#horizon fic

[gentlyrowan]

"Right! So, that's settled, then!" Erend said. "You and me, giving old, dead culture a whole new life! Who'd-a thought it?"

Kotallo's voice had the low, gravelly quality of a man coming out of a dream when he answered, "What?"

But Kotallo's voice was always low and gravelly.

"You and me," Erend repeated, "keeping some of the best stuff the Old Ones came up with alive for the folks of today."

Kotallo blinked at him through the scrolling wall of text in the air that he had been reading through his focus. He raised one finger to pause its scrolling and held Erend's gaze for a long, inscrutable moment. Underneath all that white Marshal paint, he was as stone-faced as the Bulwark.

Erend grinned.

"This is gonna be great!"

DRUM SNARE

My ongoing fic in which Kotallo accidentally joins Erend's band – leading to shenanigans, baggage-unpacking, real friendship, and at least one Thunderjaw – updates weekly.

[everybodylovesaloy]

RARE PAIR ROUND-UP MASTER LIST

Thank you SO MUCH to everyone that participated in the round-up!! We had some really amazing contributions, I recommend literally every single one of them. PLEASE give some love to these authors if you enjoyed their works, it's tough to get eyes on rare pair fics so toss some kudos and comments their way!

Fic:

Radiance by @mehoymalloy (Regalla/Nasadi)

Always by @pikapeppa (Fashav/Vanasha)

Steady by @garbage-dono (Atekka/Hekarro)

Sacred Lands by @bluntblade (Talanah/Nakoa)

One day we'll meet again by @melikochan (Tom Paech/Charles Ronson, Tilda van der Meer/Elisabet Sobeck, Alva/Federa, Chekkatah/Ikkotah)

Heavy in Your Arms by littleboxofwonders (Fashav/Ritakka)

bury these old knives by @foibles-fables (Atekka/Ritakka)

A Meeting of Ice and Sea by @dinokieranmadness (Ikrie/Seyka)

a wanderer, now by @souls-that-have-senses (Hekarro/Rost)

Art:

Leave Your Titles by the Door by @sorbetowl (Avad/Ersa)

Accompanying Art for Heavy in your Arms by @murmart (Fashav/Ritakka)

Thank you SO MUCH again to all the talented participants! You all did amazing!!

[pikapeppa]

In Becoming Whole, Aloy seemed much more willing to let Kotallo in. Sure, it wasn’t easy for her but she seemed so ready to trust him…

With Drakka though, she just seems so angry and so often shuts down when things get too real.

I can see that both versions of Aloy have the same concerns, insecurities, and trauma… but with Kotallo she seemed to want what she could have with him, and pushed herself to honestly share herself with him, even if it scared her or felt like a betrayal to her divine mission etc.

And with Drakka she just seems so much more tortured and haunted. I know that you fleshed out her reactions/feelings to Drakka a fair bit during his base visit, but it seems at odds with Kotallo’s version of Aloy.

Was there any particularly reason you’ve made Desert Bloom’s Aloy more reserved?

I know you’ve been winging a lot of this but do you have any thoughts on whether it’s a personality thing… a trust thing… anything? 😂

In my mind Drakka is the home she’s always wanted and is desperate to protect it… but I’d much prefer your pov lol

Sorry for the essay! Love your work x

Ah yes, the comparison of Aloy-with-Kotallo vs. Aloy-with-Drakka… This is what I bring on myself when writing two concurrent ships with Aloy (technically three including Avad LOL).

The way I see it, I haven’t made Aloy a different person in Desert Blooms compared to Becoming Whole. She was the same person with the same trauma/concerns/insecurities when she met Kotallo and when she met Drakka. It’s that Kotallo and Drakka are very different people, and the quality+amount of time she spent with each of them was VERY different, so her dynamics with each of them have resulted in relationships that look quite different. 

More below the cut!

One of the things I love so much about Aloy as a protag is that she’s so multifaceted: she can be gentle and empathetic, she can be sassy and lighthearted, and she can be downright rude/sharp (in the best way sometimes, e.g. with Studious Vuadis LMAO), and all of those mannerisms for her are in-character — and this is also reflective of how people are IRL. I know for sure that I act differently with my husband vs. with my closest girlfriends vs. with colleagues at work, but all of the ways I act are still “me”. Similarly, the “me” I was with my high school boyfriend is different from the “me” I am now with my husband. Part of that is time/age/experience, for sure, but it’s also a function of the man I was with/am with — but both versions of me are still “me”. Maybe this sounds stupid and self-explanatory, but we are changed and affected by the people we have relationships with, and this is why Aloy “seems” so different with Kotallo vs. Drakka. 

With Kotallo in Becoming Whole, there are so many reasons that Aloy opened up more quickly. I made a table to make it easier to compare these reasons side-by-side and because I’m a fucking nerd LOL. Please do tap to enlarge if you're so inclined, I'm sorry for the small font -- blame technical issues on my side for this 😂😭💀:

(Note that the above is based on headcanons unless otherwise stated.)

There’s probably more I could add to this table, but I think this is enough for now without me looking like Charlie Day in that meme LOL.

In any case, this reply might come a little late since some of your questions might get addressed in the chapter of Desert Blooms that I just posted 😂 but in any case, I hope this was an interesting response! 

-- love from your friendly neighbourhood Pika! xoxo

[horizontwinflames]

Okay, so... there are currently... 21 chapters with the plot set (counting the last 3), and it's a bit past half of the story... we possibly will get around... something between 30 and 35 chapters for the Zero Dawn act.

I will continue to replay HZD to have a better memory refreshing, especially about Talanah's side quest because I want to "mix it" with the main story somehow.

I also discovered it's fun to use my own playthrough experience to write, for stuff like, which machines I found in my way, the troubles I got, weather... mostly the stuff related to open wolrd, you know? It's nice to use to compliment the writing (I started to use that in chapter 9 in front).

Also, for those wondering, Isaac will debut at chapter 9.

Side note, I cannot even imagine the length of the Forbidden West and Burning Shores Acts with all the divergences from canon they have.

