#at least we have the mounted clown head right?

[strong-with-the-sarcasm]

Part 3 - If you could’ve seen

Dp x DC: Regent!Jazz, Vigilante!Jazz

Masterlist Part 2

“If you could’ve seen how I looked yesterday, a hopeless disaster, but I’m getting better at being faster.” -Never Look Back by The Nearly Deads

Jazz wasn't so proud to admit that she had many regrets about her life choices.

Taking the Crown was a fine line between terrifying and glorifying, with the many scars and callouses Jazz now bore from the hours of training (at Pandora's behest) a misgiving that was required for the sake of survival.

Hurting her little brother was the heaviest weight on her chest.

It hadn't been that Jazz meant to cause Danny pain from escaping Amity Park, but he'd already died there once from the portal and almost a second time when her parents the older Fentons captured Phantom in a thermos and strapped him down.

They had crossed a line, the point of no return, and Jazz was done trying to fix her broken family. The moment they cut into Danny while he screamed "I'm alive, I'm alive!" was the renouncement of their right to their own lives.

Jazz had enacted Vengeance for her little brother, the hero in death he shouldn't have had to become. For all the Unquiet Dead and Neverborn ended by the Fentons.

For her lost childhood. For her lost humanity.

Slash, slash, slash went the Regent's sword. Blood spattered the walls of the lab, mixed with the ecto already there from a fight for one's existence.

One slash, two, three Blood is on your hands already. 

Frostbite would later, admist the ice and snow of the Far Frozen, that as a Liminal Jazz had triggered a rage state due to both her emotions and her unintentional ecto-starvation.

It wasn't enough to absorb it from the environment anymore, not with the Crown and summoning her ecto-sword. She would have to consume raw ecto to replenish her levels and diminish the chances of another blackout rage.

(Frostbite and Danny would never know that Jazz was fully aware of her actions.)

(She just didn't care anymore, Danny was more important.)

Danny had healed over the few months they were in Gotham, his incision wound now a grotesque Y-shaped scar over his scrawny chest that would never fade. His ecto-levels were improving with constant exposure to a natural portal, corrupted as it was, and slowly he was gaining back his sense of self.

Jazz didn't talk much anymore, but Danny was all too happy to argue with her- about her ripping him away from his haunt, killing his parents, his friends, and going out as a vigilante almost every night.

(As she had guessed, Danny was relieved that the Joker was dead and not a ghost.)

(He'd never know that Joker had returned as a ghost, but the Regent crushed his core before he could even form words.)

(Both Sam and Danny approved of her trophy though.)

At the other end of Crime Alley, tucked away in a safe house, Jason Todd was dying.

Well, so he thought, as his heart ached in his chest and beat so fast it could almost rip itself from his rib cage.

(If he was a lesser man, he might’ve gone crying to Bruce for help, but not in this life.)

Jason had collapsed on his bed in full gear, sans helmet, as the pain began to wrack his body. Was he truly dying again?

(He wasn’t ready to. Not again.)

And to think his night started so well.

He’d woken up a few minutes before his alarm went off, the hazy dregs of sleep trying to lure him back in, back to the rather nice dream he’d been having.

(Feminine build in bloody armor, a teasing grin, soft lips against his own.)

He didn’t even have patrol that night, his one day off a week he could just relax as Jason, not Jay Peters or Red Hood- only for it to be ruined by the emergency alert on his phone announcing that his murderer had broken free again.

Fucking Joker.

Old familiar rage simmered low in Jason’s gut, but much to his surprise, his vision didn’t tint neon green. No haze of being on the verge of a blackout rage at the mere thought of his murderer.

Nothing.

(What was going on?)

It wasn’t as if the Pit Madness could just be gone, right?

Right?

(Jason Todd was no a fool, the Madness was still there.)

(Just… sedated. Like it didn’t need to boil to the surface anymore where it concerned his murderer.)

And for the first time in a very long while, Jason felt like himself again.

Until the agony began.

A/N:

{I swear I try writing something that’s not angst for once and this is what I get. Great. Well as long as someone likes it, right?}

{Oh and sliding in an AU for Jason too! Not Halfa!Jason, because I’m not a particular fan of how I would write it. But something more akin to what he was when he dug himself out of his grave pre-dip in corrupted Ectoplasm ala League of Assassins.}

#dp x dc au #dc x dp crossover #dpxdc #dp x dc #jazz fenton #I tried writing something more positive and this is the result #more angst for the pile #yay #at least we have the mounted clown head right? #and Jason POV! #Jason is a… trope.

[zweetpea]

Chapter 4 The Present TBRAHE

Turns out quite bad. Suguru Geto is quite bad. How do you know? Because the first thing he said to you once you two sat down for tea together is…

“Don’t worry I don’t have any of them lurking around.” He spoke those words so calmly. 

“What?” You replied. 

“Monkeys.” His smile held no animosity towards you. It was scary how serene this should have felt. His estate was Neolithic, but not necessarily in a bad way. Koi ponds and tatami mats instead of rose gardens and Victorian tea furniture. It left you with a comforting feeling; however, that was quickly negated by Suguru’s strange comments. “Honestly I don’t know how Satoru could choose one of them over his sorceress wife. Even if your marriage isn’t happy he should at least be with another one of our kind.”

“Woah, woah, woah. Slow down, what are you talking about?”

“Oh that’s right, you don’t know what I call them. I’m talking about Non Sorcerers. I don’t associate with them.” Suguru’s smile was relaxed, it… scared you for a reason you couldn’t quite pin. 

“Why not? What do you mean by monkeys.” 

“They’re not the same species as us.” 

“They’re human!” You try to reason. 

“So, what are we? Freaks? Monsters?”

“We’re sorcerers, but we’re still fundamentally human. We’re not much different if you think about it. We bleed the same. We fear like they do. We love the same way they do. Why do you hate them?” 

“Why do you love them?” 

“My best friend is a non sorcerer. She’s the most important person in my life. When my mother died she held my hand. When my father remarried she stayed up all night with me trying to figure out if she was a good match for him. And when both her and my little sister died in birth she dropped everything to stay by my side, every second I needed her.”

“That’s nice, but how many curses has she killed.” 

“…what…?”

“Sorcerers are the only ones who can kill curses.” 

“That’s not true. We put energy into objects, non sorcerers can use cursed weapons. That’s actually what I came here to talk about.” 

“The Zenin act. That’s why you came here?” He chuckled. “How many of them would be willing to die for us? Sorcerers have been fight on this war for months because of the advancing forces of Ryomen Sukuna and his general Mahito. What have the mere humans been doing?” 

“Farming! You know, to feed the army.” You say sarcastically.

“That’s something other sorcerers could do. The “Humans” aren’t particularly unique in skill sets. They have nothing a sorcerer couldn’t do.” 

“That doesn’t mean that they can’t be useful. The Zenin Act has merely stopped them from providing that they are just like us. Suguru, they aren’t different from us. Please, help me overturn it.” 

“Prove it. You said you have a monkey friend. Prove that your friend can be of some use. Even if she’s only good for being a clown.” 

“Fine, come over tomorrow at noon and I’ll show you how incredible non sorcerers can be. I hope you have the day you deserve, Suguru Geto.” You said as you mounted your horse. 

Once you arrived back at the palace you untack Pendragon and walk into your rose garden only to see carpenter and gardener running amuck in the place and your Shuttlecock of a husband overlooking them. 

“Satoru! What are you doing?” He looked over as you shouted at him, his familiar eye cover graced your sights. 

“Don’t worry. I’m not taking anything away. I… I’ve been feeling bad about what I did to you. I shouldn’t have brought Marissa here on our anniversary. I thought… maybe I could do something to make it up to you. So I asked Addison for some advice on a gift and she said that you love the little snake thing I gave you. Therefore I thought of combining three of your favorite things, your roses, quality time with Addison and the snake, and I decided to make a… pet play place thing, with a lounge for you ladies… I don’t know… it sounded better in my head.” 

“Oh… um… thank you. I honestly thought that you hated me and wouldn’t ever give me anything.” 

“I don’t hate you. I just can’t say that you’re the love of my life.” He looked away bashfully. “I do want this to work out. Admittedly you are a better ruler than me. I’d be lost without you so, I’ve wanted to do something for a while to thank you but I’ve been… busy.” 

“With her?” 

“…yeah, sorry.” 

“Can we get some more yellow roses? And maybe some more pink ones too?” 

“Oh uh, sure. I’ll order some.” 

“Thank you Satoru.” You smiled softly. This was definitely the first time you’ve ever smiled at your husband. 

He’d never tell you, and you’d never know but that one small gesture sent him spiraling. He wanted more, he needed to see that small smile more. Being spoiled as a child taught him that as long as he threw enough money at the problem he could have whatever he wanted. That smile reassured him of that philosophy. 

“I’ve got to go now. Suguru is coming tomorrow and Addie and I have to prepare.” What have you gotten yourself into. You’ve let tantalus eat from the tree and now he longs harder for what’s been snatched from him.

You explained what happened that afternoon to Addison and she looked worried. “Hey cheer up.” You wrap an arm around her. “You’re one of the most talented people I know. From cooking to ribbon dancing you can do it all.” 

“Well, you’ve always funded my endeavors. I have you to thank for all my skills.” She blushed. 

‘She’s so cute! I want to boop her nose! I wonder how she’d react!’ You thought excitedly at the image of her scrunched up face at the action then pouting at your teasing gesture. 

“(Y/n)? Ma’am? Are you listening?” She broke you out of your daydream and you ushered her out blushing madly at the thought she caught you in a vulnerable moment. 

The next day you found Addison rehearsing a routine and just decided to leave her alone. Marissa and Satoru were at breakfast and you took your food and left them alone, out of respect for Satoru. 

Your office felt quite lonely, until a small dragon snuck his way in through the window. He floats toward you and lands around yours neck. “Riko! My darling, how are you?” He licked your cheek. “You’ll keep me company surely?” He hopped off of you and rolled around on your desk. “Riko, I need to work. So please just sit and be good.” He hoped into you lap and settled down for a nap. His white scales and golden hair contrasted sharply against your long emerald dress. 

20 minutes later a knock on the door sounds. “My lady? May I come in please?” The voice wasn’t familiar to you. 

“Yes.” 

“Hello, please call me Chisa, that’s what all my friends call me.” He was 5’1, long black hair tied back in a ponytail, wisps of his bangs fell around his forehead, and dark red eyes pierced into your soul. He wore standard armor like the other guards. 

“Chisa: Small and precious. That’s certainly a fitting name.” He blushed at your compliment. “You wouldn’t happen to be the guard my father has arranged for me?” 

“Yes, sometime within the past week he sent you a letter yes? I’ve also been told that Duke Geto is here.” 

“To the garden!” You got up and ran out of the office with Riko and Chisa. 

The guest list went as follows: Satoru in a blue three piece suit, Marissa in a long lime green dress, Rachelle in standard maid outfit but with gold jewelry, and Suguru in a navy blue black kimono, with a gold and green sash around the middle. He looked more relaxed in those as opposed to the normal suits he wears at most of the events you’ve seen him at. 

The three of you entered, then Addison followed a few minutes later. She wore a white dress shirt and black pants. 

“Hello everyone.” She greeted. “I have a few things for you all.” She sets down a basket of cookies. “First some sweets I baked. Secondly, I have prepared a special show for Duke Geto.” 

A string quartet comes out and she started her dance. It starts out slow and quickly speeds up as she pulls out a ribbon and twirls it around. It’s like that ribbon was an extension of her own body. Eventually she whistled and Pendragon rides out towards her. She jumped on quickly and started trick riding. Finally she makes a flip and lands then bows as Chisa and I applauded. 

“Why does she get to ride that stupid horse?” Marissa whined 

“Because she’s my best friend, she has my permission to and always will.” You looked at her like she’s crazy. 

“Well, that was certainly quite the show. However, I’m not impressed.” Suguru looked away sadly. 

“Suguru, come on. I’m not even that close with the maid but I think she was incredible.” Satoru reasoned. 

“I don’t know. I think, if you really cared about your little monkey, you’d do just about anything for her.” 

“Don’t call her that.” You grit your teeth. 

“If you want me to sign the appeal of the Zenin Act, I want you to give your blessing to Satoru and his mistress. She makes him happy, so it doesn’t matter to me what she is.” 

“Fine. I’ll stop the animosity, go ahead and date her.” You responded. 

“(Y/n).” Addison called sympathetically. 

“I don’t know. I think that you should prove it.” Marissa smirked. “Give me your wedding ring.” 

“What? No, May May.” Satoru tried to stop her. 

“It’s fine Satoru. It’s just a chunk of metal.” You reason. You take it off and hand it to her. 

“Yay! Now we’ll match Ruru! I’m going to go get yours!” She hurried off. 

“I didn’t see that coming. Sorry.” Suguru apologized.

“Like I said, it’s a chunk of Metal. I’ll go to my office and get the papers. I’d like you both to sign them if that’s okay.” 

“Yeah.” Satoru nodded as you and your posse left. 

Riko ran off once you four were back inside. “You guys go bring the papers to the boys. I’ll go make sure he’s not causing trouble.”

You ran off in the direction of your dragon friend and once you found him you froze. Before the two of she was a blond woman in a long line green dress kissing a man who was not your husband. 

“Oh shit.” You whispered as you snuck away. 

#gojo x reader #gojo satoru #gojou satoru x reader #genshin impact x reader #jjk #jujutsu kaisen #jjk gojo #jujutsu kaisen satoru #satoru gojo #satoru x reader #satoru angst #gojo satoru x you #satoru x you #satoru x y/n #gojo x you #gojo satoru x reader #satoru gojo x reader #gojo x y/n #satoru gojo x you #gojo jjk #jujutsu gojo #satoru #satoru gojo x y/n #jjk x reader

[grailfinders]

Grailfinders #331: Taigong Wang

today on Grailfinders we’re making Jiang Ziya, a.k.a. Jiang Shang, a.k.a. Lu Shang, a.k.a. Master Shangfu, a.k.a. Taikoubou, a.k.a. Taigong Wang. almost as numerous as his aliases are his accomplishments, such as ousting the daji from China, defeating the shang dynasty, and even creating quite a few gods through the power of being a really cool dude.

thankfully his build is slightly less complicated than his biography- he’s a Beast Master Ranger for a shape-shifting mount, and a Drunken Master Monk to blend strategy with a god-slashing whip- and also that cool “step on their head” attack.

check out his build breakdown below the cut, or his character sheet over here!

next up: it’s like someone stuck Artoria and Siegfried in a conceptual blender

Ancestry & Background

Taigong Wang is a Human, giving him +1 Dexterity and Wisdom, as well as proficiency in Acrobatics. you also get a feat of your choice here, but we’ll talk about that after we go over his background.

we’ve done plenty of tacticians before, but most of those guys weren’t running around with secrets from ancient mage societies, so we’re calling Shangfu a Mage of High Sorcery here, in part because of his investiture and secret magics, and in part because we need this background for a later feat. this gives you proficiency in Arcana and History, as well as the Initiate of High Sorcery feat- we’re grabbing the Lunitari version of the feat for Feather Fall and Longstrider- yes you’re a monk and that makes these spells mostly useless, but you don’t start as one, and multiclassing makes your speed and falling a little weaker than a full monk. you also get the True Strike cantrip to be all tactical and gain advantage on your next melee attack, but after six seconds of thinking you’ll realize the real tactical move was just to attack twice.

that being said it’s called the investiture of the gods for a reason, so we need to get a little godly. coming back around to your human feat, you’re also a Scion of the Outer Planes, specifically the good ones. this gives you resistance to radiant damage (making you an even better pick to fight gods), and you can cast Sacred Flame at will. I don’t think fire is part of your kit, but you’re practically a caster anyway, it’s fine.

Ability Scores

your Wisdom needs to be number 1, that’s how you know clever tactics like “don’t fuck up your government” and “don’t hire people who are bad at their job for your army”. I know it’s easy to clown on that now, but somebody had to figure it out the first time, right? second is Intelligence- if we didn’t need monk stuff and a horse you’d probably be a wizard, but you’re still smart regardless. your Dexterity is also pretty high because you don’t wear armor and use a whip. both of those make me question the “genius tactician” thing a bit, but they clearly work for you. this does mean your Constitution isn’t particularly high, but you don’t need HP if you don’t get hit. your Strength is neutral since we just don’t need it for the build, and we’re dumping Charisma. you’re so untrustworthy Fou gets merlin vibes from you. yikes.

Class Levels

1. Ranger 1: sadly, we need ranger levels first and foremost both to get your whip proficiency and so your background makes sense, but on the plus side at least you can have celestials as your Favored Enemy, giving you advantage to track them down and recall information about them. you put a lot of gods in heaven to begin with, it would be awkward if you forgot their names after all that.

you’re also a Deft Explorer, but before I go into that- you’re proficient with Strength and Dexterity saves, as well as Athletics, Perception, and Insight. the reason I bring this up is because the first part of deft explorer makes you Canny in one skill, such as Insight, doubling your proficiency bonus with it.

2. Ranger 2: second level rangers get a fighting style, and obviously we’re grabbing Duelist for a +2 bonus to one-handed attacks. whips are bad, but now it’s better. slightly.

also, you learn Spells that you cast using your wisdom, like Ensnaring Strike for a sick whip trick, forcing the next person you whip to make a strength save or become restrained for up to a minute. while trapped, they also take damage from the whip digging into them! if you’re worried about wasting damage on a long-term spell like that, you can instead use Hunter’s Mark, adding damage to your whip for up to an hour, plus you have advantage to track the target down if they flee. you also get a chance to move the spell over to another target after the current one dies, so it’s pretty economical!

3. Monk 1: okay, we’ve got the basics of whipping down, let’s get the rest of your fighting style. as a monk you gain Unarmored Defense, adding your wisdom score to your AC as long as you’re not wearing armor or a shield. I don’t care how sick the drip is, it’s not armor.

you also learn some Martial Arts, so now your whole body is a deadly weapon. you can use your dexterity instead of strength to attack with monk weapons or your fists, and if you use your action to attack with the aforementioned weapons you can make an unarmed strike as a bonus action. on top of that, your monk weapons and fists also do a minimum of a d4 of damage, and that amount will only go up as you level up. your whip isn’t a monk weapon yet, but give it a second- besides, it doesn’t gain much from martial arts at the moment anyway.

4. Monk 2: now that the second is up, second level monks can make their whip a Dedicated Weapon, so you can call it a monk weapon all you want after an hour of prep work. you also get Unarmored Movement, so you’re faster than everyone, and your Ki makes you even faster by letting you dash as a bonus action by spending some. you can also spend it to attack twice, dodge, or disengage as a bonus action, and your ki pool recharges every short rest.

5. Monk 3: at third level, this game finally becomes a party as you become a Drunken Master- you don’t actually have to be drunk for this, but you do have to act like it. that’s why you have proficiency with Performance and brewer’s supplies so you can pick for yourself.

that being said, beer doesn’t win every fight, so you get actual features too- your Drunken Technique means that every time you use a flurry of blows (the two attacks as a bonus action from last level) you also disengage, and your movement speed increases by 10’ to boot. maneuvering is always a big part of tactics, so anything that makes it easier for you to get where you want to go is just good strategy.

you can also Deflect Missiles now, reducing damage from incoming archers and even throwing the arrow back if you nullify the damage and spend ki.

6. Monk 4: fourth level monks get their first Ability Score Increase, so increase that Dexterity for better dodging and more accurate attacks. you can also Slow Fall now for reduced fall damage, so fighting Nikitich isn’t quite as bad an idea as before.

