#it was so well coordinated. tons of enemies got shocked

[dollfat]

giving into the [outlander] peer pressure and deciding opal moved to the city after leaving the wilderness. probably around age 13.

her and her mom took whatever shitty jobs they could, usually physically demanding and not always legal. neither were especially good at socializing and opal was overwhelmed by all the people and noise. she still thinks of the Outlands as her home.

[thegoodgayshit]

Luz’s mother really doesn’t want to send Luz to camp. She knows once she leaves, there is no going back. But Luz has a knack for getting into trouble, and one day she stumbles into the same type of people her mother would have preferred she avoided. After helping Luz dissolve her high school bully into dust, Eda and Lilith know right away that this kid is just like them - a child of the gods. So Luz hops on a Pegasus and heads to Camp Half-blood, where she embarks on a dangerous quest that makes her both friends and enemies... and she might even save Olympus along the way.

Chapter Eight: The Twins Get Us a Way Out of New York

Luz thankfully didn’t have any nightmares before she left. She woke up nice and early, changing into her clothes she wore right before she came to camp. The cat hoodie felt nice and comforting, and it was a lot more lowkey than the bright orange camp shirt. She packed her toiletries and a change of clothes in her backpack and tucked away her wallet and phone. She left her sketchbook in the chest, figuring she wouldn’t have tons of time to use it anyway.

Viney and Jerbo saw her off before she went to meet Willow and Gus.

“How are you feeling, Luz?” Viney asked her, and Luz shrugged her shoulders.

“I had real sleep for the first time in two weeks, so I think I’m off to a good start.”

Thankfully, the two of them laughed. Luz felt a smile pull at her own lips. She had already found this whole camp to be like a second home to her, the first real place she belonged. Her new siblings were a part of that, and she was going to miss them on her quest.

“We wanted to give you something,” Viney said softly, keeping her voice down. “Hopefully it will help you on your quest.”

Jerbo reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small leather pouch, handing it gently to Luz. She took it and went to open it, before being stopped by both their hands being held out quickly.

“Not here!” Jerbo exclaimed, and Luz retreated quickly. He exhaled and tilted his head, giving Luz a smile. “These are a bag of Hermes pocket pranks. If you’re ever in a pinch, just throw them out and run. It should buy you some time.”

Luz was touched by the gesture, looking up at her siblings, her eyes misting with emotion. Viney just grinned, wrapping her arm around Luz’s neck.

“You’re one of us troublemakers now, so you get access to all of our secrets.”

Luz made a squeak of excitement. “I love secrets!”

“Just try not to get yourself killed on this quest,” Jerbo said with a sly smile. “We don’t get new sisters all that often, we don’t want to have to replace you.”

“You just don’t want to have your own bunk again,” Luz teased, and her siblings both laughed again.

“Take care of yourself, Luz,” Viney said, and she nodded, promising them she would see them again when this was all over.

She pocketed the leather pouch and headed up to the top of Half-Blood Hill. She took in the peaceful smells and sounds as she left, her stomach turning anxiously as she realized she probably wouldn’t be back here for some time. When she got to the top of the hill, Willow and Gus were waiting for her, along with Eda, Lilith, and King.

Willow had changed into a pastel yellow sweatshirt with dark orange sleeves. A white collar was poking out underneath it, her camp necklace likely tucked underneath it. She had grey vertical striped pants and calf-high brown boots, and there was a grey backpack slung over her shoulder. Her sword was strapped to her belt, and when she saw Luz she waved, tucking a strand of her hair behind her glasses.

Gus was wearing a long-sleeved grey shirt under a teal button-up. His spear (which was retracted to being less than a foot long) was clipped to his belt around a pair of dark blue jeans and ankle-high brown boots. Luz could see his camp necklace resting over his shirt, and she also noticed that he had a new watch on his wrist Luz had never seen before. It had a brown leather strap that went well with his boots like he’d coordinated the outfit. He had his own black backpack that was so stuffed with stuff it stuck out like a turtle shell.

“Good morning, Luz,” Willow said as she approached them, and Gus waved his own hand excitedly.

“Ready to go save Olympus?” He said with a smile, and Luz tilted her head with a playful smile.

“Maybe I won’t have too, I think you’ve packed enough stuff to do the job on your own.”

“It’s always good to be prepared,” Gus said seriously, making Luz laugh.

“Speaking of prepared…” Luz said, looking back at Eda and Lilith. “I don’t have a lot of money left. I don’t know how we’re going to get across the country and to Colorado.”

“I gave the responsible kid a pack of camp supplies,” Eda said, gesturing to Willow who pinked in embarrassment. “You should have three hundred dollars between you… some golden drachma, and I gave her some ambrosia and nectar too in case anything goes wrong.”

“I have asked some of the stables Pegasi to give you three a ride to Penn Station,” Lilith added, looking much more serious than Eda, who was grinning at the three of them like they were about to have the adventure of their lives. Which they probably were.

“Luz, will you finish this quest soon so we can spend the rest of the summer together?” King asked, running up to him to sit at her feet. Luz chuckled and leaned down to pet him, which he pretended not to enjoy.

“Sure, King. But it won’t be until after I’m done battling monsters and saving Olympus.”

“Maybe I can come!” He said looking up at Luz hopefully. “Eda and I have destroyed hundreds of monsters together before. Why not go another round?”

“No King, this is her quest,” Eda said. “Three is the lucky number, and the ancient laws would argue the safest number of companions.”

A slow smile started to spread on her face, and Luz immediately knew Eda was about to bend some rules. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t get in on the action once in a while…”

Eda reached around her neck and pulled a bronze whistle off of a chain, handing it to Luz. When she took it tentatively, King squealed in excitement.

“If you ever need a hand, just blow this,” Eda said to Luz, winking at her. “King will hear it from wherever you are. But it’ll only work one time, so don’t waste it.”

Luz didn’t really understand why that would help if they were across the country, but Eda had never let her down before, so she took it with a smile.

“Thanks, Eda.”

She just huffed and waved her off. “Thank you, kid. You’re the one heading off on the dangerous quest to save Olympus.”

“Speaking of leaving, those Pegasi should be here by now,” Lilith added, pinching her brow nervously. “Maybe I should go check on them…”

“No need Lilith!”

The group turned, and Luz blinked in surprise when she saw the Blight twins standing on the edge of the hill. They both had their signature crooked smiles on their faces like they were up to something, but Luz thought that despite their efforts to stay cool and composed they looked a little rattled.

Emira’s hair was pulled back and she was wearing a little makeup, but it looked like she had covered up under her eyes with more concealer than usual. Edric’s hair was ruffled, and he also looked like he hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep.

“We dismissed the Pegasus, and found a faster way to get Luz and her friends to Colorado.” Emira finished, and Eda and Lilith shared a look.

“Why would you do that without asking one of us first,” Lilith said slowly, and Luz exchanged glances with Willow and Gus who were now looking nervous.

“Because the quicker they get to Boulder, the faster they find Amity,” Edric replied quickly, and Luz noticed that Emira’s eyes were locked onto the sky.

“We asked our mom last night to help on your quest,” Emira continued, and this shocked Luz. Their mom Aphrodite? Just by the way Eda, Lilith, and her friends were looking at them in surprise, Luz figured this was a big request out of the love goddess.

“She said she would send help to the pine tree at dawn,” Edric finished.

“The gods are not supposed to interfere with mortal business,” Eda said in wonder. “You must have given her some offering for such a request.”

She was watching the twins carefully, and Luz figured she knew why. It was near impossible to ever tell what the twins were thinking. While she didn’t think they would trick her with her sister's life on the line, Luz wasn’t one hundred percent sure they didn’t have another motive up their sleeve.

“Amity is our little sister,” Emira said impatiently. “We bicker and fight, but at the end of the day, we have to look out for her and do everything we can to help. Our mom promised she would get Luz and her friends going at a god’s speed.”

Eda and Lilith winced.

“You better hope she doesn’t mean that literally,” Eda whispered to them. “That would peel the skin right off your face.”

Willow and Gus shared a panicked look. The twins must have been able to tell that this wasn’t exactly reassuring to them, and looked crestfallen. Luz felt a pang of guilt and could tell they were only trying to help. So, she steeled her expression and tried to sound optimistic.

“Hey, if we’re going to be getting help from an actual goddess, that has to be a good omen,” Luz said encouragingly. A thought struck her, and she genuinely smiled. “Maybe she’ll send us a flying car or something, like from the Harry Potter books!”

“I think it might be that chariot actually…” Eda said, pointing up at the sky.

Luz looked up and gasped, her mouth dropping open. Flying down towards the pine tree she caught a glimpse of a massive golden chariot with silver and bronze etchings twisting along the sides of it. But what shocked Luz wasn’t just how it was probably worth more than her and her mom’s entire apartment complex in Manhattan, but that it wasn’t being pulled by Pegasi. It was being pulled by a dozen beautiful white doves.

“Look at all that gold!” King squealed loudly, and Eda shushed him with a stern finger.

The chariot landed right next to the pine tree, Eda and Lilith straightened up in shock.

“Holy Zeus, kids,” Eda said to the Blight twins, who were also standing there shell shocked. “That must have been some prayer.”

“That’s Aphrodite’s chariot,” Lilith said in awe.

“But Aphrodite hasn’t lent her chariot to heroes in centuries,” Gus said in awe, and without even realizing they had done it, the trio and the Blight Twins had walked to the chariot and were close enough to touch it. “The last demigod who was fabled to ride it was Aeneas when he fled Troy.”

