#like i guess like what you like and ship what you ship

[latanyalove]

A Christmas Wish

Summary: Luffy wants you for Christmas (fluff)

Song: Michael Bublé - White Christmas

Author’s note: I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Please like, reblog and share this! 🫶

The warm sun hung low in the sky, casting a golden glow over the Thousand Sunny. The scent of salt and adventure filled the air as the crew buzzed around, preparing for the upcoming Christmas celebration. You stood at the railing, watching the waves lap against the ship's hull, lost in thought.

“Hey!” Luffy’s cheerful voice snapped you back to reality. He bounded over, a wide grin plastered across his face, as if he were the embodiment of joy itself. “What are you doing all alone? It’s Christmas! Come help me decorate!”

You felt your cheeks flush. Luffy had a way of making the simplest things sound exciting, and the idea of decorating with him made your heart flutter. “Uh, sure, I can help,” you managed to say, your shyness creeping in.

“Awesome! Let’s go!” He grabbed your hand and pulled you along, his enthusiasm infectious.

As you entered the main deck, you were met with a delightful sight: tinsel and ornaments were strewn about, and Nami was organizing the decorations with a focused intensity.

Sanji was in the kitchen, the aroma of freshly baked cookies wafting through the air. Zoro was lounging in a corner, trying to nap but clearly keeping one eye on the festivities.

“Luffy! Don’t run off with Y/N like that! We have to organize everything!” Nami chided, her hands on her hips. But her tone was soft, as if she couldn’t help but be amused by Luffy’s antics.

“Right! But I’m going to help Y/N put the big star on top of the mast!” Luffy declared, completely ignoring Nami’s comment.

You chuckled softly, feeling your heart race at the thought of being so close to him. “I don’t think I’m tall enough for that,” you said, trying to suppress a smile.

“Don’t worry! I’ll just lift you up!” Luffy beamed, oblivious to your shyness.

You hesitated for a moment. “Okay, I guess that could work.”

Moments later, Luffy had you hoisted onto his shoulders, and you were suddenly higher than you’d ever been on the ship. The view was breathtaking, the ocean stretching endlessly beneath the sky painted in soft pastels. You felt a rush of exhilaration mixed with a hint of fear.

“Can you reach it?” Luffy asked, glancing up at you. His eyes sparkled with excitement.

You stretched your arm, fingers brushing against the cool metal of the star. “I think so… almost!” You could feel Luffy’s strength and warmth beneath you, and your heart fluttered at the closeness.

“Just a little more!” He encouraged, his laughter ringing in your ears. With a final stretch, you managed to grasp the star, securing it onto the mast with a triumphant cheer.

“You did it!” Luffy shouted, jumping a little in excitement, which caused you to wobble slightly. You clung to his head to steady yourself.

As you hopped down, your face was warm from the thrill of the moment. “Thanks for lifting me up, Luffy.”

He grinned at you, his eyes shining. “Of course! I’d do anything for you!” His words hung in the air, and you felt your heart skip a beat.

“Anything?” You teased, trying to mask the shyness that threatened to spill over.

“Yup! Anything!” He declared, a determined look in his eyes. You found yourself wishing he meant it in more than just a friendly way.

As the sun began to set, the crew gathered for dinner, laughter and camaraderie filling the air. Sanji had outdone himself with the feast, the table laden with delicious dishes and treats.

“Hey, Y/N!” Luffy’s voice broke through your thoughts again, as he handed you a plate piled high with food. “You should eat! You need your energy for all the decorating!”

“Thanks, Luffy,” you smiled, your heart racing at his consideration.

The dinner progressed with everyone sharing stories and joking around. You found yourself sitting next to Luffy, his energy contagious, drawing you into the warmth of the crew. Zoro occasionally grunted a reply when engaged, while Nami and Sanji traded playful banter.

“Luffy, what do you want for Christmas?” Nami asked, raising an eyebrow as she took a sip of her drink.

“Hmm…” Luffy pondered, his brow furrowing adorably. “I want to have a big feast with everyone! And… I want Y/N to be my Christmas present!”

You choked on your drink, eyes wide. Luffy turned to you, his smile bright as if he were completely serious. “What do you think?”

You could feel the heat radiating from your cheeks. “Luffy! That’s… um… you can’t just say that!”

“Why not?” He tilted his head, looking genuinely confused. “It’s true!”

Sanji nearly dropped his spatula, while Nami and Zoro exchanged knowing looks. The teasing began, laughter erupting around the table.

“Looks like someone’s got a crush!” Zoro chuckled, crossing his arms with a smirk.

“Shut up, Zoro!” you retorted, trying to hide your embarrassment. But your heart was racing, and you couldn’t help but steal glances at Luffy, who was blissfully unaware of the commotion he had caused.

“Come on, Y/N! I mean it!” Luffy insisted, his eyes sparkling with sincerity. “You’re the best! I want you to be my present this year. Will you be?”

The question hung in the air, and your heart raced. “I… I mean, I’d love to, but��”

“Y/N!” Sanji interrupted, his eyes shining with mischief. “I think you’d make a great present for him! Just look at how he lights up!”

“Right? You’d be the best gift ever!” Luffy added, beaming with enthusiasm.

You felt overwhelmed, your mind racing. “But Luffy… I don’t think I can be a present. I’m just… me.”

“That’s what I like!” he said, undeterred. “You don’t have to be anything else. Just be you!”

The sincerity in his voice made your heart swell, and you couldn’t help but smile. “Okay, I’ll be your present,” you said softly, feeling a warmth spread through you.

“Yay!” Luffy jumped up, nearly knocking over his chair in excitement. “Then it’s a promise! You’re my Christmas present!”

The night continued with laughter, food, and stories. You felt a sense of belonging that warmed your heart, surrounded by the crew you had grown to love. As the stars twinkled above, you couldn’t shake the joy Luffy’s words had instilled in you.

Later that night, as you lay in your hammock, you replayed the day in your mind. Luffy’s laughter, the warmth of his friendship, and his sincere words echoed in your heart. You couldn’t help but hope that maybe, just maybe, he felt the same way you did.

“Y/N?” A soft voice broke through your thoughts.

You looked up to see Luffy peeking into your cabin, his face illuminated by the glow of the lanterns. “Can I come in?”

“Sure!” you replied, your heart racing.

He stepped in, his usual carefree demeanor intact, but there was a glint in his eye that made you curious. “I just wanted to say… I’m really glad you’re part of our crew. You make everything more fun!”

“Thanks, Luffy. I’m glad to be here, too,” you replied, your shyness melting away in the warmth of his presence.

“And…” he paused, looking slightly shy for once. “I really meant what I said earlier. You’re special to me. Like, really special.”

Your heart fluttered. “I think you’re special too, Luffy.”

“Then it’s settled! You’re my Christmas present, and I’ll protect you forever!” He declared, a smile breaking across his face.

You laughed softly, the joy bubbling in your chest. “I’d like that.”

The wind tousled Luffy’s hair as he stepped even closer, his eyes sparkling with determination. “Promise me you’ll always stay by my side. We’re going to have the best adventures together!”

“I promise,” you replied, feeling the sincerity in his words.

He took a step back, tilting his head in that familiar way he did when he was deep in thought.

“What kind of adventure should we go on next? Maybe we can find a legendary treasure! Or…” he paused, a finger tapping his chin, “maybe we can just enjoy the day together, just you and me.”

Your heart raced at the thought of spending a day alone with him. “That sounds perfect. What do you have in mind?”

Luffy’s eyes lit up like fireworks. “How about we go to that uncharted island we saw on the map? I heard there’s a giant tree there that reaches the clouds!”

“Let’s do it!” you exclaimed, excitement bubbling inside you.

“Alright!” Luffy cheered, pumping his fist in the air. “But first, we need to make it official!”

He pulled you into a tight hug, his warmth wrapping around you like a cozy blanket. You could feel your heart racing against his chest, and the scent of the ocean mixed with his unique aroma filled your senses.

After what felt like an eternity, he released you but held onto your shoulders, looking deep into your eyes. “I mean it,” he said, his voice suddenly serious. “You’re really important to me. I don’t want anything to change that.”

The sincerity in his gaze made your heart flutter again, and in that moment, you felt something shift. “I don’t want anything to change that either, Luffy,” you whispered.

He smiled, a softer, more intimate smile than you were used to. Then, without warning, he leaned in, brushing his lips against yours.

The kiss was gentle, almost tentative, yet it ignited a fire within you. Your eyes fluttered shut as you melted into him, every worry, every doubt, dissolving in the warmth of the moment. The kiss held a promise—a promise of adventures to come, of laughter shared, and of a bond that could withstand any storm.

When you finally pulled away, both of you breathless and slightly dazed, Luffy beamed at you. “That was… awesome!” he declared, as if he were announcing a great victory.

You chuckled, the warmth of the kiss lingering on your lips. “Yeah, it was.”

His grin widened, and you realized that perhaps, in this wild and unpredictable life of piracy, you had found something truly precious: a connection that felt as boundless as the ocean before you.

As you stood together, the sun setting behind you and the stars beginning to twinkle above, you knew that this was only the beginning of your journey—together. . . .

[thewertsearch]

This vessel will reach your planet eventually. We can either go home the fast way, or the slow way.

Depending on the timeframe we’re currently in, the slow way might also involve a psychic shockwave of instant death.

Just who might be on their way to Alternia? If this ship has already weathered the Glub, then it’s likely full of corpses – which I guess Aradia might appreciate, on some level.

I think the Empress could conceivably have survived, though, since she should have the greatest psychic resistance of her entire species. Plus, it's been implied that she's Feferi's Ancestor, the same Empress who ruled in ancient times. That's a character with potential, and it'd be a waste to kill her off-panel before she's actually done anything.

Maybe she's the pilot of this ship, then. The lone remaining troll in the galaxy, still ruling an empire of one.

Your express ticket can only be validated with a display of good manners, miss.

Say what you like about Aradia, but she sure ain’t a quitter.

Oh, god!

No. This can't be Aradia Prime. I refuse to believe it. The girl's resolve to continue living is the core of her fucking character, and even Scratch couldn't break her badly enough to renounce it. He couldn't.

This has to be another iteration of her character, or a clone, or an ancestor, or some sort of alchemized duplicate or something. I have to be right, because this happening to her after her resurrection would be the most genuinely depressing thing that Homestuck has ever shoved in front of my eyes.

[fulcrums501st]

cannot believe the amount of people who preferred having that caitvi scene instead of actual character exploration

[wolfgirlguts]

Okay this is actually like. A really difficult question.

Because there's definitely vore that doesn't involve the digestive tract. There's definitely vore where the pred is not organic, and where the pred is not sentient.

And yet it really feels to me personally that if the ship is both those things it's inherently more a vore thing. Which I guess makes sense, since it's straying further from a situation most people would reflexively apply the label of "being in a vehicle" to, and further towards a situation we might first apply the label "being ingested by something" to. But even then we might be closer to a parasite or symbiote situation which certainly can be, but definitely isn't always, vore.

I fear it's gonna sound like a non-answer but vore is such an expansive kink and so much of it is about intent and tone.

Like there's things that "feel like a vore thing" without the intent to make them a vore thing. And those things usually involve clearer markers of a very standard idea of ingestion. For example, a character gets eaten in a situation that's meant to be solely for horror, and then someone finds it hot.

And then there's things that probably wouldn't register as vore if they were not made with the specific intent and tone to be vore.

I think the spaceship thing can be both. You can have a spaceship where people ride around in the stomach and it's making gastric noises and people keep talking about its biology in detail, but the creator of it has never heard of vore. And that feels very much a vore thing. And you can have a fully inorganic spaceship with a near-future plausible clean interior but whose AI is constantly saying things to the crew like "I like having you inside me" and the author is kinky about it. And that feels very much a vore thing, too.

