#as a great champion once said. he's learning how to people. :') but honestly i really love how their low charisma is shown | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

sang8262 · 6 months ago

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i said i'd rant later but waiting for akuma release amd patch notes is destroying me so:

WT's boss fight and why i dont like how they wrote it:

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First let me be clear, I love World Tour. And that is why I see how it could have been better and wanted so much more from it. But alas, they tried to make a whole stand alone, single player rpg game ... but it's only got the resources of side content to a fighting game.

To start, the story as a whole is paced ehhh, not so ideally. It feels both rushed *and* tedious at times, because of certain quests or maps.

Overall, we don't get to know Bosch too well to develop as STRONG of a bond the game wants the players to imagine: because we never get to spend much time getting to know him at the start of the game. So this "friendship bond" is ham-fisted through cheesy cutscenes, which feel fake and hollow because we ate pizza and bought a silly hat like, Once. This is to say: Bosch's sacrifice also feels hollow, because while we understand the weight of his actions, it isn't very personal. If they rather MADE Bosch the main character, the story would have been much much stronger. And also a completely different game.

WT needed to have custom player avatars, for Battle Hub, and because their vision was "players learning martial arts from the characters in the roster! interacting with them as student and master!". That's the fantasy they wanted to make, and so WT is pulled in two different directions. One that wants to sell the fantasy of meeting the game's characters, training under them, and becoming the champion yourself.

Then another about the world of SF6: Nayshall and Metro City; Bosch and the Resistance versus Shadaloo; the new generation of fighters who have their own ideals, clashing with the old. But now NEITHER has enough room to be the best version of itself, because they must compromise each other to exist in the same story/game mode space as the other.

In short, they wanted to do so much with WT that it ended up feeling half-baked across the board.

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JP too, doesn't feel like the main villain until waaaay too late in the story. That is, unless you read the comics. But even then, he's introduced into the story so late that you aren't even thinking about him as a character until that point. There's nothing to establish that JP is "pretending" to be nice, and therefore, no satisfying -reveal- that JP was evil all along when we finally do get to fight him. I think his whole character fantasy is the deceiver, the schemer, and we REALLY don't see evidence of this through WT at all.

In fact, what we do have of JP in WT is honestly not great!! And now I'm just going to be complaining:

After Bosch gets blown up by the belt, why would JP gloat to the avatar about everything?? A bomb just blew up and not only is he someone important, he was standing right there: logically, he should've acted panicked and afraid for his safety, and have fled immediately. Instead, he casually saunters over TO Bosch and the avatar, then villain monologues. He even takes a jab at how Bosch's sacrifice was 'a small bit of entertainment', which is NOT what someone trying to act innocent would say ever??

Also, this was during the award ceremony. Y'know, the event that's being streamed and filmed and seen by thousands of people. Even if the explosion caused that huge fire and damaged equipment, there's no guarantee that people aren't filming this. And knowing how up to date with technology this game is (Footube influencers, crypto, AI deepfakes.. JP's whole philosophy is that people value entertainment over the truth even), there MUST be people risking their safety to film everything. Which is to say, JP should've known better than to RISK being caught FIGHING one of the contestants immediately after an "alleged" terrorist bombing.

He even uses Psycho Power?!? Like he's okay with just putting all that and his face out there for a whole audience to see and record??? I don't think he'd have done that had he NOT been forced to be a boss fight.

Even after we fight him, there's no good explanation for what happens afterwards. He just, concedes and collapses on the arena floor...?? And then what? We just let him go? We also pass out??? He teleports away? What did he just fight us for anyway when he could have teleported to escape then???

He's entirely right about the fight and our victory meaning nothing because the fight was very meaningless, and so of course defeating him has no meaningful satisfaction either. The whole fight only happened because the game demands we have boss fight, but they did a poor job of making that fight actually good at all.

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Do I have any fixes for the issues I have with WT? Somewhat. Definitely shorten the quest fluff in the mid-game to give more time with Bosch, BEFORE he gets kidnapped and given Psycho Power off screen. We spend more time chasing after him and fighting him after he's been experimented on. Make us care about him as a character more so we care about his motivations. Hell, have us meet Yua and learn more about her. We get barely anything about her as a character beyond "Bosch's sister who worries about him" so, the stakes are superficial and implied ("it's his sister! you should care!").

The fact that she's one of the dancers for the tournament feels also significant: she's relative to one of the Resistance members (Bosch), and clearly knows about what they're fighting for. Even if you suggest she's part of the tournament to relay information, as informant or spy, that doesn't make sense as she would be risking her safety, something she doesn't believe in and something the other members would not have allowed. What if you instead have it so JP intentionally made Yua one of the tournament's dancers, as a bargaining chip against Bosch? On the surface, it might look like JP (or his association) is supporting their sponsored fighter, giving his sister the chance to perform for everyone on such an honored tradition! But in reality, it's to keep Yua close under Shadaloo's watch. Idk, just something to explain why Bosch's sister just so HAPPENS to be a dancer in the very tournament he's fighting to end.

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Have more scenes showing JP lying to everyone. Show us him being interviewed on TV about his support for the upcoming tournament, have him express his sympathies for the Resistance movement. Like in the comics, show us how JP actually knows a lot about Nayshall's history and culture, and how he uses that to feign admiration and care-- but importantly, show how those around him are charmed by his act.

THEN, follow up by showing us Luke conflicted and uncomfortable about seeing JP on TV. How he doesn't want to talk about his past association with him, or what happened with Ken. Show us Bosch being angered by JP's lies, being frustrated that he can't do anything the way he is right now, and how he doesn't want to get the avatar involved in what he feels is 'his' duty.

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If I wanted to even go a step further, in respect to my own bias and wants, I'd have thrown in some sort of dinner or conference scene with all the fighters and tournament staff, before the big event day. Show us the contestants talking about why they want to win, why they fight, as part of the game's narrative focus on "the reason we want to become stronger". Show us how JP puts on his public 'CEO of the NGO' persona in front of others, and how likeable he is, as Rashid notices. Show how JP lies about why Bosch isn't at the event (he's too much of a risk to have at the event being interviewed. And probably not stable enough from the Psycho Power destroying him anyway).

But JP might say how much he respects the sponsored fighter, for training even now to prepare for the tournament! How he sincerely hopes Bosch succeeds, and that we too, may find what we're fighting for. All the while us KNOWING he's exactly the reason why Bosch is suffering. Does he suspect us after what happened in the trophy room? Is Bosch really okay? Make it so that the avatar and player are also confused by his words.

And of course, this is a public event with bystanders. We can't fight him now, and we can't just start calling him out in front of everyone, less we ruin the plan. So what else can we do but grit our teeth and play along.

This kind of struggle would have made for greater tension, and thus, greater pay off when we DO get to throw down with him and beat him into the ground later. It would have shown how manipulative JP is in the game, just as he was in the comics, in a more direct manner.

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What about the actual boss fight itself? I think JP running away and the avatar chasing after him would've made more sense. I get the arena on fire is a hype stage, and it was really cool true. But it just doesn't fit JP as a character. He's not someone to choose violence or direct confrontation unless absolutely necessary, and much less so in such an open space, that was being STREAMED to the internet. And the boss fight as is just... doesn't feel so 'necessary' that he had 'no choice' but to fight then and there.

So instead, I'd have him run underground. The underground hallway with all the locker rooms and the trophy room, is mirrored on the opposite end of the arena: but this part of the map isn't currently used at all. So, have him run there, with the avatar chasing, through the panicked crowd, trying not to lose track of him. And because the whole arena is built into the mountain ruins, it's easy to add some sort of hidden cavern or unfinished construction space as the 'stage'. Hell, the Resistance headquarters is exactly this. They also have a hidden cavern that's connected to the arena's main stage, so this isn't even farfetched of an idea.

The setting of 'secret cave away from everyone's eyes' is also much better of a circumstance that JP would CHOOSE to fight in, if he HAD to as a boss fight. This doesn't redeem his spiel at the end, of how the victory is meaningless, or how he escapes at all. The next bet suggestion is having the room (still in construction) about to cave in, cause you broke some support beams during the fight or whatever. He can still give you the spiel, but have him teleport away as the room is caving in, and the avatar has to let him go to get out to save themselves too.

Could imagine that the avatar is shocked to see JP still alive after that, post game, and demands more answers about his abilities that helped him in the fight, but also to escape. It's more of an incentive for the avatar to want to learn under him, despite him LOSING and also being the enemy. It never made sense to me why the avatar would try to learn from him, when last we see him, he just... collapses on the floor of the arena and laughs about how he lost?? Having to cut the fight short, even evading death using Psycho Power, that's a much better look for the 'villain' and someone the avatar would begrudgingly agree to train under.

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Anyway, this got way longer than I intended, and it's all over the place;; But I don't have time to edit it through so, it shall have to be. Thanks for being interested enough to read it, if you did, and as always I'd love to hear others' thoughts on this if anyone wants to share!!

Now back to waiting for Akuma..........

#jp rambles #i love WT but i hate WT #i need more WT

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kyleraynermybeloved · 2 years ago

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First Date -[HC]

Pairing: Joaquin Torres x GN!Reader

Summary: Joaquin strikes up the courage to ask you out on a date. He takes you bowling then to have dinner.

Warnings: just fluff

Word Count: 729

A/N: I was actually super excited to make this! I might make a second part if people enjoy it. I hope you like this!

Masterlist

The two of you met at a party for a mutual friend. It had been a large gathering and it was safe to say you only knew two people.

Unfortunately said people had left you to fend for yourself sitting in a corner petting the pets.

Which is EXACTLY where Joaquin found you, and his heart was soaring with affection at the sight.

It took him a bit to work up the courage to sit down next to you and strike up a conversation. It came easily to you as if you’ve known him for so long, though you were still just as nervous as he. But he still shied away whenever you looked his way during the conversation.

Even after talking for so long, he would be sooo nervous to ask you out. You’re everything he’s ever dreamed of and more, so the fact that the two of you have talked absolutely blows his mind.

You immediately accepted, agreeing on a day, place, and time.

You both thought it was a great idea to go bowling, work up an appetite, then grab dinner afterwards.

He had shown up to your place six minutes early with a small bouquet of flowers and a huge smile when he saw you open your door.

After putting them away, you two chat during the car ride to the small bowling alley nearby.

It was a short ride but he learned that he absolutely loved your laugh and cracked out many jokes to hear it as much as possible. He was already down bad for you.

Once the first game ended, the both of you realizing that both parties were actually really good, the competition for the next two rounds began.

“You have to be cheating somehow, how are you winning?” Joaquin was genuinely surprised, it felt like he was competing against a pro.

“Oh you know, pure luck.”

Cut to you two finishing the last game with a crowd around, cheering you on as you were reigned champion, both games with full strikes.

The owner even asked to take your picture for the wall of best bowlers, you agreed, pulling Joaquin with you into the picture with big smiles while you hugged him tightly.

He asked for two copies of the picture so you both could have one. If all went well tonight with the rest of the date, he was definitely going to keep his copy of the photo with him every time he went out for his tours and deployment missions.

The restaurant reservation wasn’t for another half hour so you had plenty of time to kill and made no rush to drive there in a hurry.

The sun was starting to set, and you had the bright idea to get to the parking lot and view the beautiful sunset change the colors of the sky.

Cue some cheesy exchange:

“It’s beautiful.”

“Yeah, it is”

Blushing from both parties bc you both knew you were talking abt each other :’)

He got a text on his phone, letting him know his dinner reservation seating is ready.

It wasn’t too fancy of a restaurant, but it was definitely someplace where everyone was dressed up a little.

You were sat at a cute table for two, facing each other. There were lit candles in the middle illuminating the area with a soft glow.

Joaquin was very nervous about if you liked the place or not. It was recommended to him by Sam, who said if he 'wanted to woo her' he should definitely go there, and that the food was amazing.

You honestly liked the place, but it was really Joaquin that made it amazing. You were practically swooning every time he smiled or chuckled. You were also down bad for him.

At some point during the meal you ended up holding hands on the table. Fingers laced and everything, meals finished and long forgotten.

“You know, you’re cute when you smile,” you left him blushing.

“If I’m cute then you’re breathtaking.”

He paid the check, which you said you could cover but he insisted on it and told you that you could pay for the next date if you wanted.

Overall, it was truly a spectacular day. You even got the goodnight kiss after you were dropped off that left you feeling like you were floating. You had a feeling he was it for you.

#kyleraynermybeloved #joaquin torres #joaquin torres headcanon #joaquin torres x reader #joaquin torres x gn!reader #joaquin torres fluff

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dreadfutures · 2 years ago

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hello hi hello can I please have the directors' cut on Chrysalid mayhaps? 🥺👉👈

Fic: [Chrysalid]

Rating: G | Pairing: Cillian, Cillian & Solas | Multichap: 9/9

Cillian, once the First of Clan Ralaferin, set out to find ancient knowledge of the elven people. He discovered the path of the Arcane Warrior by meditating for many years in an ancient ruin; when the Breach appeared in the sky, he felt called to lend his skills to the fledgling Inquisition. That's all we know of his path, as a background NPC in Dragon Age: Inquisition, who appears solely in a war table mission and in the Multiplayer addition.

But how did he really get trained as an Arcane Warrior?

Honestly. This was Divine Inspiration at its finest. It was summer; I was missing my college town, where monarch butterflies go as a colony on their migration, stopping there to rest. I kept seeing a few of them flying by my current location on their way south. And I had the whimsical thought: isn't that magical?

I thought about how the inner sea region around Val Royeaux/western Orlais gives me California vibes, and the further south you go, the closer you get to the warm, nearly tropical Arbor Wilds. And I thought: sure, butterflies would work. But what do they lead to?

It was the Arlathan Exchange, and I had also been playing a lot of Multiplayer recently, and we were discussing Cillian one day and I said OH.

And the whole story just appeared.

It's my belief that "meditating in ruins" is either code for: Cillian read Elvhen writing and learned Arcane Warrior spec that way, OR, he communed with Spirits either directly, or by watching them reenact memories in the Fade. And honestly, teaching yourself to read a dead language with hardly a cypher to go off of, in a ruin, and teaching yourself this dead, historical martial-and-magical art that is like NOTHING ELSE IN EXISTENCE, seemed way more farfetched than "he found a cool Spirit."

@rosella-writes had just written a drabble of Valor, an ancient contemporary of Solas (Pride), being slain in a combat between Champions for the Evanuris. The way Rosella described Valor's body falling and lying in the center of the arena, dying, made me think: this must be immortalized, this must have left a scar, the very earth would remember, if not the denizens of the Fade.

Rosella and I have also often discussed how "pieces" of Valor might be left over, fragmented, and need to get pieced together again. How Solas might search for Valor after he awakens from uthenera, how he might miss her. So I figured, hey, I could leave a piece of Valor to be found.

Cuz boy, a spirit of Valor sure seems like a great teacher for this magical combat specialization!

Then it was just a matter of sprinkling in the luscious visuals in my mind, of giant hosts of butterflies and ghibli forests, of ruins that might be found in The Fall (2006), and of a magical circle of life and death worthy of Guillermo del Toro. Bring Valor back to life just as Cillian pieces together what the ruined temple is, and then handwave the fact that Valor teaches him as a ways to recover her own memories.

#ask #dragon age fanfic #long post #cillian dragon age #bloodied and broken bits

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ducknotinarow · 4 months ago

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2k3 Mikey - Family Meme; all that apply uwu

| Talking about family

“Oh sure I don’t mind spill the beans about my family, unless? Wait Leo and Don would tell me to be carful who I drop information to sooo you promise you aren’t some like agent working for Bishop? Or a dragon? Or a foot ninja…oh uh what other bad guys do we got again? Guess it’s fine you don’t look like you would anyway.”

Send 👔 for my muse to talk about their father

“That be master Splinter, yeah we all tend to only really call Splinter by his title of master but its no cause of any stuffy reason. We all just respect our father over anyone else in the world. I mean my Dad is basically Superman! How could we not respect the heck outta him? I mean Splinter this big time bad ass! OH uh don’t tell I said that? But it’s still true. But he’s not scary honestly I was shocked to learn he was a battle nexus champion. Splinter like the Clark Kent version around us. Always giving us wisdom in his weird vague lessons and drinking tea while he watches his stories on the TV. And still looking after us. Who knew he could take out half a foot armys worth without losing his breath?”

I think it’s obvious that Mikey respects Splinter a great deal, but he is still very much his dad. So Mikey sees him as such it’s kind of like forgetting ones parents can be people with a history and life outside thier kids. Though to be fair considering the mutant families situation might add more layers on to why the turtles never thought much on it XD ANYWAY! I feel this really applies with Mikey quite a bit, Mikey as known isn’t the most focused student and often finds ways to get out of training and he tends to Hal ass thing often. Really he just gets by on his natural talent alone. But the fact he got to face off with Splinter in the battle nexus and even was the one to take the title out of all four of the turtles? I feel is this nice connection with Mikey and Splinter. Even linking it to the episode with mr.touch and mr. go which focuses all on Mikey and Spliter or later in FF with the gaduration episode. It's not often a relationship on I feel but I think it's really sweet that mikey looks upto o his dad as a hero and even has followed in his foot steps.

Send 🤜 for my muse to talk about (one of) their sibling(s)

"Oh boy where do I start even? I mean you got my bros of course, the only other people like me. Which can be lonely but also not lonely all at once. There is Von she's always felt like a older sister to me. April too she's always looking out for us. Heck I got Casey as another brother even guess I'm not hurting when it comes to siblings? And I'm pretty sure Don gonna marry Von and Raph and Casey? Well they will for sure be a forever situation too so it keeps growing."

