#HES NOT GONNA BE SCARED OF SOME FUCKING LEGION SOLDIERS

[averagepsychouser]

I am SO FUCKING TIRED OF PEOPLE MAKING ARCADE A PUSSY WHAT THE FUCK

STOP MAKING HIM A FUCKING TWINK YOUR COURIER HAS TO SWOOP IN AND SAVE HE’S A SIX FOOT SOMETHING 35 YEAR OLD MAN STOP ACTING LIKE ALL GAY MEN ARE PUSSIES

[kingdoms-and-empires]

If an engineer MC focuses on infrastructure, a tactician MC should focus on logistics, which I would say is equally as unsung as infrastructure. I mean yeah battlefield tactics like ambushes, formations and whatnot are important, but in the end the victor is usually the guy who can get needed resources where they need to be the FASTEST. No sieging army is getting into the castle if the people inside have more food than they do. Your army is gonna shrink faster if you run out of medical equipment and soldiers start dying. Honestly it would be cool to see an MC with a balance between engineering and tactician engineering ways to supply his troops. Get some set up as ludicrous as the ice cream barges of WW2 (if you haven't heard of it, Google it, it's funny/kinda scary when you think about it)

CORRECT

For everything youve said, the Military Historian and Combat stat covers. The two will cover all things Warfare.

Caesar absolutely scared the fuck out of his fellow roman peers by the sheer speed in which he moved armies. And these are fellow romans who have experience in war that know how incredibly fast roman legions are just normally.

But most of his own experience came from the Gallic Wars, in which our MC will have their own version of where they pretty much use the tribes as a whetstone to sharpen their skill

Another who used the boring side of warfare to an absolutely terrifying degree was Napoleon, and his Marshal Louis-Alexandre Berthier. Behind every great man is a woman, sure, but behind Napoleon was Berthier, his chief of staff who was a master of logistics and strategy. It was he who organized the Grande Armee (which became a model for future armies), took on the overwhelming task of moving and feeding France's armies, and helped Napoleon's visions become reality. The man was an administrative genius.

Here's how integral this man was:  "...it is often agreed upon that had Berthier been available to Napoleon during the Hundred Days, he would likely have won Waterloo or not even have had to fight the battle in the first place. It was Soult’s dawdling and misinterpreting of orders that contributed to the reorientation of the whole army once Napoleon arrived." -David G. Chandler’s, The Campaigns of Napoleon

Also the dude worked 20 hour days regularly.

Honestly, I think the legend of Berthier will be how I model the INT + Military Historian MC.

[angelicamerlinbarnes]

TUA PIRATE AU

(of the Caribbean? Sort of? I guess?)

(please understand that by AU, I mean they share an incredibly small amount of things in common with the original source material which I barely remember BUT the “story” takes place in the setting of the books/films) (not to be misleading or anything :p)

(BEWARE: abuse, murder, pirates and all of their violent shenanigans, etc.)

(If you can handle watching Umbrella Academy, this will be fine for you.)

Luther is the captain of the guard, and pirates are the bane of his existence. He hates Diego most of all, the man who’s stolen unspeakable amounts of gold from Reginald, Luther’s employer. But as annoyed he is at all of the theft, he purposefully never catches Diego, because he knows Klaus loves him. And Luther may be a man of the law, but he’s also Klaus’ beloved brother-in-spirit, even if Reginald wants them to marry each other for some idiotic reason. (Something about getting Klaus to settle down - ha, he can try.) When Klaus disappears, Luther follows him, having no connections left here - and that’s when he meets Allison. And there are copious laws against getting involved with married women and outlaws alike… so Luther starts to think that maybe bending the rules wouldn’t be so bad. (Klaus is so proud.)

Diego grew up poor, and became a pirate in his early teens when Grace took him in. When she fled the colony, Diego went with her, leaving his childhood best friend Klaus behind. He’s got his own fleet and crew now, and mostly uses his scores as excuses to flirt with Klaus, who’s still just as drawn to him after all these years and often sneaks him into his bedroom when Diego’s in town. Diego’s kept in close touch with Lila and Eudora, both of whom he grew up with once Grace took him away, and they both help him when it comes time for him to crash Klaus’ wedding to Luther (fuck you dude) and steal Klaus away for a life at sea. (Klaus absolutely LOVES this. They kiss a lot. They swing from ropes. Klaus is screaming at all the guards as Diego carries him away bridal-style (ha, I’m so funny). It is delightful.) (His ship is a terror they call The Kraken. Ha, get it? Get it - because Diego’s name - and the monster from legend - okay yeah I’ll shut up now.)

Allison is a badass goddess, covered in colorful tattoos with gold in her hair. She was a prostitute for awhile, stealing a bunch along the way, but one day one of the pirate captains who approached her tried to take more than he paid for. She broke both his hands and killed him in cold blood, then defeated his entire crew in a sword fight single-handedly, earning their respect. She now rides with that same crew as their captain, in one of those off-the-shoulder poet-blouse-corset dresses and high brown boots. Ray is a leutinant who’s been chasing her for years, the two of them flirting back and forth forever… but he’ll never catch her. It’s bad form to arrest your wife.

Klaus is the governor’s bastard son, a totally wild spirit who wears dresses all the time, drinks his weight at parties, and has slept with half the town (marriage is not a problem for him, this is Klaus, we all know he is very down for threesomes). He’s stolen half of Reginald’s shit for Diego over the years, and has been sneaking off to see him just as long, completely in love with his pirate king. Though he’s loved others before - Dave, for example, a soldier whose death broke Klaus into give in to Reginald’s plan to marry him off to Luther (who Klaus loves, just, Not Like That™). The day Diego kidnaps him from his own wedding is the best fucking day of his life - okay, no it wasn’t. That was second best. The best day of his life was the day he and Diego watched Diego’s ship and treasure burn and sink into the sea, and Klaus asked him if he was alright, and Diego just shrugged. Said, You’re the only treasure I need, and kissed him like the world was ending. Yeah. That was the best day of his life, because Diego is the best anything in his life.

Five was a pirate queen until he transitioned a few years ago, though only by word of mouth. No one’s ever seen him. Anyone who works for him doesn’t make it a month outside of the job, usually by his own hands, but people keep coming because nobody knows who he is. He sails alone, though he offers Klaus refuge on his boat for a few days under the moniker Aidan, because he knows Diego loves him, and Five actually respects Diego (if only because he respects Lila who he only respects because he respects Eudora). He hates the Handler for leaving him stranded on an island when he was just a child, an unwanted product of her crew’s hard partying, and has vowed to kill her one day for leaving him alone for so long, ageless in misery. He talks to the mermaid on the front of his ship named Dolores and kills without mercy, and when he finally reveals himself as this skinny pale thirteen-year-old with the grandpa haircut, he revels in the looks on his family’s faces as they try to rebuild their blown brain circuits.

Ben loves Klaus more than life itself, which is, in hindsight, probably why he’s dead. Oh who is he kidding, it’s definitely why he’s dead. Klaus is sort of, kind of, maybe, just a little bit a witch, and they hang witches where they’re from. So when they needed someone to blame for the odd happenings Klaus had caused recently, Ben had taken the blame and worn the noose proudly. Klaus still talks to him all the time, his ghost anyway, and it’s fine - but Klaus lives on the sea now, with Diego, and Ben gets seasick like all the time. (And then he steals Davy Jones’ heart and gets trapped as a tentacle monster, which is honestly not that bad. It helps him scare birds, and Ben likes scaring birds.)

Vanya works as the blacksmith’s apprentice, sad and lonely. She’s been having an affair with the duchess Sissy for years, also working as her maid and a nanny for her son Harlan when asked, but mostly she’s alone, with no one else to care for in the world. (And that creep officer Leonard keeps asking her to marry him, which, just. Ew.) When Five shows up, his hands in his pockets, and offers her a way out, well - what else could she possibly do?

Lila is a badass pirate princess who don’t take no shit from anybody. She wears bright pink ballgowns while skewering people like kabobs, which is funny because she’s a well-known maneater. Literally. (Yes I included a Hannibal character in here because it’s my AU and I can do whatever the fuck I want.) She fell in love with Eudora, and thought she had corrupted the kind sergeant until she found out Eudora had been an undercover pirate the whole time, helping Diego smuggle Reginald’s gold and goods in and out of port. (That’s hot as fucking hell, she blurts when she realizes. Fuck, I’m gonna marry this woman.) She has a serious rum problem she will not be addressing and a collection of pet parrots that will forever prevent her and Ben from becoming friends. When she and Eudora get married, it’s in the middle of the pouring rain while thunder and lightning and gunshots crack around them and they’re killing people and shooting canons left and right (because I may not have shipped Will and Elizabeth but by god if their wedding wasn’t the best fucking thing I’ve ever seen). Now if only she could find the king of the pirates… she’s been hunting Five for years, hoping to prove herself to him, but he just… won’t show up.

Eudora is the sergeant in Reginald’s legions, and has been using her position to help Diego pirate goods since before he even left with Grace. She makes a lot of deals with him, having him carry her cargo and speak with her connections in exchange for her keeping an eye on Klaus for him, which to be honest they both know she’d do anyway. She helped Diego get to Klaus’ wedding and kidnap him, confusing the soldiers in pursuit of the bride, and follows them off to sea, finally home. She feels she owes an eternal debt to Klaus for not being able to save Ben from execution, though she tried, almost desperately. She flirts with Lila all the damn time, and believes in magic, wanting to travel the world looking for it. Most importantly, you should know that she will and has killed for a cheeseburger. (I know they weren’t invented yet shut up.)

Reginald is the governor of the colony, and Klaus’ father. He’s an asshole, one who constantly hunts the pirates because his wife Grace left him to be one. He only has one eye because Grace cut the other out viciously in their last fight, and he’s an abusive piece of shit who lives to terrorize and tax people. Pogo is his assistant / advisor / let-me-stand-here-and-give-you-good-advice-that-we-all-know-you’ll-ignore person. Reginald refuses to die before he catches Grace and sees her hanging in the square - something that seems more and more likely by the day. (HA, Grace says. He wishes.)

Grace is the original pirate queen, and lives in legend. She faked her death after living a double life for years, leaving Reginald and taking her son Diego with her. She knows Reginald doesn’t believe in her death, because she cut his eye out and nearly killed him right before she left, but everyone else believes it. She jumped from the bell tower and Klaus himself “went mad with grief” at the sight of her body, though he of course knows she’s alive and keeps up the story for her benefit. She injured Reginald so severely because he killed Ben, knowing that he wasn’t guilty, and that the witch in question had done nothing wrong anyway. She is known to be fiercely protective of her children, and kind in nature despite her ability to kill you using a historic number of methods. Her crew is made up of refugees who she offered shelter and a better life in exchange for their servitude, including Five, for awhile, who was running a scam. She knows who he is, and remembers his face well - but she keeps it to herself. Though she could match him in a fight easily, she has no interest in battling the boy she has grown to love as a son. (She’s also the one who officiates Diego and Klaus’ wedding, but that’s unrelated.)

The Handler is another pirate queen, and Grace’s greatest rival. She has two pistols at her waist and is not afraid to use them, having such deadly aim that she’s never missed a target - except Diego, which she hates him for. Also for encouraging her first mate and daughter Lila to mutiny, but that’s a whole other can of worms. Her ship is followed by an entire shiver of sharks, who let her use them like water skis whenever she wants. She abandoned Five on an island when he was born into her crew, as she hates children with a burning passion. (There are rumors she eats little boys’ bones. They have yet to be disproven.) Hazel is her snivelling first mate and Cha-Cha is her willing servant and second captain, a master at the wheel and with a sword. Agnes is an old psychic (ha, she’s faking it. She’s got no fuckin’ clue where Five is and will continue to lie whenever asked) she keeps in the brig after kidnapping her years ago, hoping to get a read on Five, who the Handler hates for constantly stealing her goods before they even make it to port. (She has no idea he’s the same boy she left on that island all those years ago - he’s certainly not the only child she’s done that to. But countless are out for her blood… almost every person Grace has rescued was left to die on an island by the Handler.) She eventually dies at Klaus’ hand, who plunges a sword through her heart in defense of his family, who she made the fatal mistake of coming after. (It happened in the same rainy battle where Lila and Eudora were married. He was wearing a yellow ballgown.)

Also Jack Sparrow is super great friends with Lila and he’s married to Will Turner who’s honestly so exhausted but gets along great with Ben and Elizabeth is their ace-aro friend who is a goddamn queen and who Diego has a lowkey crush on and Klaus can geek out with for hours. It’s awesome.

[aimeelouart]

Ok I've spent a few months lurking and just being a lil too nervous to ask about The Royal House Perdel, but now that I've read the premise ohmygod I love it. I would pay actual money to read it as a book one day.

WHAT. You’re my favorite now. I love you. Take my firstborn.

Since I assume you’re also here for FF7, have a little gift writing of my protag at age 7 hopping dimensions and interacting with the SSC Firsts.

They should have known something was off when they were able to corner Cloud so quickly, but they definitely figured it out when he started giggling.

“Cloud…?” Sephiroth asked cautiously, crouched a short distance from him.

“Pfft, ahaha, your faces!” He said, pointing and covering his mouth with the other hand. Bright orange-red bled out from the root of his hair, spreading down as the strands lengthened and curled. He grew a little taller, a little ganglier, and his face…

Not his face. That wasn’t Cloud at all, though how the laughing girl had accomplished such an effective disguise was a question for another time.

“Who the hell are you!” Genesis exploded. “Where is Cloud!”

“He’s busy,” the little girl said, breaking off her laughter to stick out her tongue at them. “Meanie. He’s following a Virtue! You can’t interrupt that!”

Sephiroth growled, standing up. “Genesis, with me. Angeal, start a conference call. We will begin where we lost Cloud.” He and Genesis darted off, leaving Angeal with the strange new child.

“Wonderful,” he sighed, pulling out his PHS and doing as Sephiroth had commanded. “Another one.” He caught the girl’s arm when she nonchalantly tried to waltz past him. “And where do you think you’re going?”

She blinked. “That way,” she said, pointing.

“Not when you’ve⁠—is that Cloud’s hair?” There was a tuft of pale golden hair clenched in her hand.

“Duh,” she said, “that’s the rule for the spell. ‘A dear thing, freely given. Closer to the skin, more power riven.’”

Angeal struggled to parse through the bewildering statement. “Because Cloud gave you his hair, you were able to...cast a spell to look like him?” He tilted her arm, looking her over for materia, but saw nothing. “Where’s your materia?”

She blinked at him. “What’s materia?”

He decided to abandon the line of inquiry entirely. “Where are your parents?”

Her expression turned sheepish. She scuffed the toe of her sandal across the concrete. “Umm...Granda’ is gonna come find me soon...I’m probably in trouble.”

For the first time, Angeal noticed the glittering jewels held in the intricate lacework of her sandals. They certainly weren’t materia, but they did tell him that her parents must have been very wealthy. “And why are you in trouble?”

