#watching troop zero

[cave-monkey]

Monkey King 2009 Episode 11

Ohhhh I really liked this one.

First, I have to say it, comparing the four generals now to Episode 1, they have come a long way. At least in regards to the tactical side of their jobs (they should still not at all be directly responsible for children). When they thought the enemy had found their camp and were closing in, they were on their shit. Marshal Ma was snapping out orders immediately, no one was contradicting anyone else or squabbling or anything, and it was definitely a Sign Of Growth.

Or the major and repeated servings of humble pie they've been swallowing recently. Active war will probably do that to you, especially when you can't blame your scapegoat for your failures after you ran him off.

Also once again showcasing their highly conditional displays of respect and goodwill. Stone Monkey pops back up with Six Ears and he's being called a "Little Hero" now, huh? You literally drove him out of the troop to his possible death and didn't care much at all not that long ago, my guys. We all saw you. You can't fool us.

And, eyyyy, Six Ears. Buddy. Bud.

Oh no.

I can see where it's coming from, is the thing. He used to be the kid pulling off the stupidly risky feats and being praised and rewarded for it. "Earning his place". The sacrificial lamb to Stone Monkey's scapegoat. Neither is a great role to be filling, but Six Ears doesn't know that, and the life of a sacrificial lamb probably still looks a whole heck of a lot better when you're looking at it from the place of the scapegoat. And now it looks like Stone Monkey's taking his place, right, and without that...where does he fit? He knows how conditional the approval of the four generals is, and at the start of the series he dealt with their hot-and-cold reception of him by flippantly ignoring it, but he did experience it. Stone Monkey has had it "worse", but Six Ears isn't so far removed from it that he can't easily imagine himself being in Stone Monkey's place, I'd think. So it's no real wonder he's territorial of his "place" in the troop, feels like the four generals', the troop's, (and possible Old Monkey King's) regard is a finite resource, and reacts badly to feeling like it's all being "stolen". Jealousy is rooted in insecurity, and Six Ears has absolute heaps of that.

And speaking of insecurity, it's also worth noting that he keeps continuously being captured and having his autonomy and ability to protect himself removed, over and over and over again, and this time he was almost tortured. By having his ears cut off while he was tied down and unable to fight back. We don't know how long it took the kids to track down the troop again, but since we're meant to assume the entirety of the surviving troop made it to the cave, the commanders would have needed to have at least enough to time to track the scattered groups down. In that case I'd imagine this is several days later at least, but still only days. Maybe a week or two at most. Six Ears probably hasn't had the time to really process what almost happened to him, but it would still be there in his head. He also, unfortunately, didn't have a whole lot of agency in his own rescue either, so that lack of control, that lack of feeling like he can keep himself safe, and shame at his own helplessness has got to be eating him alive. Take the above belief that he needs to earn his troop's support or risk losing it entirely with the fact it's very unlikely this kid has actually felt safe anytime in a very long time, not since the Demon King's incursions first really started honestly, and Six Ears is definitely not going to be doing well. So double up that insecurity and set it on fire with a heaping spoonful of desperation and you probably have Six Ears's emotional state right now.

*sigh*

He's definitely going to pull some shit, basically.

And holy cow someone actually called General Beng out on his pretentious language. General Ba was NOT having it. I actually almost kinda felt bad for General Beng. He's just trying to make his report, starts tripping over his literary references, and General Ba comes out swinging immediately. "Come ON. Do you think we have the time for you to be pulling out this grandparent talk?! SIT DOWN." And General Beng is like "):".

Like, harsh, General Ba. Fair! But dang. It wasn't the time at all, but General Beng trying to comfort himself by falling back on his quotes and poetry was actually kind of, I don't know, sad. Everyone is just really upset here. General Beng's trying to self-soothe, General Ba is lashing out, and the Marshals are...uh...dissociating back there? (Hey, actually, yeah, Marshals, why are you letting your generals struggle through delivering this very important report to the king instead of doing it for them? Or swooping in at least, when they fumble? What do you even DO?)

And I'm not 100% sure, but General Ba also seems to make a pun on General Beng's stuttering over 此乃 (fancy schmancy "this is")? Or at least that's how I read it, and it kind of made me laugh. Honestly my Chinese isn't good enough to catch most wordplay, so I could also be barking up the wrong tree entirely, in which case, don't mind me. I'm still gonna giggle at it, though. (General Beng: "This g-, uh, This g-" General Ba: "This GRANDMA.")

General Ba even liked that turn of phrase so much he repeated it again later. Poor General Beng will never be able to use his beloved 此 in General Ba's hearing ever again without having "How's it feel being a GRANDMA" yelled at him immediately.

But honestly, General Ba is pulling zero punches here. He's genuinely rattled, since he's finishing General Beng's report for him by going, "Look, fancy language or no fancy language, all I know is we took everyone to the back of the mountain and the enemy was already there. They are everywhere. We have nowhere to go and we are fucking dead." He also has this really haunted look to him. General Beng is only the first casualty. General Ba has looked death in the eyes and is going a bit feral about it. No one is safe.

Plus that one monkey soldier coming back and breaking down in tears because "the monkeys without weapons are getting the worst of it...they had to run away."

"Run away". Right.

Listen, guys. Just say they died. We understand.

I'm actually noticing this cartoon is fine with having soldiers screaming KILL THEM ALL with no hesitation, graphic death threats abound, but they don't like admitting anyone actually died. Especially not the monkeys. I think that's a bit of an odd line to draw, but I'll respect it.

(They definitely died, though. Those tears tell all. Non-combatants led around to the back of the mountain and straight to their deaths, I guess. Yikes.)

Bless Ginseng Fruit for trying to defend the boundaries in Stone Monkey's life. By creating boundaries for him without Stone Monkey's input or approval <3 "It's fine," says Ginseng Fruit. "He only needs boundaries with other people. I'm different." Godspeed you weirdly intense little fruit. Glad Stone Monkey has a handle on that, generally by means of straight up covering Ginseng Fruit's mouth and doing whatever it was he was going to do anyway. I guess if it works for them it's fine?

Also appreciated Stone Monkey leading them all to the waterfall and then his face that perfectly speaks to the fact that Stone Monkey is having the abrupt realization that his last time entering this cave was a complete accident caused by reckless use of logs and a total shattering of the laws of physics he isn't positive he can repeat. Do you think he imagined asking Marshal Ma to surf a log up the river and just crash straight into the waterfall, no, really, it'll be fine, for approximately two seconds before his brain shut down on itself in self-defense and also despair? Absolute gold.

And the writers slipping in a little reminder of the tenuous and fickle regard of the troop by having a few of the soldiers immediately ready to believe the worst of Stone Monkey right then and there. Thanks, writers. We might have forgotten.

Not gonna lie, I was looking at the Demon King's army in slight confusion wondering at some of these character designs (the artists are actually usually pretty good about using familiar character models for every crowd shot, so the new guys stood out), before I remembered that Demon King had the great idea to issue a fake decree in Heaven's name. OH, went I. HA.

I mean, I'm sure that's not going to backfire spectacularly in any way at all. Heaven probably loves having random demons lying and using their authority to stir up trouble only to then point the agitated results of their tomfoolery right to their doorstep. Everyone loves having their name dragged into a fraud case!

But also...okay, jumping topics entirely, but why couldn't anyone just jump back and grab Sixth Eldest? Any one of those guys could have made the jump there and back in half the time it took the kid to finally do it himself. Yes, of course, "but the tension!" or whatever. I call contrived. As far as I'm concerned, the only one with an excuse was the one monkey apparently responsible for handling six children by herself. What was she going to do? Toss the one baby to save the other baby? She's got her hands full.

Watching Sixth Eldest make that jump though, I was just thinking the whole time: Wow. How much would it suck to be the reason your entire community was overrun by murderous enemy forces? As it is, this kid is probably going to be hearing this story at every drunken feast for the rest of his entire life. RIP, little buddy. (I'm also counting children and if Yellow Flower Monkey has six kids to look after total, that means Sixth Eldest is the youngest. Who's the kid being held in her arms, then?! Why's the littlest kid out there toddling over sheer drops and water-slick rocks by himself while this baby gets the VIP ride? Is it...*gasp* favoritism? Yellow Flower Monkey's secret dark side?!? /j)

Old Monkey King excitedly waxing poetic about Water Curtain Cave, though? Cute. Super cute. He was incredibly excited and I don't think we've ever seen him this tickled. It was amazing.

None of the adults actually bothering with rationing until after the food was already gone, though? Less cute. They even called themselves out!

"It's better not to wait until these kind of things become a problem to sort out a solution." *sage nodding* *cut to elderly monkeys literally collapsing from hunger just down the hill* "By which I mean, it would be better, but all the food is already gone." "WHAT."

And it can't just have been gone either, since people aren't generally out here just immediately collapsing from hunger the second the the last fruit is plucked off the branch. Even if they are elderly. How long were they out of food before they had a meeting about it? Guys. I just said you were getting your shit together.

Ginseng Fruit, reading the room and dragging Stone Monkey away before he can volunteer to feed the whole troop from enemy-infested territory single-handedly, pointing a very stern finger at him: "No...nO..."

Stone Monkey: UGH. I KNOW. I wasn't GOING-

*aforementioned collapsing elders and Yellow Flower Monkey (again)*

Stone Monkey: ...to WAIT. Off I go, I guess! See you later, Ginseng Fruit. Hold down the fort while I'm gone, okay?

Ginseng Fruit is over here running their hands down their face shaking and screaming violently on the inside, I bet. If they'd seen that elder go down before Stone Monkey did, they absolutely would have buried the poor man alive, I'm sure. Like shoving a mess you don't want your guests to see in the closet. Except with a living person. And mounds of cold, wet Earth reminiscent of a shallow grave. Look, all's fair in love (/platonic) and Not Letting Your Favorite Person Die For The People Who Left Him To Die Regardless Of His Feelings On The Matter war. Sorry, old man. Nothing personal. (I do not actually think they would have done this, but I do think it would have crossed their mind. Let Ginseng Fruit be a little unhinged. It's funny.)

On a sidenote, gotta appreciate the old man for apparently recognizing their limited food supply well in advance of anyone else and taking care to make sure the young got what they could while they could. What a guy. I like that guy.

Six Ears...definitely has ulterior motives for going with Stone Monkey, but also this is still the kid who took it upon himself to hunt Stone Monkey down every time he took off by himself on dangerous missions in the past too, so him going through the old song and dance of noticing Stone Monkey was just straight gone without a word halfway through a conversation (Stone Monkey will never outgrow that, will he? Lol) and knowing from experience that Stone Monkey was definitely off to Solve The Problem and promptly running after him is basically their old dynamic in its entirety.

It's just...sad now. Because Six Ears is definitely going to be making some bad choices and do something that's going to hurt because he's hurting and it's going to suck and I don't wanna see it. And meanwhile Stone Monkey's just happy to have Six Ears with him.

I love them ):

Stone Monkey actually noticing Six Ears being kind of subdued once they're out of the cave, though! My boy! He never does that! Or at least, that's how I interpreted it since there's an animation of him jumping up to walk next to Six Ears, who is frowning at the ground, and the animation has him glance sideways at him, look away, glance sideways again, and then away again. And he's also frowning the same way. They did that on purpose! Tell me Stone Monkey isn't noticing something.

But of course they're interrupted before it can go anywhere. Ergh.

#mhw09 personal #this is long but there is SO MUCH this episode and I LOVE IT #six ears ayyyyy kiddo ): #his issues are coming to a head. Most of how I think about it is like #primarily rooted in the fact that trauma in general and PTSD in specific #is very often rooted in a sense of powerlessness #a lack of ability to save yourself or control the situation that hurt you. And if Six Ears hasn't developed PTSD already #I'm almost certain he WILL #he's definitely got some form of compounding trauma that's prompting him to overreact in trying to cling to and control his life #re-establish familiar things and routines #he's still making his own choices here and that's going to be on him. but. #it's just sad watching how the fear is getting to him. and how he's letting it poison his strongest bond ): #oh almost forgot to mention that I like that they managed to work in the finding and accessing of water curtain cave still being the impetu #for Stone Monkey becoming Monkey King #sure sucks they had to wrap in a whole subplot around the fact that being Old Monkey King's heir was strongly hinted to Six Ears to be HIS #future #for most of his entire life #and I'm sure there's no way he's going to see this as yet another threat to his place in the troop (and therefore safety and well-being) #I'm sure he'll handle it with grace and zero overreacting panic and anger whatsoever #and by sucks I mean “Ow. Ow this is going to hurt. But good job writer people. But ow.” #anyway I need to go to bed

[itsabouttimex2]

Monkiefam: Part One

Transformation Troubles

(Part Zero) (Part One) (Part Two)

“It’s for your own safety, kiddo.”