[ma-i-d]

Ok I really don't know what is going on or what to do. I've been stuck with chapter 7 and 8 for almost two months now, no signs of improvement. That's fuckin rock bottom and I have no ideia how to fix it.

[zarnzarn]

Athena shoots upright as soon as her eyes fly open, gasping. She calls on her spear and slashes in a brutal curve, provoking shouts from the enemies who'd been holding her down as they back off. Bares her teeth in a snarl as she grabs the sheets off the bed to whip at the eyes of the assailants and-

Light floods into her eyes as they step away from her attack and she freezes as she remembers a flash of brightness too fast to escape, heat and burning like never before, electricity that seeped into her very bones, thunder that deafened, lightning that hurt-

"Get back!" She hears and turns unsteadily back to- back to where Apollo is pulling Ares back by the cape against the far wall. Apollo. Ares. Aphrodite, Aephestus, Artemis.

"Wh-" She manages, before she's bowled over, coughing. She has never done it before, and she can't stop it from happening- chest rattling as her knees give out, barely holding herself up with her spear in time to reach the bed. It doesn't stop, doesn't stop, plumes of smoke escaping her mouth as she can't stop, can't breathe-

"Athena," Hera whispers, and a rough hand gently touches her on the shoulder, handing her a glass of nectar. She accepts it gratefully, tilting her head back to down it. It's soothing like it's never been before, stoping the coughing at last and it clears her headache long enough to realize that she isn't in her armour- she's in a chiton.

"Where is my armour?" She rasps as soon as she can, wiping her mouth. Looks around- Apollo's chambers.

She'd always known being the favourite wouldn't protect her forever. But repeating the words didn't seem to reduce the hurt.

Nor the shaking fear.

"-not!" Apollo is saying, indignantly setting his hands on his hips. "Do you have any idea how hard you got hit? You're lucky I could even stabilize your aspect enough to reduce some of the damage, otherwise you'd still be having a seizure back at Mount Olympus!"

"Mount Olympus," Athena mutters oddly, without much intent to it. She tries to stand again and her vision suddenly cuts out, provoking a round of screams as she loses her balance.

When the world blurrily comes back into focus- and she doesn't like this, hates this sudden weakness; she's always been able to get back up from any blow, has never visited a medical chamber in her existence, even when they had to fight the Titans- she's in Ares' arms, oddly horizontal.

"Cease this stupidity, sister," Artemis hisses at her as she grabs onto Athena's arms to bring her back to the bed. "Calm yourself. You are alive. You are safe."

"My armour," Athena says, voice cracking, head rolling oddly on her neck, unable to look upright. She catches a glimpse of Aephastus holding onto a sobbing Aphrodite, staring at her with a strange sort of sorrow.

Something twinges in Athena's chest in reply, but she stumbles before she can address it, feeling a fission of panic at the instability before Ares' grip on her tightens enough to keep her upright. They're all staring at her like that, she realizes, with that same horrified heartbreak.

"Didn't Artemis just tell you to cease stupidity?" Ares barks, though it's rather quietly said, for him. He adjusts her on the bed until she can lean back against the pillows. His hands are shaking, and Athena stares at them with curiosity. "Weren't you the one to lecture me half to death about when to remove the armour?"

"What," She says weakly, then moans as an aftershock trembles through her, residual sparks humming maliciously as they exit her skin, leaving her trembling. "I- hmmm, what? What were- what were-"

"Athena, calm down, please, you're scaring us," Hera says, bangles jangling as she sits down next to her, taking one of Athena's hands with desperation. Athena tilts her head to squint, noticing the tears for the first time, before she shudders as her skin registers the heat, the unbearable heat.

"Scaring?" She murmurs when it stops, voice coming out smaller than she intended it to.

"Her fever keeps rising and falling," Apollo reenters the room before anyone can answer, carrying a large tub of some odd liquid. "Here, help me rub this on her skin, it should extract any remaining- any remaining lightning."

They all move towards the tub at the same time, dipping the cloths provided and then taking positions in a circle surrounding her. Athena stiffens, fingers twitching for a weapon, but the first touch of Hera's drenched cloth on her forehead makes her moan in relief, the blessed coolness of it making her melt back into the sheets. She has no strength to complain or protest when her fellow gods each take a limb to rub at, a sensation both horrifically terrible and unbearably good. She has never taken her armour off in her life.

"Easy, that's it," Apollo says coaxingly, lips downturned like he's trying not to cry. She whimpers as the cloth on her left leg suddenly burns as a spark escapes, instinctively pulling it away, but Aphrodite grabs it before she can and resumes rubbing, whispering apologies. She turns her head and weakly opens her mouth for the herb Apollo lifts to her lips, desperate for relief from the splitting headache.

She can't think. She can't think.

Athena has no idea how long it goes on, how long the other gods ignore their realms to tend to her. Slowly, they strike up a conversation, something light-hearted that she can't follow- different from their never-ending arguments and insults, as they talk about the past year and humourous stories and varied anecdotes.

Athena can't help but relax into it, the soft bed at her back and gentle hands massaging her sore muscles and warmth all around her. Feels something trembling within her since she first became aware of herself settling down with a sigh.

Until she suddenly smells ozone.

Hera and Apollo both notice her tensing up immediately, and look to where she can hear slow footsteps approaching. Apollo growls and shoots out a hand, bringing up the shields of his realm.

The conversation dies down as they all look to the side, at the distinct shadow at the other side of the curtain.

Rage, Athena realises, thoughts slow and muddied. They're angry with him.

"I will handle this," Hera says coldly, with the steel undertone that Athena strives for. She moves her cloth aside and leans down to kiss Athena on the forehead, like a mother would. "You rest, my daughter."

Athena's breath hitches, eyes burning. Nobody has ever cared for her, apart from Zeu-

Nobody has ever cared for her.

... Nobody has-

Hera turns sharply at the noise that suddenly escapes Athena, half hysterical laugh and half distraught wail.

"Did I win?" Athena asks desperately, pushing herself upright, ignoring the protests of the others as she pulls her limbs from their grasp. Hera stares at her and Athena grabs the side of the bed as she tries to lever herself up like a wild animal, demanding in a broken voice, "Did I win?"

