#i'm so sorry i didn't mean to do this to my best girl fig

[themaclean]

hi i just came from ao3 and firstly, i have read ur vaultghoul fic probably 20 times already it’s just so good with spot on characterization and amazing writing, thank u so much 🙏

secondly, i was reading the comments on it and came across one abt wanting to see a pre-war au where cooper and lucy start an affair and immediately my ears perked up like 👀 all i could imagine is her being cast as his love interest, her being a big fan of his already, and them having a wedding scene where they fuck in her wedding dress after they call cut

n e way so sorry for rambling haha but unfortunately ive got the brainrot now

I MEAN HYPOTHETICALLY -- I'm mobile (and somehow wrote 2k words still wheeze) so I'll finish this when I'm on my PC but I played around with the idea a bit thanks to this ask. :)

...

Summary; Cooper Howard x Lucy MacLean, 2077 AU where Lucy and Cooper star in a movie together.

...

There's a whole host of ways that Vault-Tec could have cracked down on Cooper. Given the infringement of their security protocols and the divorce and the way they choked him out of all the good roles...

It wasn't such a far stretch that he'd have to take place in the biggest circle jerk of a film production where his super-fan shoved his daughter into a starring role using Cooper's connections.

Because, so far as the public knew, he was still a supporter of Vault-Tec and he'd do just about anything to sell that delusion.

Cooper crushed the heel of his palms against his eyes, a limp cigarette hung between his teeth.

The girl was a nightmare.

Stiff, picky, absent-minded. No emotion, either, no semblance of self-awareness. It was like some Disney Princess popped out of the cartoons in the worst way, quick to parrot the lines she was meant to say with perfect diction but nothing more than that.

And it was somehow his fucking job to coach the girl -- Lucy -- into a leading lady. The idea was that she was the daughter of the Overseer, played by her actual father, and Cooper was some vault dweller from another section.

The whole thing was convoluted. He did cowboy flicks and the sort that had a showdown at the end. This sci-fi garbage went right over his head, this future projection of the what-if. He didn't have time for the what-if.

He had a daughter he needed to vy for custody of and an expensive divorce on the horizon. And Barb had the best lawyers money could buy and he'd never thought they'd end up like this. There was no pre-nup and nothing to protect him.

And he didn't have a goddamn lighter.

"You shouldn't smoke."

Cooper near growled around the butt of his cigarette, only just keeping himself civil at the last moment. He turned towards Lucy, unable to mistake her for anyone else. There was something about her vacant, pretty face that irked him, those giant goddamn eyes.

"It's bad for you. I read an article about it."

"Maybe you'd be better off reading your lines again," Cooper said with a wave of his hand. He dug in his jacket pocket, the one he'd worn to set.

Bingo.

Lucy crossed her arms and leaned against the vault railing. It was strange to do the filming down, a hundred feet or so beneath the surface, but it made for impressive sets. They were around the corner from the rest of the camera crew and cast.

And they were alone for the first time since shooting. Most times, Cooper had a few stage hands or interns at his heel. And he didn't see Lucy around much, except for scenes. Didn't chase her down, didn't much think of her.

Except now he's aware she's still in the wedding dress she'd been in earlier. Stage blood soaked the stomach of it, thick streams of blood from where she'd been stabbed. But he'd saved her and they'd shared a chaste kiss for the camera.

And then he hadn't seen her.

"I thought you'd be a better kisser."

Cooper didn't withhold the glare, couldn't bring himself to give a fuck. "Pardon?"

"Just -- the kiss. Didn't really..." Lucy narrowed her eyes at him. "I grew up watching your movies. My dad is a big fan. I always figured you'd be a good kisser, but you aren't."

"You ain't much yourself, either," Cooper said with a raised brow. "Like a fish, sweetheart. Cold."

"I'm not a fish," she snapped back. "That's very mean. I -- I know I was mean first but I just thought you could do better."

Cooper couldn't help but laugh to himself at this miserable brat who'd sought him out to complain about an on-screen kiss. He took a long drag, his gaze slanted across the backs of his knuckles.

"You're here 'cause your daddy yanked some strings," Cooper shrugged a shoulder. "My only obligation is to make a movie for the studio. I'm not your damn boyfriend-for-hire, trying to get you off for the cameras."

Cooper was a professional and on his best behaviour -- usually. But the long days of filming for a corporation rooted in the exploitation of the country he'd fought for... That patience wore thinner with each moment he was alone with this brat.

"I'm here as an actress -- "

"You can act?" Cooper asked, mock surprise as he pressed a hand to his chest.

