#there are bonus toppings but you gotta buy these on your own too

[flash-from-the-past]

Cake Mania

[buckyalpine]

I know it’s late foe Christmas, but maybe this with Bucky? Any Bucky you want. Reader didn’t celebrate Christmas the way Bucky did when he was small, so both reader and their kid are so excited for experiencing Christmas in a new way, choosing Christmas tree, decorating it, preparing gifts, having Christmas dinner, and so on.

Thanksssss!!!!

18+

NEVER TOO LATE, in fact there's just 357 days left until next Christmas, so lets get an early start shall we? This is not a late Christmas fic okay, we’re just super early. 

So much flufffyyy fluffff and bonus smutttt (breeding kink, pregnancy kink)

Imagine Bucky loved Christmas when he was little because his Ma would always have the perfect dinner ready, a knitted sweater along with a few small presents under the tree. He’d leave milk and cookies out for Santa with his sisters and being the sweet big brother he is, he’d make sure to wake up in the middle of the night to drink half the glass and finish up what they’d left out. 

As he got a little older, he got excited to be able to buy presents for them too. He’d save up for the entire year so he could get them something nice. He’d find the perfect doll for his sister, jewelry for his ma, a watch for his dad. He’d make sure Steve joined them every year along with his family. 

He adores the holidays because it brings family together and now that he has one of his own and a home, he’s ready to go all in. 

Buying the tree 

Bucky grinned, carrying Becca on his shoulders while you walked though through the tree lot, inspecting which one would be the best for this year. You smiled at the scent of the fresh pine needles that lingered in the air. You couldn’t tell who was more excited; Bucky, you or your daughter. You walked past a number of them, some super tall, short, narrow and scanty. 

“Daddy that one!” She pointed to a plump full tree, her tiny hands patting Bucky’s head so he’d know where to look. “That one please!” 

“You like that one jellybean?” He walked over to the large tree, chuckling to himself hearing her excited sequels from above his head. After picking the tree, Bucky strapped it to the hood of the car, excited to go home and start decorating. He pulled up to the drive way, easily grabbing the tree and shaking it a few times while you gave him an odd look. 

“Gotta shake it or we’ll have spiders in here” Bucky snorted, giving the tree a few more precautionary shakes, knowing full well if he failed to do so, he’d be on spider duty for the next week. The human spider he had to work with was enough for him. 

“C’mon bub, lets get the durations out!” You scooped your daughter from her car seat, the both of you running into the house and changing into some comfy clothes before setting out some decorations and crafting supplies. Bucky brought the tree in, deciding to set it up in the living room near the fire place while Becca got started on crafting. 

“This is the first real tree I’ve ever decorated” You looked at the perfect tree in awe, while Bucky smiled, kissing your temple and untangling the Christmas lights. 

“What did you used to do for Christmas, baby?” 

“Hmm, we always had a plastic tree” You thought back to the sad tree your family pulled out year after year, the scanty branches nearly nonexistent. “Never had a real one” 

“Daddy, help me make a weindeer” Becca was splayed on the floor, felt sheets and markers surrounding her. You smiled, watching Bucky hold her tiny hand to trace the brown felt sheet, the both of them with identical expressions, fully focused on making the perfect reindeer decoration. By the end of the night, you had a felt snowman, felt reindeer and your absolute favorite; a little white wolf. 

“Just like daddy” She grinned, handing it to him, insisting he put it up. Bucky swallowed the lump that tried to form in his throat, kissing her chubby cheek before carefully hanging it on the tree. “Can we put the star up now, please?” 

“Of course angel” Bucky lifted her up, as she placed the star on top of the tree, his eyes wide with amazement at the finished Christmas tree. 

Wrapping presents

You snorted, watching Bucky grumble under his breath, another piece of tape stuck to his arm while he tried to wrap Steve’s gift. Of all Christmas activities, wrapping gifts was his least favourite. He was happy to cut paper, ribbon and tape but he wasn’t a fan of figuring out how much paper you needed and why all of his folds were soo crooked. 

“You okay there Buck?” you asked teasingly while he looked at you with puppy eyes, nudging the box towards you, hoping you’d finish while he focused on the gifts that went in bags. You wordlessly took the box, switching so he could add tissue paper to Tony’s bag instead. 

“How ya doing there jellybean?” Bucky looked over his shoulder to see Becca huff on the floor, unrolling even more paper so she could wrap the skateboard she had picked out for Morgan. 

“I can do it!” She stated, determined to wrap the present for her best friend all by herself without help. 

You added name tags and bows to everything, using your husband as a human wall while you quickly got started on your daughters gift and she was thankfully too distracted to see what you had been up to.  You had both bought her her first doll house, one that was as tall as her (there was no convincing Bucky to get a smaller one, his babygirl would get the nicest doll house to play with) 

“You never told me what you wanted for Christmas doll” Bucky playfully nudged you while you giggled, adding a few bows to the gift. 

“Hmm, do I get to have my super solider for Christmas this year? That’s all I really want” You look at him with hopeful eyes, worried a last minute mission would take him away. 

“Nothing could take me from you on Christmas, I’ll be right under the tree with a bow in my hair if you asked me to baby” Bucky smiled, “Now what does my angel actually want” You shook your head, swatting him away as you started to clean the table. There truly wasn’t anything you wanted but to have him with you. 

(Of course what you don’t know is he’s already wrapped your gift and hidden it in the closet)

Christmas Eve 

“Does Santa like Oreo’s or Gingerbread men?” Becca rummaged through the boxes of cookies, carefully inspecting each one so she’d have the perfect assortment by the tree. 

“I think Santa like’s chocolate chip cookies, maybe even some of the sugar ones and if you’re feeling generous tonight, maybe Santa would appreciate a glass of daddy’s special apple juice” Bucky 

“That’s what you and mama like!” She got to work getting out two of each cookie before grabbing a glass for the milk. “Daddy you pour the apple juice” 

“Oh my god” You snorted while Bucky grinned to himself, adding a glass of whisky beside the milk. 

“Time for bed now baby, Santa will only come by if you’re asleep” Your baby gave you grabby hands, happily cuddling into you while you carried her to her room, tucking her into the sheets. 

You went back down, giggling when you say Bucky with a Santa hat, munching on the cookies, patting on the seat for you to join him while he sipped on the dark liquid. 

“Naughty Mr. Clause” You pecked a kiss onto his nose, squeaking when he pulled you onto his lap. 

“Naught for you Mrs. Clause” He winked, bringing you down for a kiss, the both of you cuddling by the fire place. He couldn’t help but run his hands through your hair, humming at the softness of your lips, chasing more of you each time you pulled away for air. 

“What if Becca wakes up” You panted, your forehead resting on his. 

“Then she’ll understand the song I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause” He smirked, pulling you in for another kiss. 

Christmas day

“Merry Christmas sweet heart” Bucky mumbled, his voice still low and laced with sleep. He slung his arm around, pulling you close so he could cuddle with you for a while before opening presents. He whined as you wiggled out of his hold to grab him something from the closet, stroking his hair to coax him awake. 

“I wanted to give this to you now” You whispered, placing a soft wrapped gift on his lap as he sat up, curiously inspecting the present. His eyes grew wide as he took apart the paper, a thick warm knitted sweater with the initials JBB embroidered on the inside of the neckline. “I made it for you, just like how you Ma used to” 

Bucky blinked back the tears that welled in his eyes, running his hand over the soft material. Ever since he had been telling you about all the Christmas traditions he had with his family, you wanted to give Bucky something that came from his childhood. 

“I love you” Was all Bucky could muster, biting his lip, throwing it on before kissing you deeply and then slipping out of bed to get Becca. 

Your eyes grew wide at the large pile of presents, there were easily 6 more than what you had remembered. 

“Bucky, what-” 

Bucky gave you a cheeky smile, proud of himself for sneaking away as you slept, placing the extra presents under the tree in the middle of the night. 

“Merry Christmas mama!” You felt her tiny arms wrap around you thighs, her face squished against them. 

“Merry Christmas babygirl” You kissed the top of her head, her full focus on the large pile of gifts under the tree. 

“May I open them now?” She bounced on her heels, “Please?” 

She didn’t waste a second as soon as you nodded, grabbing the large red box with her name on it, squealing and jumping into your laps, peppering as many kisses as she could on both of you. 

“Mama, daddy, you bought me a doll house?!” Her large eyes twinkled, her hands grasping onto Bucky’s cheeks. 

“Do you like it bub” He smiled while she scrambled out of his lap to assemble it. You shook your head at the little pile of gifts that all had your name on it while Bucky waited for you to open them, excited to see you smile. 

“Bucky, what did you do” You shook your head, gasping as you opened the first box; a dainty gold chain sitting on a velvet cushion. 

“Spoiling my little girl and my wife” He shrugged, taking the chain out of the box so he could clasp it around your neck. “Here, I think you’ll like this one the most” He grabbed the last bag, plopping it onto your lap, his heart racing as he watched you pull off the tissue paper. You gasped, pulling out a soft blue teddy bear that was made from the material of one of his Henley's. 

“My ma used to make them if we couldn’t fit into our shirts anymore. I know you like to wear them but I thought you might like this too” He blushed, while you looked at him with teary eyes, clutching the bear to your chest. “Maybe he can keep you company when I go on long missions” 

“I love it so much James” You kissed his scruffy cheek, bringing the bear to your face, humming contently at the way his scent lingered on the material. “and I love you”

Christmas dinner 

Bucky poured drinks while you carried appetizers to and from the kitchen; the house filled with music, laughter and all of the team and their families. The kids had gathered by the TV to watch a movie while everyone else piled in your living room, a mass of wrapping paper and ribbons all over the place from unwrapping more presents. 

You giggled to yourself, watching Sam and Steve team up with Tony and Nat for an intense game of flip cup; Thor made sure he brought bottles of mead so the super soldiers could drink. 

“Someone looks happy” You snorted as Bucky made his way over to you, a goofy grin plastered on his face. 

“Very happy angel” He pulled you to a quiet corner to sneak a few minutes with you, his hands roaming up and down your waist before playfully grabbing your ass. “Can’t keep my hands to myself when you’re walking around tempting me in this dress” 

“Trying to have fun already?” You sassed, poking his side. He pulled you flush against him, inhaling the sweet scent of your perfume, enjoying the warmth of your body. He peeked up for a moment to check on the guests, his heart swelling with seeing everyone together. At his home. With his family. 

“YO BARNES STOP DRAGGING YOUR WIFE TO THE MISTLE TOE AND BE MY PARTNER” Bucky snorted hearing Sam’s voice carry through the corridor, reluctantly pulling away from you. “I’ll have to sneak you away again in a bit doll” He kissed you once more before joining by Sam’s side. 

Of course the rest of the night goes by with more antics, plenty of food, more of sneaky love struck Bucky and you both wouldn’t have it any other way.  After everyone had left, you curled up on the couch with Bucky, Becca tucked to your side, nodding off, her eyes heavy with sleep. 

“Hmm, bed time bug” Bucky plucked Becca from your lap, carrying her over to her room and tucking her in carefully. He kissed her forehead while she snuggled into her sheets, cuddled up with her newest falcon plushie. 

“Night daddy” 

“Sleep tight baby” Bucky was about to make his way out until he heard her little voice again. 

“Daddy?” He turned around to see her curious face thinking about what she wanted to ask, blinking up at him before speaking. “Can Santa bring me a brother?” 

“A brother?”

“Uh huh. We don’t get to see Cass and AJ or Morgan all the time. I have no one to play with at home” 

Bucky melted at her pouty face and puppy eyes, a signature look she had 100% inherited from him. He chuckled, giving her one last kiss before turning on her night light. 

“Maybe for next Christmas, does that sound good?” 

Bonus: Making Becca’s second gift

You were curled up in bed with a book while Bucky walked in, quietly closing the door behind him. 

“Y’know, Becca actually wanted a different Christmas gift” Bucky wiggled his eyebrows while you cocked your head, gasping when he grabbed your thigh and pulled you to lie down against the pillows. He crawled on top of you, setting your book aside before settling himself between your legs causing your oversized t-shirt to ride up. 

“Yeah? And what’s that” 

“She wants a little sibling to play with” Bucky smirked, trailing a few featherlight kisses on your neck. 

“Does she now?” You could feel your heartrate pick up, warmth already pooling between your legs. 

“She does” He ran his tongue down the column of your neck. His cock was hard, pressing against your needy core, gently rocking his hips, groaning at the way your thighs squeezed around him. You moaned, spreading your legs further for him, bucking your hips up slightly to chase the friction of his cock rubbing on you.  “What do you think mama? One more?”

“One more” You whimpered, desperate to have him in side you. Bucky sat back on his heels, pulling up you to strip your shirt off, and raising your hips to toss your panties away. He wasted no time throwing his boxers off, settling between your legs again, rubbing his bare cock against your entrance. 

“You gonna let me put a baby in you?” There was no time for foreplay or prepping for tonight, the both of you now desperate. You whined, frantically nodding, waiting for Bucky to do something but he clicked his tongue, shaking his head. “Say it, tell me what you want me to do” 

“Put a baby in me daddy” You moaned, clinging your arms around his neck, your arousal soaking the tip of his cock. 

“You want daddy to put a baby in you?” He nudged the tip inside, teasing you, loving the way your eyes pleaded with him, your desperate moans spurring him on more. 

“Please? Please daddy”

“Don’t worry doll, m’right here” You both gasped at the feeling of him filling you, inch by inch until he was fully seated inside you. “M’right here angel” Bucky could feel his cock already throb, the very idea of getting you pregnant again made him extra sensitive. 

“Move Bucky, please” He started to slowly rock his hips, placing soft kisses along your hairline, resting his forehead against yours. He loved the feeling of your arms wrapped around his body, your legs tight around his waist. He loved the sweet sounds that left your lips, moaning with you over how perfect you felt, how desperately in love he was with you. 

“M’so lucky, you know that doll?” He pulled up slightly to look at your eyes, rolling his hips a little faster, chasing more of your warmth “Can’t believe your my wife, mother of my child-fuck-how did I get so lucky” 

“I l-love you” Your nails dug into his back, pulling him so his full body weight was on you, the coil in your belly already starting to build feeling him so close. Bucky groaned, giving you deeper thrusts, angling his hips slightly to pull all the way out before slamming back in. You cried out in pleasure, his lips coming down to swallow your moans while he started to drip in your cunt. “Want a baby like you Bucky” 

“Yeah? You want a little baby like me?” Your words made his cock throb, nearly cumming on the spot while you gazed at him with heart eyes, nodding while moving your hands to cup his face. 

“Fuck-just like you Bucky!” 

“Wanted-fuck-wanted to make love to you baby, get you pregnant with my babies while I feel all over you but you make it so hard baby, I just-I just-m’already gonna fucking cum, you feel so good”

“Oh fuckkk-keep-keep going Bucky don’t st-stop” You could feel the hair at the base of his cock rub against your clit, the veins in his cock pulsing. 

“Never, I love making babies with you, mama” He panted against your neck, his hand coming to lace with yours, pinning the on the bed. “Prettiest mama ever, not gonna be able to keep my hands to myself when you’re pregnant angel, tellin you right fucking now, m’gonna fuck you and make love to you even when your all swollen and round”

You moaned, your pussy clenching and fluttering at his words while he lost himself further, grunting and panting with each thrust. 

“You feel that huh? How hard my cock is for you baby, fuck-how swollen it is when I get to knock this pretty pussy up”

“Get me pregnant Buckyyy” You could feel your orgasm right on edge, your pussy gripping onto his cock with a vice like hold. 

“Yeah? Daddy’s gonna get you pregnant angel, can fell my balls throbbing-shit-so heavy baby-almost hurts” 

“Cum daddy, cum in me” Your needy voice threw Bucky over the edge, his pace growing sloppy. His hands moved to wrap around your body, holding you as close to him as possible, the head of his cock desperate to release. 

“M’gonna get you pregnant baby-fuck get ready, gonna cum, gonna fucking CUM OH FUCKKK-” Bucky stilled, moaning into your neck, struggling to keep his voice low, as his cock spilled endless ropes of cum into you. He could feel each spurt make his cock jump, grinding his hips into you, pushing you against the mattress, making sure you got every single drop. 

“Take alll my cum sweets, take it” Bucky kept his cock in you, his hand snaking down to rub your clit. His eyes locked with yours, pupils blown with lust and love as you bit down on his shoulder, your orgasm crashing down on you. “Thats it, cum when you’re all nice and full of me baby” Bucky groaned feeling your walls pull and clench around his softening cock. “God that feels good” The both of you took a moment to catch your breath, cuddled under the sheets, with kisses in between. 

“So, we’ll have a little Bucky around for next Christmas?” Bucky smiled down at you, softly caressing your body while you laid on his chest. 

“Hmm, we just might”  You giggled, nodding, shifting up slightly so you could kiss him. You squealed as he grabbed you, rolling you over so you were under him again, his cock hardening almost instantly. 

“James!”

He bit his lip, thrusting into you again as your eyes rolled back, he was going to make sure you were pregnant by the end of the night. 

“I mean, our princess did ask for a sibling and she gets what she wants...”

Tags: @glxwingrxse  @hungryyeyess  @sebsgirl71479  @beabutterfly987  @teambarnes72  @witchywhore @jamesbuckybarneswify @slutforsexyseabass  @chrisdrysdale @littlemarvelmenfan  @buggy14  @whimsyplaty92  @sergntbarnes @inkedaztec   @pono-pura-vida   @moonlightreader649 @brooklynscherry-z  @elle14-blog1 @justsebstan @littlelightnings @psychomanniac-blog  @happyt0exist   @emmabarnes  @bethyruth @matchat3a  @cjand10   @getwellsoontana  @cherryschaos   @lokisasgardianvampirequeen  @ashenc-blog  @buckybarnessimpp   @potatothots  @goldylions  @high-functioning-lokipath @morganemorganite-blog  @kingfleury   @peaches1958   @spiderman-stilinski   @peaceinourtime82  @gublur   @wintersmelodie @geeky-politics-46   @lolawassad  @almosttoopizza   @a-poor-gryffindork @alternativeprincess   @buckycallsmeaslut    @kamaria-sweet-writes  @charmedbysarge    @xnorthstar3x  @kryoee7 @alina02  @gh0stgurl    @polishprincess999 @jessybarnes @alltheficsiwant @chemtrails-club  @eralen   @carrotfantasimp

[shuttershocky]

do u have any tips for understanding what the hell is going on in deadlock's shop or have any posts/videos u can direct me to?

Sure thing, let's talk about items in Deadlock!

So items in the shop are divided into three categories: Weapon, Vitality, and Spirit . Weapon items increase your weapon damage (duh), Vitality items increase your health, and Spirit items increase your Spirit power.

But by how much? All items in their respective categories are arranged from Tier 1 to Tier 4, where Tier 1 items are cheapest (base price of 500 souls) but give the least amount of stats, while Tier 4 items are the most expensive (base price of 6,300 souls) but give the most amount of stats. T1 Spirit items for example, all give +4 Spirit power when equipped, while T4 Spirit items all give +16 Spirit power when equipped.

I say base price, because some smaller items are components of other, bigger items, so the bigger items can get more expensive (because you gotta buy the smaller ones first). For example, Extra Spirit is a T1 Purple item that costs 500 souls. Improved Spirit is a T3 item ( base price 3000 Souls) that needs Extra Spirit, therefore its real price is 3500 souls. Finally, Boundless Spirit is a T4 item that needs Improved Spirit first, therefore instead of 6300 souls, its final price is 6300 + 3500 = 9800 souls.

Apart from their base stats determined by their price, different items can also give different bonus stats. To justify its gigantic price, Boundless Spirit gives you an extra +60 Spirit power on top of the base +16 that being a T4 item gives it (yes that is huge). Boundless also gives you a bonus +300 HP, +2 m/s movespeed, +15 HP regen, and a bonus 25% weapon damage.

