#parachute arrows

[evilhorse]

Parachute arrows!

(Green Arrow Volume 7 #15)

[meganechan05]

Himeno would be lying if she said she didn't believe in the fairytales she read as a child. But she would also be lying to say she believed a prince would come save her since she was raised to take care of herself as the sole protector and Queen of her kingdom.

So imagine her surprise when she found the icey King of Gokkan jumping off the balcony she was thrown off of with a parasol and telling her to not let go of it.

Maybe the silly fairytales aren't so silly after all.

Reference:

[swordy-da-goat]

Some form concepts. Read more to see some tidbits on the designs.

Because they’re a wizard, all forms have a hat and (sometimes) neckwear to cover face. Wears gloves, boots, and a robe/uniform hybrid. Has a yellow arrow caution pattern somewhere. Tried to keep base colors at a minimum of 4.

Road- High visibility for lower chances of getting run-over in the dark. Will unfurl scarf and use as caution tape. More “wizard look” than the other forms. Takes off vest and scarf in more dangerous areas.

Rail- Denim jumpsuit helps with burn protection. Hat and bandanna also helps block the cinders. If the ash and heat gets too much, will equip goggles. Nicole is their conductor (she’s very reliable).

Air- Built for the heights and air pressure. Parachute has the yellow caution arrow pattern.

Just imagine other jobs like firefighter etc with the same gear but with the face obscured and traits from the info mentioned above.

[kittykittyanon]

MWAH MWAH MWAH MWAH MWAH!! ofcourse, meepie zeep zeep!!! i'm glad you're prioritizing yourself (≧▽≦) (≧▽≦) !!!!

i hope you get the vacation you need aaand everything works out for you!!! underworked, underwhelmed,, underbooked,,, underrrr...???? UNDER EVERYTHING!!!! everything will ease up for you,, fingers crossed- fingers not crossed? fingers SOMETHING,, i can't remember which one it was!! ヽ(>∀<☆)ノヽ(>∀<☆)ノ

WE LOVE YOU TOO ZEEP MEEP!! always and foreverrrrr mwah mwah mwah!!!

just a lil notey-note ♪

hemlo my little chickadees!! : my requests are closed at the moment and have been for a few months!! ^^;; i should start with this because i am still getting a few requests for rottmnt in my inbox and tho i've stated it's paused right now, that message is posted in my introductory link - not everybody who visits my account clicks on it and i understand that completely! so i'll state it here clearly <3 no misunderstandings, no harsh feelings!

+ i'm going on another break! yes yessss, i know, she just went on one - and i am having another! XD /nm /silly gotta put the mental-emotional wellbeing above all, right?? i'll still be lurking, checking up on you guys and making sure you're okay like some secret fairy godsister or something, but for the posting and responding, s'all on a pause until further notice! 😉💕

it's been cuhraaaazy busy truth be told. i am overworked, overwhelmed, overbooked, and overDUE. for a vacay, that is. a vacay in which i will not get anytime soon (at least not to hawai'i or cali like i desire *sobs*) so i am taking breaks in OTHER ways! i'm not saying i'm tired or taking a break from YOU GUYS at all - just tumby as a whole. until i get back on my proverbial feet, that is~

( T_T)＼(^-^ ) Zeepie loves you! Zeepie always loves you!! 'til we dance again, yeah? i'll keep the stereo playing. 🩷

[felassan]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard | High-Level Combat Parts 1-4 writeup

This post also contains transcriptions of the text that was in the video.

This was a four-part video series which has also been edited into a single standalone video for convenience. The video features an elven Warrior Rook from the Grey Warden background and who has taken the Champion spec.

Story/plot, flavor stuff, and other cool stuff

The footage in the new gameplay video was edited to avoid major spoilers, but there is still new story information in there.

Weisshaupt Fortress, the headquarters of the Grey Warden order located in the Anderfels, is under attack and under siege from the Blighted elven god Ghilan'nain, her Archdemon, and darkspawn. The darkspawn are following Ghilan'nain's orders. Rook and the Veilguard must stop her. They set off to find their allies in Weisshaupt and soon meet resistance from the darkspawn. Lots of sacs of Blight corruption are growing on the buildings that make up the fortress. Blight sacs (or something that looks like them. the lil parachute things) fall on the fortress too like missiles. Ghil's face watches the siege from the stormy sky.

This quest is called "The Siege of Weisshaupt". The fact that Weisshaupt would come under attack from the weird darkspawn and a dragon in DA:TV actually first emerged as a detail during a leak a few years ago. Stages and objectives in this questline include "Get to the War Room (Move along the wall)", "Find the dragon trap (Move along the wall)", "Find the dragon trap (Defeat the darkspawn)" and "Get to the Library (Defeat the darkspawn)". I'd guess that said dragon trap in this instance is for Ghil's Archdemon, though it makes sense why the Wardens would even have such a thing as a dragon trap seeing as the Archdemons, when they rise, are in dragon form. Could it be anything like the setup that had confined Ataashi in Trespasser? Also, lore says that Weisshaupt is home to an extensive library.

As this is high-level combat gameplay, the implication could potentially be that this storybeat occurs during the mid-to-late game?

It seems that at times certain companions are required to be taken along on certain quests (iirc this was previously reported in an article somewhere too). For example, Davrin is required during The Siege of Weisshaupt, as it is a Grey Warden quest and he is the Grey Warden companion.

I think Warden Rook's surname is Thorne (Grey Warden symbol in the image). The Rook in the video has the first name "Esha".

Solas' Lyrium dagger isn't only a story thing/magic maguffin artifact that can tear the Veil. When Rook gets it, it appears to have a function/use in gameplay as well. Rook can attach 3 runes to it in different slots. These runes have various functions and effects e.g. Scorch.

The companions are described like this:

Bellara - "Veil Jumper"

Davrin - "Grey Warden"

Emmrich - "Mourn Watcher"

Harding - "Inquisition Agent" (Agent of the remnants?)

Lucanis - "Antivan Crow"

Neve - "Shadow Dragon"

Taash - "Lord of Fortune"

We see additional descriptions for some of them:

Davrin - "Sword-and-board monster hunter commands a griffon"

Lucanis - "Swift and precise assassin with a demonic aura"

Emmrich - "Nevarran professor of death summons spirits"

Harding - "Potion-slinging scout's arrows shock and shred"

(I love these lil descriptions btw, the way they're written is like poetry)

Along with his demonic aura, Lucanis (called "The Demon" per TN) has an ability called Abominate. Implications.. intriguing :D

Lucanis' abilities tend towards crowd control. Davrin can call Assan to attack in battle. He flies down like a meteor or comet and it's so cool. :)

The video includes a bit of flavor text for Grey Wardens from an ability description and a specialization description:

Ultimate Ability [of Grey Warden Rook, presumably] – Warden’s Fire Unleash a barrage of strikes with the burning strength that resides within every Grey Warden. [this does fire damage] Specialization – Champion The pinnacle of Grey Warden combat prowess. The Champion is a born leader who rallies their allies, turns their fervor into flame, and wields a shield as a deadly weapon.

(^ The fire damage and fire motif contained in the above makes sense as darkspawn are vulnerable to elemental fire damage. also, I think when Rook uses Warden's Fire, they blow a horn 'Gondor calls for aid' style, which is super cool.)

The video includes new lore in the form of item descriptions for various gear pieces. Each item appears to be associated with one of the factions, as it has that faction's sigil on its info box.

These guys are darkspawn ghouls. One type is called a Greater Ghoul. (Does that imply the existence of "Lesser Ghouls" or just "Ghouls"?) These are melee mobs. Another darkspawn enemy type is Greater Hurlock Spiker. Those are ranged mobs that throw the spikes from their backs. There are also regular Greater Hurlocks (I think those are these guys) and Greater Hurlock Blighters. The Blighters seem to have sacs of red Blight corruption on their backs, and you can see them throwing globs of this around, thereby spreading the Blight like their name suggests. it seems like these globs explode after impact like grenades or bombs. of course, all darkspawn spread Blight, but that's like an evolution of spreading.

The video features new music.

Enemies can be Sparta-kicked off ledges. Throw your shield like Captain America! (or at least its energy-shadow thing) This Rook has an ability called Titan Stomp.

Lucanis sometimes leaps around in a dramatic burst of crow feathers, kinda flying (it feels like) down from above like a bird of prey.

Thoughts, speculation

Gameplay looks super cool and fun oh shit!

If the plotbeats described above (Ghil, Archdemon, Weisshaupt siege etc) aren't considered by BioWare to be "major spoilers", it makes me wonder about the plotbeats and twists they aren't revealing that would be. yknow?

