#IF HE'S FLAMMABLE THAT'S ALL THE MORE REASON TO KEEP HIM AWAY FROM FIRE

[1941-crowley-slut]

DON'T!!!!!!

Set David Tennant on fire!

[pigeonpeach]

Forced proximity

Prompt: forced to take shelter together from various environmental hazards, how will they handle being so close to you?

Characters: Shenhe, Diluc, Chevreuse, Dehya, Kaeya, Zhongli

Chevreuse

“My musket is waterproof, so we won’t be stopped with the rain.” She said as you ran with her to find shelter. You two had been trying to set up a trap for local criminals using you, a newbie as bait with her in the shadows. Normally you would be against this but you had actually used this before and you didn’t end up with even a scratch from it. As long as Chevreuse was the one you were working with, it was fine.

“I’m more worried about the hypothermia personally.” You complained. Your dainty dress was by no means waterproof. Infact it acted like a sponge, you would be warmer snuggling with cryo slimes than in this getup.

“Over there! There’s a ship wreck, that could offer some shelter if we’re lucky.” She said. The shipwreck seemed recent, probably from the flood of fontaine which displaced many. It seemed this one was relatively in good condition, rust only starting to form on its metal exterior. You ran in with her as you two quickly sought to remove your wet exterior clothes. “We’ll have to remove your dress, sorry if that’s uncomfortable but its just too drenched.” You were a bit surprised but understood.

“Yes I know, just give me sometime.” You said. It wasn’t easy but you knew it had to be done. What made it more difficult was how it clung to you. Hiding behind a broken wall, you undressed to your underwear. You looked to see if she was watching but she had her back turned, trying to get a fire started. You began to squeeze the water out, trying to not get it on you in the process. Next time you should ask for a jacket when she approaches you with the disguise.

“Are you done yet.”

“Almost.. there’s alot of water in this.” You groaned. You noticed she had successfully started a fire. Making sure to isolate it from any flammable objects. You were so cold at that point you just draped your wet dress over your self and sat a bit away from her.

“that bad huh. I’ll just keep my eyes elsewhere then.” She said. “I didn’t think it’d rain today, especially considering how warm it was a second ago.”

“That dastardly hydro dragon. Someone should give them emotional support animal at this rate.” you cursed under your breath.

“It’s probably that one ongoing trial with the serial killer. He’s go a bastard of a lawyer who’s really good at loopholes. Supposedly the final trial is today.”

“They’re not letting that pyscho back out surely?!” You jolted.

“Relax, all it takes is one slip up and he’s got no defense then. Besides, Neuvillette will definitely not let him go if he still considers him guilty.”

“You’re right but considering I fit the bill for his primary victims i can’t exactly sleep soundly until his head is off or he’s imprisoned! I wish Furina was still in the courts, she would’ve never let that man get this far.”

“I’m sure she has her own reasons, but considering how much help you’ve been I’m not going to let you go unguarded. I’ll schedule patrols by your district more and by your areas.”

“You would do that for me? I’m impressed. I didn’t know I did such a good job at being a damsel for hire.” You snickered.

“I mean it. Oh and by the way, your clothes look dry now.” She said. You almost forgot about that.

“Oh, give me a second.”you went back behind your wall to redress yourself, this time leaving the hoop skirt out of it.

“If you’re still cold we should huddle together. That way we can share body heat.” She said as you approached her once more. “My body is warmer than usual because of my vision after all”

“I’ll take you up on that offer then.” You smiled sitting much closer to her than she might’ve expected. “Do you mind a bit of cuddling?”

“With you? No.” She said, her arm wrapped around you almost on instinct. “You’re a bit more special than other people to me.”

“Do you tell that to every damsel you hire?” You tease.

“Oh god of course not! What do you think I am?” She cackled. “You make it sound like you’re some.. prostitute!”

“I am selling my body technically.” You added, jokingly, your head resting on her shoulders almost by instinct.

“Why did you take up that offer anyways? You have a good job, enough to live on the surface anyways.”

“Because I wanted to get stuck in the rain with you obviously! But in seriousness.. i uhh.. had a loan i had to pay and i spent a good majority on my paycheck already. So i needed fast cash and i saw the paper and i took it.” You explained.

“Huh, you sure you weren’t trying to hit on me? Because you were eyeing me during that little training session.” She adds.

“If that’s what you would like it be then yes I was hitting on you.” You said, your eyes trailed to her cheeks to catch a glimpse of her blushing face.

“Hm… I guess you were then.. lets get some rest.. the rain should let up by then.”

You couldn’t help feeling delightful that you finally broke her cold exterior. And with your body so close to hers, you truly felt victorious.

Diluc

“There. Its not much but it should offer some shelter in the meantime.” He said pointing to a old caravan. The roof of it was intact. You two quickly hid under there. Quickly finding your bodies pressed against each other.

“S-sorry.. i can’t move over any more.” You said nervously. But In reality, you didn’t want to move from his warm body at all. It felt like laying on a warm patch of sunlight.

“Its fine. I’ve been told I’m warm enough already. Here.” He took off his jacket, wrapping it across you.

“Thank you… and thank you for saving me from those hilichurls earlier too.” Your heart was racing, it sounded like his was too.

“Its nothing. Those knights, they were supposed to clear the area for merchants.” He scowled.

“Well, it was my fault for making the delivery without a jacket. I should’ve taken Sara’s advice and gone the long way. Its a good thing I still have it.” You managed to pull out the food in question, it was just a simple chicken skewers.

“I suppose you won’t be able to deliver it now, there’s no harm in having it if you’re hungry.” He said. But you offered it to him.

“Have one, you must be hungry. I can’t imagine its easy wielding a claymore on a empty stomach.. besides, there’s already one for myself”

“Why did they order chicken skewers, its the most simple dish to make?” He said almost judge-mentally.

“Well its a special one, we used a marinade for the chicken, try it.” You again offered it to him. He took it. You watched his eyes light up. “Good right? It would be better if it was warm.”

“I’m sure could try it while stopping by.”

“That sounds nice… you’re really warm by the way..” you blurt out. He looks surprised.

“I hope so. Are you warm too?” He asked. You nod.

“We should wait out the storm. I’m sure it shouldn’t be too long.” He said, you realized his face has been red this whole time.

“Although.. My winery isn’t too far from here.. but you said your foot hurt right?”

“I did earlier yes. I might’ve sprained it.” You sigh. “It feels fine now.”

“Hmm… that’s no good. Lets wait until it lightens up then. I can’t risk you injuring yourself further now.”

“I-if you want you could go ahead. It might be better so you’re not stuck out here too.” You say. He seems upset at the idea.

“Absolutely not. You could freeze to death. Lets stay here where I can keep you safe.” His words stuck out to you. Is it possible that he meant that in a more romantic context? Are you just overthinking it?

“I-I’m getting rather tired though.. I almost just want to sleep..” you said. Your eyelids felt a bit heavy, he was just… so warm, his body pressed up against you.. his arms around you… you hoped you would feel this again.

“I’ll keep watch. Just rest a little bit.” He said. As you drifted off to sleep you noticed a light kiss on your head.

“Cute.” He mumbled to himself.

Dehya

“Ugh! I’m so sick of the sand.” You and Dehya were taking shelter inside a cave, you were a professor at the Akademiya, you came out to the desert to study the giant ruin machines so you could do a lesson on them only to get caught in a sandstorm. Lucky for you, Dehya who you had hired, was well versed in the desert.

“Well that’s what you get. Lucky that you hired me, I’m certain you would have never found this cave.” She grinned proudly.

“I’m certain i’d be dead with that stupid wenut poking around. Ugh, what do those things even eat?!” You shook your clothes to get the sand out.

“Idk I’m not the scholar here so.” Dehya grinned.

“Hey my expertise is in machinery.. not oversized worms with no business of existing!” You fussed over your hair, to your shame, it hadn’t survived well. The hair tie you wore must’ve broken while you were busy trying to block the sand out of your eyes. “Ugh.. so much sand in my hair too… this is so unbecoming of me.”

“Unbecoming? You’re a scholar not a model.” Dehya said.

“Thanks.” You said sarcastically. “But I need to look professional and well put together. I’m not the prettiest sure but I should at least look like I am a scholar and not some rat drowing in sand!” You found your hair had also knotted together in what you horrifically realized was a huge mess. Not even your hairbrush could save you.. “oh god…” you winced as you got your hairbrush out, it felt painful to brush it out.

“Yikes.. let me help you there.” Dehya said. You turned to her.

“How is your hair fine!” You felt ashamed.

“I dunno, I wasn’t trying to fight the wind back there, but its really not that bad. Here just sit infront of me and I’ll help.”

“Well.. i guess you’re the expert on desert stuff.. do you encounter this problem alot?” You asked, obliging by her request.

“Oh definitely. Alot of eremite gals use praids or tie their hair up in some way. I could put yours in one if you like?”

“If any of it is salvageable that would be nice. You’re actually rather smart yourself.. you would do well in the ak-“

“Nope.”

“Why? I’m not trying to insult your job, especially right now, but I really think you could do alot more in your life!”

“Then who would you hire for all your little adventures then?” She said.

“Well.. there’s dozens of eremites, i could find another. I just think you have potential that you can’t explore in this position.” You sighed.

“I know you mean well but honestly I like it. There’s no way I’d give up the thrill of adventure and fighting for studying some stupid class like.. calculus.” Her voice carried a confidence you envied. But you noticed her hands were quite skilled, you didn’t feel any pain as she brushed out your knots.

“I’ll give you that, math isn’t the most interesting. But even just like reading some books might do you good! I’m not asking you to become my student I just think maybe investing in a library card could be useful!” You felt at ease strangely. You had been a regular of Dehya’s. Mostly because she was the most trustworthy by review, and also she was a woman. You didn’t exactly want to travel alone with just a man you didn’t know. And also she was rather pretty to look at.

“That is actually a interesting suggestion. I might take you up on that sometime.” She smiled. “Say, how come you always pick me? I heard from the other Eremites that you even canceled a whole trip you had planned because I wasn’t available.”

“W-well..” you blushed. “I just trust you the most. These conditions aren’t exactly easy for me and I’d rather traverse dangerous terrain with someone I trust and someone I know. Besides it gives me the opportunity to not rely on my colleagues’ decisions. I’m not as social as you might think.”

“You sure that’s it? You’re willing to sacrifice papers and lessons just because you don’t trust the other eremites? You know we didn’t start off besties here, what made you pick me in the first place? And it not like its just because I’m a girl, there’s plenty of female eremites out there well versed in combat like myself. I could recommend them to you.”

“I- just.. have a preference for you. Nothing wrong about that is there? Its more mora in your pocket so why should you care?” You pouted. She chuckled behind you.

“Easy now. I didn’t mean to sound like I was complaining. Its nice seeing how loyal you are to me.” You just feel her cocky smirk from behind. But your ego was quickly forgotten as she finished brushing out your knots, now starting to braid them. “If it does any good, you are my favorite customer. That and the traveler but its not like they hire me or anything. I’ve rather enjoyed our adventures. Maybe you should join the eremites~”

“Absolutely not! If i could handle it on my own then i would. Y-you do realize that- oh.. I see what you’re doing.” You sigh.

“See, its not fun when people question your career choices. Much less trying to push their own onto you. This is my dream job, I don’t need to take a class to perfect it.”

“Well to be honest I just would like to see you more that’s all.” You blurted out. Dehya realized you had been blushing this whole time. She seemed a bit surprised. “Those other scholars at the Akademiya are most old geezers with flies in their head reiterating the same sentiments with little flexibility. I much rather talk to you even if you don’t understand those concepts. I just�� like to be around you that’s all.”

“Woah. That makes scholarly life alot less appealing you know?”

“I’m not trying to recruit you here! I just.. wanted a excuse to see you around more.” Silence fell between you two. You worried if you had been too open then, letting her know how you felt… “Y-you know there’s talk from Faruzan about opening a school or class in the desert. I think you could help with that.”

“That’s actually rather interesting. Whats her plan?”

“Oh just literacy. Its so they can read more complex topics. Oh and Kaveh was working on a library for the Aaru village too. I wanted to ask what books you think would appeal to the desert kids?” You added.

“Maybe if you have some textbooks that’d be easy or-“

“I mean like fiction. What did you want to learn about as a kid?” You said looking at her. You were a bit surprised to see such a fond look in her eyes. It made your heart thump ad your confidence wavered.

“Well.. I wanted to- hey.. the storms over.” Dehya said looking out at the entrance. You almost forgot about the storm.

“Oh.. maybe we should spend the night here just in case.” You said.

“You just want to keep talking don’t you.” Dehya smiled.

“Well yes. But also my feet are killing me still.”

Shenhe

“Its getting cold out, we need to seek shelter immediately.” Shenhe said. But it was only a light downpour. You felt a little whimsical.

“Oh its such a pretty sight. Rain in the snow.. oh I love it.” You quickly got out your camera to take a few photos. “There will be more icicles soon. Ooh it would make fo such a go- OH?” You quickly were picked up by Shenhe as she located a nearby hilichurl camp.

“Wait but what about- wait why is it empty.” You noted how old it looked. Dust collecting, various masks strewn about, broken. Shenhe set you down letting you looked around.

“I use this camp as my training grounds. Unfortunately they stopped trying to claim this area. But we should be aboe to take shelter in here.” She said. You were surprised by how nice it looked. Hay bedding, animal skins. You could easily make a bed with this. The roof did leak but it would do.

“I still think we could find somewhere better. The rain isn’t so ba-“ you were startled back into her arms as lightning struck not too far away. “Okay lets go inside..” you started to bunch up the hay together into a nest almost. Shenhe watched with curiosity.

“What is that for?” She asked.

“I’m making a bed. You can join if you would like. Its good to keep warm.” You said, bringing the animal skins to use as blankets. She joined you as you two cuddled in the makeshift bed.

“It is quite warm actually. You’ve done well.” Shenhe’s praise had you beaming with pride.

“Ah thank you… you don’t have to be so close you know?” You said.

“Do you want me to move away?” She seemed confused.

“Actually its fine. I don’t mind it.” You said.

“I’m getting rather tired.. you’re quite warm actually.” Shenhe pulled you in closer catching you off guard.

“O-oh. That’s good. I think we can take a rest. So long as No hilicurls come by.”

“They won’t. I laid out those masks to warn them not to come back. Its been months since any have returned.” She mumbled. “I should move them then. They make for good practice.”