7. Monk 5: fifth level is huge for monks, if you’re the kind of person to like hitting things. your martial arts improve to deal d6s, you get an Extra Attack each action, and you can turn any attack into a Stunning Strike- force a constitution save on someone, or they get stunned for a round, giving advantage to everyone trying to hit them and keeping them from retaliating. “don’t get hit” is also pretty sage advice. of course, all this still requires you to hit someone- thankfully you can use Focused Aim by spending ki to add to your attack rolls. it’s a huge ki sink, but sometimes defeating an enemy now is more important than saving materials for later. I know, strategy, in the strategist build, wild right?

8. Monk 6: sixth level monks get Ki-Empowered Strikes, so now your unarmed attacks are magical and can overcome resistances to bludgeoning damage. it’s a shame this doesn’t apply to your whip as well, but I feel like any kind of god-chastising whip is more of a quest item than something you should just have. don’t worry though, by the end of this build your whip will be strong enough to chastise a lot of things, even if it isn’t a legendary weapon.

that being said, your Tipsy Sway is a pretty cool consolation prize- you can leap to your feet from prone for just 5’ of movement, and you can spend a ki point to redirect attacks that miss you into hitting another creature. I’m pretty sure that’s more Sun Tzu than Taigong, but the smartest people know when someone else had a good idea.

9. Monk 7: seventh level monks get Evasion, improving the damage reduction from dexterity saves. now you’re practically immune to fireballs, so fighting Nikitich is almost starting to look like a good idea!

you also have a Stillness of the Mind that lets you shut down any effects that are charming or frightening you. you don’t have a choleric temper, so enemies will not be irritating you much. wait, no, that’s still Sun Tzu, sorry.

10. Monk 8: I think we’re about at the point where you hit your third ascension, but before then we’re getting another ASI and making you an Adept of the Red Robes. first, this gives you access to a second level spell that you can cast for free once a day. for this build we’re grabbing Dragon’s Breath for your mount later, but if you want to help Guda and company when you first meet up you could grab Levitate instead. right now you can only cast it via this feat, but you can use second level spell slots to cast it like a normal spell once we get those.

thankfully, that’s not the only thing this feat does. you can also restore magical balance whenever you make an attack or check, turning your roll into a roll of ten, up to proficiency times per day. your strategy might not always work, but at least it will never fail.

11. Ranger 3: I think we’re doing good on the whip, but we’re not quite godly enough yet. heading back to ranger at least lets you hunt them down easier with Primeval Awareness- you can spend a spell slot to detect celestials within a mile of you, as well as various other kinds of extraplanar monsters. that means it should work pretty well against Koyanskaya too- or at least it would if she hadn’t surrounded herself with all other sorts of monsters.

you’re also a Beast Master now, which means you can summon a shape-shifting Primal Companion to pal around with. none of them can technically be ridden, but tbf you don’t look super comfortable on that tapir anyway. you and your companion both move on your turn, but the only way to make your animal do anything but dodge requires you to spend your bonus action telling it what to do. or for you to get knocked out. nobody said good strategies are easy to pull off.

you can spend spell slots to resummon a dead companion, or wait until you finish a long rest to summon one for free.

on top of that, you get another spell- since we’re not getting true flight, I hope grabbing Zephyr Strike will make up for that somewhat. for a minute you get free disengaging, and you can end the spell early to get advantage on a weapon attack and deal extra damage if it hits. on top of that, your walking speed increases by 30’ that round, letting you blast yourself a truly silly amount of distance.

12. Ranger 4: fourth level rangers get another ASI, and it’s finally time for you to become a Righteous Heritor. that increases your Dexterity score by one, and you can protect your allies by spending your reaction to reduce any incoming damage for them, up to proficiency times a day.

I’m not actually expecting anyone playing this build to have to come up with clever strategies all the time; having a couple “whoops we fucked up” buttons that undo damage is just as good.

13. Ranger 5: fifth level would be a dead level for you, but thankfully rangers get second level spells! it’s still not flying, but Gust of Wind can knock people around with air, so it’s the closest we’re getting. (plus if you gust someone off a cliff they’re technically flying… downward… for a short period of time…)

14. Ranger 6: sixth level rangers get another favored enemy, and if Daji isn’t a celestial she’s probably an Aberration. you don’t get any new additions to the feature, but it works on twice as many monsters. what is new this time around is your new Deft Explorer feature, Roving. you get a small boost in movement speed, and you have a climbing and swimming speed now. have you seen Chinese mountains? honestly it would probably be easier to just run straight up them.

15. Monk 9: ninth level monks can run straight up them thanks to your Unarmored Movement Improvement- as long as your turn ends on solid, flat ground, you can run over water or up walls. you might think this makes the last level of ranger useless, but having a climbing speed should make it easier to latch onto the cliff face in-between turns so you don’t just fall all the way back down. clever thinking like that’s why you’re a strategist.

16. Monk 10: tenth level monks have a Purity of Body that makes you immune to disease or poison. as far as I’m aware, Taigong Wang never got sick or poisoned in the Investiture of the Gods, and that book’s 100 chapters long. this is mostly because I never read the thing, but still.

17. Monk 11: eleventh level monks get d8s for their martial arts, but more importantly you have a Drunkard’s Luck- or possibly a drunkard’s strategy. whenever you’d have to make an attack, save, or check at disadvantage, you can spend two ki points to cancel it. this also works on rolls where your advantage and disadvantage cancel each other out, which is extra fun. combine this with your magical balance, and now your plans should never fail.

18. Monk 12: we had to spend so many ASIs on feats that one of our stats is still odd, so this last one will be no different. the Slasher feat will even out your Dexterity, but it also reduces a targets speed when they take slashing damage from your whip, and critical hits force disadvantage on that creatures attack rolls for a turn. crits are luck-based, but luck is just strategy you’re too humble to claim ownership of.

19. Monk 13: our penultimate level gives you a Tongue of the Sun and Moon, letting you speak and understand all languages. if you get a couple hundred gods into heaven, you can skip your duolingo practice, those are the rules.

20. Monk 14: the real reason we stuck with monk for so long, our final level gives you a Diamond Soul, granting you proficiency on all saving throws, and even if you fail one, you can spend a ki point to reroll it. having to maintain concentration on hunter’s mark is the worst part of being a ranger, and now that shackle is lifted. go forth, and slap things with slightly more damage than usual.

Pros & Cons

Pros:

Hunter’s Mark is always a fantastic spell to have on a monk due to how many attacks you get each turn. monks already do decent damage, and when you have your mark up you can put some serious pain on people. being able to almost constantly have the thing active since you’ll never drop concentration is also a nice bonus of the build.

speaking of, you almost never fail at anything. you can give yourself advantage, ignore disadvantage, and even fudge your roll a couple times a day. some call it luck, but if it came from a build you chose to use, that’s strategy. and Taigong Wang is a damn good strategist.

whip monks are also great, it’s a shame the last one we built was like, Cursed Arm. you’re already ridiculously fast, and by using a reach weapon you can attack enemies and bolt without needing to disengage, then run out of their reach so they can’t even attempt to retaliate. it’s not quite flight, but it’s up there in terms of good strategy.

Cons:

you can do a lot, but most of that a lot lands in your bonus action, forcing you to choose between most monk abilities. ranger spells, or actually using your beast. variety tends to be a better build goal than just doing one thing well, but it will mean you have to actually think about what you want to do and when.

we also grab a lot of feats, so your overall stat total is lower than most people’s. it’s not a huge issue, but it does mean you’re squishier than I’d like and your spells aren’t powerful.

Beast Master. just. beast master. literally any other ranger subclass would have been a more useful pick, but we needed a shapeshifting buddy. you can’t even ride on him- at least, not comfortably. your tapir will almost certainly die in one round if you take it into a fight, and even trying to use it in combat blocks you from using a ton of your monk abilities.

#fgo #fate grand order #D&D 5e #DND #Taigong Wang

[dishtothedeath]

head start | bonbon 3.1 | re: jun'ya | attn: party hat discourse

There’s only so many things that one can say when confronted with the glassy eyed stare of a beheaded friend. Just this morning, a few feet apart from one another, Bonbon and Emil woke up, went through their respective morning rituals, got dressed, and made way to the rest of their day— the same person he’d given the miniature plushie of themselves a day or so ago, the same person who told Bonbon a secret too unfortunate to repeat after the end of the first trial, meek but strong, cherry sweet Emil.

Hard to think of a worse way to go out than bone to the blade, blade off the head. Hard to think of anything Emil had done to deserve being the target of such a long winded plot. Hard to think of returning to their room while Bonbon’s here and they are not.

Hardest of all to see how the killer had set it up. No question about it, cake, party hat, the, the surprise message, the leading trail like a marvelous museum of horrors on display, might as well have slapped a card on the front that read HAPPY BIRTHDAY! and point over at Bonbon. It had evolved from a cruelty abject to a cruelty of which someone wanted him to receive the blame, and from the first sight of that lobbed off head, Bonbon’s stomach dropped so far he thought he’d been skewered on the same logic thread.

Only one thing anybody can do. Follow the clues, get the conclusion, bring justice to Emil, another two dead. This is the way of things, and whether or not the last case shook the moorings of his convictions, this was different. A full blown murder plot with no mistakes, one that churns his gut. Sympathy dries up. The game only has a few rules by which it is played. House always wins, and today's just another terrible murder-y game,

Jun’ya starts, thank God for him, and Bonbon jumps in where the rhythm feels appropriate.

“This was a plain evil, no way about it,” he says. “Jun'ya's right. To, go in while someone’s strugglin’, you’d have’ta have some kinda experience with it. Strong enough’ta keep ‘em pinned down while they. Hack at it, Lord above. Same kinda stuff was on th'lower half of the cut too, while we're on that."

He has to take a moment to compose himself. Collect his breath, pick at his cuticles.

“The head was taken over t'the bakery, but there wasn’t anythin’ too bloody ‘bout the cake itself even though, the, that. So it makes me think we got somebody who really knows how’ta handle stuff like blood movin', which’s. Well, it’s scary, t’say the least. Time of death was 3:45 PM, a ‘lil less than an hour 'fore the time of findin’.”

He wants to keep it civil, but, the mounting pressure, knowing quite a handful of people here wouldn’t be sad to see this clown gone, knowing what the immediacy of the scene shows? How could he not address it, stand up for himself?

“Look, jus', I'm sorry, but. I know it, we all know it, the cake an’ party hat were sick, an’ it makes you think’a clown, sure, but hear me good an’ clear now— I don’t got any party hat like that. All my props fer occasions are colored in my purples an’ yellows, not in that kinda red. That whole store’s got plenty’a stuff they coulda pulled from off the shelf. What I’m sayin’ is, it’s not mine, an’. Well, if Emil was still with us, they could tell ya, but, plenty’a folks’ve been in my room. They can vouch fer that.”

There, a little bit of his piece for people to chew. Distrust is hot in his lungs, but he keeps controlled, not at the start of all this, he’s already been made enough of an embarrassment these last few days.

#submission #ch3 #trial #bonbon

[randomnameless]

I was wondering, don't you feel it's stupid how Fleche wants revenge against Dimitri for Randolph's death when it was Billy who killed the guy?

Well...

I guess this played in the "even evil people have loved ones" trope, but I thought it was tactless.

First of all, as you pointed out, Billy is the one who kills Randolph. Yes, Dimitri said mean and cruel things to him, but Billy killed Randolph.

Second... If this scene was supposed to show the pointlessness of war, then why take Randolph out of anyone?

The guy was a general, from a subjugation force, trying to "retake" what he previously stole in a mere battle to show Edel how awesome he was :

A wonderful chance to earn some recognition! I'll be the one to take down the monastery!

During the first GM battle, guy was happily going to "take down" Fodlan's biggest orphanage/asylum not because teh manifesto said so - not because he really really believed ladies with scales ought to be turned in nice looking boots, but because he wanted some "recognition".

At least when Caspar is Leeroy Jenkins'ing it's because he has a sense of "JUSTICE" and rushes to kill Emile, the guy who kidnapped young girls at night, which ultimately led to their deaths (and no, I don't consider a clown using her victim's identity and corpse to be a good thing).

Randolph? Seems to go Leeroy Jenkins for personal "GLORY", so he isn't even tied to the Dorias brand of "Honour and Glory". And why?

My mother married into House Bergliez after I was born, so my position within the family is rather lowly...

But I'm determined to make something of myself in this battle to bring glory to my part of the family, for the sake of my mother and sister!

What kind of convoluted reasoning is this? Randolph fights "FOR GLORY" because muh-ritocracy means he has to show how much muhrit he has, so his solution is to... attack Fodlan's orphanage, to bring "GLORY" to his family - like there is no other way to climb the ladder? Or are we supposed to believe muhritocracy only works when one has to be fielded as a soldier/general ?

During the Post TS fight?

Randolph mounts an attack to "recover" Garreg Mach from... the Knights of Seiros, who returned home. It paints a bleak picture, like imagine going back home, and some douche wants to expel you using weapons, after having successfully done so for the first time.

The Knights of Seiros are a powerful enemy, but we have more soldiers. We'll take them down all at once!

"Kill them all, I won't let them go home"

Then, GM's defenders use a tactic with fire, to defend said home.

Argh, a fire attack... The damage is too great. We can't fight anymore!

All units, retreat! I'll take on our pursuers! Carry away the injured soldiers!

Randolph pulls, apparently, a Bergliez Sr, and stays behind to buy time, to let people evacuate - why, almost like a certain lady with scales who is kept in a dungeon and used to live here before the Empire took her away

But then everything goes to the toilet :

A total loss... But we can't just return home like this...

Watch out, Professor! They're coming for you!

Muh-ritocracy or not, Randolph thinks returning home without having managed to retake GM, but having prevented more casualties, won't do.

So instead of trying to buy time, like before, he goes for Billy's head "FOR GLORY".

And fails.

Battle time with Randolph and we see how... out of touch he is, almost like a certain someone :

A one-eyed demon... So, it's you. You're the one who's been going around killing the Imperial troops!

You bastard! Life is worthless to you, isn't it?!

"uwu the evil demon is killing our subjugation troops in Faerghus they just wanted to conquer and capture randoms to give them to Cornelia or send them to Arundel's factory how evil he is he murders women :( "

So it's true. You don't value human life at all. Isn't that right, Immaculate One?

"I might have started the war and complain every Sunday about blood pooling at my foot, and I promise I will deal with Uncle later but Waldo and Baldi are still useful, but you don't value human life at all!"

When Dimitri's talking to him, and makes several points, the thing is still, something the game really really wants to omit - Randolph is an Imperial General. He is on the "people who instigated" the war's side. Yes, Dimitri killed imperial soldiers, but he did so to protect his homeland (and supposedly himself) from being invaded.

It's the same thing with the owner of a house shooting a burglar, yes he killed someone and he has to answer for this, but are we really comparing the house owner, who defended his home/himself - to the burglar who came with a knife and asked him to politely get the fuck away to let him pillage everything and occupy his home and if he didn't want to then he'd better die?

Randolph is also, unknowingly (since he doesn't know he is talking to Dimitri) pushing all of the former Prince's buttons :

I have family waiting for me... Please. I can't die here...

Dimitri had an uncle who died recently, by the Empire's acolytes. Hell, his father, and mother (from what he knows) were killed for the Emperor's sake.

As though you could understand...such a thing as love... You heartless monster!

He does understand, better than anyone else actually. It's not like his totally friendly partner Dedue gave his life to save him, again, from the Empire. Or how his model Glenn still haunts him, because Dimitri loves him too much and cannot cope with his passing. Nope :)

This...this is war. I did what I had to for the Empire...for the people...for my family!

Attacking Garreg Mach twice? Wanting to get rid of the Knights of Seiros who wanted to return home, how is this supposed to be for the Empire, "teh people" or his family??

"I wanted to slaughter orphans so the Supreme Leader would see how awesome I am and give me and my family scrapes to return to GLORY"

And of course, the courageous and glorious excuse of "this is war". No Jan, you can't start the war and suddenly murder everyone justifying your actions by external circumstances you created. It doesn't work this way.

Dimitri doesn't go "If this war then so be it" but Eirika would, and Eirika is a peace loving Lord who tries to see the Best in people, but faced with Novala-Randolph's logic, she's pretty quick to call BS.

Is Fleche calling Dimitri a monster justified by what he did to his brother?

Dimitri killed people and thinks he is a monster, so to him, she is, but to us?

We know he didn't kill Randolph, and we know Randolph was one of those "monsters" who attacked people for "GLORY", trying to beg for his life pretending "tis is war" - when he is an Imperial General and part of a subjugation force.

Sorry for Fleche, but, in the end, it seems she never realised her own Brother was the monster she thought Dimitri was.

****

Bonus Gilbert's sass for no reason

So many units, and you still can't defeat us... The Empire's generals are not as formidable as I'd heard.

The old man is savage

#anon #replies #FE16 #like wow i don't have any good things to say about randolph #at least Amalda had the courage to confess in her death quote how she has hands covered with blood #even if she didn't fight for GLORY but truly believed Oldvis's ideals #Eirikia would have beheaded Randolph Novala style #you can't use the excuse of this is war i do what i want even eating babies and then complain your baby can't be eaten #especially if you are the ones who started this effing war! #blogging as a mooner #if dimitri killed a random and said random sis tried to kill him it'd have more impact #but not the general who wanted GLORY i mean come on #since when killing Kempf is supposed to make us feel like Leif is a bad guy? #sorry anon this turned in a randolph sucks post

[tbslovely]

lost in vacations

in which Harry’s son gets lost in the hotel they are staying and you found him. well, sort of.

categories: dad!harry soft!harry

pairing: harry styles x you

warnings: none! <3

word count: 1.5k

a/n: this is my first time ever publishing something in here, i’m kinda nervous lol. massive thanks to @tbslenthusiast for hosting this!! i love dadrry so much 

☀️🌱🍭🌈🍹

While the sunbeams danced through the environment and laid calmly loaded kisses and serenity to Harry's bare skin, he with his fingers strongly affirming an oval glass with mango juice and his other hand holding a lollipop, calm was the least he felt because the despair drowned him in a pool with a depth of three or four meters.

Oh, just like the one that's in front of him.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, he repeated the same word in his head like a mantra, his eyes covered with his black glasses scanned the whole place, from the pool with people bathing and children floating in their Sponge Bob floats, women in their bikinis looking more comfortable than ever sunbathing or just resting in their towels, stalls with tables and chairs where there were people eating or drinking a cold, cold, cold beer. Until the white ceramic ended and the grass began along with the high palm trees that seemed to reach the sky (or if he looks a few degrees further to the right now Harry would be watching the big windows to enter the hotel again).

He could feel his heart hammering against his chest with frenzy; a caged animal that simply wants to escape. If Harry were an animated character, perhaps one would see the silhouette of the beating protruding his chest.

"Fucking hell. Fucking shit. Fucking me. Fucking—" he cut off himself, sighing frustratedly because his son was lost and he didn't know what to do and shit, his fingers hurt with the coldness of the glass, but that now didn't mattered because his son was fucking lost. "Where are you, Theo?"

Harry was hurting. His chest was burning like his eyes, it seemed that someone was rubbing them with sandpaper and a knot that didn't allow him to breathe normally had tightened strongly in his throat.

Where. The. Fuck. Is. His. Son.

Closing his eyes and taking a long sigh in the hope of calming the waters and relaxing his shoulders, he left to ask each person if they had seen his son, showing a photo of him on his cell phone and concentrating on three things at the same time: asking, looking for a curly head and maneuvering to hold the cold, cold—did I said cold? Well, the glass along with the lollipop which was intended for his son, who disappeared while Harry paid for the candy and perhaps, only perhaps he had been talking to the person selling them a little longer than usual.

And then, he saw him.

The pounds on his shoulders had fallen to the floor and the balloon inside his chest that did not do anything but to inflate finally burst and expelled all the air. Harry, obviously, was already on his way to where his son was, his gaze on him and discussing whether to scold at him or hug him or just apologize him or simply do as if nothing happened (although clearly the latest is not a close choice). He was so worried about his son that he didn't even realize you sitting next to him.

