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myymi · 2 months ago

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Sonic is twelve years old the first time Tails falls asleep on him. Over the months that the two of them have been traveling together Tails has fallen asleep next to him many times. Some nights he had darker dreams and would end up quietly shuffling his sleeping bag close to the hedgehog's, claiming that it was in the exact same spot it had always been in when Sonic would raise a brow at the proximity after waking up. Some days the sun would be just warm enough that the kid couldn't help but curl up in the soft grass after they stop for a quick water break, his tails wrapping around his small body as he snuck in a quick power nap.

But in all those instances never once had Tails actually slept on him. He kept close, but never dared to rest on top of the hedgehog for reasons the hero didn't quite understand then. They had stopped at the hotel in town for the first time in a while, having enough money to check into a one bed room on the ground floor. Tails thought that it was luck that it happened to be the same night there was supposed to be a storm, but Sonic had planned for that. He wouldn't usually buy a room just to get out of a storm, but the kid was tired and Sonic would rather not make him wait out a storm in an open cave where the sound of the booming thunder was amplified rather than muffled by protective walls. As Tails hopped onto the bed after they'd entered the room, Sonic made a beeline for the thick, dark blue curtains and tugged them closed. He's found that the darker the curtains the better they are at keeping the flash of lightning from assaulting their eyes. It keeps the room darker in the mornings as well, which the little kit seems to appreciate, even if he never voices at that. Sonic was rummaging through the backpack when he heard a squeaky yawn, followed by a quiet grunt as Tails fell back against the bed. He kicked his shoes off, not caring about where they landed before wiggling his way underneath the covers. The hedgehog couldn't help but smile as he shook his head, pulling out two of their water bottles to set inside the fridge so they could have something cold to drink in the morning. Leaving the backpack on the desk, he walked up to the bed and poked at the lump underneath the covers. Tails hummed before he peeked his head out, sleepy blue eyes halfway covered by his eyelids as he stared up at the hedgehog, waiting for him to tell him why he was bothering him. Sonic smiled as he made a 'c' with his paw, placing it at the top of his stomach before dragging it down. 'Hungry?' Tails bit his lip as he considered it. He would normally wave it off, but some hotels had free food. It was usually just breakfast, but if Sonic was popular enough in the zone then they'd receive free dinner too. As he thought on it, he vaguely remembered the front desk person did offer them dinner. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, "Free?"

Sonic frowned at the question, but he did nod. He repeated the sign for hungry, reminding the cub he was waiting on an answer. Tails nodded as he climbed off the bed, not bothering to put on his shoes as he followed Sonic out of their room. He covered his mouth as he let out another yawn, his other paw reaching out to grab hold of the hedgehog's to make sure he wouldn't fall behind. The hero responded by gently squeezing the smaller paw as he led them to the eating area. As the voices from other hotel guests steadily grew louder, Tails pressed closer the Sonic's side. When they finally entered the dining room, his tails twirled around each other before clinging against his leg. Sonic gently patted his head when he noticed, quickly bringing him to the small buffet. Tails was too small to be able to see all the options, so the hedgehog handed him a menu instead. When the kit pointed at something on the menu he wanted, Sonic left to quickly pile on a generous portion of it. Usually he'd feel bad about it, but he'd rather the kid get enough to eat. Besides, these places always ha extra food when the night was over. Tails was too small to be able to see all the options without flying, so the hedgehog handed him a menu instead. When the kit pointed at something on the menu he wanted, Sonic left to quickly pile on a generous portion of it. Usually he'd feel bad about it, but he'd rather the kid had enough to eat. Besides, these places always had extra food when the night was over. He gave himself a smaller portion of everything the fox picked out, knowing the kid would end up pushing his leftovers to Sonic. Tails didn't always pick out his own food. He used to refuse doing so altogether, saying that he was fine with whatever Sonic wanted to eat. The first time he'd gotten the kid to pick out their lunch Tails had beamed when he realized the older seemed to enjoy his choice of food. Since then, he always got the same thing as Tails whenever he got the cub to pick out something to eat. It seemed to help him voice what he wanted instead of just accepting anything he was given.

Sonic was going to eat at one of the tables, but the little fox was yawning a little too much for him to be able to stay awake long enough to walk back to their room after dinner so he decided on walking back now. But, with the tween's paws being full of their food, Tails was forced to hold onto one of his tails as they made the journey back to their room. Tails climbed back onto the bed so he could hold the food while Sonic turned on the T.V, flicking it onto a random cartoon channel before pushing away the covers so he could sit next to the kit on the bed. Tails frowned as he handed the older his plate of food. "I thought you didn't like cartoons?" He asked once he realized what channel the older chose, looking at the hedgehog expectantly as he took a bite of the chili on his plate. It wasn't nearly as good as Sonic's, but it wasn't bad. Sonic shrugged as he stabbed his fork into the small salad, leaving it there for a moment so he could sign his response before picking it back up to eat his bite. 'You like them.' "I know that." Tails said through his mouthful before quickly swallowing, "But you don't like them. We can watch something else, I don't mind." The hedgehog shrugged again and took another bite of his food without making any move to respond, causing the cub to pout. Too tired to really fight on the subject, Tails leaned against the headboard of the bed as he quietly ate the rest of his food. Sonic didn't really care about cartoons. They weren't his first pick by any means, but he didn't mind turning it on for little kids to watch. Which Tails is a little kid, despite how smart he is or how much he'd argue that he's "really not that much younger than Sonic" when he's still only four years old. The two of them ate comfortably with the T.V on a low volume but still loud enough to hopefully cover the sounds outside that the walls couldn't muffle. Sonic shifted his position a few times to try and block the window so Tails wouldn't see what little light pressed past the curtains. Tails squeaked out another yawn once he finished eating, handing his half-eaten plate over to the hedgehog. Sonic quickly scraped the rest of the food onto his, setting the now empty plate on the beside table so it'd be easy to grab when he leaves to put the plates back up after he finishes his own food. Apparently too tired to feel embarrassed right now, Tails wiggled under the covers until he was fully laying down before leaning over to rest his head against Sonic's hip instead of the pillow directly behind him. The hedgehog froze at the contact as his eyes snapped down to the kit, only to find that he was already out cold. Soft snores escaped him as his breathing evened out faster than Sonic has ever seen, the fox easily finding comfort in the physical contact. Too stiff to be anywhere near comfortable, Sonic gently laid his paw across Tails's torso, giving him a couple soft, awkward pats as he just watched the younger breathe for a few seconds. It took him a minute to settle against the headboard again, but it's faster than it usually takes him to get comfortable with someone touching him unprompted so he sees it as a win. And he only relaxed further after Tails started to quietly purr. They stay like that until Sonic finished his plate, stacking it on top of the other dirty dish before he laid down to join Tails in the dream world. He lifted the kit's head just enough to move around, gently setting it down on his chest when he's in a comfortable spot. He brought his paw up to scratch the cub's ear a few times before letting it settle around his back again, easily falling asleep at the soft sounds of comfort coming from Tails. The dishes will just have to wait until morning. ----

#the link takes you to ao3 btw lol #sonic the hedgehog #miles tails prower #sth #tails the fox #sonic #unbreakable bond #sonic and tails #fic #myyfics #they're brothers your honor #sonic fandom #fanfiction #fanfic

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mama-ino · 3 months ago

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Storm

The roar of the downpour struck fiercely on the stone of the cave entrance, "Stay here." He entered the cave, golden eyes taking in the cave. Straw was on the floor. However, it had likely been there quite some time.

Thunder boomed loudly, causing the small Rin to shriek. He returned to them, "Is it safe?"

He nodded, Shippo sniffed around, "People have been here before." Again, Sesshomaru nodded, "Is there anywhere mama can get out of her wet clothes?"

He seemed to think for a moment, looking her over. She was soaked. He pulled the tassles of his armor, pulling the large cauldron armor over his head. He took the long obi like bow from his middle tying it up, "Hang your clothing. This one will find something to burn," he removed his haori, placing it across the makeshift line like a curtain.

"How bad did the rain get you, Rin," she asked softly.

"Rin is pretty dry, Lady Kagome!"

Shippo shook his tail and pulled off his small fur. Her pointed gaze had him speak, "My fur kept me pretty dry, Mama."

Just about to round the would-be curtain his eyes met his, "Are you going far?"

"I will not." She nodded satisfied with his words, "Miko." His eyes pointedly shifted to the large pelt he'd set down, "it is dry."

However, when he'd returned, he found Rin wrapped up. His eyes met blue when she peeked around his haori, shifting nervously under his gaze. He built a small fire as Rin came to his side, "My lord?"

"Hm?"

"When Rin gets older," she began, "Rin wants big boobs like Lady Kagome!"

"Rin," she shrieked as Shippo choked on his own spit.

She beamed at him, "Rin." His voice seemed quieter, "That is not within this one's control."

She seemed to think a moment, bounding back over to Kagome, "Lady Kagome!"

"Rin-chan! I can't do that either!"

"Awwww," Rin pouted.

He pulled off his wet inner robe, setting it on a stone facing the fire to dry. He lifted the large pelt rounding the makeshift curtain, a soft gasp quickly escaping her.

Her hands cover her chest, eyes quickly darting away. His eyes briefly catching the boy's fur across her legs, "Rin." He pointed to the side of the straw, prompting her to stand and wait.

He settled by her, setting the pelt around her and across his lap. "Mama," he neatly curled up on her lap, quite the protective little thing.

He opened his arms, head nodding to Rin, who quickly settled onto the fur across his legs. Rin rubbed her small cheek against his wrist, settling.

The warm air, the heavy rain, and low rumbles of thunder quickly had the atmosphere calm. Her head bobbed as she fought sleep but ultimately settled on his shoulder.

His eyes darted to the sleeping woman. She was complimenting him like this. His chest swelled with pride. While it did take her longer, she did fall asleep. Trusting him to keep them safe.

He slowly reached, arm wrapping around the pelt and her pulling her closer. She was warm, and while he would never admit it out loud... she was beautiful.

At least not yet.

🫣💕

I love you guys!

I'm replacing the fan and ram (possibly more things) on my computer, so hopefully, I can get back to some digi stuff soon!

Also sorry am late!

#fanart #kagome #sesshomaru #sesskag #kagome higurashi #doodle #sesshomaru kagome #sesshomaru x kagome #sesshome #sesshomarukagome #rin #shippo #storm

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welcometo79s · 3 months ago

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Echoes of a very particular Karaoke Night at 79s

this was written inspired by prompt #1 of @weekly-star-wars-prompts and will be added to my collection of clone shenanigans.

A beautiful collection of text messages that ARC Trooper Fives sent to his twin brother over the course of 79s Clone Karaoke Event.

Zhellday — 9:00 pm

Dear Echo,

the first 79s Clone Karaoke night is starting soon. I'm a little sad that you didn't want to join us, but I understand if it's not your scene. I hope you have a nice sleep tonight and enjoy that novel you've been reading! If anything happens, I'll reach out. By the way: If Rex asks, I don't know where his comlink is and you don't either. If he starts to search our barracks, don't let him unscrew the light bulb. I'll tell you all about the Karaoke Night tomorrow!

— your big brother Fives

Zhellday — 9:30 pm

ECHO I WON THE FIRST ROUND!

I'm something of a Karaoke Scientist by this point. I have studied the ways of the masters (General Skywalker, who taught me a thing or two about Karaoke) and I have acclaimed a victory for both of us with thunderous applause. I dedicated my song to you. People absolutely loved my Pop Punk rendition of "Mambo No. Fives". They said it was very creative and Tup found it deeply emotional. I beat Jesse rapping the Republic Anthem, but it was a close call. He's a little bummed that he lost, but he seems to be having a good time doing shots at the bar. I'm going to rest my vocal chords until it's my turn again. The bartender gave me a cute mocktail with one of these little umbrellas and a slice of orange for free. I'll send pics.

— Love, Fives

Zhellday — 10:00 pm

Little brother,

are you still awake? Would you consider coming over and looking after Jesse for a while? He took a few shots too many and now he wants to get another Republic symbol tattoo but this time on his buttcheek. Kix and I feel that he might regret this decision. The worst part is if someone agrees to tattoo him drunk, we can't even sue because we're not considered persons in the eye of the law. I would look after him myself but I have a song coming up and my fans are waiting for me. I need to beat Commander Cody's emotional love song dedicated towards an anonymous Jedi General. I'm optimistic because he kinda slurred it due to the alcohol but he has the heartfelt delivery going for him. I must not underestimate my opponents.

— Big Bro

Zhellday — 10:30 pm

Echo,

you will not believe who just showed up as a last minute entry into the Karaoke Competition. Marshal Commander Fox from the Coruscant Guard. He isn't even here to arrest people (I think). I really didn't think Karaoke was his thing. He isn't drunk either but he says he has consumed a little more coffee than usual and needs to blow off some steam. He accidentally started a flash mob in the bar to his song "The power of one, the power of two, the power of maaaany" (the additional a's are apparently part of the title and add to its atmospheric value). Fox told Hardcase, who has declared him his best friend, that he got this song from Chancellor Palpatine himself. Apparently the Chancellor's guardian Hego Damask who taught him about politics and "other things" has learned this song from some DJ named Jason Qimir Mendoza with whom he did a spiritual retreat in a cave once! That sounds like an adventure!

Fox said I would not last 30 minutes on a spiritual retreat because it requires silence and meditation and he has never seen me shut up for longer than 3 minutes. I thought that was very mean. I stole 5 credits from him. Don't scold me though, I will use them for the good of others! I bought you a Tauntaun wiggly head figure from them! It's red and has very big eyes.

— Thank me later, Fives

Zhellday — 11:00 pm

My bestest brother in the whole world,

I made it to the next round of the Karaoke Competition because Marshal Commander Fox decided one song was enough. Otherwise he would have won. I'm a bit bummed that I didn't fully earn this victory, but I will keep fighting and defending our reputation.

Can you come over though? Jesse has accidentally swallowed the little plastic umbrella from my mocktail and I'm not sure if that's bad. I tried to ask Kix but he is also drunk and simply said that the force will shape the umbrella into something new in the endless cycle of death and rebirth. I don't think that medical advice is very credible...

By the way, those Bad Bitch guys showed up. The one with the mental illnesses bumped into me on purpose and said "move, reg". I challenged him into a Karaoke Duel to the Death. He declined. He is too scared of me.

— Fives

Zhellday — 11:30 pm

Vod'ika,

attached you can find a picture of me and Hardcase competing over who can fit more drinking straws into their nose. A clone from the 212th told us to take our drunk misadventures somewhere else as we're getting too annoying. I told him Nasal Drinking Straws as a sport deserves more respect than to be assumed as something only drunk people do. Hardcase is drunk, I'm not. I do this because it is my calling and I will bring home the world record for both of us. Karaoke is going well btw, Hardcase and I are still in the competition, as are Dogma, Cody and some guy who only sings about Soup.

Tup was disqualified for not singing because he got stage fright. I cheered him up but he is crying now because that Technology guy from Clone Force 99 introduced him to something called "The Trolley Problem". I tried to reassure Tup that he doesn't have to hurt any of the little people on the train tracks if he doesn't want to, but it still made him sad. I'm glad that this Tech guy has not joined the Karaoke Competition because his big brother (the muscly one) said he's a Karaoke Champion.

Croissant has stuck two long drinking straws into two bottles of whiskey and is trying to drink them simultaneously. He intimidates me a little bit. But every grumpy stranger is a potential new friend, as Hardcase always says, so I approached him and asked him if he wants to join us in sticking drinking straws into our nose. He asked me if they removed all of my braincells on Kamino. I wanted to report him to his Sergeant for harassment but that one already came in super drunk and he's currently snorting glitter off the bar counter. It's not easy being Fives.

— Your favorite Brother

Zhellday — 11:45 pm

Echo, for reasons that are ✨ a secret ✨, I need you to come to 79s and pretend to be my lawyer. If you use the fake beard and wig I put under my bunk, they will never be able to tell you're a clone.

Benduday — 12:00 am

Echo did you block me?

Message could not be delivered.

Benduday — 12:30 am

Little brother,

thank you for unblocking me. At first I meant to call Rex to tell you to unblock me but then I remembered his comlink is in our lamp so I called it 50 times and this seemed to have the desired effect. I have handled the lawyer situation alone like a big boy and I hope that you are proud of me. I simply told the Corrie who caught me trying to loot the passed out 99 Sergeant's armor for valuables a fake name and address of my fake lawyer (Dr. Icicle Joe, Tauntaunlane 42 in E-97451 Kriffuck). By the time he finds out it's a fake address I will be long gone. See? I can handle my problems on my own. 😌

Sincerely,

— Fives

Benduday —12:45 am

Hey Echo,

Do you perchance know if Regs can digest confetti? I didn't eat weird things again, I promise! Jesse and Kix ate the confetti and Kix just giggled and said he has a bad feeling about this. I'm worried about them. I'm trying to prevent them from eating more confetti but this is a two man job and I don't want to cancel the semi-finals of the Karaoke Night. Please help.

— your twin who loves you very much, Fives

Benduday — 01:00 am

Hi Echo, I just wanted to tell you that the big hunk from the Bad Batch has carried Kix and Jesse to the nearest medical bay. He was way nicer than his grumpy brother. Croissant has laid down in a dark corner of 79s facing the wall. I'm not sure if he's sleeping or contemplating his life but I really don't want anything to do with it. Also Tup'ika is happy again because I told him a Jedi could solve the trolley problem by stopping the trolley with the force.

Me and Hardcase passed the semi-finals of the Karaoke competition. Dogma was disqualified and so was the soup guy. He didn't do well after he poured Everclear into his chicken broth. Now it's just me, Hardcase and Commander Cody left. I'm the only sober contestant. I have this in the bag.

