#big armored fellows... hell yeah

[visohyenadraws]

As someone who loves the mecha genre I wish I was into any of the Gundam series but so far I have been unsuccessful.

I love the aesthetic of a giant robot with a big fuck off gun, if I didn’t I wouldn’t have gotten Armored Core VI lol, but still, I tried watching 79 quite a few times but fell off each times.

The first time was when I watched the first ten episodes of the original series off of a piracy site when they were still untamed by the feds, and just never returned to it. Then my second attempt was with the movie trilogy, I finished the first one and then dropped the second halfway through.

It’s been a while but I can try to explain why, I know what Didn’t spoil it for me: I have a stupidly high tolerance for old anime and old media in general, I was Raised on that shit, including many of Sunrise’s anime from the time, so I didn’t care because it looked old or outdated.

No I think what got me the most, and this might be an issue with the movies since I do remember some good episodes they had to cut out for time, was the characters, ironically. I’m sorry but I couldn’t care less for Amuro, he’s boring as hell and very generic… and he’s ginger (I’m kidding), when he’s not fighting he’s either ranting or getting beaten up by Bright and OH I’ll get to that cunt soon.

Idk maybe I hold up Shinji as the definitive example of how to make traumatised underage pilots, and Amuro just isn’t enough of a mess to work here despite the setting, and for the record I Like Shinji as a character.

My other issue is with a lot of the women in the cast, again, I didn’t finish the series so it prob gets better but a lot of the women in this show do nothing but stand around, cry, die, or keep repeating AMURO AMURO AMURO AMURO AMURO if they’re on the side of the Federation. I have seen films from the 50s with more feminist depictions of women ffs.

Now onto Bright, I like to think that my media literacy is good enough for me to not let characters who are bad people get to me, au contraire, some of my favourite pieces of media often involved the Whole Cast being pieces of shit, I am a massive Always Sunny fan after all. I can live with unsavoury characters if they’re done well enough.

That being said, I could never shake off the feeling that the series wasn’t doing quite Enough to call out Bright’s hardass martial approach to social interactions, almost as if the series was saying “yup, he’s in the right brah, nothing wrong here” which yeah this set the stage for me to bounce off the series incredibly hard in the second movie I think where he says some shit about women not being allowed to pilot mechs.

I really hope I’m misremembering some of this stuff because brother that’s not it. Really the only characters I really cared for where the villains like Char and the other guy, since they go against what you’d expect from mecha baddies, but even still they don’t have that much screentime and one of them famously dies in the tenth episode or the climax of the first movie.

But those were my issues with the series itself, on a more meta level, I have some amount of resentment over the series specifically the original 79 for its impact.

For those who don’t know, mecha series before Gundam were retroactively labelled as “Super Robot” since they were basically giant metal superheroes, animated Ultraman essentially, they could jump, move and run like it was nothing despite the laws of physics, and had extravagant weapons and attacks fighting whacky aliens or evil scientists.

Even Sunrise’s previous works like Daitarn 3 and Trider G7 were super robot through and through, especially the former being downright comedic at times and being closer to James Bond than science fiction, even their supposedly darker Zambot 3 was super robot through and through.

So when the original MSG came out in 1979, it really was a big deal as it was unlike everything else; it was a lot more grounded in tone and setting, the villains not only were fellow humans but had layers of complexity and weren’t just cartoon baddies, the robots carried shields and guns instead of cock-rockets and roketto-panchi, it was less a superhero Kyodai/Kaiju romp and more like a war drama, the severity of the conflict was made front and centre and not brushed aside for the cool fights.

That’s brilliant, even to this day it’s a great premise and deconstruction of the mecha genre, the problem is that this series became So popular that basically every single fucking mecha and scifi anime had to model itself after Gundam or be seen as outdated. Super robot was killed overnight, because god forbid we have some fucking fun with the concept of GIANT ROBOTS BEATING THE BRAINS OUT OF EACH OTHER.

Like Gurren Lagann being modelled after super robot shows as a fun throwback shows how utterly dead the genre is.

I understand that by the time Gundam came out the genre had run its course, you can only rewrite Mazinger/Grandeizer so many times, but fuck’s sake surely there’s ways to do it just be creative. I love the things Gundam helped create but the fact that it had to exist at the Expense of super robot is what bothers me.

Let me explain it by comparing it to Godzilla ok? There’s two kinds of Godzillas: serious war drama Godzilla and KWE standing for Kaiju Wrestling Entertainment. There’s fans that prefer one over the other but both Godzillas exist without cancelling each other out.

Now the 1980s movie The Return of Godzilla was the first movie in the series in a while, and it was a grittier more serious return to form that just had Zilla destroy a city without all the other monsters duking it out. Now IMAGINE if after that movie Toho went “right, it’s clear, people only want serious Godzilla it’s very clear” and from then on we ONLY got movies like Godzilla 54, Minus One and Shin Godzilla, yes they’re peak, but after a while a part of the fanbase is gonna get seriously tired of them and wish they would just get “Godzilla vs Mothra vs Kong vs Gheedora All United Brawl” already.

Now if you know me personally you’ll ask “but what about Evangelion” and yes, if Eva is not my favourite anime ever it’s in the Top 3, but honestly? Calling Eva just a mecha show or any of the sub genres is seriously selling it short, it is SO much more then robot fights and thats why I love it, watching Eva just for the robot fights is like playing Silent Hill 2 for the riveting combat.

So those are my thoughts, I still haven’t given up on the series as I plan to revisit it through War in the Pocket since fans quite like that one in particular, hopefully it’s more up my alley lol.

[triscribe]

Thank you for your honesty! That's okay! Tell me about Finn. Now I'm intrigued! 😁

FINN my BOY

The Force Awakens introduced so much potential, with this literal no-name stormtrooper who could have come from anywhere in the galaxy, taken and molded and pushed into serving the First Order with no identity beyond being a good little cog in the machine, and the first time he gets to see up close and personal how that machine steam rolls over innocent people in its path, his reaction is to give a hard pass

I just. Words do not describe how much I love this concept. And even better, this is a main character, one part of the Big Trio we were meant to get for this trilogy, he's not a throwaway background "move the plot a step forward but otherwise don't do anything" guy, he's not a traitor who does one helpful thing and then dies for it in the name of freedom or revolution, he gets out, and even with clear reluctance, he finds something bigger and better to throw himself into

And yeah, there are the obvious parallels with the clone troopers of the old Republic, literally created to be cogs in their machine, born with numbers instead of names and given extremely little autonomy but for what they carved out for themselves in a hundred thousand unique little ways - but even beyond all of that, I look at the clones, I look at FN and his fellows, I feel like Maz Kanata seeing the same eyes in different faces

Those are children raised to be living weapons

Those are people raised strictly and sternly and told they have no choice, why would they even want a silly choice, this is the best and only option, this is the only thing they'll ever be good for-

But Star Wars is all about choice

Yes, Finn's squadmate died in front of him, left that bloody handprint on his helmet, but that's not a loss that rips apart his world. That's not a farmstead burned down, a species massacred, a planet obliterated. That's his reality, that he and all his fellow troopers are meant to live and fight and die for those above them - it should, in theory, be the easiest thing in the world to stand up, to shoot, to get back in that transport and return to the First Order and continue onward

But it isn't

Maybe Finn could have been Force sensitive, maybe that was never in the cards, but regardless, he heard those screams and saw the falling bodies, he went back up on the shuttle and saw a captured enemy pilot and he chose

The greatest tragedy of the clone troopers is that at the final moment, when Operation Knightfall kicked into full gear, they didn't get to choose. A set of pre-determined words flipped a switch inside their heads, and good soldiers follow orders, sir, if the Emperor declares these folks are traitors, well, traitors to the Empire must die, and once they're all dead we move on to the next set of orders and the next, good soldiers follow orders, so do good citizens of the Empire, those that don't get to deal with the consequences

How many of their ghosts got to cheer, when a nobody no-name kid, molded to wear white armor and shaped to hold a blaster in his hands, heard his orders and refused, and then went on to choose a course of action that helped take down the biggest superweapon the galaxy had ever seen?

The clones seized what choices they could, with their names and their paint and whatever else they managed, up until the biggest choice of all was stripped from them

FN-2187 didn't even get those tiny scraps of self-expression, of identity, of any choice at all, until he found himself on the edge of a precipice all his fellow squad members jumped into without a second thought, and pulled himself away

The rest of the sequels chickening out of doing a hell of a lot more with that is definitely in the top five travesties of the entire damn franchise, I swear.

[nedstarkfortnite]

Mikey reads ASOIAF: Jon III AGOT

Short summary: Jon, bitter upon seeing what the Night’s Watch has become, is making enemies with his new brothers. Donal Noye sets him straight. Jon, turning a new leaf and reaching out to his fellow brothers, winds up making Alliser Thorne his enemy in the process.

Ah, the angst of youth. I remember it all too well. My old, weary bones are cracking... (22 years old, about to turn 23). 

HBO keeping “Lord Snow” but not “Toad” or “the Aurochs” feels like a waste. It’s meant to convey to us that Thorne is a dick to literally every new recruit, not just Jon. I feel like his beef with him is more realistic in the books. Jon goes from merely being a stuck up, privileged bastard son of a Lord that he can easily pick on, a face in the crowd, to someone that suddenly makes the whole room laugh in his face. I don’t see why Thorne would be particularly invested in feuding with Jon until he is ridiculed. This also makes it a kind of one chapter journey where Jon goes from being a nobody to a somebody. Does that make sense? I don’t know, looking back on it the show really did make him stand out from the very get go and it was a bit strange how a random guy was out to get him from the very beginning. The other recruits having mean nicknames also makes it more believable when they ally up with Jon against Thorne.

“Jon followed the rest back to the armory, walking alone. He often walked alone here. There were almost twenty in the group he trained with, yet not one he could call a friend. Most were two or three years his senior, yet not one was half the fighter Robb had been at fourteen. Dareon was quick but afraid of being hit. Pyp used his sword like a dagger, Jeren was weak as a girl, Grenn slow and clumsy. Halder's blows were brutally hard but he ran right into your attacks. The more time he spent with them, the more Jon despised them.”

#NotLikeOtherGirls #Emo #MyChemicalRomance

But yeah jokes aside, I think Donal Noye is absolutely right when he says Jon is being arrogant and a bit of a bully. At this point in time he’s too caught up in his own misery to care how it affects others. It’s understandable though, he’s 14 and immature as a 14 year old would be.

“Jon rose at dawn the next day to watch his uncle leave. One of his rangers, a big ugly man, sang a bawdy song as he saddled his garron, his breath steaming in the cold morning air. Ben Stark smiled at that, but he had no smile for his nephew. "How often must I tell you no, Jon? We'll speak when I return."”

Damn Benjen, cold as hell. Come on my dude. You know he’s a kid, it’s not really his fault that he is anxious to prove himself. 

“"They're not my brothers," Jon snapped. "They hate me because I'm better than they are."

"No. They hate you because you act like you're better than they are. They look at you and see a castle-bred bastard who thinks he's a lordling." The armorer leaned close. "You're no lordling. Remember that. You're a Snow, not a Stark. You're a bastard and a bully."

"A bully?" Jon almost choked on the word. The accusation was so unjust it took his breath away. "They were the ones who came after me. Four of them."

"Four that you've humiliated in the yard. Four who are probably afraid of you. I've watched you fight. It's not training with you. Put a good edge on your sword, and they'd be dead meat; you know it. I know it, they know it. You leave them nothing. You shame them. Does that make you proud?"

Jon hesitated. He did feel proud when he won. Why shouldn't he? But the armorer was taking that away too, making it sound as if he were doing something wrong.”

For this reality check alone Donal Noye is one of the best characters in this series. I really love how he took the time to have this chat with Jon, knowing that he wouldn’t like to hear it and would argue back. It’s like a surrogate father of sorts. And Jon really shows his qualities by taking his advice to heart. I applaud him for it. Things like this are not easy to hear and certainly not at his age. That is one of his best qualities as a leader later on, that he is willing to listen to his advisors. 

“As he stood outside the armory looking up, Jon felt almost as overwhelmed as he had that day on the kingsroad, when he'd seen it for the first time. The Wall was like that. Sometimes he could almost forget that it was there, the way you forgot about the sky or the earth underfoot, but there were other times when it seemed as if there was nothing else in the world. It was older than the Seven Kingdoms, and when he stood beneath it and looked up, it made Jon dizzy. He could feel the great weight of all that ice pressing down on him, as if it were about to topple, and somehow Jon knew that if it fell, the world fell with it.”

Cheeky foreshadowing? 

“The talk is, your uncle is too long away."

Jon remembered the wish he'd wished in his anger, the vision of Benjen Stark dead in the snow, and he looked away quickly. The dwarf had a way of sensing things, and Jon did not want him to see the guilt in his eyes. "He said he'd be back by my name day," he admitted. His name day had come and gone, unremarked, a fortnight past.”

Poor Jon. He’s a good kid, and that is also one of his greatest struggles. The responsibility he feels for Benjen’s disappearance is not unique to this situation from what I recall; he has this habit of blaming himself and holding himself accountable for most missteps along the way. Don’t beat yourself up too hard.

Anyway Bran has woken up and Jon panics about the news for a moment thinking he is dead. It seems like he was very close with his male half-siblings and Arya. 

“Others were gathering around and looking at him curiously. Jon noticed Grenn a few feet away. A thick woolen bandage was wrapped around one hand. He looked anxious and uncomfortable, not menacing at all. Jon went to him. Grenn edged backward and put up his hands. "Stay away from me now, you bastard."

Jon smiled at him. "I'm sorry about your wrist. Robb used the same move on me once, only with a wooden blade. It hurt like seven hells, but yours must be worse. Look, if you want, I can show you how to defend that."

Alliser Thorne overheard him. "Lord Snow wants to take my place now." He sneered. "I'd have an easier time teaching a wolf to juggle than you will training this aurochs."

"I'll take that wager, Ser Alliser," Jon said. "I'd love to see Ghost juggle."