She flushed and looked away. “I’m not s’pposed to go through the Gates…” she mumbled.

“The gates?”

“The Gates Between. The ones that cross the Empty Spaces.” She stared down at her feet, and nervously plucked at the hem of her skirt. “Granda’ can open the Gates cuz he’s Imperator, and I can cuz I’m a Mage but he says I’m too little. I’m not supposed to be here, but...but it was calling me! I had to!” She looked up at him with wide, unnatural golden eyes and a pleading little pout.

He had absolutely no idea what she was talking about.

⁠—

Genesis took one look at the little redhead sleeping contentedly against Angeal’s shoulder and said “no, no, we already have one, put that back.”

Angeal looked tired and a little defeated, leveling Genesis with an unimpressed glance. With Cloud in the wind, all they could do now was wait for some sign of his whereabouts—probably in the form of demolished ShinRa property. Which left them to deal with everything else for a while instead.

“Believe me,” he said, “I’m not particularly happy about this either. But her parents are impossible to find. She doesn’t exist in any records—and I do mean any records. Even the Turks can’t find anything. And I can’t exactly just leave her with someone.”

Genesis narrowed his eyes. “Why not?”

“She has...abilities. You saw the disguise earlier, but there’s more.” He looked vaguely disturbed, glancing down at the kid like she was a ticking bomb. “A lot more.”

Sephiroth sighed. “Naturally. That seems to be the theme lately, strange children with inexplicable abilities showing up on our doorsteps.”

Finally, a hint of humor broke through Angeal’s tiredness. “Well, look on the bright side. At least this one actually trusts adults.”

“Too much, if she’s sleeping in your arms two seconds after meeting you,” Genesis scoffed.

“The polar opposite of Cloud,” Sephiroth observed, a little bit of humor entering his tone as well.

Angeal shook his head. “Her parents have the resources to keep her very sheltered, from what I’ve gathered. She seems to think that all adults are inherently trustworthy, especially if they, and I quote here, ‘look like they belong in Mama’s First Legion.’”

Genesis and Sephiroth both paused.

“That...makes it sound as if her parents have a personal militia at their disposal,” Genesis said.

“Yeah,” Angeal agreed wryly, “it does, doesn’t it?”

—

She was like a spot of sunshine in the interview room—not an interrogation room, though it did have a one-way mirror and an attached observation space—beaming up at Tseng as she sat on her knees in the chair across from him. Unsurprisingly, the Turks hadn’t exactly had a booster seat handy with their typical interview equipment.

“What’s your full name?” Tseng asked, soft and polite. It was only Angeal’s familiarity with the young man that allowed him to detect the very slight edge of unease in his smile.

Angeal could understand. It wasn’t often that even he was presented with such unconditional trust and guileless curiosity, and the Turks certainly must have experienced it much less.

The little girl opened her mouth and proceeded to deliver an extremely well-rehearsed answer. “Ameliora Octavia, First Mage of the House Perdel, Blessed of the Thirteen,” she rattled off cheerfully, “Crown Princess and heir to the Perdelesian Throne, granddaughter of the Virtuous Emperor Celsus Caesar Perdel and the Virtuous Empress Julia Atossa Perdel, daughter of Caius Julius Perdel, High King of the West, and Fera Tullia Perdel, High Queen of the East.” She gasped in a breath, having spent her entire lung capacity on the extended answer. “You can call me Lora, though, I don’t mind.” She resumed beaming at him.

Even Tseng didn’t seem to know what to say to that.

Then Lora frowned abruptly. “Oh wait, I wasn’t supposed to tell you that.”

Tseng managed to get ahold of himself. “Why is that, Lora?”

She looked up at the ceiling as if trying to remember something. “Granda says that, uh, if I’m ever with strangers I’m supposed to...uhm...tell them ‘Lora’ but nothing else and wait until one of the Praetorians comes to get me.”

“I see. Lora, do you know where you are?”

“Nope!” she said, apparently unbothered by this fact.

“Do you know how you got here?”

“Uh-huh, I opened the Gate in the Archive because it was calling to me in the Strings, and then I walked the Empty Spaces until it felt right and now I’m here.”

Angeal glanced discreetly at the other Turks in the observation room. None of them seemed to know what the hell she was saying either, which was very reassuring.

Tseng looked like he wanted to sigh but restrained himself. “Do you know how to get back home?”

For the first time, Lora flushed crimson and ducked her head. “Umm...nooo…”

“No?”

“‘S why I’m gonna be in trouble...I know how to walk through the Empty Spaces but I dunno how to walk back yet…Granda will come find me, though.”

“How will he know where to find you?”

She blinked at him, and for a moment her unnatural golden eyes glowed like they had a SOLDIER’s mako gleam. “Granda will always find me,” she said. “He swore on the Thirteen the day I was born. ‘Sides, I’m a Mage. Magistra Mara says I look like a supernova when she uses the Strings to see me.” She smiled. “I’m hard to miss.”

“I see,” said Tseng, which was a bald-faced lie. “How old are you, Lora?”

“Seven and a quarter,” she said very seriously.

—

“Hey.” A little hand tugged on the bottom of his jacket and Reno practically jumped out of his skin. Shiva, it was the tiny unnatural demon child. With trepidation, he half-turned and looked down at her.

She was beaming up at him like he’d just given her the best gift in the world. He was absolutely certain that if he picked her up she would snuggle into his arms without a second thought.

It was hands-down the creepiest fucking thing he’d ever seen in his life.

“What,” he bit out, anxious to get away without looking like he was getting away. He could feel Rude laughing at him silently.

“C’mere,” she said, motioning him down. Reno glanced at her babysitter of the hour—Hewley—whose mako eyes promised death if he dared to scare or upset her. Reno weighed the odds for a long second and then slowly crouched.

Immediately, she buried her hands in his hair and started petting and patting, a puzzled little furrow to her brows. “Hey,” he said, jerking back a little, “what do you think you’re doing!”

“I’ve never seen hair like this,” she responded, peering closer.

“You have red hair,” he pointed out, growing increasingly uncomfortable. He could kill her a dozen ways with barely a flick of his hand and she was playing with his hair?

It was unnatural!

“Nuh-uh, my hair’s gold-red and and curls. Yours is all sticky-uppy and looks like an apple.”

“Well, that’s just how it was when I was born!”

“Oh. Huh.” Apparently that was enough for her. She released his hair and looked to Rude instead and Reno felt exactly zero shame for how fast he got up and moved out of range of her creepy, sunshiny eyes.

She motioned Rude down in the same way. He went, a lot more willingy than Reno had, even though Reno knew for a fact that is partner was also pretty fucking creeped out by her. All the Turks were. There was no one—no one—who had ever treated them with such unconditional trust. The little princess was genuinely happy to see them. Even Tseng was freaked out. Even Veld was, though he took it in stride like he did everything else.

Lora plucked the sunglasses right from Rude’s face and put them on. Her mouth made a little ‘o�� of surprise.

“Why would you want dark glass over your eyes?” She asked, holding them in place and looking around curiously.

Without missing a beat, Rude pulled a spare set of sunglasses out of his suit pocket and put them on. Lora giggled. Reno shamelessly abandoned his partner and speed walked away.

—

“Hello, my dear.”

Lora looked up, blinking at the strange man who’d addressed her. “Hello,” she said cheerfully. She was, technically, breaking the rules by wandering around like this, but she was just so curious. There were so many strange things in this place! And sometimes breaking the rules led to wonderful things, like coming here.

“Would you like to see something interesting?”

She gasped in delight. “Yes! What is it?”

“Come with me and I’ll show you,” he said, offering a hand. She took it without hesitation. It was weirdly cold. The man reminded her of her uncle Brutus, who stared at her all the time and Mama always glared at. Uncle Brutus was weird.

She remembered that she actually had to introduce herself here, because people didn’t automatically know her name. “I’m Lora, what’s your name?” she said.

The man smiled. “You can call me Professor Hojo, my dear.”

[Part 2]

[karmanticmoved]

pick any OCs for these!! whoever you feel has an interesting answer lmao, feel free to talk about more than one per question :D

😨 fearful: when scared, do they go into flight or fight?

🙊 speak-no-evil: what is something your OC will refuse to stay quiet about?

⚾ baseball: can they play sports? what is their best position if they play a team sport? what's their strong suit (speed, power, etc.)?

🎵 music note: what is their playlist like? their favourite artists? do you associate a particular song with them?

❤️ red heart: their love language(s)?

🙏 YESS i will talk sooo much. apollo my bestie beloved ilu

😨 fearful: when scared, do they go into flight or fight?

I'm gonna talk about carson, my fnv courier for this one. ok. so.

carson doesn't really scare easily, after dealing with being shot in the head, many many deathclaws, the legion, being lobotomized, fighting a whole ass war, etc etc. but he does get scared sometimes, mostly when it's something at stake, like lives of his companions or the threat of harm to a group he's inclined to protect. whenever he gets scared, his first instinct is always, technically, fight. though sometimes that's just acting impulsively rather than actually fighting, but it's the same instinct. he throws himself headfirst into things with no regard for his own life as is, so there's little hesitation. honestly, he barely even has the instinct for self preservation at all. but whether that's something stemming from all of his head trauma (bullet to the brain, lobotomy, several concussions), or something he already lacked, he can't quite say.

🙊 speak-no-evil: what is something your OC will refuse to stay quiet about?

hmmm. I think I'll talk about jesper 4 this one!! he is a chiss sith lord & my absolute favorite swtor oc ehehe

jesper has a very strict moral code set for himself, despite, or even because of his status as a renowned sith lord & alliance leader. he has more than enough experience with the dark side & those driven by evil that he can tell when things are likely to bring consequences. anything that he deems a risk to the alliance, to the galaxy, or especially to his wife and crew, he immediately speaks up about. unrest between imperial and republic soldiers is addressed the moment that gossip reaches his ears, reports of potential traitors are investigated, and absolutely no bigotry is tolerated. he does sort of enjoy telling people off about their misogyny and alien racism. but that's just because he and his wife love to clown on people whenever possible, especially as they are both aliens and he drinks his respect women juice daily.

that got so off topic but that's ok bc I love him <33 anyway. anything deemed a risk is immediately discussed to some extent, no matter what.

⚾ baseball: can they play sports? what is their best position if they play a team sport? what's their strong suit (speed, power, etc.)?

NOW is time for my haikyuu ocs. ok . Ok!!! i I only talk about... a few.

sakuma, kyoya, and kiya. sakuma is the 3rd year vice captain of the wolves and is a key part of their defense and is a powerful spiker. kyoya is the wolves' starting setter and kiya is the deer's starting setter. theyre both second years & they all play volleyball (ofc)

using the official hq stats system:

sakuma / kyoya / kiya

power: 4 / 4 / 3

jump: 5 / 4 / 4

stamina: 4 / 5 / 3

strategy: 4 / 3 / 4

technique: 3 / 5 / 4

speed: 4 / 4 / 5

🎵 music note: what is their playlist like? their favourite artists? do you associate a particular song with them?

I'm gonna talk abt my rbwy oc kiyoomi bc ive been listening to his playlist the most recently tbh.

a lot of the music steers towards punk stuff, more rebellious and fuck it attitudes because that's his general. vibe. BUT. there are also a couple songs in there regarding his family issues, mostly with being neglected and ignored and the least favorite child even after he was the only child around.

the song my grand plan from the tlt musical (its about pjo annabeth and her family issues) is on there specifically because. he's a fox faunus. he's incredibly smart and witty, he's talented enough to do an awful lot, but he was so. ignored and not allowed to extend his abilities that he got fed up with it all.

also teenagers by mcr <3 he is an incredibly pissed off teenager that knows full well how fucked up a lot of the world around him is, and he's so prepared to bitch about it and say fuck the government.

❤️ red heart: their love language(s)?

doing dominick (my fo3 lone wanderer) for this because he's an asshole who's trying to figure out how to Show Affection at all.

more than anything, his main love language is acts of service. but not in the traditional sense, but a fallout sense. hell watch your back without complaint or even a request to do so. he'll make space in his life to accommodate, like adding an extra bed to his house in megaton. he takes care to save food and water and medical supplies that he plans to share later on. he'll even take a bullet or a stab wound to show that he cares.

his second love language is quality time. just travelling, mostly. he willing brings someone with him, willingly allows them into his space and life, and protects them accordingly. he only gets close to people who stick around him long enough, so quality time is important after he cares as well.

both of the love languages are most obvious in regards to charon because of how frequently they travel together. others who've taken note of dominick have noticed the casual manner that he just. takes care of charon when he can. doesn't seem to mind spending time in his company, especially if they're both quiet.

overall it's just. the way he quietly makes room in his life for another person with ease.

[fanficsforheartandsoul]

GREMLIN AU

@smhalltheurlsaretaken has motivated me to draw some Grandpa Yoda stuff and god, I just came up with some new things that are definitely canon now because I decided so, don’t @ me. 

Also I don’t give a shit about canon in general, Yoda is a grumpy gremlin now, whose ears are like Stitch’s from Lilo & Stitch, and the clones are his sons. End of discussion. 

Grumpy Grandpa Yoda™ living with his children who take care of him later, they age like normal people and it’s just a happy funny family AU:

Yoda lives with 10 clones he was able to save on Dagobah

There’s a lot of mud and swampy stuff and creatures and the clones HATE IT

At least at the beginning, later the begin to love it and I can guarantee you there are sooooo many mud fights - Yoda disapproves

Yoda takes Commander Gree, Draa and Buzz (Doesn’t make any sense I know but who cares bitch) and other soldiers from the 41st Stormtrooper Legion with him

Hades, Ace, Eli, Beetle, Fox, Rook and Essi 

together with the other three and the gremlin they build a big family

they build some rather crude houses but there not exactly architects, right?

Later, they get better and all of the clones have an individual hut

The distance between the clones and the former grandmaster of the Jedi order seems like a giant canyon at the beginning and they call Yoda “Sir” for a few years

until the clones play a game of truth or dare and one of them is dared to make the Jedi change his sad demeanor for once

Yes, they play games

A lot actually

It’s like they’re finally having their childhood and puberty although the look like adults

imagine 10 grown ass men racing through the swamps of Dagobah

The Jedi has been mourning for the Jedi, the knights, the padawans, the younglings for a long time and the clones know

They see the absent-minded gremlin stare outside the window and they feel sad too

after all they do know how it feels to loose trusted friends and companions although not in that big capacity like the Jedi purge

But well back to the dare 

one of the clones, Ace, is seriously thinking about how to make the little dude smile or at least shock him and he’s wracking his brain because never before has he seen the Jedi master surprised

so how is he gonna do it?

one evening, after everyone went to bed and the Jedi draped the bed sheets over him with the help of the force, he has an image before his eyes

and the next morning when there’s a heated discussion over who becomes the last jelly pudding, Ace blurts out “Grandpa should decide!”

and everyone just stops

Grell who gave Buzz a head nut is just turning and looking at him

Draa paused his spoon mid air, mouth wide open

Hades and Fox just blink, the latter still in a headlock

Eli almost dies because he choked on his milk

The other three who dozed at the table are suddenly wide awake

and then a voice says: “The pudding, Rook should get” and all heads turn

Master Yoda is smiling softly and the bois suddenly have the feeling of “must protect this gremlin” and from that they on they just call him “Grandpa”

Not without teasing Ace to death first, obviously

A lot of jokes get thrown around

“Now that I think about it, I see the resemblance.” “We have the same face, you idiot.” 

