#<- its got a tag now i rotated it too hard

[derrypubliclibrary]

something something nischa swap au where mischa moved to canada at a you g agr and his mother is still okay and noel just recently moved from france?

[weena-mercator]

narumitsu fic recs - part 1

I've been putting together fic recs for a while, trying to sort things into different categories rather than just sharing one big post of stories that are all over the place in type, length, etc. - I've appreciated all the fic recs I've gotten on reddit and in nrmt discord servers, and wanted to compile things in such a way that it makes it easier for those who are interested in reading more fanfic! while I still have decent amount of fics bookmarked on my "to read" list, i have read a not insubstantial number this year (don't mind me just rolling into the fandom nearly 23 years late - actually I really liked AA when I first saw GG play in 2019, bought the game b/c of it - & I liked nrmt but something about JFA was the turning point for me to become just totally normal about them)

anyways, i digress...

I'll start off with my favorite contenders for long (more than 50K words) canon-compliant (or mostly canon-compliant fics) - some are more dramatic and some are more light-hearted

obviously since this is a recommendation list, I may make comments about how I feel about something with a fic that you don't agree with - I only say this to point out some of my thoughts regarding the fic, not to start a hc war... and I'm definitely not trying to say "this author is wrong" or anything like that, just pointing out my personal opinion

a long way to fall by prospectkiss

this is the first long fic I ever read for nrmt and I can't recommend it enough. Heads up that this fic is E - Taking place between T&T and AJ (handwavey give them more time in this time period than in canon), this is also a case fic that majorly ties in to the plot - you've got romantic tension, mutual pining, drama, angst and a great (and spicy) ending. word count: 78K POV: rotating between Phoenix and Miles why it’s a must read IMO: I admit I am partial to getting together fics that are pre-disbarment or very early 7YG, the PINING and build up is incredible and it’s very difficult to put down but especially once you get about halfway through, it will be hard to stop! I think I read this in only 2 sittings.

the long way home by griffonage

a fic that deserves SO much more love - it is so incredibly well-written and heart-wrenching. the very beginning covers major events of the first trilogy quickly while the majority of the story takes place during the 7YG. Phoenix is always right there for Edgeworth, but Edgeworth is pretty great at making terrible decisions -including running away from things he wants deep down- and that finally takes its toll on Phoenix, whose anger is very justified. Per the tags: ??? to friends?? to it's complicated to it's VERY complicated to... unsurprisingly this makes for a pretty angsty relationship & moments that make you just want to shake Miles (and Phoenix, but a lot more Miles). This is also an E fic FYI, as far as I remember that stuff is only short scenes in a few places as opposed to like, a whole chapter devoted to it. word count: 84K POV: Miles why it’s a must read IMO: there are multiple little case fics along the way that are interesting, this story truly made me sad I wasn’t also working and exploring in Europe, Trucy!!, the OCs are very well done, it’s a great character study of Miles, and writing wise, this is one of the most well-written stories I’ve ever read among fanfic and published novels written in my lifetime

trace (vestiges) by FaultyParagon

this fic is pretty well known, and while it may not rank quite as high for me now as it did when I first read it, I do regard it highly. I don't know how much editing/beta-reading happened for it, so my one little thing about it is that the grammar mistakes happened a little too frequently to gloss over, but still not terrible (I know we all write for free but with frequent or significant enough errors, I'm taken out of the world easily, maybe that's not a problem that affects the majority of readers, idk). A mostly filling in the gaps fic that takes place from AAPW to right before DD - it's not exactly a slow burn, but just because they manage to get together earlier rather than later doesn't mean they aren't going to encounter obstacles in their relationship. This fic is M - it sort of rides that line between M and E in my opinion, as the sex isn't very graphic but not just glossed over either. word count: 225K POV: Miles why it’s a must read IMO: touch-starved Miles, again, I’m partial to them getting together pre-disbarment, despite it not being exactly a slow burn it does have quite a build up, I really love seeing Miles have a lot personal growth, especially in regards to handling his emotions, during his “choose death” year and during 7YG as well as how he is there for Phoenix and Trucy during that time

turnabout feelings by ssygir

a 7YG fic where Edgeworth requests Phoenix's help to research trials by jury, bringing Phoenix and Trucy with him to Paris - where they unintentionally get caught up in a murder investigation, and Phoenix realizes his feelings for Edgeworth are definitely not platonic. While my personal view is that Phoenix has known he's been in love with Miles for a looooong time, I can appreciate a good fic where he's just now figuring that out. Some little things about Edgeworth's characterization feel off to me, but maybe that's just me. This fic is E, but that's pretty much limited to one chapter. one small note: this fic does have a follow up, but hasn't been updated in over a year (although the author has said they plan to finish it at least! so hope is not lost yet) word count: 76K POV: Phoenix why it’s a must read IMO: it’s an early 7YG getting together story, the case fic is fun, not a total sloooooow burn but definitely builds up, a good pick when you want a more lighthearted story with very little angst

dating for a turnabout by Mikomikono

technically set in that tiny window between AAI2 and Phoenix's disbarment, Miles asks Phoenix to join him to investigate a smuggling operation at a resort - except they find out that the event taking place at the resort is a couple's retreat, and the only way to have full access is to pose as one... oh and of course Larry happens to be there too. This one is a fun case fic with mutual pining, only one bed and a sprinkling of angst among some silliness and fluff - while I wish there was a little more to the ending, it was a very fun read, T rating. word count: almost 90K POV: rotating between Phoenix and Miles why it’s a must read IMO: the author has little profiles and evidence info for the case posted for each chapter, very fun! I’m picky about fake dating stories and I think this one does it very well, and again, I really like seeing pre-disbarment getting together - and they are pining fools here, it’s good stuff

chasing history by SlatedForAbandonment

post canon, Phoenix invites Miles to stay in his guest room while he's in LA working on his PhD. Some small notes on timeline - this is where it gets a little loose with canon compliance, although the author does note that in the tags - Edgeworth is already Chief Prosecutor but currently taking a leave of absence to work on his dissertation, but hasn't found permanent residence again yet, despite this being a few years post SOJ (at one point it is stated that Apollo is 28) - I also feel like a lot of Edgeworth's behavior/reactions are more fitting of trilogy era Edgeworth, or even early 7YG... all that being said, it is a super slow burn, well-written with fun dialogue and very sweet moments as well as a bit of angst. rating is T. word count: 68K POV: rotating between Phoenix and Miles why it’s a must read IMO: even though I feel like this story would more realistically take place much earlier in canon, you get a great slow burn with plenty of incredibly sweet moments along the way that just make you melt

the catch-up game by theacegrace

post canon, Trucy is on a year-long magic show tour and Phoenix is left feeling like everyone keeps moving on and leaving him behind, while also dealing with some realizations regarding one Miles Edgeworth. again, my personal take is that Phoenix would've realized this long before now, but this story is an interesting Phoenix character study and once you get about 3/4 through the story, the situation is very tense - it's hard to not read this whole thing, or at least the back half, in one sitting. rated T. word count: 66K POV: Phoenix why it’s a must read IMO: it’s always interesting to consider that prior to his disbarment, Phoenix was the more self-assured and bold one of the two when it came to matters of the heart, and then afterwards that essentially flips for a while - now Miles has gained a lot of confidence and gone through a lot of emotional growth (Phoenix starts to gain this back a lot after becoming a lawyer again, but he’s definitely not just back to trilogy-era Phoenix)

it would feel so good to make you mine by hi_its_ellis and lowbatteryhealth

post DD, this is an unusual slow burn - both Phoenix and Miles know they're in love with each other, but they've come to an unspoken agreement on how to handle this - there's a winner and a loser, and the "loser" is whoever cracks first. honestly, another fic where I just wanted to shake them until they came to their sense, but it's very fun and sweet, T rating. word count: 54K POV: various why it’s a must read IMO: it’s tagged idiots to usdiots LMAO, so many sweet moments among the aggravation - they are BOTH moron-sexual, your honor, and you’ll want to strangle them /affectionate…

a turnabout toast by ideny

summary by author: (after the events of AJ) an estranged Phoenix and Miles respond to a friendly challenge from an unexpected source: do three things each to fix your lives. this fic is technically the least canon compliant because we of course learn in DD (and this fic was written before the release of DD) that Phoenix and Miles did spend time together during his disbarment, at the very least in Europe helping Miles research. So this is a hell of an angsty read, worth it for the story-telling despite that it departs from canon in that way. Not rated, but I don't recall anything above T rating stuff happening in it. word count: 68K POV: rotating between Phoenix and Miles why it’s a must read IMO: damn they really go through it in this one, dealing with the aftermath of the events of AJ is very interesting, lots of angst but I feel compelled to tell you don’t worry, the ending will ease your pain

Obligatory recs:

legal partners by miggy

project: matchmakers by WingSongHalo

how to court a fool in under three months by snowyrunes

All 3 of these are post canon getting together fics, AND all 3 are told from various POVs, not just Phoenix and Miles - there's a reason they are some of the most well-known ones - PM is probably the most fluffy with the least angst (and has a very cute multi chapter follow up), followed by LP (has a fairly short E follow up) - HTCAFIUTM is the slowest burn (it also has a follow up that hasn't been updated since 2022... which stinks because it did leave off on a bit of a cliffhanger and I really wanna know what's going to happen lol)

I have yet to read the highly regarded canon-compliant long fics listed below, but they are on my to-read list!

you ever been in love? by hechima

saturation by tiedyed trickster *

indefensible by zombolouge *

a brief for the defense by Ophelia_Writes * (this has now been orphaned FYI)

turnabout dishwasher by zuzsenpai

*indicates that it has not been finished yet, possibly won't ever be

If you know of any other 50K+ canon-compliant fics that you'd highly recommend, please let me know!

my other posts will be for AUs, chapter fics shorter than 50K, one-shots (might have to divide those up by theme), probably a NSFW set as well if there's interest!

[mothmags]

Hi more Nashi next gen stuff because I'm supposed to be sleeping, but i simply can not

Headcannon Time!

Mainly her jewelry and spirits

part 2

Ok jewelry time!

I said this in the tags of my first nashi post, but she likes jewelry. anything gold and shiny that catches her eye.

I like to think she gets it from natsu's dragon instincts to hoard shiny stuff but we simply cannot deny that lucy is a child of the rich and (probably) lovveeessss jewelry especially high quality jewelry (me too girl)

natsu gets her little trinkets and size changing weapons that she can wear/make into jewelry when he takes long jobs

Lilly mentions in an ep that size changing weapons are hard to come by, but since they are very handy, i think they would become more popular by the time nashi hits double digits

she's made a hobby of it and stores all the stuff he gifts her that she's not currently using in a jewelry box he gave her when she was ten

the rest of her jewelry is either in storage (other less sentimental jewelry boxes) or stuff she literally never takes off / is just on her desk for easy access

She rotates most of her daily stuff every month or so to match the season but has a few staples (mainly her facial jewelry)

Most of her jewelry is gifts when the rest of the guild catches on that she likes it

it becomes her signature gift to receive from people

Odessa did her pircings - with supervision of course (this is a lie they very much did it with a safety pin in the guildhall bathroom while both sets of parents were on jobs)

Laxus caught them doing this but said nothing because he thought their parents' reaction would be funny

he was right

Natsu lost his shit and tried to fight gajeel while lucy panicked, hard

I think levy and gajeel would just be like "again????"

gajeel would find it amusing

eventually, it became a right of passage for the kids of fairy tail to get pierced by the redfox kids (more on them in another post maybe)

Now for the fun part! her spirits!

Her only gold key is leo (for now, im still debating on her second one-if she gets one at all), and he's like a big brother to her. He would be the first one called / volunteer to babysit if no one else could if natsu and lucy weren't going on a job.

they very much so have an older brother and little sister dynamic. they tease each other a lot and make a conscious effort to inconvenience the other

He watched her grow up just like the rest of lucys sprints, so him firting with her would be super weird

might be a little ooc since he seems to flirt with everyone once they are over the age of 16 but im retconing that for all of the children of his friends for obvious reasons

he flirts with almost anyone else he finds tho - still very much a ladies man

Lucy gave her his key after a nasty job that almost got nashi killed.

"mags why is lucy giving nashi one of her strongest spirits?"

im glad you asked

When nashi came back beaten, brused, unconscious, and having to use Wendys healing as a life support, natsu and lucy got super scared.

Leo was the first who offered to become her spirit - to dedicate himself to her safety at any cost

Virgo was the second with Capricorn following

After a long debate with herself and Natsu, they decided leo would be the best fit because leo is closer to nashi than the rest of the spirits are.

even if it means nerfing lucy a bit

she's one of the most powerful celestial wizards ever at this point, so she needs it fr (you have 10 gold keys girl, its time to share with the class).

Nashi has 7ish silver keys

Horologium, Polaris, Nikora, and the rest would be OCs mainly because i think making them would be fun

She has a tan and maroon striped Nikora that she calls Jupiter since one of his red stripes gets thick at one point on his side

Jupiter was her first key and was a gift from her parents for her 10th birthday

when she was 12, she gave him a little blue scarf so he could match her, and he's worn it ever since

That's enough for now. lol i have a few more things that i want to go over, but that's for another post

[erisenyo]

20 questions for fic writers

tagged by @ofherlionheart, thank you!!

1. how many works do you have on Ao3? 36?! When did that happen...

2. what's your total Ao3 word count? 1,612,719, and now I'm eyeing the shibari fic and my written WIP where chapter 4 of 6 is going to be 60+ word document pages all on its own...

3. what fandoms do you write for? ATLA! Though I'm starting to eye The Radian Emperor too, if I can figure out the writing style

4. what are your top five fics by kudos?

1. Love is in the Hair 2. These Things Written 3. These Things Known 4. These Things Unsaid (lol the middle of the series having the least kudos of the three, middle book syndrome strikes) 5. Lessons in Proper Asset Management

5. do you respond to comments? I do! I do my best to reply to all of them, I love hearing people's thoughts and chatting about the fic or the characters or canon. Though I am currently egregious behind after the holidays, doing my best to catch up...

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I don't know that I do angsty *endings* versus just highly emotional situations that end in (hopefully) satisfying ways? To Cleave These Roots We've Made is probably my angstiest run into an ending, and Of Tea and Turtle Ducks (and the Turtle Duck Guy) just had a very high-emotion end. I don't know, what do you guys think? I don't always have a good read on the tone of my own fics lol

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Ohhh this is tough, maybe To Be Named, To Be Known (To Be Loved) or (With Wonder and Care) Reach for Far-flung Dreams, in part because the endings are just a culmination of a lot of like warm feelings? Or Didn't Know What I Was Missing (But I Guess I Found It) because we were all so happy the three of them finally talked lol?

8. Do you get hate on fics? Not really, though Katara in Burning Bright has been fairly polarizing. It's not hate but it's also like...not happy haha

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Oh, do I ever! And...all the kinds (m/m, f/m/ poly, f/f incoming)? Full on, graphic, self-recognition-through-the-boner character-developing smut.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? I don't!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? oh man I hope not. I don't even know how I'd find out, unless someone told me

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Yes! Into Russian!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? No, though I got close with certain installments in the Zukki series with the way Ash helped me outline haha. I wouldn't be opposed to it, but it feels more like long-form roleplay when I imagine it.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship? This is a hard question! Because there's stuff I read fic for and stuff I write and then stuff I've like, read and gently rotated in my head for the rest of my life. But to make it easy--Zukka haha

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I tend not to let myself have too many simultaneous WIPs, and I don't really break my rule about finishing a work before starting to post, so no, looking at the current set. There's ideas I'd like to write that I'm not sure I will, but nothing started.