I suppose what I'm putting forward is, it's the density of factors present which point to vore balanced against the tone and level of intent. And the more the initial description of the situation feels like it fits in a different box (standard sc-fi travel, piloting a mech, etc.), the more of those factors need to be present (the ship pred-teases, the mech salivates and you get in through the mouth, etc.) to make it feel like a vore thing.

Conducting a social experiment to determine exactly how organic a living starship can be before piloting it becomes a vore thing.

[toxycodone]

you should most definitely do a ‘dad’ curly body inspection fic,,, I mean whart who said that…

ship. captain curly x favorite crewmate reader

cw. power imbalance, fauxcest, you call curly “dad” but he’s not your dad.

“You’re not uncomfortable, are you?”

It’s a rhetorical question, really. You know Curly would brush off any protest from you. Anya’s busy with something. Apparently Daisuke slipped, fell, almost sent a nail straight through his foot—you didn’t pay much attention to the excuse. What followed after was what caught your favor.

“And to help her avoid getting behind schedule, I offered to conduct your body inspection in Nurse Anya’s place.”

You remember yours eyes widening in disbelief. It seemed like a joke at first. A weird one at that, but not something you’d put behind him.

“Guess you should call me Nurse Curly, huh?” He winks to punctuate the sentence.

And so it wasn’t a joke.

You’re here now. In his quarters, of all places. It’s definitely bigger than the broom closet Pony Express is legally obligated to provide you with as room and board, but not much so. Definitely less than captain-like.

“So,” He claps his hands together, smile bright as ever. “Shall we get started?”

Your captain’s eyes are bright, shining with enthusiasm. The predatory gleam that hides beneath them doesn’t go unmissed.

You simply nod. You’ve been here before, done this before. Anya’s inspections aren’t extremely invasive. Mainly just to ensure you’re in proper working order. Pony Express doesn’t take any chances when it comes to personal health as they want to avoid lawsuits, but also, any notation you’re unable to complete your tasks gives them excuse to dock credits.

They’re a necessary part of your routine health checkups. Nothing to be afraid of. Honestly, having Curly conducting it is good, right? Maybe even better than Anya, when you really think about it. He’s the most trustworthy one on the ship. The one who’s almost like family. It still feels awkward calling him dad the way he likes, but it’s starting to grow on you. You can trust him. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.

“This is just a routine checkup. Don’t think too hard about it.” He’s putting on those blue latex gloves. He must be serious about this. “I know it’s unorthodox for me to conduct this, but it’s a favor for Anya. Captain’s gotta fill in to keep this ship running properly, y’know?”

You hums in agreement. He takes a few steps forward. You never really realized just how large Curly is. His presence is imposing, a stark contrast from his personality. The sheer closeness of him is intimating. You wonder if he notices that too.

He then asks for you to take off your shirt. You oblige. Hesitation shoots through your fingertips, but it’s brushed away by a shake of the head. This is typical. Routine. With shaky fingers, you relinquish the garment.

Curly seems to drink in the sight of the newly exposed skin. Or is he just studying it? Doing his job? That’s it.

Your captain seems to notice the way you shuffle awkwardly under his gaze. He places a hand on your shoulder, giving you a comforting smile.

“It’s okay to be embarrassed. I know it’s awkward, but it’ll be over before you know it.”

You nod. Then he steps closer, curiously eyeing your chest. His hands reach out to touch you, only hesitating for a split second, before ghosting up your ribcage. You hold back and noises. Anya touches you too, this isn’t odd, per se. However, it’s usually with you lying on a medical bed. And with a medical gown on, at least.

She also doesn’t smile in satisfaction like that. Your eyes don’t linger on Curly’s face long.

He has the audacity to be demure at first, maiming some guise that this contact is supposed to be professional. His hands prod your sides, then your stomach area.

“Is there any pain when I touch you here?” Finally, there’s a line ripped from Anya’s script. “Or any pain elsewhere I should be aware of?”

You shake your head, then give a brief answer. Curly nods, then moves to take a couple notes on the clipboard set on at his desk.

There’s a sense of relief at the back of your mind, happy he’s taking this seriously.

He moves on. Now Curly’s hand move up your ribcage again, cupping your chest, thumbs stroking over your areolas and nipples—causing them to harden at the contact.

Your cheeks flush. Good God, your captain should not be touching you like this. Anya has never done this. And you shouldn’t be fucking enjoying it, either. You jump when he gives one a flick.

Curly seems to notice this. He lets out a soft chuckle.

“Seems your reflexes are in good shape.”

Well, there goes any notion that this is purely professional. He gives a last squeeze to your chest, then removes his hands. Curly takes a couple steps back, then starts to circle around you.

“Your pants.” He makes the request almost sheepishly. “Can’t keep those on, unfortunately…” You want believe his shyness, that he wants to preserve your modesty, but he just can’t. It’s out of his hands. But that would be too obvious a lie.

You shuffle those off too. His presence is behind you now, his eyes definitely glued to your ass and thighs. He is, however, scribbling something down on a clipboard. So he has to be doing some sort of work, right?

“Underwear, too.”

Wait. What?

You glance over your shoulder at him, brow raised in confusion. This isn’t part of routine, and you’re not dumb enough to fall for it. Curly’s still standing there, smiling as if he didn’t say anything remotely weird.

“Just being thorough.” He answers before you can ask. “Do it for your captain’s sake? Please?”

Curly’s choice in words is particular. He doesn’t often feel the need to flex his title as captain, but he’ll pull rank when need be. This is one of those times. An indirect reminder of who’s the one with power here.

And so, you oblige. Fingers link under the waistband of your underwear, sliding them down. You’re exposed fully in front of him now. After a few seconds of silence (which you’re sure is spent by Curly committing your body to memory), he places a hand on your shoulder, urging you towards his neatly made bed.

“On the bed, please.”

You’re sat down before you can protest. Curly pushes you onto your back, slowly guiding your thighs open.

There? Of all places, he’s looking there? Panic shoots through you, and it’s not just because there’s a grown man taking advantage of his role getting on eye level with your pussy. It’s the fact he’s going to notice just how wet you are.

His pupils dilate when he gets full view of you. Your thighs are spread wide open by Curly’s thick, gloved fingers. They’re warm despite the barrier and press into the supple flesh. The way he grabs you is as if he’s trying to restrain himself.

Curiosity beckons him on. Still ensuring your thighs are pressed open, Curly allows one hand to delve between your thighs and explore.

He cups your mound with unexpected gentleness, relishing the warmth. You have to hold yourself back from grinding against his hand. Wetness leaks out of your hole at the contact. It’s sick. Totally embarrassing how you’re dying to felt up by your captain, as dubiously consenting as it is. You close your eyes, an attempt at avoiding any eye contact Curly might sneak in.

One thumb carefully traces up your slit. A breathy gasp is elicited from your lips. Curly’s own breathing, the only sound in the room you can make out aside from the ship’s constant humming, is shaky. His thumb gathers wetness without even needing to press into you. Your clit twitches at the contact, causing your hole to flutter, clenching around nothing.

God, you hope he notices. Hope he slides a finger in. Fuck all the professionalism, the way he tries to mask his feelings for you by constantly infantilizing your and calling you his family. You want to feel those thick digits spreading you open. Then his cock, which you’re sure is far more girthy. Maybe if you took him down to the base, rode him like he deserved, he’d see you for the grown up you really are. Could he still call you kiddo after you made him moan your name and milked him dry? You doubt it.

“Alright, I think we’re done here.” Curly retreats from your form, as if you suddenly combust into flames. “You can go now.”

Huh?

You snap from your fantasies, looking up at Curly. His broad back is facing you now, hunched over as he picks up your clothing. You’re clouded by a mix of feelings—relief, confusion, anticipation for more—but you start to dress as he asked. Something sits wrong in your stomach about all this, but you’re unsure if it’s nausea or butterflies.

“I think we’re all done here. I’m gonna write up that report for Anya.” He ushers you out of his quarters with a sense of urgency. The delusional part of you admires how serious he takes his work, but that unmistakeable tent in his pants alludes to this inspection being cut for less professional reasons.

“See you at dinner, kiddo.”

And you’re back in the hallway, left alone with your thoughts.

[deathdetermineslife]

I really don't wanna say this and sound rude but why ship with Korekiyo? Like there's so many other characters in the franchise you could have picked and you picked... that one? Maybe I'm just being an asshole but you just had to pick him?

this has been sitting in my inbox since Christmas Eve but just to be That Guy here is a long, horribly comprehensive list of reasons why I am in love with this man

—————————————————————————

he's fucking pretty

look at him. he's beautiful. pretty long hair, first and foremost. I love a man with pretty long hair. he has pretty yellow eyes and also look at his (what I assume to be) eyeliner. this man is beautiful. don't even get me started when he takes his mask off. sheesh. someone get me a fan! maybe I'm just weird but I love a man who's feminine but also masculine at the same time. not androgynous but a secret other thing. I think he fits into that category.

he's also very tall (6'2") and I am short (5'6") so we have a nice height difference. also something about a man who's built like a stake olive garden bread stick I love. I could snap him in half. I won't get graphic here but he's gorgeous and that's obviously reason number one.

another thing too is I really love his design. military inspired clothing is very cunty (iirc I think his outfit was inspired by a music video? I dunno how true this is) but either way it just suits him very well. gives off this mysterious aura which fits his character. also he wears these bandages on his hands and you wonder why, because as you can see in his pregame sprite he doesn't have any scarring or anything. my personal headcanon is that he wears them to keep artifacts he handles from getting scuffed up.

I also just think that knee-high boots fuck hard. nothing to add to that. they fuck.

he has a brain

he's smart guys. why wouldn't I love a man in academia? anthropology is very interesting. he's a yapper, talks all the time about his interests, which he's very well versed in. I want a man who I can have intelligent conversations with !!!! he fits that perfectly cmon

I could talk to him for hours and never get bored... even if I don't entirely understand what the fuck he's yappin about i still love him nonetheless!!!!! I want a man who I can learn something from. and I love anthropology!!! so every conversation is something to remember.

I dunno I just like how he's the kind of individual you could talk to for forever. he always has something to say.

he's a fuckin freak

none of you are allowed to call him a freak. by the way let's get that straight but he's so fucking weird and that makes him lovable. I'm a weirdo. this is a sentence I would say. who says the shit he says. there's a scene where another character picks up a manhole cover and his response to that is "you could easily crush a child's skull with that strength". who says that. who says that. I love him.

I want a man with this sort of off-putting pazazz that none of you could begin to fathom /silly

he's just so cunty

tell me this line isn't funny. he has a sense of humor only few can understand (autistics) and I'm one of them. people think he's not funny but he's just funny in a dry way.

also yes he may have been serious in this scene but that doesn't make it any less funny. he just has such an attitude. there's this scene after u find out one of the characters is an assassin and he's like "uhm why are we including her in this activity she kills people" babe !!! babe !!! baby doll !!! guess what You Do !!! it's funny, laugh. he just has Such A Personality.

he's relatable

"Lachlan no the fuck he isn't" HE ISSS this is the line my username is based off of. it's stuck with me for like 5 years since I read it.

he's such an interesting character when it comes to the concepts of grief and loss and how one copes with the passing of someone close to you, especially when that someone hurt you. I could probably talk for hours about how he's such an interesting case study on how grief can effect ones healing from trauma, or how grief itself is a cycle that he's destined to repeat (killing over and over again to sate the desires of the dead), or how everything about his character relates to death, just generally. his favorite story in canon is Medusa, his dislikes air conditioners because they repel spirits, he's, you know, a serial killer, and so much more. I could write an essay on him.

he's relatable to me, anyways. #trauma LMAO

hes just interesting

rapid fun facts about my husband, go!!!

like I mentioned before he hates air-conditioning, he also hates holy water. you can guess why. iirc in one of his official arts it's says somewhere that a lot of women are jealous of him bc his hair is so pretty. which, yea, me too. he also wakes up at six in the morning everyday, mainly to get ready. what he spends hours doing i don't know. there's more fun facts I could share but you probably aren't very interested in hearing them

all in all though I don't think I picked him I think he just came to me at the right time. and for the last light five years I've been obsessed and he's all I think about every day and night. that's my husband!!! I love him. not much else to add there. no other fictional character I think ever at all in any way has ever been appealing to me in the way that he is. I can't explain it that well, he's just something special.

okay that's all if you read all of this ily

[alt3rnata]

Going to answer them all :)

How many fics have you worked on since January? 