The turtle may be the only ones of thier kind but you can at least count on the fact that they are not losing out on connections at least. Their strongest bonds being between the four of them due to being the only four mutant turtles after all. Mikey being the youngest of the family really sticks to that fact even getting away with the ‘baby’ status he has that in truth? All his brothers kind of fee into in thier own ways XD I feel Donnie is he most guilty of this often giving Mikey his way because it means having peace. Like Letting Mike tag along with him and Raph to the junk yard but not to help letting Mikey fool aroun which Raph dose complain about. despite how much of an annoyance can be though? He often defends all his brothers especially Leo showing he may be a goof but he’s not unaware of what is going on in his life. Such like with Leo. Mikey is th one to tell the rest to cut him some slack because he understands why Leo is acting the way he has and understands Leo is already being tough on himself Leo dosen’t need anyone else adding to it. Even Rah he looks up to when things get dicey he thinks of what Raph would do because well Raph is the biggest risk taker out of his brothers and often Raph is who Mikey tends to go to when scared even if Raphs going to mock him for it.

Of course Mikey’s family has expanded over the years. I have stated it before but he dose see Casey as a older figure as well, Casey usually one who seems most able to put up with Mikey’s antics seeing how both of them are seen as being obnoxious though it could be why Casey tends to be unphased, than again Casey can even annoy Mikey so maybe it’s just Mikey met his match XD I think it’s cute how Casey will listen to Mikey’s complaints and dosen’t dismiss it as being childish like when he was hoping to find the next comic in the current series he was invested in. Casey offers to take him to a store outside of town cause it might have what they want. XD I’m also claiming it cannon that Casey totes bought Mikey a handheld game system XD

When it comes to sisters? It’s been a new experience for Mikey he’s grow up with boys all his life so Casey isn’t much new to deal with. But seeing how I write my Mikey as being gender-fluid Mikey always had other things he wants to be into but felt notable to because well his brothers and all very on the masculine side of things hell Don and Raph both clapped when Mikey burped before having a second to be ‘oh wait that’s gross’ XD Mikey has a feminine side to him he dosen’t often get to explore. Von of course being the first to really give him that chance seeing how she was the one to give him polish and even a pallet to play with.

Of course April is always his first big sister I feel Mikey often shows more of his curious side around her April just is more age to ask things towards not that VOn isn’t but Von is very logical and he’s not really look for that he just wants to explore and learn. Of course he started the tradition of having girls nights with the pair of them so they often spend time together thanks to that.

Send 🤛 for my muse to talk about (one of) their cousin(s)/niece(s)/nephew(s)

"I love my nieces! I used kidnap Ari all the time with Raph when she was first born. Well it was more like surprise baby sitting for Donnie. I didn't really have a partner in crime todo that with Summer besides Don is one thing both Raph and Casey chasing me down? Yeah I aint looking for a purple dragon experience here."

Mikey is a very proud uncle/aunt to Summer and Ariel. Ariel is his sidekick as he often refers to her as such he’s always taking her serious when it comes to pudge the fish and since her first freak out about a lack of peanut butter, he makes sure they always have it in stock in the lair. When it comes to Summer I don’t often get to show it but I feel Mikey was a bad influence on her and showed her how to slack off XD Summer’spretty bad about doing school work after all she much rather do anything else XD She also suffers from paying attention XD I like to compare the last ronin Mikey to 03 Mikey so I feel as he gets older he dose learn the importance of focus and seeing how he has learned that it’s important in the show? I feel he will also be the one to help Summer with her own focus issues uwu

I feel Mikey much more fills in an older brother role to his niece over an uncle roll. Seeing how I feel each girl has like their designated uncle, Don for Summer and Raph for Ariel. But Mikey more of an older sibling with the pair of them hes still very kid like so he tends to better understand how they feel and how to talk to them and takes what they say seriously on a more even playing feild.

Send 🐾 for my muse to talk about (one of) their pet(s)

"I have my cutie Klunk the best ninja cat a turtle could ever asks for." -[ cowboy casey au]

"Along with Klunk I have two chickens that Casey let me have since I took care of his chickens well we were hiding out at his farm. I named them Sonny and Cher, they are both girls but I still like the name picks besides their clucks? Like music and there's two of them!"

XD I just combined the two, any way as like the show Mikey has his orange cat Klunk, his Christmas kitty and his favorite little Buddy ;3; You never see Mikey without Klunk in the lair the cat often hanging out on his shoulders or in the same space as the turtle. When Klunk sadly passes away it will cut Mikey deep he gets into a depressive epiosde even for a bit uwu Sonny and Cher are in truth named after the same chickens from the 2nd Venom movie XD cause I could get the line out of my head about them being Venoms friends. A gift from Casey before they went to return to the city to see about getting their home back and ofc helping out April with her destory apartment and store. We'll gonna ignore the whole how do chickens mange in the sewer seeing how Klunk dose just fine not to mention the mutants and even April when she lived with the turtles for a time. I think them having the chickens is a great benfit over all since well they can get eggs something fresh that they dont get often. Mikey takes very good care of them and he always sends Caseys updates about them or ask about anything if he get worried about thier health those are his babies he dont want them to get hurt ;3;

#muse| hamato michelangelo #madamkezzie #aflockoffeathers #[ open your eyes let’s begin - aflockoffeathers]#[ the brains of this operation -aflockoffeathers]#[ rokin and heads a rollin’ aflockoffeathers]#[ welcome to weird science 101- alfockoffeathers]#talking about family meme #meme answes #meme reply #ic reply #stay queued

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symbioticsimplicity · 2 years ago

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Most of Sunnydale's graduating class aren't purported to be champions. Angel gets a different metric than I would use for a regular person since he is supposed to be a hero, which the narrative takes the time to remind us of. To claim him as truly heroic, as he's multiple times referred to as, selfless actions are to be expected. Letting a bunch of people die because you've got beef with them doesn't track.

For that reason I think all of his above actions are just as damning as I originally said. If any of the Scoobies, or Team Angel did the things that Angel does (usually without telling anyone as well), they'd ve that season's villain. Or at the very least there would be a *lot* of concern from the other characters.

To the matter of the differences between Angel and Angelus, that's the soul acting as a conscience. Angel won't go as far as Angelus would for the simple reason that he would feel awful for doing so, but his methodology isn't any different.

When Angel first sets about going after Lilah and Lindsey, he stalks them both. He then proceeds to make them aware of his presence in their lives and that this presence is a threat (popping into the backseat of Lilah's car). Then he adds pressure to make them squirm (thwarting whatever they're up to just because its them, ala the charity event). He manipulates them into thinking they've found safety (Hiring Boon, who they believed had a grudge against Angel but was really working with him). Then he takes that safety away (Boon slipping sides). He then proceeds to torment them both (Making them make fools of themselves in front of everyone at the gala, making their professional and personal lives hell at any chance he gets). Its gentler and not as deadly, but its the same moveset. Compare how Angel works Lindsey and Lilah to how Angelus came after Buffy and you'll find a lot of commonalities.

Sure, letting Darla and Drusilla have their way with Wolfram and Hart wasn't torturing them directly himself, but Angel knows better than anyone that Dru and Darla play with their food.

Plus, once again Angel isn't just some random character, he's supposed to be a champion. And one seeking redemption no less. Letting people be murdered, even enemies isn't in line with that viewpoint.

Also I'm fairly sure he did know the terms of the curse by that point as he's cited to have tried to remove it a few times when he first acquired it. But the operative issue with his sleeping with Buffy is that she was a *teenager* at the time. There's a lot of reasons why older people shouldn't be involved with teens and Angel showed just about all of them, which was an intentional choice by the writing team.

I would like to mention also that having slept with a teenager being his perfectly happy moment is in itself also not great. The arguement can be made that it was because he loved her, but I'd argue back that there's just as much of an argument that it was because he really likes young blonde women.

Honestly I could probably debate that Angel is a bad dude for a while. I still have more examples of his behavior that aren't stellar, but my point was that Angel and Angelus aren't separate entities and that the soul is less of a whole different personage than it is a conscience and that's where the guilt comes in. The fandom wiki literally backs me up on that by defining the soul as a conscience rather than anything else.

I personally like him better as being an awful person but constantly struggling not to be. He falls off the wagon, and he still has some pretty toxic traits, he's slow to change and learn but he *is* learning. I'm not trying to drag him for any of this, I'm just saying that viewing Angel and Angelus separately loses a lot of the depth the character has.

The only way the soul lore works for me as a source of guilt is if vampires can choose *not* to be evil. If they're just mindless demons who take over a host's body after they die, it makes no sense to feel guilty about the actions taken after that.

The demon isn't a separate thing, the person is still who they were when they died, demons just don't have inhibitions. So whatever it is they *want*, they do. Whatever it is that is the core of that person wants most is what is exemplified most in their demon form.

So in Angel's case, the guilt comes from not only having wanted those things and having done them, but from *having had the option not to.*

#angel is a bastard but like its not a bad thing #angel btvs

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antariies · 4 years ago

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Visions of the Past: The Departing

Summary: The Commander never told Braham about their first death at the hands of Balthazar. Years later, he finds out in the worst way possible.

Characters: Pact Commander, Braham, Aurene, Balthazar

Notes: Commander’s POV (2nd-person); set before Jormag Rising; fluff, angst, hurt/comfort; 5.6k words, CW: blood, gore, character death, anxiety attack; the departing is and will always be one of my favorite instances and it sucks that we never got an emotional confrontation about it between braham and the commander. hope i did it justice. enjoy!

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“Commander, can I use the Scrying Pool to view your memories?” Braham asks one day, apropos of nothing, sliding into the seat across from you.

You slam your glass of water back down onto the table with a loud smack, screwing your eyes shut and leaning forward as you choke on your drink. After a few seconds of intense coughing and waving away Braham’s apologies, you finally clear your throat enough to be able to speak.

“I’m sorry,” you croak, squinting at him in confusion, “you want to… what?”

“Uh, use the Scrying Pool to view your memories?” he repeats, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “Only with your permission, of course.”

“…Ah,” you nod slowly, letting the question fully sink in. You bring the glass of water to your lips again as you search for the right words. “That’s…”

A complete and total invasion of my privacy, your mind supplies helpfully.

“...a strange request,” you mutter into the cup. The only thing stopping you from shutting him down on the spot is the fact that it’s Braham. He wouldn’t ask this of you without a damn good reason. “And you want to see them because…?”

At this, Braham lights up, squaring his shoulders. “I’ve been thinking a lot about what the lost Spirits said. About how I need to be a better leader if I’m going to beat Jormag, y’know? So I figured, since you’re the best leader I know-”

You can’t help the fond eye roll you give him.

“-if I got to experience some of your memories, then maybe I could learn from them,” he finishes, nodding once in determination.

“It’s definitely an unconventional way of learning,” you remark coolly, resting your chin on your hand as you level an even, challenging stare at him. You’ve cowed countless soldiers and politicians with this look alone, honed to terrifying perfection over the years.

Undaunted, Braham sets his jaw and meets your gaze dead on. “I know nothing can replace first-hand experience, but I think this would be a good way for me to practice without, uh,” his eyes flicker down for just a moment and he swallows hard. “Without the risk.”

You quirk an eyebrow at that, but you don’t miss the way he absently fiddles with something small and wooden in his free hand and-

Oh, you think, recognizing it and finally understanding. Oh.

It’s been months, but the memory of your first day in Bjora Marches stays fresh in your mind.

It had been freezing cold in the barracks of Jora’s Keep when you and Braham had gotten locked in, but the ice that froze in your veins when you watched him stumble upon the mangled body of his former guildmate was colder still.

“Alva,” he’d whispered, stricken with grief as he sank to his knees beside her body.

“I’m sorry, Braham.” The words sat like ash on your tongue, tasting the same as the first time you had ever offered your condolences and every time after that. You never really got used to it.

“Garm… used to rest his head in her lap.” Braham had pulled her head into his lap then, smoothing her hair out of her face with the utmost care. You turned away to give him as much privacy you could, but the dead silence in the barracks meant you heard every hitched breath and muttered prayer to the Spirits. When he returned to your side after a few minutes, he was clutching a small wooden figurine.

“It’s Wolf,” he explained softly when he caught you looking, “Alva made one for each of us, but I gave mine back when I left, I… I had no idea she’d kept it all this time…”

He carries it everywhere now: a constant, physical reminder of his failures as a leader and as a friend.

You know the feeling all too well.

Unbidden, an acrid tidal wave of bitter jealousy swells up inside you. It’s not fair. You never had the chance to practice leadership because you were thrust into your rank, your title, in the middle of a war. You had no one to guide you. Every lesson you learned was written in blood and people paid for your mistakes with their lives.

The wave reaches a roaring apex, then swiftly crashes and breaks against the rocks of your guilt and better judgement.

It’s not his fault, you tell yourself, that you were given the short end of the stick. If you had had the opportunity to practice, to learn from someone else’s mistakes without risking the lives of anyone under your command, wouldn’t you have taken it too?

Of course, you think, picturing the Pact Memorial that still stands in Caer Aval to this day, of course I would have.

“Of course,” you say, gaze and voice gentle, “I think that’s a great idea, Braham.”

“It’s okay, I wasn’t expecting- wait, what? Really?” He stares at you incredulously, the beginnings of a disbelieving grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Are you sure? Because I honestly didn’t think you would say yes so-”

“Well, now that you mention it,” you start mildly, before stifling a snort and shaking your head in amusement as he scrambles to retract his words. “Yes, Braham, I’m sure. C’mon, let’s go before I actually start having second thoughts.”

As he helps you clean up the remains of your lunch, you can’t stop your mind from dredging up every embarrassing thing you’ve ever done in the past eight years. You shut your eyes in a fruitless attempt at blocking out the memories, a long-suffering sigh trapped in your lungs.

It’s okay, you reassure yourself, you’ll be in control of the memories you show him. What could go wrong?

“Hey, Aurene- oh. She’s not here.” Braham says, stopping at the entrance of Aurene’s lair.

You walk past him, a smile stretching across your face as you look around the room. It teems with plant life. Curtains of ivy hang from the tops of the room’s arches while giant Maguuma lilies and dozens of other flowers grow out of cracks in the floor, reaching toward the sunbeams that stream in from the open skylight. Clusters of Aurene’s iridescent Brand crystals cover the walls, filling in the holes left by years of neglect.

In the middle of the room, the Scrying Pool gives off a faint light of its own, its waters swirling lazily as you approach. The spot where Aurene normally sits is vacant, though, just like Braham said. Closing your eyes, you reach out to the bond you share with her. It hums at the edge of your consciousness, quiet and comfortable when you’re not actively talking to her. You give the slightest tug.

‘Just checking in. Where are you?’

A few moments later, a familiar sight flashes in your mind. A vast stormy sky, filled with blue-tinted thunderclouds and stretching as far as the eye can see. The Mists.

Then, Aurene’s voice in your head, clear as day. ‘Trying to figure out what Jormag is up to. So far… I still have no idea.’

“Are you talking to Aurene?” Braham asks. You nod. “Tell her I said hi!”

‘Braham says hi.’ you relay.

‘Hello, Braham!’

‘Alright, we’ll let you get back to it.’ You smile inwardly, a rush of affection warming your chest. ‘Be safe. I love you.’

‘Love you too, Champion.’ Aurene croons happily in your head.

“Aurene says hello,” you say, opening your eyes. “She’s keeping an eye out for Jormag in the Mists right now. I don’t think she’ll be back for a while.”

“Oh,” Braham says, slight disappointment coloring his tone, “Does that mean we can’t use the pool?”

“I’m not sure. Wouldn’t hurt to try, though,” you answer, walking over to it. Kneeling as close to the edge as you dare, you lean over to look into the waters. Your reflection wobbles with every ripple from the pool’s constant, self-sustained swirling and you study your distorted face until you catch some movement above your mirrored shoulder that doesn’t seem to be from the pool.

“Don’t even think about it,” you warn lightly, tossing a flat, unimpressed glare over your own shoulder.

Braham, to his credit, looks sorry for maybe half a second before grinning in a way that is decidedly far from it. Still, he concedes and backs away from you with his hands slightly up in surrender. “Oh, like you wouldn’t do the same?” he asks, raising an eyebrow at you.

“I would never,” you lie, turning back to the pool so he doesn’t see your smile. You make a note to push him into it at the first chance you get. “I’ve used the Scrying Pool a few times now and I can tell you that it’s way easier to view your own memories rather than someone else’s. Feels different too.”

When you first used the Scrying Pool to view Ryland’s memories, it wasn’t anything like Kas’ glamour during the All-Legion Rally. You weren’t just wearing his face and spectating from inside his head, you were Ryland. You felt everything, including his thoughts and his emotions, as if they were your own. It had felt so real that after waking up, it took a few seconds for you to realize that you weren’t him. Aurene had to calm you down as you scrambled around for a flamesaw that was never yours and shouted for a warband you were never a part of.

You can only imagine the state you would have woken up in if you had overstayed your welcome in Ryland’s memories.

It was different with yours, though. Those were easier to fall into, like slipping into a dream, and you always woke up from those with complete clarity.

Speaking of your own memories…

“I think I know the perfect one to start with,” you say, dipping a hand into the pool and focusing on a memory you’ve already used it for. You’re not sure if you’ll be able to access a memory without Aurene here, never mind control it. You don’t even know if two people can go in together, or whose body Braham would end up in. So you start off easy. Something you both remember. The leather of Braham’s armor creaks as he settles down next to you and does the same. He watches on in awed silence as the water glows brighter, swirling faster and faster until a small whirlpool forms in the center and pulls at the lily pads closest to it.

A familiar darkness crowds the edge of your vision and you let yourself fall backwards into the memory.

It’s not hard to spot Braham when his blood-red hair contrasts so starkly against the bright, white snow that covers the land and comes down heavy from the sky.

That, and he’s also waving at you from where he stands outside the gates of Cragstead.

“Hey!” he greets once you’re in earshot, shouting over the wind, “Hey, thanks for coming.”

You glance around. “Just us, huh?”

Braham grimaces. “You heard what Brimstone and Whitebear said. I tried sending out notices too, but…” he shakes his head, determination hardening his features. “Nevermind that, we have to go. My friends are in there.”

Turning your eyes upwards, you catch sight of billowing plumes of dark smoke as they start to pour into the sky. A strong gust brings the stench downwind and both you and Braham wrinkle your noses in distaste at the same time.