Lucy had the gall to look offended.

Cooper took another drag, his hip notched against the railing. "It's a movie, darling. I've been doing this shit for years. They ain't gonna let people tongue each other to high hell."

"That..."

"That is exactly how it works," Cooper said as he ashed his cigarette onto the grate beneath his feet. "It's not about you, it's about the shot."

Lucy looked at him like he'd slapped her. "I know it's about the shot."

"Could've fooled me." Cooper huffed out a breath. He'd kissed plenty of women for his films and he was a consummate professional. If the audience bought into it, that was all he needed. He didn't give a damn if his co-star got butterflies over it.

Especially not the daughter of some jackass at Vault-Tec, for a project that was nothing more than an empty propaganda piece. But he didn't have much choice.

"I'm here because it's important to my father. Vault-Tec wanted to keep as many roles as they could within the company -- "

"Nepotism."

"To promote the culture they want within the movie, which is carefully curated -- "

"Cultish."

"To their... Could you stop doing that?"

Cooper crossed his arms, his cigarette nearly finished. The vault had good enough ventilation that the smoke disappeared but the smell lingered. He pushed away from the railing, his expensive smile slack across his lips.

"I had my fill of the Vault-Tec propaganda, sweetheart. Don't make a difference if it's from a pamphlet or a pretty girl, I'm just doing what I'm being paid to."

"Wasn't it your wife -- ex-wife -- who brought you in originally?"

Cooper's neck twitched as he looked down at Lucy, as she smart-mouthed her way right into some shit she didn't know anything about. He tipped his head to the side, the annoying collar of the vault suit biting into his jawline.

"So you believed what Vault-Tec thought originally." Lucy toyed with the stain on her white dress, her fingers tugged at the frayed edge. "What changed?"

"Nothing," Cooper said, his voice flat.

Lucy met his eye, her head tilted to contrast the angle of his head. She settled a hand on the railing, uncertainty replaced her uppity edge from before. "I'm not trying to spy on you or get information. You just -- had your life together, and then you're getting divorced."

"It happens," Cooper said, aware now that she was between him and the crew. The vault split into spidery webs in all directions, though. He could leave her if he wanted. But then he'd end up who knows where, deep in the belly of this steel nest.

But they were alone, and she'd inched closer to him.

Cooper saw the leading ladies he worked with as colleagues. Sometimes they'd have to kiss or imitate gentle moments or intimacy -- but for the most part, he could compartmentalise it. But Lucy didn't act. She couldn't. She was an atrocious leading lady and she read everything as if she were saying it herself.

Like a porn actress, saying shit to get through to the action, rushing through the writing like it didn't matter.

It wasn't her fault. He had the sneaking suspicious she had no interest in acting or in this movie; that she was only doing it because her father asked her to do it. Maybe even so she could have an excuse to meet him, he realized dimly as she looked up at him with wide hazel eyes.

That separation -- of leading lady and of a romantic partner -- muddled with her. Because he didn't even like her. He didn't want to get to know her. He hated her father and he wanted nothing to do with this company.

And she was closer to him than not, and they'd kissed a handful of times, and she'd said he sucked at it.

Cooper rolled his jaw as Lucy didn't have the guts to do more than she had. Her moony eyes fixed up at him like a challenge. And then he felt his resolve snap because it wasn't like he had much to lose. This wasn't a real acting gig and she wasn't a real leading lady.

His hand snapped out, fingers and thumb dug into her cheek. He brought her close, to see what she'd do. The answer was -- not much. She didn't shout or push him away, their mouths inches apart as he hovered close to her, examining her beneath his lashes.

"Bad kisser -- that what you said?"

Lucy swallowed hard enough to nudge his hand. "Well, you were. I'm not going to lie to you to spare your ego."

Cooper made a soft sound from the back of his throat as he kissed her. The distant crack and shift of the crew as they moved their cameras from one vault room to another should be a deterent but Cooper doesn't care.

He's single, isn't he. Has been for a few months. He'd not acted on it, hadn't felt the urge to, but he's as trapped as ever in the shadow of what Barb had done to him. It's only fair he make use of that shadow to indulge, even if it's just to prove a point to this girl Lucy.

There's some inherent amusement to how she melted into the kiss. She wanted it far more than she'd let on, that soft mewing, moaning neediness as he stroked her long brown hair out of her face. He threaded his fingers softly through her hair, hand on either side of her face, fingers combing through her hair.

Her back was arched over the railing as he gave her the kiss she'd probably expected earlier, the one he wasn't about to throw out on camera. There's standards for cinema and he didn't want to waste film or time.

