So I haven't been on the kingdom hearts side of the internet since KH3 came out (minus looking at some fan art occasionally) and I feel like I've missed something but I don't know it's it's a whole game or like a dlc or what so what exactly has happened since KH3? (Plot wise or game release wise works, I can just Google the other if I have a starting point)

Let’s seeeeee...

KH Re:Mind explains how Sora used person-disappearing time travel (?) to save Kairi 

Using his friends’ hearts as points to jump through space and time, Sora witnesses his allies’ battles with various members of Organization XIII (enduring combat where Cure is assigned to the triangle button, an offense most egregious)

He eventually finds a way to save Kairi... at the cost of. Y’know. Having A Corporeal Form

Fast-forward one year into a Sora-less future. Everyone’s trying to find Sora. Donald and Goofy are on a world tour to see if he’s popped up anywhere. Riku’s visiting the Radiant Garden crew to see if they can be of any help. Kairi is sleeping. So. Everyone’s contributing on brand.

Cid is hoping that through analysis of data of Organization XIII’s members, the group may be able to uncover some clues about where to find Sora. The method of analysis: Data Sora must engage in data battles that are almost prohibitively hard if you’re playing on any difficulty above Standard mode. (So, again. On brand.)

After hundreds of attempts and Data Sora bodies getting scraped off of the floor with a Keyblade-shaped spatula, the day is won.

Jump over to disappeared Sora, who’s stuck walking on water in the moonlight. A figure walks towards him in the darkness. No, Destiny, it’s not Noctis like you let yourself get worked up over when you heard his voice in the trailer. It’s Yozora, the main character of Verum Rex from Toy Box and decidedly not voiced by Ray Chase. And he wants to kill you. Suddenly they’re on the roof of a skyscraper in the middle of a busy town that looks like Shibuya but it isn’t, shut up, nerd.

Unless you have the skills of a KH god, Yozora does indeed kill you the first time. Sora becomes an exquisite ice sculpture and Yozora promises to protect... either him or someone else. If he’s talking to our Sora, he has some work to do.

When the player finally beats Yozora (it took me 150 tries on Proud and that’s not an exaggeration-- I COUNTED), it’s Sora’s turn to witness his opponent get put on ice.

Not-Noctis wakes up in the back of the Not-Regalia where Not-Ignis says cryptic words. Not-Ignis sounds just like Luxord.

Melody of Memory explains why Kairi was sleeping during KH Re:Mind. She’s delving into her memories in the hopes of finding a key to Sora’s whereabouts.

Enduring such hardships as listening to tracks like the Mickey Mouse theme and Bibbidy-Bobbidi-Boo in their entirety, she recaps the entire KH story so far (unless you have a mobile phone and still play KHUX and Dark Road).

She eventually ends up in the Final World. Xehanort is there. They fight. It’s very exciting. Until it’s not. Xehanort knocks Kairi on her ass. He’s about to strike her down, but then Kairi uses the Kingdom Key to defend herself. Which is awesome. But then she turns into Sora. Which is unawesome. You fight Xehanort as Sora and win.

Kairi sees a glimpse into her past, where Xehanort, during his time as Ansem the Wise’s apprentice, captures her and prepares to send her into the outside world. He says some cryptic shit about what should happen if she fails.

Kairi wakes up and reports what she’s found to the others. We are reminded by Ansem the Wise about the many different realms we’ve explored throughout the Kingdom Hearts series. The world of memories, dreams, data... and now, based on Kairi’s experiences, we’re faced with the world of ~fiction~.

The Fairy Godmother appears and accompanies Riku and Kairi to the Final World, where they meet up with the nameless star that Sora had spoken with before he un-appeared.

The nameless star turns out to be a girl from a different reality-- most likely the world of fiction that Sora has disappeared to. It’s called Quadratum.

With the star’s help, Riku gets to embark on an adventure to save Sora while Kairi is left behind again :)

Kairi goes back to Yen Sid to continue her training so she can finally join the Cool Kids Doing Stuff Club. She decides she’s going to train under Aqua which is cool but there’s too much salt on this table for me to forget the taste.

Mickey, meanwhile, is sent on a mission to learn about the ancient Keyblade masters. If you strain your ears, you may still hear the groans of everyone who still hasn’t played or at least brushed up on KHUX’s storyline.

“This place is not as hard to understand as it seems! I'll be at your side, all you have to do is stick by me, got it? I've got your back!”

NAME: Ignis Colina

NICKNAME(S): Ig or Iggy by most of his friends ; Minokasagohaze (ミノカサゴハゼ) by Floyd ; Monsieur Tête de Feu by Rook

AFFILIATION: Student, Podcaster

AGE: 19

SPECIES: Half-dragon, half-human 

INSPIRATION: Mushu

UNIQUE MAGIC: The Dragon's Tale - He can create a desert of flames that, at his command, turn into whatever he commands, most of the time used defensively. This is the only time where he will no longer seem happy or excitable, he is seen more serious and commanding, sometimes even irritated when someone interrupts him.

PERSONALITY: He, like his friend Gale, is very much approachable and excitable. However, unlike him, he does not really like to tease people he has just met, he avoids it. He likes making new friends and prefers people that can keep up with him, but he's friends with people that are more quiet than he is. He's very much oblivious; when he got called "pretty boy" when he was young, he thought it was an insult and he was sad for the entire day. Even now, he's relatively attractive, especially since the hobbies that he has are seen as optimal. He's also talkative, he has his own podcast that he talks on.

APPEARANCE: He is 6'1" with pale skin and pink undertones. His hair is red, although some mistake it to be orange; he calls himself ginger so that it'll be easier on everyone. His hair is long and wavy, with two thick strands of hair on the sides of his face and a thicker chunk over his right eye. The rest of his hair is half down and half up in a ponytail. His eyes are red and he usually wears earrings that are the same color as his eyes. Sometimes he can be found with a bandage on his face, but he'll never say where he's gotten the injury from. He likes wearing a red jacket whenever he isn't in uniform or sometimes even over the uniform. He does not care much about his fashion sense, but he does know the basics of color scheme, leading to him usually looking nice.

~

SCHOOL: Night Raven College

GENDER: Male

DORM: Scarabia 

GRADE/CLASS: Class C (Senior)

BIRTHDAY: May 29 (Gemini)

HEIGHT: 185.9 cm/6'1" feet

DOMINANT HAND: Left  

HOMELAND: The Ancestors’ Domicile

CLUB: Dance Club 

BEST SUBJECT: Master Chef

HOBBIES: Dancing, cooking, crocheting, learning languages, podcasting, designing

PET PEEVES: When he gets coddled over a dance injury (he always says, "if i'm here, that means i'm okay, you don't need to ask me twice"), it's the only time he gets openly annoyed

FAVORITE FOOD: Chicken dumplings

LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: Nothing, he likes everything

LIKES: Summer, the heat, swimming, playing cards, Meditrina's food

DISLIKES: The cold, his hands being cold, being ignored

TALENT: He can do the front and side splits with no difficulty 

SONG: Dancin - Krono Remix by Aaron Smith, Luvli, Krono

~

His official mbti is ENTP. 

He's an excellent dancer and he's a comedian, trying his best to lift everyone's spirits.

He likes listening to girl groups and boy bands, he has learned the choreography to tons of groups.

He was called a pretty boy when he was in middle school, but he thought that was an insult so he was all :(( for a while.

He is incredibly oblivious to a lot of things, almost seeming stupid but he's just trying his best.

He's relatively attractive, except he doesn't notice it.  

Incredibly supportive, he'll be your number one fan, but also ensure that you're not doing anything stupid and he's going to drag some people along for the ride.

He has a podcast called The Desert Secrets and he's usually on it with Gale, talking about different things; sometimes he'll bring on new people so that they can discuss different things, like Iris’s snarky remarks and Lumi with her true crime facts and Meditrina with her antidote things. He is open to bringing more people in!

The first person he met was Gale and then he ran into Trey on complete accident when he was in a hurry with a tart in his hands; the tart smelled delicious so he had no problem in finding Trey afterwards to ask him what his secret in cooking is.

In Mulan, Mushu is shown as a tiny dragon with hardly any fire power; Ignis is not short at all but he avoids using his fire powers because his unique magic is severely delicate and can be turned on even if he isn't thinking about it, he is much more powerful than he thinks.

He's the one that brought the entire group together, he is also the one that adds new people in it, like Navin.

He does not like being ignored because when he was little, all he wanted to do was talk to someone regarding the things that he liked but instead he was seen as special because of his face and how abnormally attractive he was; every time he wanted to talk, he got cut off and since then he's hated being ignored. he doesn't like the winter because it causes his body temperature to go down, thus his powers weaken. his hands are sensitive so when they get cold, it's like they're ice cubes.

He can actually control when he looks like a human and a dragon, although he'll turn into one that's the size of a dog and curl up with anyone in his vicinity that is comfortable.

~

DYNAMICS: 

The Prankster Cooks: Trey + Ignis

Cooking buddies that will definitely do their best to prank others. Like Trey’s oyster sauce prank, Ignis is the one that’ll go “you know, you should’ve told them about the salt thing, it’s better than sugar” and go along with Trey’s tiny pranks. But Trey has to keep him on a tight leash or else he’d go around on a rampage. 

The Small Apple and the Tall Flames: Epel + Ignis

He knows that Epel is hiding something behind that pretty face so he brings him onto his podcast to hear about him. Afterwards, they become close friends, Ignis making sure that he’s never treated the way he does not want to. Epel trusts him a lot too since both of them are treated in ways they do not want to be. 

The Animal Shifters: Jack + Ignis

Jack’s Unique Magic turns him into a wolf but Ignis does not need that as his Unique Magic, he was born with that ability. Both of them tend to hang around each other when they are in their animal form. They are so different too, Ignis is much louder than Jack but they truly love each other’s company. 

The Dragon Boys: Malleus + Ignis

Malleus is seen as scary by most people, but Ignis quickly striked up a conversation with him when he was with Gale, casually saying that they both had something in common and that they were bad with technology. It was a bad conversation starter, but hey, they were talking, weren’t they? Ignis loves hanging around him because he’s so much fun to be around, even though his tone is almost always monotone. Malleus is grateful for someone like him because it makes him seem less scary. 

Interview given to The Severus Snape and Hermione Granger Shipping Fan Group.  (sharing here Admin approved)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/199718373383293/

Hello IShouldBeWritingSomethingElse and welcome to Behind the Quill, it’s wonderful to finally have the chance to chat with you.

Many readers will know you from your extensive catalogue of works like Convergence, A Soul-Mate’s Kiss, Entangled and of course, The Ribboned-Witch

Okay, let’s jump right in. What's the story behind your pen name?  It’s a simple one. I should be writing anything but fanfiction, ie o-fic. I need the pennies! Which Harry Potter character do you identify with the most? Probably a mix of Snape and Granger. Snape’s general curmudgeonliness (is that even a word?!) and Granger’s swottiness, (also perhaps not a word…) Do you have a favourite genre to read? (not in fic, just in general) Romance. Always romance. I am addicted to my Happily Ever Afters. Do you have a favourite "classic" novel? Persuasion by Jane Austen. Reunited lovers, a fave trope. At what age did you start writing? 14. How did you get into writing fanfiction? I blame Wolverine. I fell into Rogan (Wolverine and Rogue) in 2011, then starting writing it, when I *should* have been writing my o-fic…. What's the best theme you've ever come across in a fic? Is it a theme represented in your own works? The Marriage Law Challenge. Can that be called a theme? I love that, and have written a few. It’s probably an equal love with soul-mates/fated mates. I’ve written a few of those, too. What fandoms are you involved in other than Harry Potter? I’m a fairly linear shipper. So it was Rogan, then Sherlolly…then SSHG and it’s been only that for *gulp* almost seven years. If you could make one change to canon, what would it be? Do you have a favourite piece of fanon? Naturally, Severus Snape lives (not that he died in the first place!). Fanon? At the minute, I’ve read so much fanfiction, I’m not sure what’s solely in the books anymore! Dark Revels, maybe? Or could Jason Issac’s idea for long hair for Lucius Malfoy be considered fanon? lol Do you listen to music when you write or do you prefer quiet? It varies. Sometimes it’s whatever I have listed on Amazon Prime, or various rainy ASMRs. I so have a creativity sound thing that’s supposed to tap into your writing brain. It runs for 3 hours and does *seem* to work…when I remember to turn it on! What are your favourite fanfictions of all time? Hope Reawakened - Georgesgurl117 A Place in the World - Noodle In the Darkness in Which We Are Made - Corvusdraconis A Number of Ways to Kill Ron Weasley - Ms-Figg From the Corner - Coffeeonthepatio Chocolate Enchantment - Vivian B Forged in Flames - MsWhich Owned - TwilightDarkness82 Three Pregnancies and an Adoption - rhapsodybree A Witchhiker’s Guide to Beltane - TeddyRadiator Romancing the War - Pubella The Marriage Benefit - Miamadwyn The Nature of the Phoenix - scatteredlogic Vomica Domintor - Always_ss There are probably fistfuls more… lol Are you a plotter or a pantser? How does that affect your writing process? A panster. Which is why I often get to the middle of the middle of a story (*the* hardest place!) and it stalls! What is your writing genre of choice? Romance. Always. Which of your stories are you most proud of? Why? Ignis Tactus, mainly for the feel of it. And chapter 5, because of quality of the writing. It’s intimacy. Did it unfold as you imagined it or did you find the unexpected cropped up as you wrote? What did you learn from writing it? I had a vague idea of where it was going and wrote the first chapters in a few days. Chapter 5 took longer - as the smexiness always does. It was a reminder to pick out the right detail, which is a simple idea and the hardest to achieve. How personal is the story to you, and do you think that made it harder or easier to write? It wasn’t personal, I don’t think. A story is always a tapestry to me, weaving threads together to make sense.  What books or authors have influenced you? How do you think that shows in your writing? Probably from years back, Orwell and Hemingway. And a shedload of poetry. It’s made me aware of language and to aim to use the least words I can to sharpen the imagery, dialogue and setting. Do people in your everyday life know you write fanfiction? My other half does and that’s about it. I keep my fanfiction separate from my o-fic world. How true for you is the notion of "writing for yourself"? I like to write what I want to read, so very true? lol How important is it for you to interact with your audience? How do you engage with them? Just at the point of publishing? Through social media? I’m a social media hermit, tbh. I’m on the usual sites, because I have to be for work…and even then, I can happily wander away for weeks! I envy people who do social stuff naturally. What is the best advice you've received about writing? Look at your verbs and make them strong. What do you do when you hit writer's block? I’m been blocked for about 2/3 years, which is why I’ve slacked on writing, both fanfic and o-fic. I’m still trying to find a way around it. At the minute, I mostly play with digital art/Daz3d. Has anything in real life trickled down into your writing? Very probably. I do sit and ‘feel’ the emotion in a scene as I write it. Do you have any stories in the works? Can you give us a teaser? I’m plugging away on bits and pieces, the odd few hundred words here and there. So this is a bit of a bare snippet from The Offer of Just One More (yes, I also peck at that!) “Victoire said you’re mean, Daddy.” Alexandra’s little Severus scowl was quite plain. “I said you weren’t, so she tried to pull my hair. So we sat on her,” she pointed to herself, Oona and a beaming Olivia, “until she said you wasn’t…weren’t.” Hermione sighed. The Burrow was a bloody minefield. And she was certain there was more than Ron stirring trouble, through their children, to get in a dig at Severus. “You shouldn’t sit on people who disagree with you,” Severus murmured. There was a light in his eyes. Hermione was sure she’d get the blame for their three daughters being little hellions. A lifted eyebrow and the murmured, “Draco? An attack of birds? Setting me on fire?” “She sat under the tree with us last week when you were at the Burrow,” Emily said. Obviously their eldest had known about the altercation. And supported it. The Snape girls were just as protective of their father as he was as them. It was sweet. In a Mafioso sort of way… “It was the troll then, too. And she thinks you’re the best storyteller, now.” “Troll!” Meredith cried, waving her juice cup, obviously at the end of her patience in waiting for her story. “The troll, indeed, Meredith.” The toddler beamed up at her father and clapped her hands. Severus glanced down at a still-sleeping Hannah. His voice was soft as he asked. “So…who is the hero of this story?” Five little girls grinned and looked towards Hermione. She blushed. “Mummy!”

“And who is the villain?”

“The Troll!” Oona and Olivia declared. “Because he attacked her.”

“Quirrell. He released the troll.” Alexandra said. Emily shook her head. 

“She wouldn’t be in the toilet at all without Ronald Weasley.”