Jon heard Grenn suck in his breath, shocked. Silence fell. Then Tyrion Lannister guffawed. Three of the black brothers joined in from a nearby table. The laughter spread up and down the benches, until even the cooks joined in. The birds stirred in the rafters, and finally even Grenn began to chuckle.

Ser Alliser never took his eyes from Jon. As the laughter rolled around him, his face darkened, and his sword hand curled into a fist. "That was a grievous error, Lord Snow," he said at last in the acid tones of an enemy.”

To be fair, Ghost juggling is absolutely hilarious. This is on Thorne for having no sense of humor and being so sensitive. He could’ve just laughed and been done with it, but oh no. 

Anyway I get weirdly emotional when Jon makes peace with Grenn. It’s really sweet and a nice change of pace in a book series filled with so much darkness. 

This might be one of the best Jon chapters actually. Really good shit.

[valiantstarlights]

Oh! (excited) I actually have a reason why I chose 1389 Hob for this. 😂

I was imagining Hob as the scout of the group. One day, they were travelling through this dark and spooky forest, and Hob...was hours late. Like sunset late and they'll-have-to-set-up-camp-and-maybe-search-for-Hob's-body-in-the-morning late. The rest of the group is really starting to worry when Hob suddenly emerges from the trees in the middle of the night, putting the fear of god in them.

Hob apologizes and tells them he tripped and fell down a deep fucking slope, and he had to find a safe way to get back up.

And yeah, sure, they believe him, but Hob is also bruised like hell and covered in cuts, and one of them blurts out, "Geez, Hobsie, you look like you have been fucked by a monster."

And the joke started there. Hob scouts, and instead of wishing for his safe return or smth, the group's version of 'Break a leg!' is 'Don't get fucked by monsters!'

And, yeah, okay, it's funny for the first couple of weeks. But then Hob gets sick of it like, are there any other jokes in y'all's repertoire or is that it?

And that's how Hob became the group's resident monsterfucker. 😂 Where's Hob, you ask? Oh, you know; out there fucking monsters again.

And after a while, Hob starts...thinking about it? At first he's like, 'Good gods, what if there actually are monsters around? Please don't listen to my fellows. I'm really not interested.'

But then, slowly, it turns into, 'If there are monsters out there, and if they have better manners than my drinking buddies, then yeah, sure, go the fuck ahead. I'd rather fuck a monster at this point. Maybe they'll even have a big enough dick to satisfy me.'

But Hob would not be Hob if he also isn't thinking about romantic shit, so he also starts thinking, 'Maybe there's a monster out there who wants to cuddle with me and keep me warm at night. It's bloody cold and all I have is this tattered blanket.'

So anyway. One day, a few months after the monsterfucker joke began, Hob and his fellows are looting dead bodies for better weapons and armor. They just won a small skirmish against the now dead men, they lost no one in their group, and spirits are high.

One of them suddenly says smth like, "Hobsie, as our resident monster fucker, if one of these dead men came back to life, would you fuck them?"

And Hob, really fucking fed up with them at this point, says that^^^ ("Monster fucker this, monster fucker that. What if I want..."), not denying that he's a monsterfucker at all, and telling them that he wants to be in a relationship that's cute and romantic, actually. Even if it's with a monster.

And what do you know, Death, who is just doing her job guiding the fallen men nearby to the Sunless Lands, hears it, and was gleefully like, 'Ohhh I gotchu fam. I know just the eldritch being for this job.'

And so a week later, on June 7, 1389...

[magicalbuffalotransformerman]

too much asbeel in my head

more post

was 2 am when i wrote this originally

{Judecca.}

{The frozen ocean at the bottom of Hell. The lifeless mirror reflecting millions.}

{Asbeel roams this cold, cold abyss with little a care left in their mind. A testament to their armor's durability thus far; a warning for a fate to come.}

{Freedom.}

{Is it what you envisioned, Asbeel?}

"Well?"

{A voice. Elegant, suave. Not Gabriel. Intriguing... another soul roaming Judecca. Asbeel turns to face this other soul.}

"Not what you'd hoped for, eh, y' big lug?"

{Undoubtedly an Archangel, yet... not fallen. Or dead. Quite the surprise. Asbeel cocks their head to one side, trying to place the identity of this archangel.}

"Yeah, I get that. It's lonely when you're the last angel in Hell, isn't it, Asbeel?"

{They know their name. Why do they...? Ah. Hand signs. Asbeel knows those, crudely. They'll use those to communicate, seeing as they lost their notebook to Gabriel.}

[who] [you]

"Simple; you. Just popping in from another timeline, or alternate universe, or... whatever you wanna call it. Seeing how shit's going down over here."

{...mm.}

"So... that V1 beast destroyed everyone else. You must've been spared through imperception, I reckon."

{Asbeel seems... content, with this deduction. They nod in response.}

"Well, lucky you. I guess. I'ouno- what's it like being alone? No one to talk to, no one to fight with? No Maurices to cuddle?"

{Another Archangel that calls the Faces 'Maurices'. Asbeel should surely be a match for... Other? Asbeel?? 'Shiny'? Uhm.}

[poor]

"...Y'know... I've always wondered how this realm's Council's punishments and handicaps worked - as far's I know, there's magical, mechanical, and organic handicaps. You can't speak. What type of handicap do you have?"

{Ah... Asbeel doesn't remember their punishment well. They remember the snuffing of their light, and the celebrations those sickly Councillors threw after their punishment, but... not their forced silence.}

{They feel no magic around themselves, and they were able to talk before the punishment...}

[mechanic]

"You sure?"

[indifferent]

{The other Asbeel simply nodded, solemnly.}

"So, I don't have much to... go off of, here. I could just interrogate you to get the full scope of th- Oh! Hey, you want to hear a story?"

{...a story. Asbeel's a fan of those. They nod in response.}

"Okay. So: there's this one fellow in a small rural town down South. Real backroads type place, fulla inhuman fellas. They're all werecats. Haven't heard of a werecat before I visited that town, so it was quite nice to meet a buncha them. This one lady I was introduced to had a jack-o'-lantern for a head! Pretty cool, I thought, since all the other folk had normal he...

{Asbeel's focus shifts from the second Asbeel's story to their form. It's likely a good story, judging on how much the second Asbeel is emoting whilst telling it, but the first Asbeel has their eyes somewhere else.}

{For starters... the second Asbeel has four arms. Four arms, and very shiny armor. Asbeel could almost compare their old armor scheme to this Asbeel's metals and colors... they miss their old armor scheme. All those greens and purples... ah.}

{Coal Asbeel also notices how Chrome Asbeel is wearing high heels. Coal hadn't considered how tantalizing a person in high heels could be before - since love is a sin or whatever, they don't care anymore - but now? Seeing themself from another time wearing them and ROCKING them? Quite the culture shock.}

{Those arms, though. Chrome's arms are quite enticing... maybe this sudden rush of positive emotion is a side effect of having been in the Lust layer for a month and a half. Maybe Coal's seen too many Mindflayers. Ach. Back to the second Asbeel. No Mindflayers........ mmm... their finger armor's segmented and the colors are pretty.}

...and then I left. Wh- As? Asbeel, were you listening?"

{...Coal gives Chrome a guilty shake of their head.}

"...I recognize that body language."

{Coal Asbeel prepares for a mean conversation out of instinct.}

"You like me. D- am I right? Do you like me?"

{Oh. This is. Is this? No, it's not much worse. A little better than an argument. Twice as embarrassing, though. A weary nod.}

"Anything of note?"

{Ah. Uhm.}

[cool] [arms]

{The second Asbeel seems to giggle at this response from the first Asbeel, closing the distance between the two an}

{they're hugging them}

{four arms}

{hugging them with four arms}

{this is}

{wow}

{coal asbeel melts into the hug}

"Mmm... Judecca isn't the best place for a weary giant like you to wander around alone, As. Would you agree?"

{wrap your arms around them as a response}

"Do ya... wanna come home with me?"

{please}

{please}

{pl

{tighten the hug}

"Understood."

{floating}

{bright light}

{...}

{...Judecca.}

{The frozen ocean at the bottom of Hell.}

{The lifeless mirror. Reflecting millions.}

{Empty once more.}

{Just like Hell.}

[sparkmender]

"Holy fucking shit, orange." This guy.. he thinks 13 called them 'Cybertronians'? He's orange as hell. Also big. Way bigger than what 13 was describing. 'Bigger than you can imagine', yeah wow, thanks. He's like... Vex mind sized. Traveler in a handbasket.

“Goodness,” the construct exclaims, blinking at the little fellow down below his hip. “Am I really? I have not noticed. How marvelous, to be orange.”

Actually, having the human wandering around below his general line of sight is making Rung a little more nervous than he’d like to admit. What if he bops them by accident? What if he knocks them over? They’re wrapped in armor, but, still, what if?? Oh, no.

Maybe he’ll just—

He’ll just sit on the floor. There. That will fix it. Though, ah, he might not be able to get back up…

Rung offers a long-fingered servo out to the human in greeting. “My name is Rung. What should I call you?”

[magicalgirlmindcrank]

Very excellent overworld level design, some extremely loveable characters, and a handful of good bosses. Really easy to get side tracked trying to figure out one of the literally hundreds of small navigational based puzzles while getting from place to place.

Dungeons themselves are where most of the flaws shine through, puzzle solutions occasionally needing finicky and extremely precise aiming. Less extreme but still fairly precise aiming under a pretty tight timing restrictions happening often. Easy if playing mouse and keyboard (which has its own unique issue to offset it), but nightmarish on controller. A good share of rooms, what felt like the majority in later dungeons, took a while to understand what it was asking, and fairly often a while to execute. Failure in an attempt asking you to reset the entire puzzle manually, in part or full, too often to not grate.

Bosses fall largely into four categories - boring, immensely challenging due solely to damage output, non-apparent puzzle, and good. Most fall in one or two, but there's a notable handful of really enjoyable rights.

One of our biggest issues with the game is the dodge - they put fucking ADP in the damn game. Even with a really high flash step, and taking as much focus and dodge improvements as we could, it never felt much more than positional. This isn't as big of a deal however, because perfect blocking is wildly easy. Not only is the timing easier, and the damage negated upon success, the fail state for messing up a perfect block is very often a regular block, which massively reduces damage taken. Not to mention that unlike dodging, there are armor skills that generate SP, pips you earn in combat and spend on flashier abilities, on block.

The combo meter in game is one of its best mechanics, rewarding aggressive play with better drops and increased rate. It also really adds to an already very fun, deep, and customizable combat system! If you die you lose everything since the combo began, but keeping up an S rank is the best way to farm for various materials.

Speaking of, we're never a fan of mindlessly collecting secondaries and such to make trades, especially when every area has their own stuff. That said, it's on the inoffensive side as far as those things go. However, we did the majority of quests and killed a lot of stuff just to keep levels up and for fun, so this may seem more annoying to those less willing to do so.

To get critical on a more meta level, we find the usage of CrossWorlds itself somewhat questionable. Textually, it is the MMO Crosscode is set in, and on a very basic level facilitates the plot. However, the actual interaction with CrossWorlds as a player is, well, very much like playing an MMO. Almost every bit of NPC dialogue can be spacebarred through without missing anything of note. A few jokes perhaps, but it becomes very apparent as the game progresses that the only interactions that matter are the ones with fellow 'players.'

I just can't help but feel like this was a missed opportunity. Even up to the end of the CrossWorlds portion of Crosscode, we felt like we were waiting for the shoe to drop. For the lore to have mattered. Hell, it wasn't even all that complimentary to the main plot, it was just pretty standard MMO type lore. If you aren't going to do a twist that the lore was all secretly based on an actual ancient religion, you could make the message match.

We don't wanna end on a negative note though, so we do wanna add that Lea is a very well written character. We did not expect to become attached to her as we did, but she's a charming little fuck. Emilie, despite her failings in being French, was also delightful. Almost all the cast is enjoyable, but those are my two faves. Really wanted them to kiss at the end but oh well.

Anyways, yeah, 8.5/10. We haven't played the DLC yet though, so if that changes our opinion, we'll reblog with more.

Crosscode! 8.5/10.

[rainbowsprinkledpirate]

On The Other Side

Pairing: The Mandalorian/Din Djarin x Male!Reader

Summary: All you wanted was to live a peaceful life. But it seems fate has a different idea for you and sends one Cobb Vanth your way. Who knew you'd grow fond of the rough-looking fellow so quickly?

Prologue: Armor and Bullets

"You want my help? Why?"

You didn't know why this guy, Cobb Vanth, had come to you.

Sure, you were known for taking on the odd job of hunting down criminals. That's why you probably seemed like the guy for him. Because stories were told that you knew how to hold your own in a fight.

Obviously, those stories reached him.

But you only did it now for those who were victims of said criminals. And you had an old lady to take care of, so the credits were a plus.

Though, if she heard you say that. You'd probably earn a smack with whatever she currently held.

"I can't take out the Mining Collective on my own. And with your help, the people will be free."

He motioned between you, the faded green and red helmet he held catching the fading rays of the twin suns. "You and I both go in there with this armor of ours, add some guns into the mix, and we'll easily take them out." 

Narrow hazel eyes honed in on you as Cobb leaned back on his heels.

With the way his compelling accent flowed over you. You almost agreed to help right then and there. Yet you stood your ground. You couldn't be swayed by every fellow with a pleasant voice.

"I don't want to be a hero." Slightly shaking your head, you spoke the solemn truth while meeting his gaze. Honestly, you could care less about the fame that would surely follow such a move.

"But..." You paused, watching the way Cobb's brow raised. "I will help save the people."

It was wrong to enslave others.

Hell, you knew people who had been slaves their whole life. It wasn't right. And you weren't about to let that happen to the small community of Mos Pelgo.

Plus, it's what your parents had died doing.

Protecting people who didn't even know they existed.

A wide grin split Cobb's face as he straightened up, crooning, "Perfect! Let's not waste any more time, ey?" Sticking out a hand to you, Cobb grinned wider when you grabbed hold.

What was going to happen? Trouble, most likely.

- XX Standard Minutes Later -

You weren't wrong when you thought that. Now here you are six feet deep in a hailstorm of blaster fire.

In all honesty, things could have gone worse.

