#and flash grenades out of junk

[eashn]

You’re an Idiot, Darling - Ch. 2

Rating: Explicit (18+ only) | Mando x Reader

series masterlist | AO3 Link

Word count: 3.3k 

Summary: The Mandalorian needed you to fix the Crest, but then, he went and got stabbed. Now, he needs you to fix him up, too.

WARNINGS for this chapter: Violence, knives and blasters, fire and explosions, minor antagonist death, no use of Y/N, swearing, blood

“Reinforcements,” Mando growled, pulling the blaster from his hip. Cocking it, he shouldered you aside. “Take the kid. Get to your hanger—I’ll meet you there.”

“Meet us th—? Mando, there are dozens of them.” You gaped at him. “You can’t be serious.”

The helmet angled toward you as if silently saying, No, I’m fucking serious. You huffed a disbelieving laugh. 

“Go,” he said sternly, walking away. 

“This is why he gets called a jackass,” you muttered, more to yourself than to him. But the hunter heard you. 

“I’m buying time,” he barked, whipping around. “I slow them down, you escape. It’s simple.”

“It’s suicide!” you roared. “You cannot fight them all.” 

He stared defiantly at you. “Do you have a better plan?” he demanded. 

Stars, did you? You were still reeling—still fighting every panicked urge that said you were screwed, you were all going to get shot, going to die—

No no no, concentrate, you chanted internally, tamping it all down. You couldn’t lose your nerve. You needed brains to get out of this one. Frantically, you sidestepped Mando, trying to get a good look at the horizon. There was only barren, rocky land extending out from the junkyard’s edge. No obstacles in the bounty hunters’ way, which meant it’d take the speeders no more than five minutes to reach you. You couldn’t possibly hope to fight them and make it out alive. Which meant that your only option was to run. You scanned the dim surroundings. 

Scrap metal and junk rose in towering piles all around you, but beyond it, to the left, the outskirts of the city began. In the dark, it was only hulking outlines of buildings and poorly-lit streets. Mando quietly watched you gauge the time and distance, your mechanic’s brain conducting rapid calculations. The roads were too exposed, but—there. That last building had a fire escape. 

“The rooftops,” you murmured. “I’ve got it! We take the rooftops, try and lose them on the way. If we can just make it to my hangar…” You didn’t know what’d come after that. But it didn’t matter right now—the mercenaries were gaining quick. You needed to leave. 

“I’ll stall them,” Mando said.

“No. You won’t,” you turned on your heel, leading the way, “or so help me Mando, I will shoot you myself. Let’s go!” 

Grabbing hold of his free hand, you yanked him across the junkyard. The two of you leapt through the scraps, fumbling through the dark with the kid’s crib trailing close behind. By the time you stood in the open road, the speeders’ engines droned close enough to rattle your teeth. To your right, the plume of dust and smoke grew ever closer. 

A narrow alley stretched before you across the road—dark as an abyss against the starry sky above. The perfect hiding spot. “There.” You pointed to the ladder creeping up the side of one building, leading all the way to its roof. “Hurry. We don’t have much ti—”

Gunfire interrupted you. 

You both whirled to see bright, red plasma arc through the sky. Beneath it, the mercenaries were less than fifty yards away. 

“He’s got an automatic,” Mando growled, twisting his grip so that his gloved fingers looped around your wrist. He tugged you across the street. 

“Ah,” you said, horrified. “Nice of him to let us know.”

Hastily, you both ducked into the darkness of the alley. “We need to slow them down, or we’ll never outrun them,” Mando said. Flattening himself against the opposite wall, he pulled a small, cylindrical object from his belt. A flash grenade. 

“Press that button on the side of the kid’s pod,” he instructed. You did. “Now climb. It’ll follow you.” 

“What about—?”

“I’m right behind you.”

“But—”

“I promise,” he said, voice pleading. “Just go!”

You wanted to argue—you really did. But he was right: there was no time. Turning to the ladder, you wrapped your palms around the grimy rungs and began to climb.

The building was a few floors up, and you’d cleared about half of them when the grenade exploded behind you. You squeezed your eyes shut as the flare illuminated the alley walls. Below, there was utter commotion—the rattle of the speeders mixing with the bounty hunters’ shocked cries. “Mando!” came a furious shout, along with something awfully rude-sounding in Huttese. You gritted your teeth, not daring to look down till you’d scrambled onto the roof. 

“Dank farrik,” came a low growl from below, and the ladder creaked as Mando climbed out of the rising smoke. Immediately, you began scanning his frame for any injuries. You found none. 

“Your colleagues seem friendly,” you called down to him, unable to keep the relief from your voice. As if in response, there came a holler from the street—something along the lines of you fucking coward, I’m going to peel that beskar from your cold, dead remains. Mando’s helmet tilted sardonically up at you. You snickered in response. 

He climbed up beside you, and for a moment, you both paused to watch the scene below. The hunters were in complete disarray: thick smoke billowed all around them as they roared in panic. Several lay unconscious, knocked out by the force of the blast, but too many were still standing. They swore at each other, racking their blasters and frantically searching the dark surroundings for their target. 

It was mayhem. A stark contrast to you and Mando standing on the roof, your dark silhouettes perfectly still as you caught your breaths. The air was brisk this high up; you shivered lightly when the wind whipped your hair across your face. Mando caught the motion. Slowly, he turned slowly to you. 

He reached out with a gloved hand as you watched the street. And carefully—so, very carefully—he tucked the lock of hair back behind your ear. 

Your gaze sliced to him. Only for those gloved fingers to fall from your cheekbone and wrap tightly around your wrist. 

“C’mon,” he said roughly, yanking you across the rooftop. “Won’t be long before they catch up. Which way do we go?”

You almost tripped over your feet, stumbling after him. “H-hangar’s that way,” you said, pointing to the left.

And the bastard took off to the right. 

“Wh—Mando!” you cried. “Mando—wait—you’re going the wrong—” 

“I know,” he growled, his grip on your arm tightening as he raced towards the opposite ledge. “But we’ll need a running start.”

“We’ll need a fucking what?” 

Oh, but cold, brutal realization had already hit you. 

You stood several feet from the roof’s edge. His helmet whipped to you. “When I say jump,” Mando breathed, “you jump. Okay?”

“Mando.” 

“Okay?”

“Mando, listen to me.”

He didn’t. Gripping your forearm like a vice, the Mandalorian took off down the terrace, dragging you behind him. You screeched in shock, twisting your wrist to catch his vambrace in some semblance of a steadying grip. The edge of the roof drew closer and closer, and your stomach plummeted as the gap beyond it came into view. There was no way you were going to make it. No way, no way, no way—

“JUMP!”

With the bounty hunter’s arm in yours and the cold wind ripping through your hair, you leapt. 

Distantly, you could hear the mercenaries’ cries of alarm. They’d caught sight of you. Yet even as their speeders revved up to chase after you, all you could focus on was the feeling of Mando’s bruising grip on your wrist. Together, you flew over the smoke rising from below—soaring towards the edge of the opposite roof. As he hurtled towards the other side, he pulled you down with him, matching your trajectory to his. 

His feet hit the ledge with a clean thud. You landed after him, smacking gracelessly against his solid chest. 

Peeling away from his cuirass, you groaned. 

“Oh, you…cunt.”

“Let’s go,” he said tightly. “They’re coming.”

You glared at him, despite the fact that your eyes were still watering from the collision. Then you ripped your arm from his grasp. 

“Look, I don’t know if things are different on Mandalore,” you seethed, “but around here, we like to, you know, ask for consent before chucking people off buildings.” 

He gave you his trademarked silence. Growling in frustration, you raised both palms to shove them roughly against his chest—

He caught them midair. “I didn’t chuck you,” he said, leaning close. The words were a dangerous rumble through the helmet. “Quit wasting time. Come on.” 

And once again, you were off.

You were trying not to fume. As he raced across the roof, dragging you along with him, you were trying to remember the fact that stubbornness was an inextricable part of who Mando was—that shutting everybody out was just his natural response to danger. 

But it was difficult to be understanding as he yanked you through the night, stumbling across roof after filthy roof. 

At least he had the decency to avoid another jump, you thought. He was leading you over the wooden slats and other debris that were stretched between the buildings, connecting their ledges. Together, you weaved through the paraphernalia littering the surface of each terrace—abandoned objects that the buildings’ residents no longer had use for. At some point, you started scanning the piles of trash for a jumpspeeder you could pinch. But you found nothing. Luck really wasn’t on your side tonight. 

The bounty hunters were still approaching. Even over the roar of wind in your ears, you could hear their whoops and hollers ring through the dark. You risked a glance behind you—checking that the kid’s pod was still trailing you both—and caught sight of the men over the building’s ledge.

They weren’t close anymore, but they raced towards you: stirring up dust behind them with two, even three, on each speeder. A few smiled and cackled viciously, sending aimless blaster shots toward the roofs. Not even trying to hit you, you realized. The assholes were simply enjoying the thrill of the chase.

“Look out!” Mando roared suddenly. 

You faced forward again. Only to find a dark, deep alley yawning before you. 

Lightning-fast, he wrenched you backward before you could tumble over the edge. Your back thudded against his chest.  

There were no wooden slats over which to run this time. Empty space separated the roof where you stood from all the other structures at its sides. Thick, grotty pipes extended between the gap, but below them…there was only darkness. 

“Uh…wow.” Vertigo set in as you looked down at the drop. “That—that could’ve been bad. Um.”

“Yeah,” Mando exhaled from behind you. “It could’ve.” 

You both breathed hard. His hands came to settle on your shoulders.

“We made good time,” he said, with a hint of wryness. 

This was true. For all his bullheadedness, you had to admit he managed to put a safe distance between you and the hunters. “Right,” you conceded. “But next time, could you save our asses without being a complete ass yourself?”

Muscled forearms tensed against your sides. “Next time?” he said tightly. 

“I mean, there’s bound to be a next time, right? If things go on like this.” 

“Like what,” he asked. The words were quiet, but you caught the bit of temper that’d dripped into his tone. 

You huffed, incredulous. He had no right to be angry right now. “If you keep landing yourself in a shitstorm of trouble,” you said bitterly, “and pushing people away when they try to help.”

The wind howled in your ears. In the distance, you could still hear the other hunters. 

Abruptly, Mando whirled you around to face him. 

“I don’t need anyone’s help,” he snarled, the words a rough, jagged sound through the modulator. His beskar face was inches from yours. 

The glow of the streetlamps couldn’t reach you up here. This high, there was only starlight. And beneath that light, Mando’s edges were glimmering. He was outlined in pale, flickering silver—a gleam that quivered with every rise and fall of his broad chest. The black slash of his visor was trained on you, utterly still. He was furious. And he looked, in a word: haunting. Like a machine, more than a man.

You should’ve been scared of this dangerous machine. But instead, you whispered: “Why? Mando, why do you keep everyone at arm's length?”

Because you knew better. 

You knew that, right now, he was breathing hard and ragged. That his powerful stature was trembling a little, from the exhaustion of running for so long. You knew that he smelled like sweat and musk beneath that armor, that the weight of his massive palms on your shoulders was impossibly tender—and that heat emanated from him. 

He was warm in a way that was absolutely, ruinously human. 

He wasn’t dangerous. Not really. And you knew it because his voice cracked with vulnerability when he said, “I just want to keep my friends safe.”

The admission made you smile sadly. You looked up at your reflection in the surface of his armor, watching it fog from the closeness of your breath. And you didn’t think twice. Looping your arms beneath his, you pulled him into a tight embrace.

“You’re only one man, Mando,” you murmured, mouth hovering by the part of the helmet where his ear would be. “You can’t protect everyone. And someday…” the words were barely a whisper when you said, “you’ll need protecting too.”

BANG! 

BANG! 

BANG! 

Leave it to a pack of bounty hunters to interrupt a moment as delicate as this. 

You ripped your cheek from the coolness of his helmet, turning to find: the mercenaries beginning to gather in the alley below. Aiming their guns at the roofs, they sent droves of sizzling-hot bolts of plasma shooting up at you. You shoved Mando backward, shielding yourself with your other arm. 

“Our buddies are back!” you hollered, grinning with derision. 

“So much for buying time,” he said drily. He pulled his blaster from its holster, and you reached for your own. 

“I don’t think we can run this time, Mando,” you said, eyeing the steep drop before you. You couldn’t jump over—there was nowhere for you to go. 

“How far’s your hanger?” he asked, racking the gun. It should’ve been close, actually, considering the distance you’d covered so far. You scanned the surroundings, searching for the familiar outline of the building in the dark, and—there it was. 

“Not far at all.” You pointed at its silhouette. It was maybe thirty yards from the roof where you stood. If you could just get down to the street, brawl your way past the hunters, and make a run for it, you’d be safe. 

The damn mercenaries weren’t going to make it easy for you, though. A shot zinged directly past Mando’s pauldron. You whistled. “That one was close.”

Blaster in hand, you turned back to the alley. “We’ll need to engage them,” you said. “I don't like it, but…we won’t be able to get through without fighting them. We just need to make it down there.” You looked down at the gap again. “Any ideas?” 

He considered for a moment, silently. Below, the hunters grew even more restless. 

“Hey!” came a shout over the racket of gunfire. You turned to see a lanky, cloaked figure walk out of the fray. He removed his hood to reveal: the face of a Rodian. Mean and ugly, he looked all the less appealing with that dirty sneer across his features. 

“You’re bantha meat, Mandalorian,” he called up to you. His self-possessed demeanor seemed to suggest a higher level of experience than the other hunters—possibly, he was the leader behind all this. 

Suddenly, his foul, reptilian eyes flicked to you. His smile widened. “Hand over the bounty,” he said, “and maybe my men will leave you and your pretty little whore alive.” 

Mando’s warm palm was on your shoulder in seconds. “Guess we found out who’s leading these morons,” you scowled. Deftly, you raised your blaster. 

“Think again!” you called down to the Rodian. And you shot the bounty hunter standing directly next to him. The man fell. 

There was an uproar. The barrage of bullets increased tenfold—flying up at you from all angles. The hunters hollered in rage, shouting threats and vile insults. Fisting your tunic in one hand, Mando tugged you back from the ledge. You snickered lightly. 

“What is wrong with you,” he demanded. “What happened to not wanting to fight them?!” 

“Well, that was before Mr. Rodian’s sexist comments!” you cried. “You know how I feel about misogynists!” 

He groaned, aiming a lethal sigh to the heavens. 

“You’re not being all that helpful either!” you snapped. “All I asked was for you to come up with a plan to get out of here. It’s not that hard!”

“You—!” Mando began, raising a gloved finger to point menacingly at you. But then he paused, looking over your shoulder. He’d caught sight of something behind you. 

You saw the exact moment a lightbulb sparked over his head. 

“The pipes,” he murmured. And he promptly began fiddling with the controls of his vambrace—the ones that’d allow the child’s pod to float after him, even several feet in the air. 

Oh. You smiled maliciously, already understanding his plan. “Sometimes, Mando, you’re not as dumb as you look.” 

He scanned the alley below. “Once I shoot, it’s going to get hairy,” he said. “You’ll be alone on the ground for a second.”

You racked your blaster. “I’ll be fine.” 

He looked at you—at the resolve glimmering in your eyes. He could see the cold, calculating focus slipping across your features. You were ready for this fight, and you wanted him to know it. 

“Okay. Fine,” he said. “But, listen to me. I’ve got beskar and you don’t, so you need—”

“To stay close. I know. Just shoot the damn fibercord already.” 

He went quiet. And then, to your utmost surprise, something that sounded like a laugh huffed out of his helmet.

He aimed towards the thickest pipe stretching over your heads, and with a clench of his fist, the fibercord whip whisked out of his vambrace. Smooth as water, he grabbed you by the waist. Tugging you toward his solid frame, he stood poised to jump. 

“C’mon,” you hissed, wrapping your arms around him. “What are you waiting for?” 

“Consent,” he muttered. 

“Oh, you—prick—” 

Mando jumped. 

Growing up in the Outer Rim, you’d had your fair share of aggressive interactions over the years. Even before your career as a mechanic—before you learned how to fight, how to shoot—you’d been taught how to observe. Calculate. Plan. Your whole life, you’d been using your brain to outsmart the likes of bounty hunters. 

So, you were a little familiar with what you were feeling right now. See, often, in the heated moments right before a fight like this, you’d noticed that everything seemed to soften and slow. Time itself would freeze. And amidst that stillness, your brain would process each and every sensation at lightspeed. The wind rushing past your face, biting at your skin. The horde of angry hunters, shooting at you from below. White-hot plasma zipped past you, chiming against the plates of Mando’s armor. Even through the clamor rattling in your ears, you could hear your own bated breath. 

It was survival instinct—this sharp concentration that allowed you to hear and see and feel so much. It’d saved your life more times than you could recall. But Maker forgive you, you were about to abuse this little power. For just a second—just one, single moment—you let yourself focus on the wrong details. 

Mando’s palm: warm at your hip. His armored torso: a comforting mass in your arms. As you flew, together, through the open air, you tilted your face up to the stars. For the first time, you noticed what a clear, lovely night it was. 

Then, the heel of your boot cracked against Mr. Rodian’s snout.

thank you for reading! follow @eashn​ for more!

[rowantreeart]

No one asked for this but Rowan 2 and 14 for the character challenge

[generallynerdy]

Uncalled they come to me, and told, they still won’t leave me (Din Djarin/Soulmate!Reader)

Spoilers for Chapter 9 (S2E1) of the Mandalorian

Summary: After the ambitious Toro Calican turns on you, his hired mechanic, in hopes of winning favour with the Guild, the mysterious Mandalorian saves your life. Now that you owe him a life debt, he’s stuck with you until you can save him back. It’s not so bad, having a free mechanic and babysitter for the kid, but things take a turn for the worse when both of you realise you might be catching feelings. For someone that might not even be your Soulmate.

Requested by Anon: Hello! How’re you doing? May I please request a Din x reader soulmate au? The one where you don’t see color until you touch your soulmate? It would be very difficult for Din to find his soulmate and I’ve always wanted to see how it played out. If not that’s ok! Thank you and have a wonderful day ❤️

Key: (Y/N) - your name, (h/c) - hair colour, (e/c) - eye colour Translations: vode - siblings, Ret’urcye mhi - goodbye (literally: may we meet again), mirshmure’cya - brain-kiss (Basic term, is Keldabe kiss. This is the soft one as opposed to the literal headbutt term) Asked to be tagged in this disaster: @pearlll09 Word Count: remember when i said this would be 4k? Yeah. It’s 6,478 words. What. The. Fuck.

Author’s Note: this is way longer than I intended it to be but I think u deserve it since u were the only one who saw my post begging for mando requests and actually sent one hksjlfdkj tysm!! I’m so happy I got to write a Soulmate AU for him tbh. Btw, I have it in my head that Yodito would’ve given him the ability to see green, as a familial Soulmate bond, but it wouldn’t work for this if your eyes are green so I just left it out. (Also wtf is up with the Cobb/Din shit, Cobb is clearly in a dedicated relationship with the bartender Weequay. I named them Sala :D) The title is from The Teller of Tales by Gabriela Mistral.

Read On AO3

*

“Do you wear those gloves all the time?”

The Mando gives you a look—one that you can’t read, obviously, but you get the idea that it’s drier than the desert you’re in.

Calican snorts, but you shoot him a glare and he shuts up. You’re only here because he’s paying well for your mechanical skills, enough that his request of an extra hand on his first bounty seemed reasonable. Finding out that he’s hunting Fennec Shand was...less than pleasing, but now that the Mando is onboard, you’re not quite so worried about the outcome. They’re supposed to be fearsome warriors, after all. And he was smart enough to figure out how to wait out Shand, which is what the three of you have been doing for hours.

“I’m just saying,” you continue, “between the armour and the gloves, it must be damn near impossible to find your Soulmate.”

He shrugs. Sort of. It’s kind of hard to tell, to be honest.

“Haven’t you heard the stories?” Calican asks, flopping back onto the sand. “Mandalorians don’t have Soulmates. They start seeing colour after their first battle; war is their only destiny.”

You roll your eyes. They’re folk tales, really, and ridiculous ones at that. Every sentient has at least one Soulmate, romantic, platonic, familial, or otherwise, and there’s no reason for Mandalorians to be any different. Still, the stories make their rounds. There are specific ones, too, like the one about the Mandalorian Jedi who made the Darksaber; he was said to see colour when he lit his weapon for the first time. Fett, too, was said to have seen a new colour with every clone that was decanted—which is mildly ridiculous.

“Maybe the Mandalorians of old,” Mando comments with a scoff. “Not many of us see battle these days.”

“Well, if you’re looking for it, I know a krayt dragon a few hundred klicks away,” you suggest lightly.

He snorts. “No thanks. I’ll take the assassin.”

“Speaking of,” you said, “you guys know I’m just a mechanic, right?”

There’s a pause. Calican nods, but the Mando is still.

“What?” he asks, displeasure in his voice.

“I mean, I’m pretty good with a blaster, but I’m gonna be useless against Fennec Shand.”

Mando whirls on Calican. “You paid a mechanic to be your back-up? Are you insane?”

He shrugs. “(Y/N) has a mean right hook.”

“That’s not reassuring,” Mando huffs. He looks over at you and you can almost feel him glaring through the visor. “Are you crazy?”

“I’m broke,” you scoff. “Same thing. Oh, hey, do you need repairs on that hunk of junk you pilot? I’ll be more thorough than that lady at the hangar.”

He hesitates. “We’ll see.”

You grin. That’s not a no.

*

“You’re a prick, did I mention that?” you hiss over your shoulder.

Calican shoves the blaster into your side. “Shut up and keep walking.”

The Mandalorian stands on the other side of the hangar, waiting for Calican to make his move. Seriously, this day could not be going any worse. After killing Shand, Toro Calican, certified dumbass, decided that kidnapping you and the Mandalorian’s—pet? Child?—passenger was the best way to go. Whatever the little weird thing that’s in your arms is, it’s pretty cute, and you’d rather he shoot you than the baby holding tightly onto your shirt. In fact, he probably will, because the kid is his ticket into the Guild—you’re just dead weight.

“Looks like I’m calling the shots now. Huh, partner?” Calican asks the Mando. “Drop your blaster and raise ‘em.”

The Mandalorian puts his hands behind his head. Next to you, Calican pushes Peli forward and instructs her to cuff him. With a huff, she moves behind the Mandalorian with the intent to follow orders.

“You’re a Guild traitor, Mando,” Calican begins. You consider sighing. This sounds like the start of a villain monologue. “And I’m willing to bet that this here is the target you helped escape. Fennec was right. Bringing you in won’t just make me a member of the Guild, it’ll make me legendary.”

In a burst of light, the Mandalorian sets off a flash grenade.

You yelp and tuck the little thing into your arms before tucking yourself over into a roll down the ramp of the ship. You fall into the sand just in front of the Mandalorian, who’s moved to fire a shot at Calican, sending him flying off the other side, smouldering.

Breathing heavily, you sit up, the child still in your arms.

“Are you okay? Is the child?”

You look up. The Mandalorian has his gloved hand held out, offering to help you up. Hesitantly, you take it and pull yourself off the ground.

“We’re both okay—I think,” you say hesitantly, holding the baby out to him. “Is he—?”