“Weedy!” Meredith laughed and the semi-circle of girls fell into giggles. Her eldest had recently taken a sharp dislike to her old friend. Hermione’s eyes met her husband’s. They would have to keep an eye on what the ginger menace was saying around their children. Or wait four years, and let Emily hex him. Any words of encouragement to other writers? Write what calls to you…and find your fun in playing with language. Hunt out those moments where you go ‘ooh, that’s good!’ Thanks so much for giving us your time. No worries. A pleasure :)

Book One: Gold (Prompto x Reader) Chapter X

Making their way up the Rock of Ravatogh, the royal retinue and the guardian prepared themselves for the long trek ahead of them. As they proceeded up the rocky, jagged path, Gladio spoke up. "Just think about what's waiting at the top."

"Lemme guess: one aching back and two very sore feet," Prompto sarcastically replied.

"Like you couldn't use some meat on those legs of yours," the shield scoffed.

"They work for me."

"But what about the lady?"

Being the closest person to Prompto and the only girl in the group, (Y/n) knew the brute was referring to her. "...Excuse me?"

"You like muscle or chicken legs?" Gladio asked.

"I don't hate nor like either. Besides, I love Prompto the way he is."

"In your face, big guy!" The marksman cackled victoriously. "My lady isn't shallow and doesn't judge a book by its cover."

The spirit groaned at their childish behavior and continued to follow Noctis up the Rock of Ravatogh. They encountered some saphyrtails, which they easily disposed of. They proceeded up the path made of hardened molten lava where they eventually stumbled upon diverging paths. What caught their attention was how vast the area opened up and the horde of spiracorns and saphyrtails fighting against each other.

(Y/n) watched for a few seconds as the creatures fought one another and failed to notice their presence. When they all gathered together to attack each other again, she conjured a large fireball and tossed it at the creatures. Not only did she set them ablaze, she caused their corpses to turn to ash. She winced when seeing her spell was a little too powerful. "I may have gone a little overboard with that..."

"A little?" Gladio chuckled. "You turned them into ash."

"Well, you did say your magic was more powerful in hot environments," Prompto said.

Noctis glanced at the guardian. "Thought you didn't want us to "miss all the fun"."

"That one was a freebie because they were already injuring one another. I just sped up the process," (Y/n) retorted. "Anyway, pick a path. Let's find this cave and royal arm as quick as we can. You four already look exhausted."

Noctis glanced down both of the paths before deciding to go up the right one. Luckily, he picked the correct way and avoided another battle down a pathway that led to a dead end.

Continuing up, the pathway was getting steeper. They all could feel the muscles in their legs aching at how steep the path was becoming as they went up. Prompto glanced up as he exhaled heavily, but he couldn't see the end of the path. "Did we hit the top? Feeling past my peak."

Gladio also took note of how steep and long the path ahead was. "I'm afraid you've still got a ways to go."

The blonde wandered over towards (Y/n), smiling with a faint blush. However, his red cheeks weren't due to their close proximity but the heat of the volcano. "Oh beautiful goddess of fire, could I possibly ask for a lift to the top?"

She stopped and crossed her arms. "You want me to transform and carry you to the top?"

He nodded, coming to a halt in front of her with his hands clasped together. "Yes! I'll do anything you ask!"

"Hmmm..." She looked around, noticing the others had stop to listen to their exchange. Tapping her chin in thought, she finally came to a conclusion. "Why don't we all share the love and suffer together?"

"What? No!"

She nodded, faking an innocent smile. "Oh, yes. Get those legs moving, Prom. The longer we stand around here, the longer it'll take us to get to the top." She walked around him and made her way up the extremely steep slope.

Prompto gaped at her back as she ascended the volcano, leaving him and the others behind. His shoulders slumped forward with a dejected sigh. Reluctantly, he followed Noctis up the steep slope. He could feel the muscles in his legs screaming. "Killer climb, dude."

"It's killing me," Noctis groaned.

"Feeling a steep pain," Ignis said, unable to stop the joke from slipping from his lips.

"One false step and you won't feel anything ever again," Gladio commented.

Halfway up the steep path, Prompto had to stop for a brief second to catch his breath. His legs were a little shaky from the intense climb. He breathed out heavily, hunched over his knees. His hands rested on his thighs. "I think my legs are gonna give... Don't even wanna think about how sore I'm gonna be tomorrow." As he tried to regain his bearings, he saw how close he was to the edge of the cliff. Curious, he peaked down at the rocky ravine below. He thought he saw something twinkle in the light of the setting sun.

Not realizing how weak he was, Prompto lost his balance and screamed as his body started leaning forward. He tried to quickly step back from the ledge to prevent himself from falling, but he blinked in surprise when he noticed his fall was halted. That's when he felt a hand latched around his belt. Looking over his shoulder, he saw (Y/n) was the one who saved him from falling.

"You really are reckless sometimes, Prom," she sighed, pulling on his belt. She tugged him away from the ledge and released her hold on the accessory. "C'mon, you're almost to the top."

The group reached the top of the slope and crossed a rocky overpass. As they made their way down another path, Noctis tugged on the collar of his shirt with a groan. "The hell's with the heat?"

"As we climb, so does the temperature," Ignis commented.

"Well, this is a volcano," (Y/n) stated.

"Hey!" Prompto shouted. "What are the chances of it erupting while we're here?"

"Who knows," the girl answered.

"Bright side-you won't suffer long if it does," Gladio chimed in.

Reaching another junction, they came across more spiracorns and saphyrtails. Noctis glanced at the spirit in hopes to get another freebie, but groaned when she waved innocently at him. He performed a warp-strike and joined the battle. The others summoned their own weapons and joined the prince.

After the battle concluded, Noctis chose the right path. Molten lava covered the ground, causing the boys to rethink the prince's decision. (Y/n), on the other hand, wasn't bothered by the hot ground. Her clothes were fireproof and she welcomed the heat when she stepped onto the molten lava. She turned to the boys, placing a hand on her hip. "We should try searching every path, right? Vyv wants that picture."

Gladio folded his arms across his broad chest. "How do you expect us to follow you, short stuff? We're not fireproof like you."

"I only need one person to come with me." She jammed a finger in Prompto's direction. "C'mon, sweetheart, you're coming with me."

He blushes faintly at the term of endearment as the girl transformed. He jogged over to her and climbed onto her back. When he had a secure grip on her fur, she turned and proceeded up the molten lava path. A little ways up, they came across a flock of thunderocs. Prompto summoned his gun and easily disposed of the birds by himself.

Reaching the end of the path, they stumbled upon the cave Vyv mentioned. Prompto stared at the pit and waterfall of boiling lava. "That looks like lava so we definitely don't wanna go down there." He raisies his camera and aimed it at the cave. "Could you get a little closer, (Y/n)?"

The fox took a few steps closer to the molten edge. "Oh, that's much better!" Prompto chanted. He took a few pictures before lowering his camera and patting the top of the spirit's head. "I got the best pics! Now we can head back." The guardian turned away from the cave and trotted back down the path.

Once they reached the bottom and Prompto was off her back, (Y/n) reverted back to her human form. "Well, we can check one thing off our to-do list."

"You were able to locate the cave of which Vyv spoke of?" Ignis asked.

"Yep. Now all we have to do is find the royal tomb."

Noctis was fanning his face, groaning, "We need to hurry. I'm burning up in here."

"And I'm sweating buckets," Gladio added. He then gestured to the (h/c)-haired girl. "Short stuff here hasn't even broken a sweat."

"Like I said, this is my kinda place," she giggled.

The group wandered down the left path. There, they found a flock of wyverns and thunderocs. Making quick work of the creatures, they easily cut them down and climbed up the cliffside. Up top, they discovered Owlyss Haven.

"This place is practically begging to be camped on!" Prompto cheered.

"You are aware we've no camping equipment, correct?" Ignis asked.

"Yeah, but look at the time! The sun's setting and my legs are killing me..."

"I could just flop down on the ground and sleep right now," Noctis said with a large yawn.

"Guess we're camping without the camping gear," Gladio said.

"I could fetch the camping gear," (Y/n) offered. "With help, of course. It might take a few trips, though."

"I'll go with you," Gladio offered.

Prompto, who'd been analyzing the pictures of the lava cave on his camera, overhead the shield. His head snapped up. "I-I wanna go with her!"

The brute already knew why the blonde intervened. "You afraid I'm gonna steal your girl?"

"Wha-no!"

"Then sit that scrawny ass of yours down. Let the men handle the heavy lifting."

Before Prompto could retort, (Y/n) interrupted. "Okay, that's enough. Prom, you stay here. Gladio, you come with me."

"What?" The blonde gasped. "But (Y/n)-!"

"This isn't about who's strongest or who I like the most. This is simply just trying to get the camping gear up here. Gladio offered first so he'll be the one accompanying me. Are we clear?"

Prompto hung his head with a dejected sigh. "Yes..."

"Great! Now then, let's go, Gladio." The guardian transform and allowed the shield onto her back. When he was comfortable and had a hold of her fur, she ran back in the direction of the Regalia.

Prompto watched them leave with a childish pout. "He better not do anything..."

<--------------<<<<<

It took (Y/n) and Gladio three trips to bring all the camping gear to the top of the Rock of Ravatogh. Thanks to her multiple tails and help from the shield, they avoided a fourth trip back to the car. They even brought up Ignis' ingredients so he could prepare dinner.

Once the tent was pitched, Prompto crawled inside and hid from the others. He scrolled through the pictures on the camera, but his attention was drawn away from the small screen when the tent flap opened. He watched (Y/n) enter the tent and sit beside him. Not saying a word, he looked back down at his camera.

Folding her legs to the side, the guardian rested her head on Prompto's shoulders and watched him flip through the various photos on his camera. He tensed slightly, which didn't go unnoticed by the girl. She lifted her head from his shoulder with a sigh. "Do you really think Gladio made a move on me?"

"This is Gladio we're talking about..." Prompto muttered under his breath.

(Y/n) carefully took the camera out of his hands and set it aside. She placed her hands on the floor of the tent and crawled towards him on her hands and knees with a stoic expression. Prompto swallowed nervously, backing away from the approaching girl. He wound up slipping and falling on to his back. His eyes nearly popped out of his head the moment the girl crawled over his body and hovered above him. Her (h/c) locks fell over her shoulders as she looked down at him. Her hands came to a halt by his shoulders. "Gladio didn't try to hit on me. He talked to me about his family."

Prompto swallowed the lump in his throat, cheeks turning slightly red. "R-Really...?"

"Why would I lie to you?" She retorted. "What could I possibly gain by doing that?"

"Th-That's..."

"There's no way I'd leave you for someone like Gladio. You're the man I love, not him." She gently lowered herself onto him and rested her body against his. She pressed her ear to his chest and listened to his racing heart. Curling up against him, she sighed contently and closed her eyes. "I kinda wish we were at a hotel so we could have our own room."

"Yeah. Me too." Prompto gradually wrapped his arms around her. One hand entangled in her (h/c) locks while the other was placed on her lower back. He closed his eyes, basking in her warmth and gentle touch. Her pleasant scent wafted into his nose, making him smile. "Sorry for earlier. I-I didn't mean to sound like I was accusing you of lying."

"It's okay. I forgive you," she giggled. "As payback, we're gonna stay like this until dinner's ready."

"You won't hear me complaining."

As intended, the couple remained in the same position until dinner was ready fifteen minutes later. They exited the tent and ate dinner with the others. Once their bellies were full and it was time to call it a night, they put out the campfire and crawled into the tent. It was somewhat cramped, but everyone was able to get comfortable and fall asleep.

<--------------<<<<<

The following morning, the group got up early. (Y/n) and Gladio returned the camping gear to the car before they decided to proceed forward. They wandered down a side path, but they didn't make it far before the shield stopped them. "Hold up-down there. What is that?"

(Y/n) followed his line of sight and saw what he was talking about. "It almost looks like a giant nest."

"Please don't let it be," Prompto whimpered. "If it's big, then there's an even bigger thing that made it."

Noctis continued to lead his companions down the rocky path towards a horde of wyverns and killer wasps. They slew the creatures before exploring the rest of the path. At the end, they dropped into a large nest.

"Wow. It really is a big nest," Noctis commented, stepping over a large feather.

"Yeah, but...where's the thing that made it?" Prompto shuddered.

"No idea."

Prompto kept looking at the sky for any sign of a large creature. He thought they were clear until spotting a large object flying around the Rock of Ravatogh. He gasped before leaping at the prince, grabbing his leg. "Noct, there it is!"

Noctis grunted as his body fell to the ground, the blonde yanking on his left leg. "There what is?"

"Giant...BIRD!" The sharpshooter shrieked. "And it's coming right at us!"

(Y/n) looked up at the sky to see the large winged creature closing in on them. "Uh-oh..."

"Oh no!" Noctis yelled.

"Get away from there!" Gladio bellowed.

The prince tried to shake Prompto off his leg when seeing the large bird was descending towards them. "Let go!"

The blonde hugged Noctis' leg tighter. "I can't!"

Ignis ran over and used his own body to push them both lower to ground. "Get down!"

The zu swooped in, targeting the three. Gladio and (Y/n) stepped back to avoid the bird's large form as it landed in the nest before taking off again once seeing it was unable to grab Noctis, Prompto, or Ignis.

The strategist adjusted his glasses. "Seems we arrived at feeding time."

Prompto stared up at the sky as he laid on his back. "We're not staying for the meal, are we?"

"Let's just get out of here before it decides to grab one of us again," (Y/n) said. "If we do plan on fighting that thing, we need a place that isn't so constricting."

"Let's go," Noctis said, hopping down the nearby ledge. The others followed and entered the vast area. There was just enough room to fight the mighty zu. They watched carefully as the large bird swooped around the sky one last time before landing with a thunderous screech. Noctis warped to its beak and started attacking. Gladio and Ignis focuses on the feet while Prompto and (Y/n) targeted the wings.

The spirit's attention was drawn to Noctis when one of the wings located on the zu's head swatted him like a fly. She transformed and caught him on her back, placing him back on the ground before jumping onto the creature's back. She dug her claws into its flesh and used her fire breath to burn a portion of its back.

The zu cried out in pain as some of its feathers were set ablaze. It went on a small rampage, stomping around and knocking the boys back. Ignis, who took the heaviest blow, fell onto his back with a groan. Prompto fires a single round at the zu before rushing to the advisor's aid and handing him a phoenix down.

(Y/n) unlatched her claws from the zu's back and leapt to safety when it spread out its wings and shook its body. After it knew she was off its back, it set its sight on the boys. It used its heavy body and large size to deliver heavy damage to them. The spirit tried to distract the bird, but she couldn't gain its attention even if she hurled a fireball at it.

After struggling for nearly half an hour against the zu, the boys had gone through many curatives. (Y/n), who was barely injured, knew this battle was too much for them to handle unless they had more help. Reverting back to her human form, she shouted at the prince. "Noctis, a divine intervention would be great right about now!"

Noctis dodges the zu's talons and glanced at her. "H-Hey, I'm trying here!"

"You have no idea how you did it before, do you?!"

"Exactly!"

She groaned, deciding to take matters into her own hands. She didn't want them to find out this way, but they'll be killed at this rate. She conjured the Creator's Blade, holding the hilt with both hands. She pointed the sharp tip at the ground, inhaling deeply before exhaling. "God of creation, use my body to do your bidding for I am the conduit," she whispered. The sword began glowing, grabbing the boys' attentions.

"(Y/n), what're you doing?!" Prompto shouted.

She glanced at him with an apologetic expression. "Ending this battle."

Previous Chapter || Next Chapter || Masterlist

Title: Breathe fire into me

Series: Promare

Pairing: GaloLio

Rating: T

Summary:

Lio might have a little crush on the cute barista from the boba shop he visited recently.

Only there’s a catch: there’s much more to Galo Thymos than what he seems.

Note: role reversal AU, boba barista Galo, archer main Lio

Also on AO3

[Chapter 1]

[Chapter 2]

Lio, to his own disappointment, did not find the peach tea particularly special.  

It was fragrant, at the very least. And the caffeine has just the right kick. It's just...a little on the sweet side? Okay, maybe a lot on the sweet side. Lucia definitely loved her drink. The bitterness from Aina’s matcha helped balance out its overall taste. The rest had some wide eyes and raised eyebrows upon their first sips.  

Still, it’s not bad enough for Lio to want to avoid the place the rest of his life. Maybe he can try for an order with less sugar the next time? Not that he thinks he’ll have the chance to do so soon and—

“Lio, you’re about to miss your mug by about a mile.”

Lio’s snapped out of his daze by a sharp clap on his shoulder from Remi, and he only registers what he means when he sees that he’s this close to pouring his coffee directly onto the countertop. He quickly fixes his aim, frowning hard at his mug like it’s its fault that he almost made an embarrassing mess.  

“You can always talk to us if something’s bothering you,” Remi offers, sounding genuinely concerned that Lio seems to be unusually out of it.  

