#next thing i know me and companions are dead and i'm looking at my shocked reflection in the screen

[okthisway]

it's my first dragon age 2 run and fenris already managed to kill me once and abandon me twice

[dragonfirerogue-writes]

hi this is my first time sending a request and this one was rejected by other writer so I wondered if you could write it instead. I love quinn and I was thinking about a quinn fabray x fem!reader where reader was quinn first love back in middle school in that old school of hers and they had confessed to each other. reader loved quinn since her lucy caboosey phase and you could add that russell or Judy found out and separated them and encouraged quinn to get the nose job and lose weight. anyways, reader goes to McKinley during season 2 where quinn is trying to get her life together and she snaps when reader tries to approach her using her old name they don't speak anymore but reader always look out for quinn from the sideways (she's not from the glee club but she befriends Rachel) and quinn gets even more pissed when she catches rachel mentioning you before glee starts. the whole mess with lucy caboosey gets out and they finally speaks w reader comforting Quinn. make it angsty with a happy ending do not spare our feelings😂

-🫧

Still By Your Side

You know you're staring, but you can't help it. Something about this girl in your class is so familiar. You just can't put your finger on it.

See, you used to live in Lima, but you moved away in middle school. Forced away, rather. Now you're back and junior year began at McKinley High. While you recognized a lot of people, this one person just couldn't jog your memory.

Not until her eyes bore into yours.

As soon as class ends, you pack up your things and dart after the blonde.

"Hey! Wait!"

The blonde turns around, eyebrows cocked with an annoyed look on her face. She doesn't say anything, waiting for you to tell her why you're bothering her.

You take a moment to take her in. This girl was beautiful, that's for sure. There was a grace about her to match. Even her annoyed face looked pretty. You shake the thought from your head before finally speaking.

"Lucy, right? Lucy Fabray? It's me, Y/N."

Almost immediately, a hand covers your mouth and you're shoved against the lockers. Eyes blazing with fury found your shocked ones.

"I don't care who you are. I don't care how we met. But you will NEVER utter that name ever again." She leans closer and dangerously lowers her voice. "I am not Lucy and I will never be again. I am Quinn Fabray. Lucy is dead."

She pushes off of you, shoving you further into the lockers before striding away. You just watch her leave, your heart breaking with each step she takes. You didn't even notice the person next to you until she spoke.

"Sorry about her. She's always been like that."

With a jolt of surprise, you turn to look at the short brunette next to you. There's a moment before you look towards Quinn again.

"No... Not always." A sigh escapes your lips before you turn your attention to your companion. "You're friends with Lu-er... Quinn?" The brunette lets out a soft, rueful laugh.

"Kind of? More like rivals, I guess. We're both in Glee Club together. I'm Rachel Berry." She holds out her hand, which you take to shake.

"Y/N," you reply. "Y/N Y/L."

"If you wanna get close to Quinn, you can join Glee. We always need more members anyway." She offers. You consider it for a moment before shaking your head.

"Nah. I won't bother her like that. And I'd rather get myself settled before joining any clubs." You smile. "Thanks though. Maybe in the future." Rachel returns your smile with her own wide one.

"I'll hold you to that."

-----+++++-----

As the days pass, you learn more about Quinn thanks to Rachel. Her pregnancy and the resulting fallout with her parents, her life with the Glee Club, and now her determination to return to life before her baby. It was a lot and you weren't surprised by how much it affected her. You've already decided to stay out of Quinn's way, but they didn't mean you weren't still drawn to her.

While you tried your best to avoid directly interacting with the blonde, there were times when it was inevitable. Much like when she and Santana got into a fight in the hallway and you made it a point to pull Quinn away while blocking the Latina's attacks with your body.

Quinn didn't even acknowledge you.

It wasn't ideal. Your heart squeezed in pain with every rebuff. But the love you held for her, from the moment you met Lucy, it was worth every glance.

Only once did Quinn speak to you after meeting again. It had been months of just being in her orbit. But suddenly, you're slammed against the wall.

"Stay away from Berry." She growls. "I already have to deal with you everywhere else. I don't need that dwarf opening her big mouth to speak your name."

Recovered from the push and sudden rant, you retort.

"We haven't spoken since the first day! I even honored your request, Quinn. I don't understand why you dislike me so much."

"You don't get it." She leans into your space. If you weren't so frustrated, you would've blushed. "You're the only one who knows about Lucy. About everything I had to go through because of her. You can ruin my reputation with that knowledge. How can I not hate you?"

You could only blink in shock. So much was forgotten. Or rather, repressed. After a moment, you sigh.

"Quinn... What would I gain from that?" With a slump, your head thumps against the wall. "You may have forgotten but I... I loved Lucy." You hear a soft gasp. "I still love her. Even after your parents forced me away. Even after all this time."

You finally look straight into Quinn's eyes.

"If I ever talk about Lucy, it will only be with love and adoration. But since you don't want any indication of her existence, then she'll live in my heart. I'm not here to hurt you, Quinn. You have my word."

With that last word, you push past Quinn, leaving her in the hallway. You laid everything out there and you hope the blonde would trust you.

You didn't notice the look of awe in her face.

-----+++++-----

The first thing you noticed when you walked into school the next week were the whispers. Gossip sprung up all around you. You were confused until you were faced with a poster of a familiar photo.

Lucy Caboosey.

Almost immediately, you move to look for Quinn. At the choir room, you were met with most of the New Directions. Upon seeing you, Rachel rushed up.

"Y/N!"

"What's going on?" Another girl piped up.

"Fabray was being more annoying than Rachel." You recognized her to be Lauren Zizes. "I found out her little secret and decided to even the odds for Prom Queen."

You just stared at her. "YOU WHAT!?"

Everyone jumped at your voice.

"Do you know what she had to go through because of that bullying? I basically had to be her bodyguard in middle school just so she wouldn't be pushed to do anything drastic. And. You. Bring. That. BACK!?"

It didn't matter that Zizes was twice your size and stronger. She shrunk at your rage.

"You better damn well hope I find her before I see you again."

You whirl around to continue your search for Quinn, leaving the group in fear and awe.

Eventually, you follow the trail of torn posters to a classroom where you find the blonde crying at a desk. Quietly, you take a place across from her and wait for her to acknowledge you. It didn't take long for her to look up at you with teary eyes.

"Y/N..."

You smile. "Hey, Luce. Sorry I wasn't around to protect you this time." Quinn let's out a scoff.

"Please. I pushed you away. It's my own fault." A sigh escapes her lips. "How am I going to face the school now?"

"The same way you always did."

Quinn just looks at you, confused.

"Sure, you had an outburst. But you can't let that, or your past, dictate what you do now." You reach out your hand, palm up in an inviting manner. "You show that it doesn't control you. Even if you're just faking it."

She stares at your hand.

"Why are you doing this? After everything that's happened between us." You just give her a sad smile.

"I told you before. I love Lucy. Always will. I told her that as long as I was around, I'd protect her. I intend to keep it."

A tear falls from Quinn's eyes as she looks at you with wonder. Her hand covers yours and she revels in its warmth.

"Do you think you can... Love Quinn like you did Lucy? I've changed so much since you left. I'm not Lucy Caboosey anymore."

"Quinn," you start. "I don't think I could love you like I did Lucy." The blonde wilts, her heart breaking. Her hand clutches tighter onto yours. She had been so scared of her reputation crumbling that it masked her own feelings for you. Feelings she held for so long.

Quinn's actions catch your attention and when you look into her eyes, you're struck by the emotion in them. In an instant, you're back in middle school and falling in love all over again. You let yourself stay in that moment for a bit before speaking again.

"Lucy has a special place in my heart. She's my first love." You watch as your thumb caresses Quinn's hand. "It'll always be there, but it'll never grow." Your eyes meet again. "It can grow with you though. I may not know Quinn as well as I did Lucy, but I'd like to."

The smile on your face is immediately covered by soft lips. In a surge of emotion, the blonde leaned forward to kiss you. Before you could even react, she retreats.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself..." The light blush on her face sparks another memory and your smile widens.

"And here I thought I'd be the one to break." You chuckle. Gently, you lift her hand and kiss each knuckle. "Maybe let me kiss back this time?"

Quinn's blush deepens.

[mx-pastelwriting]

Trustful Companion

(POST-WAR) COOPER HOWARD X GN! READER

SUMMARY: Relaxing from your travels across the wasteland yet trouble seeming to find you both ruining a good drink. WARNINGS/TAGS: Guns, Held at gunpoint, Bar, Drinking/Alcohol, Violence, Slight Soft Cooper

Taking in the smell of alcohol cigarettes sitting at the mostly empty bar, thankfully allowing ghouls into the establishment; otherwise, it would have to be a shoot-and-grab mission for the both of you.

Hearing as the glass hit the wooden bar top, alerting the bartender to refill. Still looking over at the number of drink choices along the wall, knowing it would keep Cooper happy before the trip to the next bounty mission. Watching in the corner of your vision as the glass filled before striking to take it, seeing his hand stuck in time while you happily sipped away at his drink, taking in the sight of his shocked demeanor.

"And you call yourself a bounty hunter." Saying smugly, holding up the glass proudly, "Says my trustful companion," he replies, reminding you of the reason he keeps you around. Trust.

Placing down the drink in front of the man, still smiling like an idiot, finding your fun in catching the ghoul off guard. Swimming in that thought, having no notice of the two men behind you until feeling the nudge of their guns against the back of your heads.

Sitting still, watching in the corners of your vision, watching the bartender move away slowly, not caring for him, they spoke only to you both: "Didn't think they let this thing in here," the one farther from you says.

"Me and you both," Cooper says through gritted teeth, though it only earned a whip to the head, hearing as he groaned, not knowing whether from the pain or holding himself back.

"And this one, they have to be infected," the one behind you says, nudging the gun harder. Being in the spotlight, you fought the urge to roll your eyes. "Both of them could turn right now; we should take you both out right here, right now," Cooper's captor says, making his hand twitch against the glass.

"Not in here, boys," the voice of the bartender makes the attention turn, seeing as he held a shotgun in your direction. "You heard the man up," one of them ordered, leading you two to the door, guns now down to your back.

Feeling the cold outside nipping at your skin though as quickly as it came, so did Cooper's signal, moving swiftly to push the gun away from your captor, though not fast enough being locked into his grip. Turned seeing Cooper and the unconscious man on the dirt path, yet here you were, a gun held against your temple, waiting to blow.

"All of your caps, and I'll let them go," he demands, yet getting nothing from Cooper, the silence made a chill roll over your body. Looking into his eyes, seeing nothing—no plan, no signal, just nothing. "Make him talk," the man says, pushing the gun harder against you. "Give him the fucking caps already," you say, knowing he'll get them back after anyway.

Watching him slowly pull out his cap bag, dangling it in the air, "Come and get it," he says teasingly. "Go grab it and bring it back," the man says before pushing you to him, you walked grabbing the bag from Cooper.

Locking eyes with the ghoul, seeing the slight tilt of his head alerting you to his next action, quickly grabbing you before turning around taking the shot before blowing lead into the man.

"Fuck Coop, you couldn't have just given it to him instead of that stupid shit." You chew him out on dragging shit out. "Fucker could have shot me," you state, getting yourself together.

Looking up at him seeing his proud smile, the same one you had earlier, "I like to have a little fun too, darling," he says, but you quickly snap back. "Not when I'm dead, you won't!" "Oh please, darling, I ain't letting you go that soon," he teases. "Yeah, because you love me," you tease back, making him embarrassed.

"Shut up," he says, but you continue "You love me" singing into the night, earning a "Yeah, yeah" while walking off into the night, keeping close to him. Supposing that's another reason why he keeps you around. He loves you.

Hello, I hope you enjoyed if there is any grammar mistakes or misspellings sorry about that feel free to let me know in the comments, have a great day/afternoon/night!