If Ghilan'nain has an Archdemon, might Elgar'nan also? We've seen different concept art pieces and scenes with two dragons in them, and we have long speculated about a 'Double Blight' of some kind. Two Elven Gods have risen; handily, prior to DA:TV beginning, two Old Gods/Archdemons remained (Razikale and Lusacan). In DA:TV teaser murals and art pieces, the concentric circles motif still had the two 'lit' hemispheres around the outside. If they both have one, which Old God is paired with which Evanuris? BUT. Saying that. alternate theory. how do we even know that her Archdemon is a real Archdemon? Corypheus in DA:I used red lyrium to transform a High dragon into an imitation of an archdemon, his red lyrium dragon. Thedosians initially presumed that this was a real Archdemon. if Cory can do it, why not Ghil and Elgar'nan? Ghil at least has clearly been messing with red lyrium given the red lyrium darkspawn.

I hope we get to visit Weisshaupt at some point before the siege takes place, I'd like to see it as it was and explore it a bit before that happens. 🥺 Weisshaupt in the game looks so like previous concept arts we saw of it (one, two), it's so cool to see all the art pieces come to game-life as assets in-game. also I love all the lil griffon assets around Weisshaupt, like the sleepy statue. and could this scene be the Weisshaupt War Room?

On Ghil's face in the storm: on DA Day 2023 BioWare said:

"To the far west, three Grey Wardens patrol the Anderfels. Tremors have been causing disturbances of late. Their cause is unknown. Upon the distant horizon, a storm of ominous intent brews and darkens the skies."

they were being literal ig about the storm of ominous intent darkening the skies! and then I guess the storm in this concept art of Weisshaupt is the Ghilstorm.

Why would Ghil attack Weisshaupt with darkspawn? I'm sure there's more to it underneath the surface, but from what we know so far, the elven gods are "corrupt"/"Blighted" and are "hellbent on Blighting the world". and if you want to spread a Blight, it makes sense that you would target.. the HQ of the world's main and only defense against the Blight. it's also not a surprise that she is doing so (I don't mean this in a disparaging way. I just mean 'stories put out clues and foreshadowing for the next plotbeats, and if you were following the clues as intended' etc) - we knew that the Anderfels had been experiencing unknown tremors lately and that a storm of ominous intent was brewing there. also, the new darkspawn are mutated and in TN the Wardens discovered in Hormak that Ghil had/has twelve (now eleven) secret underground monster pools in the Deep Roads that mutate darkspawn. lyrium was also involved in that instance, albeit yellow-green.

Ghil's attack on Weisshaupt also explains why in the Thedas Calls teaser trailer, it sounded like Weisshaupt was under attack and under imminent threat. (Ctrl+F "Weisshaupt" in this post for more on that). For example, the line "Grey Wardens don’t hide in our castle. I won’t ask good soldiers to turn tail and run." - this sounds like a dialogue line spoken by a senior Warden specifically during the Seige of Weisshaupt.

It also explains why in this Thedas Calls shot of Weisshaupt, Weisshaupt looks afflicted by red lyrium, there's a dark ominous storm vibe, and things look ruined/threatened. and it explains screenshots and scenes like this and why in the character reveal trailer Davrin was fighting red lyrium darkspawn in a Blighted dark area with griffon assets. (read the "Davrin" section here for more)

"They set off to find their allies in Weisshaupt and soon meet resistance from the darkspawn" - could this be Evka and Antoine? :)

I don't think we see any or many Wardens around in the sections of this quest that we see in this video. I definitely saw at least one dead one. what has befallen them? I hope some of them are surviving somewhere inside the fortress ;-; and where is the First Warden in all this? also, this must be awful for Davrin to see :< A Grey Warden witnessing the attack of your order's heart.

Fighting a darkspawn siege on the walls and roof of a famous fortress is giving me Battle of Denerim, Fort Drakon-DA:O-style vibes and memories. it's perfect :)

With Lucanis' demonic aura and Abominate ability, it's probably time to revisit the idea that there's something inchresting/spirit-demonny going on there. I'm curious to see the take on it this time around and how it differs to e.g. Wynne, Anders.

I love the way hair and capes flip around and move in battle!

^ Ghil's Archdemon, or "Archdemon"? At this point it also looks like.. sacs of Blighted corruption (or something) are falling from the sky down onto Weisshaupt/being launched at Weisshaupt by the darkspawn/Ghil as part of the seige!! jesus!!

Some random other posts of things like stuff I noticed: Davrin and Lucanis height comparison (who knows if it's to scale on that screen though), Summon Baby Button, Davrin and Lucanis icons, Lucanis' smirk, Davrin picture compilation, Emmrich and Harding on the party screen, darkspawn advance, useable trebuchet/dead Warden/giant ominous tube, aeries?/griffon lamp/+2 Heartwood

Item description lore

Each item appears to be associated with a faction, as it has that faction's sigil on its info box. For example, the Golden Casque helm is a Lord of Fortune item.

GEAR WIELDED BY ROOK "Golden Casque – rare heavy helm – [Lords of Fortune] Tall and plumed, this fine helmet is the color of gold – but much harder to dent. The Iron Cast – rare heavy armor – [Mourn Watch] This armor’s vividly sculpted musculature is a testament to Nevarra’s unrivalled knowledge of anatomy. Necropolis Defender – rare targe [a targe is a type of shield historically used by Scottish Highlanders] – [Mourn Watch] The elite guards who stand watch at the gates of the Grand Necropolis use these shields to guard against both the living and the dead. Spellbound Longsword – rare longsword – [Shadow Dragons] This enchanted longsword is bound with burning magic. Andraste’s Will – unique ring – [Shadow Dragons] Andraste was tied to a stake and burned while her earthly husband turned his armies aside and did nothing, for his heart had been devoured. Amaranthine Loop – uncommon ring – [Antivan Crows] Favored by Crows, the uniform rows of stones add balance and precision to every blow. Also some elegance. Heart of Andraste – uncommon amulet – [Lords of Fortune] A charm given to newly anointed Fathers of the Imperial Chantry, the cracked stone serves as a reminder of Andraste’s mortal heart." Rook was also wielding a big hammer and wearing a belt, the icon did not pass over their infoboxes during the video. GEAR WIELDED BY DAVRIN "Blight Killer – rare longsword – [Grey Wardens] An intimidating, one-of-a-kind sword cut from solid obsidian. It is perfectly balanced. Reforged Bulwark – uncommon heater (shield) – [Grey Wardens] Reclaimed from the ruins of an old Warden stronghold, this shield honors the sacrifices of Wardens past while defending their future." Davrin was also wielding his iconic/default armor and what looked like a dagger or shortsword. The icon did not pass over their infoboxes during the video.

Part 1

Text notes in this part:

"Combat Part 1: Prepare For Battle This is an introduction to high-level combat. Footage has been edited for brevity and to avoid major spoilers. Weisshaupt Fortress is under attack from Ghilan’nain and her Archdemon. Rook and the Veilguard must stop her. Let’s get your warrior ready for battle. Abilities & Runes -  Assign abilities and an ultimate attack before jumping into battle. - Equip runes to enhance your power set and access unique abilities when activated. - Choose runes that boost a Warrior’s damage and help with crowd control. Skill Tree - Each combat class has an array of specializations to choose from. - Your Rook has chosen the Champion branch, which favors strong defensive skills. - Utilizing passive abilities like Heavy Armor Mastery will help boost defense if you are equipped with all heavy armor. - You’re going to be battling darkspawn, who are vulnerable to fire. Fiery Resolve will grant us “Flaming Weapons” for a duration when we parry an enemy attack. - We’ll be doing a deep dive on progression systems in the future. Inventory - For this build, you’ll want a full set of heavy armor to activate our Heavy Armor Mastery passive. - Rook is primarily using a Sword & Shield since it allows you to be more defensive. - If you prefer a more aggressive playstyle, two-handed weapons deal more damage, but have fewer defensive options. - The Spellbound Longsword deals high Stagger and can trigger powerful takedowns. - We’ll cover Stagger in Part of this series. - Rook has a fire-based, darkspawn-killer build. - This ring grants a bonus to the max number of burning stacks, which results in more damage over time. - This is just one type of build. Other examples include customizing to emphasize your Shield Toss or Takedowns. - Personalize yours to fit your preferred playstyle. - Selected companions can aid Rook by equipping complementary gear and passives. - This is a Grey Warden mission, so you should bring Davrin into battle with you. [Character selection screen] - In addition to Davrin, you decide to take Lucanis into battle based on his crowd control abilities."

This is what the character screen looks like. There are 'pages' for Map, Character, Companions, Skills and Library. (Library is for the codexes basically).

Gear-wise Rook can equip two different weapons (in this case they have a sword+shield and also a hammer in the 2h slot), helmet, an armor, and what looks like 1 belt/accessory, 1 necklace/accessory and 2 rings. Helmet has a 'hide helmet' toggle. Additionally, the Lyrium dagger has slots for 3 runes. There are also slots at the bottom for 3 abilities and 1 Ultimate Attack (I think). I think the Ultimate ability is based on Rook's background.