But then her fingers were on the zipper of the stupid fucking vault suit. He didn't stop her, even as she yanked it down and slipped her hand along his stomach.

If anything, he pushed harder against her. The fluffy white skirt of her wedding dress made it hard to get much for himself. But with a yank of her knee and the shift of her weight, he had her seated on the railing. Her shoulder caught one of the metal frames, to keep her pinned in place.

If this were any other job or any other actress, he'd give a fuck.

But it's Vault-Tec, through and through.

#anonymous #my writing #vaultghoul #answered

[18catsreading]

Fabian: hi

Rat: hi there

Fabian: how are you?

Rat: I'm okay. You gonna come here and step on me?

Fabian: no, actually, we wanted to know more about the steppers.

Rat: well, all right

Fabian: what can you tell us?

Rat: there's a bunch of people who come here and step in us, and they attack us with swords, and they shoot spells.

Fabian: okay, great. Hey, okay --

Emily/Fig: can I Minor illusion Lucy Frostblade? Ask the last time it saw this girl.

Fabian: okay, do you see this person? When's the last time you saw them?

Emily/Fig: I do like a nice photo shoot, like a prom queen photo shoot.

Brennan: I just hit a nat 20 on this rat's history check.

Lou: okay!

Ally: this rat was best friends with Lucy before she died!

Brennan: you see the rat looks and he says [as Rat]: aw jeepers, she was always really nice.

Fig: did she have tension with the other ones?

Rat: well, you know, we didn't like her at first because she used to come here and kill us all the time. But some time last year or something like that she started to bring us back from the dead after her friends left.

Fabian: oh

Siobhan/Adaine: oh, that's nice

Fabian: that's so sweet

Siobhan/Adaine: that is nice

Emily/Fig: oh my goodness

Fabian: wait, is there a place that they hung out in the woods, or particularly liked? Did you guys ever have a --

Kristen: what's their zone

Fabian: -- a lair, or their nest?

Rat: they sorta hung out all over, but there's a place where I go sometimes because it was the last place I -- uh, I'm not supposed to say nothin'.

Fabian: No, no, no

Kristen: hey that's okay.

Fabian: You can talk to us.

Gorgug: what's it saying, Fabian?

Fabian: it's having kind of an emotional moment.

Fig: I know how to handle this! I'll minor illusion a sexy rat

Fabian: no, come on! Come on, dude! Dude!

Ally/Kristen: I step on the sexy rat

Rat: Aaaahhhhh!

Fabian: sorry, no! We're not those guys

Brennan: aaahhh! Aaahhh!

Kristen: sorry, sorry, that was fake! That was fake! She was so sexy

Brennan: aaahhhh!

Fabian: you know that's triggering for me!

Kristen: can you get a little rat stuffed animal out of your coat?

Fabian: you know that's triggering for me!!

Adaine: oh yes, a little rat

Ally/Kristen: we get a little rat stuffed animal out of the coat. It's extra tiny and it can hold it while it's --

Rat: it's like a Mannequin, like they have in rat stores.

Fabian: I'm sorry? I'm sorry? Wait, hold on, what'd you just say?

Rat: what?

Adaine: you have rat stores?

Rat: what?

Fabian: what'd you say? Rat store?

Rat: there's not a rat world under the school.

Adaine: what

Rat: what

Gorgug: I don't know what he's saying

Fabian: he's talking about rat stores under the school.

Gorgug: got it

Fabian: where you can get rat mannequins

Riz: steer it back! Steer it back, Fabian! All we hear is squeaking, steer him back!

Fabian: I'm sorry it's just interesting you know? Did you guys know about rat world? Now we do!

Gorgug: just keep going!

Riz: where was Lucy Frostblade?

Fabian: all right, nobody else wanted to eat the fucking tongue or the organs

Adaine: you volunteered!

Riz: you volunteered so hard!

Fabian: it made it better!

Ally/Kristen: I'm petting the rat, I'm trying to keep it kinda calm.

Brennan's rat's sort of crying a little bit

Kristen: aw, it looks sad

Fabian: I know it would be hard for you, but it would mean a great deal to us - and that person - if you could show us that place.

Rat: all right. I could take you. It takes about two days to get there.

Adaine: we can carry you!

Fig: oh that's two days for you

Riz: two days Rat Time

Kristen: tell him we could carry him

Fabian: we can carry you

Rat: okay

Fabian: we move faster than the wind

Fig: do you wanna ride -- ask him if he wants to ride the skateboard

Fabian: do you want to ride in a skateboard? Do they have those in your rat world?

