#still gotta find one for Zephyr

[sun-marie]

With all the animal interactions in BG3 and how surprisingly well Ruathym has passed his Animal Handling checks, I really like the idea of him multiclassing as a ranger down the line 👀

[skele-bunny]

I don't mind not being on anon :) can you tell me more about Calida, specifically while Dew is still carrying? How did the pack at the time handle that? Could we also get Ifrit reacting to Dew telling him he's expecting? Thank you!

Thank you! For sure I can give you that :D

(CW - Lightly implied abuse and pregnancy from sa, but this is a fluff post!) Aether/Dew/Mountain ftw

Super long post!

Oh boy, oh boy... When Dewdrop found out a few weeks before the start of tour let alone just how far along he was? A fucking MESS!!! He had been nesting so much lately, more emotional and hungry, cramping n puking all the time, and just so damn tired when he finally caved in to go see Phil. Dew has always been tiny, neglecting his health and never eating. Honestly, when he started gaining weight, he thought it was because of Mountain's cooking! He doesn't show whatsoever besides a singular bump that makes him look bloated constantly. He's just rubbing over his bump with nothing but fear. How is he going to tell Papa? The pack? Ifrit?

It's so unusual for Dew to go into Ifrit's room on his own accord, gently knocking and looking at his packmate so nervously. Sitting down next to him and just unsure what to say, before just out right-

"I'm pregnant."

Which is instantly met back, "How do you know it's mine?"

"You're the only one that's touched me in the past six months..."

Ifrit just shrugs. "So what are we gonna do about it?"

And it's right there that something inside Dew just snaps into place. He's thanking his unholiness it's just one and not an entire clutch that many water ghouls get, just nodding and whispering. "I'll handle it." And that's good enough for Ifrit. So Dew excuses himself, and goes to Aether who's of course with Mountain and Zephyr. "I'm pregnant, I'm not changing my mind, and you're all dealing with it."

They just frog blink before Zephyr is the first one to start clapping, squealing. "Yes! I knew it! I told you he smelled different!"

Dew didn't even realize his hands were clenched, but seeing their happy faces and even Mountain coming over to butt horns made him release, exhaling and completely taken off guard by it. He just starts bawling and now they're concerned, bringing him in and cuddling close, shaking his head and just clinging to the nearest one.

They honestly take it really, really well... Dotting over him, cranking their instincts up and starting to get things ready, even scrolling through websites for a baby registry; things they need and what Dew wants. Papa finds out next day, and he's the exact same, just jumping up and down at the fact his ghoul is going to be expecting. Papa Terzo sets things moving since he's already so far along, they gotta rush and-

....Oh fuck. Tour.

Now they're stressing out, and of course Ifrit is no help (unless Papa is around.) That man is pissed off when Terzo tells him he'll be in charge of the majority of Dew's equipment with Mountain. Being on the bus is even worse, but they're positive they'll be back before the baby pops! Settling him up nice and comfy in his bunk, even Zephyr giving Dew his duvet since he'll definitely need it more. He's not moving so much on stage, his Bass rested so comfortably to protect his bump.

It's after a show where they're all high fiving when Dew just gasps, a sudden stream going down his legs and he's just in full panic mode. "My water broke."

Mountain has never moved so fast before, scooping Dew up and running back to the bus - Terzo telling at the stage hands to get everything while they run off. Ifrit stays behind. Lucifer must've felt pity as thank FUCK it was the last show before a three day break as they traveled across the states. But now Dew is in his instincts, none of these ghouls or Papa know what the fuck they're doing, and now he's scared as much as them. He's placed in a nest in the back of the bus and he's just screaming at them to get out, even throwing his shoe at Papa while he tries closing the door.

He's on his own at this part. Naked waist down, nails digging into the leather couch, huffing and trying to soothe himself. There's no urge to push yet, so he's trying to calm down. Dew rubbing his much larger bump, purring and singing at the same time. Even after they're finished packing up, Dew hasn't gone in just yet, and refusing for anyone to come into the lounge besides Zephyr quickly rolling back a bottle of water. Papa hasn't let the bus move an INCH.

It's around 2 in the morning when they wake up to Dew's screaming, now wide awake and grimacing as it sounds like nothing but agony and they can't... Do anything. They hear sobbing, curses in Ghoulish, and a particular rattling scream that's meant for luring prey into the depths that Aether ends up hitting his head on his bunk trying to follow it before sense is literally knocked in... Then quiet besides the high little cries of a kit.

Dew hasn't stopped crying, but reaching down to and holding this bloody little girl that's still attached to him, snuggling against her cheek and starting to groom. He's an absolute mess both mentally and physically, not giving a shit as he's covered in blood and his own mess.

It's later in the afternoon when they can hear little chirps. Specifically calling for them. Mountain peeks in first and Dew is just sitting up, skin-to-skin with this little blob of black. He holds a finger to his lips and ushers them close, and that blob of black quickly becomes a little girl with black hair, identical to Dew's. Zephyr starts bawling like a baby, Aether and Mountain in absolutely shock, Terzo rambling as quietly as possible about how "he can't believe this! A baby kit! I've never seen one before besides pictures Sister had!"

He opens his arms a bit more to show her off, his smile never leaving. "This is Calida..."

Aether tries leaning closer and that's when Dew hisses, bringing her back. He shows his palms and is apologizing, going down to his knees with the others at a comfortable distance. Then, he's back to showing her.

"She's so small..." Zephyr is just trying to wipe their eyes.

"I was only 8 months..."

They're just looking in awe at this tiny being that gets latched to Dew's chest, holding back their purrs as they can see her little tail just curled around Dew's finger.

"She's a fire ghoul!" Aether chirps and it clicks. "Let me get Ifrit-"

"No!!" And they stop, even Terzo goes still. "No, I don't want him back here, don't you dare let him back here."

While their elements are different and one even a human, they know better than to go against a newly parents wishes. Once again, instincts to the max. Ifrit glanced back when the bus started moving and Mountain has never growled so hard since being topside, snapping his jaw and looming up. Ifrit got the hint. Dew quietly asks Mountain to help him get dressed, and is the one to carry Dew in the hotel when they got to their destination, little Calida hidden away and tucked into Dew's jacket. Mountain is just holding them so securely, and in return is given the ability to scent on Calida, his eyes dilated and his tail hidden in his pants can't stop wagging.

Dew feels comfortable enough to be bunked with the earth ghoul, Aether peeking in a while later to drop off food and GOD BELOW... Dew is tearing it up, licking his fingers and moaning as somehow this cheap fast food now tastes like a 5 star Michelin meal. Even Mountain loses his burger with no complaints. After some more heavy nesting and Mountain helping him shower while Terzo watches Calida, he's snuggled in the nest and feels safe enough to sleep with the promise Mountain won't.

In the other room, Aether is just projecting himself in Dew's room to look at both of them, just purring up a storm. Even in the plane, he sends gentle soothing magick into both of them, easing pain from Dew and letting Calida sleep longer so he can, too.

They only get two hours in before Calida wakes up, Dew responding by sitting up to feed her. Dew and Mountain just start talking back and forth and then;

"Do you want to hold her?"

The earth ghoul is just in silence before nodding, letting Dew finish before he carefully is handed Calida. He can tell Dew is nervous by his shaking and smell of distress, so he keeps Calida right in his eye sight, gently poking his nose at her chest and shoulder, licking her cheek. She lets out the smallest coo and wriggles in his hands. She's so, so, so small. Mountain eyes her with nothing but love, whispering about how she's so lucky to have the greatest parent in the world.

"I don't mind mother, really..."

Greatest mother in the world.*

Dew ends up taking her back after a few more minutes, asking for Aether and Mountain is so reluctant but goes without fighting it. They swap places, but Dew is still nervous. Doesn't want Aether anywhere near her, but he trusts him so, so, so much.

"It's nothing against you, I promise, I just-"

"You don't have to explain yourself to me. It's your kit and your decisions."

Dew let's Aether cuddle him on the side, and slowly Dew just falls asleep, Calida still against his chest and not moving in her own sleep. Aether just moved his hand to hover out just in case Calida wiggles, Dew's head on his shoulder so he's absolutely still. His smile is so wide as he admires another thing about Dew he's so in love with.

[ourfatherwhoartinhell]

[16+] Ghostober - Day 4 [Ivy]

“Give me one good reason why I should wear a dress” - 1.6k

CW: Mild NSFW so I'm rating it 16+. A little bit of Terzo/Ivy if you squint, mention of genitalia but nothing described in any detail. Humiliation, little bit of degradation and teasing.

⊹ Ghostober Masterlist ⊹

Ivy wasn’t sure what had gotten into the water this week, but it was relentless. Prank after prank, he didn’t think anyone had gotten much sleep. At least it was Friday, the last day of the week.

Except it was practice day. 

Terzo had decided that he liked Fridays best for practice, especially if it went well. The high would leave him beaming all weekend. Those were days he strived for, and ultimately pushed his ghouls to achieve. None of them liked to disappoint, but for some reason or another, Ivy had this sixth sense that today he was going to be extra disappointed.

Ivy would be hard pressed to say he was lucky to be mostly unaffected by the rest of the pack’s shenanigans. Or so he thought.

“Ivy my dear, you’ve been awfully quiet over there.” Mist commented from the couch. The other band ghouls had gotten extra comfortable in the dens now they had nothing to do.

“Not quiet, just meditating.” He shrugged.

His peaceful aura was interrupted when Ifrit and Aether walked into the den, loudly conversing and Ivy groaned upon seeing the empty bottle in their hand.

“Guess what time it is!” Ifrit exclaimed excitedly, hopping down next to the little Earth ghoul on the couch.

“Don’t you think we’ve done enough pranking for one week?” Little Dewdrop asked quietly.

“Never too much pranking, little droplet.” Zephyr had taken up a set beside him and nudged his shoulder with a smirk. Not that he liked to get involved in too much himself, he was known to help out and pitch in where he could. He might be a little disabled, but he was still a ghoul after all, and they learnt his Air element could come in handy in more ways than one.

“Let's see who tonight’s victim is…” Aether set the bottle down on the coffee table and gave it a spin before anyone else could protest. It spun and spun until it came to its final resting place.

Pointing directly at Ivy.

“Do I have to?” Ivy groaned and threw his head back against the couch.

