#he brought me into a very nice and friendly community

[redgitanako]

Where'd all the bugs go?

A little comic thing based on someone's idea on discord 🤭🤭

#reg art #artists on tumblr #art #bugs #first full piece with this man!! love him so much #he brought me into a very nice and friendly community #also branching out from only drawing humanoids was cool and challenging #palia #palia einar #palia auni

[shadowlali]

Lali!!!!😫

I have something playing in my brain, and you nailed that Ale fic so you'd do this justice honestly.

Hear me out right, neighbor!Alejandro x chubby f!reader.

We'll forget Ale has a ranch somewhere and give him a place in Las Almas closer to the base, reader is new in town and behold she lives next door to the hot serious looking dude she peeped.

Reader is in her mid 20's, Ale is mid 30's so they're both thinking they should just stay in their own lanes for obvious reasons * only to themselves* so they don't interact very much but the absolute pining 👀

Especially seeing as some of their windows line up so they get to observe each other on the down low, not even in a perv way until that does happen one day.

I just need them fighting for their lives to devils tango and date because they've been skirting around each other for a damn minute.

rain

COD - Alejandro Vargas x chubby fem!reader

[18+] wc:~2.9k masterlist

warnings: NSFW, age gap (f!reader in her mid 20s and alejandro is in his mid 30s), voyeurism (kinda), cuddling for warmth (hehe), oral (f! receiving), unprotected sex, some proofreading a/n: for some reason i wrote this as if Las Almas is by the beach, i have no idea if it is... lol. much love to all of you, thank you for reading and interacting with me 🤍🤍🤍

You like Las Almas, it's alive, friendly, and right on the coast. It wasn’t always like this, while getting to know your new neighbors you learned of the threats faced before. The town was finally rid of cartel violence with the vigorous efforts of Los Vaqueros. You see in the faces of the people how much they respect and love Los Vaqueros whenever they're brought up in conversation.

You've also developed a respect for them, especially Coronel Alejandro Vargas. He not only took it upon himself to protect Las Almas, but has also provided funding to community projects. After buying your new house, you found out that the Coronel lives right next door. He hasn’t been home in a while, the other neighbors informing you Alejandro often patrols the outskirts of town on a weekly basis.

It's during the end of your usual morning walk that you notice a black Jeep parked in the Coronel’s driveway. The trunk is open and you see a tall, broad shouldered man walk towards the Jeep. You stop, taken aback by the muscles rippling across his tanned arms and the way the sun glows on his skin.

Images of him gripping your thick thighs flash in your mind. You try to shake those thoughts out of your head, Coronel Alejandro Vargas is your neighbor and older than you, with a demanding job and responsibilities. There is absolutely no way anything can happen between the two of you. You start walking again, pushing your thoughts aside and doing the neighborly thing of introducing yourself.

Alejandro hears soft footsteps approaching and turns to look. His breath catches in his throat as he takes in your bright smile. He tries to calm the blood roaring in his ears as he notices your young face, realizing you're most likely in your mid 20s, too young for him.

“Good morning, Coronel!”

“Buenos días, nena. What can I help you with?”

“I just wanted to introduce myself. I’m your new neighbor.”

He takes a rough breath, glancing over at your house. He assumed that the house had been bought by a family with the nicely cut grass, clean porch, and open windows that mirrored his own. Alejandro internally groans, cementing in his mind to stay as far away from you as possible.

“Ah, I didn’t realize the house was sold. No need for formalities, nena, Alejandro is fine.”

You smiled at his words, ”Okay, neighbor.”

He gives your body a lightning quick once-over before answering again, ”Welcome to the neighborhood, if you ever need anything, just ask.”

You say your goodbyes and walk into your house, feeling dejected that you’ll never know what his arms feel like. And it continues, you do your early morning walks at the same time he leaves for base. You wave at each other but never speak more than a few words.

It's difficult, you aren’t sure why he's constant in your mind. His face is always fixed like a statue, serious and chiseled. But the moment someone speaks to him, Alejandro’s face breaks into a smile. You try to tell yourself it's nothing more than a silly crush, God knows the last time you looked at another man romantically.

All while this plays in your head, you have no idea of the thoughts running through Alejandro’s mind. He's angry, mainly at himself, for being so caught up in the life of his sweet, no – young – next door neighbor. He has to remind himself of the 15 year or so age difference and all of his baggage, so much baggage.

Alejandro notices how quickly you've adjusted to life in Las Almas, how the people took to you and how comfortable they are around you. Even from far away he's noticed how kind and welcoming and pretty you are. He tries not to stare when you walk past in the morning, your shorts or skirts doing nothing to hide soft curves, plush skin, fantasizing how they would mold to his body very nicely – no. Alejandro can’t have those thoughts.

So you both stay away, slowly failing to control the internal battle. You feel a little guilty at times, watching Alejandro in his house through the open windows. At night, he sits in his living room, his face scrunched in concentration while he goes over what you assume are reports and maps of the town. You try not to be so obvious, your heart fluttering at experiencing something so domestic and intimate.

For only a moment, you imagine being in his home and gently massaging his shoulders to help him relax after a long day of work. Alejandro usually doesn’t keep his curtains open, but he tells himself it's just a way for natural light to come in. Deep down he knows that isn’t the only reason.

On the nights he comes home early from base, Alejandro sees you sitting in your living room, a book in one hand and tea in the other. Other nights you have friends over, the perfect little host cooking or dancing, always with a smile on your face. He craves more, wanting to read to you with your head in his lap or cook you dinner on the nights you're both home early.

You're getting ready for bed one night before you remember to close the open windows. The lights in your house are off, only the moonlight shining through, so you decide against your robe and walked over to the windows in a silk nightie. Alejandro sits at his window seat, nursing a nightcap as he goes over his tasks for the next day.

You don’t notice him, more focused on moving the curtains and stretching up to shut the clasps in the window. He turns just as you stand on your tiptoes, watching your nightie ride up and reveal the matching panties. Alejandro sits frozen, feeling a flash of heat in his lower stomach. He's confused, not sure if he should inform you that he can see you or continue staring like a voyeur. It happens fast, you finish closing everything up and walk back to your room, completely unaware of Alejandro.

Alejandro’s greetings the next few days are a bit tense, he takes one look at you and lifts his hand for a quick hello before driving off. You aren’t quite sure why there is a change in his demeanor, but chalk it up to him being busy at work or possibly the coming storm. The wind and rain begin to pick up in the afternoon, your power eventually going out. You are a little nervous, a new home and no power, but you decide to call it an early night.

As it nears nighttime, the rain begins to fall like rocks against your roof. It's too difficult to fall asleep with the noise, so you light some candles in your living room and decide to finish one of your books. The house becomes cold and your many blankets don’t help much. You're surprised to hear knocking at your door, wondering who could be out in this weather. As you open the door, Alejandro stands there looking worried, his hair damp from a shower and the rain slowly wetting his jacket.

“¿Estás bien? ¿Se te fue la luz?” [Are you okay? Did your power go out?]

“Oh, hi! Yes, my power went out but I’m okay.”

Alejandro doesn’t look convinced. “I would’ve come earlier but the road from base was blocked by a fallen tree. Are you sure you’re fine?”

It's difficult to respond after that. Alejandro was worried about you? He wanted to come see you? You don’t even think about your next words.

“¿Quieres pasar, Alejandro?” [Do you want to come in, Alejandro?]

No words are spoken in the next few moments, your breathing becoming stuttered as you stare into his eyes.

“Sí.”

You open the door wider, the hallway suddenly feeling much smaller than it actually is. He walks in, his body heat warming you up instantly. It's difficult to ignore the way Alejandro smells as he walks past, like fresh rain and soap. You grab a few towels for him and come back to see him taking off his jacket, the black long sleeve he wears doing nothing to hide his broad shoulders. He thanks you for the towels, his fingers brushing yours as he grabs them. You try to hide the shiver that runs through your spine, knowing it isn’t from the cold.

“Is the power out at your house too?” you ask.

“I haven’t checked. I wanted to come here first, since you're alone.”

“Thanks again, Alejandro. If anything I’m a little cold but I’ll just grab a few more blankets. I don’t want to keep you long. I’m sure you're tired from being at work all day.”

You're trying to do the appropriate thing, send Alejandro on his way before you do something incredibly stupid. The fog in Alejandro’s mind finally clears as he notices the goosebumps on your arms and the chill in the house. He turns to look at the cocoon of blankets on your couch.

“Do you want me to stay? I could help keep you warm for a bit.”

Your eyes widen slightly, not sure if you heard Alejandro correctly.

“Eh, olvídalo. Mejor me voy –” Alejandro’s voice is hurried, an embarrassed expression blooming on his face. [Forget it. I’ll leave.]

“No, it’s – yes, please stay.”

He stills before nodding, placing his jacket on a nearby chair and kicking off his boots. You try to not look too excited as you walk towards the couch, moving the blankets to make room for the both of you. Alejandro sits next to you, placing his arm on the back of the couch. You leave some room between the two of you before you feel his hand on your upper arm. Alejandro becomes aware of his pounding heart as you lean your head on his shoulder.

Your soft voice vibrates on his shoulder as you ask, “how was work?”

“Uh, fine. We planned some new patrols before the rain started. Then I made sure the soldiers went to check on their families after we managed to move the tree.”

“That was nice of you. Do you have any family in town, Alejandro?”

He likes this. He likes how comfortable you are with him, how interested you are about his life, how right the moment feels.

“My parents and siblings live outside of town, closer to the mountains. I’m the only one who lives in town.”

You turn your head slightly to look up at him, your body warm and lax. Alejandro’s fingers, whether he actually knows what he was doing, run light circles up and down your arm.

“Do you get lonely being the only one here?”

“Not really, Los Vaqueros became my second family. Especially my second-in-command, Rudy. I visit my family often at their ranch. Do you get lonely, nena?”

The noise from the wind and rain fade away, the both of you concentrated on the warmth of your bodies and the sound of each other's voices. Alejandro brings his head close to yours, his lips ghosting a path across your forehead.

“No, I’ve made a lot of close friends while I’ve been here.”

Alejandro hums, bringing his other hand to lift your chin. His soft lips press gently to yours, tingles shooting across your lips. His thumb strokes your cheek before he wraps his hand around the back of your neck. You open your mouth slightly, tracing his bottom lip with your tongue. Alejandro immediately gives you entrance, his tongue strong against your own.

You place your hands on his chest, loving how he tastes like mint toothpaste, but still uniquely him. His hand tilts your head to place wet kisses on your neck. Alejandro moves the blankets to the side, angling your body towards the middle of the couch. He presses kisses on your chest covered by your thin cami before moving to kneel in front of you.

“¿Esto está bien?” [Is this okay?]

You nod, no longer feeling cold. Alejandro pulls your pajama pants and panties down while you lift up your hips to help him. He starts with soft kisses on your thighs before using his big hands to spread them open. Alejandro swipes his tongue from your entrance to clit, groaning as the sweet flavor hits his tongue.

It's an unbelievable sight, such a tall and impressive man on his knees, eating like he's hungry. Your hands move to run through the short black curls on his head, back arching when Alejandro slips a finger in your slick opening. He begins a sucking motion on your swollen clit, adding a second finger to his slow thrusts.

Alejandro switches, moving his thumb to stroke your swollen button then pressing his long tongue into your wet heat. He enjoys the small whimpers that leave your mouth and the sting at his scalp where you pull his hair. Your thighs wrap around his head as his fingers speed up and the sucking became intense. Alejandro grips your thick thigh with his free hand, loving how uncontrolled you become.

He can’t resist biting your soft inner thighs or licking hard strokes all around your wet pussy. His fingers curl into you and his teeth lightly nip your swollen clit. You gasp, your stomach clenching as an orgasm rips through you. Alejandro’s motions don’t cease, his groans vibrating against you. You become limp from pleasure, loosening your thighs around his head.

Alejandro stands at full height, unbuckling his belt and slipping off his jeans. The rest of his clothes soon follow, the candle light bathing his hard body in warm shadows. Alejandro grips his length, giving it a few pumps, the tip flushed red and slightly leaking. He moves your legs sideways, having you lie down fully on the big couch as he climbs on. Alejandro pushes one of your knees to stretch you open and run the tip of his cock up and down your seam.

“Please, Alejandro.”

His stare becomes heavy as he plunges in, a loud moan escaping his mouth. Alejandro grabs your hips, loving how soft and thick you feel in his hands. He slides one hand up to drag down the thin strap of your cami and pinch your nipples. Alejandro’s eyes feast on your body, roaming from the place where you two are joined to the soft jiggle of your tits and up to the uninhibited look on your face.

He switches the movement of his thrusts, sliding out with only the tip inside before bottoming out completely. Each push of his hips hits that special spot inside of you that makes you see stars and dig your nails into his lower back.

“Tan mojada y preciosa.” [So wet and lovely.]

The slick sounds and your moans fill the living room, the rain long forgotten. Alejandro places one hand by your head and the other stretches your knee even further, giving him ample leverage to plunge in and out. His forehead presses down on your own before you tilt your head up to place clumsy kisses on his lips and chin.

“Oh, oh, oh! I’m clo – so close, Alejandro!”

“Shhhh, I know, nena. Let go, please.”

You feel Alejandro everywhere. Alejandro, Alejandro, Alejandro is constantly repeating in your mind before you begin to chant it out loud. It's too much but at the same time you know you’d cry real tears if he stopped.

The small circles your hips make to match his thrusts turn sloppy as you feel pressure clawing at your core. Your eyes roll back into your head, Alejandro moving to swallow your screams with his lips. Your head becomes empty as you feel delicious heat spread throughout your body. Alejandro moves his mouth to your ear, telling you how perfectly you took him and how pretty you looked.

“Mi nena, tan preciosa.” [My girl, so lovely.]

His voice becomes husky and his grip on your body becomes tighter. You drag your nails lightly up and down his back as you move to kiss him. You suck his tongue into your mouth, wanting to show your thanks. Alejandro feels intoxicated, only focused on your mouth and chasing his orgasm from your slick heat.

You press kisses on his lips, whispering against his mouth how good he feels and how much you want him to finish inside of you. Alejandro’s thrusts are rough, he can't believe how wonderful tight you are. He pulses inside of you, filling you up with his come. He hides his face in your neck, his whines sounding sweet in your ear.

Your lower bodies are sweaty and slick as he continues to pump his hips, not wanting the moment to end. At last he stops, falling on top of you. You drag your fingers through his hair, down his back, and up his shoulders. Alejandro is stretched comfortably on top of you, bathing you in his warmth and masculine scent. He reminisces on his thoughts from before, your soft curves do mold nicely to him. Alejandro can't help himself and he once again takes your mouth in a wet kiss.

He moves his head back, staring down with half lidded eyes, ”Are you still cold?”

You giggle, “No.”

"I probably should've bought you dinner first, right?"

You smile up at him, "you can always make it up to me."

#alejandro vargas x reader #alejandro vargas x female reader #alejandro vargas smut #cod x reader #cod mw2 x female reader #alejandro vargas #cod mw2 smut #shadowlali #alejandro vargas x chubby f!reader

[aris-lil-library]

VARIOUS RE CHARACTERS REACTING TO FRIENDLY ZOMBIE READER (G/N)

Brought to you by your local zombiekin <3 (Fun fact, was originally planning on adding Wesker- but I wanted to get this out sometime within the month lolol)

Also please note, I have not seen a full playthrough of Re1R or Re1- Chris might be OOC.

Characters Included:

Leon Kennedy (Re2R)

Claire Redfield (Re2R)

Jill Valentine (Re3R)

Carlos Oliveira (Re3R)

Chris Redfield (Re1R)

Content Warnings Included:

Mentions of body horror (brief, but still applies to reader themselves.)

Mentions of gore/death (nothing explicit.)

The Sewers. (They deserve their own trigger warning /hj)

Mention of eye touching/prodding

Leon Kennedy:

After having cleared the hallways of the Racoon City Police Department and coming face to face with some disgusting freaks of nature named Lickers, Leon thought he had seen it all. Honestly, he didn’t imagine there was anything new that could surprise him in this goddamn place until he made eye contact with you.

Well.. if you can call staring at the dangling eye hanging out of your socket “eye contact”.

He instinctively raised his gun, expecting to see you rise to your feet, stumble over to him and try to nom his neck like all the other undead he’d seen so far- but to his (pleasant) surprise, that didn’t happen. In some odd groan you spit out, which he assumed was your attempt at speech, you backed away from him. Arms raised as if to show you didn’t mean to cause him harm.

It was odd to say at the very least. He kept his aim marked at the dead center of your head, though he hesitated pulling the trigger now. Your right hand (which Leon noted had a nasty looking chunk taken out of it) drifted down to a bloodied ID badge hanging from your breast pocket.

Though it was hard to read, Leon squinted out the words “Assistant Secretary” in bolded letters at the top of your ID.

He looked back up at you, slowly lowering his gun as he noticed the almost.. human-like quality of fear in your eyes. He could’ve sworn he even saw your shoulders sag slightly with relief as he tucked his gun into his holster.

“Hey.. can you.. understand me?” Leon’s words paused at times as he debated internally if he was really trying to communicate with a dead person. He could feel his stomach sink slightly as you slowly nodded back, cautious that he’d still shoot.

“What the hell.. How are you even- no wait- you’re infected and you can still?- What??”

You watched as Leon’s brows furrowed and his expressions cycled through confusion, disbelief, intrigue and right back to absolute bewilderment. It was almost funny and you almost tried to smile at him- before remembering the fact that your jaw had gotten unhinged a while ago and it’d likely confuse the poor guy more.

After a very long and arduous time of trying to explain to the baby-faced police officer how exactly you got bit and how you locked yourself in this room and how even you didn’t know how you kept your humanity- it just ended up in Leon sitting on the floor, scratching his head.

“I really don’t understand what you’re trying to tell me. I’m sorry.” You grumbled out a brief noise of annoyance before just accepting it and sitting on the ground across from him.

There was an awkward silence between the two of you for a while before Leon spoke up.

“Hey look. I know you’re already bit and all but maybe we can find you some help? There’s a hospital in the city- there has to be someone who can fix.. uh.. whatever you’ve got going on here, right?” He even sounded unsure of the words he was saying, yet the caring smile etched onto his nervous features was enough to convince you that you should come with him.

Not particularly like you believed you could be cured, but more as in “This poor kind boy will get killed if someone’s not looking out for him.”

So you gave a polite nod, rummaging through what little supplies you saved in here before heading out of your sanctuary with Leon- glad you’d met someone so nice in this mess.

Claire Redfield:

Despite having been caught in the middle of a zombie outbreak and getting turned yourself, undead life was surprisingly calm. You had shuffled your way down into the sewers after getting bit, accepting your fate as you felt your consciousness slowly slip away as blood drained out of the bite on your leg- only to wake up a few hours later a lot paler and surprisingly awake.

Part of you was frustrated you had somehow miraculously lived through transforming into a zombie because of course you would be the unlucky schmuck who would stay sentient throughout something like that. Only your level of sheer bad luck would allow that.

It turned out being down here wasn’t too bad if you ignored the weird mutated masses of flesh in the water, the massive hulking figure of a presumably mutated man that would scream in agony every hour or so and the other rotting corpses surrounding you. Otherwise, it was nice.

You had honestly thought that you were going to live the rest of your undead life here. It’s not like being on the surface is any better at the moment- though you had to admit, it got boring really quickly.

That’s why when you heard a small repetitive bang of a pistol fire off- you couldn’t help but let your curiosity win. You peaked around a corner, just dark enough so whoever was firing couldn’t see you, to take a glance at whatever unlucky person slipped down here.

She couldn’t have been past her early twenties, you thought, her younger features and nervous look spoke volumes. Her eyes had a certain steely resolve to them though, which would’ve impressed you if she didn’t stare directly at you. Previously fascinating eyes now had your stomach drop as she raised her gun at you preparing to fire.

You scrambled away down the hall you came from, legs slightly slipping from the slimy layer on the floor that you really didn’t want to think about at the moment.

Claire had started giving chase after you, worried you were possibly another survivor that she had scared off with her reckless gun waving.

“H-Hey! Wait up!” She yelled out, following your shadow throughout the gross sewers.

You had run yourself into a dead end- panicking and turning around to see her approaching rapidly. Without a way to defend yourself, you simply put your arms in front of your face to shield it as you shut your eyes tightly- preparing to get shot.

Clacking sounds of boots hitting the wet floor filled your ears as Claire stopped just a few feet away from you. She huffed out in exhaustion, leaned over to catch her breath.

“I’m.. I’m sorry- jeez hold on. About.. About scaring you. I didn’t know there were other survivors down here. You alright?” She looked up at you, briefly scanning over your body.

She noted how you looked worse for wear (but then again, so did she) and the large, infected looking wound on your leg. Her face shifted into one of pity as she looked back up at your face.

“Oh.. Is.. Is that why you ran from me?” You nodded, slowly lowering your arms to gauge her expression. It’s funny, she looked a lot more sweet up close. Your eyes met hers and you almost felt better. She looked at you with such.. compassion, even though you were infected.

Claire felt an immense sense of pity overwhelm her. She must’ve scared the living daylights out of you upon chasing you down like a rabid animal. As her gaze met yours though, she realized how glossy your eyes looked- how pale your skin was. You were probably already dead considering how familiar you looked compared to other zombies she had seen.

“I don’t want to hurt you, okay? You seem like a nice.. person? Zombie? I’m not fully sure what to call you.” Her tone was very soft, almost like a gentle elder sister, it was soothing to hear after all the harsh groans and grumbles you’d been hearing from the other undead around you.

“I think that it’ll be beneficial for us to work together. I have a friend who’s a police officer who I’m trying to meet up with. Maybe we can all find a way to escape together and you could get some help at a hospital out of this town. Is that okay?”

It wasn’t like you really had a reason to say no and the way she kept her voice so polite and calm definitely swayed your choice. With a nervous step forward, you precariously nodded.

“Perfect. My name’s Claire. Claire Redfield. It’s nice to meet you.”

Jill Valentine:

Jill was getting pretty damned tired of this zombie shit. First at Arklay, now in Racoon City the day before she was supposed to move out of this hellhole. It was just starting to get ridiculous and if she still believed in a God, she would’ve thought they had it out for her.

As she turned a hard left, narrowly avoiding a zombie grasping and hobbling towards her- Jill entered the subway company’s office. Thankfully it was empty, Jill thought to herself as she pushed the door leading into the traffic control system’s room only to have the door get pushed right back into her face.

…

What the fuck??

Jill grabbed her knife from the sheath on her side and rammed the door open- fully expecting to have to fight hand to hand, only to meet your terrified gaze as you fell onto the floor.

She honestly couldn’t tell if you were infected or not- you looked like you’d been drained dry of all your blood, yet your expressions were so human. Hands raised, slightly shaking (Jill wasn’t sure if that was due to fear or the fact your right hand was hanging on by a few tendons of muscle.)

