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grawlix-ness · 4 months ago

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The Big Sleet and Dingo Headcanon Post V2!

Bear in mind this is largely a collection of subconscious Notes app ramblings I’ve patched together so I may have made a few grammatical boo-boos or repeated myself here and there. It’s almost 4AM, I’m sure I’ve missed things. I’ll continue to add and edit this post should more ideas come to mind. Questions encouraged!

Cw: light implications of child neglect, mentions of drinking and mutant body horror

🔫 Sleet 🔪

Sleet was raised in the gutter. He knows a fair bit more than the average Lower Mobotropolis street urchin because his mom was an aristocrat until she was slandered by her peers and booted from high society. She taught him the essentials, and he learned everything else from scavenging library books. Presently, his education has all but fallen through the cracks. He tries to avoid reading most of the time. What will Dingo think if he learns he’s not the uber-genius he makes himself out to be? Why does he care what Dingo thinks? When such thoughts arise, they are pushed away and buried.

He has cybernetic implants to aid with frequent aches and muscle strain. In the winter, he struggles due to a lower cold threshold, the result of a fur and skin condition. Dingo knits sweaters for him. They’re oversized and kind of a mess. On particularly glacial nights, Sleet isn't averse to sharing warmth, willing to cuddle up and be the little spoon, so long as Dingo promises not to tell anyone.

He had no friends growing up and was often picked on. His ailments and interest in science made him an easy target. Some of his peers disliked him on the very principle of him having an ex-aristocrat mother. This made him prickly and distant. While others played kickball or tag, he was tinkering with junkyard machinery or eavesdropping around spacer hangouts, dreaming of someday getting off planet and flying to a world that’d understand him.

He’s quite good with a needle and thread and tailors his and Dingo’s ball outfits himself. Sleet gets his sewing skills from his mother. She was the personal outfitter and trusted right hand of an important noblewoman. As a pup, he adored listening to his mother’s stories of galas and masquerades. During such fleeting moments of peace, she’d also make costumes for him. He still heavily enjoys fashion, having a closet dedicated to fancy capes.

Sometime in his tumultuous childhood, Sleet discovered there was an Honor Guard. He admired their outfits and swordsmanship. Most of all he wanted to join so he and his mother could live in the warmth and safety of a castle. He even fashioned a costume out of his mother’s fabric scraps, complete with a sword made from a rusted metal pipe. She was quick to dash those dreams and didn’t take kindly to him borrowing her things, especially not for such a “ridiculous” project. During lonesome, existential nights he wonders how differently things could have turned out if he had become a member of the guard after all.

When his mother was absent or too volatile to be around, Sleet found company in local mechanics. He learned how to swindle and cheat with the best of them. One shop owner actually took him under her wing, viewing his perceived weaknesses as strengths.

Sleet first developed the transmogrifier as a kid. He used it not only to defend himself against the local rabble rousers and humiliate them. It wasn’t a complete success, only partially transforming targets, giving them wings or eyestalks and other unwieldy appendages. Transformations were temporary. No less horrifying however.

He calls himself a jack of all trades. This title is dubious. Thanks to an enriching education from the school of hard knocks, he does have an approximate knowledge regarding a variety of things, though it’s usually limited to topics relating to self-preservation and chicanery.

Animals don’t like Sleet and aren’t afraid to let him know. It’s become a standing joke. Dingo teases him for it, despite the fact that, because of his stature, toothy countenance, and tendency to squeeze or pet too hard, he isn’t the best with animals either.

Sleet is a skilled marksman. He prefers distance, specializing in both handguns and long guns. If the weight class is right and the odds are in his favor, he can hold his own in close quarters using an array of hidden fighting knives and some rudimentary martial arts. Sleet simply won’t hear that his cape is a hindrance, even when this has been proven multiple times. All that being said, Sleet is more of a fleer than a fighter. He is an unabashed coward, not opposed to unning away screaming with his tail between his legs.

While preferring motorcycles, he’s not half bad at riding animal mounts, thanks to the teachings of cowboy bounty hunter and old flame Fleabyte. It is serendipitous that he’s acquired this ability, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to stay on as well after zapping Dingo into a beast of burden. The poor brute has heard a lifetime’s worth of ass jokes from his rider.

He enjoys strategizing and has free time stored away solely for scheming purposes. These lovingly-crafted plans generally go awry due to Dingo’s haphazard, devil-may-care nature and forgetfulness. That’s not to say Sleet would do better in the bounty hunting business on his own. He has the upper body strength of a wet noodle and a predilection for monologues and theatrics. He needs someone to shake him out of these ego trances.

Sleet uses his hands often when talking. Lots of flourishes and waves, tapping his chin as he feigns uncertainty, balling his fists and involuntarily shaking them when incensed. Little itchy, twitchy movements. Dingo finds it most endearing.

Though tech-savvy and clever, his anger and pride sometimes get the best of him, leading him to make less than wise decisions, such as forcing machines past their breaking points or abandoning plans the moment his buttons are pushed.

Sleet is not good at maintaining his hygiene, hence the hedgehogs’ odor-themed jabs. He'll polish and shine his armor until it glistens, yet giving the suit an interior deep clean is far from his mind. He's become so dependent on the power high and protection the suit gives him that he rarely takes it off. Dingo found this strange and a little concerning at first, but Sleet has convinced him that a good bounty hunter is always prepared in case of ambush. The thick polluted air of Robotropolis doesn't do any favors for his mangy fur coat either. So if anyone's a flea hotel, it's Sleet, though you’d be hard-pressed to find any fleas that’d give his scrawny hide the time of day.

Underneath that armor, he wears a black one-piece bodysuit made of a silky, breathable material, more resilient than it appears. Sleet is skin and bones. It’s why he prefers working with a partner. He went through—or rather left for dead—dozens of other partners before finding a suitable match. Dingo’s hardy. Sturdy. Loyal. Revoltingly sweet. He’s an intriguing oddity to him. Dingo could easily kill him and yet he doesn’t. For a time Sleet wondered if he was just too dim to ever consider betrayal.

He’s not big on displays of affection or people entering his personal bubble. However, when traversing through big crowds, he always presses close to Dingo, sometimes even reaches for his hand.

Considers himself sophisticated. He’ll generally greet with a low bow and flourish, allies and enemies alike. Has neat freak tendencies, despite the fact he’s a hot mess himself. In short, rules for thee, but not for me. There’s often a mental tug of war between his debonair self and the mouth-frothing sewer rat that lies deeper beneath.

Sleet has a bad habit of late night tinkering. He isn’t actively trying to be a night owl, time gets away from him. If Dingo doesn’t carry him off to bed beforehand, he ends up hunched over and asleep at his study. It does no favors for his already poor posture and eye bags.

His reputation precedes him. When he freelanced, many bounty hunters steered clear of him because he was a noted cheat that backstabbed his partners. Despite these unsavory exploits, he manages to reel in even the most disconcerting of clients via ingratiation, boasting a nigh supernatural silver tongue. Those who’ve been tricked by him before cite his wordsmithing as being almost hypnotic.

He tries his damndest not to acknowledge Dingo’s gaga eyes and honey glow cheeks. More times than one would deem platonic, he’s gotten distracted by Dingo’s chest. Though, to his credit, it’s hard not to when your co-pilot’s almost always shirtless and idly flexing his muscles. Even harder when you’re pinned beneath his chest—Dingo could make tripping over his feet a professional sport.

💪 Dingo 🧬

Dingo has a sizable extended family, a horde of siblings and cousins back home. His destructive tendencies came as no shock to his aunts who raised him, since the family business used to be organized crime. The syndicate disintegrated long before Dingo was born, other groups like the Toad Warriors and Bear Pack Bikers quickly outcompeting them.

Has no memory of his mother or father and holds no ill-will towards them. He has plenty of wild theories about their disappearance though. Everything from being lost at sea to being flattened by an asteroid. Whatever it was, he’s convinced it must have been legendary.

Of his litter he is the eldest brother. Barring fur color, none of his family look quite like him. His spots and flopped ear are noted recessive traits. His more dramatic features are the result of an understudied mutant gene. Nobody’s sure where in the family tree it came from. So far as Sleet can glean, it’s one in a billion, a title Dingo wears proudly. He isn’t interested in making connections with any long lost relatives, fearing there could be someone out there better than him at all things mutant.

Dingo grew up in the outback of Trailius, quite some distance away from the hustle and bustle of Mobotropolis. He was a rambunctious, often rude and aggressive child. A typical schoolyard bully. Sometimes he would lament over his appearance and wish other kids invited him to play, but those moments were short-lived. Fortunately for his peers he could be easily tricked or bribed with sweets.

Whereas Sleet took up inventing and sewing, Dingo loved throwing his weight around and exploring the great outdoors, wrestling every beast he came across and scaring vacationing campers late at night by pretending to be a Mobian-eating monster.

In pursuit on foot, Dingo is bad at maneuvering sharp turns. His topheaviness and clumsy feet have cost a number of hunts.

He has a sweet tooth. One thing he appreciates about the aristocracy is their love of extravagant desserts.

He is very naïve and trusting. It was worse when Sleet wasn’t in the picture to talk him out of things. A country boy in the big city, Dingo was scammed out of a lot of his Mobium when he first arrived in Lower Mobotropolis. The shell game was just too alluring.

Dingo is not so oblivious that he can’t rebuke Sleet’s gratuitous blaming. He can be sassy. Those who’ve had the displeasure of working with them can attest that, when tensions are high, they have the propensity to bicker like an old married couple.

For someone who was raised in Trailius, he is unusually afraid of spiders and other crawly arachnids. He doesn’t enjoy turning into insects either, finding the overall sensation, in his words, icky.

Transformation is typically painless. He tends to be sore after taking on the more abstract forms. If the strain is really bad, he will go to Sleet and ask to be massaged. Sleet used to refuse, but he has since humored him, asserting that he’s only doing it to check for signs of molecular decay.

Dingo can morph without the assistance of the transmogrifier, though the process is slower. It depends on how distant taxonomically-speaking the chosen form is from his mammalian base. These transformations are not too pleasant visually or audially, so the remote is preferred.

Dingo’s mutant abilities have some drawbacks. Because of his rapid healing, his body will try to stop him from getting tipsy and keep him on his A-game. He has to drink by the barrel to feel even the slightest buzz. Additionally, being stuck in one form for too long can leave him achy and disoriented, and if he changes too frequently his molecules buckle and unravel. It’s not a pretty sight. Sleet even theorizes that if he’s in a form for over two hours, he will get stuck that way. They have had close calls before, where after finally being turned back from a Mobini, some behavioral traits of the animal lingered.

Before meeting Sleet, Dingo could only morph if he remained focused, and those transformations were generally simple, such as limb multiplication or extension. The transmogrifier effectively glues his molecules together, meaning he doesn’t have to exert his concentration anymore. Colors are still somewhat of a challenge, tinted with his default orange. Nevertheless, he fools the untrained eye. When tasked with disguising as another Mobian, Sleet coaches him and will always supply him with a hidden microphone.

After an especially big transformation, Dingo becomes so drowsy he can hardly stand. All that molecular stretching and rearranging, it’s draining. When he wakes, he is insatiably hungry. Which is saying a lot because Dingo already packs food away like it’s nothing due to his bulking regime.

His accelerated metabolism often manifests in odd cravings, such as tuna and peanut butter sandwiches or pickle and pineapple ice cream sundaes. Sleet wishes he’d partake in his experimental cuisine somewhere else. Preferably out of the Red Whiptail’s cockpit—he gets crumbs everywhere. Despite being an extreme omnivore, Dingo cannot handle spicy food.

When he’s not making unusual combinations, and in turn making Sleet’s stomach churn, Dingo’s a decent chef. Messy, but decent. He’s the more culinarily adept of the two and makes dinner when time allows.

He likes scrapbooking. Dingo has more stationary and cute pens than he knows what to do with. Unfortunately he’s heavy-handed, so many of his supplies are worn with love. He keeps mementos of every successful hunt. Little knick knacks and trinkets, maybe the occasional tooth from a beaten adversary.

Not necessarily a couch potato, though does spend most of his downtime lounging in front of the TV. He enjoys playing video games, although he’s not very good at them on account of his itchy trigger finger skipping past tutorial levels. As long as he can shoot or smash things or toss chubby penguins off cliffs, he’s happy. He watches mainly big loud action movies, corny rom-coms, and slapstick cartoons. Sleet believes his screen time will rot the little left of his brain, though he has shown some interest in the historical Delmontian dramas Dingo skips past while channel surfing.

Has been known to boast quite the sailor mouth. It doesn’t happen often, the most foul only invoked for particularly painful offenses like stubbing a toe. Sleet doesn’t know what half the Trailian swears mean and at this point he’s afraid to ask.

Dingo does not like shirts. He especially hates the tuxedos and dresses Sleet makes him wear whenever there’s a bounty on an aristocrat. He tries to keep his grumbling to a minimum because dressing up makes Sleet happy. In casual settings, if more than his shorts is outright necessary, he’ll wear a quippy graphic tank top.

When they go out of town, Dingo always hits up a tourist trap or two, no matter how blatantly overpriced or mind-numbing. He’s a big fan of carnivals and amusement parks. Dingo’s demolished many strength tester games and would most assuredly be banned if he wasn't one of Robotnik's hirelings.

Not the sharpest tool in the shed, true, but he is definitely the more emotionally aware of the duo. When it comes to personal matters, he’s a good listener.

He has a twinge of separation anxiety. It’s not super debilitating, he just gets restless if Sleet is away for long. He can be possessive. This proves a problem whenever Sleet goes Casanova Mode to retrieve information from targets. It’s worth noting Sleet has moments of jealousy too when Dingo manages to hit it off with others, though he’d never admit it.

The hedgehog triplets are aware of Dingo’s crush on Sleet. To catch him off guard, they’ll sometimes slyly allude to it, much to a flustered Dingo’s chagrin.

Finds Sleet’s voice very soothing. It’s so soft and muted. He could listen to it all day. Often he does since, while certainly less exuberant than Dingo, Sleet can be a chatterbox when it comes to aristocratic gossip and comparing blaster models.

Despite being certifiably canine, Dingo makes all manner of noises. He snorts and huffs like a bull when upset and can unleash fearsome, leonine roars. When happy, he rumbles.

Excitable. Liable to break the nearest object in vicinity from pure exuberation.

Dingo can’t see well without his glasses. Despite the swanky look, they are in fact prescription. If they’re misplaced or knocked off by a meddlesome hedgehog, his clumsiness is increased tenfold. He is gentle when handling them.

Dingo wears a bracer on his right leg. In a comedy of errors, he injured his leg as a pup while playing with a slingshot. For reasons unknown, his healing factor neglected to kick in. His knee aches at times. Dingo mostly wears it because he finds it cool and fashionable.

His fighting knowledge is limited to the concept of hitting, hitting hard, and hitting dirty. He has no formal training, relying on instinct and what he’s seen on television to best enemies. His moves are sloppy and unrefined, but no less formidable. As a mutant shapeshifter, he’s also granted a number of potential forms. Even without Sleet’s transmogrifier, his elasticity allows him to grow in size and turn his arms into whipping tentacles or his hands into mallets. He could finish fights before they even start with this power, however Dingo prefers to milk his battles for all their worth. Some Freedom Fighters have reported seeing him actually play with the battered and unconscious like they’re dolls.

