#Also both were some kind of knight with a white cape

[smoothie03]

Everytime I see Hunter from ToH I can't unsee Aph Teutonic Knights because they have way too much in common.

[kachikirby]

Absurd Love

New Metaccine drabble!

-

“Alright, Fetty, close your eyes and I’ll take you to where your gift is.” Meta Knight said as he took his love by the hand and gently begin to guide her. Today was White Day, a day dedicated to men giving gifts in return for what they have received on Valentine’s Day.

“Oh? I wonder where we’re going. I wonder what kind of excitement awaits~” His wife uttered with a slight grin, definitely an attempt to get some kind of reaction out of him, but he seemed to ignore it.

“You’ll see, it’s a surprise.” Was all he said.

Despite her pouting, she continued along with his suggestion. Admittedly, she was extremely curious to know what her husband had been planning to do in return for her gift of a resort getaway together. Meta had always struggled with return gifts, especially since the general saying was to return with a gift that was three times the amount that was given and because of that most of his money would be spent on making one for his mother, Kurabe. However, he had always tried to do his best when it came to Fettuccine’s return gift and that was what she was excited to see. After spending a bit of time walking, the woman noticed that she had entered a large room.

“Metty, where are we?” She asked.

“You’ll see. Keep your eyes closed.” He replied as he then came to a stop. “Ok, now you can open them.”

Fettuccine opened her eyes, and she was shocked at what she saw. In front of her were what appeared to be two scale models: one of the Battleship Halberd and the other of the VictoriousArc, the battleship of the Organization she had been stationed on. Not only that, but they were almost the size of the massive table they had both been placed on. Honestly, she didn’t know how to react, but Meta seemed to grin as he continued to show off what he had made.

“I made all of this from chocolate, candies, and a bit of cake. But that’s not all.” He lifted the top of the model Halberd off to show that there were tiny rooms inside. “I’ve made everything to scale.”

His wife was silent, trying to process what she had just been presented with, making her husband look genuinely concerned, even worried.

“…do… do you not like it…?” He uttered, attempting and failing to hide his worry that he had disappointed her.

“No, no, Metty, I love it but…”

“But?”

“When did you have time to make all of this? We’ve been with each other almost every day the past few weeks!”

“You took naps with Sieg and Freya.” Her husband responded, as if that explained everything. “Also, I had some help from Kirby, Dedede, Bandana, and the members of the Meta-Knights. I wanted to do it on my own, but they all insisted that they help me.”

Fettuccine let out a sigh, internally thinking how much something like that truly fit her husband. Of course, she didn’t mind that, since it was that nature that made her fall in love with him in the first place. She picked him up and gave him a hug and a kiss.

“Thank you so much, Metty! I love it!”

The knight kissed her cheek. “Anything for you, my bunny.”

The both of them looked back at the two chocolate models.

“So, would you like to try a piece?”

His wife seemed a bit nervous. “Um… Metty, I hate to say this, but I think it looks too good to eat…”

Meta didn’t react, as if he was expecting her to say that and then gave a smile.

“I thought you would say that.”

He hopped out of her arms and reached into his dimensional cape, pulling out a plate of chocolate.

“I thought to save a few pieces of chocolate in case you would like to have some. Then if you’d like, we can freeze your gifts to preserve them.”

Fettuccine nodded. “I’d love to do that. Let’s put them in the freezer after we have some chocolate, shall we?”