You mumbled out a shrill and raspy yelp, trying to communicate as best you could that somehow you were still conscious, even in this form.

Jill wasn’t exactly sure what to do with you, knuckles tensing and untensing around the handle of her knife. She almost felt guilt thinking about stabbing you now. Her body went taut as she saw you stumble up and head to the subway panel. You waved your hands, pointing back and forth at the subway map and its controls.

“You.. know how to work that?” Jill hesitated with her words, almost embarrassed that she was trying to communicate with.. a zombie as far as she could tell.

Well that was until you nodded very rapidly, as if trying to prove you had some worth.

So with a frustrated sigh, Jill said “Okay, I need to go to Fox Park. Figure it out.”

Jill watched you with interest as you flipped through the switches expertly, going through the path so quickly she had to assume you worked here before.. whatever happened to you. You figured it out so quickly and turned back to her, as if expecting her to allow you to follow her to wherever she was headed.

Part of her really didn’t want to bring back an infected to the subway but you had the biggest eyes and were practically pleading.

“No- you can’t. God just..” Bigger puppy dog eyes.

“NO. You’ll cause too much commotion! I can’t-”

“Hey Jill- you got that subway route finished?”

Your eyes instantly went to the radio buzzing from her shoulder and she made a mental note to punch Carlos when she got back.

“Yes.. Thanks to the help of a.. oddly friendly zombie.”

You could hear him cackle over the other side of the radio. “You’re joking- right?”

“I wish I was.” Jill sighed out and explained to Carlos that she actually met a nice zombie and spent about 10 minutes convincing him and the other U.B.C.S members to let you follow and that she swears she’ll keep an eye on you and please please please please let her keep you-

Mikhail begrudgingly agrees after her arguing that she should be able to keep you around and that you’ve proven yourself to be helpful- but is told that you’ll be staying with Carlos when you both return to not endanger the civilians and to truly prove yourself.

Jill didn’t know why, but she felt the need to protect you. Maybe it was some lingering savior complex or survivor's guilt but she ignored that for now and walked alongside you back to the subway station.

Carlos Oliveira

As Jill arrived with you in tow, Carlos did notice how surprisingly calm and patient you were with everyone. You clung onto Jill for a little while- being careful to not go too far into the train- in the off chance someone would see you and freak out.

While Carlos trusted Jill’s choice in trusting you, most of the other U.B.C.S members were.. not as happy with the platoon leader’s choice in allowing you to stay. Tyrell was very obvious about his lack of faith in your unwillingness to cannibalize them and informally ordered you to stick near Carlos.

Carlos didn’t mind to be honest. Though, it was a little perturbing to see the way your flesh loosely hung on in some places. He tried his best to be polite and not stare as it’d be “ungentlemanly” of him.

You served to be pretty helpful in the RPD, keeping an eye out for anything he might’ve missed (zombies or items.) You even took a few solid hits for him which may have left you a little more gory in some places over before- but Carlos just appreciated the gesture.

“So, tell me, how’d you end up like that?”

“…”

“Oh right. Can’t talk. Sorry.”

A simple nod or shake of your head was enough to satisfy any base questions he had for you– plus his quips about certain events like the locked doors kept the mood light and cheery.

It was honestly a lot of easy communication between you two- Carlos read you very well and normally a simple tug on his arm or small grunt would do the trick if he truly missed something.

Carlos did ask some weird things though-

“Can you like.. see outta the hanging eyeball?”

You didn’t really think about it before but now that you focused on it- you really couldn’t. With an experimental prod, Carlos watched in horror as you pushed it back into its socket to see that’d change anything. It didn’t but it was worth a shot.

He (somewhat disturbed, somewhat politely) asked you never do anything like that in front of him again.

Fair enough.

Chris Redfield

This entire mansion situation was completely overwhelming for Chris- everything was so out of place and nothing made sense. Grappling with the concept of zombies being a real thing, Umbrella Corp actually being tied to this goddamn place somehow and the Bravo Team being completely wiped out along with his other colleagues being God knows where was just getting too much to handle.

Maybe that's why he didn't even take a second glance at you when you rolled a flashlight next to him as he sat on the ground of the grimy hallway.

It took him a second to fully process what just happened- his eyes running over the slimy flesh of your body that looked rotten and gross. You just simply stared back at him, hollow eyes in hollow sockets waiting for a response.

“.. Hello?”

You waved back in response, watching as Chris’ face cringed as your bones cracked and popped from the movement.

“That's new. Most of your friends seem to not be interested in conversation, eh?”

Chris was pretty sure he was losing it- he knew he should be grabbing his gun and getting rid of this thing in front of him before it attacked instead of making conversation. Yet something felt different about this one.

You nodded your head slowly and made trepidatious steps towards Chris. Testing his willingness to let you near- he did move his hand near his knife, which you took as a warning and stepped back.

He looked down at the flashlight you rolled towards his side and palmed it. It was essentially a gift- and you didn't seem to want to harm him.

“Listen. I need help finding my friends. They're somewhere in this mansion. This place is just so confusing to get through- will you help me out?”

You seemed to hesitate for a second, feet lingering in place as if trying to see if it was a trap. Chris almost found it funny, the both of you unsure of the other and still needing help to get out of here in one piece.

You gave a weary nod to him before stepping closer and offering your hand to help him up.

Chris shuddered a little as he felt the bone through your frail, decaying flesh and pulled himself up with your help.

An odd duo you two made, but certainly two is better than one in this situation.

#ari's writing #resident evil #resident evil x reader #resident evil headcanons #resident evil hcs #leon kennedy #leon kennedy x reader #claire redfield #claire redfield x reader #jill valentine #jill valentine x reader #carlos oliveira #carlos oliveria x reader #chris redfield #chris redfield x reader

[faerievampling]

Killing Time

Chapter 6: Blind

Word Count: 4k

Pairing: Soft Ascended Astarion x Female Tav/Reader

Summary: After thousands of years together, Astarion and his consort go on another adventure. After Astarion is forced to return back to Faerún for the evening, Tav must attend a Githyanki banquet alone.

Link to Ao3!

Masterlist

Chapter 1. Chapter 2. Chapter 3. Chapter 4. Chapter 5.

Warnings: 18+. Mention of sex. Light Mind Control. Kidnapping.

You give yourself a look over just to ensure everything is in place: your hair was braided with such elegance it could have brought tears to your eyes, and the earrings that Astarion had suggested paired brilliantly with your dress. They were a simple diamond, likely dug out by kobolds or dwarves somewhere in Neverwinter. The gems hadn’t been particularly expensive and there was no great story behind their purchase: Astarion had simply bought them for you because he thought they would look nice on you.

You had wanted to pass on wearing a necklace; between the earrings and braids, there was just a little too ‘much’ going on with your look, but Astarion had insisted.

The necklace provided you with a gentle warding bond. The gem of the necklace twinkled when the spell activated.

“Lover, surely this isn’t needed,” You had said while Astarion nervously adjusted your ensemble, smoothing away wisps in your hair and ensuring your makeup hadn’t smudged, your lips swollen from his incessant kissing. Astarion had remarked that you should be thanking him for the natural lip plumper, which only added to your supernatural, earth-shattering beauty.

“Madame,” Cynthia says from behind you, her voice light and tentative. You couldnt stop thinking about how helpless Astarion felt before walking through the portal back to Faerún, leaving you, Ruth, and Cynthia behind at the crèche.

He will be back. Later tonight. He promised. He will be back, you thought to yourself. You could sense Astarion’s anxiety amidst his occupation. He had told you not to worry, as if that was even possible.

“Yes?” You answer, looking at Cynthia’s reflection. She also looked quite lovely, and wore a blue gown, which was lovely with her blond hair and grey eyes. She smiles at you.

“Master wants me to remind you to blink and smile. But there is a certain ‘statuesque’ beauty about you when you aren’t thinking about it.” Cynthia’s eyes dart away from yours in the mirror, afraid she has been too casual with you, but you give her a little smile, as friendly as you can muster on that ancient face of yours.

“How interesting of you to say,” You reply, your voice even and light. You try your best not to be too robotic, reminding yourself of Astarion’s suave ease at mortal communication. “Are you excited for the banquet?”

Cynthia beams behind you. “I am. Very much.” Her heart is racing. You can sense her excitement.

You turn to her, nodding your head as her eyes drink you in. “Any last adjustments?” You ask, knowing Astarion would want you to look your best. He had told you to represent your family well in his absence, and you intended to do so.

The distance almost makes you feel pain, which is unusual; but you remember something you read in a book, once, about physical manifestations of emotional pain. You wondered if that idea was applicable to vampires with telepathic bonds, too. Astarion had been nearly distraught having to leave you. But you really couldn’t dwell on that now.

Cynthia takes a moment to thoroughly inspect you. “None. Master did well to do those himself, the expert that he is.”

You nod before opening the door to your chamber(if you could call it that; your room was certainly better than the last, but nothing quite like your boudoir at home), allowing Ruth to come in. His eyes were on you first, simply because he couldn’t help it: the two of you smelled distinctly of Astarion, which would always be attractive to you simply because he was your creator.

Ruth nodded to you. “Stunning, Madame,” he says politely before turning to Cynthia, the true object of his desire, you realize. You can smell the arousal on them alike, and Cynthia’s beat has gone between her legs.

Looking at the two of them reminds of the ‘before’ times. And that reminds you that you’re about to go party with a horde of gith without your husband. You think about reaching out to him, because surely he feels your growing anxiety; you are beginning to get angry, feeling as if he’s ignoring you.

But the rational part of your brain knows your anger is misplaced. You take a deep breath, startling both Ruth and Cynthia in the process, who’ve become lost in each other's eyes.

You take the crook of Ruth’s arm as you exit your chamber, Cynthia trailing behind the two of you. This was the way of the court: since you were absent your husband, any male escort would do. Servants, like Cynthia, don’t get an escort. Simply, your royal life was far more valuable than hers.

But you aren’t in court, are you? You think before turning to Cynthia, letting go of Ruth’s arm as you wave her closer. You promptly switch places with them, choosing to walk alone as the couple strolled in front of you.

Walking down the long hallway, you quietly observe the pair; when Cynthia rests her head on Ruth’s shoulder for a moment, snuggling up to him for a quick hug, you realize how happy your underlings probably were that they had their own room now. A quick look into Cynthia’s mind confirms your theory: although their relationship was in its infancy, these two made love often, and Ruth regularly fed from his darling.

Cynthia hadn’t been the first of Ruth’s lovers. Ruth did this often: he would devote himself to one human after another, and be entirely distraught upon their death. He never asked Astarion to turn any of his lovers, because that was against the rules.

Ruth seemed to rather like Cynthia, you think, but you had never paid attention to the others, so you couldn’t really say if things were different for him and your new lady servant.

The other spawn weren’t so monogamous as Ruth. You knew Marwa had a string of lovers but never a steady relationship. Astarion’s other two spawn, Ygritte and Apholso, often tangled together. If there was ever any drama between the two, neither of you heard of it, which was another one of Astarion’s rules: the lives of the spawn needn’t ever disrupt the lives or relationship of either Astarion or his consort.

You’ve lost yourself in a memory when you nearly stumble into the pair in front of you as you reach the ballroom of the spire.

It was far grander than you had imagined: the walls were smoothed, but still a rocky crystal that seemed to illuminate on its own volition, reflecting off of the milky white floors which resembled ice.

The gith are dressed up, and much to you and Cynthia’s dismay, pink was surely in-style among the gith women. But it was no matter: the moment you walked into the room, many eyes were on the three of you.

“Tav,” A familiar voice called from beside you, and you turn to see Lae’zel, reaching her hand out towards you to take your arm. You accept, allowing her to lead you towards a more intimate corner of the hall, Ruth and Cynthia on your heels.

There was a lot of gith here. You and Ruth are already looking at each other nervously: him moreso than you, even though you had missed your second feeding. The spawn’s vampiric hunger was far greater than your own, far more painful and constant. That didn’t really change your discomfort, but it certainly made Astarion feel better about the whole ordeal.

You knew the two of you needed something to occupy yourselves; excusing yourself from your group, you grab two glasses of wine from a serving table, handing one to Ruth as you begin to nurse on your glass of red.

Ruth does the same, and Cynthia is looking at him as if she’s worried. This strikes remembrance within you, when you once worried for Astarion’s hunger.

You notice Lae’zel is wearing a rather pretty dress, one that shows off her lovely neck; Lae’zel’s cleavage peeks out of the hem slightly, and you can’t help but steal a glance. The dress is a dark chocolate color, complimenting her green skin and orange hair well. She looked so much softer than normal, and you wonder if you had ever seen her this way.

You think maybe you should compliment her, but instead you focus on your red wine and try to stop thinking about how her skin would taste on your tongue as you slide your fangs into her—

“Where is Astarion?” Lae’zel asks, one eyebrow raised in inquiry.

As your eyes sweep the room, you start to feel a disturbance, and you know something is wrong. You still for a moment, time seeming to slow down as you focus your senses on the world around you: the smell of sweat and perfume and blood beneath skin, the warm moisture in the air touching you behind your ears, beneath your breasts, the sound of the casual music and the chatter mixed with laughter. You wait.

Ruth answers Lae’zel’s question. Because you are waiting.

“My lady –“ Ruth begins, but you bring your hand to his shoulder, patting him.

“Shh.”

But nothing happens. The banquet continues on like normal and you decide to return to the others, giving them the fakest smile you can muster.

“Darling darling darling darling darling.” You’ve involuntarily reached out, feeling Astarion’s quiet presence. He acknowledges but doesn’t reply, understanding that you’re both rather antsy.

Before you know it, your warband descends on you. Ziir’o, Quinel, and Joss wear a traditional Githyanki garb, an elegant suit tailored with thread made from intelligent beings rather than cotton or silk. It was an old tradition, one that existed far before Vlaakith or Orpheus ruled, where a young warrior would skin their first kill, using its materials to create a garb in a show of honor.

You thought it was a rather vicious tradition, one you admired. The boys looked handsome, and the three of them blush when you say so.

Marg’o and Chae each wore gowns; you and Cynthia shoot each other a look after taking in Marg’o’s pink gown. Chae, despite how stern she usually was, looked rather soft and lovely in a golden gown. The other five, who weren’t so keen on you, lingered about, greeting you curtly.

“Where’s your husband, Tav?” Marg’o asks with a blush. You couldn’t blame her for having a crush on Astarion, and you thought it rather cute.

“Not far. Just handling some business. He’s never truly away from me.” This was a lie, of course, but nobody needed to know that.

“Will he arrive in time for dinner? He knows Orpheus expects him.” Lae’zel says; it would have knocked the wind out of you if you hadn’t been undead. Instead, you were merely shocked.

You think for a moment nobody told you of Orpheus’s coming, but you knew it was more likely you had heard of it and hadn’t thought it important.

“I’m not sure,” You say as you reach out to Astarion, who is feeling nothing but frustration and anxiety. You can sense how badly he wants needs to be with you.

There is more small talk, but you ignore it, holding onto your connection with your husband. You know Astarion really doesn’t give a shit about Orpheus at this moment: surely, he wanted to please him, for alliance purposes or whatever, but what was going on at home took precedent.

He told you not to worry about that pesky war the mortals are having. Men and women (and some children, you are told) from all over Faerún are engaged in conflicts; but you have seen many nations rise and fall, so how different could this next one be?

But maybe your wealth was being threatened. And with Lord Geldon Moth in the mix, the Ancunín power and fortune was in need of not only defense: you think you should start to fight back. Maybe Astarion should create that spawn army, gather a few Githyanki forces storm the gates of wherever the hell Moth’s estate was, kill him, his consorts, all his spawn, all his thralls, and fuck your gorgeous husband on whatever excuse of a throne Moth sat on.

When the feast was finally called, you took Ruth by the arm, Lae’zel leading the two of you to the grand hall. There were rows of long tables filled with gith bodies as the banquet was brought to a semblance of order: in the back of the room, atop a platform, was a long, elegant table with a grand chair at its center.

The table and throne were made from wood and bone, carved magnificently; the legs of each resembling the tail of a dragon.

You take Astarion’s seat, directly next to the throne, and Ruth takes your seat next to you. Cynthia is made to stand behind you: you almost feel bad for her, but it was to be expected. The dinner felt more formal, more serious, and when everyone was largely settled, the dinner hall was hushed. There was a little quiet chatter, but hardly the assault of the ears that was the hall when you arrived.

The heartbeats of many thrummed in your ear, slamming against your eardrum amongst the quiet. You realize you’d never let go of Ruth’s arm, gripping it with such strength that you drew blood with your long nails. Ruth, equally if not more so bothered, gripped you back in kind, his hand covering yours. It takes you a moment to realize he’s trying to get your attention.

Ruth could telepathically communicate with Astarion, who could play telephone with you, if he so chose. But you could also easily read Ruth’s mind, and he knew this, so he signaled to tell you to peek inside.

‘We shouldn’t be here without Master Astarion. Too difficult, too difficult. Not enough blood. Cynthia is so delicious. Eat her whole.’ Ruth’s thoughts accidentally waved to Cynthia’s neck and breasts; ignoring his more lewd thoughts, you shake your head at him.

You try urging him to keep still, to stay calm, and to follow the rules of ‘Master’. But that feeling of apprehension in your gut hadn’t left, and you felt that little lump in your throat get bigger the more you lied to Ruth.

“It shall be alright, but we musnt make a scene. We would be punished,” You think that you would probably enjoy your punishment and Ruth decidedly wouldn’t. But the lying thing seemed to work, and Ruth was calming down.

“Think about your darling. Think about Cynthia. When I think about my husband, I do better to behave.” You’re still lying, but you know this is true for Ruth. You often did what you wanted, regardless of what Astarion thought. “You don’t want her to think you're a monster.”

Astarion didn’t care if you were a monster – as long as he could love and adore you, he would. But this wasn’t the case for Ruth. The look on his face signals understanding, and he nods with you in agreement.

“Don’t tell me something is the matter. Now is not the time,” Lae’zel rasps from beside Ruth, leaning over him. The royal procession was beginning, and everyone who had a seat stood: you and Ruth quickly followed suit after a single dirty look from Lae’zel.

You and Ruth continued to grip each other as the resplendent Orpheus was finally seen, his blue eyes fixated on you the moment he saw you.

“Orpheus is here,” You direct to Astarion, a strained reluctance in your message you knew your husband couldn’t ignore.

“I can only imagine how lovely you look right now. Haven’t stopped thinking about your perfect tits since I arrived in Faerún. You know what to do, my love.” Sadly, this signaled the end of your correspondence, because Astarion’s attention was quickly stolen away from you again. But you had greater things to worry about, like the Githyanki King standing before you.

But you did know what to do: throw on the vampiric charm, ignore that strange inkling of your psychic abilities, and do your best not to eat anyone. You regurgitate this back to Ruth, minus the psychic thing, of course.

Orpheus nods to you as he finally takes his seat, and the rest of the room relaxes. There are no great speeches, only the clanking of classes and the sound of music playing in the background as the room was brought to life.

Your discussion with Orpheus happens in a blur. You hardly remember him, your knowledge being from Astarion’s memory of the event, but Orpheus certainly remembers you.

“Time passes differently for us in the Astral Sea. It feels like not so long ago you and Lae’zel freed me from Vlaakith.”

You smile politely, careful not to show too much fang. “I apologize for my Lord Husband’s absence. There was…business to attend to.”

“It’s quite alright. Your Lord commands the Ancunín fortune and the armies and governments of Faerún, but you were the one I was keen on seeing. You were the one who slayed a devil and a ghaik ally to free me.” You think your vampiric charm is working a little too well on Orpheus. Peeking into his mind, this King was thinking of how delicious it would be to put you on your knees and stuff his cock in your mouth right in front of your husband.

Despite his lewd thoughts, there was a glitter in the man’s eyes, and it was clear he still admired you greatly.

When the food arrives, everyone digs in, except for you: one of the two vampires in existence who could actually enjoy the taste of food, but you didn’t care for it. The servants and other underlings ate in the kitchen, and as the movement in the dining hall increases, you find yourself sitting next to Lae’zel, Ruth having gone to the kitchens to sit with Cynthia.

“How has your evening been, so far?” Lae’zel asks as she sips on her wine, her eyes sweeping over you in lustful praise.

“Without Astarion?” You shake your head, pushing the food around your plate. “Any event without him is a bore.”

This was simply the truth: you had nobody to gossip with, nobody to laugh at others with, nobody to bother with bratty complaints or loving touches.

‘I shouldn’t be surprised a spawn loves her shackles, it’s in their nature…’

“Is it really so unbelievable to you that I simply love my husband? That I am happy with my arrangement?” You blurt, decidedly not caring if you were being rude or not.

Lae’zel is looking at you deeply. Thump. Thump. Thump. “Must you read my mind?”

“Must you think such terrible things of me?”

“I won’t forgive him for how he treated you. How he turned you into a spawn. How he made you kneel for him. I never –“ Lae’zel looks away, and you smell the coming of her tears. “I never would have done the things he did. I loved you. I respected you. To watch you tolerate that was your folly.”

Despite her words, Lae’zel’s thoughts were clear as day to you: ‘I still love you, Tav. I want you. I want you to still want me.’

It would be so easy to drain this one: you knew Lae’zel would be putty in your claws as you sucked her dry and caressed her lifeless body.

You blink at her, your mind feeling hot with a flash of anger. That was so long ago. Things are different now, you think, but no words come out of your mouth. You stand gracefully, turning only a few heads as you make your way out to the side of the hall, avoiding having to walk down the center of the room.

You hardly have time to process your aggravating conversation when you are overcome with a wave of nausea, your mind assaulted by a vision of utter darkness, one that is so black that it reminds you of nothingness. You only know you haven’t lost consciousness because your sense of awareness never leaves.

Taking a deep breath, you try to collect yourself, leading yourself around the corner to a secluded walkway. The smell of alcohol is pungent in your nose as you hear the shuffling of footsteps behind you: you know there is a familiar group of warriors coming down the hallway, and one is already calling out to you.

“Tav! You must try this, it’s a rare ale made in the Astral Sea –“ The smile on Ziir’o’s boyish face drops at the sight of you. “Tav?”

“Are you alright?” Joss asks, his eyebrows furrowed in worry.

As the group gets closer, your mind flits to that vision of nothingness. You feel a great surge in your connection with Astarion, and you know he is already on his way to you. To protect you from whatever it is that is happening. He’s racing towards you, but…

it’s

already

upon

you

Your thoughts become fragmented as that nothiness swarms you. You hear those familiar voices call out your name as you feel a strange sensation behind you, like you are standing at the edge of a cliff and you can feel the harsh winds at your back, threatening to knock you over the edge: you are unsteady, you are uneasy, and you are alone.

Astarion is calling out to you but you can’t discern his message; you can only feel his panic, his horror as his deepest fears are realized, and you feel your cheeks wet as even your vision goes dark.

“Astarion. Astarion. Astarion!” You’re screaming out to him, but you have no idea if he can hear you, because you receive nothing in response. The words seem to bounce around your empty mind.