Although Cobb was nowhere to be seen.

Adjusting your left vambrace, your eyes catch on one particular scratch that had been there before you were given the piece. It brought with it the faintest memory.

A hand.

Reaching out to pat your head with that scratch being all you could focus on.

“Father-”

Blaster fire whizzed past your head. The heat from how close it got forced you back to the present. Now wasn't the time to be thinking about the past.

There were just a few more guys to go. And you were running out of ammo.

Where the hell was Cobb?

A figure appeared in the front doorway of the cantina. At the same time, two shots rang out. The dull thud of bodies hitting the floor drew you from your cover.

Peering around the table, you overturned in an attempt to shield yourself. You meet Cobb's visor.

Standing up, you let out an exasperated breath.

"You sure do talk big. Where were you when I took out the rest of these guys?"

Cobb talked as if you two would take out the people tormenting Mos Pelgo together.

But you ended up alone for most of the fight. And had to resort to a table for backup for Maker’s sake while worrying about a bartender.

Only for Cobb to swoop in at the last second and kill the remaining guys? As if he hadn't been missing most of the time?

Yeah, he wasn't getting away that easily.

"Putting the final touch to make sure these guys don't come back here. What? Did you have a tough time dealing with them?"

A faint scowl made its way across your lips. And you stride towards Cobb. Noting the rockets sticking out over his shoulder. But choosing to ignore them for the time being.

"You owe me at least a month's worth of blaster ammo."

"Right, right. I suppose that isn't something out of my league to do." His voice is muffled by the helmet, but you can still hear his soft exasperated huff. "Considering you took out most of the guys in here."

Movement out the corner of your eye has you twisting to the side. Where you end up catching a blaster bolt to the chest. In the process, shielding Cobb from another shot.

The shot aimed at Cobb grazes your arm leaving behind a searing pain.

You curse, hand flying towards the pain before you fire at the guy who shot at you and Cobb. The shot hits his hand, forcing him to drop his blaster.

It seems some of the Mining Collective were still kicking.

Cobb moves around you to unleash a barrage of blaster fire. Quickly taking the guy out and those who were still putting up a fight.

Sharing a glance, you two make your way outside.

The sound of a landspeeder racing off has you staring off into the distance after a few stragglers.

Focusing back on Cobb. You watch as he hones in on the landspeeder with his helmet's scope. Then bending over a bit, he lets a rocket fly from his jetpack. Efficiently disposing of the remaining thugs in a fiery explosion.

Openly you gaze at Cobb's jetpack as he straightens up.

You had to get yourself one of those.

A sharp stab of pain coursing down your arm suddenly reminds you that you hadn't gotten away from this fight unscathed. Shaking your head, you pat Cobb's shoulder. It was time for you to head back to your old lady.

"See you later, Cobb. Don't forget my ammo next time I stop by."

Cobb trails after you. Holding up a hand, he shakes his head.

"Now, hold up. Didn't you get shot because of me? At least let me patch you up. Or get that Weequay to do it." A dry chuckle leaves your lips as you face Cobb.

Rapping your knuckles against the side of his helmet, you hum, "No can do. I only trust Cyar'ika* to patch me up. There's no way I'm letting some rough guy like you touch my arm. Or your random bartender buddy.”

Although now you thought about it, she was probably going to be harsher than anyone.

"Riiight," Cobb drew out the 'i' before patting you roughly on the uninjured shoulder. "Well, see ya around. Hopefully, this Shari-ka can patch you up well. Thanks again for your help. Stop by sometime, yeah?"

A faint smile spread across your lips at Cobb trying to speak your old lady's nickname. He was surprisingly close to pronouncing it right. But you decided to keep that to yourself.

Going your separate ways after nodding to Cobb, you made your way across the sands of Tattooine.

The stinging in your arm got worse and worse with each step. You could only hope Cyar'ika went easy on you this time around.

- XX Standard Hours Later -

"What were you thinking, Luufi*?" A smack to the back of your head followed the bark as Cyar'ika scolded you.

You raised your hands defensively.

"I was protecting a friend. Honestly, the wound isn't that bad."

The slightest graze of Cyar'ika's fingers over your blaster burn has you flinching away from her. She raises one brow as her forest green eyes narrow.

You bite back a sigh, murmuring, "Well... maybe it does hurt a little."

She gibbers at you angrily in Ewokese, pushing you down into the chair she was occupying when you arrived back home.

Ever since you had stumbled into her arms as a child, she spoke the foreign language. But you never asked her what it was. Until you were a bit older and knew how to pronounce a few words yourself, that was.

Then she told you of her youth in the forested moon of Endor. Raised by Ewoks and adopted by Kaasha Bateen, a famous Twi'lek who once fought alongside the Han Solo. Or so the story goes.

Cyar'ika's history was like that out of a legend.

But the truth was you had only ever heard of these famous people from Cyar'ika herself. So, there is no telling if they are famous. Though you weren't going to question her.

"Of course it does, Luufi. It's a blaster burn, for crying out loud."

Even as she scolded you, her hands were firm yet gentle. You couldn't have asked for a better caretaker.

To take your mind off the pain, you stare out the carved window of your shared home.

You wonder what was going to happen with Cobb. Perhaps the people would make him Marshal? Yeah, he'd be a good fit for that. Considering he'd do anything to protect them. Even recruiting a monster like you for help.

Next Chapter -> Here

Star Wars Masterlist

▪🔸▪🔸▪🔸▪

Luufi - Ewokese for flower.

Cyar'ika - Mando'a for sweetheart, beloved, or darling. In this case, your old lady is known as Sweetheart/Darling, depending on which one you like more. Even Beloved could work if you like that one better than the others.

[moonlit-imagines]

Is That What You Wanted?

Avengers x teen!reader

warnings: death!! guns, blood, alcohol ment

a/n: this is not good lmao

prompt: anonymous: “Hello! I was wondering if you could write an avengers one shot where the reader is an avenger and is pretty young (maybe peters age) and the other avengers dislike her because they think their “useless”, and then one a mission the reader ends up passing away, and then the other avengers feel really guilty? Ik this is pretty and if you can’t write it then that’s 100% fine! 💕💕”

It Was Never What I Wanted (Sequel)

The Avengers didn’t have you for long, but for the time that they did, they did not like you at all. You were young, which was already a bogey. All you heard Tony go on about was “child labor laws and endangerment” and how he “didn’t want to go to prison because of you.” Apparently the whole team was on thin ice because of you, and for what? Your powers were mediocre, you simply controlled the air.

Truthfully, you weren’t using your powers to the fullest. It was a bad idea, they scared you. You’ve hurt people in the past, so now you were destined to be a walking air conditioner and a severe burden. And seriously, you’ve been used as an A/C unit before. Missions in this climate could get very warm very fast.

“I bet you all feel lucky to have me right now.” You chuckled while circulating air through the armored vehicle taking you to your final destination—the most risky fight of your life. There was a vast desert surrounding you and your fellow teammates and god, were you bored…

No one answered your little comment, either. Not even a chuckle or a sly remark. It truly made you feel as useless as they had seen you, and you wondered why they even kept you around. Maybe they saw potential in you and were just using tough love, or maybe Cap didn’t want you to feel such a harsh rejection, or maybe the team just needed you as a loyal errand kid.

You actually stopped the breeze inside and waited for someone to notice, and it wasn’t long before someone spoke up.

“Hey, what’d you do to the air, y/n?!” Clint snapped at you and the whole group began to stare holes right through you.

“I—I just got a little tired. I can start it up again.” You sighed and began to use your powers once more.

“I don’t even know why we keep you around at this point.” He propped his feet up on the seat in front of him and you stared at him in disgust. “Do you need something?”

“Yeah, I need to get out of here. Christ’s sake.” You muttered before standing up and opening the back doors of the moving vehicle.

“Y/N, sit back down, right now.” Nat commanded, but you hopped right out and began to fly overhead, using your wind to slam the doors behind you.

“You guys should really be nicer to them. They’re just a kid.” Bruce chimed in without looking up from his book.

“The enemy doesn’t care if they’re just a kid, Banner.” Clint told him. “Besides, if they can’t use their powers to ventilate this thing, how are they gonna use them to fight?”

“Y/N’s more than just their powers.” Bruce closed his book and set it aside.

“Well, y/n isn’t a scientist with seven Ph.D.’s now, are they?” Nat smirked back at him and watched him roll his eyes.

“Not what I meant.”

Meanwhile, you flew ahead with Tony and Thor, who were surveying the upcoming area for threats before the team reached their destination.

“What the hell did I tell you, y/n? I said ‘stay in the truck.’ Jesus, you never listen, do you?” Tony started to argue with you immediately. “I mean, we told you it was dangerous out here. Thor and me are allowed out here because I have this armor and he’s a god. What do you have? A little bit of wind?”

“Stark, it isn’t that big of a deal. Y/N is apart of this team, are they not? And if you want to get rid of them so bad, why not let them go on the dangerous mission?” Thor explained, making your eyebrows raise at his boldness.

“Because, genius, I don’t want to go to prison on a child neglect charge. What is so hard to understand about that?” They bickered back and forth as you all flew forward, but they stopped paying attention, which would be blamed on you in the moments to come.

“Guys, we’re coming up on something.” You told them as a base came into sight, the one that you’d been searching for all day. It wasn’t long before they spotted you, either. Or before they launched missiles in your direction. Tony and Thor hadn’t exactly been paying attention enough to do something, so you acted fast to create a gust of wind so powerful it acted as a tornado and spun and launched the missiles back to where they came from. “Can you two get serious now?”

“That was lucky, y/n. Real lucky.” Tony rudely replied to you and boosted his suit to win the “race” to the base. You landed on the vehicle that some of your team was on in order to protect it from any more heavy fire. The rest of them would be on the other transport just a couple hundred meters back. Luckily, they wouldn’t be the target thanks to the heavy-duty fliers in the field.

“Are you guys ready?” You poked your head into the cabin after opening the door a bit.

“Stop getting distracted, y/n. We’re fine.” Nat waved you away and began to adjust all her gadgets for the fight.

“Just trying to help. You guys are kind of the worst.” You laughed and slammed the door shut before flying to the second car and asking the same question.

“Yes, y/n. We’re fine. Why don’t you go ahead and do some work for once.” Sam shot back to you while powering up his wings.

“We’ll be there soon.” Steve added. You just sighed and flew ahead to join in on the action. It was already loud up there, but what did you expect from the God of Thunder and flashy rich boy?

“Need any help?” You asked while swooping onto the scene.

“From you? Not really.” He flew past you and blew up a defense tower. You were getting really sick of this, but you were also scared to prove yourself. Using your powers the wrong way could have some really awful consequences. Suffocation, trauma to the body, catastrophic destruction, and even (un)natural disasters. Was it really worth the risk?

As the rest of the team arrived, all hell broke loose. It was a trap, they were expecting you, and now you were all in the same place, completely surrounded.

“I need you guys to cover your faces. I’m talking eyes, mouth, nose.” You warned them without explanation. “Or hide on my mark.” They all stared at you like you were crazy. “Sam, Thor, Tony! On the ground, now!”

“We don’t take orders from you, kid.” Sam stayed in the sky as you enacted your plan. A sandstorm that would be sure to cause unrest. It wasn’t long before grains of sand overwhelmed everyone on the base, a good enough distraction to save your team. While the enemy braced themselves for your power, the Avengers evacuated to the transports without you, waiting for you to finish up.

“Y/N, get out of there, that’s an order!” Steve shouted to you as you eased up on the storm. The team was surprised to say the least. You’d never used your powers to such an extent before, but you did it for them. Only, it’d been so long since you’d even attempted such power, you were to weak to go on.

“Someone needs to get them.” Bruce told the team, but no one volunteered. “Seriously, any day now!” While they argued about who would go back into the settling sandstorm, you hobbled onto your feet and slowly, weakly walked to your transport in a daze, then noticed a red light shining across your torso. You didn’t even have time to react before realizing what it was before a bullet flew through you. The bang of the gunshot startled the rest of the team and you watched all of their heads swivel to you as you stood alone, gripping your stomach.

“Guys?” Sam asked in disbelief before seeing a dark red stain grow more prominent on your suit. You dropped to your knees and onto the ground just seconds later and the whole lot came running for you as Sam and redwing analyzed the trajectory and found the shooter, ending him without another thought.

“Y/N? Hey, eyes open, alright?” Nat snapped her fingers at you and watched them flutter open. “Good, that’s good.”

“There’s no way I’ll make it through this one, you know it.” You chuckled out of fear and groaned as Nat flipped you over to plug the entry wound with something from the first aid kit, then laid you down again and pressed on the exit wound. Tony landed beside you and exited his armor.

“Come on, kid. You gotta pull through. I can’t go to jail.” He sort of begged while Bruce checked your pulse.

“Not now, Tony. Just don’t.” Cap sternly told him while Sam worked to call the Quinjet.

“Quinjet is en route, should be here in five.” Sam told you all and you knew you wouldn’t even make it that long.

“It’s fine. I did my job. Went out a hero, I guess.” You quietly spoke to the group as Bruce offered you some water. “Thanks…anyways, I saved all of your asses despite your constant mocking and mean comments. Who knows where you would be right now if it weren’t for me.”

“We’re lucky to have you, y/n.” Steve assured you as he placed his hand on yours.

“I hope so. And I hope you remember this. Forever.” You told him with a wavering voice.

“Y/N, you must save your strength.” Thor pointed out, but you’d rather get this over with.

“You can all be horrible people, you know? No wonder this team is so fucked. They abused a teenager until they needed them to sacrifice themselves. W-What—does that say…about you?” You took one last breath and went completely limp, sending the Avengers into peril. There was no saving you, no way to help at all, just watch your corpse lay still until they could bring you home.

The ride home was quiet. Natasha was still covered in blood on her hands, arms, and stomach. And she and Bruce sat with you the whole time. Steve stared from afar, wondering where it all went wrong. Sam sat beside him with tears in his eyes, already mourning a bit. Clint sat away from everyone, thinking about what could have happened if you weren’t there and how many lives would have been lost if not for you. Thor was thinking of what he could say about you, but kept it to himself. Tony was staring out the window while crying to himself, he got a kid killed and they didn’t even think twice about saving him. And he was going to have to answer to someone about this.