Those words ring in your mind as you stare out of the window, watching as your “father” trains your “brother”. You idly watch them clash, deftly swinging their staffs, blocking, counter-attacking, and breaking through each other’s defenses. Wukong stands leagues above MK, even though the kid is learning fast. You’ve gotten used to the sight of the monkey demon correcting his mentee’s stance, shifting his arms and legs, hauling him off the ground and dusting his clothes off when he knocks him down. Once, you would’ve stood in wide-eyed awe, caught on every fluid strike and powerful swing. Now, it’s become so commonplace that you barely bat an eye.

You only really start to pay attention when they start rapidly shifting between several forms from the 72 Transformations technique.

Although your “family” had allowed you to partake in basic training exercises like stretches and warmups, anything beyond that was strictly off-limits to you. As MK mastered skill after skill and bolstered his arsenal of techniques, you were stuck inside, only able to watch him grow. All to keep you safe, in their own words. One was a monkey demon and one was an inheritor to the legacy and powers of said monkey demon. They were powerful and mystical, and you were a regular human, short-lived and fragile. Weaker, slower, squishier.

But more than smart enough to learn a few of their tricks.

And brave enough to try one out.

“If you wanna change your body, you gotta change your thinking first, bud.”Wukong had instructed MK with these words not too long ago. From a hawk to a tiger to even something as small as a butterfly, Sun Wukong had already mastered all 72 and MK was well on his way to learning to do so himself.

You only had one in mind to start with. If you wanted to ever escape the smothering clutches of these two warriors, you weren’t going to be able to do it with any kind of mindless force. Being able to take the form of a hawk might’ve sounded useful, but the Monkey King could easily outspeed you. A tiger? Both of them could take the same form, and were much stronger to boot. Picking something like a spider would easily keep MK away, but wouldn’t deter Wukong in the slightest.

So instead, you settled on the monkey. Then, you had plausible deniability on your side. You could shrug it off as ‘wanting to be more like him’ or ‘wanting to see what it was like’ if Wukong asked you why you’d been practicing transformations at all. MK wouldn’t need any sort of explanation from you, because he’d probably just get excited about you learning such a technique.

You have your plan. And your reasoning, if things go poorly. All that’s left to do is to get started.

Change your thinking.

Wild, exuberant energy. Skillful jumps and leaps. Dexterous limbs and powerful bodies. Unbridled curiosity. Devotion to your troop.

An innate desire to revel in freedom.

At first, you had worried that the transformation might hurt. But then the whole world flashes gold and your body shifts and reshapes, and you feel better than you ever have before. A burst of adrenaline rushes through you, glowing sparks of white hot energy coursing your veins. You lie there on the floor for a few minutes, trying to regain your composure as the searing ecstasy of success flows through your shifted body.

And then there’s a knock on the door. You try to scramble to your feet, only to trip over your unfamiliar appendages. You slip and lightly thud against the floor, which only worries your captor more.

“You doing okay in there, bud? Training ran a little long, huh?”

You can’t respond. You try to respond, but nothing akin to speech comes out. Only silk-soft chittering. Then it hits you.

You aren’t a gorilla, a chimpanzee, an orangutan.

“Are you still mad that we won’t let you train with us? Am I getting the silent treatment now, kid?”

No, you’ve shifted into one of the little monkeys that flourish on Flower Fruit Mountain.

“Aww, don’t be too upset, alright? Hey, I’ll have MK bring us some of those noodles the two of you like, okay? The three of us can eat together.”

And you don’t know how to turn back.

“Y/N?”

You only have a few seconds to register the concern in his voice before the door between the two of you flies off the handles, broken down by a single kick from Wukong. He crosses the threshold into your room, looking around not only in worry, but tentative anger. If you had broken out again, he was going to…

You look up. He looks down.

There’s only a couple of seconds where he’s confused, head tilted curiously to the side at the sight of the little monkey in front of him. Then, recognition writes itself across his face.

His eyes widen in adoration as the end of his tail curls into a sort of heart. He dashes forward and snatches you off the ground with a huge grin, holding you up to his face. He nuzzles you against himself, brushing his cheek against your own. He only pauses to call out to his student.

“MK, bud, you gotta come see this!”

Once you hear excited footsteps pounding down the halls, you know that you’re in for a long day.

#platonic yandere #Yandere Lego Monkie Kid #Yandere LMK #Platonic Yandere LMK #Yandere Sun Wukong #Yandere MK #Monkiefam

[esamastation]

Part fifty-five of Shizuroth, aka, the SOLDIER General's Self Saving Shizun.

Ao3 link.

Previous parts: forty-one, forty-two, forty-three, forty-four, forty-five, forty-six, forty-seven forty-eight, forty-nine, fifty, fifty-one, fifty-two, fifty-three, fifty-four

-

"Good evening and welcome back to Channel Zero News, where we relay you top news from around the Planet on the hour, every hour. I am Jackie Sanine, here with you in Midgar.

"First, let's take a look at what's going on with the war.

"The Wutai War has been ongoing for almost eight years now and has been noticeably winding down in the past year and a half. With only one major holdout of Wutai forces left in Fort Tamblin, it's safe to say that the war is all but won for Shinra and her allies. With Fort Tamblin under ongoing siege by Shinra, it is unlikely that there will be any noticeable movements anytime soon.

"Still, there are new developments in the Shinra front. We take you live with our correspondent Maiser Rav, who's in the front with the latest news from the trenches."

"Thank you, Jackie. I'm here in the town of Sang Fe, which has been occupied by Shinra forces since the fall last year when the town was discovered abandoned by a scouting party of Shinra SOLDIERs. Acting now as a major connection point and the only airfield in the area, Sang Fe has become a major staging location in this final stretch of the war.

"As you can see behind me, the Shinra forces here are well established. With the fall rain season soon upon us, they're more interested in digging rain channels, rather than trenches.

"Here's Corporal Leynri from Shinra Infantry troops, sharing his experiences in the trenches."

"We haven't actually ever used any trenches?"

"Thank you, Corporal Leynri. The camp in Sang Fe is truly a beacon for Shinra Military, boasting high numbers of both infantry and war machinery - never mind the high number of SOLDIERs.

"SOLDIER Second Class, Davidson, has been a regular at Sang Fe for a long time."

"Yeah, I've been here for a few months with the SOLDIER company. It's been fine - the local monsters give us more work than the Wutai troops do, really."

"Have there been any interesting incidents of late?"

"Well, not as such? It's just a lot of hurry up and wait right now. I guess the most interesting thing is that Sephiroth came and went, and no one really knows where he is right now. Somewhere in Wutai, but, yeah, who knows where."

"Thank you, SOLDIER Second Class Davidson. As we all know the movements of SOLDIER First Class Sephiroth are of high interest to us all. Whenever Sephiroth is being deployed in the front, you can expect something big to follow. According to the various soldiers here, Sephiroth arrived a little over a week ago with a couple members of Shinra Investigation Sector of the Public Security Department, or Turks, as they're colloquially known. They were, by all appearances, on a high class secret mission, but no one knows where or what.

"Here's Colonel Havre, the camp commander, commenting on the rumours."

"I can't comment on the rumours."

"Thank you Colonel Havre. Aside from a few mysterious secret missions and the upcoming rain season, the life in Sang Fe is quite normal and calm, with the SOLDIERs and infantry members keeping in shape by using the local gym and taking part in team activities. It's important to keep your skills sharp even during your downtime. 

"Trooper Guy here knows what's the best way to keep in shape."

"Yeah, I practise parade forms sometimes. Our sergeant is really keen on us getting the forms right, you know, to look good on camera. Hey, watch me do this -"

"Thank you, Trooper Guy, for that wonderful display of skill. While we were out collecting these interviews, we got a chance to talk to one of the more recent arrivals - SOLDIER First Class, Angeal Hewley, who arrived at the same time as Sephiroth."

"I arrived with Sephiroth. I'm sorry, I can't comment on his whereabouts or what he's been up to. Yeah, we've encountered Wutai troops, but how it went down is classified. Sephiroth was in high spirits the last I saw him. I don't know what his hair routine is? I'm sorry - I have new mission orders, I have to go. No, I'm sorry, I can't really say whether he could give an interview. I really have to go -"

"Unfortunately Angeal Hewley couldn't prove or disprove the rumours about secret missions. I suppose we will have to stay in suspense for now. I know I will be eagerly waiting for any developments and will be reporting back as soon as there's anything new to be reported.

"This has been Maiser Rav, reporting from Sang Fe camp in Wutai. Back to you, Jackie."

"Thank you, Maiser. It's truly heartening to see that things are going well in Wutai. Do these news about Sephiroth's involvement in the war relate to the latest developments from Shinra Science Department concerning the updates to the SOLDIER program? Here's Gavin Lynch, with a glimpse into the mysterious world of Shinra's science research and development."

"Thank you Jackie. I'm here on the second floor of the Shinra Building, as the science floor has been evacuated due to an escaped specimen, which will no doubt soon be brought back under control. While we wait for contamination procedures to run their course, let's take a look at the history of the SOLDIER program through the eyes of the employees here. 

"Laboratory Technician Berk, a long time contributor to Shinra's most advanced science developments, about how he feels about the impact his work has had on the world."

"Oh god, oh god, please let me quit, I haven't seen my family in two weeks."

"Thank you Laboratory Technician Berk. Professor Hojo, the head of Shinra Science Department, is known for his… high standards and… work ethics. Many in this team are hardened veterans in their field, and have been involved in the SOLDIER program for many years. 

"Nurse Sinclair, what can you tell us about the rumours about new methods being introduced within the SOLDIER program by the Professor?"

"..."

"Nurse Sinclair? Ma'am, what can you tell us about the rumours concerning new procedures for creating SOLDIERs?"

"..."

"Nurse Sinclair?'

"... I need to call my mom. Excuse me…"

"... Thank you Nurse Sinclair! I think judging by that thousand yard stare, things are really happening and we can expect something new and exciting from the Shinra Science Department in the upcoming days! This has been Gavin Lynch reporting from Shinra Building! Back to you in the studio, Jackie."

"Thank you Gavin, for these enlightening insights. We will be looking for further developments in the near future!

"Next up, sports, as we go to the world of chocobo racing where a scandal is brewing - is chocobo inbreeding the secret to the ultimate racing bird? Joining us is..."

-

The only trustworthy news media

#Fanfiction #Ff7 #Svsss

[wizardofrozz]

Pictures or It Didn't Happen

Commander Thorn x reader featuring Fives, Kix, Jesse, Vaugh, Hawk, Hardcase, and Original Clone Troopers Zero, Cayde, and Cupid

Summary: A game of Truth or Dare results in Fives regretting what he thought would be a funny dare.

Word Count: ~6.0k

Warnings: smut 18+, this is really just filth. established (kind of secret) relationship, unprotected piv sex, fingering, oral (f receiving), brief spanking, creampie. Let me know if I missed anything.

A/N: I finally finished this smut that I've been promising for way too long lmao I hope it was worth the wait 💀. I also want to thank you @a-single-tulip for letting me borrow her OC, Cupid ❤️

Sometimes you wondered why you subjected yourself to shit like this, especially when the 501st had just come off a successful campaign. 

The night had started out peaceful, but it never stayed that way when alcohol was involved. That’s how you found yourself crowded into one of 79’s booths with Fives, Jesse, Kix, Vaughn, and Hawk, playing a ridiculous yet intense game of Truth or Dare. Vaughn was the most recent target, spilling his most embarrassing encounter with a natborn, which happened to be when he lost his virginity. Jesse and Kix were still trying to breathe through crippling laughter five minutes later. 

“It’s not that funny,” Vaughn huffed, hiding behind his drink. You lightly patted his arm with a smile but he must’ve seen your barely contained amusement because he shot you a narrow-eyed glare. 

“Sorry,” you giggled, nudging Vaughn with your shoulder. It took a few more minutes before the laughter finally tapered off and Hawk offered to get the next round. You glanced across the table at where Fives was sitting, noting the pinched expression on his face. “What’s your problem?” 

“Hm?” Fives hummed, shifting his eyes from whatever he was staring at over your shoulder. “Oh, nothing.”

“Wanna try that again?” Fives rolled his eyes but jerked his chin over your head, prompting you to twist around, noting the few shock troopers standing near the bar. 

“The Guard’s here to ruin everyone’s fun,” Fives grumbled, taking a sip of his drink. 

“Oh, come on, they aren’t that bad,” you argued lightly, watching the three troopers talking to the bartender. None of them had removed their helmets but you picked up on a few idiosyncrasies the longer you watched the trio. 

“They’re stuck up,” Jesse cut in, elbowing Kix when his brother tried to steal the last of his drink. “Think they’re better than us when they just hang around on triple zero.”

“You’re being harsh,” you chided, turning back to the table of troopers. You had met and subsequently formed an easy friendship with Torrent Company when they accompanied you to Geonosis after the parasitic worm incident. Technically, you didn’t work for the GAR but the microbiology lab you did work for had negotiated a contract that allowed you to study the highly classified specimens troops came in contact with. It was pure luck that the 501st was one of the battalions tasked with escorting you and it had all been downhill from there. 

You adored the boys in blue but seeing that you spent a good portion of your time on Coruscant, you had a soft spot for the Corries too. 