11 not including translations. 

2. What’s something new that you tried in a fic this year? 

Everything. This is the first time I've written anything this year since I tried to write a Dragon Age Origins fic in school (that was a long time ago). 

3. What piece of media inspired you the most? (This can be the fandom you wrote the most for, the one that spawned the most ideas, the one you thought about the most, etc.) 

Xenoblade Chronicles 3. God bless Monolith studio.

4. How many fandoms did you write for this year? 

Two. The second one is a micro fandom around some black metal band albums I listened accidentally, but that was fun.  

5. What ships captured your heart? 

Oleg/Ashera (XC3) is the main one, which is funny because in my head it has nothing to do with True Love Till Death. 

6. What characters captured your heart? 

Oleg (Teach) from XC3, James Sunderland from Silent Hill 2, Lann from Pathfinders WOTR.

7. Did you write for any new fandoms or ships this year? 

Yeah, see question 2. 

8. What fic meant the most to you to write? 

“Slayer and the Beast” because it was the first, and I wrote it with the best intentions, without putting anything dark into it, as I sometimes like to do.

9. What fic made you feel the happiest to work on? 

This one isn’t published yet. It’s working title is "The Element of Chaos" and it’s XC3 post-canon. 

10. What fic was the most satisfying to finish writing? 

“What You Deserve” because I had to keep some quite violent details in my head, and I was glad to finally let them go. But in the process I learned a lot of new things. Hardly anyone can guess how much is put into this text.

11. What fic was the most difficult to write? 

“The Glitch” because it was a self-challenge and I had to fully rewrite that bitch 5 or 6 times, I don’t remember… But I had some fun there as a game developer writing fic about XC3 as a game.

12. What fic was the easiest to write? 

“Intersecting Lines”. I made it to relax (and now it's my work with the most kudos). 

13. What were your shortest and longest fics posted this year? 

“Slayer and the Beast” is the longest and “Intersecting Lines” is the shortest. I tried to express my thoughts briefly and throw out everything unnecessary. Although sometimes this leads to me presenting events too truncated. 

14. What were your go-to writing songs? 

Esoterica’s “In Dreams” and Guilt Machine’s “On this perfect day” whole albums. 

15. What was the hardest fic to title? 

“It's a small world. It's a vast world.” Still not sure if it’s good. 

16. What's your favorite title of the year? 

“Slayer and the Beast”, proud of it. 

17. Share your favorite opening line 

“At first, everything is dark. It is silent, the only sound you can hear is the ticking of a clock. Then the sound of footsteps becomes audible, getting closer. A key turns in the lock. And suddenly the darkness is cut by a narrow strip of bright light, and then it grows into a rectangle as the man outside opens the door and steps inside. He closes the door behind him and flicks the switch. Let there be light.”

— "The Element of Chaos" 

18. Share your favorite ending line 

“Say hi to Rex and A. Someday we will all meet again, if you weren’t kidding... But now I have to go home. I think boys are already making breakfast.”   She gets out of the water, picks up her stuff, and takes one last look at the horizon. Then she walks barefoot down the path, humming to herself, until she disappears from sight.  In the very heart of Origin, all three hear that distant greeting. A is the one who smiles. 

— “The Glitch” 

19. Share your favorite piece of dialogue 

He loosened the noose. Ashera took a shuddering breath and coughed.    “Was it enough like me? Did you have your fun?” he asked. His own voice sounded hoarse.    “I would rate this nine out of ten,” Ashera answered when she finally caught her breath and was able to speak. Not what he expected to hear from a person he had just nearly killed. 

— “Slayer and the Beast” 

20. Share your funniest line 

Well, I have a weird concept of ‘funny’. 

“But Oleg no longer had hundreds of years of life in store for him, only a measly 150 years at most. He remembered well the feeling that had appeared immediately after the Intersection, as if time had suddenly sped up. For those races that had previously had a longer lifespan and had grown up with this knowledge, the worry that they would not have enough time for anything had become commonplace. Against this background, the carefree way in which the short-lived races of both worlds, whose lives had, on the contrary, lengthened on average, spent their time, even caused some envy.” 

— "The Element of Chaos" 

21. What's something that surprised you while you were working on a fic? Did it change the story? 

Every time when the characters just do something I did not intend for them and the story takes an unexpected turn. 

22. What writing programs did you use? Did you write by hand? 

I use MS Word + I write by hand some notes, plans, timelines, etc. 

23. If you had to choose one, what was THE most satisfying writing moment of your year? 

I have one piece of writing that I can reread without thinking that "I could have done it better, but my skills weren't good enough." It's very satisfying.

24. Did you do anything special to celebrate finishing a fic? 

Just re-reading it and looking at stats. 

25. How did you recharge between fics? 

I don't need to recharge, it is my leisure. I'm constantly reading other people's work, fiction and non-fiction, and I have a life to gain new impressions. 

26. Did you create fanworks other than fic? 

Nope. 

27. How many events did you take part in? (bangs, exchanges, ship weeks, zines, prompt memes, they all count!) 

Hmm, Kinktober 2024, I guess. 

28. If this were an awards show, who would you thank? 

My audience of me, myself and I. And that one reader who left so good, thoughtful comments under “The Glitch” and appreciated my silly tech jokes and weird ideas. This made me feel that my work was worthwhile. 

29. What's left on your to-do list for 2024? 

I don’t have a plan, actually, things will be done when I have time. 

30. What would you like to write next year? 

I wish to work more on non-romantic and original things or AUs to practice working on storylines. Because I often find myself making up a storyline around a romantic line and fitting the events to it, rather than thinking them through as something independent. Of course, that doesn't mean inspiration won't take me in a completely different direction. 

A slightly revised version of last year's questions! Two ways to play: Reblog and have your followers send you numbers, or answer the whole list!

How many fics have you worked on since January?

What’s something new that you tried in a fic this year?

What piece of media inspired you the most? (This can be the fandom you wrote the most for, the one that spawned the most ideas, the one you thought about the most, etc.)

How many fandoms did you write for this year?

What ships captured your heart?

What characters captured your heart?

Did you write for any new fandoms or ships this year?

What fic meant the most to you to write?

What fic made you feel the happiest to work on?

What fic was the most satisfying to finish writing?

What fic was the most difficult to write?

What fic was the easiest to write?

What were your shortest and longest fics posted this year?

What were your go-to writing songs?

What was the hardest fic to title?

What's your favorite title of the year?

Share your favorite opening line

Share your favorite ending line

Share your favorite piece of dialogue

Share your funniest line

What's something that surprised you while you were working on a fic? Did it change the story?

What writing programs did you use? Did you write by hand?

If you had to choose one, what was THE most satisfying writing moment of your year?

Did you do anything special to celebrate finishing a fic?

How did you recharge between fics?

Did you create fanworks other than fic?

How many events did you take part in? (bangs, exchanges, ship weeks, zines, prompt memes, they all count!)

If this were an awards show, who would you thank?

What's left on your to-do list for 2024?

What would you like to write next year?

[ladyemberswrites]

(Like its not even about shipping though I am a big IchiRuki shipper and believed they should've been canon.) But, putting that aside, Bleach's last arc was a complete dumpster fire of an ending. Narrative wise, character-wise, plot-wise, just everything. And the Quinces were definitely the worst part of the arc because they just sucked at being compelling characters. Way too many of them to develop properly or care about and Bach or whatever the hell his name is just so god-awful boring for a final villain. Say what you will about Aizen at least he was entertaining in his ridiculousness.

Still disappointed in Rukia being sidelined so hard. Her Bankai to be built up only for Kubo to do nothing with it. My guess it's to give Ich!Hime the spotlight, but that goes straight to ass real quick. From Ichigo not bothering to give Orihime the details of his plan, to her powers being absolutely useless in the end. So so much for the badass couple team up. At least NaruHin@ fought a giant ninja space god on the moon together, shared an on-screen kiss and we watched Hinata tear a dude's eyeballs out, granted they were her sisters first, but still my point stands. Not that Naruhina is all that well written, but you get what I'm trying to say here.

There's like so many other things about Bleach I could bitch about right now, but I digress. I cry every day about all the character arcs that got flubbed so bad - like sailing off a diving board and belly-flopping onto the concrete - that is what Thousand Year blood arc is

[cruyuu]

Since the official art of them came out, I've seen some very hilarious takes about Yuuji and Sukuna. Some people coping HARD. "Yuuji is forcing him" Well gee, since when can he force Sukuna to do anything? Or is Sukuna that powerless against him? Even in Yuuji's domain, Sukuna didn't have to catch a damn crayfish or do archery, but he did, mind you all this happened BEFORE Yuuji said he could kill him (and even when this happened, he had support from Nobara). He's like, "ahggg fine I GUESS I can do this" lmao. In the official art, he's the one leading the dance. For what reason? Gege didn't have to draw them with their fingers intertwined, with Sukuna's arm around Yuuji's waist, and yet. Why have all this with the snow falling around them? (Yes the cat might be pandering, that's another valid reason) Right after we have the epilogue with Yuuji saying he still likes the snow and it's special to him?

"B-but he doesn't like Yuuji!" Well Sukuna called Yuuji by his full name when he was turning to dust. Have we forgotten that that's an indication that Sukuna respects someone/a sorcerer? Is it not significant going from "brat" to "Itadori Yuuji"? I'm guessing this does not apply to Yuuji then lmao. Also, I'm not saying Sukuna loves him or likes him like he loves, idk, fighting. But he at least recognized Yuuji. Another thing is that people forget that Sukuna usually says one thing and does another. Isn't this what Mahito implied? He literally called Sukuna a liar and he was like "Yeah so lmao". Their change/development is subtle, but it's there. Isn't the end of the fight an indication of this? Actually, Sukuna had an existencial crisis during this BECAUSE of Yuuji lol. For all his faults, I think some of Gege's strongest points in JJK are Yuuji and Sukuna. Sorry for the long rant btw!

Hi anon! Let me rant along with you!

I'm not on that app but I did see several posts here on Tumblr about how "there's suddenly so many skit shippers don't these ppl know that's a horrible ship" like bruh. Do you not realize Yuuji came from a brain inhabiting his mother's corpse? That Yuuji isn't even human? Are they not aware they're reading a work which isn't suitable for children?

Most are coping because sukuita is a problematic ship yet it's getting a lot of spotlight. Hell, Gege had drawn them dancing in the snow together on love day. "Yet they're related!! How could Gege :(". Well... they could lol. They clearly don't give a shit (and I say good for them!)

That's also the big issue to these ppl. Idk if they ship Yuuji with someone else and are mad that his "reincarnated uncle (grand uncle)" got the lovely romantic official art. Let's also not forget that Yuuji practically promised his forever to Sukuna. The finger that he's missing is literally the marriage finger. Am I to blame for that? Nope. Gege wrote it like that and I'm just pointing it out.