“That’s the rules little man!” Ifrit playfully shook his shoulders and laughed. “Alrighty, let's see. What can we do to poor Ivy that we haven’t done to him before.” He pondered.

“I think he should wear a dress,” Mist called over from the kitchen.

“I’m not wearing a dress,” Ivy immediately spat over the back of the couch in her direction. “You should wear a dress.”

“Oh no, I would rather go to practice naked than be caught in a dress.” Mist chuckled and there was not a soul in the room that didn’t believe her.

Even if he was to wear a dress, where on Earth would they find one?

“I love that idea personally,” Aether snickered from the lounge chair that sat beside the table. It took everything he had to only stick his tongue out at the Quint.

Dew took one look at Ifrit and let out a soft ‘Oh no’. Upon further inspection Ivy was met with the fire ghoul’s infamous smirk and mischievous glint.

“You should wear a dress, but,” he started, pausing for dramatic effect. “You have to wear it to practice tonight in front of Terzo.

“Absolutely not. I was considering the dress but now? No way.” Ivy defended, crossing his arms. “Pick something else.”

Ifrit shook his head with a grin. “Nope, it’s gotta be the dress. Unless you forfeit?” He teased, knowing Ivy would never back down from the challenge. Usually the punishment for forfeiting was worse than just swallowing your pride and doing the actual crime. He might’ve learnt the hard way last time.

“Give me one good reason why I should wear a dress? My junk will be hanging out the whole time, you know that right?” Ivy raised a very unamused brow in Ifrit and Aether’s direction, the masterminds behind his eventual humiliation.

“So Papa can see you aren’t actually a girl like all the Siblings think you are? Because it would be funny? Because I said so?” Ifrit laughed. “But you don’t have to, our sweet prickly pear. You know it's ultimately up to you.”

“Yeah sure. Whatever consequence you think up for not doing it is going to be 10 times worse, so I’ll take the dress thank you very much.” Ivy rolled his eyes and leaned back on the couch. “Where are we going to get a dress from anyway?”

“Way ahead of ya!” Aether excitedly jumped up from his chair and opened the bag on the floor, pulling out one of the Sisters' habits that was very clearly going to be too small, even for Ivy’s petite frame.

“Aether, that's not going to– Satanas that’s small.” Ivy exclaimed, holding the dress up to him. The length of it barely reached his knees, by the time he sat down behind the drums... “You couldn’t have stolen a bigger one?!” 

It took everything in Aether not to laugh at the visuals of what it might look like actually on. All he could do was cover his mouth with both clawed hands as he attempted to stifle his laugh.

Meanwhile Ifrit just looked on hungrily. “It’s perfect.”

The three hours before band practice felt like three minutes to Ivy. He was humiliated already and he hadn’t even stepped into the practice room. He had put the dress on about half an hour before he was due to be there, just so he could get it right and as comfortable as he could. If he thought it was small to start with, it felt even smaller.

This was the first day of his entire life he actually wished the ghouls were able to wear boxers. He almost considered glamouring fully just to have some coverage, but ultimately knew there was no way he could focus on playing and keep up every little detail. It would slip, and his tail would give him many more issues than if he just sucked it up.

The day could not end fast enough.

There was something he was forgetting too. Terzo had said something about an upcoming practice being special, but he couldn’t remember what day he had said. Ivy just prayed it wasn’t today. That would not be the impression he wanted to make.

He arrived at the practice room early, hoping that no one would be there. And luckily his gamble paid off. He was the first to arrive.

Sitting behind his drums, he couldn’t help the flush that coated his cheeks as he tried to find a good way to sit. All he wanted was to remain as professional as he could but he was slowly realizing there was no hope. Hopefully Terzo was in a good mood today, otherwise this was going to land him in the doghouse for sure.

Ivy felt his stomach sink to the ground when he heard the door open. The boisterous laughter told him it was just his pack. At least it wasn’t Terzo. If his pack was here, he’d feel a little less embarrassed.

“Oh-ho! Look who it is!” Ifrit trotted over to the drum riser with the world's biggest shiteating grin, playfully tapping on the high-hat.

“Lookin' good V.”

“Fuck off, I feel ridiculous. How am I supposed to drum like this?” Ivy grumbled, trying to pull the fabric down further but to no avail. If he tugged any harder, he feared it would rip in half, then there really would be nowhere to hide.

“Better figure it out, Terzo’s around the corner.” 

And speak of the devil, the man himself walked through the door, completely missing what was going behind him as he told everyone to get situated.

Ivy had never been more thankful that he was small until this very moment. His large drum set hid most of him, besides the top of his helmet and horns. They had managed to get through half of Square Hammer before Terzo finally turned around and noticed the dress.

He stuttered for a moment but continued on, relatively unfazed. He was used to his ghouls doing stupid shit at this point, a dress was nothing new. Omega had been the first, and the youngest brother knew he most likely wouldn’t be the last.

After a few songs, they had all taken a water break. Their papa had made a point not to ask about Ivy but tried to include him in conversation anyway.

“Are you not going to ask?” Ifrit prompted with a side eye directed at Ivy.

“Do I need to ask?” Terzo raised a brow, looking between the two ghouls in question. “More importantly, do I want to ask?”

“Probably not,” Ivy muttered from behind his drums. “Wasn’t my idea.”

“Knowing the rest of these hooligans, I wouldn’t have thought so, my dear Ivy. Don’t worry.” Terzo gave the small ghoul a comforting smile as he made his way over to him, stepping up onto the riser and leaning down to whisper in his ear. “You look beautiful, Tesoro. Don’t let them get to you.”

Ivy was so happy that he was wearing his mask, otherwise his face could be mistaken for a tomato, he was sure of it.

The rest of practice went by without a hitch. Until Year Zero when Terzo had turned back at an unfortunate moment mid-drink and got a full frontal view of Ivy’s situation. Aether and Ifrit could hardly keep up after seeing their Papa shoot water out of his nose and cough so violently. Notes were missed and it was terribly off time. 

The view was very unexpected, to say the least. But not wholly unwelcome. It definitely spiced up the night and Terzo had to stop himself from looking back on more than one occasion as the set went on.

Maybe Ivy would start wearing a dress to practice more often.

A/N: Like all my other Ghostober fics, this was not proofread in any way, shape, or form. I apologize for any mistakes.

But more importantly, I SUCK AT CW/TW TAGS - so if there are any that I need to add please let me know! I didn't miss them on purpose, I just suck at knowing what to put!

[gettinshiggywithit]

!Bakugou falling asleep with his s/o on video call!

Scenario:-what if Reader and Bakugou fell asleep on a call/video chat?

Pairing:- bakugou x gn!reader

Genre:-fluff/comfort

Type:- oneshot

A/N:-shout out to @cloudy-zephyr for bein my muse on this one too!couldnt do it without you babes😘

Okie so it started at like 8pm

He wanted to finish ‘cos he had to go to bed by 9 and well he didnt wanna stay up too late

Dont get me wrong the boi loves ya but he NEEDS his eight hours😭

So eight pm rolls around and you join ur special zoom link🥰

AND HES LATE

(like GURL WHY IS U LATEE FOR A VIDEO CALL)

but then while ur fuming cos NOW U ONLY HAVE 55MINS AND NOT 60

He comes into the chat and guess what homeboy’s wearin😭

This man is wearing a full three piece tux and is at his kitchen table(the lighting is perfect there)

And ur just like “BITCH WHERE HAVE YOU- oh wow well hello there~”

And he’s just 😏

And nowww u feel insecure and a lil embarrassed cos this bitch is in a tux and you’re in bed in your pjs with messy hair

Oh also as if on cue ur led lights just turn to red and it looks like u AND ur room are blushing

You ask him why he’s wearin a tux and he just says “gotta look presentable for my partner dont i😏”

And ur like “SIRRR you look amazing REGARDLESS”

But ofc u cant sayyy that so u just say “dam right😤”

You laugh and then move on

You talk about the most random shit and also talk abt some pieces of shit😅(i.e. people you both dont like~)

Eventually it becomes 8.55 and he seems a lil tired

So you ask him if yall should sign off

But HE say No~

You are FLABBERGASTED

but you dont complain

You go on for another 1.5 hrs and then he keeps his head on his arms and closes his eyes

He still replies durin ur convo

But hes slurring his words

And soon enough hes out like a light

And keep in mind this man is in a FULL FUCKIN TUX asleep on the kitches table~

For you🧡

So you keep ur computer on ur second pillow and cover up the laptop a little with your blanket too

And then you fall asleep while admiring ur boyfriend and his adorable features

Be starts to snore so u mute him and then before you forget you take plenty of screenshots

He wakes up the next day at 6 to find that hes still on call,hes still in his tux and-

He was starting to get annoyed with himself (he thought hed fallen asleep thinkin abt u after the call) but then he sees that ur still there and smiles

Maybe it was worth it after all~

Oh btw he DEFINITELY took screenshots of you too

Made it into a collage and gave it to u on ur birthday is what he did~😭

please dont repost my work here as your own on any platform all rights belong to me except that of the characters used,their right belong to their respective owners.but these stories? mine.

feedback,likes,reblogs and comments are so very appreciated tbh :’)i hope you enjoyed and ill catch ya next time!

Comments & Reblogs w/ tags >>>>>>>>>>>likes please

Taglist open for anyone interested!

[hockybish]

But it didn’t last long, she was deemed a terrible mother after an incident and they never returned.

What happened?

Trevor was on a five game road trip to the east coast and the boys chatted with him while they ate breakfast and Bean got lunches ready for the day.

"Whatcha guys doing today?" Trevor asked his little guys

"School" Zeph replied

"Play wif Mo!" Percy took a bite of toast, the twins nodding with him.

After dropping Zephyr off they were going to go to the indoor playground so the boys could play with friends and Bean could talk with the moms that met there.

Bean smiled listening to the talk. She was pretty much done cleaning up when aw the time and saw if they didn't leave in the next five minutes they were gonna be late again.

"Alright guys say goodbye to daddy, we gotta go!"

They got Zeph to school on time and were only couple minutes late to the group since Bean stopped for coffee. She sat with Mo's mom Lila, as they kept a watchful eye on the bunch.

"Owie! Mommy Evan push me!" Mo ran up to Lila crying with Evan trailing behind him.

"Evan did you push him?" Bean asked, Evan shook his head yes. "Well you need to say you're sorry, can you do that?"

"No!"

