA! This new onikabuto is now mine! But, uh- hey, kid, you win some you lose some. Maybe you’ll get it back someday…But maybe not, I mean, this onikabuto is pret-ty cool.”

“I-it’s ok Mr. Itto, you won fair and square…” The kid dashes off after finishing his sentence, tears still dripping down his face.

Out of impulse you grab the oni by his ear, tugging his head down.

“I knew I couldn’t trust you! Are you scamming kids or something?! Swindling them of their possessions through an unfair game you have the upper hand on?!”

“I know that’s what it seems like, but uh- hear me out! I won that onikabuto fair-and-square! Plus, that kid agreed to play! It’s not my fault! He was lookin’ for a new beetle, and I NEVER back down from a challenge. So, being the ultimately awesome dude that I am, I told the kid I’d give him mine if he won! But it’s only fair if the stakes are equal.”

You let go of his ear in frustration.

“Hand the onikabuto over,” you say.

“WHAT?! Nah. Nuh uh. You can only get onikabuto in a fair battle!” he retorts.

After long hours of arguing, you spend another few trying to find an identical onikabuto for the kid. You finally find one that seems efficient and battle it against another to test its ability.

The kid is overjoyed to see the beetle. He thanks you kindly, hugging you, jumping up and down in excitement.

The next morning you hear a familiar voice in your ear. Slowly opening your eyes, Itto sits on the edge of your bed staring at you.

“GAH!?”

“Aha- Sorry compadre, little Atsu told me this morning that you found him a new onikabuto! I wanted to thank you. I felt really bad after that battle. I almost let him keep the beetle.”

“It was his to begin with. You’re practically teaching kids to gamble!”

“Ohhhh….” Itto gives a long sigh. “Yeah…I should’ve realized thattt…”

You smack your forehead. “Yeah. maybe.”

“I’ll make it up though! Say, you know a lot of things, can you teach me some skills? Shinobu refuses to teach me for some odd reason.”

Maybe this is an opportunity you think. Maybe you can help Itto find a set of skills he can use to help people more often.

“Alright,” you say. “First lesson tomorrow at 7am. I need to prepare.”

IF YOU WANT A PART 3 SAY “ONIKABUTO” IN THE COMMENTS!

————————————————

Tags: @xiaosloser

(Comment if you want to be added to the list)

[silverdragon-imagines-blog]

Picori Festival of Fools

[This was a one-shot that was written for Round 2 of the March write-off tournament thing. This was written on March 23rd 2021. This one was pretty fluffy all-things considered, a bit out of my comfort zone, but I had a blast writing it. As per usual, this is unedited and most likely won’t be posted anywhere else. I hope you enjoy ^u^]

Prompt: Someone's Hyrule is having a festival! The boys are just in time!

The sounds of flutes and drums seemed to echo from far off in the woods, the music immediately causing a smile to erupt on Four’s face.

“We arrived just in time! C’mon!” Four called out to the heroes behind him, breaking into a sprint. The other heroes had no hope of catching up to him, the Smith’s pegasus boots taking him to the entrance of Hyrule Town in no time at all. 

Legend reached him first, looking somewhat annoyed at being forced to run with his magic boots.

“A little warning next time maybe?”

“Sorry, not sorry!” Four shrugged, a giddy smile on his face, “It’s the day of the Picori Festival! I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

The other heroes caught up eventually, all of them panting as they approached. Four was bouncing on his feet, Legend looking on amused as Warriors flipped him off. As soon as they all recovered from the mad dash, Four cleared his throat gaining everyone’s attention.

“Today is the day of the Picori Festival, there’s a bunch of fun stuff to do! There are food stalls and a sword-fighting competition and a bunch of games with prizes to win!”

“Time? Can we join in?” Wind pleaded, doing his best impression of a begging Wolfie. Time rolled his eyes at the display, nodding in agreement.

“We can join in for today, I don’t see why we shouldn’t be able to have a bit of fun.”

With a cheer, Four led the way into town. A couple of soldiers saw them immediately and quickly followed the group.

“Any of you gentlemen care to join the sword-fighting competition? The young Princess Zelda has chosen a gift for the winner, no one knows what it is.”

Four laughed, knowing that Zelda- or Dot- had to have chosen something amazing or ridiculous to give the winner. The soldiers turned to him and froze for a moment, then smiled.

“Young Master Hero-Smith! Are you joining the competition as well?”

“No thank you, but any of my companions are free to join in. I’d love to watch them get their asses handed to them.”

Many of the other heroes glared at him, Hyrule and Wind snickering quietly. Time shook his head in amusement. Four watched as Warriors, Legend, Sky, and Twilight signed up and were quickly led away from the front gates to the location of the competition. 

“Well, if you don’t need me, I’ll be checking out the food stalls,” Wild said, starting to walk away only for Time to grab the collar of his tunic.

“I don’t trust you to stay out of trouble, so Wind and I will accompany you.”

“Wait, why do I have to come?!” Wind shouted in outrage.

“No one trusts you to behave yourself, you sticky-fingered pirate,” Wild replied with a smug grin.

Time led them away, the two heroes already starting to poke fun at the other for their habits. Hyrule shook his head, laughing quietly.

“Hey, want to see something cool?” Four asked, holding out a hand to the traveler. He nodded, the Smith beginning to lead him to a building with a large wooden book on the front of it.

The library was empty of people, save for the librarian quietly reading at the front desk. The pair walked further inside, up to the second floor and next to an upturned and cracked pot. Four stopped in front of it, standing with his hands on his hips and a bright smile on his face.

“Do you want to go on a tiny adventure with me?”

Hyrule smiled, already beginning to cast his fairy spell as Four climbed atop the overturned pot. In mere seconds, Hyrule was flying and Four was walking out of a crack close to the floor. Hyrule descended, grasping Four’s arms and lifting the two of them into the air.

“Go to the far bookshelf, the top of it. Once you land, just follow me.”

The traveler nodded, flying to the indicated area and gently touching down. Four held his hand and led the way up a small ladder that led to the rafters above. There, a group of Minish greeted them, hugging the small Smithy. It seemed that they were celebrating the festival in their own little way, a block of wood piled high with treats from the bakery and other food stalls. Four talked to the Minish in their own chittering language while Hyrule enjoyed the food and company of an unseen race. Time seemed to fly by as they talked and danced with the small creatures until soon, Four led him back to the entrance of the hideaway.

“C’mon, I want to see who ends up winning the sword-fighting competition,” he said as Hyrule began the flight to the pot from earlier, “20 rupees says Legend won.”

“How about we see who even made it to the finals first,” Hyrule laughed, letting the Smith down on top of the pot.

With a few whispered words, the two were normal-sized and racing off towards the castle, the streets much less crowded now that the competition was underway. Four held onto Hyrule’s hand as he weaved around the crowd and to the castle entrance where Dot was watching the fight.

“Who made it to the finals,” Four whispered, startling her. He laughed as the princess smacked him on the arm with mock anger.

“This knightly looking fellow called Warriors and a pink-haired guy called Legend. The fight is just about to start.”

A horn blew soon after, the two heroes watching as the Captain and Veteran clashed in the middle of the square. They backed up, getting into an offensive stance and clashing once again in the middle. They were at a stalemate, and Hyrule could see the mischievous look in Legend’s eye. He barely suppressed a smirk as he watched his predecessor kick a leg out, knocking the Captain on his ass. With a smug smile, he held his Tempered Sword to Warriors’ neck. 

“I do believe I win.”

Warriors groaned as he admitted defeat. The soldier keeping track of the fight announcing Legend as the winner to the cheering crowd. The victor was taken to Dot, Hyrule waving as Four tried to hide laughter under his hand.

“Legend, right? Congratulations on your victory,” Dot spoke, smiling politely with her hands behind her back, but her eyes shone with amusement.

“Thank you, it was fun knocking my opponent down a few pegs.”

“To commemorate your victory, I offer you a token of good luck,” Dot smiled as she held out two halves of a bright yellow stone.

Legend looked confused as he took one of them, but then brought the half he held to connect with the princess’s half. The stone glowed as it disappeared, and Dot smiled.

“Now, how about a fight with the hero of our land?”

“Oh, that’s no fair, Dotty. I outnumber him four to one.”

It was quiet for a moment until the joke registered and the crowd mixed with laughs and groans. Legend looked outraged.

“Did you just make a fucking pun on your name?!”

Four didn’t reply, trying to dodge the Veteran’s furious swipes at his head. 

[beewolfwrites]

The Oar in the Sand - Chapter Four: Guessing Games

@cheshiya @tenseoyong @szallejhscorner @something-more-original-please @ofsunsetsandpoetries @nek0dzuken @allozaur @serenzippity

I’m sorry if there’s any typos or mistakes in this. Some chapters are just harder to write, and I end up repeating words over and over haha. If you spot any, do let me know! 

As always, I’ll leave the AO3 link here. And I hope you like it! 

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

The Latin alphabet.

The message could be written in any language from English to Spanish, Czech or even Latin itself.

It could mean anything.

Unlike An, Headband or Pigtails, I had the advantage, and I could still save us. Except I had no idea where to start, and the steady pressure of the game was already settling on my shoulders like a thick fog.  

The Queen was smiling at me from the other gallows. I understood now, the way her eyes had lingered on me back in the reception. She probably hadn’t accounted for a foreigner to be here – after all, her game was intrinsically designed for native Japanese speakers. And yet that smile, the way the corners of her eyes crinkled ever so slightly; she was still confident.

And she should be. She already knows I can’t read morse code.

‘I don’t mean to rush you,’ said Pigtails, ‘but do you think you’ll be able to decode some of it?’ Her previous hope had wilted away, and she was now watching me with apprehension.

The message glared at me from the screen, nonsensical and confusing. The dots and dashes were swarming, melting into one dotted mass that darkened the room. My arms and legs felt detached, swinging from this noose like a doll. So many people had died. The teenage girl, the business man, Pink Scrunchie, countless players accused of being witches... I wasn’t able to save any of them.

And now, four more lives would be added to the list.

‘Stop panicking.’

I jumped at the sharpness of An’s voice. The dots and dashes returned to their screen. My hands and legs were still intact, still moving.

‘Take a deep breath and focus,’ she instructed.

Swallowing, I breathed in and out shakily. My chest felt hollow, and at the same time, it was crawling with jitters. ‘How can you be so calm? 何を知っている分からない.’ I don’t know what I’m doing.

‘Yes, you do. Chishiya brought you to the Beach for a reason.’

Chishiya?

That was why she trusted me?

I couldn’t hold back a bitter laugh; no matter how much I loved him, what he did at the Beach, the way he had almost betrayed me, it was still painful to think about.

‘違う.’ You’re wrong. I didn’t exactly have the vocabulary to explain properly, but I was sure they’d get the gist. ‘苣屋は私を使ってトランプの盗むしていた. それが唯一の理由だった.’ Chishiya was using me to steal the cards. That was the only reason.

An’s lips parted in surprise. Headband and Pigtails were whispering in low voices. I couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, but from their tones it was clear they didn’t think too highly of Chishiya.

‘So that’s what really happened,’ An muttered, filling in the rest of the blanks herself. ‘It was hard to believe Arisu could be capable of doing something like that.’ She shook her head slowly, processing the new information. ‘I suppose it no longer matters, since the Beach is gone now. But Chishiya still made a good decision bringing you to us. I’ve heard about your games, and I believe you’re more capable than you think.’

I remembered my conversation with Chishiya the day before the second stage, when he told me I would be good at Diamonds. Back then, he was wrong. Just looking at the dots and dashes on the screen, I knew this game was beyond me. And yet, it would be nothing more than a simple brainteaser for someone like him.

I wonder, what would he do? How would he approach this game?

I tried to picture his response to a morse code message. I tried to imagine his methods of breaking it down logically. But even so, it was impossible to understand how his brain worked. He was totally different to me. He was rational and analytical, able to uncover a solution to even the most complex situations. All I could do was notice things. I wasn’t Chishiya, nor would I ever be. And right now, was he wandering the streets looking for me? Probably not. Knowing him, he might have even gone straight to the Jack of Diamonds venue.  

No. That can’t be true.

He cared. I knew that. I’d felt his fingers playing with my hair whenever I drifted in and out of sleep during the night. I’d witnessed that unreadable expression of his when he first saw the bruises Niragi left. I’d felt his hands tearing me away from the balcony edge when...

‘If we were in a game together, and say, someone pointed a gun at me, would you do that? As in, would you stand back and watch?’

‘I don’t know.’

My vision glassed over at the memory. Chishiya, you...

You liar.

I rubbed away the tears and tried to hold my chin up higher. ‘みんな、ごめんね. 今大丈夫.’ I’m sorry everyone. It’s okay now.

There were only fifty-two minutes left. The Queen, who had remained silent this whole time, was watching on with a vague, academic intrigue. Despite the pristine neatness of her olive suit and her black shoes, she was relaxed, raising her delicate eyebrows as I looked at her squarely.

‘You said before that you might be able to answer some of our questions, so I want to make a deal.’

‘What kind of deal?’ Her eyes glinted as if I’d just proposed a new game – as if I’d made this even more fun for her.

The drawing of the gallows was still waiting, empty, on the second screen. ‘If we figure out this message and clear the game, you have to answer my questions.’

She took the time to consider it. ‘I suppose that’s fair,’ she said. ‘One of us will die here, so it hardly matters anymore. It’s a deal.’

I’d said those same words to Chishiya, and I had no intention of breaking our promise here in this library. With a little more confidence now, I analysed the coded message closely. Normally in a game of Hangman, vowels were a first choice because of how often they were used. But we could only pick two.

What’s the most used vowel in the Latin alphabet?

Most people would assume it was A, but if I had to make a guess, I’d probably say E. Lots of languages with a Latin alphabet, like French, Spanish and Italian, used words like el, es, e, and est. But if E was the most common vowel, would that make it too obvious a choice?

I chanced a look at the Queen. She was smiling, not in a manipulative or secretive way, but as if she was quietly supporting us from the sidelines. It was peculiar. There was a chance she had purposely avoided E because of how often it was used, and I wouldn’t put it past her – she was still alive for a reason.

So what’s the second most common?

U was a no-go. Out of all the vowels it was definitely the least popular. A would be far too obvious as well. It would have to be a gamble between I and O. There were just forty-eight minutes left, and there was no time to waste hesitating between them.

Pick one, pick one.

‘If it’s okay with everyone,’ I said, ‘I’m going to choose O.’

Pigtails and Headbands looked unsure, most likely because I kept switching languages accidentally. On the other hand, An was open to the idea, replying only with, ‘I trust you.’

I held my breath, transfixed by the dots and dashes before us.

A number of Os appeared, scattered throughout the message; two in the first line, three in the second, four in the third, and one in the fourth. The drawing of the empty gallows remained unchanged.

We did it!

Beside me, Headband exhaled a sigh of relief and murmured a subdued thank you. Much to my surprise, however, the Queen didn’t seem disheartened by our small victory. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she looked pleased for us.

‘A good choice to start with, I must say.’ She clasped her hands together, resting them against her blazer. ‘Unfortunately, you’ve used up one of your vowels, but you seem like smart girls. I’m sure you’ll do well.’

How could she be so happy?

‘Isn’t this a bad thing for you?’ I asked. ‘Aren’t you worried?’

‘Should I be? There’s no good or bad,’ she countered, ‘just two perspectives.’

She’s a gamemaster, isn’t she? She set up these games, and she’ll die here if we win.

‘But we’re your enemy...’

She smiled warmly once more. ‘I think you’ll find we’re on the same side.’

On the same side? I didn’t understand. It didn’t make sense at all. ‘What do y—’

‘Don’t bother.’ An took off her sunglasses, openly assessing the Queen. ‘She’s intentionally wasting our time.’

She was right. The clock was now on forty-seven minutes, and the Queen seemed to be particularly skilled at raising more questions than she answered. I could interrogate her about all of this once we’d cleared the game – some things took priority. I focused my concentration on the code, trying to find some kind of hint or pattern there.

.-.   ..   -.   --. / .- / .-.   ..   -.   --. / O / .-.   o   ...   .   ...

.- / .--.   o   -.-.   -.-   .   - / ..-.   ..-   .-..   .-.. / o   ..-. / .--.   o   ...   ..   .   ...