Dunno why that's stopping them from shipping their Yuuji ships. If canon's an issue, just focus on non-canon. No need to go shit on skit shippers lmfao

As for the arguments you've mentioned:

"Yuuji is forcing him"

Yuuji had also forced him to become so obsessed with tearing down his ideals and forced him to be in his close proximity while he's fighting him. He also forced him to call him brat and constantly think about him even while fighting others. The power Yuuji holds is, after all, that strong. He even forced him to change his own viewpoint and got him to hold his waist in that official art because he's now capable of using abilities which allow him to control Sukuna's actions. 👍

"B-but he doesn't like Yuuji!"

I think the right sentence is: he's obsessed with hating him so much so that it can't even be about hate anymore, it has to be that he's just in denial and that he loves him. There's a thin line between love and hate, after all. Who in their right mind spends so much time talking and thinking with delight about how someone-who-they-hate's abilities had improved? Who in their right mind changes their ways after their enemy confesses that they'd like to spend forever with them?

Their change/development is subtle, but it's there. Isn't the end of the fight an indication of this? Actually, Sukuna had an existencial crisis during this BECAUSE of Yuuji lol. For all his faults, I think some of Gege's strongest points in JJK are Yuuji and Sukuna. Sorry for the long rant btw!

Nice points and no need to be sorry, anon. It's hilarious how some ppl can't see it and are actively ignoring it lol. These two are tied to each other and are totally in love and to say otherwise is just ridiculous imo.

[lucygraysboy]

“sugar pie,” the cowboy echoes with a laugh, thinking they should put that on the posters. billy the kid, known also as sugar pie. “i guess that explains it all. sundance! did you hear that?” he playfully calls out, glancing over his shoulder towards the white horse who seems to be ignoring him completely, munching on some grass spiced with wildflowers. “you better eat your veggies or you’re gonna shrink.” obviously, that’s not how it works, but since her theory makes little sense to begin with, why shouldn’t he add to it? “that’s insane, right? what kind of fairytale is it? and the woman that he marries? she claims to be the one who saved him from drowning just ‘cause she found him on the beach. but the mermaid saved him.” the author of that story must have been drunk while writing it, labeling it as a book for children. “that’s what i’ve been thinkin’, too. he was only a pretender. real princes don’t act like that.” eyes gleaming with amusement when lucy gray seems to be just as appalled by the plot twist as he is, he finds it comforting, knowing they can relate. “alright, but you be careful.” he reluctantly lowers her down, making sure she can reach the bottom of the lake with her feet and stand comfortably before letting go. “oh, i get to be the ship, too? alright, i’ll name her… the ranger. and i’ll be prince,” he hesitates for a moment, trying to come up with a good, suitable name, thinking about all the other books that his ma used to read him and all the fictional princes, “tristan.” like the one from tristan and isolde. “rainmist is a beautiful name. rainmist and tristan,” he muses in approval, stifling a grin and clearing his throat as he gets into character, too. “oh, no! the rocks! the rocks are too big! how could we not see them? we’re gonna crash!” billy calls out, struggling to refrain from laughing. his problems non-existent. it seems as though they were the only two people in the world. “we’re gonna crash!” he takes a deep breath and dives under the surface, arms outstretched to locate lucy gray. his fingertips brush against her leg and he gently bumps into her belly, making sure not to actually knock her over. 

“i promise, sugar pie.” lucy gray happily speaks, patting his chest gently. finding it adorable of him. “i know it, i guess i didn’t eat as much of veggies as you.” soft laughter escapes her, knowing all that comes down to genes. he must have had a tall dad or mom, she wonders which. “what?? the prince marries someone else?” shocked— she didn’t expect to hear that at all, what a plot twist to the story she didn’t even see coming. “he wasn’t a true prince at all, then.” quite the opposite to her. “alright, you be the pirate prince and i’m the mermaid with a hurt tail fin. who jumps in an’ saves me,” the brunette agrees, grinning in amusement. “that’s terrible, that poor girl deserved better. not did one thing happen bad, but a million more and she watched the love of her life marry someone else before dissolving into foam. heartbreakin’.” she’d like to have a word with that author, that wasn’t even necessary. what’s wrong with him or her? “i’ll hop off your back now before you go in too far…” lucy gray instructs, letting her legs go from his waist, “you swim by me and then you bump into me. you can be the ship first. then you’ll be a prince once i need savin’.” she grins, slipping into the water waist deep where she can still feel the ground. then she sits down, water coming up to her chin now, “i’m a mermaid named rainmist, brushing my hair.” getting into character, brushing her fingers through her locks. putting her feet together, splashing her ‘tail fin’. “out here, enjoying this warm almost summer day.” humming a song, waiting for ship billy to come by and knock her off her pretend rock.

[xiaobaosnoona]

Noona's 2024 Drama Wrap-up

Yeah, so don't expect me to make sense, I just need to gush my entire soul out about the dramas that kicked butt for me this year. Also gifs.

Atomic bomb of the year: The Untamed (2019)

The show that altered the chemistry of my brain completely and threw me into an obsession so serious I pulled several people down with me (you're welcome and I am sorry). A chinese fantasy drama that centers around a young man who wants to do what's right even if it costs him everything (and it does), and his soulmate who loved him through two lifetimes. Censored bl that feels zero censored because of the brilliancy and hard work of the cast and crew. Clearly a labour of love for everyone involved. Impossible to water down into a blurb, watch it and you'll understand.

Love blorbo of my life: Li Lianhua

No one else made me fall as deeply as Li Lianhua of Mysterious Lotus casebook (2023). This cynical, too clever, highly whumpable lying liar got me in a chokehold and has yet to let go. His love language is to push people away, but thankfully some people are hard to get rid of. Deserves to be lovingly wrapped in a blanket and fed chocolate until his sadness passes (or possibly forever).

The one I never thought I would love: DMBJ/Lost Tomb franchise (2016-2024)

Hi, hello, what the hell happened? This show kinda took over my life and I am seriously confused (standard dmbj experience). One of the queerest shows I've ever laid my eyes on featuring one of china's most famous m/m ships; Pingxie. Filled to bursting with adventure, conspiracies, tomb shenanigans, snakes and the best character dynamics I've ever seen on the small screen. Don't expect everything to make sense, just enjoy the ride. It's a hoot.

I cried my face off because of this: Fangs of Fortune (2024)

This made me suffer from dehydration, flailing arms with feet kicking, and severe gif-making-syndrome. Stunning Chinese fantasy with characters that will unapologetically roundhouse kick you in the heart. Repeatedly. Very queer and doesn't even try not to be. Did I say stunning? The cinematography and costumes are so fucking beautiful that this alone brings tears to your eyes. Just watch it, I can't possibly explain what it's about without starting to cry again.

Has a dear and special place in my heart: Oh no! Here comes trouble (2023)

So well written I want to chug vinegar because I didn't write it myself. Some of the best character dynamics known to man, fantastic stories told with a supernatural twist and (you guessed it) queer vibes that will smack you in the face. Has a wonderfully dumb and grumpy ml that will make you love him unconditionally in a very short amount of time. The drama deals with heavy topics, like grief and abuse, and balances it out delicately with ridiculousness and humour.

Favorite BL: History 3: trapped (2019)

The cutest little twink police falls in love with the mob boss he's been trying to catch for four years. Adorable low-spicy Taiwanese bl that utilizes the often seen het-romance drama tropes in a low key hilarious and endearing way. Enemies to lovers? Uhuh. Grumpy/sunshine? Mhm. Catch the love interest in your arms as they trip and fall? Yup. Everything wrapped in soft romantic lighting as you stare into each other's eyes? Yesss. And do i love it? FUCK YEAH. Actually does have a pretty solid plot as well, which made it a real home run for me.

Underrated gem: 19th Floor (2024)

A less queer version of Spirealm (but watch me try and find every queer crumb in it if it kills me). Got me on the edge of my seat most of the time, had characters I loved dearly with great development, adorable bromance with cheek smooches, and het-romance that didn't make me want to scratch my face off. FL kicks serious ass and is allowed to be unapologetically herself throughout the whole show. Also this show has Bai Shu and that is always a win.

[doodler16]

3 things to say:

1- "being gay is when a married man cheat on wife with another man"- vivziepop's logic (her lgbtq representation is very conservative if you think about it)

2- I feel like fans know that vivziepop's writing is bullshit and full of pilot holes but they Don't care about it as long there's characters to fuck *cough* loona *cough*,people underestimate the power of horny lol and to this day I still don't understand the hype and praise for loona but this is how Internet works I guess

3- I usually don't care about ships and strange kinks as long it stays fictional and no real person is involved in it BUT i hate it when a creator push it in their "morality teaching shows" it's where I draw the line like you either make serious show about taking abuse seriously to spread awareness or a weird fever dream kink show made for gooners to enjoy, you can't have it both,vivziepop made hypersexuals look like bunch of freaks and stigmatised them even more. "Please guys have sympathy for this character for getting sexually harassed but please don't blame him for sexually harassing others cause trauma made him hypersexual and you have to deal with it, he's just coping!" Like wtf are you serious? There's different ways to coping with trauma including drawing fetishes and kinks and i see no problem with it but harassing others is not coping you are just being peirce of shit, her morality is so flawed what is she even trying to tell audience? Victims of SA become assholes and have free card to harassing others? Wtf? And Yes I am a proshipper and I hate HH/HB because I hate it when a show tell you it's ok to cheat and it's ok to sexually harassing others why? because you said that this show is meant to represent victims but you only made victims feel embarrassed even more about themselves and you backstabbed them like don't you realise when you say your shows is about victims your victims watch the show to feel comfortable and feel being understood only for them seeing angel dust being asshole and sir.pentious getting SA'd as a joke? where's the SA awareness? Like yes we know victims who read SA fanfic as coping exist but not all of them cope the same way and we thought you would tell us how terrible SA can be and how it effects victims horribly ,not using trauma to excuse their shitty behaviours? I hate seeing people getting hurt and I don't want to be near someone telling me that them being asshole is ok because "HB is like bojack horseman and told me it's ok because X And Y" like stfu if you truly know anything about bojack horseman you wouldn't even think of comparing the two also you're an adult and if a dumb cartoon made you harassing others then you weren't good person in the first place you bastard maybe talk to therapy instead because creating trauma to others will never help you also not to mention half of fanbase of HH/HB are minors thanks to lazyass parents and society gaslighting everyone with "if it's cartoon then it's for kids" but the audience is out of vivziepop's control do i am not gonna blame her for this one but all i know is that unlike adults who are aware and responsible for their actions minors brain is not fully developed and they can be misguided most of times so i am worried about them growing up with vivziepop's 'morality' so i don't know the solution of who is watching cartoon and i think we should normalizing shaming lazy parents like don't be a parent if you would just let internet babysitting your child instead of you doing it yourself parenting is called parenting for a reason you're called "parent" not "birth giver", why am I proshipper? Because I don't care about others ships but I don't like the She-ra's "lesbians can't be abusive! You must feel bad for your abuser and you owe them everything and you should forgive them" Message and vivziepop's "if you're in straight marriage and you find out you're gay just cheat oh and if you have trauma it's ok to be asshole" Message (I hope you understand what I am trying to say and I hope you understand we have same goals before you tell me I am terrible as abusers just because i don't care about others ships and believing that fictional things doesn't matter as long it's fictional)

Alright I am done,scream at me I guess

The fans would also fill in the holes regarding Helluva Boss and doesn’t help that Vivziepop would like tweets about it. Don’t like tweets of your fans defending your show. Put and write it into your dialogue not on Twitter 😭

Yeah, Vivziepop has a huge problem of wanting her cake and eating it. Like what you mentioned Anon, the sexual assault jokes then another moment taking it seriously. Rinse and repeat. The moral compass in Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss is so wish-washy.

