#might keep better notes going forward we'll see

[babyhatesreality]

The Book was Better

Daddy!Stucky x little f!reader

Warnings: SFW Agere (SSC), f! reader, reader is named but name used sparingly, pet names/nicknames, fear of disappointment, a little language, fluff (I mean really do you expect anything less from me? :D)

PLEASE NOTE- THIS STORY IS AGERE AND SFW, THE REST OF MY BLOG IS NOT NECESSARILY SO. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR OWN MEDIA CONSUMPTION. DO NOT COPY, PLAGIARIZE, OR TRANSLATE ANY OF MY WORKS ONTO ANY SITE. Likes, comments, and reblogs deeply appreciated! 

A/N- for @asittwas, who just gave me the loveliest compliment and reblog. Thank you darling!! To all of you- sorry to be gone so long. Life hopefully is going to ease up for a while.

"Alright puppy, you ready?" Steve said, grinning as he finished tying your shoes.

"YES!" you screamed with joy, flinging yourself forward into his arms. He laughed and tossed you in the air, before bringing you into his chest and nuzzling your cheek lovingly. "Can we please go now pleeeeease?"

"Yup, it's go time! Let's get Daddy and head out."

You wriggled with excitement. You all were going to the zoo today! The day was finally here! They'd been hyping you up for a while over it- not that you needed the help getting excited- and you were nearly exploding for joy, hence Papa carrying you to find Daddy. If he put you down, you were likely to run roughly 9000 laps around the apartment just on adrenaline alone. And while chasing you was a good workout for the both of them, Steve and Bucky had agreed to keep your energy reserved for the zoo.

"What animals are you most excited to see today, little one?" Steve asked, bouncing you playfully as you made your way together to the bedroom. They had asked you the same question every day for the past two weeks, and you had a different answer every time.

You tapped your fingers against your lips, thinking. "Ummmm..." you mumbled as you thought hard. "Da tigers, and da sheep, and...and..." Steve pinched his lips together in amusement at this new combo and waited for you to finish your thought, "....and the DRAGONS!"

Well. That was an entirely new one.

Steve carefully cleared his throat, wanting to get ahead of this now. "Baby," he said gently, slowing down his pace a bit. You frowned and looked down at his feet, speaking before he could gather his thoughts and patting him hard on the shoulder.

"Papa, go faster!"

"Baby, listen-"

"Go faster to Daddy!! Now!!!"

"Hey," Steve said sternly, stopping immediately. You bit your lip, looking contrite. "Are you allowed to talk to me that way?"

"I sorry," you said, abashed. "I excited."

Steve smiled gently and gave you a kiss on the temple in forgiveness as he resumed his journey. "I know you're excited. But I need you to listen right now and be a good girl. Understood?"

"Okay, Papa!"

"Good girl. So...so there will be lots of fun animals at the zoo today, and we'll see them all, okay?"

"Okay!"

"But there might not be all the animals you want. Sometimes that happens."

"But dat's where dey live. In da ZOO. Dey gonna be dere."

"I know, honey," he said patiently, praying that this didn't go off the rails. They had been reading the Hobbit to you, and you had become obsessed with the characters, especially Smaug. He was the ultimate villain in all your playacting recently. Steve and Bucky tried so hard not to destroy your make believe world, but he also didn't want you to get crushed when you didn't see anything close to the dragon in your mind today. "We'll see all the animals that live at the zoo. But some animals don't live at the zoo."

"I know! Dey live all over the world and den some live at the zoo."

"Right. So the zoo doesn't have all the animals in the world. But that doesn't mean that we're not going to have lots of fun, right?"

"Right!"

"Right. So if an animal isn't there, then that's okay, right? Because we're still gonna have fun."

"Yup!"

"Okay, then!" Steve said, knowing he had laid the ground work to help you if you mentioned "dragons" again, and feeling pretty good about it. You two walked into the bedroom just as Bucky was pulling on a baseball cap. You squealed in delight, leaning forward out of Steve's arms towards Bucky. He spun around and effortlessly caught you, giving you a huge kiss on the cheek.

"Alright, Trouble, you ready?" he asked as Steve retrieved his own ballcap. "You ready to see all the animals?"

"Yeah! We gonna see DRAGONS!"

Steve's nervous gaze swung to Bucky's face. Bucky was looking at you impassively, clearly in thought. He turned and smiled gently, and Steve's heart stopped racing for a moment. Surely Bucky would help and say the right thing to you.

"Well, you never know at the zoo," Bucky said with a shrug and a grin. You cheered loudly. He chuckled at the look of astonished betrayal on his husband's face as you all headed out the door.

*******************************************************

It became clear to the both of them that the idea of dragons had taken hold of your little mind and was not letting up. The entire way there, you chatted animatedly about how when you saw the dragon, Papa and Daddy could pretend to be the knights and the kings and the elves and the hobbits from Daddy's book and save you- the beautiful princess- from certain death and then you- who also apparently wielded a convenient bow and arrow- would save all the animals in the zoo and become the Princess of New York City.

When you all went through the front gates, there was a blessed time when they thought they might be off the hook from this whole dragon thing. All the sights captured and held your attention. You were instantly mesmerized by the beautiful tigers, you laughed at the silly monkeys, you followed the paths of the birds and the peacocks being very careful not to scare them, and your eyes had taken on a wonderous look when you actually got to feed a giraffe. The petting zoo part had been a huge hit. They were almost home free, thinking about lunch as you skipped in between them down the path, holding both their hands.

"Can we see da dragons now?" you asked politely out of the blue, after about three hours of not mentioning it once. Steve shot Bucky a nervous look.

"Well, Baby, remember how I said that some animals don't live in zoos?" Steve said carefully

"Yeah, but-"

"Well, love, dragons don't do well in zoos. And this zoo doesn't have any dragons."

"Yes dey-"

"No, no they don't. But we can go see other animals and keep having fun, right?"

"Go see da dragons!"

"There's no dragons to see here, baby. We could go look at the zebras instead, how would you like that?"

You shook your head, planting your feet, which caused them both to stop. You pointed to a sign on the left, letting go of Bucky's hand.

"See? Da dragons is DERE!" you said triumphantly. "I see da word!!" They turned and looked. The sign that you were impetuously pointing to listed reptiles, tortoises, and...Komodo dragons. "See? Dragons!" You snatched Bucky's hand again, pulling them in that direction. "We gotta go!" you hollered joyfully, yanking your daddies as hard as you could to follow you.

"She must have recognized the word from looking at the book," Steve murmured to Bucky as he let you drag him towards the enclosure. "Do you think she's going to be upset when...when she sees it?"

"Only one way to find out," Bucky said, failing to suppress his grin at your stubbornness and determination, and trotting willingly with you. Steve sighed, exasperated, internally grumbling and swearing to himself that if you had a meltdown it was all going to be Bucky's fault.

Once you all got closer, you excitedly asked Bucky to pick you up in a hushed voice, knowing that dragons could hear intruders into their caves. You wanted a better view for your first time seeing a live dragon.

Steve watched your face very carefully as the three of you approached the large viewing area. He watched as your brow wrinkled in confusion. He heard you whisper to Bucky.

"Where is da treasure?"

Bucky, to his credit, answered quickly, having worked on his game plan all along. "Probably inside," he whispered back. "You know, so the other dragons and zoo people don't steal it. He's got it hidden extra extra good."

"Dat makes sense," you said, nodding wisely. You craned your neck, holding tightly onto Bucky as he tried to hold in a snicker. "How's come we see outsides and not a cave like da book?" was your next question.

"Because we don't want to go into the cave and get burned up, do we?"

"OH! No, don't want dat."

"I didn't think you did."

"But den how's he gonna come out?" You pointed to the opening in the rock. "Is too small."

Bucky was saved by a lizard in that moment. He didn't have a good answer to that one, but luckily the Komodo dragon chose to make his appearance right then. Both Steve and Bucky turned their faces to watch you as your jaw dropped in utter astonishment. The Komodo dragon took his sweet time stepping out of the enclosure, his long tongue flicking the air around him.

"What's he doing?" you asked in an awed voice.

"He's got the scent of something," Bucky whispered back, actually knowing the real answer here. "He senses and tastes something in the air and he's trying to figure out what it is."

"Ohhhhh," you breathed in wonder. Your eyes took in every inch of that Komodo dragon, your little body jolting with surprise or glee anytime the lizard moved. After about three minutes of you being nearly catatonic with joy at finally seeing a dragon, you turned to Bucky again, confusion crossing your face.

"Is bigger in da book," you commented as you tried to figure out why this dragon was so small.

Bucky couldn't help the snort of laughter at that moment, but as your little frown deepened just a bit, he passed it off as a cough then turned very seriously to you. "This must be a baby dragon," he explained in a lofty voice that was clearly supposed to be a stab at a scholarly approach. "A big dragon probably wouldn't agree to live at the zoo."

"But, den where is his daddy dragon? Is he gonna come back?" you asked anxiously.

"Oh yeah, of course," Bucky said without missing a beat. Steve suppressed a smile, knowing that NOW Bucky was mentally sweating bullets. Then, damn it all, Bucky once again dug himself out of the hole. "You know what? This is probably a distraction," Bucky whispered conspiratorially to you.

"Distra...districta...a what?"

"A distraction. The daddy dragon is guarding the real treasure, while the baby dragon makes everyone come look at him because he's so cute and sweet. No one will think to go looking for their treasure because the baby dragon distracts them!"

"Dat is so SMART!" you gasped in agreed. "Smart dragons! Like da books!!"

"Yup, exactly like the books."

You looked back at the Komodo dragon, smiling ear to ear, then turned back to both your daddies.

"Da book was better," you declared happily, then nodded sagely as if the matter was now closed. "Can we go see zebras?"

You all had a delightful rest of the day at the zoo, seeing all the animals, and that night you cheerfully went to bed without a fuss at the promise of a story with your daddies starring as the knights of New York who saved you from the dragon.

And for the rest of your lives, occasionally Steve or Bucky would turn to each other and quietly say "Eh, the book was better," making the each other laugh to the point of joyful tears.

[moodymisty]

Hello! Hope you had time to rest :) I'm kind of in a mental health gutter at the moment. Can I request anything with Strife? I just really would like something wholesome and comforting.

[ 𝕸𝖔𝖔𝖉𝖞𝕸𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖞'𝖘 𝕸𝖆𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖑𝖎𝖘𝖙| 𝕬𝖔3 ]

Author's note: Hey friend! I know it's been a bit so I hope you're feeling better, and if not, that this makes you feel better.

Relationships: Strife/Gn!Reader

Warnings: None

"You said you wanted to see the Makers realm, and here it is. Don't go getting sleepy on me now."

Mayhem rocks underneath you as he walks, Strife's chest firmly against your back as he holds the reins with his right hand. You've been riding for the entire day now, and as the sun starts to set, you find yourself leaning back into him more and more, like sinking into the back of a chair.

"I didn't think it would take this long... Can't you all just teleport?" Strife takes his left hand that was resting against his thigh and nonchalantly gestures outward, before returning it to his leg.

"Using Fulgrim's wormholes, yes. But I'm not taking you in one of those if I have anything to do about it."

Whatever he's afraid of happening to you in there might be worth the risk, if it means having feeling in your bottom again. Besides you've met Fulgrim; Despite him being the embodiment of the adjective sleeze, you don't think he'd be stupid enough to do anything to a human close to the Horsemen. At least you would hope he'd have the foresight to realize that would be a terrible idea.

"Then don't get mad at me if I fall asleep because you took the long path to get here."

You hear him let out an overly exaggerated sigh, but continues looking forward as Mayhem strides through the thin forest path. You assume the horse must be dreadfully bored at this point, though you have no way to tell.

"We'll get there soon, and then I'm sure the Makers will be happy to give you a bed to sleep on. They'll love having a human to dote on."

You wonder how he assumes that, though you don't have enough mental energy to inquire if he's brought other humans here before and knows from experience, or if the Makers will simply be overjoyed to meet members of a smaller species.

One thing you've leaned quite quickly over the course of the apocalypse and post-apocalypse: Humans are by far the smallest of all the species. Even Death, the shortest of the Nephilim, towered over you with ease the few times you'd ever seen him.

Shifting slightly on the front half of the saddle, you sigh and decide to rest your eyes for a bit, leaning your head back onto Strife's chest.

Only for a bit, but you ended up falling asleep moments later, sliding to the side until Strife suddenly catches you with his arm as he notices you drifting. He wraps it around your middle, and only needs to take one look downward before he realizes you've fallen asleep, head resting against your shoulder.

He shifts his arm up to wrap around your chest and his hand cradles your shoulder, so you'll stay better upright against him while his other hand still lazily holds Mayhem's reins.

Strife finds your sleepiness completely, overwhelmingly adorable; But he also finds himself almost in awe of the fact that you were able to so easily fall asleep near him. He's not the most trustworthy Nephilim. It's endearing to find someone who trusts him so readily to fall asleep in his arms without so much as a second thought about it. He keeps looking down at you, before talking into the quiet evening air.

"Pretty cute, right Mayhem?"