“No, it’s not a big deal, really,” Lio assures because it shouldn’t be. It ridiculous that he’s even getting distracted over something so insignificant when there are more important things to direct his time and energy towards—especially now knowing Mad Burnish has once again gained a new leader. They’ll have to start tracking him down soon, start paying more attention to potential target locations for arson. They must not be allowed to mobilize.  

“If you say so.” Remi doesn’t sound entirely convinced, but he doesn’t pry. “The offer still stands, though.”

“Thanks.” Lio then slightly jiggles the jug he’s holding. “Coffee? There should be just enough left for another mug.”

Remi shrugs, accepting his offer. The two spend a silent moment in the pantry simply huffing into their mugs, trying to cool their drinks down enough to take careful sips. The wall fan in the lounge buzzes extra loudly whenever it turns a specific direction and sends the weighed-down papers on the desks flapping in place. It's quiet enough that they can faintly hear Lucia’s muffled laughter from the nap room upstairs as she indulges in whatever random online content she’s managed to stumble across this time.

This is the sort of tranquility of night shifts that Lio really enjoys.  

He heads to the rooftop once he’s finished his coffee and cleaned up, leaving with a casual reminder from Remi to not fall asleep there again. Lio climbs the stairs and reaches the top, pushing heavy doors open to be greeted by a sea of black.  

The stars aren’t visible tonight—though it’s not like they’re normally all that easy to see either thanks to the ever-present city lights. It’s the moon that Lio’s spotted earlier when he happened to glance out a window; a bright, pale yellow orb seemingly hanging low enough in the sky for him to simply reach out and touch at the height he’s at.  

He takes a breath, savoring the air from the breeze blowing towards him as he casts his gaze afar. Even in this time of the night, the city doesn’t seem to sleep. Music echoes from somewhere in the distance, some stray cats are having a fight in some alley. There's a short revving of bikes. Even along the streets within the station’s proximity, where most—if not every—shop should be closed by midnight, Lio spots people walking about, heading somewhere yet seemingly nowhere.

He pulls his jacket just a little tighter around himself and sighs, relishing the moment.  

And he nearly jumps when the sirens suddenly blare to life.  

Lio’s bolting downstairs in an almost conditioned response, mentally taking note of all the information recited through the speakers by a computerized voice, sent directly from the site of fire via compulsory built-in detectors as part of Promepolis’ centralized fire alert system. A residential house at the south district, approximately three kilometers from base. No particularly flammable substances reported. Cause of fire: Burnish flares.

Lio would not be able to participate directly in the extinguishing part of the mission, with his Gear still awaiting repairs. They have a spare one in store but Lio, to his frustration, can’t seem to pilot it half as smoothly as he can with his own—to the point where Ignis agrees that he would be of more effective help without it.  

A residential fire isn’t usually a particularly difficult job, fortunately. Only Remi, Lucia and Lio himself are dispatched, with Remi in charge of the brunt of the work while Lio and Lucia deal with support in whatever way they can.  

Lucia sends out a drone the moment they’re close enough to the scene, promptly processing whatever information she can glean and giving out instructions to guide the others. The flames seem to have originated from the first floor and have spread downstairs, but fortunately not yet to adjacent houses. Most neighbours seemed to have evacuated from their homes nonetheless, just as according to standard safety procedures taught to them during periodic neighbourhood fire drills.  

Things look under control—until Lucia’s drone detects the presence of two people within the fire.  

Lio and Remi are leaping out of the Rescue Mobile before it’s even come to a proper stop; Remi diving right into the blaze in his Gear while Lio prepares to deliver first aid and handle crowd control.  

It's not difficult to discern who had been inside the house when the fire started and who are merely bystanders. Lio hurriedly approaches the group of three covered in soot and huddled together, obviously still shell-shocked at whatever had just transpired. They’re a pair of parents with a child around ten to twelve years old. Lio tries to assure them that they’re safe, that the FDPP is here to help. Asks if they’re hurt anywhere, carefully scans over their limbs to make sure they really are fine when they respond negative.  

“But our daughter,” the mother manages to stammer, voice choked with barely restrained panic. “She’s still inside!”

“My teammate’s getting her out of there,” Lio assures, noting the sporadic crystalline bursts from Remi’s ice bullets behind him as he tamed the fire. He knows he’s holding back; he has to be extra mindful about preserving the building’s integrity while there are still people inside, lest everything collapses around them. “Just give him a moment m—”

“No, you don’t understand!” The lady clutches Lio’s arms, increasingly frantic as she digs her fingers into his jacket sleeves. “There’s this young man, he just—”

She doesn’t manage to finish her sentence, cut off by the sudden roar of serpents erupting from the blaze. The hairs on Lio’s neck instantly stand on their ends, and on instinct, he turns around.  

And he feels his stomach sink as Lucia manages to intercept the fire just in time, freezing it in place barely a foot away from him. Lio swallows thickly, hearing multiple screams around him. It seems that he’s not the only one suddenly attacked by the flares—but what happened? It wasn’t this aggressive before, did something—

“Someone’s leaving the house!” Lucia’s voice fizzles through his earpiece, nearly drowned out by the shattering of ice all around them. Lio grits his teeth, willing his body to move and look towards the house’s front door, peering through the flames to see two figures indeed shuffling their way out into the open.  

Why aren’t they with Remi? Lio doesn’t have time to wonder. He gets on his feet and rushes over, expecting either of them to collapse any moment from the heat and smoke and having to bodily carry them to safety.  

Except they don’t.  

The pair are engulfed in flames that look different from the usual Burnish flares, a shade of teal instead of the bright blues, pinks and yellows. It looks completely harmless on them—almost looking protective, even, shielding them from the raging fire of the house. The young man has a hand on the girl’s shoulder as he walks her out.

It finally clicks: these two are Burnish. The girl must’ve either just awakened as one, or lost control.  

Lio watches the flames flicker and dance, subconsciously mesmerized, before they abruptly retreat back into the young man’s body like it’s where they belong.  

Lio could've sworn he hears the faintest sound of giddy, child-like laughter as it happens.  

“Hey, you’re...”

Lio glances up, and, in a moment of what feels to him like pure absurdity, finds himself face to face with the staff from the bubble tea place.  

xXx

Burnish are actually people who’ve undergone a sudden, unexplained mutation, many a result of extreme stress.

The girl was a university student, apparently just about overwhelmed with exams and papers to write and under a lot of pressure to perform well to maintain her scholarship. There could’ve been more factors building up to her awakening; Lio did not and was not obliged to pry. There are more than enough similar cases, people driven to the limits of what they can emotionally and mentally bear by their circumstances and randomly bursting into flames.  

The girl sustained no injuries from the event, but she was still sent to the hospital to get checked just in case, and later on she’d be introduced to a mental help program to hopefully provide her the support she needs. Once all that’s settled, she’d be registered for classes to teach her how to keep her fire under control so there hopefully wouldn’t be more unfortunate accidents. Her family will be staying in a shelter in the meantime while they settle matters concerning their house.

The young man, on the other hand, had been in the area by sheer coincidence on his way back home when he’d seen the explosion of fire in the house. The madman had then barged right in, evacuated the rest of the family, and stayed with the girl until he could convince her that the fires wouldn’t hurt her and that the rest of her family is safe. It's after she’d managed to calm down that they’d then left the house, and the remaining flames allowed themselves to be put out.  

He’d insisted he’s completely fine when asked and had slipped off soon after handing over the girl to Lio’s care.  

Lio can’t help but wonder if he’ll ever consider joining the FDPP—that sort of courage and resistance to fire is exactly what they need—but he digresses.

They manage to wrap things up within the next hour, and thankfully there’s no other incident until Lio clocks off the next morning. He heads home just as dawn breaks and the rising sun colors the sky with a gradient of yellows and blues. Lio barely notices this, though, dead set on simply making it to his bathroom to take a shower and then pass out for the rest of his long-awaited day off.  

He wakes up starving some time in the afternoon, and even then he’s trying to convince himself that a human being can last a solid number of days without food just so he wouldn’t have to get out of bed. He does eventually manage to drag himself up, though, only when the hunger and dehydration begins gnawing at him. Lio groans as he shuffles his way to the pantry to put together some cereal and milk.  

He lets out a huge yawn before scooping a spoonful into his mouth, staring absently at his fridge as he crunches on the lightly sugared bits. He’ll have to do some grocery shopping later; the remaining ingredients he has wouldn’t last him until his next break day. Lio ponders over what he should get while he slurps up the last of the milk in his bowl, then later briefly cleaning it up and heading back to bed with his phone in hand.

He spends the next hour or so mindlessly scrolling through his social media feed and watching whatever’s on his recommended list on Y*utube. Lio used to be bothered by how he seems to only be able to laze his way through days when he’s off duty, but he’s proud to say that he's mostly gotten over it. Although being part of Burning Rescue does not necessarily mean there’s always an emergency to tend to, they must always be ready to drop everything and rush out when need be. Carrying out rescue missions and dealing with Mad Burnish when they pop up are one thing, but the constant anticipation for alerts wears them down almost just as much. Lio doesn’t always have the chance to simply let his guard down like this, and he’s gradually learnt to appreciate the quiet, insignificant moments he has when he can just pass the hours idly in his apartment.

It’s almost six in the evening by the time he works up the motivation to prepare going out. He changes out of his jammies, nearly forgets to brush his teeth, and bunches his hair into a hair tie because he can’t really be bothered to untangle it at the moment. He then pockets his phone and wallet, scoops up his keys and a couple of reusable bags from the little basket on his shoe rack, and with a final sweep of his gaze across his room to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything important, he heads out.  

To be clear, Lio still hasn’t figured out what he’d like to eat for the next week. Then again, it wouldn’t be much different from the usual meals he could whip up either within thirty minutes or cook in a large batch so he can just store them in the fridge and have whenever he needed. He’ll just have to get some meat, fruits, some fresh cartons of milk. He's run out of bread too, he remembers. He could get some canned tuna to make some quick snacks while he’s at it.  

The supermarket is close enough to Lio’s apartment for him to walk there and back. Plus it’s the best option since rush hour is still ongoing at this point. Crowds of people gather at bus stops, the roads almost packed with slow-moving traffic. Lio spots students in uniforms chattering loudly in groups, adults in various types of work attire carrying their own bags of groceries. In the distance, a train rattles by.  

Lio spends a moment to bask in the mundanity of it all.  

He's greeted by a familiar playlist and a blast of air conditioning the moment he enters the supermarket. Lio eyes the growing queues at the check-out counters as he makes his way to the aisles, and decides not to dawdle too much before the crowds get bigger. He briskly heads to the usual sections and fills his basket, grabbing himself some bags of chips in the last minute when he spots the discount labels on the racks. He'd planned to look around and see what else could be on sale, but guess he’d just have to save that for the next time.  

Lio walks out about forty minutes later, heavy bags in hand, and pauses in his tracks.  

And finds himself going a different direction than that leading home, a slight, subconscious spring in his steps as he moves closer towards the city center. It takes maybe fifteen minutes and one wrong turning before he finally reaches a street that’s still just vaguely familiar. It'd been midafternoon the last time he was properly here and not just passing by, the sun almost too bright in his eyes and blinding when reflected off the many white-washed walls. Now it’s pleasantly buzzing with activity, the incoming night illuminated with bright lights and loud music.  

Lio doesn’t plan to properly go into the shop. He’ll just have a look while walking past, just to make sure the guy’s doing okay after that fire. Just be natural, Fotia. Don’t stare, don’t try too hard. At least it’s probably a busy time now and he won’t have the time to notice every passerby and—

The shop is quiet, with the staff crouching behind the counter scrolling through their phones. By sheer dumb luck, Lio’s eyes somehow almost immediately meet with those belonging to the one with spiky blue hair.  

Sees an excited grin bloom across his face.  

“Mr Firefighter!”

Lio hates the way his heart does a little flip at the address.  

“Oh, hey,” Lio manages to respond casually enough (god at least he hopes so), stopping to watch the guy maneuver his way over from his workstation. He's suddenly very aware of the fact that he hasn’t combed his hair. “You doing okay after everything?”  

“Yeah, it wasn’t anything serious, really,” Boba boy assures with a scratch of his cheek. He then spots Lio’s groceries. “Went shopping today?”  

Lio hums his affirmation, trying not to grow overly conscious of the crinkling of his bags of chips next. “Won’t be off until sometime next week after this.”

“That’s a shame. Thought I’d treat you to a cup, but guess it’s not exactly the most convenient for you at the moment, huh?”

Lio raises his eyebrows at the sudden mention of a treat. “There’s really no need, though?”

“Please, just take it as a token of appreciation. For taking care of a fellow Burnish sister yesterday.” Boba boy then frowns. “Or maybe you’re the type who considers that sort of hour ‘this morning’.”

Lio, the absolute fool he is, finds himself charmed from that statement alone. “I’ll drop by some other time, then? I’ll see if I’ll be free to visit after work tomorrow.”

“Cool, cool! I’ll keep an eye out for you!”

“Thanks,” Lio says, then realization belatedly dawns him. “By the way, I don’t think I’ve ever caught your name?”  

“Oh, right.” Boba boy lets out a sheepish laugh as though it hadn’t occurred to him as well. He slips his hands into his pockets, leans his weight back slightly. Relaxed, casual. “It’s Galo. Galo Thymos.”

OP of the daphne post! for the 50th scooby doo year, i beseech you to write a thing, please

Well it is October, and I do like being beseeched, and I have been reading “Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You” and watching Dario Argento movies…

Obviously this means it’s Hex Girl time.

—-

The five of them were bunched up in the back of the Mystery machine. Daphne was touching up her makeup (and Shaggy’s) in Fred’s rearview mirror. She had given herself a combination of runny mascara and fake blood running down from her eyes, while Shaggy had a “slashed open” cheekbone and exposed teeth prosthetic on his cheek.

“Like… it’s totally cool if you want to bail,” said Shaggy. 

“No judgment,” said Daphne.

“I’ll even drive you home,” said Fred, wearing a Led Zeppelin shirt (Why was it always Dad bands with him?).

Scooby slumped his weight against Velma in solidarity.

“Guys, I’m not made of glass–and the more you keep saying that, the more psyched out I get,” said Velma.

“I know, but it’s baby’s first rock concert!” said Daphne.

“What did we establish, D?” said Velma.

“…That we would stop calling it ‘baby’s first rock concert,’” said Daphne.

“But the way you and Shaggy talk about it, it sounds like a religious experience,” said Velma.

“It is,” Daphne and Shaggy said at the same time with a near sigh in their voices.

“Like, it’s a religious experience for the church of Kensington Gore,” said Shaggy.

“Cheesy horror movie stuff?” said Velma.

“Cheesy horror movie stuff,” said Shaggy.

“So I want to see it,” said Velma, sitting up with some determination, “If I can handle that skunk ape case last week, I can handle crowds.” 

“Ugh,” Daphne shuddered, “Don’t remind me of the skunk ape case. I can still almost smell it sometimes.”

“Like, glad to hear it though,” said Shaggy, holding out an open palm to her. Velma glanced down to see two foam earplugs in his hand, “Trust me. You’re gonna need them.”

Velma kept the earplugs balled up in her fist as they all clambered out of the back of the Mystery Machine and locked it behind them. It was a brisk first-cold-snap-of-Fall evening in Colesville’s derelict metropolitan district. There was a robust shopping center with a decent-enough couple of apartment buildings, and some “We’re totally not gentrifying your town” boutiques and gastropubs,  but for blocks out from there was a smattering of half-aborted real estate developments and boarded up buildings. The gang headed toward the theater and Velma stuck to the interior of the group as punks and goths, leathermen, horror geeks, and even a handful of steampunkers trickled across the streets toward the theater.

“Abandoned theater…” said Velma, “No huge fire or collapse risk there.”

“The Hex Girls are upcyclers,” said Daphne with a shrug.

“And Thorn is a hardcore stickler about how her gigs turn out–makes sure the building is totally safe for all of her lighting, makes sure the exits are clearly marked with a well-organized evac plan, has top-of-the-line bouncers, and all the available refreshments are exclusively vegan.”

“The little fried tofu brains are really good,” said Shaggy, “Did you know the human brain has the same consistency as tofu?”

“Silken or firm?” said Velma.

“…I don’t know,” said Shaggy.

“But don’t worry, the Hex Girls know what they’re about,” said Daphne as they showed their tickets at the door. The doors opened and the gang stuck close to each other as they entered a buzzing, throbbing crowd of fans that collectively referred to themselves as “The Hexed.” 