♥ mx-pastelwriting does not consent to their fanfiction being copied, copied & credited, translated, used in videos and/or audios, screenshotted, used in AI.

Fanfiction is protected under copyright law when plagiarism is involved. If you plagiarize my work, either a piece or whole in any language, I will take legal action. Inspiration or the same idea does NOT apply to this, only word-for-word plagiarism in any language.

𝙏𝙖𝙜𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩: @emoguardian

[clip-the-simp]

Not Much Else [Pt.3]

Ao3

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6

Pairing: Cooper Howard/The Ghoul x Fem!Reader

Word count: 2,246

Warnings: canon typical violence, swearing, needles and mention of surgery, suggestive content, (I’m bad at warning tags so just let me know if I need/should to add some)

Tags: Mild Proofreading, suggestive content, flirting, wing play(?), reader had bat wings, Bounty Hunting, deviation from TV show, pre!show events(?), (Again I'm bad at tags so let me know)

Summary: You're a vault experiment that makes it to the surface. Quickly you learn the lay of the land and a few years later end up working the same bounty as The Ghoul. You convince him to let you tag along after having a feeling that you just had to follow him. Where will this story lead? Only time (and my motivation) will tell.

A/N: Things are getting heated y’all. This is part 3 to my Copper Howard/The Ghoul x reader fanfic. Be forewarned that this is going to be far from canon and really unrealistic honestly. But listen. If writing has taught me one thing, it’s that anything can happen.

The trek through the mountains was a bit harder than you imagined. Having hiked multiple times before the bombs dropped and practically living in that environment, it really bummed you out to know you weren’t as capable of the task as before.

“Come on now! Slow Pokes get left behind.” The Ghoul shouted from above you. He was a good ten yards ahead and picking at the tree next to him that had already been tampered with. It seemed that the target was marking his way through the words.

What a dumb ass. You had thought at the first marker the two of you had found. For someone trying to not be found he had made it quite easy. Although in total honesty you weren’t sure why he was being targeted.

The price on his head was hefty to say the least and the contract didn’t specify if he was needed dead or alive, only that his body needed to be brought back. Although if he was turned in alive there would be a nice bonus added.

From what it seemed, he came from one of the higher crime groups that resided on the coast. And considering he had enough to bargain with to afford hired muscle, they had to be from wealth.

Your back cracked as you straightened up next to The Ghoul. He had waited for you to catch up, which you appreciated. You might be fast in the air, but on the ground your wings did carry some weight to them.

“About time y’caught up. Take a look at this.” The Ghoul pointed at a clearing just over the ridge where a camp sight had been set up. The fire was still smoldering as though the inhabitants left in a hurry. A few moments later The Ghoul and yourself were rummaging about the camp. While you examined the area closest to the fire pit, The Ghoul scanned the perimeter.

“They left in a hurry, that's for sure.” You picked at the remains of the fire to determine when it had been lit. “But as to why I haven't quite-” You began to speak only to get cut off.

“I know why.” The Ghoul said followed by the sound of his gun unholstering which caught your attention. Immediately lifting your head to see The Ghoul, a large shadow settled at your back as you froze. Whatever was behind you had your companion aiming quick before firing off several shots in your direction. When the first bullet left the barrel of his gun, you dove to the side and began to crawl far enough away to feel safe to look behind you.

What you saw was the largest yao guai, a mangy mutated bear, you've ever had the displeasure of laying eyes on. Your heart was pounding in your chest as you stood. The bear roared and The Ghoul’s initial shots had only managed to piss it off more.

“Shit!” He yelled as the bear began to charge at him. The Ghoul tried to fire off another shot but nothing happened. The gun was jammed. The yao guai was still laser focused on The Ghoul as you finally unfroze from your shock. Your hands fumbled for the gun holstered at your thigh. You knew you didn’t have bullets that were going to bring the beast down, but it would get the attention off the man who did. Shooting your own rounds, the bear quickly turned in your direction before promptly changing course. Now focused solely on you.

“Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck!” You yelled as you ran from the mutant. You didn’t think this one though at all. Your focus had been purely to get the bear's attention off The Ghoul and it worked.

Not realizing how close the bear had actually been, you were quickly knocked to the ground as the force of the yao guai landed on your back, causing all air to leave your lungs. There was a sickening crunch as something in your body broke and a muted scream tried to leave your throat.

Before the creature could do any more damage there were another two shots coming from behind you. The first shot caused the bear to yowl in pain and get off of you as it turned back to the one shooting it. The second forced the bear to fall to the ground in a limp heap beside you. There was a quick sound of jingling spurs that came from somewhere beside you, but the pain that began to bloom in your back took away from all other senses.

Tears started to pluck at the corners of your eyes as breathing came back to you. Pinpointing the broken bone was easy after you tried opening your wings and a shooting pain came from your left wing. A yelp came from you as you tried to stand. You found yourself back on the ground, the pain from disturbing the broken limb causing a wave of nausea to wash over you.

“Stay still.” The Ghoul said kneeling in front of you with a stimpack in hand. Fear gripped you as he grabbed your arm and jammed the needle into your arm. Your muscles were tense which were bound to cause a bruise in that arm. Your mind was fogged from the memories of the vault you came from while the stim needle was buried in your arm . The cutting of flesh, recovery from surgeries, but most of all the injections of mutated cells that were forced into your bloodstream.

“Y’still with me darlin?” You heard The Ghoul’s voice break through the fog in your mind. It felt like an eternity before he spoke after removing the stimpack. Your eyes were hazy as you looked at him and tried to focus your senses again.

“Ya,” you shook your head to try and relieve yourself of your thoughts. Bringing your attention to The Ghoul, you found his eyes to focus on something other than the past. “I’ll be fine.” You assured him as you slowly stood up, The Ghoul followed and placed his hands on your shoulders to keep you balanced.

“Y’don’t look it.” He mumbled as you held a hand to your face trying to gather yourself. The tackle to the ground definitely threw you off not to mention the sudden flashbacks to the vault.

The Ghoul’s hands remained on your shoulders while he took in your facial features. You looked terrible and were in no condition to travel. His hands delivered a light squeeze before he removed them and walked away to poke at the bear.

“We’ll camp here for the night.” He stated as he cut into the bear's hide to harvest what he could. You looked over to him puzzled. There were still at least two hours worth of daylight left which was valuable time you would lose.

“There’s still daylight left. And god knows how far ahead start they-” you began to argue. But you were cut off when he glared over his shoulder at you. Your body instantly froze when your eyes met.

“I don’t care. I’m not traveling with y’injured.” The Ghoul’s voice was low and gruff. There was no room for argument in his tone. Slumping your shoulders you reached back to touch your wing. There was still a throbbing pain where the bone was trying to mend itself.

“We’ll travel when your wing is fully healed in the morning.” He had brought his attention back to the bear as he cut away at the flesh. Sure the bear was full of radiation and not good to eat, but food was food. And for you, radiation was no big deal having been pumped full of it in the vault.

An hour had passed before the two of you settled in by the newly sparked fire. The sun wasn’t fully set but with the trees the world seemed darker. In the mountain elevation it seemed to be a lot colder than what you had grown accustomed to in the desert.

The Ghoul sat to your left that night which was unusual. He had kept the fire between you two every night since working together which sparked the question.

“What’s with the change? Tired of sleeping alone?” You teased with a lite jab of your elbow into his arm. He let out a chuckle that caught you off guard. It was such a wonderful sound to hear from him. The Ghoul turned to look at you while you grinned at him.

“Maybe.” He answered. His tone had dropped to something a bit more sinister which sent a shock up your spine. It held an edge to it that burned a fire in your belly, especially when you noticed his eyes on you. They showed something primal in them.

Clearing your throat you turned your gaze away. Grabbing the designated poking stick you stirred the fire. But you felt your body continuing to grow warm with The Ghoul’s gaze on you.

You leaned back against the log the two of you were using as a rest once you finished poking the fire. There was a sudden discomfort that laid in the joints of your wings as you realized they hadn’t been stretched in a while. After realizing that you threw off your jacket to properly unfurl your wing.

Sitting up a bit you carefully stretched your wings directly behind you before bringing them to shield your back and The Ghoul’s. There were a few good pops that came from the base of your back that relieves some of the pain. Tucking your wings back into place you finally noticed The Ghoul’s eyes lingering on them.

“Let me take a look at that wing real quick. Need to see if the stim pack worked.” The Ghoul said as he reached for your exposed wing. Before you could protest his hand was gripping lightly at the base of your now healed wing and making its way to where the brake had been. An unexpected bolt of pleasure ran through you, forcing a soft moan to leave your lips.

Your face grew painfully hot as you slapped your hands over your mouth in pure horror at what just left it. Your wings clamped close to your body as you tried to make yourself as small as possible. Burying your face in your hands The Ghoul whistled lower as he smirked at you.

“Didn’t know that was a turn on for y’ sweetheart.” His voice was low again as he teased, which only caused you to burn hotter.

“Shut the fuck up!” Your statement was muffled by your hands. The Ghoul just laughed at your embarrassment. No one had touched your wings since the scientist that attached them, because even after that you would scare them away from touching you. So you never knew the sensitivity they had when others messed witg them.

“It’s alright darlin. We’re both adults here.” He leaned into you a bet while placing an arm across your shoulders. You tried to look him in the face but the heat in your face was still prominent.

“Well I’ve never had someone touch them before so I had no idea that was going to happen.” You admitted as you glared into the fire, trying to find any way to relieve the burning in your body. The Ghoul just leaned back on the log, throwing his arms behind him while his legs spread open in a lazy state.

The thought of you being between them shot through your mind as you admired him. You quickly tried to clear the thought from your mind but the blush was already obvious.

“From the way y’reacted you’ve never been touched.” His words cut through your thoughts causing you to whip your head around to face him. That comment of his stabbed at your pride. Did he really think you were that innocent?

“I’m not a virgin, you know. I was in Hollywood for years as an actress so I have some experience.” You spat at him before turning back to the fire.

“You were in Hollywood before the bombs fell?” His voice went hoarse when he questioned you. Something in the air shifted at that moment. There was a silence that followed his question.

“I was. Mostly played in commercials but had some bigger roles.” You started to reminisce on the old times. Missing how the sun didn’t blister your skin so easily or how people weren’t always out to kill you. At least most of the time. “Why? Were you?”

“Ya. I was.” The Ghoul grumbled while he looked into the fire. You kept looking at him. Trying to figure it out. He was so familiar but every train of thought led back to the same man. Your eyebrows raised as realization hit you.

“Oh my god. Cooper Howard?” His body stiffened at his real name. Your jaw fell slack as the pieces were put into place. His eyes found yours which only confirmed the accusation more. There was a deep seated pain that laid beneath his eyes which stabbed at your heart.

His appearance was nothing like the one he had before when you had worked with him. Not only was his nose gone, but his warm demeanor and overall well natured self was gone. He was tougher with a willingness to kill for whatever the occasion may be. Your eyes softened from their shock as you began to speak.

“What happened?”

[glamlet69]

September Prompts day 2

I know I'm still behind (which I guess is what happens when you decide to do a prompt list three days into the month). Also, this is probably very mediocre, but its something :) Enjoy my little Gale and Astarion bonding fic.

It had only been a few short months since Astarion had met Tav, had joined this ragtag group of idiots. So much had changed. Not only did he have a worm in his head that could turn him into a tentacle-clad monster in an instant, but he had freed himself from his chains. Had killed Cazador and all he was working towards. 

He still felt hollow inside. He wondered if that feeling would ever go away. Most likely not, given his luck.

“Just admiring the view?” A very distinct (and often grating) voice asked from just behind him. Gale of Waterdeep. A wizard with a flare for dramatics in frightening competition with his own, and an even more frightening disregard for his own life.