The horse shifts his head just enough to look towards Strife, before looking back forward and giving a snort. He assume the horse is just upset that he said his name after making him walk so long in such a boring, straight line.

The sharp metal of his gauntlet shifts against your clothes, as he intentionally tries to avoid ripping your clothes or worse- cutting you. Even if it's a silly, unlikely thing, he doesn't want to risk it. Strife has learned many times how fragile you are, and doesn't want to take even the slightest risk.

The one time he realized he bruised your wrist he still isn't entirely over, and it worries him to think of all the times he's hurt you and you managed to hide it from him.

Feeling you shift against him Strife looks back down at you again, watching you fidget in your sleep and grasp the edges of your armor with one of your hands. He wonders what your dreaming about, if anything.

He knows that there isn't much longer until he makes it to the Tri-Forge, but he doesn't mind taking it a bit slower provided he gets to feel you sleeping in his arms just a little bit more.

[texasthoughtsaboutnothing]

The Stranger and my thoughts on where each LCB Sinner is at (Long)

Hey, I actually sat down and read L'etranger, Meursault's source novel. I've got some fucking feelings about it, especially relating it to Limbus Company and what it might mean for his Canto in like 2 years.

Firstly, you should read or listen to this book. It's short, surprisingly punchy, and easy to follow. I (probably) don't have autism but I can absolutely see a read of this where the character does or is neurodivergent in some other way; beyond his relationship and evaluation of social queues and norms he also seems to deal with sensory issues. There are better people than me who should talk about this and I'm probably not adding a lot to the conversation but keeping this reading in my head for the climax added an extra layer of discomfort (intentional discomfort for the benefit of the story's message, I should say) to the whole book. But It's worth experiencing even if you disagree with that reading or have a different one.

Limbus Brainrot/Spoiler stuff from here on in.

There's always the question of where exactly each Sinner is in their story as they're on the bus. Their stories have been reinterpreted and/or jumbled in ways that make it fun to guess, so to go over each Sinner and where they are based on what we know or my theories:

Yi Sang - I'm not gonna front, I don't really get The WIngs, but this seems like a Good End AU for him. He already escaped his "Wife's" control and the sunless room and is now flying again (metaphorically, or maybe literally? i dont know help me).

Faust - Likely in the middle of the part where she's using Mephistopheles' power to do good in the world and prior to her being damned to hell. Side note, she's last to get a Canto and I bet it's not a coincidence that (afaik) she and Dante are the only two with Hell in their stories directly. My long shot call is that Faust is also Beatrice and there will be so much DantexFaust ship art in 2026.

Don Quixote - The biggest enigma. La Sangre de Sancho has gripped the imagination of the fandom and I am no exception. She's next after Heathcliff so we'll get her some time in August at the latest and I can't wait. My best guess is she's currently gallivanting and will be forced home in her Canto, assuming Don is Sancho theory isn't true. Praying her Canto is called The Impossible.

Ryoshu - In Hell Screen, the reason the painter is obsessed with torture is that he can only paint what he has seen and is trying to paint the Buddhist Hell. In his quest for his art he destroys his life and those around him, and ends up committing suicide over it. But there is a villain in the form of the Lord who beyond driving the story by requesting the screen in the first place is guilty of SA and murder. I'm expecting we're post story; the Lord is related to the five fingers, the daughter might be recast as a friend or something, and the sword Ryoshu carries is likely the screen. Nothing revolutionary in my guesses here, but it's either going to be that straight-forward or insanely abstract, where she's the lord and the painter and the daughter and the screen and the sword is the monkey or some shit.

Hong Lu - I have not yet read Dream of a Red Chamber, it's next on the list. Forgive me!

Heathcliff - Oh boy. Like many, I expect he is post-spurning by Catherine and is on his journey for his fortune on the LCB. So, his Canto will be about coming home to a beloved who is with someone else. Yes, the beloved blorbo will suffer for my amusement. Let's go 3 hours Heathmael sex scene!

Ishmael - We now know her story already kinda happened, as many expected, making this a bizarre sequel to Moby Dick. I think it gave PM a lot of room to do whatever they wanted to while still sticking to the themes of the story. Already wrote about what I loved about this and the recontextualizing of Ahab as a whale unto herself (which I don't actually know if it's in the original novel, but it wouldn't surprise me).

Rodion - A weird one. Her inciting incident happened, the murdering of the landlord/pawnbroker, but the unintentional death of the innocent sister was shifted to the entire damn block. So if I had to guess she's in the period after her crime trying to avoid being caught, but no police officer allegory has really been introduced yet. I read Crime and Punishment years ago so I can't say for certain but it feels the most loosely adapted and suffers a tad for being part of the intro. Rodya's story is in no way finished so it's up in the air. Praying for a Petrovich just so people can meet the OG Columbo.

Sinclair - Still need to read Demian, but I have a rough understanding of the plot. Also unfinished in his story, Sinclair has a long way to go to his self-realization. This feels more intentional however, I remember someone made an observation of Cinqlair as representative of his drunken college years where he's popular but unfulfilled, and I think we can extend that to all of his IDs. He seems to have the most potential of all the Sinners, so much so that I wouldn't be surprised if there's a mirror world where he's a Color unto himself. I digress, the point is he's pre Frau Eva (who if she turn's out to be the Purple Tear I will lose my mind) who is also called Beatrice at some point so what's up with that PM?

Outis - Another big mystery, especially as she isn't Odysseus but Outis, a name referencing a particular part of the Odyssey with the Cyclops. I have to imagine she's on the Odyssey, journeying home after the Smoke War (which might have some parallels with the Trojan War beyond the obvious). It's interesting all the Greek myth named Abnormalities are Hospital themed, might be something there but nothing I can parse from my limited knowledge of Greek society and folklore. While she' might be a traitor, I'm thinking she's joined Limbus Company to hide while on her journey; she might be wanted dead by something and is concealing her identity after what happened in the war.

Greg - Again, a character post-story. He was locked in a room, he metamorphized, and... well he's alive? So we've diverged from the source novel, as it's taken the allegorical meanings and made them more literal, but Hermann is still around and a major player so who knows where this will go?

Meursault - I have so many thoughts. Meursault could be anywhere in his story, but I'm going to guess it's one of two places. First guess, we're completely pre story. His Canto opens with him getting a message that Maman died today, or maybe yesterday, he doesn't know. So the whole story plays out over the course of the Canto. But more likely, and my prediction, is that he's currently in "jail" awaiting his execution or acquittal. He has already murdered a man (or done some other crime) and instead of being tried for that, he has been tried and sentenced for his peculiarities of character. Bound in the chains of others, the multitudes have tightened their hold (I'm very clever and not cringe at all).

So I have to wonder what light blinded him, overwhelmed him so much that it led to his crime? The Bright Nights and Dark Days are an obvious choice, and I'm not the first to suggest it. Perhaps he distorted? Anyway, his story ends with him having given up on acquittal and instead hoping for a crowd of people hating him as he approaches the guillotine. I'm super interested in how this will play out in Limbus, especially as he must survive for gameplay purposes.

Also, Meursault is so horny. Like, oh my god. Half of his thoughts are of Marie, specifically of wanting her and all the connotations that contains. He spurns God in the face of a Chaplain, saying that He is worth nothing compared to a single hair on a woman's head. Meursault is not a romantic but not just some horndog either, his desire for sex and women and their bodies feels like an extension of his worldview centered on the immediacy of life and not just debauchery or hedonism. It's a part of the idea life is lived as today, yesterday, and tomorrow, and there is joy and happiness in that simplicity. I feel like this will get cut for Limbus but I hope it isn't, I want Meursault to casually admit he desires every Sinner on the bus carnally (yes the men and NB too, probably just a HC but I do believe that the City is a binormative society based on its already loose relationship to gender identity).

So uh, that's the thoughts so far. Merry Christmas, I guess.

[kimeoshi]

HEY YOU

Um...

Hi hope you're having a a wonderful day

I just wanted to ask since you're a digital artist... how do you color your art?? Because I'm a traditional artist trying to become a digital artist but I have no clue how to color my work (I made the mistake of using 'fill' on ibis paint before realizing oh wait that's not how digital artists color their work dummy) like I know base color and all that but the layers... how... How color? Line art no fun...

*cries*

I have no idea what I'm doing 😭

Don't feel pressured to answer this or anything, just thought to ask you since your art is so CRUNCHY I LOVE IT

Hello there!! I hope you're having a nice day as well

Sure! I'm very happy you like my art and as I also started as a traditional artist, I'm glad to entail some tips! :]

Base colors:

After finishing the lineart (can be sketch too), I use the Magic Wand tool and click it on outside of the lineart. This will give you a silhouette, but in the wrong space. Therefore, we have to go to 'Selection -> Inverse selection', after, you can proceed to use the fill tool on a separate new layer, beneath the lineart.

(Advanced tip: if you use Clip Studio Paint (CSP), there's an asset called 'Erase Along Edge'. Set your lineart layer to a reference layer (light house icon) and you can continue to erase and adjust the silhouette more easily with this eraser!)

Next, make a folder, clip it down to the silhouette, within this folder, add separate layers for each base color. This will help you manage your colors more effectively.

Shading:

This is extremely tricky and I cannot give a standardized process for this, but I'll attempt to do so. There are much better ways to do this I'm sure, the one I entail on forward is a bit time consuming (but it might only be a personal thing as I tend to over-render)

My method:

For a simplified method, skip all the purple colored parts of text.

We are going to continue working here:

I fill a separate layer with all black, and set the layer to color mode. This is to help us see the values better. Should we play around with contrast, brightness, focus points etc.

Then, with a layer, set to multiply mode, I begin shading shadows. Can be grey for now.

After I'm done, I use a layer to block out bright parts, with white. It makes it very dramatic, bless. (You can use different colors for this of course, I just keep this specifically very bright.)

Additionally, make a separate layer, use it for reflection lights with a lightish gray.

Adjust, add, tweak layers to ensure your overall image meets your expectations, including background. Most of the times, I even additionally paint a complete image by blocking out bigger shapes (messy and undefined) to see how the values should match in this stage.

Simplified demonstration:

We'll come back to these layers later.

Hide the previous black color layer. We now have colors again, but it's all so muddy.

Therefore, we alpha lock our previous layers of shading, and fill it over with colors. Unsatisfied by any colors? Use the Hue/Saturation/Brightness sliders or add a new correction layer. Important thing to note that you can use other colors than this purple/blue one in the image below for the multiply layer.

I use correction layers unapologetically. My favourite is Tone Curve + Gradient Map.

Naturally, I have a lot more layers than this in the demonstrated picture, such as Overlay layers to emphasize focus points or further darkening parts with multiply layers, etc. I do most of the hard work during rendering stage! Excuse me for the low effort rubber duck also hahah. Here's a closer example for what I usually do:

All we got left to do is Rendering (painting over mistakes) and Effects. I cannot give much advice on Rendering, it's pretty much the same as in traditional art.

Effects:

I sometimes leave little speckles/sparkles over my art to make it more detailed.

After, there can be correction layers, simply to adjust the final look.

I usually save the image as png or jpg (or in CSP case, merge all visible layers to a new layer) and add noise.

Sometimes, when I just want to post a sketch I add a 3d effect but in Photoshop. It helps a bit in faking extra details.

That's the end of my process! I hope this proved of help, and I wish you a smooth journey :D In the future, I can post timeline speed paints, if there is interest.

My other related threads are this (on my process) and this (on mindset and learning).

You can see me working in action through gifs here. (The gifs include extra planning stages (mentioned in the previous 'on my process' thread, but they follow the same principles I mentioned.)

----

Another note: it is possible to get a cracked version of CSP, which I won't entail because of account safety reasons, but if you research it, a pointer I can give is that the distributor's name starts with 'o'.

[missacidburn928s-heathenhideaway]

That First Night

POC!Reader x Nomad!Steve Rogers

Wordcount: 1986

Summary:

A retelling of the night you both finally gave in to your thirst for each other.

Content Warnings:

Nomad Steve Rogers, Smut, Gratuitous Smut, Shameless Smut, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Reader-Insert, POV First Person, Post-Civil War (Marvel)Not Canon Compliant, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Light BDSM

Notes:

I'm a sucker for some Nomad Steve and I just couldn't get this idea of him meeting someone while hiding out on the run and just having this casual relationship with them. Starting as friends and turning into more naturally. I might turn this into a series of one-shots/vignettes told from the readers POV, possibly Steve's as well. I'm not sure yet. We'll see how this one goes. This is written in first person from the readers perspective. It played out like movie in my head while I was writing and this is how it turned out.

Banner by @cafekitsune

So here's the thing. We'd known each other for only a little while. Yes, but there is nothing I find sexier than a man who's tall, dark, and damaged. I just couldn't resist him. And dammit if I didn't try.

He's standing in front of me while we chat at a party and my eyes can't help but roam all over his form. Memorizing the sway of his hair, the tilt of his eyebrows, the dark pools of cerulean he calls eyes. That jawline that just kills me.

I catch myself staring at his mouth when he speaks. Biting my bottom lip, wishing that I could just lean forward and bite his instead. My eyes continue their journey over his body, his biceps I want to wrap my hands around, his large hands that could easily engulf mine, his solid chest rising and falling with each breath, his long strong muscular legs that support his tall stature.