A silence that stretches for a painful moment before- "Yes," Aephastus says, putting his hand on her shoulder to guide her back from the edge. "Yes, Athena, you won."

A strangled gasp of relief leaves her, making her light-headed as she leans back against the pillows. She shivers, then sobs- humiliation running through her before she hears an answering noise of sorrow from Aphrodite next to her, pressure all around as her five younger siblings embrace her carefully, gently, like she would break at any moment.

She's not the one who's been raped by a Titan's daughter for seven years.

The thought has her breath hitching, wiping her tears away with a hand that refuses to co-operate the first few tries. "I need to-"

"No," Artemis snaps, glaring at her. "I know you think of nothing but your work, but Athena, you cannot do it this time." Outside, Hera's and Zeus' voices rise as they begin to shout and scream. "You must rest."

"N-no, that's not- aah," She groans as another aftershock rips through her, leaving her panting and soaked in sweat when it's done. "I need to- I need-"

"Hermes has gone to his grandson," Aephastus says soothingly. "Peace, Athena. Your hero is free."

For a moment, it doesn't comprehend and she stares at him blankly. "Free," She repeats, words still infuriatingly faint and lilting. "He's free? I- I need my helmet, where is-"

"No, Athena!"

"Sister, please, you cannot resume your duties, you are in no state!"

"I need my helmet, please, please- just give me my helmet!"

Her cry echoes off the walls and she hears herself when it bounces back to her, broken and pleading and so unlike her she feels nauseous. Her siblings have gone silent and still at her begging, staring at her with shock and horror and fear and sorrow alike. Even Zeus and Hera have stopped talking.

Athena shakes, wishing she could rip this awful vulnerability out of her veins, wishes she could find a stone footing to stand on once more, wishes she wasn't in this horrible chiton.

"Please," She whispers.

Quietly, Aephastus gets to his feet and walks in the direction of the nearby drawers, where she can now see her belongings stacked up haphazardly, blood-stained.

"Sister, you must calm down," Aphrodite pleads. She takes her hands and Athena dazedly looks down at her, with her wide, scared eyes. Seizure, her mind registers finally from Apollo's earlier talk. Ah. She seems to have frightened them all. "You cannot afford a relapse."

Athena squeezes her fingers in acknowledgement, but reaches for the helmet when it's held out, dented and worn.

She touches the metal and feels the full force of seven years of silenced prayers hit her at once.

She's crying before she knows she's doing it, clutching the helmet to her chest as the warmth of the worship wraps around her like a shawl, and holds it tight against her as Ares tries to pry it away.

"No, no!" Apollo intervenes, shifting forward. He touches a hand to the helmet and suddenly the hymn bursts forth around them, loud even though the prayer itself is quiet and broken. Athena inhales at the feeling of it, soothing over the cracks in her own mind with their never-ending continuity, desolate, unbroken faith even when she never came to help-

He's still singing.

She shifts her hands on the helmet to make sure but- yes. Odysseus is calling her, still, at this very moment.

Her head snaps up, but even the dizziness the motion causes doesn't take away from how much clearer the room looks. "Where is he?"

"Sister-"

"If you do not answer me, I will take to the skies myself," She says firmly. "Where is he?"

Her siblings exchange looks.

"Three days out from Ithaka," Artemis replies with a sigh. "On a raft. But listen, wait but an hour, at least absorb these prayers-"

Athena stumbles off the bed and pulls on the helmet, closing her eyes.

"Wait, the bandages-!"

"Athena, you'll hurt yourself, please!"

"Daughter, be careful!"

Athena opens her eyes and looks out at the waves, rough and choppy, but not enough to sink the raft. She looks down and looks at the way the faded clothes don't fit him, the way he has no water left to drink but he still continues to sing.

"Odysseus," She says, and he freezes.

A wave rises and falls. They stay silent, unmoving.

"Won't you look?" The words break out of her, cracked and desperate.

He inhales and exhales, tears in the sound of it. "I don't want to look if you're... if you're not really here."

She swallows against the lump in her throat, takes a step forward. "Well, I-" Her voice cracks, but the fragile grin on her face is real as it spreads, the frailest thread of laughter entering her voice. "I would hope. That if you were hallucinating of me, that the spectre would at least have wisdom enough to tell you that you were."

Odysseus sobs and her heart cracks, feels his heart cracking in turn; yet it is akin to a misaligned bone that never healed right and has to be reset- she can hear the laughter before it comes, with relief coming from the brink of madness, with joy they'd both forgotten and missed. "It is you."

"I could not reach you on Ogygia," She blurts out, desperate to make him understand. "Could not hear your call. I would have come the second time you prayed, if I had."

"It is you," He whispers, swaying. A wave rises suddenly and they both burst into movement, grabbing ropes and pulling the mast, balancing together to keep it steady.

The wave passes. They are almost touching now.

"Won't you look?" Athena asks again, raw and grieving. "Odysseus. My companion, my friend. Please."

He turns at that, a stunned expression on his face- before it turns into wide-eyed horror as he looks at her. She laughs breathlessly, slightly dizzy, but- her friend. How lovely it is to see him again.

"Athena!" He rushes forward with unexpected vitality, the parts of him that she knew suddenly rising to light in his eyes, in his movements, becoming unhidden from the defeated, beaten figure he'd been moments before. "What in Gaia's name-"

"I'm sorry," She interrupts as she slumps forward into the hands on her arms, off-balance. "I should have tried better to understand, all those years ago. I understand now and I- Odysseus, I am-"

"Athena, shut up," Odysseus snaps, clearly panicking. She laughs again, because isn't it such a novelty, to have a person who will have the audacity to tell her to? "Of course it's forgiven, I'm sorry too, I should have fucking listened back then- but listen, what in Hades happened to you? Why do you look like this- why do you have bandages- Hermes wouldn't answer when I asked if something happened to you, fuck-"

"Peace," Athena rasps, even as her vision blinks in and out, forcing her to kneel. They both grimace as another wave crashes into the raft, but they don't upturn. Odysseus kneels down with her, staring at her with such worry and concern she can feel nothing but fondness. "The disagreements of gods are often violent."

