#I’ve never seen fairy tail

[megumiluvv]

So, the main thing I'm focusing on is that I'm a big fan of Geto and I thought it would be fun to create an original character (which I rarely do) to be included in the Jujutsu Kaisen anime. My aim is to create a character that makes sense within the context of the story and would allow for a closer relationship with Geto, which might be something others would consider doing as well if they wanted a similar dynamic.

I'm trying to make my character as authentic and realistic as possible, with the goal of having Geto develop romantic feelings for her. I thought of setting the scene in high school, with Gojo, Geto, Shoko and reader in the mix. I know that in the original story, there's a focus on only one girl in their group, but I'm inspired by the group dynamic in Fairy Tail (Natsu, Gray, Lucy and Erza) and I want to incorporate that into the story.

The reader possesses an equal level of power and grade as Gojo and Geto, making her a formidable opponent. She has a very close friendship with Gojo and Geto, who are her best friends, this time is more relatable to Jiraya, Tsunade and Orochimaru. In terms of her relationship with Geto, I envisioned a similar powerful bond as he has with his best friend, Gojo. In addition, the reader has a close relationship with Shoko, but her relationship with Geto is distinctly romantic, but Geto's depression after Riko's death led him to leave Jujutsu High and abandon his relationship with all. The reader and him lost touch, but years later they meet again as the bad guy and the good guy (the reader obviously is a teacher in jujutsu high works along with her best friend Gojo), respectively. Despite Geto's attempts to avoid her, their feelings for each other still linger and create a complex and emotional dynamic in their encounters.

Similar to Erza and Jellal that are childhood friends who formed a deep bond. They share a surname, 'Scarlet', suggested by Jellal. Jellal is protective of Erza and she looks up to him. Despite his betrayal, Erza still loves Jellal and cannot bring herself to hate him. This leads to her quick forgiveness when Jellal's manipulation wears off. Evil Jellal then instructed Erza to keep the Tower of Heaven a secret and leaned towards her. Later on, Jellal watched her in the mock trial and couldn’t help but smile at her, still didn’t want her to ruin his plans. And they have a battle. Erza wins.

Like Erza and Jellal, Reader and Geto have known each other since childhood, and have formed a deep bond. In the story, Geto assembles a group of allies and sets his sights on the queen of curses. Reader becomes part of the team protecting Yuta.

Geto as a sexy mf, taunting and mocking her with a smirk, all while pretending to ignore her. Deep down, he still loves her, but is focused on his goals, hoping she wouldn’t ruin his plans. Can’t say this is the same for Gojo because Gojo was his best friend, while for the reader he had more tolerance. Ok so they have a battle, and Geto or reader, emerges the winner (depends on yall). Then his death deceased the reader, similar to Tsunade when she found out about Jiraya’s death since they had a close bond. Reader, suffering at the fact that the love of her life is being possessed by Kenjaku developing deep hatred against him.

Aside from reader and Geto’s relationship. In Yuji’s case, she would be a mentor to him like Gojo, similar to Tsunade with Naruto. We could also make her a teacher and maybe being a personal trainer to one of the students (I personally thought of Maki) like a Tsunade and Sakura relationship.

Sry for making this so long though I hope it goes unignored cause I worked so hard for this😭♥️

I’ve reread this a lot because I’m a little dyslexic and the words mushed together but this is super interesting and I think I understand!!

This would be a super cool fic series ngl anon… and for your “making the character as authentic and realistic as possible” I think you nail it as far as the story and sorcerers’ morals work. In my mind at least. Because each sorcerer is just doing what they believe is right when it comes to their morals and actions.

You also said reader would be like a special grade so I’m kinda curious what technique you come up with for that! And I love the idea of them training maki ^.^

Don’t apologize for the yap, I love it (˘³˘)♡

[quibbs126]

Remember how people did theorize on possible relations between Sea Fairy Cookie with Black Pearl Cookie or Frost Queen Cookie since they share similar elements of water and ice? It would be interesting to see Sea Fairy Cookie interact with other legendaries such as these two that isn't just Moonlight Cookie all the time

Oh really? Yeah I guess that makes sense

But it would be neat to see her with other Legendaries

[seraphdreams]

Ok, so basically, I have an oc that I wanted to ship with baji, but I felt like I had to give up some of her lore. So, for starters, she's just an old character I recycled from Fairy Tail, her name is coraline (aged 15 - 16) and bc she was 16 in fairy tail I was gonna make her born in 1989 instead if 1990. (Is that sort of age difference weird or a red flag?) And basically, in both her fairy tail and tokyo revengers lore, she accidently gulaged both her bio parents (og! og lore was bc she wanted to pull a prank but I felt like it was just rlly sociopathic for an 11 Yr old so remade it into her feeding her parent s the wrong meds bc she was on med duty at the time and killing them both) and then she got adopted by an old guy affiliated with some syndicate bigshots/yakuza and taught her how to seriously throw hands before diying a fire her older sister started (bc she had info that the man was rlly unsavoury towards minors among other things.) Coraline was moving mad for those 3 yrs till she met up with some gang members (prolly an all female gang OR an oc gang) and joined up with them. It's here that she meets baji and they have an enemies to lovers vibe bc they were legitimately throwing hands onsight (He broke her nose and gave her a concussion and she ripped out his hair and fucked up his hairline so that he has the vegeta look) and are beefing, over what idk but for now thwy'w beefing over yakisoba bc coraline got the last one but ended up dropping it on the floor bc baji spotted her. And then she gets pussed and sings at him and baji not lettign that sldie throwss hands. Shes petty so shes holding grudge and hates him far more then he hates her (like she would legit be in jail for murder if she saw him again) but he wont like her either(bc this bitch caused allat drama for what) . But then they over long period of time fall in love (after becoming friends or straight to lovers and he finds out about her dark past and then eventually she ends up being recruited into toman and become friends with the bajitrio.

But also I'm making an au where they were childhood friends before allat went down bc she justed moved to Japan and got dogged on foe being a black foreigner and got bulled like she was shoved pushed kicked and punched and at first she didn't fight back but after telling teachers who ignored her and parents who ignored her (older sister comforted her). She snapped and began to get into fights and basically beat up her bullies and rip out there hair. Baji basically ended up befriending her bc he saved her from her bullies (saw that she was lashing out and came from a bad home life in his baji way. No idea on how to make it in character) and beat them up and after that they became friends and she ha d a crush on him. But they lost contact when corsline accidently kills her parents and is forced to run way and they dont meet up till years later on opposing sides. Also baji lives past bloody Halloween bc this is set where things heat up (black dragon ar onwards)

aww this au is so creative ! i like the enemies to lovers aspect of it all and your oc’s backstory is super interesting.

[tales-of-misc-fandoms]

Alternatively:

Gray is a name

Grey is a color

you think grey is the english spelling and gray is the american spelling but im here to change language and if we all do it it'll become real so hold my hand and do this with me:

grey is for cool-toned greys

gray is for warm-toned grays

[midnightechoes]

Five years ago today, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power premiered on Netflix. I had seen a few preview articles about it, and liked what I saw. Those articles mostly focused on She-Ra’s, Adora’s, Glimmer’s, Bow’s, and Catra’s redesigns, and I thought they were fabulous. I loved Adora’s new red jacket and bouffant hair style. Glimmer’s entire redesign was inspired, and I loved that they made Bow black so we could have more diversity in the main cast.

It was She-Ra’s and Catra’s redesigns that caught my eyes the most, though. They made Catra an actual catgirl, and not just in the anime sense where she's just a cute girl with cat ears and maybe a cat tail. She was a full-on furry. It was a brilliant design choice. Honestly it’s no wonder that so many were instantly drawn to her.

And of course, She-Ra herself. I loved her new look, and her huge ass new Sword of Protection. In fact, I loved it so much that I drew this picture of her before the show even came out:

Then the show came out, and needless to say, I fell in love. And honestly, it changed my life.

I know, I know. That sounds very hyperbolic, and to an extent it is, but in a lot of ways, I’m absolutely serious.

Alright, I have to back up a little. Back when I was in college, and for a few years after, a couple of friends and I tried to make a webcomic called The Devil’s Gate. It was minorly successful but eventually floundered. Then I met some people and we tried to make a video game, which also failed. After those few years, I found myself on my own and trying to rework the concept of my webcomic. Making comics, creating stories, those have always been my dream, and I was desperately trying to figure out a story I could make work, something that I believed in. But it never truly got off the ground. By the end of 2015 I had given up on the comic, realizing that after working on it for years in different forms that I needed to step away from it.

I didn’t really know what to do after that. I was still doing my quick daily doodles, but I wasn’t writing, I wasn’t drawing anything of note. I felt emotionally and physically drained of my creativity. I was honestly getting to the point where I thought it might be time for me to give up on trying to be creative or making things all together.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power came out on November 13, 2018, but despite looking forward to it, I didn’t actually watch it when it came out. It wasn’t until that weekend that I decided to check it out.

I was instantly hooked. I binged through the entire season in two days, and did plenty of crying and cheering. And then rewatched it immediately. I was in love. I was obsessed. It had been a long time since anything grabbed me like SPOP did. I loved the characters. I loved the colorful, sci-fi-fairy tale world of Etheria. I loved how unapologetically feminine it was. And most of all, I loved how queer it was.

I hadn’t done a ton of shipping before SPOP. I’ve been down bad for harlivy for what feels like my whole life, and I was angry when Mika and HG didn’t get together in Warehouse 13, but more often than not I had just been conditioned not to look for queer things in mainstream culture, and even barely in subculture.

That is to say, when I was smashed in the face with Catradora I was surprised how much I glommed onto it immediately. I was absolutely taken with Adora and Catra and their relationship. Both characters were so relatable, and despite not quite being text (although the subtext was so loud and obvious it might as well have been text), it was impossible to not read their feelings for each other as romantic.

It wasn’t just Catradora, even if that was a lot of it. Spinnerella and Netossa being canon from the start was wonderful. How much Glimmer and Bow screamed “BISEXUAL DISASTERS” from the start was adorable. Scorpia’s crush on Catra was as cute as it was sad in its one-sidedness.

I had never really been in a fandom. That is, yeah I’ve liked things, loved things even, but I never found other people to talk about it at length, never found discords just for that thing, never read or wrote fanfic, barely ever drew fanart. 

But, I watched SPOP, and then I watched it again. And then I drew Catra. And then I drew Adora. And then I drew them again. And suddenly I was on AO3, a site I never frequented, reading Catradora fics. And then I had an AO3 account. That December I participated in Catradora Week 2018 (I’d never heard of this kind of thing) and drew two pictures for it and wrote my first fanfic.

By the end of February I had drawn more in the three months since the show had premiered than I had in the previous year. I was working furiously on a long, multi-chapter fanfic, and writing more words than I had in the previous couple of years combined.

I was inspired again.

In the 18 months that SPOP ran for, I drew more than I had in years, I wrote hundreds of thousands of words. I felt so rejuvenated and happy about my creativity and free for the first time in years.

It’s hard to put into words exactly how it felt. I was so close to giving up my art and writing, which honestly, would have been giving up a part of myself. An important part of myself. It’s not overstating that SPOP saved me, or at least my creative spirit.

I also learned about the wonders of being in a fandom and fandom things like fan weeks, big bangs, zines. And I made some wonderful friends that I cherish to this day.

Even as I inevitably moved onto other hyperfixations, my love for She-Ra hasn’t diminished. Plushie Catra and Adora sit next to me on my desk every day. Catradora art still hangs on my wall.

The inspiration that SPOP ignited in me hasn’t died either. It’s carried me through a tremendous level of creativity that I’ve been riding since the premiere. It let me create a ton of fan art for SPOP, and then RWBY and then the Witch From Mercury, and I’ve written a ton of fanfics for RWBY and Supergirl. And perhaps the best, that inspiration has helped me create more OC stuff in the last couple years than I had in a long time.

I owe She-Ra and The Princesses of Power so much. I am so happy that it exists and that it happened when it did. I’ll always cherish it.

And for real, Netflix, SPOP spin-off movies WHEN?!

[elenamegan14]

Yandere One Piece - Irish/Nordic Fae Folk Myth X F!Reader - Pookah!Luffy

PROLOGUE Pookah - a mischievous yet friendly fae, capable of shapeshifting into any form as they please - malevolent ones included. Legends have told that anyone lucky or unlucky enough to get a ride from Pookah will experience the wildest travel of their lives. 

—

You barely have the time to calm yourself when the Pookah circles you around like a wolf waiting for its prey to move. You’ve been here for a few minutes and already you encountered a fairy folk! Fortunately, luck seemed to be on your side - Pookahs are not relatively dangerous unless you treat them with care. 

However, Pookah’s personality is proven to be quite a challenge,  considering this one has the childish personality of a hyperactive boy, drunk with too many candies. Also, he seems to be the talkative type too, jumping around whenever you tried to side-stepped him. 

“A human! Sweet! Haven’t seen a human for a while! I mean, on my side anyway. My brothers saw humans all the time because they got permission for it, but I don’t!” The Pookah grumbled, “They said that I need to practice more on my human transformation, but I think it’s perfect!” He gestured towards himself, forgetting about his longish furry ears and tail. 

“I… see. That’s very nice, but I have to go.” 

Frustratingly, Luffy seems to follow you around, not giving you a moment of rest. It did not help that he had no sense of personal space, always coming in inches close to you - a new toy that he had never seen. 

“By the way, my name is Luffy! What’s yours?” 

You are about to instinctively answer but a particular warning from your parents hit you on the head. An iron-clad superstition rules that any good children must follow to survive Grand Line if they happened to stumble upon it. 

Never tell them your real name, Y/N. That’s how they control you - words have more power in the fairy world than in the human world. 

Frowning, you turned your head away from Luffy, “You don’t need to know.” 

“Aw, you’re no fun! What am I supposed to call you then? Seaweed? Meat-girl? Oh! I can call you… ‘Wet Blankie’! Because, you know-” 

“Alright, I got it! Call me any way you like but you’ll never find out what my name is!” You boldly asserted, keeping to yourself that you can endure the humiliation of being weirdly dubbed for now. 

“Fine!” Luffy stuck his tongue out, “...wet blankie.” he added the last part with a laugh, earning him a scowl. 

Hurriedly, you walked at a faster pace, hoping to leave the Pookah to his ministrations 

“So, whatcha doing here? Are you going somewhere?” “No, I’m lost! I don’t know where I am, what time is it…” You trailed mournfully, “I even started to lose my way around this place.” 

“Oh well, Grand Line can be a maze sometimes. Heck, even my friend, Zoro got lost here plenty of times… and he’s a native!”

A certain name from Luffy’s speech puts you into a standstill horror, “Grand Line? As in… THE Grand Line? I’m here in THAT Grand Line?” 

“Dang, no need to say three times. But yeah, you’re in Grand Line! You’ll love it! There are so many fun places here - there are so many interesting things happening around here-” 

A shudder of panic courses through your body, “No, no, no, no, no! I’m not supposed to be here! My parents told me to stay away from this place! That’s where the fairy folks live, I’ve heard stories of what they’ll do to humans! I have to get out of here!” 

Unbeknownst to you, Luffy studied you a little more carefully than the first time he met you. As if he can sense something beyond your appearance. 

“That’s… an interesting way to put it,” Luffy droned, “Somehow, you felt different than other humans who fell here.” “You mean there are other humans besides me here?” “Great!” You raised your hands exasperatedly, “I’m lost in this god-forsaken forest,  I can’t find my classmates, and I’m supposed to be home right now! But I’m stuck here! This sucks!” You sobbed

“If you like to… I can give you a ride,” Luffy smiled gently, “I know my way around Grand Line, I can take you to the entrance.” You gasped indignantly at his idiocy, “Are you mad? I can’t trust fairies - that’s the third most important rule that everybody knows!” Luffy’s eyebrows raised in confusion, “Really? Then what’s the second one? I mean, you did tell me the first rule is-” 

“-not to reveal my real name to a fairy, I KNOW. You KNOW,” You repeated the rule as if you were schooling a first grader, “The second rule is not to eat and drink anything that the fairies offer.” 

“What?!” Luffy jumped in horror, “That’s a terrible rule! You can't do that! Everybody has to eat! Who made that? This is the first time I’ve ever heard it!” 

You rolled your eyes in irritation, “Not if you’re a human. They’ll be bound to the fairy world forever if they eat anything in here, and I still want to go home.” 

“Not if I can ask the bigwigs to change it!” An optimistic grin burst from Luffy’s face, “I mean, I managed to change a few rules after causing some trouble from time to time again. Which reminds me - I need to hide from my grandpa - he is so pissed off after I destroyed the palace’s garden the other day.” 

“You do that while I’m searching for any entrances here,” you murmured, slipping by Luffy.

“Alright, suit yourself!” Luffy shrugged nonchalantly. 

Time passed, and you still need to find an entrance. You felt as if the forest was keen on making you even more lost on your path - each shrub seemed to change, pebbles moving out of your marked gaze, not giving you the slightest hope of any exit. What makes matters worse is that you estimated that the sun will set soon. The risk of falling under the clutches of the fairy folk increases with each second you have wasted. 

Just as you circled anguishedly around the rock for the fourth time, Luffy popped back again, keeping his irritating grin at your hopeless attempt. “You know, I still can help-”

“Oh, alright!” You snapped, realizing that it’s futile to rely on your own… for now, “But be warned - I have ways to kill you if you break your promise. Got it?” 

“Sure thing! I can still take you on if you do! Shishishi!” Luffy innocently chuckled - you felt tempted to smack his head at his indifference. 

In just one breath, Luffy transformed himself into a creature that wasn’t a horse but not a mammal either. It was more of like… a rabbit-horse. You were hesitant to approach him but Luffy casually grinned again, lowering his back before. 

“Hop on! Don’t worry, I’ll make sure that you won’t fall!” 

“I’ll make sure of it too.” You murmured, climbing onto his back. 

Luffy is proof that all legends about Pookah giving their passengers the wildest ride of their lives are true. As you let yourself settle in, Luffy sprints at a breakneck speed - so fast and rough that you must hang onto his neck for your dear life. You didn’t even try to utter a scream, only small whimpers in fear of biting your tongue. 

So many thoughts ran through your head. Is it a mistake to trust Luffy? How much time had passed - hopefully you would only miss a day or two. And will you make it out of here? You can almost imagine yourself running through the exit out of Grand Line, ignoring any of Luffy’s farewells and just stomping straight to Stelly and Sarie, giving them the beating of their lifetimes at the dining hall. There was also a huge hope that you would be reunited home again with your parents, maybe you could explain why you had lost your iron earrings and being in the Grand Line in the first place-

Luffy suddenly came to an abrupt stop. Before you can recollect yourself, Luffy turned back into his default form, unaware that he let his occupant fall behind his back. 

