#Arcade could use better weapons too

[juniperberries-canisroot]

Do companions have an armour proficiency like they do in Skyrim or is it kinda not a thing in NV? Like maybe Boone should wear light so he can sneak and move better, but Veronica should wear heavy so she can take a hit and tank better, but it ultimately doesn't affect anythin involving skills?

I also don't know what to give Arcade, or even how to use him. I have Veroncia and Rex to be the chargers, taking the front line and using Melee attacks, so they get close to the enemy, assuming Boone and I don't snipe the enemy first. I also switch between the AMR and Chances Knife so I'm adaptable to both. I use light armour to sneak better and I prioritize movement speed and manuverability over damage threshold and slower movement. I don't stay long in a fight cause I can't take too many hits, but the fight is usually over before I loose a quarter of my health, assuming I didn't snipe the thing first.

Aracde uses energy weapons which I SUCK at. I started selling all my non-uniquely named energy gear cause I don't use it. So I don't have alot of ammo for it either. He makes it sound like he'll default to what I do, which is usually guns, but Idk that I need another Melee.

[talenlee]

4e: I Like the Ardent

One of the elements of Dungeons and Dragons as a game system that I hold fast to as one of its greatest strengths is the nature of the class-species based system where a player is immediately invited to create a character the second they hear about the basics of the system. To this end, there is a design space in D&D where the classes in that class system regard the potential power carried in a name that meaningfully explicates what they do. Class systems, broadly, recognise the value of names for what a class is, because that conveys tone for what a class does. A Barbarian and a Fighter aren’t meaningfully useful classes but when positioned as game systems, one of them is immediately more technical than the other.

Even if, yes, I’m sure, Berserker is the more proper term.

Anyway, to this end, a D&D character class cares about what I think of as ‘name space’ – the kinds of things you can name classes in order to make those classes compelling, interesting and memorable, the handles that players can get a grip on. This means that some titles, like Wizard, Bard, Rogue, Sorcerer, the 90s idiot’s allure of The Ninja, have value and weight to them and you can almost always directly tie the quality of a class to the name it gets, as that’s a sign that someone had a real clear idea and wanted to do something. If the weird is generic (the Seeker) or completely obscure (the Factotum), then you were odds on dealing with something that was not designed with a strong class fantasy and were about to be in for A Bad Time that was maybe interestingly broken.

And then there’s the Ardent.

Ardents are a type of support character, a Leader in the context of D&D 4th edition. While by no means their first appearance in the game, 4th is the place where they got good. 3rd edition Ardents worked in a way that I will generously call weird, and were positioned as a psionic healer and therefore in direct competition with the Cleric, one of the best classes in the game that could always manage healing as an afterthought. Not a good look there at the best of times, especially with the strongest virtue of the psionic system of 3.5 being ‘guess what rules oversight I get to dance in.’

The simplest description for the Ardent is that they’re a melee psionic supporter that leads by example and expresses emotions hard. It’s a bit of a hard class fantasy to put into a single word, right? You’re a feeler. Wait no that’s bad. You’re an emotive? Nope, that won’t do it, either. You can tell Ardent is a rough word to use since it shows up in the flavour text of dozens of other things and the Paladin even gets a starting power called Ardent Vow.

Thing is once this idea is set aside, the actual mechanical package of the Ardent absolutely rules. For a start, it’s a melee weapon based Leader whose primary attacking stat is Charisma, and whose skills back that Charisma up. You can play a skulking streetwise Ardent or a sincere politician Ardent or even just a walking threat Ardent, they all have the compatibilities. They also rely on a big weapon, meaning you get some of that anime hero vibes of a character with a huge weapon leaping into combat to have a big impact.

Because their primary focus was how things feel they could put a lot of different emotional impacts on the kinds of moves they had. That could be something like leading your friends in a direct charge against an enemy or sometimes it could be about psychically dragging your enemy towards you so every friend you have gets to make an attack on them along the way like it’s an Assist Strikers spice reel from the attract mode on an arcade.

Ardents had a special ability that fired off when they got bloodied, which was rarely worth worrying about. They had another ability that change how you related to opportunity attacks, too – either you were better defended against them (prompting you to be more reckless about how you moved), you were better at dealing damage with them (and therefore became more mindful about forcing opponents into positions to deal with them) or you got to deal more damage when you got hit by them (in which case you were suddenly an immense idiot trying to get whacked on the snout all the time in combat just so you could retaliate with nova spikes).

They also grew well. See, they were a psionic class, which meant early on you picked some at-will powers and then instead of getting encounter attacks, you swapped those at-wills for other at-wills and got instead power points to choose how to fine-tune your powers for points in combat. This could lead to things like a slow burning opening turn setting up a late-combat nova, or vice versa, or maybe you’d find you had one power you loved to use all the time and focused on using it, with your other powers as niche, sometimes fooders. As an example, Demoralising Strike is a power you start with and, using no power points, just gives enemies a -2 to defenses when you hit with it. If you augmented it though, it would impose a penalty of -X, where X is 1+ your con mod, so in some cases, -5, or -6. This is a big swing and makes things very easy to hit and paints a very broad target.

On the note of painting a target, they also get the power Forward Thinking Cut, one of my favourite 4th edition powers ever. Used just on its own it’s a solid melee attack that gives everyone adjacent to you +1 to hit. That’s a perfectly reasonable power on its own. It can be augmented once to allow a higgledy-piggle side-step charge, but then it can be augmented a second time to instead allow two other characters to come with you on the charge. This kind of flexibility delights me, where it goes from a serviceable every-time power and then upgrades into a power for transporting people into the fray at the very start of combat.

It’s such a cool class about creating cool feeling moments.

Shame about the name.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

[intimidating-fettuccine]

I hope your health issues get better!! :(

If it’s not too much, could I have Bloody Painter rambles? Stay hydrated!!

Thank you very much!! You stay hydrated as well :)

I tend to write Helen as a loner (because he is) but generally, I've shifted into the mindset that he tends to be one of the girls. I've always written Natalie as one of his best friends, and I feel like he hangs out with Jane and Kate a lot too. He does hang out with the guys too (as Pup is also one of his best friends), but I think he finds women more enjoyable to be around and less of a nuisance compared to the boys. I think he gets a bit conflicted about this sometimes (being reminded of all of his trauma about being forced to be a girl growing up), but he does feel much more at ease around women usually.

I thought I'd mentioned this before but I couldn't find it in the search (but the Tumblr search notoriously sucks >:(), but I think Helen uses poisons a lot. My Helen has this sort of alternate headspace he gets into when he's killing for work (often blacking out mentally and not remembering anything he does), but he tends to get quite artistic with corpses. I think he doesn't like damaging the bodies too much, so he tends to use poison laced weapons in order to prevent him from having to use physical force. On the other side of that, this also means that he's taught himself about antidotes for all the poisons he uses, and he makes sure the others never touch his poisons out of fear of one of them getting poisoned themselves.

This one is probably random, but I think Helen likes dancing games. Just Dance, DDR, whatever dancing game he can play, I feel like he's just naturally good at them. Nobody expects this from him because he doesn't like being physically active a whole lot because he lacks energy, but if you take him to an arcade and they have a DDR machine, he will bust it down. I feel like he would do this to show off to his partner too, take you to an arcade for a date and win you a bunch of tokens and show off how good he is at them. I just see him getting like a new high score on the hardest level easily and then just turning to you with a smirk while it starts counting his tickets. Make sure you tell him he did a good job, it always makes him happy.

[starlightshadowsworld]

Atsushi joins the Sheep

Atsushi running away from the Orphanage at 9 years old, knowing about his ability.

Trying to get as far from the place as possible and ending up in Suribachi City.

Atsushi manages to lay low for a while, but one day he realises the food he just stole was from 13 year old Chuuya Nakahara himself.

Whoops.

Chuuya is pissed because that my food damnit, and than amused and confused when he finally corners and sees the teeny theif.

Atsushi is just like I'm gonna die I'm gonna die I'm so sorry Mister Nakahara!

Chuuya sighs, tells him to chill out and splits the food with him.

Atsushi, poking his head out from his hands and carefully taking a piece before lighting up and eating it.

Chuuya will deny it later, but the kid is adorable.

They end up running into each other more, at one point Chuuya uses his ability and Atsushi with all the tact of a kid is like "you're a monster too?!"

Chuuya frowns, but notices that Atsushi isn't saying it as insult. Kid's looking at Chuuya in starry eyed awe.

Chuuya: Monster? Wait...lights up You have an ability too?!

Atsushi: excited, loud whisper I'm a tiger!

Chuuya: pauses That's not poss....thinks about Arahabaki you know what, why not.

They grow close and Chuuya asks if Atsushi can join the Sheep, as a way to give him some protection.

The Sheep are reluctant especially with Atsushi's young age but allow it once they find out he's got an ability.

Atsushi, ecstatic to have a family soon worms his way into everyone's hearts.

Though he stays at Chuuya's side, to the point people joke he's like Chuuya's guard dog.

This doesn't please everyone, because some of the Sheep are friendly but others see Chuuya as more of a weapon than human.

And that starts to include Atsushi.

Especially when the full moon comes and Atsushi transforms, Chuuya is able to get him somewhere where he can't harm anyone and stays by his side throughout his transformation.

Atsushi is afraid Chuuya will leave and Chuuya just hugs him close and says he never will.

Some of the Sheep, especially Shirase think of setting Atsushi onto their enemies during a full moon but don't voice those ideals.

Chuuya is very protective of him and the threat of his wrath keeps them quiet.

Atsushi is oblivious to all of this, he can sense somethings up but they all act kindly to him so he has no idea.

He learns to steal, learns to be stealthy and even control his ability better, though full moons are still eventful.

Each one Chuuya stays at his side.

2 years later, Port Mafia Executive Osamu Dazai comes a calling and Chuuya ends up going with him to learn about Arahabaki.

It's the first time Chuuya is away from Atsushi, not wanting him to get in danger nor for Dazai to learn about him.

After finding out about Chuuya's deal with Dazai and the Port Mafia, the Sheep turn on him.

They consider turning on Atsushi too because of his loyalty to Chuuya.

But learn Atsushi has no idea about what Chuuya's been up to and realise that they can use Atsushi against him.

Atsushi ends up being drugged so he can't interfere when they and the GSS attack Chuuya.

When Atsushi wakes up he's told he was drugged by the Port Mafia who were trying to kidnapp him.

Atsushi is told that Chuuya abandoned the Sheep to join the Mafia, which he doesn't believe at all but than sees footage from the arcade of Chuuya's deal with Dazai.

And is asked to decide if he will leave or stay.

Atsushi's heart shatteres because yes the Sheep were all like family too him but Chuuya was his big brother.

His big brother who promised he'd never leave him... And now he's gone.

For the first time in Atsushi's life he feels angry. Angry at Chuuya for leaving him, angry at Dazai and the Port Mafia for taking his big brother away.

But most of all he's angry at himself for not being able to protect his family, for not being enough for Chuuya to stay.

The Headmaster was right, Atsushi was never made to be loved.

He was a monster and Chuuya had finally realised that.

But he could protect those he had left....

Atsushi now 11 years old, makes his choice and kneels before Shirase, the new King of the Sheep

Elsewhere Chuuya kneels before Mori, head of the Port Mafia.

Atsushi: Then I dedicate my blood and all I am to you, your majesty.

Chuuya: I will protect this organisation that you work to support.

Atsushi: And I will work with you to decimate your enemies.

Chuuya: Our enemies will come to fear my crushing gravity.

Atsushi: That will crush those who oppose the Sheep.

Shirase: smirks because he's won Welcome to the Sheep, Atsushi Nakajima.

Mori: smiles Welcome to the Port Mafia, Chuuya Nakahara.

Chuuya doesn't go back for Atsushi because he was badly injured, and was lead to believe that when Shirase stabbed him that he'd already killed Atsushi.

Chuuya goes on but even at 22 he refuses to work on a full moon night. On those nights he spends alone grieving his little brother.

While Atsushi transforms alone, locked up and chained so he doesn't hurt anyone.

With no Chuuya to comfort him and none of the Sheep able to deal with his tranformed state.

Atsushi grows, he stays kind at his core but he's also bitter and cold. There was no one to sheild him when Chuuya left, and he had to learn fast.

He's ruthless in a way he never was, he's beloved by the Sheep but their King and many of its members see him as nothing but a weapon.

More beast than man.

That is how they both remain until years down the line when Chuuya drops his glass in shock during a meeting.

"Did you... Did you just say a tiger...?"

"Hm? Well yes there's been tale of a rampaging tiger in Yokohama.

It's believed to be the work of an ability user, quite a crafty one indeed there's a seven billion yen bounty on its head."

[luxaofhesperides]

those who serve.

CHAPTER FOUR: a job.

read chapter one, two, three on tumblr or the entire fic on ao3.

10k+ words again..... i remain the queen of not shutting up <3

. . .

“Wait,” Dick says, reaching over to open the glove box, “Before we go, we need these.” He pulls out some hats, squished together to fit on top of the many CDs rattling around. He smooths out a dark blue baseball cap, then hands a black hat to Danny. “Disguises, kind of,” he explains.

Danny looks down at the hat in his hand, then back at Dick. Sure. Why not. He’ll wear a hat as a very bad disguise since Dick seems to think it’s important. He doesn’t really want to know the details as to why they need to do this, so Danny’s gonna roll with it.

He puts the hat on and looks at Dick for further direction.

Instead of getting any of that, Dick slips on a pair of sunglasses and grins at Danny. “Alright. Ready to brave the dangers of a Gotham shopping mall?”

“...Sure?”

“Great!” Dick kicks open his door and hops out. Danny follows much more sedately, getting out of the car more like a normal person, then closing it quietly. He takes a moment to look up at the mall, a large building with strings of lights hanging above the walkways. The parking lot is filling up quickly despite it being a weekday morning and people are bustling about, heading into stores or cafes. 

It’s much bigger than the two malls in Amity Park. This is the kind of place Paulina and Star would be spending all their time at if they could, wandering around and buying whatever caught their eye. 

Danny would have just hung out in the food court with Sam and Tucker, maybe caught a movie or wasted the hours away in the arcade. 

Being here, without them, aches like a bruise. He would give anything to just be a normal teenager hanging out at the mall with his friends. He wouldn’t have to worry about ghosts or avoiding his parents or dreading going home because he’s too tired to fully dodge all of his parents’ weapons. 

“Ready to go in?” Dick asks. He moves closer to Danny and his voice is much softer; it’s more gentle and concerned than excited, now. 

Danny tries to plaster a smile onto his face, hide his true feelings and not ruin Dick’s day out. “Let’s go,” he says, fiddling with the sleeves of his hoodie just to have something to do with his hands. It’s better to focus on twisting the fabric than to think of the life he lost long before he ever ran away to this dimension.

He starts walking before Dick can grow any more concerned about Danny. They’re here for a reason and that’s to get Danny daily necessities so he can start working. It’s not for fun, it’s just an errand to run.

He doesn’t get too far before Dick is besides him, throwing an arm around his shoulder to keep him close. 

“Sorry if this makes you uncomfortable,” Dick murmurs, “But we need to stick to each other. Just in case, you know?”

“Just in case of what?”

“Kidnappings, usually. Or so we don’t lose each other if we need to evacuate. Or to stick together if a rogue attacks.”

Sure. Why not. This is just what happens in Gotham, apparently.

“Okay,” Danny says, weakly. “How likely is any of that happening, by the way?”

Dick hums, considering the question as they reach the walkway, full of potted plants and a fountain, lined with small stores, cafes, and a bakery. “I’m not too sure about the numbers, that’s something you’ll have to ask Tim. But the risk is definitely higher with us, being part of the Wayne family and all.”

“I’m not part of the family, though.”

“You’re close enough that the distinction doesn’t really matter. Criminals will see you as an easy way to either access the Manor and family, or an easy target for ransom. Though the average citizen is still at risk too, so you’d have been in danger either way.”

Apparently, there was a point in having Tim and Bruce discuss insurance and kidnapping policies. For once, it’s not absurd rich people things; it’s a legitimate concern in Gotham. 

“Anyways!” Dick says, smoothly moving along, “What do you want to get first? Clothes? Things for your room? Weapons?”

“Weapons?”

“Don’t worry, we’ll make sure you’re trained in whatever you’re interested in using.”

Danny side-eyes Dick as they enter the mall proper. “I prefer martial arts to weapons,” he says. 

Dick just nods. “We can train you in that too. Whatever you want, Danny.”

“Let’s just get some clothes, first.”

Inside, the noise of the morning crowd echoes off the walls of the mall. The ceiling is high and lined with skylights that don’t do anything when most days in Gotham are cloudy. It’s the most people Danny’s been around in a while and all the noise and movement makes him jittery, anxious, and close to clawing his skin off. 