"Evan, it wasn't very nice, we need to say sorry to our friends when do that"

"No!"

"Do we need to leave? Take a little break maybe?" Bean asked the younger of the twins.

The facility had a couple of quiet rooms that could used if a mother needed to nurse or child need a minute or anything really. Bean would often use them

"No Momma No!" Evan screamed tears starting to fall.

She wasn't having it, she grabbed the young child and called for the other two. "Percy, Rion!" No response, no one came running, quiet except for Evan. "Percy, Rion come on!"

Still nothing.

Bean started to panic.

"Miz Percy Mommy? Percy leave"

"What?"

What happened next was a little fuzzy. Staff members called for a code Adam and a search of the place ensued. The entire play area, the rooms, offices, bathrooms, everywhere. They still couldn't find them.

She knew Trevor had some crazy fans, but surely they wouldn't that insane to actually take his kids right? It was one of her worst fears.

Just when she thought hope was lost, and they were going to have to involve people who had more resources than they had, someone came in asking questions about young boys, no older than 3 maybe 4, who were wandering around in the parking lot.

Bean screamed in relief when Percy and Rion were brought back in. She cried and held them tightly, asking them what they were thinking scaring her like that. She hated to think what could have happened.

She was getting their things together as the comments started coming in from the others calling her a horrible terrible mother.

Of course she knew they were right.

[genderlessghoul]

Okay I'm gonna ramble about what I think ghoul genetics look like cuz I made up an entire system JUST to wreak it with Swiss. (I hc that hybrid ghouls are pretty common but Swiss is the only ghoul ever to have been born with all 5 elements)

There's essentially 4 important ghoul generations. There's obviously been way more over the thousands of years of life of the species but those 4 are the ones that determined everything.

Generation Zero were the first ghouls ever created by the Devil. There were 5 of them, a test drive to see how He liked them. Fire (Alpha), Quintessence (Omega), Water, Earth, Air.

(Don't ask me how the Clergy got the 5 OGs in the same place at the same time to play in their little band because I do not have an explanation for that yet. They just kinda went "Pokémon! Gotta catch them all!" With the OGs.)

The Devil liked his tiny little hell creatures that were not quite demons so much that he made a bunch more. All pure elementals too. That's Generation One. Gen One includes but is not limited to Zephyr, Pebble, Mist, Ifrit and Aether.

Eventually, those ghouls started doing what sinful creatures do and making more tiny ghouls. Some keeping to their elements, some mixing with the others and this is how we got Generation 2. This is where ghoul genetics starts to become a thing, on a quite simple level. Elements will show up in Gen 2 ghouls in a specific order : Fire is the most dominant one, Water and Earth are on the same level, then Air and finally Quintessence. Gen 2 ghouls can be Fire and Water but they couldn't be Water and Fire. (More affinities with Fire than Water).

Now THOSE perfect hybrids eventually grew up and started doing exactly what their parents did, but with a way more diverse gene pool. There's nothing stopping a Fire and Earth ghoul from getting down and dirty with a Quintessence and Air ghoul. A kit will only inherit 2 elements from their parents. This is where Gen 3 gets a little bit complicated on the genetics, let's break it down.

Fire is still the most dominant element (Hell... Fire... It just makes sense you know). No matter what you mix with Fire, the kit will have it in them. If both parents have it, it will either be the dominant element OR, not quite uncommonly, the only element. If only one parent has it, it will depend on what their other elements are but it WILL be there.

Earth and Water, as previously mentioned, are both on the same level. They're the second most common elements to be found in ghouls with very diverse parents. They can also make a full elemental ghoul if both parents have it (like Mountain and Rain).

Air is in 4th place in the dominance race, not to say it's uncommon. It's usually found in second place. It can also find its way to first place if both parents have it but it can also, very rarely, make a full elemental ghoul. Cirrus and Sunshine are examples of Air making it to first place, Cirrus being Air and Water and Sunshine being Air and surprisingly Fire.

Quintessence... It kinda does it's own thing. It's the rarest element to see in a ghoul, it's the least dominant and it's almost impossible to make a kit who has Quintessence in them. In a pairing of four different elements (coming back to our Fire/EarthxQuint/Air parents from earlier), Quintessence will never come out on top. Both parents need to have it. And they will never make a full elemental ghoul. However, the second it finally gets added to the mix, it becomes the dominant element. Phantom is an example of this, being a Quint and Earth ghoul.

Now Swiss... He's at least a Gen 3 but no one truly recounts who was born when, only that it happened. His mother was Fire and Water and his father was Earth and Air. His most likely mix would've been Fire and Earth or Fire and Water but SOMEHOW, he inherited all 5. Where does the Quintessence come from, you may ask. His grandfather on his mother's side.

He has a twin sister, Nova, who's Quintessence and Air. Inheriting an element from a grandparent was absolutely unheard of until they were born, especially Quintessence. Not to mention Nova only inherited Air from her parents, the most unlikely element to get from such a mix.

They're both a complete mystery to everyone around them, they're not part of the youngest ghouls in Hell by any means, but it hadn't happened before and it hasn't happened since.

Nova gets to go about her life pretty normally, others couldn't know about how much of an anomaly she is unless they asked. Swiss gets all the weird stares and mean comments. He simply looks different, displaying a bit of everything all at once. Not even creatures from Hell are exempt from prejudice on some level.

He butted heads with Ifrit about it a lot when he first got topside, the Fire ghoul taking every possible opportunity to call him a mutt (the most popular insult to be thrown at him back in the pit). It eventually got settled the more they got to know each other, but Omega had to break up quite a few fights before they got to the point of being friends.

Okay, I did my rambling! Thanks for sticking around 'til the end if you did!

[angelkitty54]

Huh. actual smashed this out pretty quickly. So, this be the triplets, or at least a first draft of their designs. I'll probably be making tweaks later, but this is more less how I picture them. Still need to name them tho... Ick, always the hardest part...

Right now am thinking Zephyr, Roxana and Aria. Tho not entirely sold on them yet. The girls names especially... Eh, still gotta think about it, but anyways!

As mentioned before, the kids grow up believing Sonic to be dead (but has actually just been lost in space for the last ten years), and don't know that Shadow is their other parent.

On the left is the only boy and middle child (tentatively calling Zephyr). He tries to act all cool and aloof but in reality is a bundle of nerves. A generally good, well-behaved kid and the most cautious of the trio, he is often dragged into his sister's shenanigans. Is somewhat clumsy, but it's more due to the fact he tends to psych himself out and second guess his actions. He thinks he will fall, so he does. He's got super speed like Sonic and admires him greatly, wanting to be just as cool as him.

Next in line is the eldest child and chaos gremlin of the bunch (Roxana/Roxy for now). She's got a cutesy vibe but tends to be impulsive and reckless, and is eager to explore and find adventure. Tho she looks so much like Shadow no one makes connection due to her being so gosh darn cute, and also her pale blue and gold fur/quills. They actually think her looks relate more to Sonic's super form (which is not entirely wrong given that Shadow was made in the image of Super Sonic from the echidna murals). She's also got the super speed, and is capable of taping into chaos energy, tho only in wild uncontrolled bursts. She wants to a hero like Sonic, traveling the world fighting robots and evil scientists!

Finally there's youngest triplet (Aria at the moment). Being both the only one who isn't blue and not having super speed, she can't help but feel like the odd one out. The planner/schemer of the trio, she's got a lot to prove and the determination to follow through. She's faster on her skates, tho not enough to keep up with her siblings unless they actively pull her along. Even so, she almost never takes them off (she also likes that they make her the tallest sibling). Of the three, she's the one most desperate to find out the identity of their "mum" (a little misunderstanding happening here) wanting to feel like she belongs in this family, despite the love and support she already has. This need to belong fuels her desire to be just like Sonic too, doing her best to study his mannerisms and fighting style, even without super speed.

[askteamspirit]

Relationships

(💙:Friendship, ❤️:Platonic/familial Love, 💕:Romantic Love, 💔:pain (indirect or situational), 💔💔:pain (directly caused), 💜:mild dislike or distrust, 🖤:strong dislike or hatred)

Azura

Rax:

💙 💙 💙 ❤️

“I really appreciate him taking me in. … and I hope he finds a way out of the rut he’s in soon….”

Zephyr:

💙 💙 💙 💙 ❤️

“Never met another ‘mon quite like him. Cant imagine the kind of prick you’ve gotta be to treat him the way those trainees did….”

Serra:

💙 💙 💙

“She’s nice but I don’t think she realizes how rough she can be when training… still, I know I can trust her with my life, just like the others”

“They’re all my family”

Mai:

💙 💙

“She’s nice enough, and she’s helped us out in a fair share of tight spots. But I feel like I still don’t know all that much about her… At least we can always talk about the old computer games I’ve been collecting. She’s always playing those”

Sam:

💕 💕 💕 💕

“That bonehead…”

Kai:

💙 💙 💙 ❤️ ❤️ 💕💔

“I’m so happy he’s back in my life again… even if we can’t have exactly what we did before”

Angela:

💙 💙

“She’s always been nice to talk to. Calming, even. I’m glad things worked out for her”

Serra

Rax:

💙 💙 💙 💙 ❤️ 💔

“He’s the only face I recognized, and I’m grateful to him for bringing me back, but… I don’t know if I recognize the person behind that face anymore…”

Zephyr:

💙 💙 💙

“Somehow exactly the kinda ‘mon I pictured Rax getting with some day. And weirdly the most… familiar of the new faces? Anyway I’m glad someone around here can handle themself in a fight”

Azura:

💙 💙

“He’s a huge softy but he gets a fire in him when he’s got his mind made up about doing something. I like that”

“They’re all good, kind ‘mon, and anyone would be lucky to have them backing them up. But……”

Mai:

❤️ ❤️ ❤️ 💕

“Oh, she’s a riot when I can get her to actually open up. She’s slowly been teaching me how to play those things Azura’s always snatching up. … She’s hurting about something… I hope she finds the strength to talk to me about it sometime…”

Lucky:

💙 💙

“Nice to know someone else who’s been to the other side and back. And a doctor no less. Way easier to explain the whole undead body thing to haha”

Zephyr

Rax:

💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕

“He’s the first ‘mon I ever felt like I could just be me around! And he actually liked me more with the mask off!! I love him so much! … but it… kinda hurts to see him lose that adventurous spirit. I’m happy with how things are, but I hope he figures things out and opens back up… I want to see that light in his eyes again…”

Azura:

💙 💙 💙 💙 ❤️

“I’m so glad I stopped to look at that map he dropped, we might not have recruited him otherwise! I like when he gets all excited talking about the world map and his theories about it and how to expand it. it, uh, kinda reminds me of myself actually!”