.- / -   ..   ...   ....   o   o / .- / -   ..   ...   ....   o   o

.--   . / .-   .-..   .-.. / ..-.   .-   .-..   .-.. / -..   o   .--   -.

From what I could see, the O in the first line was capitalised. It was a standalone word – usually that would mean the word was either archaic, or it was in another language. But the Os in the third line were even more curious. The morse symbols repeated themselves twice, with the Os hinting at what could only be either onomatopoeia, or again, archaic terminology.

‘What do you think?’ Pigtails asked.

My eyes scanned the repetitions in the third line. There was something off about it. Words didn’t usually repeat themselves twice in a row like that... unless they were poetic. It would certainly explain why the O was alone in the top line, and why this message was carefully constructed with line breaks in the first place.

If it’s poetry, I might have heard it before.

Headband perked up suddenly. ‘What about going with the most common characters?’

By characters, she must’ve meant letters. I still didn’t know what language the message was in, so I could only use the letters I knew rather than those with accents. Although, playing Hangman as a child, there were always certain letters that wielded the best chance of success.

‘Let’s go with M,’ I said at last. There was usually at least one hiding somewhere. The four of us looked at the screen in anticipation. My fists clenched at my sides as I willed for an M to appear in the mix.

The screen changed.

The wrong screen. A circle appeared below the noose in the drawing. The hangman now had a head.

I could feel the others looking at me, aware that they had put their trusted me and I had let them down. ‘I’m sorry...’ I told them. ‘I’m sorry. ごめん.’

A hand lightly squeezed my shoulder. ‘It’s okay,’ Headband said. ‘We’ve still got more tries.’

Pigtails stepped as close as the noose would allow. ‘This was going to happen at some point. And at least now we know which characters aren’t there. It narrows down the possible words.’

There was silence from An. Perhaps she was disappointed in me, or even regretting her decision to let me captain this game. I wouldn’t blame her if that was the case. I felt the same way, only my regret was stained with guilt too. If I couldn’t save the three of them, at least I would die too. At least I would get what I deserved.

I glanced up at the timer. Forty-five minutes until someone gets sent to the gallows. I couldn’t let it be them.

I can’t lose control of myself like this.

‘You’ve used up one of your ten consonants,’ the Queen reminded us, steady and composed as always. ‘As a word of advice, relying on an age-old strategy doesn’t necessarily work.’

Every time the Queen opened her mouth, she only confused me more. And judging from An’s response, I wasn’t the only one to feel that way. ‘Why should we listen to your advice? Our failure is your win.’

‘Maybe you shouldn’t,’ the Queen replied. ‘But I’ll leave it up to you to decide.’

She didn’t sound like she was purposely trying to mislead us, but that in itself could be what made it so misleading. Most people tend to gravitate towards common letters when playing Hangman – is that what she meant by an ‘age-old-strategy’?

In that case...

I took a deep breath. Maybe this was worth the risk. ‘I think we should try doing the opposite,’ I stated. ‘I think we should choose an uncommon letter.’ Realising I’d slipped between languages yet again, I tried to remember the words in Japanese. ‘逆が試みよう.’ Let’s try the opposite. ‘レアの文字.’ An uncommon letter.

The Queen could have purposely avoided using popular ones to throw us off. But if I was wrong, was it worth losing a turn? The bodiless head dangled from its noose on the other screen.

Only six chances left.

‘It’s worth a shot,’ said An.

Pigtails peered at us from the end of the platform. ‘Are you sure? We don’t have that many chances of guessing.’

I understood her hesitation. It felt like we were gambling with our lives, and I was the one calling the shots. And it was even worse for her as she was placing her life in someone else’s hands. ‘I know, わかてる,’ I tried to reassure her. ‘If it doesn’t work, we can try a different approach.’

Headband was twiddling her fingers again, although there was a hardness in her posture. A resolve to win. ‘It won’t be a waste, because we’ll know then that it’s the wrong strategy. I trust you two.’

It felt good to know they had my back, even if my previous attempt at guessing hadn’t worked. Maybe things would take a turn for the better? I exhaled slowly, trying to assemble the most unlikely letters. Q was definitely a contender. Z was again, too obvious, but X was hardly ever used because there were fewer words you could make with it. It was probably the most unlikely letter to appear in a game of Hangman.

Forty-three minutes ticked down to forty-two.

‘X.’

We waited with bated breath. Headband played with her fingers. Pigtails chewed on her lip. An clutched her sunglasses in both hands, her eyes locked on the message before us.

Please... please.

‘Relying on an age-old strategy doesn’t necessarily work.’

A black line appeared beneath the hangman’s head, his new body dangling from the noose.  

[sims2bellaswan]

Fascinating [Childe | Tartaglia x Reader]

[TW: STALKING, DEPICTIONS OF VIOLENCE] [SFW]

AO3 VERSION

After a monumental loss, Tartaglia becomes fascinated with you. [AFAB reader]

Here, you stood before the 11th Harbinger, Tartaglia. In a cold, stone chamber, echoing the gentle sound of water and scented with the smells of soft moss and rotting wood. Your shoes clicked on the cobble almost hesitantly.

“Oh, no! Please, don’t hesitate for my sake, you were doing so well.” The smile he wore was laced into his voice. “You killed the fatui agents, yes?”

All you could manage was a nod, then a thick swallow. Your nerves ran wild. You weren’t prepared to fight him. Trying to relax, you moved from your ready position to a casual stand, the grip on your weapon loosening ever so slightly. You’ve learnt on more than one occasion that frayed nerves lead to a loss.

“Good, good! Then, you’ll be quite the challenge.” Beyond the cheery voice was something different. Something malicious that knew you’d fail.

He knew he’d prove victorious. If the mighty beasts and monsters of the underground couldn’t kill him, what made you think you could? You were weak, it was humorous to even attempt.

No, he wanted to prove to you, specifically, that he was the superior warrior. This game of cat and mouse the two of you had been playing grew boring at this point. He let you catch him here. He wanted to see if you had it in you. To see if you had the guts to give your all.

The battle ended unceremoniously. Routinely boring. You had given it your all, clearly that wasn’t enough. It certainly wasn’t enough for him.

Enough time had passed where you had eventually gotten over your complete defeat. Your bruises faded from a deep purple to yellow, the gashes in your muscles healed well, which you thanked medicinal herbs for. You had new scars, blooming red holes from the arrows that pierced the little armor you had then. But, you knew they would fade with time too. Thankfully, you remained emotionally unaffected from the battle. Sure, it sucked to lose but you knew that if you kept up your hard work, it wouldn’t happen again.

The same could not be said for Tartaglia or rather, Childe, as he was known outside of ‘business’ related circles. He won; normally, he’d move on and find bigger baddies to bully.

Normally, he wouldn’t feel a need to keep an eye on you.

In the first week following your battle, it began as scientific curiosity. He was far more interested in who you trained with than what you did in your free time. Until, he reasoned with himself, it became necessary to look out for you in your free time.

Weeks grew into months of simply studying. Learning your go-to moves by watching you train, knowing how you’d respond by eavesdropping on your conversations. Your group was nothing to bat an eye at, not nearly as interesting as you proved to be.

Waiting for the perfect moment to approach you was probably one of the most stressful moments of his life. You were always with someone, whether it be that levitating, little woman or one of your teammates. They all seemed fiercely protective of you and despite his need to lord himself over you again, he didn’t need their heat as well.

The sun filtered down through the clouds, offering little warmth in the cooling day. You weren’t training or off doing quests for the Knights. Nor, were you with your damned team or that little lady. Now was perfect. Leaving his hiding spot, where he had quietly noted every movement of yours, he dashed to catch up to you.

“You know, wolves run around all over this area.” His arm snaked over your shoulder. “You shouldn’t be out here alone.”

You froze for a moment before breaking away from his grip and readying your weapon. There was a silent moment of growing tension between the two of you.

He laughed, not even bothering to match your energy. “I only came to offer a rematch!” He held up his hands in defense. “I beat you so mercilessly, I felt bad afterwards.”

You relaxed, standing back up and sheathing your sword. “What are the terms?” You were nothing if not careful, he liked that about you.

“You’re on your way to Snezhnaya, yes?” He began walking, which you had to scramble to keep up with. “I’ll meet you there, we rematch then.” Turning on his heel, he walked backwards to get a good look at your reaction. “My turf, my rules.”

Your face fell, annoyed that you’d have to follow along with whatever dirty tricks Tartaglia had planned for you. “Fine.” You gripped the strap of your bag as you walked. “But, I reserve the right to decline if I don’t like your rules.”

“Don’t be a spoil sport.” He grinned, waving to you. “See you there!” And, off he went.

The journey to Snezhnaya was cold, which was the only word you could come up with to match how you felt. Snow fluttered down and stuck in piles around the path. Little wildflowers, shining with a blue sheen in the winter sun, frame the signposts and fences. Your fingers felt like they were going to fall off.

Meeting with Tartaglia wasn’t as cold, in fact, the inn was pleasantly warm. The two of you held a comfortable silence for a moment before beginning your discussion, quietly drinking your tea while he took a quick shot of some clear wine. He said it would warm you up but you declined.

The terms of your rematch were as follows, this is what you agreed to: The two of you would rematch exactly as you did the first time, weapons and all. No teammates, no tag-ins, which was good because your team didn’t accompany you to Snezhnaya. No dirty moves, but hand to hand was permitted. Unlike your first fight, it wasn’t life or death.

“What happens when one of us loses?” You stir honey into your tea.

He grinned, he had been waiting for you to ask after all. “If you win, I will beg you to be gracious enough to train me.”

“And if I lose?”

“If you lose, I want to train you.” Which essentially means, he will get to be by your side either way. And, he knows he won’t lose. While the fight itself is fair in every sense of the word, Tartaglia has done his homework. He’s studied you since you lost the first time, but you didn’t need to know that.

“Train me in your dirty fighting style? I think not.” You sneered slightly, not worried about how rude you came off.

“Dirty?” He acted mock-offended. “I won fair and square.” He found himself enthralled in your bitterness.

Beyond the agreement, you two continued in light banter. He found it delightful to get to actually speak with you. Watching you pour yourself glass after glass to give yourself a reason to ignore his prying questions. You powered through until you retired for the night, the real battle would be the next morning.

Here, you stood before the 11th Harbinger. Tartaglia’s cockiness became almost tangible as he strut about the arena, awaiting your ready.

The cold cobblestone would shiver beneath you if it could. You did shiver, painful tears pricking at your eyes when the wind picked up. Your knuckles whitened as your grip on your sword tightened. Knees bent, you readied.

You were able to dodge the first few arrows, much to Tartaglia’s discontent. “You’ve gotten better, girlie!” You lunge forward and he uses it as a chance to pull you in.

Inches from your nose, his breath warms your cheeks. He opens his mouth to say something but you pull away before he can put it together.

Running a hand through his hair, he readies another arrow. Pulling, letting go, hitting you in the arm. It lodged itself in your muscle, right in the gap between your armors. You pull in a tight breath, then continue with your stance.

Swallowing the pain is the hardest part. His arrows feel barbed when they rip through your skin and plant themselves in your flesh. You break the arrow at the base, if you pulled it out, you’d bleed out sooner.

Tartaglia sees this as another window of opportunity. “Nevermind, I think you’ve gotten worse.” He taunts you. He doesn’t actually think this. If he hadn’t done his homework so well, you would’ve taken him by surprise. That’s something that doesn’t happen often. “Though, I’ve seen you train.” He has the upper hand here.

“Do you hold yourself back when we fight?” You break his train of thought. “Because you’re doing an awful lot of chatting.” He didn’t chat nearly this much the first time you two met. You grimaced. Your arm hurt.

“Not anymore.” He smiled, dashing towards you. His elbow rips through the air and hits square on your shoulder, opposite the arrow wound. Breath escapes you. “You know, I wondered if you were holding back.” His foot keeps you to the ground, you think you might puke. “But, when I saw you train, you were sloppy.”

“Saw me train?” You gasped out, chest heaving. The cold air felt too thin to breath.

“Among other things.”

“I win.” His foot removed, he held out his hand. Waiting, patiently, for you to take it, hoist yourself up. You never took it. He wasn’t offended.

In fact, it invigorated him. He takes a knee over you. “I can’t quite figure out why I do the things I do.” He grabs your jaw. “You cast some spell on me. All I can think about is you.”

[ft-dads-au]

Castles in the Snow

A collaboration by @mdelpin​ and @oryu404​

Gratsu Winter Solstice 2020 Prompt: Fun in the Snow Pairing: Gray x Natsu

AO3 | FF.Net

January 6th, 2021

“Have you figured out the answer yet?” Gray asked, trying to remain patient even though it was clear to him that Natsu wasn’t paying the slightest bit of attention to the math problem he was supposed to be working on.

“What?” Natsu finally stopped staring out the window long enough to glance at Gray with a guilty expression that he couldn’t help but find incredibly cute.

Hana, Atlas, and Aki were glued to the window as well, oohing and aahing as the backyard accumulated more and more snow.

“What’s the matter with you guys? You’re all acting like you’ve never seen snow before.”

“Well, I mean, they sort of haven’t. It didn’t really snow that much in Edolas, a few inches at the most,” Natsu reminded him, “This is the first big snowfall they’ve ever seen, and they’ve been looking forward to it for weeks.”

The longing in Natsu’s eyes made it clear that the kids weren’t the only ones who had been looking forward to it. To his credit, he did try to shift his focus back to studying, staring at the problem he was supposed to solve for about five minutes before his eyes strayed back to the window again.

“Fine, fine, you win,” Gray sighed, realizing any further attempts would be pointless and that Aki would probably love to go out with Atlas and Hana in the snow. “Let’s go play.”

He snorted when his words were immediately met with cheers and dazzling smiles.

“Are you sure?” Natsu asked, “I know I can get this if I keep at it.”

“There’s no point. Your mind’s clearly out there,” Gray shrugged. “We can take a break for one day. It won’t mess up anything. Besides, how can you expect me to say no to those faces?” He nodded towards the kids, who were staring at them with big, pleading eyes, bouncing on their feet in anticipation. “I guess you’re right,” Natsu chuckled and closed his math book as he got up. He stretched his arms above his head, causing his shirt to ride up and expose part of his abdomen, and now it was Gray’s turn to be distracted.

Hana dashed to the coat closet to grab her winter gear and put it on, all the while telling them all the things she wanted to do once they got outside.

“Do you have stuff for Aki?” Natsu asked, his lips twitching at Hana’s running commentary. “I think Erza got two sets for Atlas. He’s welcome to borrow one.”

“Nah, I’ve got his stuff in the car. I’ll be right back.”

Gray put on his jacket and went outside, stopping briefly to collect some of the snow that had accumulated on the steps into his gloved hand and examining it, grinning when he saw how well it stuck together. Perfect snow for playing, fluffy and wet.

He felt his own excitement build. Winter had always been his favorite season, and some of his fondest memories were of playing in the snow with his parents and Rogue once he was a bit older. They’d had snowball fights, built snowmen, collapsed on the snow to make angels, and careened down ever higher hills on sleds for hours, returning home to hot cocoa and cookies as their mom complained that their lips were a worrying shade of blue.

Gray still treasured those memories and looked forward to doing some of those things with Aki now that he was old enough. He rushed back inside, beginning the long process of bundling his son up into his winter gear.

Thankfully Atlas was there to distract him, chattering excitedly as Natsu got him ready. It was only when both boys were dressed that Gray shifted his attention.

“Are you sure you don’t want to put anything else on?” Gray mocked, amused by the ridiculous amount of clothing Natsu was wearing. Snow pants tucked over his snow boots, a padded jacket, the checkered scarf he often wore, a balaclava under a woolen hat, and thick gloves.

“It’s cold,” Natsu shrugged, then looking him over, he urged, “Shouldn’t you get ready? The kids are getting impatient.”

“I am ready, Sunshine.”

Natsu gaped at him, or so Gray imagined since the only part of his face that he could really make out was his eyes.

“You can’t be serious. You’re going to freeze!”

“And you call me a princess? I hate to break it to you, but it’s not even that cold. I’ve got gloves and my jacket. I’m good.” He opened the door that led to the backyard and walked out with Aki and Atlas following close behind. Hana dashed past him in a purple blur.