Her husband nodded in agreement.

~~~~~~~~~~

A few days later, Fettuccine and Meta were taking Sieg and Freya to go eat breakfast when they heard a voice sounding like Sailor Dee shouting from the kitchen.

“LORD META KNIGHT, THERE’S A CHOCOLATE MODEL OF THE HALBERD AND SOME OTHER BATTLESHIP IN THE FREEZER!!”

[faulty-writes]

I have a cool request i had in my mind!

Can i request fantasy AU, (those dragon king bakugo idk what we call it.)

where the reader is a queen (queen of nature somewhat.) and him and her are enemies, but always gets in contact sometimes, but theres a scene where i really like and hope you like it too.

Where one of their friends is in danger, and bakugos flying with his dragon then the queen(reader) is riding her horse then passes by bakugo and he witnessed how beautiful the reader is, hair flowing everywhere, a determined face, dress flowing in the back, turns out the reader also was a knight.

[ I've heard about Dragon King Katsuki before, not sure if there's like a specific way to write the AU he's in. But I did my best, Eijirou also makes some brief appearances in this one shot because there's no Katsuki without that adorable redhead. Haha. Anywho, please enjoy the story. ]

"Yeah!?" he snapped with sparks of fire seeping from his mouth. His necklaces, colored red and blue bounced against his bare chest as he leaned back up. His red triangular-shaped earrings lightly swayed, tapping the sides of his cheeks while that angry gaze of his remained on you.

The white fluff that rested on top of his red cape decorated his shoulders and made his wild blond hair stand out. The orange sleeve protectors that rested on both of his arms worked as a contrasting accent that pulled the rest of the colors of his outfit together.

"Then go save them yourself dumbass!" he snapped, yet more sparks of fire shooting from his mouth. A growl rumbled in your throat, you wished you were outside at this moment so the ground and roots could soothe you. Katsuki was the King of the dragon realm and you were the Goddess of nature.

Well, by default you were also referred to as the "Queen" of nature and you could create living vegetation with a mere flick of your wrist. You heard the cries of nature, both good and bad. You cared for every living thing that lived in the forests you created and your people tended to.

Yet in the past, there had been a few less than desirable interactions between yourself and Katsuki. This was because he thought it fit to set portions of your land on fire due to him losing his temper with his fellow comrades and you were overwhelmed with the pain of the life you had created dying because of him.

This caused you to bud heads frequently, to hell with royal guidelines. Especially now, you had sought to ask Katsuki for help because one of your friends went missing and you suspected they were kidnapped. More specifically you wanted to ask for the aid of the dragons.

The reason being was that the warriors who specialized in riding them could provide a bird's eye view for you and potentially spot anything that looked suspicious or out of place. But Katsuki refused your plea and damn did that make you angry.

"I came here to ask for your help politely!" you said, stomping the first step that made up the stairway to Katsuki's throne. "Pff," he dismissed you by walking up to his throne and plopping down. His closest friend and consultant stood next to him having witnessed the whole interaction between the two of you.

The red blotches on his skin visible along with his spiked-up red hair, sharp teeth, and red wings. "Uh, heh...my King!" he stated nervously before leaning over to whisper in Katsuki's ear. "Are you sure you don't wanna help Y/n? I mean they are a queen, right?" he said, trying to soften the man up.

But Katsuki wasn't so easily motivated and dismissed you with a wave of his hand. "Get out of here already dumbass," he said, making you growl in response. "Fine!" you snapped with eyes slightly watered over. Your body was trembling, but you turned and stomped out of the throne room.

Eijirou frowned as he watched you leave before glancing at Katsuki who too was wearing a frown. 'I wonder if he realizes how he feels about Y/n, and I hope they find their friend. Kind of unmanly that I didn't offer help...then again don't wanna risk Katsuki's wrath,' he thought, still gazing in the direction you disappeared.

"Let's go," Eijirou snapped out of his thoughts and looked to the now empty throne. "Huh?" he blinked and looked at the bottom of the steps to see Katsuki walking away. "H-hey! Wait for me!" he called, rushing down the steps as quick as he could before he decided to jump and allow his wings to aid him in reaching the bottom.

"Where we going!?" he asked like an excited puppy causing Katsuki to groan in annoyance. "Out," he replied, taking a sharp turn down the hallway that led to the chamber where they kept the dragons. "Ohhhh, a little flighty flight might make you feel better!" Eijirou said with a bright smile making Katsuki roll his eyes.

"Get my armor ready!" you shouted, kicking open the doors to your kingdom. The citizens that were standing by jumped in surprise while your knights remained silent for a few moments before realizing they had to respond to you. "Yes, my queen!" they shouted in unison, bowing respectfully.

Determination was written across your face as your knights helped you put the chest piece of your armor on. Your sword was securely clasped by your side and your horse was ready to ride. "I am going to rescue my dear friend, do not inform the dragon realm of my intentions," you said with a slight snarl.

"Their king refused my plead for help," you muttered under your breath, making your knights tilt their heads in confusion but before they could further inquire what you meant, you were gone. Granted you didn't know where you were going, but you'd search far and wide for your missing friend.

A loud roar echoed through the air followed by a powerful gust of wind generated from the wings of dragons. "Hell yeah!" Katsuki screamed, spinning around in the air. Sparks of fire swirled around him and his wings that were normally concealed now spread which aided him in flying with his dragons.

"Feeling better, huh!?" Eijirou asked with a bright smile, flying just above Katsuki. His own dragon was nearby, soaring higher and higher into the sky past the clouds themselves. "Yeah, yeah!" he responded, shifting his wings just so in order to skim the side of a nearby mountain.

He wasn't paying attention to anything in particular as he continued to fly, but he did notice that the mountain in question had a trail carved into the side of it. No doubt a sign of your people's work, he didn't normally have any respect for nature or anything or anyone for that matter.

He thought himself important and though he had a few friends, his personal goal was to be the number one King. Someone bigger than the previous King. But his thoughts trailed back to you and the events that occurred just hours prior.

"Mm..." he grumbled, lips curled out in a pout as he continued to glide through the air. When the wind was tossing his hair back and forth and the breeze sounded in his ears he felt calm, but this peace was short-lived when he heard a distinct sound.

"The hell?" he said, almost in disbelief that he was hearing the sound of a horse galloping. Slowly he turned his head and his eyes immediately widened at the sight before him. It was you, but he had never seen you in this kind of light.

Your hair was flowing behind you, with a few delicate strands wisping across the bridge of your nose. Your eyebrows were slit and your lips formed in a thin line. A sense of determination was shining in your eyes and although you were wearing armor, the end of your dress flapped in the air behind you as your horse continued forward.

'W-what the hell is this!?' he screamed in his head, feeling his heart pound faster in his chest. 'Why is she so damn attractive now!?' his hand grasped the front of his shirt just seconds before he flew straight into the side of the mountain. A loud crack sounded and his vision went black.

"Up...get up!" he groaned, hearing the faint sound of someone's voice followed by the sensation of cold metal underneath his chin. He slowly opened his eyes, his bones cracking and his body sore. The faint taste of iron filled his mouth and he felt something dripping from his nose.

"Damn...it..." his words were barely audible as his vision returned and your silhouette now stood over him. He quickly realized that the cold metal underneath his chin was a sword, one you were currently using to keep him on the ground.

"You refuse to help me but you follow me!?" you were almost tempted to slit his throat if not for the fact he was already injured. If you could call a nosebleed an injury, he also had several cuts from hitting the hard rock surface of the mountain. His wings looked perfectly fine, but would likely bruise later.

"What..." he stopped and reached up with the intention of grabbing your sword and pulling it away from you but decided against this at the last second. "What the hell are you talking about...d-dumbass," he stuttered as the image of you from seconds prior entered his mind making his heart accelerate again.

"What do you mean what am I..." you growled, pulling your sword back and stomping your foot against the ground. "Sorry," you muttered, somewhat concerned you might be harming the land you swore to protect but Katsuki made you so angry you just needed to hit or kick something.

"You already refused to help, so stop following me and stop trying to pretend you care! Your kind isn't well known for that," you snarled before sliding your sword back into its sheath and walking back to your horse.

His teeth ground together at your words. 'My kind, eh!?' he stumbled up and stumped over to you, ignoring the pain that coursed through his body with every step. "What the hell does that mean!? We're better than you damn extras!" he exclaimed, pointing a finger at you.

A sigh came as you laid your hands on the saddle attached to your horse and turned to look at Katsuki with an irritated expression. "Is that why you refused to help me? Because you consider everyone else beneath you?" his expression immediately dropped and silence filled the air.

The two of you exchanged glances before you turned away and proceeded to climb onto your horse. Katsuki watched you and awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. Sure, he thought himself better than everyone but okay, maybe he was a little harsh in refusing your plea.

"Well, I..." he trailed off, internally fighting with his feelings. "I'll help you find your...damn friend if it'll get you off my back!" he snapped but only received your cold glance in return before you took off on your horse. "Hey!" he shouted, but it was obvious you were ignoring him.

"Damn it..." he sighed before spreading his wings and chasing after you. "I said I'd help you, damn it!" he snapped as he approached you from behind, but you reached for your sword and didn't hesitate to take a swing at him.

Katsuki managed to dodge this attack and growled in response. "Watch it dumbass!" yet again, he found himself dodging your sword. You pulled on the reins of your house, signaling it to stop. Then you climbed off and charged at Katsuki, sword held high in the air.

"Mm..." he firmly planted his feet into the ground and allowed you to approach him. Once again, he dodged your swing and grabbed your wrist, pulling it back and away from him. "What the hell is your problem!?" he snapped, bringing his face close to yours.

You kept an angry expression on and brought your knee up, impaling Katsuki in the stomach. He doubled over, sparks of fire flying from his mouth as he pressed his hands to his now sore stomach. "...fuck..." he groaned, lowering himself to his knees.

Meanwhile, you stood above him smirking at your accomplishment. "Where...where the hell did you learn to do that?" he questioned, he never recalled you showing any self-defense skills, let alone swordsmanship skills.

"Hm?" you looked at him, slightly concerned but shrugged. "I trained to become a knight when I was younger, worked my way through the ranks. Learned about discipline and what it means to protect the things you love," you responded, watching his eyes widen and mouth become slightly ajar.

He looked away, chewing his bottom lip. "Yeah..." he responded after a few moments. "Well I...it's..." he sighed before slowly standing on his feet. "Look! I...I mean I think it's cool...that you're a knight and everything and..." he paused again, feeling his stomach twist at the next words he was going to say.

"I wanna...help you find your friend, I'm being serious so don't push me away...damn extra..." he muttered the last part under his breath, but you still heard him and you were still angry at him. More so now that he was wasting the precious time you could be using to find your friend.

"Fine," you said before sighing. "Just don't get in my way," Katsuki smirked while you climbed on top of your horse again. "Pff, you should be taking that advice yourself. If we run into the bad guys that took your friend you better stay outta my way," he said with a chuckle.

"HEY!" a voice from above sounded causing you to look at the sky. "Damn it, Kiri! what is it?!" Katsuki snapped, balling his hands into fists. "Are you going somewhere with Y/n!?" the redhead shouted just as a dragon roared in the distance.

"Hm? Oh oopsie, forgot about my dragon for a second heh, heh..." he rubbed the back of his head, slightly embarrassed. "DUMBASS! Get your damn dragon and come back here, we're helping Y/n find their stupid friend!" Katsuki screamed, hair standing on end.

You blinked, eyes wide and wondering if he just tried to make enemies out of everyone. "Huh!? You're helping them now!? Uh, alright. I'll be right there!" Eijirou shouted back before disappearing out of sight. Katsuki turned to you, noticing your stare.

His expression went blank a moment and the faintest of pink colored his cheeks briefly before he seemed to get back to his senses. "What the hell are you staring at!? Let's go!" he demanded, flapping his wings to aid him in lifting off the ground.

"Hm, fine!" you replied, ready to signal your horse to go but you ended up pausing. "Hey," you gently said, turning to look at Katsuki as he hovered in the air with his arms crossed. "What!?" he snapped, oddly enough making you laugh. "Nothing, I just wanted to say thanks," he rolled his eyes at your words.

"It was nice of you to offer your help even though you rejected me the first time," you said. "Yeah, yeah, yeah," he replied before taking off causing you to follow behind him. It was almost funny to think you were saving your friend with the aid of the one and only dragon King.

[age-of-moonknight]

History of the Vestments (Part I)

As has been particularly emphasized in the most recent volume, Marc frames his attire as both Moon Knight and Mr. Knight as having near liturgical significance (which,,,,,something something rabbinical family background something but that might be an analysis for another post). There's the famous declaration that the seemingly impractical color has a strategic purpose, making sure opponents can see him coming yet are too shaken to aim properly, but going as far back as Moon Knight (Vol. 1/1980), #1 there's been at least some connection between the cowl and Marc's service to Khonshu,,,,so I thought it'd be fun to take a closer look at some of the designs for Moon Knight over the decades and see what we can find.

1. The OG

Cover for Marvel Spotlight (Vol. 1, 1971), #28.

First appearing in Doug Moench's and Don and Howie Perlin's Werewolf by Night (Vol. 1/1975), #32 when Moon Knight was just a mercenary hired to take down Jack Russell, this suit has some....rather distinct attributes. Namely, the cape connects to the back of the vambraces and attaches at the throat in a sort of buttoned collar kind of deal, while the hood does not yet sport the distinctive peaked shape.

Werewolf by Night (Vol. 1/1975), #32.

[A better look at how the cape attaches to the vambraces and the additional crescent details on the back of the belt from Marvel Spotlight (Vol. 1, 1971), #28.]

Nonetheless, other elements of this design, such as the truncheons being stored in boot holsters, the distinctive ring pattern on the vambraces, and the crescent details on the belt, would prove to become fairly common staples of Moon Knight designs moving forward.

2. The Cape Upgrade (i.e. Marlene proves to be invaluable once again)

Starting in Hulk! (Vol. 1/1978), #12 by Mr. Moench, Keith Pollard, Frank Giacola, and Mike Esposito, even Marc comments on the impracticality of having showgirl wings a cape attached to one's wrists.

The result is the cape that we all know and (I at the very least) love.

And Mr. Pollard, Mr. Giacola, and Mr. Esposito, wasting absolutely no time, made a point to emphasize the fun crescent shape of the new cape in that very same issue of Hulk! (Vol. 1/1978), #12.

2b. Adding the peaked hood!

Fascinatingly, it isn't until the next issue with art by Bill Sienkiewicz that Moon Knight's quintessential peaked hood is introduced. Furthermore, we also get some helpful trivia about Moon Knight's armaments at this point, including how the crescent details on his belt are actually where he stores his crescent darts.

Hulk! (Vol. 1/1978) #13.

[A closer look at that hood from Hulk! (Vol. 1/1978) #13]

3. The "Actual Origin"

Interestingly enough, it isn't until five years after his introduction in Werewolf by Night that Moon Knight's origin is revealed in Moon Knight (Vol. 1/1980), #1, which also happens to introduce the beginnings of Marc's complex relationship with Khonshu as well as the ties between Marc's cowl and Khonshu, Marc having taken his first cowl off of the idol that oversaw his resurrection.

(....dare I say.....Iconic....)

and from that issues for the entirety of the first volume, you have the "classic" Moon Knight design: nearly all white, minimal detail, with the number of rings around the vambraces or the presence of crescent darts on Marc's belt varying depending upon the the issue.

Cover for Moon Knight (Vol. 1/1980) #3.

4. Hawkeye's Ice

At the beginning of Moon Knight (Fist of Khonshu) (Vol. 2/1985), Marc is pulled back into crimefighting and service to Khonshu by a bunch of Khonshu monks who vanish, but not before giving Marc some new bling/weapons (which were actually designed by Hawkeye????).

Moon Knight (Fist of Khonshu) (Vol. 2/1985), #1.

Moon Knight (Fist of Khonshu) (Vol. 2/1985), #1 (featuring some classic Marc "?????"-ing).

This look is present throughout Moon Knight's tenure with the West Coast Avengers, as well.

West Coast Avengers (vol. 2/1985), #21.

It's also around this time that Marc starts carrying a tactical fannypack that he keeps hidden under his cloak and with which I am unfortunately obsessed.

West Coast Avengers (vol. 2/1985), #29.

Solo Avengers (Vol. 1/1987) #3.

5. Armor Jello Mold

By the beginning of Marc Spector: Moon Knight, the gold accents had been dropped for a more "back-to-basics" design with even the belt being less ornate than in previous designs (although this is the first run that I noticed the rings around the tops of Marc's boots being consistently drawn, which I've used to identify Marc during over-crowded cross-over events hahaha)

Cover for Marc Spector: Moon Knight (vol. 1/1989), #1 the art for which was done by Sal Velluto and Mark Farmer.

One interesting point of design divergence in Marc Spector: Moon Knight, however, is that after fighting Randall (again) who had obtained an armored version of what Marc wore as Moon Knight, starting around Marc Spector: Moon Knight (Vol. 1/1989), #38 with art by Ron Garney and Tom Palmer, Marc began wearing more armor plates as well.

Funnily enough, this adoption of armor occurred right about the time Marc started melting into goo due to cellular mutation/degeneration (gosh I love comics), so, as per several doctors' orders, Marc was advised to not remove his armor until he had fully recovered or else ???? he might melt???? for real

6. Post-Goo Armor

Even after Marc's goo crisis had passed, however, artists such as Dave Hoover and James Fry still depicted Marc as wearing more noticeable armor plating across his chest, bulkier vambraces, and a chunkier belt until the end of Marc Spector: Moon Knight (the post-Liefeld 90's, amiright?)

Marc Spector: Moon Knight (vol. 1/1989), #51.

Marc Spector: Moon Knight (vol. 1/1989), #52.

7. The Late-90's Course Correction

In what I can only imagine to be a....I don't want to say backlash, but perhaps "response" is appropriate, to the noticeably bulky armor of early and mid-90's comics, the Moon Knight designs of the late 90's were remarkably more "conventional," with the art of Moon Knight (Vol. 3/1998) by Tommy Lee Edwards and Robert Campanella being almost abstract in their use of shape and shadow (and which I personally think fits well tonally with some of the more mysterious elements of this volume), while still including recognizable details such as the rings around the vambraces and the crescent details on the belt.

Moon Knight (Vol. 3/1998), #4.

And while not necessarily the first artists to do so, this is the first time that an entire volume featured Moon Knight's eyes glowing red instead of white (due to the purposeful inclusion of red tinted lenses in a black mask) and personally I just think they look cool.

Moon Knight (Vol. 3/1998), #1.

Moon Knight (Vol. 3/1998), #3.

Moon Knight (Vol. 3/1998), #3.

This "back-to-basics" push is reiterated with Mark Texeira's work in Moon Knight (Vol. 4/1999).

Moon Knight (Vol. 4/1999), #1.

8. Precursor to Vol. 7's Black and White Suit???

The last suit I wanted to cover in this post is a bit of an oddity in that, from what I've gathered so far, it has only appeared in Marvel Team-Up (Vol. 3/2004). As you may have noticed in this post alone, various pencilers, inkers, and colorists have inventively used shadow to make Moon Knight's stark whites appear almost black in certain lighting; consequently, I am unsure if Scot Kolins was purposefully trying to employ the same effect, if this was an ongoing coloring mistake by colorist "Studio F," or if this is a sort of precursor to the more famous look in volume 7, but in any case, I'm obsessed.

Marvel Team-Up (Vol. 3/2004), #7.

Marvel Team-Up (Vol. 3/2004), #10.

And that brings us up to ‘round about volume 5, so stay tuned for another one (or two) of these posts. Oh! And let me know if I missed anything hahaha

[llamagoddessofficial]

Thank you to @venelona for commissioning this piece from their amazing au, Check & Mate! Take a look at their @undertale-check-and-mate​ blog if you’re interested in the aesthetic & super cool worldbuilding~

“I have no idea how I beat you before, Papyrus.”

Frisk stared at the scattered chessboard, her brow deeply furrowed, finger rapping repeatedly against the tabletop in her frustration. Papyrus, opposite her, sat in his smart black and white chequered uniform... the picture of a winner.

This was just a casual game between friends. Of course, Frisk approached it with just as much fierce competitiveness as she would any other, but it was still nowhere near as high stakes as the official first match she’d had when she first met Papyrus. She moved her bishop, taking a pawn, saying the move aloud as Papyrus did- he was encouraging her to do so while in practise, to familiarise herself with the board and the options she had at hand.

“THROUGH YOUR OWN TALENT AND SKILL, OF COURSE! BISHOP TO F7.” He said, moving it with a gloved hand and taking the bishop she’d just pushed- he’d baited her with a pawn sacrifice. She groaned, puting her head in her hands, running her fingers through her chestnut hair... How the hell did I miss that? “SOME DAYS, WE PLAY BETTER, AND SOME DAYS WE JUST CAN’T WRAP OUR HEAD AROUND THE BOARD. THOUGH WHETHER MY DEFEAT WAS A FLUKE OR NOT, WE SHALL HAVE TO SEE WITH MORE GAMES... SHAN’T WE?”

“At this rate, fluke or no, Undyne is going to get me in two moves.”

Papyrus was fantastic to play against. He was a true enthusiast; he knew openings Frisk didn’t even know existed, he could adopt any play style or development or combination, he had an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the game and through it all he had brilliant sportsmanship. After her first match with him in the snow, where she’d beaten him in a pulse-jumping game, the win/loss ratio between the two of them had been almost 50/50 and playing him was her no.1 method of efficient practise... especially considering her goal of beating every monster in this strange undeground world at chess. 

...

Papyrus was the complete opposite of his brother.

Sans the skeleton was the only monster, the only monster, who hadn’t challenged Frisk to a game when he met her- something that immediately wildly threw her off. “i’m way too lazy,” he’d said, with a wide and casual grin that almost fooled her into believing him. Black pants and sleeves, white gloves, a white shirt and shoulder-covering cape with black trim... and the most ridiculous long chequered double-tie she’d ever seen with a small bone-shaped lapel pin.

I don’t know how he manages to look good in that. But... he does.

... There was something behind his tiny eyelights, stupid grin and lazy demeanour. She saw it the second she shook his hand- he was observing her. He was smart... he was the interesting kind of smart.

... So why won’t you pick up a chess piece?

It wasn’t for lack of trying on her part, to say the least. Frisk had been asking him borderline nonstop. Curiosity about his true aptitude, combined with her determination to beat everyone (which included him), created a storm that couldn’t be subsided- but at this rate she’d be dead of old age before he moved a pawn, seeing as he seemed to be totally immovable in his resolution to not engage her.

... Which only spurred her on even more. Of course.

“nah. i’m terrible at chess. wouldn’t know a knight from a rook from a raven. i’ll leave all that hard work to the professionals.”

At that moment, he was reclined on his couch, apparently totally ignoring the casual match going on a few feet away. She had yet to see his eyelights glancing over to their table...

...

But her suspicions were mounting.

Looking over the board, her finger finally stopped tapping- Frisk spied an opportunity. 

...

“... Hm...” Her eyes narrowed in mock thought, and she had to try pretty hard not to immediately look over at Sans and make herself too obvious as she ‘wondered’ aloud. “... If I... rook to e1...”

... It was a total lie. She wasn’t going to make that move- it would leave her king completely open for Papyrus to move in and sweep up a pawn, checkmating it with his queen and ending the game there and then.

...

Sans went still.

Frisk spotted it, a hawk seeing a bunny twitch; he’d moved his skull a fraction of an inch to the side. He’d given himself away.

... He ‘wouldn’t know a rook from a raven’, huh?

“... Actually, no. Pawn to g5.”

///

Papyrus had to leave, eventually- heading to his training for entry into the King’s royal guard. He’d beaten Frisk, that time, catching her out with a knight and cornering her... but of course, being Papyrus, he was boastless and jeerless and merely congratulated her on a ‘FANTASTIC’ game with a handshake and a bright smile before he went.

His departure left Frisk alone in the house. 

With Sans.

...

... She reset the scrambled board, lining everything up and turning to look over her shoulder at the skeleton still silently reclined on the sofa. Even when lazed back with his lapel pin wonky, he somehow managed to look sharp in his outfit.

“Heeeey Sans....” She said, voice sweet and sing-songy, thick lashes fluttering. She even adopted a ‘cuter’ position- crossing her legs and resting her cheek on the back of the chair. “Y’know. You should come play with me.”

“no.” He didn’t even open his sockets, speaking in that calm and collected baritone, with a little teasing lilt in return for her playfulness.

Ugh. She quickly gave up on the cute position, sitting forward. “C’mooon...”

“you’re too far away. i’m so lazy. can’t.”

... Well. 

Not to be deterred, she prised her fingers under the entire board and hefted it up, carefully getting down from the table to carry it across the room. She placed it on the coffee table just in front of the couch and kneeled on the floor, eyes and smile glinting.

The sound of the board hitting the tabletop (and a few pieces rattling and falling over) was enough to make him actually crack open a socket, clearly curious- the pinprick eyelight observed her with that lowkey sharpness she really couldn’t take her eyes off of.

“... Look, I’ll even open, since you’re so lazy.” She picked up a white pawn. “Pawn to d4.”

...

... Sans sighed. He opened both sockets, and sat up in his seat... her heart jumped into her throat and she sat up straighter too; could this be it? Had she broken him with her pestering? Was he finally going to play a game with her? His eyelights were so intense, so unreadable as he looked across at the board. His gaze lifted to her... Sans smiled, leaning forward...

...

He flicked his king over.

“oh no.” He said, sitting back, sockets closing again. “you sunk my battleship.”

...

Frisk sat on her heels, throwing her head back and letting out a dramatic and loud world-weary groan that would’ve worked just as well coming from someone three times her age, smacking her hands against the tiny coffee table and jumping all the loose chess pieces. It made him snicker from his position on the sofa- absorbed in how cruel the world was and how her suffering was never going to end, Frisk completely missed the tiny fond look he shot her.

“You’re a total liar, y’know.” She wanted to throw something at him, but she just settled for crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at his stupid smug face seeing as the nearest throwable objects were all furniture. “You know how to play, I saw you listening in to the game earlier.”

“dunno what you’re talking about.” He was making the couch look... awfully comfy. How he was practically sinking into it... and she’d been sat at the table for what felt like hours while she played against Papyrus.

... She abandoned the board to come and sit heavily beside him, frustrated at once again being thwarted. Frisk knew he wasn’t going to admit his lie; and she wasn’t even going to try to get the confession out of him, it’d be like trying to get blood from a stone. But she at least had that knowledge... none of his dodging or thwarting could take that away from her.

“You. Are such a pain.” She grumbled.

“course.” He replied, in that wonderful voice of his. “s’my job.”

...

“So...” Frisk felt her smile widening. No rest for the wicked. She moved closer to him on the couch, shuffling over the cushions... juuust until her knee was touching his. “You like jokes, right?”

He glanced at her, cool calm & unaffected. “i sure do.”

She fully grinned at him. “Tell me a chess joke. I know you have a few rattling around in that skull of yours.”

“... you wanna hear a chess joke? when i have so many other brilliant puns? i’m hurt.”

“Go on.” She propped herself up on her elbow, voice lowering a fraction. “Just for me?”

He sighed.

(But... his smile grew a tiny bit.)

“... yesterday, i threw chess pieces all over my brother’s head. you should’ve seen the rook on his face.���

...

That was actually kind of brilliant. She snickered- she’d been expecting something much, much lower in quality, and was pleasantly surprised.

“Do you know what chess pieces look at when they have private time?”

“hm?”

She winked exaggeratedly. “Pawn videos.”

... He rolled his eyelights, smile mirroring hers in its wideness nonetheless.

“I wish I could become a doctor.” Frisk dramatically placed her non-propping hand on her chest, as if delivering an emotional soliloquy, enjoying the fact that she was melting him. “Alas, I must become a chess champion- for I have an incredibly chequered past.”

“so awful it’s on par with my usual jokes.” He snickered. “you’re lucky pap isn’t here.”

“Hey. What’s the most costly chess move?”

“that’d be the check, of course.”

“... Do you know any chess pickup lines? I can’t say I have any.” She said, coquettishly, leaning in closer to him- he didn’t reciprocate much, just turning to look at her a little more.

“dunno if it’s appropriate. also don’t know if i’m your type.”

That made her giggle. 

“... Well. Y’know what my type is...?”

“hmm?” He cocked his head.

“People who’ll actually play me at chess.”

...

His face... 

... Fell.

...

“do you ever quit?” He said, more akin to a snap than just a normal question. 

In quite literally an instant it completely shattered the aura the two had created. The sudden transition and frustration in his voice caught her totally off guard- she blinked, taking her head off her hand and sitting upright, losing all the closeness she’d gained from leaning in.

“Wh...”

“i’m not going to play with you. get over it.” His eyelights had gone whip-thin, and... oddly icy. “stop bugging me all the damn time and get something better to do. it’s not going to happen. just get back to ‘practising’ so you can run off and get beaten by undyne.”

...

What the hell?

...

A tense silence stretched between the two of them that got progressively more and more uncomfortable.

...

Frisk turned away from him in a manner that, from anyone else, would’ve been a resignation- but from her felt more like a jab right back at him- a ‘I’m not going to deal with this shit’ declaration with nothing but her face. She wasted no time moving herself off the couch, picking up the chess board carelessly to settle down at the table instead, across the room and by herself.

Several pieces rattled and fell over on both sides when she put the board down on the table. But she didn’t care.

...

“... uh... hey. wait.”

The wind was out of his sails- his tone had lost literally all of its previous bite. But she didn’t look at him, her brow furrowed and jaw set, far less willing to drop it than he apparently was.

“... frisk.”

...

Okay, fine. Whatever. She graced him with an upset glance- her posture was defensive, usually warm and amicable (either that or ruthlessly determined) expression twisted into something pretty unpleasant.

She just... didn’t get why he’d suddenly bitten like that. He had yet to seem upset at all by her asking him about chess, the worst he’d looked was entertained, and he could’ve just... told her if she was bugging him, right? Instead of lashing out like that with no warning when she thought they were having fun.

...

... He was sat totally upright, looking at her, leaning against the arm of the sofa like he wanted to push through it.

“... i’m... i’m sorry.” His eyelights were tiny, smile low. “i didn’t mean that. i just got mad.”

...

Frisk turned back to the board, righting the black king. “Okay.”

She didn’t see his cringe. 

“... you’ll beat undyne. i’m sure. you’re even more determined than she is, which is saying something.”

“... Mhm.”

Both of them could tell she didn’t think his second, meeker statement was the one he really meant. And he didn’t like that at all. “i mean it,” he insisted, louder.

Shuffling sounds- she wasn’t fully paying attention to him, moving some other pieces back into their proper positions, making sure the knights were facing forward. 

“... I know you do, Sans. Thank you.” 

She didn’t believe him. But he seemed oddly insistent on getting her to say he did... so she’d just agree, and they could drop it.

...

“you asked about chess pickup lines, right?” 

His voice was a lot closer than she expected it to be, and it almost made her jump- she narrowly avoided flinging the bishop she was holding when she turned to find him separated from her only by a chair. How the... how did he move so silently? He was righting the black queen, for her.

“... Uh...” She mumbled. He wasn’t the only one who’d had the wind taken out of his sails- she suddenly couldn’t find it in her to make a joke. “... Yeah.”

“would it be inappropriate of me...” He held up his hand, a familiar white piece between his index phalange and his thumb. “to call you good-rooking?”

...

...

Frisk couldn’t help it. She snorted, at that- it was so dumb... the perfect kind of joke to alleviate a mood. The small ungainly sound seemed to have a positive impact on him- his shoulders unwound, smile lifting at the corners just enough for the curve to seem genuine again.

“is that a king in your pants or are you just happy to see me?”

Her snort became a proper giggle, which he apparently liked even more. Okay. I know I’m supposed to be mad, but this is too good to pass up. “I-I dunno. Looks more like a pawn to me.”

“... wow. i’m... wounded.” 

His eyelights were larger, softer... his body language had opened like a book. She looked up into his sockets, posture loosening too, unconsciously mirroring him until she’d gone from clenching her arms to only holding her wrist. “Sure you are.”

...

Both of them seemed to realise, at the same time, just how close their faces were. 

Frisk turned away first, her cheeks suddenly tingling and pleasantly warm- she pursed her lips and finished resetting the chessboard. Today was already proving to be a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. Sans’ face was also gently coloured, a small dust of blue making an appearance on his cheekbones... but he didn’t turn away.

“... c’mon, let’s just watch some tv or something. i’ve said ‘chess’ and ‘rook’ so many times i’m starting to forget what they mean.”

“... Pft... okay. ... Sure.”

[brawltogethernow]

I suppose the next step then is "BBC Merlin but it's SpideyTorch"

Oh my god. TEACHER, TEACHER, SHE’S TARGETING ME okay okay uh.

Peter, secret warlock, goes to Camelot with his mother figure, May, who does not know about the warlock thing because it kicked in when he was a teenager and they both strategically decline to tell each other things. Gaius is Reed, who was the court sorcerer and is now the court scientist. (He’s not an old man except spiritually where he has been a senile professor since he was 19.) He literally didn’t change anything he was doing, considering science and magic as different points on one spectrum anyway-- No. That’s Doom’s schtick. DOOM was the court sorcerer, and was fired. He is upset about it. Reed is just a science guy but worked extensively with Victor, so he’s kind of useful, but not as useful as Peter was hoping.

I know very little about Sue and Johnny’s dad except that he’s a supervillain who...faked his death, revealed himself, and then died for real like 12 hours later? Did he also fake his wife’s death at some point? Would he do a mad king magic ban thing? Idk but for plot purposes we’ll say yes. They conveniently already share Arthur’s dead mom syndrome. Maybe their aunt whose name is different depending on what issue you’re reading is also here just to convolute the court drama. Wait no didn’t Arthur have a shady uncle show up after like five seasons. She.