“Dead,” the Mando confirms, taking the child from you.

You frown. “Good riddance. Thank you,” you tell him hesitantly, though your tone is genuine.

“It’s nothing,” he murmurs.

He distracts himself by checking on the child, who coos up at him contentedly. You smile a little at the interaction, but put yourself back into focus.

“It’s not nothing,” you say firmly. “I owe you a life debt.”

He freezes. “What?”

“Where I come from, if someone saves your life, you owe it to them. Until I can save your life, I owe you,” you explain.

“That’s—you don’t need to do that,” he says quickly.

You cross your arms. “It’s like your Way. It’s my culture, my honour on the line. You’re stuck with me, Mando.”

“What? No. Can’t you...pay me, or something?”

“I’m broke, remember?”

“You saved the child’s life, doesn’t that count?”

Your eyebrows shoot up. “I rolled with him. You did the work, so, no, it doesn’t count, even though he’s your…” You hesitate, remembering the word. “...foundling.”

“You know, you’re kind of getting the better end of the deal here,” Peli pipes up, directing the thought at the Mandalorian. “A free mechanic, babysitter, and an extra blaster? That’s a bargain.”

“Uh...pre-warning, I don’t know much about child care,” you warn immediately.

He snorts. “Neither do I.” After a moment, he sighs deeply. “Fine. But we’re going to work on those blaster skills before you become a liability.”

“Fair enough.”

*

Sticking with the Mandalorian is probably the worst decision of your life.

Almost immediately after Tatooine, in need of more funds, he drags you into trouble with another group of bounty hunters and the New Republic, of all groups.

“Who is this?” someone asks, her voice sing-song as she enters the Mandalorian’s ship.

You don’t bother turning around, continuing your repairs on a hull panel. “The mechanic. Don’t touch anything.”

“You have a personal mechanic?”

A few people enter the ship, making you finally turn around. The first speaker is a Twi’lek woman and the second a Human, who squints disdainfully. From behind him, Mando pushes past their little crew—including a protocol droid and a massive Devaronian—to approach you, deciding to stand next to you rather than them, which brings you immense pleasure for some reason.

“No. (Y/N) owes me a life debt and, apparently, credits don’t cut it,” he explains shortly, sounding frustrated and exhausted.

You nudge him companionably—it’s an argument you’ve had a few times, the paying of your debt. He doesn’t want to be free of you, per se, but he doesn’t want you to be in his debt. Having that kind of power or hold over you makes him uncomfortable, you can tell, as every time it comes up he gets twitchy.

“Kinky,” the Twi’lek snickers.

You grimace. That would explain why Mando sounds like he wants to die. “Fun group. What’s the job?”

“One of theirs got caught. We’re getting him out,” he says. “And we’re using our ship.”

Our ship. Maybe it’s a slip of the tongue or maybe he’s making it clear that you’re with him, but either way, it brings a smirk to your face. The Twi’lek looks disgusted.

“Well, at least my hard work won’t be going to waste,” you huff.

“Mando,” the Twi’lek interrupts, “you haven’t introduced us.”

You can feel him rolling his eyes. “(Y/N), meet Mayfeld, Burg, Xi’an. Mayfeld is running point, the droid is flying, and the target is a New Republic transport ship.”

“Ugh. You guys better be good; I’m not getting arrested.”

“Mayfeld’s former Imperial,” Mando says before any of them can answer.

You scoff. “A stormtrooper? My shitty blaster skills would be better than his.”

“I wasn’t a stormtrooper,” Mayfeld spits, annoyed enough that he must’ve said it once already. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

All but the droid stay, scattered around the hull. Mando follows soon after the jump to hyperspace, having hovered over the droid while it set their course. He stops Burg from getting into the weapons cache right after he hops down the ladder and the two look like they want to kill each other.

“Someone tell me why we even need a Mandalorian,” the Devaronian grunts.

Mayfeld huffs. “Well, apparently, they’re the greatest warriors in the galaxy. So they say.”

“Then why are they all dead?”

They all laugh at that—Xi’an with a particularly nasal one, which is irritating beyond belief. You frown deeply, but try not to show how pissed their laughter makes you. That sort of shit isn’t to be made fun of; a dying race. It’s all too familiar these days, what with the death of Alderaan and the crater on Scarif.

When you come back into focus, Xi’an is talking in low tones.

“See, I know who you really are,” she says to the Mando.

You roll your eyes. Unlikely.

(Something in your brain goes: I do, which is stupid. You don’t know who he is, under that helmet, sure, but you’ve seen a lot of him through his actions. He’s reckless, terrifying, and a badass, but he’s also patient and...kind, in his own way. The way he treats the child is like nothing you’ve seen in another bounty hunter. It’s gentle, caring. The kid has really grown on him, you think. And the way he treats you is just straight up polite, even though you’re practically his servant in terms of a life debt. Still, he treats you like a person and doesn’t ask you to do unreasonable favours just because he saved your life. He doesn’t hold it over your head.)

And then they start goading him about the helmet.

Burg actually goes for it, which Mando beats him back for. You jump forward, but just as you do, the door to the sleeping cot flies open, revealing the child.

Instead, you rush to the child, pulling him into your arms.

“What is that?” Mayfeld asks, approaching.

“Back off,” you hiss.

He looks between you and Mando. “Wait, did you two make that?” When you scoff, he frowns. “What is it, like a pet or somethin’?”

“Yeah. Something like that,” Mando says quickly.

Xi’an frowns. “Didn’t take you for the type. Maybe that code of yours has made you soft.”

You snort. Soft. That isn’t a word you’d use to describe him, ever. You haven’t seen very much action since Tatooine, but you saw enough there.

Mayfeld reaches for the child and, without hesitation, you lift your blaster. The way he’s looking at the little guy makes you uneasy.

“Fuck off,” you warn instantly.

“Aw, c’mon, I just wanna hold him,” he teases.

Over the comms, the droid’s voice echoes. “Dropping out of hyperspace. Now.”

The entire ship shudders and shakes, sending everyone flying off their feet. You happen to ram into beskar, your face slamming into the metal, which makes you yelp. The baby wails in your arms as gravity makes to tug you away again. Before it can, Mando grabs your arms and holds you in place against him until the ship is steady once more.

“You okay?” he asks, helping you to your feet—again, you think miserably.

“Ugh, no,” you groan, putting a hand on the left side of your face. “That’s gonna bruise.”

Mando takes the child from you. “Sorry. We’ll deal with it after.”

You wave him off. “I’ve had worse. You worry about the job, I’ll watch the kid,” you say, taking the child back. You can’t help but smile when he coos happily.

“Right,” Mando mutters. For a moment, he watches you both, considering.

“Mando!” calls Mayfeld. “Let’s go!”

Before he goes, he puts a hand on your shoulder. “Be careful. I have a bad feeling about this.” You nod, which seems to appease him, and watch him leave.

Petting the child’s floppy ears, you wonder if he meant that to be as comforting as it was.

*

I should’ve known, Din thinks when Qin walks out of that cell.

I definitely should’ve known, he decides, returning to the Razor Crest to find a sparking droid corpse and a shaking child in your arms.

He tosses the cuffed Twi’lek to the side and rushes to yours, stepping over Zero’s limp form. You look relatively unfazed, for someone who’s just ripped a droid’s head off with their bare hands, but the child is rather distressed. The kid squeaks at the sight of Din and, much to his surprise, lifts your hand to show him.

It’s bleeding.

“What did you do?” Din questions, crossing the hull for his medical kit.

“I...may have tried to punch the droid,” you admit hesitantly. “It didn’t work.”

He scoffs, returning to kneel in front of you with bacta patches in his hands. “No karking shit.”

Your face falls as he reaches for your hand, pulling it toward him so he can patch it up. “It was gonna hurt the kid.”

“You did good,” he murmurs. “Stupid, but good.”

It never occurred to him that you might save the child again. You’re here out of necessity, after all, because you owe him, because your honour depends on paying that debt. The child is just another being in the vicinity, but you still saved him. Again. You’re either very stupid or very kind and he can’t decide which one is more concerning.

“Maybe you should teach me a bit of hand to hand, too,” you suggest warmly, wincing at the bacta’s sting.

Din makes a noise that’s sort of a laugh. “I’ll add it to the list.”

He moves to put bacta on the bruise his beskar gave you—He feels ridiculously guilty for that; here you are, paying off a life debt to him, and he still manages to hurt you—but with a hand, you stop him.

“Don’t waste it,” you say immediately. “I’ve had worse bruises, seriously.”

He frowns. “It’s not a waste.” Before you can protest, he puts the patch on top of the bruise.

You huff. “You’re a worrier, aren’t you, Mando?”

“Apparently,” he replies dryly. He hadn’t realised it, either.

“Will you stop flirting and get us out of here!?” Qin shouts from the other side of the hull. “The New Republic will be on our asses!”

You roll your eyes. “I hate to say it, but he has a point. Where are the others?”

“Dealt with,” he says simply. “It was a double-cross.”

“Well, I figured,” you shoot back with a knowing look. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

The drop is easy enough, especially since Din knows that New Republic signal is beeping steadily from Qin’s pocket. He escapes quickly, dipping back into the Razor Crest, where you wait at the top of the ramp, the child hanging onto your boot.

“Let’s go,” he declares, the ramp shutting behind him as he enters.

“Already?” you question with a raised eyebrow. “There are a few repairs I could make out of hyperspace that might be useful.”

He waves you toward the cockpit. “Later. We need to leave.”

“Oookay.” You frown but do as he says, plucking the child from off your foot. “C’mon, little guy,” you mutter to him.

Din waves away all your questions as he starts the take-off. Finally, when the Razor Crest is a safe distance away from the space station and X-Wings appear out of hyperspace, he glances back at you.

“Holy shit!” you cry as they open fire. You look back at him with a slack jaw, which makes him smile underneath the helmet. “That was you, wasn’t it?”

He shrugs half-heartedly, but it’s enough of an answer.

“You’re a maniac, Mando,” you laugh, watching the scene through the transparisteel.

Din thinks over it, staring at you for a long moment. There’s light in your eyes—maybe it’s the reflection of the explosion, but it’s captivating.

“Din,” he says.

You look over. “Hm?”

He clears his throat, trying to shove aside nerves. “My name. It’s Din.”

“Oh. Oh,” you repeat, eyes wide. Then, you smile, more genuine than he’s ever seen from you, he thinks. “You’re crazy, Din. You know that, right?”

He laughs—and that’s the first time you’ve heard a proper one from him. “Yeah. Yeah, I know.”

*

When Din drops a pair of gloves in front of you, you laugh.

“You’re telling me the gloves are out of convenience?” you ask him disbelievingly.

“The more skin you cover, the less likely you are to get cut up by a vibroblade,” he replies dryly. “Put them on.”

You raise your hands in surrender and take them, slipping them over your fingers. “Surprisingly comfy.”

It occurs to you that this is...sort of a big deal. You’ve kept your hands bare for as long as you can remember, mostly because you’re a romantic and finding your Soulmate has been at the forefront of your mind for a long time. But now, you think, it’s not such a big deal. You have a debt to pay and, besides that, you’re pretty happy with how things are now.

Life isn’t exactly nice with Din and the kid, so to say, but you’re content. You love the child and he adores you. The Razor Crest feels more like home than any planet ever has. And Din is...well, he’s something. Being around him is mildly addicting and whenever he’s gone, something feels incomplete.

“Better?” you ask, lifting your gloved hands.

“Much,” he says. Then, he holds out his own hand. “C’mon, up.”

You take the hand without thought, but before you know it, he’s swinging you around and shoving you to the ground.

“Ow!” you cry. “What the hell, Din?”

He huffs. “Lesson 1: Never take anything for granted.”

“Rude.” You hit his arm meaningfully, but he just rolls his eyes; just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean you can’t tell it’s happening.

“You’ll thank me someday.”

“But not today.”

“Nope. Today, you’re gonna hate my guts.”

*

He’s dying.

It feels unreal, what with everything you’ve watched him survive so far. A newbie bounty hunter, a group of pissed off bounty hunters, lots of bounty hunters, and the New Republic but a group of stormtroopers is what gets him?

Moff Gideon is what really gets him, though. The bastard that helped destroy his people is going to destroy Din Djarin. Hearing him speak Din’s name makes you nauseous, furious, even. He gave you that name in confidence, trusted it to you, the only one of his handful of friends to even use it, and Gideon decides to declare it to Nevaroo in its entirety. It makes your blood boil, enough that you get out of the initial firefight mostly unscathed.

But Din doesn’t. And now he’s dying in your arms and you feel like you failed.

“Go with them,” he tells you, all croaky and half-assed.

“No. No, I’m not leaving you here,” you declare, carefully leaning him against the rubble.

Flames flicker all around the room and the child is crying. It’s not loud or consistent, but it’s enough to break your heart.

“You have to go,” Din says again. “You’ll die.”

You laugh ruefully. “That’s kind of the point. A life debt means I save your life or I die trying.”

A pause.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” he hisses through the pain.

“Afraid not, dumbass. You’re stuck with me, remember?”

He grasps your arm, his hands still gloved. If you’re going to die here, maybe you should ask him to take off the gloves. A part of you has wondered…

“C’mon, tell me it’s transferable—some ‘dying wish’ shit like that.”

You nod, though the action sinks uncomfortably into your chest. Leaving him here...that doesn’t sit well with you. But if he asks, then you’ll do it. “Yeah, you name it, but it’d better be a big one, something equivalent.”

The breath he lets out is one of relief. “Take care of the kid. Go find his people and return him to them. Protect him.”

“With my dying breath,” you swear, the words holding an air of ceremony.

Din grasps your arm tighter and pulls you down, your forehead meeting his helmet. You’re not sure what it means, but it must mean something because he mutters words in his own language, which you’ve never heard him do before.

“Ret’urcye mhi.”

May we meet again.

Din does what little he can in saying goodbye to you, as deeply as that cuts. You’ve grown on him, a little too much maybe, and it kills him to think that you’ll be without him now. You still can’t hit a headshot, he realises, suddenly worried for how you’ll fare.

And so he gives you what he can: a Keldabe kiss and a goodbye, instead of the action he wants to take. He wants to take off his gloves and see if he can figure out the colour of your eyes. On the other hand, though, he doesn’t want to leave you with that, of all things, to leave you seeing the red of his blood and the blue-tinged orange of the flames before any other colours.

You take the child in your arms and, with one last glance at Din, leave the room for the covert’s tunnels underground.

The child whimpers up at you.

You look down, sniffling, and pet his ears gently. “I know, little one. I’m so sorry.” You place a gentle kiss to his forehead.

Cara appears, tugging on your wrist. “C’mon,” she says gently. “We need to get out of here.”

It occurs to you, as the three of you and Greef move on, that Cara might help you with the child. For Din, obviously. She’s a good person and, frankly, she and Din seem pretty friendly. The second she saw you, she’d offered her bare hand and bemoaned the fact that her vision was still black and white, much to your amusement. It was all in good fun, but Din had looked a little uncomfortable, for reasons you didn’t know.

“(Y/N),” Cara says quietly, calling your attention back.

You shake yourself from your thoughts. “Sorry.”

She smiles sadly. “It’s okay. Just keep up.”

The small group turns a few corners before footsteps sound from behind. You immediately place the child in the bag hanging from Cara’s shoulder and draw your blaster, watching her and Greef do the same.

From the distant hall, two figures approach: IG-11 and—

“Din!” you half-cry, half-breathe out. Holstering your blaster, you meet them halfway to take more of Din’s weight from IG. “How—?”

“No living thing can see me without my helmet. IG isn’t alive,” Din says dryly.

You laugh, a partly manic sound. “Thank kark. You’re not getting out of this that easy.”

The noise he makes is both amused and resigned. “Wouldn’t dream of it. Where’s the—?”

“He’s with Cara,” you say, finishing the thought before even he can, in his groggy state.

It’s safe to say that when the Armourer gives him his sigil, Din almost considers correcting the Clan of two to a Clan of three. He doesn’t, reminding himself that you’re here because of a debt and nothing else, but the thought is there.

*

The months after Nevarro are more peaceful than the first week of your time with Din. 

You finally get to pull a proper sleeping space together for yourself. Well, it’s a hammock in the hull, but it’s better than the seats in the cockpit. The child gets his own hammock, too, though it’s in the cot space with Din. He loves it, so much so that he squeals when he sees it. That’s your proudest moment, for sure.

Most days, you tend to forget that you still owe a life debt. To be honest, it just feels like the three of you are normal. Din takes bounties, you take short mechanic jobs on different planets, and the two of you trade off on child-duty. It’s pretty regular, more than what your life used to be, anyway.

Din is still training you in hand-to-hand and blasters, of course. You’re getting better with the latter, but the first is difficult. On the way to Tatooine, where there’s supposedly another Mandalorian, he decides to have another training session.

“Fists higher, do it again.”

Huffing, you wipe your wrist across your sweaty forehead. It’s easy enough to obey the order—the first part, anyway. Getting into his guard is difficult, though.

One hit, two blocks—there. You slip under his guard and make an abrupt drop to the ground, sweeping his legs out under him with a fierce movement. He goes down in a tumble of beskar, joining you on the floor. As soon as he’s down, you flip over and straddle his hips, an arm over his neck in false threat.

He barks out a laugh. “Much better.”

“I’m not entirely hopeless!” you declare joyfully before bursting into snickers.

Leaning down, you thunk your forehead against his helmet. The gesture is fond, you’ve learned, something shared between close companions—or at least you think. Din told you that it’s called a mirshmure’cya in Mando’a, that it doesn’t have an equivalent word in Basic.

(Which is technically true. Literally, it means brain-kiss, but the outsider term for it is Keldabe kiss. It can be used for close companions—vode in arms, family—but it’s also used for romantic partners, so he’s mildly horrified at the idea of explaining its cultural significance to you and having to face his feelings for someone that may or may not be his Soulmate. He hasn’t gotten up the courage to ask if he can check. Or try to do it discreetly.)

A distant beeping starts up, coming from the cockpit. It’s the approach warning, which means the training session is over.

“I’ll get the kid,” you say, climbing off Din and offering a hand.

He takes it without hesitation, dragging himself up and making a beeline for the cockpit.

Tatooine is about what you remember. That is, it’s dry, sandy, and the worst planet you’ve ever been on. Stepping out of the ship and into the hangar makes you smile, though, at the not-so-distant memory of Din saving your life. It hasn’t been that long, but it feels like it’s been years.

“Oh, hey!” says Peli, after greeting the child—which is fair, he’s adorable. “You’re still with him! Haven’t repaid that debt yet, huh?”

Your face falls. “Uh, no, not really.”

On the way to Mos Pelgo, your thoughts linger on the life debt. One of these days, you’re going to save Din’s life—then where will you be? Will he want you to leave? What will you do if you have to leave? Your old life was nowhere near as interesting as this, nor did you have anyone close to what Din and the child are to you.

The dreary grey slopes of sand only make it easier to think of the worst possible outcomes. Now you remember why you hated Tatooine so much.

You don’t even realise the speeder is approaching the small town until Din taps your arm, which is wrapped around his waist. Jumping at the touch, you loosen your grip sheepishly and glance at the child, who looks like he’s enjoying himself immensely.

After the speeder comes to a stop, you take the kid while Din enters the cantina.

When you enter yourself, you find that he’s about to shoot someone, while the Weequay behind the bar looks rather distressed.

“Perfect timing, as always,” Din remarks without a glance.

You raise your free hand. “You’re the bad luck charm, I’m just here for the ride,” you retort teasingly.

“You brought a kid to a gunfight?” his opponent asks, raising an eyebrow.

Finally, you glance over at him and see why Din looks ready to kill him. He’s in Mandalorian armour but his helmet is off—clearly, he’s not Mandalorian. “You’re wearing beskar and you’re not a Mandalorian, buddy. I think you’re in more trouble than the kid is.”

“He is,” Din gets out, a twinge of viciousness in his voice.

Before they can even reach for their blasters, though, the ground starts to shake.

You grab onto the doorway for support, eyes wide as you grip the child. Din and the Mandalorian poser move toward the door, joining you and staring out at the street outside.

The entire planet feels like it rumbles and chaos reigns outside.

Something is moving the sand—coming toward the town.

“Holy fuck,” you whisper as it goes by, shifting the sand like it’s an ocean rather than earth. It flies out of the ground, sharp teeth the only thing you see as it consumes a bantha whole.

When it’s gone, the poser huffs. “Maybe we can work something out.” He turns to you, offering a hand, which is covered by fingerless gloves. “Cobb Vanth. I’m the Marshal here.”

You take it hesitantly, glad that things are still black and white when you make contact. “(Y/N).”

He notices your hesitation and chuckles. “The Weequay in there is Sala, my Soulmate. I’ll see if they can’t whip up something for the kid; I’m sure he’s starving.”

“Very,” you say, just before he goes to leave.

When it’s just you and Din, you look over at your companion. “Krayt dragon, huh?”

“Yep,” he sighs, already sounding tired.

You laugh. “I know I said I could bring you to one when we met, but I was totally kidding.”

He looks over at you and you can feel the low-level glare behind the visor, but it only makes you snicker. “I hate you.”

“You’re so full of shit,” you retort immediately.

*

You finally get to repay your debt.

It’s not what you’re thinking about when you shove Din out of the way of the krayt’s projectile venom, but it’s repaid nonetheless.

Din doesn’t think of it immediately, either, as he’s rather more concerned with the fact that you’re sent flying across the desert into a pile of debris and sharp rocks.

“(Y/N)!”

Before he can run to you, Cobb grabs his arm. “The dragon!”

To be honest, killing the dragon feels like a bonus when he pulls himself together and figures out a plan. When the great beast explodes, the Tuskens and the villagers cheer, but Din races back to the place he saw you last. He pushes aside the remains of one of those massive weapons they built to find you, laying on the ground. For a moment, panic clutches his heart, but then you groan.

“Am I dead?” you ask.

Din lets out a breath, hardly managing it, as he kneels next to you. “Dumbass.”

“Because it feels like I’m dead.”

“Dumbass,” he repeats, ripping your shirt away to find a deep cut in your side, just above your hip. “Of all the ways to pay your debt—”

You sit up, wincing. “Oh,” you say, as if you hadn’t realised it, “I guess I did that, too.”

Din’s heart is still beating a million klicks a second at how close you were to being dead, but for a second, it flips, realising that you hadn’t saved him just to pay the debt. And then, as he’s helping you off the ground and bringing you toward the others, who have bacta patches ready, his heart sinks.

Your debt is paid. You don’t have any reason to stay with him and the kid. As soon as you get back to the city, he’s going to have to watch you leave.

Shit. He didn’t think this through.

Meanwhile, you’re on the same train of thought. Does he really think you saved him for the debt? Does he want you gone that bad? It makes sense. You’re a pain in the ass, with all the training you need. But...well, you thought he might’ve—

“I’ve changed my mind,” you declare.

Din, terrified, attempts to sound neutral. “About?”

“The worst job we’ve ever taken. This is definitely it,” you huff as he helps you down onto a smoother boulder, taking patches from a Tusken.

He goes to use them, but you raise a hand.

“If you even think about getting near my wound with those nasty gloves, I’m going to skin you,” you threaten.