"Theodore Styles where the f— where were you? You can't disappear like that and you know it! I almost freaking died boy!"

Theo released the straw from his little, pink lips which had separated in agape. One could realize the relationship between them two right sway: same green eyes as leaves of a tree in spring and hair with the roots that are born of them.

"Dad! It was an emergency...look! Look! I found Mum!" The little answered and Harry's expression fell from Mount Everest, now just realising the presence of you that looked nostalgically at his son.

When Harry looked at you, his heart could not avoid breaking the stitches of a scar that still seemed to bleed. The cut that after all, will always bleed and there is nothing he can do about it.

"Um, I, er, uh... I'm sorry, I—"

"It's alright. He only came up and told me that he had found me and that she had come down from 'heaven.'" You laughed remembering the moment from minutes ago, although the smile that adorned your lips gradually was diminishing because what Theo had told you was actually really sad.

Harry tried to smile back, but he was only watching at his son who was looking at you with fulgent stars in his irises, so he ended up looking at you and now his heart was bleeding because, fuck, you with Zahra were like two drops of water.

"Is everything alright?" You asked a little stranged out given to the way they both looked at you, and have come to scare you a little because Harry had pulled his glasses out and it seemed that two—four precious emerald gems looked at you.

"Yeah, yeah. Uh, thank you for, for staying with him. How can I amend this to you, please?"

"Nonsense! It was nothing, really. Theodore.. he's a lovely boy!"

Harry scratched his head somewhat shy while the tattoo in his stomach seemed to have come alive; his belly tickled. "Thanks," he now addressed his son, "Bubs, you can't just leave like that, I truly almost started crying out there, did you wanted papa to be the clown of the vacations among all this people?" He laughed, his dimple graveling at the same time that he left the things he held on the brown table board and gave a strong hug to Theo, giving him several tenderness kisses in the crown of his head. "Don't do that again, you hear me bud? Never leave my side, let alone here, you understand?"

Theodore pouted, "B-but, but I found the angel of Mum!—"

Harry sighed, passing his fingers through his hair and taking a quick look at you. "Theo...we've already talked about this. Mum is up there, somewhere, floating up, up, up in the sky, like, like—"

"—Like stardust," you interrupted when you noticed how the cheeks of the oldest turned to a soft, red color and as he had started to blink more often. "I'm sure, uh, Zahra? That was her name you said?" Theodore nodded. You smiled, "I'm sure she was a wonderful human being, made of the most purest and precious star out there in space. The things you got to tell me about her were beautiful, Theo, so in the night, go to your window and look up to the sky, okay? Find the brightest star, the one that flickers, the one that makes you feel something in that big heart of yours and you'll know it's her."

The emotions you felt and Harry felt and Theodore felt exceeded the possible human levels of emotions. You wanted to cry, Theodore smiled from ear to ear making his eyes shrink, and Harry already had a river of tears swimming in his eyes, but never allowing them to become waterfalls.

Harry spoke, "Yep. Exactly. She's out there looking out for you, and I know—we both know that if you leave again like that she would not be happy, would she, bubs?"

"Uh-uh."

"Right. So don't do it again. And, thank you so much...?"

"Y/N."

"Y/N," Harry tastes your name on his palate, liking the flavor more than expected. "Thank you. Well, we have to go. Again, thank you so much, really, for everything, staying with him and your - your words. There's a lot of people in here so if he got lost than I wouldn't have known what to do. So thank you, Y/N. I, um, I'll guess I see you around, maybe?"

You smiled, the food shortage since you didn't eat breakfast had suddenly become delicious because you have a tummy full of butterflies. "No problem, uh..."

"Harry."

"Harry. You're so very welcome. Hey, Theo, don't leave your daddy's sight like that, okey? And remember what I told you about the night."

"Oki! Thanks for the juice, Y/N!" Theodore answered you by giving you a smile made by the sweetest honey to ever exist, sliding from his seat and throwing into his mouth the lollipop that his father bought him, intertwining his little fingers with Harry's long ones while the two of them were getting farther away from you, Harry from time to time turning his head to look at you one last time; to have your memory marked on his brain.

"She's like a copy of mum, dad. I-I thought it was her angel, that they sent her back!"

"Yeah..." Harry sighed, "she really does look like her."

Already at night, when the birds no longer chirped and the moon showed its nakedness, your silhouette had tattooed under Harry's eyelids, who wanted to be able to see you once again, but something that seemed not possible since tomorrow the two will leave the hotel in Punta Cana. A pessimist one could call him, but he had not seen you only one day of all twenty (or twenty-five) days they have been here, so finding you again tomorrow was a situation similar to the one to win the lottery: one in a million of possibilities.

Meanwhile, Theodore looked out the window and smiled at her mother, the brightest star of them all was dancing with the moon just like the treetops danced with the wind, and for a few moments, closing his eyes, he imagined that you were really his mum and not someone who was just as beautiful as she was.

#harry styles #dad!harry #harry styles fanfiction #dadathon #harry styles fanfic #harry!reader

[hankwritten]

I am Full to the Brim with All the Bullets I've Bit

Demoman/Soldier, 2k

Request for someonehasto, Hooligan

Soldier slapped two things into the palm of the sleeping Demoman, startling him awake. “Happy anniversary,” he said informatively.

“Anniversary?” Demo asked, a little woozily. “But er…wasn’t our anniversary months ago?”

“Not the anniversary of when we started dating.”

Blearily, and still a bit hungover, Demo said, “then…anniversary of when we met? That’s not until…”

The sentence trailed off, but Soldier helpfully concluded, “June seventeenth! But that is not the anniversary I am referring to either.”

“Then what are you talking about lad?” Demo pressed, a little curtly.

“It is the anniversary of the day we said we loved each other.”

“…Oh. I er…oh.” Demo rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t…remember that.”

“That is not surprising! That night you were incredibly drunk!”

“…Oh.”

“So that is why it is our anniversary, and now that means you can look at your gift.”

Demo, who still hadn't looked at his hand, glanced at the pair of tickets. “Sploocher Brewing Company?” he blinked. “Oh, a brewery tour.”

“You’ve been saying you want to go to Sploocher for a while now.”

“I did, but I didn’t think you were listening. Ach, wait I’m sorry, that came out wrong. This is actually a really nice gift, thank you Jane.”

Soldier smiled widely, proud for getting it right this year. “I am glad it meets your standards!”

“More than,” Demo agreed. “You can probably guess, but I didn’t get anything for you…”

“That is not a problem! I will consider this a fun activity we can do together.”

“Fantastic. When is this ‘fun activity’ running anyway?”

“April twenty-eighth.”

“…Today’s the twenty eighth.”

“Yes!” Soldier declared cheerfully. “The tour will commence in approximately forty-eight minutes and twelve seconds! That is why I woke you up.”

“Bloody hell,” Demo panicked, and ran upstairs to change out of his whiskey-stained robe.

Soldier waited a beat before calling up after him, “I will go start the car.”

#

The brewery was far too noisy for Soldier’s liking. The dawdling minutes before the tour started (he and Demo had arrived exactly on time, but the group beforehand was running late so all that rushing was for naught in the end) were spent at the bar, drinking the complimentary soda out of a curly straw. The beer wasn’t complimentary, but they’d each received a wristband allowing them four free drinks each, and Soldier had been quick to sneak Demo his share of the tabs. The Demoman was back on his way to his usual level of drunk, and Soldier watched him with a slight smile.

“Here lad,” Demo said, scooting two unlabeled cups he’d poured a bit of beer into. “Blind taste test.”

Soldier set aside his soda. He lifted the first, smacking away the aftertaste, then tried second. “You’re messing with me, DeGroot. That’s the exact same beer.”

“Not a bit, Doe.” Demo slid forward the two bottles he’d been shielding from view. “Red Shed and Blu Streak, untampered condition.”

Soldier shook his head. “Really is different clowns, same circus, huh?”

“Does that make us the clowns?”

“Considering the stupid song and dance we put on for all those years, I’d say so.”

“Excuse me,” a meek voice called over the chattering tour groups, if lacking in volume then making up for it in direction. “Presentation will be starting soon. Please line up near the double doors.”

“That’s our cue,” Demo prompted, setting his empty tankard on the bar. He’d used every one of their combined wristband-tabs, and hadn’t wasted a single drop. “Let’s go see how this place shakes, aye?”

Unfortunately, before they were even allowed in the brewery itself, there was a fifteen-minute introduction on the Sploocher company history.

“Randy Sploocher developed a love of German beer while stationed in Ansburg, which he brought here to New Mexico after graduating from uh. From…” The tour guide shuffled his note cards. “…I don’t actually remember where he graduated from, ha ha.”

“Jesus this lad’s green,” Demo mumbled to Soldier.

“Shhh!” Soldier hissed. “I am learning about Randy Sploocher.”

He could hear Demo sigh.

By the time they’d actually got to the processing floor, the nervous young tour guide had dropped his cards no less than three separate times, and wound up asking the audience, “does anyone know the four ingredients to beer?” twice.

“Water, yeast, hops, and malt,” Demo muttered under his breath. He leaned closer to Soldier’s shoulder. “Oi. Want to ditch the dodo chain?”

Soldier, having barely heard the question, said, “I like malt. It’s one of the ingredients in a chocolate malt!”

“…Along with chocolate?”

“Yes! And that!”

Demo grumbled something, but Soldier was paying attention to the speech again.

“Here we have our brewers,” the guide was explaining. “Most modern breweries use electric heaters since they’re more reliable, but here at Sploocher Company we do the things the old fashion way, open flame only for that signature Sploocher taste.”

“If it’s not reliable, does that mean you’re always making bad batches?” a voice came from the crowd.

The nervousness, which had only lessoned out of sight a moment ago, came back with a vengeance. “Uh, well, yes. We have our certified taste tester verify every batch, and if doesn’t meet the Sploocher standard we dump the whole thing.”

Smiling proudly, the tour guide seemed to be under the impression that this was a satisfactory answer until a booming voice confronted him with, “WHAT.”

Soldier, less than a foot away from the shout, jumped just as much as anyone.

“You’re telling you just throw out the entire brew of beer?” Demo said in mounting horror. He swaggered a little as he took a step forward. “There must be over ten thousand gallons in one of those!”

It was a pretty large tank, two-stories stretching into the open floor plan, sleek and white except for the Sploocher logo (a multicolored parrot driving a tractor) pasted across the surface. Around them, the hum of beer brewing thrummed the air, rising to the many-windowed upper areas. While technically a microbrewery, it was still quite impressive, at least to the Soldier who’s experience with beer came almost exclusively from what Demo tried to forcefully impart on him.

“Oh actually it’s-” The young man shuffled through his notes. “…I’m not sure actually. But if it isn’t that good ‘ole Sploocher taste then we don’t put our label on it, haha.”

The Demoman was appalled. “Tasting terrible is no reason to get rid of perfectly good alcohol. What do you do with it?”

“Well, the Teufort Waste Processing Facility gives us exclusive dumping rights in the Well-”

“Lord almighty,” Demo moaned, putting a hand to his forehead. “This…this is bloody terrible. This might be the worst thing I’ve ever heard.”

He wobbled a little, and Soldier had to grab his arm to keep him upright. Around them, several of the other tour attendees whispered, and Soldier wondered if maybe they were right about Demo hitting the pre-entertainment refreshments a little hard.

Maybe in an attempt to head off further discussion, the guide said, “and uh folks that’s it for the brewing area! Now if you’ll follow me, you’ll be able to see our bottling area!”

“Ooo, bottles,” Soldier said excitedly.

However, as he tried to follow the tail end of meandering gaggle into the next chamber, something gently tugged him back.

“Jane,” Demo said, as conspiratorial as he was un-sobered, “I think it’s about time we sprung a jailbreak.”

“Spy and Scout are in prison again?” Soldier blinked.

“No lad, the beer,” Demo insisted. “Somewhere in this facility there’s a whole tank of beer they’re going to execute.”

“And you want to do…what, exactly?”

“Not let it go to waste for one!” Demo huffed. “It’s a crime, what’s going on here. We can’t just let them get away with it!”

“But…” Soldier looked over his shoulder.

“Pah,” Demo said. “Fine then. I’m going to go see some justice done.”

The only other people in the confines of the brewery were the tour group, now mostly disappeared behind a pair of swinging doors. There was no one but the beer itself to witness Demo storm off, swaggering slightly as he sometimes did on the battlefield, leaving Soldier’s head to ping between him and the location of the bottling process. Demo's idea sounded fun but...When was next time he was going to see that many bottles in one place?

In the end, Soldier determined Demo would probably be fine on his own.

#

This assumption didn’t hold, as twenty-two minutes later a resounding cry of, “KABLOOIE!” echoed through the brewery.

Heads turned. Gasps were had. Handkerchiefs were placed in front of open mouths. All and all it was a mortified audience that turned and saw a cackling Demoman standing atop one of the giant tanks, holding a detonator in his hand and raising it like Connor MacLeod before him.

Soldier might have wondered ‘where the hell did he get that’ if that particular phrase hadn’t crossed his mind so often before it had become cliché. His fellow onlookers, not wise to the ways of Tavish DeGroot, didn’t even recognize the significance of the little device, and were therefore shocked when his bellow of, “FREEEDOOMMM!!!” was followed by the great echo of an explosion.

Soldier cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted, "oorah!" as a show of support. He was getting nearly as worked up as Demo, when he head the sound of two more explosions.

Even from this distance Soldier could see the change in Demo’s face, and came to the conclusion that the additional detonations were not part of the plan.

“…Crap,” Demo muttered.

Seconds later, a rumbling came from within the deepest bowels of the Sploocher Brewing company, the splashing of something powerful sweeping through machinery and toward confused tour-goers. The telltale crash of thousands of gallons of sour beer.

“Run!” someone screamed as the first wave of golden liquid came barreling around the corner.

Screams of warning turned to screams of panic, people rushing all at once toward the closest visible exit, stampeding each other in an attempt to get out of the way of the oncoming tsunami. Bottles, happily chugging along down the conveyer belt, were blissfully unaware of their oncoming demise, and when they wave hit they fell by the hundreds, adding their contents to the already considerable torrent.

“P-please if we could all form an orderly- Wa-hoah!”

Any more advice the guide might have given was silenced as he was the first dragged outside. Soldier, meanwhile, was trying an entirely different tactic, pushing to where he’d last seen the Demoman before the tank he’d been standing on had started to shake.

“Move you maggots! There is more on the line here than civilian lives! Know that I would through each and every one of you into the line of fire if it meant victory!”

Threatening was no use. As the first wave of beer washed over his shoes, he was shoved outside.

“Sir! Sir you can’t go back in there.”

One of the brewery’s security guards (shouldn’t he have been inside during all this? Might have avoided having one drunken Scotsman tearing his place to shreds if he had) tried to stop Soldier once he’d gotten free of the lemmings.

“It’s an extreme fire hazard,” the guard continued.

“Ha! Fire? I can tell you from personal experience that burning to death is not the most painful way to die. Doesn’t even crack the top three. Now move, maggot.”

Then again, maybe he shouldn’t have been inside trying to stop Demo, since all it took was a slight shove for Soldier to knock him aside.

Inside was a damn mess. Half the tanks were knocked over, adding to the rising fluid, and the rest looked massively destabilized. This level of beer wouldn’t last long (as it was already emptying both into the built-in drain) of the brewery floor and out the building’s exits), but that didn’t mean it wasn’t a drudge to get through. That didn’t matter. He needed to find Demo. That was what was important.

Bottles floated ironically in the seas of yellow—their purpose realized, but in all the wrong ways. Soldier wondered what Demo had been trying to do in the first place. He’d assumed that the man was just going to find a random tank of to-be-extradited alcohol and attempt to drink it all himself, but apparently he’d underestimated Demo’s ability to make explosives devices out of even the most mundane of objects. Stupid. Demo had spent his whole childhood perfecting that technique.

“Tavish!” Soldier called out, the slosh of beer answering him. “Tav! Relay your position, stat!”

"O're here..." a faint voice called eventually.

He followed the noise to the very back of the brewery, where the trucks might come to take the finished kegs away. Among the leaning steel basins was a Demoman, sitting in an inch of beer and staring at his knees. He looked despondent. Even more worryingly, he looked sober.

Soldier splashed the short distance between them. After a moment, he sat down next to his partner. "Almost wish I had come with you. You looked like you were King of America up there!"

Demo wiped his nose on his sleeve. “Jane. Did I ruin our anniversary?”

Surprised by the change in topic, Soldier said, “not really? Your ability to cause property damage is why I fell in love with you. I am just glad you are unharmed.”

“Ah. That's good then.” Demo put his head in his hands. “I’m...sorry I didn’t get you anything. And I'm sorry I...it's just bothering me that…Why can’t I remember?”

Now Soldier was really lost. "Remember?"

“I can’t-” Demo wasn’t quite crying, but the effects of sobering up had turned his eye rather red. “I can’t remember the night I told you I loved you. How fucked up is that? That I’m running around, not being able to remember whole chunks of my life. Whole chunks of my life with you.”

He sniffed, and wiped his face on his sleeve. Soldier put an arm around his shoulder and pulled him closer.

“Do you think I have a problem?” Demo asked.

“What kind of problem?” Soldier said, surprised as anything.

“You know. With the drink.”

“Like…” Soldier floundered. “You still want to save the beer from its unjust execution?”

“No, I mean me, specifically.” He glanced at his hands, no devoid of the detonator, which was probably for the best. Evidence and all. But then, he lifted his chin and pointed at Soldier one of the most desperate looks he’d ever been given. “Do…do I need to stop?”

His voice was small, and timid, like even the even the suggestion was sacrilege in this holy space.

“I don't think you should be asking me,” Soldier admitted. “I'd love you even if were the soberest sonuvabitch this side of the New Schlooper Ocean. Better question is do you want to stop?”

Demo didn’t respond. Not for a quite a while, until Soldier thought he might not answer at all. But finally, in that same small voice, “I think I do.”

“Okay. I will help then.”

“Aye?”

“Whatever you want. Or need. Whichever this is. But first, lets get out of here. I think all this booze is giving me a swimmers rash.”

“Ha. Maybe. Wouldn’t be the first time that happened to me.”

“You live a strange life DeGroot. Now come on.”

Soldier helped Demo to his feet, and as the two heard sirens in the distance, they began to make there way from the building as they often did on dates: with the knowledge that they’d probably be pursued by local law enforcement soon enough.

#demosolly #tf2 fanfiction

[artificialqueens]

Reckless (Bianca & Adore) - Candy Cane

A/N: im living in 2015 right now so like. ignore me fsdfsdf but anyways, here’s 2.8k of more incredibly self-indulgent fanfiction. i wrote this as platonic, but if you wanna see anything in here as romantic be my guest!! id like to thank chaoticnachokitten for supporting me and giving me ideas and beta'ing and i just- GAAAHH THANK YOU!! and thanks to everyone else who had such nice words to say abt my last one, it means soooo much 🥺🥺🥺

Summary: Adore and Bianca hang out, but of course things go wrong.

Adore loves hanging out with Bianca. Not only is she her best friend, but she’s the kind of person Adore thought would’ve hated her. But that’s not the case at all, there’s some sort of weird mutual respect and admiration going on between them, and it is fucking awesome.

The young musician knows she can be… a lot sometimes, what with her natural hyperactive toddler personality type, and it amazes her Bianca puts up with her. Especially in moments where Adore knows she shouldn’t be bothering her friend, but decides to anyways because Bianca can be boring sometimes. Moments like this one.

Adore had a gig at one of the clubs, and it ran much later than she had originally anticipated, but that was mostly due to her wanting to stay for Bianca’s set too. Of course, that led to them sharing a few too many drinks together while they stayed to watch some more performers. So when it came time for them to go home, Adore can’t find her keys.

It’s late. Late enough there’s no guarantee Adore’s roommates will be up to let her back into the apartment. The singer immediately turns to her oldest, nearest, dearest friend.