Rat: a skateboard?

Kristen: make the battle sheet into a Baby Björn for the rat

Fabian: okay. We're gonna wrap you up and put you on the skateboard

Rat: Lucy used to call me Spot

Fabian: Spot?

Spot: mmhmm

Fig: tell him that we are to help Lucy and so if he can help us we can help Lucy

Fabian: we're trying to help Lucy, so if you can help us --

Brennan: go ahead and give me persuasion with advantage

Ally: yess

Emily/Fig: do you want a bardic?

Lou/Fabian: yea, can I get one? D8?

Emily/Fig: yea

Murph/Riz: be so careful

Lou: okay I got a 19 plus 8 so that's 27 [goes to Rolla. D8]

Murph: maybe you don't need it

Ally: you don't need it, then, you don't need it.

Murph: you could save it, right?

Ally: it could kill the rat, honestly. Imagine the Rat getting bonked in the head by a a fucking skateboard wheel.

Lou/Fabian: it's my bardic, so I think I would be the one.

Zac/Gorgug: it's up to you

Fabian: I mean, what do you guys ...? Eh. *Rolls the dice* 3! 30

Brennan: you see Spot goes [as Spot]: yea, absolutely! You can come with me right now. I'll show you where it is.

Fabian: fantastic

#brennan lee mulligan #dimension 20 #fantasy high junior year #ep 9 vulture clash #siobhan thompson #lou wilson #ally beardsley #zac oyama #emily axford #brian murphy #smart Murph calling for a short rest #i fucking love Spot #the screaming whej Sexy Rat got stomped made me crack up

[ritzcrackee]

fuck it every dimension 20 season ranked

1. a starstruck odyssey

... we all saw this coming. i don't even have anything to say that i haven't already sleep deprivedly rambled about to my friends. glittery space bitches go brrrrrr

2. the ravening war

AUOERGHHHHH the drama the violence the edge the politics the tragedy THE SHIPS!!!! truly just my favorite people (and matthew mercer i guess) playing my favorite character tropes. it's like they scanned my brain and generated a season based solely on what i would be the most autistic about.

3. misfits and magic

yippeeeee best friends and they like each other and are friends yayyyy

4. the seven

women <333 (but fr tho i just like watching teenage girls be messy and multifaceted)

5. a court of fey and flowers

look i just really like fae shit. fairy rainbow magic boys RISE UP 💪💪💪💪

6. a crown of candy

the little candy people are sad??? what the hell.... (no but this season started off SO STRONG!! would easily be my #1, but i feel like the latter half of the season dragged on and also felt rushed? idk still one of the top tier seasons)

7. fantasy high

i mean what can i say. a solid classic, bad kids live in my head RENT free, fig is my irl girlfriend, uhhhhh kissing them all forever.

8. mice and murder

love a good murder mystery <33. lars vandenchomp my BELOVED!!!

9. fantasy high sophomore year

sophomore year!!!! i feel like this season had some of the highest highs, but also a lot of the lowest lows. which is why it's in the middle of the list lol. the live format made it hard to follow a lot of the time, however, consider, i'm the crab king.

10. the unsleeping city: season 2

CODYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!! between him, iga, and the spooky capitalism moment, i really liked this season. i just,,, haven't really thought about it much. did not stay in my head.

11. neverafter

love the characters, love the vibe, less spooky than i had hoped? but still, as always, a slay

12. the unsleeping city

you may be saying "why is s1 lower than s2" CODY! it's literally just him i just really like cody.

14. coffin run

VAMPIRES!!! AND IZZY AT THE TABLE!!! v good season, a little bit loud for me? but otherwise good job guys 11111/10

13. mentopolis

not much to say abt this season tbh

15. escape from the bloodkeep

i have never read [insert fantasy book here] so i didn't really get a lot of the inside jokes? idk i think i was not the target audience.

16. pirates of levithan

look the zoom format just absolutely kills this season :( i love literally everything else about it but all of the players are so BIG in a way that the format struggles to capture. honestly it was a hard watch for me but i'd love to see it revisited in the dome.

17. shriek week

look i'm all for a vibes only no plot session but a vibes only no plot season? i truly could not tell you a single thing that happened in this show. also not enough hot monsters and too many hot people who are vaguely monster adjacent. absolutely HILARIOUS tho, watch it for sure but just turn your brain off. ally fermentation jokes my beloved.