“I was.” Astarion mumbled. It was a half-hearted jab, they both knew. They had gotten to know each other very well over their time together. Too well for Astarion’s liking. Gale, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy Astarion’s company despite all of that. A fact that baffled the vampire.

Gale settled down with a deep sigh next to Astarion. For a few moments they sat in silence, both looking at the steadily rising sun. 

“How are you feeling, Astarion?” Gale asked. He seemed genuine. Like he cared. Astarion would never get used to it.

“Oh, you know. The man who tortured me and destroyed my life is finally dead. How does one usually feel after such an endeavor?” He was desperately trying to keep things light. To keep the tears from welling up again.

“I’d wager relieved, certainly. But also maybe a tad uneasy.”

Astarion didn’t answer. Gale, at times, was annoyingly good at sensing the emotions of others. He had listened in on many of Gale’s conversations with their other companions, and somehow they always came away feeling lighter afterwards. He could see it in their eyes. The way their shoulders sagged with relief. 

Despite his better judgement, he could feel himself wanting to give in. To let Gale’s warmth envelope him. What Astarion really wanted to do was cry. But he had already let them see him to that once. When they had gotten back to camp that night, he had vowed never to let himself do it again. 

“I suppose you’re right. I just… I just feel tired.” 

Gale looked at him, studying him with those inquisitive eyes. Finally, he nodded, looking back at the horizon. “I’m glad you did not have to do that alone. One shouldn’t have to.”

Astarion was shocked by the words. It took him several seconds to process them, blinking rapidly as tears started to blur his vision. He turned away, quickly wiping his eyes and hoping Gale wouldn’t notice. 

Astarion has been alone his whole cursed life. Even before Cazador entered it. What was he to do with all of this? It was too much. It took him another several moments to compose himself, and when he did, he turned back to look at the sky, pointedly not looking to the wizard next to him.

Gale, blessedly, did not acknowledge the vampire’s tears, nor did he move closer. He simply sat with him in silence, and together they watched the sun rise.

[mspegasus17]

The Circus

Pairing: Imelda x Poppy

Summary: The girlfriends visit a Horror Maze at the carnival.

Words: 1929

CW: Clowns

Read it on Wattpad, AO3 or under the cut ⬇️

Screams came from the tent onto the festival grounds. "Are you sure you want to go in there?" the brunette witch asked her black-haired companion. "100 percent," she replied. Her friend eyed the circus tent suspiciously. "I don't know. It almost sounds like people would get slaughtered in there." "Don't be like that. I'm with you; nothing will happen to you." "You're saying that now. And tomorrow, this horror tent will be in the newspaper because there really was a murder there." The brunette wrapped her arms around her body. "You've watched too many horror films, Poppy. This is just about getting a little scared. That's all," the black-haired woman promised and linked arms with her girlfriend. She patted her hand reassuringly. "Those are just actors in there. They're just pretending. You just have to remember that; then you'll have fun. I promise." Together, they got in line for the Horror Maze. Imelda was thrilled and excited; Poppy was unsure and afraid.

"What if I get so scared that I faint?" Poppy asked. "Or worse, I wet my pants?" Imelda laughed. "If you faint, I'll catch you. If you pee yourself, I'll probably laugh at you, but at least you'll be warm. For a few minutes, at least." "That's a great prospect," Poppy grumbled, fiddling with her costume. "And what if I accidentally hit one of the actors because they scared me so much?" "Then they'll throw us out, and we'll be banned from the venue forever," Imelda giggled. "Just stay calm and hold my hand if you want. Then nothing will go wrong." The line moved a little further forward.

"I haven't seen anyone come out of that damn thing yet, Imelda," Poppy said worriedly after a while in the queue. "The exit is probably somewhere we can't see it from here," Imelda explained in a calm tone. "It's probably on purpose, so you get a little scared. It would ruin the whole thing if you saw people laughing as they exited the haunted tent. You're supposed to think it's terribly scary and dangerous there." The queue moved a little further forward.

Soon, the two witches were standing in front of the entrance to the tent. It was their turn next. Since groups of four people were always brought into the tent, they joined a strange couple behind them. The young woman was already clinging anxiously to her boyfriend's arm. "James, I don't want to go in there," she whimpered. The aforementioned James kissed her on the forehead. "It won't be that bad, Melissa," he reassured her. "I'm here. I'll protect you." "If necessary, we'll throw him at the monsters as a distraction so we can escape," Imelda joked, promptly receiving a shocked look from Melissa.

A tall man in a scary circus director costume stepped out of the tent. His skin was made up in ashen colour, and his clothes were torn, as if he had been dead for a while. "Welcome to the Circus Daemonicus," he greeted them with a slight bow. "We're always happy to have guests. But before I let you in, I must point out that we are not liable in the event of injury, nightmares, trauma, severed limbs, or death. You have been warned." Melissa squealed, and Poppy's knees went weak. "S-severed limbs?" she stammered, unsure if she had heard correctly. The ringmaster waved his hand casually. "Yeah, you know. Fingers, arms, legs. The usual." Imelda laughed at the comment, but the other three looked less enthusiastic. "Well, enough chatting. Follow me, please." The ringmaster waved the four behind him and backed into the tent.

"I see we have a strong man on the team," the ringmaster said to James. "Do you think you can protect the three ladies?" "I'll try," James replied, whereupon the ringmaster laughed maliciously. "We'll see. What's your name, my naughty one?" Without hesitation, James told him his name. The ringmaster grinned broadly and nodded. Then he called over his shoulder into the tent: "Guys, I've brought you James. He wants to appear strong, but I can already smell his fear pee." Laughing eerily, he stopped and invited the four of them to enter the ring with a sweeping gesture. "Good luck." With that, he disappeared back into the entrance.

You couldn't see a metre in the ring. Thick fog and dim lighting gave the empty circus tent a spooky atmosphere. At least the tent seemed empty. The four tried to see something in the mist. A path, or perhaps possible dangers, but they couldn't see anything. With small steps, they ventured further and further into the middle of the ring. Suddenly, a ball rolled in from the right. Poppy, James and Melissa flinched while Imelda giggled. They moved closer together. Melissa clung to James' arm as if her life depended on it. Poppy stayed close to Imelda but didn't dare show her fear.

"Hello, James." A clown appeared in front of the four and grinned broadly at them. He slung a baseball bat over his shoulder and played with the handle. With a jerky step, he took a closer step towards the small group. "Spread out!" he yelled and swung his baseball bat so that it hit the ground. Screaming, the four of them scattered. Slowly and threateningly, the clown walked towards Imelda and sniffed her. "Ooh, you smell goooood." He walked on and sniffed Poppy and Melissa, who he said also smelled good but a little scared. When he reached James, the clown wrinkled his nose. "Ugh! You stink, James! That's disgusting! Don't you think so, Suzy?" Suddenly, a ballerina was standing behind James and sniffing him. "With a few spices, he'd be edible in soup," she croaked. "No, he's stinking my ass off," complained the clown. "Even the lions smell better when they've got diarrhoea again. Get out of here!" Roaring, the clown swung his baseball bat and hit the steel beams of the circus tent with it. "Go on! Faster, faster! Get out of here!" With threatening blows against the metal, the clown drove the group through a corridor at the other end of the ring, deeper into the maze.

When they stepped out of the tent, they breathed a sigh of relief. "Phew, that was really scary," gasped James. "Yeah, I peed my pants too," agreed a fat clown who unexpectedly stood next to him and put an arm around his shoulder. Startled, James flinched and backed away. The fat clown reached out a dirty hand to Melissa. "Can you change my diaper?" he begged her. Melissa squealed and hid behind James. "I TOLD YOU TO SPREAD APART!" screamed the other clown behind them, running towards them. Melissa screamed and backed away from James. Imelda just laughed loudly while Poppy jumped out of the way in fright and clutched her chest. "Smell it! James stinks; I wouldn't eat him," said the first clown, turning to the fat clown. He sniffed James and pulled a face. "He doesn't even go with a lot of ketchup. That's disgusting!" Curiously, he sniffed Melissa. "But you do. You smell delicious. With a nice aroma of fear." Smacking his lips, he rubbed his stomach. Melissa seemed close to tears. She stepped back from the clown, whimpering. "GET AWAY NOW!" the first clown yelled at the small group and swung his baseball bat again. The four of them obeyed and continued through the maze.

The path led them between cages in which half-torn lion and tiger dolls lay. A woman in a glittering gymnastics costume was bent over a lion and was smacking her lips loudly. As the four walked past the cage, she suddenly jumped up. "Fresh meat!" she screamed, stretching her arms through the bars. Startled, the four backed away and hit the bars opposite with their backs—a mistake. From the darkness, hands grabbed them and tugged at their clothes. The four screamed, and Melissa's first tears ran down her pale face. "James, I'm scared. I can't go on," she sobbed. "It's all good, baby. Nothing can happen to you here," he tried to calm her down. "Come on, let's move on quickly."

They left the corridor between the cages as quickly as possible. Now, the path led between caravans. Fake blood decorated the walls and windows, and the light flickered in one caravan. It seemed quiet. Much too quiet. Melissa clung to James' arm again, and Poppy grabbed Imelda's hand. Suddenly the sound of a chainsaw was heard behind them. Startled, they turned around and saw a clown holding a chainsaw. He let the chainsaw roar and ran towards them, laughing hysterically. James, Melissa and Poppy ran off screaming. Imelda, on the other hand, strolled after them, giggling. "This is the best evening of my life," she laughed.

The other three didn't get far because a tamer stood in their way. He cracked his whip threateningly. "Have you seen Aslan?" he asked. "He's about this size." He raised his hand to chest height. "He has brown fur and pretty sharp teeth. If you see him, you shouldn't pet him. The poor thing must be starving. He particularly likes fear." The tamer gave Melissa a meaningful look, and she gasped. "I don't want to go any further," she sobbed and knelt on the wet ground. "Oh, come on, honey. We're almost there," James tried to encourage his girlfriend, but she just shook her head and hid her face in her hands. Poppy grabbed Imelda's hand again, and the two bravely walked past the threatening-looking tamer. "We're almost there," Poppy called to the other couple. The exit was not far away. Now, James also dared to walk past the tamer and left Melissa crouching on the ground. "Come on, honey, he won't hurt you." Melissa gathered all her courage and stood up. But when she faced the tamer again, she swallowed hard, and her heart sank into her pants. "James!" she moaned. "James!" the tamer mimicked her, causing Imelda and Poppy to burst out laughing. "You can do it!" Poppy called out to Melissa encouragingly. Suddenly, the chainsaw sounded again behind Melissa. Screaming, she pushed past the tamer and ran into James' arms. "You asshole!" she cursed and pounded her fists on his chest. James hugged her tightly and explained: "I had to show you that he's harmless." "I hate you," she sobbed into his chest.

"Come on now, the exit is right up ahead," Imelda urged, pointing to the open gate about a hundred metres ahead of them. Poppy retook her hand and snuggled up to her. The path to the exit was suspiciously empty. She was sure that someone would jump out of hiding somewhere. But nothing happened. A sign behind the gate assured them that they had really made it out of the maze. Poppy sighed in relief. "Thank Merlin. We made it." Melissa and James hugged each other happily and sank to the ground to take a deep breath. "That was scary. I won't do that again," Melissa said. Imelda grinned at Poppy. "Ready for the next maze?" Beaming with joy, she held up the tickets for the other horror mazes in the park. Poppy sighed. "Fine. But first, I have to go to the toilet. Otherwise, I'll really pee my pants at the next shock." Imelda happily put her arm around her girlfriend's shoulder and kissed her temple. "I'll protect you from nightmares tonight, too. I promise." Poppy smiled at her. "I hope so." Giggling, she kissed her girlfriend and strolled with her towards the next adventure.