Once they arrived at HQ, your body was covered in a white cloth and transported inside via stretcher. Never had the Avengers felt shame quite like this. You were right, they were fucked if the life of a child was put on the line in order to save their skins.

“We need to talk.” Steve told them as they gathered their composure inside.

“I’d rather not.” Tony rubbed his temples and walked to the bar to grab a drink.

“Y/N was a good soldier and a valuable member of our team. We have to honor them in some way.” He explained to the still silent group that couldn’t be bothered any more. “They saved our lives, something we’ll never be able to repay or forget.”

“Oh, I won’t forget it.” Tony said before taking a long swig straight from the whiskey bottle. “No, I won’t forget their last words. The ones that’ll haunt me until it’s my time.”

taglist: @alwaysananglophile // @rorybutnotgilmore // @locke-writes // @sweetheartliz07 // @queen-destenie // @natasha-danvers // @lokihiddles // @frostedficrecs // @johnmurphyisqueer // @teenwaywardasgardian // @pappydaddy // @captainshazamerica // @freya-xo // @ravenmoore14 // @xuxinoir // @ofthedewthesunlight // @canarypoint // @zoeyserpentluck // @randomawesomeperson102 // @brutal-out-here // @wonderful-writer // @of-a-chaotic-mind // @groovyfluxie // @procrastinatingsapphictrash // @lxncelot // @swanimagines // @randomfandomimagine // @petersgroupie // @dindjarinsspouse // @werewolf-himbo // @lost-fantasy // @legolas-with-hearing-aids // @moobrvoobl-moobmoob-oobmpoobroom // @summersimmerus // @cipheress-to-k-pop // @blleuu //

[babblydrabbly]

Distracted (Peacemaker x Reader) Smut

Pairing(s): Peacemaker x F!Reader; Brief Javelin x Reader

Characters: Peacemaker/Christopher Smith, Amanda Waller, Javelin

Rating: M

Word Count: 3.5k+

Warning(s): Smut, language, mentions of blood/violence. Choking, cream pie, semi-rough sex.

Summary: Out on a Task Force X mission, Peacemaker notices you're acting... different. He generously offers to help with what's distracting you. Asshole.

A/N: What's this? Baby's first Peacemaker fic? Takes place before The Suicide Squad (2021). Metahuman!Reader has super strength/speed abilities. Also, what kind of vanilla name is Chris Smith.

---

"Again?"

Amanda Waller arched a brow at your perturbed expression.

"My apologies." She droned. "Am I not stimulating you with enough variety, [L/n]?"

You scoffed, folding your arms in deference. It wasn't about that— It was about the deliberately repeated pairings with Christopher Smith. The dynamic that was becoming a pattern. You never would have worked with someone like Peacemaker on the outside. As much as you appreciated the job always getting done with him, you still bumped heads with him too much on the way to the finish line. He was frustratingly serious and flippant at the same time.

You decided to shut your trap before Waller decided she didn't need you anymore.

"You've got one skillset useful to me, [L/n]. I suggest you get used to the prospect of being paired up with Smith on a regular basis— While you're still around."

You nodded when she dismissed you. You had gotten used to it. You were seeing so much of Peacekeeper you were practically partners.

So, you pointedly sat to next the one called Javelin on the helicopter out of Belle Reve, as far away from Smith as possible. You were about to spend over twelve hours with him— It didn't have to start right away. While Colonel Flag gave you all the spiel on the mission, you glanced over and saw Javelin toss you a nod.

"You're Team B," The thrower noted over the whir of the helicopter. "[L/n], yes?"

"Yeah," you said. Your eyes flitted over the muscular squad member. He looked more like a superhero in his light blue and yellow get-up than the rest of you. You personally kept the lower half of your face covered with a black hard shell mask— Your armor from before you were incarcerated (Yes, you've heard the 'Baby Bane' jokes from the others). Even if you had to get used to working with a bunch of weirdos, you could at least conceal your face from them while you did it.

"You move very swiftly." He complimented, and you didn’t know how you were supposed to take that.

"Thanks," You tried, "I like your... weapon of choice?"

Javelin held his namesake in his arms, his legs spread wide to accommodate it as he rested it against his inner thigh. The innuendo normally would have had you rolling your eyes, but today they lingered, and you wondered if he still looked as broad and muscular without the suit on.

You frowned. Without the suit on?

Were you still staring down at his thighs?

You supposed he was a goddamn Olympic athlete at one point. And prison didn't seem to stop him from his regimen. —There it was again. You blinked and looked away, thankful nobody seemed to notice. Javelin seemed content with the brief introduction, so you left it at that.

Okay, so maybe it had been awhile since you...

You reprimanded yourself. These were not recreational outings. As much as you liked feeling free every once in awhile, you were never in a position to consider doing something so stupid. The last few missions were some of the closest calls you had while on the task force, but now that your job today was more about recon, you could at least let your mind wander to the less... imperative things. You crossed your legs at the ankles in front of you and let mind drift for the rest of the trip.

But christ had prison been rough. And a little boring. You didn’t have to think about Javelin moving closer to you for long— Pressing up flush against you— Before you were imagining yourself against a wall— Hell, right here on this bench— hooking your legs around his waist as he thrusted into you. You pictured him going for two, three rounds, that stupid suit lying on the floor with your back on top of it. You pictured him going down on you too, a handful of his wavy blonde hair in your grasp as you pressed your thighs around his ears. You swallowed behind the mask, glad it was there to hide your face.

You get dropped off an isolated point a few klicks outside the target area, the rest of the team traveling further in to handle the bulk of the mission. You lug some extra equipment in a canvas bag— Guns, surveillance tech— already annoyed by the heat.

The heat of the jungle. Definitely not the heat you'd been feeling in the helicopter. You walked a half mile in total silence just trying to focus on the mission again.

"What's got your tactical suit in a twist?" Smith finally uttered as you got to your destination. You almost forgot he had dropped down the rope onto the ground after you. He stood out against the green around you in his obnoxious red shirt and white pants.

"Nothing." You lied, and you could tell from under his helmet that Peacemaker thought you were full of shit today. Great.

You set up inside a small building— An outpost long abandoned. Whatever organization you were taking down for Waller, they clearly had to downsize over the years. You kicked open the metal door, sending it flying off its hinges. Smith entered first, clearing all the rooms before you joined him. Upstairs, you begin setting up the equipment together. Peacemaker started with standing up a rifle by the window, aiming it at the road below.

You fiddled with a tablet; You went downstairs to put a sensor on the door frame and on the rusted gate blocking the road outside. They were supposed to warn you when any vehicles were approaching, but when you came back up, it lost signal. You did this twice; You batted at the little screen, vexed. There were probably signal jammers over at the main compound that could still reach all the way out here. You thought about how Team A was doing— So inevitably, your thoughts drifted back to the damn Javelin guy.

"Jesus!" You snapped. You were grateful when you didn't break the small screen in half with your strength.

"Okay. What the fuck is wrong." Came Peacemaker's voice from across the room. You stood there without turning around. You took a breath, tossed the tablet onto the bag at your feet.

"Nothing is wrong, Smith. Fuck off." You said. You reached up and unclipped your vest. Beneath it, you felt the cool air of the shelter hit your jumpsuit. You tossed the vest on the floor, then turned around. "When are they supposed to get here?"

He quirked a brow, as if proving his point. Since when didn't you remember the mission details? Rather than give him the satisfaction of thinking you were slipping you waved your own question away.

"God, never mind."

He scoffed. You watched him remove his helmet and gloves, setting them down carefully next to his own pack. He'd made his own area across the room from yours, another tablet showing him a view of the road propped up against the wall. Smith took a seat on the floor; The two of you were going to have to play the waiting game now.

In silence. The thought made you pinch the bridge of your nose right above where your mask stopped.

"You know, I've been at Belle Reve for four years now." You finally relented. You leaned back against your wall, folding your arms over your chest.

"Yeah? So?" Smith retorted. You rolled your eyes.

"So," God— You were really confiding in Christopher Smith. That's what it was coming down to. "I haven't had sex in four years. It's... not a big deal— Nothing's wrong. That's just what I was annoyed about earlier, you know? Consider me over it."

"That why you were ogling the Javelin in the copter today?"

Shit. Shit!

You dropped your arms. "You piece of garbage. You saw that?"

"I'm garbage? You're the one sexually harassing our fellow teammates with your eyes."

"I was not sexually— Nope. I'm done. You're ridiculous." You said. You reached down and went back to your tablet, busying yourself with it idly.

Peacemaker did the same. From the corner of your eye, you just knew he was doing it smugly.

"You know," He said after a few minutes, "If that's all you're bitching about, we can just get it over with."

"Excuse me?"

"You and me. Target's not coming in for another six hours, by the way. You don't need that much time do you, 'four-years-dry'?"

You stared at him from across the room. When you didn't reply, Peacemaker set his screen down so damn casually you consider just shooting yourself in the head.

"You're off your game. I'm not going to let you compromise our objective."

You threw your hands up. "There it is. You're like a broken record."

"What? Am I fucking wrong?"

"No, you're fucking crazy."

"Get over here." Smith instructed in a low voice.

The words shot up your spine, sending a very mixed signal to your brain. Directly across from you, Peacemaker was pinning you with an expectant look— One that was clearly a challenge. It pissed you off.

It was the look he used when he said you couldn't rip a guy's spine right out of his back— It dared you. And when you did succeed, you would shoot him an equally smug look in return. Your back and forths were always crass, always a test of who would back down.

You weren't normally so brutal when you worked alone, but something about Peacemaker brought it out of you. Whenever you were paired together, it was like your powers weren't something you had to hold back. They were something he was always prodding you to embrace. The jabs, the snark— It made you want to punch him in the face.

Standing up, you crossed the room. Smith didn't move as you stepped over his legs, as you leaned down to straddle his waiting lap. He simply watched you shift around until you're comfortably seated, your hands resting on his shoulders. He moved to place his own on your thighs but didn't do anything more.

"Well?" You said.

He shrugged, "Your call."

"What am I gonna do? Dry hump you?"

"Hey, if that's what it takes."

You sighed, running a hand through your hair. "Fuck."

Finally, you reached up, unclipping the back of your mask.

"Whoa, wait—" He started, finally reacting to this ridiculous situation, but you already had it off, in your hand.

"I—" He stared at you. You shifted, feeling nervous as you stared back. It occurred to you that you'd never seen him shocked before.

He blinked. "I've never seen your whole face before."

That wasn't true— was it? You tried to think. "What about in Cuba? We camped out for like three days. I had to take it off to eat at least."

"I didn't look."

"You didn't look."

"I don't fucking know! You wear that fucking thing everywhere. When you took it off to eat I assumed you didn't want me looking."

"Wow. How courteous."

"Fuck you."

"Well, isn't that what we're doing here?" You said, putting your hands on your hips stubbornly. Smith's were still resting on your splayed thighs.

"I can't wear this when we— How am I supposed to...?"

He snorted softly, "Don't tell me you're a romantic, [L/n]."

Nothing about this seemed romantic. Least of all with him. Still, if you were going to take the opportunity, you were going to do it your way. You looked him over.

He had a few tufts sticking out from wearing his damn helmet earlier. You reached up and brushed some of it back into place at his temple first. Smith blinked up at you, his brows pinching together.

"This okay?" You heard yourself asking him. He eventually nodded once, watching you as you placed your palm on the side of his face. Finally, you leaned down and caught his lips with yours in a long kiss. You squeezed your eyes shut, not wanting to know his reaction.

But you felt him return it. Slowly at first— Then he was kissing you back. You moaned somewhere in the back of your throat as he ran his large hands up and down your legs, his fingers folding to grip your ass tightly. You were already reacting, already so touched starved. His lips parted, and you felt him swipe his tongue across your bottom lip, over the front of your teeth. You opened for him, your tongue darting out to meet his hungrily.

You tugged at the front of his uniform. Without a word he reached down to pull it up over his head, the fabric dropping off somewhere beside you. You glanced down at his bare chest. You ran your hands over it, dragged your nails down his pecs experimentally. When you looked back up he was still watching you.

Your mouths crashed to meet again, this time with a fervor that threatened to split your bottom lip with every bruising kiss. You felt his hands on you again, pressing into your sides, your waist. He didn't move to take off your clothes, so you drew your hands to your own chest, pulled the zipper of your suit all the way down to your stomach.

He took the invitation, and you gasped when he roughly reaches in and cups a hand around your breast; He kneaded it, brushing his thumb over your nipple. His other hand worked at your shoulder, yanking the rest of your suit off of you. You reached back and tugged the sleeves off, finally exposing your upper body.

You felt the clasp at your back come undone, and Smith was tearing your bra off next. A muscular arm came around to scoop you up by the waist, bringing your chest closer to him. He leaned down, took one of your nipples into his mouth.

"Smith—" He bit you roughly, and it sent a shock of electricity up you. He palmed your other breast again, tweaked at your nipple until your back was arching into his touch. You squeezed your thighs around him.

Then he was back in your face again, bruising a kiss against your lips as you took a breath. Your eyes flew open when you felt the press of his fingers to your mouth. You shot a look at him, but didn't object when he pushed his index and middle fingers past your lips. You sucked them hungrily, your eyes fluttering shut again.

"Fuck," Peacemaker murmured, feeling your tongue swirl around the digits. You slurped sloppily until they were soaked, until he was pulling them back out with a light pop. He brought his hand down to the base of your suit, where the zipper stopped just above your pelvis. A pair of black panties peaked out from the V shape there, the same shade and material as your bra. You gasped when Smith finally pushed down past the layer of cotton, gripped his bare shoulders when you felt his wet fingers dip right into your cunt.

"Fuck," He said again, because you didn't need any help down there. "You're so fucking wet."

You expected to feel humiliation— To hear a joke about how it really had been while. But all you felt were his warm, thick fingers; He ran them up and down your slit, pressed them in small circles around the peak of you a few times. You cursed, your head falling back. Smith leaned up to kiss your throat, teeth dragging across the base of your collarbone. He bit you some more, daring to take your meta-human skin between his teeth. You cried out, your arm reaching to wrap around his head in pleasure.