One last thing about items: they can have either a passive effect, or an active effect. For example, the T3 Weapon item called Sharpshooter has a passive effect that boosts your weapon damage by 70% if you hit an enemy from long range. It still gives you the increased weapon damage from being a T3 weapon item, that extra 70% is just free if you fulfill its condition! On the other hand, another T3 Weapon item is Warpstone, which has an active effect. If you activate Warpstone, you instantly teleport forward a few meters while gaining Bullet Resistance, good for escaping or dodging in fights! Beware about buying too many items with actives though, you only have 4 item hotkeys and can't fit any more!

For that matter, can you just equip whatever you want? No! Each player starts with 4 orange slots, 4 green slots, and 4 purple slots, making this the maximum amount of weapon, vitality, and spirit items you can hold respectively. There are however, 4 flex slots you can unlock over the course of the game by taking objectives. These 4 extra flex slots can fit ANY kind of color you want, so they're pretty vital to expanding the possibilities of your build. Therefore, if you don't play the objective and just go for kills all day, you're limiting your own strength!

Since you only have a limited number of items slots to equip items with and have to earn your Souls, Deadlock challenges you to evolve your build throughout the game as efficiently as you can manage.

For example, if you're basing your build around Weapon damage, you would just focus on buying 4 orange slots and then 4 more when you unlock your flex slots right? Not always! Remember Boundless Spirit and how it gives a bonus +25% Weapon damage despite being a Spirit item? That means you can boost your weapon damage using an item that fits in a purple slot, which means more Weapon damage that initially seemed possible with your limited slots!

Therefore, the minigame Deadlock asks you to play is creating a build that is both affordable (you have to earn those Souls yourself!), efficient, and actually synergizes with your character's skillset over the course of the game. There are many limits placed on you so you can't go hog wild and buy 16 orange items on Wraith, you're going to have to get creative!

All this may seem overwhelming at first, but these rules and limits are there to guide you, not hinder you. Imagine if items were not divided into three types based on what they gave you and just sat there bunched up together with varying prices that could range from as low as 50 to as high as 6500+ without any order and you had complete freedom with your item slots and could even buy multiple of the same item—learning what the hell to buy and what each item even does and what you need would be ridiculous. I would know, because that's how Dota 2 is played!

That should be everything about items and the shop, but let me know if there's anything specific that I missed!

[polyamorousmood]

💟 Pleaseeeee do it again your ideas are so fun and I need suggestions!!! <3

okay okay more group date idea (thank you for requesting it uwu 💙💖🖤 )

Classic sleepover ⛺🔦-- you gotta stay up late, you gotta play truth or dare, pillow fort and/or fight HIGHLY encouraged. Even if you all live together, buy junk food and be a lil irresponsible and make a night out of it! Turn the phones off and do scary stories as the sleepover gods intended 👻

Expert Lessons 🧠📕👩‍🏫 -- could be a great video call date honestly? Each person is an expert in something, and they lead a lil activity to teach the others! Could be anything from a paint-along or friendship bracelet tutorial to "I'm a little too into birds so I'm going to teach you all the most common birds in your area" to "I know everyone else hates doing taxes, so I'm here to help and we're getting them done god dammit". Get to see your loves tall about something they're passionate about so its top tier.

Dramatic readings 📖🗣🎭 -- find the most cursed shit you can. I'm talking 18th chapter of My Immortal, I'm talking Hot Takes from your own tumblr circa 2012, I'm talking weird Pornhub comment section... then make your partners cold read them as seriously as possible. For bonus fun, have a judging system and give prizes for best reader and finder of worst things to read! Lots of laughs

[luffyvace]

can i request romantic hairo kineshi hcs?

yes you mayyy~ lovely anonymous~

I’ve never seen anyone request him before! What a fascinating request 😋

gn since no gender or pronouns mentions ;}

Hairo’s personality is very intense and hype yet kind and helpful 💪

his good nature can help cheer you up if your a negative person

your feel upset about a wardrobe malfunction/bad hair day?

“NO, (name), you look great! Every day you get up you look great! Is the rivers gonna stop flowing because your outfit isn’t perfect??! No! Is the sun gonna stop shining because your hair is out of place?? No! You. Look. Great!”

absolute awesome motivator.

I cannot express that enough

Always there when you need him

He manages to cheer you up every time too!

Let’s address the pants situation..😭

that dude doesn’t even get embarrassed when his behind his out 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️😭

you probably do for him…

thank goodness no one makes fun of him for it-

except for like- nendo- who keeps pointing it out every time it happens..😀

but anyway (SEE WHAT I DID THERE??)

Alr fine I’ll stop..

his reputation (or yours) doesn’t go down because of it and your truly grateful

You know.. your pretty lucky now that I think about it

People love your boyfriend so much that even if he gets pantsed they won’t trash him for it

💓💓

that’s how you know he’s a real sweetie

This dude is raring to participate in any form of sports

and you dote on that so much!!

you support him in anyway you can

“GO HAIRO!!”

”YOU GOT THIS HAI-KUN!!”

you almost hype him up as much as he does you when your supporting him!

if you want he’ll offer for you to join when he’s training for his tennis matches

He do be getting pretty hard core but you know he means well by it 😅

its also a bonus that he’s disinterested in kokomi

because now you don’t have to worry about disloyalty

of course he, himself isn’t disloyal

just in genera, versus, if you were to date another guy who could possibly still be charmed by her which could lead to problems in the relationship..

again! You don’t have those worries 😊

it actually makes you feel really special to know he chooses you over teruhashi—who everyone thinks is perfect

to him, your perfect for him 🥺

lol he would totally say something cheesy like that and genuinely mean it 💖

gotta love a guy like that amirite? (Am I right?)

speaking of which it’s canon he doesn’t think about love

until you of course 🤗😵‍💫

he’s more so cheesy romantic with his words

so your dates are either more casual or fun and heart racing

which to be frank, it’s usually both

like working out for example :)

if you like to-

if not then a jog in the park is manageable

Your man is also certainly open to trying your hobbies as well!

but one that you could probably both agree on would be a theme park/carnival

if you don’t like the big, scary rides? the fast tea cups (that are safe on the ground) are just as thrilling to him! 💗

Random :) but you make sure to bring him back down to earth when he goes over the top

like when he gets too excited or into things

For example, that time he literally went and chopped down trees by his OWN HAND instead of buying already chopped wood 😀😅💖

you break it to him gently of course..

his strength is probably attractive if not admirable to you

especially his muscles 😍

no matter your weight or height he can pick you up guaranteed ♡

he often takes you to the gym or park when he works out—if your up for it

if you join him all the better!

although he probably has a gym in his house somewhere- at least weights

i can’t see otherwise

his dad might work out too

Him and famous tennis players likely inspired him when he was young

his strength comes in handy too!

now you have a no-struggle jar/can opener!! 😚

If you don’t he will definitely encourage you to work out

Or if you already do (i feel like if he did have a type they’d be a sporty person like him) you two will be the sweat duet or smth bc 😂😂

honestly? he’s too hot for cuddles in the summer but is great for them in the winter!

until he’s not.. 😀

it gets so bad it be feeling like SUMMER in your room while cuddling since he’s emitting heat 😗🤦‍♀️

his rivalry with nendo low key concerns you bc you know he’ll overexert himself 😭💞

he canonly knocks out at 8pm on the dot

(LOL)

so if you ever have sleepover don’t expect to pull all nighters

and you better scarf down dinner (i feel his mom would make dinner at around 6:30 ish)

so you can have a hour and a half to play some video games or smth

Something tells me he’d also be into reading manga

probably sports manga-

pretty obvious why-

if not then some sort of action

gets the blood pumpin ya know??

so at least that’s something you could do together if you yourself aren’t into sports

if I had to pick a fav sports anime for him it’d be free or aihru no sora (this except I’ve never watched either :3 <3)

his black belt in Judo is a very cool feat. to you

if you wanna learn (especially if your not strong so you can defend yourself) he leaps to teach you

he’s a great teacher and has patience but he does get really fired up about it ❤️‍🔥

And even if you don’t wanna learn it anymore or it’s taking awhile- don’t worry this guy will always protect you <3

coming to his tennis games is another way you support him

your right there next to his friends and family as well as your own

Practically the whole school shows up for this guy

everyone loves him 💓💓

he reminds you to do your homework and will help you with it or motivate you to finish it if you need it

his. parents. love. you.

whenever you come over for dinner or a sleepover his mom always goes “ohh, one more hug” like- A THOUSAND TIMES before you can actually leave 😭❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹

she loves you like your her own

She trusts you not to break Hairo’s heart either

and those two have a real close bond so that says something <3

She kisses you atop the head sometimes (specifically when your leaving or when you say goodnight before bed during sleepovers)

the dad is always like “your a good kid yknow?” “Take care of yourself”

LOL TYPICAL DAD TALK

for the record he loves your parents too <3

and they love him as well 🤗

and with that..!

y’all future together is practically already sealed 💞

10/10 boyfriend no flaws 100% green flag- go go go!

Hairo seems like such a sweet boyfriend!

it’s sad that he’s underrated but at the same time at least only the good ones can have him

☝️😙

[dinaanana]

Them with a Teenager Reader:

Synopsis:How would They Act around Youngest member of their Organization

DoA X Teenager!reader (Platonic!)

Fluff/Crack

Written by a minor.

Fyodor Dostoevsky

( Pretend your Ability is Telekinesis)

Bro you're Annoying This Rat and It's so funny

Fyodor and Sigma are your Targets literally

You Get bored? Uncle Fyodor is there😍

You get Bored of Annoying Fyodor?

Auntie Sigma Is there 😍

(You barge in His Sky casino and Literally Scare everyone Away He chased u with a Mopper He also yells at u to stop Eating Casino coins or whatever they are called)

Anyways..this Isn't Abt sigma so

One day in DOA you were sitting on A couch Scrolling down your Phone on tiktok

You get bored And u Get an Idea!

You stand up From the couch and Went to The Crusty Rats Basement just to See him in His discord mod ahh sitting Infront of 100 Computer Screens

You lifted ur Fingers up And Made The mouse He was clicking on float above his Head.

He raised his brow and Didn't even Bother looking Behind him ''(Name)... give it back.''

''no you discord moderator lol'' You Cackled

''What the hell do u even do Sitting Infront of 100 screens doing Nothing'' you sigh

''Ohhhh Perhaps You Play Roblox?!''

He Sighs And grabs The mouse from ur Hands

''If so Whats Your Use-''

He closed the Door Infront of you.

Bonus

If you are a High Schooler he helps u Out with ur Homework And U get the top scores I mean this man Smart asf

Sigma

Omg.

He's done With you

You Literally Barge Into His Sky Casino Yelling And scaring literally Every worker and customer Away

He drags u away in his Office just to Scold u You hear Nothing cuz u Were wearing Airpods.

He snatched them Away from u and Almost broke it You Hit him..

He had a huge ass Bump on his Forehead after that for like 1 week (Nikolai made fun of him and praised you)

He thinks Maybe ur demonic Behavior is because of Ur Puberty since ur Still a teenager or? does this dude even know What puberty is? did he even hit it himself? Idk

All aside you Guys Are besties (He doesn't Approve that) ''What is Bestie?'' He asks and u explain it

''oh ok .um Betsie..'' ''Its bestie Sigma'' you Sigh

''oh''

He orders Some Food and Drinks for u When ur Hungry and you don't Pay ofc It's his casino He owns everything duh

You drink Iced coffee With him everyday You order Funny Straws To drink the coffee with

You even drink hot Drinks With a straw (I do that lol) He looks at u With Surprised face ''umm (Name) They don't drink Hot drinks with a Straw..''

''They don't? I do..''

One Time u were Trying to drink ur Hot chocolate with a Straw It was really hot so u tried to swallow it Slowly U ended up swallowing the whole Thing and Ended up Burning ur tongue and Choking

He panicked and almost fainted when u Almost died.

U help him out With his paperwork in his office too when he's too tired

You Draw on them Aswell☠️ he scolds u For it but u don't care.

Nikolai Gogol

You Two are the silliest😍🥰

Both of u are crazy Maniacs (You are a Criminal Aswell)

You pull Pranks in sigma really often and he falls for it everytime

He Sometimes Sends u Yourself to Annoy sigma and Fyodor Because They don't Lash out On you like they do with him so..

U guys Also steal Things 🥰

You want new Iphone 16? let's go steal it

You want new Clothes? his Cloak is Right here

You want new PC? Just borrow it from Fyodor he has like 100 And Giving u one won't hurt Right?!

(y'all Steal it anyway and get away with Teleporting Away)

You guys Also Play Cards like Uno, Poker etc. with sigma ofc

Once you two were in Sky Casino and Got Bored so You suggested to play Mafia

''But we are 3...'' Nikolai makes :( face

''Dont worry,'' You stood up from the chair And Went Outside for a bit

You forced every Single one Of Customer and Employee of Sky Casino to play Mafia with you

And they did

Y'all made A bet whoever wins Everyone Gotta buy Them Food and Drinks for free

You won

You literally ate every Single Food and drink (Except alcohol) That existed and was made And you were full for 3 days straight .

Remember The scene when Nikolai was Cosplaying policeman ? Yeah U Were there too Wearing Same Uniform Like him Going out chasing People scaring the Dogs Off

You bumped into some 500 pound Man and He yelled at u And Insulted you

You kicked him in Balls and made him collapse and You got the crowds Attention

''How many Pounds Are you?'' You asked With a closed eye Smile At the man who Trembled with wide eyes

''like 500 Pounds No?'' You laughed

''Then I'll shot u 500 times in the head.'' Your smile dropped and Looked at him with full on serious mode.

And you Did shot him 500 Times you don't know because you didn't care To count.

U earned Gasps from the crowd

''Ate 😍😍''' Nikolai Clapped

And the Police Arrived (The real ones)

bowed like they do at the end of the Theater Yeah Infront of the crowd and teleported away with Nik.

[beauleifu]

hiii!! saw your rqs were open so i swooped right in >:) may i perhaps get a fluffy syntax x reader where the reader tries to drag syntax away from his work because theyre sleepy and want to cuddle him (bonus points if syntax is a bit of a tease cause djkfgdkfg im predictable) ...... i feel like once he gets going on his work he stays there until he either finishes it or passes out. overall hes Very stubborn so we gotta try and fix his sleep schedule with the power of ~love~ (and a lot of convincing). thank you for the opportunity!! the way you write for him is like instant serotonin 🙏💞

HEYYYYY GOOD TO HAVE YOU!

And ofc, ofc, we all love a little Syntax serotonin, yessir. Anyways, I hope you enjoy, sorry if this is late! I wanted it to be fun and mushy lmao

P.S. to everyone else, I think this is gonna be my last long oneshot for Syntax seeing as im writing a fanfic for him and dont want stuff for him to get old or repetetive, I have a LOT of requests regarding him so i'll either write short headcanons or not answer them until later <3

as for that yan!Syntax x reader, that's the exception lol

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

SYNTAX X READER

Lego Monkie Kid

Context: Your idiot is back at it again, tinkering late at night at the work bench you realize you regret buying for him. Syntax was never one to value his own health, so it's up to you to, ah . . . remind him. Let's hope your plans don't go sideways.

CW: Tiny suggestive bit, language

‧˚₊꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷‧₊˚⊹‧˚₊꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷‧₊˚⊹

When you wake up, it's still dark.

Weird . . . You think, not bothering to sit up. Dull gaze directed at the stone ceiling, you frown thoughtfully.

It's probably sometime around three in the morning.

That doesn't explain the strange empty feeling inside of you. Blowing out a sigh, you look around for the person you'd been spooning all night - only to find the other side of the bed vacant and cold.

Now you realize why you feel empty.

Syntax is gone.

Frustration starts to build up in your center as you slowly sit up and rub your eyes, yawning tiredly.

He's probably working in his signature cave. Just one of many in the vast expanses of the Spider Queen's lair. You've become familiar with the many routes and tunnels that stretch to the surface (the Spider Queen needed you at your top game, anyways). After coming to terms with serving the Queen, you've stayed by Syntax's side to help him with whatever he needs. You're not a tech nerd, you're not even a scientist. But the spider demons seem to enjoy your company, the food you cook, and the items you bring from the surface.

It's too chilly to leave your room without a blanket, so you drape the fluffiest one over your shoulders and slip out of bed, bare feet touching the smooth, stone cold floor.

Urgh. Living underground doesn't have many perks.

You find solace in working with Syntax and befriending the other spider demons. At least they allow you to travel to the surface in order to get your daily dose of vitamin D and other necessities. Besides that, you live down here.

Stretching and scratching your back, you walk aimlessly to the door and crack it open. It's dark outside.

It's always dark.

You've grown accustomed to the lack of sunlight, but you must have access to a nightlight or a lamp if you want to feel somewhat at home. The Spider Queen had allowed you to decorate your room (it's a cave, but you refuse to call it that), and you're grateful to her for that. It's not often she expresses any sort of kindness to begin with.

Eyes wide, you fumble for your phone and beam the light down the tunnel.

Just beyond, where the path curves sideways, you see a light.

Yup. Totally working.

"Damn spider demon," you mumble to yourself, in a slight daze as you leave your room and follow the source of light. "Getting no sleep. What am I supposed to do . . ."

When you finally reach the room, you pause.

Anxiety bubbles in your chest.

Step, step, step.

You've started pacing, you know it.

Slowly shuffling back in forth in front of the ominous door that leads to Syntax's quarters, hands twisting the blanket fabric. Under normal circumstances, you'd walk right in after knocking, with a smile on your face.

Instead, you're frowning, tapping your chin and thinking hard.

It's three in the fucking morning.

Why isn't he asleep!?

You don't understand why the Spider Queen won't send Syntax to rest and charge up if she values his tech skills so much. Despite it being so dim down here in the spider caves, no one ever seems to want to sleep. Unless they do so while you're aboveground, but the time you spend up there recently is very brief. You're ordered to return to the Spider Queen's lair in due time (and you're sure Huntsman keeping an eye on you the whole time, anyways. You don't try anything).

Adjusting the fluffy blanket draping over your shoulders, you fight a yawn and rub your eyes. Just get it over with.

You're tired.

He must be exhausted.

It's that which motivates you to quietly open the door, peeking inside before stepping through. As you expected, a tall figure stands at the work bench, back to you, tinkering away.

You puff out a small, exasperated sigh. "Syntax. . . ."

He doesn't turn, but you detect the smallest tensing of his shoulder muscles as he straightens a tad. You hear the small exhale.

"You should be asleep."

Oh, he wants to play this game? Puffing a sigh, you enter the room and shut the door quietly behind you, leaning against it. "Yeah, well, so should you. This isn't healthy and you know it. Why can't you take a break and come back to bed?"

"You know why. I'm almost finished with the prototype."

"The prototype?? You mean you're not even at the final stage?" Crossing the room and joining him at the workbench, you give him the stinky eye. "That's not almost finished."

Finally, Syntax locks eyes with you, frowning. "Did I say I was almost finished with the project as a whole?"

"No. . . ."

"Precisely. Now if you won't return to bed, then sit and be quiet."

You weigh your options, biting your lip.

At this rate, he'll just refuse your request just to spite you. There must be a smarter way to play your cards. Something that you know he has a weakness for. . . .

"How about a deal?" You murmur.

There.

You catch it, the slight lift of his eyebrows and the brief gleam in his green eyes. But he merely scoffs. "What did I just tell you?"

"Please. Please!" You say, fighting a smile. "I wanna cuddle!"

"I'm not in the mood for bargaining."

He's messing with you. You know he's interested in whatever you have to offer. Puffing a laugh, you slip your arms around his midsection and hug him from behind, closing your eyes. The sound of his breathing against your ear is soothing, even when it hitches at your actions. He's so warm. No wonder you woke up from his absence.