16. What are your writing strengths? I'd say dialogue, characterization, and building narrative tension and momentum

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Fight scenes lol. I don't know why they're so much harder than smut scenes, they should be the same, except smut is like intensely close and intimate and full of sensation and emotions and fight scenes have to be go-go-go but still full of sensation and emotions just different ones haha

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I've never tried! It seems like it would be difficult, me knowing only the one (and Latin, that doesn't count haha) and so much of the fun of language being in the wordplay and clever turns of phrase and the world of difference between someone saying "father" or "dad"

19. First fandom you wrote for? ATLA! I wrote some original fiction back in the day, but fandom-wise ATLA is my first go

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? So cruel to make me choose! I am a little bit in love with everything I post. And I will cheat by saying either To Open Every Door to Night, To Meet Each Rising Sun or Just Let My Love Adorn You (You Gotta Know that I Adore You) right now, I'm so pleased with how they both came out, and they were so much fun to write. Both really came together so well from what I initially imagined.

tagging @queendollophead-ao3 @lizardlicks @ranilla-bean and anyone else who wants to play! I'd love to see your answers

[talktaurean2meblog]

AEW Collision 9-21-24

This is just a little write-up on All Elite Wrestling's Saturday show, Collision. It's no surprise that I'm trying to become a better fan of their product and that includes watching more often.

It was a solid show, actually, and a lot of folks said it blew Dynamite out of the water. SHEEH.

We begin the action with a Ring of Honor Tag Team Title Match between the reigning champions (Sammy Guevara & Dustin Rhodes) and Undisputed Era (Mike Bennett and Matt Tavern*)

I don't know the most about either team but Sammy and Dustin got the jump on UE before they were even all the way up the ramp. Let the madness begin! Its a gimmick match, but i didn’t catch the specifics.. maybe the name will come back to me, at some point..

Dustin was, at one point, currently grinding a belt buckle into someone’s face.. Apparently this is Dusty’s old one and it was gifted to him after his passing.

A Buckhouse Brawl? I believe that's what it was? And the last one hasn't been a thing since 2020. I thought that Undisputed Era might get a sneaky win.. that was my initial thought, about this match. This damn crash test dummy Sammy, later on in the match, caught a steel chair to the head… and I'm pretty sure this is the type of straight shot that is outlawed in most promotions. At least.. I thought?

Right after, UE pulled off a nasty doomsday device outside the ring. Sammy's rotation (or over rotation?) had me scared for a second. Dustin went through the table on the outside, and barbed wire was definitely involved, some way. Sammy got to give a running cutter, jumping from the ring and landing on the table that was set up outside. Whew.

Jesus Christ, when will Tony Khan stop this mf from taking all of these over-the-top bumps??? He just fell from a ladder.. We JUST  got back from commercial At this point, Dustin has both men in a vice grip via pliers at the nuts.

Almost everyone is bleeding right now.. Its almost hard to watch… I don't know if that's because I'm not truly a "sicko" or not... Or if it's because it's ACTUALLY over the top. There's a “this is awesome” chant at 13 min into the match. Mike Bennett tried to make a comeback, tried to get a cover on Rhodes, but Guevara breaks up the pin. Dustin is, unbeknownst to me, wrapping barbed wire around his right boot.. Very slowly, i might add. He does this while completely bloodied in the face and kicks mike in a nuts while he’s in the corner…

Sammy is, at the closing moments, at the top of the ladder. He went for a Swanton bomb, I believe, and got the cover over Mike Bennett to retain. The goal of this match seems to have been to put on a crazy opening tag title match but also to get Sammy .. somewhat.. closer to being over/show that Dustin can still go.

2. Conglomeration had a backstage segment, including Mark Briscoe, Kyle O'Reilly, and Hologram, but it was Interrupted by Premiere athletes, I think. We're still learning these names.

3. Evil Uno also has a backstage segment about a future match against Mox, I believe. But tonight, is all about him and Darby Allin. Darby is still on Mox's radar, for some reason, too. Darby walks up.. Talking about a war coming? The prior beatdown on Private Party is referenced also. Darby said he has no plan of laying down and dying… he's a future world champ, he adds.

“Remind me what you can do.. Show me you got that dawg in you”

This was a quick moment of beauty from Darby Allin, towards Evil Uno.

For the Conglomeration's match, we have Mark Briscoe and Kyle O'Reilly (joined by Rocky Romero), and with Hologram. The masked wrestler is on a ten match winning streak, according to commentary. They took on the Premiere Athletes (Tony Neese, Ariya Daivari, and someone else I don’t know?)

Grand Slam is coming up on Wednesday this week!

Apparently, AEW 5 is also coming up and that's where Britt Baker is returning. Mind you, we have not seen hide nor tail of that women since she did what she did in between those ropes against Mercedes Mone at All In at Wembley a few weeks or so ago. But AEW 5 is October the 2nd. Title Tuesday is October 8th?

It was a lot going on, so I didn't have many thoughts. Hologram is insane, in between those ropes, and i mean this honestly. He was playing a little bit of cat and mouse with Tony, and he looked so quick and speedy while doing it. I disassociated for a little bit (ADHD), but Briscoe got the pin and not before some crazy shit from Hologram, attempted interference by Smart Mark Sterling Kyle O doing what he normally does.. The damn thing.

3. We were eventually blessed with a MxM Backstage Segment. I love this shit so much for them…

They stole Max Castor's jacket last week.. And gave it a "makeover". Apparently, next week they’re going to do the Grand Slam Finale and reveal it, a la NYFW. I love them so much.

Bang Bang Gang (with Daddy Ass) did a little promo segment backstage, in response, about twenty or so minutes later.

4. At some point we get Mariah May vs Lady Frost in an Eliminator Match. Not too much to write home about, for this one. Short match, good stuff by Frost, a predictable win for this new "champion".

Lady Frost? Oh yes ma'am, that bob is BOBBING. MM is wasting time blowing kisses at Nigel over on commentary and LF attempted like 3 pins on her as soon as the bell even rang.

No surprise, Mariah May lives to hold that belt around another day.

Around this point, is when my "old lady senses" started tingling, letting me know that it was almost my bedtime. So I did finish the episode, but as a casual watcher. No notes.

What should/promotion should I watch/comment/react on next?

Should I start doing the whole show? Or just break down a match or two? We've got some goooooood shows on the horizon, folks.

[anonymouscomrade]

i know i haven't said much about it but that Marvel vs Capcom collection is a HUGE DEAL, a few of these games NEVER got home ports worth bothering with until now and this is the first time Marvel vs Capcom 2 has been legally available outside of an expensive-ass Arcade 1Up unit for over a DECADE. if this does well then it might mean a) the possibility of MORE Capcom crossover collections (Capcom vs SNK, namely), and b) the possibility of a REAL Marvel vs Capcom 4, where maybe Disney sits the fuck down and shuts the fuck up and lets Capcom make an actual good game without their lawyers shitting all over the place

anyway a quick rundown of the games:

THE PUNISHER: definitely the odd game out in this collection but it's a great belt-scrolling beat-em-up. the only home version this got back in the day was a half-assed Genesis port

X-MEN CHILDREN OF THE ATOM: i can count the number of times i've played this on one hand because it was years after the fact and it's like going back to World Warrior when Super Turbo exists. still groundbreaking though because it has Akuma from Street Fighter as a hidden character, which was almost certainly how the ball got rolling on this whole thing. another noteable thing about this is that i'm pretty sure they got all the voice actors from the 90s X-Men cartoon to reprise their roles, which was really cool

MARVEL SUPER HEROES: so there was this arcade a few towns over when i was a kid, i got to go there maybe once every six months or so and it was the only arcade i knew of that wasn't actually a Pizza Hut that decided to stop rotating its arcade games out in the early 90s until they went out of business in the mid-00s. anyway that arcade had the original Marvel vs Capcom the first couple times i was there, and i always looked forward to being able to play that until one day when i went and the MvC1 cabinet was sitting there with the MvC1 marquee and side art still on it but very obviously NOT a MvC1 board sitting inside and it had been converted into THIS game instead and BOY was i disappointed. anyway i gave it a try and it's alright. i probably would have liked it more if i'd gotten to play it first when it was new. Spider-Man is voiced by the same guy who voiced him in the 90s Spider-Man cartoon so that's a plus again

X-MEN VS STREET FIGHTER: pretty sure this got started when Capcom called up Marvel and was like "hey remember that X-Men game we made a few years back? what if we took the assets from that and plugged Street Fighter Alpha characters into it?" and because we were still several years away from MUGEN and arcades still mattered, everyone involved got dollar signs in their eyes. this game is legitimately the reason why anyone in Japan gives a shit about Marvel and in most revisions the entire roster is hilariously broken and capable of infinites, though the collection seems to use a revision of this game that tried to cut down on that. this game was the first in the series to use the 2v2 tag team format and practically invented the crossover fighter

MARVEL VS STREET FIGHTER: i don't have a ton of experience with this one but what i keep hearing about it suggests they went way too hard trying to balance it and ended up breaking it in the opposite direction (where it's hard to do much with anyone). anyway, X-Men vs Street Fighter and Marvel vs Street Fighter were made in a time where the arcades weren't quite dead and home consoles hadn't quite caught up to what arcade machines could do, so they never got home versions worth playing outside of Japan. the Playstation versions of these games suuuuuuuucked because animation frames had to be cut to fit in memory and also THEY HAD TO CUT THE TAG TEAM FORMAT and turn the games into 1-on-1 fighters, problems that would go on to plague the PS1 version of Marvel vs Capcom. the Saturn versions of these games were better but they never left Japan and they needed the RAM cart, so this is the first time an arcade-perfect official release of either of these games has made it to the states

MARVEL VS CAPCOM: by FAR the best presentation in the whole series. amazing attract mode theme song, the hypest character select theme of ANY fighting game i've ever played. every character has their own theme song and all of them fucking rule. it does have a small-ish roster, with a few weird choices (FIVE shotos? War Machine instead of Iron Man? to be fair, some other company had exclusive videogame rights to Iron Man at the time) and a few REALLY inspired ones (Venom! Gambit! Captain Commando! MEGA MAN!) i already said the PS1 version of this was awful but the Dreamcast got a GREAT port that i played the hell out of back in the day

MARVEL VS CAPCOM 2: huge roster, the most playable characters of any fighting game at the time! 3v3 tag-team action! call your teammates for assist attacks you can customize at the select screen! simplified control scheme so you can double-tap light attack buttons to automatically combo into medium attacks! the first fully 3D backgrounds in the series! all of them are generic places instead of being specific locales from Capcom games and Marvel comics! nobody has individual endings anymore and the story is completely incomprehensible unless you've read the japanese arcade manual! a lot of the supers' visual effects are somehow the worst in the series! the soundtrack is entirely generic jazz music and not even slightly appropriate for a fighting game! "I'm Gonna Take You For A Ride" is an iconic character select theme and you will come to loathe it after about eight seconds because that's how long one loop of it runs! you can count the number of competitively viable teams on one hand! if you try to play it online you'll get triple-perfected by people who've been playing this game longer than most of you have been alive! and it will somehow still be one of the best fighting games you'll ever play

[letstalkwhump]

Let's Talk Whump No. 10

Welcome to Let’s Talk Whump, a series of interviews that spotlight the amazing people in our whump community. I’m Malice and I’ll be your host. 

Today we have @suspicious-pools-of-blood joining us to share his whump story!

Tell us a fact or two about yourself!

I'm a butch (he/him) and I enjoy rock climbing, leatherworking, and losing my entire goddamn mind over Xena: Warrior Princess. 

What does whump mean to you? 

To me it can range anywhere from a trope to a vibe involving some kind of hurt. I definitely consider angst to be whump.

How did you find the whump community? 

It was actually very straightforward; I was up one night and the word "whump" kept rattling around my brain, I'd probably seen it tagging a fanfic at some point, but I didn't know what it meant, so I looked it up and found a definition followed by the Tumblr community. Specifically, it was albino-whumpee's writing that came up, so I was introduced to whump and box boys and WRU all at once. I stayed up all night reading their stuff and then made a sideblog and dove in, dragging my OCs down with me. 

Do you think your views on whump has changed? Maybe the way you consume whump media?

This community was basically my first foray into reading original fiction online instead of just fanfic, and now that's definitely what I read most.

Favourite whump trope?

One of my favorite tropes is carewhumpers--not of the bad caretaker variety, but more whumpers who don't let whumpee have any caretaker but whumper themself. Relatedly, I like captor bonding (not sure if that's an actual term, but that's what I call it because the term Stockholm syndrome has a super gross history), as well as intimate whumpers, nsfwhump/noncon/dubcon, slavery, power imbalances, etc. Also a big fan of a whumpee who internalizes their hurt hard enough to become a whumper against a new whumpee, continuing the cycle of violence and abuse rather than the typical whumped-turned-whumper trope where the two characters just switch roles. I really like the mental/emotional side of whump, seeing how both whumper and whumpee feel about what's happening, why whumper does what they do, and how the whump changes both of them as people.

And your favourite piece you've written? 

Really hard to pick, but currently I'll have to go with Not You Too and its companion piece Wish . It's more angst than any physical whump, but it's an important piece for developing and understanding the psyche of my main character.

What's your writing style like? 

Oh man, calling myself out here on this one. Don't be like me, kids. Often times I find that not being sober helps me get over mental blocks that prevent me from getting the words onto the page. It depends on what I'm writing, but usually a couple bourbon old fashioneds or an edible get me into the mood to write, night time, lights off, candle lit on my desk, relevant OC or WIP playlist playing. I'm trying to get better about that though because needing to be intoxicated to write is not good. I try to write regularly but usually I just end up sitting in front of my Notion board for hours on end while procrastinating on work I should be doing.

Is there anything you struggle with writing?

Cisheterosexuality is fuckin impossible for me to write.  I have no experience with it so I'm profoundly confused when I have to write about it for plot reasons

Is there anything you're working on at the moment?

The current piece I'm working on is my main character's first time sleeping with another woman. I am, if nothing else, committed to realism in writing, so I did spend more time than I wanted to today remembering my own first time and cringing but hey, at least I got the vibe!

Do you have any writing advice?

Make some lil guys and rotate them in your mind; literally no one can stop you

Shout out time!

@winedark-whumpk-whump has some truly fantastic stories and was really encouraging when I was struggling with engagement and feeling self-conscious about my original content.

Anything you'd like to add? 

Thank you so much for this interview, this was lots of fun!

Thank you for joining us, @suspicious-pools-of-bloodod ! It was great to have you here!

And to all you folks at home, have a whump-derful day!

[fainthedcherry]

PARAMORE RELEASED THEIR A24 TRIBUTE COVER TODAY. AND I GOT INSPIRED BY THE LYRICS AND THE VISUALIZER.

IMAGE CREDITS BC VERY OBVIOUSLY THIS IS AN EXPERIMENTAL PIC COLLAGE PIECE PRIMARILY BELOW DESC (I DID NOT TAKE THE COOL PICS OBV.)