Nothing: there is something about the absence of existence that is instinctually frightening to a vampire. Nothing is both a feeling and a state of being that vampires try to avoid.

You feel the world of the créche slip away from you as you finally fall off the cliff edge, into that strange breeze that violently whips around you.

“Astarion?” You keep reaching out to your bonded mate, desperate for him to respond.

Even your nose is blind. You start to think that maybe you’re dead when you no can longer feel your body. You don’t know how long you stay like this for, in this state where only your consciousness seems to exist with itself. You don’t think about much other than Astarion, who will surely come and save you at some point, even if you are dead.

Your hearing is the first to come back to you: someone is shuffling around you, maybe even pacing. For a moment, you think maybe it’s Astarion, until your sense of smell comes back online: nothing about wherever you had been taken smells remotely like your husband.

On the contrary, it smells distinctly like another vampire. This is when you start to panic. Tears are already sliding down your cheeks once your sense of touch comes back to you, realizing that you are wrapped in the arms of another man.

His skin is cool, scaley, his large arm coiled around your body as you try to squirm away from him. You realize now that whatever spell had been placed on you was wearing off.

Your entire body is trembling, and there is a stabbing pain in your chest and your temples at the realization that you are alone in your head.

“Tch tch, my little darling. Mage, again.” The man’s voice is deep, rumbling, and you feel the flicker of a long, thin tongue lap at your cheek. You won’t forget how he loves the taste of your tears.

****

Chapter 1. Chapter 2. Chapter 3. Chapter 4. Chapter 5.

Masterlist

#ascended astarion #ascended!astarion #ascended astarion x tav #ascended astarion x reader #astarion x female reader #astarion x reader #soft ascended astarion #ascended astarion x you #spawn tav #astarion x you #ascended!astarion x reader #ascended!astarion x tav #Killing Time

[dragonrider9905]

Don’t Call Me Flower

Alright @techs-stitches! At long last, it is here!!!!! I finally finished the square you requested! I really hope you like it and thanks for the prompt :)

This story is a participating piece in @clonexreaderbingo.

Square: Phee

Attempt number 283: failed. 

You fumbled and mumbled over your words and the babbling turned into a short stutter. 

Luckily he didn’t seem to notice. 

Ugh.

You’ve tried starting a conversation with Tech 283 times since he arrived on Pabu, but each ended in a complete and utter failure. You were cut off, not loud enough, or your tongue would tie itself in knots. 

This isn’t saying you haven’t talked to him; you have…just never from your own initiative. Phee helped introduce you a great deal (you believed there was more to her motive here than just being friendly and inclusive like normal), one of the other Batchers or Omega brought you into the conversation, or Tech himself struck up an interesting comment. If the latter was the case, most of the time you just listened anyway and didn’t have an obligation to say much other than your appreciation of his observations. 

It’s been exactly three weeks since this ragtag group of clones arrived on your little paradise. Good thing they came when they did too. They’d become an important part of the community after the tidal wave that wreaked havoc on the island’s home and uprooted their entire lives. 

They were the breath of fresh air on a hot summer’s day which cools, but doesn’t chill. The kind that fills you with contended energy, and adventurous spirit.

And Tech, well, he’d caught your attention right away at Shep’s house; Phee invited you to join them for dinner the first night they were there. You smiled, seeing him hunched over his datapad. It was kinda funny, and cute in a way and you decided to try to pull his attention from it. You weren’t very successful. Phee was better at it than you but she worked some magic with her words then somehow always left the conversation suddenly and you and Tech would be ‘stuck’ with each other. 

Then the tidal wave hit and you, Tech, and Phee made a great team rescuing the people of Pabu.

That introduced a whole new tie you had with the clone but somehow, even though you worked well together, you were still shy when it was only the two of you, and struggled with making yourself seen or heard in a semi-intelligent way. 

Tech would come by more often than not with a new idea about improving town life (if you didn’t know any better, you’d say he’d enjoyed it and wanted to talk to you. Did he seem excited when he approached you? You wanted to say so *shrugs internally*) which would segway into other ideas and conversations. The topics always varied, but whatever it was, you always enjoyed it. 

What really made you fall for Tech (or when you finally realized it or stopped denying it or admitted to labeling this nonsensical attraction that drew you to him—you haven’t decided which one to choose yet) was when you were discussing your name to the Batch. How it came up, you didn’t remember. You thought maybe Wrecker or Omega commented on how cool it sounded. It was a normal name to you, and you told them what it meant and how your parents chose it for you before they passed. Phee had mentioned she had various nicknames for you. Of course, you turned bashful as she was naming them off but couldn’t help your outburst as she concluded:

“Those are my special names for her. I don’t know what you lot will call her, but you can’t borrow mine. They’re exclusively for me to use, so you’ll just have to think of something else special for her.”

“Call me anything, but DON’T call me flower!” 

“Why?” Tech tilted his head curiously to the side at your pout and curious out of character announcement.

“Would you like to explain to them why I don’t want to be called that?”

“It’s short for wallflower. Many of the town's kids growing up would call her that.”

“Wait, what? I don’t get it? Flowers are nice.” Wrecker scratched his head, confused.

“Ah, I understand the negative connotation. Wallflower is a term defined as a person who from shyness or unpopularity remains on the sidelines of a social activity. Often, the term is given to mean someone who is unattractive as well.”

You groaned and couldn’t repress an eyeroll, regretting it minutes later. You cringed at how you must have sounded at Tech’s explanation. 

“Flowers are also fragile and weak. Often trampled without a second thought.” You finished for him, crossing your arms annoyed. “So any way you look at it, it just isn’t…” you waved your hand dismissively.  

“Yes, but flowers are also…beautiful.”

The way he looked at you just then made your heart melt, your stomach twist with too many butterflies fluttering, and a red heat filled your face. 

His eyes were perfect and shining. Not looking down at his datapad making an off comment, but rather, they focused on you and his words felt very intentional. A small smile graced his lips and something gentle blanketed his face. 

“Besides, flowers can surprise you by being rather resilient and resourceful. Never underestimate.” 

He proceeded to name many species that were eye-catching and cunning for being plants.

How could you not? 

Tell me, who could blame you for letting something blossom in your heart after that? 

Thinking back to that day always made you feel better after a blunder. As mentioned, 283 times, but you never tired of looking back. It calmed you and encouraged you to try again; maybe you’d be able to have him look at you the same way again.

Currently though, you were sitting on the deck of Shep’s boat. Leyana wanted to take everyone out on the water after a long day of rebuilding the city. She and Omega were playing about the boat, Shep was steering the ship, and everyone else sat about stirring their drinks and telling jokes, laughing and relaxing. Tech was on his datapad but also joined in with comments of his own. When Phee asked him why he didn’t just put the thing down, he claimed he could do both.

That earned an eye roll from Omega and Wrecker. You wondered what warranted that. 

“What’s got your tongue tied, Gorgeous?” Phee came up beside you, while all the others looked out over the water at the coming sunset, putting an encouraging arm around your shoulders. By the look in her eye, she already knew.

You and Phee had been attached at the hip ever since you were born. She definitely was the older sister you never had. Growing up, she was always getting you in trouble and pulling you out of it. Phee looked out for you and practically raised you. She was only a few years older but sometimes when she got protective of you, it felt like she was much older than she naturally was. Kids weren’t always kind; you got bullied and called all sorts of things but Phee never let it slide. She got put in detention a few times at school for the extent she’d look out for you. You’d wait for her on the swingset outside and walk home together, every night without fail. 

You loved her, and never minded how different the two of you were. She was everything you weren’t, and you admired that. Together, you felt like a complete circle. Where she was outgoing, adventurous, spirited, confident; you were calm, shy and nervous. You were cautious when she threw credits to the wind. You were observant, watchful and insightful, playing in the shadows, calculating, accurately foretelling, while she confidently and boldly put out her ideas. You never minded being in her shadow, until now. It felt like only she would ever see the light you had to offer. It wasn’t the same kind as hers, but that didn’t make it any less special. She made sure you knew that, but it would be nice having it come from someone else as well…

You groaned. 

“How do you do it, Phee? It all comes so naturally to you. You can flirt, be fun and express what you feel and it comes across amazingly. When I try just getting a sentence out around him I can barely string a thought into words. And it doesn’t have to be an important thought either. Just saying I like the same berry juice he does sounds stupid. Why am I like this?” 

You let your head fall forward and hit the table with a bang.

“I’m hopeless.”

“You must reeeaaaally like Tech if you’re vaguely mentioning him.”

You didn’t reply. You just let your shoulders droop and turn to face her with a scowl. Her grin was teasing but her eyes sparkled softly. 

“I think you and Brown Eyes would make an amazing couple. He could learn a few things from you. Hun, just let him see the amazing woman I know.”

Phee gave your arm an encouraging squeeze.

“And I got a few ideas that might help him!”

“Really?” 

“Of course! That one can be kind of dense. He probably likes you but doesn’t even know it. Let’s help him realize it, shall we?”

“I don’t know about that…I don’t know if he even knows I’m alive.”

“If he doesn’t, I’m going to fix that too; even if I have to smack him in the face.”

“Don’t do that!”

“Not literally, Hun, figuratively.”

“Oh, as long as it doesn’t hurt.”

Phee chuckled, “Oh I can’t promise that. I’m going to make him notice you one way or another if it’s the last thing I do.”

“Now I feel like I should be nervous. Phee, what are you planning?”

“You leave that to me. And why on earth would you be nervous; it’s me we’re talking about here!”

“Isn’t that reason enough?”

“Very fair.”

Your grins were missed by everyone except for a goggled pair of eyes. He didn’t know why you were smiling, but he was happy to see it. He only wished he could have been the reason.

— — — 

Phee’s first attempt at matchmaking arose the next day, and did she have an idea! Phee assigned you and Tech to work on a pier so there could be more ports on the island for fishing and boating. 

You were handy and confident working with your hands. Phee knew you’d be at ease doing something you were capable of with your eyes closed. Perhaps you could teach Tech a thing or two as well. That would boost your confidence and your conversation topics. 

And Phee was right, for the most part.

You and Tech worked in perfect synchrony—and the repairs took the entire day so by the time the work was done, it was sunset. There were absolutely no hiccups with the construction. 

“I think we’re set!” You said excitedly testing the boards you both were kneeling on, “We should be able to head in for dinner.” You spoke too soon. The nails poking out on the board just under you caught your eye. You’d have to make sure those were bent out of the way so no one would get hurt.  “Oh drats.”

“Hm, it shouldn’t be too hard to fix. We’ll only be delayed a few moments.”

Tech rolled up his sleeves. Your jaw dropped in a gawk. 

“Oh…”

Tech’s eyes snapped to yours, head tilted curiously. 

“Ohhhh…..ohhh! Look!” You tried to cover up your blunder by pulling your eyes away from his forearms and to the water, pointing down at the glowing algae. “They never glow blue. They usually are green. Do you know why?” 

You looked up at the same time Tech was bending over to look down, hitting your heads on each other. The shock of the hurt sent you both hurtling into the water. 

Gasping and spluttering, you both emerged from the water covered with the glowing sea plant. 

“Well this was an unexpected pleasure.”

At first you couldn’t tell if Tech was being sarcastic or not but then you saw him examining the algae. “Quite impressive.”

“Yeah, it is.”

Looking into the water surrounding you illuminated by the mysterious blue, you missed the enchanted look he gave you. Of course, you couldn’t read his thoughts, but if you could, you would have known that the incident made him chuckle internally and it was worth it to see you crowned in the elegant plant. It was beautiful, tangled and dripping from your hair while the orange gold of sunset threw its color on you. You rather looked like a siren, calling him to you. 

But no, instead, you could only think all you accomplished was getting Tech thoroughly soaked and even more late for dinner because of your mishap. Now you’d have a matching bruise at least. That was something, right? Maybe? Maybe not? At least he got to examine the algae, that was a win. But he probably now thought you were a klutz. 

You couldn’t know how impressed he was with your skill. 

— — —

Phee wasn’t discouraged though. Her next idea was great in the planning and execution, for the most part. You somehow found a way to bangle it up. 

She asked you to make your favorite dish so everyone could go on a picnic. There was a beautiful field on the other side of Pabu where the scenery was green and lush and the animals were frequent visitors. It would be a fun and relaxing way to end the day.

Originally, it was supposed to be Phee, Shep, Leyana, and the Batch…or at least that is what you were told, but somehow, Tech was the only one who showed up—also under the same impression. 

You immediately saw right through the scheme but said nothing, blushing a deep red and internally cringing at the fact you didn’t see this coming. In fact, this is a scheme you pulled on Phee last year. She was just reusing it. You were relieved to see Tech did not catch on and thought it was a mishap the others didn’t show up. His brothers and sister had a last minute accident resulting in them not being able to go (which of course you knew was orchestrated between Phee and the others. How could it not. You’d put money on the guess Omega was in on this too.)

“No use letting the food go to waste, right?” You tried to shrug off the awkwardness, and it worked.

Tech heartily agreed and while you ate, your shyness melted away. You found yourselves swapping stories about those who you both loved and were not present. Laughing at foolish stories and regalling in the exciting ones. 

“Phee’s really brave. I’m not so much. I’m kind of her shadow. Everything she is, I isn’t.” You winced at the weird choice of words. It’s fine. Play it cool. Everything is fine…Everything is not fine. That sounded so dumb.

“I don’t get opportunities to be brave like she does. She creates those opportunities. If they came along by chance, I’d probably miss them or go running in the opposite direction.”

Before Tech could answer, a clan of moon-yos jumped you from behind, tangling themselves and laughing. The things clung to your arms and legs while the little ones stole away the cake you made for dessert. The treasure acquired, all the little annoyances left. 

You could only sit there and stare, dumbfounded. 

How? What just happened? 

In retrospect, you knew this about moon-yos. You should have seen that coming…you were just so eager to share your favorite fruit cake with your friends you didn’t even consider the creatures had the same taste as you. You normally foresaw this kind of thing! What was wrong with you? You were too eager, that’s all. 

With a heavy sigh, you closed the basket.

“Are you alright? Their claws didn’t hurt you?” You asked him, only letting a small bit of exhaustion into your voice. 

“No, it was rather an unusual occurrence…I would be alright if it didn’t happen twice in a lifetime though.”

“For you and me both, I guess we’d better head back, yeah? Lots to do tomorrow.” Packing up hid your embarrassment well, feeling like you wanted to die inside.

Tech helped you clean up, but in your distractedness, you missed the grin on his face and the wonder in his eyes. Their attack barely phased you. You were calm, cool, collected. Many would have shrieked and panicked. Not to mention how well you handled the loss of your famous desert.

The day certainly didn’t go as planned, but when was that a bad thing?

— — — 

A few days later, after one of Tech’s famous flying lessons with Omega, the Marauder needed some light repairs. The close proximity sensors went out…again. Phee slyly and quickly suggested that you could assist with the repairs to your great horror. You didn’t know anything about mechanical stuff. On the island, everything was hand built practically. You were good with a hammer, not a spanner. 

“Relax, Tooka,” Phee chuckled, “he probably won’t let you touch anything anyway. He’s rather particular about that ship. You’ll just talk and keep him company.”

What shocked everyone was when he excitedly agreed to your help.

You were not there to just keep him company.

Furthermore, dropping jaws, Tech was showing you what he’d like you to do. 

Tech was under a desk panel inside the ship, and you were on the comms outside working on the roof, connecting the wires he told you, when he told you. Sweating buckets, you wiped your palms on your pants again. This was his ship. His pride and joy. You couldn’t mess this up. Breathing heavily, you waited for the next set of instructions. 

“Alright, now connect the red sensor wire with the port of corresponding color. Then connect the blues.”

“Consider it done!” Somehow you managed to sound more confident than you felt. But that was a simple enough task. So far his instructions were easy and clear. But when you looked down at your panel, you noticed something looked off. The orange wire looked like it was melted into the port. If you connected the red now, you were sure the whole system would short circuit again.

You knew you should have asked but you didn’t. Instead, you took a firm hold of the orange wire and pulled. 

Sparkles flew everywhere, a small explosion sound startling you. A scream escaped your mouth and you fell off the side of the ship.

Tech, hearing the snapping, was already on his way out to see if you needed anything. Good thing, as you fell almost right into his arms, the force almost knocked him over but he somehow righted himself.

“Are you alright?” 

He set you down and started to examine your hands. 

“You are fortunate, you are not burned, what happened?” 

Throat constricting, you tried to explain the situation. Tears pricked your eyes but you wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of falling until you were alone. 

“Let me take a look.”

When Tech reached the top, he looked down at the panel amazed. He guessed right away you weren’t a mechanic, but he was excited to have you around and share this with you if you were willing. But, actually, if you didn’t do what you did, this would have been much worse. The tiny explosion would have been a bigger one. You had an amazing head on your shoulders and a great knack for technology. All it would take was a little training and you’d be a natural. He’d be more than happy to show you.

He was going to offer just that, but you’d disappeared before he reached the ground. Perhaps you needed space after the shock. That was logical. He’d finish this up. He’d see you at dinner and ask how you were. 

— — — 

Tech did not, in fact, see you at dinner. 

Indeed, Tech didn’t see you much after the accident. You were present the following morning when the boys and Omega went to market but after that you made yourself scarce and by the afternoon, he’d decided to seek you out. It didn’t take long to find you. You were on the ledge of the pier the two of you worked on together a few days ago. The thought made him smile.

Tech watched you hunched over on the pier, staring into the water and dangling your legs carefully over the edge. Your easy, relaxed smile he would often see on your face when you were alone or you thought no one was watching, was not present, and a feeling of worry washed over him.

Your eyebrows pressed together, hyper-focusing on something that wasn’t there. Lips were turned into a frown and mind distracted. 

That really wasn’t like you. From what he observed, you were quiet…but also observant. You watched and understood everything that was happening. You always knew your surroundings and not much got past you. Your eyes were ever watchful, a hidden light which carried a flame underneath. A mysterious flame that intrigued and fascinated him. It danced with an unshed energy which promised something great, though what was yet to be seen—your power veiled behind a mask.

There was so much to you. 

And he enjoyed every moment you let him in to discover something new.

The hidden garden of knowledge in the vastness of your mind and imagination was beyond anything he’d ever experienced. You brought up points he never even considered, and they excited him. Not many people outside his family had the ability to evoke an emotion of happiness from him.

You did.

And he found himself wanting to do the same for you. To be the reason you smiled. To be the reason you blushed and laughed. To be the reason for the clumsy mistakes out of distracted love. 

He chuckled thinking of your late encounters. They didn’t ‘end well’ according to what Phee explained at lunch (though to be honest, he didn’t understand how), but each time left him with a glowing feeling in his chest which spread to his cheeks in a blush. How could they not have ended well when each one left him feeling a glow of love and pride towards you?

You’d been down today, that he knew, but he didn’t know it was this bad. Tech thought it was merely your social anxiety he found got to you when things were loud and crowds pressed in on you. The market was hectic getting ready for that festival. He thought that was all it was.

This wasn’t that…He wanted to check in with you and make sure you were alright after that last incident but now he was unsure. Did you need some alone space? Would he only make matters worse? Then again, Omega had commented on it being nice knowing you’re cared for even if you didn’t want it at the moment.

A huge crash broke him from his musings and Tech watched you turn in horror towards the source of the sound. 

You started yelling something in a language he didn’t understand, tripping over yourself to get to the collapsing building. You didn’t stop to put your shoes on, you didn’t hesitate. You just ran.

He started running too, there could be people who needed help but there was something about your urgency that made him pause. Why….

Oh. 

Tech doubled his speed. “Hunter, we have a problem. The orphanage under reconstruction is collapsing. I fear some of the children are still inside.” 

“On it. I’ll get Wrecker. We’ll be there shortly.”

— — —

This just wasn’t a good day.

You screwed everything up. You were sure Tech wouldn’t want to speak to you again after what happened. After everything Phee had done to help you. After how far you thought you’d come, you’d always be the screw up. 

You sighed and ran your fingers through your hair, feet dangling over the edge of the pier. In a better mood, you’d playfully kick in the water but now, they just hung idle, lacking the energy for anything more than allowing a cooling, numbing sensation to creep up your legs. 

Perhaps you were just overthinking everything. A little bit of sleep might do you some good. You and the boys had been doing so much to repair the town, you’d gotten little rest. Your mind would go into overdrive when you were tired. Perhaps that was just the case here. No need to panic (yeah right). Some little sleep would show you you were not over with (maybe). You’d gather the courage to apologize and fix your mistake. 

You would make it up to him somehow. 

If your friendship wasn’t permanently damaged, you’d find a way to mend it. You had to. Tech had grown to mean too much to you for you to let him go so easily. 

Disaster after disaster went before your eyes and you thought them through. Analyzed where you’d gone wrong. How you’d fix it or how you would make up for the blunder. It might take a while but it’d be worth it. 

However long it took. 

You’d talk to him first. This time, you wouldn’t stutter. You’d have to practice but you were determined. You would be heard and you’d get it out right. 

Before your plans could progress further, a huge crash broke through your thoughts. You turned to see the orphanage had collapsed. Fear coursed through your veins. Some of the children were helping where they could; they prided themselves in their hard work of what they contributed. They could be trapped! When you heard shouting and screams, you knew you were right. 

“Hold on, I’m coming!”

You pulled your feet and dashed toward the construction site. 

“I’m coming! Lil, run to the village and get help! Myles, go get the physician! Tali, get Shep!”

You quickly took stock of the situation around you. One of the walls fell outward, seemingly because the upper floor was unstable and tumbled through it. 

You heard your name cried out over and over and saw little Trisy running up to you. 

“Hep! Hep! Tabby is twapped inside, please hep!” She cried and pressed herself into your leg. You held her and knelt down to her level. 

“Hey, hey Tristy, look at me.” You swiped the hair from her face. “I’ll get her, ok? Where was she? Is anyone else inside?” 

Tristy shook her head emphatically. “No, only Tabby.” She whipped her face only for the tears and mucus to be smeared over her cheeks and forehead as well. Her breath was coming in heaves. 

“I’ll get Tabby; you stay here, ok?” 

You only waited for her nod of confirmation before dashing inside the building. 

“Tabby? Tabby! Where are you?”

You carefully tip-toed your way around the fallen logs, not wanting to upset anything. 

“Tabby, please answer me!”

“I-I’m down here!”

You looked down and saw a part of the floor was broken through one more level. A pair of shiny eyes looked up at you with newly enkindled hope grappling with fear. 

“Are you hurt?”

“N-no? I fell in after i-it fell. I think my ankle hurts a little, that’s all.”

Looking around for the best possible solution, you grabbed a rope to use as a pulley. Tossing it over what looked like a stable beam, you tested its strength, pulling and tugging. When it didn’t give, you tied one end around yourself and lowered yourself down into the pit. 

When you reached the bottom, the child crawled over to you and clutched your middle. The poor thing had been crying but was trying so hard to be brave.