One of the doves, who seemed to be commanding the chariot, cooed at Luz and blinked its eyes at her. Luz stepped forward gently and the dove flew towards her, settling itself on her palm. She reached out and gently stroked it, and it cooed again and closed its eyes in delight.

“You better get on,” Eda said, eyeing it distrustfully. “It’s not wise to keep a goddess waiting, especially when you’re borrowing her chariot.”

Luz gently lowered the dove and it chirped, heading back to the head of the reins. “Alright, let’s go. We have a long way to Colorado.”

She stepped on the back of the chariot first. There was plenty of room for her and Gus and Willow to sit on it, and even sleep if they needed to. It was way bigger than she thought it was originally like the chariot was meant to hold a giant. Luz began to wonder just how big the gods were. There was a step ladder in the back that Luz imagines was added for the three new human riders, so when she climbed it she could see over the edge of the chariot.

Willow seemed uncertain, but Luz extended her hand with a smile, and Willow sighed and took it, getting into the chariot and taking a seat near the front. Gus boarded next with a much less hesitant smile, clearly excited to be on something that was so important to a goddess.

Luz grabbed the reins, which were so thick she had to just pray she would be able to pull them. As she turned around to say goodbye, she locked eyes with the Blight twins, who were still so shell shocked at what had just happened they didn’t know what to do with themselves, which was a first. Luz shot them the most confident smile she could manage.

“Thanks for the ride, you guys. I’ll find Amity, I promise.”

That seemed to shake them out of their surprise. They exchanged a look, before nodding and smiling back at Luz.

“We know you will,” Edric said.

“If you need any help at all, send us an Iris message,” Emira added, and Luz didn’t know what they were talking about, but Willow seemed to, and she nodded.

“We will. We’ll send one to camp when we find her too.”

That seemed to put the twins and ease, and they stepped back to let them take off. Luz was going to tug on the reins, but it seemed like she didn’t have to and the doves responded to her like they’d read her mind, lifting the chariot off the ground and slowly building up speed for a full take off.

As Luz turned back to look at camp one more time, she locked eyes with Eda, who was watching her wistfully. Luz waved with her right hand, and Eda smiled.

“Good luck, kid. May the gods be with you!”

The last look of camp Luz got was Owlbert cooing on her shoulder, and the pine tree on Half-blood Hill before she was jerked against the side of the chariot, letting out a loud cry of surprise as the chariot accelerated so fast Luz lost all control of her bearings. She heard Willow and Gus cry out in alarm next to her, and felt Willow grab her arm while she scrambled to keep her hands on the reins before the chariot gave another massive lurch, and they were shooting through the sky at a speed that would have given her Mami a heart attack.

“This is definitely faster than a Pegasus!” Luz yelled in alarm, and she saw Gus, who was on the other side of the chariot and grabbing the sides of it in terror, nod.

“We’re already out of sight of camp!” He yelled, and Luz noticed that his face was getting pale. She prayed to every god she could think of that he wouldn’t throw up. She figured Aphrodite wouldn’t be too happy about having demigod vomit in the chariot she graciously let them borrow.

“Where are we even going?” Willow asked next to her. She seemed to be doing a lot better than Gus in the motion sickness department, but she was using the hand that wasn’t wrapped around Luz’s arm to keep a tight grip on her glasses.

Luz thought that was a pretty stupid question, but considering they were flying through the sky at speeds that felt faster than most airplanes, she got why Willow was panicking. “I don’t know! I didn’t ask the doves to go anywhere they just took off on their own!”

“Aphrodite will have some plan for the chariot,” Gus said reassuringly. “If Emira and Edric prayed to her, then she’ll know where Amity is and what our mission is. We just have to trust that we’ll get there!”

So the three of them had no choice but to wait. They ended up being able to move closer to the front of the chariot by shuffling along the sides and wedging their way between the step stool and the curved sides, sitting together in a close huddle while the chariot rocked and shook in the wind. While they did eventually realize that the chariot was pretty steady and that they didn’t have to hold the chariot to not fly out, they kept their grip on each other’s arms.

“So what’s our strategy?” Luz asked the two of them when they all seemed calm enough to talk. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed since they left camp, maybe an hour or two? Regardless, they needed to know what to do when the chariot would inevitably land and take them no further.

“We were supposed to take the Pegasi to Penn Station and then take a train as far west as we could,” Gus said, his brow furrowed with thought. “I guess we’ll need to figure out exactly where we are when we land and then find the nearest bus or train west.”

“Ideally, we figure out how to make sure we aren’t being tracked by monsters,” Willow added. “Now that we’ve left camp, our scent as a group will be strong. We need to blend in with the mortals and stay inconspicuous.”

Luz was glad the two of them had come with her. She wouldn’t know which way was up without them, never mind how to complete a quest as dire as this one. Gus had the strategy, while Willow was sensible and calming. Plus, they worked well as a team. Luz tried to always stay optimistic, but right now she didn’t need to. She knew that the three of them together were a great team.

“Let’s stick to our strengths,” Gus said, slamming his fist confidently into his other palm. “If we try and camp in the forests, Willow can use plant magic to protect us from monsters that try and get in. I’m pretty good at detecting monsters in a crowd, so I’ll keep an eye out when we're in public spaces.”

“What about me?” Luz said with a frown, starting to worry that she would be the weak point in the group. “The only thing I can do is cheer us on.”

“That’s all we know you can do right now,” Gus said pointedly.

“He’s right, Luz,” Willow said comfortingly, putting a hand on her arm. “Hermes is the god of more than just orators.”

“Maybe you’re a really good pickpocket!” Gus said with a smile, but Luz’s frown just deepened.

“I’m not going to steal, Gus. That’s wrong.”

“If it’s to save our lives it can’t be that bad…” He retorted, but Luz shook her head stubbornly.

“Alright let’s move away from stealing,” Willow said, ending that conversation. “The point is that Hermes has always been kind of a jack of all trades when it comes to magic and abilities. You’re pretty good with your sword, so if we run into trouble and we have to fight, you should lead us.”

She didn’t know how to feel about that. “Lead? But you guys are way more experienced than I am. Don’t you think it’s better if one of you take charge?”

“It’s your quest, Luz,” Gus pointed out. “If Willow and I didn’t trust you to lead us, we wouldn’t be here.”

Luz opened her mouth in surprise and looked back and forth between her friends. She was so moved by what Gus had said, and the expression on Willow and Gus’s faces, she wasn’t sure what to say.

A sudden jerk of the chariot cut off whatever conversation they could have. The trio yelped in surprise as the chariot made a sudden jerk left, and Luz’s heart leaped in her chest as it made a quick drop in the sky.

“What’s happening!” Luz exclaimed, keeping a tight grip on the stepstool to see if she could look over the chariot.

“I think we’re landing!” Gus called back, and Luz felt her fingers tighten against the stepstool as the chariot made another jerk. She heard Willow and Gus once again make alarmed noises below her, and she looked down quickly to see them hanging on tightly to the bottom leg of the stool.

Luz pushed herself forward and climbed, finally managing to look over the edge of the chariot. Her eyes widened in shock. The doves were, in fact, preparing to land, and in the distance Luz could see a huge bridge spanning over a river, leading into a city skyline she could see in the late morning sun. She had never been outside New York, so she wasn’t quite sure where she was, but she didn’t have time to think about it before the chariot jerked again and they began a descent into a forest outside the city.  

The trio watched as the chariot landed in a safe nesting of trees. The second it touched the ground, Luz, Willow, and Gus raced off, all sighing in relief when their feet touched the ground.

Willow was the first one to gather her bearings. “Where are we?”

Luz told her and Gus about the city they’d flown over, and the forest they’d landed in. When she finished, Gus hummed.

“Well we’ve gone a significant distance west, I bet that chariot was just as fast as an airplane. But I doubt we’ve made it all the way to Colorado, based on what you told us.”

Luz noticed the doves pulling the chariot ruffling their feathers like they were considering taking off. She gave Willow and Gus a wistful smile.

“But it won’t take us any farther. That’s why it dropped us here.”

So Luz walked over to them, and held out her hand for the lead dove, stroking its feathers again.

“Thank you for the ride,” Luz said earnestly. “We’ll figure the rest out from here.”

The dove cooed and flew out of Luz’s hand. She and her friends watched as the chariot ascended back into the sky, and disappeared. Luz watched it go with a smile on her face, Willow and Gus staring in awe one more time after it.

“Thank you for treating the doves so kindly. My lady will be pleased.”

The three of them jumped at the sudden voice behind them, and out of instinct they all drew their weapons and pointed them.

Standing a few feet away from them was a woman who couldn’t be older than twenty. She was skinny and small, not that much taller than Luz, wearing a flowy green skirt and a cropped white shirt. She had shiny light brown hair that flowed gracefully to the small of her back, and her head was wrapped in a wreath of flowers, in varying shades of white, yellow, and blue. Her green eyes sparkled humorously at them like she found the idea of being threatened cute.

Behind her, there was a little cabin that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. It was cute and made out of stones, with a chimney billowing smoke. There were flowers of all varying colors and sizes outside and a sign above the door that simply just read “The Flower Shop” in flowing elegant cursive.

“Stand down, little heroes. I don’t mean to harm you.”

Luz tensed at that, the way she said that reminded her a little too much of the man in the mountain. The woman seemed to sense that because she turned her head to eye Luz sympathetically.