Successfully killed straight married couple. Cool. Oh no, Blitzø doesn’t have the guts to kill a gay couple. Woahh apparently it’s character development (despite Blitzø fighting over a parking lot like an Anon in my last ask mentioned, happily participating in a Wrath competition in Millie’s hometown, killing lumberjacks, happily will screw over the cherubs, etc etc).

Most of the characters especially if a character is Vivziepop’s favorite, don’t get held accountable and when they do have a chance to be called out, it’s usually downgraded in some way or there is some excuse in said action.

Its funny you bring up the children in Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss because there was literally a situation where like what a 9-10 year old was at a Hazbin convention asking Blake Roman an inappropriate question regarding Angel Dust. It is so mind boggling to watch. Hazbin and Helluva are supposed to be for adults (+18) but the both shows don’t seem adult despite covering big topics like rape, kinks, etc. It feels like 2 kids in a trench coat attempting to sneak into a R rated movie.

At the day it’s the parent’s responsibility and they should be called out. It also doesn’t help that a few voice actors like Amir encourage kids and parents to watch Hazbin Hotel, despite Vivziepop expressing multiple times it’s for adults. I don’t know if he changed his mind about kids accessing Hazbin Hotel but I hope he does.

Vivziepop could potentially age gate Helluva Boss (I’m not talking about the warning sequence from Helluva Boss that flashes for 5-10 seconds every episode). But like manually do this:

But Vivziepop would lose some more views if that happened. Otherwise there isn’t much she can do.

[paingoes]

delta: io saturnalia vestrae celsitudinis paris: what the fuck are you wearing delta: corona sanctae luciae in commemoration of the martyred virgins paris: that is a massive fire hazard delta: can i take it off then paris: yes delta: thank you paris: i actually need to wrest creative control back from PR the girls have lose their goddamn minds delta: its a traditional costume delta: wasnt your school religious paris: nominally yes but i dont remember a single fucking thing they taught us paris: only the horror stories actually  paris: you know that one of the miracles that got space sanctus nicolaus canonized was bringing three murdered children back from the dead? they’d been cut into pieces and preserved with salt because they didn’t listen to their parents. they were going to be sold as meat during the wartime famine. paris: who the fuck tells that story to children??? paris: i guess im preaching to the choir here though i know youve seen worse delta: yessir. paris: mhm. delta: are you staying in here paris: yes delta: okay paris: what the fuck are you looking at me like that for i know YOU dont celebrate paris: if youre mad i didnt get you anything you need to get in line delta: i didnt expect anything paris: good cause im tapped out paris: i paid for everyones fucking holiday bonuses out of pocket until the treasury can figure their shit out im actually broke delta: its okay your highness paris: cool delta: they decorated downstairs  delta: lot of open flames  paris: im just glad they can entertain themselves honestly i do not want to be in charge of the mandatory fun shit i always hated that delta: you didnt celebrate when you were little? paris: i mean you know how he was paris: its a ceremonial thing he had to observe, you know he wasnt actually religious at all delta: … paris: what delta: nothing paris: what? delta: he always got me gifts for saturnalia delta: even before simon did delta: it was nice. he didnt have to. paris: yeah, well, he liked you delta: … delta: can i hit your pen paris: yeah delta: *inhale* [the smoke alarm and sprinkler system go off at this exact moment due to the hundreds of holiday candles lit up on each floor of the ship. this drenches both of them.] paris: god fucking damn it

[itsjustemily]

The Wilds AU-Megop

Orion felt his plating quake, which was the first sign that something was wrong, because he shouldn’t feel the cold. His functions would slow, perhaps stop until the warmth would return, but he wouldn’t know that until the notifications for the emergency shut down protocols overtook his HUD. The next sign came a few days after, when he felt the exhaustion set in, which wasn’t so abnormal if it weren’t for the fact that he had slept for nearly two days straight. Primus help him when Ratchet found out and commed him, nearly pleading for him to secure a spot on the next ship leaving the island and come back to the mainland, even sending Rodimus to try to convince him to leave to old stone hut. The young apprentice truly did try his best, telling Orion he would be able to come back once spring returned, that D-16 would feel better knowing he was safe. The mention of his old friend likely would have been enough if Rodimus had left the thought to fester in his mind, but Primus bless him, Rodimus never knew when to shut up. When he mentioned the violent storms that were coming from the south and the increase of bounty hunters, Orion’s thoughts traveled further to darker territories. Thinking of all the possibilities that his friend may have not even made it safely to warmer climates and caused him to rip away his transmitter. ‘I made a promise.’ Is all he would say when Rodimus asked why. All he could do was help reinforce the hut and prepare it for the harsh winter ahead of him before he bid his friend goodbye, promising to come back for him the moment the ocean and winds had calmed enough. Orion nearly had to push his worried friend onto the boat, waving goodbye before vanishing from the site of others, not wanting to face their grief and disappointment.

The first true frost Orion woke up to had left his limbs stiff and sore, feeling like he had been rusting away for ages as he sat up to start a fire. The duel tone grays in the sky seemed to dull the once vibrant island when he walked outside. The path before him was so familiar that he let himself wander while his thoughts trailed through memory and worry. The first time D-16 had brought him here, Orion had been so excited that he hadn’t noticed how close to the edge he was, until the dirt below his foot crumbled away and he was sent floating down the river. D-16 still hadn’t let him live down the fact that he had to chase him down and pull him out of the water, before taking Orion to the cliff sides to watch the passage of large cargo ships and fliers performing their aerials. They went there often to sit and trade stories, D telling Orion about the island and Orion telling D about the mainland, both discussing, arguing, and dreaming endless summer days away.

“One day, I’m going to transform into a flier and go far away from here” D said once.

“Oh yeah? And go where, there isn’t anywhere to go besides to mainland. Everything else is either too far or uninhabitable.” Orion replied.

“I’ve been watching every season, everyone who can fly goes in a different direction than all the ships that take everyone to the mainland. There’s more out there, Iacon isn’t the only place for us and I’m going to find a new place for us. When I do, I’ll bring you with me.”

“How? I’m not built to be a plane, I’ll likely transform into a truck and have to get a job doing transport.”

“Is that what you want to do?” D asked.

“I guess it wouldn’t be the worst thing.” A moment of silence had past, “I would like to work in the Hall of Records. There’s so much information to learn from there, yet only certain classes are allowed, unless you have a worker’s pass. Imagine what could be learned and shared. Hey, maybe I could find some old datapads with maps downloaded, that way you aren’t flying aimlessly across the sea.” Orion said, tapping his hand on D’s shoulder.

“But that brings us back to your original problem, how are you suppose to come with? I may be the stronger of the two of us but I can’t carry you the entire way.” D said, giving Orion a light shove.

“Ha, guess I’ll just have to follow you on a boat, once I make enough to buy one.”

With a blink Orion realized he walked all the way to the familiar cliff side, the ocean’s chill making the tremor of his plating even worse as it sunk down to his protoform. Wrapping his arms tightly around himself, he slowly made his way back to the hut, the fire long having gone out along with its small solace of warmth. He only sighed, not having the mental strength to try and relight the charred coal and ashy remains of what organic plants he could find, and sat down next to the recharge slab. Reaching over he grabbed a blank data pad he had managed to swipe the last season when he had returned to Iacon, he gripped the pen in his numb hands as he tried to write. Recording the memories from last night, the things he did that day and reminisced about what would be when D-16 returned. As he wrote his mind drifted again to the last time he saw his dear friend, the excitement in his eyes when he came to tell him that he finally got his cog, that he had gotten to touch the skies above them.

“It was amazing Pax! That feeling it was so-and the way everything looked and the sheer freedom of it all!” D-16 exclaimed, gasping still as though he hadn’t caught his breath from the flight back from Iacon and shaking Orion by his shoulders.

“I’m happy for you buddy, this is exciting. Imagine what you can do now with this ability, what you can prove to the council and everyone in Iacon.”

“I’m not gonna carry you across the ocean, Pax. I’m still learning how not to lose my balance when a wind current hits.”

Orion laughed, “No, I mean about us, all of us. How many Cybertronians called you crazy because you said you were gonna transform into a flier? You’re the starting point for a big change, I can feel it!”

“Yeah, right, like how you had a feeling you could transform without a cog?”

“We agreed to never mention that.” “Or how you had a feeling, the organic food we found was perfectly safe for us to eat, cause ‘What’s the worst that could happen’.”

“Ok ok, you’ve made your point.”

“Oh, or how you had such a strong feeling Elita-1 would agree to-”

“Alright, sometimes I have bad ideas.” Orion said, quickly covering D-16’s mouth, his face flushing blue.

D-16 chuckled as he took Orion’s hand from his face.

“So are you back for good or will they send you to Iacon.” Orion asked after a moment of peace.

“I was given a few days here to practice my flight. My new mentors say the changing currents from the ocean winds will help me gather my strength and endurance. After that I have to immediately go back to study the flight pattern for when winter comes in a month.”

“That’s...not very long.”

“Yeah, this may be the last time we see each other for a couple months.”

“Well, at least it’s not forever. Soon I’ll have my own cog and we can still travel to new places, just like we planned.”

“Guess we’ll just have to wait to then.”

“Just make sure you come say good-bye before you leave.”

Orion hadn’t noticed that he had dropped the pen as he rested his hand on the data pad, his helm and spark felt heavy as he remembered that good-bye. Oh, how he wished it had never happened, that he never told his friend that he’d miss him and promised to be waiting for him on the island when he came back. He wished he never hugged him tightly till other fliers to him to get moving. He wished he never ran after D even as he took to the skies till he reached that stupid cliff-side and watched him disappear into the horizon, only looking back briefly before turning away to steel himself. ‘I’m sorry D, I think I may have broken our promise.’ He thought to himself before letting his optics power down.

*****

Rodimus looked up as a loud roar echoed in the sky, similar to that of a number of jets and planes coming up from the South. With a strike of realization, he dropped the bow he was practicing with and ran as fast as he could to the old stone hut. He wasn’t sure what to expect, having never really spoken to the former miner before, but he could only imagine the worst if he was a stubborn as Orion Pax. Looking up once more, he could see a silvery-gray jet deviate from the rest of the fliers, making a sharp dive towards where he knew the hut was. Nearly tripping out of the bushes he came face to face with a large mech, D-16, who stared at him very confused and almost angry as he stepped away from the doorway holding up a blaster.

“Whoa whoa whoa, I’m a friend! Friendly! I knew Orion!” Rodimus shouted, throwing his servos up.

“Where is Orion Pax? What do you mean ‘knew’!?” D-16 asked, his own confused thoughts making his anger worse.

When Orion hadn’t responded to his initial comm, he had briefly wondered if he was still too far away or if maybe his friend had overslept from residual cold in the city. It was when he had tried the second, third, sixth, fifteenth time when the island was in sight and he still hadn’t even picked-up the signal of his transmitter did he begin to worry. He knew his friend was clumsy, but with how close he was with that medic nothing would have stayed broken for long. When he saw their usual hang-out spot and saw he wasn’t there he flew as fast as he could to his old home, praying that Orion forgot the big return or was maybe by some grace of Primus being responsible and trying to earn his own T-cog. But even as he landed carefully outside the quiet, now reenforced hovel and looked inside to find it empty did he now begin to think maybe his friend never came back at all, choosing to stay in the company of others. Turning quickly at the sound of rustling leaves and seeing an unfamiliar young looking mech only made his thoughts swirl worse.

Rodimus sighed and thought for a moment, trying to think of the best way to explain the situation to someone who had clearly already developed their own ideas. Eventually, he simply dropped his servos and walked towards a small dirt trail he hand made by walking it many times, turning to D-16.