"Pleeeeeaase?" You whine softly, knowing you sound childish but not caring in the slightest. "I thought you liked deals."

A pause. You hold your breath.

Syntax lets out a sigh, a smile in his voice. "What did you have in mind?"

Oh.

"I, uh . . . haven't planned it out that far. I was expecting you to shoo me back to bed," you admit sheepishly, glad you can hide your face in his coat so you can avoid meeting his gaze, which is no doubt amused and mocking.

The spider demon hums, tinkering away. "That was on my itinerary, but you have piqued my interest. . . ."

"Okay, how about I do whatever you want for a bit, and in return you come to bed and cuddle with me," you offer, releasing him. Syntax spins on heel and leans on the workbench.

"'Whatever I want'?" He repeats mischievously.

You consider. "Within reason."

"Understandable. All right," Syntax says, cocking his head. "I have an idea."

A question builds in your throat, for he'd been so very explanatory, but Syntax simply crosses you to the far side of the desk and faces you once more. Hands in his pockets, he nods to the desk, eyes twinkling mysteriously. You frown deeply.

"Sit here."

Now you grimace, face scrunched as you try and figure out his ulterior motives. "Uh-huh. What else? Just sit?"

If this is it, getting him to bed will be shockingly simple.

Of course, you miss the look in his gaze. Smiling casually, he hums; "Yes. That's all." And then his voice takes on a stern dip. "However. You are to sit quietly and obediently until I instruct otherwise. If you can do that, I see no problem in fulfilling your end of the bargain."

There it is, the catch you were waiting for.

Accepting your face, you nod wearily and saunter over to the desk. You make sure the blanket is secure before hopping up onto the smooth, wooden surface.

Syntax steps back, making sure you look comfy. "Good. Now sit there for a bit."

"You're not just doing this to make me shut up, are you?" You accuse as he walks back to the workbench. Shifting to avoid leaning back and bumping the discarded tech gear at your back, you eye him sternly. "You really will come back to bed?"

He merely glances at you.

Oh.

Shit.

You make a quick movement of zipping your mouth closed. Damnit, you still have no idea if you're doing this for nothing.

Syntax cracks a satisfied smile, returning to his work.

His demeanor gives away nothing. Whipping out your phone, you glance at the time. 3:30. Through narrowed eyes, you determine how long he'll make you sit here. No longer than half an hour, if he values your sleep schedule. Somewhat reassured, you settle into the blanket and watch Syntax resume tinkering around. The prototype looks like some kind of mini spider-bot, with sharp appendages and large, x-raying green eyes.

You long to ask what purpose his creation serves. Perhaps it's some kind of spying device, to scuttle around the city undercover of night in search of the Monkie Kid. Then again, isn't Syntax's current task something different? You thought the former was Huntsman's job.

A yawn escapes you without warning, and you clap a hand over your mouth in shock.

Syntax spares you a brief glance. "Giving up?"

He's asking if you're tired enough to abandon the deal and leave him here (as he probably wants). To challenge you in that way sparks a flame that you don't bother to snuff out.

Glaring determinedly, you shake your head. Not in a million years.

The spider demon's face drops in disappointment, and he turns back to his work without another word.

You're inclined to pass the time on your phone, lazily scrolling through entertainment simply thrown at your feet, as they swing back and forth above the cave floor. But as time ticks on, you begin to think this is all quite hopeless.

You struggle against another yawn.

A few more minutes.

It'll be worth it.

Syntax suddenly straightens, having been rearranging the insides of the mini spider-bot for the past five minutes. Blowing out an exhale, he glances at you - or rather, behind you.

His eyes then trail to your face. A slow, smug smile spreads across his features.

Setting the screwdriver aside, he walks over to the desk.

You realize he needs something from behind you, something lost among the many miscellaneous tech items resting against the wall. However, from the strange gleam in his eyes, you doubt that's all he needs, and he hasn't asked you to move yet. So you plant your hands on the table in preparation to scooch over and make room for him.

To your surprise, Syntax stops your motions by politely - yet firmly - placing one hand on your knee.

You swallow. Uh oh.

Syntax smiles kindly at you. "That's not necessary."

"But I-"

"Perhaps you're forgetting your instructions? Move, and the deal is off," Syntax continues, effectively shutting you up. With a gentle squeeze to your knee, he winks. "So stay."

That kind smile was a ruse, a dirty trick that had momentarily lowered your guard.

Syntax finds it incredibly easy to simply lean right over you to retrieve whatever he needed from the table. He's taller than you, his height even more prominent when you're sitting down. You have to tilt your chin upward so it just barely brushes his shoulder, heart beat suddenly wild.

It stops.

It skips beats.

It has no fucking clue how to react.

"U-Um-"

"Just a moment," Syntax says, which is so informative. You can practically feel his smirk, can taste the amusement reeking off of him.

Also his perfume. Not to mention his natural scent.

Smells good. Heat blossoms in your cheeks, your mouth quite dry as you attempt to swallow. The phone in your hands slips from your laxed grip into Syntax's palm, and you don't even try to object.

The scientist fusses with something behind you for a good ten seconds, giving you plenty of time to work up quite a flustered storm in both your head and your face. In the end, when he leans back, you're shivering despite the blanket, cheeks on fire.

The spider demon smirks.

Job well done, his eyes seem to say, green and mocking.

"Enjoying your visit thus far?" He says musingly, eyebrows raised. When you give no answer, he scoffs and brushes his bangs to one side. "You have permission to speak, I suppose. For now."

You simply glare, no longer wanting to cuddle anymore.

No.

You want to attack, like the little gremlin you are. Revenge tastes sweet, yessir.

"Not answering," you huff, hoping for a drink.

Which is certainly answer enough. Syntax's drops and he shrugs as if to say, you're loss. He's still a close distance from you, looking down at your blanket-swaddled frame. "You'd rather go back to bed and give up this . . . whatever this is?"

When he'd gestured to you, your eyes fall to his hands, unwilling to keep eye contact.

"I just . . ."

Angry for being at such a loss for words, you glare at the floor.

Syntax's expression softens.

He seems to realize what's up. With a faint sigh of fond exasperation, he rests his hands on either side of you, on the desk, and lowers himself to your eye level.

"Why did you really come down here. To me," Syntax murmurs, eyes half lidded.

You stiffen. "Well . . . I . . ."

He's smiling now, fingers ghosting along your arm. "Did you miss me that much?"

"More like worried you'd kill yourself working too hard," you grumble.

"Hmm. I'm touched," Syntax comments, gently taking your hand in his. Raising it to his lips, he presses a soft kiss to your knuckles, eyes trained on you. This time, you bite your lip so hard you taste blood.

Say it.

It's certainly a last ditch effort, an idea you're not exactly proud of.

However, as we all say, for the greater good.

"It . . . it just hurts to see you neglect your own health," you whisper, as though your confession is something forbidden.

Your words fill Syntax's ears.

He blinks, lips parting in surprise. You catch the guilt flash across his face.

At that moment, you seize your chance.

Syntax didn't know.

He had no clue that you were also putting on an act to dissuade him from the real deal (although your confession still have a ring of truth to them).

Karma is a bitch.

Hauling the blanket with you, you launch yourself at Syntax and wrap yourself around him, legs hooking around his waist. The blanket had fallen in such a way that it now covers both of your heads, giving way to a new kind of darkness that you quite like.

He gasps, hands instinctively flying down to support you.

With eyes of steel, you grab his face.

"Sleep," you beg, expression set aglow by the soft shine of Syntax's green eyes. Cracking a fond smile, you kiss his nose. "Cuddle with me."

You kiss his forehead. "I love you and I want you to be healthy."

Then, you pinch his cheek. "Don't make me use force."

Syntax is effectively breathless, words simply abandoning him when he needs them most. Your actions had startled him for sure, and thankfully he'd caught you or you'd be on your ass right now, drowning in shame. For now, you remain thankful and patient in his arms, thumb absently brushing his cheek.

Finally, Syntax sighs in resignation. "I knew I'd fail to achieve anything with your constant nagging."

"Is that a yes?"

A yawn - you knew he was tired. "I suppose it was."

Relief pours through you, and you remove the blanket from over both your heads. It falls back around your shoulders like a fluffy cape.

"Then let's be off," you say, yawning ass well.

He obeys, perhaps sad to leave his project yet his body is relaxed. Carrying you still, he leaves the cave and walks down the tunnel. You hug him tighter, burying your face in the crook of his neck and breathing deeply.

"I can't believe you did this on a daily basis before we met."

Syntax clears his throat. "With good reason."

"Give me one good reason, then."

Silence.

He's tired. It brings a smile to your face, because so are you, and it would suck to have forced him to do something he isn't ready for.

Now you can look forward to sleeping with peace of mind.

[glassmarcus]

The Rogue Lite Mexican Stand Off

*All games played in January 2023, Written in November 2023

I've had a backlog of Rogue Lites I planned on checking out for years now. This list keeps growing and I've accepted that I'll never reach the bottom. So I decided to knock out the three I felt were at the top of the genre at the very least. First I played Hades, a title I wasn't super psyched to try because I'm not a huge fan of isometric angles in games. But word of mouth overcame that doubt and I gave it a shot anyway. And yea, the game is aces. I was not led astray. Second on the docket was Rogue Legacy 2. I knew I was going to love this game because of how much I loved the first. To zero shock, I loved Rogue Legacy 2. Last was Dead Cells. A game I was interested in because I heard it be compared to Dark Souls at one point. What got me to finally buy it was the Castlevania DLC which I had to purchase because I'm a huge shill. By the way this game is also pretty good.

I see why this gallery of Rogue Likes are praised so highly and I enjoyed my time with them immensely... But which one is the best? I tried to place them all on the same level in my mind, but that's not how I operate. There needs to be a clear pecking order. A hierarchy must be established and that's exactly what I will do here. I'm going to pit these three Rouge Lites against each other and see who comes out on top. And no, I will not stop using the terms Rogue Lite and Rogue Like interchangeably. I know they are technically different things, but they sound far too similar for me to care. All games that expect you to complete their procedurally generated adventure in a single run are Rogue Likes/ Rogue Lites. That's the definition I'm using here.

In one corner of this Rogue Like Mexican stand off is Hades. Hades is a mechanically efficient masterwork of roguish progression. Not a single aspect is wasted and unpolished. You look at the weapons you get and might think "oh, there's only six of them" only to realize that they only made six because you only need six. Every weapon is completely fleshed out and has its own advantages over others. Swords deal high damage and take out a lot of enemies at once, but require putting yourself in risky situations. The Bow is weaker but safer as you can attack from anywhere in the screen. The Spear is somewhat of a jack of all trades, not as much range as a bow, not as much power as a sword, but enough of both to be worth using. Shields take a different approach in being a middle man by having its normal attack be melee and it's special long range. Fist and Guns act as the gambling man's version of the sword and bow. With Fist, you can get a lot of damage in when you're close, but it's harder to gauge when you should retreat. With Guns you can get way more hits than with the Bow, but you also have to manage your ammo and if you lose count you'll be shit out of luck.

I gotta say, there is no clear best weapon to use. I like the fist the best because obviously I'm gonna gravitate towards the punchy one the most, but I can't say it's strictly better than the others. And I came to this conclusion by naturally trying out every weapon. Hades attributes a point bonus for a random weapon in each run. These points can be used to permanently upgrade yourself between runs. So you have to decide if you want consistency with the weapons you are used to, or invest in the future by trying something new and getting potentially more points. Its a great way to incentivize variety and exploration of the mechanics of the game. The weapon options don't even end there as you get the ability to permanently upgrade your weapons after you've probably found a favorite. And these upgrades can substantially change the way you play as they aren't merely damage increases, but diverse effects that you can take advantage of to great result.

This game could just have these weapons and be perfectly great, but what takes it to the next level are the mid run upgrades you'd expect from any rogue like. Boons, the power gifted from the gods, are what really counts in getting you strong enough to claw your way out of hell. When you understand the advantages of your weapon, the permanent abilities you've acquired, and the effects boons can have, you can figure out which boons cynergize with you the best. As I stated prior, I was a Fist Aficionado. A weapon that hits fast and requires you to get in and out of enemy range. So when I picked boons that worked well with that, I got outstanding results. Abilities that decreased enemy attacks were my go to, because I knew I was going to get hit so I thought I might as well make it hurt less. And figuring out that build myself was when I really started to mesh with Hades. At first I wasn't getting any of the mechanics, flailing around with my standard attack until I dodged. But as I progressed it only kept feeling better to me. They introduce new combat options and improve the old ones. I think the game went from decent to incredible once I got a second Cast.

Cast are such a beautiful mechanic. Somehow both great for single target damage and Area of Effect depending on what boon you choose. But no matter which you choose, it changes the flow of combat due to the fact you have to pick that shit up. Keeping your rhythm despite cast not recharging automatically is the heart of why combat feels so good to me. Calls and Specials are great, but the real heroes are Cast, Attacks, and Dashes. In my experience, that’s actually the order I prioritize these moves. Your cast always have some effect that influences how you attack so that comes first. Then you attack to take advantage of what the cast does. While attacking you are dodging to stay alive. And then the cast wears off and they are left on the ground. And now you must use your attack and dash to navigate through enemies and pick up your cast so you can start the whole thing over again. Once you get into that flow state and start incorporating specials and calls into the equation, the combat of Hades becomes something truly special.

On a gameplay level this is brilliant. And you know what? The story ain't too bad either. Most Rogue Lite stories aren't something to write home about as far as I've experienced. After all, they are kind of the junk food of video games. Short and sweet experiences that don't have time to make an interesting story. Hades is built a bit different. Every run you do progresses the story and everything you do is canon. Games have been explaining away respawning for decades now, but I think this is on a different level. Characters acknowledge the things you did in prior runs. Story lines are moved through both success and failure so there's a palpable sense of progressing delivered in multiple ways. There's dating sim elements. And every character is hot. The story of Hades doesn't just work well, it works in a uniquely video game way. The setting of Hades is roguish in both thematics and mechanics. It's all about taking failure on the chin and accepting any help you can. It drove me to play it even more than I normally would have and made each run unique. It drove me to play it even after I beat it. This game’s story doesn't conclude until you beat it 10 times and I’m not upset about it one bit. You can customized each run's difficulty in a variety of ways after you beat it to add new rewards and content.

It really is a near perfectly crafted game in its genre. The only thing it drops the ball in is music which is a bit underwhelming. Don't remember a damn thing from it. And I've heard praise for the OST too, but it appears to not be my bag. It worked for what the game was going for and it matched the environments well, but it didn't stick with me the way I'd prefer an OST to stick with me. That's really is the only issue about the game I can conjure...but if it was clearly the best one of the three, I wouldn't be writing this.

In the second corner we have Rogue Legacy 2. Rogue Legacy is the inverse of Hades. Its narrative foil in a way. They are both games about overcoming impossible odds with the help from your family and end up being equally powerful despite going separate routes with this premise. Hades is based around Nepotism. You get to know your uncles and cousins throughout the game and your bonds with them push you forward. As such Hades is a more character driven narrative due to how large and important the supporting cast is. The cast in Rogue Legacy 2 is potentially bigger, but they're mostly all the same character. The Premise of Rogue Legacy 2 is that each run follows the latest heir of a family sworn to conquer an evil castle. When you die, you play as your offspring in the next push through the castle. It's a different character technically, with a different class and unique attributes. But one thing is maintained between the end of your last journey and the beginning of your new one: Your Bank Account.

If Hades is about Nepotism, Rogue Legacy is about Inheritance. Your character is given every advantage their predecessors were given and then some, assuring the next generation grows up stronger. Rather than death being equated to a minor setback, it's given real narrative consequence in a way. Every failed run is an echo of your past self. And it's cool that their efforts aren't going to waste. You are carrying the weight of your entire bloodline on your shoulders and it makes it all the more gratifying when you get to your points of respite. It's not as interesting as the standard well written game story, but it's just as powerful as one. When I beat the game and saw 100+ ancestors given their due credit, I felt that shit.

None of this is authentic by the way. Every bit of this was executed in Rogue Legacy 1 prior. The thing is, the sequel is better than that game in every conceivable way that it overwrites its very existence. I'm not exaggerating one bit when I say that there is zero reason to play the first game anymore. I get that it would be embarrassing for a game about improving over generations to not be way better than it's predecessor, but Junior didn't have to go this hard. I'd go as far to say that the first area of Rogue Legacy 2 completely encapsulates the experience of the first game. Everything beyond that point feels fresh and new. So for the remainder of this essay, Rogue Legacy only refers to the second game. It's such a large improvement to an already good game.

Rogue Legacy works because it's unabashedly brutal. Your hit boxes are so small and the enemy hit boxes are so big. Damage values are obscene. Enemies are around every corner and are relentless. Conquering this game is supposed to be difficult so it is designed around failure. It's not fair, but doesn't pretend to be. Your goal is rarely about accomplishing shit on your own and is more about fostering a new generation. Sewing seeds for the future. This game has six areas you need to conquer before gaining access to the final boss. Areas that you can access in a non linear way. It's essentially six separate Rogue Likes glued together. After you beat one area, you can still revisit that area in future runs, only the boss is permanently dead now. Once you've built an heir capable enough, you have the freedom to make short runs where you B-line to the boss or long runs where you scrape each prior area before the showdown. The draw of Rogue Legacy lies in how unlikely it is that you beat it in under a few dozen runs, but because every single run you failed in built towards your eventual victory, it is all the more satisfying.

Rogue Legacy is a game with an insane number of mechanics. Classes, armor, seals, equipment load, bank interest, skill trees, artifacts, upgrades and the list keeps going. Rogue Legacy takes Search Action gameplay and implements systems with the breadth and complexity of a 60 hours long RPG. And it functions perfectly because this is going to be a very looooong game, so the player has time to understand how the systems interact. Unlocking a class you can vibe with and figuring out which abilities and equipment optimize well with it is one of the many joys of Rogue Legacy 2.

Classes define your initial weapons, skills, and spells and additional stats. Class skills and stats basically determine how you're going to play. Weapons are important too, but the skills and stats can't be swapped out the same way weapons and spells can. And much like any craft, they can be improved. You can level up classes by playing them and defeating enemies. This incentivizes focusing on a single class that you've grown fond of so that their base stats will improve. But the random character generation limits your choice in the matter. It forces you to choose different classes. You're always making the best with the hands you are dealt, similar actual genetics. Classes aren't the only thing randomly generated in character creation. Each heir has a genetic trait that has a benefit and drawback. You can be born as a dwarf with shorter weapon range, but makes more money per chest. You can start off with a character who falls slowly, making some sections easier and some a nightmare. Every aspect of build creation of this game has a push and pull.

The armor you buy in this game increases your defense but the set bonus combination for said armors can give you extra stat or ability modifications. Seals are exclusively ability modifications guaranteed to make the game more fun to play with reliable effects. Artifacts fulfill the same purpose a lot of the time, but they are objects you find within the castle runs themselves. Having the right class, armor set, artifacts, and seals can make for a devastating build that will get you far in your adventure. But it's never that simple. Everything in this game has a cost. Armor cost money and ore to make and their weight fills up your maximum armor equip limit. Seals cost money and blood stones and have their own equip limit as well. Artifacts cost resolve and maybe re-rolls to get the best ones, and your resolve lowers if you have too much armor. The lower your resolve gets, the lower your Hit Point Maximum gets, making the character’s stats themselves a form of currency. Nothing in this game is simply handed to you and you have to do everything yourself with the small loan of 1 million gold your dead father gave you.

These systems and how they interact push this to being a phenomenal game, but they wouldn't mean anything without fun gameplay and that is something Rogue Legacy has in spades. Movement is the best part of this game I feel. It really leaned into the Metroidvania aspect. You get powers throughout the game that make world traversal delightful, and become even more fun when you have seals to build off of. Not many games let you do a quintuple jump into a triple air dash, but Rogue Legacy is one of those games. No mechanic you are given is that complicated as they are simply extensions of what you can already do. Attack, Magic, Skill, Dash, and Jump are basically the whole of the gameplay. Just fine tuning those things makes it satisfying to master. But there is one aspect added in this sequel that felt so natural I forgot to list it.