“Lets not talk about murdering hilichurls right now please?” You asked.

“Right… so.. do you sleep outside often? You seem to know what to do.”

“No but I know that the barn cats use the hay in my family’s cellar for their bedding. I figured it must be comfortable.”

“You were right. This is quite nice.. I can imagine this bed would make many cat’s comfortable.” She said. You smiled at her imagination.

“Thank you.. I think… i may rest my eyes for a bit.. the sound of the rain outside is luring me to sleep, but im still nervous.”

“I’ll keep watch then. You get some rest.” She said. You smiled resting your head on her chest.

Zhongli

You were traveling with Zhongli, a funeral consultant on your way to Chenyu valley. But you two ran into a problem…

“I didn’t know it could rain like that here!” You felt spooked as you clung to the much taller male. “I just hope it doesn’t start to thunder ei-“ on cue lighting struck the bridge right infront of you.

“Lets find shelter then. Stay close to me. We don’t want to get separated here of all places.” His eyes scanning across the landscape. He spotted a cave and immediately pointed. “There. We should find some shelter there.”

You two quickly retreated into the cave, you silently thanked rex lapis that caves were abundant in this area.

“Lucky for us, there isn’t anyone else here.” He said as you two came in deeper. Finding it empty and relatively dry.

“I-its a shame we can’t make a fire. There isn’t any wood in here..” you lament. “I’m cold.”

“There seems to be a bit of a coal deposit here actually.” He said, poking at what just looked like a splot on the wall. “Here, I’ll retrieve it.” Using his Geo abilities he was able to crack some out of the wall. Putting it in s pile as you watched with fascination.

“You’re very well versed in rocks for a funeral director. Is it your geo vision or just your knowledge.” You asked.

“A mix of both, I’m quite well versed in the topic yes, but my vision does help.” He said. “Now we can use two rocks to make a spark.. we should be careful as coal leaves alot of smoke.” You took two stones and rubbed them against each other, looking to make a spark. It worked and a small flame started to grow.

“Excellent. We’ll stay here until the weather dies down.” You said, instinctively sitting next to him, leaning on him. He seemed a bit surprised. “O-oh sorry i didn’t mean to-“

“Oh it’s quite alright. It might help to cuddle for warmth. I hope you don’t mind.” He said politely.

“I-i don’t mind.” You said. His hand wrapped around you, not too tight but not to loose either. It felt rather nice like this. Your cheeks were tinted with red as he pressed himself against you.

“Are you comfortable right now?” He asked. You nodded. Maybe you should consider traveling with him a little more.

Kaeya

“You do know you’ll need more firewood than that.” Kaeya teased as you attempted to start a fire. You sighed.

“Then get some. Don’t just sit here and look pretty.” You grumbled as you rubbed the sticks together. He chuckled.

“Right right. And it was you who insisted they didn’t need a second jacket.” He smiled, you wore his cloak as he had offered it earlier.

“Well I didn’t expect us to stay the night here.”

“You should know a trip to dragonspine isn’t a one day venture. But with that out of the way, I’ll get some firewood.” He said leaving briefly. Just as he left you got the fire going. You smiled.

“See! I told you i could- oh right.” You said. Feeling his absence quickly. You huddled by the fire as you waited for him to come back.

It felt like he was gone forever when he finally came back. Arms full of firewood.

“Miss me?” He said as he noticed the frozen tears on your cheeks.

“No.. just come over here… you’re probably cold..” you said. Patting the ground besides you.

“Oh now you want to cuddle.” He smiled as he took your offer. Setting the firewood aside.

“You scared me you know..” you said.

“Well I just wanted to gather as much wood as possible. That way we can make it through the blizzard. These blizzards can last very long you know?” He snickered as you jolted.

“Don’t scare me like that!” You grumbled.

“I’m not trying to scare you. Just preparing you for the worst. Don’t worry, we have plenty of rations. And this fire is quite strong. You did a good job.” He smiled drawing his hand across your shoulder.

“Thanks..”you grumbled. You scooted closer to him as you felt a chill run down your spine. “I can’t wait to get out of here.”

“You’re cute when you’re grumpy like this. But you do realize we still haven’t made it halfway to Albedo’s office right?” He said. You stared at him with a look of defeat.

“Ugh! I’m never going to make it!” You whined.

“Oh you’ll live.” He chuckled. “I’m here afterall. I’ll drag you up that mountain if I have to.”

“Well… I guess its good I have you then. I’d probably be dead by now if I went by myself.”

“Oh please, Jean would never send a new night here alone. But your gratitude is appreciated.” He smiled.

[batneko]

Here's an idea I originally planned to write as another Bowuigi scenario post, but I decided to turn it into a ficlet because it would be too short. Now it's about 2000 words, lol.

It had been clear from the beginning that something as simple as a "Science Expo" wouldn't be simple at all in the Mushroom Kingdom. Luigi had been braced for disaster from the moment he heard about it, and Bowser's attack almost came as a relief.

No, his mistake had been un-bracing after Bowser was captured and locked in a cage one of the scientists had invented.

Sure, it looked sturdy. Sure, the scientist assured Princess Peach that the cage was completely indestructible. Sure, the only key had been moved from the display table to a security toad's neck after Bowser gave up on trying to bend the bars and started sneakily (as sneaky as anybody his size could be) reaching for it instead.

None of that was the problem. The problem turned out to be another experiment all the way on the other side of the hall that collapsed and caught on fire. That toad scientist said he wasn't even sure how it caught on fire - there weren't any flammable components! About half a second before the blaze spread to the next table, which happened to be full of chemicals, and turned into a giant green fireball.

"Okay, everybody out!" Peach exclaimed, calmly but firmly. "Evacuate the building. Walk, don't run!"

People tended to listen when the princess talked - Luigi supposed that was a skill you had to pick up when you ruled a country. But the fire was pretty eye-catching, and panic set in before he and Mario could start working on crowd control. There was screaming, running (what did Peach just say?), scientists attempting to pack up their exhibits, and for some reason several people tried to head for the same exits that the fire was creeping toward.

"Doesn't this place have sprinklers?" he heard Mario ask.

"I thought so," Peach said. "I don't know why they're not-"

An alarm started to blare, and then they all felt the sudden downpour of the sprinkler system. There was a mass exhale, relief settling in, calming the crowd.

And then something new exploded into flames.

"My elemental sodium!" a toad exclaimed.

Memories of 8th grade chemistry flashing through his mind, Luigi clenched his teeth and got back to guiding the evacuation. There was nothing he wanted more than to head for the exits himself right now, especially with the added discomfort of water dripping off his hat onto his nose, but a hero had responsibilities - and besides, he was the second tallest person in the room.

It only took a few minutes, nobody exactly wanted to stay, and then Luigi was safely outside and wringing water out of his hat. A disaster, but one in which no one got hurt. About the best he could have asked for.

The security toads were doing their jobs now, keeping the crowd away from the merrily burning building. The one with the key around his neck was explaining to a very distraught toad that if the fire didn’t ruin his cardboard model of a bathysphere, the water would. Which was probably ironic in some way.

Wait a minute.

Luigi lunged forward and grabbed the toad’s arm, startling both of them with how fast he’d moved. “Did you let Bowser out?” he asked.

The toad took a second to register what he’d said, glancing down at the giant key as long as his chest. “Oh! Uh, no. I didn’t think-”

“Give that to me.”

The toad obliged, struggling to get the chan over his head until he managed to pop the clasp in the back. Key in hand, Luigi took a step toward the building… and stopped. He looked back over the milling crowd, at Peach’s head of blonde hair. She was the only one tall enough to see, but Mario was rarely far from her. He could find him, ask him to…

No, there was no time. Gritting his teeth, Luigi ran back toward the expo hall to the sounds of several panicked shouts.

The heat was like walking into a wall. Since the fire started on the opposite end from Bowser’s cage, Luigi didn’t have to worry about actually dodging flames, but he could feel the heat and the smoke getting into his lungs. Pulling his shirt up over his nose and trying not to cough, Luigi made his way to the corner he’d been trying to avoid before.

Bowser was still sitting there, arms folded, scowling. He was looking at the floor when Luigi ran up, and Luigi tried to focus on getting the key into the lock with wet gloves on as an excuse to not meet his eyes.

“What are you doing?” Bowser asked.

“Getting you out of here,” Luigi said. Luckily the lock opened smoothly, and Luigi threw the door open so hard it clanged against the bars. "Come on."

The cage was too small for him, Bowser had to duck to get out the door, and as he straightened up to his full height for a second it felt like he was blocking out the sun. Luigi was very, very aware of the difference in their sizes.

He swallowed, forced himself to say, "This way," and tried to ignore the way it came out as a squeak.

"You're an idiot," Bowser said.

Luigi hadn't exactly been expecting to be thanked, but the insult didn't seem necessary. Just because they almost forgot him didn't mean they did.

But arguing would waste time, and the fire was still creeping along the walls where the sprinklers didn't reach. He adjusted his shirt again and turned toward the door he'd come in through, still open and still safe.

He hadn't taken two steps before a wooden beam crashed down in front of him. Luigi yelped and jumped backwards, hiding behind the first large object he saw - which turned out to be Bowser.

"Uh… sorry."

Bowser just shook his head.

There was more crashing, and the crackle of flames was a lot closer than Luigi liked. Had it spread to the ceiling already? If the walls weren't safe and the open spaces weren't safe, what were they going to do?

If anybody had remembered to let Bowser out in the first place they wouldn't be in this mess. Unfortunately, Luigi counted as "anybody," meaning this was as much his fault as anyone else.

"I'm sorry," Luigi said again. "Let's just make a run for it."

Bowser reached behind him and grabbed the back of his overalls, hoisting him into the air like a toy in a claw machine. Luigi heard himself squeak, then he was thrown back into the cage Bowser just left.

The door clanged shut, and Luigi’s heart sunk into his shoes. He was locked up. Just like Bowser had been, behind bars in a burning building, soon to be abandoned. Okay, they’d forgotten him, but did it really deserve this? Did Luigi really deserve to die over it?

He saw Bowser bend over next to the cage, grip the bars with one hand, and then he picked the whole thing up off the platform. Luigi toppled over onto the side, then back again as Bowser balanced the cage on his shoulder. What was he doing?

They turned back and forth. Luigi could see the fire creeping toward all the doors now. If they ran, and rolled as soon as they got outside - but the ceiling was still falling in too.

Bowser turned completely around, facing the back wall now. There was a small door near the middle, but the rest of it was nothing but windows. There was no safe path unless…

“No,” Luigi said, softly.

Bowser chuckled, and charged straight ahead.

For a few horrible seconds Luigi was aware of nothing but the smoke-filled air rushing past him as the wall got closer and closer. Glass shattered around them as Bowser kicked out a window and leapt through the frame, cage and all.

Bumping, rolling, and finally stillness. Luigi took a deep breath of still-smoky but much cooler air. He was tempted to scream. It wouldn’t accomplish much at this point, but it would make him feel better.

He yelped, at least, as the cage was picked up again. The door popped open and the box turned, and Luigi was shaken out onto the ground like the last penny in a piggy bank.

“Ow,” Luigi said.

“Wimp,” Bowser said. But his tone was light, and when Luigi looked up he saw him smiling.

He chucked the cage back over his shoulder, where it landed on the ground with a heavy thud and a gouge driven into the dirt. After a moment’s consideration Bowser threw the key in the same general direction, then turned back toward the expo hall, folding his arms and watching it slowly burn.

“This science expo thing’s more fun than I thought,” he said. “Maybe I’ll have one.”

Abruptly, he leaned over Luigi, really blocking out the sun this time. They were all alone out here, Luigi realized. Everyone else had evacuated out the other side of the building. If Bowser wanted to do anything to him, there was nobody to stop it.

But… he wasn't. And he hadn't. Right now he was just staring at Luigi with something like confusion on his face.

"You break anything?" Bowser said.

"No…" Luigi said. He'd been thrown around a lot, but he was used to that now. He probably wouldn't even bruise.

Carefully, Luigi climbed to his feet and brushed off any bits of broken glass or charred wood that had stuck to his clothes. Bowser quickly scrubbed a hand through his hair to do the same.

"Grazie- I mean, thank you for getting us both out," Luigi said.

Bowser rolled his eyes. "Don't do that. It's gross."

"What, thank you?"

"Ugh," Bowser said, so that must have been it.

Was that not what he'd been waiting for, then? Why did he keep looking at Luigi like that?

"Did you have to throw me in the cage, though?" Luigi asked.

Bowser shrugged. "That Poindexter said it was indestructible. You're not fireproof or roofproof, so I figured it'd help. Or whatever." He frowned, slightly. "Roof-proof. Roof, proof. That's a hard one."

While Bowser seemed interested in the pronunciation of the word he'd just invented, the specifics of what he'd said were sinking in for Luigi.

"You… are fireproof," Luigi said slowly.

"Ye-up," Bowser said.

"And roofproof?"

"Dunno about that one, but I've survived bigger buildings than this falling on me."

"And the cage is indestructible."

"Yyyyup."

Luigi buried his face in his hands. "I didn't need to go back for you at all, did I?"

"Nope," Bowser said, almost cheerfully.

"I'm an idiot."

"I told you you were."

Luigi groaned.

He ignored the guffaw of laughter next to him, and the massive hand that slapped his back. It was only when Bowser muttered something that Luigi forced himself to look up again.

It had sounded like, "Not like I don't appreciate it."

"What?" Luigi said.

"Nothing, shut up."

"I didn't-"

"Shut up," Bowser repeated firmly, and turned away from him to watch the burning building once again. One of the windows collapsed inward, and Bowser pumped his fist and gave an only slightly forced cheer. "Whoo! Good one."

For a while they both stood there, Luigi regaining his breath, Bowser apparently entertained by destruction. Bowser had said not to thank him, had told him to shut up, but Luigi had this feeling like… he was more bark than bite right now.

“Welp, I’m out of here,” Bowser said after a moment. “Much as I’d like to stay and watch the fire work, I’m not letting anybody lock me up again.” He gave a low growl. “Had enough of that for a lifetime.”

“Ah… take care getting home.”

Bowser gave him another odd look. “I don’t get you.”

“Don’t you?”

“I didn’t need saving. I don’t need your niceties.”

“It’s not for you,” Luigi said, “it’s for me. I’m doing - and saying - these things because I’d feel wrong if I didn’t.”