“C’mon, I’ll show you.” He said before walking away.

D-16 hesitated for a moment, looking back into his house before putting away his weapon and following the mech. The walk wasn’t far, but secluded enough that it almost felt peaceful, if not somewhat remorseful. He didn’t have time to wonder why when they reached the end of the trail and he felt his spark drop at the sight of a grayed and still Orion Pax, lying on a slab of quartz and stone with bits of moss blanketing the ground around him.

“I found him in the hut. He refused to leave the island and froze to death writing down his days while he waited for you.”

“…..Why? Why didn’t he go back to the mainland!? WHY IN PRIMUS’S NAME DID HE STAY!?” D screamed, grabbing Rodimus in a crushing grip.

Rodimus was silent as he tried to hold back his own emotions, “It,” a quick breath, “It was my fault. He was determined to keep this promise he had made, even though we all told him that he wouldn’t survive here and I think he was almost convinced and then I told about the storms that had happened. He then refused to leave no matter what I did and all we could do was pray he would survive just enough that Ratchet could save him. I snuck onto the very first ship that was coming here so I could meet up with him as soon as possible but he was already gone.”

By the end of his explanation, tears had already fallen from his optics, having to remember finding his friend cold and motionless.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want him to die. I swear I was trying to help him.” He cried.

D felt his anger quickly melt away into shock as Rodimus spoke. Orion stayed? During the winter, fully aware of what would happen. All over that stupid promise they made. Almost instinctively he rested his servo on Rodimus’s shoulder in an awkward attempt to comfort him.

“Let’s-let’s go back, I want to read what he left and you can catch me up on the rest.” He said.

Rodimus nodded and walked back to the hut. D-16 lingered for a moment, walking over to cradle Orion’s face.

“I wish you had left, but you never turned your back on your word. That’s something I knew I could always count on when it came to you...and one of the things I always loved about you.” He leaned down and kissed his forehelm, “Til all are one. And don’t worry, I’ll watch out for your friend.”

He gently patted his face before stepping away from his past, forcing himself to face his new future.

[imonthemoonitsmadeofcheese]

In Titan Arcology, Spike Fruit Eats You

A @d2artevents Dawning gift for @scruffynerfherder17 featuring her OC Cloud!

"Hey, uh, I might be looking for someone to watch my back one of these days. To bring some major heat to a gunfight. You for hire?"

The Drifter hires Cloud to assist him in a top secret fruity extraction.

Link to Ao3 if you prefer to read it there

"Hey hey!" the Drifter's coin made a loud 'ding' as he bounced it off the floor and caught it. "Cloud, right?"

"Yes," the purple-eyed Exo answered, folding his arms. The Drifter was clearly not who he was expecting to be meeting in the warehouse he'd been sent to.

"Little sister Eido told me her little sister Whisp said that you were lookin' for work. I got an easy one for ya, if you have the time. Sketchy area, but it should be one-and-done without too much fuss. You in?"

Cloud sighed. Everything in him told him to walk away. The Drifter was not known for his charity. But, then again, Cloud knew from Wisp's experiences that the scruffy man was sometimes weirdly charitable. And one thing he was known for was paying well.

"Let me guess." Cloud asked. "You want me to steal something?"

The Drifter laughed. "Nah. This is all above board."

"Riiiight." Nothing about the Drifter was ever above board.

"Totally legit. Sloane gave me a permit. But, it is in the Arcology on Titan. So, while I got a route planned out, it could get dicey. Arcology's never been the safest place, even before Xivu Arath filled it up with Wrathborn and Taken. Hence why I want some extra heat along with me, just in case."

"You're going yourself? Why not ask the Vanguard for help, officially, if this is so legitimate?"

"This is what you'd call a personal matter. It ain't exactly the sort of thing the Vanguard would prioritize, and I do want this kept quiet and not spread around, so there's extra glimmer in it for your… what's those words she likes so much? Tact? Discretion? Somethin' like that. Silence, basically."

The Drifter leaned against a shipping crate. A sunbeam shone through a cracked window in the wall beside them, glinting against his tumbling coin as he continued. "You help me get my thing and keep your mouth shut, and you can have your pick of my gear and a very, very healthy pile of glimmer. If not, I'll find someone else, but you're A, one of my regulars and B, anyone little sister recommends gets my attention. Plus Eris says you're solid and Crabcakes thinks the world of you."

Cloud's eyes flashed at the Drifter's irreverent nickname for Eido but it was one Eido herself said she did not mind, even when it had been explained to her.

"Ya know," he added. "She tried to get me to let your kid to come along, but the whole point in bringin' you is in case we do get shot at. So I said thanks, but no thanks. Kids stay home on this one."

Cloud's eyes narrowed. "Good," he growled.

The Drifter had turned down Whisp's help. Was he claiming he'd done Cloud a favour? Or was it a threat to accept Whisp's help if he declined?

Drifter nodded at Cloud with a toothy smile.

Winters appeared at Cloud's shoulder. The ghost clicked his flaps in agitation and flew between the two Lightbearers. "What's on Titan that the Vanguard doesn't care about but you do?"

Drifter licked his lips and bounced his coin off of a nearby crate, the floor, another crate, and caught it. "First you tell me whether or not you're in," he addressed the ghost. Then he turned to look back at Cloud. "Once you're in, I'll tell ya what we're after."

At that, the Drifter reached down to the floor behind the crate he was leaning against. Cloud tensed and then relaxed as the rogue Lightbearer plunked a metal box on the table and, with a flick of his wrist, flipped the lid open.

More glittering cubes of glimmer glinted in the sunlight back at Cloud than he'd amassed in several months of work for the Vanguard.

Winters hovered over the box, looking at the gleaming cubes, widened his shell a bit, and looked back at Cloud.

"Money doesn't fix everything," the Drifter continued. "But it sure can solve a lot of problems. I want this quick and quiet and, hopefully, undetected. But, if we are detected, I like breathin' brother, so you're my backup in the very small chance this simple expedition goes completely whackadoo."

It was a lot of glimmer.

Cloud shifted, unfolding his arms. "You're expecting trouble."

"I told you where we're goin'."

"This doesn't seem like you," Cloud countered, trying to find the catch.

"Yeah, well, people change and… I uh… may have promised someone I'd be a bit more careful goin' forward," the Drifter rolled his eyes at the word "careful."

"Specially when it is all above board like this and there's no need to make sure there's no witnesses," the Gambit announcer continued with a wink. "Plus, I ain't hurtin' for glimmer and you got people that need lookin' after. Heard someone may have let their mouth run off and now you might not have access to the work you're used to. Not my business, but if you're willin' to keep your mouth shut and guard my back, I'm happy to make sure you get paid, and I do value my back pretty highly. I've seen how good you are in Gambit, I know you'll do fine. So… are you in on this with me or not?"

Winters turned and looked back at his guardian, waiting to see what Cloud would say.

It was a lot of glimmer. He didn't trust the Drifter, but at the same time, that much glimmer would genuinely help.

"Fine," the purple-eyed Exo said. "I'm in."

"All right, all right, all right." The Drifter pulled out a data pad and began tapping on it. A schematic projected out into the air between them. Blue-green lines glowed in a 3D map of the Arcology.

"I want a plant," the Drifter began. "A specific plant. I want seeds. I want two whole plants with their roots (and I'll be honest with ya brother, I'm not sure that one's possible but there's extra pay if do we pull that off). And, most importantly, I need at least one whole fruit."

"A fruit?" Winters asked, his shell spinning slowly. "You're paying this much for a fruit?"

"Yeah," the Drifter grinned at the incredulous ghost.

"What fruit?" Cloud asked.

The Drifter's eyes glittered. "A pine apple."

'What the hell is a pineapple?" Cloud stepped forward to get a closer look at the Drifter's Arcology schematic. It was very accurate.

"I'll be honest with ya, brother, I have no idea, but we're gonna find out."

Winters and Cloud looked at each other briefly before returning to examine the projection.

"Sloane ain't got no pictures but, before everything went to hell in the collapse, the Arcology greenhouses were exceptionally well labeled and some of those records survived," the Drifter explained. "They're just… not the ones that tell us what the hell these plants look like. But I do know exactly where they are." He pointed to a spot on the projection that had a small green dot.

"How do you know they're not destroyed?" Winters asked, floating to examine the projection at a different angle.

"Because someone, at some point, got some seeds for one and brought 'em to Eris on Io not too long ago. An' that was just a little bit before Io disappeared. They're there in the Arcology all right. It's just a matter of gettin' in to get 'em."

"Ok," Cloud said quietly, memorizing the route the Drifter had mapped out.

"Oh and another thing. We already talked about you not talkin', but add in an extra special layer of not talkin' about this to ol' Three-Eyes. Don't wanna ruin the surprise."

"Surprise?" Cloud asked. "What are you going to do with it?"

"Don't you worry about that, brother. Just get me my fruit and I'll make you rich. Now, Sloane ain't been able to get a patrol to run through there for quite some time, and Thunderguns will appreciate any intel we can get her while we're in there. You feel free to give that to her when we're done an' she'll probably pay you for it too, just leave out what we're after."

The glow from Cloud's purple eyes narrowed. "I thought you said she gave you a permit."

"She did. This uh.. just ain't exactly what the permit is for."

Cloud shook his head. "I'm not crossing Sloane."

"There is no crossing anyone here. This is totally legit. We got permission for a bit of salvage just like I used to do. It's just that… unlike my usual, the Golden Age tech we're salvagin' this time is of the… biological kind."

"This is too much money for just a fruit." Winters countered.

"Damn straight," the Drifter answered. "That's cuz this is for fruit and silence and watchin' my back. And it's a very special fruit. Most people ain't heard of it. Almost mythical. But it ain't. It exists. And ol'Drifter's gonna get some."

"You have some sort of fruit obsessed buyer?" Cloud asked.

"Nope. Personal use," the Drifter grinned and licked his lips as though he were holding back laughter at a joke only he knew the punchline to.

"Never thought you'd be the type of person to overpay for fruit." Cloud said quietly.

"And you should stop thinkin' about it, because once this is over you're bein paid to forget you ever heard of it, am I right?"

Cloud nodded. "Ok, I guess."

"Now, we're goin' in here," the Drifter pointed at the map. "I'll get us there without bein' noticed, that's not a problem. Transmat in will be one-way. I got the Derelict zoned in on a transmat beacon we'll carry with us and set up. We get back to that spot and activate it when we want out."

"Why not take the beacon with us and just leave when we find what we're looking for?" Cloud asked.

"That would be so much easier, you're right, but there's too much stuff in the way. Can't get a signal in there. I tried. If I could set us down inside the room we need to get to, I wouldn't need you, hotshot. This is as close as we can get."

Cloud nodded in understanding.

"We'll leave the beacon at the drop point," Drifter continued. "Then we'll need to make our way through these three sections. First one is a big open area but it'd be hard to fill that with hostiles without bein' obvious and the remote scans I could get look pretty clean. Should be pretty quiet. This middle area is where it might get a bit dicey. A while back, there was a lot of Savathun's Hive camped out there, but ever since she got all glowy with the Light her brood either joined her or were left on their own to do… whatever the hell Hive do in that situation. I don't know genocidal space bug politics. Chances are they ain't there no more, but if they aint, somethin' else might've moved in."

…

Something else had indeed moved in.

Cloud and the Drifter both crouched together behind a large stone and metal reinforced wall in the Arcology as a Taken Ogre's Rotten Surge repeatedly hit the other side.

"Can you control it like the ones in Gambit?" Cloud asked.

"Nope!" the Drifter said cheerily as he reloaded his hand cannon, Trust.