Smith slid his fingers up into your pussy. He crooked them, scissoring them inside you. Your hips bucked, unable to resist meeting his short thrusts. You felt him grin against your neck. "Damn, baby."

"Shut up." You whispered, letting your hips rolling down to fuck yourself on his fingers some more. When he slipped in a third you moan loudly.

"Fuck! Fuck me." You demanded, yanking the short hair at the back of his head. A groan left Smith's lips, his head jerking back. Quickly, he removed his hand from your suit, pulling the rest of your clothes further down your waist. You lifted yourself off him, but Smith didn't wait. He picked you up and lifted you both off the floor. You grabbed at him as he laid you down on your back, his body between your legs. Then he was ripping off the last of your suit, tearing your boots off.

"Watch it," You snapped— If he fucking ripped anything you—

"Oh please." He huffed, and your thoughts stopped in their tracks as you watched him lean back on his knees above you, undoing his white pants. His cock sprang free from a pair of just as white underwear, his arousal already thick and ready. You stopped yourself from expressing how the sight of him made you even wetter.

He took a moment to drink in your face, a hint of that smug smirk forming. You growled, pulling him down by the neck again before he ruined the moment with speaking. Smith caught your lips again, his hand running down your naked body. He gripped one of your legs and nudges them apart, planting his knees between you.

Despite his earlier preparation, it was nothing compared to the feeling of his cock pushing inside you. You groaned as he entered you, your walls stretching around his length. Your back arched as you took him in, eyes rolling a little into the back of your head.

"Fuck— Chris—" You shuttered. His hands squeezed your thighs at the sound of his name leaving you. You heard his breath shake, his hips remaining utterly still as you got used to the size of him. Opening your eyes, you looked up to see him waiting for you; You nodded once, another moaning already escaping in anticipation.

It was like a brick wall knocking into you. Smith didn't hold back as he began fucking you— Knew you could take it— what with your powers and all. The idea seemed to drive him, and he began hammering into you, his hands moving to bracket your hips so he could fuck you better. Faster. Your legs wrapped around his waist.

Fuck— You couldn't think. You arched up off of the floor as you rolled your hips to meet Smith's. It felt like he could keep up this pace forever the way he wasn't stopping. Your breathing turned to panting, a high whine escaping you when he shifts just right— he picked you up again. You arched up into his arms, holding yourself up from around his neck as he fucked up into your soaking cunt. You bounced on his cock, a sheen of sweat blooming across your skin.

When you opened your eyes, Smith was still watching you intently— witnessing every little expression on your face while he fucked you. You could hardly discern what he was thinking. All you could focus on was him ramming you, the feeling of his cock hitting and stretching you out.

“Choke me.” He said, and you have just enough wherewithal to oblige. You wrapped your hand around his throat, pressing firmly on either side. You felt the tightness of his skin shifting under your touch. His pulse beat a fast rhythm in time with his rough thrusts. The strength of your grip was a little vice tipping Smith over the edge.

The look on his face, his eyes closed as he tried to control his breathing sends a jolt up you. You used your other hand to slip two fingers down between your folds. They found your clit, making quick work of bringing you to close to climaxing. You shuttered as you felt the tight coil of it building. Finally, with a cry you were coming, squeezing your legs around him as your hips rolling through every wave of it. Smith groaned, picking up the pace, fucking you through your orgasm until your walls were fluttering from the unrelenting stimulation.

“Going to—“ He warned, and you squeezed the hand around his throat harder, making his eyes roll up. You whimpered as you feel the hot spurt of him fill you, his hips finally locking as he pumped you with his cum.

You both took a moment to catch your breath, your hand releasing from Smith’s neck so he could take in a long gasp. His skin was reddened along his throat and chest. You saw the beginnings of your handprint bruising around his Adam's apple, your fingers a mark on his skin. You hung onto him like that, your arms back around his shoulders for balance.

“Fuck.” You finally said. Out of habit, you checked your watch to assess where you were on the mission. He took your chin in his hand, drawing your eyes back up to him. You saw that his hair had fallen back into his eyes, his face glistening with sweat.

“I’m not done with you.” He said. It sent a shiver through you. You felt your walls flutter again, some of his cum leaking out with his half-hard cock still firm inside you. You gasped as he pulled you off of him, guiding you down until you were turning around on all fours on the floor. You glanced over your shoulder, already craving the feeling of him filling you up with his cock again.

And fuck it, you two do take the whole six hours.

[askthestans]

Also, Ford, did you keep any notes or another journal while in the other dimension?

Stanford: I did, in fact! However, when you’re crossing multiple dimensions, what stays real and what doesn’t differs depending on which you’re in. After so many physical journals I’d tried to keep disintegrated from dimensional crossing, I decided to quit.

That is, until I came across Dimension 41′?. It’s much like ours, but if corporations ruled the world and ethics were thrown out the window in favor of technological advancement. A cyberpunk dystopia, if you will.

Stanley: I get the dystopia part, ‘cause we live in one. But cyberpunk? The hell is that? Care to nerd translate for me?

Stanford: You probably would like the genre, Stan. It’s usually about a group of people working to take down the law-

Stanley: I’m listening…

Stanford: The youth taking down the law, specifically, fixing the mistakes of a society they inherited. Granted, it’s pretty unrealistic that only mere teenagers could-

Stanley: Ugh, teenagers? Never mind! Spend half the damn story just figurin’ out which stupid fellow kid they’re gonna shack up with. *Stan’s voice raises an octave*. “Oh, hot boy one, how could I ever choose between you and hot boy two!? The world’s at stake and we’re barely surviving, but I need to get my rocks off before we dismantle the government together with the power of love and plot armor!”

That’s like that Divergence Games or whatever it’s called that Dipper had me endure last Summer. The part with kids fightin’ to the death? Couldn’t get enough of it! The rest, yeesh! Hollywood needs to make more dystopias with old crumbs like us as the main characters, who have realized that romantic love is overrated and what really matters is-

Stanford: Righting the wrongs of generations past? Grappling with the dark side of technology as humanity hurtles ever forward like a child playing with scissors on ice? Sacrificing your own potential gains to improve a society you won’t live long enough to see?

Stanley: I was gonna say family, money, and big explosions, but yeah, I guess those work, too.

Stanford: Anyways, Dimension 41′? was far more technologically advanced than ours, despite it being chronologically the same. The metal plate in my head isn’t the only upgrade I got out in the multiverse. I’d already gotten a neon blue mohawk to fit in with a gang of grandmotherly hackers in Dimension 41′?, so when I came across an implant that would store data inside my brain - a personal file folder accessible by mere imagination and thought - well, why not?

Something like that wouldn’t disintegrate when I crossed dimensions. A perfect place to keep a journal of sorts. Also, it was useful for storing the cookie recipes those nice ladies shared with me. And those weapon blueprints after we dismantled the government together there.

Stanley: See? I bet that’d make for a way better dystopian story than A Shindig of Love Triangles and Hormonal Angst like the crud in our dimension.

Stanford: Oh no, there was a love triangle. Actually a love pentagon, if I remember correctly. And a secondary love triangle at one point. Hah, those ladies were always getting into relationships with each other, then out, then in again.

By the end of our adventure, they all realized it was folly, gave up the drama, and got engaged to each other. Which reminds me, I need to borrow your suit next week, Stanley. Can’t be a best man without one!

[yostresswritinggirl]

Modern Scenarios with Genshin Boys

Brainrot time - be glad, today was supposed to be angst but I had a change of heart.

"Hey, pick on someone your own size!" The first time you met Childe was when you were being bullied by some annoying bullies that had nothing to do but want to pick a fight. It was something you can handle really, and you were about to disperse the commotion when this big guy suddenly appeared as if you were his knight in shining armor. "It's the duty of the strong to protect the weak!" Did he just-?! THE AUDACITY!

Spurred on by your annoyance and your want to prove your strength, you joined the Karate club in your school where you heard he is part of. And in under a month you reached the second tier of the yellow belt. But you needed to become stronger, to reach that guy's black belt status so you can spar with him. He was too high to be directly involved with your training after all.

Finally when the fateful day comes, he looks at you with admiration at the other side of the mat, your determination and fast rank up had him enamored. But you had different plans. When the spar session started, you maneuvered around his kicks and finally did what you've always wanted to do— you wiped your dirty, uncovered foot against his face in a kick. Somehow he fell in love more.

You've been his lover for a while now, and restaurant dates are nothing uncommon in your relationship. And you know his habit of leaving behind his wallet even if he offered that tonight's date would be taken care of. After your lovely dinner session, lo and behold, he DID forget his wallet. But as the considerate lover, you took the liberty to bring your wallet with you even if he said you shouldn't-

Only to realize you brought the wrong wallet, only counting spare change for chicken nuggets. As compensation, you two spent the rest of the night forced to pay off your late bill by doing the restaurant dishes. It was not at all part of your itinerary, but as you start singing to alleviate the boredom and with Zhongli singing along, you had the most fun dancing around the kitchen with soapy arms and loose aprons.

You didn't even know that Zhongli could sing and dance that well! Plates were cleaned faster than any of you expected, and after the IOU contract that you're for sure fixing the next day, the two of your walk home hand in hand with the brightest smile you two had ever shared.

Oh, god, more frogs. Welcome to Biology class! You are partnered to be laboratory buddies with the ever enigmatic, science genius Albedo. He was so epic during Chemistry class, and you were praising the gods for finally bringing this ray of hope to raise up your grades effortlessly. You would think this class would flow by ever so nicely as you finish the plant studies, that is until zoology started and the professor starts talking about dissecting kits.

Your first project was to bring a frog to school to prep up for dissection. Okay, very wack, you thought as you turned to Albedo to ask how you two would even get a frog for the project. Until you saw a curious glint in his beautiful, teal eyes. Next thing you know he was over your house and as you two go around the fields in casual wear.

The fact that stores exist for buying frogs SPECIFICALLY for Biology and dissections was something Albedo held back from you, opting to wish to experience the class firsthand and beyond. It was in all honesty to get to know you better, even if most of the time you tripped on your ass over the mud of the fields trying to chase or run away from a frog. In the end he finally suggested to just buy one, to which you were furious, thankful and elated that you at least got to know the genius more.

Heavily inspired by Driver's License. You've just recently broken up with your boyfriend a day before you got your license to drive, something you were so proud of and excited to exercise together with your lover. But yet here you are crying your eyes out as you drove on the long and winding road of... somewhere. A deserted area with the next stop over or town miles and miles away, so when you happened upon a dejected voyager who clearly needs a lift, you offered him to be a hitchhiker. Xiao was thankful, really, but the ride was ever so awkward with the obvious puffy eyes and tear stains on your cheeks.

At one point, you remembered your ex once again and had to pull over before you end up killing the both of you through tear-stained vision. With sympathy, your hitchhiker offers to drive and a listening ear to your burdens, and it indeed lifted your spirits as he offers helpful advice on your pain. You part when you reached his home with a huge thank you for the lift, and you realized that you were just a town away from him.

The next time you saw him was an embarrassing moment you didn't expect to happen or come by so fast. Awkwardly standing by the roadside where your car was supposed to be, towed away because you didn't realize it was illegal to park there, an motorcyclist with a neon decorated bike suddenly pulled over in front of you. And when he takes off his helmet to offer you a ride, the smirk on Xiao's face doubles the embarrassment. You accepted the offer.

You are a secret agent tasked to assassinate a target you've been following and gathering data on for weeks now, the perfect opportunity happens to be a gathering of high class people, a party or ball even. You thought it would be a quick and easy operation until you realized a man named Kaeya seem to be hovering around your target too closely for your taste and ease. It seems the guy has a body guard in hand. Now your focus was on swaying this bluenette, who was thankfully very, very receptive and welcoming to your advances.

When you finally FINALLY managed to let him off your case and successfully separated him from your target, you hurried over to finish the assassination as you realized you've been lingering for far too long— only to see Kaeya about to stab your target before your interruption. It seems that instead of his body guard, Kaeya was actually a hitman hired to kill your target too, and had been dancing around together with you because he thought YOU were the body guard.

"Woah, this your target too?" "Hell yeah." "Yoooooo!" How ironic, you two laughed the coincidence out nonchalantly as your target bleeds to death besides you both. After escaping your almost jail time when the true body guards came to check on their boss, which made a very awesome action sequence as you exchanged bullets next to Kaeya, you learned that your agency had recruited a new fellow under its ranks. You didn't need a name and face to know who the sly bastard was.

You're not really the type of person to be into parties, not since high-school, and still no in college. Things were already a pain to deal with as the midterm examinations rolling in, but your roommate somehow managed to drag you into a popular college organization's midyear party before unceremoniously dipping to drink with the org members. As you cradle your alibi cup in a corner, staring into the raucous party, you realized someone else who's solo is accompanying you in silent brooding.

The two of you awkwardly introduce yourselves to each other before realizing that you've already met once or twice in campus grounds. "I don't really wanna be here." "Me neither." "Wanna dip?" Your relief didn't even need words to confirm your wants as you two slipped away from the mess, growing in intensity that you wouldn't even be suprised if the local authorities were to be called later on.

A little food date in the local 24/7 fast food restaurant nearby and exchange of numbers made your night a little bit better. So when you two found each other in another party you were dragged in again, your hand was held warm and tight within his as you two snickered, skipping out of the venue to have your own little party.

Hello there, welcome to the start of the fluffy days. Figured you're all sad and broken enough to finally enjoy some good ol' flutters.

@sk1nnyangelic @kookieyachi @bunniesrorange @anormalguyreader @scarletroseneko @albaedhoe @xiaophilia @heisenwurst @moaa @dandelion-dreams @witchsungie @lehra @zelos-simp @legionqueensav @snackgod @rxsalinee @cala-ran @wind-wheel @lilydewi22 @yellowflowre @traveler-lumine @nonniechan @creation-magician @hanniejji @gojos-baby @just-some-stars @volleybloop

[msbarrybeeson]

Lanterns | Terraria Reader Insert

A/N: Yes, I made an actual fan fiction for Terraria. After five years of not playing, I have returned to realize that the NPCs actually have a personality! Being entertained by my interactions with them, I decided to write this.