Only Grell is a hesitating and just calls him “Yoda” but secretly he likes to say it too

They wear their armor for a long time before they finally take it off, mainly because they’re scared of the Empire finding them 

They want to be ready for battle any time

But then Yoda takes off his Jedi robes and the boys gradually relax and take of their helmets and armor too

Now the get stung a lot by mosquitos

And the bois discover that the gremlin likes to eat a lot of disgusting things

But the mosquito problem gets solved so no one is complaining

Yoda changes a lot

He shows his emotions more and sometimes even loses his patience

His walking stick becomes a weapon for head nuts

Grell gets a lot of them because he always tries to help him but

“Not that old, I am, boy!” 

“Alone, I could’ve done that, Grell.”

He plays with the bois

The often play a ball game where Yoda lets the ball float and the guys try to catch it without being hit in the face

The current count is 142 to 19 with Grandpa clearly winning

Rook is a fucking sewing machine and they soon get to wear custom clothes

He knits a super long and super heavy scarf for Yoda because he “worries that Grandpa will be cold in the winter”

The scarf is literally 3 meters long and I guarantee you that the clones have to unwrap him like toilet paper every evening

Rook is right, Yoda is cold in winter and his bones hurt a lot more

One time Yoda forgot his walking stick and Buzz just straight up holds his hand and walks with him like a toddler

Few years later, when he’s even older and a little wobbly on his feet, Fox and Eli like to carry him around on their backs

Beetle, the absolute crackhead, carries him like a baby

Grandpa always complains but he secretly likes it because the child isn’t a stone hard washboard like the others

They send holograms to Obi-Wan, the responsible uncle and Hades’ beard role model, and the Jedi has questioned the gremlin’s choices so many times already because of the weird ass pictures

Obi-Wan sends them holograms of little Luke in return and the bois are LIVID, because “OUR COUSIN, LOOK AT HIM WADDLE, GUYS”

The clones and Yoda go on holiday trips - which are basically just visiting another swamp on Dagobah

So many puns and inside jokes

“WHAT are you doing in my swamp?”

“GET OUT OF MY SWAMP!”

Laughing

so much laughing

And dirty jokes

Only out of Yoda’s earshot though

The boys grow up, ok?

Eli is good at drawing

He’s the one who painted most of their armor and their battle ships

But for Sith’s sakes he can’t draw Yoda at all

His pictures still hang on the fridge tho

And all kinds of other stuff hangs there too

Yoda’s hut has all sorts of trinkets everywhere

All of them were gifted to him by the boys and some of them are just some sort of weird metal that “looked shiny or nice”

But the Grandpa loves them SO MUCH

When Yoda gets older, his hearing gets a lot worse and his ear muscles deteriorate which is why he’s constantly walking around with flabby ears

The boys have to repeat their sentences 

When the gremlin doesn’t like what he’s hearing he’s just pretending he can’t understand them but Grell KNOWS

When he meditates too long or sits too long without eating, the boys force him to eat something

mostly frogs - he likes them a lot

They make sure he brushes his teeth because that frog smell nasty

and they brush his hair, but it’s mostly Grell because he can ignore the gremlin’s attitude when it comes to taking care of himself

Yoda makes Obi-Wan send pictures of some locals on Tatooine, trying to subtly set the boys up

They aren’t Jedi after all

A little happiness, they deserve, hoho

The boys find it funny but never try to contact the person because it’s too dangerous

This makes Yoda sure that half of them are gay

Not that he minded

They just have an embarrassing talk about the bees, and Adam and Steve

And he’s telling them the story of “Jal and Argo” some members of his species he met on a little moon and yada yada yada

MAKER, he loves to tell stories

The ears of the clones almost start to bleed, he talks so long and loud - he can’t hear his voice properly sometimes and starts to randomly YELL

But they like to listen, although half of them are always asleep at the end

and receive head buts when grumpy Grandpa notices

But he never hits them hard, especially not Beetle

He seriously worries about that guy

“make sure he doesn't lose any more brain cells, I have to”

But the clone’s head is really hard so might as well be fine

BONUS: ugly ass 10 minute sketches

YODA’S SPECIES HAS THE CAPABILITY TO MOVE THEIR EARS LIKE STITCH, I DON’T ACCEPT ANYTHING ELSE

[believerindaydreams]

I was not expecting to channel Tuco Ramirez energies into a young pregnant hatmaker but Carla has very promptly become the sardonic loveable glue in this ongoing ball of poly!energies

This'll all show up on a03, properly edited. Eventually.

Into the fire, part 3

"He's scared stiff," Carla says, looking at Arcade sleep. "I mean, literally stiff. Look at how tightly his hands are clenched."

She fluffs a pillow to put under his head and I'm falling in love with her all over again, just to see her. That calm, sure way she moves, the sparkle of earrings she ground herself from broken beer bottles. Utter self-confidence wrapped in a hand-knit shawl.

"He's not as important as you. Nobody could be."

She snorts. It's cute. "You keep thinking you need to surrender something for me. That's not true and it never has been."

"Might be this time. Uh- we weren't planning to stay in the Mojave. What with him both of us being marked by Legion assassins, a friend of ours was gonna help us get out."

"Ooh. Friend friend, or-" She gestures, disgracefully. Makes me bark with laughter.

"No. Dyed in the wool lesbian. On the outs with the Brotherhood...she says she can get us cross-country. I don't know if it's by Vertibird or what, but if she says she can do it, she can."

"Are you sure she's trustworthy?" Hell, just the way she wrinkles her nose half kills me. Manny used to tease me about the way I'd keep on about her.

That was before he met her, though. "Yeah. If she wanted us dead, she had plenty of chances she didn't take. And we didn't tell her anything about...you know."

"I still say we need a better way to refer to that." A big smile appears. "Maybe we could say baby names. That's personal but not strange in a conversation."

I run my hands along the inviting bump of dress; she's pretty far along now. "What happens when the baby's born, though?"

"We can say we're planning for the next one." She laughs, pins my arms back in a bear hug; and I don't mind a bit. "But hey. If you were planning to go, let's go. God knows I'm hardly stuck on this two-bit town."

Whatever that means. Her Vault had some funny expressions. "I'd like to say it'd be safer to stay put...but honestly, it wouldn't be. Not while I'm still here."

"And I am not letting you wander off without me," Carla says, cupping my chin in her hands. "Bad things will happen. I want you where I can see you."

"...okay. Then I guess we'd better pack. Your sewing machine is under the bed."

"Not anymore," Carla says, tapping a footlocker with her bare toes. "Manny fetched it for me, all the way to Arizona and back."

"Guess I wasn't up to much compared to him, was I."

"Listen," Carla says, her small face suddenly turning intensely serious. "You're here, I'm here, Manny is here. And your new boyfriend. We're all alive, that's what matters."

She makes me blush, sometimes; and it doesn't help when Manny comes out of the bath, drying his hair with a towel and butt naked otherwise.

"Damn. Your Arcade looks cute curled up like that."

"He says it's a habit. Bedrolls aren't ever long enough for him."

"I can fix that with my magic sewing machine," Carla says, grinning dryly. "And I'll make him a hat. That's an important order of business."

"Don't know what I did, to deserve you two...look. You're sure you're okay, him coming along?"

"Would you be here if he hadn't helped you?"

"...no."

"Then let's bring him," Carla says conclusively.

"If it's good enough for your wife," Manny says with a wink, "it's good enough for me. Besides. That ass."

"Definitely one of the more shapely asses populating this wasteland," Carla agrees, straight faced.

"Fuck...you two don't talk about me that way when I'm asleep, do you?"

Manny gives me a patient look. "Don't be stupid, Boone."

"Huh."

"Of course we do."

***

It's ridiculously late by the time Arcade wakes up; and he has a pretty good idea why. There's a part of him that never quite feels safe falling asleep, without the hum of conversation and a trustworthy guard around; and he hasn't really had that since the Old Mormon Fort.

(Avoided going places for exactly that reason, if he's being honest. He's still never seen the Strip.)

He looks at the Sierra armor, frowns, puts on light doctor fatigues instead. It's hot already, that's a fair excuse.

Manny's asleep on a spare mattress, but there's no sign of the other two. He heads out and finds Carla cooking at the motel campfire, a tired Boone besides her.

"Oh good," she says when he approaches, poking her husband. "Boone, go to bed. Someone else is here to play bodyguard."

"Mmm...'s Manny?"

"No, it's Arcade. Go to bed."

He grunts and goes, slightly to Arcade's surprise. Carla looks after him fondly.

"They always were a little paranoid, even when we thought Novac was safe. And it wasn't really good for them, being on opposite shifts...they missed each other." She shoves beans around in a cast iron pan, takes the lid off a milk crate filled with tortillas. "Would you enjoy a burrito for breakfast? Or I can just give you some caps to buy from Cliff, if pre-war food's more your thing."

Right. After being taken as a slave and then dumped into a pre-war casino he is in fact broke right now, at least until he and Boone split the pre-war money stashed in the room. "Burritos sound fine. Trust me, you don't have the luxury of choosiness at the Old Mormon Fort, it's too chaotic."

"Sounds terrible. But then I'm a luxury hatmaker and I enjoy what I do, I'm probably the last person who'd understand charitable impulses." She places a tortilla on a grill to warm. "It did seem simpler in the vault, when we used lotteries and left morality out of it...my other vices include overpacking, an impatience with village idiots who think that three cornfields equal New Vegas, and I will bite you if you hurt Boone or Manny. Hard. Just getting that out of the way upfront."

"Ah." He's been expecting something like this conversation, but had rather expected he'd have to go first. "Um. I'm a poor liar, despite being privy to more secrets than I ever wanted to know. I seem to have mislaid an inherent pacifism in favor of wanting to shoot any Legionary I see, which despite Boone's opinion I can't really see as an improvement. And despite my ostensible position with the Followers, my medical capabilities leave almost as much to be desired as my bedside manner."

"You seemed to handle it well when my husband passed out."

"Battlefield medicine is one of the things I can do, yes. Along with making broc flowers grow anywhere and boiling homemade bagels."

" ...actual bagels? You're hired. Damn shame no NCR caravan imports lox yet, Boone took me to Shady Sands for our honeymoon and that's the only time I've had it...do you want to make bagels? Do you need ingredients?"

"Uh. I would need to buy a few things, yes, and it would take time to grow a new culture." He thinks with a mild pang of the last sourdough he had going, left unattended in a Followers tent. Hopefully someone found it before it started to smell. "What I mostly did for the Followers was garden, actually. We've figured out ways to emulate stimpaks with herbs, but they always put the subject in a fever, and there are ailments that's contra-indicated for. And of course nobody wants that on a battlefield...except the Legion, apparently, they don't seem to care."

"A crafter rather than a soldier. I'm not outnumbered anymore, that's great news." She has buck teeth and it shows when she smiles. "Honestly, I've had to become a regular Crusoe just because the boys aren't. Want them to turn any kind of ammunition into any other kind, they'll do that for you. Anything else, it's strictly DIY." She forks a piping hot burrito onto a plate, hands it to him. "There's sour yoghurt in the fridge if you prefer topping."

"Mmm...this is fine." Better than fine, actually, there's grilled iguana in the mix and a hint of jalapeno. "You've read Crusoe?"

"Oh, we had education machines in the vault, they worked great. Mr Gutsy reading your ABCs to you and blasting radroaches...we were happy." She starts on her own burrito, looking a little pensive. "I'll never forgive Mr House for that, never. Half the kids my age ended up in the Gomorrah turning tricks for sleazeballs, a lot of the others signed up for the NCR and died right away at Hoover Dam...there was a rumor going around," Carla says, a little vicious now. "That House cut a deal with the NCR, so many warm bodies in exchange for not appropriating the Strip. I'd believe it, but then I'd believe anything of the bastard."

Arcade nods, mentally notes one more vice: Carla, for all her sunny disposition, certainly can hold a grudge.

But then, she is Boone's wife; not entirely surprising. "So you got to Novac and hoped it would be home sweet home?"

"If such a place exists, it isn't here," Carla says; and violently pokes out the fire.

[sebseyesandbuckysthighs]

Three Soldiers and a Baby | Part Three

summary: Three handsome bachelors find their day to day operations disrupted when an unexpected new roommate (who comes complete with a diaper and a pacifier) shows up at their doorstep. How will they deal with this new and baffling responsibility without losing their minds or killing each other in the process?

pairings: Bucky x Reader (eventual) featuring Steve Rogers & Sam Wilson

warnings: mild language, an f-bomb right out the gate!

a/n: Helloooooo and welcome to Part 3!!! I’ve tried to keep each part close to drabble length so apologies for the shorter length, but that’s just how it ended up working out for me. Anyways, hopefully you enjoy this part, m’loves! 

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 |

*warning to mobile users, the “keep reading” tab may not work so apologies in advance*

| previously |

After a panicked showdown of ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’ followed by some minor nausea, Steve was carefully reaching into the bassinet. He gently felt around the edges of the soft bedding doing his best to avoid any contact with the baby. After a few harrowing seconds, holding his breath the entire time, he came upon the flat edge of a small envelope and pulled it out. It took a minute before Steve’s uncharacteristically trembling fingers managed to open the letter without ripping it apart. There was no name addressed on the outside and only a few pages inside written in neat script. It took less than a minute for Steve to read through the pages and another couple seconds to pass before he read it again. By the end, both he and Sam had read the letter another half dozen times and neither of them felt any better. The situation just got a little more complicated than it already was.

Sam’s voice was low and harsh when he said. “Barnes is a dead man.”

“No,” Steve sighed, rubbing his temples as he felt the beginnings of a migraine start to take over. “Barnes is a daddy.”

“What. The. Fuck? You see this? See what your pal, your buddy, your Bucky went and did now!” Sam was well passed the point of freaking out and if he didn't reel it in soon they risked waking the baby. Steve kept massaging his temples, silently begging for what was sure to be a pounding headache to go away, but vocally pleading with Sam to calm down.

“Calm down? Calm down?! How the hell am I supposed to calm down after that idiot knocked up his ex-girl? We don't know even know who she is!” Sam was pacing back and forth before stopping short. “Who the hell leaves a baby behind on someone's doorstep anyways?”