— the future Karaoke Champion, Fives

Benduday — 01:30 am

Dear Echo,

I was bitten by a clone trooper from a different legion. I don't know him. I wouldn't be too worried about it normally but Dogma said something about how when you notice you have rabies, your death is already certain.

Tup says he hates 79s and needs pain killers. I tried to steal them from Tech but he karate-kicked me to the ground. Thankfully he gave Tup some when I explained to him that my vod needs them. He said next time I should just ask and apologized for making Tup'ika cry with the trolley problem. He's nicer than I thought he was. Good people are still out there. I was a little worried with all the chaos going on, but the night is getting better. Things are calming down.

— Fives

Benduday — 01:50 am

Aloha Echo, do you by any chance know how much the whole Karaoke equipment costs that they have at 79s? I am asking this because I plan on getting one for the 501st. Definitely not because the one here just died (for reasons I definitely had nothing to do with). Anyway, there is a large fire in the middle of the room. The Corries are trying to put it out. We've all evacuated the building and are chilling outside of 79s. Fox had to rescue Croissant because he did not wake up from the burnt smell or the people who were screaming "There's a fire! Run for your lives!" That guy... I have snatched a portion of the fire for you as a gift. I keep it in a little open glass with a candle in it and after they announce the Karaoke King, I will bring it home and keep it alive so that I can give it to you in the morning.

— Your older brother, Fives

Benduday — 02:20 am

I'M THE KARAOKE KING! They couldn't hold the finale because the karaoke corner burnt down but Hardcase passed out drunk so I won by default. I'm very happy and I will carry the grave responsibility to lead my Karaoke Kingdom with honor and pride. My first request was that for the new Karaoke corner the bar hangs up a picture of you on the wall with the caption "I dedicate this victory to my little brother Echo who came out of the tube 10 minutes later than me". They have accepted. However they stated that there will never be another Karaoke Competition, which is a shame but at least no one can break my winning streak. I still have your Tauntaun figure and your fire. Sorry I spammed you. I will go home now! See you tomorrow. Fives out.

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pompomqt · 2 months ago

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Journey to the West Chapter 51

We're back everybody! With yet another chapter of Journey to the West with @journeythroughjourneytothewest. This chapter marks the beginning of book three, so let's get into it shall we?

So we begin where we left off last book, with Monkey having a crisis and crying over not being able to rescue Tripitaka. And see, this is why I don't really understand interpretations that say that Monkey hates Tripitaka and is only on this journey because he is being held at gun point aka the golden fillet or something. From what I can see he really does care about Tripitaka and finishing this journey with him. Sorry about that tangent, anyways once Monkey is done crying over his situation he realizes something. That demon recognized him and knew about what he did in heaven, that must mean he is from there. With that in mind, Monkey decides it's time to give the heavenly realm a little visit.

So Monkey arrives at the heavenly realm and has some celestial announce him to the Jade Emperor. And can I also mention that Sun Wukong actually seems pretty popular, with people offering to have tea with him and asking how the journey's going. Pity he doesn't have time to socialize right now. Anyways so Sun Wukong actually bows to the Jade Emperor this time! And is very polite in explaining why he's here and requesting heaven to take a role call to find out who the demon is. Turns out Monkey is a lot more meek when he doesn't have his staff to threaten people with.

Luckily Monkey doesn't need to try and threaten the Jade Emperor while staff less, because he agrees to help and sends out a decree to find out who's missing. So they do a role call and can't find anyone missing, so the Jade Emperor offers to let Monkey take some soldiers with him to apprehend the demon. Monkey is flattered by the offer of course but uh... considering how he kicked all of their asses last time, there's not really anyone in heaven he considers powerful enough to fight this demon if he couldn't. Except maybe Erlang. However if Monkey has to pick someone anyways he'll go with Prince Nezha and his dad, they also throw in some thunder deities free of charge to throw some lightning at the demon.

So Monkey leads his new crew to the demon's cave and Nezha's dad volunteers him to go and fight the demon first. So Monkey heads down to the cave with Prince Nezha and bangs on the demons door and demands Tripitaka's return. The minion demons of course report this to his boss who decides to see for himself who Monkey brought as reinforcements. The demon recognizes Nezha and asks why he's here, and Nezha responds that he's here to arrest him. The Demon doesn't take to kindly to this response and goes on the attack, and before Monkey can call on the thunder deities to throw lightning at the demon, Nezha transforms into his three headed six armed war form. With each arm holding a unique weapon. The demon then transforms into a similar form, and as soon as Nezha throws his weapons into the air to attack, the demon sucks them up with his fillet just like he did with Monkey's staff, causing Nezha to flee. Which makes the thunder deities grateful that they didn't throw and lose their lightning to.

So the gang regroups and Monkey laughs and remarks that the demon's abilities are only so-so but that the fillet is very formidable. Nezha asks why Monkey's laughing, and Monkey basically replies that he's laughing because he can't cry instead. On that sobering note, it's time to come up with a plan B and try and find a weapon they can use that the fillet can't suck up. They decide that maybe fire or water could work, so Monkey decides to go back to heaven to conscript the help of the Star of Fiery Virtue who has dominion over Mars. So Monkey makes his way to the Red Aura Palace to talk to the fire god and explain the situation. At first the Star of Fiery virtue isn't sure what they need him for, since he already took Nezha with him who is much more powerful, but once Monkey explains they are hoping his fire powers can destroy the fillet, the god is willing to lend his assistance.

So the fire god heads down with Sun Wukong, and has Monkey provoke the demon into battle again. This time when Monkey bangs on the door and demands his masters return he has Nezha's dad fight him, while the fire god waits in the wings waiting for an opportunity to burn up the fillet. So those two fight for a while before he takes out the fillet again- which causes Wukong to give the signal to the fire god. Unfortunately the fillet is able to suck up all the fire beasts just like he did with every other weapon. Leaving the gang back at square one and plan C.

This time they decide to try water, and conscript the help of the Star of Watery Virtue to drown the demon. When they point out that that will drown Tripitaka as well, Monkey is pretty nonchalant in saying that if he drowns, he drowns, and he'll just revive him later. I feel like Tripitaka would have a few words to say about this plan, but he's not here so he doesn't get a vote!

So once again Monkey goes up to meet with the god and explain the situation to conscript their help. So the water god agrees to help and takes a small chalice with him that contains half the water in the yellow river. Once the god is packed up and ready to go the two head back to earth. The plan now is for Monkey to go and provoke battle again while the god dumps out his chalice and drowns everyone in the mountain. After that Monkey will fish out his masters corpse and revive him. Which at least we know from past experience that Monkey does indeed know how to revive a water logged corpse, but I still feel like Tripitaka wouldn't be to thrilled about this plan if he knew about it.

So Monkey bangs on the Demon's door, and as soon as he opens it, the water god dumps his chalice to flood the area. However the Demon once again takes out his fillet, but this time instead of sucking the water up, he reverses its direction sending it down the mountain and towards Monkey instead. Monkey jumps clear, but apparently the water god can't put the water back into the chalice so they are gonna have to wait for it to drain on it's own. Which- what kind of one trick wonder magic chalice is that? Should have asked Guanyin for help instead, I'm pretty sure that she can put the water back into her vase at least.

At this point though, Sun Wukong has had enough, and does what I'm surprised he didn't do from the very beginning, and challenges the demon with his bare fists. Which the Demon surprisingly agrees to, even putting away his lance so they can have a fair fight. Soon enough though this boxing max turns into a full on brawl, as the demon's minions and Sun Wukong's allies join the fight. However when Wukong summons some duplicates to change the tide of battle, the demon once again uses the fillet to suck them away. After that the demon and his minions go back into their cave to party it up, while Monkey and his allies evaluate the situation and decide what to do next.

Prince Nezha compliments Sun Wukong on his excellent fighting, and Nezha's dad points out that Wukong is the better fighter of the two, and that the demon's only real advantage is the fillet. So the Stars of Watery and Fiery virtue point out that they should probably focus on stealing it. And as a Thunder Deity points out, who better to steal it then the Great Sage himself who once robbed heaven itself? Monkey is flattered by their compliments and agrees to try and investigate the cave to see what he can do.

So Monkey turns into a fly and sneaks into the cave, and while he can't find the fillet, he does find all their stuff, including his beloved staff! Monkey is so thrilled to have his weapon back, that he has to use it right away. So weapon in hand, Wukong fights his way out of the cave and back to his allies.

Current Sun Wukong Stats: Names/Titles: Monkey, The Stone Monkey, The Handsome Monkey King, Sun Wukong (Monkey awakened to the void), Bimawen (Banhorseplague), The Great Sage Equal To Heaven and Pilgrim Sun. Immortality: 5 + 94,000 years Weapon: The Compliant Golden Hooped Rod Abilities: 72 Transformations, Cloud-Somersault, Ability to transform his individual hairs, super strength, Ability to Summon Wind, Water restriction charm, and the ability to change into a huge war form, ability to duplicate his staff, ability to immobilize others, the ability to put others to sleep, and the Fiery eyes and Diamond Pupils, intimidating horses, churning large bodies of water, sleeplessness, seizing the wind, enhanced smell, discerning good and evil within a thousand miles, Spirit Summoning, lock picking, object transformation, distance reduction, vanishing in a flash of light, super healing, transforming others, and Invisibility Demon Kill Count: 9+ Unknown Number of Minions Human Kill Count: 1009 God's Defeated: 22 + Unknown number Defeats: 6 Crime List: Robbery, Murder, Mass Murder, Arson, Theft, Coercion, Threatening a Government Official, Resisting Arrest, Assault, Forgery, Employee Theft, False Imprisonment, Impersonating a Government Official, Treason, attempted murder, failure to control or report a dangerous fire, desecrating a corpse, breaking and entering, trespassing, violating Tree Law, looting corpses, trading counterfeit goods, criminal threat, animal abuse, Assisting or Instigating Escape, Damage to Religious Property, contaminating a substance for human consumption and Identity Fraud. Cry Count: 8 + 3 fake cries Mountains Trapped Under: 4

Current Tang Sanzang stats: Names/Titles: River Float, Xuanzang, Tang Sanzang, Tripitaka and the Tang Monk Abilities: Curing Blindness, making branches point a certain direction (allegedly), reciting sutras, pretty privilege, memorization, Heart Sutra and Meditation. Cry Count: 26 Tight Fillet Spell Uses: 31 Paralyzed by fear: 5 Bandit Problems: 2 Kidnapped by demons: 8 Falling Off Horses: 8

Current Bai Long Ma Stats: Names/Titles: Bai Long Ma (White Dragon Horse), Prince of the Western Ocean, and third prince jade dragon of the dragon king Aorun Abilities: Transforming into a human, a water snake, and a horse, eating a horse in one bite, flight, Magic of Water Restriction, Singing, and Sword Dancing. Cry Count: 1 Crime List: Arson, and Grave Disobedience. Contributions to the plot: 2 Kidnapped by demons: 1

Current Zhu Wuneng Stats: Names/Titles: The Marshal of the Heavenly Reeds, Zhu Wuneng (Pig who is aware of ability), Zhu Ganglie, Pigsy, Idiot and Eight Rules. Weapon: Rake Abilities: 36 Transformations, parting water, fighting underwater, cloud soaring, size enhancement and CPR Demon Kill Count/Kill steals: 2 Kidnapped by Demons: 4 Human Kill Count: 1 Failed Flirtation/romances Attempts: 3 Cry Count: 2 Crime List: Sexual Harassment, Murder, Kidnapping, arson, defamation, Damage to Religious Property, contaminating a substance for human consumption, Identity Fraud and Theft

Current Sha Wujing Stats: Names/Titles: The Curtain-Raising General, Sha Wujing (Sand Aware of Purity), Sandy and Sha Monk Weapon: Monster Taming Staff Abilities: Fighting underwater and Cloud soaring. Demon Kill Count: Unknown number of minions. Kidnapped by Demons: 3 Human Kill Count: 1 Crime List: Breaking a Crystal Cup, murder, desecration of a human corpse, Damage to Religious Property and contaminating a substance for human consumption

#journey to the west #jttw read through #jttw #journeythroughjourneytothewest #sun wukong #nezha #Can't believe I stood up for Monkey this chapter saying he does indeed care about Tripitaka #Only for Monkey to make plans to drown Tripitaka this very same chapter

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racheyace · 1 month ago

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The Best Medicine - Part One

This two part story is based off of an ask, the ask part of the story however comes in part two haha

This story is set directly after the events of 'What's Wrong With you?'

“So where are we going?” Luke asked for the tenth time that day.

It had been a week since Luke and Jason had broken up. It had been a long and rough week with more than one mental health day off work and Matt simply couldn’t stand the moping anymore. Deciding that his best mate needed some fresh air and sunshine and more importantly to get his ass off the couch. Matt had organised a weekend camping trip for the two of them.

“Will you quit asking me, what are you Five? I told you it was a surprise, didn’t I?” Matt rolled his eyes and pressed his foot down on the accelerator in impatience.

“I just don’t think it’s a good idea to go anywhere overly public in my current mental state.” Luke mumbled fidgeting with the cords of his navy hoodie.

In the last week it had been difficult to control his emotions, generally shrinking without warning and finding it difficult to shift back for long periods, hence the time off work.

“We are going somewhere secluded and people free I promise, now quit bitching and navigate to the nearest gas station, I forgot to fill up before we left.” He knew where the gas station was but honestly just wanted to give Luke something to do.

They pulled up a short ten minutes later and Matt got out to start filling the car up.

“Do you wanna go in and pay and maybe find us some snacks, we’re still about an hour away.” Matt asked offhandedly.

Luke rolled his eyes. “You gonna give me your card to pay or am I expected to fund this long road trip that I didn’t ask for?”

Matt just smirked already knowing that Luke would cave.

“Fine!” Luke grumbled and pushed the car door open to stomp toward the service station.

Luke was such a pushover and Matt knew it.

The automatic doors opened, and Luke headed for the snack aisle, he gave the cashier a small nod as he passed by. He browsed the small selection of choices, but something popped out at him that made him freeze and he felt his heart being squeezed.

On a display stand to the side was a collection of Reese’s peanut butter cups, a bright sign telling the consumer that this product was to die for and on sale, the best deal, two for one!

Luke was frozen, watching the scenes flash through his minds eye of all the times he’d surprised Jason by gifting him this particular treat. Peanut butter cups were his favourite and often on sale like this. Luke would get two and they would sit up late watching movies, eating their favourite snacks.

Luke closed his eyes and took a deep breath, nothing worked, his eyes stung and his heart hurt.

Luke had known all of Jay’s quirks, his likes and dislikes to the point where he had at one time kept a stash of peanut butter cups in the apartment for the off chance that Jason would come over.

And now he was gone.

Luke wiped at the tears forming on his cheeks aggressively and opened his eyes.

“No no no.” Where he had once been looking over the tops of the shelves he was now looking at the bottom shelf and still shrinking.

“Stupid fucking emotions!” He glared up at the Reeses peanut butter cup stand before his attention snapped to the sliding door opening.

It was possible that it was Matt coming in to see what was taking him so long but it was also possible that it was someone else entering the store, without a second to lose Luke dived under the shelf that now towered over his head.

His breath came in sharp pants as he eyed the gigantic set of heavy leather boots thundering into the store, they weren’t Matt’s and his brain began to go into full panic mode as they angled toward him. He watched with wide blue eyes as the boot only a few inches now in front of him tapped idly on the tiled floor, sending tremors through his body.

It wasn’t the first time Luke had shrunk in an unsafe place but it had certainly been a while, these days he would usually have a family member or Matt with him and even when he didn’t he had his phone.

His phone!

Luke searched his pockets finding only his wallet, he’d left the damned device in the car. His heart hammered against his chest, he was stranded in an unknown place surrounded by giants who had no idea he was there. There wasn’t much more that could possibly go wrong.

There was some loud crinkling from high above and Luke held his breath as a small canister of pringles hit the floor with a deafening crash and then ominously began to roll toward him. Putting his arms out he stopped the canister from rolling any further, luckily pringles were light or he might have been flattened if it had been something like a bottle of milk.

Anyone else might have just rolled their eyes at their own clumsiness and picked up a different canister of pringles, but for whatever reason Luke’s luck just continued to dwindle. There was a rush of movement and the sound of immense amounts of clothing shifting as the unknown giant crouched down and then a large hand was hurtling at him.

With all the effort in the world Luke held his breath to stop himself from crying out in alarm, and instead ducked behind the pringles and hoped the fingers wouldn’t pry any further once they’d found what they were looking for. Luke’s eyes widened as the large digits spread over the top of the canister and very nearly brushed his head before they gripped the pringles tighter and pulled them back out into the light.

Luke fell to his knees and watched with relief as the giant stood back up and moved away from his hiding spot. Now to somehow get Matt’s attention, he’d have to come into the store at some point, it would only be a matter of time and then he’d be found and he’d be safe again.

Matt meanwhile had decided to have a smoke while he waited for his friend to come back with snacks. Luke didn’t like it when he smoked in the car so instead he saved his nicotine hits for pit stops like this one.

Matt had found a park bench off to the side of the station, a playground was also there but he’d hardly consider it a playground when it consisted of only a small slide and one swing. Regardless it was the perfect place to wait for Luke to finish up in the gas station, with only one other customer having stopped for gas, Luke wouldn’t be too long.

Matt’s eyes drifted to his phone as he took his last drag and crushed the butt on the ground, Luke had been in there for ten minutes, the other customer had come and gone what seemed like ages ago. He’d received no calls or messages from Luke though but that didn’t chase away the unease that was settling into his stomach.

Unable to wait any longer Matt marched toward the sliding doors and stepped inside the store, his worry only increased when his tall friend was nowhere to be seen.