“You poor thing, you could use a good cup of Chamomile tea.”

Luz wasn’t sure if she was being insulted or not, and she gripped the hilt of her blade tighter. But before she could say anything, she felt a firm hand on her sword arm, and Gus slowly lowered her blade.

“It’s alright, Luz. She isn’t an enemy,” he said quietly, and Luz looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Next to Gus, Willow had also lowered her sword and was now watching the woman with undisguised excitement.

“How do we know that?” Luz asked, but the tone of her voice was now more confused than tense.

“My apologies, I have not introduced myself,” the woman said with a light smile, extending her hands out to look at the three of them.

“I am Antheia, the goddess of flowers. My lady told me to expect you here today.”

[tigerkirby215]

5e Yuumi the Magical Cat build (and a test of Tumblr formatting)

So I have no idea how this website works but I mostly made this account to post DnD 5e character builds based on characters I like. Ever since the latest UA came out I’ve been ecstatic over the fact that we finally got another Support-based Warlock that isn’t Celestial. The fact that it’s a genie Warlock is awesome and there’s tons of roleplay that can be done with a pocket wish-granting elemental walking around with you... good thing we’re ignoring all that for the sake of B O O K!

Yuumi! To be honest I haven’t played League of Legends in ages but Yuumi was a character who drew my attention immediately because she’s an UwU Kitty-Cat... who had like a 36% win rate on release. She’s better now though! ...Probably. Regardless Yuumi was my immediate thought when I saw the tether mechanic from the latest Warlock UA. Constructing a build for The Magical 7th Item Slot Cat was something on my mind for the longest time, probably because the only other character I could replicate is... what? Io from DOTA?

I got the OK from Tulok the Barbrarian-senpai to make some DnD builds which is why I’m using his format. All these builds will keep away from Homebrew and can all be made on D&D Beyond... as long as your DM allows Unearthed Arcana which this build heavily relies on.

GOALS

Shield, heal, cuddle! - Yuumi is a support, through-and-through. Probably one of the most support-focused supports in the game. While this build will still have good damage output the main focus is on keeping your teammates alive and well.

Book, do something! - Yuumi is a dynamic duo between the cat and the book. Hopefully your DM is okay with you not really having a “patron” and instead having a sentient book fly around instead. I mean, it’s basically just a Hexblade right?

Lost Chapter - Yuumi honestly has a pretty basic kit. Replicating 4 spells is easy as cake in 5e so a lot of this build will be focused on replicating Yuumi’s typical item build as well.

RACE

Well as you can tell Yuumi is clearly a Bugbe-Ah who am I kidding she’s a Tabaxi. You��re welcome to pick whatever race you want but Tabaxi is honestly a good pick for this build. You get an increase to both DEX and CHA, some useful skills (be sure to ward bush!), and probably the most important skill: Feline Agility. Much like Yuumi you don’t want to be caught off-guard so a quick self-use of Zoomies can help you get away from the enemy and back to your team. For your language of choice... is Yordle an option? Halfling is probably the closest you’ll get to Yordles in 5e so just opt for that instead.

ABILITY SCORES

Much like Tulok I’ll be using Standard Array for ease-of-use. Roll for stats if you want but this is a general guideline for where to put your highs and lows.

15; CHARISMA - You’re cute, cuddly, and oh-so snuggly. Yuumi in-lore is an innate spellcaster and that translates into Charisma; helps that this also impacts Persuasion for head scritches.

14; DEXTERITY - Yuumi isn’t the fastest champion in-game (it’s on Book to do the “walking”) but she’s still a cat, and cats are fast. Dexterity affects AC as well as several other useful things.

13; INTELLIGENCE - Your best friend is literally a floating book it’s bound to know something.

12; WISDOM - You’re a smart kitty and you know a thing or two about Yordles... doesn’t stop you from dissing everyone else though.

10; CONSTITUTION - It’s technically in-character to dump Constitution but I don’t recommend it. Intelligence and Wisdom are higher on this list but you don’t really need them - feel free to get some Ruby Crystals.

8; STRENGTH - Here’s something that’s in-character to dump and I do recommend dumping. Strength is almost completely redundant in this build so don’t be afraid to ditch it.

This would be the point array I’d use if I was RPing Yuumi but if I wanted a more functional character I’d go CHA / DEX / CON / (INT / WIS) / STR for my stat spread. But much like in League you’re more than welcome to buy some health boosting items (notably an Amulet of Health) to compensate for bad stats.

BACKGROUND

Yuumi spent most of her time in Nora her master’s hut which would technically make her a Cloistered Scholar? But Sage works better if you’re teaming up with Book. You gain Arcana and History proficiencies which are honestly the two I’d pick for a magic cat that has a sentient Book as a best friend. You also get the Researcher feature which lets you know where to find any information: Book knows everything and can bring you anywhere - ask them to tell you where to go! You also get two languages and... uhhh who synergizes well with Yuumi? ...Yasuo? Is there a monkey language in 5e? Jokes aside just pick whatever language you think will be useful.

(Art by EmeraldParrot on DeviantArt)

THE BUILD

This may come as a surprise but despite the fact that this build was made almost entirely for the sake of using the new UA Warlock patron we’re actually not starting with Warlock! While half of Yuumi’s power comes from Book (who I’d consider the “patron” in this relationship) the other half of her power is innate. Now I could make her a Sorcerer to reflect the magic within her or I could perhaps make her a Wizard to get more value out of Book but I had to ask myself a question: which class in D&D would be the best for a character who regularly insults and sasses other characters and thinks too highly of themselves?

LEVEL 1 - BARD 1

Yes this build is a Bardlock build, and the only reason we’re going Bard first is for the extra music instruments as well as the choice of any skill we want.

Your choice of instrument doesn’t matter much (it’s mildly important for Instruments of the Bard or if you have an Artificer, but other than that don’t worry) but I’m contractually obligated to take a Lyre every time I make a Bard. Other than that you synergize with Yasuo so steal his Flute, and I’ve always been a fan of Pentakill so I’ll take the closest to a guitar. (Lute)

For skills take Acrobatics, Persuasion, and Survival. You’re a cat which means you need to be quick on your feet and are adorable as hecc, and you need some survival instinct when you’re constantly hopping between dimensions. (Truthfully though as a Bard you should be picking skills that your party lacks, though I’d argue that Acrobatics and Persuasion should always be taken to remain “in character.”)

For cantrips take Message to coordinate with your party in team chat and Vicious Mockery; Yuumi is a cat of sass so feel free to diss your local god by calling him a dog. Or alternatively this could be you flaming the enemy team in /all - I won’t judge.

Cure Wounds and Healing Word are absolute musts for any support - in particular Cure Wounds is good for you since you can cast it from wherever your You and Me (tether) target is located. This means that whoever you’re tethered to can get the full value of Cure Wounds instead of you being forced to pop Healing Word instead. Other than that Longstrider lets you replicate Zoomies’ movement speed boost, and you can never go wrong with Featherfall. (The only spells that are really “mandatory” here is Cure Wounds. Maybe Longstrider too. Healing Word is always useful but both it and Featherfall are just suggestions.)

LEVEL 2 - WARLOCK 1

And from Bard we immediately jump to the meat of this build: The Noble Genie Warlock! You get your Collector’s Vessel which hopefully your DM will let be a book with cat-sized portals inside of it?

You also get some cantrips and guess what? Eldrich Blast! Yeah it’s a Warlock build you’re going to take Eldrich Blast. Other than that take Minor Illusion to pull something scary out of Book at the right time.

For main spells Hex is great to deal extra damage and also lets you debuff some of the target’s ability checks. Sleep is more of a Zoe thing but it’s still an insane pact-specific spell so there’s no reason not to take it.

LEVEL 3 - WARLOCK 2

We’re going to keep going in Warlock firstly for Eldrich Invocations. The main one you want here is Lance of Lethargy so you can replicate Prowling Projectile’s movement speed slow and help set up some kills for your team. The other invocation slot will be left open for now as we wait for level 4, as will our spell choice.

LEVEL 4 - WARLOCK 3

Hello Book! Of course we’re taking Pact of the Tome for the Book of Thresholds Shadows, or just Book for short. Again be sure to ask your DM if the book can be sentient for RP purposes. Or alternatively have it not act be sentient and make your party think your crazy when you talk to it! As for cantrips take Guidance to buff your ADC with some Adaptive Force (note: Guidance will not increase damage), Mending to fix any tears Book may receive (don’t want any more lost chapters!), and even though you’re not really a melee fighter being able to magically scratch nearby champions enemies with Shocking Grasp will give you a fighting chance if you get stuck in the middle of combat.

Note: While it would be more in flavor to use Primal Savagery the reason I opted for Shocking Grasp is because you can cast it through your ally to cause an enemy to be unable to take Reactions. It’s more in flavor to scratch at your enemies but Shocking Grasp is far more useful for this build. Truthfully you can take any cantrip you want though these are just recommendations; I know having 3 damaging cantrips is a little excessive but I like having an attack roll cantrip, saving throw cantrip, and backup melee cantrip.

Now for the Invocation we skipped. I think most 5e veterans have identified what we’re looking for: Book of Ancient Secrets. Book is a resourceful... book and the value of Ritual spells can’t go unmentioned. Take Comprehend Languages and Identify: flip through Book’s pages until you can find the info that you want! And don’t be afraid about picking bad rituals because you can just inscribe more rituals later on!