[gale-dekarios]

5, 27 and 34 for game asks!

hiiiii :DDD thanks for stopping byyyy

5. Most memorable gaming moment?

oh, absolutely the githyanki creche fight from bg3.

everybody was dead except astarion, who was a thief subclass rogue. you don't need to know the subclass except that they get two bonus actions instead of one.

everyone except two githyanki melee fighters were still alive. instead of doing the normal thing and reloading, i decided i was going to see if i could pull it off just with astarion.

what i ended up doing was, i'd get astarion to use a bonus action disengage, bonus action dash, sprint to the opposite end of the room, turn around and shoot them with his bow or a fire bolt. they would then be forced to use a full action to dash towards him because they had no ranged weapons, and would have to wait until their next turn. the problem with this plan is that they could never reach astarion to actually hit him, but also their AC was high enough that astarion, especially without sneak attack advantage or damage, very rarely hit them. meaning i spent a whole HALF HOUR running around that one fucking room with astarion and these gith only sometimes hitting them and doing the tiniest amount of damage when i did.

i managed to KILL THEM, and i WON THAT FIGHT, only to get caught in the vlakiith "kill the person inside the artefact" cut scene, and i had one spell scroll of revivify left. which meant after ALL THAT, i had to reload anyway.

big L for charlie.

27. A popular game that you just can’t get into.

animal crossing. i really dislike slow milestone/farming games. same with stardew valley. i find that kind of thing really really boring. repetitive stuff really grates me, it's why i'm kind of stuck trying to finish dragon age inquisition because i know i need to wrap up the companion stuff, but thinking about "go to this place, pick up thing", "go to this place, kill this person", three, four, five times in a row, it just reeeeeally puts me off.

and the thing is like, i've played animal crossing, in fact, im pretty sure i still have a good 30 or something hours in it. but that was mainly because i have friends i played it with that had been playing it for years upon years and they really helped me blast through a LOT of the upgrades really quickly, but i mainly treated my island as a way to piss off one of my friends who really likes her place to look nice and organised and for everywhere else to look nice and organised (and cute), but after a while doing bits like having as many toilets as i could scattered around my island and stealing as many flowers as i could from hers didn't justify the amount of fun i wasn't having playing the game, and so i stopped.

what's downright hilarious though is my rng in that fucking game because despite not giving less of a shit about it, apparently i have at least... three...? incredibly rare campers on my island at any given time (apparently) (i wouldnt actually know but thats what they said, and they seemed pretty shocked about it so.)

but yeah, resource management, organising, farming, slow gain milestones, no clear, structured story, repetitive gameplay, it's like everything i hate to be in a game all in one.

34. funniest gaming moment

not sure if this means something i did or something that happens in a game that i find funny, either way, the amount of inside jokes i have about assassins creed odyssey's alexios with my friends are insane, (all of which are non sensical both with and without context), and the eagle bearer shoving the cyclop's obsidian eye up a goats anus still catches me off guard and makes me lose it every single time.

[thessalian]

Thess vs Mod Issues

Well. That explains some things.

See, I had a few issues on this my second playthrough of Baldur's Gate 3. Specifically, I was struggling with Nere's head. I had it in my inventory. The game would not recognise that I had this head in my inventory. This was annoying, but not a huge problem. It's a side quest. The asshole was dead. So I just kind of yeeted the head into the lava and moved on.

Now, two things, each more problematic than the last. First, it will not recognise that I have a night orchid for Shadowheart, which is frustrating as hell. But the worst of it is that I have two chunks of infernal iron and I am at the Last Light Inn and Dammon is asking me for infernal iron to fix Karlach and IT WILL NOT RECOGNISE THAT I HAVE INFERNAL IRON.

So I hit Google. Now, apparently this is a bug that mostly hits people playing with mods, but has actually hit some people playing an unmodded game. One of the last couple of hotfixes Larian did kind of messed up some bits and pieces and made some important items (iron, night orchids, heads, all manner of shit) just ... not be recognised as being in your inventory when it's in your inventory.

There are a lot of things that can be done about this and they're all complicated as fuck and it's frustrating. I don't even know where to start with the fixes. I'm trying one, but it may be that the only way is to ... well, start again, clean, no mods. Which means no proper aasimar Alisaie, at least until the next hotfix. And that's assuming that I don't wind up with the same bug in a non-modded playthrough.

FUUUUUUUUUCK.

Well, I'll keep going through this whole validation ... thing and we'll see how it goes. It's a good thing that a) I like Act 1 well enough and b) am perfectly happy to keep going through things to find the New Stuff. Bneh.

EDIT: I've been doing some hunting and while there are a lot of fixes, I've learned a few things. Like, this apparently started with Hotfix 16, because Larian's still implementing this "grab whatever you want from whatever companion you want / the camp chest whenever you need to" thing and it's a process. It's apparently fucking up with ModFixer, which a lot of mods apparently need or already have embedded in it. Thing is, the person who made the ModFixer mod has never updated it, ever, and apparently the comment when people flag up the issue is "The mod isn't broken; I'm not fixing shit". So ... that's nice. Of course, some people are having this bug without having any mods at all, so they're right in a way, but that doesn't help all the people with the mods. So that's nice. I'll probably have a poke at fixing things but I'm going to have to go back to a way earlier save anyway because this goes all the way back to the Nere fight, so I don't really know how to cope with this. But I can't do all that much right now because I have an appointment with the optician in about an hour because I really need to have my glasses prescription looked at (gods, the sticker shock on this one but I'd like to be able to see and have fewer headaches, so there you have it), which means clothes / shoes / out. I also need more heavy cream and some limescale remover for my kettle. Yay hard water. I just pray I don't come out of the eye tests with more migraine - I usually do because of the glaucoma puff test, but I'd like to have a video game day.

*sigh* Maybe I'll just go back to poking new games I haven't touched yet and leave BG3 alone for awhile.

[veilkeeper]

Tav asks for you! General 1, 8 and 9, story specific 12, 15 and 17, and romance 1 and 12 for Roz?

questions from here

(Roz is transmasc and nonbinary, they/them pronouns.)

General

1. Where can your Tav be recruited? Are they first encountered on the Nautiloid, or in the Nautiloid crash region? Or are they not recruitable until a later act?

Hm... I'm tempted to say the player would find them on the nautiloid, but in the interest of not throwing another githyanki in there, I'll say the PC finds them for the first time later, on the risen road. They'll be cagey but with a high enough charisma, they'll tell the PC they were pretty sure this road led to elturel. Or maybe there's a brainlink tadpole moment and the PC can feel that they were heading to elturel, somewhere familiar to them. when it becomes apparent that you share their tadpole affliction and that the PC intends to do something about it, they consent to traveling with the party, if the PC is so inclined.

8. What do they say when the Player Character asks them to stay in camp? How about when the Player Character asks them to come adventuring again?

Roz is very non-combative when it comes to "orders", so while they think it's a bad idea to leave them in camp, they'd probably just do an "uh huh. I'll be here if you need me." When the PC asks them to rejoin the party, something like "About time. I was getting sick of standing around." if they're romanced, theyd switch to a softer "i would prefer not to, but if you insist," if they're asked to stay behind.

9. Does your Tav have any escalating conflicts with one of the other companions, like Lae’zel and Shadowheart’s knife-fight?

I don't think so. Roz prefers to stay under the radar. If they have a problem with anyone, they would rather keep it to themself. And since they're very good at taking cues from other people, I think they'd be good at keeping at the very least a working relationship with everyone.

(more below!!)

Story Specific

12. Is it possible for your Tav to be kidnapped and replaced by Orin? How is Orin's deception revealed? How do they react to the PC rescuing them in the Temple of Bhaal?

YES. I'm a sucker for the drama. How does she get caught, though? Probably by talking too much. Suggesting the PC does things before being specifically asked for an opinion, being a little too verbose and intense to really sell it. Roz is definitely shocked that anyone would come to rescue them, and would thank the PC the next time they're spoken to in camp. "I wouldn't have dared ask you to put yourself in danger for me. So, thank you. Your consideration is... appreciated." *looks away awkwardly*

15. How do they react when the Dark Urge first reveals their amnesia and murderous thoughts to them?

Roz: "Thank you for telling me." 1. Is that all? 2. You seem troubled. 3. You're welcome. Narrator: [Insight: Success] *They shift on their feet, their eyes turned skyward. They're uncomfortable, but you do not think it is because of anything you've said.* Roz: "Not troubled. I simply do not know what you wish for me to say. You know these desires are not normal or you would not confess them like this, so I will not deign to convince you that they are. However, as thoughts alone they matter little. The mind is full of things we may not wish for. If they trouble you, I would suggest not turning them to action. But do not fear judgement from me, either way."

17. If romanced, how do they react to the Dark Urge trying to kill them in Act 2?

"Ah. And yet, you passed up a very good opportunity to see me dead, so I like my chances. (More seriously) Tell me what you need, please." As always, Roz would first and foremost be concerned with Durge's feelings and waiting for the cue on what they want them to do in this situation. Afterwards, they'd ask for more details but in a way that more suggests that they're looking for a game plan for the next time their lover might get possessed by the murderghost that seems to live in their brain, and less as a judgemental, "you owe me an explanation" sort of thing.

Romance

1. Is your Tav a romanceable character? Are there any specific requirements to romancing them?

Definitely! But it would take some effort. I don't think there's specific requirements per se, but it would take some persistence: they're the kind of person who would take a few flirts before they acknowledge the PCs interest. They would definitely be interested, they just wouldn't be sure that the PC is right away, and would need some convincing first.

12. Free space! Share anything from your companion!Tav au!

Stealing from my long ass meta post sitting in my drafts: They won't autonomously talk about themself, but if the PC brings them in the party, they will occasionally make comments, and similar to Sten in DA:O when camp is set the PC can ask about it. I.e. they'll mention having been in this area before, or they'll know the history of something that a githyanki soldier wouldn't.... typically know? And the PC can ask about it and that's when they'd talk about themself. They'd be a very "you get what you give" companion. The more effort you put in to take interest in them, the more forthcoming they'll be.

[hypersomniaaboutsleeping]

💫 FROM NARUTO TO BORUTO FANFICTION💫 #2

Official name: Unexpected

Only here on En here. From author personally.

P.s. sometimes dumb! Oops. (Daichi/dai/day - one person)

- Come on, Naruto.

The black-haired girl had his eyes.

He had seen her before.

- Ah, Kumiko. Through the door entrance for the weak?

It was the same girl who a few minutes ago had organized a quick conversation in the confusion in front of a lot of families coming from the same exam.

- An urgent gathering at your house, Uzumaki-doshi. It does not tolerate delay.

The girl bowed respectfully, and went the same way back.

"She is the strangest chunin, after Orochimaru..."

And went after the girl..

..Upon arrival, he found himself in complete shock.

- Uh... Today, instead of an equally strange alternative to this dobe, everyone suddenly decided to stare at me? However, start this your hurdy-gurdy anew, M.. Kumiko.

"They don't want to give out the strongest? Clever, datteban'ya" - Boruto tactfully kept silent. Maybe Dad will be ready to find out.. A little bit later.

- Fine, usaratonkachi. We are not with very pleasant news. And, - The woman pointed at Daichi. - Probably everything is bad if the son of Naruto and Sakura had to find himself in a world where he, in fact, did not exist. Sakura-chan, we understand that you're after work, but don't make such a face until you've been informed what the actual problem is.

- Well, go on, but it's not every day that I see a so-called son whose father didn't even kiss!

Sakura tried to be calm. But after the shift, I didn't take into account similar ones... Farces, yes, there is no other way to call them.

- But with your husband a few. What I was leading to..a. In short. We all had one thing in common. In view... Parties of the dead, yes, it sounds funny, not funny when a grandfather drags his granddaughter to the next world, and her husband barely saved the children. I'm not going to explain, but it was perfect... Real chaos.

Miko, the same girl companion, nodded for Daichi to continue.