The bar area was fenced off from concert-goers below 21, and was so densely packed Velma hardly understood the appeal anyway, and the gang took their place in the crowd a ways from the stage. The theater itself was ornate–pretty well cleaned-up for the concert with a garish peacock green and magenta geometric color scheme decorating the walls that was probably considered very glamorous back in 1978. It was dimly lit and all the seats had been taken out to accommodate the more rough-and-tumble concert venue. The velvet curtain was down, moth-eaten as it was and Velma watched as Shaggy fit some mutt muffs on Scooby before resuming his hold on Scooby’s harness. Scooby sat on his haunches, his tail thumping on the floor. if they weren’t covered by the muffs, Velma would have guessed his ears were pricked. 

“He’s been to these too?” said Velma.

“Oh he loves them,” said Shaggy, scratching Scooby under the chin.

“The dog’s been to more concerts than me,” muttered Velma, not really audible over the murmurs of the crowd. The lights at the front of the stage dimmed and sent the theater into complete blackness and a sudden silence swept over everyone almost unsettlingly. There were a few nervous giggles and a handful of scattered “Whoo’s” from around the theater but mostly an almost electric silence. Then the speakers hummed and Velma put in her ear plugs in anticipation. The curtain lifted to a black stage, then the backlights lit up red reveal a group of about twelve girls, only a little older than they were, dressed in red shift dresses standing on bleachers behind a mass of black-cloaked mannequins still in shadow. The girls’ heads were bowed. There was a brief ripple of applause but the silence from the stage prompted more silence from the crowd. For a moment Velma thought the twelve girls on the bleachers were blindfolded, but they slowly raised their heads and opened their eyes. A thick horizontal stripe of black was painted across all of their eyes.

“Are those the Hex girls?” Velma whispered.

Daphne said, “Ssh!” on instinct then caught herself, looked at Velma and whispered “no” before jerking her head back toward the stage, terrified of missing anything. Then the twelve girls started singing, completely unaccompanied by any instruments or beat. It was high and choral and perfectly harmonized, fit for a cathedral.

“Mater Suspiriorum, Tenebrarum, Lacrimarum

 Dominae, Dominae Dominarum–”

The choir was apparently micd up so that Sopranos, mezzo sopranos, and altos were coming form different speakers. The result was the music folding around them like water sloshing around the room.

“Oh classic,” said Shaggy

“Am I missing something?” said Velma, “Are the Hex girls… catholic?”

Shaggy snorted. “Nah. Nah, they’re not.”

“Ignis,” the chorus kept singing, “Vestis, Amissio Amictia—”

“For the record, I know Latin and none of this makes any sens–”  Velma started.

“Vacuus VACUUUS!” The choir’s volume suddenly peaked and there came a thunderous drum beat that hit Velma like a kick in the ribs. 

“DUSK!” One audience member hollered, “DUUUUUUSK!  The crowd swelled with cheers as a white spotlight stabbed through the dense red light shining on the chorus to reveal a cloaked drummer hidden amidst the mass of mannequins on the stage. The drummer kicked off a heavy beat that throbbed through the whole crowd. 

“Hex girl?” said Velma but Daphne was already bouncing up and down, pounding her shoes into the cement floor with the beat as she headbanged with the beat. Velma took that as yes. 

The chorus kept up their latin nonsense as the drumming picked up even more and suddenly a ripple of stained-glass-shattering organ cut through and the crowd went wild as a second white spotlight shined down on a keyboardist in a cloak among the mannequins. A wail went up from the crowd and suddenly the bodies around Velma started shifting and dancing as Dusk intensified her drumbeat to match the manic organ music of the keyboardist.

“I LOVE YOU, LUNA!” one girl shrieked from the wings and the keyboardist made a quick finger gun out to the crowd, without missing a single key as she played, prompting even more screams. The keyboardist and drummer hammered away, their sounds crashing against each other as the choir kept up its vocalizing, then with another thunderous drumbeat the sound suddenly cut, and the crowd stilled, a few cheers and yells rising up in anticipation as a deep, rippling woman’s voice came over the speakers.

“You think this is magic?” Her voice seemed to engulf the room like smoke and Velma looked to Shaggy who mouthed along with the voice’s words of, “I am not a magician.”

The choir let out a single long note of vocalization, an “Ahhhhh” of ecstasy that climbed in volume as all the mannequins on the stage were lifted off by thin, near-invisible cables like puppets or corpses on gallows, now hoisted out of sight and revealing one cloaked woman at the center of the stage, holding an electric guitar. The choir fell silent then, leaving Velma feeling as if she was leaning over a cliff, suspended back from falling like the mannequins now swaying out of sight and not knowing what would make her fall over the edge.

“Thorn! Thorn! Thorn! Thorn! Thorn!” the word pulsed up from the crowd like a terrified heartbeat.

“We have three names, but you know us by one,” said woman with the guitar.

“Hex! Girls! Hex! Girls! Hex! Girls!” the chant was half manic, half call-and-response rippling around the theater. Velma looked to Fred, who she assumed was just as clueless as her in this manner and he just gave her a smile.

A white spotlight shined down on her. The woman cast back the hood of her cloak and flipped her hair out, long and black, and grinned. Velma wasn’t sure if it was the spotlight that bleached her or if she was wearing makeup or if she just woke up looking like a beautiful moon-white victorian woman that was probably dying of consumption, but she didn’t care. 

“THOOOOOORN!” a wail came up from another section of the crowd.

“How’s everyone doing tonight?” she murmured dreamily into the microphone.

The crowd went absolutely apeshit as the choir exited the stage and Thorn just grinned.

“Let’s give another hand to the Colesville Choir, they’re going to hell for this,” said Thorn with a smile. A ripple of laughs and applause rose up from the audience.

“Oh, I like this group, don’t you like this group, Luna?” said Thorn, looking to the keyboardist.

“I like this group,” said Luna, still playing.

“Dusk?” said Thorn.

The drummer looked up to give a sly grin. “On the fence,” said Dusk, still hammering away at her drumset. Another ripple of chuckles went though the audience again.

“I think we should give them something nice, what do you think, Hex Girls?” said Thorn, casting off her cloak to reveal a dress that was halfway between Elvira and Stevie Nicks, slinging her guitar over herself.

“I guess,” said Dusk, pausing to take off her own cloak for a more punkish outfit. Luna shrugged off her own cloak to reveal a gauzy number and prompt another shriek of “LUNA, I LOVE YOU!” from that same girl up in the wings. Dusk clacked her drumsticks together three times before changing the beat.

The crowd cheered and Thorn struck down on her guitar as the next song kicked off and Velma felt the world get blasted away from around her. Thorn started singing and Velma’s legs turned to jelly beneath her. It was a deep, buoyant voice that creaked and pitched in all the right places. There were a few brief flailing seconds where Velma tried to rationalize the effect of the music–faster music was known to increase heart rates and breathing, so the buzz in her head was normal. Totally normal.

The crowd shifted then, faster than Velma could really anticipate, and suddenly an area had cleared out slightly to accommodate bodies now flying at each other as the beat picked up, catching and flinging each other against the walls of the crowd, and clotheslining each other. Velma looked desperately around for Shaggy, Fred, even Scooby, but couldn’t make them out from the crowd that now walled her in to the mosh pit. Thorn was singing, and even with the plugs in her ears dampening the sound Velma could feel her voice snaking around her insides–she could feel Dusk’s drumbeat rattling her bones–or maybe that was the skinny punk who just slammed into her before continuing on his reeling way.

“GUYS?!” Velma shouted. Another body slammed into her and her glasses got knocked off.

“My glasses!” Velma shouted on reflex and nearly moved to bend and feel around for them before she was slammed again, stumbling.

Thorn was now rendered from a beautiful vampy songstress to a sexy black and white blur, not that Velma could appreciate it now caught between thrashing bodies.

“Velm!” before Velma was really sure what was going on, Daphne’s arm was hooked in hers (She was about 60% sure it was Daphne–again, it was dark and now blurry—it smelled like Daphne, at least.) Velma was yanked down briefly, than yanked back upright, then pulled into what she could only assume was a dizzing spin around the mosh pit, still hooked in Daphne’s arm, before being flung into the wall of the crowd and caught by several strong arms. She thrashed instinctively before she heard Shaggy say, “Velm! Velm! It’s us!” She looked up, saw Shaggy’s face half bloodied and shrieked before Daphne put her hands on her shoulders.

“It’s okay! It’s okay!” said Daphne.

“My glasses!” said Velma, “I need my–” 

Daphne put Velma’s glasses back on her face. Velma blinked a few times.

“I saved them, don’t worry,” said Daphne.

Velma furrowed her brow at the large crack running through one of the lenses.

“Mostly saved them,” said Daphne.

“You okay?” said Fred.

“Yeah–yeah just a little—Shaggy! Your face!” she looked over at Shaggy.

“Prosthetic,” said Shaggy, peeling the bloody bit off his face, “Remember?”

“Shaggy!” said Daphne.

“I’ll put it back on in the bathroom,” said Shaggy, shrugging, “We really did try to grab you before the pit broke out. We were calling for you but…”

“Earplugs,” said Velma.

“You survived baby’s first mosh pit!” said Daphne, clapping and hugging Velma.

“Daph!” said Velma, half muffled into Daphne’s Hex Girls tee.

“Sorry! First mosh pit!!” said Daphne, holding Velma at arm’s length again. She looked worried for a second, “It’s–It’s totally fine if you don’t want to stay for the whole concert now. You don’t have to force yourself to–”

“No!” said Velma a bit too suddenly, looking back at Thorn, now dropped to her knees for a guitar solo, arching her back and craning her neck upward as the mosh pit continued thrashing. Velma cleared her throat, “I mean–The music’s really good.”

“Right?!” said Daphne, excited.

Velma looked at the mosh pit, “And I’ve tasted blood,” she said, adjusting her cracked glasses, “I’m staying.”

That slightly manic smile split across Daphne’s face and it prompted a nervous giggle out of Velma that wove itself neatly into the buzz of adrenaline now running through her body.

“Oh Dinkley,” said Daphne, ruffling Velma’s hair, “We’re in for a night.”

Scooby howled with the next wail of guitar.

#103: Parade

It was the Grand Reopening of Link VRAINS (again) and the streets of the virtual world were filled with avatars. People looked around, ran around the place, laughed and chatted, making new friends.

 Playmaker was standing away from everyone else, hidden by the shadows. He watched as people chatted with Soulburner and the rest of his comrades, and their Ignis. Even Ai was there, having run there after complaining about him being a wallflower. The Ignis was currently chatting with Ghost Girl, who was smiling down at it.

 “So?” Ghost Girl asked. “Where’s Playmaker?”

 “Right there…” Ai pointed to where he had left him, but as he turned to look… he wasn’t there.

 While Ai was internally screaming, Ghost Girl smirked. “Oh? Did he abandon you?”

 While Ai started screaming at her while being completely ignored, Soulburner hummed, worried. “Where is he? The parade is about to start.”

 “Are you guys a part of it?” Ghost Girl asked, smiling.

 “No.” Soulburner laughed. “They tried to have us there, but we refused. But Blue Angel and Go Onizuka are there, right?”

 They chatted for a while longer, before the sky suddenly turned dark, like the lights had been turned off. Everyone turned to the end of the long street they were standing by as two commentators let their voices reach out throughout Link VRAINS. “Ladies and Gentlemen!”

 “We have the privilege to welcome you all to the new and improved Link VRAINS!”

 “To celebrate this unforgettable night, a parade of the greatest duelists shall walk right before your eyes! Let us all welcome them!”

 “First, we have the undeniable Queen of Link VRAINS, who fought alongside the toughest and bravest heroes against the evil! Blue Angel!!”

 Blue Angel was standing on top of a moving platform, smiling and waving to her fans who cheered loudly for her. Some of her monsters were also on the platform, dancing and giggling.

 As the platform moved to make room for the next one, the same voice called out. “And here we have the King of Link VRAINS, Go Onizuka!”

 The cheers continued as more and more famous duelists made appearances. Charisma Duelists put on a show, as did the others, though not as much as the Charisma Duelists. The crowd watched, cheering and waving back to them, taking photos, videotaping it. Music filled the air as people danced, laughed and chatted excitedly with others.

 When the parade was nearing its end, Blue Girl ran to them, looking around. “Did I miss the end?”

 “No.” Ghost Girl looked at her. “Why? Is something interesting happening?”

 “Yeah.” Blue Girl shrugged her shoulders. “Or, well, I don’t know. The commentator from Neo Domino City was really excited about the last group. I talked with others before the parade, and one of them, Harald from Team Ragnarok, said that they weren’t there yet and someone else said that they’d make a dramatic entrance or something.”

 “Team Ragnarok?” Unnamed turned to look at the, currently, last platform. “Those three?”

 “Yeah.” Blue Girl nodded. “They’re supposed to be the last ones, before Team 5D’s, I think was the name.”

 “Ladies and Gentlemen! It is time for the last duelists to take the stage! And though they’re the last, they’re most definitely not the least!”

 The group watched, surprised, as all the 3-man teams vacated to the sides of their platforms, turning their eyes to the last platform that appeared behind the long line. There was no one on the platform. It was completely empty of people, of monsters, of everything.

 “What?” Soulburner blinked. “Isn’t there supposed to be…?”

 Suddenly, the platform lighted up in an eerie red glow. On the top of the platform, red lines appeared, making up some kind of mark. And, then, just as the mark was done, something dark, something akin a tornado, burst up in the middle of it. Black feathers floated down from the sky, making people let out noises of awe. Then, two red slits appeared in the tornado, before it disappeared with a loud flap of wings, almost as if they were the reason it disappeared. Now, standing on the platform was a black dragon with red eyes, a young man with orange hair in front of it. The man was grinning, waving to the crowd where fans were suddenly squealing and cheering.

 “Let us welcome, Crow ‘The Bullet’ Hogan, the Tail of the Crimson Dragon!”

 “The Crimson Dragon?” Ghost Girl glanced upwards, to where the two commentators were. “What’s that?”

 They had no time to ponder, though. Crow and his dragon quickly jumped to the side of the platform, balancing on the edge. The platform lighted up in that eerie red glow once more, but this time, the mark was different, looking almost like a claw. When the lines had become a mark, it was like lightning shot from the heavens. Red rose petals flew in the air as a strong gust of wind blew, whirling around. It disappeared as soon as it appeared, though, and the rose petals hovered to the ground, like the black feathers earlier. On the platform, there was a black dragon with wings made of red rose petals. In front of it stood a young woman with dark burgundy hair, a smile on her face as she looked around.

 “The Foot of the Crimson Dragon, the Black Rose Witch, Izayoi Aki!!”

 Aki winked to the crowds, making the people gasp. She then jumped to the other side of the platform, nearly facing Crow as she turned her back to the crowds. The platform lighted up, again, lines appearing to make a mark. The moment it was done, flames shot up from out of nowhere, burning brightly and hotly. A loud roar was heard long before the silhouette of a dragon was seen through the flames that condensed around the dragon’s fists, revealing a black-and-red dragon with an almost demonic look. In front of it stood a blond man, dressed in a white coat.

 “The Wings of the Crimson Dragon, Former King of Riding Duels, Jack Atlas!!!”

 Obviously, there was something fun with what the commentator said, because a lot of the famous duelists started laughing, some trying to hide it, some not. Crow was one of the ones who didn’t try to, and Aki tried to. Jack himself shot the man a glare.

 “Oh?” Unnamed chuckled. “I wonder what that’s about?”

 “Who knows?” Soulburner laughed.

 Before they could say anything else, though, there was another light. Jack jumped to the side, to stand a little further away from Crow. The lines made up a mark, almost like a claw that held something. Then, there was a large cracking sound and a burst of light. The sound of jingling bells was heard, as well as the sound of large machinery parts falling to the ground. When the light disappeared, there were two dragons there, one blue and almost like a fairy, one brown with a spear or something attached to its other arm. In front of the dragons were two youngsters, maybe 14 years old at most, with green hair and otherwise identical looks.

 “The Hand and Heart of the Crimson Dragon, the Wonder Twins, Ruka and Rua!”

 The duo laughed, waving to the crowd. Then, they jumped to the opposite sides of the platform, Rua to stand on the same side with Crow and Jack, Ruka to stand with Aki. They smiled and stood there, laughing, and then they waited.

 They didn’t have to wait for long. The platform lighted up once more, the eerie red glow becoming stronger than before. The lines quickly moved, making a mark. But unlike before, the mark wasn’t obscured as a dragon made an appearance. No, the spectators were instead left to gasp as something glittery rained down on them. As they turned to look up to the sky, they saw a white and blue dragon that was softly roaring as it flew over the street, over the people, its wings softly flapping. Whatever the glittery substance was, it was like it fell from the dragon’s wings.

 When the dragon flew over the platform, though, something dropped from on top of it. Or, rather, someone.

 People gasped, horrified and worried, as they saw someone freefall from that height, head first, straight towards the ground. They flipped over in the air, though, just before they hit the platform, landing on their feet in a crouch. The dragon landed behind them, letting out a soft roar.