“This way,” Dick says, lowering his voice. He easily guide Danny through the groups of people walking around the mall, heading towards a clothing store with dim lights and barely audible music playing. There aren’t many people in there and it’s quieter in the store. Quiet enough for him to feel like he can breathe without feeling his throat tighten with oncoming panic, at least.

“All good?”

Danny slips out from under Dick’s arm and takes a slow, steady breath. “I’m fine.”

“Alright.” Dick doesn’t push, but he clearly doesn’t believe that Danny’s fine. Which, yeah, he’s not and he’s clearly bad at hiding it if Dick can pick up on it immediately, but Danny also doesn’t want to talk about it ever. So Dick will just have to take all the bad lies Danny’s giving him and deal with it. 

He moves around the store, hoping to stop the conversation from continuing. He idly flicks through the racks of clothing, searching for things that are in his size. 

Most of the clothes in the store is more suited for Sam’s style, really. Danny doesn’t think he can really pull off fishnet tights, especially while working as a butler. He does grab some plain black shirts, both short sleeve and long sleeve, and a gray sweater. 

“That’s all?” Dick frowns at the few pieces of clothing Danny’s taken, but he leads them to the cashier regardless of his disapproval. He also takes out his wallet and hands over a card before Danny can protest.

“I can pay,” he says, and Dick shrugs.

“Sure, but I have more money than I want to deal with. I’m more than happy to pay for you, Danny. Don’t worry about it.”

The cashier scans the items, bags them, and hands the receipt to Dick. 

Her eyes widen when she does and she makes a strangled sound in the back of her throat. “You’re—!”

“Shhh,” Dick shushes her, a finger to his lips. 

She presses her lips together tightly and nods. 

That is… a weird reaction. Is she scared of Dick? Is Dick well known enough to the average citizen of Gotham that they clam up and get nervous when they see he’s around? What exactly is his role in the Wayne mob family?

He glances at Dick just in time to catch him lowering his sunglasses a bit to give the cashier a wink, then takes the receipt while Danny grabs the shopping bag and considers going invisible so he’s not seen near Dick any longer. But the cashier doesn’t seem scared anymore, not with the red on her cheeks and the smile she isn’t quite able to bite down.

“Is that going to happen often?” Danny asks as they exit the shop and back into the crowds of the mall, which are steadily growing louder as morning fades into afternoon.

“Hopefully not,” Dick answers, “We’re kinda big in Gotham, so I might get recognized. But that’s why I got disguises!”

“Disguises that barely work.”

“Well, I wanted a wig, but no one else let’s me have one. The few times I’ve bought some, they immediately go missing.”

“Can we leave and just order everything I need online?”

Dick sighs, looking over Danny with a critical eye.  “If you really want to, I suppose we can. But part of the reason why we’re here right now is so that you can get used to Gotham. This is a busy place full of people and it’s the best way to acclimate you to the city that’s not throwing you at a rogue or a gang.”

It hits Danny then that this might be part of his butler training. A way to prove that he can handle himself and that the Wayne family mob won’t need to worry about him too much. The weak disguises might be to test if he can keep secrets and not blow Dick’s cover. 

Would they do that to him?

Well… Danny can’t confidently say that they won’t, so it’s safer to assume that this is something they would do. Are actively doing, even.

He lets out a slow breath, rolls his shoulders back, and resolves himself to seeing this through. “Alright,” he says, “Let’s keep going.”

“That’s the spirit!” Dick grins, and Danny can’t help the way he twitches, biting down on a reflexive need to respond with no, I’m the spirit. Another downside of being in a new dimension where no one knows his secrets: everyone’s missing out on his death jokes. It’s a shame, really, because Danny is hilarious.

Dick leads him through the mall, keeping an arm around Danny’s shoulders to steer him through the crowd. Danny peeks into the stores they pass, hoping something will catch his interest so he can finish up with this errand and leave the mall sooner rather than later. 

He stumbles to a stop when he spots a NASA shirt on a clothing rack, and a black hoodie displayed beside it, Ursa Major and Minor decorating the front. 

“Hm? Find something you like?” Dick asks as he urges Danny in. He follows Danny’s gaze and makes a thoughtful noise in the back of his throat. “Here, let’s see if they have your size.”

He’s rummaging through the racks before Danny can respond, pulling out shirts to check their size. As soon as he finds a medium, he’s holding it out to Danny, who takes it without thinking, moving on autopilot. 

“Wait,” he starts, “We don’t need to—”

“Of course we do! We’re here to build up your wardrobe. What’s the point if you’re not getting things you actually like?”

And then he grabs one of the hoodies for Danny too, as if to make a point. 

Dick holds it up and looks at the design with a critical eye, then asks, “Do you like space?”

“Yeah,” Danny says. There’s so much more he wants to say, but he bites his tongue. This isn’t the time or place to start gushing about how much he loves space; he needs to buy what he needs and then leave. That’s all he needs to focus on.

“Well?” Dick prompts, “What do you like about it?”

“Can I just buy these and go?” Danny asks, “Talking about space is too distracting.”

“Oh. Well, I guess I can ask again later, yeah?” And Dick actually looks disappointed. He’s got this kicked puppy dog look that makes Danny feel incredibly guilty, but he won’t allow himself to be distracted. He’s on a mission and he’s going to see it through.

They spend another few minutes browsing that store. There’s more clothes here that’s to Danny’s taste and he pulls a few pairs of pants he can wear that don’t scream ‘teen hooligan’. Which mostly means there are no holes or rips in them. He checks the prices and tries not to wince at the prices; mall stores are always more expensive, and while it’s not a big deal to rich mob families, it is to Danny, who has spent most of his time in this dimension homeless and penniless. 

The cashier of this store barely glances at them as they scan tags and stuff clothes into a large bag. They don’t notice anything about Dick when he shoves Danny’s hand down and holds out his own card, again, and pays.

Shockingly, Dick’s bad disguise works. Though it might just be because this store is much busier than the first gothic store they shopped in.

Danny hurries out of the store, hoping that he can stop here for the day. He doesn’t get his hopes up too high, though, when he catches sight of the way Dick’s eyeing the food court. 

He’s trying to come up with excuses to avoid the area—full of people and noise and too much everything—when Dick’s smile suddenly falls and his eyes go cold as ice. 

He grabs Danny a second before the first gunshot rings out.

Immediately, the mall is full of shouts and movement as people rush to get away; either to find a way out of the mall, or into a store where they can hide. More gunshots follow, and a skylight shatters, raining glass down onto the frantic crowd.

Dick grabs Danny’s arm and pulls him away from the food court. Danny keeps pace with him as they sprint through the mall, searching for safety. 

Behind them, Danny can hear people screeching and laughing. Before them, at one of the mall’s entrances, he spots a group of people dressed in dark, torn clothing, and strange metal bands around their bicep. Some hold large guns while others have spiked baseball bats or machetes. 

From the sounds if it, there’s a group at every entrance. 

They’re trapped in.

Dick hisses a curse under his breath and ducks through the crowd, dragging Danny behind him, and ducks into a small space between two stores. There’s a door that leads to an employee only area, but it’s locked. 

Most of the crowd goes quiet after that. Danny looks behind them to see people cowering in stores, frantically typing on their phones; he hopes at least one of them is able to contact someone who can help. A few are still out in the open, crouched behind benches and massage chairs, holding onto each other. 

“Aww, don’t be so scared,” someone croons, “We ain’t gonna hurt you too much. So long as you give me your wallets, we’re all good.”

A robbery, Danny realizes, an extreme robbery. 

He’s not a hero. He doesn’t want to be a hero when he doesn't need to be. There are, apparently, many heroes in this world who can help but none of them are here. It’s just Danny and a bunch of civilians, at the mercy of whoever this gang of thieves is. 

It’s just Danny and Dick, stuck hidden away, because Dick is a bigger target than anyone else. 

“We’re going to be fine, Danny,” Dick whispers. He’s tucking his phone back into his pocket and taking off his hat and sunglasses. “Don’t worry.”

Danny’s not worrying. He’s concerned for the safety of everyone else, but he’s not worried about himself. What are they going to do, kill him a second time? Fat chance. 

The problem is that the only way Danny can do anything is by going ghost, and he can’t do that with Dick holding him back.

Outside their hiding spot, glass shatters and more gunshots go off. “Don’t be greedy now!” someone shouts, then cackles, “Just pass over what you’ve got in that cash register and we’ll be on our way.”

From farther away, someone says, “Don’t get smart with me,” and smashes a counter. From the sound of it, they actually smashed their fist through the counter. 

Most people don’t have that kind of strength. 

“Dick,” Danny says, and Dick shushes him.

“It’s fine. Help will be here soon.”

Danny focuses his hearing, trying to make sure no one is getting hurt or killed. The gunshots and destruction are just intimidation tactics. As long as people cooperate, this day won’t end with a body count. Footsteps get closer, loud against the tense stillness of the mall. 

He shifts his weight, then steps forward, placing himself in front of Dick. 

“Danny, what are you—”

“Dick.” He can hear the echo in his voice, the sound of something inhuman rising to the forefront. “Stay behind me.”

There’s no time for any warning, for any reassurance. Three gang members walk by and find them.

“Well look what we have here!” one of them jeers, swinging around a baseball bat, “Two little pigs tryin’ hide from us!”

“Come on out, piggies, before we have to drag you out,” another grins, all teeth.

The third is a large man who doesn’t seem very… cognizant. He twitches, breathing heavily as his eyes dart around. All three of them have a strange gleam in their eyes, one that reminds him of the mugger who went after Alfred. 

Are they drugged?

Danny slowly steps forward, eyes fixed on them. They make condescending whistles and clicks, treating him like a scared animal. They don’t know how tightly Danny’s holding onto his humanity, how badly he wants to let go and make them beg for mercy.

A hand grabs his. “Don’t, Danny.”

“Well, shit!” one of the gang members says, “That’s a Wayne! How much do ya think he’ll sell for?”

They don’t wait any longer. They rush in and grab Danny by his shirt, dragging him out. Danny takes a moment to glance behind him to see Dick caught by one, arms twisted behind his back. There’s a furrow in his brow, a look of barely concealed panic on his face, and he catches a single comment about making good use of a pretty boy like him before the rush in his ears drowns it all out. 

The first one doesn’t even have a second to understand what’s happening before he’s on the ground, knocked out cold. Danny slips up, his humanity pushed back, and claws at the end of his fingers cut through the skin of the his temple, leaving the gang member to bleed onto the floor. 

Cold mist wafts out of his mouth and he runs his tongue over the sharp fangs in his mouth. 

“Danny, don’t!” Dick cries, and then he’s twisting his body into a strange shape, easily slipping out of the grasp of the gang member who holds him. He swings a kick up, knocking them out quickly, and reaches for Danny but Danny’s already moving.

The big guy slams his fists into the place where Dick was standing. Danny hisses at him a few feet away, dropping Dick back onto the ground, safe and sound. 

“Touch him and I’ll rip every bone out of your hand,” he growls. 

The big guy doesn’t care. The big guy might not even understand what Danny’s saying, too lost in his drug induced delirium. He charges, bellowing, and Danny grabs one of his arms and throws him onto the floor. Before he can get up again, Danny slams his foot onto his chest and holds him down, slowly pressing the air out of his lungs. He’s baring his teeth in a snarl, leaning closer, ready to rip into his flesh and make him cry when Dick smashes a baseball bat into the big guy’s head and knocks him out.

Danny doesn’t let up. Doesn’t move at all, still too lost in the instinct to protect, to end the threat through any means necessary, to feel more than a distant glimmer of panic. He knows he doesn’t look very human at the moment, can feel his more monstrous, ghostly features take over. 

But Dick doesn’t look scared. He has his hands up, carefully reaching for Danny. 

“Hey, come on. It’s fine. We’re fine. Help is almost here.” Another gunshot rings out, breaking the silence, and Dick glances over to the entrance. “Help is here, actually.”

“Either you give up now or I make you wish you had given up. Make a choice, fuckers! I don’t have any patience left for you.” The voice that speaks is strangely mechanical, and when Danny looks over to take note of this new player, he has to wonder why anyone would ever wear a full face red helmet.

“That’s Red Hood,” Dick says, “He’ll take care of them and get everyone out safe, okay? So can you come over here, please?”

Red Hood. Was this one of Gotham’s heroes? This is one he hasn’t heard about yet, but Dick doesn’t seem all that worried, so Danny steps off of the big guy’s chest and allows Dick to pull him over to the side. 

No one pays any attention to them once Red Hood throws himself into the fray, a whirlwind of violence as he takes out every single gang member who rushes at him. A few try to run away, but well placed shots take out their knees and leave them curled up on the ground in pain. 

He catches a few whispers from a nearby store, as someone says, “God, he’s hot. I kinda want him to punch me like that.”

Danny tries not to make a face at that because 1) he’s dealt with the Phan Club and he’s used to those kinds of comments and 2) Red Hood is literally punching people into the ground. With great force. A lot of violence. The brutality with which Red Hood is dealing with the gang is honestly impressive.

While he doesn’t want to be punched like that, he does want to know how to do something similar. It would be a good move to add to his arsenal.

It takes only a few minutes to deal with all the gang members on this end of the mall. The atmosphere relaxes and Danny sees more than a few people slump over in relief, leaning against walls and collapsing on each other. 

“You’ll be fine now,” Red Hood says, “Just sit tight for the police to get these guys, and then you’ll be out of here.”

A few people call out their thanks as he walks by, and Danny thinks that he’s going to leave, deal with the other gang members scattered around the mall. But a few more steps and it’s clear that Red Hood is making a beeline right for him. 

Tensing, Danny shoves Dick behind him, feeling a growl begin to build up in his throat. 

“Woah, woah, Danny! It’s fine! Red Hood’s not going to hurt us!” Dick hurries to assure, trying to step out from behind Danny. He doesn’t manage to take more than a single step in any direction before Danny is herding him back. 

Red Hood slows down as he approaches, no longer marching towards them with danger written in every line of his body. “Huh,” he says as he comes to a stop just a few feet in front of Danny. He keeps one hand on his gun, ready to pull it out of its holster at any moment. “Dick,” he greets, but it sounds less like Dick’s name and more like an insult.

“Hood! So glad you got my message.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not every day I get to save a Grayson  in distress. You owe me for this, by the way. I could be home watching telenovelas right now.”

“Aw, come on, Hood, would you really abandon me like that?”

Red Hood laughs, and the hamlet makes it come out staticy and unnatural. “I’d shoot you for fun, Dickface.”

Danny hisses at Red Hood and delights in the way he shifts nervously, not stepping back but clearly apprehensive. He should be nervous; threatening someone under Danny’s protection right in front of him is bold, to say the least. 

“It’s okay, Danny,” Dick says again, trying to soothe him. He doesn’t try to move around Danny again, just stays and puts a hand on Danny’s shoulder. The single point of contact grounds him enough to pull his ghostly features back partway, leaving only the toxic green of his eyes and the fangs in his mouth. “Red Hood’s not going to hurt me. He saved us, didn’t he? He’s one of Gotham’s heroes, he’s a good guy.”

“Excuse you, Dick, but I am a crime lord not a hero.”

“A crime lord who helps people! Who is considered Crime Alley’s hero! Just admit it, you’re one of the good guys.”

Red Hood being a crime lord is much more believable than him being a hero. It also makes the familiarity between him and Dick seem less strange; surely, as a crime lord, he’s dealt with the Wayne Mob before. They’ve probably made deals between themselves and done super illegal things together. Dick is the eldest Wayne child, of course he’s friends with crime lords like Red Hood.

The hero thing is something he takes with a grain of salt. From the sounds of things, it’s really just a matter of perspective, and Danny is solidly on the side of not a hero. Sure he saved them, but he could have just had beef with this gang to begin with and decided to get rid of them when he had the chance. He’s like Red Huntress in that way: focused more on attacking threats than protecting the people in danger. 

“Hey, kid,” Red Hood says, looking down at the big guy Danny took out, “Are you sure you’re human?”

“Oh my God, Hood, you can’t just ask people that!” Dick groans, slumping onto Danny’s back.

Red Hood crosses his arms. He doesn’t look away from Danny. “It’s a valid question. No one normal can just knock down a guy like this so easily. You take any drugs?”

Danny blinks, thrown by the sudden question. “No?”

Red Hood tilts his head. “Are you being drugged by someone else?”

“Definitely not. At least, not that I’m aware of.”

“Wait,” Dick says, “You think—”

“Well, these guys,” Red Hood kicks the big guy, “have been running around Gotham hopped up on Venom. Or something close to it.”

“Have you talked to Batman about it?”

“Why the fuck would I do that? This is shit in my territory. This is affecting my people. The big bad Bat can keep his nose out of this. It’s my case, alright.”