Frankly, Din is too shaken to even laugh. The silence lays there, stilted, as he removes his gloves and sits somewhat behind you, on another close stone. You’ve taken yours off, too, seeing as one is ripped all the way through.

He’s careful with the bacta patch and his bare hands, making sure not to touch your skin.

Now, of all moments, would be the worst time to find out that you really don’t have a reason to stay.

While he works, he thinks, briefly, that he should say something. “(Y/N),” he starts to say. “I—”

But that happens to be the moment he’s putting the bacta patch on. You suck in a sharp breath through your teeth, wincing. Your hand flies out, reaching for something to ground you. Of course, because something out there has it out for you, you grab his hand, forgetting that his gloves are, for once in his life, not there.

You realise, ridiculously, that his hand is warm.

And then the world around you explodes into colour.

The faded yellow of the surrounding desert is overwhelming with how it burns into your eyes alongside the brilliant blue of the sky. The surrounding Tuskens are in browns and greys, simple things, but so, so beautiful to your new sight. You breathe out, a shaky action.

Behind you, Din comes to see the same, but his gaze is stuck on the back of your head—the (h/c) of your hair and how the light catches in it, despite it being a complete mess.

You barely have the breath to gasp, but you do, whirling around to face him.

His beskar is beyond what you’d pictured: a shining, sparkling silver that could stand out on a star. No wonder rooms fall silent at the sight of him.

Din has the same thought about your eyes. On death’s door, all he’d wanted was to know what colour they are and now he knows, but it feels so useless now. He doesn’t even know what to call them. Sure, (e/c) would work, however weakly. You are...something else. You always have been, but now it’s like he can see it, the beauty of who you are so plainly painted into your features.

Din doesn’t even have the time to be afraid of your reaction before the words are slipping out. “I don’t want you to go.”

You just stare at him for a long moment, words processing.

It...kind of freaks him out.

He jumps when you fling yourself at him, arms wrapped around his shoulders in the tightest hug he’s ever gotten. Immediately, he responds, clutching the back of your shirt like it’ll save his life.

“Thank the Force,” you breathe out, just beside where his ear is under the helmet. “I don’t wanna leave.”

Din lets out a breath of relief and tugs you closer so you’re practically sitting on his lap. It can’t be comfortable, but you don’t seem to mind. When you do finally pull away, it’s to press your forehead against his helmet. It sends a swell of affection through him again, your constant Keldabe kisses. He taught you something important to his culture, to him, and here you are, using it without thought.

“Is it too late to tell you that this is the Mandalorian equivalent of a kiss?” he murmurs, more than a little embarrassed.

You laugh softly, arms reaching to rest around his neck. “And I thought you were so cool.”

“I just blew up a krayt dragon,” he argues.

“Oh, you’re plenty badass, Din,” you tease back, “just...not smooth.”

He huffs. “I’m gonna kick your ass next training session.”

A grin comes over your face and, for a second, he can’t comprehend why that would make you smile—until he realises that he just promised a next time. You’d genuinely believed he wanted you gone and Din thought you wanted to leave, but neither of you were right. 

A whine from below catches both your attention.

The child reaches up from the ground, making grabby hands.

You laugh, a noise Din echoes quietly, and pluck him from the ground, holding him in your careful hands. “Hey, buddy. Feeling left out?”

He squeaks a confirmation, his little hands—green hands, you realise, deeply amused—reaching for Din’s helmet. Once he has a comfortable hand, he bashes his head against the helmet.

Din yelps, not out of pain, but concern, grabbing for the kid, who wobbles dizzily.

“Oh, shit—” Din says.

“Woah, woah,” you get out between wheezing laughs. “Don’t do that! His head is much harder than yours.”

The kid makes a weak huff and curls against Din’s chest stubbornly.

“I think that was an attempted kiss,” you suggest to Din.

Underneath his helmet, he grins. Petting the child’s head with a gentle finger, he looks back up at you. “It was cute.”

“Very,” you agree.

Without prompting, Din reaches for your hand again, a little hesitant. You take his gladly, running your thumb across his knuckles, which makes him shiver.

“Clan of three,” he whispers.

You lift your gaze. “Hm?”

“The Armourer, she said, ‘Clan of two’ when she gave me my sigil,” he explains. “I wanted to correct her then.”

The smile on your face is beyond words. “Clan of three has a ring to it. You’re stuck with me for good now, Din Djarin.”

He snorts and raises your hand to his helmet, touching it briefly to the metal in lieu of kissing it.

Tatooine might be the worst place in the universe, Din thinks that it doesn’t matter so much where he is. Sitting here, with you and the kid, he thinks that this might be home.

*

River’s Tags: @hahaboop & @mystoragehatesme

Masterlist

[worstloki]

The Sylvie Show

this got a bit long so i'm putting it under a cut but basically it's episode summaries of what i would do if the loki show had sylvie as the main character instead, since I do think the plot of the show would be better suited to be focused around her rather than 2012 loki. I've tried to keep it so that a lot of existing canon shots/sets/scenes can be reused.

episode 1: the show opens up with young Sylvie on Asgard. The TVA appear and drag her towards a temportal. She wakes up from the apparent nightmare, gasping heavily. cue title card and cool music. a portal opens within a church, sylvie interrupts the man giving a talk on religion, questioning what he's saying with roundabout logic and being generally witty, even managing to incorporate giving a bar of gum she had in a pocket to a child sitting on an aisle seat who is really happy about it. the man is still coming up with an answer to what she said when the doors of the church are broken open and TVA agents start to file in. Sylvie says "about time," and proceeds to have fun slaying the unit and stealing a tempad. She picks up the charge on her way out, sending a blow kiss to the devil mural on the wall on her way out. cut to stepping out of a temportal, throwing the charge behind her over a shoulder (it lands on a mattress) and taking a heavy seat in front of a set of screens which show the inside of a mall. the cameras are mostly empty and where there are people it does not fascinate her (one of them shows someone reloading shelves). she scrutinizes the screens, drumming fingers on the table, but quickly sighs and pulls out her tempad: it flashes with low battery and she rolls her eyes, throwing it into a bin filled with likewise empty devices. she's about to get up when the cameras show a group of agents walking into the store. among them is one with a jacket reading VARIANT in bright orange. "Sh*t," she says, getting up and going to the mattress, rifling through a pile of clothes on the floor next to it "sh*t sh*t sh*t where is it". She pulls out a dark brown jacket, and the camera pans over to the screens again, where the VARIANT turns: it's Loki. A golden portal opens on the beige walls of the TVA, Hunter C-20 stepping through holding a man in 1940s army uniform by the arm and dragging him towards a desk. the man protests but she places a grenade on the counter and tells the deskworker to log it. "it wasn't a dummy," is the explanation she gives. In the background a single guard steps through a portal, looking around and proceeding to the doors out of this room. It's Sylvie, and she walks alone past other guards and rooms labelled Court and Memory Chamber. A group of people run past her saying a variant is loose and she walks faster. She walks past one court room, catching the words "trust me, you can smell the cologne of two Tony Starks," but continues looking around. An analyst (Mobius) rounds the corner in the direction of the court rooms and seems to be in a hurry, and Sylvie takes a sharp turn opening the closest door to her to avoid being seen. She is in a room with a Sacred Timeline screen, and zeroes in on the man closest to her, "what are you--" she places a hand over his mouth and pushes him down into his desk area behind his trolley, shushing him. "Do you know where the Reset Charge Storage Chambers are?" "Why?" *deep breath* *serious face on* "Tell me where the storaGE CHAMBer iS or I'll GUT YOU like a goAT!" "is that... like a fish?" *confusion* "how do you not know what a goat is?!" she spots a poster on the wall with a location guide and pushes Casey away with a hand to the face. "Nevermind." - We see Loki monologuing "the idea that your little club decides the fate of trillions of people across all of existence at the behest of three space lizards, yes, it's funny. It's absurd." an agent walks past in the background pushing a trolley but no attention is brought to it "I thought you didn't like to talk," mobius says. Sylvie pushes a door reading "Storage: Units" open, but looks and finds bodies in little cyro pod chambers lined up. "wrong door," she says, and pulls the trolley across the hall to the door reading "Storage: Charges." She's in a room with shelves filled up with reset charges, and opens the trolley drawer to find it already filled up with useless junk like infinity stones and such. to which she has no reaction. She shoves all that stuff to the side and out of the drawer, making space to

carefully place reset charges there. She individually picks up the two Tesseracts in it though and admires them, saying they're shiny and placing them on lower shelves in the room instead of on the floor. While she loads up the trolley ("a few more should do it") Loki walks past the door in full TVA outfit, happy and carrying a stack of papers that read RAGNAROK in bright red letters. She closes the drawer, takes her Hunter helmet off to shake out her hair and wipe sweat from her forehead, then puts it back on, pushing the trolley towards the door. Mobius has a hand at Loki's back, guiding him out of the Memory Chamber, Loki has clearly been crying and Mobius comforts him "it won't be so bad, you love being useful. and wearing suits." Sylvie walks past, pushing the trolley in the background. Sylvie continues down the hall, and when she sees no one behind or in front she pulls out her tempad and opens a portal, pushing her trolley and herself through. She's already gone and misses Classic Loki with a collar around his neck being escorted through the hall. - Sylvie and her trolley push through the portal and are in a mall, the lights dim and flickering above. Thunder is heard and lightning strikes as she places a reset charge on a shelf, flicking open a panel on it's side, and then walking a bit further and placing another. "May I help you?" a store employee asks, startling her. She considers. "Actually..." and places a hand to the person's temple - it takes a few seconds of effort but her fingertips glow green, and so does the person's eyes and temple, "don't mind if you do." She walks away from the trolley in a rush, and the store worker behind places a reset charge on a shelf. "I'm a bit short on time," she says to herself, pulling out her Tempad. Suspenseful music as the screen fades to black. - Everything cuts to a desert, with a small town in the background. A portal appears high up, and Loki falls from it to the ground. the words "twelve miles east of Puento Antiguo" appear on screen, and we see Loki formed a small crater in the ground, reminiscent of Mjolnir and the one in Stark Tower. "Ow," Loki says, taking the muzzle off with one hand, and then pulling the cuff chains off. The dust settles around him and he's still extricating himself from the hole in the ground and groaning about sand being irritating and getting everywhere when a golden portal opens up (we get a high shot, showing that Loki did indeed land within a larger crater too). Loki puts his hands in the air. "Appears to be a standard sequence violation. Branch is growing at a stable rate and slope. Variant identified." "Beg your pardon but I--" "On behalf of the Time Variance Authority, I hereby arrest you for crimes against the Sacred Timeline." "I didn't meddle with time, that would be the Avengers." "You're coming with us." *agents point pruners at him* "It's been a long day, I'm afraid you'll have to make me." *loki's hands start to glow green but B-15 presses a button, freezing him in place. Any sand blowing in the wind or any dust rising has also now stopped. There is a bird stuck mid-flight. B-15 pulls out a collar and places it around his neck. An agent places a reset charge on the ground and activates it, it starts to fizz purple. Time unfreezes and B-15 drags Loki going "hey!" through a temportal, and it closes, leaving the audience to watch a few seconds of the charge going off and the radius of the charge increasing, washing the ground in a bright neon-ish light.

Episode 2: this one is a combination of the Loki episodes 1 and 2. Basically, Loki goes on trial, the TVA has no reason he's committed a crime, but Mobius who had been at the church crime scene saves him and takes him to the memory chamber to break. What gets him to stop acting as if he actually wanted to rule all of space and whatnot is Mobius bringing up the topic of choice in Avengers 1, and asking if Loki knew the mind stone was effecting him too, along with him explicitly asking about the torture which happened before, even during - he pulls up footage - the invasion. Mobius pulls up footage of Frigga and Loki pickpockets the collar remote etc. everything else remains the same, including most of episode 2, with Sylvie fighting to "I need a hero" etc, but C-20 is left behind after being enchanted. When the TVA show up C-20 is tied up hastily in leather belts and rope. She's mostly out of it saying stuff like "it's real, it's all real" but she also says "we're variants, we're all variants" which Mobius obviously brushes over casually. Loki narrows his eyes though, and says stepping out of the renaissance fair tent would have them winding up dead like the agents scattered around here, B-15 calls bluff and Mobius says to wait but the people walking in front of the ones holding C-20 up to take her to the TVA for medical help fall dead upon stepping out. Loki was stalling for time with the wold anecdote, and doesn't tell how he knew the death thing would happen ("I see a scheme, and in that scheme I see myself" "bullsh*t" "it's true. my reflection looks quite good, too." "you *sshole." *he smiles softly, as if t'were a compliment*), and everyone gets back by opening portals from within the tent. The dots between the gum and the apocalypses is drawn, they see Pompeii, end up going to Roxxcart, where we see Sylvie watching the screens, now in her leather gear. B-15 and Loki split up together, the guy at the 'hurricane sale' placed a charge on the shelf but no attention is drawn to that bc Loki and 'Loki' are talking. Sylvie emphasizes that she holds a grudge because he's a traitor, specifically for working for the TVA because they're "condescending time fascists." Loki assures her he knows, and that he's seen the charges around the place. She comes to the realization that he's been undercover/faking. We're shown Mobius and co. finding the room with screens but it's just got Sylvie's random junk, nothing really useful. They talk some more, no physical fighting but the vessel sizes get bigger and Loki calls it 'real mature'. While they still disagree on what to do with the Time Lizards (destroy or overthrow) Sylvie settles on leaving the portal open for him at the end and giving him a chance. She waits for him to go through first, with Loki looking back at Mobius meaningfully determined and then walking through.

Episode 3: Young sylvie is going through the stripping/signing/temporal aura process. She's sent into the court room. she bites and runs out of the room, putting distance before fiddling with the tempad she took, figuring it out, while Renslayer gets stuck answering the Judge. Sylvie appears back on Asgard, but there's already a Sylvie there playing with her toys. a TVA portal opens and she presses another "Asgard" on the device to escape quickly. "I just want to go home," she says to herself, appearing in the same room, but the child is a bit older (a teen?) and a boy and black and reading instead of playing but he's clearly also in green/gold and a loki. the kid turns after hearing her and she panicks and goes through another portal. another one with adult loki in the same room, she looks hopeful as if she could ask for help but then sif walks in with insults and slaps him but spots her. "who's the kid," sif asks and a portal opens up next to her. Agents step through and Sif punches one that does, asking Loki what trick this is now. Sif/Loki fight them while they're still coming through, sylvie presses another asgard but sees a knocked out agent has a tempad on his belt and takes it before running again. no loki in the room, it's empty, but a group of people rush across, talking hurriedly about 'the goddess of death' and 'odin's real heir' and 'thor and loki dead' and 'seeking refuge in the moutains.' Sylvie looks lost. Cue titlecard and cool music. They step into the TVA. Sylvie is determined, telling Loki to hurry because they won't have much time the TVA remains in disarray from the reset charges everywhere, but stops when he says he needs to get a weapon. "Why didn't you use magic to get some earlier," she asks. "Spares," he smiles, "magic doesn't work here after all." Sylvie notes that it explains her last attempts to infiltrate failing so badly. They fight some guards together on the way to the elevator rather than fighting each other. The elevator to the time keepers opens but Renslayer and a bunch of guards are in it waiting. Sylvie grabs Loki and tries to use him as a bargaining tool. Doesn't work, obviously, and Sylvie is shaken upon coming face to face with the same Hunter who had caught her as a kid, she doesn't react in time to stop Loki taking her tempad and dropping them somewhere. Same plot from here, the two of them fighting over the tempad, with Sylvie wanting to go back and Loki telling her they clearly already failed and she should explain what's going on first. She says she doesn't need to and if he wants to help defeat the TVA he needs to trust her and give the tempad back. He makes it vanish and she gets frustrated, asking if he gives up on everything that easily, and maybe that's why he's the first Loki she's seen working with the TVA. Etc. They need a power source anyway and get to the train hoping it'll lead to the ship that won't get off-planet anyway. Loki acts a fool Sylvie naps, wakes up to singing. Sylvie calls him out for not actually being drunk and also he downs a glass and offers her one, and when Sylvie asks how he's paying for it he says it's on the house and points to the barkeeper (male. we're implying/showing flirting. maybe a wink at him or a cute wave.). It's blatantly clear he's trying to get info on her backstory along the way and she's not falling for it but allowing him to know a bit of stuff. (eg. "I know everything is watered down ale for an Asgardian," "watered-down watered-down, more like. But you know of Asgard? Do go on...") She softens at hearing his backstory, and shares hers too. The people appear and ask to see their tickets, everything is the same from here forward. The episode ends with them watching the ship getting destroyed.

Episode 4: different music when sylvie and loki look into each others eyes since i didn't like that. cue titlecard and song after the TVA portals open on Lamentis. this episode remains the same mostly with Sylvie and Mobius driving the plot. No narcissist comment but Mobius gets to act jelly of what Sylvie and Loki have going on. Instead of it just being a bad memory loop with Sif we get her three times and then it alternates to Thor who is also angry. If he's not already down Thor will punch him (even though Loki is just happy to see him bc he didn't think he'd see him again--) and then tell him to hold still so it'll hurt less. It's framed as bad and Thor will imply it's only a fitting punishment. Thor is only shown twice, the first time the scene cuts at Loki being hit and held down, the second is Thor leaving the room, chuckling about how Loki didn't need to talk to anyone anyway bc he's alone, says he'll heal soon anyway. Loki isn't shown, but Thor's fingers have blood on them where they hold mjolnir. the loop resets and Loki is back to standing in the middle of the room and ghosts a hand over his mouth and then Mobius arrives. Loki calls the repeated memory boring and cruel, says he hates when Thor is drunk and feeling rash, with Mobius saying at least he didn't send him to Thanos or something and gave his crotch a break. Sylvie asks what her nexus event was and Renslayer doesn't remember. The end of the episode is the same, with Sylvie 1v1-ing Renslayer and beheading a Time Keeper, Loki getting pruned. The credit scene remains the same.

[rodneymckays]

stargate episodes that should have been, part 15: set during “the return”: zelenka solo adventure! i think the episode briefly mentioned he was working at some university? anyways for some reason the trust is running a ba’al cloning operation at that university. zelenka discovers this when he gets lost on his way to his office his first week there, and somehow ends up in a basement lab filled with ba’al cloning chambers. this obviously goes Badly for zelenka and he ends up captured by a different goa’uld who is running the operation. however, zelenka is able to goad the goa’uld into accepting a challenge to a strategy game not unlike chess, with the wager being zelenka’s freedom or death. when zelenka easily beats the goa’uld, the goa’uld unsurprisingly goes back on his word and goes to kill zelenka. however, he fails, because while zelenka was distracting him with a game of space chess he was also macgyvering a flash grenade out of materials handy in the lab. he makes his escape and calls in the sgc to clean up the operation. and then he brags about it on the phone to mckay.

RADEK!!!! i have the goofiest grin on my face reading this rn. i would love this ep to be narrated by zelenka, as he's regaling rodney with the story. not embellishing in the least, altho rodney is hard-pressed to believe him. "the only conceivable part of that whole tale was your ability to make an incapacitating explosive while making someone wish they were never born by playing 4D chess with them." zelenka sighs, used to this kind of thing from him. "was that meant to be a compliment, mckay?"

it was. rodney is envious of zelenka's ability to inflict abject misery unto people who dare challenge his chess prowess. zelenka control's 3/4 of the expedition's movie market. and those foolish enough to wager their Daedalus junk food hauls (yes, the Daedalus is Atlantis' personal WallMart, because thats never not funny) can kiss their twinkies goodbye.

[megaman-fluffcanons]

Classic Mega Man master list

All robot masters and all characters from the classic mega man series will be found on this master list

fluffy Mega Man 9 robot masters headcanons

Shade Man and s/o general headcanons

Quick Man general headcanons

Blast Man, Fuse Man, and Tundra Man general headcanons

Rock, Blues and Bass (separate) reacting to hearing their s/o sing

Top Man general headcanons

Blues with an s/o that’s taller than him

fluffy platonic Shade Man, Top Man, and Rock headcanons

Dark Man 1, 2, 3 and 4 general headcanons

Light family general headcanons

tickle headcanons for MM3 robot masters

Flash Man general headcanons

Blues taking care of his sick s/o

soft Star Man headcanons

Blues who has an s/o that’s learning to build/repair robots, and he comes by asking for their help

Quint general headcanons

how the MM2 Robot Masters would treat their s/o

Hard Man with a soft and squishy s/o that tries to act tough

MM2 Robot Masters general headcanons

Fuse Man and Metal Man general headcanons

Cossack family general headcanons

MM1 robot masters tickle headcanons

Copy Robot general headcanons

Bubble Man general headcanons

Rock, Blues and Bass seeing their male s/o shirtless for the first time

Rock tickle headcanons

fluffy Hard Man headcanons

Snake Man and Toad Man (separate) seeking out their s/o for warmth on a particularly chilly day

Heat Man and s/o general headcanons

soft Snake Man headcanons

Where do Rock and Auto like being kissed

Tomahawk Man and s/o general headcanons

Quick Man with an s/o that convinces him to slow things down so they can cuddle

Blues and Bass tickle headcanons

fluffy bedtime headcanons for Rock, Blues and Bass (separately)

Heat Man with an s/o that’s a baker/cook

soft Skull Man headcanons

Bomb Man, Guts Man and Bubble Man (separate) and s/o headcanons

Quint being an older brother to Copy Rockman

Burner Man general headcanons

Duo and s/o general headcanons

Bubble Man, Snake Man and Hard Man (separate) date ideas

Ice Man, Elec Man, Quick Man and Gemini Man seeing their male s/o shirtless for the first time

Bright Man and s/o cute general headcanons

Crash Man and Dynamo Man general headcanons

Elec Man with an artist s/o

Rock with a strong, tall s/o that dotes on him and calls him a cinnamon roll

Cut Man with a gardener s/o

Auto dating headcanons

How Quick Man and Gemini Man would handle an s/o with anxiety

Rock and Roll (separate) with a gamer s/o

Duo and s/o on their first date

Burner Man and Ballade (separate) dating headcanons

Turbo Man and Junk Man (separate) and their s/o kiss for the first time

Crash Man and an s/o that likes baking/cooking

Crash Man and Blues (separate) with a non-binary s/o

Splash Woman with a fem s/o

shy s/o confessing their feelings to Oil Man and Bomb Man (separate)

platonic Roll and Quint headcanons

s/o giving Pharaoh Man a kiss on the forehead

Pharaoh Man, Splash Woman and Turbo Man general headcanons

Duo general headcanons

Duo comforting and taking care of his s/o

male s/o going on a bubble tea date with Plug Man

soft Skull Man and Time Man (separate) general headcanons

Rock, Roll, Blues and Bass (separate) with a tall s/o

Air Man general headcanons

Dynamo Man general headcanons

scenario in which Proto Man saves s/o from being kidnapped

Hard Man with a very anxious s/o

cute Rock general headcanons

platonic Time Man, Junk Man, Shade Man and Sheep Man headcanons

Dive Man general headcanons

Crash Man general headcanons

Rock general headcanons 2

Tengu Man, Astro Man, Search Man and Grenade Man (separate) and s/o general headcanons

Hornet Man and s/o on a date

Blues comforting his crying s/o

Heat Man, Snake Man, Gemini Man and Tundra Man (separate) with an s/o that’s new to relationships and gets flustered easily when it comes to affection

