#pick me up in those gauntlets and crush me

[thatguyisdrowning]

screaming crying kicking my feet smirking snirking giggling and goggling going absolutely bonkers beserk for vi in uniform

[adhd-fandom-hyperfocus]

✧₊⁺ Gentle ✧₊⁺

Pairing: None

Arthur's Note: All the chatter about Primarchs and Astartes with babies got to me. Raserei was a father before he got locked in stasis and purged from the records. Before his home world and kingdom were destroyed. Father was the only title he held that he held deeply and cared about the most.

Summary: Some unassigned Primaris marines find an abandoned baby and look to the primarch leading them for help.

Warnings: General Grimdarkness. Proofread? Never heard of her

Tagging those who I saw all over my dash about this: @beckyninja @jaghatai-khock @cosmic-cryptid-from-beyond

★。------ ＼｜／------。★

The cry was shrill and like a desperate wail. The astartes quickly halted their move through the rubble and began to search for the small survivor who was desperately trying to make sure it was heard.

And thre under some rubble safe in it's mother's lasting embrace was a small babe, screaming for a mother who could no longer care for it as she gave herself to save them. There was a quiet, "oh no" from the Primaris who found the babe.

"Over here and don't be too loud." he said calmly.

His brothers made their way over and saw the answer for why they needed to be mindful of their voices. They didn't need to know anything about babies to understand that smaller often meant weaker. There was no telling what their booming voices could do to something so tiny. Throne it was so small.

"What...do we do? Emperor's mercy?" one asked.

The one who found the babe glared at his brother through his helm, "Are you insane, brother? Did you not hear what our lord with us did to a Black Templar for doing that? Rather fight Daemon Lords."

"Right, but how do we move it and stop it from crying? It's so tiny. Throne it can fit in my whole hand!" another said.

The founder of the babe sighed, "Do any of us here know how to pick up a child?"

They all looked around at each other bewildered, they knew many things when it came to violence and warfare, but how to pick a small baby up and not crush it? Well, it seemed the Codex Astartes didn't cover everything.

"How hard can it be? Just got to be gentle right?" the one who originally asked if they should end the babe's suffering figured.

"Longarson you are an idiot. How gentle, look at it! Throne what if crush it on accident, that would be worse."

"Can't be worse than screaming to death like it is now."

The three fell silent once again, before the finder spoke, "Emperor preserve us we are astartes! We got this, just need to bend down and do it. Easy."

"You got this Ulric." Longarson encouraged.

Ulric slowly knelt down and with care moved the mother's body away, the whole time uttering how small the baby was, and nothing should be this small. Why were human babies so small?! And over and over reminding himself to be gentle, and it wasn't going to be that hard.

The moment his cold gauntlet touched the babe, it wailed harder causing UIric to recoil and straighten up like he'd seen a ruinous god.

"Shit, I think I hurt it!"

"You barely touched it! If that hurt how do we move it?" the third asked now worried.

Before they could continue a massive gauntleted hand was on Ulric's shoulder, and the unmistakable aura of a primarch was upon them.

"Watch out, I got it." Raserei said calmly, allowing his adopted sons to move so he could kneel down.

The primarch smiled sadly at the babe, "Hey little one, I know you're scared and looking for momma," with ease and care he scooped the babe up and cradled it close, "I'm sorry momma can't be here, and my armor is so cold too." he spoke so softly to the little one.

How he made it look so easy, so natural. Was this the power all primarchs had? The babe was even slowly calming back down, being lulled by the cadence of Raserei's speaking and tone.

"Come we need to get back to our safe zone and the other survivors, maybe a woman there can help feed this one. They are tired and hungry." Raserei said, his gaze not leaving the babe in his arms.

It had been too long since he cradled a child. He missed it dearly. Holding his own children, cradling his nieces and nephews.

"We cannot feed them, My Lord?" Lonarson asked with clear confusion.

Raserei began to walk, snorting and holding in the bellowing laugh he wanted to let out, "Do you they really teach you Astartes nothing but war?" before they could answer he continued, "No, we do not have the means to in many ways. But in regards to which I speak now, none of us here have the...parts. Unless there is something they do to you I am not aware of."

His adopted sons looked at each other lost, and Raserei sighed, "I will explain back at the safe zone."

The Astartes keep looking at the babe as they move, still going on about how small they were and how easy Raserei made it look. Lamenting they couldn't hold the baby, and how holding one would make them look bigger, stronger even. Also would look good for the civilians.

"Lord, when we get back...can you show us?" Ulric asked.

Raserei had an idea of what he meant, it was such an innocent question to come from such a hulking figure. It pained him, but also brought him joy.

"I can, but the little one might want to sleep, and we do not want to overdo it with them, yes?" Raserei explained.

"They will need a place to rest then. They can stay with me." the third Astartes chimed in.

"Thorne it is. I will rest with me. I shall hold it with great care and guard it." Ulric snapped.

"Brother you couldn't even pick it up earlier." Longarson pointed out

"But I'm going to learn." he pointed out.

Longnar snorted, "Assuming after I learn I let either of you two hold them."

Raserei rolled his eyes under his helm and looked back down at the babe, "What are we going to do with them? Hm? Never thought I would be teaching grown men these things...guess I'm a father again after all."

[egittae]

Celebrating TOA and the people who contribute to make our group what it is.

Repost, don't reblog. Only fill in what you feel comfortable sharing!

Happy anniversary, TOA! Here's to many more years spent together.

Name: Dewa/Dewba

Pronouns: She/Her

Birthday (no year): October 2nd, same as Rua!

Where are you from? What is your time zone? France, CEST

How long is your roleplay experience? I always say 10+ because I sincerely have no idea anymore just A Long Time

How were you introduced to roleplaying as a whole? My Little Pony OC roleplay with my DeviantArt friends in Join.me art streams

How were you introduced to TOA? An ex-member kept talking about it to me until one day I decided to give it a go!

Do you have any pets? Two cockatiels!

What is your favorite time of year and why? (Season, holiday, general period) Winter...I love winter. I love snow.

What is your IRL occupation? I'm a design + marketing master student with focus on the luxury industry! I'm also a freelance artist.

Some interests and things you like/enjoy? Sports, building scale models, drawing

What non-Fire Emblem games do you play? Pokemon, Metal Gear, Megaman

Favorite Pokemon type & Pokemon: Flying type. I love Cutiefly.

Tell us some funfacts and trivia about yourself! (Optional bonus challenge: if you filled this out last year, try not to repeat what you said back then!) My work was personally acknowledged by Hideo Kojima, and I was an advanced-level figure skater for 6 years doing public skating shows.

How did you get into Fire Emblem? Marth and Ike in Super Smash Bros Brawl was my first exposition to FE 😔 THO what got me into FE was 3H

What Fire Emblem games have you played? :) FE Warriors: Three Hopes and FEH EZGNFXGN

First & Favorite Fire Emblem games: Just 3H for all options

List your 5 favorite Fire Emblem characters across the series! Dimitri, Constance, Dedue, Idunn, Lambert

Who was the first character ever to make you go “ooh I like this one in particular” and why? Can be any context and reason! Ingrid, actually! She was the first character in 3H who actually caught my eye, both because I find her design very pretty and because I liked the serious knight girl + pegasus rider combo.

Any Fire Emblem crushes? 😳 Mycen. I won't elaborate.

If you’ve played (or are familiar with) the following games, who was your first S support? Who would you S support nowadays? Three Houses Hopes: Ingrid

Favorite Fire Emblem class? Pegasus Knight!

If you were a Fire Emblem character, what would be your class and stats? Would you be playable? After a bizarre chat with some friends I realized that my full IRL name's meaning literally translates to "cavalier messenger angel of the fortress" so I guess I'm your good ol' Pegasus Knight recruit who's a light magic user

If you were a Three Houses character, what would be your affiliation? (Black Eagles, Blue Lions, Golden Deer, Church of Seiros, Those Who Slither in the Dark, unaffiliated civilian, other - for example Almyran) What I want? Blue Lions. Realistically? Church of Seiros, considering my track record with being under religious learning institutions.

If you were an Officers Academy student, what would be your boons, banes and potential budding talent? Boon: Flying, Authority Budding talent: Faith Banes: Gauntlets, Heavy Armor

If you were an Engage character, which nation would you originate from? (Firene, the Kingdom of Abundance; Brodia, the Kingdom of Might; Elusia, the Kingdom of Knowledge; Solm, the Queendom of Freedom; Lythos, the holy land of the Divine Dragon; Gradlon, the desolate land of the Fell Dragon) What I want? Brodia. Realistically? I am brazilian. So I would be the brazilian equivalent of Elyos, aka Solm. Come to Solm.

How do you pronounce TOA? 🤔(separate letters, to-ah, other?) Toe

Current TOA muses: Lambert and Sylvain!

Past TOA muses? Dimitri, Seteth, Hapi, Idunn, M!Byleth, Percy

Who was your first TOA muse? If you no longer have them, can you see yourself picking them up again? Dimitri! Honestly, right now nope! Not only he'd clash with the fact I'm already playing Lambert, but he's also receiving much well deserved love from another mun right now. I'm happy like this!

Do you believe you have a type of character you gravitate towards writing? (If you filled this out last year, has this changed in any way?) Anything that's from Fódlan, good people who have gone through hell and haven't even begun their road to recovery, lil weirdos.

Do you have characters or types of characters you don’t think you can handle writing, but wish you could? Smart characters. Because I'm not smart. Also characters who are canonly very verbose and have very flowery language, I don't have the vocabulary to make it seem natural.

What kind of scenes, situations etc do you believe you enjoy writing the most? (If you filled this out last year, has this changed in any way?) I have no idea honestly....whatever brings joy at the moment.

Do you have any scenario in mind for your muse(s) that gets you thinking “man I hope I get to write this one day”? Lambert in his full kingly glory (softsmile), Sylvain showcasing his true, raw self to someone.

Favorite TOA-related memories? Byleth losing HP while fighting a fish with Arden's Frederick in order to impress fishermen, breaking his hand on a table, and then getting kicked in the nuts. All in the same event.

Present or past tense? I don't really keep track of this at all actually oops- past I suppose?

Normal size text, small text, no preference? I default to normal size.

Got any potential muse delusions to share? 😉 Mila. And every time I open 3Hopes I get Annette flashbangs. But mostly Mila.

[yukyunotabibito]

Celebrating TOA and the people who contribute to make our group what it is.

Repost, don't reblog. Only fill in what you feel comfortable sharing!

Happy anniversary, TOA! Here's to many more years spent together.

From neffi <3

Name: Vergil

Pronouns: She/He/They

Birthday (no year): November 14th

Where are you from? What is your time zone? I'm from the Midwest (America), but my current timezone is PST

How long is your roleplay experience? 'Bout two and half years total I think? If tumblr RP

How were you introduced to roleplaying as a whole? Does warrior cats on the playground count?

How were you introduced to TOA? Stalked the twitter for like a year

-

Do you have any pets? I have a cat back home, but she's not with me at college

What is your favorite time of year and why? (Season, holiday, general period) Fall! Because it has my birthday :3

What is your IRL occupation? Student <3

Some interests and things you like/enjoy? Well isn't this embarrassing. My current obsession is 2ha/Erha

What non-Fire Emblem games do you play? Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, Elden Ring, Persona, Ensemble Stars, etc.

Favorite Pokemon type & Pokemon: Dragon! Appletun <3

Tell us some funfacts and trivia about yourself! I'm a marine biology major!

-

How did you get into Fire Emblem? A friend of mine introduced it to me in 6th grade and like any autistic child I immediately got completely obssessed

What Fire Emblem games have you played? (In order of the number), Blazing Blade, Path of Radiance, Radiant Dawn, Awakening, Fates, Three Houses, Engage

First & Favorite Fire Emblem games: First was Fates. Current favourite is Radiant Dawn I think.

List your 5 favorite Fire Emblem characters across the series! Nasir, Kurthnaga, M!Corrin, Erk, and Zephia

Who was the first character ever to make you go “ooh I like this one in particular” and why? Can be any context and reason!

Any Fire Emblem crushes? 😳Camilla. Any hot woman in general, so most of them. Vaguely Nasir.

If you’ve played (or are familiar with) the following games, who was your first S support? Who would you S support nowadays? - Awakening: First was Chrom. IDK now. - Fates: First was Jakob. Mozu now. - Three Houses: First was Claude. Yuri now. - Engage: First was Alfred (Male Alear). IDK now.

Favorite Fire Emblem class? Kinshi Knight!

If you were a Fire Emblem character, what would be your class and stats? Would you be playable? Random village NPC #12

If you were a Three Houses character, what would be your affiliation? (Black Eagles, Blue Lions, Golden Deer, Church of Seiros, Those Who Slither in the Dark, unaffiliated civilian, other - for example Almyran) Black Eagles

If you were an Officers Academy student, what would be your boons, banes and potential budding talent? Boon: reason, bane: gauntlet, budding talent: bow

If you were an Engage character, which nation would you originate from? (Firene, the Kingdom of Abundance; Brodia, the Kingdom of Might; Elusia, the Kingdom of Knowledge; Solm, the Queendom of Freedom; Lythos, the holy land of the Divine Dragon; Gradlon, the desolate land of the Fell Dragon) Elusia

-

How do you pronounce TOA? 🤔(separate letters, to-ah, other?) As the letters, so Tee-oh-ay

Current TOA muses: Kurthnaga, Nasir, and Zihark!

Past TOA muses? (In no particular order) Velouria, Anankos, Izana, Cadros, F!Morgan, Forrest, M!Corrin, Cadros, Erk (am I forgetting anybody???)

Who was your first TOA muse? If you no longer have them, can you see yourself picking them up again? Velouria. No, I don't think I can see myself picking her up again at this current point.

Do you believe you have a type of character you gravitate towards writing? (If you filled this out last year, has this changed in any way?) I don't even know anymore. Zihark has confused me. #Girl send help.

Do you have characters or types of characters you don’t think you can handle writing, but wish you could? God. If a man could dream.

What kind of scenes, situations etc do you believe you enjoy writing the most? (If you filled this out last year, has this changed in any way?) Emotional drama :3

Do you have any scenario in mind for your muse(s) that gets you thinking “man I hope I get to write this one day”? Hm... I'm not sure

Favorite TOA-related memories? Dollhouse.

Present or past tense? Past? I think?

Normal size text, small text, no preference? Normal please wah wah wah

Got any potential muse delusions to share? 😉Under the right circumstances Yukimura could happen. But I don't that will be any time soon if ever

[gravekeeper-anna]

You tend to your ‘garden’ plot by plot, and row by row, always giving to those around you and never taking for yourself. If I could grant you one wish, what would it be?

"How sweet of you to notice," the Gravekeeper lilted to the sound of the voice on the errant breeze, too ready to converse with the Nameless. It was not strange to find this one indistinguished from others in her world. "If you know me, dearest, you'll know quite well that death gives its own little gifts where the living don't have a need anymore. But...yes, what ifs as they are...let's see..."

The Keeper clenched her gauntlets as she mused, raising them up to view as she mused. "This body serves well enough, quite thankful really for the strength to do what I do. But...for what my hands have in strength, doesn't quite match to hm, deftness. I'm as like to crush a deathbloom as I am to pick it. Can't even begin to tell you how many teacups I've just made a mess." She tutted, a strange, echoed sound in the metallic chambers of her throat.