Snow continued to fall, although the heaviest part of the storm seemed to be over, and Gray stuck his tongue out, trying to catch snowflakes as he’d done when he was little and smiling at the familiar tingle.

Gray thought he saw Natsu staring at him, but it was too brief for him to be sure. He shrugged it off, switching his attention to the boys and chuckling at their antics. Atlas had lain down on the snow and was rolling himself around, turning into a human snowball as more and more snow stuck to him while Natsu somehow managed to take pictures on his phone.

Aki was busy alternating between admiring the snow that stuck to his mittens with an awed expression and giggling at the crunching noise his boots made when he moved, causing Gray’s heart to swell. He quickly took a few pictures to show his parents and walked over to encourage him to play with the others.

He stopped short when he saw the misshapen blob that Hana and Natsu were cobbling together.

“What is that supposed to be?”

“What do you mean? It’s a snowball, obviously.” Natsu held up his creation with a lot more pride than it deserved.

“That thing has no business calling itself a snowball,” Gray scoffed, “It’s going to fall apart in the air long before it hits anything.”

“Will not.”

“Oh yeah? Go ahead, throw it at me.”

Natsu hurled the snowball, but Gray didn’t even bother moving, and just as he expected, it never hit.

"Told you," he said smugly and squatted down to grab some snow off the ground, skillfully shaping it into an almost perfect ball. "My turn," he flashed a wicked grin and threw the snowball, watching with childish glee as it soared through the air and hit Natsu square in the face.

“Hey, no fair, you’re not supposed to throw them in people’s faces,” Natsu protested, wiping the snow off his face with his glove.

“I figured you wouldn’t even feel it through all that padding,” he teased, making no effort to apologize. “That’s what a real snowball feels like.”

“How’d you get it to pack like that?”

“Here, let me show you, and then we can have ourselves a real fight,” Gray offered before Natsu could get it into his head to retaliate. “You too, Hana.”

He cupped some snow between his hands, rotating them slowly to help fuse the snow together. “You just gotta make sure to press down firmly when you rotate your hands. That packs the snow in real good and keeps it from falling apart midair.”

Hana and Natsu watched eagerly as he explained, imitating his actions. Their first efforts were pretty pitiful.

“Just keep at it. Those already look better,” he encouraged, “ You’ll know you’re doing it right when you can stack them up.”

He noticed Aki gazing at the trees with interest and picked him up, walking over towards the nearest one so his son could touch one of its branches, delighting at his laugh when the snow came down. Gray kissed Aki’s chubby cheek and whispered, “I love you, kiddo.”

“I did it!”

Hana’s exalted cry was cut short as the stack of snowballs she’d worked so hard on toppled over when Atlas attempted to grab one.

“Hey!” she started to protest, but whatever expression Atlas had on his face changed her mind, causing her to dissolve into giggles instead.

The sound of Hana’s laughter drew Aki’s attention, and he wiggled in Gray’s arms, wanting to be put down to go investigate what his friends were up to.

Gray obliged, watching as Hana and Natsu created stacks of snowballs for Atlas to topple, and when Aki joined in, he began to make some as well, amused by how easily the two boys were entertained. After a bit, Natsu changed up the game, showing them how to stack the snowballs instead.

He had to admit that his friend was pretty good with kids, which was probably not a huge surprise, considering he seemed to be a big kid himself. It made Gray wonder what parenting might have been like if he’d been married to someone like that.

He analyzed Natsu’s backyard, trying to distract himself from any thoughts of his ex. He was soon struck with an idea.

“Hey Natsu, you got any snow shovels?”

“Yeah, hang on.”

Natsu waddled over to the small shed that sat on their driveway, returning with two adult shovels and two child-sized ones. “What do you have in mind?”

“How do you feel about putting a small sledding hill in for the kids?”

“I think it’s a great idea, just surprised you came up with it, “ Natsu’s eyes crinkled, and Gray could easily visualize the accompanying grin underneath the balaclava. “I bet I can shovel more snow than you, though.”

“In your dreams, Squinty Eyes.”

They decided on an area and began shoveling snow into a large pile and packing it down while Hana kept the boys entertained.

“Getting tired yet?” Natsu huffed.

“This is nothing. I could go all day,” he smirked, noticing Natsu’s discomfort, “You seem pretty done, though.”

“In your dreams, Droopy Eyes.” Natsu unzipped his jacket to reveal a fleece liner underneath, “I’m just getting started.”

��Droopy?! And here I’ve been told they’re one of my best features,” Gray retorted, as he climbed to the top of the makeshift hill, ensuring the snow was packed in well enough. “I think we can stop now. This is probably tall enough for them. You’ll have to impress me with your stamina another time.”

Natsu’s eyes widened in disbelief before he exploded into a fit of raucous laughter.

“Is it ready?” Hana asked, rushing over to them with Atlas and Aki chasing after her.

“Yep, go get your sled from the shed, and can you bring that little inflatable one?”

“Yeah,” Hana ran off, returning with a pink saucer sled and a folded up piece of vinyl, which she handed over to her father to inflate.

“I got it. Wouldn’t want you to have to take off anything,” Gray grabbed the sled out of Natsu’s hands, finding the plastic tube and blowing into it until it had filled up.

Hana climbed the steps he’d carved into the snow with the kid shovels and sat down on her sled, squealing loudly when he gave her a firm push. She slid down the hill, her sled continuing to travel for several feet, leaving a trail in the snow. She was up as soon as her sled stopped, running back to them with a massive smile on her face.

“That was awesome!”

Gray couldn’t help but grin in response, pleased that he’d been able to make her so happy with such a simple act. He wondered how Aki would respond, and knowing his timid nature, he asked Natsu to have Atlas go first.

The sled had a little seat belt built into it, which was nice because the last thing on Atlas’ mind was holding on. He cackled all the way down and then chatted excitedly to Natsu as they returned.

Aki pulled on his leg, eager to take his turn, and Gray helped him into the sled. He let him have a moment to get used to it before nodding to Natsu to give him a push. Although his response to the experience was more muted than the two Dragneel kids, it was no less joyful, and Gray hid his face, fighting back unexpected tears at watching Aki lead a life more in line with what he’d always wanted for him.

Rather than tease him for getting overly emotional, Natsu offered him a half hug and went back to helping the kids sled down the hill until he was ready to rejoin them. It was gestures like that that made him wish that Natsu would see him as someone he could love, rather than just a good friend.

“Dada!”

Aki’s excited cries called him back, and they stayed out until the kids’ teeth began chattering from the cold.

0-0 After they’d helped the kids get out of their layers and put all the winter gear away, Natsu moved to the kitchen. He filled a large glass measuring cup with water, placed it in the microwave, and then started searching through the cabinets. “Do you want some hot cocoa?” he asked Gray once he’d found what he was looking for: a box full of packets of instant hot cocoa powder. “Sorry, what?” Gray stared at him in a mixture of horror and pure disbelief. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that.” “Huh?” Natsu puzzled, completely lost as to what he meant. “Whatever you think that is-” Gray pointed an accusing finger at the box, “I'm not drinking it. Move over.” He did a quick check through the fridge and the cupboards to make sure Natsu had everything he needed to make real hot cocoa and got to work. Meanwhile, Natsu piled a mountain of cookies onto a plate to go along with it, laughing when Atlas and Aki came begging one off him before he’d even finished. Natsu’s phone buzzed in his pocket, and he quickly wiped the cookie crumbs off his hands before checking it. Gray watched his brows knit together as he focused on the message, but his expression soon turned into one of joy and relief. “Well, looks like I get tonight off. Jellal told me not to bother coming in. It’s been quiet all day because of the snow,” he reported happily as he put his phone away again. “You should stay for dinner. The roads are crap anyway.”

“You sure? We wouldn’t want to put you out.”

“Sure, we’ve got plenty of frozen pizzas,” Natsu opened the freezer, pointing to an alarming amount of pizza boxes.

“Is that all you eat?” Gray asked in horror.

“Hah, well,” Natsu threaded his fingers through his hair in an embarrassed gesture, “Erza’s the one who usually cooks. She gets those for us for when she’s not around. Oh! I should let her know she doesn’t have to hurry back.”

He pulled out his phone and began texting his sister as Gray mulled the invitation over. He hadn’t really been looking forward to going home yet. Lyon would still be at work, and he knew the apartment would feel empty after having spent the afternoon surrounded by Natsu’s warmth.

That decided him.

“Fine, I’ll stay, but we’re not having frozen pizza.” He rolled his sleeves up and headed to the sink to wash his hands, thinking about the limited number of things he knew how to make.

He opened their pantry and breathed a sigh of relief when he found two boxes of pasta and a few jars of sauce. “Make yourself useful, fill a big pot with water and put it on the stove,” he demanded, moving stuff around to see what ingredients he could use to add to the sauce.

“I dunno, Erza uh- doesn’t really like it when I use the stove,” Natsu murmured, avoiding Gray’s gaze.

“Why? What did you do, set the kitchen on fire?” Gray blurted, laughing at how absurd that was.

When his joke was received with silence instead of the angry denials he’d been expecting, he glanced up to find Natsu quietly pouring the hot cocoa into mugs and placing them on the table in the breakfast nook along with the cookies. He called the kids over and walked back into the kitchen, still avoiding direct eye contact.

“Oh my God, you did! Didn’t you?!”

“It was an accident!” Natsu protested, “I was making dinner when Atlas’ diaper overfilled, and I had to deal with it. By the time I was done with that, I had forgotten the stove was on.”

Gray wanted to give him a hard time about it, but he could absolutely see that happening. He was well aware of how unreliable Natsu’s attention span was at the best of times. It was the one thing they struggled with the most during their study sessions.

“Well, I’ll be the one cooking, so it shouldn’t be a problem,” Gray assured him, pointing him towards the sink once again.

“What about knives? Are you allowed near those, Pyro?” he taunted as he tossed him an onion to chop.

“It was an accident!” Natsu complained, and when that did nothing to stop the teasing, he pouted, “You’re not funny.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Gray smirked, quite pleased that he might have finally found a nickname to counter the dreaded Princess.

“Jerk,” Natsu muttered, grabbing a knife and attempting to chop the onion.

They worked in somewhat comfortable silence. As usual, Natsu couldn’t stay mad for long, and soon he was telling Gray funny stories about people he’d met at work, while Gray told him about some of the places he’d traveled to for shoots.

“I’ve always wanted to travel,” Natsu commented, pulling out plates from the cupboards and walking off to set the table.

“You’re not exactly dead yet, you know,” Gray called out, pouring the pasta into a colander and checking on the sauce one last time before turning off the stove.

“Yeah, but come on, when am I ever going to be able to afford it or have the time?”

Gray had no answer to that, so he changed the subject instead, “Food’s ready.”

“Hey, you wanna watch a movie after? There’s this one about dragons and vikings we’ve wanted to watch.”

“How to Train your Dragon?”

“You’ve seen it?”

“I went to the premiere,” Gray explained, but when he saw how disappointed Natsu looked by his admission, he hastily added, “But who really watches the movie at those things, it’s all photo ops and gossip. I’d love to watch it.”

It wasn’t entirely a lie, either. Siegrain had felt slighted by some industry bigwig and had spent most of the movie complaining about it. But honestly, even if he’d seen it a hundred times, he’d gladly watch it again if it meant he could experience the beaming smile Natsu flashed his way.

The sun had long ago set by the time they finished eating their dinner, and it wasn’t hard to see that all three kids were going to conk out as soon as they were still for any amount of time. Natsu didn’t seem to notice, though, and Gray didn’t have the heart to dampen his enthusiasm. Not when he was practically bouncing as he went around making popcorn for everyone. Gray volunteered to load the dishwasher, claiming, much to Natsu’s chagrin, that he didn’t want to be responsible for his being banned from yet another kitchen appliance.

Natsu lit the fireplace, placing the screen securely in front while Gray settled the boys on the sofa. After a frantic search for the remote, they were finally ready. They sat down next to each other as the opening credits played. Aki climbed onto Gray’s lap, and Atlas did the same with Natsu, while Hana snuggled up next to her father.

As Gray had predicted, all three kids were out ten minutes later, and then it was just the two of them again, talking and laughing along with the movie. Gray ached to stretch his arm and pull Natsu closer to him, even as Aki snored quietly against him.

He stopped paying attention to the movie, frustrated by how his infatuation with Natsu kept growing outside of his control. Today had only made it worse, enticing him with all the things he’d always wanted in a relationship but had given up on somewhere along the way.

The sound of loud snores startled him out of his thoughts, and he turned his head to discover Natsu had also fallen asleep, his neck tilted at an awkward angle.

Gray stretched his arm, wrapping it around Natsu’s shoulders and slowly pulling him into his chest so he could rest more comfortably. Natsu muttered something in his sleep, snuggling into him with a faint smile that he found adorable.

He sat quietly, content to let everyone sleep while he watched over them, and let himself imagine that maybe, someday, this pocket of happiness could belong to the two of them.

[azulsartdump]

A Rose for a Rose

A little sequel to a scenario that @r0setarts write a while back. You can find that post right here featuring Trey, Riddle, and Cater visiting the Valley of Thorns for a renaissance faire with our OC’s Azul, Marsella, and @tri3tri ’s OC Mirabelle! 

This time.

This time Marsella’s plan was going to work out.

After the disaster of the last summer festival she attended, Marsella had been plotting for the day she’d have the chance to put her matchmaking skills to work once again. No longer would she be foiled by accidentally eating faery fruit or drunkenly starting bar fights. She was a more informed woman now, and her scheme to couple up her friends was going to come to fruition this time.

Trey and Mirabelle had gone off on their own to enjoy the festival. Riddle and Azul were really starting to enjoy themselves as the faery shot down another prize from the booth’s game, and there wasn’t a fruit stall in sight. Everything was going so smoothly. That was until Sebek had come running toward them, fully suited up in armor, and loudly shouting that he needed Azul’s help.

“Lady Attwood!” the half-fae’s voice boomed across the walkway, clear as day despite the bustling noises of the festival’s crowds. After pushing through the sea of people, he saluted the group before voicing his request. “Some of the knights are having trouble with their armor. Do you think you could spare some time to help us?”

Much to Marsella’s dismay, the older woman eagerly agreed.

“Of course, Seb-chan!” Azul began leading Sebek back the way he came, calling over her shoulder as they left. “You guys can go ahead and enjoy the festival without me for a bit! I’ll come find you once I’m done!” 

Once they were out of view, Marsella clicked her tongue. Of course Sebek would sweep in out of nowhere and ruin her plans, the party pooper. 

“Hey, I heard that the jousting tournament is going to start soon. We should probably make our way over there if we want to see it.” Cater seemed to sense Marsella’s displeasure, and was quick to suggest an activity to take her mind off the unexpected bump in the road.

“Jousting tournament?” Marsella had read about them in books, but she’d never witnessed one in person. The loudmouthed half-fae may have ruined her scheme, but she was going to at least enjoy looking at the dashing knights of the Valley of Thorns Azul always told her about.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marsella’s tantrum successfully avoided, the group made their way to the main stage, a small section was fenced off in the center where a jousting ring had been set up. The trio found a section of the fencing that wasn’t already occupied as the trumpets signaling the start of the competition sounded. The crowd around them muttered excitedly as one of the festival workers loudly read the tournament’s rules.

“Oh, is that?” One of the festival attendees nearby pointed to a particular knight. Unlike the usual black and green armor that most knights wore, this one in particular donned their black armor with accents of red and a long blue plume atop their helmet. 

“Ehhhh, it’s been a while since that lady knight participated.”

“What? The lady knight is going to be jousting today?”

“Hurry! It’s been forever since we’ve seen the lady knight joust!”

All around them, people began to gather to see the knight in black and red. Marsella knew that the Valley of Thorns didn’t necessarily bar females from becoming knights, but it was indeed rather rare for one to prove themselves worthy of representing a noble family in an official competition. If the murmurs among the crowd were anything to base her assumptions off of as well, this lady seemed to be rather established amongst the regular festival attendees as well.

The first few rounds progressed smoothly. The sound of horses galloping, wooden lances breaking, and metal clanging loudly against the ground resonated through the square as cheers and whistles sounded from the audience.