OK GIANT CREDIT BLOCK GO (Freepik and pexels my beloved saved my entire college year lmao):

1 OCEAN WAVES

2 OCEAN WAVES AGAIN

3 YES A THIRD OCEAN WAVE

4 VERY COOL DROPLETS

5 FLAME. OO FIRE PRETTYYY /POS

6 BG I CHEATED YOU INTO BELIEVING IS RAIN

The drawing though is made by my acoustic arse /lh

THE LYRICS ARE TAKEN FROM THE VID I LINKED. HAYLEY'S VOICE MY BELOVED AND FOREVER DEAREST ENTIRE BAND /POSPOSPOS. I wanna sing like Hayley so badly, she is such an idol to me, when it comes to vocals and I wish to sing as expressive as her some day 🤧✨💖

--

WHAT MORE CAN I SAY, OTHER THAN I'VE BEEN EXPERIMENTING WITH SHORT DRAWINGS, THAT TAKE UNDER A DAY TO COMPLETE TO FIGURE OUT SOME THINGS I WANNA DO AS AN ARTIST AND POSSIBLY COMMISSIONS. + These drawings genuinely kinda de-stress so it's been free therapy too, oops. I wanna do more of these vector-style drawings, that are just me taking lyrics and creating these fun collages, of things that inspire me or I like. It's a chill practice and lets my creativity actually do the work for once, instead of my usual need to outdo myself in every drawing and improve lmao. Improvement is cool and all, but dear god did I not realise how hard my need for perfection last year stress and strangle me tf out. I seriously need to re-evaluate the way I approach art as this massive, intimidating medium, when most artists literally draw for fun, and for me it's been like...A Sisyphean task.

--

If you enjoyed seeing this, I might make a sequel with C'est Comme Ca and w/ Marco in it instead and a red BG,, if I want to, I might turn these into a series, just like those aesthetic icon drawings I made of my 2 boys, started Lotta, and IMMEDIATELY lost that sketch due to my USB's death back in 2022 and lost all motivation for art due to that massive loss /neg

--

Not sure what else to add here other than my thoughts that I already did!! Other than ofc, the usual, MASSIVE thank you to my friend Hollowed-Hartlocke for introducing me to Paramore back in 2019 <3

Think I'm done rambling now tho!! OH WAIT. I can add, that I had to actually pull out Adobe Illustrator just to add stretched text for aesthetic purposes. Then I got so impatient with the effects panel not showing me the usual layer-effects and me being too lazy to look up, whether InDesign was the one, that had the usual layer effects I use in an Adobe program or not. Btw still mooching off my college acc that shoulda been dead long ago but just isn't??? LMAO I'M STILL GONNA USE IT IF I CAN ALRIGHT.

OH YEAH BTW. This drawing took 3 hours. NO I'M NOT KIDDING. PEOPLE WOULD PROBABLY BE SHOCKED THAT SUCH A LAZY LOOKING PIECE TOOK SO LONG. BUT I GENUINELY AM RATHER SHOOK THAT I TOOK SUCH LITTLE TIME TO CREATE THIS. TBF I threw MOST proportion checks and canvas flips I do out the window, so there's a BIG chance I will hate this, if I flip the canvas xD ANYWAY I RAMBLED LONG ENOUGH I THINK NOW. JUST ENJOY EXPERIMENTAL ART

^Before-bed edit; Yeah his torso's a TAD too much leaning to the left, it's off-center to the rotation of his pelvis to be in fact, but maybe? I'll roll with this mistake. It kinda gives the piece its abstract nature..I kinda like the mistake?? This is the first time in my life I ever tolerated a mistake I did and now declare it on purpose and will probably build one into the next piece as well. Hell, maybe it'll yield an interesting result. Anyway, it's 12PM as I write this, and I have to get up at 4AM for my train soOooo, yeah, gotta sleep ASAP for school.

I have NO clue again what to 100% accurately tag this, so forgive me if the tags are wrong LMAO, I just will believe what I believe it has overlaps w/ within art-genre.

This piece kiiinda gives pop art??? So I'm gonna tag it as such as well, but but might be incorrect. If a pop-art enjoyer wants to correct me, PLEASE DO. I'm going off the definitions of pop-art I learned in high-school. So I could most def be wrong about me adding this tag in particular. How tf do people confidently tag their posts when I doubt almost every tag I add man. Tagging is the worst part of uploading art to me due to how hard it is to label art really, not meant to be in a genre. xD

Def adding Paramore tags tho bc I NEED to know more Paramore fans out there bc we feel like such a tiny community, when they're literally one of the most influential rock bands of the 2000s and 2010s imho AUGH

[krankittoeleven]

top ten favorite bands/musicians tag game

Thank you @findusinaweek for the tag. It should be noted that my favorites really do ebb and flow in and out of favor depending on my mood and what's generally going on in my life. This list is in no particular order. I'm not sure if I could ever truly pick a number one favorite.

Puscifer - my super hot take that usually gets me in trouble with certain kinds of music lovers is that Puscifer (and a Perfect Circle) is leaps and bounds better than Tool. Which is not to say that Tool is bad, it's just that I think Maynard's side projects are better. Fight Me. Actually, don't, I have other things I'd rather waste my time on.

PIG - Really, I love anyone that's been a part of KMFDM at one point or another, but Raymond Watts' solo stuff is among my favorites. His music really embodies sex, drugs & rock n roll, uplifts counter culture and points the finger at problematic aspects of government, religion and society. He's also just a really chill dude who is fun to talk to after shows.

Skinny Puppy - Just saw them in concert last night, on their farewell tour. They've provided me with nearly a life time of music. My uncle, who helped raise me, is a huge fan and he played them a lot when I was a kid, which of course led to me listening to them on my own. It's always been our thing to see them live together, no matter where we are, we figure out how to come together to catch them each tour. Glad we could do it one last time.

Pink Floyd - another band that has been providing the backing music to my like like SP. I love that i can find Pink Floyd music to fit just about any mood, but really, my fondest memories of their music is getting stoned and chilling out. xD Saw Roger Waters live a few years ago and I'm glad he still puts on live shows that really embody the essence of Pink Floyd.

Snoop Dog - good music and an amusing dude. Honestly, these days I just really love his middle aged man vibe, and all the silliness with Martha Stewart. But I did grow up in his musical prime and I'm glad I was around the right people at the right time to get into not just Snoop's music, but others in the genre.

Rammstein - I think my favorite thing about Rammstein, aside from their weird, sometimes unnerving, industrial aesthetic, is just that their music has remained consistently good their entire career and that is so hard to do. Like, there isn't an album of theirs I ignore or songs that I skip. Ok, well their is one exception to that and it's Du Hast, but that's because it got sooooo much radio play in the US that I just do not ever need to listen to it again. LOL But other than that, its all pure gold.

Leonard Cohen - I love this man. His music was brutally honest, and really, the world is just a lesser place without him in it. I usually don't get too worked up when famous people die, i think that sucks and feel a little bummed, but when Leonard Cohen died I will admit to feeling something near to destroyed for quiet some time. If you ever think somethings I say or do is referencing Leonard Cohen, I assure you, it is.

KMFDM - One of the ultimate 'rotating roster of musicians' bands that really fueled my teen age and young adult years. I still love them, always will, but I do feel like they were at their best and freshest when different artists were coming and going and contributing to their sound. The music is less unique from album to album now that they have more of a fixed roster.

Low Roar - I had no idea who Low Roar was before I played Death Stranding, so thank you Kojima for dotting the game with their music. Bummer that their lead singer died last year, that's truly unfortunate.

Jazz - yes, I'm just putting the whole genre here because I don't have a particular favorite artist or group. I just like me some good jazz. I played tenor sax for quiet a few years and my inner sax man still lives on inside me.

I will tag @ainulindaelynn @brasideios @akashadarkblade @mini-uzzy @theinkandthesea @liminalspacecowboah @vault-heck @vdk-hellscape and anyone else that wants to!

[thewarriorspecial]

Lonely Nights

*Archive Edition* Previously only linked to AO3, full work now available under the cut.

Read on AO3

Rating: Explicit | 1.9k | Guy Gardner/Kyle Rayner

Additional Tags: Phone Sex, Dirty Talk, Established Relationship, Mutual Masturbation, Anal Fingering, Bonus Antagonizing Hal

Guy misses Kyle and tries to alleviate that loneliness. Then, Kyle finally calls.

It’s another late night and Guy’s laying on the couch alone instead of laying in bed alone and it feels a little less lonely this way. He’s on his third House Hunters marathon because he’s too comfortable to look for the clicker again. He’s looking at the ceiling anyways; trying not to look at Kyle’s drivers license on the coffee table, staring back at him judgmentally he’s sure. But for digging it out of Kyle’s dresser drawer or for what he was planning to do with it he can’t decide.

All he knows for sure is he’s lonely. He’s lonely and he’s waiting, hoping for their as-regular-as-they-can phone call. His hand wanders to the tabletop and sweeps up the shiny piece of plastic. He flipped it slowly across his knuckles. He rolled on his side, facing the TV. Maybe Kyle couldn’t call tonight. Again. He felt further away every day.

Kyle was assigned to 2814, Earth-side, probably saving the planet along with the rest of the Justice League. With Hal missing and John on a mission that left Kyle to pick up sector duty. Guy was still stuck on Oa training the recruits. He loved the Corps more than life but another year with no shore leave and now no partner was really starting to drive him up a wall. He didn’t remember feeling this way in his younger days but then he was either single or fighting with Tora at the time. Hard to miss something he didn’t have until now. Guy finally looked down at Kyle’s least flattering picture. Even in his washed out license photo he still looked amazing. Of course he’d be the kind of dork to smile for it. Guy’s last one looked like a mugshot. He wondered where it was. He hadn’t been on Earth since his days with the JLI and hadn’t driven anywhere since the day he got his ring. One last glance at the clock and Guy decided the hell with it. He slid his free hand under the waistband of his sweats and stared at Kyle’s bright, smiling face. This was never as good as the real thing but this was better than the regular rotation of ‘Kyle with his feet behind his ears” or “Kyle bent over furniture” or “The one with the key lime pie”. He loved Kyle’s smile, his laugh. Kyle always smiled when they were in bed. Or on the floor. Or the couch. He rolled onto his back and pictured Kyle smiling down at him. Getting him to hop up and ride was a rare treat. Guy pictured him in a towel, hair still dripping after a shower. “Fuck, he is so hot,” Guy thought as he stroked himself. He pictured the too-small towel working its way off of Kyle’s hips and onto the floor and he mentally high-fived himself for replacing all of their fluffy, oversize bath towels with tiny cheap ones. An eternity of drying his balls with sandpaper was well worth watching Kyle strut around trying to cover his junk with what was effectively a dish towel. Stroking faster, he pictured the towel sliding down Kyle’s thighs and— The ring squawked and Guy flopped and floundered as he fell off of the couch. “Hey,” Kyle’s voice crackled through the ring in a hushed tone, “You still up?” Guy scrambled to his feet and snatched the ring from the table. He made a construct phone to rest between his shoulder and chin and resumed his previous lounging position on the couch. “Yeah baby, I’m here,” Guy’s voice was still rough with arousal. “You sound exhausted, did I wake you up?” “Not a chance. You know I wait for this every night.” Kyle laughed, that lovely sound, “That’s sweet. Sorry to keep you waiting so long. Things got hairy here for a while. Some of Superman’s old friends crawled out of an inter-dimensional hole and had a bone to pick about it. And then the Titans called for more firepower. Trigon again.” “You need me out there?” “I’m holding it down. Miss you like hell though.” Guy looked down at the tent in his sweats, “Yeah, me too. So, fill me in. What went down?” Kyle talked at length about his scrapes and Guy leaned into the phone construct. He lost himself in the sound of Kyle’s voice, making sure to give an appropriate laugh or “Yeah?” As he recounted the last few days. “You seem a little…far away? Distracted? Guy?” “Hm?” Guy realized he’d zoned too far out. “Something on your mind?” “Mm…somebody,” Guy’s voice was still gravelly and he was still horny just from the sound of Kyle’s voice. “That so?” “I’ve always got you on my mind.” Kyle could hear the warmth in Guy’s voice and he smiled, “Yeah? And what am I doing in your mind right now?” “Right now? Pacing around like you always do when you talk to me, opening drawers and touching everything.” Kyle laughed and put down room service menu he’d been idly turning over in his hands. “Before though, mm.” Guys hands wandered to his waistband again. “Mm?” “You were taking something off for me.” “Oh?” “Yeah. What are you wearing right now?” Kyle laughed again, looking down at himself, “You know, just, clothes. Nothing exciting.” “Not exciting?“ Guy scoffed, “Take em off.” “You know other people can listen in on this right?” “Yeah? Teach em to mind their own business. Come on, hotness. What do you got on?” “Um, hoodie and jeans?” “Yeah? The soft gray one?” Guy stroked himself slowly as he pictured Kyle again. “Yeah, actually. Are you, uh,” Kyle immediately recognized that tone in Guy’s voice. “Mmhmm, told you I miss you something fierce. So what’s under the hoodie? Take it off. Show me.” The way Guy purred made Kyle shiver. He’d never really done this before but he was intrigued. He pulled the hoodie over his head and chuckled, “You’ll like this. The same shirt I had on when I left.” “Yeah? Bet it smells good,” Guy thought out loud. “It’s your Warrior shirt.” “Leave that on,” Guy rumbled. “Yes, sir,” Kyle teased, earning another growl from Guy. “You into that kind of thing?” “You certainly seem to be,” Kyle said and Guy hummed a laugh. “Alright, everything but my shirt off.” “Yeah?” Kyle asked, hands already undoing the belt and pushing his jeans and underwear down. “Yeah.” Guy could hear Kyle kicking his pants off. Kyle felt a bit silly standing in the middle of a hotel room with just his boyfriend’s shirt on. He made a mental note to do this with visuals next time. “Alright kid, get on your back for me.” “Mr. Romance, “ Kyle chided as he climbed onto the king size bed and flopped onto his back. “You picked me. Now spread for me.” Kyle blushed and let out a high, nervous laugh, “Right to it, huh?” “I’m a lonely old man, gorgeous.” “Oh Guy, you’re not old.” “I’m 43. My fuckin pubes are going gray.” Guy grumbled. Kyle pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to suppress a laugh, knowing Guy would take it as an affront to his pride, “You are not old. Your pubes are not gray, I would know.” Pulling his hand out of his pants Guy sighed, “Well I’m terrible at this. What do we do now?” “I’ll be heading home to debrief soon. Let’s plan on something really special to look forward to.” “What do you got in mind?” Guy sat up, interested. “Let’s surprise each other with a fantasy. We each get our own night.” “You’re on. Hope you’re ready to get your mind melted. Just you wait till I get my hands on that hot little body again.” “Yeah? What would you do with me if I was there with you right now?” Kyle took a shot at recovering where Guy faltered. “Rip that shirt off for starters.” Kyle let out a moan and immediately could hear Guy breathing heavy again, “Yeah you would. You’re so strong,” Kyle huffed out another laugh, “I still think about you in your Warrior days coming to sweep me off my feet, bloody and shirtless.” “That can be arranged.” “I really do love that macho stuff, I just…”Kyle rested his ring against his lips, the sound of his sultry whispers going right into Guy’s ear, “I really like when you show off your strength and pick me up and pin me against the wall.” “Anytime you want baby.” “I want,” Kyle’s hands wandered to his rapidly hardening cock, “I want you to take control, make me yours. I don’t want to think about anything I just want to feel.” “Come home to me baby, I’ll take care of you.” Guy could hear Kyle breathing faster, moaning his name. “Guy.” “Put your fingers in your mouth and spread for me,” Guy heard Kyle doing as he was told, “Good, get em nice and wet and put two in for me. Good boy,” Guy said when he heard Kyle’s telltale shuddering sigh he always made when he was penetrated. “Guy please.” “Fuck yourself till you cum for me gorgeous,” Guy growled, stroking himself in time with Kyle’s moans. “I miss you so much. I want you here in my lap. I wanna feel you shiver. I wanna feel you cum for me. I love that look in your eyes when I’ve got you by the hair and you can’t stop cumming all over my chest.” “Guy, Guy…OH,” Kyle’s back arched off the bed as he came forcefully into his hand. Guy pictured Kyle spread out on his back, shredded t-shirt soaked in sweat, damp hair clinging to his face. He looked debauched. Guy’s hand sped up, his breath coming in quick bursts through his nose. “Mm,” Kyle hummed, “That’s it, cum for me love.” Guy finally came with a grunt, toes curling against the side of the couch. Both men sat in the quiet, listening to the other’s breathing return to normal. “Hey,” Kyle said, voice gruff, “What about your fantasy?” “Oh that’s easy, I want you in another one of your little outfits.” “Like last time? You’re not getting tired of that?” “Tired of you giving me strip show and a blowie? Hell no.” “Done and done,” Kyle laughed. After another few minutes of listening to Guy’s breathing and contented sounds he said, “We should get some sleep. I can’t wait to see you.” “How soon?” “About a week.” “I’ll be dreaming of you, “ Guy said softly, “Call me again when you can.” “Absolutely. You behave till then, ok? I love you.” “You know I love you, sweetness.” Guy’s ring dimmed after a moment. He sighed, staring at the ceiling again. Just a few more days.