Now for Spells! Once we get to 2nd level spells we get a lot more stuff to choose from but let’s just choose the main spells we need:

Misty Step - You’re a noob if you’re not packing Flash. Also since this is a multiclass build the problem of Misty Step taking Pact Magic slots can be negated, as you can use your Bard slots to cast Misty Step.

Hold Person - Hit a snare with Final Chapter so your friends can clean up!

Truthfully though all your 2nd level spells open up a huge array of possibilities and I’d recommend picking up any one of them. The Noble Genie gets Enlarge / Reduce which is one of my favorite spells thematically: feel free to pop an Elixir of Iron on your tank!

LEVEL 5 - BARD 2

Feel free to take Warlock 4 for the ASI but I’d like to get the Bard features up-and-running. At level 2 you get Jack of All Trades which means that Book can always help you out of a jam. You also get Song of Rest which further solidifies your role as a support.

For your spell of choice Charm Person lets you use that cute kitty face of yours to get a bunch of fan art on DeviantArt.

LEVEL 6 - BARD 3

Let’s start by picking out our Expertise because that’s the easy bit: Arcana and History - straight from your background. You’re a magic cat with a sentient book you should know these skills well.

Now for your Bard College. There are several good choices: Lore gives you more Magical Secrets to let you “itemize” better, College of Valor lets you buff your allies’ attacks with some Adaptive Force, but at the end of the day the question is this: what subclass lets you shield while also increasing your allies’ movement?

College of Glamour yes really! The main reason for this is Mantle of Inspiration which was the most Yuumi-esque ability of the bunch. You can expect a Bardic Inspiration die to give all your allies temporary HP as well as allow them to move as a reaction without provoking opportunity attacks. You also get Enthralling Performance which is certainly a nice bonus: distract a crowd with your feline charm while the rest of your team does their work.

You also get another spell and... I’ll be honest throwing all the spells on this guide is making this post far longer than it needs to be. I can give some general advice but I’m only here for the class features - not the spells. Pick spells that will help your team, the same way you’d itemize to help your team in League.

LEVEL 7 - BARD 4

Mostly taking Level 4 Bard now for the ASI. Bump Charisma for better spellcasting.

You also get another cantrip: get Dancing Lights to summon some moon moths to chase!

Note: One more level in Bard will get you Font of Inspiration, which allows your Bardic Inspiration to come back on a Short rest. It will also buff Mantle of Inspiration. If you think you’ll need to use Mantle of Inspiration more feel free to take another level in Bard earlier than suggested in this build.

LEVEL 8 - WARLOCK 4

And another ASI! Bump Charisma again for a maxed out spellcasting modifier!

LEVEL 9 - WARLOCK 5

At this level you get another Invocation as well as 3rd level spells. There are quite a few good invocations to pick from but as a squishy support you’re going to want Zhonya's - or in this case Tomb of Levistus. While not quite Zhonya's this invocation will give you a phat health buff in exchange for making you completely stationary until the end of your next turn. Pop it if the enemy Assassin ults you and pray that your team saves you.

Now that you got 3rd level spells there are some obvious choices. Counterspell? Fly? Maybe Dispell Magic or Gaseous Form? Honestly if your DM is allowing UA spells Psionic Blast from the psychic UA works great with the Genie patron. Those are my picks for some good level 3 spells - unfortunately the spells from the Genie Patron aren’t that good besides maybe Create Food and Water, which is only really useful for specific adventures.

Oh and you get another cantrip! I’d recommend Prestidigitation to pull more things out of Book.

LEVEL 10 - WARLOCK 6

This is the point that this build really starts to shine through. Is it bad that this build needs to get to level 10 before it really starts working? ...Eh...?

Anyways you get Elemental Resistance at this level which lets you give your You and Me (tether) target resistance to one of four elements. You can only choose one resistance per long rest so try to pick the damage type you think you’ll run into a lot. Pro tip: Fire damage is really common. Ignite is a powerful Summoner Spell.

LEVEL 11 - WARLOCK 7

At this level you get access to Level 7 invocations which are all... ehhhh? There are some cool ones here but none of them are really great for Yuumi so instead we’re going to go back a bit and pick up Exhaustion. ...The Summoner Spell, not the D&D debuff. Mire the Mind lets you cast Slow once per long rest: slow is a really powerful spell that you can pop on the ADC so your team can wail on them. Just make sure you don’t lose concentration.

You also get access to 4th level spells and while this is technically a spell Lulu has: Polymorph! Turn your allies into T-Rexes, turn your enemies into Fish (don’t try to eat the fish or they’ll turn back), and most importantly you can now become an actual cat! Truthfully though there are several great 4th level spells too and I recommend you look at all of them.

LEVEL 12 - WARLOCK 8

Ability Score Improvement but you should have max spellcasting by now which is the only thing that matters so... how about some Feats? I’m not going to choose any one particular Feat and instead focus on some of the better ones for you to take.

Alert - Along with Jack of All Trades this will almost always guarantee that you’re the first to go in initiative, meaning that you can tether to someone and start applying buffs.

Inspiring Leader - Lets you use Bop and Block early and give all your allies a nice health buffer to start the day.

Observant - With your Charisma and your proficiency buffing your Perception score this should guarantee that you don’t miss anything with those feline eyes of yours. Be sure to ping incoming ganks!

Resilient (CON) - You don’t really need the other effects of War Caster in this build and Resilient is just more useful overall.

Spell Sniper - Read this spell over and ask “does this sound useful?” If yes then take it, because you’re in a game with a DM who actually likes using cover mechanics.

Tough - Yuumi isn’t tough; that doesn’t mean you can’t be.

Lucky - When in doubt break out the OP bullshit perk.

You also get another spell: Dimension Door lets you recall back to base or somewhere similar.

LEVEL 13 - WARLOCK 9

At Warlock 9 you get access to another invocation, including your 9th level invocations and... oh oh there it is boys! Ascendant Step! Now you can be a proper hovering kitty cat! (Note if you took Fly at earlier levels it might be a good idea to drop it. Or not: you can still buff your allies!)

You also gain access to 5th level spells and here’s where it gets fun: Bigby’s Hand! Honestly this is just a fun spell but you can also justify most of the effects as being part of Yuumi (and Book)’s magic.

Clenched Fist - A full damage Prowling Projectile against a target.

Forceful Hand - More of a Janna thing but still very useful.

Grasping Hand - Hit your snare with Final Chapter. "I am TOTALLY doing this!"

Interposing Hand - Again more of a Taliyah thing (or perhaps Jarvan) but still very useful!

This would be my immediate pick but other than that for 5th level?

Creation is your other patron-specific spell and it is awesome. A little situational maybe but that’s the nature of Book! Pull out something useful: unfortunately it can’t be fish but still!

Hold Monster is like Hold Person but better. It’s a big spell slot though so be wary.

Synaptic Static is like a combination of Leona and Alistar, which is to say it’s a big nuke from the sky that makes all your enemies do less damage.

Contact Other Plane is not my first pick for a number of reasons but if you don’t know what to pick being able to ask Book for directions can be helpful. And it comes back on a short rest too! :) Just make sure Book doesn’t break your mind. (Maybe invest in the Resilient feat for Intelligence if you plan to use this spell.)

(Artwork by sakkiye on DeviantArt)

LEVEL 14 - WARLOCK 10

And now we’ve reached the capstone of our Warlock levels and we get two very powerful abilities. Firstly there’s Protective Wish which lets you use your reaction to swap places between you and your tethered target if either of you get hit. Tank hits for your allies... or alternatively don’t do that and have them shield you from baddies trying to spray you! Just make sure that you aren’t teleporting into a more dangerous location and as a word of advice: don’t throw your allies into danger without their consent.

The other ability you get is Genie’s Entertainment which is far more useful. As an action you can make Book pull a target within 90 feet to a harmless dimension where they’ll be stuck for up to a minute. They can make a Charisma saving throw every turn until they either succeed or a minute passes before they’re ejected where they just were or in the closest available space. This is effectively a one-time use of the Banishment spell (which you can take as a Warlock) but it doesn’t require Concentration which means you can put your focus on other useful buffs for your team.

You also get another cantrip so invest in Mage Hand so Book can pick up things you can’t reach with those paws of yours.

LEVEL 15 - BARD 5

And now we’re bouncing back to Bard and finally getting Font of Inspiration. Honestly if you need more use out of Mantle of Inspiration then feel free to get this level earlier, but you already have plenty of short rest value with your Warlock spell slots.

And speaking of spells: 3rd level Bard spells, anyone? I’d argue that Sending would be quite in-flavor, and Hypnotic Pattern would make for a strong utility, even if you don’t have an AoE stun. Honestly I’m going to skip the spell talk and only cover the last few levels of Bard for completion’s sake.

LEVEL 16 - BARD 6

You now get Countercharm which is poo poo garbage and will make you want to die. But to be fair popping cleanse would help your ADC. (But why are you bringing Cleanse and not Exhaust?)

You also get Mantle of Majesty which will let you play the backseat gamer role you’ve always dreamed of being. As a bonus action you can start to command (the spell) anyone you please to do as you say. Approach, Drop, Flee, Halt... awn there’s not Pet command!

LEVEL 17 - BARD 7

At 7th level you get... nothing! :D Okay you get 4th level spells to be fair but I’m far too lazy to talk about spells anymore.

LEVEL 18 - BARD 8

ASI. Check my suggestions for Feats to take from Warlock 8.