You quickly rose to your feet, nursing your sore arm, “W-Wha? Why did you stop-?” 

Luffy’s eyes grimaced, “Someone’s in our path. Look.” Luffy pointed towards a figure in a near distance. 

It was a male fairy - an intimidating one at that. Build impressively in a visage fit for royalty, but contains plenty of rebelliousness on the side. Freckles adorn his face like stars and black, wavy hair frames his fiery visage. Behind his back are a pair of transparent, fiery wings that almost resemble that of a hawk. By mortal standards, he is… magnificent.

Your blood ran cold. You recognize the mark on his wings from the illustrations that your mother once drew. She is an impressive artist, painting one bestiary after another with near accuracy. There was no doubt that right in front of your mortal eyes was the son of the Fairy King himself, Portgas D. Ace.

The very same one who thinks burning mortals who pissed him off can be considered normal in Grand Line. 

“Wha- what is he doing here? H-H-He’s not supposed to be here-” You stammered. 

“Who’s not here who?” Luffy stared at you in question.

“That fairy! Ace! I heard stories about him - he’s dangerous! We have to go!” You furiously shook your head, already searching for a hiding spot. 

Upon looking at the fairy in question, Luffy’s face lightens up, “Oh, yeah! You’re right! That’s my brother! OII! ACE-!” 

You felt your heart drop at this revelation. Brother. He just has to be Luffy’s brother - why not? It didn’t help that Ace’s attention was stirred by Luffy’s ruckus. Rushing to Luffy’s side, you grabbed his arm as tightly as possible. 

“No!” You pleaded, shaking, “Don’t let him see me! I can’t be seen by a fae folk, especially him!” 

“What? Why not? I know Ace very well, he won’t hurt-” 

“Luffy, please.” 

There was a slight hesitation when Luffy analyzed the fear in your voice. It was a gamble, whether or not Luffy would listen to you. Pouting always works, that’s how you got a leeway from the authorities if you happen to be in any sort of problem - like that time you accidentally broke Mayor Woodlsap’s window for a lighter punishment from him. You put your best one yet, coupled with a doe eye that made you seem helpless and innocent. 

A few seconds later, Luffy solemnly nodded, “Okay, I won’t tell him that you’re here. Just hide wherever you can, alright? I’ll come and get you when he’s gone.”

You didn’t think twice and made a run for the nearest bushes and rocks that concealed your entire body. Your head peered out upon the two fairy brothers conversing after Ace made his way to Luffy. 

Everything about Ace is breathtaking. His beauty is every bit as true as the stories told by swoony-eyed village women. You also have to remind yourself - thanks to your father’s stern warnings time and time again - that Ace is also well-known for his trickery. He is a fairy that would burn humans into a pile of dust or turn them into trinkets if he fancies. 

The fact that Ace is unpredictably harmful.

It felt like forever when you counted until five minutes passed by, trying to make out what Ace was saying to Luffy. He seems to whisper something into Luffy’s ears, but the distance is far too wide for you to listen. So you rely on your eyes instead, observing Luffy’s face slowly form into an enthusiastic expression as Ace conversed excitedly with his brother. 

You silently breathed in relief when Luffy waved goodbye to Ace, gently coaxing you out of the hiding spot, “He’s gone, don’t worry.”

“What are you talking about with Ace?” You brushed off the dirt in a hurry and climbed to Luffy’s back once more. 

“Noooo….thing?” Luffy innocently answered - you rolled your eyes. 

“Okay, fine. How far are we to the edge of the entrance?” 

“Won't be long now. We just need to make a BIIIG dash straight there…” Luffy pointed straight at a cluster of trees. 

“Alright,” you nodded, “Let’s go.” 

You barely notice a sliver of Luffy’s dark grin as he runs with all his might towards the clearing. You ignored all the branches, the leaves, and the force of the wind that blinded you - all you care about is reaching the end - to home. 

A bright light blinded you at the end of the path. When Luffy stops and lets you off his back carefully, you slowly adjust your eyes to the new surroundings. 

But it wasn't the entrance as you might have hoped. 

It was a lakeside. 

A lakeside that is also full of various fairy folks - bathing and playing and hanging around one another. 

It dawns on you that Ace had persuaded his brother to lead you to a trap. 

“Hey, guys!” Luffy shouted, dragging you towards them, “I brought a new friend!” 

A green-haired demon-like fae folk sighed exasperatedly, getting out of the water, “Luffy. How many times do we have to tell you not to bring any more weird people-” 

That’s when his eyes landed on you. 

Everything went quiet. Several eyes gazed upon you in interest for a few seconds. 

And then it exploded into elated chatters. 

Oh no. 

“Luffy…” A blonde nymph-like man with swirly eyebrows eyed you as if his birthday came early, “You didn't tell me that you caught a human girl.” 

His statement brought an ominous wonder to the rest of the occupants in the lake. 

“Somehow, you know how to lighten our day, Luffy.” A fae with a top hat chuckled, already getting up from his position, and making his way carefully around you. 

“Come little human, would you like to join us…?” A pretty maiden with long dark hair and piercing blue gaze, a Huldufolk, she recognized, put down her book, and extended her arm at her. 

“Listen up, I want her first.” A large troll with red hair quipped, taking in your fearful form. 

“Mind your turn, Eustass-ya,” Another fae, dark and attractive, scanned your visage, “It’s been a while since I have a human to play with. The last one didn’t last long on my table.” 

An overwhelming sensation flooded your brain - the fae folks sauntered towards you closely, each with every step you took back. Luffy’s reckless decision had earned you a cold, hard target from every fae folk on your back. In a split second, you did the only thing you could think of.

You ran. 

Several cries of “Come back!”, “Play with us!” rang all across the field. But you did not listen. No, not when every mere form of danger is right by your footsteps. 

Hurt. Sickened. Betrayed. These are the only things that are in your mind. Oh, how foolish you are - no matter how good his intentions are, Luffy is still a fairy who plays tricks upon humans - and now you are his next victim. 

Your mind is made up in determination when Luffy springs before you again, trying to explain something. By now, you have already pulled out the cross from your bag and brandished it upon Luffy who backed away. 

“I shouldn’t have trusted you,” You growled dangerously, hovering the cross like a weapon.

“Wait! What’s-your-name, I can explain-!” 

“Oh, you have already explained enough! Now begone!” 

Luffy drew a wicked grin, “Yeah, I was planning to take you back…” Luffy circled you in a predatory manner, “...but my brother Ace had better plans.”

Luffy effortlessly dodged the cross that you had swiped at him, “GET AWAY FROM ME! I wasted enough time with you around! I’ll go home myself!” 

“I like you, you’re interesting. Join my pack.” You gasped - Luffy’s arms started to stretch like rubber, coiling onto your other weaponless arm. 

“I refuse!” You hissed, trying to escape from his bond. 

“Then I refuse your refusal!” Luffy starts to lose his calmness, and he holds you even tighter, “Please Wet blankie! What’s-your-name! I promise you, they are not going to hurt you-!” 

“Go away!” You screeched with all your might, pushing Luffy away and hoping that your cross might make a nick on him. You kept running, you could care less if Luffy begged you to stop, you can't simply look back. Perhaps you assumed that Ace summoned himself right next to Luffy, his eyes boring at your running form. He grabbed Luffy by his shoulder, in a regality fit for a king.

“Don't let her go, Luff,” Ace spoke, honeyed and full of dark intent, “All of us had waited years to have her back. We can’t lose her now.” 

“No…” Luffy nodded, “I won’t. We’ll get her.” 

-

There is nothing worse than to run from fairies and get lost again in their forest. Exhausted as you are, there is no willingness from you to yield from their relentless pursuit. You are going home, and that is final. 

Then your nose picked up a salt-like scent. The ground is becoming more coarser as well. You finally realize that as you are busy fleeing for your life, you end up on a sandy beach. Not too distant from you is an ominous cave on the seawater, far too eerie to enter. 

And yet, as if curiosity overrides your logic, you decided to take a closer look at it instead. 

“Come here…” You jumped. There was a faint voice coming from the cave. So you know how to play this game. You firmly planted your foot into the sand, ignoring the voice that keeps persistently trying to coax you inside. 

You crossed your arms and looked away.

The cave lets out a guttural growl - something comes out. You kept your fingers clenched onto the cross as a creature, a merman-like being, swims out, and reaches near you. Aside from his long hair, a striking feature of him is his strange triangle-shaped eyebrows that frame his sharp eyes. 

“Must you be so stubborn, child? I know what was going on here, and I am here to help.” He drawled. 

Basil Hawkins, the Marmennill, is here to lead you.

[xanvasofxords]

Since the last chapter came out, I’ve seen a bunch of people complaining about the fact that Natsu snapped at Lucy. I understand where it’s coming from, because Natsu never once raised his voice with Lucy.

I’m completely ignoring the bullshit that was added in the dragon egg episode in anime, but I agree with them that if Natsu were to snap at Lucy, that’s how it’d look. Which actually never, I repeat never happened in the entirety of Fairy Tail.

Natsu has always been very gentle and consoling towards Lucy despite having a rough nature. A part of it’s because he knows she’s very emotional and feels it’s his responsibility to not only protect her physically, but also mentally. She has lost so many people and each time it affected her greatly that he naturally always pays more attention to anything that may or may not involve her. He knows to act accordingly when the situation concerns her, whether it comes to consoling her or protecting her. Even in the middle of battles, he’s aware of her and her surroundings. He prioritises her over anything and understands her more than anyone. And he has always been very careful about her emotions. He knows how easy it’s for her to befriend anyone and risk everything for them. She can be too serious and stubborn about her love for her friends. Athena was no exception. They just met a few chapters ago and Lucy was ready to quit fighting Viernes for her sake.

But it just wasn’t possible to take time and make her understand that she’s needed in this fight and they can’t defeat Viernes unless she helps. Natsu did what he could do at that time and it was an urgent plea to shake Lucy out of her zone. That shout was full of desperation and it was hundred percent needed.

Also I heavily disagree with those who said Lucy was too dramatic for behaving like this. No she wasn’t. Don’t forget that she interacted the most with Athena and made her realise that she can also have emotions like humans. She befriended her first and it was quite natural for someone like Lucy to react that way because she has only been losing people since the beginning. Her mother, father, Aquarius, Eclair and even Natsu left her alone for a year and the guild disbanded. And now Athena.

[chernabogs]

I saw in your tags for the scenario promts that you're accepting requests👀 How about “you will always follow the trail in the wood, and it will guide you on the same path, to the same cottage, the same witch. it will always be your undoing” with Yuu? or, if you don't write for them, “names are not like currency here; they are more precious than diamonds and legacies” with Malleus?

I'll give u both xoxo

The Woodcutter and The Prince

Inc: Malleus Draconia, Reader/Yuu, Sebek Zigvolt, Silver, Lilia Vanrouge, Grim Warnings: None for once LMAO WC: 4.3k Summary: A fairy tale of a woodcutter, a beast, three knights, and a lonely prince.

It feels appropriate to begin the story with ‘once upon a time,’ the token element, as that’s what all tales of magic and monsters begin with.

So, once upon a time, there was a woodcutter. 

You, or Yuu, as many called you, were somewhat of a respectable member of your village. As one of the few people who was brave enough to go trekking into the darkened woods beyond the boundaries for the needs of the villagers, they often turned to you for aid when times grew dire, and winter began its inevitable descent. You had grown up in these woods. You had seen many of the things that the shadows and the soil had to offer, and so you had come to settle into this life alone, becoming quite content in your role as a provider. 

One day, when you are deep within the bowels of nature that never seemed sated, the sharp blade of your axe biting into an oak as you sought to fill your quota, a great beast steps onto the path before you. Fire laps in its ears, and it has a tail like a trident, which twitches and sways in irritation. It holds its head low to meet your gaze, and it’s with that stare that you find your arm stilling, the axe soon held limply by your side. When you cease your cutting, the beast gives a low rumble from within its chest before speaking. 

“Woodcutter, there is a beast in this forest that cannot stop devouring. If you can satisfy him, you will be rewarded.” 

You take a wary step back then, your gaze uncertain as you observed the power rippling beneath the great cat's skin. Its toothy smile contrasts the softer tone it uses to share with you its plea. Yet, despite all these aspects, you feel no malice in its presence. So you heft your axe onto your shoulder and fix the beast with a frown. 

“How can I be of help? I come out here to cut the woods, not satisfy the monsters they house.” 

The beast's tail flicks again as it settles on its haunches. Reptile-like claws dig into the soil of the earth as a shuddering sigh leaves its form. “The beast is a prince who, despite having all the possessions in the world, still carries an emptiness in his core. He is guarded by three knights who let him do as he pleases. Open their eyes, and your reward shall be even greater.”

“How can I even find this prince, or beast, or whatever he may be? The woods are so grand you can hardly expect me to know every corner.” You gesture to the thick trunks and towering leaves around you. “I know only what is close to my home, as that’s all I’ve ever needed. These woods have been more than giving.” 

“You know where he is already. You have walked that path before—though you may need to dig into your dreams to see it. You will always follow the trail in the woods, and it will guide you on the same path, to the same cottage, the same beast. It will always be your undoing—or, in this case, his.” The beast smiles a great grin that showed its many rows of shard-like teeth. “Do you not love your home? Do you not love your kin? If you leave him be, he will come upon your doorsteps in time like a starving wraith. He will claw his way into your homes and feed you sweet dreams until you rot to dust in your beds. Then, he will simply move on.”

“He sounds horrid,” you sputter, your grip on the axe tightening. The beast nods. 

“In a sense, he is. But even the most horrid can change with the right prompting. So tell me—are you good at carving?” 

You find your curiosity soon outweighing your fright over the beast and the tales that he spins. His warnings of what will happen to your home, should this prince be left unchecked, sends shivers up your spine and you find yourself nodding at his words. The beast almost looks satisfied as he rises again with another rumbling purr. He slips back into the brush that he emerged from, the foliage swallowing his form, until all that is left for you to see is a pair of burning blue eyes. 

“Good luck, woodcutter. The forest now rests in your hands.” 

And with that, he leaves you alone once more, with nothing more than an axe and a marred tree as your companions. 

________________________

You do not remember your dreams very well. You never have, even in your youth. They seem to dissipate out of your mind as soon as you wake, leaving you grasping at the vaguest of visions to piece together what tapestry your mind wove. Still, your feet carry you forward into the woods with sure steps, the axe still held on your shoulder as you walk. It feels as though you travelled for many hours until you came upon the first of the three the beast warned you of—a man with green hair, and armour of iron. 

“Today, we will enter the valley,” the man declares, unaware of your presence at the edges of the meadow, “and my prince shall find his companionship there.” 

You watch on as the knight looks back along the path, as though expecting someone else, before he moves to a stream close to your hiding position. You lower yourself closer to the twigs and branches below before clearing your throat to speak in a low murmur. 

“Fine knight,” you coo, throwing your voice to make it sound far different than it is, “do you truly intend to let your prince enter the valley?” 

The green knight stands sharply, his hand touching his sword hilt as his eyes flash with anger. “Who goes there?” He demands, his voice like a booming of thunder across the meadow. You remain concealed as you speak again. 

“Fine knight, do you truly think your prince will find a companion in the valley? What will he do if he does not? He will become more despondent, more enraged, and he will pull you into a dreamless sleep as he has so many others. Will you let him do that?” Your nails tap the handle of your axe as you watch the knight's expression. “Will you let him steal your dreams too?” 

The knight doesn’t seem too fond of the idea as he stands by the stream, a conflicted look upon his face. His hand clenches and unclenches on his sword hilt before he looks back to the path once more. “I do not wish… to see my prince despondent anymore,” he murmurs, his voice now less fierce than before. 

“Then find me a piece of yew and bring it to where your prince lay. I shall make it so that he may never feel alone again.” You urge. The knight seems uncertain still. 

“Who are you? How can I trust you?” He demands again. You hum quietly from your hiding place. 

“I am Yuu, and I swear that I will not lay a hand on your prince. If I do, you may guide the waters that fill this stream to fill my lungs instead.”

Well, this satisfies the knight, and with a huff and a nod he goes stomping into the forest to search for a yew tree. Once he’s gone, you creep out of your hiding place to continue down the path from your dream, pleased that the first obstacle is now done. 

________________________

You find yourself disheartened as the walk carries on and the sun creeps further across the sky. It was dawn when you began, and now it is midday. Still, your mind remains focused as the beast's warnings play over, allowing you to be alert enough to hear humming before the figure emerges. The second knight is a creature in himself—a fae, wearing the clothes of a travelling merchant instead of the armour the first knight adorned.  

He does not give you a chance to hide. His red eyes are locking with yours before you can even move, and the grin he offers shows a pair of brilliant white canines in his mouth. “Fine day, is it not?” 

You pause, your axe on your shoulder as you open your mouth to respond before falling silent again. The knight and you observe each other for a moment before he speaks once more. “What brings you so deep in these woods? You are of the valley.” 

“I am.” You answer deftly as you squeeze your axe handle again. “I am here to complete a task.”

“And what task might bring a woodcutter out here?” The knight prompts, taking a seat on a nearby stump to prop his chin in his hands. His smile does not waver as he watches you, and you know that trying to lie about your purpose to him will be a folly on your end. 

“Do you truly intend to let your prince enter the valley?” You instead ask, lowering your axe as you shift your weight on your feet. The knight raises one dark eyebrow. 

“Why should we not?” He replies easily. “He is our prince, after all. He wishes to find companionship, among others.”

“But dearest knight, do you truly think your prince will find a companion in the valley? What will he do if he does not? He will become more despondent, more enraged, and he will pull you into a dreamless sleep as he has so many others. Will you let him do that?” Your nails tap the handle of your axe as you watch the knight's expression. “Will you let him steal your dreams too?”

“I have no dreams left to steal!” The knight laughs as he leans back on the stump. “My nights are as empty as an abyss.”

“Then what of the others? When he steals away dreams and leaves everyone asleep, he will simply move on to another village. He will still be utterly alone. Do you wish to see him like that?” You pause to gesture to the silent woods around you. “Will you let him continue to hurt as well?” 

The knight seems less fond of this idea as his smile wavers. Perhaps you are misjudging it, but this knight has an almost fatherly look about him when it comes to matters regarding his prince. His black nails tap his leg before speaking. “What do you offer him in turn, then?” 