I take my time gazing at the bulge in his pants. Knowing that right behind that zipper there's a glorious cock waiting to give me nothing but the utmost pleasure.

A sly smile spreads across my face as I continue to stare at his crotch. I can feel a pool of wetness forming as I'm thinking about all the lovely things I want to do to him. I squeeze my thighs together trying to relieve some of the pressure from my throbbing and aching clit. It feels a little too good and before I can catch myself I let out a soft whimper.

I quickly look up to his face, hoping he didn't hear me over the chatter and music surrounding us. I watched his pupils dilate with lust and a devious smile spread across his face. Oh he definitely heard me. Damn supersoldier hearing. "What's going on in that pretty little head of yours? Please, do tell, Doll. Inquiring minds want to know." I should play coy, but why do that, I want him so badly my whole body is vibrating.

I wiggle my finger in a come hither fashion so he can lean forward and bend down to my level. I place my right hand on his chest and whisper in his ear, "I'm thinking about how badly I want you to pin me up against this wall so I can slip into your pants and finally get my little hand wrapped around that big cock of yours." I then lay a sweet kiss right below his ear.

"But there's people here all around us", he mumbles into my neck. With a light chuckle and a mischievous look in my eye, I tell him, "I know. That's the fun part. How long do you think you can last before you either A. Cum in your pants and all over my hand, B. Drag me to the first open room or bathroom you find or C. Want to leave so we can continue this at your place?"

"Challenge accepted baby". With a chaste kiss to my lips he places his hand on my hip and guides me to the wall until my back is pinned against it. His large frame pretty much hiding me from sight. I waste no time, running my hand over the ever growing tent in the front of his pants. He lets out a low groan. "Tsk, tsk there Captain. You better keep it quiet and look like we're just talking. Wouldn't want to get too much attention now would we?"

Right as I finish my question I slip my hand into his pants and wrap my fingers around his stiff length. I slowly start to play with his foreskin and begin to move my hand up and down his long, velvety soft shaft. Making sure to sweep my palm across the head every few strokes to gather up the precum leaking from the tip.

As I increase my speed, I begin to talk to him. "So, seen any good movies lately?" I giggle as he looks me in the eyes with a strained face and clenched jaw. Clearly trying desperately to stay quiet. I tighten my grip and he presses his pelvis into me. Pinning me harder against the wall, stopping my hand from moving any further.

"Ready to cum already? That was quick." He smiles, "More like, turnabout is fair play darlin."

Before I can even fully register what is happening his hand is down the front of my pants. His middle finger making small circles against my sensitive clit. I bite down on my bottom lip to keep from moaning. "Someone's playing dirty. This was supposed to be about you Steve."

To which he replies, "I just had to see you squirm for me". He sinks his middle finger in my dripping pussy, curves it and lightly strokes against my g-spot. "Now who's ready to take it someplace else?", he whispers against my ear and then pulls his hand out of my pants. Licking his finger clean, "Mmmm even sweeter than I imagined".

"If you want an even better taste we're certainly gonna have to find some place a little more private", I respond in a lust filled voice, pulling my hand out of his pants after one more slow and teasing stroke. He grabs my hand and heads down the hallway. Pushing his way through the line of people waiting for the bathroom. As we are about to pass the bathroom the door opens and he rushes us inside before the next person in line can even realize what is happening and locks the door.

He grabs me by the hips and lifts me up and onto the counter, not wasting any time. "I wanted to take it slow with you. Take you out first, but you've got me so worked up that I have to have you right now." He kisses me hard. Our tongues dancing a tango together as I wrap my legs around his waist and grind against the steel rod that's just begging to be released from the confines of his jeans. I moan into his mouth as I grab his hair, trying to get as close to him as possible.

We both come up for air, panting as we try to get our lungs to settle back down. "These leggings have got to go. Hold on to the counter and lift your ass up for me." I do as I'm told and he practically rips the pants, panties included, off of me.

He sinks down to his knees so that his face and my pussy are level with each other. He looks up at me with lust filled, hooded eyes and licks his lips. "What was that you were saying about a better taste?" Before I can even get a word out in response he licks a stripe up my folds to my swollen clit. Moaning into me, delighted with the sweetness flowing onto his tongue.

I grip his head for balance and he starts to really go to town. Feasting on me, like I’m his favorite meal and he’ll perish if he does not devour it all. As he adds 2 fingers inside me I begin to squirm and grind against his face, fucking myself with his fingers. He curls them, hitting that sweet spongy spot that has me seeing stars and coming undone on his tongue. Letting out a long guttural moan, gushing my sweet nectar and making a mess all over the lower half of his face.

I release his hair from my hands and he looks up at me, lips and beard covered in my juices, looking like the cat that got the cream. I cup his cheeks, pull him up to me and kiss him; tasting myself on his tongue.

I unbutton his pants, slide down the zipper, free his raging hard on and drop to my knees. As I start to lick the head, savoring his precum, he pulls my hair and makes me look up at him. "As much as I want to watch and feel your mouth bob up and down on my cock, I need to be inside you right now." With him still in my mouth I sink down as far as I can take him before releasing him and standing up.

"Turn around, put your hands on the sink and look into the mirror. I want you to watch me ruin you Doll." I turn around and slowly place my hands on the counter. He smacks my ass once, rubs his dick up and down my folds, teasing me, before he sinks in slowly, bottoming out, giving me a moment to accommodate his size, stretching me out. I feel so very full and begin to swivel my hips, looking for friction. I look back at him. "Please fuck me, Captain. I don't think I can last much longer. I need to be cumming around your cock." He grabs my hair turning my head to face the mirror and starts moving his hips.

Fucking me hard and fast. His balls slapping against my clit with each thrust making me see spots from the pure ecstasy of it all. I'm staring into the mirror watching his face as he grunts, swears and groans while he fucks me hard from behind. He throws his head back "Fuck baby, your pussy is so damn tight, feels so good wrapped around my cock. You ready to cum for me? I need you to cum on my cock before I can cum down your throat."

"Mmm fuck yes Steve. Fuck me harder. I want to cum all over you". He begins fucking you even harder. You know you'll most likely have bruises on your hips from the counter but you don't care. His hand still wrapped in your hair pulls tighter, the pain setting of your orgasm. "Don't close your eyes, baby. Look at yourself. See how gorgeous you look when you come undone for me." I scream out as my pussy clamps down on his cock and my legs begin to shake. He tightens his grip on my hips and continues to fuck me through my orgasm.

When my pussy finally stops clenching around him he starts to fuck me slow and deep. Hitting all the sweet spots. I begin to squirm against him again. He watches his cock sink in and out of me. Hypnotized by how well I can take his dick and still be so tight. He starts to pick up the pace again. "I'm close Doll. You ready to take my big load down your throat?"

"FUCK! Yes please" is all I could manage to say with a swivel of my hips.

He pulls out and I spin around. Sinking to my knees and taking him in my mouth before he had a chance to even pump his cock. I bob my head up and down his shaft, moaning against the taste of us mixed together on his cock. That was all it took and he was cumming hard down my throat, slowly fucking my face. "Fuck. Your mouth is just as dangerous as that sweet pussy of yours" I release him from my mouth and grin from ear to ear.

"Don't sell yourself short Captain. That mouth of yours is just as deadly", I say right as someone pounds on the door. "Guess that's our cue", I say with a laugh. He pulls me up, grabs my ass and kisses me deeply. "Oh we're not done tonight. That was just round one. We're heading to my place now and I'm really gonna make you scream. Now get your pants back on."

"Yes, Captain."

I quickly get dressed and we head out of the bathroom to a line full of eyes casting glances of annoyance and jealousy. We make our way to the car and on to a night full of orgasms and no sleep.

[the-kingshound]

Arthur is kidnapped. Obviously, you are going to find them and slaughter everyone who dared to lay even a finger on them.

Meanwhile, the kidnappers are very weirded out by the King's absolute lack of worry for his current situation.

Arthur enters the cell with calm and a regal presence, as if he was making his entrance in the war room. He lets his gaze inspect the empty interior and the crude, half decaying stone walls.

He turns around to watch one of the kidnappers lock the heavy door.

"You won't be staying here much if you cooperate."

Another guard adds, in a clearly derogatory tone, "enjoy your stay, your Majesty."

"Oh, I'm sure I will."

Enjoying the look of confused contempt on her face, Arthur takes their time to further inspect the cell. It is not appealing by any means. In fact, the humidity eroded the stone on one particularly dark corner and the rest is completely devoid of any furniture. At least the rest of the cell is dry.

Once appeased, Arthur simply sits down on the barren floor. The perplexed annoyance in one of the guard's gaze rises.

"Who do you think you are?"

Arthur smiles. "Your King, my dear."

He notices the uneasiness creeping in the gaze of the tall, burly men who previously seemed to hesitate in capturing him. Tilting his head a bit to the side, he softly asks, "I would suppose you'd rather be anywhere else, mh?"

The man lowers his gaze. "I only did this for the pay..."

Arthur nods, sympathetic. "Understandable."

"I was an honest farmer but I lost my crops to the cold-" the man promptly gets interrupted by the other bandit with an elbow hit to his side.

"Shut up. And you, you better shut up as well."

As the guards stand back at their post, Arthur tries to get comfortable on the floor.

"As you wish."

They won't stay here for long, in any case.

---

"Where is the King?"

You make one of your royal guards translate, but the bandit just spits at your feet. "You won't get anything from me, hound."

You crack open their skull against a stone protruding from the ground. Gore immediately starts soaking the ground.

I'll find my King anyway. You think.

---

Elsewhere, Arthur is absentmindedly picking his nails. He thinks that Excalibur might be growing lonely without him, left somewhere in this ruined fortress, but they'll get reunited soon anyway.

He looks up when he hears a set of steps nearing the cells. The guards perk up as well.

"Finally," one murmurs, a faint trace if uneasiness in their voice.

"Ser," they salute the approaching person.

As they come forward, Arthur can hear the desolated exasperation in one of the guard's voice as they murmur.

"They have been... peacefully uncooperative."

Arthur is happy to note that even as kidnappers they are using their correct pronouns. How gracious.

"Open the cell," the person calls, ignoring the man's words. Arthur rises as the gigantic guard does so.

The woman dressed in long blue robes steps in his cell until she is face to face with him.

"I want information and you will give me what I want, King."

The comment is surely meant to be intimidating but Arthur lightly answers, "we'll see about that."

The woman, moving very quickly, presses a dagger to their throat. Arthur keeps still and as a couple of droplets of blood trickle down their throat they ask, "would you like your death to be painless?"

There is a flash of confused anger on her face.

He explains. "If you do, then refrain from harming me. But this is your choice in the end."

Just then, a guttural wail resounds, far, in the dungeon. Arthur smiles, contented. "Oh, that must be my darling."

The woman doesn't let him go, an error that costs her her life.

When the King's Consort comes, they leave behind them only lifeless bodies. Arthur calls, "not that one," as his darling is about to face the now terrified taller bandit. Although the woman is shielding herself with him, Arthur just needs to move a bit in order to give his spouse an opening to cut her arm off and then open her in half.

Arthur gladly lets themselves be checked over by their fussy dear until they are satisfied with his state. Upon finding the light wound at his throat, they turn around and give the woman's cadaver some other hits for good measure.

"I'm fine, dear," Arthur assures, stepping out of the cell. His gaze falls on the terrified form of the spared bandit.

"I-" He hiccups, and when Arthur calmly takes a step forward opening his arm, the man wraps him in a very tight hug and starts sobbing. "... I just wanted the money to get my farm going another year!"

The King rubs his back soothingly. "I know, it's alright."

When the Royal guards enter the building find their King hugging a crying kidnapper and the Royal Consort brutally reducing a cadaver to pieces, they hardly bat an eye.

[captn-trex]

technical devotion, part four: call to action

content warnings: none :)

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Kan could hear somebody rapping on the door from inside her headphones.

“One moment” She called, stepping through the ever-growing mess that was her office.

“Oh hey Rex, what can I do for you?” Kan smiled up at the Captain.

“Hey Kan” He smiled, leaning against the doorframe with crossed arms, “I was just thinking about this upcoming mission, Senator Organa said you have you have some field experience, is that right?”

“Oh, well yes, I do. I have medic training as well” She replied, slightly cautious.

“Hm” Rex stroked his chin in thought, “We might need you to step into the field for this one. It would be just you and Echo, does that sound like something you could be up for?”

“Yeah, of course Captain, whatever you need”

“Okay” He smiled, “Well there's actually another mission that could possibly use your help with, so we'll see what Echo thinks and plan from there”

Kan nodded and followed him as he returned to the command centre, finding Echo already in there, leaning over the central holotable. He stood up straight as he saw Kan enter behind Rex, and she smiled at him as she always did. Echo made no move to return the warm gesture, instead his face painted with confusion.

“Echo, I’m thinking of sending Kan with you on this one” Rex spoke up.

“Is that really necessary?” Echo retorted, no hostility in his words though Kan certainly saw it that way, trying hard to hide her hurt.