He is actually well-kempt all things considered. Dingo enjoys bubble baths and singing—or caterwauling, as Sleet calls it—in the shower. His fur coat is soft and surprisingly dense, especially in the winter when it grows out. He sheds and has to brush himself fairly often. If he’s in a good mood, Sleet will help. The mastiff-like skin folds around his neck also have to be cleaned regularly. His mane is naturally bristly, akin to that of a wild boar. It softens somewhat after a good shampoo.

Dingo makes the first moves. He is usually the one who initiates. Trouble is, if it doesn’t involve flexing his guns or pulling a smoldering expression, Dingo’s bad at flirting. His word choice is . . . unique. Lummox that he is, his compliments come across more like threats. Turns out Sleet does not in fact appreciate being called small, fragile, and edible among other things. He’s since tried to alleviate this by writing down pick-up lines on his hand.

Dingo’s definitely the more doggish of the two. He wags his tail, something seen as uncouth in aristocratic social circles and immature in most other places. He’s wounded himself on occasions by wagging so hard. Dingo also barks when he gets too excited or surprised and, due to his muzzle structure, is predisposed to drooling. If Dingo is proving particularly stubborn about going into a death trap or being used as bait, Sleet can convince him with a scritch between the ears.

Additional Information

Their partnership was bumpy at first. Their differing personalities clashed and sometimes led to physical altercations. Nothing too dramatic of course, they are still cartoon animals after all. Dingo pulled his punches. Sleet might have been a nag, but he didn’t want to see him hurt.

Sleet and Dingo are both bisexual. Dingo has a slight preference towards men and masc folks. Sleet is trans. He performed his top surgery himself. Despite the quality of the tools he had at the time, his scars have healed remarkably well.

The two are very competitive. Before being hired by Robotnik, on particularly uneventful nights they played board games. They’re both cheaters so they went around in circles for hours. Lots of yelling, finger pointing, and eventually falling into a heap on the floor because they stayed awake all night trying to psyche each other out.

When they manage to squeeze any free time out of their schedule, they enjoy going to arcades and stealing prizes from kids. They also like to take potshots at the irradiated wildlife on the outskirts of Robotropolis and do prank calls—the Robotnik Intelligence Agency being a favorite victim.

Dingo believes that Sleet’s love language is mockery. That might not be too far from the truth. Sleet genuinely doesn’t know how to express himself. He doesn’t altogether know if he wants to. Sleet’s trained himself to think the worst of everyone so he’s not disappointed or hurt in the long run. In truth, Sleet appreciates acts of service. Dingo’s love language is considerably more simple, as things regarding Dingo so often are. Dingo’s huggy, nuzzly, altogether physically affectionate.

Sleet snores terribly. It’s not so much the volume as it is the whistling his nose makes. He’ll never admit to it, and gets flustered whenever Dingo tells him. Fortunately the walls of Robotnik’s fortress are thicker than those of their previous abodes, giving Dingo the chance to rest easy.

Dingo doesn’t understand mirrors. Sleet, egotist that he is, rather likes mirrors. He hasn’t owned any since the incident. It’d be a hassle to clean up glass and find a replacement everytime Dingo popped his head into Sleet’s quarters. Sleet has explained how reflections work to him several times before, yet it never seems to stick.

In his default state, Dingo has a strongman build. Sleet is a beanpole. Without his boots and shoulderpads, he’s slightly shorter than Dingo.

As far as affairs of the heart go, their relationship is unspoken. Dingo’s doing all he can, Sleet pretends he doesn’t see it, as on principle he believes love is for fools. There may or may not have been some wild nights where he had too much wine and slurred a few things suggesting otherwise however. He’s softening up to the idea, even if he doesn’t know it yet. In essence, he’s perpetually stuck in a “I Won’t Say (I’m In Love)” loop, because he’s a shitty little tsundere.

#sonic headcanons #sonic underground #sleet sonic underground #dingo sonic underground #sleengo #slingo

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nillthirteen · 1 month ago

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Ooh! About my previous ask about boss fights, I've just come up with another question for that, if you wanna answer it (For the DS one or future ER one.):

Which boss do you think has the most *awe-inspiring* presentation?

Oh I really like this actually!

SPOILERS FOR ELDEN RING AND SHADOW OF THE ERDTREE

Also word vomit below.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

I'm not super sure to be honest, it's definitely a multi-way tie. That being said, none of the Dark Souls bosses really hold a candle in terms of presentation to any of the Elden Ring fights. Not played enough of DS3, DS2, or Bloodborne to rate any of them, so maybe we'll revisit the concept once I have.

The Midra fight is one of maybe three fights that actually made my jaw drop, due to my fascination with the lore, and the presentation does nothing to hurt that. The Consort Radhan fight did the same thing, but I still prefer the presentation of the original. He feels so much larger than life, and despite his huge frame, immense strength, and array of moves, you're still shown how he's a fraction of the man he was. To be honest, I think that mystique of imagining how powerful Radhan was is more interesting than what we're actually shown.

Anyway, getting off track. I think the lion dancer, because of it's fucking incredible animations, and how they sync with the music make it feel like a playable cutscene, and it's so damn cool. It's one of those magical moments in a game, where everything works together so well, it transcends everything, and becomes, as Noodle put it, "playable concept art".

But I do have one I prefer.

Back in January, when I was playing through Elden Ring for the first time properly, I finally reached Maliketh at the start of a 2 week break off school. I was so hyped to sink my teeth into the game and get all the way through, and I figured he'd maybe take a day or two to learn and finish. Problem was, he countered my build. Hard. I was a Greatsword user, and surprisingly fragile to any kind of status effect. Maliketh did holy damage, and given the speed of his animations, and my limited range of damage, if I got hit once, it was enough to kill me within a couple of seconds, plus it lowered my max health, so the next time would definitely be fatal.

I ended up having to learn to do the fight hitless.

This took two weeks.

I want you to imagine, for a moment, a young trans girl, sitting in a dark room, staring intensely at the screen as she does her tenth run of a boss in about an hour, desperately hoping she'll be able to beat it today, because she knows she won't get another chance for another two weeks, thanks to mock exams.

A young woman, going through one of the hardest points of her life, clinging to one of the few things that gave her a sense of accomplishment and joy. Something which had gotten her through some very tough nights.

Imagine, now, you are this girl. And you begin the run. You slip through every attack, weaving in and out, a cloaked figure swiping blindly, as you pick and choose the exact attack animations which take advantage of the gaps in an attack, punishing even when there's no window, finding your own opportunities to attack, dissecting every moment. You reach the second phase, your now massive, burning, and armored opponent, flinging himself from height to height, spinning about with the force of a helicopter, and you do not slow down. You keep pace, weaving and dodging as the healthbar slowly wittles down. In this moment, there is no divide between you and your character. There is no distance, to be bridged by story or setting. You note a small opening in the boss's swing, you risk it, make it, and land the killing blow.

In that moment, I experienced something quite unlike any other game I have ever played. The presentation had me fully enveloped, and worked in complete parity with everything. It was one of the most incredible moments I've ever had in a game.

In conclusion, Soldier of Godrick wins.

#elden ring #shadow of the erdtree #game critique #I know it's kinda word barf #and I was definitely waxing poetically too much #however #You came to my blog #You expect me to stay on topic?#heresy

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specialagentlokitty · 1 year ago

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Saul Silva x reader - always by your side

Can you write a story with a reader (student or teacher) who learns that Saul is pardoned during season 2 please? - @djino04 💜

Alfea hadn’t been the same since Saul was arrested, and even though you wanted to leave, the only reason you stayed was for Sky, but you threw your all into your training and your work.

Even when it came to the Alumni event, you refused to take part and attend though there was many questions for you to do so.

You didn’t want to take part, so you refused.

And there was nothing they could do about it, because Rosalind and Andreas both knew that if you didn’t want to do something, there was no amount of threats or pain that would make you do it.

So they left you to it, deciding it would be good to have at least one teacher out patrolling around the school.

And that’s where you had been all night, headphones on as you trained in the specialists training ground, honing your fire and lighting up the training ground in a series of red or Orange light.

Even as the night drew on, you didn’t stop, your mind was solely focused on one thing now, and that was getting stronger.

You didn’t trust Rosalind and Andreas one bit, and someone had to be willing to protect the students, so you were pushing yourself beyond the limits every day to increase your strength and endurance.

As the sun was coming up, you decided to take a break and you sat down on the grass, drinking some water from your bottle, you slid your headphones down your neck as you took a deep breath.

“Professor (L/N)?!”

You snapped your head up and furrowed your brows a little bit.

“Bloom, what’s wrong?”

She jogged over and handed you something and you looked at her smiling face.

“I was asked to give you that, Sky said I could find you out here.”

“Alright, is that everything?”

She nodded her head and you nodded as well, settling the envelope down on the grass, putting your bottle on it, you took a few moments to rest before standing up.

“I really think you read it Professor.”

You turned to bloom and rose a brow at her and she picked it up, holding it out to you again, stepping back as she clasped her hands behind her back.

“Bloom im training.”

“Please read it.”

Sighing heavily you opened it and held the envelope in your hands as you unfolded the paper, and you carefully read the first half.

“I don’t understand..” you mumbled.

You looked up and you realised she had walked away, but you found a familiar face walking across the training grounds towards you.

You were frozen in place, and you stared at the man who carried on walking over.

“No…”

Letting the paper fall from your hands, you slowly began to walk, then you began to jog into you were running towards him.

And when you were close enough you crashed into him, hugging him tightly as you both dropped to your knees.

Saul hugged you back tightly, pressing his forehead against your head as you buried your face into the crook of his neck.

“H..how…? What…?”

“I’ve been pardoned..” he whispered back.

You pulled away from him and you looked at him, tears falling from your eyes.

The face you missed staring at so much, the face of your best friend.

“Does that mean..?”

Saul smiled softly and he nodded his head, letting you hug him tightly once more.

“I can stay..”

“Jesus Christ Saul..”

He laughed a little bit, hugging you as tightly as he could without hurting you.

“Didn’t think you’d get rid of me that easily did you?”

You slapped his back and he chuckled again, resting his chin on your head.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, and he smiled to himself.

“Thank you for staying for him…”

“I promised you I’d look after him.”

Saul nodded a little bit, and he carried on hugging you.

Your tears soaked his shirt, but they weren’t tears of sadness this time, they were tears of happiness, tears of joy to have you best friend back by your side.

You had grown up with him, you had never been away from him, you two were always right next to one another, like a package deal.

So when he was arrested, it destroyed you, and filled you with a rage that could barely been contained.

And you were still angry.

But you were overjoyed with the fact he had been pardoned, with the fact he wasn’t an enemy of the realm anymore, and he wasn’t on the run.

You were happy beyond words to know that he was excused from it, and he could help you make things right at the school, and make the school safe once more.

Because you were best friends, and despite everything that had happened, you swore you’d always have each others backs.

So you needed him with you, so you could stand side by side and face the challenges that were to come because truth be told? You knew you couldn’t do it any longer by yourself.

And going by the way he was hugging you for dear life, something told you Saul couldn’t handle this on his own anymore either

#fate the winx saga #fate the winx saga x reader #fate the winx saga x you #fate the winx saga imagine #saul silva #saul silva x you #saul silva imagine #saul silva x reader

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beloved-belittled · 10 months ago

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Yandere(?) Shinnok x Reader (2/3)

Click here for Part 1 / Click here for Part 3

Part 2 of my first post. Please be mindful of the warnings!

TW: Kidnapping, choking, torture, heavy abuse, thoughts of death, dark story, horror/thriller, noncon, NSFW, AFAB reader

18+ to interact.

After your first encounter with Shinnok, you rapidly learn your place within this new "role". His patience with you is limited and his sadism seemingly infinite. What used to be your relatively clear skin is now a canvas adorned with lacerations and bruises. Your mottled skin is only the beginning of it, as underneath the surface your mind frays more than your body. The torture is –ironically– the most stimulating part of your life now. All you can do without Shinnok is stare into the maddening darkness of your cell. But at least on occasion the bread, meat, and water you're provided will give you enough happy hormones that you almost forget about your predicament. Even if only for a moment.

Perhaps the worst part of this was the uncertainty of your fate. It seemed impossible to predict when Shinnok would appear nor exactly what he would do with you. There was no door creaking open as he entered the dungeon, no sound of heavy boots on concrete approaching your cell, not even the jangling of a captor fiddling his keys against a lock. Shinnok simply appeared, as if his entire being was conjured from out of thin air. And when it came to torture he somehow never did the same thing twice.

So here you are lying in your cell. It's all you could do and have done for what you assumed to be years. Your arms have long since atrophied away, with your legs soon to follow ever since you stopped pacing around. At first, you wished for someone or something to come save you. Then, you wished for his death: a painful, long, and permanent death. But now? You simply wished for nothing.

The familiar rattle signaling Shinnok's appearance graces your ears. Normally, you would sit up to greet your lord, but you lacked the energy to muster up such an attempt. You instead lay gazing at his feet, seeing through him and into the void beyond. His blank face looks down at you. "Look at yourself, mortal." His contempt oozes out on the last word. "Pitiful and broken on my dungeon floor. Truly despicable. Truly wretched." He speaks gospel coated in venom. You were truly a miserable, broken thing. Only still alive by the mercy of a fallen God.

You give no reaction to his words. "Stand up, mortal." He commands. You would obey, you even want to obey, but the strength has left you. Instead, you close your eyes and await punishment. Seconds pass without the searing sensation of pain or the pressure of being choked. You can tell by the slight rumble in the room that Shinnok has summoned his usual skeletal hands. You wait for them to tear into you, for their phalanges to carve through your flesh with ease.

A metallic boom pierces the cell. A noise resulting from the chains attached to the wall breaking. The sound startles you, instinct causing your eyes to snap open. Before you can fully process what's occurred, you catch sight of his summoned limbs tearing the binds around your torso. Your arms are free for the first time since your arrival here. But the withering they've experienced leaves them to hang limply from your shoulders.

You throw a confused look at Shinnok who proceeds to pick you up. You're surprised by his strength. He lifts you up as if you weighed no more than a feather. You get little time to bathe in surprise because your vision suddenly turns black. Your stomach lurches forward, the intensity akin to someone punching you from the inside. Then, as soon as these changes started they stopped. Fingers peel away exposing the two of you to your new location. As they slip back into the ground, you take in where exactly he teleported to.

It's been a while since you've seen anything besides the dungeon, but you can still recall what a bedroom looks like. Even so, it resembles your cell in many ways with its stone walls and poor lighting. Murky grays, greens, and blues stretched everywhere that you looked. Few furnishings adorned the room, with only a desk, bed, and an armoire visible. The change of scenery is jarring. Its existence causes the outside world to become real again.

Shinnok drops you onto the bed with little grace. The sensation of soft sheets is so wonderful that your eyes close. You lie there wondering what his plan is. Maybe he was finally planning to kill you, but you dismiss that hope. It’s more likely he simply got bored of inflicting pain in a tiny cell.