"Gods-" His eyes flicker to the side of her face, and he frowns, reaching out to push back the helmet. She bends her face down to let him, feeling an odd burning on the left side that she has a vague bad feeling about- proved right when Odysseus' expression falls into blank horror. "You got into a fight with-"

"Yes."

"But he's your-"

"I know. He did not take kindly to my petition to release you," She smiles dryly, without mirth.

"To release me?" Odysseus wheezes, face cracking into anguish and disbelief alike. "Athena, what- I- I'm not worth-"

"It was worth it," She snaps. "Consider it my penance for abandoning my own. I certainly don't regret it."

"I never felt abandoned," Odysseus whispers, taking her hands as she shifts, supporting her body with his own as they lean against the mast. She looks at him, and remembers why Penelope is still weaving, why he's still out on the waters, why Ithaka is waiting out the suitors till Telemachus takes the throne. "I always knew you would come back. I just figured it would take ten years more, perhaps."

Athena is silent for a bit, absorbing that. And then, because she can't hold it back any longer- "I am sorry about your men." His breath hitches under her and she turns to take him in her arms, knowing what's coming. "I am sorry about your friends."

He sobs, ugly and loud, and she holds him tighter. "I am sorry that Titan's whelp had you for so long, and what she did to you. I am sorry the Fates were so unkind."

"Athena," He keens, finally falling to pieces. The sobs are mere loud gasps for air at first, before it dissolves into wailing, screaming, grieving for all the men they'd kept alive through a war, only to lose them to this cruel tragedy instead. Even she hadn't known- hadn't anticipated how wrong things would go after she left. Hadn't even thought that he hadn't reached home.

"It's all my fucking fault," He shouts, shaking. "If only I had- if only-"

"It is not. No one could have known," She whispers. "The Fates are unknown to us all."

He sobs louder and she closes her eyes.

But finally, their tears dry up. She holds him still, as the night fades and the sun rises again, trying to take his hurt into herself so he can be happy again.

"I am sorry," She whispers, seaspray around them. "That my enemies became your own. That I pushed you so hard. That I chose you, and brought pain to your life so."

"Hey now," Odysseus says, pulling back to look at her, a broken smile on his face. "Hold your blasphemous tongue, before you insult the wisdom of Pallas Athena." She laughs, even as tears spill over. "Even if I had the chance to choose again right at this moment, my goddess, I would still choose you."

"That means more than you know," Athena murmurs, overcome. She gathers all her strength and reaches out to run a hand over his head, soothing his mind and driving away the last tendrils of madness that were still holding onto him. He sighs and relaxes under her, some visible weight lifting from his shoulders. "Still. I will learn from my mistakes. If you would give your old friend a chance-"

"Stop right there. Of course I-" Odysseus scoffs, reaching out to hold her left cheek for emphasis. "Athena, your left eye is half gone."

"Ah. Well, that explains the depth perception," She mutters, then bursts into giggles at the incredulous look on his face.

"Are you drugged?" Odysseus demands, but he's already trying not to laugh himself. They both move on fast. "What am I saying, of course you are- have you been drugged this whole time? Who on Earth drugged you?"

"That would be me," Apollo says, crossing his arms.

Odysseus snarls, grabbing his sword and swinging wildly in an arc, half-animal in his panic, pushing Athena behind him.

"FUCKING- whoa, hey, calm down, it's her brother, it's Apollo!" Apollo half-shrieks inelegantly, jumping back. "Honestly! Athena, call off your hero, please."

"Apollo?" Odysseus tilts his head, lowering his sword and narrowing his eyes.

Apollo stares at him. "Wow, you two- really do act the exact same, huh. Yes, Apollo, god of please let me change your fucking bandages, do you mind?"

Odysseus bows and murmurs apologies, clearly wary of getting into more trouble, but to her mild surprise walks behind Athena instead of to the other side of the raft.

"I don't need assistance," She mutters to him, even as she grimaces at the length of the chiton as she tries to pull herself upright.

"You're still dizzy," Odysseus points out, settling in behind her to hold her steady. He wipes at the tears still on his face and smiles at her. She manages a half-smile back. "Do you need to go back to Olympus?"

"Yes," Artemis crosses her hands and Odysseus' fingers tighten painfully on her shoulders.

"I'm not quite certain there's space for so many on this raft," Athena mutters.

"It's a magical raft, it'll survive- but never mind that, could you not have at least sent a message that you were okay?"

"Well, maybe you should have thought of that before running off without a word!"

"Really, daughter, you should know better!"

Odysseus grip is bruising now, and his sword is in front of Athena protectively; she can already tell what moves he's planning to use if they choose to attack. "Who..?" He asks lowly.

"Pantheon. At ease," She replies back shortly, before looking up at the others. "I thank you, my fellow go- my family, for your worry and concern. But we are only two days out from Ithaka and I would like to see this journey completed."

"You are not going to see yourself completed, if you don't rest," Apollo says, roughly at the exact same time that Athena undermines her own argument by throwing up on the raft.

"Athena, go," Odysseus says urgently when it's over, handing her helmet back to her and adjusting her cape as Hera kneels down beside her to hand her another glass of nectar, looking at him oddly. Odysseus grimaces and changes his tone. "I will be fine, patroness. I'll call for you when I reach the shores."

Movement catches her eye and she sees Ares remove his own helmet, giving her a reproving look. She remembers the speech he was talking about now- the one she'd loudly ranted at him when she was drunk a year ago, thinks about how much more at ease he is now.

"Alright," She acquiesces and everyone breathes a sigh of relief. "Two days."

Mania fills Odysseus' eyes as he smiles back, finally home from a war twenty years ago. "Two days."

Athena grins, even as she feels Hera wrap an arm around her to take her away. "Penelope is waiting."

Odysseus' eyes widen, then fill with tears, like he'd never quite truly let himself believe it; but his smile is wide and true. "Penelope is waiting. Thank you, Pallas Athena."

"You don't thank friends," She murmurs, exhaustion settling in. Odysseus laughs and the last thing she feels is a warm hand on her cheek and their foreheads pressed together, before the world goes black and she knows no more.