Ring Man, Skull Man, Dive Man, and Bright Man (separate) and s/o general headcanons

Rock, Roll and Blues reacting to Dr. Light building a younger sibling

Tundra Man, Fuse Man, Skull Man and Centaur Man falling for an s/o that was hired by their creator to keep up with their maintenance (separate)

Oil Man and s/o general headcanons

Mega Man/Rock helping his s/o who’s having a panic attack

Star Man with an s/o that always says sweet words to him without realizing it

s/o cheering up a sad Hard Man, Bomb Man, Shade Man and Bass (separate)

soft Top Man and human s/o headcanons

Quick Man with a human s/o

Centaur Man and s/o general headcanons

s/o cheering up a sad/angry Time Man

Rock and Blues (separate) dating headcanons

Bass, Metal Man and Shade Man (separate) playfully teasing their s/o about being nervous at the doctor’s (tw needle mention)

Bass with a soft human s/o

King and s/o general headcanons

Cut Man dating headcanons

chilly November headcanons with Time Man and s/o

Sheep Man cuddle headcanons

Wave Man comforting his s/o after a nightmare

Jupiter dating headcanons

Tundra Man general headcanons

Magnet Man with a touch-starved s/o

Bomb Man and Shade Man (separate) cuddle headcanons

Pluto cuddle headcanons

Shadow Man dating headcanons

How Tornado Man, Splash Woman and Jewel man would act if they had a crush

King general headcanons

Metal Man dating/relationship headcanons

Fire Man and s/o general headcanons

Shade Man dating headcanons

Ground Man and Pirate Man (separate) and s/o general headcanons

Slash Man general headcanons

Duo and s/o general headcanons 2

Plant Man general headcanons

Aqua Man general headcanons

Bass general headcanons

fluffy Galaxy Man headcanons

Yamato Man and Charge Man general headcanons

Fire Man with a chubby s/o

Flash Man general headcanons 2

Burner Man and Slash Man (separate) and s/o mistletoe kisses

Tundra Man teaching his s/o to ice skate

Mercury and s/o general headcanons

Tomahawk Man and s/o geneal headcanons 2

Centaur Man general headcanons

Shadow Man and Rock friendship headcanons

Uranus and s/o general headcanons

what kind of dates Duo would take s/o on

Blast Man and s/o general headcanons

cute and fluffy Bounce Man headcanons

Ballade with an s/o who just moved someplace new

Blues and Wood Man (separate) with a shy s/o

Enker, Torch Man and Splash Woman (separate) reacting to learning their s/o still sleeps with a plushie/stuffed animal

Enker general headcanons

Terra general headcanons

Blast Man convincing his s/o to ride a roller coaster with him

Mercury general headcanons

Dr. Cossack fluffy headcanons

Star Man and Fuse Man (separate) and s/o general headcanons

Wood Man general headcanons

soft Blues and s/o headcanons

Skull Man and Ring with an s/o that levitates due to an accident

Pharaoh Man and Gemini Man with a robot master s/o that has super strength

How Mercury would comfort his s/o

Blues being a good big brother to Rock and Roll

Duo snuggle/cuddle headcanons

Shade Man and s/o general headcanons

what it would be like going on a date with Blast Man

Quick Man and Elec Man friendship headcanons

Bass with an s/o that does makeup and wants to put eyeliner on him

Slash Man and s/o general headcanons

soft Blast Man and s/o general headcanons 2

Charge Man and s/o general headcanons

Heat Man with a human s/o

Mercury reacting to a human wanting to be his friend, no matter what

Terra general headcanons 2

Roll protects Rock

Hornet Man and Plant Man (separately) comforting Rock when sad/crying (PLATONIC)

Rock, Roll and Blues reactions to if networking infrastructure took off instead of robotics (like in the MM Battle Network games)

Snake Man with a dragon robot master s/o

Bass and arch enemy s/o who opens up to him while trapped together due to some kind of shenanigans

Ice Man, Ring Man, Oil Man and Needle Man (separate) reacting to their s/o getting injured

Crystal Man, Solar Man, Magnet Man and Aqua Man (separate) with an s/o that does game reviews on youtube

Enker dating headcanons

Impact Man, Crash Man, Plug Man, and Astro Man (separate) with a robot s/o that has floating swords controlled by wires as a weapon

Yamato Man, Drill Man, Blade Man and Concrete Man (separate) with an s/o that teaches them how to dance

Bomb Man, Freeze Man, Clown Man, and Acid Man (separate) with an s/o that’s a magical girls fan

Dive Man general headcanons 2

Solar Man, Wood Man, and Burst Man (separate) with an s/o that loves to sing

Ground Man general fluff headcanons

Splash Woman and Hornet Man (separate) reacting to their s/o coming out as trans

Guts Man with an s/o that’s short but strong

Slash Man sharing a wildlife protection park with his s/o

Slash Man jealousy headcanons

Rock with an s/o that likes tickles/being tickled

Charge Man with a chubby s/o

Quick Man with an s/o that’s a kid at heart

Pisces dating headcanons

Roll with a friend that somehow ends up getting hurt

Astro Man and Torch Man (separate) with an s/o that looks scary but is actually shy and friendly

Duo wedding headcanons

[ciestessde]

NOT My Hero Academia: Part 1 – Ch.12

"AT LAST, WE'VE ARRIVED!! THE BEST OF THE BEST AMONG U.A.'S FIRST YEARS WILL BE DECIDED!" Present Mic's voice rang out over the stadium, through television screens, to countless observers.

But Bakugo and I barely processed his words.

"IT'S THE FINAL MATCH… MIDORIYA VERSUS BAKUGO!!"

We were focused, listening for one word, and one word only…

"NOW, START!!"

.

Immediately, without even checking to see what Bakugo would do, I drew my gun -- and fired into the air directly in front of me. As I was still drawing the gun, the air behind Bakugo exploded and he rocketed toward me; however, he aimed slightly to the left, just barely avoiding the knockout bullet. I dodged to my own left after my first shot and fired again directly behind me. The ground where I'd been standing exploded, covering the spot in a cloud of dust, rubble -- and knockout gas. I, not taking my eyes from the cloud that hid Bakugo from view, backed up to the other end of the arena -- while changing the gun's ammo to the grapple and grabbing a net grenade from my belt.

"THE GAUNTLET'S BEEN THROWN DOWN!! LOOKS LIKE MIDORIYA WANTS TO AVOID COMBAT WITH BAKUGO!! DO WE ALREADY HAVE OUR WINNER SO SOON?!"

"You… looking down on me, you moron?!" I grit my teeth, waiting for Bakugo to appear. 'Plan A failed…!' Bakugo came shooting out of the cloud faster than I had ever seen him move!

I pulled the pin on the grenade and threw it. All the adrenaline in my system, all the hours spent in combat training with Master… made it seem as though Bakugo was moving in slow motion. Bakugo's palm turned from behind him, to his right; I aimed the grapple… fired…

And time resumed its normal speed.

The grapple line wrapped around Bakugo, pinning his arms. Before he could hit the ground and lose momentum, I pulled with my entire bodyweight-

-But as Bakugo neared the boundary line, his palms exploded again, and the line broke. His momentum continued to carry him out-of-bounds for a second… I, immediately changing the gun's ammo again, had a flash of hope that Plan B might've worked… "HE AVOIDS A RING-OUT IN MIDAIR!! HOW THRILLING!!" But Bakugo regained his balance… as a part of me knew he would.

'No choice… Plan C it is!' I holstered the gun. Bakugo came in hot, but I jumped away in time. This time, Bakugo stayed on the ground, and I dropped into a fighting stance.

Bakugo stood still for just a second- "You'll regret making a fool of me!" -then came at me with his signature right hook- "I'll freaking kill you!!" Rather than move away this time, I used my left arm to slide Bakugo's right arm to the side -- and I kicked out at Bakugo's stomach. Bakugo dodged- "I wanted the first to end all firsts!" -and swiped at my feet.

I jumped, backing off -"But there's no point in winning against you!" -He lunged at me with a roundhouse kick- "No point if I'm not better than you!"

I crouched, Bakugo's foot passing above me, and went for an uppercut. Bakugo spun, dodging it- "So get the hell outta my face!" With the force of the spin, Bakugo elbowed me in the back. I stumbled to the ground.

"Why're you even here, you bastard?!"

While Bakugo was busy screaming at me and couldn't see my hands, I grabbed and fired my gun at Bakugo's feet.

Bakugo was now frozen to the arena floor.

But knowing it wouldn't hold him -- only distract him for a split-second, AT BEST -- I moved! A snarl on my face, I launched myself fist-first at Bakugo's face.

It landed- And a small puff of knockout-gas surrounded Bakugo's head.

Unprepared for the hidden knockout-bullet this time -- let alone the ice-blast! -- Bakugo couldn't avoid breathing the gas. With a small gasp, and one last growl and glare…

… Bakugo passed out.

.

"Bakugo is immobilized!! So… Midoriya is the winner!!" Midnight announced.

I almost didn't believe it -- and I almost passed out from the relief. Swaying, I took a step back to steady myself.

"AND THAT CONCLUDES OUR CONTEST! THE FIRST-YEAR WINNER OF U.A.'S SPORTS FESTIVAL IS… IZUKU MIDORIYA OF CLASS A!!!"

.

But, predictably, as I walked out of the arena- -the entire stadium booed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Back in All For One's viewing room, the man with no eyes turned to the Hero Killer. "So? Will you take him on?" Stain was observing the screen with interest. He didn't answer at first.

Kurogiri shifted nervously. "... A quirkless hero…" Stain muttered.

Abruptly, he turned to All For One. Kurogiri tensed, ready to defend his master, if necessary. "I want to test him myself. So he wants to be a hero, despite not having a quirk? That doesn't mean he deserves to be one!" "Very well," said All For One, completely calm. He'd expected this. "What do you have in mind?"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The wait before the awards ceremony was… intense. From what I -- and everyone else -- could tell, the judges were debating something.

Finally, the winners were called up to our respective platforms -- the First Place one highest and in the middle, the Third was lowest and to the right, and Second was between the two and on the left.

But… there was something off.

"Now let's move on to… the awards ceremony!" Midnight announced, "No holding back Mr. First Place!" "What a bloodthirsty beast," commented Tokoyami… who was standing furthest from me.

On the Second Place pedestal. I was… confused, to put it lightly.

"In third place, we have both Todoroki and Midoriya," Midnight said, "There was a disagreement concerning the outcome of Midoriya and Todoroki's match. After reviewing it, the judges have determined that, if left alone, Todoroki would have woken before the ice immobilizing Midoriya would have melted." My ears were ringing. "However, we don't have time to redo all of the matches, so, as a compromise, both Midoriya and Todoroki are being given third place. Making Hatsume and Tokoyami tied for second and our winner… Katsuki Bakugo!" The audience was muttering -- they were making sounds of approval.

"Now for the medals!! Presenting them this year is… you know who!!" A voice came from above the stadium, "I am…" and All Might landed in the center of the stage, "… here with the medals." "He's everyone's hero… All Might!!"

The crowd cheered. All Might laughed, moving toward Todoroki. "Congratulations, Todoroki, kid! You're a strong one! But relying on half your power will only get you so far. Whatever reason you have for not using it… you must learn to overcome that hurdle." He put a medallion around Todoroki's neck.

All Might then turned to me. "Midoriya, kid… Congratulations."

He continued in a lower voice, "I underestimated you. And for that, I'm sorry. I stand by what I said, but…" He put the medallion around my neck, "You too… Can become a hero."

I barely heard him. I was looking All Might in the eyes again. The time on that rooftop… all those classes I'd been in… all the times All Might had been there, teaching me… watching me grow and what I could do…

And this was when… he'd decided to say those words?

I was so caught up in my thoughts, I missed whatever All Might said to Mei and Tokoyami. "And finally, Bakugo!! Well, um, this is…" Bakugo was going absolutely feral. They'd even had to muzzle him! All Might didn't seem to know how to approach the furious boy, but, after a moment, All Might took the muzzle off of Bakugo's face and said, "You lived up to your promise. Wonderful!"

"All Might. This win…" Bakugo growled, "It doesn't mean squat. Doesn't matter what anyone says. If I don't recognize it, then that medal's just garbage!!" "What a face…" All Might gulped, "Hmph! In a world that's constantly graded on a curve… there aren't many who can continuously be on top," he held up the First Place medallion, "So accept this! As a wound even! So you don't forget!"

"I told you I don't need that junk!!" All Might tried to put the medallion around his neck, but Bakugo struggled against it. Bakugo roared, "At least let me fight the IcyHot Bastard!" Eventually, All Might managed to hang the medallion from Bakugo's growling mouth. "Well!! These are your winners!! But hold on, everyone!"

And then he said… that phrase…!

"Everyone here today has the potential to be standing up here!!"

I could've sworn I'd just fallen six stories and swallowed the foulest thing known to mankind. That is, if the way my stomach felt hearing All Might say those words was anything to go by.

And somehow, All Might was still talking -- in that cheerful, self-confident and congratulatory tone. "As you all witnessed! Competition! Encouragement! Pushing each other to climb higher and higher!!" 'What's going on? What is this feeling?' "The sprouts of today will grow into the heroes of tomorrow!! In that spirit, let's have one final cheer!!

"Everyone say it with me!! One, two, and…"

'Oh…' I realized, breaking out of my daze-

.

-that it was DISGUST.

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

[Beginning]

[Previous Chapter] - [Next Chapter]

Read my original book, Crossroad of Infinity for free right here on Tumblr, on my website, or on AO3!

[maximumsnow]

Chapters: 3/? Fandom: Half Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware, HLVRAI - Fandom Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Gordon Freeman, Tommy Coolatta, Dr. Coomer (Half-Life), Bubby (Half-Life), Benrey (Half-Life) Additional Tags: Canon-Typical Violence, Canon-typical swearing, Basically an au exploring what if HLVRAI followed Half Life a little more closely, Au where there isn't a betrayal in that one spot, Mainly was wondering what would happen to the others if they hadn't been in on it., Some things change some don't, Title is subject to change because I got nothing, Oh also this is sort of intended as a not a game au Summary: Anyone who knows original Half-Life knows that the ambush happens in that spot no matter what. What would have happened if the ambush was as rough for the others?

-

"Yo, where are we?" Gordon asked when they exited the hallway into yet another room full of vats with radioactive green goop. "Never really went to this part of the facility before."

"I think it's called- People call it Residue Processing. Black Mesa handles its own waste disposal since there's so- we use so many dangerous things." Tommy kept the lead as they traveled, but looked back every now and then to make sure Gordon was keeping up.

"Given all the radioactive shit, yeah, I can believe it... Wait, is it safe to be in here?"

"Don't worry, Mr. Freeman, it's all OSHA compliant. As long as we don't go... in..." Tommy trailed off and stopped in the entrance to the next room.

"Tommy? You alright?" When Gordon caught up to him, he saw what the hold up was.

The catwalk that would have taken them directly to the next door had been ripped from the wall and had turned a large portion of the floor into a haphazard mess of jagged metal and wires.

"This-This is not OSHA compliant," Tommy said after they both had a moment to take it in.

Gordon couldn't help but laugh incredulously. "You're not wrong there, buddy.” Even though connecting two thoughts together was like trying to force two magnets with the same charge to meet, even Gordon could tell that the usual ways out of this room were fucked.

Tommy took a few steps forward before backtracking and nearly tripping over Gordon. “S-sorry, I’m trying to see- I’m figuring another way out. Just hold on...” He scanned the room over several times, but Gordon could tell he kept going back to the same thing on the far wall. Gordon tried squinting at the black shape, but he couldn’t figure out what it was other than a black hole in the wall right over one of the vats.

“Mr. Freeman, uh, I think the only way to go is through that pipe-” Tommy pointed, “-The door is- we can’t reach the door, and I think it’s- I think it’s blocked, anyway.”

“Pipe? The one that basically feeds into these dumps? Are you- That’s the only way?” Gordon couldn’t help but ask. The only way to get to it would involve some very creative uses of the vats that were definitely not covered in any life insurance policies he had.

“Yeah. I’ll help you across, okay?” Tommy promised while holding out a hand.

Gordon seriously thought through his options, but as far as he could tell, they were well and truly stuck.  He would have to trust Tommy’s instincts.

He took the offered hand. “Okay, man. Show me how to get through.”

The grace with which Tommy was able to guide Gordon over the vats was surprising given how Gordon’s sense of equilibrium was being thrown by the HEV suit. Tommy first lead him to the edges of the vat, and he could see that there was barely enough room for him to creep along.

They managed to get to the far side of the first vat with few issues before Gordon had to ask, “Uh, how are we getting to the next one. It’s further away than I thought.”

The pause before Tommy responded was longer than Gordon had hoped. “We’re gonna have to jump. If you aim for the middle part, that’ll give you more room.”

“Jump?! There’s no way I can make that! Not like this-” His head chose that moment to start swimming, and he was pretty sure the only reason he didn’t tip over was thanks to Tommy’s now iron grip on his arm.

“You can do it, just. Just aim like a cat trying to pounce.”

That comparison immediately brought to mind several cat videos he had seen. “… I’m not going to do that weird butt wiggle cats do.”

Tommy laughed. “Th-that’s fine.” After waiting for a few more seconds, he asked, “I’m going to let go, okay? I need- We have to jump separately.”

After nodding, Gordon felt the hold loosen and then completely vanish. Tommy then jumped onto whatever mechanical thing was in the middle of the next vat, and he turned to beckon Gordon forward.

He wouldn’t admit it, but Gordon’s fear began building the very second Tommy had let go of him, and the gap between where he was and his goal felt like it had gotten bigger when Tommy had crossed it. But he knew that if he stayed here, he would lose his balance again, and falling into a vat of radioactive junk or landing headfirst onto concrete were both unappealing options.

He jumped.

He managed to land on the target, but he felt his weight shift backwards when his heels couldn’t find solid ground. Panicking, he flailed his arms in a futile attempt to swing himself forward, but gravity was winning and would pull him straight into the radioactive waste.

Time stopped along with his heart when his terror filled gaze met with Tommy’s.

In a flash, Tommy was reaching over and yanking him upright, and then he pulled Gordon close to him in a near hug. “Y-you okay, Mr. Freeman?”

Gordon needed a few seconds to regain his composure and nearly collapsed into Tommy. Once he could, he stammered out, “Yeah, thanks man, you saved me.”

Once Gordon felt like he could breathe again, Tommy all but pulled Gordon over to the pipe and helped him get in. Gordon wasn’t entirely comfortable going first, but he would have had to pull himself in otherwise, and that wasn’t an option.

The next few rooms were similarly wrecked and needing creative solutions to get through, but between Tommy keeping an eye on him and the HEV suit, he was relatively unscathed.

When they finally dropped into an area full of water, Gordon enjoyed being away from ominous glowing waste, but then remembered where they were and that the water was definitely not clean.

Thanks to the doors being jammed, Tommy jumped in to see if there was another way forward. He was only gone for a few seconds, but it was enough time for Gordon to feel the oppressive loneliness of his situation creep up.

Without Tommy, he was dead meat.

As if summoned, Tommy resurfaced and called out, “There’s-You’re-We’re gonna have to swim under something that’s like a Beyblade but big.”

The mental image that inspired wasn’t very helpful, but it made a lot more sense when he jumped in. He could feel the water gently tugging on him through the suit, and what little he could see when he ducked under told him what he needed to know. They had to time how they went through so that they wouldn’t get crushed.

Tommy waved him forward, and Gordon swam forward and let the current carry him through. Thankfully the water kind of guided him right to a divot in the wheel-like crusher, and he immediately gunned for the first place he could surface for air.

And immediately regretted it.

Tommy popped up right beside him, and even he couldn’t keep off the look of horror that flashed across his face.

Savage screams filled the air as a bunch of scientists who looked like Bubby snapped their heads around at the intruders. Many of them were on the ground, but the army crawl the nearest one did showed that they were not hindered by their position. The movement was unnatural and jerky despite its speed, and it made everything inside Gordon freak out at how wrong it was.

He felt Tommy climb out of the water with alarming speed, but before he could join him, a swarm of Bubby look-a-likes had already flocked around the water entrance. Their hands all reached towards him in a feral frenzy, and with nowhere else to go, he dropped back into the water.

Even underwater, he could hear gunshots and explosions as Tommy fought whatever those were, and while Gordon felt guilty over his cowardice, he had no idea what he could do. He didn’t have any weapons on him, and even if he did, those things moved really quickly.

His lungs, however, would not let him hide here until it was over, and when his head broke the surface, far too many hands were ready to yank him out. Despite looking like the same frail old man, the creatures had no trouble pulling him and his waterlogged HEV suit out of the water.

Given what he had seen Bubby do, he probably shouldn’t have been surprised, but his thoughts were a bit preoccupied. Currently trying to swat off anything that got close to his head, he screamed, “Tommy! They’ve got me pinned!”

Even through the suit, he could feel failed attempts at clawing and biting, and there was at least one pinning his legs down. Another one had scrambled on top of his torso and originally had tried clawing his chest piece off. Then, as if it finally noticed the weakness, it lunged for his face with teeth that looked far too sharp for a human.

“SHIT!”

Out of reflex, Gordon shut his eyes and swung his free arm at the assailant, and while the blow did not remove the problem, it did at least knock the attack off course. He grabbed at the creature’s head, and he was never more grateful for the HEV suit gloves than he was right then. The teeth couldn’t pierce the thick material, and his hand provided a nice distraction.

A spray of red marked the end of that squabble when Tommy got a clear shot, and Gordon couldn’t help flinching. Not right now not right now.

Tommy had made his way back over to Gordon and systematically took out the ones still holding him down after chucking a grenade back towards the crowd still trying to get through the hallway on the far side.

Once his limbs were free, Gordon brought his hands to his ears as if that would make the sounds stop. It took more than a few repeats of his name before he could finally look up at Tommy and hear what he was saying.

“We shouldn’t- we can rest a little further ahead. Here’s… not a good spot.” Tommy’s encouraging tone was free from the terror he had expected, and that prompted him to look around.

The room was full of corpses. That all looked like Bubby. Yeah, that wasn’t ominous or anxiety inducing in any way, shape, or form with the extra viscera hanging around. “What the fuck was that?” His voice cracked. “Are they tied to Bubby? Fuck, was one of them Bubby?” He started to ramble as he tried to piece together what the hell just happened. His breathing sped up. “Oh god, we’re fucked. We are so fucked.”

Despite his earlier insistence, Tommy decided to sit down next to Gordon and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Breathe, Mr. Freeman,” he gently instructed. “Uh, Yes. And no? He mentioned the prototypes, right? When we found a dead one?”

The reminder made him take a deep breath before he continued. “… Prototypes. Right.” He vaguely remembered the mention when they had found one dead scientist that bore a striking resemblence to Bubby before. He hadn’t had time to parse out the implications then, but after seeing them… “What the hell happened to them? Did they just-”

“I don’t- I don’t know. I wasn’t assigned to that project. Mr. Bubby didn’t really want to talk about it either...” Tommy trailed off.

Though that did raise another question. “Yeah I bet… Wait, why the hell were they here?”

“Well, maybe it was-Maybe it was the military? Get rid of all the failed ones and save bullets?”