“It’s ok, I’m here now! I gotcha.”

Wrapping one arm around the child, you slipped the rope around her. 

“Hold on tight, ok.” 

The child nodded and you hoisted the two of you up with a huff and humph. Grunting, you tugged the rope, dragging your body and the extra wiggling weight up. Sweat beaded on your forehead. Shoulders and arms squeezing and solidifying. Lumps formed where your muscles used to be and your neck felt like it was ready to burst. You just had to reach the top!

Hand over hand. Break. Heave. Hand. Hand. Heave. Heave. Hand. Heave. Hand. Heave. Heave. Heave. 

“We’re almost there. Almost. There.”

Gasping for air, you tugged one more time. Your muscles were shaking and you knew you couldn’t hold on much longer. You were so close to the top but you couldn’t let go. Tabby would get hurt if you fell. You just had to reach the top…

“May I be of assistance?”

That voice. One that you did not expect but yet were so happy to hear made you laugh and tears sprung to your eyes. Looking up, you saw a pair of goggled eyes looking down at you worriedly, hand stretched out in hopes of helping

“Can you grab her?”

“She is secured against you rather well. I would not be able to maneuver her without hurting her. I’ll grab the rope and pull, just hold on.”

Tech reached for the rope and pulled the two of you up, easing you into the unstable floor around the hole. His grip was firm and gentle. If you had time, you’d marvel at it, but your head was still reeling and you gasped for breath.

“Thank you.”

He didn’t anwer. He merely nodded…and placed his hand on your cheek? Quickly withdrawing it, he warned:

“Be careful, move slowly toward the outer part of the room. You should be safe then.”

As fast of a talker as Tech was, he didn’t speak fast enough for Tabby who was already trying to hobble toward the opening in the wall. Your eyes went wide, seeing the unstable beam before anyone else. 

“Tabby, no!” You darted, scooped her up and tossed her (praying you didn’t hurt her) to the opening where you knew the floor was ok.

Breaking through and falling through the floor in the process. 

Wood ate your leg, shards of teeth scraped all the way up from where you stepped. Hot blood seeped through the scratches as you tumbled into the darkness below. You were vaguely aware of someone shouting of your name.

You hit the ground with a sickening thud and crack. 

You couldn’t breath and you couldn’t move. 

Debris fell on top of you so whatever wasn’t broken, was weighed down. 

“Just great.” You gave a little sigh when air could enter your lungs again, trying not to give up too much breath. “This is fine. Everything is great.” 

Closing your eyes and focusing on your breathing, a peace settled over you. You knew you should be scared, but you weren’t. Shouldn’t you ask for help? Shouldn’t you be trying to get out? Definitely. But you could only lay there. 

Everything hurt…but it felt so nice to just lay there and sleep…

You loved Tech but why was he shouting at you? What was he shouting?

Oh.

“Wake up! You cannot go to sleep! Wake up!”

When did he climb down? How did he get down? How long have you been laying there? Surely not long…

Wait, did he just slap you?

Your eyes fluttered open.

“Hey.”

You tried to focus on Tech, eyes scrunched with undisguised worry as they searched your face and body. 

“That wasn’t nice. Waking sleeping people isn’t nice.” you mumbled with a slight smirk.

To your surprise, he didn’t spout off a fact like you expected him to, instead he smiled a little sadly. For the first time, he seemed unsure of what to say. 

“It is, if you’re afraid they will expire in their unconsciousness.”

“Fair enough.”

Wait, he was afraid of you dying? WAIT? WERE YOU DYING?

Panic overtook you. Eyes wide, you started to gasp and move around, words failing to form. Thankfully, Tech guessed your line of thought.

“Nothing to worry about. I have already woken you. You just need to stay awake for me, alright? I’ll move the debris off, and you will be just fine.”

“Are you lying to make me feel better?”

Tech looked at you and readjusted his goggles. “Now why would I do that?”

Wanting to shrug but not being able to, you settled for a sigh and fell silent. 

You felt a piece lifted off you…he was so strong…you could get lost in the movements of him heroically saving you but then he stopped. You nearly pouted but held back.

“Please, while I work, give me assurances you are still conscious. Talk if it isn’t painful or clench and unclench your free hand. I…was worried before. You fell rather far and hit your head.”

“Ok…”

Your mind searched for topics but the only one that came to mind was the thought that gave you comfort these past few weeks. You laughed a weak huff.

“Like I said…easily crushed…very appropriate…right…about now.”  

“No,” His voice was firm, not angry but steal-like, “like I said. Beautiful, brave, resilient, resourceful.” His soft smile returned. “Seems like Phee isn’t the only brave one of the two of you. My hypothesis was correct; I just wish you didn’t test it in such drastic measures.”

Your head nodded a little, the ghost of a laugh on your lips while your eyes fluttered closed.

“Please don’t go to sleep. I can’t lose you like this.” 

Wait…he was worried he’d lose you?!?

You wanted to comment on that. You didn’t know how, so after opening and shutting your mouth a few times, you settled on something equally important. 

Not knowing what else to say, you decided now was as good as ever to apologize. He might even be more forgiving with you in this condition.

“I’m sorry…for everything, Tech.” Tears started to well in your eyes. “I messed up so much. I ruined your ship. I—”

“You’re upset because you thought you hurt me or I was angry with you?”

You nodded, letting out a little sob. You couldn’t look at him, so you clamped your eyes shut and bit your lip, the pain keeping you from falling asleep. …he said your name so gently, the lump in your throat returned.

“You didn’t at all. I am sorry you thought that. I would have talked to you sooner had I known that is what upset you so. You were so grave I thought you needed some space as when you were overwhelmed. Phee told me you thought you ruined some important moments together, but I did not equate that with the toll it took on your mind. How could I when everything you did evoked a feeling of love for you?”

You sucked air through your lips and let the tears fall. 

“You’re not teasing me are you? Because l love you. And if this isn’t real, I swear…”

But you were startled into opening your eyes anyway. 

Did you die, or was Tech actually kissing you?

Tech placed one of his hands on your cheeks, stroking it gently with his thumb. His lips moved over yours ever so softly, as if he was afraid the movement would hurt you, yet there was a firmness there which reassured you that he wasn’t timid of you or how he felt. 

“You’re my beautiful flower. Nothing will ever change that. I promise. Now let’s get you out of here. If you wilt before, that is simply unacceptable and unforgivable after this confession.”

You chuckled, “Alright. Deal. No croaking before we leave.”

“Or after.” He sighed. “That was not giving you permission to ‘croak’ after being helped to safety.”

You could only laugh. 

“I won’t plan on it. Not when I’m finally yours. And Tech, only you can call me flower.”

“I thought it would be obvious...my flower.”

#the bad batch #tbb hunter #tbb tech #tbb wrecker #tbb omega #star wars the bad batch #star wars #tbb crosshair #tbb echo #the bad batch season 2 #clone x reader #clone x you #tech x you #tech x female reader #tech x reader #tech #angst to comfort #angst to fluff #cfb2023 #CFB2023

[mnoxsk]

Hi Can I Ask Uzui, Giyuu and Rengoku in Love with a Single Father S/o who has a Child

Ofc! And sorry I took a large break I've honestly been playing alot of videogames lol

Genre: Fluff/Scenario/Headcannons

Summary: How he reacts when you have a child, How he treats them, How he is with you being a single father

- Man is lowkey surprised because when you would suddenly disappear multiple time when you’re in his home and his wives said you had some business you needed to do he really thought you didn’t really want to spend time with him! The only time he really did find out was when you brought your kid to his house!

- Would honestly spoil your kid! And the kid honestly likes Tengen because his looks are honestly pleasing to look at! There may really be a few times he gets pissed off with them but learning from his own past family circumstances he gives them proper life lessons and verbal communication of what they should and shouldn’t do! His punishments toward your child are non-existent. It’s all through communication.

As you watch Tengen with your child, you can help but be amazed of how he’s teaching your child. “That wasn’t very nice of you to purposely do that.” Says Tengen as he’s sitting down with your child, looking at the broken vase. “Was there a reason you did that?” “I wanted your attention since you were busy with Da-da but lost balance...I’m sorry.” As your child plays with their hands, feeling guilty, they’re soon embraced in a hug by Tengen. “I’m glad you apologized but please be more careful, you might hurt yourself.” “O-okay Papa!”

-Man honestly is the same person but more kid friendly near your child. He really doesn’t change at all! He wants to make out with you but your child is watching? Cover that boy’s eyes, easy. He seriously has little to no filter when he’s with you- The only thing that may change is his bed because he often would sleep with you and his wives on a already big bed but with your slightly clingy child, HE NEEDS A DAMN WIDE WIDE BED!

-Giyuu is flabbergasted. Never expected it. He was just too busy about you and really didn’t care if you suddenly went away! Giyuu loves you alot to not care if you were gone for a bit but to realize you had a kid made him VERY NERVOUS.

-He doesn’t know anything about taking care of kids. Man honestly blankly stares at your kids and does the same. And your kid is easily influenced and surprisingly easily won over him! Honestly tries to buy everything he thinks a child would like based off what any vendor would claim! However one time he had a misunderstanding with a toy of a “different” use and honestly ALMOST showed it to your kid (however quickly stopped him ‘:)). 

Giyuu gives your child a bunch of toys as he’s sat down with them. As he grabs one of them, being a duck, he starts making duck sounds however with just his normal voice and no proper voice-tone impression. Surprisingly with your child doing the same but with a train. “Quack. Quack” “Choo choo.” “Quack.” “Choo choo.” What has gotten into them..?

-Giyuu will do EVERYTHING he would want to do with you in private! He wants to kiss you? In private. Holding hands? In private! Of course he won’t decline you doing it in front of your child however will make sure he isn’t looking! He’ll purposely point something out to your child, making them look away before you kiss him! AND HE’LL DO ALL THIS BECAUSE HE THINKS ITS INAPPROPRIATE FOR THE CHILD!

- Rengoku is honestly ecstatic! Rengoku is already good with kids but for his fiance to have one makes him happy to raise your child with you! He is one of the best hashira for taking care of kids and you CANNOT convince me otherwise! 

-He’s very gentle and smiley with your child! Will commit to anything that your child asks him to do and will to it with the best of his ability! If your child wants something HE’LL HAVE IT THE SAME DAY THEY ASKED! ESPECIALLY IF THEY LIKE FOOD LIKE HIM! If your child has the same hair color, eyebrows, or similar personality like him HE WILL MELT. Will honestly be weak at the knees because he cares so much and loves your child because it’s yours!

“Let me pour some tea into your cup Papa!” As your child emptyly pours imaginary tea into his cup he smiles warmly at them. “Thank you starlight.” “Let us have a toast, to us!” “To us!” As you all say together you “drink” your tea and Rengoku doing so aswell however ecstatically. “Delicious!”

-He’ll still kiss and hold hands with your child watching however of course with more serious things like making-out he will most definitely prefer doing in private! He’ll also choose to have a big bed for you and your child! He doesn’t want them to feel left out and have any achievement they’ve made to be underlooked!

#kny x reader #kny x male reader #kny headcanons #kny scenarios #demon slayer x reader #demonslayer x reader #demonslayer headcannons #demonslayer x male reader #demonslayer scenario #kny fluff #fluff #scenario #headcannons #x male reader #tengen x reader #tengen x male reader #giyuu x reader #giyuu x male reader #rengoku x reader #rengoku x male reader

[not-actually-a-goddess]

Fable SMP Finale - Analysis & Thoughts

Holy shit, I cannot even begin to describe how much of an emotional rollercoaster watching the finale of Fable SMP was. I was sobbing one second, screaming in joy the next, laughing and smiling not soon after, and feeling anger or sickness. The pure emotion that the cast of Fable SMP put into this masterpiece is undeniable. And yes, I know it's silly little block people playing silly little stories, but their our silly little block people and their stories are huge! There were cutscenes with commissioned art!

The joy and comfort that Fable SMP has brought me over the past many months is massive. Their streams were around for me to watch when I was having bad days or needed something in the background while studying. Fable SMP was a multimodal storytelling wonder. And whilst I'm sad it's over, I'm happy it was there to start with. I came into this fandom at the mid-point of S2, and from then on, have been hooked. I love the art and the cosplay and the nice fandom with friendly, cosy chat communities. But anyways, let's get into this analysis. (also RIP Rakai, thankyou for romantically distracting Ick and making them forget about hunting the child, a.k.a Athena) Spoilers!!!!!!!!!! For anyone who hasn't watched the finale!

To start with, watching the complicated emotion portrayed by Sherbertquake through Icarus was incredible acting. The whole cast, including Fable himself (aka Mr. HeyHay's husband), displayed awesome acting that I'm jealous of and one day hope to be able to express. I loved watching Sherb change their expression, even minutely, as everyone just unloaded their trauma and screamed at Fable. I loved watching as they realised that maybe their dad wasn't the best guy, even though they knew it in the back of their mind the whole time. Hearing the raw emotion that each member of the cast poured into their act was impressive, and reminded me that you don't just have to be an actor to be good at acting. As of now, I'm still yet to watch HeyHays POV, but trust me I will, I just need to emotionally heal over the next couple of days.

Now onto the storyline of the finale. Now of course, I've only watched from Sherberts' POV, but here's what I think as of now. I started watching the episode effectively knowing what would go down, but I still came out surprised. At the start, I could definitely see the hesitance for action in Icarus but also their want for relief and the freeing of burden, still mostly trusting in their father. Of course, Icarus would always trust Fable at the start, he is their dad. Their dad who they've been missing all their life, whenever they actually needed him, he couldn't be there. Fable was also the one that promised Icarus what they wanted; peace, freedom from Quixis, their mother back, a happy united family, no more resets. Why wouldn't Icarus believe everything their father said? It's like a preacher in a pulpit. But as we moved further through the episode, we started to see everything fall apart. We could see pain, pain as people had to fight others they didn't want to. And then things started to unravel more as everyone entered Purgatory for the final show down. Our beloved Violet of course swooped in to save the day in the final second, saving Athena from Reaver by Fable's hand. Fable was then chained, which is ironic, as this whole scene reminded us of Fable's new mortality. That without the Reaver, he was nothing. And then, we finally got to see Icarus redeem themselves. I thought the glitching trident through the chest was very poetic and very Icarus. The creation destroying their creator in more ways than one. Fable was both Icarus's dad but also the creator of who Icarus had become over the last couple of months. He poisoned Icarus and turned them against their friends, so it was nice to see Icarus make things right and put Fable out of his misery. And then everyone was together again. The brothers were reunited, and I cried when we finally got to see Icarus and Rae get that much needed hug. Athena didn't immediately forgive Icarus, but that's fair, and Icarus understood that and was willing to move towards restoring their relationship. I suppose that's what happens when you push Athenas boyfriend off a tree and hurt Momboo. I think Arisanna staying back in Purgatory and working to restore it was a good move, and I'm excited to watch everyone else's epilogues. When it was time to Icarus to pass on, I was also really sad, because this meant the actual end for the series, especially for Icarus. It was nice to see Violet/Centross and Ick get closure and emotionally heal? And for Ick and Rae get a final goodbye.

Okay, so the art cutscenes? Awesome! They added finesse to the final scenes and made the project really elaborate and put together. I love @fruitsalad864 art, and I could definitely see bits of Silco in Fable. *chefs kiss* I think putting the art in grey background and black ink with touches of colour for emphasis and embellishment was a good creative choice and didn't make anything too busy. I loved the flashes of peoples eyes as they casted the spell to trap Fable, it was a nice way to include everyone into the art. But what do I know? I had to quit high school art classes in Grade 10, which is sad.

Anyways, Sherberts filmed end scene. Let's look at that. Well, we finally got to see Quixis' face, in fact we got to see all of Quixis and the world port. Does anybody know if the creators made the world port prop or they went some where to film. Because if so, kudos for being brave enough to film in a large public setting. The emotion and ambience in the moment was great, and finding out why all the wack has been happening to Icky was a big relief to know. Thankyou Quixis for protecting the wet bird from carrying the burden when they were too young and giving them time to grow up. You're our favourite god/not god kinda' person! Finding out that when Icarus were to take the position, everyone would forget about them past the point of when they died in the first reset, saddened me. But also, seeing Icarus accept this and take up the mantle with no hesitation was a good character development, showing that they're now a selfless person who will do anything for their family. But it's sad that Ick won't see them for a while and they won't remember what happened. But I was also happy, happy to see Icarus move on and happy to see the relief on all their alternate selves faces as Icarus took the spot as Quixis. The filming as we spun through the reel of Icarus's AU's was beautiful and had a good use of angles. The cosplays were awesome, and I've just got to say, the use of that piece of music was perfect, it gave a sense of hope, peace, and new beginnings. It was fresh and I almost felt the wind on my face. Thankyou @sherbertquake56 and your film crew for doing these scenes for us, they added the closure we all needed.

For now, I think I'm calling this a finish for my analysis. But I'll be back! Don't worry! I'll be doing some short analysis's of everyone else's epilogues and also ticking off the predictions I made earlier this year.

Signing out,

The Lady

#fable smp #fable smp icarus #fable smp sherbert #fsmp #fsmpblr #sherbertquake56 #fable smp finale #fable smp rae #fable smp arisanna #fable smp ven #fable smp ulysses #fable smp athena #fable smp aax #fable smp addie #fable smp caspian #fable smp wolf #fable smp centross #fable smp easton #fable smp fable #fable smp jamie #fable smp momboo #fable smp ocie

[questionableratatouille00]

Wԋαƚ Iϝ Iƚ’ʂ Uʂ?

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x GN!Reader

Summary: After an incident involving the Quantum Realm brings forth the Zombie Apocalypse, you are forced to comprise a team of survivors to reach Wakanda, the only human sanctuary left. But is the apocalypse really a great time to develop feelings for a Super Soldier?

Warnings: Themes of death, hurt/comfort, angst. Side/main character death?? (Not Bucky or Reader) Fire, violence. Let me know if I need to tag anything else!

Note: This very loosely follows the relative idea of the What If..? episode. Thank you to @buckylattes for sending me this idea!

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

“This is day forty-nine since the apocalypse started. And Bucky and I may be the last survivors in the United States.”

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

The sound of the leaves crunching under your feet filled the warm and crisp air as you trudged through the forest. Occasionally, a gentle breeze would blow through the air, which felt quite nice in comparison to the autumn warmth.

"So..Steve and Tony got in some kind of fight?" Bruce stuttered out, breaking the silence.

"Yep." You confirmed.

"And..the Avengers broke up? Like One Direction?"

"Yep."

“And then got back together?”

“Uh-huh.”

"And there are zombies now?"

"Seems like it." You sighed.

“And the Avengers are zombies, too?”

“Dr. Banner.” Okoye chided.

“Sorry, sorry. It’s just—y’know, it’s—“

“Weird?” Peter Parker guessed, smiling softly. “Yeah. We know.”

You frowned at the kid’s statement. You, Bucky, and Peter were the only Avengers on Earth to not be affected. Or at least, to your knowledge.

“Go find the kid. We’re..we’re gonna need all the help we can get.” Tony had mumbled to you. Steve nodded, pursing his lips. 

“I’ll call Kate and Yelena,” Clint said, looking at Natasha. Wanda grasped Vision’s hand, looking up at him anxiously.

“Anyone know how to get in touch with Thor?” Steve looked up from his feet, arms crossed.

“That’s a negative, Captain Rogers.” Vision’s voice was smooth and neutral. “Mr. Odinson does not have a communication device to contact us.”

You gave Bucky’s right shoulder a friendly and comforting squeeze before you walked out of the room. You knew Peter’s address, you’d visited his apartment before with Tony. 

Before you knew it, Earth was basically gone. That was over a month ago. You’d quickly found fellow survivors and made somewhat of a team with them. Peter, Bucky, Okoye, some guy named Kurt, Sharon Carter, you, and John Walker. And now, Bruce Banner.

“We need to find a base,” Bucky said, just loud enough to be heard.

“Sergeant Barnes is correct.” Okoye agreed. “Nightfall is approaching.”

“Pete, where’s that camera thingy you recorded your video on?” You asked, looking back at him. He’d made a little movie on how to survive the apocalypse soon after you’d saved him from the hoard of zombies outside of his apartment. It was a cute video, though the circumstances weren’t exactly great, or even good. It would’ve made a good school project, though.

Part of it was about hygiene, and Bucky starred in that section, albeit unwillingly. Bucky hadn’t said anything, but you could see the discomfort on his face when Peter showed you all the finished product. Bucky had been in the shower, rotated in a way where you luckily couldn’t see anything. He’d been ambushed by Peter and Kurt, the latter being lifted off the ground by his own neck, which had Bucky’s metal fingers wrapped around it. In private, Bucky had hinted that he was uncomfortable with the clip, and you’d gone to talk to Peter about it without saying anything.

You’d explained to him that ambushing anybody, but especially a Super Soldier—particularly a traumatized one who also happened to be a veteran—in the shower was not cool. Peter had apologized profusely, going back and removing the clip. You’d asked him not to say anything to Bucky, knowing that Bucky wouldn’t have wanted attention to be brought to it.

You could tell by the way Bucky’s eyes flicked to you when Peter showed the clip to Bruce that he’d noticed.

“Oh—uh—here.” He said, pulling the small camera from a pocket before tossing it to you. You caught it with ease. The apocalypse was no place for a lack of hand-eye coordination. You tucked it in the front pocket of your backpack.

“Won’t that thing run out of battery?” Bruce questioned, and you chuckled. “No. Peter and Stark made it a while back. It runs on an extremely tiny arc reactor. I’ve been keeping logs of every day—sometimes twice a day—since two days after the apocalypse started. So..yeah.” Sometimes others would make them, but none were as detailed or formal as yours.

“Jesus Christ," Bruce mumbled out. "Oh. I just realized--I haven't properly met most of you. I'm Bruce." He stuttered, picking at his fingernails.

"John Walker, Captain America." The annoying blonde spoke up. You were surprised he hadn't already shoved that fact down Bruce's throat yet. Normally, he wouldn't shut his mouth.

"I'm sorry--what?" Bruce looked at you, brows furrowed, wanting to see if you were agreeing or not.

"Turns out the government really doesn't like their favorite child going against 117 countries. So they gave the title--and a non-vibranium dupe of the shield--to this asshole." You explained, rolling your eyes.

"Right.." Bruce processed. John looked like he was going to say something, before Bucky shot him a glare, silencing him.

"I'm Sharon Carter. Former SHIELD agent." Sharon introduced herself, and Bruce smiled at her. Peter, Okoye, Kurt, and even Bucky introduced themselves, but you mainly focused on choosing where to go.

For some reason, you ended up being the 'leader' of the group. Maybe it was because you found everybody, maybe it was because you were the one who'd been an official Avenger the longest.

"Where are we going?" Bruce questioned. He'd followed you and the rest of the group into the woods.

"Well, the end goal is Wakanda. Right now, we're somewhere in New York. Phones don't work, and we come across maps every so often. Unfortunately, it's not like people posted map-selling stands in the middle of forests. Public spaces aren't the best places to be anymore." You spun around to look at everyone, walking backward.