A gauntlet was removed, revealing a full hand, pale yet cold and cemented in its gesture, like marble. "Once I had an artist's hands. An artist's hands are delicate, sensitive. They have to be to feel the grooves and patterns of sculpture, or measure the right weight to apply to a petal. Or to draw a continous line, or so delicately shade on paper. I'd wish for hands that could serve me so well."

The Gravekeeper glanced down at the scuttling animated hand that scouted ahead at the valley before her. "But until then, Mr. Clancy will just have to do," she intoned with a little mirth, and continued her night march.

[pudgecuddles]

WOLF JOON WOLF JOON WOLF JOON WOLF JOON

Sexy- werewolf joon with a fat gut. Wolfie with a biiig crush. Fucking Jungkook into the mossy ground with his fatty belly resting on him. Growling and licking him. Greedily inhaling his scent. Trying to bite at his shoulder because mmmmmh- Jungkook would make a VERY good mate. Alpha wolf cock and fucking him until his belly bloats with cum. Protective. Wraps his thick fat arms around Jungkook from behind when someone else gets too close. Maybe accidentally calls Jungkook is Omega once during a rut.

Begging for pets when he's being soft. Nothing compares to Jungkook's hands in his hair and gently scratching at his ears... it makes his tail wag-

Okay, a) I love this. b) you inspired me and c) I'm sorry, but I didn't quite write what you asked for ^_^; Either way, this is for you Anon.

*This is the first of potentially many BTS Skyrim WG AU one-shots. I think I'll call it:

Good Boy’s Eat Well…

“Aw come on, Jungkookie.” Namjoon whined, sounding too much like an actual dog for comfort. “It’s almost the full moon, we gotta take advantage of it. You know I’ll be good for you right? We just gotta let me take it out on those blasted Silver Hand and I’ll be good.”

It was true, Jungkook thought. Not only had Namjoon proven that given the right outlet for his wolf spirit’s aggressive tendencies, he was a rather sweet werewolf around Jungkook. That and the den of Silver Hand, a glorified group of werewolf hunting bandits, had taken up residence too close to Lake View Manor, their home, for comfort.

“Okaaaaaay…” Jungkook groaned, before taking another sip of his mead. He’d just gotten back from clearing out a Dragur nest, catacombs of the undead Nordic warriors of old, with Hoseok yesterday and wanted some down time with his lovers before heading out on another quest. “But as soon as they're gone we come back okay? No camping.”

“No camping.” Namjoon swore, crossing his heart. His eyes shown silver in the firelight, proof of his lycanthropy. A “gift” from the Daedric Prince Hircine. It was curable, but Namjoon didn’t view it as a curse like other Nords did. He liked being able to hear Jungkook’s heart beat, the rush of his dragon blood, the scent of his musk after a long hard battle…

-

A long hard battle it was.

Apparently, they had let the Silver Hand fester longer than they should have because their camp was larger and more established than it had any right being. It took the two of them four hours to clear them all out. And by ‘clear them all out’ Jungkook meant kill without mercy.

Jungkook put on his large, sharp gauntlets and proceeded to rip out throats and crush skulls with his unarmed expertise. Namjoon heaved his massive two handed battle axe and slashed through anyone that got in his way.

At one point, Jungkook was cornered. Five Silver Hand, including their leader, lead Jungkook into a corner. Enchanted Ebony Gauntlets up, Jungkook blocked hit after heavy hit. With no other choice, Jungkook readied himself to Shout, an ability granted to those with the soul of a dragon, to push them back and give him some room to start picking them off. But before he could even inhale enough, he heard a soul freezing howl.

Namjoon had seen his lover get cornered, seen him take hit after hit, seen the slight panic in his big brown eyes.

Smelt his fear.

Without warning, his wolf spirit took over. His hands spasmed as he howled, dropping his beloved battle axe as he struggled to unhook his armor. He was about to grow twice his already quite large size, and needed these off asap.

Luckily he commissioned this armor set to have quick release hooks. Panicked, he flicked all the hooks back and his armor dropped to the dirt floor. Just in time too, as he felt the prickling of fur growing and muscle tissues connected. Dropping onto all fours he thrashed in irritation as the beast took over.

To his opponent's credit, the Silver Hand only hesitated for a few seconds before lifting his silver sword back up and charging-

Only for Namjoon’s long, dark lycanthrope fingers to catch said blade in one hand. The sharpened silver cut easily into his thick palm, but he didn’t care about the burning, holy pain. All he cared about was getting to Jungkook and teaching these milk-drinkers not to mess with his mate.

Slashing through the man before him, Namjoon ignored the fresh blood-scent and bounded over to the overwhelmed Jungkook. Namjoon tackled the Silver Hand closest to himself and ripped out his throat with his teeth. Turning to the next man, Namjoon slashed his belly open, entrails spilling out and onto the dirt floor.

Now aware of him, the now leaderless Silver Hand surrounding Jungkook turned their attention towards the bigger threat.

The much bigger threat.

Namjoon towered over the Silver Hand, and with only one swing of his claws slashed the face off of one of them. The man’s jaw splat wetly on the ground, tongue coming off with it. The man choked on his own blood and ran off only to trip over their camp fire and light his furs on fire.

Good. Namjoon and the beast spirit thought in unison.

The rest of the fight was a red tinged blur to Namjoon as he near fully let the beast spirit take over. Soon enough all of the Silver Hand were dead, and all that was left were Jungkook and Namjoon.

Falling to his furry knees, to be closer to Jungkook in height, Namjoon warbled at his mate. Asking if he was okay. Shoving his snout into Jungkook’s chest, Namjoon nuzzled intently.

“Geez, J-Joon!” Jungkook sputtered, physically pushed back by Namjoon’s prodding. “I absolutely had them! You didn’t need to shift for me…” Unlike rumors liked to portray, werewolves didn’t uncontrollably shift during the full moon, the wolf spirit was just stronger than usual. Hence why Namjoon almost singlehandedly took down a den of Silver Hands where normally he would struggle just as much if not more so than Jungkook.

Namjoon turned his face to the side an snorted, as if to say “Of course you did…”.

Jungkook slapped his dark, furry shoulder in protest. “I did too! I was just about to Shout at them! You totally took my quarry from me! Ugh anyway-,” Jungkook took a look around the final room they found themselves in. “There looks like there's a bunch of stuff here we can take home or sell. I’ll gather up the silver weapons if you sniff around for a healing potion. Don’t think I didn’t see that cut of yours!”

Namjoon grumbled, his beast spirit was angry that his mate didn’t appreciate Namjoon saving him, but Namjoon logically knew that Jungkook loved a good fight better than anyone he knew, and he just took one from him. He couldn’t help it though! It was the full moon and he barely was able to control the shift, even infront of Jungkook. How could he not run in and ‘save’ his beloved?!

Jungkook gave him a quick scratch behind the ear, a sign that he wasn’t really mad at him and left to go loot the corpses. Namjoon himself took to sniffing around for the distinctive scent of wheat or blue mountain flower, the most common ingredients in your average healing potion.

Instead however, all he could pick up was the smell of blood.

Blood, blood, blood.

Some of it still barely pumping.

Some of it pooling in the dirt.

All of it, delectable, straight from the heart.

Noticeing Namjoon sniffing around the ripped open torso of a Silver Hand a little too intently, Jungkook called out, “You can go ahead, Namjoon. You’ve probably still got an hour left as a beast, might as well make it the night.”

Werewolves ate the hearts of their enemies to grow stronger.

The more they ate in one sitting, the longer the transformation that day would last. Usually one would turn back after a couple hours, however if they ate a few hearts of man, the transformation would last much longer.

If Namjoon were to eat each heart in this final room, he’d likely remain as a beast the rest of the night, like Jungkook estimated.

Namjoon got to work.

Unlike many blessed by Hircine, the Daedric Prince of The Hunt, Namjoon didn’t hate being a werewolf. In fact, he rather liked it. Many wished for the day they could finally kill their beastly alter ego and free themselves of their fate, but Namjoon got along quite well with his own beast spirit.

It was how he got to know Jungkook after all.

With one great hand slash paw, Namjoon ripped out the delicate little heart from the body of a dead Silver Hand. Shoving it in his mouth and biting down, he let the juices flow down his throat. Mmm, the blood of his enemies once more entering his body. Making him stronger.

Several moments go by. Jungkook had piled up all the discarded weapons in the middle of the room and was working on organizing them in his enchanted pockets for easy carrying. He watched as Namjoon snuffled around the bodies of the dead and munched on their useless hearts. Jungkook watched as soon enough, all of the bodies had been riffled through (he saw Namjoon find and knock back a red potion bottle at some point, fixing his hand) and all hearts were gone.

Namjoon’s face was stained darker than it already was with blood, and he growled lowly.

Wait no…

That wasn’t Namjoon's normal growl.

Was that his stomach?

Namjoon looked startled by his own belly growling at him. What? He’d just eaten like, twelve human hearts! What more could he want?!

Looking down at the body in front of him however, Namjoon was tempted. The temptation has always been there, but now it was even more so. Now that it was the full moon and he wasn’t fighting.

Jungkook had never considered fattening up Namjoon, not like he had with Taehyung or Yoongi. Not even like he did with his poor, long suffering Steward, Jin. He always considered Namjoon to be like Hoseok, fit and ready for a fight (or in Hoseok’s case, flight). Not… thick and wobbly like the others.

But the thought of it now, of Namjoon eating more than usual, more often, of letting him slowly blow up… The idea was addictive.

“I wont judge, you know.” Jungkook tried to say neutrally, hiding his excitement. “You can have more if you want…”

Namjoon’s head cocked to the side, as if asking if it was really okay.

“Yes, I don’t care.” Jungkook chuckled. “I literally have the soul of a dragon, I’m the last one to judge animalistic tendencies. Go wild.”

With his moral permission, Namjoon did indeed, go wild.

-

The crackle of the campfire Jungkook put together outside of the bandit’s hide out sung it’s sweet song as he pet Namjoon’s bulging belly. A dull, rhythmic thump interrupted the still air as Namjoon’s tail wagged.

A luna moth fluttered past them through the crowd of torchbugs. It must be nearing ten or eleven at night.

Namjoon groaned lightly, this being technically his first stuffing. One of possibly many more to come.

“How is it?” Jungkook asked, despite knowing it would be hard for Namjoon to give an answer as he was still transformed. “How is it being so full for the first time?”

He rubbed a little harder into the werewolf’s bloat, unleashing a loud moaning whine from the beast cuddled up next to him.

Namjoon wished he could tell Jungkook all about what the sensation of being this full did to him. How large and powerful he felt, how meek and delicate he was. The juxtaposition of being both strong and vulnerable was addictive. In the past, he never understood Jungkook’s relationship with Taehyung, how they were okay with and even seemed to enjoy Taehyung growing to such a massive size. Or even the rumors he heard about Jungkook and the Thief Prince Yoongi, about how the vampire was now quite plump. Or how Jungkook tricked his steward Jin into drinking ale mixed with a potion that made him chubby around the middle and leaky from the top.

All of this used to be so weird to him, how all these men could let themselves go like that, keep themselves fat. All for Jungkook. How Jungkook could like it, even.

But now, with the unarmed fighter’s warm calloused hands rubbing into his fuzzy belly, the small burps he elicited from him, Namjoon finally felt like he understood. He understood the need to please, with each flattering term that left Jungkook's mouth. How he seemed so into it, more so than any other time they had been together.

Jungkook really liked them round, didn’t he?

And Namjoon was really starting to like being round…

“That’s a good boy, just let it out.” Jungkook cooed after a particularly nasty burp. The smell of flesh on the breath of a werewolf wasn’t as nice as when Taehyung ate too many lavender honey dumplings and happened to belch. “That just means your belly is working on turning all your enemies into full, fresh fat. Imagine, being bigger than you are now, rounder, stronger, more intimidating.”

He did, he did imagine that. Having to let out his armor, or even get a new set all together due to his expanding waistline. Being able to eat more, drink more, take up more space.

He loved the thought of it.

“Good boy’s eat well…”

-

Morning light trickled into the large leather tent that Jungkook set up, their campfire didn’t last the night, now just white hot coals.

Namjoon groaned in his human voice as he sat up, squinting. Distant splashing told him that Jungkook had left to wash up before breakfast.

A cooking pot sat on the hot coals, warming up water for tea. A hunk of bread and cheese with salmon jerky sat on the bedroll next to Namjoon.

Despite having just eaten… several people yesterday, Namjoon’s stomach growled at the thoughtful gesture from Jungkook. Quickly he ate his share, desperate for more of that full sensation he had the night before. He didn’t get it.

Namjoon smelled a clean Jungkook making his way over from the small lake he spotted on their map the other day. “Dear one?” He called out. “About last night… I uh-”

Jungkook came tromping into view, clean shaven and bright smelling. “I’m sorry!” Jungkook interrupted, a bright red color on his face.

“What?”

“I knew that you might regret what I made you do but I did it anyway cause it was late and I was horny and watching you eat so much was so hot and-” Jungkook stumbled over his words, pacing, a pained expression on his face.

“Kookie!” Namjoon had to nearly shout to get his attention. “I don’t mind it at all.”

“You don’t?” Jungkook paused his pacing.

“No!” Namjoon chuckled, dimples showing. “I actually kinda wanna do it again. Well, maybe with people food this time. Human bodies taste good to the beast spirit, but not to me.” He stuck his tongue out.

“Oh thank god, I thought you hated me.”

“Hated you?” Namjoon’s eyebrows shot up. “Rabbit, I could never hate you! Where on earth did you get that idea?!”

“I dunno,” Jungkook plopped down next to Namjoon’s bedroll, and pulled his own wooden plate of breakfast onto his lap. “I just second guess what I’m doing to my friends and lovers sometimes. You know? Fattening them up on purpose? It’s funny when it’s Jin and hot when it’s Taehyung, but Yoongi doesn’t have a choice now. I know he doesn’t care, because he would have told me if he did, but you! You, Namjoon, you’re too sweet to me. You’d do anything I ask of you. You wouldn’t even hint that you didn’t like it, just to avoid hurting my feelings.”

“Jungkook…” Namjoon couldn’t disagree. He really would do anything Jungkook asked of him.

“I know it’s not good to doubt Sanguine,” the Daedric Prince of Hedonism of whom Jungkook has pledged his soul to, “But I value my relationships and don’t want people to resent me.”

Namjoon took the plate off of Jungkook’s lap, and pulled the slightly smaller man onto his own, mindful of his still bloated belly.

“Can I try something?” Namjoon smiled at him.

“...Sure?”

Namjoon grabbed part of Jungkook’s breakfast, a thick wedge of cheese, and brought it up to the other man’s lips.

“Oh.” Jungkook stared wide eyed at the slice, before opening his mouth and allowing the larger man to slide part of it in. He bit down and chewed, savoring the taste of goat cheese.

He could get used to this.

“See, now we’re even.” Namjoon smirked.

Jungkook adjusted himself so that he was now straddling the bigger man, pelvis pressed juicily up against the hard, warm bloat from yesterday. “Not yet I don’t think.” He had never been stuffed or even hand fed before, this was new and delicious to Jungkook.

Namjoon chuckled lightly, “As you wish.”

-

Three minutes and several food items later, Jungkook’s face was flushed and Namjoon had a smug smile on his face. He had fed Jungkook all of his breakfast, and even some of their dry rations.

(It wasn’t an issue using them up since they were only a three hour hike from Lake View Manor, and could restock when they got back home.)