Given how they had chosen to dispose of him, that sounded like a very plausible explanation.

Now that Gordon wasn’t on the verge of panicking again, Tommy helped pull him back up to his feet. “You-You sure you don’t want a weapon?”

While the reasons he refused earlier were still true, he really did not want a repeat of what just happened. “… Maybe I can borrow the crowbar for now?”

“That’s-That’s fine.” Tommy handed it to him, and Gordon gripped it in both hands like it was a lifeline.

Which it probably was in this case.

The rest of the journey through Residue Processing passed in a blur of conveyor belts, fire, more water, and even more radioactive waste. All throughout, he and Tommy would talk about… stuff. Sometimes related to what was going on, but often veering into other topics.

If Gordon was to be pressed later, the exact details of what was said had been lost in his hazy mind, but he got the impression the chatter was more for easing nerves and keeping him awake than anything else.

The only good thing he could recall about their trip was that there was a shocking lack of enemies other than the mob of Bubby prototypes.

Well. Living enemies. They found plenty of dead aliens. Most of them looked like they had literally been torn to pieces. Or in the case of that one headcrab, half-eaten.

After yet another ladder, they finally found a door they had enough clearance to enter. Tommy opened it with caution, but his efforts were for naught as the door squealed on its hinges.

They were lucky that all the peeper puppies on the other side had already been savaged by something else. One could make an educated guess as to what thanks to several corpses that were caught in the electrical fence and filling the air with the smell of burnt flesh.

Gordon nearly retched, which caused Tommy to back straight out of the room and tug Gordon away. Once they were a distance away from the door, Tommy instructed, “Stay-stay here, Mr. Freeman. I’ll be right back.”

He waited until Gordon finally nodded his head in understanding before leaving. Even with space, Gordon could still hear the electricity popping through the fence, and it took a lot of resolve to not just curl up on the floor and cry. The world felt like it was ending, everything hurt, and he didn’t know where the rest of his friends were.

Friends. Yeah, by now he probably could call them that. Going through hell together generally meant something. Even if he felt like he was going to die from a heart attack half of the time.

He didn’t have long to muse on that before Tommy returned and beckoned him through the door again. The electricity that had been visibly surging through the fence was gone, and the gate was already opened.

“How’d you get over there?”

“Extra carefully.”

“… I don’t know what I expected.”

The door that had been blocked by the fence was unassuming, and it did not indicate what they were going to next. Given the crates that looked like they once held the peeper puppies, they had to be close to the Biology section…

On the other side of the door was a hallway straight from a horror movie with electrical wires hanging loose from the cieling and sparking and even a flashlight on the ground that occasionally flickered. As they went in, Gordon finally shifted the crowbar into a position where he could actually use it instead of holding it like a comfort toy.

There was a groaning sound from around the corner, and Tommy threw an arm out to keep Gordon from going around him. The other hand kept his gun pointed towards the potential threat’s entrance.

Gordon’s breath caught in his throat as they waited for the monster to show itself, and if his heartbeat wasn’t giving them away, then his fidgeting with the crowbar probably was. The creaks in his gloves sounded so fucking loud, but he wanted to be ready if the thing picked up speed.

A humanoid shape stumbled around the corner with a hand clinging to the wall. At a glance, all Gordon could see was that it was wearing a hospital gown, and the other hand was clutching its middle.

Tommy didn’t pause to look and immediately fired a warning shot.

“Don’t shoot at me, asshole!” A cranky and extremely drunk voice slurred.

Wait a minute.

“Bubby?”

[calamumnomen-official]

Ideas for Talents in Overwatch 2

(From my Reddit account)

One of my biggest fears for the sequel is that talents will only be for the heroes chosen for Story missions. I wanted to see how hard it would be to make talents for all 31 heroes. It only took me a day, so if I could do it I don't see why the entire Blizzard team couldn't.

Reinhardt has at least 7 talents, so I came up with 8 talents for each hero to round it out.

(Talents with * are official talents revealed in gameplay or BlizzCon)

Tank Talents

D.va

Level 1

Game Over- When Mech health reaches 0, mech will fall apart as usual, but each piece explodes to deal 50 damage

Landing Zone- Call Mech produces larger shockwave that knocks enemies back and deals 100 damage

Level 10

Shooting Star- Ram into enemy with Boosters to set them on fire

Micro Flares- Micro Missiles shoots flares that can intercept projectiles in midair

Level 20

Build Up Charge- Mech draws in enemies before it Self Destructs

Disassembly Matrix- Barriers do not block projectiles while under Defense Matrix, enemies covered by Matrix take more damage

Level 50

Defensive Dome- Defense Matrix covers 360 degrees in 7.5 meter radius

Photon Cannon- Micro Missile fires the projectiles from Pilot D.va's Light Gun instead

Orisa

Level 1

Mobile Barrier- Protective Barrier hovers in front of Orisa instead of being placed on the ground

Charger Shield- The Supercharger is protected by a 300 HP barrier

Level 10

Fusion Charge- Critical hits from Fusion Driver charges your Ultimate faster

Cease!- Halt! stuns all enemies it passes through before it activates

Level 20

Ubercharger- Supercharger gives Fortify effect to all allies boosted by it

Citizen's Arrest- Halt! holds enemies in place for 4 seconds, but they spin around the way they used to in Zarya's ultimate

Level 50

Immovable Object- If you are hit by a melee attack while Fortified (Talon Assassin or Talon Heavy's charge) the damage is deflected back to attacker and they are stunned

Fortification- Fortify increases health by 300 Armor

Reinhardt

Level 1

*Fire Burst- Fire Strike explodes every time it deals damage, lighting nearby enemies on fire

*Frenzy- Rocket Hammer swings faster after consecutive hits

Level 10

*Impact Converter- Rocket Hammer damage recharges your Barrier Field

*Amplification Field- Barrier Field increases damage of friendly projectiles passing through it

Level 20

*Balderich's Stand- Gain armour and damage when your barrier breaks

*Fault Line- Earthshatter does more damage in a narrower cone

Level 50

*Epicentre- Earthshatter travels in all direction

Forward Assault- Charge can pin up to 3 enemies at once

Roadhog

Level 1

Barbed Hook- Chain Hook stuns enemy even after they are released

Sinker- Scrap Gun reloads automatically when you successfully hook an enemy

Level 10

Slag Metal- Whole Hog sets enemies on fire

Junk Ball- Scrap Gun alternate fire headshot does triple damage if it hits before detonation

Level 20

Stored Fat- Gain 150 additional HP if Take a Breather is used at full health, for a total of 750 HP

Funnel- Whole Hog fires in a tighter spread instead of a cone

Level 50

Chem Pump- Damage taken during Take a Breather heals for 50% of damage taken

Scrap Blast- At point blank range Scrap Gun knocks back enemy

Sigma

Level 1

Iron Core- Accretion knocks down enemy for maximum amount of time regardless of distance

Reconstruction- Experimental Barrier is restored by 50% of max health when taken down

Level 10

Asteroid- Accretion launches in straight line at faster speed

Kinetic Converter- Kinetic Grasp heals and boosts healing received from allies

Level 20

Optimal Barrier- Experimental Barrier does not take damage while it is being deployed

Gravity Anomaly- Gravitic Flux draws in enemies into area of effect and deals constant damage until the slam

Level 50

Gravity Well- Enemy is briefly held in place if both Hyperspheres hit

Black Hole- Kinetic Grasp draws in every projectile that enters a 5 meter radius and gives shields for 100% of the damage

Winston

Level 1

Primeval Rage- Surrounded by electricity during Primal Rage to deal extra damage

Take Off- Surrounding enemies are set on fire when Jump Pack is triggered

Level 10

Re-entry- Enemies get knocked down if you land on them with Jump Pack

Projector Error- Barrier Projector explodes when it expires

Level 20

Electrobarrier- All enemies inside Barrier Projector are electrocuted

Primal Beast- The extra 500 HP during Primal Rage is converted to armor

Level 50

Malfunction- Tesla Cannon does extra damage to barriers and reloads while damaging them

Giga Coils- Tesla Cannon reloads and increases damage by 33% with each kill, maxes out at 100%

Wrecking Ball

Level 1

Multi Claw- Grappling Claw has 3 charges

Blazing Speed- At high speed enemies struck are set ablaze

Level 10

Meteor Mines- Mines float above out of sight and come crashing down when enemy is detected below

Adaptive Drop- Gain 100 shields for every en enemy hit by Piledriver

Level 20

Rocketball- Use Piledriver even when on the ground

Billiards- Enemies take bonus damage if they are knocked into each other or walls

Level 50

Volatile Mines- Destroy one mine to set off entire field at once instead of each individual going off automatically

Eruptive Shield- Whenever Adaptive Shield takes damage, it explodes and deals damage to nearby enemies

Zarya

Level 1

Frontline- Damage boosted when shield health is depleted

Plasmathrower- Particle Cannon sets enemy on fire at high energy

Level 10

Power Surge- The more enemies caught in Graviton Surge the higher Particle Cannon damage is

Particle Charge- Damage blocked by barriers give extra ultimate charge

Level 20

Event Horizon- Enemies caught in Graviton Surge take extra damage

Damage Conversion- Damage blocked by Projected Barrier boosts ally's damage

Level 50

Shield Network- Projected Barrier covers up to 3 allies in a group

Energy Conversion- Plasma Barrier converts damage into healing by 50%

Damage Talents

Ashe

Level 1

Double Barrel- Coach Gun has 2 charges

Firing Squad- B.O.B will focus fire on any enemy who mark with a sniped shot, shooting with firearms on both arms

Level 10

The Muscle- B.O.B knocks enemies down

Speed Charge- Headshots give extra ultimate charge

Level 20

Sensor Fuse- Dynamite explodes automatically once it is close to enemy

Black Powder- At close range, Coach Gun burns enemy

Level 50

Nitro- Dynamite sets the terrain on fire

The Gunner- B.O.B is equipped with shotguns

Bastion

Level 1

Ironclad- Take 50% less damage during transition between Recon and Sentry

Artillery Elite- Sentry weapon can deal headshots

Level 10

Incendiary Rounds- Tank rounds set enemies on fire

Assault Shield- Use Self-Repair to deploy a 400 HP barrier in front of you for 4 seconds

Level 20

Configuration: Grenade Launcher- Tank rounds contain shrapnel

Upgraded Repair- Self-Repair heals in a 200 HP burst

Level 50

Treaded Feet- Move faster in Recon form when not firing or healing

On-Field Repair- Take 50% less damage while healing

Doomfist

Level 1

Unstoppable Force- Rocket Punch works in any direction you aim like Genji's Swift Strike

Fisticuffs- Successful damage with any ability fully restores ammo

Level 10

Perfect Defense- There is no limit to shields gained by The Best Defense

Knockout- Rising Uppercut stuns enemy

Level 20

Extinction Event- Meteor Strike has an explosion with 16 meter radius that deals 150 damage

Seismic Strike- Seismic Slam always does maximum damage

Level 50

Shatterwave- Rocket Punch can knock back multiple enemies

Newton's Law- Enemy struck by Rocket Punch damages and knocks back other enemies it rams into

Genji

Level 1

Assassin's Blade- Swift Strike damages enemy by 20/sec for 4 seconds

Hyper Agility- You can triple Jump and wall climbing is indefinite

Level 10

*Dragon's Breath- Dragonblade shoots out a projectile

Steady Blade- Deflected projectiles are automatically returned to the attacker, no aiming required

Level 20

Perfect Parry- Deflected projectiles double in power

Sojiro's Teaching- Swift Stike cooldown instant if you cut more than one enemy

Level 50

Dragon of the North Wind- Dragonblade surrounds you in a cyclone that slices up enemies that get too close

Scatter Shuriken- Fan of Blades shurikens split into 9 shurikens and ricochet

Hanzo

Level 1

Skywalk- Lunge has 3 charges and wall climbing is indefinite

Assassin's Arrow- Storm Arrows slow down enemy

Level 10

Dragon's Fang- Storm Arrows pierce through enemies and barriers

Quick Charge- Headshots give extra ultimate charge

Level 20

*Sojiro's Guidance- Arrow hunts down all enemies detected by Sonic Arrow

Taser Arrow- Sonic Arrow stuns enemy

Level 50

Dragon of the South Wind- Dragonstrike sucks in enemies that stray too near

Simple Geometry- Fully drawn arrows and Storm Arrows ricochet

Junkrat

Level 1

Parting Gift- Total Mayhem drops a trap and grenades that go off when the trap activates

Hunting Gear- Steel Trap has 3 charges and Concussion Mine has 3 charges

Level 10

Armed Trap- Steel Trap explodes when it is triggered

Scrap Frag- Frag Launcher rounds contain shrapnel

Level 20

Oil Drum- Concussion Mine sets enemy on fire

Gaspowered- RIP-Tire sets enemies on fire, runtime is longer

Level 50

Sticky Bomb Launcher- Frag Launcher shoots grenades that only explode in proximity to enemy. They don't bounce instead sticking to any terrain. Up to 10 can be on field at a time

Tire Spikes- RIP-Tire damages enemies it makes contact with, HP is Armor

McCree

Level 1

Take Cover- Combat Roll has 3 charges

Fully Loaded- Fan the Hammer always fires 6 shots

Level 10

Steady Hand- Fan the Hammer has a tighter spread, can headshot

Standoff- Taking damage speeds up time Deadeye needs to deal killing blow

Level 20

Blinding Flash- Flashbang not blocked by barriers, blinds enemy for 3 seconds

Dust Roll- Take no damage during Combat Roll

Level 50

Shootout- If killing blow is lined up before enemy gets behind wall or barrier, they are not safe from Deadeye

Crack Shot- Consecutive shots rack up damage 25%, up to 100%

Mei

Level 1

*Shatter- Frozen enemies shatter when killed dealing damage to surrounding enemies

*Cold Snap- When exiting Cryo-Freeze, nearby enemies are frozen

Level 10

*Hypothermia- Blizzard instanly kills enemies below 200 HP

*Snowball Effect- Bowl forward with Cryo-Freeze to knock over enemies

Level 20

*Frostbite- Frozen enemies take more damage

*Polar Vortex- Blizzard covers a greater area and ignores line of sight

Level 50

Spinechilling- Enemies freeze faster the lower their health

Brain Freeze- Headshots give extra Ultimate charge

Pharah

Level 1

Aerial Refuel- Jump Jet fully restores fuel

Crowd Control- If Rocket Launcher hits enemy directly, splash range is doubled to 5 meter radius

Level 10

Emergency Fuel- Hold jump to descend slowly when Hover Jets fuel runs out

Lift Off- Jump Jet burns nearby enemies

Level 20

Concussion- Concussive Blast stuns enemy on direct hit

Mortar Barrage- Barrage sets the terrain on fire

Level 50

Flash Barrage- Barrage fires flares that negate incoming projectiles

Strike Down- Enemy killed by Rocket Launcher or Barrage explodes to deal 100 damage in 5 meter radius

Reaper

Level 1

Soul Eater- Enemies drop souls that heal 50 HP

Shade Gate- Shadow Step makes you invisible for 10 seconds

Level 10

Hellstorm- Death Blossom launches 12 grenades that deal 100 damage each

Harvest- Headshots give self healing for 100% of damage dealt

Level 20

Gift from the Devil- If a shotgun is fully depleted when it's dropped, it will self destruct and spew shrapnel

Demon Form- Drain health from nearby enemies in Wraith form, deals 20/sec, heals 10/sec for each enemy affected

Level 50

Hellfire- At pointblank range shotguns set enemy on fire

God of Death- Every kill boosts damage by 30% for 10 seconds, capped at 120%

Soldier:76

Level 1

Recharge- Ammo restored while dealing damage, similar to Symmetra's primary fire, also slowly reloads over time

Focus Fire- Heavy Pulse Rifle more accurate for 6 shots instead of 3, maximum spread is tighter

Level 10

Shoulder Check- Sprint directly into enemy to knock them back

Multiple Hostiles- Tactical Visor can target up to 3 enemies

Level 20

Hyper Rockets- Helix Rocket makes enemy explode to deal 100 damage to surrounding enemies

Boosting Field- Biotic Field boosts damage by 30%

Level 50

Hardened Veteran- Tactical Visor deals more damage the less health an enemy has

Biotic Shield- Biotic Field deploys a 250 HP barrier

Sombra

Level 1

System Failure- Enemy immobilized when hacked

Firewall- Hack puts a 50 HP barrier in front of you when hand is raised

Level 10

Covert- Damage does not remove Stealth until you are under half health

Reversion- Translocator works like Tracer's Recall, restoring health to what it was when you placed it

Level 20

Marionette- If you hack an enemy that's at critical health, they fight on your side until they die

Critical Failure- EMP cuts the targets current HP in half

Level 50

Turn Coat- Targets hacked by EMP fight for your team for duration of hack

Cheap Shot- Shooting an enemy in the back deals critical hit

Symmetra

Level 1

Gamma Ray- Photon Projector attacks go through enemies, alternate not blocked by barriers

Symmetry- Up to 6 Sentry Turrets can be deployed

Level 10

Crystalline Barrier- Photon Barrier does not expire until it is destroyed

Electro Turret- Sentry Turrets shoot electric current to hit multiple enemies. Has less range but deals 60 damage per second

Level 20

Shield Generator- Teleporter replaced by Shield Generator that increases health by 50% in shield form

Nuclear Fission- Primary Fire max damage builds up faster and lasts longer

Level 50

Sentry Orbitar- Sentry Turret orbits around you at chest level, hold key to have it follow ally

Photon Fortress- Photon Barrier has 3 charges, 2nd charge requires 840 points, 3rd charge requires 420 points (nice)

Torbjorn

Level 1

Flaming Hammer- Forger Hammer damage gives twice the ultimate charge

Red Hot- Rivet Gun spews flames during Overload

Level 10

*Flame Thrower- Turrets shoot out flames

Heat Wave- Molten Core heat reaches upward to damage enemies midair

Level 20

Melting Point- When Molten Core is shot out, it goes straight through enemies and barriers

*My Babies- Place 3 miniature turrets

Level 50

Extra Supplies- During Overload, Alt and Primary Fire are combined. Fire 10 shot spread and the 70 damage rivet in one shot

Power Up- During Overload, turret is upgraded to Level 3

Tracer

Level 1

*Adaptive Reload- Pulse Pistols reload when using any ability

*Chain Reaction- Pulse Bomb triggers a secondary explosion on all enemies caught in the splash

Level 10

*Flash- Blinking through an enemy damages

*Hindsight- Recall triggers additional damage to enemies marked by Pulse Pistols

Level 20

*Vortex- Enemies are pulled towards the point of Recall and snared

*Speed Kills- Killing blows speed up cooldowns

Level 50

Slipstream- Shooting an enemy in the back charges ultimate faster

Time Anomaly- Enemies that survive the Pulse Bomb are greatly slowed down

Widowmaker

Level 1

Reposition- Grappling Hook has 2 charges

Kiss of Death- Fully charged scoped shots poison enemy during Ultimate

Level 10

Merciless- In full-automatic mode, headshots deal 2.5x the damage

One Shot- Headshots give twice the ultimate charge

Level 20

Crippling Venom- Venom Mine slows down enemy

Optimized- Scoped shots always at full charge

Level 50

Lethal Gas- Venom Mine effects last until enemy reaches half health or death

Phase Shifting Rounds- During Infra-Sight, scoped shots go through everything, even walls

Support Talents

Ana

Level 1

Heavy Tranq- Enemy does not awaken from Sleep Dart until it expires, even if they take damage

Nanobolster- Nano Boost fully heals and increases speed by 50%

Level 10

Expertise- Consecutive shots increase effects by 50%

KO Drug- 5 consecutive scoped shots put enemy to sleep

Level 20

Alchemy Grenade- Biotic Grenade heals allies over time, poisons enemies

Quick Dispatch- Kills give extra ult charge

Level 50

Nanite Darts- Nano Boost has 2 charges. 2nd charge requires 1575 points

KO Grenade- Biotic Grenade sleeps all enemies

Baptiste

Level 1

Anti-G- Hold jump in midair to glide

Matrix Shield- Amplification Matrix negates enemy damage

Level 10

Skyshooter- Healing and damage increased in midair

Reinforce- Use Regenerative Burst to make Immortality Field invulnerable

Level 20

Undertaker- Kills speed up Immortality Field cooldown time

Immortal Hero- Immortality Field heals 50 HP/sec, health does not drop below half

Level 50

Immortal Warrior- Immortality Field boosts damage 30%

Rejuvenation- Regenerative Burst increases maximum health

Brigitte

Level 1

Chain Extension- Rocket Flail extends to hit more enemies and from farther away

Suit Up- Repair Pack armor is permanent

Level 10

Booster Mace- Whip Shot can pin enemy against wall to deal 210 damage

Embolden- Inspire healing boosts the more enemies hit in one swing of Rocket Flail, Inspire heals barriers

Level 20

Shield Blast- Shield Bash can stun multiple enemies

Build 'em Up, Break 'em Down- Kills restore Repair Packs and Inspire heals in burst

Level 50

Invigoration- Armor gained from Rally restores over time like shield health until it is depleted

Deflector Shield- Barrier Shield increased to 400 shield and reflects projectiles

Lucio

Level 1

*Healing Wave- Soundwave heals 25% of allies' max health

*Mashup- Both songs take effect during Amp it Up

Level 10

*Beatmatching- Damage dealt during Speed Boost adds bonus healing to Healing Boost

*Fortississimo- Projectiles added to Primary Fire burst for each enemy struck by Soundwave

Level 20

*Power Skating- Soundwave's damage and knockback scale up based on your forward speed

*Accelerando- Critical hits speed up Amp it Up cooldown

Level 50

Blastwave- Knock enemy into wall with Soundwave to stun them and deal extra damage

Wall of Sound- Enemies caught in Sound Barrier when it's cast get stunned

Mercy

Level 1

Battle Angel- Caduceus Staff engages healing and damage beams simultaneously during Valkyrie

Get back in the Fight- Ressurect is instant and has 2 charges

Level 10

Shining Beacon- Stun enemies when flying with Guardian Angel

Herald- Double and fully restore HP when Valkyrie is triggered

Level 20

Guardian- Guardian Angel teleports you to ally

Leader's Devotion- When ally is being damage boosted, they get heal themselves for 30% of damage they deal

Level 50

Miracle Worker- Ressurect multiple allies during Valkyrie

Acceleration- Damage boosting an ally increase the rate they charge their Ultimate

Moira

Level 1

Dual Orb- Biotic Orb heals and damages, has 2 charges

Phase- Fade poisons enemies you pass through

Level 10

Biotic Bomb- Biotic Orb explodes when it expires

Cellular Increase- Ally under Biotic Grasp effect receives less damage

Level 20

Danger Zone- If you are at critical health, self heal is 100% of damage. If ally is at critical health, healing is boosted 50%

Disseverance- Choose between either doubling the damage or doubling the healing of Coalescence

Level 50

Strangle- Biotic Grasp damage increases over time like Symmetra's primary fire, goes from 50 to 100 to 150

Biotic Tracker- Healing Orb follows ally, Damage Orb follows enemy

Zenyatta

Level 1

Despair- Enemies marked by Discord Orb receive 3x the damage from critical hits instead of 2x

Emblazon- Ally marked by Harmony Orb receives 25% less damage

Level 10

Comfort- Harmony Orb can go through walls to heal ally

Amass- Amount of enemies in vicinity increase amount of projectiles in Orb Volley. 2 enemies gives 6 orbs per volley, 3 gives 7, caps off at 8

Level 20

Turmoil- Discord Orb target takes more damage the less health they have

Eradication- Orb Volley pierces though enemies and barriers

Level 50

Ascension- Team becomes invincible during Transcendence. Even heals dead allies, resurrecting them after 4 seconds

Yin and Yang- Harmony and Discord can be both be cast on target to triple respective effect, 90 healing/sec for ally, +75% damage received for enemy

(I'm looking forward to feedback and any ideas other people might have)

[megaman-memes]

The Ultimate Robot Master Pun

I am so sorry to anyone who reads this cringe all the way through.