“Didn’t realize our little lab rat liked ‘em so much,” Fives noted, arching a brow. You caught the hint of a smirk on his lips and you had a sinking feeling you weren’t going to like whatever mischievous thoughts were swirling around in his head.

“I do see them the most,” you responded, faintly rolling your eyes. Hawk chose that moment to slide back into the booth beside you, distributing drinks around the table and blessedly shifting the conversation away from the Guard. 

“Alright, Mouse, you’re up,” Vaughn cut in, swatting at Fives who was trying to steal his shot. “Truth or Dare.” You had kept it mostly tame, sticking to truth questions and the boys had let it slide but you knew that it wouldn’t last much longer and decided to just give in. 

“I guess it’s time for a dare,” you sighed, mindlessly swirling your fresh drink. The entire table lit up, the brothers leaning together to whisper ideas except for one. Fives was still staring you down across the table, his smile taking on a sharp edge that made you tense. Thankfully, you hadn’t tried to take a drink because the next time his mouth opened, you nearly choked on your own spit.

“I dare you to fuck Thorn.” The entire table went eerily silent, Kix, Jesse, Hawk, and Vaughn slowly sitting back in their seats as they gaped at their brother. You were too stunned to speak, blinking rapidly at the smug ARC trooper. “What? You seem to like them so much so why not? And don’t forget, pictures or it didn’t happen.”

“Dude,” Jesse whispered, glancing between you and Fives. You almost wanted to be irritated by it, knowing Fives was just being an ass for the sake of stirring shit but your devious side won out this time. 

“Fine,” you chirped, cutting off whatever Jesse was going to say next. Five pairs of eyes locked onto your face with varying degrees of surprise.

“Woah, Mouse, he’s not serious,” Kix rushed out, trying to backpedal for his brother.

“And why not? It’s not like he said Fox,” you countered, arching a brow. You could imagine the look on Fox’s face if that were the case and you barely contained the urge to start cackling. The table of troopers just stared at you, even Fives who you assumed had expected you to back down. “Hang tight, let’s see if the boys know where he is.” 

“Wait!” Hawk shouted, trying to grab you when you slid under the table. Ignoring the disgusting floor you hurried out of reach, throwing a smile over your shoulder as you approached the trio of Corries still lingering by the bar. One helmet turned slightly, catching your approach, and you were almost positive he was smiling based on the way he straightened.

“Hey, Zero,” you laughed, coming to a stop at his side.

“What’re you doing here?” he asked, glancing at his brothers who had turned at the sound of your voice.

“The 501st is planet-side so they invited me out for a drink,” you explained, glancing at the table of troopers blatantly staring. Cayde and Cupid shared a subtle look before Cayde sighed under his breath, returning to his conversation with the bartender. 

“What can we do for ya, Mouse?” Cupid asked, leaning an arm against the bar and you could picture the easy smile on his face.

“Where’s your commander?” Zero stiffened at the mention of their CO, quickly clearing his throat to cover his momentary slip.

“Everything okay?” Zero whispered, leaning down so you could hear him better. 

“I’m fine,” you laughed, refraining from patting his arm and giving yourself away. “Fives wanted to be cute and stir shit so I figured I’d play along.”

“Involving Fox?” Cupid wondered, tilting his head.

“No, Thorn,” you corrected, darting your eyes toward Torrent’s table. 

“You’re in luck,” Cayde spoke up, turning to face you. “Commander Thorn’s on patrol with us.” Cayde jerked his chin at something over your head and you twisted around just as 79’s doors slid closed, a familiar red-winged helmet scanning the immediate area. You bit back on a goofy grin when Thorn worked his way through the crowd with the ease of a commanding officer. Seeing him in his element, the strong, proud commander made your blood feel too hot, forcing you to stifle the urge to squeeze your thighs together. 

“Commander,” the three shinies synchronously greeted.

“Gentlemen,” Thorn responded before his helmet turned enough to catch sight of you. “Ma’am.”

“Nice to see you again, Commander,” you murmured, the hint of a smile playing on your lips. Thorn continued to study you for a moment before shifting his attention back to the three troopers standing around you. 

“Head out, boys, we’ll debrief outside before shift’s over,” Thorn huffed, jerking his head toward the door. The three troopers replied with another synchronous “yes sir”, pausing long enough to wave at you before making their way into Coruscant’s cool night. You glanced back up at Thorn, his words sinking in after a few seconds.

“I forgot you’re almost finished for the night,” you commented, smiling when his head tilted slightly.

“Lost track of time, huh?” he chuckled, shifting his weight so he was a hair closer to you. “How’re drinks with the bane of Rex’s existence going?” 

“Interesting,” you laughed, glancing at said trooper from the corner of your eye. All five of them were zeroed in on your conversation, looking more stunned than before and you nearly laughed. You looked up at Thorn again, a smirk tugging at the corner of your lips as you leaned closer, hooking a finger under his belt to keep him from backing away. His hands shot up, hovering in the air near your shoulders and you could only imagine the stunned look on his face. 

“What - what are you doing?” he whispered, his visor never leaving your face. The dare wasn’t necessarily a secret but you wanted to have a little fun before giving in and telling him, so you pressed yourself against his chest. The soft hitch in his breathing was only audible seeing that you were practically glued to his chest plate but it made your face feel warm nonetheless. 

“Do you have any idea how good you looked walking in here a minute ago?” you purred, tugging lightly on his belt. You were close enough to see his throat bob under the collar of his blacks, his arms dropping bit by bit until one hand hovered near your lower back. 

“Mm, why don’t you tell me?” Thorn rumbled, some of the rigidity finally leaving his posture. 

“How about I show you?” you countered, standing on your toes. Thorn didn’t move aside from the weight of his hand settling on your waist, squeezing once. His head was angled down slightly allowing you to lean forward and press a feather-light kiss to his helmet’s mockery of a mouth. A warm hand wrapped around the fingers hooked in his belt but he didn’t push them away, if anything, he pulled you closer, pressing the unforgiving curve of his codpiece into your leg. 

“What the hell’s gotten into you?” Thorn murmured, his grip on your waist tightening again. Although you were having fun winding him up, you figured you should let him in on the joke sooner rather than later. 

“Fives dared me to fuck you,” you stated with a small shrug. 

“I thought they didn’t know about us.” 

“They don’t,” you giggled, rolling your lips into your mouth. Thorn stared at you for a moment, completely silent before his shoulders started to shake the tiniest bit. 

“I think that’s cheating,” he teased, slowly rubbing your side. 

“Want me to try and follow through with Fives’ original idea of seducing Fox?” If it weren’t for his chest's faint rise and fall against yours, you would’ve thought he turned into stone before your eyes. Then his hand tightened again, grip harsher than the first time and it sent a thrill shooting up your spine. 

“Like you’d even try,” Thorn scoffed, yet his hold on you spoke to a glimmer of jealousy at the thought.

“I wouldn’t,” you hummed, absently playing with the edge of his kama. “So are you in or not?”

“The hell kind of question is that?” he huffed, a hint of amusement coloring his voice. 

“I do have to warn you, Fives told me there have to be pictures or it didn’t happen,” you confessed, expression softening. Thorn canted his head, studying you for a moment and you gasped as you felt his codpiece press harder into your leg. It could barely be considered a roll of his hips but it was a far more physical answer than you were expecting. 

“I think I can get on board with that,” he rumbled, his head inching closer to yours. The mere suggestion of documenting what you did behind closed doors had your pulse jumping, painfully aware of how wet you already were.

“Lead the way, handsome,” you breathed, barely containing your excitement. 

“I need to debrief the rest of the boys first, muffin,” Thorn laughed, finally peeling himself away from you, although he continued to hold on to the fingers that had been toying with his belt. “Once that’s done, you can have your way with me.”

“I supposed I can wait that long,” you sighed dramatically, not bothering to hide the almost giddy smile on your face. 

“Come on, troublemaker,” he chuckled, tugging you toward the door. A second before the door slid open you twisted around, eyes immediately finding the table of troopers who still looked just as dumbstruck as they did when you left. You lifted your free hand, wiggling your fingers in a smug little wave before Thorn pulled you out of sight. 

Thorn begrudgingly released your hand once you were outside, approaching the rest of his squad while you stood off to the side. Thorn nodded along to whatever Cupid was saying, watching the trooper absently tapping the spot over his heart and you couldn’t help but smile. However, the smile melted off your face when he tilted his head back as far as he could, arms extended in front of himself, clearly trying to stretch his shoulders, but that didn’t stop your eyes from dropping to the sliver of skin peeking out from under his helmet. 

That pose gave you a wicked idea. 

The shift from a composed, well-behaved boyfriend to whatever insatiable beast Thorn had become had your knees buckling. The second your apartment door shut, he was on you, helmet haphazardly tossed aside in favor of curling a hand around your throat and yanking you into a clumsy kiss. Your fingers instinctively curled around the edge of his chest plate, steadying yourself as he walked you down the hall to your bedroom. 

Your knees hit the edge of your mattress as Thorn’s tongue explored your mouth as if he hadn’t done it a million times before. The press of hard plastoid against your leg had you breaking the kiss, letting his lips trail across your cheek and down the side of your neck. Your fingers curled around the rounded edge of his shoulder bell, tugging lightly, making Thorn chuckle against your skin.

“Go on, you know how,” he urged playfully, his hand moving around to the back of your neck. You almost cursed him, knowing he wasn’t going to make this easy as you felt his teeth graze your thundering pulse. 

“Stop being a cheeky shit and help me,” you huffed, tossing his stupid shoulder bell aside. 

“So bossy,” Thorn teased, smirking against your throat before working his way back to your mouth. A soft sigh passed through your nose as he licked into your mouth, tasting like caf and something sweet he probably stole from Fox. 

Thorn unclipped his belt, his kama falling to the floor with a thud as you worked open the clips on his chest armor, never breaking the kiss. It was a dance you’d done more times than you could count but it somehow still made your heart race. Thorn caught his chest plate before it could hit your feet, breaking the kiss but not without nipping at your bottom lip. He tossed the piece of armor aside, bending over to work on his legs but you stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. Thorn looked up, a few dirty blonde curls falling in his eyes as he looked up at you. 

“Let me,” you urged, guiding him to stand straight again. He angled his head down, eyes glued to your face as you knelt at his feet, his hand clenching and unclenching at his side. You expertly worked off each piece of armor, barely having to look away from his face. With each piece that fell away his eyes grew darker, making your fingers tremble faintly with the weight of his stare. For all of Thorn’s lighthearted fun and goofy grins, he could still be intense, flaying you open with a single look. 

Thorn carefully stepped out of his boots, kicking them to the side as your fingers trailed up the inside of his thigh. The muscles twitched under his skin-tight bodysuit and you had the urge to sink your teeth into the taunt muscle. His codpiece was the last bit of plastoid to hit the floor, his cock twitched when you swayed close enough for him to feel your warm breath. You looked up the length of his body, batting your lashes a bit and you watched the way his chest moved with a shuddering breath. 

You shifted forward on your knees, lips ghosting over the head of his cock and you relished in his harsh exhale. A hand shot out to steady you on instinct as you climbed to your feet again, bringing a small smile to your face when you looked up at Thorn again. 

“Always a gentleman,” you commented, resting a hand over his racing heart. He offered you a lopsided grin, that despite the situation, made your heart swell. “Come lay down.” 

“What do you have planned?” he wondered, narrowing his eyes. You turned your back on him, already working to get out of your shirt.

“Why don’t you come find out?” you called over your shoulder. There was a soft huff of laughter before you heard the bed creak from his added weight and you glanced over your shoulder. You paused, watching the way muscles shifted under tawny skin as he struggled to yank his shirt over his head, nearly toppling over when he finally pulled it off. He blinked a few times, shaking his head, making his blonde curls look fluffy. 

“What?” he mumbled when he caught you staring. Thorn lounged back against the pillows, hands folded behind his head and somehow he managed to look adorable and mouth-watering at the same time. You let out an amused huff before tossing your shirt aside and quickly wiggling out of your pants, catching the way his eyes followed the fabric to the floor before lazily trailing up your body. 

“See something you like?” 

“I guess that’s my fault if you don’t know the answer to that,” Thorn laughed, offering you a hand as you approached the edge of the bed. His jaw flexed a few times as you climbed into his lap, his lips parting around a soft groan when you pressed down onto the outline of his cock. Thorn hooked a finger under the band of your bra, pulling you down for a kiss that had you unintentionally grinding against him. 

Normally, he kissed you like he was trying to memorize the feeling, tucking it away to revisit on one of his lonely nightshifts. Instead of his usual attentiveness, Thorn seemed distracted, something weighing on his mind. You were about to break the kiss and check on him when the support from your bra vanished. Thorn made a soft triumphant noise against your lips and you broke the kiss, forcing your sluggish brain to work. Your bra straps slid off your shoulders when you sat up, a slightly dumbfounded look on your face that only made Thorn’s smile grow wider. 