Dick shrugs, and Danny shifts, trying to keep balanced under the movement. “It’s not staying in your territory, though. They came here in the middle of the day. And speaking of the day, is Signal here?”

“He’s taking care of the other side of the mall.”

“And he’s alright on his own?”

“Relax, he’s a big boy, he can handle himself. If he needed any help, he’d let me know.”

Dick pulls Danny back, smoothly stepping to the side so they stand together, Dick’s arm heavy around Danny’s shoulders, clearly holding him in place. “Signal is another one of Gotham’s heroes. He’s our daylight hero,” Dick explains.

He remembers Duke mentioning Signal at dinner. “Duke likes him, right?” Danny asks, “Signal and… Nightlight? Nighthawk? Something like that.”

“Nightwing,” Dick corrects with a strained smile. Red Hood snorts, and quickly clears his throat to act as if he wasn’t about to laugh when Dick shoots him a poisonous glare.

“Yeah, him.”

“Well, as fun as this has been, I think it’s time for us to go! Bye, Hood, try not to cause too much of a mess once we leave.”

“Don’t worry,” Red Hood says, “I’ll make sure the blood is easy to clean up.”

“Great! Bye!” 

And with that, Dick steers Danny away, turning their backs on the dangerous, gun-wielding crime lord. They go back to where they were originally hiding and instead of stopping at the locked door, Dick kicks it open and keeps walking. There’s no time to ask questions when Dick is rushing them through the back, following the green signs pointing towards the emergency exit. 

It’s a relief to be back outside. A few rays of sunlight manage to get past the gray clouds that cover the sky, and all the noise and chaos of the mall suddenly feels far away. Sirens fill the city as police cars speed down streets, heading their way, but they’re not here yet. 

“Sorry about your first day out being such a mess,” Dick says, “We can try again some other day.”

“I’d really rather just do some online shopping.”

Dick laughs, shaking his head. “Totally fair, after today. C’mon, let’s go home.”

. . .

The foyer is spotless. Danny can’t help but feel proud, even if Alfred did most of the work. The section that he handled, after Alfred showed him which cleaning supplies to use and the necessary steps to ensure everything was properly cleaned, is tidy and almost sparkling. 

It’s surprisingly enjoyable work. He’s always hated cleaning, from his own room to any place his parents tried out a new invention or did experiments. But this? Cleaning the manor with Alfred? It’s actually fun.

Seeing everything come together after all their hard work is just as rewarding. 

He’s glad he’s allowed to wear casual clothes; there’s no way he can do any cleaning in a suit and have it come out stainless and clean. Alfred probably uses his special magic to remain put together no matter what he does.

“Very good, Danny,” Alfred says once he looks over Danny’s section of the foyer. “You pick on everything so quickly. Soon I’ll have nothing left to teach you.”

“I’m not that good, Alfred, you don’t need to lie. Besides, it’s just cleaning. I’m not coming up with meal plans and organizing events and all the way you do.”

“And you’ll find that those tasks are just as easy to complete once you know how to go about them. Don’t discredit yourself, Danny, you’re an incredibly smart young man.”

Danny ducks his head, bashful, and shrugs. “I’m really not, but… Thanks.”

“Come now. With everyone out of the manor, we can tidy up all the spaces they usually occupy. Let us begin in the family den.”

It’s not like they have anything else to do. For once, the manor is empty of everyone but them so there’s no one Alfred needs to tend to. He doesn’t need to worry about preparing large lunches, either, when Danny is still slowly recovering his appetite. 

The family den is one of the rooms that Danny can find on his own, so he doesn’t trail after Alfred, helplessly lost. It’s a nice change of pace. They stop once on the way to grab a vacuum and a duster from a small supply closet in the hall. Danny grabs the vacuum before Alfred can and carries it the rest of the way, feeling inordinately pleased at being able to help Alfred before he can insist on doing everything on his own.

The door is already open when they arrive. It’s one of the few doors in the manor that is almost never closed, except for when they have a lot of food out and don’t want any pets stealing some, according to Alfred. Danny has yet to see any pets, but he’s looking forward to it. There’s so many places they could be hiding and it has Danny glancing around everywhere he goes, hoping to catch at least one of them. He’s hoping for one of the dogs. Maybe a cat. 

Damian is the one who primarily takes care of the pets, so Danny doesn’t get to have that responsibility, which he’s only a little upset about. It’s fine, really.

He misses Cujo.

There’s a lot he didn’t realize he was going to lose when he ran away. It just hadn’t been on his mind, not when Jazz was yelling at their parents, and Jack and Maddie were shooting at him, Fenton Thermos at the ready to trap him again. There wasn’t any time to focus on anything besides the panic, the pressing need to go as far away as possible, the fear fear fear taking hold of him and leaving room for nothing else. 

It was Jazz who had opened the portal, who screeched and threw things at their parents, creating a distraction as she pretended to be afraid of the ghost who had escaped. But it was Danny who flew in, thinking please take me away to someplace they can’t hurt me.

The Ghost Zone is strange. It’s only a part of the Infinite Realms. More than ghosts exist within that space, living within the fabric that holds the universe together. Full of that much ectoplasm and emotion and constant movement, it’s like nothing else. Danny didn’t know before that moment, hadn’t had the time to realize it until it was too late, that the Infinite Realms are alive.

It heard his plea. It reached out to him, crooning a dizzying song that shook every string crossing the universe, and gave him what he asked for. 

Danny didn’t remember much after that. He felt his core spark, wrapped in the embrace of the Infinite Realms, and then he was taken away. The brief flashes he does have of the journey don’t help him piece together what happened. All he has is the fading memory of being surrounded by stars, of aurora borealis dancing around him, of a sudden cold as he was ripped away from home and left in someplace foreign.

He woke up in this universe where he doesn’t exist. Where no one he knows exists in any way. There are no ghosts, no ectoplasm, not Fentons or GIW or Amity Park. 

There’s no one, and Danny stares down at the floor, clutching the vacuum in his hands as he’s hit by the sudden grief of losing everyone he’s ever known.

He knows that there’s no way for him to return to his universe. What was once his home is far out of reach. He’ll never see anyone he loves again. Not just Cujo, but Jazz and Tucker and Sam. Frostbite. Pandora. Even Walker and Wulf. 

“Danny?” A hand comes to rest on his shoulder, the touch light and gentle. “Are you quite alright?”

He sucks in a shuddering breath and tries to plaster on a smile. It falls flat, and he gives up completely. “I don’t think I can ever go back home,” he confesses, and blinks back the burn of oncoming tears.

“That’s alright,” Alfred says, “You have a home here.”

It’s a nice thought, but it’s not the home he wants. Maybe one day it can be; he’s staying for Alfred, but maybe he’ll want to keep coming back for the other members of the Wayne family. They’ve been nice to him so far, despite being part of a mob, and he thinks he can come to like all of them given enough time. 

But none of them will ever be enough to fill the void that comes from the loss of Jazz, Tucker, and Sam. 

“May I ask what brought this on? Is it because this is the family den?”

Danny latches onto the suggestion. It makes more sense than thinking about dogs and missing his own ghost pet. And missing his own section of the Infinite Realms. He shrugs and says, “Yeah, a little. Sorry for getting emotional all of a sudden. I’ll just… start cleaning.”

He glances up to catch Alfred’s frown, but gets to work before he can be told to take a break or, worse, talk about his feelings.

He goes straight to an outlet in the wall to plug in the vacuum; it’s an old model with a cord, and he wonders if this is just what Alfred prefers when he’s sure that cordless vacuums exist. It can’t be that the Waynes don’t want to get Alfred decent cleaning equipment because they all defer to him despite him being their butler. 

“If you’ll allow me,” Alfred says, grabbing hold of the vacuum before Danny can protest. “These settings,” he changes a few settings on the vacuum, “are best for cleaning carpeted surfaces.”

And then he gets right to it, leaving Danny behind. 

While Danny’s plan to just do stuff before Alfred can tell him otherwise works, he forgot to account for the fact that Alfred can, at any moment, hit him with a reverse Uno.. 

Alfred makes his way through the family den fairly quickly, moving in straight lines across the room. Danny trails after him, making sure the cord doesn’t get caught on anything or tangled, and takes hold of the duster to clean off picture frames on the wall.

One frame tilts as he dusts it, and Danny reaches out to fix it when he pauses. There’s a strange sound of something scraping against the wall. It doesn't sound anything like a frame, so Danny looks back to Alfred to make sure he’s turned away, then slowly lifts up the frame.

Stuck to the back is two daggers in sheaths decorated lightly with gold accents. 

None of my business, Danny thinks, and quickly lays the frame to rest flat against the wall, straightened out. 

He rolls the duster down from where it was resting in the crook of his elbow and into his hand. He twirls it around once, spots a flurry of dust falling off of it, and resolves not to do that again. 

He’ll… get the handle of keeping things clean eventually. 

The vacuum cuts off suddenly, and the silence that follows rings a little in Danny’s ears. 

“Danny,” Alfred calls out, “Would you mind lifting the couch so I can clean underneath it?”

“Sure,” Danny says without thinking. He reaches the couch and leaves the duster on the edge of the coffee table.  He moves to grab the couch and start lifting it when he realizes that couches are heavy and most people are unable to lift one on their own. 

He glances at Alfred. “Umm…”

“You may use whatever powers you have at your disposal,” Alfred says very casually. Danny swears he can feel his heart stop at the words. It’s not that he’s been very good at keeping his ghostliness hidden, but it was mostly used for fights and intimidation, but he was hoping no one would talk about it and they could all just ignore it. 

Whatever expression is on his face must be bad because Alfred visibly softens. He doesn’t move to touch Danny again, which is a relief because he feels like jumping out of his own skin and disappearing. Instead, he sets the vacuum down and gives Danny his full attention.

“I am well aware of the fact that you are a meta.” Again, what is a meta? He heard it at dinner with the Waynes, but he hasn’t gotten an explanation. So he can’t say that he is a meta, but he also can’t say that he isn’t. “You don’t need to worry. The Wayne family is very good at keeping secrets.” There’s a hint of a laugh in his voice.

That didn’t sound funny or reassuring, it just sounded a little like a threat. The Waynes probably are good at keeping secrets, such as where they hid the bodies of those who were foolish enough to cross them. Danny really doesn’t want any details.

“Metas are protected, and I will never force you to reveal any details about your powers to anyone, including me. But if you have these powers, then it will be good to use them. Cleaning and other small tasks are a good way of practicing with your powers and giving you greater control of them.”

It takes a moment for Danny to process the words, and another minute for his brain to fully reboot after understanding what Alfred’s attempting to do.

He’s trying to train Danny on how to use his powers through simple, every day tasks. This is Danny’s Karate Kid moment, but instead of learning how to fight with wax on wax off, he’s learning how to butler.

Which might be the same thing in Gotham, according to the things he’s heard.

“Okay,” he says weakly, “Sounds good.” And then, instead of lifting the couch, he turns it intangible and invisible so Alfred can vacuum straight through it.

“Oh my,” Alfred says, eyebrows rising at the display of his powers. 

“The couch is still here, you can just… ignore it while I’m touching it.”

Efficient as always, Alfred doesn’t let this throw him off his rhythm. He flicks the vacuum back on and continues cleaning, calming walking through the couch as if he does this all the time. Even Jazz always hesitated before walking through anything he made intangible, unable to help it. Butlers are just built different, apparently.

As soon as he cleans the floor underneath the couch, he nods to Danny who takes his cue to release the couch from his powers. It pops back into the visible spectrum, fully solid and intact. 

“Would you mind fluffing the cushions and folding the blankets?”

Danny salutes Alfred and gets to it, shaking out each blanket out before folding them, taking the time to make sure each corner lines up and all the edges are straight and even. He leaves them thrown over the back of the couch, piled on top of each other, ready for the next Wayne to collapse onto the couch and bundle up for a movie.

By the time he’s finished and is satisfied with his work, Alfred has finished vacuuming the entire room. It’s a large room and Alfred hadn’t exactly been rushing through it, so Danny’ not quite sure how he got it done so quickly. It keeps surprising him, how competent Alfred is. No one else he’s ever met has been this put together or skilled, especially in the realm of domestic work. 

Alfred gathers up the cord of the vacuum and looks over the family den with a critical eye. When he nods, satisfied with the state of it, Danny lets out a quiet sigh of relief. 

“Shall we head to the kitchen for lunch, Danny?” he asks, reaching down the lift up the vacuum. Which is unacceptable! Danny carried it in and he’ll carry it out.

He uses a bit of flight to cross the distance between them faster, not held back by friction. He swipes the vacuum from Alfred’s hand and gives him a cheerful grin. “Sure! Now’s a great time for a break, anyways.”

They had spent the morning doing laundry, which mostly consisted of separating everything into different loads and starting the washer. The clothesline strung up outside is primarily for bedsheets and blankets, so they didn’t even need to wait a long time for clothes to dry. Even folding everything and putting them in piles based on whose clothes they were didn’t take more than an hour between them. It wasn’t intensive work, as most of it was just waiting around, drinking tea and talking to each other. 

Even cleaning barely put a dent in Danny’s energy levels. He hasn’t done enough to be hungry quite yet, but the thought of eating isn’t as uncomfortable as it once was. 

Progress. No matter how small it is.

Hell, soon he might even be able to start asking for snacks in between meals. That will probably have Alfred weeping with joy. Internally, of course, seeing how he’s an old British guy who keeps most of his strong emotions hidden behind the facade of professional calmness.

But while he may be fine on eating for a few more hours, Alfred needs to sit down and have lunch. It didn’t feel like it, but they did get a lot of housework done. They did it together, which cut down on how long each chore took, and Danny can’t fathom how Alfred has kept this manor running by himself all these years. 

It’s so much ground to cover for one person, especially one as old as Alfred. 

And since he’s busy taking care of everyone, who takes care of him?

Danny, now. He’s determined to return the kindness Alfred’s shown him tenfold. 

He’s cemented the location of the hallway closet now. Everything is organized neatly within and it takes barely half a minute to put everything away, bodily blocking Alfred from doing anything to help. 

“I will say, I’m unused to having so much free time,” Alfred chuckles, “You are incredibly efficient. You’ll be taking over in no time.”

“As if I could ever replace you, Alfred. Besides, you’re the best cook around! No way will I ever be able to compete against you in the kitchen.”

“Don’t discount yourself so soon. You’ve only recently begun your cooking journey. I have no doubt that you will take to it as quickly as everything else.”

Danny thinks back to the Fenton kitchen, full of tech and wires and scrap metal and tools scattered around. He thinks of food coming back to life, of needing to keep chains and padlocks in one of the cabinets just in case, of constant ecto-contamination. Their house would fail every single safety inspection to exist. 

That kitchen wasn’t safe to cook in, and due to that, nothing cooked in it was safe. Most of what his parents made was edible! But it definitely wasn’t safe. 

“If you say so,” Danny says, trying not to grimace. He hopes his own halfa biology won’t lead to a food contamination. It’s never happened before, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. 

Maybe he could brainstorm some safety measures with Alfred. Just in case.

Unfortunately for him, the very thought of discussing his halfa status and nonhuman biology makes him feel nauseous. Alfred is kind and clearly wants the best for Danny, but in that case, what he considers to be best for Danny might be handing him over to scientists or doctors to learn more about him and it’ll be like he never left his parents at all.

“Come now, Danny, it’s time we work on your confidence in the kitchen,” Alfred says, already turning on his heel and walking down the hallway with purpose. 

Danny tries to shake all thoughts of violent hotdogs out of his head and hurries to follow, keeping close to Alfred until the halls begin to look more familiar. Being within the walls of Wayne Manor doesn’t feel so intimidating, but it is hard to be intimidated by a place when he’s helping clean it. 

The steady disappearance of his anxiety around staying with Waynes is nice. He’s tired of being scared and he hasn’t felt comfortable anywhere like this since before his accident. 

And he’s barely run into anything involving their mob business! That’s more than he’s gotten from Vlad or his parents. They’re actually sticking to the conditions he set, including the keep me out of shady shit one. 

Maybe Jazz was onto something when she was lecturing him about enforcing and respecting boundaries. This is great.

This job could end up being really good for him. More than he ever expected. 

“Do you have anything in mind for what you’d like for lunch?” Alfred asks as they enter the kitchen. 

Danny shrugs. “Anything’s fine, really.”

“I would appreciate an actual answer, Danny.”

“Then… how about something easy to make? So I can try my hand at making my own lunch.”

Alfred nods once, a thoughtful expression on his face. “Something simple. Perhaps a sandwich?”

“Yeah, a sandwich sounds great.” He doesn’t say that he already knows how to make a sandwich; pretty much everyone knows that much. It’s just slapping various ingredients in between two slices of bread. Easy. But if that’s what Alfred wants to make, then that’s what they’ll make.

