#and the basic black armor and cape just gets that across for me

[raven-of-domain-kwaad]

Generally not good when you encounter a grumpy Wrath

[davidmann95]

Knew deep down the moment I lay eyes on it that I'd end up making a key to this cover and laying out who's who, ostensibly for anyone who doesn't know all these folks but really to satisfy my own mania - shame I never went into clickbait, love making me a good list. All of these are either obvious or confirmed by Doc on Twitter or Tumblr:

1. Superman. You know, that guy!

2. Superman as he'll soon be in the current comics in the wake of Superman & The Authority.

3. Steel aka Natasha Irons - the niece of the original, she took up the mantle alongside him.

4. Savior, the 'Superman' of Earth 34 and also a riff on Samaritan from Astro City, born in the 'super-civilization' of MU and sent to the future to escape its collapse.

5. Steel aka John Henry Irons, a technologist saved by Superman who inspired to make the most of his life designed a suit of armor to become a hero himself.

6. Lois Lane. You know, that gal!

7. Jon Kent, Lois and Clark's son, in the suit he'll be wearing when he takes on his dad's title in Superman: Son of Kal-El.

8. Earth 23's Superman who serves as President of the United States in his secret identity as Calvin Ellis, while also acting as leader of the team Justice Incarnate which works to stop problems threatening multiple universes.

9. Bizarro, I guess right now of Earth 29 aka Htrae but really all that matters across his disparate incarnations he's Superman but a clone who looks like Frankenstein and he talks backwards, guy's great.

10. Captain Adam aka Allen Adam of Earth 4, a riff on Watchmen's Doctor Manhattan (who was himself a riff on the original version of Captain Atom, with some bits of Superman iconography bolted on too), he's a USAF pilot who was exposed to an isotope that gave him godlike quantum powers that leave him permanently disoriented in our world due to his higher-dimensional senses.

11. Superwoman of Gaea aka Earth 11, a world where genders are 'reversed' and Themyscira has long led the world openly.

12. Superman of Earth 12, better known as the 'DCAU' shared universe of cartoons from 1992 through 2006.

13. Superman in the t-shirt and jeans he wore in his early career during the New 52 reboot, an evocation of his 1930s roots fighting cops and corporations alongside alien invasions; he briefly returned to this look a few times prior to being rebooted away, and a 'purified' version of this incarnation still rocking this look was saved and left wandering the multiverse to find new ways to help in Sideways Annual #1.

14. Superman right after his resurrection from Death of Superman, in his dubiously iconic black uniform and indisputably iconic mullet.

15. Superman Blue, from a time when Superman was changed into an energy being for a year and had to relearn how to use his new electric powers.

16. The New 52 Superman in his standard 'Kryptonian armor' outfit, after assorted shenanigans that saw him dead and replaced by the pre-reboot version they basically did a cosmic fusion dance and now some of his adventures were folded back into the 'regular' Superman, which means we all just have to accept Clark completely lost his fashion sense for a minute there.

17. Superman II aka Val-Zod of Earth 2, another Kryptonian survivor who was adopted into the El family before being rocketed to Earth and took up the Superman title after the death of the original.

18. Krypto the Superdog, he was the El family pet back on Krypton and was sent out on a test flight of a prototype of the rocket that would save Superman, knocked off-course instead of returning but eventually landing on Earth and getting powers of his own, which somehow wound up adorable instead of terrifying.

19. Beppo the Super-Monkey, another test animal of Jor-El's who actually stowed away on the rocket to Earth and just immediately ran away upon landing to hang out in the jungle for a few decades until he ran into Superman and got the standard-issue cape.

20. Streaky the Supercat, this time an ordinary Earth cat and pet of Supergirl's who was exposed to X Kryptonite (which just made its live-action debut on Superman & Lois) which grants him sporadic superpowers. The least plausible of the super-pets in terms of not resulting in global devastation.

21. Comet the Super-Horse, who has NOTHING to do with Krypton or Kryptonite or the like but instead is an ancient centaur who was accidentally turned into a regular 'ol horse by Circe and given superpowers by her to make up for it, eventually becoming Supergirl's pet who privately loves her and unbeknownst to her dates her as 'Bill Starr' during the rare times he becomes human when a certain comet passes by. Dude's a real creep!

22. Superman Red, created when Superman Blue from earlier split into two different beings shortly before recombining back into regular Superman.

23. Super-Man aka Kong Kenan, he was given Superman's powers in an experiment by the Ministry of Self-Reliance, but due to those powers being connected to Superman's own life energy Super-Man had to embrace the spirit behind his counterpart's actions in order to master them.

24. Power Girl aka Kara Zor-L, the elder Earth 2 counterpart of Supergirl who took her cousin's place alongside Val-Zod.

25. Supergirl aka Kara Zor-El/Linda Danvers, you know her deal, she's on TV (at least for one more season).

26. Jimmy Olsen, Superman's Pal.

27. The Superman of the 1940s Fleischer cartoon shorts, the first big-screen version of the character.

28. Superboy aka Conner Kent/Kon-El, a clone of Superman and Lex Luthor created by Cadmus to replace the former in the event of his death or corruption who was woken up before fully maturing and decided to instead become a 90s kid with major 'dirtbag with a heart of gold' vibes; he also has the extra superpower of tactile telekinesis that lets him telekinetically manipulate whatever he's in direct physical contact with.

29. Just barely poking his arm in is Sunshine Superman, champion of the psychedelic, transcendentally groovy Earth 47.

30. The older version of the DCAU Superman from the future of Batman Beyond.

31. Optiman of Earth 36, all that's really known about him is he fell in battle with a rogue Superman from another universe but happily he seems to be alive and well here; he was also designed by Doc for his appearance in Multiversity.

32. Superdemon of Earth 13, the demon Etrigan sent from the doomed planet Kamelot to Earth where he bonded to Jason Blood to fight evil in Merlin's name.

33. Superman aka Kal Kent, the 853rd century descendant of the original who continues the never ending battle, empowered far beyond his predecessors by the light of the Super Sun where the now all-powerful original resides in that time.

34. Apollo aka Andrew Pulaski; originally created as a Superman-type for the Wildstorm line of comics but eventually incorporated into DC, he has sunlight-fueled powers due to alien experimentation as a teenager and fights the bastards of the world alongside his boyfriend Midnighter. They'll be working with Apollo's inspiration in Superman & The Authority.

35. The Superman of Kingdom Come, officially set on Earth 22.

36. The Superman of All-Star Superman.

Plus:

* Knew I'd miss labeling one of them and it turned out to be Lana Lang from during her brief stint as Superwoman, you can see her arm sticking out just underneath the Steels.

* I'd mistakenly assumed the little Superman between 11 and 15 looked distinctive enough that it was supposed to be a specific preexisting character, when asking he confirmed that wasn't the case but tossed out that that's instead SuperDoc of Earth-85. As the creator of the piece and DC talent this constitutes canon in lieu of further statements on the subject by Detective Comics Comics.

[liquid-luck-00]

Connections 9

Chapter 9

this is based on @thepeacetea daminette soulmate au

Masterlist *** First *** Previous *** Next

Warning ⚠️ Character death

~~~~~~~~~~

Mari always thought her soul bond was curious. She never heard or activated the bond on purpose. She doubted her soulmate did either, because of what Bruce had told her about the league of Assassins. But everything seemed just off. Apart from that one switch she never had contact again. The only thing she has to gleam of her soulmate are the abilities she learned through him. She settled into bed after biding her papa goodnight.

That might not be a bad thing. As soon as that thought crossed her mind was she pulled again, but this was different.

---

Time seemed frozen for Damian.

His mother came for him again. She brought an army and him, an older version a clone of himself. She brought his clone Heretic, who was pulling the sword from Damian's chest.

I lost, he thought as the sword fell from his hand.

Father, Batman, rushed towards him when two orbs of light circled above him, one red and one green.

The red light morphed into a girl with a high ponytail and a red mask covered her eyes, her eyes emanated a red light. She was dressed in a basic suit that resembled a cross of Nightwing and Red Robin's uniforms, just all red with black spots, gloves, and boots.

The green orb turned into a boy a short cloak covered his torso, the hood covered his head and face, two cat ears were part of the hood, his eyes were glowing green. A tail flicked around under the armor set around his waist.

The girl looked at him now in his father's arms.

"No!" she yelled everything fell silent to him as he watched about a dozen more orbs appeared each forming a figure in either red or green. All except the first two moved and quickly dispatched the clone, the army of assassins, and pushed mother back.

His vision faded to black.

He could no longer feel his father's arms under him.

---

Nightwing, Red Hood, and Red Robin were now around Batman and the fallen Robin. The past holders of the miraculous formed a ring around them, linking hands. They moved them all to the Bat-cave.

"Come back little one." Hippolyta, if she remembers what Tikki told her, cupped her face as she faded away.

"Tikki," she whispered out.

"What's wrong?" the little goddess rubbed her eyes.

"I... We... Cave... Now." She managed. She transformed and swung through Gotham unnoticed until she reached the cave under the manor.

The past holders and her cat were still there. She dropped her transformation and ran to her extended family.

"Pixie how?" Jason had taken off his helmet and hugged her.

"You were there weren't you." Tim stated, so she nodded confirming his theory.

“He is neither alive nor dead he is in a plane between the two." A cat, Hei Mao, dressed in a long sleeved black gi, armor plates on his right upper arm and a cat mask on top of his head, eyes like the other cat apparitions were glowing green a black domino mask covered his eyes.

"How is that possible?" Bruce coaxed himself to whisper, cowl down and holding back tears.

"He is your bonded. You are tethering and maintaining his soul whole." A ladybug in knightly armor, red glowing eyes like all the other ladybugs spoke, Joan of Arc.

"My bonded," Marinette breathed under her breath.

"The magic which flows through your veins flows through him. He is your..." the only male ladybug, a red feathered headdress and red cape, red warrior paint covered his eyes and stained his hands, Micazoyolin, added only to be interrupted by Dick.

"Soul mate." Dick gasped from next to her.

"It is possible to revive him." a woman in a loose black dress and a Jaguar patterned cape with green under the cape. A black Jaguar headdress with long green feathers sat on her head green warrior paint on her face and hands, Ocelome, drawled looking between Damian's lifeless body and the green soul of her cat. "By using the waters of the Lazarus."

A gasp was heard from the bats and birds in the cave, Mari flinched further into her big brother Jay. Mari began to sag from exhaustion and the visages of the past holders began to flicker.

"Perhaps this conversation is best held elsewhere," Hippolyta broke the silence. "I, Queen Hippolyta of the Amazons, invite all of you to Themiscyra. Until we meet in the flesh my child."

Two by two each pair of ladybugs and their cats disappeared, all but the solitary cat, her cat, remained. Everything was still and silent within the cave. No one knowing how to proceed, so they stayed as they were.

None of them could tell you how long they stayed like that, but a new voice started.

"Bruce care to explain why my mother told me to bring all of you to Themiscyra." Wonder Woman appeared on the Bat-computer. "By Zeus. The apparition of the cat. Do you know what this means?" Bruce’s back was to the computer, Damian’s body still in his arms protected by his cape from Wonder Woman’s sight.

"Yes we do. Come by around noon everything should be sorted by then." Bruce brought himself to say, Tim ending the call after a nod from Wonder Woman.

"Come on pixie let's get you home before the sun rises." Jason put on his helmet. She nodded, transformed , and let Jason pick her up as they left the cave.

Jay-Jay stopped a few blocks away, she moved and clung on his back like a baby koala. As Red Hood swung and ran across the roof tops. He tucked in his little sister and left.

---

One moment he was dying in his father's arms. No he did die in his father's arms. But what was odd was the tug after a moment in the darkness.

The next he was standing in the Bat-cave next to his father and his body. The first girl in red was gone, but the others were here still. About 10 minutes later a red figure of a girl swings into the cave. If he could move or speak he would have. Or maybe not. The figure was engulfed in pink light and there stood Marinette Stone. She ran into a hug from Todd.

"Pixie how?"

"You were there weren't you." Drake stated, Marinette must have understood the statement as she nodded her head. It was silent until one of the green and black figures spoke.

"He is neither alive nor dead he is in a plane between the two." Hei Mao, the other voice in his mind supplied.

How am I not dead?!

He could still not move or speak so he stood and listened.

"How is that possible?" he heard his Father.

"He is your bonded. You are tethering and maintaining his soul whole." Joan of Arc, the voice again supplied.

"My bonded," Marinette, the voice supplied but now he placed it, the voice is Marinette.

"The magic which flows through your veins flows through him. He is your..." the only man in red, Micazoyolin, Marinette corrected his thought.

"Soul mate." Grayson shrieked.

"It is possible to revive him." Ocelome, she supplied and he took the intonation, without our analyzing now. "By using the waters of the Lazarus."

He heard his family suck in a breath and seem to become stone still, Marinette flinched further into Todd who was hugging and seemingly guarding her.

"Perhaps this conversation is best held elsewhere," Hippolyta broke the silence. "I, Queen Hippolyta of the Amazons, invite all of you to Themiscyra. Until we meet in the flesh my child."

Two by two each pair of ladybugs and their cats disappeared, all abut him. He still could not move, he could not speak either, but his mind raced.

I am dead.

Actually I am apparently not alive or dead.

My best friend is my soulmate.

My soulmate does not hate me.

She knows. She knows me. She knows my aggravating family.

She is stuck with us, with me.

Marinette is my best friend who happens to be my soulmate.

His thoughts would have continued had it not been for the voice coming from the Bat-computer.

"Bruce care to explain why my mother told me to bring all of you to Themyscira." Wonder Woman, "By Zeus. The apparition of the cat. Do you know what this means?"

"Yes we do. Come by around noon everything should be sorted by then."Father spoke his back to the screen shielding his body from vein.

"Come on pixie let's get you home before the sun rises." Todd finally spoke taking Marinette home.

Father finally stood, for a moment he looked at him and then his body before moving to place his body in a portable cyro-chamber in the Bat-plane.

Then the darkness returned.

---

The next morning she woke up with a resolve that everything would turn out fine.

Okay sure I just found out my best friend is my soulmate. the was killed by his clone, but he is in a state of limbo. Okay this was a lot but this is not the end of the story.

So as she, her papa, and Penny were having breakfast a knock sounded at the door.

"I'll get it." Penny excused herself. "Tim what a surprise come in." Tim was promptly sat at the table a mug of coffee and pancakes were placed in front of him.

"What brings you here so early mate?" Papa chuckled after watching Tim chug the coffee.

"Well, we were planning on a family trip for the week but..." he started. "B locked himself in his office and Damian won't budge, so" he looked at Jagged. "We were hoping that we could steal little bean for the week since both of them can't say no to her." he rushed barely stopping to breathe.

"Whatcha say little rock star," Papa turned to her smiling, "want to spend the week with your brothers?"

"Yes." She jumped up and hugged her dad and ran to her room to pack. Tim-Tam joined her a minute later as he asked Diana about the climate of the island.

"Why can't we go too, Lucky Penny?" Mari heard her papa ask.

'Sigh' "You've got a full schedule, why don't we plan something for the following week, your clear then." they heard Penny compromise.

"Rock 'n hear that little star," Papa poked his head in as they finished packing. "Maybe we'll steal one of Bruce's birds next week for our trip." He semi whispered the end.

Tim seemed surprised at the comment but schooled his features quickly, he picked up the suitcase and Mari pulled her papa out of the penthouse suite, gave him a hug as she went with Tim.

Less than an hour later she was sitting in the Bat-cave having loaded the bags in the Bat-plane, with the three eldest Wayne children and Bruce, waiting for Wonder Woman.

"Hey Mari can I ask something?" Tim sat down next to her.

"What is it Tim Tam?"

"What did Jagged mean when he said one of Bruce's birds?" Everyone was now watching the two and listening to the response that was to follow.

"Oh, um papa might have figured out that Uncle Bruce is Batman." She was now fiddling with her fingers in her lap. When no one answered she continued. "Remember a couple of months ago when the Sirens crashed Papa's concert. Well when Uncle Bruce and Jay Jay moved me and Papa away and into his dressing room, B didn't make his voice gruff and gravelly as Batman's usual voice. So papa thought maybe his voice isn't usually as gruff and the new voice is actually his real voice, and once papa hears a voice, he never forgets it. I promise I never told him and I never told him he was right but he is pretty sure and I don’t think he’ll even believe you if you tell him he’s wrong." Mari scrambled to say, ending it with a small sad smile looking up through her lashes at everyone.

"Father like Daughter," Bruce was the first to speak. "Everyone is getting a permanent voice modifier installed in their suits." This resulted in every one laughing. Effectively breaking the tension previously in the room.

"Smart idea B." Jason answered making Mari smile wider.

That was when Wonder Woman decided to arrive. Ending the conversation as they boarded the Bat-plane leaving for Themyscira.

Next

~~~~~~~~~~

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[fairydxll]

𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐉𝐨𝐲

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧

↳ 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 | uh fighting? Lmk if anything.