“She could really streamline the whole process, and besides, she may be able to think of another way that we haven’t considered” Rex replied, a little short with his brother as he noted his unnecessary angst towards the Mirialan. Kan was pleased to see that at least Rex had faith in her. She enjoyed his company and found him to be an incredibly effective leader, a commanding presence that still felt kind.

Echo just looked at Kan, his regular blank stare piercing her. Though from his perspective, his mind was running wild. He was eternally frustrated at himself for the way he found himself acting around Kan, drawn to her but keeping his walls up. Echo was well aware that she was displeased with him, particularly now as he could see the dejected look on her face. He knew she liked to be useful in any way she could, even at the expense of herself.

“If you dont think it's going to work I'll send her off to Corellia with Howzer, he could really do with-”

“No” Echo said quickly, “It's fine, you're right, she would be useful”

Kan felt incredibly awkward, feeling as if she had interrupted a domestic of some sort, and because they were both speaking as if she wasn't stood right there.

“So…” She stepped forwards tentatively, “What’s the mission?

Rex brought up the map, “This is Haidoral Prime, mid-rim, there’s an imperial facility here that we believe is transmitting something to the planet that you found out about, where they’re sending clones”

Kan stepped up to the table beside Rex, “And what are our orders?”

Echo was slightly taken aback by the shift in her presence. She suddenly became strikingly military in her disposition, a seriousness that felt strange to see on her features. Echo once again felt drawn to her, finding this other side of her personality equally as alluring.

“I originally intended on Echo going in and just stopping the transmission, trying to find out whatever it was they were transmitting, but now I'm thinking that maybe…” Rex paused, “Is there anyway you could reroute the transmission?”

Kan's eyes flicked about the map projected above the holotable, her teeth subltely gnawing at her bottom lip as she seemed to be deep in thought.

“Permission to speak freely sir?”

“Yeah Kan of course” Rex almost chuckled at her professionalism.

“I believe a different approach would serve us better. I could easily reroute the transmission, but the Empire would surely catch on soon enough. Instead… It would take longer but… I could possibly find a way to duplicate the transmission. That way, the Empire would still be receiving the transmission, but so would we. I would of course make sure that the transmission to this base was undetectable and untraceable, create a path that made no sense and seemed like a mistake if discovered, but that still leaves the issue of the Empire receiving the information” Kan chewed on her lip once more, “Perhaps there is a way to corrupt the signal on their transmission, something that would wear it down over time, so that they don't suspect any foul play”

“You could do that?” Rex asked, glad he asked Kan to join this mission.

“Certainly, though… it would take me quite a bit of time, and I don't know what kind of tech they're working with. Do you know anything about the number of troopers they might have in there?”

“No, we have no idea” Rex sighed locking his hands behind his head.

“In that case…” Kan started, looking to Rex for conformation that she still had the floor, and he nodded, “I see there being two options, one of which is probably the obvious answer, but that's up to you Captain. First is, Echo goes ahead with the original plan by himself” She spoke confidently and looked at Echo for the first time in the exchange, noting his slightly awestruck look.

“The second is that we go in more than once. The first time purely to get an idea of the tech they're using and how I can replicate the signal. Then I'll need to go away and have some time to figure everything out, then the second time would be to actually input the changes” Kan said, then her confidence retreated a little, “I understand how that is a lot more effort and it may just be more worth it to disable it and have done”

Rex sighed deeply, “It would be a lot harder but… You're right, that could really give us an edge”. He paused for another moment, running over everything Kan had said in his mind, “Alright, I say we go for it. Echo?” He looked to his brother.

Echo was still looking at Kan, but his eyes flicked to his brother as he adressed him, “What?”

“What do you think?” Rex asked.

“About what?”

Rex gave him a confused look, “About going ahead with Kan's plan”

“Right, um” Echo looked to Kan and then back to Rex, “Yeah, it sounds like a good idea, I think we should go for it”

“Okay” Rex still eyed Echo suspciously, “It's going to take a little more planning then. Kan, I suggest you go and pack your tools now”

“On it” She nodded and quickly exited the room.

Rex turned to Echo, “What's the matter with you?”

“Nothing” Echo said, a hint of a sigh seeping through.

Rex just watched him for a moment, almost immediately coming to the right conclusion for his actions and sighing deeply. “For kriff sake Echo” He said with a slightly disbelieving laugh, “Look, just keep it professional for this mission okay?”

“What? I didn-”

Rex put up a hand to interrupt him, “I'm not interested in discussing this right now. Go and see if she can still shoot and I'll draw up this plan”

Echo ground his jaw in quiet defiance of what Rex was claiming without using the words, and Rex watched him amusedly as he left the room with a slump in his shoulders.

Kan stepped out onto the the tarmac, her bag slung across her chest and resting on her hip. She looked around for Echo, who had requested that she meet him for something before they left for their mission.

The prospect of going on a mission with Echo was exciting to Kan for a number of reasons. For one, going into the field in itself was something that she had missed greatly, and she felt entirely more useful for being so involved in foiling the Empire. She was also determined to break through whatever wall Echo continuously put up with her, and there was perhaps no better time than a mission where they were alone. She hoped that she could prove her usefulness and gain his trust in completing this mission efficiently and successfully.

Kan heard her name called and snapped her head to the left, where she saw Echo standing with a blaster at his side.

“I’m going to teach you how to use a blaster” Echo said as Kan approached him, and she realised that there were three targets set up a short distance from them.

Kan came to a stop in front of him and tilted her head to the side with a small laugh, “I know how to shoot, Echo”

“You do?” He replied, eyebrows raising slightly. He was sure that Rex had said she couldn't, but maybe he had been a little distracted at the time.

“Mhm” Kan said, clasping her hands behind her back, a small bounce in her toes.

Echo looked over her amused expression and bit back his own smirk, feeling almost exhilarated under her undivided attention. He held out the blaster in his hand, letting it hang on his first finger.

“Show me what you're made of then” He challenged, and Kan smirked as she took the blaster from him.

Kan stepped up to the mark, and took a deep breath, centering herself as she looked at the targets that had been set up. Echo watched closely, monitoring her form. She then swiftly brought up the blaster and fired off three rounds, hitting each mark perfectly. Echo raised his eyebrows, impressed and noting technique almost indistinguishable from his own.

“Wow, I'm honestly impressed I hit all of them. It’s been a while” Kan chuckled, lowering the blaster to her side.

“Where did you learn to do that?” Echo asked.

“Oh, um, you know… here and there” Kan said a little awkwardly.

Echo didn't take Kan as someone who kept secrets, usually seeming so open and happy to talk, but he didn't pry. If she didn't want to tell him then that was her business, not that the thought didn't gnaw at him anyway.

“Your form is good, exactly how they taught us in the GAR” He noted, seeing her stiffen minutely.

“Heh, yeah… cool” Kan said, handing Echo's blaster back to him and adjusting her bag across her chest a little. Echo watched her tense movements for a moment more, but quickly moved on.

“We can get going soon. I thought that was going to take longer to be honest” Echo said, a small smirk playing on his lips.

“Wow. What did I do to make you have so little faith in me?” Kan pouted in jest, then quickly matched his subtle smirk.

Echo just shrugged and holstered his blaster, moving away towards the ship they would be taking on the mission. Kan followed after him, and they climbed the ramp up into the ship. It was a modest size; two seats in the cockpit and a moderate hull, with a small refresher and bunk through two doors at the back.

“This is your ship?” Kan asked, turning to look at Echo as he sat down in the pilot's seat.

“More or less. I don't think anyone else uses it” He replied, powering up the ship.

“It's nice” Kan muttered, more to herself than anything.

The journey to Haidoral Prime was a few standard hours underway, and Echo had said all but 5 words to Kan the entire time. She opted to sit on the counter of the kitchenette in the hull, her fingers drumming against the surface as she chewed on her lip, thinking of something to say.

Kan had always got along with people quite easily. She was friendly and liked to form connections, however shallow, with everyone she came across. Echo's determination to meet her friendliness with some form of quiet animosity was starting to wear her down a little bit, and at this point, she just wanted to come right out and say how she felt about it.

“Echo?” Kan said, her voice no more timid than usual, despite the unfamiliar flurry of anxiety in her gut. Echo turned to look at her and saw her fiddling with her fingers in her lap. “Can we talk?”

“What's up?” He turned his seat to face her, leaning forward onto his knee.

“I'm just wondering…” Kan chose her words carefully, “It feels like you don't really enjoy my company very much and… Well, is there a way that I can make you more comfortable around me?”

Echo immediately frowned. “That's not true, I-” He started but the words got stuck in his throat.

“You don't have to like me I suppose, but if it's something I've done or something I'm doing then I'd like to know” Kan said assuredly.

“I-” Echo said, swallowing and forming his sentence before he spoke, “I do like you, and I enjoy your company. I'm sorry if it seems otherwise”

Kan’s lips quirked into a small smile. “Oh” She said simply, “Could've fooled me”

Echo let out a small laugh, suddenly feeling a tad insecure about himself, “Yeah, I guess I'm not as outgoing as some of the others”

“That's okay” Kan smiled, jumping down from the counter and walking up to the cockpit. She looked around all of the controls and couldn't stop herself from grinning.

“Who did all the upgrades in here?”

Echo was immediately bashful under the scrutiny of a proper technician, “Uh, I did"

“Right” Kan nodded.

Echo watched nervously as she took in his adjustments, waiting for her to say anything more, but she didn't.

“Is that a good ‘right’ or a bad one?” He asked, an amused smile being sent in his direction.

“Mostly good, I wouldn't have done the phaser like that, but if it works it works” She said, pointing behind Echo.

He turned and looked at the piece, then back up to Kan who was now leaning on the back of his chair, her face startlingly close to his.

“How would you have done it?” He asked, holding her eye contact despite feeling his palms become clammy as he did.

“You've got some wires crossed” Kan pointed, and he followed her finger as she somehow drew even closer towards him. “It's nothing that would cause problems of course, but if you're going to cross wires there are ways that would make it run more efficiently. I can do it for you after this mission if you like?” She suggested, looking down to Echo once more.

As he found her eyes again, their faces mere inches apart, he felt as if his throat had dried up completely, leaving him unable to speak. Instead, he nodded slowly, and his breathing became shallow as he noticed the small flecks of gold in her otherwise deep green eyes. Kan could see Echo's eyebrows had relented from the small frown they always held, his eyes brighter than she'd seen before. The sight made her heart stutter, and she realised how truly close she was to him when she felt his breath fan over her face.

Kan moved away with a shy smile, muttering an apology and completely unaware of the effect she had just had on Echo. The moment was mere seconds, but to Echo, it had felt like minutes, hours even, and he blinked a few times as Kan began talking about something, not fully able to register her words.

[dr-spencer-reids-queen]

Public Enemy: Part One

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~1.8k

Summary: Someone is terrorizing the public by taking their comfort away from them. You're trying to heal from being in prison, and Spencer helps as much as he can.

Warnings: canon violence, canon language, canon talk of death, methods of kill

Season Five Masterlist

Author’s Note: I do not own anything from Criminal Minds. All credit goes to their respective owners. If there are any warnings that exceed the normal death/kills from the show, I will list them.

x

"Show me a hero, and I will write you a tragedy." - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Tick, tick, tick goes the clock again. All you want to do is throw something at the damn thing.

"I tried. I tried so hard to think about the dream I rewrote. I tried to keep it in my head but it didn't work," you sigh sadly.

"Which dream did you rewrite?" Melissa asks and crosses her legs.

"My boyfriend was kidnapped a few years ago. I was with him and we went to talk to a witness who turned out to be the killer. We split up and he got kidnapped. He was tortured and got addicted to Dilaudid because of it. I rewrote it to make it so we never split up."

"Why did you choose that nightmare to rewrite?"

"It was the less traumatic of them all, I guess."

"Keep it up. I think you're doing a great job. It might not seem like it but you are."

"Thanks," you whisper.

"Is there anything you'd like to talk about?" You open your mouth but nothing comes out. "It's okay, Y/N. This is a safe space. You can talk about anything you want."

"I just..." You look down and pick the lint off your clothes. "I fear I'll never be a good FBI agent again. I fear I'll never be as I was before." You lean forward and rest your elbows on your knees with your head in your hands. "God, I wish I could just go back to before I went to prison."

"What happened last time to make you realize you're much more than this gift of yours?"

You sit up and go back to picking at the lint on your clothes.

"I see death every single day. Yesterday, I went grocery shopping and I saw a dead woman in the cereal aisle. They never leave me alone," you whisper painfully. "One day, I saw a woman get mugged by a man a lot bigger than her. He knifed her, took her purse, and ran away, leaving her to bleed out. It had already happened so I couldn't do anything about it. I saw their energies to help paint a picture of the event. All I could do was stand there and watch it happen. I decided at that moment I wanted to stick up for people who couldn't do it for themselves. I needed to stop letting others' fear control me. I told myself enough is enough. I applied for the police academy that afternoon."

"What makes this different than that?" You look at Melissa with tears in your eyes. "Why do you think you can't tell yourself enough is enough?"

You take five minutes to think of an answer.