“No time to waste,” you nod. “Let’s go.”

You tighten your grip on your weapons and follow closely behind Braham as he leads you through the driving snow to the heart of Cragstead, cutting a path through the strange alliance of Flame legion and dredge along the way.

This is an evacuation mission, first and foremost, you remind yourself. Your gaze sweeps over the empty lodges and homesteads, searching for people. It’s not so different from the evacuation missions you used to do with your order when Zhaitan was still alive and a threat, its Risen minions encroaching further and further into the homes of Tyria’s minor races.

You find the villagers soon enough, all rounded up into small groups in the center of the town and trapped inside shimmering domes of fire magic. An equal number of charr and dredge guard each dome, their mechanical weapons whirring and spitting the occasional flame.

Braham growls at the sight and hefts his mace, rolling his shoulders in anticipation.

“Wait,” you caution, throwing an arm out to stop him from charging in. “We can’t just rush in. We’re way outnumbered.”

“We took care of those other guys just fine,” he argues.

“Those were just stragglers we picked off,” you gesture at the domes scattered around. “Here? There’s a dozen of them and only two of us. We can’t take them all in an open fight-”

Braham makes a frustrated noise and you hold up your hand.

“-which is why we switch tactics,” you finish, flashing a sharp grin at him. “They haven’t noticed us yet. Here’s the plan.”

The thing is, you’re no stranger to being outnumbered. Your entire time in Orr was spent leading handfuls of people on high risk, high reward missions, after all. It was kind of your specialty.

So it’s with practiced ease and calm authority that you explain your plan now, laying out a classic divide-and-conquer strategy that’s gotten you and your small squads through countless skirmishes against all odds.

It’s a flawless ambush, all things considered.

You and Braham hit them hard and quick, fighting in tandem as you push the offensive and give them no time to react or warn their allies before you cut them down. And with the help of his protective guardian magic, you two manage to free everyone without a single casualty.

“Where are the others?” Braham asks immediately as he helps an older man to his feet.

Despite his clearly injured arm, the man pulls him into a quick hug before answering. “They were chased up the mountain, to the shrine. I wasn’t- I wasn’t fast enough…”

“It’s okay, Haslo, I’ll go. Will you be-”

“We’ll be fine, thanks to you.” Haslo claps him on the back. “You and your friend be careful!”

When Braham looks over at you, you nod. Of course I’m coming with you.

The trip up to the shrine is shorter than you expected, but you think that might have something to do with the lack of flaming charr or dredge along the way. That only puts you more on edge and you ready your weapons, wary.

You don’t hesitate for a second at the entrance of the cave, charging in to catch the massive Flame legion charr and his grunts off guard. You’ve only known Braham for a few days and fought alongside him for less, but you two fall into a steady rhythm almost instantly, barely having to exchange words. You make quick work of the goons, letting him take care of the hulking charr. Braham doesn’t even let him get a taunt out, stunning him with a shield bash before swinging his mace into the charr’s snout with a brutal, deadly uppercut, spraying blood across the cavern walls.

With the threat taken care of for the time being, you and Braham free the rest of the villagers and escort them down the mountain, dispatching any stray Flame legion or dredge who tried to escape in all the chaos. While there weren’t any casualties, fortunately, there are still plenty injured, so while he talks to some of the other villagers, you help tend to the wounded as best you can. They have a long walk to Hoelbrak ahead of them, and you don’t envy them the trip.

You’re tying off a bandage when you hear him call your name.

“There you are,” he says, stopping in front of you. “Hey, thanks for everything. Really, I mean, I don’t know if things would’ve turned out as well as they did if you hadn’t shown up.”

“Glad I could help,” you say, tilting your head at him. “What are you going to do now?”

“After we get everyone to Hoelbrak, I’m gonna find out where all these Flame legion and dredge are holed up so we can track them down.” He pauses, then rubs the back of his neck with a nervous laugh. “Uh, that is, if you still wanna come along…?”

You smile and cross your arms. “Guess I’ll see you soon, then?”

The pleased grin Braham gives you is warmer than any hearth and twice as bright.

“See you soon!”

“Oh no,” Braham mutters, the first thing you hear as you blink away the last of the memory. “Oh, Spirits, noooo.”

“Something wrong?” you ask, keeping your voice light even as you eye him up and down in concern. It was his first time using the Scrying Pool, after all. Had it affected him differently?

He shakes his head. “No, I’m fine, I just… I just can’t believe I used to wear my hair like that.”

You keep a straight face for an admirable three whole seconds before bursting into snickers. When Braham groans and buries his face in his hands, you only laugh harder.

“For what it’s worth,” you say, smiling, “I thought it suited you.”

He glowers at you. “You’re just saying that.”

You make a non-committal noise and wiggle your hand in a “so-so” gesture. He groans again, falling backwards onto the floor.

“That was really cool,” he says after a while, staring up at the vaulted ceiling. “Being in your head, I mean. I felt so… in control the whole time. Like I knew exactly what I was doing.”

“You weren’t so bad yourself.” Leaning backwards on your hands, you tip your head back and close your eyes. “You were impatient—well, you still kind of are—but you handled yourself better than some soldiers twice your age. And you’ve only gotten better since then. Give yourself a little more credit, Braham.”

Out of the corner of your eye, you watch him flush at the praise, sitting up abruptly.

“Thanks,” he coughs into his fist, fighting a grin. “So, uh, any more memories you feel like sharing?”

You hum. “Several, actually. Ready to go again?”

You, grabbing the handles of a cannon with both hands and holding on for dear life as The Glory of Tyria lurches to the side, sending Destiny’s Edge, Pact soldiers, and Risen alike sprawling flat on the deck. When the airship finally rights itself, you waste no time, bracing your shoulder against the cannon and shoving hard until you have Zhaitan directly in its sights. The Elder Dragon is on the verge of death, pieces of its own body sloughing off itself as it clings desperately to the side of the tower. You take a deep, steadying breath and fire.

You, the only thing standing in between a crowd of fleeing civilians and a swarm of cutthroat Aetherblade pirates as they drop down from their airships. Lion’s Arch can be rebuilt, but lives can’t be replaced. You do a quick headcount, zero in on the weakest-looking one, and leap into the fray.

You, tracking down your teammates one by one as you tear through the dark, vine-twisted labyrinth under the Silverwastes, an undying behemoth of a Mordrem wolf hot on your heels. You lead them all safely through the maze, driven by the fierce desire to protect your friends. You will not lose anyone today.

You, the legendary Pact Commander, at your best.

After a few back-to-back trips down memory lane, you both decided to take a short break. For his part, Braham had opted to swing his legs over the edge of the pool, dipping his feet in. When he asked whether or not it was okay to do so, you just shrugged and told him you had already cannonballed into the water before. Multiple times.

“How are you feeling? No headaches or anything?” you ask after a few minutes of rest.

“Nope. I do feel pretty commander-y, though.”

You snort. “Commander-y?”

“Mhm. I’ve been in your head too long. Any second now, I’m gonna start spouting a bunch of your expert advice.” Braham clears his throat and puts on an exaggerated voice that you swear sounds nothing like you. “‘Remember, it doesn’t matter how long the hog’s been dead. It doesn’t matter that it’s been sitting in a toxic cloud. You can always try to eat it.’”

You roll your eyes and swipe your hand through the water, splashing him. “Okay, that’s it, I’m revoking your pool privileges. We’re done here.” You pause, expression turning thoughtful. “Actually, I think we are done here. I don’t think I have any more memories to show you. None that would help, anyway.”

“Hmm, what about your time in Elona? I wasn’t there for that.”

“Uh, you definitely were,” you say, shooting a quizzical smile at him. “Or do you not remember storming Joko’s palace with me?”

“No, no,” Braham laughs, waving dismissively, “I meant before that. I wasn’t there for… ugh, what’s his name again? Balthazar?”

For a brief, blissful moment, you only recall the part where you killed him.

Then your free hand flies to your chest on instinct, ghosting over a wound that no longer exists.

“What about him?” you ask, a little louder than necessary. You cringe inwardly, but Braham doesn’t seem to notice.

“Well, everyone told me you somehow took control of Joko’s Awakened army and got them to fight on your side,” he shakes his head, chuckling. “I didn’t believe them at first, but that sounds exactly like something only you could pull off.”

You can hardly hear yourself over the frenetic pounding of your pulse in your ears. “Did they… tell you anything else?”

“Not really,” Braham frowns, finally turning to face you. “Why, is there- woah, hey, are you alright?”

You open your mouth to answer, but nothing comes out.

“Commander?” His voice spikes with worry.

Swallowing hard past the lump in your throat, you try again. Still nothing.

You’re so preoccupied with trying to force yourself to speak that you don’t even realize your other hand is still in the pool until you feel the tug of an old memory on your consciousness.

Ripping your hand out of the glowing water in a panic, you can only stare in horror as that does nothing to stop the ancient, powerful magic from pulling you helpless back into the dark.

Everything hurts.

You wish it would stop.

It doesn’t.

You throw yourself to the side, narrowly dodging a fireball as it blazes past your head. Ducking behind a crumbling pillar, you press your back up against the stone and try to catch your breath.

You’ve bought yourself some time, at least.

This is a fight you know you can’t win, but the walls of flames surrounding the spire prevent your escape, so your only hope is to keep Balthazar distracted until reinforcements arrive.

“Any second now,” you mutter, and you don’t know if you’re trying to reassure or convince yourself.

You grit your teeth as another wave of pain wracks your body. There’s a nasty gash in your side, larger and deeper than the rest of your cuts, and it oozes sluggishly, soaking your armor in blood.

It’s bearable for now, but you can’t afford to be slowed down.

“Are you hiding, Commander?” Balthazar sneers, “How pathetic.”

Your answer to that is to dart out from behind the pillar, launching a flurry of attacks along his flank and back. When he twists around to send a volley of fireballs your way, you just tuck yourself into a neat dodge-roll, avoiding them all with ease. If you wince and stumble on the landing, you pretend not to notice and hope he didn’t either.

“Aw, you missed!” you taunt, sounding way braver than you feel, “How pathetic!”

Balthazar’s face contorts in fury. “Enough!” he shouts, and both the flames surrounding him and the spire seem to burn hotter than ever.

Before you can react, the ground beneath your feet erupts in a column of fire and you scream as your world is engulfed in a white-hot inferno. When the initial blinding agony finally passes, you find yourself sprawled out on the ground, pointed stones digging into your back and your weapons flung too far out of your reach.

Get up.

You only manage to twitch your fingers.

Get up. Now.

Your throat burns raw. When you try to speak, the only thing that comes out of your mouth is a pained whimper.

GET. UP. BEFORE BALTHAZAR-

You sense Aurene before you see her.

“Ah, the scion, finally come here to defend her champion.”

Finally…?

It clicks. Your heart stops.

Balthazar’s been toying with you this whole fucking time.

It’s impossible for you to form words, let alone make any sort of loud noise, so you try to warn Aurene through your shared bond instead, panic rising with every passing moment that she doesn’t respond.

‘GET AWAY,’ you practically roar at her, ‘TRAP. IT’S A TRAP. YOU’RE FLYING RIGHT INTO A TRAP, TURN AROUND, PLEASE-’

And Aurene roars right back at you. There are no words you can hear—you don’t think she’s old enough for that yet—but she can convey her feelings through the bond and right now she’s drowning out your desperate warnings with them. She refuses to abandon you. You are her guardian and her champion and she loves you and you promised over and over to protect her so she promised the same and weren’t you the one who taught her about loyalty in the first place?

It takes one self-sacrificing idiot to know one. You would laugh if you weren’t so fucking terrified of losing her.

Your vision swims and you only catch glimpses of Aurene’s skirmish. She’s a bright blue blur, swerving expertly in the air as she dodges fireballs and lets loose her devastating dragon breath every time Balthazar tries to swat her out of the sky. Snarling, he launches some sort of phantasmal chains at her and-

No.

No, no, no, nonono-

“Aurene!” you scream. The exertion sends you into a coughing fit, but you don’t care.

You’re crying now, too. You don’t care.

Balthazar is saying something, but you stopped listening to him ages ago. It’s a monumental effort just to crane your head towards Aurene, your vision clearing long enough to see her staring at you, eyes blown wide in fear as terror rolls off her in waves.

She tries to apologize and you rush to soothe her.

‘It’s okay, it’s alright,’ you reassure, ‘you have nothing to be sorry for, I love you so much, it’s not your fault, never your fault.’

Maybe you’re projecting a little. Whatever.

You only stop when a giant metal boot steps squarely into your line of sight, blocking her from view. You glance up.

Balthazar towers over you, his giant, flaming greatsword hovering menacingly by his side.

The fear that lances through your gut is primal.

You can’t die yet. Not here. Not now.

He notices the way your wide eyes trace his sword and bares his teeth in a humorless grin. Oh, he’s enjoying this, relishing the power he has over you.

“I thought you would put up more of a fight, given your reputation,” Balthazar remarks casually, circling you. With a lazy wave of his hand, his sword floats over and suspends itself in midair right above your chest.

Your already labored breathing dissolves into short, shallow gasps.

You can’t die. You’re not ready.

He lets the sword hover for a few more seconds before grabbing the hilt with both hands, raising it higher over your body. His face twists with hate, eyes blazing molten gold as they bore hungry and vengeful into yours.

You don’t want to die.

The edge of the blade glints orange from an indifferent sunset.

Please.

There’s a sickening crunch as he swings it down hard into your chest, punching through your armor and sternum and crushing most of your ribcage in the process. Then the blade severs your spine and you lose all feeling in your lower body.

Distantly, you think you hear someone scream, high-pitched and anguished. Was that Aurene? Or Taimi? Maybe both.

Certainly not you, although you’d tried to. What remains of your lungs are filled with more blood than air at this point, and it pours out of your mouth when you open it.

I’m sorry, you think, but you can’t remember what you’re apologizing for. Or who you’re apologizing to.

You’re so tired of blood. Tired of pain. Tired of feeling.

Everything hurts.

You wish it would stop.

It does.

The only reason you don’t wake up choking back a scream and clutching your chest like Braham does is because you’ve relived this in your nightmares far too many times for it to rip that kind of reaction out of you anymore. Still, it takes you longer than normal to push yourself into a sitting position and even longer for your pulse to even out. Fighting the urge to curl up and disappear from the world, you rush over to where Braham sits hyperventilating.

“Hey, Braham, hey, look at me, you’re okay, you’re okay. You’re here, you’re alive,” you reassure, and you’re surprised at how calm you sound. You work on getting him to match your breaths, counting out every inhale and exhale.

“Oh, Spirits,” he chokes out after his breathing steadies, his voice nearly cracking as tears prick in the corners of his eyes, “that was… how- h-how did you survive that?”

Your mouth shuts with an audible click. Biting your tongue, you look to the side, carefully avoiding eye contact.

You could lie.

Lie and tell him the airship made it just in time and the medics brought you back from the brink with a miracle. Another close call, but you pulled through like you always do. Spare him the pain, the grief. It’s been years, and there are more important things to worry about right now. It would save you both so much trouble.

“Commander?” he asks softly, earnestly.

You squeeze your eyes shut.

“I didn’t,” you admit, barely above a whisper.

Deafening silence, for a beat.

Two.

Three.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Braham says eventually. When you finally bring yourself to look at him again, his brows are furrowed in confusion. He stares at you in concern, scrutinizing. “You’re… definitely still alive.”

“I sure am.” Neither of you miss the tired bitterness that bleeds into your sarcasm. You wince and sigh, running a hand over your face. “I’m sorry, it’s just… It’s a long story.”

And to this day, you still haven’t told anyone all the details. You’re not sure if you ever will.

“Who knows?” Braham asks.

The question catches you off guard. “Uh, Rytlock, Canach, and Kas were there when it happened. Taimi… overheard.” You don’t know which is worse: being the one to hear you die, or finding your body after the fact.

They’re not the only ones who know, but they’re the only ones who matter. Even then, you swore them all to secrecy.

“Taimi called me around that time,” he says.

Your eyes widen. “Did she…?”

Braham shakes his head. “She was crying too hard,” he says, speaking slowly as he focuses on remembering. “She said something about you, but she couldn’t get the words out. When I tried to ask her what was wrong, she just hung up on me. Then she called me back a day later to say it was nothing and to pretend it never happened.”

“Huh,” you say, because you can’t think of anything else.

“I always wondered what she was trying to tell me,” Braham smiles sadly at you. “Guess I know now.”

You swallow hard. “You’re… taking this a lot better than I thought you would.”

“I’m not the one who died,” he shrugs, even as his hand comes up to brush across his chest absentmindedly.

But you know how it felt, you think, How I felt.

The thought hangs in the air, unspoken.

“Are you okay?” Braham asks after a while.

“Yeah,” you answer quickly, automatically, “I’m fine.”

He raises a disbelieving eyebrow. “Are you sure?” He looks pointedly down and you follow his gaze.

Your hands are shaking where they rest in your lap. Gritting your teeth, you clench them into fists. They don’t stop.

“I’m fine,” you repeat, more to yourself than anything. “I’m fine.”

The shaking travels up your arms until your shoulders are trembling as if under an invisible weight. This is so embarrassing, so humiliating. You’re pathetic. You-

You don’t resist when Braham pulls you into a warm embrace.

“It’s been years,” you mutter, blinking rapidly against the itchy heat behind your eyes. “I thought I’d be over it by now.”

“It always hits you when you least expect it,” Braham says quietly, “I’m sorry, Commander.”

The noise that comes out of you is somewhere between a laugh and a sob. You know he knows you hate pity, but this is the farthest thing from it. “When did you get so wise?” you tease.

“Learned it from you,” he says, voice tinged with pride, and now it’s your turn to flush. He squeezes you tightly once before letting you go. “Are you okay?” he asks again.

“Yeah,” you say, and this time you mean it. You breathe in deep, feeling lighter than you have in ages. “I’m okay. Thank you, Braham.”