“Th-That was…” Jungkook gasped as Namjoon placed open-mouthed kisses on the pulse of his neck. “That was nice.”

“Hmm,” Namjoon hummed glancing up at Jungkook. “Just nice?”

“Maybe a bit more than nuh-ICE!” Jungkook yelped as Namjoon nipped at his throat with his sharper than average teeth, growling lightly. “Okay! Okay! I fucking loved it, you absolute hound! Now get offa me, we’ve got ground to cover and meals to digest.”

Namjoon scooted Jungkook off of his lap and stood, attempting to put his armor back on…

Except, he couldn’t buckle the chest plate.

“Jungkook…” Namjoon whined, struggling to pull together the Nordic carved steel. “It wont fit.”

Turning around and seeing his mate struggle to wear his own damned armor was incredibly hot. Jungkook blushed bright red, imagining a very fat Namjoon in his mate’s place, doing the same thing.

Get it together, Dragonborn…

“Oh, uhm… Here, let me-” Jungkook gestured for Namjoon to put away his armor before he held up his right hand and placed it on Namjoon’s clothed chest. “Spaan Slen!”

Namjoon’s skin began to shimmer a light turquoise as the modified Alteration spell took effect. “Woah! That tingles...”

“There, that should last a couple hours. Lemme know when the tingling fades and I’ll recast it.” Jungkook nodded at the spell well cast. He was talented in all schools of magick, but didn’t find it as satisfying in battle as punching someone’s lights out was. “This should be the equivalent protection of that chest plate, give or take a few hits.”

“Thanks, Rabbit.” Namjoon gave Jungkook an obnoxious smooch right on the lips.

“Yeah, yeah, Mutt.” Jungkook rolled his eyes, but smooched back anyways. “Lets get moving, I told Jin we’d be back by yesterday. Knowing him, he’s probably worked himself up into a tizzy by now.”

“But you love it when he stress eats.” Namjoon winked as he rolled up their tent and shoved it into his enchanted fur backpack.

“Well-” Jungkook blushed a bit. “Yeah, but still. I promised yesterday and here we are, a day late.”

“Okay, okay. Lets get going.”

Jungkook finished putting away their camp by dousing the coals of their campfire. He ran up to Namjoon and flicked his clothed pec, “Race you there fatty.”

“Hey!” Namjoon rubbed at his abused chest as Jungkook jogged ahead of him, Shouting “Wuld!”, turning him into a blur as his Voice made sprinting easier. “I’m not even fat yet!”

The yet was purposefully stated.

Jungkook pretended that he didn’t hear that, also ignoring the part of him that wondered how much slower he would be if he was fatter too…

Oh well, Jungkook thought as Namjoon tapped into his inhuman speed to catch up to him. We’ll find out soon enough.

[dynamightgod]

Nothing Else Matters

Pairing: Bakugou x Reader

Warnings: soft, fem reader, fluffy, nervous Bakugou, crushes, Bakugou is whipped

Summary: After an interview for Pro Hero Mag, Bakugou reflects in his office on his humble beginnings with his wife.

"I like it, hey baby, I like it, oh sugar, I like it pretty baby give it all to me, I like the way you wear your hair, I like the stylish clothes you wear, the way you kiss me, I feel gone, give me all your loving all night long."

-I like by Guy

"You shouldn't have answered that last question like that!" Mine, Bakugou's assistant ranted in his ear, even through the phone her shrill voice made him roll his eyes. He slams his keys down on his desk, holding the phone between his ear and shoulder as he shucks off his gauntlets and hero gear. 

" 'm not gonna lie Mine. They asked me about my greatest accomplishment and I told them." 

"But your fans want to hear about your accomplishments as a hero, they already aren't very fond of your wife-"

"The fangirls. And for the record, my real fans love my wife. So they'll be happy as hell with my answer. I'm not changing it and if you cut it ill post a video of me fucking her to prove my point." He ends the call just before he can physically hear her blood boiling. 

Katsuki Bakugou, number one hero and heart throb to the world. But as he sits down at his desk and picks up his phone, there's only one person he wants to talk to. 

He's tired and overworked and you're in America doing press with Charge bolt as you're one of his favorite designers(he actually set you up with Katsuki, a debt he never let the explosion hero forget) you were due back in two days but after the interview and the fight with Mine, he needs you. He needs just you.

You pick up on the third ring, yawning softly, he can hear the sheets of the bed you're in rustling as you stretch. He wishes he could join you. 

"Kat? It's late here honey, are you okay?" He can hear the worry in your sleep laced voice. God he hates how his stomach still flips just from your voice again. He let's out a soft whine, in turn making you coo and shush him softly. Something is bugging him, you can tell, but ever patient you wait for his lead. 

"I'm fine…..I just….I wanna hear you tell me again." His voice cracks softly. "Tell me about the night we met." You chuckled, this was his go to for reassurance. He could never hear your side of the story enough and quite frankly you loved your love story as much as he did. 

"Well Denki set us up together. It was a double date with him and Jirou and you and me." Bakugou smiled, relaxing under the lull of your voice. "You looked so nervous," you giggle through the phone causing him to break into an uncharacteristic grin that was reserved for only you. "Your eyes practically bulged when you saw me. I watched you do a double take." Katsuki chuckled, leaning back in his chair and running a hand through his hair. 

"You've always been so incredibly sexy. I couldn't take my eyes off you." He hums, a light blush painting his cheeks as he thinks about the first time he met you. "It was that black dress, spaghetti straps with the open back and the slit up the side. You carried that super small purse and I remember thinking how stupid it was cuz you couldn't fit anything in it." He grinned when he heard you laugh through the phone. "Those heels, the strappy ones that wound around your ankles and tied in the back….you were irresistible. It was over for me right then." He says the last part quietly, something he would admit only to you. He conjured that image of you to his mind, heart racing and blood rising to his cheeks as he thought about your smile, the way you moved, how soft your lips were when he pecked you good night. God he had been so embarrassing. 

"I thought you didn't like me. You were so nervous remember?" He grunts in confirmation. 

"I said 'lunch' hoping you would get that I wanted to buy you lunch the next day because I knew I had to see you again. I needed to-"

"Katsuki do you know when I knew you were the one for me?" You interrupt him. You had never explicitly told him the moment, though he always said it was at first sight for him. He knew it had taken you some time to adjust to him and get to know him, but he had never really asked about this. Not until now. Too content with the fact that you wanted him just as much as he loved you. 

"N….no."

"We had been dating casually for a couple weeks. After the dinner party. I had texted you before my first flight to London for the Pro Hero Fall Fashion Show." He remembers that day well. He went to see you, not content with letting you go and not saying good bye first. "You came to the airport, no security, no press, dressed like normal, people were shocked because you didn't even try to hide who you were, you just kept moving." He smiles remembering the ass chewing he got for the stunt from his team later. "You brought me flowers and kissed my cheek and told me to have a safe flight…..it was so normal. As though we had been doing that for years and would do it for the rest of our lives…..that moment was when I knew I couldn't live without you." 

Bakugou takes a deep breath, his heart clenching in his chest. 

"Baby I just want to hold you. I miss you so much. It's like I'm not living. Not really when you're gone." 

"I know love, but it's only two more days and I'll be home."

"And you're fucking staying. You promised. No out of the country trips for the rest of the year. We got….things….to do." He waits for it to click for you and when it does he laughs at the sound of you thrashing and throwing yourself around with excitement. 

"I can't wait to get started. I'd love to have a little boy that looks just like you. A mini Katsuki!" 

"Baby ill be happy with whatever we have as long as they come from you and they're healthy."

"I love you so much Kat." 

"I love you too baby. Go back to sleep, 'm sorry for waking you….." you yawn again, settling down in bed. "Oh one more thing before you go?" You hum, waiting for him to continue. "Watch the interview tomorrow. I want you to see it."

********

You woke up feeling empty, the call from Katsuki had put you in such a great mood that it almost felt like he was there. But as you stretched out and opened your eyes to your cold bed you're filled with sadness. But only a couple more days and then you'd be with your hero again.

Thinking of him reminds you of the interview. It should have been posted by now so you type in the link to it on your phone and sit on the edge of your hotel bed to watch it. 

It starts normally, you smile as Katsuki grumpily answers the female reporter, roll your eyes when she flirts because can she not see your name tattooed on his chest or the ring on his finger? But then it gets to the last question and a stunned, endearing emotion sweeps through you. 

"So Dynamight. The fans have a final question. What is your greatest accomplishment? What would you say that is?"

"Marrying my wife." He doesn't miss a beat or even wait for her to finish. The reporter flounders, obviously not prepared for that response. 

"Well, we mean professionally and career wise-"

"Nothing else matters." His face is set, tone flat and serious, no room for argument. He meant it and that was that. You feel yourself falling in love all over. The way this man is always about YOU. You've never been loved like he loves you. It makes you just want him all the more.

Just as you're about to turn it off and call him your phone pings, there's a new photo on his official Instagram and you immediately click on it. 

It's a picture of you. From the first night you met, you didn't even know he had this picture. He's holding you close, one hand on your waist, the other in yours as you dance. He leans close as if he's whispering to you and you're blushing and grinning. 

The caption reads: "Nothing else matters."

[prettyboykatsuki]

»» — { ♡ } —— { ♡ } —— { ♡ } — ««

 winner takes all | k. bakugou 

➳ tags ;; fluff, fem!reader

➳ wc ;; 1k

➳ a/n ;; ari stop posting fics at 2am challenge failed.

➳plot ;; you and katsuki make a bet. it doesn’t go how you hope. 

»» — { ♡ } —— { ♡ } —— { ♡ } — ««

“This is a stupid,”

You frown at him, arms crossed over your chest. Bakugou looks down at you with an unimpressed expression - not budging. His scowl deepens at your stubbornness, watching with disdain as you clasp your hands and bow your head. 

“It’s not, you’re just no fun”  you insist. 

He glares at you even harder and you flinch a little under his gaze. 

“I won’t hit a woman unless they’re heroes or villains,” he replies, smirk evident. You smack his chest. 

“Hey! I’m a hero, what the hell?” 

He sighs. You’re an idiot he thinks to himself read between the fuckin’ lines. 

He doesn’t say any of that though, simply ignores you as he brushes past and continues walking. You’re supposed to be on patrol right now - you know, being heroes like you’ve mentioned. But you’ve spent the last 30 minutes pestering Bakugou about making a bet. 

It’s simple really - if you can top him on the rankings this week (where he’s been sitting pretty at 12 for the last 3 weeks) you get to flick him as hard as you want on the forehead. It’s a childish bet, yes - but the pure joy at the thought of flicking thee Dynamight on the forehead is a good motivator. You’ve been wanting to get your ranks up anyway. 

“And anyway, you’re not really hitting me perse - it’s just a little flick on the forehead,” you remind him. You pause, giving a dramatic gasp before you cup a hand over your mouth “Surely, you’re not scared you’ll lose right?” 

Bakugou stops dead in his tracks, glowering at you. You and that shit-eating grin plastered all over your face because you know how fucking easy he is to irritate. You look around innocently, hands tucked behind your back as you walk away. 

“No no, I’m sure that’s not it, right? Our dear Dynamight would never be afraid of lil ol’ me -” 

He snatches you back to his side with the collar of hero outfit, clicking his teeth at you. You stumble back, still shocked by how strong he is. 

“Damn brat,” he huffs “Fine. You wanna be like that, I’ll do your stupid fuckin’ bet. Don’t come cryin’ to me later, yeah?” 

You jump excitedly next to him as he walks away from you, itching to catch up. Bakugou forces himself to bite down a smile opting to roll his eyes instead. 

“You’re so annoying,” 

“You love me” 

Obviously, you damn dumbass 

__ 

God, or whatever other thing resides and controls the universe, has not been on your side lately.

You and Bakugou made a deal that you had two weeks to climb the charts, plenty of time since they update almost daily. It should’ve been a piece of cake really - just pick up the slack on your work a little bit and hustle to get those points in. You know Bakugous schedule like the back of your hand and while it wouldn’t have been the easiest thing ever, it was super doable with some patience. 

It would’ve been, anyway. It would’ve been except for the fact Bakugou got himself into the sticky situation this week. 

There was a shootout on the lower east-side of town - a villain raid of a small group that the police had been apparently tailing for months but failed to catch. Not only did Bakugou take out the full, armed group - but he also broke a record for least civilians injured in a raid of that size. 

No property damage either, he quite literally set a new record and shot from 12 to number 4. It’s the highest he’s ever made it thus far. It’s literally in every single newspaper and on every story - he’s gotten about a hundred interview requests. 

You are the only other person aware of your own crushing defeat. You’re happy for him, obviously - but you can’t help but hope he’d forgotten about your silly little deal. 

Who are you kidding. Of course he didn’t. 

You chuckle nervously as you watch him take off his gauntlets and pull his mask up so it looks like a headband on him. He stretches his arms out in front of you, very dramatically practicing his flicks. 

You frown. 

“...Is all that really necessary?” 

He scoffs, flicking off some sparks from his fingertips with a cocky grin. You flinch, backing away from his. 

“Tch, ‘course it is princess. A deals a deal and I never do anything half-ass,” 

Your frown deepens as you cross your arms over your chest as Bakugou dramatically reanacts the flick. He pauses, stretching his arms over his head once more for good measure, before signaling you towards him. 

You stiffen - awkwardly shuffling towards him until you stand facing him but still too far from his reach. He narrows his eyes at you until you stand closer and closer and closer. You stop once his fingers are within flicking distance. 

He bites back a laugh. 

“You ready?” 

You brace yourself for impact, screwing your eyes tight as you nod rapidly. You can feel the presence and warmth of his hand radiating - heart racing rapidly as you become more and more nervous. Seconds start to feel like minutes as you tap your foot impatiently. 

“Cmon, cmon, cmon - d-do you’re worst damn it,” 

“You asked for it, brat” 

You suck in a sharp breath and hold it, preparing yourself for whatever comes next when you feel the softest little tap on your forehead. 

What the fuck?

Your whole faces falls, brows furrowed in confusion as your eyes snap open. Bakugou is already putting his suit back on, gauntlets and all. You wave your hand infront of his face but he doesn’t seem to react at all. 

“Hey, what the hell? What was that?” 

Bakugou sighs at your little tantrum, pausing before staring at you with his arms crossed over your chest. 

“Hurting potential romantic partners is domestic abuse, ya fuckin’ dweeb. Move before I make you move,” 

You blink owlishly, watching with wide eyes as he moves past you back into the hallways. You inhale a sharp breath, a warm flush painting on your skin as you take in what he just said, rushing to the door. 

“Potential romantic - oh my fucking god, wait! You can’t just drop that on me what the hell!” 

Faintly, you hear Bakugou’s snickering down the hallway. 

»» — { ♡ } —— { ♡ } —— { ♡ } — ««

[marzannazillah]

AN: Hi everyone so, I started writing. I technically have everything planned out on what I want to happen and the general storyline but I just haven't written it all out. 😅 This is the prologue for the story, I'm gonna try updating at least once a week. I don't anticipate this being a super long series. Just can't see myself doing that as I don't feel like I have that in me. Anyways I apologize ahead of the time for any grammar mistakes, I'm my own proofreader and you know how that goes. Also, I can not guarantee that any ACOTAR characters/timeline will be accurately portrayed. So please do get mad at me for miss representing something/someone. My only priority is to my OC’s main character storyline. And that means I will have collateral damage to other characters you may love. So apologies in advance. PS. I haven't named the OC so drop your recs in the comments. I may just pick one. All ACOTAR characters belong to Sarah J Maas. No plagiarising or stealing of my work please don't be that person. Okay finally on to the story, congrats if you got this far.