Peter is very talented at finicky, specific magical formulas. (Reed: :) )But in practice he really prefers to just slam out a big wave of power, and if that doesn’t solve the problem, repeat until it does. (Reed: :( ) He gives this a go at the beginning of sorting out any problem, like restarting your glitching computer, and if it doesn’t work the problem is complicated enough to be an episode plot.

So obviously I’m still gonna do secret identity shit? Peter saves the young prince and heir’s life and is rewarded with a second job; he only came here for job reasons and you’re all lucky he doesn’t turn down paying jobs otherwise he’d be having some words with the king. Peter also accidentally becomes a masked vigilante out in the town. His very existence is illegal because he’s obviously doing magic! They keep sending his boss out to hunt him down, and their eyes are always locking dramatically and shit in brief silent stare-offs from opposite ends of the street in thunder storms at sunset until Johnny’s horse rears and breaks the eye contact causing Peter to snap out of it and flee. You know how it is.

Sue is older than Johnny and thus older than the magic ban, so she responded to it by going “:) That’s nice, Dad” and socking away a bunch of books before they could go on the fire, and now she’s just a sorceress on the dl. This is approx. a first season finale reveal, because her real superpower is being able to keep her mouth the hell shut. I literally cannot with how nobody in Merlin ever exchanges information, so shortly after Peter and Reed learn this they exchange secrets, like sane people, which opens up their resources a bit.

That said Sue is an extra legitimate royal, not the Morgana equivalent. Maybe Gwen should be Gwen, especially since I have thought Gwen/Johnny/Peter has potential since reading Spider-Man/Fantastic Four (which if you read an earlier ask, I recommend if you want to see new art of Gwen being mean in hair clips). But Peter/Gwen and Merlin/Freya are like...same energy except the latter wasn’t as well done. And Merlin’s Guinevere honestly more reminds me of Betty. Morgana--

(wheeze)

(cough)

Okay I thought this trying to reconcile as much of the cast as possible and I now can’t unthink it so. The king’s ward is Dorrie Evans. Yes she goes nebulously sapphic evil witch queen. Sure she was an unpleasant teenager and readers hate her, but you know what, I’ll simp, whatever. Let Dorrie poison some people. In a cape. This feels natural to me. Also Betty Brant and Dorrie Evans???? Betty/Dorrie vibes???? I guess!!!!

So like. The thing where Arthur gets mystically whammied by love potions once a month, except also Johnny’s normal relationship-anticipating giddiness happening organically mixed in, the part before he actually starts dating someone and becomes immediately depressed. Peter is in the bg sarcastically dismissing magical incidents saying he can’t even tell the difference, and Reed is like 😬 Please Check Anyway. Peter’s not, haha, Peter’s not jealous, Johnny is just an idiot, and, okay maybe Peter is a little jealous! But it doesn’t matter because the prince is going to marry some noble and--

Reed: Prince Johnathan is a bit like a little brother to me, so Please Stop Telling Me About Your Problems.

Reed/Sue is reciprocated but on permanent hold for class reasons. Spideytorch is in the same boat except they’re also stupid and working it out by dating their way through the whole country, except Peter is actually into that and Johnny is not.

The dragon is...Ezekiel?????? That’s the right level of wise wry mentor who’s very shady and will kill you, so he’s a dragon now. And when he tells Peter he’s the (other) chosen one, Peter full stop doesn’t believe him. This disbelief goes on extensively. Peter is not a fate-oriented person. Johnny would love to hear about the fate thing, but no one will tell him.

Literally I’m just going to add more chronologically unmoored medievalish shit to Merlin now to cram more of the cast in. There’s some kind of town crier/herald outfit, and Jonah is their boss. He’s just out in the road yelling sometimes even though he can delegate that. The buglers otherwise known as Bugle staff named Peter’s vigilante persona the Spider, which was supposed to sound menacing but is in practice also cool. This is out-of-universe fairly equivalent to Merlin’s real name as a neat two-syllable animal word and possible title. In-universe maybe I’d elbow out Emrys and just use this. Merlin is already very servants-don’t-work-like-that, so Betty just also has two jobs for no reason so she can knock elbows with them.

MJ is the court jester and knows absolutely everything, which is a dramatic mid-game reveal that isn’t exactly foreshadowed so much as always possible while carefully obscured from the viewer (the reader). Before this she’s already a Wise Fool, Shakespeare-ways archetype character, it’s just not clear how much. She is the most important character in Homestuck Merlin Spider.

Every ship is real for at least 30 seconds. Most of the extended FF cast are either magical antagonists or weird nobles.

Ben????? (Grimm, I mean. Ben Parker is dead. Ben Reilly is a recurring episodic plot.) This show was painfully formulaic and would simply not keep someone with any version of his deal in the main cast, but he’s a full quarter of the FF so. A magical accident approximated his rock body deal. Maybe specifically tying him to ~the magic of the land~. And then, uh. Wandering the country is too satellite-like. Hiding out in a forbidden castle wing is interesting but doesn’t do him justice. So I guess it’s a come and go semivoluntary transformation thing that’s kept secret? Rock werewolf. Were-rock. Good opportunity to fake out like you’re going to do a monster of the week plot, and then he contributes to the tension to abolish the magic ban.

Knights?? Wyatt is there from the beginning, being tall and reassuring (holding a sword edition). Not sure how him or his immediate ancestors got to Europe and then ended up this involved with the local nobility, but it was probably exciting. And Flash, or he’s an early addition. Either way he’s from the same village as Peter and is approximately White’s Kay, except directed at the wizard instead of the future king, and otherwise you can completely superimpose their comic dynamic including the fanboying over the secret identity angle, which is entertainingly seditious. ...Others. I don’t know enough FF characters for this. I’ve accidentally implied the eventual addition of Bennet Brant, but his evil sorcerer of the week energy is very strong, so maybe not. Randy eventually because I already implied the Robertsons and can see it.

This is so long, covers nothing, and explains none of the namechecks. Using both these characters’ franchises in one fusion is too much stuff. I keep not talking about the core relationship because it’s just. Like That. I don’t feel like I need to elaborate on the Merthur dynamic, even transposed on a different ship. It’s Just Like That.

[elderbwrry]

The White Hound

When Hux becomes Supreme Leader, one of his first orders is to put Kylo in white. He didn't realise it would be quite so inconveniently distracting.

From discussions with @kyberkills about Adam Driver in white on the set of Gucci.

Tags: Mature audiences, Armitage Hux/Kylo Ren, assorted very minor ocs, Supreme Leader Armitage Hux, Hound Kylo Ren, some violence, kylo does do a murder, a TEENSY bit of Beheading, but it is not the focus, Denial of Feelings, Married Couple, Blood, sex mention, fashion of the First Order, one day that'll be a real tag i swear *shakes fist at god*, the first order have only heard of three colours ever

Wordcount: 1913 - also on ao3

Hux narrowed his eyes.

The Magistrate in front of him was droning on and on, and had been for the last half hour. Ordinarily, Hux enjoyed a bit of grovelling, but the issue of it was that she was notgrovelling, she was delivering a very carefully worded monologue about the lengths her government was willing to go to in order to comply with the First Order's expanding jurisdiction over the Galaxy. It was too well put together, and Hux could already tell that nothing she was going to promise – once she finally got to her point – would be comprehensive enough for Hux to accept. He demanded submission. He demanded absolute order.

Still, perhaps she would surprise him, besides which it would be better to hear her entire point before rebuffing her, and, as Supreme Leader, time was Hux's to command.

On his left, the Praetorian Guard swapped their spear from their left to right hand. The Magistrate's eyes flicked over to the guard at their movement, and both of her own guards tensed, though they had been removed of their ranged weapons when they arrived. Hux shifted to lean on the other armrest of his throne, his arm poised on its elbow, his hand lazily positioned in the air. The Magistrate refocussed, evidently understanding Hux's subtle message that he should be displeased were she to disrespect his gracious attention, but it was the first crack Hux had noticed in her collected facade.

Of course, Hux knew what she didn't; the guards were exemplarily trained, and that particular movement was the signal of disturbance on the surface levels of the vast mega-ship which served as Hux's seat of command.

Hux readied himself in case the disturbance grew more serious, the Magistrate's words becoming thinner and thinner to his hearing as he mentally constructed the likeliest cause for this correlation of events; she was merely a distraction, her escort ship a vehicle for whatever forces were acting out this misguided plan.

It was a pity – he really had hoped she would surprise him.

Another slight adjustment of grip on the spear of his guard told him Ren was on his way. The knowledge inspired in Hux a sense of satisfaction, which he put down purely to that of knowing his hound had swiftly dealt with the issue.

The Magistrate was still talking. Her government's armies would be powerful enough to cause a problem, which was why Hux had been hoping for a diplomatic transition of power, but now there was little choice other than to take the system by force. And here she'd given him the opportunity, Hux mused as he smoothed down his blood red tunic.

The door at the far end of the throne room swished open, and immediately Ren was marching his way down the central aisle, stormtroopers at his heels along with one of his own knights, and, for one glorious moment, they were a vision all in white. He looked serious, his chin lowered as he glowered forward, his dark hair sweeping back due to the speed with which he was advancing through the otherwise static climate-controlled air. His alabaster robes gleamed in the strip lights. Hux himself had approved the uniform redesign that placed Ren in his current long culottes and figure-flattering shirt, stripped of the cape, the helmet, the things he hid behind before Hux took power. Ren had complained – about the style and the unfamiliar colour and many other things besides – but eventually caved under Hux's pressure; after all, what was grander than a besuited knight in white?

Quite suddenly, Hux found himself surging to his feet. Red – blood red – red, all over Ren's right hand, shoulder, hem, boots. Was he hurt? What had he done to get so filthy with it?

Hux was distracted, so, when the Magistrate drew a pistol and pointed it directly at him, the first he knew of it was the clankof the Praetorian Guards' armour, the warning cry of “Supreme Leader!” and the growl of Ren and his lightsaber igniting. Hux had only time to stare down the barrel of the weapon and consider exactly what he might die from, before the electric flash of the sabre split the air between the Magistrate's head and body and everything in between.

In the background, two further sounds of blaster fire were directed at the Magistrate's guards, along with a buzz of trooper commands and heavy booted footfalls as they surrounded the enemy, who were variously stunned and dead. Hux allowed himself a moment to look at the bodies and consider what would have to be done. Then, he mentally postponed that consideration and turned to Ren, whose chest was heaving as he stepped around the body, closer to Hux, but without taking his eyes off what he'd done.

Hux descended a step, his cloak swishing behind him, but one was all that was needed before Ren was right in front of him, seemingly only reassured that Hux was safe by proximity. Hux paused, hoping Ren wouldn't pull him into some kind of unwanted embrace – he didn't want to get blood on his robes – yet bracing for it somewhat eagerly.

“What is the situation?” he asked.

“Resistance,” came the gritted reply.

Hux raised an eyebrow. “They weren't her government's forces?” The potential ramifications of this were reeling through his mind, so the question was more to himself, but Ren nodded anyway.

“I recognised some of them. They must be desperate, to send such veteran members on a mission like this.”

Ren's tone caught at Hux. It was pained, more so than usual. For someone who had killed so many people and betrayed so many others, Kylo could get awfully trapped in the emotion of some single, awful actions. His lightsaber was still crackling at his side, scorching a mark into Hux's immaculate stairs. “Ren,” Hux prompted, modulating his tone to be more compassionate. It still sounded canned, but at least he was trying.

Ren didn't respond.

Frowning, Hux reached his gloved hand out to Ren's bare, bloodied one, fingers trailing over his raised, tightly gripping knuckles. Something akin to concern found its way into Hux's throat this time as he repeated, “Kylo?”

The lightsaber died at the same time Ren's attention snapped away from where the stormtroopers were quickly moving the body, to Hux. “She almost shot you.”

Hux's head quirked; was that what this show of emotion was about? Ren had looked so furious when he'd attacked the Magistrate. The intensity of Hux's emotions did not match, either for his own life or for Ren, but something inside him felt off, like data buffering, at the reminder that Ren cared so much.

The memory of their marriage ceremony remained fresh in Hux's mind; he thought about it often for this exact reason. Ren had been draped in white then too, and gold and jewels and lace and rare flowers. He had been radiant, especially with how much more meaning had flowed through his vows than Hux had been able to inject into his own. At the time, Hux had absently thought that Ren deserved to say his vows to someone who actually loved him, but hadn't much cared. Indeed, for himself the whole exercise was one of cementing his claim to the throne via marriage to Snoke's heir, something which he thought Ren had understood, despite his eager acceptance of the proposal, but since then it had become increasingly, unignorably obvious that Ren loved him. He thought this was real, and that Hux, emotionally reserved with it as he was, loved him back.

Hux had to take some of the blame for that; he'd done nothing to dissuade the idea. He'd played into it, given Ren power and purpose, played the role of husband to it's fullest extent. He'd gone through all the motions – nothing that he hadn't done before, really – except that the act was getting harder. When Ren played with Millie, Hux had to stop himself from smiling. When Ren stepped unselfconsciously out of the shower, Hux had to avert his eyes and suppress a blush. When Ren lavished adoration onto his body, the shudders he sent through Hux felt all too real.

Now, too, Hux had to tell himself that he was acting out of expectation, because his subjects were watching, when he took another step down to Ren's level and, holding him gently by the elbows, looked over the blood splatters, asking with too much concern, “Are you hurt?”

Ren looked down at himself, at the darkening spots of a slaughter over snow, as if only now realising his state. “Oh, no, this isn't mine.”

“Well,” Hux chided, noting that the colour of his red leather gloves was not so dissimilar to the splatters on Kylo's right side, “it would behove you to take more care next time. You'll need new robes, now you've stained these.”

“You could always put me back in black,” Ren objected, but it was laced with something Hux had come to recognise as his flirting voice.

“Never,” Hux said with more vehemence than he intended. He wasn't sure why he was so against it, other than that he loved the way Ren shone in white. No, not loved. Adored? Not right either, both too strong for him to justify to himself. He settled with preferred. “Go get cleaned up,” he ordered, to avoid thinking about it.

Ren's clean hand raised to Hux's waist. Months ago, Hux had had to stop himself from jerking away at such a touch, but now he was used to it, had to stop himself from leaning into it, even. He'd learned Ren's touches well, just as Ren had learned that Hux would not tolerate being touched by his bloody hand, and as such kept it at a distance. “Come do it with me?” Ren asked, lowering his voice and whispering into Hux's ear, “You know fighting makes me horny”.

Hux shook his head. No, he had plenty to be getting on with; planning the offensive on the Magistrate's home star system, minimising the fallout and outrage from the remaining systems who had yet to join the First Order, tracking the origin of the Resistance members. Still, the head shake was more firm than it would have been if he wasn't thoroughly tempted.

Ren let out an annoyed exhale. “Fine,” he said, and, barely a moment later, Hux was tugged forward into a firm kiss which gave just enough of a taste of hunger that Hux was under no illusions as to what Ren meant when he pulled away and said, “I'll be waiting for you when you're done.”

And maybe Hux was tired, maybe he was shaken by the – rather pedestrian – attempt on his life, but he forgot himself. His hand threaded itself up into the hair at the base of Kylo's neck, thinking how soft it would feel if it weren't for the gloves and drawing him in for another, more lingering kiss this time, one that tasted of the surprised little noise Kylo let out. This time, when they separated, it was as if Kylo's gorgeous white robes had been tinted with the crimson of Hux's; his own colour, rather than the blood of their enemies. The image seared itself into Hux's retina, and promised to be the only thing he could think about until he next saw Kylo. The white really did make the red come out nicely.

“I'll be there soon.”

[sif-the-tsunami]

A king meets his queen

Summary: Henry has a somewhat anonymous encounter with a Persephone cosplayer at a hotel bar.

Warnings, sleezy men, and smut. unprotected sex, oral sex for everyone 

rating 18+ smut below the cut

Word count: 3.3K

Texas in August was something no mere mortal should have to endure, and even though it was still sticky with humidity, the hotel bar was full of people milling around. The only way to really describe the heavy air near the Gulf Coast was to say that it was moist. Between the low buzz of conversation, the women on stage singing bluesy country songs, and the sweet and smokey bourbon took away the stresses of the day for the woman seated on a low leather sofa. She swayed to the rhythm of the acoustic guitars and the women singing cover songs.  There was a fun mix of people still wearing their costumed from the convention happening about two blocks away from the hotel she was staying in.

Long pink ringlets bounced as she enjoyed the steel guitars, her friends had gone back to their hotel room after they finished their drinks. The women still in their elaborate cosplay outfits were wonderful for people watching, even though she sat in her own. A floor length black gown hugs her body, with a deliciously low neckline and two teasing slits up to the tops of her thighs. Attached to the back was a thin cape that dragged behind her with delicate pink petals in swirling patterns. One the top of her perfectly pink hair was a tiara made of dark crystals with two little blue flowers on the right side. Noticing that her glass was empty, she decided to head to the bar for a new drink.

“Hello there princess Pinkie Pie, what are you drinking?” An eager blond man came up to her, blocking her access to the bar. “Let me get you another.”

“Hi, excuse me. Thank you, I’m fine.” She tried to move away.

“Come on, a beautiful woman like you shouldn’t be buying her own drinks.” He said a little too eagerly. He kept getting closer to her, looming over her even though she was wearing heels. “You are here by yourself, you need a little company.”

“I’m waiting for someone, thank you, again. I’m fine.” She looked down for a second so she wouldn’t step on her cape.

“Don’t be like that sweet thing, I would love to keep you company while you wait for your friend.” He put his hand on her upper arm and she yanked herself back. Before she could say anything a tall, dark haired man pushed himself between her and the blond man. He hovered his hand over her exposed shoulders as he made himself look as large as possible as he got her out of the way of the potential danger.

“Darling, I’m so sorry to keep you waiting,” The new man said leading her to the bar. “Are you alright?”

She peeked around the broad man, and the blond seemed to roll his eyes, walking away. Still not sure if she was safe, she nodded. She said a little louder than normal, “Yes, sweetheart. Its so nice for you to join me finally.”

“I’m sorry to intrude, I’m sure that you could have handled yourself but I thought it would have been safer for everyone if I got you away from him. He had been making some comment earlier that suggested he had anything other than good intentions.” The man’s voice was deep and reverberating like a cello. They waited for their turn with the bartender. His English accent made him stand out from the Texan locals. His dress pants and shirt were also heads and tails better looking than the rest of the room. He looked like he could be James Bond.

“He’s not the first guy to hassle me at a bar, he won’t be the last. I’m more upset that he called me Pinkie Pie than anything else. And thank you, I mean it, that was kind of you.”

“Anytime, truly, and Pinkie Pie, like the Little Pony?” The man asked, with a comical head tilt. He ordered himself a whiskey, and offered to get her a drink, she ordered herself another bourbon. He was clearly amused by her order.

“Yeah, I know right, nothing about this says kid’s cartoon.” She said, gesturing with her hands to her dress.

“No, if my nephews watched a cartoon with you in it, I would be very confused. Please, forgive my ignorance. Who are you dressed as?”

“Persephone, Goddess of Spring, Queen of the Underworld.” He handed her the glass of smokey amber liquor. She raised her glass in a small toast to him.

“Well, it is a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness. I’m He….” he was cut off when his companions eyes grew large.

“Oh shit, he’s coming back, do you mind walking with me?” She gently placed her hand on his forearm. He looked around and sure enough that other man seemed to be staring down the woman.

“Of course, Your Highness.” He said with an amused eyebrow lift. They moved to dark corner with a comfortable looking sofa. He sat down with his legs spread out comfortably, with a little hip wiggle once he was down.

“I’m not keeping you from anyone, am I?” Persephone asked her white knight.

“No, I am in town for the convention but by myself. You?”

“I have a bunch of girl friends with me for the con as well.” The two ended up chatting for a while, they laughed and bonded over books, video games and movies they both enjoyed. When their glasses were empty her new friend asked if she wanted another. He seemed to enjoy her company, and she was enjoying staring into his deep blue eyes. When the light hit just right, she could see a small spor of brown. She politely declined the whiskey, but asked for a tonic water with lime. During the few minutes that her well dressed friend was away, the blond man hovered closer. When he returned, handing her the water, Persephone leaned in closer to him.

“He’s coming near us again, do you mind that I’m in your bubble?”

He moved his arm around her shoulders, oh my lord he smells good, she thinks. She tentatively rested a hand on his knee. A careful glance around, the man still seemed to be hanging around the peripherals. “No, not at all. I’ve been enjoying our conversation. It’s been a while since I’ve just gotten to geek out with someone new.”

He leaned in closer to her and he put his other hand on hers. Anyone else looking at them would assume they were a cute couple on a date. “This is going to be really forward, but I’m going to ask you to kiss me, because our friend is still looking and I think that might really send the message home.”

He gulped and nodded, then kissed her as convincingly as he could. Every nerve in her body was suddenly on fire.  His kissing became more passionate. His hand went from her knee and started sliding toward her thigh.  He asked her, his voice husky, “Is this alright, little goddess?”

She nodded and then leaned back into him. Placing on hand on his beautiful face. She moaned into their kiss and bit his lower lip gently. They pulled apart for a moment, and the first thing out of her lips was “Do you want to get something to eat? I know of a place within walking distance if you want to try something fun.”

She was desperate to get to know him better, and she wanted to know him physically but she wouldn’t make it too easy for him. His pupils were blown out with lust, his heart was beating in his ears. He had to catch his breath just a little.

“I could eat...” He nods. They began to stand up. “Before we leave the hotel I want to go up to my room and grab my jacket, do you mind?”

“No, not at all.” He held her hand and led her out of the hotel bar.  He said a quiet word to the bouncer about the blond man and they moved out to the hallway. As they wait for the elevator to chime, the two start making out. The metallic doors open and she pulls him in with her. He pressed the button for his floor. He nuzzles his face into her neck, planting sweet kisses and nibbles gently where her shoulder and neck meet.

“Mmm.” he almost purred. “Since our introduction was interrupted, if you, my darling, are Persephone, I suppose you could just call me Hades.”

“Well that depends a little, do you plan on kidnapping me?” She half joked as he kissed her neck.

“No, my little goddess, but I will treat you like a queen tonight.” He whispered into her ear then nibbled on her her ear lobe.

He knelt down and scooped the woman up from under her bum, wrapping her legs around his waist then pinning her to the wall of the elevator. He slid a hand up one of the slits of her dress, seeing at the tops of her stocking clad legs was a garter belt with her silky panties over the straps.

“I think you put these on in the wrong order, Your Highness.” He chuckled.

“What? Put me down for a second. No. If I put my panties on under the belts, I couldn’t do this.” She said taking the undergarment off and holding them in her hand. Her Hades started to laugh more. She then looked at her panties in her hand and then back at him. “Oh… I see what you did there.”

The elevator door dinged saying they were on his floor. He yoinked her panties out of her hands and danced off the lift. She playfully chased after the man to his room door. He walked in, grabbed his coat and wallet from the room.

“We can always order in?” He suggests.

“Do you really want cold cheeseburgers?”

“No, not really.”

“Trust me, they have a chef’s plate that is absolutely phenomenal. We have all night, handsome, let’s enjoy each other’s company.” She said, biting her bottom lip hopefully. Her hands ached to hold him again, her lips burned to kiss him.

The well dressed man chuckled. “I suppose you are right. Let’s go get a bite to eat.”

Persephone leaned in the corner of the elevator, her companion leaned down and kissed her again. His touch was hungry and urgent.  He starts kissing her neck again and murmured “I think I want my dessert first.”

Her Hades knelt down in front of her, and started kissing the exposed parts of her thighs, gingerly lifting the center panel of her dress. Impossibly blue eyes looked up at her. “May I?”

She nodded, he began gently massaging, kissing and licking at her exposed sex. She moaned in bliss, enjoying his attention. He slid a finger into her sweet center and started coaxing pleasure out of her. “You taste so good. That’s right, my little goddess, come on my face.”

The elevator slowed down and chimed. He quickly adjusted her dress as the doors opened. She was still panting and gasping as she made eye contact with the older couple wanting to get on.

“Why yes, ma’am, I don’t think your ankle is sprained, however you need to be really careful with those shoes.” He said loudly, trying to cover up what they were doing.

“Uh, we’ll wait for the next one.” The older man said. And the doors closed. She looked down, and they started laughing. She leaned her head back and then he proceeded to worship at her alter. He moved one of her legs on top of his shoulder to give him better access. Before long her eyes were rolling back, grinding her hips against his face and tongue. He moved his tongue back and forth, occasionally swirling and lapping at her clit. He slid a second finger into her rhythmically thrusting his fingers inside of her as he sucked on her sensitive nub.

“Oh fuck, I’m going to come.” She laced her fingers through his hair as the wave of pleasure overwhelmed her.  He kissed her thigh that was on his shoulder. She gasped, holding onto the handles on the walls, trembling.

“Good girl.” Pulling her panties out of his pocket, he cleaned the arousal off of his face. “I can definitely go for something a little more filling now.”

“Is it too late to choose room service?” His Persephone asks, still out of breath. He stood up, and wrapped his arm around her to brace her.

“Oh no, Miss, we are going to this restaurant you hyped up. Although, if you keep being a good girl, little goddess, this is what is waiting for you.” He took her hand from the bar on the wall she was holding, and placed it on his erection. Her eyes grew wide as she felt how thick he was. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, I promise I know what I’m doing. I won’t hurt you.”

He adjusted himself as the elevator opened on the ground floor to make his discomfort less obvious. They walked across the street from the hotel to the restaurant, the dining room was lively. The hostess looked panicked over the excess of patrons.

“How many for your party?”

“Just two, ma’am.” Her Hades stated.

“We have one table available, it’s the chef’s table. Otherwise it will be a thirty minute wait.”

“Its fine with me if its alright with you,” His little goddess said to him.

Sitting at the chef table of the restaurant, the companions had to sit side by side, learning more about each other. Persephone insisted that they ordered the chef plate the came with a variety of meats, cheeses, mustard and little other tasty bites. There were deviled eggs with crispy pork belly bits and bacon wrapped sweet potato batons. The volume of the restaurant caused them to keep leaning in to hear the other person. The culinary team brought them freshly made pretzels to try with the mustard. They enjoyed a lovely meal, the food was delicious, the conversation never dulled. He would run his hands on the exposed skin of her leg closest to him. It was like they had been friends for years. When the check came, they play fought over who was going to pay. She practically begged their server in the name of feminism and equality to let her pay the bill.

“Let me pay for my mistakes.” She teased. “Besides, this was my idea.”

On the way out, with his smooth cello voice, he asked, “So, what made you want us to grab food? Aside from having a booze mop.”

The goddess of spring cosplayer lowered her head for a moment, pink curls falling forward, “I guess, I just didn’t want to be seen as being easy.”

“Oh no, darling.” he came up and rubbed his hands over arms. “You are a rare creature. I don’t think I’ve met anyone as warm as you have been. I understand if you are not up for returning with me to my room. However, I would appreciate it if you did.”

“I mean, if you still have an appetite. I know you had your dessert already.” She said with a wicked smile. He leaned in and kissed her ravenously. “Yes, I think that answers my question.”

Even though the sun had set hours ago, the air was still heavy with humidity. They made it into the hotel elevator with a new found urgency, unable to keep their hands off of each other. He kept his hand on the small of her back when they were in front of other guests but as soon as their small chamber was vacant, he groped and pawed at her. This had to have been the slowest elevator in the entire southwest. He whispered what he wanted to do to her once they reached his room as he nibbled and caressed her neck and exposed shoulders.

They made their way into his room, tugging and pulling off the other’s clothes. The coat jacket was thrown over his shoulder as they began exploring the other. His pink haired goddess unbuttoned the soft linen of his light blue shirt, looking upon the thick curly hair on his chest. She placed soft kisses on his chest as they exposed the freckles that laid in waiting under the fabric.  The shirt was removed, then his belt, he kicked off his dress shoes.

“I want to rip this dress off,” He said lustfully.

“You are going to have to, I’m sewn into it..” She raised an eyebrow.

“Hmm, but I can’t have you parading home in the buff. That is no way to treat the Queen of the Underworld, is it?” He pressed his fingertips gently into her hips as he pulled her to the couch. She was pulled onto his lap, throwing the center panel of her dress over her hip, exposing her sensuous core to him. He reached in between her legs again and started rubbing his thumb against her most sensitive part.

“I want you, my little goddess, my Persephone.” With his other hand, he placed his hand on the back of her neck to pull her down to kiss her again. She moved her hand to the button on his trousers. He took his hands away from her and pull down his pants and exposed himself to her. It was the thickest erection she had ever seen. “I know, sweet girl, I promise I wont hurt you. If you say we stop, we stop immediately.”

“It is really cute that you think you’ll hurt me, I’m not as delicate as I look.” She positioned herself to ease herself down on him. Her warmth overwhelmed him, once she stopped moving he grabbed her hips.

“Baby, you feel so good. Give me a second, you are going to make me cum.” He sounded like he was in pain. Gasping, he grabbed one of her breasts through her dress. “Shit, I promise that this isn’t how it usually is. Fuck, you feel so good.”

She squeezed herself on him and his jaw went slack. After a moment’s pause, they start moving slowly in unison. He groaned and gasped as she arched her back to let him in deeper. Their bodies complimented each other in ways they didn’t know could happen. He watched as her cheeks and chest became warm with her rising climax, coaxing his own out of him. She bucked against him as she succumbed to her orgasm. Her Hades started thrusting deeper and harder, he whimpered as his orgasm threatened to irrupt.

“Baby, I’m going to cum.” He whispers breathlessly. His little goddess moved off his lap quickly and positioned herself between his legs. She greedily put his cock in her mouth and begins to suck on the head of his cock while pumping her fist on his shaft.  “Oh fuck… oh fuck, I’m..”

She felt the pulsing as he came in her mouth. She swallowed every drop of him. Looking up at the quivering man, he twitched and trembled. He reached out for her to hold her and kiss her more. He wrapped his arms around her and held her, resting his head on hers. He lifted her hand and kissed the back of it.

“I swear to god that I last longer than that normally, but oh, little goddess, you fucking rub me the right way.” His voice trembled. “Stay the night with me. Let’s… lets do that again. Please? Besides, you can show me the best place to get breakfast.”

“I suppose, but I think we should finally introduce ourselves. Don’t you think?” She giggled.

 @littlewrenofrivia what do you think?

[deafeninggardenerpanda]

Kirby had arrived on the Rainbow Islands completely focused on the idea of a vacation, but found himself unable to speak at the sight laid out before his eyes. The formerly beautiful Rainbow Islands had completely changed: The ground was covered in cracks, and the plants were wilting; The rivers and lakes were almost completely dried up, leaving only a few puddles, in which the small fish were hopping about, seemingly suffering.

“This is really bad...”

Kirby sat down on the dry ground in protest. King Dedede had been merrily holding his life preserver in one hand before seeing the terrible sight, causing his expression to turn grim.

“Yup... We can’t just ignore this. This isn’t the right time for a vacation!”

Bandana Waddle Dee looked up at the king, anxiety present in his eyes.

“Great King, what’s going on?!”

“I have no idea, but I’ve got a feeling this isn’t just a natural disaster…”

King Dedede took off his sunglasses and looked around at the scenery with a sharp gaze.

“Someone must’ve done this. If we don’t find out who did this, it won’t rain here forever!”

“Indeed. I agree.”

A heavy voice came from behind the king and Kirby. The two looked back. There stood the masked swordsman Meta Knight, along with his men. Kirby quickly stood up.

“Meta Knight!” he yelled. “You came to help us!”

“I have received a report from Captain Vul. He seemed more excited than usual to save the Rainbow Islands.”

Meta Knight looked back at Captain Vul.

“Uh-Um-Umm- It’s simply my responsibility as a member of Dream Land’s military to save the citizens when they’re in trouble! Lord Meta Knight, surely you would never abandon the Rainbow Islands!”

“Indeed.”

Meta Knight waved his cape as he turned to face Kirby.

“The damage is more serious than I had thought. If we do not act fast, the Rainbow Islands shall fall to utter ruin.”

“Uh-huh!”

Kirby nodded his head in agreement.

“We’ve gotta do something! But how can we make it rain?”

“First of all, investigate. It is possible that someone has put a curse on the Rainbow Islands. Look for anything unusual.”

“Got it! Let’s go look together!”

“The Rainbow Islands have a lot of ground to cover,” Rick said, “let’s split up and investigate. I’ll try to look around this island with Kirby. Meta Knight’s team, Dedede’s team, go look around the other islands.”

“Alright.”

“Leave it to me!” the king said. “I’ll take out the bad guy behind this as soon as I find them!”

Meta Knight led his subordinates North; Dedede and his Waddle Dees went South; Then Kirby, Rick, Kine, and Coo searched around the hinterland of the central island.

Split into three teams, the investigation had finally begun.