“Knight of Bloodworth,” the announcer gestured to the red knight as she trotted up to the jousting barrier. Marsella couldn’t quite put her finger on where, but she had heard that name before. Bloodworth.

As the bell sounded, the horses charged toward each other, the crack of a shattered lance and the clanging of metal on the ground brought the round to a close. The red knight sat proudly upon her steed as her opponent quickly righted himself, another two knights making their way over to help him off the ground.

“16 points to Bloodworth for a shattered lance and an unhorsing!” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rest of the tournament proceeded similarly. At some point, they had spotted Sebek, waving to him as he removed his helmet after his rounds were completed. As the tournament finished and the judges began to tally the points, a lull in the excitement had given the group a chance to chat.

“Bloodworth...” Marsella repeated the name once again.

“The female knight, right?” Riddle asked. “Do you know her?”

“I’ve definitely heard the name before,” Marsella held the bridge of her nose as she contemplated, hoping if she concentrated enough, an epiphany would wash over her. “I just don’t remember where.”

The announcer made his way onto the main stage again, drawing the attention of the crowed back to him with the sound of the trumpet. 

“Thank you for your patience!” the man unrolled a small scroll and cleared his throat. “After tallying the results and factoring in penalties, I’d be a great honor to announce the results of today’s jousting tournament!”

The crowd waited with baited breath as a small parade of drummers built up anticipation. 

“The winner of this year’s jousting tournament is the Knight of Bloodworth!”

The crowd cheered as the knight in red made her way to the stage. 

“Allow me to congratulate you for bringing honor to the Bloodworth name once again!” The announcer took the knight’s hand to shake. “And to present you with the prize for this tournament, a rose to give to a fair maiden of your choosing!”

As the knight took the rose, she looked around the crowd, scanning as if she were searching for someone. Marsella couldn’t make out her face under the helmet, but the knight’s gaze seemed to land on her before starting to approach. Marsella started to panic a bit. It’d be rude to reject a gift in front of so many people, especially after such a display of skill and strength to win the aforementioned gift. She was sure that Malleus would be upset if he heard she accepted a rose from a knight, though, and that was the last thing Marsella wanted to happen.

The knight stopped in front of her and Marsella held her breath, mind still racing as she contemplated weather to accept or reject the flower. Before she could say anything, though, the knight instead held the rose out to the short red-headed boy beside her. 

“Eh?” The brunette looked between the pair, unable to decide if she was relieved or offended through her confusion.

“Uhhh.. I- Um. What- Wh..?” Riddle stumbled over his words before managing to collect himself and accepting the flower. “Thank you. May I have your name?”

The sound of familiar bright laughter echoed from within the helmet.

“Whaaaaat? I only left you for a little while and you forgot about me already?” the knight reached up to remove her helmet, revealing that the helmet’s blue plume was not actually a decoration, but was in fact a ponytail. A ponytail belonging to a very familiar female faery.

“Eh? But your last name is Attwood, isn’t it Zu-chan?” Cater’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “The guy said Bloodworth.” As Marsella stared at Azul in her armor, it finally clicked.

“Ah! I remember!” she shouted as she pointed toward the older woman. “Bloodworth is your mother’s name!”

“Y-Yeah. I thought you knew.” Azul blinked in surprise at the exclaimed statement. “Did you not realize I was participating until just now?”

“Ahahaha... Yeah,” Marsella embarrassingly twirled as strand of hair around her finger. “For a second, I thought some random knight was about to declare their love for me with a rose. You know, like in all the stories you used to tell me about these festivals.”

The faery let a loud whoop of laughter escape her, wiping a tear away with her sleeve. 

“Oh darling,” Azul began to calm herself as she spoke again. “I normally would have given it to you. But since Riddle was here, I thought it’d be more fitting. A rose for a Rosehearts, you know?”

Marsella proudly gazed upon the red-faced Riddle as he spoke to the older fae before him. Even if things didn’t go exactly as she planned, she had to admit she was quite satisfied with the result. She didn’t think she’d ever do this, but she’d have to thank Sebek for his help later.

[thegayfromrulid]

for the winter one shots, how about the hamefura gang in a snowball fight, if you want to make it more chaotic they could use their magic, katarina wins by the power of her muscles. That or Katarina inventing Christmas(western version) cause they don't celebrate it in this world

It was a lot of fun plotting this out! I had a bit of a struggle deciding which one to go with!! I might play with the other prompt because I was so indecisive, I loved both of these ideas a lot! I hope this is as fun to read as it was to write!

           Thrusting open the curtains, the darkness of the bedroom suddenly was filled with the brightest, most brilliant white. Katarina’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she gazed at the freshly fallen snow on the ground. It had been a while since the last good snow. She hurried to pull on her warmest clothes and dashed outside, eager to test the snow. She took several steps out into it before she dropped down and scooped up a handful of it in her hands. Grinning, she formed it into a ball. Sure enough, it was sticky enough.

           “Heh, heh, heh,” she chuckled. “It’s the perfect consistency!”

           She heard snow crunching behind her.

           “The perfect consistency for what?”

           Whirling around, and giving no thought to who was behind her, she tossed the ball of snow, hitting her brother squarely in the chest. Unprepared for such an attack, Keith lost his balance and toppled over into the snow.

           “That!” Katarina exclaimed gleefully. “The snow is sticky enough to make snowballs!”

           Keith groaned and sat up.

           “Mother’s not going to like it if you start something, big sister,” he said, sighing.

           His words didn’t reach her. She was relishing the presence of a good snow, already considering how to rope her friends into a large snowball fight. Even lords, ladies, and royals could enjoy some winter fun. There was no harm in that. She placed her hands on her hips and nodded. Before the snow melted, she’d have them all outside for a great snow battle.

           “What do you think of invitations?” she said.

           Keith shook his head, trailing along after her.

           “I don’t think you need to write out invitations for this,” he said. “We’ll all be together after breakfast.”

           Katarina hummed and nodded.

           “True,” she said. “I’ll tell them our after-breakfast plans then and there!”

           Sighing, he silently hoped for someone else to talk her out of this. The gathering around the breakfast table, however, didn’t seem capable of telling her no. Keith’s meager attempt at invoking the possible wrath of their mother was the strongest opposition seen to her declaration that they’d be out playing in the snow at their age. It was all going according to her plans. Though, truth be told, she’d left out certain details—one of which included the throwing of snow at one another.

           The activity had been posed as a friendly stroll through the snow. She’d openly expressed her interest to walk with her best friends, so who, aside from the fully-aware Keith, would suspect that they’d be ambushed as soon as Katarina scooped up a handful of snow? He could have told them, but he supposed that wouldn’t do him any good. They were already all in agreement; they’d join her on a morning after-breakfast stroll out in the snow. With Katarina’s personality, however, there was room to suspect that Keith wasn’t the only one aware of a snowball-filled plot brewing in her mind.

           Everyone donned their warmest garments. They were quite proper-looking—hardly the image of a group of teenagers minutes away from a scuffle in the snow. Finely embroidered winter robes and petticoats covered the lavish noble children, and Sophia lent a spectacularly plush coat to Maria, concerned that she might be a bit cold in her thinner-looking winter attire. It was a perfect picture of young gentlefolk headed out into the cold for a stroll around campus.

           “Did you have a special place in mind to view covered in snow, Lady Katarina?” Sophia asked, hurrying to match Katarina’s pace as they walked.

           Katarina hummed. She’d not thought this far into the ruse. Her main goal had been to get everyone outside; beyond that, she hadn’t thought out the minor details. Laughing, she held up a finger and did her best to come up with a reasonable answer.

           “I-I was thinking we could pick a place together!” she said, chuckling.

           Maria clasped her hands together and smiled warmly.

           “How about the main courtyard where I used to eat my lunches?” she suggested. “I think it would be lovely covered in snow!”

           Mary and Sophia nodded their heads enthusiastically, and the boys didn’t seem all that interested in proposing any other options. They made their way through the halls, headed directly for the courtyard. Katarina thought out her plan of attack carefully. The girls were huddled more closely to her than the boys were, which meant they were in a less difficult range as far as aim went, but they’d suspect her as soon as she dropped to the ground. Aiming for one of the boys in the back, however, would give her the element of surprise.

           Unless…

           She pulled the girls in closer around her and gave a quick glance back.

           “How about we get the upper hand when we get to the courtyard and snowball the boys when they aren’t expecting it?” she asked.

           Maria laughed.

           “Were you wanting a snowball fight all along, Lady Katarina?” she asked.

           Katarina tried to mutter her way into an excuse, but both Mary and Sophia started giggling as well.

           “Of course, she was,” Mary said. “Katarina’s always thrilled in a big snow. She would run outside and test the snow’s consistency, and then we’d all get into a big snowball fight. And then Lady Claes would run outside and insist that we all behave ourselves.”

           Sophia nodded, smiling.

           “Prince Alan used to suspect Prince Geordo of telling on us,” she said, “but I think he was often too humiliated to do so when Lady Katarina always managed to land a hit on him first.”

           The two giggled as they remembered past exploits. Maria couldn’t help but join in with their hushed laughter.

           “So, are we waiting for them to look away, or did you have something else in mind?” Mary asked.

           A grin worthy of her villainess status flashed across her face.

           “Here’s what I was thinking…”

           The plan-sharing was underway. The girls kept their chatter to themselves, just barely inaudible to the unsuspecting group of boys. Only Keith kept his eyes on them, keeping his gaze trained on Katarina as he strained his ears to get a hint as to what they were discussing. It was, naturally, an unsuccessful endeavor, as he could hear nothing, so he resigned himself to working on possible evasion maneuvers when the anticipated snowballs came flying in his direction.

           As planned, the girls stepped into the courtyard first, dashing to the center and looking around at the snow-covered benches and flowerbeds. They gathered around a spot on the ground and dropped down, pretending as if they were inspecting something they’d seen. Katarina nodded her head at each of them as they scooped up a handful of snow and started to form it in their hands. They waited on the ground, whispering to themselves, until finally, Alan and Nicol stepped over to see what they were looking at.

           “Is there something particularly interesting about this spot?” Alan asked.

           The girls leapt up as one and whirled around to toss their snowballs at the boys. Keith, the only one expecting such an attack, ducked behind Geordo and let Katarina’s snowball land in the sweet spot between his shoulder and chest. Alan and Nicol received the brunt of the attack, being so close to the girls. Alan burst out laughing and dropped down to prepare himself for defensive action. And with that, the battle commenced.

           Snowballs flew back and forth, tossed between noble boys and girls without a care as to how silly they might have looked. The girls took their positions behind the benches, while the boys dared to stand out in the open courtyard. At some point, a snowball from Alan’s hand wound up nailing Geordo in the back of the head, and the game turned from a team effort into a free for all. A few students walking past the courtyard leapt out of the way as incoming snowballs landed in the walkway.

           “How do we even determine a winner?” Maria finally shouted as she dodged an incoming snowball from Keith.

           Katarina stood up and threw one that met her brother’s forehead with apparent ease.

           “If you get hit, you’re out!” she said, laughing.

           Keith frowned.

           “Aw, big sister!” he said. “That’s not fair!”

           Ignoring him, Katarina started aiming for her next victim, Geordo. He slipped out of the way, and the snowball hit Mary on the shoulder. The next snowball Katarina threw stopped short in front of Nicol, who had resorted to using his wind magic to stop it from hitting him.

           “Hey, that’s cheating!” Mary exclaimed.

           Katarina thought she detected a hint of a smile on Nicol’s face.

           “Oh-ho,” she said. “Using magic is allowed now, I see!”

           Geordo frowned and shook his head.

           “Really, only wind magic would be helpful here…” he muttered.

           His commentary was quickly nullified when Alan made use of his water magic as a shield. With no rules in place aside from “don’t get hit,” the use of different types of magic didn’t matter; water, fire, and wind all made excellent shields against Katarina’s onslaught, protecting the remaining participants from her powerful throws on all sides. But try as they might, she had her ways of getting around their shields.

           All it took was clever aim when dealing with Geordo—he rarely used his fire magic, so she took the opportunities where he was using manpower alone to throw in his direction. He was out within a few minutes. Nicol and Sophia’s wind magic proved difficult, but she knew how to throw a good curveball, slipping past their defenses to catch first Nicol, then, after a lucky shot that caught Mary in the side, she took the opportunity to also take out Sophia. Maria had been mostly dodging, having no magic powers that were particularly useful in this sort of fight, and was out before she knew it.

           Katarina focused on Alan last. He was spectacularly difficult, his water magic proving to be the perfect shield in this cold. The water shields were solid enough to stop every snowball she hurled in his direction. It was a battle of wills. She would throw them as hard as she could, and Alan would block them whenever possible. Their competitive auras filled the courtyard, and the others gathered around to see how this match would end. They held their breath until finally, one lone snowball smashed through Alan’s defenses and hit him right in the center of his chest. Surprised, he fell over backwards into the snow.

           “I win!” Katarina cried.

           She pumped her fists in the air, celebrating her victory. The girls gathered around her and congratulated her on her win. She stepped out of the group and reached a hand out to help Alan up. They shared a knowing smile, one that two rivals would share after an intense competition. She helped Alan up to his feet and then gave him a firm handshake.

           “Nice game,” she said, grinning up at him.

           He nodded.

           “The same to you,” he said, returning it with a small smirk.

           Maria walked over between them, smiling cheerfully as she looked around at everyone.

           “Now, how about some cookies and hot chocolate to warm us all up?” she offered.

           Katarina clasped her hands together over her chest and could hardly contain her excitement.

           “Let’s go!” she said. “Maria’s sweets are waiting!”

           Shaking their heads lovingly, Katarina’s friends followed after her, grateful to be out of the cold for a nice treat. Not one of them would raise a complaint about her rather unladylike behavior, though word managed to make it back to Lady Claes through some presently unknown means. Her mother’s impending scolding blissfully far out of sight, Katarina practically skipped into the lounge to treat herself to Maria’s winter treats.

           The rest of the morning was spent quite warmly by the fireplace, as they laughed, talked, and shared Maria’s fresh gingerbread cookies with cups of steaming cocoa. It reminded Katarina of something she’d nearly forgotten from her past life. Perhaps, someday, she’d introduce her new friends to such things. For now, she was happy to enjoy a snowball fight and finish it up with a lovely batch of the best sweets she’d ever tasted.

[mxliv-oftheendless]

"I can't stop smiling." with StarVel? =3

So I’ve been watching a whole ton of Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated, so I’m gonna put this in the SDMI universe! For context, this is in the gap between Season 1 and Season 2. Enjoy!!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

If someone had told Paul that he would someday be approached by Velma Dinkley, a girl he had only interacted with when they were lab partners in chemistry class and a girl he maybe kinda sorta had a crush on, and they would start hanging out together more often, he would have laughed in their faces. 

And yet, it was happening. It had been two weeks after the mayor had been revealed to be disguised as a monster called the Freak of Crystal Cove when Velma approached him at lunch and quietly asked if she could sit with him. It had struck Paul as odd to see her all alone, since she almost always was with her little group of friends. But he simply nodded and gestured for her to sit down. 

And since then, they had been hanging out together almost constantly for the past month. It took Velma a while, but she started opening up more, and Paul would be lying if he said he wasn’t loving getting to know the girl he had admired from afar since chemistry class. She would simply walk up to him after lunch or between classes and ask if they could hang out after school or over the weekend, and Paul definitely noticed that she always smiled happily when he agreed. 

Today, though, when Velma approached his locker between classes, Paul immediately felt like something was wrong. Her head was lowered, and her eyes were on the floor, and she was hugging her books to her chest. There was a sullen frown on her face, quite different from the preoccupied scowl she usually had. “Hey,” she said softly. 

He paused in digging his algebra textbook out of his locker to look at her. “Hey, shortie,” he tried, offering her a smile. When Velma didn’t return the smile, he frowned. “Everything okay?” 

“Um... yeah,” Velma tucked her hair behind her ear. “Everything’s fine.” 

“Velma, you’re a terrible liar,” Paul said bluntly. 

“Well, excuse me for being an honest person,” Velma shot back, lifting her head to frown at him. Then her face softened. “I’m sorry...” She leaned against the lockers and looked at him questioningly. “Are you busy after school?” 

“No. Why?” 

“Good. Want to come over to my house? I can help you with your math homework again.” 