Steve thumbed at the edges of the letter. The lines were starting to blur together as he tried to process everything he read. “A desperate woman,” he thought to himself. “A woman scared enough to think that she had no other choice.”

The woman who wrote this letter was in some kind of trouble. She didn't specify why or what was going on, just that she needed to make sure her baby, her daughter, was safe. “Bucky's daughter.” The words echoed in Steve's mind. “Bucky is a father and this is his little girl.” Despite all the unknowns and the stress of the situation, Steve couldn't contain a small smile.

Elizabeth, or Ellie for short, was only 9 months old. Her head was covered with thick hair, more than he knew a baby could have, and the tiniest hands Steve had ever seen. He couldn't tell what color her eyes were since she was still sleeping and even though he was curious he didn't mind waiting as long as possible before she woke up to show him.

Steve looked down at the now crumpled pages with the woman's words again. Between apologizing and pleading for Bucky not to worry or go out to find her, she also left some information on how to take care of Ellie. It wasn't much, but knowing what size diapers she wore, what type of formula she could have, along with her feeding and sleep schedule was as much of a silver lining as they could hope for.

“Alright, what are we gonna do now? We can't take care of a baby.” Sam resumed his pacing, but thankfully kept his voice down this time.

“We were babies once.” Steve offered, which only made Sam scoff impatiently.

“Yeah Steve, and we spent that entire time shitting ourselves and crying until we got the next bottle. I don't recall being able to wipe my own ass back then so excuse me if I don't believe this kid is just gonna take care of herself.”

With a lack of energy for this argument Steve decided to try a more diplomatic approach. “I know that, Sam. We're just going to take it one step at a time and figure out how we're supposed to do this. It's not going to be easy, but if we can take down a legion of homicidal machines, we can take care of this baby.”

Sam staggered back a couple steps, staring in disbelief at his friend. “What do you mean, “One step at a time”? Steve, you're starting to freak me out. You're acting like we're doing something other than calling child services or the police.”

A grave look fell over Steve's face. As slowly and calmly as he could manage, he stood up and faced the other rattled man. “That's not going to happen, Sam. We can't do that and we're not going to.”

“Like hell we can't! This isn't our problem. And maybe you don't remember, but I wasn't in Sokovia. I didn't take care of nothing back then and I can't take care of this baby now.” Sam shook his head rapidly, seemingly not even willing to entertain the thought.

The situation was tense since they were both running on pure adrenaline and shock at this point. What Steve needed to do now was calm his friend down as best he could before the man had a damn panic attack. Or did something they'd both regret. Steve took a few steps closer to him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Sam, Bucky is our friend. More than that, he's family.” Then he nodded down to the baby. “This little girl is his family now too and we will take care of her.”

Although his eyes still held an edge of panic, Sam's breathing was starting to even out just a little bit. “How do we even know this is for real? The kid doesn't even look like him. Maybe she's not actually his baby. Maybe the girl lied.” He tried reasoning even if he knew he was just grasping at straws.

“The baby is his.” Steve said with conviction. “Call it intuition.”

Sam laughed, but the sound held no humor. “Yeah well I hope your intuition comes with a plan cause taking care of a baby isn't a natural instinct I think I have.” Even though he had managed to calm down he was still somewhat hesitant, Sam looked down into the bassinet, finally taking a good look at the sleeping child. One corner of his lips tugged upwards with a hint of a smile. “She is pretty cute though.”

Steve smiled warmly at Ellie's peaceful face. “She's absolutely beautiful.”

“And at least she smells slightly better than Barnes.” Sam joked, even managing to let out a small chuckle.

No sooner had Sam said the words than Ellie began to wiggle and squirm. Little noises of discomfort started out low and soon turned into a full-on cry. What followed the tiny wailing was a smell that could clear a room. It very nearly did as Sam choked and turned on his heel to get away, pinching his nostrils shut. Before he could get too far, Steve managed to grab him by the back of his shirt collar to reel him back in. There was no way he was handling this on his own. “You spoke too soon, Sam.”

The hands desperately covering his nose and mouth caused Sam's voice to sound muffled. “That's just nasty.”

———————————————————————

a/n: As I try to do with many of my fics, I left the description for reader, and now the baby, to be pretty vague. I want to be as inclusive as possible so it was pretty difficult figuring out whether I would name the baby or not, but then an idea came to mind and I went with what I did for very specific reasons. Later chapters shall reveal! 

Feedback is always appreciated, leave it here!

———————————————————————

part two << part three >> part four 

Series Masterlist

Full Masterlist

———————————————————————

tags:

@avengerofyourheart | @absolukeyrh | @ashlieadelia | @a-timeheist | @avengerskeeper | @buckys-other-punk | @captainwinterfalcon | @crazinessgraveyardsandcartoons | @curvybihufflepuff | @depressedpolishgirl | @divinediego | @dumblani | @fab-notfat | @feelmyroarrrr | @hv-chw3 | @igotkatiepowers | @jesusbriskets | @kindnesswins | @kingcarterprince | @lbouvet | @mcuwillbethedeathofme | @mileysebschmidt | @miss2001babe | @rachelle-on-the-run | @rainbowkisses31 | @rraise-a-glass-to-freedom | @rumoured-whispers | @sassylittlesamoan | @scarlettsoldier | @sexyvixen7 | @sgtbxckybxrnes | @sunmoonandbucky | @tanelle83 | @thefridgeismybestie | @this-is-mycrisis | @unlikelygalaxygiver | @verymuchclosetedfangirl | @yallneedtrek | @yknott81 | @yourpotatotwiceremooved | @3dsaunt

[monochromemedic]

Another Crack in the Broken Vase

“Boone what the fuck are you doing?” Arcade barked as he rushed to the sniper, plasma pistol drawn Boone stood, covered head to toe in the blood splatters of a group of travelers, now resting at his feet. The blade of his machete was dripping with fresh blood as it collapsed to the dirt below, Boone not moving an inch. I stared from the distance as I watched Arcade spin him around, an emotionless look on his face. “Those were innocents, why the hell did you go and kill those people?! Are you finally cracking, huh?” Arcade seemed to squint a bit before pulling the sunglasses off of Boone, staring into the soldier’s eyes.  Blank as well, emotionless. The doctor turned to look at me, giving a nervous glance. “Somethings wrong, help me get him back to the group.” I moved close to Craig and wrapped an arm around him, tugging and pulling him towards the broken down ruins and tarps that the Followers called a camp. I noticed the lack of emotion on his face as well. More then usual.  It was a different lack of emotion. It wasn’t a lack of emotion as away to distance himself, it was like he was just off somewhere else and his body was left in the wake. His eyes that usually had a stern but deep fire inside of them seemed dull and hazy. His face was pale, and his face was covered in sweat. My fingers gripped his arm tighter as I left him alone with Arcade to look over in the small medical shack he made. I went back to the bodies and picked up the weapon he left behind, trying to search the bodies for any clue for why he attacked these random people. There was nothing, no objects, no marks. Only the gorey remains that had to be pieced through to even figure out that these were once humans. I returned to the camp where Arcade stood outside the tent, knuckle rubbing his eye as he noticed me approaching. “Ah... there you are. Worried something happened to you as well.” “No. I went to investigate. Nothing on the people, I got his machete back... is he... ok?” “M.. no. I don’t think he’s quite... there. He might have had a small mental breakdown. At least from what i’m gathering. Hard to work with some of the rambles. He thought those people were part of the Legion for some reason. Maybe a symbol they had on them that was close but when he found out that it wasn’t it he sort of... shut down. Maybe he’s just looking for signs of the Legion when they aren’t there... That could always be an issue as well. You know how he feels. Always wanting something more to shoot. Preferably with red or... speaking poor attempts at Latin.” I looked towards the dirt, kicking a small clump of it up and sending it a few inches away. “ Damn... “ “Perhaps... a friendlier, approach would help.” Arcade’s head tilted back towards the tent. I gave a little nod and sighed, passing by Arcade and touching his arm, stopping a bit before continuing in. I pushed the flap open and entered, watching Boone sitting in a small cot. He still looked stunned, his shirt was off and off in a corner with bucket of water, the grimy puddle of off color red. He was grimy himself, and knowing both Arcade and Boone I knew that was probably the best he could do without getting shanked. He was staring at the wall, hands in his lap as he rolled his shoulder a bit. I stood beside the bed, looking at the same spot on the wall with him in silence. I wanted him to speak up first, that and I didn’t really  know what to say.  For a long time we sat in silence, listening to the breeze as the sun began to set and the air grew cold. “I thought things were suppose to get better.” He finally spoke, his voice raspy and low. “But... it gets worse. Now I’m jumping at shadows. Itching for a fight. At least when the Legion was still around, I could kill them. Without them am I just gonna keep killing innocents?” “No... it won’t be like that Boone you know that. Or if you don’t I do. It’s just not as simple as... a milestone you complete to get rid of what happened. There’s just more to it unfortunately and we’ll get through it together. You won’t  have to go through alone.” “And when I kill you that’ll go over real well.” I turned to see Boone turned to me, hand to my throat, fingers digging into the soft parts of my flesh.  I didn’t react, at least in the way he wanted me to react. My eyes drifted down to his face, stone cold as always. I sighed a little, fingers wrapping around his, pushing his fingers in a little deeper into my neck. “I mean.. if you wanted you could do it right now. I’d try not fight it. I mean you’d probably snap me like a twig.” Boone stood up, a snarl on his face as he pressed me against the small cart of food Arcade left for Boone to eat. The untouched food hit the floor as the cart’s wheels scratched into the dry earth. I choked under his grip, now trying to keep a straight face but struggling with the pressure on me. “Stop it. . You’re trying to scare me for a purpose. I know you won’t, Craig.” “You don’t know what the fuck i’m capable of.” “I do, don’t you remember i’ve been traveling with you for years.” “You weren’t there BEFORE.” He growled. I glared back at him, trying to gauge the situation as I began to snarl back “And you weren’t there when I got my head caved in by a bullet, or whatever the hell happened on the way to Novac. Or whatever the FUCK happened BEFORE I LOST EVERY FUCKING MEMORY BEFORE I CAME TO THIS FUCKING DESERT.” The argument was broken by a new pair of hands, untangling the both of us and pushing us to opposite ends of the room. “I leave you two alone and you’re at each other throats, the hell is wrong with you both?!” Arcade barked as he pushed us both into separate cots. “I know times are difficult but really? Stop acting like children, you two are friends... I don’t want to break you up more so just... play nice for christ sake.” I looked up at Arcade before averting my eyes and sighing, hands going to my eyes. “...I’m sorry, Boone I just... I know that’s not you. Not the... you I see.” “Well it’s the me I see. And I did it. End of story.” “Yes. You killed people. We all have, and we’ve made mistakes. We’ve all been through shit and back, I thoughts that’s why we came together. To better ourselves but I suppose if you want to act like raiders at the slight relapse in mental state and start tearing each others throats out like heathens. We’re all trying to help each other. If you don’t want help and want to be sorry for yourself then you’re free to right poetry and brood in the corner-” Arcade didn’t get to finish his sentence as his jaw was met by Boone’s fist, causing Arcade to stumble back and out of the tent.  I gasped and stood up, going to check on Arcade who was reeling from the hit, spitting out a bit of blood and saliva. “Urgh... i’ll be honest, I just realized my lapse in judgement and poor choice of words.” He grumbled as I helped him up, looking to Boone who was still in the tent, staring at the two of us outside. “Yeah your... bedside manner needs to be improved...maybe we both do.” I told him, giving Boone a sad look before pulling the tall man’s arm away from the medical tent. “I... think we need to leave him be a bit. We’re not doing any good talking to him we’re just making things worse.” “Ah yeah, well... at least we tried right? As long as he doesn’t come to smother me in the middle of the night I suppose we can run back with our tail between our legs. I probably should be good by beside by now...” I gave a nod and started to walk off with Arcade, heart dropping in my chest. “Yeah... I know. I wish I was better too. But... that shit is hard to help with...” Arcade groaned “Thank you for your excellent observation Jenna, please tell me more about your medical expertise to the medical professional.”  I shot him a look and let go of his arm as I headed for my own tent. “Yeah thanks man, sarcasm, really helps the ol’ feelings. I’m... just gonna think things over. You know where to find me. If not here I guess I’ll be in the perimeter. Catch me if Craig starts to... I don’t know. Not feel better but...” Arcade straightened his pose, his small sarcasm spell ending back to his serious tone. “Yeah. Of course. Sta Fortis, stand strong. We’ll get through this together.” I heard his footsteps  walk away as I pressed my head against the cold sleeping bag, staring at the sheet that made up my wall and trying to keep my cool as I went over the situation in my head. I couldn’t help but feel like shit. Boone was my friend, one of my best ones and he was in pain and I yelled back in his face when it wasn’t solved so easily. What a shitty friend I was.

[nam-imperii]

The Tullius Family in my Skyrim

We start in Oblivion actually.

Lysayne, not a Tullius, Dark Brotherood top assassin and future Listener. Lucien lives because I'm a clichè who wants nice things (i still have to work on how she becomes the Listener but the general concept is that Lysayne stops the purification). Lysayne x Lucien

Gonna change the order of quests so the killing of the guy in the imperial prison happens after she becomed Listener, it's just a general contract she's doing but then she has to play prisoner when the frikking Emperor of Tamriel shows up.