~~~~~

Kirby and co. pushed aside the withered trees as they made their way toward the heart of the island.

“OWW!!! OWIEEEEEEEE!!!!”

The loud yells came from Kine. Despite how he had been training so that he’d be able to live on land, he still wasn’t that good at moving around on the ground. Every time the group would push past a withered tree, his fins would get stuck on a branch.

“You’re not really built for looking around on land,” Rick said, “you can sit this one out.”

“Not a chance!~” Kine responded stiffly. I’m a member of the research team, after all- OUCHIE!!!”

“If we’re ‘investigating,’ what are we looking for?” Kirby asked. “Meta Knight said someone probably cursed the islands, but-”

“Basically,” Rick said, “you’ll have to find evidence of there being a curse.”

“What would be evidence?”

“Something like... a dark magic altar, or some kind of evil mystical barrier? A doll nailed to a tree, some kind of ritual sacrifice-”

“Whaaaat?!”

Kine, having forgotten to complain about his pain, got up, trembling.

“I-I’m scared~! I don’t wanna get cursed~!”

“It’s ok! If we find the magic altar, I’ll destroy it on sight!”

“I-It’s no good, Rick. I’ll just end up getting cursed anyway~.”

He appeared to be on the verge of tears when the group heard a voice call out from the sky.

“I see something strange ahead of us.”

It was Coo. He continued to fly over the trees, surveying the land from high above.

“What is it?” Kine asked as he trembled. “A cursed altar?” A doll?”

“No, nothing of that sort. It seems that someone has fallen from the sky.”

“Huh?”

“Come this way.”

Coo flew up high. Kirby and the others followed him. Then… past the withering plants, someone in white clothes could be seen on the ground.

“Oh, you’re right!”

“This is the girl who fell. Is she ok?”

Kirby and the gang hurried toward where the person fell. Coo also swooped down from the sky. There, they found a young girl in white clothes. She was round, yet healthy, with short limbs, transparent wings on her back, and ribbon tied in a bow in her curly hair.

“C’mon, wake up!”

Rick shook the young girl awake. She opened her eyes lightly. She blinked repeatedly, looking around at the group, and spoke with a frail voice:

“Thi… This place… Where…? You all…?”

“This place is called the Rainbow Islands,” Kirby replied, “I’m Kirby, and these are my friends Rick, Kine, and Coo. And you are-?”

“I… am Pirka.”

“Why did you fall asleep in a place like this? Are you hungry?”

At the sound of Kirby’s happy-go-lucky voice, Pirka narrowly smiled.

“No, I wasn’t sleeping. I-”

Pirka looked up at the sky.

“-fell down.”

“Fell? From where?”

“From the clouds above.”

Pirka pointed at the blue sky. Just above, a small cloud was floating. It was a strangely ominous blueish color.

“From all the way up there?!” Kine shouted in surprise. “Are you ok?!”

Kirby and co. took another look at Pirka. She had a couple injuries here and there. There were a few scratches on her hands and face, and her wings appeared to be aching as well. Both her clothes and bow were dirty. Rick looked worried.

“You’re lucky you survived after a fall like that,” he said, “it’s a miracle.”

“High places aren’t a problem for me. After all, I have wings.”

“But you have all those bruises-”

“These weren’t caused by the fall. I-”

Pirka was about to speak, but Coo interrupted her.

“We’ll listen to your story later. First of all, you need treatment for those wounds.”

“Yeah!”

Kirby nodded his head.

“If you wanna get better, you’re gonna have to eat something. I know that I feel better when I’m full!”

If that’s the case,” Rick said, “let’s go to my house. My girlfriend Pick makes great snacks. She can bake a delicious cake for you.”

“My wife’s a good cook too~,” Kine said “I bet she’ll make you a whole healthy meal. Come on, Pirka.”

“...thank you.”

Pirka took Kirby’s hand and stood up. Together, the group made their way back to the village where Rick and the others’ homes were. Meta Knight and King Dedede, who had received the news, had already gotten to Rick’s house. The king stared at Pirka scrutinizingly.

“Is that girl the culprit?” he asked. “Did she put a curse on the Rainbow Islands so it wouldn’t rain?”

“Nah,” Kirby said, “this is Pirka! She fell down here from above the clouds.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“He means-”

Pirka got cut off by none other than Rick’s girlfriend, Pick.

“Don’t rush like that. Pirka, take a break and have a bite to eat. You need to recover your strength. I made cream puffs. Please, help yourself.”

“We have sandwiches too,” said Mine, Kine’s wife, “and nutritious soup and salad.”

King Dedede, seeing all the tasty-looking food, licked his lips.

“Oh, now doesn’t this look tasty! Maybe I can just have one bi-”

“NO YOU CAN’T!!!” Pick and Mine shouted together, blocking the path of the king.

“This is for Pirka, not you!”

“Yes. We made these for Pirka, so hands off!”

As one would expect, King Dedede was overwhelmed by the two’s force.

“Wh-What? If that’s the case, then what do I get?”

The persistent king was stopped by Meta Knight.

“Wait, Dedede. Now, let’s hear Pirka’s story first. I find the part about her falling from above the clouds concerning. Pirka, would you mind sharing your story as you eat?”

“Yes.”

Pirka nodded her head in agreement before speaking.