- In general, it is impossible to allow the disclosure of seals. Unfortunately, we don't know much ourselves.. Whether it's people, or maybe a moron stone. It's different for everyone.. The fact that it is obvious against the ten-tails and others, we will not pass the second time. Naruto..

Green, bright eyes glared at the one who was now the deciding voice. For whom it was arranged..What are they hoping for?

- We must organize a search without panic and murder. Otherwise it's easy for us.. Either we all die, or your son will be added to my company. And so on until the last one, until we find ourselves... Somewhere where, for example, Kushina and Minato failed, and the world turned into the cradle of the Nine-Tailed. Or where the eternal Shinobi wars take place, and the clans did not come to a truce at all even once. I hope I sound and look convincing enough?

Mikoto stared at him with support. Hopefully, Menma is next to Sarada, who just recognized each other before. Sakura is like a bell in a tired head - "intonation, behavior, eyes" - all with her part, identical pressure. Unless, she was... More violent.

And the gloomy Sasuke, who only by coincidence returned, felt unfamiliar, but... Chakras of relatives besides Sarada.

"Naruto and Sakura's son? The guy is really very similar.. But he didn't say something. How does he know that there were others before him? That's ****, I've never noticed the chakra before.. Such pressure. Like..."

And then he realized what was wrong. Of course, Sasuke will definitely talk about this with Naruto, they don't go crazy collectively..? From the fact that for several years you felt the only related chakra per kilometer, which was its obvious plus.

And now something has been added there.

Also native, but.. Purely logically impossible. Moreover, one of them is already an adult balanced flow... Strangely heavy.

"The current is balanced... So, this person is also an adult relative. No... Confused, like a person in deep shock .." - Consciousness blocked [looks like childhood], driving away sticky panic. - "So... So, not alone. An adult, and another child. They don't say everything.."

- Don't look like that. Do you think it's cool for me to be without my parents one day, even seeing them every day? And we have another problem. What other family do you think is looming on the horizon? Uzumaki-Uchiha. I'm not the only one, they are too. Please don't laugh, Sister-luck is not on our side. If they were here, they wouldn't even be able to really hinder them. And he - Now Daichi pointed to Menma, who had been standing aside before. - We don't look askance at Menma, I haven't even really had time to be a genie. He is also one of them, but you understand that this is a child, and whoever does not understand, we will prove to him. Now to the main thing.

- The power of such as Uzumaki-Uchiha can break seals. We have to find at least one. Why not two at once? Menma said that if they act together, we will simply waste our strength against them. The girl continued.

Mikoto-san's face remained impassive. As if indeed.. Not concerned.

- Summing up, we want to summarize. We ourselves know quite a bit, but we hope for understanding. Of course, the words can be confirmed by removing the first of the forty seals.. You will understand this when you meet a couple of the dead.

- Well, or when the opposite world appears to you. What are your bets if it's a young Uzumaki on the Akatsuki side? Or else.. Menma, it's more correct to say.

Daichi tried not to think about what his younger brother would tell him later.

- An option where Naruto was as vindictive as Sasuke was stubborn, trying to return the young man to his native village. You must understand that if this is a Nine-tailed, trained Orochimaru, he is ready to take off the heads of all the madmen who want to stop him. It will be lucky if the fight is at least approximately equal, datta.

Mikoto, a la rootless Kumiko, was quite emotional when she tried to be more convincing.

Uzumaki was trying to put this whole mess in his head.

Seals? Will the dead rise again? Other realities?

Yes, even thinking about it was too much.. Implausible.

- I'll be happy to help. But if you confirm your words. You appeared in the village like a bolt from the blue, nothing is known about you, in particular about such a jonin and even earlier the status of genin.

"Oh, so absolute identity isn't enough for you? Maybe we'll invite Madara to visit again on purpose? Or just Kagyu?"

Mikoto's patience evaporated with great speed.Of course, to some extent Naruto is right, and there is no solid evidence yet... Yes, even a specific object to search for.

- And who prevented you from just repeating it?

- Both stopped. Have the others swallowed their tongue? Hokage decides for you, or do you have your own opinions?

Now a girl stands in the middle of both. Smiling quite amiably.

Sakura came out first.

- It's better to check than to guess and get into a mess. And if there is nothing, nothing will be spent unnecessarily.

- Thank you, Sakura-chan. Others? Not you, so we have a lot of villages.. It's just nice to have your native village on your side. Although Naruto knows better that it's me.

Daichi just shook his head at that..

"Mikoto-san knows too much, but I hope he will understand that there is no need to say more.. They'll be scared even more"

[stresslitzia]

🎶

Song rolled: Just Add Water - Cavetown Themes: Anxiety, jealousy, lasting regrets for words left unsaid Character: Luxu (Kingdom Hearts), other Foretellers present but will not be tagged Setting: Pre-Back Cover, mostly. Length: ~850 words

Leave without me because I don't wanna go Just add water, let me grow Please, don't worry, I'll be fine on my own I'll turn the lights off when I go

"It's too cold out there today," the Master had chided the trio. "You can't play outside. Maybe consider making cookies or sitting by the fire."

The dark-haired apprentice didn't like that suggestion, but his younger companions were much more adamant about their refusal.

"I want to play in the snow!" shouted the one who would come to be known as Gula. He rarely had outbursts, but the winter weather was an exception- he loved the cold. "And… and I want to play with him!" The one who would one day be called Ava added. The determination in her voice made the silent observer want to join in. "I can keep an eye on them, Master," he offered. The oldest of the three, this apprentice could look the Master dead in the eye- well, almost. He was still shorter. "…Besides. The last time we kept them inside, they broke things…"

There was a quiet pause, before the Master let out a dramatic sigh. Three against one, huh? He couldn't win here. "Fiiine," he groaned, "but be back in by dinner." With a cheer, the two youngest apprentices set off for the doorway. The third, however, stayed behind a moment longer. "…You should be more lenient with them," he murmured. "They're only children, father… You need to let them be young." His words failed to reach the Master's ears.

-

"Back- no, no, I said BACK!" "You can't stop me!"

Luxu found himself once again taking notes on his fellow apprentices. Per the Master's orders, of course. The first apprentice to be named, left as a beacon for the others so the Master need not lift a finger. He couldn't help but want to do more than just watch- not because he wanted to aid his companions, but because he was always told to only observe. The blue-robed apprentice launched herself towards her brown-robed assailant, earning a disgruntled yelp-groan from her opponent. Upon squinting, Luxu found that the more physically powerful apprentice had been thoroughly doused in water. Amused, he wrote that down on the appropriate page, adding that the silver-robed apprentice had also been averse to similar magic.

"Alright, that'll be enough, you two," Luxu called out. The two yet-nameless combatants stepped apart from one another- the one in blue gave a courteous bow, while the one in brown held a hand over his heart with his otherwise-similar movement. That triggered a thought. Did the other three also part from training in unique ways? Luxu hadn't paid close attention before. Maybe… No. Best leave those thoughts alone. "Next!"

Actually, on second thought, as the youngest duo entered the arena, maybe Luxu could get some information…

-

"So, you don't join us for training…" "Because the Master never gave me a Keyblade. Yeah."

Ira gave a soft 'hm' as he stirred the in-progress meal he was working on. Luxu continued sifting through the collection of seasonings, adding to the pile beside him whenever something seemed nice.

"He gave the rest of us our names before giving you the means to defend yourself," the silver-robed apprentice pondered. "He must have a plan for you." "Probably not. I wasn't even supposed to be trained, I'm just picking things up from you guys. …I know exactly how to make Gula stop darting around." Ira looked over at the younger apprentice, a hint of concern in his eyes.

"You're not planning on hurting Gula, are you?" Luxu looked almost shocked at the accusation. "Wh- why in Light's name would I want to hurt him?! He's my friend!" "I mean, you've had an interest in Ava for as long as I can recall, and…" "That doesn't… that doesn't mean I'd hurt Gula for a chance with her."

Ira narrowed his eyes in suspicion, before patting his companion on the top of his head.

"Good. Now, could you go fetch the others? I'm almost done here."

Luxu sighed, turning to leave the kitchen without further protest. How had Ira guessed why he was so focused on Gula's abilities, specifically…?

-

"…I never wanted to watch."

Luxu sat alone now, in the space outside of Daybreak Town's crumbling walls. An area soon to be called 'the Badlands,' where all that could be seen were broken Keyblades and clouds of dust stirred by weak winds. He held his hand out in front of him, calling upon the Keyblade he had been given- No Name, as he grew to call it.

"Is this what you wanted, Master?" he asked. "Look. All this death, this destruction, and for what? A silly little war that ended with no victors. …And you wanted me to just sit back and let it happen." Slowly, he moved to point the turquoise eye at the rest of the dust-covered field. "I'm not following your instructions any longer. I tried. And look where it brought me. …Ava's Dandelions will be my only chance to see your plan through, now. You understand that, don't you? You…"

He dismissed his Keyblade, leaning forward over his knees.

"You planned all this."

[rootsofdread]

Hi! I just found your blog(? is it called a Tumblr? a blog? I still don't know) and I love it! I'm sort of an on-and-off Dead by Daylight player, but seeing this great thing you've got going on here makes me kinda want to go play more.

I dunno if this is an acceptable request, but: how would the denizens of the Fog feel about a friendly and helpful dog!Reader?

For the killers, the faithful companion is leading them to injured survivors and also barking at people who try to sneak by (though likely not always successfully, since the Fog is likely messing with their senses), maybe even knocking things out of survivors' hands because they're a mischief maker.

For the Survivors, the friendly pooch is leading injured survivors away from the killer and to healers, picking up and bringing them dropped items, and barking at stalking killers to warn the people it cares about.

Everyone needs a friendly animal sometimes, I think. There's something really nice about petting a fuzzy friend when you've had a bad day, and I feel like being in the Fog probably means you have a lot of bad days.

most people call them blogs hehe! this was honestly such a fun request to do though, i was delighted seeing it in my inbox!! very unique and fun to write :-D!!

Jake Park:

Jake had long learned to be wary of animals — creatures, more like — found in the fog. So he was understandably skeptical when he saw a dog sniffing around in the distance. He was sure he’d see you transform into some grotesque monster. He was shocked to see you lead the killer into a trap he had set up earlier in the trial, jumping over it while they stepped into it.

He knew you’d be next if they caught up to you. He whistles to get your attention and makes sure you run away with him, ahead of him, even. There’s something strangely freeing about being with an animal again, to him, running with one and feeling like he’s truly in the wild again.

You help him a lot with building make-shift traps and getting items together for himself and his teammates. He never has to worry about being unprepared with you around, he can tell you to go find something he needs, and chances are, you’ll be back with it in no time. You’re often more helpful at times than his teammates are.

Jeff Johansen:

Jeff couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw you walk up to him while he was working on a generator. A stray dog. He was sure you were a figment of his imagination — but attempts to snap himself out of it proved futile. But he still wasn’t too sure, of course, he figured you must be something conjured by the Entity to mess with him and other survivors. 

But he began to trust you more when you lead him into a nearby out-of-sight corner just as the killer skulked by. He was in disbelief that you knew they were coming before he did, and seemed to figure this must mean you’re here to protect him rather than mess with him.

That said, he often spends more time protecting you than you do protecting him. He tells you to run and takes chase from the killer before they find you, and he’s thankful when you decide to listen instead of continue to follow him; he wants you to help everyone else when you can’t help him. You’ve brought him happiness and he’ll protect you at any cost.

Max Thompson Jr. / The Hillbilly:

Max doesn’t have a great track record with animals, and he nearly killed you when he first noticed you during a trial. The incessant barking is almost what did it — but then he noticed you were clearly barking at something. A bush? No, something inside the bush. He could hear something.