There looks like there's 3 different types of things we gather, plus another submenu if you press triangle to see the resources (heartwood etc). The one on the right looks like gold/coin. I wonder what the other two are?

This is what the equivalent pane for Davrin looks like in the Companions menu. Companions have less customizable gear slots than Rook.

This looks like the relationship meter. In this save, Davrin seems to be at relationship level 4 with Rook, a stage which is called "Comrade in Arms".

This is what the 'choose your team'/'gather your party' screen looks like. The companions' cards are these art pieces. At this point in this save, Neve is the only one with the Veilguard sigil above her card. Michael Gamble tweeted that this means "she is a hero of the Veilguard." [source] Maybe this means that her 'loyalty mission', or this game's equivalent thereof, has been completed so that Neve has been able to fully commit to the Veilguard?

Part 2

Text notes in this part:

“Combat Part 2: The Basics Now that Rook, Davrin & Lucanis have the right gear and skills, the team sets off to find their allies. Soon, they are met with resistance by the darkspawn, blighted creatures following Ghilan’nain’s orders. Assess The Battlefield - First, learn the enemy types to strategically exploit their weaknesses. Darkspawn are vulnerable to fire. - You will also see that they are resistant to Necrosis. - Enemies have a multitude of damage vulnerabilities and resistances. - Abilities which exploit weaknesses have a green outline. - Rook encounters a swarm of darkspawn ghouls who favor overwhelming melee. - The ghouls are joined by Hurlock spikers, ranged combatants who are also vulnerable to fire. - Time a Shield Block to parry an incoming attack, which provides an opportunity for a high-damage counterattack. - With this successful parry, the Fiery Resolve passive skill activates Flaming Weapons. Melee attacks will now do fire damage instead of physical. - Use the Kick ability to deal massive damage and knock enemies off ledges. - Shield Throw is an effective ranged attack that can destroy obstacles and quickly close the gap between you and an enemy. - Health pots are available throughout the world. Grab them to prepare for what’s ahead. - Use the Ability Wheel to pause the action, cast abilities, and direct your companions. - Some enemies have tougher additional protection that needs to be removed. A yellow bar indicates Armor Barrier. - Armor is resistant to most attacks. Heavy attacks are the most effective against it. - Here, the darkspawn horde begins to overwhelm. - You can cast Spectral Bulwark, which damages enemies who land melee hits. - This allows you to fearlessly get into the thick of battle. - Enemies have a lavender stagger bar that builds when you land hits. - While an enemy is Staggered, they take bonus damage, and you can deliver a powerful takedown."

Part 3

Text notes in this part:

“Combat Part 3: Buffs, Debuffs, & Crowd Control You’ve mastered your core abilities. Now it’s time to face down a variety of enemies, all at once. Spacing Strategy - This Rook is a Warrior, specializing in the Champion branch, which favors a defensive style of fighting. - Warriors are front-line fighters capable of devastating, up-close attacks. - Rook and their companions can also deploy different tools, such as area-of-effect attacks to uniquely manage various enemies. Buffs & Debuffs - Additionally, activate companion buffs and debuffs to apply status effects. - One example of a buff is Lucanis’ Adrenaline Rush ability which enhances Rook’s damage stats. - Davrin has Heroic Strike, which applies the overwhelmed debuff. This causes the target to take additional Stagger. Crowd Control - This build activates the Shield Volley Passive, which ricochets your shield 3 times if you hit it with a heavy attack. - Rook is getting attacked on all sides, so you command Lucanis to use Abominate to knock enemies down. Fighting At A Distance - Use abilities, like Davrin’s Death From Above, to deal damage from afar. - Or use your Grappling Spear to pull them close.”

Part 4

Text notes in this part:

“Combat Part 4: Primers, Detonators, & Ultimates As your fight progresses, use primers, detonators, and ultimates with strategic timing to turn the tide of battle. Primers & Detonators - Rook can create incredibly damaging combo detonations with the help of their companions. - Assess the situation, and determine which primers and detonators work best against each enemy type. - Command Davrin to Taunt to gather nearby enemies. - Activate the Crystallize rune to freeze the gathered group in place. - Lucanis can use Eviscerate to detonate the combo and strike the whole group. Ultimate Attacks - As the battle progresses, Rook can unleash a destructive ultimate attack. - Now that you’ve mastered these combat strategies and tactics, let’s see them all in action."

Abilities, passives etc

For these I focused mostly on the move’s name + its description. In some cases there's sort of two as there's the one from the Ability Wheel and the one from the Skill Tree.

ROOK Driving Kick – Focus all your strength and determination into one mighty kick. / Deals a very high amount of Stagger. Grappling Spear – Harpoon your targets with a strong throw and drag them in for a closer encounter. / Pulls your target towards you. Press [button] or [button] to perform a follow-up attack Spectral Bulwark – Hone your guard and protect yourself from enemies foolish enough to attack. Enemies who hit you with a melee attack take damage and very high […]. / While active, enemies who hit you with a melee attack take damage and very high Stagger. [Ultimate] Warden’s Fire – Unleash a barrage of strikes with the burning strength that resides within every Grey Warden. Applies Burning to enemies [Specialization] Champion – The pinnacle of Grey Warden combat prowess. The Champion is a born leader who rallies their allies, turns their fervor into flame, and wields a shield as a deadly weapon. [Greater Passive] Heavy Armor Mastery - +Defense while wearing a heavy helm and armor. You are now less likely to be disrupted when getting hit. [Greater Passive] Fiery Resolve – Gain Flaming Weapons on Perfect Defense. Flaming Weapons lasts 50% longer. Titan Stomp – Deals very high Stagger to nearby enemies. LUCANIS Adrenaline Rush – Grants enhanced damage Abominate – Deals high Barrier damage and applies Knocked down to enemies in the area Eviscerate – At half health of less, this deals bonus damage, increasing in effectiveness the closer the target is to death DAVRIN Death From Above – Deals high Stagger [summons Assan to attack] Heroic Strike – Deals high Stagger Battle Cry – Applies Taunted to enemies in the area

There were also names and info popups of different runes, e.g. Mend.

[source]

[nebulablakemurphy]

Moves & Countermoves (Part 6)

Summary: No one ever wins the games, even fourteen years later, Y/N is still playing.

Prologue | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Peeta is down by the river, camouflaged in the rocks after Cato slashed his leg and left him for dead.

“Ah ha ha,” Chaff smiles when he spots Haymitch with an entire pitcher of rum. “So this is how the Capitol treats it’s favorites.”

“Had to steal it off the cart.” Haymitch chuckles allowing his friend to slip in between him and Y/N.

“Steady now.” Y/N teases, a hand to his back until he’s seated.

Chaff knocks her shoulder with his own, “what’s the matter, baby?”

Y/N has nothing but love for her husband’s best friend. However they are two peas in a pod and when they get together…there goes all the liquor. Back home in twelve, Haymitch has been known to have a drink or two, still able to enjoy his wife and children. This place brings it all back, the horrible things he’s done, everything he failed to do. If he wasn’t drunk, he’d surely lose his mind.

“I wanna send Peeta medicine,” Y/N explains.

“Sponsors leaving you high and dry? Never thought I’d see the day.”

“Not the sponsors, Haymitch made him a deal.”

“Who am I to disrespect this poor boy’s dying wish?” Haymitch quirks a brow.

“And his wish is to-”

“No parachutes. Save Katniss.”

“Katniss,” Chaff drawls.

Two of their tributes have formed an alliance. Rue and Katniss hatching a plan to blow up the career’s stash; lightning fires to draw them away.

“This green stuff is gonna smoke like crazy, as soon as it’s lit, move on to the next one.” The girl on fire warns.

“Ok,” Rue agrees, “we need some kind of signal; in case one of us gets held up.”

“Like what?”

“Here, watch this.” Rue lets out a tiny melody, which the birds rings back.

“Mockingjays.” Katniss realizes, “that’s brilliant.”

“We use them back home to signal the time.” Rue says, shifting the backpack on her shoulder. “If we hear that, it means we’re ok and we’ll be back real soon.”

“We’re gonna be ok,” Katniss pulls her in for a hug, running a hand over her hair. “Hey, I’ll see you for supper.”

————————————————————————

For once in her life Y/N is grateful for the Capitol broadcasting the action only, in the viewing room. A split screen between Rue lighting the fires, the careers chasing smoke and Katniss making her way to the cornucopia.

Clove and the others leave a single boy behind to keep watch. As the red haired tribute from five lily pads around explosives to steal food, the watchman catches her in his peripheral. Taking off after her into the woods.

Katniss lines up her shot, missing the corner of the apple net by just a hair. She takes a step closer, a few calming breathes later the tip of her arrow pierces the bag and out tumble all of the apples.

She’s blown back by the force of it.

“Oooh,” Chaff winces.

After a moment Katniss gets her bearings, heading back to Rue.