Paul always jumped at the chance to get help with math. “Yeah, sure,” 

He waited for the happy smile to grace her face. But Velma’s mouth slowly turned up in a half-hearted smile instead. “Great...” 

After a moment, Paul leaned against his locker. “Velma, seriously, are you okay?” 

It took Velma a second, but then she sighed. “No... I--” She suddenly stopped and looked to the side with a look of sadness. 

Paul turned his head, and saw that Daphne Blake was walking past them, hand-in-hand with that movie star from the horrible Dusk movies. He glanced at Velma, and saw she had turned back to staring at the ground. But this time she looked like she might start crying. 

A second passed, then Paul nodded. “Right.” He grabbed his jacket from his locker to put it on, then grabbed his wallet, keys, and backpack, and shut his locker door. “C’mon. Where’s your locker?” 

Velma looked up at him in confusion. “Huh?” 

“Let’s go to your locker and get your stuff.” He dramatically glanced both ways, then leaned in. “We’re gonna skip class.” 

Velma gaped at him, scandalized. “Are you serious? No!” 

“Come on,” Paul argued. “Skipping one day of school won’t kill you. It’s not even one full day we’re missing!” He grinned at her. “It’ll be fuuuuun,” 

After a moment of her blinking at him, Velma smiled hesitantly. “Okay. Let’s do it.” 

Paul’s grin widened. “Great! C’mon.” 

“If we get caught sneaking out, I’m totally throwing you under the bus,” Velma stated as they headed down the hallway to her locker. 

“Fair enough,” 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

They managed to sneak out of the school by way of a side door, then ran to Paul’s car. Paul put on his rock music as they drove out of the parking lot, then after a moment of thought decided to head for the video arcade/roller rink. 

“You decided to bring us here?” Velma asked dryly as he pulled into a parking space. 

Paul grinned at her. “Sure! I was gonna head for the Clam Cabin, but then I remembered you hate the Clam Cabin, so...” he swept out his hand. “Video arcade!” 

Velma gave a bark of a laugh and followed him in getting out of his car. “You sure no one’s going to spot us?” 

“I’m sure,” Paul insisted. “Not like Sheriff Stone’s gonna do anything. And no one’ll even notice we’re gone.” 

“Sure, just like they don’t notice your turquoise car,” 

Paul gasped in mock offense. “Excuse you. They notice my turquoise car because it’s beautiful.” 

Velma snorted. “Sure,” 

“Ha ha. So, do you want to get snacks, or play games first?” 

“I’m not really hungry. So I guess games?” 

Paul grinned happily. “Awesome. I’m totally gonna beat you at Cursed Manor.” 

“Excuse me, bucko, but we haven’t even walked in the door.” 

“You’re right. First one there chooses the first game!” Paul took off running to the entrance. 

“Hey!” Velma dashed after him. “That’s not fair, your legs are longer than mine!” 

“Not my fault you’re a shortstack!” Paul called over his shoulder with a laugh. 

Within moments, he had reached the entrance to the roller rink and laughed victoriously. “I win!” he crowed. 

Velma scoffed as she approached. “Oh, shut up,” she panted. “Not my fault you have such long legs.” 

“I tower over thee, puny human,” Paul snickered, pointedly looking down at her. 

The bespectacled girl rolled her eyes but was still smiling. “Whatever. So, Mr. Giant Man, what game are we going to play first?” 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“That was so not fair!” 

Paul whooped as his tickets came out of the game. “Hate the game, not the player, Dinkley!” 

“I can totally hate the player, Stanley,” Velma shot back with a grin. “Especially when the player cheated.” She emphasized the word with a shove to his shoulder. 

“Excuse me,” Paul put his hands on his hips, “but I am a Cursed Manor champion, and I will not be slandered.” 

“Someone has to be brave enough to slander you,” 

Paul scoffed as he bent down to grab the tickets. “You are, like, so rude,” 

Velma didn’t respond. When Paul looked up at her, he was immediately concerned by how her face had fallen into the same sad look she’d had at school. “Hey, are you okay?” he asked, quickly straightening up. “Is it something I said, or--” 

“N-No, it’s... it’s fine,” Velma said shakily, once again tucking her hair behind her ear. “Can we play something else?” 

“Uh... sure.” Paul wasn’t sure what to say or do. There was clearly something wrong, but he wasn’t sure if it was his place to pry and make her talk about it. He glanced around for another game to play, then lit up. “Hey,” he touched her shoulder and pointed at... “Fight Fighters! Let’s play that.” 

A half-smile came to Velma’s face. “Jinkies, I haven’t played Fight Fighters in ages,” 

“I bet I’ll beat you at that one, too,” Paul grinned cockily. 

“Oh, don’t get your hopes up, artsy boy. I am the Fight Fighters queen of... well, let’s play.” She made a beeline for the game, grabbing his hand to drag him along. “Come on!” 

Paul felt his heart begin to beat faster at Velma’s smaller hand holding his. She was so excited... and she looked so cute. He hoped she didn’t detect how his laugh was a tad nervous as he ran along behind her. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

They ended up staying at the arcade for a few hours, starting when Velma completely wiped the floor with Paul playing Fight Fighters and he challenged her to a rematch. By the time Paul thought to check the time, he saw that school had ended an hour and a half beforehand. So they cashed out their tickets, picked out their prizes, and left. 

“Do you want to go to my house, or yours?” Velma asked as they headed to Paul’s car. 

“Yours. Mom’s gonna lecture me for not coming home after school, and I’d rather get the lecture over the phone than in person.” 

Velma nodded in understanding. “I see. We definitely don’t have to tell our parents we snuck out of school.” 

Paul chuckled as they got in his car. “Definitely not,” 

“Technically, we were at the arcade when school ended. We can just say we went right to the arcade after school.” 

Paul grinned at her. “Did you put thought into that alibi?” 

Velma looked like she was trying not to smile. “No, I’m just stating a fact,” 

“Really, because I think you thought about that.” 

“Okay, and I think you don’t want your stuffed Totoro.” Velma swooped in to grab the plush Totoro toy out of his hands. 

Paul gasped and held it out of her reach. “How dare you! I won Totoro fair and square!” 

“Then at least give him to me so you can start the car,” Velma giggled. 

Paul squinted at her. “You promise to be careful with him?” 

“I promise,” 

He solemnly placed the plush Totoro in her hands. “Be gentle with him,” 

Velma scoffed, but gently placed him in her lap. “I will,” 

She was once again silent the whole ride back to her house, but when Paul glanced over at her, he saw she was looking out the window and lightly nodding along to his rock music. She seemed to be in a much better mood than when they left school. He still wondered what made her so upset back at the arcade, but thought maybe it wasn’t his place to ask. Besides, he was content to enjoy getting to hang out with her. 

She was coming further out of her shell to him. She went into passionate rants about how you just lost something when you read an ebook instead of an actual book; she rattled off facts like nobody’s business; she made terrible jokes, but still tried anyway; she could be biting and sarcastic, but it was so endearing when she was just messing around... Paul really liked her. 

You should tell her at some point, his mind whispered to him. But how would she react to that? Did she just see him as a friend? 

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he pulled up to Velma’s house. He pulled into her driveway and turned off the car, and was about to get out to grab his backpack from the backseat when Velma suddenly spoke. “Wait,” 

He sat back in his seat and looked at her. “What?” 

He thought he saw her hands tighten slightly around the Totoro plush before responding. “Thanks,” 

“Thanks for what?” 

“For talking me into cutting class. I really needed to get out of the building. I just... I hated seeing Daphne walking around with Baylor like... like nothing ever happened. Like Fred and Shaggy...” she trailed off and looked down at the seat. 

Paul leaned in a little closer. “Like they’re what?” 

“Well, Shaggy’s at military school, and Fred... Fred left town. I don’t know where he is. But that’s where they’ve been. And Daphne... Fred broke up with her right before he left, and ever since then I’ve been all by myself. And it feels so weird to be without my friends... we’ve been a group for what seems like forever. And now, to have two of my friends gone, and to have my other friend act like I don’t even exist...” once again, she moved her hair behind her ear. “It really hurts.” 

Paul wondered if he should take her hand. He had to fight the urge to do it. They were just friends, nothing more. “Jeez... I’m really sorry, Velma. That stinks.” 

“Yeah, it does,” Velma mumbled. “But I’m glad I’ve got you.” 

Paul’s heart suddenly jumped into a faster rate again. “You do?”

“Yeah, I do,” Velma looked up and gave him a small smile. “You’re a really great person. You’re fun, and you seem to enjoy hanging out with me. I like hanging out with you too. I really can’t stop smiling when I’m with you.” She shrugged wryly. “I don’t know how you put up with me. I can be pretty mean sometimes...” 

“Hey,” Paul chuckled softly, “I do enjoy hanging out with you. You’re fun too... even though you totally cheated at Fight Fighters.” 

Velma scoffed and rolled her eyes. “You’re just jealous I wiped the floor with you,” 

“Yeah, right. You totally had to have cheated somehow.” 

“You know, I could just keep Totoro,” Velma pointedly hugged him to her chest. “He’s so soft and cute.” 

“Hey, I won him!” Paul laughed, grabbing Totoro and pulling him away. “You keep your disappearing ink.” 

“Fine,” Velma giggled. “Let’s get inside so you can call your parents.” 

Maybe he could tell Velma he liked her later, Paul decided as they got out of his car to grab their backpacks. For now, he could be happy with simply being a friend. 

[hegleg]

Beelzebub x sick reader

(I've taken this x reader from my wattpad story, if you'd like to read more or support me visit my wattpad @kek_its_me)

Notes:

- This will contain switching point of views between the reader and Beel

- several time skips

- bit of a longer fic, word count (3795)

- enjoy~

The bell ending class at RAD finally rang, echoing sweetly in your ears. You smiled, throwing your bag around your shoulders and sitting up from your desk. Your desk was positioned right next to the window, making it easy for you to notice what had caught your eye. It was raining: thundering to be precise. You shuddered, 'did I even bring my umbrella today' you thought. Checking your bag twice and around your desk it was decided: you hadn't. 'Great' you uttered in your mind, silently shaming yourself for your carelessness. You breathed out a long sigh before deciding to face your enemy, the rain, head on. Boldly, you pushed open the heavy school door leading to the front of the school and dashed outside. Immediatly you felt it hit you. The cold sensation of tiny wet bullets overwhelmed you. You thought rapidly about your options. You could lift your bag over your head to cover yourself. Sure, it wasn't perfect, but it was better than nothing. With all your might, you began to lift your bag over your head. No dice. Instantly you dropped it back down. Curse RAD for giving you such heavy textbooks! You'd be sure to complain to Lucifer later and see if he'd mention it to Diavolo. For now though, the bag plan was a bust. Your remaining option: deal with it. Groaning, you trekked your feet forward through the growing puddles on the ground. 'Great' you thought, 'now my socks are wet.' Angerly, you marched onward through the pouring rain until you reached the House of Lamentation. Swearing under your breath you fished out your spare key from your bag, unlocked the door, and stepped inside. You were dripping wet, but you were finally "home." Drawing a sigh, you found your way to your room and closed the door behind you. Grabbing a nearby towel, you began to dry yourself, changing into a spare change of clothes shortly after. After you were properly dried, you fell first into your cushiony bed, exhausted from the day. As you were lying there, a thought crossed your mind. You scratched your head furviously, "ughhh why didn't I just ask one of the boys if I could share their umbrella. I'm sure Satan would of had one at the very least." However, Satan wasn't in your class. Mammon was, but considering Mammon wasn't good at keeping track of things, you realized asking him would be no good. Exhausted physically and mentally, you drew another sigh and wrapped yourself in a blanket. 'Forget dinner, what I need now is rest' you thought, lying your head on a soft, comforting pillow. You were pulled from your thoughts into a deep, feverish sleep.

.........

"Ughhh..." You groaned, clutching your head, which was now burning beneath your touch. Groggily, you turned your head and steadily tuned in the boys standing in front of you.

"-she's waking up. Hey, y/n are ya finally with us?" Mammon said.

"Huh...I think so- yeah I am, what are you guys doing here..?" you asked. "You didn't come to dinner so we wanted to check on you" Beel said, his gaze trained on you, steady and concerned. "Luckily, we just found you napping here" Levi added.

You groaned again, sitting up slowly.

"Guys.." You said. "Yeah?" The demons asked in unison.

"I feel like shit"

"Oh, uhm, did'cha want us to leave you alone then?" Mammon asked, dejected.

You shook your head. "Nonono- it's not like that. I think I'm just ill. Can anyone check if I have a fever?"

The boys looked at each other in confusion. "Right...I forgot you have no idea what human illnesses are like.." You groaned. "Okay new plan, can somebody get Soloman?" You asked. "Soloman? Why that guy?" Mammon grumbled. 'Uh, because he's human, ya dingus', you fought the urge to say. "Solomon and I are both humans, so he would know about my sickness and how to treat it better, plus he knows magic, which he might be able to cure me with" you said.

The brothers seemed to understand this much, and didn't pry further.

"I'll go find Solomon then-" Mammon said, dashing out of your room. You took this a sign Mammon was worried for you and felt a small expression of gratitude towards him.

"Is there anything we can do?" Beel asked. Weariness clung to you and you desperately wanted to lie back down. "Uhm..could you two actually leave me for awhile? I don't feel so good.." You groaned. Dejected, Levi and Beelzebub understood you needed your rest and left. Sighing, you flopped back down into the bed, letting your exhaustion overtake you and lead you into sleep.

"-Y/n...Y/n.." A voice called. You groggily opened one eye and saw a tall, silver haired man before you. "You wished to see me?" Solomon asked. "Yeah..ughh.." You groaned, "I think I might of come down with something, I feel awful.." You said weakly. "You don't look great either"

"Hey..!" You protested in nearly a whisper. A blush crept onto his face as he realized what he'd said. "My apologies! I'm sorry, I only meant you looked ill" he apologized profusely.

"Its okay.." You shook your head. "So do you think you may be able to cure this with magic?" You asked. Solomon shook his head. "I don't even know what 'this' is. Would you mind if I checked your forehead?" He asked.

You shook your head, "not at all."

Sweeping hair from your forehead, Solomon gently placed his hand onto your head. You groaned under his touch and his hand recoiled.

"You're burning up, you definetly have a fever. If I may ask, how did you even get sick?"

You thought back to the rainy day and frowned. "I walked home in the rain" you scowled. "Don't you carry an umbre-"

"Are you really gonna shame me now?" You asked. "Fair enough, y/n, but know, I can't cure the common cold with magic. That's not what magic is for anyways.." Solomon mumbled. "So what should I do..?" You asked. Solomon looked at you thoughtfully, "I'd put a cool rag on your forehead to get rid of the fever."

You nodded. "Any other symptoms?"

"No, thankfully. But that could change" you muttered. "If it does, come get me" Solomon remarked. "Alright, thank you Solomon, I mean it." He smiled at you, "don't mention it. Gotta look out for my fellow human." You smiled weakly at this. 'Human solidarity' you thought.

Finished, Solomon turned heel and opened your door to leave. As the door opened, Mammon, Beel, and Levi fell into the room. They must of been listening in on you two.

"Looks like you've got some visitors" Solomon chuckled with a hand to his face. The three demons were blushing madly at being caught.

"-I told you we'd get caught" Levi scowled. "Oi, oi, its not my fault, we all wanted to listen to them, remember?" Mammon protested. "Sorry, y/n..we were worried about you" Beel said softly. You smiled at the three, lucky to have such caring friends. "Perfect timing" Solomon remarked, "Y/n if you need anything I'm sure these three would love to help anyway they can." Feeling he overstayed his welcome, Solomom took his leave, waving to you before leaving your room.

"So..what should we do..?" Mammon asked. You mentally facepalmed. He should know, he was listening in after all. Summoning your courage you asked, "could one of you take care of me..?"

...........

"-Gotta look out for my fellow human" I found myself feeling dejected at this.

"-guys are you sure this is ok?"

"-Levi, you're totally invading my personal space"

"-maybe don't hog the door then, there's nearly enough room for us"

"-Oi oi that's hardly my fault!"