“Find me a smooth carving stone and bring it to where your prince lay. I shall make it so that he may never feel alone again.” You urge. The knight tilts his head in consideration.  

“Who are you, and how can I trust you?” He muses. “We take great offence to lies, you know.” 

“I am Yuu, and I swear that I will not lay a hand on your prince. If I do, you may urge the roots that tether these trees to tether my body instead.”

Well, this satisfies the knight, who rises from the stump with a soft laugh before stepping towards you. He touches your arm lightly and looks up at you with a mischievous grin, which does little to hide the wariness in his eyes. “Be kind to him, hm?”

Once he’s gone, you hoist your axe back upon your shoulder and continue down the path, the knights parting words now playing alongside the beasts in your mind. 

________________________

Once more, you become disheartened as the midday sun soon shifts onto afternoon. You thought you’d find the prince faster and perhaps bypass the final knight, but it doesn’t seem that the world is willing to give you this break. When you come across the third obstacle, you do not see him as much as you do trip over his form. A stuttered gasp passes your lips as you regain your footing before looking down, where a pair of aurelian eyes are blearily looking up at you. 

“Hm?” Languidly, the third knight sits up from his position beneath the tree. His silver hair nearly blinds you in the sunlight, but this still doesn’t stop you from seeing the peculiar army of animals hovering around his form. Squirrels, chipmunks, birds—it’s as though the entire forest rests by his side. “Who might you be?” 

“Yuu.” You answer immediately, blinking your confusion away as you shift to face the odd man. He seems unbothered by both your presence and your axe as he remains sitting on the forest floor. “Are you… a knight?” 

“Mhm.” The man hums back as he rubs his eyes before rising to his feet. The act sends the animals scurrying away in a tizzy as his attention drifts to you. “Are you in need of aid? You’re quite far from where the village lay in the valley.” 

“I’m on a quest of sorts.” You watch the animals hovering on the edge of the treeline in interest before looking back to the knight. Despite his sleepy gait, there’s an alertness in his eyes that warns you off from trying any form of deception. “Do you intend to let your prince enter the valley?” 

The silver knight looks surprised for a moment before he crosses his arms, a frown touching his lips. “... if he wishes to, yes.” 

“But do you wish him to, knowing all that he will do if his desires fall through?” You decide a more honest conversation is best with this knight, who seems apprehensive of the plan to begin with. The silver knight looks past you to the pathway beyond for a moment before exhaling a soft sigh.

“I do not wish to see him hurt. I care for him dearly, for he is family to me, but…” the knight trails off, leaving you to pick up his sentence. “I also do not wish to see him so alone anymore. My father, my friend, and I—we have always been here for him, but he seems unable to see that.”

His father and his friend must have been the other two knights. You brave a step closer to the silver knight. “Do you think your prince will find a companion in the valley? What will he do if he does not? He will become more despondent, more enraged, and he will pull you into a dreamless sleep as he has so many others. Will you let him do that?”

“I can travel in dreams, so it is of no worry to me. But my father and my friend cannot.” The silver knight seems torn for a moment, standing on the precipice of loyalty and love, before his brilliant gaze looks to you again. “What are you offering, Yuu?” 

“Find me clay—primed for creating—and bring it to where your prince lay. I shall make it so that he may never feel alone again.” You promise. He looks unsure for a moment. 

“How can I trust you?” He asks, his voice soft and full of genuine concern. 

“I swear that I will not lay a hand on your prince. If I do, you may take the stones that lay on this forest floor and lay them upon my body instead.”

Well, this satisfies the knight, who nods his head somberly before turning away. A wave of his hand sends the birds fluttering, the squirrels skittering, and many of the animals into a frenzy as he steps into the woods. You watch him until he vanishes before turning back to the path. 

___________________________________

When the sun dips below the horizon and the sky above the woods is a blaze of golds and reds, that is when you see the home where the prince resides.

True to the beast's words, it is not a grand palace you encounter, but a cottage nestled deep within the woods. A garden surrounds the home, which is built of stone and oak, and a fence guards the path to the front door. You push it open with some trepidation before following the stones to the entrance. A part of you seeks to take your axe within, but another part protests, leaving you to set it aside instead. 

The door gives in to your push with little protest. When you pass through the threshold, you are enveloped in a warmth that seems unnatural, making your skin prickle beneath the wool clothing that keeps you safe in the woods. You tug on your collar as you look around the room—carvings and trinkets decorate the space, each one hand-crafted by someone who resides here. 

And this is when your gaze comes to rest on him. 

He’s observing you as you observe the space. He is a tall man—of this you can tell, even from where he sits—with sharp green eyes and dark lips which are twisted into a frown. Two black horns rise from his head into sharpened points, which are where your eyes go to immediately even as he speaks. 

“Yuu.” Your name rolls off his tongue with such ease that it sends a chill down your spine. You look at him in surprise, wondering how he knows your name already, which he then goes to answer with his next few words. “Names are not like currency here; they are more precious than diamonds and legacies. You give yours far too freely to expect it not to spread.” 

“Was it your knights?” You query as you move closer, drawing a chair out to sit across from him. The act momentarily surprises him as his expression shifts. This is a victory you take. “They all asked me for my name before I passed.”

“No, not the knights. Nature is a most noisy companion. Every breeze, every leaf, and every insect are buzzing about your venture. Dearest woodcutter, what is it that you seek from me?” The words are spoken with an undercurrent of distrust as the prince’s lip curls, showing teeth similar to those of the second knight. You take note of his pointed ears as well. A fae—not a monster like the beast said. Not even close, in fact. The guardedness in his gaze is not born of hostility. “You left your axe outside.”

“I haven’t used it at all on my walk. And I seek nothing more than a conversation.” You lean back in your chair as you glance out the nearby window. This position will let you see when the three knights make their return. 

“You do not seek congenial conversation. I sense an interrogation is on the horizon.” He gives a harsh scoff as he crosses his arms. The temperature in the room seems to rise with his frustrations. “What is it you want, woodcutter?” 

“Are you going to the valley?” You bend to his demands and ask your questions as you meet his eye again. There is no cowering or simpering in your seat—you match his gaze steadfast with your own resilience. 

“What if I am?” He counters with all the haughtiness a young prince may possess. The act makes him seem more human and prompts a quirk of amusement in your lips. 

“What is it you desire?” 

“Why does what I desire concern you?” 

“Because I have been warned of what may happen if you cannot find it.” A moment of silence passes at your statement as the prince’s stubbornness remains. Then he sneers. 

“Did the beast offer you a prize? Is that what you want? A pretty reward for stopping me?” He hisses. You consider his words carefully. At first you did want a reward, in addition to aiding your fellow villagers. The three knights you’ve met have altered this perception, however. The first one with his unwavering loyalty showed you what the prince could be. The second one with his paternal concern showed you what the prince has been. The third knight with his uninhibited care to both the prince and his family showed you what the prince is. 

This is not a monster. This is a man in a cottage who has, in some way, been put in a role he isn’t sure he wants to fulfill. He has fallen into content monotony—precisely like you. 

So you shake your head because you know this is the truthful thing to do. “I did want the reward, but not anymore. I would rather talk to you for a while.”

Another flash of surprise sparks another twinge of victory in your chest as the prince leans back in his seat. “... talk to me?” 

“Mhm.” You gesture to the room. “Did you make these?” 

“I?” The prince then looks around as well, as though noticing the carvings himself for the first time, before clearing his throat. “Some, yes. Others were aided by my knights. It is somewhat of a stress reliever for us.” 

“They are quite nice.” You praise, which eases the tension in his body a little more, opening the opportunity for more. “How did you get into such a hobby?” 

________________________

When the three knights return, night has fallen, and you have managed to coax the fearsome prince into quite the drawn-out conversation. You note that he becomes far more vibrant in his speech when speaking of things he’s passionate about, to the point that he hardly notices the three knights nudging open the door until you pause the conversation yourself. 

“Hello again.” You greet them, noting the materials they carry in their arms. The green knight seems guarded still as he looks between you and the prince, while the other two knights merely offer brief, knowing smiles before setting the materials on the counter. 

A piece of yew, a stone, and an excess of clay held in a makeshift bucket. The prince’s eagerness is replaced by curiosity as he leans forward to stare at the items. 

“Did you go foraging?” He asks the second knight incredulously. A tittering laugh is his response as the knight drifts to your side. 

“Lilia.” Malleus shoots back with a narrowed gaze, which only prompts Lilia’s entertainment over this matter further. “You, Silver, and Sebek are all obliging to a woodcutters orders, hm?” 

“Well, Yuu. You’ve seemed to have made yourself quite at home here,” he muses, the amusement never leaving him as glances at the prince. “Malleus, to not have even offered our guest a drink. Have I taught you nothing?"

A wave of his hand has a steaming mug of... something, appear before you. You eye it for a moment before lightly taking the mugs handle. You don'r drink it, though.  

“Oh, our dear Yuu was persuasive. They told me I could feed them to trees, told Sebek he could feed them to the river, and told Silver he could stone them if they put a hand on you—so we were not overly concerned.” Lilia pinches your arm lightly before looking at the supplies you asked. “I wager I have an idea of what these were gathered for, but please Yuu, do enlighten us.” 

“Well, it’s far too late to do anything now—at least for me,” you quickly add as you glance at the quartet, “but I understand, Prince Malleus, that it’s companionship you’re seeking?” 

Malleus seems slightly displeased at your read of him as he glowers at you—a sharp contrast from his previous joy. It’s Silver’s light nudging to his arm that finally draws a curt nod out of the prince. 

“I know it may not be apparent to you, but companionship is already something that you have. Are you not accompanied by people who care for you in your daily life already?” You gesture to the three knights before continuing your points. “It may be hard to hear but promises of dreams and endless sleep are not ways to earn more people by your side. I began this thinking I was hunting a monster, but now I sit here across from you knowing that you and I are more alike than we think.” 

Malleus seems ready to speak, but you shake your head, which causes his mouth to close once more. You then point to the items that the knights collected. “Each of those items are capable of being crafted and changed in some manner. What tools would you use for them, Malleus?” 

“A blade for wood, a chisel for stone, and my hands for the clay.” Malleus answers immediately. 

“Those are all tools you have on hand. Tools that can allow you to craft wonderful things if used right and if taught correctly.” You then look back to the prince. “Speaking with your knights has shown me that you are someone worthy of being cared for, of being around. You don’t need to go storming into villages—you have tools to earn their care. You just need someone to show you how to use them.” 

You then sink back in your chair with a sigh. “I’m just a woodcutter, yes, but I’m also someone who knows my village well. If you let me, I can introduce you to them—without the sleep part.” 

A pause fills the room as Malleus seems to consider your offer. The three knights remain silent near the door, but you can see by the looks being exchanged and the shifting on their feet that they, too, are hoping he concurs. 

“... you give a rather valiant speech.” Malleus finally hums as his fingers go to touch his chin thoughtfully. “If you are willing, then perhaps… yes. I think I would quite like that, dearest woodcutter.” 

If the room could heave a collective sigh, you’re sure that it would as you rest your elbows on the table with a small laugh. You do not know what the beast’s reward was meant to be, and the curiosity about it fades as you offer the cautious prince a reassuring smile. 

You haven’t the heart to tell the man that you’ve never carved a single thing in your life, and that your entire speech was winged on the spot—but that’s an issue for another day.

[bumblebeehug]

In The Heat Of The Moment

Summary: An answer to an interview is the straw that breaks the camel's, or in this case, Lucy's back. She has never been this angry with Natsu before - and he's never been this angry with her.

Warnings: No explicit content, but lots of swearing.

Notes: Sorry if this is a bit OOC lol, I got itchy fingers last year and wrote 90% of this fic in one go with no prior planning. Only got back to it now, but hey! It's finished!

Ao3

***

Lucy was so unbelievably fed up with Natsu. Even looking at him had her filled with an indescribable rage, practically making her fume. That stupid, idiot man! She had never felt this anger before, not even against a tough enemy she was facing during extra hard missions. No, no words could describe the resentment she felt towards Natsu, not even coming from her, a proper writer.

“You just don’t get it Natsu! God, can you please try to use that non-existent brain for once?” She yelled in despair, tears welling over in her eyes from the heartbreaking frustration building in her heart.

“No, I don’t get it Lucy! For fuck’s sake, why do you have to be such a pedantic bitch?” His big hand grabbed her collar, making it tighten up significantly.

Lucy wasn’t scared, she told herself, because being scared of the person she hated the most was not only unbelievably embarrassing, but also just way below her standards. So she fiercely bit down on her lip, partly to make the tears stop flooding, partly to throw the fire dragon slayer off guard.

Natsu’s usually kind onyx eyes looked like angry storms, showing her the most spiteful stare she had gotten in a very long time.

“Maybe I’m a pedantic bitch because I’ve always had to balance out your disgusting childish personality all the fucking time. Do you have any idea of what a menace you are, not only to me or this guild, but to society?” She hissed, no longer holding back the anger she felt. Natsu, out of everyone, was the last person she wanted to hear those comments from, because frankly - he was no better than her in this matter.

Natsu pursed his lips. He had never seen Lucy this upset, and frankly, he hadn’t felt this upset since, well, Igneel left him in the woods as a kid. It had all started a few weeks ago, when he had been interviewed for a double paged article in Sorcerer's Weekly. He had gotten the usual questions, except two or three out of the ordinary. He was asked about random things, like his favourite restaurant and his best picnic spot - all manageable questions, until it came to the last one.

“Why did you leave the guild before it disbanded?” Jason asked, his lock of hair wiggling in the wind. Natsu of course answered with the usual - he wanted to get stronger for the guild after dealing with Igneel’s death. Only, this time he was asked a follow up question.

“Did you ever worry about anyone while you were away? Anyone particularly?”

“Well…” He had answered, “I suppose I was a bit worried about my team, but in general I was worried about everyone. I think out of all of the guildmates I might be the most fired up to protect everyone. There’s no telling what type of trouble could come to Fairy Tail you know.” That sentence wasn’t the problem though. It was the one that came after that. “I told Lucy to tell everyone hi as I left, but she probably didn’t manage to do that since she let the guild disband.” An innocent sentence according to Natsu. He had just commented on the letter he had given her, and provided a clue on what he had written in it - nothing more, nothing less, right?

The rest of the day was quite peaceful, not even any guild brawls starting up in the evening. It could probably be described as the calm before the storm, he learned the following day.

“You told him I let the guild disband!?” Lucy yelled as she entered the guild by slamming up the doors.

It was still quite early in the morning, though a lot of members came in early on Thursdays, hoping to grab quick high paying jobs before the weekend. Every step Lucy took was loud as she stomped to the bar where Natsu sat and the guild got quiet enough for anyone to hear a pin drop. Lucy waved the copy of the magazine in front of her before slamming it down in front of Natsu, disrupting his otherwise quite calm breakfast.

“That you were worried about the protection of the guild, when you ran off with nothing but a letter!?”

“What- what are you talking about?” Natsu asked, confused over the sudden accusation - coming from his best friend nonetheless!

“I’m talking about the interview from yesterday! What on earth made you say something like that?” Lucy took a small step back and crossed her arms. Partly to calm herself from the initial shock, but also partly to hide the betrayal she felt.

Telling Jason, and the entire continent for that matter, that Lucy didn’t succeed at contacting their friends in the guild because she let it disband? It felt like a shot in the heart, because she really didn’t think Natsu would ever say such a thing. She was afraid of it, but she told herself she was being paranoid due to her issues with abandonment. Now she was watching her biggest fears come true and she felt conflicted whether she was meant to be furious or depressed over it.

Natsu stood up from his seat and tried putting his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to soothe her. Not pleased with his half-assed apology, Lucy immediately shook him off.

“I don’t know what to say… I didn’t think he would write it down so literally I guess?”

He still didn’t understand where her anger was coming from. He had really just told Jason some things that he usually didn’t talk about—like his letter to Lucy and how he truly felt when he and Happy left to train. If anything he felt a bit proud for opening up more.

“But you’re admitting that you said it?” She opened the spread in the magazine, to properly quote him. “‘I think out of all of the guildmates I might be the most fired up to protect everyone,’ it says, and wait - there’s more: ‘I told Lucy to tell everyone hi as I left, but she probably didn’t manage to do that since she let the guild disband.’ Do you agree that that is what you said?” She looked into his eyes, still wishing Jason misinterpreted what he actually said, though now fretting to hear the truth.

“Well… yeah I guess I did say exactly that. I don’t know what you want me to say,” Natsu said, not understanding why Lucy was being so dramatic over some words.

He usually found her endearing when she acted dramatic over things but now he was growing annoyed. He really didn’t like that she was getting mad at him for telling his truth to Sorcerer’s Weekly.

Lucy fought her quivering lip. He really said it. And it looked like he really thought so too. That it was Lucy’s fault that the Fairy Tail guild disbanded—not that she was the cause of it, but that she didn’t do anything to stop it. Even if it was true–she didn’t know what to do at the time, knowing that Natsu and Happy left her with only a short, quite poorly written letter, still healing both physically and emotionally from the war against Tartaros. She felt sick to her stomach hearing it from him.

“I’d like an apology,” she said, her voice shaking slightly as she forced herself not to cry. “I want you to apologise for blaming me for a situation that you ran away from. Say that you’re sorry.” She said it louder this time. She refused to put up with his unfair claims, and she knew she deserved an apology.

“Okay. I’m sorry for telling Jason my true feelings, but that’s just how I feel. Sorry if you don’t think you’re not at least partially responsible for letting the guild disband. But you know that if I were there I would never have let that happen.”

Natsu knew he was pulling the wrong strings here, but even if he never said it, the knowledge that the disbandment could have—no, would have been stopped if he was there was enough to feel like the rest of the guild hadn’t tried hard enough themselves. Frankly, putting all of that blame on Lucy was unfair and untrue and Natsu knew it, but it was hard to take back printed words.

“Oh I know you wouldn’t let it happen, because Natsu Dragneel is soooo much better than everyone else here, right? No, fuck that Natsu. Because you. Weren’t. There. Alright?” Lucy clenched her teeth as she said it.

”You have no right telling us how little we tried to keep the guild together. You have no right to talk like you’re the only one who cares about what happens to this guild, because out of everyone, you’ve proven to care the least about the guild! What’s that about being the ‘most fired up about protecting everyone’ huh? How can you protect people if you’re. Not. There!” Lucy poked Natsu harshly in the chest as she said the last three words, feeling her cheeks heat up in a growing rage.