Prologue: Warmth

A common misconception about my inability to stay dead is that I must not fear death. That because I do not truly die, I have nothing to fear. I wish that I did not fear death, that it felt like a warm embrace, a feeling of knowing. But it is not, every time it is as bitter and crushing as it always is. And I fear each death the same as the first.

——————————————————————

Some would call me stupid, and naive for trading my life for my brothers. While he would have had a quick death, mine was prolonged by my gift of immortality. I became Amaranatha’s favorite source of entertainment. When your prisoner can't die, you don't have to worry about having restraint. You would think killing someone day after day would get boring. It didn't, not for her. Perhaps I was foolish, trying to protect Kallias.

These are the thoughts that creep into my head while I lay in my cell. My breath fogs in front of my face, my lips coated in frost. I would say I was cold but I've long forgotten what being warm felt like. I can't blame that on Amarantha or my cell. I've been cold since my magic surfaced. Though that's a time I wouldn't like to reflect on at the moment. My cell gives a dreary enough mood without trudging up those memories.

My fingers begin to tingle, I turn so the cold damp stone bites into my back now instead of my side. The clink of my chain is obtrusive to the quiet of my cell. I wiggle my fingers in the minimal space my chained gauntlets allow. They're cold and enchanted against my magic, it's not fun to torture someone when a brush of their hand can leave you as an ice sculpture.

My breath catches in a quiet laugh of the Attor that got the pleasure of being the first victim that resulted in my fancy jewelry. I bet he makes quite the excellent piece of decor now.

That small joy is caught short when I hear the steps approaching. my eyes snapping to the cell door, short and fast. Not the Autumn brothers then, they are hard and slow. Like their minds. I take a deep breath preparing for what’s to come. Focusing on the gold string that stretches out from my chained hand, the string that is tied around my ring finger underneath all the metal. The one that pulls taught when he’s close but for now lays loose. And so I stare at something that only I can see because it is the only thing that soothes the fear that grows inside me for the death I’m about to face.

The death that comes over

And over

And over

And over

And over.

Tags: @momlo @legionsofthehungry

[iwannawritelots]

Obey Me! One Master to Rule Them All but…

it’s Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Originally written December 2021

SPOILER WARNING for season two of obey me in Simeon’s section

Tumblr wouldn’t let me put more than 10 images I cry

Lucifer💙- Wyvern Lord: “An experienced wyvern handler with high stats but a weakness to bows and magic, this class can move again after taking certain actions.”

Loves animals

I imagine his pride would make him want to utilize several weapons

Flying and stabbing

Smexy light armor which he would love Bc it covers him up but he still looks nice

Mammon💛- assassin: “A killer who thrives in the shadows, the Assassin has excellent speed and dexterity.”

The Great Mammon will fuck you up

it’s in the class tree with thief which when you master it will allow you to have the lock pick skill soooooo

Leviathan🧡- bow knight: “A graceful archer mounted upon a mighty steed, this class can move again after taking certain actions.”

Social anxiety

He makes me think of Bernie

Will fucking kill you

Video gaming skills

Satan💚- hero: “A master of combat, the Hero has high strength and speed.”

Axe and sword user

Murdery

he is an axe user for the rpg card collection

Asmodeus💘- war cleric: “This powerful warrior wields axes or fists while upholding devout faith. This unit can also use some magic.”

Will fucking tear you apart

He’s insane

If he doesn’t want to mess up his hands he can use gauntlets or axe

He craves violence

I imagine light magic would suit him

Beelzebub❤️- fortress knight: “Trading speed for staying power, this heavily armored unit has staggering defense.”

Big strong boy

He loves food

…he makes me think of Raphael (fe Raphael not obey me Raphael)

Axe baby

Will crush you

Belphegor��- mortal savant: “A master who casts powerful magic and wields a sword with confidence and poise, the Mortal Savant is a force to be reckoned with.”

Magic and sword user dhdkdbfk yes

He stabby

Would literally kill everyone no bothers

Simeon🤍- trickster: “A sword user who can use some magic, the Trickster toys with their foes by employing quick movement. Requires Thief certification.”

He schemes so much lol

Sword user in the rpg card collection

Healing magic

Definitely knows how to break into stuff

Bends the rules

Literally stole the ring of light. no bothers

Barbatos🖤- dancer: “The Dancer energizes allies with inspiring movement, allowing them to act again. This class also wields magic.”

Multi skilled (this class literally uses every weapon and wields magic I love it so much)

Serving others

He’s pretty

He’s canonically knows how to move his body like… bro.

Pretty dancer outfit

Solomon🤎- gremory: “An expert in all forms of magic, the Gremory casts asunder any enemies with high physical defense.”

Magic lol

Literally would rock the robes and boa pls

Solomon doesn’t care if it’s gender locked

Probably useless with anything other than magic

Lord Diavolo❣️- barbarossa: “In the tradition of Almyra, Claude wields a bow while riding the skies on his wyvern. He can move again after taking certain actions.”

Animal loving man

Diavolo with an axe???

Big tiddy man on big wyvern

Royalty gets royal class

Raphael💔- falcon knight: “Riding aloft, this knight is weak to arrows with high defense against magic. This class can move again after taking certain actions.”

Spear boy

Will murder you

Pegasus advantages

Thirteen❤️‍🩹- Dark bishop: “A dark-magic specialist, the Dark Bishop decimates enemies with high physical defense.”

Dark magic

Those robes tho🥵

Idk she makes me have feelings

Mephistopheles💟- dark knight: “A mysterious knight versed in black magic, this class can move again after taking certain actions.”

Ferdinand but japes everyone

The horsies

MC would be Byleth in this case so whatever the player wants (even tho there’s no reason to not be the enlightened one pffff)

Anyways shamelessly doing the fire emblem/obey me crossover headcanons I’ve been thinking about doing for so long lol bye

[just-dreaming-marvel]

Out Of Time ~ 131

MASTERLIST

< previous chapter

Word Count: 3,805ish

Summary: The fight continues.

“Y/N? Did you do it?” Steve asked, still fighting off the creatures attacking them. No answer though. “Y/N?” Still nothing. “I need eyes on Y/N!”

“I’m heading to the lab now!” Bucky responded.

“She seems to be in a trance,” Shuri finally answered, coming up to Y/N. “Her eyes are glowing the same color as the Stone, but it’s clear she’s not really here.”

“And the Stone?” Steve wondered.

“Floating in between her hands. But I can already tell there’s a protective barrier around it. We won’t be able to get to it.”

“I’m here! I’me here!” Bucky exclaimed, running to Y/N’s side. “Shit.” He knelt in front of her, knowing not to touch her. “Steve, we’re going to have to wait this out. Waking her isn’t going to be a smart option.”

“Stay by her side then! She’s one of the few things stopping Thanos from succeeding.”

“On it.”

“I’m going to secure the lab,” Shuri stated, rushing off with the guards.

“Oh, doll,” Bucky sighed. “Where’ve you gone now?”

~~~

Y/N was kneeling in the common room of the SHIELD base she had once called home. Everything had an orange tint to it, so she knew she was in the Soul Dimension. Standing up, she observed the room. No one was there and it looked like it had those many years ago when they first had found the base. Untouched, undamaged, ready and waiting for adventure.

Confused as to why she was there, Y/N stood up and began to make her way around the base. Memories of all the good times and bad she had shared with the team crossed her mind. She had completely forgotten about the troubles in reality as she wondered, eventually finding her way to Coulson’s office. With a shaky breath, she opened the door. Looking around, she froze when her eyes saw it. Saw him.

“Hey, Y/N,” Coulson smiled. He was in a black suit, sitting against his desk. “Told you I’d always be there.”

“Phil?” Y/N gasped. “What… how… this means… you died.”

“About a week ago.” Coulson stood up straight, unbuttoning his jacket. “May should have sent you a letter. Though, I understand why you haven’t gotten in yet.”

“Why are you here?”

“Don’t know,” he shrugged. “The Stone brought me here. I immediately knew it was because of you though. What’s going on?”

“I… Thanos is coming for the Stones. I was in Wakanda, trying to destroy the Soul Stone and now I’m here.” Y/N looked around. “They told me… they warned me.”

“Who warned you? About what?”

“The Stones warned me that if I tried to stop them, they would stop me. This is them doing that.”

“Why would they do that though? Aren’t you suppose to save the universe or something?”

“I am… just not yet… people are going to die. And I won’t be able to stop it…”

“People die every day, not everyone’s deaths is your fault.”

Y/N shook her head. “This is different though, Phil. So very different.”

Coulson sighed and walked over so that he was standing in front of Y/N. “Always been so stubborn and full of heart. But instead of staying here feeling guilty about it all, before it even happens, you need to focus and beat this Stone out.” He set his hands on her shoulders, looking at her square on. “You need to get out there and help everyone else.”

“I don’t—“

“No excuses. Focus. Close your eyes, take a deep breath and focus.”

~~~ 

Back on Titan, the small team there was trying to recover from a moon being thrown at them. Iron Man took the biggest hit. Moon-chunks were still flying everyone, with random debris as well. Mantis, Drax, and Star-Lord were all unconscious, flying through the air. Luckily, Spider-Man was still conscious. He swung through the air, catching the unconscious Guardians.

“I got you!” Spider-Man exclaimed, webbing Mantis. “I got you!” He snagged Drax next, securing both of them to something not moving. “I’m sorry I can’t remember anybody’s names!” He then reeled in Star-Lord.

Dr. Strange and Thanos began battling each other. Both using their available powers to counter the other. After Strange duplicated himself, Thanos used the Reality and Power Stones to discover the real one. He then used the Reality and Space Stones to pull Strange forward, letting Thanos grasp him by the throat.

“You’re full of tricks, wizard,” Thanos said, reaching for the necklace holding the Time Stone.

“No!” Strange yelled as Thanos snapped the necklace from his neck.

“Yet you never once used your greatest weapon.” Thanos crushed the necklace with his bare hand. “A fake.”

Angry, Thanos threw Dr. Strange and his head hit a rock, causing him to pass out. Almost simultaneously, a red and gold device slapped into the palm of the Infinity Gauntlet, bracing the fingers open. Iron Man then made a fast and hard entrance.

“You throw another moon at me, and I’m gonna to lose it,” Tony said, clearly done with Thanos.

“Stark,” Thanos greeted.

“You know me?”

“I do. You and the girl aren’t the only one cursed with knowledge.”

“My only curse is you.”

Small rockets popped out of Iron Man’s back and launched at Thanos. The rockets all exploded on target, momentarily shrouding Thanos in smoke. Before it cleared, Iron Man pile drove into Thanos horizontally, using his single super jet boot. As he bounced off, Tony flipped and stuck the landing, immediately re-configuring his boots into ground clamps and his gloves into rocket-driven battering rams, punching Thanos into the ruined wall behind him.

Thanos shook it off quickly. He reached forward and tore Iron Man’s helmet off, revealing Tony's surprised expression before the suit recovered automatically and re-formed his head protection. Thanos made use of the delay and punched back hard, sending Tony sliding meters away and giving Thanos time to rip the brace device off the gauntlet. He immediately used the Power Stone to stream energy at Tony, who formed a shield to kneel behind just as instantly, getting pushed back even further by the incredible force.

Iron Man slid out from behind the shield, letting the angled energy push him away for a faster start, and whipped back to Thanos. Tony kicked at the Titan with his left foot, turning the boot into a ground clamp at the same time to pin the gauntlet. He kept twisting while his left glove became a ran again, slamming into Thanos’ face and cutting his cheek.

“All that for a drop of blood,” Thanos panted.

Thanos smiled before punching Iron Man, sending him pinwheeling. He then started beating him with his fists. Iron Man attempted to block the blows with his forearms, but Thanos was relentless, picking him up by the helmet and blasting his midsection with the Power Stone. The gaps in the nano tech suit were gaping, as the armor lost the ability to recover from the intensity and extent of the damage. 

Iron Man landed hard from the Power blast, struggled to one knee and fired his right hand repulsor at the inexorable Thanos; the beam was easily deflected by the gauntlet. Tony got to both feet as the suit tried to complete repairs, adding the beam from his left hand as well. Thanos walked right up to him, and backhanded the incomplete helmet completely off Tony's head. He crossed his arms to block a blow from Thanos' gauntlet, and had his left hand caught over his head. 

In desperation, Tony formed what's left of his right glove into a short-sword, which was also easily caught by Thanos, snapping it off clean and driving it through Tony's left side. Thanos then walked Tony back until he was sitting, and placed the gauntlet almost comfortingly on Tony’s head.

“You have my respect, Stark,” Thanos said. “When I’m done, half of humanity will still be alive.” He let go, straightened and stepped back. “I hope they remember you.”

Tony was a little distracted with the pain, blood drooling out of his mouth and compromised breathing. Thanos raised the gauntlet, closing his fist, all three of the Stones glowing.

“Wait,” Thanos said, noticing the problem. He unlisted his hand and looked at the side of the gauntlet where the Stones sat. “The Soul Stone,” he growled. He looked around, realizing that someone had been missing from he whole fight. “The girl.” He glared at Tony. “Where is she?”

“Away… from here,” Tony panted.

“AHH!” Thanos screamed, powering up the gauntlet. 

“STOP!” Strange shouted. “Spare his life… and I will give you the Stone.”

“No tricks.” Strange shook his head and Thanos pointed the gauntlet at him instead.

“Don’t!” Tony pled.

Dr. Strange reached up and plucked the Time Stone out of its hiding place. His opened his tremoring hand and the Stone floated to Thanos. Strange and Tony watched as Thanos took the Stone and dropped it into the thumb setting, the energy pulse making him wince.

“Two to go,” Thanos stated.

An energy blast hit the gauntlet and Thanos grimaced in surprise. Screaming in incoherent rage, with his helmet up and firing from both hands, Quill came flying straight for Thanos. Thanos didn’t bother responding to the assault, simply using the Space Stone to disappear. Star-Lord flew through where Thanos had been and crashed, rolling several times.

“Where is he?!” Quill exclaimed, standing and de-helmeting. Tony was stitching up his stab wound with his suit. “Did we just lose?”

Tony looked at Dr. Strange, clearly saddened. “Why would you do that?” He asked.