Serra:

💙 💙 💙 ❤️

“Definitely the one on the team who gives me the best run for my money in a fight these days! It’s incredible how well she uses that ghost-y stuff even though it’s not her natural type. I still shiver thinking back on the night in the mansion! She adjusted to me a lot faster than most people tend to, too. For that matter it was… weirdly easy for me to get used to her too. Maybe it had something to do with knowing Rax even before I did? He even brightened up for a little while after bringing her home, like he’d gotten a better grip on things, but it seems to have slipped again…”

“I’m so glad I finally found people I don’t have to hide from”

Mai:

💙 💙 💙

“She’s really strong… but she doesn’t seem too happy about it…. I hope I didn’t mess up by talking her into that battle…”

Dravol:

💙 💙 💙

“Sparring buddy!! She’s crazy strong, and it says a lot about her that she doesn’t mop the floor with me right away despite the gap. I close it for sure one day though!”

Angela:

💙 💔 💔

“I can tell she’s a really kind person, and she’s been through a lot… but it sucks that she doesn’t really get me…”

Eclipse:

💙.

“We still owe each other a fight!”

Flake:

💜.

“They really just… say whatever they’re thinking, huh… I respect the drive though. Hope their attitude about it doesnt get them in over their head”

Rax

Zephyr:

💕 💕 💕 💕 💕.💕 💕

“He’s everything to me. That beaming smile, that infectious enthusiasm when he talks about what he loves… he’s my Light. I’ll do anything to keep him safe. Even- …. Especially from himself

Serra:

💙 💙 💙 💙 ❤️

“I don’t know if I’ll ever truly forgive myself for hurting her… but I’m so glad I was able to fix it. Everything’s back the way it was now. The way it should be”

Azura:

💙 💙 💙 ❤️

“I’m glad Zephyr caught his maps before we sent him off. Honestly, our bases started feeling a lot more like homes once he joined. He’s got talent, and a good head somehow both on his shoulders and in the clouds. And whether he believes it he’s strong enough to handle himself. … I think he might actually pull it off someday”

“I have to keep them safe… I can’t lose them…”

Mai:

💜 💜 💜

“I knew she couldn't be trusted...."

Dravol:

💜 💜 💜

“…. she’s exactly what i was afraid of….”

Trav:

🖤 🖤 🖤

“…….”

Doppel:

🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤…

“… whatever it takes….”

Mai Yamane

Azura:

💙 💙 💙

“He’s been nice to me while I’ve been here. Admittedly…. I Kinda envy the drive he’s got. Also, uh, really good taste in games. I’m glad he keeps bringing these things back”

Rax:

💙 💜

“He’s got a good heart but he’s got to get out of his own head. He’s practically smothering them…”

Zephyr:

💙 💙 💔

“… I’m sorry I can’t really give him what he’d want. I just… I can’t let Mother win….”

Serra:

❤️ ❤️ ❤️ 💕

“I’m glad she’s gonna be sticking around while the boys go on their trip. It’ll, uh, be nice to have the place to ourselves. … I can tell what’s she’s wanting to do, even if it’ll take her a while to make up her mind on it… And if she goes through with it I think I want to be with her”

???:

❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ 💔

“I’m sorry….. i’m so sorry…. I miss you so much…”

[artinandwritin]

Okay okay okay I wanna hear all about that next gen thing bc that is crazy dude how did that even happen omg

OH YES alright! This is gonna be another full-on Mona-rants-moment so strap in bestie!

I don’t know exactly when I started thinking about a HTTYD next gen, but it must’ve been somewhere around 2014, after I had watched both movies almost right after each other. Gotta confess, before watching HTTYD1 on a vacation to Germany as a little 10-almost-11-year-old, I thought it was a horror movie. Oops. I thought the same about Shrek, but now I unapologetically adore both of them.

So as little kids, me and my twin brother (let the record state, he’s younger than me. By four minutes. It’s a real thing) were absolutely obsessed with HTTYD. So much, that we would roleplay as dragons and – wheeze – HiccStrid’s potential twin kids. Oh, yeah, we were deep into it. We were so deep. We played out adventures and pretended to fly on our pretend dragons, whom we named Fly Fly and Toe Toe and they were, you are allowed to laugh, the kids of Toothless and a Whispering Death. My brother’s favorite dragons were the Whispering Deaths, and we were great at biology. Nope.

After that whole shabang, we went to middle/high school, my brother grew past his Dragons-phase, I stayed right where I was cuz ofc I did, and after meeting some new friends who were just as much into HTTYD as I was (one of them was the friend who gave my the nickname Mona and helped me with Of Thrones and Heirs!), we kinda created a new next gen based of what we thought was cool lmao. I couldn’t find a lot of information on that on my laptop, since most of it was handwritten or only spoken to each other – and tbh, I’m not really feeling up to checking my chats about it with one of those friends cuz I’m not friends with them anymore. But that’s okay, we have a lot more information for what came next!

I developed the next gen a bit on my own, I remember, still with some influences from the friends I had created the last version with. And for this one I still got a lot of details, so let me grab them for ya.

In this next gen, HiccStrid had five kids. Yeah, they be being busy. Zephyr and Nuffink got added a bit later, after I had seen THW, before that they only had the oc children I created as a lil 14-year-old. They had, in order, Zephyr Stormfly (20 y.o.), Nuffink Toothless (18 y.o.), Alischa Valka (14 y.o., aka, the main character), Stoick Finn (13 y.o.) and Lunette Ansfrid (3 y.o.). Oh yeah, that’s a mouthful.

Next to HiccStrid, back then I also shipped Heather and Fishlegs. Not sure if I still do now, but back then they had the following kids; Helen Windshear (19 y.o., she was Zephyr’s best friend), Fay Heather (16 y.o.), Veena Astrid (16 y.o., she and her twin sister were created by my friend I think), Beril/Hugo Oswald (13 y.o., not sure which of the two names. All I know is that he was Stoick’s bestie).

To the more… complicated part, young me put some drama into this next gen by making a divorce plot. So what I thought was cool (and because I didn’t really like Snotlout back then. Very stupid, he’s the kingest of kings), was the idea that Snotlout and Ruffnut had a son right after THW after a one-night-stand (Thorvald Hookfang, 21 y.o., all I know is that he had a huge crush on Zephyr). After that, they tried to make things work, but they didn’t, and they did a divorce thing. After that, Ruff went with Eret and had twins, Audun Eret (19 y.o., he’s the guy I wrote down as the Gustav of the next gen lmao) and Hialti Ruffnut (19 y.o., I don’t think she had a very good life). Meanwhile, Snotlout had a daughter with Minden, Ylva (13 y.o., she had a crush on Stoick).

Tuffnut had two kids with some chick, Annika Macey (19 y.o., she and Nuffink were in love or something) and Kjell Lloyd (19 y.o., I don’t know shit about him).

For the rest, I only had kids for Dagur and Mala cuz oh yeah they were a thing. Don’t think I really shipped them, but they were fun to include. Their kids were Ingrid Heather (16 y.o., I literally don’t know anything about her), Oswald Dagur (5 y.o.) and Siri Mala (3 y.o., the first Siri! I don’t know anything about her).

So that was that next gen. Alischa was the main character, she later got a whole fledged out story involving Grimmel’s grandkid, Arcum (who she got a crush on ofc, I basically redid the whole “enemies to lovers” thing I loved doing in Of Thrones and Heirs), while trying to prove herself to her overprotective dad Hiccup, finding the Hidden World and the Night Lights in the process. She bonded with Toothless’ daughter, Safire, which would’ve been pretty cute.

That whole thing was pushed aside in favor of Siri in December 2019, unfortunately. While I did try to recreate the next gen several times (I am still figuring out what the actual fuck I wanna do with ships in the original cast and who would have kids and who wouldn’t. All I know is HiccStrid has Zephyr and Nuffink cuz that’s canon and Tuffnut is aroace and the cool uncle. For the rest… man, I don’t know. I love FishLout, I love RuffLegs, I love the idea of Minden and Snotlout, I wanna see Snotlout with a daughter, etc etc. I just don’t know anything lmao), things never really stuck, as I was in the height of creating Siri’s story, and in addition, Niv’s story. Now I primarily wanna think about the next gen cuz I wanna give gussiri’s kids some friends pff

Like, at some point I tried to change up the entire next gen; I paired up Tuffnut and Heather (some weird idea from the friend I’m no longer friends with. I don’t know why), they had four whole kids (Dagny, Kyll, and Lloyd, who were triplets born in 1018, and Oswald Loki Chicken Sverd, yes, who was born in 1028). It was a weird move. I also cut down on Dagur and Mala’s kids, giving them only a daughter, named Hedvig, born in 1022. Zephyr (1018) and Nuffink (1021) still existed, but they no longer had any siblings. Lloyd and Zephyr were in love and it was very cute, and Hedvig and Nuffink had a thing going on.

Next to that, I removed the whole thing with Snotlout, Ruff, Eret and Minden, now Snotlout and Minden only had twins (Vidar and Ylva, born in 1021, Vidar wanted to become a wingmaiden). Eret and Ruff had a son named Sol (1023), which is very weird now, considering one of my best friends is named Sol lmao. Fishlegs had a son from a one-night-stand (Kjott, 1019), and the only reason for that is because the friend I’m no longer friends with didn’t like Fishlegs for his “disgusting” relationship with Meatlug. Glad I’m finally allowing to love this precious boy instead of being forced to go along with their opinions.

At this point, Sunniva and Helene didn’t exist as GusSiri kids, rather being replaced by a daughter named Funnet (1025) and a son named Agnarr (1028, Aggie and Oswald had a cute thing together). Niv did exist! I created him and he never changed, he’s just too much of a baby boy for that.