“I am a traveler. I do not have my own house, so I travel all around the stars. I had a lot of fun visiting the Rainbow Islands and watching the pretty blue sea, but…”

Pirka’s expression became clouded.

“One day, some uncanny creature happened to see me.”

“Uncanny…?”

“Yes. That thing floated high into the sky, floating on the wind. While I was wondering what it was, it disappeared into the clouds. Erm, immediately after, it stopped raining in the Rainbow Islands.”

“What’s that?” King Dedede asked, leaning forward. “I mean, you’re telling me that whatever that creature was, it’s the one that cursed the Rainbow Islands? Can you tell us what it looked like?!”

“King Dedede, please be quiet for just a little bit,” Mine said to the king.

“Please let Pirka finish speaking,” Pick said, nodding in agreement, “she’s gone through a lot. Let’s all be quiet and listen.”

“U-Um… I understand.”

As his friends, Meta Knight and Kirby usually let the domineering king do whatever he pleased. However, this pair proved to be too much for the king to handle. He meekly backed down. Pirka continued to tell her tale.

“I had come to the same conclusion as King Dedede. I assumed that the creature was up to no good, so I tried to pursue it.”

“By yourself?!” Kine said, astonished. “That’s dangerous~! You should’ve asked someone to go with you.”

“I’m a traveler, so I always act alone.”

Pirka took a bite of her sandwich and continued.

“Looking over the clouds, the most peculiar sight was laid out before me: There was a beautiful lake, with lots and lots of water stored in it.”

“A lake? Above the clouds?” Kirby asked. Pirka nodded her head.

“Yes. There was so much water, it looked as if it were about to overflow. I was wondering how there could be so much water there if it wouldn’t rain… when…”

Pirka turned pale.

“Um, the uncanny creature appeared. It obstructed the waterflow from the lake. That’s why it hasn’t been raining.”

“What’s that??” King Dedede barked. This time, neither Pick nor Mine bothered trying to stop him. “Who even is that thing anyway?? Why would it even do that??”

“I don’t know. Quite loudly, I asked, ‘why would you do such a thing?!’ but the creature wouldn’t answer. It just attacked me without warning.”

Pirka quivered.

“I didn’t have the powers to fight it. It easily beat me in combat, beat me up, and pushed me off the clouds. Since I had wings, I managed to avoid plummeting head first into the ground, but it was too much for me… I fainted. Since then, until you all saved me, I had been unconscious.”

For a moment, Kirby and the others were silent, deep in thought. The one to break the silence was Coo.

“Vital information. We cannot ignore this. We must capture that scoundrel who’s blocking the flow of the lake!”

“Yeah.”

Meta Knight nodded his head.

“We must attack immediately. Kirby, Dedede, are you ready?”

The two both nodded yes.

“Yeah, I’m ready!”

“Obviously! Now’s my time to shine!”

“I’ll go too!” said Rick. Then, without a moment’s delay, Kine joined too.

“Me too~! We’ve gotta get that bad guy!”

“Of course, I’ll be joining as well,” said Coo. Pick and Mine chimed in, concern evident in their voices.

“Rick… How will you get above the clouds?”

“Indeed. Kine, you can’t fly.”

“We’ll be fine~!” Kine said. Rick nodded and puffed out his chest.

“We’re lucky to have Coo on our side! I know he’ll be able to get us all up there!”

“Don’t say such absurd things,” Coo said sternly, “I am incapable of flying to such a height while carrying all of you.”

“But-”

Meta Knight interrupted Rick.

“I can provide assistance. I’ll prepare a smaller boat onboard my battleship, the Halberd. It should be able to take you above the clouds.”

“Thanks a lot! Now that that’s decided, let’s not waste any more time!” Rick said, full of energy. Meta Knight looked at Pirka.

“Pirka, you may rest here. We’ll punish the culprit by any means necessary.”

“...no. I’ll come with you all too,” Pirka said, deep thought evident in her eyes.

“Pirka, it’s fine if you don’t come~,” Kine said, “Stay here, Pick and Mine can make you a nice home-cooked meal to help you recover. You’ve gotta take it easy-”

“No.”

Pirka shook her head.

“I’m the only one who can give you the directions to where it happened. I want to make myself the slightest bit useful. Please, take me with you.”

Rick nodded his head.

“Pirka has a point. She’s the only one who’s seen what the culprit looks like. Let’s bring her with us, just in case.”

“Just don’t be a hindrance,” King Dedede said, “hide behind me when it gets dangerous.”

“Yes sir!”

Pirka nodded her head strongly.

“If you’re going to go out on an adventure, Rick,” Pick said, “then take this.”

“Huh?”

Pick took off a small bag from her own neck, then hung it around Rick’s.

“I knitted this. It’s a pouch with a charm inside. It’ll surely project everyone.”

“Pick…”

Moved, Rick took Pick’s hand.

“Thanks. I’ll be back!”

“We'll do our best~!” Kine said in an uncharacteristically valiant voice, “I know we’ll bring the rain back, won’t we?”

“Kine, please be careful," Mine said.

“Great King,” Bandana Waddle Dee said, looking up at King Dedede, “please stay safe. Kirby, you too.”

“Got it! We’ll do our best!”

Kirby cheerfully raised one of his hands up.

“Everyone, let’s go above the clouds! BYE-BYEEEEE!”

< Previous | Table of Contents | Next >

[peppersonironi]

Batfam/Avengers Crossover Chapter One: Arrival

Yo, this has been on Ao3 for a while and people seem to really love it, So I thought I’d post it here! Chapter below the cut.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Category: Gen Fandoms: Batman - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types Relationships: Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne, Natasha Romanov & Damian Wayne, Clint Barton & Cassandra Cain, Tim Drake & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tim Drake & Duke Thomas, Pamela Isley/Harleen Quinzel, Tim Drake/Kon-El | Conner Kent, Dick Grayson/Wally West, Roy Harper/Koriand'r/Jason Todd, Characters: Bruce Wayne, Selina Kyle, Jason Todd, Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, Damian Wayne, Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown, Barbara Gordon, Justice League (DCU), Alfred Pennyworth, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Clint Barton, Thor (Marvel), Bruce Banner, Peter Parker, Alfred the Cat (DCU), Bat-Cow (DCU), Goliath (DCU), Selina Kyle's Cat Isis, Kate Kane (DCU), Duke Thomas, Additional Tags: Batbrothers (DCU), Avengers Meet The Batfam, MCU/Batfam crossover, Crossover, no beta we die like robins, rated T for Jason's language, I bleeped it out though. Just to be safe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, canon? What's canon?, Deaf Clint Barton,Deaf Character, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Happy Batfamily (DCU), Birdflash and joyfire are implied/referenced,

Summary:

The Avengers find themselves in an alternate universe where none of them exist. Instead, there is a different group of heroes: The Justice League. They decide to work together to get the Avengers home. But not not everything is instantaneous, so the Avengers need a place to stay. The only place available is Wayne Manor.

Que Batfamily shenanigans!

Multi-chapter fanfic, with some one shots that go along with the plot thrown in.

Notes:

This is my first time writing anything with the Avengers - especially a deaf!clint - and the Batfam, so I apologize if anything is doc. Constructive criticism is appreciated!

This is mainly comic DCU with Movie Avengers (Set after the first avengers movie, plus Spiderman, cause I can ;-)

Crack! Bang! There was a flash of blindingly bright light, followed by a huge explosion.

"Wha- where are we?"

Tony Stark looked over to Peter who had been the first to speak. Crap, the kid had come here too. But wherever here was, he did not know.

Tony, Steve, Hulk, Thor, Clint, Peter, and Natasha stood in a loose clump at the center of a smoking crater. The sky was cloudy  and dark, and they appeared to be at least five miles outside of a big city, judging from the buildings in the distance. There was also a highway filled with streaming cars a couple of miles to Tony’s right.

“This isn’t right,” He muttered, opening his faceplate. Where were the sunny tropical trees that housed the compound of Anagnorisis - weird name, he knew - who was some D-list villain who thought some slightly advanced tech made them a world-conqueror. But Tony was beginning to think that those guns were a bit stranger and more advanced than he had previously believed.

“Tell me about it,” replied Steve. “Any idea where we are? Was it some sort of teleportation gun that was shot at us? This looks nothing like the Amazon.”

Before anyone could speak, Tony received a notification. Multiple incoming objects were approaching, fast . With the exception of the second fastest, they seemed to be airborne. “Multiple incomings, perhaps hostile. Most are flying. And they aren’t missiles. I think people ? But -”

“Who are you?”

Suddenly the first object arrived, and Stark was right. It was a black haired man in a blue skin tight suit with a red “S” on it and a flowing red cape. It would look ridiculous if he wasn’t glaring daggers at the group while flying .

He was joined almost immediately by another man, this time wearing an all red bodysuit with a lightning bolt on the chest and cowl. He was not flying though. He stopped in front of them swinging his arms as lightning dissipated. He had run there.

Next came a woman dressed in the colors of the american flag, with golden cuffs, tiara, and lasso by her side. She came with a man in a green, white, and black skin tight suit with some sort of symbol - perhaps a lantern? - on his chest. He also wore a green ring and black domino mask with white lenses on his face. They were both joined by another, a split second later. This was by far the strangest arrival. He was completely bald, with green skin and red eyes. He wore navy blue pants and cape, with only a red “X” over his chest. All three were floating.

“Who are you?” The blue and red man repeated.

Tony scoffed. Was this guy serious? “We’re the Avengers, obviously.”

The group shared a look. “Is that some new kind of villain group? I swear to all that is good and holy if I need to deal with another group who think they can rule the world, I. Will. Quit.” This time the man who spoke was the runner.

Steve replied, confusion clear on his face. “We’re not villains! We’re the Avengers; Earth’s mightiest heroes!”

Instead of coming to their senses, the strangely dressed newcomers laughed .

“You do realize you are speaking to members of the Justice League?” The woman spoke, her lips pursed.

“The who now?”

“Be quiet Kid, we don’t know what we’re dealing with.” Tony spoke to Peter. He was getting more worried by the second. Something was seriously wrong.

“Dealing with?” The green dressed man frowned, clearly suspicious of the Avengers. He started to fidget with his ring. “Well, since you don’t seem to know, let me enlighten you.” He gestured to each of his companions. “Superman, son of Krypton. Wonder Woman, Amazonian Princess. The Flash, fastest man alive. Martian Manhunter, well, a martian. And Me, Green Lantern. Member of the Green Lantern Core.”

Well, that explained everything. Not.

“We do not know you, strangers.” Thor spoke this time. “Perhaps you leave us be, our green friend over here gets frustrated easily.” He pointed to Hulk, who was breathing heavily.

The green man - martian, apparently - spoke for the first time. “Not until you tell us who you are and why you are in a smoking crater near His city.”

“His?” Clint clearly did not like the way the martian spoke of this character. To be honest, Stark didn’t either.

This got the most surprised reactions from the five. They looked at each other, and Tony could have sworn there was a hint of fear in their faces.

“Oh, He is so not going to like that.” Green Lantern said.

“Combined with the fact that we ditched Him.” The Flash cringed. Then looked worried again. “Yo, green grape, you okay.

The Hulk’s breathing was growing heavier, his face contorted into that of utter rage.

“Uh-oh,” Steve said.

“I . . . Not . . . GRAPE!” Hulk roared as he charged the The Flash who nimbly dodged. Superman went down to intercede, and just got punched by the Hulk. Though it did not seem to physically bother him, he was clearly angry.

Tony shut his face plate and moved forward, intending to stop the fight, but he only got attacked by the martian. Peter jumped forward to help, and soon everyone was fighting.

Thor was pitted against the Wonder Woman, and they seemed evenly matched.  Black Widow was against The flash, and despite his incredible speed she seemed to be almost winning. Both Hawkeye and Captain America were battling Green Lantern.

No one seemed to have the upper hand, which worried Tony. These people were tough. If they couldn’t beat them . . . he didn’t know what would happen.

Peter didn’t seem to share his worry though. He instead seemed to be having fun. Tony could tell the kid was smiling beneath his mask, and his body language screamed hyper and happy. He seemed to get that way whenever they fought together, and a small part of Tony was filled with a sense of parental pride.

The fight seemed endless, no one gaining traction. Until something incredible happened. Thor threw Mjolnir directly at his opponent, and instead of being knocked down like everyone else, she caught the hammer. Every Avenger - even the Hulk - immediately froze, catching the attention of the newcomers.

“This is a very well crafted weapon, though a bit clunky,” Wonder Woman said as she tossed the hammer from one hand to the other. She paused, seeing their reactions.

“You are worthy.” Thor spoke with disbelief and a tint of resignation in his voice.

“Pardon?” Superman spoke, his frown apparent.

“Only those worthy can lift Mjolnir - my hammer. She clearly can, which means that you are trustworthy.”

*****

Five minutes of somewhat confused conversation later, they had reached an uneasy truce. Neither spoke much at first, but they soon began to compare notes. Apparently They both believed themselves to be the protectors of Earth, which brought on a bout of argument before Peter stepped in.

“Woah hold on, calm down. Something is clearly up, so there’s no need to argue!”

Wonder Woman looked contemplative. “How old are you boy, you seem young.”

Peter bristled. “I’m 15, and I’ve been a superhero for a while now, so I’m not inexperienced!”

Green Lantern laughed. “That’s not what she met, kid. We aren’t going to tell you how old you need to be to fight crime. The amount of we work with, and some even younger than you . . .” He shook his head and laughed. Then he realised how he had sounded. “I mean, we don’t force them, it's up to each individual to make that choice for themselves. Well, with the mentor’s approval of course.”

Natasha furrowed her brows. “How young are some of these kids?” Tony knew she had a thing against child soldiers, so he wasn’t surprised she was disapproving.

Green Lantern looks to the Flash. “How old is Robin at this point? 9?”

Flash laughed. “Naw, that little devil is 11. He was very adamant on that fact when he threatened me with his katana.” He shook his head.

Green Lantern laughed. “Yeah, most of the others are teenagers. Robin is the youngest, and I’d say most deadly, but Red Hood . . .”

“The Dark Knight really does have a problem,” Flash said.

His last comment made Green Lantern freeze. They both looked at each other then turned to Peter.

“Kid, stay away from The Dark Knight.” Green Lantern says.

“Yeah, if He sees you, there’s no way you’ll ever leave.”

“He’s the most dangerous man on earth,” Green Lantern adds.

“Guys, stop. You’re scaring him.” Superman looks disappointedly at the two heroes who Tony pegged as the trouble makers of the group. This idea was further cemented in Tony when they started laughing. Despite this, he decided to keep Peter as far away from this supposed Dark Knight as possible.

“Speak of the devil, he’s on his way.” Superman says this with a smile, then he cringes. “And we’re going to get an earful alright. Ten minutes ahead of him is a big deal apparently.”

In a moment. Tony got an alert that something was approaching. Fast. Soon he saw a large black military type armoured car fly down the highway from the city and off the road. It zoomed toward them.

It was a sight indeed to see the menacing black car swerve and expertly stop a few yards from the group. The top opened and a dark form shot straight up before landing in a kneeling position in front of them. The figure rose, and Tony got the first good look at him. He was a tall man with a broad chest and shoulders, dresses in complete black. There was a bat-like symbol on his chest, also in black. He wore a cape that flowed around menacingly. His face was covered by a cowl with pointed ears, like that of an owl, or perhaps a bat. The only part of his costume that was not black was the dark gold utility belt at his waist. Altogether, he was utterly frightening.

Tony took a step forward, effectively blocking Peter, who scoffed.

“Batman,” Superman said, a smile on his face.

Batman fixed the most impressive and terrifying glare upon the man that Stark had ever seen. “You broke protocol by going ahead of me. You are in my territory Superman. And you know that I cannot fly or run at the speed of sound.” He fixed his glare on the rest of his group who all reacted with either flinches or sheepish shrugs.

Batman grunted before looking at the Avengers. He sized each of them up, staying longest on Stark. Tony felt as if his entire being was being stripped away under the scrutiny.

“Alternate Dimension jumpers, not by choice I’m assuming.”

He spoke so simply that it took a minute for Tony to react. Even then, the man was already on his way back to his car.

“We’re near Gotham, let’s regroup at the Cave.”

Tony didn’t know what this Cave was, but he wasn’t sure he liked it. “Are you the Dark Knight?” He asked, before he lost his nerve.

The man looked immediately at the Flash and Green Lantern, who looked both scared and amused. Their sheepish smirks and chuckles dissipated when Batman looked away and back to Tony.

“The Dark Knight, The World’s Greatest Detective, The Caped Crusader, The Batman. All are titles I have earned. See you at the cave.”

And with that he hopped in his car and sped off back toward the gloomy city beyond.

[thrillingtalesofteyvat]

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IC: “`Basics.”` **Name:** Sucrose **Alias:**  bio-alchemy Alchemist **Age:** 16-18 is canon so 18 **Pronouns:** ~ She , her, herself “`Physical description.”`

**Height:** 5’2″ **Hair:**~ Sucrose has tied up long, light green hair with a streak of blue, fair skin, Flopped Ears to the side in which does stick up |Headcanon info| **Eyes:**  Amber eyes, with a pair of black round spectacles **Build:** Fair petite, short,  **Skin:** fair skin, and slightly pale. **Scars:** sucrose does not have any scars **Piercings:** Sucrose does not have any piercings **Tattoos:** Sucrose does not have any tattoos

**Clothing/Equipment:**

Her Anemo Vision is attached as a brooch to her cape collar. She wears her alchemist uniform as part of the Knights of Favonius investigation department alongside her mentor, Albedo. 

She wears thick, white gloves, black-rimmed glasses, a blue corset with a ruffled hem, and a pair of white boots and black thigh-highs with garter. Sucrose appears to have some non-human blood, as her ears are a hereditary feature, which she conceals as part of her hair.  

She also has a hidden fluffy tail that she doesn’t like to reveal  |Headcanon| Her outfit, Germinating Wind, is described to be a Knights of Favonius alchemist’s uniform customized for Sucrose.

The Weapon she holds ~ is known as Sacrificial fragments. A Catalyst in which helps with her own Anemo skills

**Extras:** ~ She also holds a beaker from time to time that ends up exploding right before her in a puff of magic smoke. As well as her own Alchemy notes “`Personality.”` **Personality description:**

Sucrose loves experimenting and spends most of her time researching on bio-alchemy, stating that she likes to discover the secrets of life. Her research often yields numerous results that she often labels every unique variable as a result of its own, regardless of how useful said result may be.

 She spends an immense amount of time researching that she finds herself quickly bored whenever she takes a break. Due to spending most of her time researching and experimenting, Sucrose is a recluse.

 She has trouble talking with others, as she frequently worries about unintentionally offending them. Lisa remarks that she is hopeless when talking to people, and she herself admits that she is scared of Jean to the point that she often asks Albedo to go on her behalf if she has to discuss something with her. 

However, she does not share the same issue when talking about bio-alchemy or Albedo. She reveres Albedo to the point that she considers him to be a true gentleman and maintains an excessively formal manner towards him, despite both of them being at a similar age.

**Likes:** Sucrose likes, fossils and other bio science things she finds on adventurous, she also has a strong liking of Liyue culture and many discovers it holds. Sucorse also loves study from Albedo and coming up with the scientifically ideas. She also really like sweet flower candy, a creation she came up with. **Dislikes:** Mushrooms, |A dislike just something she wishes to avoid| being alone and lighting **Skills:**

Despite her shyness, Sucrose is very intelligent and well versed in many things. She loves working with plants and studying all kinds of animals and their bones as well. Sucrose can also cook, and Sing , those these talents are more hidden then others. |Headcanon|

**Occupation, if any:** Sucrose is a Assistant Alchemist, and the only known Bio Alchemist.  “`Headcanons.”`| as these all were briefly mentioned before.|

 Sucroses Ears actually flop up / she also has long hair as well.  Example of what I mean if necessary. Due to the fact that she just wants to be normal in fit in with everyone, Sucrose tends to tie up her hair in a way that holds her ears down. 

 Sucroses Tail- Sucorse has a fluffy green tail that ends up being tucked into her outfit in order to not seem different

Sucrose loves to sing by herself , when she’s in her own little lab she tends to like to sing to plants as she believes it helps them grow though she tends to shy down when anyone hears her. **Backstory:** (Can be just a brief description)

Sucrose ended up having friends who left her alone, though she never understood why, she though creating a utopia of flowers may bring them back, after becoming the official assistant of the head of Alchemy. Sucrose worked hard to her goal only to find out that she had a love for bio alchemy and learning things that was diverse from the unknown.

(Please list at least 3 headcanons for your character!) Writing sample; (At least a paragraph or two. Feel free to use an already pre-existing writing sample if you already have one! The sample does not have to be about the muse your applying for, BUT it WILL help us get a better feel for your character if it does. The sample is primarily to see your writing style. (: )

————————————————

;~ Surecose found herself working in the lab that Mona allowed her to borrow as she looked at the test tub bubble in synch, it was at that day that with a clipboard in hand, sucrose found herself looking at brand new plant that budded from the experiment she called experiment test 002-x  

It was cross breed between a Cryo vine and a Naku weed from the Inazuma lands that she acquired from the traveler before… or so it was supposed to be.

However with the bud still closed, she couldn’t get a close look at it’s stamen to see what exactly happened to it. She tried everything, water, a well made soil and even pursued the thought of using a high powered light, at las though the bud did nothing to bloom.

Lost on options sucrose sent a letter through a guild member in which requested the head alchemist to show up at the lab due to unanswered and questionable test results. She decided to place the plant next to the window to see if pure sunlight would hatch it’s petals before waiting for Albedo to show up.

“I hope mister albedo knows what I’m doing wrong.. I’ve tried everything, there has be something I’m missing from this.. water.. no maybe there is too much spoil, or maybe I’m using the wrong kind.“

"Well the specimen was from inazuma after all.. but the Cryo vines genes should have surpassed that?” [APPROVED. WELCOME, LEXI!]

[bthump]

OK so call me delusional but ever since the chapter with Skull Knight's memories came out, I've always wondered if the woman was meant to parallel both Casca and Griffith. I don't think it's too farfetched since Griffith has heavy parallels with both Void and Gaiseric/SK in this current iteration of the causality "spiral" that Flora talked about. The way I came to this conclusion was after reading a thread on twitter with some really solid evidence that the woman in the armor's memories (1/5)

(the cherry blossom priestess who Flora was said to have worked for) was actually Dannan. The story kind of alludes to this when Dannan gifts Farnese her old castoff cherry blossom mage robes. Anyway, when 362 was released there were countless comments about how they legit thought SK was holding Griffith lol. And it isn't that hard to see why, bc in that first panel she certainly had a look evocative of Griffith with her fair curly hair and her chiton's white cape resembling his. (2/5)

Upon further observation, it seems that her hair from the back view was purposefully flattened, bc it has a significantly more rounded silhouette from the front (when her face is revealed). Which kinda makes me think the psych-out was intentional? Furthermore, that makes the similarities between Dannan and Griffith potentially more significant. Both are powerful rulers of a near-utopian kingdom that features a giant spirit tree as its center (one a haven for elves, the other for humans) (3/5)

And if Dannan's body is buried under the triskele stone in the giant tree, it probably means she went through some kind of transformation or rebirth that allowed her spirit to survive beyond her corporeal body - possibly what the "phase of the moon" motif on her jewelry hints at. Which is a motif also heavily associated with Griff, who also went through a few reincarnations of his own. (This could also be connected to the taboo Flora violated if she was also close to Dannan)(4/5)

I think Dannan being the woman would've still tied in nicely with your Berserk endgame theory since she would be doing this out of revenge for Void/GH and to protect Elfhelm from Griffith. She was/still is an augur, right? Perhaps she had some idea of Griffith's ultimate plans. ANYWAY, we'll probably never know now but I'm almost certain that Miura was planning on mirroring the image of SK catching the woman and future Guts catching NeoGriffith. (5/5) 

That’s really interesting, and tbh this sounds pretty plausible to me. I would love for the Griffith lookalike thing in that panel to be intentional - well honestly, even if it’s meaningless I still think it’s intentional in that Miura wanted to draw a giant Berserk-armoured hand holding a figure with long curly blond hair and a cape lol - but it would be cool if it was the first half of a future parallel.

And I’d never considered drawing parallels between Danann and NeoGriff wrt their positions as rulers of magical kingdoms but that’s a rly good point.

Do you happen to have a link to that twitter thread btw? I don’t remember a lot of these Elfhelm details (like Danann’s has a body buried under the tree? I did not realize that lol) so I’m curious about their theory and the evidence for it too.

[shreddedparchment]

Pseudo Princess Pt.23

Worry Wart

01/14/2020

Pairing: King!Steve x Reader          Word Count: 6,494

Warnings: Language, fluff, angst

A/N: I hope you enjoy this chapter. It was such a struggle to write with all my styes these past two weeks, but I’m better now, hopefully for an extended period of time, please! Thank you, Universe! If you happen to reblog, thanks so much for helping me spread my work!

“Your Majesty, you must calm down. This isn’t good for the child.” Nat’s hand hasn’t stopped stroking your back, gentle circles to soothe your sorrow.