Unfortunately, your first hint of what’s to come is when a pair of lips press against yours. A wet, rough tongue brushes against your upper lip inciting a gasp. Your then exposed mouth is a place free to plunder -at least in someone's eyes- and is immediately filled with tongue. Your mouth leaves little room to hide, and soon enough your tongue is entwined with the Elder God’s. You're being orally dominated by the man, who brings a chilly hand to your throat and squeezes. Hard. The suffocation only doubles the intensity, your body enraptured with stimulation.

The kiss ends and you're reeling from the experience, sucking in a breath for the split second his grip loosens. He captures you in another kiss and once again tangles his tongue with yours. His cold hand feels even tighter around your throat, its temperature contrasting the warmth building up in you. A mind-numbing heat spreads from where you two kiss down towards your core. You hate your body's touch starved reaction, especially when his spare hand reaches towards your crotch. Blocked by a barrier of clothing, Shinnok's fingers rub against the yielding fabric. Your muffled voice pours into the kiss. Your protests are barely distinguishable from begging.

When the kiss breaks your stunned stare meets his gaze. Never has he touched you like this, nor did he display any signs of arousal while hurting you. You're not permitted to speak, but the word just slips out. "Why?" Your voice is barely more than a whisper. His lips curl into a smirk. A foreboding twinkle manifests in his eyes. Your body jolts as you're roughly repositioned, your lower garments slipping off in the process. Your legs raise to rest upon his shoulders, thighs steadily pushed apart by his palms. His face hovers just above your pussy. His eye contact unnerves you when he speaks.

"Because I can." His breath feels cool on your clit. "Now, be quiet. I don't want to hear a single word from you." His head lowers to your heat. A slick tongue rubs against your sensitive nub before circling it. The motion sends tingles throughout your crotch, which only fuels the warmth gathering in the pit of your belly. His licks are slow, practiced. Just enough for pleasure to spike but nowhere near an orgasm. Your body responds positively to the teasing, pussy leaking out wetness to be lapped up.

Once he deems you are soaked enough, his tongue glides down your lips in a S-shaped motion. Parting your plush folds, he dives straight into your wet opening. You're immediately assaulted with a series of intense licks, your juices soaking into his oral caresses like a sponge. His tongue reaches every crevice of your fleshy walls, leaving no place untouched by pleasure. Meanwhile, his fingers raise to play with your clit his mouth recently abandoned.

Not once does Shinnok break eye contact with you, his milky eyes staring into your soul. You know better than to tilt your head away, to hide the blush in your cheek or the way your eyes flutter. Your lips part on more than one occasion, but you refuse to let any sound out. If you do, he'll win. You need this small victory. This tiny accomplishment to prove he can't completely bend you to his will.

This delusion shatters when he reaches the deepest, most sacred, most sensitive place inside you. His tongue, long and coated, slides against you with the right dose of pressure. This electrifying feeling stimulates your lungs before your brain, making an unwanted gasp escape you. Shinnok's eyebrow raises at your response, followed by a deep chuckle. The vibration from his laugh leaves your core throbbing.

He pulls away from your drenched cunt. A part of your mind is already missing the stimulation. It isn't long that you'll be unattended, judging by the way his hands reach to pull off his clothing. Perhaps if the circumstances were different you could appreciate the sight before you. Instead, horror flourishes inside you as he reveals more skin. His toned torso could make any mortal weak in the knees, but all you feel is a desire to scream and run.

You can't bring yourself to pull your gaze downward. Your peripheral vision provides more context surrounding his cock than you ever wished to know. Holding it in his hand, he guides his dick towards your pussy. The head of his cock lands to rest on your clit, before slowly slipping down your folds to peak into your entrance. The touch of his dick prodding against your hole breaks you, causing the dam of emotions you've suppressed to finally release. After abstaining for so long your eyes finally release coveted tears. The drops mark your cheeks, sliding down to leave a trail of sadness in their wake. Your throat tightens as you swallow a hic and along with it a plea for mercy. You're not so foolish anymore to believe there’s a way out of this.

"Ah," for the first time you hear something resembling joy in his voice. "I have missed seeing those tears of yours." His hips snap forward on the final word. The pain of such sudden penetration was indescribable, but your ability to scream had long since faded away. Instead you can only hiss and grit your teeth through it all.

His cock presses against your cervix, nudging it further up into your womb. He's much longer than what any man could hope to be, and it isn't long before he makes shallow thrusts to get deeper inside. Your greedy pussy lets him slip in, allowing him to further defile your flesh. Inch by inch you're stuffed full of a cock you never asked for. No matter how hard your thighs squeeze his hips to dissuade him, he sinks into you unimpeded. Soon enough he's completely inside you.

His hips quiver as he drags his cock back towards your entrance. He pushes back in sparking up the stinging pain from before. You sniffle, trying to end your crying and endure this rape. Shinnok has no real pattern to fucking you at first, seeming to just experiment with slow, hard thrusts and rapid, shallow movements. He grabs at your thighs, adjusting and raising your hips to give him better access. With each slide into you his balls rub against the slicked flesh of your ass.

The more his cock thrusts in and out of you the number you feel. Your cunt adjusts considerably to the attention, pain dulling to hint at something more pleasurable building up. This is helped when one of his hands once again strays towards your clit. Your face scrunches up, attempting to mask the pleasure with disgust. But you're only fooling yourself after all.

“Oh? Does that feel good, my love?” He's mocking you. You didn't even need the snide expression that accompanies to inform you. “There's no need to hide anything from me at this point. Enjoy the sensation of laying with your captor.” His movements intensify, letting ecstasy build and writhe inside your pussy. Hot, good-feeling sparks emerge from your nethers. You're teetering on the gates of Heaven.

A toe curl, squirt, and moan all announce your orgasm. Your cum high brain forgets who the person fucking you really is, and you instinctively wrap your legs around him. In those few seconds of bliss he was simply a man who made your cunt gush and spasm. Your pussy contracts during your peak, muscles softly massaging his cock. He seems to enjoy this, a short hum leaving him as his body shudders.

You float back down to a clear mind. A boulder of guilt lays heavy on your shoulders. Shinnok speaks to you, amusement written on his face. “Such an interesting reaction. Tell me how good I made you feel.” He's still moving inside you, stirring up your now sensitive pussy into overstimulation.

“I-It felt good. I enjoyed it, my Lord.” The truth slips out easier than a lie. He doesn't respond, instead once again adjusting his angle to chase his own climax. He glances down at where you two meet and your eyes reflexively follow. What a mistake that turns out to be. Your vision is filled with a horrifying palette of clear, red, and white. A dollop of what you now know is his cum leaks out from your hole. You sputter out questions, wondering how he's still hard if he just came. He laughs at you. “I am a God, mortal. I do not tire like your pathetic, frail men.” His hands once again start toying with your clit. You're ashamed at how quickly he starts working you towards a climax again. “I'm going to use you until I'm satisfied.” He promises, continuing to fuck you like some sort of toy.

It takes you a few more orgasms to finally pass out.

#yandere shinnok #shinnok x reader #shinnok #mortal kombat x reader #x reader #my writings

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missvelvetsstuff · 1 year ago

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Guarded Heart

Bucky Barnes x Reader

MobAu

Chapter 23

Warnings: swearing, light angst, dirty talk, little bit of smut but mostly implied- fingering, toys, bondage. I think thats it.

18+ ONLY!

Notes: we have come to the end of our tale, thanks for sharing the ride with me, it's been a slice.

There will be an epilogue eventually.

I have other stories in the works so y'all can't be rid of me so easily.

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

For the next three months Y/N and Bucky planned their wedding, worked with the physical therapist on getting her used to her new arm and took care of business together with George Barnes.

They decided to move into Y/N's family home and move her mother into the guest house.

That meant Y/N had to clean out the guest house where Thor had lived, where she had spent so much time and learned so much about life and love.

Bucky and her mother offered to help but she refused, needing to say her final goodbyes to Thor alone. When she was almost done, Loki came over to take some of Thor's belongings. They sat on the floor in the empty living room, listened to Thor's favorite music( Wagner, starting with his Flight of the Valkyrie) and drank an entire bottle of Thor's favorite vodka, laughing and crying together remembering him.

Bucky showed up after she called him, slurring and laughing. He called Heimdal to pick Loki up and carried her up to her bedroom.

Y/N kept a box of pictures and mementos of her time with Thor. Mostly pictures of them from shows, with her horses and the ribbons or trophies she had earned, and the gatherings that came afterwards. Thor always looked so proud of her. He had been such a good friend above all else but she knew he wanted her to go on and be happy so she was trying. After Bucky left her in her room, she cried for Thor, for their love and for the Olympic dreams she had once had that she was sure were over now.

Once it was all cleaned out and redecorated for her mother, Y/N felt like she was starting a new chapter in her life. Different from what she had planned but still potentially wonderful.

She truly was falling in love with Bucky. He was a bit of a slow learner but she could see how he was working to be better for her. They were seeing a counselor to help work through everything they had been through and they were both hopeful that they could build something from the ashes of their past

Y/N spent time with her horses but only if someone else was around to help. She was afraid of misjudging the strength of her prosthetic and hurting one of the animals. She rode a bit but either with her mothers help or using only her right hand which was clumsy and confusing to the horses. Being around them was therapeutic in itself but her limitations were frustrating. All the tests the physical therapist had done, showed she had complete control of the arm but she couldn't help feeling scared of the damage it could cause if she didn't have that control, for whatever reason.

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

Y/N fidgeted with her dress "Mama, this shoulder just won't lay right."

Her mother shook her head and sighed "I had it laying just fine until you had to fuss with it."

Y/N was wearing an ivory one shoulder gown with gold thread detailing and fabric draped over her left arm. She was still very self conscious of the prosthetic, and couldn't stop fussing with it until she saw her mothers look.

She huffed "Fine but it feels weird."

Her mother shook her head "Well, honey, you lost your arm. It's only been three months since you got the prosthetic. These things take time."

Y/N gave her mother a soft smile "I'm sorry. Feeling a bit overwhelmed by, well everything. And really nervous."

Her mother smiled at her "I don't think you have anything to be nervous about. You look lovely, like a Grecian goddess, James will be beside himself. And I've seen the way he looks at you. Life won't be all beer and skittles but if you remember to trust in each other, you'll be alright."

Her eyes teared up "Your father was so proud of you. Your riding and what a strong woman you grew up to be, how you stood up for yourself with James."

She looked over Y/N's hair, making sure her gold leaf tiara, encrusted with tiny diamonds and pearls, was straight. Her hair was up away from her face except for the curled tendrils that broke free.

"I know, Mama. I wish he was here." She sniffled "Don't make me cry, it'll ruin my make up."

"Ok, ok. We can do this." She hugged her daughter.

There was a knock on the door and Pepper came in with Morgan. Both wearing sleeveless dresses with a deep v neck, Pepper in baby blue and Morgan in a soft yellow. "It's time, Tony will be here in a minute. Are you ready?" She looked Y/N over and smiled. "You look beautiful."

A few minutes later there was another knock and Pepper went to let Tony in.

Tony entered the room looking dapper as always in a grey suit with a tie that matched Peppers dress.

He smiled when he looked at Y/N "When did you get so grown up? That baby who cried all the way through her christening, seems like it was yesterday."

He hugged her "You look beautiful, kid. Barnes better appreciate what he's got, or he'll have me to answer to."

Y/N smiled fondly at Tony, trying to hold the tears back. "I don't know what I would do without you, Tones."

Tony smirked "Lets hope we never have to find out." He offered his arm as Sam came to escort Y/N's mother to her seat.

Y/N held on to him tightly when Morgan spread rose petals, then Pepper went to walk down the aisle. Her music started and she froze. Tony patted her hand "Come on kid, you've got this."

When they started walking, she was afraid to look up and watched her feet as they walked into the garden in her parents backyard, where she and Bucky spent so much time together, where they fell in love. She heard Bucky clear his throat and looked up to see him staring at her in awe, stunned again by her beauty. He gave her a small smile, encouraging her to walk to him. She returned the smile and looked over him in his dark grey suit, feeling her insides flutter at how handsome he was

Both of them went through the ceremony in a daze, looking only at each other and needing multiple prompts when it was their turn to speak. They had written their own vows where he promised, in front of god and everybody, that he would always treat her as his equal in business and in life, and they both promised to be honest and keep no secrets. They had special rings made by Tony that were magnetized to their vibranium arms.

When the officiant told them to kiss, Bucky pulled her flush against him and kissed her breathless. He pulled back just enough to look in her eyes "You're mine now, doll."

He looked at the crowd as they were introduced as husband and wife, nodded, then took her hand and pulled her back down the aisle and into the house until he found a guest room and pulled her inside.

Bucky pushed her up against the wall and kissed her hard "I've wanted you for so long doll, I'm losing my mind. I just need a taste to keep me until later" he kissed her again and ran his right hand up her leg, under her dress, nibbling down her neck "Fuck you look so beautiful. I wanted to take you right there, in front of everyone, claim you as mine. You drive me crazy, Baby."

She whined quietly "please Jamie, need you."

Bucky smiled against her skin "That's my girl. Oh" he paused "The things I'm gonna do to you sweetheart."

His hand made it up to her core and he groaned at her wet panties and thighs "This turn you on doll? Knowing I couldn't wait to touch you? Not caring that everyone out there knows damn well what I'm doing to you."

He pulled her thong aside and rubbed his fingers in her slick "Fuck Y/N, you're dripping" he slid one finger inside and she moaned softly until he added another one, his thumb rubbing her clit. "Oh baby, your pussy is gripping my fingers so tight. I bet you need to be filled don't you? Fill this tight little pussy with my fat cock and cum until she's overflowing?" He nipped at her neck, careful to keep from leaving any marks.

"Oh god, Jamie please. S'good. fuck. I need, I'm gonna..."

"What do you need baby? You wanna cum all over my hand, soak it?" He grunted "Ohhhh, fuck. I feel your pussy squeezing my fingers, fuck I wish it was my cock. Sooo wet and tight and-"

And he pulled his hand away as she was about to fall over that edge, making her whine "Jamie!"

She looked at him to see him sucking on his fingers and moaning "So sweet doll." Then looked at her smirking, with a twinkle in his eyes "let's go mingle with our guests."

She huffed at him "But Jamie!"

He tsked at her "I told you I just needed a taste. Don't worry, tonite I'll take care of you until you're begging me to stop. For now, business."

He offered her his arm after she straightened herself out and she pushed it away, frustrated and not looking forward to schmoozing mobsters for the next few hours.

"I'm gonna make you regret this, Barnes."

Bucky gave her his most charming smile "Don't you threaten me with a good time."

When they walked back out to the garden, which had been quickly transformed, with the chairs moved to the tables that surrounded a dance floor in front of the gazebo and the twinkle lights coming on as the sun set, everyone applauded with some whooping and whistling added in.

Y/N blushed and Bucky just grinned like he'd won the best prize at Coney Island.

They went through all the traditions. Their first dance together. Cutting the cake, feeding each other cake which she warned him not to fuck around with. Steve's half drunken best man toast which Sam had to finish while Steve cried on Loki's shoulder. Tony's father of the bride speech which included a number of threats aimed at the groom. The garter which almost included an unplanned orgasm from the bride, damn Bucky and his teasing, was caught by Sam. Tossing the bouquet that Wanda, who had spent the evening dancing with Sam, caught after a brief tussle with the Carter sisters who had been eyeing Sam all nite.