He swung his hammer into the greenery and collided with flesh. An injured survivor had been hiding from him, and you led him straight to them. He seems to decide for himself, maybe you can be useful. He lets you follow him around for the rest of the trial, occasionally looking over his shoulder to see you wagging your tail.

He eventually becomes much more attached to you, thinking of you more as a pet than a convenience. He can frequently be seen petting you and throwing you treats after you help him catch survivors, and perhaps, on occasion, he lets you lay your head in his lap while the two of you rest after a long trial.

Anna / The Huntress:

Of course, Anna had seen animals in the fog; the nasty creatures the Entity had spawned. They’re easy pickings, a fun activity for her when she’s not in a trial. She was surprised when she lobbed a hatchet at you and you actually dodged it. She knew you were smarter, a different kind of animal. A real animal, like from before.

Believe it or not, she was actually delighted to have found a real animal in the fog. She loved animals. And a dog, too — she always wanted a dog, particularly for hunting, but she had heard what great companions they make. It was never a secret how much she’d always wanted a friend.

She immediately takes to you and lets you come with her. She loves having an easy way to pinpoint where survivors are with you, letting you run off into the trialgrounds and alert her to the exact locations of them, occasionally even dragging injured survivors straight back to her. You’re rewarded with treats from her hunts.

[its-captain-sir]

One thing in particular that struck me about this episode was the way death was portrayed. Oftentimes I feel like in an attempt to emphasize the effect a death has on the characters and the narrative it becomes dramatized a bit, you know like slow motion moments and screaming each other's names and swelling music all in a way that's basically a flashing sign for the audience saying "be sad now!" And doing it that way isn't necessarily a bad thing, I can already think of a few examples off the top of my head where that sort of thing has been executed wonderfully, but the way Andor chose to go is very interesting to me and I think it fits with the show much better.

At this point we've spent three episodes getting attached to this group of characters. They're in the endgame now, we want them to win, we want them to all survive. A death now would certainly be something that could warrant a longer screentime focus, but instead it's the opposite here. The deaths of the crew are almost blink and you miss it. I actually had to tell my brother that Lieutenant Gorn was dead cause he did just happen to look away for a quick second the moment he was shot. There's no slow dramatic fall to the ground, they just crumple. There's no sorrowful music playing in the background when any of the crew members die, just sounds of continued fighting or dead silence. And everything happens so fast, it's not some long drawn out thing. They are just there one moment and gone the next.

It may not seem like the show gives any focus to their deaths, but that in itself is an emphasis I thought was really powerful. The show Wants you to have that "there and gone" feeling, wants you to feel shock instead of sorrow, at least in that moment, because that's what the remaining characters are feeling. In the span of a couple seconds, companions are suddenly gone, but they don't have the time to register anything but the initial shock of seeing them fall before they have to keep moving forward, and how the scenes are set up makes it so the audience feels that way too. Even the deaths that do have more build up like Skeen and Nemik keep to this sort of under-dramatized style. Things still happen fast. There's no musical tension, just quiet. Cassian and Val move to the next thing right way because there is no longer amount of time to stop and process how the others are gone.

And the fact that the first time the show chooses to portray death like this is with the characters we really had a chance to get attached to and root for is so interesting to me. I really do think it was a strong choice for the narrative at this point in time and definitely an impactful one. I felt it worked a lot better than any other way they could have gone and I'm really interested in seeing if this is going to be a recurring theme at all in the next six episodes

[docholligay]

Given that your SM universe's Mina also has an insane sheisty power that is essentially cracking someone open against their will to manipulate them I'm curious about what she would do with it if she was somehow stranded in your OW universe

It happens. You get cocky. 

You get cocky, and then you get careless, and then you get stupid, and then you’re holding yourself up on the edge of a pub counter, holding your throbbing jaw. 

In fairness, no one had ever caught her before. How could they? It was the stuff of fairy tales and fantasy novels, and she was just some cute little Japanese girl. (Always a girl, never a woman) So kawaii and all that. No danger here. Tee-hee, look at my little backpack charm, tee-hee, my skirt comes to my thigh, tee-hee, I bumped into you, tee-hee, your wallet’s gone and you can’t stop thinking about your dead mother. A deep bow and a thousand pardons, guy-going-into-the-office-sama. 

Lucky for Mina, said assailant hadn’t considered the optics of giving a solid right hook to the cute little Japanese girl who’d so innocently touched her arm as she walked by, and was currently reaping the rewards of her correct impulses. Even her companions were asking her what the hell was wrong with her. 

You only have a moment. Think. Decide. 

“She reached into me--” 

There was a man coming up next to Mina, asking her if she was all right. 

“Bloody cracked bitch!” A man’s voice, laden with anger, filled the pub. He wants to hurt the woman in the leather jacket, the one that felt so--

“Right, and no use beating the mental! Lena, we ‘ave to go. Now.”

It was good advice for Mina, probably, too. She was still a little shell-shocked from the accusation. Get out of my head, she’d screamed before she hit Mina. She knew, somehow. No one has ever known. Not even people who should. 

How? 

Mina bit down, hard, on the side of her mouth and tasted the salt and iron as big tears dripped down her cheeks and she looked up at the man next to her. 

“I--oh, sorry, sorry.” She bowed, hands pressed together. Easy to tell immediately which of the Japanese girls she needed to be in which place. “So sorry.” 

She looked over at Lena. She shouldn’t have, but she did. A dark-haired woman, probably related based on the shapes of their noses, the pattern of speech, and the general way she seemed to be trying to keep Lena from getting murdered by two large men, was shuffling her toward the door. 

Lena met her gaze immediately, past the two men. 

“You know what you did.” Gritted teeth, almost a hiss, but Mina still heard it perfectly. “Liar.” 

Mina had scared her. It hadn’t, strictly speaking, been her intention, but it hadn’t not been her intention, either. She had simply been curious. Some people, you see and you know there’s something inside of them, something to crack into. Most people’s sorrow, their pain, their happiness, their delight, was all very boring, but Mina had seen the light on her chest, and known. 

Cold. It had been so cold. So cold and so lonely, like being a ghost. Cold. Cold like lightning. 

She had reached in, and the thing inside Lena had bitten Lena, but it had also bitten Mina, too. That was the only reason Lena got the drop on her, she reassured herself. Could never have happened otherwise. 

But how had she known? Most people blamed themselves, or a news article, or some passing media, for the rush of feeling Mina brought out in them. They can’t imagine a simple touch, they can’t see the other Mina, Venus, reaching inside them and flipping through their mind. Only Seers ever knew, and usually not even them. 

The girl currently getting bodily thrown against a wall and out of the pub didn’t look like a Seer, but then again, what did they look like anyway? Were Michiru and Rei so much alike? 

How? 

Mina caught her glace as she straightened up, wiping away a tear with the napkin she was offered, and as Lena got thrown out of the place, their eyes met again. 

Mina gave her a toothed smile. A whispered word. 

Later.

[rendevousz]

reunited

req: i was wondering if i could request a natasha x teen daughter reader where the reader has really bad social anxiety please? maybe where the reader was in the red room with natasha but given to hydra once the red room was taken down and natasha has been looking for her ever since she left the red room. on a mission to take down a hydra base natasha finally finds reader, and it's super emotional for the both of them and they're just happy to have each other back. natasha knows about readers social anxiety from when she was younger and sees that it's only gotten worse now, so she's super sweet and understanding. she saves the reader from the base and comforts her the whole way home because she's scared of all of the new people also on the jet (the other avengers). the reader lives with natasha at the compound with everyone else and natasha is just great about her social anxiety and never pushes her out of her comfort zone and comforts her when she has panic attacks. sorry if that's a lot, but thank you so much! i love your fics sooo much, you're such an amazing writer!!! 💖💖💖

mother figure!nat x fem!teen!reader

summary: nat finally finds you after years of looking.

word count: 4083

notes: i didn't make them peers in the red room because then they'd have to be around the same ages but i made them meet at the red room. also i didn't know how to write about her having social anxiety so i hope you don't mind that i didn't 😓 hope you like this <33

"stop," madame b's authoritative voice commanded and all of you stopped dancing. all of your peers seemed to be struggling to stand still on their battered feet, some breathing heavily but who could blame them? you had all been instructed to dance for hours now. you had to dance until you couldn't anymore.

your head faced madame b but your eyes landed on your best friend, veronika, for a split second. she seemed in pain and you vowed to check on her after whatever announcement your supervisor had for you. you stood tall, clenching your jaw in order to not show that you were in pain or out of breath.

madame b's gaze flickered to you for a second, her lip lifting up on one side for a brief moment before her face hardened once again.

"i have someone special here today. she's here to observe your training and if necessary, teach what you girls lack. she has long graduated this academy, please welcome miss natasha romanova."

you jolted awake, panting hard at the memory that just played in your dreams. you looked around you, seeing the same cell wall you had been put in for the past three years. after the fall of the red room academy where you were from, another organisation came and swooped you in, not wanting to waste your skills. you were the only one they took, having heard much about your abilities and reputation in the red room.

the girls stood all around you and veronika, watching the two of you spar tirelessly after hours of endless ballet. natasha and madame b watched the match closely, eyes trained on your techniques and movements.

after natasha had introduced herself to all of you, madame b had instructed her supposedly two best students—you and veronika— to demonstrate a true spar between skilled assassins.

while you were reluctant to attack your best friend, she had other plans, one that included impressing her idol who stood mere metres away from her. you were shocked when she started attacking you. never had she obeyed a command against you so quick.

you had to put away your initial shock to start attacking back in order to not get hurt by the hands of your own best friend. the look in her eyes was different, almost animalistic. it wasn't like the one she had when you two were laid in your beds side to side at night, handcuffed to it while you talked about your deepest struggles being in the academy. it wasn't the same one she had when you reassured her that she was doing okay whenever she said she would never be as good as you were at this whole assassin thing. it wasn't the same innocently surprised one she had just moments ago when she was addressed as one of madame b's best students.

this wasn't your best friend. this was a girl blinded by her desire to impress. she wanted to show natasha that she was the better one out of you two. your heart broke when you saw her desperation. it was obvious in the way she fought you.

it wasn't long before you had her in a chokehold, the girl struggling to get your grip off of her. your face visibly faltered, eyes tearing up slightly when you heard her whimpers. natasha took notice of this.

your lips were quivering when you turned to madame b. a simple nod from your trainer had you whispering a strained 'i'm sorry, i love you' in her ear before you broke her neck. the girl fell limp in your arms, dropping down to the mat, dead. you panted heavily as you stepped away from her body.

"good. this is what i expect of all of you," madame b turns to your peers, the stone cold look back on her face. "one thing you need to perfect though, y/n, is your emotions. don't get emotional over things that don't matter. i saw your inner conflict. veronika would have no reluctancy to end you if you were the one in the chokehold. she was more mentally prepared to be a ruthless assassin. you're lucky you're more skilful than she is. she would have no hesitation to kill you, close companion or not."

you swallowed that lump in your throat, biting the insides of your cheeks to prevent crying right then and there. "you have a lot of potential, y/n. don't let your emotions ruin it. i have high hopes for you." she spoke once again, before dismissing everyone.

you left the room with a heavy heart, turning to look at veronika's body one last time before leaving quickly so you could break down where no one else could witness.

you rushed to the staircase where you and veronika would sneak away all the time when you were supposed to be having lunch. you two would always sit under those stairs, talk about anything and everything you could. your tears were now freely rolling down your face.

"hey," you heard a voice say and you quickly wiped your tears away. you looked up and saw that it was none other than natasha. "miss romanova," you breathed out, scrambling to get up before she placed a gentle hand on your shoulder, the woman seating herself next to you on the floor, under the staircase.