 “The Head of the Crimson Dragon, Satellite’s Shooting Star, The King of Riding Duels, Fudo Yusei!!!”

 “Oh my, and who is that in his arms?!”

 It was then that people realized that it was indeed two people, rather than one, that had dropped from the dragon. Yusei was holding the other in a tight grip, holding them bridal style. And that other person…

 Ai gasped, shouting. “PLAYMAKER???!!!”

 “I’m going to kill you, one of these days.” Playmaker ignored the loud shout of his name, no doubt coming from the Ignis. Instead, he gave Yusei a glare as he was let down.

 “You would have already killed me if you had any plans to do so.” Yusei chuckled softly, ignoring the crimson red tendrils that began appearing in the air around their platform. “Now, come over here.”

 “Why?” Playmaker gave him a suspicious look but stepped closer. “If this is another one of your…”

 Yusei pressed his lips against Playmaker’s.

 At first, it was deadly silent. Then, people were screaming, because did some bigshot from Neo Domino City just kiss Playmaker???!!!

 The red tendrils began fusing. People noticed them, making confused noises as the tendrils began to take another shape, curling around the platform that was, once again, glowing an eerie red color. The tendrils began to make a snake-like body, like the lines on the platform… making a tail… feet… wings… hands… a head…

 Yusei pulled away, smiling as Playmaker glanced upwards at the replica of the Crimson Dragon that had curled around the platform. “… Isn’t it bad to make fun of a god like this?”

 “We’re showing our gratitude in our own way.” Yusei chuckled. “The Crimson Dragon would understand.”

 “… Yeah, you guys are unique like that.” Playmaker laughed, which made the crowds pause. “The Crimson Dragon would totally understand.”

 Yusei smiled and gave him another kiss before turning to the crowd and waving. His teammates and Playmaker did the same. The dragons roared in tune with the replica of the Crimson Dragon. It was truly a spectacle to see.

OK I actually have a lot of ramblings about the newest VRAINS ep so, here we go!

So, first up, the summary mislead us. The summary we had gotten said that Ai was ‘attacking humans’. Which suggested either he was attacking people at random or had a list of people he was tracking down. Neither of which was the case.

What he really did was attack Queen-the one who was responsible for the murder of his friend, then send Akira a warning telling he’d be coming for him. Or more accurately his key.

I’m still thinking Ai’s plan is to take control of SOL tech and use it/their assets to try and revive his friends. That just, makes the most sense. Also, I really don’t think his actual intent is to kill Akira, Akira is just panicking and overreacting. All Ai said was that in three days he was coming for the key and Akira would not longer be #1 at SOL. Which, if Ai takes the key even without a fight, is exactly what’s gonna happen. Ai 1) Ai would be the one in control, automatically making HIM #1 and 2) Akira would probably be demoted for losing something that important. So yeah. Ai is just a dramatic bitch and Akira is paranoid and panicking.

On that note, while I get Yusau being sad at seeing what Ai is doing, he’s making it sound like is just, indiscriminately attacking people with sadistic glee instead of, you know, having attacked one single person in an act of revenge, who frankly had it coming. Also it’s Ai, as I said before, he’s dramatic. Ofc he’s gonna look like he’s enjoying this(also it was probably cathartic).

I know some people aren’t impressed with the identity reveal but I liked it. I’m not sure if Aoi had already figured it out and led her brother there so he could figure it out, or if she saw Shoichi at the hotdog stand and went ‘oh shit it him’ recognizing him as Unnamed and put the pieces together like Akira did and then decided to drag Akira there. I’m just glad it happened (how long till it clicks that Takeru = SB and who’s gonna tell him that the cat’s outta the bag?)

I’m sort of amused how throughout the scene Aoi’s just, enamoured cause she’s meeting the hero of Link VRAINS and the one who saved her and her brother several times, irl and Yusaku is just, really confused about everything.

Now, I don’t ship Angelmaker (I just want them to be friends at the very least, which seems likely) but like, from an Aoi standpoint it, kiinda makes sense if you think about it. I mean, a handsome mystery man has saved her and her brother and Link VRAINS so it makes sense for her to be enamoured by him and like, have a hero-worship kind of crush thing going on (like Naoki).

Also if we’re gonna use the ‘the writers are making them spend time together’ as proof that they’re trying to build to it, I guess they’re trying to build to Recoil as well since they’re stuffing Rev and Takeru as a team and together in the OP multiple times. lmao

Yusaku on the other hand, yeah. haha. His expressions said it all. He was so deeply confused. Poor guy. (tbh it’s probably the lack of interaction + Yusaku’s absolute disinterest that makes it hard for me to ship it. i could definitely buy a one sided sort of thing for Aoi tho)

Aoi: I want you to shake my hand.

Yusaku, internally: But why tho?

Ahh Pandore. Yeah this totally won’t backfire in any way. Nope. I see my sorta theory from the other day about her was right tho. And only time will tell if she will double as a Pandora’s Box as well. And what all that entails.

Also, between Akira wanting to talk with Rev about ‘one more thing’ and him being super sure that his physical body is safe, I wonder if he enlisted their help. Like, hiding on their boat/up in the house. Cause really, I don’t think Ai would think to look there. For Yusaku yes, not for Akira.

I had a thought earlier, when Ema said that Akira would take the blame if/when SOL’s dirty laundry comes to light even tho he wasn’t responsible for that stuff. What if that was why they insisted on promoting him? They could tell SOL was on shaky ground, so why not set up a fallguy for when shit hits the fan? Seems like, exactly the sort of thing they’d pull.

And really Aoi, you’re object to working with Hanoi cause ‘they’re criminals’. Aside from those 5, your group also consists of, 3 hackers (Playmaker, Ghost Girl and Shoichi), a guy who used to do work for Yakuza and other gangs/organized crime groups (Akira), a bounty hunter who’s probably done less than legal things (Blood Shepherd) and someone who was something of a delinquent and may or may not have gotten in trouble for it (Soulburner). Like, Aoi and Go are the only one who haven’t done anything illegal at this point (Go did bad things, but he was working for SOL so none of it was really, illegal). Plus ike, ya sure didn’t have a problem teaming up with them against Lightning.

I’m amused that the episode shut down the idea of whether or not Yusaku would recognize Ai when they fought/met in one fell swoop. Ai’s just like ‘Yo it me’ Not even trying to hide it.

Im not sure what to make of GO and BS being back. I wish they’d acknowledge what BS did to SB cause like, yeah that was mean an uncalled for. I’m sure Ema’s making sure her bro plays nice but still. Idk if we’re gonna get an explanation for Go, maybe he learned things from Earth while having the Ignis in his head and that + his last defeat was the wake up call he needed. Who knows.

I’m Not Drunk ~ Chocobros

I have been having some difficulties writing lately and this was the first idea I have had in a while. I have seen all of your requests and I'm working on them right now, I thought this would be funny even though it wasn't requested. Hope you enjoy. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This was one of those nights, the nights with nothing to do and when the bar in town opened that night it was all too convenient to not enjoy and let go for a while. You and your man and the rest of the boys were going to regret this in the morning. but you're all responsible adults...right...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Prompto

The sunshine boy, Chocobo lover and master of photography was anything but that, when drunk. Prompto a very sensitive guy by nature with a big loving heart was exactly the opposite when drunk. The sweet sensitive boy was a fan of the fruit-flavored drinks because they didn't sting his throat he drank at least 11 until it hit him full throttle starting with a trip to the men's room to hurl he walked back out after rinsing his mouth out to find you on the dance floor. He smirked and made his way over while grabbing your ass. "Hey I know that sexy choco-ass anywhere!" he said with a confident tone in his voice. You jumped slightly and giggled as you realized it was Prompto he smiled and wrapped his arms around you his hand grabbing your ass and pulling you close he smelled of whiskey yet was still appealing as he trailed kisses down your neck. "MMM my sexy girl!" he smirked his confidence that he normally didn't have was rather attractive as he turned you around and pulled your body close to his your ass against him as he smirked not letting you go and he bites your ear softly as you started to get heated. "I'm gonna make you my personal little bitch tonight, Would you like that?" Your response was your weak knees as he held you up as you blushed. You and the sunshine drunk returned to the hotel room before the others.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gladio

This behemoth of a man, the king's shield was so soft when drunk he was actually clingy. He had about 2 full bottles of rum and a beer before feeling anything. He was spiraling into his feels as he grabbed you holding you close to his big body as he nuzzled into you. "Do you realize how fucking beautiful you are to me?" You blushed as he was normally lovey dovey behind closed doors never in public the PDA took you by surprise. He smiled and kissed you all over your blushing face. "Haha, what's wrong babe?" He smirked as he spread your legs and turned you around so you were sitting on his lap with your legs around him as he held you close like that like you where the man's personal porcelain doll. He cooed sweet nothings into your ear all night. You smiled as you enjoyed the comfort you found in the large man's arms even if it was in public he slowly kisses your soft lips and smiled. "I want you to know how much you mean to me babe, You mean so much to me, I care about Noctis and the boys and I have to protect him. but you...I would destroy the world if I had to just to keep you. You are my everything." The sappy fluff pouring from his mouth was really sweet as you blushed a deep red. "Come on. I'm gonna show you how much you mean to me by making you scream my name." You smiled because even though he was sweet and fluffy right now he was still Gladio.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Noctis

The normally cool somewhat nonchalant blueish black haired Noctis turned into.....well prompto... He was excitable and gitty and frequently told everyone. Noctis is a surprising lightweight With that said he was a fan of the drinks like Rum and Coke, Sprite and Vodka anything with soda in it he's ready to drink it before he was singing along to his favorite songs. You struggled to make sure he didn't jump up onto the bar. "Baaaaabe my darling future queenie, I need you to knooooow how much I loooove you." You rolled your eyes he was almost on the verge of annoying for your normally sleepy headed and lazy prince. He was a handful, you wished that the other boys didn't get so drunk to help reel him in. However, you had to admit that it was kinda cute. The short prince climbed up on the bar stool and turned you to face him with a well-planned face plant into your cleavage he smiled and hummed in content. You stared down at your prince and raised your eyebrow in confusion and let out a small laugh. "What? Leave me alone this is my favorite pillow! Mmmm so soft. " You laughed and stroked his hair as he then looked up at you and kissed you. My lovely queen, you are a vision tonight and every night. He then resumed his place in your cleavage and grabbed your wrist putting your hand on his hand for you to continue playing with his hair. You smiled at your drunken prince. He was, after all, your prince charming even when silly and drunk.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ignis

Specs, the groups know it all and the one who normally gets everyone else out of trouble. He normally drank wine when he wanted to really relax but tonight he had decided that for one night he would let loose as the other guys called it. This man could hold his liquor he drank and drank and drank he favors finer drinks like Scotch, Bourbon, Hibiki, Cognac. He even owned a bottle of Cognac he kept at his apartment for very very special occasions seeing as how it was a rare vintage he paid 12,000 Gil for. Tonight he had glass after glass. around 13 glasses in, he was set for the night his shirt was untucked the few buttons at the top undone his jacket was gods know where, and his hair was down and framed his face. "My dear fellow another and no more for blondie their, Bigfoot can have more and the tiny one with his head in that poor girl's breasts is cut off as well." He slurred his words just slightly but the bartender nodded as he filled another glass Ignis took the drink and downed it quickly before turning his attention to you. He smiled a sly and predatory smile as he looked over your body. He pulled you close and smiled as he grabbed your jaw and kissed you. "Forgive me my love for being so blunt however your beauty has rendered me more than lacking in intelligence." You looked up at the man surprised at how you could understand him less when he was drunk and how his vocabulary seemed to get even more extensive. he sighed seeing your perplexed face and he smirked. " You turn me into a savage my love, One full of primal need, A need for lust, for passion, for satisfaction, for You. He said through clenched teeth in your ear as his hands roamed your body.  You leaned forward and kissed the man ready for him to take you back to the hotel as he pulled away you looked at him confused. "However, I am clearly intoxicated and must decline and you kissing me is obviously you trying to take advantage of my delicate nature..." He smiled wider than you have ever seen him smile as e burst out in laughter at his own joke. He wiped tears from his eyes and leaned against the bar as he held your hand. "Oh now, whos the serious one..my dear.." He went to grab his wallet from his jacket pocket to pay the bartender for everyone's drinks, "Oh, Oh dear, my wallet is in my jacket pocket... It has everyone's money in it. He quickly started to push through the crowded bar to search for his jacket as you laughed at how frantic he was.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bonus

Prompto refused to let you leave the bedroom ;) Until you physically couldn't handle cumming anymore. Somehow his hair never once messed up and he referred to you as Chocobutt all night.

Gladio cried at some point because you are such a good person and he doesn't deserve you and he is always so scared that he s going to hurt "His delicate little angel flower from the gods"

Noctis fell asleep in your cleavage and upon waking up started to sing "What is love"...Baby don't hurt me...don't hurt me...no more... with lots of hip thrusting

Ignis eventually gave up his search to realize you had paid with his money because he put his jacket on you because you said you were cold. He proceeded to lock himself in a bathroom stall and lecture himself. about responsibility.

Yo everybody, here have some VRAINS Fanfic Ideas/Prompts

I'll probably try my hand at these myself at some point, but I'm putting them out for anyone to use because I probably wouldn't write them well. Prompt #1: Yusaku can see and/or summon Duel Spirits. Just a general thing, feel free to do whatever you want with this one. Some of the following prompts are a more fleshed out version of this concept.

One of the thoughts that spawned this idea was what if Yusaku was spirit sensitive during the Lost Incident, and thus was pretty much adopted by Duel Spirits. Fast forward ten years, and he has a Jiraiya of the Sannin-level spy network without anyone being any the wiser. There was also the thought of stern and standoffish Playmaker being Soft(™) with his monsters. Animal-like and The simple machine monsters would be pets. The human-like monsters would range from parental figures, to older or younger siblings to small children. The Code Talkers would absolutely act like how medieval knights would toward their king/liege. His dragons would be the seemingly ferocious guard dogs that growl at anything within 30 feet of Yusaku, but are in reality “the attention span of a sparrow” puppies. (They are adorable and Yusaku loves them, yes he does. Firewall really is a ferocious guard dog with everyone except Yusaku tho)

You could also do a Yusaku slowly awakens to the ability to see/hear Duel Spirits mid-canon (at any point in the plot you want). 

This could be funny: Yusaku being confused(™) until it makes sense, or angsty: Yusaku getting incredibly paranoid/anxious or thinking he's actually going insane while his friends/allies/fans begin to worry as he begins to act strangely.

(I just really want Spirit/Psychic Duelist!Yusaku in any form okay?)

Prompt #2: The one where Yusaku catches the eye of Stardust Dragon, and is subsequently adopted by said dragon without any say in the matter.

(Bonus if Yusei is just there and serenely lets it happen.)

Stardust: this is my son I will vaporize anything that hurts him

Yusei: yea cool guess I've got a little brother now

Yusaku: ...do I get any say in th-

Stardust: shh my sweet child I will protect you

Yusei: no not really

Yusaku:

Random Knight of Hanoi #179: *hurts Yusaku, is realizing his error* OOOOOH SHIIII-!!!!! SOL Tech: *sweats*

Note #1 - Yusaku can see Duel Spirits in this AU. They tend to materialize themselves [read: to defend their precious child] in his general vicinity whenever they feel like it. Den City as a whole is pretty much resigned to and somewhat fond/proud of this fact. (Most of its residents have in fact all adopted Yusaku as well. Tourists are usually hella confused.)

Tourist: hey does that kid have a Kuriboh on his head? Den City Resident: that's just Yusaku, don't mind him

Tourist: is that a goddamn DRAGON??? Den City Resident: *serenely, not even looking* that's normal everything is fine

Tourist: ?!??! Note #2 - Yusei can be along for the ride. If so, he and Stardust are pretty much post-5D's immortal gods that watch over mankind while the Crimson Dragon sleeps.

Note #3 - Can be cracky, serious, angsty, or anything in-between, go wild! Prompt #3: How to Train Your [Cracking/Borrel/Stardust/Sky/Winged] Dragon - The one where Duel Monsters wander freely and peacefully around VRAINS when not in use during duels, and Playmaker stumbles across an injured Cracking Dragon. Chaos ensues as he helps and inadvertently befriends the beast. Note - Could alternatively have the Duel Monster be one of Revolver's "Borrel" Dragons, Stardust Dragon, or- for the lols- Slifer the Sky Dragon or the Winged Dragon of Ra. Prompt #4: The one where Yusaku is thrown headfirst from Link VRAINS into the world of My Hero Academia, with Ai along for the ride. (Can be cracky, serious, angsty, or anything in-between, go wild!) Suggestions that don't have to be used - Yusaku's “Quirk” could be his Link Sense, only amplified to the point where he has the ability to connect to/hack the network and manipulate it however he wishes with any electronic device or his thoughts. He can also summon his Cyberse monsters by forming them from raw data. Yusaku can also turn into Playmaker to hide his identity.