I let out a groan. At this rate, I won't hear anything else. Suddenly, the door which had all our listening ears on it, opened, sending us face first into the room's floor. I looked up to see Solomon's suprised expression and

y/n's discerned, slightly confused/slightly disappointed expression. My face felt hot with embarassment. "Looks like you've got some visitors" Solomon chuckled.

"-Mammon, I told you we'd get caught-" Levi scowled. The two of them bickered back and forth while I looked over at y/n regretfully. "Sorry, y/n, we were worried.." I apologized.

For reasons unknown, y/n just smiled weakly back at us. My heart panged at this. "Perfect timing" Solomon remarked, explaining how we'd be available to help take care of y/n before promptly leaving. I don't know why, but the idea of taking care of y/n made my heart race. I scratched the back of my head awkwardly. Mammon, thankfully, spoke up first. "So what should we do...?" He asked.

"Could one of you take care of me?" Y/n asked, a blush tinting her face.

"What should we do?" I asked the two of them. "A game", Levi suggested, "rock papers scissors, best 2/3, winner gets to take care of y/n"

"You're on!" Mammon cheered.

I didn't know why, but I found myself wanting to win, wanting to take care of y/n. Sure, I cared for them, but wouldn't taking care of them feel like a chore? So why is my heart racing...

"-Beel you're up. Play me. Mammon already lost" Levi said, freeing me from my thoughts. Without much hope to win, I threw down rock idly. And to my surprise, Levi had thrown scissors. "Again!" Levi said, jealous I'd stolen a win from him. Again, I threw paper idly, surely I couldn't win twice.

And much to my surprise, Levi had thrown rock. "No way..." Levi pouted, looking defeated after his loss. I felt bad for my brother but I was looking forward to taking care of y/n. "No fair!" Mammon protested. "You lost, fair and square, Mammon" Levi grinned. "I can't believe I won..."

...........

You looked onward at the demons quizzically, lifting a brow in amusement. "So, you guys make a decision yet?" You asked. Immediately, Beel stepped forward.

"I'll take care of you, y/n, leave it to me!" Beel grinned. A small blush tinted your cheeks and you forced yourself to look away. 'That damn smile..too pure...too bright..curses' you thought. To distract yourself you turned your attention to Levi and Mammon still in the room.

"Shoo- shoo- " you said motioning them away with your hand. With disappointed faces the two of them left, leaving you and Beel by yourselves. The room was dead silent. Beel looked onto you with worried eyes. Tension was building. You broke the silence first.

"Uhm..Beel would you mind wetting a rag and bringing it to me?"

As if snapped from a trance he blinked awake. "Yeah, of course. Hold on" he said taking off. You let out a long sigh. 'Damn', you thought 'what was with that tension? I hope we're not like this the whole time.'

The sound of Beel's footsteps broke you from your thoughts. Hesitantly, he leaned over your form in the bed, and whispered lowly in your ear, "what do you want me to do with this?"

You felt your face flush, and you twitched at the sound of his low voice on your ear, the sudden closeness between you became apparent.

"B-Beel y-you don't have to be that close, you know?" You replied shaky from embarrassment. "Sorry..." he murmured, leaning up and stepping away from the bed. "I thought I should talk closer, because of your condition it might be harder to hear me, right?" He said, eyes studying the ground. You considered this for a moment. Difficulty hearing wasn't usually a symptom of the common cold, but Beel didn't know any better, he was probably just trying to help.

"Ah, thanks Beel. I appreciate it, but my hearing should be fine." You said awkwardly. Silence filled the space between you again. 'Crap, now the tension's back. Good going y/n' you silently cursed yourself. You cleared your throat. "Beel, can you put the rag on my forehead?" You asked, blushing slightly. He nodded, "oh, right" he said, forgetting he even still held the damp rag. Leaning back over the bed, he brushed hair from your forehead aside and placed the cool rag onto your burning forehead. You immediately let out a sigh of relief. Beel, hearing this, was prompted to ask, "is everything alright, y/n?"

You nodded at him, "its ok Beel, that was a sigh of relief."

"Oh...thank goodness.." He said lowly.

With nothing else to do Beel stood awkwardly at the foot of your bed, studying his hands. Feeling sympatheic, you decided to give him another task: to fetch you soup. Definetly because you felt sympathetic, you were absolutely not hungry. "Grrrrrlllllllll..." Your stomach let out a loud growl. Beel looked suprised, probably because it didn't come from his own stomach. Embarassed, you blushed, and asked in a low voice, "could you get me some soup.." Beel nodded and his eyes lit up, this was the one thing he could do for you with expertise. Ecstatic, he left the room to make you some soup.

"Ughhhhhh..." You groaned, "I can't believe I did that. That was so embarassing.....I hate you stomach!"

You flailed your arms weakly in protest.

.............

Finally, I feel like I can relax, I'm finally in familiar territory. At least I can make half decent soup. Belphie always likes it, so I'm sure y/n will like it too!

After fixing the soup, I dropped a spoon in and scooped some out, taste-testing it.

"You get hungry, eh Beel?" Mammon called from behind me. I shake my head at him. "Eh? Its not for me its for y/n" I said. "What? But you were already gobbling it down?" I frowned, "no, I was taste-testing it, Mammon."

"No way! You're serious? I never thought I'd see you make food for someone else!" He exclaimed. For some reason I feel insulted. I'm sure he doesn't mean harm but his words echoed in my head, stinging my chest. "I care about people other than my self, Mammon" I said defensively. He looked at me taken aback. "Oi- Oi- Beel did'cha have to go that far? Besides..I was only kidding.." He mumbled, his eyes focused on the ground. I started to feel bad but remembered y/n was still waiting. 'I'm sorry Mammon, I'll make it up to you later, but for now I've got to get back to y/n' I thought, pushing past Mammon.

............

Sighing, you wondered what was taking Beel so long. Your stomach was waging a war on you skipping dinner last night. You made a mental note never to do that again. Just as you were wishing for Beel he appeared through the door, soup in hands. Although some Devildom ingredients were definetly fishy, you'd never been happier to see Devildom soup in your entire life. "Thank goodness" you breathed out, "any longer and I might of starved to death" you chuckled.

This raised Beel's concern. "Really y/n? This won't be enough then. I'll come back with more-"

"Beel- I'm only joking" you laughed. He was such a worrywart, sometimes. Which, admittedly, you found very cute. "Oh. Thank goodness. You scared me y/n" he said relieved. You smiled at him. "Beel, I have one more favor to ask of you" you said. "Yes? What is it? I'll do whatever you need-" you must admit, his willingness to help you made you blush a bit, but what you were about to ask him would make you blush far worse. "Beel- could you...f-feed me?" You asked. Normally, you'd find this too embarassing, and used your reserved strength to eat. However, something about the situation prompted you to ask. And you were weaker, so, perhaps it wouldn't be as embarassing. Beel stared at you blankly at first, needing a minute to process it. First came the blush that rose to his cheeks, then the silent contemplation, then agreement.

"Yeah" he nodded, "sure, anything to help you." You bit your lip in anticipation. Sure you'd proposed the idea, but you really hadn't prepared yourself for his agreement. Beel made his way to the bed with a tray that held the bowl of soup on it. Hesitantly, he sat next to were you were lying on the bed turned to you. You blushed at the distance closed between you two. He sat the tray in his lap, picking up the spoon and scooping some soup in it. Nervous, you tried to make idle conversation. "So..I heard from your brother you make this very soup for Belphie sometimes! Is that true?" You ask, a bead of sweat appearing on your face. "Yeah...he loves it. I hope you do too" he said with a light smile. That bright, careless smile. You loved it, and caught yourself staring at it. Clearing his throat, Beel brought the spoon towards you. 'Crap, its happening, its really happening' you thought frantically, a blushing mess. Beel reached the spoon towards your mouth and you gripped his wrist, stopping him. "Uhm..B-Beel..don't you find this embarassing?" You asked. "Embarassing? I supposed so..but..its something I have to do for y/n, so I don't care how embarassing it is.." Beel said blushing and showing an awkward smile. Your heart swooned at this. How could he be so selfless and cute at the same time?

"Alright," you said dropping his wrist, "y-you can continue then.." You said, feeling the temperature in your cheeks rise. Beel nodded, and brought the spoon to your face again. "Say 'aaaaah'" he said. You quit biting down on your lip, which out of embarrassment, you had bit down on quite a bit, bloodying it very slightly. Hesitantly, bit-by-bit you opened your mouth, and allowed him to feed you. You locked gazes for a few seconds, and almost felt your heart stop. This continued until you had finished the soup, and although you were relieved of the tension, you somewhat missed it. Beel picked up the tray, and took the empty bowl out to the kitchen to clean. You felt somewhat bad for making him responsible for you, but still found yourself somewhat enjoying it. As. Beel washed the dishes, with a full belly it was easy for comfortable sleep to overtake you.

..........

You drowsily awoke to your body shivering. It must be a reaction to fighting off the cold. Shaking, you found yourself pulling for more blanket, only, your blanket wasn't there. "Beel- where's my blanket?" You asked, raising an eyebrow. Beel was sat on the very end of your bed, facing you with a look of concern and guilt. "Solomon advised that you have a fever, and that a blanket will only raise your body temperature, so..I'm sorry but I took it! I didn't want your fever to increase..." Beel said, narrowing his purple eyes at you with concern. His eyebrows knitted together, "I understand if you're upset-"

"I'm not upset", you said, "I'm just cold." "Oh. I see, I'm sorry you're cold, is there something I can do?" He offered. "Gimme back my blank-"

"Not happening" he shut that down real quick. "I'm sorry, y/n but it's for your own good.." He said. You pouted, and rubbed your shivering shoulders. "Beeeel I'm really cold..please" you pleaded. You saw Beel's face contort with anguish. "I'm really sorry, y/n but I can't-"

"Can you lay with me then?" you couldn't believe what came out of your own mouth. Maybe you were delirious with confidence from the fever, maybe you were fed up with concealing your true feelings but you were damn cold and Beel was damn warm. His face lit up at the suggestion. He clearly hadn't expected you to say anything like that. He bit his lip, and the process began again. First he blushed, then the silent contemplation, then the steady agreement. "A-alright. I don't want you to freeze.." He said picking himself up and lying next to you in the bed. Instinctively, your heart began to race. 'This was a really bad idea. Why the hell did you suggest anything? This'll be impossible to do without passing out from embarrassment!' you cursed in you mind. You felt the bed shift under Beel's weight as he moved. You flinched, closing your eyes tightly your cheeks flared bright red. Suddenly, you felt strong arms wrap around you. Your heart began to pound even faster, you felt it pound against your chest so hard, it might as well fly out. "Is this okay..?" You heard Beel ask, his voice low and close due to the distance closed between you two. A chill shuddered down your spine that wasn't caused by the fever and you felt your skin getting hot, also not due to the fever. "Y-y-ye- ahem", you composed yourself, 'calm..down..speak clearly' you thought. "Yes" you replied with more confidence this time. Beel gave you a reassuring squeeze in his arms. "As long as you're ok, that's all that matters. Although y/n, I can hear your heartbeat going like a rabbits" he chuckled. 'Crap he can feel how nervous I am.' "Sorry, I'm just..embarassed I guess.." You felt yourself shrink from embarrassment. A moment later he replied. "Mmm, so am I.." Silence fell upon the two again. "Beel..." You said. "Yeah?" He replied. "This might be the absolute worst timing in the world to tell you this, but I think I like you" you said, covering your face with your hands. You felt Beel press his face into your back. "B-Beel..?" You questioned. "S-sorry y/n..I'm a little embarassed..but..I like you too" he said, covering his blushing face in your back. You squirmed in his hug and turned to face him. You saw his face turn bright red, perfectly reflecting your own. You looked into his purple, darting eyes. "Really..?" You asked. He gulped, meeting your gaze, "yeah..really, y/n.."

This put a smile on your blushing face. You rested your chin in the crook of his neck. "Beel, do you mind if I go to sleep?" You asked. "Go right ahead. I'll be here when you wake up." Hearing this, you'd never felt more safe in your life. "Just don't catch my sickness.." You whispered playfully. "I wouldn't mind if it meant getting taken care of by you.."

[ultlie]

what soft romance cliché are you?

/oh./ the italicized oh. often seen in romance novels and fanfics. when a character looks at someone, wondering why their chest tightens when they're near, why their heart beats quicken at the slightest touches, why they lose their breathe at the sight of them and suddenly realization dawns on them— oh. they've been in love for a long time now. you are soft and quiet, probably the most overlooked. though when you love, you fall deeply. i'm sure you have a lot of anxieties when it comes to love, and you're more inclined to fall in love with a longtime friend than a stranger. though, your love is pure. and maybe if you have someone in mind, this is your sign to tell them.

[stories4sprogs]

The Ballad of the Boy & the Bear

The dense forest was dark and filled with despair, You couldn’t see five feet from your face with all the fog in the air. The dense forest was lifeless, not a creature did stir, Except for one beast, with sharp teeth and brown fur. Through the trees a shadow appears, could it be a monster so foul, With those vicious claws and a threatening growl? Perhaps it’s a muscular warrior here to fight with the brute, Or some colourful musician to play it to sleep with a flute? 

Why it’s a young boy, plain as can be. He shouldn’t be out here alone, should he? This is a dangerous place for young boys and girls, For there’s a hairy savage with eyes white as pearls, Who has made this dense forest it’s home, With sharp toothed jowls, bubbling with foam. Run home little boy, you mustn’t be here, You’ll be eaten alive, that much is clear.

But the boy carried on, on his dangerous quest, Did he not know of the forest’s pernicious guest? Had he wandered in here by chance, gotten lost on the way? Doesn’t he know he’s a grizzly brute’s prey? Onward he stomped until he reached a large stone tunnel going deep underground, The entrance to a cave, nestled into an earthy, tree-covered mound. The boy took a breath, tried his best to look brave And he trudged on forward into the deep, dark cave.

The boy produced a matchbox from his coat and a match he did light, And never had the boy seen such a magnificent sight For the cave was filled to the ceiling with gold, Bracelets, amulets, jewellery of old. There were coins stacked up high, sapphires and emeralds galore, There were priceless artefacts all over the floor. And Ancient paintings leant against the wall, Even a Rolex on the hat stand in the hall.

But then the boy turned his head, and next to a pile of stones, Was a pile of weaponry and a pile of bones. Fallen heroes who had battled with the ferocious animal in vain, If only they hadn’t come, and saved themselves the pain. A sudden stir from the depth of the cave gives the boy a jolt, But the boy didn’t run, dash of like a bolt, The boy stayed resolute, despite his fear, to fight with a beast was why he was here.

A shadow formed from the light of the torch of a monster so foul, With grizzly, vicious claws and a threatening growl. From the darkness of the cave the creature did stir, A beast with jagged, pointed teeth and matted brown fur. The savage stepped forward in his forest cave home, To reveal sharp toothed jowls, bubbling with foam And his bright white eyes shining like pearls, A beast with a hunger from small boys and girls.

It was a blooming great, battle-scarred bear, With cuts on his nose and legs raw from snares. The bear snarled “You’ve come for my gold, have you, ruffian? What makes you think you can handle me - Baldrick Bear the Barbarian?” The boy trembled and said “I’m not here to steal, please Mr Bear. I’m here to win some of your gold, fair and square!” The bear cackled “You think you’re going to win some of my gold?! Oh, little boy, I’m going to swallow you whole.”

“I’m sorry bear,” Said the boy “You’ll just have to wait. I challenge you to an arm wrestle to decide my fate. If I win our fight, I’d like you to give me some money, If you win, you can eat me whole, diced, or slathered in honey.” The bear grinned a sharp smile and growled, “Boy, tell me why I shouldn’t gobble you now.” “If you’re that hungry bear, by all means eat. I think you’re just scared that I’ll have you beat.”

The bear roared with laughter, and rolled on the cave floor. He giggled to himself until his belly was sore. “Fine” the bear gnashed showing his teeth, “I’ll play your game you impetuous thief.” The boy and the bear discussed the rules, Best two out of three for a handful of jewels. They both placed their elbows on the stump of a tree, The boy took a breath, and said “One, two, three!”

The bear’s grip was tight, his palms were rough, The bear’s fat fingers were covered with brown fluff. The weight of the bears arm alone was enough To drag the boy’s arm down to the stump with a puff. “I win” grinned the bear with hunger in his eyes “Not yet,” said the boy “I still have two more tries” “Why not leave now?” Said the bear, to the boy’s surprise “Do you not care for your life? Boy, be wise.”