“Did my friend come in here?” Matt called over to the cashier.

“I dunno, I saw him and then figured he’d gone to the bathroom or left.” The older man shrugged and focused back on his computer once more, thoroughly unbothered by his friend’s disappearance.

“Come on Luke, where are you?” Matt murmured to himself, he turned toward the bathroom, it was possible he was simply overreacting and Luke had just gone to the toilet, he could hope.

He took a step toward the bathroom and then froze when a positively miniscule cry of alarm could be heard from his feet, every inch of Matt’s skin tightened, and a sick feeling washed over him as he dared to look down, hi sneaker still hovering mid-air.

Luke was also frozen, he’d been so relieved when Matt finally stepped into the store that he’d run out hoping to call up to his friend or tug at his pant leg to get his attention. He’d completely forgotten how dangerous an unaware giant could be, even a friendly one, Matt’s booming voice had rattled through him causing him to pause and then everything happened way too fast.

Matt’s sneakers turned in his direction and then rose above him, unable to hold back a scream of fear as it glided over his head and then froze mid step directly above his head. Luke wasn’t sure his little heart could take much more as his heart rate escalated once again.

What should have been a quick in and out trip at the gas station had turned into a literal nightmare for the broken-hearted size shifter.

Matt shifted his foot to the side and carefully placed it back down on the floor once his eyes landed on the small, huddled form of his friend as Luke cradled his hands over his head in a desperate attempt to save himself from being trodden on. Without wanting to raise suspicion from the cashier, Matt carefully scooped him up before pushing his way through the bathroom doors and locking it behind him.

“Luke what the actual fuck? Are you okay?” Matt was caught between frustration and concern but focused more on worry upon seeing his small friend flinch from his loud words.

“Sorry dude.” Matt lowered his voice and raised Luke up to his eyes, scanning over him to make sure he was truly unharmed.

Luke curled inward hugging his knee’s to his chest, the whole experience had been too much, from being dragged back to his heartbreak, to nearly being found by an unknown giant to nearly being stepped on by his best friend. Luke began to shake as tears and shame and guilt overwhelmed him.

“I guess I don’t need to tell you how stupid that was, do you wanna tell me what happened?” Matt asked as gently as he could manage.

“Not here.” Luke’s whispered words only just reached Matt’s ears and he nodded before closing his fingers gently around Luke and pushing him into his hoodie pocket.

His fingers stayed curled around his friend as he made his way back to the cashier to pay for the fuel.

“Find your friend?” The man asked gruffly.

“Ah yeah, all good.” Matt said vaguely, tapped his card and then turned and headed back toward the car.

Once seated back in the drivers seat, Matt pulled Luke out and placed him in the centre console cup holder, he was still shaking and clearly upset but Matt suspected there was more to it then a near run in with his shoe.

“Did someone kick a puppy? Seriously, what the hell happened?” Matt asked as he turned the car on and pulled back out onto the road, the sooner they got to their destination the better.

“I-it was the Reese’s.” Luke felt stupid, it all seemed so silly now and yet here he was six inches tall and that overwhelming feeling of loss and sadness had taken him over because of a peanut butter cup.

“What?” Matt asked leaning over a little as he drove to hear his shrunken friend.

“Reese’s were on sale…they were… they were Jay’s favourite.” Luke said pathetically and couldn’t make himself look upward to see Matt’s reaction.

“Oh Luke.” Matt sighed putting the pieces together rather easily now.

“I’m sorry.” Luke choked on the sobs welling inside his chest once more.

“You know that you don’t actually have anything to be sorry about right?” Matt asked, keeping his eyes on the road as he spoke.

“What happened between you and Jay was not your fault, and what happened at the gas station was also not your fault.” As much as he tried to drill the point through to Luke, he knew that his friend wouldn’t hear him at least not right now.

“I should have been in more control.”

“Luke I’m gonna be honest with you.” Matt said quite seriously. “I don’t actually know of any other person who is in more control of their emotions than you are. You can’t be perfect one hundred percent of the time, especially after a break up, give yourself a break.”

Luke said nothing and the car was silent for a while as they drove, Matt hated the current sadness and tension that lingered about the car. There would be no convincing Luke so he tried a different tactic, changing the subject with humour, it always seemed to work for him anyways.

“So my Aunt’s daughter is looking for actors to play parts in her Peter Pan musical next month, I hope you don’t mind, I put your name down for Tinkerbell.” Matt said as casually as he dared.

“You did not.” Luke scoffed utterly unbelieving until Matt choked on a laugh he’d been trying to hold in.

“You didn’t! Matt tell me you didn’t!”

“I mean it’s doubtful you’ll get the part anyway, you don’t really have the sassiness that comes along with Tinkerbell.” He explained. “The auditions on Thursday.”

Matt felt a small object hit the side of his face and he turned to see Luke standing in the cup holder with admittedly a very pissed off Tinkerbell expression on his face and missing one shoe.

“Did you just throw a shoe at me?” Matt smirked.

“You deserved it you gigantic ass.” Luke glared upward.

“Good luck finding that ever again.” Matt laughed.

“Ah shit.”

Matt turned his head again to see Luke’s body expanding slowly inch by inch, he pulled over to help his friend out of the now squishy cup holder and onto the passenger seat. They both held hope that Luke was simply growing to his human height, however there was always the possibility that he could go the other extreme and that meant he’d need a quick escape out of the car.

His growing stopped when his head almost brushed the roof of the car as usual and Matt smiled at him.

“Welcome back.” He said.

“Yeah well now I’ve got one normal shoe and one tiny shoe somewhere in here.” Luke groaned, it seemed his ‘gift’ would never ever gave him a break.

Luke muttered a thanks regardless of his annoyance, he knew full well what his friend had been trying to do and it had worked, and for that he was grateful.

With his mood improved they continued their journey, Matt soon turned down a gravel road that grew rougher and bumpier the further in they travelled. When their car simply couldn’t go any further Matt stopped and turned off the car.

“We’re here!”

Taglist:

@da3dm

@smolcomfycat

@satethesatelite

@coffehbeans

@soakedmilkgt

@only-surviving-drfan

#gt #g/t #giant/tiny #gianttiny #giant #tiny #gtfluff #size shifter #lukeandmatt #sizedifference #gtcommunity #gtwriting #gtauthor

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jjmaybankshousekeeping · 11 months ago

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i need your touch || JJ MAYBANK

summary - jj and yn got into a fight, but due to the current storm, neither of them can leave the château, so they’ll be stuck together, which would be especially difficult for jj since he craves yn’s touch, something he can’t have.

warnings - angst?, fluff.

word count - 407

a/n - thank you for the request :) sorry it took me so long to answer, i haven’t really been on tumblr in quite a while. i do believe this was a request but it took me so long to finish it that the request has somehow disappeared lol.

post number - 6

reader - she/her.

add yourself to my taglist here

“do you fucking mind?” jj spat towards his girlfriend.

she snarled back, “what?”

“stop looking at me. it’s fucking annoying.”

y/n chuckled, “all right then, big man.”

y/n walked away, going to get herself a drink, as john b and pope walked over to the blonde boy.

“woah!” john b raised his eyebrows, “trouble in paradise?”

“oh, don’t even ask. i don’t even know what’s going on. i just know that we’re really mad at each other for some reason.”

pope was confused, “you’re mad at each other, even though neither of you know what for, but you’re still continuing to be mad at her?”

he thought for a moment, “uh, yeah. that’s about right.”

jj explained when this all started and how neither of them knew what for. he mentioned how difficult it was for him to not go and lie down in bed for him, and go cuddle with y/n like they always did during storms.

after about an hour, he’d had enough and went to go lie down; however, his girlfriend already beat him to it.

“bro.”

“what?”

“i basically live in this room and i can’t even come in here now.”

“nobody said you can’t.” she pointed out, “literally nobody is stopping you.”

jj thought, “oh, yeah.”

he went and sat down on the bed, opposite side of the bed from where y/n was relaxing, trying to keep as much distance as possible.

he tried to get comfortable, but with the loud thunder going on outside, it took him a while, and the cravings for y/n’s touch grew.

“baby.” he whispered softly. no reply.

“baby.” he repeated.

she looked at him, “what?”

“please can we cuddle? i don’t even know what we’re arguing about and it’s getting ridiculous now.” he spoke softly, “i love you so much, and i’m sorry if i did something wrong, but it’s too much. i can’t pretend to be mad at you for so long. and i know you’re struggling to do that too.”

she smiled sheepishly, before practically diving at jj, “it took you long enough! i’ve been waiting, i was not going to cave in first.”

he let y/n straddle him and snuggle into his chest as his whole body immediately relaxed, before gently pressing a kiss to her forehead.

they both fell asleep together without even saying another word to one another, just listening to the sounds of each others breathing, heartbeats, rain and thunder.

#jjmaybankshousekeeping #obx #jj maybank #jj maybank fluff

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whenlostinthedarkness · 1 year ago

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Afterglow: Chapter 2 / Part 1 - In My Way

Leader Singer!Reader x Lead Guitarist!Ellie Williams

Photo by @abbysthighs ; edited by me

Summary: You and the band attend a party after the show, which leaves you social exhausted. Ellie takes note and you both decide to head back to the hotel for some much needed come down time from the surplus of social interaction

Warnings: Social anxiety, Weed smoking, and mentions of reader & Ellie’s past relationship; I believe that is it.

A/N: If you haven't caught on by now, each chapter will be named after a MUNA song that is fitting for the situation. Listen to ' In My Way' here.

Intro | Chapter One |

A soft towel was thrown around your shoulder by Dina as you and the rest of your bandmates exited from the stage, leaving a crowd still screaming as they begged for yet another encore, even though you'd already given them two on top of the one you did every night of every show.

"Well, they were fucking crazy", Jesse laughed while dabbing his forehead with his own towel.

"Seriously! I think that was the highest energy we've gotten from a crowd so far," Ellie said, mirroring Jesse as she too held the towel against her forehead that was dampened with a few locks of hair.

The thundering crowds noises were quickly dissipating the further your band walked into the back stage area, until you all had finally made it to the large, shared dressing room.

"God, it's fucking hot!," you exclaimed while dramatically fanning yourself as you stood in front of a table top revolving fan that was turned up to high.

"Yes, yes you are," Dina teased as she began undoing her button up shirt, joining the rest of the group that had already started undressing out of their sweaty clothes.

In a flirtatious manor, that you both knew held nothing but friendly intentions, you turned around with your hand on your hip.

"Don't tease me D."

"What if I'm not?"

Both of your coquettish expressions caved into humored ones the minute you made eye contact.

"We've already been down that route in college, no need to revisit it," you joked with a pointed finger as you began undoing your top.

"God, don't remind me. It was like fucking my sister-no offense." You nodded in agreement with Dina as you voiced your mutual feelings about the night both of you had drunkenly hooked up after a party in college.

Thankfully, It wasn't a completely bad experience. It was the reason the both of you had become friends after all. What better way to bond than after a hook up that neither of you felt a romantic connection with, yet still enjoyed the others company.

As Ellie began zipping out of her jeans, she couldn't help but listen in on yours and Dina's conversation and reminisce about that night.

You, Ellie, and an apartment that was much too small for the amount of people that were walking in through the back door.

A local college band was playing in a space that no doubt was originally a living room that had been moved around to arrange a space for the band and others to gather around them.

You held on tight to the back of Ellie's-aka your roommate who you had met just a couple days ago- shirt as you allowed her to guide you through the mass amount of bodies that were somehow fit into this space that couldn't have been more than 1,000 square feet.

As college parties go, you and Ellie ended up talking with cheap beers in hand for awhile as you watched the people around you, until you saw Dina walk in. She was clearly the life of the party, which is what caught your attention in the first place…and she wasn't bad looking either.

Ellie remembered you whispering how hot you thought the dark haired girl, who you would come to know as Dina, was. Urgently, Ellie turned her head to look at you with furrowed eyebrows that begged to ask a question.

"Are you gay?"

Present day Ellie laughed quietly in the dressing room as she recalled you saying "do I look like I'm straight?", in a way that was so deeply offended, you would've thought you had been mistaken for the worst possible human being one could imagine.

Suddenly, there was a feeling of fear and hope spun together in a braided ribbon. Because now that she knew you liked girls, that meant that her immediate attraction to you wasn’t something that she could shove off in a corner. No, now her mind would conjure up all these scenarios and universes where it was you and her tangled up in sheets as your bare skin touched her bare skin, all because it was something that was possible.

Sure, it wasn’t definite and, at that time Ellie had no idea that you had felt this immediate attraction to her as well, but now, it was easier for her to picture herself with you because it wasn’t like the crushes Ellie had on straight girls in the past. This time it was real and raw and vulnerable.

"What so funny?"

Ellie hadn't noticed you, snuck up on her as she changed with her back to the rest of the group.

Quickly she peaked over her shoulder as she continued getting undressed.

"Remember when you were offended that I didn't know you were gay?"

A warm, comforting feeling filled you as you thought back to your very first outing with Ellie.

You nodded, "Yeah! I'm still pissed about it."

Ellie chuckled, "You're dumb."

You didn't reply, merely just watched silently as one by one, Ellie's legs slipped out of the denim, leaving her in plain colored boxer briefs and an undone button down shirt while her back was still to you.

You knew better than to allow your eyes and imagination to linger too long-that was dangerous territory; a been there done that type of territory.

The group continued chatting as each of you finished changing into less dampened clothing.

"You guys going to that party tonight?"

At Jesse's words your eyebrow raised in question, until you recalled the big name popstar's birthday gathering you all had been invited to that was happening tonight. Quietly, you sighed as you finished grabbing all of your personal belongings.

"Not sure. You?"

Jesse 'pst' his lips, "Ah c'mon! You have to come. It'll be a nice way to decompress. We haven't had a night off in ages."

You couldn't disagree. It had indeed been a two week spread of shows every single night...maybe a party wouldn't hurt.

But on the other hand, you knew you dreaded any sort of social gathering that was bound to leave you overstimulated and exhausted by the end of the night.

"I don't know.."

"Babe cmon, you deserve it. I deserve it. We all deserve it! Besides, we can ditch if we're too exhausted or if it's lame or something," Dina said as she turned around, joining the rest of you and your bandmates as you all naturally gathered in the center of the changing room.

You wagered your plan of staying in the hotel in stretchy clothes with takeout in hand and a shitty movie on the tv as you snuggled into the fluffy blankets…but the looks you were getting from your bandmates pretty much prepared an answer for you.

"Fineeee," you dragged your words as Dina took the initiative of leaving as she opened the dressing room door.

"Who knows, maybe you'll get laid."

You shook your head, shoving Dina playfully on the shoulder as you followed behind her. "Shut up slut."

Ellie followed behind you, and Jesse behind her as he chuckled at the usual banter between you and Dina that continued for the entirety of the walk to the black vehicle that was ready to take your band to the party.

----

You'd been at the party for only an hour before you felt your threshold being pushed to it's farthest limit.

Dina and Jesse had been loved up on the dance floor, shouting the words of a song that was unfamiliar to you as Jesse had both of his arms around his love.

Ellie had caught your eye as she talked with other people throughout the party, always having some sort of whiskey drink in hand as she fidgeted with the small black straw she was swirling around her drink.

You knew how awful Ellie was in conversation, or rather following along with a conversation. Her thoughts always seemed to take over, making it hard for her to be fixed in on the entirety of a conversation as she, instead, resorted to zoning out or fixating herself on some sort of habit like she was right now.

With your back lent against a crisp white wall, you raised your drink to your mouth as you took a sip while still watching Ellie attempt conversation, until her eyes locked with yours.

She knew this version of you too well. The crowds, the socializing, the various amount of different noises all going on at once, none of it was ever your forte.

You quickly averted your gaze downwards into the honey colored drink in your glass, which made you oblivious to the fact that Ellie had already dismissed herself from her conversation and began making strides towards you.

"Over it already?"

Her familiar tone made your eyes glance upwards briefly before bringing them back down to your drink. You shrugged, "You know how I am at these things."

Ellie indeed knew too well. She also knew how much you resented yourself for not being able to handle a party without feeling like shit before, during, and after.

"Wanna head out? I'm kind of over this too." Ellie said as she mimicked your position of back resting against a wall with nearly empty drink in hand.

Your eyes remained low as you talked. "You don't have to leave because of me."

"I'm not," Ellie assured, "you're the one who can't do social gatherings, I'm the one whose bored of superficial small talk with people that I couldn't give less of a fuck about."

At her words, you chuckled, your neck now raising as your tipsy squinted eyes finally made contact with Ellie.

"Promise it's not because you feel sorry for me?"

Ellie's face lit up with a familiar, warm grin as she held up her pinky to swear her promise was true. "Promise."

You wore a lazy, but genuine smile as you extended your own pinky and gently hooked it around Ellie's. "Let's get the fuck out of here then."

---

The drive back to the hotel was silent except for the easy listening radio the Uber drive had been playing in the vehicle. You were thankful they were playing music that was appropriate for the 3am hour that it was. The last thing you needed was heavy bass to fuel your already slightly aching head.

Both you and Ellie made your way into the hotel once the uber had reached your home for the night. Thankfully, your manager had taken care of check in so your room key was already tucked inside the palm of your hand, leaving the only thing to do was slide your key through the appropriate suite numbers door so you could fall face first into a fluffy, white bed.

Your mind pulsed with the room number as you got closer. '208, 2010, 2011, 2012."

A literal weight seemed to fall off of your body when you mentally read the 4 digit number.

"This is me. What room did you get?"

'Fuck', Ellie thought as she did a double take on the room number that was written on her key card and the room number engraved in a gold plaque on the door you were both stopped in front of.