Bonus:

“You two are fucking nasty,” Hal’s voice suddenly buzzed through the ring, breaking the quiet. “Ugh,” Guy said, “You’re back.” “Yeah no thanks to you. I guess you were too busy to help out a fellow Corpsman?” “Yeah.” “Ugh.” “UGH. You’re just jealous. You could mind your own business, Jordo.” “You could do your long distance dallying over a private line.” “Scuse me?” “I’m pretty sure the entire Corps heard you two freaks.” “Eh,” Guy shrugged. “Kyle’s gonna kick your ass. I hope I’m there to see it.” Guy smiled at the through of Kyle working him over in a much dirtier way, “Heh, yeah, me too."

[fractoluminescence]

So, I felt like I needed to add this to my reblog in case it didn't fit in the tags (bear with me, this is going to seem off-topic at first, but I'll get there. Also, I wrote this on my phone, so do point out any typos or repetitions, rereading myself is hard like this)

First off, my headcanon is that the places that are the densest in spirit energy in each dimension attract each other. Otherwise using portals to other dimensions could be used as fast travel. Think about it: if Soul Reapers could open Senkaimon to anywhere in the human world, that would be so OP. You could start in Karakura, open a Senkaimon, then open one back and end up in New York.

So my headcanon is that they can't. That they only reason they can just straight up open Senkaimon to Karakura is because it's so close. Like spheres with magnets stuck inside them that rotate so that the magnets are right up against each other.

This makes in-universe sense, too, because:

It's basically said that spirit energy affects other instances of spirit energy, more or less (with the powers of people waking up after hanging out with Ichigo or encountering Hollows)

It would explain why the "Wstern Branch of Soul Society" has little to no Hollows compared to Karakura. You'd think a place with so much magic would have Hollows - but no. Which means it's likely not spiritual energy at all over there. My hypothesis is that Hollows and dragons are mutually exclusive - that they kill each other when in the same area. So Hollows stick to the ones where they have good prey and no dragons, because Soul Reapers kill dragons as they see them as a threat (stated in BTW canon) and just don't want to be bothered with keeping such an ecosystem alive. As a result, people who can deal with Hollows pool where Hollows are, hence they go to Japan

Hence, Soul Reapers only really have to deal with Hollows in the area where the Juureichi is without needing to stray too far - which is convenient, because that's where their Senkaimon tend to lead.

Now. We don't know how big Hueco Mundo is, but the fact that the main cast still managed to reach Las Noches so quickly does indicate it wasn't that far (comparatively to the whole dimension - it was still some ways off of course). Imo, that's because, after Aizen settled there, way more strong Hollows pooled there than there used to be, especially after he made them stronger. So Las Noches was in the process of aligning itself with the other spiritually-dense areas of other dimensions - making it close, but not as close as Seireitei and Karakura were to each other already.

Now, what's the link with languages. The link, imo, is that the only reason the areas of Soul Society and Hueco Mundo that we know speak the same language as the main cast is because they do actually speak Japanese - and they do so because the general areas where their respective Juureichi are have been roughly aligned.

So. For Soul Society, it's simple - second headcanon, when Souls die they go to whatever oart of Soul Society or Hueco Mundo that is "closest" - so if the area with Karakura has had the Human Juureichi within it for a while, and Seireitei has been the Juureichi for Soul Society since its foundation, most of the Souls that arrive around Seireitei are from Japan, and over time that influenced the culture and language and made them line up.

For the Quincy, I think they started in Germany area-wise, but moved to Japan over time because they felt it was their mission to deal with the Hollows there - and since there were dragons in Western Europe, Hollows stopped showing up as much. They brought their language along with them, but it got lost along the generations and eventually only certain Quincy-specific terms remained in German in their vocabulary. And, when naming their techniques and the like, it just made sense to keep using German as a nod to tradition. The war with the Soul Reapers then started because their territories overlapped and because Quincy found a lot more Hollows to kill in Japan than they did back in Europe.

For the Arrancar, their personal powers are in Spanish, so it probably isn't passed down - then again, we don't really know how the names of personal powers get assigned, so. But still, I'd think if you didn't speak any Spanish at all, your powers wouldn't have a name in Spanish, and I doubt Arrancar are trying to give a nod to previous generations like Quincy - they're too individualist and isolated from each other for that.

Imo, what happened with the Hollows is that the Juureichi of Hueco Mundo didn't used to be Las Noches. It became Las Noches because Aizen made it Las Noches by gathering a bunch of strong Arrancar there, but the area where Las Noches was built used to be over Spain. The old Juureichi used to be over Japan, and had Japanese as a first language since the Souls that arrived in the area were Japanese. But most of the strong Hollows and natural Arrancars in Hueco Mundo were spread out so much that that Juureichi wasn't stable. So when Aizen picked Las Noches as his new base (because he wanted to take down the dimension's supposed king and thought it'd be fun to settle where he used to be), which was over Spain but wasn't the Juureichi because it wasn't that big a settlement despite housing a king, and made it into an outright forteress in which he managed to (more or less successfully) bring together very strong Arrancar, including multiple Vasto Lordes that he made even stronger, the Juureichi shifted.

The Hollows in the area, imo, probably originally had dialects similar to Spanish that had been brought in from the Human World - but as Aizen's influence grew, and he imo probably didn't bother making an effort in learning the local languages properly, they were partly forced, partly had to concead to using the language he himself used. It also allowed them to pretend like they weren't from different areas with different dialects, erasing what used to be their own culture in favor of sharing part of the Soul Reaper culture that Aizen had brought in. But he didn't care what their powers meant, because all he cared about was ordering them around, so he let them keep the names of their powers in the languages that sounded like home to them.

Imo, there's no way dimensions have official names, especially not Hueco Mundo. I think that was the local name of Barragan's area, not necessarily what the entire dimension calls it. As for Soul Society, I think that while Seireitei is the place with the most military power, the furthest out you go, the less reason people have to speak Japanese - because they don't care about Seireitei, and because the Souls that arrive there are from other parts of the Living World that aren't Japan.

Hell is a different matter. I do have headcanons for it, but they're not even fanwanking at this point, they're just plain me-making-shit-up. So I'll keep those to myself lol.

Anyway, that's my take. Hopefully this is readable. (Curious at to what @bleachbleachbleach think, in case you don't mind being tagged.)

EDIT: Spain or some Spanish-speaking place, at least. Same for German if there are other Germany-speaking places out there. Sorry about my I-live-in-Western-Europe bias coming through 😬

So, Bleach has an interesting language phenomenon that gets glossed over in favor of moving the plot along (a perfectly reasonable authorial decision), but I think has world building potential:

The Karakura kids and Shinigami all speak Japanese- they have Japanese names (even Chad), and call their Zanpakuto and flashy attacks Japanese names.

The arrancar have a variety of name origins, but all live in Las Noches, and call their special attacks and military rankings Spanish names, so it's reasonable to assume they're all speaking Spanish.

The Quincy again have a variety of names but are VERY German, with German weapons, ranks, techniques etc.

...but everyone can trash talk everyone else without a language barrier. How's that work?

[darkacademiamlm]

Sorry for the lack of content recently!! I'm queuing up some posts rn. too lazy to figure out how to do a read more on mobile so context in tags lol

[kxantares]

So, I got this commentary in the tags:

Well, thanks for asking, because: I'll explain it.

Here's what each part is:

deeper blue: the rope (a big, thick metal cable)

white: the chair assembly; not really relevant for this discussion

olive: what we're defining as "static", for the purposes of this discussion — the block connecting the chair assembly to the grip mechanism

magenta: the grip jaws

dark green: a hinge (one on each side)

cyan: the grip opening mechanism, which is only engaged upon entering the station

purple: the bar which pushes back against the springs

yellow: rubber springs

And here's how it works in practice:

The operation of the grip centres around the "static" part, which serves two purposes: both holding all the dynamic parts in place, and also carrying a fair portion of the grip force to the cable-grip interface, where friction is what *directly* holds it all in place.

So the elastic component of the force works roughly like this:

Screws (olive) hold the bar (purple) in place.

The bar is under some degree of compression, pushing back against (and, due to its shape, in an inward direction) relative to the springs (yellow).

The springs, in turn being pushed by the bar, push down against the grip jaws (magenta).

The grip jaws, attached to the fixed assembly by hinges (dark green), respond to this downward force by rotating up.

By rotating up, the jaws push the rope (blue) up against the fixed assembly. The rope is now subject to force both from roughly the bottom left and bottom right as well as the direct top.

And the gravitational component of the force works a bit like this:

The fixed assembly (olive) presses down on the rope (blue).

The rope presses up against the upper part of the grip jaws (magenta).

The upper part of the grip jaws, being pushed up in that fashion, undergoes a rotational force around the hinges (dark green), which pulls the lower part of the grip jaws in against the cable from below.

This additional force itself causes further force against the fixed assembly.

So this sounds all fine and dandy, but what if you…

…damage the sources of that elastic force by means of, say, cooling them repeatedly to a temperature where they gradually become permanently less elastic?

The screws (olive) are probably still just fine, and the bar (purple), being metal, is pretty resilient to the unimpressively cold temperatures the lower half of Whistler Mountain gets — say, basically never below –15°C.

The bar does its thing, pressing against the springs (yellow)…

…which are putting out far less force than they should be, given their currently low temperature and frequent cycling between cold and colder, which means they aren't pushing as hard as they should be against the grip jaws (magenta).

The grip jaws, pivoting around those hinges (dark green), respond to this below-spec downward force by rotating up with below-spec force.

By rotating up too weakly, the jaws don't provide as much force against the rope (blue) as they need to to withstand certain conditions, resulting in a situation where the friction at the top, bottom right, and bottom left of the rope could, due to some other force being removed, for some reason, could become insufficient to keep the chair on the rope.

…take gravity out of the equation?

It's probably worth noting here that the section of the rope where the failure occurred at was at an angle of about 40°, where a fair portion of gravity's force, under perfect conditions, would already not be pressing in the right direction, directly fighting the grip's friction rather than assisting the grip's gravitational redundancy.

Oh no, there's been an emergency stop, and the chair is just coming down from the apex of a particularly sharp bounce! This means that the fixed assembly (olive) is currently applying exactly zero force down on the rope (blue).

Due to the lack of gravity, the rope isn't pushing up against the upper part of the grip jaws (magenta).

The upper part of the grip jaws, being subject to no force at all, do not have any gravity helping them rotate inward more forcefully, thus leaving the only force in that direction being the already dangerously weak force of the springs (yellow).

There is now basically no force between the rope and the fixed assembly, absolutely no force between the upper parts of the grip jaws and the rope, and just a bit between the lower parts and the rope. The freefall that the chair enters as it returns from the apex of that bounce translates into downward acceleration which overcomes the friction remaining against the rope, and the chair subsequently accelerates right into the chair ahead of it.

And that's what that diagram was getting at.

What the heck's the deal with tower 6 on the Big Red Express (1997–2022) at Whistler-Blackcomb?

So, on Whistler Mountain, there was this one chairlift, the Big Red Express (due to be replaced in time for the 2022–2023 ski season with a new lift by the same name), which was notable for, mostly, being remarkably miserable to ride on snowy, windy days; being ten minutes long; and:

This is a rare design feature on ropeways, which only really happens when there's a serious elevation differential across the several metres separating each side of the ropeway. Usually, they'll just build a tower tall enough to support both sides of the cable, unless it's way cheaper to not do that. Which, well, it is here.

But there's another thing that's weird about that tower. Like, here, let me show you a basically identical lift built by the same company, Doppelmayr, around the same year:

Check the tower heads on both — the ones on the second picture are normal for that manufacturer in that era. So where did the Big Red get its weird towers from?

The Redline Express, installed in 1992. I'll get into why it only lasted five ski seasons in a bit, but basically, they ended up having to put that little side tower in because that lift was itself replacing the original Red Chair (1965–1992). Which was built, well, very differently from the big, beefy high-speed lifts that started to become the main workhorses of large ski resorts in the '80s, and which also had chairs that didn't require quite the same vertical clearance or other such space:

So, reusing the same alignment, which was the most direct route from "the top of whatever lift comes up from the base at Creekside" to "up a hill from the main lodge on the mountain, so that people can ski down to the ski racks", but with chairs that need way more vertical clearance and can support larger gaps between towers, meant sticking in a little side tower to make sure people's skis wouldn't brush against the snow (or worse!). Speaking of "worse", though, let's get into why the Redline was replaced maybe a sixth of the way into its theoretical service life:

Think about how it works in practice. For clarity, this is a device intended to secure hundreds of kilograms of metal and passengers to a rope, usually in temperatures below freezing, under conditions where forces on the cable, such as those that occur in the event of an emergency stop, can result in reduced or absent gravitational force acting on the chair.

And for more clarity, look at the upper part of the "jaws" on the cable, and where the hinges are relative to the "jaws". Just one more thing: those tension-providing devices aren't lazily drawn metal springs; they're rubber "marshmallow" springs.

Can you see where the problem might be with this setup? Because this guy didn't:

Meet Janek Kunczynski, the founder of Lift Engineering & Manufacturing Co., AKA Yan, who might as well be the Elon Musk of ropeways. Before I get deeper into just how disastrous his detachable grip design was, let me show you another Incredible™ (derogatory) example of his engineering sensibilities:

Allow me to remind you that this is usually operating in sub-zero temperatures, and that this specific lift was often subject to considerable wind and snow. As in, when mechanics were working on this chairlift, they'd have to do that with no protection from the elements. (It's also at least rumoured within the ropeway and ski resort industries that his lifts were routinely welded together in ski resort parking lots.) His whole thing was, basically, making lifts look cool and implementing them cheaply, to undercut his European competitors, which led not just to impractical designs that were hostile to the people maintaining them or prone to breaking down, but to his company's lifts killing at least five people and injuring at least seventy.

Which brings us back to Whistler:

Whistler, at the time in an arms race to outcompete Blackcomb, its neighbour, but lacking the sort of venture capital backing Blackcomb had, wanted to put in some high-speed lifts to be able to match the skiing experience at Blackcomb, which had already bought several such lifts from Doppelmayr (after buying several low-speed lifts from Yan). So they figured they'd take the cheap route, and get three high-speed lifts, of a fairly unproven design, installed. These were to replace three ancient lifts that were, at that point, constraining the resort's capacity.

While the Redline and Green both served through their five years of operation without any serious issues, the same can't be said for the Quicksilver Express, which was the only chairlift Yan ever built with "bubbles" on it — which required a slightly enhanced grip, to handle the additional weight.