“Best two out of three” the boy spoke with courage. The Bear roared “You can’t beat me boy, you’re rubbish!” The Boy looked the bear in the eyes and said “I will not admit defeat” Even though, in his head, he knew he had been beat. So, when the boy placed his elbow down, he quickly thought up a plan. The bear clasped the boy’s hand and the wrestle began. With both their elbows on the stump of a tree, The boy, with resolve, counted “One, Two, Three.”.

The boy couldn’t handle the strength of the hairy outsider, The bear had a reputation for being a tough fighter. So, the boy stared into the corner and his eyes grew wider, As he pointed with his left hand “Look there, it’s a spider!”. The bear rose to his feet, his elbow left the tree stump. He shrieked and yelped himself into an eight foot jump. The bear’s feet came back to the cave floor with a lump, “Kill the eight legged beast, give her a thump!”

“I win this round!” The boy said with glee, “You took off your elbow from the stump of this tree!” The bear roared with fury and thrashed all about The bear scratched up the walls and let out a shout “Oh calm down bear, please,  be well tempered and mild, Which of the two of us is supposed to be a child?” The bear snarled, then he sighed, then he grinned “One more round will decide who will win.”

“But first,” The bear spoke, most softly, “Can you tell me why you want these gems so awfully?” The Boy replied “My family are starving, we can’t afford food Last night we had to eat leaves and sticks stewed. Everyone knows you’re rich, Mr bear, so I just thought, If I could beat you at a game, we won’t have to eat naught.” “I see,” The bear said “that is truly a shame. Perhaps we shall get on, and finish this game.”

“If you don’t mind,” The boy said fearlessly “I’ve got a family to feed” “You have.” the bear quietly considered, “You have, indeed.” The bear, was impressed with the spunk of the lad, And he felt the boy’s story was rather quite sad. For the third and final time, the boy and the bear placed their elbows down, The boy was determined, but the hairy beast frowned, With their elbows both firmly on the stump of the tree The boy with vigour said “one, two, three.”

When the boy counted the third, final, three, The Bear took his elbow off from the stump of the tree And looked up to the boy with a smile so wee. The boy couldn’t believe what he’d just seen. “Looks like you’ve won.” smirked the brown bear, Placing his paws on his head, he lent back in his chair. The boy was ecstatic and he leapt into the air, This had been a frightfully stressful affair.

“I think I’ll give you this.” The bear said, throwing the boy a large precious stone. “And here’s a few smaller ones, get yourself some good food in your home.” “Thank you so much, Mr Bear.” Said the boy “You played very well.” “Not as well as you, boy” the bear smiled “that game was swell.” The boy shook the bear’s hand and the bear shook they boys’ Then the two heard an horrendously loud trumpet-y noise The bear said hurriedly “Leave here now boy, we part ways as friends, If you ever go hungry, come back here and we’ll wrestle again”

But the boy stood still and asked “What was that sound?” “Run from here boy” the bear said “and stick low to the ground. You must go now, boy,  if you want to survive. The hunters are coming, and they’ll take me dead or alive.” “What about you bear?” said the boy “What will you do?” The bear looked fiercely and said “I'll beat them black and blue. There’s never been a battle I haven’t won. Except for my battle with you, now get out of here, son.”

The boy launched through the exit and when he’d gotten outside, The cave was surrounded by an army so incredibly wide, That the boy no longer felt very brave, As the bear joined him outside the treasure filled cave.  “There’s the beast” Shouted a uniformed man “And he’s got the boy! Kill him where he stands.” “You won’t do such a thing!” The boy demanded, “Oh yes we will! Kill the beast.” the chief commanded.

The army drew all their swords and their spears The aged bear hadn’t faced an opponent like this in all his years. The infantry moved towards the bear with precision, The boy looked to the bear and made his decision. He ran between the armed troops and grizzling bear, His arms were thrown out wide, and he stood right there. Between the force of the men and his furry friend, He shouted aloud, “I will not see this bear’s life come to an end!”

The Chief spoke to the boy “So you’ve not been kidnapped by this fearsome beast?” “Kidnapped?” The boy replied “I came here so my family could feast. I beat this bear in an arm wrestle for a little bit of gold.” The chief called back in disbelief “That’s the biggest lie ever told!” “It’s true.” Gnashed the bear “It’s not me you should be pointing your swords at. This boy can beat a bear in single hand combat.” The Chief shouted “None of that matters bear, we’re killing you for your treasure. You have enough money to keep our larders stocked for ever and ever.”

“Are you all hungry?” the bear called to the crowd, “Yes!” The army said “Our cupboards are empty and our tummies are loud!” “This boy won from me an almighty jewel” Said the bear “He beat me in an arm wrestle, fair and square. The diamond he won is priceless, it could feed you all. You’ll all eat tonight, we need not brawl.” “I’ll share with you my prize,” Said the boy “If you leave this bear be. It turns out we’re friends, the bear and me.”

“Very well.” Said the Chief, “let’s get that jewel home so we can all eat. I’m craving a leg of lamb and, for desert, something sweet.” “Thank you.” Said the bear to the boy. “You’ve stopped the attack.”  “It’s quite alright, bear” The boy said “thank you for your kind act. But I'd better be going, my village needs feeding!” “That Diamond,” The bear said “won’t be all you’ll be needing, It won’t feed your entire village forever. So, just know you can come challenge me to an arm wrestle, whenever.”

Then the bear slid back into his cave in the mound, And the boy turned to the army and looked all around. “Goodbye bear!” The army cheered. “Thank you, hairy beast! Thanks to your kindness now we’ll all feast!” “You’ve done it lad!” The chief shouted “You are so brave!” “To be fair,” Said the boy “It was a close shave!” “Get on my horse, lad!” Hollered the chief “Hold that gem up proud, Tonight we eat as much as our tummies allow!”

This story is a part of 365 Stories for Sprogs, a big book filled with little stories for youngsters and parents alike! Each of these stories are written in a single day by author Harold Benjamin-Lewis. With a book like that, it could be the only storybook you’ll ever need. Well, for a year at least!

[theresnosafeharbor4myships]

For the Caryl fic war! This came from a prompt I received from @archersqueen  I hope you like this! :D

Snow Fight (also on 9L)

The opportunity arose, and Carol couldn’t help herself.

She’d held the flashlight as Daryl had worked in the waning daylight to secure the foundation on the porch’s third stair, the cold nipping through their clothes in the frosty, overcast evening. He’d just finished closing up the crawlspace when the feisty idea struck her, and she reached up to the porch railing above him and swiped the few inches of fresh powder right onto his head.

He shuddered in shock before grumbling, “The hell?” and turning confused eyes towards her.

She watched realization dawn on his face, and laughter burst out of her at the look of utter revenge he shot her, the dollop of snow sitting proudly atop his head, the flakes that fell like glitter through his hair.

The whole incident happened in about five seconds, but years had passed since she’d felt so alive.

“Think that’s funny, huh?” he queried, gathering snow with his hands.

Carol knew what came next, what kind of trouble she’d gotten herself into, and she dropped the flashlight and took off running around the side of the house.

“Ain’t gonna help you,” he called out as she gathered snow for her own missile.

She peeked around the edge of the house, and a snowball smacked the siding not three inches from her face. She squealed and sent her own snowball at Daryl’s back as he ran to the other side of the porch steps, deftly jumping over Dog who’d come down from the porch to see what the commotion was all about, and crouched behind them. Because of his movement, she missed him entirely, and she heard him guffaw.

“Laugh it up, but I already got you!” she taunted, frantically making snowballs.

“Doesn’t count. You just pushed snow onto my head.”

“I did,” she sassed, peeking around the corner again. “Was it cold?”

He hurled a snowball in her direction, and Dog took off chasing it, headed right for her.

She flung herself back behind the wall again, just in time to see the projectile fly by. He would’ve taken out her eye if she hadn’t moved!

“Come on, Mr. Crossbow. I know you can do better than that!”

“Don’t see you doin’ much better,” he retorted.

Dog barked, and she looked at him, standing there waiting for her to throw his soon-to-dissolve ball. He gave her another enthusiastic bark, and she nodded.

“Alright, alright,” she mumbled, daring to peek around the corner. She waited…waited…waited patiently until she saw his mop of hair start to appear over the edge of the porch steps before lobbing the large snowball at him, Dog following the projectile across the yard.

Daryl had taught her hunting skills well—always lead the target—and by the time the missile had reached him, it smacked him square on the chest.

“Ah!” she hollered, throwing her hands up in a celebratory fashion before ducking into hiding again as he took aim at her, Dog running back in her direction.

She heard the snowball fall somewhere near her as she worked to make her own. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Dog a few feet from her, twirling in circles in the snow, searching for the lost snowball, pawing in confusion at the ground.

Chuckling at his antics, she stood up, ready to take another shot at Daryl, when she realized she’d missed a perfect opportunity. The depression she stood in lent her security at the perfect height, but instead of risking getting hit by edging out from the side of the house, she could peek above her where the floor of the porch sat. She could spy on Daryl’s movements and know exactly when to take her shot.

She packed her snowball tightly together, ready to send it sailing towards him, as she stood up on her tiptoes to look for him through the porch slats.

He’d just risen from his hiding place, and she launched the snowball at him, but she realized her mistake too late.

Daryl hadn’t popped out of hiding to throw a snowball at her; he’d come to take her down.

She watched her projectile hit the space he’d recently occupied as he dashed across the yard towards her, and before she could respond to him charging, he barreled around the corner, Dog barking excitedly at their game he didn’t understand.

She’d just grabbed at snow to try to make her next snowball and protect herself when Daryl appeared. She threw the fluff in her hands at him, and it fell softly against him as he threw his arms around her.

A small squeal escaped her lips, and he half-twirled her around so her back lay flush against his chest, his arms laying directly over hers as his hands grabbed hers and held on tightly.

“Cheater!” she exclaimed, though she knew she’d started it—and unfairly at that. “I think I won, fair and square.”

“Guess you did.” With her hands held by his, he crossed their arms at her waist, tucking her in closer to him. “Though it don’t feel much like I lost at the moment.”

His breath huffed out near her ear, sending a shiver through her that had nothing to do with the cold.

It didn’t feel like losing to her either, but she attempted to hold on to a smidge of control.

“Changing the rules, are you?” she tried to tease him, though she sounded a bit breathless, even to her own ears.

“Ain’t changing nothing,” he whispered at her ear. And now she knew he did it on purpose. “I don’t mind losing when it feels like this.”

She turned her head to peer at him over her shoulder, and his eyes flicked down to her lips.

“Sweet talker,” she murmured as he leaned to kiss her.

“Come on,” he mumbled, kissing her again. “Let’s go play inside.”

A smile broke out on her face. “Sure. And this time I’ll let you win,” she teased before grabbing his hand and pulling him along with her as they ran towards the front door, Dog trotting along merrily behind them.

A/N: Feedback, reblogs, prompts (anon or not), and Daryl muscle pics all act as inspiration. Do your best! :D

Forever tag list: @billhadecr @madwomanlexie @mel-loves-all @queenohair187 @memcjo  @watashi-no-kitsunegari  @archersqueen @suellenalmeida @chey1995 @itsmymeaningoflife Message me to be added or removed.

[tarralin]

Work Things

a Clauses and Contracts short ft. Kennyo

Modern AU

Word Count: 1534

A/N: Please accept his completely self-indulgent Kennyo fluff.

~☆~

Keena Kumo

Picrew: https://picrew.me/image_maker/27323

~☆~

A frustrated huff blasted from Keena's lips as she pranced in place outside the carnival gates. Wrapping her arms around herself to retain heat proved to be in vain as the same chilling winds that turned her breath white snatched away all warmth into the twilight sky. How was she supposed to know Old Man Winter would decide to blow through town several weeks early? It was a freak of nature and a horribly timed one at that! And no matter how great she looked in the black sleeveless blouse, it just wasn't cut out for this kind of weather.

"Miss?"

She turned on her heels just as a particularly strong gust of frost laced wind whipped her hair across her face, skewing her balance and sending her face-first into the sidewalk pavement. Or at least it would have, if not for the enveloping warmth of a summer's day that helped her back on her feet.

"Kennyo? Thank you!" Was it her imagination or did his cheeks blush a shade of red that matched her hair? Just as she focused her attention to confirm it for herself, Kennyo rolled his shoulders to shrug off his jacket. 

"You're freezing," he grumbled while settling the garment around her, the transferred heat acting as a balm on her chilled skin. "Why didn't you wait for me inside a shop?" 

"In my excitement to get here, I forgot my phone at home to message you and didn't want any chance of you thinking I stood you up." There! It's not my imagination, he did blush! The blossoming color was a welcomed sign to her nerves. It wasn't much of a secret to the rest of accounting that she had been crushing on the executive since meeting him shortly after the merger was announced. 

To ensure a smooth transition of accounts, Keena was chosen and placed on a special OT finance team that had spent several months occupying office space on the UTT marketing floor. Lead accountants, of course, sat directly in front of the managerial offices at the head of their bays and squarely in his line of sight.

And danger zone of coffee spills, but that's another story.

The weeks following one particularly disastrous fateful morning saw plenty of shared smiles and banter between the two but neither taking the extra leap until Shingen himself popped in unexpectedly and all but refused to move from his selected place against the wall as he chattered amicably with several ladies on break. 

"And what of you, Goddess? Will you be joining us?"

"Hmm?" Keena glanced up from her computer and found several eyes upon her, the tell-tale sign she hadn't paid the visitor any attention. "Joining who for what?"

The tall executive feinted a shot to the heart before grinning down as a round of giggles sounded around her from the other ladies. "Every now and then the departments get together for social hour. I was just letting your team know they were welcomed to join us this Friday night. I'll be there as well of course."

"Oh, well… that sounds great but, uh…" What was wrong with her? Wasn't she just lamenting last night over wine that she doesn't get out enough? Yet, now that an opportunity arose, here she was backpedaling and looking for a scapegoat.

"Not this time, Shingen."

All eyes turned toward the dark-haired manager still sitting at his office desk but not at all ignoring the ongoing conversation. "Ms. Kumo will be attending a work… thing."

Praises!

"A work… thing?" A single, auburn eyebrow rose as Shingen's grin grew wider while turning toward his friend and mimicked Kennyo's voice inflections. "My friend, you don't ever attend work things."

"This one's different."

"I can see that…" A bark of laughter with a quick glance back to Keena. "Who else will be attending?"

"Middle managers."

"From where?"

"Everywhere." Kennyo dropped the papers he'd been flipping through and leveled Shingen with a raised brow of his own. "Now, would you move along and allow everyone back to work?"

And so that Friday night saw her attending a very Not Work Thing with the soon-to-be Director of Marketing. As well as the following five Fridays, plus two Saturdays when she joined him in volunteering at the local animal shelter. Now, they were attending an autumn carnival together. However, he was so reserved even when they had Friday dinner and drinks together that she was beginning to think her feelings were completely one-sided. Yes, they interacted every day and he always gifted her a small smile in morning greetings-- something no one else received, she noticed-- but that didn't mean his feelings ventured beyond friendship. 

So, blushing at only a vague hint of anything romantic? Very good news.

"Won't you get cold though? The carnival will be here next week and we can go somewhere else tonight if you like."

"No need to worry for me, Miss." A breeze threatened to strew several locks of hair across her face again until his fingers reached out almost instinctively to gently brush them back in place. Once satisfied with their placement, his hand fell back to his side and while he nodded to the entrance. "Shall we go?"

"Yes! I am ready for corn dogs, cheese curds, and deep fried Twinkies!"

"Fried what?"

"It's a carnival, Kennyo. Everything is fried, coated in sugar, or topped with bacon. Sometimes all three." The look of horror that dashed across his face sent her into a fit of giggles that only sobered when they finally passed through the admission gates. 

Lights, music, and laughter filled the evening as the duo made their way through the crowds to various food vendors, fun houses, and game stalls in an attempt to win the featured prizes. Two goldfish and a purple panda later, Keena happily chowed down on a deep fried confection of the chocolate variety as they exited the carnival to head home.

"Sure you don't want a bite?"