"Wakanda may be the last human sanctuary on Earth." Okoye filled him in. "Our force fields would prevent the..undead from ever reaching our people."

"You sure did pick an odd time to visit the States," Bruce noted.

"I swore an oath. My king disappeared along with the Avengers." She replied.

"Right." Bruce exhaled.

"There should be an old Avengers safehouse up ahead. We stayed there after that one mission in February last year." You nudged Bucky with your shoulder as he caught up to you. He nodded slightly, chewing on his bottom lip.

"You okay?" You lowered your voice, trying to at least make the conversation slightly private. He glanced at you, before giving you the smallest of shrugs.

"Come on, it should only be a little farther." You called over your shoulder, beginning to pick up the pace. The sun was going to set soon, and night was not a time to potentially fight zombies.

You breathed out a sigh of relief when you could finally see the safehouse in the distance. It was a cabin in the middle of the woods, which made it a great place to stay in an apocalypse, at least for a little while.

"There's two bedrooms, two bathrooms." You announced. You put the code into the tiny pad by the door, before stepping inside.

You let out a sigh as you set your backpack on the floor against the couch. Everyone else followed suit, John and Peter sitting on opposite ends of the old couch.

Deciding to raid the pantry and see what you had, you rubbed your hands on your face. You'd risked it and went to a grocery store a few days ago, all of you filling your bags with as many non-perishable food items as you could.

"Okay, there's peanut butter, canned corn, some dried fruit, rice, bottled water, some trail mix packs, and canned..pineapple." You listed off. "And then whatever we're carrying."

"You wanna go through it all?" Sharon asked, and you shrugged. "Not really. I'm fucking exhausted." You held your forehead in your hand, closing your eyes.

"I can do it if you want." She offered, and you nodded. "Okay. Thanks, Sharon. I'm going to shower." You told her, opening your eyes and lifting your head up.

"You should take one of the beds. No offense, but you look like you need it." She smiles slightly, and you groan. "Wow, thanks. And I'll be fine. One of you should take it."

"Y/n, take the damn bed. Share if you want. But you're sleeping in a bed tonight." She decides, and you're too tired to argue with her. You accept your defeat and sigh. "Fine."

"Wonderful. You and Bucky can share that room. Okoye and I will take the other one, and Peter can take the couch. Kurt, Bruce, and Walker will be fine on the carpet." She assured.

“How’s your leg?” She’d injured herself yesterday, falling from the roof of a one-story building.

“Hurts like a bitch, but I’ll be fine. And don’t try and distract me. Go shower.” She smiled at the end. It reminded you of Natasha, in a way. You missed Natasha dearly.

"Okay." You agreed finally, taking out any food you had in your bag before taking it to the bathroom with you. You had a few outfits, just enough for maybe three or four days, and then a pair of shorts and a tank top to sleep in. You could stretch that to a week and a half if you felt clean enough to not wash your clothes.

You showered quickly before getting dressed in your shorts and tank top, walking into a bedroom.

Bucky sat on the bed, messing with his dog tags. His hair was wet.

“How was your shower?” You attempted to strike up a conversation. He shrugged in response, clearly tired.

“Did Sharon finish seeing what food we have?”

“Yeah.” He bit his lip, looking down at his hands. “Do you think he’s alive?”

You nearly asked who ‘he’ was, but after a second you figured it out. “I..don’t know, Bucky. But Steve’s strong. You and I both know that.”

He nodded, but it was clear that he wasn’t convinced. You pulled back the covers of the bed, before laying down.

“C’mere.” You said, the only light in the room was the tiny lamp that barely worked. You made room for him in your arms. Though you and Bucky weren’t anything more than friends, you’d gotten used to sleeping like this. It helped a little, in more ways than one. It helped him with his nightmares, and it helped with your anxiety.

He rested his head against your chest, draping his right arm over you.

The two of you fell asleep like that, comfortable in each other’s embrace.

Until Bucky started mumbling something, waking you up. “What the hell..” You grumbled before you realized what was happening. Right before he started screaming himself awake, you shook him.

His eyes flew open and he gasped, gripping your shoulders tightly. You waited for him to realize that he was safe and that the ‘danger’ was gone. His eyes began to water, though he tried to blink away the tears.

“Hey, hey. It’s okay. You’re safe. Promise.” You reassured him. He let himself calm down, exhaling slowly.

“Good job. Do you..want to talk about it?”

He looked at you, unsure. “Not much to talk about.”

“I’ll always listen. You know that.”

“I wasn’t there for him.” He confessed, eyes watering again. “Steve. I didn’t..I couldn’t..” He reached for his face, wiping at his eyes.

“Bucky, none of that was your fault. None of this is your fault at all. You didn’t start the fucking apocalypse.” You began to rub soothing circles into his back.

“All I had to do was shoot.” He made eye contact with you. Your heart burned at the sight of his pink nose and teary eyes.

You didn’t really know what to say. In theory, you could say the perfect thing that comforts him immediately. But the truth is that whenever you’re actually in a situation like that, all of that stuff goes right out the window.

“Close your eyes. Okay? I know this stuff hurts, but you really do need rest.” Your mind went back to Natasha.

He nodded finally, closing his eyes. You did the same.

It was the smell of burning wood that woke you up.

You blinked yourself awake, eyes stinging from the smoke. You gasped, choking on air as you took in your surroundings. The room was on fire. You shook Bucky awake, and he took a second to register what was happening.

“Shit!” He exclaimed, kicking the blankets off the two of you.

Without thinking, he busted down the bedroom door, revealing the slightly less burning living room. Peter’s face was the first one you saw, and you raced to him. “We have to get out of here!” You screamed over the sound of rooms collapsing.

“There’s hordes of them out there!” He shouted back, clutching your arms.

“The Spider-Child is right!” Okoye called to you as she threw Sharon’s arm over her shoulder, supporting the blonde’s weight.

“Well, would you rather try and get out of here or would you like to burn to death?” John cut in. “I would rather not burn!” Kurt pointed out, and Bruce nodded beside him.

“Okay. Okay. Come on, we’re gonna bust through the side door. Are they surrounding the house?” You began to plan, though you were panicking on the inside.

“I don’t know. I only saw them from the front door.” Sharon wheezed.

“I hate those odds and I don’t think our chances are even decent, but there’s no other option. When I say go, race through that door!” You directed. Checking to make sure everybody was accounted for, you gave yourself a final nod of encouragement. John was able to get Sharon onto his back.

“Go!” You shrieked, making sure that you were the last one to bolt out.

“I see them!” Peter screamed.

“Doesn’t matter! Keep going!” Bucky commanded, but they were only getting closer.

The sound of something crashing against the forest floor made you gasp.

“They can knock trees over?!” Peter kept glancing over his shoulder.

“They are getting a bit close!” Kurt yelled out. You looked over your shoulder, seeing John struggling to run with Sharon on his back. You stopped, and when Bucky began to slow down to see why, you put your hand on his back, guiding him forward. “Go.” You told him, as you went to help John.

“You can’t carry me and I can’t run,” Sharon said darkly. “John, put me down.”

The crowds of zombies chasing you were only catching up.

“Sharon, we’re not leaving you.” Your voice raised in pitch, anxiety settling in.

“Sharon.” John panted. “Come on, we gotta keep going.” He tried to stabilize her, to keep her still against his back, but she managed to break his hold on her.

“Sharon—stop! Stop, Sharon, please!” You begged, your eyes watering up.

“I can’t lose another friend. Come on, don’t be like this.” John grabbed her wrist, but she pulled away.

“Take them all to Wakanda for me, okay?” She asked, giving you a soft smile.

“Sharon!” You cried out as John gripped your wrist, keeping you from chasing after her as she staggered into the horde of undead.

“We could’ve..that—she didn’t have to—“ You gasped, beginning to hyperventilate. “Yeah, I know, but we have to keep going.” John’s hand remained wrapped around your wrist. It felt too tight. It hurt.

“Let go of me.” You said as you sprinted with him.

“There’s only more of them!” Bruce stressed, and you wondered how he didn’t get whiplash from looking around between you all so fast.

“Go right!” Bucky took charge, and everyone obeyed. You kept pace with Bucky, knowing that he was running slower on purpose. The serum enhances his speed, so there was no reason he couldn’t have just bolted and gotten to safety. You admired his loyalty.

Everyone—minus you and Bucky—made it away from the main group of zombies before a large tree fell. It was burning. The only thing that you’d noticed was burning was the house.

“Zombie enhanced. Not good!” Bruce shouted.

“What do we do?” Peter tried to find a solution. You took a deep breath.

“Run!”

“What?” John, Okoye, Bruce, and Kurt all looked back at you and Bucky.

“We’ll find another way! We’ll find you!” Bucky agreed.

Peter shook his head, mouth opened slightly like he was about to protest. You hoped that this didn’t fuck him up too bad. He already had enough trauma.

“Come on!” Okoye filled in the role of ‘leader’. She was a general, after all. She was born for this.

You turned to Bucky, grabbing his arm and trying to find a way around the zombies. “Move! Move! Move!” Your voice went higher in pitch every time you said it. You wove through clusters of them, though you were still in your pajamas.

You ran through the woods, but it was still dark out. The moon was the only thing keeping you from not being able to see anything at all, and you were thankful.

“How fast can they go?” You shrieked as they began to pick up the pace.

“Y/n, go! I’ll hold them off!” Bucky began to slow down.

“What? No!”

“Just go!” He stopped suddenly, and you tumbled to the ground, trying to do the same.

“No! Not without you!” You howled, and he accepted his defeat, racing back towards you and grabbing you as you stood up.

Not without you. I love you.

Bucky and you ran through the dark woods, breathing heavily, palms sweating. You managed to trip over a tree root, pulling Bucky down with you. Just your luck, you managed to trip at the top of a hill, and you rolled down it with Bucky. Dirt and dead leaves crunched under you and scratched at your legs and arms, pine needles getting stuck in your hair and in Bucky’s.

“Fucking hell..” You groaned as you stopped rolling.

“This is not as pleasant as those fall candles said it would be.” Bucky breathed, and you laughed. You’d shown him some fall candles in a store you were raiding, one being Rolling in Leaves.

“Yeah. I agree.” You choked out.

“Come on, we gotta find..” He trailed off.

“They’re long gone, Buck. We’ll..just have to meet them in Wakanda.” You stood, helping him up.

“Don’t ever pull that shit again.” You said after a moment of walking. “What?” Bucky looked at you, not knowing what you were talking about. “That sacrifice bullshit.” You clarified. “Never fucking again.”

“Okay.” He said blankly.

“Promise me.”

“I promise.” He made direct eye contact with you as he said it.

“Good. We should find somewhere to stay for the night. I’m exhausted.”

The two of you walked for maybe an hour more or so before Bucky pointed something out in the distance. “There. Those are caves.”

You looked where he was pointing, and sure enough, they were caves.

Another hour later and you’d been able to sort through the bags and see what you had. Bucky had been smart and saved the bags from the fire.

“Why do you care? About..my life?” He broke the silence.

“Why would I not?” He shrugged in response. “Because you’re one of the only people I have left. And..I care about you, Bucky. A hell of a lot.”

“I care about you too.” He breathed, and it was clear he meant it. His gaze drifted down, towards your lips. He cleared his throat awkwardly, eyes shifting elsewhere.

“Bucky—“

“Kiss me.”

“I—what?”

“I want you..to kiss me.” The former Winter Soldier, one of the few Super Soldiers on the planet, wanted to kiss you. And who were you to say no? You felt the same way.

You leaned it at the same time, your lips against his, both of your hearts beating faster than they ever have before.

The kiss ended when you pressed your forehead to his. Bucky’s fingers tangled with yours, your knees pressed against his.

“If I have to be with anyone in this situation, I’m glad it’s you.” You whispered.

“Me too.”

“Wait a second. Can you check the front pocket of my bag and see if the little camera thing is in there?” You asked him, and he nodded, reaching over to open the front pocket of your backpack. He handed you the small device. Maybe it was weird to end a moment like that with asking for a camera, but you needed to be sure.

“Think it survived the fall?” He questioned.

“Let’s find out. If it does, maybe we can use the parts to make some kind of communication device. Maybe we can contact someone in Wakanda with it.” You pressed record. A small little light came on off the side of the camera, and you grinned. “It works.”

Now that you were recording, you realized that you might as well film your log.

“The safe house burned down. We got split up from the group. Sharon..Sharon’s gone.” You said grimly. “We have no contact with the rest of the group, and no way of knowing if they’re alive or not.” You spoke to the camera, eyes never really staying focused on one thing for more than a minute.

“This is day..forty-nine?” You glanced at Bucky, who was nodding. “Forty-nine. Day forty-nine since the apocalypse started. And Bucky and I may be the last survivors in the United States.”

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x reader angst #bucky x reader #bucky x you #bucky barnes fanfiction #marvel #mcu #bucky barnes x you #bucky x reader fluff #zombie apocolypse au

[doomedlemur]

Good Omens Fanfic Recs

I decided to write up and sort my fanfic recommendations and thoughts, mostly for my own benefit, as an organized list of my favorites for reference. But also, here it is in case anyone's interested.

Heads up, no post-season 2 fix-it fics on this list if that's what you're looking for. Personally I'm content to wait and see on that front.

Also, I'm a sucker for pining, but also headcanon these guys (gn) as demisexual virgins, so nearly all are ace-friendly except the long AUs.

Canon Compliant - short

In general I favor canon compliance and keeping in character. Part of what got me hooked on Good Omens fanfic was the immense breadth of history available to explore with these characters. Let's list in approximate chronological order!

A Letter from “Crawly” to Azirapil (<1k) - Fanfic in Cuneiform. Amazing.

see, how the most dangerous thing is to love (6.8k) - 1185 BC. Crawly and Aziraphale meet during the Trojan War as Achilles mourns Patroclus. Super well-researched and thought out with the Iliad! I'll be looking for more from this writer.

Cat's Charm & Serpent's Sorrow (<1k) - 942 BC. They come upon each other in a temple in Egypt.

Day 7: Alexandria (<1k) - Just a little saving of people and scrolls in the fire.

that old common arbitrator, time (1.1k) - 1602. An epilogue of sorts for the Trojan War one, Crowley and Aziraphale critique Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida. Lots of fun references.

the stars are the same as ever (4.4k) - Vignettes about Crowley hanging out with astronomers in the 17th century.

Mean It (2k) - The origin of the Apology Dance. 1650, 1793, and 1941 all featured. Short and sweet, very believable. Just as flirty as I imagined.

Good Old-Fashioned Coffee Shop Date (1k) - 1750. Crowley goes to a coffeehouse to start an argument and guess who's also there!

well-versed in etiquette, extraordinarily nice (3k) - Jane Austen, mastermind of the 1810 Clerkenwell Diamond Robbery, brandy-smuggler, master spy, and wrote books too. Well-researched, with Austen-esque prose, and perfectly fills in the background for how Crowley remembers her.

Crossing Paths (3k) - Edinburgh, 1827. Showing how Crowley and Aziraphale crossed paths there, and dropping us off where the Resurrectionists minisode begins. Delightful.

Temporary Tattoo (9.8k) - Okay, this one's arguable on the canon compliance, it's kinda a crack-fic (and feels way more 19th century than 11th so I'm putting it here in the chronology) but I loved it. Crowley's snake tattoo wanders, and he can feel what it feels. (The sequel is also really sweet, though definitely canon divergent.)

I stretch out the time (and now I know why) (6k) - 1960's ineffable wives and what happened to make Aziraphale say Crowley goes too fast.

Orchids and Tea (3k) - A shameless plug for my own fic. Meet the old lady downstairs who Crowley gives his "bad" plants to.

What You've Lost But Never Had (3k) - A sweet outsider POV with Maggie's closeted grandfather.

So You Need To Get Into A.Z. Fell & Co.; Now What? (A Guide For Unfortunate Bookworms) (1.8k) - Handy guide for interpreting the store hours, etc.

All of This is Completely Normal Here (6.8k) - Some pre-armageddon fun with Crowley and Aziraphale being interviewed at a police station. Crowley is a regular and they have bingo cards.

The Disposables (7.5k) - Arguably canon divergent. Surprisingly heartwarming. Eric the Disposable Demon is buds with the Usher.

When You're Through With Life and All Hope is Lost (Friends Will Be Friends) (<1k) - COVID-era ficlet post-Lockdown minisode.

The Last Four Years (11.7k) - Perfectly fills in the gap between the seasons with all the feelings and poor communication that brought us here, from the Ritz to Aziraphale's phone call.

Pointless (1.5k) - An exploration of Crowley as he is at the beginning of season 2, anxious and depressed about the pointlessness of it all.

Been Together Long? (1.2k) - It's so common for fics to depict Crowley as knowingly in love but hiding his feelings for 6000 years. But I don't think he's self-aware enough for that, and I really do believe that was an Oh moment with Nina on the street. This fic is an excellent insight into what he was thinking there.

The Afternoon Lecture (<1k) - A cute little outsider POV fic, set sometime in the Happily Ever After probably.

The Slings and Arrows of Angelic Archery (<1k) - Guess which historical/legendary figure Crowley was! Sadly just a little modern-day conversation about it rather than the actual thing.

A Narrow Escape to the Country (10.7k) - This one is so fun! Crowley and Aziraphale are guests on a house-hunting TV show. (Established relationship with innuendo, but all sexy times are off-camera.)

My Roommate from Hell (5.7k) - Warlock ends up college roommates with Adam, and yeah, Warlock's upbringing made him kinda weird.

Canon Divergent - long

Divergent in that these were written before season 2 came out, so branch off from after season 1.

Demonology and the Tri-Phasic Model of Trauma: An Integrative Approach (99k) - This one is recommended a lot I know, but deservedly so. This was the first GO fanfic I read, as I idly looked to see what had the most kudos. And then I couldn't put it down.

Instructions Not Included (68k) - Plot heavy but excellent. I loved the writing style of this one; it's so evocative with its metaphors, but without being flowery. Sadly left a few unanswered questions since the sequel was abandoned, but it's still well worth reading. Very realistic progression of feelings between Crowley and Aziraphale (intimacy without sexuality).

The Sandford Flower Show (E) (46k) - This was a bit of a painful read with flashbacks to ancient Egypt, but it's very good. Many feels. (Higher sex-drive than I generally prefer for canonverse, so note that E rating.)

Canon Divergent - short

Slow (9.3k) - Adam assumed Crowley and Aziraphale were married and restored the bookshop with a marriage certificate on the wall. Miscommunication and sweetness ensues.

Human AUs - long (modern day)

It took me a while to warm up to the idea of reading AUs, since the immortal natures and powers of Crowley and Aziraphale are so integral to their characters (also I personally don't seek out fanfics for the smut and the highly rec'd ones are nearly always Explicit). But after seeing Slow Show in particular recommended so often, I finally gave it a go. Yes, the human versions of the characters are always different in varying ways, but I've found it really fascinating to see the different ways characters, scenes, and lines get reinterpreted in AUs and have now read way more of them than I expected to.

Slow Show (E) (95k) - I have never in my life read anything (fanfic or otherwise) as emotionally intense as Slow Show. This fic is all lust and angst and I physically felt the agony of it for days while I read. While other fics are also explicit, this is the most mature and "adult" feeling with its themes. Yes this fic is recommended a lot, but its reputation is well earned. However, that said, I wouldn't say it's my favorite.

Old Vines (E) (189k) - Excellent slow burn. This one really captures the aspect of them both being anxious/frustrated under contractual obligations, wishing they could be freer to do their own thing. Truly gratuitous descriptions of all aspects of wine, from growth, production, tasting, and quantity consumed. I learned a lot. Was also actually really inspired by Aziraphale's journey in this.

Or Be Nice (E) (151k) - I wasn't sure I'd like this one at first, but I'm glad I went for it. It's more a character study than a drama. Well done progression from enemies to lovers, and some of the very best conversational dynamics (if a bit of ngk overuse). This one highlights the petty/mischievous sides of Crowley and Aziraphale that are rarely found in fanfics, and the execution is delightful. Loved Anathema in this also.

stalwart sun, wily moon (370k) - (What, a non-explicit long AU??) This fic is amazing. Yes, long, it could use some editing to cut back a tad tbh, but still, amazing. Heist AU with an intriguing plot and life or death stakes. Characters and side characters all really well done, incorporates everything from the botched baby swap to the Great Plan and more. Amazing. Really. Only fic I've bought a physical printing of.

Talk about the weather (81k) - (Technically not explicit but yeah no they have sex.) Weatherman/stormchaser AU. They have an Arrangement. The premise of this one was weird for me because I headcanon Crowley as disliking the rain, but it's good. Not the typical characterizations you see in fics, which was really refreshing. Finally! Someone who remembers Aziraphale is kind of a bastard who doesn't say what he means, and someone who lets Crowley be happy and confident instead of a nervous wreck!

on the same page (E) (117k) - They're both writers. A very good execution of your classic fake marriage. Some lush metaphorical prose. Excellent characterizations on our pair, and the setup preceded by 6 years of intense yearning was just perfect. I do wish the side characters had gotten more fleshed out.

Married at First Sight (146k) - This premise is so silly (though then again the TV show does really exist), but it's actually really well done. The feels nearly made me cry.

Human AUs - long (historical)

On Espionage and Prophecy (E) (133k) - Take the first season 1941 flashback and make it a novel-length human AU. Aziraphale's a bookseller and Crowley's a spy working with him to double-cross the double-crossing Nazis. I will say the plot contrivance sometimes requires a bit of suspension of disbelief, but that's okay, it's fun and has some great pining.

Half Agony, Half Hope (E) (31k) - Regency era AU, but it's not all Jane Austen fantasy-land. We've got some real history lessons here, highlighting the political struggles of the time. This one's on the short side, but doesn't really feel like it; time passes behind the scenes, so the relationship doesn't feel rushed. Overall it's excellent and really deserves more love.

Human AUs - short

On the Ethics of Asking Your Professor on a Date (7.4k) - I kinda wish this one was a bit better with the showing vs. telling in places, but I still found it really charming.

Postcards From Paris (12k) - Crowley starts receiving postcards from an A.Z.F. meant for the previous tenant, and after awhile gets a chance to write back. Very sweet.

Miscellaneous AUs - short

air conditioned, love unconditional (8.8k) - AU where Aziraphale is a ceiling fan and Crowley is an air conditioning unit. Look, it's adorable, okay? (though the ending is kinda silly)

Speaking in Code (8.9k) - Cute queer Outsider POV. Aziraphale and Crowley become college professors in their retirement. Arguably canon compliant, but I'm calling it an AU since I don't really see it happening. A+ for the accurate gender treatment on Aziraphale.

Lit (12.7k) - Technically canon-divergent from the book? Crowley takes a university course on literature and surprise! The book they’re discussing is Good Omens. Crack treated seriously. It works really well actually!