"Me too. Guess we’re rooming together."

Ellie didn't mean for her words to come out with a grimace expression, but you understood why the second she said it.

Annalise. You'd told her once about not wanting to room with Ellie due to your past with her and it was never a forgotten thing..I guess not until now.

It wasn't that you didn't want to hang out with Ellie. Ellie was your best friend first, ex girlfriend second. Despite the past the both of you shared, you always made it your mission to never let it interfere with one of the strongest friendships you've ever had with a person.

Not rooming together was more of a...preventative measure. You and Ellie had dated for a couple years, obviously you also slept together during that time. Keeping separate sleeping arrangements was just a way to keep certain situations less likely to happen.

Without either of you making eye contact, you slid the card in, then out of the slot in the door as a light flashed green, signaling the release of the lock.

You could feel the very dim way your hands shook as you grasped the metal knob in hand, allowing you and Ellie entry into the spacious suite that, thankfully, had two queen sized beds in it. You couldn’t imagine what would happen if the hotel somehow made a mistake and gave you a suite with a single bed; at least one thing was on yours and Ellie’s side. Though it didn’t make the situation at hand any better.

The tension was thick like a humid august day in Florida.

You and Ellie had taken to silence as you both worked on unpacking the few essentials you had on your person - thank god your team had already managed to put both yours and Ellie's luggages by each of your bedside, leaving not too much work to be done tonight unpacking wise.

Once your shoes had been tucked away in the small closet, your phone charger plugged in with your phone attached to it, and your pajama's in hand, you set off for the bathroom in the still silent hotel room.

A quick shower paired with freely brushed teeth, a clean face, and much more stretchy clothing had you feeling almost fully recovered post show and post social gathering.

As you walked out of the bathroom, you couldn't help but follow the trail of clothing that was sprawled sloppily on the floor and on top of the bed that was Ellie's for tonight.

It was like a mouse hunt as you followed along the fabric and items Ellie had no doubt shoveled out of her bag instead of putting them away neatly - typical for Ellie. She was never the cleanliest of the band members.

The humored smile remained on your face as you walked from the area in the suite that contained the beds, over to the small hallway that led to the living room area.

Ellie was sprawled along the couch with nothing but a table side lamp on as her eyes were glued to her phone while her finger moved along the screen.

Thankfully she hadn't caught wind of your entrance or else she would've seen the way you ran your eyes up from her sock clade feet all the way up to the athletic shorts and hoodie that was branded with your bands logo. She only looked up when you sunk down on the opposite side of the couch she was on.

Startled, Ellie looked up at you, looking as if she had forgotten you were even here, and for a minute she honestly did. Ellies eyes had been zoned in on the text exchange between her and her girlfriend, Cat, since the moment she flopped herself onto the couch in a living room that wasn't hers- this was somewhat of a routine she had subconsciously started doing ever since the tour began.

Your eyes naturally followed along to Ellies screen as curiosity got the best of you, but when you saw the name and photo labeled at the very top of the text exchange, you felt that same god damn feeling. That drop, that warmth, that surge of an energy that was anything but positive.

It was as if Ellie could read your mind as she followed your eye line and quickly locked her phone before setting it on the arm rest of her side of the couch.

Clearing your throat, you tried your best at creating a diversion.

"I see you're still messy as ever." Your eyes remained low as you fiddled with the hem of your sweats that sat on top of your ankle bone.

Ellie smiled, mimicking your lack of contact gaze as her vision zoned out on the grey colored couch cushion.

Her mind began to dump through memories upon memories; when you and Ellie were roommates, you were always complaining about her side of the room, which quickly morphed into the entirety of the room as the floor was filled with various clothes, personal items, etc.

You only genuinely got upset about it once- finals week, freshmen year. You were stressed, Ellie was stressed, thus ensued the first of many fights that the both of you would have over petty things.

But the both of you were grown now and surely you could have a conversation over something like that.

"Shit, I'm sorry." Ellie made the move to get up from the couch until you spoke with a waving hand.

"I'm fucking with you El. You're good," you said with a calmed smile and warm tone.

"You sure? Cause I can-"

You were nodding quickly, having to fight back a large grin and laugh at how quick Ellie was willing to get up and tidy the space. You couldn't help but interrupt her quick thoughts that you could tell were piling up a mile high in her mind.

"Ellie."

At the sound of her name, Ellie felt her thoughts fall from their whirlwind as she instead focused her attention on one thing at a time and that one thing was you.

"You're good, I promise."

It was crazy how, just at the confirmation of your words, Ellie was able to calm herself down. There weren't many people in the world who could fully put her mind at ease and allow it to stop the overthinking, but you always could. You held a sense of magic over her.

"Wanna watch a movie or something?"

Though Ellie hadn't agreed yet, the remote control was already tucked in your hand as your thumb pressed down on the appropriate buttons. As if you already knew what a routine of assisting Ellie from an anxiety come down was like, which you did.

"Yeah that sounds good." Ellie's words were straight laced as she recognized her pulse for the first time and just how rapidly it was beating.

"Do you mind if I smoke? I usually do it after shows, but since we don't room together I wasn't sure-"

"Yeah your good." You interrupted, making Ellie let out a breathy laugh as she walked over to her bag that sat on top of her bed.

"What?" You asked with confusion.

"You've interrupted me like five times already." Ellie's tone was anything but malicious which assured you that she wasn't upset with your bad habit, but that didn't make you feel any less ashamed either.

"I'm soooorry," you dragged out, the sound of rummaging in the background as Ellie grabbed her trusty tin box that contained a single pre roll and her lighter.

"You know I'm fucking with you." Ellie made her way back to the living room area as she scouted out a source for proper ventilation to ensure the smell of the potent greenery wouldn't cloud up the room or the entire floor.

Thankfully the suite was equipped with massive windows that looked as if they were from the 1920’s. Adorned with different variations of swirls and florals that made the layer of cream colored paint anything but some plain colored windowsill.

Using two of her hands, Ellie grasped the bottom of the window and pulled it upwards as far as the rusted parts would allow. As if out of some sort of rom com, Ellie took a seat on the windowsill as she flicked the lighter with her thumb until it lit a small flame.

At the noise of the lighter, you turned your attention to Ellie just as the flame caught the tip of her joint- a line of smoke streamed from the now charred stuffed rolling paper. You watched Ellie’s chest as she deeply inhaled with her eyes closed, the end of the 'j' searing red as she did so, and held the smoke in her mouth for a few seconds before releasing the breath she was purposefully holding.

Even though Ellie was used to the weed, she never failed to let out a string of coughs after a deep inhale. After her second cough, you turned your body fully around to find Ellie with her mouth tucked into the crevice of her elbow as her body tried to rid itself of the irritant in her throat.

“Water?”, you questioned, to which Ellie nodded as she continued to blow out on last cough until you were standing in front of her with your steel water bottle in hand.

The way Ellie’s mouth wrapped around the tip of the bottle made your pupils dilate as you watched her gulp down several sips of water. She muttered a “Thanks” while handing the water bottle back to you while you scolded your mind for reminiscing on exactly what Ellie’s mouth could do in certain situations.

Once her throat had been cleared enough times for the saliva in her throat to break up, she leant her back against the window frame again, relaxing as the high in her mind began to build.

“Wanna hit?”, Ellie said with hooded eyes as she looked up at your standing form.

The fact that you had to stop and ponder your answer made you cringe. You were a far off version of who you once were only a year ago. Now, you got up early in the morning and did yoga just after you made yourself a hot cup of decaf coffee because, for some god awful reason, you needed a change and that change happened to be weening yourself off of caffeine.

It was funny how well you were convincing yourself and others that you were better and striding along nicely on the path of self love and content while being by yourself. What others didn't know is that you had never felt more lonely in your life. Even after Ellie and your's breakup nearly 4 years ago, you had never felt this bottomless pit that you only had to deal with once off that stage.

Maybe thats why you felt so addicted to performing. Maybe thats why you were the only one who didn’t complain when you saw how many shoes you would be putting on this tour. It took your mind off of reality..it was your drug.

"Sure," you answered Ellie as she reached her nearly limp hand out to you with a relaxed grin on her face.

The moment the joint was held between your pointer finger & thumb, it felt instinctual, despite a year or so without the substance.

As the smoke sucked down your throat, you could already feel your head beginning to float.

"Nice, right?"

You nodded, as you passed the joint back to Ellie just before taking a sip out of your water bottle that moments ago had been pressed against Ellie's mouth. You could still taste the vague cherry chapstick flavor of her lip balm. “I haven't smoked in fucking ages."

Ellie nodded as she took another big hit that made her shoulders slump even more against the window as she delved into a state of relaxation. "This shit is the only thing that calms me down after shows now."

"Seriously?"

With a nod, Ellie's eyes scanned you as if she were searching. For what? You didn't know and neither did she, but yet she allowed her eyes to linger until she landed on your arm. "How's the tattoo healing?"

Your eyes pulled down to your arm, but not without feeling a lag in motion due to the weed in your system. The amount of at ease you felt was something you hadn't felt in years. You couldn't help but question why the fuck you stopped smoking in the first place, until you came back to that self love journey, bullshit, blah, blah, blah.

"Tattoo is good. The shading on it is soo beautiful”, you dragged along your words more than usual as you prepared for your last statement that would inevitably bring her up. "Your girl is good."

At the mention of her girlfriend, Ellie felt comfort in her smile. "Yeah, she's great”, she answered honestly.

You knew her words held double meanings-yes, Ellie's girlfriend was a great tattoo artists, but you knew her and Ellie were good for each other, at least from your view it seemed that way.

"You seeing anyone lately?"

The hairs on your arms began to raise at Ellie's question. It seemed that anytime relationships or partners, whether romantic or sexual, were brought up..it always felt awkward to you. But maybe that was because you were just being you, and Ellie was matured past the college relationship you and her shared.

Not that you weren't stuck on the relationship itself entirely. You were more so stuck on the feeling of being loved like that and loving that person in return just as much. You craved it, yet no one ever scratched that itch for you after Ellie.

"Nah..I'm good," you lied through your teeth, but Ellie saw right through your faux satisfaction.

"C'mon, it's been, what? A couples years since your last relationship?"

Ellie hadn't intentionally meant to strike that nerve when the words left her lips, yet she could tell she managed to do just that according to the look on your face.

"Fuck, 'm sorry. Didn't mean to bring that up..I forgot that your last relationship was us."

You felt the urge to spit in Ellie's face out of pure spite that was bubbling inside you even though you knew she meant zero malice with her words. Deep breaths consumed your chest as you repeated a mantra to yourself: You were the one who had the problem. Not her. You were the one who had the problem. Not her.

"Yeah...it's been awhile," You chose to ignore the subject as best you could, yet it felt so damn difficult when your last relationship was sitting right in front of you, looking beautiful as a joint hung from her lips.

Ellie breathed the smoke through her gritted teeth before snubbing the end of the joint on the brick that sat on the outside walls of the hotel just outside of the open window she was relaxed against.

"So you really don't want to see any one?"

"Can we talk about something else," you huffed out with aggravation, taking Ellie by surprise, making her eyes fill with sorrow.

"Sorry."

"Don't be...", you trailed off for a moment as you took another drink out of your water simply just to give yourself something to do that wasn't sitting in silence. "I'm just sick of people asking me about it,” you shrugged. “Sorry to get pissy with you."

Ellie nodded her head as silence built between the both of you.

The longer you both sat in silence, the higher and higher Ellie felt as her eyes began to alter her perception, her brain began to cloud her judgement, and her filter on her words grew thinner and thinner.

"Do you ever think about us?”, Ellie said with a head tilted backwards and her eyes staring up at the ceiling.

Meanwhile, your lips hesitated as they forgot how to move in time with your tongue. You were finding speaking to me exceptionally difficult when it was a question like that from a person who used to be your everything.

—-

Part 2 coming soon

#ellie williams #tlou2 #tlou #the last of us #ellie fic #ellie the last of us #ellie williams tlou #ellie williams x reader #the last of us part 2 #afterglow #MUNA

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nekohime19 · 1 month ago

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Mini Mac # 55 : Magic lesson

First magic lesson for the cubs!!

“Today is an important day.” Chirped Wukong as he turned towards his children. They were currently just outside the water-curtain cave; the sage spent the last few days making sure every beast roaming on his land knew about his children, and thus knew not to mess with them. As such, he was more at ease with them being outside the cave. He still didn't let them explore the mountain alone, that was a no go.

Savage looked up at him with a wagging tail, she knew what was coming and she couldn't help but be excited about it. Rumble was more excited about the dragonfly buzzing around the waterfall, he kept observing it silently, following each of its movements with rapt attention.

“Today is gonna be your first lesson on magic.” Hummed Wukong. For now, only Savage showed signs of magic but both him and Macaque agreed that it was better to include Rumble in the lessons. Perhaps, he would awaken his own magic later on?

Savage tugged on her brother's arm in excitement, Rumble broke his staring contest with the dragonfly and calmly turned towards Wukong. Now that they were both older, it was the perfect time for lessons, especially since it would be dangerous if Savage kept letting her magic fizzle out without any control whatsoever.

“So magic.” Hummed Wukong. “I want you both to close your eyes.” Both cubs listened to him, even if Savage was still vibrating with palpable excitement. “Do you feel the energy flowing within you?”

“I feel my stomach rumbling.” Chirped Savage. Wukong face-palmed.

“That's not it, bud. You're just hungry.” Snorted the great sage, he gave her a tiny piece of peach that she gobbled down in one go. “What about you, Rum? Do you feel it?”

“I feel warm.” Hummed the lil guy. Well, Wukong could work with that, even if he didn't know if this warmess was due to the mountain's sunny climate or magic.

“There is an energy inside of you.” Resumed Wukong. “That's what you use when you transform, Sav.” Savage perked up at that. “I want you both to concentrate and tune in with this energy. Feel it moving. Changing course. Magic is like a river flowing in your body. It flows. And flows.”

“It's calm.” Mumbled Rumble, at the same time his sister said “It's wild.”

Wukong chuckled, amused. “Magic is different for everyone. It can be as calm as a quiet lake, or as wild as a stormy ocean.” The great sage opened one eye and glanced at his cubs, he could see little sparks dancing around them. For now, it would be great if they accustomed themselves with this energy. Control it.

“Aw, I thought we would learn some spells!” Whined Savage.

“What spells do you want to learn?” Chuckled Wukong.

“Cloud!!” Cheered the lil devil.

“I don't know, clouds are pretty advanced magic…” Savage got up and ran towards him, she pawed at his knees with her lil paws, looking every bit like a kicked puppy. Wukong tried to resist. He really did try. But he couldn't win against her puppy eyes. Who could really? “Alright, okay… Clouds are summoned by magic, whether their answer to your call is another story. What we do is that we ask them to come down by releasing our voices in the winds, remember to be polite, okay? You remember the energy you felt? Try to imbue it in your voice, then release it in the sky with all you can!”

Savage nodded, she tried for a while without success, then finally she let out a loud “Please!” and a tiny stormy cloud descended.

“Your cloud isn't like that, Pa.” Pointed out Rumble, which was true. Nimbus, the cloud he frequently called, was white and fluffy. The cloud that answered Savage’s call was a tiny piece of storm, graying, with rumbling thunder.

“I like it!” Chirped Savage as she pawed at it. The cloud rumbled, as if agreeing, and a tiny bolt fizzled out of it, making her fur puff out. Wukong sweatdropped. Well, that was a cloud alright. The tiny stormy cloud disappeared after a few seconds. “Awww.” Whined Savage.

“You'll be able to summon it longer the more you train.” Hummed Wukong. Savage perked up at that.

The great sage wondered if his daughter would ride on a freaking storm once she would be older. Gods, the mere idea of it was terrifying, but somehow in character.

+ cut scenes

Macaque : Wukong you gotta stop feeding Sav everytime she tells you she's hungry. Snacking is not healthy.😮‍💨

Wukong : but her tiny belly rumbles 🥺

Wukong : Don't tell your dad I let you call a cloud 😅

Savage : 🤐

Rumble : 😐.... If you give me new crayons.

Wukong :... Deal 🤝

Rumble : 🤐

Savage during the lesson : 😆🤩

Rumble during the lesson : 🧐🤔

Ch1 / Previous / Next

#shadowpeach #lmk #lego monkie kid #sun wukong #shadowpeach fanfic #lmk shadowpeach #lmk macaque #mini mac au

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dirtytransmasc · 1 year ago

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u got any hc’s for miles for earth 42 and miles from 1610 interactions? they’re besties to me fr fr

(first few are sorta theories for btsv, the rest are general hc's for their dynamic. these got kinda angsty, oops)

they definitely fight a few times before realizing they can be on the same side of things, Miles 42 being more the aggressor, but Miles 1610 wants to get even each time, cause he's a teenage boy, sue him. its in their moments of weakness that they start to see that they don't have to be enemies. they're also fair fighters, to some point, and fight generally clean, which definalty plays into their bond later on. there was always some level of mutual trust and respect.

its when they reluctantly team up and they get beaten to absolute pulps, and are forced to see each other as not only equals, but kids, both forced into lives they didn't want, or at least positions, they didn't want, that they start to bond.

its the act of picking each other up and dusting each other off that the bond cements, when Miles 1610 sees the kid in Miles 42, the kid that's tired and scared and not entirely there after living life hidden away in the back of his head that makes him extend his trust and his friendship. for Miles 42, its seeing Miles 1610 be so kind and good and trusting and strong, despite being a kid and being scared and tired and hurting, that makes him want to accept Miles' offer of friendship, and in a way, safety.

once they're friends, they're the definition of terror twins, like, generally they're sweethearts when not in combat, but they are capable of so much mischief, oml. and in combat, together, they're down right terrifying.