The Spin Kick. The spin kick is essentially a Duck Tales pogo. But you don't get that much height from it. But what it loses in height, it makes up for in surface area. You can spin kick basically any thing in this game so long as long as it's physical or electrical matter. Enemies, projectiles, weird candelabras, are all spin kick approved. Think Cup Head parry, but exclusively down ward, which doesn't seem that great, but it's a platformer essentially. You are jumping a lot. It's really not that different from attacks coming from the side when you are in mid air so much of the time any way. This platformer parry is utilized throughout the whole game to making interesting level obstacles and boss patterns. It is the unsung hero of this game and 3 playthroughs later, I'm still finding joy in executing it.

It's very hard for things in Rogue Legacy to overstay their welcome. Even the procedural level design remains fresh. Lots of variety in the rooms. It's not only a series of corridors where you have to kill enemies in a generated mini level. Some rooms are puzzles. Some are platforming challenges. Some are gauntlets and mini bosses. Some are purely story related. Also the 6 level motifs are distinct both visually and how they are designed. Level 2 almost entirely horizontal while the last area feels like a true dungeon crawler due to how dark and dangerous it is. I wasn't kidding before. Rogue Legacy 2 is 6 Rogue Legacy sequels stuffed into 1 game. And the post game adds another layer to that variety. One of the best parts about a long dev cycle is that entire trends go by in the middle of it. And because of that the creators can be given new ideas. Rogue Legacy blatantly takes the same post game ideas displayed in Dark Souls and Hades and injects it into itself. Rogue Legacy waited until the last moment to turn in its homework and then unabashedly copied off its classmates for an easy A. And god bless it for doing so. With the scaling and customizable difficulty, expansion of rewards and enemies, and completely unique bonus challenges, I'm gonna be playing this one for a long time.

So clearly I enjoy these two games a lot. But what about Dead Cells? What does it bring to the table? What can it do to stand up to these titans. Well. Honestly not much. If Hades is Angel Eyes, and Rogue Legacy is Blondie, then Dead Cells is Tuco stuck in the stand off with an unloaded gun.

Dead Cells is a good game. It looks better than Rogue Legacy. I might enjoy the gameplay more than Hades. But that's where the advantages end. And I'll be honest I haven't spent enough time with this game to truly have scholars opinion on it, thus I can’t write paragraph about its design. But that's kind of the problem. I beat this game in 4 runs. I'm no god at gaming. I'm slightly above average on a good day. The fact that I stumbled upon the ending of this game so early is disappointing. Rogue Legacy, I died a hundred deaths before reaching credits. Hades took me around 14 to beat the first time. Dead Cells gave it away and it was so deflating. I didn't work towards anything. I just sort of won. I never even died to a single boss. Once I upgraded how many estus I could hold, the only thing that mattered was the pick ups I got during the run. I'm sure if I go back there is way more to the game, but after seeing the credits I kind lost all motivation to play it. It's not fair to the game that I did that, but that's how I feel and I got other things to do with my time. It’s too bad I had the idea of comparing these three games before playing all of them.

So it all comes down to Rogue Legacy 2 and Hades. Hades has untouchable presentation and succeeds in everything it attempts with grace in a way that Rogue Legacy 2 doesn't. I can't really break down why, there's an air about it that makes it feel more thought out and seamless. But...I value what Rogue Legacy 2 is more as a game and more over, as a Rogue Like. Sure I like 2D games more than isometric games, but even beyond that, Rogue Legacy has a layer of exploration that pushes it over for me. I find it far more replayable. Hades likely has more condensed quality, but the quantity of Rogue Legacy makes up for it, and quantity is a bit more important for the genre honestly. The depth in content for Hades lies more in the story after you've beaten it, while Rogue Legacy is more in the gameplay. There are more things to do and experience, so it has more value to me. It was likely obvious what my preference was due to how I wrote more about it and made that spot on Dollars Trilogy Reference, but I couldn't really hide it. It's just that damn good.

[the-cult-of-russo]

gotta know how u think billy would be as a dad with his kids :D

I had so many requests for Dad!Billy headcanons 😭

I hope you're ready for this chaotic ramble.

Please remember this is my Billy I'm writing

-

You know those parents who take like a million pictures of their kid and show them to everyone? The kind that talks about their kid nonstop to anyone who'll listen? Their family, friends, the poor random old lady at the store that just wants to buy some damn milk.

That's Billy.

He's such an unbelievably proud parent, his pride for his kids knows no bounds. It doesn't even need to be some kind of milestone worth celebrating, everything his kid does makes him proud. You better believe when his baby has an explosive crap and ruins their clothes, he's boasting about it the next day to Frank and the guys at Anvil.

-

He's incredibly protective. Murder is a possibility if his kids in danger. He wants nothing more than to keep his kids safe. If they're being bullied, it takes all of his willpower to stop himself from kicking the kids ass for doing that to his kid. He's not above picking a fight with the bullies dad though if they don't get their little shit head in check and also making it known to the principle that this shit won't fly with him.

~

"Mr Russo, I don't think you understand how serious this is. Your son broke a kids nose," the principle mutters with a glare.

Billy tilts his head, regarding the teacher with those unsettling eyes that has the old man squirming in his seat.

"You’re damn right he did," Billy replies seriously, a proud tone to his voice. His dark eyes cut to his left where his son is, practically his double. As Billy smirks, unable to help himself, his son wears the same one although he's lowering his head to hide his amusement.

"We don't tolerate that behaviour here, Mr Russo," the principle huffs. Billy's eyes harden then as his eyes narrow, sitting forward in his chair just the right amount to be imposing. The second the man leans back he knows it worked.

"You know what I don't tolerate? My kid bein' bullied. You assholes won't do shit to stop it, so I say let the little fucker get a taste of his own medicine. Serves him right for messin' with a Russo," he smirks wickedly.

~

He teaches them self defence, wanting them to be able to look after themselves if it ever came down to it. Naturally, for their 16th birthday, they're gifted with a big ass knife.

-

Billy as a dad is so stupidly soft.

We all remember the scene from the show, right? Where he's in the hospital with his mom and he says;

"Maybe you did me a solid, you know? I mean, the way I see it, you want weak kids, give 'em everything. But if you... if you want 'em strong... treat 'em hard."

When he has a kid of his own he realises just what utter garbage this is. The idea of all the shit he's been through making him into the tough son of a bitch he is today is born from trauma that he still hasn't dealt with. The way his brain tries to rationalise what he went though. To make it make sense instead of it being so goddamn senseless.

But if he's honest, more than he'd like to admit, he finds himself wondering just what his life would have been like if he grew up in a loving home. What it would be like to feel wanted and cared for. To rise to the top being helped and cheered on by others instead of clawing his way there with bloodied and dirty fingers, the weight of the world bearing down on him as he's beat down at every turn.

He never wants his kids to feel that way. Not even a fraction of how unloved and unwanted he felt. He does everything in his power to make sure they know just how much he cares about them. There's literally nothing he wouldn't do for his kids. They could turn up at home one day and confess to a murder and Billy wouldn't hesitate to ask where the body is so he can handle it for them.

-

Billy is ridiculously sentimental when it comes to his kids. Drawings go up on the fridge and when a new one takes its place, the old one goes into a box of many others that he can't seem to ever throw away. He has multiple pictures of his kids at his office, even some framed cute drawings they did for him. He's kept all the mementos from the pregnancy, birth and onwards. They're his little treasures.

-

Billy is super supportive of everything his kids do. He makes sure they get a good education but he never pushes them to do something they don't want to do. Despite the large college fund he's got for them, if they choose not to go to college, he doesn't pressure them. Instead, whatever hopes and dreams they have, he does everything in his power to support and help them. Whether that's moral and emotional support, money or even breaking a few jaws of people standing in their way.

-

Let's look a little bit at how he is throughout some of the ages of his kid.

Billy with a baby is a sight to behold. No one has ever seen Lieutenant William Russo so goddamn soft. Once he's got hold of his baby, you've got no chance of getting them back off him. You'd have to fight him. He adores holding his little one close, soaking them in. He's constantly holding them no matter what he's doing and baby carriers and wraps are a godsend to him. You'd heard about them from a friend and told Billy and you better believe by the time the baby's born that he's an expert on all things baby wearing. He's a perfectionist and carrying a baby wrong can be dangerous. He makes sure he knows how to do it right.

Just as he has little affectionate touches for you, he has the same for his baby. His large hand stroking their tiny head and little hair. His finger stroking their chubby little cheek. He's a tactile person and touch is grounding for him. It soothes him to do so with his baby and reassures him they're really there and that they're okay.

He's super attentive. Of course he works a lot but as soon as he becomes a dad, he doesn't stay late anymore and makes sure to have days off. The second he comes home, he's making a beeline for his baby, scooping them up with a grin. He loves to read to them, something that continues as they grow up. His weekends used to be restful or if he was feeling like a masochist, he'd work from home. But now weekends are his time to shine. By the time you wake up on a Saturday morning, he's already up with the baby, making you breakfast as he's got the baby attached to him via baby carrier.

As his baby grows into a toddler, each milestone makes him tearful and full of pride. He kisses any booboos that happen and he's constantly playing with his child. He has a pretty silly side to him that most don't get to see. Making his kid laugh and smile brings him the greatest joy.

He loves taking his toddler to the office with him. Everyone dotes on his kid and treats them like royalty.

When they turn into a small child, he watches with a proud smile and amusement as his kid wants to fight with his men, watching them 'beat' the shit out of them. The guys at Anvil are more than happy to very dramatically go down, and the apple doesn't fall far from the tree when the tiny Russo grins smugly at their 'win'.

Their first day at school and Billy's a mess. It's such a turning point and he doesn't know how to deal with how fast their growing up. But every achievement at school, even minor ones, and he's showering them with praise.

He encourages them to work hard and as soft as he might be, he is still the boss. He makes sure they do their homework and don't fall behind on their studies.

One thing Billy loves is teaching his kids stuff. Whether that's mundane stuff to help with school or teaching them shit he knows like survivalist things, because you can never be too prepared, right? He loves helping them with school projects and answering any questions they might have about one of the many things he's knowledgeable about.

When his kids moves onto those hard teenage years, the ones where everything feels so dramatic and world ending, he's a little tougher when it calls for it. Billy is no novice to rebellion, he has a rebellious streak of his own and marches to the beat of his own drum half the time. He respects that. What he doesn't respect or tolerate is behaviour that's going to fuck his kid over in the long run or self sabotage. He will be firm and a hard ass if he needs to be to keep his kids on a path where they don't get hurt or ruin their life.

Billy has a zero tolerance policy on drugs. After the shit with his mother, he won't budge on this. If he finds out his kid is dabbling in drugs, they're grounded until they're old enough to move out.

-

No matter what age his kids are, Billy loves them immensely. He wants to be the father he wished he'd had growing up and he pours all of his anguish and pain from his upbringing into it. Channeling it into the purest form of love for his kids. To break the curse that had hold of him. He won't perpetuate the cycle.

Being a father brings him a sense of completeness and peace he didn't think was possible for him to achieve. It fills the void that's been eating away at his soul from his lack of love as a child and he loves every second of being a parent. Even the hard moments.

-

Bonus:

The Russo's and the Castle's go on monthly camping trips together. Billy loves the outdoors, the mild survivalist feelings he gets from it without the real danger. He loves taking his kids there, teaching them everything. In his role as dad and uncle, he sits around the camp fire at night, the light of the flames dancing along his face as he very theatrically tells the kids a spooky story.

You and his kids are his immediate family but the Castle's are his family too. So he really loves it when you all get to spend time together like that.

[starshine-effendy]

Not Only Humanity’s Prettiest

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Attack on Titans they belong to  Hajime Isayama!

A/N: Hi. Request something or talk to me. I dunno I don’t really know what to say.

Warning: a bit mentioning of something inappropriate so if you’re younger than 16 please leave.

You were known as humanity’s prettiest. You weren’t the type to talk much but rumors has it that your voice is angelic. People loved to watch you coming back from expeditions, even when you’re bruised up or scratched up you’d still look marvelous. You had tons of admirers whether it be from wall Maria, Rose or Sina there would be people throwing themselves at you but you never cared for them. You only had eyes for the one man that caught your heart years ago.

One day Levi was out to buy cleaning supplies but he couldn’t take you with him because you had to train the 104th cadets. You were watching them doing hand to hand combat until 3 unfamiliar men arrived. Everyone stopped what they were doing and gathered around you. One of them had blonde hair and the second one has brown and the 3rd one has red. (Hair idk who these men are too so let’s call them blonde, brown hair guy and red hair)

“Woah! So this is Y/N L/N... Rumors were true,” the blonde man said. 

“Truly exquisite and mighty fine if I do say so myself,” The brown hair guy added.

“What are you doing here?!” Eren interrogated. 

“Oh, we’re from Wall Sina. Here to take a look at ‘Humanity’s prettiest’ and I say, She exceeds our expectations,” The blonde explained. 

“Yea? Well now you’ve seen her. Get out!” Eren exclaimed.

“How you could let such a poor beautiful fragile thing out there with those disgusting Titans?,” The brown hair commented. You raised your eyebrow, now irritated and confused.

Poor and fragile?! You were far from that. You grew up in the undergrounds and stayed with Levi ever since he saved you. He’s been teaching you combat skills to help you defend yourself. You fell in love with Levi ever since and never left his side except now. When Levi was captured by Erwin he never left your side. You were Levi’s strength, energy and happiness. You trained harder when the death of your friends came. You weren’t only the prettiest... You were also one of the strongest and diligent. 

“Eren,” Armin called out. 

Armin placed a hand to hide his mouth and whispered something to Eren’s ear. Eren nodded and smirked. “You guys are from Wall Sina right?” He asked. Everyone had their focus on the boy.

“Yes, we are,” The red hair man answered. 

“Definitely better than you low-lives, risking your lives while we live in paradise?” The blonde mocked. 

Mikasa was ready to charge at him when you grabbed her elbow. She looked at you searching the answers in your irritated eyes. She stood up and sighed and you loosened your grip. You were surprised Eren took this better than she did.

“So you’re rich?” Armin asked. 

“Yea, richer than your monthly funds,” The blonde smirked. 

Armin nodded slightly and Eren nodded back. We knew they had a plan but what is it?

“Alright, let’s make a deal,” Eren said with a prideful tone. 

“If you manage to defeat Y/N,” Eren placed a hand over your shoulder, “You’ll get to take her out on a date,” 

Your looked at Eren confused but you gaze soften a bit. You pat Eren on the head gently. You always saw the cadets like the children you never had so you would give them gentle motherly affections such as comfort hugs and head pats without Levi getting jealous. 

The 3 men smirked to each other but before they could agree Eren continued, “If you can’t, you have to pay for our funds for a year no matter the cost,” 

“Sure kid,” One of them replied. 

“Let’s get this done and over with so we can spend the night together bunny,” Another spoke. 

You were definitely furious now. No one was allowed to call you nicknames other than Levi. You were staring daggers at them. Mikasa and Jean saw your eyes and pulled everyone back. 

The 3 of the men charged at you. You managed to knee the blonde in the face so hard he fell on his face and you took the opportunity to step on his body while the other 2 were trying to get a punch on you. You kicked one at his ribs and high kicked the other on the face knocking him out. Everyone was cheering for you behind when you dragged their body and stacked them all together placing them neatly on top of each other.

“Haha! You gotta pay our funds for a year now,” Connie teased. 

“Meat! Buy tons of Meat!” Sasha cheered. 

“We could use just gear upgrades,” Mikasa commented.

“And I would like new books,” Armin added. 

“We’re not paying for anything!” The red hair man said. 

“But you promised,” Eren mocked, “Maybe you shouldn’t insult the Scouts like that!” 

“Fine! I gave you my word,” The blonde responded. 

The cadets cheered and high fived you but they all went still and silent when they say who was standing by the door frame. Levi. You rushed towards him and gave him a hug. 

“Tch... What happened?!” Levi asked, caressing your hair. 

Eren saluted and yelled, “SIR! These men from Wall Sina interrupted our training to see Y/N,”

Levi raised his eyebrow and he looked ready to make the men beg for mercy for touching what’s his. You pulled away from the hug and stood by his side shoulders almost touching. 

“But Armin gave me the idea to use their riches to our advantage and challenged them to a fight with Y/N!” Eren continued but he looked nervous to reveal anymore detail so Mikasa stepped in. 

“If they had won they could take Y/N on a date but if they lost we would be awarded with funds throughout the year,” Mikasa said, nonchalantly. Everyone stared at Mikasa with wide eyes. Levi was protective with Y/N and the thought that anyone would even dare flirt with her would drive him to the depths of insanity, enough to earn a swift painful kick to the face. 

“And?” Levi asked sounding surprisingly calm. 

“She won sir!” Armin added quickly.

Levi smirked and made his way over to the 3 men stacked on top of each other and examined the damage with you following beside him. He crouched to get a better look and after a moment he got back up and gave you a pat on your head. 

“Good job Y/N,” He complimented. 

Your eyes sparkled at his compliment and you gave him a wide smile. 

The brown was now conscious, “Cmon man! She’s too silent for my likings either ways!” 

The brown hair guy began to push the red hair guy off and got up. He was about to walk away but Levi muttered something loud enough for him to hear, “She’s quite loud in bed,” 

The brown hair guy was practically fuming and ran off with the blonde dragging his friend with him. 

“Eren and Armin! Stable duty for 3 months!” Levi commanded. 

~***~

Bonus ending: 

Y/N surprising Levi with a dozen cleaning supplies every month. It’s definitely something that turns him on when Y/N goes out of her way to get Levi a present. 

Sasha could make the men bankrupt because she was buying so much meat. 

Armin got tons of books. Mikasa got the whole Survey Corps a gear upgrade.

Erwin was also informed about the funds and he arranged you a feast the night you defeated the men. 

Levi buys you (Your favorite fruits). 

[echoes-of-the-clockwork]

Book Two: Sapphire (Ignis x Reader) Chapter XII

At Tostwell Grill located in the back corner of the marketplace, Ignis and (Y/n) sat across from one another. They ordered two bowls of offal stew and chatted about their time with Jasper and Luca until their food arrived. They were enjoying their alone time together, but it didn't last long.

"Well, well, well," a gruff voice chuckled. Gladio sat down beside Ignis while Noctis and Prompto sat on either side of (Y/n). The shield grinned, "You two on a date?"

"We are simply enjoying a meal together," Ignis replied before correcting himself. "Were enjoying."

"Ouch, Iggy."

"You two were gone this morning," Prompto pointed out. "Did something happen?"

"Nothing of the sort. (Y/n) and I decided to have a chat with Jasper and Luca," Ignis answered. He left out some major details, but still told the truth nonetheless.

"Anything good to tell us?" Noctis asked.

"There are a couple of things, actually," (Y/n) spoke up. "I asked Luca about Costlemark. According to the rumors he's heard, the daemons that inhabit Costlemark Tower have a royal arm in their possession. Hunters believe they ransacked a royal tomb and took the sword back with them to Costlemark."

"Oh, wow! Talk about a coinkydink," Prompto chimed in. "Talcott told us about a legend that mentions a sword behind a waterfall. Noct thought it'd be a good place to check to see if there's a royal tomb."

Noctis turned his head in (Y/n)'s direction as he leaned back in his seat. "What's this other thing you learned?"

She had almost forgotten what else she wanted to tell him. "Oh, right. Luca knew about the conduit. He told us they're a spirit chosen by Brahma to be his vessel."

"Who the hell's Brahma?" Gladio inquired.