It wasn't enhanced enough, though. On December 23rd, 1995…

The Quicksilver, specifically, was an unmitigated dumpster fire, even before any accidents happened. It was designed such that, in wind, grips could smack against towers, taking on damage in the process. It had a faulty brake system that would apply maximum braking force via the emergency brake when a normal stop is what the operator pressed the button for. At least a few empty chairs had straight up fallen off the cable before the accident. And then there were the grips.

These grips received multiple retrofits and rebuilds throughout the few years the lift was operating, which never seemed to help — they slipped so often that operators on the lift just stuffed paper into the grip force alarm to muffle it. The clearance between grips and towers was known to be below code, and Whistler stated that they simply couldn't fix it. Upon testing the grips after the accident, of 29 tested, every single one failed to perform adequately.

Furthermore, there was the whole thing with the rubber and the claws. Rubber springs lose performance at much less extreme temperatures than metal springs, and the way the grips were designed, a lot of their grip force relied on the chair applying force via gravity. Take away gravity, and the grip can slip. Take away gravity on a particularly steep section of the lift line, and you've got a cascade of chairs knocking each other off of the cable until they ram into a tower and fall to the ground.

So it was 1997, and Whistler, on the edge of going bankrupt from lawsuits and lost business, had to get rid of the other Yan high speed lifts, which were likely safer, but not safe enough. Some resorts retrofitted theirs to use a better grip design, but Whistler just got rid of them…

…other than the towers.

[flightlessangelwings]

Finish Him

Benny Miller x fem!reader x Frankie Morales 

Word Count: 1.7k

Warnings: slight smut (18+ only), cockwarming, bisexual MMF threesome, fluff, lots of kisses, established relationship, no use of y/n, you can tell I got very nostalgic while writing this lol

Notes: Written for Writer Wednesday (tagging @autumnleaves1991-blog​ and @clydesducktape​)! I saw this photo and immediately thought of Messy Pile of Affection universe! This takes place in that story, but this can be read on its own. Taglists are in the reblog, please fill out the google form on my masterlist if you’d like to be added! Or you can also follow my update blog @flightlessangelwings-updates​ and turn on post notifications to stay updated! Enjoy!

~

“Hey guys look at that,” you exclaimed as you tugged on Frankie and Benny’s hands.

The three of you were out on a date night and it was a perfect evening. The weather was just to your liking, the restaurant was delicious, and the company was perfect. Ever since you, Frankie and Benny had become an official thruple, things couldn’t be better. You were all happier than you had ever been in your lives, and you felt safe and secure with your boys.

As you all walked down the street after dinner, you noticed a new little arcade that recently opened up. The flashing lights and retro colors caught your eye immediately and a wave of nostalgia ran through you.

“How about we go check that out?” Frankie suggested, “I haven’t been to an arcade in so long.”

“Me either,” Benny chimed in as he couldn’t contain his excitement. Benny was usually more physical, with being a professional fighter and all, but he still wasn’t able to resist a good old arcade game either.

Laughter erupted between the three of you as you all bounced into the arcade. The moment you all walked through the doors, however, you all felt the breath leave your lungs as you felt like you were transported back in time. It felt like the old place you used to go to as a kid, and you thought you would cry from the memories.

“You alright baby?” Frankie whispered in your ear.

You glanced between your boys who both had looks of concern on their faces, “Fine,” you breathed as you gave their hands a squeeze, “Just thinking about how long it’s been since I’ve been to an arcade and how much fun it used to be.”

“Well we’ll make it just as fun now,” Benny chimed up as he dragged you and Frankie towards the machines.

Both you and Frankie rolled your eyes as Benny dropped your hand and went right for a classic Street Fighter game. But at the same time, you couldn’t help but giggle as he went right for a fighting game. You shared a glance with Frankie before you let his hand go as well as you went for a Ms Pac Man first. Frankie picked an old racing game from the 80s that you couldn’t remember the name of and told you that he used to play it as a child all the time.

All of you suddenly felt like kids again as you let yourselves get enthralled in the bright colors of the games. Once you finished your game, you moved over and watched Frankie as he raced against the computer players and easily won.

“Guess you haven’t lost your touch then, Frankie,” you murmured as you kissed his cheek.

“Neither have I!” Benny hollered as he raised his arms up in victory, “Now where’s my kiss?” he joked.

Again, you and Frankie rolled your eyes playfully before you both gave him a soft kiss on either cheek. Benny beamed at both of you as he leaned in and kissed you more passionately on the lips before he turned and did the same to Frankie. You felt the tension rise between the three of you as the moment turned more heated, but before it escalated any further, another game caught Benny’s eye and he ran off in that direction.

“After you,” Frankie extended his arm out as you both followed loosely behind Benny and found other games to play.

You all spent hours in the arcade as you rotated between different games. Most you all were familiar with, like Asteroid and Donkey Kong, but you also found more obscure ones that you hadn’t heard of before. Of course, you also shoved the boys into a photo booth that caught your eye and took a few rolls of silly photos that you all would cherish forever. 

“This one is my favorite,” you commented in a soft tone as you pointed to the one where you all hugged each other and your faces were smushed together. It was cute and silly and perfectly encapsulated the relationship between the three of you.

“I like this one,” Benny pointed to the one where you and he kissed Frankie on either side of his face, “What about you, Fish?”

Frankie mulled over the pictures and picked the one where you were in the middle and cupped their faces on either side of you while they both looked lovingly at you and each other, “This one,” he breathed.

A calmness came over the three of you as you looked at the photos in your hands. Both Frankie and Benny covered your hands with theirs as they each took a sheet of pictures and you all shoved them in your pockets. You gave each of your boys a quick kiss before you turned your attention back to the wall of games.

“How about one last game before we head out?”

Benny’s face lit up as his eyes fell on a certain game in particular, “Hey Fish, how about a game of Mortal Kombat?”

A mischievous look came across Frankie’s face as he rolled his sleeves up, “You’re on!”

You watched as they selected their characters and readied their stances. Both men were so focused on the screen in front of them that they didn’t hear you walk up behind them. It was then that you remembered that they both had a serious side, and you darted your eyes between them and saw the fire that burned there. Benny and Frankie had their hands wrapped around the control stick and their other hands were splayed across the panel with their fingers on the buttons. You bit your lip as your eyes trailed up and down their arms and you couldn’t help but get turned on by their intensity.

That was when you got a glimmer of mischievousness in your own eyes and you leaned in between them, “Winner gets to cockwarm in my pussy tonight.”

They both gasped your name and faltered at your words before they looked at you with wide eyes. But they soon turned sharp in their gazes again as the friendly competition started.

You cheered them both on as they fought intensely on the small pixelated screen. As much as you would have liked to play too, this made it just as much fun for you as well. Plus, you knew that neither of them were truly the loser anyway since you all shared your affections equally. It was just a way for you to get them riled up for when you all got home later.

“Finish him!” Benny shouted as he quickly tapped the buttons for his winning attack combo and Frankie’s character lay on the ground in a bloody pile.

“Kitana wins,” he cheered himself in victory.

“I can’t believe you picked her to play as,” you playfully teased him as you kissed his cheek.

“She’s a badass, baby,” Benny defended himself, “Besides, I know she’s your favorite character,” he then turned to Frankie and placed a hand on his shoulder, “Good game babe. My boyfriend was a worthy opponent.”

Frankie looked at him with those soft eyes as he faked a pout, but he couldn’t hold it for long and all three of you burst into laughter.

“Let’s go home,” you whispered to them as you took their hands.

The moment the door to your home shut, the three of you were on each other as you placed heated kisses all over each other’s bodies. A trail of clothes led the way into the bedroom as you all collapsed down naked onto the bed with Benny in between you and Frankie. Hand and lips were everywhere as you all showered each other in affection until you all started to feel tired from the day. As much as you all wanted to make love until the sun came up, you all realized how late you were out as you laid out in bed. You had a promise to keep anyway.

You opened yourself for Benny as you rolled onto your side and parted your legs for him, “Come on, baby,” you purred.

Frankie reached around and stroked Benny’s cock a few times to make him hard and helped guide him into your pussy. You let out a soft gasp when you felt the tip of Benny’s cock at your entrance, but you relaxed when Frankie’s hand caressed and squeezed your ass while Benny slowly slid into you.

Both you and Benny let out heavy exhales once he was fully sheathed inside you and you dropped your head down onto the pillow. The stretch of his cock was a comfort to you and you sighed as he wrapped his arms around you and held you close. Frankie watched with an affectionate look on his face until he settled himself behind Benny and held both of your bodies close.

“You can warm your cock in me, Frankie,” Benny’s voice was low as he turned to face him.

Frankie’s eyes went wide as he stared at him for several moments. Before he moved, Frankie leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Benny’s neck, “Just don’t let me hurt you,” he whispered.

“You won’t,” Benny reassured him before he let out a loud moan when he felt Frankie’s cock against his entrance.

You squeezed Benny with your inner muscles while Frankie caressed his body as he slowly and carefully slid into him. Low moans and groans filled the room as you all connected yourselves to each other and got yourselves comfortable on the bed. Frankie pulled you both in close as you all found the perfect position to lay all wrapped in each other’s arms.

It was quiet and calm and perfect as you all laid in each other’s embrace. Slow, heavy breaths from you and Benny told Frankie you were both close to sleep, but he couldn’t resist the thought that popped into his head. He leaned in close against your ear and whispered, “Hey babe, you gonna finish him?”

Laughter burst out in the room as you all cackled at Frankie’s joke.

“You boys are ridiculous,” you sighed as you kissed them each as your laughter died down and was replaced by a calmness. The three of you stayed wrapped up and connected together as you all fell asleep in your cuddle pile. 

[moonstrider9904]

Flora

Chapter 7 of The Hunt

{series masterlist} | {next chapter} {previous chapter}

{crossposted to AO3} {join my taglist!} {crossposted to wattpad}

Wolffe x Fem!OC, some Comet x Fem!OC

Series summary: The 104th battalion’s new medic Rose comes into the scene dazzling everyone, ready for anything life as a battalion medic will ofer to her after having spent much too long secluded in a medical station orbiting Rishi. While she forms close friendships with the troopers, she and commander Wolffe never seem to get along. As arguments between them heat up, Wolffe is challenged to make Rose fall in love with him, a game that by no means will end well for either of them.

Chapter summary: Rose and Wolffe attempt to be as discreet as possible about their relationship (and fail in the process). The wolf pack are sent on a simple pick up mission on Balmorra that leaves the squad a vague warning.

Warnings/tags: Explicit 18+. SMUT. rough and soft smut, PiV unprotected (but please wear protection irl!), oral (female receiving), hair tugging, hot making out, floor sex, light breast and nipple play, canon-typical violence, mentions of injury and blood. Please let me know if I forgot to tag something!

Word count: 7.7k

Note: I know the hype for Kenobi is at its fullest right now!! So I'm just going to quietly cross-post the last chapter I've got of The Hunt so that it's now up to date on all my platforms before hopefully finally updating this baby sometime along the week. Thank you to everyone who has read or reread this, everyone who has commented, given feedback, you all mean the world to me! I'm finally getting excited again over the course of this story, I hope you'll all like it!

People were beginning to notice.

Granted, despite the couple’s efforts, it was never really hard to miss. The commander, walking fully armored down a hall he didn’t use to cross before, never flanked by any of even his most trusted men. The medic walking down the same hall about fifteen minutes later. Her figure sneaking off one of the common rooms, squirming near the walls unconsciously as though she were being watched. But the most obvious factor was the lack of fighting. There was banter, but it was no longer the shameless feud of insults and growls that would linger between the two of them.

And yet, nobody ever said a word. It was common agreement within the wolf pack not to blow the cover of their relationship to the higher ups; it was common amongst all clones, as a matter of fact.

Since leaving Naboo, most of Rose’s encounters with Wolffe had been in the supply closet just outside of the barracks. The first few rotations, it had worked, taking up the time of their long voyage to the other quarter of the galaxy. But shortly after, more troops had begun to arrive, and the halls were more occupied and less safe for a quick fling. She’d grown close to that closet, but now, the medic was on her way to a storage compartment opposite to the barracks. Encountering very few faces on the way, she had the excuse of seeking medical supplies if anyone asked what she was doing. Eventually, Rose took a detour down the main hall and reached the thick gray door, perfect for isolating some of the sound, and she swiftly got in and closed the door, still facing it before looking inside the storage.

“Did anyone see you?” The commander’s voice had the filter of his helmet’s vocoder, which made Rose smirk instantly.

“No one at all, commander,” she said as she turned around to see him fully armored except for his belt, which he held beside him and let drop in a manner so seductive to her she felt her panties get soaked.

“Atta girl, bunny,” Wolffe purred as he removed his helmet, eyeing her with lust. “Get over here.”

Remaining faithful to the pet name he had for her, Rose hopped onto Wolffe’s arms and wrapped her legs around his torso with a little giggle. Wolffe chuckled seductively, pleased by her enthusiasm, as he sat down on one of the boxes in the storage room with her still in his arms and locked in a passionate kiss they both smiled and giggled through. Rose pulled bits of plastoid off, piece by piece, until his torso was just down to the shirt of his blacks. Wolffe removed Rose’s white uniform shirt, taking his kisses down her neck and to her cleavage, reveling in the warmth and softness of her chest. With a firm grip on her thighs, he lifted her up while she removed his codpiece with expertise.

After sliding his shirt off and freeing his erection from the confines of his blacks, Wolffe hungrily kissed Rose’s lips and went down her jawline and neck, tugging and fisting on her hair as he marked her as his yet again. Rose bit her lip to suppress the long moan that threatened to escape her as Wolffe suckled on her neck, whimpering softly as a result. Wolffe chuckled in response, his laughter morphing to a low, deep groan as Rose wrapped her fingers around his girth and pumped slowly, squeezing his member just enough to make the hairs on his body stand. Their kiss deepened too, their tongues brushing against one another, and at times, Wolffe would nibble on Rose’s lower lip just to hear what kind of noises she’d make—and how well she’d suppress them.

Despite his girl squeezing and rubbing on his cock, Wolffe could keep his composure fairly well, but he did want more. Slowly and with rhythm, he rocked his hips into her hand for more friction and felt as the liquid fire spread through his body. He ran his hands all over Rose’s figure, teasing at the edges of her bra before finally unclipping it and sliding it off her body. Wolffe was always mad for the way her hair fell down her skin, so delicate and sweet. After throwing her bra aside, Wolffe continued to explore every curve and dimple of her skin until his head rested on her shoulder when he could barely keep himself fully upright, body tingling and cock dripping precum as he reached the edge of his release. He needed to have more, both of them did, and he nearly became lost in the precipice of pleasure as his eyes went to the floor when he got an idea.

The storage room was considerably larger than the usual supply closet, and Wolffe secured Rose in his grip to take her down to the floor. Her breath hitched when her bare back touched the cool floor; Wolffe stuffed a box behind the door to keep anyone from coming in and went to lay on top of her, kissing her lips and soothing her body with his hands as he whispered tender praises to comfort her from the cold. Rose watched as his body loomed above her, his lips smirking and breath fanning over her as he pulled her pants and panties off of her. As her back got accustomed to the floor’s temperature, Rose smiled and cooed at Wolffe in excitement, arms wrapping around him and bringing him down for a loving kiss.

“I like this spot,” Rose purred.

“Me too,” Wolffe replied, his voice low and inviting as he bent down to kiss her again. While he did, his hands gently squeezed her breasts and softly pinched her nipples just the way he knew that she loved. Slowly, he let his hands travel down, teasing her with gradually letting his fingertips just barely hover close to her inner thighs. He reveled in every little noise Rose made, every time her breath hitched or panted at his touch. Wolffe loved feeling that she was entirely his.