When he decided it was time to go, Bucky was chomping at the bit, picking Y/N up while she was hugging Pepper and Morgan. He carried her bridal style as he practically ran away from the guests throwing birdseed at them and raced up the stairs to the newly redecorated master suite. They had agreed to wait until all of the family business mergers were completed to leave town.

He gently set her down and went to remove her dress when she backed away, worried he would ruin her dress. Y/N kissed him sweetly then excused herself to the bathroom, instructing Bucky to get comfortable on the huge bed. He stretched out in the middle with his hands behind his head, naked as the day he was born and harder than he had ever been.

Y/N came out of the bathroom in a set of blue lace lingerie that was barely there. She smiled at him and crawled across the bed until her heat was hovering over his cock. He groaned when he realized the piece was crotchless as he felt her dripping onto him. She settled on top of him and his hips bucked up, trying to penetrate her dripping pussy. She leaned down to kiss him, rubbing her chest against his while she ran her hands up his arms.

Bucky felt soft fabric gliding over him and tried to reach down and grab her waist, only to find his wrists were bound.

"Y/N, doll. What's this about?" He tried pulling against the soft fabric but couldn't get free.

Y/N pulled back and smiled sweetly, in her most sugary voice she told him "Remember when I told you that you'd pay for teasing me?"

Bucky laughed "Awww come on doll, I was just playing with you. I planned on making it up to you tonight. Untie me and I'll show you."

He smiled at her and she felt her insides turn to mush so steeled her resolve.

"Later" she got up off the bed and grabbed a box, seemingly out of nowhere, to set on the bed near him.

Bucky tried to sit up and look but the restraints held him down "What's that doll?"

She smirked at him "Just some toys to play with, have a little fun." As she restrained his legs.

She pulled something out of the box and showed him, a faux fur cat 'o nine tails that she ran along his body, tickling and causing his muscles to tense up. Until she smacked his thigh with it and he hissed from the slight sting.

Then she pulled out a long slender shape, showing him the vibrator then turning it on low and rubbing it along the crease of his thigh, barely touching his twitching cock.

Next a small butt plug which made Bucky's eyes widen causing her to giggle lightly. "Don't worry Jamie, I have lube."

He choked slightly.

Y/N looked him over, contemplating if she should show him more and deciding that was enough to start. She looked in the box for a moment and pulled out a blindfold.

She sat back down on him, wiggling her hips until his member was practically engulfed in her wet heat. When he thrust his hips, trying again to find his way inside she snapped the cat 'o nine tails across his chest, making him gulp air into his lungs.

"Doll, ple-"

She cut him off

"This will be a lesson in relinquishing control, something we both need to work on but if it really gets to be too much just say 'red'"

Y/N just barely wiggled her hips and Bucky groaned but didn't move.

She stifled a moan and smiled "Good boy." then put the blindfold on him and pulled in a deep breath to control her own desire

"Oh, Jamie, the things I'm gonna do to you."

@sebsgirl71479 @calwitch @hhiggs @kimomoraba @avery199 @mishkatelwarriorgoddess @esposadomd @bigphattygyal @cjand10 @lokiandbuckysdoll

Chapter 24

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #james bucky barnes x reader #james bucky barnes #bucky barnes x you #angst with a happy ending #mob!au #guarded heart

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lunarscaled · 2 years ago

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" OPEN. THIS. FUCKING. DOOR. " ( Huginn )

𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑺𝑬𝑹𝑷𝑬𝑵𝑻 & 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑾𝑰𝑵𝑮𝑺 𝑶𝑭 𝑵𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻

-> Humanity never learns from anything---Lyric will be the first to attest to this. Despises conflict but continues wars; regales the history and yet will do nothing to preserve it. Power, and authenticity, is bought piecemeal by men with the means and white-gloved hands, who display it in glass cases in their homes away from the public eye and tout its importance to their associates. History dies in the collections that are tombs of wealth, like pharaohs buried with all their possessions. Magic items are no exception---perhaps even a worse exception. A single man, fed on his hubris, could end the lives of hundreds merely on a whim. Could make bargains and deals he'd never understand and care not who is left to pick up the pieces, cries when he's called upon for his debt, flails it all in the face of the reaper and thinks it defends him. In their fist they grip a decorated glass vial, sealed with gold, filled with saline-like fluid. Angel's tears. A terribly potent spell material. His banging on the door despite all assumptions is actually a formality here: Huginn's strength was beyond any human compared. The door would have been splintered already, or perhaps unlocked on its own, or Lyric would have opened it in a foolish trick of thought. His banging---the yelling, which makes their heart panic in their throat and wash them cold---is his own warning to them. They can still settle this at odds verbally like they always do. They can still resolve this job and go their separate ways. Just unlock the door.

But when would they ever hold such a chance in their hand again? A True Resurrection component. Seldomly found and even more seldomly used, and for good reason. Very few escaped damnation for defying death.

"I can't!"

-> They're shouting back. It isn't like their excuses mattered: they were stealing, now. From him and from their client. One they cared not for, but the other could bring them down, break them to pieces. Huginn in all his anger had never once done more than push them around a little or raise a single hand. Lyric knows he could do far more, far worse things to punish them but he does not; out of his own moral code, or because it doesn't matter in the life of a single human being, or because he felt they weren't worth the effort they did not know. All their weight is pushed against the door holding it shut, but their head turns to the open hotel room window with the fire escape behind thick cotton curtains and they know, they know it's simple and futile and they won't get further than the city limits at absolute most if he is choosing to move slow about it, and yet. And YET. They have to try. Their heart flails and flutters in their chest. Beats so hard against their ribs it hurts. ( there's someone they want to see again. )

-> The door lock won't hold for much more of his beating. They count in their head and push away from it all at once, grab their hastily packed back and sling out the window in one swift, adrenaline-fueled move, their legs and hands already shaking. It didn't matter to think about where they were going or what they would do---Huginn could read their thoughts. So, they run on instinct and hope it's enough, leaping down the fire escape ladder several rungs at a time, narrowly avoiding dropping three stories in their haste.

#corvusdei #⋇ FEAR WILL BE THE ENEMY AND DEATH ITS CONSEQUENCE: MAGIC MODERN #* questions and answers.#⭐ and I was screaming at my father and you were screaming at me and I can feel your anger from way across the sea ( corvusdei. | Huginn )

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tamiveldura · 5 months ago

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Fated To The Wolf: Serial Master Post

Ok, friends and enemies welcome to the first serial of this blog. We are going to iron out some kinks together because shit is going live today! (QA? what's that? straight to production!)

TL;DR: The serial is free but you need the password: GET IT ON THE NEWSLETTER

🐺🐺CHAPTER LIST 🐺🐺

Chapter 1

Chapter 2 (7/15)

Chapter 3 (7/17)

Chapter 4 (7/19)

Chapter 5 (7/22)

Chapter 6 (7/24)

Chapter 7 (7/26)

Chapter 8 (7/29)

Chapter 9 (7/31)

🐺 First: This serial is an instalove M/M wolf-shifter novella! It will serialize on my website three chapters/week leading up to the publication of the anthology it's in (more on that below.)

The serial is free to read but due to The Amazon Overlord, I'm putting chapters after number 1 behind a password that you can only get ON MY NEWSLETTER <-- sign up for that shit and you'll get a free M/M dragon shifter instalove while you're there.

Fated To The Wolf

Amari Rose is about to make a deal with a demon.

Amari has been raised among vampires as the only food they’re not allowed to touch, but if he doesn’t take some drastic action, his mother will make sure he’s someone’s next meal. He wants nothing more than to leave the vampire Court, but he’s stuck in a world of eternal darkness called the Shade. Who would come rescue him here?

Titus Bryant is a mercenary werewolf with a mission.

Titus knows his fated mate is out there, somewhere. He has traveled the world looking, but the last thing he expects is to travel across dimensions. He tackles Amari while on a mercenary job and his entire life changes in an instant. All it takes is a single touch; he loses all of his werewolf strength and power, but he finds his mate at last.

Fate will tie them together.

Escaping the Shade, it turns out, is easier than believing Amari is free. He has much to learn about the mortal world, fears his mother’s wrath, and knows he’s left a hundred vampire enemies at his back. It’ll take all of Titus’ love and patience to finalize their mate bond and earn his werewolf power back.

Fated To The Wolf is a 20k M/M paranormal romance featuring a monstrous mercenary with a heart of gold and a human mate willing to fight for his freedom. Vampires, shifters, magic, witches, demons, and more will try to kill this HEA, but nothing can stop fate.

🐺 Second: If you're already sold, you can preorder Marked RIGHT HERE, it's ready and waiting for you wolf-lovers. This is a multi-author anthology! Mixed pairings, mixed heat levels, all wolf shifters.

🐺 Third: This novella will eventually be indie published as part of a larger series but I have NO CLUE when that will happen. It's not on the production schedule until like 2027 or some shit, we busy alright? So if you want to read this novella before I die of old age, GET ON THE NEWSLETTER or PREORDER THE ANTHOLOGY please and thank you.

(the next several serials will also follow this pattern, so if you like vampires, alien dragon shifters, or M/M+ kinky sex, just save yourself the trouble and GET ON THE NEWSLETTER mmkay? mmkay.)

🐺 Fourth: new chapters will be announced on the tumblr with a teaser that will link you to the blog... where you will need the password. (where do we get the password kids? That's right ON THE NEWSLETTER! Gold stars for everyone. ⭐⭐⭐)

A full chapter list will be updated below and all relevant posts will be tagged #Marked By The Wolf so you can pick up where you left off.

🐺 Finally: Also due to The Amazon Overlord, the serial will be removed from the blog on release day, August 1st, so they can't accuse me of pirating my own story or some bullshit (I WISH I was joking). Which means the serial is available for a LIMITED TIME. After that, you'll have to BUY THE ANTHOLOGY which is only available through November. I, too, wish to shank the Overlord for imposing a fake scarcity model, but here we are. A couple of contracts I'm fulfilling require tolerating the Overlord for the near future. But soon the revolution will come.

Are You Ready? (it's a newsletter link)

THE SERIAL IS ONLY AVAILABLE FOR THE MONTH OF JULY, what are you waiting for?

look, if you got this far without SIGNING UP FOR THE NEWSLETTER I just don't know what to tell you

#Fated To The Wolf #serial #indie author #original fiction #paranormal romance #PNR #MM #gay romance #fated mate #vampires #demons #witches #instalove #novella #short story

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psychemenin-blog · 1 year ago

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PT II (Is that right?) A flight interrupted this writing process and with it came a flurry of things I find fun and fascinating around deliberate art. And of all things, "living with yourself" arrives on my suggested netflix, and not just for the infallable paul rudd, but the concept is exactly of my concern.

I'm going to name my things out loud I think have been holding me back. I am watching people left and right get married and experience that "pick me" energy. And I start to story tell that I am not experiencing that because I'm unworthy of it, or that my standards are too accepting that I don't expect that to happen for me, but then snidely, I do. I want everything both ways, I want to be able to complain about everything. I want the "dream" to distract me from myself which is my self; my own mirror and shadow issues which include the fact that I'm not playing every day at work. I'm not playing every day in life. The dread of work, avoiding the mundanity of work, it's all so exhausting. All work and no play makes me not energetic enough to plunge holes through beautiful historic building doors.

I am so loved, I felt so loved today coming home to my family. That's totally enough for me because that's living the literal dream I'd always think about. I get doubts because I want again that "pick me" energy but I have my whole life to live regardless of my marital status.

Shadows What am I doing to tell the stories I want to tell? I want to be a paid , working director. I want to be in a position where I can purchase script rights and make the damn thing with a backing army of people who have skin in the game with me.

So much of myself has grown and healed. And yet, so much of me has a habit of standing on my own neck, limiting my dreams, and compromising myself. Telling myself that's the expectation.

I get so stir crazy when I'm not learning and growing.

If my role isn't growing or there's mundanity I get uninspired to give my best or I'm dissatisfied or unhappy. I can say that in my 1x1 with my boss tomorrow, and I can add that which I do not want anymore.

Imagining I got a chance to review a fellow coworker, the person "his subtext is sexist, condescending, and arrogant. He's not a pleasure to work with. I will still pull my best from workign relationships with him, but I do not aspire for more of it." If I'm so lucky to be asked my own opinion about my codouchebagworkers perfofrmance. I'm so curious.

Soi I'm tired and I'm looking for a conclusion I likely can't find. This will take an ecit to make anything meaningful or - I don't think it should be a place forthe corey no delete blue pages strategy. I think I made a few stakes in the ground aimlessly, like, starting a course, which I still would love to do I just have a hard time feeling inspired to. Do I have an excuse for everything? That's old negative self talk. It's legitimate that the world gets so exhausting when you ahve your wings buckled in together by your own doing.

This is just like my spread this moon cycle. I have myself blindfolded but my hands aren't untied. I ahve options, I have strength, I am powerful. I am just tired because this job feels meaningless to me and gradually gets worse the longer douche is a part of the team and spends time talking about himself. If I get an exit interview I'm definitely mentioning how that hire swap left a good thing bad and a bad taste in my mouth. exhibited character unlike what I signed up for, and invited in a teammate I disapprove of.

GIF by sophi-aubrey

That's it for today. National write your story day. Ironic. I'll see how we do here consistantly. It feels good to thought vom. Thanks for stopping by.

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bleachmerchandisestore · 2 years ago

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When does Ichigo regain its strength in Bleach?

Bleach is one of the ongoing anime series and with the anniversary of becoming one of the "big three of the era on Shonen Jump magazine," we can't exclude the love and admiration we have for Ichigo. Ichigo Kurosaki, the main character, has joined the list of the most famous characters thanks to the introduction of powers that quickly made him a respected force in the Soul Society. Ichigo has gone through some major challenges to achieve his fame and ultimate power.

The anime series, based on the original manga by Tite Kubo called Bleach, also aired from October 2004 to March 2012 on TV Tokyo, and we will witness Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, the final manga spin-off, in October 2022.

Bleach picks up Ichigo's story as he becomes the most powerful Soul Reaper and protects humans from evil spirits. Ichigo resides in Karakura town when he becomes a Shinigami (Soul Substitute). He is not alone with such power in the town as he gradually learns about the powers that his classmates like Ishida, Orihime Inoue, and Yasutora Sado possess.

Some stories are introduced throughout the manga, including the battles between Ichigo and his friends versus spiritual humans, immortals, The Hollow, and more.

However, as the story progresses, Ichigo loses his power and must regain it to protect his loved ones. While it is unclear when Ichigo will regain his power, it is likely to happen in the upcoming manga spin-off.

In conclusion, Ichigo is one of the most popular and powerful characters in Bleach, and his journey to regain his power will undoubtedly be an exciting one for fans.

When did Ichigo lose power?

Ichigo possesses an immense power. His speed and strength are truly astonishing, which leads to an increase in his fighting capabilities in battles. The source of Ichigo's power is not limited, as his Zanpakuto can take on the form of Tensa Zangetsu's Bankai.

Coming to his Shinigami powers, he also has the power of Hollow, which usually allows him to enter into the Hollow form - a state that makes him even stronger and uncontrollable, and his speed increases. As his Hollow powers are uncontrollable, he is often afraid to use them because he fears that he may lose them if he cannot learn to control them. Ichigo's Quincy abilities also exist, allowing him to increase his defensive and offensive powers.