"The forgotten Astral," Ignis replied, recalling the ancient text he read many years ago. "The seventh god, known as the Creator. Unlike the other Astrals, he no longer has a presence on Eos. Not many scholarly texts mention him by name, only title."

"Aaand how do we find this conduit? Did Luca happen to know how?" Prompto wondered.

"We are still on our lonesomes in those regards."

The blonde huffed out a groan. "Too bad Luca or (Y/n) isn't the conduit." His head then snapped in the girl's direction. "You're...not the conduit, are you?"

"I don't think so, and I doubt a god would choose me as his vessel," she responded. "I'm pretty sure his standards are very high."

Gladio leaned forward, folding his arms atop the table. "Trust me, munchkin, you're as top-shelf as they come. I'm sure we all agree on that."

Prompto nodded his head with a smile. "Oh, definitely!"

She glanced between Gladio and Prompto. "What makes me "top-shelf" material?"

"You're completely selfless, kind, and can kick some serious ass. Your looks are just a bonus. You're the embodiment of purity," the shield stated as if everything he was saying were facts from a textbook.

Her brows furrowed together. "I think more than one of those things you listed has nothing to do with purity..."

"You know what I'm getting at."

"Well, when everyone's done eating, let's get this show on the road. We've gotta visit the waterfall and Costlemark," Noctis said.

"Before we depart, I do wish to browse the marketplace. We are in need of more ingredients and curatives," Ignis spoke up.

"Do what you wanna, Specs. Just keep the vegetables to a minimum. The less we have, the better."

The tactician was going to buy what he needed for his recipes whether that be vegetables, meat, or grains. Of course, he would need tons of vegetables for the dishes he wants to try cooking, but that would be his secret. "I will see what I can do to...lessen our vegetable count." That was a lie.

After everyone ate, even Noctis, Gladio, and Prompto, the group left Tostwell Grill and browsed the marketplace. It wasn't until a few minutes in that Ignis and (Y/n) had taken the lead and wound up in their own little world while exploring the marketplace. They were walking side by side, Ignis having slowed his stroll due to her stride being smaller than his due to their differences in height.

Noctis, Prompto, and Gladio lagged behind, deciding to leave the shopping to Ignis and (Y/n). The marksman was taking pictures left and right. One of his pictures ended up being of the tactician and guardian. Realizing he took their picture, he examined it closer. Ignis and (Y/n) were looking at each other, smiling as they seemed to be chatting about what to buy next. The blonde looked back and forth from the picture to their forms as they browse the marketplace. He began pouting like a child and groaned, which caught the attention of Gladio and Noctis.

"What's with the weird noises?" The shield questioned.

"Why...?" Prompto muttered, eyes falling to the screen of his camera. "Why do they look so good together? It's not fair!"

"The hell're you talking about?" Noctis looked over his best friend's shoulder and saw the photo of Ignis and (Y/n). "Oh..."

Gladio noticed the prince's bland expression and also took a glimpse at the camera. He smirked when seeing the rarest thing Ignis did-genuinely smile. Smacking Prompto on the back, he chuckled. "You're jealous."

The sharpshooter wouldn't deny it because his jealously already slipped out without him knowing. "So what if I am? This is totally unfair! Just look at them!"

"What's unfair about two good-looking people who care about each other? It's not their fault you can't get a girl. And besides, Iggy and (Y/n) aren't together."

"No, but they sure as hell are clearly made for each other! Just...look!" Prompto shoves his camera into Gladio's face. "Not once have I've seen Iggy smile like that! I want someone to look at me the way he looks at (Y/n)! Why is it so hard to get a girl?"

Noctis shook his head with a sigh. "Definitely jealous..."

"Little guy's got it bad," the shield grumbled, placing his hand on the camera to push it out of his face. "Maybe you should try talking to girls. They're not just gonna fall into your lap. Be a man and make the first move, pipsqueak. That's what I'm tryna get our uptight advisor to do."

The prince scoffed at the idea of Ignis with a woman. "You seriously think Speccy will actually hook up with a girl on this trip?"

"Hell yeah I do, and the perfect girl is standing right beside him. He just needs a shove in the right direction and I think I know just how to do it."

Prompto, who had calmed down after taking a few deep breaths, questioned him. "Really? How're you gonna do that?"

"By pissing him off."

Ignis and (Y/n) finished shopping a few minutes later. They carried a few bags, which they took to the Regalia with Noctis, Prompto, and Gladio close behind. They placed the bags in the trunk with the rest of their stash before climbing into the vehicle. Leaving Lestallum, they venture to where the waterfall was located.

Ignis drove the Regalia all the way to Burbost Souvenir Emporium, a small outpost near Callatein Falls. He pulled over and parked the car in front of the gas pumps. Because of no direct route via road, the car wouldn't be able to carry them all the way to the waterfall. Wandering down the road on foot, they located a stairwell leading to a dirt path along the river's edge.

As they were about to descend the stairs, Prompto suddenly shrieked at the top of his lungs. "(Y/n)!" Noctis, Gladio, and Ignis all turn around at the sound of his shrill cry. They saw the blonde, but what had their attention was the guardian that was aimlessly wandering down the road. Her heels clacked against the asphalt as she paid no mind to the boys as if they didn't exist.

"Shit, it's happening again," Noctis commented.

"Think we should let her walk and follow her?" Gladio suggested.

"A plan such as that is far too dangerous," Ignis said.

"Then let's snap her out of it," Prompto stated. "You did it before, didn't you, Iggy? Do it again!"

Ignis caught up with (Y/n). He placed himself in front of her and grasped her shoulders to stop her from walking any further. She did just that and froze. Slowly, he removed his hands from her shoulders. Peering into her eyes, he saw her slitted pupils were blown out just like the night prior. She also wasn't blinking and her eyes were slightly narrowed. "(Y/n), can you hear me?" He repeated himself from last night. Unlike then, his voice wasn't reaching her. She stood on the side of the road, her dilated pupils focused on something in the distance.

Prompto hesitantly approached, eyes scanning over her body. He saw she was still breathing, which was a good sign. "This is really freaky. It's almost like she's a doll. Any idea what might be doing this to her?"

Ignis' eyes trailed off slightly in thought. Should he tell the others about the voice (Y/n) hears? Or should he keep it a secret? Would she be mad at him if he told them? Seeing as she was in need of help, he decided not to remain silent. "Since our departure from the city, (Y/n) claims to hear a voice on occasions. She spoke of hearing this voice last night before falling into this stupor."

"And we're just learning about this voice now?" Gladio asked, scowling. "Why the hell were you two keeping this a secret?"

Ignis glowered at the shield for his snappy behavior. "She did not wish to worry you all and I respected her decision to remain silent on the matter."

"Is this voice the reason she wants to go to Costlemark?" Noctis pondered.

He nodded. "Indeed, it is."

"And you think whatever is talking to her is doing this?"

"There is no other plausible rationale."

All of a sudden, (Y/n) collapsed to her knees. Her upper body was slumped forward, her head hanging. It was like someone had snipped the strings used to control a marionette. Prompto has taken a step back as he was startled by her sudden collapse. Ignis was the complete opposite. He kneeled down and reached out to touch her. He hooked a finger under her chin and tilted her head upward to peer into her eyes. Her pupils were still large with no sign of returning to their normal slitted appearance. He wondered if the voice was still talking to her as he idly touched her.

"She won't snap out of it. What do we do?" Prompto clearly was concerned about (Y/n). His tone of voice was slightly higher-pitched than usual and held a worry tone to it.

Ignis removed his finger from her chin, her head falling limply against her chest. He then carefully maneuvered her body into a position where he could pick her up in his arms. "We wait." Once she was safely in his grasp, he walked back to where they parked the Regalia. With Gladio's help, he put her in the passenger's seat where she usually sat. Her head lulled to the side and allowed everyone to see her blown pupils.

"Are you sure waiting is a good thing to do? We could try a potion to see if that'll help," the brute said.

"It would be a waste of a curative for she is uninjured."

"Think we should give her a little shock? That'll probably snap her out of it," Noctis suggested.

The advisor hated the idea and showed it in the glare he sent towards the prince. "Harming her is out of the question."

"Chill, Specs. It was just an innocent suggestion..."

"How about we throw some water on her? That usually wakes people up," Prompto said.

"She's not asleep," Gladio remarked.

"Still, it's better than Noct's idea. All she'll get is wet."

"And possibly sick," Ignis retorted. "Her body temperature is already abnormal. With the addition of water, it could drop even more."

"Maybe we should just leave her here for the time being. Once we're done with this waterfall business, we can check on her," Noctis said.

"Bad idea. What if the empire shows up or if she wanders off again?" Gladio glanced at the prince, wondering why he ever thought that was even a plausible thought in his head.

Ignis cupped his chin between his index finger and thumb, delving into his mind to search for a solution. He began pacing back and forth, desperately trying to come up with an idea to help (Y/n). However, he was torn from his thoughts the second he heard her melodic voice.

"Wait, weren't we just...?" (Y/n)'s pupils returned to slits as she sat up. She looked around in puzzlement. "When did we get back to the car?"

"Iggy carried you back here. You were in that weird trance again," Prompto answered. "He tried to snap you out of it, but it didn't work."

She pressed a hand against the side of her head. Her (h/c) locks gently blew in the breeze. The cool, crispy air allowed her to think clearly. "The voice said there's an altar I must visit in Costlemark." She gasped, realizing what she said. "I-I mean..."

"You don't have to hide it anymore, (Y/n). Specs already told us about this voice you hear from time to time," Noctis said. "Is this person or thing hurting you?"

She shook her head, denying it rather quickly. "Not at all. I think whoever the voice belongs to is desperate for me to visit Costlemark. It somehow takes over and tries to guide me there. I...can't remember what happens when I'm in that state, though. It's...blank."

"Then maybe we should head to Costlemark first."

"No," she denied, climbing out of the car. "We're already here and the entrance to the tower doesn't open until nighttime."

"Are you sure you're up for this, (Y/n)?" Prompto worriedly asked. "We'd understand if you wanted to stay behind. You're looking pale."

"I'll be fine. It'll pass soon."

"If you feel even a diminutive bit of ailment, do speak up. It would be unwise to proceed if you feel ill," Ignis said.

She smiled weakly. "I will."

"Then let's be off."

Returning to their task at hand, they returned to the stairwell and walked down to the dirt path below. They followed it all the way down to the water's edge, where they came across a midgardsormr. It slithered along the rocks, its scales reflecting the rays of the bright sun above. Its low hissing and flickering tail sent a chill down Prompto's spine. "Th-That's a big snake..."

"Tread lightly," Ignis advised. "We shall sidle alongside the cliff to avoid drawing its attention."

Noctis took the lead and quietly snuck around the midgardsormr. He was then followed by Prompto, (Y/n), Gladio, and Ignis. They were successful in not engaging the large creature, but they had no choice in the matter when they stumbled upon a group of shieldshears. The guardian was the first to react. Feeling an unfamiliar surge of power in her body, she held out her hand and casted a simple ice spell. What happened shocked her and the boys.

Her simple spell was magnified and killed the shieldshears instantly. She lowered her hand, gaping in surprise at her handy work. The large ice spikes shattered and the shards danced around them before disappearing.

"Dude, talk about overkill!" Prompto slightly yelled. "Are you sure that voice didn't do anything to you?"

"I'm positive. I don't understand what came over me." She then looked up at the waterfall and noticed the side path leading up the cliff and behind the cascading water. "Unless..." She hastily made her way up the cliffside path.

"What? Unless what?" Prompto quickly chased after her, wanting to know what she was going to say. He caught up to her, but forgot why he pursued her when he saw what was hidden behind the waterfall. "Wouldn't you know it-an entrance!"

Gladio, who had follow them up, was somewhat surprised that there was a hidden entrance. "Looks like the legend checks out."

Ignis and Noctis caught up. All five of them stopped at the entrance, feeling a frigid breeze gingerly blowing from the cave. (Y/n) inhaled deeply at feeling the coldness and felt the same surge of power course through her body. Taking a few steps forward, she stood in front of the boys with her back facing them. She peered inside the entrance to the cave as she felt another frigid breeze blow across her body. It was an invigorating sensation and she could feel her connection to the mana flowing through Eos coursing through her blood with a buzzing sensation. The sensation was enticing and almost made her addicted to it, but she pushed the thought aside.

Taking another step forward, (Y/n) stood inside the cave. The ground underneath her feet was beginning to freeze. The ice crept towards the boys, causing them to back away.

"Hey, (Y/n), can you try not to freeze us?" Noctis asked.

She turned around and saw the ice on the ground. She didn't realize what she was doing, but she immediately stopped. "Sorry. My powers become magnified in cold places and sometimes can go out of control."

"Y-You're not gonna skewer us on icicles, are you?" Prompto fearfully questioned.

"What? No, my powers never get that far out of hand. Just...be careful where you step near me to avoid slipping on any ice."

"Whew!" He wipes his forehead with a relieved smile. "That's a relief. Being skewered on an icicle would totally be a terrible way to go, and probably really painful."

Gladio nudged the blonde forward. "Enough about icicles. Get movin', pipsqueak."

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[tigerkirby215]

5e Sona, the Maven of the Strings build (League of Legends)

(Artwork by Shilin Huang. Made for Riot Games.)

(Shit meme by yours truly.)

Revealing my Champion Mastery just to say that I play a lot of Sona. Don’t flame me for playing Seraphine and Yuumi I swear to god, and I have no idea why Teemo is in my top 10 highest mastery champs ngl.

Anyways you have no idea how happy I am as a Sona main that my girl is now top tier. I came to League of Legends from Overwatch (yes really) and I used to main Lucio in OW along with some of the more “techy” characters like Symmetra and Torbjorn. (Came to OW from TF2 where I mained Engineer and Medic.) Sona was a natural fit for me as a champion who was both easy to play and very similar to Lucio. It also helps that I joined the Rift during the single most engaging meta to ever grace this game. I was kinda too shit to play Janna but the Ardent Censer meta is also why I have such a high mastery on Lulu tbh.

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But enough about my history with League: Sona! Honestly when I think of an archetypical support Sona pops into my head a lot sooner than Soraka: a champion based on empowering their teammates in as many ways as possible with heals, shields, movement speed, and CC to hold the enemy team down. I’ve always loved playing her because she feels like much more of a macro oriented character than other supports, with team-wide support as opposed to keeping one person alive like Soraka or Yuumi or focusing on CC like Morgana and Nami.

I’m going to build most if not all the champions eventually but man I am happy to tackle Sona now. She’s always been on my mind as my main but it was pretty difficult to think of how to make her. I think this build is good enough though!

Wow that was much longer of an intro than I’m used to. You can really tell which champions I’m excited for lol.

GOALS

Everything in harmony - Sona boosts everyone on her team with her songs as they fill the air.

Triple time! - Sona’s ability to boost her whole team into a good position is always beneficial.

Crescendo! - Fun fact: Sona’s ultimate is canonically extremely painful as she forces you to contort your limbs against your will. Why is Sona needlessly macabre? Well remember that Riot also wrote Volibear as an Eldritch old god.

RACE

Sona is Human but if you want to be cool you can make her a Kalashtar for resistance to Psychic damage and advantage on Wisdom saves. Regardless we’re going to be making what’s known as a dollar store Kalashtar with Variant Human. Increase your Charisma by 1 as well as your Constitution because we kinda don’t need much else. You also get proficiency in one skill of your choice which will of course be Performance, and a language which you can pick as you fancy: you won’t be speaking it anyways lmfao.

That’s because “Only you can hear me summoner; what masterpiece shall we play today?” Grab the Telepathic feat to complete this dollar store Kalashtar package. Increase your Charisma score by 1 and get a 60 foot telepathy to speak while being mute. You also learn the Detect Thoughts spell and can cast it once without using a spell slot. "Did he want... four autographs? I don't understand."

ABILITY SCORES

15; CHARISMA - Charisma is tied to performance and all the other stuff a Demacian noblewoman is expected to be good at.

14; DEXTERITY - Something something medium armor; even if you wear a dress there’s no reason you can’t have some padding beneath it!

13; STRENGTH - Hey this isn’t something something medium armor!

12; CONSTITUTION - Sona may be squishy in League but I value not dying more than good skill checks honestly.

10; WISDOM - Speaking of not dying: Wisdom saves are more common, and Insight is more useful than most Intelligence skills.

8; INTELLIGENCE - We had to dump something so unfortunately Intelligence gets the short end of the stick. You may have studied under the illustrious Buvelle family but most of those lessons were music classes.

If you want a better stat array going 13 / 14 / 12 / 10 / 10 / 14 with Point Buy is perfectly viable, and if your DM is cool enough to let you multiclass without Strength then you’re more than welcome to dump it.

BACKGROUND

There’s two obvious backgrounds that fit Sona: the first is Entertainer for proficiency with Acrobatics and a skill of your choice (since we already took Performance lol.) You also get proficiency with Disguise Kits and your Etwahl! (That’s what Sona’s instrument is called btw.) Your background feature By Popular Demand allows you to play any stage once. "Some, just the once.” You can perform in exchange for a place to stay, and when you do so the local people will remember your wonderful performance!

But making an Entertainer Bard is kinda cliché, no? If you want to lean into Sona’s Demacian heritage go for the Noble background. This gives you proficiency with Persuasion and History as well as a gaming set of your choice: unfortunately Tellstones isn’t an option (unless your DM decides otherwise!) so a Dragonchess Set will do well enough. Oh and you get another language that you won’t speak: fun! Your Position of Privilege makes it easy for you to arrange meetings with other important people, and the commonfolk will be kind and cordial with you.

(Screenshot from the Tellstones: King’s Gambit trailer by Riot Games.)

I personally opted to go for Noble when making this build, but if you want to choose Entertainer go right ahead! Backgrounds don’t affect too much overall and it’s up to you (and your DM) to make your own Sona!

(Artwork from League of Legends Wild Rift. Made for Riot Games. RIOT PLEASE UPDATE MUSE SONA ON PC I’M BEGGING YOU!)

THE BUILD

LEVEL 1 - BARD 1

I mean what else did you expect? Bards get proficiency in three musical instruments of their choice: a Lyre is the closest you’ll get to Sona’s Etwahl, though a Dulcimer is also pretty close. I’d also recommend grabbing a Lute since most magical instruments come in Lute variety.

You also get proficiency in 3 skills of your choice like Perception to watch wards, Insight to watch people, and Athletics for a bit of Tenacity to break out of grapples. (As well as potentially grab some people yourself! Although Acrobatics is also perfectly fine for escaping grapples.)

As a Bard you can boost your ADC with Bardic Inspiration, letting them add a d6 to attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws. You have a number of these equal to your Charisma modifier and they come back after a Long Rest.

But of course the main reason to play a Bard is to do Demacian-banned Spellcasting! You learn two cantrips from the Bard list like Vicious Mockery for some diminuendo, making it harder for the enemy to hurt your allies while also cutting them down to size. (I don’t know if your DM will let you slap your Etwahl angrily and then point at them judgingly, but you may have to break your vow of silence every now and then.) You can also learn Prestidigitation for all sorts of general magic stuff that you really shouldn’t do in front of anyone important.

You of course also learn 4 Bard spells like Cure Wounds and Healing Word for the atypical healing spells, Dissonant Whispers for some Hymn of Valor damage, and Detect Magic which you’ll likely be expected to cast as the designated support. *Sigh* Always gotta buy wards.

LEVEL 2 - BARD 2

Second level Bards could be called a Jack of All Trades, as you get to add half your proficiency bonus to any skill you aren’t proficient in. This means even if your ability scores are bad the skills you don’t have proficiency in are still good enough! You also get Song of Rest, letting your allies recover an extra d6 of health during Short Rests. And if you have Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything  Magical Inspiration will let your allies add their Bardic Inspiration to the damage or healing of a spell they cast!

And finally you can learn another spell: against as the designated support you’re expected to take Identify.