So yeah, that’s how it all shifted and turned over the years! I hope I can point my vision on trying to point down some good characters to be- WAIT A FUCKING SECOND

OH MY GOD I JUST FORGOT THAT I LITERALLY HAVE A DOCUMENT WITH MORE NEXT GEN STUFF THAT IS FAIRLY RECENT AND INCORPORATES INTO SOME STUFF FROM STARCHASER

FUCK LEMME LOOK INTO THIS REAL QUICK

Okay so turns out this is from 2021 and luckily for all of us it’s short and to the point so let’s get cracking. HiccStrid only had Zephyr Valka (1018) and Nuffink Stoick (1021), Snotlout had Vidar and Ylva (both 1019, idk who their other parent is), Dagur and Mala had Hedvig (1017), Ruffnut and Fishlegs had Reider Fishlegs (1018), Saga Meatlug (1023), Amund Tuffnut (1025), and Steinar Barf (1028). For the rest, nothing, and honestly, better, I don’t really wanna keep track of so many kids lmao. I’m not a daycare (read: has created a new oc last week)

Anyways, I think that’s all for now! Thank you so much for being so appreciated, I really appreciate it bestie <333 you’re amazing!!

[spiced-koi-friend]

Hidden Tears

Jurard and Ruze deal with the emotions of the whole situation, struggling when they normally hide behind their confident facades.

Previous Chapter

Jurard T. Rexford, Crimzon Ruze, Octavio, Goldbullet, & Machina X Flayon

TW: verbal abuse, PTSD, imprisonment Words: 1144 | Rating: M

The guards drag Jurard into the throne room, holding his arms back and his legs off the ground. He’s tried to free himself by fighting back or biting them, but it seems like they came prepared for this kidnapping trip. But when his eyes meet the gaze of his parents, he freezes in place. His father glares down at his son, making Jurard start to cower inside. Suddenly all the memories of why he ran in the first place come flooding back, and genuine fear sets in.

“I see you didn’t cause too much trouble, Jurard.”

“N-No, father.”

He glances at his mother, who remains the silent enabler of his father’s actions like she always was. Silently cursing her, but his attention is brought back to his father when he clears his throat.

“They will be arriving later today, they offered quite a pretty penny for you. Maybe you’ll finally have some value to this family.”

“Today!? I don’t even get to meet them first!?”

“Don’t talk back! You’ll have plenty of time to get to know them once you’re sent home with them. Be a good trophy husband for them, at least you got your mother’s features.”

Jurard’s eyes burn as he blinks back tears, terrified about being shipped away, just a pawn for his father again. Seeing his son broken like this satisfies the king, waving them off to bring Jurard to his quarters. Not even the furniture that was in there when he left remained, looking nothing more like the servants’ quarters for the ones set to be executed. For the lowest of the low. The guards throw him inside and lock it, right before he’s able to rush the door. His tears finally fall as he crashes against the door, screaming at his father and lashing out in his reptilian form. His claws dig deep gashes into the wood, but still not enough to break through. 

He collapses to his knees, turning around and sitting back against the door. Jurard brings his knees to his chest, only able to mourn the life he built for himself and be afraid of the aristocratic life he’s being thrust back into. He thinks back to what Ruze said, about how they’d be coming to get him. But would they even be able to get here in time? What if they’re already almost here and he’s off and married before they even find his parents’ castle? Every doubt possible in his mind, the memories of the stuffy suits and the high expectations, the verbal abuse and emotional neglect. 

Jurard just hopes that Ruze is right, and that they’ll hurry.

…

The cars race down the streets, following after the fresh tracks from the guards’ vehicles. These roads are rarely traversed, so it certainly made it easier to track them down. Ruze’s hands grip the wheel tightly, nearly white-knuckling it as his foot just stomps on the gas without any intention of letting up. He’s on a one track mind, and the outside world almost doesn’t exist. He just has to get to the castle, and then he can breathe. Just gotta get to the castle-

“Ruze!”

Goldie’s hand touches his arm, trying to gently get his attention and pull him out of his head.

“Ease up there, it’ll be okay. We’ll get him back. It’s not your fault.”

“Of course it’s not! I’m not blaming myself!”

Ruze eases up his pressure on the pedal, letting the other car pass them. It takes him a second before sharply turning onto the shoulder, kicking open the door and grabbing Zephyr off the top of the car. His axe slices cleanly through a tree, leaving it to fall and leave a stump. He throws Zephyr down into the mud, with enough force to embed it into the ground firmly. Goldie has gotten out of the car at this point, running around to catch up to Ruze. He watches as Ruze sits on the stump, burying his face in his hands and letting out a scream. It takes a second to decide what is best, before sitting down next to him and wrapping an arm around Ruze’s shoulders.

“Y’know Ruze, it’s okay to be scared or upset about what happened.”

“I’m not scared! I’m angry! I’m angry that I took the coward’s way out and just let them take him!”

“Because you were scared.”

At this point the other car has backtracked, rolling down the window to see what’s going on. Goldie just waves at them, gesturing to just give the two of them a minute. He just rubs Ruze’s shoulder, trying not to draw attention to the fact that he’s noticed the tears falling to the ground.

“You were outnumbered, Ruze. I don’t think any of us would have tried to take them on either. Plus, you came and got the rest of us immediately. And we’ll get him back, I promise. You didn’t do anything wrong. You did the right thing.”

“Why doesn’t it feel like it?”

Goldie takes a second, letting out a sigh before he answers.

“It’s gonna feel bad either way. Either they were going to take Jurard or they were gonna take Jurard and you’d die trying to protect him. And I gotta admit, I’m happy you didn’t die. You had to protect yourself with this one, because that was the only option you had.”

He does smile when he’s able to get a chuckle out of Ruze, watching him wipe his eyes before meeting his eye. 

“How about I drive, that way you can space out and think all you want without endangering the rest of us with your speeding?”

“Yeah… doesn’t really help us save our dino if we’re flipped in a ditch.”

“Probably not. Alright. You feel better?”

He knows that Ruze doesn’t enjoy being emotionally vulnerable, but it doesn’t stop him or any of the others from worrying. Ruze picks up Zephyr with a small flip to adjust his grip, resting the handle on his shoulder.

“I feel like I’m ready to kick some royal ass. That good enough for you?”

“I wouldn’t have expected any other answer from you, Ruze.”

Ruze jumps over the car, securing Zephyr back on the top and nodding to the other car. Octavio looks up from his game with Flayon in the backseat, a bit relieved that Ruze is no longer at the wheel. And thankfully Ruze takes his role as passenger princess rather seriously, commandeering the aux cord and putting on their shared playlist. He slides a bag of jerky for him silently over the center console, hoping it makes his friend feel better. Goldie steals a piece of Ruze’s jerky, but for once, his hand isn’t nearly bitten off. It’ll take a bit for Ruze to get back to his normal self, but at least he’s doing a bit better.

[dragonmasterhiccup]

“Will do, let’s go Astrid,” he said, leaving to go strengthen Berks defenses.

———

Hiccup’s call for help only made Grimmel smirk once he entered, knowing full well that Danny’s suffering was affecting him.

Danny’s breathing was heavy, the sweat not yet going away. The few drops of blood were still dripping down her arm and hand, a few landing on the ground below her.

“Oh yeah, I feel great! This stuff is f***ing awesome…” She trailed off, leaning her head back on the wall and letting out a breathy laugh.

It took her a few minutes, but eventually she stood up, stumbling a bit before finding her footing, her wide smile plastered back onto her face.

“Okay, prison boy, I gotta go get ready for Berk, it’s gonna be great! I wish you were there to see it, but sadly that can’t happen, we can’t have you trying to escape!”

Swinging the door open, the Deathgrippers walked out before her. “Maybe you’ll get to see Astrid again! Wouldn’t that just be amazing? Zephyr too! Because I don’t care what Boss says, I’m helping him get closer to Toothless! He should be thankful!”

———

She had left for Berk midday, arriving at dusk. The defenses were definitely higher, but she wasn’t dumb, she knew this was going to happen.

Pulling some strings, she snuck onto the island successfully, making her way to the Great Hall and getting in, only when it was empty of course.

Pulling her helmet over her head, she giggled, unhooking one of her makeshift bombs and tossing it at the entrance, successfully lighting the building on fire.

She waited for a few moments until she heard footsteps, a mischievous smirk making its way onto her face.

“Help! I’m just a scared little girl and I’m trapped in the fire! Someone please, save me!” It was hard not to laugh at how stupid she sounded, but it might lure people in, which was good.

———

Grimmel returned finally, after leaving Hiccup alone for most of the day.

Sliding a plate of… surprisingly good food under the cell, he stood up and grabbed a chair, sitting in front of Hiccup, a smile on his face.

“I should say that I do apologize for Danielle’s outburst this morning, it must have ruined your sleep, no?”

“But I will say, it did give you a good preview what’s to come to her, should you not tell me where the dragon is. You see, I could let her off easy, simple decapitation, she’d be dead instantly, or I could have her go through that, but that’s only if you don’t corporate.”

Hiccup watched as Danny recovered. He was partially glad she was no longer in pain, but as long as she was under the influence of that venom, she was no ally.

Stepping back from the bars, he started pacing, the chain grating against the stone floor as he moved.

He stayed quiet, not wanting to antagonize her any further. She wouldn't follow through on that threat, surely...

...would she?

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

Astrid pulled out all the stops to strengthen their defenses.

They even had some Vikings designated for putting out fires, since Danny's little 'gift' of that explosion probably wouldn't be the last.

Astrid was patrolling on Stormfly with Eret when she heard the boom coming from the Great Hall.

"Looks like you were right, Eret. Let's go."

When they landed, there were already men running in with buckets of water to put out the fire.

Dismounting, Astrid leveled her axe. "We know you're in there! Come on out!"

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

Hiccup sat on the floor of his cell, doing his best to come up with a plan.

The good thing was, he actually didn't know where Toothless was. Aside from how he must be on Berk, since he can't fly without a rider...unless Astrid or Eret took him off island, somewhere safe to hide.

Maybe with Garff.

He hadn't eaten or had anything to drink since the day before, and while he knew he could survive without food for some time, he knew he'd need some water soon, otherwise dehydration would take over.

He raised an eyebrow at the food that was placed in front of him before glancing at Grimmel. It smelled good, and he saw some fruit on it as well.

Grimmel needed Hiccup alive, so there was no need to poison his food, or so he hoped.

Slowly, he reached, picking up the plate, and started to eat.

"I doubt you truly care about the answer to that question."

Remembering the events he'd woken up to, he suddenly lost his appetite.

Time, he needed more time.

"Does she know what you plan to do, once you get what you want?"