↳ 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 | 2124

𝐚/𝐧 ~ sorry I haven't updated this story in a while. But I'm back now!

masterlist | series masterlist | taglist

<- previous chapter

After a couple of days, Rory kinda got used to her new "home." Since Tony didn't know how long it would be before they went back to California, and with Pepper gone, they decided it was best if Rory just took a break from school.

Rory did eventually grow to like her new room. She was not allowed to leave the current floor, so she basically just spent all of her time there. Tony was gone all day and didn't get home until very late at night, meaning Rory had to have food delivered. She didn't mind, though. She figured that if they end up staying, she'll be able to tell Tony what all the good restaurants are.

Tony never told her anything about why they were here with the exception of, "Daddy has business."

So in order to pass the time, Rory would read or watch movies. She even took up drawing which turned out to be something she isn't too bad at.

This morning, Tony was already gone by the time Rory got up, so she got dressed and migrated to the living area. She sat on one of the couches near the large window and began sketching the tall buildings surrounding her.

As she finished the shading on one of the skyscrapers, she peered back up to see a tall man with long, black hair dressed in what looked like a Halloween costume standing on the terrace. Rory put down her sketchbook and looked closer. He was very tall and had large, golden horns that decorated the top of his head. She had no clue as to why this man was standing outside of her window on her father's building.

Rory looked to her right and noticed her father, in the Iron Man suit, land on the landing pad. The man just stood there, watching as machines swiftly removed the armor from Tony's body.

The strange man made his way into the room from the balcony. The room she was in. Rory didn't know what to do. She was frozen, scared. Instead of running away as any sane person would, Rory remained in her chair.

The large man entered the room. He studied his surroundings, his eyes eventually landing on Rory. "Who might you be?" He asked with disdain.

Rory could do nothing but blink at him, too afraid to speak. He opened his mouth to say more, only to be interrupted by the presence of Tony. "Rory, come here," Tony said blankly.

Rory immediately dropped her things and ran to her father's side. Tony wrapped his arm around her protectively, hoping to shield her with his body.

The man watched this all happen before finally speaking, "Please tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity." He spoke as if she weren't there.

"Actually I'm planning to threaten you," Tony responded. Rory couldn't sense any different emotions other than his natural sarcastic tone.

"You should have left your armor on for that," the man bantered, walking closer to Tony and Rory.

"Yeah," Tony pushed Rory behind the bar. "It's seen a bit of mileage, and you've got the glow stick of destiny." Rory crouched down below the bar and pulled her knees into her chest. She couldn't help but let tears stain her cheeks, afraid of what was happening. "Would you like a drink?" Tony asked the man as he walked behind the bar, actively trying to ignore you in hopes you wouldn't become a target.

Rory heard the other man laugh. "Stalling me won't change anything," he said. If Rory knew what it meant, she would describe their conversation as passive-aggressive.

"No, no. threatening." Tony began making himself a drink. "No drink? You sure? I'm having one.

"The Chitauri are coming. Nothing will change that." His words sounded like gibberish to Rory. "What have I to fear?"

Rory watched her father casually make a drink as if nothing was wrong. "The Avengers. That's what we call ourselves. We're sort of like a team." Rory had no idea what he was going on about. ""Earth's mightiest heroes"-type thing."

"Yes, I've met them."

"Yea," Tony's smile helped calm Rory down. He had to have the situation under control, right? "It takes us a while to get any traction, I'll give you that one. But let's do a headcount, here. Your brother, the demi-god," demi-god? "A super-soldier, a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend." He secretly slipped a metal-looking band on each wrist.

"A man with breathtaking anger-management issues, a couple of master assassins, and you, big fella," none of his words were making any sense. "You've managed to piss off every single one of them."

"That was the plan."

"Not a great plan," Tony walked past you and out from the bar. "When they come, and they will, they'll come for you."

"I have an army."

"We have a hulk."

Rory finally gathered enough courage and stood up carefully. She peeked her head over the bar to watch the men while also trying to stay out of the way. Tony was approaching the man as they spoke; the man keeping his ground.

"I thought the beast had wandered off," the man said.

"You're missing the point. There's no throne," Tony's voice rose slightly. "There is no version of this where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes and maybe it's too much for us, but it's all on you. Because if we can't protect the Earth, you can be damn well sure we'll avenge it."

Tony took a sip of his drink while the man took a few steps closer, a scowl spreading across his features. "How will your friends have time for me when they're so busy fighting you?"

For the first time since this scene began, Tony looked scared. The man brought his scepter-looking thing up and tapped it against Tony's chest with a clang noise. The man's face dropped for a second before he tried a second time, and then a third. "This usually works."

Tony didn't look scared anymore. "Well, performance issues, it's not uncommon. One out of five--" his sentence was cut short when the man forcefully grabbed Tony's throat and threw him onto the floor. Rory squealed and then immediately covered her mouth.

The man turned his head in Rory's direction with a puzzled look. He turned away from her as soon as Tony stood up and went for his neck again. "You will all fall before me," he said.

"Deploy!" Tony called before the man threw him out the window, shattering the glass. Rory screamed with all her might. Did she just watch her Dad be murdered? What was he going to do to her?

Rory hid behind the bar once more, watching and listening closely to her surroundings. A loud sound rippled through the room causing Rory to throw her hands over her ears to block out the noise. She peeked over the bar and saw nothing but more shards of glass and broken furniture.

The man stared Rory down. "Who are you?"

Rory gulped, "who are you?"

He chuckled. "I am Loki, of Asgard. I'm surprised you have not yet heard of me." His tone was a lot softer with her than it was with her father. "What is your name, little one?"

"Rory," she nervously answered his question. "My name is Rory."

"Let me guess; Stark's child?" She didn't say anything. Rory simply nodded. "Ah I see," he gave you an almost heartwarming smile. "Come here, Rory."

Fearing she had no other choice, Rory walked over to Loki and he crouched down to meet her gaze. He smiled at her. Rory watched her father fly up behind him. She was more than thrilled to see her father alive and more tears fell from her eyes.

"And one more thing," Loki's face dropped and he spun around to face Tony. "Get away from my daughter!" Tony shot at Loki, sending him flying backward. Rory jumped out of the way, too stunned to do anything else. With Loki knocked out, Tony looked towards his daughter, "Rory go hide, now!" He flew away into the sky, and Rory wasted no time in running to her bedroom.

She slammed the door shut and locked it. She looked around her room for anything that she could put in front of the door to make it harder to reach her. Rory tried to move the couch, but it was no use. It was too heavy for a ten-year-old to manage. She tugged on her roots as she spotted her desk chair. Once it was securely tucked under the knob, Rory ran over to her window to watch what was unfolding.

Rory couldn't help herself as she began to sob. She was afraid and she was alone. There was nothing she could do to help. Tons of thousands of aliens flooded the skies and streets of New York as Rory sat up in her bedroom, watching. She was sobbing uncontrollably as she pressed her face and hands into the large window.

More loud noises were flowing from the living area into Rory's bedroom and Rory could do nothing to stop them. She hoped that the man who called himself Loki was gone and that her Dad was alright.

At this moment, Rory really felt like a child. She felt small and helpless. Lonely and afraid. There was nothing else she could do except watch. She had no clue as to what she was watching either, which was not making her feel any better.

At long last, the aliens seemed to dissipate and things seemed to calm down. It looked to Rory like the fight was over. But who won?

Rory was drawn away from her thoughts by the sound of her father's voice calling her name. She nearly sprinted out. She ran up to Tony and engulfed him in the tightest bear hug she could manage. He was still in his suit and covered in dirt, but neither seemed to mind.

"I was afraid," Rory murmured into his neck.

"I know, bubs." They pulled away from the hug and Rory got the chance to really see the other people in the room.

There was a giant-sized man with green skin, a man with a shield, a man with a bow and arrow, a man with a red cape and long hair, and what looked like Natalie, only with shorter hair. They looked odd. As if they were straight out of a movie. She noticed Loki in handcuffs. He looked angry and sad at the same time. Rory didn't really know what he did, but she knew he lost and her dad won.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Tony held a silver case in one hand and Rory's in the other as he walked alongside the other Avengers waiting to send Loki away. Tony had made it very clear that from now on, Rory would not be leaving his side.

Rory let go of her Dad's hand to let him deal with the case. Thor, as he had told Rory to call him, led Loki a few feet away from everyone else. He waited for Loki to grab hold of the glass container for the Tesseract. Before she knew it, the pair had disappeared in a storm of blue.

Once everything else was settled, Tony reached for Rory's hand again and walked her over to the rest of the Avengers. "Rory there's some people I'd like you to meet," he motioned to the team. "That's Capsicle, Legolas, Jolly Green, and the Triple Imposter. This is Rory." The others shook their heads at Tony's nicknames.

"Steve," the tall, blonde man smiled and Rory shook his hand.

"Bruce," the shorter man with grey hair politely smiled and waved.

"Yea," Nat showed you a friendly smile to which you returned. "Nice to finally meet you, officially."

"And I'm Clint," the last man with spiky hair and sunglasses introduced himself.

"Hi," you said, shyly and waved at them all.

"Bubs, you go wait in the car I'll be there in a sec," said Tony.

"Okay. It was nice meeting you all!" You said as you walked to the car.

"You ready to go, kiddo?" Tony asked as he got in the car and fastened his seatbelt.

"Are we going home? Like, back to Malibu?" you asked as he started the car and pulled out.

"Yea," he smiled. "I think we deserve a break."

"What about the tower?"

"We're working on it. It'll be fixed in no time."

"Good," you sighed

"Good?"

"I don't mind it anymore. I don't think it would be so bad if we moved here."

"Really?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Really."

Next chapter ->

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[comrade-kenobi]

All You Ever Wanted- Din Djarin x Reader

Dear @hellcaster901​

Happy Holidays, love!  Here’s your gift, I hope you like it! You get Din a little Life Day present and he doesn’t know what to say. Also for narrative purposes Grogu is chillin with his Aunt Peli.  

The title is Pedro’s favorite Black Keys song...

Tags: Mostly fluff, with allusions to some spice. 

Word Count: 1,582

Din held you close to his chest; close enough to feel the rapid thrum of his heart as he came down from the high of love making. Absolutely mesmerized by the gentle rise and fall of your breaths. With blissed out eyes he watched as his rough fingers ghosted up and down the soft skin of your spine, leaving delicate goosebumps in their wake. 

“I love you,” he breathed, as he drank in the tender warmth of your skin against his. 

“And I love you,” you smiled, then nudged his crooked nose with your own. 

He replied by kissing you, soft and deep. It was easy for him to get lost in your kisses. The softness of your lips, and the way they moved against his, like that's what they were made to do. Sometimes he got so lost, he could swear he was dreaming. Before you came along he had convinced himself he was destined for a life of solitude. Wandering from planet to planet, bounty to bounty with no real place to call his own. But when he held you like this; tight to his chest-- he knew he was home. 

You nipped playfully at his bottom lip and broke him out of his reverie. The smile you’d given him when he pulled away sent a flow of warmth through his entire body. Radiating out from his heart, to the tips of his fingers, and down to his toes. 

“OH!” you exclaimed, as you pulled away from him abruptly. Taking the bedsheets, and all of the warmth with you. “I almost forgot!” 

Din’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion as he watched you dart across the floor of The Crest to your duffle bag. The stolen sheet flowed behind you, like a ladies elegant cape, as you went. You rummaged through the sack for a moment or two. Exclaiming “AH-HA!” when you finally found whatever it was you’d been searching for. 

“Happy Life Day!” you yelled, as you held a small package out for Din to see. Your eyes gleamed in the dim lights of the hull as you ran towards the nest of blankets the two of you had started calling a bed. 

“Life Day?” Din asked, his eyebrows had shot so high they nearly disappeared under the shaggy brown curls plastered to his sweaty forehead. 

“It’s a Wookie tradition. Like a holiday.” You explained as you gestured wildly, the gift still held tightly in your hands. It’s contents clanged around in the small box.

“Since when are you a Wookie, riduur?” Din chuckled, he had been with you for a while now, and even a year into marriage you still managed to surprise him. “You’re not nearly hairy enough.” 

“Shut up,” you replied; and swatted at his chest with the ghost of a smirk threatening to spread across your face. “My best friend in the rebellion was a Wookie. Now do you want the present, or not?” 

“Of course I do.” He replied as tried, in vain, to still the laugh in his chest, and force a serious expression. 

“That’s what I thought.” You sassed as you crawled into his waiting lap. With your chest puffed out with pride, you waved the small box in Din’s face. Tempting him to grab it. But when he reached for it you pulled it away with a frown. 

“Kiss me first.” You insisted, as your lips pulled into a childish pout. Din rolled his eyes but happily obliged. 