She hadn’t originally wanted to bring up this event. In fact, she had practically laid awake every single night during that disbanded year, telling herself to forgive and forget as soon as possible. Because she knew no one’s circumstance was easy to deal with and sometimes obeying master Makarov’s order was the only thing you could do in a crisis like that. She had really, really, wanted to leave all of this behind her.

“Do you know what I went through in that war? Do you? I lost my dad, Lucy. I had to see him get murdered by Acnologia. You might not have liked your father, but for the longest time you still had one—you just chose not to see him and for what? Some childish anger about him working too hard and ‘neglecting’ you? I would have switched places with you in an instant if it meant I got to know my father was alive and well.” His voice gradually rose as he spoke, and simultaneously a pit grew in his stomach.

He hated this. He knew very well he wouldn’t actually want to switch places with Lucy, because he knew their situations weren’t comparable, but the more he spoke the harder it was to back down from his words.

“Don’t claim you’d want to switch places with me Natsu Dragneel. Don’t you even dare. Your childhood was great thanks to Igneel and mine was horrible because of my father. I know you wanted to get stronger to beat Acnologia, I understand wholeheartedly. I can even say that it was completely reasonable for you to leave me—to leave all of us, but I can’t let you think that you were the only one who lost a dear family member.” Lucy had run out of breath, but was quick to catch it again.

“Wendy, Gajeel, Sting and Rogue all lost their dragons, their parents as well, you know. And I lost a family member, Natsu. What’s worse is that I had to break our bond, I broke Aquarius’ key. She’s the only thing my mom left me and I had to give her up to save all of you. I would do it all again in a heartbeat for all of you but I might never find her key again and I have to live with the knowledge that I’m the reason we can’t see each other.” Her tears were dangerously close to overflowing, but she held them back.

“So don’t use Igneel as a shield for your shitty actions, Natsu. No one would have stopped you from training here, hell, no one would have stopped you from running away if you only talked to me first! But you left a letter with only chicken scratch on it, and you didn’t even try to get in contact with me while you were gone.” Lucy felt herself yelling at this point. She had to, otherwise she would’ve stopped mid-sentence as she saw Natsu’s face change from stoic and indifferent—maybe a little upset—to hurt. But now the ball was in Natsu’s court.

“I wrote you a fucking letter Lucy,” he hissed through his teeth, “that’s more than I did to anyone else. What more do you want, huh? A tiara, a horse, a castle maybe? Why do you think you’re so entitled to everything?”

He was reaching now and he knew it. Her coming from a rich family had nothing to do with this argument, but he knew he couldn’t say anything else to answer her about Igneel and Aquarius. Because she was right. He just hated that she was. He hated it because she knew how to talk about her feelings, and he didn’t, which is why he spent that year trying to get ahold of himself. And he hated that she knew him so well, but that she couldn’t figure that small thing out. That he regretted leaving more than anything else, that he regretted the letter he gave her, that he regretted not reaching out. He was acting cowardly, and out of everyone in the guild, he really thought that Lucy would understand.

Lucy however was getting fed up with how he was making this argument more personal than it already was. What more did she want than a letter? She had already told him that she wanted signs that he had at least tried to reach out, to show her that he didn’t completely abandon her. Lucy was so unbelievably fed up with Natsu at this point. That stupid, idiot man! No words could describe the resentment she felt towards Natsu, not even coming from her, a proper writer.

“You just don’t get it Natsu! God, can you PLEASE try to use that non-existing brain for once!?” She yelled in despair, tears welling over in her eyes from the heartbreaking frustration building in her heart.

“No, I don’t get it Lucy! For fucks sake, why do you have to be such a pedantic bitch?” He couldn’t stand her vague hints at what she wanted him to say. Why couldn’t she understand that he wanted real answers to his questions, not insults to his mental capacity. His big hand grabbed her collar, making it tighten up significantly. Lucy wasn’t scared, she told herself, because being scared of the person she hated the most at the moment was not only unbelievably embarrassing, but also just way below her standards. So she fiercely bit down on her lip, partly to make the tears stop flooding, partly to throw the fire dragon slayer off guard.

Natsu’s usually kind onyx eyes looked like angry storms, showing her the most spiteful stare she had gotten in a very long time.

“Maybe I’m a pedantic bitch because I’ve always had to balance out your disgusting childish personality all the fucking time. Do you have any idea of what a menace you are, not only to me or this guild, but to society?” She hissed, no longer holding back the anger she felt. If he wanted to make this fight about things that didn’t relate to that article, then she wouldn’t hold back. Natsu, out of everyone, was the last person she wanted to hear those comments from.

“I don’t give a fuck if you think I’m a menace to society or whatever because at least I manage to protect society from whatever dangers they face! I’m the one who saved the entire continent from fucking Acnologia, and what did you do in the meantime, huh?” He sneered, lifting her higher in the collar. His fists were itching to… not hit her, but hit something. Gray would have been a good target, but the wall was closer – he made a mental note.

“Believe it or not mister main character syndrome, I was helping beating Acnologia. In real life, and not just in whatever weird imaginary place you ended up in.” She was really reaching again. “You, however, always think I’m just some weak loser who can’t hold her own ground! As if I don’t save your butt every single mission due to your stupid recklessness!” Lucy wasn’t backing down despite feeling Natsu’s scolding hot breath against her face. “And no, I don’t care about how you claim to always act on instinct to protect your family, because it’s proper bullshit! You don’t get to act all high and mighty and great for this guild because your indecisiveness and pure weakness made you leave this guild to rot for an entire year. If you’re going to become this guild’s self proclaimed protector, then you’ve got to be here to protect it.” Lucy pulled away from Natsu’s grip, forcing some space between them.

“No, Lucy, you have no right to say that to me. It’s thanks to me we’ve survived almost every single danger the guild has faced. It’s thanks to me the guild won the Grand Magic Games - or wait, no it wasn’t! Because back then I was saving your ass from getting killed! So sorry for saving you and successfully protecting you all this time. I knew you were whiny, but I didn’t know you resented me for fixing your life. I brought you to this guild, you should be thanking me, not yelling at me for having my own life aside from you.”

“Would you just shut up!” Lucy’s voice cracked, and she quickly resented herself for saying that. “If you regret bringing me here to this guild then maybe I should just leave? But just know that I never ever left this guild in the dust to run away with one of my best friends, leaving the other one behind to rot. I never ran away, despite not being able to speak to my father before he died, despite feeling weak. Because I know I am And I don’t need you to tell me. I’m weak, I’m weird and you think I’m a sensitive, whiny bitch, because no matter what great feats I make, I will always be that spineless girl according to the entire fucking continent.”

Natsu pursed his lips. He had never seen Lucy this upset, and frankly, he hadn’t felt this upset since Igneel left him in the woods as a kid. Hearing her say that she would leave really threw him back into reality though, her words feeling like a bucket of ice cold water getting thrown at him. What the fuck was he doing? Fighting her over something as small as not being able to honestly apologise about blaming her for not managing to hold the whole guild together by herself? An impossible feat, now that he thought about it, unless everyone in the guild had the same mindset.

“No. No, no, no, Lucy, let’s not do this,” he mouthed, relaxing his fists and softening his face. “You’re not weak, or weird, or a sensitive spineless girl.”

As their yelling match quieted down they both became aware of their surroundings again. No one had said a single word while they had been throwing insults at each other, and Lucy became uncomfortably aware of how she basically outed all of her insecurities in the heat of it all. No longer feeling the fighting spirit to keep the tears abay, she let them blur her vision. Fighting with her best friend was draining, and she never ever wanted to do it again.

“You’re the person I hate the least in, like, the whole world, please don’t say you’ll leave.” He almost whispered this sentence, not wanting everyone to listen in to their private conversation, but getting the opposite effect as he heard Gajeel whisper to Levy what he had said. If anything, talking quieter made the guild listen even more attentively.

Lucy once again felt her throat thicken up, but this time from regret for fighting and not in anger, as earlier.

“Of course I won’t leave. I would never do that. It’s just…” She sniffled, “I know you probably didn’t mean to hurt my feelings during that interview, you didn’t know that I already blame myself for letting the guild disband, and for not trying harder to keep in contact with everyone. How could you know, I never told you. It just got extra hurtful to hear that you felt the same way. It’s like having one of your biggest fears come true and I just got so… sad… that I got angry instead.”

Natsu could see that she was gathering courage to apologise, which truthfully broke his heart even more than it already had today.

“But I don’t think you’re to blame, I honestly don’t even know what got into me, Lucy. If anything I know that you kept tabs on everyone behind the scenes because rather than ripping up healing scars, you wanted to make sure everyone was safe, wherever they were. I’ve never told you how relieved I was when I saw that we didn’t have to start from scratch to find everyone, all thanks to the fact that you dedicated yourself to getting a job that would give you the information necessary. You’re amazing for everything you’ve done, and if anything, I’m the one who needs to realise that I’m the weak one. I shouldn’t have left everyone like that. It wasn’t fair, and it isn’t an excuse but I was sad and, well… scared.”

This time it was Lucy’s turn to interrupt Natsu.

“You’re not weak for doing what you thought would keep your loved ones safe, Natsu. I know you didn’t abandon me, you really were trying to protect us all, in your way. Though, it would be nice if you knew that we’re here for you too. We want to protect you and the guild as well. I want to protect you.”

“I’m still sorry for leaving. And I’m sorry for not thinking before I talk, I never wanted to make you feel that way. I was being really stupid. Can you forgive me?”

The air was thick between them, mixed with remnants of hurtful words and regret. A few whispers from the rest of the guild made it even more obvious that the current situation was wrong - Natsu and Lucy couldn’t fight. They were best friends, an inseparable duo. It was all so wrong. Lucy’s sobs broke the silence.

“Of course I can forgive you.” A huff or relief mixed with a sob made its way out, almost sounding like laughter. Natsu felt the corners of his mouth pull up slightly, the weight on his shoulders lifting simultaneously. Carefully he took a step closer to her, pulling her into an embrace. Lucy’s relieved sobs made her shake against his chest as she allowed herself to fall into the hug. “If anything,” she breathed, “can you forgive me? You’re not a menace to society, nor exhausting to be with. I’m sorry for yelling at you.” As her voice broke into falsetto, mixing with previous sobs, Natsu managed to laugh lightly.

“Well you were right about the destructive part,” he laughed, tightening his grip around her shivering shoulders. “There’s really no need for you to apologise, but I’ll forgive you if it helps you to forgive yourself.”

Happy gave out a loud cry from beside them.

“I’m sorry Lucy..!” He wailed, throwing himself into their arms. “I didn’t know you’d be so sad about us leaving..!” Seeing Happy cry made Lucy cry even more.

“Of course I’d be sad if my best friends left me,” she managed to say, “I felt so lonely… You guys are everything to me, it was so weird to live without you.”

Happy’s cry was almost deafening at this point, as the only thing muffling the sound was Lucy’s chest and his occasional mumbling about loving her and apologising. The guild kept quiet, no one knowing how to react to the situation. The topic of the disbandment of the guild was rarely spoken of, often due, but not limited to, people silently judging themselves and others for allowing it to even happen in the first place. Cana could lie awake some nights in shame of how she had been drinking away reality when it happened, Elfman took more single missions than ever before, spending them wondering if he hadn’t made the guild blow up, would Makarov never have disbanded Fairy Tail? Some people were firm believers that they’d step up to keep the guild together, if someone had initiated it at first that was. Everyone had their own discomfort around the subject, yet very few had actually spoken about it out loud. Watching the guild’s sun and star fight over the delicate matter had brought feelings they hadn’t felt in a long time, so when Erza spoke up everyone held their breaths.

“I think we all have our uncomfortable memories connected to that year. I can admit, with full transparency, that I also have had some sleepless nights over this topic. But I can assure you both that no one blames either of you, in any way. It’s true that Natsu takes the job of protecting the guild in the highest regard of seriousness, and it’s also true that Lucy does too. To be frank, often I wonder if I could have prevented everything had I been more perceptive. But I’ve never blamed either of you.” Erza’s tone was soft, despite her words being stale and clearly rehearsed in her head. Her own confession made a myriad of other people speak up as well.

“Yeah, we never blamed you two. You’re the ones that brought us together again!” The guild stirred, people talking over each other to get their two cents on the topic. After all, the disbandment was a dam waiting to burst – Natsu and Lucy had just accidentally pulled the plug.

“Well…” the coarse voice that spoke up made the guild quiet down again. Makarov had made an appearance, and Natsu and Lucy, who were already ashamed for having their affairs sorted out in front of their guild mates, got even more embarrassed knowing that he had heard it all. “I must say that I’m surprised, and actually offended, that no one has put the blame on me. You can deny it all you want, but at the end of the day it was me, not any of you, that uttered the words that caused the disbandment. It was never my intention for you to get mad at yourselves or each other.”

Glances were passed around in the guild. Between people who had fought over this topic, and between people who had plotted against other groups.

“I won’t say sorry though.” Makarov gave the crowd a stern look. “I did what I thought was the best thing to do at the time. And you can try to prove me wrong, but everyone here grew during that year. You took your own paths, and experienced new ways of living. I’m sorry for the aftermath of disbanding the guild, but I’m not sorry for doing it.”

When Makarov finished his sentences, the guild let out a collective sigh. Some got annoyed with Makarov’s demeanour – hadn’t he listened to Natsu and Lucy, and heard how harmful the event had been for their relationship? Others sighed in relief, nodding along with his words. He had a point after all, and like it or not, the guild had absolutely gotten stronger after their time apart. Someone mentioned the saying that “distance makes the heart fonder” and another guy pushed him for being corny.

Soon enough the argument between Natsu and Lucy had sizzled out. For everyone besides them, that is. Except, they both felt like there were things to deal with still. There were no more hard feelings between them, their troubles had been aired out and felt small now that they weren’t topics to carefully tread around anymore. Still, they hadn't come to a conclusion. They wanted to talk.

“Do… Do you want to go to my place?” Lucy asked, now that no one paid them attention.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

They knew they didn’t have any eyes on them, but they decided to sneak out the back way anyway. It didn’t feel right to walk out through the big doors that made a big thunk when it closed behind them. Not today. They were still worn thin from the screaming battle – a loud sound might break them from shockwaves only.

The walk home was naturally quiet. They had taken this route home many times before, but back then the silence didn’t feel so empty. It wasn’t awkward, it wasn’t emotionally thick. There weren’t any unsaid words, unsaid sentences hanging in the air, clinging to their brains like velcro. Today, everything had been said. There were no more elephants to avoid talking about. Except maybe one.

Lucy was the first to enter the apartment. She took her time untying her shoes and hanging up her jacket. They had gone here to talk, though how, she had no idea. How was she supposed to say anything when the same mouth had heckled him only an hour earlier? Natsu, who also took his time with his sandals, almost moving unnaturally slowly to get those extra seconds to prepare himself, wondered the same thing. He started formulating sentences in his mind, trying to come up with something to say that wasn’t going to ruin them, but before he could put any of them to the test, Lucy spoke.

“Do you want a cup of tea?” Both Lucy herself and Natsu gave her a mental pat on the shoulder. Harmless words. A good sentence even – Natsu would give it first place in the world if he could.

“Yeah, sounds good.” Another successful sentence. Maybe they actually would be able to solve all this.

After Lucy put on the kettle, they both sat down on the couch beside each other. She was first to speak again.

“Natsu, I really am sorry for everything I said.” Natsu tried to stop her there to insert his own apology, but Lucy spoke up louder. “I really said so many things that I didn’t mean, and I’m ashamed I even started the whole argument. It was really immature of me, and I…”

Lucy looked up at Natsu, water was once again pressing in her tear ducts, though this time in regret.

“I just really really love this guild. I don’t know where I would be without it. You seriously saved me that day in Hargeon, in more ways than one. I’m so thankful, I’m sorry for not telling you that more often. Thank you.”

Natsu stared intensely into Lucy’s eyes, wishing his gaze could speak for him, but ultimately deciding to answer.

“I don’t think you understand Lucy, I should thank you. And most of all, It’s me who should apologise. Hadn’t you been in my life I’d still be walking around with a stick up my bum, you’ve changed my perspective on life. We’ve gone through Hell and back together, but I never even once considered you part of that Hell. I’m sorry for being a jerk today.” Natsu didn’t notice until now that he had softly grabbed Lucy’s hand while speaking. He was beyond relieved that she didn’t pull back.

Lucy let out a light sob. She was crying in relief – the reassurance that he didn’t despise her.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you Natsu. You-” she dried some of her tears with the palm of her hand, “you’re my entire world.”

“And you’re mine.” Natsu was quick to answer her, and faster to bring their faces closer. He felt this urge to hug her, keep her tight and not let go for anything in the world, but at the same time he wanted to see her. See her eyes that were still crying, feel her face against his own. So he brought their foreheads together and just breathed with her. Lucy’s breaths were still shallow and shaky, but it felt right to have her skin touching his, breathing in her air.

Then Lucy closed the distance completely. She carefully locked her lips together with his, not being forceful in any way. But they knew that this was the sensation they had been searching for. A complete closeness, mouth to mouth, an action so intimate it felt like they were sharing souls. And right now, they might as well have done exactly that. All their troubles had been shared, all their uglies and all their pretties, and this final action signed a contract. That they’ll keep mentioning anything on their minds, that they’ll say everything they like and dislike about each other. Most importantly what they love about each other. In this short moment of telepathy, they already knew the subject of their love – them.

***

Notes: Oops. At least I ended it with a kiss? I can't lie, this was hard to write and even harder to post (I can't figure out the Rich Text function on Ao3 at all, but I needed italics for the fic on ao3! Sorry tumblr-readers, you’re missing out🫣)

I honestly didn't expect it to get so long, most of the fics I write that are over 4k words are mostly just wordy for no reason, lol. But this fic had some drama! My teachers would be proud, dramatic curves are important but I Suck At Them.

