#day 2: friendship

[luce-speaks]

kliff and the friends

last minute submission for day two of @fe-aspec-week 2024!! this one is a little thrown together because i had an idea at the last minute but! here goes!!

—

Kliff has never been particularly fond of other people.

He used to think he just got unlucky, stuck in a tiny village where no one understood the concept of personal space. He dreamed of the day he’d escape them, get out, go anywhere but here, and meet people who were actually decent.

Then he started going to school in the next town over, and with each new person he met, that dream died in front of him. Each and every one of them—over-familiar like Gray, clumsy like Tobin, naive like Alm, or disgustingly romantic like Faye. He hated it. He came back to Ram Village with a disappointed letter from his teacher and a new will to tolerate these idiots so he could safely ignore the rest. He might not fit in, but at least they know him well enough to leave him alone while he’s reading.

—

The war comes on suddenly, like a storm rolling in overnight, and things change. Kliff learns what fire spells can do to a human being, and Gray stops joking about hitting Tobin with his sword, and Faye picks up a lance for the first time, insisting she’ll do whatever it takes to protect her friends. Tolerable acquaintances become battle-allies, people you can trust to have your back. People who could die beside you, any day. There’s no room out here for petty bickering, but sometimes it also feels like there’s no room to get attached. When the war is over, Kliff thinks, they’ll go their separate ways. He probably won’t even miss them.

—

Tobin flags him down at camp one day. “Hey, Kliff!”

He rolls his eyes. “Tobin. I thought you knew not to interrupt me while I’m studying.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. But I have questions about magic! That counts as study time, right?”

Now Kliff is intrigued, though he refuses to give Tobin the satisfaction. “Since when do you care about magic? I thought it was too complicated for you.”

Tobin settles beside him, keeping a safe distance, but not bothering to ask whether he minds the company. “Well, I don’t really get it. But I want to learn. You know—for the war.”

He sighs. “I don’t know what Alm or Gray did this time, but you’re better with a bow than you’re ever going to be with magic. Focus on getting better at that.”

“Healing magic,” Tobin corrects. “I want to learn healing.”

“What? Why?”

“C’mon, seriously? I’m worried about you guys! I want us to go back to Ram when this is all over—all of us, together. Even if we’re not all planning to stay.”

“…All right, then. I can try to teach you.” Kliff grins. “Though I wouldn’t count on your ability to learn it.”

—

Faye catches him off guard in the middle of an overcrowded mess hall. She’s saying something, but he can’t understand her over the din of too many hungry soldiers. Eventually, she gives up and beckons to the door.

Kliff follows her, plate in hand, out to the cool night air. “What was that for?”

She shrugs. “You looked like you wanted to go outside.”

“I—” He pauses. Mess hall never used to bother him more than any other time around camp, but now that they’ve been getting more recruits, it has been getting louder and louder. He’s never liked loud noises, either. “I guess I did.”

Faye walks a little farther away from the tent, towards the woods. He follows her, and they settle together at the forest’s edge—still in earshot of the camp, but safely away from the clamor of the mess hall.

“I miss Ram,” Faye says quietly, after they’ve been eating for a bit. “Seeing this many people in one place reminds me how far we are from home.”

Kliff snorts. “It just reminds me of school. They always crammed too many people into the common areas for lunch.”

“So you didn’t like leaving then, either?”

“I liked going to school,” he answers. “I didn’t like the people there.”

“What kind of people do you like?”

He thinks on this. “The quiet kind.”

Faye smiles and nods. They eat the rest of their meal in silence.

—

Gray looks out for him during fights.

At first he’s convinced Gray is just showing off, jumping in dramatically and kicking down a mage in mid-chant before they can fire another spell at Kliff. But then it happens a second time, and a third time, and Kliff is more than certain that it’s intentional.

“You don’t have to do that, you know,” Kliff says, the next time Gray takes a blow for him.

“Do what?” Gray asks. “Look super cool while I’m saving the day?”

Kliff regrets that Gray is too focused on the battle to see him roll his eyes. “Protect me. I can look out for myself.”

“Oh, that? I’m just practicing for next time one of the girls needs saving.” Gray pauses to skewer another incoming mage. “Gotta keep my skills sharp and all that!”

“Gray, I’m serious. Can you stop joking around?” Kliff fires off another spell, stopping an approaching cavalier in their tracks. Now there are no more distractions—Gray will have to talk to him.

Gray turns to face him. “Look, I know you can take it, okay? But that’s not your job. If you’re up in the front lines taking hits, you won’t have the energy to cast your spells. So you do your job, and I’ll do mine, yeah?”

He sighs. “Fine.”

“Great! Now how about a ‘thank you’ for saving your ass?”

“In your dreams.”

—

Alm brings him a book from town.

“Here,” he says, unloading it off a pile of rations and weapons. “They had this on sale at one of the booths. I thought you might get some use out of it.”

Kliff inspects it. It’s a neatly-bound red tome, with gold embossing on the front. It looks well-used, but it’s holding together nevertheless. He flips it open, skimming the table of contents, and frowns.