Bowser shook his head. “Like I said, I don’t get you.” He took a step in the direction his airship had gone when the crew abandoned him. “But uh… grazie, or whatever.”

Luigi blinked. “Prego,” he said, automatically, but Bowser had already started moving.

He stood there, alone, watching Bowser leave with nothing but the crackling of the fire to accompany the thoughts swirling in his head. Did Bowser know he’d just thanked him? He must, right? Luigi had said it right afterward.

Come to think of it, he’d have expected Bowser to be offended that Luigi thought he needed rescuing. But he wasn’t. He returned the favor, thanked Luigi, and walked away without causing any more trouble.

Was Luigi losing his mind? Was this smoke inhalation?

“Luigi!” he heard his brother cry out, and turned around to see Mario running at full-tilt across the grass. He braced himself just in time for Mario to grab him in a bone-crushing hug. 

He knew he’d done the right thing, and he knew Mario would agree once he heard the story, but he still felt a little silly that he’d rushed into danger for the sake of someone who was danger-proof.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine,” Luigi said. He glanced back over his shoulder, even though he knew Bowser was long gone.

Maybe that was it. Maybe so many people knew Bowser didn’t need rescuing that no one ever did it.

Maybe… Bowser had liked having a hero, for once.

[phoenix-before-the-flame]

You have awakened a hyperfixation that has been long dormant. It requires Natsu headcannons for nutrition (please, and thank you very much kind person)

Ah but of course. Would I even be Phoenix if I couldn't even oblige a comrade with Natsu headcanons

Always has something flammable on him. Packs of matches, lighters in his pockets, sparklers in his bags, etc. He's always gotta have something on him for snacking purposes when he's traveling. This also, incidentally, is a reason why no one likes having him near their kitchens because they know he's gonna swipe their matches/lighters.

Doesn't like reading much despite how much he loves stories. He gets why other people like it but it's just not for him. There's just not enough in there to catch his whole attention. He'd much rather listen to someone narrating a story to him than try to force himself to read it. This is the basis of how Natsu and Levy started hanging out as kids, she'd read some of her books aloud and he was her most avid listener.

Is unintentionally snobby towards other fire wizards. He's not even doing it on purpose! It's just if you use fire magic within his vicinity he will judge the quality of the flames, heat intensity, overall control, etc. It's even worse if he eats it and doesn't like it.

A lot more reliant on his senses compared to the other slayers, especially his sense of smell. Every new thing he encounters has to pass a sniff test first. He does this with people too but tries to not let it be too obvious (kept gettin too many complaints but he doesn't always remember). Flip side though is that he can get easily overwhelmed by smells that are too strong :(

Adrenaline junkie. Much to the annoyance of his friends. If he doesn't do anything that'll guarantee him a head rush he'll explode.

Absolutely despises anything touching his neck that isn't his scarf. He hates anything that touches his neck (and by proxy, the scar on it). It is an absolute no no zone for for anyone or anything to touch.

People fucking hate fighting him because he is all over the damn place. He's slippery, he keeps dropping to all fours like some freak. Can't let him get too close cause he bit someone a few minutes and they dunno if he's willing to sink his teeth into another person. Plus there's something in his eyes that makes people uncomfortable cause no one should look that excited while bleeding and fending off a hoard of bad guys.(In a normal sanctioned fight like GMG or something official he will not bite, he can hold back for that. Outside fights he's playing by his own rules though)

Started his collection of souvenirs from each mission as a way to tell Igneel about everything he's done over the year while he was gone. Stopped a lil bit after Igneel's passing but picked it back up again down the line. Maybe not as meticulous about it as before but it's a hobby he still keeps up.

Ambidextrous but favours his right for a lot of things. Still doesn't get why it's a big deal to people that he is tbh.

He could literally watch Happy stab someone but would still defend Happy without question and with his last breath. 'Oh? My lil buddy stabbed you? Well what'd you do to piss him off huh? He wouldn't do that just cause. Obviously you did something that made him defend himself! What were you tryna do to him huh?!' It's why Happy's so smug, he knows he can get away with almost anything cause of Natsu.

Had severe Tony Hawk syndrome before GMG and his face got known enough for people to finally be able to put a face with his nickname 'Salamander', which honestly he kinda misses. Sure free stuff is nice, and meeting new people but he could do without people always hounding him sometimes :/

Does not know how to tie shoelaces and never will. You can't make him.

[solomons-finest-rum]

Saga, I saw your post asking what your readers wish you would write for them. I have to admit that @potter-solomons got me daydreaming about a particular idea--Alfie's coat!! I need a comforting bit of fluff about this please! Maybe he covers you with his coat after you've been injured. Alternatively, you could turn it humorous and have him grumbling about you never remembering yours. It's up to you, darl! Have fun!

Thank you so so so much for all the hype, I truly appreciate it! Hope this is what you had in mind 🥰🥰🥰

As a general rule, Alfie wasn’t particularly big on the whole concept of salvation. Sure, there used to be times when he considered the option of being the hero, but as time passed he realised he’d much rather settle for the villain. The pay was certainly better and truth be told, in his current line of work “heroism” didn’t really get you anywhere. Maybe except an early grave, and that's if you’re exceptionally lucky.

At least until you came along. Then his reason went out the window and so did common sense. Ever since you graced him with your presence, he knew he’d do just about anything to keep you in his life, no matter the price.

A factory girl you were, or so he was told once he started asking around. You worked the handlooms over at Bethnal Green at Charles Moore’s warehouses, along with the other girls who in Alfie’s humble opinion would do much better staying away from men like Moore. He knew men like him all too well, you see. Men whose deeds could make a gangster turn his nose up.

Now, Alfie knew a thing or two about them East End businessmen. One thing he knew for sure that while cruel and greedy, twats like Moore weren’t exactly blessed with wits. Not a smart thing to do, Alfie thought, working with silk while mistreating his girls.

Silk, you see, liked to stay on the more unpredictable side of things, at least as far as business was concerned. Beautiful and expensive, but particularly flammable. Not a smart thing to do, one could say if one had an opinion to express on the matter–mistreating Alfie’s girl and working silk.

“Rough night, luv?” was the opening line Alfie chose when he approached you in the crowd.

As people rushed about, gasping in shock, the streets around the factory illuminated with an orange glow that would put hellfire to shame. But the roaring fires inside Moore’s factory couldn’t interest Alfie Solomons any less. He watched your gleeful smile and basked in the knowledge that he was the one who put it there.

“Mr. Solomons,” you greeted him, now a little nervous about the state of you.

You tried to cover your smile, but Alfie stopped you by putting his heavy black coat over your shoulders.

“Nah, none of that, luv, right, you know me by now.”

“Alfie.”

“See now, that's much better, innit. So... What's all the commotion about?”

You said nothing to that, only smirked in that knowing way that made Alfie fall for you all over again. That was the thing he liked about you the most. You always saw right through his schemes.

“Come, luv, I’ll drive ya home.”

You took one final look at the factory and Alfie lingered a little on the shiner under your eye. The bill had just been served to the man that caused it, though as far as Alfie was concerned, the price could have been higher.

Such was the thing with villains, he supposed. He’d gladly burn the world and everything in it, if it only meant he got to save you.

[raptorfae53]

Monster High Reimagined: Heath Burns Character Bio/redesign.

Heath Burns (He/Him)

(Paraguayan-American)

Boitata child of the burns family.

To the average eye,Heath is not the…sharpest tool in the shed,an overly excitable would-be casanova whose desire to impress often leads to him making a fool of himself,exactly the last person you'd think to give the flammable powers and responsibilities of the Boitata. But although an exuberant literal wild child, there's more than a few dimensions to him, most more apparent out in the wilds and nature than in the classroom…

Likes: Being in nature,wildlife,flame print,girls (particularly girls taller than him) and s’mores and other such campfire foods.

Dislikes: Environmental damage and destruction,colder weather, boring or tedious activities,being ignored when chatting,and people being two-faced.

Killer style: nothing but the coolest fashion for this fire spirit! We're talking bowling shirts,chain jewellery, and flame patterns on everything! (For the uninitiated reader, he dresses like Guy Fieri, and nobody has the heart to tell him, heath wouldn't mind regardless)

Familiar: none, besides the whole fire thing heath has no desire to keep animals as pets,he prefers nature wild,free and chaotic,like himself.

Pet Peeve: Seemingly always ending up a laughing stock in his frequent attempts to prove himself as cool,suave or funny as he'd like,Heath laughs it off with the rest of them but it stings nonetheless…

Freaky Flaw: Impatience,at least in man-made settings. Heath…has never done particularly well in a classroom setting and is usually desperate to get anything paperwork related done in a flash to get back to more interesting affairs, his attempts to remedy that being not as well thought out as he likes and usually getting him into more trouble than they were ever worth in the first place!

Spooky Secret: heath can tell his peers are saying stuff behind his back and don't respect him as much as he wishes, and far from his seeming obliviousness to it all it irritates him greatly, that goes for those gossiping about that cute Yeti girl too, she's not scary she's just trying to be friendly!

Dream job: Wildlife ranger,wildlife photographer or anything that gets him out in nature and not cooped up indoors, going to cool places and learning and helping all sorts of cool animals,plants and other such forms of life!

Five Fearsome facts:

Like the rest of his species, Heath's actual form resembles an anaconda made out of living fire. As cool as he and his friends do think this form is, heath takes a humanoid form (albeit one with golden skin and flames for hair) to better navigate society and/or not scare the living daylights out of regular humans.

In turn, heath is capable of controlling said fire with pyrokinesis, or at least he's training to,getting too overexcited tends to end with anyone nearby getting their hair singed as he's come to learn.

Befitting his species original role and bewildering his colleagues used to his airheaded personality,heath is a staunch environmentalist ,striking up a friendship with Venus over their shared interest and collaborating often with the plant monster on various efforts as part of monster high's environment and gardening clubs.

Heath is trilingual in English, Spanish and Guarani, having grown up in a household fluently speaking all three. Recently a pastime of his has been practising the fundamentals of a fourth language to properly chat to a girl in his year,as she's clearly more confident talking in her mother tongue instead of English and Heath would love to get to know her better…

Whilst being made out of fire might seem like a surefire reason to stay away from swimming pools ,heath is an adept and seasoned swimmer, if only his exuberant nature didn't turn every pool he's ever been in into a simmering,steaming hot tub!

Hello again to the second profile of seven this spooky season (I know its still September but personally summer doesn't quite agree with me yknow,bring on Halloween!)

Compared to Abbey, (whose inspiration is well known by most people in the mh fandom) what exactly Heaths monster type and inspo is a little less well-known, so there's some explanation down below regarding exactly that!

Anyways,hope you enjoyed this profile, and see you next week for the next one. (It's going to be one I should've done a while ago tbh,if that's any clue...)

Anyways,regardless of all that, you probably have one primary question on your mind.

What's a Boitata, and why is Heath one?

In regards to the first question, a boitata is an Amazonian nature spirit that takes the form of a giant flaming snake and which protects the animals and plants of the forest from harm. The Boitata is from Guarani mythology, who live primarily in Paraguay and the surrounding countries, hence why Heath is from a trilingual Paraguayan family.

And to answer the second question, like toralei before him, I dont like the whole fire elemental thing, and him being a demon/hellborn goes against one of the fundamental rules I set myself regarding what monsters the monster high characters are based on. No Abrahamic Demons,Angels,direct children of Gods ,Aliens (bar one,but we'll get to them later) and no bigfoot because I thought it'd be funny if that were where i drew the line.

So I had a look at some of the other fire based monsters, and the boitata, in particular, simply caught my eye. (+ the environmental protector thing I thought fit Heaths g3 personality, as all things considered my version of him is a mix of g1 and g3 in terms of design and personality instead of purely one or the other...)

Also for better reference here's a collection of different renditions of the creature to give a better picture:

[hozaloza]

.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆⭒˚.⋆ .. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆⭒˚.⋆

!! TW! Vi0lence and intended su1c1de !!

͙͘͡★Hearing you weep through the door, whispering, pleading “I miss you, MARI” ͙͘͡★

(what am I doing--)

͙͘͡★I’m at the edge now͙͘͡★ (Thomas stepped back as he looked down at the crumbling ground, panicking as he kept Jasmine away from the danger) ͙͘͡★About to fall off ͙͘͡★ (His eyes dart around the room, looking for a possible escape for the both of them) ͙͘͡★Fire’s getting closer ͙͘͡★ (The fire grows in size as more and more flammables catch on fire, spreading the chaos) ͙͘͡★Head for the exit ͙͘͡★(Jasmine yelled out, tears filling her eyes as she didn't want Thomas to get hurt) ͙͘͡★I’m jumping off ͙͘͡★(The two of them jump down, running as their hands tighten around one another) ͙͘͡★This is my goodbye then ͙͘͡★(Thomas looks to his side and notices a safe area. However, the window for it to stay open is short, and they needed to act fast.) ͙͘͡★Don’t try to understand ͙͘͡★(Jasmine was willing to risk herself for him, telling him she'll let him get through while she found another way out. Thomas looks at her fearfully, but slumped his shoulders as he kissed her, bidding her farewell.) ͙͘͡★You weren’t here ͙͘͡★("I love you so much, never forget me." He whispered, pushing her at the last second before time ran out.) ͙͘͡★Read the papers ͙͘͡★(Tears filled her eyes as she just realized that Thomas sacrificed himself for her. He pushed her to safety so she wouldn't risk her life.) ͙͘͡★Made it to the news, dad ͙͘͡★(She screamed as she reached out for him, the tears blurring her vision by the second) ͙͘͡★Are you proud of me ͙͘͡★(Thomas smiled weakly as his eyes blurred from the tears, just happy his true love will get a second chance at life) ͙͘͡★yet͙͘͡★ (he turned around, meeting his boss's gaze)

͙͘͡★Guess I doubt it ͙͘͡★(He glared at him, the phantom taking over once again as he attacked his superior) ͙͘͡★Everyone has a reason for trying ͙͘͡★(As the flames grew, Thomas kept throwing attacks at him, trying to rid of the evil from this Earth.) ͙͘͡★Everyone has a reason for fighting ͙͘͡★(Maverick grabbed his gun, ready to finish off the man once and for all) ͙͘͡★Fuck buying flowers! ͙͘͡★(Jasmine kicked and sobbed as she tried to get out of Ryan's grasp, desperately trying to get back to Thomas) ͙͘͡★I want you to move on ͙͘͡★(Ryan's own heart kept breaking, not wanting to leave him either, but knowing it would risk the lives of the kids, so he had to keep pushing) ͙͘͡★Take a bus to nowhere ͙͘͡★(The group ran through the flames, desperately trying to reach Ashlyn) ͙͘͡★Anywhere that’s not here ͙͘͡★(Ashlyn stood in the room, wishing the flames would consume her already as she clenched her fist) ͙͘͡★Somewhere far away͙͘͡★ (Thomas felt the blood leave his body, but he wouldn't give up until Maverick was down) ͙͘͡★Bring all our friends ͙͘͡★(the rest of the gang held onto the items, Alex holding the main one with Aiden) ͙͘͡★Just don’t think about me ͙͘͡★(Ashlyn fell to the ground, screaming as the memories came back to her. She needed to free her friends. She needed to rid of herself) ͙͘͡★Never feel sorry ͙͘͡★(Maverick held the gun to Thomas's head, smiling as he laughed like a maniac) ͙͘͡★Everyone wants to cling onto life ͙͘͡★(Shots of all the better times. Memories of when things were calm and happy, even during the hardships.) ͙͘͡★Nobody wants to say goodbye ͙͘͡★(Thomas trying to push the gun away. Ashlyn hesitating as she reached out for the flame.) ͙͘͡★If there is one last thing I can say to you ͙͘͡★(Ashlyn stared at the flame, softly smiling as she approached it) ⋆⭒˚.⋆ “SUNNY, thank you for being alive.” ⋆⭒˚.⋆

.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆⭒˚.⋆ .. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆⭒˚.⋆

...

uh--

idk what this is--

,

Song is Sunny by JohnJRenns

this is my favorite part of it....