She's not sure she deserves all this heroism stuff but of course after what happened she goes to search for Jauffre asap and the main questline starts. Lysayne x Lucien becomes Lucien x Lysayne x Martin because as I said I'm a clichè bastard and of course Lucien steps in to help Lysayne when things escalate. Main quest goes as normal and Lysayne goes in a bit of depression after Martin dies

She's pregnant omygod but they dont know if its Martin or Lucien the father of course the Empire would be like super interested in the baby but Lysayne wants to kinda avoid any association with the elder council now because she fears she'll lose the baby like she lost Martin

She marries an imperial legionarie who distinguished himself in the battles of Bruma and Imperial City in exchange for the Blades promise to hide her son, the Elder Council makes the new Lysayne Tullius, wife of Tiberio Tullius, Countess of the rebuilding Kvatch but she spends all the time with Lucien, then the baby is born and some time after that she becomes Sheogorath, which is know by the Blades who completely hide the baby from Lucien too (Lucien is of course heartbroken)

They probably get all reunited when Lucien dies and he's in the Void, Martin in Aetherius and Lysayne in the Shivering Isles. Little consolation

Anyway the baby is given to Tiberio Tullius -which is a decent enough man and accepts to fake it was Lysayne and himself son-

Pre-Great war Marcus Tullius (our General Tullius in Skyrim) is the heir to Country Kvatch but he doesn't care much. He has no patience for politics and in the rising years of the Thalmor he wants to join the Legion. His parents agree on the condition that he will give them an heir because they dont want to lose the "we are the HoK descendeants" honor, Marcus agrees. He's not a very present husband but it's what you can expect from a marriage of convenience.Valania Tullius is born, Marcus join the Legion and for when the Great War happens he's General. He has a second son he calls Octavian around the end of the war or right after that. Everyone knows his story from that

Valania Tullius proves herself talented in enchanting, illusion and alteration. She's probably the most suited of her family to ruling and nobility life but she still leaves to study at the College of Winterhold (in fact, she's the first Tullius to arrive in Skyrim) and spends years there. The title of Count/Countess of Kvatch fall in the hands of some distant cousin probably. She does the College of Winterhold questline, rebuilds the College as Arch-Mage and other magic related quests like Shalidor Labyrinth, helping Neloth and the Undeath mod questline on the good guys side/stopping the ritual. She usually travels with Teldryn Sero as bodyguard and love interest while she fights with alteration and illusion (Apocalypse Magic mod)

Valania is a very high-class lady being born in nobility but years and year in Skyrim made her understand nords very well, altought not always LIKE them. She loves elegancy and cyroodiil habits and has an account opened with Radiant Raiment, visting them when she's in Solitude and having clothes and jewels sended to her from Cyrodiil. She has also an habit to address people as "My dear" but despite her spoiled appereance she's very adaptable and takes no shit. She coul swim in a pool of mud in an ancient ruin and look dignified. As Archmage she exchange letters with all court mages and other magical institutions. She has also a strong momma instinct

Octavian Tullius is her younger brother. He knows magic too but only fire magic and only in a military use. Like his father, he's a soldier of the Imperial Legion, unlike General Tullius, he craves power and promotions. Despite this tho he's honestly loyal to the Empire, thinks the cause is righteous and can be very rutless with who takes arms agains the Empire but his ambition will not make him betray the Empire or his values

Like he can put rebels corpses as example and then go to help this random farmer who has nothing to pay him back because it's the right thing to do. He simply has an abit to demonize who takes arms against the Empire. At the same, he wants promotion and will plot to take power in the ranks but if he has to choose between saving the Emperor with his body and letting him die and become Emperor he will take the blade for him because that's HIS emperor and he swore loyalty and DAD HAS RAISED NO QUITTER

Out of legion affairs he has "bitchy bastard" or "helpful" as only moods. Or horny pansexual idiot. Would totally drink a coup of milk in the middle of Windhelm

Gives the Forsworns back their land with King Madanach in exchange for Forsworn accepting to be yes indipendent from Skyrim but still a province of the Empire and their magical support in the next great war, Madanach accepts because Madanach is smart and why the fuck should he care about Tiber Septim worship being outlawed anyway

It's Octavian a good person? MEH. That's up for debate I suppose, but he generally does always good things for Tamriel, from stopping Lord Harkon with the Danwguards to put the bleeding province back under peace and normal life which is what the average nord farmer Jim wants

Dragonborn canon suck so Octavian ruins Hermeus Mora plans. Octavian and Mora are direct enemies, Octavian has a good relationship with Meridia, he did not interacted with other princes (he has done the Namira quest but he never talked with Namira becasue has soon as all the cannibals were reunited he killed them and saved the priest) (Also Molag Bal isn't around from ESO here, he's been replaced by @the-sixth-house-unmourned prince oc)

Disliked Serana a lot at the start of Dawnguard but now they're friends and he admires her a lot gonna call it character development when he stops trying to murder all undeads on sight.

Had a duel against Ulfric

Ironically, he was kinda scared to become a new Ulfric when he discovered himself the Dragonborn. Phaarturnax helped him discovering how to search for personal power/ambition without being consumed by his dragon soul

His back is covered in long scars after the final battle against Alduin

And that's all I think, my Skyrim worldspace has some differences from game Skyrim because I like lore despite considering canon an optional guide so I consider things like the old nordic pantheon and the original cities and climates that Skyrim had in Arena. But I'll probably make another post about that

[millicent231-watt]

(AoT) Silence - Levi X Deaf!Reader

Anime / Crossover: Attack on Titan

Songs: None

Request: No

Modern AU or just AU: No

NSFW/R-18: No

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

Ringing was all I heard, other than that it was silent. The rough, uneven and muddy ground held my aching body after my wires were caught by a Titan and I was thrown down. I was lucky enough to have hit some branches that slowed my fall, otherwise, I would have surely died. I still might. I saw people racing over to me and shouting, to no avail. I couldn't hear them. I smiled when I saw the most important person to anyone in the Scouting Legion. Captain Levi. He quickly disposed of any Titans in a 20-meter radius of me before flying down to me. He pushed Hange out of the way and yelled something at me. If only I could hear him. His voice was stern, but it something that calmed down any worried soldiers outside the walls. I lift my hand up and grab onto his cape weakly before he picked me up, probably doing his signature 'tch' beforehand. I saw him turn to Hange as my friends from the Special Operations team ran to me after killing all the titans nearby. They were shouting at me as I was placed on a cart to be carried back to HQ. Eren, Armin and Mikasa joined me, being my three best friends since we were kids. I smile weakly once again before I held my hand out to them, Armin grabbed it while Eren placed his hand on my shoulder and Mikasa grabbed my other hand. She was probably the most upset of the three. We were like sisters. We had both of our parents killed in the same room in front of us and we were saved by Eren. I smiled at her and she smiled back, her eyes filled with tears before I close my eyes to sleep. I was too exhausted to stay awake, no matter how much they shook me.

Time Skip

I slowly open my eyes to bright light, but not the one everyone says you see when you die. No, I was in the infirmary. I was so happy to not be dead, but my muscles were so sore, all I could do was smile contently. I was shocked to feel a hand on my arm, causing me to jump. I groan as a sharp wave of pain hits me, but I didn't hear my own groan. I look at the figure and see Hange standing in front of me. I tried to form a sentence, but something was different. “I...What’s going on?” I asked before realising that my voice didn't sound normal to me. I panicked and began to hyperventilate, eyes wide with worry.

Hange's POV

I place my hand on Y/N's arm, making her jump and groan in pain. Did she not hear me walk through the door? I think to myself before she began to stutter, but not in a manner I was used to. "I...wh...go...o..." I saw her eyes widen in panic before she began to hyperventilate. I tried to get her to calm down, but she wouldn't listen to me. "Hange, what the hell is going on in here?" Levi asks and I sigh. "Thank god you're here. I can't calm Y/N down. She just won't listen to me." I say and he clicks his tongue before walking over and grabbing her hand, making her eyes burst open. "Calm down brat, you're alright." He says calmly. She reached her hand up and grabbed his jacket. "What are you doing?" She reaches up and touched his face. "Are you listening to me Y/N?" He asks and she just glides her fingers over his mouth, doing the same for hers. Something wasn't right. "Levi, I think-" "Tch, if you wanted me to confess then you could've asked Y/N. Seeing you get slammed by that titan scared the shit out of me." He admits and I sigh. "You're just gonna stare at me? After I said something like that?!" He began to raise his voice and get a menacing glare on his face. I put my hand on his shoulder. "Levi, I don't think she can hear you..." I say sadly and he glares back at me. "You better not be fucking with me four-eyes." He growls and I shake my head. "Afraid not. I think the impact did something to her hearing. So she might be....she  might be deaf." I say and he sighs, turning back to Y/N, who was just looking at us in wonder.

"Well, what the fuck am I meant to do?" He asks and I hand him a pen and paper. "Write to her. There's no other way, really." I say and he sighs, writing down what he said on the paper. He turns it around and she takes a second to read it before smiling and squeezing his hand. He writes something on the paper again and hands it to her. She smiles even wider and nods before hugging him tightly. I could see the small amount of hope in his eyes, but the growing fire of pain and frustration was slowly overtaking it. He rubs her back softly as she began to weep softly. "It must be hurting her so much to not hear anything..." I mumble before the door was burst open. "Hange-san!" Mikasa yells and I smile at her. I move to the side and show her 'sister' hugging her Captain. I pick up the notepad and turn the page over, handing it to her. "Wha-" "She's deaf." I say and her eyes go wide. "No...she can't e deaf....A...are you sure? Maybe she's just shocked o...or maybe it's just temporary..." She says sadly as Eren and Armin run up behind her, she must've left them behind. I sigh and shake my head. "I'm afraid not. There's a chance it may just be temporary, but that chance is pretty low." I say and she looks down at the notepad as I fill in Eren and Armin of Y/N current status. "Deaf?" Eren asks and I nod before Mikasa stands up and walks over to Levi and Y/N.

She taps her shoulder and Y/N's eyes open before crying even more as she saw her 'sister'. Mikasa hands her the notepad and she covers her mouth and cries even more. Levi rubs her back softly and she looks up and sees Eren and Armin walking over to her and smiling. She smiled weakly before crying again, screaming in heartache. They all sit with her and close their eyes, grabbing her hands or arms. This is the first time I've seen Mikasa and Levi not bark down each other's throats. "I'll leave you guys to it. I'll be experimenting on Sawney and Bean if anyone needs me." I say before waving to Y/N, who waves back with a sad smile and walking out. I can't believe the one time Levi has the balls to confess to someone and she's gone deaf.

[dragonie]

OC Questionnaire

Sort-tagged-but-not-really by @couriers-mile​! Sorta-tagging anyone else interested lmao

What is your name? Jane. Jane Finn. And that’s all you’re gettin’, ‘less you know me real well.

How old are you? Gone on 29 now.

What do you look like? Heck, well, I’m kinda tall an’ gangly-like. Dark hair; keep it long in a braid outta… sentiment, let’s say. Dark eyes, too. Don’t dress too fancy; boots and hat and duster for the trail.

Where are you from? Where do you live now? I’m from out Colorado way, near Mesa Verde. Right now? “No fixed abode”, I guess you’d say. I live on the trail mostly.

What was your childhood like? Ha! I was a wild thing, always runnin’ off from chores to go explore the valleys while Mama tended the animals. We were a tight-knit bunch, though… it was good times.

What groups are you friendly with? Are you allied with any factions? NCR likes me ‘cause I kill Legion, and so long as they keep on doin’ the same we’ll be square. I get on with the Sorrows, they… remind me of some folks I knew, in a way. Get along fine with the Khans since they turned off of Caesar; like the Boomers well enough, too.

Tell me about your best friend. Hm. I ‘spose other than Ulysses, my best friends are a cute lil’ robot named ED-E, and Boone. An’ outta them, ED-E’s the conversationalist. Ha, Boone’s all right, though. He gets some things most don’t, and the silences ain’t uncomfortable.

Do you have a family? Tell me about them! I did. That’s all I feel like sayin’.

What about a partner or partners? Well, Ulysses an’ I got somethin’ goin’ on, I reckon. Hard to define at this point, but… well. Nice to have someone who gets what I’m talkin’ about.

Who are your enemies, and why? Legion. And have you met them? Do I need a reason? They done a lot of hurt, in their time. ‘Sides them, Omertas are same shit on a different day. An’ White Legs can’t wait to grovel at Caesar’s feet, so they can rot with him.

Have you ever heard of The Brotherhood of Steel? What do you think about them? Not much after the way they treated Ronnie and Christine, if I’m bein’ honest. They’re an obsessed stick-up-the-ass bunch with a lot of heavy firepower.

What about The Enclave? Heard bad things ‘bout them from some o’ the older caravaneers. Arcade an’ his folks are alright mostly, ‘spose you can’t help where you’re born, but I gotta think whoever took ‘em out all-in-all did us a favor.

How do you feel about Super Mutants? They’re folks just like everyone else, far as I can see. Got some good ones, some bad ones, some real kooky ones.

What’s the craziest fight you’ve ever been in? Craziest? Hoover Dam’s probably the craziest. I’m a courier, not a general; spent the whole damn time with soldiers at my back an’ a vertibird flyin’ overhead wondering’ when I was gonna wake up.

Have you ever fought a Deathclaw? Trick is to take ‘em out from long range. Really, really long range.

Do you like fighting? Like it? No, I do it ‘cause the alternative is bein’ gutted by a buncha raiders over a handful of caps. Likin’ it’s crazy…then again, I have gotta admit to a nice warm feeling’ inside when I pull the trigger on some Legion bastard ‘fore he’s even noticed me, so maybe I ain’t the sanest myself.

What’s your weapon of choice? Hunting rifle, scoped. Get them before they get to you.

How do you survive? Your wits, your charm, your skills, brute force, some combination? (a.k.a. what’s your S.P.E.C.I.A.L?) Well, I’m fast, I got good aim, and I ain’t a fool. Can be good with my words, if it comes to it. Never needed to rely on brute force before.

Have you ever been in a vault? What do you think about them? Yeah, unfortunately. Can’t think how folks managed to live their entire lives in one of ‘em things; don’t feel right, not bein’ able to feel the sky above you. And that ain’t even gettin’ into whatever experiments them fuckers was runnin’ down there. ‘Course, there was also the nursery vault, but... that ain’t a story I much feel like tellin’.

How do you beat all the radiation around here? Has it affected you? Stay out of it, as much as possible; keep to fresh runnin’ water and keep Rad-X an’ Rad-Away on hand. Think it’s been working…’less I got a third arm growing outta my back that I ain’t noticed yet.

What’s your favorite wasteland critter? Ooh, hard one. Toss-up between coyotes and nightstalkers, I reckon. So many people are scared of ‘em but they’re lambs if you know what you’re doin’. Bighorners are a close third.

What’s your least favorite wasteland critter? Tunnelers. Little bastards pop outta nowhere an’ got poisons too.

How do you feel about robots? I like ‘em plenty, some more’n most people. Like lil ED-E here, or didja see that Primm Slim fella down in Primm? Hilarious!

How many caps do you have on you right now? Friend, that’s the sorta question that gets you mistaken for a bandit. And not a subtle one, neither.

Nuka Cola or Sunset Sarsaparilla? Partial to both, myself. I’ll drink what’s available, I ain’t picky.

Do you do chems? Only Stimpaks an’ Rad-X an’ such when I got to. Rest is just flirtin’ with trouble.

Do you ever think about the Pre-War world? Only how they managed to fuck it up so badly. Ulysses’s got a bee in his bonnet about ‘em, though. Personally, I don’t see the appeal.

What’s your deepest regret? What would you do differently? Wouldn’t’ve delivered that package to the Divide, if I’d known. Woulda been a bit more careful about what I carry.

What’s your biggest achievement? Or what do you hope to achieve? I killed Caesar, an’ I killed Lanius, an’ I’m gonna live to see the Legion choke an’ die an’ my people live again, is what.

What do you want for the future? For yourself? Your friends? The world? What do I want? I want the Twin Mothers back, an’ the Twisted Hairs for Ulysses, an’ the Legion gone, and if it won’t happen on its own, I’ll goddamn make it happen!

[momestuck]

Epilogues: Meat ch 1-8 [Epilogue 1]

I’m eating so you get one more of these before I try to salvage a bit of work from today.

We’ve read through the whole of the ‘Candy’ branch of the story. It went places! Spoilers for it below.