The boy keeping watch pays the price, Cato snaps his neck before giving him a chance to explain.

Rue is well on her way to light the last fire when she hears the explosion. Katniss did it. Then the trap set by the careers falls, she tripped the wire, a weighted net.

“Shit.” Y/N covers her mouth. Katniss…please hurry.

“Come on, Rue,” Chaff says, under his breath. “Work your way out.” He coaches, as if she can hear him. She does try, just like he taught her, but the net is too heavy.

When Katniss finds the final fire unlit, she whistles their signal.

“Get her out.” Haymitch rocks back slightly in his seat.

“Get her out.”

“Get her out.

“Get her out!”

The people of the viewing room echo. Y/N turns her head as the room builds to a collective chant.

“Get her out. Get her out. Get her out.”

It isn’t unheard of for spectators to voice their call to action. Though they are more concerned with the entertainment value than the life of the child.

When Katniss gets no response, she races toward the pile of sticks and leaves meant to start the last fire. Still no Rue.

“Katniss! Katniss, help.” Rue calls from beneath the net.

Katniss cuts her loose, Rue safe in her arms. “I’m here, you’re safe.”

The viewing room cheers are short lived. Marvel sends his spear flying, only to be met with Katniss’ arrow. When the cameras pan back to Rue…the damage is clear and irreversible.

Y/N excuses herself. She cannot watch, she cannot pretend, she cannot breathe. Scrambling into the nearest private room with the curtains drawn. Pushing them back with little care before realizing that it is occupied.

“You look ill, dear.” The Capitol woman gasps. “Come, sit down.”

“I’m so sorry to barge in like this.” Y/N apologizes, it’s not anyone she knows.

“Never you mind that, the pleasure is mine. Let me get you a drink.” The woman begins waving down a waiter.

Y/N grabs the ice bucket, “can I throw up in here?” Doesn’t matter, it’s coming up.

“Oh my stars, you poor thing.” She fans the victor as best she can, while continuing to wave one hand out of the privacy curtain. “Must be something you ate.”

“What can I get for you?” The waiter asks.

“Some water, to start and a fresh ice bucket.”

“Yes, right away.”

The woman takes great pleasure in ‘nursing’ Y/N back to health. With water and something close to a bland cracker.

These people are not inherently bad, Y/N realized that years ago. Conditioned in their belief and out of touch, but they are not evil. I don’t hate them…I hate what they do.

It’s not long before Haymitch is tearing back curtains to find her. Letting out a sigh of relief when he does.

“Haymitch, what a pleasure.” The woman holds out a hand.

“Great to meet you, love the dress.” He kisses the top of her hand, using it to guide her toward the exit, “give us a minute, will you?”

“But of course.” The woman is awestruck. The victors of district twelve, in her private room! Hailing over everyone who is anyone. Mouthing, “they’re in there,” motioning toward the fabric that separates them.

“I need you to listen to me.” Haymitch whispers, kneeling in front of Y/N. Wiping away any remnants of vomit and tears.

Y/N nods.

“Katniss gave that little girl a proper send off, you know as well as I do, the gamemakers and Snow aren’t happy about it.” She created a martyr.

Again she nods.

“I’m gonna talk to Crane, see what I can do for damage control.” Keep Katniss alive.

“Ok." Don’t let them kill Katniss.

“We’re gonna get you a mint and then I need you to walk out of here like nothing is wrong. Can you do that?” He tips her chin up, holding her gaze.

There is worry in his eyes, guilt and sadness. Her husband is afraid and he needs her. “Yes.”

“Good,” Haymitch gives her a reassuring smile, taking her into his arms.

————————————————————————

Katniss receives a parachute of bread a while later. After the silence is louder than the cannons and the artificial sun has set.

Haymitch is still negotiating, Y/N figures he must’ve sent it. Until she sees the note attached, from district eleven.

Y/N makes her way over to Seeder, sitting alone in the opposite corner.

“It was for Rue,” she older woman explains before Y/N can get a word out. “My district spent days scrounging up the money, the sponsors finally came through. We had enough to send some for Thresh too.”

“You could’ve sent him both.”

“My people wanted Katniss to have it.” Seeder informs her.

“I know she…appreciates their generosity very much.”

The answer is dry, rehearsed. Y/N is young and still does not understand. “I knew a girl once, she was kind and brave. She played the games and never let them play her. For the first time, I thought there might not be a victor. Because she was lying there, bleeding out and her partner was there, bleeding out…nobody was killing anybody,” she pauses. “Haymitch had to fight like hell to get you out of that one, they wanted your family-”

Dead. “I know,” Y/N stares down at her hands.

“I saw something that day, and I see it in her.” Seeder motions toward Katniss on the screen. “A good, genuine person with heart. They tried to snuff it out of you, beat it out of you; but I still see you. You hold onto your heart and you never let anyone take it from you.”

“Thank you,” Y/N blinks back tears.

“Attention, tributes, attention. The previous rules allowing only a single victor have been…suspended. Two victors may be crowned, so long as they both originate from the same district.”

All hope is not lost.

Part 7

Series Taglist: @praline357 @flowercrowns-goodvibes @justheretoparty420 @avocadotoastwithegg @officialjellydoughnut @whoreforfictionalpeople @treehouse-mouse @emo-markie @spilled-mi1k @magical-spit @greaser9902 @jessicamellarky @yourebuckingkiddingme

[abellinthecupboard]

Habitation

(after Margaret Atwood’s “Habitation”) We lie on the soft couch, our legs twining like freckled eels, enmeshing in pearly needled grins of pelagic happiness. We sip our wine and listen to the radio whinny, spurs jingling in the pueblo twilight, light spilling from canteen windows. Two planes collided in mid-air yesterday, and the passengers, all parachuters, leapt for safety and survived without injury. We take turns cooking and cleaning up for each other, put- ting the conch shell to our ear, hearing the blood thrumming. Every day the sun hangs a little more crooked, its smile a little wider, its gold teeth and yellowed gums a smoker’s knick-knacks. This summer is the hottest on record. The newsstands catch fire. We turn over in bed. We are used to our orbits shifting… We talk about our days, pretending our trite quicknesses are interesting, from the school, the office, reciting Gilgamesh’s Epic with insolent cherry lips, kohl arrows staining our cheeks. I feel your indolent heat against the dark mahogany of my ribs. Your lips spark in prayer. Your long shadow unclasps my bra. This marriage is not something pillared, no marble temple. This devotion is a kindled red fire out on the frozen tundra, and night is falling. Flint strikes on flint. Stone births daylight, a magic in an age when every rock and tall tree bears a soul. We bless the sacred heat that licks at the crooked kindling, a gift from the gods that warms our limbs weary from hunting reindeer. We huddle closely in our fur cloaks and skin boots. Not far off, the first pigments are being laid down at Lascaux, Altamira, such lifelike renderings that seem to snort and shriek… Meanwhile, the portraits at Chauvet and Nawarla Gabarnmang are ancient, ancient already, and buzzing with honey ghosts… What is the secret to threading an arrow through the ribs of a running deer, as it gallops through the underbrush toward the dregs of its life? It’s a secret, but I’ll tell you—press your face to the white of this page and I’ll whisper it in your ear.

— Sean Eaton, featured in Hawaii Pacific Review (source)

[yukasyukasyukasyukas]

Valorant sports headcanon bc I just lost a championship

I LOST TO A PERSON WHO'S TWO CATEGORIES UNDER MINE

Astra: I feel like she doesn't really play any sport but she definitely hits the gym

Brimstone: boxe and wrestling? Possibly played American football when he was younger

Breach: wrestling

Chamber: Fencer. Epeé. My mother says he should be a foil fencer since he's french but I think epeé fits him better

Clove: no fit, just chill. Very energetic though, that's how they keep healthy

Cypher: that man is NOT doing any exercise

Deadlock: taekwondo and I saw a comic where she was a paralympic climber and I love it

Fade: same as cypher

Gekko: canon basketball and skater

Harbor: wrestling and olimpic weight lifting

Iso: he looks like he has the body of a fencer so I'm giving him sabre (my sister wanted someone to be a sabre fencer)

Jett: athletics and parkour, does parachuting as hobby

Killjoy: rides her bike every once in a while but doesn't really do any physical activity

Neon: canon basketball player, athletics

Omen: used to be a judoka

Phoenix: skate

Raze: capoeira and parkour

Reyna: wrestling and boxing

Sage: jiujitsu

Skye: besides hiking she also does lots of other spots, mainly hand to hand combat

Sova: canon bow and arrow, obviously, also plays medieval fencing

Viper: boxer

Vyse: I want to give someone the same sport as me so she's a foil fencer. Also, her suit gives off the fencing suit design

Yoru: kendo

Kay/o isn't here because he's a robot and robots don't compete in human sports

[erraticpigeon]

Hi! I was wondering if you could do reader x Finnick and the reader has to take care of a sick/hurt Finnick if not that’s comepletly fine!

i love love LOVE this, thank you for the request!! f!reader x finnick odair, tw for wound

finnick getting injured and confessing

"Are you crazy?! You can't run away alone like that, you could've gotten killed!"