“Shithead,” you huffed, doing your best to hide a smile. Thorn winked, sliding his hands around to cup your breasts. A sigh fell from your lips as his thumbs brushed over your nipples and you leaned into his hands, bracing yourself against his shoulders and grinding down against him. As quickly as his hand was there, it was gone, making you whine in the back of your throat. You were about to complain when Thorn shifted under you, propping himself up on his elbows so his mouth ghosted over the space between your breasts. 

“You sound so pretty when you get needy,” Thorn hummed, his lips brushing against the swell of your breast. You met his heavy gaze, never breaking eye contact as he peppered kisses across your right breast and your breath hitched when his tongue slipped out. The first flick of his tongue made you gasp but you couldn’t look away from his dark eyes as he traced the shape of your nipple. You let yourself get lost in the sensation, your head lulling forward as your breathing grew heavier. 

Thorn blinked slowly, watching you through dark lashes as his lips closed around the hardened peak. A broken groan slipped past your lips, your hips unconsciously shifting forward, making his cock jump beneath you. Your hand followed the curve of his neck, your fingers threading through his hair so you could gently tilt his head back. 

“No more teasing,” you whispered, your lips brushing his, “we have a dare to fulfill.” Thorn brushed his nose against yours in a sickeningly sweet gesture despite your current position and you smiled. 

“We do,” Thorn murmured, pecking your lips. “How do you want me, muffin?” 

“Just like this,” you answered, finding his lips again. Thorn’s tongue slipped into your mouth, searching for yours as he fumbled to find the waistband of his blacks. You shifted forward onto your knees, your hands bumping his as you tried to help, earning a muffled laugh from Thorn. You leaned to the side in an attempt to give him more room and nearly toppled over, breaking the kiss with a laugh. 

“Having fun?” Thorn teased, grunting as he tried to shove his pants down. 

“More than you apparently,” you giggled, cupping his face. Thorn’s smile was blinding, the expression lighting up his entire face and your heart skipped a beat. 

“Not for long,” he mumbled, letting out a triumphant sound. You looked over your shoulder, catching a glimpse of his legs kicking as he pushed his pants off to the side. His hands landed on your hips, pulling you down onto his lap and you let out a choked gasp, clenching at the feeling of his length pressing against your folds. “What was that?”

“Oh, shut up,” you huffed, rolling your hips. Thorn’s jaw flexed, the grip on your hips tightening as he pulled you forward, dragging you along the length of his cock. “I’d say why not put your mouth to good use,” you teased, reaching up to trace the shape of his lower lip with your thumb, “but I’ve been thinking about cumming on your cock since you walked into 79s.”

Thorn groaned, his thumbs hooking under the band of your panties, yanking them down with a sudden desperation. It took a little careful maneuvering but Thorn was quickly tossing the thin fabric somewhere out of sight. Your nails dug into his shoulder as his fingers traced the dip of your hips, ghosting over your clit, but he didn’t linger, parting your folds as he held your gaze. The sigh that left your lips sounded almost relieved as Thorn pushed a finger into you, his lips parting as he watched your features contort with pleasure. Your head felt fuzzy, arousal buzzing under your skin as you unconsciously started grinding against his hand. 

“There you go,” Thorn cooed, meeting the movement of your hips with ease. He leaned closer, his lips brushing the corner of your mouth as he added another finger. “You look so good fucking yourself on my fingers.”

“Would - would look even better fucking myself on your cock,” you forced out, squeezing your eyes shut when he curled his fingers. Thorn hummed, kissing the corner of your mouth but he didn’t pull away, his slightly labored breathing puffing against your cheek.

“Then do it.” You moaned at the harsh edge of his voice, the barely restrained desire lacing his words and you couldn’t move fast enough. Thorn chuckled under his breath, the sound breaking around a groan when your fingers curled around his cock. You matched the pace of his thrusts, clenching your jaw when a third finger joined the others but it still wasn’t what you wanted. It was almost torturous to lift your hips, wanting more than his fingers but hating the sudden emptiness. 

Thorn flopped down onto the bed, his hands folded behind his head as he looked up at you with dark, half-lidded eyes and a sinful smirk. You suddenly wanted to wipe that look off his face, wanting him to look just as restless as you felt. Despite the smirk lingering on his face, you noted how the muscles near his jaw shifted as you lined yourself up, the head of his cock barely brushing against you. Whether it was the first or the thousandth time you’d done this, your lips still parted, a sharp inhale filling the room as you sank down. The sensation was somehow still dizzying, straddling the line between pleasure and pain, leaving you struggling to catch your breath even when you were fully seated in his lap again. 

You forced your eyes open when you realized they had clamped shut, taking in Thorn laid out underneath you. His hands had moved from behind his head to rest on the pillow, his chin tilted toward the ceiling, emphasizing the strong lines of his throat. The caress of your fingers over his stomach had Thorn opening his eyes, endless pupils zeroing in on your face and his fingers twitched. Your eyes slid to the nightstand beside your bed, your datapad innocently charging, and a devious little smile spread across your face.

“Hand me my datapad, please,” you murmured, tracing the faint V-line that disappeared underneath you. Thorn narrowed his eyes, a little puzzled by the request until it seemed to dawn on him and he huffed, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips as he blindly reached for the device. 

“What kind of proof do you plan on sending?” he asked, returning his hand to its previous position. 

“Not too keen on Fives getting a peep show,” you teased, arching a brow at your boyfriend over the top of your datapad. The relief that flashed across his face forced you to bite back a smile, something that turned out to be useless when the alternative occurred to him. 

“You never planned on sending a picture of yourself, did you?” Thorn chuckled, although it sounded a bit strained. 

“Nope,” you replied, exaggerating the pop of the p. You lifted your eyes from the screen in front of you, licking your lips as your gaze raked over him, the soft light from the bedside lamp making his skin seem to glow. Thorn seemed to be waiting for your next move, his nostrils flaring as he fought to stay perfectly still, doing his best to ignore the fact that you were sitting on his cock. You held his gaze, bringing your hand down between your legs to gently circle your clit. A high-pitched grunt forced its way past your lips and you clenched involuntarily, giving you exactly what you wanted. 

Thorn’s tilted back again, his mouth dropping open with a harsh exhale and you quickly snapped the picture, tossing the datapad aside as soon as it pinged to let you know the message sent. Thorn grunted, his eyes popping open when you suddenly leaned forward, bracing both of your hands on his chest. One large hand covered yours, squeezing what fingers he could; a silent reassurance as well as an order to keep them there.

The first roll of your hips sent a chill down your spine, accompanied by a breathy moan that made Thorn’s grip on your hands tighten. It felt like you were going to come apart at the seams but there was a part of you that still wanted to stay like this, savoring the fullness of Thorn buried inside you. He, however, seemed to run out of patience. You hadn’t even noticed that his free hand had moved, too focused on the soft ripples of pleasure washing over you, that you immediately tensed when his hand met your ass with a crack. However, the shock didn’t last long and you whined, pressing back into his hand as he squeezed the faintly stinging area. 

“While you do look so pretty like this, cyar’ika, I wanna see you bounce on my cock,” Thorn rumbled, delivering another softer smack to your ass. And who were you to deny him? You pushed off his chest, sitting upright again, and immediately lifted your hips, letting your head fall back as you did as he asked. His hands found your hips and you immediately gripped one of his forearms, your other hand toying with your breast. Thorn absently traced the slope of your hips with his thumbs, the gentle touch drawing your attention and you lifted your head again to look down at his face. 

He was watching how he disappeared inside you, his bottom lip caught between his teeth and you clenched as he pulled down onto his cock again, groaning through clenched teeth. Your thighs ached, forcing you to slow your pace and Thorn’s eyes darted up to your face, his hands dropping away from your hips. Without the extra support, you slowly further, squeezing your eyes shut as you continued to grind against him. It happened so fast that you could barely get your arms out when a hand gripped your jaw, pulling you down. 

The kiss was rough, teeth knocking together as you tried to steady yourself, keep up with Thorn as he explored your mouth, and met the short thrusts of his hips. You broke the kiss with a whimper, panting against his bruised lips, shivering at the way his thumb followed the curve of your jaw. You started to press more of your weight onto Thorn and he smiled, but there was a devious undertone to it that made you skeptical. Then suddenly you were moving, a squeal falling from your lips as he rolled you onto your back. You blinked up at him, your mouth hanging open as you tried to reorient yourself but Thorn didn’t give you a chance, snapping his hips forward hard enough to punch the air from your lungs. 

Thorn leaned forward, slanting his mouth over yours as he set a slow, devastating that had your toes curling. He kissed the corner of your mouth, then your cheek before groaning through his teeth when your nails dug into his lower back, his thrusts growing faster. Every nerve ending felt like it was on fire, the pleasure spreading to every inch of your body as you started to tense beneath him. Thorn leaned away enough to see your face and you watched a bead of sweat roll down the side of his face. His eyes dropped to your mouth, the muscles in his jaw jumping before he opened his mouth, his tongue slipping out. The tip of his tongue the curve of your top lip, a teasing touch to coax you closer.

Without thinking you tilted your chin, closing your lips around his tongue and sucking gently. Thorn made a high-pitched sound in the back of his throat, his hips snapping forward with renewed purpose. You released his tongue only for him to surge forward again, kissing you again, his thrusts growing wilder. 

“Touch yourself,” Thorn panted against your lips, blindly reaching for one of your hands. It was overwhelming, every snap of his hips paired with the frantic circling of your fingers had you teetering dangerously on the edge of bliss, desperate for the inevitable fall. The pleasure finally reached a tipping point and you tensed, your mouth falling open with a silent cry as you came, hard. You were faintly aware of Thorn hiding his face against your neck, his hips twitched as he filled you with a muffled moan.  

Faint tremors continued to ripple through your body as you caught your breath, mindlessly rubbing circles between Thorn’s shoulder blades. His breathing had started to even out, the gentle, rhythmic puff of air raising goosebumps across your breast where his head was resting. Thorn exhaled slowly, turning his head to rest his chin on your sternum to look up at your face, a blissed-out look on his face. Your smile was groggy and a little lopsided but it seemed to make Thorn’s eyes twinkle, affection clear in the way he looked up at you.

“Hey,” you murmured, moving your hand to card through his messy curls.

“Hey, muffin,” he rumbled, leaning into your touch. He hummed quietly, the sound vibrating through his chest into yours and his eyes drifted shut again.

“Don’t fall asleep,” you warned, lightly tugging on his hair. “We need to get cleaned up.” Thorn opened one eye, his brow arching and he just looked at you for a moment before he blinked a few times. 

“You’re right.” The corner of his mouth twitched, making your eyes narrow as he shifted down your body. 

“What are you doing?” 

“Cleaning up after myself,” Thorn replied with a smirk, pressing a lingering kiss between your breasts. Your eyes drifted shut and you settled into the soft mattress as Thorn lavished you with affection until he paused at your hip. It took more effort than you expected to force your eyes open, blinking slowly and you caught the hint of mischief in Thorn’s eyes before he slid down between your legs.

“What are -” The end of your sentence was replaced with a harsh gasp, your thighs immediately closing around Thorn’s head as he licked up the cum dripping out of you. Your arms trembled as you propped yourself up, your mouth hanging open slightly when his eyes flickered up to meet yours. There was a smugness there but the new waves of pleasure spreading through your body distracted you. 

Your voice cracked when you cried out, his name coming out broken when he shoved his tongue into your sensitive pussy. You were quickly rushing toward a second orgasm and you had the feeling it wouldn’t be your last.

The quiet hum of scattered conversations filled the barracks, a sound Fives found comforting as he lounged back in his bunk. Hardcase’s laugh from somewhere above him brought a faint smile to his face and he turned his head, watching Jesse and Kix arguing over a game of sabacc. Fives sighed when the quiet ping of his datapad cut through the room and he flipped it up, his eyes locking onto the familiar notification. 

“Hey, assholes!” Fives yelled, scrambling to lean out of his bunk, searching for Vaugh and Hawk. He jumped when Hardcase’s head appeared from the top bunk, his face slowly turning red. 

“What’s up?” Hardcase asked. 

“Guess who just got a message from Mouse.” A wicked grin spread across Fives’ face as he waved his datapad in the general direction the rest of Torrent was sitting. There was a sudden flurry of movement, boots and socked feet thumping against the floor just barely covering up Kix’s distressed shout. Fives yelped when Jesse borderline dove into his bunk and he caught a glimpse of Vaughn and Hawk awkwardly catching Hardcase as he rolled off the top bunk. Somehow Fives ended up with four brothers piled on top of him. 

“Get your knee out of my ass, Hardcase,” Jesse grumbled, elbowing Fives in the ribs.

“Stop moving,” Fives wheezed, yanking his arm out from under Vaughn. It took a few more seconds of repositioning and harsh jabs before they found a somewhat comfortable position. He glanced over his shoulder, snorting to himself before finally clicking on the message. 