“Let us begin by going to the garden.”

The thought of going outside perks him up, and Danny’s by the door even before Alfred is. The small vegetable garden Alfred’s cultivated is just outside the kitchen, organized into raised beds full of crop.

He accepts the gardening gloves Alfred holds out to him. They’re large on his hands, but not enough to hinder him as he kneels next to the tomato plants. He watches carefully as Alfred clips off ripe tomatoes, carefully holding them as he positions the garden clippers above the stems. 

Each tomato is perfectly round and red and he’s half tempted to bite into one just to see if it tastes as good as it looks. As if hearing his thoughts, Alfred drops one into Danny’s hand.

“Go on,” Alfred prompts, and Danny looks up from where he’s been staring at the tomato.

“Huh?”

“Eat it. I can see that you want to.”

Danny flushes and moves to give it back, caught. “Sorry.”

“No need, Danny. I have helped raised quite a few children and teenagers in my time. I know to offer some of the crop when they accompany me out to the garden.”

He should give it back. He’s here to help Alfred, not add to his workload. He should be focused on working because this is his job, the first and only one he’s ever had, and he doesn’t want to mess it up.

But no one else is here at the manor. It’s just him and Alfred and Alfred has given him permission. So Danny takes off one of the gloves to hold the tomato up to his mouth, thanks Alfred quietly, then carefully bites into the tomato.

His carefulness doesn’t matter at all when the tomato is as juicy as it is. He startles and leans forward to let the tomato juice drip off his chin onto the ground instead of onto his clothes. Besides him, he can hear Alfred chuckling lightly as he sets all the tomatoes he’s gathered into a large, woven basket. 

“How is it?”

“This is the best tomato I’ve ever eaten,” Danny says, taking another bite. “Ho’ do you do thi’?”

“Don’t speak with your mouth full, Danny,” Alfred reprimands lightly. “I’ve simply had many years of experience tending to vegetable crops in this garden. I know very well what works and what doesn’t. Though the garden has gotten smaller over the years, it is still one of my proudest works.”

He finishes the tomato and shakes his hand to get some of the juice off. He tries to wipe his face off, but it’s hard when he doesn’t have anything to clean up with, so he settles with getting the rest of the drops off and resolves to clean up properly once they’re inside again. 

Alfred stands slowly, his knees clicking, and Danny winces sympathetically. He takes hold of the basket for Alfred and rests it in the crook of his elbow. 

“Spinach or cucumbers?” Alfred asks suddenly.

Danny blinks at Alfred, then thinks about it. He doesn’t eat much of either, but he’s heard Sam talk about how cooking spinach makes it shrink to the point of there being no spinach. Cucumber would probably go easier, so he says, “Cucumbers. Why?”

“That’s what we will get next to make lunch with.”

Are there cucumber sandwiches? Is that a thing? If it is, Danny’s never hear of it, but he trust Alfred to make it good.

Alfred leads the way to a shadier portion of the vegetable garden where long tendrils full of dark green leaves twist their way around a metal trellis. Hanging from the vines are cucumbers in various stages of growth; some are large and heavy, while others are still small and not quite green, covered in bumps. 

“Why don’t you pick a few, Danny?”

“How do I know if it’s ripe?”

“Look for ones that are large and have a good color to them. The less visible bumps in the skin, the better.” Alfred holds on up as an example, then cuts it with the gardening clipper and lays it into the basket besides the tomatoes.

Danny takes the clippers and begins shifting through the leaves and vines, looking over all the cucumbers he finds with a critical eye. He finds one that looks good close to the dirt and takes it in his hand to look over. Alfred doesn’t stop him as he lifts the clippers, so he figures it’s good enough and adds it to the basket.

“How many?” he asks, finding another cucumber ready to be picked.

“As many as you like. We can always get more later.”

Just to be safe, Danny gets five cucumbers. This lunch may be for just the two of them, but the rest of the family requires a lot more food. Whatever’s left over after Danny eats can be used in other dishes for the Wayne family.

He has no doubt they’ll be stopping in the kitchen first as soon as they return. With cooking like Alfred’s around, even Danny would be visiting the kitchen often in the hopes of sneaking a few bites of what he’s making.

Luckily, he doesn’t have to by virtue of being Alfred’s sous chef. 

They don’t get anything else out in the garden, leaving with their small basket of fresh produce. He’s looking forward to seeing what Alfred can make with these just as he’s starting to look forward to eating. 

He’s not super hungry, but that doesn’t mean he can’t eat as much as a regular human. 

They return to the kitchen after putting away their gardening gloves into the small storage box by the door, and Danny sets the basket down on the counter as Alfred goes through the fridge, getting ingredients. 

As he’s pulling out plates and a butter knife, he asks, “Would you mind setting out a small frying pan onto the stove?”

“Sure!” Danny chirps, then looks through the cabinets below the counter until he finds what he needs. He sets the frying pan out just as Alfred’s pulling the bread box closer from where it was placed against the wall. 

“Now,” Alfred begins, “This isn’t quite a sandwich, but it is very easy to make. You may adjust everything to match your own preferences, or the preferences of others.” He pulls out two slices of bread and sets them on the counter.

“Wait, don’t we need a cutting board?”

“A very good observation,” Alfred says. “But not in this kitchen. When it was remodeled many years ago, I changed the countertops. Instead of granite or marble, these are butcher block counters, which are used as cutting boards.”

“So the entire counter is a cutting board.”

“Precisely.”

With that, he grabs the butter knife to cut a small slab of butter to drop into the pan. “I will be teaching you how to make bruschetta and crostini. These are toasted breads that come with a variety of toppings. We will stick to a classic bruschetta and a salmon, cucumber, cream cheese crostini.”

Alfred pulls open one draw to reveal a knife block and wide range of knives, all different sizes.

“For smaller and softer ingredients like the ones we will be using, you may use a smaller knife. A medium size will be best.” He takes hold of his own knife and Danny gauges its size before grabbing one that seems to be similar. 

He sets the knife down on the counter, keeping the blade pointed away from him, and grabs the basket to place in front of them, easy to reach. He follows Alfred’s lead and grabs a tomato, washing it off lightly in the sink, then sets it down in front of him. 

“When you are using a knife, always keep the fingers of your nondominant hand curled so you do not accidentally cut them.” Alfred demonstrates, holding his tomato in place with his left hand, curling his fingers so he makes a loose fist. He slides the flat blade of the knife against his knuckles to show how it can’t cut his fingers, then waits for Danny to do the same.

As soon as he does, he’s showing Danny how to cut tomatoes without squishing them or getting juice everywhere. Then he instructs Danny on how to peel cucumbers and cut them. 

Once they get everything slices and ready, Alfred flicks on the stove and moves the slab of butter around to make sure it coats a much of the inside as possible. He then takes a slice of bread and places it into the pan.

“We don’t want it toasted too much. Lightly on both sides will do.”

Danny hesitantly accepts the spatula held out to him and hopes he doesn’t make Alfred waste bread. His attempts at making toast without a toaster usually leads to at least one side being charcoal black. 

But Alfred is patient and attentive, instructing Danny when to flip each piece of bread to ensure they are lightly golden on both sides. He goes over what to add to make bruschetta, what to add to make crostini, and allows Danny to assemble both. 

It doesn’t look very pretty, but it tastes amazing when they sit down to eat. 

“You’re a really good teacher,” Danny says, finishing up the last of the bread.

“Thank you,” Alfred smiles. “It helps that I have a wonderful student.”

“Can you teach me more? It can be later if we need to do more cleaning or something.”

“All of that can wait until tomorrow. Would you like to try your hand at baking?”

Danny lights up, grinning, and says, “Yeah! Can we make cookies?” Cooking is one thing, but baking in another. He’s not half bad at baking when he can muster up the motivation to make things. Following recipes is easy and unlike with cooking, baking requires precision and sticking to what’s written. He doesn’t know how to make too many things, but brownies were easy for him during the few times he actually baked them.

“Of course. Shall we make chocolate chip or would you like to do something else?”

“Chocolate chip to start, I think. And then we can see what else we can make, if that’s okay?”

“That sounds perfectly fine,” Alfred says, “Let’s clean up first before we get started.”

Danny all but leaps out of his chair, eager to start, and gathers their dishes to put in the sink. He washes as Alfred takes hold of a dish towel and gets to work drying, putting everything away where it belongs. 

The time spent baking goes by quickly after that. It’s much easier and less stressful than cooking, and each time a batch of cookies comes out picture perfect, Danny can’t help but grin.

They’re all placed into various containers once they cool, each one filling up with just half a batch. The chocolate chip cookies where then changed into double chocolate cookies, followed by jam cookies and lemon cookies. The smell of it all fills the air and Danny doesn’t bothering smothering the pride he feels when he catches sight of all the cookies covering the counter. 

From there, it’s easy to transition into preparing for dinner as the late afternoon hour brings with it a promise of everyone returning home. 

He puts his newly learned cutting skills to use as he helps Alfred make a potato gratin to accompany the carbonara he’s making for dinner. He’s even able to make the salad by himself, although it didn’t require much except cutting and tossing once he added the dressing. 

The first people to arrive back in the manor are Damian and Bruce. They appear in the doorway of the kitchen suddenly, and Danny only had a split second to realize that he’s being watched before Bruce greets them both. The sound of his voice makes Danny twist around to look at him, make sure he’s not too close. 

Bruce doesn’t move from near the door. He only goes a few steps into the kitchen, enough to get close to the island where the last batch of cooling cookies lays. Damian looks over Alfred, then turns his sharp gaze to Danny, studying him. 

He leaves without a word and Danny can only hope Damian wasn’t looking for anything nonhuman about Danny. That’s really the only reason he can think of to explain to scrutiny, and he doesn’t like it. 

“Did you make these?” Bruce asks, picking up a lemon cookie. It’s supposed to be dusted with powdered sugar, but they hadn’t cooled enough before both he and Alfred got caught up in preparing dinner.

Danny nods, a small thing, barely noticeable, but it makes Bruce smile. Not a big, theatric smile meant to distract. This one is smaller, more genuine and soft.

“May I?” He lifts the cookie up, waiting for permission.

Bruce is the master of the house. He doesn’t need to ask for permission. It’s not like any of the cookies are for Danny, anyways. He doubts he has the stomach to handle one, let alone the five batches he made. 

He glances at Alfred, hoping the butler will take over. But Alfred simple keeps himself busy at the stove, firmly keeping himself out of the conversation.

“Um, sure,” Danny answers, hesitantly. 

“Thank you,” Bruce says, and takes a bite. Danny watches him carefully for any signs that it’s bad, that he doesn’t like it, that he’s disappointed that Danny doesn’t live up to Alfred’s skills. But he doesn’t. He eats it calmly, then grabs a second on. “These are delicious.”

Danny’s shoulders slump; he hadn’t realized how tense waiting for an answer had made him. 

“If that is all, Master Bruce,” Alfred cuts in, “Do go wash up. Try not to spoil your appetite before dinner.”

“Alright. Do you know if Tim is going to be here for dinner tonight?”

“I haven’t heard from him today. Perhaps you should reach out to him if you would like him to be here.”

“Right. Right, I’ll… do that. And Danny,” he turns his attention away from Alfred, the lightness of his tone at odds against the dark light of his eyes. It almost feels as if Bruce can see through him, searching for all his secrets. “I’ll be in my study if you need anything, alright?”

“Okay.” Danny turns around and ducks his head, trying to focus but he can barely remember what he was doing before. He just stands, tense, frozen with his hands gripping the edge of the counter. 

He hears Bruce move, his suit shifting as he straightens out. “I also heard about the incident at the mall, yesterday. Dick only told me about it today.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. Though this isn’t required of you, if you’d ever like to learn self-defense, let me know. I have trained in many different martial arts and I would be happy to teach you.”

That… wasn’t at all what he was expecting to hear. He was more prepared for an interrogation about what he is. He wouldn’t have been surprised if Bruce fired him for being inhuman. Half-human. Whatever. 

He opens his mouth to say something along the lines of no thanks I don’t plan on being seen in public ever again, but what comes out instead is, “If you don’t mind.”

“Of course I don’t. We can get started this weekend.”

Danny’s traitorous body nods even as he mind goes what the hell do you think you’re doing. This was not in the plans. This was not in any plan! There was no previous discussion about that. Danny was fine with the kidnapping policy and the very specific types of insurance he was given. 

Having Bruce teach him self-defense feels like something from a fever dream. But here they are, Bruce leaving the kitchen with an agreement from Danny to have weekend self-defense lessons.

“Alfred,” he says, blankly, after Bruce leaves.

“Yes, Danny?”

“Is it too late to fake my death and run away?”

“No need for such dramatics. Self-defense is important, especially in Gotham, and Master Bruce has trained every child that has been in this manor. He will teach you well.”

That’s not really the problem. 

The problem is that Danny doesn’t know his limits against regular humans. He has no idea how much strength to use against them. He’s even worse about staying human during a fight. The last thing Danny wants is to go full angry ghost against Bruce for the high crime of trying to help him.

But if Alfred says it’ll be fine, then Danny will need to trust in that. Surely Alfred will talk to Bruce about Danny’s powers and they’ll be better prepared to face him. 

He’ll just have to do his best to be a normal-ish person and hope things work out. Knowing his luck, however…

At least he has cookies to accompany his misery.

[breadnabreadd]

✦ Oh boy! Here we go.

I created a LMK Au just for funsies. A furutistic, high technologic world with cyberpunk vibes! (Because I absolutely love this type of aesthetic)

✦ the picture above is just a quick drawing I did of Macaque in this AU. I will get into details about the AU while showing a few infos of a few LMKs characters alongside with their designs. (Just a reminder I'm still creating the AU and it's my first time making one. It might be a little messy, so I apologize if it gets too messy--)

Oh! And by the way, the characters on this AU follow the same basic formula as the original characters. So it doesnt have much changes, other than the world they live in, their clothes and a few events.

✦ MK, The Monkie Kid

• Its the same thing as our little MK from the animated series, he works at Pigsy's Noodles as a delivery boy, is the Monkey king's biggest fan and is his successor and pretty much the basic stuff.

• He learned about the Monkey king with Mister Tang. He is a huge fan.

• Tho he isn't a great expert, he knows how to how to fix computer cases, machines and vehicles and build stuff by using old pieces (he learned with Pigsy and Sandy, just in case his delivery vehicle breaks in the middle of the road or a something start malfunctioning in the noodle store). As we can see, he works more in the hardware part.

• He likes to collect the old pieces of old devices that people throw away in the city's old graveyard. It's like a type of recycling. (That's also how he find the Monkey king's staff but that is a thing I will tell in details in another day--)

• He loves to draw!!! Hooray!!! He also likes to play games. Is always playing video games with his best friend, Mei, on the arcade or online.

✦ Mei, The White Horse Dragon Girl

• She's a programmer/developer of softwares (Yes I know that in I drawing I said she's a "hacker but a bit clumsy" but actually i wanted to say shes a programmer. I was sleepy, it was 2 am, and my brain wasn't braining 😰😰😰---) with a few knowledge about hardwares. She created her technological helmet system with MK's help. (Her helmet it's similiar to Iron man's helmet from inside.)

• She built her own motorcycle, again with MK's help. She participates a lot motorcycles race just for funsies.

• Loves to play games. I guess I could say she is quite of a professional gamer? She play to win. But when she is playing with MK or with other friends, she doesnt care losing or winning, she only cares about enjoying some quality time with them.

✦ Liu'er Mihou, The Six Eared Macaque.

• Pretty much same as the original Macaque. (Lost his eye in the past with a fight against Sun Wukong. Omg betrayal. Yknow the deal-)

• Here he is a Hacker/Cracker.

"But what is a cracker?" You may ask. Now it's time for my nerd/TI studant side take over. A cracker it's a mean hacker. The cracker breaks/attacks the systems and webs for their own benefit, which it's for illegal purposes. Now a Hacker it's actually a job, which their purpose its to find the security breaches and ways to how break it, so then they can make the security stronger and prevent invasions/attacks at the system.

With that being said, Macaque is a hacker/cracker. So he makes defense systems to himself and breaks into other systems for illegal purposes.

• He got these gloves that helps him hack things better, he created it himself. He create floating holograms like it's a tablet screen and can hold on these holograms using these gloves. With a simple touch he can steal database from a device and hack it's system. (He can hack machines, computers, tech weapons and even the light system.)

• He got his shadow magic too, same as the original one. Shadow clones, shadow portals... but he kinda makes a fusion between his magic and the technology he invented to himself. (Before anyone say it. YES! I got heavily inspired by Sombra from Overwatch. 😔)

✦ The Monkey King, Sun Wukong

• Yeah, the Monkey king. The great sage equal to heaven. The silly who made a havoc on heaven---

• HE GOT THAT HUGE MECHA WE SAW IN THE ANIMATED SERIES BECAUSE HE DOESNT LIKE USING HIS KAIJU FORM !!!