Like a spiral sea unending (1.1k) - Crowley is a black hole, Aziraphale is a giant star. They're drawn to each other like gravity (pun intended).

#this list subject to edits as I encounter more #will take more recs if you like these vibes #good omens #good omens fanfiction #good omens fanfic rec #ineffable husbands

[justkending]

Moral of the Story. Chapter 22.

Summary: Marrying too young out of highschool leads to a naive and failed marriage. Now 10 years later, word comes that the divorce was never actually completed. Bucky and Y/N have to come back together after all these years to settle what wasn’t all those years back. Passive attitudes, miscommunicated endings, and reminiscing of old loves and lives all comes back for the two.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Y/N

Word Count: 3900+

A/N: Ok! So this is the last official chapter! I have finally finished the series and my next plan is to write an epilogue eventually as soon as I come up with a storyline I would like this to round out to. I hope you all enjoy as much as I did writing this series. It's crazy that it all started with listening to a song while doing my hair. I have a lot of stories I've been brainstorming on, but refused to start until this one was done. So bare with me and my crazy schedule of teaching for when the next story is to come:) XOXOXOX

Chapter Twenty-two:

Another long list of flights to get her across the country, but she was back in her childhood bedroom and resting for the night. 

She had gotten a really late flight in and her dad was nice enough to pick her up around midnight. 

The house was quiet and being home brought back a form of peace. A peace she never knew she missed until she got a taste of it again in the recent months. 

But there wasn’t much time to rest and focus on that as she had lunch with one of the new businesses the next morning. 

She hadn’t told anyone besides her family she was coming in since she wanted to surprise the rest of the group. However, a piece of her was also not sure how to with a certain person. 

But for now, her focus needed to stay on work. 

She had a great lunch with one of the small businesses that she had become rather close with in her time in highschool, which was now a booming business in the community it had started in. They were the florist shop she would visit anytime she went to the farmers market and were now in the top three florist shops in North Brooklyn. 

The meeting went well and they were very flexible and open minded on starting and learning new concepts to start implementing more eco-friendly routines into their work. 

Since the meeting was short, she decided to head to one of the coffee shops in the area and get a taste for a new place she was sure she’d become a regular at. 

She did a little research as to what was the most sustainable in the area, something she was pretty consistent with, and happened to find a small shop about a mile walk away. 

She ordered a matcha latte and grabbed a chocolate chip cookie to snack on as she looked more into some of the businesses she would be talking with throughout the week. 

In a little nook, she watched as the New Yorkers went about their normal day. Dogs being walked to teenagers giggling at the videos on their phones. 

She missed this atmosphere. Though LA and Brooklyn were big city based, it didn’t mean that they were similar in every way. East coast and west coast were two very different cultures. 

After doing a substantial amount of research, and a little bit of spaced out daydreaming about the changes of the city, she packed up and headed out to get back home for dinner. 

With her hands full, she turned her back to the push door and opened it while backing up. She said a quick thank you to the barista who wished her a happy day, and before she could fully step outside, she was already running into someone. 

“Oh, sorry!” she mumbled, quickly trying to catch the extra pastry bag she had bought for her father. 

Before the bag could hit the floor, the stranger caught it and she looked up seeing those damn piercing blues as if they had been waiting for their entrance into this next chapter in her life. 

“Y/N?” he said, followed by a surprised smile. “What are you doing here?” 

“Bucky,” she laughed, somehow at ease with his reaction. “How are you?” 

“I-I’m good,” he chuckled, handing her the brown paper sack and going to open the door so she was no longer leaning on it. “Wh-What-?”

She moved out of the way as another person excused themselves behind her. Bucky and her relocated to the side of the door where a few outdoor tables stood half occupied. 

“What am I doing here?” She asked his question again for him. “Business,” she nodded. 

“Business?” he questioned relaxing in his spot. “On the other side of the coast?”

“Funny, isn’t it?” she smiled at him, knowing his brain was still trying to catch up. “Yeah, um, my co-founder, Donna, and I got a lot of feedback from the stores I handed out company cards to on my short visit here. My friend thought it would be a good move to come over here and work with them and see if we could start reaching out to other areas.”

“Wow,” he sighed. “That’s amazing. I’m sure your family is extremely happy with that.”

“Oh, you know exactly how that’s going,” she smiled, looking at her feet then back at him. His gaze never once wanted to leave hers in case this was a dream and she would disappear any second. “Dad’s my own personal alarm clock. Sherri is helping me get the bathroom organized upstairs so it's ‘just as I like’ as she put it. Chloe is insisting on a movie night every night until I leave. The list goes on…” 

“I can think of a few other things one of the best bed and breakfast might be doing,” Bucky agreed. 

“They are a really good host family, huh?” she teased. 

“So how long are they hosting you for?” Bucky questioned, tilting his head. 

“That’s TBA…” Y/N hesitated to answer. “At least 3 months, but it all depends on how business goes.”

“3 months? Wow,” his eyebrows shot up. “That’s quite a bit.”

“Yeah, I’m excited for it though,” she shrugged with a happy grin. “I had kinda been moping around work since my visit here, and Donna came up with a way I could get out of that rut and possibly make our company bigger in the long run. Sure, living with my parents for 3 months might be a push.” She sighed. “But I just feel like I missed so much of their lives being so far away that being back makes 3 months seem like no time at all.”  

She realized her short rant was a little more personal than she meant to come out with, but when she looked up at Bucky, he was following every word like it was a start on a treasure map looking for lost gold. 

She let out an awkward laugh. “That was a lot for answering how long I’m staying. I guess you’re just the first friend that I’ve seen, so I’m unloading it all on you first.”

The word. Used so simply and so naturally, either of the two could have carried on without a thought to it, but they didn’t. Because it wasn’t simple. The natural part had made it convincing and sincere. 

She had thought out the sentence and when it filtered through her mind, she didn’t think to correct it because it was… Natural. 

They were friends again. And the tension held between the two had been healed to non existence. It felt comfortable again…

“I’m glad I’m the first friend to find out,” Bucky said just as simply as she had. 

They stood there smiling at the other and a silent emotion flowed spontaneously through them that was the utter perfection of peace. 

The 10 years apart had done them good in the end. Little did they know, it wasn’t until that 10 years came to an end that they fully transformed to their best selves.

_________________

“We haven’t had a poker night with Y/N since highschool. Think she’s going to be as good as she was last time we played?”

Bucky chuckled at Steve’s comment as they laid out bags of chips and the blonde scooped dips into serving bowls. 

“I think I still owe her at least sixty bucks,” Bucky mumbled as he thought back to their highschool gambling days. “Maybe more, but don’t remind her.”

“I’ll keep quiet. I think I owe her more than that,” Steve realized, pausing on the dips. 

There was a second of silence as they set up for their party and classic rock played in the background from Bucky’s playlist. 

“I still can’t believe that you, out of all the people in the city of Brooklyn, ran into her before she told us about her return home,” Steve laughed, grabbing some of the beers they had out and putting them in the fridge before going back to his previous job. 

“You and me both, pal,” Bucky nodded, leaning on the counter. “But I’m glad it happened.”

“I’m sure you are,” Steve chuckled under his breath. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Bucky shot a friendly glare his way. 

But then a knock on the door sounded and before either could look at the direction of the wood barrier, Sam was running out from the hall to answer it.

“I got it! I got it!” he shouted, jogging as if he had been waiting for someone. 

Steve and Bucky shared a look. The crew of everyone coming tonight wasn’t going to be here for another 30 minutes or so. And they don’t remember ordering anything…

After a minute they heard him mumble a thank you as he closed the door with a box in hand. 

“Whatcha got there, Wilson?” Bucky asked, slowly watching as Sam grinned at the delivery. 

“Is that-?” Steve seemed to catch on faster than Bucky.

“Dinner from my sister? Hmm mm,“ he hummed with a wide smile that showed the gap in his teeth. 

“I thought we were doing finger food tonight?”

“Y’all are, but this isn’t for you,” Sam was quick to correct.

“Whose is it?” Bucky raised an eyebrow.

“It’s for Y/N and I,” he answered simply, putting the fresh cajun food into the oven to stay warm. 

“You and Y/N?” he resaid as if it would make more sense a second time. 

“Yeah,” he said. When he turned back to the other men he saw their faces waiting for an explanation and sighed before obliging. “Sarah is slowly starting up her business up here. She’s doing well, but I know Y/N has all kinds of connections and suggestions for local businesses. I want her to try her food and possibly take my sister as a client if I can convince her.”

Steve laughed and crossed his arms as he placed the last bowl of dip on the bar top. 

“I’m pretty sure you could have just mentioned your sister was a local entrepreneur and she would have jumped at the opportunity to get in touch with Sarah,” Steve smirked. 

“She’s actively looking for people to work with anyway. That’s the whole reason she’s here,” Bucky added. 

“Well, this way, she can sample just how good my family's passed down recipes are worth to invest in,” Sam shrugged, happy with his plan anyway. “All it takes is one bite.”

“You’re really going to not share,” Bucky asked, peering at the closed oven door. 

He had a taste for Sarah’s home cooked meals. Sam was kind enough to bring leftovers when they had family dinners, and they were also regulars at her new restaurant that had been open for the last three weeks now.

“You’re more than capable of calling a delivery in,” Sam retorted, getting a not as friendly glare from Bucky this time. “Or are you struggling with money? Cause I can let Y/N know that you may need a little longer on getting her that $60 you were talking about…”

The glare became even less friendly at the dig and he wished he hadn’t said anything with Sam in the vicinity. 

“Why did you have to go and make friends with that guy?” he huffed, turning around and directing his question to Steve even though Sam was in the room. 

“God, you guys,” Steve groaned, shaking his head and escaping to the living room. 

____________________

Wanda and Vision were the first to come, then Clint and Laura. Slowly people trickled in and though it was a small reunion, it was nice to see the entire crew back together. 

Now they were just waiting for their last guest. 

“She’s running a little behind, isn’t she?” Bucky asked, checking his watch for the 10th time in the last 5 minutes. 

“Relax,” Steve sat at the table where they were getting the poker chips sorted. Wanda and Clint laughing next to each other and Vision and Laura on the couch talking about random things. “She texted she was stuck in traffic. Her Dad took the car, so she had to haul a cab.”

Bucky heard him, but that didn’t give him any sense of ease. He felt as though he needed to be a little bit prepared for her coming, and the only thing he had control over in that area was the time they had set. Of which she was late for such a punctual person. 

As if manifesting her to appear, the last planned knock of the night cut through the room. 

“I got it!” Bucky practically jumped up from his seat and raced to the door.

In his tunnel vision to the door, he missed the looks the entire crew shared and the smirk Steve had as he shuffled the cards. 

Taking only a second to collect himself, he opened the door, and there she was; dressed in a pair of jean shorts and what Bucky knew was a thrifted vintage shirt with sneakers and bag of chips and case of beer in hand.

“Sorry I’m late,” she smiled at him bashfully. 

“Better late than never,” he replied with a smile of his own. “Come on in,” he waved, moving out of the way for her. 

She thanked him as he took the food and drinks from her, yet stayed by her side. He could tell that there were nerves in her stance, but upon seeing a sincere smile, she relaxed.

“Y/N!” Wanda shouted, jumping up from her seat and rushing to hug her friend. 

“Wands!” Y/N chuckled, opening her arms as she met her in the middle. 

She went around the room saying her hellos and happy to see you’s to everyone she had missed. It took a second for them to get to the poker part of the night as they were catching up and reminiscing on life.

Eventually they were seated and Bucky grabbed the chair right next to Y/N with Wanda on the other side of her. In the olden days, he was one of the few people who could catch onto her tells in the game of bluff. Because of that, his best vantage point was from across the table, but he didn’t care about winning or losing tonight. He just wanted to be next to the person he had so long wished to be this close to again. 

And if Y/N was being honest, it was nice being in close proximity to him now that it felt like old times. She missed the comfort this group gave her, but she realized she also missed all the little quips and classic Bucky behaviors that came with being friends with him again. 

It didn’t go without notice from those around them how easily they fell back into the habits they used to share as best friends. Slight nudges when the other had tricked them. The eyes rolling anytime Y/N caught Bucky trying to jokingly peek over her shoulder to see her cards. The name drop of “Everest” every once in a while as he teased her. 

They may not have picked up on it, but it was clear as day that the flirting was happening and the sass and sarcasm they two spit back to each other was spoken as if the 10 years between now and then had never happened. 

“Sam, this is amazing,” she said in shock as she took a bite of the shrimp pasta that his sister had perfected. The buttered bread along with it was perfectly dusted with garlic and other spices to compliment the main dish. 

“My family has the talent of making some of the best comfort food around. And now I don’t have to worry about flying out to Louisiana anymore to get it,” Sam gleamed in pride. 

“This is,” she paused, finishing her bite. “Just amazing.”

“Thank you,” Sam chuckled. “I was actually wondering if-”

“Here, let me get you a card. I would love to work with your sister if she’s willing. I think she’d be a great partner as a locally owned woman started business,” she rushed to her purse to hand off her business card. 

“I told you,” Bucky mumbled, coming in and overhearing the conversation as she ran past him to the living room. 

“I like her,” Sam grinned. “I never thought I would say it, but you have good taste, Barnes.”

Bucky rolled his eyes at the comment and Sam followed behind Y/N to continue talking business until their next round of whatever card game they decided on next. 

But like any night, the evening was coming to a close and people had to get back home for work the next day. 

Clint and Laura were the first gone and Vision and Wanda had just left, leaning Sam, Bucky, Steve and Y/N. 

“Welp, I guess I’m the next one out. I should get home before midnight since I’m waking up early for another meeting,” Y/N announced, standing and stretching. 

“Do you want me to call a cab for you?” Sam offered his new friend. 

“No, that’s fine,” she grinned, patting his back. “I just need to check the app-”

“I can take you home,” Bucky interrupted, making everyone turn their head to the brunette who was sitting on the couch. 

Steve’s eyebrows raised at the quick proclamation and looked between the two as they stared at each other, both caught offguard by his quick offer. 

“I have some things I need to drop off for your dad,” he was fast to cover. “For a new project we’re working on,” he added. 

“I don’t want to be a bother-” she started, trying to be polite, but also internally hoping he didn’t listen to her.

“It’s not an issue,” he waved off, standing and coming around the furniture. “I’ll go grab those things and we can head out.”

He pointed back toward his room and waited for the all clear. 

“Ok,” she nodded with a smile. “I guess you can make it your way of paying me back for that $60 you owe me for the last poker game.”

He wasn’t expecting that quip and immediately put two and two together, turning slowly and threateningly to Sam. 

Steve tried to stifle a laugh at the conversation, but wasn’t successful. 

“I’m going to kick your ass,” Bucky muttered, walking by Sam giving him a smack to the back of his head. 

Steve’s laugh got louder as he gave up trying to not be too loud. 

“Don’t think I forgot you too, Steven. You also have a debt to my poker skills,” she pointed. 

Steve sombered at the call out and sent a nervous smile to her, before taking the beer from the end table and bringing it to his lips to keep him from having to respond. 

_______

The ride started out a little awkward. Especially since now it was just the two of them and they didn’t have their friends to be buffers. 

The first couple minutes was quiet until Y/N spoke up pointing out a new store she hadn’t noticed on the block before. 

They had small talk about the conversation starter and it got quiet again. 

“You know, you didn’t have to drive me home. I could have called a cab,” she mentioned while looking over at him. 

He smiled and shrugged and moved to just have one hand on the wheel. 

“I wanted to,” he replied honestly, looking back at her before the road. “That and I really do have somethings to drop off for your dad.” He figured if he made it awkward, the deflection would help. 

“Not like you couldn’t come any other day of the week,” she sassed but in a joking manner. 

“Right, right,” he nodded with a small laugh, going along with her sarcasm. “Well, long shift tomorrow and the next day, and the next day…” he waved his hand, selling his point. 

“Hm, what a shame,” she shook her head with a sly grin. 

Bucky turned at that comment. 

“How so?” 

“Well, I was going to ask if you wanted to join Chloe and I for movie night tomorrow. I think she was inviting Becca, so I figured I’d invite the other Barnes kid,” she smiled looking ahead. She was too nervous to see his reaction in case she was taking too big of a step. 

But all she heard was silence. 

Her cheeks began to burn red. She was scared that if she looked at him, she’d see confusion and realize she played her cards wrong. 

But that was the opposite of what she saw. 

She turned, seeing that at the stop sign they had approached, luckily the only ones at the four way stop, he had turned and was staring at her in shock. But not a bad kind of shock. At least it looked good. He had a soft smile as if he couldn’t believe she would suggest something as amazing as it was simple. 

“You want me to come to movie night with you and Chloe?”

“Well, yeah. It would be like old times but with both of our little sisters,” she replied, refusing to look away from those eyes that she had gone so long without really gazing in. “I hope that didn’t come off weird,” she was quick to redirect. “I just realized I really enjoyed your company tonight, and if I’m being honest, I’m feel we are at a spot where we are trying to step back into our friendship, and-”

“Y/N,” he stopped her when she began fumbling on her words in nerves. She stopped and looked at him worriedly. “I think a movie night is long overdue,” he said simply. “And I’ll be honest as well… I really miss hanging out with you too.”

His hand came to lay on top of her and he gave her a squeeze. Instinctively, she opened her hand to hold his. 

“I’m glad we’re on the same page,” she smiled widely. 

“It’s been a while.”

“I’m glad that wait time is over then.” 

“I agree completely.”

The tags are being weird and won't let me tag. I'll try again tomorrow, but if you know someone reading this, feel free to tag them!

Moral of the Story Taglist:

@taylormobleyy​​​​ @ximaginxinx​​​​ @vicmc624624​​​​ @leyannraerae​​​​ @lonelylovescompany​​​​ @jessyballetlet​​​​ @angstysebfanebfan​​​​ @tita127​​​​ @youcanbethebeauty​​ @im-a-light-child​​​​ @alyssahowden​​​​ @studiesinspanish​​​​ @natyvwe​ @rebekahdawkins​​​​ @fanfictionjunkie1112​​​​ @millennial-teenybopper​​​​ @scotlandasshole​​​​ @aquariusbarnes​​​​ @shinykoalacat​​​​ @wayward-river​​​​ @buckyswillows @natdrunk​​ @iloveangstposts​​​​ @fanngirl19​​​​ @seybox​​​​​

Marvel Tags:

@thejourneyneverendsx​​​​ @death-unbecomes-you​​​ @heyiamthatbitch @lizzymacy555​​  @srrymydood​​​​ @xa-dia​​​​ @redhairedfeistynerd​​​​ @morganclaire4​​​​ @connie326​​​​ @captain-asguard​​​​ @mollygetssherlockcoffee​​​​ @teenagedreams-bucky​​​​ @shower-me-with-roses​​​​ @livstilinski​​​​ @basicallylool​​​​

My Lovelies forever:

@natura1phenomenon​​​​ @lauravicente​​​​ @kakakatey​​​​ @traceyaudette​​​​ @notyourtypicalrose​​​​  @laneygthememequeen​​ @awesome-badass-cafeteria-sauce​​​​​ @sandlee44​​​​ @thorne93​​​​ @thefaithfulwriter1​​​​ @essie1876​​​​​ @greyeyedsmile14​​​​​ @capsiclehan​​​​​  @xostephanie​​​​​ @averyrogers83​​​​​ @awesomenursingstudent​​​​​ @gh0stgurl​​​​​ @cs-please​​​​​ @torayuri777 @jjlevin​​​​​ @rainbowkisses31​​​​​ @anise-d-castle6 @deannotmoose​​​​​ @their-bibliophile​​​​​ @kitkatd7​​​​​ @willowbleedsonpaper​​​​​ @mariaenchanted​​​​​ @snffbeebee​​​​​ @couldabeenamermaid​​​​​ @rebekahdawkins​​​​​ @alyispunk​​​​​

Bucky Barnes Tags:

@chloe-skywalker​​​​​ @charmedbysarge​​​​​ @jbarness​​​​​ @bellamy-barnes​​​​​ @katiaw2​​​​​ @aikeia​​​​​ @stopjustlovethemcu

#moral of the story #moral of the story finished #justkending #marvel moral of the story #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x ex reader #bucky barnes x highschool sweetheart #bucky barnes #marvel au #marvel au series #marvel bucky x reader #bucky x reader #bucky barnes au #bucky barnes au series

[siriannatan]

How to Make An Unlikely Friendship - Witch!Scott and Empires!Shelby

Just a funny little Idea that suddenly hit me :}

AO3

Evil Sausage turned out to not be as nice as Shelby thought. And she couldn't stop him herself. And no one could find Sausage. He would know what to do. Shelby was a witch and not a mage or a sorcerer or a wizard. Evil Wizards were a bit beyond her capabilities. She would have to find Sausage. The normal, good one who could contact his goddess.

She did have a plan for how to find him. She could not ask witches at the academy or her grandma or even other emperors for advice so... she found a spell to communicate with great witches of other dimensions and even times. Someone considered great by magic itself would without doubt be more than capable of helping her. There was no way it could go wrong.

The ritual was relatively simple. Some ingredients for the chalk she needed were a bit troublesome to get but she managed. And other than that it was just the correct phase of the moon. Prepare the circle and candles and the herbal effigy to burn and she was good to go to invite a Great Witch for a chat. She wasn't sure how exactly that would work, the book she was using did not explain that part, but that probably meant it was not a big deal. The Greatest Storm Witch, as the author was signed, must have known what they were doing. They were the Greatest after all.

And so Shelby went through the ritual. For a second, after she cast the spell, nothing has happened but then there was a whole bunch of smoke. And coughing. "What in the sake of all hells?" Shelby heard a somewhat familiar voice. Scott? She thought. did she end up summoning a Scott from some different dimension? A Great Witch Scott? "Are you playing with magic you should not again, Pris?" the 'Scott' asked.

"I'm not a 'Pris', I'm Shelby, A Great Witch of this area," Shelby introduced herself and cast a small gust to get the smoke away faster. "I'm sorry if I interrupted anything, I can't really control who this spell summons," she added.

This was certainly not the Scott she knew. Not with all the black and dark green and spooky vibes. And was he not breathing or was it her imagination?

"No, no, some rest will not hurt me, others are no challenge anyway. I'm Scott, the necromantic witch, a candidate for the Supreme Witch," Scott introduced himself with a bow and the sass Shelby very much connected to the Scott she knew. "What was that spell even supposed to do? I have a bit of expertise with summoning. And why did you summon me?" he grinned as he dusted off his robes. They were rather nice, nicer than any set of robes Shelby ever had herself. But it made sense he was a candidate for a Supreme Witch. Whatever that was sounded impressive.

So Shelby explained her predicament. And Scott listened, nodding along and not saying anything until she was done.

"Yeah, your friend sounds like the best solution, we have no idea what would happen if I dabbled too much in that. And while I can't get him back, I know someone who can. A demon, friendly one, don't worry, he helped me a lot," Scott finally said and pulled out a thick, bound with dark leather and metal. An impressive book. "Well, he's harmless as long as we're staying safe," he added with a grin.