It took a few seconds for his brain to register what he was looking at but when it did, Fives threw his datapad. It knocked into the bunk Kix was sitting on, landing screen up. Fives didn’t even have to look at his brothers to know they were all wearing similar horrified looks. He waited for the same look to cross Kix’s face but instead, Kix threw his head back, laughing like a maniac. The four brothers crammed into the small space started to peel themselves away from Fives, staring at their medic with similar concerned looks. 

“What is wrong with you?” Fives asked, refusing to look at the picture again. It was more of Thorn than Fives ever wanted to see even if it was just his upper body. 

“Oh, stars,” Kix gasped between laughter, wrapping his arms around his stomach as he toppled forward onto the mattress. “Looks - looks like you got what you wanted, huh?”

“No. No, I did not, Kix,” Fives snapped which only made their medic laugh harder. Fives glared down at the now-dark datapad, ignoring Kix’s quiet wheezing, and vowing to get back at you somehow. 

But first, he was deleting that picture…and possibly burning his datapad.

Taglist: @clonemedickix @sinfulsalutations @starrylothcat @rain-on-kamino @wolffegirlsunite @blueink-bluesoul @multi-fan-dom-madness

#commander thorn x reader #commander thorn x fem!reader #commander thorn #coruscant guard #commander thorn smut #star wars #the clone wars #x reader

[ilcuoreardendo-fic]

Staring Contest

When you walk into the barracks to ask sergeant Hunter about some requisitions to transfer gear from the flagship Phalanx to the Marauder, the room, which had been eerily quiet, erupts in a raucous mixture of jeers and cheers, the sound practically vibrating the walls.

All in good fun. You can feel that in the Force. The battle had gone well and the troops were taking a moment to wind down from the adrenaline. Though through what means, you weren't entirely sure.

Looking toward the center of the room, you watch Deck shake his head and push away from a stack of crates set between him and the Bad Batch's sniper, introduced to you as Crosshair, who smirks like a tooka who's just gotten into the cream.

Next to you, Cerrix passes a couple of cred chips to Tech, who slips them into one of the many pouches on his belt, touches a forefinger to the bridge of his goggles, then swipes something on his datapad.

"That's five, zero," Tech says. "Who's next?"

From somewhere in the crowd of 7th Legion troopers, you hear an eager shout of "The commander!" followed by a wave of murmured agreement.

Every face in the room turns to you and if you were any less sure of yourself, you might find that intimidating.

Instead, you glance at Cerrix for an explanation. "What's going on?"

Cerrix rolls his eyes. "One di'kut bet another di'kut he couldn't out stare Crosshair and it's become a whole thing. You could win us back some money, commander..." Cerrix tone turns hopeful.

"Ha! These guys need all the help they can get." The boisterous voice you recognize as Wrecker's.

You look to Crosshair, who stands, arms crossed, rolling a toothpick slowly between his lips, sizing you up. His eyes are narrowed, calculating and you can practically feel the weight of his gaze on your skin. Something in it tweaks your competitive side.

"Hm." You hand your datapad to a grinning Cerrix. "Okay. I can do that," you say, as you head toward Crosshair, your men parting around you like water as you step up to the crates.

You take a cleansing breathe, letting it out in a soft chuckle as A'den, who you're half surprised to see in the crowd, leans close, whispers in your ear, "Get him, commander," before moving to hold up a wall, letting the rest of his brothers crowd in around you.

"Right," says Cerrix, "I've got eyes on Crosshair. Who's got the commander?"

"I do," the voice is warm and smokey. Sergeant Hunter; after your first meeting, you'd recognize his voice anywhere. He comes into view, standing just behind Crosshair, where he can watch your face throughout the contest. He gives the tiniest nod of his head.

"Okay," Cerrix continues, "first one to blink or look away loses. Draw is at four minutes on the timer." Cerrix motions to Tech, who taps his datapad and gives a thumbs up.

"No Force tricks," rasps Crosshair.

You smile. "I don't need Force tricks. Tech, start the clock."

And so it begins.

The weight you felt from his gaze when you were across the room is nothing compared to what you feel now, staring directly into Crosshair's eyes. His focus is pointed. When he's not tense or scowling, Crosshair's eyes take on a heavy lidded quality that seem to make the color of them darker, deeper.

All the clones have brown eyes.

And you've stared into many sets of them in many different contexts. Issuing orders before leaving for battle. Listening to stories in the mess or at 79's when you've been invited along. Sitting at bedsides in Med Bay. In dark corners of the ship, telling someone their brother didn't make it back. In the middle of firefights, choking on dust and wrapping the Force around you and the clones, who you can do nothing for except hold their hands...

But this is new. Different.

The last time you stared into someone's eyes this closely, for this long, they had been a lover.

With a soft sigh, you keep eye contact but let your vision take in the full, slightly out of focus, expanse of Crosshair's face.

He has the high cheekbones that all clones share, but they're more pronounced on his lean face. His jawline is narrow, chin strong. His lips are thin and between them he holds the ever captive toothpick.

You catch a teasing flash of his tongue as the toothpick rolls from one side of his mouth to the other.

It gives you an idea. You said you didn't need Force tricks. You never said you'd play fair.

You bring your full attention back to his eyes, notice one of his eyebrows has drawn up; it doesn't take the Force to know he's been examining you in much the same way.

Making sure to keep eye contact, you lean forward, place your left elbow on the stack of crates and rest your chin on your curled knuckles.

Curiosity flares in Crosshair's eyes, but he stays focused. Sharp. Assessing.

Until you slowly part your lips, as if you're about the speak. Instead of words, you let the tip of your tongue play along the inside edge of your lower lip and watch the subtle widening of his eyes. You can feel the control he exerts over himself to not break eye contact to look fully at your mouth.

You reach out with your free hand — slowly; he could stop you if he wanted to — and pluck the toothpick from his mouth. His lips part, you hear the slightest uptick of his breathing.

There's a low rumble throughout the room. Hushed conversation. Maybe constrained laughter.

You flip the toothpick, bring the end of it that had been between Crosshair's lips to the center of your own.

Your tongue slips out, curls around it and you tuck it up against the corner of your mouth with a sly smile that you know reaches your eyes.

Crosshair blinks.

Cerrix cry is instantaneous. "The commander wins!"

"Secret weapon?" Hunter says to him.

"We do tend to bring her out when we really need the win, on the battlefield or off."

You cast a sidelong look at Cerrix, one eyebrow raised. He doesn't even have the decency to look cowed.

You turn back Crosshair, who's arms remain crossed over his chest. His chin is tucked. He's still watching you.

You lean in close, balanced against the crates. "I told you I didn't need Force tricks."

"Perhaps," he reaches out, forefinger under your chin, thumb pressing into the sensitive skin just below your lip where his toothpick still sits, "we need a rematch. Without an audience."

I...haven't done a reader insert ficlet in a long time and never for Star Wars.

But I just had this idea bubble up at random. It was an okay word workout and it let me think more about Crosshair's face. So, win.

#crosshair x reader #the bad batch #crosshair x f!reader #crosshair x jedi!reader #hunter bad batch #original clone trooper #crosshair (tbb) #sw fic #ilcuoreardendo fic

[graylinesspam]

Ahsoka has plenty of experience guarding others. It's her primary purpose on the battlefield. Wielding her saber to deflect blaster bolts away from her troops so they can push forward. She's used to being a shield, using her small body to cover others. She doesn't feel so small when she has her sabers anyways. Like a bird with it's feathers ruffled.

Never before in her life has she been in this position though. Guarding Anakin. Actually guarding him. Not watching his back while he sliced into the droid network. Not waiting on the ramp for him to get a ship started. Not going through the motions of guarding his back as they train together. Anakin forcing himself to slow down to her pace so she can learn teamwork.

This is real.

Anakin is unconscious face down on the ground. His limp limbs splayed awkwardly just like Obiw-wan's had been only a day earlier. But Obi-wan had been dead. Despite all the CPR she performed, despite pumping his chest until a trooper had to pull her off of him, his ribs threatening to break under her hands.

Obi-wan died. And now Anakin was unconscious on the ground with the most prolific bounty hunter in the galaxy stalking towards them. Ahsoka felt her chest rip itself open in a growl. Her teeth bared and dripping. She flips over his body dropping her center of gravity low, spreading her sabers like great bird wings to cover as much of his body as she can.

She can see the gleam in Bane's eye, the challenge.

This will be a fight to the death. She knows it the same way she did staring down Grievous when she was a fresh padawan. She can only hope it won't be Anakin's life she loses.

Her muscles tense as she waits for him to strike, eyes zeroed in on his faintest movement but before he can make a move he's called away by Eval.

Bane calls her lucky and as much as bile rises in the back of her throat she does feel lucky. Relief welling in the place fear had taken up in her chest. when their ship lifts off Ahsoka finally drops her protective stance and her hand flies to Anakin's throat. She knows he's not dead, she can feel him in the force but her mind won't accept it until she feels his pulse fluttering under her fingers.

He groans as she tilts his head and nothing has made her feel as safe as the tensing of muscles in his neck as he moves. Truly really alive. Not forever limp as Obi-wan had been.

#star wars #ahsoka tano #clone wars #sw tcw #tcw #anakin skywalker #fanfic #501st #obi wan kenobi #cad bane #rako hardeen #hardeen arc #whump #angst #i told you guys i was coming with the pain

[homunculus-argument]

I had a dream about my family. I was in some sort of a school graduation - held in the gym hall of a school, decorated for spring, like finnish end-of-schoolyear celebrations are. I don't know why I was there, since I don't know anyone with kids that age.

For some reason they decided to sing some song about a father sitting home alone, trying to watch TV, thinking about how 18 years ago he brought a baby boy home with no idea what he's doing, but how his son mercifully always was a better kid than he himself had been, and now his son is in Ukraine. In real life Finland isn't sending draft troops to the war over there, but apparently in the dream that was something so common and obvious that just mentioning the name was enough of an explanation for a regular radio song to make it clear what happened to this guy's son.

I was in the hall by myself for some reason, singing vaguely along as I followed the lyrics from the ceremony pamphlet I'd gotten. Unexpectedly and with no warning, my sister grabbed and hugged me from behind. I knew it was her immediately, nobody else does that same kind of a rough grab and wiggle and her long hair was getting into my face. It was something so typical of her - just grabbing you to shower you with affection with zero pause to hesitate and consider whether you would want that, that I knew it was her immediately.

My mom showed up as well, and started talking to me. I can't recall whose kid I was at that school for, and they fortunately didn't ask. I can't remember what explanation they had for why they were there, but apparently my sister had a baby these days, an infant that was already talking like a two-year-old and was starting to learn to read. My sister didn't have her son with her, so I didn't get to see him. My mom and sister asked what I'm doing after the ceremony, saying I could join them to go to whatever they were doing. I said no, that I had other plans, even though I don't think I did.

Just because it's been a year and they would be ready to act like nothing happened, that doesn't mean I'd be willing to forgive them with no apology.

[clonemando]

Haunted Clone Week

Written for the Day 1 prompt: Dark between the Stars

@clonefandomevents

AO3 version here

Ponds is left abandoned in space after he is shot but that doesn't mean he's dead.

Ponds wasn’t dead. He should have been seeing as he had been shot in his head and then spaced. But somehow he wasn’t dead. The pain had been intense but then the cold had numbed it until it faded away. The burning of lungs without oxygen had done the same. He knew, logically, that without a pressurized suit he should have imploded or something but instead he just… drifted. Between specs of light he knew were lightyears away. He only felt cold and numb and… empty. 

He had so much he had wanted to do still. He had a letter in his bunk that was unaddressed that still needed to be left on a certain other Commander’s desk. He had a little blue and white stuffed tooka doll that had carefully sewn jaig eyes on its forehead he had wanted to give to Rex. He had a tin of specialty caff he had forgotten to tell his General about that was supposedly both tasty and good for helping headaches. So much was left behind and all he could do was think about how now he’ll never get the chance. 

It could have been minutes or days or years as Ponds drifted through space with his path fueled only by the momentum caused by being forcefully ejected from the ship and the gravitational pull of the nearest stars. He wondered if this was what death was. Was it your consciousness existing in your body even when all life in it was gone? Would he be trapped like this for the millions of years it took for his body to eventually get dragged into a star until he burnt away? Would he keep existing even then? Were stars filled with the souls of all they had devoured all watching without any way to cry out or be seen? 

Another lifetime or just a few more minutes passed. The darkness around him seemed to cradle him like he was in some sort of dark water. It reminded him of being in a bacta tank and then it dug deeper and brought back memories he didn’t know he had of being in a tube floating in a warm thick fluid. It made him think of the first time he swam in one of the many irrigation channels on Kamino that caught rain water and funneled it into basins where the water could be purified into something drinkable for humanoid species. He had always loved the water. Cody had suggested they call him fish or frog but it had been Fox that came up with the name he kept. Ponds. It had been a joke. Something about how he was always calm when the rest of them weren’t and his love of water and something about mud had been brought up but he had liked it. He wanted to be a place his brothers felt at peace and safe. He liked the idea of being a little messy but full of life and surprises. Not as mucky as a swamp, not as grand as a lake. Just a little pond. 