Finnick winced as you pressed the wet cloth against the wound on his shin. Though the arena of the 75th annual Hunger Games was large, there was a major lack of things like medicine, bandages, or even supplies to clean wounds with, so you had to make do with a piece of fabric ripped from a sponsor parachute and water from a nearby stream.

You glanced up at Finnick's face, his expression twisted in pain and discomfort as you wiped as much dirt and blood from his leg as possible. He spoke through his teeth.

"It's fine, he's dead now anyway.."

"But not before he shot an arrow through your leg! Holy shit…"

You tried to keep your voice steady, but the panic must have seeped through because Finnick reached down and placed his hand against the side of your face, tucking a stray strand of hair behind your ear. He was the bravest and strongest person you knew, but you couldn't help but worry about him every time you were separated.

"The arrow didn't go through my leg. It barely touched me.."

You glared up at his sympathetic smile, his beautiful eyes meeting yours. You felt your face heating up and quickly looked back down at the wound.

You were kneeling on the ground where he sat in front of you, his back against a tree as you cleaned the cut and whispered to him to keep him sane.

Suddenly, you both heard the sound of a twig breaking, and you shot up with your dagger in hand. Finnick tried to get up but you gently pushed him back down with your foot on his chest, placing a finger against your lips to tell him to be quiet.

You hid behind the tree as you started hearing heavy footsteps, quick and many, as if there were people running toward you. Your body and mind were both tense, fully preparing to be attacked by careers and to defend Finnick with your life, should it come to that.

Then, a familiar voice started to ring through the forest, shouting familiar names.

"Y/N! Finnick!! Where are you guys!?"

Johanna. You left your hiding spot and almost collapsed in relief when she appeared behind a tree. Her movements and eyes were erratic as she searched her surroundings. When she finally spotted you, she shouted your name as she ran toward you. Katniss, Peeta, and the rest of the alliance appeared behind her, all relieved to have found you.

As Johanna reached you, you threw yourself into her arms with tears streaming down your face. The embrace was heartfelt, but short as you both pulled away.

"We got a package with medicine and a note from Haymitch saying that Finnick was hurt and we needed to find you and-"

"Where is the medicine!?"

"Katniss has it."

Five minutes of deafening silence passed as the group watched you apply the medicine to Finnick’s wound and wrap his leg with a clean piece of the parachute. When you were finished, you sat down next to him with your back against the tree and your head leaning on his shoulder.

The others dispersed and started setting up a temporary camp for the night, as you two sat and relished in each other's silent company. Finnick was the first to speak, and even then it was barely audible.

"I'm so sorry, Y/N. I'm sorry I left and got hurt, and I'm sorry I made you worry about me. I know you're angry, and I understand why."

"Angry? I'm not angry."

You looked over at him and your eyes met, as he looked at you curiously.

"But.."

"Finnick, I thought you were going to die... I wasn't angry, I was scared for your life because I love you so much, and-"

You were interrupted in your confession by him leaning in toward you and kissing you. His lips were chapped but still so sweet, his golden hair brushing against your forehead as his hands held the sides of your face with utmost care and adoration.

The kiss was broken, and he tried to hide his big grin as he spoke.

"And to think, all I had to do was get shot in the leg.."

You shoved him away from you as he laughed. The playful sound sent ripples of glimmering gold through your nerves, brightening the terrible situation you found yourself in. Maybe being stuck in a dangerous fight to the death wasn't so bad, if it was with him.

Navigation

[sillyrabbot]

Would you jump 30000 feet onto a trampoline no parachute now shoot a deer and hit its heart with a bow and arrow while asking it personal questions like have you ever fallen in love with a monster

[mysteroads]

Just bragging, but look at these NPCs I made! Behold! ALL the UA Third Years!

The UA Third Years in no particular order:

Name/Hero Name - M for male or F for female, "Quirk Name" quirk description.

Mirio Togata/Lemillion (canon character) - M, “Permeation” grants the user the ability to phase their body through all matter. ~Doesn’t participate in the Exam~

Tamaki Amajiki/Suneater (canon character) - M, “Manifest”  grants the user the ability to enhance their body parts with the characteristics of anything they consume.

Nejire Hado/Nejire Chan (canon character) - F, “Wave Motion”, grants the user the ability to convert her vitality into energy and release it in the form of exceptionally powerful spiral shockwaves, can fly*

Yuyu Haya/Diana (canon character) - F, “Electric Arrow”  grants the user the ability to create a bow and arrows from electricity gathered from the air around her. She gets very staticky on dry days.

Kazue Yokota/Illusionist - F, “Light Illusion” grants the user the power to generate and manipulate small to moderate sized illusions. Requires concentration.

Yōta Hidaka/Ricochet - M, “Kinetics” The power to store kinetic energy after being hit. Limit to how much he can store before it has to be released. (Toga stabs this one)

Naomi Ikeda/Lady Luck - F, “Luck” grants the user the ability to shift probability in their favor. They can’t do anything huge like survive jumping without a parachute, but quarter machines are theirs to toy with.

Yoshio Yamaguchi/Shield Hero - M, “Shield” grants the user the ability to create shields of various sizes and types.

Haruna Shinkawa/Soulsword - F, “Demon Weapon” grants the user the ability to shapeshift into a sword. Haruna specifically changes into a European style sword and is a fan of Arthurian Legends.

Juro Nishimura/Morph - M, “Body Builder” grants the user the ability to temporarily change his body to mimic any construction-style substance he touches (ex: concrete, steel, wood). Changes can last for up to an hour, but the more he changes, the faster he runs out of energy and the less time he has for each morph.

Hideyoshi Kanda/Roostertail - M, “Chicken” grants the user the ability to transform into a giant 10 foot rooster (think terror bird) with a sonic crow.

Chō Sugimura/Pause Button - F, “Time Stop” grants the user the ability to freeze time for thirty seconds. Recharge of one day required. 

Katsu Saitou/Tremors - M, “Earthquake” The ability to make the ground shake, can cause liquefaction under the right circumstances.

Yoshie Urano/Plasma Bolt - M, “Plasma Bolt” grants the user the ability to generate and manipulate plasma balls, including throwing energy blasts.

Yaeko Moriyama/Eleventh Metal - F, “Magnetic” grants the user the ability to mess with metal's polarity, as well as magnetize themselves. She can use this to “jump” long distances by pushing off metal and then pulling herself to a new metal by changing her and its polarity. Only works if the metal is heavier than she is.

Kōta Yukimura/Rōnin - M, “Stat Boost” grants the user the ability superhuman reflexes and increased stamina. Prefers to use a katana because aesthetic.

Reiko Hino/Misty - F, “Sublimation” grants the user the ability to transform into a fog-like form. The user still has to take in oxygen and cannot permeate through objects.

Akiko Yamauchi/Whirlwind - F, “Telekinesis” grants the user to move objects with her mind, but only objects weighing less than 20 lbs. She can pick up quite a few though and likes to make a vortex of ouch! around her.

Takako Shibuya/MoonBeam - M, “Laser Beam” grants the user the ability to shoot a laser beam from his third eye. The beam is a bright silvery white and can vary in temperature, from mild burn to welding-torch. Too much use can cause MoonBeam to go temporarily blind in his third eye.

Isamu Iwai/Featherweight - M, “Mass” grants the user the ability to change an object’s mass temporarily if he touches it. Mass returns to normal after five minutes.

Hayate Miyamoto/Aquifer - M, “Water” grants the user the ability to create water and, to some extent, manipulate water he did not create. 

 Ryoichi Miyake/Hermes - M, “Winged Feet” grants the user the ability to fly very fast with winged feet.

 Hachirou Hashiguchi/Wolfgang - M, “Wolf” grants the user the ability to blow giant gusts of wind with his mouth. (He’s also a wolf heteromorph and Winterheart’s big brother!)

Miki Amano/Slime Devil - F, “Slime” grants the user the ability to generate slime that can either stay slick, get sticky, or harden to trap villains. She can generate slime from anywhere, but she prefers to use her hands.

Naruhito Sano/Batman - M, “Bat” a partial bat mutation. Can’t fly fast but can still fly, very good at echolocation and can even knock someone out with a sound wave if he gets close enough. He has very sensitive hearing, but is nearsighted. 

Kiyo Takenaka/Delirium - F, “Fever Dream” can cause terrifying hallucinations when she meets her opponent’s eyes. A strong willed enough victim can break free, though.

Shizuko Inaba/LaVenus - F, “Venus Flytrap” grants the user the ability to grow giant venus flytraps from her fingers and arms. The stems can get very long, and the flytrap heads are the size of basketballs. The flytraps can move independently of her will. She can also create one giant flytrap.