Cloud's head turned to the side and he shot a Taken Thrall over the Drifter's shoulder.

The rogue Lightbearer grinned at him. "I knew bringin' you was a good idea."

Cloud nodded and shot another Thrall.

"Ok here's how this is gonna go," the Drifter said, peeking out from behind the wall and ducking back as the Rotten Surge hit the barrier again. "I'm gonna skitter around back behind it, and you're gonna keep its attention over here."

"You need me to be bait," Cloud said, dryly.

"You catch on quick." The Drifter's eyes glittered with amusement.

Cloud sighed deeply and checked around his side of the wall, ducking back before the Ogre's eye beam could rip him apart with Arc energy.

"This thing's big enough to be a Primeval in Gambit," the Drifter continued, "but I've seen you take those down, no issue."

"Gambit has four players." Cloud retorted.

"Treat it like when two people drop." The Drifter clasped Cloud's shoulder briefly and winked at him before tumbling to the side, coming to his feet and running between different bits of cover.

Cloud sighed again and brought his Dead Man's Tale scout rifle up, sniping several precision shots at the Ogre. It immediately retrained its eye on him and began blasting the wall Cloud ducked behind once more.

Sniping and ducking, Cloud kept the Ogre's attention and watched as the Drifter skillfully tumbled and skittered between bits of cover until he was nearly behind the Taken monstrosity.

Then there was a Taken Knight. The Drifter's hand cannon barked four times and the Knight went down. Cloud watched between shots to keep the Ogre focused on him as the Drifter tumbled to avoid another Taken Knight, shooting as he rolled. A third Taken Knight sliced down with its sword, leaving a huge gouge in the metal flooring where the Drifter had just been standing. The rogue Lightbearer stumbled when the wave of fire coming from the third Knight's eye caught him.

Cloud frowned as the Drifter tripped and disappeared from view. He frowned even more as he saw a small horde of Thralls running to where the Drifter had last been standing.

"Dammit, Drifter." Cloud whispered, slinging his scout rifle over his shoulder and pulling out Planck's Stride, his finger already depressing the trigger so the gun began firing as soon as the muzzle was level with the ground.

On the other side of the Ogre, the Knight that had been attacking the Drifter began to dance with Void-infused bullets.

Cloud calmly tipped the muzzle to the side to pump several rounds into the Ogre, knocking it back and stunning it briefly, before returning to gun down yet another Knight on the other side of the enclosure.

The volume of Thralls now swarming where he'd last seen the Drifter was now beyond concerning. Then, just as Cloud was trying to decide if he could take a few blasts from the Ogre to clear out some of the Thralls, there was a loud clear 'Ding!' and a fireball erupted from the middle of the mess of Thralls.

Cloud ducked back behind the wall in time to avoid the Rotten Surge from the Ogre as another 'Ding!' rang out, erupting in another large Solar grenade.

Cloud stepped out from behind the wall to witness the results of the third 'Ding!' - a Stasis Glacier grenade this time. It was followed up by another Solar grenade, shattering everything embedded in it.

Unfortunately, the fireworks behind the Ogre were now too impressive to ignore and it turned, firing its powerful Arc beam toward where the grenades were going off.

Seeing his opening, Cloud stepped out from behind the wall, jumped up into the air with a spin and let loose multiple flaming knives first from one hand and then the other.

The Solar Blade Barrage ripped into the Ogre's exposed back. Yellow-orange flames fluttered across and then consumed the inky blackness of the Taken's essence in purifying incandescent light, burning it to ash.

The monster's eye stopped firing. It sunk to its knees with a final roar and fell forward motionless just before it completely dissolved.

Cloud hit the ground running and once he'd reached the other side he skidded to a stop where he'd last seen the Drifter. The ground and walls were covered in scorched patches with lingering flames flickering from them. Shards of shattered and dissipating Stasis crunched under his feet. The Drifter was nowhere to be seen.

A single Thrall jumped up and ran at him. Cloud drew and fired Moon River, his hand cannon, lightning quick. The Thrall went down and dissipated near-instantly.

Above him, Cloud heard the rusty groan of metal being forced to do something it did not want to do.

The Exo Guardian tumbled to the side and kept Moon River ready. A large and rusted grating overtop of an equally large and rusting pipe flipped down and the Drifter slid out gracelessly with a stumble as he came to his feet.

Winters materialized and scanned the rogue Lightbearer.

"You were… hiding?" the ghost asked him.

"Yup," he coughed, his coat covered in ashes and grime. "That went sour right quick," he said dryly. "But you turned it around." He pointed at Cloud with a smile. "I knew I could count on you." He stumbled again, propping himself up against a wall to cough a few times while blinking.

"How bad are you hurt?" Cloud asked.

"I've been worse," the Drifter smirked.

"Should we go back?" Winters asked.

"Oh hell no. I didn't just get lit on fire to go back empty handed," the Drifter waved off the concerned ghost. "Drifter wants his fruit!"

"There's seriously nowhere else you could get it?" Cloud asked as the Lightbearer walked past.

"Nope," the Drifter said, continuing forward. "They're extinct. Except here. Gonna make 'em un-extinct if I can. First on the Derelict and then maybe we can stick some of 'em earthside somewhere, leave 'em to grow on their own."

"Why do you care so much about a fruit if you don't even know what it looks like?" Cloud followed behind him.

"What can I say? I like old things. Ol' Drifter's a conservationist at heart."

"Right," Cloud said, entirely unconvinced.

The Drifter stumbled again and caught himself as he started coughing once more.

"Should you get your ghost to heal that?" Cloud asked.

"Nope."

Winters disappeared and then spoke quietly on a private channel directly to Cloud.

"His ghost isn't here."

"What?" Cloud asked under his breath.

"His ghost isn't here. I don't feel it at all."

Cloud let the Drifter get a bit farther ahead while continuing to scan their surroundings for hostiles.

"It's probably just cloaked or something," Cloud whispered. "Drifter's pretty shifty. It'd make sense for his ghost to be shifty too. Where else would it be?"

"I don't know but… what he's doing is very dangerous. Be careful."

Cloud nodded and caught back up to the Drifter who was standing in front of a closed and very secure-looking blast door.

"Alright, alright, alright. Should be just through these doors here. Stay sharp, brother."

…

The Drifter declined Winters' help hacking the security on the door, preferring to hotwire it by hand, but his hotwiring was successful and relatively quick.

Cloud and Winters looked at each other. The Exo shrugged his shoulders and the ghost shrugged his flaps before disappearing again.

Once through the door it was as though they had stepped into a different world. The large automated greenhouse, for that is what it was, was warm, humid, and very overgrown.

Vines dangled everywhere and foliage was bursting from what had once been well maintained gardens with walkways between them. In one corner, water gushed from a ruptured pipe, forming an unnatural waterfall.

The Drifter grinned as he closed the door behind them. "Well would you look at that. Ain't this a tiny section of unmitigated paradise?"

"How is it still running?" Cloud asked.

"Golden Age tech," the Drifter replied. "Sometimes it just works… and keeps workin'."

The Drifter pulled out a data pad and started tapping on it, trying to interface with a computer terminal. "Nope. Maintenance is still maintenance-ing but the higher level systems are all dead. Should be physically labeled though. Time for a scavenger hunt."

Cloud sent Winters for a flyby aerial scan as the Drifter walked along what had once been a path. It was now overgrown with tree roots and vines.

A few steps in, the rogue Lightbearer crouched down and called back to Cloud. "See this?" he said, lifting up a large leaf.

Below the leaf was a small sign. Rusted metal held up engraved glass. The Drifter slid his hand between vines and picked up a handful of dirt, then he rubbed it along the glass. The engraved lettering filled with dirt, and was suddenly legible despite the electronic aspects of the sign no longer functioning.

"Built to last," the Drifter pronounced. "I like it. Lychee sure is a weird name for a tree, though. I wonder if the fruits are the red spiky things. Well… while we're here we might as well…" He stepped in and reached up, grabbing a small red spiky protrusion. It made a wet sound as it came off the branch.

"We're lookin' for either pine apple or an-an-ass," the Drifter continued. "Don't ask me why they call it that. I have no idea. Golden Age humanity had wild names for things."

"Ass fruit." Cloud said. "You've got us here looking for ass fruit."

"I guess," the Drifter answered as he cracked open the red spiky nodule in his hand and raised an eyebrow at white flesh inside before taking a small bite.

"Oh… this is real nice. Try this." He reached up and plucked another from the tree, tossing it over to Cloud.

Cloud stared at it for a moment, questioning his decision making skills if he was seriously considering consuming strange fruit from a location likely undisturbed for centuries, handed to him by the Drifter of all people, but curiosity overcame his reluctance and he broke open the fragile shell and took a small nibble of the inside.

"Huh. It really is good. Sweet."

"Yeah, but it's a nice sweet," the Drifter said. He had wandered much farther away into a different section of the garden.

"Yes," Cloud agreed, moving in a different direction, looking for more of the small signs the Drifter had uncovered.

"Bet that thing in the middle is the seed," the rogue Lightbearer's voice floated up from some overgrowth. "Gonna keep that. Maybe I can get it to grow."

Cloud looked at the remains of his fruit and quietly put the seed into his pocket.

The Drifter's laugh floated over the foliage and a second small spiky red fruit sailed through the air toward Cloud. He caught it easily.

"If you're gonna try growin' it too, most fruit needs two so the flowers can have uh.. happy fun sexy times."

Cloud nodded and ate the second delicious tiny fruit. He had only just finished when he heard Drifter's gravelly voice from a different point farther ahead.

"Dragon fruit? I ain't goin' anywhere near nothing called a dragon fruit. Give that one a wide berth, hero. And don't think any wishful thoughts, just in case it's listenin'."

Cloud grunted in agreement and began searching in the opposite direction.

The air was muggy and thick. Each step Cloud took was accompanied by a squelching sound as muck and vegetation crumpled underfoot. It was uncomfortable and unsettling, but also beautiful.

After rubbing dirt on a fourth sign, Cloud called out, "Drifter!"

"Yeah?"

"I think I found it."

"Nice." The sound of leaves swishing accompanied the Drifter making his way closer.

Streaked with dirt, the small glass sign read: "ananas comosus, pineapple."

"Pineapple is one word, apparently," Cloud said.

"One word? That's clearly two words to me, brother. Pine and apple. The fact that they just up and stuck two words together and made a new one is whacked. Language sure is weird. This is why I stick to math," the Drifter muttered.

Winters had returned and was now scanning the plants.

"That is one ugly fruit," the Drifter pronounced, leaning forward and touching some of the long spiky leaves. "Lookit that. That's the most Hive-lookin' vegetation I ever seen, and I been in Savathun's Throne World. That's more Hivey than the purple Hive cabbage. All spikey and vicious. No wonder she likes it."

"Who's she?" Winters asked.

The Drifter looked up at the drone from where he was crouched. "What?"

"You said no wonder she likes it," Cloud explained. "Who's she?"

The Drifter's eyes narrowed. "Remember that thing we talked about? About not talkin' about what we're talkin' about?"

Cloud sighed. "Yes."

"Lets not talk about that."

Winters slowly rolled his shell as the Drifter reached out two hands and twisted the ugly spiky fruit, ripping it off from the middle of the plant's central stem. It almost looked like an exploding grenade.

"That doesn't look very edible," Cloud said, watching him.

"Neither did the lychee," the Drifter countered. "Lots of plants where the Earth was hot needed to defend themselves. But, if I'm right, then maybe under these spikes…"

He wriggled his fingers and suddenly there was a knife in his hand, seemly pulled from the air. Even in the middle of a swampy greenhouse with only one other person for an audience, that he was paying to be there, the Drifter was still doing sleight-of-hand.