....this was supposed to be thomamine angst what happened--

[thatwildnya]

Chapter 5: The Curtains are on Fire

Chitters

Wild: I had a lot of fun with this chapter. Ortho is one of my favorite characters and he doesn't get nearly as much content as his fellow students do so I kinda went all out. He's so cute and sweet, I wish I had a younger brother like him

Nya: y'all this one is a roller coaster have fun!

TW: blood (literally just mentioned), lilia's cooking, dead mom trope for the shroud bros oof

Shroud Brothers: Nightmare horse

You feel nothing as you stare with a blank expression. There are no emotions on your face. There are no thoughts in your brain. There is not a jumbled soup of emotions being cooked by your brain definitely not. Nothing.

Next to you sits Silver, eyes glued onto the bigger of the two traditional bodied centaurs standing before you.

They stare back at you. Or more accurately the younger did while his brother opted to hide in his hoodie.

You had gone out with Silver to buy him new pants for his human form. He had grown a lot in the past year and now was taller than you in his half form. But you still beat him in the bipedal department. Take that.

Now able to stay indefinitely in his half and half form he had begun practicing to do the same with bipedal. After an accidental flashing to the mailman he was in immediate need of something to cover his jimmies. No more towel skirts for him. Lilia was still laughing as they left.

While you were out your uncle had brought you more pets to care for. He’d dipped just before you returned this time, leaving them waiting in the entryway. You sense a pattern starting.

You take another look at the letter he left you. According to it the two were nightmares, a magical horse with flaming hair that could summon fire at will. He warned you the younger, Ortho, was at the age where he could start doing just that. He was a curious colt and must be kept away from flammable objects to the best of your ability. If he was using his power for any reason he must be supervised.

Lovely.

His older brother, Idia, had mastered his powers. According to reports he has been diagnosed with anxiety. If his levels of anxiety became too intense his instincts would kick in and let loose. Though this has not happened since mastering his skills it was something to keep in the back of your mind.

Lovely 2.0.

Ortho stepped away from his brother's side, coming closer. You didn’t notice, his steps were surprisingly quiet despite the hooves. You flinch feeling his hand curl around your free one. Not because he startled you, after living with Lilia and the twins for so long you are much harder to catch by surprise. They were freezing! These guys could control fire shouldn’t they have a warmer temperature like Malleus did?

Next to you Silver briefly tenses. He had grown quite attached to you and was always looking out for danger.

You turn your focus away from the letter to the colt before you. Ortho’s eyes were big and shining with innocent curiosity. He suddenly grins, a couple pointy teeth peeking out from his gums. You awkwardly return the guestrue, not sure what to say. All the other times the pets had introduced themselves or others to you. You were a bit awkward if you were being honest, a result of trying to not attract attention and avoiding contact when you could.

“Orpo!” he says, swinging your arm side to side. Was he trying to shake your hand and introduce himself? “Name Orpo!” heh, he was cute you wouldn’t lie. He points back at his older brother excitedly, “Nii-chan! Meet Nii-chan!” he tugs on your hand. You let him pull you closer to the older nightmare, a wave of relief washing through. Thank the seven he wasn’t as shy as his brother appeared to be. Silver follows close behind.

Idia was still hiding in his hoodie. You can hear faint mumbling from inside. The nightmare jumped when his brother patted his second chest, his tail making a crackling pop noise. Peeking out he looks down at the two of you, letting out a “hei!” when he sees you.

“Did you choose your rooms yet?” you ask, letting Ortho bring your and Idia’s hand together. He wanted the two of you to shake hands like he had with you earlier. Which was proving to be difficult. He brought together your left and Idia’s left, but you made it work by entwining your fingers with his. A tiny blush creeped across Idia’s face with his blue hair simultaneously doing the same at the ends. Ortho seemed to be satisfied, his own hands wrapped around yours rocking them back and forth in the air.

You repeat your question, this time getting an answer.

Idia shook his head, mumbling about this being a new map they shouldn’t just explore without a guide. Interesting way to put it.

Letting go of his (suddenly sweaty) hand (yeesh that got damp quick), you explain this place used to be a dorm so they would definitely be able to get their own room each. Ortho insisted on holding both your and his brother’s hand for the tour. It was adorable, if you tried to pull away he got a little pouty and tightened his grip. You are no longer mad your uncle brought a fire wielding baby into the house.

As you lead them around, you can hear an all too well known skittering hard floor scratching steppies following behind. A certain trio was unsurprisingly curious about the newcomers.

You turn around to make a shooing motion with your free hand after ascending the stairs to the second floor. Idia had also noticed and was becoming anxious with their tailing. Whenever they stopped he started nervously pawing at the floor. Your floors were very old and needed to be replaced. Even if your uncle had given you a credit card, he’d said only to use it for the essentials. Apparently replacing the floorboards that could break without a moment's notice didn’t count.

Unfortunately for you, the boys thought you were telling them to come closer. They bounded over, excited to interact with the newbies. Silver attempted to block and grab them with no success.

Ortho was delighted, he bent down so his face was closer. Jack began sniffing his face, his tail a tornado of white. Deuce made an excited chittering sound, standing on his back legs and putting his front legs atop Jack’s head to get close. Sebek also used Jack as a support, his smaller legs using the wolf pup’s back. Both of the scaly centaurs' tails thumped against the floor. You watched them scramble over each other, trying to be the closest to the colt. Meanwhile Silver was trying to get them to settle down. Once again he was unsuccessful.

Noticing the lack of scraping you turn to check on Idia. The nightmare was staring as the kids interacted, eyes big and unblinking. The anxiety was still there, but his body language hinted at slight hostility with how tense he was. You reach over and pat his side, causing him to startle with another “hei!” as he sidestepped away. Out of the corner of your eye you see Silver straighten up ready to act if necessary.

“They’re good kids, if they harm him it’s by mistake. Relax, there hasn’t been a single fight. And that’s saying something with all the big personalities here.” you reassure, stepping closer and resting a hand on his side. He flinches at your touch, his muscles tensing more but stays in place.

Standing on tiptoes, you start to scratch the spine of the horse half. Everyone absolutely loved when you did this and would relax under your nails. You assumed the same applied and well lookie here! His muscles are untensing and fingers unclutching. 

As Idia starts to calm he moves closer without thinking. You smile, upping the ante and using your other hand to scratch what you could reach of the human spine. A happy nicker comes out of him as you give him some love.

~~~~~~

In the end the brothers chose a pair of rooms that had a broken wall between them. They didn’t want to be separated and convinced you to let them merge the rooms into one. You ask Silver to find Malleus, intending to ask him to use his magic to make get rid of the wall that had seen better days and combine some beds together for them.

When inquired about the reason for the dragon Idia said the bed merging wouldn’t be necessary. He informed you that equine centaurs like them needed special beds due to health problems that would occur later if they slept in certain ways too often. Thankfully they already had some of their own belongings from the ranch they’d been living at previously. They were to be delivered the coming weekend, in the meantime he could sleep standing up and only Ortho would need a bed since he was still young.

Upon hearing what the nightmare said the trio asked if Ortho could sleep with them tonight and began fighting over who got to sleep next to him. You hadn’t even said yes yet.

They were the only ones without rooms of their own, as they were too young to be left without supervision for long periods of time. Your master solution? Let them sleep with you. The bed was far too big in the first place. You didn’t like how empty it felt when you were in it all by your lonesome.

Idia instantly shoots down the idea, refusing to let Ortho out of his sight during the night. He was practically a baby still, Idia needed to be close at all times! Though it seemed like this was more for his sake than his brothers.

In response the boys ganged up on the overprotective brother, whining to let him. Even Ortho joined in. It was kinda funny watching a big animal being flustered by much smaller ones.

You watched on with a smile, forgetting the letter in your pocket. Not the best thing to let slip your mind. Everything was fine until Deuce lost his patience and nipped at Idia’s ankle.

Idia reacted instinctively, kicking Deuce away with a frightened whinny and retreating backwards with a crackling mane and tail. Deuce hit the wall with a thud! followed by loud yelp. Sensing his brother’s fear, Ortho also became frightened and instinctively switched into his animal form. The colt’s eyes went wild and he began pacing around, nearly stepping on the smaller pets. His own hair began to pop and crackle.

Jack and Sebek got angry seeing their friend harmed. Turning into their animal forms, Jack begins running between Idia’s legs spooking him further. Meanwhile Sebek is snapping at his hooves and ankles. Now there is another fire hazard horse prancing around your hall.

You’re panicking in the midst of the commotion, shouting for everyone to calm everyone down while simultaneously trying to get Deuce to give you a straight answer. The poor thing was crying, holding his arm. You’re unsure if you should or shouldn’t touch his arm. Would that make it worse?

A snarling gust of wind flying overhead catches your attention. Of all the times you needed to be found, this was one of the shortest.

You turn to be greeted with the view of a conclusion jumping dragon Malleus pinning a now shrieking horse Idia to the floor. Ortho had a mouthful of his hair and was desperately trying to pull him off. Jack was giving Ortho’s tail the same treatment. Sebek has his jaws tight around Idia’s leg as he is jerked in every direction.

You start yelling at Malleus to get off. If he hears you he doesn’t show. He takes no notice of the pulls on his hair or screaming of his master. His focus is solely on the prey underneath his claws starting to break its skin. 

Why are they ignoring you? There’s blood on the floor. You’ve been working so hard to make sure they’re comfortable, the least they could do is listen! Idia has summoned a fireball to hit Malleus. It’s loud. A vase has been smashed. Who should you call for Deuce’s injury? The curtains are on fire. Do the smoke alarms work? Ortho has kicked Jack off his tail. Is that just Idia’s blood? Do you even have smoke alarms?  It’s too loud. Does your uncle know anything about treating injuries? Jack has gotten a hold of Ortho’s tail again. Your eyes are getting glossy. You can’t think. Your vision is blurry. You don’t know what to do. It’s too. Fucking. LOUD.

A loud shriek suddenly resounds through the air. Everyone freezes in place, stunned by the sudden ringing in their ears. Lilia stands at the end of the hall in his largest form. Under him was a worried, somewhat frightened fox Silver. Peeking from the corner of the stairs are your sea dwelling pets, hair soaked and barely transformed in their human forms.

Everyone seems to shrink as Lilia walks towards them, his gaze dominating them into submission. Even Malleus looked spooked, trying to make himself appear smaller than he was.

With a hiss he tells Malleus to get off and for the other two to let go of the nightmares. They wordlessly obey, putting as much distance between them as possible with the space there was.

Idia gets off his side but doesn’t stand. His chest is heaving and eyes still big as saucers. Ortho stands next to him, licking a cut on his shoulder. He tries to soothe his terrified brother with quiet whinnies and gentle nuzzles.

Lilia lets out a growl, staring a moment longer before bending down to assess Deuce. Finding the younger to only be bruised his attention switches to you. But his son has already taken on that role.

Silver has taken on his centaur form and was cradling your head in his chest. Other than a quick “did you get hurt?” he had said nothing. Simply tracing shapes on your back. But that was enough for you. You just needed some quiet.

As you were taken care of Lilia busied himself with the others instead, silently entrusting you to Silver. A minute later he was satisfied.

“Now then,” he stands as tall as the ceiling allows. Arms crossed, he puts a wing over his son and you, “care to share what happened?”

~~~~~~

As a punishment you (see; Lilia) made Malleus in charge of the troublesome trio until the weekend rolled around. This meant the boys would be staying in his room and couldn’t sleep with you. And boy oh boy were they not happy.

It would be the first time they would be sleeping someplace other than your bed. They begged you not to kick them out, saying they were sorry and promising they wouldn’t do it again. But you (again, see; Lilia) stand your ground, this would serve as a good lesson.

Malleus shared the same emotions towards the punishment. It was his turn to sleep in the bed with you this week. Next week was the twins and Azul’s turn, and after that was Lilia’s turn. Silver was still small enough in his fox form that he could squeeze in no matter whose turn it was so he joined on and off, sometimes wanting to stay in his own bed instead.

As an apology for this mess of a first day you invited the new residents to sleep in your room. Ortho was happy, excited to sleep in a bed as big as yours. Idia said since it would only be a few days there wouldn’t be any health concerns to worry about.

Thankfully by dinner Ortho had seemingly forgotten the whole shebang. He was bouncing around under the watchful eye of Lilia behind you while Idia taught you how to make his specially prescribed milk formula. Ortho had some health complications and needed a special diet until further notice.

On the topic of munchies, it was past 7 when you finally got the four naughties to eat dinner. Or at least three of them. All four were too emotional to eat during dinner. The younger three ate after Lilia suggested he make them something himself.

If they weren’t so young you wouldn’t have pushed them so much. But you did not want to be awoken in the middle of the night because they were hungry after this stressful hell of a day.