 Kenzou Satō/ZoomZoom - M, “Speedster” grants the user the ability to run very very fast. They are not as fast as the Flash or Hawks, but he’s considered on par with Ingenium. 

Akane Arima/Comet - F, “Meteor Hands” grants the user the ability to create bowling ball sized rocks, set them on fire, and throw them with incredible speed and accuracy.

Sumire Fukui/Obscurus  - F, grants the user the ability to create a field of darkness around themselves up to thirty feet diameter. They can see in the dark, but it cancels out all other types of vision.

Akihito Yoshino/Tarantella  - M, “Tarantula” grants the user the ability to use thermal vision, web creation (from their wrists) for sticky nets and ropes, and climb sheer walls. Since they’re a spider heteromorph, they have six arms, extra eyes, and is extra strong.

Shichirou Iwamoto/Captain Kangaroo - M, “Kangaroo” can do everything a kangaroo can, BIG muscles and can punch your lights out. Kangaroo heteromorph, of course.

Shinsuke Shimizu/Catscratch - M, “Scratch” grants the user the ability of silver fingernails that can lengthen to a foot long and can cut through steel.

 Osamu Ōshiro/Freeze Frame - M “Finger Frame” grants the user the ability to freeze something just by catching it between the square of their fingers, like he was making a frame around it. Freeze as in stop, not as in cold, and the fingers must be square and touching. The farther away and the more things caught between the frame, the harder the frozen things fight to start again.

Sayuri Hashiguchi/Winterheart - F, “Cold Breath” grants the user the ability to breathe freezing air and snow. Basically the exact opposite of breathing fire. (She’s Big Bad Wolf’s twin sister, but she’s not a heteromorph!)

Masato Yoshida/Bones - M, “Bone Armor” grants the user the ability to create armor made of super dense bone. He can even bounce bullets off it. Has been likened to an armadillo to tease him.

Yuu Seki/Cable - F, “Steel Medusa”  grants the user the ability to manipulate her hair made of steel cables.

Akito Maeda/X-Ray - F, “Identifying Eye” grants the user the ability to see weak points in structures and enemies. However, she herself has no extra strength or speed, and her vision can be overwhelmed.

Daigo Kanemaru/Porcupine - M, “Needle Spit” Can spit various amounts of needles of different sorts and lengths.

[writerofadream]

Fortune favors the Bold ⛓

TDI!Duncan x Juvie Bestfriend! Reader ⛓

Chapter Fourteen: She's a maneater (But he loves it)

(^^ Literally Duncan whenever your on your meds)

(In case you would like to know, when the intro music plays each episode, you are holding a bow and arrow and are shooting an apple off of Duncan’s head)

Duncan’s body had a sleeping schedule. Unlike you, Duncan didn’t need a thousand alarms to wake him up.

He didn’t even need one. He woke up at six a.m every day and fell asleep at twelve p.m every night. He’d wait until seven-thirty and wake you up.

Today you were woken up by Chris’s plane’s engine roaring above the cabins. Your eyes flew open instantly and your hands reached under your pillow for your pistol, your fingers going straight for the trigger.

Duncan ran into the girls side of the cabin, his headphones sitting around his neck. He had this cloudy look in his eyes that you didn’t like.

But when he saw that you were there his body relaxed and he helped you out of bed. Bridgette had gone outside to investigate the sounds. You laid a bunch of clothes on your bed and Duncan smothered a laugh once he saw them.

“We both know these aren’t your style. Do you want one of my letterman jackets that Chris bought me?” He asked with a raised eyebrow. “More than anything.” You said with a heave of relief. 

He disappeared before reappearing with a dark green letterman jacket that had ‘Tarun’ stitched to the back.

You slipped out of your nightclothes (much to Duncan’s happiness) and pulled up a pair of jean shorts, a long blue shirt that you were pretty sure was Bridgette’s that you tied at the bottom, and pulled the jacket over your body. You laced up your tennis shoes with a practiced ease and finally asked “How do I look?” Duncan was staring at you.

“...Bad?” You muttered a blush tingling your cheeks. “No, never, you look like a goddess.” Duncan smiled. You blinked before scowling, your cheeks turning a dark shade of pink. “Shush.” You kissed his lips.

“Hmph.” Duncan smiled and you both went outside.

You got there just in time to hear Chris yell “Extreme sports!” before a bunch of interns wheeled out a dusty sofa bed for Chef Hatchet to jump on.

“Of course you’ll be skydiving at five-thousand-feet and using these.” Chris said paying no attention to the groaning man whimpering on the now folded sofa. Chris threw bags out into the open which you were 98.99% sure did not have any parachutes in. 

“I’m going to need a lot of alcohol.” Duncan turned to look at you as you prayed out loud to the sky. “Who are you asking?” he said looking around because everyone was focused on the two men.

“God.”

“Our lucky contestants are Trent and DJ.” Chris said with a bright smile. “Oh shit it’s at random.” Duncan paled. “Oh. So today’s the day I kill myself.” You muttered rubbing your face.

“You wish, baby.” Duncan pecked your cheek, he smiled as your face turned a deep shade of pink. “What?” You grumbled. “You're cute when you're that pink.” He smiled and you wanted to punch him.

“I got a reputation, Tarun.” you hissed. “Maybe I’ll ruin it.” He whispered and your entire body turned pink. “Shut up.” You whispered, embarrassed. 

Chef Hatchet began disclosing the challenges. One involved the sofa-bed, another involved riding an extremely angry moose, and the last involved a jet-ski. So, a typical Saturday to say the least.

You laughed when Chris mentioned the moose. “If he’s as angry as me I think I’d be fine.” You said not really worried. “You're in luck, beautiful. You’ll be riding for the Killer Bass.” Duncan didn’t like the subtle flirting… at all. 

Then they announced what the prize was. A chance at a shower? 

“Really? That’s it?” It wasn’t even a private shower, in reality it wasn’t really a prize, it was just a slightly cleaner place to bathe.

It didn’t even have curtains?

—--

You skipped breakfast. This meal looked like it came right out of a fire pit. Duncan had vanished but not before he made you turn four different shades of pink when he said… “Y/N Tarun. I think I love it.” 

Bridgette, Gwen, and you were talking about the challenges and watching Owen eat with mild disgustion. You watched as Owen burped out… a love note. Chef picked it up and read it to himself. “To the girl with smoldering eyes.” He gagged and dropped the note. Bridgette picked it up.

“Check it out, it's a corny haiku poem.” Gwen laughed into her palm. “Whoah, some dude’s crushing big time.” Bridgette’s eyes scanned the love letter. “Cupid definitely struck.” You laughed quietly.

“It’s probably for you.” Gwen said pointing your way. “Me?” You wanted to laugh. “Obviously?” Bridgette was confused why you didn’t think it was you. “Aren’t you and Duncan a thing now, plus I see the way he looks at you. He’s head over heels.” Gwen said, trying to convince you.

“First of all, that’s not his handwriting, he's borderline dyslexic and writes like a five-year-old on crack. Also he does not look at me like that.” You hissed. “Aw, you know his handwriting.” Gwen cooed at the fact. “Yes, he does? He looks at you like you hung the stars and the moon.” Bidgette laughed.

You blushed. 

The two girls started to bicker over who it could be.

You rolled your eyes. Neither of their boys had the capability to write something that cheesy. It was very clearly Harold, he gushed over girls quite a bit. But you were curious about the mystery chick.

 

—-

Chris had the Screaming Bass gather by the plane as he explained the instructions. Duncan was listening but you had his headphones around your ears as music blasted. Maneater by Nelly Furtado to be precise.

I wanna see you all on your knees, knees.

You both were on the couch, he was sitting up but you had your head in his lap, lightly tapping your thigh in tune to the music. Duncan had his fingers playing in your hair which he knew you found comforting. It reminded you of your mother to be honest.

When you were younger she’d give you braids (A/N: Heavily implied to be cornrow braids, aka implied black!reader but can be seen either way) and her hands would weave throughout your hair.

You either wanna be with me, or be me (come on now)

Duncan tapped your shoulder signaling it was time to get up. You sat up quickly as you shook your head ‘no’, you did not want to give him his headphones back. He scowled playfully. Your team started to push the couch in between Duncan struggling to get his headphones back. 

A maneater, make you work hard.

Bridgette sighed as she watched you too mess around. She watched you trip into the sand as Duncan tackled you and you both rolled around laughing your heads off, before Duncan quickly stole a kiss, then his headphones back. Her eyes flickered to Geoff. Why couldn’t he do something like that? 

“Aw man.” You gave Duncan a playful pouty lip and he stuck his tongue out as you both resumed pushing the sofa. You watched DJ easily fall onto the sofa and he seemed surprised that he survived. 

But he was quickly ‘devoured’ by the couch.

You paled and began whistling and walking away everyone else following in pursuit.