LEVEL 19 - BARD 9

Your Song of Rest increases to a d8 now which honestly probably doesn’t help you much at this point. You do get 5th level spells now though, which you can cast through your Warlock slots.

LEVEL 20 - BARD 10

And for our capstone we finally get Magical Secrets! There’s one specific spell we want: Haste. It’s super zoomies! Other than that you can buy Redemption with Aura of Vitality (which kinda works more like Fiora’s ult but w/e) or maybe an Ardent Censor of sorts with Spirit Guardians? You can grab Mikael's Crucible with Warding Bond, or perhaps contract some help from Zillian and grab Death Ward! There are literally dozens of spells to choose from and I recommend searching online if you don’t know what to take.

Your Bardic Inspiration also increases which means more Mantle of Inspiration health, and you get 2 more skills to give Expertise! Honestly at level 20 it’s a little too late to really choose between Expertise but know that any skill you have Expertise in will have a +12 modifier! You’re essentially guaranteed to succeed at any check with a skill you have Expertise on at this level unless your DM is Twisted Fate and is using Loaded Dice on you.

FINAL BUILD

PROS

Cover to Cover - You’ve got a comedic amount of utility between ten cantrips and the ability to cast any ritual spell you can get your paws on. Along with Jack of All Trades and Expertise covering any skills you may need you’ll never be without a cat trick.

You and me, we got this! - Between Bardic Inspiration, Song of Rest, Elemental Resistance, Protective Wish, and a decent array of buff spells (tbh I kinda wish I took more :P) you can be an incredibly useful asset to your teammates.

You look like unscratched furniture! - One place this build particularly excels is in the crowd control department. Between Enthralling Performance, Mantle of Majesty, Genie’s Entertainment, and a huge array of debuffs you’ll never be lacking in a way to keep your allies safe and the enemies away from you.

CONS

Oh! Sunbeam ahead! - While I tried my best to avoid taking too many Concentration spells I have to admit that a lot of the nicer stuff will demand your attention: Hold Person, Haste, Polymorph, Bigby’s Hand, and Mire the Mind (Slow) all require concentration, so you can only have one up at a time. While you still have options the concentration requirement is heavy.

We’ve got 6 left... or was it 5? - If you’re roleplaying the build properly you’ll have absolutely horrendous health. No additional Constitution modifier combined with a d8 hit die means that you’ll have about a hundred health at level 20, and a Power Word Kill is all it’ll take to end you. Additionally your ability modifiers (with the exception of Charisma) are rather low which means low saving throws and a low AC with only Light armor. Know that you can sometimes sacrifice roleplay for the sake of a more viable build - having good skill checks is great and all but it doesn’t matter if you’re dead.

Full AP? - This build is pure support and I skipped on a lot of the strong damage options that you could’ve taken. In particular this is a max Charisma Eldritch Blast Warlock which doesn’t take Agonizing Blast, a concept most would consider an act of treason. A lot of the invocations I picked more for flavor than actual utility and you’re more than welcome to change Mire the Mind or Tomb of Levistus for something more useful.

But you’re not here to steal all the fame: tag along, help your team, and they’ll help you find your master! Just don’t ask the Triton what they taste like or else they’ll give you the spray bottle.

(Artwork by Chelserella on DeviantArt.)

ALTERNATE BUILD OPTIONS

More Warlock Levels?

The only thing we really get out of level 10 Bard is Magical Secrets, but if you’re not interested in getting Haste all you really need for this build is 3 levels in Bard for Mantle of Inspiration (though 5 levels is ideal for Font of Inspiration.)

You can take more levels in Warlock to get Mystic Arcanum, more Warlock slots, and more Eldritch Invocations. You also get Collector’s Call which is a very strong ability that’s sadly held back by its casting requirement. If you’re planning on going heavier on Warlock instead of splitting this build 50 / 50 than get expertise in Persuasion! You’re absolutely going to need it to cast Collector’s Call reliably.

The other important thing to note is that Warlock honestly doesn’t have that many supportive spells in its kit, especially when you’re not playing Divine Soul. Dropping Bard levels means you’ll lose spells like Mass Cure Wounds. You’ll also have far fewer spell slots to cast your lower level Warlock spells, which does mean more 5th level spells but it also means less fun with spells like Misty Step, Dimension Door, and Polymorph.

[hemogobbler]

Just Us Now: Chapter 1

Ao3 link! Part one: 3.1k words. Read part two here!

Bright-eyed Adora, a young force captain in training, is tasked with introducing Catra, the newest cadet, to life in the Horde.

Chapter one in an exploratory three-parter of Adora and Catra's first contact that I aim to complete before the end of Catradora week! (Dec 30-Jan 5)

Ty to everyone for reading and all feedback, please comment if you want! <3

“That is why I am placing her under your charge for the duration of this period, Adora.”

Shadow Weaver was holding Adora’s chin, raising it slightly so as to have their eyes meet. Adora held the gaze admirably, for she could see beyond the cold, unwavering scrutiny of Shadow Weaver’s eyes a faith of sorts, perhaps even appreciation. Adora nodded.

“Between us, Adora, I ask you not to trust this wild creature. Our unmanned security were unable to capture her, and it took careful coordination between two squads who had much more important duties than this to eventually surround her,” Her voice shook, ever so slightly.

“I have… discussed with her the benefits of staying with us, as well as the consequences of any attempts to escape. She will not want for anything with the Horde; whatever squalid existence she maintained before this will be forgotten. Even still, watch her. She may prove a challenge even for you, my sweet,” With a long finger, she softly curled a lock of Adora’s hair around the little soldier’s ear.

“Yes, Shadow Weaver,” Adora saluted. Shadow Weaver left on a current of darkness that spilled out from beneath her, its writhing mass wrapping around the walls as she moved. Adora let out a deep exhale and turned to the entrance to the dorms.

Sat on Adora’s bunk was a small girl overflowing with hair. Two dark, fluffy ears were jutting out, flopping in random directions intermittently. She was freckled, and had markings down her tanned arms. The rags she wore smelled of burns, and a few distinctive markings of the Horde’s stun lasers adorned her arms and legs. She held her knees to her chest, hiding her face. Black claws stemmed from her fingers and fuzzy feet. Of most interest to Adora was the tail that curled tightly around these feet. Adora had never met anyone quite like this, and she was friends with a lizard boy.

“Cadet!” Adora said loudly, wishing to be firm. The girl looked up in shock, blue and yellow eyes wracked with fear, doing their best to puzzle out the newest threat now facing her. Adora forgot what she was going to say, and felt awful in realizing her imitation of Shadow Weaver.

“Oh - sorry, I… uh,” Adora stammered as the girl tilted her head. “I... like your tail.” Adora would have smacked her own face were it not prohibited on grounds of showing weakness. The girl crossed her legs and stared at her, less wary. ”I mean, um, my name’s Adora?” It came out as a question, and Adora, beginning to turn red with embarrassment, could only hope Shadow Weaver wasn’t listening in on this.

For a split second Adora was certain she saw the young girl smirk before she hid her face once again. Adora moved closer, and without looking up the newest cadet shuffled back from the edge of the bed to the pillow.

“That’s my bed,” Adora said, and quickly followed up with, “But you can take bottom bunk if you want, I don’t mind!”

“Go away,” the girl hissed, claws extending. She looked at Adora with disdain, fangs showing. She was tensed up, angry and frightened at the same time.

Adora instinctively adopted a ready stance, which made the little cat raise an eyebrow. She truly couldn’t figure out if this blond girl was an enemy or not. Adora began to worry as she had, for whatever reason, not expected resistance. If this turned into a fight, Shadow Weaver would not seek retribution on Adora, that much she knew. Whatever happened to this girl after that would be Adora’s fault. At the darkest hour in her young life she was saved by a low rumbling coming from the angry feline person’s stomach.

“Hungry? Wanna get some food?” Adora asked, overjoyed. The girl let out a faint ‘mew’ at the words, and nodded resentfully, ashamed of her hunger. She got up off the bed and followed Adora out of the dorms.

It was getting darker out, and the cafeteria would be closed by the time they got there, but with a little persuasion Adora was sure that Octavia would sneak them some food. Adora didn’t want to know how the tentacled enforcer got stuck with caring for the cadets - Octavia was a relentless, no-mercy kind of warrior in combat, though Adora suspected she was a softie at heart.

Outside, it was as nice a night as the Fright Zone could offer: pungent smoke from innumerable factories billowed across the murky orange horizon. The curved peaks of various military installations reached up into the air and lodged their hooks into the sky, blocking what few stars dared to defy the smog. Clawing at the ground below, it was as if the metallic landscape was merely the top of a great mechanical beast that slept underground, waiting to dig its nails in and rip apart the earth.

“It’s nicer when the sun’s out,” Adora said, mostly to herself.

Their stroll through the Horde base was undisturbed, though Adora caught her charge eyeing up exits, scalable walls and convenient platforms the whole way. The girl didn’t try to hide it, which infuriated Adora.

“I wouldn’t try that if I were you,” said Adora. “It’s probably impossible to escape the Fright Zone on foot, it goes on forever, and there’s tons of robots out there waiting to drag back deserters.”

The little cat said nothing, sizing up a pair of guards as they went by the armoury. It was almost curfew, so the base was quiet. The enormous barrel of a tank caught her eye, and distracted her so that she almost walked into Adora. Adora resisted the urge to recite the statistics concerning this particular weapon of war, while the girl played off her stumbling by shoving her hands into her pockets and gazing, carefree, into the sky.