"Maybe I've been around death for too long. It knows what to expect from me," you sigh.

"If I had to guess, I think it's because you're afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

"Making mistakes. Of letting your friends and family down." You look away from her and let two tears fall down your cheeks. "Of you."

"Yeah, maybe," you shrug.

"Looks like we'll have to pick this up next time. Are you going to be okay?"

"I don't know. Thanks for listening to me."

"Thanks for letting me."

You leave therapy and stand outside the office building for a moment. You let the sun wash over your skin, warming it. Every time you leave therapy, you don't know if you're going to be better. It does help to talk to someone about this but you're not sure if you'll ever be the same as you once were. Your phone rings and you answer it when you see your boyfriend's name.

"Hey, Spence."

"Hey, are you done?"

"Yeah, I'm on my way."

"I love you."

It doesn't matter how much he says it to you, your heart will always flutter.

"I love you. I'll be there in twenty minutes."

You decide to walk to work since it's not far from your therapist's office. The local park isn't crowded with kids yet since it's still early so you enjoy the solitude for as long as you have it. You cut through the park instead of going around it, and you come across a thick blanket of trees in one section of the park. Two people are inside the cluster of trees, struggling. You walk closer and see a man robbing a younger and smaller woman. She has her mouth wide open and screams for help but no noise comes out of her mouth.

This isn't real. This isn't happening in real-time. The man yanks the purse from the woman and ends up stabbing her. She falls to the ground and he runs further into the treeline until he disappears.

Enough is... oh, forget it.

You turn and walk to the BAU with your head down the entire way. Everyone is in the briefing room and you quickly take your seat so JJ can begin.

"This is Captain Paul Collins." She puts his picture on the screen. "He's the third victim in two weeks in Providence, Rhode Island. He just returned home two weeks ago from his fourth tour in Iraq. He's a decorated war hero."

"Was he targeted because he's in the military?" Derek asks.

"No. Just like the first two victims, he was targeted because he was convenient. He was killed at a church during an early service. His neck was cut open and severed at the carotid artery. He bled out in a matter of moments. It happened right in front of his daughter and wife."

"Murder in a church is highly symbolic. Is there a religious agenda involved?" Emily asks.

"The detective on the case, Jake Moreland, ruled that out because of the first two victims. The first victim, Mike O'Donnell, was found under a sink in the men's room at a restaurant."

"What kind of restaurant?"

"It's a local place with white tablecloths and jug wine. The second victim, Karen Lagrassa, was killed at the laundromat. All three had their throats slashed."

"Aside from the MO, the victimology's all over the place. It's like this guy doesn't care who he's kidding, just how. He's doing it in public without compunction for who sees him."

"Do we have a sketch?" Hotch asks.

"All anyone can agree on is that it's a white male between twenty-five and forty."

"Well, that narrows it down to all of Providence," Emily scoffs.

"It's hard to fault the witnesses given how bloody these murders were."

"What bothers me is the cooling off period is getting shorter and shorter, but there are no attempts to hide who he is or what he's doing. I mean, an unsub this bold could be suffering from a major psychotic break."

"I already asked Detective Moreland to pull recent releases on prisons and mental hospitals," JJ says.

"We need to get to Providence ASAP. Whether he's suffering a psychotic break or not, this could be the start of a spree, and anyone is a potential target."

After thirty minutes of gathering what you need, you meet the team at the jet. As soon as the last person is on, the jet takes off toward Rhode Island. You're seated next to Spencer at the table, and he has his left hand resting on your thigh. It doesn't matter how he touches you, his touch makes you feel safe and grounded. It's the only thing keeping you from melting in a puddle of your own tears.

"Why is he using a knife? A gun assures the highest number of fatalities. If all he's interested in is quantity, he could be doing this more efficiently," Emily says.

"He could be training. Spree killers often do dry runs before they start their rampage."

"Most spree killers have lost control by the time they begin. They're always male. If they don't fall into the school shooter category, they're older like forties and fifties, and socially isolated. The stressor is usually the dissolution of their last social outlet."

"George Hennard was inspired by James Huberty. Between the two of them, they shot forty-three people at fast food restaurants," Spencer explains.

"Well, if he's practicing for his mass murder, he's definitely getting bolder and bloodier about it. Right now, the shock and awe of the bloodletting seems to be what he's going for. Soon, that won't be enough."

"Without a specific target victim, we need to concentrate on the crime scenes and see what they tell us. Prentiss, you take the laundromat. I'll have Detective Moreland meet you there."

"I'd like to take a look at the church If you don't mind," Rossi says. "I'd like to take Y/N with me."

"Good. JJ, you and Morgan interview Captain Collins' wife. She got the best look at the unsub. See what she remembers. Reid and I will run point from the police station."

When the plane lands, you and Rossi head to the church where the unsub striked for the third time. Father Kendellen is waiting for you two on the steps outside the church.

"Agent Rossi? Agent Y/N?"

"Yes. You must be Father Kendellen."

"Thank you for coming so quickly."

"It's the least we can do, Father."

"To be honest, I've been struggling to understand all this. It's been trying," Father Kendellen sighs.

"I don't like to see crime tape In front of church doors. I can't imagine how you feel."

"Ash Wednesday is next week. These doors should never be closed to the community."

You look around the area and think where the unsub might strike next. He's already hit a restaurant bathroom, a laundromat, and a church. He's chosen his victims not out of preference but out of favorable circumstances. With each kill, he's growing bolder. He doesn't care who sees him. Next time he strikes, it'll be more public than a church. Hotch no doubt has Penelope working on finding public places that might be his next target.

You and Rossi follow Father Kendellen inside the church and your eyes immediately go to the pew that the unsub killed the military captain in. The wave of energy washes over you, bringing you back to last night. The entire church is filled with people attending the service. Paul and his family are sitting in the way back from having been late to the service. The double doors open behind them and the unsub walks in. He gets a few stares from curious onlookers but they turn back around and continue with the service. The unsub sits down behind Paul and his family, and you pause the scene to approach the unsub.

He's just a black shadow that you hope will show distinctive features you can use to catch him. However, even when you're sitting next to him, he continues to be a black shape. You focus as hard as you can to see something more but you lose confidence in yourself easily. You rest your elbows on your knees and put your head in both hands. This is too difficult. I can't do it. Someone puts a hand on your shoulder and you snap your head up to see you're back in the present with Rossi sitting next to you.

"Don't stress yourself too much."

"Rossi, this used to come so naturally to me. It was easy before. Now it's..."

"When something traumatic happens to someone, the mind is the last thing to heal. Your physical wounds are gone but you need to give your mind some time to heal the emotional ones. You're a good FBI agent even without your abilities. Don't let it get you down. Be patient."

"You're right," you sigh.

x

Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary​​​​​​ where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

[starheirxero]

At this point, the creators are just trying to see, how far they can take the angst until we all turn to dust-

The fact that Lunar actively doesn't want to feel, because they see themself a danger to everyone is making me become a feral dog-

Earth, oh for God's sake, she just keeps breaking me- The way she talked about Solar😭 He was her best friend, and her support system! He was the person, who always knew what to do, who always spent time with her, and now he's gone… THEY LITERALLY WANTED TO KNIT LITTLE ANIMALS THE DAY HE DIED- I am perishing-

It's very interesting to note, how different they all cope though! Earth, though heartbroken, is actively grieving in a healthy manner, or at least trying to! Meanwhile, her brothers are very much not coping- Lunar is numb, Moon is overworking himself, and Sun honestly doesn't seem to know what to do! None of them are quite able to process, it seems.

Eclipse's section was so fascinating as well! He seems so genuinely confused about Earth's words, about her lack of wanting to hurt Ruin! He was so quiet when he listened to her, pretty much soaking in her words! For the first time, he actually seems to see her, see a perspective beyond his own-

Not to forget her sympathy. Because yes, Eclipse's life was fucking tragic, and still is, his wrong doings don't change that!

If this continues the way I think it might, then to be honest, it'll almost be better if Solar didn't return- Don't get me wrong, I love the guy with all my heart, however, his death is a lot more…meaningful? It's different from the rest.

In the past, there has been a consistent case of quiet mourning, and not just for the dead. For example, Lunar's grief for what he could've had with Eclipse, which caused him to be sent to Solar's dimension in the first place! It's a very consistent thing that still lives on, even without actively talking about it!

Other death's were quietly wept for in the past. When Eclipse died, no one was shown to grieve him, though Lunar likely did quietly. Again, that was probably partly why Moon sent Lunar to Solar's dimension!

Bloodmoon too, was quietly mourned for, though it was only mentioned briefly! For one, with KC, and in a video, Lunar went to Solar's dimension and they watched baby photo fanart together! Somewhere, Lunar mentioned Bloodmoon's death, and Solar stopped the recording for a while! After that, it wasn't talked about anymore.

Lunar's death itself was rather different, as it was clear from the beginning, that he was alive, though it didn't change the weight of it! It was shown in the way Sun would get quieter when he was mentioned. Though it was never actively talked about, the weight was there.

Old Moon is a whole issue in and of itself. It was obvious, just how much Sun wept for him, but that too was done quietly, often avoiding the topic all together! Likely feeling like he couldn't mourn at all, because it'll be unfair towards new moon. It was a constant weight at the back of his mind.

There was KC as well. Moon made it clear, how angry and upset he was, but it was never quite elaborated on, likely hanging over him quietly.

My point is, that all their grief was something quiet that stayed in the background, pushing itself to the front every once in a while. No one ever took the time to grieve properly before, to sit down and weep, to scream at the sky. There was always too much happening!

Deaths were never the focus!

This time though, it's different! Solar's death is a constant cloud hanging over them, never leaving them alone. It feels more meaningful, y'know? It's in the forefront now, it's complete center stage!

It will likely also cause quite a bit of character development, seeing with Eclipse already.

Not to forget, seeing as it's something hanging over them, we'll likely see our main characters going through all the process of grief, and slowly learn to live with it, to move forward. At least that's where I think it might be going-

Which, if that's the case, would feel meaningless if Solar returns.

Then again, if he does come back, I WILL cry tears of joy, so-

-Stardust

LITERALLYYYYY AUAGHHHH.!!!!

Genuinely any sort of "we were supposed to do xyz" when a character died fucks me up SO BAD. They had plans. They had hopes. They assumed they'd both be alive by then ☹️☹️☹️

AND YEA THEY'RE ALL HANDLING IT SO DIFFERENTLY ITS AUGHHH. Genuinely yea Earth (and maybe Sun?) seem to be the only ones grieving in a healthy way and it's so heartbreaking to watch all around. AND ECLIPSE. ECLIPSE..... YEAH HIS MEETING WITH EARTH WAS WILDLY FASCINATING TO ME. Even Earth herself noted that Eclipse didn't insult her, just kinda questioned and then left.

AND EVERYTHING YOU SAID ABOUT DEATH IN TSAMS YESYESYES!!!!!!!! Genuinely me n my qpp were talking about something SO similar the other day, how no other characters had this level of grief from the characters and the videos!! There's always the obligatory "so-and-so is DEAD?! in vrchat" video but there was never a "missing Lunar" or "grieving the old Moon" video!! Like you said, it was always this quiet grief that seeped between the cracks and gunked up their ability to fully think or feel, but everyone was always so busy with Everything Else.

Now, we're at a point where most of the danger is dealt with or not a very immediate threat. Stitchwraith and Bloodmoon are more Foxy and Monty's problem, the Creator isn't targeting Sun and Moon (as far as we're aware, at least), and Eclipse is sort of... docile right now. The celestial family has time to grieve and they have every right to grieve because we really don't know if Solar is coming back.

I get you so hard btw I am genuinely so torn on whether I want Solar back or not for realzies ahsiahdj 😭😭😭

[happiestplacehq]

Hey everyone !!

I hope we're all doing okay. I know life is kicking everyone's butt right now. I'm putting out the good vibes!

So, I'm finally on summer holiday and other than having studying to do for my ballet qualification, I actually genuinely have some free time on my hands at the moment. As you can probably all tell, the last few months have not been great for me keeping the main up to date and pushing things out, and keeping on top of everyone else's activity has been hard when I haven't been as active myself. Long story short, my mental health has absolutely tanked the last few months (understandable, given how many things have been thrown at me in a year and a half on top of work stress and studying) and I couldn't in good conscience hound anyone to be active when I was hiding myself.

For now, I feel rested and I'm pushing through the brain fog. I'm committing to being a better mod!

ANYWAY, all this is to say is that I'm planning a small revamp/ reboot of the RP, with the hopes that this motivates all of our players to make a slow and steady return to the dash.

This revamp will include some plot updates, a massive push for the plot moving forward, and an event to welcome the new "era" of the RP. (Trust me besties, I'm excited for the idea I have and I'm already writing things inside my mind!!)

I might change up the graphics and change some bios around here and there too if my mum's laptop agrees with photoshop. I'm not promising new bios just yet (as that is a hurdle unto itself).

The main thing to note going into this revamp is this:

There will be updates to the activity rules. Sadly, being as lenient as I have been has meant that activity has fizzled, which is understandable but not great if we're wanting to keep the RP moving forward, keep everyone feeling included and welcome new writers. (I know the dash has been moving better lately, but sometimes there are points where nothing is posted for a long time.)