“Thank you” you beamed, appreciatively running your thumb over his plush lips when he pulled away. 

“What is it?” Din asked with a frown. He ran his fingers over the paper covering the box and admired it for a moment. The paper was plain and brown, but you’d taken the time to decorate it with tiny, hand drawn, trees. On the top it read, “For my riduur.” In what Din assumed was your fanciest script. 

He went to rip off the paper and felt, almost, dirty doing it. You had clearly put a lot of effort into making it look nice, and the last thing he wanted to do was ruin that. So he carefully went along the seams, and peeled the paper off without making a single tear. 

When he opened the box, he found a fancy looking vibroblade inside and what looked like some spare parts. 

“What are these?” Din asked, holding up some of the cold metal pieces. 

“They’re for the vibroblade,” you explained, reaching into the box that was settled between the two of you to pick the blade up. “I can mod your vambraces with them, so the vibroblade pops out of the bottom.” 

“I-I, uh, don’t know what to say…” Din stuttered, not quite sure what to make of the whole thing. He’d never celebrated a holiday before, or gotten a gift. When it came to things like this, he had to admit, he was always more than a little lost. 

“Look at the blade, love.” You encouraged, taking his hand in yours and carefully placing the sharp blade on his rough palm. 

His calloused fingers traced over the smooth, cool, metal before he turned it over. On the other side he found his signet, a Mudhorn, carved perfectly into the side. 

“Did you…?” He started, but trailed off. Utterly distracted by the pure beauty of what he held in his hand. 

“I engraved it,” you finished for him, “it’s why I was so twitchy whenever you dropped into the hull this week. I wanted it to be a surprise…” 

The words you spoke barely registered on Din’s radar. He was far too busy admiring his gift. No one had ever gotten him a gift before, let alone one with this much thought put into it. The blade was shined to absolute perfection, and the signet was carved in deep. Adding it to his armor was the icing on the cake. Now he could carry a part of you within his armor forever. The thought of it brought a tear to his eye. 

“Do you like it?” your timid voice broke back into his thoughts. But he still couldn’t speak. How was he supposed to put how he felt about this, about you into words. So instead he dropped the vibroblade and took you into his arms. Pouring all of his unspoken feelings into a kiss. 

It was fiery and sweet. His tongue hungrily swept over your bottom lip, begging you to let him in. And let him in you did, opening for him with a pleased groan, the kind that got his blood pumping, and sent shockwaves down his spine. 

He tangled his hands into your hair in an effort to bring you closer to him as his tongue danced over yours. No matter how close he brought you to him it would never be enough, he always wanted to feel you closer. 

“I’ll take that as a yes.” You panted, pulling away so you could catch your breath. Din nodded fervently, and chased after you for another kiss. You laughed at his enthusiasm and suddenly he felt a twinge of guilt in his chest. You’d gone through all this trouble for him, and he had nothing for you. 

“What’s wrong?” You asked, as if sensing the sudden change in his mood. 

“I- you, you got me this perfect thing and…” he trailed off, leaning back from you and rubbing the back of his neck, “and I didn’t get you anything.” 

“Din,” you took his face in your hands and forced him to meet your eye line. Instinctively he leaned into your touch, sighing at how gently you touched his face. The feel of your fingers on his cheeks easing his worries to almost nothing. 

“It’s okay, I have you, and that’s enough.” You assured him, the certainty in your voice made his heart skip a beat in the best possible way. As you spoke your fingers played absently at the beskar mythosaur skull hanging from his neck, and he got an idea. If he could carry a part of you with him, he wanted you to be able to do the same. 

“Here,” he began, lifting the worn leather cord from his neck, and placing it around yours. “I want you to have it.” 

“Din,” you started, emotions welling up in your throat, “you don’t have too…” 

“I know.” Din cut you off, running the rough pad of his finger along your chest, admiring the way the necklace looked on you. “I want to. I want you to have a piece of me, just as I have a piece of you.” 

“Mhi solus tome, Mhi solus dar'tome, mhi me'dinui an, mhi ba'juri verde.” You whispered, in near perfect Mando’a and Din’s heart soared. 

“We are one when together, we are one when parted, we share all, we will raise warriors.” Din repeated in basic as the tears that rimmed his eyes threatened to fall. 

“Happy Life Day, Riduur.” You said, pressing your forehead to his in a keldabe kiss, just as you would before you were married. 

“Happy Life Day, Cyar’ika.” Din replied, closing his eyes as he soaked in the moment; your wedding vows still buzzing around in his head. If there was one thing in his life he was absolutely certain of, it was you. And he was never letting you go. This would be the first of many Life Day’s together, and next year he would make sure he bought you a gift.

[i-drink-and-i-write-fics]

Dragon Queen

Chapter 10: Long Live The Queen

Summary: Your family finally gets their happy ending.

Notes: Thank you all for joining me on my Blood of the Dragon series! Not sure if there will be a part 3, so for now I will keep the series as incomplete on AO3.

Just when you thought your nerves were at their highest point during momentous events in your life, your body proves you wrong. The day had finally come for your coronation and you couldn’t even believe that this is where your life had lead you.

When you were a little girl - long before the X-Gene reared its ugly head - you had a basic idea of how your life was going to go. There had been a career you had picked (even if it wasn’t a realistic one at the age of seven), a place you wanted to live, and how you wanted a princess wedding (you blamed all those Disney movies you had grown up on). But then your life took a turn for the worst when your eyes slowly turned red. And then the nubs for your wings began to push through. Before at last, your tail bone extended outward into an actual tail. That’s when your parents dumped you on the street before the rest of your physical changes could take place.

And now....now you were looking at becoming Queen of New Asgard. You were a former Avenger and Thor’s wife. If only your parents could see you now.

Well, they had tried to, anyway. And it went as well as one could imagine. You don’t even know how they found you. It was shortly before you were pregnant before Thor had even thought of marrying you. Both of you were taking vacation time from the Avengers in Iceland, visiting sites from the show that had been made from the books you and Thor had bonded over. 

The ice-covered lands had been beautiful and your naturally high body heat kept you warm even during the snowstorms. Thor looked so handsome covered in fur from an animal that had roamed his home planet. Both of you dining out on a patio of a local establishment, the wine flowing and laughter filling the air. Until two people who looked vaguely familiar came running up to your table.

“____! There you are! We have looked everywhere for you!” The woman cried, though, her tears didn’t seem genuine. 

The man smiled at you, but it didn’t reach his eyes and seemed rather creepy. “You’ve grown into such a fine young woman. Just look at those wings! Who knew they would get so big?”

You shrank back in your chair when the woman tried to hug you and Thor got in between.

“Forgive us, but do we know you?”

“Oh, you must be Thor!” The man went to shake his hand, but Thor just crossed his arms. “Uh, we’re ___ parents. And we’ve missed her so much!”

Your eyes had gone wide at these words, instantly recognizing the pair in front of Thor. Of course, you saw it now. The woman had your eyes before they had changed. The man your color of hair. Both carried themselves in a similar manner. But there was something off. The woman couldn’t look at your eyes, choosing to focus on your nose so it still looked like she was looking you in the face. The man kept his eyes on your wings, only occasionally sparing a glance at Thor.

“Her parents?” Thor’s voice became colder with each word. “The very ones that threw her out into the street when she was only a child? That left her to be scooped up by Hydra and used as a weapon? All because she couldn’t control that she was a mutant?!”

The woman backed up to her husband, her eyes now on Thor. “That’s no way to speak to us! We are her parents.”

You finally found your voice. “I don’t have any parents. Any ones I did have, lost the right to call themselves as such the moments they refused to act as such.”

Your dad tried to take a firm voice with you. “Now, ____. That’s no way to speak to us. We have been worried sick.”

“Have you?!” You rose to your feet and your wings spread out slightly behind you. “Because the last I remember was you-” you pointed at your father “tossing me into the street while you-” now you gestured at your mother “screamed that such an abomination would not be allowed under your roof. So as far as I’m concerned, my direct family consists of Thor and Loki, of the Avengers, and the X-Men. Those who stood by my side, who saw past my mutation. You only come to me now as I have risen above my past and become a hero. I will not let you back in just so you can use me for my fame.”

“A hero?” Your father sneered. “You just found a place with other freaks.”

“ENOUGH.” Thor’s words carried over the restaurant and now everyone was focused on your table. “You will leave my presence now and never try to contact ____ again.”

As if to emphasize his words, lightning crashed behind him. Your parents took one last look at you, before fleeing for their lives. That night, old wounds had been ripped open and Thor did his best to comfort you.

That night, you knew without a doubt that Thor Odinson was the one for you.

And now, here you were, married to him and a mother of his twins. Awaiting your coronation to become queen of his people. It was better than any childhood dream.

“Are you almost ready, my love?” Thor poked his head into the room, seeing you struggle to zip up your dress.

“Almost….got...it,” you grunted as you tried to reach around your wings.

“Here, allow me.” Thor reached over and zipped the dress up with ease.

You turned around to plant a kiss on your husband. “Thank you, my love. Are the twins ready?”

“Ready and playing with Loki.”

“I hope not with his daggers again.”

“No, he promised no more of those until they were old enough to learn proper safety.”

“Somehow that doesn’t put my mind at ease.” You playfully rolled your eyes. “So? How do I look?”

Thor took in the floor-length gown that was deep red with black lace over the bodice and bell, matching your wings and eyes. Your tail twitched nervously behind you.

“You look amazing as always, my Queen.”

“I’m no queen.”

“Not yet. Just a couple more hours.”

And that brought back your nerves. “Are you sure about this? It’s not too late to change your mind.”

Thor chuckled as he kissed the top of your head. “You will do fine, I promise.”

While you tried to always believe Thor when he showered you with compliments and praise, it was still hard to believe you were the best choice for queen. Soon, Thor left to see to the ceremony and you paced your room as you waited.

Hilde poked her head in. “Hey, your grace.”

You couldn’t help but laugh. “Very professional.”

“Eh, I’ll save it for after the ceremony.”

“Save it for public appearances only,” you laughed again.

“So….should I even ask if you are ready?” Your face fell and Hilde instantly ran up to hug you. “Hey, hey, it’s alright. You’ll do great!”

“I just worry that-”

Hilde pulled away so she could look you in the face. “If you’re about to say you’re not worthy of Thor or being a queen, I will literally shake the sense into you.”

That made you laugh once more and you hugged her again. “Thanks, Hilde. I guess then I am ready.”

She called a few guards to make a formation around you as you began your long walk to the throne room. And just like Thor’s coronation, your wedding, and the announcement of your twins, your makeshift family of the Avengers and the X-Men were there to watch your new chapter in your life. To support you as they had when they first freed you from Hydra.

The only faces to be missing were your parents and there would never be a moment in your life where you truly would miss them. Need them. Love them. 

Next to the dais, Loki held your son while Helena cradled your daughter. Taking a deep breath, you slowly climbed up the steps to the thrones and stood next to Thor, who looked breathtaking in his armor and red cape. 

You turned to face the audience, your wings pulled back and your tail draped to line around the edge of your skirt. Smiles across the room greeted you. Thor stepped up next to you before addressing the crowd.

“Nearly seven years ago, the Avengers were called upon to stop a dangerous weapon that Hydra control. It was soon obvious that the truth was worse than that. That Hydra really had a powerful prisoner. Over time I was lucky enough to earn that person’s trust, setting her free from her prison. We fell in love, got engaged, and she gave me two beautiful children. We have had our fair share of ups and downs, and there is no one I would have by my side than her. My fellow Avenger. My wife. My Dragon Queen.”

The crowd erupted in cheers as Thor moved to placed a silver crown atop your head, then moved to stand by your side. As you both held hands, you couldn’t help the tears that came to your eyes.

No, this wasn’t the fairytale life you had pictured when you were a child. This was far better.

Tagging Crew:

Everything

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@that-chick212​

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Dragon Queen

@animegirlgeeky​

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[mischiefandspirits]

Six Eggs in the Nest

Bruce returns from his trip through time to discover that not only had his kids grown, but so had his family. An old face had reappeared in his absence.

Part of the Six for the Age of One AU

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“How are you feeling?”

…

“Come on, Bruce,” Clark sighed. “As subtle as it might be, your heart rate still changes when you wake up.”

Bruce grunted, not opening his eyes.

“Good to know your trip through time didn’t affect your language skills.”

“What did I miss?”

“Nothing of note on the League’s front,” J’onn reported and Bruce finally opened his eyes to see the martian was looking over Bruce’s vitals.

“Just business as usual,” Diana agreed from the doorway.

Bruce turned to Clark, who was sitting in a chair next to Bruce’s hospital bed. “Gotham?”

Clark gave a soft smile and answered the unasked question, “The kids are fine. They’d be here, but I guess Ivy and Freeze got into a fight just as they were about to leave and Penguin tried to use the distraction of the fight to move cargo or something.”

“I checked in with them just before you woke,” Diana said before Bruce could get worked up. “In Oracle’s words, I threw Harley at Ivy and Nightwing, Signal, and Corvid smashed Freeze’s helmet so that fight’s basically won. Batwoman reported that her team had taken down Penguin and were supervising the cargo’s transport to the evidence locker before heading in.”

Bruce nodded, relaxing. “I’d assume Batwoman is Stephanie. Nightwing… Dick?”

“Yeah,” Clark said, looking smug. “And Corvid is Damian. Tim’s going by Ghost Bat now.”

“When you disappeared, they all stepped up to become heroes worthy of your legacy,” Diana said. “You would be proud of how strong they’ve been.”

“I am proud.” He simply wished he’d been there to see them through the transition. “How long was I gone?”

“A year,” J’onn said, apologetically and Bruce nodded.

That was longer than it had been for him, but not by too much. A year though…

He’d missed most of the kids’ final year of high school. He’d missed their graduation. He’d missed helping them sign up for college.

Was Duke enjoying his literature studies? Did Stephanie go through with her plans to start the pre-med track or make good on her jokes about taking a year off? Was Damian able to decide between a business or veterinary medicine major? Had Tim figured out what he wanted to do? Did Dick change his mind about not continuing school?

And little Carrie was still so young. Would she even remember Bruce?

“What’s the cover story for Bruce Wayne’s disappearance? And Batman’s?” Bruce asked, pushing the rest down. “I’ll need to figure out how to spread out my appearances so no one becomes suspicious.”

The three shared a look and Bruce’s eyes narrowed.

“It’s not that simple,” Diana said slowly.

“I’ve been standing in for Bruce Wayne with Timothy’s help,” J’onn said. “It was Duke’s idea. Richard had taken up your mantle, but he wasn’t able to convince those who really knew Batman so I was going to pretend to be you until enough time had passed that we could fake your death without it being connected to the change in Batman. Then Timothy and Damian found evidence that you were alive so we’ve kept up the ruse.”

Bruce nodded. It was a good idea, even if Bruce didn’t exactly feel comfortable knowing the martian had been impersonating him for so long. Something else caught his mind, though. “If Dick is Batman, why is he also going by Nightwing?”