But someone had to do it, and that someone is me.

Puns are the Bomb, but sometimes it takes Guts to get them out there and not all of them make the Cut. It's an Ice try but only Elec-t puns really live on the longest. Fire away though, because there's people like me who live on puns. I've Met-all different kinds of pun makers. They're pretty Quick about it too, Wood'nt you know? I don't mean to Crash through with a Heat wave of bad puns, but I have to clear the Air before it Bubbles up in a Flash from the quiet.

To Top it all off, it's Needless to say it's fun but hard to make fun puns without Snaking around the Hardship of it. In a Shadow of a doubt, sometimes gotta wonder, 'I'm really a Gem, ain'(t) I?' to Spark up a conversation with a pun is really Magneficent. Let's Dive right into this, I'm not trying to Drill it in, but I gotta get it through my Skull that it's not phar-though because Toad-ally difficult to stay in the Ring and just Dive right in with a Bright idea.

Gotta Charge up for this, make it truly Crystal Clear. Sometimes gotta have a pun right in (Y)Na-Palm. In more Waves of this endless Dark tunnel of bad jokes, I'm fighting Gravity just to keep this going. Why do I (Try)Gy-ro(though) because the real Star of the show is set in Stone. The story of the Centaury toKnight is Planted against the Wind and Flame among the many endless jokes fighting the Blizzard of disapproval. To-am-I-to-hawk? Ya-may-know that I cringe at myself for my own jokes. I think my thoughts are about to Burst, my head is in the Clouds too much. This entire thing is Junk, I think my train of thought is starting to Freeze. I should probably Spring into the Shade of relaxation instead of doing this. I'm going Turbo on Slashing through wordplay. I Aqua put a stop to this but it's about 8 games too late. I'm just Clownin' around in Search of someone to Tengu with. I feel like a Grenade covered in Frost, unable to function correctly. I guess I'm becoming Astro-ng supporter of puns.

I'm quite a Jewel, aren't I? Plug in the Concrete evidence of how these are out of this Galaxy, Splashing out from the Tornado to the Magma with a sting like a Hornet. Like a Solar flare in Command, I'm not so Sheepishly Striking with this Nitro blast like the Blade on Ballade's helmet. I really need to Chill out and stop Pumping out such bad jokes. One more game to go.

I'm going to have a Blast with this one but don't conFuse it with the rest. I know it's tempting to just Block it off now rather than brace for Impact of these Acidic wordplays, but I Bounce back better than a Torch in the Tundra

[diredigression]

New adventure from Courier Carrot!

Carrot gets to push some big red buttons at Helios One.

—–

That Lucky Old Sun

Carrot sprinted down the dark hallway. “RUN!”

Behind her, a small army of protectrons teetered towards them. Bright red laser flashes from the bots shot past the three, perilously close to contact. Seconds earlier, Carrot had spotted the laser tripwire in the doorway, but not soon enough to keep herself from charging through it as she fled a Mister Gutsy. Luckily, Boone had taken that one down before the protectrons activated. As for them—

An ear-shattering explosion threw Carrot and Boone to the ground and ED-E into a wall as a dome of crackling blue lightning enveloped the bots.  The plasma grenade, one of Carrot’s new favorite toys, blew tangles of metal from them. The remaining parts sparked, smoked, and collapsed in the hallway.

Carrot and Boone scrambled to their feet and ED-E, beeping angrily, launched himself back into the air. Otherwise, there was silence. They clung to the wall, listening for anything besides the ringing of their ears and some residual static from ED-E, until they were reassured that the threat was past.

“Damn,” giggled Carrot. “That was cool.”

Boone glared at her. “Let’s just get moving and hope there’s no more up ahead.”

Of course, getting moving took some time, as Carrot was unwilling to leave any loot behind. She quickly emptied the toolboxes and bins in the area before moving on to the mangled bots. She didn’t know hide from hair on electronic things, but she recognized a few of the easier-to-remove bits as common stock in scrap sellers’ bins. No reason to leave free caps behind—especially now that she had Boone to lug it.

“Gonna be hard covering you when I can’t move my legs,” he grumbled as Carrot loaded him up with scrap. ED-E twittered in an amused sort of way, until she started piling the remainder onto him.

Now, ED-E — his acquisition had been utterly unexpected. Even Boone, whose repair abilities outstripped hers, had taken one look at the pitiful pile of metal on the Mojave Express desk and offered to take it to the Gibson scrap yard himself (as long as he got to keep the caps). But as Carrot had emptied her bag of loot in front of Johnson Nash for trade, his eyes had slowly widened. “Youngster, I reckon you just brought me exactly what I need to fix that old bucket of bolts.” And with a startling amount of sprightliness for such a weathered man, he had swept up an armload of Carrot’s junk and set to work tinkering on the eyebot. His intensity had left Carrot and Boone in slightly stunned silence, just wanting to trade their loot and move on.

And now the eyebot was part of their little party, singing fierce beeping war cries and taking down protectrons with his laser gun.

Eventually Carrot finished scavenging and they continued on through the dark hallways. The remainder of the journey was uneventful, and finally they discovered their goal: the elevator to the Helios One Observation Level. Here, as that idiot wearing sunglasses in the basement had informed them, they would be able to…do something to get the shiny mirrors outside flowing juice to the region. They’d done something about “resetting mainframe connection” outside the plant, and Fantastic said they needed to “do the rest” up here. Past all the killer robots.

Carrot was a huge fan of Fantastic, really. Dude knew his way around the NCR grunts and was totally shameless about it. Gotta respect that.

But now they were up here, slightly singed from the killer robots, and the computer was complaining about not getting enough juice even though it was in the damned juice plant, and he’d given them no actual info to go on. Oh, and a cable was chewed to bits and emitting an acrid smoke that gave Carrot a headache.

She began organizing the loot. It was a good way to pass the time while she waited for either her brain or the universe to give her something useful.

Or Boone, apparently. “I think I found something,” he called from upstairs. “Dormant Mister Handy. Maybe it’s only for maintenance. Might be able to fix the system.”

Carrot trotted up to where he waited.  The Mister Handy floated over a charging pad lit in pale blue. The flamer and buzzsaw on its curled legs (she was far too familiar with those) were still in place, but other tools seemed to have been retrofitted wherever there was space. It wasn’t often she got to see an undamaged Handy this close without the distraction of being flambéed. She couldn’t resist the impulse to reach out to touch it.

The robot jumped to life.

Carrot screamed and leapt backwards. Boone jerked, tried to grab his rifle off his shoulders, and tripped over a chair.

The Handy swept past them as if they didn’t exist.

Bewildered, they stared after it as it descended the stairs. ED-E’s startled beeping was heard as the Handy approached, soon changing to a slower, more confused sound. Carrot and Boone hurried to the railing, where they watched the Handy descend upon the smoking cable. After a few minutes of deft movements and a remarkable amount of sparking, the Handy collapsed next to the cable, once again dormant. The smoking from the cable was gone, and it looked as though the output on the monitor screen had changed.

“What…the hell,” said Carrot.

Boone looked at her, back to the bot, and then back to her. With his eyes hidden behind his sunglasses, only a twitch in his frown indicated increased scrutiny. He pointed at her hand. “What are you holding?”

Carrot looked at her hand in surprise. Apparently she was still holding one of the loot items she’d been sorting, a small square computer drive. A holodisk. “An employee ID card, looks like. Guess waving it close started up the Handy?” Her confusion morphed into a cocky grin. “Glad I grabbed everything now, huh?”

Boone snorted and headed back downstairs. “Lucky us.”

Finally into the computer, Carrot eyed the terminal options. “Configure Power Grid”: that was probably to shift the juice around the region. More interesting was the one at the bottom, with the name ARCHIMEDES prominent. That was exciting. Options all in caps felt like the boring-green-terminal version of a big red button. She was disappointed to find that it only contained a memo, though, so she continued to the power grid option.

There it was again. ARCHIMEDES II. She vaguely caught notice of the other options around it, names of Mojave towns, but they were far less fascinating. Hadn’t that other guy, the sciency one working with Fantastic, mentioned something about it? ARCHIMEDES was calling to her. She selected it and the terminal returned to the original menu, which now included a new option:

Arm ARCHIMEDES Plant Defense System

What the hell. She was always a sucker for big red buttons. Besides, an important place like this could always use some extra defense measures, right?

Suddenly a siren blared. ED-E twittered nervously. For some reason, Boone eyed her and started murmuring, “Carrot, what did you—”

She cut him off. “No time, Boone, don’cha hear that? We gotta get moving before whatever’s happening happens. Looks like the last switch is up top.” She charged up the stairs and out of the building into the noon sun.

Out on the tower observation deck, far above the broad field of shinies, the control console was easily identified by the massive switch. Carrot wriggled in delight—she got to press all the big red buttons today. She leaned over the railing, spending a moment to take in the view of the Mojave and the array of mirrors below. Then she pulled the switch.

 ——

Bubbling over with excitement, Carrot charged into the room where Fantastic was working. She couldn’t wait to tell him the incredible thing she’d just seen. How lucky it was that she had been there out on the observation deck, gazing across the Mojave, right as that column of heavenly light shone from the sky! Even Boone had showed some emotion, although it seemed more angry than amazed? Her good mood couldn’t be swayed by his grumpiness right now, though.

But Fantastic’s reaction was equally disappointing. “What the fuck, man?” he shouted. “Are you loco? You just killed my paycheck!”

“What do you mean?” she asked. “I moved the shinies and sent out the juice, just like you asked!” But Fantastic just huffed and turned away.

The sciency guy was also unimpressed, but Carrot had expected that. He wasn’t as cool as Fantastic. Still didn’t know what or why he was blaming on her. Maybe he was just jealous that she’d figured out how to fix the shiny plant without him.

Carrot left the plant, Boone stalking darkly behind her and ED-E over his shoulder. All the NCR guards had vanished. Maybe they’d left to check out the light show too. She couldn’t blame them. But as for her, she’d had enough excitement for the day. Off she jogged towards her Novac bed and a well-deserved rest.

[sasorikigai]

@pxlariis‘ Frost is dead. 

❄️|| The sound of silence echoes with great cacophony in his ears, mute muscle memory paralyzed between clenched teeth and tongue-tied truth. Clouds drift above whisper sustenance, while the ominousness of his nightmare seep through the saturated thick haze and mist of Kuai Liang’s rhythmic breathing. The thickened swelter of Netherrealm’s heat invades even through his subconscious, as the truth of his once-pupil’s death seeks release, only to fade with each lingering thought that ceases to exist. In his bed, in the falsified veil of serenity and peace, Kuai’s precarious sleep continues, as his vocal cords vibrate in chaotic spasm.

As thunderous glaring flashing ripples split the sky, the ghost of an amused grin spreads more as the ricocheted bullets bounce off the opposite way to be planted against the deck of Kharon’s fleet. For those that don’t ever dent through the atmosphere embeds against Frost’s  exoskeleton even when it perforates the semi-transparent layer. Through the cacophonous blasts of hoofbeats continuing to gallop and barreling through the whooshing air as the combined allegiance of the Special Forces, the Lin Kuei and the Outworld’s Kahnum and her allies gather to conjure all the firework-like bombardment of the excharged power barely affects the forces of Kronika slim to none, minus all the mindless, ill-fated cyborgs serving to fulfill the wicked cause. It would be ear-splitting enough to be jarring and cause incendiary damage against already flaking reality, on the verge of erasing itself on its own beneath the Sands of Time. 

The opening has been created, as the revivified valiant effort from the forces of good begins to thwart the Tekunin with the Thunder God on their side. Sub-Zero delves to focus on decimating the mechanical apparatuses of the lesser cyborgs first, so that he could deal with the bundles of tubes later with more decapitating grenades from the Special Forces specialists, the impact of explosion would contain within the endoskeleton to amplify the potency of the blast. 

Soon, Raiden’s paramount thunder would render her paralyzed beneath the exposure of delighted fragility, which Sub-Zero has not seen ever since taking Frost under his care. Instead of a real heart, underneath the fortified exoskeleton, would lie an augmented arc reactor that functions both as Frost’s main central power source and to give a faint phosphorescent appearance as it bundles of nanotubes along with all the other mechanical devices scattered throughout the endoskeleton, formulating her frame. 

All the rusted moisture, the ruptured conduits of trails of wires, fried and dwindled as the durable frame and muscle-like widgets had crumbled inward, giving her the appearance of disintegrated, recently unearthed junk. “What have you done, Raiden? Could you not have spared her soul just as she deserved? Doesn’t she deserve a chance for redemption, just as...” the toilsome emotions surge from the chambers of his heart, ascends to the thick trunk of his throat, then lingers in Kuai’s mouth like the most bitter weight. It aggravates him, to see her rendered in an absolute oblivion, where her both body and soul would have been like an oil spill in the sand. The burnt fume and potent scent of fluids through her numerous leakage would have bought such excruciating death, if she could ever feel pain. “Just as Scorpion, Hanzo Hasashi deserved.” 

Kuai Liang’s face remains rigid, his arms and legs weak, as if dangling if his corporeality had been a marionette controlled by someone greater, more powerful than him. How many ebbing and flowing dunes of a desert does Sub-Zero have to climb and endure with such Atlas on his shoulders? His opulescent sapphire gaze swirls, eddies in moving waves, before blinking away such carnage. How the repressed emotions threaten to overwrought him beyond his breaking, as he comes apart at the seams as his thawed heart becomes a hollow shell, as his knees give in to the thickened, sticky ground. 

Without the fluids running through and gracing all of her vital compartments, Frost looked as if she had been salvaged from the demolished building; with all the unrecognizable features, with the cranial support severed, what would be her viscera - the network of her intricate system liquified and replaced with molten stream - sprawled beneath his feet like an animal’s carcass going through putrefaction and Kuai believes; whether if his assumptions are true or not, when Frost shut down as the fluid seeped out through the opening around the temple and through crevices where the probe attaches to the clump of brain tissues, holding her precious memories as a human intact, would have annihilated as well with Raiden’s merciless strike from the heaven. 

If Kuai Liang could ever run away from this severed, unblossomed, and unconditional love that used to anchor him to shackle all of his demons, then he could remain more or less sane beneath the violent lunacy of the world. Without Frost’s spiked anger and volatile temper, he does feel more like a ghost without all the rawness and realness of the world. The Lin Kuei lacks her ruthless authenticity and as Sub-Zero, he will miss that so much. ❄️||

[spidergwenstefani]

Holy Dimensional Gateway, Batman! | 2/?

chapter 2 of this.

tw: a bad guy gets stabbed a little bit, and shot. Also some angsty-ish discussion of superhero sidekicks at the end but idk if that’s really a trigger

rated: T

The klaxon is still blaring, red lights flashing and a swarm of SHIELD scientists scrambling to assess the damage done to their base. Tony, for his part, is doing an astounding job of staring blankly at the newly rearranged portal and moving out of exactly nobody’s way.

“So,” he says, glancing sideways at Steve. “Was it just me, or did the portal kind of fold in on itself when Barnes dove through it?”

“It did,” Steve says, his jaw set in the patriotic way that it does when he dissociates from reality. Behind him, one of the scientists gently unpins a shriveled vine from the wall, letting the arrow clatter to the floor.

“So,” Tony says, slowly. It’s not that he’s still processing what’s happened, it’s just that he’d prefer to delay saying it out loud for as long as possible. “Barnes, um. He might not be in the same place as Barton. Right?”

“Right.” The unflinching void of space has nothing on the empty expression Steve’s wearing right now.

“Maybe he’s, um. Not even in the same time. And. And, the portal rearranged itself again after he went through, so…” Steve hasn’t blinked for a while, and Tony’s starting to get a little nervous about the state of his remaining teammate as well.

“So.”

“So, well. So, fuck.”

“Fuck,” Steve echoes.

>>==========>

>>==========>

>>==========>

“I want you to know,” Bucky shouts over the roaring wind, “If any pictures of this get back to my universe, I will actually shoot you.”

Superman just laughs, continuing his scientifically impossible flight towards their undisclosed location. He has his arms hooked under Bucky’s armpits, and while Superman seems to be tiring not a bit, Bucky’s having a hell of a time not sliding out of his grip. He’s self-aware enough to know what an idiot he looks like. He feels like a toddler trying to splash his way through a kiddy pool with nothing but those dumb arm floaties on. If Clint were here, he’d probably make another stupid comparison to that one Angry Cat or whatever. Bucky considers, for all of two seconds, telling him about it once they find him.

“Not to throw a wrench in your plans or anything, but I’m kind of indestructible.”

“Nothing’s indestructible, buddy,” Bucky says, trying to pull himself up just a little, but really only managing to kick around like a petulant child. “And for a guy that claims to be, you’re kind of slow.”

“Well,” Superman says, his voice still pleasant and cheery, “if I was flying at full speed, your brain might actually liquify.” His grip suddenly becomes a hell of a lot tighter, and Bucky feels very much like a puppy that’s been grabbed by the scruff of the neck. “Also, I don’t entirely trust you. I certainly don’t trust you enough to just drop you off at a friend’s door without spending a little time getting to know you first.”

“Okay,” Bucky says, because Superman has a grip of steel and it actually kind of hurts. “Lunch date?”

There’s a sudden flash from the ground below, and Superman stops short as an ear-splitting boom makes its way to them.

“There’s a great diner in Star City.”

“You’re buying,” Bucky says. Or, tries to say, because suddenly Superman is barreling down through the clouds and it’s all Bucky can do not to pass out.

He’s never seen Star City on a normal day, but he assumes there’s usually less general carnage and debris. Shards of shrapnel litter the section of highway Superman touches down on, and a lot of the piles of junk are still smoking from the recent explosion.

“How nice of you to join us,” someone says with a sinister sneer, and Bucky turns to find himself directly in the middle of a stand-off.

On one side of the highway, there’s a guy in a blue and orange body suit, the eyes of his mask and the sword strapped to his back pinging something familiar in Bucky’s head. He’s got some kind of tricked out semi-automatic in his hands and seems ready to shoot right through Bucky to get to the other guy.

The other guy, who’s got a bow and arrow, drawn and ready.

It’s not Clint. Bucky knows in an instant it’s not Clint. This guy is wearing green, a hood and domino mask helping to obscure his face. Even past the costume, his stance is different. When Clint draws his bow, he’s a study in serenity. Bucky knows for a fact his bow of preference has got a draw weight of two hundred and fifty pounds, but the strain doesn’t show. When Clint’s got a target in his sights, he might as well be made of stone. Nothing can touch him when he’s got an arrow at the ready, and the set of his shoulders says he knows it.

This guy? This guy looks almost feral, like a tiger ready to pounce. He’s on the attack and defense all at once, and maybe his form matches Clint’s in any technical measurement, but where Hawkeye is all tranquility, all patient tension, this guy is carefully channeled rage.

Superman is gone.

Bucky was so caught up in taking in the scene that he almost didn’t realize the big blue guy dropped down in the middle of the standoff and disappeared before anyone could blink. He catches sight of a blue blur on the edges of the battlefield, pulling back any civilians that haven’t already made a run for it, dousing fires that are spreading dangerously close to abandoned vehicles. Bucky wishes Superman could’ve at least pointed out the bad guy before fucking right off, because now he’s stuck between bizarro-world versions of Hawkeye and Deadpool with no background information whatsoever.

“Look, Robocop. Either make a move or get out of the way,” Robin Hood says, and Bucky hopes he hasn’t ended up in a universe where Tony Stark is blond and has even worse facial hair.

“Even a fancy arm like that won’t do much to stop a bullet,” Not-Deadpool says, which makes Bucky’s mouth quirk up just a bit.

“I’m trying,” he says, raising his arms slowly in a hopefully multiversal gesture, “to figure out exactly whose side I should be on here.” Nobody relaxes, but Robin Hood at least makes a short sort of snort.

“Well, I am Green Arrow, Hero and Protector of Star City. If you can’t pick between that and ‘Deathstroke the Terminator,’ I’m not sure I want you on my side anyway.”

Bucky turns to Deathstroke then, doing his best not to expose any weak points to either of them. “Deathstroke” is no “Deadpool,” but he figures it’s close enough to stake a guess on.

“You got a counterpoint, Wilson?”

Deathstroke doesn’t falter, doesn’t fumble with his gun or relax his stance, but the last name catches him by surprise, and Bucky only needs a split second of hesitation to draw his weapon. The bullet goes clean through Deathstroke’s shoulder, hitting at the same time as an arrow latches onto his gun, blowing the thing to pieces with the force of a small grenade.

Whatever knockoff brand Deadpool this guy is, not knowing when to quit seems to be Wade Wilson’s universal constant. He draws his sword, charging at Bucky with a speed that’s definitely enhanced. Bucky blocks the blow with his left arm, and the clashing metals send a supernatural clang through the air like a shock wave.

“What-” Deathstroke starts to say, and Bucky goes straight for the Ka-Bar on his belt. He aims a stab at Deathstroke’s side, but whatever’s in the guy’s body armor makes the blade glance off harmlessly. Deathstroke tries again with the sword, aiming a slash at Bucky’s thigh that he just barely dodges.

“Well,” Bucky hears Green Arrow shout from the sidelines, “I’m not gonna lie. I’m a little turned on right now.”

“There’s room for a third,” Bucky says through gritted teeth, ducking as Deathstroke gets a solid swing. His blade sings as it cuts through the air, and Bucky doesn’t want to know what kind of vibranium clusterfuck of an alloy the thing is made of. He drops lower, trying to knock Deathstroke off his feet by sweeping his legs, but he just sidesteps like telegraphing his movements is ever a thing Bucky’s been accused of.

Three arrows go whistling past Bucky’s head in rapid succession, but only one manages to nick Deathstroke’s shoulder, more of a papercut than anything else. It’s not for lack of trying. Green Arrow’s aim is true, but Deathstroke seems to dodge the arrows before they’re even loosed.

“Nice try, Emerald Archer,” Deathstroke sneers, and his next swing actually scrapes against Bucky’s arm before glancing off, the reverb sounding like some hellish version of nails on a chalkboard. “I know where those arrows will be before you do.”

Huh. That changes things. Bucky was thinking telepathy, but if this guy is just using some limited form of precognition, that’s something Bucky can work with.