[siggiedraws]

Cover for Sonic Horizons - a Sonic Frontiers rewrite fic by my friend @blurredblu! The story is beautifully poignant and just getting started, so check out the AO3 series and tumblr masterpost!

[badomensgoodomens]

Noah Sebastian x Reader (fluff)

noah + illness = a literal two year old

"shh, stop fussing, im just braiding your hair"

he mumbles and groans, pulling away from you. he yelps as you tug on a strand of his brown hair. the tv plays an episode of a random anime hes been binge watching.

he finally settles, sitting between your legs as you braid. he tells you about his day, a mumbling tired mess.

"baby?" you ask, he looks up at you. "can i do your skincare perchance?"

he groans.

"stop saying perchance."

you get up, giggling, you run to the bathroom to grab your array of expensive skincare. he sighs, getting comfy. as you settle back down again he turns to ask, "this won't hurt, right?" you almost laugh.

with a shake of your head you get to work. you pull his loose bits of hair; that had fallen out of the braids, back with one of those silly headbands. he snaps a picture.

you gently apply a serum, he whines about it being cold. The wind was picking up outside, october was amongst us. red plaid, pumpkin spice and annoying children in half-ass costumes. you continue with another serum, he bundles himself into a grey blanket.

"you getting sick, babe?" you ask, rubbing moisturizer in. he grumbles, a grumpy ass man he is. you continue massaging his face until he falls asleep, you change the channel to a show youve been watching lately. rain picks up outside. your fluffy dog trots up for cuddles, he snuggles into noah, who was now fully asleep in your arms.

3 hours later you woke up to a thunderstorm, and a sniffly, grouchy noah. you usher him into your shared bedroom and put the kettle on, you prepare hot chocolate as the wind howls outside.

"baaaabe! can i have two marshmallows instead of one?" he calls out, his voice scratchy and broken.

you sigh, smiling to yourself.

you carry the two warm mugs to bedroom, noah is under a pile of blankets with the dog. "here, let me feel your forehead."

he climbs out of the pile of blankets, flushed with messy hair. you press the back of your hand to his forehead. warm.

you hum and press a gentle kiss on his forehead. "ill get you some medicine, hm?"

he wraps his arms around your waist, rubbing his warm face on your stomach. its moments like this that truly remind you of how beautiful and raw your love is.

"what about some soup huh? chicken?"

he mumbles and tightens his hold on you.

you snicker, pulling away to look down at him.

"alright, come on lovebug. let me get you some soup and medicine hm?"

he sighs and slides away from you, he curls into your pillow.

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

you come back 30 minutes later with hot soup and medicine. hes asleep.

you gently scratch his back, just tracing over his tattoos. he mumbles, stirring in his sleep. you press a gentle kiss to his back.

"mm?" he turns to face you. his cheeks are red.

"i made you soup, baby. and some medicine. sit up."

he sleepily sits up, rubbing his eyes.

he gratefully takes the soup, whispering thank yous as he soothes his sore throat. he pats the bed next to him, gesturing you closer. you scoot over, immediately overwhelmed by the heat his body was emitting. you press a gentle kiss to his shoulder, and cuddle him back to health.

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

soooooooooooooooooo sorry i forgot about you guys :c

im trying so hard to make my posts longer but its not going very well lol.. do u guys prefer short- quick ones? or like full blown chapters/stories?

let me know!!!

[baskeigh-ball]

Bro, now I just wanna see the Mud Dogs reunite with Raph after years sobbing and hugging!

found family reunions are the best kind of reunions, especially when one of them has changed drastically

(I've gotta make a masterpost for this au with all these reunion doodles, lol)

[veronicaphoenix]

Main storyline

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ ONE | TWO | THREE | FOUR | EPILOGUE 💫

Additional content

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ Midnight (Reader & Oliver's first night together - flashback) *ੈ✩‧₊˚ The engagement party *ੈ✩‧₊˚ House painting *ੈ✩‧₊˚ In the absence of her *ੈ✩‧₊˚ The anger of gods *ੈ✩‧₊˚ A new addition to the family. Three becomes four

Hearts like Ours (additional multipart)

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ Part one: The Snakes *ੈ✩‧₊˚ Part two: The Angel of Death *ੈ✩‧₊˚ Part three: The Crow Witch

Requests

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ one

Author's note: Surprise! Did you think the story would end with the epilogue?! Well, Veronica here thought the story would end after part 2 lmao and here we are, working on a full series because you never know where life will take you 😂

If you were in the tag list for this fic, you’ll be tagged in future updates :) and if you want to be added, please do let me know in the comments or by dropping a message, and I’ll gladly tag you 😇

Taglist: @girlfromrussia-universe | @oro-e-diamanti | @lma1986 | @missduffsblog | @bngurngheart | @winterwinchester | @jilliemiw86 | @sorrowsofsilence | @th4t-em0-k1d | @to-be-written | @nonamessblog | @somebodyels3 | @starsomens | @ditto66 | @dominuslunae | @cookiesupplier | @midnight-eternals | @pennysky | @iknownothingpeople | @cncohshit | @ladyveronikawrites | @blackveilomens | @robabankfuckmickeymouse |@kageyasma | @silentglassbreak | @thescarlettvvitch | @sammyjoeee | @pathion | @shilohrosechicken | @skulliecadaver-blog | @anameunmusical | @lobolocaamo | @somewhere-diamond | @hoe-for-daddywise | @respectfulrebel

[everybodylovesaloy]

Posting starts tomorrow for our rare pair challenge!! We can't WAIT to see what you've come up with!

If you post your fic to tumblr, please use #rare pair roundup so we can reblog. A master list will also be made at the end of the event so you can be sure not to miss any.

Posting will officially end on 7/26. Let's get this party started!