“Dick was Batman for a while, but… someone else is Batman now,” Clark said, uncertainly.

“Who?”

“We don’t know. The children won’t tell us,” Diana said. “They’re as stubborn and secretive as their father.”

“About six months ago Batman just… changed,” Clark explained. “We didn’t notice at first since Richard was still the one showing up for Justice League stuff, then Nightwing appeared in the news. It was pretty obvious Nightwing was Dick. We thought that maybe he was setting up his own hero for when you came back, but Batman was seen working with Nightwing and all the rest of the boys. He’s also more…”

“Vicious?” J’onn offered. “And dramatic, but in a grim way. His fighting style is firmer as well, in a way Dick couldn’t manage no matter how much he held himself back. His Batman is more genuine than Dick’s. To the point that, from what we’ve gathered, those who realized he had replaced you already think you’re back.”

“We tried asking Dick the next time he came up for a meeting, but all he’d say was that he wasn’t ready to see us,” Diana added. “Clark went to Gotham -”

Bruce glared at the kryptonian.

“I know, I know. Your kids caught me within minutes and Stephanie gave me a lecture you’d be proud of. And don’t act like you’re not burning with curiosity. Do you even have an idea who it could be?”

“Did you find out anything?” Bruce redirected and Clark shook his head.

“I couldn’t see much because the cowl is as lead-lined as you always had it and he got out of there fast once Stephanie intercepted me. He was tall and broad like you and what skin I saw was fair, so he couldn’t be any of the boys.”

That… didn’t add up. Who would the boys have trusted with Batman? “I need to get home.”

All three looked like they wanted to argue, but J’onn unhooked him from the monitors.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The cave was empty when Bruce teleported in, though the still-warm cup of tea next to the Batcomputer’s keyboard and the lit-up screens showed that Alfred had recently been monitoring the comms before stepping out for a moment.

“- anything yet?” came Robin’s -- Nightwing’s -- voice when Bruce hit the button to unmute the main comm line.

“Wonder Woman said he was still unconscious when she checked in,” Oracle answered.

“Batman, Batwoman, and I will be at the cave in a minute. The two of us can head up immediately and report back,” Ghost Bat offered.

“Speak for yourself,” Batwoman huffed. “You can hang around Wonder Woman smelling like a sewer all you want, but I need a shower.”

“You will wait for us or I will give all your sweatshirts to Goliath as nesting materials, Ghost!” Corvid snapped.

“Nah, Goliath can do better than G’s hoodies. Besides, he’ll just go steal some from Metro. I’m pretty sure half the ones he’s got now are clone boy’s anyways,” laughed a voice Bruce didn’t recognize. Batman’s, he assumed. Something about it nagged at him, but he couldn’t place it. He was sure he knew the person though. Was he altering his voice for the suit like Bruce did? It didn’t have the growl, but maybe he was just making his voice deeper. If his voice was higher…

Bruce was torn out of his musings by a snarl. He turned to see a large groenendael stalking towards him. Behind the dog was a massive pillow with five other dogs atop it. A Great Dane was stretched out regally at one end, wagging his tail but otherwise not paying Bruce any attention. A lab and a pit bull were flopped over each other limply in the middle, fast asleep. A German shepherd was standing on the other end, just as alert as the groenendael without the aggression. A Chihuahua was similarly eyeing Bruce from her spot tucked under the Great Dane’s chin, kept quiet and still only by the larger dog’s presence.

Bruce wasn’t surprised the dogs had invaded the cave in his absence. He could only hope Goliath and Wiggles had continued to be cut off in their separate portions of the cave and Alfred the Cat hadn’t been allowed to torment the bats.

He knelt and held out his hand. “It’s alright, Jane. It’s just me.”

The groenendael quieted at his voice and continued approaching him. The closer she got, the more relaxed she became until she was close enough to cheerfully lick and nuzzle at his hand as an apology for growling.

“It’s okay, girl. You’re doing a good job protecting the cave while everyone’s out.”

Ace was at his side in an instant to sniff him over for injuries and nose his neck in a greeting Bruce easily returned. Titus yawned and turned away as things calmed down, which allowed Ami to leap to her feet. She gave two quick yaps at Bruce, then stomped over to curl up on a corner of the pillow. Haley and Hazel slept on.

A moment later the roar of an engine echoed through the cave, heralding the arrival of the Batmobile. Bruce’s spot was slightly hidden from the vehicle bay, so he had the chance to observe the three that climbed out.

Batwoman’s suit wasn’t too dissimilar to the one Barbara had donned during those two short years she’d held the mantle. All Stephanie had altered was swapping out the red on the bat, belt, cape lining, and wig for her signature eggplant.

Ghost Bat’s suit was black, sleeveless, and made from the same lightweight armor Tim and Dick always used. A grey bat was across the chest, the color matching his gauntlets. He wore a cape and cowl like Batwoman’s, though the cape lining and wig were grey. The wig was also cut short to match Tim’s chin-length locks instead of Stephanie’s chest-length curls.

Batman’s suit, at first glance, looked exactly like Bruce’s. On closer inspection, though, it appeared thinner, closer to the medium bulk armor Damian and Stephanie used. There were also knives hidden across the suit and the cape was shorter than Bruce kept it. His build appeared to be just as Clark described, but Bruce knew the suit enough to tell it was making him look broader in the shoulders and the boots’ soles were altered to make him look shorter. Bruce estimated him to be a few inches taller than himself and around Duke’s width. The visible portion of his face was a pale beige, distinctly different from Dick’s olive tone or the other boys’ darker skin colors.

“- soft and roomy!” Ghost was arguing. “It’s no different than you stealing Bruce’s!”

Batman shot him a perfect Bat-Glare, as the kids called it. “I don’t have any of his sweaters!”

“That’s because after you steal them, Alfred always washes them and puts them back in B’s closet,” Stephanie snorted, pulling down her cowl. She gave him a wink when he turned the glare on her. “Just because you only wear them to bed doesn’t mean we don’t notice. Also, Tim’s stolen horde isn’t just Kon’s. He also got some of mine, Cassie’s, Duke’s, Damian’s, and yours in there. Dick’s and Cissie’s aren’t baggy enough and Bart’s are scratchy. He’s also got one of Kori’s because he took it thinking it was Babs’ and now he’s too embarrassed to give it back.”

“STEPHANIE!” Ghost shouted as Batman snapped, “Is that where my green hoodie went?”

Stephanie snickered as she turned to head deeper into the cave. Her eyes caught Bruce’s and she froze.

“What’s wrong?” Batman asked and he and Ghost followed her gaze.

“Kids,” Bruce said after a moment of trying to figure out what to say.

Batman stiffened and Stephanie smiled. “Hey, B.”

Ghost shot forward, but stopped just before he reached Bruce, looking like he was barely holding back from throwing himself at Bruce.

Bruce took the decision away from him by pulling the boy into a hug. He pulled down the cowl to press a kiss to the top of Tim's head as the boy started to shake slightly with silent tears.

“So B’s here,” Stephanie said and he heard her voice echo through the comm in Tim’s ear.

“What!?”

“He’s supposed to be resting on the Watchtower.”

“Of course they couldn’t keep Father contained.”

“We’re on our way.”

“You’re here,” Tim whispered and Bruce pressed another kiss to his head.

“I am. I’m so sorry for being gone.”

“Tim’s the one who found you,” Stephanie said as she walked up. “Or, well, he’s the one who made it possible for the JL to find you.”

“I heard. I’m so proud.”

“Damian helped,” Tim muttered, burying his reddening face further into Bruce’s chest.

Bruce rubbed his back for a few seconds, then pulled away so Tim could pick up the Chihuahua nudging up against his ankle. He made sure Ami was helping Tim calm down before nodding at Stephanie. However, he soon found his gaze shifting back to the unknown factor.

Batman was still standing where he’d been the last time Bruce checked. He looked frozen in place, only his hand having shifted so that it could rest on Jane’s cheek. The groenendael was staring up at him as she licked and nuzzled at his wrist and hip in an effort to draw him back from wherever he was, though Bruce doubted he could feel it through the suit.

She must have realized it too as a moment later she stood up on her hind legs with her forepaws on Batman’s chest so she could lick at his chin instead, snapping him out of it enough that he looked away.

It was then that Stephanie glanced over her shoulder to see what Bruce was staring at. “Shoot.”

“What?” Tim asked, tucking Ami to his chest. He looked at Stephanie, then Batman, then his eyes shot to Bruce. “Oh. Crud. We really meant to do this slowly.”

“Are you two going to introduce me?” Bruce grunted.

His eyes were still on the stranger, but he could see both eighteen-year-olds open their mouths to respond. Before they could, Batman nudged Jane off and reached up to pull down his hood.

Bruce’s breath caught in his throat.

“Hey, Dad,” Jason said, running his fingers through his black and white hair.

Ace nudged Bruce’s side, just under his ribs.

He took a breath, then another.

“What part of do this slowly didn’t you get, Jay!”

“We all know he wasn’t going to rest until he figured out who I am. I’m just ripping off the band-aid.”

“This isn’t my Earth,” Bruce said.

The three shared a look and Tim pressed into Bruce’s other side. “It is.”

“My Jason is…”

“Dead?” Jason finished. “Yeah, it, uh, didn’t take. Sorry to disappoint.”

“Not the time, Jay!” Steph sighed. “Come on, Old Man. You look awful. We’ll explain once you’re sitting down.”

Bruce’s hands itched to grab Jason. To grab him and pull him close and never let him go again.

He kept his hands to himself as he followed the kids to the meeting table. They had just enough time to get settled when the elevator dinged and Alfred stepped out with a fussing Carrie in his arms.

The butler took in the group, then gave Bruce a pointed look. “You are meant to be resting.”

“I had to check on the kids.”

“Of course you did.” Alfred came forward to deposit Carrie into the arms of her honorary grandfather then set a hand on Bruce’s shoulder. “It’s good to have you back, Master Bruce. We’ve all missed you.”

Bruce nodded and looked down at the toddler.

She blinked up at him before smiling and poking his cheek. “Boosie back!”

“Yeah, Sweetheart, I’m back,” he said, voice hoarse.

Three motorcycles shot into the cave, the boys on them quickly jumping off. Bruce set Carrie on his knee as he took in his rapidly approaching sons.

Nightwing’s suit was similar to Ghost Bat’s, though his had sleeves and he had just a domino in place of the cape and cowl. The suit was black with a cobalt V across the chest that resembled a bird. The wings stretched all the way to the shoulders then ran down the sleeves to end at the tips of his middle and ring fingers. The blue color carried over to his domino mask and the trim of his boots. A pair of escrima sticks poked out from behind him and black pouches were connected to the waist of the suit like a built-in utility belt.

Corvid’s suit was black with a matching utility belt and carried the same moderate bulk Damian preferred. A long, hooded jacket sat over the suit, sleeveless and colored sapphire with white trim. It sat open, revealing the white outline of a bird stretched across his chest. The suit was finished off with a black domino mask with equally black lenses and tall emerald boots.

Signal’s suit looked the same as it had when Bruce was sent away, and Bruce took comfort in the fact that not everything had changed.

Stephanie ducked down for a quick hug, then removed her daughter from Bruce’s lap so she wasn’t crushed when Nightwing threw himself into it a second later.

“You’re so stupid for running off from the Watchtower, but I’m glad you’re back.”

“I’m fine,” Bruce said, holding the boy close with one arm as he reached out to grab his youngest’s hand.

Corvid squeezed back as he glanced over Bruce, then let go and left to take a seat.

After giving Bruce a quick hug around Nightwing, Signal went to grab his own seat as well. He pulled off his helmet and looked pointedly at Jason before turning back to Bruce. “Guess it’s storytime, huh?”

“You couldn’t even keep it a secret for five minutes?” Damian tisked after he’d removed his mask.

“He was ripping off the band-aid,” Tim mocked.

“We all know how obsessive B gets when someone puts a mystery in front of him,” Jason huffed, throwing his hands in the air.

“It is something you’ve all inherited from him,” Alfred hummed as he began to set cups of tea in front of everyone except Carrie, who got a sippy cup of warm milk.

Dick squirmed around so he could remove his mask and accept his cup of tea, then made himself comfortable in his father’s lap.

“You’re getting too old for this,” Bruce teased, wrapping his arms around the eighteen-year-old, and Dick shushed him.

“Where should we start?” Stephanie asked.

[boldlyanxious]

Remember when

Part 7: Control

RW masterlist

Tim looked up as Dick walked up. The coffee and boxed cupcake could be considered a gift but Tim recognized the logo. It Dick's way of letting him know that they found his secret place.

"Did you know that even if you turn off the tracking on your phone, laptop, and other electronics that you can still be found by the gps on your motorcycle?"

"So you tracked me to find out where I've been working away from the office?"

I did. I had a point to prove. Cute worker. But also stops to help those in need."

"Is there a point to this?"

"Not really. My original plan was to tease you about it mercilessly."

"Oh, I can hardly wait."

"You are going to have to. Before anything else I need you to remove that video of her from the internet and anywhere else."

"What? Why?"

"She was really closed off when I asked her anything. She started acting really uncomfortable."

"Sounds a lot like she isn't interested in you."

"I agree. She definitely wasn't but when Babs showed her the video she got really upset, possibly distressed. We think she is in hiding."

It took Tim a while and he was distracted by urgent business a few times but by the end of the work day he had removed every trace of the video he could. He sent a message to Babs to double check and make sure she was unable to find it. It was then that he even had the thought that Babs probably could have done the same thing as him. He wondered what was keeping her so busy that she couldn't help remove the video. It wasn't like Dick to just give up the opportunity to tease him mercilessly when for something as simple as a crush.

---

When Marinette got home from work she looked all over for the video. She wasn't very good working with computers. She could use them functionally but beyond the basics of setting up a website that she used to sell her designs. The trickiest thing she had done was set it up online without connecting it to her former identity. Actually she never really stopped being Marinette, it was the only identity she had in any system and how she still thought of herself. But she hadn't told anyone that name in years, not since leaving France.

She was getting really agitated. She searched everything she could think of to locate the video the couple showed her but she found nothing. Hopefully that meant it would be hard for other people too but she didn't have the resources of someone like Gabriel Agreste and she didn't know what kind of technology existed that he could use to find her. She didn't even know if he would be making an attempt to find her but considering the everything he put Paris through as Hawkmoth and the fire she didn't want to take any chances.

---

Racing across the rooftops was the best way she knew to relieve stress. She didn't even bother with listening in on the bat channel. She did check to see that they were watching out for an expected move by the drug runners again, something that seemed far too complicated for her to get involved with so she just moved to a different area. She liked to do the little things that would make a huge difference to one person rather than take on all of the major crime in Gotham. Tonight she was mostly just running and swinging to feel the air on her face. It would help her clear her head and relax.