“We’re in the Endgame now,” Strange responded.

~~~

“Focus harder, Y/N!” Coulson ordered. “The Stone is trying to keep you in here. You need to get out there and help your team.”

“I know, Phil!” Y/N responded, frustrated. She ran her hands down her face. “I know…”

“Momma!” She heard a boy’s distance cries. “Momma!”

Y/N looked up, standing front he seat she was in. “Is that… no. Impossible. He’d be just a year.”

“Age doesn’t work the same in the Soul Stone,” Coulson replied.

“Momma!” The cry was frantic, clearly something was wrong.

“AJ?” Y/N responded.

“Momma!” 

“AJ!”

A little boy, probably no more than six, came barreling into the room. He quickly latched onto Y/N and she bent down to hold onto him.

“AJ,” she whispered, a tear slipping down her cheek. She pulled back and knelt down, cupping his cheeks. “You’re so big.” He was the perfect mix of Y/N and Tony.

“There’s a problem, momma,” the little boy told her, trying to catch his breath. 

“A problem? What’s the problem?”

“With daddy! He’s in trouble.”

“Dad? What’s wrong with Tony?”

“Thanos hurt him and now Thanos is headed for Earth. You have to do something.”

“I will, sweetheart,” she pressed a kiss to his head. “I will. Can you do something for me, AJ?”

“Of course, momma.” 

Y/N couldn’t help but smile at her son. “Stay with Uncle Phil, okay? He’ll take care of you while I can’t. And don’t worry about me or your dad. I’m going to fix this.”

“Okay, momma.”

“Your momma and daddy love and miss you so much, you know that right?”

“I do,” the little boy nodded. “I love you too.”

Y/N gave a teary eyes, tight lipped smile. “That’s a good boy. You go stand back with Uncle Phil, alright?”

“Alright momma.”

She stood up as her son hurried over to Coulson. Her and Coulson made eye-contact. “Take care of him.”

“Are you kidding?” Coulson smiled, picking up AJ. “I’ve always wanted to be Uncle Phil. Now, focus.”

Y/N nodded, taking a deep breath. She held her hands in front of her, palms up, as she closed her eyes. She could feel the Stone pushing against her, wanting to keep her there. But she wouldn’t let it, she had to be stronger. Focusing on the need to leave and the power surrounding her, Y/N began to channel it. Quickly, she could feel the power building inside her, begging to be let free.

“Keep going momma!” She could hear AJ cheer.

Y/N took in as much power as she could, before she felt like she would explode. Opening her eyes, she looked at Phil and AJ. They were both taken back my the incredibly amber shade Y/N’s eyes had taken, but they knew it was the Stones.

“Don’t let him forget me,” she told Phil.

“Never,” he responded.

With one last look at her son, Y/N closed her eyes and turned away. Letting out a painfully scream, the power inside her blasted out, cracking the inner walls of the Soul Stone.

~~~

“Bucky!” Steve called. “How’s it going up there?”

“She hasn’t moved, Steve,” Bucky responded with a shake of his head. “She’s— wait.” Bucky looked closer at the Stone floating between her palms. “The Stones cracking. She’s doing it!”

“Let me know when she’s done.”

“Come on, Y/N,” Bucky muttered. “You can do it, doll.”

As the Stone shattered into pieces, falling onto the ground, Y/N shouted out in pain. Her hands found the floor, stabilizing her from falling on her face.

“Oh my— Steve, she did it,” Bucky told the others, pulling Y/N into his chest. “She destroyed the Stone.”

“Good,” Steve replied. “Now you two need to get down here and help us hold them from getting Vision.”

Bucky held Y/N close, pressing a kiss to her hair. “You did it, doll.” He rocked them. “You did it.”

“Bucky…” she whispered, pushing away to see his face. “I—“

“Everyone, on my position,” Steve directed over the comms. “We have incoming.”

“What the hell?” Nat wondered.

“Cap,” Bruce said, “that’s him.”

“Eyes up,” Steve ordered. “Stay sharp.”

“Get us down there, Y/N,” Bucky said. “We have to help them.”

Arriving through a portal, ready to fight, Y/N and Bucky watched as Steve didn’t even get to strike before he was set back by purple energy from the Power Stone. T’Challa tried next. His armor was fully charged, kinetically, and he leaped high, claws extended. He was easily grabbed by the throat and punched to the ground, his armor discharging violently. Falcon was next, swooping in, but was stopped when his wings became rubbery and unable to sustain flight.

As Rhodey tried to stop Thanos next, Y/N noticed Vision and Wanda off to the side. Vision was kneeling before Wanda as she was channeling her energy towards the Mind Stone. Bucky rushed up to Thanos next, only to be punched away by the Power Stone. With a shaky breath, Y/N stood in front of Thanos.

“There you are, my little one,” Thanos smirked. “You took something from me.”

“It wasn’t yours to keep,” you responded.

“You know, the Stones warned me about a person able to channel them and use them to destroy me. I just didn’t imagine them like… this.”

“And I didn’t imagine you purple, but I guess we all have our disappointments.”

“I know what you did with the Soul Stone. You're foolish to think that could possibly stop me.”

“You’re foolish to think I can’t.”

Channeling the Stones, Y/N began to fling debris and rocks at the Titan. Only for him to block and destroy them before he was hit, also by using the Stones. Okoye flung a spear at Thanos as Y/N tried to keep him distracted. Unfortunately, Thanos was still able to throw both Okoye and the spear to the side, all while fighting Y/N and wrapping Natasha in bands of Earth. Groot tried to use the roots to stop the Titan, but Thanos easily broke them as he blocked Y/N’s assaults. 

Finding a lucky moment of weakness, Thanos was able to fling Y/N across the clearing. He marched over there, ready to punch her, but Steve slid under his fist. The Captain screamed as he tried to hold Thanos off. Thanos, though, slammed his other fist into Steve’s head, rendering him insensible.

“Steve,” Y/N muttered, crawling over to her brother. She gently shook him. “Steve, come on.” Nothing.

Panting and aching, Y/N looked up just in time to see Wanda holding back Thanos while finishing off the Mind Stone. Y/N gasped sharply as a pain rolled over her whole body. Thanos walked closer to Wanda as their energies subsided and Vision fell over, lifeless. 

“I understand, my child,” Thanos said. “Better than anyone.”

“You could never,” she snarled.

He reached down, stroking her hair. “Today, I lost more than you can know. But now is no time to mourn. Now… is no time at all.”

He reached forward, clenching the gauntlet. The Time Stone glowed and flowed green energy around his fist. In response, time began to reverse. Y/N could feel the Soul Stone and Mind Stone repairing themselves.

“No,” she gasped. Trying to stand up, she watched as the Mind Stone and Vision became intact and conscious once again.

“No!” Wanda screamed, lunging for Vision before she was swatted away.

Thanos picked up Vision by the throat, lifting him to eye level before digging his hand into Vision’s forehead and yanking out the Mind Stone. He pulled it loose and Vision immediately went limp and colorless. Y/N tried to run over there, only to be knocked down by Thanos tossing Vision at her. 

Setting the Mind Stone in place, Y/N noticed the Soul Stone appearing in front of Thanos. Angrily, Y/N portaled in front of him.

“There’s nothing you can do to stop me now, my child,” Thanos smirked.

“Doesn’t mean I can’t try,” Y/N responded.

She opened a small portal, using it to grab the Soul Stone before Thanos could. Thanos growled as his hand swiped over where hers just disappeared. Before Y/N could do anything, suddenly she was wrapped up in roots and slammed against a large tree. She groaned at the impact she took, especially where her head was concerned. Thanos marched over, chuckling darkly.

“You can’t over power me, even with the Stones on your side,” Thanos said.

Taking a shaky breath, Y/N tried to channel the Stones to get free. Her breath hitched as she could feel the Stones but they wouldn’t let her use them.

“We told you this had to happen,” the Stones taunted her thoughts. “We told you that we would stop you.”

Y/N breathed shakily as Thanos used the power of the gauntlet on her. She screamed out in pain as her had was forced open and the Soul Stone was freed. Thanos smirked as he took the Stone and put it back in place. The energy surge from the gauntlet caused Thanos to bellow and Y/N to cry out in pain again. She could feel it all, but not access the power. Tears built up in her eyes as she met Thanos’.

“I’m so sorry, my child,” he said, not sounding sincere at all. “I wish there was another way.”

He lifted the gauntlet at Y/N, powering it up. Bracing herself, she clenched her eyes shut and turned away. But before Thanos could blast her, a bolt of lightning strikes him, digging him into the ground and grinding him back. Thor arrived, eyes glowing with power. He raised his new ax above his head and hurled it at the Titan. Thanos fired with the whole might of the gauntlet against it, but it didn’t slow the ax. The ax slammed right into Thanos’ chest. Thor landed in front of Thanos.

“I told you,” he growled. “You’d die for that!”

Thor took hold of the back of Thanos’ head and forced his ax in deeper. He stared at Thanos angrily as the Titan cried out in pain.

“You should have…” Thanos said weakly. “You… You should have gone for the head.” He lifted up the gauntlet and snapped his fingers.

“NO!” Thor screamed.

Y/N let out a scream that sounded that she was dying, cause she sure felt like it. She could feel the Stones working together to complete Thanos’ plan.

“What’d you do?” Thor asked. “WHAT’D YOU DO?!”

Y/N cried as Thanos used the Space Stone and disappeared. She was still suck on the tree. Steve stumbled into the clearing, holding his left side.

“Where’d he go?” Steve asked. “Thor… where’d he go?”

“Steve?” Bucky called, coming into the clearing. “Y/N?”

Bucky and Y/N made eye contact as he suddenly stumbled over and collapsed into ashes. Steve, in shock, walked over and touched the ground where Bucky’s ashes were.

“BUCKY!” Y/N screamed. “NO!”

Letting out a loud, sorrowful cry, the roots holding Y/N to the tree burned off her and she fell to her knees. She could feel the Stones letting her access them again, almost in a taunting way. With heaving breaths, Y/N lifted her head up and watched Wanda, Sam, Groot, and T’Challa all disappear, turning into ash like Bucky.

“NO!” She screamed again, unleashing a wave of power from her that rippled across the battlefield. “No….” She whispered.

~~~

On Titan, the team was collecting themselves. Mantis propped up Star-Lord, Spider-Man helped Tony to his feet, while Drax and Nebula managed to limp over on their own.

“Something’s happening,” Mantis said before disintegrating into ashes. 

Quill looked behind him to see Drax disintegrate.

“Quill?” Drax said as he dissolved.

Quill stared in horror as he turned back to Tony, who was starting to panic.

“Steady, Quill,” Tony told him.

“Aw, man,” Quill said, also disintegrating.

“Tony,” Strange called calmly, “there was no other way.” Then he disappeared as well.

“Mr. Stark?” Peter said, realizing he was fading away. Tony stared, horrified. “I don’t feel so good…”

“You’re alright,” Tony said, trying to be calm but his voice was shaking and he was looking at Peter in terror.

Peter was stumbling towards Tony, terrified. “I don’t know what’s— I don’t know what’s happening. I don’t—“ He fell into Tony’s arms, clutching him tight while beginning to cry. “I don’t wanna go, I don’t wanna go, Mr. Stark, please. Please, I don't wanna go. I don't wanna go… I’m sorry.” 

And then Peter turned to ash in Tony’s arms. Tony fell forward from the lack of weight in his arms, staring at his hands in disbelief.

“He did it,” Nebula stated.

~~~

Steve, Thor, Rhodey, Nat, Bruce, and Rocket were all mourning near Vision’s dead body. Y/N was still on her knees beneath the tree, holding and rocking herself as she cried.

“What is this?” Rhodey asked. “What the hell is happening?”

“… oh, God.”

next chapter >

NOTES: from now on the taglist when be added by a reblog. I will reblog it using my second account, @just-dreaming-marvel-2​​. Just so that my main page doesn’t get too cluttered.

If you want to be added to the tag list, please dm me or send in an ask.

[criticofallthings]

SO IT’S 5:12AM BECAUSE I’VE BEEN TYPING AWAY A NEW HEADCANNON PIECE OF CRACK IDEA THAT WOULDN’T LET ME SLEEP IF I DIDN’T. edit: bc tumblr mobile app is dumb I had to restart in a web browser and it is now 6:03 AM.

Anyway yeah so that Hawkmokn lore tab where we see Guardian lad and Crow get drunk and be merry (brain’s a little scramble rn, but I’m preeetty sure its the Hawkmoon lore tab)?? Yeah so that and trauma bonding / healing bc if I haven’t said it a thousand times and then sme yet, Imma say it again: POOR TRAUMATIZED GUARDIANS OMFG 😭😭😭

No title no beta bc literally just shat this out the past couple of hours:

cw/tw: ptsd, referenced major character death, death, implied depression/major grief, self depreciation

ps. usually I write nonbinary Guardian, but today we got lady she/her Guardian

pps. this fic is a heckin chonker compared to the previous ones

———————————————————————

Crow’s lips were gentle against the Guardian’s own, a bit dry, but sweet and heady with the lingering wine. The kiss was sudden. It was spontaneous. And it made something warm and so soft and so, so very fragile, hatch within the Guardian’s chest.

Until she opened her eyes and saw those golden eyes, glowly softly in the dark, beneath dusky white and raven black fringe. The pale smokey blue of his skin, luminous where it reflected the warmth of the campfire, and cast in deep shadows where the night’s darkness fought to shade his face. The smell of ash suddenly weighs much heavier in the air.

That warm, soft, and fragile thing in the Guardian’s chest goes cold and sharp and hard. Time slows and speeds up at the same time within her mind, stealing her away to a prison of memories. Blood rushes to her ears, drowning out the warning from Ghost to Crow and Glint.

The Guardian shoved Crow away and stood up, a heavy handcannon with a white spade on the stock materializing into her hand, aimed at Crow’s heart. An errant blip of data-Light to Crow’s left is all that hints at Glint’s swift dematerialization. Crow stays prone on the ground, spawled on his back, one hand raised up, in an attempt to pacify —unwittingly making it harder for the Guardian to snap out of that memory.

The stench of burnt oil, sweat, and soot fills her nose. She only hears the crackles of flames and electric buzzing as her heart pounds, coldly staring into Crow’s bewildered eyes. Those deep golden eyes that had haunted her waking hours and chased her down in nightmares. Those eyes filled with cruelty as they watched her stumble to Cayde’s dying side. She doesn’t realize yet, but the tears she couldn’t shed before, now weep from her eyes. The handcannon trembles slightly in her grip.

Ghost floats over into his Guardian’s field of view. He’s careful to let her know he’s doing so by giving her shoulder a bump as he glides to a rest above the stock of the handcannon. He hovers there, his one eye searching both of hers, glow dimmed slightly. His shell gives a soft whirl before he speaks, leaning in gently towards her.

“That is not him.”

The silence is deafening, every second only increasing the tension. Ghost clicks his shell, uncertain if his words were even heard. He tries again, bobbing in the air.

“Crow is not him.”

The handcannon trembles. But the Warlock doesn’t move, bound by so much tension you’d think she was a Hunter about to leap into the air to throw a Blade Barrage.

“Crow is not him.”

Ghost speaks again, insistent, shell whirling softly as he flits closer to his Guardian. A flicker of recognition crosses her face. The handcannon falters, no longer aimed directly at Crow’s chest. Ghost nudges her hand, bumping the Guardian’s aim to the ground.

She trembles, a full body shudder and the handcannon slips from her grasp. Suddenly she’s aware, all too aware of what happened, and the tension holding her still dissipates. She falls to her knees, energy completely spent.

“I, I-I’m so sorry.” She’s barely able to whisper the words in his direction.

Before her, Crow watches, eyes wide and doe-like, shocked and unsure of what to do. Of what just happened. A sinking feeling blooms in his gut.

He knows he wasn’t a good man before he died. Plenty of guardians had made that clear through their boot heels and fists, gunfire and knives, with their Light in three different energies: arc, void, and solar.  As did the Eliksni, who cursed him in their language while their Captains tore him apart with their four arms.

Crow knows it’s an understatement to say he wasn’t a good man in his previous life. Even if he could never learn about who that man was, what he did, and would only by the number of shattered bones and bruised flesh just how much pain that man had caused —Crow decided early on that he could take it. It was penance. It was justly due and therefore he couldn’t call it painful.

But this? This hurt.