I haven't decided on what the new rules will be yet, so am open to feedback and suggestions, but there will be changes to both activity and interaction rules. I will also be messaging each individual character account to ask your plans for the character going forward, or if you would like to drop the character at some point too. (If you're stuck with a character, this is a great time to reboot them.) These rules will not come into effect until the revamp is complete so there's still some time to message me or have a think about what you would like to do going forward.

As always, please send in a hiatus request if you think you will be away for over 2 weeks just so I can keep things as updated as possible.

To help me in this revamp, the RP/ Main will technically be on a semi-hiatus - RP and in character interactions will continue as normal, the main will just be quieter to help me make changes and keep track of everything. As such, I won't be promoting the RP until I'm happy with the revamp, and applications for new characters will be closed for a short while. You can still message me to change character FCs, request hiatuses and all the other usual stuff.

I'm giving myself until mid-August to get as much of this done as I can. I will be away in London for training from the 15th to the 23rd August, so if I put my mind to it we'll have something by then, OR the week I come back. I'll put a poll out nearer the time when we would like the grand-reopening to be!

Like I said, interactions are still to go ahead as normal! The game itself isn't on hiatus, just the main while I change things around and give everything a fresh coat of paint. Thank you to everyone who has stuck around thus far! I can't wait to see what this revamp sparks in everyone ✨

Please give this post a like once you have read it!

[flamboyantly-incompetent]

OoTP, Chapter 6 - Brooms at Christmas

Draco Malfoy x Hufflepuff!Reader

Warnings: none?

Masterlist

Word Count: ~4,100

Note: a soft, friendly chapter for the Christmas season

The last day of term before Christmas holiday trudged on miserably, refusing to end. A few lucky, older students who had no classes on Fridays had been permitted to leave early, filtering out in waves. There was no such luck for fourth year Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors, as the last class they had to suffer through was possibly the worst imaginable.

You got to Defense Against the Dark Arts early, having skipped breakfast to write your mum. The excitement from the previous DA meeting had worn off, but you still took the opportunity to chat with other students before Umbridge got a chance to dampen the holiday spirit. Colin Creevey had arrived early as well, but his mouth was set into a hard line, suggesting something had already gotten to him.

"Happy Christmas, Colin," you said. "Any plans for the holiday?" He didn't answer, clearly lost in thought. Behind you, Donna, Yvette and Herbert trailed in. "Colin?"

Herbert clapped him on the back on his way to his seat across the aisle from you. "Hey, Creevey. You walk through a ghost on the way here?"

"Huh?"

"Everything ok?"

"You didn't hear?"

Yvette frowned. "Hear what?"

Colin looked around at the otherwise empty room. "All the Weasleys and Harry Potter left yesterday. Ginny's dad's at St. Mungo's."

"What?"

He nodded. "They didn't say much, but it sounds bad. They said he was attacked by something."

"Some thing?"

He nodded again. More people filed into the classroom to take their seats. Colin refused to say any more, which was lucky because Umbridge herself was even earlier than usual, lips pursed like she had an acid pop stuck under her tongue. The horrendous pink bow on top of her head jiggled as she strutted up the aisle to her desk. She didn't make eye contact with anyone, but rather sat down, pulled a compact mirror from her handbag, and began primping her hair.

The bell rang and she stood, face still sour, and said, "Good afternoon, wands away."

"Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge," the class chanted back, devoid of enthusiasm. Not that anyone had held out any hope since the second week of term.

The corners of her mouth pulled up tightly, apparently satisfied, and she sat back down to keep a watchful eye. "Today we'll be reading chapter seventeen. There will be no need to talk."

Your eyes skimmed the pages absent mindedly, wondering what could have happened to Mr. Weasley. And what Harry Potter had to do with it. Eventually, your thoughts drifted to how you were going to spend break - all your friends were going home for the holiday, so the only person you knew would be staying was Draco Malfoy. You were skeptical as to whether he’d even talk to you, but you were resolved to try. At worst, you might convince Professor Sprout to let you check in on her aquaponics setup while she was gone, or maybe Hagrid would let you hang out with those tiny dragons again.

Mercifully, the bell rang and before Professor Umbridge could say anything, the whole class swept their books into their bags and pockets in unison and fled.

Donna and Yvette were already all packed, so you sat in the almost empty common room by the fire, listening and laughing at the thumping and random curses coming from the boy’s dorm. Ten minutes later, Herbert emerged with a barely closed trunk, the toe of an argyle sock hanging out the bottom. You followed them to the front of the castle where they waited on the great stone steps with a band of other students for the last round of carriages to take them down the path to the Hogwarts Express.

“Are you sure you wanna stay?” Donna asked, “I’m sure my mum would be fine with you coming home with me.”

You shook your head. “No, it’s alright, I’m looking forward to having so much of the castle to myself. I’m going to see Professor Sprout once you’re all off.”

“You’d better go now, I think her last class ended a while ago,” Yvette said.

The three of them pulled you and each other in for a hug, mumbling holiday wishes into the nearest shoulder. They promised to write and made you swear you would actually get around to it, then you trotted into the castle and up the stairs to Professor Sprout’s office.

“Professor Sprout? Oh!” Warm air wafted out to meet you as the door to her office swung open to reveal your head of house struggling to close a gigantic trunk filled with all her potted plants, giving breathless instructions to Draco Malfoy. They both stopped and looked at you. “Sorry,” you said sheepishly.

“No, no,” Professor Sprout said, turning her back on the trunk, but leaning on it to keep it closed. “I was just telling Mr. Malfoy about an extra credit assignment for over the holiday. I don’t suppose you’re staying for Christmas as well?”

Draco’s expression was unreadable as he waited for your response. “Yeah, I am. I came by to see if you would let me look in on your aquaponics while you were gone. I can look after those too?”

She sighed in relief, the trunk popping open behind her. “Oh, thank heavens. Off you go, back to your places. Now where, aha.” With a wave of her wand, the pots and hanging baskets bobbed out of her trunk and scattered themselves over the room in their typical order; the enchanted watering can came out last, immediately resuming duty. She sat down at her desk, her hair more awry than usual, and gestured at the chair next to Draco. You sat hesitantly. “The puffapods are set to go to seed in about a week, and I think, given how much he’s improved, Mr. Malfoy has proven himself capable to tend to them on his own.” He smiled thinly at the praise. “This is a solo project, though I’m sure Miss Y/L/N would be happy to advise should you get stuck.” She patted the pockets of her robes, muttering quietly, then pulled out the key to her office which she handed to you. “Happy Christmas, don’t kill my koi.” She winked, then shooed you both out the door so she could finish packing.

Without saying a word or even looking at you again, Draco sped back down the stairs and out of sight. You huffed at his retreating frame, but you weren’t quite sure whether you were annoyed with him or yourself for caring. After all, it wasn’t like you really liked him in the first place. Right? What was there to like? To your estimation, he was arrogant, prideful, selfish, and full of derision for just about everything.

You huffed again and stomped off to the common room to mourn your poor choices. A few members of your house were settling in around the fire; Wanda was showing a first year how to knit, and both waved as you passed. Wilbur was basking in enchanted sunlight on your bed, so you flopped onto it next to him and buried your face in his fur.

Sometime just before dinner, you woke up. Wilbur had moved to the foot of the bed, and began purring when he noticed you were awake. You absentmindedly scratched his chin while feeling around under the bed for his treats. The smell of oven-roasted turkey and potatoes lured you out of bed.

Wilbur followed you into the great hall, tail held aloft, hoping to maybe also get some turkey. Draco Malfoy was nowhere to be seen, but Luna Lovegood was sitting alone at the Ravenclaw table, eating dessert first over a pile of books.

“Mind if I join you?” you asked her, holding up your own book - Dragons in the Wild - and grinning widely.

She looked up dreamily from the page and smiled back. “I don’t mind at all, please.” You sat and shooed Wilbur away from the turkey drumstick he had been reaching towards greedily; he sat down on the bench next to you and proceeded to twitch his tail around.

You waited to see if she’d continue reading. When she did not, you asked, “You aren’t going home for Christmas?”

She shook her head. “My father has been busy interviewing a number of goblins in secret for the Quibbler.” She closed her book and you managed to read Lion, Goat, and Dragon - Beast or Experiment Gone Wrong before she set it aside with the others.

“You’re studying chimeras?” you asked, shoveling roast potatoes and Yorkshire pudding onto your plate.

Luna smiled happily. “Yes. I hope to meet one someday, and I’d like to be prepared. What’ve you got?”

Chewing, you held up your book silently, so that she could see the title. She smiled wider.

After a rousing conversation, as rousing as a conversation with Luna could be, on rare and interesting magical creatures, proven and suspected, the topic strayed into Care of Magical Creatures. Luna was not yet convinced Hagrid was the best choice to teach the subject.

“I admit, he certainly has a practical approach,” she said, finally getting to the pile of Brussels sprouts on her plate. A pair of ghosts floated past you, singing carols in their ethereal tone. She continued, “But I preferred Grubbly-Plank’s curriculum structure. Professor Hagrid seems to hop from one topic to the next.”

You frowned. That was true. “Sure, I suppose, I guess it’s more about your learning style than anything else.”

Her eyes twinkled. “My point exactly.” She yawned dreamily and began to gather her books. “Well, Y/N, I’d better be off. I’ve been up reading all night. Do let me know if you’d like to have supper again, I do enjoy our conversations. Happy Christmas!”

“Happy Christmas, Luna.”

Wilbur had curled up next to you and fallen asleep with one eye open; you waved a bit of turkey over his nose and he woke right up to snatch it from your hand. You scooped him up into your arms and he began purring.

“C’mon, you. It’s time to pretend to read by the fire and then go to bed.”

Christmas morning came, and you got up before dawn to trudge through the frigid wind to the owlery to send your mum’s gift. You’d also picked up some odds and ends at Zonkos for Julien, which you sent with a separate owl in the hopes your mum wouldn’t notice.

When you arrived at breakfast, Luna was not there, but Draco Malfoy was. He was still refusing to look at you. The decorated trees lining the Great Hall twinkled in the firelight, and the candles floating above you had been adorned with small ringed garlands. You joined Wanda and the first year at the Hufflepuff table, and piled your plate with eggs, sausages, and beans.

The rustle of wings was heard not long after, and far fewer owls than usual glided in to drop Christmas cards and crackers on the students around you. Your mother’s owl, Bertha, passed over you and dropped a package in your lap. You grinned - inside were several wrapped cauldron cakes, pumpkin pasties, and a couple liquorice whips, as well as a new pair of rain boots.

Then, you made the mistake of glancing across the room to the Slytherin table. Draco, the only Slytherin at the table, was glancing up at the whirlwind of owls hopefully, then, when they all left as quickly as they’d come, his shoulders slumped ever so slightly. You rolled your eyes and sighed, then excused yourself and carried the box over. He did not look at you, and you did not look at him, as you sat the box of treats, sans boots, on the table between you and sat down.

You waited a moment, then pushed the box towards him. He waited another moment, then pointed his pointed nose inside.

“Thanks,” he mumbled, unwrapping a cauldron cake. “These are my favorite.”

You grinned and unwrapped one for yourself. “Mine too.”

The corner of his mouth twitched before he sank his teeth into the chocolate. His eyes fluttered. “Wow,” he said, turning over the wrapping, “are these Honeydukes’?”

“No, this is my step-father’s recipe. Good, right?” He nodded in silent satisfaction. “Got anything interesting going on today?”

He gave you a sidelong glance, then dropped the facade. “No, not at all. Why?”

You shrugged. “I was thinking of flying a little. While the snow’s still fresh and pretty. If you’d like to join me.”

He frowned. “I suppose that could be enjoyable.”

“Good.” You took two more cauldron cakes, a pumpkin pastie and a liquorice whip out of the box and pushed them into his hands. “Meet me on the pitch in an hour. And you may want to wear something warmer than this.”

He smirked at you, but nodded and took the baked goods with another quiet, “Thanks,” and left for the Slytherin dormitory.

The fireplaces you passed on the way back to the Hufflepuff common room did nothing to quell the tingling in your fingertips. That had gone much better than expected. You took your own advice and layered a winter coat over two Christmas jumpers, along with a ridiculous wool hat with a bauble and fingerless gloves.

Draco was already on the pitch when you arrived with your Cleansweep 7, wearing a very fashionable tweed coat with large brass buttons. He laughed when he saw your hat.

“What died on your head?”

“The same thing that’ll keep me alive when you freeze to death,” you shot back. “What kind of broom is that anyway?”

“A Nimbus 2001, still the broom with the most class. I think you forgot we were meant to be flying with these broomsticks, not sweeping.”

You grinned and mounted your broom. “Enough talk, now we race. First one around the pitch three times wins!” You took off into the sky, wind biting at your face.

“What?” he said, and leapt onto his broom. He barely caught up to you; his broom sat level to yours in the wind. “That wasn’t fair!” he shouted.

“You’d know all about that wouldn’t you?”