In the fourth part, we see how Kagerōza Inaba creates modified soul copies of many members, and then he puts them into the Reigai bodies. Inaba tries to capture Nozomi Kujō to merge with her and become a primitive form, Ōko Yushima. But this is prevented because Nozomi sacrifices herself to defeat Inaba, and Ichigo loses his power in the process. Ichigo loses the ability to use his spiritual energy in the intense battle with Sosuke Aizen.

This is mainly because Aizen was the strongest player in the Bleach world at that time, and Ichigo had to sacrifice some to continue the fight. Ichigo is then trained in Dangai, where he learns his ultimate form, Getsuga Tenshou, but the drawback is that this form will lead to the sacrifice of his power without their return. Dangai is a realm where time does not pass, so Ichigo can easily confront Aizen without spending years of actual training.

After the battle with Aizen, Ichigo loses all of his power when he successfully defeats Aizen.

When does Ichigo regain its strength?

Ichigo Kurosaki is one of the strongest forces, but unfortunately, he lost his power. His immense spiritual energy and shinigami ability have certainly been missed, but fortunately, he regained them in Chapter 362. In the Fullbring arc, we see Ichigo struggling and trying to live his normal life after losing his Shinigami abilities in the Karakura battle. After Aizen's defeat, Ichigo meets the "Fullbringers," who claim to have developed awareness of their own spirituality.

Therefore, they can manipulate the present souls in everything by focusing on the spiritual power of others rather than their own. Ichigo learns to manifest his Fullbring power, truly embodying a weaker, spirit-infused form of his own strength. Ichigo slowly regains his spiritual energy, but surprisingly, the leader of the Fullbringer group - Ginjo, actually intends to steal Ichigo's power. At this point, Ichigo gains his power back once again when stabbed by Rukia's sword (which carries the spiritual energy of many of the 13 Gotei captains).

Ginjo becomes stronger while Ichigo regains possession of his Zangetsu, even becoming stronger than before and regaining his power.

This causes Ichigo to regain possession of his Zangetsu and become stronger than ever before.

Visit us: https://bleachmerchandise.store

#bleachmerchandise #bleachmerchandisestore

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aranarumei · 2 years ago

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this was so interesting to read! I’m putting my thoughts in a reblog because I tried to do a reply and then hit the character limit really fucking quick so. under the cut for me as well haha

since I can’t make any real statements on popularity within a3 I think this is more just me rambling about a3 characters / stuff I like…? haha

I do think that definitely a large part of my opinions on a3 r influenced by the fact that I’ve banned myself from the tag and like, have even blacklisted the #ichablogging a3 tag so I don’t stumble into any act 2 spoilers (which. if u see me pop up in ur activity all of a sudden it’s bc I’ve remember “oh ichas going thru act 1 summer rn” and then i carefully reveal all the posts I missed one by one lol)

anyways!! I was quite surprised abt summer being the most popular group, but I can also like. see it now that I think about it? summer definitely was what hooked me into a3 and I think like, that troupe and winter have very fun dynamics in how they deal with each other, though it goes like, opposite ends for the both of them. winter troupe for me is like… 100% my favorite group in terms of narrative I think? like I’m so engaged by any of their plays / events and I really do think about them a lot. I think they do have a distinct advantage in being the last of the bunch because they don’t really need to deal with any establishing setup (unlike spring, which had to establish the setting as well as the idea of event plays in the first place)… no one in winter struggles Too Much with like Learning To Act which really opens time up for a lot more stuff in their part of act 1 I feel? but I also feel like the inter-winter troupe dynamics are like, so fascinating. for example I was really worried I actually wouldn’t care too much about nocturnality because I actually don’t pay that much singular attention towards azuma or tasuku? but I was so invested in the dynamics of everything that like, that wasn’t necessarily a problem

and I feel like!! for me I’m not sure if I can say what character I Like the most because to me so much of it is about like, enjoying how characters interact with each other… if I had to pick a character on their own it might be yuki or homare since they both have such Personalities but even then I feel like so much of a3 characters is like how they respond to others and different situations etc. so like is that even relevant to me because when am I ever thinking of a3 characters without thinking about how they relate to each other? like I don’t think I’d pick kazunari as a favorite but then for some reason his interactions in the camping event w/ tsuzuru and sardine search are like soooo dear to me and I think about them all the time. and then I’ve created an intense fiction in my head abt the relationship dynamics between tenma yuki and juza which like. barely exists within the main story.

and man, clockwork heart is so ;; I liked tsuzuru from the start because like you said, it’s probably a deal of liking that he kind of does what I do as well, so he’s rather relatable but… that event is perhaps my favorite event out of everything? the story makes me feel sooo many things and the play itself is just. one I think about often.

I don’t really have a point to all of this I think! I just think that like, one of the strengths of this game is really how it highlights characters through like their dynamics with others I think… masumi for example who is the character im perhaps not like, wild about, is someone who I actually really enjoy when he’s interacting with his actual troupe members (like the event with tsumugi! so sweet)

(oh man and again what you say about tasuku! I would’ve had no idea ppl would be bitter about his clash with tsumugi… that was like my favorite thing because I really feel like. in the end they’re both motivated by the fact that they care for each other yknow? so that was what actually ended up really endearing me to him and making me feel like I was. I dunno. getting to know him better? which I think applies to banri as well… maybe im just a fan of conflict or something who knows)

gosh. once I get through act 2 I’m going to ramble SO HARD. I love these characters so much. also I need to see how my theories turn out. for an interesting bonus piece of information: the reason I got into a3 was through following you, obviously, but the very specific reason was that I saw a VERY COOL fanart reblogged by you of stray devil blues(?). I think it’s funny that for like the almost two years from then, I still haven’t gotten to that “reason” (or. act 2…. I’m working on it)

was having banri thoughts lately just bc like. why not right. and then i suddenly remember u mentioning that some ppl... did not like banri at the start? which is wild to me bc in my mind ive always been ride or die for him. like i love juza so much but i feel like. that doesnt rly oppose liking banris character as well? banri is such fun character drama at the beginning of autumn and then his and itarus dynamic is fun from the start... gosh and the acting in the final bits of the autumn troupe between him and juza! suchhh fun tension. like. idk. it just started making me think like wow. digging thru a3 on my own with mostly the influence of like, just you has probably skewed my opinion of what the common perception of a3 is like. for example in my head winter is the most popular troupe which... it maybe isnt? i feel like recently i saw u mention summer might be the most popular(? this couldve been a dream) and i didnt realize itaru was super popular until like. last month. i mean if i had to pick a character i thought was the most popular i'd pick. misumi.

LKFJDLKFJD god what an ask

yeah i doubt i'm exactly the "common a3 experience" but to be perfectly honest i haven’t really kept tabs on the fandom per se since hh mid-2020 when i started to dig into some tags and saw so much negativity i was just :/ and stopped doing so (the curse to liking rascals </3).

Nowadays my knowledge of the a3 fandom is mostly the people interreacting with me, which already generally means that they vibe with what i post, so it gives me a skewed vision of the fandom like, are we all like that? or are the loud voices that made me go avoid the tag still here yaknow?

More stuff under cut

For Banri, i'll admit i wasn't too hot about him when i started the game, which now i regret so bad because he's my precious little meow meow hands down. He has such a good arc!!!! I know in my case i just had a hard time because i cared for Juza right away and i was still so high on Summer's development i kept comparing Banri to Tenma and going "here's why Tenma is amazing and Banri is cringefail". But it lasted me until a bit before Banri sees the portraits, when he starts to be conflicted, after that i was all, oh wait i like that guy. And then the more content i saw of him the more i loved him and he became my fav Autumn Chara. (so if you want to ramble about him more you’re free to do so because i’m team i adore this guy. please do. you’re so right in what you say of him.)

But so i did expect people to have my experience - hard time in the beginning, then mellowing on him before the end of the Autumn Chapter. And it wasn't the case 😭😭😭😭 At least at the time, the Banri's takes were rancid. Like it was genuinely annoying at a point, you couldn't go anywhere without some Banri bashing fuckery, even after his initial arc, people just. really hated him. My most hated takes were that i saw so many people say Banri would bully Yuki or stuff implying they would have an antagonistic relationship and it's probably why i cling to Into the Night so much, like HELL you're going to twist one of my fav crosstroupe dynamic!!! I legit saw so many things reducing Banri to a menace and a bully, and if not that, talking about how much everyone in the dorm hated him, and it was really driving me insane then.

I remember once making a post about how i was so close to blacklist "Banri" because people didn't filter this bashing with tags so i was just ready to just, not see Banri anymore, but it was breaking my heart. But somehow after this post i got a few people coming back at me about how it annoyed them too and i saw some of those people make their own posts in a more. direct way. and after that i never saw Banri bashing again. My power (< absolutely not, coincidence at best i'm sure).

A lot of Banri bashing i saw back then were from "newcomers" in the sense that it was after the anime aired, and a lot of people were just coming in without knowing about the events. imo i think the events do help giving a better feel to Banri in general so the fact people were fresh from the anime might have skewed things. I remember a friend who was in that case, newcomer and all, only read the main story, didn't like Banri after reading the main story. Then, Main story act 2 came out and while they didn't read the events, they read the main story and they started liking Banri there (because he did develop so much since then)

And as a whole i'd say, by act 2 it must have died out a bit.

There's another chara who gets bashed a lot but. Act 2 stuff 😔. Unfortunately a chara i like a lot so this was my breaking point of "i'm not checking the tags anymore none of you know how to behave". I think it mellowed since then? and i know the chara is popular in the JPN fandom meanwhile.

else i've seen like, Tasuku having very little content from fans and a few people being mean to him when they talked about him, but it was a long time ago and i sure hope it died out. I don't think i'd say he's bashed, more that most folks don't have strong feelings about him and stopped just with a bitter taste over his anger toward Tsumugi in the first winter chap.

Now. About popularity, Winter is DEF NOT the most popular troupe. Pretty sure it plays between Autumn and Summer in term of popularity. That said it's not like any of the troupes are unpopular so any ramblings about each Troupe would be meet with pleased reactions from the fandom, so it is harder to gauge that but yeah.

Troupewise something i noticed is that i think Summer is the most popular in term of GROUP, while Autumn is the most popular in term of Individuals. So a lot of people liked Summer specifically for their dynamic and how each of those charas played out each other more than individually liking each of them, while for Autumn it was, they liked all of them strongly! not specifically for their dynamic, though of course it plays a part, but as individuals. I mention it because i think it was the key difference in rank up in why i think Summer plays were okay to rank up to while Autumn were a nightmare. (that said that can also be "blamed" on "fans gravitate around characters that have elements they have as well" or something which means Autumn fans were more likely to be competitive and stubborn in a way Summer were more mellow.)

Itaru is definitely the most popular character of the whole game, period. It's not even a competition at this point it's so funny. when the EN server was live, anytime Itaru had a rank up card was a bloodbath (< survivor of Kniroun ranking up at 0.2%. Didn't sleep normally for the whole duration of the event it was so much.).

By the end of the server things were dying out a bit but still in general you could get a vague idea of popularity by how wild the rankings could be. For instance the fact Tasuku's ranking was a breeze without even trying was indicative of how he's not that popular.

In general i've noticed, at the time at least, that Winter ranks up were rather easy. I've ranked up for a few of Summer and i didn't see much of a problem otherwise*. Spring was really chill unless Itaru was in rank up. Autumn was THE Bloodbath. There were Autumn Stans organziation all over, the appp SYSTEMATICALLY broke EVERYTIME Autumn was around, it was always much more challenging, so yeah man.

Misumi* is probably the one i'd consider the second most popular character of the game, pretty much.

(*The funny thing is that Misumi got his lead play very early in the server's history, and i know i ranked up for him then and i didn't think it was too hard. In retrospect i'm sure it has more to do with the fact the game didn't have as many people playing it, than it had to do with popularity, so my word on Summer not being a problem is based on weird stats)

A while ago, for the Taiwanese server, there was a special set of cards in term of popularity on this server. Itaru got a SSR, Masumi got a SR, and Misumi got a R.

Masumi is in a weird position because i'd say he's fairly unpopular in the EN server, while he's popular in the JPN and Taiwanese server. Honestly i'm assuming he's especially popular with the teen audience.

AND THE MOST TELLING PART:

The first Cross-troupe's play was involving the most popular character of each troupe, by a poll being made by the JPN server. The leads were Itaru and Banri, then Misumi as a secondary character and Tsumugi as a more support character.

Meaning at the time, this was the order of the 4 most popular characters of the game.

When the mixed troupe event came to the English server, i remember a poll circulating on tumblr and likely twitter as well, trying to see if the EN Server had different favorites. Itaru still came on top, Misumi followed closely afterward. For Autumn, it was Juza and Taichi that were on the top of the Autumn poll, not Banri, and for Winter, i think it was still Tsumugi but Homare was very close behind.

So that was the popularity at least back then, god knows opinions now.

I've seen Homare be extremely popular on tumblr for sure. I have no doubt in Juza's popularity as well.

I saw a lot of Taichi fan going "Taichi is underappreciated" but i saw so many of them i was kinda just thinking "bro i'm pretty sure Taichi is in the popular character squad by now" But i'm also on the other hand as i've once seen a post saying Hisoka was popular and it stunned me a moment going ????? because as a huge Hisoka stan i don't see it???? There's a few devoted fans, and he has a better fanbase in JPN server, but in EN server??? (I'm comparing the last rank up for Hisoka VS the last rank up for Taichi in my mind and i genuinely don't see it for instance) so i also think it's likely i have a "fav blindspot" where i just don't think people are vibing with the charas the way i'm vibing, just. exactly like what i'm talking about with the Taichi stans so.... (that said i also once was tagged in a post that was going "i don't think i've ever seen a Hisoka or Tasuku stan" and a friend just went @ icha come here. Schrodinger Hisoka who's both popular and unpopular depending on who you're asking. And Tasuku IS MY UNDERRATED MEOW MEOW)

I think i recall Tenma being popular for a time, and Yuki is well appreciated by everyone around here. Kazunari has a loud fanbase but i'm pretty sure the seiyuu thing was a huge blow to them and a lot of them got more quiet at the time.

And for what it's worth i do think there's a sizeable portion of the fandom that really like Tsuzuru, but i think it's just, something you get to see a lot when a huge part of the fandom is creatives. And to be completely fair, Clockwork Heart is the one event i had a massive burn out at and didn't pay attention to the rankings at all, so i can't tell if people went really wild about it. And the next Tsuzuru rank up event was literally the last event of the EN server and i'm sure it's not indicative of anything since a lot of folks just didn't want to bother. So unlike the others were i'm using rank up as a gauge of popularity i can't tell how Tsuzuru's might influence his.

SO YEAH that's for what i could pick up BACK THEN, as i remind, i didn't really look deeply into the fandom itself. I'm really good in my corner so it might not actually be indicative of the fandom trends and i'm maybe completely off base.

Then about how, i, personally, don't represent the fandom, unless the fandom changed since then: When i first liveblogged a3, it was when the server was new and no one was on tumblr about it, so i was a little unfiltered from people's opinions. when i came back about a year later to comment on act 2, getting all worked up, and running then into the growing fanbase on this website, is when i started to run into fan takes and everything.