“He h-hasn’t opened his eyes in three days.” You sob, unable to stop crying. When you aren’t crying, you’re pacing. When you aren’t pacing, you’re sitting at his side, stroking his hand. Full of anxiety.

“He’ll be alright, Y/N. I promise you.” Nat says.

“She’s right.” Bucky interjects. “He’s come back from worse.”

You look at Bucky then look at Nat. Behind Bucky is Sam, who sits looking almost as forlorn as you do and definitely more worried about Steve than Nat and Bucky seem to be.

“I never get used to it either.” Sam tells you, holding your gaze as you watch him lean forward, elbows on his knees.

He’s left the tie at the neck of his white linen shirt undone. No tunic, untucked. He’s been just as stressed as you have.

Your lip trembles.

“He does get better.” Sam assures you, nodding. Solemn and honest. He means what he says.

“He lost so much blood.” You whisper, voice weak and tired.

Sam blinks slowly. Knowing that there isn’t much that will calm you.

“Peter got him help in time. You stitching him up was a good idea.” He nods, impressed with you again as he had been when Peter had recounted your instincts for him.

“You should have seen her. By the time I got here, she was already cleaning his wound and when I came back with the doctor, she’d already stitched up one side of his injury. His back the doctor did.”

Why anyone would be impressed with such terrible work…Your hands had been covered in his blood. He’d been so pale.

You turn to look at Steve, shunning their praise because the only thing that matters is that he isn’t awake. His breathing is so unsteady. He’s so…how can someone so strong look so frail?

You take hold of his left hand with your own two, clutching him tightly before pressing it to your brow as you shut your eyes and try to take a breath.

“Please…Please, wake up for me, my love.” You kiss it then rest your cheek against it. You lay your head there, feeling him beneath you. He’s warm now at least. Wrapped in blankets and the fire burning bright.

You’re sweating but you don’t care. Bucky looks just as uncomfortable with the heat as Sam but he’s not sweating like you, Nat, and Sam.

Suddenly you realize that something is different about these two childhood friends. Steve and Bucky…there’s something more to them.

The wound below Steve’s breast would have killed any other man. You’re sure. You’ve seen wounds like it before. A sword. All the way through. In one side, out through the other.

He should be dead.

You sob.

Nat's soothing increases in pace. Bucky sighs heavily.

“Have you eaten?” Bucky asks, and you scoff, almost angry.

“I can’t eat right now.” You force yourself to focus the irritation inwardly.

He’s only worried for you. It’s kind.

“You should eat something.” Bucky insists. “When Steve wakes up, he won’t be happy that you did not take better care of yourself.”

He’s right of course…and…you appreciate very much that he said when Steve wakes up and not if.

Nat seems to know when you relent as she quickly sweeps to the cord by the hearth and pulls it. In the distance you imagine there’s probably a bell being rung. As you wait, Nat moves back to stand beside you, stroking your shoulder gently.

“How about a bath after you’ve lunched?” She probes.

You want to say no, but Bucky’s word ring in your ears still.

You nod.

“I know you’re worried, Y/N. But you can’t stop taking care of yourself. With Steve like this, the Kingdom turns to you for its strength.” She caresses the back of your head, smiling down at you softly when you meet her gaze with a furrowed brow.

You hadn’t even thought of that. If something should happen—it won’t!—then you will be Queen of Broklin, alone. No King. You will be expected to take control.

“Me?” You gasp, squeaking the word as untold pressures begin to settle on your shoulders.

Terrified, you get up, still clutching Steve’s hand when a sharp pain in your stomach has you hissing and doubling over.

“Your Majesty!” Bucky exclaims.

“Y/N!” Sam and Nat cry.

All three of them hurry to your side. Nat wraps one arm around your waist to support you.

“Alright. That is enough. You are taking a break from his bedside.” Nat chastises.

“No.” You gasp, holding your lower belly with one hand, fingers stroking the thick pale gray linen of your dress that surrounds your stomach.

“You’re sweating.” Nat observes. “You’re overstressing yourself.”

“Natasha is right.” Sam agrees. “A break is just what you need.”

“No!” You say more firmly.

It’s the first time you dare use your authority as Queen with them, but you mean it and it rings stern in your voice. It does what you need it to. They quiet and listen.

“I won’t leave his side.” You insist. “I’m sweating because this dress is too hot.”

You look at the caped sleeves, lined with snowy white weasel fur. The purfelle around the square neckline, the slits on its side. It’s a lot of warmth in addition to the fire still blazing that you refuse to put out. Steve's usual temperature is still not right.

“Shall I fetch you a new one?” Nat asks, eager to help.

You sigh, so tired of the fussing but also simply frustrated with Steve’s condition. You’re so…

As you look at her, you sway, hand still clutching your tummy.

“Your Majesty?” Bucky checks, reaching out for you too now.

“Nat…” You manage to whisper as the heat overcomes you and you slump backwards into her arms.

Bucky is there too, helping her support you.

You can still hear them and you’re not unconscious. Just dizzy and so exhausted. You’ve slept two hours today and maybe another two the night before.

Suddenly, you’re weightless.

“Put her on the bed beside him.” You can hear Nat saying.

Gently you’re lowered, soft mattress embraces you.

“I’m fine.” You say, weak but strong enough that your assurance helps temper their worry. “Just…I need to eat.”

Being off your feet helps and you begin to feel normal again. Just sleepy.

“Your food is on its way.” Nat nods. “And we’ll get you out of this dress.”

“Have you got her?” Bucky checks.

“Yes. But send for Grandmother. Just in case.”

Bucky nods. “I’ll send one of the squires. Oh, and the doctor will be here in two days. The council has settled on one and-”

Nat shakes her head. Frowning a little at her intended. “Not now. She has enough to worry about.”

“What?” You ask confused. “Wait, what doctor? I told you, I’m fine.”

“Don’t worry, Y/N. We’ll discuss it when you’ve had some rest. Let me get the back of your dress.” Nat promises and helps you sit up.

Sam and Bucky leave, a young maid brings you a tray of meat pies and tarts, leaving them on the small table you and Steve had been eating on the past two weeks when the two of you refused to leave it.

As soon as the dress is removed, you breathe in deeply, your skin pimpling from the rush of fresh air.

“Better?” Nat asks, helping you strip.

You nod.

“Good. I’ll get your nightdress. You’re not leaving this bed until tomorrow.” She frowns, looking at your hand still somehow clutching at your bare belly now that she’s taken your dress and undergarments.

“Does it still hurt?” She asks, eyeing your hand as she pulls out a long cotton gown with a ruffled neckline that will fit loosely around your shoulders and cinched sleeves at the wrist, more ruffles laced with pale blue ribbons.

“No.” You rub your tummy, hoping the pain was really only induced by stress. “We’re alright.”

“You’re lucky Steve isn’t awake. He would be going mad with worry at any sign of distress in your pregnancy.” Nat sighs.

“I know.” You nod, holding out your arms as Nat comes with your gown ready for wearing.

Outside the wind whistles, thrashing the cottage’s stone walls violently. A cold breeze seeps through the cracks that you cannot see, and the room drops in temperature for a moment.

Nat quickly pulls down your gown then hurries to stoke the fire as it shifts with the burst of wind.

“If it goes out, ring for a servant to come and remake your fire. You cannot be in here without one. This cottage is old and can get very cold very fast.” She explains.

“He’s still so cold.” You worry, reaching over to take Steve’s right hand. “For how he normally feels.”

“Y/N…” Nat begins, sitting on your bedside as she reaches to remove your hand from his so that she can hold both of yours in her own. “I promise you-”

She ducks her head, trying to grab your attention and when you finally meet her eyes, she smiles.

“-I swear, he will pull through this. You were very smart to think on your feet, but Bucky is right. Steve has come back from much worse.”

You frown. “Why didn’t he tell me he was the Freedom Knight?”

“The Captain, actually.” Nat corrects you. “I know that the common folk have taken to calling him the Freedom Knight, but he prefers the Captain.”

Your mind is suddenly in a frenzy as you connect countless stories that you’d heard in your village about The Captain and the Freedom Knight. Both thought to be separate entities all rolled into one. He’s saved so many people, so many villages. Done amazing things and at times taken excruciating beating all in the name of those he protects.

“All of that was Steve?” You gasp, turning your eyes back on your husband.

“It’s unusual for a king to be so modest.” Nat nods. “Your father is more like what Steve would be expected to be.”

Your father, the Iron Man as he too prefers to be called instead of the Iron Knight as many you’d known had called him, is indeed the very type of King that is unabashedly brazen of his accomplishments.

“I didn’t know.” You whisper, reaching over to take his hand again.

“And he wanted it that way. But he was going to tell you. He wanted a little more time with you where he was only Steven Rogers, King of Broklin.” Nat explains.

“Did he think I would be angry? Disappointed? Impressed?” You ask, feeling hurt that he’d kept it from you after you’d exposed your true identity right away after you began to grow close.

“I think he was worried that you might see him differently. There is more to his story that he will have to tell you himself.” Nat moves to grab you a plate of food, serving a small amount first to see if you’ll be able to keep it down.

She knows you so well.

When she sits back down, you’re clinging to Steve’s hand harder.

“It only makes me love him more. And worry more.” You sigh.

“As I told him you would. Perhaps that’s also why he hesitated?”

She holds out a fork, fancy with a twisted handle, and you take it. Eating is slow. You’re wary too, in case your sickness should come back and you can’t keep the food down, but you find yourself devouring it instead.

You finish everything, including the crumbs left from your tarts.

Nat watches you proudly. Happy to see you eat so well.

The food makes you feel better and with that need met, you can focus on Steve more easily.

“I will let you rest. If you need me, I will be nearby.” Nat assures you, taking your plate back to its tray and taking the tray with her as she leaves. “Might I ask a favor, your Majesty?”

She turns to look at you from the door as you lay yourself back down beside Steve, eyes glue to his face which as slowly regained a bit of color.

“Of course, Nat. Anything.” You look for her, resting on your elbow as you rub your belly with your other hand, fearful of the pain you’d felt before.

“Will you let him tell you? About being the Captain and why he didn’t tell you? I’d hate to rob him of that when he’s been desperate to tell you but fearful as well.” She genuinely looks worried to have stepped on his toes.

You nod. “Of course. I want to hear it from him anyway.”

Nat smiles and gives you a quick curtsy, then leaves you alone with Steve.

Settling under the thinner blanket you’d left for yourself in favor of wrapping up Steve in the thicker ones to keep him warm, you edge yourself closer to him. Carefully you lift his right arm over your shoulders and settle it over you, nestling into the space beneath his arm. With one hand on your tummy and the other clinging to his blanket, you shut your eyes and listen for the steady beat of his heart.