“So… you have a name?” Adora soon asked, to which she received no response. “Oh, come on!” She huffed, irritated. Hands behind her head now, the quiet feline grinned. “That’s okay,” Adora maintained. “We’ll get there.”

“Will we?” The girl asked suddenly.

“I hope so.”

Inside the cafeteria, only Octavia and a chef remained. The chef, a very old man with light skin and blinding white hair, wiped down the counter. Octavia, meanwhile, was stacking chairs slowly and methodically. It must have been a while since the octopus lady saw combat: she was wearing standard kitchen garb, with her green mandibles and ear fins tucked neatly behind her head in a hair net, as well as a white apron that was too small for her. Adora put on her biggest, brightest eyes and walked over with the hungry cat.

Seeing Adora, Octavia smiled. On seeing the girl next to her, however, she squinted.

“I’d watch this one, Adora. I heard about her,” She knelt down to be eye level with the Horde’s newest celebrity. “Vicious, so they say,” She growled, and the girl growled back, baring her teeth. Octavia returned a wide grin, showing her own teeth. “Looks kinda scrawny to me, though,” she laughed, and stood up to her full height, towering above the two girls, hands on her hips and tentacles poised in a display of size.

Adora heard the claws extend and in a split second grabbed at her companion’s tail. Please don’t, she thought. She did it without thinking, eyes wide as the person the tail belonged to looked at her with disgust and slapped her arm away. Octavia looked as though she would fall over laughing.

“Haha, I take it back, Adora, you’ve clearly got her under control. All it takes is a tug of the tail, eh, good to know!”

“Please, Octavia, can we get some food? It’s curfew soon and... I’m responsible for her,” Adora said, hurried and with eyes full of worry. She rubbed her arm nervously, while the new girl refused to look at either of them.

“Oh yeah?” Octavia said, immediately understanding. Her voice grew quieter. “Orders from Shadow Momma herself, huh? Good luck with that, kid.” She sighed. “I’ll get you a couple of ration packs. The good ones. Scrawny here could do with a lil’ protein by the looks of things,” She scuffed the girl’s hair, who stepped away, scowled, and began grooming her mane.

“Especially if she ever wants to have guns AS BIG AS THESE!” Octavia’s voice rose to its full potential as she performed a well-practiced flex, her bulging biceps lighting stars in Adora’s eyes. The feisty kitty, now finished with fixing her hair, stuck her tongue out, unimpressed.

The food was devoured long before they made it anywhere near the dorms. Adora didn’t need to offer her share, it was gone before she had the chance to say anything. She had never seen anyone enjoy Horde rations so much - it must have been a while since she ate. Adora took the chance to describe the things they walked past, gushing over the penetrative ability of the Horde walker’s railgun.

“Literally! Like from here…” She pointed to the nearest building, “Through like fifteen concrete walls, a replica of a princess’ shield, another walker, to there…” She pointed towards the base’s fortified wall on the other side, “...And even then we still couldn’t find the shell. It was so cool!”

While the feline’s eyes were entirely focused on annihilating the food, her ears were picking up on the sounds of destructive power, which was more than enough of an audience for Adora. When she had exhausted herself speaking, her eyes turned downcast, and she looked at her comrade.

“Sorry I... pulled your tail. I got scared and didn’t know what else to do. But you were really gonna take a swipe at her, weren’t you?”

“I still might. I don’t like her face.”

Adora giggled, it wasn’t the first time that she had heard such a sentiment. In the midst of  the courtyard, she caught sight of a line of training dummies, stuffed full of fresh straw for training tomorrow. It was dark, the orange of dusk having receded entirely, leaving a dim grey sky that even the moon struggled to light up. It was after curfew now, but Adora wanted to see something.

“Come here,” Adora said, holding the girl’s hand and pulling her towards the targets. They were six foot tall, though at least two of those feet comprised the stick that the torsos were held up by. They wore little tiaras made of cardboard, and had varying hairstyles made up of straw - the kids and more creative types couldn’t resist giving them personality.

“Let’s see what you can do,” Adora said, only just realising that they were still holding hands. They pulled away at the same time, and the cat hastened to speak.

“Do what?”

“Something like this,” Adora said, adopting a combat stance.

Hands raised in front of her face, she placed one leg behind the other before launching a flurry of hits at the dummy. She went for jabs to either side initially, getting a feel for the momentum and seeing how the dummy would respond, rocking from side to side at each blow. Eventually, she went for a straight to the head, but didn’t quite have the height to connect firmly. Dishonored by the inanimate princess, Adora opted for an uppercut that she had to jump to fully accomplish, but at last the dummy fell to the floor with a satisfying thud, a few stray pieces of straw following it down to the ground.

“Pff, finally,” was the girl’s response. They moved to the next dummy. She cracked her fingers and raised her head before rotating her neck to the left, then right. In an instant came the sound of claws, and a violent twist of her body that spun her around to face Adora. She was grinning cruelly as straw burst from the dummy’s neck. It cascaded downwards, and the tiara followed, slowly. Deflated, defeated, the dummy fell with the lightest push of her tail.

Adora gawked, impressed. “Wow, I mean, we’re supposed to take prisoners alive, but… yeah. Wow. Good job!” She beamed a genuine smile that disarmed the ferocious girl. Before she could respond, a deep, authoritative voice shouted at them.

“Hey! What are you kids doing?” A large woman with an even larger shield made her way towards them. “It’s past curfew, get back to the barracks!” Her footsteps resounded as she made her way towards them, shield nearly splintering the floor with each step.

She was slow-moving, heavily weighed down by the armour of the Fright Zone’s elite guard. On top of this, she wielded a long spear, the tip of which sparked with an unknown energy. The mischievous cat couldn’t resist blowing a raspberry before Adora hastily dragged her back home, shouting ‘sorry’ into the night.

On their last stop before bed Adora took the new recruit to the showers, adjacent to the dorms, where she would be able to clean up and get a shiny new Horde uniform. They had the whole area to themselves. It was a vast space, painted an immaculate white from top to bottom. Tiles that looked as though they were just installed shone so that it was difficult to tell where the cubicle walls began. Adora waited just outside one of them, partially so that there wouldn’t be any escape attempts, but mainly out of a need to know more about this curious girl.

The water began running, and Adora tried her hardest to give the cat cadet time to relax, but she couldn’t help herself.

“Where did you come from?” She asked. No response. She sighed. “I don’t know much about places outside of the Fright Zone. There’s the Whispering Woods, which is dangerous, and Bright Moon, which is even more dangerous.”

In the absence of a reply, Adora changed the subject to one she was more personally interested in. “Do… you... have any parents?” The water was deafening. Adora rested her head against the cold tiles. “I don’t. Everyone in the Horde either has family that’s a part of it or never had anything at all. I’m on that side of things. Alone. Was alone, I mean. The Horde is my family now.”

The purity of her surroundings gave Adora clarity to thoughts that had swirled around her head often. All around her, it was all white. A clean wall to project herself at, and a listening ear just out of sight. She knew she would be tired tomorrow, given how late it was, but introspection came easier at night, and until now she hadn’t had anyone else to talk with quite like this.

“If you do have family, I’m sure you’ll see them again soon. Everyone says you fought hard… was it a ‘territory dispute’? Something like that?” Endless rushing water, a white noise that made it difficult for the feline to think. “Things like that are always over quickly. And your family will be a lot safer within the Horde, I promise.”

Inside the shower, the girl’s head pulsated. Burning, fraught with chaotic, competing thoughts. The day’s events repeated back to her, but distorted and uncertain. Stung by something in her brain, she turned off the shower, breathless.

“And if you don’t have anyone, well, now you do!” Adora said happily. She waited patiently in silence, thinking of what her parents might have looked like and what they did. Fighters, she believed, but what were they fighting? Where did they go? For some reason, it rarely made her sad, thinking of them and who they might have been - and why they had to leave her. The possibilities were so numerous that it sometimes kept her up at night imagining them all. Long-lost descendants of the First Ones? Defectors from Bright Moon? Aliens?

The girl emerged from the shower wrapped in an excessive amount of towels.

“Catra. My name is Catra,” She repeated. “Catra,” Once more, quietly to herself, clinging tightly to the towels.

“Nice to finally meet you, Catra,” Adora said, smiling tiredly at her new friend. She stuck out a hand jokingly, and to her surprise Catra took it, mimicking the action but not fully understanding it. They shook hands awkwardly.

No amount of simulated battles could compare to the feeling of fatigue that washed over Adora, and so she resolved to get to sleep as soon as possible. She took Catra to the nearest changing room and encouraged her to pick out a size for her uniform. Whatever she took would be immediately replaced, the Horde was very efficient like that. It was a child’s white and red sleeveless shirt, with a pair of green slacks that were just slightly too long for her. She cut off the excess with a claw and refused to wear shoes, claiming to be far more mobile, and deadly, without them.

A short time later, Adora was face to face with her bed, worn out by a hard day’s work. Light snoring came from the other cadets down the hall; the Horde’s training program from day to day was more than enough to put the young recruits into a deep sleep.  She collapsed onto the bed, groaning with relief.

“Oh, sorry,” Adora mumbled into her pillow. “You want bottom?” She turned over lazily to face Catra, whose eyes glowed in the dark.