It had been more than a month since she had helped the children out of the fire. She wasn't sure what the bats current policy was on her rooftop activities. She had seen Batgirl and Hood on separate occasions since the fire but she wasn't sure if she had been seen or if their claims of not bothering her had only been for that night.

She chose not to worry about it tonight because she just wanted to feel free. She hadn't seen anything going on tonight and she would rather just run. She stood for quite awhile on a tall building just staring at the lights in the city and beyond that to the bay where the lights reflected back. She stood and watched until she started to feel cold through her suit and her worries no longer plagued her before she looped around to head home.

With a surprising lack of crime during her patrol the city felt very peaceful. She was swinging along towards her apartment when a bright blue flash and crackling electricity encased the building directly in front of her. There was an explosion to the right about a block away and another in the other direction somewhat further away. The loud pops were followed by the sound of energy draining and the lights clicking off in succession.

Rouge Gorge has dropped suddenly out of her swinging in surprise at the sudden flash and sound. Her eyes felt like they were swimming in the dark chasing bright spots of light and her ears were buzzing at the sudden sounds. She needed a moment to recover before heading home but she didn't get the option. Hands wrapped around her arms from behind and there was a clicking sound that she thought was probably a gun.

As her eyes regained her vision more she could see a man in front of her. He had an armored suit that was crackling with blue lightning. The rest of the blocks nearby had darkened and the man in front of her provided the only light. He signalled and 3 men with them set off fireworks, she assumed this was to hide their activity and provide cover for the sudden light and black out. She pulled at her arms to test the hold while she still might have a chance of escaping. The hold was firm but that mattered less as she could see that she was surrounded and near their get away vehicles.

For the number of them working it was a quiet operation. At least it was until a man was dragged out of the big house. He was struggling and yelling. The man before Rouge Gorge approached him and with a flash of blue from his gauntlets the body collapsed. The woman who had been focusing on trying to get away to reach her children let out a piercing scream. Her mouth was quickly muffled by a hand and the man in charge threatened her in a low voice that couldn't be heard from a distance. She still struggled and one of the men holding her struck her.

"The children!" said Rouge Gorge desperately. She struggled herself to get to them. She pulled at her arms and flung her head back making contact with the person's face. As soon as the grip loosened she rushed over to the children and had them face away from their parents. She wrapped them in her cape and hid her movements. She wasn't sure what time she would be allowed before she too was bound as the parents were currently being restrained or killed for being in the way.

She flipped the switch on her radio. She kept her voice low and comforting for the children and to not alert the guards with guns who were luckily giving her space for the moment. She asked the children if they saw the flash of light or heard the transformers blow but they had been asleep. As she spoke she tore off a bit of her cape and wrapped it around Red Robin's logo and a scrap of paper she wrote the license plate number on. She put it under her foot with the logo down hoping that it would be found by the bats after the group left. She hoped they could hear over the radio the names of the children Sofia and Alberto and they could use the information and the black out to find them.

Next

Taglist

@silverwhiteraven | @ira-sairain | @iloveitwhen | @wannajointhecrabcult | @toodaloo-kangaroo | @ertyzeta | @mystery-5-5 | @laurcad123 | @jiso-lee | @razzledazzle247 | @kaithehero | @comet-kun |@theymakeupfairies | @moongoddesskiana | @cresentmo0n |

-several of the tags didn't work. I'm trying to figure it out but if you asked and I didn't tag you it wasn't on purpose I'm just really bad at this.

[jla-star-reporter]

Justice League Fashion Review!!

It is (finally) time for the Justice League fashion review.

Before anyone comes for me, I picked the costumes that are either the most iconic or the first one that came up when I looked them up on Wikipedia and had the clearest picture.

This is going to be a long post, so let's get started!

Superman

I like the primary colors, I think they go together very well. I like the cape too, and the symbol. It's a very iconic suit, it all works together very well. While I don’t mind the underwear on the outside (gives it a nice color pop), the belt to hold it up is a weird choice. It is a very basic suit as well. Also, Superman should show more skin. He's powered by the sun, he should let a bit more skin show. Have short sleeves at least!

5/10

Wonder Woman

The skirt is nice and the corset design is unique. Plus I love those boots. The tiara/headband thingy ties it all together. However, it’s not really practical, especially since she gets into a lot of hand to hand combat. I know she’s an Amazon and pretty indestructible, but armor is still a smart choice.

6/10

Batman

I get that Batman is going for stealth, but the black and grey is just boring. The yellow belt kills the stealth aspect and draws attention to a weird place on his body. While I don’t like the color of the belt, it is practical. He does get points back because his cape and cowl with the little ears looks like a Halloween bat decoration.

4/10

Aquaman

Have to say, I don’t usually like orange and green together, but he does make it work. I don’t know how good of a suit it is for underwater but it looks pretty armored, at least on top. The gold accents are actually a good touch. Overall, not bad.

6/10

Flash

Am I biased? Yes. But this is still a great costume. Lightweight for running, still covers him and reduces injuries, sturdy shoes, covers his face. Iconic colors, and the lighting bolts are a great addition. Very recognizable, very practical

9/10

Green Lantern

The green, white, and black is an underrated color combo. The suit looks like a shirt and pants combo without being awkward, and it is another good practical suit. Not a big fan of the ring, but I know it’s essential. The gloves are also kind of meh for me. Looks like a Mickey Mouse cartoon.

7/10

Black Canary

Beautiful, lovely. The jacket, the gloves, the boots, the body suit with the symbol 🥰. As much as I love the fishnets, they’re not really a good thing to wear in a fight so I have to remote point for that. But overall, perfect

10/10. (Was supposed to be an 11)

Green Arrow

Very good Robin Hood aesthetic. Practical boots and gloves. Not sure how I feel about the weird tunic body suit combo or the two shades of green, but I do love the bycocket hat. Iconic.

6/10

Captain Marvel

Great colors, love the cape, the little embellishments are nice. I don’t like the flap on the front and the symbol is close to the Flash’s but a good suit nonetheless.

7/10

Martian Manhunter

No. Just no. The green and purple don’t work, he’s just wearing a Speedo and a cape. The X across his chest is weird and gives BDSM vibes. Just no

1/10

Forgot Tumblr has a 10 image limit and there are other heroes I need to grade so there’s going to be a part two!

[venusandromedadjarin]

Little Gremlin

Ch. 8, A Glint of Beskar

18+ eventual smut, 1.5k words

You look up from playing with the child in the swamp outside the Razor Crest when Mando’s boots thud on the ramp. “Do you know what used to sit above this planet?” The helmet looks down towards you as he approaches and scoops up the kid who currently has frog legs sticking out of his mouth. His big green ears twitch as his dad sits down with him in his arms, then he suddenly slurps the legs into his mouth, swallowing hard. You laugh before looking up towards the sky.

“The Death Star, if I remember right.” Mando nods, urging you to go on, “I don’t know much about it though, other than that it was destroyed.”

“It was. I don’t know much either, but I know before that happened, the Death Star was moved.” He looks down at the dirt, a few sprigs of green popping up here and there. “The planet was sterilized. It’s desolate.”

“Then why is there a quarry here?”

“My guess is that they aren’t a fighter. They probably got a hold of a starship and made it to the first place they could live alone. The bond isn’t much. I-” He pauses and puts down the kid, who immediately waddles off to find some unlucky specimen to eat. “I want you to come on this hunt.” He stares at you for a few moments, waiting on your response, his helmet tipping to the side at your silence.

“I-okay. What do I need to do?” You’ll probably just be watching the kid, but you don’t understand why you can’t do that from the ship. Plus, there’s a bunch of projects you noticed need to be done: rewiring, cleaning, polishing. You’re a bit taken aback by his proposition, but if it means getting him to talk, there’s no reason not to go.

“Do you know how to shoot a blaster?” He asks as he stands up and offers you a hand, his palm linger in yours longer than it should after pulling you to your feet. He huffs a little from behind the helmet, but you brush it off.

“It’s been a long time, but Teckla taught me,” he hands you one and you run through the basics of safety before looking at it further. Your shoulder bumps his arm while you walk side by side to a clearing where random targets have been set up: old junk from the ship and tree stumps mostly.

“Teckla is the woman who raised you?” His voice has a hint of curiousness that’s carried through the modulator, and you realize you’ve only spoken about her once to him. Even then, you didn’t give him any information.

Taking a stance and lifting the blaster to aim, you start telling him while practicing. He’s silent until you finish:

“When I was a kid on Nevarro, my village was attacked.”

Crack, the first stump splinters in half, sizzling.

“She was an Ardennian who found me in a cellar afterwards.”

Thud, another stump is hit but the thick wood stays solid, only a scorch mark visible.

“Teckla raised me as her own for… 24 years? Taught me everything I know.”

Clink, one of the pieces of scrap metal flys up and then falls back into the dirt.

“Welding, mechanics, languages, all of it.”

Ding, another piece of metal gets scorched.

“I was thirty when I was kidnapped, the only reason I know that is because she was adamant about celebrating. I hate birthdays.”

CRACK, CRACK, the last trunk splits into three pieces after two back to back shots. When you turn around, Mando has his hands on his hips and is staring at you. You’d like to think he’s impressed, but it doesn’t matter because you’re proud of yourself for hitting all the shots after years of no practice.

“She found you in a cellar?”

“Does that mean something to you?” It comes out harder than you meant it, but you stare back at him, waiting for him to admit he knows something. Waiting for him to admit he might know you.

He doesn’t, instead he’s quiet, almost like he’s treading lightly in the conversation. Then, “No. Did she teach you Mando’a?”

Just to be an ass, you answer him in the tongue, “Nayc, ner aliit.” The language was odd, and deepened with context, but you knew he got the gist when his shoulders stiffened.

“Were your family Mandalorians?” You’re oddly aware that he’s moved closer to you during his line of questioning, and now he’s within an arm’s reach. You could reach out and touch him if you wanted to, but you bit your lip and crossed your arms.

“I don’t know. I never saw armor, but I don’t know much about them. My mother was going to tell me some big secret right before the attack,” you look up at him, craning your neck because of how close he is. Above you, the sun was positioned at mid-morning and a few of the moons were still dotting the sky. “There was one other family that stuck to the outskirts of the village, I played with the little boy a lot.”

Mando nods slowly, his silence tripling in length as you stare at him, expecting him to say something. Instead, he turns towards the sound of giggles, heading out to find the child. You take it as your cue to head back to the hull and grab anything you might need.

After hours of walking in the heat, the kid’s ears peeking out of the capsule as he floats behind you both, Mando stops near some logs and puts his big down. A red light blinks steadily, but slowly from inside. The silence hasn’t been awkward, in fact it’s been comfortable, with both of you knowing what the other will do before doing it. He turns away and heads a few yards away where you can see him start picking up firewood.

Even from here, you can see the small change in his movements that imply he’s in pain. By this time, you’d have thought that the Bacta would have healed him fully, but then you remember it might have been too small a dose. As you watch him, you reach into the bag to pull out food. The kid reaches up and tries to grab some from you, so you hand him some jerky that he immediately shoves in his mouth. “Little gremlin!”

Mando drops the fire wood next to you, grunting slightly, before leaning down to make a neat pile, “Step back.” You don’t hesitate to follow directions, and he aims his arm towards the pile, a spurt of fire shooting out. At first the heat is overbearing, but within minutes of the sun dipping below the horizon, you’re grateful. He sits down across from you as you hand him some of the food, curious for a moment as to why he doesn’t start eating right away.

“Oh,” remembering the issue at hand, “do you want me to turn around?”

“No,” he lifts up his helmet just enough to eat and drink, and you try not to stare, but Maker you can’t help it. His lips are so smooth and you can’t help but to imagine what they’d feel like on your skin, on your lips, below your waist. You watch as he chews, oddly turned on by this forbidden skin you’re seeing, even though you’ve seen him pretty much naked. His facial hair is dark brown, almost black and if you squint you can see the smallest amount of curls peeking out of the back of his helmet. His hair shocks you, you thought he would have been clean shaven.

You don’t realize how long you’ve been staring until you notice he isn’t chewing anymore, a glance down tells you he’s done with the food you gave him, but he’s kept helmet pushed up… for your sake? That’s ridiculous.

You flush and quickly turn back to your food. “Sorry,” you say around a full mouth. He chuckles, and without the modulator, the sound is so smooth. It’s still a deep sound, and the thought of hearing his voice without the Beskar wall makes your knees tremble. But you hear the hiss as he pulls it back down over his chin and his breath pushes through the helmet.

You wake up a few hours later, surprised you aren’t shivering now that the fire is out. As your eyes adjust, you feel a heavy piece of fabric over you. The strong scent - Maker, how does it smell so good even though he’s constantly getting it disgustingly dirty? - makes you recognize it as Mando’s cape.

A scuffle from the side of the makeshift camping pit draws your eyes over to it, just as blaster fire lights up the area.

Mando stands with his blaster pointed at someone - a guy with blue skin, from the looks of it - who seems to be suspended in mid air, one hand grabbing at his throat and the other frantically waving a blaster. You immediately grab for the green hand that’s peeking out of the capsule to your left, and the guy drops from the air. Mando steps over him as he tries to lift his blaster, but a heavy boot kicks it and sends it flying into the dirt.

“I can bring you in warm, or I can bring you in cold.”

[capricornus-rex]

A Shadow of What You Used to Be (13)

Chapter 13: The Favorite | Cal Kestis x Irele Skywalker

Requested by Anon

Summary: There is another! Years after young Anakin Skywalker departed Tatooine, his mother Shmi delivers a second child—this time, a daughter. Whilst the circumstance of the girl’s birth remains unexplained, Irele Skywalker has yet to choose the true path between those laid out for her.

Tags: Fem! OC, Irele Skywalker, Force-sensitive! OC, Anakin’s Younger Sister, Skywalker! OC, Darth Vader’s Secret Apprentice, Long-lost Sibling

A/N: I’M NEGATIVE FOR COVID, YAY!!1!! That’s the only negativity I need in life lmao

Requesting to be tagged: @heavenly1927​

Also in AO3

Chapters: Prelude – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 – 11 | Previous: Part 12 | Next: Part 14 | Masterlist

14 of ?

16 BBY

Battered by the sweat and grit in this confined dojo, Irele had proved her capabilities for battle.

For every instructor that walked in to face her, the difficulty climbed as well.

But the dojo had become her sanctuary. No limitations, no rules. She can be angry as she likes, she can be violent to her opponents, and then there would be no repercussion—it was all at the expense of “training” which was basically they had in mind for her.

Now that she was conditioned for combat, the next phase of the plan laid out for her growth would come next—although it would be simultaneous to this training regimen.

Today marks the first anniversary of her training, the day that started this all. To commemorate the event in some sorts, they sent in an electrohammer Purge Trooper to fight with her. No trooper of this sort has ever come in to this dojo until today. For a second, it startled her; but then she shook off the anxiety from her shoulders and tightened her grip on a weapon she had stuck with since Day One—a javelin.