“Glad to hear it,” he grins, and promptly shoves you right into the Scrying Pool.

His boisterous laughter echoes off the walls and drowns out your indignant spluttering. When you pull yourself out of the pool, drenched and dripping water everywhere, he scrambles to his feet and breaks into a dead sprint down the hall.

You chase after him, smiling, and leave your memories behind you.

#gw2 #guild wars 2 #gw2 fan submission #braham eirsson #pact commander #me finally posting another commander pov fic after three years: hiiii.... how yall doin....#anyway this fic has been rattling around in my noggin for eight months now. here u go take it from me #i will take a hammer and FIX the commander and braham dynamic #2k4s gc saw it firstttt #thank u pals for beta-reading ilu #if u enjoyed this fic! would u pls consider reblogging? :3c #my writing

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palaceofpassion · 3 years ago

Text

MAY I stop Time?

A fic done for a friend! In which May lets her new semblance go to her head.

“Okay… okay I can do this.”

Here May rested, her body hanging above the man of her dreams, one of the many people of her dreams but still the only man. Her eyes gazed upon his delectable form, his toned form gained through months and months of hard work. His boyish face on the threshold of a chiseled deity. Nearly losing herself in his gorgeous blue eyes she felt her heart thump in her chest. Her beloved Jaune rested below her, his body glistening with the sweat of his hard labor.

Even as she lowered herself upon his lap he made no distinct movements, no signs of noticing her attempts. In fact he didn’t move at all, neither did the incredibly gorgeous women around him. Taking the time to handle her nerves she gazed upon the other six figures in the room. Her pulse raced in her veins as she stared at each of them, bare as the day they were born. Their bodies much like Jaunes were coated in a thick layer of sweat. And just like the man below her they made no special attention to her own depravity. None of them moved, not a single person besides herself were even aware, conscious of her actions.

Even as she pressed her virgin lips against the tip of his massive cock she couldn’t help but remember the day this all started. The day that she unlocked her semblance, what felt like so long ago was only a month. In that month she’d learned to control her powers, learned to use them to their best and make the most out of them. And what else would she do with them but enjoy her beloveds to their fullest. And here they all where, here they all sat around her.

Closing her eyes she pushed down, the memories of yonder days returning to her mind as she did so.

It had been any other day, May had been at the shooting range practicing her sniping, she wouldn’t let that Ruby girl show her up! Then out of nowhere one of the punks from Team CRDL decided it was a great idea to scare her, so they decided that they’d take a pot shot at her. In her surprise something happened, before the dust round hit her the world came to a halt, everything slowed till the bullet stopped right in front of her.

“Wha?! What’s going on?!” The normally quiet May couldn’t help but have a minor freak out when she realized the bullet that should have slammed her right in the face had stopped. After a moment it dawned on her, this was her doing! Excitement filled her breast as she stared at the bullet, completely forgetting about those jerks from CRDL. In her excitement she dashed out of the room, not even paying attention to any of the other students as she passed by. She only had a small group of people she wanted to tell, the most important people in her life.

With speed that would drive Ruby to envy she found herself in the Library, where she knew her special friends would be. Spotting them in the distance she made her way forward, the first coming to focus was her most beloved man. Jaune Arc, the only person who would go out of their way to talk to a wallflower like her. He’d gone out of his way to talk to her when no one else would at the beginning of initiation. Being teamed with him had done nothing but cause her near case heart attacks. She’d pretend not to stare when he’d come out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel. She was only so strong though, weak willed as she was, she'd gaze upon his figure over and over. And believe her when she says he’d come a long way. She still held their first conversation dear in her heart, it was because of him that she’d been able to make such precious friends. She wouldn’t admit it, but she’d had many an erotic dream about the young blonde… though speaking of erotic dreams she knew she wasn’t the only one.

To his right, was quite possibly the single most gorgeous woman in existence. A beauty who made lesbians out of even straight women, Pyrrha Nikos. The all Star Champion, the invincible girl, the untouchable unapproachable or at least that’s what May used to think. If it hadn’t been for Jaune she may have never seen the real girl underneath, the one who was just as lonely as her, who only wanted to make friends. They both owed a lot to Jaune, and if she was being honest, Pyrrha was probably her biggest rival for his affection. At least she would have been if not for her also being a target of May’s pining heart. The woman was amazing, strong, powerful, glorious, gorgeous! But more than that she was just a girl, a sweet and loving girl that like herself was just happy spending time with her friends.

Then there was the girl to his left, the dark skinned beauty Ciel Soleil, her own partner. She hadn’t really known what to think of the girls when they first met. But now they were as thick as thieves, even if Ciel rarely ever spoke. She owed much of this to her previous two teammates, they’d taken the time to get everyone to sit and talk with one another. She knew that if they’d been left to their own devices then neither her nor Ciel would have taken the time to become friends. She would have surely regretted that decision. Despite her cold nature, May knew she cared in the end, she herself was an incredibly sweet woman who May couldn’t help but feel an affinity for.

To Ciel’s own left, there was Penny Poledina, her odd but rather fun friend who had come along with her Atlas. The two had originally planned to be partners, but because of Ciel accidentally running into May first those plans had become derailed. Things had worked out surprisingly well as Penny would visit the four of them frequently, becoming fast friends. May herself was surprised at how quickly Jaune had adapted to Penny’s inquisitive nature, he himself admitted to having seven sisters so he had grown to become rather patient. She was incredibly adorable, and May couldn’t help but feel her heart flutter every time the inquisitive girl spoke to ehr.

In front of them were sitting the other three members of their little friend group. One being the second year Velvet Scarlatina, a student who had somehow just kind of drifted into their little group. May couldn’t even remember when she first showed up, but she was now a full part of their group. And honestly she didn’t really mind her, though she saw the way she looked at Jaune, not that May could have blamed her. The girl herself was quite the beauty, her adorable ears expressed a lot of her emotion, and well May would be lying if she said she HADN’T stared at that nice plump rear of hers.

To her right was another odd one to join their friend group, Reese Chloris, she’d apparently been having issues with some of the girls from team NDGO, and Pyrrha happened to walk by. Not one to let things like injustice go unpunished, she stepped in and absolutely humiliated them. It was pretty obvious that Reese had originally joined by the simple virtue of her own lust and admiration towards Pyrrha. But as time went on she became a genuine friend with the group. May really liked her style, her mohawk was incredibly stylish, and her slim figure was one that May envied.

Then there was Weiss, the last member of their little group. Member of team RWBY, Heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, she will never let you forget that by the way. Or at least she wouldn’t have in the past. Weiss was honestly the most surprising member of their group, she’d been a pain in her posterior when they’d first met. Mostly because of how Jaune had been stricken by the young Heiress. May hadn’t been the only one bothered by this obviously, as Pyrrha despite giving Jaune the go ahead had come to dislike the attention that she had been given. Then there was the fact that she was quite mean when it came to turning down the young Arc. He’d only asked her out three times and yet she’d gotten terribly upset with him… she wished he’d been more forward with her or at least Pyrrha or Cie. Though things turned around near the dance, he’d realized that it wasn’t going to happen he apologized and even helped push that Neptune guy in the right direction. That ended up not working out, and well they’d become friends along the way.

She wouldn’t say that she was as fond of her as she was all the other girls, but for what it was worth she was very pretty.

Even in her excitement she didn’t yell out to them, she hated drawing attention to herself, she was quite literally a wallflower. Her parents had named her after a mayflower in itself. Though, as she drew closer she noticed something strange, they hadn’t moved even the slightest. That… that wasn’t normal, not even in the slightest. Her confusion grew as she drew closer, finally reaching them. Then she looked around… no one was moving, not a single person! “Wha..what?!” Fear seized her heart as she started to panic, had she done this?! Did she freeze everyone?!

“Please go back, please go back!” Closing her eyes she wished as hard as she could that this was just a dream.

“May?” She nearly jumped out of her large jacket, her one good eye opening wide as the other seven individuals watched her with concern and confusion. “When did you get here?” Jaune’s warm voice assisted in calming her nerves.

“I… uhm… I….” She wanted to tell them about her semblance, this was a big moment! But… but there was a part of her, concentrating once more she felt the world fall to a halt. “I… I did do this…” She’d stopped time! She wasn’t sure exactly how she’d do it, or what had brought this around. But this was amazing! Though… though sinister thoughts fluttered through her mind. Mustering her courage she walked in between her friends, taking a deep breath she leaned over towards Jaune. It was quick and small, but she pressed her lips against his offering him a small peck.

Pulling away she felt her face burn hot, embarrassment flowed through her. “I… I did it!” She couldn’t believe she’d done it, she couldn’t believe that she’d managed to kiss the boy of her dreams. Though one could hardly call it a real kiss, it would suffice for the time. She wasn’t quite brave enough, nor did she want to abuse these powers.

Moving back to her previous position she concentrated, time fell back in. “Uh, I… I just wanted to come by and study with you guys… if that’s okay?”

“Of course it is sweetheart.” Her heart fluttered in her chest as Pyrrha stared at her, her gorgeous emerald orbs peering into her ugly blueish grey. “We’d love to have you… though it is quite strange how you’d gotten here out of seemingly nowhere.”

“Yeah dude! Where did you even come from?” Reese’ question nearly threw her off.

“I uhm… I just walked over, maybe you guys didn’t notice me? I am really hard to notice. ” She didn’t mean to get down on herself, and she sort of prided herself in her unnoticeable status. But there was a part of her that really didn’t like it.

“No… no we would have noticed you. You’re always noticeable to us.” All of the girls nodded along to Jaune’s words, and once more May remembered why she loved these people. All of them, each and every last one of them. “So what brought you over here in a hurry?”

“I uhm I!” In her panic time stopped again, “oh no!” She’d need to get better control of that, still she watched everyone. Their lips puckered in worry for her, and then… then a thought hit her. She could do anything! Anything at all… so she made her move. Stepping to Weiss first she gulped, her heavy chest heaved beneath her thick jacket. Lowering herself she cleared the hair out of her vision.

With courage that can only be found from her new found abilities she pressed her lips against the Heiress. Just like her namesake she had a crisp icey taste to her, one that May would very much like to try again in the future.

Not delaying she pulled away with a small pop, running her tongue around her lips.

Next came Reese, the exotic girl proved to be quite the opposite, her lips had an earthy taste to them, it wasn’t bad, just completely different from Weiss.

Next came Velvet, May couldn’t help but giggle against Velvet’s lips which tasted like Carrot Cake. “Oh Vel~” Pulling away she couldn’t help but run her fingers through Velvet’s ears, running her nails through her thin fur.

Penny was next, copper, it tasted a lot like copper… and silicone? It was an odd combination! But she didn’t hate it, it was pleasant once she grew used to it and she may have dilly dallied a bit more than she meant to. She placed another gentle kiss against her forehead before moving onto Ciel.

She took a moment staring at her partners glossy chocolate covered skin. Oh god she felt her nerves fail as she grew closer. Unlike the other girls she made sure this one lasted, her lips pressed tightly against the timely strict girl and she kept them pressed for a while. She enjoyed her flavor most of all so far, it was a cool minty flavor one that sent chills down her spine. After reluctantly pulling away she moved over to Pyrrha.

Her heart fluttered thoroughly in her chest, like a drum beating rapidly she felt her heart about to explode. Mustering her courage she actually grabbed Pyrrha’s head. Puckering as much as she could she pressed her lips, spice and ginger filled ehr senses as she found herself unable to pull away from the exotically erotic woman in front of her. Running her tongue across her cherry red lips she couldn’t help but enjoy the woman’s plump lips.

Truly reluctantly she pulled away, her heart thumped louder and louder to the point she swore that she could hear it pumping blood in her veins. Turning towards Jaune she just went right in, her moist lips crashed against his. One minute, two minutes, three minutes she continued to kiss him, not even coming up for air her courage turned into a burning fire as she ran her tongue across his teeth. Pressing on she slipped into her mouth, by this points he was basically tongue fucking him. She lost count for how long she’d been doing so but she now knew his taste intimately! Thick ropes of drool rippled down as she pulled away, her tongue slipping out of his mouth last. “So goooood~” She wanted more, needed more! She could always feel the power going to ehr head, but she didn’t care! For now though… she needed to keep things under control.

Pulling back she made sure to take her original spot, giving herself time to calm her beating heart she finally allowed time to return. She’d nearly missed it, but several of the girls, and Jaune, had quickly pressed their fingers across their lips. Velvet herself had slipped her hand across one of her rabbit ears. Once more time stood still, and a sudden realization hit her, “They can feel it… they can’ feel everything…” This should have scared her, should have terrified her, but it didn’t, instead it excited her, it sent powerful urges and lit a strong desire inside of her chest.

Once more taking the time to calm herself, she let time flow again, “I… I just wanted to see you.” Despite her meek tone she felt far more courageous than she’d ever felt. The fire that lit in her soul wouldn’t burn away, not for a long long time. For now though, she’d take the time to practice, to truly get used to her powers.

“Uh… well come and sit down!” It was obvious that Jaune was trying to get over the strange sensation in his mouth, but bless him for still thinking of her.

A small smile crossed her lips as she sat down with the group, this really was the good life and she wouldn’t trade it for anything… but she wanted more… wanted more with all of them. It was small, but she knew what she would do.

The sun hadn’t even risen by the time she’d woken the next morning, the excitement of the previous day had truly gotten to her and in her excitement she’d found sleep hard to come by. Even Pyrrha, Ms. Wakes up before the crack of dawn, was still slumbering, “Mmm~ Jaune not in front of the others~”

A smile slipped past her lips as she listened to their Vice Leader talk in her sleep, it was a good thing that Jaune was such a deep sleeper. Though she’d have to talk to Pyrrha about that one day, the girl’s thirst was unquenchable, not like she could blame her. Jaune was quite the wonderful boy, she’d had quite a few dreams about him as well.

Though… speaking of the boy, her eyes glanced over at his resting figure. The soft silver light of the moon illuminated his lithe figure. As her eyes trailed down from his face, to his chest she felt a knot grow in her throat. Apparently Pyrrha hadn’t been the only one to have an erotic dream that night, with only the moon’s light casting upon him she could still make out his impressive mast standing at full attention.

Once more she had that sickly thick feeling bundle in her chest, her breathing grew heavy. Without thinking she slid off her bed, with light steps she made her way over to him..

Activating her semblance the world grew still. Her core grew slick as she drew closer, trickles of warm juices began to run down her inner thigh. Before she knew it she was already by his side, her hand gingerly pressed against his thick hard member. Even covered by his rather soft onesie she could tell just how massive it was, excitement began to boil in her core.

As her gaze fell to his slumbering face she felt herself awash with shame. Was she about to do this? This was an invasion of privacy! Jaune would never do that to her… but… but this could be her only chance… the only times he’d ever get to actually see it. Then she looked back towards his towering member, she was so very weak. Pushing past her hesitation she slipped her right hand up his surprisingly firm chest. Her fingers slowly pinched upon the zipper, the zipper that held her long desired treasure.

And without even the slightest bit of hesitation or a second thought she slid the metallic key downwards. As she slowly pulled on the last lock to her goal a thought occurred to her, how was she moving something even when time was stopped? How could she still hear the sound of the zipper coming down? She’d have to investigate later, but for now, for now she had a prize to unbox.

Her heart throbbed in her heaving breast as her goal came into sight, finally she’d pulled that darned thing all the way. She wanted to enjoy this, wanted to really let the moment sink in. Bit by bit, she continued. First her gaze fell upon tufts of unsheared golden fur, “Oh!” He was as voluminous in the lower section as he was up top. She’d… she’d love to run her nose across it, take a moment to really enjoy his scent.

As she continued her venture she felt her boxers wedge into her quivering pussy, she would need to change after this. Finally she reached the very tip, and with one last pull she allowed it to spring free. She felt as if she’d used her semblance on herself, her mind went blank as everything stood still. There it was, in all it’s massive glory, “Could… would… would it fit?” She couldn’t help but tremble at the sight, both in awe and fear at the mighty shaft that stood at hopefully full attention in front of her.

She couldn’t help but feel in awe of how mighty it was, but at the same time, the very thought of trying to slide it inside of her frightened her. She would need to practice, need to get ready for when the time came. But! That was not why she was here, no she was here to… to… to help her leader! Yes! That’s why she’d come this far, he must have been in so much pain, so she as his faithful teammate, had to do her duty and help… help relieve his stress… yes… right that’s what she was doing. This was for him, this wasn’t for her… right. At least that’s what she told herself.

Once she’d taken the zipper to the very end she had decided on repositioning herself. Laying herself between his legs, she allowed herself to really get close up and personal with hopefully her future husband’s mighty… p… penis. She felt her face flush hot at the thought of using the word! Still… something was odd, she’d tested it before but she could definitely taste things even with time frozen. But apparently she was also able to smell them, her nose was assaulted by a thick strong musk, one that was mixed with the scent of spice. That in itself had answered a question that was at the back of her mind, did he shampoo his pubic hairs? The answer was apparently a strong yes!

Still… it was impressive, impressive with how even after he’d spent nearly 25 minutes in the shower he still had this strong… powerful… tantalizing… invigorating odor to him! Pressing her nose forward she pressed herself between his thick heavy sack, and his impressive… massive… gorging c...c...cock… yes that’s what this was! She felt his flesh move against her touch, she’d almost jumped back when she realized that it hadn’t been as hard as she thought. Instead she felt warmth, felt his touch against her face. This… this was good… she’d been worried about how well this would turn out. But as she took in deep strong breaths she knew it was going to be amazing. Burying her nose against the base of his penis, she allowed herself the time to take in his scent. She was practically marinating in it, and she loved every last second.

Her instincts took control of her actions, without realizing it she’d already brought the tip of her tongue to the slit at the head of his massive cock. Before she could stop herself she’d already moved in to get a taste, running her pink muscle across his sensitive glands, scooping up bits of frozen precum as she dug into the tiny hole. Once she’d finished she took the moment to savor his thick and natural flavors. She’d read that most women hated the taste, but she found herself becoming addicted to the salty tangy flavor.