It was your turn next. Duncan followed you next to the moose and helped you climb up. “Just think, the socks don’t smell as bad as my dad, and the moose can’t be as crazy as juvie.” He shrugged, you had been through worse, he had been through worse.

“Fair. Don’t I get a kiss for good luck? It’s tradition right?” You smiled. “Come back alive, baby and we’ll see.” Duncan smiled walking away as the moose flew out of the pen.

You whooped and hollered with joy as the moose bucked around. It was angry all right. But something switched in the animal's head, it wasn’t angry, it was murderous. He bucked twice in a row and he flipped you off of him and onto your back on the ground thankfully missing the socks and he antlers trapped you against the hard ground.

Bridgette watched as Duncan’s eyes widened and his body straightened up. His hands reached for the gun hidden in the waistline of his pants and Bridgette grabbed his wrist. His eyes were clouded over when they met hers. “Let. Go. Of. Me.” He growled but she persisted. “She’ll be okay.” Bridgette hissed at him. 

Its antlers scratched up your face before Chef Hatchet could get the moose under control again.

Duncan shook off his stupor and ripped his wrist away from Bridgette sending her a glare before he helped you up and you coughed into your hand. You couldn’t hear anything. Duncan waved a hand in front of your face saying words but no sound came out. “Huh?” You mumbled. But suddenly there was sound, and there was a LOT.

You covered your ears and Duncan slipped his headphones around them as he switched the white-sound on.

‘Better?’ he mouthed. You nodded. 

He took you away to get your face bandaged. Duncan pointed at a log and you sat down, he knelt in front of you and began butting butterfly bandages on your face which Chef had thrown to him mouthing ‘Don’t tell Chris’.

“Sorry, I lost. Something happened with the moose.” You whispered unsure of the volume of your voice. “Are you okay?” Duncan whispered back, he didn’t care if you lost, honestly he didn’t care if you had gotten the entire team in last place or whatever, he just wanted you to be okay.

You shrugged your shoulders as Duncan put the last bandage on. 

He sat next to you on the log and wrapped an arm around your shoulders kissing the top of your head. You stayed like that until the next challenge.

—-

|Trending on X right now|

#flirtybadassbfxembarrasedbadassgf

#”ilikeity/ntarun”excusemE-

#hEWASSOWORRIED

#thewaythattheyareperfectcouple?

#SHEWEARSHISCLOTHES-

—--

Duncan had volunteered to drive Lindsay and before he had hopped on the jet ski you mildly threatened him (you still wore his headphones). “If you purposely ruin this I will fight you.” You whispered, jabbing a finger in his chest. His lips found yours. “Maybe I’d like that.” He whispered and you rolled your eyes. 

You both watched Heather drive Harold and much to your surprise Heather’s top flew off. “Well that’s fun.” You whisper-laughed and Duncan smiled bringing you closer towards him as you put a head on his shoulder.

Duncan failed spectacularly at driving Lindsay, so much so he flew into a tree much to your horror. You scaled the tree flipping from branch to branch before you found him near the top.

“Hey sweetheart I might have a concussion… but did you know that there’s this girl I reallllyyyy like her name’s Y/N and she’s super pretty but don’t tell her okay?” you had to stifle your laugh.

“Okay.”

—

You may have lost the challenge but you were as happy as a clam. Duncan was still really out-of-it and Chris did not make it better by antagonizing him. He quickly shut up when you pointed a gun at him.

In other news.

Harold got voted off.

—

“WHAT-” Leshawna and Harold just kissed much to your horror. “I know, I was as surprised as you are, kid.” Chef sighed next to you.

[mastcrmarksman]

EVERY TIME THE WORLD HAS GONE TO HELL someone take advantage of it. Stock market crashes and some dirtbag parachutes out with a billion dollars. Country goes to war, the mob has a field day… NOW THIS? THIS? And dressed in our uniforms? Representing something we've dedicated our lives to? Twisting it into something they can sell? NO! NO! WE DON'T WAIT for them to show their true colors. WE KNOW THEIR TRUE COLORS. We go there and WE STOP THEM before it all goes to hell again. WE GO THERE and we take back the Avengers from the hands of the Green Goblin maniac! WE'RE THE AVENGERS. WE TAKE IT BACK.

@mastcrmarksman -> a roleplay blog for Clinton Francis Barton aka the Amazing Hawkeye of Marvel Comics Earth 616 and various alternate comic earths. Canon divergent and headcanon based. written lovingly and arrow shot by Izzy

[fox-in-the-dandelion-sea]

something for instagram :)

[ID: A profile titled Meet the Artist. A figure stands off to the side, surrounded by notes and doodles of stars and hearts.

The figure is a feminine boy with tan skin, yellow eyes, and red hair that extends to his mid-calf. He has a similarly long ponytail that wraps around his torso. He's wearing a sheer, loose top with flowy sleeves, a black bra, black parachute pants, and black boots with a large heel. His nails are long and painted red. He has large fox ears on his head, and two large, fluffy tails. They're all red, matching his hair, with dark red tips.

The first box has text that reads "Gin, star/dust + he". Underneath it are four flags, left to right, genderqueer, man-woman, transgender, and disability. Beneath that is "Scorpio" with a sun icon, and "Gemini" with a moon and rising icon.

The next box is titled "Liked Artists". Top to bottom, they are Marcus Skeen, STARSET, DECO*27, MCR, and ILLIT. There's an arrow pointing to Marcus Skeen, with text that reads "top artist". The box has a pause and seek/track buttons.

The third box is a list with heart bullet points, reading top to bottom, "Arcane, Link Click, Pacific Rim, MDZS/ TGCF, Persona 5, YTTD".

The fourth box is titled "Blorbos", with a list that reads "Aphelios (League), Sigma (BSD), Li Tianxi (SGDLR), Amber (GI), Tartaglia (GI), Bronya (HI3), MEIKO (Vocaloid), Futaba (P5), Xue Yang (MDZS), Xiao Xingchen", with an arrow from MDZS pointing to Xiao Xingchen.

On the page are several notes, doodled on. Pointing to "Artist" in the title "Meet the Artist", is a note that reads "Self taught 5+ years.) Pointing to the figure are three notes, reading "STEM Major", "Collects Monster cans", and "Learning 9th language". Beside him is a measuring line, indicating the figure is 155cm tall. There's also an arrow pointing to him with the US and Indonesian flag.

At the bottom of the page is a small box with the tags, "IG: your.local.astronomy.nerd" and "Tumblr: fox in the dandelion sea". End ID.]

[natrogersfics]

Poster by @teamromanoff Read on AO3

His wife is mad at him. That much Steve is sure about as he silently leans against the doorway of their kitchen, watching as Natasha empties her dinner plate into the trash. They’d barely said two words to each otherna over dinner, and as Natasha asked Sarah about her day, firing off one follow-up question after another, it became evident to him that that was by design. And truthfully, that’s not really even the part that bothers him. He knows that Natasha genuinely wants to know about Sarah’s day – they both do. It’s not even that she barely touched the food on her plate, though he is concerned about that, too. It’s that for days, this silence between them has persisted, and it’s shown no signs of waning.

It all began with his last assignment. Fury needed assistance with recovering stolen arms just outside of Prague, and because they had agreed after the events in Saint Petersburg that it wasn’t fair to Sarah to always have both her parents in the line of fire, Natasha had stayed back to run the op from HQ.

The mission was routine enough. In no time at all, they had apprehended the hostiles, recovered the weapons, and were in the midst of interrogating the group’s leaders back at the helicarrier when one of them revealed the bomb he had managed to conceal. In hindsight, as he thinks back to the way he had heard Natasha’s voice in his ear, telling him to stand down and let Clint take the shot from where he was positioned higher up, he realizes that she knew what he was going to do even before he did. But Natasha’s attempt to stop him was all in vain, because as the man was about to hit the detonator, he’d charged at him, knocking them both out a window and into freefall.

If he had to bet on the exact reason behind the cold shoulder Natasha’s been giving him, he’d have to put money on him completely disregarding her call. In the days since he’s recovered, she hasn’t yelled. Hasn’t lectured him about his actions. She hasn’t even explicitly told him that she’s angry with him – something she has never held back on doing in the past. And while he isn’t looking to argue, he wishes she would just unleash whatever it is that’s clearly been weighing on her lately. His wife’s wrath is something he can handle. What he’s not equipped for, however, is the lingering silence and the distance that only seems to be growing between them.

“Sarah’s down for the night,” he finally says, causing Natasha to jump slightly as his voice cuts through the silence. He winces. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

His brows furrow when she doesn’t turn to face him and only continues to work on washing their dishes from dinner. He’s stealthier than most, but it takes a lot to get past her. “Natasha, listen, I know what your order was on comms-”

“Is that what you think the problem here is?” she interjects, her back still to him. “That you were insubordinate?”