He grumbled and pressed himself deeper into his broom, so he began to pull forward. You swore and did the same, practically giving the broom a very loving embrace, but it worked. You circled the pitch, weaving around the tall seats and taking turns trying to distract each other. At the very end, you won by a hair, only because you’d pointed and shouted, “what is he doing?” when there was no one there. You dismounted your broom, laughing. “Good game. How are you not freezing?”

Draco landed next to you, scowling. “Dragon hide lining, of course. And this was too easy. I demand a rematch.”

“What do you mean?”

“Race me across the lake.”

“We’re not supposed to fly anywhere else on school grounds.”

He pointed to his prefect badge. “Come on, who’s going to catch us?”

You looked around nervously, but he was right. The only sign of life from the castle was the smoke rising from its numerous chimneys, which was always there. Smiling, you prepared to take off without warning again, but he was ready for you this time, and launched himself into the air before you had a chance to react.

Draco flew whooping and hollering across the grounds, staying low to the snow-covered earth, and you followed in a similar fashion. The air stung your eyes and the wind nearly whipped the hat from your head, but then the snow gave way to choppy black water, which turned more and more glassy the further you flew across the lake.

The spray from the water froze to your eyelashes and clothes, and the scene before you made your breath catch. The shore across the lake was perfect, untouched snow before rows and rows of ice encrusted pine trees that sat still even in the wind.

Draco had flown upwards and was doing loops in the sky. You shouted, “Stop showing off! I could still win, you know!”

“Doubtful!” he shouted back before shooting towards the shore.

He beat you, again by a hair, and fell off his broom into the snow, laughing. “Now, that was fun.”

You flopped into the snow next to him, the cold striking a line across the back of your neck. “Only because you won that time. If we were on the same model broom I’d’ve had that one too.”

Draco snorted and sat up. “Big talk for someone who didn’t even make their Quidditch team.”

“I’d have made it just fine if you and your goons hadn’t intruded on our tryouts,” you snapped, remembering in anger his words months ago. You sat up when he didn’t reply. “It doesn’t matter anyway, I don’t think I even wanted to be on the team. You were being kind of an arse then, though.”

He said nothing, but didn’t disagree.

Across the lake, the castle stood still in a kind of quiet that can only be achieved when everything in sight is covered in a foot of sound absorbing snow. No rustle of wind or bird song, only the gentle lap of waves across the stony shore disturbed the peace. The flurries around you became bigger and thicker, until great globs of snow were falling heavily down as far as you could see. They landed on the snow from the day before with perhaps your favorite sound - a soft and continuous, breathy tinkling. You flopped back down onto your back to look up at the grey sky, letting the snow pile itself on your still form.

You wondered how the giant squid was spending its Christmas, and smiled. “Have you seen the giant squid? That lives in the lake?”

“Yes. All the time,” Draco said, confused.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, our common room is right under the lake. There are a few portholes it swims by everyday.”

You sat up again. “What? That’s so cool. We talked about it in Care of Magical Creatures. I had kind of assumed it was a myth.”

He pursed his lips and shook some snow out of his silvery hair. “We should get back across the lake before this snow gets worse.”

“You’re not going to try and convince me to take a stroll through the Forbidden Forest, while we’re at it? There’s no other school rule you’d like to break today?”

“No, not the Forbidden Forest.” He stood up, brushing more snow off his clothes. “You’ll see, come on.”

“Wait.” You sat up. “You do want to break another rule?”

“Yeah. Come on.”

You stood nervously, gripping your broomstick. “Draco…”

“Y/N. It’ll be fun, and we won’t get caught. You’ll like it, I swear.”

Nonplussed, you mounted your broom and followed him wide-eyed back across the lake, wondering what in the world had sparked such sincerity. Inside the castle, Draco led you down staircase after staircase, checking vigilantly around corners. The deeper into the dungeons you went, the more the chill seeped from the stone into your bones. You passed the Potions classroom, and it suddenly dawned on you.

“Draco,” you groaned, stopping in your tracks. He stopped and turned to look at you quizzically. “We’ll get into so much trouble.”

He once again tapped on the prefect badge glistening on his chest.

“You don’t think that’s an abuse of power?”

He rolled his eyes, “An abuse to who? I guarantee the common room is empty, and I’m offering you the chance to see something no one but a Slytherin has ever seen.” He let you consider for a moment. “Isn’t that the least bit tempting?”

“Of course it is.” You crossed your arms. “But if we get caught this was your idea.”

He smirked and led you down another couple hallways, before stopping before an imposing stone door. The frame was made up of dozens of stone carved snakes writhing around each other to form a twisted rope; a snakes head with emeralds for eyes held a great knocker in its fangs. Draco squared his shoulders and said proudly, “Pureblood.”

A note of unease rang through your gut, and the great stone door swung open, ominously quiet. The common room itself was similar in layout to your own, though everything, from the fireplace to the throw pillows, was austere. Cold green light filtered in through the porthole windows along the far wall. As you stepped in, the fireplace ignited into black flame that provided no light.

“See?” Draco said, “Empty.”

You gestured back towards the door. “A bit on the nose, don’t you think?”

He shrugged, “That’s what it’s always been.”

“Hmm,” you conceded. The light from the portholes drew you closer and closer, until you had your nose almost pressed against one to peer out into the murky lake. You could only see about a hundred feet out into the Black Lake until it truly lived up to its name. Scattered kelp stipes swayed gently in the current. You took a sharp breath in, eyes wide.

Draco shifted behind you, checking an ornate pocket watch. “Should be any minute now. C’mon old blighty.” He stepped up to the porthole next to yours and peered out as well.

“Hagrid calls him Squish.”

Draco scoffed and began, “Like I care what that oaf-”

But he was cut off as one by one, the portholes grew dim. Something gargantuan was blocking them. You danced nervously from foot to foot in your spot. At first, it just looked like a black curtain falling over the window; there was no texture to make out, only a sweeping black material spreading from left to right. Then, you took a startled step back as the squid’s giant eye filled the width of the porthole. It winked at you, or maybe blinked? And then as quickly as it came, it moved on. You laughed abruptly and ran to the next porthole to see its eye come and go, then the next, and the next, until finally you watched its epically long tentacles drift past you, and off into deeper reaches of the lake.

Still laughing you turned to Draco. “That was, I mean, he’s bigger than I thought! So cool!” You fell onto a sofa.

Draco, smirking, raised an eyebrow. “So I was right then.”

“Yeah, I guess.” You sighed and leaned back against the tough leather.

He shook his head. “I’ll need you to say it.”

You rolled your eyes. “You were right.”

“How hard was that?”

“Very.”

“Mr. Malfoy. Miss Y/L/N. What a surprise.” The both of you froze. Oh no. You turned slowly. Professor Dumbledore stood just across the room, hands folded lightly in front of him. He didn’t look particularly angry, which surprised you. “I wonder if you’re aware, Y/N, that you are in the wrong common room?”

You stood shakily and tried to sputter out a response, cheeks burning, but Draco interrupted, “We were just watching the squid. Professor. It… was my idea.”

“I see. I’m afraid I’ll still have to dock points from each of you. Ten I think should do, and I trust this won’t happen again?”

“Yes, Professor,” you said.

“No, Professor,” Draco said.

Professor Dumbledore smiled warmly. “I’ll take that to mean the same thing. Come along, Miss Y/L/N, I’ll escort you back to your dormitory. And I’ll expect you both to stay until supper. Yes? Good.”

You followed the headmaster out of the Slytherin common room, but not before turning back to Draco to wave and mouth a quick and silent “Thanks!” He had a hand on his hip and another in his hair, which he removed to wave back weakly. Then the door shut. Professor Dumbledore didn’t speak for a few minutes, seemingly content to accompany you through the maze-like dungeons of the castle.

Finally, he said, “Please understand, I am always pleased when a student makes a friend with another outside their house. However, rules are rules.” He gave you a warm, sidelong smile. He winked.

“Y-yes, Professor. I understand.” You did not. If Professor Snape had been the one to catch you, ten points would’ve been a drop in the bucket of what you’d have lost your house, you were sure of it. Bringing this up seemed unwise.

You both stopped outside the giant round door to the Hufflepuff common room. The headmaster turned towards you and said cheerily, “Happy Christmas, Miss Y/L/N,” before tapping out the rhythm for you. The door eased open, welcoming you back.

“Happy Christmas, Professor.”