And, let's be clear, i came back because i was crying very hard over Hisoka and Azuma and the full Winter Troupe, and Chikage, so i really came here with my Big Winter Boots only talking about Winter and then Spring.

I ended up getting a feel of what people were talking about a lot at that time, and kinda ended up talking more about what i considered my Underrated Gems.

For instance, i absolutely adore Itaru. I ranked up for him, i've bleed for him, i love the dude. But he's so popular i figured i legit had nothing to say about him that a hundred people wouldn't have been able to say before. So i've mostly didn't really talk about him much despite loving him a LOT because i just didn't think i had anything to say. (now in my current reread i'm doing it so disconnected from what i know of the fandom that i indulged in talking more about how much i like him LMAO)

Meanwhile, there's characters i love that i know the fandom don't talk about much so i end up talking about them more, and it's the case of Tasuku. I wouldn't be surprised Tasuku is really low on most people's popular list. I'm just Not Most People and you're going to hear me ramble about that hunk of a man every few days or so.

I've made my niche in the Winter Troupe appreciation gang and i'm pretty sure by now a lot of other Winter people follow me as a result because i couldn't shut the fuck up, so then my perception of the fanbase gets skewed because i just think of Them ahah.

And there is the fact i adore the rookies, mainly Chikage and Guy, but don't talk about them so much mostly because they came out later in the main story and i've been rereading act 1 so many times instead,,, and didn't talk much about act 2 in case some people managed to save themselves from being spoiled (like you!!)

So my personal perception of a3 is probably not reflecting the whole a3 fanbase really much. God the amount of times i talked my friends's ears off about Winter, that they kinda just humored me without thinking much about it, until they found out one of the More Popular Chara (Itaru, Tenma and the whole Autumn Troupe mostly) and suddenly they're like *twirls hair* heeyy Icha tell us more about a3. It's genuinely so funny to me.

and again i don't know perhaps i'm full of shit, and it's not like i've kept tabs on the fandom recently either!

But that is at least a bit of what i remember in term of popularity and what i can say is that i shouldn't be taken as an example of the fanbase's views in general.

I'm vibing in my corner, and by experience, it usually meant i ended up talking about more niche things, but since i'm disconnected from the fandom i'm pretty sure i still have opinions that are popular opinions. So who knows! not me!

So yeah that's all i can say about the popularity of the a3 fandom. Def not an indication of it by me.

and it must be funny for you since you only really have me as your fandom gateaway because well. *waves at post* yeah.

The more you know!

#kiri.txt #in this essay I will

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beneathashadytree · 3 years ago

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Hi! I hope you had a good day! All I can think about is Reiner ngl 😭. Hopefully I can request a Reiner x reader. Where Reiner begged Peick and Zeke to take you with them to Marley if shit went south (like you wrote in the Bertholdt x reader one) and the reader is prego with Reiner child. How would Reiners mom and his family react bringing her home? (I’ve been honestly thinking that his family would hate the reader because she’s a devil in there eyes especially his mom 😀.) but slowly learn to like the reader after the years being in Marley (I BEG let Bertholdt be alive in this ) And love break my heart make the hate so Angsty (Only if your comfortable !!!!!)

And keep up the amazing work!!!!!! I love them all !!!!

MIRACLE - REINER BRAUN X READER

Warnings : canon-divergent AU, Bertholdt is alive and well in this, implications of sex, teenage pregnancy, vulgar language curse words, Reiner and reader are both 17 and then 18, reader is female!

Genre : mixture of angst and fluff

Word count : 5.8K words (I got carried away again afshdkdk)

Synopsis : Reiner never thought he'd make it out alive, let alone have a blessing added into his life.

Additional notes : As you can see, I wrote so much and took a while to post this oops. It was so much fun writing this (I'm a sucker for domestic Reiner and angst; sue me), so I hope you enjoy this! I'd love to hear your feedback of course. PS: I apologize for the very bulky format, but Tumblr has a paragraph limit, so I had to lump some paragraphs together when it came to posting.

Requests : Are open! Check the rules over here.

Want to support me financially? Here’s my CashApp!

Masterlist

Pieck didn't have it in her heart to voice any complaints---not when Reiner's last ounce of strength had been used up to yell a single name, a plea in his raspy voice for his comrade to pick her up. The cart titan wanted nothing more than to selflessly help him out, but it really wasn't as easy as he'd made it out to seem, considering the fact that she'd already had to snatch both Bertholdt and Reiner himself away, after having dragged Zeke's mangled body out of Levi's shackles. Still, honoring her now-unconscious friend's request, she swiped at the girl's small body, picking her up as quickly as she could in that huge body of hers, trying her best to be gentle in the process (she often forgot her own strength in this form). It wouldn't have done if she'd accidentally hurt her; the blonde would've given her an earful, going off on a tangent about how much the girl Pieck had rescued meant to him, and how precious she was, in a way that had him wanting to treasure her.

Sure, Pieck could mildly understand the sentiments behind his request; the affectionate yet somehow sorrowful look in his eyes held a thousand stories of adoration and trials, and she could tell that this girl was someone who'd entered his world to turn it upside down. After all, she wasn't blind, and she could easily tell that he was madly in love with her just from the desperation that had bled through his shouts for her to rescue the girl the moment things went south for them in Shiganshina. But still, wasn't that a bit too extreme? At least, in her opinion, that is. Sure, she could excuse his hurry by believing that he was enamored by her, but what had him dealing with the situation as though it were a matter of life or death, when he himself was slipping away? Despite her compliance, Pieck still didn't get it; she didn't get it all, and she didn't think she really wanted to know.

***

"How are you feeling?" Reiner's voice was soft, as calm and collected as he could muster, despite the thick steam that his body emitted as it tried to heal itself, pulling himself to sit upright as he checked his girlfriend's body over a million times, "Anything hurting?" his question laced with worry, and the furrow in his eyebrows showing how concerned he was.

She gave him a weak nod, hand reaching up to rub at her temples, clearly sporting some sort of headache, "Nothing much, just a migraine," squinting at the bright sunlight, she felt around and realized she was sitting on planks of sturdy wood, "Where are we?"

A momentary feeling of shame washed over him, after having nearly failed to protect her in the mission he couldn't finish, "On the ship Zeke took to Paradis. We're going back home."

"To Marley?" she couldn't do much in protest but to frown, and Reiner was suddenly reminded of the fact that the mainland was far from home to her; in fact, she probably would've never believed it even existed months ago.

His lack of reply to her question and his faraway gaze towards Bertholdt's unconscious body to the far north of the deck counted as confirmation, and the girl sighed beside him, the sound a mix of sadness, melancholy, and helplessness. It didn't take a genius for him to understand that she'd simply given up the fight, knowing better than to argue with him about taking her back to Liberio. Even if he himself didn't know if the technicalities would all work out immediately, at the very least he knew that she'd be under his watchful eye---and she knew perfectly well (after having several arguments concerning this topic) that he had every right to be as protective as he was of her.

He had to admit, her presence in his life had been a factor he hadn't taken account of when he'd planned on retrieving the founder as had been instructed of him and his two remaining comrades. Bertholdt in particular had been especially weary of the girl's presence, his anxious nature leading him to overthink that maybe she'd caught onto their secret, and that that was the reason why she'd expressed the desire to get closer to his blonde friend. But his worry had been entirely in vain, because the truth was that she simply found Reiner so enticing in every possible way that she couldn't stay away from him. And that character he'd adopted after what happened with Marcel only drew her in further. He seemed so dependable, so wise, and so charming, in an unconventional almost-brutish way. Every thing about him, she'd said, from the way he'd laugh boisterously with Connie over dinner to the way he'd cooed as a lost kitten licked at his cheek, had dragged her into a never-ending loop of fond stares and a want to get closer to him. Reiner (having grown up so lonesome and starved of proper affection) couldn't find it in himself to push away her more-than-obvious advances, often indulging in them more than he should have (much to Annie's chagrin, as she would sit, staring at them talking quietly with something akin to disgust in her eyes, believing that he was getting far too ahead of himself).

The attraction was far from one-sided, after all, so it really was no surprise to the cadets when they saw how their strong big brother Reiner wound up dating the girl who'd weaseled her way into his heart, filling every nook and cranny with the warmth he so craved. Perhaps he was a coward who ran away from his duties and shut off his subconscious to adopt a personality he never should have tried to delude himself into thinking was real, but he was at least a young man who couldn't deny how he felt; not when his head was swimming with thoughts of her in the same way she'd confessed she couldn't get him out of her mind, even after they'd joined the scouting regiment and knew they'd be even busier than ever before.

And with the recklessness that came with youth, came bouts of times when Reiner really, really couldn't stop himself from begging to see her whenever he could find the barracks devoid of any other cadets, and with the unbridled passion they both shared as most teenagers often did, they often found themselves lost in each other's moans, bodies entwined and writhing in pleasure on the sheets, just barely making themselves look presentable before the others would come back. Their disheveled appearance wasn't turned a blind eye to, and everyone had their fair share of teasing to dish out to the flustered and yet entirely shameless couple. Bearing it with red cheeks and blinding grins that held some sort of secret, the two 17 year-olds maintained their nightly escapades, even sometimes having Eren or Ymir help them sneak out and ensuring they wouldn't get caught (not that there weren't a few close calls when Levi's sudden appearance hadn't been put into consideration and they'd been forced to hide in a nearby storage room where they still wound up muffling their sighs of pleasure on the spotless floor as they came as one).

As caught up as he was with bedding his girlfriend at every possible chance, Reiner was every bit attentive as he was all over her. He'd always kept a close eye on her, in tune with how she felt and reacted to everything, so he'd know the correct course of action to take. Hell-bent on being the perfect boyfriend as he was the perfect comrade, he'd noticed how she grew more fatigued, irritable, and even sick at times. Undoubtedly concerned for her well-being, especially after witnessing firsthand how tender---sometimes sore, even---her body had gotten over the past while whenever they'd get the chance to fall into each other's arms at night, he found her breaking down in his arms, whimpering how she'd missed her period and how absolutely terrified she'd felt. The implications of her words had sent him spiraling into shock and worry, unable to voice his thoughts of how he hadn't intended to forcibly tie her down like this, especially with his impending betrayal. Knowing that the revelation of the truth would be inevitable, Reiner had sat her down on his lap, petite hands clasped in his huge palms, offering some sort of grounding and stability as he prepared her for the huge news that he knew would either make or break them.

His whispered confession of his secret had let to a horrified gasp, with her almost scrambling to get off of him as though being within a five mile radius of his presence disgusted her. Unsurprised but still every bit as heartbroken, the blonde had left her to her devices, allowing her to process the information over days and weeks. But when his lingering glances became too much to ignore when she herself was itching to find her way back to him, she found herself gulping and reaching out for him with shaking hands, knowing that he was still every bit of the young man she'd fallen for. They were both foolish and senseless, and they found consolation in loving each other---that much she couldn't deny, no matter how many times she discovered that he was a traitor. And with a quivering voice, she'd told him of her visit to the infirmary; of her confirmed pregnancy that frightened her to no end, and of how she still wanted him to be by her side, and her by his, even should the world come crashing down on their shoulders. Back then, Reiner didn't know whether to break down in tears or hold her like he'd never let her go ever again, so he'd opted to doing a bit of both.

And right now, with the ocean breeze licking at their hair and the seagulls crying overhead, Reiner felt a sense of dread inside him, but oddly enough, he also felt he was looking forward to the upcoming period of their lives, come what may.

His girlfriend pushed herself up slowly, trudging across the deck to stand near to the metal rail, gripping it tight as she fluttered her eyes shut, inhaling sharply, "So this is what the sea is like," she mused, voice carried by the wind and reaching Reiner, his heart pounding as he saw her mingle with what she'd always been deprived of; the nature she'd never seen.

Glancing down, he lamneted the fact that his limbs hadn't all grown back, wanting nothing more than to stand up and join her. Instead, he settled for smiling at her figure as her hand subconsciously fell to her still-quite-flat belly, thinking of the future that awaited them once they'd reach the pier.

"C'mere sweetheart," he rasped out, fondness in his eyes, calloused palms waiting until she was within arm's reach to pull her down beside him, "Lay down beside me, you might get sea-sick." Settling her tiny palm against his tattered shirt, she rested her head against his broad chest, and he was sure that if she strained her ear, amdist the sounds of the waves she could hear his heart pounding in his chest as his mind wandered to what might lie ahead of them.

***

Standing in front of his house, limping a little and clasping his girlfriend's hand tight, Reiner came to the realization that he really hadn't thought this through. With a quick glance to her left arm, he realized her lack of armband said one of two things, one of which was an impossibility, the other punishable by crime---an unfavorable position eitherways, and one he knew his mother would be quick to notice. Picking up on his sudden discomfort and hesitance to knock on the door, his lover turned to frown at him, "What's wrong, Reiner?"

Shaking it off because he didn't want to concern her when she had more than enough to worry about, he shook his head, giving her a small smile and a peck on the lips to momentarily satiate her, "'s nothing. Don't sweat it."

The words directed towards himself too and not just her, he gathered all his nerves and rapped his knuckles against the wood, waiting to greet his mother with the happiest expression he could muster. The woman in front of him looked as though she'd been worn down by the years, to the extent that he almost couldn't recognize her. But they were still the same kind eyes that had tried to comfort him when he was a young child who was confused as to why he was the only one among his peers without a father, and her lavender shawl was the same tattered one he'd clutched years ago when he couldn't sleep at night.

"Reiner?" she breathed, tearing up at the sight of her son who now towered over her, "You're back?"

With a small hum, he gave her his warmest smile. As she flung her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her chest, she let loose a few sobs in his shoulder, missing the warmth of the child that had been taken from her years ago. As much as a part of him loathed her for bribing him with a dream that would never come true, Reiner couldn't help but blink his tears away. Before he could even register the hug, she'd pulled away, eyeing the girl standing awkwardly but politely behind them.

"Is that one of your warrior friends?" she enthused, tugging her inside with a curious twinkle in her glossy eyes, "Or... someone special to you?"

"Let's not rush things," he patted her back gently, a weak smile on his face as he stood between them, "But yeah, she's my girlfriend. She's not a warrior though."

With a frown, she glanced at her arm, "You should be careful. We might be in the internment zone, but the laws are strict and you still have to wear your armband at all times," her tone wasn't unkind though, and she ushered them to the living room while she began to peel some oranges for them by the sink, "You don't know where the guards are lurking." Nervously, the young couple glanced at each other, remaining silent, and as she turned to see them fidgeting like that, his mother's eyes widened while she balanced the plate of fruit between her hands, "Don't tell me... Reiner?! Have you forgotten what happened because your father was Marleyan?!"

Curling his fists against his pants, he shook his head, "No, I haven't, I---mother, that's not it, she's not from..."

Drifting off, his mother's scowl only grew, and her feet remained rooted to the spot, her grip on the plate steely, "How long have you been together?" she asked through gritted teeth.

If he could curl into a ball out of shame, he would've, but all he could do was stare at his lap, "A year. Give or take."

Crash!