Once she’d pulled back she took the time to admire the view in front of her. “I can’t believe I’m doing this… it’s… it’s so wonderful.” She wanted him, wanted to feel so very full, wanted to slide that thick hard cock between her needy pussy. She could feel her womb tighten at the thought, begging for her to mount him and breed herself on her unsuspecting love.

However, she still had enough self restraint, it was too early for that. She couldn’t let herself be carried away… though… though she could help him out a little right? He’d been there for her from the very beginning, it would only be right if she were to… were to help him get off. Just… look how hard… and pent up he must have been. Right, she was just being a good friend… a good… a good follower! Yes that’s what she was doing…

WIth her final bits of self control crumbling before her she took the time to move forward. Once more she placed her nose between his cock and balls allowing his scent to invade her nose. She couldn’t get enough of it! She hadn’t realized just how amazing scents could be till today, but here she was stuffing her face into her beloved man’s balls like a… a… a horny little slut… “Ahhh~” She felt her pussy clench at the thought alone, her body shook with excitement in response. “I… I’m a dirty… I’m a dirty little slut.” That crumbling self control was gone, and now only her desires leaked out.

“I want you to breed me… I want you to breed me! Breed Pyrrha! Breed CIel! Breed Reese! Breed Penny! Breed Velvet! Breed Weiss! Break all the other girls!” Her right hand moved to the base of his cock, she swore that the hot burning member throbbed at her touch, but that wasn’t possible. Her left hand moved between her thighs, slipping between her tight boxers her fingers moved along her plump moist vulva. Unable to control herself any longer, consumed by his thick musk, she moved her hands in tandem.

Her dainty thin fingers ran along her plump lips squeezing and grinding back and forth. She could feel herself growing slicker and slicker. Her nose buried deep between his massive cock and heavy balls she continued to breath in his thick scent. Her right hand continued to run up and down his thick heavy meaty fat cock, pumping him over and over running her fingers across his thick heavy veins. Her brain could only think of breeding, could only think of pleasuring the man before her, even if he wouldn’t feel it. But she did anyways, placing her lips against his thick, full balls she placed several heavy and hearty kisses against them. From time to time she dragged her tongue across his sweaty savoury orbs.

She wanted more and more, when her tongue wasn’t enough she wrapped her lips around one of his impressive sacks. Dragging her tongue against the precious balls of flesh she began to gently suck on them. Her pumping grew faster and faster, while her fingers continued to explore her nether regions. SQUELCH SQUELCH SQUELCH Over and over she ran her thin digits through her plump pussy. Her fingers began to explore her thin hole, finally penetrating her needy little slit. She could feel her pussy suck and clench around her fingers, she needed something bigger! She needed his cock in her, she needed to be bred! She wanted him to do her, to do so to so many others! The thought of all of the girls riding this member, while the others watched invaded her mind! The thought of him putting those nasty girls, those nasty insulting girls that liked to put him down in their place. For him to have them face down ass up, this MIGHTY cock plunging in and out of their holes as they begged for more, begged for him to breed them like the dirty little breeding sows that they were. Those thoughts invaded her mind like never before.

She couldn’t believe herself, couldn’t believe how easily she felt she was being corrupted! But it wasn’t just the breeding! No! NO! That would imply she only wanted his cock in her! She wanted other things, wanted to run her tongue through Pyrrha and Ciel’s pussy, to eat them out and savor their flavors. She wanted to stretch out Weiss and Reese, bend them in positions that only their thin, gorgeous, and lithe bodies could handle. She wanted to grind with Penny, wanted to get tribal with Velvet!

Her inner desires burned through, she’d been a good girl! She was allowed to have these absolutely nasty thoughts! She wanted more and more AND MORE! Her suction grew harder till she felt her jaw grow tired, he was so impressive! So mighty! Even as she continued to invade her own body, with three fingers invading her needy pussy. She found herself gazing upon his manly mane, the tufts of blonde hair that called for her to bury her nose into. Scooting forward she placed her face against his sternum, dragging her nose against his thick fur. He smelled so good! The harsh fragrance from his shampoo hit her nose at the same time as his thick heavy musk, built up from the heat of the night. “Oh god! I’m so bad~ I’m such a bad little girl.”

She couldn’t stop herself, her cervix opened and closed as she continued to attack her own pussy. She couldn’t stop, there was no way she could, her juices flowed freely down her thighs, her boxers were practically drenched in her own fluids by this point. She really couldn’t use them anymore! It would be too embarrassing, and yet, and yet a thought occurred. What if Jaune were to catch her like this? What if she started time up again… oh what would he do to her? Would he push her down, breed her? Use her massive ugly tits like… like handles as his thick hard cocked pumped in and out of her nasty… naughty...needy… pussy? The thought was tempting! She wanted to do it! But she knew she couldn’t, she just couldn’t! She was too scared, absolutely terrified!

Still the thought was there! The thought that was pushed back into the depths of her mind! For now though, she felt herself hit her climax, her body shivered and convulsed, her juices oozed down her thighs, her boxers drenched and unwearable at this point. She fell forward, her chest heaving up and down as she did her best to breath, her nose buried deep against his pelvis.

As her post orgasm clarity hit her, her face began to burn hot, burned so damn hot. Her eyes snapped open as she pulled away, nearly tripping as her drenched underwear clung to her body. Embarrassment consumed her at a realization of what she’d just done. “I… I… no! No! I’m sorry!” Running towards her dresser she grabbed a clean pair of boxers, she couldn’t believe what she’d just done, what she’d just THOUGHT! It was… it was so bad! Burying her face into her clean underwear for a moment she did her best to sling her moist used set down her slick wet thighs. With a wet SCHLOP her boxers hit the ground.

She shivered at the sound, her body growing hot as her embarrassment consumed her once more. Once she’d slipped on a fresh pair, she’d need to make sure that he was fixed as well. As she began to zip him up once more she couldn’t help but give him one last gift. Pressing her lips against the tip of his cock she gave him one last kiss. Once she’d finished setting him up she made sure to hide her… her shameful piece of cloth at the very bottom of her clothing hamper.

Gently she climbed into her sheets and closed her eyes. Her power over the world began to vanish, and she’d been prepared to fall asleep when she heard a loud thrashing sound and… and what sounded like a powerful squirting noise!

“NNNNGH!♥!!” Her eyes snapped open as she stared at the cause of the sound, Jaune was twitching, his upper body jolted upright. Her eyes glanced downwards as his loud moaning filled the otherwise quiet dorm room. SPURT SPURT SPURT SPURT! Her face grew red hot as she realized what was happening! All the feedback from when she'd been stroking him was finally happening. “Ah! AH AH!” Under the silver light of the moon she could clearly see his cock twitching and spurting out thick globs as his onesie became stained in his thick seed.

“I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry!” She hadn’t meant for that to happen! In her own lust she’d forgotten about it! Now the boy of her affection was having quite possibly the strongest orgasm he’d ever had, and it… it was all because of her! A sense of pride filled her chest, but was quickly replaced with shame as she saw the distraught face in front of her. Her instincts screamed to move and comfort him! But… but she couldn’t bring herself to move, she couldn’t let him know she was awake. Instead she watched him, watched as he stared in panic at his own sputtering cock the obvious shame built upon his face… it did things to her... things she didn’t want to admit.

“Hah hah hah…” His panting echoed and sunk into her ears, it was… it was doing things to her. She could feel her core heat up once more. “I… why… I… no….” Despite how terrible she felt, that small tinge of pride still filled her chest. “Why… I… no… I… they can’t see this… they… they’d hate me… I can’t… I cant believe I had a… wet dream about all of them… why…” She nearly flinched when he turned towards her. “I’m sorry May… I can’t… I can’t believe I… to you…”

Had he been having a wet dream?! Was she in it?! Was that why he was apologizing?! “You… I’m… I’m such a bad friend.” Even with her eyes closed shut as they were, she could still make out the sounds of him heading to the bathroom, obviously to get changed and to clean off… off that thick… stain on his onesie… that rich… fresh… and like that the world stopped once more.

Once more she got up, making her way around him she quickly unzipped his onesie, unable to resist the treat in front of her! Once she’d gotten the zipper all the way down she was treated with his cum coated cock. She remembered the previous embarrassment! Remembering how bad she felt! But how could she resist?! Quickly she moved, running her tongue along his still thick hard shaft she lapped up his thick honeyed cum. “Schow good! You taste schow bery good!” She couldn’t stop it, she couldn’t stop till she consumed every last bit. And there was just so much! So very much very much. For what felt like forever she continued to lap away, consuming and gulping down as mucha s she could. Tasting his flavors so directly had nearly lit her fire again, but she needed to control herself.

Once she’d made sure to have consumed as much as she could, even going as far as to lick what she could off of his onesie she went back to bed. Letting time return she heard him nearly fall over, “Wha?!” He’d apparently grown weak kneed with her previous endeavors. “Wha… what is wrong with me?” His voice released a hushed whisper, but she could still hear it, hear the embarrassment in his voice. It… it was so delectable. She… she was awakening tos something new. She wanted more… but for now she’d sleep, close her eyes and rest.

#May Zedong #Jaune Arc #Pyrrha Nikos #Weiss Schnee #Velvet Scarlatina #Penny Polendina #Ciel Soleil #Reese Chloris

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tigerkirby215 · 3 years ago

Text

5e Vex, the Gloomiest build (League of Legends)

(Artwork by Horace “Hozure” Hsu. Made for Riot Games.)

Writing this build in a dark room late at night, super tired and stuff... Stuck inside cause of this dumb virus... AFKing in TFT for a Prestige skin like a tryhard... It’s kinda aesthetic, ya know?

GOALS

Another person to kill... Shadow? Can you handle it? - You don’t need best friends: you’ve got your Shadow. He’s the only cool one, because he’s basically you.

Ugh. Can we get some rain clouds in here? - No one likes a debbie downer, but everyone loves a good scare!

Man, walking suuuucks - Nowadays even the anti-dash champion needs a resetting dash. “Do the thing, Shadow.”

RACE

I could make Vex a Harengon to justify her rabbit ears, but she doesn’t really do much “jumping.” That, and I didn’t buy Wild Beyond the Witchlight. So Halfling still works good enough for a yordle. Your Dexterity increases by 2, and while your movement speed goes down to 25 you have Halfling Nimbleness to move through people who are bigger than you. You’re also “Brave” for advantage against fears (when you hang around the Shadow Isles stuff really isn’t that scary) and of course have good ol’ yordle Lucky to reroll Nat 1s.

Halflings are normally pretty cheerful but Ghostwise Halflings are perfectly dark. You’d normally increase your Wisdom by 1 but I’d recommend increasing your Constitution instead. But I mean, it’s not a big deal if you take Wisdom instead. It is only +1. You also get Silent Speech to keep to team chat with 30 foot telepathy. I mean, they have to understand your languages but at least you don’t have to tell everyone what you’re talking about. And oh yeah you obviously speak Common and Halfling.

ABILITY SCORES

15; CHARISMA - Turns out when you don’t release any new yordles for (wait it’s been 5 years since Kled was released? Holy shit) people end up wanting them.

14; DEXTERITY - Just because you don’t like walking doesn’t mean you’re slow.

13; CONSTITUTION - Imagine dying like a normie.

12; WISDOM - Vex isn’t sad because she’s pessimistic. She’s just realistic.

10; INTELLIGENCE - You’re too cool for school. (And I needed everything else more.)

8; STRENGTH - Ughhh I don’t wanna lift heavy stuff! I’m tired...

BACKGROUND

I guess you’re technically a Haunted One, even if the black mist is the best thing that ever happened to you. You get proficiency in Arcana and Survival as well as two language of your choice to talk to your "allies.” (I guess one of them has to be exotic or whatever.) (I’d personally pick Sylvan as the language of yordles and whatever language the majority of your party knows as your second choice, but that’s just me.)

The thing that sucks about having a Heart of Darkness is that everyone keeps trying to help you, thinking that your sadness (and the living shadow on your back) is something to be fixed. I mean, at least you can get the NPC normies to help you, as long as you don’t spook ‘em. “No doctors! I told you: being sad makes me happy.”

(Artwork by @ToggleD0wnFall on Twitter.)

THE BUILD

or whatever...

LEVEL 1 - SORCERER 1

Starting as a Sorcerer for saving throws and stuff. Also proficiency in Intimidation and... Persuasion, I guess? Look, persuading people that you’re fine “no really” is a skill too.

I wonder what Sorcerous Origin we’ll pick... If only there was one based entirely on shadows and darkness... Oh hey Shadow Magic. As a Shadow Sorcerer you get Eyes of the Dark for 120 feet of Darkvision to see with your dumb Halfling eyes, and Strength of the Grave which will let Shadow take a hit for you. (As long as you make a good Charisma save.)

But of course the main appeal of a Sorcerer is the Spellcasting. You can learn 4 cantrips from the Sorcerer list and two level spells: For cantrips Mage Hand will let Shadow pick things up for you, Mind Sliver and Sword Burst will keep loud people off you both up close and from afar, and Prestidigitation will let you do all sorts of normie yordle magic. As for leveled spells Shield and Mage Armor are both kinda mandatory for some Personal Space.

LEVEL 2 - WARLOCK 1

What? Did you really think we wouldn’t get at least some support from adults? Work for that cool gloomy dude Viego and make a pack with The Undead. That’s because Undead are super dark and morbid and have a Form of Dread: as a bonus action you can turn on your Doom and Gloom for 1 minute. You get some temporary hit points, fear people when you hit them, and are immune to fears yourself. You can transform a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus and regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

You also get Pact Magic, which is different from normie Spellcasting because you get the cool stuff done with just a Short Rest. Anyways you can learn two cantrips from the Warlock list like Minor Illusion to have Shadow trick some normies and Eldritch Blast to Eldritch while you Blast. You can also grab some first level Warlock spells like Hex to mark people you don’t like, and Arms of Hadar if you really need your Personal Space.

LEVEL 3 - WARLOCK 2

Second level Warlocks get their Eldritch Invocations for extra stuff that you don’t have to put effort into. While Armor of Shadows does exist it’s honestly better for you to cast Mage Armor with a spell slot, so with that being said take Agonizing Blast to agonize while you blast and Eldritch Mind so you can keep your concentration around annoying people.

You can also learn another spell like Hellish Rebuke, because people just keep barging into your Personal Space!

LEVEL 4 - SORCERER 2

Now that you can agonize your blasts it’s time to go back to Sorcerer. Second level Sorcerers get a Font of Magic for Sorcery Points which currently don’t do much other than give you more spell slots. You can turn your Warlock slots into Sorcery points though, which is good because they come back on a Short Rest but the rest of your magic does not.

You can also cast another spell like Earth Tremor, to slow people down with Looming Darkness and sunder the land with your edginess.

LEVEL 5 - SORCERER 3

Third level Sorcerers finally get Metamagic! Empowered Spell will allow you to maximize your damage and retain your role as an artillery mage. Alternatively if you want to guarantee fears in your foes take Heightened Spell to give them disadvantage to resist Shadow’s influence.

If you want Shadow to stick around then Dust Devil will swirl around for quite awhile. Alternatively Shadow (Magic) also teaches you Darkness for free, and you can cast it with 2 Sorcery Points to see through it! Your friends can’t see through it, but you can team up with Shadow for some powerful combos when you can see them but they can’t see you!

(Artwork by @jpdiasarts on Twitter.)

LEVEL 6 - SORCERER 4

4th level Sorcerers get the first of many Ability Score Improvements, but I can’t take Fey Touched every time for Flash. That, and we won’t give into basic yordle society. So let’s get value out of our Halfling race with the Second Chance feat. Along with +1 to your Charisma you can also use your reaction to make an enemy you can see attacking you reroll their attack roll, potentially making them miss.

Don’t use this against an attack that you can Shield against, but if someone gets a really good roll you can use this to get your Personal Space back! You can only use this once per combat though (it comes back when you roll for initiative!) so make sure to use it when it matters to keep your spell slots in check.

Oh and you can also learn another spell, and another cantrip! For your cantrip Shocking Grasp will help you push people away if they get too close (folk tend to react poorly when zapped by a tazer!) As for leveled spells Web will keep foes from dashing around, and is also pretty flammable. Huhn; wonder if that’ll be useful.

LEVEL 7 - SORCERER 5

5th level Sorcerers get gifts from the Ruined Queen Tasha in the form of Magical Guidance. You can use a Sorcery point to reroll a d20 if needed, potentially squeezing a success out. Don’t use this all the time (even if Warlock slots means you’ll have plenty of Sorcery points to spare) but this can be very useful in an emergency!

You can also learn third level spells and hey: Fireball may be a normie spell, but it’s still pretty effective. It’s maybe a bit too flashy to be Looming Darkness but it’s a good source of AoE damage which isn’t as loud and annoying as Shatter.

LEVEL 8 - SORCERER 6

All this time being a Shadow Sorcerer and Shadow hasn’t even done anything for us! Well how about you go out there and get some work done, Shadow? For 3 Sorcery points you can summon a Hound of Ill Omen to target a foe within 120 feet of you.

Shadow is basically a Dire Wolf except he’s Medium, has temp HP equal to half your Sorcerer level, can move through stuff (but takes damage if he ends his turn in stuff), and automatically chases whoever you told him to go for. Shadow will appear 30 feet away from the person you told him to get, and will chase after him like I said. All he’ll really do is attack the target you told him to though; he won’t even opportunity attack unless it’s the person you told him to chase. But if Shadow’s near someone they have disadvantage on their saving throws, which is pretty cool. (Unfortunately it’s only against spells, not your Form of Dread.)

Speaking of saving throws: Slow is a really great way to keep normies from running around doing annoying stuff. And you don’t have to hit Shadow with it which is pretty cool.

(Artwork by @Lauriquess on Twitter.)

LEVEL 9 - WARLOCK 3

Third level Warlocks get to choose their Pact Boon: if you want a really small Shadow go for Pact of the Chain, and if you want your cool necklace go for Pact of the Talisman, but we’ll be going for Pact of the Tome because you’re mostly a spellcaster really. (And we definitely don’t have enough cantrips.)