LEVEL 3 - BARD 3

Third level Bards get Expertise in two skills: Performance is an obvious must and Persuasion would probably be good as well.

But more importantly you get to choose your Bardic College and if you want to both shield your allies and speed them up look no further than the College of Glamour! That’s because Mantle of Inspiration grants 5 temporary hitpoints to a number of creatures within 60 feet of you equal to your Charisma modifier (which can include yourself by the way!) Additionally those creatures can move up to their movement speed as a reaction without provoking opportunity attacks, making this a great tool to reposition an ally who’s caught in a dangerous position!

You’re also capable of creating an Enthralling Performance: if you perform for at least 1 minute, you can attempt to inspire wonder in your audience. At the end of the performance you can choose a number of humanoids within 60 feet of you who watched and listened to all of it, up to a maximum equal to your Charisma modifier. Each target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be charmed by you.

While charmed in this way, the target idolizes you, and speaks glowingly of you to anyone who talks to them. They also hinder anyone who opposes you, although they avoid violence unless it was already inclined to fight for you. This effect ends on a target after 1 hour unless they take any damage, you attack it, or it witnesses you attacking or damaging any of its allies. If a target succeeds on its saving throw the target has no hint that you tried to charm it, and you can use this ability once per Short or Long Rest.

Finally you can learn second level spells like Hold Person, for a one-man version of your ultimate.

LEVEL 4 - BARD 4

Ah the first of many Ability Score Improvements. You may have noticed our deliberately uneven Charisma modifier: that’s because I’m going to be taking the Fey Touched feat for +1 to your Charisma, the Misty Step spell (for Flash, of course), and the Gift of Alacrity spell from Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount for a Song of Celerity! Accelerated movement? I concur.

You can also learn another spell as well as another cantrip! For your cantrip take Mage Hand for help warding those hard-to-reach areas, and for your spell take Lesser Restoration, because yeah it’s also your job to buy Mikael’s. *Sigh.*

LEVEL 5 - BARD 5

5th level Bards get a Font of Inspiration that lets their Bardic Inspiration come back after a Short Rest as well as a Long Rest. That’s good because your Bardic Inspiration increases to a d8, which also boosts your Mantle of Inspiration to grant 8 temporary hitpoints!

You can also learn another spell like Hypnotic Pattern: while it won’t do any damage and your allies can’t hit the dancing enemies it’ll still be the best recreation of your ultimate for now.

(Artwork by Katie “TeaTime” De Sousa. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 6 - PALADIN 1

I hope you weren’t expecting this to be a pure Bard build, because then I’d just be building Seraphine again! Grab your something something Medium Armor as well as a shield (well technically you need both hands free to play a musical instrument) it’s Paladin time, master of auras! 

Paladins get a Lay on Hands pool equal to 5 times their Paladin level for some more healing. You can touch a creature to give them any amount of health from your Lay on Hands, or use 5 hitpoints from your Lay on Hands pool to neutralize a poison or disease affecting them. You also get Divine Sense to locate any Celestial, Fiend, or Undead as long as they’re within 60 feet of you and not behind total cover. Don’t worry it gets a lot more exciting later.

LEVEL 7 - PALADIN 2

Second level Paladins can choose their Fighting Style and you’re still more of a mage than a warrior, so Blessed Warrior will give you two cantrips from the Cleric list that use your Charisma! Guidance is an obvious must for a support and Toll the Dead is a great option if you want to go full AP.

Should you have options for attacks to target enemies who have high Wisdom? Yeah probably: Sacred Flame might be a good choice.

Of course cantrips also imply more Spellcasting! You can prepare a number of spells equal to your Charisma modifier plus half your Paladin level (rounded down) which is currently a freaking lot of spells. Let’s just go down the list, shall we?

Bless is great to buff your team and make them harder, better, faster, and stronger.

Command is a mostly harmless Enchantment spell that will force your foes to do as you, well, command. I’d argue “dance” is a reasonable Command.

Protection from Evil and Good is never bad to have in your back pocket in case you’re fighting either Kayle or Fiddlesticks.

And Shield of Faith will let you boost your ADC’s survivability with Ardent Censer!

I know you can prepare more spells but there isn’t much I want from first level of Paladin. I am contractually obligated to mention that you can also turn your spell slots into a Divine Smite if you hit an enemy with a melee weapon, but you aren’t really going to be using weapons in this build. That’s right boys hop aboard the caster Paladin train!

LEVEL 8 - PALADIN 3

Third level Paladins get to choose their Sacred Oath and Oath of the Watchers may seem weird but it’s really good at defending your allies. That’s because you get two different Channel Divinity options: Abjure the Extraplanar works similarly to the Cleric’s Turn Undead feature except it affects Aberrations, Celestials, Elementals, Fey, and Fiends.

Watcher’s Will meanwhile lets you choose a number of creatures you can see within 30 feet of you, up to your Charisma modifier. For 1 minute, you and the chosen creatures have advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws. This means that in a party of 6 this ability can give your whole party advantage on all mental saves, which is huge for keeping everyone alive against nasty casters! See? Demacia can use your magic!

Speaking of magic you get Alarm and Detect Magic as Oath spells. (Might want to swap Detect Magic from your Bard list with Mass Healing Word ty Tasha’s.) You can also use Harness Divine Power to regain a spell slot equal to half your proficiency bonus a number of times per Long Rest. And you get Divine Health, because you don’t take a sick day to stop complaining about Seraphine.

LEVEL 9 - PALADIN 4

4th level Paladins get another Ability Score Improvement: cap off that Charisma for maximum AP scaling!

(Artwork by Kelly Aleshire & Esben Lash Rasmussen. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 10 - PALADIN 5

5th level Paladins can finally prepare second level spells! As a Watchers Paladin you get access to Moonbeam as well as See Invisibility, both of which are very good for dealing with incoming gankers.

You can also prepare spells like Aid to boost your allies’ HP, Prayer of Healing (ty Tasha’s) for some out-of-combat healing, and Warding Bond for a Knight’s Vow.

Oh and you get an Extra Attack, which sure would matter if you were actually using weapons.

LEVEL 11 - PALADIN 6

6th level reasons get the main reason Sona’s a Paladin: Aura of Protection! All your saving throws are increased by an amount equal to your Charisma modifier, which is a full +5 currently! But what’s special about this ability is that it also applies to your allies within 10 feet of you, letting you give out auras a plenty to keep your allies safe!

You can also prepare another spell but again: not much I really want. So we’re going to be waiting a little while longer once again.

LEVEL 12 - PALADIN 7

7th level Watchers Paladins get Aura of the Sentinel, or as I like to call it: Song of Celerity. When you or any creature of your choice within 10 feet of you roll for initiative, they gain a bonus to initiative equal to your proficiency bonus. While this may make positioning a little difficult (everyone’s going to have to huddle around you) this ability guarantees that you can speed up all your important allies to make sure they get their powerful abilities off!

LEVEL 13 - PALADIN 8

8th level Paladins get another Ability Score Improvement or a Feat. You may have noticed your uneven Constitution score: grab good ol’ Resilient Constitution for a boost to your health and even more insurance on your Concentration checks. With your Paladin aura and proficiency you’d have a +12 total to your Constitution checks currently, meaning that if you take 24 damage or less you won’t even have to roll for Concentration!

LEVEL 14 - PALADIN 9

You are probably the only Paladin who cares about spells, so it’s nice that you get 3rd level spells now! Watchers Paladins get two very strong third level spells: Nondetection will help you deward and keep your allies safe from enemies that may try to sneak a peak at you, but Counterspell is the true best choice to stop danger from befalling your allies. What’s very good about Counterspell is that as a Bard you get to add Jack of All Trades to the skill check, meaning it’s far easier for you to deny an incomming spell than any other spellcaster! “Mages have enough problems without you.”

Of course you can prepare some more spells like Aura of Vitality for Aria of Perseverance, and Revivify for an ADC’s Guardian Angel. But having access to spells like Remove Curse, Dispel Magic, Crusader’s Mantle, and even Daylight on the Paladin spell list are all extremely useful to be able to prepare. Remember that you are doing yourself a disservice by not taking time to think about what the best spells to prepare would be for your current quest. "Every note is important."

(Artwork by Kelly Aleshire & Esben Lash Rasmussen. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 15 - BARD 6

Now that we’ve got all our auras it’s time to go back to Bard for Mantle of Majesty! As a bonus action, you cast Command without expending a spell slot as you take on an appearance of unearthly beauty for 1 minute. During that minute you can cast Command as a bonus action on each of your turns without expending a spell slot. Additionally any creature charmed by you automatically fails its saving throw against the command you cast with this feature. You do have to concentrate on this feature (like a spell), and once you use it you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest.

You can also learn another spell but there isn’t much I want from the third level of Bard, really. Oh and you get Countercharm which is awful and I hate it, but since you didn’t take a 10th level in Paladin I suppose you have to use it. Spend an action to give allies advantage on their saving throws against charms and fears, I guess.

LEVEL 16 - BARD 7

7th level Bard; 4th level spells. Freedom of Movement will let you help either yourself or an ally with Mikael’s Crucible, and Dimension Door is great to get into lane fast, or back to base fast!

LEVEL 17 - BARD 8

8th level Bards get another Ability Score Improvement, and if you don’t like the look of something something Medium Armor then the Eldritch Adept feat might be able to help. Take the Mask of Many Faces invocation to be able to cast Disguise Self at will to change your skins as you please.

Could you have taken this earlier? Absolutely. Are there better invocations? Yeah probably, but by level 17 you can make some of your own choices. Build your own Sona: this is merely a guide and you can make your own choices.

Speaking of own choices: take whichever spell you want at this level. There’s plenty of great ones for a 4th level Bard and I can’t recommend anything in particular to you. Every musician has their own style, and it’s up to you to find your own!

(Artwork by Yan Li. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 18 - BARD 9

9th level Bards get to pretend that increasing Song of Rest from a d6 to a d8 by total level 18 is helpful.

You do get access to 5th level spells like Mass Cure Wounds, which is like Mass Healing Word but better! "Harmoniously."

LEVEL 19 - BARD 10

10th level Bards get Expertise in two more skills: Perception is an obvious must to watch over your wards but beyond that? Honestly pick your poison with whatever skill you want since by level 19 you can make your own choices. (Though my personal choice would be Athletics to hopefully give some more safety against grapples.)

But of course the main boon of reaching level 10 in Bard is the Magical Secrets! ...I’m afraid I’m going to have to disappoint you again: there honestly aren’t any spells in particular I want as Magical Secrets. Sure I could recommend spells like Haste or whatever but are they really going to be that great by total level 20? To be honest even the spells on the Bard list like Animate Objects, Greater Restoration, Hold Monster, Rary's Telepathic Bond, Scrying, and Synaptic Static are very good (although I’d sooner replace some of your old spells with them.)

Again I know this is supposed to be a “guide” but most people won’t hit level 19 anyways, so I don’t think it’s that bad for me to recommend you take your own steps to make your own Sona. Hell, build some AP if you want! I know I would!

LEVEL 20 - BARD 11

Our final level is the 11th level of Bard and I’ll be honest: it’s just to add Otto's Irresistible Dance to your spell list. It can only affect one person but it’s still your ultimate by total level 20.

Oh and you were supposed to get a cantrip last level. Uhhhhh I dunno take Mending lol.

FINAL BUILD

PROS

The rhythm connects us all - You have dozens of spells to keep your team alive and active during a fight, not to mention that all your Paladin auras and abilities really help them give 110%. It’s worth mentioning that Gift of Alacrity combined with Aura of the Sentinel is a d8 + 6 to an Initiative roll, which will almost always guarantee that whoever you want to go first will be going first!

A true masterpiece should celebrate living - Despite your somewhat weird level split you maxed out the only stat which matters for you: Charisma. And woah holy shit turns out Paladins are really good with maxed out Charisma! +5 to all saves means even your lowest save is a +4, and the saves your proficient in vary between +13 for Dexterity and Constitution (both very common!) and a whopping +16 save on Charisma!

Curtains up; I'm ready - Jack of All Trades also does quite nicely to help your middling skills. Even though I dumped most of your mental skills you’re still proficient enough that you won’t be completely helpless when caught off guard. And when you’re in the zone with Persuasion or Performance you are easily the best girl around!

CONS

Don't make me get off stage - It was my intention to recreate Sona’s positional gameplay with this build but it does present some gameplay issues when trying to maximize your effectiveness. Where do you position yourself as a character who’s still primarily a squishy caster despite your good saving throws and AC? Can you give everyone in your party support, or are they too spread out to get value out of your 10 foot range auras?

Quiet, please! - You have a damn good concentration check, but what do you concentrate on? Not only do you have a ton of spells but they all scale very good with levels and you have spell slots that go far higher than your maximum level spell. It can be hard to choose what to do with those 7th and 8th level slots.

The world is cruel... Until that changes, I'll never stop playing - One of many “meta” problems with this build was my choice to focus almost entirely on support. Sure Toll the Dead is a great damaging cantrip but your only two damaging spells are Moonbeam and Dissonant Whispers. Again: you don’t have to follow my build point-for-point and while you’ll be flamed in League for building Sona full AP I don’t think your friends will mind if you take some damaging spells.

But if you can’t tell it was really hard for me to come up with those downsides. With the exception of the positional requirements a Bardadin is a very strong build and Sona is a very strong support. Boost your teammates with your own amazing power and make sure everyone’s alive and jamming! Your power may have been forgotten over the years but no one’s ever upset to have a great support at their side. And remember: Seraphine may be in K/DA but you’re in Pentakill, and you have your own label! No one can replace DJ Sona!

undefined

[kekoma]

— kageyama as your boyfriend.

milk boy🥛is typing... hope you enjoy.

milk boy only knows how to do 2 things.

find good yogurt/milk and play volleyball.

relationships? he doesn’t know what that it is.

ahh just kidding~

anyways, dating tobio? 

it’s definitely possible but you gotta have patients.

promise his mind isn’t always focused on volleyball and becoming the best— OR about milk based products.

tobio here developed a crush on you just like any other normal boy and of course he somehow made his way into a relationship with you.

but he did go over if his emotions for you are true or if it’s one of those moments where he simply finds you attractive and you’re starting to take effect on him beforehand. (different meanings here. iykyk)

has spent countless nights with you running through his mind and days where he finds himself daydreaming about you along with the cute things he wants to do with you as well.

after countless days that turned into a few months (just 2), tobio finally found himself acknowledging that his crush for you is real and he actually wants a relationship with you.

now the confessing part could go two ways;

a) he’s bold enough to tell you straight up “i like you and i want you to be mine.” 

or.

b) there’s no second option... he knows what he wants and that’s YOU so why sugarcoat it.

jokes again~

b) he’ll come to you with a blush and confess his feelings with something along the lines like; “please go out with me. if you’re free this weekend then i would like to take you out.” (if you look at his ears, bet they’re redder than his cheeks)

bonus choice c) you confess first and he can’t help but become super flustered. most definitely accepted your confession in a heartbeat.

boom! new couple alert. (that we stan and love)

although... in the beginning, the relationship was quite odd.

nothing too extreme that you’re like “damn... sir i’m five seconds away from ascending from how awkward things are.” 

but just know it’s... weird.

he never attempted any kind of skinship or did much of anything that was consider couple like.

it’s not because he wasn’t interested or anything, he just had to go over the pros and cons of showing it with you since nothing was discussed about it.

tobio’s constant thoughts were; “would it be okay to just go for it...? what if i end up getting slapped or punched. but if i don’t go for it then would i be a bad boyfriend? what if she wants to already and i just haven’t picked up the signs...”

literally spent some days just analyzing you just in case he really did miss any hints you gave and when he’s unable to find any (if you haven’t made the first move already) the first few weeks, you two showed no true notions of dating.

although he did make up for the lack of skinship by bringing a second yogurt drink and giving it to you.

“here.”

“hm? what’s this?”

“a drink. i may have brought a second one.”

“on accident or on purpose~?”

“do you want it or not..? b-because i can easily drink it without your teasing.”

“i’ll take it. thank you for being so sweet~”

“whatever.”

proceeeds to give his cute little pout while looking away.

although after a while he brings it up and you two discuss what’s allowed and what’s not allowed.

even then, he’s still bizarre about it because he’ll randomly grab your hand and hold it strangely or say out of no where “please... hold my hand.”

could really go on and on about the awkward stage but you didn’t come here for that.

so let’s discuss the relationship currently. probably been dating for a few years now.

100% more stable with no miscommunications about anything.

all the doubt and worrying about what’s okay is no longer evident on him and he’s actually more relaxed in a way.

but do expect him to be honest with you straight up now and he would like if you do the same from as well.

since you two have been together for so long, it’s only right to be completely honest anyways, yeah?

anyways kags is extremely— let me say it again... EXTREMELY caring towards you.

it’s not noticeable off the rip since he’s still going to be a bit closed off and sometimes pretend he isn’t huge softie for you, but the way he shows that he cares is through subtle things.

like picking up what you like, dislike, what kind of people you tend to avoid and/or tolerate temporarily, funny habits you’ve developed when you were younger and etc.

occasionally he’ll go out of his way to buy you something if you mentioned it and gifts it to you one day. 

you don’t even have to say ‘i wish i could buy this’. tobio either saw the item from your screen one day or you just so happened to have asked his opinion about it (with no true intentions of buying it) and he’ll remember.

there’s never a dull moment where he isn’t being attentive you.

yet something to point out is that his true personality is there still.

it’s just more water down and only makes a true appearance when someone decides to flirt with you.

vv protective and a bit possessive too.

tobio won’t right away put whoever is hitting on you in their place if it looks like you’re confident enough to handle it on your own.

but it’s quite easy to tell when he’s a little irritated by someone trying their luck with you due to the atmosphere around him (so dark).

however, if it looks like you’re extremely uncomfortable and can’t handle the situation then he’s already making his way towards you.

he’ll wrap his arm around you before telling the person off. sometimes you gotta stop him because he won’t hesitate to make them cry.

besides that; another part of his personality that occasionally makes an appearance in the relationship would be his short-temp.

which brings us to the topic of arguments because of that temp ties in with it.

not gonna say they happen often since they don’t and he constantly works on that part of himself for you (and himself).

but when arguments do happen, then tobio will end walking away from you to chill off if he feels that things are getting pretty heated since he’s capable of saying something extremely hurtful.

honestly he can’t stay mad at you long so when he’s back to normal then best believe he’s coming back to you and saying sorry.

even if it’s not his fault, he’s still going to apologize.

might take you out to eat/buy you snacks in hopes you’ll forgive him faster.

really tries his best to not let fights occur and may even try talking them out if he’s able to.

moving along~ 

if you expected this man to be an grade A flirt... it’s not happening.

no matter how long you’ve two been together, he hasn’t gotten the flirting aspect down to a pack completely.

but does he still try? of course he does. will he ever stop? probably not even if it’s embarrassing.

the only thing you can do is just accept it and like it. A for effort.

bonus: he probably asks his teammates about advice on flirting... just don’t be surprised when he uses one of the pick up lines he learned from noya and tanaka. 

def the loyal type.

if girls finally decided to notice him and shot their shot at him then he’s quick to shut them down.

could literally offer this man all the money in the world just to stop being loyal to you and he would decline.

we stan and love loyal boyfriend tobio <3

because of you, he does better in school. although he hated the thought of studying, he actually starts to love it since you’re the one teaching him and if you incorporate rewards (like a kiss or milk candy) then he’s completely down to work harder.

plus kageyama loves it when you praise him for making high test scores.

also want to add that he’s also the kind of boyfriend who’s interested in anything you like.

since you’re apart of what he likes, volleyball (if you decide to ask him about teaching you about the spot or just showing up to his games), then he’s always down to show interest and support for the things you like.

quickly let’s get into nicknames. top ones for you are 🥁🥁🥁  dummy/my dummy, babe, my love/love and chipmunk (don’t question the last one.)

pda. pda. pda. 

everything is the same in both the public and private department. he’s down with holding hands, kissing you, cuddling and something he LOVES doing the most with you is headpats.

don’t know why but he loves doing that and he also during lunch (and at home), he loves when you two are alone so he can finally rest his head on your lap and take a short nap or just generally lay there.

could go on about public affection too but let’s briefly move to dates.

dates with tobio consist of you bike riding, going out to eat, walks in the park, picnics and just generally anything cute but also simple.

literally treats you like a goddess and as much as i would like to make a whole essay about dating him— i’ll cut it short here.

tobio = best boy & best boyfriend.