18. dungeons and drag queens

i'm homophobic ❤ (this is a joke i'm gay i just didn't find it very compelling bdjfk. i don't think i was the target audience)

19. tiny heist

i'm sorry the mcelroy brothers just don't do it for me. certainly one of the dimension 20 seasons 👍

#CAN #U #TELL #IM #AUTISTIC #BCUS #I #CANN #anyways haha hiii #reminder that this is the opinion of a funky lil guy and should not be taken as fact #AND and this is not a recommendation of what u should watch first!!!! #anyways kiss kiss #d20 #erp

[ashwhowrites]

Hello I'm not sure if your up or not but I need to talk to someone and I feel ican trust you, two things 1 so there's this girl I like ( I'm a girl too) and she is my friend but the problem is she has a girlfriend. Shes apart of my friend group so I can't just not hang out with her anymore bc I wanna keep the friend group. I haven't told anyone in that group but some of my friends who aren't in the group know! I can't just stop liking her and it's super annoying bc I'm trying really hard to stop it but I can't. At one point I thought she liked me back but I'm not sure. Advice?

2 My parents don't want me to be gay. I'm pretty sure I'm bi and I haven't told any family (except cousins) and we recently talked and they told me they don't want me to be gay. They are Christians so they don't believe it's of Christ. They always imagined me with a guy the same race as me but since my newfound self discovery I haven't seen myself that way. I mean the person I'm crushing on (let's call her Fig💀) is a girl and not the same race. Also Advice?

Ps I'm not even sure if I'm bi or les bc I haven't really liked guys since mid to end of last year. So uh also Advice.

Double Ps I'm sorry this was so long I know this is not what you normally get so I'm so sorry if I made you uncomfortable.

-Confused anon

Okay I'm gonna try my best to help you out here!!

1. The hard part about liking someone is that you can't just stop. Even if you tried everything, you are still going to like that person. And that's okay. It takes time to start moving on from someone. And seeing that person with a partner always hurts worse. And I used to always play the game with myself that maybe they like me too. They looked at me differently, or they started to touch me more. And maybe they do, but it's better to believe they don't like you because it'll help you move on. They have a girlfriend and that's that. The friend part is hard. I fell for my best friend in 8th grade and didn't get over her until recently. Shit is really hard ( plus I confessed to her so she already knew which actually made it harder for me ) you can allow yourself a break from them if needed. You don't have to leave the group, but allow yourself some space.

2. It's your life and you should always be the one to decide who you share your life with. It's who you are and there's nothing wrong with that. There's also nothing wrong with being gay. Giving advice with parents is incredibly hard because I always wanna say "fuck your parents. Love any bitch you want" but it's deeper and more respectful than that. My advice is take the time to learn who you are, once you feel like you know her enough, introduce your parents to her :)

3. Okay so when I was trying to figure out if I was bi, I was in middle school. I didn't come out until last year. That's how long it took me to figure out if I was bi or not. And honestly? If I have to think that long about it, that's my answer. But just because you like a girl doesn't mean you have to label who you are. Some people prefer no labels. Because at the end of the day you are still you. I haven't liked a guy since junior year lollll

You never made me uncomfortable, don't sweat it. I tried my best to give you my advice before a 3 am shift so I hope that this isn't a complete mess. And somehow made you feel a bit understood and comfortable?

[swarmkeepers]

rickyesther 1 and/or figayda 21 for the prompt meme?

21. believing in you even when you couldn’t do it yourself + figayda (prompts linked here)

(some post-show hurt/comfort heavy on the hurt on the phoenix tour after sophomore year. thank you, anon, i find ayda very fun to write but this is my first figayda! i hope you like it. )

Fig knows she’s being unreasonable, knows that she’s being childish, knows that the skin-itchy hell-rumbling feels bad feels bad feels bad ripping through her mind right now is wrong and stupid and yet why can’t she stop thinking it.

That’s the thing about this particular kind of bad show—that she knows it was a bad show, and Gorgug knows it was a bad show, but if you hadn’t been listening to the same set for the days and days and days of tour for their second year now, you wouldn’t know. They keep the rebellious-happy smiles on their faces and they still jump and dance across the stage and the Infaethable Bass still makes glorious noise and Fig pours her heart out into a show even when from the very first chords she can feel it’s wrong, wrong, wrong. 

Fig doesn’t know if it’d be better or worse if no one else in the world knew it was a bad show, and she doesn’t know which one is true anyway. But inside her own head it’s grating and terrible and Fig barely held it together until they got up to the hotel room here before she let herself collapse, angry and upset and unreasonable and not caring or knowing about any of it. 