“Keep it,” She said, pouncing to the top bunk in one swift motion. Some fidgeting later, and Catra’s tail dropped from above, swaying contently in front of Adora’s face. It was hypnotising, and Adora could feel her eyelids getting heavier. Before sleep’s sweet embrace could take her, though, Catra asked, “So, no bunkmate? Why not?”

Adora, exhausted and far too honest, said, “I think people are scared of me. Well, Shadow Weaver, which I get. But that means me as well, ‘cos she’s my tutor, y’know?”

After a long period of silence, in which Adora caught exactly four seconds of sleep, Catra said, “I’m not scared of you. Or her.”

“Mmm… good. Means… impress them tomorrow… the squad… and her.. combat test…” She went silent, breathing softly and clutching her pillow.

Catra stared at the ceiling and saw Shadow Weaver’s eyes stare back. Red now, not white. They faded into the dark before reappearing, barely visible, at the very end of the dorms, taking up a distrustful vigil over all.  She scoffed and turned over, head down. In the black of her mind those eyes remained, becoming the only thought her brain allowed. She poked her head over the side of the bed and watched Adora sleeping. After a time, she too fell asleep, though it was anything but restful.

[nancykali]

Would you mind doing some badass Staloncy headcanons about how they go after the lab people and bring down other branches/gates? And maybe Kali healing and learning that killing people isn't the only way to get revenge (not that I'm against her killing those assholes, but I just want her to heal and be happy, you know?)

They’re all very protective of each other. But Kali andSteve take it to a whole other level.

This of course starts off with a ton of arguments. Stevedoesn’t like when any of them put themselves in danger, and is very vocal aboutit, but Kali is not about to let anyone stop her from getting what she wants.Jonathan is all about compromise, and Nancy is all about supporting Kali. Steveagrees to help them hunt down the bad men, on top of hunting inter-dimensional monsters, but only if Kali and Nancy teach him to shoot a gun as well as them.

Jonathan knows his strength does not lie in firearms. He’sthe one always watching their backs, coordinating the intricacies of the planwith Nancy, making sure bullets don’t get fired at his girlfriends andboyfriend in the first place. Hopper is the one who teaches him the mosthand-to-hand combat. Hopper teaches them all a few tricks, but focuses on teachingJonathan the most. Jonathan may not be as tall as Steve, but he has more massthan his lankier boyfriend, and what he lacks in height he makes up for inmuscle. Kali begins calling him their warrior, and she also gives Jonathanpointers on hand-to-hand combat that she learned from Funshine.  

There are a lot of long car rides, to get to whateverresidence of the bad man (or woman) they’ve targeted, to capture (if Hopper can convince them) or kill. Kali and Nancy do themost navigating, while Jonathan and Steve do the most driving.

Kali and Nancy are the ones who are best at finding thesepeople. El, who’s now started high school with Max and the boys, does stillhelp them, but they try not to need her help very often. Kali doesn’t want totake the small pocket of normalcy that Jane’s found from her, if she can helpit. But if Kali and Nancy hit a dead end, and even Hopper can’t help them, theyentreat El to give them a push in the right direction.

But Nancy and Kali, along with Hopper’s more developeddetective skills and connections, usually manage very well on their own. Nancy’sjob as a housekeeper in a 5 star hotel in New York City has gotten her a lot ofinformation they would’ve never gotten otherwise, or would’ve taken much longerto get. She has a memory that comes close to equaling Kali’s (and Kali’s memoryis very much aided by her gift), and can remember names and faces equally well.Her mother Karen taught her the basics of picking locks, and Kali helped herhone these skills. She sneaks wherever she wants, and Kali helps her manipulatethe security system (and the security personnel) of the hotel so they can gowherever they need to, and get whatever information they need to.

When they actually go to kill a monster, from the lab or the Upside Down, Steve and Kali work together to manipulate thesituation to fit their needs. Whether it’s the people from the lab, or any obstacle in tracking the monsters, Steve can charm the pants off anyone if you givehim the right set-up, and they always do. He’s acted as several different typesof repair man, delivery man, lost or confused civilian. They do everything theycan not to lure the cops, something Kali couldn’t manage with her gang before—theyjust didn’t have the resources.

And Kali had far less patience then. Finding Nancy gave hersomething she’d never really had—both stability and someone she could trust topursue their goal just as adamantly as she needed to. They both had equalstakes. They didn’t compare their trauma, Nancy implicitly understood her painwas not equal to Kali’s, but they knew they understood each other’s pain andneed for vengeance. And while Kali knew her sister Jane could understand herpain even more, she also understood Jane did not need what Kali needed, andshould not be forced to live the life Kali had chosen. Kali wanted to leaveJane to do as she chose, to live whatever life that gave her the mosthappiness. She had learned that did not mean continuing to hunt down the badmen, as Kali wanted to do.

Nancy’s training as an EMT gives her an edge over how tosubdue their targets, if they want to keep them alive (the Upside Down monsters they never do). Jonathan, or Jonathanand Steve together, usually do the actual subduing. During these operations,Steve and Jonathan mainly act as the bodyguards, the protectors. Steve usuallygoes in first, Jonathan usually leaves last. Jonathan has the best eye fordetail, similar to Kali—they both can spot something seemingly insignificant andmanipulate it to their advantage. Whether they kill or capture, he makes sureit’s done in a way that will leave the least evidence, so nothing can be tracedback to them. He and Nancy research together how to safely keep someoneunconscious, how to treat concussions and gunshot wounds and shock, how to tieknots that won’t come loose, and how to give stitches. Jonathan didn’t wantNancy to be the only one with this sort of knowledge, so he learns at least themost basic of these skills so he can help her.

Kali and Steve are the hotheads, but they also work the bestwith each other. Nancy is their offense, their firepower. Jonathan is theirprotector, their eyes. Steve is what Kali calls a soldier, their first defense.He doesn’t enjoy the fight (that would be Kali and Nancy) but he wants to bethe first to put himself in danger, so the rest of them won’t. That’s mainlywhy he and Kali argue so often. Kali wanted him to back down, until sherealized they could be the best first defense together. Steve can read peoplephysically better than anyone Kali’s ever seen, save perhaps Funshine, andBrenner. He knows where to strike before the other person can make a move. It’smore than just knowing hand-to-hand combat, it’s knowing how to read anopponent better than they read you. For Steve this is a natural skill, and forthat reason, Kali keeps him by her side when their enemy is right in front ofthem. She trusts Nancy and Jonathan to have their backs, and she trusts Steveto be at her side. Because sometimes he sees things in their target evenquicker than she can.

It’s when they go back to the hotel or motel, after a longpay phone conversation with Hopper, a secret drop off point where they leavethe unconscious body, that they all surrender to emotions, in different ways.Kali and Jonathan are strangely quiet, while Nancy and Steve are strangelyloud. From the driver’s seat, Jonathan cranks up the music, Steve sings badlyto nearly every song, and Nancy fusses over all of them. She’s the one with thefirst aid kit, and the most knowledge. If there are bruises she ices them, ifthere are cuts she bandages them. If there are worse injuries, she’s already theparamedic she’s being trained to become.

And Kali is the one to watch each of them closer than theysuspect, and find who needs the most attention, on the inside. If it’sJonathan, it’s usually because one of the others got hurt worse than him, andhe’s drowning in guilt. If it’s Steve, he’s had to see one of the others be inextreme pain, and he can’t give voice to his own pain without fear of seemingselfish. He becomes a worse mother hen than Nancy, when really he’s the onethat needs comfort, and is afraid to ask for it.

Nancy, if she is suffering, it is usually for Kali. Kaliknows Nancy wishes she could fight all her demons for her, like she wishes shecould have saved Barb a thousand times over, turned back time and reversedevery mistake she ever made. Nancy wants to save everyone, and deep down sheknows she can’t. Kali sees that clearer than anyone, and knows how to bringNancy out of that darkness, at least partially. Because Nancy was the first totry bringing Kali out of her own darkness.

After long hot showers in the hotel, sometimes four separateones, sometimes two, sometimes one messy bath time with all of them washingeach other’s hair, the four of them will lie down with the two beds pushedtogether. Their conversation will go from chatting, to deep and serious, tolighthearted again. Kali or Nancy will inevitably mention their newest lead onfinding the next stolen child. The ones Kali suspects might still be alive.009. 006. And 004. And when they eventually find them, what they’ll do. WhatHopper will do.

And eventually this day comes and Kali is confronted againwith the question—how long can she do this? She knows Steve wants to settledown the most. Jonathan will soon have a career, and she will not hold himback. Nancy makes it the hardest, because Kali knows Nancy will go to the endsof the earth for her. Nancy wants to save people, but knows the saving onlygoes so deep. Kali understands this. And they have already found each other,they won’t separate for anything. Kali knows this too, and knows she can’t puther vengeance first anymore. Soon she makes the choice to stop hunting, so sheand Nancy can heal together in a different way. When they find 009, Kali is 22years old. The four of them have been hunting together for six years. Notconstantly. There were breaks for school, studying and tests, big projects,visits to Hawkins, Christmases, birthdays, Joyce and Hopper’s wedding.

But when they find 009, when Jane and Kali see those sameeyes staring back at them for the second time, something in Kali shifts. Sheknows the fight isn’t over, but her place in it has to change. She looks atNancy, at the woman she loves most in the world, and knows the answer has beenin front of her for a long time. She wants to fight to save, not to kill.