He missed his family. He missed Wolffe’s gruff love and Cody’s warm hugs and Fox’s sharp wit. He missed Bly running his fingers through his hair when he would rest his head on his brother’s thigh while Bly was working on a training module. How long has it been? Did they remember him? Did they cry over him dying? Bly definitely would have cried. Wolffe likely would have needed to punch something until all the feelings went away. Bly didn’t know how Cody would have reacted to the news. At this point so many of them had died, was Cody already numb to losing their brothers? Fox probably was. He had already told them how hard it was on triple zero and how fast they went through troops because the senators wanted them decommissioned any time they messed up. They all supported him the best they could but it was hard being so far away. 

The darkness was growing. Ponds had been staring at the same little speck of light now for ages and it was getting dimmer. There was nothing else to do by this point. He had given up on trying to figure out why he was aware and he had gotten bored of hypotheticals on how his brothers were reacting to things. He had been trying to figure out where he was based on what he could see and what he had known about where they had been headed. He was pretty sure the light he was looking at was near Coruscant or in that same direction… maybe. It was hard to tell. He really was just in empty space. No planets close enough to make out. No stars close enough to be more than a distant dot. He started doing calculations on how long it would take for light from Coruscant to reach where he thought he might be on a galactic map and then subtracting that from the timeline he knew from galactic history to try to figure out when the light he was seeing might have been from. 

Cody had always said he was a nerd. He liked math and equations and filling out data forms. He liked puzzles that could be solved and hard facts that added up nicely. He was proud of his scores in astrophysics. If his numbers were right then he was looking at Coruscant back before the cities were even first built. It would still have oceans at this point. If he could zoom in his eyes to see it in detail instead of just a white flickering dot, he might even be able to see land there. He remembered learning that the Taung had lived there first… those who would create the Mandalorians… would they still have been the primary species? It might have been from even before them. 

A ship suddenly stopped near Ponds from hyperspace and he felt a tractor beam start tugging his body toward a cargo hatch. His mind had stopped processing things ages ago so he couldn’t remember if he knew this ship or not. It felt familiar.

“I have retrieved the body. The boy didn’t lie about the coordinates. It’s covered in… some sort of inky stuff but I’ll clean it before we arrive back at the temple so it can receive a proper funeral.” A familiar voice said as Ponds’ body was dumped on the floor of the hold. Ponds felt the pain returning and groaned, his body starting to spasm causing the being that dragged him from space to jump back in fear. 

Ponds slowly came back to his mind. He was wrapped in cold but it was comfortable. He slowly moved his fingers and relaxed as they moved as he willed them despite now being the same empty black color as the space he had been left in. 

“You’re supposed to be dead! How are you alive?!” A voice filled with terror said and he looked at them with eyes filled with starlight as their blaster shook from where it was pointed at him. 

“I am dead.” He muttered and ignored it as the being shot him twice when he finally stepped forward. He took the blaster and snapped it in half with his hands like it was nothing but a twig. 

He didn’t know what he was now but it wasn’t living and that meant he couldn’t die. Which was good because he had things to do. 

“I already got shot, I’d like to not be shot anymore. Can you take me to my General Mace Windu?” He asked and grinned when the spacer nodded and ran for the cockpit.

#star wars #Haunted Clone Week #the clone wars #Commander Ponds #Cosmic horror #clone troopers #fanfic #tcw #eldrich horror #transformation #one shot #my writing #clonefandomevents

[ask-prismaknight]

Hi!

Welcome to the askblog! This is where you can ask questions directly to Prisma and her friends. My main is @startistdoodles (where likes/follows come from). I have posts regarding all my headcanons tagged there under #kirby worldbuilding.

A few notes upfront:

Depending on the amount of asks I receive, I may not be able to respond to every one of them. Please understand.

On a similar note, please refrain from repeatedly asking the same/similar question multiple times.

Please keep asks PG-13 at most.

The characters are not omnipotent, so lore-related questions about the world or things they may not know will be moved over to @startistdoodles .

My AU follows both anime and game lore, so characters from either can be asked about. Generally anyone who is not dead is free to talk.

Side modes such as Knightmare and Dededetour are not canon to my AU. However, Soul Bosses and Magolor Epilogue are canon.

That's about it! I'll update this post with anything else if needed.

Under the cut is information on some of the characters of interest.

Prisma Knight

Prisma Knight (she/her) is a Star Warrior turned queen after she got into an accident involving Dark Matter that resulted in her losing her wings. Ashamed, she fled her troop and went into hiding on Planet Permafrost. There she was crowned queen after saving the inhabitants from a terrifying threat.

Many years later, she reunited with her old friend Meta Knight and was brought to Popstar, where she currently lives with her servants and new friends.

Kirby

Kirby (he/him or they/them) is a young Star Warrior that arrived on Planet Popstar a couple years ago. Ever since then, his incredible power has been put to the test as he stands up against terrifying threats. But he is never fazed and goes right back to naptime after every battle.

Kirby is still a child (about 3-5 in human years) and his speech isn't the best. He resorts to communicating with drawings or gestures alongside his babbling. His friends can often help suggest what he might be trying to say.

Meta Knight

Meta Knight (he/him) is a mostly retired Star Warrior who resides on Planet Popstar and serves as a watchful knight who aims to protect the planet alongside his crew, the Meta-Knights, aboard his Battleship Halberd. He serves as a mentor to Kirby, as well as a sort of parental figure (despite him disagreeing with the latter).

Many years ago, he and Prisma Knight along with Sir Falspar, Sir Nonsurat and Sir Dragato were in the same troop in the GSA (Galaxy Soldier Army). He presumed Prisma dead when she went missing, but was reunited with her many years later.

King Dedede

King Dedede (he/him) is the self-proclaimed king of Dreamland. Once a greedy and stubborn king, he has since chilled out quite a bit and now acts as a proud ruler (now with 10% less stubbornness!) that many respect. While he can still be loud and hotheaded at times, he cares deeply for his friends and especially his Waddle Dee family.

He and Kirby are friendly rivals, and he will defend his little buddy with everything he's got.

Bandana Waddle Dee

Bandana Waddle Dee (he/him - Bandee for short) is the king's right-hand Waddle Dee. A soldier in training, he assists in the defense of Castle Dedede and even hangs out in town looking for ways he can help others.

He is also one of Kirby's best friends, and the two are almost always seen hanging out together.

Dark Matter Blade

Dark Matter Blade (he/him or it/its - usually shortened to 'Dark Matter', 'Dark Blade' or simply 'Dark') is the former right-hand of Lord Zero, the incarnation of pure dark energy. While once highly respected among his kind, after failing his first big mission of killing a Star Warrior and then again failing to defeat Kirby in his invasion of Popstar many years later, he was forced to flee the Dark Matter tribe under threat of being killed by his master. So, he returned to Popstar where he was reunited with Gooey.

Nowadays he spends his time with his new friends, though is still distrusted by some. He wishes to lead a life of peace and comfort and as such shys away from conflict and confrontation. His relationship with Prisma is very tense — they don’t speak much.

Mochi

Mochi (he/him or they/them) is a new baby that recently landed on Popstar. There is something strange and somewhat dark about him...but he seems sweet enough so Prisma is raising him.

Sidia Knight

Sidia Knight (he/him) is Prisma Knight's old mentor and father figure. After going MIA during the great war that demolished the GSA, he was stranded on Galacta Star for nearly a century. Eventually, he reunites with Quiver Knight and they settle down and live happily together as a married couple.

#here it is yall

[cinnamontoastcroonch]

on a long car ride so u know i gotta feed my troops w/ lurnc zvahl content… <3

headcannons/ideas below cut💳💥

- he can tell when he is getting too worked up because physically the skin splits below his eyes that he has while in his shadow knight form will start to burn. (bc ofc every fundamental piece of shadow knight-hood is painful)

- i like to think that vylad is sort of laurance’s mental protector-in the sense that while others care deeply for laurance, vylad has a better understanding of his mentality (naturally) and is very intuitive about his emotions.

^ picture vylad watching laurance’s expressions change ever so slightly in pressing group conversations and steering the interaction in a way that will be less troubling. (laurance knows he is doing it and claims he doesn’t need it, but deep down he is grateful).

- drunk laurance. he is so sassy it is unreal. pet names. eye rolls. scoffs. chatting it UP with lucinda because they are besties. chatting it up with everyone because that’s just who he is when drunk. teasing garroth when he tells him to slow his drinking pace. “i’m not human, ro’meave. i’ll drink how i please” and then he winks at him. he’s not sloppy tho. something happens and BAM he sobers up & is prepared to fight.

- idk if i’ve mentioned this before but he can be so silent. sometimes he accidentally scares the shit out of people just by appearing beside them without a sound.

- yes he’s a flirt but he has ZERO tolerance for anybody that is too forward/pushy/touchy. the SECOND he sees somebody behaving that way he won’t hesitate. on sight. somebody’s ass is getting dragged. he has built quite a rep and because of it the pubs in phoenix drop are actually quite safe/predator free. it was the same while he was head guard in meteli.

- absolutely distraught with himself after the wedding incident. could hardly live with himself. he knew the gravity of the situation and would hardly speak for days afterwards. he refuses to talk about it later on, and when garroth returns it’s somebody else who tells him about it.

ok that’s all for now folks

give ur opinions/ideas in replies 😋

#laurance zvahl #aphblr #laurance angst #mcd #aphmau laurance #laurance mcd #minecraft diaries #aphmau #mcd laurance #laurence zvhal #the zvahler #lurnc zvahl #shadow knights #garroth romeave #vylad ro'meave

[thefloatingstone]

The only person who said they'd be ok with a Paragon Lost liveblog yesterday was a buddy of mine so I just watched it on my own without liveblogging.

The take-away from it was;

1: WHY DO NONE OF YOU CARRY MEDIGEL???? You're supposed to be Alliance soldiers!!! Just showing characters use medigel in this movie would not have derailed a single plot point and nothing in the story would have actually changed if you had just bothered to show your characters USE MEDIGEL IN LIKE THE 2 SCENES THAT CALLED FOR IT INSTEAD OF HAVING CHARACTERS JUST WALK OFF THEIR GUNSHOTS!!!!

2: James Vega's character was obviously still supremely undercooked when they wrote this because he has NONE of the personality he has in the actual game. And the lack of the personality he has in the game is replaced with literally nothing. He is a walking blank slate. I guess the managed to actually make him Latino but that is IT. I was actually supremely disappointed because I wanted to get more context and meat to his character in the game. Turns out the movie version contains ZERO character from him at all.

3: I like seeing the inside of the Alliance Shuttle where a larger troop would be instead of the front of the shuttle which is all we really see the inside of in the games

4: I like seeing the characters load up with extra thermal clips

5: Why the fuck does Essex need a POWER CELL to do his biotics???? That's not how biotics work????? That's like watching some Star Wars side story tv show and suddenly having the jedi character unable to use the force unless he plugs a battery into his lightsaber. This is literally how biotics have worked since THE FIRST GAME. I am genuinely baffled by why this is a thing in this movie???

??????

6: I like seeing the Collectors' carapaces open up and seeing how their wings unfurl because that is also something we never get to see in the games and I enjoy seeing these tiny world details that explain things nobody needed explaining but we got answers to anyway.

7: Why do the krogans look like that

8: Whoever animated the explosions was too good for this film. Same goes for whoever composed the music.

9: Why the hell does the movie end with Vega in N7 when he only get his letter of acceptance DURING the middle of ME3????

10: Oh sure when JAMES kills an entire colony he gets a medal! But when I kill an entire colony I get sent to jail >:( God Forbid women do anything.

#Mass Effect #Mass Effect Paragon Lost #James Vega

[rainydaydream-gal18]

May I request some angsts? Maybe Reader the Bad Batch’s Jedi and when Crosshair turns full imperial, Reader betrays the batch to join him ?

(The Bad Batch) Crosshair x Reader: The Deal

(Author's Note: This request was from a while back. I apologize that it's taken so long!!! I hope you don't mind I tweaked it a bit. Reader isn't a jedi, but fought alongside the squad during the war. I hope you enjoy!).

Word Count: 1,490

Warnings: Angst, mentions of violence/sad events in Clone Wars

“________, what are you doing?” Hunter questioned.  He stood with arms spread out, blaster pointed down, but grasped firmly in his hand, ready to use if necessary.  You could still see the hesitation, the conflict in his eyes.

“My job,” you replied.

The two of you circled each other in an agonizingly slow dance around the clearing of the forest.  “I don’t understand why you’re with them.  Something’s not right with this Empire, and you know it.”

Of course you knew it.

The events that transpired had been nothing short of horrific.  You’d watched the love of your life take aim and try to shoot down a kid.  Whether the kid was a traitor or not, the Crosshair you knew wouldn’t have done such a thing - not unless something was seriously wrong.  Not to mention he was all too eager to complete the awful mission that Tarkin had assigned the squad, to eliminate “insurgents,” which turned out to be civilians who would not submit to the Empire.

Upon returning to Kamino, they’d taken the sniper away from the rest of you.  It took a great effort on the troopers’ part to keep you in the cell while he was escorted out.