Somehow Jane turned into a fascist dictator, Karkat became a heroic resistance leader, a whole lot of ships were made and broken, Dirk killed himself but somehow it was fake (???), John went through multiple existential crises and a failed marriage, Jade destroyed Dave and Karkat’s relationship but ultimately got with Dave, Gamzee was brought back to perform a ‘redemption arc’ and was generally awful but ultimately ended up getting sexually assaulted and then murdered by Vriska, let’s not forget that the cast had three entire fucking babies and one of them ran into her own namesake... and Obama was there. And that’s not even covering all of it...

But that was all in a universe that was ‘inconsequential’; it was in a bubble disconnected from ‘canon’, spread out on the event horizon.

Now we wind the clock back, and consider what happens if John chooses on that day to go forth, recruit a group of other selves from elsewhere in Paradox Space, and fight Lord English, as ‘canon’ dictates he eventually must...

Chapter 1

This one is in second person, and features narrative prompts, which was also true of the first chapter of Candy.

This time, John eats the meat in a really gross way, manages to not puke everywhere, says awkward goodbyes, writes a bunch of letters, and fucks off back into Canon(TM).

Not a lot to say about that! P much what we expected. Wonder where he’s gonna end up?

Chapter 2

I pretty much expected them to dive straight into Canon, but no, in fact similar plots as the first one seem to be abrew. We meet Dave and Karkat - no Jade here, this time - as Dave breaks the news of Jane’s presidential bid.

So, Dave proposes, Karkat should run against her. Which was a possibility floated in the other story... it does feel rather like, at this point, whatever V said, I might have read them in the wrong order.

Dave brings up Obama as a reason he’d want to see a good president - Obama who, in Dave’s timeline, got killed by meteors before he could ‘fix the economy’. Which I guess makes his appearance in the other branch a little less of a non-sequitur, though still fucking weird don’t get me wrong!

DAVE: or maybe not... maybe there was like an escape hatch in the white house that led to his own secret presidential session of sburb

DAVE: what if hes just chillin there now

KARKAT: DAVE, I THINK WE’VE COVERED YOUR “OBAMA’S SECRET SESSION OF SBURB” THEORY WELL ENOUGH ALREADY.

So the Obama chapter was all payoff for a very long term brick joke? This is not the revelation I expected to be having in Meat.

Anyway, Dave basically explains how scary it is to have the human government in charge of troll reproduction, echoing Karkat’s words back at him. Apparently the way the whole weird eugenic system got put in place was that, before Kanaya arrived with the Mother Grub, the government reproduced trolls exclusively ectobiologically.

The other issue is... The Economy. We get a little note that, indeed, this is an alchemy-based post-scarcity economy:

DAVE: ok if shit goes sideways i guess we arent gonna see like raggedy turtles and pauper chess men standing in bread lines or anything

DAVE: thats just the nature of alchemy-based post-scarcity economies the depressions tend to be pretty mild

DAVE: but it will still be bad

DAVE: a healthy economy is fuckin IMPORTANT

DAVE: if for no other reason than it protects the societal context for what it means to be fucking rich, like us

So uh what do they spend money on... I guess there’s services, those can’t be alchemised (except for the fact that ludicrously advanced robotics exists?). someone actually has to work the alchemizer...

Anyway most of this chapter is... electoral strategy.

DAVE: consorts overwhelm the other kingdoms in sheer numbers but due to unscrupulous gerrymandering, all kinds of fucked up voter suppression policies and some electoral “counterbalancing” measures to account for their ridiculous population growth rate their voting power per capita is kind of pathetic

DAVE: also its hard to drive turnout

DAVE: this may come as a shock but legions of easily distracted low information amphibians primarily concerned with eating bugs and farming god damned mushrooms arent the most politically motivated demographic

The chapter ends with Dirk calling Dave... to... cut off his head. Yeah. That joke again.

OK, this sure is a direction. Welcome to Homestuck Electoralism Edition I guess. They probably won’t have quite as many kids?

Chapter 3

John apparently has a specific list of retcon interventions, apopros of Rose. The first is to appear on the battleship during the three year journey in the non-canon, pre-retcon timeline, open a fridge containing Aradia and Gamzee (god I’ve forgotten so much), and take the ring that Aradia is holding (which ring is that again?). Then, John decides to shove Gamzee back in the fridge.

> Do everyone a favor and put an end to his preposterous narrative relevance.

You wisely decide that this clown will lend nothing valuable to the narrative whatsoever if he is allowed to remain outside of your childhood refrigerator. You put both hands on his chest and shove him into the fridge where he belongs. He goes easily, issuing only a pair of weak honks in protest. You slam the fridge shut and resolve to never think about Gamzee Makara again.

So... we’re going with that, huh.

I’ve said enough about the Gamzee Issue already perhaps. But I guess I thought they were going to do more than to bring Gamzee back mostly to mock the idea of ‘redemption arcs’, and ‘punish’ him some more for being a bad character.

Chapter 4

John interrupts two other retcon-Johns, one trying to cancel out the other, a Dave, and a grimbark Jade during some of the shit that happened when Jade got mind controlled or whatever... it’s been a long time...

Dave’s the first recruit, along with Jade. John gives him a rather half-assed explanation about why, after several years of ‘boring adult lives’, they need to go and fight Lord English now.

Chapter 5

Back to the real story: Dave and Karkat’s electoral bid.

Dirk has apparently been... playing the heel in televised rap battles to Jake’s face so that Jake’s endorsement of Jane’s political candidacy would be more effective. Yeah.

Also he disagrees with Dave on fiscal policy. The cad.

He has a rather weird conversation of alternately discouraging and encouraging Dave and Karkat’s opposition. Then, to round out the chapter, V and Cephied deliver... an entire stanza of Jake’s rap. Oh boy.

At the end, Dirk... tranquilizes Jake (????????) to take another call from Rose.

This is the ‘real’, ‘canon’ storyline now? Oh Homestuck.

Chapter 6

John’s assembled a group of god tier kids in his back garden. The alpha and beta kids are present, but there are no trolls.

There’s a rather uncomfortable moment (for the reader, as well as John) when young Roxy hits on adult John.

You weren’t prepared to get passively hit on by the Definitely Not Legal version of a girl you used to have a crush on at the age she was when you first met her, only a few hours after you watched the Actually Legal version of her engage in passionate hand-holding with her possibly aromantic skeleton alien monster girlfriend.

‘Legal’, really!

Anyway, John feels rather strained watching this rather rushed rehash of the reunion scenes from the original comic. He wonders about the ethics of all this...

You wonder. Do you see these teen versions of your friends as “real”? Are you treating them, at Rose’s behest, as simple puppets? Doing your part to insist they fill friend-shaped recesses in an essential plan to stabilize all else that can be considered important, a distinction no longer applying to them? Do you care at all about whatever fate it may be that you are sentencing these children to? Are you becoming as complicit in the fatalistic evils of Paradox Space as Lord English himself? Are you becoming a monster, John Egbert?

foooof i mean he’s not wrong! let’s call them the ‘child soldiers’ from here on out...

Chapter 7

Time to catch up with Rose. We finally learn what’s wrong with her: she’s ‘ascending’, taking on the full burden of the ‘ultimate self’.

The same is also happening to Dirk, but he is somehow more resilient to it. So that’s what Obama did to Dave, huh.

Also this puts the prompt ‘Dirk: Ascend’ before his suicide in a rather different light.

The pieces are thus falling into place: this is why Dirk was building a Rosebot. Quite possibly the Dirk and Rose who were flying away from Earth C in the Candy timeline actually entered it out of this timeline, which would explain how Dirk was alive.

Chapter 8

Time to see the full events of Caliborn’s ‘Masterpiece’.

This is all Caliborn dropping an extremely corny buildup:

CALIBORN: BUT NOW. THE TIME HAS COME.

CALIBORN: FOR EVERYONE TO SHUT UP ABOUT HOW GREAT MY MASTERPIECE WAS.

CALIBORN: AND THE TIME IS NOW AT HAND...

His laughter turns into a low, cracked gurgle. It spikes towards you in waves, distorts and pitches low. He is beyond pleased with himself, and with the line he is about to deliver.

CALIBORN: FOR YOU ALL TO *BECOME* MY MASTERPIECE!

We need more organs to give that the proper level of scare chord...

End of Epilogue 1

Well that explained at least some of the wild horseshit we experienced in Candy, I guess.

So somehow this is all according to keikaku, which is to say Dirk’s design - he fancies himself as an engineer, putting each piece in its proper place. Rose isn’t entirely in on it, but she will be. We still don’t know why Dirk’s doing this, why he needs Jane to be president, why he’s ultimately going to need a new SBurb session...

As for themes and stuff... this just felt like ‘setting the board’. Rather hastily, even though it’s a full eight chapters. Compared to the emotional heft of some of the stuff that happened in Candy, anyway... this is all plot.

[airanke]

Actually I have some ideas (?) I wanna’ discuss-- it’s mostly Amita story stuff, but for Legion and Battle For Azeroth stuff (so I’ll put everything under a cut because... I already accidentally spoiled someone on what happens in the Zuldazar raid and like I feel horrible =_=;;; ).

But yeah it’s just points that I want to see if they make sense, because obviously Amita’s story is going to fork off completely from Legion (the biggest two factors being that Vol’jin AND Varian don’t die, because I have a really good idea for Varian that forces him off the throne and puts Anduin in his place and wow amazing it doesn’t involve his death I never knew that was possible wow).

Okay, onwards! I also apologize in advance it gets rambly and long but I have a lot of ideas and I need to make sense of them all :C

First I’ll briefly mention Warlords. I feel like Blizz wanted to put player characters into the forefront more and that’s why Vol’jin “didn’t do anything”. One major thing that happen in Lascivious Ophidian (from here on referred to as LO) is this:

Jaina and Vol’jin tag-team to kill Garrosh. This is proper poetic justice for both the Bombing of Theramore, the Divine Bell incident, the attempt on Vol’jin’s life, and the attempt to wipe out the Darkspear tribe. Remember when Vol’jin tells Garrosh that he’ll get an arrow through his black heart? Yeah.

Anyway, moving on to Legion:

Sylvanas was more than capable of taking out the fel guard before it hit Vol’jin, and so, she does (keep in mind I personally characterize Sylv as being empathetic and deeply caring - perhaps, somewhat compassionate - but she masks it all under anger and indifference. Broken Shore actually supported this and then... BfA happened smh).

Vol’jin and Varian end up fighting the fel reaver together while everyone else gets their shit together and Sylv / Jaina provide long range support, though the latter is considerably mana depleted. Vol’jin still breaks a tusk and ends up losing both.

In the retreat, both Varian and Vol’jin are injured but Vol’jin still manages to shoulder Varian anyway and carry him to Jaina, then he collapses and Sylvanas picks him up and sounds her horn to call her Val’kyr. Horde and Alliance soldiers alike then find themselves either scrabbling onto the Alliance gunship or scrabbling onto the Horde boat. Sylv and Geblin are helping to pull soldiers onto their respective ships.

Slightly off-topic, but an Alliance Paladin and Horde Death Knight (and probably a few other hero / champion aka player characters) stay behind on the shore to prevent demons from pursuing their leaders. They die, of course.

Vol’jin, being a troll, recovers from his critical injury (not sure what it is yet, but trolls are well known in lore from being able to recover from anything, plus in that short story Judgement Vol’jin regenerates his thumb). Varian, on the other hand, is not so lucky, and ends up paralyzed from the legs down. Geblin of course builds him an incredible wheelchair. He begins to mentor Anduin in kingly duties (see? Can “take him out of a story” and not kill him and still have Anduin become king and not have Anduin SHOVED into being a king. Wow. Amazing. Didn’t realize that was even remotely possible).

What events lead up to Amita actually ending up in the Dreamgrove are up in the air, but she does becomes the Archdruid of the class hall in it’s entirety (I need this to be canon to set up BfA events). Thrall also does not disappear, and instead stays at the Earthern Ring to continue mentoring shaman (and passes on the Doomhammer to another shaman as a result). I’m actually not sure if Aggra will even be IN Amita’s story, as she... is literally unimportant and has virtually no impact on Lore as it currently is, except for Thrall’s personal story (I am also Thraina trash, because have I ever told you that Thrall x Jaina was legitimately my first ship before I even knew what shipping was? Yeah. Exactly).

I have no thoughts yet on whether or not I will have Ysera still die in Amita’s story, but we’ll see. This is mostly because I’m still debating on having Amita be nightmare infected in canon (currently it’s just an AU idea I have), but either way, There Will Be A Dragon Fight.

Okay here’s perhaps the most important point. I’m still considering having Vol’jin pass on the mantle of Warchief, but it won’t be to Sylvanas. It will be to Baine - or rather, Vol’jin makes Baine acting warchief in his absence. I remember reading somewhere that the original plan for Vol’jin disappearing on BS was that he “needed to go talk to someone” and then made someone else warchief in his stead so that he could have the freedom to do that. In this case, I’m going to have Vol’jin make Baine acting warchief, and Vol’jin goes to scout out the Zandalari islands, which is where he ends up learning that Talanji and Zul have gone missing, which will of course lead to the infiltration of Stormwind yaddayaddayadda because yes Teldrassil still burns.

Okay, Battle for Azeroth:

I think everyone collectively agrees that the War of the Thorns stuff was horrible because it’s the same old story that everyone is tired of hearing. Anyway. After the Legion’s defeat, Azerite still poses a problem (resource war. I’m going for a resource war). He agrees that taking Teldrassil would be strategic, so War of the Thorns kind of proceeds as is, but he’s THERE, and lets Sylv go after Malfurion.

Horde gets Teldrassil. Baine tells Tyrande to evacuate her city because the Horde will be occupying it soon. Dead are given proper burial rites because Baine is a tauren and Saurfang is an orc and that’s honourable. When the Horde get to Teldrassil, they find siame-quashi crawling all over the place but they soon disappear into the shadows, but Baine knows his brother well enough to be aware that Vol’jin has been in Teldrassil long before they arrived.

Genn incites the burning of Teldrassil - and no, not because he’s malicious and petty but because it makes sense as a war strategy. Yes he knows people are probably going to die, but he corners a Forsaken soldier and pins it on the Horde (the Undercity will also still be blighted into oblivion, and Idk it makes sense to me for the Alliance to make a move like burning the tree if it means taking away a strong foothold from the Horde - or at least, Genn does, but no one finds out that he was the one who started it until Zuldazar Raid stuff. I’M GETTING THERE I PROMISE). Anyway, speaking of that, Vol’jin watches Genn do all of this and then of course has to book it the fuck out of there because no thank you. And he’s not sure how to process the information so he tells Baine to help evacuate the tree as much as he can before yeah they’re forced to leave (also hey the Alliance has shamans too, and if Genn mother-fucking Greymane tells you to do something I’m p sure my scared ass would listen).