Her one display of power that warranted Darth Vader himself to pay a visit to the dojo in Nur.

“Admiral, ready my shuttle and chart a course to Nur.”

“Right away, my lord.” The admiral did not give it a second thought, he immediately proceeded with the preparations.

Everyone in Nur knew that Darth Vader was coming, and so they were all in full-blast in cleaning up the place to make it presentable to the lord. Everyone—except Irele, who was too engrossed with her training.

It was just getting good when Vader had arrived in the viewing room of the dojo—Irele’s already picking up the pace in the fight, but the Purge Trooper was nowhere near tired. Suddenly, it seems like out of nowhere, a strong invisible wave had lifted the instructor off the floor and threw him across the room. The last thing Irele saw was her hand held out, fingers curved in a manner as if choking a neck, and vibrating with remnants of that energy that had sent the trooper five feet away from her.

Little by little, her sensitivity with the Force has become more active.

She could not explain it. She couldn’t even believe it, she thought those moments were just illusions or daydreams that she had mixed with reality.

But this moment proved otherwise.

And it intoxicated her.

Although she had not mastered how to utilize it actively and consciously, she would take every chance she gets when she felt like it would come to her aid in the fight.

Vader departs the viewing room and makes his way down into the dojo.

“You fight well, child,” he boomed as he entered, causing Irele to turn to his direction, javelin at the ready. “But you’ve a long way to go if you are to master the art.”

Under his cape, Vader revealed his weapon: a silver cylinder accented with black duraplast grips, covered to the pommel. His leather thumb pressed the switch and out comes a blood-red beam. Irele has heard the stories, but never did she imagined seeing it in person; as a matter of fact, she’s not sure if her javelin has any chance against that.

Irele took the offensive, she moved first.

Vader, unbeknownst to her to be her own brother, effortlessly evaded it as simple as stepping out of the way.

The girl had too much pride in her to admit that her opponent was indeed stronger and more skilled, but she thought she could outsmart him, outmaneuver him, not knowing that her efforts would be in vain.

They traded strikes, but Vader was taking the lead in this fight. Irele’s tiring herself out in evading and looking for an opening, landing fewer strikes than she did with her first opponent—the trooper. The dark lord was neither generous nor kind with the training, he wanted to show Irele different levels of strengths—if she were to be dispatched in campaigns where combat is inevitable, she might as well be fazed now than later out in the field.

“It’s unwise to presume you can overpower me, child.”

With their blades locked in, Irele caught a glimpse of Vader’s face up close. The crimson red film of the lenses of his helmet uncovered a hazy view of his eyes—his real eyes: twin golden discs, glinting with menace and at the same time, a sort of grief.

For a moment, Irele’s expression showed humanity; but in the next second, she remembered the fight.

“I wasn’t planning to.”

Her overconfidence in her strike was her undoing, Vader’s lightsaber swiped it out of her hands, leaving her literally empty-handed.

“Perhaps you should re-assess that teenage confidence of yours, little one.”

Vader was moving in for a killing blow. He dared go that far. The operators in the viewing room think, “He’s going to kill her!” but the unexpected happened. In that one moment, time seemed to have slowed for Irele; Vader’s heavy yet nimble movement appeared to be slower in her eyes, which afforded her mere seconds to concentrate.

She closes her eyes… and focused.

Behind the darkness shrouding her view, she wondered why the strike hasn’t landed her yet, slowly she lifts her eyelids and saw a clear sheen shimmering in front of her—like glass with a frosted finish—while her hands were held up in front of her and wide open, sparks sputtered on all sides of Vader’s saber.

There was no time to comprehend this, but what Irele understood is that she needs to use this to advantage… now.

She pushed one hand further away, towards Vader—in effect, he was being backed away, by her. The girl took one more step, and alternately used the other hand to do the same thing as the first hand. Once aligned again, she slowly gravitated both hands to each other, closing the space in the middle and she watched Vader succumbing to his knees.

“Yes…” he lowed, rather satisfied. “You are strong with the Force. Like the blood before you.”

Those words rang into Irele’s soul, like a heavy bell with its ram, and on the top of her mind, there was one that came: Anakin.

She ceased using the Force and stumbled to her bottom, Vader remained kneeling but he held his head up to face the frightened, confused teen.

“Well done, Irele. You are ready.”

–

15 BBY

Irele’s training program did not hold her back, neither did it confine her within the walls of the fortress in Nur.

Roughly a month after her first year, she was tasked to hunt Jedi. Everything she needs to know about them—she did some reading in her time alone. She studied every form, their art and history: down to the most minute part of the culture and norms. And especially the broken legacy that had was their downfall.

It’s been an impressive second year.

Irele has been training consistently, of course, having nothing else to do—except interact with HY-L33, whose programming has been modified into half-protocol droid and half-nanny droid. Most crew members who had the gall to speak to the girl kept telling her that interaction with a droid does little with human social development and growth, to which, in her chagrin, Irele would reply: “I think I’m too old to be told about pediatric psychology.”

Despite her snark, Irele tries to be learned in terms of battle strategies—she’s juggled combat training with studying naval strategies and ground assault tactics, after learning that she may be dispatched on  missions with a squadron of troopers in a particular planet from time to time. In one or more occasions, she would cross paths with the devilish Admiral Thrawn, but rarely do they meet for conferences—virtual or otherwise. She can’t help but use some of her street smarts in campaigns, which more often than not, actually works.

These privileges that she enjoys were personally decreed by Vader himself, in the hopes that she would maximize her abilities from more than being a reckless warrior. Some were against it because they perceive her as a rebellious, smart-mouthed child; others decide to give her a chance, because after all, she is a growing girl who’s got a lot to learn in this kind of world she’s been thrown in.

Not all know what she was before—but to generalize it, she was just some local girl in a desolate planet in the middle of nowhere.

The droid HY-L33 looked for her master, and found Irele examining and polishing her lightsaber—something she crafted on her own, the exterior at least. The kyber crystal was harvested from a Jedi survivor she killed not too long ago, in a tropical moon where she was dispatched alone with little to no reinforcements as the troopers were designated as patrols in the town.

“Lady Irele, the briefing with the Inquisitors is due in thirty minutes.”

“Ah yes, the Jedi hunters,” Irele’s brows furrowed, “I thought I wasn’t required?”

“Indeed, but it’s been said to be beneficial for your upcoming campaigns.”

“Who said so?”

“Lord Vader, apparently… and the Grand Inquisitor.”

“Right then, thank you, Haylee.”

Irele dressed into her garbs. Tailored to perfection: the bodysuit and pants were a dark gray waterproof fabric so that the garment won’t weigh her down when fighting under inclement weather such as rain, fog, and snow. The standard material for the armor plating was duraplast—tried and tested against Stormtroopers’ blaster fire and Purge Troopers’ electro-powered weapons—and it covered her torso, shoulders, and forearms; an armor skirt made from the same material complemented the utility belt. Supposedly, they’re to be worn when in the field, but since she’s been cooped up in the Fortress in the past few days, she doesn’t bother strapping on the armaments.

Lastly, she slipped into her low, black boots. Looking at the mirror, she bound her hair in a ponytail. It was once a medium bob with ragged tips, but now she’s grown it out to a length just after her shoulders.

“Alright, I’m ready. I’ll see you in a bit, Haylee.”

The droid gave a short bow and Irele departed her room.

Nur has become her home. The metal maze once confused her, but now she knows where she’s going even with her eyes closed.

She stepped into a turbolift and pressed the button that leads her to the level where the holding rooms and war rooms are.

“Holding Room A-121,” she muttered to herself in reminder.

Along the way, she exchanged short or curt bows to the crewmen who bothered tipping their hats or saluting to her as a greeting. When she saw the engraved number on the door, she pressed another button to prompt the door open. Before her was the group of Inquisitors around a table, lounging about like schoolchildren. Her entrance silenced their already hushed conversations and she stepped in, hoping to find a spot to sit the farthest from them.

“Oh, look who’s come to join us. The favorite.” chided one of the male Inquisitors.

“Let’s make this quick so we can forget each other’s sorry asses were in the same room.”

The briefing consisted of the locations where they would be dispatched. Holograms reflecting the planets flashed one by one on the podium, head profiles of surviving Jedi flashed after the planets, and Irele squinted her eyes on a particular one that stood out like a sore, red thumb.

“Do you know this one, Irele?” one of the male Inquisitors, the Second Brother, asked Irele. He noticed she looked at this one Jedi rather specially—or so he thinks.

Irele turned her eyes to the Inquisitor and replied with a frosty “No” and then she scanned the other head shots. She studied them, since she didn’t want her not being a Jedi-turned-Inquisitor to be a disadvantage. She’s got as much as grit as the rest of them. After the briefing, she isolated herself in one of the couches, locked herself away deep in thought that the Inquisitors’ chatter was just white noise.

She couldn’t wait to retreat to her bedchambers, where she can have some time of her own, unafraid that her idea and its credit might be stolen by another. Over time, Irele has proven to be the kind who “does their homework,” for instance, she remained in the holding room when everyone else had left—probably starting their leg of the hunt once they’re off the moon—and studied the briefing’s log.

“The Jedi are going to be extra cautious if they discover the Inquisitors are hunting them out,” she spoke under the finger against her lip. “Inquisitors are too obvious to spot. The uniforms are a dead giveaway…”

Her eyes widened at the thought.

“But I won’t!” she gasped.

Before leaving the room, she humored herself with listening to the voice logs of Stormtrooper Commanders during their operation in Zeffo. She switched between data tapes, hoping to find an inkling if it was the best place to start.

Audio Data 03403, plays:

“Most of the ancient relics have been extracted from the tombs after much deep digging. Although the acquisition of these antiques were done at the expense of some of us here. Captain Kane, for instance. Who was tagged as K.I.A. while excavating more of these relics underground when local fauna attacked her and a few men in her team.”

Irele stopped midway and scrolled a new one in the databank. Audio Data 34735 plays:

“I’m starting to have a feeling that our patrols are thinning out…”

“Finally, something interesting,” she commented.

“We don’t have the luxury of deploying new troops while sending injured men to the nearest Star Destroyer or outpost. No thanks to that Jedi that was obviously headed in the same direction as we are.”

The girl’s eyes widened upon hearing the word. Her chest tightened, her heartbeat was slow but the thumping was heavy, she could almost feel it pulse through the skin of her ribs. She anticipated more.

“Though I don’t think he was after the relics. I think he was after only one relic, that I don’t know though. Whatever it is, it’s important. But another important thing is that we need to do our job if we don’t wanna lose it—or worse, our lives.”

She’s heard enough and stopped playing the audio recordings. She clicked her way to the metadata of the file and saw that both recordings were one and two days old respectively. She rushed back to her bedroom to slip into her armor, entering the room startled HY-L33, leaving her stuttering and practically choking on what words to say.

“Miss Irele?”

“Haylee, run me a quick scan. How far are we from Zeffo?”

Without question, the droid obeyed. For a minute or two, she stared with unblinking photoreceptors, the white light behind them was unmoving as a faint whirring ran in her central processing unit.

“Approximately two and a half parsecs away, milady.”

“Too wasteful to use Anathema’s hyperspace. No small carrier armed with hyperspace, but the speed is there.”

The words literally rolled off of Irele’s mouth as she talks to herself until she comes into an epiphany of an idea.

“Come on, Haylee!”

“Coming, Lady Irele.” the droid monotonously cooed but one can sense the urgency she adapted with her mistress.

[lokislittlesigyn]

OG616 : Thor 1 - Pt.1 [The Coronation]

[My masterlist, where all parts of this and my other fics can be found]

Pairing: Loki / Sigyn (basically an oc based off the marvel/myth namesake)

Warnings: None! It’s all fluff for now.

Author’s Note: This will be an ongoing series - not sure how long it will last, but it is a Very long piece, going through each of the Thor movies, as well as some of the Avengers movies and times in-between, filling in the blanks much like the Thor: The Dark World Prelude comic and the like. I pull mostly from the MCU, with a dash of Norse myth and personal headcanons. There may be enough for a few months’ worth of content as I edit and post pieces!

If you’d like to be added for the taglist for this, please say so in the replies or message me separately, if you wish.

I hope you enjoy this story as much as I do - it’s been a personal journey for me, and I’m excited to share it. And if you don’t enjoy it? I wish you well all the same. <3

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Loki. Lokiii, wake up."

Sigyn was met with a mere grunt.

"Loki, darling. Wake up." She leaned closer, kissing her husband's cheek - he inhaled, eyes fluttering open.

"Why should I?" He murmured, rolling onto his side to face her, eyes still droopy with sleep. "I've got you."

Sigyn reached up to brush a wispy black hair from his face. Caressed his cheek. "But Thor’s coronation is today. We can’t exactly miss it.."

Loki smiled, though it was rather forced. "Yes.. Of course. How could I forget?"

"Well, it's alright if you forget sometimes. You have me." Another kiss, and Sigyn hopped out of bed. Their chambers were bathed in the golden light of morning, a fresh breeze drifting in from the balcony. She walked to their water basin, washing her face and hands, then patting it dry with the soft towel before dressing for the day. "I’d wager the feast will be wonderful," She glanced at him as he finally left the bed, "That is, if Volstagg leaves us any."

Loki chuckled. "That would certainly be wondrous." He too washed and dressed, though quicker with the help of magic, walking to the doorway to their balcony. Sunlight shone bright over the city... He took a deep breath, leaning against the threshold. "What time is it?" 

"Nearly midday, I would guess. You, my dear, are lazy." She teased, adjusting her clothes in a floor-length mirror: sleek and tailored, sapphire cloth mixed with dyed leathers. The colors contrasted with her skin - the same color as Loki’s, though her shoulder-length hair was a shade lighter. Deep brown, which matched her eyes. She brushed her hair back from her face.

"As I recall, you kept me up last night." He chuckled over his shoulder.

"I beg your pardon? You're the one who insisted on finishing just one more chapter of your book - no doubt a chapter that could have waited." Sigyn smiled.

"Now now, I- Not wearing your gown yet, darling?" He walked back to her, smoothing a hand over her shoulder.

"I was hoping to eat and visit the stables before I'm doted upon for hours.." She muttered, turning her attention to the gloves she was trying to pull on unassumingly.

"Nonsense, you should be doted upon promptly. Food can be brought to you." He kissed her forehead.

A huff. "All right, I was hoping to visit the stables."

"Mmn, as I suspected. I'm sorry, darling, but you'll do no such thing. Running off isn't permitted on such an important day." He smirked.

"I only wanted to see Villieldr."