[taiblogcomics]

I Promise Not to Title This One “Doggone Shame”

Hey there, sapient vending machines. Back at it with the MLP comics! One of the nice things about these is that I rarely need to do a long preamble. ...

...Here's the cover:

This is kind of a basic cover, but it's at least nice-looking. It's pleasant to look at, and it's fairly indicative of the contents! That's a win in my book! Not much to say on it, so here's the recap: Magic's gone wonky here in the G5 timeline, and the culprit is a missing Pegasus Crystal. Turns out, Discord is alive and... maybe not well, but alive at least. He's decided ponies will be much happier without any magic, so he's planning to destroy the crystal. And Sunny and her friends are desperate to stop him. But they gotta find him first!

So our pony heroes are pacing and fretting about how they're going to find Discord. Pipp suggests letting her followers know, but they don't want to cause a mass panic. Better keep it to themselves for now. Izzy suggests it's a shame they can't track Discord's aura. Zipp agrees, but starts to put together another idea, implying there may be something else they can track. Before she can elaborate, though, she gets a call from her mom. Turns out she's promised her time to dogsit for Cloudpuff, and completely forgot. Mom won't hear anything else about it, so she's stuck.

Sunny at least puts a positive spin on it, in that she can at least search Zephyr Heights for Discord. No way out but reassured by her friends, Zipp returns to her mother's house. Cloudpuff is deposited on her head and Queen Mom leaves for the night. Zipp doesn't have time for Cloudpuff's rigamarole, just leaving him with basic necessities. Zipp hits the streets, and quickly follows a familiar red tail. But it turns out to not be Discord, just a pony wearing a dragon kigurumi. A Terezi cosplayer, perhaps. Disappointed, Zipp flies off.

Zipp does a big search, even showing various drawings of Discord's mismatching parts. But nopony has any leads. Defeated, she returns home and leaves Cloudpuff his dinner. Next morning, though, food's still there and untouched. Removing the blanket, Zipp discovers not only is Cloudpuff missing, he's also constructed a crude replica of himself using a volleyball. Hey, that's some useful scaling information! But Zipp can't appreciate how this benefits us readers, she's too distraught that she can't find the dog she was responsible for.

After a frantic moment of searches, Zipp calms down. She won't find him in a panic, she just needs some help. So she calls in her most reliable and animal-loving friend: Hitch. The pair deduce that if Cloudpuff missed dinner, he'd try to get food somewhere else. And being a picky eater, this narrows the choices. Hey, same! And indeed, he did come by Chez Pedigree last night. The maitre d' did indeed see Cloudpuff, but doesn't know where he might've gone. He does posit that the Queen often takes him shopping after lunch, so they head there.

They soon locate a shop using Cloudpuff in their advertising, and the clerk mentions that Cloudpuff did indeed come by last night and do some modeling. She also correctly deduces that if they're here asking about him, he didn't go home last night. Their leads have dried up, though--at least among ponies. Instead, Hitch uses his magical powers to talk to animals to interrogate a nearby bunny who indicates he might know something. And the bunny leads them out of town, out to some ledges with more bunnies waiting.

The bunnies lead them to an odd cliff, which turns out to be a trick of perspective. From pony height, it looks like a solid cliff wall, but at animal height, a cave opening becomes clear. And inside the cave is Cloudpuff! He's relaxing and maxing all cool next to a running spring. Zipp makes an apology to Cloudpuff for her inattentive care, and Hitch translates an answer back: Cloudpuff agrees to come home if his special getaway here is kept a secret. Zipp agrees, and the pair return home.

The queen's already home, but since Zipp has Cloudpuff with her, there's no suspicion. She was just out with him getting some fresh air. The queen is glad to see them both, and thanks Zipp for her troubles. Zipp, of course, replies that he was no tribble at all. The comic ends with the other pony friends back at Sunny's place wondering when the others will arrive, and Izzy calls it pretty much down to the minute. They didn't get up to much. Adventure, mystery, intrigue... You know, normal dogsitting stuff~

This is a pretty basic story. It’s perfect for the target demographic, of course, no complaints there. I know this isn’t for me. I actually do find it interesting. See, now we’ve got a plot hook in the Discord thing, we’re just gonna let that simmer in the background. This isn’t a multi-part story arc, this is an ongoing plot.  Everyday life still goes on around the ponies, and everypony else is blissfully unaware of the thing that’s so important to them. This is actually a really interesting way to do it. Let’s you get a variety of stories, while occasionally checking in on the main plot, so it doesn’t get too stale by frontloading all the Discord content. Makes each issue more standalone, while still having an ongoing element. Honestly, I wish more modern comics did this. Wouldn’t that be nice to read a single superhero story that began and ended within the same issue~?

Next issue: After a day with Zipp, seems only fair to give her sister the spotlight~

[skele-bunny]

pay for my therapy after that dew fic /j /silly

could we possibly get something abt him waking up after the coma? Like how it was for him & maybe how he felt toward missing out on not just that time with his pack, but with his Very Young Daughter? I mean a good few milestones got reached when he was comatose, surely? There's gotta be some feelings toward waking up after and realizing just how much he missed.

WELL MAYBE IF YOU GUYS STOPPED DESTROYING MY HEART I WOULDN'T BE PAYING UR THERAPYYYYYY /SILLY

CW Light Medical Talk, Self Blame, and Medium Description of Suicidal Thoughts

Tags: Heavy Angst/Light Comfort, hospital setting, recovery talk

Characters: Dewdrop, Calida (Kit), Misc

Oh gosh when Dew is finally out of his coma? He's miserable. Everything hurts. He can't speak, it hurts to swallow, everything feels too loud, too bright, he can't even sit up.

But you bet your fucking ass his favorite quad is in that room the moment they find out he's awake. Zephyr, Aether, Mountain, and... That's not his daughter.

Sure, it's a small fire kit. But Calida was smaller. Calida wasn't chewing on her tail. Calida wasn't able to squeal "Daba!" Calida wasn't able to hold herself up and tilt her head with curiosity.

That is not his daughter.

They take Dewdrop's obvious discomforted look as post-awakening. But they still bring her around, just like the entire time he's been under.

See, the issue is when Dewdrop transitioned Calida was about to turn 6 months old. Calida was now 9 months. When it's calmly explained to him how long he's been under, the extent of his injuries, and what exactly happened the first noise that comes out of him is a distressed wail. He just cries, although nothing physical comes out as his eyes are trying to work again. He's inconsolable, not even able to hold a pen or sign desperately to just tell Special to fucking kill him. This isn't worth living anymore. He doesn't want to live like this.

When he's sedated because of the pain and wakes up again, it's visiting hours once more. His eyes slowly opening as these high pitch squeals are giving him such a bad headache on top of the one already existing. He's watching... "Calida". She's waddling after Zephyr who's walking with their crutches, trying to be quiet with xer laughter as she stumbles trying to catch their tail.

Once again, he's crying and the group notices.

That's not his daughter. There's just no way.

They can see him eyeing her, Aether carefully picking the kit up and bringing her close in a misunderstanding that Dew wants her. She just smiles and Dew can't do anything but stare back into those ruby red eyes he's confused belongs to him or not. Aether very carefully lowering her down onto his chest like he had been for so long and something in Dew just... Clicks.

Fighting with his own body to raise his right hand albeit shaking, resting on her back and her smell... Her scent is his. It finally processes that this really is Calida. He really was gone for 3 ½ months. His body can't take the mental distress and he promptly passes out again.

Through his recovery he's able to do more and more. Finally able to sit up in bed, NJ tube in his nose, and hold Calida with both his arms. She's just babbling and saying little sentences here and there, but she just looks at Dew while holding a picture book. It's two fishes in a pond, labeled as a mommy fish and a baby fish. She just smiles and points at Dew.

"Mana." Points back at the fish. "Mana."

He just nods, leaning down and snuggling against her hair.

What hurts the most is when Calida took a nap on him. She only truly recognized her mother from his semi-scent, so when she woke up still in a somewhat daze she had a moment—smelling her Mana faintly but not seeing him. Just screaming and reaching for Aether trying to figure out why she was cuddled with this stranger, unable to calm her cries. Dewdrop is now just as miserable.

"That's Mana, little banana! It's Mana, everything's okay."

"S' not mana! S' not mana!"

His heart being crushed doesn't even get close to how he feels. He just asks Aether to leave, point blank. He's left to himself and cries. It seems like that's all he can do now, all he's been doing. Calida is having issues recognizing him, he's missed her crawling, missed her first steps, her first word, everything. Fucking. Everything.

He rips everything out of him in a flash of rage. His tube, his two IVs, his heart monitor, he's throwing his blankets off and using his hands to push the equipment over. It's the first time Dew lights himself on fire, screaming at nurses and Phil that come rushing in as their screens showed him as a flatline. He's fighting with everything he has to get out of bed, to do just SOMETHING. He doesn't know what, but all his mind can think of is killing himself and when he held Calida for the first time.

His recovery isn't pretty... He's unable to cope with the fact he missed Calida's biggest milestones, wallowing in turmoil. He can't help but hate himself for not just rejecting the forced proposition, for not fighting harder. For not accepting the threat to return to the pit with her. He knows he's not being very logical but it's all him mind will allow him to think.

Calida still comes around and it takes her a really long time to get used to her Mana's new scent and appearance, but she does! She honestly, truly does. Aether and Mountain show their phone recordings of the milestones and that also somewhat helps, able to see it in just some form.

When he's released and able to go back to the den, he refuses for anyone to touch Calida. Go near her. Nobody. She's upset about it, wanting her Daba and Paba, but Dew simply won't let her.

He's constantly scenting over her, holding her while in shambles, and just doing anything he can to just... Make up for loss time.

No matter what Dew does, however, will never really fix it. What's done is done, and there's no going back. It takes him a while to process that he can go forward with her, still

[shadowtoons]

Of course… Joker doesn’t push more. Dust himself little more while he glared. “Honestly, would have sat there to see who be the dummy to do it.” Joker one of those would see someone to die, mainly those who are stupid.

Then move the other hand away from his cheek and to sigh. “I swear, you gotta be one strange doctor…” There is not way going back there, honestly if the two did, would be suspicious on the both of them, although still be sus walking away… Least no one wouldn’t find them both or know their faces. “Well, might as well just walk away and be somewhere else. This time I am picking the café this time.”

Not gonna let zephyr pick ever again.