Ai can either remain in Yusaku’s duel disk, or leave it in either his tiny or full sized “human” forms. He can also transform into his six-armed monster form, in which he can consume data to either save or delete it. Kaminari could possibly trigger Yusaku's PTSD with his Quirk on accident. Prompt #5: The one where Yusaku is unknowingly infected with a virus, and all hell breaks loose. Can either be pretty-much-drunk/high!Yusaku, or essentially Berserk Jinchuriki!Yusaku, or just angst. NOTHING sexual, please. Prompt #6: The one where Link VRAINS falls prey to a virus/hacker, leaving everyone currently logged in with no way to log out- including Playmaker. Basically SAO, YGO-style. Go wild with this one. Prompt #7: The one where VRAINS and the real world are merged without any warning, and Yusaku is unfortunately smack in the middle of Algebra when his Link Sense goes crazy...seconds before he forcefully glitches into Playmaker right in front of his entire class. (This one was a random thought, and can be cracky, serious, or angsty.)

Prompt #8: The one where Yusaku’s account is hacked so that his avatar has the features of Firewall Dragon, and he can’t remove them. (...It was Ghost Girl’s fault, he just knew it.) Note - Yusaku has Firewall Dragon's halo, wings, tail, and can have some of its armor. He can also have elongated canines and claws. (And yes, the original thought was Ghost Girl pranking Playmaker.)

Prompt #9: The one where Yusaku is blind or deaf IRL due to permanent damage suffered during the Lost Incident, but he has his sight/hearing while in VRAINS because it isn't his physical body. (Conversely, he still lacks his missing sense(s) even while in VR, and is just really good at hiding being blind/deaf.) Suggestions for this AU that don't have to be used:

Note #1 - Can use one of two types of damage as the cause of Yusaku's disability:

Direct Damage: Yusaku suffered damage directly to his eyes/ears, allowing VRAINS to ignore said damage and for Yusaku to temporarily recover his lost sense while logged in. Brain Damage: The electric shocks caused damage directly to the parts of Yusaku's brain that are responsible for sight/hearing, which causes the damage to carry over even while Yusaku is logged into VRAINS. Note #2 - If blind, Yusaku programs his avatar's eyes to automatically track people's movements and faces so that he can “look" at them, and his cards to either have braille text, or an audio feed that only he can hear that reads his cards off to him. May have Ai and/or Roboppi serve as something similar to a seeing eye dog. Or you could throw Prompt #1 into the mix and also have Duel Spirits help Yusaku out. Yusaku can have a specially programmed set of (Ai-themed) headphones that Ai can inhabit that allow the Ignis to speak with him privately or IRL. They are a headset in VRAINS and earbuds IRL.] Note #3 - If deaf, Yusaku knows sign and is mute as well. He has specially programmed text boxes that allow him to read everything his opponent says during duels, and follow whatever is going on easier. Yusaku can have a specially programmed phone that Ai can inhabit to send him text messages when IRL. Ai can also learn Sign.] Note #4 - In either version, Yusaku knows Morse Code and programs his avatar to have a higher sensitivity to vibrations as well. Ai is also quite a bit more protective of Yusaku.

Prompt #10: Playmaker counts out his convictions in threes for everyone to hear. Fujiki Yusaku hasn't spoken in ten years. (AKA The Selectively Mute Yusaku AU.) Prompt #11: The one where the same virus that killed Dr. Kogami traps and fragments Playmaker's consciousness data (mind) in Link VRAINS, thereby rendering him comatose, and his allies are left with no way to rescue him- save for delving into his fragmented mind to wake him up in person. Basically the Danny Phantom's-class-enters-his-mind fic, VRAINS-style. If you've ever read one of those fics, you'll get the concept, but I'll try to explain it a little anyway. [Note #1 - Suggestions for the people who enter Yusaku's mind are: Ai, Kusanagi, Takeru, Flame, Ryoken, Spectre (follows Ryoken), Akira, Ema, Aoi, Aqua, Go (hacks in), Roboppi (brought by Ai), and Kengo (also hacks in).] [Note #2 - The group has to experience Yusaku's memories as they attempt to save him- including those of the Lost Incident- in visceral detail. (I, personally, would serve still-in-his-asshole-phase-Go a nice heaping helping of #Guilt/Remorse/Horror(™) if you have him witness the memories.)] [Note #3 - The facets of Yusaku's personality are fragmented, with each being represented as their own separate version of Yusaku. Some suggestions are as follows (feel free to use them or do your own thing). Anger: Playmaker, and his eyes as well as the glow lines of his suit are red. Fear: Yusaku in his pajamas, as he was when he was shown suffering night terrors. Happiness: Six year-old Yusaku before he suffered the Lost Incident. Sadness: Base Yusaku, but he barely reacts to anything or anyone. His eyes are blue and he is constantly crying in near silence.

Hate: Think pissed off and severely injured Playmaker, but if he also had Vector(Zexal) or Lightning's twisted personality traits. 

Self Doubt: Yusaku as a nervous wreck and blaming himself for everything that has ever gone wrong. Shyness: Yusaku, but if he acted like Reira(ARC-V) or Hinata from Naruto.

Confidence: Playmaker, but friendly and smiling and enjoying dueling.

Selflessness: Yusaku, but his color scheme is predominantly white. Would sacrifice himself for his allies.

Selfishness: Playmaker, but his color scheme is predominantly black. Would cast his allies aside without a second glance.

The true Yusaku can him as he normally appears, or his beat-up six year-old self just before being rescued, or a beat-up six year-old Playmaker.] Prompt #12: Dark Signer AU. The one where Yusaku didn't survive the Lost Incident, but thanks to being a Dark Signer, nobody realizes this little detail. (I need more Dark Signer!Yusaku m'kay? Nemesis by DarkZorua100 is glorious, bUT i neeD mORe) [Note #1 - Angst obviously, unless you can somehow put a humorous spin on Yusaku trying to hide the fact that he's, y'know, dead from everybody. And semi-failing. Takeru: ooooh my god he's f*cking dead yoU'RE a f*CKinG zomBIE-

Yusaku: wait i can expla-

Takeru: *illegible screeches of terror*

(i'm a terrible person who would make this funny heLP)

Can have the temperament of Yusaku's Immortal vary depending on whether you do angst or humor:

Angst: Either a complete asshole that makes Yusaku's unlife hell, or semi-benevolent. Humor: Excited puppy.]

[Note #2 - Stray thought was that Yusaku's Earthbound Immortal could be Ai's monster form? Or at least based on it. (or even be the reason Ai has it, since none of the other Ignis seemed to have alternate forms.)] [Note #3 - In my version, Yusaku was the only Lost Child to actually die. But you can have some or all of the rest of the children be Dark Signers too.] [Note #4 - Yusaku appears normal to everyone IRL- save for the facts that he-

Has no heartbeat and is strangely pale.

Exudes no body heat.

Never eats/sleeps or seems to react to pain when hurt (he doesn't bleed either).

He's a walking corpse and most people just don't connect the dots. In VRAINS, he's Playmaker as normal, but his sclera can change to, or permanently are, black. He also has a mark on his left cheek under his eye that's vaguely reminiscent of lines of digital coding.] Feel free to use any of these! Please send me a link to any stories you may write!

My request is Haru x Aoi known as Dragonflyshipping with a Mistletoe kiss prompt.

Thank you for the Request! Sorry this took so long, it kept getting longer XP

Fluff prompt: Mistletoe kiss (HaruXAoi)

Aoi stared at the invitation in her messages with a blank look on her face as she repeatedly pressed on the refresh button hoping it was a glitch. There was no way this guy was ballsy enough to-

Oh, wait, yes he would.

She frowned at the messaged overly decorated with holiday cheer and it happily explained that a certain AI wanted to go on a date with her for the holidays. Which is incredibly odd, because while the Rogue Ignis and AIs were stopped, everyone was still tense around them, you know. After the whole, being absorbed thing.

Fun times.

She put away the message and contemplated what he was up to.

-

Everyone seemed to be moving out her way today, which fair, Aoi’s avatar Blue Angel doesn’t seem to look the most approachable now. A dark look wrinkled her face as she marched down the streets with her red and fluffy white event theme outfit. The little jingle of the bells in her ponytails sounding ominous as she finally stood before the boy who somehow got her here.

He became annoyed with his messages until the new event was set up and it was couples only. The prize was really good this year but all her friends already partnered up! And apparently she can’t go with Aqua cause that's cheating (Her brother really should have let it slide, whatever). And all the messages to team up with strangers got too much.

Aoi got a tad desperate.

So now here she is with Haru, who looked older than when she last saw him. His outfit changed to be a bit more mature. She won’t admit he looked good now, she felt weird about agreeing to partner with a guy who looked like he should be in middle school. But now he seemed to be her age.

He looked kind of cute….

“Hello Blue angel, thank you for accepting my request”Haru looked a bit awkward as he said that. He eyed her like she was going to wring his throat, which he’s not wrong if this a trick. But she’ll throttle it back a little and stared at him watching him fidget.

“So?”

“So…”

“Why did you ask me to do this with you?”

“In all honesty, I think your pretty cute for a human. Also I’ve been researching online because I wanted to know more about them. Apparently dating is an important factor in a teenagers life.”Haru explained with a bit of cheekiness, but was actually totally serious.

Aoi was pretty sure her mouth was on the floor.

How the hell does she explain she hasn’t been on a single date her whole life? Blue angel was popular yes, but untouchable cause her fans were crazy? Or that aoi was so plain in reality that no one would look twice at her?

Haru scuffed his feet once the silence was getting unbearable.

“....Did you even plan on what we we’re going to be doing?” Aoi asked hesitantly, a little worried about what he came up with. She was going to honor her end of the deal she already agreed anyway.

“......”

“....Crud”

---------

They wandered around aimlessly, their conversations starting and stalling because they really didn’t have a lot in common.(Haru was only begin to have likes and dislikes about things, but he has never eaten, going to school, bought clothes, ect).

Aoi was sure this was going to end in failure, she wasn't sure what she was supposed to eb showing him but so far she thinks she hasn't done a good job anyway.

Until the event started.

It was a special event for just boarding duelists, only no actual duels this time but a race!

The catch? It was in an artificial data storm controlled by the Windy and Aqua to make it look like a snow storm condensed in a tunnel like course. It made her blood pump with anticipation, she was always a competitive person but she tended to scare people away as Aoi when she did so. It's another reason she loves being blue angel so much she doesn't have to hide so many aspects of herself.

Or hide her love for crushing people in competitions~

They were at the starting line the whirl of the purple blue storm made her heart beat loud and shake with excitement. At the corner of her eye she was surprised to see a similar look of competitiveness and anticipation on Haru’s own face. It seemed the most genuine he's been all night.

Well then, this is going to be interesting

The ring of the gong and they were off, artificial snow tearing up into powder behind them as they raced into the storm. Already the weaker riders were being picked off and being spit out of the storm.

The white flurry was blinding her, but Haru kept making calls already ahead helping guide Aoi through the storm with his voice. Banking quickly left another group flew out of the track. 

Whipping her hand out as if in sync Haru grabbed hers and they rolled their hips and adjusted their legs so they can balance each other weight.

Up. Down. Left bank. Upward.

Someone smashes into Haru having lost control and they lose their balance, but Aoi uses her wings to pick up the air current and navigate him back to his board letting the poor bastard who smashes into them fall through.

Haru makes calls, she uses her strength to push them through. The crowd was thinning as the storm became terrifying.

The smiles doesn’t leave their faces.

-

Aoi was laughing as she put away her trophy in her rewards box, only 5 teams were left of the droves by the end of the track with her and Haru in the lead. They ended up working well and played off the other weakness.

“It was a lot more fun than I was expecting, I would never have gotten to do this as myself”Sad truth her brother was incredibly overprotective and snowboarding was out of the question. His paranoia sometimes killing some of the joy she experiences. Why she hangs out with Ghost girl so much because she gets it.

“Really why is that?

“My human form is fragile and boring, I can't do fun stuff otherwise people will find out I’m blue angel. So Aoi stays boring in plain”

“To be honest I think I prefer your human form.”

Huh.

“How do you even how i look like in reality?”

“Lightning has us gather information on anyone who was a threat”

“....ah”

“Anyway, Like I said I prefer how you look as Aoi then you do as Blue angel. I think your humans self is cute and unique looking”

Well Damn.

That was actually pretty sweet, not to mention smooth. Apparently thing date thing was a success.

Aoi spotted a familiar plant above her and a little smirk came across her face, Haru looked up as well but just looked confused. Aoi’s hand shot out and she grabbed his arm pulling close….

And placed a kiss on his cheek.

“Thanks for the date. It was fun, and for the record I think your cute too~”

The look on his face was completely worth it, seems he can flustered too after all.

Cor with a Daughter HC

Hey guys, it’s ya girl, thechocoboos, here to deliver some Cor HC bc he’s great! 

In this scenario, that weird fucker Verstael makes female clones alongside the normal ones (so yes there are female MTs in this AU) and Cor steals one when he takes baby Prom away, so uh... It’s a mess, but it’s a cute mess.

So Cor was the one who stole baby Prompto away right? Right. So, turns out, Verstael made a female clone as well (that also means that in this au there are female MTs)

And guess what? Cor stole one of those too.

Just picture this: a scuffed up, young Cor Leonis on the run from the Empire with two little blond, freckled babies in his arms. I know. It’s cute.

Anyways

Cor knew he was supposed to return both babies, but the second he looked into the girl’s cornflower blue eyes, he knew he couldn’t give her up

It hurt enough to give up the boy after getting so attached in only a few days, but when she looked into his eyes, he vowed he’d raise her as his own

She had been so calm, merely sucking on her thumb while her brother (what he could only assume was her brother) was wailing his adorable little head off

Even so, he saw the fear in her sparkling blue eyes and promised that she would never have to feel that fear again; Papa Cor was gonna raise her in a safe environment

And he did.

He turned baby Prompto over and had to watch as he was put in the foster system, but he quietly adopted the girl as his own with no one knowing where she came from save for Regis and Clarus

Everyone else? Well, he simply told them that she was the niece of a distant relative that was unable to care for her

“Aww, that’s so sweet of you!” or “Aw, look at you bein’ a big ole softee.” is what everyone said, and it was always followed by, “What’s her name???”

“Poppy.” she may be the same poppy from the actor au but who knows

Papa Cor raised Poppy well

He always gave her the best toys and always, always left work early so he could pick her up from daycare with a warm smile and all

He’d pick her right up in his arms, earning a cute bubble of laughter from her and he’d ask, “How was my little princess’s day?”

All the women in the area swooned (me too)

Unfortunately, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows

In the beginning, Cor was terrified. He had no idea how to raise a child, and he didn’t even have baby furniture for a week (not to mention his apartment wasn’t babyproofed either like y i k e s)

He only survived through the help of his elderly neighbor, Gertrude. She was the mother of four kids and had more grandkids than he could count

But she was always willing to help him. “It’s not often that I see a single dad tryin’ to make it on his own like this,” She told him a couple months after he adopted Poppy, “But it always warms my heart to see a young father trying so hard. Keep it up, young man.”

And he did.

He stuck through it--through the potty training, through the tears, tantrums, incessant babbles and the waking him up in the middle of the night

He stuck through it all and never regretted it

When Poppy said her first words, he practically shouted for joy and even called Regis and Clarus up and the day after? Oh man, the trainees were scared to see such a smile on Cor’s face (he actually went easy on them that day so it was pretty nice for them)

Cor kept pictures of her in his office and always had a small pic of her in his wallet and i swear to you, if he ever had the chance to bring her up in conversation, he would brag and brag away

Poppy really liked reading and wasn’t a big fan of athletics or fighting, much to Cor’s relief

He tried keeping her away from politics and such, didn’t want her questioning too much, ya know?

Still, he knew he’d have to teach her basic combat, just in case (plus he knew one day she’d start dating and he didn���t trust those teenage boys…)

And he did. And surprisingly, as much as Poppy hated it, she was really, really good at it

Cor figured her out-of-nowhere skills at combat were due to the Empire, but he was more relieved than not that she hated fighting; it gave him some reassurance that she wouldn’t ever abuse her skills

Although it wasn’t a big concern in the first place, his daughter was pretty damn soft-spoken and shy; she hated conflict and fighting more than most

Overall, she was a tame kid

She followed the rules, listened well, was a fantastic student… Honestly, Cor counted himself lucky that she was such a good kid

Although whenever he mentioned it to Clarus, Clarus would only chuckle and say, “Yeah, you raised her that way, Cor.”