You get a Book of Shadows (See? Books can be cool!) with three cantrips: take Thaumaturgy to be extra spooky, Vicious Mockery for some sick teenage burns, and Sapping Sting to make normies fall over when you fear them. Some might say that 10 total cantrips by level 9 is a bit overkill but look on the dark side: you’ve now got a cantrip for basically every type of saving throw in case you can’t hit with Eldritch Blast!

Honestly none of the Pact Boons are particularly important for Vex so I picked the one that made the most sense. Feel free to take something more practical since 10 cantrips is admittedly overkill.

Oh and you can learn more Warlock spells, so now it’s time to finally take Misty Step. For Flash!

LEVEL 10 - WARLOCK 4

4th level Warlocks get another Ability Score Improvement: getting more Charisma for better spellcasting is probably a good idea.

You can also learn another spell, and hey look another cantrip. For your cantrip even if more damage options are kinda overkill by this point Chill Touch inflicts Grievous Wounds, which might be useful. You can also grab another second level spell and Blindness / Deafness (which is on the Undead list) is far more useful than any of the other normie options you’d have at this level anyways.

LEVEL 11 - WARLOCK 5

5th level Warlocks get another Eldritch Invocation, and even if you’ve got a resetting dash you’re still a squishy mage. So grab Tomb of Levistus for Zhonya's Hourglass.

You can also grab third level Warlock spells now! Remember how I took Fireball and complained that it wasn’t a good replica of Looming Darkness? Well Hunger of Hadar takes your Concentration but it’s a lot edgier!

LEVEL 12 - WARLOCK 6

6th level Undead Warlocks have become Grave Touched by the mist, and can make mist of their own! Along with being able survive without eating, drinking, or breathing you can turn any of your damage into necrotic damage. If you’re in your Form of Dread however you can add one extra damage die to whatever you’re using to get people to buzz off, adding to that morbid and macabre aesthetic.

You can also add another spell and if you’re bored with Shadow being a wolf how about you make them a Summon Shadowspawn? Weaponize your Fury, Despair, or Fear (I’d honestly recommend Fury since it has good synergy with your Dreadful Aspect) and work together with Shadow to deal with all your annoying foes! I’d also suggest replacing Hellish Rebuke with Counterspell, because even if the former fits better the latter is way more useful.

(Artwork by Jennifer Wuestling. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 13 - WARLOCK 7

7th level Warlocks can finally activate Shadow Surge. Relentless Hex lets you mark a foe with Hex and then dash to them. And technically you can move Hex around after the fact to reset your dashes! And while you’re at it you may as well grab Dimension Door for Summoner Teleport.

You could also upgrade Summon Shadowspawn to Summon Aberration if you so desire, but Summon Shadowspawn is more than strong enough and far more fun and thematic.

LEVEL 14 - WARLOCK 8

Another Ability Score Improvement. Yay. Cap off your Charisma for the best spellcasting you can get out of Shadow. You can also learn another spell, but we’re going to wait for...

LEVEL 15 - WARLOCK 9

9th level Warlocks get another Eldritch Invocation: even if it’s kinda ineffective Ascendant Step is still pretty useful to have Shadow carry you around. I mean yeah it’s slow but not that much slower than walking for you, and Shadow can lift you up in the air. “Shadow; carry me...”

You can also learn 5th level spells. If one guy’s being particularly annoying Negative Energy Flood can get them to shut up and work for you. Alternatively if you want more Personal Space Antilife Shell is on the Undead List and will make sure normies keep faaaaar away.

LEVEL 16 - WARLOCK 10

Are you ever so sick of everything that you just want to explode? Necrotic Husk has two benefits: for one you’re resistant to Necrotic damage, and immune while in your Form of Dread because being around Viego for so long means you’re used to his work.

But additionally when you are reduced to 0 hit points you can use your reaction to drop to 1 hit point instead and cause your body to explode! Each creature of your choice within 30 feet of you takes 2d10 + your warlock level in Necrotic damage. You do gain 1 level of exhaustion after using this, and after using it once you can’t do so again until you finish 1d4 long rests. So I’d perhaps use Strength of the Grave first unless you really need to lash out.

I hope you weren’t expecting more spells because you aren’t getting them from Warlock: just a cantrip. By this point we’ve honestly got far too many cantrips so I dunno maybe just grab Prestidigitation again and swap it out from Sorcerer when you get the chance.

(Artwork by @DukkoArt on Twitter.)

LEVEL 17 - SORCERER 7

Finally back to our yordle roots: 7th level Sorcerers get 4th level spells like Storm Sphere for a sphere of darkness and angst. But I mean the real benefit is that you get more Sorcery points let’s be real.

Oh and you can swap out Prestidigitation for Gust I guess. Spooky winds and stuff. Either this level or next level depending on your DM.

LEVEL 18 - SORCERER 8

Your last Ability Score Improvement... You’re gonna have to ask: what’s more important to me? More Metamagic, or more Eldritch Invocations? If Metamagic is to your liking take Metamagic Adept for Careful Spell and Distant Spell along with two more Sorcery points to use on them. If you like Eldritch Invocations though Eldritch Adept has a ton of options as a level 10 Warlock. I won’t tell you what invocation to take (they’re all great boosts but none of them shout out at me as something you should prioritize) as there are plenty of options to make your own Vex now that they’re all grown up.

I can at least tell you what spell to take: none of them! Wait until next level!

Oh and you can swap out Prestidigitation for Gust I guess.

LEVEL 19 - SORCERER 9

9th level Sorcerers can learn 5th level spells which means you’ve finally caught up to your Warlock slots. And look at that: the good wish Tasha gave you one last way to weaponize Shadow. Bigby’s Hand does a bunch of cool stuff and is pretty much the ultimate way to make Shadow crush some normies. (Most literally.) Alternatively if you want to borrow from Viego Enervation will let you heal from the mist and also do some damage. Great if you’re stuck in a corner with a bunch of annoying normies.

LEVEL 20 - SORCERER 10

Our final level is the 10th level of Sorcerer for one last spell, one last cantrip, and one last metamagic option! For your metamagic it’s honestly about time you take Quickened Spell to up your DPS. For your cantrip take Mold Earth to dig holes in the sand and brood. And as for your leveled spell? Honestly I just like Synaptic Static, and there isn’t much else I want anyways.

FINAL BUILD

PROS

We’re all doomed. But you’re more doomed - 5th level spells pack more than enough punch, and you’ve got plenty of them. Warlock slots will always be at your fingertips, and Sorcery points give you plenty of flexibility too!

I can feel it: someone’s happy over there! - Along with giving you a temporary hitpoint shield Form of Dread puts a nice bit of CC on all your abilities. Keep enemies scared and sad with tons of Doom and Gloom!

Ugh. Stop copying me Shadow! - Hounds of Ill Omen are cool. Summon Shadowspawn is also cool. Bigby’s Hand is especially cool. And hey: even your lower level Concentration spells like Hex? They’re pretty cool too.

CONS

Ughhhhhhhhhh this is gonna take foreeeever! - You’ve got limited fumes, even for a coffeelock. Form of Dread has limited uses and there’s only so much spell slot melting you can do to get your magic back.

I’m dancing... Happy? - You’ve got a really boring set of really normie skills... and if you’re playing Vex the way she’s meant to be played you’re probably not going to use any of them except for Intimidation.

Yup; the glass is half empty - Half your levels are Sorcerer levels, meaning you’re squishy. You’ve also got Mage Armor on which guess what: also means you’re squishy. People who hit teenagers sure are lame but it’s really not hard to Power Word Kill you.

But I guess you’re pretty cool overall. Shadow’s an alright partner and you can spread Ruination even without Viego. Trudge around and get people to frown for once. There’s nothing wrong with being sad, and there’s nothing wrong with wanting the world to be sad. But do try to at least be happy out of character, because we play games to have fun. I mean, who’d play a video game that just makes you depressed and angry?

(Artwork by @AzzylumArt on Twitter.)

#dnd #dnd 5e #dnd build #dnd guide #League of Legends #League of Legends Vex #vex league of legends #Vex #yordle #shadow isles #dnd warlock #dnd sorcerer #shadow #meh #whatever #I dunno what to tag this

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swashbucklery · 2 years ago

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OK because re: my CR feelings from my last post like I feel like it’s still marinating but also. I’m gonna use the term Crisis On Infinite Exandrias because I think it’s funny but it’s not quite what I mean? Like, I don’t mean Calamity 2: Electric Boogaloo, not really.

(Although if there’s going to be one I’m campaigning for Opal to start it bc come on; but also I don’t want that bc honestly my one personal takeaway from Calamity was ZERXUS DID NOTHING WRONG and alll of the post-series stuff has been like Calamity Was Zerxus’ Fault For Being Dumb and it makes me want to fight clouds.

And the first person to come in here like ummmm actually someone on a six hour postmortem chat said that canonically they think Calamity was Zerxus fault like. a) i’ll fight you and also Brennan Lee Mulligan, don’t think I won’t, and b) the story has to stand alone to be a story and IN TEXT I think what we’ve all learned is that Calamity was SOCIETY’S fault and I mean that in the most nuanced possible way; it’s so much more complex than a whodunit. It’s a tragedy about how there isn’t ever just one thing, it’s the death by a thousand cuts that builds and builds and it’s a beautiful mini-arc but to boil it down to “IT WAS THIS ONE FUCKING GUY AND HIS HUBRIS” is at best an oversimplification, stop distilling things into tweetable chunks I refuse to accept it.)

(Why have I soul-bonded to the Disaster Gay Dad Trying His Best honestly who knows at this point but he was WONDERFUL.)

(OK this is a lie, I know exactly why I have soul-bonded to him but anyway the Calamity arc in itself is a wonderful story about the complexity of tragedy and I didn’t love all of it but the bits I liked were great.)

But anyway. A N Y W A Y. The thing I mean is like.

If I was Matthew Mercer, sitting on a pile of endless lore that somehow weaves together threads that started in a D&D campaign I began filming in 2015 that has a current cumulative runtime of uhhhhh 905 hours (not including the currently-aired episodes of Campaign 3), and I was trying to figure out how to dump that lore in a way that allowed the current campaign to be accessible to new viewers, well. There are a few ways that could be done, but a really smart one would be to slot the lore into mini-campaigns.

(I think the airtime of the animated series was also Very Intentional given the really specific and detailed callbacks to Whitestone in the C3 lore, but I also don’t know enough about how that came about and maybe it was just a happy accident, whatever.)

And looking at the elements we have in play right now, we get:

EXU1/Kymal:

feywild gates/planar travel/alternate realities

betrayer gods, conceptually, and the notion of betrayer gods taking champions and connecting with the current realm

shadowy cabals of people doing crime

EXU Calamity:

apogee solstices, which - conceptually the idea that the planes can connect and become more porous at set, regular times and that those times are knowable and predictable

something something leylines something something planes

something something druid stuff something something planes (specifically the concept of the tree of names as a construct that guards against or prevents intra-planar movements)

a big ol betrayer god/regular gods lore refresher

a million bon mots about the raven queen ascending and something something names something something planes something something, you know?

the fey just kind of fucking off to the feywild post-calamity, and again the theme of mirror universes/parallel but different realities

And I’m not saying I know precisely how these things connect because a) I’m a million hours behind and b) who can say, but it’s interesting and I can’t imagine the EXU campaigns wouldn’t be foreshadowing, you know? And also one of the NPCs is a magical astronomer who studies leylines and also the special once every 30 years moon and hmm. HMMM.

#i'm watching for the lore #but in that way where i'm annoyed #bc it is the world's slowest lore dump #like we get it we know fcg is gonna snap and be evil that's obviously the culmination of the year-long ted lasso bit #let's get this going #anyway the old man studies leylines to help with spell stuff and he's an expert on the special moon #that only moons every fixed number of years #and also people were hypothetically killed for knowlege based on research he contributed to #something something leylines something something planes #crisis on infinite exandrias #the matthew mercer dungeons and dragons twitch cinematic universe #exandria unlimited limited the tag #exandramity unlimited calamity unlimited #critical role spoilers #exandria unlimited spoilers

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vintagetvstars · 25 days ago

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Alan Alda Vs. Billy Dee Williams

Propaganda

Alan Alda - (M*A*S*H) - He is both the saddest wettest little meow meow and your kindly grandfather and your favourite eccentric uncle (mom's side). Somehow it works. Passionate Democrat, feminist, great writer, he and his books are hilarious. Did a cartwheel when he won an Emmy! How he met his wife is the best meet cute of the last two centuries, and they've now been married over 60 years!!!

Billy Dee Williams - (Dynasty, Guiding Light, Chiefs, Brian's Song) - Billy is iconic in every role whether in TV or film.

- No Negative Propaganda Please -

Master Poll List | How to submit propaganda | What is vintage? (FAQ)

Additional propaganda below the cut

Alan Alda:

he’s just so good in MASH

youtube

he put so much bisexuality into hawkeye i think it fundamentally changed me when i was little and watching mash for the first time. anyway do we all know the story about how he met his wife when they were at a party together and they were the only two people eating the cake that fell on the floor and he fell in love with her over her laugh. i just think hes neat :) i love when theres a strange looking man. also feel it necessary to say that the guy that wrote the book mash was based on wrote himself as hawkeye and HATED alda's hawkeye bc he displayed his morals too much (alda had it in his contract for the show that every episode had to have an operating room scene bc otherwise you arent backdropping the fact that war is Not fun. actually. he almost didnt take the role bc he thought a war comedy would make too much light of the horrors)

please please please use this picture of him, he's so hot in it

His comedic delivery in MASH...

youtube

The story of how he met his wife is charming and sweet, and they've now been married 65 years

Just look at him. He's the most beautiful man I've ever seen but also he's completely average. He's got a weak jawlines and a round face and these big soft eyes and he's just so beautiful. He's capable of playing a silly charismatic sitcom protagonist in one scene, and a jaded army surgeon haunted by the deaths he's witnessed in the next. He's so hot that my dad once told me he decided to apply to medical school because of how much he was attracted to Hawkeye Pierce. That's literally how I learned that my father was bisexual.

He's also just a really great dude? He's been outspoken about his political beliefs for a long time, and has always been strongly and vocally anti-war, pro-feminist, and pro lgbt. He served a tour in the Korean war, and his experiences there informed his performance in the show. He (and honestly the entire cast, but especially him) really just soared above and beyond the standard for comedies of the day.

youtube

He's so funny and his eyes are pretty

He loves and is a champion of science (Source).

Billy Dee Williams:

#vintage tv stars poll #tv men quarter finals #alan alda #billy dee williams #Youtube

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xaharadesert · 4 years ago

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Sports Day! - Headcanon

Arcana Characters (Main 6 + Nadia’s Family)

A/N: This one’s for @apprenticeshen, although Tumblr won’t let me @ them! I know I said I wouldn’t be posting until my break started, but this one is so simple and cute that I just had to write it! Requests are open :)

❤️Julian❤️

Destroys everyone in the obstacle course

His long legs make him faster in the first place, but all of his practice running away from his problems the law give him an advantage

There may be a moment when he trips over his own feet while trying to give you a smirk, but he’ll recover quickly enough that nobody overtakes him

He doesn’t exactly rub his victory in other peoples’ faces, but he does give an unnecessary speech thanking everyone who helped him achieve it

🧡Portia🧡

The undeniably best at wrestling matches

Does she know what she’s doing? No

Does she know that she has a lower center of gravity, greater mass, and less pride than the other competitors? Yes

She’s not afraid to go for the knees, and while that may or may not go against the rules, nobody is willing to tell her that

She destroys everybody, especially her brother, and looks super proud of herself (she should be, she’s an absolute legend)

💛Lucio💛

Pretty much the only sore loser

And it’s not that he’s bad at any of the events; in fact, he comes in second place almost every time

It’s just that other competitors seem to get a lot more serious about winning when they compete against him

And Asra may or may not have used a little bit of magic in the name of being petty

With that being said, he eventually starts talking about his other great victories in life, and claims that they are much more important than any silly games that you may be playing that day (aka, he’s begging for validation, please spare him some)

💚Muriel💚

He wouldn’t really want to participate at first, so someone will have to drag him into it

Doesn’t really give his all in any of the individual events, but goes all out in team events and helps destroy the competition

The exception is the sack race, which he gets really into

Unfortunately he’s too strong and rips through the sack

He still wins, and doesn’t seem to notice, but he seems so genuinely happy that nobody has the heart to tell him

💙Asra💙

Absolute champion of the buddy system

Now, you may be thinking “this is a sports day, we don’t need a buddy system”, but you’d be wrong

The buddy system is the most important part of the day, and if you think Asra is letting go of his buddy’s hand for even one second then you are sorely mistaken

His poor buddy may miss some events because he decided to take a nap and whoops, looks like his buddy is now trapped in a sleeping Asra’s iron grip

💜Nadia💜

The only one who actually knows all of the rules to the games

When a sports day was announced, she decided it was necessary for her to learn about the different games so she would be prepared

Now she could probably beat anyone on a technicality, but she’d probably realize half way through that the rules don’t really matter as long as everyone is having fun

Once she lets go of the stricter aspects of the day, she finds herself having more fun than she has in ages

🖤Namar🖤

He’s in charge of the snacks!