“Oh my God,” Bianca sighs whilst massaging her temples, seeing the next ten hours play out clear as day in front of her.

“Pleaaase can I stay at your place tonight Bia?” Adore asks, using her most pitiful voice and absolute poutiest facial expression.

They’re sat at a table in the back, Adore’s hands perched on Bianca’s knees as she essentially begs. Adore’s too drunk to care.

“Why don’t you call someone to see if they’ll stay up for you?” Bianca retorts like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. To be fair, it probably is. Adore’s still too drunk to realize that though.

“Oh yeah,” she says, knowing she sounds like the world’s dumbest bitch. She fumbles with her phone for a few seconds, poking the screen and the on button for an embarrassing amount of time before turning to Bianca with another sad pouty face, “It’s dead.”

“Of course it’s fucking dead,” Bianca groans, playing it up like she really does mind Adore staying with her for the night. She doesn’t, she probably would never. Adore is like the niece she never had, and she wouldn’t trade that girl for the world.

“Why don’t I just call one of them on mine?” Bianca offers.

Adobe frowns, putting on her thinking face, “…I don’t remember their numbers.”

“I can call Courtney,” Bianca reminds her.

“Oh yeah!”

A few minutes later, they discover they cannot call Courtney. They try calling her twice, and both times are a bust.

She glances down at Adore, and chuckles when she sees the “Bambi eyes”. Even if she weren’t planning on letting the kid stay with her, that would’ve done her in. She hasn’t met a single person that can resist those eyes.

“I’ll be quiet! I promise!” the singer whines.

Bianca makes an exaggerated show of sighing and hemming and hawing, just to tease Adore, then cracks open a wide, amused smile, “Of course you can stay at my place, bitch.”

“Party!” Adore cheers, throwing her arms tightly around Bianca’s neck. It’s all the thanks Bianca needs.

They pay their bills, order a Lyft, and in more time than either would’ve preferred, they make it to Bianca’s huge ass apartment. The pair stumbles inside the building, trying to look as Not Drunk as they can, and failing miserably. It doesn’t matter anyways, it’s almost 3 a.m. meaning there’s not a soul alive there to watch them.

Bianca leads Adore to the elevator, even if it’s pointless because Adore randomly shows up at Bianca’s place at least three times a week. The singer grips Bianca’s hand tightly, giggling and stumbling while the comic practically barks at her to be quieter. They’re lucky it’s a Friday. Well, a Saturday now, Bianca supposes.

The pair climbs up the one flight of stairs to Bianca’s apartment, and then into the apartment itself after Bianca spends a couple minutes fumbling with her keys. The door swings open, and they both fall onto the nearest couch.

They’re breathless with laughter, and then it starts up again when Bianca realizes she hasn’t closed her apartment door yet.

After she locks her apartment back up and turns on some lights, the older woman finds she can’t take her eyes off of Adore. The younger is smiling so freely, and it ignites something inside Bianca. She’s not sure what it is, maybe youthfulness, or freedom, but she loves it.

“B! Oh my God! I have an idea!” Adore suddenly says, sitting up way too fast and clearly making herself dizzy.

“Don’t kill yourself, otherwise I’m the one that has to call 911. You think I want paramedics at my house before the sunrises? Fuck no,” Bianca berates her, but she’s quick to recompose herself when Adore goes all pouty again, “What’s your idea? God knows you only come up with a good one every millennium.”

Adore childishly sticks her tongue out at Bianca, “We should make waffles!”

“How the fuck are we supposed to make waffles? I’m not a cook, I don’t keep that shit in my house.”

Adore screws up her face cutely, clearly trying to think of a solution to her waffle problem. She brightens up again after a minute, looking very proud of herself, “Alyssa! I bet Alyssa has it!”

Bianca rolls her eyes, “You really think I wanna speak to her right now? At three in the goddamn morning?”

“But waffles!” Adore insists.

“Tomorrow,” Bianca promises, “Right now I want to get out of this clown costume and into bed.”

Adore sighs, then tries her best puppy eyes again, “Cuddles?”

“You’re here, aren’t you?” Bianca snorts. Adore smiles as bright as the sun, then at Bianca’s beckoning she follows her best friend down the hall so they can take off their makeup and get ready for bed. When they’re finally able to snuggle up in bed together, Adore in one of Bianca’s old shirts and pair of leggings, the whole apartment pitch black, and the only sound they could hear was the sound of each other’s breathing.

It’s soothing and warm. They sleep like rocks.

The sun wakes Adore up at way too fucking early though. Her head is pounding, her arm has fallen asleep from Bianca laying on it through the night, and she is really fucking hungry. Adore groans and gently pulls her arm out from under Bianca, then stumbles out of the way too big, way too soft bed to go find something to take care of her headache.

She’s quickly able to find where Bianca keeps those things (the mounted cabinet in the bathroom) because Adore used to spend a ridiculous amount of time at this apartment complaining about her ailments to Bianca, which of course lead Bianca to freely helping Adore out whenever. Bianca would act all cold and exasperated over it, but they both knew it was just a show.

Adore downs two of the pills dry and decides nearly immediately she should go find something to drink. In mere minutes she has a pot of coffee brewing, and simultaneously discovers that it’s only around 9 a.m.. Which is just overall… weird. Adore is almost never up this early, especially after the kind of night she had last night. The events of the night are still pretty fuzzy right now, but she still remembers everything. Mostly. She thinks.

One thing she does remember is a promise. A promise for waffles. Adore grins, an idea formulating in her head. Bianca is always so incredibly nice to her, helping her out and giving her whatever she wants. And sure, it’s not Mother’s Day, but that doesn’t mean Adore can’t show her appreciation for Bianca.

Clearly the woman deserves breakfast in bed. Courtesy of a little help from a next door neighbor (hopefully). The singer quickly grabs Bianca’s key off the counter and heads over to the one person she knows will have just what she wants.

Adore knocks on the door, and it’s only a minute later with an accompanied shout of ‘I’m comin’ hon!’ that the heavy white door is thrown open.

“Oh my goodness it’s Adore Delano!” Alyssa Edwards says excitedly, “Hello, doll!”

“Hi, Alyssa!” Adore smiles, “Um, I have a favor to ask of you?”

                                                                   ~*~

Bianca’s favorite way to wake up is slowly, with the sun streaming in through her bedroom window and having absolutely all the time in the world to get up, check her phone, and get ready for work. This morning is the exact fucking opposite.

First thing that wakes her up is the motherfucking fire alarm, causing her to scramble out of bed at a record speed. Second thing, she’s painfully aware that Adore isn’t in the bed with her. Bianca is halfway through screaming Adore’s name when she bursts out into the main room.

The main room is smokey as all hell. Adore is aiming a fire extinguisher at the counter from the other side of the kitchen. The counter is covered in white foam. Her damn fire alarm won’t shut up.

Bianca’s going to have a hard time explaining this one to the neighbors for sure.

The older woman breathes in slowly, but sharply, “Adore, what the fuck did you do?”

Adore doesn’t say anything. She lets go of the fire extinguisher, and they both wince when it crashes against the kitchen tile. Not for the first time, Bianca is glad that she lives on the first floor.

The two stare at each other, Adore resting boneless against the oven, her expression just screaming shock. She lifts her head to meet Bianca’s eyes.

Pounding on the door, someone starts shouting, “BIANCA?! HOLY GOD, IS EVERYTHING ALRIGHT?”

The woman in question is quick to open her apartment door, but instead of accepting the concern, she barks out, “What do you want?”

“The whole damn building knows your alarms are going off, Bianca!” Alyssa says sharply, shoving her way inside the apartment, “My girls are coming over in two hours! I can’t have my house burning down on me.” Bianca and Adore share a twin look of surprise. Alyssa’s always been Bianca’s favorite neighbor, that’s no secret, but this is a tightly concealed side of her that neither of them have ever really seen. It’s concern. Worry. But not for herself, for them. Even if it does come off as something else. This is just something not usually associated with her.

“Okay,” Bianca says carefully, “What the fuck is going on.”

“That’s what I want to know,” Alyssa agrees, lips pursed skeptically, “Adore told me y’all were making waffles.” It’s absurd. The fire alarm is still blaring. Adore has crushed herself into a nook, looking petrified. Bianca is very hungover and her most beloved annoying neighbor is standing in her house at way too early o’clock. Bianca suddenly realizes that even though there’s no fire, there’s still smoke in her apartment, and she really wants that alarm to shut the fuck up. Also, the smoke is going to stain her expensive shit if she doesn’t get it out.

She starts to open all the windows in the main room, and is grateful when Alyssa comes to help her. They make short work of it, and when she turns around to look at her best friend, she feels scared.

She’s scared that Adore might be hurt. She’s scared that she didn’t do anything to prevent this. But mostly she’s scared that something might be broken between them.  

For the first time since walking in, Bianca notices bowls spread across her kitchen counter. Bowls and boxes and whisks… It clicks.

“Okay,” Bianca exhales, “Alyssa, what the fuck did you just say about waffles?”

“Adore came to me a little while ago and asked me if I could lend you two some waffle ingredients,” Alyssa starts slowly, “And I think to myself, ‘Now Alyssa Edwards, as a woman of God it is your duty to love your neighbor and let her make some waffles on this beautiful morning-’”

“Alyssa, you let my dumbass kid do WHAT?! You fucking know she can’t cook! We have had this conversation a hundred times!”

“Well, Adore said to me ‘Bianca and I’ not ‘I’m going to’! I thought you were gonna be helping her!”

“WHY WOULD YOU ASSUME THAT? WHEN HAVE I EVER COOKED?!”

“I’m sorry!” Adore snaps, her voice quivering and tears welling up in her eyes, causing Bianca and Alyssa to turn to her, “I’m so, so sorry- I didn’t mean for this to happen! I just- I just wanted-”

Bianca stares at Adore with shock, not fully comprehending everything happening. Between her hangover and the sheer chaos of the first fifteen minutes of being awake, she’s not entirely sure why Adore is so distressed. Adore starts whispering ‘I’m sorry’ over and over to herself, hugging her knees tight to her chest, tears starting to crawl down her face, and it hits Bianca like a train.

“Alyssa…” Bianca says slowly, but she’s unable to tear her eyes away from Adore.

Adore’s blaming herself completely and totally. And it makes sense, she is the one that started the whole mess. But Bianca can’t stand that look on Adore’s face. She’d much rather put the blame on Alyssa (who can more than handle it) instead of Adore (who is currently having a nervous breakdown).

But Adore isn’t having it.

“No, this is my fault. I’m not- I’m not that stupid, Bianca. I’m not that useless, either. I’m not a kid. I’m not someone you should leave supervision for. I’m fucking twenty-four. Stop treating me like I’m not,” Adore’s words are cold, but her face tells Bianca the musician is falling apart, “Look me in the eye, Bianca.”

She does.

“Yell at me,” Adore says.

She can’t. Bianca doesn’t even want to. She feels like she failed here, because Adore isn’t her kid but God does it feel like it sometimes.

“We’ll replace your stuff, Alyssa,” is what Bianca says instead.

Luckily, the woman accepts that as her cue to go. She gives Bianca a hug and a kiss on the cheek before she leaves, and sends air kisses Adore’s way. Adore gives Alyssa a weak smile.

The door closes. Bianca and Adore lock eyes.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Bianca says. It’s a tired, worried voice. Not at all what Adore was expecting, or even wanted.

“I wanted to surprise you,” Adore answers simply, arms crossed defensively over her chest, “You do so much for me. For everyone. And I know you said last night we’d do it together but I just… I wanted to do something for you.”

That alone melt’s Bianca’s heart. It’s been getting easier and easier lately for Adore, and by extension the rest of their friends, to do that. For a while she thought moving to this city was stupid, and probably the worst decision of her life. But even now, after such a chaotic fucking twenty-five minutes of being awake, Bianca is so happy she’s here.

“Next time, buy me something online,” Bianca says, warm and forgiving, instead of cold and biting like Adore would’ve expected.

The younger practically runs into Bianca’s open arms. The embrace is full of love, and Adore feels that it’s okay. She still blames herself, she’s still stupidly upset, but Bianca… Bianca makes her feel like everything will be okay.

They sit there hugging for a few minutes, then Bianca mutters, “Good thing you knew how to use that extinguisher, I think that’s been hanging there for ten years.”

Adore chuckles wetly, face buried into Bianca’s shoulder, “Yeah… Hey, shouldn’t have all the other alarms gone off too?”

Bianca freezes. Adore is right, all the other fire alarms in the building should’ve had people evacuating.

“I guess the building needs to get that fixed, huh? Maybe you being a walking disaster is a good thing after all, if that had been real, everyone would’ve been fucked.”

“Wow,” Adore whispers, “Maybe our building should get that checked too…? Oh my God. Oh my God.”

“What?!” Bianca asks, pulling away from Adore to see what’s wrong.

“I never went home last night,” Adore says, “I never charged my phone. I never texted my roommates.”

Bianca suddenly doubles over laughing, fully bellied and absolutely batshit crazy, “Good, Courtney doesn’t get nearly enough stress in her life!”

Adore breaks out into a grin, and feels her worries start to melt away. Somehow, Bianca is really fucking good at doing that.

“Alright,” Bianca sighs, looking at the pure mess that is now her kitchen, “Let’s charge our phones and order breakfast.”

And they do.

Neither would’ve spent the hour following that disaster any other way.

#rpdr fanfiction #adore delano #bianca del rio #alyssa edwards #biadore #gen fic #fluff #angst #fighting #lesbian au #cisgirl au #hurt/comfort #reckless #candy cane #tw fire #concrit welcome

[drsweetzscenarios]

Hajime meeting future Female!S/O(Disney’s Hercules-Inspired AU)

I decided it would be fun if I did one of these because I absolutely love this scene so much.I had a lot of fun with this and maybe if this gets enough encouragement I might make this into an x reader series so I hope ha y’all like it!

Key-

Dialogue 

“Chiaki Dialogue”

“Kaziuchi Dialogue”

“Hajime Dialogue”

“Your Dialogue”

  This imagine is based on is these scenes

x x 

As Hajime cut through the thick,creepy,green forest, he glanced back at his two allies. Kaziuchi and Chiaki were a great help in this journey.

Kaziuchi being his childhood friend and Chiaki being his mentor for his mission to joining his father, Makoto Naegi and the rest of the hopeful gods up on Mount Hope. He desired to be one of them for it was his destiny. 

“So Chiaki...where are we going exactly?” 

the toothy boy questioned, his neon green jump-suit didn’t blend in very well with the forest. 

“We are traveling to Towa City. Hajime would get a better start on his quest if we started there.” 

She replied before bringing her hand to her mouth to quiet down her yawns

“And when are we going to get there exactly? Not that I don’t trust ya but this place seems a lil shady” 

Kaziuchi tried all of his might not to shudder at the thought of being trapped here forever, running in circles before they all go mad with despair.

“As soon as we make it through the ruins of The Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles-”“THERE’S MORE TO GO THROUGH????”

Chiaki glared at Kaziuchi before going back to explaining herself. However, she was cut off

“UGH LET GO OF ME YOU SICK ROBO-TOY”

They all stopped and Hajime raced towards the voice, not even comprehending what he was doing

With the other two following, they soon hide behind a bush.

And there you were in the tough hold of a exisal, struggling to get out of its grasp in the middle of a river

Hajime’s concerned face soon turned into a mighty glare

“Alright now remember Hajime,1.Analysis the situation. Don’t just go in there without thinking-”

Chiaki and Kaziuchi turned their heads to Hajime’s direction only to see he wasn’t there.

They turned their heads only to see Hajime striding up to the opponent his eyes gleaming with rage.

“Oh boy.” 

Kaziuchi gulped 

“He’s losing points for this” 

Chiaki dead-panned

“Halt!” 

As soon as Hajime spat out those words, the robot and the girl turned to him, one shocked and the other emotionless.

The exisal then crouched to Hajime’s level and seemed to be analyising him.

“My uh..”

He looked over the exisal once 

“ good friend.”

“I’ll have to ask you to release that young-”

He gestured to you 

“Keep moving, junior”  “lady...But you- are-aren’t you...a damsel in despair?”

“I’m a damsel. I’m in despair. I can handle this. Have a nice day~” 

You answered coolly despite struggling through out the sentence to get out of the grip you were in.

Hajime then cleared his throat 

“Ma’am I’m afraid you might be too close to the situation to realize-”

Before he could get his hope sword ready for battle, he was flung across the land and into the water.

Chiaki winced 

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING??GET YOUR SWORD!!” “Sword. Right right, rule #15 a hero’s only as good as his weapon!” 

He scampered for his sword as the exisal neared closer.

As the exisal was nearing closer, Hajime pulled out his weapon to the robot which was not his sword but a nearly broken monokuma that ran for it’s life seeing the exisal.

Kaziuchi’s bellowing laughter in the background while Chiaki elbowed him to keep quiet did no affect while you rested your hand on your chin, expressing boredom and disappointment.

Before Hajime could even react again, he was punched square in the cheek sending him flying into a nearby stone.

“COME ON HAJIME CONCENTRATE”  “use your head Hajime!” 

When Chiaki said those words, he parted his from the tree and came charging at the exisal with the power of hope, like a bull charging towards a red flag.

The exisal flew across the forest before landing into a waterfall, glitching slightly

“ALRIGHT,NOT BAD!”  “not what I had in mind but not bad indeed”

You fell downwards into the river, rendering yourself wet all over before sitting up and spitting out the water that landed in your mouth.

Hajime turned to you and lifted you up bridal style if anyone lifts you up bridal style you immediately know. That’s the one your gonna spend the rest of your life with.

He placed you on a stone near his friend and mentor.

“Oh Usami. I’m really sorry that was dumb...:”

You opened your eyes to look at Hajime

“Yeah definitely”

Hajime looked back to the exisal who was preparing to attack

“Excuse me” 

he raced over to defeat the exisal.

As you watched Hajime defeat the exisal, you looked over to Kaziuchi and Chiaki who then looked over to you. Cue several seconds of awkward eye contact.

“Nice work! Keep at it!” 

Chiaki tried to cheer but her monotone voice made it seem lacking.

“Is Hope boy here for real?”

“WHAT ARE YOU TALKIN ABOUT! Of course he’s real!” 

He gestured to the ongoing brawl

“And by the way sweet cheeks, I’m real too.~” 

Kaziuchi’s lousy excuse for a flirt was gifted with a shove that sent him stumbling from you and a face palm from Chiaki.

Soon the exisal was defeated as Kaziuchi rushed over to use it’s spare parts for some mechanical things.

Hajime calmly walked over to Chiaki and Kaziuchi while you stepped off the stone to get the water out of your clothes.

“So... how was that guys?”

“Hajime you can get away with mistakes like that in smaller things but this is the big leagues” 

She patted his shoulder though to express her pride in doing well while making those mistakes.

“Well at least I beat it” 

He fixed his tie that was slightly torn thanks to the earlier brawl.

“Next time. DON’T. LET. YOUR. GUARD. DOWN. BECAUSE OF A BIG PAIR. OF GO-GO EYES” 

Kaziuchi shook Hajime’s shoulders with every word

Hajime then looked over to you who looked like a ethereal goddess as the sun hit your body just right to create something similar to a golden outline.

As Kaziuchi continued to rant about something..Hajime didn’t really pay attention as his body went over to you before his mind could even think.

“Are you...alright miss..?”

“(Name)” 

you gently swatted your hand in his face. 

"But my friends call me (Nickname) at least they would if I had any friends.”

Hajime’s surprise lasted at least a couple seconds before you continued 

“Soo do they give you a name along with that hopeful charm?” 

Hajime stuttered 

“Uh-Um... I- I- I-uhh …” 

he looked away in embarrassment. Nice going dude, Hajime thought to himself.

“Are you always this articulate?” 