Note: weaponize the bat’s cooking

Malleus, however, outright refused. He Isolated himself on the roof, sulking up there until it was time for the boys to sleep.

Lilia said not to worry about him or the youngers. Malleus had done the same when he was young and pouting, it was best to leave him alone when he wanted to be. And it was common for emotional centaurs to not have an appetite, especially when said were negative.

Now back to the brothers.

It is 8:30 and time for Ortho’s before bed bottle. And all the excitement from today had caught up to Ortho. He was falling asleep as his brother fed him, barely able to keep his eyes open. Even choked a few times from dozing off.

Silver had decided to join you today. He was still worried about you after the fight earlier and wanted to stay close. In fact he hadn’t left your side once since the whole fiasco. At least Idia didn’t mind him, they actually seemed to get along well.

Idia surprises you when Ortho finishes, putting his arms under his brother's belly and hoisting him into the air to carry him to the bed. How was he strong enough to carry him? His arms looked like twigs.

You gather up the empty dishes to put them on your dresser. They can be washed in the morning. Or stay there and collect dust and ants for a week. Fate will decide.

“Don’t forget to take those down in the morning less you want to room with ants again~” you just give the bat a thumbs up with a mumbled “yeah yeah”.

Idia stands next to the bed, a blanket thrown over his body. He hadn’t exchanged his hoodie for a different one. Hopefully he had more.

You had said he could sleep with the two of you but he declined, saying he isn’t ready to start a level like that yet. The gaming lingo would take some time getting used to.

Ortho had claimed one of your bigger pillows and was snoozing away, nickering in his sleep. You cover him with a blanket, a gentle smile finding its way to your face when you push a strand of his blue flaming mane off his face. As you get comfy Silver squeezes between your arms in his fox form for snuggles.

Above you Lilia starts to sing. You didn’t know what language, but it seemed oddly familiar.