It wasn’t long afterwards that the squad managed to escape.

During the confrontation on the landing platform, you stayed behind while the others escaped with their gear aboard the Marauder.

Crosshair had given the order to have you placed in a new cell until further notice.

Something definitely changed in him since they took him away.  There was a new resolve in his demeanor, but not a resolve against the orders of the Empire.

Even so, he visited you.  It made you hopeful every time you saw his face on the other side of the cell’s barriers, like perhaps he’d come to his senses.  But each time, your hopes crashed to the ground after a few minutes of gazing at each other in tense silence before he’d place a toothpick between his teeth and leave.

Something was definitely wrong.

One day, a pair of troops approached, lowering the shield so that you could exit the cell.  They escorted you down a few hallways until you arrived at a door.  It slid open to reveal a typical Kaminoan meeting room- plain white with a few chairs in front. 

A man you didn’t recognize walked in wearing Imperial military garb.  He dismissed the other troops before approaching you with hands folded behind his back, speaking courteously.

“Ah, so you’re ________.  It is a pleasure.”

You lifted a brow.  “Have we been introduced?”

“Indeed not.  This is our first meeting.  I am Admiral Rampart.  You’re probably wondering why you’ve been brought here.”

You didn’t dignify him with a response to his statement.  You only shook your head, changing the subject.  “Where’s Crosshair?”

“See, that is precisely why you’re here.”

“What?”

“I witnessed your interaction with him, though briefly.  The two of you seem to have a bond.”

“That’ll happen when you’ve been on as many missions as we have.  Our entire squad has a bond.”

“But yours with CT-Nine-Nine-Zero-Four is different.”

You clamped your mouth shut, not wanting to give him any more reason to believe his theory.  He was entirely on the mark, but who knew what he would do with this information?

Rampart chuckled, idly walking to the other side of the room to glance out the viewport at the stormy seas outside.  “There’s no need to be alarmed.  The Republic discouraged such relationships, but you may come to find that the Empire is a little more lenient.”

You snapped your gaze toward him in surprise.  He turned his head to give you a sideways glance.  His tone remained light, breezy, as he continued.

“You are an experienced soldier, having previously assisted Clone Force Ninety-Nine on many missions, like you said.”  Rampart unclasped his hands.  “Very impressive military record.  It makes you a prime candidate for my new program as a conscripted soldier.”

“And why would I ever do that?” 

“Because you could face criminal charges as an insurgent.  You are a traitor against the Empire, after all.  Or you could put your skills to use.  You could take advantage of this opportunity and remain at CT-Nine-Nine-Zero-Four’s side.”

“Crosshair,” you interjected.

He paused, repeating the name like it was a foreign language, trying to hide the disdain in his tone.  “Yes, Crosshair’s, side.”

You tore your gaze from Rampart’s, experiencing a weight like that of the entire galaxy on your chest.  What this man was offering was not at all what you’d been expecting.

“You’ve seen how we deal with traitors, _________,” he urged.  “This is the opportunity of a lifetime.  You can make a difference.  You will be able to serve the galaxy.  You and CT- Crosshair won’t be separated again.”

When you did not immediately reply, he nodded.  “I can see you need some time to think.  I will summon you again tomorrow.  Give me your answer then.”

That night, you saw nothing but Crosshair’s face in your dreams.

The rest was history.

So there you were, following orders to assist in tracking down the Bad Batch as an Imperial soldier.  You wished it wasn’t so.  You wished Crosshair wouldn’t be so adamant about finding his old squad, and you wished he didn’t order you to accompany him on these chases.

You and Hunter continued to circle each other, blasters in hand.  His initial bewilderment gave way to confusion and disappointment at seeing you poised to capture them.

“What happened?” he asked. “I know they have Crosshair under their control with that chip, but they can’t have brainwashed you.”

“I didn’t leave with you guys,” you answered with a shrug.  “I was worried about Crosshair.  After being imprisoned again on Kamino, my options were pretty limited.  It was either go on trial for crimes against the Empire, or this.”

Hunter’s shoulders relaxed, and he removed his helmet to reveal hope in his eyes.  He lowered his blaster.  “Now is your chance, ________.  Come with us.”

“I…I can’t.”  You shook your head.  “The reason I took this deal…”

Hunter’s gaze softened as realization dawned on him.  “It was to stay with him, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.  I can’t leave now, not with all of the shady things going on.”

A million and one questions roamed around Hunter’s mind at your words, but time was short.  “So this is it.  This is how it has to be.”

“I’m afraid so.”  You grasped your blaster tighter, stealing a glance over your shoulder.  Thinking quickly, you fired a few shots into the dirt just in front of him.  You had to make it appear that you weren’t on his side, but it seemed Hunter saw through your attempt.  

Hunter put his helmet back on and gave you one last nod before disappearing into the brush.

You exhaled, preparing an explanation that your superior would undoubtedly demand.

Crosshair’s armored form emerged from the forest to your right, carrying his rifle.  “Where’d they go?”

“They escaped.”  You could almost feel Crosshair’s skeptical eyes boring into you through his visor as he walked over to stand directly in front of you.

“Is that so?”

Crosshair’s helmet tilted down as he observed the blaster marks in the dirt.

“I see.  How… unfortunate.”

He had to know.  He had the sharpest eyes and never missed a thing.  It’s not like the direction of your blaster marks made sense.  Not to mention you’d simply given up on the chase.

Your heart pounded in your chest as you waited for Crosshair to point these things out, but the comments never came.  He merely reached up with his fingers to tilt your chin so that you would face his visor.  The silent exchange was brief, but made your heart race for a different reason.  He turned and started back toward the ship, and you knew that was your cue to follow.

His behavior was most intriguing.  You were certain that he would’ve said something.  You’d never hindered him in a chase before, but that was only because he’d never come this close to capturing the squad.  Now that he finally had his opportunity, you’d foiled it- and obviously so- yet he didn’t mention it.

Unless he wanted them to escape.

Could it be?  If that was the case, then why was he the one always petitioning his superiors for permission to go after the squad if he was going to let them get away?

Nothing seemed to make sense anymore.  Each day seemed to bring about new mysteries.  You missed the Batch.  Funny enough, even though Rampart had kept true to his end of the deal that you wouldn’t be parted from Crosshair, you found yourself missing Crosshair.  He was there, but it often didn’t feel like he was there.

You could only hope that your quiet investigations would amount to something, that you’d find a way to set him free.

#the bad batch #the bad batch x reader #reader insert #bad batch x reader #the bad batch imagine #bad batch crosshair #imperial!crosshair x reader #crosshair x reader #crosshair reader insert #bad batch fanfiction #crosshair fanfiction #bad batch reader insert #bad batch crosshair x reader #the bad batch crosshair x reader #star wars the bad batch fanfiction

[mwolf0epsilon]

Fox for the ask game?

Headcanon A: What I Think Realistically

When Fox was picked to be Marshal Commander of the Coruscant Guard, it was done because he scored so high during all his tests. Palpatine let a lot of competent CCs into the GAR to keep up appearances, but he made sure to pick out the ones who he thought might actually be capable of becoming a problem to control if they were actively fighting alongside Jedi.

Headcanon B: What I think is fucking hilarious

Fox is genderfluid and has a chart on how gender presentation works for him/her/them depending on what sort of day it is (it's all in the very fine details really).

Only the Guard and the few allies they have on Triple Zero know how to read the signs. Everyone else is confused on what to call him/her/them because they don't know Fox all that well and don't have the balls to ask for pronouns.

It's honestly amusing for Fox to watch people squirm when trying and failing to figure out how to address the Marshal Commander of the Coruscant Guard.

Headcanon C: What is heart-crushing and awful but fun to inflict on friends

Fox knew Fives was onto something the moment Palpatine called for the kill order. Whether or not the chip was involved in him pulling the trigger doesn't really matter. He ultimately still feels the crushing guilt that comes with the consequences of Fives's death, and he'd give anything to make it right if his hands weren't so tied.

Unfortunately Palpatine's scrutiny of him and the Guard rises after the Fives incident, so Fox pushes his own suspicions and remorse into a box and locks it away rather than try to explain himself to the GAR Commanders or Rex. He has his own men to protect and he doubts that even if Fives was proven right, that any of them could ever possibly win when they are naught more than cogs in a machine.

His will for a good future for clone kind has been irrevocably broken by then. He can only hope they all just survive to a day where the war is but a memory. Whatever comes after that is out of his hands entirely.

Headcanon D: What would-never work with canon but the canon is shit so I believe it anyway

Canon gave us very little of Fox aside from dealing with a Hutt in collaboration with Padme, a bombing fail, a high-stakes hunt for a supposed terrorist who actually wasn't the culprit, another high-stakes hunt for a supposed assassin that ended in set-in-stone tragedy, and then a comic where he got his neck snapped by Vader.

Canon has done Fox dirty because the writing teams have never cared for him or the Coruscant Guard, and by default a lot of the fandom outside of Tumblr have equated them to snobby corrupt cops with Fox being the worst of the worst, which is highly unlikely considering their position.

With that in mind, I believe Fox and the Guard are indeed hated by the population of Coruscant and the GAR alike. The former due to their nature as clones and being a reminders of the war in general, and the latter entirely due to the manipulation of Palpatine.

The GAR troops had their purpose in the war (primarily get closer to the Jedi and become the perfect trap for them) while the Corries another purpose entirely (organize the population of Coruscant in preparation for Palpatine's Empire) and he needed them divided so that through their collective intellect they didn't figure Palps out for what he really was. Because honestly the clones were brilliant military tacticians that relied on their excellent organization and cooperation skills, and nothing short of a fabricated internal conflict could have stopped them from seeing Palpatine was actively sabotaging and destroying the Republic they were loyal to.

But returning primarily to Fox, he is one of Palpatine's more direct victims of active manipulation, with his memory being so messed up from Force Suggestion that he has become an incredibly unreliable narrator. As such he has measures in place where he can keep track of sensitive information pertaining his vode where he actually doesn't know enough for him to become a liability to them. Clones who know too much are met with a horrible fate, or worse... Lead others to their own terrible fates.

#star wars #the clone wars #commander fox #headcanons #milfcutlawquane

[thepringlesofblood]

Major ACOC Spoilers

so, there are a few posts out there pointing out two math errors in acoc ep9 - Liam’s damage to Ciabatta being miscounted as 67 instead of 77, and Jet’s riposte for 13 damage not hitting Ciabatta when it should’ve. this is true. this might lead one to wonder, “well, if those extra 23 points of damage were counted, would Ciabatta be dead? would Jet have lived?”

I wanna clear things up for all of yall who are watching ACOC for the first time after the ravening war, so i did the math (under the cut) by counting his hp in the finale as he took damage.

Ciabatta had 118 hp

it wouldn’t have made a difference. if both errors were fixed and he was dealt the full 77 + 13, he’s still walking out of there with 28 hp.

to be clear: absolutely no shade on the intrepid heroes/brennan. no one clown on this post about whether they should’ve done this or that. it was 3am in a warehouse in Hollywood on a wicked messed up shooting schedule. Jet’s death was a beautiful, emotional scene, and it’d be weird and narratively dissonant to go back and redo it bc some math was wrong.

i did this math bc my logic brain just needs to know how the numbers do for my own personal peace of mind. given the several other posts I’ve seen trying to calculate this same thing, others have the same problem. so. enjoy.

Ciabatta doesn’t physically appear in the finale until pt 2

“The last Ceresian force musters, appears at the front of the wall with Imperator Ciabatta” is at 1:33:00ish

first damage done to him is by Saccharina, when she Cone of Colds his whole force in front of the castle for 41 damage (1:37:08). it hits him and the forces he was leading, and they do not save for half.

after that we have this exchange:

Zac: Ciabatta's-

Brennan: Ciabatta is still very much alive.

Emily: Okay. He's very much alive though, he's doing really well?

Brennan: Yes.

Emily: Okay. Then just to fuck with him, I'm gonna fire breathe on him.

and she does. Cinnamon uses his breath weapon to deal 57 damage, demolishing the rest of the forces

Brennan: He does not save for half. He goes from looking wounded but okay to injured, badly injured.

then of course the final damage is done by Ruby w the water-steel dagger

Siobhan: It's 4d6.

Brennan: 4d6, he just rolled a natural 4 on his Constitution save.

Siobhan: Great, it's actually three Constitution saves. It's 12.

Brennan: 12 damage, but you also add your sneak Attack.

Ally: Oh!

Brennan: Yeah.

Siobhan: 12, 14, 16.

Brennan: More than 20?

Siobhan: Yeah.

Brennan: Standing in the burned and frozen remains of his soldiers, what happens to Imperator Ciabatta?

[as a 7th lvl rogue, Ruby has 4d6 sneak attack dice]

so, presumably, Ciabatta had 20 hp left before being stabbed.