You asked, your finger pointed at him as you dried a sock. 

“Hajime!”

He coughed awkwardly 

“My name is Hajime Hinata” “Hajime huh? Well I think I prefer Hope Boy”  “ So... How’d you get mixed up with the uh-” 

He leaned against a tree before he slipped and caught himself from slipping and falling.

“The robotic pinhead? You know despair-inducing creatures are. They think ‘no’ means ‘yes’ and ‘get lost’ means ‘take me I’m yours’” 

You barely leaned against Hajime, eyelashes fluttering in fake innocence.

“Don’t worry you’ll find out soon.” 

You walked away before turning to face him. 

“Well see ya later Haji. It’s been a great time.” 

You strutted away

“WAIT! Um... We can escort you there... Yeah! Let us escort you there” “No it’s fine really. My destination isn’t far from here. Just an couple minutes away.”

“I’ll be fine! I’m a big tough girl. Can tie my shoes and everything.”

“Oh...bye...”

“See ya later,hope boy”

You waved off to him

He waved back as if he was in a love-struck daze.

“She’s...something. Isn’t she Kaziuchi?”\

“Yeah yeah. She’s really something. A REAL PAIN IN MY BUTT”

“EARTH TO HAJIME”

Kaziuchi squished Hajime’s nose like a clown

“Come on Hajime we need to get into Towa City before you fall in love”

Chiaki snickered teasingly

He shook his head, flustered

“Y-Yeah! Let’s go!”

Hajime’s blush didn’t his face for a very long time

#hajime #hajima hinata #sdr2 #sdr2 goodbye despair #sdr2 spoilers #kaziuchi soda #sdr2 kazuichi #sdr2 chiaki #sdr2 hajime #hajime x reader #hinata x reader #hajime hinata x reader #hajime hinata x s/o #hajime hinata x name #hajime hinata imagines #danganronpa x reader #danagnronpa imagines #danganronpa imagines #sdr2 x reader #goodbye despair #sdr2 imagines #danganronpa au #danganronpa hercules au

[wantaichi]

proxy

semi eita x reader

anon request: yo so the the semi drabble i- could we get more for that ?

a/n: some angst and mature themes. might have veered off the original work juuust a bit, but the idea remains! (see: drabble)

. It’s hard to miss it — the hint of sentimentality in the way you looked at him.

Semi didn’t expect you to frequent these parties, spare him a glance and approach him no less. So it flummoxed him when you did, but not so much when it turned out you’d only mistaken him for someone else.

It’s how he finds out that, despite being in the same evening class, you knew him neither by name nor by face. He’s not surprised by this, not when you’re always seated near the back door and constantly slipping in and out of class to god knows where.

“Sorry! Thought you were someone I knew.”

He’s not used to seeing you outside your usual ensemble of leggings and oversized hoodies. But you don’t look half bad tonight, all embellished from head to toe, unwittingly turning heads left and right. 

Maybe he’ll take his chances.

“Let me get you a drink so we can work on the knowing part.” 

You study him carefully before allowing yourself a smile. “Sure.” + You take him back to your dorm that night.

Laying on the couch with his head resting on your chest, you confide in him about your unrequited feelings for someone. How you’ve been mindlessly chasing them for years, only to see another person make them smile the way you couldn’t. 

And in spite of your shame, you admit a twisted part of you would’ve been content experiencing their touch at least once before moving on. Semi finds himself all ears as he digests all this, not too proud of the thoughts brewing in his head.

“He’s the same guy I mistook you for earlier.” You reach out to muss up his hair, a nostalgic smile crossing your face. “Same gray hair and chiseled features and sort of scary eyes.”

“Scary?” At this, you let out a chuckle, soft and tooth-rottingly sweet, and Semi can’t hold back the curve forming on the corners of his lips. He lets his hands meander over your hips, the mere feel of them enough to drug and muddle his thoughts.

“I figured that much,” he says, then pauses to consider his next words carefully. “But if you need help getting it out of your system, just know I’m down for it.” For a while, only a passive look comes as your response.

“That would be unfair for you.”

“Not if I’m willing.”

“Even if I imagine you as someone else?”

He lifts his head and starts nipping at your neck. “Yeah.”

“You’re just horny.”

“Maybe.” + You start sitting beside him in class, and Semi learns that you’re an observer.

You can be smart when you feel like it, like when others’ opinions come out too strong during recitation, and you whisper to him the tiniest flaws in their logic that everyone else is too preoccupied to notice.

But most of the time your observations were outright, crackhead-level stupid, and he wants to bawl and curse you and ask where the fuck you get the brain cells to make a resemblance between the professor’s wrinkles and the Sorting Hat from Harry Potter?

You’ll get him sent out of class one of these days—he’s sure of it—and he’ll pin the blame on you for charming him more than he can handle. + You learn that he has an ear for music.

That he had a habit of carving songs into his head, from the notes down to the rhythm, playing it over and over until assembling the tune came as easy breaking it apart.

He does the same with you.

Rouse your moans to the pitch of his liking, only to hear them shatter in fragments of breathlessness when you reach your orgasm. It’s euphoric, and he found himself hooked the first time he hears it, sought it out the same way he would a song he hears on the radio for the first time.

So he came back every night.

Every week.

Again—

—and again because it’s never enough just replaying everything in his head anymore. 

You sound your best right now (though he says this every time), when your gasps harmonize with his. With the erotic subtones of bed creaking and sharp skin slapping, only amplified when he presses you flat into the mattress with his crushing weight.

He shuts his eyes and soaks up every sound in the room—even the occasional whispers of a certain name that comes out of your lips soft and sweet, yet enters his ears harsh and piercing.

He considers getting his ears checked for signs of internal bleeding. + “That’s fucked up.”

Semi only takes a long swig from his bottle, not bothering to respond. Why was he even talking about this with Tendou of all people?

“So you’re filling in for someone she can’t have?” The readhead might as well have punctured him in the gut while he’s at it.

“It’s not that.”

“Then what is it?”

“It’s just a hook up.” 

Silence passes them for a while. His words make their way to his lungs, clogging it up to uncomfortable extremities.

“I hear there’s this new degree the admins came up with. It’s called BS-Clownery. You’d fit in swimmingly.”

The succeeding drinks were put on Tendou’s tab that night. + Maybe he is  a clown after all.

Otherwise, there wouldn’t be any of this bitter attachment towards you, freely using him to satisfy unrequited feelings. And yet, the mounting pain feels so good it washes over him in waves that he wishes would never pass.

Semi didn’t want this pass. 

Maybe it’s why he’s still here, hanging at your place on the last week of the semester, watching you hover over the boxes of pizza with surprise and craving leaking from your face.

“What are we celebrating?” 

“Surviving the semester. Never getting sent out of class despite multiple warnings. You passing.”

You allow yourself a proud smile.

“You mean us passing.”

“Yeah, but you almost didn’t.” No thanks to your poor attendance. You laugh in understanding before he continues counting all the other small causes for celebration off his fingers.

Being a step closer to graduation. Regaining a normal sleep cycle. Summer break, finally. Life in general.

Meeting you. + He appreciates your abstract ramblings.

You once told him that the closest people can get to experiencing eternity was to lay awake and bask in the darkness. In the softness, the quiet, and the sense of rest one can only get in the dead of night.

It’s past two am and Semi wants to ask you if eternity felt like being six feet deep and six feet off the ground at the same time. 

But you’re asleep, nuzzled into the crook of his neck with your arms sprawled across his chest like no one else can have him but you. He likes that thought, and he likes how the feel of your lashes on his skin and the steady rise and fall of your chest are enough to calm him, dispel the tussle of conflicting thoughts in his head.

He slowly grazes his fingers on the hollow of your back, as slow as this moment seemed to pass, as if caught in a standstill. Semi understands—this is what you meant.

His consciousness must have been starting to ebb away because, just as sleep was about to take him, he thinks he hears you mumble something in your sleep.

“...Eita..”

He wraps both arms around you, sure that he’d heard that correctly. ——

a/n: liked this work? leave a note or send in your thoughts thru my ask box!

#semi eita x reader #semi eita #hq semi #haikyuu!! #hq #haikyuu fanfiction #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu imagines #hq fanfic #hq x reader #tendou satori #hq tendou #haikyuu angst #hq angst #semi eita fic #shiratorizawa fanweek 2020 #shiratorizawafanweek2020

[writingblock101]

Won’t Go Down Slow (Jason Todd x Reader)

Wow, I am shocked at the positive response I’ve gotten from this! I’m so happy you guys enjoyed it! The title also comes from White Flag by Bishop Brigs. Enjoy

Tags:  @sarcasmismyfirstlove​ @demiwitchavenger7​ @because-icanhide​

Summary: One night, while staking out the Joker who’s making moves in Gotham, you get captured.

Word count: 3,000

Warnings: Violence 

Part 1 

Jason perches next to his favorite gargoyle in Gotham, looking at the streets below. He checks the ammo in his handgun and wonders where you are, given he hasn’t seen you all night. Although you work separately, on slow nights, such as this one, you two often sit together on a building or at least see each other in passing. 

He cocks his gun, staring down the sites at a car parked in front of an apartment complex. Jason lines the barrel with the rearview mirror, then his phone rings. 

During patrol, his phone is on silent, but it allows calls from four different people: You, Mia, Dick, and Roy. He frowns, returns his gun to its holster and digs his phone out of his pocket, his face draining of color at the sight of the caller ID. Mia only calls when shit hits the fan. Jason rips his helmet off. 

“What happened?” He demands, not greeting Mia. 

“Y/N was staking out the Joker’s warehouse but then they brought in a hostage,” Mia quickly explains, also skipping pleasantries. “And she went in to rescue the hostage, but it was a setup and she got ambushed! Her comm cut out but the Joker has her!” 

“What?!” Jason growls.

“The Joker has Y/N!”

“Send me that address, now!” Jason roars, jumping to his feet. 

“Just sent it,” Mia confirms then Jason hangs up and looks at the address. 

He shoves his helmet back on and takes off sprinting toward in the alleyway where he parked his motorcycle then leaps to the next roof. Rolling to his feet, Jason continues sprinting, his mind only on you. Hang on, Y/N. I’m coming. 

His mind flashes to the Joker standing over him and beating him with a crowbar, causing Json to grit his teeth and run harder. As he’s running, a figure steps out of the shadows, into Jason’s path. 

“Hey, Red!” A familiar voice greets, but Jason is running too fast to dodge him and slams into him. 

Red Hood and Nightwing go tumbling to the ground before Jason is back on his feet, about to take off again. Dick jumps to his feet and catches Jason’s shoulder. 

“Woah, Hood. Where’s the fire?” 

“I don’t have time for this, Wing!” Jason smacks Dick’s hand off his shoulder and takes off running. 

Dick frowns, but chases after Jason, keeping pace with him. 

“What happened?” He asks. 

“Fuck off!” 

“No, what happened?” Dick rolls his eyes at his brother’s stubborn attitude. “Let me help!” 

Jason grits his teeth and pauses on a roof corner to grapple across the street. 

“Joker’s got Lightning,” He answers gruffly then swings to the next roof. 

“What?!” Dick exclaimed then grapples to the same roof to catch up with Jason again. “What do you mean Joker has Lightning?!” 

Jason jumps down a fire escape, skipping the stairs to reach the ground faster where his motorcycle is. 

“She’s been staking him out and apparently he took a hostage but it was a trap and she got ambushed,” Jason explains as he jumps down another set of stairs.

“I didn’t even know he was out of Arkham!” Dick responds, dumbfounded. 

“He hasn’t been making moves which was why Lightning was watching him. She was trying to figure out what he was up to,” Jason mounts his motorcycle, the engine roaring to life. 

“I’m coming with you,” Dick jumps on the back. 

Jason grumbles something but is secretly grateful for the backup. He rips out of the alley, driving faster than he ever has. Hang on, Y/N.

. . . 

You wake up via a slap to the face. You groan, the Joker’s laugh ringing around you while you hung in the middle of the room by your wrists, your toes barely brushing the ground. Your heavy boots, jacket, holsters, and armor are gone, leaving you in the long sleeve compression shirt you wear under her armor, your pants, your mask and a strange collar around your neck. Joker never really cared about secret identities You suppose. 

Four armed men are posted in each corner and the little girl’s body is long gone. Your head is still ringing, your knee and hand are throbbing, and your face numb with pain. Your shoulders pop from the unnatural angle. 

“Look who’s up!” Joker squeals with delight then waves the crowbar. “Look familiar?” He starts cackling then points the crowbar at you while walking around you in a slow circle. “You know, I didn’t know that superheroes dated each other, but look at you! Racking it up with ole boy wonder,” He pauses to run the crowbar over a hickey just barely visible over your high neck shirt. 

You move quickly, trapping the Joker in a chokehold between your thighs, your knee screaming in pain. He chokes, wildly swinging the crowbar around, but he’s unable to hit you due to the angle. You clench your legs harder, cutting off his airway, then one of the men shoots, hitting your hurt knee. You cry out, but grit your teeth and keep your hold on the Joker. 

You pull him tighter and try to blind the men, but the heat builds up in your chest, only to be snuffed out by a heavy dose of electricity raking through your body. You scream, your body convulsing and forcing you to release the Joker then it stops, leaving you sagging heavily on the chains. 

You panted, trying to get your bearings as your head spins, dizzy with pain from your knee and the sudden electrocution. 

“Well, that was rude,” The Joker huffs, straightening his suit, then swings the crowbar, smacking you across the face. “Kids these days have no manners! But, it let me show off my new toy,” He giggles, waving a remote at you. “It blocks those pesky powers of yours so we can have some real fun. After I get rid of this storm cloud hanging over my head, then it’ll be a party.” 

It takes a moment for you to process his words then realization dawns on you. He’s going to kill me. The Joker smacks the crowbar against the palm of his hand with a demented grin. 

“Normally, I think repeating things is so boring, but how can I not just bring things full circle?” He laughs maniacally then swings the crowbar, hitting you in the stomach. 

You jolt forward, pain exploding in your stomach then he swings the bar up, hitting you in the face and tearing more skin off your already cut cheekbone. The Joker wastes no time swinging the bar again to nail you in the ribs then swings down and hits your hurt knee, knocking your feet out from under you. 

You scream in pain, your full weight suddenly yanking down against your wrists then there’s a loud SNAP! Your wrists explode with pain, fire traveling up your arms. 

“Isn’t this fun?” Joker cackles then hits you in the ribs again, knocking the wind out of you. 

You gasp for air then he swings again, hitting the same spot. Another crack rings out as your side explodes with pain, tears freely flowing down your face. 

Jason, please help you think hopelessly as the Joker winds up again. 

. . . 

Jason leaps off his motorcycle, two guns already drawn and sprints toward the warehouse, only to be tackled by Dick. 

“Hood, wait!” 

“Get the fuck off me!” Jason throws Dick over his shoulder but Dick rolls back to his feet and sweeps Jason’s feet out from under him. “What the hell are you doing?!” 

“We can’t go in there guns blazing!” Dick argues. 

“Fucking watch me!” Jason hisses, pushing himself back to his feet. “That sick bastard has Lightning!” 

“Yeah, and who knows how many more armed men?!” Dick snaps back. 

“I’ll murder them all!” 

“Hood, just think for one second! Joker had enough men to successful ambush Lightning! The Lightning Strike!  You’ve seen her fight her when she’s bleeding, outnumbered, and her back is against the wall then still win!”

“He killed me, Wing!” Jason roars. “And I’m not about to let him do the same to her.” 

“He won’t but we need a plan.” 

Jason clenches his jaw, his grip tight around his guns. 

“Fine. What’s your brilliant plan?” 

Dick looks up at the warehouse then points to the windows. 

“Let’s see what we’re about to run into.” 

Once reaching the windows, they look down into the warehouse and see a sight worse than either of them anticipated. 

You are hanging from the ceiling by your wrist, head slumped forward and toes dragging in a large puddle of blood. Your shoulders are hanging at an unnatural angle and a piece of bone shines through your knee. Your body is completely battered, covered in blood and bruises. There seems to be no part of you untouched. 

The Joker circles you with a crowbar then swings it, hitting your side. You jolt from the force but barely reacts. Joker seems unsatisfied by your lack of reaction because he pulls out a remote and hits a button. 

Your body convulses as you scream in pain. Joker laughs with a cynical grin as you slump forward again. Dick has to use his full body weight to keep Jason from busting through the window. 

“Hood, wait!” He hisses. 

“For what?!” Jason demands. “Y/N to bleed out?! There’s four guards, I’ll take the two the right, you get the two on the left, then I’ve got the fucking clown,” He looks back down into the warehouse to see you yelling at the Joker. 

Joker seems shocked, but grins and swings at you, hitting you in the stomach. You rock back, doubled over but straightened up and yell again. The Joker laughs loudly and repeatedly hits you. You bow over coughing but pull yourself up and yell again. 

“What the hell is she doing?!” Jason demands. 

“Look,” Dick points at the top of the chain holding you up, the top links cracking. “I think she’s trying to break the chain.” 

“By getting hit?” 

“If she flies up far enough, her body weight will do the trick,” Then as Dick says the words, the Joker hits you harder than Jason has seen him hit you all night, but Dick’s right. 

You go flying, just high enough to grab some of the chain above your then you drop all your body weight. The chain snaps and you plummet to the ground, landing with a crash. You groan but push yourself to your feet into fighting stance. 

The Joker laughs gleefully and one of the men tries to shoot you but you roll out of the way and sweeps his feet out from under him. 

“Move!” Dick yells, then the two burst through the window, rolling to the ground. 

Jason shoots one of the guards while Dick knocks the other out with his Escrima sticks and a well-placed roundhouse to the face. You get dragged to the ground by your ankle by the guard you previously knocked to the floor. You land with a crash but kick him in the face and scramble for his abandoned gun. You manage to snag it off the floor and shoot the guard in the shoulder. 

Jason dives for the Joker, kicking him as hard as he can in the face. The Joker hits the ground, his nose bleeding and laughs. 

“Now, here’s a real fight!” He swings the crowbar up to hit Jason, but Jason catches it and breaks the Joker’s elbow then begins repeatedly punching him in the face. 

“You fucking bastard!” He screams, continuing to beat the Joker’s face, each punch somehow harder than the last. 

Dick catches his arm as he winds back for another punch, the Joker bleeding and woozy.

“Red! Enough!” 

Jason shoves him off. 

“This bastard deserves to fucking die!” 

He punches the Joker again, but Dick catches his arm once more, yanking it back with more force. 

“Lightning is bleeding out on the floor and will die unless you get her back to the Batcave!” 

Jason falters then stumbles off the Joker to where you are lying on the ground, still holding the guard’s gun, your breathing shallow. He rips his helmet off, at an absolute loss about where to begin.

“God, Y/N, what were you thinking?!” Jason demands, falling to his knees next to you. 

He yanks his belt off and fashions a makeshift tourniquet around your lower thigh to stop the bleeding from your gunshot wound and destroyed knee. You groan, barely able to even convey your pain. 

“I know, I know, I’m sorry,” Jason’s chest tightens when you whimper. 

He pushes your hair off your face in an attempt to comfort you, but in the state you’re in, Jason knows he can’t do anything. He frowns at the strange collar around your neck and prods around for a button or release, but finds nothing. 

He moves to your shoulders, dread building in his stomach. Both of your shoulders are dislocated. In their current state, you’ll never be able to hold onto Jason if he tries to get you back to the Manor. While he would be holding onto you, he’d also have to drive the motorcycle, meaning you would need to be holding onto him as well. 

“Fuck,” He mumbles under his breath then reaches for your head, cradling your face. “Y/N?” 

Tears flow from under your ripped mask. 

“Jay,” You murmur. “Fuck, it hurts so bad.” 

Jason feels his chest clench.