Debating on if Sylv starts shooting civillians who can’t make it to the portals / are stuck due to the fires because “killing them with an arrow through the eye is more humane than letting them burn to death”. Compassion, but twisted in a sense. Horde / Alliance mages though try to teleport as many people as possible and both sides suffer some significant losses.

Instead of Legion BS being the reason Jaina becomes furious with the Horde once again, the burning of the tree is. She gets so angry (understandably, plus I can imagine her and Tyrande being rather close as some of the few female leaders in the Alliance) and it’s like an extra blow because Jaina’s already lost Theramore. So then she leaves on her little soul-searching expedition and Thrall wants to go after her but because none of them know how to bring up the news that Greymane was the one who started the fire they kinda go “well shit” and do nothing (which of course bites them in the ass).

Undercity proceeds practically identically to in-game however the comment Sylv makes to Greymane while sitting on the throne is more in-line to “oh yeah you mean the throne you abandoned when you built ur wall and let the Lordaeron citizens - who are basically the Forsaken, btw - die to the scourge you uh. You mean that throne?” obviously way more eloquently but you get the idea.

Amita is coaxed into being under human guise (and goes by the name Juliet, which is also one of Jaina’s nicknames for her) because Jaina decides that she needs the emotional support from her good friend as she goes to Kul Tiras because this has now become a resource war with both Horde and Alliance furious over losing two major important cities respectively. Horde of course infiltrates Stormwind and gets Zul and Talanji out (I’m actually not sure what happens with Saurfang but I think I can still have the event with him facing the Alliance leaders alone happen but more as a “SYLVANAS YOU NEED TO PREPARE EVEN THOUGH I DONT’ AGREE WITH WHAT YOU’VE PREPARED I’LL HOLD THEM OFF” instead of “RAGRGARGR I’M SO MAD HOW DARE U” so Baine is like “I’mma finish evacuating you get yourself ready for the confrontation”).

Lots of shit happens but I’m gonna’ skip to Rezan stuff. Mostly because Amita kills Yazma so I’m not sure how the corruption thing happens, but I’m still going to have him die (perhaps while trying to face off against Mythrax? Translating some raids / dungeons into story points is pretty tough so I haven’t really gotten to that point yet... I’m totally not avoiding it LOL). Either way, whether or not Rezan lives or dies (because that’s important to the story Blizzard wants to tell, but not important to the story I personally want to tell), something does happen that causes Rastakhan to still rapidly age (could easily be something like Bwonsamdi messing around with the connection between Rezan and Rastakhan, after all, Bwonsamdi reeeeeeeeeally wants Rast’s soul).

Oookay so... Siege of Zuldazar:

Amita is in Boralus when the Alliance is planning this. Yes amazingly still no one in the Alliance is aware of what Genn has done (lets just say that he dealt with anyone who tried to let Anduin and Varian know). She ends up ousting herself and Jaina tries to calm her but she ends up furious enough to say “if you march on Zuldazar, the Dreamgrove stands against you. Remember, I am the Archdruid now”. And then she leaves because you don’ fuck w/ a dragon.

So the Dreamgrove of course ends up sweeping into Zuldazar to stop the Alliance in their tracks, and then the Earthern Ring shows up because Thrall is like “I stand with you, Amita”. Amita’s priority is keeping Rastakhan alive so she has Hamuul and Thrall take him and his council to a safe place, and then instructs the druids and shamans to evacuate / protect the civilians, in a sort of “let the alliance and the horde come to blows, I don’t care, just get as many civilians to safety as you can” (wait.. I don’t know if I made it clear that Amita is Champions of Azeroth / Khadgar / Neutral aligned. Okay. She is. Okay back to my rambling).

Basically there are vines everywhere.

Now I still don’t know how the raid ends (like if it ends with a huge naga / old god thing or what, but I’m gonna’ tentatively roll with the idea of Azshara forces rolling in like “durrhurhurr heeellLO LANDWALKERS”), but I know how it ends in LO. Vol’jin confronts Genn in the throne room or... wherever it is that the Alliance confronts Rastakhan, and he and Genn basically have this duel where the whole time Vol’jin is like “why don’t you tell them, Genn, why don’t you tell them who REALLY burned down Teldrassil? Haven’t you told them about how you shoved a torch into the hand of dead forsaken soldier? What about those shamans that were at your side when it happened, what’s become of them?” etcetc which leads to a break in the Alliance’s resolve and they retreat out of Zuldazar because honestly Anduin doesn’t know how to handle this information and I wouldn’t blame him. Neither does Jaina.

As the Alliance is falling back, however, the naga are like “EEEEYY LANDWALKERS” and the Dreamgrove / Earthern Ring come to the rescue with Jaina and Thrall tag-teaming to beat the fuck out of either an Old God herald or a huge Naga mmyes. I will have my Thraina. And the mages show up too because Ollwen is a good friend of Amita’s and she brings the Kirin Tor to HELP. This also saves the Alliance time cuz then they just teleport all the Kul Tiras boats and shit back to Kul Tiras and... then Anduin has to confront Genn. And Tyrande can still become a night warrior lmao don’t worry (as much as I apparently... dislike her???), because even if the Horde wasn’t behind burning Teldrassil, they were still very much behind everything that led UP to burning Teldrassil.

Rastakhn therefore lives but only solely because I want to write him sucking up his pride and stepping down from the throne to let Talanji lead with him as her mentor for at least a year before he finally passes away quietly in the night. Not all deaths have to be blood and glory on the battlefield to have impact. A quiet death is just as impactful (and honestly I have some experience because of how recently I lost my grandfather. Death hits hard regardless of how it happens). So my plan is to have Rastakhan pass away quietly and Talanji goes to greet him in the morning only to come across his cold form. Yeah. The ouchies are still there.

Annnnnnnnnd we’ll see how I decide to proceed from there. Yeah. Wow thanks for reading all the way if you did LMAO?!?!!? You are literally a trooper.

I guess you can tell me your thoughts?? //cries softly.

[nastybuckybarnes]

Quiet (Part Sixteen)

A Bucky X Fem!Reader series. 16/16 

(Gif from Google)

Summary: Steve Rogers makes an accidental discovery while on a simple hydra base raid. You. He brings you back to the Avengers Tower where they all try to figure you out. Your... interesting way of communicating makes that especially hard. Until one super-soldier proves otherwise.

Series warnings: Angst, Fluff, Smut, Pregnancy, Injuries, Violence, Sickness, a few mild spoilers (maybe), Nudity, Embarrassment, Language,

Chapter warnings: Angst, Feels, Fluff

Word Count: 1,639

A/N: This is the end of ‘Quiet’! I may post alternate endings to this a bit later but it really depends on how I’m feeling about this. So, I hope you enjoy the final part of this series!

Quiet Masterlist

"(Y/n) it's been nearly two weeks! Tell him!" 

You shake your head at Nat and walk into the kitchen. 

"What's been nearly two weeks and tell who what?" Bucky sits at the counter, watching the two of you with weary and tired eyes.

Ever since Steve and Nat found out, you've been spending more time with them and less time with Bucky.

"Bucky I think you need to take this conversation to your room." Nat pushes you into the elevator and Bucky follows silently, a million thoughts running through his mind.

She's cheating on me. She's cheating on me with Steve! That's why they've been spending so much time together. This has been going on for two weeks? Shit Buck, you gotta fix your game.

All the while there are trillions of thoughts running through your mind.

How do I tell him? What if he doesn't want it? God what if he laughs at me? What if he hates me? What if he's mad? He's gonna be so mad. He'll leave me. He'll leave me for someone better. Someone without his burden.

The doors open and the two of you walk silently to his room.

Once the door closes behind both of you he turns to you.

"You're cheating on me, aren't you?" 

You scoff at him, "James, grow up." 

He throws his hands in the air, frustrated. "Well what is it? Apparently it's been going on for two weeks without me knowing!" You flinch and close your eyes.

"It's been going on for a lot longer than that," you breathe.

"What is it? Tell me." His voice softens and tears pool in your eyes.

"I'm scared."

"Of me?" He asks quietly.

You shake your head quickly, a few tears slipping down your cheeks.

"Of how you'll react. I don't want you to be mad or hate me."

He walks away from you and rubs the nape of his neck. "You don't love me anymore. You love Steve and you want to be with him instead."

"Bucky. That's not it either." You bite your bottom lip and try to think of a way to phrase the confession.

"Then what the Hell is it, (Y/n)?! I'm your partner! I'm supposed to be the person you're closest too! Why are you being so distant?!" 

The tears are streaming down your face quickly now. 

"Because I'm scared! I'm terrified because I don't want you to leave me!" 

He groans, "(Y/n)! Tell me, dammit!" 

You ball your hands into fists.

"This is exactly why I haven't told you yet! Because when you get mad you scare me and that isn't healthy for the baby!" The words fly out of your mouth and everything in the room stops. 

The only sound is the quick thudding of your own heart.

"What?" He turns to you, any traces of frustration or anger gone from his face. You look down at your hands, fear coursing through your veins.

"I'm pregnant, Bucky. With yours." 

He crosses the room quickly and hugs you to his chest.

You immediately start sobbing.

"Shh. It's okay."

You sniffle and wrap your arms around him. "You don't hate me?" You ask quietly. He chuckles and pulls away to look at you.

"Of course I don't. (Y/n), I could never hate you for having my baby. I'd never leave you because of it."

He crouches down so that his face is level with your stomach.

"Can I?"

His hands reach for the hem of your shirt. You pull it up and watch as his eyes widen.

"How long?" He whispers.

"Um... fourteen weeks? Fifteen maybe." He kisses your stomach gently and runs his flesh hand over it.

"Hi baby. It's me, your daddy. I just want you to know that I love you very very much." You run your fingers through his hair and smile lightly. "Are you sure you're only fifteen weeks? You seem... bigger than that." You giggle and pull him up then kiss his lips.

"You remember our four month anniversary?" He nods. "That was our first time. And now here we are." He chuckles then kisses your lips.

"I love you so much. I wish you told me earlier so that I could've been there more." You shake your head and look up into his eyes. 

"I guess this means we need to tell the others," you breathe. He chuckles then nods. "Or you could just change into a shirt that shows off your bump and we pretend no thing's different," he suggests. 

You giggle and nod, walking to the closet.

You peel your shirt off and gasp as Bucky wraps his arms around you. He spins you around and looks you up and down. "Is it weird that seeing you like this is turning me on?" He asks. You blush and turn away from him, putting on a tighter shirt than the one before. You put on a cardigan then take Bucky's hand and pull him out of the room.

The two of you walk into the commons room and you raise your eyebrows as you see Thor, Tony, and Steve talking to, no, reprimanding Peter.

"Wait a minute... I'm grounded?" Peter is clearly astonished with the news.

"You hacked into the Iron Legion system and nearly blew up your school. Again! Of course you're grounded!" Tony exclaims.

"You disobeyed both Tony and I." Steve is the image of disappointment.

"Yes. And now we shall bury you until you've learned your lesson!" Thor raises his hammer up for emphasis.

Tony and Steve jump in front of him as he takes a step towards Peter. 

"No! Thor that's not how grounding works!" Tony exclaims. Thor lowers his arm and cocks his head to the side. "Is this not punishment?" Steve nods at him. "What better punishment than that of being burried alive for a few days?" Peter backs up to the doorway and looks around frantically, his eyes resting on you.

"Hey look! It's (Y/n) and Bucky and she's..." his eyes widen, "pregnant as fuck!"

He clamps a hand over his mouth and Steve glares at Tony.

"Look at that. Peter has such a potty mouth on him because of you." Tony rolls his eyes and takes another step towards Peter.

"No spider-ing for two weeks. No electronics, no Lego, no star wars. Nothing." Peter gawks at Tony. "Mama widow! Tony just grounded me!" Peter exclaims, looking at Nat who sits on the couch.

"Good riddance. Having you running the Iron Legion was terrifying." His jaw drops. "Nat!" 

She laughs then looks at you. "Wow. You look bigger, (Y/n)," she notes.

This gets everyone's attention and they all turn to you.

It's silent for a few minutes before Thor laughs.

"Lady (Y/n)! I offer you the biggest congratulations!" He exclaims. You smile and hug him. "Thanks Thor," you whisper. 

"(Y/n)! Congrats! We’re so happy for you!" Wanda and Pietro hug you.

"Tony?" You ask shyly.

He takes a deep breath then smiles.

"I better be a grandfather or a godfather. No in between." He hugs you and kisses your cheek.

"And Barnes," he turns to Bucky, "you better take damn good care of this little one." His hand rests on your stomach and you giggle.

"Don't worry. I will." Bucky kisses your temple then rests his hand on the top of your bump. "(Y/n), Mister Barnes. Congratulations on sucessfully copulating." Your cheeks burn and Bucky laughs. "Thanks Vis."

Steve and Nat wink at you as Bucky pulls you to the couch.

"Congrats you two." Sam pats your shoulder then walks into the kitchen. "Yeah. I'm happy for you guys." You smile at Bruce then sigh.

"Now Peter. Don't think I've forgotten about your punishment." Tony turns back to the teen and crosses his arms over his chest. 

"Hey! I..." He runs out of the room with Tony running after him.

Thor sits next to you.

"May I?" He asks. You nod and push Bucky's hand out of the way.

Thor rests his gigantic hand on your bump then closes his eyes and nods, pulling away after a moment.

"I could tell you what you're having, if you'd like?" You look at Bucky then shake your head. "Surprises are always nice."

Thor nods, "very well. Let me know if you change your mind."

You both nod and Bucky rubs your stomach again. 

"Wanda! Steve! Let's throw them an amazing baby shower!" Nat whisper-yells. You laugh and she smiles. 

"You know, I'm so glad Bucky knows. Now he can get you all the food to satisfy your weird cravings." You stick your tongue out at Nat and she chuckles. "You've got some strange cravings?" You nod and look up at Bucky.

"I really love bacon wrapped pickles, fries dipped in vanilla milkshakes, and frozen yogurt. Oh! And Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Any kind. With soft pretzels." Your mouth waters and you sigh longingly. 

"How about something healthier? I wanna keep you and munchkin healthy." He gently pokes your stomach and you giggle. 

"This is so exciting! I love babies!" Clint exclaims out of nowhere. You roll your eyes and pull Bucky's hand under your shirt to rub soothing circles on your bump, content with your -growing- family.

~

[seasaltmemories]

Demons Chapter 11

Rating: T

Summary: There's nothing broken about you. We just need to allow ourselves the privilege to exist.

When Petra woke up, her head was pounding like a drum. It felt as if she had to carry concrete slabs with her pinky toe just to lift her eyelids. The closest thing to a coherent thought she could muster was regret over drinking whatever beverage it was that could cause a killer hang-over like this. Still as she slowly came to her senses, she realized this felt nothing like that. Whatever this was, it was worse, as if Life itself had picked her up and wrung every drop of energy from her body.