The knife blade cut deep into the fruit and the Drifter pulled out a wedge. The outside spikes gave way to bright yellow flesh. The Drifter smelled it and then nibbled it. "Oh yeah. Yeah this is it. Taste that." He tossed the strange fruit wedge to Cloud.

Cloud held it out for Winters to scan before taking a small bite. "It's sweet," he said. "And very acidic."

"Cloud," Winters interrupted. "Spectral analysis shows that plant has an enzyme that's able to partially dissolve human flesh. It's a weak enzyme and cannot do any damage to your Exo body but… it's almost like it's… attempting to eat you…"

The Drifter looked up with a wide grin. "A plant that eats ya back? Damn! That is …so her."

Both Cloud and Winters stared at him. The Drifter shook his head as he returned his gaze to the plant, clearly admiring it. "Like it's gettin' vengeance," he said under his breath before turning back to them. "Keep watch, hotshot. I gotta get dirty over here, an' I do love gettin' dirty, but just you make sure nothin' takes us out while I do."

Cloud kept Dead Man's Tale ready as the Drifter pulled out a folding shovel from seemingly nowhere, unfolded it, and started to dig.

Half an hour later, two plants with roots wrapped in cloth, four spiky pineapple fruit, and two long tentacle-like spikes lay on the ground at their feet.

"I'm not seeing any seeds," Winter said, hovering above one of the remaining plants and scanning it again.

"Not sure this thing has seeds," the Drifter replied, carefully examining his handiwork. "I think these," He pointed to the long green spikes he'd set aside, "…are as close as we get. An' I'm pretty sure this weird spiky pineapple fruit is actually a flower. Such an evil lookin' thing. Angry. Like it's gonna stab things. It's perfect." He licked his lips with a wide grin, clearly delighted at what they had secured.

"Anywhoo," the Drifter stood up, folding his shovel back into its compact form. "Get your ghost to transmat these away for now and I'll get 'em back from you once we get out."

"Why can't you get your ghost to-"

A distant but very loud crash echoed through the Arcology. Both Lightbearers trained their weapons on the door.

"That sounds big," the Drifter said. "Finish this fast, yeah?"

Cloud nodded and Winters began to transmat away what the Drifter had set aside to his internal storage.

Once they were back through the door, the Drifter crouched down and began fiddling with the wires he'd twisted together to hotwire it open. Cloud stood next to him, his weapon ready. Another loud impact filled their ears. They felt it through the floor this time.

"What are you doing?" Cloud whispered.

"I wanna come back here," the Drifter explained. "Dont' want nothin' gettin' in there and messin with anything else. That's a living museum in there."

"You really are a conservationist."

The Drifter gave him a small smile, different from his usual practiced grin. "Most smugglers are," he said quietly. Sparks spat out from the wires in his fingers and another layer of the blast doors closed. "Got it. Alright let's get goin'."

…

Cloud and the Drifter peeked cautiously across the last area they needed to get through before they were at their transmat beacon. It had been empty on their way in. Now it was crawling with Wrathborn.

"That's a lot," Cloud said quietly.

"Damn. All green and misty. Was hoping not to be shootin' space lobster today, since you got family that's them. I'm sorry."

"Those ones haven't been Eliksni for a while," Winters said quietly next to Cloud's ear.

"You gonna be up for this?" the Drifter asked. "These ones ain't friends. Hard not to see friends when ya fight 'em though."

"We don't have much choice, and we're just trying to get through." Cloud answered. "There's a lot of them though."

"Yup," the Drifter pointed up above their heads to a long beam that ran down the middle near the top of the vaulted ceiling. "Shortcut along the roof through the rafters, but it's very exposed. Once they look up, they're gonna notice. How do you feel about balancing on thin ledges while dodging gunfire and avoiding a long drop, with certain death below, all the while at a dead run, brother?"

"Sounds like Tuesday," Cloud said, wryly.

"Haha! I like your style, kid. Let's dance!"

It was more of a pipe than a beam. Its curved surface had cross-bars bolted to it periodically, providing structural integrity to the roof above. Cloud and the Drifter scurried lightly along, working hard to avoid making noise and stay unnoticed.

They got almost halfway across before an Arc-charged Wrathborn Captain below them screamed and started sending Arc bolts flying up at them.

"Knew that was too good to last," the Drifter muttered and began to run faster.

A Befouler Wrathborn Heavy Shank rose up to the same height in the ceiling as they were, guns pointed at both of them, with eight smaller shanks clustered around it. All began firing.

The Drifter picked off four of the smaller Shanks without breaking stride before reloading and ducking behind a metal joist to avoid being hit.

Cloud took a running leap and landed on top of the large Heavy Shank. He dodged, jumping back off off it and landing next to the Drifter just in time for the Shank to become incandescent with Solar light. He followed up with two shots from his hand cannon and the Shank exploded and fell apart, raining twisted metal and fire onto the hostiles below.

"Hahaha! You're amazing, brother!" the Drifter laughed as he continued running ahead.

Below them, a Wrathborn Brig fired its missile launcher, hitting the pipe under the Drifter's feet. He jumped out of the way but the area where he landed collapsed as well.

Cloud jumped, slamming into the Drifter and clothes-lining him mid-air. The Drifter practically folded in half around Cloud's arms and the Hunter's momentum took them both through the air across the ceiling and down to land on a catwalk half-way up the walls.

The Drifter rolled out from under Cloud and came to his knees gasping for breath and coughing. "Woo!" he said between coughs. "Glad you're on my side." Cloud stood and held out a hand. The Drifter grabbed it and came to his feet with a grin. His eyes flicked to the side and, asp-quick, he began firing Trust from his hip into the Wrathborn Servitor which had teleported behind Cloud.

Cloud jumped up, placing one leg and then the other into a wall-run up and around the Drifter, away from the Servitor.

The spherical Servitor's central eye began to charge with Void energy. The Drifter kept firing directly into the middle of it. His shots were precise but it was a very large Servitor and the eye kept charging. Just before it could fire, a Solar Scatter grenade landed directly on top of it. The Servitor burst into flames and fell.

The two Lightbearers nodded to each other and continued running along the catwalk, dodging and shooting.

They jumped down from the catwalk near the other end of the long open area, still running and gunning. Cloud let loose a Blade Barrage, clearing the path ahead of them of hostiles, and the Drifter slid down on his knees in front of the crate where he'd hidden the transmat beacon. He ripped the top off and began rapidly assembling the device.

Cloud stayed on his feet and continued shooting. He'd switched to Plank's Stride and was now mowing down anything coming toward them.

"How much longer?" he called back to the Drifter.

"Workin' on it! Almost there!" the Drifter yelled back while rapidly snapping metal pieces together.

"Can you go any faster?" Cloud asked as his machine gun ran out of ammunition. He pulled out Nezerac's Whisper and began using the glaive's shield to deflect incoming fire from himself and the Drifter behind him while shooting the occasional Arc bolt at the oncoming Wrathborn.

"Nope!" the Drifter said cheerily.

The ground below them both began to glow in a bright red-orange circle.

"Drifter!" Cloud shouted.

An armoured gloved hand grabbed Cloud's shoulder and the Drifter yelled "Transmat firing!"

The transmat rippled and they both disappeared just before the incoming Solar Spitfire barrage annihilated everything in the area they'd just been standing.

…

Both men staggered, breathing heavily and stumbling as they materialized in the Gambit ready room on the Derelict.

"Woo-eee! That was close!" the Drifter said excitedly before he was overtaken with a coughing fit.

Cloud walked over to a set of metal steps and sat down.

Winters appeared at his shoulder.

"That was more than close. That was ridiculous. You almost got us all killed for your stupid fruit!" the tiny ghost shivered in anger.

"Yeah, but we lived." The Drifter winked at the upset drone and walked over to a nearby shipping crate.

He slapped the top of the large box and said "Now, give Drifter his pineapples."

Winters looked back at Cloud. Cloud nodded. Winters made a noise that could only be interpreted as a sigh and transmatted the fruit, plants and stem spikes onto the top of the crate.

The Drifter picked up one of the fruits and smelled it with a wide grin. "Mmm-mmm. This is gonna be great. But first, you gotta get paid."

He took two steps back and reached into a different open crate, pulling out the box he'd shown them earlier and adding a second, smaller metal box on top of it. Both clinked loudly.

Cloud stood up from the steps and approached the boxes.

"That's the first part," Drifter said. "Get your ghost to count it if you like, but listen, brother. That was more than either of us bargained for and you saved Drifter's ass not once but three separate times. Don't think I didn't notice. Get your ghost to send me a full loadout of any of my gear and I'll leave it for you in the post box but also…"

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a jade coin. He flicked it and it ignited in his fingers. He tossed it across the crate to Cloud.

The flame went out as it tumbled through the air and Cloud caught the coin. He looked at it in his hand and flipped it over. Both sides had the Drifter's jade Gambit snakes now very blackened and charred from Solar fire.

"That's a favour," the Drifter leaned on the crate and coughed before he continued. "Hold on to that. Call it in when you need it. I owe you one."

Winter hovered over the boxes on the crate. "Cloud, this is more glimmer than we agreed to."

"We got the whole plants intact, and you kept me alive. I told ya I value my own ass highly. You're a class act, brother." The Drifter gave him a small two-fingered salut. "Thanks."

…

The next day Cloud stood in line at the post office. Kadi 55-30 turned away at the counter and then turned back with a box wrapped in Gambit green with the Drifter's snakes embossed on the outside. "Package for Cloud." Kadi said. "Happy Dawning."

Cloud stepped to the side and opened the box. Inside were several engrams and another smaller box.

"All there?" he asked Winters.

"All there, but also something else," Winters answered. "A box of… cookies?"

Cloud pulled out the smaller box and opened it. It smelled delightful. Inside was a selection of different cookies, pinwheel, coconut balls, shortbread, several dark chocolate tetrahedrons that looked like tiny motes, and a little note card. In clear clean printing with thin marker were the words:

Thanks again, hotshot! Enjoy the gear. See you in Gambit. ~D

"These are nicely done," Winters said. "Do you think he made them himself? Oh hey, are those Etheric Coldsnaps? And look! Those candies look like tiny Herealways pieces! Whisp is going to love those."

Cloud closed up both boxes and began to turn away.

"Guardian," Kadi 55-30 called out to him. "Package for Cloud. Happy Dawning."

He turned back to receive a smaller box wrapped in brown cloth. It was tied with red velvet string and had a small metal charm with Eris Morn's symbol imprinted on it.

Cloud opened the box to find several misshapen cookies, hard as rocks and burnt on the bottom, perhaps made of oatmeal but it was difficult to tell. A small folded note was on top of them.

In a thin spidery hand with cursive that was difficult to read, the note read:

Cloud,

I am told you were of great help recently to someone I care for. Thank you.

Happy Dawning, E

One edge of the paper was sticky and smelled faintly of pineapple.

[vonbabbitt]

What is your opinion on Chiba being a part of ships?

mostly i dont care

if you want my more nuanced opinion on it: for most of the story, chiba acts like a child and calls herself a child and looks like a child. i dont think anyone in the cast of sixteen would be attracted to that lol. at THAT point in her story i feel like its really weird to ship her but i guess you could argue that shes still 17 and infantilizing her is bad and everything but when shes acting like a child thats what makes it ehhh for me.

after she starts acting more mature and coming off as a lot more adult, i dont really see an issue with it. shes still short and babyfaced but shes seventeen and acting seventeen so its kind of up in the air i guess? idk. personally i dont ship chiba with anyone but thats just cuz i dont see it. i value her relationships with her friends a lot more

PLEASE dont use this to start drama in my name tho. if people ship chiba i dont really care. i just personally dont do it for the reasons above