The roar of the crowd tonight felt like mockery when Fig could hear every ever-so-slight way her solos weren’t quite right, could feel her fingers scrabbling to turn a mistake into a riff when she screwed up, could feel the talk sets not quite landing even when she puts every point of her charisma into it. The stage spotlight effects were just the tiniest bit late, and it feels like a perfect and perverse kind of validation when Fig would rather have ripped their too-hot too-red glow off her face before they could highlight every mistake she made, every fake smile pasted on.

She’s being childish, but right now Fig has wedged herself under the desk in this hotel room that’s the same as every other hotel room for two years of tour. Her horns are scraping the underside of the desktop with an excruciating sound that just might as well happen, and her back is pressed into the mess of cords sprouting from the outlet under the desk, and Fig’s digging her pointed fingernails into her own knees as she hugs them tight and feels like a toddler in a tantrum, unsure if she wants to scream or cry or hide or demand attention or destroy things or walk out into the city and keep walking until she’s far far away. She kicked the rolling chair somewhere away and couldn’t tell you where it went for all the gold in Solace. 

Her bass doesn’t fit under here with her, and Fig’s tossed it on the bed with more upset carelessness than she’d ever usually show her instrument. Fig picks at the rips in her jeans and scowls out of the opening of her little desk den, an opening that feels too big, letting too much of the world in even when that world is just the bed across from the desk, with frumpy sheets and a bed skirt that’s the same as every other motel anywhere in Solace, which Fig knows from experience.

Gorgug knows it was a bad show, and Fig can faintly hear him in the bathroom on the phone with Zelda, quieter and lower than other nights on tour. He called his parents earlier, too—she heard him singing quietly to them over the phone. 

Ayda knows it was a bad show. Ayda was in the green room and in the audience tonight, watching Fig fall apart, knowing so much more than Fig knows all the time, deserving so much better than the mess that is Figueroth Faeth on stage and off. Ayda knows it was a bad show and she’s not even in the hotel room with Fig right now, having disappeared somewhere off down the hall. Fig was too angry and caught up in her own mind to pay attention, which is just another reason Ayda deserves better right now. Anywhere that Ayda is right now is somewhere better than dealing with Fig in all her skin-itchy unreasonable childishness right now.

There’s a little tic tic tic of giant talons on hotel carpet and a whoosh of fire-warm air as Ayda appears in the doorway, as infuriatingly and as luckily as if Fig had said her name thrice and summoned her. Fig keeps quiet and watches her girlfriend turn first one way, then the other, looking for her in a room with neither Fig nor Gorgug visible.

“I’m having a bad time, Ayda,” Fig says, voice quiet and hoarse both from the show and from whatever silent-sobbing-tantrum she’s been having under the desk. She doesn’t even know if she intends Ayda to hear it, but then Fig sees Ayda whip around and move towards the desk, even faster than walking as she beats her huge wings once to take a flying, bounding step.

Ayda doesn’t listen to any warnings Fig might try to give about how it’s “really a bad scene under here, you don’t want to see me like this” and just crouches down so she’s under the desk with Fig, spreading her wings to block out everything except the two of them in this ridiculous position. Fig can’t see anything except her girlfriend and her big concerned eyes darting around Fig’s face and her fiery wings blocking out the world for her. 

Fig doesn’t even say anything, just reaches out and scoots closer awkwardly on her butt on the floor in the small space. Ayda doesn’t need her to say anything, just tangles her legs with Fig’s and loops strong arms around Fig’s back, holding her close. Fig takes an angry, shaky breath and feels it push against Ayda’s arms.

“You’re upset,” Ayda says simply, fingers tracing a shape on Fig’s back as she waits to see if Fig wants to talk or just wants to be held. 

Fig hisses through her teeth, irritated but not wanting to take it out on her girlfriend who’s barely been here for half a minute and who’s already making her feel so much better. Ayda’s fiery hair and wings are the only light in this little space Fig’s wedged them into, and they’re casting bright bright light over the both of them. Fig reaches out and tucks her face right into the crook of Ayda’s neck, so close to the fire of her wings that she can feel their warmth. Fig can’t see anything except the curve of her girlfriend’s neck and a little bit of her back and flame, flame, flame. She wonders if there are tear tracks visible on her face. The nice thing about tiefling skin is that no one can tell if her eyes are red from rubbing at them; the nice thing about Ayda is that her girlfriend doesn’t need to be able to see them to tell something’s wrong.

“It was a bad show, Ayda,” Fig whispers almost too quietly to hear except that she’s doing it inches away from Ayda’s ear. “I hate this.”