I don’t know why, he just gives me those vibes

And obviously he doesn’t put the snacks together or carry them around himself (he is royalty, after all), but he does make sure everyone has had enough to eat and has had their preferences catered to

He participates in the events, and often loses on purpose to make everyone feel good about themself

Unless he’s competing against Lucio

He’ll destroy Lucio

🤍Nasrin🤍

She’s the one in charge of handing out medals :)

And you know those medals are made out of real gold

Honestly, the medal isn’t even the real prize, it’s the compliment she gives you when you win

The only reason she isn’t participating in the events herself is because she would absolutely destroy everyone else without even breaking a sweat

💕Nafizah💕

She likes to spectate

It’s not that she’s incapable of participating, or that she doesn’t want to, she just prefers to watch

She’s kind of off in her own little world, but she’s happy to be surrounded by people she loves

She’d also love to play little games of rock-paper-scissors with anyone who needs a break from the games

🔴Nazali🔴

They are the absolute best teammate to have for the three-legged race

Somehow they’re always in sync with the partner, no matter who it is

They’re probably yelling throughout the entire race, but there won’t be any distinguishable words, just pure chaos and joy

That’s okay though, you can tell they’re having the time of their life

And even if they don’t win, they’re too busy laughing about how ridiculous everyone looked to actually care

🟠Navra🟠

Her favourite event is the tug-of-war

This doesn’t mean she’s good at it or anything, she just loves how much fun it is when everybody is working together

She’s the one yelling the loudest and cheering on her teammates

If the other side wins, then they’ll have to drag her the whole way across the line because there’s no way she’s giving up and letting go

🟡Nahara🟡

The undisputed arm-wrestling legend herself

Nobody will ever defeat her, not even Lucio using his metal arm, or Muriel when he isn’t holding back, or the Arcana themselves

But if she casually lets you or Portia score a victory every once in a while, nobody needs to know

And of course, whether she wins or loses (she always wins), she’s a good sport about it

🟢Nasmira🟢

Absolutely demolishes that one race where you have to balance an egg on a spoon

She moves so gracefully that it looks like she’s floating

Crosses the finish line way ahead of everyone else, but claps every time someone else makes it across

Even if you’re dead last, she’ll be cheering you on

🔵Natiqa🔵

Self-proclaimed announcer/commentator

She commentates the events so seriously that you’d think that your little sports day was the Olympics

Also takes the opportunity to roast absolutely everyone who’s competing, whether she likes them or not

Nobody is safe, and she seems to know more about everyone than should be possible

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bokettochild · 3 years ago

Note

oh maybe some four and wild friendship for the prompt thing?? i almost never see anything with them

I saw this and immediately thought of Four teaching Wild weapons maintenance, which, while cliche, was all that would come to mind. It was by accident that it turned out being much more, and I'm really happy with how this turned out!

Thanks for the ask anon! And if anyone else has a situation or relationship they're like to see, I'm open for fic requests!

(Fic below the cut)

"Along the edge, see? Take it slow or it won’t come out right.”

Wild frowned softly, scars pulling across his cheeks. “You guys go pretty fast with this though.”

They resisted the urge to scowl, “We-I’m a smithy, Wild, I know weapons better than a soldier. I’m practiced with this. You’re just starting with it, so you need to get your body accustomed to the motions slowly before you can do anything quick or easily.”

The champion cocked his head in a perfect imitation of Wolfie.

“Why is this so hard to grasp?”

“It’s Wild, guys, he’s fast on his feet, not in his head.”

“Don’t call him dumb! Blue! That’s not nice!”

Green sighed. “Let’s just compare it to something else, that usually works with kids.”

“Why are we teaching him this anyway?” Blue huffed. “Shouldn’t Captain Fancy-Hir be teaching the kid this sort of thing?”

“Wars can be just as bad as the rest of them, if we want Wild to not- destroy things, we need to make sure he’s taught properly.”

“Think of it like this.” Four offered, taking back the weapon and demonstrating how to sharpen it correctly again. “What’s something you like doing?”

Wild frowned. “Cooking? Shield surfing? What does this have to do with anything?”

Four nodded. “Okay, think of it like shield surfing.” Cooking wasn’t going to work, not considering their own poor attempts at it. “When you first started us out, you told us to practice on small hills, so we could get accustomed with how we should hold our feet and move the shield.”

“Steering.” Wild nodded along.

“Exactly! So, when you start out, you start slow so you can figure it out, and when you’re comfortable, you keep moving, you can go a bit faster and try doing things that are a little harder.” Red grinned. “Like surfing down a mountain that gives Time and aneurysm or doing smithy work of your own.” He handed the sword back over to Wild. “You just have to start small.”

The champion’s ears twitched as he looked down at the blade in his hands before smiling and nodding to the smithy. “I think I can do that.”

“Great.” Green took charge again as they reached over to tug on Wild’s good ear. “Because if you don’t, I will recruit my fellow smith to help me kick your ass.”

Wild yelped, pulling away to rub his ear. “Fellow smith?”

They nodded knowingly, eyes flickering violet as the stared up at the champion. “Legend.”

Wild had never paled so quickly save for when he was bleeding out (which, honestly, happened a lot with the kid’s tendencies). “Yes sir!” Scarred fingers formed a hasty salute.

They grinned, nudging the cook’s arm gently. “’m not the Captain, you don’t need to salute me.”

Wild nodded. “I know, it’s... just muscle memory I guess.” Ears drooped as the champion stared down at the blade in his lap, brows furrowed.

Something pulled inside them.

“Poor Wild!”

“No, we are not turning Twilight on the kid and fussing like a mother cucko.”

“For once, I agree with Blue, let-”

“Guys, Rancher isn’t the only one who can care about the kid.”

“Vio?”

“We help people who need help, be they brothers, shadows or strangers. Besides,” Had Vio had physical form he would have smiled in that sad way of his. “We’re not little kids anymore, we can handle talking about emotions.”

…..

“Okay, Vio’s sick. GReen, can I know him out?”

“Blue! No!”

“Guys,” Red’s voice was soft but firm. “He’s right, who says Twi’s gotta be the one to do all the loving around here?”

Small hands settled on Wild’s sleeve as Four looked up at him. The champion started slightly at the contact as he turned to face swirling hazel eyes. “Hey, no shame in... whatever, okay? We’re all a bit messed up, everything is, that’s what makes us alive. What’s important is we don’t dwell on it, ‘kay?”

Wild nodded.

They sat back with a grin still playing on their features, eyes traveling over the others in the group briefly to make sure no one was watching. The kid needed cheering up, or comfort, but they had some sense of pride (and maybe a bit of a need to keep up a mysterious aura, but Vio could be blamed for that). “There’s something to be said for having more of you, and if that’s a past and a future then, well,” They shrugged. “Two lives means more time to try more things and more knowledge to learn from.”

“But I lost all my knowledge, all that’s let is,” Wild flexed his hand. “Muscle memory.”

“All the better!” Vio had fully taken over now. “You get a fresh start but with a safety net. Sure, you have some memories, but they don’t define who you are now; they contribute but nothing’s set in stone, and you can break free altogether if you want.”

The doubtful look the kid sent them almost made Blue huff, but Green and Red reigned him in.

“We’re not telling him this.”

“Suck it up and go along, I’m not telling everything, just a little.”

“We can’t blow our secret!”

“I’m not, just my own.”

“Green! Tell Vio to shut up!”

“Don’t you think this would help though? Wild’s not the only one who lost who he was, and he deserves to know that.”

…

“Fine, but don’t tell him everything.”

“Ooh, can I help with this part?”

“Red, maybe let Vio tell it, this is his secret he’s spilling, not ours.”

“Okay.”

“You know,” They couldn’t meet Wild’s gaze, but there was comfort in staring at the blade in the kid’s hands. “During my adventure, something happened, I- made some mistakes, and I hurt the people I cared for the most pretty badly.” They didn’t need to look to feel the weight of Wild’s shocked gaze. “I hurt people I loved, and I changed as a person in ways no one expected, and not everyone could understand that.” A smile pulled at their lips. “But that’s okay. I changed a lot, but I became a person that I could be proud of, and I did my best to move past my mistakes after I did everything I could to right them.”

They looked up, Wild’s brows had drawn together in confusion, but his eyes glimmered with understanding all the same. A heavy breath escaped them. “The past doesn’t create us, not if we don’t want it to. We’re people, flawed, yes, but people. Everyone messes up, and sometimes they don’t remember it, but it still happened.

“We don’t have to let that define us though. I don’t let my failures define who I will be, any more than I let my current status as a hero alter the fact that I did things that were wrong in the past.” Words were beginning to run out without any reply, but they pushed forwards, Wild needed to hear this. “You’re a different person than you were yesterday, and every day is a new chance to define yourself. Someday, everyone will forget yesterday, what matters is what you are today. Does that make sense?”

Wild didn’t answer, but as the sword clattered on the stones at their feet and blue enveloped their vision, warmth settling over them as Wild hugged them tightly, Four felt content in the fact that the Champion understood.

#fic requests #one shot #one shot request #linked universe #linkeduniverse #four linked universe #wild linked universe #fluff #fluffics

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moonbeambucky · 4 years ago

Text

Friday Night Fights

Pairing: Wrestler!Bucky Barnes x Reader [AU] Word Count: 5948 Warnings: action, fluff

Summary: A night at a wrestling show proves more than you may be able to handle.

A/N: I’m so excited because I haven’t seen this before and I’m really, really happy with how it turned out! Thank you to my pizza love @all1e23 for beta reading 🍕❤️ Reblogs, comments and likes are always appreciated! gif source (x)

It was early in the evening but the sky showed otherwise. Its pitch black blanket draped the world in darkness; a consequence of winter where night rolls over earlier as the days go on. Y/N is huddled together with her friend Wanda, teeth chattering as they brace for a gust of wind, the kind that’s so cold the icy breeze burns your face. They’re standing in a line that wraps around the block, hearing the excited chants from people all around them. Some are a little louder than others and Y/N suspects a few have been keeping warm thanks to those beers wrapped in paper bags. While she was too cold to physically show how excited she was, inside she was thrilled. It was the first Friday of the month and Y/N was spending it the way she’s spent all of them over the past year, front row at a local wrestling show.

MWF had been running monthly shows for a few years now but it wasn’t until Wanda’s brother Pietro begged them to come with him that she was hooked. It was so much fun to watch the athletic matches and even though there were some storylines that bordered on ridiculous they were a lot of fun. Y/N can honestly say she’s never laughed harder than watching a man named Doctor Doom wrestle The Invisible Woman. He was so convincing in kicking his own ass she was almost positive he really was in a match against a woman that no one could see.

Tonight was different though; Y/N and Wanda were alone, waiting to get inside the venue without Pietro because he was making his debut! He caught the wrestling bug from the moment they all went to a show and after speaking with some of the wrestlers he found a local school and started training. Things were rough, as Y/N remembered the day after his first lesson, Pietro was so sore he couldn’t even get off the couch of the apartment they all shared. As his training continued so did his injuries; his body was covered in bruises from all moves he was learning but he didn’t care. Pietro loved it so much and eventually his body got used to the new brand of workouts he was putting it through.

While he was training Pietro still went to shows with Y/N and Wanda but now things were different. He was on hand to help set up the ring during the day, staying after the show to help break it down and pack it in the truck. He no longer viewed each match through the eyes of a fan but as a student, carefully studying each move and the story the wrestlers were telling. Watching them interact with the crowd made him hopeful, imagining himself in that ring one day with a crowd of people cheering for him. That day had finally come.

The show wouldn’t start for another half hour at least so Y/N and Wanda went to the line for refreshments, saying hello to a few people along the way. They had grown familiar with some of the crowd, seeing familiar faces that were also dedicated fans. Besides the regulars there were always new people, fathers with their young children either using this as a replacement for expensive WWE shows or just bonding over more wrestling in their lives. It was always a treat to watch the kids yell at the bad guys as they walked around the ring, pointing fingers in their face before recoiling back with fear if they were snarled at.

There were a lot of women there too, some older ones where it was clear they had grown up watching classic wrestling. Sometimes it was obvious that they were there to meet their favorite stars from the past. Usually the shows had one match that featured someone that used to be really popular. They were older now, a little slower but still put on an entertaining match. During intermission they would sell signed 8x10 pictures from a table off to the side. It isn’t anything compared to the money they used to make but it’s something of a living, and taking a selfie with their fans makes everyone happy.

Other women filled the crowds, young ones that hoped to get in the ring themselves one day or those who were only there to support their boyfriends or other friends who were in the show. You could always tell who was there to support who, watching their disinterested face lift up from the phone it’s been glued to all night to cheer for someone, and once the match was over you could see how quickly they got back to their phone, furiously texting away probably asking when they could finally leave.

After the shows some kids would wait around hoping to meet their favorite wrestler, full of nervous joy as they took a picture with them. It wasn’t always the kids who were anxious to meet someone, a lot of times there would be some women blatantly flirting with some of them. Y/N’s seen a few wrestlers take someone by the hand, pulling them behind the curtain to get lost for a few minutes. As long as everything was consensual there was no issue with it though she couldn’t help but grimace as she watched it happen unbeknownst to that wrestler's girlfriend hanging around and waiting for him to leave the locker room.

Pietro always told her not to say anything. “Keep your eyes open and your mouth shut.” It’s a lesson he learned the hard way after confronting someone about cheating on their girlfriend. They took it out on him during training, leaving a red handprint shaped welt on his chest for days for not minding his business. This was not a side of wrestling that any of them liked.

Making their way to their seats they were taken aback by the presence of the large ring assembled in the center of the room. It was always a beautiful sight and being there felt like home. The cold metal chairs brought comfort, the bright fluorescents that shined down on them from the vaulted ceiling brought warmth like a cozy fireplace. This was more than something to do on a Friday night; it was tradition, creating new memories with every show.

Y/N took off her jacket, draping it over the back of the chair. “Do you like it?” she said, turning to Wanda, proudly showing off her sweatshirt.

The bright blue fabric was eye catching but the design on the front really stood out. It was the symbol for a wrestler that everyone knew was her favorite; red and white circles surrounding a bright white star in the center meant for “Captain America” Steve Rogers, the current MWF heavyweight champion. He was a blue eyed, blond haired, six foot wall of pure muscle with the sweetest baby face she’d ever seen.

Steve was enthralling. Women would scream extra loud as they ogled him (those tights don’t leave much to the imagination) and kids would jump up and down cheering as he gave each and every one a high five. Steve was an all American wrestler, a good-hearted person who believed in clean matches and rushed out from the back to help others if their own opponents were cheating to win. And lately he’s been coming out a lot.

There was a faction known as Hydra that Steve has been feuding with for some time now. A man named Red Skull, whose face was painted to look like one, served as their leader, standing ringside as his assets would fight their way to the top for a shot at the championship. For a while he pushed Crossbones, a real sleazy villain that took cheap shots at the audience, sneering at them as he told them how lucky they were to be in the presence of his greatness. Steve had many fights against Crossbones but he wasn’t alone.

Steve used to be a tag team, Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes, the Howling Commandos, brothers in arms that were the reigning tag team champions. Fans adored them, cheering as they took on Crossbones and his partner Baron Zemo. One night Steve held up his belt over his head, rejoicing in another win for himself and Bucky, proudly showing it off to the crowd and never expecting what happened next.

A vicious blow knocked him to the mat, the belt dropped from his hands. Confused, Steve tried to get up but a heavy boot kicked him back down. He wondered who was attacking him and if Bucky was faring better than he was, that is until he was able to turn around. Bucky was standing over him, his foot kicking Steve in the ribs. He groaned in pain, his body feeling the agony of the attack but his mind suffered more. “Buck, why?” But Steve never got an answer.

Bucky grabbed his head, forcing him to his feet but Steve fought back to defend himself. He blocked one punch but not the next two blows that came out of nowhere; a swift kick to the stomach from Zemo that sent him right into another strike from Crossbones across his back.

Steve wobbled to his knees disoriented and Bucky took advantage of his former friend’s weakened state. Bucky pulled Steve by the top of his tights setting him bent over between his legs. He smirked feeling his attempt to find the strength to fight back, clawing at Bucky’s thighs to break free. Bucky wrapped his arm around Steve’s waist and with all his might he hoisted him up, flipping Steve’s body up quickly so his legs were straddling Bucky’s head and just as fast he used all his force to slam Steve’s back down onto the mat.

Bucky got up, laughing as he stared at Steve laid out in the ring, joining Crossbones and Baron Zemo as the newest member of Hydra as the crowd roared with anger. Ever since that day Steve has been facing Bucky Barnes now known as The Winter Soldier– an enemy with the face of a friend.

The main event tonight was Steve against the Winter Soldier who was fighting for a shot at the title. Everyone was excited. Y/N wasn’t the only one in a Captain America shirt although some people in the audience smudged black paint around their eyes, emulating their new favorite villain to show their support.

The Winter Soldier had become an intimidating figure, wearing a black mask that covered the bottom half of his face, piercing blue eyes stood out against the smear of black war paint. His left arm was wrapped in silver electrical tape from his wrist and up his forearm, the sections making it look like his arm was replaced by metal plates. A final piece was taped just above his bicep as if to show off the prominent muscle.

He traded bright blue tights for a dark black fabric with a jarring red star on his thigh. It was like he had it just to taunt Steve, showing him he remembered his roots and all the years they spent together as a team but now he no longer cared, twisting the image of a patriotic star for one that was blood red, dripping with the hate that fueled him.

Like everyone else, Y/N couldn’t wait for that match but first the show had to begin. A man walked out from the curtain to a roar of cheers. He was an older man with grey hair that bordered on silver and bright teeth that flashed against tanned skin. He entered the ring with all eyes on him, partially because of his striking gold jacket, beneath it an even bolder red tie that stood out against a bright cobalt blue shirt.

Bringing a microphone to his mouth he spoke, “Welcome to the Marvel Wrestling Federation. I am your host, the Grandmaster!” The Grandmaster smirked, taking in their enthusiasm. The crowd was pumped and he knew it was going to be a great night. “Please welcome your referee for the night Phillip Coulson!”

“COUL-SON! COUL-SON! COUL-SON!” The crowd cheered as a man in a striped shirt entered the ring, a modest smile spreading across his thin lips.

With that the first match of the night began but Wanda could hardly pay attention. Pietro had texted her saying he was going to be in the second match and her leg bounced nervously. She vacillated between feeling excited and nervous, wanting to cheer on her brother for his debut but in the back of her mind she couldn’t help but fear for his safety.