"Positive." Kennyo responded without hesitation.

"You don't know what you're missing…" 

"Aside from indigestion and heartburn?"

Her nose wrinkled teasingly as she finished the treat and turned her attention to the two water filled bags Kennyo carried. "Jack and Rose?"

"Pardon?"

"The fish. They need names, right?"

"So you choose that movie?"

"Hey, that movie is a classic of our time." She retorted as she contemplated further. "Han and Leia? Wesley and Buttercup?"

"What makes you think they'll be a couple?"

"Rocky and Bullwinkle?"

Rumbling laughter spilled from a grin that warmed her more than the jacket still about her shoulders. If the smiles he greeted her with every morning were gifts, then this was a blessing from a thousand benevolent deities that stole both breath and words from her. He still had the hint of a smile when he looked down at her again. 

No wonder he keeps a perpetual almost-scowl on his face at all times… he'd cause half the floor to faint if he smiled more.

She must have been staring again for he cleared his throat and glanced to his watch. "It's getting late. Are you ready to head home before it gets any colder?"

No... no I'm not! "I suppose," she sighed instead, choosing the adultier response. The fish probably needed to get out of those bags anyway. At least he'll get to see where I live! Maybe I can ask him in and--

No, bad Keena! Down, girl, down!

Not trusting her mouth to keep the insinuating invitation to itself, she kept conversation limited to short navigational directions until they were finally at the stop of her apartment building. "Same time at the shelter tomorrow?"

"Yes, if you'd like to join me again that is, not that you have to. I'm sure that there are a number of other ways you'd rather spend your Saturday." His eyes shifted to his shoes as if he were inspecting an invisible stain to hide another flash of pink over his cheeks. 

It's really not fair how cute you can be sometimes… Keena stepped onto the first step and stood on toe tips to place a chaste kiss across one of those reddened crests. All before she realized what she'd done. Or considered his personal space. Or even asked? Oh God, what did I do? He'll never--

Her internal panic was cut off by Kennyo's lips on her own cheek, mimicking her actions with the same gentleness he handled newborn kittens at the shelter. Warmth blossomed from the soles of her feet to her ears and even under where his nose still lingered, as if he too were wondering if this moment were real. She wanted more but didn't dare push him too fast. She met his gaze and within swirled a reflection of her own desire for more yet reservation as if he were scared of pushing her too fast. He needed it in words.

"Kennyo…" her voice was barely more than the puff of white that lifted between them. "Kennyo, it's ok." 

Those beautiful onyx orbs widened a fraction as he processed her words before gently brushing a mass of crimson curls over one shoulder and closed the remaining space between them.

~☆~

Master List // Ko-Fi // Ao3

~☆~

[smokeybrand]

Zodiac Age

It’s no secret that i am a massive fan of the Final Fantasy series. Essays abut that franchise riddle this blog. My adoration for their world building and storytelling is profound, even is they kind of devolve into a Star Wars-esque retelling at time. Square sure does love that Hero Journey literary trope. Things like that don’t bug me because there are little unique changes to that specific plot, little dashes of creativity that take the form of setting, characters, or overall plot. It might follow the trope in the sense of character development, but the story told to get there is wholly it’s own. And let me tell you, some of these stories are the best that’s ever been told.

Final Fantasy VII is my favorite of the entire series. Great characters, vivid world, and a plot simple enough to follow but embellished to near mythic levels. Final Fantasy IX is another favorite, though, that one is more a fairy tale than anything. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a goddamn masterpiece and epic in it’s own right, but that story is more than at home with those old Grimm tales we were told as kids. It’s mad endearing that way. Final Fantasy Tactics, spin-off title, is probably the best story, overall, told under the FF banner and it’s not even a main title. The War of Lions is a tale of political intrigue, familial bonds, and devastating betrayal sprinkled with magic and demons and summons and dragons. It’s f*cking incredible and can give Game  of Thrones a run for it’s money. I imagine, in time, i’ll revisit these stories and gush about why i love them so but that’s not what this essay is about. No, this essay is about the second best narrative in the entire FF franchise; A narrative that has been written off because people couldn’t get passed the gameplay. This essay is about my fourth favorite Final Fantasy title, Final Fantasy XII

The strongest part of this game is easily the story. It starts with a wedding. A beautiful affair between two nations to solidify a peaceful relation and treaty of prosperity but that bliss would not last. War, a bloody coupe, the death of a prince, and the betrayal of a king. All of this happens in the intro to the game. As you play, you take the perspective of a common street rat. You follow along with his misadventures, exploring the oasis city of Rabanastre withing the annexed kingdom of Dalmasca. During his various excursions, Vaan finds himself entwined with the charismatic sky pirate and main character, Balthier, as well as his longtime Viera companion, Fran. After a heist gone wrong, the group find themselves thrown into the same lot as the presumed dead princess of Dlamasca, Ashelia B'Nargin Dalmasca, and the man framed for murdering her father, Basch Fon Ronsenburg. The party is eventually completed by the final addition of Vaan’s childhood friend, Penelo. What starts as a tale of rebellion and unrest, evolves into something so much more. The dismantling of the current world system, the shattering of chains binding man to malevolent gods, wresting control of human destiny back into human hands, and a destiny laid forth by a visionary painted as a tyrant.

Final Fantasy XII is a grand epic that feels very intimate, very small. You’re never far from the characters or their plight. Indeed, it’s their development and relationships that drive this story. Political intrigue and human destiny aside, the interactions between these individuals are absolutely wonderful. Vaan is a chump but, having played this game several times and looking back on this story with the eyes of an adult who appreciates great storytelling, his blank personality is necessary. He’s the vehicle the audience uses to immerse themselves in this world. He’s our allegory so ll that bland that colors him is simple place holder. an is who we make him. On the other end of that spectrum, you have the “villain” Vayne Carudas Solidor. Vayne is easily one of the best written characters in the entire franchise. His characterization and development can give Delita from Tactics and Ardyn Izunia from XV. Holy sh*t, Ardyn is magnificent. I can write an entire essay on him, alone, but that’s one for later. Maybe. XII is one of the best written of all the FF titles but Vayne, specifically, is written on an entirely different level. There’s never a time when you do not understand his motivation. There is never a time where you do not agree with his logic. There is never a time when you condemn his deeds. They are all necessary for the ultimate goal of human prosperity. Vayne is the antagonist of this story because of circumstance and he understands that better than anyone. He even prepared for that eventuality with his brother, Larsa. Even in defeat, he still wins; A victory for all that cost him everything. F*cking brilliant writing, man. Brilliant.

The world of Final Fantasy XII is absolutely gorgeous. It takes place in Ivalice, the only recurring setting in the FF franchise. It’s a staple, like Chocobos or Moogles. Vagrant Story and the Tactics games all take place here, to varying capacities. I love how meaty the lore and systems are for this universe. The Judge system permeates almost every title taking place here and they are to be heeded. Ranging from consequences of battle to outright characters in the narrative, these judges often have ornate armors and insane strength. Gabranth, the main Judge of XII, serves a rather dubious role throughout this tale. He and his contemporary, Cidolfus Demen Bunansa, the Cid of this game and father of Blathier, work together with Vayne to further his ambitions. Chasing their wake leads our team all over Ivalcie, visiting Ordalia, Valdenia, Kerwon, and Purvma. We follow Fran home to the Salikawood and hunt some powerful monsters in the rolling dunes of the Giza Plains. This world is gorgeously realized with loving passion and gentle renders. It really is a feast for the eyes.

Now, the reason everyone passes on this particular title lies in the fact that the gameplay doesn’t feel like an FF title. In that regard, the discourse is correct. XII does not play like a traditional Final Fantasy title. It skews closer to their MMO titles rather than their offline fair. It can be difficult to learn but is it really so different than what you’re used to? Is it really so alien? XII does a pretty decent job teaching you how to manage your party. Admittedly, yo can’t directly control what everyone does at every second but all titles in this franchise are kind of like this. I can see how that aspect can be disorientating wit the pseudo-action RPG aesthetic. That’s why there are Gambits. These things are little predetermined commands that allow you to program your party while you handle the heavy lifting on wither offense, defense, or support. It’s kind of like the system they use in FFXIII but, you know, good. You still play XII. You still have the ability to control your characters, in a limited capacity. Sure, i would have liked to have more direct command over my party but this workaround is fine once you get used to it. Besides, i think they fixed this in the international Zodiac version or whatever. I haven’t played that one yet but what we have in the vanilla game, the License Board, Tecnicks, Magicks, Quickenings, and Espers, all add a variety that gives you copious amounts of strategy. Building a character strong enough to trust to the Gambit system has it’s own reward.

Final Fantasy XII is an outstanding title that deserves so much more respect than anyone gives it. Your requisite hitters like IX and VII are rightfully mentioned in a much greater capacity but lesser titles like X and VIII have no business holding their position in the fandom zeitgeist in lieu of XII. This game has one of the most epic stories, a brisk plot rarely marred down by melodrama, one of the greatest villains in the entire franchise, and it’s absolutely gorgeous. The world is lush, full of life and vibrancy, hiding a sinister undertone that grips your attention until the very end. If you can manage the learning curve of the battle system, if you give it a chance, you’ll be rewarded with one of the all-time great games in the Final Fantasy pantheon.

[dreamingdolls]

FFXIV, and why it’s unlikely I’ll ever return to WoW

So, inspired by my friend @luniil (who isn’t very active here but does occasionally write down some thoughts on gaming topics), I wanted to try my hand at writing a post about why I’ve grown to love FFXIV as much as I do, and reflect a little on how things were in WoW in comparison.

To preface this; I am not a Final Fantasy player. Nor Warcraft for that matter -- I had not touched that franchise until The Burning Crusade was in the middle of it’s lifespan. I play MMOs, and that’s what led me to both games. I’ve played WoW, Guild Wars, TERA, WildStar, ESO and FFXIV, but only two games on that list have kept my attention for any extended period of time.

I don’t want to spam people’s dash so, yknow.

General Gameplay

Let’s start this off with a flaw of FFXIV -- I’m not going to be sitting here saying the game is perfect. XIV does a horrible job at luring people in with it’s gameplay.

At the earlier levels, you barely have any abilities even compared to what an early WoW character will have. On top of that, the 2.5s Global Cooldown (as opposed to WoW’s 1s) means you won’t be hitting buttons too much early on. This has definitely been the cause of a fair few people giving up on the game early on.

However.

Once you press through that, your list of abilities is far more interesting than anything WoW will offer you. Positional requirements, utility spells, varied rotations and a huge amount of flavor is carefully woven into the class design. While WoW frontloads you with a fair amount of stuff but then doesn’t give you much to add to that in the later levels, FFXIV starts you off slow then gives you the more complex things when you’ve had time to get familiar with the game. By the time you reach level cap, you’ll easily have about 20-30 abilities to use at least semi-regularly, as opposed to WoW usually not going much further beyond 15 or so abilities.

The longer GCD will suddenly start to make sense, too, as a good deal of your abilities are off the GCD, and the gameplay essentially becomes a case of weaving on and off GCD abilities together.

I absolutely love how XIV handles alt classes as well. In essence, you are able to level every class on a single character if you so wish. Instead of levelling your character as a whole, you level your class. So say I’m on my level 80 Red Mage and equip my Dancer weapon, my level will be reduced down to the level I have on my Dancer, and my action bars will simply switch over. I personally adore this system, even if it does mean alts are a lot less commonplace.

Not all classes are available from character creation either. You actually get to unlock classes out in the world, which is a very neat concept.

Story

OHMYGOD THE STORY. Where do I start?

I’m not going to be going into any spoilers here, more so how the story is written. Whereas WoW’s story tends to be written more in chapters that don’t really link together all that smoothly, XIV’s story is an ongoing thing. Information you learned in your first few levels is still relevant today, at level cap, three expansions later.

This allows the characters to have personality. Growth. Whereas in WoW it’s not uncommon for characters to be used as plot devices rather than, well, characters. How many times has there been a discussion on wether Illidan, or Garrosh, or Sylvanas, or who have you, is a villain or a good guy? Well the shocking answer; they’re both. They’re whatever Blizzard needed them to be at the time, for that chapter, and that creates a very jarring experience.

That’s not to say FFXIV’s characters are clear-cut on their allegiances either, however their grey areas happen in a far more natural sense over the course of the story, as opposed to switching back and forth with every patch release.

Oh, and you know how I mentioned I had never played a Final Fantasy game before this? No problem! Each FF game is kinda it’s own game. There are elements that are in every game such as creature design, but as far as the actual story goes you don’t need any prior knowledge of the other games. And even while there are cameos that I’m sure would be that much more fun had I played the source game, they are done in such a way that you can follow things as a complete newbie to the franchise as well. It’s not like you’ll be running into Cloud every few levels (Which, I’ve been told, is rather shocking as Square seems to love milking that character. Anyway, that’s not my rant to make).

Group Content

This is an area where, while there is definitely some overlap due to the nature of MMOs, there’s also a fair few things that set XIV apart from WoW for me.

First off, group size. Groups in XIV tend to be much smaller than they are in WoW. Regular dungeon groups consist of a 1/1/2 tank/healer/dps set up. Raid groups are a mere 8 people with a 2/2/4 setup as opposed to WoW’s massive 20-30 people raid groups. XIV’s equivelant of LFR, which I’ll come back to in a bit, is the only thing to come close to that at 24 people, grouping three raid groups together.

Now in terms of raiding... WoW wins in quantity. XIV wins in quality. While WoW has more fights, let’s be real; who is going to remember fighting Skorpyron?

XIV definitely gets smaller raid content, with each tier only having four bosses. However, we also get a bunch of extra single boss fights sprinkled inbetween. In addition, it’s LFR equivelant isn’t merely a tuned down version of each fight either -- it’s a completely seperate instance with unique bosses *specifically designed* for a LFR environment. To make a list of what you can expect in XIV in terms of raiding;

- Trials (single boss fights) with a regular mode and an extreme mode - Raid tiers consisting of four bosses for 8 player groups, with a regular mode and a “savage” mode. - LFR raids tuned specifically for a 24 player group, usually giving each of the 8 man groups in there their own tasks. - Very rarely, Ultimate fights. These basically are the tip of the iceberg in terms of challenge. I’ve not gotten to see them myself, but from what I hear, they can literally take like an hour for a single pull. They’re definitely meant to be *the* highest challenge.

Group content does not stop there either, though. There’s treasure maps that can lead to little treasure vaults to run with people. The game’s equivelant of World Quests, FATEs, rewards *anyone participating*, giving the whole zone a shared progression bar instead of doing your own quests. This tends to mean that hey, people will actually go and help each other out in the world!

Misc

Here be a bunch of random stuff that I couldn’t really dedicate a specific part to.

- THE MUSIC IS INSANELY GOOD - There’s player housing, and you actually are in a neighbourhood with other players rather than being locked away in your own seperate area. It’s quite cozy. - Most mounts have their own music theme which very nicely adds to their flavor, such as a raid drop mount playing that fight’s soundtrack. You can disable this if it’s not your thing, though! - Oh yeah. Raid bosses have their own soundtracks. - You can customize the very first mount you get with bardings, different colors and even a name, and it can fight with you in the open world. - You can get married ingame which is insanely cute. - There’s this like, Las Vegas-esque place in game with a bunch of minigames and it’s just a lot of fun? Think Darkmoon Faire but not time limited and way bigger games.

Why I Likely Won’t Return to WoW

This bit will get somewhat personal so if you were only interested in the game comparisons, feel free to skip this.

Honestly? Purely from a game standpoint I didn’t enjoy WoW for the last few years I played it. The trap with MMOs is so often the friends you make. They keep you playing even if you aren’t that into the game anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I loved playing with my friends still, but had it not been for them I’d have left WoW long before I did.

Warlords of Draenor is often agreed upon to be a poor expansion, but truthfully? I didn’t feel Legion was all that great either. It was better, sure, but the story was still a fair bit of a mess and the gameplay, well... I can only stomach seeing Eye of Azshara so much, you know?

On a more personal note, leaving WoW has been good for my mental health too. I was being harassed and even blackmailed there and it caused constant headaches and drama, let alone making me feel unsafe in what was supposed to be an escape. That’s simply not really a world I’d like going back to.

I’ll never say never, but I will say likely never.