“I know, baby, but I’ve got to relocate your shoulders or we’re not going to be able to get you to the Cave,” He wipes away some of the blood and tears from under your eyes. “I’m sorry,” He murmurs to you, pressing a kiss to your forehead then as gently as he can, he picks up one of your arms. 

You whimper for a moment then Jason pulls your arm forward and straight, guiding the ball back into the socket. You gasp in pain when the bone goes back in place, gritting your teeth together. 

“You ready for the other?” Jason asks, eyebrows furrowing together in worry. 

You nod tightly and Jason repeats his movements with your other arm. This time, you cry out, your fingers weakly curling around Jason’s jacket. 

“You’re done, you did so good,” Jason kisses your forehead again then carefully picks you up, dark spots clouding your vision. 

Despite his caution, you still moan in pain, pressing your head against his armored chest. 

“I know,” Jason frowns. “I’m getting you out of here.” 

Dick looks up from tying up the Joker and hustles over to them. 

“How is she?” He asked, carefully running his fingers through your blood matted hair. 

“Not good. I’m taking her to the Batcave.” 

Going to the Batcave isn’t ideal, but with you, it’s, unfortunately, the only option Jason has. Although your superhuman DNA will accelerate your healing time, it also means your DNA is alien enough to raise suspicion at a hospital. Besides, two vigilantes, especially one as controversial as Red Hood showing up at a Gotham hospital would not be warmly welcomed and your identities would be compromised. 

“What’s the collar?” Dick asks. 

“I don’t know,” Jason frowns. “I couldn’t get it off.” 

“We’ll get it off at the Cave. I’ll be there soon,” He jabs his finger over his shoulder at the Joker, passed out and tied up. “Babs is meeting me here to deal with him.” 

“Don’t you dare leave him alone,” Jason growls, his blood boiling at the thought of the Joker getting away with hurting you. 

“I won’t,” Dick reassures him. “I’m not leaving until Babs is here, which—”  He pauses, at the audible roar of a motorcycle. “That’s probably her now. Go.” 

Jason nods then rushes out to his own motorcycle. He doesn’t acknowledge Babs and instead wraps an arm tightly around your back, holding you close to his chest while his other arm holds the motorcycle. You curl one arm around Jason’s waist, weakly balling your fingers into the back of his jacket. He starts the motorcycle then tears off down the street. 

“Hold on, Y/N,” He murmurs. 

By the time Jason reaches the Manor, Alfred and Bruce are waiting outside for them. Dick must’ve called them. 

“We have everything prepped, Master Jason,” Alfred greets, opening the door for Jason. 

Jason vaguely nods, rushing toward the Batcave, closely followed by Bruce. 

“What happened?” Bruce demands. 

“The Joker,” Jason tells him shortly. 

“What?” Bruce questions. “She went after him alone?!” 

“You really think I would’ve let her go after him alone?!” Jason snaps. “She got ambushed.” 

“Is Joker dead?” 

“Seriously?!” Jason demands. “Y/N is dying and you’re asking if that deranged asshole is dead?!” 

“Answer the question, Jason,” Bruce says sternly. 

“I made a promise to you.” 

“Answer the question.” 

“Why? Because you don’t trust me?!” 

“No, because you made that promise before he went after someone you love.” 

Jason grits his teeth but answers. 

“No,” He says shortly. “He’s not fucking dead, but he should be.” 

Once in the Batcave, Alfred directs Jason to lay you on one of the medical tables then snaps on a pair of gloves and begins working, just as he’s done for the rest of them at various points of their vigilante careers. 

“This may be strange to hear, given the recent events,” Bruce gestures to you. “But I’m proud of you for not killing Joker.” 

“Yeah, well, it was rather let Y/N bleed out or beat his brains in,” Jason mutters, crossing his arms.

“Still. In a situation like this, I know how tempting it is. I’m sorry I didn’t trust you,” He lays a hand on Jason’s shoulder. “You did good, but you should go change and take a shower, maybe get something to eat. It’s going to be a while.” 

“I’m not leaving,” Jason mutters. 

“Jas—”  

“Save it,” Jason growls out. 

“Come on, man,” Dick’s voice interrupts. “You’ve done what you can.” 

“Did I?” Jason questions, turning to face Dick. “Did I really do all that I can?!” 

“What are you talking about?” 

“She’s bleeding out on that table because I wasn’t there, Dick!” Jason yells, seizing the front of Dick’s Nightwing suit, but Dick doesn’t push him off, knowing Jason’s aggression isn’t targeted toward him. “She got tortured tonight because I wasn’t there! I couldn’t protect the one good thing in my life!” 

He shoves Dick away from him and stares at his hands, stained with your blood. 

“I almost let that bastard take her from me,” Jason curled his hands into shaking fists. “He almost took the only good thing in my life! Because I wasn’t fucking there! I knew she was watching the Joker! I should’ve gone, but I didn’t want to smoother her because I know I can’t fuck this up,” His voice got quieter and vulnerable, his hands knotting themselves into his hair. “I can’t fuck up the one good thing in my life. She makes me feel okay with being me. I don’t hate myself quite so much because she loves me so how can I hate something that someone like her loves?” 

His hands drop to his side for a moment, then Jason’s anger builds again. He turns and punches a wall. 

“I know better than anyone what he’s capable of! I know how far he will go! Why the fuck did I let her anywhere near him without back up?!” Then the mighty Red Hood crumbled. “Why did she go after the Joker alone?” He whispers, tears streaming down his face. 

Dick frowns then guides Jason up and pulls him into a hug. Jason knots his fingers into the back of Dick’s suit, silently sobbing into his shoulder.

“I can’t lose her.” 

Dick rubs his back, knowing all the reckless anger Jason projected tonight was to hide the underlying fear, but unfortunately, fear never leaves. It curls up and makes its home inside, demanding to be felt. 

“Come on, Jay,” He whispers to him. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

. . . 

You slowly open your eyes to an unfamiliar bedroom, most likely in the Manor. Your body feels pleasantly numb, but given the amount of bandages, you know the numbness is the work of the pain medicine. You glance over to see Jason sitting in a plush chair next to your bed, arms crossed, but head slumped over, asleep. 

Thankfully, he’s not in his armor and appears to have showered. You know he’s going to be angry with you for not calling him before you entered the warehouse and last night was not easy for him, especially given his own history with the Joker. 

Jason stirs, blinking awake then he sees you looking at him. His eyes widened in disbelief. 

“Hey,” You greet quietly, your throat sore. 

“Hey,” He breathes back then relief floods his face as he rushes forward and pulls you as close to him as possible. 

You loop an arm around loosely around his back as best as you can, relieved that you're still alive. You feel Jason press a kiss to the top of your head, then he pulls back to hold your face in his hands. He sighs, dropping his head in relief and pulls you close to him again. 

“I was so fucking scared,” He admits, kissing the top of your head again. 

“Yeah,” You feel your eyes well up. “I fucked up pretty bad, didn’t I?” 

Jason slowly releases you and sits back in his chair. 

“Y/N, what were you thinking?” 

“He had a kid,” Your voice grew thick.

“The hostage,” Jason connects the dots, his shoulders slumping with the realization. “The hostage was a kid.” 

You nod tearfully, staring up at the ceiling. 

“He injected her with Joker Toxin and gave her a gun. I gave her the antidote, but right as I did, they shot her,” You squeeze your eyes shut, tears running down the side of your face. “She couldn’t have been any older than five.” 

He leans forward and kisses your forehead, wiping your tears with his thumbs. 

“He knew I was watching him so he set a trap to kill me,” You clench your jaw for a moment, tears continuing to flow. “He kept saying how it would be so great to bring it all full circle because he knew we were together.” 

Jason’s face goes slack and he pulls you close to him again, feeling the weight of how close he came to losing you. 

“I know I should’ve called you and I’m sorry but right as I saw them bring the little girl in and I knew I had to help her—”  

“Shh,” Jason comforts you, stroking your hair. “It doesn’t matter now. It’s okay. You did your best.” 

“I’m sorry I scared you.” 

“I’m just glad you’re okay,” He kisses your forehead again and sits down. 

“What was the total damage done?” You ask. 

“Both shoulders dislocated, both wrists broken, six broken fingers, shattered knee, seven broke ribs, a punctured lung, a black eye, a broken nose, busted lip, broken ankle, a total of thirty-one stitches, almost full-body bruising including your trachea, and one of the worst concussions of your life. It’s a miracle you didn’t have more internal bleeding,” Jason rattles off with a frown. 

Damn. 

“So… No sex for a while, huh?” 

Jason stares at you for a long moment then starts chuckling. His chuckling quickly dissolves into full-blown laughter as he covers his face with his hand, shocked that you just said that. You start giggling herself, but it turns to a wince due to your broken ribs. You watch as Jason wipes away a tear from laughing so hard. 

“God, you’re worse than I am.” 

You grin as much as your busted lip and bruised face will allow you but your smile falls as your mind drifts. 

“Did you kill the Joker?” 

Jason’s face hardens. 

“You know, B asked me the same question,” He sighs, his jaw tightening. “No. I wanted to, after what he did to you. I should’ve,” Jason looks away, his jaw popping slightly from how hard he is clenching it. 

You reach for him as best as you can. Your fingertips barely brush his face, but he looks up and scoots his chair closer, allowing your hand to fully cradle his face. He covers your bandaged hand with his own. 

“Thank you for saving me,” You whisper to him. 

Jason presses a kiss to the small section of your palm not encased in a cast. 

“I will always save you,” He promises. 

The end! I really loved writing this and I’ve been shocked by the success of it! I’ve got a few ideas for future fics with Jason that I’ll definitely post on here. I do take request, although, for the DC universe, I definitely know the most about Batman/Robins. 

#Jason Todd x reader #Red Hood x reader #jason todd #red hood #nightwing #batman #DC #DC comics #Jason Todd Imagine #Red Hood imagine #jason todd headcanon #red hood headcanons #dick grayson #bless up for dick grayson being jason's impulse control #joker

[cowboisadness]

Hang ‘Em High {Arthur Morgan x OC} Chapter 14

Pairing: Arthur Morgan x FemOC

Summery: Belle Hawthorne is high society looking to escape her mean husband. A robbery by the Van Der Linde gang could be her chance. Can she escape his cluches and possibly discover what love should feel like?

Warnings: None

.....

Chapter 14

Walking back into camp from the river, dumping my belongings at my small tent then borrowing one of the girls pocket mirrors they keep by their bedrolls. The dye definitely did its job. My hair now a deep earthy red reminiscent of the red chestnut Arabian my mother used to own and spoil like it was her fourth child. Happy with the outcome I then set off in search of Hosea. I couldn’t see him anywhere in camp but as I was passing John I asked if he knew where he could be. Told me he was going to meet him at the moonshine wagon they had stolen yesterday. Following him out of camp to where it was hidden. Hosea was there, inspecting the many bottles of moonshine that filled the back of the small wagon. Both of us greeting him as we approached. 

“Ahh, Miss Bella, Just who I wanted to see. I have a little plan with this shine here and I was wondering if you want to join.” Hosea asked, climbing down from the wagon. He seemed to sense my hesitation, coming over to stand beside me and placing a hand on my arm in the hopes it would ease me. “Don’t worry, nothing dangerous and you won’t be left alone. I was just thinking, having a lady present would make us seem less threatening.” 

He looked at me expectantly, waiting for my answer.  

The chance to do something more than camp chores is something I wanted, not that doing chores wasn’t important but I desired to do something more to help. Maybe even bring in some money plus having a few dollars to myself. Growing up on a large farm I’ve never been one to shy away from hard work. Getting my hands dirty on a daily basis was normal, but getting them dirty on the kinda jobs the gang does will involve more than just soil under your nails and hay in your hair. But I’m sure I could trust Hosea seeing as he was one to avoid bloodshed and fights whenever possible, instead, running scams to take what they wanted from right under the noses of unsuspecting folks. “Okay. I’ll help if you think it will be of benefit.”

“Great! I'd suggest it would be better off if you wore something other than pants and equip your gun. Just in case,”

I nodded, feeling a bit more apprehensive about having to be armed. Better safe than sorry I thought as I turned to head back to camp.

“Oh, and Bella,” Hosea called back to me “Love the hair.”

 I changed into a plain baby blue skirt and a white blouse, donning a shawl to avoid the inevitable chill of the evening. Styling my hair into a loose bun allowing a few strands to fall around my face. Once I was ready and had my Cattleman holstered securely to my hip and the knife I still hadn’t returned sheathed beside it I made my way back to Hosea and John. Arthur was there too, asking Hosea what the plan was as they mounted up on the wagon. I sat at the back, feet dangling off the edge acting as the lookout. With this much moonshine just passing the wrong people could cause an unwanted interaction. Arthur called over to ask if I’m sure I’m okay coming along to help. Hosea butting in before I could speak to tell him Arthur will be just fine as I won’t be leaving their sides. Arthur looked over his shoulder at me either waiting for my confirmation or some words of worry. I just gave him a smile and a nod as we made our way along the roads in the direction of Rhodes.  The two men conversed on the plan. Returning the liquor to its owners for a ‘finder's fee’of sorts and to make a formal introduction to the Braithwaite family. In the back of my head, that name sounded familiar but I couldn’t place any faces to the name that dealt in the moonshine business. As they talked about the two apparent rival families in the area, Arthur mentioned a couple torn between both families that he has been helping keep in contact with one another. Imagine that, a big mean outlaw helping two young lovers. The ride wasn’t long, the historic plantation house sitting only a little further south to where we are situated along Flat Iron Lake. The men at the entrance let us go through to make our way towards the house, the grandness of it not being unfamiliar to me.

As we came to a stop the doors ahead opened revealing an older woman, Catherine Braithwaite, followed out by several men. “What you want?” She called out to us from the porch.

“Found something...out on the hills, thought...thought maybe you was in the market for it.” Hosea called back as he made his way to the steps.

“For what?”

“Some liquor.”

“I ain’t in the market for what’s already mine.”

“Way we see it, it’s ours,”  The three of us dismounted and made our way to the foot of the porch. I stood back a little and decided to stay near the horses.  “What with us possessing it, and i-i checked it all over for the life of me I couldn’t see your name on it.”

Now I could see the woman clearly, the faces to that name came flooding back to me. I had met Mrs Braithwaite months ago regarding a couple of horses Frank was wanting to buy. Surely she wouldn’t recognise me considering i had only met her once before and let’s face it, I looked a bit different then. She didn't seem to pay any mind to me. Looking me over once before returning to Hosea as their conversation continued.

“The alternative is you get shot.” a man stepped out behind Mrs Braithwaite, one of her sons I believe, shotgun in hand. Arthur instinctively going for his sidearm, hand hovering over the pistol just waiting for the word. Hosea quick to step in, “Now who wants to get shot over a bottle or two of liquor?” 

The man raised the gun but the woman was quick to stop him, pulling the weapon from his grasp. “Pay the man.”

“Pleasure doing business with ya,” Hosea said as he was handed a clip. “And, listen, we didnt take it, least not without orders from…”

“Oh, I know exactly who gave you your orders. Old sheriff Gray. You know what? I don’t want it. In fact, sir, now you can do me a favour, there’s an extra 10 bucks if you do. Drive the stuff into Rhodes head over to the tavern run by Mr Gray and give the stuff out for free,” She said, shushing one of the boys at her side. This feud between the two families ran deep for sure since she was willing to lose out on some business just out of spite.

“I believe they call that a promotional expense.”  Hosea huffed out a laugh, giving the woman a nod and turned to climb up on the wagon again. Mrs Braithwaite leaving us with parting words regarding playing a game of cribbage.

Heading into Rhodes was the last thing I wanted to do, especially so soon. I just had to make sure I kept my wits about me and to not leave their side for too long. Lord, I felt pathetic being as scared as I was. My pistol being the heavy presence at my side reminded me I could use that if need be.

“I ain’t playing dress-up. You know how I feel about that.”

“Of course you’re not...You’re a clowns.... idiot... brother.”

“Hosea, please…” Arthurs voice taking on a deep tone, one of irritation to whatever Hosea was proposing.

“I’m the clown. You’re the idiot. Just...look sad and keep quiet. Even you can do that, Arthur”

“Do I have to?”

“Put this hat on.” Arthur didn't have a choice in the matter. Hosea already removing his worn gambler hat and replacing it with a wide brim flop hat that was anything but attractive. Without missing a beat Hosea hands him a pipe to smoke and instructing him how to form his face. Despite Arthurs reluctance, he still followed whatever Hosea instructed, but he wasn’t happy in the slightest. I couldn’t help but giggle minutely as I watched. Arthur turned to me with a look of anger and disbelief before huffing out a quiet “shut up.” Covering my mouth to stifle my laughter. 

“What about you?” Arthur now turned his attention back to Hosea

“Shh. You can't speak. You’re turned idiot,” Hosea and I both started laughing now. “Quite broke poor mammy’s heart.” Hosea continued putting on a voice to get into the part causing Arthur to gruff in annoyance. He was hating this. We were loving it.

“There there, Fenton, there there. Don’t get mad now.” The humour had calmed me some. A warm sensation in my stomach overcoming the dread I was feeling the whole ride here. The ache on my cheeks a pleasant one. We pulled into Rhodes parlour house, Arthur dismounting and making his way to where I was sat. Hosea still spewing this little backstory he had created on a whim. 

“Okay, Fenton, stay calm now...for momma, she loved you so...just a shame you had to strangle her in a rage. Right, grab two cases of that stuff and follow me.”

Arthur held out his hand to help me down from the back of a wagon, his expression one of exasperation as he looked at me. Both of us reaching for a crate. 

“You, erm, gonna be okay?” He asked in a whisper.

“I’m sure I will be,” I replied with a smile

“Just stay near me. I’ll keep an eye out, make sure you’re safe.” “Thank you, Arthur - I mean, Fenton.” I couldn’t hold back the grin forming on my face, Arthur just looked at me deadpan as if to say ‘not you too’ as we followed Hosea towards the Parlours side entrance.

This was going to be fun.

@kashasenpai​

#hang em high #hang em high fic #arthur morgan #arthur morgan fic #arthur morgan fanfiction #arthur morgan x oc #rdr2 #rdr2 fic #rdr2 fanfic #arthur morgan x fem oc

[mousehole5000]

wow i made this draft on november 1st i really took a break from this huh anyway tgcf chapters 121 - 142

i realize now this coffin scene was inevitable. feel kinda weird about hua cheng  back and forth from Teen to Big Man but it is very funny that theyre having their “dude dont look at my boner” moment while in the jaws of a water dragon

pei ming: why didnt you guys make a bigger coffin so you didnt have to squish together like that? xie lian: haha yep!! anyways what brings you here?