Two second years played Wizard’s Chess sprawled out by the fire; they hardly noticed your entrance.

~~~ Taglist ~~~

@jemomgershippingco

@snickersmee

@lafrone

@cillshot

[jumpywhumpywriter]

Captured -- wild humans hunted and captured to be used as servants part 9

Warnings: captivity, starvation, starvation whump, cruel whumper, painful recovery, fight scene, etc.

The man slunk closer until he loomed over Corbin, casting him in his shadow with wings spread, all the more terrifying in appearance.

"That's enough, Orman," a dead-cold voice suddenly rumbled, and the man's eyes widened as he turned around to find Kazimir standing inches away, eyes narrowed to twin slits.

"That is my servant, and if you touch him... it won't end well for you." His voice was flat and dry, delivering a promising threat.

"Since when do you have servants?" Orman hissed, bristling.

"I thought it would be good to 'get with the times'," Kazimir said, posture stiff. "I saw the benefits and decided to get one for myself."

Orman's steely eyes watched his every move as he brushed past him, standing defensively at Corbin's side. Kazimir wrapped a raven-black wing around him and pulled him flush to his side, hiding his face better in the darkness created by his wing.

"You'll have to forgive my pet," he said slowly, "he is new, and unaccustomed to our ways. He's still learning."

Orman's lip curled into a disgusted sneer of disdain as he glared at Corbin. "Keep your mangy rat in line," he snarled, before turning and storming off.

Corbin turned to his rescuer, guilt twisting his gut. "I-I'm sorry-I didn't mean to--"

"Save it," Kazimir growled, and the alarm in his voice surprised him.

"What's wrong?”

"Orman is one of Prince Devlon's closest advisors. If he's here... it means the prince is close by. If he spots us, especially you... we'll be in a whole world of trouble. We need to get moving. I got what I needed." Kazimir strode briskly to the door, and Corbin hurried after him. The two of them walked quickly down the street, when Kazimir suddenly halted, going deathly pale.

"Hide," he hissed harshly under his breath, and the urgency in his tone sent Corbin scrambling for cover, ducking into a nearby store and pretending he was shopping for his 'master'...

That's when he saw Devlon approach Kazimir. He strained his ears, eavesdropping.

"Ah, Kazimir, Orman told me he saw you in the blacksmith shop." Devlon gave him a lopsided smile. "I had to see it for myself. Why haven't you returned to your duties these past weeks as my guard? I hadn't heard from you in so long, I feared something terrible might have happened..."

Kazimir dipped his head, letting his wings droop convincingly in fake shame. "I greatly apologize for my absence. I have been ill for quite some time; it is only recently that I was well enough to come to the city," he lied smoothly.

"Then why didn't you send a message to tell me you would be gone?" Devlon demanded expectantly.

"I was too sick to reach the mail office. I stayed in my house the entire time."

From his hiding place, Corbin saw Devlon's hand twitch subtly at his side in silent signal, and several bird-folk from nearby came slowly inching closer to surround the two of them.

But Kazimir took note. "What is the meaning of this?" He growled, stiffening.

Devlon's expression darkened. "I think there's a different reason why you've been staying off the radar lately. I'm sorry, Kazimir, but you're wanted for a serious crime. I had no choice."

Kazimir's eyes widened with panicked realization laced with bitter betrayal, right as the nearest man attacked him, landing a solid punch on his jaw with a concussive amount of force that made his head snap to the side.

He staggered heavily, reeling from the blow, right as another man wrestled him to the ground, the rest of them rushing forward to join in and restrain him as he fought fiercely, wings beating frantically as he blindly lashed out at his attackers with an alarmed shout.

For a five-on-one fight, Kazimir was astonishingly skilled once the initial surprise at the betrayal wore off and he got his composure back. All the signs of a honed warrior showed in his lithe movements as he struck a fellow bird-folk hard on the chest, sending them falling backward and off of him.

Then he slashed one raven-black wing in front of him, the bone spur on it striking another man's temple and instantly knocking them out.

He snarled angrily as he fought, eventually tearing himself free from his attackers as they tried to bring him down again.

Kazimir sprung out of reach as another man made a grab for him, and his forest-green eyes locked with his, narrowing slightly.

Corbin's heart nearly stopped when the guard suddenly dropped to the ground with an agonized scream, wailing and screaming in pain as he writhed in the dirt battling an invisible enemy, his beating wings stirring up a cloud of dust.

And he realized once again just how dangerous Kazimir truly was. He hadn't even touched the man to incapacitate him.

He must be using his mind powers, Corbin thought as he huddled out of sight behind a fruit stand, watching it all go down.

Kazimir's gaze flicked to another guard, and instantly downed them too, leaving them thrashing in the dirt.

Devlon was pale as a ghost, seeing Kazimir's gift working at its fullest for the first time.

But then one of the still-standing guards came smashing into Kazimir's side with a loud shout, and they both fell to the ground in a screeching, hissing ball of skin and feathers. It lasted barely ten seconds before it came to an abrupt stop, and Corbin quickly realized why.

Kazimir was flat on his back on the dirt, wings splayed to the sides and eyes wide at the man looming over him, who had a knife to his throat.

"Try any of your blasted mind tricks, and you're dead," he barked.

Kazimir looked like he might continue to fight, but the guard pressed the blade harder into his neck in warning, just enough for him to feel the bite of it, and draw a few beads of scarlet blood.

Kazimir's panicked gaze darted over to where Corbin was hiding, and their eyes locked for the briefest moment, before the guard slammed a fist into his face, and he was instantly out cold, going limp.

⏪️ Back Next ⏩️

Masterlist

[tea-and-spoons]

hi we're really sorry to bother you but we're really sort of desperate for advice?

so we have a vague cardiovascular condition that seems to be affecting our legs a whole lot. so we get really intense pain in the lower halves of both our legs. rest helps, of course, but its slow and we wont always be in a scenario where we'll be able to rest, yk? so we've been looking in to mobility aids because we kinda like the idea of being able to walk around outside without being in terrible pain /lh

but we've kind of got a few issues with it, being mainly: a) what. do we get. we're looking towards wheelchairs because the sitting will be good for the legs and also the hypertension. we do get a decent amount of activity in to avoid aggravating it (being. we pace around at home A Lot lol)

b) how do we get any kind of mobility aid without our parents knowing. our mother is the type to not really take us seriously at all regarding our health

and c) how to deal with the whole "erm. [xyz] = you cant get a mobility aid". for us its a whole fear that we're the cause of our own physical issues and therefore we arent Allowed to get a mobility aid cause that'd be. "stupid" ig, despite the fact thats a pretty fucking dumb line of reasoning. not like they'll stop making fucking. walkers if we buy one or whatever lol

sorry for the long ask, we're just kinda. desperate lol. and your blog seems nice (though totally no pressure to respond of course lol)

hope your day's going well :)

Hello hello, I'm sorry it's taken me so long to answer you! I hope things have been going okay in the meantime. I also support the idea of being able to walk around outside without terrible pain! Here's what I'm thinking that may help you get a mobility aid:

There are a few places where you can try out different mobility aids to see what you like- pharmacy, medical supply store, even the grocery store should have some scooters and possibly canes in the medical aisle. Nobody should question this, but if they do, you could tell them you're checking the height to see if it works, or shopping for your grandparent.

On a related note, try to make sure that your mobility aid isn't causing you to hunch forwards. If it is, you either need to make it taller, or you need to stay leaning on the backrest while you push a wheelchair.

If you find something you like at one of those stores, great! You might also find a secondhand version for cheaper online. I think you can have things shipped to the post office to pick up there.

Especially if you're not using the mobility aid around the house, I'm wondering about keeping it in your car or locker or a closet at work- whatever applies to you.

I will just put this out there- I obviously don't know your situation, but some people do change their minds about mobility aids when they see how much your quality of life improves.

Honestly I love your response of "it's not like they're going to stop making walkers"! Your physical issues are not your fault, and looking to reduce pain is a good goal. Even if it was your fault, you still deserve to feel better. Mobility aids are for anyone who benefits from them.

Good luck with everything! 💙

[ttrpgsolostoriesforyou]

Scene 4 v1: Crossing the glacier

(I skipped scene 3 because I couldn't think of anything and might omit it entirely.)

(We'll see.)

Aaron looked at his traveling companions a hundred or more meters ahead of him, waiting patiently for him to catch up. The skis were still difficult for him to build a rhythm with. He pulled more with his guide poles than he was supposed to and his arms ached.

"Fathers who pull the heavens, provide strength and guidance," he said towards the sky before pushing forward. When he caught up, two of the party went ahead to find a place to camp, while the leader and another stayed with him to provide tips and suggestions.

When the camp was in sight, Aaron collapsed on a fallen tree nearby and drank some water from his skin. His joints and legs ached now, not just his arms.

"Here. Put a bit of this on your tongue and stay on the skis a bit longer. Keep moving. Your body is angry, but if you give in, tomorrow morning you'll be frozen without being cold," the young leader said while handing a thick yellow paste on a small curved knife over.

"What's this?" Aaron held the knife curiously and sniffed. The smell of the paste made his eyes burn and he began to tear. "Foul."

The red haired lead took another scoop on the tip of his finger from a hidden spot on his belt and popped the yellow paste into his mouth. Aaron watched him carefully and saw him swallow.

"Helps the aches. Answers prayers better than your gods do. Do it, or we'll leave you for dead. We won't carry you around to search for whatever it is you're looking for. The world out here isn't kind enough for that." He ran his fingers through his thick beard then scratched his chin. "C'mon. Eat the paste. By the end of this journey, you'll learn to love it."

Aaron put a little on his tongue and felt it burn. The lead nodded at him and watched him grimace as he licked the knife, mashed the paste around his mouth, and swallowed. His stomach began to wretch and the lead slid over and clamped Aaron's mouth shut.

"Hold, hold, hold. If the gods want you to survive, they know this is for the best."

Aaron panicked and coughed as it tickled his throat and mouth. He found after a few moments, it had a slight sweetness to it and something he noted as fermentation. He swallowed the rest and coughed.

"What is it? What did you make me eat?"

"Your limbs. The ache tolerable now?"

Aaron paused, then shook his arms and legs a little to test them out. "I suppose they are."

The lead nodded, "Aye. Go help Harlin with laying out camp. They're over by the conifers. They'll show you how to set up your bedroll so you don't freeze to death in the middle of the night." He slid off towards the pair who went ahead and the cleric watched as they broke off into quiet conversation.

[lunareiitic]

Limbus Orientation #6: Match Made In Hell

[The One Who Grips] Faust || [The One Who Shall Grip] Sinclair

The post you've all been waiting for. Welcome back to Limbus Orientation, the series where I, your host, talk about Limbus Company units, what they do, and how you might use them.

Today, we're talking about the N-Corp duo that takes Toxic Relationship and gives new and horrific meaning: Kromer and N-Sinclair. Two powerful but quirky units on their own, one of which gets exponentially better in the presence of the other. Let's dig into it.

To see why they're so good together, we're gonna structure this analysis a little differently: let's look at both of their deck compositions first.

Faust has a deck of 3 Envy, 2 Lust, 1 Pride. Sinclair has a deck of 3 Gloom, 2 Lust, 1 Wrath. Now, why are these good? Sinclair enables Faust to slam her best EGO: Fluid Sac with impunity. When fielding N-Faust, her largest flaw is the only Ego she can charge on her own is the (admittedly amazing) single target Hex Nail. With no Gloom in her kit, she needs teammates who can provide that resource to her, which is a pretty hefty cost. Sinclair's most recent Ego, Lifetime Stew, unfortunately can't be full charged by just him and Faust (which is where N-Don would come in). We'll talk more about why Lifetime Stew was made for this Sinclair specifically a bit later.

Let's look at how these combined decks play with the other N-Corp Passives, shall we?

With all of this Lust, we have a pretty solid way of procing Faust's Whistles, which restores SP to two units and grants them Fanatic if they're N-Corp, already a solid power on its own. N-Heathcliff's Support passive Cantillation makes units inflict more Nails, a key feature of the N-IDs. Both of Don's passives are Lust, Hammer of Zealotry in particular being useful for any N-Corp team comp. With Sinclair's one Wrath card there's the potential for Meursault's Highest Honor and Rodya's Rising Faith in the right team comps.

Now, we move into Sinclair's kit, which is a doozy. (Thank you Prydwen for having all this up so I don't have to take in game screenshots.)

Note how both of his passives are Wrath Owned, not Wrath Resonance. You can easily use his Wrath card twice and have Mad Flame active the entire time. And I'm sure you're wondering: "Why in the name of god does Sinclair lose SP for everything? Didn't we just get an update to make having high SP important?" and the answer is yes, yes we did. But therein lies the beauty of this design. Sinclair needs to be low on SP for his various skills to work. This is doubly important if running Lifetime Stew on Sinclair, which has this as its passive:

His Lust skill will inflict eleven burn and +1 Burn Count if every coin hits tails. It'll do a flat 10% damage more if he's Fanatic, which he can give himself from his Gloom card, or the plethora of sources in other N-Corp units. Like N-Faust, who will guaranteed proc Whistles on him as his SP drops constantly, and he gets less SP from doing well.

Between Papa Bongy and N-Sinclair and N-Faust's kits, this signals to me that moving forward we are going to be getting content that has SP manipulation as a feature, and Sinclair will thrive in those environments. Faust's Whistles, Representation Emitter and Fluid Sac all act essentially as panic buttons to keep your Sinclair from Corroding, as to use him effectively you need to keep him on the verge of losing it. So if you have him, you might want to invest in him now in case he ends up being broken later.

But, how do we use these two together?

Now, there are the easy option: Full N-Corp squad. Give Sinclair and Faust N-Don, N-Rodya and N-Heathcliff as on-field teammates, and then N-Meursault off-field for Highest Honor support and watch the sparks fly. Spam Lifetime Stew on Don and Heathcliff and clean house with Fluid Sac and Representation emitter if things look die. Easy, easy, easy.

But what if I told you there's a funnier team comp that makes incredible use of these two... in Mirror Dungeons? I present to you: Burn Boys (Gender Neutral)! All three Liu identities: L-Meursault, L-Gregor, and L-Hong Lu all have burn effects in their kits. They even have complementary decks with these two, with plentiful Wrath and Lust, and even Sloth and Gloom to round things out. While there is not a single Gluttony card between them, if one gets Blue Zippo Lighter or Coffee And Cranes, this could be alleviated instantly. However, we don't care about any of that. We care about four Gifts in particular.

Pinpoint Logic Circuit and Fiery Down not only make the four boys with burn even better, they give Faust free burn on two of her three cards (which make up 5/6 of her deck). Hellterfly's Dream then passes that burn onto other units, and within a turn most of the time you have met the conditions for Ashes to Ashes, creating a Burning Positive Feedback Loop. Hong Lu inflicts more burn at high SP, which Faust's passive and two EGOs enable, making this synergy even more viable. Given that everyone in this team does Blunt and/or Pierce damage, the Blunt/Pierce Vulnerability granted by Faust's Gaze debuff is appreciated and sometimes necessary depending on the enemies the Mirror Dungeon lays out. Given that L-Gregor and L-Meursault were in the game at launch, and L-Hong Lu was a featured 2 star on a different, very meta banner (and is literally rate up on a banner right now next to N-Sinclair), there's a good chance you already have these three.

So if you managed to pull these two (or did what I did and had to horde like 200 boxes each for them) congratulations, you have one of the most dynamic and insane duos in Limbus Company at the moment. Happy theorycrafting and teambuilding!

[calliecat93]

So with RT shutting down, RWBY's fate is completely up in the air... but given Warner Bros. recent treatment of their properties, I do not have much hope. Plus I'd only continue watching if Miles and Kerry continued to be in charge, and I get the feeling that isn't going to happen. Call me cynical and I hope I'm wrong, but sadly I have to assume the worst.

It sucks. I've followed RWBY more or less from the start. Even after Monty passed, I kept watching. Even when I lost all respect for RT and stopped watching their content, I kept watching. Even when it moved to Crunchyroll and I nearly threw in the towel, I kept watching. I've followed this show for a decade from nearly the beginning to the supposed end and knowing that it's likely not going to get a proper ending because of a bunch of cooperate BS... I can't even be angry at this kind of thing anymore. I'm just disappointed.

But instead of lamenting over the what-ifs, I want to appreciate what had been. I've loved every minute of the show and watching it grow into what it had become by Volume 9. Not everyone liked it, and that's fair. I didn't love everything, but there was never a moment where I wanted to stop watching. I've spent the first ten years of my adult life following Team RWBY as they grew and discovered themselves, and in many ways, it helped me discover myself as well.

I never disliked any volume. No, not even Volume 5. It was a fun ride from beginning to end. It was amazing to see every single aspect of RWBY grow from good for a cheap web show to freakin' spectacular. The animation, the voice acting, the writing, and even the music which was utter perfection from the start only got better and better. And while I had no real interest in stuff like the comics or the Justice League crossover, the fact that they exist is just mind-blowing.

I'm still sad that this might be the end, but I guess it could have been in worse spots. Volume 9 gave me a lot of payoffs I'd been waiting on for years and ended on an open but still hopeful note for the future. It's better than if say... Volume 8 had been the end haha. Some parts will remain unresolved, but at least I can have some peace that our heroes will triumph in the end. Maybe I'm wrong and CRWBY can work something out even if not in the animated medium, but only time will tell. The biggest lesson that I've taken from the series is that despite what hardships and unexpected swerves come at you, you have to keep moving forward. That is a lesson I plan to follow through on now.

Thank you for an amazing decade RWBY. Thank you for all that you taught me. Thank you to CRWBY for making all that you did happen despite all the circumstances. Thank you Miles and Kerry for keeping the series alive and giving us an amazing series that we can always go back to. And of course thank you Monty for your creation, I hope wherever you are now you're watching on proud of what your team accomplished. Hopefully this isn't the final good-bye, but more of a see you later. I supposed we'll find out.