© all content belongs to kekoma 2020. do not repost, modify or translate.

[chippersweetbaby]

I’m thoroughly enjoying hat-collecting and balloon-destroying.  I think I’ve got four or five hours at least logged in this level so far and still have two sectors to take over and a couple hat-machines to find - then I gotta go kill Regis.  Then maybe that’ll be the end of the level? I don’t really know. I haven’t read spoilers (other than playing the fucking game that happens during/after this.)

At any rate - I put off buying this episode for a long time - mostly because I got the other three together with all the “royal edition” stuff and this one was a separate purchase - but also because I thought it might make me sad to play it because I got way too into this game and sometimes thinking about it makes me feel that certain way all your favorite fictional stuff starts to make you feel after a while... 

I kind of worried playing this might be emotionally draining, but I’m actually finding it’s very light-hearted...  I mean, I know he’s destroying the home-city of the four protagonists and ruining everyone’s lives and Ardyn’s own life was tragic as hell... but the actual game play - running around destroying stuff, killing people, turning people into fucking daemons, and laughing while doing it... It’s pretty fun. Ardyn’s maniacal disposition while he fucks everything up is contagious. I love fucking shit up.  There wasn’t enough fucking shit up when I played as Noctis... 

Ardyn’s a really cool character and awesome as hell to play as. He may have ruined the lives of all the characters I love in this game and he may wear a cupcake liner around his neck, but damn it, warp-jumping to the top of buildings in a cloud of black smoke like a fucking vamprite, popping a balloon with a cool “pathetic” quip like the balloon was some mighty foe... This guy is great.  The hilarious hats is an added bonus. You know how much I love playing dressup on this game. :D

[daiseukiis]

: ̗̀➛𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆

𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙞 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙮 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙘𝙝𝙞 ?

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

─꒱ in which we peak into how jujutsu kaisen characters handle their child on a daily basis。

─꒱ feat. gojo satoru, fushiguro megumi, kugisaki nobara & itadori yuji

─꒱ warnings ; none

─꒱ notes ; suddenly i’m having jjk as parents brain rot after a night of reading megumi smut

─꒱ JJK AS PARENTS PART TWO

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

─── ➴ GOJO SATORU

꒰꒰ he’s a great dad trust me, spoils his child like no one’s business. you want the entire set of the haikyuu manga and crunchyroll premium? give him five minutes to purchase them. want front row tickets to see nct in korea? yeah, he’ll get it for them and thats plane tickets on first class

꒰꒰ but don’t get me wrong,,, he’s a doting father but sometimes it might be just too much.

꒰꒰ for starters, mans gotta know where their kid's heading on a daily basis. gotta shot him a text that heading to shibuya with your friends or taking a flight to okinawa or hokkaido. he just wants them to be safe !!

꒰꒰ expect him to text his kid almost every time he’s out buying anything. he’d be all the way in osaka, they're in class they will randomly get a text from him if they want uncle rikuro cheese cake or kuidaore taro pudding.

꒰꒰ not to mention !!! he will text you it’s an emergency and they have to call him, a matter of life or death situation. knowing he’s a shaman, he could die but there’s like a percentage of a chance that could happen, it's percentage rivals how fast he can activate his expansion domain. which isn’t much. but when they pick up the phone, he’s just gonna ask the. which top would look better or say there’s a hot deal for these sweets across the street and if they wanna go

꒰꒰ his favourite thing to do it probably embarrass his kid in front of their friends. maybe. yeah. baby pictures and all

꒰꒰ if he has a daughter his father radar is SO high. a boy gives even a glance her way, he will probably threathen them. spoils her with so much it even HURTS to look at his bank account but he's rich so ;;; takes her out shopping and half his camera roll is photos of her or selfies of them

꒰꒰ if it's a guy, he will cheer him on every time a girl confesses his love for his son. probably even gives him condoms and tips but you didn't hear that from me. with no doubt gloat to his students how amazing and manly his son is, takes him out on missions when he wants and goes sweet store hopping with him

꒰꒰ if his child returns home crying for whatever reason, a boy broke her heart or someone beat their kid up for doing the right thing;; bitch gojo is gon beat the shit outta them no cap

꒰꒰ he's the dad every teacher flirts with at parent teacher conferences, and the dad every girl in the friend with has a crush on

─── ➴ FUSHIGURO MEGUMI

꒰꒰ amazaing dad, but probably should work more on the expressing it to his kid area

꒰꒰ he won't spoil them rotten like gojo, but if he sees its something that they truly want and sees that it's of use or valuable, he will get it for them because he wants to see his kid smile

꒰꒰ he's not big on affection, probably a hug time to time and an appreciation pat on the head. if his kid falls he would just crouch down and ask if they need a hand, or is their baby girl starts crying he'll pick her up into his arms and pat his head

꒰꒰ if he has a daughter he would be reluctant to go shopping with her, but he does like the fact that his kid is smiling and showing him her outfits. he better have a say as well if there's an attire that shows to much skin, he just wants the best for his girl. if a boy looks her way with a look, he will emit an aura enough for the boy to piss his pants

꒰꒰ if his kid is a boy, you bet hes gonna teach his son to beat up half the delinquents up the area too ‼ he has so much trust in his son, they would spar sometimes and he would take him on to missions. he sucks at giving advice, probably around the words of 'just be yourself?' he won't show it but he's cheering for you

꒰꒰ he's a chill dad, if their kid ever forgets anything at home and he's off to drop it off at school, he would be a bit reluctant cuz why did they forget it to begun with, but he's gonna do it anyways <3 the one parent that everyone calls pretty

꒰꒰ he'll text his kid basic and short messages, a how's your day or do you want anything from here kinda texts when he's out on missions. he wants to be sure that you're given enough space to be yourself within his reach

꒰꒰ fushiguro screams like the type of dad that would have a family photo in his wallet. i just find that cute and UGGH yes <3

꒰꒰ if his kid comes home crying, he's going to immediately comfort them. bad test or shitty day, he's gonna be slightly awkward but he'll take them out for their favourite food or arcade

꒰꒰ he's also the typa dad that will check up on you before he goes to bed or when he comes back from a mission, when you're all asleep just to make sure you're safe

─── ➴ KUGISAKI NOBARA

꒰꒰ listen,,, listen, kugisaki is a bad bitch mother and it radiates that energy

꒰꒰ if she has a kid, she's gonna raise them to be the baddest bitch in all of tokyo, in all of japan if all i care. she gives her kids credit for even trying to beat gojo up, but if they can't she's still gonna be happy if they tell her they kicked a guy's kneecaps in for taking their lunch money

꒰꒰ a little reckless, her parenting methods are a bit questionable but like its kugisaki here, she does whatever the hell she wants. her kid falls to the ground? don't cry pussy, get up you're better than this

꒰꒰ kugisaki's that mother who probably buys take out food every friday, or takes her kids out to a mf buffet only to tell them to pay for her because she gave birth to their ungrateful asses

꒰꒰ she's the most chill mother out there, all her kids' friends probably want to be adopted by her because she's fun and knows how to kick ass

꒰꒰ if she has a daughter, definitely wants them to be famous instead of a shaman. she wants to see her kid rocking those magazines or fuckin it up in movies or j-dramas, so she got rights to stroll through the red carpet as the most beautiful mother

꒰꒰ if she has a son, definitely will end up making him into a loyal, bad boy who knows how to drink his respect women juice on a daily basis. the son who also get absolutely wrecked by his own mother in smash bros. doesn't matter how old kugisaki is, she would still be able to beat her son even if he's a first grade shaman

꒰꒰ if her kids come home crying, i bet you she'll only scold them. she'll ask why the hell you crying over this guy/girl, they're way low of the standards and are not even it. she would convince them that they're so much better (?) to make them feel good about themselves. and then she'll probably head lock the kid to crush on a better person

꒰꒰ she's the type of mother who wouldn't sit down to talk to her kid often, sometimes she also socks at communicate like fushiguro but at least she knows it. she would be the type that would comfort her kid by bring food ( typical asian parent shit tsk iykyk )

꒰꒰ she's also that type of mother when they tell her that someone makes fun of something to the point that their kid is broken by it, she will get out that car and pick at fight with the kids, and then wipe their ass on the floor, and the mop the deck with their parents

─── ➴ ITADORI YUJI

꒰꒰ this man is the personification of a fun, chill and laid-back father

꒰꒰ he would be the dad that would wake their kid up in the morning so they're not late, pack their food or bring food to their school if they forgot to bring any

꒰꒰ he doesn't really spoil his kid, but you bet he'll take them to fun places like arcades, escape rooms and even go street food binging. definitely would have a movie marathon too

꒰꒰ if he's back from a mission early and near the school his kid goes too, you bet he's going to catch them by the end of school just to walk home with them and take about his mission

꒰꒰ he's the kind of dad that wouldn't mind if they're swearing around the house, but they gotta watch their mouth still, he doesn't want them to be as bad as sailor nor does he want them picking up nasty habits

꒰꒰ if his kid is a girl, he will give her space and room for anything, be it needing some time alone after a bad test or constantly wanting to go out with her friends to get her mind off things that he might not be able to fix. he doesn't mind going shopping, definitely would give an opinion to any outfits with a thumbs up. takes pictures with his daughter on any shenanigans they do together and send them to his group chat with kugisaki and fushiguro

꒰꒰ having a boy, he would want to play sports with them and go on missions. sometimes they would go to the arcade to try the punching game to see who has the highest and then bet the lower pays for food after. he likes giving advice, even though it won't be helpful or will be, he's gonna say it either in hopes that it'll be brought up in their head in any moment they're in

꒰꒰ he's the type of dad that has a selfie of him and his kid as a lockscreen i jUST KNOW IT

꒰꒰ if his kid comes home crying he will be so worried. like whats wrong, what happened, who hurt you, does he have to punch someone?! he's going to pull them into his arms and take them out for food, maybe even a walk. he's they type to want to cheer them up no matter the situation, and probably when they're all good and dandy, he will personally talk to solve the root of the problem behind their back

꒰꒰ when there's something to be settled, i bet you that they settle it with a game of rock-paper-scissors out five ‼‼

─── ➴ SUKUNA ( BONUS )

꒰꒰ what makes you think this man wanted a child, if he did have one ; probably either got it killed during the heian era or he killed it for his superiority complex </3

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

DO NOT REPOST 、 MODIFY 、 CLAIM WORK OR LAYOUT AS YOURS.

© MGUQIIS 、 2020

[wkemeup]

By Any Other Name (Epilogue)

series summary: When Special Agent Bucky Barnes is tasked with infiltrating the notorious gang Hydra and gathering evidence against its leader, Brock Rumlow, Bucky finds himself drawn to the woman who doesn’t seem to belong in this world of violence, the wife of the head of Hydra… you. pairing: bucky x reader chapter word count: 6.3k warnings: smut (18+), domestic bucky, the end of the series ❤️ a/n: I seriously can’t believe its been months of you guys sticking with me on this series week after week ❤️ I’m going to miss that so much and can’t begin to express how much the love and support for this series has meant to me. I do plan on doing headcannons/drabbles/bonus one shots at some point so if you have questions you’d like answered, requests, or prompts, send them in! 🌟 🌹series masterlist 🌹

“Agent Barnes, I thought I kicked you out when visiting hours ended last night.”

The stern voice of one of your nurses emerged from the doorway; a no-nonsense middle-aged woman named Rosa, who wore bright blue eye shadow and a silver cross hanging around her neck. Hands planted firmly on her hips, her eyes narrowed upon Bucky as he slowly raised his head from the edge of your cot. Sleep lines were carved into his cheeks and a painful crack snapped in his neck as he stretched it to the side, having slept hunched over from the folding chair placed beside you.

“You may have mentioned it,” he chuckled nervously, massaging the stiff muscles in his shoulder.

“And yet, you’re still here.” Rosa rolled her eyes, slowly making her way into the room to begin checking the vitals on the monitor at your bedside. “You’re lucky we’re discharging her today. Your flashy gold badge was about at its end of favors around here.”

She must have been expecting a quick remark or a joke of some kind because she seemed surprised as she turned to find Bucky smiling ear to ear, focus turned entirely to you as you slept soundly; bandages now absent from your burns as they’d begun to heal, life renewed back to your skin, a steady rise and fall of your breaths.

“Y/n can come home?”

Rosa sighed, a slow smile pushing up on her own lips. She was a tired woman and she’d seen a lot in her years, but she’d come to like Bucky, even if he was a major pain in her ass.

“Yes, Agent Barnes. She can go home.”

It had been nearly a week. A week of sleeping in positions that were sure to cause permanent damage to his back. A week of holding your hand as nurses tended to the burns on your skin. A week of smooth talking the night shift into letting him stay past visiting hours and using hospital showers and eating mediocre cafeteria food.

But now, you could come home.

Only, he wasn’t quite sure where home was anymore.

“Bucky?” Voice groggy and filled with sleep, you slowly opened your eyes, smiling sweetly up at Rosa as she finished making down your vitals.

“Ready to get out of here?” Bucky grinned, pulling your hand up to his lips to kiss your knuckles.

A smile began to light up in your eyes, but something went wrong along the way. It disappeared as quickly as it arrived, replaced with the harsh reality of burning fires and a mansion up in smoke. It wasn’t much of a home but it was the only home you had. Bucky’s stomached twisted in on itself.

“I…” you started, stare falling down to the floor. “I don’t have anywhere to go.”

Bucky already had suitcases full of clothes at his apartment for you, a dozen series of books lined up on the kitchen table, toiletries that Natasha purchased at his request filling baskets under the bathroom sink. He even had Sam and Steve clean the place spotless, much to their reluctance. It was ready for you. He was ready for you. But he needed it to be a choice.

“Steve said the Bureau would put you up in a hotel until you could find an apartment,” Bucky offered, though he could tell quickly from the way your eyes shifted just slightly it wasn’t a good option. You squeezed his hand. Bucky nodded, asking, “what about May’s place? I’m sure Peter would love to have you over.”

“Aunt May’s got enough on her plate. She doesn’t need me to take care of, too.” You shook your head, a heavy breath nestled into your chest.

Tears were starting to well in your eyes, an aching kind of helplessness he’d only seen in you in the moments you were forced to submission beside your husband, a lingering sort of emptiness, a loss, and it nearly ripped Bucky straight in half.

“Stay with me,” he blurted out. He clenched his jaw, cursing at himself, because he was supposed to be a lot smoother about the preposition. 

Your eyes snapped up to his; wide, suspicious. “…What?”

“Come home with me,” Bucky offered again, firmer, sure. “Stay with me. I know my place is small but I’ve got the room. I’ll buy you all the tea you can drink and line the windowsills with plants I can’t easily kill. Whatever you need, I’ll get it for you. What do you say, sweetheart?”

Chewing on the edge of your lip, you could hardly hold his eye. “I can’t ask you to take me in Bucky…”

“You’re not asking,” he replied quickly. “I’m offering.”

He could still see the hesitancy in your face, the quick flash of your stare to his shoulder. It had healed faster than the divots around your wrists and still, the guilt managed to find its way inside you. It crept around the light and slithered through the shadows no matter how many times Bucky had tried to pry it away.

“It will make me feel better,” Bucky tried, recalling the first night in the hospital he’d been sent away after visiting hours. He’d come back the next morning to find dark circles under your eyes and tear marks down your cheeks. You’d clung to him for hours just trying to reassuring yourself he was really there, that the monster in your dreams hadn’t left to him to the flames instead. Leaving you alone after that wasn’t an option.

“Please, sweetheart,” Bucky urged, squeezing your hand a little tighter. “Let me take care of you. It’ll be temporary, okay? Until we can find a place of your own.”

It seemed to lessen the tension clenched into your jaw at least. He would have asked you to move in entirely if he thought you were ready for it. He could spend the rest of his life surrounded by dozens of bookshelves and mugs half filled with tea from the night before, cozy blankets thrown over the back of the couch and more pillows than he could count upon the cushions. He could spend an eternity with you.

But even with the monster slain, there were still demons in the closet; nightmares that were sure to plague your sleep, shadows that would set panic in your veins at every corner, guilt that will swept its way into the darkest corners of your mind. There were still evils to protect you from, it seemed. 

“Okay,” you nodded, letting a smile brush up at the ends of your lips.

“Nat’s already got everything you could need waiting for us back at my place,” he told you as he quickly began gathering your things from around the room; books Peter had brought you from his school’s library, empty Styrofoam cups half filled with over steeped tea, and newspapers highlighted in yellow marks with names of Hydra affiliates who were now sitting behind bars.

Hands filled with various belongings, Bucky turned back to find you watching him intently, a shy kind of smile on your face. “What?”

“You’ve been planning this, haven’t you?”

Bucky shrugged, sliding the books and papers into his bag and tossing the spare cups into the bin. He brushed a hand through his hair, tugging on it a little as he pushed it behind his ears. “Is that so crazy? After everything we went through to get here, I couldn’t stand the thought of you being anywhere else. Gotta keep an eye on my girl, don’t I?”

You smiled and it lit up right into your eyes. “The case is over, Buck. You don’t have to protect me anymore.”

Bucky shook his head, leaning forward as a hand swept back along your hair and nestled against your neck. He pressed a short kiss to your crown. “We may be free of Hydra, but that part of my job won’t ever go away. I will always protect you, sweetheart. From drug dealers and mafia kingpins to broken AC units and empty tea boxes; doesn’t matter. I’m there.”

The damn near sweetest laugh he’d ever heard filled the room as you swatted him away. It made his stomach twist, his heart sing, his cheeks hurt from how wide his was smiling. Happiness was a sort of foreign, strange feeling, but it wasn’t one he planned on letting slip him by.

***

Another week later and Bucky could look around the apartment and find pieces of you everywhere. The mug resting on the end table in the living room, still steeping the remnants of last night’s tea. The blanket thrown over the back of the kitchen chair from when you wondered out of his room in the early morning with a chill. The second toothbrush in the cup by the sink. The sweet smell of your lotion on the dresser. The pantry filled with popcorn and Oreos.

You’d started to turn his place into a home.

It became quite domestic, a different sort of comfort, to wake up to the smell of bacon and watch you making breakfast in the kitchen, to brush his teeth next to you in the bathroom at night as you washed your face, to see the way the pillows creased to your cheeks and the way you tried to stifle yawns in the morning.

But there was a new kind of intimacy of sharing his home with you, one that grew to challenge every restraint he ever possessed.

He’d seen you change into your pajamas in the corner of his room, the whole of your bare back facing him, the dips and curves of your spine as you caught him staring, a soft smile over your shoulder. He’d seen the outline of pebbled nipples through your tank top as you ate breakfast across the kitchen table, hair still messy with sleep. He’d seen the way you looked at him in the mornings, when he woke to a hardened length between his legs and his cheeks flushed red as he muttered out apologies.

He’d tried to prolong it, knowing that you’d been through an imaginable loss, even if it was never really yours to begin with. You’d been through a world of trauma and he knew how messy things could get if he pushed you too fast. It wasn’t a risk he was willing to take. Not until you made it clear that you were as needy for him as he was for you.

If he let himself notice the signs, perhaps he would have realized you’d been aching for him earlier, but it still came as a surprise when you ran your hand along his thigh as you watched an old rerun of The Fugitive. You brushed over his length, smiling to yourself as he shuddered out a tense breath and tried to readjust in his seat.