While falling in the air. Zephyr was fully horizontal. hands on his hips. " If I had warned you then-- "

As he was in the middle of saying it. the building the two were in suddenly exploded.. enough to blow the damn brick walls down and send the two of them falling further away now!

Joker and Zephyr take 15 damage as they face plant into the floor.

Zephyr tumbled and rolled only to skip up to his heels. as if he'd made a perfect 10/10 landing, and totally didn't eat shit.

" Success! "

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #184

Oh shit we’re a day late. Sorry. Now that Summer’s over, Fate and Phantasms is heading out to Shimousa, starting with the Archer of Inferno! You know the deal by this point; true name spoilers and build breakdown below the cut, character sheet over here, but still expect a little bit of spoilage because you can’t spread out a character over 20 levels and not spoil a bit about them.

Next up: I thought the ghost of an occultist driving a car made by a talking lion would be the most convoluted character design for a while. I was wrong.

Tomoe Gozen is a Battle Master Fighter to talk with her fists and throw people around as well as a Hunter Ranger to get her fiery arrows and to specialize in fighting massive crowds.

Race and Background

Tomoe is kind of halfway between an oni and a human, never quite at home in either world. Thankfully that’s exactly what Tieflings are as well, so getting her race is pretty easy. As a Mephistopheles Tiefling she gets +1 Dexterity and +2 Wisdom, Darkvision for night raids, Hellish Resistance to fire damage (it would be awkward if you died to your own inferno), and the Legacy of Cania. This gives you the Mage Hand cantrip immediately, with one casting of Burning Hands and Flame Blade with your Charisma per long rest at third and fifth level respectively.

As the wife of a Lord, you’re the definition of a Noble, giving you proficiency with History and Persuasion. People just like you, y’know?

Ability Scores

Step one; Dexterity. You’re an archer, this shouldn’t come as a surprise that this is pretty high. (I mean I say that, but there’s ton of archers that don’t use bows, so...) Anyways, second is Strength. You throw people around like sacks of potatoes, so you gotta be pretty good at lifting them. Go with Wisdom as your third highest ability. Large scale battles are hectic, you’ve got to have a sharp eye to do your best work in them.  Your Constitution isn’t half bad, oni tend to be able to take a beating. Your Intelligence isn’t that high purely because we need other stuff more, so we’re dumping Charisma. You’re a bit awkward no matter which side of the family you’re talking to.

Class Levels

Ranger 1: Starting off as a ranger gives you plenty of goodies, including plenty of proficiencies, like Strength and Dexterity saves, plus three skills; Insight and Perception to read your enemies and Athletics to make it easier to haul them around. First level rangers also become Deft Explorers, which makes you Canny with athletics. That doubles your proficiency bonus for extra oni strength when you push and pull objects. You can also set a Favored Foe as a bonus action, dealing an extra d4 of damage once per turn after hitting them with an attack. You can do this proficiency times per long rest, and the damage grows as you level up.

Ranger 2: At second level, you gain the Archery fighting style for an extra +2 to your ranged attack rolls. The archer class is really made up of archers, huh? You also learn how to cast Spells using your Wisdom to cast them. Theoretically. You don’t actually have any spells that bother with that. At first level you can use Longstrider to move around the battlefield easier and Absorb Elements to add a little bit of fire to your arrows immediately. That helps less than the other elements since you’re already resistant to fire damage, but we suffer for our art here. Well, you do.

Ranger 3: Making it all the way to third level without burning out grants you entrance to a shiny new conclave, and the Hunter conclave turns you into a Horde Breaker when you take the subclass, specializing you towards dealing with large groups. Once per turn you can make an extra attack, as long as your second target is within 5′ of the first. You also gain Primal Awareness, letting you Speak with Animals. I don’t think anything in canon says you can do this, but your event is one of the only times we hear the servant animals talk, so I’m counting it. You also learn how to cast Zephyr Strike, speeding yourself up and possibly dealing extra damage at the same time. Controlling your spacing is vital when it comes to dealing with tons of enemies.

Ranger 4: Use your first Ability Score Improvement to bump up your Strength for stronger punches. They’ll get even stronger in a second, don’t worry.

Fighter 1: Bounce over to fighter for the Unarmed Fighting fighting style. Now your punches deal 1d6 damage (or 1d8 if you have both free) and you can deal damage to grappled creatures at the start of your turn. You also get a Second Wind, which will heal you as a bonus action.

Ranger 5: We’re done multiclassing for a while, since heading back over to ranger will net you an Extra Attack each action. Now you’ve got two attacks against one target, or three if you can use horde breaker. You also learn second level spells, like Beast Sense and Enhance Ability. I don’t think you’re strong enough yet, so that latter spell will give you advantage on strength checks for the duration. (Or a target creature advantage on any one kind of checks, that’s just the most in-character option.)

Ranger 6: At sixth level Favored Foe grows to a d6, and you also become Roving, which increases your speed and lets you climb and swim without slowing down.

Ranger 7: Seventh level rangers will find it a lot easier to Escape the Horde, forcing disadvantage on all opportunity attacks against you. Right now you’ve still got to keep your distance from your enemies to use your bow and arrow, so this will help. You can also cast Aid to increase your maximum HP along with that of a couple of friends for something that will really excitate your whole lineage.

Fighter 2: Bouncing back to fighter gets you an Action Surge for two actions per turn once per short rest. Now you get up to five attacks in a turn thanks to Horde Breaker and your extra attack.

Fighter 3: If we keep on trucking we’ll hit third level, which is where things get really spicy. As a Battle Master, you get four Combat Superiority d8s per short rest, and you can add one per attack to attack you make, dealing extra damage and adding effects to the blow. Technically. Only one of your maneuvers actually deals with attacks, but that’s Pushing Attack, which will do a lot of work for you. When you hit a creature you deal extra damage, and if they’re smaller than Huge and fail a strength save, they get pushed 15 feet away. Your other maneuvers are Evasive Footwork, adding the d8 to your AC while you move to make fighting you even harder, and Tactical Assessment, adding the die to an Investigation, History, or Insight check. We might not have been able to make you smart, but this should cover whatever tactics you need. You’re also a Student of War, giving you proficiency in any one artisan’s tools. Pick your fave, you’re not exactly Hokusai.

Fighter 4: Our last level in fighter grabs the Crusher feat for +1 Strength and once per turn you can push someone an extra 5 feet as long as they’re large or smaller. Also, critical bludgeoning hits give all attacks against their target advantage until you start your next turn. Now you can fling someone 20′ away, and while that technically doesn’t let you throw them in the air I’d allow it. Honestly, if someone’s moving that far away their feet have got to be leaving the ground at some point.

Ranger 8: Going back to Ranger for good now gets another ASI right away, and Gunner is a weird feat to pick, but hear me out. It’s basically the crossbow expert feat, but it trades that bonus action attack for a +1 to Dexterity, which is way more useful since you don’t use a hand crossbow. You also get proficiency with and can ignore loading on firearms, but most D&D games don’t have those anyway, so it’s fine to be a bit out of character. The real good reason we’re here is to ignore disadvantage on your ranged attacks if people are near you. Archery and brawling don’t normally go together, now they do. You also get Land’s Stride so you can move through difficult terrain easier and have advantage on saves against magical terrain. You leave a lot of corpses around in Shimousa, but this’ll help you keep your footing in that demiplane of skulls you do your boss fight in.

Ranger 9: Ninth level rangers get third level spells, like your Primal Awareness spell Speak with Plants. That might sound totally out of character, but it turns out there’s a legit reason for it: Hey look over there, it’s Flame Arrows! Finally, you can dip 12 arrows into fiery goodness, and each one deals an extra 1d6 fire damage on a hit. You’ve got up to an hour to use all of them, but it also takes concentration so don’t get too attached.

Ranger 10: Tenth level rangers are Tireless, letting you heal yourself with temporary HP as an action Proficiency times per day, and you heal exhaustion on short rests. Some people call that inhuman, I call it efficient. Gilgamesh wishes he had what you do. You can also use Nature’s Veil to turn invisible for a round as a bonus action Proficiency times per long rest. Think of it like a smoke bomb. Or a wildfire bomb. Just set things on fire, hide in the fire, done.

Ranger 11: At eleventh level, hunters can let out a Volley of ranged attacks, letting you attack every creature within a 10′ radius of a point you can see. Technically, this means you can pump out up to 50 attacks per round thanks to Action Surge, assuming a lot of creatures are dumb enough to clump up next to each other. 51, sorry, Horde breaker’s still there. To make getting into position easier you also learn the UA spell Flame Stride, negating opportunity attacks, bumping your speed up by 20 feet, and dealing fire damage to nearby creatures when you run by them. It also explicitly sets items on fire, so now we know how you caused so much damage in Shimousa.

Ranger 12: Use this ASI to round up your Strength and Dexterity for stronger punches, tougher punch saves, better arrows, and a higher AC. A banner level for you.

Ranger 13: Your new fourth level spell from Primal Awareness, Locate Creature is way easier to justify than the last one. You just know where the enemy general is located, even in the thick of battle. We’re basically building a Dynasty Warriors character at this point, aren’t we? You also get Freedom of Movement, just in case you need to speed around the battlefield without setting stuff on fire. I know, it’s boring without the fire. You just have to make due for two more levels.

Ranger 14: Your Favored Foe grows again, and you can Vanish as a bonus action, hiding yourself without any way to track you, bar magic.

Ranger 15: Your final spell of the build will turn you into a mighty inferno that can burn down all of Shimousa! Well, not really, but if you Summon Elemental then Vanish away, it’s almost like you turned into a fire elemental, right? You can also Stand Against the Tide, using your reaction to redirect a missed melee attack at another creature. It’s really hard to hit you when you run away, so I suggest fishing for attacks of opportunity for extra damage.

Ranger 16: Use your final ASI to grab the Tough feat for an extra 40 HP. Onis, man. They’re hard to kill.

Pros:

You specialize in dealing with large groups of enemies, with plenty of ways to move through them and attack over large areas at once.

Working with your bow and fists means you’re never in a bad position in a fight. Hah hah, you ambushed the archer, I guess you’re just getting your skulls bashed in instead.

Your range and speed, combined with your punches’ pushing power, means you are great at choosing your fights. For the most part you can determine where and when you fight an enemy, giving you a pretty solid advantage. As long as your DM doesn’t make all the fights take place in a vacant plain somewhere.