“What about this knife?” Bucky says, just to draw Deathstroke’s attention back to him. He leads with the Ka-Bar in his right hand, swinging for the face. Deathstroke dodges easily, and if Bucky had to pick a counter move, he’d go for a sucker punch. He ducks before Deathstroke can even finish drawing back his fist, activating the retractable knife in his left arm and slicing at Deathstroke’s thigh. The body armor is lighter in his legs, and the knife cuts deep. Deathstroke lets out a shout, stumbling back. His rhythm is thrown enough for Green Arrow to let loose another explosive arrow, and the impact sends Bucky skidding back on the asphalt.

Deathstroke is gone when the smoke clears, which is a shame because Bucky was just getting into having a worthy opponent. He hears Green Arrow swear behind him, like that’s the end of that, and Bucky hasn’t taken half a step toward the vacant side of the highway before Superman is suddenly blocking his path. He’s radiating ‘disappointed mom’ in waves and the fact that his feet aren’t touching the ground does nothing to tone down the intimidation as he towers over Bucky.

“Well,” he says, squinting down at Bucky and pressing his lips into a flat line. “I’d be interested in knowing how someone from another universe knows the identity of one of our world’s deadliest mercenaries.”

He should probably be shitting his pants right now. Bucky’s getting the sense that Superman isn’t quite human, and beyond faster-than-light speed and a seemingly unlimited amount of strength, he’s still not sure what Superman meant when he called himself “indestructible”. Unfortunately, his intimidation technique seems more based on scolding than actual threats, and Bucky Barnes had to face down Captain America’s “disappointed in you” talk back when he was a teenager.

“There’s a Wade Wilson in my universe too,” he says, not even trying to act nervous. “The codename and the costume aren’t exactly the same, but I only needed him to let his guard down for a second.”

“Well, good work,” Green Arrow chimes in, and Bucky turns to see him counting the arrows left in his quiver. Apparently being escorted by Superman is enough of a character reference in this universe, because Green Arrow’s bow is strapped to his back instead of held at the ready. “Slade Wilson doesn’t let his guard down for almost anything.”

“Huh. That makes a couple more differences between him and the guy I know.”

“I’d like to hear more about the differences in your universe,” Superman says, a note of suspicion still in his voice. “I believe we had plans for lunch?”

“Cheeseburgers are on me,” Green Arrow says.

>>==========>

>>==========>

>>==========>

Batman, it turns out, is a lot more friendly when you’re on the same side.

Well, friendly is relative, but Clint thinks the provided Advil and glass of water have to count for something. He perches on the ledge next to Batman’s ominously gigantic supercomputer and wonders what it says about his life that the Venn diagram of people who have tied him up for interrogation and people who he considers his closest allies has a lot of overlap.

“Start talking,” Batman orders, his eerily pointed gloves clacking against the keyboard. “I want to know exactly how much our universes match up.” He pauses, turning towards him, and Clint gets the sense that he’s being scanned through the opaque eyeholes of the mask. “Your name wouldn’t happen to be Oliver Queen, would it?”

“Nope,” Clint says, rubbing absentmindedly at his still sore wrist. “Try Barton, Clinton Francis.”

One quick search later and the computer yields no matches, which puts Clint more at ease than Batman. It’s nice to know there’s not another one of himself running around in this dreary universe, but Batman doesn’t seem quite satisfied.

“You don’t know who I am, but you aren’t phased by the cape and the mask,” he rumbles. Batman’s toned down the demon voice to a low growl, but he’s still got a hoarseness that could rival Wolverine. “You’ve seen plenty of our kind before. Who are the heroes of your universe?”

“Well,” Clint says, weighing his options for all of two seconds. Batman still gives him some major heebie-jeebies, and rattling off intel on his teammates might not be the best tactical move, but he needs to earn some trust here, not to mention his Earth has dealt with way worse threats than some guy in a bat suit that spends his nights beating up old-timey gangsters. “That’s kind of a loaded question.”

Batman leans back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. Clint gets the sense that there’s one raised eyebrow behind his cowl.

“You mean you don’t have good guys? Sworn protectors of the common people?”

“Well, when you put it that way,” Clint huffs, because it kinda seems like the guy that lives in a Doctor Doom lair and dresses like a vampire on super serum is accusing his world of too much moral ambiguity. “There’s all the Avengers, obviously. Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Black Widow. Our roster isn’t really set in stone, you know? And there’s the Young Avengers, the Defenders, the Guardians, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, A-Force, the Howling Commandos, New Warriors, the Thunderbolts, uh, sometimes. Alpha Flight, if we’re counting Canada. Then there’s-”

“That’s enough,” Batman says, which is probably good because Clint hasn’t even gotten to the spin-offs yet. “No Justice League, then?” Clint snorts.

“That’s a little on the nose, don’t you think?”

“The Avengers?” Batman says flatly. “The Defenders?”

“Well it’s not the Vengeance Guild, is it? It’s not the Group of People Who Defend Things.” There’s a muscle twitching in Batman’s jaw, and Clint remembers a little belatedly that he’s not exactly a welcome guest. “So, um. No overlap, I’m guessing?”

“Not with the names you gave,” Batman says. He pauses, and his next words come out more cautious. “You’ve never met Superman, then? Or Wonder Woman?”

Clint tries really, really hard not to smile, because what is with this universe and names? Something must show on his face, though, because Batman sighs wearily.

“‘Captain America’ and ‘Iron Man’ aren’t better.”

“Yeah, I bet Superman’s name is a holdover from the World War II propaganda machine, and Wonder Woman is just a big fan of Black Sabbath.”

“You haven’t given me your name,” Batman says, more gravel edging into his voice. “What is it, Purple Arrow?”

“That’s just lazy,” Clint says, hopping down from his perch so he can puff out his chest properly. “No, you’re in the presence of Clint Barton, AKA Hawkeye. The world’s greatest marksman. The people’s avenger. The greatest sharpshooter known to man. The-”

“The public knows your identity?”

Clint deflates a little, because he was really just getting warmed up. Batman’s not the most expressive of people, but Clint’s spent enough time around super spies to notice the genuine surprise under his growl.

“Sure.” He gives Batman a one-shouldered shrug. “The public knows the identities of a lot of heroes. Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Natasha Romanoff, Bucky Barnes, Bruce Banner… I guess Spider-Man keeps his a secret. I’ve got absolutely no clue who that kid is.”

“You aren’t worried about what villains might do?”

“Not really,” Clint shrugs again. “Secret identities are hard to maintain, and it’s not like I can’t handle myself if a villain shows up in my apartment.”

“What about your family? What if they go after them?” Batman sounds almost accusatory, like he’s been looking for something evil about Clint through the whole conversation and just found it. Clint kind of flails for a moment, and it takes a second for him to realize why the question is so odd to him.

“I don’t- The Avengers are my family. Or, the closest thing I’ve got. If someone tries going after any one of them, well. It wouldn’t work out too well. I’m pretty much as weak as the links get on that team.”

Batman steeples his fingers together like he’s a villain in a Bond movie. The wash of cold blue light from his giant computer screen doesn’t help soften the image. Clint tries not to fidget under his stare, feeling a little like a bug pinned up on a wall.

A moment passes, maybe two, and suddenly something in Batman’s posture shifts. He doesn’t relax exactly, but Clint gets the sense that a judgment has been passed. Something’s been decided.

“It’s almost dawn,” Batman says, and suddenly his voice sounds a hell of a lot more like a normal human being. “You should eat, and rest. We’ll get you back home as soon as we can.”

>>==========>

As it turns out, Batman’s enormous hell cavern is just the basement to a sprawling, gilded mansion.

Batman doesn’t say anything on the way up, and they both pretend not to notice when Clint almost passes out as the elevator shoots upwards. The mansion is still dark, still ominous as fuck, but the shadows thrown around Batman aren’t as terrifying when he’s surrounded by polished hardwood and plush carpets.

Batman leaves Clint in an expansive kitchen without a word, so Clint prays that at least the coffee in this universe is the same, and sets to figuring out the entirely too complex machine on the marble countertop. It’s a mess of buttons and light up touch displays, and Clint’s headache is coming back full force.

“Jarvis?” He calls, just in case. “Friday? Any fancy computer butlers around that can tell me how to work this thing?”

“Tragically, no.” Clint nearly jumps out of his skin at the very human voice, whirling around to see a man standing in the doorway to the kitchen.

“Uh, Batman?” He’s not the right build, but that’s something that a well-built suit can always remedy. The voice, though. That accent is all wrong.

“Wrong again, I’m afraid.” The man reaches out, and Clint gets about halfway through figuring out how to weaponize a Keurig cup before he realizes the guy is just turning on the light switch. Light floods the kitchen, rudely reminding Clint of his recent head trauma, and he nearly laughs because it hadn’t even occurred to him that Batman’s house would have light switches.

The man crosses the room to the coffee machine as Clint continues to blink the black spots out of his eyes. The machine gurgles to life, and Clint has to keep himself from hugging what he’s now realized is a much older man.

“Hi,” he says when he notices the room has lapsed into silence. “I’m Clint.”

“Alfred Pennyworth,” the man says, starting to pull cups and plates down from the cabinets. “Master Bruce will return shortly, and then I’m afraid you’ll have to meet the rest of the Waynes as well.” He offers Clint a smile over his shoulder. “I hope waffles are acceptable.”

Clint opens his mouth to say that yes, waffles are acceptable, in any universe, probably, but he’s cut off by another person entering the kitchen.

“Spare him the grand tour, Alfred. Our friend here needs food and then rest. Possibly with medical attention in between.”

The man is dressed in a robe and house shoes, like some kind of millionaire heir from the fifties. With the dark, slicked-back hair and classically handsome face, all he’s missing is the cigarette and three future centerfolds hanging off his arms.

“Um,” Clint says. “Batman?” If he asks every guy roaming the mansion halls, eventually he’ll get it right. Right?

“You can call me Bruce. Bruce Wayne.” He’s almost effortlessly charming, all dazzling smiles and sweeping gestures, but Clint didn’t spend the better half of his life among criminals and spies not to notice the way Bruce pauses for a split second to scan his face, checking for a reaction at the name.

“Nice place you’ve got, Bruce,” Clint says. The coffee machine beeps and Alfred hands him a freshly steaming mug. “Excellent butler. Basement could use some work, though.” He blows on his mug, watching the steam swirl outwards. Just the smell of coffee is already easing his headache. “Is it just the two of you?”

Alfred gives an amused sort of hum as he sets about making breakfast. Bruce’s mouth quirks into a smile. “Well-”

“I missed this,” another voice announces, because apparently dramatic entrances are a necessity for living in a mansion. Clint makes a mental note to go easier on Tony next time he requires fanfare for walking into a room. “Good coffee, Alfred’s breakfast.” The newcomer is dazzling in an entirely different way than Bruce, and Clint takes an uncomfortably hot gulp of coffee to hide his blush when bright blue eyes meet his. “Bruce picking up strays.”

“This is Clint,” Bruce explains, settling down at the kitchen island and opening a newspaper. Clint’s not sure if the paper was on the countertop, or if it just came with the outfit. It doesn’t matter, because startlingly attractive mini-Bruce is now offering Clint a hand to shake.

“Dick,” he says, and it’s not the bluntest offer Clint’s ever gotten, but it’s up there.

“Yeah,” Clint says. “What?”

“My name is Dick Grayson,” Dick Grayson says, his friendly expression turning a little concerned. “How hard did he hit you?”

“Who?”

“Bruce. You took a hit, right? Are you okay?” There’s a lot of concern there now. Concerned is a good look for Dick Grayson. He’s got the same blue eyes and jet black hair as Bruce, but Bruce doesn’t make them look nearly as pretty. Maybe if he grew his hair out more. Dick Grayson’s has the kind of hair made for shampoo commercials. It looks almost as soft as Bucky’s does.

Clint realizes with a start that he’s still clasping Dick’s hand, and drops it awkwardly.

“Sorry,” he says, and then clears his throat and tries again. “Sorry. I’m- maybe about to pass out.”

>>==========>

>>==========>

>>==========>

“It’s too early in the morning for cheeseburgers,” Bucky says, glaring down at the diner menu. He’s glad Clint doesn’t have to hear him say it, although if getting in an argument over In-N-Out as breakfast food is the trade-off for knowing Clint is safe, he’d take the heat in an instant.

“In your universe, maybe,” Green Arrow says. He’s still in costume, as is Superman, and their waitress seems to be having a hard time dealing with that. She has to use both hands to steady her coffee pot while Superman beams at her. “What, you have somewhere better to be?”

“Yes, actually,” Bucky growls. Superman seems to be stalling on his promise to take Bucky to his ‘friend.’ Stopping a firefight on the highway is one thing, but Bucky’s pretty sure “cheeseburger breakfast” isn’t a solid excuse in any universe.

“Bucky’s looking for a friend of his,” Superman explains. “A guy that got pulled through a wormhole by some sentient vines.”

“Ah,” Green Arrow says, sipping his coffee contemplatively. He gives their waitress an appreciative wink as she moves on to the next table. “Bats.”

“And associates,” Superman says, and Bucky wonders if glaring at them harder will make his vigilante acquaintances any more coherent. Instead, Green Arrow just knocks their shoulders together.

“Aw, look. He’s pouting.”

“I’m not pouting,” Bucky says, but his voice sounds pissy even to him. He grits his teeth as Green Arrow knocks their shoulders together again. “I’d just like to find my teammate as quickly as possible, and I don’t see how cheeseburgers will accomplish this.”

“If your teammate is half as good in a fight as you are, I’m sure he’s fine.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Bucky says. He’s seen Clint MacGyver a semi-functional bow and arrow out of paperclips and pocket lint when faced with the alternative of actually paying attention in a debrief. He’s pretty sure Clint would find a way to survive in the vacuum of space with just the clothes on his back if he had to. It still doesn’t change the nerves that have been buzzing in his stomach ever since he watched Clint tumble into the black void. “I’d still prefer it if I could see him for myself.”

“Two’s a couple,” Superman says. Bucky blinks, feeling the color rise in his cheeks.

“What?”

“Two’s a couple, not a team. How many more ‘teammates’ do you have?”

Oh.

“Two on the other side of the portal. More could get called in, I guess.”

“But just you went through after him?”

“It was a tactical decision,” Bucky snaps. He’s not sure why he feels so defensive. He’d probably be asking the same questions if the roles were reversed, and not nearly as politely.

“I think it was a good call,” Green Arrow interrupts, not even being subtle about defusing the situation. “You got me out of a pickle, anyways.”

“I’ve faced worse than Deathstroke in my sleep,” Bucky says, still more aggressive than he should be towards his gracious interdimensional hosts. Green Arrow opens his mouth to respond, but he’s cut off by a loud tap on the diner window.

There’s a girl standing outside, knocking impatiently on the glass. She has loose blonde hair and an outfit that looks like the skimpy Halloween store version of Superman’s onesie. Bucky would peg her for a fangirl, but Superman just raises an eyebrow at her through the glass.

“Kara?” he says, at a normal volume.

“You aren’t busy, are you?” The fact that there’s an external wall between her and Superman doesn’t seem to be bothering Kara at all. Bucky can just make out her voice through the glass, but the way Green Arrow is rolling his eyes tells Bucky he’s not in the enhanced hearing club. “There’s trouble on Stryker’s Island.”

“Luthor?” Superman asks. Kara shakes her head.

“Not exactly. I’ll explain on the way.”

“Wait,” Bucky says, because he’s not wasting any more time on his mission. Especially not alone with Green Arrow. “What about finding Clint?” Superman looks apologetic, and Bucky’s stomach drops.

“I can take him,” Green Arrow says, and if the stakes were any lower, Bucky would just resign himself to a couple more hours sitting right here in the diner. “I’ll call in the gang. I haven’t been to Gotham in a while.”

“Great!” Superman says, clapping his hands together like that settles it. Bucky buries his face in his hands.

“We can take the Arrowcar!” Green Arrow says, and Bucky spreads his fingers apart enough to glare at Superman.

“I want you to know that you’ve made an interdimensional enemy today.”

>>==========>

>>==========>

>>==========>

Clint wakes up in a bed.

It’s a very comfy bed, and he almost considers rolling over and going right back to sleep. Something’s nagging at the back of his brain, though, telling him there are things that need doing and the bed must be left to do them.

He cracks his eyes open, wincing at the sunlight streaming through the blinds. There’s a girl sitting on the end of his bed, crouched like a cat. Or a gargoyle.

“Hi,” Clint croaks. His voice sounds like sandpaper, and he wonders how long he’s been out. She tilts her head, short black hair falling in front of her eyes. She doesn’t seem to blink quite enough for a normal human being, and Clint squirms a little under her gaze. Is she a ghost? Batman seems like the kind of guy who would live in a haunted mansion.

“You haven’t missed waffles yet,” she says finally, and Clint’s stomach growls as if on command. There’s something a little odd about the way the girl speaks. It’s not an accent Clint’s ever heard. He’s actually not sure if it’s an accent at all. Clint realizes that whoever brought him to the bed didn’t take out his aids. His ears feel a little gummy from sleeping with them in, but he’ll be damned if he takes his aids out when there are undead spirits on the loose.

The girl gets up, apparently done with the conversation, and heads for the door. Clint allows himself a groan as he rolls out of bed. His head is pounding, but there’s an unfinished cup of coffee in the kitchen with his name on it, and a minor concussion has never come between him and his caffeine before.

The girl drifts through the halls, not bothering to check if Clint is following or not. She probably hears him plodding along behind her, anyway. The place is about as creaky as an old haunted mansion should be, and each squeaky floorboard Clint steps on makes her silent glide all the more impressive. Either that, or it just further supports his hypothesis that she’s actually a phantom.

The mansion is kind of enormous, even now that morning light is creeping through the blinds and banishing whatever lurks in the shadows. Clint never quite got the difference between old money and new. To him, a big fancy house was a big fancy house, nevermind what Tony or Kate said. Now, though, stepping across carpet that seems like it belongs in a museum and eyeing floor-to-ceiling portraits that might actually predate the fall of Rome, Clint thinks he’s starting to get it. Bruce’s mansion feels like a different world, made for the dinner parties of elite secret societies, and full of rooms where men in tuxedos puff cigars in wealthy silence. This is not the lodgings of an ex-carnie thief with a shaky grasp on the timeline of the Roman Empire.

“When do we get to the family crypt?” Clint asks, because if the basement of the manor is just a neverending cavern, he shudders to imagine where Batman’s ancestors have been laid to rest. The phantom doesn’t answer. She doesn’t even turn around. “Are you going to kill me? Where are we going?” Still no answer. They pass another gilded frame, and Clint almost reaches out to run his hands over the placard before thinking better of it. That’s how you turn your peaceful ghost guide into a poltergeist. Clint wishes the carpet was dustier so he could check if she’s leaving footprints.

Ghost or not, their final destination turns out to be the kitchen. Clint can smell waffles and bacon from the other end of the hallway, and he hears voices as they get closer.

Bruce and Dick are still seated, chatting amiably as Alfred works the waffle iron. Clint’s coffee is gone, but Alfred places a fresh mug in front of him as soon as he settles down at the kitchen island. He nods his thanks, taking a sip as Bruce turns to him.

“Feeling better?”

Clint hums an affirmative. It’s not the first time he’s blacked out mid-conversation, and it sure as fuck won’t be the last.

“How long was I out?”

“Only a couple hours,” Dick says. “Alfred decided to turn breakfast into brunch so you wouldn’t miss out.”

“Thanks,” Clint says, scrubbing a hand over his face. “It’s been a long night.” Dick nods, offering Clint a look of sympathy.

“That’s sort of how we operate.”

As if on cue, a teenage boy looking approximately like death stumbles into the kitchen, shuffling immediately towards the coffee machine. Dick blinks at him, like this is a surprise, although both Alfred and Bruce pointedly continue on with their mornings.

“Why are you here?” Dick asks, and the kid spends about a minute stabbing his finger ineffectually at the coffee machine’s touch display before he mumbles out an answer.

“‘M’not,” he says, but only once Alfred has come to his aid and gotten the machine going again. “I’m at Travis Lee’s house. Working on a class project.”

“Oh really?” Dick’s voice is all amusement.

“As far as any commercial phone tracking software can tell,” the kid says, like that’s a normal sentence people can string together while looking like a sleep-deprived zombie. He finally cracks his eyes open long enough to acknowledge Clint’s presence. “Who are you?”

“Clint,” Clint says. He doubts the guy is in any state to handle the full story right now. “Are you guys all… cousins?” He can’t really work the age differences out in his head, but the kid has the same black hair and blue eyes as Bruce and Dick. Bruce and Dick, who both chuckle at the question like it’s a ridiculous idea.

“You should take that as a compliment, Tim,” Dick says, and Tim ignores him in favor of inhaling the scent of coffee wafting from his new cup. “No,” he turns to Clint then, still looking entertained by the concept. “We’re definitely not related.”

“Oh,” Clint says, because that doesn’t sound right. He wonders if everyone in this universe just looks vaguely similar. He tries to remember if any of the gangsters were blond. Is he just a freak of nature here? Should he dye his hair to fit the noir color scheme?

“When’s Steph coming down?” Tim asks. He’s downed half his mug of coffee and looks marginally more alive.

“Steph’s here?” Dick asks, and Clint has to wonder what life must be like living in a house so big you can miss your own family members. Or, whatever these guys are. Tim shrugs.

“Alfred’s making waffles, so I figured. He only does that when Steph’s here.”

“Alfred can make waffles for lots of reasons. He could be making them because I’m here.” There’s a note of hurt in Dick’s voice.

“Nah,” Tim says.

“These are waffles for Steph,” Ghost girl confirms. She’s perched on the counter next to Alfred, sneaking pieces of food every time his back is turned. Tim aims a nod of acknowledgment at her.

“Cass gets it. Steph is his new favorite child, right Alfred?”

“The identity of my favorite child is between me and Miss Stephanie,” Alfred says, and if this isn’t sibling banter, Clint’s really not sure what the fuck is happening.

“I knew it!” someone shouts from the doorway, and Clint turns to watch dramatic entrance number four make her way into the kitchen. Steph is considerably brighter-eyed and bushier-tailed than her non-siblings, and Clint notes with relief that she is very blonde.

“Batman,” Clint stage whispers as Alfred starts to serve breakfast. “Why are there so many children in your house?” Cass follows Alfred dutifully, her arms stacked high with plates that she has no qualms stealing from. Clint carefully relieves her of an untouched stack of waffles.

“Careful,” Bruce answers, winking conspiratorially. “These children could beat you in a fight on your best day.” Clint snorts.

“Doubtful.” Something about Bruce’s words catches in Clint’s head. “Wait,” He says as a thought clicks into place. “Do these children fight crime?” Bruce blinks at him.

“We’re not children,” Steph says defensively. Clint rolls his eyes.

“Uh huh. I’m sure you’re all of legal drinking age. You want more syrup for your waffles?” he pushes the syrup towards her plate. Steph glares at him but picks up the bottle anyways.

“I do want more syrup for my waffles, but that doesn’t mean you have a valid point.”

“They’re skilled fighters, and they understand the risks of the job,” Bruce says, staring at Clint. There’s a heavy finality to his words, like that should be the end of the conversation.

“They’re children.”

“They’re still in the room,” Tim adds, stealing a bite of Steph’s waffles. Cass is staring at Clint in her solemn, unblinking way, so he turns to her instead.

“Okay, you understand the risks, then. Sure. What are the risks?”

“Death,” Cass says simply, which, yeah.