I totally think they would see each other like twins too, so they have such a brotherly dynamic in my mind. both are technically only children, so at first they're just kinda in this blissful awe of how nice it feels to not be alone in the world, to know they always have a shoulder to lean on, someone to protect them.

definitely both physically affectionate, and both of them have that AuDHD in them, so they spend a lot of their free time justlying in a pile somewhere.

Miles 42 does Miles 1610's hair and helps him with Spanish, in return Miles 1610 helps Miles 42 reconnect with his artistic side that had been buried while he was the prowler.

Miles 1610 sneaks him into HQ all the time, to the point that Miguel just gives the kid his own watch for the sake of his sanity.

it takes a while for Miles 42 to be down with intimacy of any kind, even just stuff like small talk and brushing shoulders, cause he feels like any attempts at connection from anyone is just them looking for a weak spot to use against him. Miles 1610 definitely helped him feel safe by just blabbering on and on about just about anything, making it abundantly clear that he trusted him (42) to keep his 'secrets' safe, and therefore he could trust Miles 1610 to do the same. once he's ok with small talk, they start tackling physical touch, slowly but surely. Miles 1610 is always supportive of him, always trying to understand better so he can be helpful, trying to make his 'twin' feel safe.

Miles 1610 forces Miles 42 to join his friend group, like he is so insistent that Miles 42 just caves. he doesn't regret it.

Miles 1610 is the more emotional protector, making sure Miles 42 feels safe and secure in a give situation and helping him get away and ground when he doesn't. Miles 42 is a physical protector, and he will end anyone who harms a hair on Miles 1610's head.

very competitive, in everything, absolutely everything.

steal from each other all the time, and almost never return the items.

Miles 1610 will indulge in childish things as if they're the norm for kids his age, so that way Miles 42 doesn't feel so ashamed of reliving the parts of childhood he lost.

they're both afraid of thunder and will huddle up under the covers during a storm. (once Miles 1610 has kindled a bond between his mom and especially his dad and Miles 42, they totally climb into their parent's bed, cause they're just big little kids and they want their parents when the thunder starts shaking the house ok? leave them be)

vigilante Miles 42, who tries to be someone Miles 1610 would be proud of, even in his fucked up dimension and with his already fucked up reputation.

they kinda forget they're basically the same person, so they're all ways surprised when the other likes the same thing or has the same habit, etc.

1610; orange cat. 42; black cat. vibes; amazing

it should be so obvious, but they do the good old twin switch every once and a while, sometimes just for shits and giggles to see how long it takes others to notice.

they guilt trip people when they take too long to notice. they don't actually care, they just think its funny.

they make each other more confident. Miles 1610 is less of a people pleaser and does more for himself. Miles 42 feels secure in being selfless and nice and having his own feelings on things.

for some reason, Miles 42 is really good with babies, and Miles 1610 is subpar at best (he's better with little kids, not babies) and they always babysit mayday together.

they're with each other more often than not. especially after migeul just gives up on trying to keep him off of missions, cause it takes more time and effort to do so, especially when he ultimately fails every time.

Miles 42 blackmailed Miguel into apologizing to Miles 1610, while he was already in the process of apologizing... he just wasn't doing enough in Miles's mind, he needed a little push, a little reminder of what would happen to him if he chickened out.

thats all I've got for now, hope you enjoy my brain worms.

#miles morales #miles morales 42 #prowler miles #miles morales 1610 #miles 1610 #miles 42 #atsv #across the spiderverse #spider man: across the spider verse

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coyotescribbles · 23 days ago

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Dead Signal [Chapter 1/?]

*sigh* Did my squirrelly ass cave and add YET ANOTHER WIP to the Eternal Pile?

Yes. Yes I did. Thanks, Finding Frankie.

[CW for suicidal ideation]

~*~

There were a lot of things, Felicity Faustus mused, that had led up to standing in line to buy a bus ticket at three o'clock in the morning.

Like a decade and change spent trying to make it in broadcast media, but never actually going anywhere because they "weren't camera-friendly enough."

Like struggling to stay afloat as rent and bills continued to rise, while they were denied raises time and time again even as less-experienced coworkers advanced ahead of them and their other job applications continued to go unanswered.

Felicity had always been a scrapper - it had gotten them into trouble more times than they could count as a kid - but as the months crept by, they felt the fight leaving them as the proverbial water closed over their head.

They would have been lying if they'd tried to say that they hadn't been tempted to end it all more than a few times. The means to their end were plentiful, and it would have been easy to pick one and make use of it.

They'd just never been able to work up the guts necessary to do it.

Instead, they'd aimlessly gone looking for solace in their favorite cult game show, even as they sank deeper and deeper into despair. But cartoons and livestreamed events weren't much of a life preserver when the rest of their life was falling apart around them.

But then, just as they were teetering on the literal razor's edge, the semi-regular announcement was made that Finding Frankie was looking for another batch of contestants.

Four tapes. Four boxes of cereal.

And maybe, just maybe, Felicity had cracked, just a little bit.

In a fit of mad desperation, they'd run up their last remaining credit card buying cart loads of cereal and then, once that had maxed out, resorted to shoplifting even more cereal than they would ever be able to eat. They were pretty sure that they were on some kind of list for that.

They'd only had to open one, though. Just one, to make sure there was nothing hidden at the bottom. After that point, their kitchen scale had been their best friend, looking for one box that weighed a few ounces more than the rest.

The laser-focused obsession had paid off, after four whole months of diligent (obsessive) searching, when they'd finally scored that coveted VHS tape - and their ticket out of this hole in the wall.

(It had paid off for their neighbors, too. All the unopened boxes got dumped in the run-down "community room" of their slummy little apartment building, and they were always gone by the next afternoon.)

They'd spent half of a breathless, sleepless night tossing and turning after that, their heart hammering like thunder in their ears, before ultimately deciding that it didn't make sense to wait.

(It didn't matter that the show wouldn't be airing for another week, and they had plenty of time. Nothing mattered anymore, why should time?)

They'd rolled out of bed, taken a quick, cold shower and gotten dressed, then stuffed their wallet and cell phone into their thigh bag and their Swiss Army knife into their binder, grabbed their jacket, and hurried downstairs to catch a bus to the Port Authority terminal.

"What can I help you with?" The woman behind the counter sounded as exhausted as she looked.

"Can you tell me when the next bus to Dallas leaves?"

The woman stifled a yawn and turned her attention to her computer monitor, tapping away on the keyboard and squinting at the information that her query brought up. "…Eight-thirty A.M. There are only three seats left, did you want to reserve one?"

"Yes, please."

More tapping, more squinting; maybe she needed to schedule an eye exam, Felicity thought to themself.

"That'll be… Four hundred and sixty dollars and seventy-seven cents."

This time, they had to stifle a groan, fishing their wallet out and handing over their debit card.

It was going to use up most of the pitiful little emergency fund they had left in their checking account, but it didn't matter. None of it mattered anymore - not the money, not the debt, not the job or the apartment or anything. Either they were going to win, and the prize money would make everything right again, or they were going to die, and none of their problems would be their problem anymore.

"Credit or debit?"

"Debit."

More tapping; it felt incessant now.

And then there were signatures to be signed, scrawled barely-legible onto the little OLED tablet screen.

And then the ticket was in their hand.

And, just for a moment, the weight of the world lifted off of their shoulders.

#Finding Frankie #fanfiction #Contestant #Felicity Faustus #Dead Signal (not the game)

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troublesomeknight · 4 months ago

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You know, since it seems people liked my last post about this, I guess I'll do another one about how the Thunder Saga departs from the books.

Now in my last post I mentioned that Elpenor cornered Odysseus while he was in the underworld and asked him to go back to Circe's island and give him a proper burial. So they actually go back and do just that and while they're there, it's Circe who tells Odysseus about Scylla, but also about Charybdis.

Basically she tells him that the only way he was going to get home from here is to pass between them, but the problem is if ship gets too close to Charybdis' whirlpool then it'll get sucked in and destroyed, but if they sail too close to Scylla's cave she will grab at least six of his crew and eat them. She advises to stick closer to Scylla because it's better to lose six people than the whole ship.

Now, here's a thing. Book Odysseus actually objects strongly to this. He understands the alternative is worse, but he's like "Can't we just fight her instead so no one has to die?"

And she's like "No, that's a terrible idea. You won't be able to reach her to fight her. She'll just kill more of your crew if you try."

But Odysseus doesn't entirely listen to this advise. He resolves to try anyway, but once they actually do reach Scylla's cave, he realizes Circe was right and they really can't reach her despite her being able to reach them just fine. So they just gun it past her instead.

As for the sirens, I'm pretty sure most people already know it didn't go like it did in the musical at all, but yeah. They don't kill the sirens, they just sail past them with Odysseus being the only one who can hear them while tied to the mast and all that.

Even though he neglected to warn the crew about Scylla before hand in the book too, this does not start a mutiny, but what does almost start one is when he tries to just sail past Helios's island rather than stopping. Because the crew is tired and Eurylochus insists they should stop there for a bit to recuperate after all that crazy shit they had to deal with plus losing six more people and of course the crew takes his side, so Odysseus reluctantly agrees.

But only on the condition that they all swear an oath that they won't harm Helios's cattle under any circumstances. They agree, so they stop on Helios's island. But then they get stuck there for a whole entire month and the food supplies start to run low again.

At this point Odysseus realizes there will be trouble and leaves for like an hour to go pray to the gods/make sacrifices to try and figure out why they haven't been getting any wind and whether he can convince the gods to let them leave the island before his crew does something stupid.

Unfortunately, while he's gone, Eurylochus decides to convince the rest of the crew that they should just eat the cows.

It'll be fine. They'll just build Helios a temple back in Ithaca once they get home. Surely he'll accept that as an apology, right?

No. No he won't.

In fact Helios goes straight to Zeus and threatens to take the sun into the Underworld if he doesn't punish the mortals who killed his precious cows right this very second. Zeus tells him to calm down and wait until they get back on the ship to leave first, then he'll punish them.

Odysseus comes back to discover the on-going barbecue and is understandably pissed at his crew breaking their oath and dooming them all, but basically no one is listening to him at this point. But finally they have wind, so they decide to leave, having made sacrifices hoping that will stave off the gods' anger for a while. But of course it doesn't.

Zeus does not show up in person like in the musical. He doesn't try to hit Odysseus with some kind of sadistic choice deal. He just hits them with a storm as soon as they're out to sea and destroys the ship with a lightning bolt, killing everyone aboard except Odysseus.

And that's how the events from Thunder Saga happened in the Odyssey. You're welcome.

#epic the musical #epic the thunder saga #the odyssey #greek mythology

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saphirered · 1 year ago

Note

I saw your autumn/winter prompts

It’d be cool for you to do some fluff with Ashton for either cold nights or thunder and lightning

Love your stuff!!!

More prompt requests incoming! 😘

Miserable. This weather feels absolutely miserable. Ashton is uses to the rain and thunder but now it’s fucking cold. Freezing, frigid cold and fuck does it hurt. They can feel it in their bones, their entire body just hurts, more so than usual. The jungle is fine, perfect even. It’s like home. But they’re far from home. The heart in the jungle, lies far beyond sight and perhaps even mind. This fey bullshit is something else entirely and Ashton doesn’t quite like it. The weather seems to hate them especially. If there’s some asshole watching over them making this all happen, he’ll personally see to it that there’s a nice and comfy spot in the earth about six feet under. Fuck.

All of those emotions disappear though. A burst of light illuminates the skies and with it your face. You look up at the sky and admire the tendrils flash before the disappear as quickly as they came. You’re a beautiful sight- It is a beautiful sight. Fuck. You’re beautiful. They’re in deep. Once upon a time Ashton thought this was fun while it lasted. A little teasing and flirting never hurt anybody but the line had blurred a long time ago. Ashton caught feelings and it’s very few times they’re unsure about anything. Your lips move but your voice is drowned out by the sound of crashing thunder.

“Hah?!” Ashton leans in closer to hear as the ground shakes once more.

“I said we should find some shelter!” You all but shout pointing at the sky and take their hand. So much for venturing off on your own and having a little voyage ‘back in an hour’. You hope the others have the mind to find shelter too. You send them a message just in case as you pull the genasi along through the trees and rocks until you stumble upon a cave. You’re not taking any risks and the lightning is getting closer. From here you’d be safe with cover, and still able to witness nature in all it’s grandeur.

Letting himself be dragged along Ashton isn’t opposed to the shelter you’ve found because with his track record he wouldn’t put it behind any mischievous fey to set the gold in those cracks to attract the lightning. On the other side they too are a little curious to see what would happen… Maybe another time. Ashton curls and uncurls their fingers, rotates their wrists when you let go and take a look out at the oncoming clouds hiding the moonlight, or dusk-light should be more appropriate. You stay at the mouth of the cave to watch another rumble hit the earth in a cacophony and the lightning, quick as it passes makes this cave all the darker. Ashton can’t see shit and in an attempt to find a wall loses their footing. A crack, that’s luckily hidden by thunder saves most of the hit to his pride. But then fire glow appears in the palm of your hand.

“Why are you on the ground?” You hide a chuckle as you watch Ashton give up on, life, existence, everything laying on their back, legs bent at the knees and groan.

“I just wanted to be one with my element.” They speak as casually as they can but your brow furrows and you take a tentative step closer, and another and another. You kneel down and help Ashton sit up. Groans are not just a casual annoyance at this place, but something of discomfort. You caught on. Shit.

“I can give you two a moment if you’d prefer but I don’t think that’ll do you much good.”

“There’s room for one more. Plenty of the earth to go around.” Ashton jokes.

“I was hoping there’d be plenty of you but I can settle for the rocks beneath my feet.” You jest and Ashton scoffs though the attitude is quick to slip when your arm hand touches their back. Even through their jacket, the warmth offers such a relief. “You doing okay?” Again your brow furrows.

“Yeah. Yeah sure.” And so the comfort disappears. You pull back and just sit on your knees, hands gathered in your lap. Disapproval crosses your features.

“Sure.” You deadpan and grab onto Ashton’s wrist, uncurling the fingers gently and clasping his hand between yours. You bring it to your lips and blow warm air. It doesn’t take much to see the instant relief cross their features.

“Okay maybe I’m not entirely okay.” The look you give them is much akin to ‘ya think?’ and it hurts to admit to the way it makes Ashton feel inside. Then your features soften. You look out towards, the oncoming storm, to the lightning reaching out, and the wind rustling through the trees picking up.

“Sit with me.” You simply say. It’s not quite a question as much as it is an order and Ashton does feel like they have a choice. It’s just a very tempting one despite their disdain for authority and following orders. You shift from your knees until you’re comfortable, looking out over the horizon. Everything seems so much easier when he looks at you. Everything is. You make it so because any doubt falls away. Ashton knows they’re on the right path because you’re there and as long as you walk it with them they’ll keep walking with you.

Ashton shifts and sits next to you. He bumps your shoulder with his. You chuckle and bump back, though much likes the rock around, they don’t budge. The cold pain creeps up again and almost as if you know exactly what to do, you wrap an arm around their back, slipping your fingers under the jacket and lean your head on their shoulder. Just your sheer presence, and a little magic manages to numb the pain and that’s more than Ashton can say the majority of people they’ve had in their life have ever been able to do.

“You’re so fucking confusing.” Ashton speaks before they think.

“Wow, so much affection.” You scoff but pull closer.

“You are.” Ashton doubles down. “You’re a fucking disaster waiting to happen.”

“But I’m your disaster.” You poke a finger at his chest.

“Are you?” Again, speaking before thinking but that seems to be the right track. You take a deep sigh and Ashton’s heart stops, their breath stops. Time stops. There’s not but anticipation, both joy and dread loom overhead and they’re just stupid fucking feelings because end of the day you’re just you and you’re fucking amazing. That’s what you are. You’re fucking amazing.

“I don’t know. Am I?” The both of you look at another lightning bolt striking close by. Ashton gives it a moment, letting the trembles of the earth fade and the light too, not but the dim orb behind the two of you offering the littlest of light.

“Maybe you are. If you think you can handle it.” He looks down nudging your head from his shoulder.

“First off, rude-“

“You’re the one using my shoulder as pillow, find a rock or something.”

“Maybe I will.”

“Will you now?”

“Yeah. A nice and comfy one.” You’re unreadable. That’s dangerous. Next Ashton knows you’re on your knees at their side, back facing the exit of the cave, your warmth has disappeared from their back but settles on their shoulders. It takes everything to not lean into the touch. Not that they have to because you lean closer.

“This one seems plenty comfortable.” You close the gap, press your lips to Ashton’s. While you’ve shared your flirty kisses before they were just that. This kiss is different. This kiss is a lifetime unfolding however long it might last. This moment is as bright and beautiful as the flashes beyond the cover. You’re like a warm fire in the cold dead night and are simply a relief. You’re a certainty in their life when they have known so little. This might not be eternity but this is certain. You’re certain because you’re just fucking you and that’s all you’d ever need to be. Cover from a thunderstorm isn’t so bad out here.

#critical role x reader #bells hells x reader #ashton greymoore x reader #ashton x reader #bells hells #critical role #critical role fanfiction #ashton greymoore

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i-think-i-did-it-again · 1 year ago

Text

The Tour VI

Warning: swearing, smut

There was no doubt in Colson’s mind that he wanted you, that he needed you. I had filled his mind with desire and it had absolutely nothing to do with fact that you left him, cock wet and ready for you. He spent the whole concert thinking of your lips wrapped around his dick, so lost in the memory he missed the cue twice to ‘Jawbreaker’. It wasn’t just your dirty mouth that was playing on his mind though. It was your scent, your soft skin, your smile as you walked away from him, the attitude. The way you blushed when you were embarrassed. He couldn’t stop thinking about you and this wasn’t the first time you swam around his mind like a lake.