It always seemed strange to him, that he--a gruff, tough soldier--could raise someone so sweet and shy, but there many more moments where all he felt was pride--pride for himself and pride for his daughter

Still, Poppy had her faults: she had too big of a heart for her own good

She was always trying to bring in hurt animals or asking if they could get a dog or a cat (Cor ended up relenting when she was 10; they ended up with an elderly cat named Haggus and Poppy swears he’s the kindest cat ever)

And then there was her trusting nature. She was incredibly trusting and understanding; Cor was terrified that she’d get taken advantage of one day (all though, deep down, he knew she wouldn’t. At the end of the day, she was a Leonis and he raised her to be reasonable and carry a healthy amount of suspicion)

Sometimes when she was still little, he would worry about her getting into some shit or something going wrong and when he did, it would bug him in the back of his mind until he went to pick her up from daycare (he always gave her tighter hugs on those days)

Cor raised Poppy as his own, but he also told her that she was, in fact, adopted when she was around 11. He didn’t want her to find out through someone else and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could avoid questions about her mom or the strange barcode tattoo (he always told her to keep the barcode covered, and he was always so firm about it that she never dared to do otherwise)

Of course, he didn’t tell her the entire truth. Yes, she was adopted, but he still stuck by the story that she was the niece of a distant relative and eventually, Poppy stopped asking

And as previously mentioned, Cor kept Poppy out of politics and the Citadel

Like, there were a few times when she went to balls or social events (and everyone would always coo over how cute she was) and sometimes Cor might take her to work with him (when she was young), but outside of that, she was never really in the Citadel, not even when Cor was training her

However, whenever she was there, she ended up being around Noctis

There weren’t very many kids there besides her and Noct--sometimes Iggy (maybe Gladio, but he was always with the adults), so they often ended up hanging out

She’d see Gladio around here and there, too, and was pretty curious about him, but Noctis was always super reluctant to go talk to Gladio (let’s face it, Gladdy was probably a dick as a kid and tried to act older than his actual age, so basically, no fun for Noct)

They’d giggle together and run around the Citadel, playing games and goofing off while the adults went around with their boring chatter

Despite how much fun they had, those few social events a year were the only times they saw each other and as they got older, Poppy was able to stay at home instead of attending

So then, they stopped seeing each other at all

Cor always felt a little bad whenever she would ask about Noctis, but he was determined to keep Poppy and work separate (something he was very good at doing)

Still, despite all of Cor’s attempts, Poppy and Noct ran into each other again in high school

They were pretty quick to befriend each other again after a few weeks of awkward small talk, and when Cor found out, he couldn’t help but feel a tad annoyed (I mean, he’d been trying to keep her away from politics and shit for years)

Of course, through Noct, Poppy got to know Ignis very well (he was often in the background of those damn social events when they were kids, so they knew each other existed for sure)

Ignis was fairly fond of Poppy. He always said that she might be a good influence on Noctis.

Gladio was aware of Poppy and she was aware of him, and tbh, they thought the other was pretty damn cute but they never really interacted beyond group outings that centered around Noct (tho they would become surprisingly close down the line)

And Prompto? It was a bit of a weird thing

In summary: their first meeting was weird as fuck

Noct was the first one to befriend Prom, and the first time they properly met, he was absolutely S H O O K

Prompto was so similar to Poppy. They had the same freckles, the same cornflower blue eyes, same shade of hair… They even seemed to have the same inflections in their voices

The longer Noct was around Prompto, the more similarities he saw between him and Poppy and tbh… it weirded him out

And theeen… Then, there was the day that Prompto and Poppy met

Noct offhandedly mentioned that Prompto would be joining them at the arcade, to which Poppy eagerly agreed. Noct had mentioned Prom quite a bit, so at that point she figured that she should meet him

“Oh! I found Prom!” Noct said later, nodding his head towards Prompto’s familiar silhouette, “Hey, Prom!”

Prompto turned around of course, beaming as he walked closer to them in the arcade, “Hey, Noct! And you’re Poppy, ri-” He froze when he saw her

Her mouth was open to speak, but she couldn’t help but freeze when she saw him only a few feet away

It was like looking at a weird, distorted version of herself

Noct kept glancing between them, “Shit, I didn’t realize how similar you guys were until now.”

Luckily, it broke whatever weird spell they were under

Prompto managed to laugh it off and they had a quick, very awkward introduction before moving onto the arcade

It was strange and surreal for both Poppy and Prompto, and honestly, at first? Awkward as hell

They didn’t talk much to each other and seemed to be avoiding one another as best they could

Poppy even ended up going home earlier than planned, giving Noctis an apologetic smile and saying something about how her dad wanted her to help him with some pie (Cor hated pie so it was a bald-faced lie)

That evening, Cor could tell something was up

“Thought you’d be out with the Prince until pretty late.”

Poppy tried to dismiss his statement with a shrug, but Cor’s steady gaze and open silence pushed her for more info. “Just wasn’t feeling it. Met another one of his friends and it was kinda weird, ya know? His name’s Prompto and he’s plenty nice enough but…”

It clicked into place, and with a stoic nod, Cor didn’t ask any more questions. Internally, however, he was beating himself up

He knew very well it was the same Prompto he stole from the Empire with Poppy and he knew something like this would happen with her hanging around the Prince so often

It was only a matter of time before she pieced together some kind of connection and honestly? Cor wasn’t sure what to do when she did

Luckily for Cor, it was a long time before that happened

In the meantime, however, Poppy and Prompto somehow got over their awkward avoidance of each other (it was defo thanks to Noctis)

They ended up clicking very well. They’d finish each other’s sentences, laugh at the same damn stuff, freak out at the same things, and they were absolutely fantastic at teaming up together

Simply put, they became best friends. Noctis and Ignis were surprised at how well they got along, especially after the rocky start to their friendship, but at that point, they were practically stuck at the hip

Cor was uneasy as hell when it came to Prompto

There were times when Poppy’s friends were over and he was strangely tense (although he would always tell Poppy it was just at surprise at seeing the Prince in his apartment with his advisor and bodyguard)

Still, it was only a year before Noct left for his marriage to Lunafreya that Prom and Poppy found out about their barcodes

They had been goofing around like normal before deciding to try their hand at making cheesecake in Poppy’s kitchen

She didn’t want to get her long sleeves dirty and rolled them up, figuring that Prompto wouldn’t notice her wrist in their goofing around

Unfortunately, there were a few minutes of comfortable silence when he did

And boy did he clam up

“Uh… Poppy, is that uh, a tattoo?”

Poppy freaked out about it of course, “Uh, no--it’s just one of those fake stick-on tattoos ya know?” She had tried to lie her way out of the situation

“Oh--that's, that’s cool…” He didn’t believe it completely, “But,” but he had to try, right? “I actually have a similar one! Haha,”

“You do?” The seriousness in her voice was enough to cut all humor out of the room

“Y-yeah,” and he showed her.

Poppy felt the closest to understanding her damn tattoo than she’d ever felt before

Neither of them knew what it meant, but they felt an intense sense of solidarity and there was an unspoken pact between them from then on

They never really spoke about it for a long time, and Poppy never asked Cor. She was almost too scared to; she didn’t know what it meant and didn’t want to break their small family apart trying to figure it out

When she finally did find out, she was worried that Cor secretly hated her and that she was an abomination

Of course, Cor ended that pretty quickly. She ended up having a breakdown one night, and it was all Cor could do not to break down with her

He knelt down to look her in the eyes, holding onto her hands with his own just like whenever she fell as a kid and he wanted to cheer her up

“Poppy, you’re my daughter. I took you from that place and raised you myself. The second I looked you in the eye, you had me wrapped around your little finger. I could never hate you, not for spilling my favorite beer or waking me up when you were little, and definitely not for where you came from. You’re my kid, Poppy, and nothing’s gonna change that.” He managed to give her a shaky smile and earn one from her too, wrapping her in a big, comforting hug and making all of her worries disappear

“I love you, dad.”

“Love you, too, kiddo.”

Look i just love this ok. Give Me Papa Cor or Give Me Death.

B/c I’m a slut for a happy ending: Poppy did go on that road trip with the bros but guess what?

Luna lived, Noctis lived, they both got married and had some cute kids

Poppy ended up in a relationship with Gladdy (he kind of fell in love with how cute and sweet she was, plus the fact that if she had to she would kick his ass--which she did on multiple occasions)

Cor became a grandpa and both loved and hated it. He also never stopped giving Gladio hell.

Prompto married a swell gal and had some kids. Auntie Poppy spoiled them rotten btw

Regis and Clarus were proud Grandpapas, Iris and Poppy got along really really well (Iris said that if Gladio didn’t marry Poppy then she would)

Ardyn lived and became a weird trash uncle who spoiled the family kids and no one knows where he got his fortune from

Anyways, everyone lived happily ever after

Hope you guys enjoyed and let me know if you want some more realistic plot hc!

Happy Accidents

High school was shoring up to be a grand adventure with each level growing increasingly arduous; at least for Noctis who battled through endless waves of his female peers. Which, during the first five minutes between first and second period, Noctis found himself cornered by the largest boss he would ever face- his eternal legion of fangirls. If Noctis wanted to be honest with himself, they were not appallingly dreadful, and his favorites happened to be the girls who took culinary skills third and fifth period with him reaping the rewards throughout the school day. Since the first day his base grew to not only include those from his own class but those upper classmen and spanned the multiple cliques that called Ardent High home.

At this moment in time, blazer brushing against the stucco, Noctis wished he was any where else than facing this horde of harpies. Their shrill deluge of questions about his attendance to the Festival of Shiva culminated to a fever pitch as the girls began fighting and presenting arguments on why he should take them.

The last four months had afforded him some ability to control what he listened to and what he tuned out; tuning the catty sounds of female rivalry had become second nature as close to breathing and walking; in seconds, the voices bled away. Surrounding by the all the clamor and insults that would make the Senate proud, Noctis turns his attention off into the distance to focus on the figure crossed the quad to a row of bright blue lockers. Even with his back turned Noctis could make out the awkwardly shy boy who years ago had attempted to start a friendship that resulted in Noctis innocently commenting on his weight. Puberty is hitting him hard, it draws a wide smile to Noctis’ face to see the blond taller and only slightly less pudgy.

A noncommittal hum rumbles in his throat, and Noctis nods as his gaze continues to roam over every bit of the boy, he himself had been watching for years hoping the blond would eventually approach him to become friends “Prompto?” The name slipped from parted lips flood the crowd of girls into a shocked silence.

One coughed, glancing at her sisters in arms then back to the Prince as he returned to his physical being, “excuse us?”

Running the pad of his thumb against the side of his nose, Noctis hummed his confusion. “I'm sorry, what?” The crowd stared at the crown Prince, eyes varied degrees of narrowed, many crossing their arms waiting for Noctis to repeat his answer not sure they heard what the Prince had stated. The girl who spoke, now the voice of the group, huffed

“We asked, ‘are you taking anyone to the Festival of Shiva’ and then you mumbled a name.” For a second, Noctis stares out at the ocean of scowls with the stupidest look of surprise on his face. Did he really say Prompto? For a split second he glances up at the lockers the blond is gone further down now talking to one of the school’s star soccer player, one of the transfer students from Nifleheim, Loqi Tummelt. The two could be siblings-both fair-haired, similar height and pale milk like skin-the other blonde chuckles, Prompto laughing along with him, Nifleheim accent thick. Even with this throng of fawning (albeit angry) fans watching the two in the distance Noctis understands he is alone. Ignis having graduated last year and Gladio having graduated two years before, his friends circle is at zero as even Iris has just started third grade. Mentally damning his Shield and with silent prayers to the Lord God Bahamut, Noctis damns his oldest friend for being so damn smart. His mother hen voice would send the crowd dispersing where Gladiolus would just be the magnet to draw their attention away.

“Highness!” One of the girls grows bold, her hand grips his bicep and her manicured French tip claws dig in, shouts beside him. “Will you take me to the Festival this weekend?”

Gently reaching for her hand, the girl swoons when Noctis’ rest his on hers and begins to wrench her hand off. “Sorry” he mumbles using more force than he had first believed he would need to dislodge her fingers from the jacket sleeve. She thinks he is apologizing as the next sentence tumbles rapidly from his mouth, “I’m already going with someone.”

“With who?” One girl yell from the back, her voice managing to drowned out the one-minute warning bell. Noctis stops trying to remove the bold girls’ hand from his sleeve, she digs in again. Do not say it, Noctis chants, just say you’re attending with you dad. Just tell them due to protocol you cannot attend with anyone.

It is a lie, Ignis has pulled backgrounds on every child that will be attending the next five years, their parents, their siblings, distant relations even the farmer who provides vegetables and fruit to their grocer. All alphabetized, color coded and then further categorized into those to watch out for and those who would make friends, etc. Everyone has been vetted so thoroughly it would not surprise Noctis if Ignis knew what brand of underwear everyone wore or which direction they shaved in. Despite his chanting and mental reminder, “my boyfriend,” flies out and the silence from before is now dead silence. Mouths hang out, some girls do not look surprised more thrilled that it was not just some exchange student but a guy.

The repulsed - scandalized -enthralled- devastatingly silent calm lasted a whole ten seconds. The thirty second bell rang and instead of dispersing to head to class, the girls turned into the harpies many of them where. Many voiced their obvious disgust that their Prince, no their King, was gay had a boyfriend and would be taking this noble bred twat to the Festival of Shiva.

“I gotta get to class,” Noctis jerks his arm out of the French tipped claws and tries to push his way through, but they form a wall stopping him and encircling him. The girls want to know how it is, we aren’t public Noctis retorts, states they want to keep it quiet. The girls scoff at the simple request Noctis pleas to respect his and his non-existent boyfriends’ privacy. After all the Citadel would make the announcement in time, when it was suitable for the public to know. His voice is ignored, the girls pointing out the obvious candidates.

“I bet it’s that one hot guy with the muscle” one girl shouts, drowning out Noctis’ ineffectual protest.

“Gladdy,” a group of girls smile like they have seen the things Gladiolus can do. It’s most likely they have, “no way. He’s as straight as an arrow.” One answers for the whole, giving her friends a wink. Another gaggle hums, snapping their fingers in unison like the green ascots they have tied around their dainty necks, “bet its Glasses. So studious, quiet and boy, was he tall.” They answer collectively, even the creepy giggle at the end is the same pitch.

A war of verbal insults and bosting between the girls starts, one side stands Team Shield and the other is Team Advisor, just which one would be better suited to date the Prince erupts around Noctis. For a few seconds they are not focused on him, obviously each team willing to fight this out amongst themselves in a Team Deathmatch, and this gives Noctis a moment to try and escape. He makes it past three girls till the tide changes and its capture the flag and they grab his sleeve to stop him.

“Which one of them?” He never said it was Gladio or Ignis. He asked for privacy mostly for himself, his unseen boyfriend has no say in this battle.

“It’s neither of them,” Noctis stutters simultaneously trying to get away from the girls before they spirit him off to their dungeon for more intensive questioning.

“Well, who is it?” The Team Gladiolus Captain steps closer, Team Ignis’s right behind her. Demands of the boyfriend’s name ripple over the crowd.

The one holding his arm in a vice like grip, shakes her head, “There’s no one, is there?” Well, no there is not. “You’re just embarrassed that I asked you out first.” Noctis allows his wall to drop, his normal passive appearance drops leaving his face screwed up in disbelief at her boldness.

He knows he should not, it’s not fair and someone will track this boy down but Noctis is tired of this badgering, he’s late for class and they aren’t the one that will deal with Ignis scolding him for being tardy. However, Noctis is in to deep, to fast and the slippery slope is just oiled and ready for him to fall deeper. “Prompto” the girls step back owlet eyed and stunned.

Prompto the loner kids whose only companion for his entire school career was a red point and shoot camera. The kid, while agreeable, was ostracized for his size, always picked last for everything, the begrudging science partner the nobody. For the first time this year, Noctis smiled thinking of how Prompto had went from cute and chubby, the other kids finding it unhealthy, to cute, chubby, and taller. He hardly talked to anyone, but actions always spoke louder than words. Noctis could see their thoughts- why on Eos would the prince choose him over them?

“Prompto Argentum?” Team Gladio’s Captain repeated, carefully, quietly like she had never heard the name before.

Noctis inhaled, nodding, “yeah,” he brought his hand up to rub at the nap of his neck, “over summer.” The girls stared at him, the disgust dissipating as a security guard began to force them to class. As the guard broke up the gathering the girls turning their backs to him, Noctis came to understand how deep he had gotten himself into this mess he made. Waist high in his own crap. By lunch Prompto would know that he was now Noctis’s boyfriend and Noctis could only hope Prompto would agree. At last the guard cleared his throat getting the girl that lingered, her hand still digging into Noctis’ bicep.

“Well,” patting his arm, she smirked up at him obviously not believing his lie. “We hope to see you both there together on Friday.” Watching her long pony tail sway as she walked away, Noctis groaned.