Scott was not a 'good' kind of witch. Not in the academy's way. He was more of a 'whatever solves the problem without causing too many other problems' kind of witch. Curses. Demons. Necromancy. And one of the participants in a competition for the title of Supreme Witch. Not something that happened in this dimension, sadly. Shelby was sure she'd do great in that.

Summoning Leonard - as the demon was called apparently, took them only a few hours. Scott really knew what he was doing. And it was more than eager to help when Scott offered to 'let him meet Pris again' whatever or whoever this Pris was must have been an impressive person if a demon was interested in them. The demon easily brought Sausage who, without paying any mind to a demon or a necromancer just rushed off to Sanctuary to fight his evil alternate self. 

"He could not see us, I can vanish and Leonard went home," Scott explained before Shelby could even ask. "I suppose I still have a few hours here, the spell, I believe, keeps me here for 24 hours at best," he hummed looking around the foggy swamp. "This place looks... fun."   "The fog's dangerous if you get lost in it, I'm working on getting rid of it," Shelby explained and invited him for tea and cookies. She might as well since she was the one who dragged him to this dimension.

Scott was more than eager for tea and cookies. "I don't remember when someone else booked or baked for me last time... Zombies are rubbish at it," he snickered, offering Shelby an arm.

They spend the rest of Scott's summoning time talking about magic and how limiting the idea of 'good' was. And Shelby learned about Pris. Apparently, she was Scott's self-proclaimed rival and 'fighter of good'. 

"She accused me of wanting to take over the world even, like... Do I look like I want that responsibility?" Scott laughed, he was telling a story of a duel he had with Pris. A duel she requested, lost, and denied Scott's win, demanding an instant rematch like four times in a row. "If she kept away from my magic and apologised for being rude I'd leave her alone, I did it when Joey did," Scott sighed shaking his head.

Another familiar name. And that Joey sounded just as annoying as the local Pirate so Shelby told Scott about her problems with him. And how cool Katherine is. And Scott told her about his best friends Eloise and Cleo, and some other witches he knew. Like the Storm Witch, his dimension's Shelby. Shelby was honestly a bit jealous this Scott had so many witch friends. She never had many friends back in the Academy. She did stay off the topic of local Scott since just mentioning him had her guest looking down.

It was a bit sad when he vanished in a puff of greenish smoke.

#my stuff #my stories #fanfiction #empires smp #witchcraft smp #witchcraft scott #empires shelby

[dmwrites]

“So, I’ve been made aware that we have a new neighbor in the nearby jungle biome, friends, and I think we should drop by with a housewarming gift of a basket of fruit and muffins.” Joe Hills said, recording his podcast as he always did by his giant pinball machine. He held the tiny microphone he used to record with in one hand and his communicator, which the microphone was attached to, in the other.

“Now, listeners, housewarming gifts are both timeless and excruciatingly annoying. I want to straddle that line, and also not scare off Etho, as he can be skittish. Now, I can hear you asking yourselves, Joe, how do you toe such a delicate line? Well, listeners, you can’t see this because you can only listen and not watch, but if you caught my most recent guest crafting episode with ZombieCleo, you may remember that I made a basket out of dried kelp and some of my own hair. This, listeners, is what we are going to use to house the fruit and muffins.”

Joe cleared his throat and considered the basket of goodies in front of him. “Now, in order to keep it interesting and create unique and creative problems for myself, I will be describing the fruit and muffins in my best Canadian accent, as to accustom myself to Etho’s way of life and also so the author doesn’t have to think of something more creative!” Joe cleared his throat again and started talking in a Canadian accent. “So, we have bran muffins, gluten free muffins, and chocolate chip muffins, as I wasn’t quite sure what Etho would like. In terms of fruit, Minecraft offers very little. So I illegally snuck in as much modded fruit as I could find on the dark web! I’m talking oranges, bananas, dragonfruit. Etho seems like a scary guy, so scary fruit would be right up his alley. All that’s left now is to go deliver it to him!”

Joe paused the recording and put the recording equipment in his pocket. He took off towards Etho’s jungle, basket in hand and a friendly smile already on his face.

Luckily for him, Etho was out on a little cleared-out island, looking at a monstrosity of redstone. Joe hit record again, with the microphone hidden in his pocket, and landed on the ground right behind Etho.

“Howdy Etho, or should I say neighbor!” Joe waved.

“Oh hey Joe.” Etho smiled back at him, but his eyes were a little unfocused, probably thinking about redstone. “Or should I say Joebor. Joe-neighbor. Does that work?”

“Totally!” Joe lied. “Well, I figured since we are neighbors now, I should get you a house-warming gift!” Joe held out the basket.

“Oh thank you!” Etho took the basket and examined it. “Is this handmade?”

“Yep!” Joe was thrilled that Etho had noticed. “Woven with dried kelp and a special substance.” Etho raised a suspicious eyebrow at Joe but said nothing. “Now, Etho, if I may ask, why did you move out of Bdubs’ basement? Everyone’s dying to know!”

“Well, I had a prophetic dream about a redstone contraption, and then I woke up to my pet pufferfish killing me in my sleep.” Etho sighed. “Kinda was the last straw- I’m not meant to be a tenant. I wanted my own land, and this place is perfect for what I need. So I packed up, told my pufferfish I was going out for milk, and left.”

“Oh, so sad about your pufferfish!” Joe replied.

“I mean, I’m sure he’ll be fine.” Etho said, flapping a hand. “Anyway, nice talking to you Joe, but I gotta get back to this redstone stuff. See you around!”

Joe watched Etho head back to his redstone contraption, and he slowly brought the tiny microphone out of his pocket and back up to his mouth.

“Hear that, listeners? Looks like we got us a mission!”

——

“Psssshh, Etho!”

Etho jerked awake with a gasp, grimacing with pain, as he’d fallen asleep against a shulker box. Joe was standing above him, smiling and holding a bucket.

“I got your pufferfish for you! Here you go!”

Joe was smiling so big and looked so happy, and as Etho really had just woken up, he had no choice but to take the bucket of water and previously abandoned pufferfish.

“Thanks Joe.”

“You are so welcome! See you around, neighbor!” Joe took off, tiny microphone already out and jabbering away. Etho looked down at the pufferfish, who was giving him a very sour look indeed.

#August 11 2022 #fic #hc9 #joehills #ethoslab #long post #i literally told myself to take the night off bc I’m in pain but look what we have here

[landgraabbed]

it's been a while since i last shared a game i've been playing. april was spent with stardew valley and i've taken a break from it recently, which i've been spending with the incredible loop hero (dev. four quarters). i believe it's available on all platforms except playstation; it also came out on mobile in the last couple of days. i've been splitting my game time between pc and the steam deck and it plays really well on both. all pictures are completely unedited, my thoughts are below

loop hero is the bastard child of roguelite, deck builder, dungeon crawler, and class-based numbers machine elements. it is set in a post apocalyptic world transformed into a void by sans undertale a lich. all that is left is the loop, which the protagonist wanders endlessly until death or retreat. the loop starts and ends at the campsite, after which the creature and loot level will increase. the protagonist has vague memories of the world, which he imposes through the form of cards. each card is a tile with different properties, both positive and negative to the player. some come with enemy spawns which the protagonist battles automatically. the core gameplay mechanic hinges on knowing what cards to put, and where and when to do so. in a way, the player is the dm in this campaign. more cards can unwittingly bring more dangers, but it is through defeating enemies that one can get more cards and better loot to combat the increasing difficulty that comes with each loot. cards can also interact with others in ways that aren't predictable at first, but can give benefits down the line. there is a meter that indicates when enough cards have been placed in order to summon the chapter boss. during runs, resources can be gathered to improve the base camp, which makes this game lean roguelite, as it allows for progression between runs. some amount of resources is always brought back, but it depends on whether the player has died, retreated outside the camp tile, or retreated in the camp tile (the best outcome for resource gathering). certain base camp updates may also unlock different classes.

i found the writing to be really good so far. it is simple. no character is named and details are vague in a way i find murakami-esque. i think it's lovely that the hero is so strongly motivated to restore the world for, even if that means bringing dangerous people and creatures back. each time a new verbal enemy type is spawned and fought, there is a dialogue in which the protagonist tries to reason with them. i found it to be a nice humanizing touch. there is also a strong element of community as the base camp is expanded to accommodate new characters (who are all hot smh) who all provide support based on their building/profession. they're great. i have just defeated the first boss and don't know what comes next, but it seems that there is more to the initial premise than it first appears.

visually i find the game gorgeous, the devs did an amazing work with the pixel art, which is one of the most gorgeous i've seen in gaming. there are options to toggle a crt shader (which i have enabled in these pictures) and different font options for readability. i found the most stylized default font to be very readable for me, but the game features a simple sans-serif font and a sans-serif dyslexia-friendly font in addition. the soundtrack also leans heavy into the 8bit era of gaming aesthetics. it also has bangers such as this song that plays once the first boss appears.

#p #cat's gaming library #loop hero #lh #(as ive been saying to the wife: the woman (me) yearns for the loop)

[aurabird]

A Search For Belonging

Chapter 9: Wings and Things

Xornoth pays Doc a visit and learns more about the past and present antics of his new family.

Ao3 Link | Masterpost

--------------- 

Xornoth awoke to the smell of food and stretched a little before getting out of bed and making his way downstairs.

“Morning Xornoth!” Ren greeted with a smile, “Hope you don’t mind but I made some breakfast as I missed dinner last night. There’s some extra if you want it.”

Xornoth returned the expression, Ren’s cheery demeanor contagious, “Not at all.” he replied, putting a few pancakes on a plate and joining his fellow Hermit at the table,  “Thanks.”

After finishing breakfast and cleaning up Xornoth found himself following Ren down to the shoreline and joining him in a small rowboat for the ride back to Octagon.

When they docked Xornoth could not help but let his gaze travel upwards at the sheer size of the structures in the area, still as impressive as when he’d seen them during Grian’s tour of the continent. 

Ren proceeded to then guide him to an area around the back of Octagon where a button was pressed and a part of the wall moved away, revealing a staircase, “Doc’s workshop is downstairs, come on.”

Xornoth still found Doc mildly terrifying despite the creeper hybrid’s demeanor and friendliness. He had expected the stairwell down to the workshop to be spooky and ominous like some form of dungeon but found it was lit up rather nicely and the walls matching the color and style of the building above.

Once the duo reached the bottom Xornoth was met with a massive room. He looked around the area in awe at the random bits and bobs and strange devices scattered about on tables among crates of redstone of both the dust and crystalized variety, as well as the blueprints pinned to the walls; one of which Doc was looking at intently.

“Hey Doc, I brought a guest.” Ren called, announcing their presence. The Hermit in question turned to look and gave a smile as he caught sight of them.

“I had begun to think that you never leave Boatem.” he said with a chuckle, “Welcome to Octagon, Xornoth. What brings you here?”

“Ren said that you...might be able...to fix my wings.”

Doc’s expression turned sympathetic “Ah, I remember Grian saying you were unable to fly. Well, come on over here and let me take a look at them.”

Xornoth did as instructed and approached, stretching out his wings. “May I?” Doc inquired, motioning to the delicate feathers that remained.” he got a nod in response.

A shiver went down Xornoth’s spine as Doc’s hands came into contact with the feathers, it’d been so long since he’d allowed anyone to touch his wings with consent and the fingers moving through them was making him anxious.

“Hmm...alright, I think I can work with this. The wing structure is still intact, all that’s missing is the feathers that allow flight. The first option would just be to embed feathers into your wing directly where they are missing; and the other option is a device that would allow attachment of the missing feathers in exchange for possibly limiting some mobility, but I could fix that issue over time as well.”

Xornoth thought about it for a moment before replying, “I’ll go with the second option if that’s alright with you.”

Doc smiled and nodded, “Perfectly fine. I’ll take some measurements of your wings and then just give me a few days to come up with something that will work.”

-

It was five days later when Xornoth’s communicator alerted him with a private message from Doc regarding the completion of the device that would fix his wings. He had wasted no time in putting away the materials he’d been building with and rushing over to Octagon shortly after.

When he entered Doc’s workshop he saw the man over by a table and announced his presence, Doc greeted him and motioned Xornoth over.

On the table was a harness very similar to that of an elytra, only this one had a metal framework on either side with artificial feathers attached to them where primaries and secondaries would usually be found. 

“In theory, the framework should fit right against the structure of your wing like a brace.” Doc explained, motioning to the device, “The harness is so that the framework itself doesn’t come off from the motion of you flying. There’s also sensors at the joints that will detect your muscle movement so everything should fold and open as normal.”

Xornoth touched the constructs, feeling the feathers and metal “Doc, these are stunning…”

“Thank you, I’ve never done something like this for a wing before, so it was also a nice little challenge for myself. I still see a few flaws in their design but I can fix those later, I think you’ve waited long enough for this. Ready to try them on and see if they work?”

With an eager nod Xornoth spread his wings, allowing Doc to help him equip the device and secure everything in place. When he was done, Doc turned him to face a mirror and spoke, “Well, what do you think?” he asked.

Xornoth looked at the attachments on his wings. If they were stunning on the table, they were beautiful now that he had them on. He gave them a few test flaps and tried folding his wings, finding everything worked as it should.

“Can I try flying?” he asked in excitement.

“Not much room for that in here, let’s go outside.”

The warmth of the sun greeted them as they left the workshop and Xornoth began to flap his wings. It took several strokes, but eventually the ground beneath him vanished as he got airborne. A laugh escaped him as he began to maneuver and twist through the sky, he was flying!

It wasn’t perfect, Xornoth could tell a few of his movements were restricted; but Doc had mentioned that the device would limit some of his mobility at the start and over time those limits could eventually be fixed. For now, he was content with the feeling of actual flight after so long without it.

Doc watched from the ground, a smile on his face at the sheer joy and laughter above him as Xornoth did experimental flips and spins, diving and swooping through the sky without a care in the world at the freedom returned to him.

When Xornoth decided to land he instantly ran to Doc and wrapped his arms around him, tears of joy going down his face. “Thank you, Doc.” he managed to say.

Doc returned the gesture, “You’re a Hermit now, Xornoth.” He began, “And Hermits help each other no matter the odds.”

-

After spending a bit more time with Doc and eventually Ren when the werewolf caught sight of them, Xornoth said his goodbyes and made the flight back to Boatem to show his fellow basemates his new prosthetics and return to building his village.

He’d have to give the place an official name at some point.

As he flew over Boatem, he caught sight of Mumbo and Grian over by the G-Train and Cheapslate, the latter of which had been covered in water.

Curious, he landed in a tree within earshot, watching the antics of his fellow Hermits.

“Does it have to get cheaper then?” Grian asked as he gestured to a sign that read ‘Every time my store gets vandalized it gets cheaper’ in large letters, the tone in his voice one of mischief.

“Are you sure you didn’t do this?”

“No~”

Mumbo changed the price sign on the pile of deepslate and exchanged a few more words with Grian about putting the G-Train out of business with the better prices of Cheapslate’s wares comparatively before Grian removed the water and replaced it with lava instead with a devious grin on his face.

“You’re holding an empty bucket mate!”

“I was just trying to remove the water and it turned into lava.”

“Even though this store is really difficult to navigate to, I feel like now I’m going to get all the business.”  Mumbo replied as he wrote on another sign, this one reading ‘1 diamond, 1 chest’

“Alright, sold. I’ll take the lot!” Grian declared, tossing six diamonds over to Mumbo before going over to remove the lava and take the stock out of the chests.

“No wait! You weren’t supposed to abuse my system like that buddy!”

“What do you mean~”

“No, that wasn’t the plan! The plan was that it was supposed to be so cheap that no one would shop at your store, not that you would also shop at my store!”

“You should have put that in the terms and conditions!”

Xornoth watched their antics for a bit longer before making his presence known. “Hey you two, what’s going on over here?” He asked.

“I just vandalized Mumbo’s shop and now I own it!” Grian responded with pride 

“Well joke’s on you because I have seven diamonds now and I’ve just made a bunch of coal sales!” Mambo laughed as he tossed a few diamonds to Grian and grabbed several bags of coal.

Grian’s grin grew wider “Well I have a bit of a confession to make. Most of that I borrowed from your chests so…”

“Wait, so I just bought my own coal?!”

“You bought your own coal!”

“This is the worst day of my life!”

Xornoth couldn’t help but join in on the laughter of his fellow Hermits and their antics, only stopping when Grian took notice of the new additions on his wings.

“But enough about the two of us!” He said with a smile, “I see your visit to Doc went well! Your wings are looking amazing!”

“Thanks, I just finished a test flight with them, they work wonderfully. Doc is really a genius when it comes to these kinds of things.”

“You should have seen the stuff he did during the civil war! The man’s absolutely insane.”

“I don’t think you ever told me the story behind that one, care to elaborate?”

Grian grinned, “I honestly don’t remember exactly how it started but Doc will claim it’s because I messed with one of the bushes at his base!”

-

As Grian recounted the story of the pranks leading up to the civil war to Xornoth and the horrible job Mumbo did as a mole, the trio was joined by Scar and Impulse, both of which happily added to the conversation with their own perspectives of the event.

Xornoth couldn’t help but toss in a few things he’d witnessed back on Empiria into the impromptu storytime, even if he hadn’t been in the right state of mind at the time the antics of the rulers' squabbles had always amused him and, judging by the reactions from his fellow Hermits, them as well.

“How’s the sketchbook working out for you by the way Xornoth?” Scar questioned, “Have you used it yet?”

Xornoth nodded and grabbed the item in question from his satchel to show to the other members of Boatem, “It's been working wonderfully, Scar. I have three more ideas for buildings I plan to construct!” 

Scar looked at the page being displayed, “Xornoth that looks amazing! What is it going to be?”

“A barn for sheep since they were iconic to the region.” he said before he turned the page, “And this one will be a storage building. The third one is still in the planning stages but I’m thinking maybe a forge of some sort!”

“Have you decided on a name for your village yet Xornoth?” Impulse questioned.

“No, but a part of me is thinking about calling it ‘New Rivendell’ for the sake of nostalgia and because of how similar it is to my original home.”

“Do you miss it at all?” Mumbo asked, “Your homeland?”

The smile on Xornoth’s face turned more sentimental at the question, “Sometimes, yes. I miss my twin brother the most if I’m being honest. Before…everything that happened to me, we were close and did everything together. Destiny tore us apart but even though we became enemies in the end, I realize now in my clear state of mind that deep down I never stopped loving him. Even if he probably thinks I’m dead, I hope he’s alright.”

#empires smp #hermitcraft #hermitcraft x empires #empiresblr #hermitblr #Xornoth #empires xornoth #grian #mumbo jumbo #docm77 #rendog #a search for belonging #My writing

[sybaritick]

Writer asks! 😁 10, 12, 18? 👉👈

(for the weird questions for writers ask game!) thank you for sending 'em! 10. Has a piece of writing ever “haunted” you? Has your own writing haunted you? What does that mean to you?

There def pieces of writing that "haunt" me in the sense that they have stayed with me for being so darkly emotionally affecting: the lyrics of the climax of Joanna Newsom's Only Skin have been meaningful in my heart for over a decade at this point. same with Invictus, it's a cliche but I encountered it at a rough part of my life so it meant a lot to me. More recently it has been Salvage that keeps coming to mind: I feel grateful for it, for being so bluntly honest about a feeling that is so difficult to talk about.

My own writing? The one that I keep coming back to is HANDLED just because I think I did a good job explaining the "vibe" in a way that feels salient to me, though I'm not sure it's effective communication to anyone else!

12. If a genie offered you three writing wishes, what would they be? Btw if you wish for more wishes the genie turns all your current WIPs into Lorem Ipsum, I don’t make the rules

hm, what counts as a writing wish. did you know someone once asked me a "three wishes" type question on my old tumblr like 6 years ago and i said i'd wish to be omnipotent

i wish that 1) i eventually finish my long-form original, PRMH, to my satisfaction and edit it into something nice that my friends can read, and 2) i write a bunch more lyrics in 2024, i like writing lyrics, and 3) i get better at writing more and weirder kinks in my erotica (both fandom and original) :D

18. Choose a passage from your writing. Tell me about the backstory of this moment. How you came up with it, how it changed from start to end. Spicy addition: Questioner provides the passage.

Let's steal something from the dinner from Tephra Year ch1 since that's fresh in my mind!

"This is all delicious," he commented after a second helping. "I almost want to ask if the chef is of Waterdhavian background, because from what you've said, you're a Baldurian to the core." Enver shook his head, amused. "My tastes are varied, but I'll admit your suspicions are correct. I only wanted to ensure they'd get a bit of practice. I wouldn't want you to get homesick.” He gave Gale a soft, modest smile. “You should let me know of your favorites." "You're too kind," Gale said, before realizing what a tremendously comedic thing it was to say without further context. "I'm happy to hear it. If you aren't being kept in greater luxury than you were accustomed to in your seaside tower, I've failed as a host." It was after Gale had finished his third glass of wine and his second story about Tara that a servant brought out a dessert— a beautiful tart, heavy with ripe, glistening slices of pear. Gortash took a generous piece for himself, and Gale felt permitted to follow suit. 

so the general vibe here is, of course, that Gortash is trying to get on Gale's good side very hard and make this little business arrangement feel friendly and enjoyable so that Gale lets his guard down a bit and is more cooperative instead of feeling like he's being forced (he's not gonna be as effective if he's thinking about "I am doing a horrible thing for a horrible man" the whole time!)

interesting notes: There used to be a line in here that literally said that Gale hardly noticed he was only talking about himself, which I was on the fence about including-- wonderful beta reader (@slipintosomethingsoft hi) encouraged me that it wasn't necessary and I could keep the show-don't-tell approach and add a couple more details like having Gortash smile after his comment about homesickness to make it all the more obvious he's being weird right now. also I love describing food (and i have a little bit of a thing about gale eating for the 0 of my followers who aren't aware). I wanted to have Gale cautiously surprised by the aggressively-pandering menu-- yet enjoying it all anyway! supposed to be a sort of echo of his general vibe of "i know i should be watching out, but i'll watch out, and in the meantime i can enjoy myself, right? might as well". gale, essentially, sees what's happening and thinks he's more than clever enough to manage to snap up the bait without setting off the trap. :3

#cal txt #asks

[pokeexehasstoppedworking]

Applin Of My Eye Ch4 New Territory In Turrffield

(Warning: mentioning of death. The backstory for Milo and his brother is NOT cannon and is only for the story. Thank you to everyone who suggested a name for the new Pokemon. The wooloo shall now be named Mary Lou.)

"Y-Y-Y/N?!"

Felix had to quickly dive in order to make sure Milo didn't drop the giant gift basket they had brought over, practically shoving it back into his brothers hands jostling Milo back from shock and having him stumble to catch himself. You giggled as he straightened back up red faced and embarrassed.

"I-I-I mean of COURSE it's you!" He smiled a bit too widely flustered under your smile. "I mean W-Who else w-w-would it be?! You're the only Y/n after all! *Ahem*...W-What are you doing here?"