[pikapeppa]

Me, absolutely loving your bisexual Drakka in hardiest desert blooms and conditions of training:

HAHAHAH I'm so glad you're enjoying him!! Let's pretend he had a conversation with Aloy at some point that went something like this:

Aloy, running back to the base: this better not awaken anything in me

It did

If anyone else wants to enjoy some bi Drakka, you can find him in many places in my AO3 I have fever and the only cure is more Drakka:

Even The Hardiest Desert Blooms Need To Get Wet Sometimes (Aloy/Drakka)

Conditions of Training (Aloy/Drakka/Kotallo)

Finding Something In Common (Aloy/Drakka/Nil)

-- love from your friendly neighbourhood Pika! xoxo

[valiantroeagleangel]

Turn on.

Noah Sebastian x female reader, Oliver Sykes x female reader.

Based on one of @starsomens' anon's prompts "yeah also definitely not thinking about noah and oli taking turns eating you out".

Someone should have stopped me on that one but no one did. So here it is. Now I'll leave for a spiritual retreat.

Mama's tag list: @circle-with-me @somewhere-diamond @malice-ov-mercy @smokeynaomi @darkhallcorner @loeytuan98 @sthnog @cookiesupplier @cncohshit

You shouldn't have looked at Oli the way you did tonight, especially not in front of Noah. You knew you shouldn't have but you couldn't be more glad than you did. Noah freaked out. God, he hated how you looked at his co-star like he was the hottest person alive. He was reading every one of your emotions on your face and he abhorred it so much.

"What are you looking at?" He asked, joining you from behind against the balcony you were perched at, looking at Oli's check sound before the show.

Even if he tried to hide it his tone was severe and you couldn't help but shiver. You only hummed at him though, your gaze not leaving the man on the scene below.

Noah didn't like to be ignored, you knew it but that didn't prevent you from doing so. His large hand came to surround your waist, his body pressing itself against your back while his fingers grazed on your belly.

"I asked you, what are you looking at?" He whispered deeply in your ear and you finally turned your face to his, meeting his cold eyes.

"Nothing, I'm only checking on Oli's performance." You looked back to the scene to hide your trouble, your cheeks heating.

"Hm hm, of course." His grasp on your waist tightened while he stayed right beside you, reminding you of his presence and hold.

Maybe it was that moment that changed things between you, that changed the course of the events. Or maybe it was right after the show, when you all met and you couldn't help but blush when Oli smiled at you, responding to your compliments about his show.

At this very instant, Noah instantly left the couch to come back to your side, his hands travelling around your body once again to remind everybody who you were with. You weren't technically his but that didn't matter to him, he didn't like the fact that you could desire anyone else other than him or that anyone else could desire you.

Back on the couch, Noah sat you on his lap, pressing his torso against your back. His breath quickly came to your ear, fanning on it while you shivered but your gaze was still so focused on Oli that you couldn't even care about your trouble and how your body reacted to Noah's touch.

"Do you think he noticed how much you're wanting him?"

You abruptly turned back to the man behind you, blushing to the ear. "What are you talking about?" Noah laughed bitterly at your flustered state, not liking what it implied.

"Do you think he could make you come?"

You didn't answer him, your mind racing with images while he approached his lips to yours, brushing them together. "Would you like him to touch you? To eat you out?" He whispered so inaudibly that you doubted if he meant to really say it.

He pointed to Oli with his chin, inviting you to look at him and you did, your body turning only to notice how he was staring at your two bodies intertwined on the couch. "Look at him, wishing to be me, wishing to have you on his lap." He paused. "Do you think he is jealous?"

You scoffed at Noah and jumped off his lap, too embarrassed by how things were turning but little did you know, he enjoyed seeing you in such a state, to see how he could turn you on just with his words.

Later that night, when you thought you were finally alone and away from all danger in your hotel room Noah came by. It was 3 am and you didn't like what it insinuated. Nonetheless, he looked less aggressive than before and you let him in, not noticing the person behind.

When you finally turned back to face him, Oli's frame was resting by his side, eyeing you completely puzzled.

"What is he doing here?" You asked in disbelief as Noah approached you, his arms surrounding your waist to push you against his body. He didn't answer you immediately, his lips losing themselves in the crook of your neck while he held you.

"Isn't it what you wanted?" He breathed out, his mouth detaching itself from your skin for a second.

You flushed and tried to tug at his hair to force him to look at you. "What are you even saying?" That was a pitiful cop-out but it was better than nothing. You hated how Noah saw through you and how obediently he was ready to tame himself for you. It was too surreal.

You gave Oli a look and Noah groaned. "Don't look at him, only me." His mouth attacked your neck back as his teeth brushed against your soft skin. However, you didn't listen to Noah and looked at the other one, your eyes meeting for the longest seconds of your life.

Noah pushed you towards the bed, still pressing himself on you and Oli followed quietly, his gaze never leaving your face. Eventually, Noah's face rose to yours, trailing kisses up your jaw. "Are you deaf tonight? Eyes on me." His lips drew back to your neck, passing by your cleavage until he reached the hem of your shirt, tugging on it.

You tried to respond but he was already pushing your clothing up, exposing your belly and the beginning of your chest. Suddenly, shyness hit you, like you finally realised what was going on and how quickly things were slipping through your fingers. Oli's gaze was burning on your skin and it scared you. You felt like a prey in its predator grip, doomed to your loss.

Getting impatient, Noah sighed and pulled away. In a quick movement, he jumped on the bed and put himself under you. Without you realising it he got you sat between his legs, his arms surrounding you possessive as usual. His fingers back to your stomach he pushed your shirt up, caressing your skin. His nose rubbed against your hair, breathing next to your ear.

"You want him that fucking much?" He asked and you swallowed hard, mesmerized by Oli standing in front of the bed, a bulge growing in his pants. Noah's head shifted behind you, and Oli immediately moved as he started to crawl on the bed. Silently, he settled himself between Noah's legs, and more specifically between yours which were unconsciously spread.

"Hey." was all he said and you realised that you hadn't heard his voice until now. He was just here, like a voyeur, desiring you without being able to touch you, to have you, as if he wasn't even really here.

"Hey." You didn't know what to answer. You didn't know him that well. He was touring with Noah and you used to exchange pleasantries on the days you would see each other. You heard about him before obviously but that was all. And now he was in your bedroom past 3 am.