“In the grand, spacious centre of the entrance hall sat a person. And this person, dressed in all black, its face snow-white—was a corpse! Instantly Xie Lian shut the doors soundly.” - king of minding his own business.

okay this is where i stopped putting notes here for a while but i did save some in my e-reader so here’s some of the highlights

“Guzi used to have a good sleeping form, but perhaps with his cheap dad’s bad influence, now he was also spread out on top of Qi Rong’s stomach like a dead fish. Lang Ying himself was curled neatly in the corner, and was covered by a few shirts. Xie Lian lifted the blanket covering Qi Rong, suppressed the urge to smother his face, and covered the two small children.” - xie lian funny moments. also it would be really funny if qi rong redeems himself by learning love through these misfit chiildren and it might actually endear me to him but i hope that doesnt happen

Every heavenly official was yelling, and even Ling Wen was throwing a fit. “DON’T THROW EVERY BIT OF USELESS INFORMATION MY WAY, HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK I HAVE TO GO THROUGH EVERY DAY? DON’T YOU ALL KNOW TO USE YOUR BRAINS A LITTLE BEFORE ASKING ME?!” - ling wen marry me right now

“An expression like “seen a ghost” that only mortals experienced was now showing on his face for the first time. Shi Wudu’s pupils shrank to the smallest they could, and he blurted, “You’re still alive?!” “I’m dead!” He Xuan said coldly.” - okay everythings going tits up rn but i did laugh

i did see spoilers re: ming yi/he xuan reveal + shi wudu’s fate beforehand so i dont have a genuine reaction other than oh shit

“He slowly enunciated each word. “I won’t touch your fate. But, here in this place, chop off your brother’s head for me.”  CLANG! He threw a rusty blade onto the ground. Shi Qingxuan stared at that blade, his eyes wide. He Xuan continued, “Then, never show yourself before me again, and I will pretend you’ve never existed in this world.” - okay idk what else is going to happen but rn im concerned that this is like the 2nd biggest ship. i guess we’ll see?? i mean i am really curious whats going to happen to them. shi qingxuan keeps calling he xuan “ming-xiong” and i... sad

shi wudu im not really invested in you as a character but these next two bits... interesting

“If I don’t die but have nothing, then that’s truly a fate worse than death. If I’m not the Water God, I can’t take care of you. I won’t even be able to protect myself. I’m scared that we won’t even last two days…TAKE IT!” - damn. something about the wealthy losing everything and not knowing how to live without it bc thats their entire life and identity

“EVERYTHING I HAVE TODAY, I FOUGHT FOR MYSELF. I WILL FIGHT FOR WHAT I DON’T HAVE. I WILL CHANGE FATE I DON’T POSSESS. MY FATE IS UP TO ME AND NOT THE HEAVENS!” - okay so the whole committing spiritual fraud by tormenting a man and his family to get your brother a cushy title thing aside this was kind of badass. heretical? possibly. but still. also is he intentionally riling up he xuan so sqx doesnt have to kill him? if so damn...

also okay as long as im here im just gonna say it. the choice that he xuan gives shi qingxuan is fucking brutal but i actually think its probably as fair as it could be. sqx didnt know about or participate in what happened to hx but they did benefit from it greatly while hx lost EVERYTHING and i can understand he xuan’s thinking of “if you really feel bad for what happened to me then you have to make a sacrifice and understand the suffering and this is as clean as its going to get” and theres a bit where sqx is trying to beg for mercy but cant get the words out which im guessing is bc theres no good argument!! what happened was fucked up!!

“When Pei Ming saw that reinforcements had arrived, he didn’t appear particularly delighted; instead he threw the sword into the ground, then rubbed his nose and said, sounding grim, “You all just had to come just as I finished making these, what the heck.” - pei ming making coffins chopping down trees with his sword i love it #wastehistime2k17

“Xie Lian brought that basket of eggs along, and gave them away as souvenirs from the mortal realm. Many who received the eggs were overjoyed; some deciding to eat it along with their own blood, and some proclaiming they would hatch an eight-foot monster.” - GHOST CITY GHOST CITY

“Placing the brush down, he blew lightly at the ink and smiled. “If I like something, then my heart will not have room for any other, and I’ll always treasure it. A thousand times, a million times, no matter how many years, this will not change. This poem is the same." - thats nice and all but king... get therapy. i actually have further thoughts but tbh i dont want to put them into words bc they are simply too personal! moving on

didnt take any notes but somewhere in here was the bit with mount tong’lu opening and hua cheng losing it and kind of um. hm. that scene. thats another trope i really hate tbh i dont care for it as a way of including physical intimacy between characters and idk if it really ever adds anything but whatever moving on

The Half-Maquillage Woman - kind of interesting monster idea bc women and aging…. yeah. however i think this would be a lot stronger if there were a) more girls and this was b) discussed or illustrated at all prior to this moment. still interesting that its included knowing the author is a woman tho and there’s been comments on how ling wen is perceived vs pei ming. this book does keep giving me hope for interesting female character arcs i really want it to deliver something

quan yizhen..... i get u

lmao i have a note on a bit with lang ying that says “please dont be hc in disguise” and..... my clown nose was on but at least i knew that. for real this is bothering me how much he’s just. always. there. i know he’s a lead but we didn’t really need him around for a lot of this. oh well.  okay now to my current notes

“Yet it was precisely because it wasn’t cooked that it had to be eaten quickly. Once Xie Lian cooked it, it wouldn’t be edible anymore” - fucking fantastic

“Xie Lian hugged his belly. “Of course! Only after having met you did I rediscover that it’s such a simple thing to be happy, hahaha…” Hearing this, Hua Cheng blinked. Xie Lian’s laughter quieted a bit, realizing what he just said was a little too revealing.” - okay i know i said what i said about being tired of hua cheng being everywhere but... the line…. the fact that theyre laughing together…. :pleading:

“It’s not,” Ling Wen said. “At least, I believe, there will definitely not be another in history who can create a dish called ‘Incorruptible Chastity Meatballs’” - and truer words were never spoken

“I, DO NOT WORSHIP GODS. “I, AM GOD!” - this was every bit as badass as i hoped but no one told me it was immediately followed up by a little bit of the ol dinner theater fjalkdsfjsd. also puqi shrine noooooooooo

“Xie Lian sighed as he thought, “Qi Rong has taken Guzi away, who knows if the poor child was eaten or abandoned. Wind Master...... ..... who knows if Black Water took him away. Pray they’re both safe.” yeah hey are we going to fucknig. find out what happened to the child???

and yeah i dooooont really care for the age regression? thing thats going on. i just dont like that trope tbh. but tiny hua cheng whipping out his fat ghost king wallet in the store was funny tho. it is really funny that hualian are just like wandering around some random towns while the heavens are in an uproar. i guess theres not much else to do but its funny

“Me too, me too. You all know of my shixiong, right? Talented, with an infinite future! He only had one small vice: he loved playing women. Decades ago, a little prostitute ghost seduced my shixiong and sucked him dry into human jerky, and that Hua, Hua, Hua, that ghost king dared shelter her.” - yes omg give me the forbidden hua cheng lore i love this for him for real it goes along nicely with xie lian’s principles about giving another cup. god i love shared values

“Hua Cheng poked again, and a small hole appeared on the wall, as if the wall was made of tofu.” - how’d he do that. why is this a ghost king power. its useful tho

*me shaking qi rong when he pops up* WHERE IS THE CHILD

mu qing fu yao is here okay im happy now. once again no one has a good grasp on their secret identity and i love that. this inn has descended into chaos and im delighted and im glad lan chang is back

“The good ol’ kitchen was suddenly squished and crowded, loud and noisy. Fu Yao was chasing that fetus spirit leaping up and down, Lan Chang was chasing after Fu Yao like she had gone mad. Half of Qi Rong’s face changed shape by the way Xie Lian was pressing him down on the chopping board, his back turning into a target for those yellow talismans Fu Yao hurled while being observed by a crowd, and Lan Chang would step on him from time to time.” - this is pure chaos. i love that mu qing was in that room when the mob checked and he didnt say a word didnt open the door just sent out a talisman as a warning. king your disguise is transparent

“Xie Lian remembered the way Feng Xin laughed until he was hoarse when he first heard that verbal password all those years back, and couldn’t help but feel nostalgic, even though it wasn’t the right time.” - awwwww omg im emotional about this... faithful friend feng xin laughing at xie lian’s stupid joke password and remembering it!!! ;_;

“They have, but they’re not effective,” Feng Xin said. “Usually they’re the most diligent in scorning the Palace of Ling Wen, like they could do the job way better if they had the position. Now that we need them to take up the task, not a single one can do even half of what she does.” - typical... typical typical typical

also emotional about the fact that feng xin contacted xie lian at all.....

also!! emotional about lan chang as a mom and wanting to help out sick lil guzi.....

xie lian forcing “fu yao” to let him help “his general” is making me.... what is friendship if not playing along with your buddies little shenanigans while also making them accept your help

“Someone like Mu Qing, even though he’s narrow-minded, petty, sensitive and skeptical, has a bad personality, constantly guessing, doesn’t say nice things, likes to nag, always offending people and has a lot of people who dislike him, has no friends, can remember small, unimportant details for a long period of time…” ”Xie Lian went on in one breath with a straight face, but in the end he concluded with, “...But I’ve known him since we were kids, after all, he’s still got principles.” - XIE LIAN PLEASE AFJDLKSFJDL omg ive seen this quote before but i figured he was talking to someone else not actually to mu qing himself fgjasdkfjsl. god thats amazing. hey im gonna help you out because i care but i will roast you first <3

waaaaaait so is lan chang aka jian lan that girl from book 2 we took a page to talk about and then disappeared? that has to be it why else would we have stopped to discuss her

“Jian Lan spat on his face, then choking his neck, she slapped him twice again. “WHAT SHITTY SUPREME! YOU SURE KNOW HOW TO BLOW YOURSELF UP! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, THINK YOU’RE EVEN WORTH TO BE THOUGHT OF AS EQUALS WITH THE OTHER THREE SUPREMES? WHAT ARE YOU EVEN GOOD AT? YOUR THICK SKIN? OF COURSE I DARE HIT YOU!” - oh this feels so good i cant lie. YES GET HIM!! CHOMPING AND VIOLENCE YES!!!!

okay this description of cuocuo.... im... that sure the hell is a creature

this book is so entertaining bc i already saw spoilers for the feng xin/jian lan/cuo cuo reveal and yet i could never have predicted the circumstances that brought it about. imagine being feng xin. the heavens are in an uproar and your only friend/enemy has been jailed for possible fetus spirit-related crimes but he escapes along with this female ghost who keeps causing problems. you figure “fuck it lets see if dianxia kept his old phone number” and he has but then he hangs up on you. you’ve got fuckall else to do so you go find him. mu qing is there but he’s in his disguise the two of you were using so you could watch over his highness while staying aloof. you think you see hua cheng only he’s a chiild for some goddamn reason but who knows at this point. the female ghost is also there and theres a fetus spirit climbing trees and biting your arrows in half. you realize the female ghost is your ex and the little demon is your son. it bites you. what do you do

amazing that despite everything going on everyone is still playing along with the “fu yao” persona when it would probably be easier to drop pretenses at this point. then again tbh if i could explain my actions to my friends while pretending to be a third party.... i probably would so.. carry on

“With all his devotees gone, only Feng Xin still treated him like the Flower-Crowned Martial God and His Highness the Crown Prince. ” “...his protection charms were all seen as trash. However, Feng Xin was still determined and tireless in handing them out; telling Xie Lian, look, you still have devotees.” “After all, he was the darling of the heavens since birth, high and mighty. Feng Xin so naturally spun around him like he was the world, so how could he possibly have his own life, his own heart” “Whether or not that fetus spirit was Feng Xin’s son, if it was that period of poverty that made Feng Xin lose the girl he loved, Xie Lian wouldn’t be able to forgive himself no matter what." ohhhh my god this relationship i. im...

oh my god i still have 30 more chapters until book 4............ its naptime now i think

#tgcf liveblog #so close and yet so far...... #i keep hearing tell of this fabled book 4 i must press onwards...... #but now im sleepy..... #mouse mumbles

[weirdostoner]

For the Love of a Monster Ch. 1

Instead of updating I decided to post this here 🤷🏼‍♀️ maybe I'll actually get to the next chapter soon. This is a billwise idea that just kinda took off. On mobile so sorry if the format is weird.

It was the summer when Bill turned 17 when everything came roaring back into place. The six years in between had been good to the Losers, though they now had the memories to fill in the hazy gap.

Ignorance is bliss Bill thinks to himself. He’s angry at himself- for letting the memory of Georgie fade to the back of his mind. As if his little brother didn’t matter. As if a part of him hadn’t died right along with the boy.

He comes back to the moment, to the six almost adults gathered around him. The few years that passed changed them all; similarities to their younger selves were all that were left. He thinks of the boy, the dead child , that has brought them all here and a chill fills him.

“This is fucking insane. I thought you killed the clown six years ago!” Richie’s voice had deepened, but remained no less nerve grating. It wasn’t the first time the others had heard him say some variation of the same, and they unfortunately expected it wouldn’t be the last.

“I-I’ve sa-said it b-b-before, R-rich-chie. S-so did I,” Bill replied no less confused than Richie, and growing more irritated with the other teen.

“Ok, let’s forget that,” Beverly cuts in- and everyone quiets to listen to her. “Has anyone seen It?”

The boys look to each other, some thinking for a moment before shaking their head.

“No,” Mike answers for all of them.

“Neither have I,” Beverly continues, “Don’t you think that’s...weird?”

Bill supposes that it is. Last time around they could barely go a day without It going after at least one of them. And it’d already been a week without any sign of the clown other than a little boy missing.

“Do you think it’s waiting?” Stanley voices, and Bill notices the way he’s shaking.

“C-could be, b-but w-why?” Why wait now that It was awake? Seeing as Bill had only managed to injure it, they’d all be scrambling once again for a way to kill It. Now was the perfect time for It to attack- so why hadn’t It?

“Maybe It’s still weak,” Ben’s answer is an obvious one, and also the easiest to stomach. It would mean they’d have more time to come up with a plan. Whether they had enough of it to be successful was the real concern.

“Maybe,” Bill says, choosing to neither agree nor disagree. Something in him told the teen that wasn’t it. The feeling of being watched only cemented it. He kept his face straight, though the hair on his neck and arms stood up. Despite being panicked, he felt no genuine fear, and didn’t want to alarm his friends with the reaction.

“Guys, it’s getting dark. Maybe we should just go home for now,” Eddie sounded nervous, for good reason. Though Bill wasn’t sure if he was more afraid of the clown or his own mother.

“S-sounds like a p-plan,” Bill says, standing up from the milk crate that acted as a chair. The rest were a bit slower in joining him, aside from Eddie and Stanley. One by one, they climbed up out the hideout, helping one another.

“What if It shows up and we’re alone,” Stanley asks, fear in his voice. Bill takes a moment to put a hand on his shoulder, steadying him.

“F-find o-one of us,” he answers,” a-and reme-member, I-it c-can’t hu-hurt you if yuh-you don’t l-let It.”

He’s not sure how much his words actually help, but the other teen tries for a smile regardless.

They each mount their bikes, waiting for someone to speak.

“W-we’ll meet b-back here t-tomorrow,” Bill says, because what is he if not a leader? “T-tomorrow o-or so-sooner if w-we need t-to,” he stresses, waiting for everyone to show their acknowledgment. Once he has it, he turns Silver in the direction of home.

If he could call it that. He sends a thought of safety to his friends and begins the ride back.

______

He’s halfway home, sky steadily getting darker, when he notices it.

And, well, It .

The sudden sense of danger puts him on high alert, latent instincts once again activated from what his body knows is a predator. He doesn’t stop pedaling. Glancing around slowly, his heart sinks into his stomach. In the treeline of a house in front of him, Bill sees a shock of wild copper and the orange glow of eyes. Then there’s just It- smiling maniacally at him with needle teeth on full show.

When It notices him looking back, It waves one long arm in a slow wave. Those eyes follow him as he passes, smile stretched across It’s face the entire time.

Bill pedals faster, pulling away from the ‘clown’. He glances back when he makes it down the street, but the clown is gone. A quick sweep around him confirms It really is and isn’t just playing a twisted trick.

Shaken from adrenaline, Bill continues his ride home, nervously glancing around. Parking his bike in the usual spot when he gets home, Bill climbs right up the stairs to his room when he’s inside. Neither of his parents try to stop him- barely seem to notice he’s returned.

After he changes and climbs into bed, he takes a moment to think. Why had It come to Bill first?

Out of all the Losers, he’d been the least scared the last time around, so why choose him?

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t come up with a sound reason.

Finally sleep came, thoughts of the clown still filling his head as he slipped further into its embrace.

He dreams of many strange things that night. Most of them in some way or another feature It. Nothing makes sense, but he feels no fear.

In fact...he feels almost safe .

He remembers none of them when he awakes.

____

It returned to Neibolt house in giddy spirits. Spying on his Billy at first had only enraged It. Seeing the boy (for despite how old the child might like to think himself, he would always be a speck next to the eons It had) surrounded by his friends always managed to irritate It. That they spoke of ways to try and harm Pennywise was what truly made It livid.

They thought It weakened from them. Some humans that were nothing but cattle to It. The very idea was humorous.

Soon they will see.

It did not hide from children and felt no fear for what they might come up with. Instead It remembered the heady mix of their fear, mingled together in the hole they called a hideout.

It felt excitement when the though of Billy returned. It would have a feast and a mate.

Billy wasn’t quite ready yet, still attached to his human friends. But the time was soon approaching, and with it a deal It knew his Billy would not refuse.

Smiling wide, eyes blank with insanity, Pennywise lowered Itself down the well and into Its home.

#billwise #pennybill #pennywise #bill denbrough #It #with a capital i #bill denbrough x pennywise #pennywise the dancing clown #fanfic #my work

[thoughtfullyyoungduck]

Married at first sight part three

summary: Eddie and Richie’s first dinnerparty, meeting the other couples

A/N:  this is a part three, I hope you enjoy it. Again this was based on mafs Australia, so I don’t know if this is how it goes in all the variants of the show. Please let me know what you think!

@impalagurl67​

The night of the first dinner party , it’s surprisingly Richie that’s more stressed. Eddie had expected him to be the voice of reasons, as he usually was, but no, It’s Eddie’s turn to keep his head cool. 

This time though, Richie was working himself up badly, even having resorted to asking Eddie more than a few times if his outfits were alright.

Eddie was nervous too, but he was trying to hide it, so it wouldn’t become a cycle and cause Richie to obsess even more.

when he reentered the living room for a fifth time, wearing yet again something else then before, Eddie rolled his eyes in annoyance. ‘You look great Richie, don’t fret so much.’

Richie looked up at Eddie in surprise, as if he was expecting Eddie to lie and say that he looked hideous. Eddie knew that Richie wasn’t too comfortable with the way he looked, even though he had no idea how he was unable to see himself the way Eddie saw him.

Still, little things like this reminded Eddie that no matter how irrational, Richie felt that way, and Eddie would spend every day he could to help change his mind.

‘I don’t lie to you now do I? You told me yourself. I’m like a prissy old woman who will complain to your manager regardless of any excuses, I will not hold back’, Eddie tries his best to imitate Richie’s voice, but he fails flat. Impressions are mostly Richie’s thing, not his.

After a few weeks of living together however, they started to rub off on each other. Eddie was less aware of the camera pointed at his face at all times and was more prone to step out of his comfort zone. Excpet the parts where he had to look straight into the camera and give his commentary about an event that happened, that was not his thing at all. While Richie in turn had developed a habit of cleaning up after himself, purely because he knew it annoyed Eddie.

Sometimes it felt like Eddie’s heart would burst out of his chest with emotion. The, dare he use the word, love that consumed him from top to bottom when he thought of  his husband, was something he had never felt before. He hadn’t even been aware that such a feeling could exist.

If you had asked Eddie a year before the whole experiment and meeting Richie how he would respond to such an intents emotion, he would have responded with panic.

Something changed though, and the fact that he was in love with a man didn’t make him feel like he would throw up anymore. and it was not just any man, it was Richie, and Eddie was starting to get the idea that by only hearing his name, whatever negative emotion still lingered, ebbed away like the sea did at night.

His only request was that he find a way to explain that all to Richie himself. Eddie is not good with words, he knows that and thanks to his friends and Richie it’s something he’s working on, yet it’s still so difficult to open his mount and vocalize the feelings their close proximity was providing, even after having spend a long time period cooped up in a small hotel room.

That and the fact that Eddie was still unsure about their relationship. He was desperate not to get his heart broken, even with the brave face he was putting on, and the endless stream of insults Richie laughed away every single time, he was a sensitive man by heart.

They had a lot of things in common, that was for sure, from the way the both of them were stubborn as hell, to the place they grew up, but there were also a lot of differences, Eddie couldn’t help but take notice off. Richie was loud and unbothered by the amount of space he took up. In fact, he seemed to thrive under the attention from others, whilst Eddie tended to shy away from the focus of others. It made sense that Richie liked that sort of thing, seeing as he was famous for capturing people’s attention during shows, but Eddie didn’t think it would be that present in their everyday lives.