The need for vengeance is still there, it always will be.But Jane, and 009, and Nancy, they soften that need until murder isn’t all thatgets her to sleep at night. She has Jane’s deep understanding, the need toprotect her and 009. She has Nancy’s undying love and support, and a differentsort of understanding, one that comes with an endless electricity between them,whenever they touch or even look at each other. And she has Steve and Jonathan,who love her differently, but still love her. She would not only kill for themall, but die for them. And that’s what makes her stop wanting to kill. She hastoo much to protect.

And she has family. Not just Funshine, Mick, Dottie, andAxel, who she stays in contact with until their dying days. But Hopper, Joyce,and Jane’s friends, all but siblings. Save for Mike, who Kali sees so much ofherself in.  She’s now their daughter,their sister, and they accept everything about her. Not just her anger, hertrauma, her gift. But her need for their love. That need is stronger than herneed for vengeance. It was Nancy that first showed her how to love someoneoutside of her trauma. And it was love for her found family that showed hervengeance didn’t have to be achieved through bloodshed alone.

(continuation of this Staloncy meta, this Staloncy post-s2/High School meta, and this Kali-focused Staloncy meta if you’re curious about this rare ot4 I love so much)

[onelovewonderwoman]

On the Down Low

First one shot! I’m really nervous! If anyone has any constructive criticism, please give it to me, I really wanna do my best. I tried really hard and I feel like everyone is OOC, but I’m working on that. It was hard to write but I hope I did well and that the person who requested this really likes it! Here we go!

tag : @harrisonholland

request : can you write an imagine where peter and the reader are best friends, and both are secret superheroes?

Y/N = Your Name

Y/L/N = Your Last Name

Y/S/N = Your Superhero Name

Words : 1560

Masterlist

———————-

Y/N Y/L/N was an ordinary teenage girl, although very much a huge nerd. She’s best friends with Peter Parker and Ned Leeds, some of the biggest geeks she knows and loves them for it. Her life was just school, homework, sleep, and the occasional Star Wars movie here and there.

Oh, and she also squeezes in a bit of saving the world into her schedule.

Y/N is known as one of the ‘vigilantes’ seen around Queens, New York, with the ability to turn invisible, alongside the infamous Spider-Man; Y/S/N.

No one knew, and no one would ever know. Especially not her two best friends. It’s dangerous as hell, and they would not be able to handle it, especially not Peter.

“Hey nerds, close your mouths, you’ll catch flies,” Y/N said while she sat down at the lunch table across from Peter and Ned, “What did Liz get a new top?” Y/N joked.

“No, she’s just never worn it with that skirt.” Ned sighed dreamily.

“Yeah.” Peter smiled lazily.

“That was a joke, Ned, and the fact that you know and have the capability to tell by this point really concerns me.” Y/N shook her head both.

“You guys are losers.” We heard from the other side of the table. Our heads turned to see Michelle Jones with a book in her hand and an unimpressed look on her face.

“Then why do you sit with us?” Ned squinted his eyes.

“‘Cause I have no friends.” Then went back to reading her book.

“Nice talking to you too, MJ.” Y/N laughed bitterly, “Anyway, don’t forget about the decathlon meeting after school today. Nationals is coming up.”

Y/N got a, “Yeah,” and “Got it,” before both boys went back to gawking Liz Allan, before ultimately ending up choking on flies. You told them about the flies, but they didn’t listen now did they.

“A particle is moving along a parabola y2= 2x + 3 in such a way that its x-coordinate is increasing at the constant rate of 3 units per second. At what rate, in units per second, is its y-coordinate changing as it passes through the point (3, -3)?” Liz read a sample question.

“-1.” Michelle answered quickly.

“That’s right,” Liz smiled, “When plutonium -239 decays to-”

“I gotta go.” Both Peter and Y/N said while looking down at their phones. Both heads shot up and looked at each other, “Why do you have to go?” They said in unison once again.

“That’s a bit creepy, don’t you think?” Cindy said from across the table.

“Yeah, it’s like their programmed to say the same thing like robots.” Abe chimed in.

“Or twins,” Ned jumped in, “It happens a lot, it’s freaky.”

“Hah, yeah funny, but I’m going to go now. So, I’ll see you guys for the last practice tomorrow.” Y/N jumped up from her chair and started fast walking towards the door of the classroom.

“Yeah, I’m gonna go too.” Peter said wide eyed and proceeded to do the same.

“What, no! You guys can’t leave, we need to be prepared!” Liz’s exclaimed, but they only fell on deaf ears, “Ugh. What could they possibly be doing that’s so important?”

“They’re probably getting freaky on the down low. Nasty nerds.” Michelle shook her head.

Y/N Y/L/N was now her alter-ego; Y/S/N, jumping from building to building to get to the ATM robbery that was taking place in Queens.

Perched on top of a building, Y/N watched as the robbers stuffed money from the ATM’s into large black bags, planning on how to stop them.

Y/S/N found her way down and used her powers to go unseen. She made her way into the bank and stood behind the only robber who had a gun.

Leaning against the only ATM machine that hadn’t been broken into, at least not yet, she cleared her throat loudly.

“What was that?” The armed robber turned to Y/N’s direction, but wasn’t able to see her.

While the four guys’ attention was turned to her, Y/N saw the one and only, Spider-Man enter the bank.

“Oh hell no.” Y/N growled. It’s not like they were enemies or anything, there was just some sort of competition with the two being new heroes and having different styles and ways of saving the day.

“Hey guys,” Spider-Man said, as the armed robber aimed at him, and shot soon after, although it was easily dodged, “Woah, here, let me hold that for you, buddy.”

Spider-Man shot a web and pulled the gun from the robber’s grasp, only for one of the other men to take a swing at him, which he caught and was able to send him flying across the room.

Y/N became visible and began to help Spider-Man despite her discontent, but, however, didn’t fail to voice it.

“I was here first Spider-Boy!” She yelled over the punches and kicks being thrown, “I had this handled.”

Y/N blocked a kick from a particularly large man and socked him in the face, sending him to the ground painfully.

“Didn’t look like you were doing anything when I got here.” Spider-Man grunted, blocking a punch.

Webbing another guy in the face, he swung himself into the man’s body to have him slam against the bank’s wall.

“I was gonna get to it, did you not hear me clear my throats for suspense?” Y/S/N swooped down to knock the third man down with her leg and found him unconscious.

As the fourth and final robber tried to escape, Y/S/N grabbed onto Spider-Man’s hand to have him swing her around and tackle the man, but not without an accidental kick sent to his face, courtesy of yours truly.

“God damn it! Can’t you watch where you’re going?” Spider-Man clutched his eye, “Do you have toes made of titanium or something?”

“Oh, don’t be such a wussy, Spider-Boy,” Y/N sneered and walked to him, “Don’t you take on tons of bad guys a week?”

“Spider-Man. It’s Spider-Man. Not Spider-Boy or Spiderling, I’m Spider-Man.” He exclaimed desperately, eyes on his suit widening.

“Mhm,” Y/S/N hummed and adjusted her mask, “Well, I’ll see you around, preferably not when I’m fighting crime, on my own, where I’ve got everything handle-”

“I get it, don’t get in your way. Only as long you don’t get in mine.”

“Mhm,” Y/S/N shook her head and started mumbling, “Thank God I’m not friends with someone like you in my everyday life.”

He could be Flash Thompson for all she knew.

Spider-Man heard her mumbling and couldn’t help but agree with her for once.

“So, what was going on yesterday? Why’d you leave so suddenly?” Michelle questioned Y/N at her locker.

Y/N sighed and shoved her backpack into the locker, grabbing the books she needed for the next couple of classes, “Nothing, MJ. Family stuff, but don’t worry; I’ll be there for Nationals.”

“Uh huh, like I believe that,” Michelle took a step closer to Y/N once she’d closed her locker, “What are you hiding, Y/N?”

Y/N sighed for the second time, “I’m telling you, it was just family stuff. I promise you, now can we go to class?”

“Mhm.” Michelle turned on heel and started to walk ahead of Y/N.

“Great, I made the most annoyed and unimpressed girl in school even more annoyed and unimpressed.” Y/N mumbled to herself, jogging forward to catch up with her.

Their silent walk was interrupted when Y/N made an abrupt stop when she saw Peter at his locker with Ned. He had a huge bruise on his eye, right where Y/S/N had kicked Spider-Man yesterday.

‘There’s no way little Peter Parker is that annoying ass Spider-Boy. Not my best friend.’ Y/N thought, ‘He did leave at the same time as me though, and has been acting so weird lately. The Stark Internship may not even be a real thing at all!’

Oh, Y/N Y/L/N had been wrong about Peter Parker not being able to handle the danger and shock, but she won’t be wrong when she says that he won’t be able to handle her foot up his ass.

‘He didn’t even tell me! Well, I never told him… but still!’ Y/N shook her head of the thoughts and settled to talk to her best friend about it tonight.

“So, you and Peter,” Michelle started, “Something’s happening, huh?”

Y/N head shot over in her direction, eyes wide. There was no possible way Michelle would know about Spider-Man and Y/S/N.

“You nasty nerds have been getting freaky on the down low, right?” Michelle shrugged, “Not judging, there always has been sexual tension anyway.”

Y/N out a breath she didn’t know she was holding before she rolled her eyes, “We aren’t ‘getting freaky’ on the down low. Peter is my best friend, practically my brother.”

“That’s what they all say,” Michelle shook her head, “Until they start the nasty.”

“We did not ‘start the nasty’!” Y/N exclaimed and started walking away from her friend, only to hear her shout the words for everyone in the hall to hear,

“Is it kinky?!”