Rose felt his cock throbbing up against the skin of her inner thigh, and her kissing became almost furious as she pulled Wolffe ever closer to her own body. Even after several times of having been intimate with him, Rose felt shocks go down her skin when his chest touched hers, more so whenever she could run her fingers and trace the elaborate wolf tattoo that covered his back, or over the lumps of the scars that were still prominent on his skin. She became distracted, however, when she felt Wolffe’s fingertips tracing her pussy lips before gliding fully over the wetness of her folds. A sweet, high-pitched moan escaped her as her eyes were flooded with plea, causing Wolffe to smirk into the kiss and back up to look at her.

She was splattered on the floor beneath him, her wavy black locks fanned out and framing her head. In the dim light of the storage room, it seemed as though ever one of her lines had softened. Somehow, she always looked so sweet when she was caged in Wolffe’s arms, so innocent and tender at her core, and every time he looked upon her like that, Wolffe just wanted to keep her there, shielded and immaculate, undeniably for him.

“Dammit, bunny…” Wolffe growled. “You’re beautiful…”

Rose blushed and her eyes traveled downwards as she bashfully averted her gaze. “You’re so romantic, commander.”

With another soft growl, Wolffe smirked as his fingers massaged Rose’s sensitive bundle of nerves, going from soft strokes to quick, accurate circles around her clit. Her head fell back on the floor and she grinned wide in lust, her breath deepening and chest heaving at his touch.

“You’re so wet, sweetheart,” Wolffe whispered before planting a tender kiss on her lips. “And you’re all mine.”

“I’m yours,” Rose echoed, kissing him back.

“What do you want me to do, bunny?”

Rose chuckled, trying her best to keep her voice as quiet as possible. She perked up slightly and let her lips hover over Wolffe’s ear, her breath sending chills down the commander’s skin.

“Surprise me,” she whispered.

Wolffe groaned softly in response, and he let his fingers work with more instinct over her folds. He rubbed from her entrance to her pearl, igniting flames wherever he traced. His precum began to leak onto her skin, girth already begging to be inside her. But he wanted Rose to squirm underneath him, he wanted to see her eyes rolling back as she desperately tried to keep in her moans, lest they’d both be found out and reprimanded for doing something so dirty in a storage room. The thought unconsciously made Wolffe growl, aroused only by the risk and by Rose trying to avoid it, and his finger traveled back down her pussy only to slide inside her and curl perfectly to stroke and massage her walls.

He could reach her most sensitive spots with ease. Stroking, pumping, or just barely grinding against it, he could feel the way Rose’s hips quivered as the heat pooled inside her body. In tiny, agitated whispers, Rose spoke his name and begged him not to stop fingering her; she’d begun grinding against him too, and desperate for pleasure, she took her hand to keep rubbing on her clit as Wolffe worked her inner walls.

Seeing her touching herself riled Wolffe up more than he ever imagined he could be in a storage room. His forehead rested on hers, gazing deeply into Rose’s eyes to see the way pleasure flooded her. Her breath hitched faster, her spare hand fisted his curls, and her whimpers, rid of any more control, announced to him how close she was to her climax. Wolffe smiled at her as he took in her beauty, the utter sweetness of the woman under him, mesmerized by how she’d gone from insufferable to irreplaceable.

Just before Rose came undone, Wolffe removed his finger from inside her earning a whine from the medic.

He chuckled. “Needy one, aren’t you, bunny?”

Rose whimpered in response, barely able to form coherent sentences at the pleasure, and before she rubbed her clit to orgasm, Wolffe stopped her from that too. She’d have whined again had it not been for the sight of Wolffe positioning his cock between her legs, rubbing the tip slowly from her clit and down to her entrance. Wolffe chuckled again at how sweet she looked when she was thirsty for him, and choosing not to torment her further, he slid himself into her walls and stretched them out granting her that sensation of fullness she longed for.

Again, Rose bit her lip in an effort to quiet herself down, only making her body quake at the pleasure of finally having Wolffe inside her. He began at a sensual pace, savoring every sensation, every movement, the warmth filling him and threatening to make him burst. His fingers clawed into her scalp, and thanks to the floor, he had more leverage to speed up and turn his luscious grinding gradually into a rougher fucking, until it finally became merciless pounding.

Rose’s body bounced with every time Wolffe jammed into her. Relentless, he growled out strings of curses in his mother tongue, relishing in the way her body felt, so warm and swollen and wet, and just so good. He always loved to hear her moan, but something about Rose suppressing her sounds only tipped him into bliss. It made him go faster, harder, with no more regard of the risks that lurked outside the storage room. He moaned her name out, growled out her nickname with a pure ecstasy of a man in love, and in his trance, he swiveled his hips with more speed than he knew he was capable of.

She remained looking into his eyes until her own rolled back just as she felt her walls tightening and clenching around his cock. Rose couldn’t help but to moan out Wolffe’s name, so sweetly and clearly that it sounded almost like a howl, and it only prompted the commander to move faster.

“Oh, bunny…” Wolffe grunted, taking the hand he fingered her with to her lips for her to suck on his middle finger before he growled again, inhumanly increasing his pace even more. Rose’s skin flustered and her eyes pooled with pressure begging to be let out, but in sucking Wolffe’s finger and tasting her arousal, she was able to remain quiet just for a moment before she couldn’t hold it in any longer, and a loud whine of Wolffe’s name escaped her, only to repeat it over and over.

Rose was the one to release first, wetness squirting with glee onto Wolffe’s skin and armor as she moaned freely with a mix of bliss and surprise, and right after that, Wolffe’s cum shot in delicious ropes into her walls and filled her to the brink, so much the hot white liquid leaked from inside her. Their bodies fell limp, only pushed upon by gravity itself as they rested on the floor. His head on the crook of her neck, Wolffe, gently traced featherlight patterns on Rose’s skin, smiling softly at the mess underneath them when he pulled out of her.

Rose panted, lips curving into a grin as she began to giggle and look into Wolffe’s eyes. “That was really dirty, commander. What do you have to say for yourself?”

Wolffe smirked back, his voice lowering into a seductive purr. “Woof.”

Rose laughed sweetly, charming every fiber of Wolffe’s body, and he hugged her to him and pressed a kiss onto her lips. Starting passionate, the kiss faded into something loving and genuine, soft as the petal of a rose. Wolffe held her in his arms, wishing for a moment he had a bed under them instead of the floor of the storage room, but even that sufficed if it only meant being by Rose’s side.

“You were pretty loud,” Wolffe whispered.

“Yeah…” Rose’s bashfulness was clear. “You think anyone heard?”

“It’s likely,” Wolffe chuckled. “But I don’t care.”

His lips traveled over to her cheek, her temple, her earlobes, pressing soft kisses on her as her gaze scanned the features of his face. His skin gleamed with sweat, emphasizing the expression lines around his eyes, those most prominent belonging to any sort of frown. Her dark brown eyes settled on the scar over his right eye and the grey-white mechanical eye that replaced his real one, and a pang of sadness hit her. It wasn’t long before Wolffe realized what she was looking at, and his hand wrapped softly around hers in a comforting gesture.

“How did it happen?” She asked him softly, distant and letting him know it was alright if he didn’t wish to answer.

However, as Wolffe looked her in the eyes, he realized just how much he trusted her.

“A Sith assassin named Ventress,” he said, his voice a low growl. “If it weren’t for my helmet, I’d have been a goner.”

Rose’s eyes softened with sympathy. “Were you scared?”

Wolffe looked up at the roof, evaluating his emotions even though the mere act of it was still foreign to him. “Not really. I was angry, mostly. Not in a vengeful way, but… I was just mad. Think I have been ever since.”

Rose tenderly traced her finger over the scar, not wanting to look as though she pitied him, but still extending her support to him. Wolffe watched her softly, feeling the touch of her fingertip over the scar that physically set him apart from his brothers, and when her fingertip was over his cheek, he softly took her hand and pressed kisses to her fingers and palm. Her big brown eyes looked into his, and wordlessly, their foreheads rested on one another for them to remain in silence with each other while time passed.

It was quiet, peaceful, warm; it was all either one of them wanted and needed.

Then, the silence was broken by Wolffe’s comm beeping. Rolling his eyes, Wolffe reached for the comm device under the heap of bits of plastoid on the ground and, placing a finger over his lips to tell Rose to keep silent, he answered it.

“Come in,” Wolffe said.

“Commander!” It was Sinker on the other end of the comm. “Listen, I know you’re off with Rose in some supply closet doing the dirty, but we need you both at the bridge. The briefing’s going to start soon.”

“I’ll be there,” Wolffe replied with his commander voice. “And if you gossip, you’re on cleanup duty for the rest of the cycle, got it?”

“Got it, sir,” Sinker replied with his sergeant voice in return. “Oh and… tell Rose to fix her lipstick. We can all tell when it’s been,” he cleared his throat, “smeared off.”

“Two cycles,” Wolffe threatened Sinker when he picked up on the mocking note of the sergeant’s voice while Rose blushed at the remark.

“Okay, okay,” Sinker chuckled. “Don’t be late.”

After that, he hung up. Wolffe got up and helped Rose back onto her feet, both of them dressing quietly and quick enough to be proud of.

“Shall I go out first?” Rose asked him.

Wolffe looked at her with a smooth smile, not quite able to explain the admiration he felt for her. “Sure. Head to the bridge for the briefing, I’ll meet you there.”

Rose walked up to him again and gave him a final peck on the lips before getting out of the storage room and making her way to the bridge. As she walked, she took out her tiny mirror and redid her lipstick, double checking it was perfect. While any Venator-class ship always seemed enormous to her, Rose found herself getting to the bridge fairly quickly, pleased to see the familiar grey armor of her division when she arrived. She averted her gaze from the front as she put her mirror away safely in her pack, and in that mere second, she stumbled onto someone. Apologizing with her signature charisma, Rose’s features dropped when she noticed the person she’d bumped into was Comet.

He had the same reaction. Rose and Comet had barely crossed gazes since they broke up, and as far as Rose knew, things were going well between him and… Gazelle, was it? Rose didn’t let herself care that much; it was her final defense mechanism.

“Hey,” Comet sighed, eyes bleeding insecurity.

“Hey,” Rose half-smiled, ready to walk past him. Just as she began stepping forward, Comet’s hand gently stopped her. It took all her might not to roll her eyes or sigh in utter dread, but there she was.

“I…” Comet began. “I heard you’re with Wolffe.”

“Did Sinker tell you?”

“No,” Comet replied. “No, Boost, actually.”

Rose nodded; it seemed Sinker wouldn’t be mopping for another cycle and a half.

“So?” Rose asked, her tone far gentler than the intention of the word itself.

“No, I just… I know we haven’t talked since that. I just don’t want there to be any hard feelings.”

Rose sighed, averting her gaze to a random point to the side. She remembered perfectly well what Comet had told her that night. That he still cared for her, that he still loved her.

“I’m really not at that point, Comet,” she said. “But I appreciate your intention.”

“Rose…”

“Look, if you don’t understand, just call Giselle and ask her how she’d feel if you told her you were leaving her for someone else,” Rose replied in a not-so-heavenly way. “She wouldn’t be happy, whether she’d drunkenly slept with someone or not. I at least regretted what I did.”

“You think I don’t regret breaking up with you? Rose, I felt terrible, but I had to do it. It was never gonna work.”

“Clearly,” Rose smiled poisonously. “Let’s just call it even.”

Of all things, Comet looked hurt. “I’m happy you’re with him. I really am. You’re better with him.”

Rose thought of all the things she could say for him, but only settled on thinking how much she hoped that was true if it meant he wouldn’t surprise her with any similar crap. But she couldn’t bring herself to say anything to Comet—she hadn’t stopped being angry at him, and seeing him still prickled the thorn into her skin that he’d left when he broke up with her. Instead, Rose just walked past Comet, not looking at him anymore. She wouldn’t burden herself with it.

As Rose approached the holoprojector in the center of the room, she noticed General Plo Koon stood behind it. It felt like ages since she’d last seen him, what with it not being uncommon for the wolf pack to take on missions without him as well as the long break they’d had on Naboo, but his presence was just as comforting to Rose as it had been when she joined the 104th. The troopers began lining around the holoprojector when the briefing was about to start, and just then, the door of the bridge opened to reveal the commander walking in with his regal, imposing aura around him.

“Are we all here now, then?” General Plo addressed Wolffe.

The commander removed his helmet and hugged it by his side; though his expression held his usual rough nature, Rose could notice the way his features briefly softened when he looked at the general now that she new him better, knowing Plo was clearly a father to him.

“Yes, sir,” Wolffe replied, authority reigning in his voice.

“Excellent,” said General Plo. “I am pleased to see that your time on Naboo has been beneficial to you all. This next mission will not be very difficult, in fact, the entirety of the division is not required.”

The general powered up the holoprojector which clearly displayed the image of the planet Balmorra as well as some of its stats, including how far away they currently were from said world and how long it would take to arrive.

“Balmorra is a Republic ally known for its diverse factories,” the general explained. “Commander Wolffe, you will have to take a small squad into the main durasteel foundry to receive the latest shipment of weaponry and bring it back to the ship; all details on location and shipment size will be on comm chatter for all of you to monitor. Once you have brought it to the Venator, the staff will take care of the rest.”

“How many troopers?” Wolffe questioned.

“About five, at most, including your medic,” Plo Koon then turned to Rose. “Respiratory infections due to fumes are not uncommon in such an environment, make sure you take the necessary supplies to treat any complications.”

“Yes, sir,” Rose nodded.

“One more thing,” General Plo now addressed the battalion in general. “Due to the nature of the place and the operations, the population is heavily intergalactic and the presence of multiple tongues may trouble you, which is why I have been instructed to send you alongside a protocol droid.”

Rose noticed as Sinker and Boost sucked air in through their teeth and, like twins, looked over at Wolffe in unison. She also heard various chuckles coming from some of the troopers around the briefing room, and her attention was brought to Wolffe as she could almost feel how hard it was for him to not roll his eyes in front of his general.

“Do we know which droid?” Wolffe brought himself to ask, his question making Boost blow a raspberry as the trooper tried and almost failed to hold in laughter.

“Yes, commander, it is the droid you are thinking of,” Plo Koon answered, a very subtle tinge of mischief decorating his voice. In the background, Sinker and Boost facepalmed, clearly dreading said droid, but it was more important to them how much they could laugh at Wolffe at the moment.

Meanwhile, Wolffe finally let himself roll his eyes, accepting his fate for the mission.

“The sooner we get it done, the better,” he stated.

Rose directed a confused look over at Sinker, who chuckled one last time before providing her the context.

“About a few months ago, we were assigned a mission with a very… peculiar protocol droid,” Sinker said.

“He drove all of us insane,” Boost continued.

“But specifically Wolffe,” Sinker finished. “If we hadn’t needed the droid for translation, I think he would have blown its head right off before it stepped off the ship.”

“Yeah, I’d never seen him roll his eyes that many times in one same day,” Corvis spoke up from the other side of the room. “And that’s saying something considering it’s Wolffe.”

“There was little I could do,” said Master Plo. “General Skywalker heavily recommended the droid. He has faith in it, of course, given he was the one who built C-3PO.”

The room fell silent; Wolffe’s gaze darted over to Master Plo with a blend of dismay and disbelief.

“General Skywalker built the droid?” Wolffe questioned.

Rose could almost hear the glass shattering inside Wolffe’s head. Master Plo nodded, a light chuckle escaping him.