Thank you for reading all this! And pls don't hate me for writing other emotions than love and grief, I'll most definitely get back with a trillion of those kinds of fics soon (I prefer writing those fics hehe). XX

[weneeya]

Hi! First, I wanna say I hope you're doing well! Second, I love your writing, I've only just found your blog recently, but you've very quickly become one of my favorite writers on tumblr 🥰. Last thing, if you're okay with it, I was wondering if I could make a request for a Gajeel x reader where the reader and Gajeel have been together for a couple years, and has a more muscular build than quite a few of the other women in Fairy Tail, her strength rivals Erza's because of the training she's done for herself. As much as she loves being as strong as she is thanks to all her hard work, she still gets insecure about how she looks believing she has too much of a masculine type of build, and Gajeel takes it upon himself to show her how much he loves her as she is. It could be headcannons of different ways he shows her, or a oneshot, however you wanna do it. Thank youuu, hope your day goes well!!!

stronger than me m.list | rules

pairing. gajeel x reader

note. omg i'm sorry i took a bit long to do your request but i loved the idea so much that i wanted to do it perfectly!! thank you for your words, it's making me sooo happy <3 i hope i've been able to do what you expected from me :)

he always thought he would love someone to protect, someone so much weaker 

until he met you 

you’re strong, one of the strongest even ; with your magic but also physically 

your arms? your thighs? lord he would give everything to get crushed by them

you love being strong, he knows it 

but he also knows that it’s making insecure sometimes, because you’re not all shy and small and girly 

he’s bad at showing how much he loves and adores you, but he’s doing his best 

always asking you to come with him when he’s doing a quest ; alone or not, it doesn’t matter, he always want you to come 

asks you to train with him and Lily, saying you could learn a thing or two from each other

it happened one time, but he came on the guild’s stage to sing for you : most embarrassing thing he ever done, but also probably the most adorable one

fighting with the boys about who have the best girlfriend ; always ends up with no winner because they’re fighting 

you feel a bit stupid for even doubting how much he could love you, but it’s never bad to get a reminder

but he’s always sure he’s not doing enough 

Gajeel was sitting at the bar of the guild, head resting against the counter as he seemed completely depressed. Mirajane looked at him, tilting his head to the side. It was unusual to see him like that, because he was the type to never give up.  “What’s wrong?” She asked, and a long sigh left the dragon slayer’s lips. “y/n is not feeling well, I heard her talking with Levy the other day. She thinks she’s too masculine, but I don’t know how to show her she’s perfect.” A smile appeared on the girl’s lips, and she crossed her arms.  “Did you try telling her? Like you’re doing right now?” Gajeel sat up straight almost immediately, a blush rushing across his face. “Are you crazy? I can’t do that!” It was almost like Mirajane asked him to do the most difficult thing ever. She laughed slightly, and Gajeel looked away with a pout.  “Nothing would be clearer than your words themselves,” she said, and he knew she was right. He took a deep breath before standing up and leaving in a hurry. You weren’t in the guild, neither was Lily ; so he knew exactly where you were. In a few minutes, he was at the spot where you were training with Lily.  He cleared his throat loudly, making both of you stop. You looked at him, a bit surprised to see your boyfriend here. You stepped closer, an eyebrow raised. “Is everything okay?” You asked, and Gajeel took a deep breath.  “You’re perfect as you are,” he started, and you blinked a few times, not understanding what was happening. You were about to say something, but he stopped you. It was difficult enough without you intervening.  “I don’t want you to ever doubt yourself, especially how you look. You’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen and I adore every inch of you. I don’t care if you’re not all small and fragile ; I love you for how you are and I love everything about it.” He was almost out of breath.  You stayed silent for a few moments, because you didn’t expect any of this to happen. You noticed how he was trying to make an effort recently, but you never thought he would come to you to say it like this to your face. Slowly, a smile appeared on your lips. You cupped his face between yours hands, leaving a small kiss against his lips.  “Thank you Gajeel. I appreciate it, I really do,” you said, and a smile appeared on his own lips right after your words. That was all he wanted to see. You were the prettiest when you were smiling, and nothing should make you doubt this.

thank you!!

[the-silver-lining-gays]

Silver headcanons:

he’s a food thief: from what I’ve seen of silver’s future before it got fixed I’m guessing food was extremely valuable and scarce, so he often steals food and that habit is still alive and well with him. While he doesn’t outright steal everyone’s food when they’re starting to eat or out right steals someone’s lunch he will take it if you don’t finish your food and leave it out in the open alone he WILL take it!

Temperature problems: due to his future being extremely hot fiery hell scape for 200 years (I think I don’t know exactly when the whole world ending thing happened but I’m assuming it started 200 hundred years ago because of sonic 06) evolution took over and he’s grown very accustomed to the heat, so much so that he can’t handle the sudden temperature drop when he travels to the past so he’s often on the verge of hibernation when stays in the past of days and that’s just in the summer

Feral: he’s extremely aggressive when threatened and don’t think he rely solely on his powers to fight, he has a very strong punch and he’s stronger than you think (not to mention a lot of hand to hand combat experience) he’s also very alert so deliberate surprising him from behind would immediately earn you a black eye (he apologizes immediately after tho and kids seem to be able to do that and leave unharmed)

Physical touch: silver is extremely particularabout who touches him right now only; blaze, sonic,espio,cream,vanilla,shadow and Amy are able to touch him (and tails is getting there). If you’re not one of the mobiens on this list he will either hiss, raise and sharpen his quills or violently squirm away from discomfort

Lightning issues: silver has a constant Layer of dust or dirt on him…..why? Because if he doesn’t the slightest bit of light will cause him to flash bang people by just existing

Strange sparkly dust: for some reason silver produces this weird blue glitter like dust and silver is oblivious to it. While everyone else is confused about how he’s producing it and why he’s producing it not to mention tails losing his mind trying to figure out what it is! Cream and other kids have just decided that silver is a fairy/pixie and the glitter is just a very special kind of fairy dust

Singing: silver sings a lot when he thinks he’s alone and he’s very self conscious about his voice and never really talks about his singing voice or singing in general, the only one who knows about his singing is Sonic and that’s was only because he stumbled on silver singing to one of his plants. Silver was so embarrassed that he slammed in the door in Sonic’s face and said that he was “never coming out”. Sonic managed to convince him to come out tho (this is totally not a way to make a headcanon for silver to be a idol as a job in his future)

Nightmares and stress: for Obvious Reasons silver is extremely traumatized and has nightmares of the future that he’s worked so hard to achieve will be destroyed by a single mistake he makes. Those nightmares caused him overthink every movement he does and has small panic attacks in private

Collar, marks, and tags: silver has a shock collar around his neck that has been on him since he was a kid and he never got it removed (mostly because he had no idea how to) and since he hasn’t stopped growing the collar has become a health problem and he has breathing problems. The collar is usually covered by his neck fur so not a lot of people know about it. He’s been meaning to ask tails about removing it but things often come up. Sonic tho has noticed some markings under silvers fur, silver has no idea how they got there, it’s the same thing with the tag on his ear. The tag has weird symbols on it but silver has translated it to numbers, “378” he doesn’t know what to make of it tho.

His future: despite silver’s future being fix it’s not actually “fixed” it’s just moderately better than before, meaning that his future is in a post civil war torn era where the survivors form colonies and they often vary in how hostile they are to outsiders, silver lives in a particular big colony and has a garden on the roof of his home/ apartment building. Note: The future is still hot as hell due to climate change and war weapons (and the record the colony isn’t set in Stone Age, the war happened around 50-100 years ago so they do have good technology, currency, education, language etc. kinda like fontaine from genshin)

Nervous ticks: when nervous or anxious in a situation or around certain people his ear will twitch in varying levels of frequency, if it’s twitching every once in a while then he’s just a little anxious, if his ear twitching every other minute he’s very wary, but if his ear twitches constantly to the point it looks like it’s just flapping then he feels like he’s in a generally dangerous situation and is gonna die. If his ear doesn’t twitch that means he feels completely safe but if his ear is periscoping around then that means he feels safe with you not the environment.

Weapon: after he saved his future, silver decided that he needed a weapon so he salvaged a weapon from the old battlefield near the colony and got a gun staff/glaive thing (here’s what I’m talking about vv)

Memorie problems: after silver changed the future, his memory’s were erased and his origins were changed, and he didn’t remember anyone at first but he felt some familiarity with them and they all basically had to rebuild their relationships with him (and as for how he got into the past again, he found a time stone and it sent him into the past when he picked him up)

Hedgehog Rituals: silver has had little to no interaction with other hedgehogs so he doesn’t really know hedgehog behavior, courting or what hedgehogs can or can’t eat

Other Miscellaneous headcanons:

-gender fluid

-Demi pan

- short

-sassy

-has autism(high functioning), ADHD and social anxiety (I’m projecting)

-likes shiny things

-good sense of smell and hearing

Redesigned silver again as well:

Sorry for it being so long I just wanted to info dump

[adrift-in-thyme]

Whumptober: Day 2 Trust Issues

Ao3 link

Legend & Wind

Summary: Wind finds Legend injured…and strangely transformed

CW for blood and injury and slight dehumanization

————————————

Something glitters on the beach.

It is a lengthy thing, slim. Its form is similar to that of a teen boy. But the scales that decorate its body, glinting a deep indigo violet, are decidedly not human-like. They resemble those of the vibrantly colored fish that weave with tranquil grace through river waters.

Wind walks forward, head cocked, boots making gentle sounds in the supple sand.

“Hello?”

An intake of breath, sharp and ragged as a damaged blade, splits the air. The creature shifts, moves with the imprecise swiftness of the wounded and desperate. The next thing Wind knows, a pair of wide violet eyes are gazing with utter terror into his own.

The familiarity sinks into him like a boulder into mud. Wind gasps.

“Vet?!”

His feet move before thought can catch up. There is blood upon the sand. Blood tangling with the sharp, mangled pieces of what was once a net. Blood adorning taloned fingers, matting petal pink hair.

I have to help him! It is the only thought that comes to his mind, one born of instinct and empathy, of fear and the unbreakable bonds of friendship.

But when he drops to his knees and reaches out, Legend draws back.

“How?” he hisses through bared, bloodied teeth.

They’re pointy, Wind realizes with a spark of curiosity. Cool.

…cool but confusing.

Just what is this? A curse? A spell? A special ability Legend had chosen to keep secret?

Oh, like the old man’s masks! He thinks. Yeah, that must be it!

“How do I know that you’re him? That you’re our sailor?”

“What?”

Wind shakes his head, reaches for him again, desperate to aid his friend. This time his fingers come to rest upon the layer of sleek scales climbing the veteran’s forearm. Legend flinches back as though his touch is flame.

“Don’t,” he growls in a tone so deep and hoarse, so animalistic and eery that for a moment, the sailor is certain he had uttered the word in another tongue.

Wind retracts his hand, holds it to his chest. Tears burn at the edges of his eyes. He bites his lip in an attempt to hold them back.

Now is not the time to cry.

“I-I…” He inhales roughly and swipes a fist across his eyes. “Of course, I’m your sailor, Legend! Why wouldn’t I be? And more importantly” — he gestures to Legend’s prone form — “why didn’t you tell anyone about this?”

Delicately finned ears flatten against damp locks. For a moment, Wind is sure he is going to growl again, and perhaps sound a bit more like Wolfie this time. But then, Legend bites out a choked cry and his hesitation flees once more.

“Here.” He fishes in his pouch and holds up a bottle containing an eagerly glittering fairy. “This’ll work on you in this form, right?”

Legend’s eyes flick from the bottle to his face and back again. Slowly, he nods.

A grin splits Wind’s face like the sun after a rainstorm.

“Great!”

Unscrewing the lid, he watches gleefully as the little creature flits determinedly forward. It twirls, graceful and quick, in four looping circles around Legend. And then it is gone, faded into the aether, leaving only the remnants of its whirling magic behind.

“Thank you!” Wind waves to the last gleam of pink that disappears into the sunny sky. He turns back to Legend. “Feeling better?”

The veteran shifts. He lifts his hands and turns them over, inspecting the palms and backs of them. Cautiously, he moves his tale. Wind lets out a hushed “oh” as the scales absorb and reflect the churning green of the sea.

“You’re super cool, by the way,” he chirps before he can shut his mouth. “What’re you? A merman? I’ve never seen one before!”

He may be imagining it, but Wind is sure he sees the faintest smile lift Legend’s lips.

“Yeah, I’m feeling better,” he says, quietly. “And yeah, I’m a merman. I don’t know if it’s cool though. More like a pain in the ass.” He looks down at his tail and sighs. “Like this, I’m interesting to bad people. Like this, I can be caught.”

The sailor breathes in. The net still lies beneath Legend, torn, bloodied by his efforts to free himself. Suddenly, the crimson seems to glare in the sunlight.

“So, that’s what happened!” he exclaims. “Someone tried to capture you!”

He stands, sword drawn so quickly it hardly makes a sound. But Legend holds out a hand.

“Don’t worry about it, sailor. They’re long gone.”

He drags himself fully up onto land. Wind watches, wide eyed as his tail splits into two legs, scales rippling away, claws retracting into fingernails.

“Idiot.” He ducks his head, curls his hands into fists. “I shouldn’t have hesitated. I should’ve known something was wrong the minute I thought I saw you.”

Wind’s thoughts scramble over one another, trying in a panic to catch up.

“Th-they…the people who hurt you…they looked like me?”

Legend lifts his eyes, his expression dark. “There were three of them. They each looked like one of…one of my brothers. It was just a coincidence that one looked like you.” He shudders. “I would’ve run or attacked, but they somehow knew I wouldn’t. Not if I saw your faces. And faltering for even just a second…was enough.”

Wind gnaws his lip. Legend’s tone is bitter. But his posture, his tense stance, it speaks to something deeper than anger.

He sheathes his sword and kneels. Then, he places a hand on Legend’s shoulder.

“I’m really sorry, vet.”

Legend is still for a moment, breath shuddering out of him. When he speaks, his voice cracks over itself like a crumbling structure of stone.

“There’s nothing for you to be sorry for. Thank you…for helping me out.”

The sailor smiles. “Of course! That’s what brothers do! Real brothers anyway.”

He pulls Legend close, and the vet allows his head to rest on his shoulder. Wind counts it as a win. Seldom does the prickly hero let himself display such vulnerability. But he emanates hurt and exhaustion far deeper than he is showing.

Wind has more questions than he can hold. If he doesn’t ask them soon, he’s sure he will burst. For now, however, he will wait. For now, he will sit with his brother (who can turn into a fish for some reason, his mind so jovially reminds him). He will sit beside him and guard him as he rests.

[lloydskywalkers]

Quick question, if you don't mind me asking, will there ever be more fics with Lloyd, Rachel and Brad? You don't have to answer if you don't want too. :)

ASDFG I do not mind at all omg my silly oc :'D I have...tentative plans for them depending on how november goes, but in the meantime i did have this one floating around?? reworked it a bit to fit the timeline but here's some shenanigans

(working title is "Lloyd and Brad clown-to-clown communicating: He’s the biggest mess of parental issues I’ve ever seen. Not me, though. I can fix him.")

also somewhat necessary reference for this fic:

There are probably better places to hang out than fifteen stories up the Ninjago City municipal building — or whatever this one is — and definitely better places to hang out than outside said building on a tiny wooden platform suspended by wires. 

And yet here Rachel is, sitting on a hijacked window cleaner platform that Lloyd’s insisted is perfectly safe, while Brad goes out for awkward lunch with his awkward mom one awkward building over. 

It’s not stalking if they’re doing their own thing. Which they are, thank you very much. 

“Fat pink blob.”

“Close,” Rachel snorts. 

“Kirby knock-off?”

“Hey, rude, Jigglypuff is unique,” she retorts. 

“Jigglypuff,” Lloyd repeats, delighted. “That’s even better.”

Rachel waves the Pokémon card with an air of superiority. “Jigglypuff is a balloon Pokémon, normal and fairy type. It can lull enemies to sleep with its singing.”

“Is it related to the Clefairy one?” Lloyd asks, one leg swinging over the edge of the platform, as if there’s not a good fifteen stories of empty air beneath him. 

“No, Pokémon aren’t related,” Rachel rolls her eyes. She pauses. “Well, I mean…I don’t know?”

“I thought you were the expert here.”

“I never said I was an expert on Pokémon genetics, cut me some slack.”

“Betrayed,” Lloyd sighs. “Next you’ll be telling me that Pikachu is a rat.”

“He’s not a rat, he’s a mouse, and I did tell you!” 

“Pikachu is Pikachu! How can he be a mouse!” 

“I can’t believe you’re still worked up about that,” Rachel huffs, propping her chin on her hands. 

“It’s the principle of things,” Lloyd says. “I’m uneducated, or whatever you said. Cut me some slack.”

Rachel rolls her eyes. As offended as Lloyd’s been by Pikachu the mouse, distracting themselves with Pokémon education — which is necessary, Lloyd’s such an obvious Pokémon target audience — has been a decent success, if she says so herself. 

So far, Lloyd’s been particularly fond of Charmander, his mouth quirking at the little fire-tailed creature. Rachel went ahead and gave him a Charmander and Squirtle pair, which successfully got a laugh from him. He’s also gone for Mimikyu—

“You would like that one.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

And Greninja, of course—

“I’m legally obligated to, look at the name—”

“Basic, loser—”

But she hadn’t seen Skiploom or Misdreavus coming.

“They’re cute,” Lloyd says. “And Misdreavus looks like you. When you have bad ideas.”

“When I have bad ideas — hey!” Rachel sputters. “Well, that makes sense then, ‘cause Skiploom looks like you.”

“Why, ‘cause it’s green?” Lloyd scoffs. “You can do better than that.”

“Fine,” she huffs, shuffling through her binder. “You would be…Dragonair. Or — ooh, wait, here—”

“Wooper?!” Lloyd stares at the cartoony blue blob and its oversized head in consternation. 

“It looks just like you,” she says, lips twitching. “Look at its happy little airhead smile—”

“It looks nothing like me!”

Lloyd’s laughing now though, his leg swinging back and forth enough to rock the platform. Rachel’s not normally one to be scared of heights, but her knuckles do turn somewhat white as she grips the cables. 

The whole window-washer thing does make a little more sense, now, seeing how at ease he is up here. 

Lloyd’s told her he took the window job because it was the only place in Ninjago he hasn’t caused enough significant structural damage to that would still hire him. The way he’d pulled them up this high without hesitating, though, she can’t help but wonder if there was more to it than that.

Lloyd’s the opposite of people scared of heights. Where others might shrink back in fear at the looming distance between them and the ground, Lloyd seems to come alive at it. Every gust of wind, the clear blue of the sky unfolding behind him, Lloyd breathes a little different — a little easier, a little lighter. 

“He’s not really human, remember?” Brad had reminded her, once. “Well, okay, he’s part-human — but there’s the whole Oni and dragon thing, you know?”

Which makes sense, she guesses. If Lloyd’s part dragon, it’s no wonder he misses the sky.