Cons:

Your charisma is pretty dismal, so even if you have a plan in mind good luck getting people to follow it.

You’re also pretty unfocused, and I mean that in every sense of the word. You’d be a lot more consistent with damage if you only focused on punching or arrows, and since you’re specialized for bunches of weak enemies single bosses can be tricky.

Most of your magic damage is Fire, which is easy to resist. If you’re up against a demon or devil, you might just have a bad time.

[ot5ismyhome]

22. I’ll make this feel like home

To read from beginning click here.

*****

Wanda was astonished by the memory of Steve that she had seen. It was something he had never talked about. He had shared with her many memories of him during the war but not this one. Sometimes she noticed that he would look sad while remembering the past but she had brushed it off as missing his old life.

“I’m sorry, Steve,” Wanda said softly, gently gripping his shoulder.

“It’s okay. It’s nothing” he said trying to brush off. Wanda noticed the small tear drop at the corner of his eyes. Steve blinked back to avoid crying. Bucky had also noticed the change in Steve’s mood but he was lost on what had happened. When he moved closer to console him, Steve excused himself and left.

“I’m going after him,” Wanda said looking at Bucky.

Bucky nodded.

Wanda went out of the lab to check up on Steve. She found him in a small room. He had his head buried in his hands. Wanda sat close to him and enveloped her hands around his shoulders. He rested his head on her shoulder. After some time passed, he started talking.

“What you saw back there…”

“Hmm”

“That’s before the Council was formed. After the war, a group of mercenaries were the sole power across America. Every one of us regretted fighting the war but some were enraged that they were made to fight. Due to the war many new vampires were created. The older ones despised the newcomers. They decided to kill off the newcomers and establish their own set of rules. Foreigners were allowed to escape.”

“Well, Peggy asked me to save Sousa. She was free to return to Britain while Sousa was taken to be executed. That memory… uh… the one you saw was…”

“When you saved him.”

Steve nodded.

“You did the right thing”.

Steve sighed and looked away. “If it were only that simple” he said more to himself than to Wanda.

After moments of silence, he started talking again. “During the war, I lost Bucky in a mission. Or I thought I lost him. The loneliness was maddening. When the mercenaries came afterwards, I stood against them. I went for days without sleeping or feeding properly. I roamed the streets like a mad man.” New tears streamed down his face. His voice was barely a whisper, “I hoped that one of the fights would be my last.”

Wanda held on to him tightly and let him cry into her shoulders. It hurt her to see him in this state. She consoled him and tried her best to encourage him.

“Jiaying found me one day. Knowing about the state in America she had come here. She saved me. She gave me a purpose. I’m glad I met her.”

“I'm glad that you met her too. Or else I wouldn’t have gotten you as my family.” Wanda kissed his forehead wiping his tears away.

“I’m also glad to have you, kid. And I don’t want to lose you” The words ‘too’ hanged on the air without being uttered.

“You won’t.”

…..

Wanda roamed around the Zephyr in search of Bucky. She wanted to talk to him. She found him assembling the necessary equipment.

“Hey”

“Could I just stay with you?”

“Sure. I didn’t know you liked my company” he teased her.

“Well. Daisy is getting advised by Coulson and Steve and Natasha are busy.”

“I’m the last option? That hurts” he chuckled. Bucky closed the bag containing the field kit. He kept it aside and hopped on the table.

“Spit it out.”

“What?” Wanda looked surprised.

“You want to speak something.” It was more of a sentence than a question.

Wanda had wanted to talk with him. She decided to get it out. “It’s just whenever I look into someone’s mind, I end up bringing bad memories.”

“Don’t beat yourself up about it. It’s not something you are able to control”

“I can’t keep provoking everyone around me.”

“Then learn to control it. Whenever you had used your powers, the other person was emotionally vulnerable.”

“I think I’m done with this. The training was a bad idea”

“Two important things. First, I’m not going to allow you to give up on yourself. And second, the training was my idea. So, don’t blame it” Bucky said the second line with a mock insult making Wanda smile a bit.

“Give it another try, now” he continued.

“You mean?”

“Yeah”

“You are fine with it?”

Bucky nodded with a gentle smile. Wanda hesitantly took his hand in hers. She controlled her mind and tried to enter Bucky’s mind. This time it was easier for her. Wanda’s mind was filled with a similar sensation of cloudiness as she entered his mind. She found herself in an old apartment. She saw Bucky getting ready to go out somewhere. He was checking his appearance in the mirror.

“Come on, Buck. We are getting late” a voice called out to him. Wanda recognised that it was Steve. By Bucky’s clothes and hairstyle, she knew they were in the 40s.

Bucky and Steve shared a hasty kiss before they exited the apartment.

“Where are we going?”

“The future.”

They got into Bucky’s car and Wanda followed them. She had been to 40s memories before but only she was able to observe the things around her. She noticed that the street was filled with war propaganda pamphlets. The posters were stuck in every building. The street was filled with pedestrians rushing through their lives.

Wanda was intrigued by the board reading, ‘World Exhibition of Tomorrow.’ She was delighted when Bucky parked the car and the duo walked out to the expo. She excitedly followed to find that it was Stark Expo. She kept close to the couple not wanting to lose Bucky. They stopped in front of a large stage hosting a shining red car.

From the buzz, Wanda understood that they were waiting for Howard Stark. The crowd burst into cheers when the man of the hour walked onto the stage.

“Ladies and gentlemen, what if I told you that in just a few short years, your automobile won’t even have to touch the ground at all?” Howard continued, “With Stark Gravitic Reversion Technology, you’ll be able to do just that.” He smiled at the crowd as he pressed the button and pulled up a small level.

The car buzzed and lifted above ground. It hovered in the air making everyone gasp at the marvel in front of them. There was a fizzle followed by a small explosion and the car crashed down.

“I did say a few years, didn’t I?” Howard gave a charismatic smile.

The crowd erupted applauding the genius in front of them. Wanda hollered to show her friend.

“Imagine really living in the future where there are flying cars,” Bucky said looking at Steve.

“Wishful thinking, Buck”

“It’s time. I got to leave.”

“Yeah, I know”

“Don’t do anything stupid until I get back” Bucky said his face serious. He walked away slowly.

“How can I? You’re taking all the stupid with you.”

Bucky shook his head looking at his lover. He walked back and hugged Steve.

“You’re a punk”

“Jerk” Steve called out hugging him back.

The scene dissolved. Wanda felt herself being pulled out of the memory. She looked up at Bucky and gave a smile.

“That is a beautiful memory.”

“Yeah, it is” Bucky grinned like a fool reminiscing the past.

They noticed Steve leaning against the door, his arm folded in the front.

“Hey”

“Hey”

“Still standing here”

Both the men chuckled. Steve ruffled Wanda’s hair and slung his hand around her shoulders.

“Got stuck with her, uh?”

“Hey!” Wanda cried pushing him away. “It was him who convinced me.”

Steve laughed. He asked, “I was thinking of something. Instead of just looking into our memories, you can try showing one’s memory to the other.”

“Is that possible?” Wanda wondered.

“I get where he is going. Like Loki did.”

Steve nodded. “Yeah, he saw other’s memories with your aid. Then we could also do that”

“Okay” Wanda smiled with excitation. “So, who’s the scapegoat?” she asked, looking between the two men.

Steve and Wanda exchanged a knowing glance and turned their attention to Bucky.

“You have gotta be kidding me.”

“You agreed to help me.”

Wanda interlinked her hands with the two vampires. She first singled her thoughts and stopped her mind from wandering randomly. She slowly prodded it to enter Bucky’s memories. The Zephyr dissociated and the surrounding started getting clouded. She felt the familiar sensation. Wanda found herself in the back of a small van.

The place was crumpled and barely a place to stand. Various electronic gadgets were scattered around. Bucky and Sam were looking intently at a screen. Wanda noticed it was security footage of Scott going through a building. In the nearby screen, a static image was displayed. The realisation suddenly hit her. She looked back at the screen Scott was seeing. She recognised the place. She tugged on Steve’s sleeve and was surprised when she was able to make contact.

“Steve?”

“Yeah?”

“You can hear me?”

“I did reply. So yeah.”

Wanda playfully nudged him with her elbow. She motioned to the screen and both of them turned their attention to the video of Scott. Steve’s eyes widened as he looked at the all too familiar corridor.

“What is he doing in my company?” Steve cried.

The duo followed Scott’s movements. He expertly disabled the alarms and set out to his destination. He came to halt at the back of the building. He accessed the secret panel in the wall which revealed a hidden door. Scott disabled the lock of the door and went in. He started working on the vault having the Draught.

“Draught of Frost Blood, here I come” Scott commented as he opened the vault.

“Wait! Isn’t it Draught of First Blood” Bucky intervened.

“What? No man.”

“I read it somewhere” Bucky shrugged.

“It doesn’t make sense”

“How does frost make sense?”

“Loki. Winter. Frost.”

“I agree with Bucky in this one” Scott spoke over the comms.

“Enough of chit-chat folks. Scott, take the vial and get your ass back here.”

“Got it.”

Bucky playfully rolled his eyes and looked at the screen monitoring Scott’s moves.

“I knew Pym got lucky was just a bunch of bullshit” Steve swore.

Wanda chuckled. After we get out, it's going to be one hell of shit show she thought to herself. She watched Scott open the locker and take out two vials of Draught and pocket it. 

“You never noticed the missing vials?” Wanda smirked.

“Shut up.”

Wanda laughed.

Scott proceeded to close the lock and reset the alarm. He made his way out without any disturbances. Bucky and Sam high fived each other as Scott walked out of the building.

“Now everything is set,” Sam said, pressing some buttons. The original security video started playing and the loop was cut off.

Bucky climbed to the front of the van. Scott took the wheel.

“Where to?” Sam asked from the back.

“Let’s deliver it to Pym, then hit the bar,” Bucky said.

“I’m going to kill him once we get back,” Steve muttered, making Wanda laugh.

“What about our deal?” Scott asked eagerly.

“I will change you once Pym duplicates it” Bucky promised.

“Cool.”

Wanda exited Bucky’s memory taking Steve along with her. They were back in the Zephyr sitting with Bucky.

“Steve, I can explain”

“You jerk,” Steve shouted, chasing Bucky around the lab. Wanda laughed at the playful fight between the two.

*****

 Chapter 23