“There go our chances of ever working with the 501st,” Sinker whispered loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Yeah, Wolffe is never going to forgive General Skywalker for building C-3PO,” Boost whispered back with the same volume, clearly following along with Sinker’s game.

“Anyway,” Wolffe said. “Sinker, Boost, you’re on the squad. Corvis, you too. With Rose and I, it makes five. We ship out as soon as we jump out of hyperspace.”

“Yes, sir!” replied the troopers assigned to the op, all of them in unison.

“You are dismissed, then,” Plo Koon said.

No further instructions were given. Wolffe rounded up the squadron he’d take to Balmorra as the rest of the battalion left the bridge and awaited their own assignments. As Rose walked up to the group, her eyes instinctively found Wolffe’s, who were already looking at her as though he’d been watching her since the stars had been created. Her lips curved slightly, barely noticeable, as their gazes met, and for a moment, Rose began to wonder how much time they all had before reaching Balmorra.

Just like old times, Sinker nudged her arm and leaned beside her with a devious smirk.

“No, I don’t believe there’s time to sneak in a quickie,” he whispered at her with that smug look. “We’re already too close to Balmorra.”

Rose playfully punched him, though hard enough to make Sinker wheeze through his laughter. Still, the two were grinning as they laughed as silently as they could so as to not stir up the military environment, but Rose felt like it had been forever since she’d been on such terms with her squad. She was having an amazing time with Wolffe, but it felt nice to return to the old ways if only for just a bit.

“We should head to the hangar and be ready for our gunship to fly us to Balmorra upon arrival,” Wolffe stated.

“The sooner we get to the hangar, the more time we’ll spend with that droid,” Boost said through clenched teeth as memories of 3PO invaded his mind.

“I hate it more than you do, but they’re Plo’s orders,” Wolffe said as he began leading the squadron towards the hangar. “And now that we know Skywalker built him, it’s not as easy to shoot its head off.”

“Accidents happen,” Rose said from behind, a smirk tilting her lips.

Boost and Corvis whistled at Rose’s wit, always that charming quality that embellished all the others, and Wolffe looked over his shoulder with a smile only he could notice. It was just the type of remark he would have loathed coming from Rose, at least back in the days before he accepted she was everything to him.

“We’d have to plan really good for that type of accident,” Sinker commented as they walked down the last hall leading them to the hangar. “I mean, I’m confident in the wolf pack’s skills, but even we need to be careful with such a stunt…”

Sinker trailed off, and he alongside the rest of the squad ceased walking as soon as the door to the hangar opened and revealed to them the gunship they would travel to Balmorra on, and in front of them was the dreaded protocol droid who appeared way too golden, result of a recent polishing that it was showing off to any troopers who happened to be unlucky enough to wander by; those who were helmetless already looked pained.

“We won’t hear the end of it for the entire trip,” Corvis muttered.

“Not to mention a fancy polishing like that isn’t going to last in Balmorra’s industrial landscapes,” Rose added.

“Let’s just… let’s get this over with,” Wolffe grumbled as he put his helmet on.

The squadron of five walked up to the gunship, and it didn’t take the droid long to notice their presence. Lacking facial expressions, C-3PO giddily raised a hand and almost seemed to bounce upon landing sights on them.

“Commander Wolffe!” said the droid. “How very nice it is to see you again!”

Wordless, Wolffe merely stood before the droid.

“I do hope you are smiling beneath your helmet!” 3PO said.

“Right…” Wolffe hesitated, clearly doing anything but smiling.

“We will be at Balmorra soon, commander,” 3PO pledged. “I am most pleased to inform that you have my full cooperation. After all, I am fluent in over—”

“Yeah, yeah, you speak a lot of languages,” Wolffe cut the droid off.

“I am flattered you remember!” 3PO said with evident excitement. “Shall we review the briefing of the mission?”

Tension lingered in the air, and Rose was certain Wolffe was about to lose it. She swiftly stepped forward, positioning herself beside Wolffe, and she held her hands out in a friendly and welcoming manner to catch the droid’s attention.

“Actually, we have just been briefed, and we know you probably know this mission better than we do, so there’s no need for that!” She said happily. “How about you go take your place on the gunship? We have to ship out soon, and we don’t want to risk leaving you behind because we’re in a rush. You’re the most important asset in the mission.”

“Ah, at last, some appreciation!” C-3PO nodded and spoke kindly. “I am most grateful. Sometimes clones do not have the kindest of ways—did you know none of them have batted an eyelash to my polishing—”

“It’s wonderful, now go!” Rose swept him in the direction of the gunship. “We’re due to leave soon!”

“Will do, ma’am!” said C-3PO as he headed towards the gunship just as Rose had instructed, leaving the squadron with some long-awaited silence. Meanwhile, Rose turned around to look at the clones, a smug look on her face, while the three helmetless troopers looked at her with dropped jaws.

“We really needed a woman on the team,” Boost said, turning to Wolffe. “Didn’t we, commander?”

Wolffe shoved Boost just a bit more aggressively than other times, and the squadron remained peaceful while they waited for the venator to arrive at Balmorra.

*

“Doesn’t—”

“He ever—”

“Shut the hell up?”

Corvis, Sinker, and Boost respectively grumbled between gritted teeth as the never ending chatter from C-3PO plagued the ship. Rose smiled, her features scrunching as she forced her own laughter inside; she felt a gaze on her, Wolffe’s gaze, looming over her behind his visor, a gesture that tinted her cheeks pink. Sadly, any illusion created between her and Wolffe would be shattered for the moment due to the dragging of chatter that filled the gunship, mostly a one-man show from the droid.

“And then it appeared that the leader of the tribe had died—though how, I am not certain. R2 says it was my fault, but that cross-wired droid always blames me even though usually I am the one getting us out of trouble—”

Every trooper exchanged looks. All the clones donned their helmets now, but Rose didn’t need to see their faces to know just how miserable they all looked. 3PO’s monologue was loud enough to drown out the sounds of other conversation, especially aided by the vocoder of each helmet whenever the clones wanted to whisper amongst themselves.

“It would be a real pity if that stupid polishing got ruined, wouldn’t it?” Boost commented.

“A real pity indeed,” Sinker followed.

“Oh, gods, what are you two thinking?” Rose asked them.

“You were right, there’s a lot of ash and timber in industrial landscapes,” Boost said, his gaze hatefully on the droid.

“As long as it stays at that,” Rose warned.

Sinker and Boost nodded in unison, partly brushing off Rose’s concern as their only care was getting back at the innocent droid somehow. She rolled her eyes playfully, knowing better than to underestimate them, and just then, the engines’ whirring slowed down and they all felt the force of the ship on them as it landed for its doors to hiss open; the smell of molten metal and exhaust of oil filled the air, indicating they had finally arrived at the central industrial complex of Balmorra.

“We’ll need to walk about half a klick and make our way inside the factory,” Wolffe instructed. “Come on, let’s make it quick.”

As they all started walking, C-3PO’s concern became evident almost immediately.

“Is there not something we could do about all this ash in the air?” The droid asked.

“Oh, yeah, lemme ask the president of Balmorra if she can shut down all the factories,” Boost commented with sarcasm flooding his voice. He then turned to Corvis, grumbling under his breath. “Entitled much.”

“Droids, am I right?” Corvis grumbled in agreement.

“Droids,” Sinker echoed.

Meanwhile, as they treaded towards their destination, dust and ash began to settle on the plating of 3PO’s chassis, and the troopers chuckled at how it was already ruined—and how easy it would be to ruin it further. Sinker skipped forward a bit and positioned himself just behind 3PO and, with a gloved finger and featherlight touch, traced the silhouette of a large penis along the droid’s back, making Corvis and Boost laugh as quietly as they could.

Rose’s jaw dropped and she covered her mouth with her hand, only to glare at the boys in makeshift disappointment.

“You guys are such guys!” She whisper-yelled. “You really hate that droid?”

“Yes,” the three said in unison.

“Could you at least have drawn something else?” Rose whispered.

“Oh,” Sinker mocked her. “Don’t pretend you don’t like the D.”

“Baby, I love it, but I don’t want to see it drawn on a droid.” Rose raised her eyebrow at Sinker, challenging him further.

“What’s going on?” Wolffe’s voice spoke up from the front of the formation. “We’re almost there, I need you all on military-grade demeanor.”

“We just need to do a little something—3PO, look at me,” Rose made the droid turn around and pretended to wipe dust off his helm, its back now facing Wolffe and bringing the commander’s hand up to the top of his helmet at the sight of the drawing, probably wondering what he did to deserve the current course of events. Meanwhile, Corvis, Sinker, and Boost struggled to hold in laughter until they simply couldn’t anymore, and though Wolffe favored the idea of the dick drawn on 3PO and would have probably added a target and a shoot here sign somewhere else, he proceeded to erase the obscene drawing, simply claiming to be removing the ash from 3PO’s back.

“Thank you so much, commander,” even for a droid, 3PO seemed to display genuine gratitude.

“Keep it moving, shiny, we don’t wanna be late,” Sinker nudged the droid to make him walk again.

“I’d offer to carry you, but I can’t promise I won’t throw you at the nearest foundry,” Boost teased.

“Or nearest junkyard,” Sinker chuckled. “Spare parts and circuits always come in handy around here.”

“Children, can you please behave?” Rose glared at them, only making them laugh, but seeing how close they were to their destination, the three quieted down and regained their composure as Wolffe led the way in.

Inside, preparations for the Republic’s arrival had been thoroughly carried out. A few guards stood on the upper catwalks of the factory’s entry complex, and the manager in charge of supplying awaited along with two aides. Behind them was a cart already loaded with crates, big enough to fit at least twenty of them which each held about three dozen blasters.

The manager began speaking in its native tongue, foreign to all the troopers who had gone on the mission, and at least it didn’t render 3PO’s presence there in vain. The droid got to translating and the trade seemed to be going swiftly; as she stood there, Rose picked up on the burn in her throat result of the presence of gas and, she assumed, poor ventilation. If that was the condition in the trading dock, Rose didn’t want to imagine what it was like inside the factory. A gas like that was not only harmful to the people’s health, it also drastically raised risks of explosions.

Rose tapped on 3PO’s shoulder. “Hey, mind telling the manager to keep an eye on the gas levels in the factory’s atmosphere? It’s going to make all its employees ill sooner or later.”

After a light nod, 3PO proceeded to telling the manager as Rose had requested. In return, the manager seemed to scoff and have a defensive tone as he spoke, leaving for 3PO to translate with a tinge of hesitation in his voice.

“He says he appreciates your attempt at a contribution, but that he’s the one who knows about these things,” the droid spoke with remorse.

Rose rolled her eyes, knowing all too well what that type of man was like. Fine, she figured. If he didn’t care about his factory, it would be his loss somewhere down the road, but in the meantime, Rose shamelessly settled for taking a filtered mask from her pack for herself as well as an extra filter for the boys’ helmets.

As she searched her pack, she noticed subtle movement from just behind the wall outside, a figure lurking in the corner quickly seeking to hide. She could not have dreamt it up, and such a behavior was too odd for a factory setting like that one. She kept her gaze trailed in that direction, and soon enough, the figure popped up again only to hide once more upon seeing she was looking. Rose nudged Sinker for his attention, but in those mere seconds, the person who lurked behind the walls threw a single lighter into the factory.

The mere act of it seemed harmless, almost stupid, just a spiteful action from someone who didn’t know better. And then Rose inhaled, her filtered mask still not over her face, and she felt the gas fill her throat again.

And it made sense.

“Watch out!” She yelled, catching everybody’s attention to her direction.

Wolffe lunged forward and put himself between Rose and the lighter before it ignited. His first instinct was to punch the device away, getting it as far as possible from the gas-infested air. Wolffe’s fist made contact with it and changed its direction, but even that wasn’t enough, and the spark from the lighter caused an explosion that sent everyone flying back, primarily Wolffe, whose body crashed mercilessly onto the crates.

Rose knew she was yelling out his name, but the ringing in her ears prevented her from hearing it. She crawled on the floor, vision blurring, muscles straining as she looked up at Wolffe sitting on the ground. The entire front part of his armor was stained black with ash, damage which would have fallen straight onto Rose had Wolffe not shielded her from the blast. Knowing that, Rose forced herself to her feet, but stumbled over to Wolffe as best as she could if only to check he was okay.

“Rose!” The calling of her name was blurry to her ears, and it took her a long time realize someone had grabbed hold of her while a different pair of arms secured Wolffe onto the cart with crates and readied it to move out.

“Wait…” Rose mumbled. “I have to check on him…”

“She’s bleeding,” the muffled voice seemed clearer now. “She hit her head!”

“Get her on the cart with Wolffe and the droid, and get to the ship!”

“The target’s leaving!”

“It’s a goddamn spy!”

“Take them alive!”

She heard the sound of what she thought were stun blasts and a few more battle cries. Curses were yelled in Mando’a, orders were shouted, and in her hazy consciousness, Rose felt movement and the whirring of an engine beneath her, barely making out the figure of a trooper running beside the cart.

“Wolffe…” she mumbled again and tried shifting around the cart, unable to find him. She began panting when she couldn’t feel or see him, the hyperventilation making the edges of her vision darken and her head woozy and numb.

“Rose!” it was Sinker who yelled at her. “Rose, calm down, we’re almost there! He’s going to be fine!”

His name, however, kept leaving her lips as she frantically looked for him. Sinker knew she couldn’t keep that up for long. He pushed the cart for long enough for it to keep going without his strength and climbed onto it, rummaging around Rose’s pack to find a sedative and inject it into her arm to get her to sleep.

As her vision darkened fully, she barely recognized anything of what Sinker was telling her, but she sort of discerned an apology and the promise she’d be alright before finally falling asleep.

In her dreams, the flash of the explosion flooded her mind. Yells, battle cries, stun bolts, the feeling of going numb, the subtle prickle of a needle on the back of her head, Wolffe’s name whispered from her tongue, the smell of disinfectant. It felt like eternities when she finally darted her eyes open, the white distinctive light of a medical bay looming above her, staining her pride when she realized she was on a bed rather than helping someone else.

Her head ached and the presence of stitches on the back of her head alarmed her for a moment. She had a few scratches on her arms and legs, all of them topped by bacta patches that would help her heal faster. Whatever had happened, Rose at least found comfort in knowing she was safe now.

“Rose?”

All clones had the same voice, but she’d recognize his anywhere. Turning to her left, she saw Wolffe lying on the bed beside her, his body more covered in patches than hers was, skin moist after a full bath in bacta.

Frantically, Rose checked her vitals. As soon as she decided she was stable, Rose left her bed and went to sit at the edge of Wolffe’s, taking some of the equipment in one of her hands while the other one gently stroked his cheek.

“Wolffe, thank the gods you’re okay…” she whispered, scanning him for any other injuries.

Wolffe chuckled. “Rose, they already did all that.”

“Yeah, but I’m your medic,” she said. “I have to check on you.”

“Rose,” he spoke her name with a tender softness alien in his voice. “I’m fine. They put me in bacta for a whole night. I just need to rest. You have to get back to your bed.”

“You took a fucking blast to the face,” Rose said, her tone almost scolding Wolffe even though gratitude lined it in silver.

In his daze, Wolffe smiled at her. “I did it for you.”

“How many meds have they given you?” She asked him.

Wolffe chuckled again. “A lot.”

She calmed down and smiled at him, her eyes watering at the sight of seeing him hurt. Wolffe’s eyes were soft as he gazed upon her, and he took a bandaged hand up to lovingly cup her cheek. Rose leaned into his touch, the bandage feeling oddly soft against her skin.

“You saved my life,” she said.