“There are so many,” Lloyd says, as they flip through her collection. “And you don’t even have ‘em all?”

“Not nearly,” Rachel says. “There are a lot of rare cards, or ones that are super hard to get, rainbow versions and shiny versions and stuff.”

“Like Starfarer collector’s comics.”

“Yeah, pretty much, I guess. Make something shiny and it’s worth more.”

“You’re telling me,” Lloyd murmurs beneath his breath. 

Rachel tilts her head, studying him. She’s been getting better at clocking those little remarks, now that she knows to look for them. Self-sabotaging slash self-deprecating moments, something him and Brad share in common. 

“You can’t just like the basics, though,” she says. She’s not sure the story behind this one, so distraction’ll have to work, this time. “C’mon, pick a poison type or something.” 

“I don’t even know what half the types are,” Lloyd huffs, but his expression eases as he flips through the plastic-sheathed pages. He pauses over her collection of ground types, tapping a card. “This one’s cool.”

“Oh,” Rachel says. “That’s Cubone. It’s one of my favorites, even though it’s a sad one.”

Lloyd stares at the pudgy, dinosaur-like creature. “Sad how? It’s cute.”

“Well, the skull it’s got on its head is, uh, its mom’s,” Rachel said. Lloyd’s head snaps up, expression wounded.

“What.”

“I said it was sad!” Rachel says. “It’s a lonely Pokémon.”

“They literally named it lonely?” Lloyd’s looking heartbroken by the second.

“Yeah, see, here—” In a totally smart and well thought-out move, Rachel hands him Cubone’s description. 

“When the memory of its departed mother brings it to tears, its cries echo mournfully within the skull it wears on its head,” Lloyd reads. His voice grows quieter as he does, his eyes fixed on the tiny creature embossed on the card. 

Stupid, thoughtless move, Rachel curses herself. Bad timing queen of the century—

There’s a reason they’re stalking Brad. There’s a reason they’re up this high, too. 

It isn’t like she knows what went on at Darkley’s, not all of it. But it doesn’t take a genius to guess that whatever kind of parents decided to leave their kids there weren’t the best. Or the most present. 

And she’d have to be really, really blind to miss the way Lloyd had gone stiff when Brad mentioned meeting up with his mother.

Lloyd looks down, to where Brad disappeared into the restaurant below. 

“I’m sure they’re fine,” she murmurs, uselessly.

Lloyd looks away. He’s drawn a knee up to his chest now, his cheek squashed up against it as he draws little circles over Cubone’s picture. 

“Brad said they get along, now,” he mutters. “That’s why they’re meeting up every month. To try and reconnect, or something.”

Rachel draws her own knees up to her chest, mimicking him. “That’s a good thing, right?”

Lloyd shrugs. He quickly shakes his head, amending, “No, you’re right. It’s a good thing. I’m being—”

He cuts off, looking out over the skyline.

“Selfish,” he murmurs. “Paranoid,” he adds, after a beat. “And unfair.”

“That’s a lot of lies to tell yourself.” 

“Except they’re true.”

“Stoppit,” Rachel scowls. “Now you’re calling me a liar—”

“Brad’s getting to reconnect with his mom and it isn’t about me.”

“Okay, well—” Rachel huffs. “Brad’s not here. It’s you and me and a bunch of Pokémon cards, and you didn’t even know what Pokémon was, which is a crime, because your mom left you at hell school as a kid—”

“Wow, okay, she didn’t — look, it’s—”

“You’re allowed to be hurt.”

“Am I?” Lloyd throws his hands up in the air. “I’ve already made things a mess with my dad, I don’t need to go and ruin stuff with my mom of top of everything,” he says in a rush. “I mean, she tries her best, too. People should get second chances, obviously, and like — she had a good reason, and — and it’s stupid that I’m even feeling this way in the first place, just ‘cause Brad’s having a great time with his mom and actually managing to talk to his parents without blowing up and — and oh my god I need to learn how to filter.” 

Rachel closes her mouth. 

She’d figured that was coming. She might not be a Lloyd expert, but ever since the world ended in Ninjago City for the billionth time — growing purple crystals all over yourself out of nowhere sucked, by the way — he’s clearly been off. And when Brad had mentioned hanging out in the city after meeting up with his mom, Rachel had known very well she was kicking a hornet’s nest by inviting Lloyd. 

Sometimes you gotta risk getting stung, though. To, uh…okay, turning into a bad metaphor here, but there’s a point. 

Lloyd buries his face in his hands. “I’m so sorry,” he says, muffled. “I wanted to hang out, and have fun, and — I’m terrible at being friends.”

“Three lies, you’re out,” is all Rachel manages at first. She shakes her head, reorienting. “Well, okay, you went over like, six sentences ago, but besides the point.”

She shifts her leg free, so she can gently kick his own. “You’re not a bad friend,” she says. “We are having fun. Sometimes you talk about the heavy stuff with your friends, too. That’s all.”

“It’s also all I’ve been doing. We should, uh, talk about your day now, or something—”

“You listened to me talk about Pokémon for an hour straight,” she says, gently. “That was really cool. Brad only lets me get like, ten minutes of rambling in.”

“I liked listening to you,” Lloyd says, glancing at up at her. “Except for the part where you said I’m a Wooper.”

Rachel breathes a laugh. “You are. Look at his dumb little smile.”

Lloyd’s lips twitch, a pale imitation of the smile she knows, but it’s a win she’ll take. 

“Have you ever thought about it?” she asks, hesitantly. “Talking to your…mom about things. How you feel. Actually feel.”

Lloyd’s face falls again, and he looks down to the tiny street below them. 

“I dunno,” he mutters. “I’m not sure what I’d say.”

Rachel chews on the inside on her cheek. She thinks of her own mother, of her frightened eyes always watching doors. Thinks of old books hidden beneath her bed, well-worn pages her uncle had read before the shouting matches had started. Thinks of the sting of people who don’t come back, while you’re left spending every day hoping more than anything—

“Brad’s out.”

Rachel’s head snaps to follow Lloyd’s gaze down — way, way down — to where the tiny blob that’s Brad is stepping out of the restaurant. 

Dragon eyes, she thinks. 

Or Oni? Which would have the better eyesight, in theory—

“You ready?”

She glances up. It’s as if Lloyd’s taken a pencil and erased the heaviness from his expression by force — she’d never be able to tell, if she hadn’t seen it herself.  

She has a thing or two to say about that, but they’re interrupted as her stomach drops at the wild grin that suddenly spreads across Lloyd’s face. 

“You know, we could just go down the normal way.”

“And be boring?”

“How’d you even keep this job,” Rachel mutters, sitting square on the platform with her binder between her legs, wrapping her arms tight around the railing.

“I didn’t,” Lloyd grins. “Three-two-one-go—”

Half of Ninjago City probably hears Rachel’s screaming. The other half gets to hear Lloyd’s wild laughter as he lets the platform plummet, speeding toward the ground in a free-fall, just to grab the cables and slide them to a stop at the last minute.

“I hate you,” Rachel spits through mouthfuls of hair. Her fingers feel forever fused to the railings. “Hate. You.”

“It’s like a roller coaster,” Lloyd says happily, stepping down from the platform. He holds a hand out for her with a lopsided grin. “It was kinda fun, right?”

Rachel pushes herself up on shaky legs, grabbing his hand as she staggers off the platform.

“Kinda,” she manages. “Kinda fun. In a crazy, maniac, sort of—”

“I thought that screaming sounded familiar.”

Brad, who’s somehow gotten across the block in the time it took to plummet fifteen stories down the building, shakes his head at them both. He’s still dressed in his nerdy blazer, his hair all gelled back, but thankfully his mom’s nowhere to be seen.

“What screaming?” Rachel wheezes. “I didn’t hear any screaming.”

“She almost passed out,” Lloyd says, grinning at Brad.

For that complete and utter betrayal, Rachel kicks him in the shin. “Traitor, what the heck!”

“Ow, ow, I mean she was totally chill the whole time—”

“It’s too late now, you already tossed me under the bus!”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure they could hear you seven streets over, anyways,” Brad says.

Rachel deflates. Lloyd pats her gingerly on the shoulder, then turns back to Brad. He hesitates, for a beat — as if scrambling for words — then asks, “How did things with your mother go?”

Brad barely manages to hide the face he makes. He’s lucky — it could pass as discomfort with the question, more so than who the question’s coming from.

“It was, uh,” Brad scratches the back of his head. “It was okay? Actually, I need to go say bye, so if you guys want to wait like, right here—”

The clacking sound of heels against the sidewalk draws near, and Brad stiffens. 

“Brad, dear, I hadn’t finished — oh!” 

Brad’s mother stops just behind him, her eyes wide. Brad’s expression twists, his arm halfway outstretched in an aborted attempt to hide Lloyd from her view. 

A very failed attempt, unfortunately. 

“You must be Lloyd Garmadon!” Brad’s mother says brightly. “I’ve been wanting to meet you for so long, your father’s diabolical work is simply exemplary—”

“Mom!” Brad hisses.

“O-oh, that is to say—” Mrs. Tudabone waves her hand. “I admire, how you’ve, ah, turned your life around for the greater good?”

“Um,” Lloyd says eloquently. He looks kind of like he does when a reporter corners him on the news, except like six times worse, because reporters usually know better than to bring up your father’s diabolical work right to his face — unless they want Nya to murder them on primetime television, or something. 

“Hi, Mrs. Tudabone,” Rachel steps in. “It’s nice to see you again.”

“Ah. Rachel.” Mrs. Tudabone’s smile grows tight. “Always a pleasure, being subjected to the one who got my son to stop achieving detention.”

“Which is a good thing,” Brad stresses.

“Mm-hm.” Mrs. Tudabone looks unconvinced. “What have you got there, dear? A binder full of disgustingly charitable ideas? More of that toxic—”

“Mom, please.” Brad looks as if he wants to throw himself from a bridge.

Rachel clutches her binder to her chest. “Nope! Just, uh, Pokémon.”

“I’m sure.” Mrs. Tudabone turns away from her, back to face Lloyd again. “I can’t believe Brad never introduced us, after all this time. You two were always so close, back at Darkley’s.”

The expressions on Lloyd and Brad’s faces would be comically hilarious, if they didn’t both look excruciatingly awkward. 

“Between you and me,” Mrs. Tudabone leans in conspiratorially. “I think it’s ridiculous they expelled you. The son of Garmadon, kicked out? Unbelievable.”

Uh-oh. Rachel feels a little bit like she’s been landed in a soap opera, in the worst possible way. 

“I mean, it was pretty believable,” Lloyd says, sounding a bit breathless. “It ended up being the best thing that ever happened to me, so. Uh.” 

“Because we’re both good, upstanding people,” Brad grinds out. “Okay, mom? We’ve talked about this, like, a thousand times—”

“And I told you, Brad, you should have introduced Lloyd to us earlier,” she shakes her head. “I don’t believe a word of those headmasters, look what happened to them! I could’ve given you much better advice.”

“Well, that would’ve meant you had to show up once a year,” Brad’s mouth is set tightly. “Since, you know, I never really saw you, at all? Remember that part?”

“Oh, Brad, don’t do this again,” Mrs. Tudabone sighs. “You’re always overreacting about these things. Could you be a little less emotional? You did say you were old enough to make your own decisions now, after all.” 

Brad flinches, just barely visible. Rachel’s opening her mouth, but Lloyd beats her to it.

“He’s not overreacting, are you serious?” Lloyd’s eyes are just a bit too wide, his breathing just a bit too fast. “You don’t get to tell him that when you abandoned him—”

Lloyd cuts off abruptly, the color sliding from his face like water. Brad gapes at him. Rachel, catching the way Lloyd’s breathing starts hitching and Brad’s mom seems to be faring little better, takes one for the team.

“It was great talking with you, Mrs. Tudabone,” she says brightly, grabbing Lloyd’s hand in her own. “Unfortunately I just dropped fifteen stories down a building and I’m about to throw up everywhere. Please excuse us.”

Tugging Lloyd with her, she proceeds to book it.  

The harried voice and following footsteps let her know that Brad’s following, but Rachel’s too focused to catch what he’s saying. 

Get rid of the people, get rid of the noise, cut environmental triggers—

She drags Lloyd into the back alley and releases his hand. Lloyd’s already sliding down, crouched over as he breathes raggedly, head held between his hands. 

“Lloyd! Lloyd, where’d you—”

“Shh,” she hisses at Brad, crouching down next to Lloyd. “Yelling’s bad. Hey, Lloyd, you with us?”

He gives a reedy, whistling exhale. 

“Had…better moments.” 

“What are you talking about, this is a great moment,” Brad giggles half-hysterically, joining them on the aging concrete. “We’re just hanging out. On the ground, in an alleyway, where we’ll probably all get tetanus—”

“Zip it.”

Lloyd squeezes his eyes shut. “M’sorry,” he rasps. 

Rachel makes a noise of not-quite-hidden exasperation, but Brad’s the one to speak up.

“Don’t do that,” he sighs. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for.”

Lloyd makes a sound that could be a laugh, if it was the saddest, fakest laugh ever.

“I yelled at your mom.”

“That wasn’t even yelling,” Brad says. “I’ve said way worse. She’s said way worse, actually.”

Lloyd shakes his head, disappearing beneath his hair again. Like coaxing out a stubborn cat, Rachel holds her hand out, and Lloyd’s the one to grab it this time. Brad brings his hand down on top. 

She stares at him. He winces.  

“It’s only awkward if you say something.”

“Then why’d you say something,” Lloyd mutters. 

“I didn’t wanna be left out.”

“Of the group panic attack?” Rachel says.

“Not a panic attack,” Lloyd says. “I’m fine.”

“You are so not fine,” Brad breathes out a laugh. Lloyd makes a muffled sound into his hands. 

Shifting in place, Brad continues, his voice softer. “Hey, for what it’s worth,” he murmurs. “Thanks. For…saying something to her. That meant a lot.”

Lloyd looks up at him from between his fingers. His cheeks turn a dusty shade of pink — which is way better than the ashy grey color he’s been, so he’ll probably be fine, Rachel notes — before he abruptly stands up, shaking his head. 

“Don’t thank me,” Lloyd says, looking a bit like a kicked dog. “I just — I didn’t help, really.”

“Lloyd—”

“Let’s get outta here, huh? This is kinda — kinda lame. Sorry.”

Brad stares at his back as Lloyd power-walks to the edge of the alleyway, his shoulders set in a rigid line. Rachel rises to her feet, chewing on the inside of her cheek as she tucks her binder beneath her elbow.

“You wanna bulldoze into this one, or should I?” she finally says. 

Brad turns to her, his expression scrunching up. Upset, Rachel recognizes. At her. 

“Why’d you invite him today?” Brad murmurs beneath his breath. “I didn’t want — I told you about the mom thing. I knew it was gonna end up hurting him and you invited him anyways."

Rachel looks down. “He wanted to come. Maybe he wants to work through his mom stuff like you are.”

“He never said anything like that.”

“No,” she says. “He didn’t say it, maybe. But his face did.”

Brad stares, from the lines of Lloyd’s back where he stands ahead of them, then to her again. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know what it means,” she glares. “Lloyd’s never gonna say what he wants. You gotta start reading between the lies.”

“You mean the lines?”

“I mean the lies. Start listening to what I say more too, huh?”

Brad’s expression grows muddled, and Rachel feels a pang of guilt. Lloyd’s not the only one with a mangled social radar, she reminds herself. Lloyd’s not the only one with a childhood of bad lessons and broken connections. 

But oh, it’s frustrating sometimes, being friends with two people so hopelessly tangled up in their own emotions, while hopelessly denying those emotions exist in the first place. 

She ignores the part of her that likes how easy that makes it, for her to slip by when she needs to. 

Well, Lloyd might catch her. Like recognizing like, and all that. 

In the meantime—

She draws up to Lloyd where he’s standing frozen, just where the shadow of the alleyway meets the bright sunlight of the street. 

“Hey, knock knock,” she says. “Wanna come out of your brain, now?”

Lloyd jolts, coloring. “I’m not in my brain, I - I was just waiting for you guys, we can get going now that—”

“It’s okay to be mad at your mom,” she says. 

Lloyd makes a wheezing sound. “I told you—”

“And being mad at Brad’s mom because you understand why it hurts doesn’t make defending him any less of a nice gesture,” she continues. 

“Wha— what are you, my therapist?”

“No, you’re just stupid,” Rachel huffs. She shoots a glare at Brad as he trudges up next to them. “Both of you are.”

“You’re the biggest hypocrite I know,” Brad mutters. 

“And you’re a dummy who should talk about your feelings!” She elbows Lloyd in the side. “Both of you! Please go off like that more often, you’re like two - two - bottle rockets, or something—”

“Bottle rockets?!”

“It’s okay to feel stuff, just feel it before you explode!”

“We’re getting weird looks,” Lloyd whispers.

“Oh no, you are not getting out of this just because of social norms—”

“Okay, okay, alright!” Brad throws his hands in the air. “Lloyd. You’re fine. I get mad too, so next time, let’s just — punch a wall, or something.”

“No,” Rachel glares at him. “That’s so bad for you! You’ll split your knuckles open and damage your fingers, and—”

“Okay, geez, we’ll punch a pillow or something, then.”

Lloyd gives a shaky laugh. Brad draws up closer, his outstretched hand freezing halfway there.

“Hey,” he finally says. “We…we got out, still. Nothing’s gonna change that. We made it that far. So if we just keep moving—”

He cuts off. Lloyd looks up, his expression softening, and Brad meets his eyes with something indecipherable written across his face. 

Lloyd seems to get it, though. 

“One awkward step at a time, huh,” he says.

Brad huffs. “Awkward about sums it up. Do you know how lunch went? I told my mom I liked escargot because I panicked and couldn’t think of anything else. Do you know what escargot is?”

“How do you know what that is?” Rachel blinks. 

“Ditto?”

“It’s snails,” Brad grimaces. “It’s gross. I ate six snails while my mom asked me what I’d burned down for fun lately. Then she remembered I’m supposed to be good, and she panicked, and we sat there in silence for thirty minutes with six. Stupid. Snails.” 

Lloyd’s hand is pressed over his mouth. Rachel bites the inside of her cheek desperately.

“Please laugh,” Brad says raggedly. “It’s funny.” 

Rachel lets out a breath of laughter as Lloyd snickers quietly. 

“Another awkward step down, I guess?”

“And it was terrible,” Brad complains. “Next time we hang out, let’s just go bowling or something, okay?”

“Can we do karaoke?”