Flashback

It was the middle of winter but of course being LA, it never usually got too cold, but for some reason that year it’d rained for 2 days. No one was really accustomed to bad weather so when a bad thunderstorm hit while you were all partying in Colson’s backyard, everyone just stood there for a second staring up at the sky before running inside. Except you.

You looked up at the sky, smile on your lips, rain battering your skin and that’s when Colson had spotted you. You looked so peaceful that he’d had to join you. He stood beside you and looked up at the sky, letting the rain drench his hair and his clothes.

“Close your eyes,” you’d whispered, barely audible above the rain and the thunder.

He followed your instruction and scrunched his eyes closed. The sound of the rain filled his ears, the occasional clap of thunder breaking through. The cold droplets left goosebumps on his skin but he was so aware of you beside him. He could feel the heat radiating off your skin, the electricity in the air between you.

You hadn’t been hanging out with the group long by that point and you were still trying to get a read on Colson. Sure he was this international superstar but who was he when there were no cameras, no fans, no fame. He’d seemed kind, goofy and a lot of fun to be around but you’d sensed a darkness in him. Just below the surface. You weren’t scared of him but scared for him. He seemed unhappy underneath it all but as you stood there standing in the rain, you felt that tug for the first time and so had he.

Present day

When Colson came off stage, he couldn’t help but search for you, your red lipstick still in place. The sight of your full lips made his dick throb and he had to adjust his jeans to hide his growing hard on. He doesn’t say much to anyone, just sits in the green room listening to everyone’s conversations, your voice in particular. You’re mumbling to Ashleigh about a guy that had hit on you backstage and Colson immediately sees red.

How fucking dare they. She had her lips around my dick 2 hours ago so they can fuck off.

“Hey Ash…” Rook grins at her from across the room and her eyes immediately narrow.

“What Rook?” she asks cautiously, folding her arms across her chest.

“I know you said no partying and we had to get straight on the bus but…can we please just hit up one club?” he begged her, hands held together in a prayer motion.

“Rook-” she starts but you cut her off before she can answer.

“It would be good for PR,” you point out and she scowls at you.

“You’re meant to be on my side,” she whispers but you just smile sweetly at her and she caves. “Fine! But you all better swear that your asses will be on that bus by 2am at the latest!”

Everyone was quickly on their feet, heading back to the hotel to shower and change. You made no attempt to move and neither did Colson. He eyed you a pure look of lust that turned your insides to mush. You hadn’t been oblivious to the hard on he was carrying around every time he looked at you. It made you feel sexy, wanted. You smirked at him and rose to your feet, being sure to swing your hips as you walked away.

“I’m going to fuck you again, and this time you won’t be able to walk for a week,” he called after you as you strolled down the hallway and your entire body shook with his words.

Not if I have anything to say about it.

Everyone made a plan to meet in the lobby to head to a nightclub together. You decided to join tonight, whether Colson came or not. You changed into a black mini dress, with spaghetti straps and a slit resting midway up your thigh. You had bought it on a whim when you last went shopping with Sophie and never actually planned to wear it but a night in Vegas with your best friends seemed like the perfect time. You paired it with white tube socks and chunky knock off Chanel loafers. You named the outfit your ‘Rachel Green’. You reapplied some more red lipstick and added some more contour and soft blush to your cheeks.

When you step into the elevator, you’re glad to be alone. You press the button for the lobby and just as the doors are about to close, a hand snakes its way in to stop them. You immediately notice the tattoos as the doors begin to part and staring down at you is a very unamused Colson. His eyes fill with lust as he takes in your outfit, practically bulging out of his head.

“You can’t fucking wear that!” he barks at you between clenched teeth.

Who the fuck died and made him king?

“I’m pretty sure I can but,” you twirl around, sticking your butt out, pretending to search for something wrong with the dress, “unless there’s a mark on it I don’t know about.” You smile sweetly at him.

He bangs his hand against the emergency stop button and slams you against the wall. His lips are on your neck in a second, licking, kissing, devouring. You’re so blown away by his reaction that you stand there in stunned silence for a few seconds before regaining control. You push him away and fix your dress.

“Would you make up your fucking mind?!” you screech at him, your voice reverberating off the walls in the enclosed space.

“What do you mean?” he asks, still panting, his erection on full display in his tight jeans.

“One minute you’re all over me and the next you won’t even look at me or fucking talk to me! Your mood swings are giving me whiplash and I’m fucking over it!”

He stares at you for a few moments, the silence hanging between you as his breathing settles. He turns and hits the emergency stop button again, the elevator beginning to descend again. You’re not sure if you’re angry or hurt by his silence but whatever the emotion, it hangs heavy on your chest.

You don’t realise but behind Colson’s eyes wages a war in his mind. He wants to tell you exactly what he wants. Every dirty, messed up detail of exactly what he wants from you but his chest tightens every time he thinks of saying it out loud. To him, there is a difference between physical attraction and romantic attraction and he’s not sure exactly what you feel for him right now. When you had sex, it was the most mind blowing sex he’d ever had but as soon as you left the bed, his mind was encapsulated by dark thoughts. He’s done the fuck buddy thing before and it ended, messily. He’s done the relationship thing before and it ended, messily. His chest still aches with the rejection he’d felt. Yet, he can’t help but think that you’re different. He’s different when he’s around you.

“I-I want you,” he whispers just as the doors open and he steps into the lobby and you’re left standing there, heart in your throat and jaw on the floor.

#colson baker #machine gun kelly #mgk #tickets to my downfall #mgk imagine #ttmdf #colson x reader #colson baker imagine #machine gun kelly imagine #mgk x reader #mgk smut #mgk fanfic #colson baker smut #colson baker x reader

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the-greatest-magic-of-all · 1 year ago

Text

Frightful Snow & Delightful Fire

○ fandom: fantasy high

○ main pairing: fabriz (fabian x riz)

○ characters: fabian | riz

○ genre/warnings: fluff and a bit of hurt/comfort

○ word count: 7,454

→ summary: Lost in a blizzard and separated from the rest of the party, Fabian does his best to keep Riz safe while trudging through snowbanks until he happens upon a lonely cottage...

○ note: y'all this was supposed to be short. I hope you enjoy it though!

White.

That’s all Fabian could see.

For miles and miles, all around, as he trudged through banks of snow across the mountainside despite the fall of night. In his mind, thoughts raced about, weaving in and out of the forefront of it like waves lapping at a shore.

Most were complaints and grievances over the chill seeping into his bones. The pieces of snow sneaked into his boots when one slipped deeper than expected into the heaps of snow. There was one thought that never left, though. That he kept repeating endlessly, like a broken record.

A prayer.

One to any deity that would listen.

To Cassandra.

To Helio or Sol.

Anyone.

A desperate plea for a sign, no matter how slight, that he was heading the right way.

He’d been sure of it back when he and Riz had first escaped the abyssal cultists’ sanctum. Stumbling out of a secret passage and into the harsh cold of an unforeseen blizzard, they’d only had seconds to decide before they either froze or got caught.

As thunderous, frosty winds buffeted their bodies and bellowed in their ears, they bickered about their next move. Seeing as splitting up hadn’t been the Bad Kids’ plan going in. But, then again, when had any of their plans ever gone off without a hitch? At least they’d had enough shrewdness to set a rendezvous point at The Last Boulder Inn in the Dwarven village they’d set out from last.

“We didn’t account for not being able to get to the rendezvous point, did we?” Riz yelled over the wind, clutching the artifact they’d stolen (An ancient tome of some kind, don’t ask him.) close to his chest, shielding it from the blizzard the best he could.

Faint shouts began to stir from the tunnel behind them, interrupting any quip Fabian could’ve shot back. Barkings of orders in Infernal—no, he’s heard The Hangman and Gorthalax speak it too many times—in Abyssal. And they were growing louder and louder despite the wind doing its best to drown them out. The cultists. Both of their eyes widened as they looked at the closed secret door, back at each other, and then all around.

Fabian soon realized that even at his height he couldn’t find any substantial path. So, he turned to Riz and said, “Get on my shoulders, see if you can spot a path or a-a cave or, or, or something!”

Passing off the tome to him, Riz scaled Fabian with practiced ease. Only thrown off slightly by the force of the winds, but he got up there nonetheless. The cultists’ cries of anger grew in volume in the panicked yet empty moments of searching.

“There!” Riz shouted from above, sticking out a gloved hand toward something Fabian couldn’t see. “There’s a cabin about a mile, maybe two away from here. We can make it. I know we can.”

“Well, you’re not making it anywhere. Take this,” Fabian shoved the tome back into Riz’s arms before he dropped to one knee. Slinging his backpack off of his shoulders. Zipping it open, he presented the open compartment to Riz. “And get in.”

Riz’s eyes went wide. “But—”

“In this sort of weather, the safest place for you and that book to be is in my backpack.” He said, desperation tinging what authority he tried to have in this moment. “The Ball, your tiny legs aren’t going to be able to keep up with me. Not in snow this deep and gales this strong. Get. In.”

Riz stared at the bag with a scowl before he let out a hiss and shoved his briefcase in the bag before getting in himself. “You’re heading due east, okay? Due. East. With all the ridges and slopes, it’s gonna feel like you’re going the wrong way but I promise you aren’t.” And a second before Fabian zipped it up after him, Riz poked his head out and said, “Oh, and remember—”

“Three pats on my bag if I’m going to open it because if I don’t you’ll shoot me.”

Riz grinned wide, his eyes sparkling. “Best Friends.”

“That’s quite enough out of you.” With a pointed zip of his bag, Fabian hauled his backpack onto his shoulders. Taking a deep breath, he took a glance at Riz’s compass, due northeast, before setting off.

That must’ve been an hour ago.

Maybe longer.

He’d lost sensation in his nose, ears, and cheeks about fifteen minutes in, which was a blessing in some ways. No longer having to endure how the blizzard’s winds whipped and lashed against them. Such strong gusts that a stray thought settled in the back of Fabian’s mind of clothes torn by icy currents and boots rent by frozen snow.

About twenty minutes in, his fingers had gone numb as well, even with his gloved hands. More of a bane than the others, he’d been shaking so badly that, at some point, he’d dropped Riz’s compass. But he couldn’t stop to look for it. He couldn’t stop at all. Because if he did, he wouldn’t start again and if he didn’t start moving again…

Well, best not to think too hard about it. All he had to do was keep moving in the direction Riz had told him to. He’d said there was a cabin, so there must be a cabin. Fabian just has to make it there.

So, he kept trudging. One step after another. Through the mountainside, half frozen, enduring Constitution saving throw after saving throw. Making each one by the skin of his teeth. He crossed his fingers that Riz was as successful as he, though he didn’t know many Rogues with high Constitution scores.

At that thought, he faltered in his strenuous stride. In the crook of two hills whose sides rose well above his head, blocking his vision from anything but the bright grey sky. He stopped. Yelling was a pointless thing to do in a blizzard as severe as this one turned out to be, but Fabian had no other choice. He wouldn’t risk slinging his bag off of his shoulder and opening it up.

One, because he’s semi-convinced that his backpack has frozen to his thick jacket and he couldn’t take it off even if he wanted to. And two, exposing Riz to this cold would certainly finish him off if the failed saving throws hadn’t.

Yelling it was then.

“The Ball?”

No response. He didn’t yell as loud as he could’ve. So, Fabian tried again.

“The Ball!”

The howling wind swirling around him seemed oh so much fiercer and vociferous in the absence of a response. Even faster than it had been beating already, Fabian’s heart picked up speed.

“Riz!” Fabian shouted behind him, his voice shaking. “Riz, talk to me!”

A beat of silence, of stillness. Not that of a calming lake or the morning after winter’s first snow but the silence and stillness of a long-dead corpse. Another beat. And another. It’s only when fear spiked in Fabian’s heart and he jolted his backpack around, trying to get it off, that Riz’s voice reached his ears. Barely making it over the wind.

“I’m fine,” Came Riz’s voice, muffled and weak. Fabian could almost cry at the sound of it. “Just keep going, I’m… fine. We’re almost there, right?”

“Of course, we are.” He lied, his proud voice ringing out into the night because what else could he have said? ‘No, he’s starting to think he’s been walking in circles and that they’re going to freeze to death in the Mountains of Chaos’. Don’t be stupid. “I can see the cottage now. We’ll be out of the cold in no time at all.”

“Told ya. K-knew you could do it.”

Oh.

An epiphany struck him like a well-packed snowball to the face.

He’d thought that if he stopped in all this frost and fury he’d never get himself moving again. But after that, how could he have ever not started moving again?

Gazing up the snowy hill before him, the steepest he’d encountered yet, he resettled Riz on his back, took a deep breath of sharp, frigid air, and set off once more.

Reinvigorated by Riz’s conviction in him, Fabian began climbing up the side of the icy hill. He caught himself several times, seconds before he slipped and fell. Wondering if this is what Kristen meant about all that “As Above, So Below” Cleric business. How her faith, even as a single mortal, was enough to revitalize an entire deity. Simply because she wholeheartedly, unshakably believed in them.

Cresting the hill’s peak, he found not only a plateauing terrain and a sparse grove of evergreens but also a dark, ramshackle, old cottage. As he took in the sight of a sanctuary, Fabian knew he would never underestimate the power of belief. Or perhaps he’d never underestimate the power of Riz Gukgak.

It took three good shoves to burst through the cottage’s frozen door and another to get to shut it again.

Slumped with his shoulder still pressed to the door, Fabian’s laboured pants echoed out in the quiet of the stone cottage. The howls and groans of the blizzard still rang in his ears despite how muted they sounded now. As he inhaled and exhaled ever-shaky breaths, his eyes scanned the place.

Dusty.

Everything in the cottage was covered in a thick layer of dust and dirt. In the center of the wall to his left was a sizable fireplace that looked like it hadn’t been lit in forever. A frightful-looking bed sat in the far corner. Made up of only a thin mattress, a threadbare blanket and a pillow. Which only left the tiny kitchen beside him on his right that spiders had long since colonized. Oh, and a crotchety chair that sat lonely at a rickety table next to it.

Whoever had lived here, had lived alone. But they didn’t anymore, live here that is. Not for many months, probably.

No pissed-off homeowners to run into then. A small blessing.

Alright. No rest for the wicked.

Pushing off of the door with a wince at his aching muscles, Fabian stalked toward the center of the cottage near the fireplace. Beginning the process of detaching his backpack from his back. As gently as he could, he placed his bag down next to the unlit hearth and collapsed into a heap beside it.

Giving the side of the bag the three pats required to signal safety to Riz, he buried his numb face in his numb hands and groaned.

“Ugh, remind me to never go mountaineering again, The Ball. Never again. I swear I had a more pleasurable time trekking through a literal Nightmare Forest than I just did through all that fucking snow. This book better be worth it or I solemnly swear to throw Adaine and her high Arcana checks off the nearest cliff. You hear me, The Ball! Off a very steep, very snowy cliff! Like to see her Portents save her from that. Ha-ha!”

The beat of silence that came after Fabian’s little rant stretched on for far longer than he thought it would. The acute quiet, well, disquieted him. Made his stomach churn and chest tighten. He had good reason to be anxious right now. They’d almost frozen to death in a blizzard and got separated from their friends. Oh, if the rest of the Bad Kids were here, perhaps this wouldn’t feel so bad.

“Do you think she and the others made it out alright? I mean, I have no doubt that Gorgug had those weird cultists handled with his axe and Kristen has all her anti-evil Cleric spells but… Adaine or Fig would’ve messaged one of us if something went really wrong, right? Of course. Of course, they would’ve. So if they haven’t that means they’re fine. Hopefully, all this blizzard shit will let up in the morning and we’ll all make it to that inn in one piece. If not…well, if not…”

Another beat of silence.

“The Ball? Isn’t this where you chime in with one of your numerous and lengthy backup plans?”

Fabian turned around and peered at his now unsettlingly still backpack. He called out again, “Riz?”

Crawling over to it, already flinching away just in case a stray bullet flew out, he hesitantly zipped his backpack open.

Fabian gasped.

Riz’s body trembled as his tail curled up around the tome. His eyes were closed tight while one hand gripped his gun, his fingers having long turned blue. Almost every inch of his visible soft green skin was tinged an icy blue, including his tightly wound tail. He’d failed nearly every Constitution saving throw, taking on exhaustion fivefold.

Worse yet, he’s still making them.

One more failure and he’d—

Fabian bolted to his feet, his heart racing once more.

How should he fix this? What could he do? He wasn’t a high enough level Bard yet to be able to cast Greater Restoration and even if he was, he could only feasibly remove a single level of exhaustion. If he couldn’t remove them… then the only thing to do was prevent Riz from getting his sixth and final level.

Steeling himself with a breath and a look at a freezing Riz, who always believed in him so fiercely, Fabian was prepared to do anything and everything to save him.

Quicker than he thought he could with sensationless fingers, he unbuttoned and ripped off his thick, fur jacket. Uncovering his battle sheet. Thanks to the carefully wrapped Elven silk, heated by his inner fire elemental, he’d been making all those Con saving throws with advantage. Riz needed it much more than he did right now.

Ignoring how the chill of the cottage raised goosebumps on his exposed arms and caused shivers down his spine, Fabian got to work. Scooping Riz out of the backpack and into his arms, he felt like a block of ice. And once Fabian pulled him closer, the soft chattering of teeth reached his ears. He didn’t have much time till the next saving throw arrived.

A precious moment or two was spent prying the thick tome and arquebus out of Riz’s hands. Fabian’s voice softened to a croon as he did, “Come on, Riz. I promise nothing bad will happen to them if you let go. Everything’s okay. You’re safe.”