It hurt because now he knows that the man he once was had struck an incomprehensible blow to the Guardian he had come to know more of. It hurt because he had been holding on to a small hope, an indescribably small bit of hope, that of all the people he had encountered in his previous life that he had never met the Guardian. Because if they had never met, then maybe, maybe there was someone he didn’t hurt. His first friend. His savoir. His now not-so-secret-crush. And the longer he thought about it, the greater that sinking feeling in his gut grew.

He could no longer deny the shock and subdued anger and almost very well hidden grief he had seen flash across her face when he revealed himself to her and Osiris. He could no longer deny the way they had kept him at distance while easily in sight with a hand hovering over their gun every time they met him for a Hunt or to study a newly sprouted Cryptolith. Why his attempts at humor and jokes were met with cool silence. Why whenever he saw that handcannon, he instinctively recoiled away from it, phantom pain bursting sharply in his heart.

——————

Crow remembers the first time he saw the Guardian wield that gun. How she had effortlessly cleared a pack of thrall in one clip, each headshot exploding in a flurry of solar. How his body reacted: legs collapsing beneath him, his heart burning painfully, lungs gasping for air that never seemed to make it into him, retching pathetically, as tears streamed down his face.

Why was he crying?

Why did he feel an insurmountable wall of sorrow and regret?

She had seen him fall and before the last thrall had burnt away completely, she came running towards him. All he could see in that moment was that gun getting closer and all he felt was an innate desire to get away.

Run, run, run, run, run before you die!

Run you before you burn!

The Guardian came close, hands splayed before her, voice speaking in soothing tones, words lost upon his panicking ears. He had screamed then, in abject terror. It was a garbled and pitched sound as he tried to breathe and vomit and scrabble away all at the same time; his eyes riveted to the handcannon now holstered at her side. Her Warlock mind, keen to details, quickly realized what had triggered his panic and she deftly threw the gun to her Ghost who transmatted it away mid-air.

Crow doesn’t remember what the Guardian said to him, but he remembers how carefully she reached out to him. How she framed his face in her gauntleted hands, so gentle, so lightly, as if he might shatter into glass —just to touch her forehead to his. How the puffs of her outward breaths ghosting by his cheeks helped calm his own.

And he knew then, in that moment that no matter what that gun meant that he was already in too deep. When with a simple touch, the Guardian could soothe away old terrors he himself knew nothing of, Crow knew then. He loves her.

——————

Crow slowly got to his feet, mindful of the Guardian (who was despondently staring into her open hands while Ghost hovered on her shoulder). He looks at that gun, chest starting to burn, heartbeat increasing. Clenching a fist at his side, Crow takes a tentative step and then another until he’s close enough to pick up the handcannon. He gingerly picks it up by the barrel, keeping his hands off the stock on purpose. It’s another small step towards the Guardian before he kneels in front of them.

He pauses there, unsure of what he can do —of what he did that caused the Guardian to react so violently before. He doesn’t think it was the kiss itself...that seemed to be fine until she looked at his face, into his eyes. Ah. Crow rests the handcannon on his thigh and pulls up his hood, jerking it to cover more of his face. Cautiously he grabs the handcannon by the barrel again and with his other hand, slowly reaches for one of the Guardian’s own. She lets him guide her hand to the handcannon and once he’s sure she won’t drop it, Crow gently pushes both towards her again. The Guardian looks away, but cradles the handcannon in her lap.

More hesitantly now, Crow raises his hands to cup her face just as she once did for him. He can’t exactly see with his hood covering so much of his face, but he slowly gets nearer and carefully moves his hands over the side of her face. He leans forward to rest his forehead against hers, the edges of his hood brushing across his nose as he did so, fully obscuring his vision. Crow doesn’t know of anything he could say in this moment —what could he of all people say to her, Guardian of guardians, that could possibly make a difference? So he doesn’t say anything. Instead, Crow softly hums.

It’s an old melody, a lullaby he found while exploring abandoned freighters and passenger ships in the Reef. When Glint discovered his fondness for it, the Little Light would often hum the tune, sitting on his chest, to soothe him on several sleepless nights in Spider’s Lair. Crow hopes that this at least, can help ground the Guardian in the present and away from the painful memories in her past.

They stay like this for a while. The Guardian’s breath evens out and somewhere along the time past, Ghost had dematerialized. It was just the two of them now. Crow stops humming when he feels the Guardian raise a hand to cover one of his over her face. She leans into his palm, then forward against his forehead for a moment.

“I’m sorry, Crow, I’m so sor—“ She starts to apologize and it’s a whisper until she says his name to apologize once more. Crow doesn’t want to hear this, he doesn’t deserve an apology. So Crow cuts off the Guardian by dropping his hands to her sides and pulling her into his chest.

The sudden movement sends the Guardian toppling onto Crow. He curls forward to protect his head, but keeps his arms around her, falling flat on his back. The Guardian doesn’t move to get off of him and Crow takes that as an okay sign. He keeps one arm around her, the other he moves to card his fingers through her hair.

“Of all the people in this world, Guardian, I am the last of anyone to whom you owe an apology.” Crow let’s his words hang in the air, trying to keep his breathing even so his heart would stay less frantic too.

“If anything,” he pauses to admire a particularly silky strand of hair as it slips through his fingers.

“I am the one indebited to you.”

There’s another pause as he sorts his next words before speaking. His hand idly resumes carding through the Guardian's hair again.

“So much so that I wonder if it’s selfish greed that makes me want to stay like this.” Crow sighs, looking straight up into the star speckled sky above them. At this angle he can’t see the Guardian, but he feel her shift slightly in his arms.

“Even though you’ve done so much for a worthless stain of a being as me…Even though I can never atone for the things I’ve done befo—“ He’s interrupted by the Guardian slapping a hand over his mouth.

“You are not him.” She shifts in his arms, sitting up, moving a leg over to straddle him properly.

Crow grabs his fallen hood in a panic, pulling the fabric so swiftly up around his face he hears the fabric creak as its seams struggle to stay sewn. Still, he doesn’t let the material go, trying to keep his face hidden.

“You are not him.” The Guardian repeats herself, lifting her hand from his mouth. Crow can’t tell with what emotion she said it with and he’s too afraid to check just yet. He doesn’t want to cause her harm again, regardless of how circumstantially accidental it was.

“Crow…”

He freezes at the way she calls his name. It was different from how she usually said it. It sounded soft and so warm in her voice. The Guardian prods at one of hands clamped on his hood. He turns his head to the side, trying to escape beneath a look he could practically feel brushing against his hands.

“I...I-I don’t want to hurt you...again.” Crow’s heart beats skittishly within his chest, causing a lump to form in his throat. He’s barely able to say these words out loud without an audible whimper to them. He tries to speak again, but fails.

The Guardian leans forward over him and a shifting moment later he feels her tap her forehead against his. Her hands rest, half-covering his own, but exerting no force to push of pry his fingers away from his hood.

“Crow.” She whispers his name, just as soft and warm as before. Her lips ghost across his clenched hands when she spoke, sending goosebumps down his arms. Crow tenses.

It’s a full body reaction as Crow completely freezes up. Once more he tries to swallow down the lump in his throat with little success. His tongue feels dry and too heavy in his mouth. He can feel his heart rate spike, beating so hard now he’s unsure if the metaphorical ache that had been nesting there is becoming a real one.

“Please, Crow?” The Guardian pleads softly, leaning back and letting her hands slide from his face to over his chest.

“You can’t hide your handsome face forever.” She tries to make it sound light hearted, an easy joke, but the anxious tapping of her finger against his chest reveals her anxiety. Crow takes a deep, shaky inhale, holding it a second before letting it out.

“I-I can’t.” Crow sputters, the breath he had taken just before speaking seemed too little for all the things he wanted to say. Did she really just call his face handsome right now? Oh Traveler, why was that now all he could focus on??

He feels the Guardian shift in his lap again. The movement snaps Crow out of his thoughts and inadvertently he tightens his grip on his hood again. Somewhere behind his head, a seam in the hood gives way and the fabric tears from the stress.

A small chuckle near his ear catches him off guard and Crow isn’t able to stop his head from jerking sideways. This gives the Guardian an advantage and she presses against him, letting her head rest side by side to his. It keeps him unable to turn his face again. Even still, Crow maintains his hold over his ruined hood.

“Well then...” The Guardian pauses. Her voice, low and smooth, is right next to Crow’s ear. Crow flinches slightly, swallowing rapidly again, not expecting her to be so close.

“...how am I supposed to kiss you back?”

“Huuh??”

Crow lets out a confused sound, brain derailing instantly, but also cutting some of the tension out of his body. Certainly, he must have heard the Guardian wrong. But the sound of two ghosts  re-materializing interrupts the Guardian (who Crow is now very aware is straddling him) from speaking as she suddenly freezes.

“OH. Oh! Oh...well uh, w-we’ll come back later!! N-n-not too soon, ofcou—” Ghost’s shocked rambling is halted by metallic clinking as Glint’s shell collides with his. In the background, Glint’s hurried whispers of “Just go! Just go!” are just barely audible before the two Little Lights decompile once more.

Above him, the Guardian lets out a heavy breath once the two ghosts are gone. Beneath his hands, Crow breaks into a brief smile at that. The brief interruption had brought a measure of calm to him and he didn’t want to waste the moment.

“I, well...the man I was did something pretty horrible to you, didn’t I?” Crow lets the question hang in the air, but pushes on. If he lets the Guardian speak now, he’s not sure he’ll ever be able to say these words again.

“Not just you, to all the guardians...the Vanguard, and even the Eliksni, maybe even to the Scorn.” The Guardian is still above him, listening, but against his chest Crow can feel the heavy, measured beating of her heart.

“A-and I know. I just know. That that handcannon --the one with the white spade— I know that man died to that gun...This body remembers, but I also think it’s much more than that.” Crow stops to take a shuddering breath in. He focuses on the steady feeling of the Guardian’s heart against his chest to center himself.

“When I see that gun...it’s like I can feel that final shot burning again and again. But then there’s so much more to it. So much pain that isn’t from that bullet, so much grief, and fear, and even anger. Anger at myself, knowing I —all I did was —all I caused was…” He trails off, not able to find the words to describe how those moments felt. When he speaks again, it’s all in whispers.

“But when I see you, I know it’s not right, I know it’s selfish, I know you didn’t even like me at the beginning….but when I see you, I know I’ll be okay. Because the Light gave me a second chance to be okay and you did the same.”

Crow stops when he feels the Guardian shifting again. She grabs him by his elbows and slides off of his lap, tugging on him to join her in a sitting position. His knees are now tucked under his chin and he can feel her legs framing his own. It’s silent for a moment, but then he feels her edge closer to plant a chaste kiss to the back of his hands.

“It was an accident, a trick of the light and shadow…I—you are not like him in many, many ways.” For a moment Crow’s heart plummeted to his gut, wrenching at her first few words. Her hands cover his own again and Crow’s heart grows light.

“Please. Look at me.” The Guardian asks Crow while gently pressing against his knuckles. She rubs her thumbs over the side and backs of his hands, small soothing gestures.

Crow clenches his jaw, then decides against it. He releases his hold on his cloak’s hood, fingers stiff and aching from how tightly he had clung to the material. Crow doesn’t let the hood fall from his face and keeps his eyes shut. The Guardian takes his hands into her own, warming and massaging them to ease the stiffness.

Once she deems his hands warm enough, the Guardian lets them go. Crow rests them at his side, not confident yet to open his eyes. He focuses on the way the air moves instead, trying to anticipate her next move so he doesn’t jump.

Slowly, the Guardian moves the hood off of his head. She cups his face with one hand while the other strokes his cheek before tucking several stray strands of hair behind his ear. Throughout it all, Crow is still. However, his heart beats fast within his chest.

“Wha-“ Crow’s questions are cutoff before he could even start to ask —the Guardian smothering them beneath a passionate kiss. She teases his bottom lip with her teeth and in his surprise, Crow opens his eyes.

He’s immediately consumed by the Guardian’s smoldering eyes, half-open to catch his reaction. Crow’s not one to be outdone, and he raises a hand to cradle the back of her head as he presses into the kiss. He teases the Guardian back with a lick of his tongue, half expecting nothing, but pleasantly surprised when she returned in kind. It’s a sweet and warm moment and once again the Guardian feels that soft and fragile thing flutter in her chest.

“See,” the Guardian whispers against Crow’s lips as she caresses his face, maintaining steady eye contact, “all okay. You are you.”

Crow’s brows upturn at her words, feeling almost overwhelmed. Those words offered more solace to his heart than the kisses —kisses which he could hardly believe happened. He’ll have to make sure she was on the same page as him later, because any further and Crow would fall even more inextricably in love with the Guardian.

They lean into each other for some time, letting the comforting silence speak for them. Beside them, the fire pops as it fades off, nearly just embers now.

Crow’s the first to move, stretching behind himself to reach a spare log. He tosses it onto the middle of the fire. It doesn’t catch right away, but the Guardian flicks a bit of solar Light at it and soon the fire cackles warmly again.

Adjusting himself, Crow scoots closer to the Guardian so that they’re sitting shoulder to shoulder.

“Could you tell me—only if you want to—about…” Unsure of how to ask and knowing it’s taboo for guardians to learn details of their past, Crow trails off.

“I-I just want to listen...if that would help.”

The Guardian catches his hand at that and brings it to her lips. She plants a gentle kiss on his palm. Looking into Crow’s eyes, she slowly nods. He leans forward to give the Guardian a chaste peck on her lips. Crow adjusts how he’s sitting to embrace the Guardian from behind and she shifts to lean into him.

“No questions about details related to your past, alright? Only if you don’t understand something like time or place.”

Crow nods several times, suddenly feeling shy and too anxious to speak. He hugs the Guardian tightly before easing up to let her speak.

“Alright,” She sounds a bit tired now, the exact kind of weariness that only comes from raging against a deep grief and losing the battle, but accepting the scars and moving on. One foot in front of the other. “it’s a Golden Age saying that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.”

“Let me tell you the story of how a beloved space cowboy, an enigmatic jailer, and a terribly misguided, but utterly-devoted-to-his-dead-sister brother collided into absolute tragedy.”

[tsuraiwrites]

"Shouldn't you be with him/her" for Fenders for DADWC? Please and thank you!

thank you so much for the prompt! this is definitely a piece that needs to be edited sober, but I hope you enjoy what I have here nonetheless. for @dadrunkwriting

Fic: Better to Ask Forgiveness

Darktown is as filthy and miserable as ever when Fenris steps off the lift, only barely missing a puddle eddying with putrid water. He adjusts the hood of his cloak, but even underground, there’s no escaping the rain. It sluices down the walls from pipes and holes above, the sewers for once fulfilling their intended purpose as polluted water forms shallow, fast-moving rivers on the ground. The smell is almost enough to cover the stench of chokedamp and rot.

Fenris moves gingerly, his long familiarity guiding him through the dark passages even with unsure footing. Only once does he slip, his foot plunging into an unpleasantly warm stream of sewage before Fenris can reel back. He curses, trying to shake the worst of the clinging damp away before it can sink into his leggings, but it’s of little use. His mood fouls further but he diligently continues on, not about to let the inconvenience of this whole matter stop him from reaching his destination.

No one bothers him as he approaches the clinic, either well-used to the sight of him or, more likely, wary of the large sword he carries slung over his back. Thus, his trip through the dank warrens of the city is quiet, giving him more than enough time to think.