You wanted to believe that he understood your growing discomfort because he smiled at you tenderly, giving Noah a look for approval.

"How do you feel?" Noah asked softly, his lips still whispering in your ear.

"I'm okay." You breathed out, your head tilting back to rest on Noah's shoulder. You felt his fingers wander on your chest, quickly reaching your breast to mould it to his hand.

"Give me a colour baby." At these words, he pushed his thumb on your nipple, making your stomach flip.

Baby.

"Green."

A heavy silence settled between the three of you but it was short-lived. Noah's hand continued to play with you while his mouth slightly sucked on the skin of your neck. "What do you want him to do?" He asked and all you could think about was what Noah told you earlier.

"I want him to go down on me." You breathed out, your eyes closed as if it was only you and Noah, too far gone in your own horniness. But Oli was really here and it didn't take him two seconds to crawl closer to you, his big hands caressing your thighs until he reached the side of your underwear under your shorts.

At the feeling your eyes snapped back and you looked at him, unsure. He waited until he saw a change in your eyes, completely troubled by your presence. When you gave him a nod he lowered his face, gently kissing your inner thighs while his hands drew to the top of your shorts, tugging on it to take it off.

The piece of clothing in hand he threw it away in the room, not caring about where it was about to land. His mouth attached itself back to your thigh, sucking gently on your skin as he moved closer to your -wet- panties. You couldn't stop staring at him as you analysed every single one of his moves, the unrealistic scene going on in front of you like you were away from it. Oli's lips quickly reached your panties, kissing from your groin to the wet spot right between your legs.

Noah's hold became stronger around your torso when Oli's fingers pushed your underwear to the side, his tongue licking your slit as he groaned.

He was quick to get how your body worked and how you reacted in a certain way. Soon he had his two hands grabbing your legs to put them on his shoulders, eating you out with more fervour than before. His nose rubbing your clit made you moan, your hands immediately coming to your mouth to cover your sounds. But Noah stopped you, taking your hands in his to put them on Oli's hair, pushing his head more on you until he got another moan out of you.

"Oh my god-"

Noah didn't interfere the way you were expecting him to. He only kept peppering your face and neck with kisses as he basked in your moans and whimpers. Unconsciously, your hips started to rock on Oli's face, your body arching urgently as you drowned in all of these sensations.

You were so confused but yet so aroused that you didn’t know where to turn. It all started with you admiring Oli's body on tour, enjoying how Noah could get so jealous and now it was the two of them holding you in your bed.

Looking down all you saw was Oli's head lost between your clenched thighs surrounding his head, his hips slowly rocking into the bed. Your stomach squeezed at the view and you clenched over nothing, your hips pushed even more on his head.

Oli kept going, his lips followed every single one of your hip movements until all you were resumed to was moans, your body squirming under their hold. Immediately, Noah's hands came back to your breasts, folding them more urgently than before.

"Shit-." You cursed, tugging on Oli's hair to separate him away from you but he didn't move, eating you out until he felt you orgasm under his touch.

Out of breath, your body relaxed on Noah's one, completely limp but his caress on your chest didn't stop, stimulating you all over again. The older one straightened himself, pushing away from your intimacy as he stared back at you, your mind wandering away.

"Colour?" Noah asked once again, his voice soft and low behind you.

"Green."

Still, he didn't even let you time to think as he moved under you, flipping you over on Oli's lap in a second. When you realised what was going on it was already too late, Noah had settled himself between your legs, taking Oli's place as he exchanged roles.

Immediately, he tore your underwear off, putting the wet fabric in his pocket. Taking his time to savour the moment, he gently kissed your pelvis. "Was he good?" He asked, his fingers caressing your wet folds and you nodded. Quickly, he pinched at your sensitive clit making you moan. "Words."

You whined a semblance of a "Yes", your body going completely numb on Oli's who did his best to support you. A little venturous he gently caressed your pelvis, meeting Noah there.

"Better than me?" Noah asked once again and you didn't want to answer but this time he bit the interior of your thigh, leaving a red mark.

"Maybe." You breathed out, defying him as you looked down to meet his eyes. You saw how upset he was on his face as descended on you, licking at you in the slowest way he could. Still overwhelmed from before, it didn't ask him a lot to have you all whimpering for him. His licks were slow, gentle, tender, contrasting with Oli's ones and overwhelming you even more as he knew how to get you nice and obedient.

One of his hands came to your waist, resting on it as he continued to suck on your clit. He kept you steady under his mouth, his grasp tightening on your skin, assuring you to leave a mark after that.

Almost instinctively your hand came to the back of his head, playing with his hair as you pushed him down on you. This time you didn't even hesitate like you did with Oli. All you wanted was to push him more and more on you, begging him to speed up his pace. But Noah was too much of a teasing bitch to do that. He kept his slow motions, nice and gentle, groaning when you would moan a little bit louder or push him a little bit too hard.

Your legs started to close on Noah, desperately moving as your hips couldn't, looking for more friction. You tried to chase your other orgasm but he wanted you to know who was in charge, forbidding you to ride his face like you did with Oli. Maybe it was his way to assure his domination, or maybe he was just an ass.

But in the end, he got you so frustrated and desperate to come that all you did was whimper his name, just like he wanted you to do. You didn't call Oli's name before, not like you did with Noah and he noted it, satisfied with himself. It was all for his ego but he liked that. He liked to know he had control over your body more than anyone you could desire. No one could replace him and he wallowed in that idea.

Quickly Noah felt you clench under him while you kept moaning, unable to move. Your free hand was resting on Oli's arm, supporting yourself on it as you tried to deal with the pleasure and he kissed the top of your head. It was small soothing pecks but it was good to make your heart melt.

But Noah groaned once again and you looked down, admiring how focused he was between your legs. Oli's kisses weren't enough of a distraction to prevent your climax from washing over you as it took you away for the second time tonight. Noah continued to eat you through it like he didn't know when he had to stop. It's only when he heard you go completely silent that he pushed away.

He exchanged another look with Oli but you were too spent to even care about it. All you did was throw your arms for Noah to come closer, his body leaning on you as he left a small kiss on your forehead, completely ignoring the other man under you.