Eventually, thankfully, Riz’s grip loosened enough to slip the two items out of it. Setting them aside, Fabian got to work unsheathing his Sword of Shadows and swathing Riz in his battle sheet. The motions had a strange familiarity to them.

Bringing him back to a moment of relief within a lengthy battle as rain poured down on them and he held an unconscious Riz in his arms. Just as he’s doing now. His face had been more relaxed back then, instead being tensed and scrunched up in distress. Though, as he finished wrapping him up, Riz’s furrowed eyebrows and curled lips eased as the sheet’s warmth sank into him.

Fabian had almost lost him that day too. Only time would tell if they’d be as fortunate as they were that day to cheat death once more. But, watching Riz sigh and nuzzle into the fabric of the sheet, his boyish charm making a heartening return to his face, their chances looked promising.

Now that he had a warming Riz in his arms, Fabian almost placed him back on the ground. Ready to get to work on a fire when a stray memory of one of Sandra Lynn’s survival lectures stopped him. Something about never sleeping on cold, bare ground. Glancing down at the grungy, creaky floorboards, his nose wrinkled. Yeah, no, he wouldn’t want to rest his sheet down there, let alone Riz.

With a bit of maneuvering, Fabian managed to keep Riz in his arms as he nudged their stuff away from the front of the fireplace and he dragged the ragged mattress from the bed to place it there instead. Giving the old thing a couple of hits to get the dust off of them. He only succeeded in sending whatever foul substance blanketing it into the air.

One coughing fit later, he laid Riz down on the mattress, resting his head on the worn pillow and covering him in the blanket. Which in practice seemed to be just the suggestion of one and provided almost no actual warmth.

Well, it’s the thought that counts.

Nodding once at the sight, he rose to his feet and set out to start a fire in the hearth. Or rather, convince his inner fire elemental to light some logs ablaze. Whatever you wanted to call it, it’s about to get real warm in here real quick. Rubbing his hands together with a tiny smirk, he glanced around the fireplace for logs to burn.

Strange.

There don’t appear to be any logs stacked near the fireplace’s rack. None under the bed. Or resting against the sides of the web-bedecked kitchen counters.

There don’t seem to be any logs… anywhere in the cottage.

Right, nobody has lived here for a long time.

No person. No logs. No fire.

Cool, cool, cool.

That’s fine.

Fabian just needs to… to…

To…

By the Seven Winds and Jane Wren’s blade, this is hopeless.

Look, Fabian has never ever claimed to be the Smart Bad Kid. Adaine and The Ball had that on lock! Not the wisest either, Kristen and, surprisingly, Gorgug could take that medal. And hell! Fig had enough wit and cleverness to sink a galleon.

Figuring stuff out, remembering and recalling information, none of that was Fabian’s job. His job was to deal stupid amounts of damage, prance about with his sheet dealing out bardics and imposing disadvantage when needed, and, finally, to look hot.

That’s about it.

His Intelligence and Wisdom checks have rarely gone well and even when they did, even when he oh so desperately wanted to be the smart one, he could never beat out his friends’ rolls. And, ultimately, he’s fine with it because that’s not his job.

But right now, it is.

And worse, he needs to be good at it.

So, he dug the heels of his palms into his eyes and tried to come up with a solution for his crisis.

There’s no firewood in the cottage. He needs to find some or else Riz will freeze to death. Where does one get firewood? If they were back in Solace, he’d assume that there was a hardware store, one that the Thistlesprings surely patronaged, that sold the stuff. But they’re deep in the Mountains of Chaos and the closest town is too far away to go just for firewood. The previous owner must’ve gotten it themself, which means that… that…

Wait.

A shed!

When he had booked it over to the cottage, he hadn’t paid it any mind, but there had been another structure attached to it. Surely, if the previous owner had to have cut down the trees themself, they would have needed somewhere to put all that lumber! Yes, yes, that’s it!

Throwing on his thick coat and his gloves, he checked on Riz one last time before venturing back into the blizzard. He wasn’t quite the ice block he’d been before, but he was still much too cold for his liking. Ruffling Riz’s wild mane of waves and tucking him a little tighter in the sheet, Fabian went to search for firewood.

As he stepped out, all at once, every ounce of cold he’d shaken off once he stumbled into the cottage returned. Tenfold even, now that he didn’t have his battle sheet to keep him warm. It was like walking straight into a brick wall of frost and harsh winds. None of that discouraged him, though.

Raising a hand to block what little he could of the storm from his face, he trudged through the compounding snow. A gloved hand followed the rough stone exterior walls around the length of the cottage. Until he turned the corner and saw it. The shed wasn’t that big, which is likely why he discredited it at first glance, but it was plenty big enough to hold lumber.

Like the cottage’s front door, it took a few good jerks to yank one of the shed’s double doors open and shut, but only halfway. It would have to do, he wasn’t planning on staying long. Wrapping his arms around himself to preserve what little warmth he had left, Fabian hummed an old sea shanty as he did a once-over of the shed.

Good news: Amongst the lingering dirt and dust, sat bags of kindling and heaps of hefty logs were stacked on a sturdy, metal rack. More than enough for the night they’d be spending here.

Bad news: None of the logs lined up along the wall had been chopped small enough to fit in the fireplace. Fabian didn’t know a lot about survival tactics but all the logs he’d ever seen used in fireplaces were chopped into quarters or eighths. Not one big log.

Promising news: There’s a perfectly good axe nearby to chop those logs into the smaller pieces he needed.

Horrifying news: It’s clutched in the hands of a corpse.

Collapsed in a corner of the shed was what he could only assume was the cottage’s previous owner.

Almost jumping out of his skin, Fabian’s scream went muffled by the raging blizzard as he leapt a foot into the air at the sight. It was too cold for there to be a smell coming from it, but he covered his face anyway. Pressed up against the wall opposite it, he stilled. Controlling his panicked breaths the best he could. He’d dealt with the undead too many times not to have a healthy suspicion of “dead” bodies.

When it’d become apparent that no one was rolling for initiative, his shoulders relaxed. Pushing off of the wall, he crept over to the body. It’d been lying on the ground, curled up around the axe, next to a chopping block. Frozen despite the thick coat wrapped around them.

Riz would’ve probably inched closer to reveal the body’s face currently covered by a large hood, but Fabian couldn’t stomach it. Instead, he focused on the axe, careful to avoid touching the corpse as he took hold of the handle. Try as he might, his mild tugs weren’t enough to wrench it from the body.

Deep sigh.

His grip on the axe tightened. Already wincing at the act of disrespecting the dead. Counting down from ten, when he reached one he yanked the axe free. The sickening crunch of frozen bones breaking that sounded out into the quiet of the shed would haunt him for years.

Turning away from the body, Fabian dragged the axe behind him as he shuffled over to the rack for a bunch of logs. Settling one on the chopping block with a steading breath. Adjusting his hold on the throat and shoulder of the axe, he mimicked the stance he’d seen Gorgug take thousands of times now.

Drawing on every ounce of his strength, he heaved the axe up, his eyes never leaving the center of the log, and brought it down. Splitting the log in two.

The repetitive motions were soothing. In their own way. Even as his muscles began to ache and scream for a break. And even as the chill of the Mountains drained his energy. His mind found comfort in the raising and falling of the axe’s blade and the splitting of wood. It was like trudging through the snow. He didn’t know how far he had to walk; he didn’t know how many logs he’d have to chop. But he kept going anyway.

Fabian’s rhythm finally halted once the axe’s blade sunk so deep into the block that pure momentum wasn’t enough for him to be able to lift it again. Everything he’d been ignoring in favour of chopping hit him all at once. The sting of overworked muscles. The stiffness of his frame. The level of exhaustion.

Crumpling around the axe and onto the chopping block, a stray thought of falling asleep sounded like such a brilliant idea. Right here. Right now. He’d bring the firewood in afterwards. Just for a few minutes. Fabian’s heavy eyelids threatened to shut and stay that way for longer than he’d like. But not before his eyes landed on the corpse. Frozen to death in a crumpled pile in a shed in the middle of nowhere.

No.

That’s not how he’s going to go.

And besides, there’s a freezing Goblin inside who needs him.

Gritting his teeth, ignoring soreness and shaking limbs, Fabian brought himself to his feet. It took a good, solid minute but he eventually got there. Leaning heavily on the upright axe handle, he took a moment to take in just how many logs he’d chopped. The floor of the shed was absolutely covered in them. His eyes widened.

Okay, he’d kind of, maybe overdid it. By a lot.

Holy shit this is so much firewood.

Sheepish, Fabian gathered as much as could in the old, leather firewood carrier, along with a bundle of kindling,. Putting the rest up on the rack before heading back to the cottage.

With a noisy thump, he plopped the carrier and himself down next to the hearth. Unable to ignore how Riz didn’t flinch at its suddenness and volume. He got right to work.

Fabian could feel the palpable judgement from all the rangers and druids he knew as he built the fire. Deciding on something akin to a Jenga tower with the kindling on top. Sitting back, he stared at the logs. A deep frown on his face as he weighed the pros and cons of starting over again before shrugging and summoning his fire elemental.

After that fateful Spring Break, he and his elemental, whom he’d named Nar, had become quite the magical guinea pig for all of the Wizards he knew. Unable to stand the arcane anomaly laid before their inquisitive (read: nosy) minds.

Between Adaine, Aelwen, Ayda, and Zayne, they’d come to a peculiar arcane conclusion. You see, when he’d kissed Nar in Fallinel and swallowed that mote of fire, he’d become a material component of sorts.

Apparently, motes of elemental energy are usually only placed in expensive jewels. Thus becoming an Elemental Gem capable of casting Conjure Elemental. Which would make him the Half-Elven version of it, except better since the Gems are only one use. Or something like that. Fabian had only ever understood that much of their arcane babbling before zoning out.

To him, the academic reasons behind the source of his bardic power never mattered. Much to his Wizard friends’ exasperation. No, what mattered was how he felt and wanted other people to feel, and from there, his magic flowed into the world.

Knowing how freaked out Kalina made Kristen, he’d wanted her to feel every bit the hero she was when he cast Heroism on her. Whenever he cast Faerie Fire, it focused on his want, his need, to see what could potentially harm his friends. Fig had even once described his bardic inspirations as a surging seaside campfire after being shipwrecked. Hopeful and heartening in the face of overwhelming odds. While hers were more like a galvanizing jolt of pure hell-fiery rock n’ roll.

Whenever his Wizard friends had wanted him to conjure his elemental, he always went back to the moment when he summoned it forth for the first time. A time when he wanted nothing more than to protect his friends and keep them safe. More specifically, keeping Riz safe.

This must be why when he tried to summon it, wanting nothing more than to protect his best friend from the cold, Nar appeared quicker than it ever had.

In a rush of flames erupting from his sheet, Nar sprung to life in its sleek Elven shape of roiling flames. Immediately, it curled around Riz’s unconscious form. Adjusting the sheet around him before cupping his face and kissing his forehead.

A small spark of jealousy flared in Fabian’s chest as he rolled his eyes at his elemental’s cooing and doting.

Audibly clearing his throat so that Nar would pay attention to him, he gave a pointed nod at the fireplace. “Alright. If you’re quite finished with your little love fest over there, you have a job to do.”

Crossing its arms, Nar reluctantly left Riz’s side, not before one of their slender hands gave his curls one last ruffle. Without another word from Fabian, it dove into the hearth’s opening. Encompassing the stack of firewood and setting them ablaze. A tidal wave of heat crashed over him, almost to the point of pain against his icy, numb face.

Nar flowed out of the swelling fire to come to stand in front of Fabian, looking quite satisfied with itself. Rolling his eyes, Fabian gave it an obligatory round of claps, to which it did a ballerina’s curtsy before disappearing into his battlesheet.

Just as Fabian shook his head with a fond smile on his lips at his elemental’s dramatics, wondering where in Spyre it could’ve gotten that from, a small sigh pricked up his ears.

Whipping around just in time to watch as Riz sluggishly woke up. His eyelids opened to reveal golden gems, usually keen and hyperacute, now left hazy and weary by his levels of exhaustion. Yet they opened all the same.

“Riz!” Fabian’s heart leapt in his chest as he pulled the mattress closer to him and the fireplace.

“F’bian?” Riz murmured, looking like he was caught between wanting to curl up into the sheet further and sitting up to talk to him.

With a gentle hand placed on the center of Riz’s chest, Fabian guided him back to lying down. Maneuvering himself to sit behind the mattress and slightly above Riz. As not to force him to strain as they spoke.

Brushing a rebellious curl out of Riz’s sleepy face, Fabian said, “Yes, it’s me. How are you feeling?”

Riz heaved a shaky sigh, and Fabian’s heart skipped a beat as Riz leaned into the hand that’d lingered near his face. “Tired. I don’t think I’ve ever been this tired.”

“And I’ve seen you not sleep for a month.”

Riz smiled at that memory. “Hehe, yeah, gotta be a record right?”

Yeah, Fabian’s memory of that whole ordeal was less fond.

It’d been over the summer last year, and Riz had gone into “deep cover” again. Only for Fabian to find him perched like a gargoyle underneath the Marigold Docks running on zero sleep and heaps of coffee.

Apparently, he’d been tailing someone for his Dad, official upper planes business. Fabian had hardly cared about the reasons Riz had blustered about when caught, he’d instead immediately cast Sleep at his highest spell slot. Making a Dex save directly after to catch Riz’s unconscious form before he fell into the river.

Riz had woken up hours later in Fabian’s bed more than unimpressed, but Fabian ignored his glares and grumbles. Only mentioning that his dad might prefer that Riz didn’t work himself to an early death, and his mother more so. That shut him up enough to eat the soup Cathilda had made him.

Hmm.

Fabian pursed his lips, still deep in thought. “Are you hungry, perchance?”

“Yeah, I could eat,” Riz answered, furrowing his brow as he sensed they got off-topic somehow. They widened a second later as he bolted upright. “Wait, the tome! Did it make it? Is it ruined?”

“The tome is fine, The Ball. Look see,” Fabian said, reaching over to where he discarded the thick, leather-bound book and presenting it to Riz. “You kept it perfectly safe.”

“Good, good, good,” He said as his body relaxed at the sight of the tome. As he laid back down, his eyes grew heavy and his voice drowsy as he said one last time, “Good.”

By the gods, Riz was adorable when he was tired. With a small smile on his lips, Fabian brushed a few of Riz’s curls from his face and readjusted the battle sheet upwards. “Don’t worry, you focus on resting up and I’ll—” He looked out into the desolate cottage, frowning. “—Find us something to eat.”

Scanning his eyes over the interior of the cottage again, Fabian couldn’t help the grimace that took over his face. Nothing to find but dust and dirt. And heading outside to hunt for food (something he’s never done in his life) definitely wasn’t an option. Oh, this night just wouldn’t end!

An ever-growing sense of fatigue settled over him and a huge yawn escaped his lips. He was just so tired. And his bones ached and muscles screamed at him every time he moved. But he couldn’t fall asleep. Not yet. Just one more thing to do. Find food and then sleep. That’s it. Just find some food.

The first place Fabian looked was in his backpack. Mainly because it meant that he didn’t have to stand back up just yet but also because there could be a couple portions of rations that he hadn’t eaten yet.

Rifling through it, all he managed to find was a bag of loose nuts and berries. Fig had gathered them a couple days ago and tried to figure out how to cast Goodberry. Though she never figured it out (no matter how many times she used the words and movements they’d seen her mother use), they were still berries. And nuts! And thus, food! Sure, they’re still a far cry from anything substantial, but discovering them gave Fabian a much-needed boost in energy.

No longer so hopeless and weary, he gave the cottage a more thorough look through. Opening up creaking, dusty cabinets and cupboards and looking under tables and benches. Until he realized one of the heavier sacks he tossed aside left a trail of scattered oats across the floor.

Oats!

Fabian dropped to his knees, his heart racing and breath bottled up in his chest and lifted the sack upright. Steadying it before he ripped its top seam open. Revealing an entire, large bag of thick rolled oats. Still hesitant, Fabian dipped a hand into the grain and lifted a scoop of it to his nose before letting it fall back into the sack through his fingers. It didn’t smell off. Didn’t look it either. No mould or rot of any kind. There was no way for him to be one hundred percent sure, but he was willing to take the chance.

Now, he isn’t about to act like he’s Spyre’s greatest chef, but he has watched Cathilda make him porridge enough times to know that even he can’t fuck up making oatmeal…. He’s pretty sure he can’t fuck it up…. He has burned water before….

Riz might be fucked.

But it’s worth a shot!

After grabbing a cast-iron cooking pot from beside the fireplace, Fabian ventured back outside into the blizzard to fill the pot with untouched snow. He brought it back inside and hung it on the hook above the livid, scarlet flames. Letting the snow melt and boil as he grabbed a wooden spoon from the kitchen and dragged the sack of oats closer to the fireplace.

Between Riz’s soft snores and the crackling of lit hearth, this moment was strangely peaceful and almost domestic. Safe from the raging snowstorm outside, Fabian sat next to Riz on the mattress. Wiping off the dust from the wooden spoon with his jacket. His gaze shifted from Riz to the pot to the spoon and back again.

Until the snow, now water, began to bubble and boil. Fabian then took the pot off of the hook over the fire and placed it on another away from it but still close enough to keep the water warm. Next, he carefully scooped out handfuls of oats and dropped them into the boiling water. Watching as they began to soften and thicken and cling to the spoon as he stirred. Slowly but surely, it became porridge before his eyes.

Click.

Fabian was startled out of his cooking reverie by the sound of a camera shutter behind him. He whipped around to see Riz, his cheeks still rosy and eyes filled with sleep, holding his crystal up and staring back at him with a lazy grin.