A lot of this is referenced to the in-game quotes and events by the NPCs, in addition to my frustration of world exploring. Enjoy!

Word Count: 1980

Summary: You returned to town to find a party being thrown for you. This time, they had a different idea for a celebration.

Reader: Second-person. Gender-neutral pronouns are used if any.

Characters: Zach the Guide | Fantasia the Party Girl | Chryseis the Dryad | Dante the Arms Dealer | Caitlin the Nurse

Pairings: All are platonic.

~

“Huyah!” You yelled. Your sword slashed through the carnivorous Wyverns. Their twists and persistence gave you the fury to strike them down. Souls of Flight fell from their innards, topping off the final ingredient needed to make frozen wings. They make a much better alternative to your current fledgling wings.

You also wondered how Zach the guide managed to know the recipe for making wings. You would never know; maybe he was an adventurer himself once before. 

The magic mirror lit up at your reflection. Then your eyes opened to the familiar comfort of your home. The warmth from your fireplace made the frostbite on your fingers less painful. At your arrival, Zach stood up from the sofa in surprise, the book dropping from his hold. 

“Oh! It’s you, (Name)!” He held his chest. “I thought you were one of those Goblin sorcerers. ...Did you get the Souls?”

After plucking out some harpy feathers from your armor, you opened your backpack and took out a glass bottle containing the essence. “Yeah, I did. Thanks for the recipe, Zach. I can reach the sky islands easier now. Those Wyverns are hell to deal with though. If it weren’t for the shield from who was it, Romeo, I wouldn’t make it….”

“As expected,” he laughed. “And it’s no big deal. I’m always happy to lend a hand to our town hero. Speaking of which,” Zach took the bottle, placed it on the table, and grabbed your hand, “come, (Name). Fantasia’s excited to be throwing a party after you protected us from the Pirates. Who knew they’d be interested in a small town like ours?”

“Eh? Another one?” Your brows furrowed. “Zach, I’m thankful, but I’m just doing my deeds. You guys shouldn’t even be surprised to have invasions anyway. It’s not like it’s something new.”

“All hard work deserves something. Don’t feel bad for us; the majority of us do nothing but sell and buy.”

Huh.

“I guess you make a good point—.”

“Hey (Name)!” People leaped from behind the bushes. They were your fellow townspeople, and you realized that Zach took you to the park for the celebration, instead of the usual town hall. “The park? Is there some construction on the hall that I didn’t know about?” Your shoulders slumped. “Don’t tell me another attack happened while I was away.”

Fantasia waved her hands. “No no, of course not! Instead,” her lips formed a grin, “we just have this cool idea for an activity. And tonight has some perfect weather for it: mild wind, a clear sky—.”

“We decided to do this activity for each time you defend us from a new enemy.” Chryseis smiled, placing a moonglow flower crown on your head.

“And what would that be?”

“Thought you’d never ask!” Fantasia raised her left hand up high. “Light it up, everyone!” Behind the party girl, you watched in awe as something began glowing in each towns-person's hands. 

“Ahh.” You realized: those were lanterns, being released into the night sky. 

Their small flames mimicked the stars, making them all the more beautiful. 

Zach chuckled; he admired the lanterns twinkling in your eyes. 

Waking to your side, the merchant brushed his beard. “These lanterns are made of silk, produced by the fine webs of spiders. It’s not easy to retrieve, but the Oten’s explosives scared them all off.”

“Don’t think you can leave me out, old man,” Dante huffed. “If it weren’t for my bullets, those spiders wouldn’t know when to stop. Oten here keeps missing his aim.”

“Oi—!” 

“Dante!”

“Fine, fine. I’ll quit it.” The man lifted your hand to his lips and placed a kiss. “Only for you—.” 

You pulled away. “Sorry, I’m actually saving myself for someone with more compassion than that,” you playfully wafted your hand, leaving the arms dealer in embarrassment. Everyone laughed at the sight.

Then, a glass of blueberry juice reached your hand. “Ahh, I’m glad to have you here with us, (Name),” Caitlin spoke up. “Not only have you provided us a home, but you’re also a cool person! Better ask me to treat when you can.”

“Let me guess: in return for coins?” You sipped the juice.

The nurse was so quick to answer, “Yeah— hey!” She lightly shoved your arm. “I’ll lower the costs for you, o-of course!”

“Haha, appreciated it, Cait.”

As you strolled away, a sudden, blue cloud poofed out of nowhere. A man of a white beard and purple appeared. “Hello, beloved hero!” Merlyn exclaimed. 

“What’s with the formality?”

“Now now, have you really not heard of my saying: ‘great magic comes with great respect’?” Another cast of blue revealed a crystal ball in his hands. You tilted your head. “You sure? I don’t remember you saying such thing last after-party.”

The man hushed you, “Sh, sh! It’s essential I follow the advice of my magic crystal. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have spoke in such a way. I mean, its tellings don’t come often after all!”

“Merlyn, I really do think the crystal tells you the future, not actual advice on what you—.”

“Shh!”

With a gentle touch, Merlyn rubbed the object. Then, he held it out, closing his eyes and chanting a string of words, until he removed his hand. “Aha! Your future seems bright— other than a dead goldfish— but still! I give you this magic crystal, beloved, young hero, (Name), in hopes that you will use this in a time of doubt.”

“Wait what?” You held the crystal with great care. “Merlyn, I’m not sure—.”

“Whoops, too late! I must walk my hat! Perhaps, an enchanting cup of hot chocolate may entertain you instead.”

Just like that, the glass in your hand transformed into a hot mug. You realized you lost sight of the wizard. You glanced around in vain. “Huh, he actually dipped on me,” you muttered. You stared down at the crystal ball and sighed. “Fine.” 

“How are you feeling, (Name)?” You jumped, making Chryseis laugh. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“You’re good. In all truthfulness, at least you’re not Dante.” The dryad rolled her eyes at the name. “I must agree. To this day, that man still can’t tell I’m five hundred years old.” A look of shock caught your face. “I’m sorry, what?”

“What?”

“I actually didn’t know you’re five hundred years old….”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“It isn’t! You look incredibly young!”

“I know you mean it as a compliment.” Chryseis rubbed her arm. “I just  don’t think it helps in the case of Dante,” she chuckled. “But enough of that, the corruption has been decreasing thanks to you.” 

“Well, some of the thanks should also be given to Hope. Even though it was pricey, the cleminator was helpful.” You crossed your arms. “Oh, the steampunker?” You blinked. “Yeah, is there something about her?” 

“Not necessarily.” Chryseis shook her head. “I heard she dislikes me, but for what reason, I’m not sure. Anyway, let me see….” The dryad connected her hands and closed her eyes. A gust of wind blew by as she hummed a short tune to herself. “Terraria has less than five percent of corruption! Each day, nature is more at ease.”

“Terraria?”

“Oh.” The dryad’s eyes widened. “Sorry, that was a slip of my tongue. I meant (World Name).”

“Well, I’m glad to hear my work paid off, and that my gold isn’t for nothing.” Your hand lightly touched the flower crown on your hair. “And thanks for the crown again, Chryseis.” She smiled. “Of course.”

“Ay, (Name)!” 

A different voice yelled out, one that made the dryad frown. “Oh no, I must leave now, (Name). Do take care!”

“W-wait, you can’t just leave—!”

Dante took your arm, turning you to face him. “Now where’d you think you’re going, sweetheart? The party’s just started.” You grimaced at the nickname. “Don’t you have Caitlin to flirt with?” 

“I didn’t know you’re so interested in who I’m with.” He smirked.

“More of ‘I wish you wouldn’t talk to me now,’ to be honest.” 

“Ouch, not even a bullet hurts that bad.” Dante ran a hand through his hair. “C’mon, I just need a moment.” 

You glanced around for a lone person to speak with, but alas, everyone was busy with their own celebratory agenda. “What would it be now: more firearm dealing, a dinner date?” You waved off. “Forget it, I’m happy with my current weapon and treasure hunting.”

“Hey hey!” The dealer stopped you. “It’s… I just want to give you something as a gift, all right?”

“…Huh?”

Dante scoffed, “Why do you sound so confused? I’m not that hard-hearted. Here.” The man shoved a long cardboard box to you. You slowly opened it, revealing the star cannon. “You….” 

He rubbed his nape. “Look, I was supposed to give you it three parties ago— y’know, the one after you killed that giant plant— but I never found you. You were always gone for some reason, but I guess you got other stuff to do, so….” He paused for a moment. “So… you like it?”

You stared at the gift, thinking and admiring the fact that Dante even poured effort to forge it. The silence you gave was unbearable for the man, however.

“Hey, don’t leave me hangin’, (Name). I even asked Oten to explode the meteorite for it, but apparently, his explosives don’t even work on it. You’d have to find stars for ammo though. I would’ve gotten some if it weren’t for the fact that the stars I’ve seen killed some—.”

“I love it.”

The sudden remark made Dante flustered. 

“Thanks, Dante. I have to admit: I didn’t expect this.”

He coughed. “Yeah yeah, I only did it because you earned it—.”

“(Name)!” 

Your eyes flickered to your friend walking over to you two. “Zach?” You smiled at his appearance.

Dante, on the other hand, “tch’d,” looking away with bitterness in his mouth. “Hey, glad to have found you. The wind’s drifting the lanterns to the west. I thought we could go over to the pond and read the messages on there.”

“You guys put messages on there?” You looked to Dante, who pursed his lips and nodded.

“Come on!” You put the star cannon back into the box, carefully handling it. “Okay okay. I gotta go, so thanks again, Dante.” You smiled.

You and Zach hurried over to the edge of the pond. The lights reflected onto the water. You watched the wind lead some of the lanterns within arm’s reach. After some time, your hand raised up high and caught onto one. 

“This one’s from Konah,” Zach observed.

“‘Strong energy flows through you, in which your presence keeps my soul at peace.’”

Zach pulled in another lantern. “Oh, this is from Reishi!”

You laughed at this one. “‘I’m glad you didn’t try to eat me.’” 

“Unfortunately, he’s got Alfed to worry about. That guy’s always trying to take a bit out of him,” Zach sighed. You thought aloud, “What’s up with truffles?”

“Not sure, I just heard it can mess your head up, which sounds more uncomfortable than tasty,” your friend replied.

The two of you looked up at more lanterns in silence, many of which were floating far away. Something ran through your mind when you caught sight of the actual stars in the sky. “…Hey Zach?”

The guide hummed, signaling you to continue. “Every day, I wonder why I’m here. To be honest, it feels exhausting to get rid of the enemies and corruption. In fact, I wonder if I have a different purpose than that. But… after spending time to meet and talk with you guys, I feel less lonely.” Zach turned away from the lanterns to face you. 

“I’m glad to have you guys here. I’m glad that my purpose is to help protect you guys if anything. And…,” you paused, “I wish it will stay that way forever.”

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 313: Deku VS Lady Nagant

Previously on BnHA: Hawks’s super-hot badass murder senpai Lady Nagant showed up to fire a cupid’s arrow into my heart, and a bunch of literal bullets into my son. Deku was all “oh shit it’s Hawks’s super-hot badass murder senpai, what do I do, let me think back to Hawks’s advice for a sec.” Flashback!Hawks was all “anyway Deku so if my super-hot badass murder senpai ever shows up you’re basically screwed so you’d better abscond the fuck out of there.” Present!Deku was all “lol idek why I flashed back to that conversation since I’m just going to do the exact opposite of what Hawks said” and charged directly toward Nagant because WHY NOT. Overhaul was all “waah I need to get back to my boss who I put in a coma out of love” and Nagant was all “jesus christ why did I even bring you here” and had a flashback to AFO who was all “ILU NAGANT IMMA GIVE YOU AN EXTRA QUIRK SO PLEASE CAPTURE DEKU FOR ME PLEASE AND THANKS” and yeah. Shit is all over the place right now and I love it.

Today on BnHA: All Might gets attacked by a pair of discount assassins and is all “Call an ambulance! ...BUT NOT FOR ME” and it’s really badass but also I really wish he would stop tempting fate like this. Lady Nagant is all “[casually flies around town shooting shit]” and I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t read an entire chapter of just that. Deku is all, “[gets shot (≥_<)]” and releases a giant Smokescreen which prompts En to show up. En is all, “( •᷄⌓•᷅ ) (⌣̀ Δ⌣́) ( •̀_•́ )σ (¬､¬) (눈_눈)” which I consider to be a high point of both the chapter and of my life. The chapter ends with Deku using the Third’s quirk to launch a bunch of random objects at Nagant so that he can jump up and grab her arm all sneaky-like, and I’m sure this is going to prompt another week’s worth of discourse that I don’t care about at all, but fuck it, I’m having a good time.

OH WE’RE CUTTING BACK TO ALL MIGHT WELL THAT’S NICE I GUESS. CONGRATS ON NOT BEING DEAD

you named your car??

you named it Hercules??

I love you so much??

please marry me you giant fucking dork???

lmao speaking of huge fucking dorks

who the fuck are you clowns. la dee da we’re gonna murder All Might with our synchronized spear attack!! I mean... they’re clearly trying their best... maybe I should just be nice and politely hype them up like All Might is so clearly trying to do

like okay, but we all agree that this is actually the least intimidating attack any of us has ever seen, right?? these guys zipped up their hoodies all serious-like and are trying to attack All Might and Hercules with their Walmart tiki torches, but just, no?? right?? like the only way this could possibly be effective is if they were trying to kill All Might with secondhand embarrassment

“those are assassins” this is a VERY generous assessment, All Might

OH MY GOD THE TIKI TORCHES ACTUALLY KILLED THE FUCK OUT OF HERCULES

[slaps roof of car] this baby can fit so many weaponized festive backyard lighting solutions in it

and yet, even after watching this with my own two eyes, I still can’t take these dudes seriously. idek what it is. anyways r.i.p. Hercules, I loved you a lot but I guess you weren’t actually a very good armored car were you

omg they didn’t know it was All Might??

okay 1) for a moment there I was like “oh hey maybe they’re not so bad after all” but then a moment later it was like “ah nope, they are.” like, that was an interesting .06 second emotional journey there. anyways 2) All Might you have my permission to kick their asses for this disrespect, and 3) anyone else all of a sudden getting “wouldn’t this be an interesting time for Stain to suddenly show up” vibes?? no?? just me???