You close your eyes, succumbing to his lullabies of a dreamless slumber.

~~~*~~~

Idia watches you being oh so gentle with his brother and the fox centaur, glad to see the two of you were getting along.

While drifting off to sleep he thinks about the ranch they had been raised on before Crowley had come along. The trainers would beat the pets if they misbehaved or tried to stand up for themselves. They were treated like an item instead of living beings. Humans would stare at him like he was nothing but a rare collectible. He remembered how the owners of the breeding program had raged because he was too anxious to perform in dressage competitions as his kind were expected to. How they’d planned to use him as nothing more than a breeding slave.

And he remembered how they’d thrown his mother’s body into the back of a truck on route to a glue factory like she was useless garbage, grumbling about how much money had been wasted on her to only give birth to a half dead useless foal.

He looks at you again. Ortho had snuggled closer to you, his head now using your arm as a pillow. Your other arm was draped over him, securing him in a gentle hug with the fox in the middle.

Idia watches you for a bit longer before giving into Lilia’s songs of sleep himself, hopeful you were much kinder than all the other humans he’s met.

[scaryspears]

Cole Young should've been Kai

I know, I know, this is just an excuse to project how much I wanna see more black characters as main characters.

I'm pretty sure the hate for Mortal Kombat 2021 has died down to some degree, as it's been a good 3 years since the movie came out, and no ones talking about it anymore. Nonetheless, I wanted to give my take on Cole Young. I heard that the reason they made Cole Young is because they wanted to pander to the audience, and how they didn't want a white main character to be the every man that introduces the audience to Mortal Kombat... So they came up with Cole Young.

If that was the case, then Kai was right there. I mean, they did bring out characters from the Midway era, so they could've brought Kai. Let me explain myself here. Kai has fire powers as well, but he doesn't even have to be a descendant of Hanzo. They could've pulled a Miles Morales, but he doesn't have to be painted as the next Scorpion or some other crap. Kai in canon is a student/mentee of Liu Kang's, and is a member of the White Lotus. What does Cole do? He trains with Liu Kang and Kung Lao. Just like Cole, Kai can be an orphan as well.

 Of course, you can't trust them to write the script. I can't be trusted either, but here's my take on what could've been:

Kai is a college kid doing underground fighting to make ends meet or a side hustle. The ring is run by the Black Dragon, who are keeping some tabs on him due to how much money he's been making, so they set up Kobra to be his next contender. The start of the film shows him defeating Kobra, before heading home to count his money to make sure he has enough for rent. His bedroom has a set design that clues the audience in on what his interests are. There are Martial Arts posters, he has a collection of weapons (hints to poor spending habits), and there's a picture of him and his baseball team from high school. There's a metal baseball bat laying somewhere, implying that he still occasionally likes to play.

He later goes on to China Town, and purchases a random spear from some guy, not knowing that it used to belong to Hanzo Hasashi aka Scorpion. To his credit, the seller tells Kai that the spear is cursed and is said to drive people who use it insane, with all of them claiming to see images of Hell fire, and nightmares of a sceptre, that's why it's selling for such a low price. Kai tells him that he doesn't need to worry about marketing, and that he just wants the spear. (He's also a big fan of watching youtubers explore "haunted" abandoned buildings and ouija board stuff, so it's a win for him)

Kai gets on to his daily life, not knowing that he's being stalked by Kobra. He accidentally sets a few things on fire, quickly figuring out that he has new powers. He doesn't know how to control them, and tries to stay away from flammable objects. (I think Kai's fire should be a certain colour to differentiate him from Liu Kang and Scorpion. Either pink, blue or green. Pink just because, blue to imply that it's super hot, and green to reference the Chaosrealm as a hint to Kai's ancestry, made up on my part)

Kobra breaks into Kai's home and demands a rematch, and Kai uses the baseball bat to help defend himself. He accidentally kills Kobra after shooting a fireball at him, and his home catches fire. He doesn't know how to stop the fire, and in his panic, he grabs as many valuables as he can before leaving the scene. The spear, a family photo, some money.

He tells the police that Kobra was some random home invader who knocked him out, but Kai woke up in time to find the place on fire, and Kobra was still present and unfortunately burned to death. Stryker investigates, and suspects there's more to the story, sensing something off about Kai. At the same time, he can't help but feel bad for Kai, and offers his spare bedroom so long as Kai pays rent. (Cue Stryker accidentally becoming a father to a college kid)

In natural reporter fashion, the incident is broadcast to the world, alerting his whereabouts to Sub Zero, and other Outworld champions. Raiden appears and warns Kai of danger, and asks Kai to come with him. Stryker intervenes (because some random lightning guy appeared in his house), telling Kai to run while he keeps Raiden at bay. Kai runs off to hide at a nearby store or something, and that's when Sub Zero appears to kill him. Kai does pretty well to hold him off, but his flames are flaring up when he doesn't want them to. Raiden saves him, and once he's able to shoo Sub Zero away he explains everything to Kai.

Kai's family used to compete in the tournament, and after they died under mysterious circumstances, he's been stuck living by himself. (He never told anyone in fear of social services, but he's been alone since 17. Maybe they went on holiday and never came back, idk) It's one of the reasons he's making ends meet in underground fighting. Those white markings on his skin? Family heirloom type stuff. Kai's parents were one of the many who were slain by Sub Zero over the years. Coming into contact with a supernatural object activated Kai's abilities.

Kai agrees to go with Raiden to China, and trains with the White Lotus, where he is introduced to Liu Kang. Kai wants to know how to use his spear, but Liu Kang hands him a club. (I personally hate clubs, because the weapon looks so unclean and tacky. But in the game, Kai uses a spiked club, so I can't retcon anything.) Here, he becomes Liu Kang's student. Although he's good at using the club, he is still determined to use the spear, and practises by himself. He accidentally summons some fire, but it's not his fire, it's hell fire.

Edit: Kai finds out some other things about himself, like how his family were shamans of some kind, leading him to investigate how to summon entities. He starts to experience the effects of the spear, and tries to communicate with Scorpion, and find hints through his visions. The next time Kai gets into a fight, he is not himself, and his eyes shine a golden blaze.

He does find a way to summon Scorpion and bring him to the mortal world.

[singbluesxlver]

I suddenly remembered this movie that I saw about two years ago called The Lost City, where Sandra Bullock is a famous writer who has this kind of romance adventure saga and somehow ends up being kidnapped in the middle of the jungle and the model that appears in the covers of her books playing the protagonist of them travels there to save her. or something like that. I don't remember much from the movie BUT one scene in particular came to my mind and I thought...why not make it ghostsoap?

please don't expect too much from this, english's not my first language but since i have a kind soul i´ll take the risk so that tumblr users who dont speak spanish can understand and enjoy (or not) the ghostsoap scenarios that i came up with 👍

soooo

So far Johnny had managed to escape from Graves (the psycho billionaire who had read all his books and decided it was a great idea to kidnap him) and as much as it pained him to admit it, he couldn't have done it without Simon's help. Now the two of them were lost in the middle of the jungle and neither knew more than the basics of survival.

He would have liked to keep looking for a way out but night began to fall and with it came a soft but constant cold breeze, so it would be better for them to choose a nice spot to spend the night and get some sleep.

Johnny was struggling to make a fire that would give them some light and warmth. After a couple more failed attempts, he pulled back and groaned in frustration.

“We need something more flammable, everything is so wet... What do you have in your backpack?” He asked Simon but began to rummage through it before receiving any response. He found a small bottle and read the label. “Eucalyptus and rosemary oil? I guess it can be useful…”

Johnny dumped the entire contents onto a couple of branches, which soon caught fire. 

“Wait, what are yo-” But it was too late for Simon to stop him.

“Look! I did it! I made fire!” He was very proud of his achievement, their hopes of surviving the night increased.

“Very impressive…”

“Right?”

Simon only responded with a subtle smile before turning away to remove his shirt. Johnny nearly choked on his own saliva at the sight in front of him. A few hours before, thanks to a silly accident, he had seen him completely naked, there was nothing he hadn't seen before, so he didn't understand the reason for his own reaction. He had been caught off guard, it was just that, he thought. But it didn't take long for him to notice something that snapped him out of his thoughts and alarmed him a little.

“Your back... Are you okay? it doesn't look good…” Simon's back was covered in a rash and it seemed to itch so much Johnny didn't understand how he wasn't tearing his skin off by now. 

“It's nothing... That's why i don't usually get into the water, my body reacts like this…” Simon replied, a little uncomfortable, turning around to look at him.

“Oh... Do you have anything for it, like some ointment or something?” 

“Yeah I do... Well, I did... It was in a little bottle…” He was staring at Johnny's hands holding the empty oil bottle.

“Oh... It was this... god, I'm sorry, Si.” He realized with embarrassment.

“'S okay”

No it wasn’t, and Johnny was going to make up for it. Quickly he went back to digging through the backpack to find a pack of face masks. He decided not to ask about it. “Wait, come here... I think we can do something with this.”

Simon looked confused but without saying anything he walked over and sat next to him.

“Turn your back on me” Johnny asked, being quickly obeyed. “This can be a bit cold…”

His suspicions were confirmed as soon as he felt a chill run down Simon's spine as he began to gently place one of the masks on his back. “Sorry.”

“Maybe this is how ‘Ghost’ should die.” Simon joked, referring to the protagonist of Johnny's books. “Horrible eczema outbreak... its so sexy.” 

Johnny laughed at that. “Oh I can make it work.”

“All right then, how would you write that? Delight me.”

He didnt hesitate to accept the challenge and rapidly began to put into words the scenario that Simon was proposing to him. “Hm... Warmed by the fragant fire…”

“Starting strong…”

“Soap's (Ghost’s love interest in his books) hands explored the... the contoured scenery of Ghost's body... Familiar terrain made new and exciting with every scarlet rim” Johnny's voice as he narrated the scene that they had just created together, was slow and soft, as were the movements that his hands made on Simon's back.

“And it didn't uh... didnt turn him off?” There was a trace of melancholy in his tone.

“No... Because with every cardinal ridge, Soap discovered another letter in the language that only their bodies spoke” Johnny could feel Simon's body slowly beginning to relax.

“Hmm… You know what their bodies said?” 

It only took two seconds for Johnny to reply. “Take me, take me…” He said almost in a whisper .“How's that?” 

“It’s… It’s good” Simon muttered and began to turn around to face him.

“Your back, i mean, hows your back” Johnny chuckled nervously.

“Oh, no, yeah, i also meant my back” Simon responded awkwardly. Both of them cringed a little.

There was an awfully awkward silence before Johnny stood up. “okay... im gonna go rest a bit... you'll be okay?”

“yeah i'll be fine…” 

[iamvegorott]

Don't Starve Emotions Ch. 5

Warm Hearts

“I don’ know how to feel about how this ‘crafting’ works,” Yancy said as he looked at the garland he made, setting it on his head. 

“If it works, it works,” Illinois said with a shrug, reaching over and straightening out the garland on Yancy’s head, his own sitting center on his head. “At least we can all make anything without worry of doing it wrong.” 

“Hopefully, we make more than flower crowns and fire.” Yancy chuckled, it turning into a little giggle when Illinois kissed his forehead. 

“If not, we’ll craft anything you want when we get home,” Illinois promised with another kiss on Yancy’s nose. 

Phantom was working on adding wood to the fire to make sure it was as big as possible, ensuring there wasn’t anything flammable nearby to be safe. He felt the pinch of jealousy as he listened and watched the little moment between Yancy and Illinois, feeling that bitter, bile-like burning in his chest and at the bottom of his throat. 

Why was he jealous? 

He’s never felt this before watching the couples be all cute and lovely to each other. Why was it starting to bug him now? 

Why now?

If it was going to happen, could it wait till they were home, at the least?

“Phantom? You good?” Jackie’s voice got Phantom to turn his head, and for some reason, having Jackie suddenly be so close to him made his heart skip a beat. Phantom shook his head to make that feeling go away before clearing his throat. “Sorry. Zoned out.” 

“Don’t beat yourself up over all of this.” Jackie placed a hand on Phantom’s back, rubbing small circles in the center of it. 

“I should get beaten for it,” Phantom said with a weak laugh, grabbing one of the carrots from the pile of carrots and berries they had collected. 

“Here.” Jackie took his hand and punched Phantom on the arm. It was obvious that he had held back. “Now you’ve been beaten.” 

“You’re going to have to keep hitting me until we have Mad back to full health, or you gotta give me a proper punch.” Phantom softly chuckled, the gesture actually making him feel a bit better. 

“Okay.” Jackie took what Phantom said a bit too literally and decked him on the arm.

“Ow!” Phantom cried out. He wasn’t expecting that, and it hurt. “Jackie!? The fuck!?”

“Oh! Sorry! I thought you wanted me to hit you.” Jackie panicked and did what he remembered Chase doing whenever Robbie got hurt; he grabbed Phantom’s arm and kissed the spot he had punched. That got Phantom to freeze and have a warmth flow through his body. “There, better?” Jackie looked up with a big smile, unaware of how he got the one-and-only, overly-flirty, far-from-shy Phantom to be flustered. 

“Y-Yeah.” Phantom turned his face away, praying that he wasn’t blushing, but he soon forgot about the moment when he saw that the carrot he had set next to the fire became the ‘cooked’ version of it. “Figured out cooking.” He called out to get everyone’s attention. “Just put it near the fire, and it’ll change. Ask Henrik about your numbers, and let’s get everyone to one hundred percent before deciding what to do next.” Phantom could feel Dark’s eyes glaring at him, but he didn’t care and hoped it wouldn’t become a later problem as he worked on making as much food as possible and carrying it over to Mad and Mare. 

“How much does he need to eat?” Mare asked. 

“I don’t know, but Henrik can tell you when the red number is one-fifty. Make sure you get yourself something to eat, too.” Phantom left the pile of food with Mare and then headed over to Henrik. “Are any numbers going up with Mad next to the fire? Is it doing it for anyone else?”

“Mad has a number growing, but I do not see it on anyone else.” Henrik scanned the area and tilted his head. “We all have lower numbers than before.” 

“Means we all need to eat, and the flowers will help with the sanity meter. Google and JJ have to be full with how much they picked, but I’m trying to remember-” Phantom stopped as he looked at Henrik’s green hair, his being the brightest of the Septiceyes, and it finally clicked. “Green mushrooms!” 

“Green mushrooms?” Henrik repeated. 

“Yes! They’re perfect for filling sanity, it’ll take a little health, but a few flowers or butterflies will make it up.” Phantom perked up, happy to have finally remembered something to really help Mad. “Bing! I need your tits!” 

“Do you have to word it like that?” Google asked with a grunt while Bing only laughed. 

“Someone doesn’t sound happy at someone else playing with Bing’s chest~” Wilford said with a tease and joined in Bing’s laughing when Google glared at him. 

“Mushrooms, mushrooms...” Phantom clicked his tongue with thought. There are three kinds and fuck. Green ones show up at dusk. I’ll take torch-making stuff with me to be safe.”

“Being out in the dark lowers that uh…sanity number, right?” Henrik asked.

“Yeah, but one short night doesn’t do too much,” Phantom answered. 

“Maybe we should have Google and JJ go since they are full with those numbers?” 

“No, I need to go get them. I can remember where it is on the map and-” 

“JJ and Google will go. Make their torches, and they will grab what they can.” Dark cut Phantom off. 

“It would be better if I-”

“They are the ones going.” Dark cut Phantom off again, and the only reason Phantom didn’t start calling Dark some tasteful names was because he heard Mad calling for him. 

“Fine,” Phantom said between gritted teeth before going to Mad and Mare. 

“Ringing…Ringing.” Mad repeated when Phantom got close. 

“What about ringing?” Phantom could tell that Mad was trying to tell him something, but he couldn’t get the words out. 

“Same ringing…” Mad squeezed his eyes shut and took in a deep breath. “Maxewell’s ringing….the radio” 

“Does the game even have a radio?” Mare asked.

“If it has something to do with Max-holy shit!” Phantom nearly fell back as if the realization had physically hit him. “Mad’s the divining rod!” 

[vaultdamned]

CIGARETTE SMOKE LINGERS inside his mouth, steps calculated as he manuevers around & away from the junk until he’s met with the barrel. hancock’s voided eyes managed to burn themselves into vincent’s vision, as if he’d finished staring directly at the sun, black spots following his every glance. his thumb flicks against the side of the lighter once, twice, a third as the flame finally ignites. vincent lowers its heat into the barrel, lighting the wood & branch & burnable scraps. he backs away slowly in anticipation for a large flame, nearly losing his balance until he grips the floor with his shoes.

vincent slides the lighter into his pocket without thought, as if it were his; as if it wasn’t a possession, rather, an object taking up space, like a pen or a pencil. the fire roars subtly, eating away at the mess of flammable brush, radiating a gentle heat against the man’s chilled face that only moments ago, burned an insatiable warmth — uncomfortable as it was natural, the way hancock’s chest heaved as the lights exposed their closeness. familiar from that fateful night — this was a continuation of their unspoken game. teasing & testing the others limits. 

vincent hovers his hand above the flame, allowing the orange tip to flick his skin, singeing flesh, throwing the sensation of pain up into his fingers and palm. tears collect like little pools at the bottom of his eye as he presses his hand further into the barrel. 

what the hell was he doing here? the answer was obvious, but the gaps inbetween; the ones hancock and him seemed to fill with distractions, confused the fuck out of him. by all reason, hancock should hate him. perhaps he did, merely burying the hatchet in a shallow grave for the sake of marowski’s demise, yet when an opportunity arised, vincent couldn’t help but loom closer to the ghoul & if he wasn’t mistaken, the air was mutual – practically sharing the same breaths, if only for another taste of each other. a replica to the strangeness of longing vincent had been fighting for so long, only for that sick feeling to dissipate at the invitation from his friend.

heat engulfs his skin, melting flesh mixed with the smell of burning wood, every nerve inside his hand screaming for mercy as droplets push themselves down his cheeks. hancock’s footsteps scuffle behind vincent, an action written off as casual when the clunk of the shotgun rings out. he looks over his shoulder, hand still resting in the fire, the first layer of skin no doubt burned away. 

hancock was his friend, & even now, a partner, but was vincent deserving of even that? who’s to say he wouldn’t just fuck off & murder marowski himself? he possessed the capability. considered it in quiet contemplation as the hours ticked by, leading up to this fireside chat. 