"You'll see him tomorrow, dear one. Now, let's get you to the thralls, they'll need to start soon.."

~~~~

Hours later, Sigyn was still in a dressing room of sorts, secluded from the rest of the palace. It was golden, like the rest of Valaskjalf, though it sported a long, padded bench for her to sit on as she was tended to. Thralls - servants of the royal family, who lived and worked in the palace - had brushed her hair, prepared her gown, shined her adornments. Now they split her brown locks into long, loose curls, pulling them back into braids.

She stayed quiet, letting them do their work. Years of experience had taught her to remain completely still - or else incite the hushed grumbling and frustrated glares of the experienced hairdressers, who despised fidgety clients.

After what felt like a millennium of waiting, sitting in nothing but her shoes and a satiny slip, Sigyn was finally given her gown: deep green, with a gold armored bodice. The emerald fabric draped off her shoulders, over her neck and behind her in a sort of cape. On each arm, a golden band - and golden bracelets, which matched the headpiece they placed around her head like a crown. Golden, with a sweeping wing on each side, it was delicate and thin, shining in the light. She gazed in the mirror, smiling in spite of herself. "I do hope Loki is pleased.." She murmured, brushing her fingertips along the golden headpiece.

One of the servants giggled. Vieta, Sigyn's personal favorite and close friend, a younger girl with fiery red hair who'd taken to the princess from the start. "Let us know how he reacts." She winked.

Sigyn shared a grin with her before leaving.

~~~~

Sigyn walked past torch sconces and golden arches, carvings that had grown so familiar through the years. She smiled at memories of running between those same pillars, ducking behind them with her now-husband to avoid prying eyes. They had grown since then. She was no longer the shy, quiet girl who hid behind her father Vaskr, only speaking when spoken to. Loki, no longer the studious boy who desperately tried to impress her with spells. No, while Sigyn still had a quieter nature than most, and Loki still enjoyed his books and tomes, they were stronger together.

Now, there was no need to hide, or to feel out of place amidst the gilded walls. The palace had become her home.

"It's time." A familiar voice echoed.

"You go ahead," rumbled another.

Sigyn stepped out from behind the last pillar, smiling up at them - Thor, her brother, the crown prince, and Loki, who stood looking dumbfounded. She stopped in her tracks, gazing up at his freshly-polished armor, his sparkling eyes, his barely-parted lips that meant to speak, but simply couldn't... He looked positively gorgeous in the firelight. And by the pink of his cheeks, she figured he felt the same about her.

"You two act like a pair of newlyweds." Thor chuckled.

Sigyn snapped out of her stupor. Grinned, walked up to them both. "You know, Loki, I think Thor is jealous."

"Me? Jealous? Why-"

"Oh, yes," Loki piped up, taking Sigyn's hand and placing a firm kiss to her knuckles. "He's still single."

She giggled gently.