“Absolutely not. I refuse to get humiliated like that again.”

“I think we should all go to group therapy together,” Rachel says. 

This leaves both Lloyd and Brad sputtering, but the heavy weight hanging over their conversation has lifted, and Rachel will take what she can get. 

But she’s also a bit petty, and would like the last word, so before Lloyd leaves for the monastery, she darts forward to tuck both the Cubone card and an accompanying Marowak card into the pocket of his gi.

Lloyd frowns, staring at the second card as he reads the description. A small smile breaks across his face, and he holds the card out to her. 

“Call for Friend is an attack?”

“Fully redeemable, any time,” Rachel presses the card back into his hand. 

“You got him into Pokémon?” Brad says. “Don’t do it, Lloyd, she’s blown half her savings hunting down those dumb shiny cards.”

Rachel elbows him. “The point being,” she says. “That you should call us more often. ‘Cause we wanna hang out with you.”

Lloyd looks up at them both, the card clutched tightly in his hands. He smiles, a bit crooked, but more genuine. 

“You got it,” he murmurs. 

“And next time, we won’t talk about moms at all,” Brad says. 

“And we’ll all go get escargot and watch Brad cry.”

“Why do I tell you anything, I swear—”

Lloyd’s laughter is well-worth any dirty looks Brad sends her the entire way home. 

[beauty-beast-week]

Beauty and the Beast Week 2024, Day 7: Free Day Master List

Fic: A Tale Of Books, Roses and Friendship (Belle & Luigi, G) by @vulpixfairy1985

Takes place in my Super Mario Bros/Wreck It Ralph AU. Luigi goes to a new digital library to find his beloved Daisy the perfect storybook for his gift to her for Book Day in Litwak’s arcade. In doing so, he meets a beautiful bookish Disney princess who becomes his first friend in the Internet over books and roses…

Fic: beautiful problems, god knows we've got them (Cogsworth/Lumiere/Plumette, not rated) by @anenchantedteacup

I’ve always had some sort of plan for my life. Yes, it wouldn't always go perfectly as events came to pass, but it was set, and it was true. My lifeline. But you just had to come along, didn’t you? You had to pull me into your world, into your life.

Fic: No other way (Enchantress & Queen of the Fairies, T) by @firawren

Why does the Enchantress curse the Prince for such a seemingly minor offense? And why does she curse all the innocent servants as well? She must be an evil, crazy megalomaniac, right? Perhaps not… Aka, the Enchantress pitches the terms of her beast-spell to her boss, the Fairy Queen, and it turns out she’s being completely beneficent…

Fic and moodboard: Beauty and the Beetle (Belle/Beetlejuice, G) by @twisting-echo

He offered her his arm, and together they made their way to the grand ballroom. The Neitherworld’s version of a ball was a sight to behold. Ghosts, ghouls, and other supernatural beings danced and mingled, their laughter echoing through the cavernous space. The music was hauntingly beautiful, played by an orchestra of skeletons. Among the swirling figures on the dance floor, Belle and Beetlejuice stood out, their presence commanding attention.

Fic: you're my home, stay with me - chapter 4 (Adam/Belle, T) by @prince-adams-japris

Adam doesn't want to be volunteering at the library. Belle doesn't want him volunteering at the library. Mrs. Potts has other ideas.

Fic: If only you´ll keep me - chapter 7 (Adam/Belle, M) by @annaofthenorthernlights

They make their way upstairs and Belle tugs at Adam's arm. "My room?" "Why?" "I want to feel naughty. Like you're visiting me in the forbidden guest wing."

Fic: Alive - chapter 15 (Beast/Belle, E) by @greensearcher

He watched her for another moment with an expression she hadn’t quite figured out yet. His face seemed neutral except for his eyes, which were bright and staring at her intently. This time his tail was moving, catlike as it slowly swept the ground behind him. Belle had never seen it move like that, and the sight made her insides tremble with desire. She found this a bit alarming.

Ficlet: Beast, Sulley, and Mike by @aerinofdreamlightvalley

Art: Winter edition Babs by @fizzy-dizz

Art: Gaston hunting Sabor's ancestor by @tyrannoninja

Art: Belle sketch by @edzidolka

Art: Beast study drawings by @saehooh

Art: Disney VS Me by @zoeloveconvers99

Art: Heartflowers Cogsworth by @ticenchantedtoc

Art and character study: Belle and Adam's son Gabriel by @paschameleon

Art and meme: Expectation vs reality of Adam's body hair by @beastylittlething

We caught a couple works that forgot to tag @beauty-beast-week, but if we missed yours in this day 7 list, shoot us a DM with the link and we'll add it to the list as well as reblog it.

View the entire fic collection on AO3

[chrofeisnightmaregf]

Hello! If your requests are open can i ask for a fluff gray fullbuster x reader? Take your time ^^

a/n: Hi love! Sorry it took so long. I tried to make it funny but It didn't work out so well so it's just 6k words of mediocre writing. You didn't specify gender so I made the reader gender neutral. I hope you like it<3

synopsis: everyday scenarios of what it's like being Gray's s/o. Or everyday scenarios of Gray trying to figure out why he loves you and gets the answer in the end.

CW: Lots of talks(Mainly jokes) of death, sickness(motion sickness), detailed descriptions of being sick and throwing up, mentions of fighting, reader is mentioned to be a dragon slayer but no mention of what your element is or if you have a exceed, I tried to make reader funny but their kind of annoying, Gray is ooc, some light swearing. That's really it but let me know If I missed anything.

Do not steal or repost any of my works!!

WHY I LOVE YOU- Gray Fullbuster x reader

Terrified.

The only way to describe how you are feeling right now is terrified.

You never thought you would be bested by the likes of a creature such as this but if this is your fate you will take it. You lived a fulfilling life as one of fairy Tail’s top mages and one of the few s-class wizards that are in the Fairy Tail. You have made amazing friends that double as your family all thanks to that very same guild. That same guild also brought you your best friend and boyfriend. The man who gave your life meaning. Guilt flooded your system knowing that you would be leaving him all by his lonesome. You only hoped that the rest of your former team would take care of him while you were gone. 

“Gray” you mumble, tears filling your lash line. “I’m so sorry to be leaving you like this.” Gray meant so much to you. He was your first ever friend, the one who introduced you to team Natsu and most importantly? He is the one who showed you what true love really feels like. How you wish you could tell him goodbye. But maybe this is a good thing, you don’t want him to see you like this. 

“Babe?” you gasped. You whipped your head around to the direction the voice came from.

“Gray?” you questioned. “What are you doing here? I thought you had to go to the store?” you bite your lip trying to hold back the tears. As much as you wanted to see him in your last living moments you didn’t want him to see you like this.

Gray’s body tensed. “Babe are you- are you crying?” he moved towards you reaching his arms out to pull you in a hug.

“No!” you shouted. Gray retracted his arms, obviously confused by the look on his face.  “You shouldn’t see me like this” you sniffled. This made Gray even more confused. 

“What are you talking about y/n? I’ve seen you cry before.” Gray had no clue what you were talking about. He had seen you cry plenty of times so why were you making a big fuss right now?

You bit down on your lip harder trying not to let your tears spill but it was to no avail. It was bad enough before knowing that he would have to find you in your shared home dead but now he would have to witness your demise. This was terrible. 

The tears started rolling down your face and you sniffled again. “Like this Gray! You shouldn’t have to see me like this in my final moments. I don’t want you to remember me like this. I want you to remember me as my happy self. Not all teary and snotty.” This statement not only confused Gray even more but it also made him annoyed. What did you mean your final moments? What the hell were you talking about?  

“Y/n what the hell are you talking about? What do you mean by your final moments?” 

“Just leave me alone Gray! I don’t want you to remember me this way!” “What the hell are you talking about y/n? What do you mean remember you this way, why do you keep talking like you’re about to die?”

“Because I am Gray! I’m about to be killed and I don’t want you to see this creature brutally obliterate me!” Gray opens his mouth to further question you but stops as the familiarity of the situation hits him. He sighs and moves towards you. Didn't you guys just go through this last week.

“No Gray please don’t come any closer or it will kill you too!” You yell, but he doesn’t listen to you and keeps heading in your direction. Just as you were about to yell at him to get away from you again he walks past you and grabs a tissue.

He comes back to where you're standing and in front of the dining room table and sweeps up the creature in front of you. You gasp. “Is this the creature you’re claiming is about to kill you?” you nod and look away from the thing quickly, trying to avoid eye contact with the terrifying monster at all costs.

“Y/n look” you shake your head.

“Put it down Gray or else it’s gonna kill you too!” Gray deadpans.

“Babe if it was gonna kill me it wouldn’t have let me pick it up” he sighs out. 

“That’s because it’s gonna sneak attack you Gray! It wants to trick you and make you believe it’s harmless so it can kill you without you struggling!” he rolls his eyes at your overdramatic behavior. Why exactly does he love you?

“Y/n…” he sighs “It’s a spider.” You gasp. He says it like it’s some harmless bug. As if there aren’t spiders out there that can't poison you in a single bite. He says it so casually like spiders can’t crawl into your ears and lay eggs. As if spiders can’t-

“Y/n” Gray calls out your name to draw your attention over to him. “Watch me”. Hesitantly you look over to him. He opens the dining room window and slowly sets the spider on the ledge then removes the tissue from on top of it revealing the small but deadly creature. 

You screech watching the creature that was about the size of a quarter scurry around the window sill. “What the hell are you doing Gray!” you jump back as the monster starts to make it’s way back inside. “Gray it’s trying to come back in just kill the damn thing” You shout, getting into a fighting position. If Gray won’t kill it you will.

Gray scoffs and sets his forearm on the window sill to block the spider from coming back inside. He beckons you over with a ‘come hither’ motion. You take slow cautious steps over to him but once your in arms reach he grabs you and yanks you over to him. You yelp and jump behind him. Before you can yell at him some more he shushes you. “Watch,” he mutters.

You almost gagged at the sight of the spider walking across the window sill. The spider walks from one side of the window to the other a couple more times before crawling it’s way down the wall and crawling off.

“See y/n? It’s all gone. It didn’t wanna kill you. Hell, it didn’t even wanna be in the house in the first place, it just got trapped.” Gray smiles at you and closes the window. Your eyes move between him and the window repeatedly.

“Is it really gone?” you whisper. He hums in approval. Almost as if someone else had taken over your body your mood switched completely. You squealed. 

“GRAY MY LOVE YOU SAVED ME FROM THAT MURDEROUS CREATURE EVEN THOUGH IT COULD HAVE KILLED YOU TOO! YOUR SO BRAVE I DON’T KNOW HOW TO REPAY YOU! THANK YOU FOR SAVING ME THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU-” you cut yourself off by jumping on top of him and wrapping your arms and legs around him, gripping him like a koala and not letting him go even as he topples over and falls due to the shock of you jumping on him.

“ACK- WHAT THE HELL Y/N GET OFF ME THAT HURT!” 

“NO! NEVER GRAY BAE I NEED TO REPAY YOU!’

“HOW THE HELL ARE YOU REPAYING ME? ALL YOUR DOING IS SMOTHERING ME”

“I’M REPAYING YOU BY SMOTHERING YOU WITH MY LOVE NOW SHUT UP AND DEAL WITH IT” to make your point you shove your head in the crook of his neck then go limp, laying on him with all your body weight. He can practically feel you shattering his ribs and groans.

Why does he love you again?

                                                 ________

All you could think in this moment was how much you hated traveling on any sort of vehicle. You could feel the pit in your stomach tightening and your mouth pooling with saliva. The pit in your stomach moves upwards into your throat and you gag. You grab onto the ledge of the boat and hoist yourself up just enough for your head to hang off the side of the boat so you can empty the contents of your stomach- or well, lack thereof. You’ve thrown up so much that all you can puke up at this point is bile. 

You finish your puking with a groan which follows by you collapsing to the ground. Your arms wrap around your stomach and you whimper. “I’m really sorry I can’t do anything to help you y/n” says Wendy with a frown. You shake your head at her and try to offer her a reassuring smile.

You place a weak hand on her shoulder “It’s fine Wendy it’s not your fault that your spell doesn’t work on me anymore.” She looks at you with a frown on her face. She opens her mouth to say something  but you cut her off. “Enough Wendy, really it’s okay, stop apologizing.” Before she could say anything more Natsu gagged in the background which caused a chain reaction because you felt more bile coming up. 

You grabbed onto the ledge and started to throw up alongside Natsu. “Natsu, y/n!” Wendy’s voice was laced with worry.

Erza placed a hand on her shoulder. “Their fine Wendy don’t worry about them, they do this all the time.” Lucy hums in agreement with Erza’s statement.

Natsu whined in the background letting out a small plea of “Wendy heal” me or something along the lines of that, it was hard to tell over the noise of him puking. Wendy gasped trying to make her way over to Natsu but Erza held her back. “Cut it out, Natsu!” Lucy yells at him. “Don’t listen to him wendy. Your healing magic doesn’t work on him or y/n anymore.” You nod at Lucy’s statement.

You make your way back to the floor. “You’ve used your healing magic on us so much that it no longer works. It’s not your fault so don’t feel bad. Plus me and Natsu have had motion sickness since we were kids, and we are used to it.” You smile at the girl. She smiles back at you.

“Still, is there anything I can do to help?” You were about to say no but the blistering hot sun reminded you of one thing she could do to help you out.

“Yeah, actually there is,” she nods eagerly. “Could you go get Gray for me?” The girl nods, scurrying off to search the ship for the ice wizard. Lucy looks at you confused.

“What do you need Gray for?” she asks curiously.

“Motion sickness is bad enough but with the sun beating down on me it makes me more sick. Lucky for me my boyfriend is a walking popsicle so he can cool me down." Lucy giggles.

“You guys are so cute” Lucy raves, clapping her hands together. “Maybe the cutest couple in all of Fairy Tail!” she exclaims. Erza hums in thought before nodding her head in agreement. 

You open your mouth to thank them but are cut off with a harsh rock of the ship caused by what you could only presume was a big wave crashing against the side of the boat. You barely have enough time to pull yourself over the ledge of the ship before you're throwing up bile again. The wave of nausea had caught you so off guard you didn’t have enough time to adjust your hair. There wasn’t much you could do though, as your hands were occupied with gripping the ships ledge with dear life. Natsu isn’t faring much better either. Luckily though he had Lucy behind him holding his scarf so it doesn’t get soiled.

One hand gathers your hairs up gently into a makeshift ponytail while the other is placed on your back. It was obvious it was Gray. you could tell by the cold hand that could be felt through your shirt. Gray rubs soothing circles on your back trying to keep his nonchalant composure. Having grown up alongside you in the guild he was used to your motion sickness but that never stopped him from getting worried.

Once you finished you groaned and wiped your mouth off. Instead of sliding back down to the floor you turned around to face Gray. 

“Gray” you whisper looking into his eyes.

He gave you a small and gentle smile and brushed some of your hair back out of your face. “Yeah?” he asks, meeting your loving gaze. There was a pause between you two as you both just held eye contact.

“Graaaaaaaayyyyyyyy” you whined falling into him “I’m gonna dieeeee.” he only rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around your waist. If this wasn’t how you usually acted when you got motion sickness he probably would have toppled over onto the ground with you throwing all your weight onto him. But alas, this was how you always acted when you were sick. Clingy and overdramatic.

Wendy gasps. “Wait what! You're gonna what y/n?!” Your words made Wendy nervous and caused Gray to groan.

“Would you stop with the dramatics already y/n? You’re scaring Wendy.” He adjusts you so you're both sitting on the floor with back to his chest, his back to the wall of the ship’s ledge. “Ignore her Wendy, she always does this.” Before Wendy could make a rebuttal Erza dragged her away to the other side of the ship. 

Gray looks down at you. “How is it that even when you're sick you still manage to be so overdramatic?” You grin and look back at him.

“Because it’s fun, and it annoys you so it makes it even more fun.” His face scrunches up and he glares at you. “Don’t look at me like that Gray, we both know you love me.” you say to him with a cocky grin on your face.

“I’m looking at you like that not just because you annoy me” he starts off, making direct eye contact with you. “It’s because your breath reeks of throw up,” he says, pushing your head away from him. You gasp. If looks could kill gray would be six feet under. Upon noticing your gaze Gray busts out laughing.

You scramble away from him feeling offended but that proved to be a bad idea because it felt like you just got sucker punched in the gut. You groan and lay on the floor and curl into yourself. This makes Gray laugh even harder. He was worried about you but he had to admit your reaction was funny to him. You’ve had motion sickness since you were a child so you should know not to make any speedy movements if you don’t want to upset your stomach.

You whined. “Screw you Gray…you Elsa wannabe.’” he snickers.

“Really babe, Elsa wannabe? That’s the best you can come up with?” You continue to glare at him. 

“Keep hating on me Gray” you mumble wriggling around a bit trying to get comfortable, which was hard to do seeing as you were lying on the hard floor of a ship. “You're gonna regret it when I die on this boat due to motion sickness.” He rolls his eyes at your continued dramatics but lets out a little snicker. 

‘“Oh no” he says sarcastically “what will I ever do?” He pretends to ponder on the thought for a bit as you gaze at him before shrugging. “Your death will be sad but I'll move on.” You gasp, causing him to let out another laugh. You flip him off and slowly roll over on your side with your back facing towards him.

He continues to laugh as he reaches forward to scoop you into his arms. He pulls you back into his chest. “Y’know I was only joking Babe, I love you more than anything.” He mumbles quietly. Your eyes widen in shock. It wasn’t like Gray to express his love for you out in public for everyone to hear. And he only called you babe in public when you had motion sickness. You reach a hand up behind you and run it through his hair.

“I know baby” you hummed out. “I love you too.” 

Gray smiles down at. He rubs his hands up and down your arms soothingly. The cold hands on your body soothes you and allows you to fully rest yourself against him. Your limbs start to go lax and you feel sleep starting to creep up on you. 

All the puking must have tired you out, Gray thinks. “Tired?” He asks. You hum allowing your eyes to drift shut. Sleep starts to take over your body which creates a peaceful silence between the both of you. Gray looks down at you, admiring your peaceful face. Hopefully you’ll sleep throughout the entire boat ride till you get to the job site he thinks, at least then you won’t have to feel so sick.

A harsh wave rocks the boat back and forth and causes you to jolt awake and let out a groan. Another large wave hits the boat causing the rocking of the boat to be more intense.

“You okay y/n?” Gray does well to hide the worry in his voice but he can’t fool you. You could read the man like an open.