"Mother!" Reiner cried out, stumbling over the carpet as he tried to hurry and clean the remains of the glass dish on the floor, but the old woman made no move, shaking out of fury and pure, unadulterated rage as she gave the girl on the couch a glare that could've shredded her to pieces.

Her silence was eery enough as it is, and the clinking as Reiner carefully picked up the largest glass pieces only made it more unnerving. No one dared breathe loudly, his girlfriend almost statuesque as she still remained silent, knowing that she'd only probably make things worse if she spoke.

"You've... you've brought a devil into my house."

Eyes softening, he dropped everything, trying to cross the damage to make his way over to the woman who'd brought him into this life, "No, she's not... listen, it's a long story---"

"Reiner!" she yelled his name, face growing red as horror struck her, "Her people are the reason why we live in fear, why your father left," gnashing her teeth, she stomped her foot down, flames flickering in the eyes he'd grown up beside, "She's the spawn of Satan himself, the reason why humans were at risk of extinction, and she's filthied our house with her bloody hands!"

"Mother, she's never hurt anyone," he tried to reach out for her, only to have her jerk away from him, a pang resonating in his heart, "Please, I know it's difficult to believe, but I love her, and she loves me."

Snarling at him, she touched her chest, "What would you know about love, Reiner? When was the last time you've witnessed that emotion, when all you've ever had was me?"

"I know enough, I'm not a child anymore," he began to raise his voice, though it didn't seem like he noticed it, "You don't get a choice eitherways, she's here to stay with me."

"What good could ever come from someone like... like that?" she groaned, disgust lacing her voice, "It's like you're trying to ruin what you've built by associating yourself with that wretched devil."

"She's carrying my child."

The middle-aged woman froze in place, unblinking at his deadpan expression. It didn't seem like she fully processed his words, and it took her a couple of seconds to speak, "Pardon?"

Locking his jaw, Reiner backpedalled to rest a firm hand against his girlfriend's shoulder, partially to affirm his statement, partially to steady her shivering form, and partially to ground his own self, "She's pregnant now."

When his mother spoke again, the bitterness wasn't held back from her words, "So you've knocked up a whore."

"Excuse me?" in an offended tone, the girl finally spoke up, a scowl set deeply on her face, "I'm not some common hussy you speak of like that."

"I'll call you whatever I want, scum," his mother spat out, looking down on her as she sneered, "Spreading your legs for any man that comes near you, I bet that's what lowlifes like you do."

Livid, she tried her best to maintain her voice leveled, "Ma'am, I've never even been near another man aside from your son---"

"And that was enough for you to get pregnant with that demon child as soon as you saw him, like the animal you are," Karina scoffed, venom in her eyes as she slammed her hand down the small table to her left, "Terminate it."

"What?" the girl hissed, eyes narrowed, about to get up, had Reiner's grip on her shoulder not tightened to get her to remain seated, "You don't get a say in that---"

"That's my child, mother," Reiner's voice was colder than she'd ever heard, and it was honestly rather surprising to both parties that they shut up for a moment, "Are you aware of what you're saying?"

"See some sense, child, she's just using you as a ticket to leave the island," she sounded exasperated as she pointed at the girl protectively touching her belly, "That wretched slut only ever wanted to be tied down to you."

"I'm the one who dragged her into this, and frankly, while I don't want to discuss my intimate matters with you, trust me, she's far from being the one who was the reason behind the pregnancy," crossing his arms, Reiner gave her a challenging glare that he never dreamt he'd give his mother.

As she gaped at him, she tried to reason, "That's my grandchild, who'll carry the family name! If their mother is that bitch, then I don't want them."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Reiner grumbled, "When are you going to realize that you can't live your life through me? I'm capable of making my own goddamn choices."

"She's even turning you against your own mother, you never would've cursed at me---"

"Because I was a cowardly 12 year-old when I left!" the blonde raised his voice, frustration evident in his voice as he tried his best not to go overboard and end up yelling at the woman who, at the end of the day, had raised him, "I hope you'll come to your senses someday, but until then, we're going somewhere where we could take care of our child," turning to gently pull up his girlfriend, he mumbled under his breath on their way out, completely ignoring his livid mother, "I should've known better than to come here."

Doing his best not to slam the door behind them, he let out a heavy breath of air, slumping his shoulders and instantly wrapping his arm around the girl's waist, pulling her back into his chest as he squeezed her tight. Breathing softly into her neck, she held him back just as firmly, as though leaning back on him for strength just as he stabilized himself. The comforting embrace lasted a couple of minutes, before he unwrapped his arms from around her, rubbing her stomach comfortingly.

Before they could take any steps forward, a small body plowed into Reiner's side with a yell of his name, with more force than he'd anticipated, causing him to nearly lose his footing in surprise.

"Gabi?" he grinned, picking her up, earning an excited nod and equally enthusiastic laugh, and he couldn't help but hug her close, "You've grown so much, holy crap. How old are you now?"

"Eight!" she proudly said, puffing her chest and pointing one thumb towards her self while the other arm clung to his neck, "And just so you know, it's only a matter of time before I'm the second Braun to inherit the armored titan," she sounded so smug, before turning her head and finally noticing the girl, "Hey, who's she?"

"Gabi, it's rude to point," he sighed exasperatedly, already feeling how heavy she'd grown in his arms, "Anyways, she's my girlfriend."

Hopping off, the brunette leaned in close so she could inspect the young woman, "Woah, you're beautiful! How did Reiner ever date you?"

With a laugh, she replied, "He did get quite lucky, yeah."

"You haven't seen your cousin in five years and here you are ganging up against him," he shook his head, "Where are your parents?"

Gabi waved behind them, and he turned with a look of surprise to find his uncle and his wife standing together with kind smiles. Greeting them with quick hugs that didn't express half of how he felt and how much he'd missed being home, he wondered how long it would be before his happiness would be shattered.

"Say, who's the lovely young lady beside you?" his uncle asked, "She looks rather taken by you, if I'm not mistaken."

Awkwardly laughing, Reiner rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, we're together."

"How long have you guys been---"

Before he could begin to anxiously sweat profusely, a hand clapped down on his shoulder, startling him and cutting the conversation off (much to his relief).

"I've been looking for you two all over," the soft voice he'd been fretting about not hearing ever again was comforting to finally hear.

"Bertholdt, you're alright," he breathed, wrapping an arm around the shoulder of his best friend, "When were you released?"

"I left the hospital this morning," he jerked his thumb in the direction outside the gates, "I got word from HQ that they want all warriors gathered at 4 PM, said it was important," he turned to the pregnant girl, lowering his voice and his eyes growing softer, "Think you can blend in?"

After a moment of thinking, she nodded, "Yeah, no big deal. I'll stay in the yard."

"Good, c'mon," with a wave towards his friend's extended family, Bertholdt practically dragged the couple away from any more prying questions.

***

The meeting had proven to be quite useful, considering that without it they wouldn't have been able to stay in Liberio. Once at HQ, the top brass had discussed their funding and salaries, granting the returned warriors the choice to receive hard cash or lodging instead. After much consideration and discussion with his beloved, it was only logical to pick a standard two-bedroom house to live in, instead of splurging on a mansion that was neither practical nor necessary---especially considering that since there were no urgent missions for the next while, he'd have no regular income of money---so that he could stash away the remaining cash portion for use in their daily lives, until they could find a better alternative. As of now, his girlfriend was heavily pregnant and found it difficult to go anywhere without waddling like a penguin. Her walk had earned them several stares as they made their way to visit his old house---or at the very least, attempt to. So far they'd tried knocking on the door once a month, and every time a venomous reply had been thrown their way after the door had been cracked open.

"Mother, how long do you intend to keep this up," Reiner sighed exasperatedly, "All we want is to talk to you."

"The baby is healthy," his lover spoke quietly as she touched her stomach, the baby kicking as though knowing they were talking about them, "In case you were wondering."

A moment of silence, before---

"To hell with it."

Another sigh of defeat, and then they were on their way back home again, bumping into Zeke who'd only just made it out of his grandparents' house.

"Difficulty getting through again?" he gave them a sympathetic smile, "C'mon, why the long faces? It's not the last chance you'll get to try and make amends."

Frustrated, the teenager ran his fingers through his hair, "Thing is, we shouldn't have been discussing things in the first place. It's my child, and I'm the one who knocked her up."

Rolling her eyes, the girl punched his arm, "You could've phrased it differently."

With a quick apology, he bent down to kiss her lips chastely, blushing at the way the wonder boy smirked at them knowingly.

"See, this is how she ended up pregnant in the first place."

"Zeke!"

As they strolled back home, Reiner found himself lost in thought, feet kicking up the gravel absent-mindedly. He must've spaced out completely, because his lover was soon nudging him.

"You okay, love?"

A little startled, his eyes went wide, before he nodded, settling into a more comfortable walking pace. They lapsed into silence for a couple of minutes as they trekked the path to their home, until he found the courage to speak up again and spill what was on his mind and had been taking up his thoughts for the past God-knows-how-long.

"Have you... thought about us taking our relationship further?" his voice was quiet when he asked the question tentatively.

Chuckling, she took his large hands in hers, "Honestly, how much further can we go when we're already having a child together that might pop out any day now?"

Cracking a smile, he patted her head, "Finally, we'll get to see them," his hand lingered on her hair, "But no, that's not I meant. I meant us, as a couple, without a third party."

"You mean... marriage?" she softly questioned, and he could only nod with burning red cheeks, "Well, I'd be lying if I said I haven't. You're too charming sometimes."

"Flatterer," he coughed, "You just want a foot massage at home."

"That too," cheerily admitting it, she gave him a breathtaking smile that instantly disarmed him and had his heart fluttering in his ribcage, "No, but seriously, I know we're young and all, but it's not like we've got the luxury of time either."

Reiner had tried multiple times to forget that he didn't have that many years ahead of him, not wanting to put them through the hurt of thinking of something tragic like that, but she handled the topic surprising well, even broaching it herself. She never failed to surprise him. She went on to say, "Being with you forever... isn't that the thing I've wanted from the start? And if I can't have forever, then all the time I can borrow works for me too," staring at the sky that held the airships she'd never seen before, she looked so peaceful; so beautiful to him, "Carrying your last name is only one final confirmation."

His voice was low and thick with emotion when he spoke again, hazel eyes a few shades darker as his gaze intensified, "Have I ever told you how absolutely head over heels I am for you?"

With a flirty wink, she grinned, "Might wanna remind me when we're inside, then, future husband."

***

"He's fussing again," she groaned, the baby swaddled in the blanket crying as he kicked about, pulling him closer to her chest in a vain attempt to pacify him with her familiar scent. Chuckling, Reiner leaned down to look at his son's red face, "What did you expect, he's only two months old and this is his first proper outing," tenderly, he stroked his tear-stained cheeks with two of his knuckles, "Mother used to tell me that I was a restless baby too."

"He's a carbon copy of you already, imagine being as annoying as you are too," she grumbled, causing him to playfully glare at her, before his son distracted him again.

"Look at him," he mused, a happy sigh escaping him without even noticing it had, brushing his little blond locks with his fingertips, "He's so small." With a snort, she playfully elbowed him, "You're the one who's too big. He's the perfect size for holding."

"Never thought we'd be parents at the age of 18, honestly," he hummed, holding his arms out as a silent invitation to pass his wriggling son to him, "But I'm glad it happened." As Reiner began to hush him and rock him gently, she looked on in awe as he began to settle down in his arms, as though his father's presence alone was enough to ease his nerves.

"I carry him for nine months, and he still ends up being a daddy's boy?" she huffed in pretend-annoyance.

With a smirk, he quipped back, "Guess he likes your husband more. Can't blame him, really, neither of you can resist me."

At the mention of it, she subconsciously touched her ring finger, "Still can't believe we're married now," she spoke, wonder in her voice, a blissful sigh escaping her, "It's so nice, though, living in our own little world."

"Wouldn't have happened without Porco, though," Reiner said, voice lowered so as not to disturb his resting baby boy, "Who knew his father was an officiator?"

"It's not just that," she shook her head as she leaned her head against Reiner's sturdy shoulder, watching the rhythmic breathing of the child in his arms, "Porco must've gone through a hell lot of crap trying to cover up the fact that I'm not from here. He must've fabricated lots documents and government papers, and that can't have had no risks."

His tone dark, Reiner added, "Especially since he isn't too fond of me, and especially since it's important to have a clean record as a warrior."

Wrapping her arm around his shoulder, she pressed a gentle kiss to his neck, and Reiner felt something stirring inside him at the sweet intimacy, "He's a good kid."

"My memories of him aren't the best, but I'm willing to look past that after the huge favor he did us," Reiner admitted, before turning his head with a hopeful look in his eyes, "So? Wanna give it a try?" Nodding, she exhaled sharply, "How many times have we gotten kicked off your mother's doorstep, now?"

"15 times, this'll be the 16th," he rolled his eyes, "How stubborn can one woman get, really." Arching her eyebrow, his wife gave him a pointed look, "The pot calling the kettle black?"

"You sure pick up idioms fast," he grumbled, looking away to knock on the door for what felt like the hundredth time since his arrival to Marley. Before she could quip back a smart reply, the door swung open, revealing his scowling mother, giving them a mild look of offense for having them step in front of her.

"What do you want?" she barked, impatient as always.

"We just thought you might want to see him," the young mother stiffly said, clearly not wanting to interact much with the woman who'd called her every insult under the sun. Skeptical, Karina eyed the child from afar, and Reiner could swear her eyes almost instantly shifted to something akin to longing. "He looks... a lot like you did back then," she croaked out, voice thick, before she blinked twice, as though trying to stop herself from drifting away from the plan she'd originally had.

Reiner had the sudden epiphany that she probably had an innate desire to see her only grandchild, but her deeply ingrained morals denied her of the pleasure. Knowing that she'd never voice her wishes out loud, he decided he'd be the one extending the olive branch---if not for his sake, then for his son's sake, so as not to deprive him of the happiness a grandparent's presence brought. "Want to hold him?" he offered, waiting for the nod that only came a minute later.

Still on the doorstep of the house he'd grown up in, he carefully began to lift his arms, cooing his name and ready to snuggle his son into the arms of the only person who'd made him feel safe and loved as a child. The baby only whimpered twice at the change of surroundings, before he surprised them all by clutching at his grandmother's shirt with his tiny fists as soon as he settled down against her chest. Breath hitching, Karina didn't move a muscle as the boy's chest rose and fell rhythmically with every rock of her arms.

She breathed his name out, and it was like a magic spell had been cast and blanketed the entryway, her eyes glimmering with what could easily be taken for tears. In that very moment, every single person in the room knew that everything had changed; that nothing would ever be the same again.

Even if it took them a million baby steps to maintain a sense of normalcy in this dysfunctional family, the new parents both knew---with absolute certainty---that they would wait however long was needed to ensure that their boy grew up, loved and beloved by every person that had a string of fate tied to his pudgy index finger---they had more than enough love to share between them, and they were sure that he'd ensnare the hearts of every person he crossed, given time. After all, he was a miracle child, born of abnormal circumstances; they'd be damned if they didn't give him the entire world and more.