"Well then, brother. We’ll see you soon." Loki smirked, patted Thor on the back, and happily led Sigyn off, Thor chuckling as they left.

~~~~

Loki, still holding Sigyn's hand, continued his smug strut all the way to the throne room.

Sigyn’s grip tightened when they neared the entrance.

"All right, love?" He looked at her.

She smiled gently. "Just a bit nervous."

He turned to face her, gazing down at her a moment in silence, before breaking it. "Sigyn, you're the princess. Everyone loves you. Me most of all," He smiled. "Calm down and walk with me. I can't go in without you."

She pursed her lips, nodding. Without another word, they entered the throne room - raucous applause greeted them. Loki lifted his head higher, somehow, cradling Sigyn's hand in his as they walked down the aisle. She grinned. The excitement and anticipation in the room was palpable.

Finally, the couple stopped. Loki released her, leaving her at the bottom step to take his place just between her and Frigga, the queen. She smiled down at Sigyn, who smiled back.

Across the way stood their friends - the Warriors Three, Volstagg, Hogun, and Fandral, along with Lady Sif. Fandral winked at Sigyn, causing Loki to shift his weight, clearing his throat. Sif nudged him, exchanging a playful, knowing look with Sigyn. Fandral was a flirt - but he would never dare to try and steal any spoken-for woman. Well... No one who was spoken for by a prince, anyway.

But then the crowd grew louder still. Thor made his way down the aisle, working up the crowd as everyone knew he would. He was the eldest prince, after all. Proud and full of charisma, with a handsome, charming smile. He tossed Mjolnir into the air and caught it - the crowd roared yet again.

Sigyn smirked, watching her brother..

Her brother, whom she adored.

Her brother, who would now be king. She looked up at Odin. The king, the Allfather- no. Father. Her gaze turned to Frigga. Mother.

Finally, she looked to Loki.

Everything.

Her heart fluttered, her cheeks feeling warm. She caught Loki's eye, and in an instant he turned to her, tilting his head slightly, his brows furrowed in worry. She gave him a warm smile and he, though despite clearly trying to withhold such a smile, returned it - his gaze lingering on her before turning to Thor who now knelt before the throne.

It was time.

[yet-another-fan-girl9]

Inhuman (Prologue)

Summary: All beings in the universe have a soulmate except for Midgardians. People can hear their soulmate in their heads. For almost five hundred and fifty years, Loki believed that he had no soulmate until 1513 when a Midgardian princess was born. Will fate be kind to them or will the universe tear them apart?

Warnings: violence, language, hella historical inaccuracies (I tried to do research but then got lazy), maybe some AOS season 2 spoilers(?)

Word Count: 829

A/N: Yay! The re-write is here! Basically, the way the story was going before was completely linear and would have taken way too long to get to the point. Now there are flashbacks and stuff and the chapters are longer! Another reason I re-wrote Inhuman was because I started it during my Wattpad Days™ and my writing changed. Anyways, enjoy!

[Stuttgart, Germany, May 2012]

The call went to voicemail, again. Fucking hell. You had tried about five times already. Fine, just try one more time.

One ring. Come on.

Two rings. Pick up.

“What the fuck do you want?” a gruff voice answered.

“Fucking, finally, Gordon,” you whined. “I need you to take me somewhere.”

“Yeah, I assumed that because why else would you call me?”

“Do you want me to call more?”

“Oh, definitely not.”

“Okay then. Now that that’s settled, I need you to take me to Germany. Specifically Stuttgart. Not just anywhere in Germany because I know you’d do that to me. Please?”

A blue light appeared to your left and Gordon appeared. The eyeless man hung up.

“I’m not your goddamned personal teleporter.”

“Then why are you here?” You quirked an eyebrow at him.

“You’re… dressed up.”

“Yes, I am.”

You looked down and admired your dress. It was black, lace, off the shoulder, and hiding some killer pumps under them. Your hair was pinned in a simple, yet stylish, half up half down do. Golden droplets hung from your ears and your hands, neck, and wrists were adorned in jewelry the same color.

“I’m going to a gala,” you explained as you walked over to the teleporter. “Have you heard of a scientist named Heinrich Schafer? Of course, you haven’t. You hate humans.”

You took his hand and you were both quickly surrounded by blue light.

“Anyways, Schafer has this rare element called Iridium and I’m going to take it off his hands whether he lets me or not.”

It was dark and cool when you arrived in Stuttgart. Gordon was hidden in the shadows of the alley next to the building hosting the gala. You fixed your dress and cautiously touched your hair, but you knew you looked perfect.

“I’ll call you when I’m done,” you said.

“I’m going to be busy at Afterlife.”

“Psh, busy doing what? Jiaying never lets anyone go through Terrigenesis anymore.”

“We still have to train the recruits.” If Gordon had eyes, you knew that he would be rolling them right now. “Buy a plane ticket back home. Or an entire fucking plane, we both know you have the money.”

“Uh-huh. I’ll call you.”

Gordon huffed and vanished. You strode into the already bustling gala. You knew that Schaffer was keeping the Iridium somewhere in the city and you knew that you needed his eye to get in.

You accepted a flute of champagne and made your way up to the balcony overlooking the guests. The sound of violins and chatter that you wouldn’t be participating in filled the air. You stood above the red carpet entrance, facing an impressive mural. Below you, you kept an eye on your target who was reciting his speech.

Something made you look across the room. What the fuck was he doing here? You hadn’t seen him in years. To be specific, you hadn’t seen him in four hundred and seventy-three years. But the instant you saw him, you recognized him.

You could feel his presence. He was a familiar aura. Could he sense you? You wanted to run to him. To jump into his arms and tell him you were here and you were his. Something was trying to pull you to him.

Instead, you turned your back to the Norse God and pretended to check your phone. After a minute, you turned back around and saw him walking down the stairs. What was his business here? On Earth? In Germany? At this gala? Did he know that you were here? You watched him as he swung a walking stick at a guard, successfully knocking the man to the ground, unconscious.

You took a sip of champagne, enjoying the show, as Loki grabbed Schaffer and flipped him onto the stone display table. People gasped and moved out of the way, but they weren’t running. Why did they have to be so stupid? Loki removed a metal device from his suit jacket and plunged it into Schaffer’s eye. That’s when people started running.

Hmm. Loki needed Schaffer’s eye. Was he here for the Iridium as well? You saw him smirk as he watched the gala guests flee. When he finished, he removed the device from Schaffer’s face and followed the people outside. You saw gold light shimmer around him as his suit changed into his Asgardian armor and his signature horned helmet appeared on his head. His green cape fluttered behind him as he vanished through the doors.

The building was silent and empty save for you, the unconscious guard, and Schaffer’s body. You could hear sirens outside and decided it was time to leave. Much to your joy, Gordon answered his phone on the first ring and brought you back to your home. You failed to get the Iridium and saw Loki for the first time in ages today. Something told you that this was just the beginning of something new.

~Moodboards~

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Taglist:

@kaithehero @liliannyah​ @andreasworlsboring101 @oatballsoffury​ @aberrant-annie

[anathemafiction]

To Put a Name on It

Commission made by a lovely anonymous.

What if Hadrian had met you while still with the Templars?

The breeze brings with it the scent of flowers. 

Gentle and airy, it sweeps across the long, open fields surrounding the village. Eternal plains where the grass is tall and bright green and seems to dance like an ocean made of plants instead of water. Hadrian shields his eyes, one massive gauntlet hand protecting his sight from the mellow, afternoon sun. 

Sunflowers sway in the breeze too. He orders his horse to a halt for just a moment, watching the countless yellow heads seek the approval of the distant sun. Drinking the sunlight like moths to a flame. It brings a faint smile on his face. Far beyond the fence of the earthy road, rising from the line of the horizon, Hadrian can see the faint outline of the lord's castle. 

The noble who called them here. His smile dies on his face, even before a hard voice breaks the peacefulness of the countryside air. "Bother Hadrian," his Commander calls. The winged helmet carves deep lines into his cheek as Hadrian turns his head. 

Standing tall on his stallion, with a heavy sword hanging from his belt and full Templar garb, Commander Ryder makes for an imposing visage. Just as intended. "My apologies," Hadrian says, spurring his horse forward, rejoining his brothers. There are only three of them. Hadrian, the Commander, and brother Clark, who gives him a cold glance when Hadrian's horse approaches. 

He hardens his face and sets his green eyes on the small village in the middle of illicit fields peppered by flowers enamored by the sun. As he looks at the frail wooden gates and short, basic wall, he can't help but think one Templar would have been more than enough. 

A young man waits for them by the gates, his eyes pointed to the ground. "M-my lords," the boy's voice rings too loudly, and he bows so deeply, his nose bumps into his knees. He then lifts a trembling hand. "I'm to get your horses."

Hadrian hears brother Clark's laughing scoff, and he tightens his hands on the reins. "Take them," Commander Ryder dismounts with a heavy thud and tosses his reins to the boy. Hadrian and Clark follow suit, but he makes sure to step closer to the boy and seek his gaze. 

The lad looks up when Hadrian approaches, and he sees the fear then. Stark and clear in the pale lines of his face. His brown eyes are blown wide, and he quickly looks away. Hadrian can see his shoulders shaking, his knuckles turning white on the reins. 

He always hated it. Always hated the fear the cross evokes. It was supposed to be the opposite. We are supposed to bring peace. "Here you go," Hadrian speaks gently, handing his reins. He accepts it with shaking fingers.

"The Inquisitor awaits in the town's center," the boy says to the Commander in a wavering voice. He points ahead. "He- he ordered me to-"

"God be with you," Commander Ryder coldly interrupts, already walking ahead. Long, white cape with the red cross swaying with each step. Brother Clark barks a laugh before following, and Hadrian tries to smile at the boy. 

But he is already running away, horses in tow. 

Letting out a long breath, Hadrian follows his brothers. The sun reflecting back on the three suits of armor, their steps echoing each other, bouncing ominously in the empty streets. Houses and small stores stand to either side of the dusty street, and it doesn't take long before it opens to a round, smallish square. 

There's a stone well right at the center, and a large storehouse with a flat roof stands to the left. On the right, a crude church has its cross pointed at the heavens. Lone, wooden door firmly shut and barred. 

The breeze carried the scent of flowers. But even those could not mask the stench of blood. 

Hadrian covers his nose, nearly choking as the air turns heavy. Death lingers. It makes his hand fall on the hilt of his black sword, makes his eyes harden. Makes the small group gathered beside the well the only thing Hadrian can focus on as they approach. 

At the head, like a shadow cladded in shreds taken from the night, looms a Holy Inquisitor. His hood ends in two peaks, like horns that come together above the head, and the gold threads that are sewed to the black robes sway gently in the breeze. 

"Inquisitor," Commander Ryder bows his head, making a quick and practiced sign of the cross. Hadrian does the same. The Inquisitor wears his mask, a smooth plate of white wood with only two holes for the eyes. 

They shine underneath. "Sir Templars, so you arrive," he points a gloved hand towards the people, and Hadrian follows the movement. Peasants and farmers, all huddled together in fear. His heart clenches when he sees a little girl with fat tears rolling down her hollow cheeks, but he forces himself to focus on the conversation. 

They have a holy duty. 

"The local head priest, along with the entire church congregation has been slaughter in the night," the Inquisitor's sizzling voice echoes through the gaps in his mask. The air turns colder, and Hadrian's eyes shoot to the doors of the church. Father in Heaven.

"By whom? Who dared commit such an atrocity?" Commander Ryder's voice is harsh. Brutal. He turns to look over the group of villagers, and Hadrian sees them cower. He has to bite his tongue to keep still, to keep the words from spilling out of his mouth. It couldn't be them.

But he should be silent, and years of training enforce that he does. The Inquisitor spreads his hands, but before he can speak, a voice drifts through the air like a gentle breeze on heated skin. A voice that rings between his ears and has his whole undivided attention. 

"By those long gone," it says. It's feminine and spoken quietly, but there's a strength beneath it. A strength mirrored in the eyes that hold the Commander's gaze without a hint of fear. 

Grey and wide and catching the sun like the gems he has seen engraved in the altars of the fairest cathedrals. Hadrian's heart leaps to his throat as his eyes land on you. You who walked to the head of the group, your hair pooling around your face in gentle waves of gold that remind him of the brightest halo. His mouth hangs open, and Hadrian knows he stares. 

But as much as he wants to, he can't look away. Your clothes are travel-worn but of good quality. Trousers that hug your curves and make him avert his eyes as heat blooms on his cheeks. Hadrian sees the empty quiver that shoots from your back. An archer. Perhaps that explains the fingerless glove on your hand. 

The grey in your eyes is not like steel, but silver instead. And the gold in your hair is not blond, but bright yellow. Like the sunflowers that seek the sun. But it's him that seeks you. The world seems to come to a halt as Hadrian's limbs feel too heavy. His cross burns over his heart. His thoughts both spin and freeze. Fall and soar.

Beautiful.

(…)

Here is a sneak peek!  The full commission is available on Ko-fi for supporters!

The Commission.

Thank you so much for making the request! ♡♡♡

[megucarecord]

Rating Genshin Impact Character Designs (Pt. 1)

Hey y’all! I’ve been thinking of doing this for a really long time and I decided to finally stop being lazy and do it. So this is going to be a review of all the playable characters in Genshin Impact from a design perspective. I don’t really have any prerequisites to make this list worth anything (unless you count one year of a fashion/sewing class in high school lol) but hey idk, seems fun?

Gonna be super long (10 characters) so putting everything under the cut.

Disclaimer: I don’t actually hate any of these designs, nor do I consider my opinions “fixing” them, this is just for fun. 

Character: Lumine

I have a lot of conflicting feelings about this design. The hair and basic build are fine, very generic but that’s unsurprising for any character that is working at least partially as a pseudo self-insert. The color scheme is also very bland - and is one of the reasons I originally thought that Aether was automatically Geo traveler and Lumine was Anemo traveler. I think that adding more colors would’ve been a good thing, but also would’ve required a revamp of the dress itself, so maybe not the most practical thing, even if I think the dress is a bit too busy. The biggest changes I would make would be to get rid of the fancy part of her stockings as well as the extra flow/ruffled back of the skirt, which is just a bit too much considering the top layer of the skirt is already quite detailed (in a very nice way) and that could’ve just been extended. I also have to admit that though the scarf is very impractical and showy, but it reminds me of a costume from a series I like so I actually like it a lot, although you could definitely term it unnecessary.

Rating: 7/10

Character: Aether

Okay ngl this character design kinda slaps. Firstly, I love that Aether has long hair, it’s a good contrast to Lumine’s cut (and contrast should be super important with characters that are siblings/parallels of one another) and idk long braids are kinda cool. I love that the outfit has distinctive colors, which give the character personality and keeps him from being washed out. The design is much more streamlined than Lumine’s, and although I’m not a huge fan of midrifts (a theme in this post I’m sorry) there’s not actually much I’d change in this design. Except maybe make the cape a scarf to better match with Lumine. This is definitely the superior design in terms of the siblings in my opinion and I think the lack of intricacy fits the image of “traveler” better. It’s not my favorite and there isn’t anything that really stands out in the design, but it’s really solid and I like it.

Rating: 9/10

Character: Albedo

This design has a lot of potential, but I think in the end it’s just a bit too busy (which will be a theme in this game haha). I like the hair - in general I’m glad Genshin isn’t scared to try a bunch of different lengths and styles on guys because if not everything would become painfully boring. I also like the clothes for the most part. The boots are especially sleek, and I like that despite being a Geo character they gave Albedo a bluer, darker color scheme. I think it fits with his mysterious sort of quietly menacing vibe (this man is Frankensteining something I know it). But it really starts to get a bit too much with the coat. I think he needed a coat, again it fits the character, he’s in the middle of a frozen tundra and he’s also a magic scientist man, he needs some sort of coat. But I think the chain and the strap across the front is a bit too much. If I were the designers I would’ve continued with a sleeker theme, make the sleeves longer, the gloves shorter, if you wanted some ornamentation maybe a pack of vials on his belt. Overall very good design, greater color scheme, too busy. Also can we appreciate his banner art? It’s so good I love it.

Rating: 8/10

Character: Amber

Okay first I’m gonna say her card art is super cute. Love the pose, love the style. All gut. Now let me say that this outfit had potential but then it sorta... fell flat. I like the color scheme for the most part, except the white cause idk white is boring and in the game it looks kinda latexy, but I understand wanting three colors and black might be too close to brown. That being said, I hate stockings. Stockings are just the worst, they’re impractical, hard to put on, uncomfortable, should only be worn with dresses. No knight of Favonius needs stockings. Might I suggest pants or shorts? Or like cool pseudo armor plates like with Lumine. Also though I do like the jacket and the leather stomacher design, I think a bomber jacket might suit the character better, because idk they’re cool and they make me think of Amelia Earheart, although that’s such a culturally distinct thing I can’t blame them for not thinking that way. Again the jacket is still very cool, love the stomacher, and love the cuffs.. The belt is lovely and like I said love the embossed designs, but ultimately this design is too impractical, and too bland to get away with being impratical for me. So... yeah.

Rating: 5/10

Character: Barbara

Barbara! Our fav crazy nun. First I’m gonna thank her for having an attack of pure magic then I’m gonna say I hate the color white apparently because I also didn’t like it here. I’m pretty sure she’s supposed to be a novice (could be wrong), so I’d flip the colors, have the accents be white and the main color navy. But idk that’s just me. Overall I quite like her design. It’s a pretty good balance between simple and detailed. I don’t even hate the stockings. I’d say the least good part is the top, the bow and the weird collar is just... ehh? but I don’t think getting rid of the collar would help though. I’d say ditch the bow, make the dress connect to the collar, keep the off the shoulders cold sleeves. I really like the ruffled part of the top skirt. Idk it’s the best part of the design. The hat makes her look like a nurse not a nun though. maybe make the hair ties for the ponytails little veils, might fit better. Overall mostly nitpicks, it’s a strong design.

Rating: 8/10

Character: Beidou

Firstly I’d like to apologize to the Beidou I pulled before never using her (forgive me ily); next I’d like to admit I don’t love her design. I haven’t really harped on the lack of armor on these characters - because I’m not sure how I’d integrate armor into all them without making them bland af, no one wants people running around in full plate armor how tf you supposed to climb in that - but I still wouldn’t’ve put her in a leotard and boots only when she’s a canonical fighter, without even the armor accents on most of the other character. I know that traditional qipao would probably be terrible to fight in, so I’m not going to complain about them slitting it - I actually quite like it I think it’s cool and sleek and fits her vibe - but I will complain about them putting her in a leotard underneath. As someone who dances I can assure you no one in their right mind would want to fight in a leotard, which yes I know isn’t the point and I can’t blame them for not thinking that way. Anyways, I think leggings/stockings and tall boots are quite cool so that’s prolly what I’d do, streamlines the whole design too, gives it a sense of connectivity (idk I’m weird and I don’t look at this character often so yeah). I like the top of her design, although I’d prolly replace the fur on the cap with a large collar, sort of pirate-y or Navy-like. Also let me just say I love the hair and eye patch. Fits her reckless sort of character to hate her hair whipping around, and the eyepatch really sells the concept of her having fought for years. The hand guards didn’t need to be flared, but I don’t mind them being there. Especially since handling a Claymore would definitely rip up your hands if you didn’t have protection. Also the boots though impractical are very cool so... yeah.

Rating: 6/10

Character: Bennett

One of my main team and prolly the closest thing I currently have to a DPS I have conflicting opinions on Bennett’s design. I think it’s a pretty good design all things considered. His belt and all his packs would be busy if you didn’t know Bennett’s character, but considering he’s a wanna be adventurer, I think it works pretty well. Although I don’t know why his extra belt straps are so long... or even exist?? Idk kinda weird. His top is... ehh? I don’t really like it, I think partially because I don’t think Bennett would wear a midrift shirt like this (midrifts where there shouldn’t be midrifts or, as I like to call it, being MagiReco-d) and partially cause the color, though understandable in such a busy design, is kinda bland. I think that’s why the collar works instead of being too busy, we needed some color. If I had to changed the design I’d get rid of the midrift and get rid of those weird extra belt things. Also that one random dagger star thing on one side of his blue collar is just so weird and random and like why does it exist? But overall I like the design, and it doesn’t bug me when I’m playing with him. I think it’s a good example of how busyness can accurately portray a character. Well done.

Rating: 8/10

Character: Chongyun

Another character who I own but have never played, though my friend has him on their main team and they look super cool. I’m not gonna lie I love this character’s design. Firstly the color palette is so good, the white feels like it works to offset all the blue hues - which I love that even the darkest parts of his design are blue not black - so it doesn’t feel bland or irritating, especially with the gold giving it a sense of luxury. I also like the choice to have a tunic that extends to the pants, I think having only white pants would be too bland - again white it a meh color for designs - so it really gives it some necessary details and color. I also like the jacket, again it gives the design a sense of detail while being simple enough not to feel like too much. Also I have no idea what the outfit would look like without the jacket and I have a feeling that answer would be Not Good, so... yeah. Some nitpicks; the left arm band thingie golden cuff is kinda too much and seems impractical and irritating. And... that’s it. I know the slippers are impractical, but I think they work, he is an exorcist not an adventurer after all. Overall, probably second favorite design in the game. Great job

Rating: 10/10

Character: Diluc

Give Diluc a high ponytail, I’m begging you. Lol anyways personal preference aside (which is impossible this entire post is personal preference) I like this design. I think the color works and the whole outfit is a good reflection of Diluc’s character, closed off, luxurious while also a bit ragged and uncontrollable. Yeah. I like it. I do think the thing chain accessory is kinda random, and I don’t think there’s anything about the design that knocks me off my feet, but I do really love the design overall. Also the gloves, good gloves. Suggestions? High ponytailed Diluc. Nothing else. Also though he’s not in this post I like that this outfit is very streamlined and simple compared to Kaeya, it’s a good portrayal of their differing views and opinions through fashion. Because unlike with the traveller siblings I think these brothers have a dynamic where contrast is better than parallel.

Rating: 9/10

Character: Diona

Okay so though I’ve never interacted with this character I skimmed the wiki and I love her backstory it’s hilarious. Also since I never interact with her I don’t have many opinions about her design except why does she only have one sock on? Honestly relatable moments. I think the extra ponytail is kinda weird and excessive considering the hat and I’d prolly make the hair orange to match the ears but overall very cute design. What do bartenders look like? Idk. Oh and also there are a bit too many colors roaming around, but I get it. Overall fairly generic but kinda cute. I still think midrifts are bad.

Rating: 7/10

And that’s it! I hope this didn’t come off as “lol these designs are gross and I’m superior and we should fix them” because no. No one should take any of these suggestions seriously. Except maybe the ponytail one lol. Anyways I hope at least one person likes this cause this took forever and I kinda burned out after a while. Next post if I make it will be interesting cause it includes my least favorite design. May you all have lovely playing and if you love a design I don’t honestly more power to you. Bye!!

[noscorpsaladerive]

Happy Halloween from Hyrule!!

I’ve played like...wayyyyy too much Breath of the Wild recently and after gallivanting across Hyrule as Link I decided to make this costume inspired by his Hylian Armor (aka one of my personal fave looks from the game)! 

Details on how I made it under the cut so I can look back later and remember what I did ;aldkfja;sd

things i owned/bought that i did not modify:

brown boots (owned)

black leggings (owned)

multitude of brown belts (owned)

brown corset (i used this instead of making leather armor pieces) (owned)

green turtleneck (from thredup)

things i made/modified:

sheikah slate:

i found an old conference name tag/lanyard pouch like this one (from di globals 2011 ;alkdjf;sd) and cut the strings that mine had off

i used a sheikah slate drawing i found online then printed to scale to trace out the pieces in craft foam plus a black base piece (the gold pieces were originally orange craft foam that i painted gold)

i hot glued all that shit together then hot glued it to the back of the conference pouch

it’s not really the right thickness for a sheikah slate BUT the conference pouch 1) could already slide onto a belt due to the velcro flap thing on the top and 2) meant that i had a pocket for my phone

red shirt/tunic:

found a red shirt on thredup with a tunic/lace up neckline

cut the sleeves to length

finished the sleeves with brown bias tape and also added brown bias tape to the hem for the aesthetic

painted triangle/trapezoid pattern along the bottom hem with fabric paint and homemade stencils

cape:

fully homemade, based on the cloak pattern from simplicity #1771

adjusted length and number of gathers, added lining

the pattern called for 5 1/2 yards of fabric, but i found the perfect fabric in the clearance aisle that unfortunately had only 2 1/2 yards left, but i decided to buy it anyways and luckily my mom and i managed to tetris the shit out of the pieces when cutting and we made it work!!!

this is now my new favorite item of clothing and i plan on living in it from now on

bow & arrows (& quiver):

i had bought the bow and arrow set at the ren faire, but the bow was an ugly gray with electrical tape and the arrow fletching was an ugly ass orange plastic

spray painted the bow brown and added brown braided leather lace for a grip

re-painted the arrow fletching to be white “feathers” with red tips

for the quiver (which is not in the photos rip):

i used the sleeves from the red shirt and sewed them so i could tuck them into each other and make a two layer tube.  i left the bottom edge open for the moment

i stuck curved pieces of a cereal box in between the sides to make the sides hold their shape then sewed the bottom shut.

the red shirt initially had a strap and button on each sleeve so you could roll up the sleeves and button the sleeves in place, which i had previously removed. then i re-sewed them onto the tube so they could act as belt loops for the quiver

i spray painted all of it brown, which in hindsight i would not do again but it worked well enough for now

sword:

i basically just followed what this guy did for his medieval fantasy sword

the main difference is that i really only had a dremel tool for all my sanding so i wasn’t able to get as “sharp” of a blade edge as he did with his belt sander (i think that’s what it’s called????)

for paint i did the plasti-spray like he did but i just used a hammered silver spray paint for the blade, cross guard end things, and pommel.  i ended up going back over the cross guard with black acrylic paint afterwards

i also found a carbon fiberglass garage reflector stick thing that i used as the core of the sword.  i did have to cut it down though (and by “i” i mean “my brother hand to cut it down for me bc i didn’t have the right tool”)

also it is worth nothing that spray paint and craft foam can hide a multitude of hot glue sins ;alkdjf;asdkjfs;

shield:

i had leftover eva foam from the sword so i was like hey let’s make a shield in two days

drew a shield shape on the foam and cut it out

painted it like i did the sword (two layers of plasti-spray to seal it, two layers of silver paint), but also misted some black spray paint to add ~dimension~

cut out the outline of the shield and the triforce in black craft foam.  lightly painted the triforce pieces with red acrylic paint

cut out pieces of orange craft foam and painted gold to serve as brackets aka to hide the seams in the black outline ;akdsjfa;sd

hot glued that shit together

used extra brown craft foam to make arm loops and hot glued those to the back

this is the most involved i’ve been in a costume recently and i’d def forgotten how much fun it can be!!  anyways if you’ve read this far please enjoy my fave silly photo in costume