“Careful,” he warned, staring at the television though a smirk started to curve at his lips.

“You don’t need to hold back anymore,” you told him simply. Your fingers expertly drew along the outline of his cock, pressed hard up against the thin layer of sweats. Pumping him sweetly over excess fabric, you leaned up and pressed your lips to his neck. “Let me love you.”

Bucky exhaled a shaken breath, hand sliding around the couch in search of the remote, the movie long forgotten. “You’re sure?”

You smiled against his jawline, peppering kisses along his edges until you landed sweetly against his lips. “Always.”

Bucky scooped you up into his arms, the pain in his shoulder nothing but a distant memory as he carried you to the bed. After setting you upon the mattress, Bucky quickly stripped himself of his clothes, tugging at your sleep shorts with fevered haste as you laughed, swatting his hands away and doing it yourself. 

Hearts racing like it was the first time, and maybe it was, because there were no more shadows lurking in the corners, no demons to invade tiny glimpse of heaven you shared.

Bucky kissed his way down your body, mapping a trail to the soft crease at your legs, touching so sweetly to the most intimate parts of you until his lips latched around the bundle of nerves between your legs. Arms curling around your thighs, nose brushing over soft curls, nestled tight against the woman gave his life to.

He pulled gasps and whimpers from you, withering underneath him as he held you down, drawing the most beautiful sounds he could imagine. Your nails raked to his scalp and as you came, his tongue sweet with the taste of you. You whispered you loved him.

He knew. He’d heard it enough times but every time was like the first. It still surprised him, knowing you could love him after all you’d been through; that you could trust anyone after the web of lies and manipulation Rumlow had put you through, after you were taken advantage of and used and made to be the property of a vile man, and somehow, you still had room in your heart for love. It felt impossible, and yet, here you were, kissing him like his touch wasn’t enough, like you needed more, need him.

When he sank into you, your hand gripped at his shoulder, a soft whine in your voice as he waited patiently for you to adjust. You exhaled a heavy breath, aching and sore and eager, but your fingers paused at his arm, tracing over the light pink scar there, the raised edges and bubbled skin.

Before you could say anything, Bucky dipped down and kissed your lips, nudged your hand to his hair. He smiled at you, something soft and tender, and whatever was wrestling in your mind slipped away. 

You push a strand of hair behind his ear, drawing it away from his face, just admiring. It wasn’t something you were used to having the time for; always so rushed, always looking over your shoulder and waiting for the foundation to crack. You’d always reveled in the looked across the room and the heated love you made. It was a privilege to spend time in the moments between.

Bucky rolled his hips, stretching along your walls. Your eyes fluttered shut, breaths shaken, and you gripped him tighter, urging him on.

It took a moment to find his rhythm, perfectly in tune with the cry of the bed frame, the gasps of your breaths, the low moans from his own lips; a symphony between you, building, crashing, higher and higher until--

“Ah, oh God, Bucky— don’t stop—”

It almost knocked him out on the spot, almost stopped him dead in his tracks. His eyes shot to you, though you were too far gone to notice; lips parted, eyes closed, so close to the edge. He didn’t dare stop the snap of his hips to yours, didn’t dare pull his hand from your clit, but took a moment to memorize this feeling, this warmth deep in his chest. The sound of his name on your lips, etched in pleasure and love and need.

“I’ve got you, love,” he mewled to your ear, bringing you over the edge with a prolonged cry, your hands digging into the bare of his back as he chased his own release. He came only a few thrusts later, spilling into you, the weight of him dropping to your chest.

Fingers carding gently through his hair, coaxing the racing beat of his heart. His favorite place. His safest place. In your arms.

***

You’d started to find yourself again in the weeks after. You’d gone up to Columbia and spoken with old colleagues. You’d made arrangements to meet with the Dean in hopes of discussing your future in academia again.

Bucky could hardly contain his pride the day you’d walked back into the apartment, beaming from ear to ear, and told him about all the friends you’d missed who welcome you back with open arms, the campus that looked completely the same, and your office that remained vacant.

He’d spun you in his arms, your laugh filling the small Brooklyn apartment, and Bucky couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen you so happy. It was heaven when you smiled like that, like for the first time in a while you had the chance to be who you were always supposed to be, the freedom to make choices without permission.

You started to let yourself become comfortable in the woman you were before Brock Rumlow stormed his way into your life. You smiled enough for your cheeks to ache, laughed loud enough to bring butterflies to Bucky’s stomach, left books around on every surface and mugs of unfinished tea on the counters. You lived in oversized sweaters and ripped jeans and messy hair down by your shoulders. You hummed to yourself as you cooked and danced your way through the bathroom with a towel wrapped around your head and a bathrobe tugged tight at your waist.

It was a relief, to see you like this; so at ease in your own skin, enough so that Bucky started to find pieces of himself he too left behind to his years undercover.

He traded the black jeans and bomber jackets for worn out Levi’s and t-shirts, the tension in his shoulders for the soft brush of your hands down his back, tugging out the knots he’d built over the last year. He started to let the stubble on his cheeks grow, cast over in a shadow along his jaw and obstruct the faded scars he’d obtained at the hands of your ex-husband. 

Then, when Bucky grew tired of seeing a man he didn’t recognize in the mirror, he made a drastic change.

“Buck?” you called into the apartment, arms filled to the brim with grocery bags as you kicked the door shut behind you. “Could use some help!”

“Comin’, sweetheart!” Bucky jogged his way into the kitchen and started to pull the bags from your hands when you finally caught sight of him, let out a yelp, and nearly dropped the milk cartoon to the ground. Bucky dove for it at the last second, securing it before it could explode to the hardwoods.

“Your hair!” you gasped, staring at him with wide eyes.

Bucky clenched his jaw, nodding in acknowledgement of the cut he’d had done while you were out on your errands; short and tight to the sides of his head, full and swept back on the top. He set the groceries down on the counter and when he turned back to look at you, you had already crossed the plane of the kitchen, hands rifling up through his hair and messing away any of the product his barber had styled in.

“Do you hate it?” he grimaced, noticing how you’d tugged your lower lip between your teeth. You were silent for a moment, studying him, and Bucky’s stomach nearly turned over on itself. But then, you softened, gently rubbing your thumb down along his temple and he sank into the feeling.

“This is what Bucky Barnes looks like, isn’t it? The long hair was part of the cover,” you smiled, settling his hair back in place as your hands slipped down over his cheeks, brushing over the grown in stubble. You remembered the image you’d seen in the factory office with Brock, the photographs thrown in rage of a man with short brunette hair and golden badge draped around his neck.

“Yeah,” Bucky admitted, stomach twisting a little. You’d known him as James Karpov for so long, gotten so used to the name and face and the fall of his hair down by his shoulders. He knew he looked different, a few years younger maybe, and it was a change. A big change. One he wasn’t certain you’d like, but he needed it off. He needed to be himself again in every sense he could, to wash himself clean of Hydra and the man he’d left to the fire.

“Well, Bucky,” you sighed, leaning up to press a kiss to his cheekbone, just over the faded pink scar, and then, to his lips. “I love it. Might miss having something to tug on, though.”

You winked over your shoulder as you started making your way to the bedroom, holding his stare with that devilish kind of look in your eye, until you slipped your sweater up and over your head, dropping it to the floor in the hallway. Bare back exposed to him, you sauntered inside to the warm embrace of sun-kissed light filtering in through the windows and Bucky chased after you, laugh heavy in his chest, the groceries long forgotten on the counter.  

***

It was the day Bucky’s name was cleared by Barton and Maximoff; the day the remains of your old home were removed of their crime scene tape and left to be weathered until the city stoke its claim upon the land and bulldozed the ruins.

As Bucky pulled the car into park, you found yourself staring up to the charred ashes of a home that had once kept you caged prisoner. The memory of the flames was still seared in the back of your mind; the heat of the fire burning at your skin, the smoke filling your lungs, the dizziness in your head, the panic as the gunshots went off. You could still feel how your heart had broken free from your chest and the stones embedded under bare feet as you rushed towards the fire, Steve’s arms circling around you to hold you back as a scream ripped its way through your lungs.

“Y/n?” Bucky’s voice called softly, tugging you back from the memory. He was standing outside the passenger door, extending a hand to you.

You turned to the driver’s seat, not having realized he’d even left his place beside you. Your eyes flickered from his hand back to the house.

“They really ruled it self-defense?” you asked for the second time that morning as Bucky helped ease you from the car. You looped your hand at the crook of his arm, tucking in close to him as you both made your way to the ruins of a home you loathed.

“Like I said, doll,” Bucky replied, ever so patiently, “the only evidence they have is my word. Everything else is up in smoke.”

“So... was it?” you asked, pausing for a moment as you looked up at Bucky. “Self-defense?”

He sighed, a heaviness inside him alongside the truth. Your free hand reached up along the side of his face, cupping at his cheek sweetly to coax his eyes back to you. You nodded at him, like you already knew the answer and you were simply waiting to hear it from him. There was no judgement between you, no secrets, and he had no interest in ever lying to you again.

“Yes,” he exhaled, wholehearted, because he did genuinely believe it. “The law might not see it that way, but it was. In defense of you, anyway. A jail cell wouldn’t stop a man like Rumlow from coming after you, from pulling strings and making orders even with Hydra disbanded. I should have known that from the start. He threatened your life, Y/n. He didn’t give me any other choice.”

“I know,” you told him and a weight fell from his shoulders. “You forget that I know Brock better than almost anyone. I know what he’s like when he’s pushed to a corner. You did what you had to, Bucky. I believe that.”

A solemn smile pushed at his cheeks, small and subtle, but it was rooted in a disbelief, in an awe, that he could have ever managed to find someone as loving and understanding as you. For you to love him, despite his flaws, despite the blood on his hands behind the guise of a shiny gold badge, was unimaginable. He still didn’t quite understand it and yet here you were, tucked against his arm, cheek to his shoulder as you stared up at the charred ashes of your home.

“You sure you want to do this?” he asked gently, tense in his shoulders as he glared at the remains of the mansion that kept you prisoner.

You nodded and there was an ease in it, a calm, you didn’t have before.

Bucky let you lead him up to the what remained of the front door. The second story was completely caved in; only pieces of the foundation and walls still standing. It was black, covered in soot, and you stepped through the archway where the door would have been.

Inside, the staircase still remained, though it was withered and degrading, and there were bones of old furniture and the outline of the brick fireplace at the edge of the living room. You didn’t pause before you turned down the hall to the left and perhaps, Bucky shouldn’t have been surprised as he followed your lead to the library.

You paused for a moment as you came upon the opening. The left door was still unhinged, thrown under the frame like a bridge from when Steve attempted to suffocate the flames long enough for you and Bucky to escape. The chair still placed at the center of the room where you’d been bound and tied and left to the vengeance of the fire.

You released yourself from Bucky’s side, slowly slipping away as you stepped into the burned remains of your library.

Bucky watched from a careful distance as you wandered around the room, giving you space to grieve. Your hand trails along the broken shelves, black with soot, and you examined the black ash upon your fingers as you pulled away.

It was all a memory now. Everything that you built, everything that kept you safe and sane and secure those years trapped within this home with a man you despised. It was all gone.

You paused at the corner of the room, shoulders sinking, and you slowly bent down to the floor until you picked up the charred remains of a novel. Hardcover, black soot coating the binding, crumbled bits of burnt paper spilling out the edges as you stood. You sighed, brushing your hand over the title, the colors and design on the front hardly recognizable if not for the high school library tag on the binding.

A Farewell to Arms.

You tugged the book to your chest, its words long lost to the fire, the edges burned black and unreadable, but it survived. You didn’t dare open its pages to see if Bucky’s childhood scribbles remained. A tear slipped past your cheek.

“I’m sorry,” Bucky said quietly, shuffling his feet. You looked back at him under a furrowed brow, the book in your hand slipping down to rest at your side. Bucky exhales, looking around to the aisles empty of the novels you cherished, their pages consumed in the fire. “You lost so much here.”

You smiled sweetly at him before you shook your head, looking back to the room in fondness. “It’s what this room represents that matters.”

“But your collection--”

“I’ll start again,” you replied simply, reaching out for his hand, gesturing him towards you.  Bucky took it graciously and you squeezed his hand, gently nudging his shoulder with your own. “Feels right, doesn’t it? A new start.”

You sighed, staring out to the rows of empty shelves, the piles of ashes on the floor beside them. The couch you’d spent so many nights curled up under blankets and a warm cup of tea in your hands, where you’d read for hours to escape from the monsters outside the doors, where Bucky decided to tell you who he was, where he made love to you in a rushed heat. The windowsill once filled with a beautiful array of plants, where only the broken clay pots remained, the glass of the window burst to the floor alongside broken remains of the ceiling.

Bucky followed your gaze, feeling a loss in his own chest for the room that he came to know you in. This was your sanctuary, your safe haven. This was the room that was completely and entirely yours within a home constructed to be cold and shallow. It was your escape.

But this room meant a great deal to Bucky, too.

“I fell in love with you in this room, you know,” he said fondly, looking to the charred remains of the couch where he’d read next to you for house, where you’d fallen asleep on his shoulder, and he started coming up with reasons not to leave.

He found you staring up at him when he looked back to you, that sweet kind of smile on your face as you slipped your free hand up against his cheek and brought his lips to yours. Soft and warm, the soothing motion of your lips between his, on his, the slip of his tongue gently along yours, and he pulled away with final kiss to your cheek, your nose, then the crown of your head as he wrapped his arms around you.

Surrounded by the ashes of a room that protected you from the monsters beyond its doors.

A room that served as a safe haven.

A room you opened to the stranger with kind, blue eyes and a sweet smile.

“Let go home,” you mumbled to the collar of his shirt, breath warm against the fabric and Bucky felt a skip in his chest for a moment before he settled.

Home. He liked the sound of that.

***

T H R E E  M O N T H S  L A T E R

It was a Monday morning, the first of many, because you were starting your position back at Columbia. The first day of school was always a bit intimidating, even as a professor, even knowing half the staff was eagerly awaiting your return and the fact that your class had filled to capacity in the first few minutes of course selection.

That hadn’t happened even when you were at the height of your career, but you supposed your name plastered across the media and your connection to the takedown of Hydra had something to do with it. You suspected the influx of criminal justice majors were more interested in your time in Hydra than they were in 19th century literature. You didn’t mind, though. It was an opportunity to spark a love for something they didn’t know they had yet.

And maybe you’d throw in some mafia stories to keep up the intrigue and bait for class participation.

You tucked the edge of your shirt into the front of your pants, slipped on a cardigan over your shoulders, and tossed your hair up into a bun before you made your way out into the kitchen. The moment you opened the door, you were met with a waft of smoke as the fire alarm began to cry. 

Bucky was at the stove, apron draped over the bare of his chest, sweatpants covered in stains of pancake mix as he grumbled to himself. You bit back a laugh, leaning against the wall to watch him rush around the kitchen, waving towels in the air in hopes to break up the smoke and cursing at the alarm to ‘shut the hell up you stupid piece of--’

“Hi, honey.”

Bucky spun around, clearly startled as he held a spatula between his hands gripped like a vice.

“Y/n! I, uh, I didn’t think you’d be ready so fast,” he chuckled nervously, trying to wipe the flour from his forehead, though he only made it worse. He glanced back at the mess of the kitchen, the burned pancakes piled on the plate and the sizzling pan behind him. “I made pancakes...?”

“Did you?” you teased, biting down on your lip to keep from smiling too wide and bruising his pride more than it already had been.

“I tried anyway,” he muttered, running a hand through his hair, leaving particles of white flour amongst his dark brown waves. His lips curved down to a frown as he chewed on the inside of his cheek, feet shuffling at the floor. “It’s a big day for you. Wanted it to be special.”

You smiled, heart warm as it’s ever been. “It’s always special with you, Buck.”

Bucky looked up at you, a teasing in his eyes as he shook his head, low, defeated. “Ah, don’t try and make me feel better about this mess, love. It won’t work.”

“You sure?” you asked slowly, making your way up to him and placing your hands against the expose skin on his hips. “Not even if I...”

A kiss to his cheek.

Then, his neck.

Finally, at the corner of his mouth, not quite close enough.

“Huh-uh, not even then,” he exhaled, though his grin was betraying him. “Give it one more try though, will you?”

You laughed, smiling so wide it hurt. “You're relentless, you know that?”

Bucky shrugged, a slight nod in agreement he leaned in to kiss you. His hand reached behind him, like he was trying to steady himself against the cabinets, but the stove was still bright red, still scalding hot from where the pan has been.

“James!” you yelped in a panic, yanking him hard away from the stove before his hand could touch it. Your heart was pounding as you held him against the sink. He was still against you and you realized then what you’d said.

Your eyes trailed up to him slowly, embarrassed, and you found him smiling sweetly at you, always patient, always kind.

“I’m sorry, I—I didn’t mean—”

“It’s alright, doll,” Bucky replied genuinely brushing the flyaways from your face with the hand that had nearly been seared clean by the stone top. “I don’t mind if you call me James.”

“No, I-- I remember how important it was for you that I knew your name when I couldn’t and I—” you sighed, leaning into his touch as you lost yourself in the feel of him gently coaxing the doubt away. He leaned down a pressed a kiss to your forehead.

“You can call me anything you want, sweetheart,” he said simply. “I get to come home every night knowing that it’s you I’m waking up to every morning. You can call me anything as long as I get to do that.”

You laughed through the swell of tears in your eyes. Bucky reached behind him and turned the stove off to ease your conscious. With a quick glance at the clock, your heart skipped, realizing you were already running late.

“I’ve got to go!” you yelped, half laughing as you raced around the room. Bucky stood back and watched, arms folded over his chest, something like pride and joy bolstering in his heart.

“Pete’s coming over after school, alright?” Bucky called to you as you quickly threw on your shoes. “He’s got some project for his forensics class and I promised I’d help him out.”

“Y-yeah, uh-huh, sounds good!”

Bucky chuckled as you raced back into the bedroom to grab your bag with one sleeve of your coat on. “Steve is picking me up in an hour to help filter out recruits but I’ll probably be back before you are.”

“Okay!” You rushed into the living room, a little winded though you were giddy with excitement. You pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before you sprinted to the door, though you paused, freezing in the open doorframe as you glanced back to Bucky.

He stood leaning against the counter, a mess of homemade pancake mix around him; this lethally trained special agent who woke up early on a Monday to absolutely destroy the kitchen in an attempt to make you breakfast, with a light pink apron draped around his neck and flour coating his forehead.

“I love you,” you said simply. You’d told him enough times but it still felt like an admission. You liked to remind him, liked to say it as often as you could because it was a choice to love him, a part of you that you were finally able to let the sunlight touch. You’d shout it to the world.

Bucky shook his head, laughing, as he leaned against the counter. “Love you, too, sweetheart.”

He smiled back at you, something genuine and loving unlike you’d know in years. The same smile that allowed you to trust him nearly two years ago, the smile that reminded you what it was like to feel butterflies in your stomach and to miss someone when they were gone. Wrinkles up by his eyes, dimples in his cheeks. A brightness of a man who gave everything just to give you a choice again, to let you decide your own fate, to free you from the chains of a man who would have rather seen you burn than love anyone but himself.

The man who saved you, who held your hand and danced with you on garden view balconies, who loved you enough to run through fire. The man who risked his career, his life, on his trust in you. The man who reminded you that you were more than you were told, who showed you how to smile again, who brought back your laugh and put joy into your heart.

The man who ushered you to through the door to your first day back at work, who encouraged you to find your place in the world again, who give you the space to reconnect with old friends, who held your hand gripped tightly in his own and willingly chose to follow where you led. He opened doors and waited for you on the other side. He gave you choices, a new life, a new start.

The man you adored. The man you loved.

Your Bucky.

Your James.

Your everything.

🖤🌹

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