But he doesnt use the mecha much. It has been CENTURIES since he last use it. Now MK is the one who uses it because he is Sun Wukong's successor.

• That's not his "Monkey King" royal clothes. It just some casual/comfy clothes to use in everyday life.

• He already knew who MK was. MK is a stone Monkey just like himself. Wukong have been watching the kid grow up from far. He grow a bit attached to the boy.

Sun Wukong surely wasn't expecting to MK being able to lift his golden staff, so he think in the opportunity to make him his sucessor and teach him how to use his new powers. (Yes, I was lisiting to "the horse and the infant" song. How did you kn--)

Oh God. That explanation was long.

✦ Welp, that's all for today!

I will post more stuff about the AU in the future. And I still need to think a name for it...

It is clear I got heavily inspired by Cyberpunk, techwear, overwatch, New Gods: Nezha reborn, Arcane and other stuff. I'm sorry, BUT I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THAT AESTHETIC AND VIBES!! HHHHHHH-

✦ I'm a huge nerd. 🤓

[everydayyoulovemeless]

Any thoughts on how companions would react to being in a Big MT facility (After Courier get his brain back)? Like, Arcade and Veronica would be more interested than others since their factions are the most technologically advanced in America Wasteland?

FNV Companions Reactions To Being Taken To Big MT

➼ Word Count » 0.9k ➼ Warnings » None

Boone gets incredibly defensive when he hears the Cazadores buzzing around or catches the slightest glimpse of any wild robots roaming the crater. He doesn't fully understand the technology or how it was created, but he doesn't like it. Everything that's been stashed away in Big MT leaves him on edge and he can't help but distrust every little item in the extensive facility. He hates being inside any of the labs out of fear of traps or experiments gone rogue. He'll want to spend the majority of his time in the Chinese prison camps as he believes the technology there could better help the NCR gain the advantage over the legion, especially if they can learn more about the collars being used.

Arcade is astonished by the sheer amount of energy weapons that are being held and experimented on in this area, but he’s especially interested in the vault tec experiments that are running rampant, however, these interests are quickly shot down when he recognizes how many lives were ruined because of these experimentations were condoned by the government to continue. It breaks him every time he sees a lobotomite running around in pain and confusion about where and what they are. He'll search the labs for cures or any other pieces of information that could help him improve and advance the Follower's impact on the Mojave. He might not be able to do much to help these victims now, but he can help prevent it from happening again. He'll do his best to seal Big MT off from the rest of the world, bandaging it up until someone can find a genuine solution on what should be done with everything uncovered here, but for now, he'll just try to reap as many positive outcomes as he can from what he's been given.

Raul thinks the whole place is sketchy, but he's followed you straight into Legion camps before, this shouldn't be too different. The scientists at the Think Tank don't like that he's all rotted and will most likely lock him out, out of fear he'll contaminate everything. It doesn't bother him too much, though, he'll just shove his hands into his pockets and follow you over to Mobius' place, where the two begin talking like old friends about their pre-war lives (or what Mobius can remember of his). Raul isn't a sciencey guy, however, he can appreciate the amount of scrap metal and resources this place just has laying around, and will gladly put it to better use than whatever happened here previously.

Lily adores the stealth suit in the X-13 Research Facility and thinks it looks lovely on you! Especially since it can help the two of you stay hidden more. She's so polite to the scientists in the Think Tank, even when they refer to her as a "failed experiment" and tell her she's not allowed to touch anything. She doesn't mind though, she'll gladly sit down, drink some tea, and watch as they work. Speaking of tea, Muggy is obsessed with her because she's the only one who actually uses mugs and dishes for anything. (She's always knitting him little hats too). The more time she spends here, the more she starts to realize how similar it all is to what happened to her in California. It'll begin to make her sad and she'll eventually want to leave and ask to come back and visit another time.

Cass takes one look at the place before shouting threats at the scientists. To her, this place is no different than what the Legion did to countless nations and tribes across America, and she hates that you didn't take any action sooner. It's honestly best just to not take her here unless you want her or everything else to be slaughtered. She doesn't understand the science behind any of it, and quite frankly, doesn't care. She just wants to take a torch to this place and never think of it again.

Veronica finds The Sink to be strange and spends a lot of her time invested in the different personalities before she really starts exploring the surrounding areas of Big MT. She thinks the bunker needs objects that speak, it might just make everyone less serious about everything. She gets a lot of enjoyment from being able to wander around freely and investigate all the technological marvels, although, the second she catches wind of Christine and Elijah being here at some point, her mood drastically changes. Her smile disappears, her shoulders slump forward, and her eyes open to the damage that was caused here. She's not as excited as she used to be and just wants to quickly pocket what they can and go back home.

Rex is excited and extremely confused about being brought here. On the one hand, there are tons of new things to sniff out and wander through, but he can't shake the feeling that he's been here before, and that freaks him out. He'll start whimpering with the uncertainty that starts to flood him at seeing the place where he was created. It tires him out to think about it.

ED-E has so much fun zipping around the place. Everything here is so new! He's never seen anything like it before and that excites him! You'll find that he's naturally inclined to go toward the places Ulysses' was, making beelines to all of the American flags graffitied along the outsides of a few of the buildings. He'll happily be beeping at you as he follows you around the crater.

[rowan-dos-rock]

Welcome to the MTTebot, Darlings! ~~

MTTebott is an Undertale Au that, everybody dies excpect for Mettaton and the 3° human and to fall is Frisk and their loyal dogfriend E.D. After Hapsta (aka mettaton) finally wakes up, with Frisk help, he find out that the whole Underground is dead, he question himself that It was Frisk who killed them all, and It wasn't. They both became friends and started to think what they could do, afterall, they are stuck down there.

Looking into Alphy's stuff, they find a old paper that she mencion the Multiverse. With that, Mettaton had an ideia: Why not turn the entire underground into a big attraction? If it works, it would be populous as before, he be famous and could even entertain the souls of those who have passed away, Frisk wondered if this would really work, but thei accepted, and now, let's talk about our big and only underground star! (Characters Ref. + Info undercut)

Hapstablook/Mettaton:

The Owner of MTTebott and the receptionist in the NEORuins! There aren't employees so he is also the bartender, chambermaid, cook, security guard and the list keep going... But he is the big attraction! Every single place in the underground have his face and mark, but you have to paid to go to the other places, of course, only NeoRuins is for free! You can have a nice coffee at the MTT Cafeteria, leave your pet in the MTT Animal Playcare, you can play at the large MTT Arcade, and more!!! Before you enter, he hands you a phone with his number on it, in case you want to call or just talk to him, he is free all the time! But, he decided to renew. He thought of a tactic of having more and more visitors, so he made more bodies, each of them with special abilities that were never seen again! New faces!That's what we are talking about!! With new bodies, new personalities, new shows, OH YES!!

Now that's attention-grabbing!! Paptton body is used for "COOKING WITH THE KILLER ROBOT!!" His arms can stretch out to make it easier to pick up objects in the air, his friendly smile to warm the hearts of the viewers and best of all, he can turn his arms into deadly weapons, if it's mandatory in the recipe, of course!

NeoSans is used for music concerts, or when Mettaton wants to add more songs to his albums. It has a better speaker, more poses, lots of outfits for any occasion and so much more!! Their songs are a perfect blend of calm and violence, of course.

Mettoriel It's for "METTATON'S EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM", teaching the alphabet, colors, respecting others' differences, how to take over the world!! The perfect theacher in the whole multiverse!!

Mettaton has other bodies too, but for now, we'll leave it as a surprise~

Frisk and E.D.:

Say hello to THE BEST HUMAN and THE BEST DOG EVER!!!!!! Frisk is the more important thing for the MTTebott reputation. They record new ads every single day to the multiverse in Alphys's computer! Also helping Hapstablook with their programs, they record, write scripts, separate the best looks and always keeps an eye out for invaders! But they gets exhausted sometimes, so now they search for news employess

E.D. is the BEST JANITOR OF THE MULTIVERSE, your ice cream fell? Just call him out and he will lick and clean the floor! Don't worry about his diet, he eats everything, even tables.

Liked the newest and best hotel in the entire multiverse?! Feel free to ask anything you want to know about this lovely place!!! We are waiting for you, baby~

- XOXO Mettaton.

[blookmallow]

hey who wants some fuckign. fallout oc lore

nobody, probably. is that going to stop me. absolutely not. here's everything you never needed to know about my new vegas courier (my first one/my main file, also my first time playing a fallout in the first place)

ive probably posted some of this somewhere before but heres the exhaustive info dump version. also heres some random picrews/dolls of her, the first one is the best one. her hair is supposed to be vaguely purple tinted but picrews never have that exact shade

Bonnie Sterling - The Courier. Lone Ranger of the Mojave wasteland

Nicknames: "Bon" on occasion. i want her to have a really cool nickname as a ghoul later in life but i cannot figure one out.

--

current plot status: Completed main storyline and every questline I could find. I went with independent vegas as my endgame but I don't think bonnie would've kicked the NCR out completely so I'm going with, she probably figured a way to negotiate a truce or something. mostly im just not thinking too hard about it since new vegas just sticks you in endgame limbo forever anyway since the game Ends when you do the final quest. Completed Dead Money and Old World Blues (but there might still be some bits left around that i didnt finish).

--

Faction Info:

NCR: Idolized. Works closely with them most of the time, but doesn't agree with everything they do.

The Kings: Idolized. Only faction she has explicitly joined. Has a close, unspecified relationship with the King. Regrets getting the NCR involved with them, but couldn't find a better solution without more bloodshed.

Caesar's Legion: Vilified. Kills legionnaires on sight. Hopes to one day take out every last one of them.

Brotherhood of Steel: Neutral. Stays out of their way, stays out of their business. Has helped them out a few times, though. (I'll be honest I cannot figure out what the hell the brotherhood is doing or stands for or anything in new vegas so i just left that one alone)

Great Khans: Mostly neutral. Doesn't really like them, per se, but is able to maintain civility with them, and convinced them not to side with Caesar.

mostly if you support the legion, you're her enemy. otherwise, it pretty much boils down to "can you be reasonably negotiated with? then we're okay"

--

Family: Mother, Cathy Sterling (deceased; suicide.) Father, Russell "Rusty" Sterling (deceased; combination of illnesses over time. Bonnie thinks the radiation caught up with him in the end.)

Partner/s: Ex-wife, Jolene (Unofficially divorced. Status and location unknown.) Undefined ongoing Something with the King, but immediately deflects any questions asked about it. Unlikely to ever really get serious, though the King often claims he'll get her to marry him one day. he's probably joking, but then, maybe he's not. (no basis in canon for this but ive decided it. try and stop me)

Found Family: Ed-E (best friend forever. she takes it everywhere and is extremely protective of it). Arcade (practically a brother), Raul (close friend, reminds her of her grandfather. he's the only one she has left in her future ghoul days.) Doc Marten (like an uncle to her. she visits him often and is still grateful to him for saving her life.)

--

Notable Injuries: Gunshot wound to the head (Benny in the Goodsprings cemetery. scar, some neurological damage). Machete lacerations on her arm and neck (Benny in the deathmatch at Caesar's camp. Scars.) Frequent ongoing radiation poisoning and early stages of ghoulification. Lung damage due to smoking, wasteland life, and exposure to the red mist post-Sierra Madre. Suffers from PTSD from the Sierra Madre. Acquires a cybernetic heart and spine at Big MT. (I have not yet played the other DLCs so I don't know what ELSE is going to happen, )

--

Favorite Items: pool balls (i obsessively steal these every time i see one. i have so many), dinosaur toys, cigarettes, whiskey, mentats, sunset sarsaparilla. Will use any weapon she can get her hands on, but likes a good old fashioned pistol best.

--

Future: Never has children. Becomes a ghoul eventually, too stubborn to die and increasingly reckless with radiation over time - part mojave legend, part cryptid.

-----------------------------

Has some memory loss from the gunshot injury; probably has a few screws loose in general. Her hands shake sometimes and she gets frequent headaches. Often doesn't sleep for several days at a time.

chainsmoker. drinks a lot but can handle her liquor. has a bit of a mentats habit that only got worse after the brain injury. she isn't blatantly reckless, at least most of the time, but just doesn't care very much about her health. once you've survived getting shot in the head nothing really seems like that big of a risk anymore.

general attitude of Anything Goes - whatever happens will happen. whatever situations she finds herself in, she'll find herself out of, one way or another. or not, for that matter. she figures she won't be all that concerned about it if she's dead, anyway.

from oklahoma originally - you can definitely hear it in her accent

good at tinkering and figuring things out, but never had any kind of actual education or training - learned a lot from her father, though. she's taken to reading pre-war books about anything and everything when she comes across them. learned some combat training from her dealings in the NCR, and some functional medical knowledge from doc marten.

A drifter who just sort of wanders around looking for oddities, mysteries, people she can help, things to keep busy with. vaguely wants to find the men who wanted her dead - not really for revenge. just to know why. but ultimately she's just trying to live whatever kind of life she has left, and help whoever she can

has a very uncanny ability to solve problems by just asking nicely. she isn't particularly witty or charming - just really unsettlingly calm. something about her catches people off guard. she doesn't really fear anyone or anything, but knows when she's outnumbered or outmatched, and has no problem walking away. "pride's damn easy to swallow when y'keep it in a small enough pill."

isn't really on anyone's Side, but will do what she can to resolve conflict - she doesn't much care about who started it or why or who's right or who's wrong. she just thinks the world would be a little nicer if everyone stopped shooting at each other so much. she doesn't really hold grudges well, and nobody's too crazy for her to stop and listen to.

she does, however, occasionally find reasons to care. after she saw what the legion did to nipton, she's firmly against them, but also isn't interested in running after them with guns blazing. if she had an opportunity to help bring them down, though, she would. [HOWEVER: After the Sierra Madre, something broke in her. after surviving that, and having seen the NCR do nothing enough times, her long-suffering patience finally ran out. she took matters into her own hands, and with a stealth boy and a damn good gun, she broke into the legion camp and assassinated caesar herself, alone. one day she intends to go back to take out the rest of them.] ((yes i did do this. i don't know how i got out of there alive. i was really surprised by how little actually changed by doing this but i do still want to go back and try to kill the rest of them. fuck you legion))

can be very detached and cold hearted if pushed far enough. if she needs to kill you, she will.

can't stand the silence of the wilderness, so she listens to the radio near constantly. developing a complicated love-hate relationship with mr. new vegas, her oftentime only companion out in the desert. often listens to the black mountain station as well, following the drama and raving like her own personal soap opera (post tabitha plotline she misses it a lot. doesn't feel good about killing her)

hates underground/enclosed spaces and becomes mildly panicked if she feels trapped. hates vaults but knows there's often useful/interesting things in them, so she ends up exploring them anyway

has a habit of picking up odds and ends she finds around the wasteland and has filled her Novac apartment and half the lucky 38 with junk she swears could be useful one day, somehow. started collecting pool balls and has now practically developed a compulsion around them. seems to end up with another dinosaur every time she stops by the novac gift shop

frequently just jumps off railings/small cliffs because stairs take too long. this absolutely drives arcade up the wall and he hates trying to keep up with her. self preservation instinct sometimes just Doesn't

played guitar years ago. doesn't think she'd remember anymore, but some part of her hopes to find one someday to see if it's still in her somewhere. [post-sierra madre: she did find one, and against all odds managed to get it home. she didn't touch it for months, recovering from the trauma, but has started toying with it a little. she's not as good as she once was, but it's starting to come back.]

fiercely protective of ed-e, and never goes anywhere without it. (in my mind ed-e comes too even if she has other companions, game limitations be damned) doesn't really trust most people to travel with her for long. spends the most time with arcade and raul otherwise. (has traveled with veronica and cass briefly, but doesn't know either of them all that well, and doesn't really trust the brotherhood enough to let veronica very close. i havent really spent enough time with lily to decide what their dynamic is. i love her though)

brought a sarsaparilla star badge for primm slim. he loves it

also gives stars to all her companions and insists they wear them. refuses any explanation as to why. may in fact just be messing with them. she taped one on to ed-e as well.

as much as she loves arcade, kicked him out of the lucky 38 for stealing her rare nuka colas (this is canon. he did this to me.) raul is the only one who lives there. she doesn't really like sharing a living space, but the lucky 38 has plenty of room, and she trusts raul more than anyone else (and over time he becomes her oldest friend, given her eventual ghoul lifespan)

often sits and talks with no-bark. doesn't understand most of what he says, but she likes to listen anyway

stops to visit rotface every time she's in town. i wish i could be his friend i love him

sometimes goes to visit victor (or what's left of him) in goodsprings, even though for all she can tell, he's dead. treats his deactivated shell like a grave. doesn't understand what happened to him and can't figure out how to fix him.