(ETA: hmm tbh I’ve still got those vibes and they haven’t gone away lol. Stain?? you out there buddy?? do you want to be cool for just once in your life. ball’s in your court pal.)

OH SNAP ALL MIGHT ARE YOU REALLY GONNA DO IT ARE YOU GONNA KICK THEIR ASSES

PROTECTIVE DAD MODE ACTIVATED?? BECAUSE YOU KNOW I’M HERE FOR THAT SHIT, SO YEAH, FEEL FREE

omg he’s shouting at them about how much Deku has suffered lmao and they’re just like falling over from being scolded

so they have absolutely no idea what he’s talking about though, right? “SIR THIS IS A WENDY’S” well whatever, you killed his pet car so he’s in a bad mood now

OH MY GOD

LIKE, JUST SO WE’RE ALL CLEAR, THESE FOUR PAGES SO FAR HAVE MADE ALMOST ZERO SENSE. LIKE MAYBE 2% SENSE TOPS. BUT ASK ME IF I CARE. GO AHEAD AND ASK. I SAID GO AHEAD, IT’S OKAY. ...NO I DON’T CARE AT ALL THANK YOU FOR ASKING

(ETA: also, the more I look at this panel, the more I’m just like, why the hell would you phrase it like that though, sob. way to doubly tempt fate?? are you trying to give Horikoshi a challenge??)

and now back to Deku who is randomly bouncing around the city and narrating it to himself just in case he was confused about why he was doing this

who are you talking to Deku. but thanks we appreciate it

man you gotta love that overconfidence. the smartest guy in the world warned you away from this lady, so SURE, LET’S RUN RIGHT UP TO HER. “I APPRECIATE YOUR INPUT, FLASHBACK!HAWKS, BUT I’LL TAKE IT FROM HERE” well okay then!!

I think it would be funny if RHA.com put little Buzzfeed-style polls in between the chapter pages so they could survey people at random intervals as they read their way through the chapter. like, you finish this page and then there’s a little poll there asking “do you think Deku’s plan of catching up to Lady Nagant and finding out where Shigaraki is will work?”, and you click “no” just like everyone else and then nod as the results show that 97% of your fellow readers also picked “no”, and you chuckle to yourself wondering how many of the 3% accidentally clicked on the wrong option by mistake, and then you keep on reading

ANYWAY, SO

HOW’S THAT PLAN WORKING OUT FOR YOU SO FAR DEKU. nice kick, though!!

omggggggg

ouch

update: Deku’s plan not really working out. sources tell me my boy has been fucking shot. this is an ongoing story and we will keep you posted with the latest developments as they come in

wait what

feel free to explain to the rest of us what all of this “UNLESS...” and “THAT POSSIBILITY...” shit means anytime, Deku

oh lol did he realize she could fly??

BREAKING NEWS UPDATE, CNN’s John King reports that Deku is still fucked. eyewitness reports now coming in that Nagant is doing no-look shots and basically not even giving a fuck. sources described her mannerisms and expression as “sexy, but in like an effortless sort of way.” we will continue to bring you the latest

so now there’s basically an entire page of Deku being all “ah fuck so she’s basically closing in and she could already hit me with impossible accuracy even from Far Away, so if that’s the case then her being Up Close is probably going to be even worse!” making good use of that Big Hero Brain there, Deku

so now what, you’re doing some kind of spiraling kick thing?? how is that going to help

oh lol he’s using Smokescreen to create some cover. aww, good for you Deku you named one of your Smokescreen attacks

OH NO LADY DON’T TELL ME AFO DIDN’T EVEN FILL YOU IN ON THE BASICS

seriously, AFO?? you basically told her what Deku’s exact strategy was going to be but then couldn’t be assed to drop that little, small, barely notable piece of knowledge that Deku is rocking multiple quirks?? is it supposed to be a secret or something?? you dropped the ball here man

damn this is getting intense now

(ETA: the way En is poking Deku’s head in that first panel is fucking sending me, I love this guy so much omg.)

well then what are you planning, Deku?? I’m actually really curious!! I am genuinely starting to be invested in this fight scene not only in the “wanting to see who wins and how that impacts the plot” sense, but also in the “wanting to see how it happens because the choreography and strategy is actually pretty cool” sense, which honestly hasn’t happened for quite a while now! this is fun

anyway so what’s up Deku, are you going to use another quirk?? I’ve been speculating that he hasn’t actually unlocked the last two yet (since Two and Three didn’t exactly seem convinced when we last saw them), but maybe I’m about to be proven wrong

(ETA: well he clearly has Three’s obviously, but Two’s is still MIA, and that’s the one I am of course the most curious about. that’s the one we’re all curious about, let’s be real.)

OH SNAP???

AHHHH I’M HYPED LOL. ANOTHER SHINY NEW QUIRK LOL SHOULD I PUT UP THE USUAL DISCOURSE DISCLAIMER

(ETA: so yeah, after thinking on it, I’m not gonna say “please no Deku discourse on my blog” this week, but I probably will ignore any discourse that does come my way though, just because I don’t have much interest in getting involved in what would probably be a pretty repetitive discussion. like, I can just sum up my opinions (which is what they are) here instead. in fact here they are lol:

1) I like the SIXQUIRKS and I like seeing Deku be a badass.

2) I also don’t think Deku is too OP. more like he’s exactly as OP as he needs to be at the moment, given that we’re approaching the end of the series. I expect the other kids will also be pretty damn OP when we see them fight again. we’re just at that point now where they’re all badasses (as well they should be; they’ve grown a lot and they deserve it). it’s just that Deku’s the one we’re getting to see right now.

3) of course I miss Kacchan and the others, but for me this vibes much closer to the MVA arc where even though I missed them, I was still having a blast (as opposed to the dark days of the Basement arc where I was pretty much losing it lol). like, even though Kacchan’s my favorite, I still love Deku a lot and this arc has been amazing for him getting to shine on his own (for like the first time, really).

4) y’all know I love the OFA plot and I’ve never been shy about that lol. I like all of the Vestiges a lot. Banjou and his over the top personality; En and his “guy you thought would be serious and :| all the time but is actually hyper-animated and ALL OVER THE PLACE” energy; Shiro who actually is a :| sort of guy lol; Three who I still expect will be fleshed out in a more detailed flashback at some point; and of course Two, who, well. you know what I think about him lol. Bakuverse is still on the table and I’m still hyped. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we still have yet to see Two actually talk to Deku (as opposed to talking to the other Vestiges while Deku is distracted). did he lend him his power yet?? or is he still holding out?? either way it’s definitely going to be a Big Thing when it finally happens and I can’t wait to see it.

5) Lady Nagant is Everything and just because Deku grabbed her arm doesn’t mean the fight is over yet lol. Overhaul hasn’t come into play yet either. not to mention that even if the fight is over, the “where do we go from here” part still has me excited either way. her connection to Hawks and the HPSC is very intriguing and we’ve barely touched on that as of yet; she definitely has more of a role to play in this.

6) last but not least, I feel like every week the discussion is all about how much focus Deku’s getting, and how OP he is or isn’t, and OFA this and OFA that, but meanwhile I’m actually so invested in the character development here though?? the way Deku has distanced himself from everyone (except for the Vestiges, because of course they’re already dead so it’s not like they can die again lol)?? the way he’s pushing himself far too hard and we can see the shadows in and under his eyes, and the fact that he never smiles, and even All Might has remarked on how he isn’t taking care of himself at all?? the fact that he’s so single-mindedly obsessed with focused on stopping AFO?? the fact that he’s still the same sweet old Deku despite everything and was so kind to that fox lady with the umbrella, but there was also something so sad about that scene because it felt like a reminder of the type of hero that he wants to be, but that he’s not allowed to be right now?? because the stakes are too high and the world is falling apart?? and he feels like he’s the only one who can do something about it?? and that he has to be?? and that he is putting so much pressure on himself right now, and it’s absolutely too much pressure for any one person to bear, and I feel like no one is fucking talking about this lol goddammit.

anyway so yeah. I have feels about this, and every week that slow-burn angst is getting more and more intense behind the scenes, and I feel like it’s all going to hit a breaking point eventually. sooner rather than later. it really feels like a mirror of Katsuki’s post-Kamino arc. where all that angst was just churning below the surface for like twenty chapters and then it finally was like “okay it’s time” and it all came bursting out and we got the best five chapters of the fucking series (in my admittedly biased estimation lol).

basically, I know that most of fandom is billing this as either the “villain hunt” arc or the “solo Deku SIXQUIRKS fighting arc” or whatever. but for me, it’s always been and still is the Deku Angst arc lol. the cool fights are a sexy bonus (the worldbuilding less so because even though it’s interesting to see society at such a low point, it’s also very depressing and gets old pretty fast), but for me the thing that’s really keeping me engaged chapter after chapter is seeing Deku like we’ve never seen him before. seeing him all quiet and withdrawn and brooding and focused on AFO, AFO, AFO, and seeing that “he just doesn’t take himself into account” mentality taken to extremes. I am invested in that. I’m soaking up that angst each and every week, and I’m invested in seeing what comes of it. it’s a big picture thing. week to week this arc might just seem like a bunch of villain fight scenes, sure. but Deku’s emotional journey is the thread that’s going to carry this arc through from beginning to end, and for that I’m willing to be patient.

anyway that turned into a BIG OL’ RANT there but yeah! so those are my thoughts on the disk horse as it currently stands. and like I said, I’m open to discussion, but tbh I will probably just wind up repeating these same talking points endlessly so just a fair warning lol.)

anyway so Three says Deku has yet to use his quirk at ALL but now he’s trying to combine it with another quirk?? damn. also please check out En’s face here you guys

En launching a sneak attack up my favorite character list by the sheer power of his expressions alone. he really knows how to make the most of his screentime

OH DAMN DEKU

at this point the 3% from that hypothetical poll earlier are starting to feel prettttty damn smug, I’ll bet. well shit

what in the fuck

?? so like releasing his chi or whatnot?? isn’t that basically just like base OFA all over again?? also Deku did you seriously just apologize to Gran’s cape

update: Nagant has turned her eyeball into a gun

hm. hmmmmmmm. ...okay yep, still somehow sexy

anyway so she’s just floating up there building suspense, as one does. lord I sure hope she has good reflexes because something tells me she’s going to need them

OH SNAP HE THREW GRAN’S CAPE AS A DECOY WHAAAAT OKAY THAT’S SOME SMART SHIT DEKU

LOL SHE’S MAD NOW

JESUS CHRIST SHE JUST NEVER TAKES A GODDAMN BREAK FROM BEING AWESOME HUH

DEKU ARE YOU JUST THROWING EVERY DAMN THING IN YOUR INVENTORY

but without the cape and the hood how will you continue to look like an enigmatic badass. you really can’t. which means we might finally be moving on from the wandering nomad part of this arc, stay tuned

LOL YOU MANIAC

I hope he went full Kacchan with the dialogue there. his face sure looks like it lol. popped out of a building all mad fdskljlkj omg

well this was fun, shit. I still have basically no idea what Three’s quirk does though lol. like, can he use it to charge up objects with kinetic energy or something?? but then what was all of that talk about combining it with one of the other quirks?? or was that just because he was using Smokescreen at the same time??

(ETA: having seen and read an additional half-dozen explanations of Three’s quirk, I can say with confidence that I still have basically no idea what it is or does.)

anyway so!! Deku is a badasssssss but something tells me not to count Nagant out just yet even so. also I really enjoy seeing Deku flip out on people like he doesn’t have a fucking hole in his torso because it reminds me of A CERTAIN SOMEONE and I always love to see him channeling that feral energy; I feel like it’s been a while

anyways good luck to you both!! I truly wish that both of you could win. but if not, then maybe you can at least become friends instead. you have so much in common, you both can fly and have multiple quirks and you’re both badasses, and plus it would just be really funny to see the look on Hawks’s face lmao

[wrctings]

enjoy some jean hurt/comfort <3 i have such strong feelings about supportive boyfriend jean, i believe he has self-esteem issues so he would always do his best to try and lift his partner’s spirits because he knows how painful it is to feel like you aren’t good enough

Your fingers gently ran upon the horse’s rough brown coat, lengthily stroking its muscular neck, then flank, petting your trusted companion with all the care you could snatch away from a whirlpool of unresting thoughts. Coming to the stables whenever you had a short break and needed to clear your head had become a habit of yours soon after you first joined the Cadet Corps, finding that caring for the troops’ horses was, of all jobs, the one that better succeeded at putting one’s mind at ease. Though you couldn’t sneak out food—Sasha’s joy being worth the risk!—, unlike when designated for mess duty, nor glimpse through slits in cupboards and doors to your curiosity’s content like whenever you were assigned to cleaning, visiting the horses always came with a sense of peace cast on you by the presence of the loyal stallions that would affectionately nudge your raised hand or acknowledge your presence by a quiver of the ear, watching you walk up to them with a profound and voiceless understanding in the depth of their dark pupil. You had jointed the military for the sake of humanity—but sometimes, the weight of what lay ahead for young Cadets such as yourself hunched over you so heavily that the urge to get out burned every sore muscle in your body. Your experience in the field amounted to a near-death mission with your fellow 104th soldiers; a mission during which you had barely been able to get a hold of your actions, let alone your fear, so how could you trust your abilities knowing that all you'd ever done was memorize information, practice hand-to-hand combat and learn to ride a horse, only to find yourself barely able to twitch a frightened limb when you confronted Titans for the first time? When tumbling down into the flames of hell, what could you do? What would you do when you’d have to go back?

“I guess today’s just not too good,” you murmured to your horse, your hand absentmindedly running over its nape; your gaze dropped, out of focus. “And look at me, taking care of you when I might send you to your death... I wish I could promise you that I’ll always protect you, but the truth is, I don’t have the faintest idea what it’s like out there,” you admitted so quietly, the horse’s audible breathing must’ve drowned out your sorrowful confession. “I guess today’s just not really good.”