“Isn’t it?” A hint of frustration slips into his tone. “Because if it’s not, then I don’t know what-”

His words are interrupted by the clank of porcelain against the enamel as Natasha unceremoniously drops the plate into the sink. “You tackled a hostile off the carrier,” she says as she turns to him. “In flight.”

He sighs. “Natasha, I had to-”

“Like hell you did,” she says, tipping her chin up. “Clint had it!”

“No, he didn’t,” he says, earning a dagger of a glare from her. “Clint didn’t have an arrow drawn yet, Nat! There wasn’t any time!”

“You. Didn’t. Have. A. Parachute.”

“And you did?” he challenges. It’s the wrong response, he knows, watching the way her posture goes rigid. Nevertheless, he doesn’t care. Two could play this game. “When you jumped off the jet to save that hostage in Odessa weeks ago, did you have a parachute?”

“That’s not the same!” she yells, and like a reflex, they both look towards the hall leading to Sarah’s room.

“How is that not the same?” he challenges after a beat, his voice quieter now. “You put your life in danger then just as much as I did on the last one.”

“My actions didn't land me in a coma,” she volleys back. His shoulders slump at that, and he finds himself unable to argue. While he had the wherewithal to reach behind him for his shield just before the bomb went off, he was still well within the blast radius, and that’s to say nothing of the force of his fall. His week-long coma notwithstanding, there were also the burns and the bruises and the broken bones. Saying he was a little worse for wear when the team eventually located him would be putting it lightly, and he knows it. Before him, Natasha sighs. “Sarah was so scared.”

His eyes fall shut, recalling the abject horror on the little girl’s face when she first saw him in the infirmary. He had regained consciousness by then, and though some of his injuries had begun to heal, it didn’t make the state of him any less of a gruesome sight. “Natasha…”

“I was so scared.”

He looks at her then, finding the anger that had been consuming her replaced instead with complete and utter fear. The image causes his heart to constrict in his chest. Even so, he does not quite understand it. Making impulsive calls during missions is part of the job. As anyone in their line of business will attest to, sometimes, regardless of the amount of meticulous planning done beforehand, there’s simply no way around improvising in the thick of it – especially when there are innocent lives involved. He knows Natasha knows this, too. Her stunt in Odessa is only one of the millions of times he has held his breath as he watched her put her own life at risk for the sake of the greater good. He’s hated it every single time, but as they’ve both come to understand, that’s the price they pay for following their calling.

For being Avengers.

“I didn’t have a choice, Nat,” he whispers.

For a moment, he thinks she’s going to argue. But then she sighs, and he nearly does the same in relief. “Don’t you think I know that?” she scoffs. “My problem isn’t that my asset disregarded my explicit orders during an op.”

“Then what is it, Nat?” he asks. “Because you've been keeping me at arm's length and it's driving me crazy."

Guilt flashes in her expression, and she swallows. “My problem is that my asset is the best super soldier the world has ever seen,” she says, the bitterness in her tone unmistakable as she crosses her arms over her chest. “Which means that there are missions only he can complete. Dangers only he can face. Dangers that some days include taking a goddamn explosion in the chest.” She looks away. “And he also happens to be my husband…” Another sigh falls from her lips, and this time, it’s heavy. Loaded. “And the father of my children.”

If he had any fight in him, any will left to argue, her last word knocks it right out of him. “Children?”

She nods. “Helen confirmed it shortly after you left. Seven weeks, give or take.”

His gut drops at that, every mission she’s gone on in that time frame – every risk she’s taken – flashing in his mind. He takes a step towards her, his hand reaching out. “Nat-”

“Don’t,” she says as she takes a step back, and as much as it pains him, he lets his hand fall back to his side, giving her the space she clearly needs. Her voice is sullen as she adds, “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

While the desire to expand their family had overcome them both before, a deluge of tests and scans had told them that her body had gone back to the way it was before she had Sarah, the damage still very much there. But even if it were possible, ultimately, they had decided that it was too dangerous. Protecting one child who had both their serums running through her veins was difficult enough, they didn’t need to subject another one to this unconventional life they had to offer.

“Hey…” he whispers, finally closing the distance between them and pulling her into his arms. To his relief, she goes willingly, burying her face into his chest as she begins to sob. He only holds her closer, running a hand up and down her back soothingly. “I’m sorry,” he whispers into the crown of her head. “I’m so sorry.” For everything, he wants to add. For scaring her. For being the reason she’s been holding all of this in. For leaving her to comfort Sarah all on her own while he recuperated from his injuries. The list feels endless, especially in light of what he knows now. “I’m so sorry, Nat.”

“What are we going to do?” she asks, looking up at him.

He cups her face in his hands, his thumbs swiping away at the fresh batch of tears that rolls down her cheeks. He wishes he could alleviate all her fears. Tell her right here and now that they were all unfounded. That no harm was ever going to come to their family. But that would be a lie, and they both know it, and he wouldn’t dare insult her with empty promises.

“I don’t know…” he begins to say, causing her expression to crumble. He tilts her face up ever so slightly. “Hey, look at me.” Reluctantly, she lets her eyes meet his. “But we’re going to figure this out, okay?”

It takes a moment, but eventually, she nods. “You can’t die on me, Rogers.”

“I won’t,” he says, pulling her into his embrace once again. She wraps her arms tightly around him, squeezing back. He couldn’t predict the future, much less control it. But one thing he knows for sure is that there’s nothing in this world that could keep him from being by her side – by their family’s side. “I won’t.” Masterlist Read more of the In Her Eyes 'verse here

[daisychainsandbowties]

Tomb Raider AU: without a radio on her, Ava tries to leave messages to Bea.

She can't leave any clues on how to actually find her, since there's over a hundred people with bad intentions looking for her and only one Bea, but she still spends a significant amount of her time trying to create little tokens of significance from basic survival gear, the junk she finds on the island, and the few personal possessions she has left.

She can't say "find me here," but she can say "I'm still alive, don't give up," and if she can somehow find the right combination of symbols and hidden meanings in the private language they share between them, maybe she can even manage "I love you."

(And then all she can do is pray Bea will find some of them *while* she's still alive.)

ava with her bow and her arrows and her improvised crutches untangling an old parachute from a tree, winding up all the strings and separating them from the ruined harness. she tries to ignore the traces of blood on the many straps and buckles.

she's good at that now, stepping past the blood.

it takes her an hour to rig the big rippling expanse of half-shredded parachute, letting the strings trail from the bottom and attaching some pieces of wood to the ends, as anchors.

first, ava sets it down on the forest floor, takes out the sharpie she always kept in her back pocket, mainly so she could write “lilith sucks my dick” on every possible wall and/or countertop back on the ship. cap between her teeth, legs twinging but letting her kneel without too much protest.

she’s been leaving messages on walls, picking the driest sections, using sharpie and deer blood to write out vague messages. just in case.

she saw the flare go up over the radio tower, but it could have been anyone. never mind that the streak of reddish fire made her stumble, looking at the comet-tail shape like Odysseus looking at the shore.

it was beautiful, but that doesn't mean it was her.

beatrice could be dead, washed up in the surf and picked over by crabs, birds, wolves.

there’s no reason to think she isn’t, except that ava’s not sure what she’s fighting for out here, if it’s not to get back to bea.

to the way she’d sit on her bed and offer one earphone to ava, scrolling through her playlists with a deft flick of the thumb. how she’d fall asleep over her books and put her boots up on the bed.

her secret stash of cookies and protein bars for when it was lilith’s turn to cook.

ava was just as bad, dumping plain tomato sauce onto spaghetti and then burning it to the bottom of the enormous pot, but bea always turned up to eat.

“you don’t have to pretend it’s good, just to make me feel better.”

bea, shrugging, “no i-i like it.”

she has to believe that beatrice is alive, because no one else would understand the messages she's scattered in her wake

‘miss your mint oreos <3’ and ‘i can’t believe you still listen to dubstep’

‘lilith sucks my dick’

this time, ava has a plan. she takes out her sharpie, writing in big broad strokes. the parachute ripples in the wind, trying to tug out from under her.

when she’s finished, she wraps the whole thing up into a careful ball and sticks it into her backpack. it’s bea’s - plain and black and mended in a couple of places. she stitches like a pro.

ava carries it up as high as she can climb, to a cliff with an old tori gate or something sticking out at the end. there’s a view from here down through forest, all the way to the ocean.

she smooths out the parachute, careful not to let it catch the wind. kneels down with it and presses her lips against the fabric, “please let her see this.”

and then, holding one side of the gate for support, legs sore and shaky from the climb, ava casts her line out over the island.

the strings whistle through her hands as she stands, waiting until she feel the ghost of an enormous tug before letting the little blocks of wood on the end fall through her hands. they’re not heavy, but they’re enough.

the parachute holds shape, whipping out over the forest, showing its message huge and bright against the morning sky.

hey bea, it reads. i’m alive