“No” you replied with a shaky voice. It felt like someone had a death grip on your stomach and was shaking it up and down. “Not one bit.” A small frown was placed on Gray’s face. He moved his hands down and placed them on your stomach hoping to cool down where it hurt the most.

You sighed. The feelings of his hands on your stomach made the sickness in your stomach a little less painful. Just as you start to relax and get comfortable again a third wave crashes into the side of the boat. The relaxed feeling disappears and is replaced by extreme nausea traveling what felt like the speed of light up your throat. 

You jump up and turn around. In an attempt to grip the boat’s edge to throw up you somehow elbowed Gray in the face and knocked him over onto his back. While you were busy puking up bile Gray was groaning in pain whilst holding his nose.

The overbearing sting in his nose made Gray wonder; why does he love you?

     ________

Gray should have known better than to trust you to pack food for the job. When he entrusted you with the task to gather food for the upcoming job he wanted you to pack canned foods, cereal and some sandwich making supplies. But no. You didn’t. Of course you didn’t. Gray opened the bag of food expecting to find something to eat after the long boat ride. Between the heat, the constant waves making the boat rock, and your taking care of you and your motion sickness (and having to deal with Natsu being motion sick) he was hungry. So imagine his dismay when instead of finding something filling he instead finds loads of candies and chips.

“Are you serious y/n.” The question was more rhetorical but you answered anyways.

“You're the one that told me to pack food Gray bae.” Your tone was innocent yet condescending and gray wanted to wipe that cocky grin off your face.              

Gray runs a hand down his face. You swore you almost saw him pop a blood vessel.

“I should’ve known you would pack junk food instead. What are we supposed to eat now?” you picked up a pack of gummy worms and threw them at him. He rolled his eyes “we can’t eat only junk food while on a job, y/n.”

“Don’t listen to him y/n! I love what you packed, it all looks so yummy!” Happy says, practically coming out of nowhere. Gray jumps in shock.

“Where the hell did you come from, Happy?”

“I’m hungry.”

“Me too” just like Happy, Natsu practically appeared out of thin air. Gray glared at him. 

“Then maybe you should have packed your own food flames for brains.” 

“What the hell did you just say to me Elsa?!” Natsu and Gray clashed heads.

“You heard me pinky now get out of my tent!”

“I don’t think I will”

“Fight, fight, fight!” chanted Happy, snacking on the bag of gummy worms you had previously thrown at Gray. you snickered. 

“If you guys are gonna fight, could you not do it in me and Gray’s tent? I would like somewhere to sleep tonight.”

“Stay out of this y/n, Gray needs to be taught a lesson in respect!” 

“The hell did you just say to them?” You groan at their antics. They were seriously gonna drive you up a wall. As funny as their fights could be you would prefer that they didn’t blow up the tent you and your boyfriend are supposed to sleep in.

You walk over and grab Gray’s arm and drag him out of the tent. “Hey! Let me go!”

“Nah i’m good” you say. “As funny as you and Nastu’s fighting is, I would prefer to have a place to sleep at night.”

“Then we would have taken it outside! Now let me settle the score with him!” you roll your eyes.

“Gray we both know you would have fought inside, you both get to caught up in the moment. Also, neither of you will settle the score. Your fights always end in a tie.” Gray wanted to say something but you spoke up before he did. “Plus the town we accepted the job from isn’t too far from our campsite. I wanna do some exploring before we have to get to work!” You say gleefully.

You choose to ignore Gray’s pouting and pull him away from the campsite towards the town. 

It was hard for Gray to stay mad at you for interrupting his fight when you looked so cute walking around the town staring at everything in awe. Despite the blazing heat you stayed full of energy, dragging Gray to every stall that caught your eye. 

“I’m hungry” you say about an hour into your guy’s little adventure.

“Me too,” he says. “What do you want to eat?” He continues on, taking a look around the area and reading out the names of the food vendors. “Pizza?” he asks.

You shake your head. “Not feeling it.”

“Ramen?’ he asks.

You shake your head no. 

“Fried chicken” 

You shake your head again.  “It’s too hot out for any of those, I want something cold.”

He arches a brow at you. “What exactly is cold food, y/n?” you shrug. 

“Food that’s cold.” he deadpans. 

“Yeah no shit.” He looks around. “One of these stands may sell salads, those are cold.” You shake your head for the umpteenth time. His brow twitches. You hum in thought and look around, surveying all the food stands in the area. Your eyes light up. 

“I know!” you say. 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah!” you grin. “How does pizza sound to you babe?” He growls.

“I offered pizza up the first time!”

“Oh you did?” you asked, heading to the pizza stall. “I must not have been paying attention. Sorry Gray bae.” You smirked. God how you loved to annoy your boyfriend. The man scoffed and rolled his eyes but the grin and small laugh he let out deceived how he truly felt.

After getting your guys’ pizza you continued your adventure around the town as well as continuing your playful bantering. You stopped your walking “Hey Gray.”

“Hm?” he asks, standing right next to you.

“Look” you say with your dominant hand pointing towards the sky. 

His eyes widen slightly. “It’s beautiful,” he says, staring in awe. You guys had been walking around for so long now that the sun had started to set. The clouds were thick, puffy and breaking apart to show the sun which had created a beautiful blue to orange ombre with a golden sun right in the middle. 

No matter how beautiful the sunset looks it paled in comparison to the way you looked. Especially right now. The sun casted a beautiful yellow and orange hue on your skin. You look absolutely ethereal. Like an angel sent directly to him from heaven. How did he ever get so lucky to have such a stunning partener. 

You looked at him and smiled and in that moment he swore he would never see anyone as beautiful as you are. 

“I love you Gray.” He smiles at you and is about to pull you in for a kiss before the moment is ruined. Someone walked by and bumped into your shoulder harshly which causes you to stumble.

“Hey what the hell?!” You shout. The person who bumped into you only scoffed at you.

“Maybe you should move out of the way next time instead of just standing in the middle of the path.” You look around you. 

“There is plenty of room for you to walk around without bumping into me! You did that deliberately.”

The girl smirks. “So what? Serves you right bitch. Maybe you shouldn’t stand in the way.” Gray’s eyes widen. Did she seriously just call you that?

“What did you just call me?” 

“A bitch, are you stupid or something?” Judging by your posture, Gray knew he had to step in. 

“You wanna say that again?” Your kind tone and smile betray the actions Gray knows you are about to commit. 

“Y/n don’t-”

“No Gray, let the girl repeat what she said.” Your smile and voice seemed so innocent but your eyes betray you. Gray could see the anger flaring up in your eyes.

“Yeah Gray,” the girl snickers, “Stay out of it.” Is she seriously antagonizing him too?

Gray could see it in your eyes. The anger had taken over your eyes. “You did not just say that.” You growl out, taking on a fighting stance. Not just any sort of fighting stance though. It was your dragon slayer punch stance. You were quick, readying up your attack to strike her but Gray was quicker. He grabs you by your waist and throws you over his shoulder like you weigh nothing more than a sack of potatoes. 

The girl busts out laughing. “Awe! Your boyfriend has to carry you away, how cute!” She says in a baby voice which only serves to make you more annoyed.

“Are you serious right now Gray?! Put me down right now!” 

“Very serious y/n! I know you get worked up and defensive but you can’t hurt the woman! And you definitely can’t use your magic on her. Do you know how much trouble you can get in for using magic on a civilian?”

“Like I care, Gray! Put me down right now! I let you and Natsu fight all the time, Gray this isn’t fair!” you whined and Gray presumes you’re pouting- to which he is right. You are also pouting.

“Actually I think it is fair. You broke our fight up earlier.”

“Whaaat? Noooo. I would never have done that” you say with a sarcastic and sheepish voice. He deadpans, heading towards the direction of the campsite as you continue trying to convince him to put you down and let you go fight the girl. All he does is sigh.

He really wants to know why he still loves you.

        ________

Gray’s body shot up out of bed. His body was sweating and he was heaving. “It was just a dream,” he mumbles. “It was just a dream.” No matter how much he says it his heart won’t stop racing with anxiety. Even as he takes in his surroundings. The clock on the nightstand that reads 2:03, the moonlight peeking in through the curtains, the cushy mattress and soft blankets and your soft breaths, he still can’t seem to calm his racing heart. 

He wants to wake you. He so badly wants to wake you up. The only person who knew how to work him out of his panicked state but he just couldn’t bring himself to move past his pride. Not to mention you looked so peaceful. 

So instead he got out of bed and dragged himself to the living room. This proved to be a difficult feat as his legs felt like they were made of lead. He sat on the edge of the couch trying to take deep breaths but they weren’t working. If anything were doing the complete opposite. It felt like his heart sped up with every breath. It soon came to the point where Gray felt like he couldn’t breathe at all. His ears were clouded with an incessant ringing that wouldn’t stop and Gray didn’t even notice he was starting to cry until he felt the salty tears roll down onto his lips. Once he noticed he was crying he also noticed he had started to rock himself back and forth. The only thing on his mind right now was that nightmare. That terrible, terrible, nightmare that would not leave his mind. That nightmare where he relives the most traumatic moment of his life. Except it was worse than what it was in real life. 

“Ay-, ray- Gray- GRAY” he jumps up. His head whips around to find you staring at him with worry filled eyes. “Baby what's wrong? Why are you crying?” Your voice was soft and you slowly approached him the way you would approach a wounded animal. You place your hands on his shoulders and push him down onto the couch and squat down in front of him. “Speak to me baby what’s wrong.”

He bites his lip to try and stop the tears from coming out but it doesn’t do much. He doesn’t look into your eyes when he speaks. “I can’t- I can’t breathe.” He says. His palms feel sweaty, he can’t breath and his heart is beating so loud he can hear it in his ears and he voices that out to you.

“Okay let’s take some deep breaths alright? Just the way I taught you okay? Breathe in for five, hold it for five, and breathe out for five. Let’s do it together.” 

He nods, and do it together you do. You do it five times before he starts to calm down. You do a couple more deep breaths before you decide that Gray will be fine on his own. You usher him back to your shared bedroom with the promise of coming back upstairs with some sleepy time tea and cookies. 

While boiling the water and putting the cookies on the plate you're pretty sure you know what caused his panic attack. It was probably the same nightmare as last time. The only thing you want to know is why he chose not to wake you up? Was he scared you wouldn’t care? You only shook your head and waited for the tea to come to a boil before pouring it in the cups and carrying them along with the cookies to your bedroom.

“So” you start while you get comfy on your side of the bed and hand him his cup of tea. “What happened?” 

Gray stares down into his cup of tea and blows at it. He doesn't make eye contact when he says “I had that nightmare again.” you nod, your suspicions now confirmed.

“You wanna talk about it?” He nods.

“It was the day Ur died. Every bit of that day was played back in vivid detail. Me running off and her coming after me, her doing the iced shell. And just as she is about to die she looks me in my eyes and starts talking. She tells me that I'm weak. That i’ll never be a good wizard because I can’t defeat Deliora myself and that it’s my fault she is gonna die. That had I never left, had I tried harder none of this would have happened. She says that she regrets ever taking me on and that-” you place a hand on his free hand. 

“Take a deep breath. You don’t need to rush. Take a sip of your tea love.” he nods. He takes a deep breath just the way you had him do earlier. He pauses for a minute or so to take a few sips of his tea before he starts back up again.

“Then she says that I need to leave you or else I'm gonna get you killed too and it will be all my fault. She said you’re too good for me and that you don’t deserve to have to deal with someone who killed their own master and that you need to leave me. And then she-” His voice starts to crack so he takes another breath and drinks some more tea.

You could feel your heart breaking with every word that came out of his mouth. “Then she dies. She completes the spell and dies. I know it was just a nightmare and that none of it was true but it all felt so realistic y/n. And it all felt so true. I know it wasn’t but it did.”

“Gray” you set your tea down and hold your arms out “come here.” And he does. In the comfort of your shared room he lays his head in your lap and lets you stroke his hair. “What she said in that dream was just that Gray, a dream. Something your mind made up to scare you Gray. to make you doubt yourself. You didn’t kill Ur, she did it because she loved you. You didn’t kill her, Gray and she would never blame you.” He nods to everything you say and you feel tears wet your thighs.

“She would never call you weak because you’re not. You are one of the strongest wizards I know. And you won’t get me killed Gray. I am a strong and capable mage. So capable I made it to S class. And I am not too good for you Gray. I'm perfect for you and you’re perfect for me. You’re my person Gray and I know I’m yours. I would never leave you and you’re never leaving me, okay?” 

He couldn’t help but let out a little chuckle and you smile. You gently wipe his tears away and continue to stroke his hair. 

“Hey y/n” Gray mumbles then sits up. 

“Hm?” 

“I love you.” You smile and cup his face with your hands.

“I know Gray, I love you too.”

“I know you do.” you giggle then move in for a kiss. It was short but sweet. He sat next to you and took a sip from his tea before playing you down and pulling you to his chest. You guys laid like that in a comfortable silence until eventually your breaths evened out. By the look on your face Gray assumed you were sleeping.

He laid there silently admiring your face and thought back on the last couple of days with you. Why did he love you? He constantly asked himself this question but he knew. He always knew why he loved you. Moments like these where you talked him down from what you call a panic attack, where you hold him in your arms while he cries, when you make him tea and bring him cookies then play with his hair.

But that wasn’t just it. He loved your dramatics. He thought it was funny even though he would never admit it. Your fear of spiders made him laugh, even when you jumped on top of him and practically crushed his ribs after he got rid of the spider claiming that it was you paying him back. He would never admit it but he didn’t mind carrying you away from fights. He found it sweet that you're ready to fight for him over something so stupid. He enjoyed how much of a tease you were. Making him list out foods just to say no and name one he already named, how you whined and claimed you were dying when you were really just motion sick.

He enjoyed holding you when you got motion sick. He was happy to help even if it was as simple as placing his cool hands on your sickly body hoping to make you feel less hot. He enjoyed it. He loved it. In truth Gray never needed to be reminded why he loved you because he already knew why. He would always know why and he never needed a reminder but if he one day, for some reason decided he did, all he had to do was look at you. Look at your smile, your eyes, listen to you talk and laugh and crack corny jokes. All he had to do was just be in your presence to be reminded why he loved you.

He knows why he still loves you.

And he will never stop loving you.

[funhouse-mirror-barbie]

Rating Hazbin + Helluva Boss Characters based on if I could tell what animal/creature they’re supposed to be:

DISCLAIMER: This is not an attack on the creators or artists/designers for either show. I already went over the purpose of this on my first post here—I just like to review stuff.

Part 2!

SIR PENTIOUS—SNAKE—5/5

Yeah that’s a snake, man.

While I find some of Pent’s design elements cluttered, he’s actually one of the stronger designs in my opinion. I think the having his cobra hood act as his hair is fun and cleaver. It’s very easy to tell he’s a snake. Not sure why he has eyes on his tail/body? I think they could have just made them red spots but eh.

QUEEN BEE—FOX (?) WITH HONEY BEE ELEMENTS (?)—3.5/5

Bee’s a weird one for me b/c while her design is super super cluttered I can SEE how it could work, and I really do like fun cute fox and wolf girls. The ONLY reason that docked points is b/c she’s supposed to be a fox/bee hybrid (I believe?) but her “bee” elements are so minute that if I hadn’t seen her in a big beehive, I would have just assumed she was as a fox with fairy/insect elements—I wouldn’t have thought she was connected to a honey bee at all. It’s a weird case where she is VERY obviously a fox but it’s not obvious at all that she’s a bee/honey bee. I did want to give a little extra half-point tho b/c I do like her little antennae ears. They’re pretty much the only thing that screams “insect” to me.

STELLA GOETIA—SWAN (?)—3/5

I think I may be going a little easier on the Helluva cast b/c overall they’re easier to figure out what animals they are. I’ve heard that Stella is supposed to be a Swan but I’m not 100% sure. This one is def more on me, but I initially thought that she was either a secretary bird due to her long lashes and the way her hair is styled, or a peafowl (which would make sense b/c her brother is apparently a peacock?) at least I can tell that she is a bird and her colors are accurate for a swan’s. I think the reason I would never have thought of her as a swan is mostly due to her beak size and color. But yeah b/c I can at least confirm that she is in fact a bird I wanna give her a higher score.

I would rate Pilot Stella too, but I don’t think at that point she was meant to be a swan, just a vague bird demon lady. At least I hope not.

MAMMON—SPIDER (OR CENTIPEDE? MAYBE??) —0.5/5

So. Like Angel Dust. The only reason I know that Mammon is a spider is because he was shown sitting on a giant spider web.

I really didn’t think he was a spider/spider-ish looking at all and I still don’t. Even the extra eyes they add to him sometimes didn’t immediately make me think “Spider!” just that it was a demon thing. He really just looks like a jester with extra arms.

His full demon/mega form also doesn’t look very spider-ish tbh, and was what made me wonder if he was actually supposed to be a centipede? I was really disappointed by his “final form” because it’s pretty much the same as his regular form but with more eyes and what I assume is SUPPOSED to be a spider abdomen ?? But then he does kinda scuttle like a centipede at the end so maybe he is supposed to be???? But then why does he have a big spider web???

Also, and I’ll be honest, this is just me being needlessly nit-picky and it’s a small thing but it just irks me personally b/c I don’t understand the reasoning behind this but like. I HATE that his extra eyes DO NOT stay consistent.

The first time we see his extra eyes it gives him a total of 8 so I was like “oh okay yeah so maybe just his final form will be a spider/spider-like BUT THEN HIS EXTRA EYES KEEP OSCILLATING BETWEEN 3 and 4 EXTRA EYES?

These shots are only a few seconds apart like why did they give him MORE eyes when he got farther away? They’re so small that they barely seem distinct? Like if he IS supposed to be a spider you don’t have to keep giving him eyes!!! Stop, stop, he can already see!!! 😭

Maybe he IS a centipede tho? B/c he DOES seem to have the little centipede butt horns (which apparently are just their very hind legs in real life)

And he def seems to move like one in that form. Man idk. Why even HAVE him in a spider web then???

Being an arthropod lover and not being able to figure out what the fuck kinda guy that’s supposed to be is driving me wild tbh 😅

Honestly if Mammon was just supposed to be a clown/jester I would have given him 5/5 b/c yeah that was immediately obvious. But it’s him being a jester-spider-centipede-thing that muddles things for me.

I would put Loona in here but I ran out of pictures for this post talking about Mammons eyes. She gets 5/5 cause. Yeah that’s a classic wolf girl.