You attempted to give the animal a reassuring smile, but it came out crooked, disheartened. Your hand slipped from its side, and your body gave in, sliding down into a sitting position. 

“Y/n.”

Just as your eyes had closed, your breath slow and shaky, out of tempo, you were called back into the picture you so desperately hoped to abscond; if only for a minute’s eternity, if only for an instant’s strike of oblivion...

But there, hope itself came to you.

There was the tranquil earthy path that wind up to the stables, the green crowns of leaves nodding off in the late afternoon breeze, shuddering lazily, and the horses shaking their mighty manes. And there was Jean, at the front of the picture, setting on you hazel eyes bright with concern and taking a seat beside you. 

“Jean? What are you doing here?”

Jean, whose sole name crushed your heart into a billion sharp pieces, leaving you trembling with terror in the middle of the night, when the story would repeat itself all over again in the dark, when you saw yourself coming face to face with Titans again, paralyzed with gut-wrenching fright... Because what if when the time came, you wouldn’t be able to save him?

“Hey, I could ask you the same,” his hand instantly rubbed your forearm, the young man pressing a worried kiss into your temple. “I... I don’t know, I felt a bit weird. I thought I’d come here and hang out with the horses for a bit.”

“Join the club,” a sad chuckle of yours brushed Jean’s jacket, your head falling upon his shoulder, which he made available to you by slouching his tall frame; his fingers still worked their way over your arm, circling comfort into your tired body. 

You wrapped your other arm around Jean’s torso, silently asking him to come closer, and he took you in his arms, pulling you toward him, his lips leaving an imprint on the top of your head. “I’m here.”

“I’m sorry. I... To tell you the truth, I have no idea what’s going on. Does any of this even make sense?”

Jean’s eyes widened, as if you had stricken a blow to his chest; he had never heard you—the luminous, hopeful, and kind you—talk with such blunt defeat breaking the usually inspiring melody of your voice. 

“Of course it makes sense, Y/n. You feel down, so you came here, it’s—”

“That’s not what I meant, Jean. I mean, what we do, does it even make sense? Lately, it seems we’re not going anywhere. We barely survived last time. Look at me, am I in any shape to fight Titans? I can barely hold myself together. Back there, when I saw them this close I... It’s like I forgot everything we were taught. I wanted to run and hide, hell, I didn’t even think about humanity. When I joined, I wanted to make my life meaningful. But what if the truth is, there’s no chance at winning, and everything, including this—our lives, this fight—is nothing but a waste of time?” 

The arms holding you tightened, as if you were threatening to slip away from them any instant, swept away by the wind, blown to pieces if Jean let you go...

“You know, Y/n, I was shitting myself back there. I had no control over the situation, and even less control over myself. For all that big talk... I was a coward,” Jean's smile arched in a sad curve, armor of pride crumbling down. “A coward, through and through. I wanted to save myself, and you guys too, but my fear was stronger than anything else. If Marco hadn’t been there to knock some sense into me, I don’t know what stupid thing I’d have done.”

“Hey, you’re far from being a coward,” your heart squeezed painfully at the thought of your boyfriend’s self-doubt, and you broke away from his grip to run your thumb over his cheek, tracing there the paths that guided your words straight to his tormented soul. “You overcame your fear, without you leading us, we wouldn’t be here today. You’re braver than you think, Jean.”

“But so are you. You may think you didn’t do much when we confronted those Titans, but that’s far from the truth. Remember how you helped Armin come up with a plan beforehand? And when you made sure to check up on everyone after we made it out alive, and how you chose the safest route to get us out? And you’re amazing in training. That time none of us knew what we were really in for, but now we do. Next time, you’re going to show these monsters how we do it in the 104th, yeah?” Jean’s kiss trailed on your forehead before leaving a soft prickle upon your lips, his hands resting on your back like the warm breath of an everlasting fire, thawing the icy swords of despair that pierced through you. “To me, you’re already everything I wish I could be.” 

Leaving a quivering thank you on the back of Jean’s hand, where you kissed it intensely, the whinny of a nearby horse suddenly took you both by surprise, bringing the stables back to life all around you.

“Look, the horses agree with me,” Jean’s fond smile met your gaze, the boy gesturing toward the talkative animal. 

“I love you.”

“Are you talking to me or them?” The boy grinned, playfully pushing your head with his.

“Although I’m very fond of these horses, I have to admit there’s one among them I love most of all. That would be you, horse-face,” you smiled back at your boyfriend, pulling him into another kiss; lighter and youthful, like you were meant to love at fifteen, in a world less cruel.

“I love you too. It’ll be dinnertime soon, do you want to go?” Jean offered kindly, taking your hand in his to help you get up.  

You followed the track leading you away from the stables, Jean’s arm securely put around your shoulders, keeping you by his side, and he took care of talking your affliction away with some funny thing he had noticed in the boy’s barracks, of course covering the subject of Bertholdt’s sleeping position thoroughly. 

Hope, some might say, is what one holds dearest to heart regarding the future—one’s dreams, one’s projected happiness, the ticklish and fizzy feeling one might encounter when trying to glimpse a distant good time in the fleeing fabric of time. Or maybe hope is that one overwhelming pang to the chest—the one pushing you forward when all seems lost, making you hold on for dear life with all broken set of nails because what if something you’d never heard of yet might be worth all the goddamn pain? Maybe hope doesn’t belong in a shape, or a dream, or something one might grasp; perhaps hope is, after all, just that one pang. A pang strong enough to keep you going for another day, and then another one. For you, it came from the boy who sat beside you and gave you something to look forward to; something as simple as the wish to see him the following day.  

[ura-writes]

Trampolinist - Part Two

Part summary: You encounter a few strange teenagers, discover blown-up ruins, and find out about who caused them.

Warnings: mild anxiety, thoughts of murder, blood, threats, lots of swears

A/N - I got a good few requests asking for a taglist for Trampolinist, so here it is! Just ask and you shall be added!

@lemonmochitea

@dad-ee-drea

@victoria-a567

Also, this is non-canon compliant, but only by a bit. I may change a few small details.

Hope y’all enjoy!

(Also, if you can find the movie reference I put in here, then kudos to you!)

——

A lingering curiosity sits in the back of your head for the rest of the week, not quelled by any amount of Bedwars or Skywars, which leave you exhausted in the evenings.

Even your dreams hold inquisitiveness.

How lovely.

Eventually you have to go back to your home world to check on your animals, repair your tools and the like. It’s tedious work, but nothing you can’t handle.

Boredom eventually sets in.

It’s unnerving. You never get bored of combat, of competition between your fellow players and teammates, but here you are, eyeing the list of servers on your grid.

Only two people are on the server at the moment, their names not available for whatever reason. You’d prefer to pop on when there were no people online, mostly to scope out the server, but you’ll take only having to deal with two people.

Hopefully they’re adults and not kids that recently learned to use portals.

You stick your pointer finger out, curl it like you’re dragging it down a wall; a ripple starts where your finger lands, slowly following its path downwards. It rips a hole through the fabric of woven servers, creating a direct link to the Dream SMP. You just hope that no one attempts to close the portal, as opening one in the first place takes a good deal of energy and effort.

A sight of spruce trees and misplaced dirt greets your vision through the rip in reality.

An odd spawnpoint, but whatever. You’re not one to judge.

In the corner of your eye, where chat normally sits, a message pops up.

TommyInnit: who the fcuck

TommyInnit: what

TommyInnit: NEWY PERFHSAON

Ranboo: ah yes, perfhsaon

TommyInnit: shut the fuck n up

You chuckle at the messages rapidly crowding the chat, watching them fade idly while trying to find a way out of the really weird spawnpoint, which is, for some reason, walled off by a combination of dirt, wood and stone haphazardly placed down, as if in a hurry.

Your efforts do not go unrewarded as you spot a section of the wall that sits lower than the rest, low enough to climb over if you try hard enough.

Perfect.

Feet hit the ground rapidly as you get a running start towards the wall, scrambling upward after you jump. You fall almost immediately off the other side.

“Ouch.”

“That looked like that hurt.”

You glance upward to meet heterochromic eyes, red and green contrasting with the curious face split in half by its black and white sides. A tail flicks behind the person as their crown slips a bit down their head.

“Wh—the fuck?”

The figure laughs at your reaction, offering a gloved hand out to help you off the ground. Hesitantly, you accept, being pulled up easily, and that’s when you realize that he’s a lot taller than you thought.

“Jesus, you’re tall,” you comment idly, brushing yourself off. “Thanks, by the way.”

“No problem. I’m Ranboo.”

You introduce yourself with your tag, which elicits a hum of recognition from him, much to your pleasant shock and surprise.

“You’re the person that Dream invited, aren’t you?”

“In the flesh.”

He laughs at your quip at him, smiling with sharp fangs exposed to the midday sunlight. No point in judging a person on their (potentially, anyway) monstrous features.

“Well, you probably need a tour—“

He’s quickly interrupted by a loud “hey!”

“Oh great,” you mutter, crossing your arms. Ranboo looks a bit sheepish at your cocked eyebrow and slightly irritated expression, scratching his bi-colored hair.

“That’s Tommy. He’s uh… well, Tommy.”

A teenager wearing a red and white shirt and jeans with battered sneakers comes sprinting out of the nearby forest, coming to a halt just in front of you.

“New person!”

“Yeah, and what are you, the gremlin that got fed after midnight?”

The kid sputters out a few protests against being called a gremlin, sprinkling a good few swears in his jumbled sentences that mostly consist of rambles.

When Tommy gets his bearings, he eyes your tag, squinting at it suspiciously before his eyes widen in recognition.

“You’re the bastard that beat the shit out of me in Bedwars! Get ove’ here—“

One of Ranboo’s arms shoots out to grab the lanky teenager with ease to stop his potential assault on you. You just brush your nails off on your shirt.

“Oi! Lemme a’em!”

“No, Tommy, remember what Tubbo said?” Ranboo lectures, tail flicking in annoyance, eyes trained on him. “Remember?”

“You’re one to talk about rememberin’.”

Ranboo cocks an eyebrow.

“No punchin’ people we don’t know unless they’ve hurt us…” Tommy grumbles. “Can ya lemme go now?”

Ranboo agrees, letting go of his shirt and summoning a journal and quill to write something down in, muttering that he’s almost out of ink.

“Anyway, how about that tour now?”

You smile at him.

Maybe you’ll like this place.

——

“...and this is L’Manburg… or what’s left of it, anyway. It’s still being rebuilt.”

“How’d it get destroyed?” you ask him. “It takes a lot of TNT, Withers and dedication to destroy a city this big.”

I should know.

Tommy eyes Ranboo.

“Hey, it’s your city. I’m not explaining it,” Ranboo defends against the wordless accusation. Tommy exhales with a groan and begins his explanation.

“Wil-Wilbur, my brother, went a bit insane a few months back, blew it all up with Technoblade’s help. Wil’s… well, he’s dead.” Tommy sounds indifferent about the death, much to your surprise.

You nod absentmindedly, setting your eyes on a slightly obscured poster that flaps in the wind. When you get close enough to pin it down it reads:

Wanted: Dead or Alive. High Treason, Inciting Violence, Unlawful Use of Explosives, Extreme Terrorism.

Reward: See Authorities

Below that is a well-painted picture of a man you somewhat recognize, wearing a red cape, a crown, full enchanted Netherite armor and carrying an axe that seems to shimmer in the light.

Technoblade. You’ve had a few run-ins with him playing Bedwars and Skywars, even teaming up with him a few times. He always seemed nice enough, and certainly a damn good sword fighter. He always knew when to run and when to stand and fight, when to attack and when to defend.

“What did he do?”

Ranboo starts to speak, but Tommy interrupts him.

“Blew the rest o’ this place up. Bastard ran after that.” Tommy all but spits the words out of his mouth, like they’re acid or venom. “Fookin’ coward.”

Well, I wouldn’t call ‘knowing when to run’ cowardice, but we’ll pretend I agree, child.

“No one knows where he is now,” Ranboo adds. “Except Phil, of course. But he’s pretty much silent about it. Won’t give up a word of information.”

Shouldn’t be that hard to find one man, you muse to yourself. Bet I could.

“Well, I’ll let you know if I find anything out,” you lie with a smile plastered on your lips. “Y’know, as a sort of gift to you as the newest member of the server.”

Hah, as if.

“We’ll hold you to that.”

You nod and say your goodbyes, walking towards the central nether portal while keeping an eye out for an ender chest so you can get some of your stuff. You know the admin will take your elytra away if it so much as comes into contact with the server’s air, so you decide not to risk it.

Spotting one, you make a small noise of triumph and dart over there, grabbing the shulker with your stuff in it, transferring it to your inventory with a practiced ease.

Armor adorns your figure, enchanted Netherite striking an imposing silhouette against the blackstone beneath your feet. You twirl your sword with a grin.

Now to find Technoblade.

——

Turns out, finding a piglin hybrid is not easy.

You scoured the Nether for any sign of him, any trace of fabric, of a broken pickaxe, hell even a piece of iron he may have held. The ability you hold as a Jumper not only allows you to jump servers, but also allows you to find people if you have something of theirs.

Nothing. Zip. Nada. Zilch. Zero. Nil. Absolutely jack shit.

How can one man be so difficult to track down?

Just as you’re about to give up, a barrage of curses at the tip of your tongue, a glint of iron catches your eye.

Odd.

Hopping over a cluster of Netherrack and scaring off a few baby Striders, you see a small circle of iron sitting in a pile of red dust, looking dented and beat up.

You huff and brush the dust off of it, titling your head to the side when it reveals itself.

A compass, pointing in one direction, working even in the Nether.

Standing up, you pocket it and head to the nearest portal, jumping through to the other side only to grab the compass out of your pocket as you walk to who-knows-where. It still points in the same direction as before, only moving when you do.

An irregularity in the metal against your hand inspires you to flip the compass over to look at the back.

What lies there makes you smirk.

Technoblade’s cabin. Phil’s compass.

This might be easier than you initially thought.

:)