hands dig into his backside, surprising him as he mundanely pulls his hand away from the fire. a hardened shape enters his pocket. vincent turns his head, chin just over his shoulder, eyebrow raised, gaze shifting gradually from the mayor’s worker boots as the groqtuesue feeling of his flesh molds back into the shape of a hand. he remembers the ruggedness of hancock’s body, blemished & scarred as his fingertips dug into his skin; a moment that crosses vincents mind more often than he prefers, but within the dim-light, outside of his red coat & head bare, he sees him. a man, perhaps not human by name, but behind softened, coal-rubbed eyes, there’s a beating heart that’s stronger & braver than vincent could ever be, & perhaps that’s why he agreed to kill him. 

he meets the mayor’s gift with a gentle nod of the head, smirking as if they’ve shared an inside joke at the mention of stealing his lighter. if he could keep it, he would. he needed a new one anyways — his chest rises at the graze of his waist, ignoring the slight lean into hancock’s palm as the other situates himself. vincent stands, pushing away the sudden adrenaline as he recalls last night’s events through the lens of a disoriented mindset. as if permissible by the mayor, vincent reaches for a drag, sticks a smoke between his lips, speaks with his teeth. ❝ nah, wasn’t happy. only roughed me up a bit though. ❞ 

his tongue holds the cigarette in place as he flashes a joking gaze, flicks the lighter to life once more against the end of the filter. ❝ told him i’d make a better poison, and he really, really, didn’t like that his own shit wasn’t strong enough to ice you. called you a fucking rad roach. ❞ he puffs, blows the smoke high into the air, looking at the stick in-between his fingers for a moment before he reaches over, offers it almost hesitantly, as he has many times. as he would until his last day in goodneighbor. 

❝  got two weeks to come up with something. ❞

❝ you told me to start a fire, so i am — ❞

The barrel was cold but Hancock could already feel heat. The audacity for the man to smile at him like that, all knowing and perfect. That annoyed him. He was close enough to smell the rain that held onto the fleece of his jacket. The lighter illuminated his features, and the curls of his hair tickled Hancock's forehead, but there was no place for him to shuffle back to, his shotgun had already thunked against the warehouse walls.

In some sort of attempt at disrespect Hancock held the first drag of the cigarette in his mouth then blew it forward into Vincent's face. The ghoul didn't expect him to welcome the act, breathing in the remnants of nicotine. It was an odd play of the closeness they used to have. All the times where they each had packs in their pockets but would rather get the chance at an accidental touch of their fingers in sharing a single cigarette.

Eyes are locked on his, to make sure he saw the exact moment Hancock became intent on not offering him a drag.

❝ rumor has it, they had a secret warehouse underground, so, who knows. ❞

And off Vincent went to do as he was told with Hancock's lighter. Even from the view of just his backside he looked too pleased with himself. The typically cool and collected Mayor was left trying not to snap his cigarette in half before the nicotine hit.

He decides to take his smoke break at a distance and watches the barrel flick to life. Each inhale brings his heart rate down, until he notices Vincent pocket his lighter. He flicks the butt to the ground and snuffs it out with his boot on his way to Vincent. Just as he's about to demand his lighter back, a familiar folded stack of clothes on the nearby metal shelf catches his eye. His path shifts towards it. Vincent had cleaned his clothes like he had asked. 

Hancock thought to make a comment on it. To tell the man he missed a spot. But he couldn't find the will to act in hostility. They were working together again. Should one lapse in judgment ruin that? Vincent's actions were a distorted reflection of his own several years ago. Vic deserved it though. Did John? Was he becoming some sort of jackass? Down goes his shotgun against the lower shelf. He uncoils the flag at his neck and sets it beside his clothes. His coat comes off as well, exposing his wiry frame in just an old tank and torn up jeans.

Hancock approaches Vincent from behind and slips his pack of cigarettes into his back pocket. “Since ya took my lighter, might as well take the pack too…” He says, staring up at him with gentler eyes. Nearly forgiving if you were to read too deep into them.

His hand traces along Vincent's waist as he passes to sit across from him on an old rickety stool. 

“Alright. Let's start with what Marowski said when ya went back to him,” Hancock gets to business, chin rested in his hand while his other toys with the loose threads on his pants. “Imagine he wasn't happy, not that he ever is, but you're here so it couldn't have been that bad.” 

[samsvenn]

How yuma's and shu's interaction goes headcannon ?

(friendship one , i like the ship tho lol )

𝐒𝐡𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐘𝐮𝐦𝐚 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬

Yuma gives Shu more reasons to walk and stand. He wants to go and buy strawberry seeds at four in the morning? He’ll tag Shu along because the Sakamaki Manor can get stuffy with five other guys being its residents.

Shu will definitely complain; saying his legs are sore, his golden eyelids are getting heavy, etc, but you’ll never see him actually going through with it. There’s something about seeing his best friend being so giddy to be the first in line at five in the morning for something he doesn’t even remotely care about. But nonetheless, it’s not gardening that keeps him on his toes, it’s Yuma’s efforts to include Shu in his life that is. 

They both do that TikTok trend where you paint something with your best friend and trade it. Shu hangs it on his windows because he doesn’t want to bother nailing them but he has slathered them all with varnish to protect them from fading and yellowing from direct sunlight.

Most of Shu’s paintings are all medium or small-sized canvases so Yuma just frames them on his bedside table.

Shu doesn’t have any experience with painting and he finds anatomy hard to do so he just does landscapes. Yuma paints skies using a cotton ball so that he doesn’t have to do much work and he likes the gradient effect when all the colors blend together. They both hang out and paint at a lake dock. Yuma likes the breeze and the sun while Shu’s only there to get away from his brothers.

Shu makes beans on toast for Yuma on the days Yuma's not feeling himself because it’s his comfort food + tomatoes.

Yuma cooks food on a campfire and invites Shu to hang out with him so that the blonde can go out more. Yuma knows that food is a great motivator since Ruki always bribed him with sugar cubes in the past and now, it’s his turn to use it against the Blonde Eldest.

With an iron skillet, he cooks out simple stuff, nothing too fancy. Slices of bacon with creamy parmesan sprinkled on top, hot chocolate that has some dark chocolate gratings for a slight bitterness, toasted whole grain bread where the edges are slightly burned, a good time for the best friends.

Shu will steal a bottle from Karl’s famed wine basement so that he and Yuma can get wasted. Not only that, but he picks bottles that are prettier in design so that after they’re finished getting drunk and wake up the next morning hungover, Yuma can place a pretty flower to celebrate Shu getting away with his crime for the ninth time. This isn’t their first rodeo nor will it be their last.

They both go candle shopping together. Yuma can’t decide between those scented oils that you burn or just a candle. He prefers earthy scents. The Brunette likes a candle from Bath and Body works named Black Amethyst which had notes of smoky sandalwood, patchouli, and amber with a soft aroma of floral peony but they discontinued it. He was heartbroken the day he found out.

Shu’s just there to sniff every candle sample but never actually buys anything. The man’s apprehensively uneasy when dealing with anything flammable and with good reason considering his past.

Shu’s favorite time to hang out with Yuma is when it’s raining hard and they’re both chatting over peach cobblers that Ruki made and Yuma brought over. They both hang out in the Mukami household because Shu knows how mouthy his brothers can be; especially Subaru and Ayato. 

He’ll just listen quietly to Yuma talking about his plans for his new irrigation system that he’s gonna build once all the parts have been shipped to the Mukami's mailbox. Yuma likes to talk about things in the present and future. Talking about the past is something he doesn’t like to do with Shu because he feels that he’s responsible for Shu’s trauma with fire and leaving Shu alone just because he was a human peasant while Shu’s a vampire noble.

He wants to make up for all the lost time between Shu and him so he doesn’t want to focus on how things could’ve been, but on how things could be now.

Shu funds Yuma’s gardening expenses, much to the brunette’s wishes. Yuma doesn’t want to depend on Shu being that he wants them to be equal: he doesn’t want there to be an exchange of any sort between them because it makes Yuma feel incompetent that he can’t do things of his own accord. Shu, on the other hand, convinces Yuma by saying that he simply wants him to be happy and this is how he knows how to do it since he’s grown up in luxury.

This creates a back-and-forth between the two.

“Goddamn it-! I don’t need your damn money!”

“Ha… How many times do I have to drill it into your thick head that I just wanna see you happy? I do better with my actions rather than words, remember?”

So, they come to a compromise: Shu won’t support Yuma financially but he can play his violin while Yuma’s harvesting his crops. It gets quiet in the Mukami Manor with Kou being drowned in idol work, Ruki being at Karl’s request no matter what the time of day it is and Azusa locked away in his room trying to find a job to buy an authentic obsidian knife from an experienced craftsman who knows what he’s doing. 

Shu traces his finger on the burn marks on Yuma’s back whenever he’s feeling emotionally numb. It’s a very intimate moment between them. The level of trust here is astounding. From Yuma, you have the person’s brother who destroyed your entire village and family, yet he’s allowing himself to fully indulge in his guilt and sorrow because he needs the emotional growth to break free from it. From Shu, the person in front of him has brought him so much joy and happiness. In addition to that, Shu in return gave this indescribable bundle of joy nothing but excruciating pain that can knock over two elephants and even the most strong-willed of warriors to their bruised aching knees. He knows that at any given time, Yuma can curse him out and Shu would let him.

Every deafening insult, every regret that could make even a vampire want to turn away from, Yuma can curse Shu and let the blonde take all the pain by sliding the sharp dual-sided knife of every heartache his only friend had to go through just because he was involved with Shu.

But he doesn’t.

Yuma doesn’t.

“...Why are you still here?”

“Because someone has to deal with you and apparently, only I can handle it. So suck it up and let me be here for you.”

their relationship is so wholesome. i love it :)

[multi-level-shipper]

Security Breach’s Plot Needs Work (Part 1)

Disclaimer: I do love this game. Even as it stands, it introduced many positive experiences in a short period of time, both through the story and in the immersive setting of the game. THAT BEING SAID, I made a premature judgement on the state of the game mechanics themselves- the game was released with enough bugs to need aid from pest control. This is DEFINITELY NOT OK. There need to be multiple fixes, and I can only hope that comes to fruition. The game also (very clearly) wasn’t playtested, as showcased here.

I’m well aware that FNAF has problems with its plot that root back as far as FNAF 4 and Sister Location. However, even if the plot never gets its kinks knocked out (which I don’t see happening any time in the near future), it’s still worth discussion, especially when it appears that Security Breach went through massive changes to get where it is today. 

(Most of these points will come in the form of questions. Rather than say “ugh this game needs more A B and C,” I’d rather take the existing story and examine the details, and work my way out from there.)

So first, the worst offender. The endings.

WHY did we need all these endings?

Rooftop Ending

Summary: Glamrock Freddy burns down the mall. He escapes to the rooftop with Gregory. Vanny is outside already, and catches him. Glamrock Freddy exclaims that he can see Vanny now because of his new eyes (via Roxy), and fights her on the edge of the building. Both fall and (presumably) die. Gregory unmasks Vanny, who looks identical to Vanessa, and is utterly confused. Vanessa appears on the roof, (seeming either surprised or sad about the ordeal,) and the Pizzaplex fire is publicly blamed on the flammability of the stuffed toys. 

Analysis: This ending is one of the bigger trainwrecks. Glamrock Freddy insists that the other robots are his friends during the entire game, even after they try and kill Gregory, and he reasons that there must be some kind of explanation for their attacks. So why the hell is he burning down the Pizzaplex with all of them still inside? Also, how did he fall off the roof? Seems like a silly question, but it’s not rocket science to see that he’s easily twice Vanny’s size and strength- she’d be the loser here. The “big reveal” was fine at face value, but then you start to realize how much it lacks impact. We knew there was a Vanny and Vanessa to begin with. Why does it matter that they look the same? Why are they identical twins? You could argue that this is meant to be a cliffhanger, but a cliffhanger...OF WHAT? We don’t have enough additional evidence to understand the situation itself. Why might they be identical twins? Why does it matter? They aren’t sisters based on what we know, and if they are, that’s doubly confusing and EVEN WORSE writing if you can believe it. 

Good Ending

Summary: Gregory and Glamrock Freddy literally just leave. They get in a van and drive away. Glamrock Freddy runs out of power (as he stated would happen without a recharge station) and Gregory just...jumper cables him back to life. (And then we get a newspaper that Mr. Hippo took Freddy’s place on the main stage.) 

Analysis: I get that this is supposed to be a joke ending, but when your joke ending so easily contradicts the entire reason Glamrock Freddy absolutely cannot leave in the first place...then what the hell!? As an added kick in the teeth, none of this makes sense when you hold it up against the Bad Ending. The point of the Bad Ending was that nothing gets better because the kids keep getting kidnapped. Gregory and Glamrock Freddy leave in the Good Ending. So...like...the kids are still getting kidnapped, but it isn’t your problem anymore? That just makes me hate these two if I’m being honest.

Disassemble Vanny Ending

Summary: Glamrock Freddy and Gregory meet Vanny at her hideout in Fazzer Blast to square up. Glamrock Freddy gets pushed off a ledge by rogue S.T.A.F.F. bots  (that are under Vanny’s control via remote) and violently disassembled. Gameplay comes in, and Freddy states that he still has a signal, and tells Gregory to “turn them against Vanny.” When we cut back to the graphic novel-style ending, Vanny comes to attack Gregory, and, having no other choice, he presses orders the bots to disassemble her with the press of a button. Glamrock Freddy dies and the mall closes down due to health concerns. 

Analysis: Strangely enough, this ending has the least logistical problems. My question though, is, why did we need this ending? Yes, there are multiple endings to the game, but since there is a “True Ending”, (AKA, the only one that actually ended up happening,) all the other endings need to have some form of information included that benefits our understanding as an audience. This ending just...ends the normal way for any Fazbear establishment, and doesn’t really supply us anything interesting. (Other than Vanny’s gruesome death, of course.)

Best Ending

Summary: Gregory beats all the Princess Quest games. This frees the Bots of the virus and frees Vanny herself. Gregory takes Glamrock Freddy’s head (literally what ?) and Vanessa meets him at the doors. All three are shown sitting on a hill together. 

Analysis: Again, this one has few logistical problems and does showcase something interesting; that the way to beat the virus itself is through Princess Quest. (The Best Ending might actually be the best ending.) 

True Ending

(This one is done entirely through gameplay and cutscenes.) 

Summary: There’s a hole with an amalgamation in it. Gregory and Glamrock Freddy go down it. Why? Dunno.

First, Glamrock Freddy gives this somewhat ambiguous line: “I know what this is. I have been here before. She brought me here. I found myself for the first time when I cleared the path. I did not want to, but I had no choice. Now, I have a choice. I have changed. My friends are here. They are so angry...confused...but I can protect you. I AM NOT ME.”

Then William gets let out of cryosleep and 1 second later tries taking control of Glamrock Freddy. Gregory puts William in the oven and he gets killed by the amalgamation. Gregory and Glamrock Freddy run for their fucking lives and make it to a dramatic hill that they can sit on together. 

Analysis: I’ll be honest, this ending is the most compelling, but at the same time it needs SO much work. Why is the line from Glamrock Freddy so ambiguous? Who is “she”? Did Vanny force Freddy to clear a path down to William? Why wouldn’t she just use Roxy (who can literally smash through walls?) Is the other implication that Glamrock Freddy is another dead child? That’s fair, but how did he come to learn about his identity? Everything is left so vague and, unfortunately, serves to perpetuate loose ends rather than tie them up. 

Bad Ending

Summary: Gregory leaves and is later shown sleeping in an alley in a cardboard box. The newspaper he’s using as a blanket states that “Local Residents Continue to Disappear.” Vanny finds him sleeping in the alley, and we get an ominous cut to black. 

Analysis: This ending establishes the fact that Gregory is homeless, and while technically you could write it off as just that, we don’t get much light shed on his backstory either. We’re kind of just dropped into the Pizzaplex at the beginning of the game as if he’s been hiding out there, and then shown that he’s homeless. How come he’s never interacted with Glamrock Freddy before? Has he only started hiding out at the Pizzaplex recently? Why? Like with Vanny, most of Gregory’s story is up for speculation. (Keep in mind, all of this is after HOURS of gameplay, given that your run went smoothly.)

TL; DR Two of the endings blatantly contradict the reason that Glamrock Freddy can’t leave the Pizzaplex, and most of them have issues that altogether ruin their impact and perpetuate loose ends. This is why the endings left me with a sense of dissatisfaction, and I imagine there are others in the fandom who felt the same way. 

[wrenhyperfixates]

Anything

Pairing: Loki x reader Summary: When the Avengers latest mission is to visit local schools, Loki’s insecurities start to get the better of him. But with you to there comfort him, he realizes that with you by his side, he can do anything. Warnings: a little angsty, but mainly fluff A/N: Enjoy :)

Permanent Tag List: @lucywrites02 @frostedgiant​ @lunarmoon8​ @twhiddlestonsstuff​ @lokistan​ @lowkeyorlokificrecs​ @gaitwae​ @whatafuckingdumbass​ @castiels-majestic-wings​ @kozkaboi​ @cozy-the-overlord​ @birdgirl90​ @myraiswack​ @mythicalgarlicknot​ @what-a-flammable-heart​ @mlqcikemenmc​

Disclaimer: Gif not mine

Loki frowned, looking out the window, down at the Avengers getting into Stark’s limo. They were doing some kind of awareness week at schools in the city, something or other about being a good citizen and staying safe. The God of Mischief had been invited to come, but he didn’t think it a particularly good idea. He’d never done anything with children before, and he wasn’t sure this was the best time to try.

“Loki?” you asked out of the blue. He whipped around at the sound of your voice. “What are you still doing here?”

“Oh, hello, darling. I just did not feel like going,” he said with a shrug. It wasn’t entirely a lie, but he still felt bad. “And what about you?”

“They insisted someone stay in case of an emergency call,” you explained. You weren’t totally sold on his excuse, but were terrified of pushing him, especially because things were going so well between you recently. “So that means we’re alone, right?”

“Yes, darling. Indeed, it does,” he replied, a smile curling on his lips.

Faster than lightning, Loki was pressing his lips to yours in a passionate kiss. You’d been dating for a little over a month, but were keeping it a secret from the rest of the Avengers. You both had your own reasons for that. Loki was afraid they wouldn’t approve and try to come between you. You, however were worried that Loki would put too much pressure on himself to be perfect if they knew, ending in him pulling away from you, convinced he wasn’t good enough. But either way, you agreed it was too soon to let them know. Soon, Loki had you pinned on the couch with his body, the raw desire in his kiss only growing. All too soon, you had to break for air, but you were quick to recapture his lips after catching your breath.

After a while, you were content to just lay with each other, cuddling while a movie played in the background. You were talking, and it reminded you of his flaky excuse from earlier. You were still worried about pressing, but god damn it, he was your boyfriend and you should be allowed to check on him.