“I’m not sure I understand?” Ayda says, fingers slowing on Fig’s back as she picks her words carefully. “You are the expert on this, and if you do not want to elaborate that is perfectly okay, but all of your shows are good ones to me.”

Fig turns her head so her cheek is resting on Ayda’s warm shoulder and says, “It’s just little dumb things going wrong. And that’s why I’m doing this dumb thing, which is sitting under a desk and thinking you don’t want to see me.”

Ayda’s fingers circle over the knobs of Fig’s spine through the leather jacket Fig hasn’t taken off. 

“That doesn’t seem dumb,” Ayda says. “I understand wanting to get away from the world when it feels like everything is going wrong. Under a desk is an excellent location, because it is dark and quiet and Gorgug is in the bathroom so you can have this space for yourself.”

“Oh, Ayda,” Fig breathes. Ayda keeps talking, and Fig watches just the corner of her jaw moves as she talks. Ayda talks to her gently, like you’d talk to a slightly skittish animal. Every part of Ayda looks soft and warm, including the fiery feathers tickling Fig’s face.

“Your lyrics are extremely meaningful. I have memorized many of them, but I am still impressed all the time that you have written all of them.” Ayda says it matter-of-factly, and Fig blames the way that the words make her want to cry on the fact that it’s just been an extremely emotional day. “You are a very accomplished musician, and an even better writer, and an even better person.” 

“You’re very smart, Ayda, but how am I supposed to believe you when I can’t even deal with one show going wrong?” Fig tries not to wail it. She doesn’t know if she succeeds. Ayda’s wings make a soft roar, the sound of air and flame, and Fig pretends that it’s loud enough to hide the tremor in her voice. The childish panic. 

“I do not need to believe in you. Belief implies that my trust in you is something constructed in my own mind, when it in fact is, as far as I have been able to tell, something I can back up with evidence and fact.” Ayda says, and Fig pulls back indignantly.

She whacks the back of her head on the wall behind her, but it’s worth it for the little smile she can see as she leans just a little away from Ayda.

Fig smiles back, and she believes it too. Or doesn’t need to. 

from the prompt list linked here! (i’m closing prompts from this particular list because i have so many ones to get through already, but thanks!)

#by word count this is almost half hurt no comfort #i'm so sorry i didn't mean to do this to my best girl fig #my excuse is that ayda offering comfort is so potent it could make up for any hurt #sometimes you need a big fiery-winged girlfriend to shut out the world and believe in you #anon i'm sorry i'm writing so slow this was one of the first prompts in my inbox #but i hope you like it! #fig faeth #ayda aguefort #figayda #fantasy high #sophomore year #sola said #sola ficced #anonymous #sola answered #long post

[differenttriumphdragon]

My Best Cookie Votes and Why: Round 1, Part 1

Mint Choco: While Orange is nice and all, she's ultimately a pretty flat character...and not just in the literal sense either. Minty, on the other hand, has an actual backstory, for starters, plus he's not an absolute dick to his closest friend like his opponent is. Plus, Mint's implied romance with Cocoa is infinitely more satisfying than the Citrus Love Triangle that they do absolutely nothing with. (As a side note, I find it hilarious that the very first matchup is literally just Orange Juice vs. Toothpaste.)

Sea Fairy: I like Tiger Lily and all, but literally her only purpose in canon seems to be to never get told what anything is, which is extremely frustrating on the part of the other Cookies and honestly hits way too close to home. That, and her major character arc with Princess is NEVER touched upon, while Sea Fairy presumably actually managed to reunite with Moonlight.

Pilot: This matchup was essentially Good, Loving (probably surrogate) Grandparent versus Awful, Neglectful, Irresponsible Grandparent who is confirmed to have attempted to alter her granddaughter's DNA in order to change her personality. So yeah.

Pink Choco: Neither of these Cookies really stand out at all. I am a fan of Pink's Magical Girl theming, though, and honestly I'd rather see her on stage than Carol. Also, Pink's design is leagues better.

Walnut: I'll admit, she's just more endearing to me for some reason. Her power is more interesting (and I actually understand how exactly it's supposed to work), and honestly the idea of a little detective with a teddy bear assistant is just adorable. I'm still mad about Angel, but that's not exactly HER fault, now is it?

Dark Choco: DC is a compelling fallen hero character who drives the entire story of Ovenbreak with his disappearance. White Choco Cookie is French, and that's about it. Also:

How can you not vote for him when he promises you such important lore? (Granted, he calls you out for being vain if you pick him. Hey, any lore is good lore, pal! Also, I have long hair I need to worry about too!)