Sure, Pietro had been training for a while but that didn’t mean that things couldn’t go wrong. Y/N looked over at Wanda, taking her hand and squeezing it, hoping to provide some comfort to her, realizing how hard Wanda was squeezing her own hand back as the first match ended.

“Making his debut, all the way from Sokovia, here is Quicksilver!” the Grandmaster’s voice boomed as music hit, and suddenly a figure raced out from the curtains to the sound of fast paced music.

Y/N and Wanda shot up to cheer for him, proudly screaming as he ran around the outside of the ring, slapping hands with everyone before he jumped up on the apron. Stepping inside the ring he went to the corner, standing on the middle ropes as he raised his arms up, smiling at the crowd.

He looked incredible. Neither of them had seen his outfit, ombre blue pants with a white lightning bolt going down the side of his leg. His white boots shined brightly, their luster not yet marred by the history of a long career. His chest was bare and though he was not as tanned as some other wrestlers he still very much looked the part with bright blue elbow pads on his arms. He winked towards Y/N and Wanda, who was filled with nervous energy she could barely hold her phone steady to record his match.

“And his opponent, from Queens, New York he is the amazing Spider-Man!”

Everyone jumped up from their seats to cheer for a masked wrestler who was always a crowd favorite. He was a few inches shorter than Pietro but much slimmer, wearing a full body spandex suit in red and blue with a webbed designed all over it and a small black spider in the center of his chest. His eyes were blocked by a white mesh surrounded by black trim but somehow you could see the expression in them.

Pietro began clapping his hands, a rhythmic beat for the crowd to join in as he and Spider-Man circled each other in the ring. Once they began both men showed off their skill of high flying moves and near pinfalls for each of them with nonstop action throughout and the crowd loved it. Wanda’s smile was stretched proudly across her face as she watched her brother. The match was over before anyone wanted it to be, with Spider-Man climbing to the top turnbuckle and doing a backflip splash onto Pietro for the three count.

Ref Coulson raised Spider-Man’s hand in victory but he quickly went to his opponent and helped him to his feet. Pietro was half-keeled over with one arm across his stomach, feeling the pain from where all of Spider-Man’s weight had landed. Spider-Man took Pietro’s hand, celebrating Quicksilver as a mutually respected opponent.

Wanda and Y/N stood up and cheered loudly, sitting down again once Pietro had gone back through the curtain.

“He was incredible! Did you see that? My. Brother. Did. That!” Wanda exclaimed.

Y/N was just as proud of him, knowing how hard Pietro trained. His first match was a great success and she hoped it would be the start to an incredible career.

The next match saw Quake take on Black Widow, another member of Hydra. She was a short redhead but her opponents should know not to be intimidated by her size. Though she was a strong fighter Black Widow was also conniving, cheating to win whenever it seemed victory was just out of reach.

She walked around the ring with a slow stride, ignoring the boos and comments from the crowd. As she was approaching Y/N she noticed the Captain America shirt she was wearing and her red lips pulled into a disgusted scoff. Black Widow snarled at Y/N, unable to bear the mere sight of her enemy’s symbol.

As soon as the match began the crowd was behind Quake all the way which only seemed to upset Black Widow more, anger that she held firmly inside. She launched a vicious attack, raking Quake in the eyes to impair her vision as she tried to pin her right away. Quake kicked out, and after a lot of back and forth it seemed like Quake was finally getting the upper hand.

Not wanting to lose Black Widow found the strength to stop herself from being thrown into the corner, reversing the move and whipping Quake right into Ref Coulson who dropped to the mat in pain. With Quake and the referee both down Black Widow smirked, using this opportunity to slip out of the ring and grab a metal chair.

Black Widow raised the chair above her hands, about to slam it down onto Quake before she noticed from the corner of her eye that Ref Coulson was using the ropes to ease himself up. Not wanting to be caught, she slammed the chair down onto the mat. The sound alerted Quake who turned around and just as quickly Black Widow threw the chair to Quake and fell down onto the mat. Ref Coulson turned around and was stunned to see Quake holding the chair above her opponent. He refused to listen to her protests as she was caught red handed, signaling to the announcers to end the match and the bell rang.

The Grandmaster’s voice echoed through the room, “The winner of this match as a result of a disqualification, Black Widow!”

The crowd booed as Quake continued to argue with the referee. He helped Black Widow up from the mat, unable to see the wicked grin that spread across her face. Her expression was one Y/N saw again that night as Crossbones and Zemo fought against Falcon and Hawkeye but unlike Black Widow, their opponents would not fall for Hydra’s tricks.

Hawkeye spotted Zemo hiding by the apron of the ring, trying to hold Falcon’s foot down so he couldn’t kick out as Crossbones attempted to pin him. Racing towards him, Hawkeye speared Zemo into the guardrails, knocking him out. Crossbones and Falcon were trading punches and Falcon was stumbling in the center of the ring. Crossbones began to climb to the top rope, setting himself up to jump off and hit his signature move, the Strike Force.

Seeing this Hawkeye jumped to the apron, knocking into Crossbones who landed crotch first into the turnbuckle, letting out a painful groan. Hawkeye called out for Falcon who turned around, and both men climbed to the top rope, lifting Crossbones to a standing position as they threw his arms over theirs.

This was their finishing move, the Birds of a Feather, as Falcon and Hawkeye did a simultaneous backflip off the top rope, while holding Crossbones who flipped along with them, slamming furiously onto the mat. Thunderous applause carried through the room as the referee counted to three and Falcon and Hawkeye remained the MWF tag team champions.

There were so many other matches that kept Y/N and Wanda entertained, like Thor against his brother Loki, the two having their own long standing feud but now it was time for the final match and Y/N was full of anticipation.

The Grandmaster stood in the center of the ring again, commanding the microphone as he spoke to the crowd. “Wow, what a show, what a night! And now, without further ado… it’s main event time! Making his way to the ring at 240 pounds he is the fist of Hydra, The Winter Soldier!”

The faint sound of music is heard over the crowd, like a scream heard underwater. The tension builds with a growing hum, the cry is louder yet different, mechanized, like someone is trapped inside a machine. A motorcycle hums, revving its engine, racing louder and louder until a crash of metal clangs.

At the height of tension the Winter Soldier takes a solid step through the curtain as the haunting scream blares out. It’s as if the person he used to be was still inside, Bucky Barnes, Howling Commando, friend to Steve Rogers, trapped inside the shell of a brainwashed assassin, scratching at the walls and screaming to free himself. But the Winter Soldier is nothing like Bucky Barnes.

His movements are deliberate and slow as he stalks the ring. Blue eyes visible through the darkness of black around them. They speak volumes with every glare as he makes his way around the ring. Kids who are brave enough scream at him but the Winter Soldier doesn’t react. He’s cold, devoid of emotion, as mechanic as the sounds of his entrance music. Y/N does see something in his eyes, the subtle squint as he sees her Captain America shirt. She, like many others, boo him as he passes by.

Not everyone hates the Winter Soldier though; he has his own fan base that doesn’t care about what side of good he’s on. Y/N can hear the difference in the tone of their screams, lascivious howls as he steps in the ring. They cry out as he undoes the buckles of his leather jacket to reveal a broad chest and she wouldn’t be surprised if they had dollars ready in between their fingers to stuff down his pants. His hair is dark and stringy, falling just on top of his muscular shoulders. He removes his muzzle, rolling his neck from side to side as he awaits his foe.

“From Brooklyn, New York, weighing in at 225 pounds, he is your Heavyweight Champion, Captain America, Steve Rogers!”

Patriotic horns blare along with rhythmic percussion, building triumphantly until Captain America pops through the curtain to a clamor of cheers. The belt shines brightly around his waist as he takes a second to pose, hooking his thumbs into the top, proud to be the champion.

Y/N stands up, cupping her hands around her mouth to amplify the sound of her cheers making them rise above the rest. Steve was slapping hands with a group of children but he heard her, his boyish smile growing as he turned to see her in the front row wearing his symbol.

As Steve approached Y/N he took her hand, pressing a kiss to the top of it that set her cheeks on fire. She sat down giggling in her seat with Wanda, hardly able to look at Steve anymore even though she couldn’t take her eyes off of him. Her breath got caught in her chest for a moment as the Winter Soldier glared in her direction. She swallowed the hard lump in her chest uncomfortably, feeling on edge by the intensity of his stare.

The Grandmaster leaves the ring as Ref Coulson pats down the legs of both men to make sure none of them have any weapons. Steve would never but you can’t put anything past Hydra. The bell rings and the match begins, both men circling each other. Steve puts his hand out to shake, an honorable sign of respect he shows towards all of his opponents but his former friend roughly slaps it away. The Winter Soldier lunges towards Steve to spear him to the ground, unleashing an assault of vicious punches to the champion.

Steve blocked what he could but it seems like the Winter Soldier is on a mission to take him out. Steve is able to push him off, rolling over to try and stand but his opponent is on his feet first The Winter Soldier grabbed Steve and squeezed him into a headlock, tightening his grip as Steve hissed. Steve tried to get out of the hold, clawing and punching his way to get the man who used to be Bucky to release it. Instead he bends his knees and gets his arms under the Winter Soldier’s thighs, with all of his strength Steve flipped him over his shoulder but the reprieve did not last long.

Just as quickly he was attacked again but Steve grabbed the Soldier’s hand, whipping him into the ropes. As the Winter Soldier ran back towards Steve he was caught with the strong force of Steve’s drop kick that sent him to the mat. Steve went to cover him for the pin but the Soldier kicked out. The match had everyone on edge, back and forth as they traded powerful moves until both men were laid out in the ring.

“Come on Steve!” Y/N shouted.

He was dazed, trying to get up as the ref began a countdown from ten. He slapped the mat with his palm slowly and the crowd joined him; slow claps that built with speed, encouraging Steve to get to his feet. The Winter Soldier stood before Steve did so he grabbed him by the back of the head, slamming his face into the turnbuckles. The Winter Soldier set Steve up in the corner, slapping his chest with a violent thwack. Steve screamed in pain, the sting burning his skin.

The Soldier slapped him two more times before he grabbed him by the hand and violently threw him into the other corner. Steve’s back hit the turnbuckle and he groaned in pain. The Winter Soldier ran towards him but at the last second Steve lifted his foot to kick him in the face. The Soldier stumbled and Steve hoisted himself up to the middle rope, jumping off and locking his arms around the Winter Soldier's head; the momentum allowed him to swing his body around and as Steve landed on his back the Winter Soldier was stunned from the impact of the top of his head being driven into the mat.

Steve goes for the cover but the Soldier just barely kicks out. The crowd groans in frustration with Steve who gets up. With the Winter Soldier still down Steve gets up, he leaps to the center of the ropes, springboards off the top rope and does a back flip. It’s the Star Spangled Splash and the crowd goes wild as Steve crashes down on the Winter Soldier. He goes for the cover again, the referee counts, one, two, thr– The Winter Soldier kicks out at the last second.

Frustration washes over an exhausted Steve. He grabs the Winter Soldier by the hair to get him to his feet. Steve gets the Soldier in a front facing headlock and tosses his left arm over his own neck. He hooks his own arm behind the Soldier’s left leg, cradling the Winter Soldier against him. His hold is locked tight and then Steve throws himself backwards, tossing the Winter Soldier over his head. He’s pinned to the mat, his head and leg still locked in Steve’s clutches, and Steve does a bridge to add more pressure to the hold.

Steve is waiting, holding the Winter Soldier down expecting the referee to be counting. He’s been holding him down for longer than the count of three so where is the ref? The crowd is screaming, telling Ref Coulson to turn around but he doesn’t hear them. He’s too busy dealing with Red Skull and Black Widow who had rushed out from the entrance. He knew it was almost over for the Winter Soldier and he wasn’t going to let Captain America have another victory over them.

Red Skull made Black Widow jump up on the curtain to distract the referee as Crossbones and Baron Zemo snuck inside the ring, stomping on Steve’s stomach. He released the hold, groaning as the men continued to stomp him.

“Turn around! Ref, turn around!” Y/N, Wanda and so many others pleaded.

Crossbones grabbed Steve, lifting him into a fireman’s carry as Zemo climbed to the top rope. He swung Steve around to disorient him, inadvertently knocking into Ref Coulson who dropped to the mat. Zemo flew off the top rope to add to Steve’s pain as Crossbones spun him out, spiking his head into the mat.

The Winter Soldier rolled out of the ring, going over to the table where the Grandmaster was sitting. He grabbed the championship belt in a vicious tug of war that the Grandmaster had no shot of winning. Steve was using the ropes to get to his feet and the Winter Soldier ran full steam, hitting him in the head with his own belt.

Chaos broke out as the bell was ringing for the match to end but no one inside the ring seemed to care. They used every opportunity they could to continue their assault on Steve.

Y/N got to her feet, leaning over the guardrails as she screamed at all of Hydra. The Winter Soldier whipped his head in her direction, his eyes flaring with rage. He signaled to Crossbones and Zemo who dragged a half-conscious Steve to his knees. He was in the corner, his head dropping forward as both men held his arms back.

The Winter Soldier jumped down from the ring with determination, stomping towards Y/N who was still giving him shit, screaming “You knew you could never beat Steve in a fair fight!”

Wanda was trying to pull Y/N down to her seat as the intimidating frame of the Winter Soldier hovered in front of them but it didn’t stop her. Y/N’s arms were in his face as she continued to defend her favorite wrestler. “You’ll never win! Steve will always kick your ugly, frostbitten ass!”

A round of “oohs” spread out from around her, the sound that quickly turned into “ahhs” as Y/N screamed. Her words were enough to break the Winter Soldier who grabbed her with two hands by the throat, lifting her over the guardrails. Her legs kicked furiously to get out of the chokehold as she struggled to breathe.

Wanda was screaming as the Winter Soldier placed Y/N down, only to quickly toss her into the ring. Confused, she crawled to the corner in an attempt to get out, feeling the unfamiliar padding under her palms but she didn’t get far. The Winter Soldier pulled her by the foot, dragging her back.

Y/N screamed for help and the Grandmaster shot up but Red Skull saw him coming and kicked him in the face, laying him out before he could make it into the ring. Cowering on all fours, Y/N began screaming as she felt the bottom of her sweatshirt being pulled off. She held onto the hem of the shirt she had on underneath; far too thin to be worn alone, her arms prickled with goosebumps but Y/N couldn’t think about that. Fear ran through her veins and she stumbled backwards, leaning against the turnbuckles. The Winter Soldier held up her sweatshirt that bore Steve’s symbol to the crowd and facing her again he ripped it in half, tossing the shredded fabric at Steve.

This jolted him alert and Steve looked around, getting his bearings. His eyes shot open wide as he realized one of his fans was in the ring. Steve struggled to break free and Red Skull saw the determination in his eyes. Steve was straining his muscles to loosen the hold but Red Skull came up behind him, locking Steve’s head in a chokehold as Crossbones and Zemo strengthened their hold on Steve’s arms.

Black Widow sauntered towards the fearful Y/N, who begged mercilessly to be left alone but she should have known Hydra only cares about themselves and they needed to make a point. There was nothing Steve could do but watch as Black Widow lifted Y/N above her shoulders in a fireman’s carry, the girl helpless in her arms.

Wanda screamed in fear as Black Widow popped Y/N’s legs up, throwing them behind her as she locked her arms around Y/N’s head, magnifying the impact on Y/N’s neck as she hit the mat.

The crowd lost their minds, screaming as one of their own was unmoving in the center of the ring. Steve fought harder to be free of his hold and his enemies let him go. He walked straight into a fierce kick to the stomach from the Winter Soldier who quickly hooked Steve’s arms behind his back, locking his grip around them.

This was it, his finisher– the Dead of Winter.

He lifted Steve into a vertical position with his back against the Soldier’s chest, holding him there as if to prove to the fans that he was obviously the stronger of the two former Howling Commandos. The Winter Soldier then dropped to the mat, driving Steve’s head straight into the unforgiving ring.

“HO-LY SHIT! HO-LY SHIT! HO-LY SHIT!” The crowd went wild as the Winter Soldier bared his teeth, a growling scream as he defeated his former friend.

Steve was on his back unmoving as Black Widow dragged Y/N’s lifeless body and draped it over him. The Winter Soldier laid Steve’s belt on top of her, as he and Hydra taunted the crowd, showing them what they thought about Captain America, his fans and his stupid title.

Security was finally called in but it was too late, Hydra had left the ring. Ref Coulson was dazed but awake, horrified to see a fan in the ring. Weakened, he called out for medical attention the girl in the ring and Steve, telling them not to touch them.

Most of the crowd filed out of the building but some of them stayed, like Wanda who cried as she watched Y/N being loaded onto a stretcher, carefully taken out of the ring with a collar around her neck.

Y/N opened her eyes to find a massive shadowy figure standing over her. Through a curtain of dark hair she recognized the blue eyes of the Winter Soldier. A smile spread across his face as his hands came for her throat… removing the collar that was stabilizing her neck.

“How’d I do Buck?” she asked with excitement bursting in every word.

“So good doll,” Bucky said, taking her hand so she could sit up.

He stood between her legs, his arms finding their spot on her waist as he pressed a kiss to her lips. She tasted salt from his sweat but it was something she was used to after so many nights of training together.

“I can’t wait for you to make your debut. You and Steve versus me and Tash.”

She nodded, smiling just as widely as he was. “I think Wanda’s more excited to seek revenge on what ‘the Black Widow’ did to her friend,” Y/N joked. “Did she tell you she picked a gimmick name? Scarlet Witch.”

“It suits her,” Bucky said, taking his hand to gently rub away some dirt from the mat that was on Y/N’s cheek. “How ‘bout we get cleaned up and maybe tonight you can try and pin me?” A smirk pulled at his lips, the glint of mischief twinkled in Bucky’s eyes.

“Try?” Y/N scoffed, looking into the eyes of her boyfriend with a smirk of her own. “Oh I don’t need to try Bucky, I can get you on your back with ease.”

Bucky grinned, pressing another kiss to her soft lips as he helped her off the stretcher. Y/N already won his heart, a match that Bucky happily lost.

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