--

was badly traumatized at Caesar's camp. seeing how many of them there were, talking to the slave women and seeing the pain and emptiness in their faces, hearing the cold laughter of the legionnaires and feeling their eyes on her did something to her. she felt scared for the first time in years. she was given her revenge, and it felt awful. after everything benny did to her, she felt nothing but disgusted with herself when he lay dead at her feet.

(note: I had intended to spare him here, but then discovered there was practically no way to get him out alive, and nothing actually happens from what ive read if you somehow do get him to survive. so like...... he's Supposed to die here. i decided the next most in character decision i could make was to at least make it a fair fight. i think that turned out to be more narratively interesting anyway) (i cant explain my feelings for benny. i don't know why i didn't want revenge. i don't know why i felt so empty after he was dead)

has deep scars across her neck and her arm from the machete duel. She still uses Benny's lighter, and refuses to talk about it.

she also suffered severe trauma in the Sierra Madre incident. she was fully delirious when she came back to the mojave, and managed to stumble her way to camp forlorn hope before she collapsed and remained unconscious for several days. the NCR medics weren't super she would make it. she finally awoke in a blind incomprehensible panic. after some time, she calmed down to a numb, raw emptiness, and still refused any explanation for where she had been or what had happened to her - just insisting to the point of desperation that she had to get home. She never talks about the Sierra Madre. Not to anyone. She has lasting lung damage from the effects of the Cloud to this day.

Wanders the wastes looking for Dog from time to time, but never saw him again. She has PTSD around beeping noises, and cannot stand feeling anything against her neck. Has fully torn collars off of her shirts just to relieve this anxiety before.

--

backstory

Only child. her mother cathy was a strange, melancholy woman who never smiled and was always ill, likely radiation sickness. she was mentally ill, as well, and spent most of her time staring off into space with blank, empty eyes. bonnie's father claimed she wasn't always like that, but never said a word about what had happened to her. Cathy committed suicide via taking as many chems at once as she could when Bonnie was 12 years old.

Her father Rusty was a rough, stubborn man, and was often hard on her, but loved her, and taught her how to survive. he smoked and drank a lot, and didn't care to watch his radiation levels, believing he was strong enough to withstand it (and didn't take much stock in threats he couldn't see). He was injured when bonnie was around 19, and his health declined rapidly, but he refused to see a doctor. He died, maybe from radiation, maybe from infection, maybe from a lot of things. Bonnie misses him, but felt it was inevitable that something would take him eventually

Bonnie once had a wife - Jolene. things ended very poorly. Jolene betrayed her and sold her out to a group of gangsters (for what reason/exact context i dont really know) - bonnie almost killed her in anger and grief, but shot the wall above her head instead and left her there. She never saw her again. doesn't know if jolene is alive or dead, and isn't sure which news would be worse.

✨ bonnie

[inverswayart]

The Fallout OC Seven Day S.P.E.C.I.A.L.

got busy with studies so i'll probably take a bit more time with those things

Day 2 - Perception

Sinclair

3 - Squinting Newt | Hit the Deck

How good is your OC’s eyesight? Can they see well in low light conditions? Not great. Even before Benny shot him, Sinclair was a bit farsighted - not enough to need glasses to function, but still bothersome, especially when working at terminals. And then Benny shot out his left eye, and Sinclair’s sight took a farther dip. In theory, the Followers could get him a prescription, but as Arcade can confirm, it isn’t easy to find decent glasses out in a wasteland, and so Sinclair makes do with what he has. Therefore, his night vision is also atrocious, and he has to rely heavily on his Pip-Boy flashlight.

How quickly or slowly do they notice anything suspicious? Despite trying to be constantly alert, Sinclair is prone to unconsciously focusing his attention on one/two things around him, and so often misses actually suspicious things (or notices it a bit too late).

How good is their aim? (this can be with any weapon or a punch) Sinclair had just started to get actually good at aiming with guns - and then Benny destroyed his eye and any attempt at precise aiming with weapons became a kind of mute point. Still, if he has time to access it properly, he can be pretty good at gauging the area of damage that his grenades do (and if not he has a good habit of throwing/shooting then farther rather than closer).

How do they see the world around them? As a gladiator arena with him being the main entertainment - as in he has to constantly fight for the right to get something good or just not be fucked over by destiny’s next whim. 

Innocence

6 - Alert Coyote | Light Step

How good is your OC’s eyesight? Can they see well in low light conditions? Ino’s eyesight is nothing extraordinary, but that’s nothing to sneeze on after getting shot in the head (just ask Sinclair). She’s also able to orient in low light, not supernaturally well, but just enough to keep toe-stubbing to the minimum.

How quickly or slowly do they notice anything suspicious? Pretty quickly! Ino’s got an almost supernatural spider sense in regards to weird/suspicious things about her - the question is how quickly she connects the dots of that feeling with actual things that cause it.

How good is their aim? (this can be with any weapon or a punch) While her aim is alright by itself, Ino has a hard time actually following it - her hands start shaking if she holds something heavy (like a gun) for any prolonged amount of time. She gets better with time, practice and medication, though in the end she decided that it would be easier to use a weapon that doesn’t require that much aiming instead (like her beloved Q-35 matter modulator)

How do they see the world around them? Before being shot by Benny, Ino saw her world as a monorail ride - a comfortable journey to a nice destination with a nice view along the way. Afterwards it’s a balancing act under the big top - eyes watching closely from every direction, risk of falling at the slightest misstep; the safety net should probably be somewhere underneath, but she can’t look down to check.

[princevontwix]

(warning, LOONGG late night rambling post)

ok, so you know about Yume Nikki Online? that really good online multiplayer hub hosting both the original game and a collection of fangames? i feel like that idea could apply really well to OFF and its fangames too! and i got the perfect name for it, OFFline.

i imagine it can go with a similar premise of YNO but just allow people to talk and gather around in OFF-related games. but i see a lot of potential for OFFline to include some kind of PvP-dedicated fangame, which I'll call Engage. which, with how many ideas i have for it, might be best to not make in EasyRPG.

the basic idea i have in mind is that there's a central hub where people can just chat and hang out which has three divisions:

Versus

Team Battle

Arcade, subdivided into Campaign and Endless.

what all of these modes have in common is a shopkeeper. it'll probably be better to make them an original character, but basically, for Versus and Team Battle, at the beginning of a match, you're given a set amount of credits to purchase from a list of items, weapons, and armor. for consistency's sake, i think its best that certain items are locked for certain characters only (say, no one else can use weapons and armor for Home characters), but healing and damage items are fair play for all.

whoever hosts a room will be able to dictate which select fangame they'd wish to fight in (as in, which cast of characters both users must use), OR decide that anything goes and both users are free to make the party of their dreams (its also here that they'd be free to select which battle theme plays).

Versus mode is between two players, who have full control of their own parties. while Team Battle is a 4v4, where each player will have control over their selected party member.

as for Arcade, its basically just singleplayer fun; the intent is that with the large amount of enemies and bosses from the multitude of fangames present, it will bring something different each time via randomizer. Campaign i would describe as being similar to Smash 3DS's Classic Mode, where you're given 3 branching paths with varying difficulties. the more difficult ones you beat, the more credits you earn, where you can make a pitstop before each boss to stack up (with zodiac orbs being pricier). referring to the sketch above, yellow cubes are enemy encounters, red cubes are bosses, and purple is for the end-game boss (the final boss from the og game/fangame, if applicable). i figured that every 3rd or 4th encounter being a boss will help prevent the gameplay from being monotonous beatdowns of regular enemies. you'll get choices for enemies and bosses, but there's only one endgame boss and that's random each time.

and lastly, Endless mode is just that. this time, you're given a larger supply of credits to use and once you enter the first round, there's no going back. each round will supply a minute amount of health or energy items to use, but will progressively get more difficult. my hope here is that it isn't just more enemies each round, but for it to sometimes bring fewer but beefier enemies, and maybe even a miniboss. you progress through each round by clicking on the individual cube labeled with the appropriate number. i figured like this it'd be more reasonable to fit within RPG2k3's limits but at this point it would be bloated so oh well. and of course, once you die, it ends. a public leaderboard will be on display to show the top 10 players and their scores.

now to get the obvious out of the way, online functionality with this many features would be difficult, if not impossible, to implement. as such, i would not be opposed to taking an approach similar to the UT fangame Don't Forget, where OFFline will be developed on an engine like Gamemaker and attempt to re-create RPG2k3's vibe and the individual games being hosted, along with Engage. the problem with the latter is that i think its more realistic to just let EasyRPG do all the work in porting the fangames like YNO, rather than recreate each one in a more modern engine. but at the same time, that would be the only feasible way of having any of these planned features to work without any fuckups. of course, i suppose a workaround to having multiplayer work in RPG2k3 would be to have a Parsec session or something similar, but that'd only be a solution for Versus mode at best. it would definitely not work for Team mode and might conflict with general offline.

in fact, the idea of OFFline might take some mad wizardry to even make it work, and i wouldn't be surprised if it barely works. making it in EasyRPG and using 2k3 as the basis vs. making it in a modern engine is the double-edged sword of this whole hypothetical. i'd love for something like this to happen, but i imagine it would be too much work to not only develop, but to keep the servers online for an otherwise niche fanbase. still, i cant shake away how much potential and fun this could be.

with that said, rambling is now over!

[nkn0va]

200 post celebratory oneshot

So...this is gonna be my 200th post, so I decided to do a little something to commemorate since my 100th post was a meme. I haven't posted the last couple days because I was trying to fucking come up with something to do.

This time it's not a Six oneshot. This will be a hypothetical (non-canon like everyone else's, obviously) UNIST Arcade mode for my unib OC! Hope this new style of writing goes over as well as the last ones...

Please like and reblog this took fucking forever

The air was thick with a palpable, almost suffocating tension, a very familiar one. It was that time again already? I guess when you're as busy as I am the days sort of blended together. It had hardly felt like a week since the last Hollow Night. Was I perhaps wasting away my youth, too busy to enjoy the prime of one's life? Perhaps I was. If I let these thoughts out to Linne at least, she'd probably give me a very lengthy lecture.

It's not like I had much of a choice though. As a descendant of the Night Blade watching over the Night is a duty I was born into. Unfortunately that's come with some...unexpected duties. Such as watching over the newbie, Hyde.

He was...rough around the edges, but he definitely had potential, even ignoring the fact that he of all people ended up with the Insulator. Can't help but feel bad for him though, it's not like he asked to be given a legendary weapon and thrust into the world of the Hollow Night. That's a big reason why we've told him to hang back tonight. He was still inexperienced and he was being hunted by some dangerous people for the Insulator.

Paradox...

Ever since she appeared she's been nothing but problems for everyone involved, especially us. Amnesia's been getting too much power for their own good. Many of them have gone drunk with it now, Paradox herself even more so. As an In-Birth with Night Blade blood flowing through me, I have to be the one to disband them, by force.

If acting as an In-Birth as well as Linne and Waldstein's teachings have taught me anything, it's that you have to cut off the head of the proverbial snake if you even want to have a chance at throwing a group out of power. No one being able to do so in the case of the Night Blade is the only reason it's survived for so long. That leaves me with only one option.

It's time to put an end to this charade, I've waited long enough.

Placing my cloak over myself, I set out into the Night, passing through into the realm of EXS. Though silent, the air speaks volumes. Tonight's going to be one that no one will soon forget. For better or worse, that remains to be seen...

~~~

(Stage 3)

By now I've already dispatched a few In-Births. No one too powerful. A lot of rookies had started running around as of recently, though I suspect that luck's about to change. As a matter of fact, it likely changed a while ago. I stop in the middle of the street, raising my voice enough to be heard.

"You can come out now. You're not as slick as you think you are."

I hear footsteps behind me now, the stranger knew he was caught. A figure stepped out from behind a nearby tree in the park just on the other side of the road. As he came out of the shadows, I could see his face now. If the rumors were right I knew exactly who this was. I turn and narrow my eyes at him, though my cloak hides the expression I'm giving him.

"Bloody Chaos, the brains behind Amnesia."

My stalker only let out an exasperated sigh, adjusting the red-framed glasses on his face. "I use that codename one time on an operation years ago, and it's been spreading like a virus...just Chaos is fine, please."

"Alright, Chaos. Mind telling me why you've been following me as long as you have?" Despite meeting under the Hollow Night, and likely knowing how this altercation was going to end, Chaos could only chuckle. It was almost a bit unsettling despite his surprisingly affable demeanor. Not the attitude I'd personally choose to have, but sure.

"So you knew after all. I'd expect nothing less of the fabled Hydro of the Night Blade. Let's just say I know quite well why you're here already. That should be sufficient in answering your question."

Right, of course. Not like I was really expecting anything else. Though the choice of going for flattery was odd. Not like it was going to get him anywhere.

"I'd expect you to be a bit more on guard if you're here to try and stop me. If I were one of my colleagues you would've been cut down already."

"Oh, I'm quite aware of that, believe me. That's why I opted for stealth. Though that attempt clearly fell through quite embarrassingly."

"You must be quite confident, then. Clearly you're no fool, you have to be hiding something."

This only made Chaos laugh again. "You're not half bad yourself. Though if you'll allow me to be completely frank I'm a bit nervous. Direct combat's never been my forte, even if I give it my all I may not be able to defeat you."

"Then cut let's cut the talk, shall we? Let's see what Amnesia's fabled tactician can truly do."

"Now that's a sentiment I can get behind. I don't imagine I could convince you to give up your mission with words anyway." Chaos then brought opened up that odd book he was carrying about, which summoned a large beast. That...thing was easily three times the size of a large dog, and those claws and fangs could definitely mess me up if I wasn't careful. It's sheer strength along with it's master's quick wit and cunning would most assuredly make for my most difficult fight so far tonight.

I had no reason to hold back. Letting my EXS out in full force, orbs of water encased my hands before they took shape into twin wielding blades.

~~~

(Stage 6)

I was quickly closing in on my destination. The place where all In-births gathered, where my target lied. However I felt another presence, however faint it was. A strikingly familiar one at that.

In a flash I materialize a Hydroblade and strike, clashing with a curved dagger that was strikingly familiar. It easy to figure out who it was.

"Not bad, you almost got me that time. I'd expect nothing less of the Assassin."

Seth had struck from above, my deflection of his blade blowing him back through the air before he landed a fair distance away. "I suppose you've been getting better after all. However I'd suggest you don't let that get to your head. That could get you killed."

"That's supposed to be my line. I am technically your senior, as far as matters directly involved in the Hollow Night go. So I suggest you get out of my way, this is supposed to be my fight."

Seth could only close his eyes and scoff. Even under the high collar, it didn't take a genius to tell he wasn't in the mood. "I'm afraid you're mistaken. The sins of the Night Blade are mine to bear and mine alone. Even if an ally gets in the way, I won't hold back."

I can only let out a sigh. Despite his quiet, normally unassuming demeanor he was as stubborn as ever. "True that may be, it's still too much for you to bear. You've got some growing up to do. You and Hyde are more alike than you'd think."

"Me and Hyde? Alike? Don't make me laugh. I'm nothing like that inexperienced rookie. He's not ready for what the Hollow Night has in store for him. If he keeps going the way he's going, he'll only end up dead."

"You're not in much of a position to talk yourself, whether you realize it or not. Even if I'm not much older, I can still tell you have a lot to sort out. That doubt and grief you carry within you... you still have yet to cast it out for good. Only then can you call yourself a worthy successor of the Night Blade."

He stayed silent. It seemed as if my words had struck some kind of chord in him. One could only guess what he was reflecting on. Perhaps some point in his past that set him on the path he was on now?

"...Perhaps you have something of a point. That only makes my mission even more of a necessity. If I'm to truly overcome this strife, I must dispose of Paradox and free the princess from her curse myself."