“So...” you began.

“So?”

“So what’s the real reason why you didn’t go with the rest of the team?”

“Ah,” he said. “That.”

“Mhm. You don’t have to tell me,” you replied, caressing his cheek, “but you can always talk to me. I’m here for you, Loki. I promise.”

“I know, darling. Thank you,” he said against your skin as he nuzzled into your neck. He didn’t want to trouble you with what was on his mind, but your eyes were so innocent and full of adoration that he couldn’t resist. “I am afraid. Afraid that I would not be good with kids, that I would frighten them. Afraid that their parents would learn of my visit and cause an uproar. Afraid that I will never escape my past.”

“Oh, Loki,” you cooed, filled with compassion. You wanted to take his face in your hands, but he was still hiding in the crook of your neck. You settled for intertwining your fingers with his. “You are so, so much more than your past. New York wasn’t even your fault, for crying out loud. You are amazing, kind, insightful, compassionate, intelligent, beautiful. The list goes on and on, I assure you. The only way to deal with your fears is to face them head on, don’t you think? They may not even come true.”

You could feel his tears staining your skin, though he was obviously trying to hold them back. You were overcome with a powerful need to comfort him, to protect him from the world. It was so unfair that after all he’d been through, everyone who had hurt him, he blamed himself for all this. That he worried he wasn’t worthy of love when he was, in fact, the most deserving person you’d ever met.

“My darling,” he whispered, his voice breaking ever so slightly. Your chest swelled with pride as you realized you were one of the few—possibly the only—people he let himself be vulnerable with. “I cannot thank you enough for your words, truly.”

“You’re welcome, Loki,” you replied, taking a page out of his book and kissing the back of his hand. “You mean the world to me, my love.”

“And you the same to me,” he finally lifted his head up, and you turned to look at him. “I feel I can do anything with you at my side.”

“Does that mean what I think it does?”

“Yes. I will go with the rest of the team tomorrow if, and only if, you come with me.”

“Deal,” you agreed, kissing along his jawline and starting another make-out session.

Luckily, you heard the Avengers before you were in view of each other, giving you and Loki a chance to untangle yourselves and move to opposite ends of the couch. You shared a smile before turning your attentions to the TV as if that’s what you’d been doing the whole time.

“Well, I hope you two had a nice time while we were out doing hard work,” Tony joked.

“Tell you what,” you replied. “You get someone else to hold down the fort, and we’ll go tomorrow.”

“I’ll stay,” Bruce volunteered, a little too excitedly. He never was one for social settings. “Have fun.”

After catching up for a few minutes, you were all setting about your various tasks for the rest of the day. Before meeting Sam in the training room, you gave Loki’s hand a quick squeeze and pecked him on the cheek. Once you were gone, a feeling of dread settled in the pit of his stomach. But he’d meant what he said, and he was willing to do anything so long as you were there.

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

“What do you mean we can’t visit the same classroom?” you incredulously asked.

“It’s too slow,” Steve explained. “We cover more ground, so to speak, if we split up.”

“But can’t Loki and I be a pair? Please,” you pouted.

“Sorry guys,” he said. “We have to stick to the plan if we’re going to get to all the classes.”

You frowned as he walked away. You understood where he was coming from, but felt like he should have been able to make an exception. But it seemed like there was no getting him to budge, so you dropped the matter.

“Hey, at least our classes will be right next to each other,” you tried to comfort Loki as you all walked towards your assignments. “I’m sorry I can’t stay with you though. I know I promised.”

“Oh, my sweet darling,” Loki replied, pulling you aside to give you a quick kiss. “It is not your fault. It is some Midgardian rite of passage, is it not, to be scared on your first day of school?”

You smiled at the way he was cheering you up, despite obviously being very worried about the whole situation himself. Honestly, you really couldn’t fathom why anyone was afraid of this gentle, beautiful man before you. Why he was afraid of himself.

“I love you, Loki,” you said, giving him a big hug. He melted into your touch. “You’re going to be wonderful. You feel ok with this, right? We’ll figure something out if you don’t.”

“I shall muddle through, somehow,” he assured you. “It is like you said, I must face my fears.”

You gave him one last encouraging hug and smile before disappearing into the classroom you’d be talking in. He took a deep breath before knocking on the door of his assigned room. The teacher, a middle-aged man with hair starting to gray, welcomed him. It was a little unnerving to Loki that he seemed to have no qualms with the God of Mischief entering the threshold. The class, too, was watching him with nothing less than rapt attention and bright eyes. Perhaps you were right, after all, and not as many people as he thought were still holding onto the image he’d had when he first came to Midgard.

“Hello, children,” he began after a nervous gulp. “It is lovely to be here with you today.”

“Hello, Mr. Loki,” they chorused back.

As he began the talk on safety, he relaxed a bit. It was a room full of third graders, for Norns’ sake. He had faced off against fire serpents and sea monsters. Surely he could handle a group of kids. And as he soon found out, he was right indeed. More than handle, in fact; he was great with them! As he waltzed out of the room and into the next, he wondered if he might have a family of his own one day. He didn’t know how you felt about adopting, but he was starting to like the idea. It didn’t go too well for him in his childhood, but he could ensure that some other innocent kid won’t go through what he did. Besides, the circumstances were entirely different. Though, he supposed he was getting ahead of himself, imagining having a family with you. Still, it sent a thrill right to his heart.

After a very successful morning, he met back up with you. Being the first two done with the presentations, Loki took the opportunity to whisk you away to a secluded hallway to kiss you again.

“So it went well, I take it,” you laughed as you broke away.

“Just as you said it would, darling. I even had fun.”

“Well then, congratulations, my love. I think that deserves another kiss,” you said, wrapping your arms behind his neck.

“I think that you are right,” he agreed, tickling you a little.

As your lips met again, you heard a loud, overdramatic gasp that could only belong to Tony. You both sprung back from each other, realizing the hallway wasn’t as private as you’d originally believed. Besides Tony, the other Avengers were all standing there, taking in the scene too. Shooting each other a nervous glance, you and Loki braced yourselves for whatever came next.

“You two,” Tony said, feigning utter shock and hurt, “are dating? Woe is me! How could you keep this a secret from us, your dearest teammates?”

“Spare me, Stark,” Loki said, rolling his eyes and taking your hand. If you’d been found out, might as well be confident about it. “Yes, we are together. And I, for one, couldn’t be happier.”

“Neither could I,” you agreed, going to kiss him again.

“Now, now,” Tony interjected. He stood between you and put an arm over each of your shoulders, leading the way outside. “No kissing in the halls. But you know what? I think this is the start of an awesome era for the Avengers. Just think of all the jokes!”

You giggled as Loki rolled his eyes again, though he was fighting a losing battle with a grin. As you got into the limo, fingers locked once again, Loki began to accept something. It was right what you’d said about that not being the real him at the Battle of New York. No, he was himself now. Someone different, perhaps better and stronger than ever before. And it was you in a large part who had helped him see that. He knew in that moment that he’d been entirely right; with you by his side, he could do anything.

[luimagines]

100 Follower Prize

The winner of the raffle that was held a while ago was @twilightpoison!

And they have requested a scenario with Legend, Twilight and Wind!

Also known as the trio that Time screwed up.

Content under the cut!

“How on earth does Wild do this?” Legend snapped under his breath as he trudged through the swamp water. He had a bit of trouble keeping his lantern above the water but he led the way.

It was cold and wet and the water had seeped all the way through his boots and had seeped into his socks.

Everything was uncomfortable and smelly and there was no way to tell if there were any monsters nearby.

Twilight followed closely behind the Veteran with Wind clinging closely onto his back. It was arguably the longest piggyback ride Twilight had ever given but compared to Legend and Twilight, Wind was going to struggle more with getting through the water.

It came up above Legend’s knees and just beyond Twilight’s mid shin. The three of them had quickly decided to let Wind on top of Twilight because it would be close to the youngest’s hips. 

“Beats me.” Twilight shrugged to the best of his ability. “I’m sure he has some special suit or armor the help him out in something like this.”

“I just wonder where the others are.” Wind shifts from his spot on Twilight’s back, leaning just a bit over his shoulder. “I hope they’re ok. It’s not like we get separated every time we switch worlds.”

“I’m sure they’re fine.” Twilight sighs. “They can take care of themselves.”

Legend grumbles to himself as they splash and trudge through the swamp. Twilight catches some less than savory words fall from his lips but considering they’re too low for the youngest to hear, he lets him have it. He can understand the sentiment even if he wouldn’t choose those words to describe it.

He sighs and adjusts Wind once more against his back. 

Wind shifts as a response and he can feel Wind look behind them. “What if there are monsters nearby?”

“Don’t jinx us.” Legend snaps.

Twilight pauses and looks around the swamp that surrounds them.

Nothing yet.

Hopefully nothing at all.

He keeps walking.

The sun is beginning to set unfortunately and there’s not a lot of places where they’d be able to take refuge for the night without just giving themselves up completely to the swamp water around them.

“Is that a cave?” Legend lifts his lantern higher and points to the rock jutting out of the vines. 

Twilight has to squint to see it but hums. “Might be. I say it’s worth checking out.”

“Yeah, I’m getting tired.” Wind rests his head against Twilight.

“I’m sure holding onto Twilight is an exhausting endeavor.” Legend rolls his eyes and once again keeps moving.

“Am I getting heavy Twilight?” Wind says in his ear.

Twilight shakes his head even if he knows he’s going to feel it for a while after he wakes up the next morning. “I can go for a little longer, Sailor. Don’t worry about it.”   

Wind hummed against his head but didn’t say anything else.

The trio made their way over to the rock that Legend had pointed out and ventured inside on baited breath.

The water was still a bit higher than they would have liked but upon going deeper into the cave they eventually hit dry dirt.

The sigh of relief was palpable.

Twilight put Wind down at last and stretched his arms to avoid any cramps later on.

They weren’t in the clear yet.

Wind stood around for a second shaking his limbs all over with youthful vigor.

“What are you doing?” Legend looked over with a raised eyebrow- not amused at his antics.

“Getting some feeling back in my limbs.” He replied. “I feel like I’ve been stuck in the crows nest and have yet to get my land legs back.”

Twilight rolled his eyes and rolled his shoulder. Admittedly, he did feel a lot better without the added weight on them. “You stay here and try to get a fire going. I’ll go check if there’s any monsters in the back or something. The last thing we want is for this place to be habited.”

“You’re going alone? Are you stupid?” Legend snapped.

Twilight paused before flipping him the bird out of childish spite. “I need to make sure we’ll be safe here for tonight.”

“We need to get dry.” Legend tried to argue but Twilight waved him off.

“It will be worth nothing and even worse if we dry off now only to need to run back into the water.” Twilight tugged his pelt off of his shoulder and tossed it vaguely around Wind who was trying to get some warmth into his arms by rubbing them with his hands. “I won’t be long.”

“Don’t die.” Legend looked away and began to clear an area in the middle of the dry dirt to start the fire. “I’m not going to drag your sorry corpse through the swamp just to give you a proper burial. I’m leaving you behind if you die.”

Twilight snorted just before he left the lantern’s dim light. “I’d figured as much.”

“Don’t come back hurt either!” Wind called out after him as a second thought.

Twilight raised his arm high but didn’t verbally reply as he left the two of them alone.

Wind wrapped the pelt closer around himself and even pulled up the hood to cover his head. “I thought swamps were supposed to be in humid warm weather, why is it so cold here?”

“I don’t feel it.” Legend shrugged and began to pull out his fire rod. “We need tinder... or wood... just something to light and stay lit.”

Wind looked around the barren cave, twirling in his spot but finding nothing. “Maybe if there’s some dead leaves or twigs or something outside the cave we could use that.”

Legend groaned, loudly, but tossed Wind the fire rod. “Don’t light the whole place on fire.”

“You’re going to leave me alone?” Wind blinked and looked at the two items the older boys had given him. If he hadn’t known any better he’d say this was ominous and foreboding foreshadowing.

“Not for long. I’m still wet so it might as well be me.” Legend began to walk away, leaving the lantern behind. “Just stay here.”

“I can help!” Wind cried, making his way out of the cave.

“We don’t want to make Twilight carry you for nothing.” Legend sighed and waved him back to the spot he cleaned up. “Keep a look out for Twilight in case he comes back half dead and bleeding out or something.”

Under his breath he continued. “Of course the Rancher would be right about this but it’s only going to affect me at the end of the day.”

The thought of dealing with a mortally wounded team member put Wind more on edge than before. “Wait- Legend- don’t-!”

But he was already back in the water and Wind was alone.

“This sucks.” Wind pouted and tightened his grip on the magical item. “I hate this place.”

If Wind was tired before, he wasn’t as much anymore.

Wind walked around the dimly lit cave with nothing else to do. If he was being honest with himself he’d admit that he was unnerved by losing the group, by being stuck with Legend and Twilight at the end of the day with no sign of any other living being for the miles they’ve traveled, by being left alone as soon as they had the chance.... And well....

He was scared.

He didn’t know where he was or where his friends were and they just left him behind.

Wind didn’t want to think about any more than he had to.

So he waited and waited... and tried to keep busy by walking in circles and tossing the fire rod back and forth between his hands but the silence was not doing him any favors right now.

There was a subtle thumping noise behind him and Wind tensed up considerably. He spun around on his heel and pointed the fire rod at the back of the cave.

It was Twilight.

Who didn’t look any worse for wear.

Wind sighed of relief and put the fire rod down so that it was no longer pointed at his teammate. “You scared me.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. “So you were going to blast me into oblivion?”

“No! Only if you were a monster or something!” Wind pouted and stuck his tongue out. He knew it was childish but it felt right to do so and he was beginning to feel tired again so frankly- he didn’t care.

Twilight shook his head with an amused smile on his face before he looked up and noticed the other missing member. His jaw twitched and he tensed some more before trying to calmly look at Wind. “Where’s Legend?”

“Collecting firewood.” Wind looked away and back to the entrance. “He wouldn’t let me come with him even if I offered.”

Twilight took a deep breath and tried to loosen up his muscles. There was no reason to be nervous or concerned right now. He’d be fine.

Wind perked up suddenly and looked back at him. “Did you find anything Twilight?”

The Rancher shrugged and stepped closer to where he could see where Legend had flattened the space, no doubt for the fire later. “Nothing much. Just dark and more dark and no monsters. We’d be safe here the night.”

Wind nodded and went to take off the wolf peel to give it back to Twilight but was stopped halfway.

“Keep it.” Twilight waved his hand. “It’s only going to get colder.”

Wind frowned and slowly pulled it back on, but had some difficulty to get it all bunched up with one hand and actually pull it over himself once more. It was heavier than it looked.

Twilight noticed the struggle and stepped in to help, bending down somewhat to still look Wind in the eyes as he properly placed the wolf pelt and hood around the boy.

“Oh, you’re back country boy.” Legend trudged back into the dry part of the cave- boots squelching with every step he took. “Glad to see you’re not dead.”

“It’s nice to know you have so much faith in me, Vet.” Twilight rolled his eyes. “We’re clear by the way. No monsters. We can stay here until morning.”

“Oh thank the Wind Fish. I was not willing to do anything else today.” Legend dropped the pile he had collected unceremoniously onto the ground and walked up to Wind. He held out his hand only to pause and reconsider his options. He looked down at himself and moved his outstretched hand from in front of Wind to instead gesture to the dry and very flammable materials. “Would you care to have the honors?”

Wind gasped and unknowingly tightened his grip on the fire rod. Legend watched the young boy brighten at his words and knew it was a good choice. “Really?”

“Have at it. One swing should be enough.” Legend shrugged and walked away to finally rid himself of his wet and smelly clothes. “Just don’t hit us or our stuff and you’ll be fine.”

“Awesome!” Wind bounced on his toes and studied the fire rod for a hot second. 

Twilight bit his lip and took a step back from the boy.

Wind didn’t notice.

Wind aimed the rod at the decently sized pile and swung the rod downwards onto it. The flame burst forth is a blinding beam of light and easily caught onto the material Legend had collected.

A somewhat concerning giggle came out of Wind’s mouth but Legend came back in time to take his weapon away before Wind felt like going to light more things on fire, whether that means inside the cave or not. “Good job.”

Wind grinned and plopped down in front of the fire, leaning back against the cave wall with his hands out in front of him. “This is much better.”

Twilight snorted and plopped himself next to the Sailor and brought him close with a single arm. 

Legend watched as he shucked off his outer tunic and tossed near the fire for it to dry. He sighed and tried to sit a way away but Twilight whistled- much like one would a cat.

“No.” Legend didn’t even look at him. “I’m fine.”

“Come on Legend~” He could hear Twilight’s grin. “You know you want to.”

“I know that I don’t want to actually.”

“Come here Legend.” Wind called instead. “We have any blankets. You’re going to get cold.”

“We have a fire and I already said that I don’t feel it.” Legend crossed his arms and looked in the opposite direction.

“But you took off your layers and Twilight said it’s only going to get colder.” Wind sighed and flopped himself over Twilight’s body. “Come huddle and get over it. My sister isn’t as much of a baby as you are.”

“If you make me get up and drag you here, you’re going in the middle.”

Legend snapped his head over to Twilight and frowned. “Fine.”

He got up and walked over to the two of them, sitting himself down on Twilight’s other side and leaned against the wall with his eyes closed. “I’m too tired to put up a decent fight. You win.”

“Mh-hm. I’m sure that’s it.”

“Rancher, I can and am willing to still fight you.”

Twilight laughed and instead pulled Legend closer to him with his arm wrapped around him. Legend squawked at being pulled flush against the larger man but didn’t actually put up much of a fight like he had threatened.

“I can’t believe this.” Legend scowled.

“Goodnight guys.” Wind yawned and snuggled closer into both the fur around him and Twilight. 

“Goodnight Wind.” Twilight ruffled his hair through the hood before shifting to get a bit more comfortable himself. “Goodnight Vet.”

“Goodnight guys.” Legend begrudgingly latched onto Twilight’s arm and leaned his head against his shoulder for comfort. He noticed that he was actually a lot warmer like this and found himself being lulled to sleep by the calming sound of the fire and the rhythmic pressure of Twilight’s breath and heartbeat.

The three were hungry, still a bit wet and tired. But together they fell asleep by the open flame and rested with the hopes of gathering enough energy to find the rest of their friends when the sun would eventually come back up.

For now though, they slept.