"I won." He stated, his eyes full of challenge while he stared right behind you.

"What do you mean "you won?"" You asked but Noah didn't answer you, a grin settling on his face and you heard Oli sigh as he rolled his eyes.

Completely confused you tried to turn back to look at the other one but he kept you in place, his arms still firmly pressed on you.

You knew you were missing something but maybe it was for the best. Noah's vicious mind could be pretty scary when he wanted to and you weren't sure that you wanted to know about his sinister plans, especially not when they were including you.

"I won't let you fuck her tho." He told Oli all proud and you understood that the less that you knew the better it was, at least for tonight.

[ma-i-d]

Idk of anyone follows me from my fic, most probably not, but if by any chance you do, this'll be a pretty long pause... It's been incredibly difficult to write recently, chapter 7 has a completed first draft that I can't even look at without getting angry, so yeah.

[badomensgoodomens]

requesting noah x reader

noah is finally home from tour and the two of you just spend the day cuddling, watching movies and eating snacks

omg omg yes let me cook xoxo

wrote at 10pm on a sunday cut me some slack

__________________________

noah had surprised you in the middle of the night, sleepily climbing into bed. You screamed, ofcourse. A 6'3 muscle man standing at the foot of your bed. terrifying. after you fumbled for the lamp switch, he apologised profusely, soft kisses peppered on your face.

"I said i was sorry" he whines as you groan. you hit his shoulder playfully. "That was NOT funny."

___________

The next morning, you wake before him. The sunlight creeps in, illuminating the soft freckles spread across his skin. you admired the soft pout of his lips, his funky eyebrows, his jaw that is ALWAYS clenched, finally resting.

he cracks a singular eye open, "its rude to stare." you just snicker, tracing the slope of his nose and his jaw. he turns on his side, pulling your warm, soft body towards him. "goodmorning to you too." you say, running your fingers through his hair. you reminisce on the longer version of his hair, you were truly devastated when he cut it. You lay in silence, just cuddling. But it's a good silence, a taking in eachothers presence silence. the room was silent yet the love for eachother was so, so so loud.

noah was once again fast asleep, poor love must be so exhausted from tour. you manage to slip away from him, prepping for a movie marathon. knowing your luck, he'll chose a horror movie and you won't be able to sleep for weeks. (I think he just likes comforting you afterwards. Sick bastard.)

after fixing a small charcuterie(?) Board, and some popcorn, you gently move to his bedside. You comb your fingers through his hair, his brows furrowed ever so slightly.

"Noah.. " you whisper.

He grumbles, pulling the blanket tighter around him.

"Come and watch a movie with me" you whine, annoyed at his sleepiness. He rubs his face, standing up with a sigh. He drags the blanket through the house. You trail behind him, only making a pitstop to yell at folio who had been picking at the food. one by one the boys filter in uninvited. just the nature of living with a bunch of boys. A random horror film plays on the large screen tv. But you're not watching. You're too busy admiring your man.

how long his lashes are, the slight stubble that's growing back, his freckles. God they were your favourite thing about him. He glances down at you, feeling your gaze. you clamber into his lap, back pressed against his chest. He presses a soft kiss on the back of your head, his warm hands splayed out on your tummy. you rest your hands on top of his, leaning back to look up at him. You press small kisses to his jaw.

after a while you fall asleep, sleep coming easier to you when your lover returns. it's his turn to admire you, tracing the shape of your lips, and your rosy cheeks, your soft dimples and petulant pout. its overwhelming. His love for you making him feel dizzy. he thinks about the future. His plan to marry you somewhere with flowers and a nice lake. how you would look in a wedding dress. And how you would look after...

he guides his fingers through your hair, gently ghosting over your scalp. Your hand tightens on his, seeking comfort.

you wake up a few hours later, noah long gone by now. I'm talking head conked back, mouth open, snoring. you giggle to yourself. You notice the others had left by now. Probably returning to slumber.

"Noah.." you poke him, he stirs slightly.

"nowahh" you grumble out.

he stirs, "yep I'm awake what's wrong?" his words are rushed, a testament to how tired he actually is. "cmon, into bed. I'll bring the snacks." he stands up, stretching his long limbs. He patters down the hallway, losing his tshirt along the way. you pack up the dips and cheeses, before finding your way back to your lover. He's already sprawled out on the bed, waiting. "I've missed this." He mumbles. Face down.

"Me? Or the bed."

"the bed."

You throw a pillow at him, he laughs. Pulling you impossibly close.

_______________________

The clock reads 4am and you PRY yourself out of his grip, you roll over, body spread over the open space of the bed. Sweat trickles down your back. Oh how noah hadn't missed this. "babe... go put the cooler on.." he grumbles.

"I'm not going in the dark!!" You whisper-shout

He just grumbles in return. He cracks open a window instead.

he pulls you back into his grip. Pressing sleepy kisses all over your face. you groan against his warm, ink covered skin. his breathing evens out and his face falls flat as he falls asleep again. You huff, sweating your tits off. You peel each layer of clothing off, laying in a bra and underwear. the sheets abandoned at the end of the bed. You were STILL sweaty AF but this man won't leave you alone. Especially after being gone for so long!!!

___________

He wakes up before you, the sight of you in your undergarments dizzying. He rests his head in the crook of your shoulder. Taking in the smell of your moisturiser, and shower gel.

"Mm morning baby" you yawn. light filters into the room, illuminating the lack of nothing between the two.

"never leaving for tour again if this is how I wake up every morning" he grunts, hands snaking around your waist.

"even in winter?"

"just means I get to warm you up."

You throw your head back in laughter as he begins to tickle you relentlessly.

______________________

I know I said I'd cook but lowkey look undercooked 😔

ik ik it's excuse after excuse but after I posted that my requests were open I got hit with the most diabolical family problems and have been putting off writing for a further week. but! I'm slowly easing back into it with the simplest request I could find.

so sorry if this is short, please leave more requests they are great motivation!!!

[i-lavabean]

Messy sketch from @apricity-writes "Twisted Threads" featuring Kotallo having the Best Day meeting a falcon