"Well, then it seems we're at an impasse. We both know the rules, so let's cut the cheap talk short."

~~~

(Stage 9)

I've come across an increasingly dense amount of In-Births by this point the further down I'd gone into the Night. That could only mean I was getting close to the Abyss, if that along with the thickening EXS in the air was any indicator. Just a little more to go and-

Oh no...you gotta be kidding me...

"Hyde?"

Hyde froze at the sound of my voice. He knew he was busted. He slowly and nervously turned.

"Oh...hey...fancy seeing you here..."

"We've been over this. You were supposed to stay out of the Hollow Night. What do you think you're doing here? You don't seriously think of taking on Paradox."

Hyde, knowing he'd been caught, sighs in exasperation before recollecting himself. Surprisingly fast at that. "Yeah, I was heading to go do just that. I can't just sit by on the sidelines and let you, Linne, and the old man do everything for me. I gotta do something."

"I respect the sentiment, but have you forgotten what's at stake here? We can't risk her getting her hands on the Insulator. If she does everything we've worked for will be gone in an instant with nothing we can do about it."

"Yeah, I know that...but at the same time isn't it the best chance we have at defeating her? If we wanna take her down we have to go at her with everything we've got, Insulator included."

"Normally I'd be inclined to agree, but you're far from ready to take on the most powerful In-Birth on record. Charging at her as you are now is needlessly reckless, I can't in good faith let that risk be taken."

"If you're really gonna fight Paradox, why don't we just do it together? We'll be much safer than if we just did it alone. I might not be as experienced as Linne or as strong as the old geezer, but it'd better than no one, right?"

"I don't think you fully grasped it the first time we explained this to you, but let me say it again. Whether or not I win against her doesn't matter. If she beats me, nothing of value will be lost, but if she beats you and takes the Insulator, we lose everything."

Immediately this seems to set off Hyde, his voice raising. "Nothing of value lost? What the hell's wrong with you, man!? You are of value! To Linne, to Wald, to me! Think about what would happen if you died, how many people that would devastate!"

Even in the face of hostility from someone I call a friend, I have to remain calm. Getting angry won't solve anything. "In comparison to the greater cause of the Night Blade and fixing the mess we created, my life is a small price to pay. You might not understand, but that's fine. Maybe one day you will."

"No, and I don't want to! If you're really trying to face Paradox by yourself, then I'm gonna have to stop you."

"Funny, that was supposed to be my line. This night won't last forever, there's only one thing left to do."

~~~

(Stage 10)

I finally made it. So this is what the Abyss looked like all along. It's...surprisingly grand, almost like a huge altar, though that's probably rather fitting. On the far side of the room was another gigantic door, no doubt the door to the Abyss itself. I'd have been completely alone if it wasn't for someone else standing there at the center of it all.

"My, my, it's about time someone showed up. And it's none other than the Night Blade's beloved Hydro. I unfortunately don't have anything to offer you, but do make yourself at home here."

God, that smirk...something about it just pissed me off. I can't let her get to me. It'd only make the situation worse. Under my cloak I take a quiet, deep breath. I needed to keep my head clear and my body light, so I could fight with everything I have.

"You can skip the shit, Paradox. We both know why we've been brought together tonight."

This only made the crazy woman giggle smugly. "My, my, such forwardness of you, Hydro. I'm quite flattered. Is this a-"

"Don't even think about it." I quickly cut her off, knowing exactly what she was going to say. She was trying to act smart and fluster me, but it's clear she had a long way to go before she could do it well. "I'm here to stop you. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Oh, but why would you ever think of doing that? We could be so much more together. With your skills and my soon to be power of the Re-Birth, we could be truly unstoppable. Aren't you tired of it all? Tired of bending to the will of the Night Blade, to that accursed princess? If you join my cause, you could finally be free, we can crush all our opposition. The Night Blade, the Licht Kreis, all of them. And in their place we can build a new Night in our own image. The way we see fit, and rule everything together. No one will be able to stand up to us. Doesn't that sound so exciting?"

She was talking to me like I'm another one of her idiot cronies that she can convince merely with the promise of supreme power. She's going to come to regret that.

"Cute attempt, but useless. I don't want power. Haven't you ever heard the saying? Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Your power even now has already driven you mad. You're not fit to run a children's science fair project, forget the entire world."

That seemed to understandably piss off Paradox. That's how you get in someone's head, if the soured expression on her face was any indication.

"Why you little... it seems you need to learn some manners. I suppose sometimes a child won't learn how to behave without a proper spanking."

The thick EXS in the air around the altar allows me to near instantly materialize a Hydroblade. This was it, it was going to be the toughest fight of my life. No backing down now.

"You're more than welcome to try. Now drown in the endless depths of eternity."

~~~

(Story END)

"Ugh...how...did you..."

Paradox was on the ground, having been blown back by my finishing blow, beaten and now soaking wet. I wasn't any better off though, her blades had proved quite the challenge. I was gonna need first aid as soon as possible after I got back home. At least all the cuts were covered by my cloak.

"Simple, really. You let the ego your power gave you go to your head. You didn't take me seriously, and that's going to be your final mistake."

Someone like Paradox didn't deserve any final words. With pinpoint precision I threw the Hydroblade in my hand straight through, instantly piercing her vessel.

"Sleep for eternity, Paradox. And may we never have to encounter the likes of you again."

~~~

(Play Good Mooning End for maximum vibe)

Finally. It was one long night, but it was finally over. The sun was beginning to rise on Kanzakai, the dawn of a new day, and new possibilities. No matter how many of them pass, each one is the opportunity for something new. I guess in a way such a universal constant was what kept Linne sane during her long years of cursed immortality.

Speak of the Devil, though...

"Hey, there you are, I was looking all over for you."

Now that the night was over, I could finally let down my hood. I take it off and let the first rays of sunlight hit my face, taking a deep exhale out. "Sorry about that. Wasn't too much trouble, was I?"

"Quite the opposite, actually." I could spot the tiny, yet sincere smile on her face. Not a common sight, indeed. "I sensed a pretty huge loss of power. I'm guessing that means you did it."

I nodded in confirmation. "It was a damn close fight, not being as experienced as you are, but I managed to pull through. Her vessel's been pierced, she won't be bothering us again anytime soon."

"You've done good, then. Glad all those hours teaching you hasn't gone to waste. You even managed to beat Paradox, and Hyde too by the looks of things."

I let out a sigh remembering my encounter with Hyde. "Stubborn as ever, he is. Thank God I caught him outside the Abyss when I did, or things could've went bad."

"You can say that again. Though he seemed to be in pretty sour mood when I found him. At least he's already gone home now, so he and the Insulator are safe."

"You do remember you still have to hold up your end of your bargain with him, right? He deserves answers after everything he's went through."

"Yeah, no need to remind me. When the time's right, the time's right. He'll know everything. One day."

Linne pauses for a moment, her face becoming one of thought. "I have to ask, though. Did you...actually kill Paradox?"

I open my mouth to respond and then stop myself. I didn't really stop to confirm she was dead or not. All I knew for sure was that I pierced her Vessel and cut off her EXS abilities. "I...don't know, to be honest. I know I pierced her Vessel, but that's it. Should I have killed her or...?"

"I won't tell you what to decide on that. Whether you chose to kill her or not was your choice to make. The important part is that her Vessel is pierced. If she survived, she won't be nearly as much of a threat. As a matter of fact, I doubt Amnesia will even accept her as a leader now without her powers."

"Yeah...I guess that's a good point."

Her face turned serious once more. "That doesn't mean we can afford to relax now, you know this. There's still a lot of unruly In-Births out there that are going mad with their power like Paradox all the time, and Licht Kreis showing up certainly doesn't make things easier."

I can't stop the sigh that escapes me at the thought of having even more work to do even after such a long, vicious night as the one I just had. "Yeah, yeah, you're right. You can be a real piece of work sometimes, you know that?"

Linne eased up, finding amusement in my exasperation as she giggled lightly. "Come on, 'Hydro', relax. You did plenty of good tonight, you've more than earned your rest for now. Speaking of which though, we should probably be getting home. It's already almost morning. Imagine the ruckus it'd cause if someone found Wald passed out on the road somewhere."

The image in my head of the old geezer faceplanting somewhere in the middle of town completely unconscious makes me let out a laugh of my own. "Yeah, no kidding. It'd be like seeing the Rake or something out in broad daylight."

The immortal princess' face turned to one of confusion. "The...the what now?"

Her confusion only gets another laugh from me. "Not important. Though maybe sometime I can teach you." With that I walk off back towards the city to head home. I could hear Linne sighing in exasperation behind me.

"I swear...you kids with your modern day gadgets and nonsensical stories..."

I can only laugh louder now as she jogs to catch up with me before slowing down to match my pace. It's only a matter of time before she's more gently laughing along with me.

It...was a nice moment. A rare moment of solace for the both of us, a kind of moment Linne had taught me well to cherish.

(Ending song: Heart Beat Breaker)

[thorns-and-rosewings]

What is some of the insanity that happens in the Seraphim AU? Well... That insanity might seem a little less in comparison to other AU's I am sure. So maybe just a few random facts then?

-

Seraphim Eclipse - On day 1 threw out those stupid barrels. He still doesn't know what purpose they actually served beyond driving up the anxiety levels of the previous attendants.

-Eclipse owns the Pizzaplex and there are slowly going to be new sections added to it over time. Including one thing he's excited about, an entire ampitheater where they will eventually host acrobatics shows on the level of Cirque du Soleil.

-While can eat, he only really eats oranges. The reason being that his Creator would always eat them while he was building Seraphim. It's something he picked up from someone who meant a lot to him.

-Stated from the previous post about Forkface, the mute Moon knock-off actually does come by every now and again. He gets along with Seraphim Eclipse, occasionally helping out with cleaning up and Seraphim gives him some advice on how to better approach people in his own world.

...he may have given Forky a dagger, just in case he needs to defend himself from the crappy people in his world...

-In spite of his deep, uncalled for, hatred of Sun/Moon/Eclipse, that hate doesn't translate into a hatred for ALL variants of them. He will be quite friendly to other versions, probably to the point he might even befriend a few of them.

-

Arc Bloodmoon - He is quite fond of videogames and it's one of the few things that can get him to stay still in one place for any extended periods of time.

-His favorite game series is DOOM and he has played every single one and even owns actual classic arcade machines for the original games as well as the ported versions.

-Doomguy is his hero and he has cosplayed as him.

-The irony is that in spite of loving those games so much he is actually terrible with using guns. The reality is his second personality is actually handling the controls.

-Aside from videogames, he also loves gardening and over the interdimensional trips he has taken multiple samples of some plants to grow in a massive greenhouse on the property.

-His favorite plants are roses.

-In fact as he works on his roses he will often select one that he deems perfect and give it to Twila. As she adores roses too.

-

Cherubim Lunar- A lot like Canon Lunar, he tends to feel that he isn't taken seriously by his siblings. As his older siblings do tend to baby him a lot.

-One such example is when something inappropriate occurs both Bloodmoon and Eclipse instinctively cover his eyes... Which he usually just pouts about because he isn't actually a child.

-Occasionally he will sit with his brothers on the roof of the Pizzaplex and they will all just stargaze.

-Lunar has floated the idea of building a planetarium-esqe area to the Pizzaplex which would be powered by his magic.

-Given that his brothers each have weapons of their own, he has been secretly trying to find a weapon that he could use. Unfortunately this has been a little... Disastrous.

-One such disaster involved three shuriken and a naginata...

-...They spent 5 hours trying to remove the stuck weapons from their version of Monty, who had been 'Helping' Lunar.

[eikonoklast]

Day 28 (Deleterious): Silver and Gold

   “So you come to an underground spring. The glowing ethereal blue water shimmers and a faerie rises from the depths. She implores you to offer up your Silver Axe and if you do so she may grant you favor. Do you accept?”    

Minimas narrated dramatically, using a tiny electrope board to simulate the lights and setting of the cave he'd placed Silver's player character in. They were sitting on the floor of Minimas’ apartment waiting for Alphinaud and Alisaie to get there so they could go to the arcade. In the meantime, Minimas wanted to introduce his friend to a game he liked. He held up a light under his face, his red eyes gleaming mischievously as he no doubt considered ways to trick his quarry.    

Silver decided not to bite. “What if I like my Silver Axe?”   

Minimas paused, annoyed, “Dude it's just a Silver Axe. It could be a Gold or Platinum Axe instead if you roll high enough. It's much easier to kill monsters with a better weapon,” he explained.   

“Silver's a nice color.”   

Minimas opened his mouth but no words came out. He sat there for a moment, clearly trying to figure out what to say, and Silver laughed. “What do you want me to say to that!?” Minimas finally responded, flustered. His ears were red with frustration. “That it's ugly?”   

Silver leaned forward, his large dark pupils gleaming in the shadowy room, reflecting the light like mirrors. “You sound like you also prefer the Silver Axe,” he said, grinning.   

“This isn't about aesthetics, you dork. But if you perish, then so be it,” he said the second phrase in his narrator voice, closing his eyes and folding his arms in a haughty pose. “You-”   

“Can I still give the faerie something?”   

“What?” Minimas deflated instantly, like a popped balloon.   

“She's alone down here, too,” Silver explained. “Is there something she'd like? I found a bead necklace in that chest. I don't need it back or anything, right?”   

Minimas massaged his temples. “She's not a person, man she's an NPC. Non-Playable Character. She is just a random chance event that you lucked into and decided to not take advantage of.”    

“Why would I take advantage of being lucky enough to meet someone?”   

“Are you being obtuse on purpose?”   

Silver grinned, “Maybe. It's a valid question though.”   

Minimas considered for a moment. “Alright. So you want to offer up your Lost Necklace? What if it's a quest item?”   

“Well maybe she's the one it belongs to.”   

The lalafell rolled his eyes and balled his fists. “Playing games with a wiseass, over here,” he said to no one in particular through gritted teeth. Silver flashed him another grin. “Ok so you toss the necklace into the spring. Roll.”   

“12.”   

“With your luck modifier that's still just a 12 so…” Minimas thought for a moment. “She returns the beads to you in a chain - all clean and new. She braids them in your hair and thanks you, but she is worried no one will be able to see her under the water. So she thinks it will be better off with you. It has a strength bonus attached with her enchantment.”   

“See? A new Axe really wasn't all that necessary, was it?” he smirked, resting his chin in his palm with a toothy smile.   

“You are incorrigible.”   

“Oooh, big word, little man.”   

Minimas flung himself across the board, tackling his friend. The two rolled themselves up into the nest of blankets that sat on the floor, Silver covering Minimas and sitting on the edges, laughing.    

“Do you yield!?” Silver yelled, feeling self-assured.   

“Why would I?” Minimas shot back, indignant. His voice was muffled under the sheet and Silver laughed, staying put.    

Under the blanket Minimas heaved upward, sending Silver sprawling across the carpet. The miqo'te lay there, trying and failing to catch his breath from laughing, Minimas finally joining him. The lalafell walked over and put a foot on his friend's chest, proudly proclaiming, “And so it was that our poor hero lay defeated at the feet of the Demon King! Never again would this realm see the light of day!”   

“Alright, alright, you got me,” Silver breathed. He lay his arms on the floor and tilted his head to the side with a smile, still panting. His eyes wandered around from his low vantage point and he sighed, turning back to the ceiling. Minimas removed his foot, collapsing onto the carpet next to his friend.    

“Hey Minimas,” Silver asked suddenly, “Have you ever actually seen the sun? Like, not a hologram. The real one.”   

“Nah,” Minimas said. He closed his eyes. “I hear it feels warm. It's always been storming though. So the sun just doesn't get through.”   

“I'd like to go outside the barrier and see it,” Silver said, smiling.   

“You can't look at the sun, moron.”   

“Why not?”   

“It'll burn your eyes outta your skull or something like that.”   

“So you're telling me that there's a shining thing that people can't look at just…up there behind the clouds? Wouldn't that make just looking up dangerous?” Silver mused. “The hologram doesn't hurt my eyes. I could take it,” he joked.   

“I mean I guess so. I don't think I've ever thought about it that hard,” Minimas responded, rolling over onto his belly and propping his head on his arms. “You're kind've asking the wrong guy here.”   

Silver turned his head to look at him. “Let's go find out sometime. Might be nice to go check out Shaaloani. I hear there's some high-up spots you can go to. Look down on the world under you. Like a tall building with a view.” He looked back at the ceiling thoughtfully. “We'd be closer to the sun up there.”   

“I'll go with you this time,” Minimas promised. “I know you don't remember but I didn't join you before and...I regret it. So if you don't mind me tagging along we could go together.”   

Silver sighed. “I'd like that. Together, then.”

Author's Note: Just gonna use today to take a brief breath and enjoy the moment. Tbh maybe it's a bit of a swing but the word ‘deleterious’ is like, this whole story I've been doing lmao But it ties into this in an interesting way. I want to sort've…shine a light on a different kind of harm, here. Specifically the immense harm we can cause through our actions even when our intentions are good and honest and pure. I'm being critical of Chiteni here: there's a whole lot of people who - in his desire to protect them - he himself ended up harming. And however you perceive Silver in this, it's important to understand my WoL hurt himself in a way, too. Because he's going to carry the weight of it. He's a deeply flawed person just like anyone, and it's important to look at the consequences of your actions and take responsibility for them, even if you didn't mean something the way it went down.

I think it's just as easy to see in these happy little moments. Just how much it would hurt.