41 + 57 + 20 = 118

now, I highlighted those exchanges for a reason. It is technically possible that Brennan was using a similar mechanic for Ciabatta leading his troops as the PCs leading theirs- being attacked as a troop by another troop does deal the commander as an individual some of the damage, but not all. so, the Cone of Cold may not have dealt all 41 points of damage to him. here’s how he’s described after the Cone of Cold

“very much alive” “doing really well”

after breath weapon “He goes from looking wounded but okay to injured, badly injured“

so it is possible that the Cone of Cold did not do full damage bc of troop mechanics. however. personally I feel like since Saccharina is not attacking as a troop but as an individual (with a dragon), it’s not troop v troop action.

fun fact: Saccharina’s breath weapon attack + Ruby’s finishing blow is 77 damage - the same amount of damage Liam (should have) done to Ciabatta in episode 9 (that didn’t take him down)

so as long as Saccharina’s Cone of Cold did more than 13 damage [Jet’s riposte] to Ciabatta (which I’d fucking think it would even w very unlikely troop mechanics), then it wouldn’t have made any difference.

and bc we know he took at the very least a non-zero amount of damage from the Cone of Cold (“wounded but okay”), nothing would’ve saved Jet. the other assassins had already hit, and even with the math fixed on Liam’s damage 77 would never have taken him down. the only difference even possible is that her 13 damage riposte might’ve downed him, but even that is extremely unlikely - Ciabatta would’ve had to take less than half damage from Cone of Cold, and he did not save.

#dnd #d20 #dimension 20 #acoc #acoc spoilers #major acoc spoilers #d20 spoilers #dimension 20 spoilers #original post #math

[dialovers-translations]

Diabolik Lovers LOST EDEN ー Yuma Ecstasy [Epilogue]

ー The scene starts in the Big Hall at Eden

Subaru: ーー The Vibora troops are on their way to Eden!?

Ayato: Are you bein’ for real, Reiji?

Reiji: Yes, this information is accurate. On top of that...

Ruki: We have been informed...that it was Eve who gave out the order for attack.

Kou: Haah!? Excuse me!? That makes zero sense!

Ruki: That’s what I’d like to believe too. However...This is the truth. 

Azusa: What is happening? Yuma should have definitely gone to rescue Eve...

Shuu: Guess he messed up...Or this might all be part of his plan to save the Ghouls. 

Ayato: So they’re using the Vibora to achieve their own goal?

Subaru: Still, they wouldn’t go as far as to have this place attacked, right!?

Reiji: Calm down. We do not know the exact details yet. However, what we have to do right now is ーー

Shuu: As long as the Vibora are on the offensive, we have to fight back as well. That’s the best strategy. 

Kou: ...! But she’s on their side...

Shuu: There’s no friends or foes in war.

We shall start by strengthen the front gate’s defense. Reiji will give out the order to the Familiar.

Reiji: Understood.

ー Reiji walks away

Shuu: Ayato and Subaru. I’ll leave you two in charge of patroling the back entrance. I want you to look out for any possible ambushes. 

Ayato: ...Che. Look at him orderin’ us ‘round. Oi, let’s go, Subaru.

ー Ayato and Subaru leave as well

Ruki: Ruki, I’ll leave you in command of our army. Don’t let the foes’ troops get close to Eden.

Ruki: ...Roger. Kou, Azusa. You two go ahead and gather our soldiers.

Kou: ...

Azusa: Kou...Let’s go.

ー Kou and Azusa leave

Ruki: ...I feel like I finally understand your words now.

Shuu: What are you talking about?

Ruki: You said that being chosen is like a double-edged sword, didn’t you? ...You were exactly right.

Shuu: ...Whatever.

I shall get rid of anyone who threatens the Vampire Clan, regardless of who they may be. That is simply the duty I have been entrusted with.

You should get going too. You know that we’re pressed on time, right?

Ruki: ...If you wish.

ー Ruki leaves

Shuu: ...To think that I originally came here to atone for my crimes. How ironic. 

Seems like there will never be a day where we can get along after all. ...Edgar.

Monologue

ーー At last, we received news. 

The Vampire Clan had decided to fight back,

against the Vibora troops which were sent out.

And not before long,

I could hear the sounds of weapons clashing. 

The tremors which I could feel through the ground,

showed just how intense their battle was.

The war had begun.

And all I could do was watch it unfold,

from the main unit all the way in the very back. 

ー The scene shifts to the forest

Kino: Aah, I can definitely hear it. Seems like the fight has begun.

If the Vibora and Vampire Clans take each other down, that’d be best-case-scenario for me.

So? How does it feel knowing that this war started because of the order you gave out? My Queen.

Yui: ...What exactly is your true objective? 

Kino: My objective? Let me think...Freedom, I suppose?

Yui: Is that truly worth...starting a war over?

Kino: You ask that now? Yes, exactly. We want to be liberated, no matter what it takes, or how much we have to sacrifice in return.

That’s why we’ll fight. Regardless of who we have to abuse or which kind of underhanded strategies we have to resort to.

You should make up your resolve as well. This war which has begun will not come to an end until either party dies.

*WOOSH*

Vibora A: Uguh...Aah!

*Thud*

Yui: ...!

Kino: Well then, who shall survive? Or perhaps...Both will perish?

Yuuri: Kino, I have news. Please come with me for a second.

Kino: Sure. But keep it short, okay?

ー Kino walks away with Yuuri

Vibora A: ...Ah...

...

Yui: ...I’m so sorry.

Monologue

I only wanted to save Yuma-kun.

However, as a result of that,

many people have become wrapped up in this war.

Despite trying to tell Yuma-kun,

which decision he should make...

in the end, perhaps I have made the wrong choice as well? 

I could no longer tell if my knees were trembling,

because the ground itself shaking,

or out of sheer terror.

Yui: ( I no longer know...what is right or wrong. )

( ...Regardless, I bear responsibility for the choices I’ve made. In which caseーー )

( ーー It is my duty to carry out that responsibility till the bitter end. Right, Yuma-kun...? )

ー The scene shifts to the underground dungeon

Yuma: ...

( ...I can hear the sounds of war. It takes me back, as much as I’d rather not recall those times. )

( The fuck’s goin’ on outside? Besides, what happened to my execution? )

( Oh well, I don’t plan on goin’ down without a fight anyway. )

( I can’t sit still in this hellhole when Yui could be out there in danger. )

ー A guard approaches the cell

Vibora C: Pwaah...Oi, are you behaving in there?

Yuma: ...

Vibora C: ...I guess that’s an unnecessary question. You can’t even give a proper answer to my questions anymore, so I guess there’s no point in guarding you.

God, I really got the short end of the stick. I would have loved to go out there to kick some Vampire ass.

Yuma: ( ...!? Kick some Vampire ass!? )

Vibora C: Hahー ...I’m done with my patrol.

Yuma: ーー Wait.

*Clatter* 

Vibora C: Wha!? You bastard, you could still moーー!

*THUD*

Vibora C: Guah!

Yuma: Tell me more...’bout what ya said just now.

Vibora C: ...What do you mean...!?

ー Yuma tightens his grip

Yuma: Ya said somethin’ ‘bout kicking Vampire’s ass, right!? Were ya referrin’ to the fight goin’ on outside!? I’m not lettin’ ya go until ya spill the beans!

Vibora C: ...I can’t breathe...! Fine, I’ll tell you...!

The Vibora Troops are currently on their way to attack Eden...! And the Vampires launched a counter-attack!

Yuma: Who gave out the order!?

Vibora C: Our new Queen...!

Yuma: Queen...? ...Don’t tell me!

Vibora C: Exactly! Your little companion! That girl who has Cordelia-sama’s heart inside of her is now nothing but our tool...!

If we use that woman to get rid of all other Demon species, it’d mean that us Vibora will get to flourish!

You should be grateful as well. You escaped execution because she agreed to our deal. 

Yuma: ...Fuck that!!

*THUD*

Vibora C: Gah...!

Yuma: She...So she’s workin’ together with the Vibora to save me!?

Fuck...! Where’s the key!?

*Rustle rustle* 

Yuma: ...Found out!

*Clunk* 

Yuma: Wait for me, Yui! I’m on my way...!

ー Yuma opens the door to his cell

Yuma: This time I’ll protect ya for sure...!

ー The scene shifts back to the forest

Yuuri: ーー That is the current state of affairs. What will you do?

Kino: Hmー ...We’re down quite a bit in numbers as well, so I guess it might be about time.

Kino: Yuuri, you know what to do, right?

Yuuri: Of course. However, will you actually head over there all by yourself? 

Kino: Are you saying that you’re worried? Listen, could you stop treating me like a child? Just get to it already.

Yuuri: ...I understand.

Kino: Well then...Yui!

Let’s go. Come here.

Yui: Go where...?

Kino: To Eden. No point in staying here after all.

Vibora B: Wait! You want to leave this place in the middle of the war!?

Kino: Yes? Got a problem with that?

Vibora B: The Vampire King’s head is ours! We won’t let you run away with the fame!

Kino: ...Haah, what a pain. Yuuri, go for it!

*BOOM*

Vibora B: Wha...!? You fiend, what are you doing!?

Yui: Kino-kun!?

Kino: I mean, the guy just wouldn’t shut up, so he gave me no other choice, right?

Vibora B: Ah, aaaah...!

Kino: That’s what you get for talking back to me. ーー Now enjoy being burnt to death.

Vibora B: Save...Save me!!

Yui: Stop...! I’m begging you, make it stop!!

Kino: What are you saying? It’s too late. I mean, at this point it doesn’t really matter how many people die, right?

Yui: ...Don’t you have a heart!?

Kino: Aha! ‘A heart’, she said! To a Vampire! Have you finally lost it as well?

Ahーah. It’s becoming more and more clear to me that the Vampires you’ve been surrounded by are nothing but a bunch of softies.

Cruel, heartless, void of any emotion. That’s what a true Vampire should be like. 

On top of that, are you aware? It was none other than yourself who turned them into spineless cowards.

Yui: ...!

Kino: If they had still been their original heartless selves, I doubt they would have ever batted an eye at the whole situation with Lucks or the Ghouls.

Then perhaps none of this would have happened. Don’t you agree?

Yui: ...Stop...!

Kino: Ah, don’t get the wrong idea now? I’m not blaming you or anything.

I mean, it’s thanks to you softening those guys up, that I was able to set all of this up. 

If anything, I am grateful to you! Thanks for giving me a chance.

Yui: ...You truly are...

Kino: Fufu, what a lovely expression. ...But soon I’ll be done with you as well. 

*Rustle*

Yui: ...!? What are you doing!? Let me go!!

Kino: Shut up. Not another word.

Fufu, I’ll have you come with me. As a hostage again. ...Once that’s done and over with, everything will come to an end.

Well then, this is your final duty. Make sure to do your best for me, okay, Yui...?

ー The scene shifts back to the Big Hall at Eden

Ayato: ...It’s suspiciously quiet. 

Subaru: Does that mean the winner has been decided? But we haven’t gotten any updates from our Familiars. 

Ruki: ...Wait. Is that...fire?

Azusa: The forest...is burning...

Reiji: ーー Shuu!

ー Reiji runs up to them

Reiji: We have gotten word from our Familiar. Kino has appeared...bringing Yui along with him.

Kou: What about Yuma-kun!?

Reiiji: No, it is just the two of them. Apparently he wants to negotiate...with the Vampire King.

Shuu: ...Bring me to him.

ー The scene shifts to the outside of Eden

Kino: Hey there, seems like the Vampire King has shown up.

Yui: ( Shuu-san...! )

Kino: You know why I’m here, right?

Shuu: For my powers, correct?

Kino: Exactly. Let me get straight to the point. Won’t you give them to me?

Of course, I’m not asking them for free. If you give me your powers, I’ll let her go.

Yui: You can’t, Shuu-san! Don’t let this guy fool you!

Kino: Che, be quiet!

*Smack*

Azusa: Eve...!

Kino: Could you keep out of this? Remember that you’re just a hostage.

Ruki: You fiend...!

Kino: Come on, what’s your answer?

Shuu: ...

Kou: ...What is Yuma-kun doing!? Hurry up and come save her...!

ーー TO BE CONTINUED ーー

#diabolik lovers #dialovers #yuma mukami #lost eden #diabolik lovers translation #leyumaecstasyepilog

[cerastes]

[Trails from Zero] Enigmatic Theater Crimes - Championship Edition

The Great Wolf Heist of '86 has finally come to a close, we sure showed Revache what happens when you mess with three recently employed young adults and one lore-ridden teen after they watch too much Scooby Doo, and, speaking of dog companions, we got ours in the shape of Zeit! Now we truly ARE the Mystery Crew! Two lads, two lasses, and a funny dog.

However, CELEBRATION IS SHORT-LIVED as it seems world-famous theater troop, Arc en Ciel, has received a TROUBLING LETTER... Which coincides with the Mafia's top enforcer, Garcia, lamenting the fact that Heiyue's top assassin, the infamous "Yin", seems to be active in Crossbell...

INTRIGUE.

Let's dive in right into the next set of Mysterious Circumstances and, of course, oddjobs!

We're live! Hop in!

#dreamerwave