Taglist: @blondeboyfriend

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grailfinders · 2 years ago

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Fate and Phantasms #19P: Musashibou Benkei

today on Fate and Phantasms it’s everyone’s favourite Japanese swordsman, Musashi! …bou Benkei! okay technically it’s the other guy, but whatever. The point is, he’s a Monk for some anti-spirit techniques and mad weapon skillz, a Bard to tell his story properly, and a Dual-Weapon Warrior to double down on those mad weapon skillz- literally.

check out his build breakdown below the cut, or his character sheet over here!

next up: didn’t we just do this guy?

Ancestry & Background

so- Kaison is a human, so he gets +2 Constitution and Strength. but he’s pretending to be Benkei, and his grail-given disguise is at least good enough that Ushiwakamaru’s willing to look the other way, so we’re making him a Reflection. this way you can look almost exactly like the guy, and you won’t have to constantly make deception checks to impersonate him. except against people who know him, like Ushiwakamaru. we’ll work with it, don’t worry.

aside from your looks, being a reflection also gets you access to reflection feats like Clone-Risen, the first of your 500 arhats. you can now become an Empty Vessel as a reaction once per day when you’d take mental damage or a mental effect, giving you a +2 bonus to the will save, or your level in resistance against the damage.

at level 5 you can Keep Up Appearances, which actually has nothing to do with being a reflection. this means you can use your deception as a reaction if you get affected by your emotions. if you roll higher than someone’s perception, they won’t notice. on top of that, if they were going to do something based on you getting affected, they won’t be able to.

at level 9 you become a Hardy Traveler, making your stances just a little more mountainous. this increases your bulk limits by 1, and you can move even faster than normal while traveling.

at level 13 your Stubborn Persistence will help you stay standing even when you’re dead. or fatigued, I guess. when you’d become fatigued, you can make a check to shake off the condition.

finally at level 17 you get an actual arhat you can launch at people when you Reflect Foes. once a day you can cast Duplicate Foe as an innate spell, creating a copy of a nearby enemy for up to 1 minute if the target fails their fortitude save. it can’t do much other than move and hit things, but that’s some sweet sweet action economy baby!

you used to be a warrior, but then everyone you cared about died due to your cowardice, so now you’re Lost and Alone. that gives you a boost in Charisma and Constitution, and every other part is basically just the regular fighter kit- intimidation, warfare lore, and an Intimidating Glare.

Class Levels

1. getting all the proficiencies out of the way: Key Ability: Strength. trained: perception, class dc, unarmed attacks, simple weapons, performance, deception, society, athletics, and eventually religion and stealth. you’re also an expert in all saves and unarmored defense.

as for your actual level, you get another set of Ability Boosts in Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, and Intelligence. tbh I miss D&D ability score improvements. it feels like they stuff so much into these boosts that going over it in a reasonable amount of time feels impossible.

on the plus side, Flurry of Blows is pretty simple. spend an action, attack twice, and they count as one attack to overcome resistances. plus, while you can learn Divine Ki Spells you shouldn’t expect a lot of them.

you have some Powerful Fists, letting you make lethal attacks with them and they deal more damage. but you have 999 swords just lying around, so you’re also trained in Monastic Weaponry. that lets you use monk martial weapons as easily as your unarmed attacks, and any time a feat mentions your unarmed attacks, that includes your weapons as well- with notable exception of stances that restrict you to one attack type.

2. we’re not “winning 999 duels” good yet though, so let’s pick up a brawling focus. with this, you get the critical specialization of your unarmed attacks and monk weapons. you’ve also been Ushi’s retainer long enough to have some Courtly Graces, so you can use your society skill to make an impression on nobles or pretend to be one.

finally and most annoyingly, becoming a bard requires more charisma than we have, so you’ll have to waste some time in the Dual-Weapon Warrior Dedication until we get another Ability Boost. the good news is this lets you Double Slice, spending two actions to make two attacks against an enemy, adding them together against resistances. if you’re fighting something really tough, you can flurry of blows twice a turn.

3. in order to survive your lord you’ll have to Diehard. or at least Benkei is a diehard, so now you are via transitive property. that gives you an extra dying condition, so you’ll bleed out slower. joy.

you can also avoid dying entirely with your Incredible Movement helping you outspeed your enemies, adding 10 feet now and another 5 every 4 levels. if you get into a fight anyway, your Mystic Strikes will make your attacks magical to get past resistances.

finally, we’ll boost your Performance to make Benkei a household name.

4. now that we’re level 4, we can finally pick up Benkei’s Guardian- er, Mountain Stance. As long as you’re touching the ground you can give yourself +4 AC and a +2 bonus against being shoved or tripped. you can also make “falling stone” attacks, which are the only ones you can make- they’re harder hitting than your regular fists, and they deal more damage the more you hit with in one turn. another downside is your dexterity modifier drops to +0, and your speed is a little lower than normal.

since your speed’s a little lower now, it’s good to know your dedication has your back, turning you into a Dual Thrower. whenever you’d make a melee strike with a dual-weapon warrior feat, you can make a thrown strike instead. monks end up with a lot of knives, so you’ll have plenty of opportunities to use this.

for a little more muscle, become a Hefty Hauler, increasing your bulk limits by another +2.

5. at fifth level we finally get another Ability Boost to Dexterity, Constitution, Wisdom, and Charisma! now we can finally become a bard! next level. right now your Alertness makes you an expert in perception, and your Expert Strikes bumps up your proficiency in your weapons. you’re also beefy enough to be an expert in Athletics.

6. at level 6 your mountain stance gets even more legendary. as an action you can become a Mountain Stronghold for a round, giving you an extra 2 AC. it also permanently increases your dexterity cap on your AC to +1 while in mountain stance, so even if you don’t use it much you’re still getting something out of it.

to celebrate the new nimbleness you’ve got, you can now make a Powerful Leap whenever you jump. You can get 5’ of height, or an extra 5’ of distance.

finally, we need one more two-weapon feat before we can bard it up, so grab Twin Parry. as an action, you can add +1 to your ac if you’re wielding two melee weapons, or +2 if at least one of them has the parry trait. that means while in your mountain stance you can get your AC all the way up to 25 if I’m doing the math correctly, which’ll be great for your final stand.

7. at level 7 you become a Keen Follower, so as long as you take your lord’s lead you’ll get an extra bonus when you follow the expert. you also get more Fortitude for the whole “last stand” thing, since that tends to help not dying. it’s all part of your Path to Perfection. similarly, you’re now an expert in Deception so that you can follow your lord without blowing your cover, and finally, your Weapon Specialization means you’ll do a little more damage with every weapon you’re an expert in, which is all monk weapons.

8.at level 8 you get another stance to spice up your fighting. this time you get the Ironblood Stance, giving you resistance 2 to all damage. plus, while this stance gives you an extra kind of unarmed attack it doesn’t require you to use it, so now you can stance up and sword up at the same time!

we’re also making you a Confabulator to help you live a lie. now if you’re trying to lie to cover up another lie, the person doubting you gets a smaller bonus to see through your bullshit. you spend a lot of time with Ushiwakamaru, you’re going to lie twice eventually.

finally, you’re not becoming a bard just yet. I’m sorry, but in my defense Flensing Slice is pretty cool for an action movie sort of move. as an action after hitting someone with both attacks of a double slice, they explode in a burst of blood, taking persistent bleed damage, becoming flat-footed, and reducing all physical resistances by 5 for a round. samurai movies are a little after your time, but there’s nothing wrong with doing something before it’s cool.

9. level 9’s another quick and easy one. your weapons and hands now count as cold iron and silver thanks to your Metal Strikes. it wasn’t enough to have iron in your blood, I guess. You’re also a expert in your class DC, ki spells, and Society now. if you’re going to cut people and let them bleed a second later like a samurai, you’re going to have to act like one too.

10. alright, now we can bard it up! first things first though, use the Ability Boost on Strength, Constitution, Wisdom, and Charisma. then, pick up your very first ki spell Wronged Monk’s Wrath. it’s a bit less spiritual than making a copy of your enemy’s sins, but it’s an aoe so it’s technically closer to what your 500 Arhat should be. you can spend between 1 and 3 actions to power up this spell. at one action, it’s a burst of force and lightning in a 5’ radius. at two it’s 10’ and dealing more damage, and at three it’s 20’ and dealing the most damage. creatures in the area make one reflex save for all the damage, if they fail they’re deafened, and critical fails even deal persistent damage. it’s not quite a stun yet, but it’s still pretty cool.

one last thing before barding- you can now make a discreet inquiry to prevent others from finding out what you’re up to. while gathering information, you can hide what you’re really looking for freely, so if anyone tries to figure out what you’re up to they have to beat your deception DC first.

okay, now Kaison is finally a Bard, giving you two occult cantrips and training with occult spells as well as Arcana. you also get a warrior muse, though it doesn’t do anything else off the bat.

now for your cantrips. with Daze you can finally stun an enemy. occasionally. your target needs to make a will save. if they fail they’ll take damage, and if they critically fail they’re stunned for one action. man, stunning is a lot better in fgo. you can also intone a Haunting Hymn, dealing sonic damage to enemies in a 15’ cone fi they fail a fortitude save. critically failing the save also leaves a creature deafened for 1 minute.

11. did you know monks weren’t always kung fu stars? it’s true! sometimes being a monk comes with religious significance, which is why Benkei is now an expert in Religion and can make Pilgrim’s Tokens. as long as you hold the token, you’ll always win any ties in initiative.

you also become a master in Reflex saves thanks to your Path to Perfection, so you always get critical successes too.

12. we got a lot of stances now, and nobody wants to waste time getting into them when there’s weaponing to do- that’s why you’re now a Stance Savant! when you roll initiative, you can enter a stance of your choice as a free action.

we’re also going to make you big and strong enough to become a Titan Wrestler, letting you attempt to disarm, grapple, shove, or trip creatures up to 2 sizes larger than you are.

you also get your second focus point all so you can make a Counter Performance as a focus spell. now you’ll be able to yell so loud as a reaction if a friend makes an auditory/visual effect you can roll a performance check to bolster your friends! they’ll effectively either make their own save, or use your performance check, whichever’s better.

13. at level 13 your graceful mastery makes you a master in unarmored defense, and your master strikes do the same for your monk attacks. you also get a little bit buffer with a skill increase in athletics! we gotta get you crackin the earth when you walk before it’s time for your final ascension photo shoot!

14. Now that you’re level 14, you can make a Mountain Quake when you’re in a mountain stance. As an action, you make the earth quake in a 20-foot radius around you, dealing damage based on your strength modifier against a Fortitude save. If they fail, they also fall prone. The downside is you can only use this action once every 1d4 rounds.

On the plus side, the +1 bonus to your dexterity cap while in the mountain stance is permanent!

You can also make a Wall Jump now, jumping off of a wall without having to land for extra mobility. Currently you can only Wall Jump once per turn, but if you become legendary in Athletics you can make as many Wall Jumps as you like as long as you have the actions to do so.

For more protection against evil spirits, you can now use the Inspire Courage bardic cantrip, giving you and all allies within 60 feet a +1 bonus to all attacks, damage rolls, and fear saves.

15. At level 15 you gain another Ability Boost in Strength, Constitution, Wisdom, and Charisma. you also get Greater Weapon Specialization which is like Weapon Specialization but greater, your Path to Perfection not only makes you legendary in Fortitude saves, but your critical failures are only failures now, and failures make you take half damage.

we’re also going to play the long game with Canny Acumen. it doesn’t do anything right away, but it’ll make you a master in Perception once we hit level 17.

16. at level 16 your Guarded Movement gives you even more AC while moving- specifically, you get a +4 bonus to any effects triggered by your own movement. Opportunity attacks, that sort of thing. you’re also down with gods enough to make a Battle Prayer as an action and actually have it do something. you make a religion check as an action against a creature’s will dc, up to once per day per creature. if you succeed you’ll deal alignment damage, but if you fail you can’t use this again for 10 minutes.

we also finally pick up our first Bard class feature, making you a Reliable Squire. this gives you a +2 bonus to Aid checks, and you can’t critically fail. a good retainer knows not to get in their lord’s way.

17. level 17’s mostly another improvement over addition level, though your Adamantine Strikes are nice. like the name implies, your punches and spears are practically adamantine now. you’re also a Graceful Legend, giving you legendary unarmored defense and masterful Class DCs and Divine Spells.

on top of becoming a master in perception this level, you’re also now a master of Performance. gotta spread that legend, y’know?

18. at level 18 your Diamond Fists make all your attacks Forceful, and if your attacks already had this trait they instead become one damage die bigger. not only does this make all your attacks stronger in general, it especially empowers your Mountain Stance attacks.

we’re not ignoring your bardly skills though! your Fascinating Performance will make one observer fascinated with you for a round if you roll better than their will DC. this can even work mid-combat, though you’ll have to critically succeed. since you’re a master of performance, you can use this on up to 10 creatures at a time to really spread the good word of the man you’re pretending to be.

you can also Accompany an ally as a reaction, spending one of your focus points or spell slots to make a performance check. if you do well enough, your ally doesn’t have to spend their point/slot to cast the spell. you only have focus points, but still it’s the thought that counts.

19. On our penultimate level, your Slippery Secrets mean your mind is harder to read than usual. When a magical effect tries to read your mind, reveal your alignment, or determine if you are lying, you can make a deception check against the spell’s DC to stop it. The Holy Grail itself handed you this disguise, so it won’t come off easily. In order to take this feat, you need to be a master of Deception, which you now are.

You also gain a Perfected Form, making the first attack you make each turn guaranteed to roll at least a 10.

20. For your final level, you get one final Ability Boost in Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, and Charisma. You can also Fuse Stances together, making a new stance with both of the original’s strengths and weaknesses as long as they aren’t mutually exclusive. This means we can truly make Benkei’s Guardian Stance now by fusing together the Mountain Stance and Ironblood stance for an empowered AC and resistance to all damage.

you can also Consult the Spirits now thanks to your religious studies. Once a day you can spend 10 minutes to Recall Knowledge with your religion. Depending on how well you do, they will answer up to 3 simple questions, though if you critically fail they will give you harmful answers.

For our final Bard feature you can perform a Symphony of the Unfettered Heart. This allows you to make a performance check to counteract one of several effects on up to four allies (including yourself), but if you fail you cannot use this spell on that person for one day. We couldn’t get a skill seal skill, but making enemy skills useless is almost as good.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

turns out having a good ac and a resistance to all damage makes you really Hard to Kill. running away also helps, but now that you’re Benkei you’re pretty indestructible too.

you’re also good at dealing damage, either with sped up attacks from your flurry of blows or slowing down for some persistent bleed damage with your double strikes, you’re able to cut through most enemy’s defenses with the variety of weapons at your disposal.

while you’re not quite as nimble as Cu Chulainn, you’re still pretty dang Mobile with wall jumps and the standard monk speed boost. you’re free to pick your battles, though I’m sure your party hopes you’re a little more courageous this time around.

Cons:

the mountain stance is really cool for defense, but it also hampers your mobility and offense a lot by not letting you use weapons or leave the ground.

we also had to juggle a lot of skills around, so you’re not super great at any one thing without any legendary feats.

as for the last one…. range? I guess? maybe having too many options? tbh I think this is a pretty solid build, though admittedly I haven’t played enough Pathfinder to have a good feel for that.

#fgo #fate grand order #pf2e #Pathfinder #Musashibou Benkei #Monk #Bard #Dual Weapon Warrior

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