Eddie wasn’t stupid, he understands Richie more than Richie himself might peg him for, and he remembers what he said on their first night together, about how he was scared that people would forget about him. And Eddie understands that, a little, for he was also really scared that he would be left with nobody if he didn’t stick around by his mother, they just handle their fears differently.

The outgoing personality of Richie, versus the wanting-to-be-invisible in public personality from Eddie caused enough reasonable doubt in Eddie that they might not match with one another.

Eddie wondered if any of the other couples had the same problems. Although it was mostly Richie who was fearing the dinner party, Eddie wasn’t completely reassured either. He knew that he would compare himself to the others, as soon as he laid eyes on them. It had always been that way for him, even since he was a child. His diseases his mother claimed he had, already resulted in him being different from everyone else, and so he did whatever he could to make sure he mirrored his peers for everything else.

But This was a different situation, one where there were no standard responses, no right way of doing things, no guides to gently angle them in the right direction. So far, Eddie and Richie had been in their own bubble, in which they did everything in their own pace, but Eddie was certain that as soon as he saw the others, he would try to mold his relationship to appear like theirs.

At least, that was how he would normally act. The determination clogging every vein is his body was trying very hard to keep stealthy, to not follow his mother for the so manieth time.

He didn’t tell Richie any of his worries, as he was always venting about how hard it was for him to be on the show, and he refused to give Richie any doubts about them. Even when Richie had never been anything but kind and patient with him.

‘Yeah yeah you’re right Spaghetti. If you think I’m hot, then I’m sure your mom will feel the same, and if she feels the same, then I feel the same too.’

The glare Eddie shot Richie did nothing to stop the thunderous laugh that Richie let free, but Eddie cared less about that than he would ever admit. When Richie laughed, the dark clouds that clouded Eddie’s vision would evaporate for a few moments, making it the highlights of his day.

Not that there were many downs in the first place.

‘Come om Rich, if we don’t leave now, we might be late. I cannot, I repeat cannot be late on the first day of meeting these people. If we were to leave now, we would definitely not be the first, which is great because I am not prepared to having to sit there and wait and pretend to be comfortable and like the both of us haven’t been worrying about this for days, even though this fucking dress shirt is cutting of my air supply and that’s going to be really tricky.’ Eddie sucked in a huge breath of air, another Kaspbrak rant coming to end.

‘But if we’re the last, then everyone will already have met each other and stare at us like we’re fucking clowns in a circus when we go in.’ After a pause where there is no response, Eddie hastily adds, ‘so I’d like to leave now please.’

Okay so maybe it’s not just Richie that’s a little bit stressed.

His eyes flung up to meet Richie’s, the position making Richie appear bigger and larger than he already was compared to him when standing up. Richie was sporting a smile on his face, a real one, not the fake obnoxiously large one he used when a fan came up to him to try out a joke and it fell flat, and he wasn’t heartless enough to not laugh. The real smiles caused Eddie’s heart to stop for a moment, a beat where every atom in his body was purely focused on Richie, before realizing, oh hey we can look at this gorgeous man whenever we want, let’s get back keeping Eddie alive so he can.

‘I’m so glad they matched me with you’, is what Richie said after a few moments. Eddie can’t help but throwing a smile shyly his way, accepting the hand extended to him to slot their hand together.

‘Sap’ Eddie murmured under his breath, but inconspicuously inching closer to Richie’s side as they left their apartment, and entered the car.

As always, Richie opened the car door, letting Eddie slide in first. When he walked across the car, getting in on the other side, Eddie allowed himself a moment to check Richie out. He ended up wearing a yellow Hawaiian shirt with jeans, which wasn’t anything fancy but it was Richie, and that was more than enough.

Looking down the inspect his own clothing, Eddie figured he was a bit overdressed. He had decided on wearing a cardigan that was just on the side of too tight, with cufflinks, he also wore a dress pants, in a warm beige.

Now he was starting to feel self-conscious. However, Richie told him that he looked good, and Eddie convinced himself that that was all that mattered.

The car ride itself didn’t last very long, which Eddie lucked out in, for car rides seamed to increase his anxiety levels. Luckily Richie held his hand the entire way there, not even thinking of letting go. No words were able to describe how much Eddie loved him for it.

‘Do you think there will be other gay couples?’ Eddie asks after he sees Richie squirm in his seat for the third time in ten minutes. It’s not a thought he had spend much time thinking about, but it was an important one. He did not want to deal with a homophobe at all.

Patients wasn’t something Eddie accumulated with Richie at first, everything about Richie screamed inpatient, but when it came to dealing with Eddie, Richie never pressured him into anything. Which meant that they had only started holding hands only a two days prior, and the both of them were still searching how and when hand holding was appreciated and when not.

Richie shrugged. ‘I don’t know, but if there aren’t, I’ll turn all those hetero’s gay when they look at me.’

Eddie laughed, despite his best efforts not too. ‘Besides, even if they suck, they can’t be worse than the bullies from my hometown.’

A scowl formed on Eddie’s forehead, thinking back to the story’s Richie had trusted upon him about his childhood. Part of him hoped that those assholes were dead in a ditch somewhere.

‘I wouldn’t let them do anything to you Rich.’ Eddie promised with his whole heart, however wanted to hurt Richie now, was going to have to go through him.

He completely missed the look of pure adoration Richie shot him, too busy thinking of ways to respond should anyone feel the need to comment on the fact that they were gay.  

Eddie, as usual, was right. They were not the first, but thankfully, they were not the last either. Two couples were seated side by side and a large sofa in the middle of the room, all of them sporting a drink in their hands.

The table were the drinks were presented on, was placed in the right corner behind the couch, and Richie had already decided what drink he would be ingesting later, before he even took a good look at the contestants.

Eddie shouldn’t have worried, since there were three men, and only one woman, meaning that there were at least two other gay lovers. He walked towards the woman first, as she had already stood up, her arms opened in a loving gesture, and enveloped him as soon as he was within reach. It was then that Eddie noticed that he still had Richie’s hand clasped in his, and disappointment made it’s presence when Eddie was forced to let go in order to hug her.

‘I’m Beverly, but you can me Bev.’

Her voice sounded like honey felt; warm and mushy, and Eddie liked her before he even got a change to truly get to know her. A flash of excitement washed over him. He had been so worried, but he hadn’t considered the possibility that it could be fun to meet people who maybe had the same problems as him.

He moved over to what he assumed was her husband, a strong ridiculously good looking man, wo also gave him a hug, and told him his name was Ben. If Richie didn’t have the entirety of Eddie’s heart, and Ben would be gay, damn straight Eddie would go for him.

When Eddie turned to greet the other two man, he overheard the conversation between Richie and Beverly.

‘Aren’t you that famous comedian, Trasmount Tozier?’

‘Why yes I am my fair lady, hey Eds you hear that, somebody recognizes me.’

Eddie ignored him, though the urge to roll his eyes was very persistent. The other man gniffled, introducing himself as William, Bill Denbrough. Then the man lovingly gestured at his partner while stepping back into his side as soon as he could, letting the other man introduce himself as Mike Hanlon.

They seemed right for each other, their general aura and vibe shining through in just the way they wordlessly followed the others lead. When they glanced at one another, they both inconspicuously tried to pretend that they were not looking, and it was awful for Eddie to feel relieved by that, but he did. It showed that it wasn’t just him and Richie that were a bit timid.

Ben and Beverly seemed like the sweetest pair of people anyone could ever meet. Especially Ben. He was good looking sure, but his biggest attribute was the kindness he showed, to Beverly but also to everyone else. He seemed like the type of person who could never hate anyone, despite what they may have done to him. Bev appeared to be sweet as well, but Eddie could tell that she was also fiery, and that you shouldn’t try to double cross her, or you might end up in trouble. He suspected that he would get along with her great.

They offered them a drink, a glass of champagne which they insisted that they drank, and because Eddie didn’t want to seem stuck up, he took it and sipped little bits of it. Richie and him sat together on a different sofa, as close as humanly possible. They had just plopped down when the door opened again, and another man and woman made an appearance.

They both looked as cool and collected as any person could be, in particular the man, but they seemed kindhearted too.

They came up to Richie first, Eddie cringed when Richie pulled the man close into an embrace, he was however pleasantly surprised when man caustically returned the hug. ‘My name is Stanley’, he said while moving over to Eddie.

A chorus of ‘hey Stanley’ was heard throughout the room, followed by a ‘hi Patty’, when the woman introduced herself. They too were given a glass of champagne, right after they chose the seat next to Eddie and Richie.

To everyone’s surprise, Richie and Stan hit it off straight away. Richie would do whatever he could to provoke Stan, as he always did with Eddie, and Stan would give deadpan answers, causing the whole group to burst out in laughter.

The jealousy Eddie figured he would experience never made an appearance, for Richie kept his hand on Eddie’s thigh the entirety of the evening, and all it made Eddie feel was supported.

They discovered they all grew up in Derry Maine, which was odd, since they were all around the same age yet they had never seen each other around at school. They wrote it off as a weird coincidence, and Eddie tried to occupy his mind from overthinking it. A nagging feeling in the back of his head seemed to tauntingly tell him something. Yet he couldn’t figure it out.

Al in all the night went amazing. By the end of the event, Eddie was sure he had 7 new friends, and that no matter what happened, they would remain that way after the experience.

With these people, he was not the odd one out, everyone of them was different, but everyone also fit in. They all had experiences that differed from the other, but they also all fit in perfectly.

Each one of them had their own crosses to bare, in their relationship but also in their personal life. Eddie trusted them enough to tell them about his mom, or he would have if the camera’s weren’t there.

Ben was insecure because he had been a bit chubbier as a kid, and he constantly felt like his partners deserved better than him.

Beverly had a horrifying experience with her dad, even though she was hesitant and didn’t say what, only revealing that she had trust issues.

Stanley dealt with some mental health issues, that were still lingering through in his every day life.

Patty had family members who were going through the same things as Stan, so she was very protective.

The death of his little brother had been a traumatic event that defined most of Bill’s young and adult life, but he was trying hard to move past it.

Mike’s parents were killed during a fire, and loneliness was his best friend because of it for years.

Eddie’s breathing got a bit easier with the knowledge that he wasn’t the only one who was a little out of the ordinary.

When Richie and Eddie made their way back home, holding hands like they had been doing throughout the event, Eddie’s view on their future, got a little lighter. The conversation he had helped him put things into perspective, and with newfound courage, Eddie couldn’t wait to continue their journey.

#reddie #reddie fluff #married at first sight #adult reddie #reddie imagine #it chapter two imagine #it chapter 2 #richie tozier #eddie kaspbrack

[takemybodynotmysoul]

plotttttt

You and Berry go to the lake in order to try to catch the legendary Pokémon. You meet Prof. and Dawn, and just like in Diamond, they leave their case.

Then, Cyrus appears out of there. Saves you from some wild Pokémon and choose a starter. His attire his much more science-like, and the team is not called Team Galactic, but Galaxy Corporation. 

Then, we get a cutscene of going back to your house to tell your mother about what happened, and Giratina is seen on the reflection on the lake. 

You get to Sandgem Town, and notify Dawn/Lucas and Rowan about everything. You get the starter you received, and then get to name it

Side note: Rowan has been tweaked slightly, and he is written as a much more grumpy character, and Dawn/Lucas is his grandchild, who is unsure about what they want to with their lives. They will be your secondary rival.

By the way, there are three Pokédex entries for each Pokémon in The New Pokémon Platinum. You will be able to unlock them if you catch a certain amount of Pokémon, and for the first time in the series, completing the Pokédex has actual consequences. As you complete it, you will find brand new Pokémon habitats in both Snadgem and Twinleaf town, that the Professor was able to construct thanks to the data you collected.

So, you start your journey. By the way, THERE IS NO MANDATORY CATCHING TUTORIAL. A slide will pop on the screen, and if you are interested in the catching tutorial, it will indicate you to talk to Lucas/Dawn.

_______________________________________________________

There are no changes in the camera angle when encountering important characters, only normal angle (from behind) and full-on cutscenes.

In Jubilife City, you will be acquainted with Looker. It’s not as tedious as the originals, the dialogue is quick and you are only warned of shady people. You are given the VS. Recorder by Dawn, and then you can have your battle with Barry by the school. The clown-clock situation is completely optional, and will fuction by popping on the right side of the screen.

On the route on your way to Orebough City, you will find a static Shroomish that is there to start the Mew event that will be distributed in the game’s release.

Once upon arrival, a kid will point to the gym, but not force you to get there. You are still supposed to find Roark by the mine, and once you get there you will see that it has been expanded. After getting the badge, the new ways TM’s work will be explained: one needs a rock type Pokémon that knows a rock type move to break down the boulders, and once you break them, they will STAY broken.

After getting the badge, you will be explained (by Dawn/Lucas, after a battle) how the side-missions go. They are little missions you can take part in, and after completing them, you will either be given an Egg of a Pokémon that cannot be found in the wild, or that are from another region. There are, at the very least, five of them to do in every town. They are not big, but they will 100% expand on the region and offer some extra events with the Galactic corporation.

When leaving Jubilife to get to Eterna City, there is an event with some scientists like from the GC (Galaxy Corporation) get confronted because they are exploiting a Magnemite on the street. This event helps begin to explain how they work, much more differently than they did in the OG’s.

Basically, they are a scientific corporation that works in the region and has, overall, a pretty bad reputation: they tend to overwork their employees, as well as receive complaints because they bother the wild Pokémon. Cyrus is their leader, and his fascination with Giratina and the others is tweaked to seem much more believable and much less end-of-the-world type of ordeal. 

Giratina senses Cyrus is one fascinated with Myth, and tries too hard to find out the truth behind everything. His passion for history is borderline insane, and he has, like previously mentioned, a pretty nasty reputation. He will put anything at risk if it means getting the data he needs, his research is more important to him than anything else.

Giratina, as we all know, was banished to the DW by Arceus, and it begins to sense that Cyrus is its way out. What better way to get out of the DW than have a clearly unstable man try to break you out of it? Therefore, it starts to show itself on mirrors or reflective surfaces, which greatly affects Cyrus’ mental health, making him believe he is either insane or chosen.

His ultimate goal is to get the legendaries, Palkia and Dialga, to open the world and let him be the one to explore the Distorsion World. So, he must find a way to get the Red Chain. Therefore, he starts to hunt the Lake Trio.

He is, however, not written to be completely insane. He is manipulated by the brand new antagonist of the game (inspired by the anime) Hunter J. She’s a merciless hunter that sells Pokémon to an association that hides in the Battle Frontier. In the encounters with officer Jenny, she’ll mention how they have been suspecting her for a while, but her status as a Frontier Brain is too powerful, plus, they do not have any substantial leads.

She is aware of how twisted Cyrus’ plans are, and she is the one to push him over the edge:

After you save the old man’s Clefairy from the Eterna building, she will convince Cyrus that the only way to get what he wants is to go after it. From that moment on, the GC work together with her and they start to become more of a criminal organization, as they are escorted out of their numerous headquarters, but not arrested.

Obviously, J isn’t stupid, she’s just using Cyrus to find legendary Pokémon and then sell them. She is far mroe antagonistic, and meets her demise at the DW, when she her trusty Salamance gets tired of her and lets her falls into the deep end.

She is the one to move the plot along, alongside the commanders. She is the one to set off bombs on two of the lakes, and you fight her several times.

Some important information that will be expande upon later on is tht, after Gardenia’s badge, you can go anywhere you want to in Sinnoh except for Canalave City and Snowpoint (including the brand new cities of Alamos, Hillwater, Greenstation and Senders Town). The only roadblocks are ones you can get rid of with TM’s no ‘YOU CAN’T PASS’ nonsense. The only one that is kind of like that is, actually, not annoying at all. You are unable to get to Celestic Town before badge number 6 so, after you do, to make sure that you do not skip the event with Cynthia’s grandmother, they add Whirlpools before Canalave. To get the ‘TM’ you must deliver the Charm to her.

How it works:

REGARDING GYMS

They are scaled, and depending on which one you decid to tackle first, the leader will ahve one or other Pokémon at certain levels. Also, you are obligated to use only as many Pokémon as the Gym leader uses. This is not an issue, because after the fourth badge, they all get 6 Pokémon.

Volkner is now no longer the last gym leader, that honor is Candace’s. He is instead, the sixth. After defeating Fantina, Wake, and Maylene at the order you please, you will be able to use STRENGHT. This will let you go on a little extra quest where you have to find Volker (he’s at the Jilted Park). After defeating him, you finally get the ability to Surf, and can go to the expanded Canalave City. After that, you will be given the ability to Waterfall, and be able to go on your Snowpoint journey.  

REGARDING PLOT

You will have some optional encounters with the (now fugitives) GC, and they will be on some of the routes between Alamos City, Hearthome Parish, and Veilstone (there is also a small event here), and have to be driven off because they are abusing the wild Pokémon.

However, after you finally get the 5th badge, the explosion on the Great Marsh goes off. You fight Junter J, and she flies away. Then, can go on to your next badge.

After defeating Volkner, there is an issue with them violating some rules regarding the energy of the city, but the next big event is after you get your seventh badge. The explosions on all of the three lakes go off. Instead of being sent there to fix it (insanity), Rowan simply encourages you because the cities nearby are in need of volunteers to help them with the damage. When you get to Valor and Verity, the reason you fight the grunts and commanders is because you catch them trying to escape. Then, you are still encouraged to go to Snowpoint because Lake Acuity’s wildlife has been threatened by the bomb, and they need help from as many trainers as they can get.

After getting there and getting your eight gym badge, you are able to access the Lily of the Vally conference, and go to the Lake to give help. There you find out that ANOTHER bomb was just inmediatly set off, and that they now have, succesfully, caught the guardians.

You get to infiltrate the Veilstone HQ next. There, you find that they have turned it into some sort of nightmarish base, and they are keeping the guardians. Berry actually goes alongside you here, as it benefits his story arc, which I will touch on later. After busting their operation, they manage to get away thanks to Hunter J, and go off to Moun Coronet. 

Then, Cynthia reveals (and Palmer of all trainers) join and send a message to the region, encouraging all of the trainers to head to Mount Coronet in order to fight Cyrus. Once again, there is no end-of-the-world nonsense, she just encourages trainers to help the Lake Trio, some legendary Pokémon that have helped humans and trainers since the beggining of humanity. It’s much more engaging this way, and MUCH less preachy.

On your way up the mountain, you run into some of the stat trainers you have been meeting before, and it is quite moving to see how everybody is trying to help the Lake Trio.

Once you get up, after fighting a 12 on 12 battle with Mars and Jupiter, and Cyrus uses The Lake Trio, Dialga and Palkia to open the portal, Giratina swallows you, Cynthia, Hunter J and Cyrus into the Distortion World. 

There (it’s all in a fish-eye camera, very much atmospheric), you solve the puzzles and get to fight Cyrus who, after some dialogue with Cynthia and J, gets a redemption.

After J’s falling, you fight Giratina (are unable to catch it yet though) to let you all out of there. Once you emerge at the Sendoff Spring, you get the conclusion with the last Giratina-reflection-sighting in the fourth lake, but instead of menacingly looking at Cyrus, it looks at you.

Then, you get to Lily of the Valley island, go through Treebove Path, and fight in the Lily of the Valley conference. You fight the stat trainers, and Lucas/Dawn in the finale, and are finally able to go through the Victory Road and challenge the League.

After the Barry fight and the Elite 4, you fight Cynthia by the ocean. After you win, the credits roll. Overall, with the expanded routes, brand new locations, revamped plot, and new rivals, the story is the most complete of any of the games, and is, without a dubt, the longest main campaign of the Pokémon games. Will continue with the side-missions and non-Calaxy plot, and post-game later.