Or more time to brood, as Varric would no doubt point out should he ever hear of this incident. Bad enough the dwarf was witness to Fenris’ shameful loss of control after killing Hadriana today. Bad enough Fenris put his foot in his mouth hard enough to choke on it not once, but twice. Bad enough that he’d already gone, head hanging, to Hawke’s door to apologize and ask for advice-

Fenris turns the final corner before his destination.

The lantern is out, and that of all things is what makes Fenris hesitate, his steps slowing to a stop as he nears the closed and barred door. If the lantern is out, that must mean the mage inside is asleep or working on his manifesto. The latter he does not care about interrupting, but if Anders is finally getting some sleep for once…

No, Fenris is just making excuses now.

Honestly he had not expected Anders to follow him out of that slaver den onto the coast, but in hindsight he should have; Anders’ footsteps ground in the sand louder than any decent warrior’s would. Fenris had been in no mood to listen to anything a mage had to say at the time, much less accept any platitudes he would surely offer, not after Hadriana tried to drip poison in his ear. So when Anders had put a hand on his shoulder, probably meaning to comfort or to question...

“Get your filthy hands off of me, abomination! Leave me be!”

His hands clench, gauntlets creaking in protest as he wrenches himself out of the recollection, still staring at the half-rotten wood of the door.

“Tell him you’re sorry, Fenris,” Hawke had advised him, as if words between them were ever that easy, when even months into their involvement a number of their conversations still end in sniping, though they’ve been much less vicious about it.

Until now.

Kaffas, but he’s stalling again. Before he can wander in any more mental circles he raises his fist to bang on the door. The wood shudders under his fist, but thankfully holds up under the assault.

“The clinic is closed!” a muffled voice calls from inside, confirming the mage is still awake.

“Then it is good I am not in need of healing,” Fenris says.

Silence descends but for the sound of water dripping, before his keen hearing picks up the rustle of footsteps approaching the door. There is the thump of the bar being lifted, then the healer throws the door open with a deep scowl on his face.

“Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be with him?” Anders practically sneers.

Fenris blinks, his irritation giving way to confusion for a moment.

“What are you talking about?”

“You went to Hawke’s house, I saw you with my own eyes. I figured you had your company for the night. Non-mage company.”

Saw him enter Hawke’s mansion? That meant Anders had been all the way in Hightown… to see Fenris? He takes in the mage’s damp hair for a split second before the last part of Anders’ statement sinks in.

“My company- fasta vass, mage, I did not seek Hawke to sleep with him! I went to apologize.”

Anders’ mouth falls open with shock for a long moment, his cheeks flushing with an all-too-familiar anger.

“You went to apologize to Hawke for being an asshole earlier and not to me?”

“Perhaps you can look beyond your own nose for once and realize that I am standing here, speaking to you now!” Fenris snaps, then clenches his teeth as a wave of exhaustion follows. They will get nowhere in this if he flies off the handle at Anders’ every pointed remark. He tries to shove the bubbling anger down, lock it away. It doesn’t work well but his words do, for once, get Anders to close his mouth – and a flicker of blue cracks across the mage’s cheek for a split second before it’s gone. Fenris clenches his teeth but does not remark on the spirit’s presence, no matter how he longs to point out the loss of control it implies.

The spirit is not why he is here.

“May I come in?”

That, finally, seems to prompt the mage to realize they still stand half in the entryway, their discussion readily audible to any passerby.

“Fine,” Anders says, the wrinkle between his brows deepening. He moves out of the doorway and Fenris resists shoving his way in, waiting until the man is well clear to follow.

The clinic echoes with dripping water, though in the weak candlelight Fenris can see the buckets set out to catch the worst of the leaks. The room is thankfully otherwise deserted.

Anders picks his way back to his small, walled-off private space and Fenris watches his back until he reaches a makeshift writing desk. Curls of parchment covered with spidery handwriting cover the surface, but Fenris only has a moment to take them in before Anders turns, pinning him with a scrutinizing look. It finally prompts him to speak.

“I am sorry, for the words I spoke both in the caves, and after. It was wrong of me.”

Anders stands stiff for a moment.

“That’s all you have to say?” he asks.

“I will not try to placate you with flowery words, if that’s what you want,” Fenris grinds out.

“You could promise not to do it again, for a start!” Anders replies.

“Like you, I often do not think before I speak!” he snaps, then closes his eyes and reminds himself he can’t pinch his brow the way he would like to while wearing the gauntlets. “I can’t promise I will not lose my temper, as you well know.”

“I’m not asking you to not get angry, you’re more than entitled to feel anger after everything you’ve been through. I just-” He shakes his head, but before Fenris so much as opens his mouth to reply, he continues. “I thought you’d grown tired of my filthy, abominable hands.” Anders holds out those hands with palms up, spreading staff-calloused fingers wide. His mouth twists up like he’s trying to make a joke, but the words fall flat. “Tired of being with a mage. After the way you acted… You’ve been disgusted by me the whole time, haven’t you?”

“No!” Fenris denies immediately, before his brain can catch up with his mouth. Anders jerks as if surprised by his vehemence, dropping his hands. “That’s not the reason I pushed you away. I... needed to be alone for my own sake, which is exactly why I left without our company in the first place.”

“Then it’s my fault that I followed you?”

“Must you be so willfully obtuse? That’s not what I said.”

“Then what are you saying? Spell it out for me, Fenris, because if I have to listen to one more person tell me about the evils of magic I’m going to scream, I swear to the Maker.”

Fenris wants to laugh. As far as threats go, screaming is the least of what a mage as powerful as Anders could do in response to anyone who challenges him. After a long debate with himself he steps forward, reaching out, half-surprised Anders even lets him take his hand. He is careful not to let the sharp edges of his taloned gauntlets dig into the mage’s skin.

“I’m not disgusted by you. I am conflicted by everything I have experienced at mages’ hands, but you have yet to hurt me with magic.” He takes a deep breath, “I… care for you, and value what we have together. But I need to be alone sometimes to collect myself. After what that bitch Hadriana said-” he cuts himself off before his temper can flare again, looking up to meet Anders’ gaze. “I will not abandon you in a fight, but if I otherwise leave, you must let me go. I will return.” Return to you, pushes itself across his tongue, but he bites it back.

That, he’s not ready to speak aloud.

“...Agreed,” Anders says after a long moment, his whole expression weighed down with expectation. “But I need something from you, too.”

Fenris doesn’t tense – can already guess what the man wants. He waits.

“Unless I actually break out in boils and spine twisting, don’t call me that again,” he says, tone level.

“Agreed.”

“Then I forgive you,” Anders says, easy as that. The mage tugs Fenris closer by the hand, and where Fenris expects to be pulled into a kiss, he’s instead swept into a fierce hug. Tentatively, he wraps his arms around Anders’ torso, trying not to let a faceful of unkempt, damp copper-blond hair get in his mouth. Anders’ grip isn’t quite crushing, but it comes close, and after a long moment Fenris feels himself relaxing against the warmth of the man’s body.

For now, it’s enough

[crystalelemental]

Grid tool has updated.

SS Steven I talked about separately, but it’s a Mew-style grid, where things are segmented around all the myriad roles.  Mostly, Defense and Normal go with Disarm 9 and the Recover section, and worry about nothing else.  Speed forme goes with frankly whatever it wants, it’s really just here for fast-ramping sync stuff.  Attack forme goes with three sync damage nodes, Furious Brain, BOGO, and MGR.  It’s a pretty simple and elegant grid, even if parts of it aren’t worth touching.

Classic Giovanni’s grid is fine.  He can get First Aid 4, Quick Cure, Safety Tether, Team Sync Regen, and one of either Berserker or All Ramped Up.  You can try for Trainer Move MPR but I find it super inconsistent.  Grid’s compact and gets what he wants.

The sync grid builder seems to imply Zinnia did not get extra sync damage tiles.  No idea if there was an error in transcription, but it would simplify her life a little bit.

If you go for the sync nodes and multipliers on Cynthia’s new grid, but give up Surging Sand 3, she’s hitting 22.7k on-type.  For comparison, Maxie’s sync with the Solar Flare 5 node is around 14k.  So this...is a pretty substantial buff.  Considering she can’t possibly keep up with Precipice Blades’ raw damage, this may be her best role to stand out compared to others.  Credit where it’s due, this actually is a big damage improvement.  It does unfortunately come at the cost of her Gradual Healing under Sand, though.  I really would’ve liked to keep that one.  She can, however, pick up Sands of Time while going for those bonuses.  Also I should probably mention, for on type, the Superduper Effective 5 does give her much better move damage, but you can’t take all sync tiles with that and Ramming Speed both.  So I guess on type, you just take Superduper Effective, and you take Soothing Sand, while dropping Ramming Speed.  The move damage takes a bit of a hit, but the improved sync damage honestly is worth it.  I just...really wish Fierce Entry 1 were anything else.  Sand Alert?  Anni Raihan can get it, after all, that’s a PokeFair tier skill.

Not content to simply give her a bad grid, DeNA also decided to spread out her skills so far that you almost can’t get everything on Liza.  She does get the MPRs, Natural Remedy, and Quick Cure, alongside Healthy Healing.  That’s not too bad.  Synchro Healing is outside of her reach, however, and this is likely her best skill for Gauntlet when paired with high move damage users who don’t care as much about sync.  But she’d be giving up something else.  So I guess play to what she needs.  If it’s Tornadus, drop the Quick Cure she likely doesn’t need and go for Synchro Healing.  If so desired, you can go for On a Roll 2 on Psychic, but a 30% chance for one (1) special defense drop doesn’t feel worth it at all to me at that level of energy cost.  Good news, you can get Furious Brain along the way, so Liza’s Psychic can deal a whopping 2k on type!  That’s worth the three gauges for a support that can’t facilitate move gauge, right?!

It just hit me that Norman still didn’t get a grid, during the villain arc.  That’s hilarious.  And depressing.  Anyway, Noland.  He gets Inertia, Berserker, Trainer Move MPR, Critical Eye on Trainer Move, and Adrenaline, all in one grid.  Everything he wanted is there.  What a bastard.  I mean, he can’t get both sync damage nodes, but I’m still annoyed on Liza’s behalf.  If you decide to let someone else like Hop buff, don’t worry, he can pick up Staggering 1 and Defense Crush 2, alongside a +20 attack node.  You know.  In case you felt like he might need the help.  Which he does, I’m treating this like a grave affront but Noland very much does need that kind of help.  I’m just pissed at the difference.  DeNA really do not want your supporters to do all that well for themselves, huh?

Speaking of, Drake!  Once again, I do not know what their problem is, they spread everything out so you can’t get all the tools he wants at once.  But you can get Team Sharp Entry, Stalwart/Unbending, and Sync Regen, for a nice tanky build that has at least some healing and can slightly help with crit buffing.  But you may notice.  This doesn’t get MPRs.  If your goal is the trainer moves and Team Sharp Entry, you can kiss Sync Regen and Hostile Environment goodbye, and you can only get one of Stalwart or Unbending.  Oh yeah, Hostile Environment?  That super good supportive tool for checking of Gauntlet status gimmicks?  You have to give up one of your three bare essentials to acquire it at all.  It’s unreal how much they don’t want a repeat of Cheryl.  I guess I should be really happy she got her grid when she did.

[yugirl]

Day 18: “This Wasn’t in the Rule Book.”

Crossovers, coffee shops, and canon divergence collide today in the wonderful world of AU! Go nuts.