“I hate to break it to you, but this is a book on magical theory. It’s not going to teach me anything I don’t already know about battle casting.”

Alm looks a little offended. “I know,” he says. “I just figured you would like it. You liked learning about magic at school, didn’t you?”

“I did, but—” He frowns again, turning the book over anxiously in his hands. “We’re in the middle of a war. Did you spend army funds on this?”

“Don’t worry, I spent my own money on it. No funds wasted.”

“But—” Kliff stammers. “Why? What’s the point? What do you get out of this?”

Alm sighs. “It’s just a gift. We may be at war, but we’re still people. I want you guys to be happy—at least, when we’re not having to kill people.”

“Oh,” Kliff says. “Uh. Thanks.”

Alm smiles, bright as ever. “Any time.”

—

The war continues, and Kliff keeps dreaming about the places he’ll go once he’s free to travel as he pleases. He’s not sure what kind of people he’ll meet out there, but—he thinks—if they’re anything like the ones he met in Ram Village, he hasn’t got anything to worry about. Other people may be unpleasant—clumsy, naive, romantic, and over-familiar—but they’re still worth knowing, every once in a while.

[calibratedgallow]

happy portal/team fortress 2/my little pony friendship is magic/ fallout day

[shadowspronouns]

super team dark !!! for @teamdarkweek day 7; space/light :]

[homkamiro]

Answering some questions regarding TF2 × MLP AU!!! This crossover absolutely rotted my brain and I can't.stop thinking about it

[sophfandoms53]

IS HE RECORDING A FUCKING TIKTOK DANCE LMFAOO

I cannot wait for Shadow to beat his ass and make him question absolutely everything😭

[dapper-lil-arts]

The meme you expected lmao

[courtmartialme]

forcing myself to post more just so the world has more riza in it

[arachnestwilight]

Big day for autistic people everywhere (it's me, I'm autistic people everywhere).

[somewhereincairparavel]

No thoughts.

Just thinking about how Reyna kept her distance from Jason because of Venus, fearing heartbreak, but ended up getting heartbroken anyway.

Just thinking about how Jason felt guilty about Reyna's feelings for him, thinking that he led her on, and felt truly sorry that he didn't love her back.

Just thinking about how bitter Reyna sounded when she said that Jason was no longer fully roman anymore.

Just thinking about how, upon seeing Thalia's eyes, the only thing Reyna can think of is Jason's startling blue stare.

Just thinking about how Jason could tell that Reyna was tired simply by noting how her shoulders move.

Just thinking about how Reyna rarely compliments anyone, but fondly calls Jason an "all American boy".

Just thinking about how Jason would never bet against Reyna under any circumstances, and knows if anyone is capable of completing dangerous missions, it's Reyna.

Just thinking about how Reyna daydreamt of her and Jason holding hands, walking in the garden.

Just thinking about how Reyna and Jason would geek over their shared interest of roman history.

Just thinking about how Jason HATES unkept promises, yet the only unkept promise he'd unintentionally made was that if he and Reyna would go visit Diocletian's sceptre, it would only be them visiting TOGETHER. Not seperately. The fates ruined his chance of keeping that promise.

Just thinking about how Reyna would've felt upon hearing that her once best friend, died tragically saving a god, and that she would never see him again.

Just thinking about how Jason dies with the guilt of not properly reconciling with his old friend.

Just thinking about how Reyna lives with the guilt of keeping her distance from him because of that wretched warning Venus gave her. Maybe if she had not, would they have been together? Would they have atleast remained best friends? Would they have not grown apart?

Just thinking about how Reyna looked like she'd been crying for hours during Jason's funeral.

Just thinking about how they both knew their friendship would never be the same again but refused to confront that bitter reality, so they ran away from it.

Just thinking about how they never even shared one last hug together.

Just thinking about how in the end, both of them most likely only had bittersweet memories of eachother, and that neither of them got to say their final goodbyes.

No thoughts, just the tragic end of Jason Grace and Reyna Avila Ramirez's friendship

[bbq-potato-chip]

thinking about saiura

[sorikaied]

It doesn't matter when we met. Once we make a friend, we're friends for life.

celebrating 22 years of our friends being our power !

[no1tolerateitfan]

this is who runs my brain

[ifwebefriends]

This Day Aria: a gorgeous and dramatic aria building tension to the final confrontation of the episode, both hinting at the villain’s true plans and the true love that Cadence has for her fiancé

Shining Armor in that one shot:

[iffasart]

JWCTcountdown DAY 3: best duo

BEST DUO HANDS DOWN, I LOVE THEM TOGETHER

Also dont mind the background idk how to draw backgrounds 🥲

Night version under the cut

[365filmsbyauroranocte]

Brooklyn Nine-Nine S08E10 ‘The Last Day Pt 2′

[autisticaradiamegido]

day 281

ill be honest w yall i dont remember most of hs2 or the epilogues and i will not be rereading to refresh my memory but i DID read today's upd8 specifically because i saw my guy and you know what

callin this one a win for the sollux enjoyers