“Shit.”

Nail Art Confession

Hi @saltedsaltine, I’m your gifter for the @vldshipexchange. I’ve been watching this k-drama about a nail shop and I like the headcannon about Lance being really good at all the stuff like that. I also noticed that you like FFXV, Prompto especially so I thought, why not throw them in there? I hope you enjoy.

Keith knew he should be working on his homework, but his fingers were itching to get messy from charcoal in his sketch book. Of course, his usual suspect kept turning up on the pages.

Lance.

He and Lance were in the same friend group, friends themselves though not as close as Lance was with Hunk and Pidge and how he was with Shiro. Somehow they would usually find themselves hanging out more. Lance was loud and attention grabbing and Keith was sure that it’d be hard to really bond with him but Lance was extremely respecting of his boundaries. Whenever Keith would blow him off because of personal issues, Lance always made sure he was ok before telling him it was ok and to let him know when he was feeling better. Sometimes Keith would find himself going to find him even if he was sure he wanted to be alone but there was something about Lance’s presence that he found calming when it was just the two of them. He panicked when he realised how he felt about Lance, avoiding him at first until Shiro tracked him down, asking him what was wrong.

“Keith, having a crush is normal. It’s terrifying, don’t get me wrong but you know Lance. He understands and respects you so it’s not like it’d be a horrible idea to date him.”

“But what if I mess it up?”

“I somehow doubt that but I think Lance respects you too much to make your life hard if that does happen. But only do it if you feel comfortable ok? Don’t do it because you feel like you have to. I’m sure Lance is willing to wait.”

“Wait, does he know?” Keith asked panicked even more

“No, no, no. Just…tell him when you’re ready ok?”

Keith avoided Lance for just a bit longer before he decided Shiro was right. Lance respected and understood him, there was no way he’d embarrass Keith if it didn’t go well. Didn’t mean he’d tell him just yet though. Lance had been worried though, which made Keith feel bad but a hanging out session with some of Lance’s favourite foods forgave him.

It was hard trying to have to hide how he felt but Keith was fine just hanging out with Lance. He didn’t want to lose him so he just kept his feeling under lockdown and drew them out on the ever filling pages of his sketch book. No one ever looked in it without his permission, so he didn’t feel so scared about filling pages upon pages of Lance’s profile or different expressions. They were mostly of Lance smiling. He had a really amazing smile that lit the whole room up.

‘God, I’m gay.’

Keith looked over at the sound of a phone buzzing to his roommate waking up from his nap and fumbling around for his phone. Noctis could sleep just about anywhere, yet somehow he was still passing all his classes. Honestly he only ever saw Noctis studying if he was being bugged by Ignis, one of his friends and apparently nephew to his dad’s secretary. When Prompto, Lance’s roommate and Noctis’ best friend, was over they played video games, watched movies on laptops or leave the room for hours on end doing whatever.

“Mmm,” Noctis mumbled sleepily, no doubt trying to get his brain to work, “Prom’s coming over.” He announced

“That’s fine.” Honestly Prompto hadn’t been to their room in a while. Something about a photography internship

Somehow Noctis fell asleep in the span of when he spoke to when Prompto came slamming the door open. Actually, he was still asleep.

“Sorry. Noct, Noct, wake up dude!” Noctis groaned and turned away from his best friend. Keith could sympathize. Trying to wake Noctis up was a struggle yet his phone going off got him up in a second. Prompto pulled the pillow from under Noctis’ head and wacked him with it. “Get up!”

“What?” he whined sleepily, finally turning to his best friend

“Look at what Lance did.” At the sound of his crush’s name, he paid more attention and watched Prompto shove his fingers in Noctis’ face. “They’re chocobos! Aren’t they cute?”

“He painted your nails?”

“Yeah, he said he usually does it with his sisters and he’s been feeling a bit homesick so he’s been looking up a lot of different designs and I offered to be a model and he did this.”

“It looks good. Can I go back to sleep?”

“No! Come on, I wanna show Iggy and Gladio and you’ve been in bed all day since classes ended. Come on! Sorry again.” Prompto apologized as he pulled a protesting Noctis out of bed and out the door, leaving Keith in silence.

Nail art? Keith knew Lance liked things most people would consider feminine, but he knew that his relationship with his sisters made him not care what people thought. He knew Lance could do hairstyles and was usually begged by the girls in his dorm to do their makeup but he didn’t know that he was also good at doing nails. He went with his mom once to a nail saloon once for her birthday and he had been impressed with the almost effortless skills the manicurist did his mom’s nails. Imagining Lance in that spot was almost as effortless. The desire to see the concentrated look on Lance’s face while doing it prompted him to pick his phone up.

Prompt came bursting into my room to show off his nails.

Oh yeah, here let me show you the pic I got

A picture came in of the art on Prompto’s nails. It was the top of the feathered head, the cartoon blue eyes just peeking over the cuticle. It was cute, and it was pretty amazing.

I had no clue you were so good at art

Not like you. Nails are more my canvas. Now that I think about it, I’ve done everyone else’s nails except yours. Would you be interested? There’s a design I want to try but I did mine last night and I don’t want to take it off.

Well, Keith had a habit of chewing his nails sometimes so it would stop him. It would also mean having Lance hold his hand for a certain amount of time.

Sure. Should I come over?

Yeah! Door’s open and I have mom’s cookies.

Like he needed anymore incentive. Lance’s mother’s cookies were to die for.

“I heard cookies.” Keith said after Lance called for him to come in.

“Hi, Lance. How are you? Oh fine Keith, do you want a cookie? Oh I couldn’t. I swear, I don’t know who’s worse. You, Pidge or Hunk and Hunk tries getting the recipe out of my mom while he does it.” Lance said, sitting at his desk and opening the window, no doubt to try and get rid of the smell of nail polish and nail polish remover.

“Your mom’s cookies are good. You can’t blame a cooking god like Hunk to want to learn the recipe.”

“What am I then? Just the delivery boy?” Lance asked annoyed, though Keith could see he wasn’t really.

“And my manicurist apparently. I would have come to see you anyway; the cookies just moved me faster.” Keith admitted, slightly embarrassed but not really. He liked spending his time with Lance.

“Aww, Keith. You’re the only one who cares.” Lance joked, holding up a Ziplock bag half-filled with assorted cookies. Keith was able to quickly find the double white chocolate chip and take a large bite out of it. “Consider that half your payment. You can get the rest after I do your nails.” Lance said, moving the bag out of the way and gestured to the other chair on the other side of the desk.

Keith sat down after shoving the rest of the cookie into his mouth and took his seat. He watched Lance as he filled a small bowl with soap and a few drops of essential oil before pouring water from Prompto’s electric kettle, judging from the chocobo stickers on the handle. Lance brought it over with a towel to rest it on and guided Keith’s hands into the water, which was pleasantly warm.

“So I’m basing this design off something my sister told me. I think you might like it.”

“Are you going to tell me what it is?” Keith pried but Lance shook his head. “Fine, I’ll wait. When did you learn to do this anyway?”

Taking one of Keith’s hands out of the water and wiping it off before picking up a cuticle pusher and gently pushed Keith’s cuticles back, Lance launched into his tale of how when his aunts would come over, all the older girls would join them in the kitchen to gossip and talk, everyone doing their nails. Lance had one older brother close to his age but at that time he was more interested in trying to hang out with the older boys leaving Lance by himself. Like the mommy’s boy he was, he decided to latch onto his mother who sat in the kitchen with all the other woman. His sister Veronica told him if he was joining them, he had to do his nails as well and he agreed. Even as he got older, he’d join his aunts, sisters, cousins and mother in the kitchen learning the trade, mastering everything until he could do it just as good as getting it done at a salon. Keith had been intently listening, letting Lance move his hands however he wanted to, only really looking at his hands when Lance painted a red similar to Keith’s favourite jacket onto his left fingernails. But for the most part he’d been focused on Lance’s own focused face, committing it to memory to draw in his sketchbook later.

“Alright. I still have to do the design, but how does it look so far?”

Keith looked at his right hand, his nails rounded and red. There wasn’t a spot missing or any polish on his skin, Lance quick to remove it when it did happen.

“Better than I can ever do.” Keith said

“The highest of praise, thank you.” Lance turned on a small fan that sat on the desk. “Put that hand in front of the fan.”

“What about the design?”

“It’ll just be on the left hand.” Lance said, focused on the nails in his hand, strangely having Keith’s fingers curled so he couldn’t see them.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing.” Keith didn’t believe him.

“Lance.”

Lance suddenly looked a bit embarrassed. “So my sister told me about this guy who paid for a girl to get her nails done, he just asked the manicurist to do a certain design. Thing is, he was just friends with this girl but he wanted to become more. So the girl got her nails done and was given the design of his name spelt out on her nails.” Lance put the top coat on and finally let go of Keith’s hand. When he looked at his nails, starting from his pinkie finger and going across, it spelt, L-A-N-C-E. “He told her that he wanted people to know that she was his and he was hers.” Lance put his own hand on the table and even though it was upside-down and backwards, Keith could still see his name spelt out on Lance’s hand.

1-How the hell did he miss that?

2-Oh. Oh!

‘So this is what Shiro meant.’

Keith didn’t notice his silence of his revelation was worrying Lance into thinking he made the wrong decision.

“You know what, never mind, I obviously made a mistake so I’ll just take it off and we can just-”

“I draw you a lot.” Keith burst out. “In my sketchbook. It’s half the reason I don’t like letting people look at it. Also, I really like being around you because you understand me and never push me and I really like you but I was scared I’d mess things up so I didn’t say anything.”

“I thought I’d mess things up with this.” Lance said, looking much calmer now. “I’ve been ranting about you for a while and it’s been annoying the others on why I don’t just say something and Prompto suggested that maybe I do it this way since its subtle and if it didn’t go well, I could play it off as a joke. Which it isn’t, because, you know, I do like you.”

“Me too.” this was new and strange and he was sure he’d need an hour or so to digest everything but Lance liked him, like, liked liked him. He felt strangely giddy. “So is this how you’re going to show me off to everyone else?”

Seeming to be back to his normal self now that he had confirmation Keith felt the same, Lance said as he pulled out a canister of quick dry spray, “absolutely. Just you wait; Pidge is going to never want to be around us with all our domestic love and everything. Ooh, you should let me braid your hair! I mean it’s long enough to put it into a ponytail. I think I can even braid your bangs. Plus I can finally take care of that dry skin of your.”

“Hey!”

“No point in denying it babe,” babe. The name already felt so right to Keith. God, he was gay.

Adam Croasdell on LGBTQ Representation Transcript

By popular request, here’s the transcript for Adam Croasdel’s answer on Ignis' sexuality, LGBTQ representation in the media, and being yourself. Finally, I can use these years of being a research transcriptionist for something I want to do.

Thanks to @themusesofmars for the source video and kimzee59 for the transcript rough draft.

Fan: It’s like oh, it’s kinda cool. It kinda had that vibe, but I’m wondering if any that has gotten back to you. I mean if it—

Croasdell: Yeah, it sure has. It sure has. I’m very excited about that. I—brilliant. I think there's an under-representation of most every sort of minority in popular culture in the west. So anytime that there’s a representation, I’m all for it.

Yes, I think there’s a good chance that Ignis might be queer. I mean, it's great, isn't it? I mean, I think that the sooner we can all start having conversations about it and just putting out faces out there and being heard about these things. Making friends.

I mean, its too much . . . People got too much stuff bumbling around in here. Like, we just need to start being cool with each other, don’t you think? I’m so tired of it being . . . everyone having a problem with the next person. I mean, for god's sake, get over it. Everybody, just get over it. You know? Whatever it is, whatever your issue is with the next person, bloody get over it.

And that's something I love about this particular fanbase. It's something I remark upon a lot. Because I’m parts of other fanbases. I'm part of Supernatural. I'm part of Reign. And in another way, I'm part—you know. But know that I’m also in Final Fantasy XV, where I’ve just noted time and time again, how cool people are with each other, and how supportive they are. Just how anybody can be precisely who they want to be. And everyone's just like "cool."

And I just love it. I think of this, and like the space to ripple out and expand. And just be a thing. And I wish more people would. Because, you know. I'm on another—or had been on another— certain show, which will remain nameless at this particular point in the conversation. But, is so . . . divisive and so factional. And they . . . this group supports this group of characters from a show, this—and never persuades with meaning. And "F you," and "F you." And it's just like . . . And it's the antithesis of what happens here.

And so it's been an absolute delight to have it happen here. And if Ignis is sort of representative of that, then so much the better. I'm damn proud to be the voice of it. I think I've seen all sorts of interesting things here. I've seen a lot of fan art. Sometimes he's not wearing very many clothes. And often he's with Gladdy. And, you know. Yeah, there's sometimes there's a little glimpse of nip.

No, it's great. It's great. And I think to have conversations, and importantly, being who you are. Being who you are. Being who you are. I can't emphasize that enough. Go out there and be who you are.

I had a moment in a shopping centre, probably last Christmas, getting something for my mum at the cosmetics centre. And I saw a trans girl of about, probably'd say about maybe 24 or 25 standing there looking absolutely beautiful at the makeup counter, serving customers. And there's a big rush of customers at Christmas, must be the busiest time. And she was so standing in her dignity and who she was I got a bit choked up because I was like I can't imagine how brave you must be to do something like that. And to be so natural and wonderful. And of course, that's obviously how everybody is. But it's also formed by how people sort of take you and there was something about her that was— she was so unafraid. She hadn't sort of lifted any . . . fortification. She wasn't like "Fuck you! This is who I am!" You know? She was just who she was. And I got a bit choked, and she must have thought I was pretty strange. But I . . . I could explain myself, but I just got choked up. Because I just thought "thank you for being who you are." Like, "thank you," you know?

And hopefully, we get there. Hopefully, we get there. It takes a long time for "straight white males" to get there. And probably lots of people. It takes a long time. But people will only ever get there if you keep being who you are. And just being cool. And you are.

So thank you, and thanks to the whole community that's embraced this franchise. This fandom. And also Iggy. And thank you for the question.

FFXV Idol (K-Pop) AU

So I’ve been on a Korean boy-band grind lately and my current obsessions are Monsta X, A.C.E, Black6ix, and BTS. I (like the rest of the planet) made the connection that our Chocobros were essentially a traveling boy group. And quite frankly... I WANNA SEE THIS DREAM LIVE YA’LL. Picture it, (Sicily 1912. lol jk srry for the Golden Girls’ reference)

Their group would be called InsomniaX (불면증엑스) (sounds like Insomniacs, not Insomnia X) The Member lineup would look like this

Noctis (녹티스) - Leader, Vocalist

Gladiolus (글라디올러스) - Rapper, Vocalist

Prompto (프롬프토) - Main Vocalist

Ignis (이그니스) - Vocalist, Choreographer

The story overall would have little change from the original story except that one of the bonding factors the bros have is that they started a K-Pop band while in high school, debuting around graduation and starting to really take off in popularity around the time Niflheim planned to attack the Crown City. 

There would be some key details to this AU however...

King Regis disapproves slightly of Noctis’ desire to be an Idol and feels he should focus more on his duties as Prince, but knows his life will be a hard one, knowing the prophecy, and remains quiet - supporting his son.

King Regis sends the bros on their way just like the usual game to Altissia, but the boys make stops along the way, writing music, doing performances in busy areas like Lestallum, meeting the occasional fan on the road, etc. 

Gladio has the guys exercise and Ignis implements diets so that everyone performs at their prime health and physique (but Prompto and Noctis sneak out to eat like trash junk food)

Prompto takes many photos, as well as videos, of behind the scenes with the guys as they plan songs, dances, etc and gives everything to Iris who also runs their social media pages. He’s also filming the whole trip to cut into an MV to show at Noctis and Luna’s Wedding Reception.

Iris is the President of their Fanclub and sells their merch in a cart in Lestallum (with Talcott as her assistant).

Cindy is a big fan, Cid is unimpressed.

While traveling around forging contracts with the Astrals, Lunafreya hears their song come on the radio every now and again and it makes her smile.

Ravus makes a lot of boy band-themed insults while encountering and battling the bros. 

Aranea has never heard of their band (”I don’t know her.”) But grows to love their music just as she grows to love the boys individually.

Ardyn pokes fun at the guys every now and again when he sees them (before they know he’s trash his secret) mimicking their choreography and humming their songs.

Nyx (and most of the other Glaives) have heard their songs on the radio at some point, even if they’ve never met them in person.

As the story progresses, the guys (especially Noctis) cope with the idea that their Idol dreams may die along the way when Eos shows it has bigger plans for Noctis with the prophecy. Noctis has to decide where his priorities lie and do what’s best. Sorry for this totally random shit, I don’t usually write but I hoped you enjoyed riding the Crazy Train with me. Choo choo~