"that must've been hard for you," she spoke after a few seconds of silence. "i remember my first time killing an actual person in training. they had me shoot targets and i consistently got the bullseye every time. then they switched out the targets to an actual person and i had a hard time doing that. i can't imagine how it must've been for you. i heard you and veronika were quite the inseparable duo."

you didn't move to show that you were shattered over the current events but the millions of tears silently streaming down your face said otherwise. natasha turned to you, reaching to wipe your tears away before gently caressing your cheek.

"you're a strong one, y/n. you remind me of myself when i was still in training. i can see myself in you." she told you truthfully. she had no idea why but she felt a strong connection towards you. she felt that you and her had so much in common. she had a strange inclination to protect you even though she knew damn well you were capable of doing so yourself.

since then, she always dropped by to help train all of you but you and her developed a relationship so strong that she even told you of her plans to get you out of that hellhole. at that point, it had been a few months since she'd turned good but she kept coming to the academy for your sake. she felt a sense of responsibility over you, like a mother would over her daughter.

she would with the other girls too if they had shown at least a bit of humanity but it seemed that the red room had ruined them beyond fixing. despite being the best student of the academy, you still weren't inhumane like the rest. you would hesitate to hurt others, only doing so when threatened and even that, you still weren't as heartless or cruel.

madame b would always berate you over this but natasha would pick up the pieces every single time. you loved her. she was the best thing in your life after veronika and your heart broke when the red room fell and you were taken away. away from the mother you never had.

you awoke with a jolt again. it was the second night in a row you were reliving your past memories. you touched your face and you felt the tears on it, wiping them with your sleeve as you sat up in your cold, uncomfortable bed in your cell. you sighed, bringing your knees up to your chest and hugging them.

you couldn't help but think of nat again. what could've happened if she managed to get you out before you were taken away? could you have a nice life with her? would you never have to hide under the stairs to have emotional exchanges with the woman? would you finally have been able to be who you were, not influenced by the evil around you?

you never knew what it was like having a mother but you imagined it was what nat had been towards you during the times you spent together at the academy. you two were more mother and daughter rather than trainer and student.

all of a sudden, alarms blared through the building and red warning lights flickered in your cell. you stood up, peeking through the small glass of your cell door to see guards rushing through the hallways in a frenzy.

you assumed that the facility was under attack and no one was coming to save you. you didn't even try, walking back to your bed to return to your position of hugging your knees tightly to your chest.

you could hear the chaos outside but opted not to pay attention to it. it didn't involve you and if no one was coming to save you from whatever was attacking the place—not that anyone in that place would, you were merely an asset to them—you wouldn't bother worrying about whether you were going to live by the end of the night.

a loud bang interrupted your thoughts and you looked up to see your cell door had been forcefully thrown open by a large man in stripes, holding a circular shield. you immediately stood up, getting ready to attack him when he spoke.

"i'm not here to hurt you." he said, holding out a hand as if to tell you to stop whatever you were about to do. "we're here to save you. you can finally leave this place now." he says gently. you frown at him, still in a stance ready to attack him.

"cap, is there someone in this room?" a familiar voice spoke and your head immediately turned to the door, where the owner of the voice stood, mouth dropping open at the sight of you. your face softened and a tiny gasp left your lips at the sight of her.

"y/n...is that you?" she breathed out, walking towards you and not stopping when she saw that you weren't alarmed or anything. "nat.." you choked out, tears starting to form. how crazy was it that you had been having flashbacks of her for the past two nights and suddenly she was here to come save you?

"y/n!" she exclaimed, pulling you into a tight hug. you knees buckled but she held onto you tightly, sniffling as she caressed your head gently. you buried your face in her shoulder as you took in the familiar feeling of being in her arms once again.

more tears started to form in your eyes now. never had you thought you were actually going to see her again. you lost the hope of seeing her again two years ago. but here she was, standing in your cell and hugging you like there would be no tomorrow.

your hugging session was cut short when steve sheepishly spoke up. "sorry to uh, interrupt this reunion but more guards are coming, i think it's best if we leave now." he picked up his shield, leading the three of you out of the facility safely and back to their quinjet. the whole time, nat held onto your hand tightly, as if letting go would lead to another few years of being apart once again.

once you reached the quinjet, nat led you to the seats in the back where you two would have more privacy. the team watched the two of you in confusion before turning back to steve for an explanation as he was the one who was partnered with nat for this mission. all the captain could tell them was that you two knew each other way before this and that all of them would have to wait for an explanation from nat herself if they wanted to know what was going on.

when you reached the compound, nat led you to her room where she lent you her clothes and let you shower before tucking you into her bed. when she was sure you were comfortably asleep, she left the room quietly to go grab a glass of water only to find the whole team sat in the common room instead of back in their own rooms.

she looked at them, confused. "guys, it's like almost the crack ass of dawn and we just got back from a mission, why aren't you asleep? or were you debriefing? in the common room? did i miss it?"

"no, you know debriefings for late night missions are the next morning. we were waiting for you actually," steve spoke on behalf of the whole team. "me? for what?"

"nat, c'mon, don't act stupid. you know what we're talking about," clint makes an unimpressed face at his best friend. nat sighs, taking a seat next to him and the team look at her expectantly. she cleared her throat, preparing for a whole story time.

"you know how i was from the red room?" she asked them and they all nodded, urging her to continue her story. "well, after i graduated, i was asked to come help train the younger ones in the programme. during that time, i met this girl. she reminded me a lot of my younger self and she didn't seem completely brainwashed to the point where she lacked emotions. i grew close to her and after i met clint and joined SHIELD, i vowed to get her out of there because she went through a lot in that hellhole and i could tell she didn't want to do any of the things that the other girls were fine doing.

"she had a good heart and i didn't want it to be wasted. she was the best in the academy and i knew they had big plans for her. but i didn't want her to be programmed to kill. she was much more than that. so i made this whole plan for her escape. i kept going back to the academy to come see her and share my plan with her. clint, you always asked me where i kept disappearing to when we first started becoming friends. it was her. the people there didn't know i was already under SHIELD at that time—nobody did—so it was safe for me to keep visiting and keep planning an escape for her.

"but three years ago, the red room fell. i rushed over because i thought i could finally leave with her without anyone knowing. but apparently she'd been taken away. she was the only one of the girls who was taken. by who, i didn't know at that time. but i knew it was because of her skills and abilities. if the red room had big plans for her, i knew other organisations must've already heard of her too.

"i never stopped looking for her. i don't know why i never thought of HYDRA. but it doesn't matter anymore. i finally found her and i'm never letting her go. i hope you guys don't mind that she lives here now. if not, i'll move out and find somewhere for us."

the team seemed surprised that nat told them her story. they were very much expecting her to, well, not tell them because this seemed like a very personal story.

"no, no, of course she can stay. i'll even set up another room for her." tony says and nat nods gratefully. "what's her name?" wanda asks.

"y/n," nat tells her, smiling at the thought of you as she stands up. "alright, i have to go back to her. see you guys in the morning. maybe you'll get to see her then."

she bids them goodnight, leaving after grabbing a glass of water for you in case you woke up in the middle of the night, in need of it. she wasn't wrong because when she got back to her room, you were up, hugging your knees as you cried.

"hey, hey, hey, what's wrong, sugar?" she quickly puts the glass of water on the bedside table, sitting on the bed and pulling you close to her. you look up at her all teary-eyed and she feels her heart break.

"i–i thought i lost you again," you croaked out, burying your face in her shoulder. "oh, sugar, you'll never lose me ever again. i'll never let that happen. you're safe here with me. now sleep, i'll be here when you wake up." she stroked your hair gently, laying down next to you on the bed before you two fell into a blissful slumber in each other's arms.

true to her words, she was right next to you when you woke up the next time. she seemed wide awake and you felt bad because she probably had been up hours before but didn't leave you because you were scared.

"how'd you sleep, sugar?" she asked as you sat up, stretching. "the best i have in years. thanks to you, nat." you smiled at her, still not believing all of this is real. that you're finally reunited with the woman you thought of as your mother.

"do you want to meet my friends? they're dying to meet you," she tells you and you bite your lips nervously. "do you think they'll like me?"

"are you crazy? of course they will. and if they don't, i'll make them." she threatens playfully and you laugh, missing how protective of you she is. you smile, agreeing to her suggestions to meet her friends after you got ready for the day.

-

"hi, sweetie, you're y/n?" a man with fancy silk pyjamas greeted as you entered the common room with natasha. you nodded timidly, scooting closer to natasha. it was weird for natasha to see you this nervous. after all, you were the best student of your batch in the red room. but she understood that years with no actual social interaction does that to people.

"i hope you'll like staying here, i already have your room setting up as of right now. when you move in, you can tell me if you don't like anything and i'll change it for you. oh, i forgot, i'm tony," he extends a hand towards you and with an encouraging nod from nat, you hesitantly shake his hand. he smiles at you before telling you both he has projects to finish down in his lab and to tell him if you needed anything.

"hey, nat, not gonna introduce your friend to us?" you heard a voice from behind you and you two turned around to see two men and a woman. you recognised both men—one of them was the one who broke into your cell last night and the other one you had seen him a lot from pictures nat would show you during your secret meetings in your red room days. he was her best friend. you didn't know the woman but the kind smile on her face was enough to reassure you that these people weren't bad.

"y/n, meet clint, the idiot who i call best friend," she points to the shorter man. the name nat called him must've offended him because the face he made was hilarious that you let out a little giggle. nat smiles at this before proceeding to introduce the other two.

"this one's steve, he's an old man stuck in a young body—literally— so if he says things you don't understand, just smile and nod." you nod at nat and steve gives her an incredulous look, as if not believing the audacity she had to introduce him like that.

"this one's wanda, she's the least annoying person in this whole place and she can cook whatever you want so i think you two will get along really well." wanda smiles at you and you return it shyly. you smile at the other two before nat drags you away, telling them she still had others to introduce you to.

when you entered the kitchen, you saw a man reading a newspaper on the kitchen island while another man, whose skin was red, stood beside him. they seemed to be discussing something very intelligent because you didn't understand a single word they spoke.

"bruce, vision, i want you to meet someone." they turned their attentions towards you and nat and you immediately felt like hiding once again. "oh hello, steve told us you brought back someone from the mission. is this her? hello, i'm bruce," the man sitting down introduced himself.

"wait, is this the bruce?" you asked nat, smirking teasingly at her and she smacks you gently on the shoulder. the man seemed flustered at what you're insinuating, scratching his neck awkwardly.

"bruce, vision, this is y/n, i've known her for a long time and i finally found her after years so i hope you two won't mind that she'll be staying here from now on," nat tells them. the two of them didn't come on the mission last night so they were the only two who didn't actually see you until today.

"it's nice to meet you, y/n. i'm vision, i hope you'll enjoy your stay here." the man with the red skin greets formally and you turn to nat with a confused expression. "he's an android, he does things a bit weird here so don't mind him." she whispers to you and you nod understandingly.

"it's nice to meet you two, i hope we'll be good friends." you say awkwardly, hoping to get this whole introduction thing over with. how many people do you have left to meet?

speaking of the devil—or should you say, devils—, two annoying voices rang through the kitchen, interrupting the peacefulness that it was before they came in.

"i'm just saying that if you hadn't eaten my last bag of chips last week, i wouldn't have taken your cookies last night. it's all about fair play, man."

"and i keep telling you that it wasn't me! i don't even like those stupid salty ass chips from that brand,"

"stop lying, i saw you eating that brand the other day! just admit you stole my chips and go,"

"guys, are you really having another one of your stupid arguments now?" nat cuts them off and they immediately turned to you, finally noticing all of you.

"oh hey! y/n, right? it's nice to meet you, i'm sam. if you wanna survive in this place, you better hide your snacks because if you don't, this winter warrior here will snatch 'em all before you can even stash them in the cupboards. don't ever trust this guy here when it comes to your snacks. you heard what happened to mine," the man fakes a cry and you held back a laugh at his long introduction. you only wanted a name to match the face but he gave you much more. you didn't mind though, he seemed like a fun person.