"I live here now." You gestured to the house behind you. "I just bought it a week ago and settled all the paperwork."

"Wow! Really?" Felix lit up. "that's great! What made you want to move into Turrffield?"

"I wanted to settle down somewhere quiet and peaceful and Turrffield was the perfect place for it all. It reminds me of Postwick kinda, but there wasn't any space there. And Turrffield offers a bit more open space which I like." You glanced back to Milo whom was still blushing. "But what's this?"

"We brought you over a gift basket." Felix elbowed Milo in the ribs making him jolt. 

"UH YEAH THIS IS FOR YOU!!," he blurted out quickly holding out the large basket to you.

"It's got some home grown food and preservatives made by yours truly! It's a tradition of sorts to give any new comers some of Turrffield's very own pride and joy!," Felix proudly explained as you took the basket from Milo, "It was Milo's idea. He's friendly and considerate like that."

Your eyes scanned across the basket you had to use both arms to carry and smiled. "Wow. This would definitely help save on groceries. Thank you!" You then stepped back a bit. "Would you like to come in? I don't have much but you're welcome to stay for lunch. It'd be the least I could do for all the kindness you showed me."

Before Milo could say anything he yelped as his brother pushed him forward into the home. "We would LOVE to!" 

He had no choice but to stumble inside the house with Felix  pushing behind him.  The house looked...Well it was as generic and plain as a home could be he supposed. Barely any furniture was about, he guessed Old Man Jenkins took most of the original furniture when he moved out, and the house looked pretty simplified. He stood there gulping as the door closed behind them and a moment later you walked back into view with a smile. 

"Would you guys like some lunch? I'm not much of a cook but I could offer you some food I have in the kitchen."

"U-Um..S-S-Sure." He gulped. "Y-Your h-house looks n-nice."

"Thanks. I haven't had much time to decorate yet." You motioned your head. "C'mon. The kitchen's this way."

They followed you into the kitchen, which also looked plain and simple looking, and watched as you walked over to the counter before placing the basket on the counter. Silver was laying down on the floor probably asleep and barely looked up when you all walked in. 

"Sorry if I don't have a lot to offer. Would instant noodle curry be alright?"

"That'll be just fine," Felix confirmed. "So... Turrffield huh? Y'know this is a farming community. Does that mean you're going to be farming and using all those berry trees back there?"

"Actually I was planning on renting the property out." You made for a cabinet where you would find the instant curry cups. "It's too big for me to maintain it all and I know someone else who rents their land to farmers."

"So... You're letting someone use your land to grow their own food to sell and having them pay you for using it? .. That's not a too bad idea. Renting it to anyone yet?"

"No. I was thinking of putting a post up in the rotomi system but I haven't gotten around to it yet." You turned we with three cups in your arms. "I figured it would be a good way to make extra money and ensure the property wouldn't be wasted for use."

...Felix slowly looked at his brother. "You know... Milo's been wanting some more room to plant more vegetables like lettuce and tomatoes but we couldn't figure out how to do that without making it cramped or tearing down one of our barns." He elbowed his brother again. "This sounds like a great deal! Don't you think Milo?"

"Huh?!" Milo blinked. "Oh! U-Um...*ahem* That does sound like a good deal." He cleared his throat straightening himself out with a deep inhale. "How much were you planning on renting it for?"

"Oh. About five hundred a month and a small portion of the money they make from selling the produce they grow. I'll even let them pick all the berries from the trees they want to." You set out placing the cups on your counter and heading for the kettle you previously left on the stovetop.

Felix grabbed Milo's hand, a face of happiness coming over him. "Milo! Restaurants and trainers pay dozens of money for those berries! Jenkins never let anyone touch them. This could be a great opportunity!"

"I don't know Felix. Seems like a bit of extra work for us."

"It doesn't have to be just us! Think about it! You could employ some of your gym workers to help pick berries from the trees and work the fields! They could use the extra money for their families and we can use the extra funds to help restore the geoglyh like you wanted! Or for any charity you wanted. Berries sell for lots of money." With each word Milo looked more and more interested with each word Felix said. "Plus it'll give you more time to be with your cru-" 

"Thank you, Felix! I will think about that!" His face got red again just as you turned around.

"Would you like a cup of instant noodle curry?"

"Y-YES! Please!"

In the end Milo did end up getting that offer. It sounded too good to pass up! Extra pay for his town. Funds for restoring the geoglyh and few stone carvings here. Space for the produce he's been wanting to grow for a while.....And maybe getting closer to the woman he liked- UH. HE MEANT GREETING A NEW NEIGHBOR AND HELPING HER SETTLE INTO TURRFFIELD!! YEAH!! THAT'S WHAT HE MEANT!! Ahem. It took one month to prepare everything. He spoke with you again to draw up the legal contract and to make sure you were ok with the idea of his hired workers coming onto the fields to work them of course you agreed. Two days later you woke up and discovered around twenty men and women with LOTS of gear ranging from hoes and shovels to a giant tractor heading to the giant gate in your fence leading to the few acres behind your house. One of those people being Milo who waved and walk over to greet you. 

"Hey! Y/n, good morning!," He called with a wave as he walked over to you, "Sorry about all the noise! I figured we should come over to fix the area before we're able to use it."

You smiled. "No. Not at all! The place is a bit overgrown. I was just surprised to see everyone."

He chuckled nervously a hand on his neck and you couldn't help but find his bashfulness cute. "W-Well Old Man Jenkins was a bit too old to take care of six acres all by himself, but he was stubborn and never let anyone tried to help. Liked to keep to himself and didn't like anyone on his property I guess. So it'll take a bit of repairing before we can use it. I hope you don't mind."

"I don't mind at all. It could use some sprucing up." You glanced over everyone and they seemed to go to work immediately. "How long do you think it'll take to fix it all?"

"Oh not too long. We should be able to start planting by the end of this month! But we can start harvesting those berry trees now if you want."

"Go right ahead. I wouldn't want them to go bad anyways. So go ahead and pick as many as you want. All I ask is that you save some for me since that's what I'm using as food mostly."

"Not a problem!," He assured you holding up a hand with a smile. "I'll be sure to tell everyone that. Oh! Before I forget!" You blinked as he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a few dollar bills before holding them out for you. "Here. The first months rent for the land. I can't thank you enough for this. The extra income to Turrffield is great!"

You slowly took the money from him before smiling. "Thanks! I'm glad I can help the community out like this! Anyway I can help?"

"Well I don't think you know much about farm equipment no offense. But if you make sure everyone stays hydrated it'd be very helpful. Hard work can really work up a sweat." 

"I can do that no problem. Oh. And Milo." He hummed but froze when you reached up and patted his cheek with a giggle. "I really do think you're a kind and compassionate person."

You then turned and left leaving him there...before his face poofed up a deep red again. "...Oh sweet wooloo knitted sweaters."

The next month wasn't too eventful. Everyone came early in the morning and did work until around four in the afternoon before leaving to break for the end of the day, while you busied yourself bringing out drinks and drinks for everyone there. Of course Milo supervised and helped with everything. Grass mowed, trees trimmed, berries collected, fields plowed, weeds pulled, fallen trees hauled away- By the end of the first month all the hard work had been done and they came back for the rest of the berries and to start planting. You saw someone attached a hand plow to a mudsdale and start plowing the fields as others added fertilizer to the ground or planted seeds. It was starting to get better. Already it looked great now that the entire area was being maintained and used. By the time they were done, everyone was set and now only a few people would come by at various parts of the day to water the plants or make sure things were all going smoothly or to gather more berries.  They grew back surprisingly fast. You still saw Milo although and the next time you both met would be a bit of a surprise. You had just gone out to get the mail and turned around when you heard a shout.

"Y/N LOOK OUT!!"

You looked up, saw a giant white ball rolling towards you,  yelled, and dove just in time to avoid a wooloo rolling past and a second later a pink haired blue dove past. Milo let out a loud 'OOF!' and thud as his chest fell against the ground and his hands grabbed strongly onto the wooloo that baaed loudly as strong hands pulled it back. 

"Gotcha! Lucy, you are in big trouble young lady!" With a grunt he pulled the annoyed looking wooloo into his lap as he struggled to sit on his knees and gave a firm look. "You know better than to run off like that! You could've hurt Y/n  if you ran into her!" The wooloo only baaed again waving her legs around. Milo frowned before looking up at your form. "...Oh...Uh." He quickly stood up with a worried look. "I'm so sorry. Are you alright?"

You nodded before raising a brow at him. His white shirt was stained brown from the dirt where he landed on the ground. Poor Milo. "You ok there?"

He sighed. "Yeah. Sorry about this. It's sheering day but Lucy doesn't like it too much. She always manages to run away before I can grab her. I never know how she makes it over the fence." 

"It's alright. I didn't get bowled over this time so it's good." That made Milo chuckle a bit. 

"Oh..Before I forget again, I got something for you." Maneuvering the pokemon under one arm, he reached into his pocket again before pulling out a...wad of cash?! And holding it out to you. "Here. The rent for this month and a portion of those berries we shipped out of here."

You stared wide eyed at it before slowly taking it from him. "Whoa...I just..How much is this?"

"Two thousand five hundred dollars."

Your eyes almost popped out like some cartoon character as you snapped to him I'm shock. "Two thousand five hundred dollars?! Holy Arceus! How many berries did you sell?!"

"Actually those berries sell for a lot of money," he explained, "Some have healing properties so they can be sold to hospitals, doctors, and pokemon centers to make healing ointment and antidotes for lots of things. Others taste really good and are sold to big restaurant chains. There's also plenty of regular people and trainers who want to buy them for their own reasons. That's why I was really happy when you agreed to let us take some."

Your face slowly returned to normal before nodding and leaning over. "I guess that makes more sense now, but hey. That's good to hear." You leaned back up something in your hand. "I bet you could do a lot of good with that money." He blinked as you reached up to plop the hat back on his head which had fallen off in his dive. "There. You look handsome in that."

He paused.... before his face exploded red again and he sputtered. "I- You.....WELL THANKS FOR THAT!" He quickly turned to walk away as you giggled. "I-ILL SEE YOU LATER!!" You giggled again and turned to walk back into your house- "Y/n?" You stopped and turned back to Milo. He seemed to sweat a bit hesitating...before asking. "Would you...l-l-like to come over tomorrow evening for dinner with m-m-me?A-AND FELIX TOO OF COURSE!! HE B-B-BE HAPPY TO SEE YOU TOO!!" 

You blinked...before smiling. "I'd love to have dinner with you guys! Is it alright if I bring my drizzlie?"

"Of course! I-Its perfectly fine! F-F-Five o'clock sound fine?"

"Sounds great! See you then."

"B-Bye!!" He was quick to turn and leave your giggling form behind. Cute.

The next day came and you would've gladly waited until evening for Milo's invitation but there iswas one thing that ruined that plan. Early in the morning you heard a man's yell and hurried outside just in time to see one of the workers yelling angrily at a pokemon. And that pokemon was a wooloo. The pokemon angrily stared at the man trying to shoo it away with a foot while chewing on something that looked like one of the small cabbages planted nearby.

"GET OUT OF HERE!! GO ON!! SHOO!," the man shouted nudging a foot at it.

"*BBBBBBAAAAAAAAAAA!!!*" The small Pokemon baaed back once swallowing the food inside it's mouth. 

You and Silver exchanged looks before you shrugged and stepped off your back porch towards the two. "Hey! What's going on?"

"THIS WILD WOOLOO'S STEALING OUR CABBAGES!!," The man pointed without even looking up at you from glaring at the wooloo. Which again baaed angrily at him.

You blinked. "A wild wooloo?" You rose a brow at the small Pokemon. "Are you sure? Doesn't it belong to someone around here?''

"NO!! THIS ONE'S A WILD ONE!! I KNOW THE DIFFERENCE!! AND THIS LITTLE THEIF IS STEALING OUR HARD WORK!!"

It baaed again and you hummed looking at it. "A wild one huh?...I guess it's hungry. Are you hungry little guy? Do you want food?" Instantly the wooloo snapped at you and baaed louder again. "Well come with me and I'll get you all set up. I have some food inside." Along with a few extra pokeballs. "C'mon. Let's go get you some food." Silver chirped in question. "*sigh* Yes. You too."

The worker finally stopped yelling as the Wooloo followed you and you disappeared with both pokemon into the house. It wouldn't be wild for too long.

-HOURS LATER- 

"I hope she doesn't mind mushrooms."

The stove was hot and the sweet smells wafted through the air thanks to the pasta noodles boiling next to the pot of sauce bubbling and filled with mushrooms and sweet spices that sent warmth and delicious smells into the air. Surely it would attract the attention of Felix soon and his little brother would be begging for food despite the fact that he wasn't done with it yet. Or before a certain lady showed up-

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!!

He looked up as knocks came from the door...before giving a sigh. Guess that hope was dashed. "COME IN! THE DOOR'S OPEN!!" He called from the stove. He couldn't leave and risk burning the sauce.

A second later he heard the door open and a woman's voice call out through the home. "Hello?"

"In the kitchen!," He called back not looking up. A moment later he heard the door closing and the sounds of footsteps and...hooves? "You're a little early!I wasn't expecting you for another hour yet!"

"Well I hope I'm not intruding."

"Not at all!" He turned with a smile. "I enjoy the...company." he blinked. You were standing there with your drizzlie...but there was also another thing there that baaed at him. "...Is that a wooloo with you?"

"Hm? Oh yeah." You glanced at the baaing wooloo with a smile. "That's Mary Lou. I just got her today."

"You got a wooloo? When?"

"Just this morning. A wild wooloo found it's way into your cabbage. Figured I could use a little cutie pie like her. Isn't that right sweetie?" Mary baaed In response. "I hope you don't mind the extra company."

Milo smiled before laughing. "No. Not at all. Its a pleasant surprise! I really like wooloo anyways!" He nodded to the table. "Go ahead and take a seat while you wait. I'll be done in a moment."

"Thanks!" You took the seat he offered you with a smile and sat down before smelling the air. "Wow. That smells great. What is it?"

"Sweet mushroom medley curry. Hope you don't mind it."

"Sounds delicious." You took a moment to look around and settled on the far right wall that was covered in pictures you didn't notice the first time you were here, settling on one that was of Felix holding a younger looking Daisy. Maybe after she just hatched? "How's Felix by the way?"

"Oh he's doing great. Right now he's upstairs studying math."

"I see. How's Daisy? I hope she didn't try to escape again."

"You kidding me? They're practically glued together now."

"He seems to love her a lot."

"Well she's his first ever pokemon. I have him the Wooloo egg but he's the one who took care of it before it hatched into Daisy." He chuckled. "He literally raised her by hand and I'm proud of him for it. He's raised a good wooloo, and according to Nurse Joy she's back to a healthy weight."

"That's great to hear! I'm glad she's going better." 

Your eyes called the other pictures. Most were of Felix doing various things or Felix with Milo but there was a few of Milo's many wooloo, his grass type Pokemon, one or two more of Daisy, one of just Milo here and there but you paused when your eyes saw one picture frame larger than all the rest. It was rectangled and it looked like a much younger version of Milo and Felix, MUCH younger. They stood in front of the same house you currently sat in. Behind the two brothers was a man and woman who looked to be around the same age as Gloria's mother. Both had pink hair and green eyes similar colored to the brothers and next to the man right behind Milo was another middle aged man who had darker pink hair and darker green eyes compared to everyone else in the picture. You just...stared at it for a long moment before Milo turned to see why you had gone silent before following your eyes and he also paused.

"....Milo. Who are those people in the picture there?" You gestured to said picture.

Milo didn't say anything at first just looking at the picture before looking away back towards the stove. "Oh... That's..me and Felix of course. We were just kids then."

"And the other people?"

He again hesitated. "That's...our mum and dad. They're uh.. N-No longer with us."

The shock of what he said caused you to stare at him wide eyed and jaw dropped.  "...W-Wha-...I just...I didn't know! I'm so sorry!" 

He waved a hand at you. "No. It's alright. You didn't know like you said, and it's fine. I'm used to it now. The other man by our dad is out uncle. He used to be the gym leader here before he retired from the position. He uh...took us in when ma and pa passed away. He's uh..." His movements slowed. "H-Hes not with us either actually."

"Oh, Milo." You frowned sympathetically. "I'm so sorry. Must be hard."

"It was. Still is actually but life goes by and I have other things in my life to help with. Turrffield. The gym. My pokemon. And especially Felix. He's the best thing I could ask for...What about you?" He turned his head to look at you over his shoulder. "What's your family like?"

" This time it was your turn to pause and look at him before sighing. "Actually... I'm not on speaking terms with either of my parents." You scowled. " My parents divorced when I was eleven years old and my dad hasn't tried to talk to me since. Then my mom controlled and used me for free labor until I left. Haven't seen or spoken to her in almost two years and I'd rather keep it that way."

"Yikes. She must be terrible if you don't want to see her again and you're a pretty patient person."

''Ugh. She is." You sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring the mood down."

"No, no. It's alright. I guess we all have our own hardships to over come." He finally took the pot of noodles off the stove and headed towards the sink which you now realized had a strainer in it. "Food's almost done. Just got to drain the noodles and we'll be all good to go."

"I see...So did your uncle give you the gym?", You asked as he poured the noodles into the strainer letting the hot water run down the sink. 

He nodded. "Yeah. He actually trained me to be his replacement. Felix always wanted the position really though which is why I'm currently training him. When he gets old enough Im planning on signing it over to him and just retiring to run the family farm better. For now I just want him to get a good education and be a kid."

"It's really kind of you to put Felix and Turrffield before yourself, but don't you ever want to do something for yourself?"

"I'm happy to put everyone before me since everyone could use the help and Felix deserves to have a good childhood." He did pause however holding the strainer up from the sink. "Although...there h-h-has been one thing I've wanting to do myself."

"Oh really? What?"

His face instantly went a pink. "W-W-Well...*ahem* There's this...girl I am kinda maybe f-f-fond of." He cleared his throat and and turned back to the stove carrying the strainer full of noodles. Your eyes widened...before you just smiled in amusement. "She's r-r-really nice a-a-and one of the first people who genuinely complimented me. She e-even went as far as to replace s-something she accidentally made me drop."His face burnt more and more as he went on practically feeling his face on fire. "She's also....v-very p-p-pretty. B-B-But I don't think she would like me back."

"Why not?"

He sighed. "I don't really have a lot to offer. I'm not really the richest, and Im really busy with running the farm and gym duties and raising Felix. So I couldn't offer y- HER a lot of my time."

You hummed knowingly. "I dunno, Milo. Have you tried asking her? Maybe she thinks your schedule is fine for her and she doesn't care about money."

"No. I'm really no one special." His eyes looked down. "I'm not a strong trainer like Leon or fun like Piers...Or handsome with millions of fans like Raihan or Gordie even. I'm just a Farmer who happens to be a gym leader. Of course I don't mind not being the strongest, battling should be about having fun!" 

"That's what you see in battles huh?"

He nodded. "Simply enjoy battling and have fun is my motto. But yeah...I don't think she'd be really interested in myself."

"Well that's not a fair conclusion. You didn't even ask me those things." Milo paused. "I like you just the way you are, and if you ask me you're pretty adorable.~"

His face whipped around to you wide eyed as you just smiled. "I-...You-...Y-Y-YOU KNEW THE WHOLE TIME?!"

You nodded. "It was kinda obvious with how you were acting."

He just continued to stare at you wide eyed before he groaned embarrassed. "Felix said the same thing. Is it really that obvious?"

"You act like you like me every time we're around each other." You smiled wider. "It's pretty obvious and pretty cute. You already know I don't care about those superficial things."

He sighed defeated. "I guess there's no getting around it. Heh..But if it's alright with you, can we keep this on the downlow and remain friends f-for now? I s-s-still have some feelings to sort out."

"Not a problem. Your feelings and comfort come first."

Wow. She really was understanding. He smiled in thanks-

"What are you two doing?" Milo yelped and both of you looked over at Felix standing in the doorway raising a brow. Daisy baaed next to his feet. 

"F-Felix! How long were you standing there?!"

"I heard you guys say my name and assumed dinner was ready." He pointed at Mary. "And where did that wooloo come from?"

"*sigh* Just come sit down. Dinner's ready."

You kept your word from that day on. Everything seemed normal. He'd do his duties, paid the rent and a portion of the products to you each month, Felix would try to wingman and embarrass him, and every so often he'd stop by to check up on the state of your land. Most of the produce was almost done growing so they could harvest it all pretty soon. And every so often you all would share meals together whether it be at your place or hers. However everything would change once a strange visitor showed up. He was tending to his fields rolling some of the new hay bails to be put in the barn for winter when he heard it.

CCCCCCAAAAAAAWWWWWW!!!!!

The loud roar of a giant pokemon breached the quiet community followed by strong wing beats. It made him pause and stop rolling the hay bails to look up as the wing beats got louder and louder. Emerald eyes blinked as his face was blasted by a strong gust of air, his hand just barely snapping up in time to stop his hat from blowing away. In the sky a GIANT black mass was flapping above them slowly lowering with each wingbeat. His many wooloo baaed in fright before scattering off in different directions as the black mass touched the ground just a little ways from him, and revealed itself to be a corvinight. The giant flying Pokemon gave off a loud caw at the land and sat upon the flying taxi as the door opened and someone with Purple hair stepped out. Milo blinked for a moment at the newcomer..before smiling widely.

"Hey, Leon!," He greeted at the sight of the Champion who walked towards him. "Wow. I wasn't expecting to see you today! What do I owe the pleasure?"

The champion smiled. "Milo! Im sorry to say that I can't stay too long. I'm on official league business ordered by the Chairwoman herself.  I just dropped by to make sure you and Y/n got an invite." He said reaching under his cape and pulling out two beige letter with a red wax seal before holding it out to him. "Here! Your and Felix's official invite to the first ever Galarian Star Tournament later this year! Dont worry. I already delivered Y/n hers."

He blinked before slowly taking it from him and looking at it. "A tournament huh?"

Leon nodded. "Yep! All the information you'll need is in the letters! Just make sure to read it all thoroughly when you have time."

Leon had left a moment later after giving Milo a good bye and took off once more in the flying taxi more wing beats and powerful wing beats causing more wind. And then it left him there standing with two letters in his hands...Well curiosity got the better of him so he opened one to read the contents inside right there, and he hummed reading over the events. However one part saying he was allowed to bring a date caught his attention and stayed on his mind for the next few days. Maybe it was his crush on her. Or maybe it was Felix encouraging him to ask her. Or maybe it was the thought of bringing a nice date to prove he could get one. Or maybe cupid's arrow was that powerful. But either way he found himself red faced and standing on her porch. Knocking on her door. And fumbling as she answered the door smiling 

"Milo. What are you doing here?"

He gulped. "I-I-I wanted t-t-to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"W-W-Will you b-b-b-be my date t-t-t-to the tornam-m-ment?"

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