It sounds strong again and that gives you hope that soon you’ll have your husband back and he can yell at you for neglecting yourself because you’d rather he be angry with you than to have him like this, unmoving, unspeaking, and unconscious.

~~~~~~~~~~

Hot. It’s hot.

Steve is hot. He’s sweating. And he rarely sweats.

He shifts, and a dull pain just beneath his left breast freezes his movement. He groans.

As he makes noise, to his right there is a tremble.

Startled he tries to sit up, pushing through the pain and lifting his right arm as his mind simultaneously catches up with where he is and why he’s hurting. On his right, the trembling thing is you.

You’re curled up, tucked into his side, your body shivering. The fire has gone out and although he is hot, wrapped up in what feels like several thick winter blankets, you are barely covered by one singular much thinner sheet.

Suddenly frenzied, he hurries to extricate himself, kicking and shifting with disregard to his wound.

The movement startles you and Steve stops moving as you spring up and push him down by his shoulders. You can’t overpower him, but he lays still for you.

“Stop. No.” You order him groggily.

Then you shiver.

“You’re cold.” Steve says, his voice surprisingly smooth. He feels as if he’s been sleeping for a while.

“Please desist. You’ll injure yourself.”

“But-“

“Hush!” You nearly yell at him, a look of slight annoyance on your face for a moment.

He goes still, watching as you tuck him back in.

“I’m sweating.” Steve fights, frowning as your skin pimples.

You look up at him and reach out to touch his cheek with the back of your hand.

Steve leans into it on instinct, missing your touch after being away from you for nearly two days.

Your beautiful lips part in a sigh and you loosen his blankets before yanking them back completely. After you gather them at the foot of the bed, you hurry off the bed and race to the fire. Stoking it, Steve hears a hiss and crackle.

You’re visibly shaking, and he hates it.

“Come back to bed. I will stoke the fire.” Steve reasons.

“Steven Rogers, if you get off that bed, I swear…” You threaten, leaving it open for him to interpret.

The worst thing he can think of is that you’ll leave him to sleep alone again. He doesn’t want that. So, he settles back in and watches you struggle with wood and pile it on. It takes you a few minutes of gentle grunts before the fire is filling the room with heat once more.

He smiles as you place the poker back then his heart nearly stops as you gasp with pain. You fall forward slightly, your hand placed on the stone mantel.

Your threats be damned. His wife is in pain?!

Silently he’s beside you, wrapping his arm around your waist as his other takes hold of your hand to support you as he takes you back to bed.

“Why are you out of bed?” You gasp, glaring up at him with an unyielding anxiety.

Steve is sure you see the same expression on his face.

“Are you in pain?” He asks, turning you around to sit you down. “Lay back, here.”

He quickly helps you get your legs up and then pulls one of the larger blankets from his side over to you to wrap you up.

“Is that better?” He checks, tucking your legs in.

“Steve…” You sigh. “Please, please get back in bed. You’re not healed yet. You lost so much blood.”

Steve hates to see that grief in your eyes. He sits beside your hip, reaching up to caress your cheek.

“I’m alright, my love.” He smiles at you, stroking your chin before he leans in towards you.

You pull back, and the gesture is so unfamiliar after two weeks of constant affection, relished touches, tempting kisses…you pull away from him and his heart stutters.

“You cut was deep.” You shake your head. “You can’t be alright.”

Steve’s expression firms, a look of serious contemplation before he reaches down to pull up at the bottom of his shirt. He lifts it until he exposes what is now just a bright red scar. The skin still looks a little thin, but it cannot be reopened.

He watches you reach forward, gentle fingers stroking the shape of the harsh line.

“It will fade by the morning.” He says, and watches as your eyes dance up to meet his.

“How?” You wonder, sounding more curious than terrified which gives him hope that you might still see him as he is.

Steve takes your hand but then thinks better of it and scoots closer, placing his hands on your stomach.

“You’re in pain?” He worries, looking up at you as you lean back against the padded headboard.

He likes that. He likes you relaxed.

“No.” You shake your head.

Frowning at you, he sees a sparkle of that ease that he’s grown used to in the past two weeks. A small curve at the corners of your lips. He’s missed you so much. He wants to kiss you.

He won’t just yet.

“I’m not.” You assure him. “At the moment.”

“Then when?” Steve probes.

“I…Earlier this morning. And just now. I’ve been fine otherwise.” Your sincerity is true, but it also rings with your urging to calm him.

Steve’s frown deepens. He looks down at your belly and shakes his head. “Is this my fault?”

“No!” You deny it, though he knows it’s true.

“I shouldn’t have gone.” He sighs. “I should have sent Bucky and Sam. I’m hurting you.”

“Steve, no.” You assert, stern. “You’re not hurting me. Don’t say that.”

“Well, I’m sending for the old woman.” Steve moves to get up but you quickly grab hold of his sleeves and you pull him back down onto the bed.

He doesn’t dare pull away from your gentle grip.

“She’s already been sent for.” You promise him and he can see that you’re not lying.

“Tell me what you need.” He renews one hand to your tummy while the other reaches for your bicep to caress your arm.

You seem to consider your options for a bit before you reach down to your left to untuck your legs. You flip the blanket over them exposing the mattress beside you.

“Come keep me warm.” You tell him, and then visibly shiver as the heat from being wrapped up escapes.

Steve springs up and moves around to his side of the bed. He slides in, and you’re already in his arms by the time he settles in.

He wraps you both up with the blanket and feels you nestle into the heat of his chest. Your hands are freezing he notices, and he places his own over them as you settle them against his shoulder and then tuck your head into the crook of his neck.

That cold hand wanders down towards his scarred wound, feeling the puckered skin, still soft from healing. He doesn’t pull away because as cold as your touch is, it’s home.

“I was scared.” You admit, and Steve can hear the fear.

Is it stress? Is that why your stomach hurt? What if he’s hurt the baby by leaving you and coming back to you as he did?

“I’m sorry, my flower.” He sighs. “I did not think about what my turning up as I did would do to your condition. Forgive me.”

You’re so quiet, but you’re still stroking the remnants of his wound. He can feel you press yourself closer.

“Do you really feel better?” You ask him, tilting your head back to look up at him.

“Much.” He nods. “I promise.”

You search his eyes, seeking truth and you find it. You smile up at him, filling his heart with light and he leans down to kiss your lips because you’re his and you’re in his arms again. He’d fought hard to get back home to you.

Both of you.

His hand finds its way back to your stomach as you pull back and rest your head against his chest again.

“Your heart sounds stronger.” You observe, and Steve feels worse.

“How long was I unconscious?” He wonders, worried about the amount of stress he’s had you under for it to bring you pain.

You don’t answer at first and Steve can sense your hesitation.

“Y/N?” He urges you.

“Three days.” You swallow hard.

“Shit.” He doesn’t mean to swear in front of you, but whereas Maggie might have chastised him for his cursing, you look up at him again, just watching.

“I stitched you up and when the doctor arrived, he cleansed your wounds and finished sealing them. Then I washed you and Peter helped me lay you in bed. I kept you warm and the fire hot. I fed you soup…when you were awake enough to take it, which wasn’t often. I laid with you and cleansed your wound and…I couldn’t sleep.” You shake your head, ashamed of yourself it looks like to Steve.

You place your hand over his and he frowns at the way you caress it but also the upset on your expression.

“I’m sorry.” You whisper. “To both you and our little one. I should have taken better care of myself while I nursed you, but I was so terrified for you. You were so pale, and you lost so much blood. And we only just grew close. To lose you now-?”

“You won’t lose me.” Steve cuts you off, deterring those thoughts as soon as they begin to form.

“Bucky said I should not worry. He assured me that you have recovered from worse…but Sam and I were worried.” Steve laments the sigh that parts your lips, the relief that’s flooding your person that he can hear in the tone of your voice, it makes him regret leaving you laying here.

You’d been a vision. Naked, perfect, with silk sheets wrapped around your sticky body. And he’d left you voluntarily only to return to you to sleep for three days as his body healed.

The fear you must have felt…

“I’m so sorry, my flower.” His arms feel right with you in them. He squeezes you lightly, enjoying the feel of you cuddled against his chest.

Every curve of your body is magnificent, and his hands explore it with agony at the thought of you in distress.

You smell so good, peonies with a hint of that sweat smell he’d grown to love as he’d ravished your body the past two weeks.

Your still frozen fingers tracing the shape of his scar, etching luscious patterns against his heated skin.

It begins to slow, but your touch is invigorating, and he’s missed you…and your body. He wants to see you and hold you, kiss you.

“Y/N…” He whispers, pressing his lips to the top of your head before turning to look down and meet your eyes as your hand stops moving against his side.

The world seems to stop, all of time means nothing as he watches the tension leave your face, your lips part, your eyes are completely shut, and sleep takes you.

Your breathing grows heavy and as your body grows slack in his arms, he tightens his hold even more to hold you up against him. You whimper but then you nuzzle his chest and lay still.

With his heart soaring, Steve lays himself back down. He supports you until both of you are settled against your mess of pillows then lets your body’s weight fall on him and the mattress itself.

You relax. You sleep. Steve cherishes this moment and watches you until sleep takes him once more.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Where are we going?” Your heart is in a frantic pitter patter.

When you woke up this morning, Steve was gone.

You’d scrambled up from your bed, frantically throwing your luxurious woolen robe on, and bolted for the door.

It had opened as you reached it to find Steve holding a tray of delicious breads and jams. Specifically made for you to suit your most recent cravings.

He’d smiled down at you, amused by the look of your hair and the shock in your eyes as you tumbled against his chest.

He’d wrapped his arm around your waist to catch you and chuckled beautifully as you gasped in surprise.

The two of you had spent the morning sitting in front of the fire, on the floor among a poof of large pillows and a thick bear skin rug.

It was a dream of course, as every day with Steve has been since the moment he decided to accept you as his wife. To love you as you’d always hoped he would.

It was all the more precious after the scared he’d given you, coming home all bloody.

You’d refused to make love to him despite his wandering hands.

“You need to rest.” You’d said.

And Steve had rolled you onto your back and settled over you as your hand traced the shape of his scar, already faded to the same shade of peach as the rest of his skin. Completely healed.

He’d kissed you until your lungs ached and then laid his head on your chest and fell asleep for a few hours more when you didn’t cave to his desire for you.

Now he’s got you by the hand, dragging you from the chilly halls of the cottage out into the expansive frozen gardens behind it.

The ground is covered in a thick blanket of snow, and you’re struggling to walk through it, tugging your red cloak up out of the ice diamond mulch.

“Shall I carry you?” Steve teases you, and you look up to find him grinning at you fondly.

“No.” You frown at him. “Keep your hands to yourself, your Majesty, or I will move into my own room.”

Why won’t he just rest?!

“You should be in bed.” You continue to chastise him. Irked by the amusement on his face.

“I’m all better. I promise. Here, give me your other hand.” He offers it to you and waits until you take hold of them before he pulls you to him swiftly.

He chuckles at the surprise in your expression, but lifts you easily, holding you around your waist until he’s moved to a trodden path and sets you down.

There’s the sound of cobble beneath your feet as you regain your balance.

Steve takes your right arm and wraps it around his left elbow to help support you as he pulls you along down the path.

You’re frowning at him however, staring at him with subdued fury.

He meets your gaze, then throws his head back in laughter.

“I’m alright, my flower. I promise.” He unwraps your arm only to wrap his own around your shoulders and pull you into his side to cuddle you closer. A squeeze of reassurance given. “I’m all better.”

Your mind is struggling to wrap itself around that speedy recovery. The scar already looks months old. Faded, with the skin hardly raised, like the others on his chest. How many of those had been stab wounds?

Pouting, you look forward but don’t pull out of his embrace. He’s still running at a hotter temperature than you are, and in this freeze, it is appreciated.

All of the blooms that you pass, the shrubs, and topiary are covered in a thin layer of ice. The fountain’s water frozen, and the small pavilion that has been set up at the back right corner of the large garden is piled in white from the storm.

The sky is gray, overcast, as more snow threatens to fall. It’s almost assured to come. The cottage will be absolutely buried once again and there will be no leaving for several weeks.

“Where are we going?” You grumble, still a little worried.

“Y/N…” Steve says, his voice so soft that you search for his face instinctively. “Please believe me when I say that I am alright. I understand your concern, but it depresses me to have you upset with me.”

Your mind fogs over. Steve sad?

That’s not what you want.

“I’m sorry, I just…I don’t understand.” You admit, giving in and settle under his arm in a more relaxed gait.

“I know.” Steve nods. “And that’s where I’m taking you. To explain.”

“Explain?” You keep your gaze on him.

“It’s not much further. Are you cold? Should I give you my cloak?” He worries.

“I’m alright.” You assure him.

He moves a little faster, eager to get you out of the cold, probably.

When he begins to slow as the garden splits into a grove of tall frosty pines, you see that he’s been bringing you to what looks like a small shed. The stone is crumbling, and the wood looks rotten.

Steve frowns as he stares at it, stopping only a few feet away from the blackened and splintering door.

“What’s the matter?” You ask, looking from his look of disapproval back to the shed.

“The shack, it’s falling apart.” Steve says. “They should have restored it long ago. We’ll have to tear it down and build a new one.”

You’re still not sure what he disapproves of.

“I was going to take you in, but not in this state. I won’t risk you and our little one. Wait here for me. I’ll only be a moment.” He tells you, then strides towards the shed.

As he swings the door open, the top half comes off the hinge and Steve catches it before it can completely topple.

He grabs the door from the sides and looks back at you, uncertain for bit, until he seems to make up his mind and with minimal effort, he yanks the door away.

There’s a clatter as the hinge falls onto the small cobble step. Steve sets the door to the side of the doorway, and with flushed cheeks, he looks at you once more and the shocked expression you must be wearing.

You knew that Steve was strong but…tearing doors off their hinges?

Perhaps it’s just that old?

He disappears into the dark mouth of the shed and every moment you stand there without him feels colder than the last.

You’re not sure it’s really getting colder or if you just miss his heat or just him in general, but then the wind picks up and whips your cloak around the black and blue velvet gown beneath. The storm must be coming sooner than expected.

“Steve?” You call out, drawing the cloak around yourself tighter.

In response, you hear a strange rumble and a creak. The sound moves closer and closer to the doorway until through it breaks what looks to be a wooden seat sat upon two large wheels at the front and a slightly smaller one at the back.

The seat looks like any other. Older, with navy cushions torn and moth eaten, but just like the chairs that sit around the cottage dining table. The wood of the chair is sturdier than that of the shed because it looks much newer, although, it has been kept in doors so that could only have helped.

You look up at Steve as he stops pushing it a few feet away from you. He stands beside it, one hand on the back, then meets your eyes to read your reaction.

“What’s this?” You ask him, unsure how to behave.

“This is…my past.” Steve explains. “As a boy, I was confined to this chair until around the age of eight. My spine was twisted. My lungs were underdeveloped. My skin had a constant rash. I had the sweating sickness about four times. I couldn’t run or overexert myself, as my heart would beat so fast that it began to hurt. More often than not, I was ill. I think I can remember only a handful of days where I was fine to be out on my own, with Bucky playing games. This chair…was my life.”

You stare at the seat, trying to picture your husband—strong, tall, capable, no sign of ailments at all—as the sick child who rode around this chair. It’s almost impossible.

“What happened?” You ask him, turning to meet his hesitant gaze.

“Just as I turned eight, I caught the sweating sickness again. This time, it came for me. I was almost dead when my mother, in her desperation, sought help from a warlock. A doctor, or so he called himself.

“He gave my mother the truths, that he might be able to save me and make me invulnerable to all future sickness, give me accelerated healing, strength that she could not possibly imagine…but that there was also a chance that I could very well die as my body underwent the process.

“Weak as I was, he assured her that the likelihood of my death was high.” Steve lapses into silence, thinking. About his mother?

“She took the chance.” You tell him, because here he is, standing before you a specimen of perfection.

Steve snaps out of his thought and nods. “Yes. She figured that I could either die of my illness or the next or die anyway but have the chance to rid my body of its weaknesses and live. Clearly it worked.”

“So, when he cured you…?” You begin.

“I became a whole new person. I could run and play. I was able to truly live. As I grew older and I realized that there were things I could do with this gift bestowed upon me, I created the Captain and set out to do what I could to rid my father of the threats to his kingdom. Mainly that meant Hydra.

“Bucky, Margaret, Sharon…they were all within my circle and my closest of friends. Naturally they gravitated towards the same agenda. And through this endeavor of mine, I met others like me. Some were gifted their abilities. Some stumbled upon them. Some were forced into it. But all of us wanted the same thing.

“To fight for those who could not fight for themselves. There were six of us to start with. Your father, the Iron Man.” Steve pauses, thinking this through quickly, calculating the look of intense concentration on your face. “Myself. Bruce, or rather, Doctor Banner, who you met briefly back home.”

“What can Doctor Banner do?” You wonder, remembering the handsome but somewhat reserved man who’d emerged from the council room after your encounter with Sharon.

“Bruce was one of those who accidentally came upon his gift. He was in a foreign country assisting in the research of an abandoned village. There was a flash of green light, and from what he says happened, it appears he stumbled upon a few old traps laid by a witch and he was cursed.

“Whenever he grows angry, he loses control and transforms into what he calls the Hulk. Some who have sighted him in this form have referred to him as the Green Monster.” Steve explains.

“That is Doctor Banner?!” You reply, shocked by this revelation.

Steve only nods. “Then there’s Thor, the God of Thunder.”

“Wait…God of Thunder?!” You gasp.

“Did he not tell you?” Steve’s brow puckers in confusion.

You’d known that Thor was a King but a God? You shake your head.

“Typical.” Steve gripes. “Then there’s Lord Barton, who was a spy before he joined us, and a master archer. Though, he has retired and is living in peace with his wife and children.

“And lastly, there was Natasha.” This seems to be the name that Steve was worried about telling you because he tenses, hand gripping the back of the seat.

“My Nat?!” You clarify. Steve nods. “What-?”

“She was also a spy. Trained from childhood. Conditioned to be a certain way…I don’t feel it’s right for me to tell you her story, but she’s been working hard for many years to pay a debt she feels obligated to pay. She’s a master warrior. I don’t know any other human woman who can fight the way she can.” Steve sounds proud. Protective of Nat.

Does he think you’ll be angry at her or see her differently?

Well, you can’t see her the exact same way. But you see nothing wrong. Just a little shocking.

“S-so the six of you formed a team?” You ask, remembering the word floating around somewhere though you can’t quite remember where you got it.

“The Avengers.” Steve nods. “Sharon and Maggie were not part of that particular group, but they were heavily involved.”

As the wind picks up again, you drift into thought, trying to see these people, these friends as saviors of the world.

Nat…you’ll need to talk to Nat. But first…

“Y/N?” Steve checks, visibly nervous as he shifts from foot to foot, gripping the back of his old chair so tight it’s beginning to crack under his weight.

You meet his storm blue eyes as he searches your own.

Only one thing could matter more than Nat or anything that Steve just told you.

“What does this mean for our baby?” You ask him, reaching down to place your hand over the small hidden bump. “Will he be like you before you were cured…or after?”

Slowly, fear begins to take root in Steve’s eyes. Will your baby be strong? Or will you suffer the same fate as his mother and be forced to choose between the chance of death and certain death for you little one?

[firstofficertightpants]

In Your Honor - CH. 2

Luz has wanted nothing more in life other than to join the ranks of the Emperor's Knights - the highest rank of royalty defenders, but after a disaster of a first impression with the bratty princess, she starts to wonder if it’s worth it.

Previous Chapter

The Blight Castle was even more extravagant in person. Tall white stone walls surrounded the beautifully crafted towers, lined with gold that sparkled in the sun. Stained glass windows with murals of the past Blight family members doing acts of greatness could be seen from the front gate, the gate itself made of polished brass shaped to look like roses.  Standing on each side of the gate were two members of the Emperor’s Knights. Their white capes flutter in the mid day wind and faces obscured by their expertly crafted bird head shaped helms. The two guards didn’t so much as move as Luz approached, her aunts lunch in hand.

“Uh, Hello! I'm here to see Lilith? She’s my aunt.” Luz explained nervously, holding up the lunch her ma had made. “I'm supposed to bring her this?”  The two guards looked at each other, one nodding its head before the other turned to pull a lever. The large brass gates open effortlessly as one of the guards motions Luz to enter.

“You’ll find your aunt on the second floor, in the study.” The guard explains as Luz walks through the gates.

Luz gives the guard a quick nod, her excitement from meeting an Emperor’s Knight barely contained, before she heads to the castle's main entrance. She heads up a large flight of stairs to the main castle entrance where she meets two more guards. Luz opens her mouth to explain herself but one of the guards simply holds up their hand to silence her. The other guard opens the door and ushers her inside before closing the door behind her with an echoing loud thunk.

If the outside of the castle was beautiful, the inside was breathtaking. Large marble columns reached up higher than Luz had ever seen. The sun shining through the stained glass windows cast gorgeous colors along the white marble floor. Satin purple runners lead to and up a large set of stairs at the far end of the room. If this was the main entrance, Luz couldn't wait to see the rest of the castle. Quickly she headed to the large stairs and up to the second floor where she was greeted with even larger halls filled with doors leading to who knows where.

Luz wandered the halls, looking for the study she was told to meet her aunt in. Along the way she ran into the knights training hall, followed by the medical ward where she got to visit her mom for a short bit of time before she had to head back to work. She managed to get exact directions from her mother on where to find her aunt. She followed the hallway she was currently in until she reached a fork, where she took a left and found the third room on the left hand side. She stopped outside the large wooden door. The handle and hinges were a polished brass while the images of ravens in flight were carved into the solid wood. Luz reached up to the knocker in the center of the door, a ring hanging out of a ravens mouth, and gave it a gentle clunk against the wood. She waited a moment before trying again. When no one answered she simply grabs the handle and twists it, peeking inside.

Standing in the middle of this room is a single person, her back turned to Luz as she looks over a book. She mumbles something Luz can’t quite hear then flips the page of her large tome. The girl looks to be about Luz’s age with green short hair pulled back. She’s wearing a lovely pink dress that complimented her pale complexion. Luz catches a glimpse of her face as she turns to look at another tome she has to her side, grumbling again as she turns another page.

“Que bella ..” Luz whispers as she leans against the door, the hinges creaking as it shifts under her weight. The sound alerts the girl to her presence and she whips around. Her face melts from surprised to mild irritation as she looks over Luz. The girl's simple garb giving away her commoner status.

“Who are you?” The girl asks. Her voice is as elegant as her features, though it was also stern and demanding.

“I'm Luz," the witch in training introduces herself, holding out her hand. "Luz Noceda." The other girl simply looks at it, her golden eyes hovering on her hand momentarily before meeting Luz’s eyes.

“Amity Blight.” The girl curtsies slightly out of sheer politeness, but it's apparent that that's the only reason. “So.. are you lost or something? I can call the stable master to come get you since it seems to be your first day.”

“I'm sorry, what?” Luz tilts her head in confusion. Was this girl calling her a stable hand?

“Well, you obviously don't belong here so.. shoo.” The elf girl makes a single shooing motion with one hand as she returns to her tomes.

“Excuse me?” Luz scoffs. “For your information, I’m looking for my aunt."

“Your aunt?” Amity returns her attention to the commoner girl, single eyebrow raised in judgement.

"Yes, my aunt." Luz confirms, matching the other girls facial expression. "So freaking rude.." The brown haired girl mumbles under her breath.

Amity whips her body to face Luz in agitation, clearly having heard that - she opens her mouth to protest -

-“I'm sorry to keep you waiting, your highness.” Lilith enters the room as if summoned by her title, arms full of scrolls.

“Auntie!”  Luz squeaks as she launches herself at Lilith, hugging her tightly.

“Auntie?” Amity echoes Luz in confusion as she watches her teacher pat the other girls head. She looks between the two. Her teacher, and elegant and well dressed member of the Emperor’s Knights and fellow elf, and Luz the.. human.

The gears in her head are turning more now than they ever had in all of her years of studying.

“I brought your lunch, just like mami asked me to.” Luz smiled, a beaming ray of sunshine in the otherwise dim room.

“Thank you, Luz.” Lilith returned the smile as she laid out the scrolls on a nearby table. She removed the lunch from the younger girls hands then thanked her by ruffling her hair. Luz giggled as Amity still stared in confusion. "You know.. while you're here, how do you feel about a tour of the castle?"

"What, really?" Luz exclaims, bouncing slightly with excitement. "That would be so cool!!"

Lilith steps out into the hall for a moment, hush voices following as the door closes. Amity simply huffs and crosses her arms as she awaits her mentor's return. For a brief moment she wishes her two companions Skara and Bascha were here to fill the silence with their bickering. Instead she was stuck with a human. Not exactly ideal to the young elf girl. Amity risks a glance at the strange being, the other girl simply bouncing with anticipation.

"Alright, Luz, if you go down the hall you'll meet with a girl named Willow." Lilith finally returns to the room, giving Amity a chance to relax as the human girl follows her aunt out the door.

Luz makes her way down the hall as her Aunt had described, taking in all the little details she could. She turns a corner a little too quickly and runs right into another person. The two tumble to the ground, a tangle of limbs.

“I’m so sorry!” Luz stands up first and goes to help the other person up, another young elf girl around her age. This one was slightly shorter than Luz and had fluffy dark hair. A pair of glasses laid skewed on her face as she dusted herself off with Luz’s help.

“No no, it's my fault.” The young elf girl says, adjusting her glasses. “Oh wow! You’re human.” She gasps, eyes lingering on Luz’s ears.

“Yeah, I’m Luz.” The bubbly girl introduces herself. “I was just looking for the girl who's supposed to give me a tour.”

“Thats me, I'm Willow!” The smaller girl circles Luz with excitement. “You must be Mrs. Noceda-Clawthornes daughter, then.” Willow deduces as she faces Luz once again. “It's been a big buzz around the castle, a human healer is kind of a big deal.”

“That’s my mom.” Luz beams proudly. “And one day I’ll be the first human to join the Emperor’s Knights.” She holds her hand out as if wielding a sword and swishes it around, the elf girl giggling at her antics.

“Well, let me show you the castle," Willow loops her arm with Luz's "Since you'll be working here some day."

Luz and Willow continue their walk through the castle, this time stopping every so often for Willow to give information on parts of the castle and Blight history. Finally they reach a room where the doors are wide open. Inside Luz could see a few students accompanied by a large purple horned woman who had to have been the teacher. Luz watches as the teacher ends the class, giving the students homework that insites a unified groan. The human girl waits to the side as Willow explains the Illusions class they had just witnessed. As she talks, a small elf boy who was in a very animated conversation with a set of twins, doesn't notice Luz standing there and runs right into her.

"I'm sorry!" He blurts out as he jumps back. He looks up at Luz and gasps, immediately reaching for his ears and pulling on his lobe. "Your ears! You're a human!"

"I'm starting to realize that's strange around here." Luz laughs. "I'm Luz, by the way." The girl introduces herself and holds out her hand. Before the boy can shake her hand the twins he had been talking to push him out of the way and both reach for her hand.

"Edric."

"Emira."

"Pleased to meet you." Luz shakes their hands respectively.

"Your highnesses." Willow bows to the twins, the two giving a small nod in response. "Ed and Em are the prince and princess." She explains as Luz tilts her head in confusion.

"Oooh!" Luz smiles before bowing as well. "I apologize , I'm still learning about the elven kingdom."

"Oh it's completely fine." Emira laughs. "We aren't really that big on royal stuff anyways."

"Too stuffy for our tastes." Edric adds on with a wave of his hand.

"That's only because you two get in trouble all the time." The small elf who had ran into Luz speaks up finally before returning his attention to Luz. "I'm Gus, by the way."

"Wow, you guys are all so nice." Luz smiles as she shakes Gus's hand. "A lot better then the first girl I met…"

" First girl?" Willow tilts her head.

"Yeah! She was really rude and thought I was a stable hand!" Luz grumbles, crossing her arms. "Do I look like I'm good with horses?"

"What did she look like?" Gus asks, still amazed he was getting to speak to a real life human.

"Oh, she was pale, had short green hair, and a really bad attitude." Luz counts out the descriptors on her fingers. The twins share a knowing look and Luz raises her brows in question. "Do you know her?"

"You could say that.." Edric chuckles.

"Though I never thought I would hear someone describe Mittens so plainly." Emira adds.

"Mittens?" Luz is now very confused.

"They're talking about their younger sister, Princess Amity." Gus clarifies.

"SHE WAS A PRINCESS?!" Luz practically yells before slapping a hand over her mouth. "I mean, she's a princess?"

"Mittens is actually the heir to the throne, believe it or not," Emira explains. "Mom and Dad couldn't pick between us so they picked her."

"There's more to it then that." Edric corrects his sister. "But who cares about that! Let's talk about you." Edric points to Luz.

"Me?" Luz mimics Edric, pointing to herself.

"Yeah!" Emira agrees with her brother. "A human in Bonesburough, that's exciting."

"It's been kind of terrifying, actually." Luz chuckles nervously. "But I'm happy for my mom, and ma seems to be excited to be home."

"Well, you should totally hang out with us sometime." Emira winks at Luz, getting a blush from the human girl.

"How about this weekend?" Gus speaks up, casually reminding the group that he was there. "You can come as one of our plus ones to Skara's birthday party."

"Great idea Gus!" Willow practically bounces in place. "You can hang out with us and learn about elves."

"Brilliant!" Edric and Emira speak in unison.

"So we'll see you this weekend, Luz." Gus smiles as him, Emira, and Edric leave to their next class.

"Alright, I think this brings our tour to a close." Willow claps her hands together. "I'll take you back to the front gate."

"Sure thing! And thanks for the tour!" Luz loops arms with Willow again before they both set off towards the castle gates. Willow bids Luz farewell before the human starts her trip back home.

The sun begins to set just as Luz reaches home. She enters the front door and announces her return, Eda responding with a greeting as the young girl enters the kitchen. Luz takes a seat at the table and begins to fill her Ma in on everything that happened. Eda listened intently as she prepared dinner, interjecting here and there. Eventually the two were joined by Camilia, the older woman sitting at the table across from her daughter. Luz excitedly tells her mother about all the new friends she made and their plans for this weekend.

Luz went to bed that night with plans to pick up something nice to wear to Skara’s birthday, thoughts swirling with all the new friends she just made.

Except, you know, for the princess.

[sevenincubistolemyheart]

Lightened Shadows Chapter 2

AU: Final Fantasy 4

Tag list: @xsunnyhoseokx @otomehideout-indecentconfessions @file-missing​ @risefallrise​

Rating: M

Potential Triggers: Pretty descriptive fantasy violence this time around(boss fights will hopefully always be this well written; I’m real proud with how the scene came out so I hope you like it). 

Pairing: Ever-evolving :)

Genre:  Drama, Romance, Angst, Fluff, Hurt & Comfort

Length: 6.2k+

The air was cool from the little you could feel thanks to your armor but you knew it’d heat up quickly thanks to the sun. Thankfully, it hadn’t risen too much given how early it was. 

“Shall we stop in town first?”

Yoongi stopped you as you turned in the direction towards where the cave you needed to go through waited with a gentle hand on your arm, your armor clanking at the contact.

“Hm? Didn’t you say you already got provisions just this past nightfall?”

He smirked sheepishly and shrugged.

“I may have forgotten in the midst of the men celebrating my victory in our spat. Apologies. Shall we?”

You nodded, barely holding back a sigh. 

‘As if I don’t feel bad enough. Now I have to go get supplies and probably scar a few children in the process with my intimidating appearance. Spectacular.’ 

You entered the quaint little village just diagonal to the castle gates and looked around, trying to go through the brief list of what you needed in your mind. 

‘It should be a short expedition; 2 days at most, 3 if we stop to pitch a tent after delivering the ring to get their explanation once you entered the village.’

 You were sure you wouldn’t be welcome there for long. The town of Mist was known for little else than their reclusive nature and had never been particularly fond of those that hailed from Baron, so perhaps best you purchase one just in case they wouldn’t let you stay at the inn as you feared.

Yoongi led the way to the item shop and offered you a wave as he ran off somewhere; probably to attend to some last-minute errand he’s forgotten about. 

“How can I help you today, my Lady?” 

It was a quick transaction; you luckily had plenty of gil to spare thanks to the 500 gil provisions the King’s guard had insisted you take, along with 5 Potions and a Phoenix Down should the worst come to befall one of you in battle. You bought one more Phoenix Down for good measure in addition to that Tent and exited looking around to see Yoongi’s distinctly teal armor. He’d always hated that ugly green the other Dragoons were forced to wear, so he’d had Jin help him create his own armor once he'd been promoted to Captain.

Having experience building airships was surprisingly helpful in creating armor that could withstand some damn mighty blows apparently. 

You exited the shop looking around for Yoongi carelessly as you walked through the town, trying to not draw any attention to yourself; only to look down in surprise at a sudden banging from your armor being hit repeatedly. A small boy was there, angrily pounding on your armor with tears streaming down his face. 

“You took my Daddy away!! I hate you!”

A wince graced your face behind your mask and for once you lowered it, kneeling to the boys’ height and gently restraining his hands firmly in your own. You had no choice but to take many people to the guards if they happened to be foolish enough to run into you. It had been one of the ways you’d rose in rank so quickly; catching criminals. But...it never made it any easier to see the carnage left in the wake of your actions. 

“...I’m sorry. I know there is naught I can say to soothe your pain, but all I can do is apologize. I had a duty to fulfill, and I did as was necessary.” 

The child sniffled, but the hatred once in his eyes had died down to a mere simmer. 

“You don’t seem so mean. Please miss...I just want my Daddy back. Mommy said he’s served all his time; can’t you get him for me? I promise I’ll work doubly hard to ensure we’re never poor enough to have to steal again!”

He seemed so proud, puffing his chest out, and as you released his hands he placed them on his hips in a show of how strong he could and would be. 

A glance upwards saw his Mother suddenly rushing towards you both and the woman was on the floor on her knees, hands, and head both level to the ground at your feet. 

“Please Lady Captain! Forgive my boy! He means no harm!” 

Your heart clenched as you stood and the boy seemed distressed, seemingly coming to the conclusion that you were leaving as he grabbed onto your arm. 

“Miss, please! His name is Raisoro. Even if it's not today please at least look for him when next you return to the castle!”

You noticed Yoongi waiting as the crowd parted and knew you'd have to make this quick. He'd never been good with this kind of situation. 

You nodded resolutely, meeting the boy’s eyes.

"I swear it on my role as a Dark Knight…"

You met the mother's eyes too as your gaze softened behind your visor and you helped her to her feet. 

"And as someone who also loves another. I will check and return for you once I next visit the castle. I have a mission to do before that so it may take some time but-"

"Thank you Lady Captain! You're so gracious!" 

The mother was barely holding herself together at your words and you squeezed her hand briefly before you pulled away after a ruffle of the boy's hair and made your way to Yoongi who was looking on in solemn understanding. 

"...Dare I ask?"

"The boy's father has been in prison past his sentence, caught stealing food for his family. I promised I'd check once we got back."

Yoongi glanced at you from his place beside you as a chuckle escaped him. 

You felt your cheeks heat and huffed defensively. 

"What's so funny!?"

He shrugged with a fond smile as he shook his head. 

"Still too kind for your own good is all. Could have been a lie, an attempt to steal money, or a ploy to stir up rebellion in the town against the King starting with you by using a young boy but you responded so genuinely that even if that's what it was it backfired miserably."

He snickered a bit more, a rare sound to be sure for most but you enjoyed it nonetheless even as you blushed.

"It's my job as Lady Captain. I may serve the Red Wings but the townspeople are my concern too. I guess it probably seems silly since you're of the Dragoon branch, only responsible for protecting the castle and monster patrol.” 

His laughter died but you caught the amused smirk at his lips.

“All the better for me. People can be complicated whereas fiends are useful for little more than target practice and exercises to bring my jumps to larger heights.” 

You shoved him playfully with a roll of your eyes.

“Alright hotshot; that’s enough bragging. Did you do your little errand? I want to check in with Hoseok’s Mom while we’re here. You know how worried he can get about her when he gets stuck at the castle healing overnight.”

Yoongi seemed to hesitate at that but reluctantly nodded and let you lead him to the small house towards the center of the village where Hoseok’s mom had received her own home after Hoseok had received his white cape as proof he was a Baron White Mage. You knocked on the door and after a moment it swung open to reveal Hoseok’s mother. You smiled kindly, mouth guard already lowered out of respect even as she glared at you disapprovingly. 

“What do you two want!?” 

“I just wanted to check in on you. Hoseok wanted to ensure you were eating enough and healthy.” 

She huffed irritably and leaned against the doorjamb as Yoongi shifted uncomfortably beside you, causing her gaze to briefly shift to him before going back to you. 

“I’m doing just fine; no thanks to you. His Majesty’s recent behavior troubles me. I heard you and your boy there have been doing some just terrible things, under his orders or no. All I want is Hoseok to be safe from such gory acts and that’s your job as his lover.” The glare she gave Yoongi did not go unnoticed by you and you noted the way his whole body tensed and his mouth went in a firm straight line. “And that goes for any kind of hurt. Have I made myself clear?”

You maintained your amicable smile even as it felt like you’d just been speared through the heart. Your voice was unbearably soft as you responded, cursing the way it wavered. 

“O-Of course madam. I will protect him till my very last breath if I must. I would happily absolve any pain he has experienced or will in the future if I was only able, so he wouldn’t have to shoulder an ounce of suffering.”

She nodded and raised her chin in superior pride at your answer before she nodded curtly. 

“Good. Ensure your feelings forever remain so stalwart; as do your ideals or the world may lose one Dark Knight.”

With that, the door slammed shut, and the sting of her obvious distrust bordering on rejection cut deep as you all but stumbled away with Yoongi hot on your heels as you made your way through the little alcove at the back of the village to the river where you knew no-one would be. 

You were barely maintaining the lid on your emotions but at the sight of your glassy gaze, Yoongi couldn’t withhold his ire and hissed through gritted teeth as he clenched his fists.

“Who does she think she is talking down to you like that!? Hoseok and you have been together for how many years now? 3?” 

He snarled as he whirled to grip your shoulders unintentionally being a bit rough, not that it made a difference thanks to the armor guarding your shoulders, careful to avoid the spikes. 

“She even dared to imply you of all people would be unfaithful. After everything you’ve been through with Hoseok and me, it just-” 

He inhaled sharply to try and gather himself and his eyes rushed to yours at your watery giggle. 

“Is something humorous?”

He certainly didn’t find any amusement in this.

You smiled weakly. 

“I just find this all morbidly ironic. I told Hoseok just last night how cowardly I was and it seems even his mother agrees.” 

Yoongi wrenched himself away from you with a hiss, eyes narrowing. 

“You? A coward? That is comical.”

“I knew you wouldn’t understand. I obeyed His Majesty’s orders without a second thought. I harmed innocent people-”

“Except they’re not innocent. You seem to be forgetting that. His Majesty explicitly said they knew too much of the Crystal and its secrets-”

“And what gives him the right to decide that!? It’s not our culture or our way of life!! We’ve been focused on technological advancement rather than the power of the crystals for decades...why now does His Majesty seem so intent on them!?”

You covered your mouth in horror at the treasonous words that escaped your lips, and Yoongi had gone eerily still as well before he quickly looked around for any potential eavesdroppers. 

Seeing none, he lowered his voice and frowned seriously at you once again placing his hand on your shoulder. You could see the weight of your words had made their mark from the grim look in his eyes. So it troubled him too. You always knew he was a good actor but his emotionlessness towards this subject, in particular, had admittedly made you feel isolated in your beliefs. Sure, you’d heard the rumors, but they hadn’t been raised by His Majesty as you had. Their opinion simply didn’t hold the same weight as Yoongi or Hoseok’s would. In any case, Yoongi’s low drawl of your name made your eyes lock onto his. 

“They were deceitful and thankfully His Royal Highness caught it in time before they began a rampage against the whole Blue Planet. Let us be grateful for that and move on. Yes?”

Hesitance shown in your eyes but you swallowed back the bitter taste of betrayal on your tongue and nodded. No time to wallow in any case; you had Hoseok to get home to. 

“Enough talk. Let us depart for Mist."

Yoongi finally seemed appeased and he watched as you raised your mouthguard once again though he didn’t comment on it as you both exited the little alcove at the back of the town, only for Yoongi to bump right into a familiar girl. 

“June! How’re things?”

You easily put on a mask of ease, though at the younger girl’s giddy grin you found it wasn’t difficult. 

“Oh, it’s been just peachy! You know Jin...always working! But he came home last night so to reward him I’m baking him his favorite pumpkin pie for when he finally wakes up.”

“He still hasn’t awoken? It’s only a little past dawn but I’ve seen him working well past this just last week…” 

Yoongi mused and you saw the twist of a smirk on his lips when you shot him a knowing glare. 

June huffed at that, shaking her head in disappointment. 

“I’m gonna wring that old man's neck one of these days, mark my words! He works too hard...we’re not that hurting for gil.”

Her last phrase was little more than a mumble but your hand was already reaching for your gil pouch before you could even consciously think. As if anticipating your movements though, Yoongi took a step forward, hand already outstretched with a small pouch, filled to the brim and neatly tied off. 

At June’s wide-eyed hesitance, Yoongi cut her off as she opened her mouth, no doubt to refuse. 

“You’d best take it before a pickpocket does. I’ll remain standing like this until the gil is taken.”

His voice was a low rumble, despite his words as he clearly wanted her to have it, not some thief, and all three of you knew even should he keep his word like you knew he would, he’d merely reclaim his gil and find some other way to give it to the family, perhaps by smuggling it into Jin’s biweekly wages.

June finally took the pouch, and you felt a little misty-eyed as you watched her throw her arms around Yoongi, taking the Dragoon Captain by surprise and making him stumble and fumble to return her gesture of affection with an awkward pat on her back. 

“Y-Yes yes of course, now just release me, will you? People are staring.”

He grumbled, and you were sure without his mask he’d be red as a beet by now. 

Yoongi grew serious, however, and gently caught June’s hand as she went to run off after thanking him profusely. 

“I want you to be sure you go right on home and hide that somewhere nice and secure. Only take what you need and then return to the markets. I don’t want you being targeted for fraternizing with the likes of us. And…” He hesitated but finally handed her something else you couldn’t see as he stepped into her space as he abruptly tugged her into a proper hug. 

“Take that as well. Use it only if you must.” 

He mumbled something else by her ear and then just as quickly pulled away. June looked flustered as well, a little nervous and as Yoongi rejoined you, you side-eyed him with a hint of mirth in your gaze. You were positive he could feel it and eventually after a minute of walking towards the exit he hissed only once you’d both been alone for several minutes.

“What?”

You offered a simple hum. 

“Hm? Oh, I’m just recalling a certain Dragoon mocking me not an hour ago for being too kind. Yet here you are, giving away money I know you’d been saving up for that new lance you wanted. You even gave her a weapon by the looks of it.”

Your voice quieted for that last part as you drew closer to him to whisper and he merely sighed in resignation at that. 

“Of course you noticed. Always so knowing, aren’t you? June deserves to eat. Did you not also happen to notice the flatness of her gil pouch? You know how much they’ve been inflating prices.”

You blinked at that in surprise.

“The item shop charged me the same rate as always. I had no idea…”

Yoongi snorted at that, cool and sarcastic. 

“Of course they would. You’re the King’s guard dog, they know better than to draw your, or my ire. But the townspeople? They are not so lucky. There is a reason people like that family who pleaded with you have had to turn to stealing and they are but one of many.”

“And here I thought I was knowledgeable on the way our people were treated...how do you know all this?” 

Yoongi shrugged. 

“My men have families here; unlike the Red Wings who’re typically born into the military, the Dragoons have always been expected to be enlisters. The practice may have died some with the passage of time but it is still a thing of the present and I asked a few of them to report to me. I pay them a little extra on the side and they know I’m not a turncoat despite being close to His Majesty. You’re the first one I’ve told, actually and I know well enough you’re as good for your silence as I.”

This new information made dread sit heavy in the pit of your stomach. First a degradation of the King’s morality, and now even Baron’s shopkeepers were turning against civilians? You froze for a moment and swallowed nervously. Your King. He was your king still. The just and firm but kind man who’d raised you into the woman you had become. Deep breaths. All would be forgiven and explained when you returned. You were sure of it. Yoongi had said so and he was always right. You just had to have faith. You and Yoongi reached the gate and you looked to him as you ensured your armor was tightened and your sword scabbard ready to give you access to your sword at a moment's notice. 

He too had done his checks and nodded at you, mouth now in a stern frown as he readied himself with grim determination for the journey ahead. 

After a shared nod at one another, you both stepped out into the overworld and began making your way to the Cave of Mist. 

The monsters had been gradually growing more and more feral as the years had gone on. Now they were violently beyond reason, willing to strike at a moment’s notice; including those who didn’t pose a threat. You remembered a simpler time where more docile monsters had been used to train even children, including yourself, Yoongi, and Hoseok. Now, it was a risk of death every time trade happened. Perhaps it was a good thing tensions were so high between the nations nowadays.

In any case, Yoongi and yourself were trained to fight and take out even the most intelligent of monsters thanks to being taught the ways of the sword and lance respectively by your King. Yoongi also had his father for a time to fall back on before he perished. Most monsters seemed to catch onto this and kept their distance from you both, but those either too foolish or too hungry to care still attacked. You remained unscathed, your armor keeping you safe from a particularly volatile Sword rat, the purple beast expelling it’s sharp spines your way. Even bringing up your shield, a few broke through your defenses and you couldn’t help your wince as they made contact with a harsh reverberation as they hit your chest and legs.