Then a set of bars came into focus, and immediately it was like none of that pain matter anymore. Petra sat up not only to find herself locked in a cell, but a blonde girl sitting across from her.

She looked to be no older than her mid-teens and even smaller than Petra herself, but that did nothing to ease her nerves. There was a dangerous aura to her, one of a soldier, someone trained in discipline. Despite this, she didn't even seem to regard Petra as more threatening than a fly. Somehow that was most frightening thing about the situation, someone holding so much power yet regarding it as nothing.

"Where am I..." As slurred and mumbled her words came out, the girl instantly turned to face her, cool blue eyes glaring at her. For a moment, Petra truly feared for her life, but slowly the girl answered her question.

"You have been detained and arrested by the Holy Legion."

At the sounds of those words, Petra's heart sank like a stone. Memories of Captain's last words came to the forefront of her mind.

Don't trust anyone or anything related to the Holy Legion, if you hear that name, run

And here she had gone and gotten herself captured by them instead.

After the jump, Captain had wanted to sleep for a week. Jumping from one created dimension to the next was nothing like he was used to. Even with his additional training, it still felt like running marathon in an hour. Usually he tried to take a break for a few days just to recharge his batteries.

But then one worry kept tugging at his mind from time to time, keeping him from relaxing fully. He knew Petra wasn't the type to look fondly on him getting a bit overprotective, but it felt wrong to leave her out there without a clue of what was going on. They had been doing this for decades while she was still so green behind the ears.

She could deck you in the face for this kind of behavior you know

And maybe he really deserved it. There was no no explanation for visiting her dorm at this hour that wouldn't paint him as a creep. Still at the very least he needed to rest his nerves. He'd be able to heal a lot faster without having to worry about her on top of everything else.

It was difficult getting into an area so densely populated by humans who had no sense when it came to their sleep schedules. Still stealth was his specialty, and he found himself inside soon enough. At first it seemed as if no one was there, but suddenly he heard a voice.

Quickly he hid as he tried to distinguish the source. It sounded like that girl he had seen hanging around Petra few times. Captain began to listen closely to the individual words she was saying.

"Hey Ian, Petra texted me saying she was gonna stay over with you. Apparently she had something going on today that was located near you and didn't want to make the trip here late at night."

Hearing that news was like having a weight lifted off his chest. He didn't think he had the right to thank God or anything else holy, but the desire to was raw and real. In his relief he almost didn't hear the last part of the conversation.

"What?! You're saying she didn't make it over there!?"

The worst part about being captured was the silence. Her jailer wasn't the chatty type, which left her alone to think about her failure over and over again. Her subconscious replayed the moments right before she was captured. Each time she remembered the it, it was like getting punched in the gut. No matter what she did it seemed her efforts were always useless.

At some point she was taken out of her cell to be read her "charges" for all her crimes by a mysterious

figure cloaked in white. As nice as it was to stretch her legs, it left her more confused than anything else.

"You are charged with collaborating with demonic forces." The figure announced. "Depending on how long and how far this relationship has gone, your sentence will be extended."

"So what does that mean from you weirdos? Do I get a time-out for not living up to whatever cult you run?"

"I suggest you not take the Holy Legion so lightly." Their voice took on a dangerous tone. "We're the only thing that stands between humanity and its destruction. Having infidels like you work together with such monsters makes it even harder to cleanse the world. If I were you I'd show some repentance. Those who don't beg for forgiveness are treated the same as a demon."

Something about those words set off a switch in Petra. Maybe she would have taken this better if she had already cut off contact with Captain and the gang and would have thought before she spoke. Maybe is she wasn't tired and scared out of her wits she would have tried to act pragmatically. Maybe if for a year now it hadn't felt like her life was being run by everyone but herself she would have known not to piss off those who held her life in their hands. Even so, she had grown already sick of whatever freakshow this was.

"Where were you my entire life then?" Her words were as sharp as a knife. "I spent my childhood convinced I was out of my fucking mind. Demons haunted my every move, but apparently they weren't important until I finally found some peace, and now you want to take it away?" Without thinking she raised her fist to strike them, when suddenly she was slammed to the floor by the blonde guard from before.

"Thank you, Ariel." The clocked figure bowed as she dug her heel deeper into Petra's back.

And so her brief stint out of the cell was ended. Looking back she would have taken more of those cryptic threats over this silence. She was still without a clue of what exactly this Holy Legion was up to. All she knew for sure was that she had damned herself in their eyes, and their road to redemption was unlikely to be one she'd like.

With a sigh, Petra raked a hand down her face. This is what she gets for trying to make sense of her madness, to try and find a purpose in her life.

What am I going to do?

At this point she wasn't even sure she could pray to anyone for help.

Faster and faster, Captain teleported himself through the streets of Sina. It was a crazy plan, one even Girly wouldn't have ever suggested. Still the Holy Legion would have to be blind not to notice him this way. Eventually, they'd come to attack him and that's when his search for Petra would really begin.

He knew Commander and Four-Eyes would never allow this sort of behavior to happen. He could practically hear their more logical arguments with each jump. How do you expect to take on the Holy Legion yourself? Do you expect to be able to fight demon hunters after exhausting yourself out? Who knows if they really have Petra. For all he knows she could already be dea-

Captain bit his tongue hard. No, he would not accept that. She was his partner for a good reason, brave as hell and even fiercer. If any human could survive them it was her. It had to be her. Even so he couldn't sit around just twiddling his thumbs while she was in danger.

"Wait for me Petra, I'm coming," He whispered to himself. He'd rescue her no matter what stood in the way.

It was hard to keep track of time. Even if Petra hadn't been busy wallowing her own self-pity, there was no windows or any other signs that could have helped her. So when she found a plate of food and a glass of water set before her, she couldn't help but look up in surprise.

"Eat." It was the first time her guard had spoken to her, making the situation all the more surreal.

Without even thinking, Petra said, "Thank you, Ariel..."

For some reason that made her freeze up. It was another first of hers, showing some emotion besides bland neutrality.

"Is that not what the other dude called you?"

"It is..." She brushed a few strands of hair behind her eye. "But it's not a name I expected to hear from a prisoner of all people."

"A name's a name. why does it matter who says it?" Petra pretended to be occupied with tearing a loaf of bread into smaller pieces. This might be her only opportunity to fish for information. The worst thing she could do would be to ruin it all because she got too eager.

"It's less a name and more a title. Your kind knows very well the power names have." There was a slight quirk to her lips that could be mistaken for a smirk.

Damn it, so she wasn't as subtle as she'd have prefer. Oh well at least Ariel seemed entertained by her antics.

"Did you get to choose it yourself? Because if it's supposed to be intimidating, all it does is remind me of the redhead mermaid from that one movie."

"The reference is more academic than that." She approached Petra's cell to sit across from her, movements effortless graceful as if belonging to a dancer. "The protagonist of Shakespeare's The Tempest, has two slaves: Ariel and Caliban. The former was obedient and well-loved, earning his freedom at the end for his good deeds. The latter was unruly and regarded as inhuman. While he does receive forgiveness in the end, his fate is unclear. The Holy Legion mirrors such behavior for sinners like us. If you act as an Ariel, you're one step closer to earning redemption. On the other hands, Calibans fates are more ambiguous." Even without having observed her quiet nature before, it was obvious that Ariel was not used to speaking this much. Her words came out stilted and awkward, like she was reading a script in a foreign language.

"So am I a Caliban in your eyes?" Petra leaned forward, no longer hiding her interest.

"Everyone starts out as Caliban before the Holy Legion recruits them. Very few are strong enough to dedicated themselves fully to eradicating demons from this world. However a Caliban can always change into an Ariel if they wish to. Your choice is simple. If the Holy Legion runs out of patience though, then soon your disobedience will be punished."

"What happened to that forgiveness?"

"It is always granted at first, but if it is not accepted by the recipient, judgment must be dealt."

"Why tell me this, though?"

"Because I'm tired of unnecessary violence." She gave a long sigh that sounded centuries old. "You seem smart enough to know when to fold your hand." While she tried to remain impersonal and detached, one ghost of an emotion still tainted her words. She seemed lonely, but that wasn't even the most surprising thing she found about her.

The more she looked at Ariel, the more she reminded reminded Petra of herself as a teen, someone who felt so alone and alien in her own world.

All this purple prose and odd behavior was making her head spin. So far what she knew about this Holy Legion was not adding up. Their job was to destroy demons and ones who associated with them like her, yet that was where they tried to recruit their workforce. They named their workers in a very demonic fashion based on if they earned redemption for some unknown sin or-

A thought came to Petra that was shocking, she had to keep from yelping at the revelation. Dear lord, if she was right...

"You're right. I'm not stupid. If that's the only way I can survive, then I'll join y'all." She waited for the right moment, when Ariel's body seemed to loosen up ever so slightly and her guard was let down for a half-second, and then she reached through the bars of her cell to grip her as fiercely as possible.

She fought and bit and screamed to get Petra off her, but her grip was unshakeable. It had to be here. She couldn't be wrong. Then suddenly it flashed before her eyes.

The key.

The crowd seemed to roar louder than any beast alive. One name kept getting chanted over and over again. Annie. Annie. However one quiet voice managed to impact her more than they ever could.

"You have to win this, Annie. You've come so far to make it to the championship. I will not accept failure from you. Do not let her beat you."

With that, Annie stepped into the ring to face her opponent. Already she felt a fraction of her resolve wavering. She looked hardly like a teen her age, more as if Athena herself had come down to Earth and had decided to take up boxing. Even so she tried to stay strong. Dad wouldn't accept failure.

Once the match started, it felt like it would go one forever. Again and again the two weaved around each other, not giving the other an inch. Ugh, they couldn't play this game forever. She had to strike now.

With all her strength, Annie lunged forward with a left hook; however, as she stepped forward, she found herself slipping in a puddle of sweat and hitting her head against her opponent's chair.

Then there was only darkness.

When Petra came back to the real world, she found the demon glowering at her. She looked like a feral animal, and somehow Petra knew if she didn't save her, Annie would decide to kill her.

"You're life has always been this way, Annie. Instead of making your own decisions, someone else has told you what you needed to do, and if you didn't live up to their expectations they beat you into the ground for it."

"You fucking bitch!" She snarled, pulling out a key from her pocket. "I'll-"

"To be honest I've suffered in the same way. First I tried living up to the expectations of human society and simply denying a part of myself, and then I started only valuing the part of me that could live in demon society."

She plunged the key to the lock and all but ripped open the door. This was it, there was no escape if Petra didn't act now.

"Things aren't going to get better for either of us, if we stop trying to be the person others want to be and just choose to be ourselves! It doesn't matter that you're a demon, Annie. There's nothing broken about you. We just need to allow ourselves the privilege to exist!"

Petra closed her eyes, waiting for a fist to connect with her face, but it never happened. When she dared to open her eyes again, she found Annie fading away right before her. For some reason she found her mouth trying to speak, to say something, anything about the situation, but the words wouldn't come. Even so, as she disappeared, a ghost of a whisper passed by Petra's ear.

"Thank you..."

For a beat, all Petra could do was shiver from the chills it sent down her spine. Had that all been intention on her part? Had Annie really wanted to be saved instead of a slave to those who condemned her? Whatever it didn't matter. She could think about such matters once she got out of here. Of course then there was that matter of Petra didn't know where exactly she was...

It was right then she heard a noise coming from the door. Someone was on their way to this room and were coming fast. Despite her lack of weapons or anything really to defend herself, Petra immediately fell into a fighting stance. If she were to die here, then she would go down with a fight.

The door flew open, but instead of eerie figures in white clocks, only one familiar person stood.

It was Captain.

A thousand emotions seemed to run counter to each other in Petra: relief, confusion, joy, fear. Captain though just stared and stared, like she was a miracle just for taking a breath. A part of herself screamed to shoved that inside the deepest dark vault inside her mind, to not let anything dangerous spill out.

Petra said screw that, and leaped into his arms with no regrets.

"Petra," He whispered her name like a prayer. His face was buried in her shoulder, his grip around her frame almost vicelike. All the adrenaline from before began to drain from her body, and suddenly all she wanted to do was collapse and just sob her heart out until there were no tears left. Instead of flinching from such display of vulnerability, Captain simply rubbed his hand in soothing circles and murmured gentle sounds.

"Come on, Girly. Let's get you home."

When Captain came to see her after she had settled down, she felt his presence more than anything else. Her attention had been fully occupied by a Greek shoreline, but at the familiar zap of teleportation, she knew he had returned. Without even turning her head, Petra greeted him.

"Anything you need."

"Just wanting to make sure you're ok after that phone call." He moved to sit next to her. Four Eyes had been the one to deal with most of the details of relocating. At this point it was just tying up the loose ends so she could disappear effectively. Who knew that would be so painful though?

"I'm not sure Dad was processing it. All the money just blew his mind, but then to hear about that witness protection story, it might have been just too much."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." His words were awkward, but it was the intent that mattered.

"I appreciate it. Still I hope I don't have to leave Sina forever. Even if it's only for a little while I want to see Rico and Dad at least one more time."

"This isn't the first time we've had to move shop because of the Holy Legion. If they see your face in town, they'd jump you right away."

"And you think that would stop me?" She raised an eyebrow and shot him a cocky grin.

Captain smiled back. "No it wouldn't." For a beat the two of them just sat there, enjoying the other's company. But unfortunately nothing can last forever. It wasn't long before he was asking her another question.

"So what are your plans now? You want out?"

Petra licked her lips, trying to find the right words. "Not exactly. I think I'm going to start studying the connection between demons and history, specifically in portrayals of mythology. I told you I loved Greek mythology, didn't I? This is the perfect way to put that and my demon knowledge to use."

"But does that mean we're still partners?"

Hazel eyes met silver, so sharp and piercing and a million other things that made her inside do flips.

"Not necessarily. I may not be staying in the demon taming business, but things don't have to change that much."

"What do you mean?"

She took a deep breath. In. Out. Then slowly she laced their fingers together. "What exactly are we?" It was impossible to say who kissed who first, but it wasn't long before they were drinking each other completely in. As the two of them pulled back for air, a content sigh passed from her lips.

"...I have no idea how relationships like this even go, but do you want to give it a try?" It was strange seeing Captain bashful of all people. The tips of his ears were flushed red, and he seemed determined to look anywhere but her eyes.

Petra thought on the past year's trials and tribulations, of her revelation when captured by the Holy Legion, and all the other anxieties that had been gnawing at her core.

"I want you," she finally said. "I want to everything and anything my heart desires from now on."

Captain grinned. "Then let's get started."

A.N. After way longer than this story should have taken, it's done. It kinda feels unreal. On one hand this story is almost from a different time period in my life. I was 15 when I started this and still figuring out a lot about myself and now three years later and I'm heading for college in less than a week. I've changed so much as a person, I wondered if I was even telling the same story I started out as. Even so I glad to be able to finish this project once and for all. Thank you so much for your support. I love all my readers~