Wolffe smiled slightly again, but said nothing. Their gazes were intense, holding within them an entire world of words, the feeling behind them unmistakable—and neither of them felt brave enough to speak it aloud. At that moment, both of them crippled and injured, it only mattered to them they were within the other’s touch. At last, Rose leaned down and kissed Wolffe’s lips softly. He tasted of the painkillers he’d been given, but it was still Wolffe’s taste. They kissed tenderly, each too afraid to do something that would hurt the other, and in the silent medical bay, only the sound of their heartbeat in unison glided in the air.

The doors opened with a hiss, followed by the sound of at least three different troopers clearing their throat.

“Good to see you’re both healthy enough to make out,” Sinker smiled, genuinely glad the two were okay.

With her cheeks tinged scarlet, Rose went back to her bed and sat as Sinker and Comet flanked her side, and the rest of the squadron surrounded the scene.

“What the hell happened?” Wolffe’s seriousness returned.

Boost sighed heavily as the mood of the med bay gradually came down. “We caught the culprit taking pictures of us. It was a spy.”

“Did they get away?” Rose asked.

“Yes, we… we tried to stop them but the explosions, the Balmorra guild ordering us to leave… it was a lot,” Corvis sighed.

Rose reached out a hand to comfort him, the gesture looked upon by Comet at her side.

“You saved my life and Wolffe’s,” Rose said. “Everything else will be sorted out in time. Do we know anything else about this person?”

“No,” Sinker said grimly. “We don’t know who they were, who they work for, or what they wanted.”

“So we wait,” Wolffe said lowly, confident the effects of such an odd attack would show up eventually.

“And so we wait,” Sinker sighed in agreement as everybody’s gazes got lost inside the med bay.

Too much mystery surrounded the simple mission that by no means should have gone wrong, and by the gods, not a single one of them liked it.

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[wolferine]

Heart Skips a Beat - Part 4

Natasha Romanoff x Reader

Summary: Natasha faces her worst nightmare when a rescue mission goes wrong…

Warnings: Violence, blood, torture

Word count: 2843

Part 3

Tags: @blkmxrvel @blackxwidowsxwife @marvelwomen-simp @phoenixofash @marvels-bitch-boy @when-wolves-howl @bitterlime13 @hallecarey1 @orangewheein @unexpected-character

AN: I apologize if some tags don’t work! Tumblr can’t find some of your usernames.

After listening to Steve’s plan, all four of you—technically five, since Bucky had to tag along—take the Quinjet to Siberia. The goal was to break out the five soldiers in Bucky’s former task force and bring them back to the Avengers Tower, where there was the technology to free their minds from HYDRA. 

Each of you were armed with a mask which would spray a powerful sedative into the face it was applied to, keeping the victim unconscious until it was removed. It was the simplest solution to taking down the super soldiers—when Bucky had been skeptical, Natasha had slapped a mask on him and he was out before he hit the floor. You were pretty sure you pulled a muscle from laughing so hard.

Now, you and Natasha sat in the cockpit while the others sat behind you.

“Hey, Y/N,” Bucky says suddenly.

“Yeah?” You don’t even look over your shoulder.

“I’m…sorry for shooting you.”

“Twice,” you clarify. “I didn’t forget the count.”

“Sorry,” he repeats.

“Well, as long as you don’t mistake me for Steve again, I’ll be okay,” you say with a chuckle.

“So, just to reiterate our plan, Bucky will be with me and Clint, and Nat, you’ll be with Y/N,” Steve says.

“Even Captain America knows better than to break up the power couple.” You grin and reach over to put your hand on her thigh. Without taking her eyes off the controls, she takes your hand and interlocks your fingers.

“Yeah, so you two just do your thing—” Steve catches himself. “Wait, not that kind of thing.”

Clint explodes into wheezy laughter and Natasha shakes her head, her cheeks reddening. You’re not embarrassed like she is, but you’re still quick to defend yourselves.

“It was one time!” you protest. It had been a mission where everything that could’ve gone wrong did, and you and Natasha were convinced it would be your last. You two decided to end it wrapped around each other, but then the rest of the Avengers had barged in and said there had been a miscommunication and it wasn’t the end of the world after all. It was the one mission you would never live down.

“Just keep it professional, please,” Steve begs. “No matter what happens, we’re all going home alive, okay?”

Bucky looks completely lost.

Natasha lands the Quinjet in a flurry of snow and all of you exit the warmth of the plane.

“I should’ve brought one of your hoodies,” she mumbles, walking as close to you as she can without tripping you. 

“It would’ve clashed with your uniform,” you say, putting your arm around her waist. The super soldier serum in your veins causes you to run a higher-than-average body temperature. You feel as comfortable as if you stepped out of hot shower.

The facility is the only building for miles. It looks big enough to fit a space rocket and has a dull, concrete exterior. The only security is a chain-link fence with a frozen padlock that Steve breaks open with his shield. You file through the gate, and Bucky inputs a code into the door to grant everyone entry. The interior is just as disappointing as the outside. Nothing but a maze of concrete halls with metal doors. The ceiling has dripping water stains and an uncomfortably musty, moldy smell hangs in the air.

“I bet you’re really glad you escaped this rust bucket,” you say to Bucky. He only shakes his head.

“Stay alert,” Steve advises. “We’ll split here. Keep us updated on your position and if you find anyone.”

“Copy that.” You and Natasha turn right while the others turn left. She finds a flight of stairs and you follow behind her. You unholster your gun, holding it at the ready by your side. Natasha makes random turns and ignores every room you walk by. You listen intently for any sort of noise that would indicate a person lurking in the shadows, but so far, there’s nothing.

“Do you even know where you’re going?” you ask.

“Do you?” she snaps.

“Hey, I’m just following you.” You back off. Even though you know this is no time to be making jokes, you still can’t help yourself. High-stress situations make you nervous, especially when you’re with Natasha, because anything that could happen to you could happen to her.

When you pass by a room with its door open, you see a large glass tank big enough to fit a human and filled with murky green water. For a reason you can’t explain, you feel yourself drawn towards it and you step into the room, a chill raising goosebumps on your skin. You reach out to touch the tank’s wall and close your eyes.

You’re floating in a tank of your own, tubes running out of your nose, mouth, and down every limb. You jerk around wildly in the water tinged pink with your blood. Your lungs seize for air, but every breath you inhale is wet and salty.

“Shall we go another round?” you hear someone on the other side say.

“Might as well. No pain, no gain, right?” someone replies.

You want to bash your hands against the glass, but you’re too weak to have any control over your movements. You feel a sharp pain in your lower back, at the base of your spine, and your body arches as more drugs are pumped into you. You have no breath to scream with as your body twists in agony. It feels like a fire eating you from the inside out, burning through your bones, and you want nothing more than to wither away to ash...

“Hey.” You jump when you feel Natasha’s hand on your shoulder. “What are you doing in here?”

“Um, I…I thought I heard something,” you lie. Natasha frowns. Like Steve and Bucky, you had been a lab rat yourself, although not to SHIELD or HYDRA. You had been passed around other government agencies—at least, that’s what you think. Most of your memories of that time were fuzzy, which you were fine with. The ones you did remember weren’t worth reliving anyway.

“Y/N.” Natasha looks concerned.

“We’ll talk about it later, okay?” You don’t want to interrupt the mission with your personal problems.

She knows better than to push you, especially at a time like this. “Okay,” she says, leaving the room. You take a minute to collect yourself. When you finally turn around, you see a black-haired woman, shorter than Natasha even, standing in the doorway in the same vest Bucky had worn the first time you met him.

“Hello,” you say, holstering your gun. You’re not going to shoot someone who looks like she’s barely of age. “You must be one of the super soldiers Bucky told me about. Who was your target supposed to be? Romanoff?” you tease.

“Thor.” The woman’s voice is dainty. Her body is literally the size of one of Thor’s arms. There’s no way she’s telling the truth.

You laugh. “That’s cute. But this is no place for a kid,” you say, walking towards her. But she sees that you’re too casual, your guard let down too low, and takes advantage of that. “Now all I need is for you to put this mask on and—”

The woman launches at you with a speed you don’t even process. She swipes your legs out from under you, causing you to crash on your back. Then she’s on top of you, hands around your throat. You reach into your pocket for your knife, all jokes lost with her attempt to take your life.

You flip the blade out and swing at her face, but she’s quick to dodge and rolls to the side. You jump to your feet, wondering where Natasha is. But you’re too embarrassed to call for her help, even if this soldier claims she was given the task of taking out the god of thunder.

The woman is impossibly fast and she lands blow after blow on you while you stagger back and slash out helplessly with your knife. When she kicks you in the stomach and your back collides into the water tank, you’ve had enough. 

You switch your knife to your left hand and aim for the woman’s neck. She grabs your wrist and twists it around so the knife turns towards you. Your eyes widen as she puts her entire body weight behind the knife. The blade sinks into your shoulder.

“What the—” You don’t even register the pain, more upset that you’ve been harmed with your own weapon. The woman grins, distracted, and you punch her in the throat as hard as you can. Her eyes bulge and she coughs, her hands flying to her neck. 

You take the mask out of your pocket and shove it onto her face, hearing the hiss as the sedative is instantly released. The woman immediately goes limp and you have no problem letting her drop to the floor.

“Y/N!” You look up and see Natasha staring at you, arms crossed over her chest.

“I got one.” You puff out your chest proudly.

“Why didn’t you call me?” Natasha comes over and inspects the soldier’s limp body.

“I didn’t need to. I handled her all by myself,” you say, a little annoyed by her doubt in your abilities.

“Is that a knife in your shoulder?” she asks.

“I…Oh, yeah—” 

“Is that your knife?” Being called out hurts more than the actual pain of having the knife in your shoulder.

“Uh…maybe…” You can’t even look her in the eye.

“Y/N,” Natasha growls. “Here, let me take it out.”

You back up until you hit the tank again. “Wait, shouldn’t we—ow!” you yelp as Natasha jerks the knife out.

“You’ve been through worse.” She tries to hand you the knife, but you shake your head, too embarrassed to continue carrying it with you since you obviously can’t be trusted with it. She shrugs and pockets your knife, taking out some gauze and tape to patch up your wound. You rotate your left arm in circles; besides an uncomfortable twinge, it works fine. 

“So, what do we do with her body?” you ask.

“We’ll come back. We need to find the other three first.”

“Three? I thought there were four.” You try to do the math in your head. Bucky had said there five super soldiers, and you had just defeated one, meaning there were four left—

“Three,” Natasha repeats and you look at her in confusion. “Mine’s outside.” Unlike you, there wasn’t a single scratch on her. Together, you leave the room and find a man slumped on the floor, a mask on his face.

“When did this happen?” you ask.

Natasha shrugs, but you can tell she’s extremely proud of herself. “When you were busy dealing with that little girl.”

“Excuse me. According to her, her target was Thor,” you say. “So, I just took out the soldier who was supposed to take down the god of thunder.”

“Yeah, you can keep telling yourself that.” Natasha nudges you playfully.

“Whatever.” You roll your eyes.

“Hey, are you two okay?” Steve asks in your earpiece.

“We disabled two soldiers on the second floor,” Natasha responds.

“Perfect. We got two down here as well.”

“Who did you take out?” Clint asks.

“This tiny woman and a guy,” you answer.

“How big was the guy?” Bucky asks.

“Maybe around your size?” you estimate, staring down at the soldier Natasha subdued.

“Okay, because the two we took out were also average-sized dudes. The last one—I was hoping it wouldn’t come down to this—he’s an absolute beast. I think he’s almost seven-feet tall and could bench press a plane with one hand,” Bucky says.

“So whoever takes him out wins,” you say. Between you and Natasha, you were certain you could win any fight.

“You’re on,” Clint says.

Natasha and you leave the soldiers where they lay and search the rest of the floor. This time, you take the lead, a little more cautious since you know what to expect. You head up to the third floor, expecting the last soldier to jump out at any moment. The tension of waiting to find him is almost unbearable and your muscles ache from being coiled so tightly.

“You guys find him yet?” Natasha asks through the earpieces.

“Negative.”

Suddenly, a moving shadow catches your eye and you throw out your arm to stop Natasha. A man steps out from around the corner and Bucky wasn’t lying about his size. He’s so tall the top of his head disappears behind the ceiling beams and he looks like he would sweep any bodybuilding competition he entered.

“Never mind, we found him. Third floor,” Natasha mumbles.

“Don’t engage him alone.” That’s Steve’s voice. “Try to stall—”

“Too late” you want to say as the man charges towards you. There is no way you two are taking him down without the use of any weapons; plus, you don’t have any more masks to use. But if you punched or kicked him, you wouldn’t be able to reach his face without catching airtime. You run backwards, fumbling with your options. An idea pops into your head.

“Maybe he has a safe word, too,” you say, crashing into Natasha and shoving her back. “Lizzie! Karen!” you scream the first names that come to you. “It could be a guy’s name—can’t assume anything, right? Chris! Tom! Mark!” The names have no effect other than making you look like an idiot.

“Shut up, Y/N—” Natasha hisses.

The man roars and reaches out, grabbing a fistful of your shirt. He throws you like a javelin and you can’t believe how far you fly, landing on your stomach and skidding another 30 feet.

Natasha tries engaging him, and although she’s faster than him, any punch or kick she lands goes completely unnoticed by him. The man flings her aside like a sack of flour and comes towards you.

You reach for your gun, but before you can bring it up, he kicks it out of your hand and stomps on it. The barrel literally flattens before your eyes, and you roll onto your back to face him. He lifts his foot, which is easily as big as your calf, and brings it down on your right knee.

CRUNCH.

The pain of your leg snapping in half is so blinding and nauseating you don’t even scream. It feels like someone is holding a blow torch to your bones and your entire body starts trembling in shock. The man scoops you up with an arm leveraged underneath your chin, and once you’re upright, you feel the lower half of your right leg dangling like a broken branch.

He lifts you high enough so your feet don’t touch the floor, leaving you scrabbling at his arm and choking on your saliva. Your vision flashes white and you feel the overwhelming urge to vomit as he spins you around to face Natasha.

She has her gun out, pointed at his head. “Put Y/N down,” she orders.

“And what if I don’t?” the man says in a voice that sounds like it came from the depths of the ocean. “You think you can shoot me before I can break a neck?” He squeezes you harder and you whimper.

Natasha pauses to think, and her eyes dart to the side before looking back at the man. “Okay, okay.” She sets her gun on the floor and raises her hands. “Just please don’t—”

“Kick it towards me.” The man crushes your windpipe like a straw and your eyes water.

Natasha reaches out with her foot and sends the gun spinning towards you and your captor. Suddenly, the man tosses you away and when you crumple on your broken leg, you swear you see purgatory. 

“Get on your knees,” the man tells Natasha. She doesn’t obey. “I said, get on your knees!” Very slowly, with a defiant look on her face, she drops to her knees one at a time. The man picks up her gun and holds it in front of her face. “I’ve been waiting years to finally meet you, Agent Romanoff.”

“Well, sorry for not coming around sooner.”

“My comrades may not have been successful in eliminating their targets, but I don’t fail,” the man says.

Natasha looks away from him to you. “I love you,” she calls, as casually as if you two were lounging on the couch watching a movie together.

You blink away tears to make eye contact with her. You can’t move, you have no weapons, and he has a gun pointed at her head. The complete helplessness you feel hurts more than your broken leg, more than Bucky’s gunshots had, more than any pain you’ve ever felt before. There’s a thousand things you want to tell her, but you only have time to say one.

“I love you t—”

But there isn’t even enough time for you to finish your sentence, because suddenly Natasha’s face is covered in blood.

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