Yoongi took a risk and threw his spear at the beast and thankfully it cried out in pain before finally going limp.  He retrieved his weapon and shot a smirk your way, and claimed you’d owe him a drink once you returned to Baron.

That was the only incident you had come across until you reached the cave itself. Since most monsters knew better than to start a fight with you both, you hoped those dwelling within the Cave of Mist would have the same ideas. 

Oh, how wrong you were. 

The larvae and eyewing moths inhabiting the cave were particularly irritating. The moths liked to blind you and the larvae loved to use slow, only prolonging their inevitable deaths. Blind was always a pain to deal with; you both being melee attackers and all. Sure, spell casters and mages were affected as well, but oftentimes they could locate the monsters or other teammates thanks to locking onto their energy if they were fast enough. No such luck here. 

Still, you managed to take them out. However, something strange had occurred, twice now which was not to your liking.

 A voice had called out to you, ghostly and ominous, ordering you both to return whence you came. It had no discernable gender, but the lilt underneath the words made you guess it may have been female. 

Could this be the Eidolon you’d been sent to slay? 

Despite the constant feeling of being watched, the journey through the cave was not a difficult one and you sensed no malice from the entity. Not until you reached the cave’s exit in any case. 

“You are not welcome beyond this point, swine of Baron. Return to your castle and leave this place in peace.”

You frowned at that, ring sitting heavily in its own dedicated pouch at your hip and the image of Hoseok’s worried face in your mind. 

“We can’t do that. Please, I beg you allow us refuge. We have a mission we must see through!”’

“As do I. I take it you mean to refuse my plea then?”

The voice had gained an aggressive but defeated edge and Yoongi stepped forward, all cocky indifference. 

“We have given you your answer.”

“...Very well. Then you leave me with no choice. Forgive me.”

With that, the mist that had not aided your journey in the least began coalescing and you both drew your weapons in preparation. 

A pink scaled dragon had appeared in front of you, and you and Yoongi could both sense the difference in power compared to the weak monsters thus far. You’d used up what little Eye Drops you’d had in stock, and now only had 2 Potions after healing at the slightest injury earlier, thinking you’d had plenty. Luckily you still had both Phoenix Downs should one of you fall unconscious before the other. 

You shared a look with Yoongi and he nodded in understanding, before hopping up and continuing to move from rock to rock, trying to get as much height as possible to come down all the harder on your enemy. Not one to be left out, you turned your attention to the battle, knowing full well you were the only remaining target, and steeled yourself, letting dark energy surround you as you carefully fed just enough of yourself into your attacks to power them up while not causing too much physical damage to yourself. 

It still made you wince and caused an off sensation within your soul whenever you chose to use Darkness but the King always said the payoff would be worth it if the enemy went down. 

Said enemy roared in frustration and swung a large claw at you which you barely managed to dodge before slashing, watching as darkness coated the wound you’d left, seeping in and making it hurt all the more. Your eyes widened in surprise as before you could hop back the creature snarled and jumped, shoving you to the ground with its claws and holding you there as its face lowered towards your vulnerable frame. 

Yoongi couldn’t have chosen a better time to come, slamming down onto the back of the beast, spearing the Eidolon with as much force as he could muster. You watched as blood gushed, ignoring the confusion that hit you at seeing the substance to instead take its momentary preoccupation with Yoongi as it tried to bite him off of its back to get ahold of your sword and stabbing its foot to make it release you. 

It let out a wail of pain, and you knew you were close. Yoongi deftly hopped off and dragged you out from under the creature, tossing you a Potion before he unleashed a flurry of passionate slashes to keep the monster engaged and focused on him. You quickly slammed your mouth guard down and chugged the bitter liquid with a gag and a grimace, feeling the physical aching and the toll on your soul both fade as you regained full lucidity. 

You shook off your daze and felt the power of Darkness fade as fast as it had arrived. Better not to use it twice in one battle and from the way the beast had slowed it seemed the battle was finally coming to an end.

Yoongi was holding his own quite well; he’d always been the more nimble out of the two of you what with having to find the perfect openings to Jump and all and he’d already managed to push the creature back some so you could recover in peace. 

“Shall we finish this?”

He asked gruffly, panting. 

You nodded, but as you went to strike now that it was cornered it suddenly...dissipated into mist? 

Well, that just wasn’t fair. 

“You will pay for that…”

The ominous threat was made good on and you gasped as a snow-like substance slowly fell around you and Yoongi. You fell to your knees at the freezing cold that enveloped you. Damn. This was why you loathed magic attacks. No matter what armor you wore it mattered not. 

You saw Yoongi go down out of the corner of your eye and lunged with a cry of pure, unadulterated fear as the monster came into existence once again and made as if to strike him. 

Claws raked across your back and again, your armor or no, you felt the impact and the pain shortly after, even with the adrenaline coursing through you. You were both going to die entirely if you didn’t do something now. 

You tossed a Phoenix Down over Yoongi, knowing it’d take a moment for the bird of resurrections feathers to revitalize his life force once again, and stood defensively in front of him. A snarl turned your face to something ugly and you hissed at the monster. 

“You want him? Then you’ve got to get through me first!!”

Your cry clearly met its mark as the creature roared in ire at being provoked and you neatly dodge rolled to avoid being hit as it attempted to catch you in its claws, scrambling for your item pouch. You shoved the last Potion’s contents down your throat before you let the power of Darkness surround you one final time, ready to sacrifice whatever was necessary of yourself to ensure Yoongi survived. He wouldn’t have much HP left - that Phoenix Down would only get him conscious and all it would take was one good hit for him to go down permanently. Just as you narrowed your eyes in concentration and went to swing downwards, Yoongi let out an abrupt shout and finished his final Jump; using the last remnants of his own power to finish the battle once and for all before you had the chance. 

The creature roared, in agony this time, and you watched in cold satisfaction as it collapsed to the cave floor in defeat. 

Without so much as a look at the monster that had nearly killed your closest friend you ran over to Yoongi and forced his arm over your shoulder. 

“What are you-?”

“Don’t pretend you aren't barely hanging onto consciousness right now you idiot. I know how Phoenix Downs work. It may revitalize you but it’s only enough to get you off the floor unless you also have a Potion or more on hand.”

You began trudging to the cave’s exit, squinting into the dusk. 

“We’re making a tent for the night, understand? We’ll go to Mist at first light. You’re in no condition to do anything right now besides recover. I’ll take watch after tending to your wounds and you’ll go right to sleep.”

Yoongi chuckled under his breath until he was forced to cough in pain and you frowned in annoyance at him briefly as fresh air greeted you both. It was a welcome change to the musky cave scent you’d both been stuck with for the past many hours you’d been stuck there. That damn mist had definitely cost you time and from how dark it was outside, you’d been there at least half a day. You'd made good time, if nothing else.  

“What’s so funny?”

“You can be such a parent sometimes. I’m fine. Being knocked out happens in fights sometimes. Besides, I managed to save you, didn’t I? I’d say I recovered just fine.”

He muttered cheekily, his voice gruff from being drawn unwillingly out of his unconscious state earlier. 

You grumbled at that. 

“I had it under control. And anyway...it’s dead. That’s all that matters. The only thing left to do now is to give this ring to Mist and see what they make of it. Surely one of them must know, else his Majesty would not have sent us here.”

You gently set Yoongi down onto a grassy hill you’d found, spotting Mist awaiting you both at the bottom. You were a little winded from carrying his weight; like it or not you were smaller and still weaker than him when it came to straight strength. A quick glance around made you relax a little as you sat down as well, taking off your helmet and letting yourself gulp in the fresh air with relief. It really had felt stuffy in that damn cave. Yoongi meanwhile was stripping himself of his armor, and you nodded down towards where a stream flowed steadily into the town. 

“Don’t be afraid to go wash up a little if you’d like once you feel well enough to stand. We can go at dawn as well if you’d prefer, given we’ll be sleeping outside tonight and all.”

Yoongi leveled a glare towards Mist and grumbled as he ran a hand through his messy locks, brushing away the dirt from the cave clinging to his undershirt and pants. 

“It’d be nice if we could just go rest at the inn but I know that’s an impossible venture. Say…” 

He winced as he examined a few of his wounds, mainly scrapes, and bruises but he had a nice long gash on his arm and head bled a bit as well, most likely from when he’d fallen unconscious. 

You could feel your own body aching but tried not to dwell on it, instead rummaging around your item pouch and grabbing a small loaf of bread you'd stashed away and a handkerchief Hoseok always made you carry. A small fond smile twitched onto your lips at the thought of him and you removed your helmet to see better. 

Yoongi had turned his gaze to you curiously, expecting you to stay in your armor in the case of monsters but you sighed at his inquiring gaze as you stood and merely walked over to the log he was sitting on, kneeling in front of him and beginning to dab at his bloody forehead. 

"Silly Dragoon. When will you learn to stop putting yourself at risk huh?"

You pushed the bread into his hands, with your free one continuing to dab at his wound gently. 

"Eat. It'll help you recover faster."

"But what about-" 

"I'm not the one who got knocked out."

You yelped as he suddenly grabbed your face and tilted your head to meet his steely brown gaze. 

"...You'll eat half or I won't so much as touch it."

You groaned as you smacked his hand away, grumbling at him as you uncorked the only Potion you had left and spilled a little onto the cloth to dab onto the cut on his head, the ghost of a smirk tugging at your lips as he let out a hiss of pain and clenched his hand into a fist. 

"You're such a child sometimes. Fine, you big baby. Just eat, will you? Honestly, sometimes I wonder if I should've picked up White Magic as well just to make up for your recklessness."

Yoongi eyed you over the bread as you sat back and sprawled out on the soft grass and nibbled at your half. 

"Don't act like you're the paragon of strategy. I saw how you were going to foolishly put yourself in a critical state to try and take the Eidolon out. Armor off. I know you're injured too and we still have ¾ of this Potion left."

His eyes narrowed with a little playful sadism and you knew he was looking forward to tending to your wounds as well. 

You smiled with a tinge of nervousness and shook your head. 

"No, I'm fine rea-"

"I will come over there and tug it off myself."

"Y-You're too weak to!"

You challenged in disbelief, calling his bluff. 

His eyes sparkled again and a cheeky grin now adorned his lips as he moved to stand, causing you to squeak and scramble away from him as you fumbled with your armor. 

"A-Alright alright! Sheesh!"

His low voice snickered in amusement as you blushed and reluctantly tugged off the heavy armor pieces. They'd been dented something awful in that fight; you’d need to get it fixed at a blacksmith once you got back to Baron. Still, you had to admit having the added weight off of your tired body was a welcome change. 

You were indeed injured as Yoongi and yourself had both noted and you winced at the gash in your side, not having noticed that the Eidolon must’ve managed to graze your side with its claws, fairly deeply. Your black t-shirt was tattered, barely sticking to your body from sweat and a bit from the blood as well. Your head was pounding too, the cool night air alerting you to just how hard you must’ve hit your head as you went down. 

“Come. Shirt off; that looks deep.”

You jumped a bit in surprise at Yoongi’s voice right by your ear, turning to frown at him over your shoulder. 

“I can take care of it myself Yoongi, you should rest.”

He stared you down until you caved with a huff and shucked off the remnants of your shirt. You made a good choice wearing your more flexible undergarments for activity today in anticipation of fighting. Made this all much more bearable, but Yoongi was resolutely focused on your wound in any case even so. You knew he wouldn’t lay down, let alone sleep until he knew you were at least taken care of. It warmed your heart that he cared for you so. 

That warmth faded to a whimper as gentle fingers brushed along the wound assessing the damage. 

“Apologies. Hm...Come. I want to clean this with water first. It’s deeper than it looks. It’s a good thing I brought that extra shirt with me after all.” 

You felt a little woozy truth be told, but you were still trying to keep yourself together. Yoongi had been knocked out after all. He had to be in worse shape than you. You had to be strong for him. 

Yoongi wasn’t buying it though. His gaze locked onto the way you swayed and when he saw you stutter a step as you went to start moving towards the stream nearby, he was quick to grab his shirt and rush to your side where he steadied you with a warm hand on your upper arm. 

“Idiot. How did you not notice you were losing this much blood?”

You laughed weakly, through the dizziness as Yoongi helped to guide you to the water. 

“Adrenaline is a powerful thing, as Hoseok says. I didn’t even feel it until you made me take off my armor.”

Yoongi growled at that, frustrated as he rushed to clean the wound, uncaring as you flinched at the icy water against your skin. 

"Well, we'll have to pray my actions are enough to keep you from meeting an early demise. I know you're strong but even you are Mortal."

The wound now as clean as it could be without magical help, Yoongi reached over for the Potion at his side and poured ¼ of the contents over the wound itself making you yowl in pain. 

He was too focused on his task to pay much attention, however, pouring the other ½ of the bottle onto his shirt which he pressed tightly to your side. He frowned seriously at you. 

"Hold it there, understand? I'll be back in a moment; I have to grab your armor piece. It'll hold the fabric tightly against the wound for the time being."

You meanwhile were trying to cope with the unbearable stinging. The wound had been deep indeed. You could feel the Potions remnants trying to stitch your body together, to slow the bleeding. It was working, however slow, but Ashura above it hurt. 

Yoongi returned after a time and you were surprised to see he was holding another Potion in hand. 

"How-?"

He frowned coldly as he crouched at your side and you registered he was now fully adorned in his teal armor save for his helmet which he'd taken off once he saw you. 

Your suspicion was confirmed when he wordlessly pressed a familiar earring into your hand. 

"You bloody idiot!!!"

Your voice was a poisonous whisper, not wanting to draw any sleeping monsters as you scowled at him and he numbly handed you the Potion. 

"Drink."

You shook your head. 

"I can't believe you went back to loot that Eidolon Yoongi.  What if you'd awoken a monster and-"

Your voice cracked and Yoongi sighed heavily as he saw angry tears make your eyes glassy. You could be so overemotional. You wore facades well around others but he and Hoseok had always been exceptions. You had no need to worry over him. 

"I'm here, alive and well, am I not? My wounds are light enough that a good night's sleep will be enough. But yours are more serious. I’m not risking losing you for the sake of your pride. Now drink or I’ll make you.” 

His voice lowered an octave at his last sentence and you glowered at him one last time before tossing the Potion back, wincing at the disgusting taste, but sighing in relief as your wound knitted itself back together, speeding up your body's cell regeneration a bit. It was no Hi or even X Potion, but it had sped the process up enough to be sure your body would be fully healed by tomorrow, and at least the bleeding had stopped. A touch of your head and you noted the tingling sensation had faded. Hopefully, any injury you had there had ceased to be as well. 

Yoongi had busied himself with attaching just the armor for your side into place so that the Potion soaked fabric would be held against your skin but he turned his gaze to you as he stood and stretched, once again discarding his armor. 

“Well; that’s enough excitement for one night. I’m going to go rest until we have to rise at first light.  Call if any particularly threatening monsters arise.”

You also stood, your own armor halfway back on as you gently called his name. 

“Yoongi!”

He paused, halfway up the hill. His hair was mussed from his rush to loot the Eidolon for your benefit; his long blond ponytail trailing behind him. Long hair has been a part of Dragoon culture for nearly as long as the profession itself had been. It was as characteristic to the culture as the Monks wearing it short, braided, or not at all. Yoongi had mentioned his father had explained that it was a demonstration of the freedom Dragoons symbolized and always fought for. He turned to look at you and his perceptive brown eyes locked onto your own. 

You smiled kindly, gaze sincere. 

“Thank you. I know I can be…” 

You sheepishly rubbed at the back of your neck. 

“A bit difficult sometimes. I appreciate it, and you.”

Yoongi scoffed but you could now clearly see his cheeks turning red in embarrassment before he whirled to finish his journey back towards camp to hide it. You still caught the fondness of his tone though, despite the playful words.

“Always so soft…”

You watched until you could no longer see him and turned back to your armor, finishing putting it on and tugging your darkened helmet over your head once more. Luckily the night was still with the only sounds you could hear being the stream beside you and the chirping of harmless bugs. The twin moons were both full tonight, illuminating the Blue Planet brilliantly. 

Nevertheless, you decided to do a quick perimeter check deciding your newly healed body could use the movement. It was a peaceful night and you heard the faint crackling of torches as you neared the entrance to Mist. You couldn’t help your curiosity as you watched a young girl run to the river, bucket in one hand and a cloth handmade doll in the other haphazardly sewn together. 

She seemed panicked and you faintly heard her voice carry to where you stood just beyond the tree line. 

“Agh I can’t believe I forgot to restock!! Mom’s gonna kill me!!”

She finally managed to get the bucket full but you winced sympathetically as in her rush she tumbled over the bucket and sent water spilling everywhere; soaking her to the bone. Just as you debated emerging to help, an older woman with the same hair and eye color ran out of the town and up to her, a worried frown on her lips. 

“Jenjia just what do you think you’re doing!?”

Her voice was much quieter you noticed thankfully; it would’ve probably been bad if any fiends had been awoken earlier. 

The girl, Jenjia as you now knew her, looked sheepish and beamed nervously up at her mother, clasping her hands behind her back. 

“I’m sorry Mom, I just realized we didn’t have any water to boil! You like to have your tea at night with Daddy and I forgot when playing with Cheryl earlier…” 

She scuffed her worn looking loafers on the ground as her mother shook her head. 

“Well then that’s a day well spent, isn’t it? I’d rather have my daughter home safe and sound than a cup of tea Jia. Your father will feel the same. Leviathan will keep our water flowing clean until tomorrow to refill the stores. Come along now; I’ve already put some beef stew on the stove and I’d rather it didn’t get cold.”

Your heart warmed at the gentle interaction even as a bitter twinge you didn’t want to acknowledge made your chest hurt. You had His Majesty, and that was enough. You never would’ve found Yoongi or Hoseok without him. You turned away as you recalled Yoongi and the girl grabbed her Mother’s hand to be led inside. 

Best you were on your way in any case; it wouldn’t be good if Yoongi woke to find you missing, or if a monster snuck up on your camp.

The rest of the night watch passed uneventfully and Yoongi awoke, as he usually did, at first light. 

You offered him a capful of water from your flask and he drank it gratefully. You’d used up all the food last night; you really should bring more than simple bread next time. Honestly, it had just slipped your mind...this was why Yoongi and Hoseok typically took care of provisions. You always managed to miss something. 

You fiddled absentmindedly with the new earring Yoongi had presented you with last night. It was common practice within Baron to claim trophies from particularly tough monsters and wear them as badges of honor. Typically; you felt pride in a kill and yesterday your mind had been preoccupied with panic and anger but now that it was the next morning you felt no joy, no sense of victory, There had been...no malice or hate that you typically felt from monsters. And it had bled too. It was...odd. 

Still, Yoongi had risked his life to get it for you, and King Odin would surely be pleased with the sight of it upon your return. Best to keep it on for now. 

You jumped as a pair of armored hands abruptly clapped in your face and offered a weak smile to Yoongi as he held out his hand to help you up. 

You grasped it, and he easily pulled you to your feet. 

“How are you feeling?”

You couldn’t help the worry seeping into your tone but Yoongi waved you off. 

“I told you last night I’d be fine and I am. I feel fit as yesterday before we’d even departed. Rest can often be even more healing than a Potion or Cure spell. Now then, shall we go? I’m sure you must be exhausted and the sooner we return home the sooner we can get you some much needed and deserved rest.”

You nodded at that, and after making sure you both had snuffed out the fire and that your weapons and armor were properly set you began your short trek to the gates of Mist. 

It was a tiny village you knew, unlike Damcyan, Fabul, Troia, or Eblan there was no castle, and even Mysidia was more bustling and lively than the few houses dwelling here. It was humble to be sure, but there was a peace and a sense of sincerity here that you doubted you could find anywhere else. 

You fingered the box holding the ring in your pocket, a bit nervous now that you were here. Baron and Mist had never had particularly good relations. You prayed that the King asking for their input would establish a rapport and help you maintain a good relationship. You lowered your face visor, figuring being able to see some part of you that was human behind your demonic looking armor would help put them at ease. 

As Yoongi and you both entered the village you noticed the civilians within already began side-eying you distrustingly and couldn’t help but wonder if word of Mysidia had already spread but quickly reminded yourself that that was impossible. After all; Troia was the only neighboring kingdom and they would’ve had to have taken an airship here just to inform them. A general lack of airships besides Baron aside, Troia was always neutral anyway and pretty much entirely isolated.

Guess tensions with Baron really were high then. 

You suddenly noticed a woman approaching you and recognized her as the mother from last night. Her daughter clutched at her skirt, observing you with curious if shy eyes. You smiled at her while Yoongi offered a respectful nod to the mother. 

“Good day ma’am we were just-”

His words were cut off by your pained yelp as you ripped the now searing box that held the ring out of its pouch. You’d been so preoccupied with calming down the young girl you hadn’t noticed the rising temperature until it was near scorching. 

“The ring!”

The box was rustling wildly of its own accord as it hit the ground, and Yoongi frowned deeply in confusion only to roughly pull you back several feet as he too jumped back. 

The woman too had shoved her daughter behind her and was examining the box before recognition lit her eyes. 

“This is-!”

Boom

The box exploded open and Bomb monsters hidden inside didn’t waste any time as they began setting fire to anything and anyone they could. In seconds the village was burning and the smell of burning flesh was everywhere. You could do little more than watch in horrified shock as smoke already was causing your eyes to burn at the spot the woman had just been. That initial violent opening of the box had scorched the poor woman...and her daughter you noted numbly, where they’d stood. The girl-Jenjia you reminded yourself, she had a name- all that remained of her was her doll, slowly burning away to nothingness in front of your very eyes. Suddenly, an abrupt realization hit you.

The bombs were carefully not targeting Yoongi and yourself.

You shook violently as words escaped your lips in hushed horror, taking in the carnage caused in the wake of your visit. It had to be a mistake, it had to. Yoongi would be truthful with you. You must’ve missed something. This wasn’t happening.

“This is what we were sent to do?”

Yoongi looked around with detached and grim determination.

“He wished this village torched.”

Tears streamed down your face and evaporated just as quickly, whether from the flames and smoke or the horror and disgust coursing through you; who could say? You trembled with rage and clenched your fists so tightly your already dented armor creaked a bit more from the force of it. 

“But why?”

You raised your head to the sky and let out a guttural raw of pure primal agony. 

“Why!?!”

Yoongi remained silent beside you, but you could feel the tenseness coming off of him in waves. This upset him too, you were sure. You numbly looked back down at the ground and it took you a few moments to register a new sound amid the now silent town besides the crackling of the fire and the creaking of buildings as they collapsed in on themselves. Destroyed in mere minutes. 

A young boy sobbing. 

You grimly raised your head and began walking towards the sound hearing Yoongi’s steady footsteps beside you. 

You came across a mint haired boy, hysterically gasping over a woman’s body. Luckily the child was beside the only water source in the town; a small pool which seemed to have kept the Bombs at bay. 

As Yoongi and you approached, he clung all the harder to his mother, not even noticing both of you. You barely managed to make out the words between his heart-wrenching sobs. 

“Mother you can’t die! J-Just because your dragon did!!” 

Yoongi’s eyes suddenly lit with understanding behind his visor and you turned to him in confusion as he nodded to himself. 

“I’ve heard of their lot. Men who can conjure Eidolons...Summoners.”

It suddenly hit you and you mumbled to yourself as it all seemed to come together. 

“Then the dragon we slew...was...his mothers?”

The boy gasped at the sound of your voice and turned to glare fearfully at you and Yoongi making you wince as you met his gaze behind your visor in reluctant admission of your guilt. He stood in an attempt to appear more intimidating even despite the tremor in his voice showing how petrified he was just underneath the facade.

“You...You’re the ones who killed her dragon!?”

You swallowed the bitter taste on your tongue as you pleaded with the boy. Moon above, he couldn’t be more than 10. 

“Forgive us. We’d no idea this would happen to your mother.”

It sounded exactly what it was. Weak and pathetic. There would be no forgiveness. Not for this. Nor for Mysidia. 

You forced your gaze to his deceased Mother and sent up a prayer. As if that would help him now. 

Yoongi looked around and finally spoke up, tone matter of fact. 

“His Majesty sent us to eliminate every last one of these people.”

Your legs finally gave out, unable to take the weight being placed upon you. 

“No…”

Yoongi frowned as he looked down at you, assessing your condition before he began to move towards the boy with grim determination. 

“Foul work to be sure. But we’ll need to kill the boy as well.”

At that you lunged, just before he reached him, hopping to your feet and pushing against his chest plate in horrified desperation. 

“Yoongi!!”

Up close as you were, you could feel his breath on your skin, could hear the hateful sense of begrudging duty in his tone.

“It’s him or us ____!” 

You pushed him with all your might, making him take a step back even with the weakness coursing through your shaky body.

“He’s a child!”

You turned to look down at the still sobbing boy who was too preoccupied with trying to wipe his tears to pay attention to you both. 

“You’d betray your King?”

Yoongi’s voice now held a note of finality,

You turned to fully face him, clenching your hand into a fist and drawing it close to your chest.

“Betray him? Any King who’d wish for this is no King of mine!!” 

You snarled, harshly swinging your arm out in a subconscious show of disgusted frustration. 

Yoongi smirked at you suddenly and you found yourself startled as he scoffed in humor. 

“Hmph. I thought you might say that.”

Your eyes searched for him just behind your visor as you grew hopeful. 

“Then…?”

He looked off into the distance for a moment and then turned to you with sharp determination. 

“I owe his Majesty much but not so much I’d soil the Dragoon’s name in his.”

He planted his spear down with finality.

Your eyes widened and you stepped closer to him in excitement.

“Then you’re with me?”

He made sure to meet your gaze and wordlessly nodded twice in support before he turned, this time towards the destruction, and walked past the boy as he spoke, looking out at it. 

“Baron’s army is the mightiest in the world. Our flight means nothing if we remain alone; we must treat with other nations, share what we’ve seen…”

He hesitated and then turned to look at you once more. 

“And Hoseok, he must share our flight.”

Your tone softened in affection for him and you nodded, stepping closer.

“And he will. Thank you.”

He turned away for a moment and mumbled to himself. 

“...I’m not doing this for you.”

You didn’t hear him and tilted your head. 

“Huh?”

Yoongi ignored you however and turned to nod towards the boy.

“Quickly, we mustn’t linger here! What of the boy?”

You didn’t even hesitate. 

“We take him with us.”

After hesitating a moment you approached him where he was still crouched protectively over his mother’s body as Yoongi watched uneasily but stayed where he was. 

“Come, it’s not safe here! Take my hand.” 

You asked gently, holding out your hand to the boy. 

He hopped away from you with a glower. 

“No!!” 

Yoongi growled low in his throat at that.

“We’ve no time; use force if you must!”

He joined you as he ran over and Jimin cowered away in fear disguised as anger. 

“Stay away!”

You held out your hand as Yoongi and you both froze. 

“Wait!” 

The child began running in earnest and Yoongi and you both followed, hot on his heels when he suddenly curled in on himself with a choked sob.

“Leave me alone!” 

He suddenly screeched as blinding white light surged up from beneath his feet and you could feel the magical energy emanating from him. Yoongi had faltered but you kept running, refusing to be responsible for the death of another child. If he harmed you so be it...you deserved it anyway.

“I HATE YOU!!!”

You felt the earth shake violently and you glanced up to see a massive Titan made of pure earth. The Eidolon raised its hands, your eyes widened and you lunged curling your arms around the boy as you crushed him protectively against your chest as hard as you could just as he fell unconscious from exertion. You felt the Titan’s hands come down onto the Blue Planet’s surface hard and your body flew into the air. 

If you were to die then so be it, but let this child survive at least. 

He need not share the payment for your sins.

You slammed against the ground hard several times, but curled your body inward all the more around his tiny body in spite of the pain, praying your armor would be enough to absorb the impact as you finally, mercifully joined the child in unconsciousness.

A/N:  Welp, I hope those that actually read this series enjoy it; I’ve only gotten one rambly review on AO3 that inspired be to keep posting this so thank them if you enjoy this series and I’m not talking to myself. Anyway! Onto fun notes about this chapter! :) 

I find Yoongi’s characterization and his relationship to Reader to be one of the most fun parts to explore thus far for me this chapter as well as how they fight together in a serious battle. I also delved into status effects some as well as the various uses of Potions! Expect more explained uses of items and such as the series goes on! Yoongi’s look hair wise in Daechwita perfectly fits both the OG character Yoongi is based off of(Kain Highwind). Luckily it hit me as I was going through mvs, trying to decide if there was anything that matched Kain’s lucious locks and there it was! 

Also yay!! Official intro for Jimin! I know he’s never had mint hair before but I just had to include the nod to the OG game after doing Yoongi’s so...please bare with me. These are the ones I felt most fit what I was imagining. 

Hope you all enjoy and please leave feedback it’s a huge motivator for me! Much love hope ya’ll are enjoying the influx of content from me lately! <3

[grimoire-of-thirst]

Hello hello ~ Can I request a nsfw scenario with William where he takes off his mask in front of his s/o for the first time? And also good luck with your blog ^^

Genre&Warnings: Smut, Fluff

Tags: handjob, blowjob, cowgirl, vaginal penetration, fem!dom (kind of)

✩:✩:✩

After William had finally accepted to spend the night into your room -to which you had been insisting on for the past week- you were quick to clean it and make it as spotless as you could. It wasn’t that much of a mess, but you still wanted for your room to be squeaky clean in his presence and make it somehow romantic. After the cleaning was done, which took you about a couple of hours, you added some scented candles and changed the usually pure white curtains with some red ones, along with matching bed sheets. After all of that, knowing that William has a soft spot for nature, you had also bought red and white roses, prettying up the entire room to finally obtain that romantic vibe you were striving to achieve.

All that makeover wasn’t necessary, but you had been planning this day since long ago and wanted for everything to be perfect. Maybe it was a little exaggerated, especially all the amount of red that painted your room, but you liked it and hoped that William will do too -although his attention will hopefully be focused on something else.

After feeling satisfied with the way everything turned out, you went ahead and took a bath, thoroughly cleaning your body and hair. As you were putting on your nightgown and noticing that William should be there soon, your mind began to wander everywhere, anxiety taking over you yet not knowing exactly why.

You and William had been dating for the past six months and were now ready to take the relationship to the next step, mostly because you took the initiative. William didn’t seem to be remotely interested in becoming sexually active, and the first time he rejected the invite for a sleepover kind of sent you off in a panic mode. At first, you thought it was because, maybe, he wasn’t attracted enough to you, and this alone, having him not seeing you as the woman you wanted him to see, was -to say the least- disheartening, therefore, you went to Julius -which happens to be one of your childhood friends- and expressed your concerns. Just the thought that William was against the idea of touching you was enough to break your heart, and when you told that to Julius he had laughed in your face, saying that this was definitely not the case.

You had tried to push for more information, yet he didn’t utter a word, insisting that it was something William was supposed to tell you, and not him. Nevertheless, you were now more confused than ever.

A couple of knocks on the door brought you back to the present, already knowing that it was probably the one you were waiting for. Checking yourself one last time into the mirror, you waltzed toward it, opening the door wide while a cheeky grin bloomed on your face.

“As sharp as a clock I see!” you said, moving to the side. William hummed, he too had a small smile on his lips before leaning down to leave a rather short kiss on the tip of your nose. You noticed right away that he was wearing his knight clothes along with the mask and a frown made its way on your face.

“You sleep with the uniform on?” you inquired, letting him slide his arms around your waist. William lightly shook his head, pulling you closer to him. “I just finished with all the duties, and I didn’t want to be late. I should go back and take my nigh-“

“It’s fine. We won’t be needing clothes anyway~” you sang, getting up on your toes to kiss his chin. William pursed his lips, cheeks getting warmer at what you implied. It was his first time, so he didn’t know exactly what or how to do certain things, and once you started leading him toward the bed, he gladly let you take the lead, seeing as you already knew what to do. You gently spun around with him, as if dancing to a tune only you could hear, and gently pushed him on the bed until his back was touching the soft sheets.

One of your hands intertwined with one of his, while the other one was placed on his chest as you gently climbed on top of him, legs bent to his sides while slowly leaning down toward his face. William stared at you with his lips parted and eyes lidded, already anticipating the feeling of your lips on top of his. It started soft, gentle, almost feathery-like, gradually putting more pressure as the kiss heated up. Your free hand went to grab his one, placing it on top of your thigh, wordlessly encouraging him to touch you. Yet, he didn’t know what should be the next move, so he settled with drawing abstract circles above the fabric of the gown. You smiled to yourself, surprised by how pure he was, it almost felt wrong to taint him like that, but it was so endearing and tempting.

Offended that he had so many clothes on him, you went ahead and removed the cape, letting it fall onto the floor, and then removed the belt, throwing it on top of the cape. “Remove the boots” you mumbled, kissing him once again and biting his lower lip, demanding entrance. William hummed, kicking away the boots, albeit with a little bit of struggle, while allowing you access by parting his lips. Soon, your tongue was exploring every nook and cranny all the while your hands unbuttoned his long-sleeved shirt.

As soon as the clothing item was gone, your hands were quick to travel down his chest, goosebumps appearing on his skin as the pads of your fingers went down, finally stopping at the edge of the pants, hovering over the button. Then, you left his lips, peppering his neck with wet, and soft kisses. William shuddered at the feeling, cheeks, and ears burning whilst his heart was loudly pumping inside its ribcage. For a moment he feared that you could hear it.

His mind was getting fuzzy, while a jittery feeling was bubbling into his stomach as your kisses went further down until your lips were above the edge of his pants. His breaths were becoming heavier as you finally got rid of his pants, and in one swift motion, you also removed his underwear, leaving him entirely exposed and vulnerable under your intense gaze. Moving to the side, and no longer straddling him, you caressed one of his thighs while lovingly looking at him in the eyes.

“Open your legs” you said. A smile appeared on your face upon seeing his cheeks coated with redness, probably out of either nervousness or embarrassment; or probably both. But he was cute nonetheless, especially how he complied with your request without batting an eye. You stroked a couple of times his thigh before moving toward his cock, which was only half-hardened. Starting with a slow pace, you took the time to grab his ankle and move his leg to your side, positioning yourself in the middle. When your upper part leaned toward him, William suddenly stopped you, gently gripping your arm.

“Are you sure about this? W-we can wait if you-” he mumbled, unsure of what he wanted to say. You stopped for a second, thinking about his question. Yes, you wanted it, but if he stopped you, maybe…

“Yes, I’m sure about what I want,” you said, going back up to kiss his lips. “What about you?” William blinked, smoothly wiping away the sweat that collected into his palms while a shiver went down his back. Yet, the hesitation that he was showing through his body, was telling you that -perhaps- he didn’t want it.

“William, if you’re not ready we can stop and-“ yet, he stopped you again by shaking his head. He seemed troubled and considering that maybe he wasn’t feeling good, you gave him an apologetic smile, slowly getting up, but he grabbed your wrist and pulled you into a hug. Upsetting you because of his own insecurities was the last thing he wanted.

The wooden texture of his mask, along with the patches of fur on the sides were tickling your neck, so you lightly pushed him away from you. And just then did everything click into your head.

“Is it about the helmet?” you asked, voice coated in pure curiosity. Now that you thought about it, William never showed you his face -despite dating him for several months now. You had never pushed on the subject, partially because you never wanted to make him uncomfortable or something, but also because you don’t see it as important to know. You never cared for the physical aspect, his personality was wonderful and he always treated you with love and respect. So, really, the helmet never bothered you, so why was he suddenly so nervous about it?

William thought for a moment, stilling on top of you whilst debating if he should go ahead and remove it or just keep it on. He knew it wasn’t a nice thing to do -hiding like that after what happened just seconds prior. You two were already taking the relationship to the next level, and seeing as he was going to spend the night into your room, he’d have to eventually take off the helmet.

Yet, something was keeping him from revealing himself, and that something was his fear of rejection. Having you, running away as soon as you’d see his face, after all that happened, was already making his heart squeeze in pain. He didn’t want you to run away from him, scared or worse, disgusted, by his face. He experienced in the past women seeing his bare face, and sadly most of them would end up horrified by the enormous scar and having you do the same thing, after making him fall in love with you, would be his worst nightmare. While he was having a mental monologue with himself, your eyebrows furrowed, confused as to why he was suddenly so silent and spaced out.

“William?”

Your voice caught his attention, blinking a couple of times to regain focus on you and the situation at hand. Slowly, he shifted up in a sitting position, eyes full of concern.

“It’s not what most would like to see” he said, voice low while gripping the sheets. You tilted your head to the side, now way more confused than before.

“See what? The way you sleep?”

William chuckled, yet kept his eyes on his hands as if they were the most interesting things in the world. “No. My face.” The small smile was quick to disappear, letting a frown take place on his face, which you were quick to pick up, noticing also the change of his mood.

“What? Do you have like multiple eyebrows or something? Or maybe you have an additional pair of lips up there? Or do you-” you asked. William widened his eyes; taken aback by all the absurd theories you were making up. You were so caught up into listing all the possible things he was hiding that it made him chuckle once again.

“No, my love. I don’t think that’s even possible”

“We live in a world were magic, elves, fairies, and demons exist, so why can’t someone have Christmas lights connected to their brains?” what was making it more amusing for William, was how genuine and serious you sounded. Although he had to admit, you had a point.

“I just…”

Slowly, his hands went up to grab the mask, emptily swallowing before finally taking it off. He felt extremely vulnerable and exposed, he didn’t like the feeling of you seeing his imperfections, but it was something that was needed to be done, especially at this point in the relationship.

“I still don’t understand what is wrong about your face. But I can see I was wrong on all my theories, especially about the eyebrows. I didn’t know you had none… that’s a lot of room for eyeshadow”

William didn’t know how to react. He had really thought you’d say something about his scar, yet, you didn’t even mention it. Which was quite comforting to him.

“I know my scar is unpleasant, you can tell-“

“And that’s a problem for you? I mean… yeah, everyone has their own insecurities, but it shouldn’t bother you, nor should you care if it bothers someone else,” you said shrugging. Gently, your fingers started drawing small circles on his shoulders before lacing your arms around his neck, leaving a small kiss on his temple, right on the scar.

“Besides, it’s just a scar, something that everyone has, well, not everyone but you know what I mean. Yours happened to be on the face, so what? I still think you’re beautiful”

No one has ever told him that he’s beautiful. Julius had ignored his scar, and even Yami didn’t care at all, but they never said those three words. Yet here you were, peppering short, wet kisses all over his scar as if further proving your point. He had never felt so good into someone’s arms. And he definitely never felt so happy and loved like right now. His heart was leaping inside, a large smile blooming on his face and threatening to stay there for the rest of the night. Now, that he knew how you feel about his scar, he felt more at ease and comfortable.

“Now, let’s finish what we started” you mumbled, firmly pushing him down on the bed. William widened his eyes, startled by the sudden movement. Then, a grunt left his lips as soon as your hand took a hold of his cock, slowly moving your hand up and down. Now that William took off of his chest his insecurity and seeing how loving you still were toward him, there was nothing holding him back.

He placed both his hands on your thighs, hiking up the gown and revealing more and more of your skin to his eyes. Another grunt resonated inside his throat when your thumb brushed over the small hole at the tip, smearing the precum around. William’s grip on you tightened, suddenly realizing that he was the only one fully naked, while your body was still covered by the nightgown.

“Can I-“ he started, trailing off as if hoping for you to catch on what he wanted to ask. He was definitely nervous, and if the slight cracking of his voice along with his burning cheeks were not enough to make you understand that, then the slight tremble of his hands surely did. You nodded, flashing him a small smile, assuring him. William swallowed the sudden lump that formed into his throat as he completely removed your gown by pulling it over your head. For a minute he did nothing but stared at your naked form, mind suddenly spinning as he felt overwhelmed by all that skin.  

You, on the other hand, were not distraught at all, if anything, you wanted him to watch you while also enjoying his cute reactions. The thought that he had never seen a woman fully naked until now and that you were probably his first, was something that brought you quite the enjoyment and satisfaction.

Feeling a sudden boost of confidence running through your body, you forced his legs open, tightly gripping his thighs and positioned yourself in between them, once again. William watched while his heart was threatening to burst out, especially when your face was inching toward his groin. Only then, did he finally find back his voice.

“Love… you don’t have to-“ but his words died into his throat as soon you took him into your warm and slippery mouth. His eyes were wide open, pupils dilated as he tightly gripped the bedsheets, clutching them into his fists while knuckles went almost white. You began to bob your head up and down his cock, occasionally taking him fully, making your nose touch his pelvis while the tip went all the way to the back of your throat. He could feel the texture of your tongue under his cock, the silkiness of your mouth sucking him was driving him crazy.  Moans and grunts slipped out of his mouth despite trying -and miserably failing- at keeping them at bay.

The way you were sucking him, and how you were making him feel as if he was on cloud nine, was making his head spin with pleasure, but only when your eyes locked with his, did he almost lost it. His blush intensified upon clearly seeing how his cock was disappearing into your welcoming mouth, and adding to that the eye contact was becoming way too much for him.

”Y/n… I’m-” his breaths were heavy and quick, coming out in puffs, and you knew that he was reaching his limit, but suddenly you stopped. William looked at you confused, slightly pouting in disappointing at being denied his release, but it soon disappeared once you straddled him, gripping the base of his cock and aligning it at your entrance. His hands took a hold of your hips, helping you out when you began to slowly take him in.

William’s mouth fell open, a low -almost inaudible groan leaving his lips as you slowly sank on him, walls tightening around his length. His head fell back on the mattress, eyes shut close, and once he was fully inside you, he took a moment to cherish the feeling. He thought that nothing could compare to that feeling, yet he was proven wrong when you started rocking your hips. More grunts left his lips, half-lidded eyes watching as you fucked yourself on his cock, hips going back and forth trying to get him as deep as you could. His hands tightened on your hips, nails barely digging into your soft flesh yet you paid no mind to it.

“Feeling good, love?” you teased, despite being out of breath. William moaned again, eyes rolling all the way back at your powerful thrusts. Your walls were squeezing him so deliciously that it was making it hard for him to find the right words to say.

“Yes” the response came out breathless, mind blank but at the same time filled with you. Your name being the only thing that he could let out of his mouth along with ‘please’ and ‘more’. His hips then started to move on their own, thrusting upwards to meet yours half-way through, chasing the sweet release that he so craved.

His eyes traveled from your pussy up to your breasts, which were bouncing following the mildly fast rhythm of the thrusts. Seeing you so lost in pleasure, so caught up into the feeling of him filling you up, sparked within him a desire to bring you even more pleasure, thus, his thrusts became harsher, successfully hitting your core multiple times. One of his hands went up and grabbed your breast, while the other one cupped the back of your neck, pulling you into another kiss.

Low, quick puffs of air were released against your mouth as he kept rutting inside you, growling once you started to tighten around him, sign that you were close to your release. His hips stuttered once again against yours, hitting over and over again your sweet spot, making your head spin with delight, wanton moans spilling out of your mouth while also pleasing his ears as you finally came around his cock.

After a couple of more thrusts, William too came, spilling everything inside and coating your walls white. Both stayed like that, regaining your breaths while William scooped you into his arms, right hand going through your strands while leaving small kisses on your forehead. After what seemed like a minute, William turned to face you.

“We should go and-“ but upon seeing your eyes shut, and hearing the soft snores that you were making, he understood that you were already sleeping. He smiled, eyes softening as he tightened his arms around your waist and covered your body with the blanket. The bath could wait, right now, taking a nap sounded way more tempting.

✩:✩:✩

A/n: First of all, thank you sweetie for requesting! 

Second of all, I’m not sure if this is what you wanted…? You were not specific when it came to the ns*w part so I went ahead and used whatever went through my head, but I hope you enjoyed it!