“We all face risks, Clint,” Bruce says. “What do you do with the younger people that want to follow in your footsteps? Turn them away? Ground them? Kids are stubborn. You can’t talk them down from something unless they let you. They’ll always fight their own battles. You might as well give them the tools to win.”

“Nobody wins in a war that children have to fight,” Clint says, and he’s outnumbered here but something about the condescension in Bruce’s voice has set his blood boiling. “You risk a lot worse than just death.”

“The world’s falling apart,” Tim chimes in again. “Kids live in it too. Why should adults be the only ones allowed to save it?”

“Because kids are who we’re saving it for,” Clint says, and he knows it’s a losing battle. “Knowing the risks is nothing next to experiencing them.”

“There are no younger sidekicks in your universe?” Batman asks. “No protégés? No trainees?”

“Not ones that are children. Or, not if I have anything to say about it.”

“Not a single one?”

“There was one, sure,” Clint spits out. Bruce waves his hand, like his point is proven. End of discussion, but Clint’s not going to leave it at that. “I said was. Bucky Barnes, heroic teen sidekick to Captain America himself. They fought side by side through World War II. Led us to victory and everything.”

“And I’m sure the death of one soldier didn’t outweigh the people he saved.”

“Oh, I never said he died.” There’s an uncomfortable hush falling over the room, but Clint plows right through it. “He was blown up, kidnapped, tortured, mind-controlled. Forced to kill for the side he always fought against. They stripped him down to nothing, kept him on ice in between missions so he couldn’t rebuild his humanity in the downtime. He spent seventy years as a puppet. He was a trained dog they sicced on anyone they wanted. We only got him back when they made the mistake of sending him to kill Captain America himself. If there’s one hill Steve Rogers will die on, it’s that no single person should have to be sacrificed for the good of everyone else.” There’s actually a lot of hills Steve Rogers will die on. Clint could name a whole mountain range after Steve Rogers’ opinions, but Bruce doesn’t need to know that. “If kids fight so often in this universe, I’m sure they die often, too. You’re telling me there’s not a single one you would save if you could? You can’t think of one kid who you would’ve turned away if you knew what their fate would be?”

Clint can feel it when he strikes a nerve, the air in the kitchen turning like a flash freeze. Tim suddenly looks wide awake, and Bruce’s jaw is set. Dick looks like he’s forgotten how to breathe. Clint feels his words hanging heavy in the air, and suddenly the waffles don’t seem worth finishing.

“I’m, uh. I’m going to get some air.”

[neo-n-district]

[01000010 01100101 01100111 01101001 01101110 01101110 01101001 01101110 01100111 01110011 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01100001 00100000 01010010 01100101 01100010 01100101 01101100 01101100 01101001 01101111 01101110]

The second time NEO ran into one of his brethren was by complete happenstance.

It wasn’t the happiest meeting, either.

NEO frequently visited many of the scrapyards within and around the city. The best places to find rare and useful parts for things were in these scrapyards - bits and pieces of hardware he could repair and reuse, turn it into something that could help him, like a technology suppressor or a flash grenade.

He was scrounging through a pile of especially interesting junk when he caught the glint of a helmet in his optical receptors. Curious, he turned to face it, and... oh.

Oh.

There he sat. The familiar helmet, build... this was another one of his line. Scanning the body, he discovered it to be N30-792, previously “owned” by some executive named Berta (who even names their kid that? the fuck?). The guy was scrapped due to a programming bug that caused him to shut down occasionally.

It felt like his heart was wrenched from his chest.

NEO stood up, forgetting his previous find, and kneeling before his brethren. He lifted his hands towards 792′s helmet, lifting it and turning it from side to side. The damage wasn’t terrible, but it would take a while to repair... Plus, the programming bug shouldn’t be an issue, either.

Letting out a huff, he lifted up the other robot and hauled him home.

NEO worked day and night to fix the other robot.

He smuggled pieces from scrap yards to fix the 792′s body. When he wasn’t doing that, he was on the computer, cleaning up the flawed programming. Thankfully, 792 still had the USB port on his neck, and it was mostly untouched. He could connect the bot to the computer and edit the coding that way. At least he didn’t have to recreate the AI from scratch...

It took weeks, but finally, he was finished.

He unplugged the robot and let out a sigh. After a moment of hesitation, he hit the emergency power button.

Red expected to be home.

When he woke up, the robot expected to be in his usual resting spot, the room across from his mistress’. He expected to be able to stand up, make her a pot of coffee, and begin his daily duties.

What he didn’t expect was the first of his line to be right in front of him, sitting in a small, dingy room lit by a computer screen.

Dazed and frankly frightened, Red scrambled to his feet, accidentally bonking his head against NEO’s. NEO stumbles back a bit, but is otherwise unphased.

[Woah, woah, relax-] NEO grabs Red’s shoulders, and that stresses him out even more. He struggles, but NEO’s grip is like iron. [Calm down. You’re safe.]

It takes a moment, but he eventually calms down and recollects himself.

“... Where am I? Where is Ms.-”

[You were dismantled.] At that, Red gets whiplash.

“Wh- w-why!?”

[Programming bug. You kept restarting and random intervals. I fixed the problem, don’t worry.] NEO released his grip once he knew Red wouldn’t freak out anymore. He took a step back. [You can forget about Berta. She abandoned you, left you for scraps. Found you in a scrapyard. You’re lucky I did.]

Shocked, Red held onto his head, leaning against the wall behind him.

So that’s it, then?

His mistress left him to rust in a scrapyard. Let him die over a common glitch. He couldn’t... he couldn’t believe it.

“... What do I do?”

NEO watched Red carefully.

[Well,] He began, [you can return to your usual work. Be treated like an object. Or... you can help me liberate all of us. Gain freedom and rights for those who need it most.]

Red stared at the other robot, blinking a few times. Thinking about it, he didn’t enjoy the way he was treated, pushed and shoved around like a tool, or a child’s toy. No, he wanted to be treated like the humans treated each other. Like an equal, not inferior.

“... Count me in.”

[shiftyskip]

My Grandpa’s Diary- Pete Rakiewicz

Keep in mind this is boring. My grandpa didn’t do much during the World War. He didn’t jump out of an airplane, drop bombs, or kill anyone. He owned a monkey named Cheetah (because she cheated at cards) and killed time. But war isn’t always insteresting, sometimes it’s boring one side.

But I found his diary and it’s one of the only things of his other than his wartime harmonica than I have left of him. I thought I’d share it with you.

4/7/45 Saturday

It's been one full year on this island today (Oh, Brother)

Orientation at 1300 hours. Played poker, won about seven bucks. Took a shower, shaved, washed items of clothes, & brushed teeth - all in 20 min. Wrote a 3-pager to Pugs. Listened to Hit Parade. No. 1 song, Accentuate the Positive, was sung by Lawrence Tibbetts & it was murder no end! Sold ½ case of beer for Four Checks. Hit the hay at lights out.

4/8/45 Sunday

Went to church & communion, made Easter duty, last service of Father Neagle. Rec'd letters from Janie & Marion & 2 from Pugs. Wrote to Janie & Marion. Had tough time getting a vehicle from motor pool. Drove down to hospital to see Bearman, stayed 10 min, returned to area in time to see movie "And Now Tomorrow" starring Alan Ladd & Loretta Young. Did some bookkeeping. Hit the hay just before lights out.

4/9/45 Monday

Read Time, Look, Pic, Yank magazines. Forgot Novena & class in practical electricity. Rec'd letters from Johnny & Pugs. Wrote Pugs a 3-pager. Drank one beer just before lights out. Insect made noise like a riveting machine, spent 15 min. tracking it down with flash-light, threw pest out the door. Hit the hay no earlier than 2330 hours.

4/10/45Tuesday

Read new Time magazine. Watched part of basketball game - then the lights all over the place dimmed out - generator trouble. Saw movie "Ministry of Fear" with Ray Milland & Marjorie Reynolds - she sure is a sharp looker. That's against my motto 'cause I don't go for blondes. Wrote to Johnny. Hit the hay at 2230.

4/11/45 Wednesday

BUSY DAY - BUSY DAY

Used rake on movie area. Grenade range - expended but one, which took up rest of morning. Miller, our driver, nearly got done away with thru his own carelessness of course. He pulled ring, released lever, prepared to throw it while it was sizzling. Lucky for him he didn't hold it long enough to explode.Socked the new punching bag till my arms nearly fell off. Put together the parts & pieces of a grenade to keep as a souvenir.

4/11/45

Saw good movie "Hollywood Canteen" with millions of stars & Joan Leslie & Bob Hutton. She's awfully nice-looking -- my ideal of a girl friend. Was part of a general discussion session which was held after the movie in the mess hall. C.O. gave main points on TDRR&R & rotation. Questions asked were answered to the best of his ability. My choice was TDRR&R, the technical army name which in all respects is just a furlough with immediate return to same overseas outfit. Hit the hay at 2310 hours.

4/12/45 Thursday

Mess hall inspected by a General (Gilbreath) was not to his liking. Later, Bn, C.O. looked it over and also found it the same way. Fixed water barrels. Sprayed oil to kill grass around our barracks. Went to movie, saw"Greenwich Village" (Don Ameche - Vivian Blaine), "The Fighting Lady" story of a carrier narrated by Lt. Bob Taylor, U.S.N.R. a short on the birth of a B-29 Superfort. Wrote 3-pager to Pugs. Hit the hay at 2310 hours.

4/13/45 Friday

Last nights movie took in more than three hours. During the night, a detail worked on mess hall so it could pass the inspection tomorrow. Col. Trower is expected to be the inspector. Cleaned our barracks also for the inspection & we better pass 'cause I sure don't like working on Sunday. Punched the bag again till the arms nearly fell off. Finished Lesson 12 in bkkg. It's ready for mailing. Had a slight storm, rain came in sudden burst came in buckets and just sudden it stopped. Wonderful place for fishes in this place. Saw movie "Mark of the Whistler", Richard Dix. It was sort of a stinkeroo, just as bad as Lawrence Tibbett's singing. Wrote a two-pager to Bob's folks in answer to the letter of theirs that I received today. Have yet to write to the kid bro. Hit the hay at 2240 hours.

4/14/45 Saturday

Read "Valley of Silent Men" novel - pretty good.

Author James Oliver Curwood. Orientation 1300 hours. Passed inspection. which is a mystery to me. Paid in advance for Monday's beer. 6 bucks. Indulged in poker, came out a little ahead. Saw movie "Dark Waters" Merle Oberon, Franchot Tone - Fair. Missed Hit Parade. Listened to records in orderly room instead. Hit the hay sometime after 2300 hours.

4/15/45 Sunday

Yesterday received two letters one each from Pugs and Mom. Mom said she mailed radio & extra tubes to me, April 4. Dick may go home on leave (I hope so). Went to church, new priest, Father Kuhn.

Played softball, won 9-8 in extra inning. I stunk. Had three ice creams at P.X. Bought two Park lighters. Indulged in poker, came out a little ahead. Washed clothes. Didn't shave 'cause my face was a bit sunburned from this morning's softball game. Intended to take pictures but time flew too fast. Saw "Winged Victory" - fair. Should write a letter to Mom & to Pug but I'm too tired. Hit the hay at 2230 hours.

4/16/45 Monday

Stood memorial parade in honor of president's death. Had most of morning off, in which time I had my picture taken 3 times. Wrote to Dick, to Mom & a three-pager to Pugs. Had ice cream & cokes at P.X. Missed half of Novena. Saw movie "Rainbow Island" Dorothy Lamour & Eddie Bracken - fair. Hit the hay right at lights out.

4/17/45 Tuesday

Bought four tubes of Ipana, my favorite tooth paste, yes, yes. Watched basketball game. Bn won. It's about time the M.P.'s got beat. Saw movie "One Body Too Many" with Jack Haley, Jean Parker - fair. Wrote to Frank Powers. Hit the hay at 2130 hours.

4/18/45 Wednesday

For dinner we fried ourselves a steak with french fried potatoes & onions. Toasted my bread a bit and everything went swell with the beer I had stacked away. Didn't get any ice cream -- the line at the P.X. was from here to Madison Ave. Group was alerted last week, been packing ever since. Saw movie "I'll Remember April", Gloria Jean growed-up to nice proportions - fair. Played pinochle. Hit the hay at 2245 hours.

4/19/45 Thursday

Third time this week we had fresh sunny-side-up eggs. Had two bits worth of ice cream & coke. Sprayed oil to kill grass around barracks. Received letter each from Pugs, Mom, & Treble. Wrote a three-pager to Pugs. Gave five beers to Joe Bucher for nix on account of two of his buddies came to see him. Hit the hay no earlier than 2200 hours.

4/20/45 Friday

Wrote to Trebie. Saw movie "Keys of the Kingdom" Gregory Peck, Thomas Mitchell. Good, something on the order of "Going My Way." Had a bull session of memories on things we remembered most from back home. Hit the hay at lights out but didn't start chasing forty winks until about 2340 hours. Two pictures were good from the two rolls that were taken Sunday & Monday. (Give me strength)

4/21/45 Saturday

Read Reader's Digest. Orientation 1300 hours. Played softball against the officers, trimmed 'em alive. For myself I got one good double & a fielder's choice. Score 12-2. Washed a stack of clothes. No movie tonight for a change. Indulged in poker, was going O.K. till Kraft sat beside me. Then I lost 7 bucks. Forgot to listen to Hit Parade. Hit the hay at lights out.

4/22/45 Sunday

Went to church - 0830. Straightened my junk. Borrowed camera from Biff because we were doubtful about Bob's. Took pictures, one whole roll. Wrote to Bob's aunt & uncle in answer to letters of theirs I received yesterday. Heard Sammy Kayes's program. Turned in shoes for salvage. Got a serum shot in left arm. Hit the hay just at lights out.

4/29/45 Sunday

Co. now packing boxes. Special details only went out to work. Worked fifteen & one-half hours on Tuesday. Sprayed D.D.T. on clothes. Bought turtle-shell necklace for seven bucks - it's for Pugs. We were all set to move but the ship isn't docked as yet. Church service was given by a missionary, performed in our chapel. Been playing poker all along and I either won or came out even. Hope it continues to my benefit. All during the week we had it pretty easy - except MON. & Tues. when we tried to get ready for moving.

5/6/45 Sunday

Received letters from Janie, Bob, Moe, Bob's folks and Helen. Answered all except three of four from Pugs. Turned in roll of film to be developed next Tuesday. Saw quite a lot of movies - among them "Kismet" & "Murder My Sweet" - both were good. Received picture from Sailor Dick - he's changed a bit already. Also got a letter from Mom. It has to be answered today, Sunday. Haven't received radio as yet -- but I guess it's due in this week. Had training lectures all last week with afternoons off. Calisthenics gave me sore muscles - cadence exercise for twenty minutes all last week, Due to see "Guest in the House" tonight. Reveille was changed from 5:30 to 6:30 - good deal. Movie was changed to "Here Comes the Waves". Golly, that Bing can sing! Answered Mom's letter.

5/7/45 Monday

Played poker, lost a few bucks, then won to get back to my original thirty-five. Saw "Guest In the House" starring Ann Baxter, Ralph Bellamy - good picture, she did a nice bit of acting. Had more of same stuff of last week. Forgot to mention we had from seven to ten shots in the last ten days.

5/9/45 Wednesday

Packed all our stuff & equipment, emptied the barracks. The band played solid for us right in front of our company. Went to see three-fourths of "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn". Then we were called to the company area. Piled 100 fellows, duffel bags, packs etc. into cattle truck. Left at nine o'clock, boarded the Bluem Fontaine, a Dutch (?) ship, at ten.

5/10/45 Thursday

Docked at Tulagi in the morning. At sea sometime in the P.M. In the next two weeks we had air raid drills, exercises, long lines for P.X. & chow & you had to be a contortionist to find a decent place to park your carcass. Chow wasn't any too good. The hold was next to hell. I had five days of K.P. & it was murder.

5/24/45 Thurs.

Docked at Batangas, P.I. in anchorage. Hit the shore in "Ducks". Flips greeted us with joy. I caught a blister-rash which caused me a lot of agony. Made friends with Jon, Mary & Eusabio. Invited to a chicken dinner. It was good. The first three days we slept in pup tents - with centipedes crawling over our stomachs. Then we changed to pyramidals. The first thing I noticed was that most of the kids had jungle ulcers all over their legs. Then we moved to the Guadalupe ruins on the outskirts of Manila. It was another hill-camp almost like Guadalcanal.

6/4/45 to 7/16/45

Stayed in camp most of the time, saw quite o bit of movies. That lasted about 5 to 6 weeks. Then Ronnie introduced me to Lydia and you couldn't find me in camp. Her brother taught me basic tango and rhumba. Rec'd my radio in good condition. It came 7-7-45 or thereabouts. Also about this time, I rec'd the photo album from Pugs, filled it with pictures I had on hand.

[glxrixus]

Mesh’la Ikaad

Y’all remember the Poe Dameron x OC idea I had? Well I brought it to life. Here is Chapter 1, I’ll get started on Chapter 2 ASAP

Warnings: Poe being a simp, it’s probably not the most accurate when it comes to things but whatever, oh and some ~spice~ at the end 

Mesh’la Ikaad

Oh, shit 

She’s beautiful. 

That is the first thing that came to Poe Dameron’s mind when he saw her. Sure, she looked a bit nervous, overwhelmed maybe. But beautiful. Long, ebony hair and eyes like a ravens. Dark, and alert, yet captivating. A button nose, flushed cheeks, chapped lips. Poe hardly noticed Finn, or the other two men walking with him. More recruits, he supposed. Only Maker knows how long he was staring at her before Rose caught his eye and smiled, sling-shooting him back to reality. 

“Let’s go say hi.” They weaved past the people moving from station to station, and Poe tackled Finn in a hug. He had missed him so much it hurt, and while he knew he would be leaving again soon, it was still good to see him. After Finn had hugged Rose he turned to the three others, including the pretty girl Poe was ever so enamored with. 

“Guys, this is Dhar and Evaar’la Renvigia, and Shya Jat’anua. Their part of a group of Resistance allies on Mandalore.” Finn explained, digging around in his bag. Poe held out his hand for them to shake. 

“I’m Poe, Poe Dameron.” Dhar and Evaar’la towered over him, Poe was tall but not that tall. With muscular arms and a strong grip on his hand, he couldn’t help but be a little intimidated. He turned to the young woman, Shya, and flashed her a grin. She gave a small smile in return, but kept her hands at her sides. Finn explained that Dhar and Evaar’la were soldiers in the Galactic Civil War, and Shya was a nurse and a mechanic. 

“Poe, would you mind showing Shya around the workshop? I’ll get Dhar and Evaar’la settled with the others.” 

“Sure thing.” Yes, yes yes yes YES! Poe wished he could cheer. Play it cool, Dameron. He locked eyes with Shya and made a motion with his head for her to follow her. She was rather petite next to him, yet she kept up with his pace with ease. The two of them stepped into the workshop. Spare parts lay in corners haphazardly, nails strewn about the floor. The tables were full of clutter. It was a rather grimy sight, yet the familiarity of it was comforting. 

“Welcome to the workshop. We basically fix anything that gets thrown our way. All the tools are kept in that closet. Hey, Rody! That table is open, right?” Rody, a tall but scrawny man looked up from his welding. 

“Nah, Dameron. The new kid from yesterday, from Bespin? That’s his new station.” Poe nodded. He walked over to the table next to his and dumped the pile of junk onto the floor. 

“Here.” He said to Shya. “An open station, next to mine.” Shya smiled. 

“Thanks, Mr. Dameron.” She set her bag down on the stool and picked up a few screws from the floor. As Poe continued his work on an old x-wing engine, he noticed two things. 

1. He had hardly registered that Shya was talking to him. No one had called him Mr. Dameron before. He couldn’t decide whether or not he liked it. Mr. Dameron was his father. He wasn’t his father. 

2. And he wasn’t proud of this, but he couldn’t help but notice as Shya was picking up screws that she had a really nice ass. 

He tried to shake the thought from his head, but it was stuck to him like a sticky grenade. 

“That’s an x-wing engine, right?” Shya asked, shaking Poe from his thoughts. 

“Yup.” Shya ran her fingers down the busted engine. 

“It goes haywire when it’s turned on, right? Part of the crankshaft is busted, that’s what’s wrong with it.” She said casually before returning to the screws. Poe was dumbstruck. Smart girl, he thought admirably. Smart, smart girl. 

He tinkered at the busted crankshaft until lunch. He met Finn in the makeshift cafeteria, where they talked about all that had happened in each other’s absence. Ever since the death of Kylo Ren, or Ben Solo, whichever one it was, Rey had continued her training. Finn flew around the Outer Rims gathering some of their allies who were willing to come down to Ajan Kloss to form a small militia to fight against any straggling First Order cohorts. Hence Dhar and Evaar’la and Shya. Poe was holding down the fort on Ajan Kloss with Admiral Fa’kawa. They talked each other’s ears off. The two friends hardly ate their lunch. Rose shook her head and sighed. She looked around. 

“Hey, where’s that new girl? Ja’tanua?” Poe just realized she never came out for lunch. He stood up.

“I’ll see where she is.” He jogged back to the workshop and found Shya still at her station, still working. Poe took a deep breath. 

“Hey, Ja’tanua. It’s lunchtime.” Shya looked up from her work. 

“I’m not hungry.” She said quietly, looking back to the piston in her hand. Poe marched over and took the piston from her. Shya sighed and looked up at him. 

“Will you give that back?” Poe handed it back and vaulted onto the table, swinging his legs. 

“Tell me about yourself.” Shya swallowed nervously as she set down the piston.

“Oh, you shy? I’ll have to fix that. I’ll go first. I’m Poe Dameron, former spice runner turned captain for the Resistance. Parents died when I was young, never had any siblings. You?” Shya sat on the stool beside her. 

“Sh-Shya Ja’tanua. I was born on Mandalore. My parents were killed by the First Order. Me and a few others from my village, we went into hiding. It was just me and my baby sister for as long as I can remember.” Poe nodded, listening intently. 

“What happened?” Shya frowned. 

“There was a First Order attack on Mandalore. My sister, she was running to me and…” Her voice caught with emotion. 

“She was gunned down by a ship. Right in front of me.” Poe’s expression softened as he noticed the tears in her eyes. Shya looked away. 

“I-I’m sorry. I sh-shouldn't be crying… not in front of the w-war hero,” Her shoulders shook as she tried not to sob. Poe hopped down from the table. 

“I’m no hero, Shya Ja’tanua.” He held his arms out. “C’mere.” Shya wiped her eyes and gave him a look. 

“I don’t do hugs.” Poe smiled, a sad sort of smile. 

“Everyone does hugs sweetheart, you just don’t know it yet.” Small groups of people began returning from lunch. Poe gave Shya a look that he hoped said tell-me-if-you-need-anything, before hauling the newly fixed x-wing engine back to the hangar. 

As Poe lay in bed, he thought about all that had happened. He had finally fixed that engine, seen Finn for the first time in a while. But most of his thoughts were on Shya. The cute way she blushed when someone said her name, her soft curves, her sweet brown eyes. You’ve only known her for a day. Poe scolded himself. Still, he thought with a smile as he reached under the covers. Just this once. 

He had to bite down on his pillowcase to keep from whimpering as he touched himself that night.