((Magical girl au? Magical girl au! @pridewhatpride my love?? This is for you!))

~~~~~~~~~

I gritted my teeth and looked up with fear and dread. It was no use… the Light of Destruction was so strong and so powerful.

Jaden was struggling to get up; Bastion was struggling to breathe; Jesse couldn’t move.

But… I couldn’t let it end like this…

“Yellow… Green… Black…” I whispered. My spirit partners appeared and looked in concern.

“What are you gonna do, boss…?!” Yellow squeaked.

“I’m going to keep fighting with everything I have… but I understand if you three don’t… if you want to run… now’s your chance….”

Jaden seemed to see what I was doing and summoned Winged Kuriboh.

“Chazz is right… just because we’re going to keep fighting doesn’t mean you guys have to… so if you want to get out of here, then go….”

Bastion grunted, “there’s no need for you to put yourself at risk if you don’t want to Pikeru… go….”

Jesse looked at the Crystal Beasts. “I’m with them… you’ve all been by my side from start to finish, but I want you to be safe….”

“YOU'RE INSANE!!” Yellow squawked.

“Huh?”

“Sure, I may be a scaredy-cat, but I’m not backing down when we’re this close to the finish line!!”

Green nodded in agreement. “Yeah!! If you’re gonna keep fighting, boss, then we are too!!”

“That’s right!! Brothers stick together!!” Black added.

I couldn’t help but smile “thanks, you guys….”

Winged Kuriboh seemed to mewl in protest as well, nuzzling against Jaden and assuring he was staying.

“Thanks, Pal…” Jaden smiled.

“Yeah! If you losers even think you’re fighting without us, think again!” Pikeru said smugly.

“Thanks, Pikeru…” Bastion chuckled and patted her head.

“Your friends are right, Jesse….” Topaz Tiger nodded.

“we’ve all come so far together, and as you said, we’ve been here from start to end. But it’s not the end yet….” Amythest Cat added.

Jesse teared up and nodded. “Thank you!!”

I used my lighting spear to help myself stand up before turning to help the others up one at a time…

“If this really is the end… I just want you to know…I… I love you guys….” I muttered.

Jaden teared up and nodded. “I love you too!”

Bastion wrapped an arm around Jaden to comfort him. “I love you all as well….”

Jesse teared up too and pulled us all into a hug. “I love you all too!! Thank you so much for staying with me and helping me complete my mission!!”

We hugged each other for the longest time, our hearts burning… no, they weren’t burning; they were glowing.

“What is this!?” I gasped

“Could this be… a new power?” Jesse wondered.

Suddenly four rainbow coloured crystals appeared, a star, a gem, a heart and a diamond.

“This isn’t anything like the rainbow dragon….” Bastion whispered

“That’s because it’s not!” Jaden explained, “I can feel it… this is our power!!”

I looked to my friends… the three boys I met on this journey, and the spirit partners who stuck with us. This indeed was the final battle.

“Everyone… LET’S GO!!”

“Right!!”

The rainbow crystals resonated with each of us. The power was overwhelming.

All of us ascended into the sky,

“SUMMON RAINBOW DUEL SPIRIT FUSION!!”

Thanks to the rainbow crystals, we transformed one last time into new, more powerful forms. It was time.

The light of destruction couldn’t believe that we were still fighting. It thought it had destroyed us once and for all.

“No matter what happens, we’ll always keep fighting to protect those we love!!” Jesse declared

“We want to live and pursue the future!!” Jaden added

“Destruction may always exist, but creation and life are needed to maintain balance!” Bastion stated

“And that’s why we can’t bow down to the likes of you!!” I pointed my spear at him. “We will defeat you once and for all!!”

Jaden charged in first, his new gauntlets glowing with power.

The light of destruction fired a laser towards us in response, but Jaden was having none of it.

“レインボー　コスミククラシ!!”

“RAINBOW COSMIC CRUSH!!”

He punched through it, blasting the light in different directions, leaving earth and us unharmed.

The light was baffled. It couldn’t comprehend this power.

“My turn!!”

Bastion flew towards the light and readied his throwing knives.

“レインボータイダルブラスト!!”

“RAINBOW TIDAL BLAST!!”

The knives surged through space, pinning the light to the spot and rendering it helpless as the power of the elements coursed through it. It had nowhere to run now.

Jesse went next, readying his sword. He was ready to avenge everyone and everything the light had ever hurt.

“レインボークリスタルストリーム!!”

“RAINBOW CRYSTAL STREAM!!”

The rainbow light burst from his sword and started to break the light up. It tried to escape, but it had me to deal with.

“THIS IS FOR EVERYONE YOU’VE MANIPULATED AND HURT!!”

I raised my spear high into the air, Channeling my lightning powers.

“レインボーデルタサンダー!!”

“RAINBOW DELTA THUNDER!!”

The light screamed in pain and agony. It wasn’t done. It conjured up his power for one final attack, but we knew it was on its last legs.

“EVERYONE WITH ME!!”

We gathered together, and with the power of our bond, our weapons fused together, creating a brand new weapon—the Miracle Rainbow Spear.

“Impossible!!” The light snapped, “don’t you know if you use all your power, the worlds will be separated!?”

“Even so… I have a sworn duty to protect both this world and the spirit world…” Jesse reflected “, my friends have shown me the true importance of being the crystal protector, and I will always treasure that… I will never forget that even if we are separated!!”

“People come and go… that’s an unfortunate part of life… but I will not cry when it’s over….” Bastion felt a grin grow on his face, “I will smile because I’ll remember every precious memory we’ve given each other!!”

“No matter what comes between us, we will always be together no matter where we are in one world or another….” Jaden added, holding back tears. “OUR FOUR HEARTS WILL ALWAYS BEAT AS ONE!!”

“It’s funny… when this journey began, I didn’t want anything to do with these guys… but now I don’t want this adventure to end….” I smiled “but I know they’re right!! No matter what happens, we’ll always be together!! I’ll never forget any of this and the friendships we made!!”

Our hearts beat as one as the spear resonated with us. It was time to end this.

“ミラクルレインボーレフラクション!!”

“MIRACLE RAINBOW REFRACTION!!”

The bright colour exploded from the spear charging towards the light, eliminating the white completely

“Stop it!! It’s too bright!! Stop it!!”

I screamed as I thrust the spear forward, charging with one last burst of energy.

“IMPOSSIBLE…. I AM THE LIGHT I AM ALL POWERFUUUUUL” piece by piece it was disintegrated

It was over…he was gone…

The four of us floated through space, relieved it was all over.

“Y’all… thank you so much for your help… I can’t believe it’s all over….” Jesse sighed

“Yeah…” I smiled. “I’m glad we were able to save everyone….”

“Now humans and duel spirits and live in peace….” Jaden nodded

“Indeed, a happy ending all round”, Bastion chuckled.

Suddenly Jesse and the duel spirits started glowing.

“Huh!? Jesse, what’s happening!?”

“It’s time, guys… I’m going back to the spirit world….”

“N-now!? But I thought we had more time!! I thought we’d at least spend more time together!!” Bastion gasped

“Sorry, y’all… I don’t make the rules, my missions over, and now it’s time to go home….”

“You can’t go, Jesse!! There’s still so much I wanted to do!!”

“Jesse, please!! We love you!!”

“I love y’all too!! But remember what we said… we’ll always be together… no matter what… we’ll see each other again… I know it!!”

Winged Kuriboh flew over to Jaden, who eagerly hugged him. “I’ll miss you too, Winged-Kuriboh!”

“I’m gonna miss you!!” Pikeru sobbed

“I’ll miss you too, Pikeru….” Bastion sighed and patted her head “don’t forget me, alright?”

“I don’t think I could ever forget a loser like you….” Pikeru giggled before flying in to hug him.

“BOOOOOOSS!!”

I pulled the Ojamas into a tight hug. I didn’t want to admit it, but I was going to miss them a lot.

“We love you, boss!!”

“I… I love you guys too… take care now, alright…?”

I slowly let go, and the Duel Spirits flew back to Jesse, all returning to their world while we returned to ours…

I don’t remember much after that… the months sort of flew by, and I graduated high school. Bastion left to work with Professor Eisenstein, Jaden disappeared after graduation… That was the last I saw of th-

“That can’t be the end!!”

“Huh?” I looked down to my oldest daughter “what do you mean, Aurora?”

“That can’t be how it ends!!” Aurora protested, “did you really get separated forever!?”

“That’s so sad!!” Rosalie, my second daughter, nodded.

“Uh-huh!” My son Damien agreed.

“Well, I said we got separated. I never said forever….” I mumbled

“S-so, did you get to see each other again?” Rosalie asked.

“I don’t know….” I pulled my kids onto my lap and hugged them “do you want us to see each other again?”

“I do, I do!”

I chuckled and hugged them all close. “Maybe we’ll see each other again….”

I heard the door open and the sound of tired shuffling.

“Oh, let’s see who’s home!!”

Aurora jumped up first and dashed out the door, seeing the three exhausted adults.

“DADDY! PAPA! MOM!”

“Hey, Aurora!” Jesse grinned and picked her up, giving her the biggest hug.

Rosalie ran over to Bastion and hugged him tightly. She was always a papa’s girl.

Damien and I chuckled and walked over to Jaden, both greeting him with a kiss on the cheek.

“How was work?”

“Oh, you know the usual!” Jaden smirked.

I walked over to Jesse and wrapped my arms around him, planting a firm kiss on his lips.

“Mmm, that’s nice! What was that for?” Jesse grinned

“I just missed you a lot today….” I smiled.

Well, it seemed to work. The kids wanted us to meet up again. And we did.

[jelly-pies]

Dancing From Now On

Read on AO3

Pepper remembered their first dance. Contrary to public knowledge, it had not been at the annual Stark Industries gala.

Tony and Pepper's first dance took place months before that, alone at the mansion, late after a long day of work. The music had been Pepper's idea, to relax. But the dance had been Tony's.

"Getting better, Potts." Somehow cheerier than usual, he spun her slowly around the workshop. "Nobody will ever know you had two left feet. Hardly believe it myself, if my toe wasn't still throbbing."

Pepper huffed. "Not all of us could afford dance classes, you know."

"Well, it's not that hard, see? We're just swaying." Tony pulled her in, an inch closer, meeting her eyes. And for one moment, Pepper was purely dancing with the friend she was secretly in love with—not the boss who depended on her, or the playboy whose one night stands she escorted out of the mansion every few weeks. Just Tony. "Just dancing."

Their casual flirting was one thing. But this was getting dangerously close to something else—so Pepper ended the moment. JARVIS stopped the music, and when Pepper looked back after collecting her things, Tony suddenly looked away as if he'd been caught staring.

Maybe he had.

"So, you're good?" Tony asked casually, hands fiddling with some tools he picked up. "No stumbling over anybody's feet at the next gala?"

"We're good." Pepper matched his light tone. "Thank you, Mr. Stark."

"You're very welcome, Ms. Potts."

"And Tony... " She paused at the door. Did she imagine that expectant look he sent her way, or was it just the lighting? "Um… that contract you still have to look over. Don't show up tomorrow without it."

"Which one?"

"Tony."

He chuckled. "I got it. Have a good night."

Maybe it was just the lighting.

"Good night," Pepper answered, and exited the room with deliberate steps.

She turned back before the landing. Tony was facing away, bringing up holo-screens, flexing his hands—and suddenly she remembered the feel of those calloused fingers against her own, drawing her closer.

Tony looked up. Pepper turned away, determined not to be caught staring.

But maybe she had.

Pepper remembered their first dance. And she remembered how it led to much, much more.

-

Their second dance, that one was at the Stark Industries Firefighter's Family Fund benefit. A backless blue gown, a little banter, an almost-kiss on the roof. Another moment Pepper ended before anything could begin, even though she half-wished something  would begin—had been wishing it those dreadful three months of Tony's disappearance.

As Tony left to get them drinks, Pepper turned away to hide a growing blush. She didn't see the way he looked back at her from the door.

Tony reentered the building, and didn't see the way Pepper looked after his retreating back, either.

-

Years later on another rooftop, after a disastrous Stark Expo, the kiss became real.

They even had a witness, who deadpanned, "You guys look like two seals fighting over a grape."

Tony put his arm around her as they faced Rhodey, and Pepper couldn’t help thinking how that gesture must make them look like a real couple. She found she didn’t mind. All of a sudden, plans of her resignation as CEO didn't seem so urgent.

Tony turned back to her as soon as Rhodey left and challenged, "How are you gonna resign if I don’t accept?"

Pepper laughed, letting the action release her anxiety and near-death stress and girlish romance. "I…" And Tony was leaning close. She stopped him with a finger on his lips. "Tony, if I don't… we can’t…"

"Come on, it’s us. We’ll figure something out." And there was that look again. Pepper wasn’t so quick to blame the lighting this time. "Ms. Potts?" Tony took both her hands. "Pep?"

It was too late to stop this moment, and Pepper knew it. But the doubt must have still shown on her face because Tony took one look and continued, "Remember when we danced? The first time, Malibu? You crushed my toes about a hundred—"

"Please let that go."

"—but we made it work."

Pepper took a breath. "We did."

Tony smiled, eyes shining—that's how Pepper could always tell if his smiles were real. She could also tell that both of them were done holding back… whatever this was.

"We are pretty good at dancing," Pepper replied.

Tony couldn't see her face as they embraced, but if he did, Pepper was sure he could tell her smile was real, too.

-

A private night at Stark Tower after the New York attack, that was the third dance. Or fourth, or fifth, maybe. Pepper wasn't sure she needed to count anymore.

She was only sure of two things. Swaying together in their home, with JARVIS playing soft music overhead, her arms around the love she had almost lost—and had accepted she would come close to losing, over and over again, for the sake of saving the world—Pepper was only sure of these: that she wanted herself and Tony to have a thousand more dances to come.

And that she could never know which one would be their last.

-

They danced that night on yet another rooftop, after the events with the Mandarin.

They didn't dance after Ultron.

Or for several months after that.

But the next time Pepper and Tony finally held each other in their arms, they held on tighter, and neither let go for a long, long time.

-

This wasn't how Pepper imagined it, for several reasons.

Tony’s smile was different. There was a sadness in them that lingered like ashes, but he smiled anyway, holding her close—which was a feat with Pepper's growing belly, but they made it work.

There were fewer guests. Several seats they left vacant on purpose, scattered around the lakeside like lonely souls. Some people held the belief they were there, in spirit, and that's what mattered. Pepper wasn't so sure; pure sentimentality had prevailed on her to leave the seats out.

Apparently sentimentality ran high this evening. The band played the song she and Tony had first danced to, oh so long ago, in a mansion long since blown to bits, by an AI, a friend, long since gone.

There was no publicity in what had once been anticipated as the event of the decade. A single ray of sun through gray clouds instead of all-around sunshine, in what was supposed to be the happiest day of Pepper and Tony's life.

But the people they loved—those that were left—celebrated with them, and that was enough. A simple reception at their new house, and the wedding was over.

After the lake grew quiet and the stars came out, the newlyweds slow-danced through the night, just the two of them.

This wasn't how Pepper imagined their new life would start. But start it did, with a dance.

"Getting better, Potts," Tony whispered beside her temple, their heads pressed together.

"Not so hard without the floor length gown. I know that was my idea, but God, don’t let me do anything like that ever again."

Tony chuckled and spun her slowly until she faced away, then wrapped his arms around his wife, their four hands interlocking on top of her belly.

Pepper had long lost count of their dances. But she knew this was one she would always remember.

It was Tony who broke the silence. "You guys still here? Scoot."

Pepper turned where he was looking: Rhodey’s wedding presents on the mantelpiece, staring at them—two plushie seals. And she laughed. Tony could always make her laugh.

“Fighting over a grape?” Pepper recalled.

“I never really got that image, to be honest.”

“Hm.” She turned back to Tony, cupped his cheek, and leaned in. “Let’s see about that.”

-

"That’s it! You’re doing it!" Tony spun their daughter around until the song ended, and Morgan collapsed in giggles on the floor. Tony scooped her up and tickled her with his stubble, making the giggling grow louder.

"Dad!" Morgan laughed. "Mommy, save me!"

Pepper swiftly rescued the toddler, only to drop her on the couch and blow raspberries on her stomach a second later. "In this house—" another tickle, and Morgan squealed— "nobody—escapes—dancing!"

Morgan finally succeeded in pushing her away as FRIDAY started the next upbeat song, and soon all three were back on their feet.

-

“Not that it's a competition.” Tony walked in. “But she loves me three thousand.”

“Oh, does she?”

“You were somewhere on the low… six to nine hundred range.”

Tony could always make her laugh.

Even the night after the Avengers came to visit. The night their new life, that Pepper knew in her heart could never last long, started to melt away.

Tonight there was no music, no dancing. Only the crackle of the fireplace, the weight of the future, and Pepper’s words hanging in the air— "But will you be able to rest?"

Tony didn’t answer her. He didn’t need to.

But Pepper held his hand, and Tony kissed her cheek. And when they finally went to bed, they held each other tighter.

-

Tony held her hand, and Pepper kissed his cheek. "You can rest now."

Tonight there was no dancing.

-

Two cylindrical compartments stood along the garage wall, one of them forever to be empty. In the other, Pepper put her Rescue suit away by herself. Crossing the room, her fingers couldn't help lingering over Tony's reserve helmet—Tony's desk—Tony's tools—Tony's presence. She could always feel it in his workshops.

Their first dance had been in his workshop.

The memory jolted her, pulling Pepper's eyes back to the last gift Tony left: her Rescue suit slumped in its compartment, looking as battered as she felt. Pepper remembered what it was like to take the suit to battle. To fight side by side with her husband, gauntlets firing in sync, guarding each other's back. A team to the end.

Did that count as a dance? Because otherwise, Pepper realized, she didn't remember the last time she and Tony danced.

She remembered their first, though—would always remember it. JARVIS’s song, their wedding song, strained in her ears—she could almost feel Tony's calloused fingers around hers—dancing in his workshop late at night.

But in this workshop, on this night, Pepper could only cry.

-

Pepper still danced.

She danced with Rhodey, and they leaned on each other, the way they had learned to do long ago.

She danced with Happy, bouncy little head bangs as they cooked Christmas dinner together, and for a moment the house was full of music again.

She danced with Peter, years later at his wedding, whispering "We’re so proud of you" in his ear.

She danced with her daughter. Morgan always pulled her to her feet whenever a lively song came on the radio— "In this house, nobody escapes dancing!" And they laughed. And they danced.

Pepper still danced. Just not with the one person she most wanted to dance with again.

-

When years had passed, and Morgan was grown, and the house was quiet most hours of the day, Pepper developed the habit of sneaking out on the balcony on clear nights, and looking up at the stars.

Some of her favorite dances with Tony had taken place under the stars. Like the rooftop. And their wedding.

Pepper didn’t remember which dance had been their last. But she remembered the first. And the second. And the thousands that came after that. Maybe that was enough.

In the quiet of the lake house, with only the strains of their wedding song echoing in her ears, and the stars above her, forever her witness—Pepper danced.

-

-

- "Ang Huling El Bimbo (The Last [Dance])," The Eraserheads

Lahat ng pangarap ko'y bigla lang natunaw

Sa panaginip nalang pala kita maisasayaw

(All of my dreams are suddenly gone

Only in dreams can we dance from now on)