Purple Yam: Honestly, the fact that he actually questions the bad writing sold me on voting for him. He's also a genuinely good character despite his only emotion being anger.

Firecracker: I absolutely love her 80s arcade aesthetic, even in spite of her being way too young to have ever been to an arcade in the 80s. She genuinely wants everyone to have fun, too. Also, Marshmallow got Flame Bat and Celestial Star locked up for her Trial.

Squid Ink: To be honest, this was one of the tougher choices. In the end, I decided that Inky needed more love after what they've been through, so they got the vote. Sorry, Fig.

Roguefort: Devsis has a really bad habit this list of putting far more interesting recent characters against old characters with nothing really to them. I mean, yeah, Ninja's mysterious and all, but you've done absolutely nothing with him since not even LINE, but the defunct game Ovenbreak 2! Other than maybe change his name from Ninjabread, anyway. Hell, Tiny Ghost is more interesting than him, but even then newer players wouldn't even know that, since the one throwaway line hinting at something more was in a Cookie Quest, which were removed from the game entirely over a year ago. Roguefort is more interesting by default.

Vampire: Can I be honest for a sec here? I hate Pancake with a passion. He deliberately makes himself seem cuter to get his way. Based on his interactions with Cream Puff, he's just as cruel as his big bro, if not as outwardly aggressive. No, Pancake relies on psychological manipulation to get everything he wants, and the worst part is IT'S FUCKING WORKING. As we speak, he's stealing a Magic Candy from Devil, from Kiwi...hell, he's even stealing it from Vampire! And now he's dominating the polls, adding insult to debilitating injury. He's not even fucking cute. Yeah, I said it.

Pistachio: Soda has absolutely no personality other than surfboard. Do I even need to say more?

Peppermint: DE could be SUCH a good villain if Devsis could decide what kind of villain she even is. Also if they remembered she was a major villain at all.

Lemon: I'll admit, I see a lot of myself in Lemon. Mostly in feeling artificial and having basically no friends, ever. I honestly think I'd be in a much worse place if I didn't have a brother. Whip could be great if they did anything with the White Swan/Black Swan dynamic he has with Skating Queen.

Pitaya: I've always had problems with the "You can only eat if you work for it" mentality. First of all, you need food to get energy to work, and if you aren't fed, then how are you going to work hard for food!? Second, what if you're disabled or otherwise can't work? Do you just starve to death, then? It just sounds awful!

Cream Puff: She's trying her best.

Kumiho: ...I honestly don't remember.

Pomegranate: A genuinely good villain who stole the show with her introduction. She could've easily been a Knight of Cerebus if the writers cared enough.

Cyborg: Blackberry abandoned a child relying on her protection to chase after a man who didn't remotely need her help. Also, she hates Devil. Also also, Cyborg is cool.

Hero: If you've read Hellfyre Speaks, you can probably guess why I personally picked Hero. I'm just surprised at the popular vote; it seemed to me like Herb was way more popular! But I guess not? Or at least not with early voters.

Werewolf: He's far more fleshed out than Gumball by far.

Devil: Have I ever actually explained why Devil is my favorite? Like, sure, he's an asshole, but he's the fun, ineffectual kind of asshole you actually wanna root for that you see in cartoons; like, in shows focused on a 'villain' character's scheming, usually with a naive idiot going along with it and a very-much-ignored voice of reason. Like in Ed, Edd, n' Eddy, or Evil Con Carne. Devil also has a flair for the dramatic, a knack for 'evil' schemes, and even the perfect foil to play off of! He'd be an absolute goldmine when it comes to the more lighthearted antics between acts, but Devsis is apparently content to just haul up gravel.

Knight: I'll be honest, I saw Alchemist and immediately clicked the other Cookie without looking who it was. But this isn't a post about her, so let's talk about Knight. First off, he'd be the perfect antagonist to Devil; Devil goes full ham when acting out an 'evil' plan, while Knight takes everything WAY too seriously. He adores Princess Cookie but doesn't know jack shit about her, which juxtaposed with Princess's nonchalant rebuttals of everything he claims about her makes it hilarious in a kind of pathetic way. (Ex. Knight claiming that Princess would probably never eat Jam again, then Princess replying she could totally go for some right now to the exact same question.) He's delusional in a way that you'd feel bad for him if he wasn't so over-the-top about it, and yet at the same time he does have skills that match up with his headcanon of how things work, just not the reputation.

Matcha: Seems like the person who'd play both sides for her amusement. I'd keep an eye on her.

#cookie run