“The Ball!” Fabian said with a gasp. “You can’t take photos of man without telling him!”

Smug as can be, Riz grinned and said, “I just did.”

“You’re supposed to be resting!”

“I was.” He said defiantly before the photo he took on his crystal caught his attention again and his face and voice softened. “It’s just… you looked so content. And none of our friends will believe you cooked anything without photo evidence, so…”

“Alright, fine. But sit tight, it’s almost done.” Fabian peered over the lip of the cooking pot at the bubbling porridge within. His brow arched and lips pursed. “I think.”

Creeping forward until he reached Fabian’s side, Riz took a deep breath as he peered over the pot as well. “Smells good.”

“That’s promising.” Fabian said, following suit. The nutty and slightly sweet aroma filled his nose in short order. Hmm, yes. That does smell rather good. Chalk up another win for Fabian tonight. Stirring the pot with a little more pomp and self-satisfaction, Fabian went on, “I do have to admit that it’s going to be rather plain. All I have to add are some of the berries Fig found a couple days ago.”

“Oh! Wait,” Riz scurried over to the nigh-forgotten backpack and pulled his briefcase out of it. Clicking it open, he stuck an arm into the case and began to rummage through the infinite space within. “Remember the nice couple back near the base of the mountain?”

“You mean the throuple with the freaky ravens?”

“Yes, them. If I’m remembering correctly they kept a hive of bees and gave us—” He pulled out a glass container of something bright and golden and lifted it high in the air. “—Ah ha! Gave us some honey for the road!”

“Huzzah!” Fabian cried, throwing one of his arms up in the air with a little more flourish. “Here, come add it to the pot.”

Still wrapped in the battle sheet, Riz scampered over with the vial of honey. Uncorking it with his teeth, he poured the viscous, golden liquid into the steaming pot of thick oatmeal while Fabian mixed them together. The two of them breathed in the smell of oatmeal now with the added slightly floral smell of the honey and looked at each other with warm smiles. Perfect.

“Brillant as ever the Ball.” Fabian said as he picked up the pouch filled with boysenberries and walnuts and delicately sprinkled them on top of the oatmeal.

Riz shrugged and said with a wry smirk, “Well, I try.”

Huddled together on the mattress with the cooking pot between them, the two of them took turns eating spoonfuls of their dinner. Filling their stomachs with much-needed warmth and sustenance. Between the mouthfuls, they idly talked in hushed tones. Riz flipped through the tome that they stole. Explaining its relevance to their current adventure and theorizing what their plan should be in the morning to Fabian. Who was still only half listening.

Too wrapped up in gazing at how the fireplace’s flickering flames danced in Riz’s amber eyes and softened some of his harsh yet handsome features. Sue him. His best friend was cute. Not that Fabian could ever work up the courage to tell him to his face. He was still a coward in that regard. Far too afraid and confused to ruin what he and Riz have with all these pesky, lovey-dovey feelings. No, he was content to just watch. To keep safe. For now and forever.

Before long, the cooking pot was empty, only the sticky remnants of the oatmeal left clung to the pot’s insides, and their bellies were full. As Riz yawned, large and cat-like, Fabian moved to take the cooking pot and head back outside to fill it with more snow. Planning on washing it out with the boiled snow in the morning for their breakfast. Which, now that he thinks about it, will be a lot less tasty than their dinner. Thanks to them using up all their natural sweeteners.

Hmm.

Well, that was a problem for morning Fabian.

This Fabian was bone tired and wanted nothing more than to fall dead asleep. And he wasn’t the only one.

Once he got back in and hung the pot over the fire, when he went to say something to Riz, Fabian found him curled up on the mattress, passed out. Snoring the night away. Fabian smiled at the sight and gave a nod, more to himself than anything. Quest completed successfully. Time for bed.

As quietly as he could, Fabian brought one of the old wooden chairs over and placed it as close to the fire as he could get it. Settling himself down on it, he tried his best to get comfortable but eventually gave up and simply tried to get some sleep. Nodding off moments later to the sound of Riz’s snores and the glow of the firelight.

“Fabian?”

Maybe a couple hours later, Fabian awoke.

Groggy and half-asleep, he pried his eyes open to find a concerned, shivering Riz in front of him and a low burning fire to his side. And though it took his mind a moment to fire back up, Fabian jumped to his feet and rushed to the fireplace.

Shit, shit, shit, shit.

Clumsily reaching and fumbling for another log before tossing it into the hearth. “Sorry, The Ball. Just one moment.” Fabian said as he reached for the fire poker and started jabbing it into the log. Hazily wondering if he could give a fire bardic inspiration to last longer. He waved a hand at Riz. “Go back to bed, I’ve got it.”

But Riz didn’t move.

He stood there, bathed in the fiery orange glow of the hearth and asked, “Why were you sleeping on the chair?”

A beat.

“Where else I am supposed to sleep?” He answered with another question. Something he knew Riz hated unless he was the one doing it. Riz tilted his head to the side and he scrunched up his face before he took a pointed look at the mattress and then back to him. Fabian smiled queasily. “Oh, I couldn’t.”

“Why?”

“Because, I—” Fabian gulped. “—I’d take up a lot of space. On the matress that is.”

“I woudn’t mind,” Riz said quickly, the words almost falling out of his mouth. “Goblins sleep in piles for warmth, even the ones that live up here in the cold. So…”

“Is that right?” Fabian asked. Riz nodded. Well… if he was fine with it. “Okay then.”

Timidly, Fabian followed Riz back to the mattress. Though he hesitated as he watched Riz get back under the battle sheet and the threadbare blanket.

Furrowing his brows, Riz reached out with his claws and gave his arm a tug. With his eight strength, it didn’t do much but urge Fabian forward. “We don’t have all night. Get in.”

“Alright, alright. Bossy much?” Fabian whined though he hurried to follow Riz’s orders. Slipping under the blanket and battle sheet, he had to stifle a groan as the magical heat of Nar sunk into his skin.

Almost instantly, Riz settled close to him, to his chest. Resting his head underneath Fabian’s chin before curling up into a ball, his tail winding around one of his legs. Without even thinking, Fabian wrapped his arms around him and tucked him deeper into the embrace, hiking up his knees to curl around him. It all felt so right. Like pieces of a puzzle slotting together. Perfect and satisfying. As if this was meant to be.

Finally at peace, Fabian basked in how correct this all felt. In the quiet of the cottage, the freezing wind still howling all around them, he’d never felt as untouchable as he did now. And looking down at Riz, an almost serene expression on his sleeping face, Fabian hoped he felt that way too.

One last thing, before he drifted off to sleep as well, Fabain kissed the top of Riz’s head and squeezed him a little tighter. Slipping off into unconsciousness, he only half noticed Riz squirming a bit in his hold before he felt a brush of lips on his jawline, heard a whispered, “Thanks, Fabes.”, and had one last thought.

Huh. Maybe someone heard his prayers after all.

And then,

Black.

Thank you so much for reading! This is my first d20 fic and though i know the fabriz fandom is quite small now, i look forward to enjoying Junior Year with all of you. Don't be a stranger! I'd love to hear what you think and if you have any requests, i'd be open to hearing and possibly writing them! Thanks again!

#fabriz #fabian seacaster #riz gukgak #fantasy high #fanfic #fabian x riz #my fics #heyyyy #yeah i write too!!#and it's the classic stuck in a snow storm plot!!#whatever shall out boys do??#i really do hope you all enjoy it!!

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fiction-is-the-new-reality · 1 year ago

Text

Prologue

If Only You Knew

warnings: slight cussing, and a little bit of angst.

word count: 2k

Next parts: part 1, part 2, part 3

You and Jason had been friends since back in the Robin days. Unlike him, you weren't a hero; you were just plain you. No secrets, no alter ego, just you. Jason thought the dynamic was perfect. He enjoyed that he could actually talk to you about things that didn’t involve debriefing or pointing out what he messed up on and how he could do better next time. It was a break from the chaos of his life as Robin, he could be an ordinary teenage boy that made stupid jokes.

Then everything changed; Joker had killed Jason.

Bruce didn’t even call or stop by to break the news to you, but Dick did. He dropped by the night that Bruce had come back without Jason. He told you all that he knew. While he talked, your vision turned blurry, and your hearing became muffled. Your heart felt like it was going to leap through your chest. Your stomach felt so uneasy, like a boat on top of thunderous waves in the ocean. Dick held you while you both cried.

For an entire week, you couldn’t function. Holding so much grief in your chest you stayed inside and shut out everyone around you. After Jason’s funeral, you had decided that you would start training. You needed to get stronger and better, you wanted to avenge Jason. You turned to Bruce for his help.

Walking into Wayne Manor had never been so glum. Stopping in the corridor, memories of you and Jason came rushing to you like a freight train. All you could hear was Jason's laughter. Alfred greeted you and took your coat.

“Good evening Miss. It’s so good to see you.” His face looked long, his eyes tired. You had never seen Alfred this way.

“Hi Alfred, is Bruce here? I was wanting to speak to him.” You followed Alfred to the kitchen, where you were gifted a cup of tea, still steaming.

“I believe Master Wayne is in the cave. I’ll guide you there.” He started walking out of the kitchen, arms behind his back and hands held together. You followed, sipping your tea and trying your hardest to keep the memories of you and Jason at bay while walking through the halls. Alfred led you to the elevator and pushed the buttons for it to go down,

“I wish you luck, Miss. He’s barely spoken to anyone, he’s been terribly distraught over Master Jason. We all have.” He nodded his head and turned to walk back to the kitchen. You quietly thanked him and got into the metal box. As it began its descent down, you started rehearsing how you were going to ask Bruce. Obviously, you knew it was going to take some convincing. Once the elevator stopped, its doors creaked open.

The cave was almost pitch black. The light of the computers was the only thing illuminating the area. You could see Batman’s ears poking from the chair, you almost giggled at the sight. You approached slowly, almost scared to speak. The computer had images of the Joker pulled up and different documents with words you didn’t understand, and Bruce was mumbling about something.

“Hey, Bruce, sorry to interrupt, but I needed to ask you a favor. I want you to train me, and I want to learn how to fight and everything that Jason knew. I know it hasn’t been long since he,” The words got stuck in your throat, and your eyes shut, willing yourself to go, but Bruce spoke before you could.

“Absolutely not. I will not put you at risk like I did to Jason.”

“I’m terrified. I don’t know the first thing about self-defense. I don’t want to be Robin. I want to feel safe. Bruce, please,” What was a small lie in the grand scheme of things? Jason had taught you basic stuff like how to defend against small attacks, but you wanted more.

“Please, Bruce. I don’t want to go to some shitty self-defense class that's going to go easy on me and not give me proper techniques. You are the best person to teach me.” By now, he had gotten up from the chair. He moved closer to you, his shoulders folded in on themselves like he was trying to make himself look small as if not to intimidate you. He stared at you for half a second before shaking his head, your eyes were pleading, and Bruce could feel his guilt building. Maybe if he did this, it would make him feel better; perhaps if he could train you better than he did Jason, just maybe it would help ease his guilt of being a failure. He wondered what Jason would say about the matter.

“Bruce-”

“I’ll do it, but there are rules. You will not be fighting, this is training purely for self-defense. I’m going to train you to be the best you can be, which will not be enjoyable. I’m not going to go easy. Lastly, if I say we’re done, then we are done. Understand?” He looked down at you, his eyes peering into yours.

“Yes”

“Good, we’ll start next week. On Monday, you’ll meet me here.” He gave you a nod and then turned, putting his full attention back on the computer.

“Don’t make me regret this.”

You knew Bruce was always serious, but this felt extra serious. There was no way you were going to disappoint him.

After that first Monday, you continued your training. It had started with just Bruce, but after a few months, Dick began to fill in when Bruce was busy. You were steadily improving and always biting at the bit to learn more. You had a hunger for revenge, and you were going to fulfill that appetite.

After a year or two, Tim joined the bunch. He was definitely smart, and you could see him being an excellent fit for the Batfamily. You two bonded quickly, you both being nerds and similar in behavior. Bruce got swept up in training him, and it was clear to everyone that he was the next Robin. You hated it. Hated seeing the suit being worn by another person. Hated that he was at the same risk Jason had been in. You feared for him. This just drove you to push yourself to be better. You wanted to be able to protect your found family.

Walking home from the little corner store one night, you were witnessed to what you believed had been your calling. A group of teens getting followed and harassed by some lowlifes. You followed as they rushed the kids towards an alley. Using a fire escape, you jumped from one building to the next. This higher angle gave you the advantage of surprise. The kids emptied their pockets and huddled together, shaking harder than wet dogs.

Rushing down the fire escape, you threw yourself out and grabbed onto an overhanging bar, your legs reaching around one of the guys. You rested on his shoulders while your thighs squeezed his neck, twisting your hips and throwing your torso, which took him to the ground. Rolling away quickly, you kicked out and broke another guy's ankle. His scream echoed through the alley. Getting to your feet, you kneed him in the face causing him to fall on the pavement. The last guy was huge compared to the others, not quite Bane size, but bigger than average. This was going to be a challenge luckily, you love challenges.

He shook his shoulders out and charged you. You went low while he tried to grab you, his size causing his movements to be slightly delayed. Your elbow jabbed deep into his side. While this stunned him, it did nothing to bring him down. You frantically looked for something to help you take him down. Seeing a dumpster on the wall, you knew what your plan was. Unfortunately, by the time it took you to find something, he had gotten the chance to hit you square in the jaw. Your brain felt like it was sloshing against your skull. Your teeth ground into each other, causing the worse feeling and a god-awful sound. You were taking too long to regain your composure, and you knew that. The guy grabbed you with one arm and began wailing on your ribs. The air was gone from your lungs. You thought back to all the times Bruce and Dick had told you to try anything to escape the attacker, so you went limp; you decided to play the best game of possum ever.

The guy believed he had won and tossed you on the ground. He started to walk away, but you weren’t done. Despite all the pain, you felt so alive. You felt more alive than you had in a long time. You felt unstoppable.

So you sprung up and began taunting.

“You suck, dude. I’ve seen old women with more energy than you.” You rocked back and forth on your feet, waiting for him to make his move.

“Oh yeah? How about I kill you, you stupid bitch!” He charged at you, full speed, basically frothing at the mouth.

Right before he got his hands on you, you launched yourself off the dumpster and punched him as hard as possible. You followed up with a kick on his chest. He stumbled but managed to maintain his balance. So you pulled out your pepper spray and unleashed it on him. His hands shot up to his eyes as he cried out, and his knees hit the pavement next with a loud thud. You slammed his head against the dumpster until he became unconscious.

Looking around the alley, you couldn’t help but feel badass. The rush of adrenaline from being in a dangerous situation was empowering. You felt more alive than ever before and wanted to capture and keep this feeling.

After that night, you found yourself looking for more fights while also trying to start out of the public eye. You kept your business small and in areas where you knew someone else had already been. The last thing you needed was Bruce scolding you. But of course, he already knew.

Arriving at the Batcave for your daily training, you were met with Bruce in his regular clothes. He leaned against the computer with his arms crossed. Oh fuck.

“Sup B?” You stood there looking confused. Usually he would quickly get started with warmups, but he wasn’t moving. After standing there in silence for a minute, he finally started talking.

“I thought you would be interested in this surveillance footage I found.” He pressed a key on the keyboard and the screen lit up. The video shows an alleyway with Joker thugs harassing a family. A hooded figure runs from behind and takes them down. You stared at the video and knew there was no reason to play dumb, he knew it was you. His eyes were squinted as he watched your reaction. You didn’t know what to say, but Bruce did.

“Don’t try to excuse it. I should have known,” he let out a deep sigh. “I did know that you were planning to ignore my warning and that you were going to fight. You lied to me and put yourself at risk.” He furrowed his brow while shaking his head. He glanced at you again, and you felt your chest tightened. You didn’t want to disappoint Bruce, and you felt horrible.

“I’m sorry for not telling you and lying. I really didn’t mean to start fighting. I helped a group of people a few weeks ago and I couldn’t stop thinking about helping more.” You shrugged your shoulders.

“I don’t want you fighting anymore. There are people out there who are stronger and have more experience than you. I can’t have you running into them.” He spoke like there was no room for argument and in his mind, there wasn’t. In yours, you’ve become more irritated. Who does he think he is bossing you around? You are not Robin; you don’t look to him for action. You can do what you want.

“You should be proud of me. I helped stop a lot of crime. I took down guys twice my size!” Your emotions are getting in the way. “You can’t boss me around, Bruce. I’m not Robin.”

“You’re right, you’re not. There’s a reason for that.” His words hurt. You knew they shouldn’t have. They weren’t that mean, it’s just how he said it. The sentence was laced with disappointment and gave you a feeling of not being enough.

“I’m not stopping, you can’t make me. You should be happy that I’m helping Gotham,” you paused before finishing. “Jason would be happy.” The comment hung thick in the air. The silence in the cave makes you feel icky. Bruce stands there thinking of his next sentence, he needs to deter you from being a vigilante. He needs to say something to hit you hard, and he finds the perfect fucked up thing to say.

“Jason would hate you being a vigilante. He never wanted you to do this. Using his name as a reason for risking your life is disgusting. His disappointment would be overflowing. Be grateful he’s not here to see you. Your training is over.” That stung.

Your chest, throat, nose, and eyes all burned with embarrassment and the hot tears you were trying so desperately to keep away. You felt the anger bubbling up inside of you. You needed to leave before you burned this bridge even further.

“Fuck you.” So much for not burning it even further.

And if looks could kill, Bruce would have been dead.

#jason todd #jason todd x reader #fem!reader #arkhamverse #arkham knight x reader #arkham knight #Bruce Wayne x platonic!reader #prologue #if only you knew #ioyk

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