"hi, doll, i'm bucky. don't listen to eagle right here, i do not steal snacks. i simply let people have a taste of their own medicine. you steal my snacks, wilson, i steal 'em back. you think i don't know you stole my oreos too last month? that's why i stole your damn chips last week,"

"so you did steal them!"

"so what if i did?! you stole my oreos first!"

"oh my god, guys, you're really embarrassing me in front of y/n. these are really the people i was excited to introduce her to," nat face-palmed and you couldn't help but laugh. "don't worry nat, these people seem amazing. i can't wait to get to know them better." you assured her and she smiles, pulling you close to her. "buckle up, sugar, because living with the avengers is gonna be a wild ride."

you were excited for what was about to come. it seemed like everything was finally falling into place. you finally got nat back and you didn't have to worry about losing her again because you had a feeling these people weren't going to let that happen.

taglist <3

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[xbadgerbearx]

your people will have our help

word count: 2.1k

Can’t Sleep: [1] … [3]

Of course you had to jump out of the aircraft into the cold water. What a perfect way to start the mission. Your team swam for a bit before wading through the shore as you approached the beach.

"Congratulations, Bloodsport."

"How'd you do it, Waller? There's no soldiers out here on patrol at all."

The beach was completely empty. There were no disturbances and more importantly, no enemies anywhere to be found. It was... peaceful.

"Let's just say they were distracted."

You only walked on the sand a couple feet before a large explosion erupted.

"Control, we have a disturbance south of here," Bloodsport reported after you jumped in surprise.

"It's just a diversion, Bloodsport."

Bloodsport seemed to weigh his options before speaking, "All right, we cut through the jungle to get to Valle Del Mar."

"Don't they have blockades at the city limits?" Peacemaker interjected.

"That's the word."

"How we getting in? Especially with Charlie the Tuna here," Peacemaker said while looking back at King Shark.

"How the hell am I supposed to know?"

"You're the leader. You're supposed to be decisive."

"And I've decided you should eat a big bag of dicks, how's that?"

"You're being facetious, but if this whole beach was completely covered in dicks and somebody said I had to eat every dick until the beach was clean for liberty, I would say no problemo."

"Why would someone put penises all over the beach?" Ratcatcher II asked.

"Who knows why madmen do what they do."

"Chris, this is the second time you've made a comment like this today. Is there something you want to tell us?" You joked.

"Well, you know what I think?" Bloodsport started. "I think liberty is just your excuse to do whatever you want. Whether that's to eat a beach full of dicks or killin' folk."

"Oh, yeah? At least I don't kill men for money like you."

"Oh, here we go," Bloodsport sighed as he turned to face Peacemaker.

"There's something wrong with your skin," Ratcatcher II called out as she pointed to Polka Dot Man. You turned to see his face covered in bulging colorful... polka dots.

"It's just a rash."

"Oh, my- Abner, are you okay? You don't look so good," you said worriedly as you reached your hand out to touch him. You were interrupted by another loud explosion off in the distance.

"Never mind that, we need to continue forward."

You made it quite the distance before Bloodsport dropped his bag onto the ground. The entire time walking you watched Abner with both curiosity and worry.

"Alright, we'll camp here, and tomorrow we'll go straight through the city to get to La Gatita Amable by nightfall."

Everyone was laying out their sleeping equipment, in this case sleeping bags, as you figured out where you should lay yours.

"Why don't you lay over here, (L/n)? I could keep you warm," Chris offered with a laugh.

"Fuck no," you replied with the same humorous energy. "I'd rather you not roll over on me like you did last time."

"Last time?" Abner piped up timidly.

"It's nothing like that," you assured while rolling your eyes. "Me, Chris, and some of our other teammates at the time had to huddle up for warmth after Waller sent us on a mission somewhere in Siberia."

"Oh," Abner said, kind of relieved.

"I'll just put mine here," you placed your bag next to Abner's and DuBois. "It's near the fire."

You changed into your sleep clothes. Well, to be honest you just took off your shirt and slept in your tank top, but it was close enough. It wasn't long before you drifted off, however, you awoke some time later to some shuffling sounds and a quiet groan. Peeking under your lashes, you find yourself facing toward DuBois who was resting on his elbow, alert. You quietly sat up and turned to see what DuBois was looking at. A colorful light show was dancing on the leaves and tall grass. Almost as quickly as it happened, Abner appeared. He looked a little out of it, but quickly dawned a look of shock as he was caught doing... what exactly?

You got up to make sure your favorite awkward man was doing okay before you were cut off by a loud bang! Instinctively, you disappeared. Literally. DuBois kept shooting Nanaue until he was backed up against a tree.

"How deep of a sleeper are you?" DuBois asked Cleo, to which she responded sleepily, "I was having the most wonderful dream."

"If it was you about to be eaten by King Shark, then you're psychic," Chris said.

"I don't believe he would do that. He has very kind eyes."

Sebastian was saying what you could only guess was that Nanaue was, in fact, going to eat her.

"Hungry," Nanaue whined.

"You bastard!"

Rats from every direction emerged from the darkness as Cleo held up her glowing device. DuBois was looking rather uncomfortable.

"All right, calm down with the rats!" he yelled.

"What?"

"I have a thing with rats."

"You have a thing with rats?"

"Yes."

"And you're on a team with someone who controls them?" your disembodied voice asked.

He whipped around trying to find you before yelling, "What the fuck?"

As if suddenly remembering that you cannot be seen, you revealed yourself behind Abner whom you were using as a shield. As cute as he thought it was that you were using him as protection, it did startle him that you just appeared randomly behind him.

"Partnering up with someone with rats is not something I asked for!"

Peacemaker started laughing.

"What are you laughing at me for, man? Why the fuck are you in your underwear?"

You looked over and sure enough, Chris was in nothing but his underwear.

"Woah!" you yelled while burying your face into Abner's back. "Chris, put on some pants for fucks sake!"

"Tighty-whities? Really?"

"Now that's just racist."

"No, it's not racist! They're tighty-whities!"

"You didn't tell me you had a fear of rats, DuBois," Waller said over the comms.

"I'm an assassin! Why would I share my liabilities?" This was promptly followed by an uncharacteristicly girly scream.

"Aww, he's offering you a pretty leaf to show you he means no harm," Cleo cooed.

"Why the fuck would I want a leaf?"

DuBois was getting increasingly more freaked out while Chris started laughing again.

"Just get the rats out of here!"

Cleo turned off her device and all the rats scurried back into the jungle.

Peacemaker turned to DuBois and asked, "Hey, we gonna kill Megalodouche now, or what?"

"Nanaue's the strongest member of your team. You need him to get into Jotunheim."

"Yeah, well we can't function as a team if we gotta watch our back from one of our own eatin' our bollocks," Bloodsport replied.

"Nanaue," Cleo started as she kneeled down to his height. "Would you eat your friends?"

"I no friends."

"You have no friends? Well, if you did, would you eat them?"

Chris answered with a "yes" before he was shot a look from Ratcatcher II.

"No?"

"Then can we be your friends?"

Chris scoffed, "Come on, he's obviously lying."

"If I die 'cause I gambled on love, it will be a worthy death."

DuBois shook his head, "You are a little idiot."

So much for a full rest. It was nearly morning by the time the shark incident was resolved, so you decided to just pack up and dress yourself.

"Task Force X, you have an additional mission directive. We've located Colonel Rick Flag. He's been taken by the enemy."

"Rick Flag?" DuBois asked while your team made your way through the jungle.

"I know, you both served on special forces in Qurac that took down Avral Kaddam. Flag was the one who initially recommended you."

"You had other operatives in Corto Maltese and didn't tell us?"

"There was no tactical advantage, now there is. I've uploaded the location on your MTS. Terminate his captors with extreme prejudice. Kill anyone you see. These are dangerous people. Recover Flag before moving on to the city."

You eventually made it to a decent sized camp before DuBois MTS started beeping.

"That's where they're holding Flag."

"Nothing like a bloodbath to start the day."

"I thought they called you Peacemaker," Ratcatcher II questioned.

"I cherish peace with all my heart. I don't care how many men, women, and children I need to kill to get it."

Ratcatcher II turned to Polka Dot Man before whispering, "I thought you were the crazy one," which was swiftly answered by you lightly shoving her shoulder.

"I am."

"All right," Bloodsport said, getting everyone's attention. "Let's get it."

You and Nanaue crept behind a man who gave his cup to his buddy.

"Gracias," you heard the man say. Soon after, King Shark picked the man up and ate him as he started screaming. He dropped what looked to be a communication device. Nanaue smacked his mouth as the comms device went off.

"Cualquier cosa?"

As your nearby teammates looked in somewhat fear as to what to do, you picked up the dead soldier's comms and said "Nada, Señora" while perfectly mimicking his voice. Your team carried on.

You hastily turned yourself invisible as you scouted for Rick Flag. It took a couple of minutes but you managed to find the only white guy there. You assumed he was Rick since he was injured, but were they... laughing?

"Bloodsport," you whispered into your comms. "I found Rick Flag. He was laughing?" You sounded unsure.

"Most likely drugged," Peacemaker said. "Where's he located?"

"Northmost tent, past the watchtower." Right after you said that you saw a bunch of colorful polka dots disintegrate the watchtower.

"On our way."

You could hear some of your team's conversation as they approached your location. You made yourself visible again.

"I'm sorry it's so... flamboyant."

"It looks cool," you heard Cleo say.

"I don't like to kill people, but if I pretend it's my mom, it's easy."

"TMI, mate," said DuBois.

More laughter could be heard inside the tent as Bloodsport ripped open the tent curtain. An uncomfortable silence settled.

"DuBois?"

"Hey, Flag."

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Bloodsport looked around confused. "Waller told us that you were... uh... are you drinking tea?"

Flag gestured to his female companion sitting across the table from him, "This is Sol Soria, she's the leader of the freedom fighters, the resistance trying to take down the current government. They-they saved my life."

"Oh. Wow."

Everyone put down their weapons.

"Why did my people not alert me of your arrival?"

You awkwardly hide yourself behind Abner again.

"We didn't see any people," Bloodsport swiftly lied.

"Yeah, I didn't see anybody on the way..." Peacemaker continued.

"There's no one out there."

"They were gone when we got here."

"I turned them into my mother in my head and killed them."

Everyone turned to look at Polka Dot Man. You just sighed and smacked his shoulder. To make matters worse, King Shark hacked up... was that a finger with a wedding ring? Sebastian squeaked out an audible "Uh oh."

Soria promptly lunged off the table and made her way outside. You and your team awkwardly stood amongst the destruction you caused while Flag and Soria looked in pain.

"Typical Americans. Just run in, guns blazing."

"I know, this is messed up. These guys, they're..."

Rick looked behind him to see Peacemaker and Bloodsport getting into a stupid cat fight, while Ratcatcher II was rubbing her face ashamed, and you and Polka Dot Man were looking off into the jungle having your own conversation and not even paying attention.

"They're fucking idiots, but right now our objectives aligh with yours. If Jotunheim contains the technology our intelligence says it does, then it could be used on the people of Corto Maltese as well as Americans. That's why we need your help to get into the city so we can stop 'em."

Soria just stared past Flag and asked, "Is that rat waving at me?"

Sure enough, Rick turned back around to see Sebastian waving at them. Cleo was messing with her hands, Chris and DuBois were looking around while tapping their feet, and you were admiring Abner's polka dots on his costume as he was awkwardly trying to accept your compliments.

"It appears it is."

"Why?"

"I'm gonna guess because it's friendly."

Soria thought for a moment, weighing her options, before speaking again.

"Luna and Suarez murdered my entire family. I'd make a deal with the devil to stop them." As if it physically pained her to say, she continued. "Your people will have our help getting to Vall Del Mar to apprehend this Gaius Grieves."