[travoltacustom-translates]

Cherry Blossoms! Spring China Race | 桜咲く春のチャイナレース

Want to read along, but don’t have the game? Here’s a link to the event recorded!:

Event Period: 27 of March 2022 - 7 of April 2023

FEATURED CHARACTERS

Featured cards: Chifuyu Matsuno / Shuji Hanma

Event box: Tetta Kisaki

Event pass: Takemichi Hanagaki

CLICK READ MORE TO VIEW THE EVENT STORY

STORY TRANSLATION

EVENT - PART 1

TAKEMICHI

はぁ。暖かくて・・・のどか・・・もうすっくり春だな～

Ha… It’s so warm… and peaceful too…. Already spring, huh?~

CHIFUYU

あぁ

Yo.

TAKEMICHI

さっきから何読んでの？ファッション誌？

What’s that you’ve been reading? A fashion magazine?

CHIFUYU

あぁ、このスカジャンカッコよくねぇ？

Yeah. This baseball jacket’s pretty cool, right?

TAKEMICHI

おぉ！かっけぇー！けど、オレらにはとって到底買えない値段・・・

Woah! That’s cool! But, that sorta thing’s too pricey for us…

CHIFUYU

フッ。それはどうかな

Hm… I don’t know about that.

TAKEMICHI

どうゆうことだよ

What do you mean?

CHIFUYU

オレら2人でこれに出るんだ！

We’re gonna do this!

TAKEMICHI

書店街のチラシ？福引でスカジャンが当たるとか？

A leaflet from the bookstore district? You trying to win the jacket in a lottery?

CHIFUYU

いいから読んでみろって

Just read it.

TAKEMICHI

春のチャイナレース？レース優勝者には賞金１００万円！？

Spring China Race? The winner of the race will get 1 MILLION YEN!?

CHIFUYU

そう！2人１組で参加できるんだオレとオマエなら最強だろ！

Yes! We’ll join as a pair, and you already know that we’re the best combo together!

TAKEMICHI

チャイナレースってなにをするだ？2人１組ってことは二人三脚でもすんの？

So what’s this China Race? Does it mean two people in a team, or like two people with their legs tied and running?

CHIFUYU

桃まんじゅうが入ったセイロを高く積み上げて、それを落とさないようにゴール地点を目指すんだ

セイロは落とし時点で失格になる1人はセイロを持って落とさないように急いでゴールを目指してざして

もう1人武器を持ち他の選手を妨害したり妨害を防いだりするらしい

You pile up steamers pretty high, filled with peach manju, and try not to drop them as you race towards the goal.

If the steamers are dropped, the players are disqualified. So one of us will have to hold them and hurry to the goal so they aren’t dropped.

Meanwhile, the other player’s gotta hold a weapon to defend and prevent other players from sabotaging.

TAKEMICHI

武器を持って���害！？それってやべぇレースじゃねぇの？

Sabotaging with weapons? Isn’t this race kinda messed up?

CHIFUYU

おもちゃの武器だよ。商店街の中華屋さんがやってるエベントだから大丈夫だって

タケミっちは１００万欲しくないのかよ？

They’re toy weapons. It’s an event run by a Chinese shop in the shopping arcade so it’ll be fine.

Don’t you want that 1 million yen, Takemichi?

TAKEMICHI

欲しいに決まってるだろ���！！ぜってぇ優勝するぞ！

OF COURSE I WANT IT!  WE’RE GONNA WIN FOR SURE!

CHIFUYU

そうこなくっちゃな！相棒！！！！

And that’s how it should be! Partner!!!

ーチャイナレース当日ー

The day of the China Race

[ TAKEMICHI and CHIFUYU show off their own outfits ]

TAKEMICHI

ドーーーーン

Ta-daaaa!

CHIFUYU

ドドーーーーン

Ta-daaaa!

TAKEMICHI

いくぞ、千冬。守りは任せたからな！

Let’s do this Chifuyu! I’ll leave the defense to you.

CHIFUYU

おう！タケミっちは何も心配すんなゴールの事だけ考えとけよ

攻撃は最大の防御！！！参加者全員沈めてやるよ！！！

Yeah! Don’t worry ‘bout a thing, Takemitchy. Just think about the goal.

Offense is the best defense!!! I’m gonna knock out all the other participants!!!

TAKEMICHI

え？千冬？どこ行くんだよ！？オレの守りは！？ねぇ！？

Eh? Chifuyu? Where are you going? Where’s my defense!? HEY!?

_ _ _ _ _

AROUND MAP

KISAKI

さっさと終わらせてかえりてぇよ

I just want this over and done with so I can go home.

_ _ _ _ _

BEFORE BATTLE

CHIFUYU

オラオラオラ！！どっからでもかかってこいよ！

Come on, come on! You guys better come at me already!

TAKEMICHI

千冬がどんどん他の参加者を倒してるせいで、誰もオレらの周りに近づいてはこない

良いペースでゴールへ向かえてる。これは本当に優勝できるかも！？

Chifuyu’s knocking all the participants out, so nobody’s coming for us.

We’ve set a good pace for the finish line. We could actually win this!

???

カモ、みーっけ♡

Gotcha, little duckie!♡

TAKEMICHI

うわっ！！！

Uwaahh!!!

CHIFUYU

タケミっち

Takemitchy!

[ CHIFUYU’s weapon clashes with his opponent’s… ]

HANMA

なんだ。飼い主もそばにいたのかよ

The hell? Didn’t know your owner was about too.

CHIFUYU

残念だったな。そう簡単にタケミっちに手出しはさせねぇぜ

Too bad. I won’t let you get to Takemitchy that easily.

KISAKI

へー。オマエらも参加してたのか

Hehh. Didn’t know you guys were in this too.

TAKEMICHI

半間に稀咲！？

Hanma and Kisaki!?

CHIFUYU

なんでオマエらがこんあ商店街のエベントに参加してんだよ

Why are you guys participating in the shopping district’s event?

HANMA

ちょっと知り合いに頼まれたんだよ。レースを盛り上げてくれってな

I was asked by a friend. He said that I should help make this race more exciting.

KISAKI

そうじゃなきゃ。誰がこんなエベントでるかよ

That’s all there is to it. Besides, who would even want to attend this event?

CHIFUYU

チッ、もしかしてサクラってやつか！？１００万円渡さないように参加者ぶっ潰す気か

Tch, did you set this all up!? You tryna take out the participants so you don’t gotta fork out the 1 million yen?

KISAKI

１００万？

1 million?

CHIFUYU

まぁ、オマエらの参加者理由なんかどうでもいい！オレらの邪魔はさせねぇ！！！

Well, I don’t give a damn why you guys are participating! Don’t you get in our way!!!

_ _ _ _ _

AFTER BATTLE

KISAKI

くっ

Gh.

HANMA

おっと、大丈夫か稀咲？オマエがそれを落としたら終わりなんだ、しっかりしてくれよ

Hang on, you good Kisaki? If you drop it, it’s all over for us.

KISAKI

チッ、なんでオレがこんなことやらされなきゃいけねぇんだ

Tch. Why the hell do I have to do this?

CHIFUYU

タケミっち！今のうちにゴールに向かうぞ

Takemitchy! Let’s race to the finish while we can!

TAKEMICHI

あぁ！！

Yeah!!

HANMA

あれ？千冬たちっちゃった？

まぁ、他の参加者全員沈めてから会いに行くとするか

Ah? They’re already gone?

Well, I guess I’ll go after them once I’m done with the rest of these guys.

_ _ _ _ _

BONUS LINES

1ST TIME

KISAKI

この程度で優勝目指してんのか？

Are you really aiming to win with the way you’re performing?

2ND TIME

KISAKI

ちょっとは手ごたえ出てでてきたじゃねぇか

We got you riled up, didn’t we?

3RD TIME

KISAKI

レースなんかどうでもいいがオマエらが優勝するのは面白くねぇな

I don’t care about this race, but it won’t be fun to see you guys win.

_ _ _ _ _

EVENT - PART 2

CHIFUYU

よし、撒けたな

Good. We lost them.

TAKEMICHI

意外だ。千冬のことだから半間を倒すまでやり会うかと思ったのに

That was a surprise. I thought you’d wanna fight until we beat Hanma.

CHIFUYU

タケミっち、オレらの目的は本の出場者を倒すことじゃない

一番最初にゴールに到着し１００万円を手に入れること！目先のことにとらわれてる子供じゃなえぇんだ

Takemitchy, we’re not here just to beat the other contestants.

We have to be first to reach the goal and get that 1 million yen! I’m not some kid who’s obsessed with what’s right in front of them.

TAKEMICHI

一番最初にゴールにボコりにいったの千冬じゃん

We’ll be first to the goal, Chifuyu

CHIFUYU

ほら！急げタケミっち、セイロを落とさない程度ににな

Look! Hurry up, Takemitchy. Don’t drop those steamers.

TAKEMICHI

まぁ、いいや１００万円ためにオレも頑張るぞ！！

Well, I won’t! I’m gonna do my best for that million yen!

_ _ _ _ _

AROUND MAP

HANMA

簡単に優勝できると思うなよ？

You didn’t think you’d win that easily, did you?

_ _ _ _ _

BEFORE BATTLE

TAKEMICHI

はぁ、はぁ。他味にこのセイロ重いんだよな。なぁ、千冬交代しねぇ？

Hah, hah. The steamers are seriously getting heavy now. Hey, Chifuyu can we switch?

CHIFUYU

タケミっち！ゴールが見えてきたぞ！

Takemitchy! You can see the goal up ahead!

TAKEMICHI

マジで！？まだ誰もゴールしてねぇみたいだ！

For real!? It looks like nobody’s gotten to the end yet!

CHIFUYU

あぁ！このままいけばオレら優勝だ！

Yeah! If we keep it up, we’ll win this thing!

HANMA

それは気が早すぎるってやつだろ？お二人さん

You’re celebrating a little too early, aren’t you? 

CHIFUYU

半間・・・！！！

Hanma…!!!

HANMA

今度は逃げるのは無だぜ？最終最初決戦といこうや♡

There’s no need to run away now, right? This fight’ll finally settle this♡

_ _ _ _ _

AFTER BATTLE

CHIFUYU

オラァ！！！！

TAKE THIIIS!!!!

HANMA

グッ！！！

GH!!!

TAKEMICHI

千冬を半間倒した！

Chifuyu beat Hanma!

CHIFUYU

稀咲！！！これでオマエらの負けだ！！！

Kisaki!!! This makes it your loss!!!

[ KISAKI simply sighs, his steamers falling ]

TAKEMICHI

稀咲が持っていたセイロを落とした！ということは！！！

Kisaki dropped his steamers! You know what that means!!!

CHIFUYU

オレら以外の参加者は失格！！

Everyone else has been disqualified!!

TAKEMICHI

オレらの勝ちだ！！！！

WE WIN!!!!

SHOPPING STREET UNCLE

いや～すごい戦いだったよ。こんなに白熱するとはいいレースだったよ

優勝おめでとう！

Well now. That was a great fight. It was such a heated race.

Congratulations on your win!

TAKEMICHI

へへ、なんかテレくさいな

Hehe, sounds like we’re on TV or something.

CHIFUYU

それより、早く優勝賞品くれよ

Well then, hurry up with that prize already.

SHOPPING STREET UNCLE

あぁ、はいはい。どうぞ。優勝賞品の桃まん無料チケット

Ah, of course. Here you go. The winning prize of free peach bun tickets

TAKEMICHI

え？

Huh?

SHOPPING STREET UNCLE

有効期限は1年だから2人でたくさん食べに来ておくれ

The expiry date is one year, so make sure you two come and eat a lot.

CHIFUYU

ちょっと待ってよ！？優勝賞品は１００万円だろ？桃まんチケットってなんだよ！？

Hold on a sec!? The winning prize was supposed to be a million yen, right? What’s with this peach bun ticket!?

SHOPPING STREET UNCLE

１００万円？こんな小さな商店街のイベントでそんなので出るわけないだろ～

A million yen? There’s no way that’d be here in a small shopping district like this.

TAKEMICHI

だって、このチラシに書いて！！ほら！ここに！！

・・・あれ？

But it was written on this flyer!! Look! Over here!!

…Huh?

CHIFUYU

どうしたんだタケミっち？

What’s wrong, Takemitchy!?

TAKEMICHI

千冬・・・これ・・・優勝賞品は”１００万円分の”桃まん無料チケットって書いてある

Chifuyu… This… The prize was for winning a ticket for peach buns WORTH a million yen.

CHIFUYU

ウソだろ・・・

No way…

KISAKI

現金１００万もらえると思ってたのかよ

Did you actually think it’d be a million in cash?

HANMA

それであの張り切りようだったわけだかわいそーに♡

That’s why they were so hyped up for this. Poor things~♡

CHIFUYU

チクショー！！！！

オレの１００万円！！！！！

FUUUUCK!!!! MY MILLION YEN!!!!

[ EVENT END ]

_ _ _ _ _

BONUS LINES

1ST TIME

HANMA

暇つぶしにはなったぜ

What a good way to pass the time.

2ND TIME

HANMA

まだまだやれるよな？

You can keep going, right?

3RD TIME

HANMA

いいじゃねーか。たのしくなってきたぜ。もう1回、やるよな？

Great right? This is getting fun. Wanna go again?

_ _ _ _ _

You can view all my translations for Tokyo Revengers: Puzzle Revengers & Hypnosis Mic: Alternative Rap Battle in my discord: HERE.

[archoneddzs15]

Sega Dreamcast - PSYVARIAR 2 The Will to Fabricate

Title: PSYVARIAR 2 The Will to Fabricate / サイヴァリア2 ザ・ウィル・トゥ・ファブリケート

Developer/Publisher: SKONEC / Success Corp.

Release date: 26 February 2004

Catalogue No.: T-9907M

Genre: Shooting

PSYVARIAR 2 The Will to Fabricate is 2004's best offering for Dreamcast shooting fans and is certainly not to be sniffed at. Developed by the Korean company Skonec and released in the arcades by Success, this shooter has got to be one of the most original ones out there alongside Treasure's Ikaruga.

At first glance, Psyvariar 2 looks to be a blatant rip-off of Ikuraga with its flashy camera angles, fast fast-moving backgrounds with multiple layers of clouds but that's where the similarities end. Psyvariar 2 has NO power-ups nor Speed-ups to collect. The only way to power and speed up your craft (robot) is by using the BUZZ system. This is achieved by skimming your craft against the sides of the thousands of oncoming bullets. The more BUZZ chains you can achieve, the more powerful your craft will become. This system doesn't feel so good at first since your craft moves so slow with such a lousy firing rate. But after a little experimenting, I found that if you "shake" your craft from side to side a few times, it will start to roll. Enabling it to fire out bullets at a much faster rate whilst allowing you to move quicker to dodge the enemies' oncoming attacks.

Psyvariar 2 takes place over 6 (even though I can only access 5 for some odd reason) short but action-packed stages. Each stage is as beautiful as the last with each featuring a giant boss at the end that takes no mercy in throwing everything it has at you. Whilst some of the backgrounds could do with a much further draw distance. They make up for it in detail. The first-level boss is a prime example of sheer beauty by the way it fires 5 beams down to the earth resulting in one of the most beautiful (If an explosion can be called beautiful) explosions ever seen in a video game.

The Dreamcast title, Boarder Down, was criticized greatly for its music. Whilst I liked it, it could have been better. Well, being Asian I love the music in Psyvariar 2 with its Eurodance-style tracks (think Cascada's 'Everytime We Touch'). Try to imagine a Marc Snow track mixed with a bit of Euro rave with a tiny bit of Taito's Zuntata Team's music and that would probably be a pretty close comparison to what we have in Psyvariar 2. All in all, great stuff (^v^)

Earlier I wrote that there are 6 stages, but I can only access 5 of them. How the 6th stage is accessed I've yet to find out. I've finished the game with the woman character on ALL level settings including Very Hard but still, there is no 6th stage. If you look at the ranking tables, you'll notice that the top scores all have AREA 6 next to the score. Could this be some hidden level that will be revealed after playing for so long? Or must the game be complete with both characters? If so, you'll be in for a hard time since the male character's game is far more difficult than the woman's. The guy's bomb is next to useless, and his weapon seems to be far weaker than the woman's too. Maybe there's a point to this that I'm missing. All will be revealed once I've read or struggled through the instruction book.

So, is Psyvariar 2 The Will to Fabricate worth getting? In short, YES!! It's far better looking than Border Down. It's far more original than Ikuraga in my opinion but it is quite short. Then again, completing the game with the male character will keep you busy for quite some time. I've only had Psyvariar 2 for two days now but have already played it 8 times while Puyo Puyo Fever has only been on twice. So, it's certainly got that addictiveness to it.

My copy came with this cool Psyvariar 2 dog tag courtesies of Sega Direct. (photo from a discontinued website) I don't have a dog right now but if I did, it'd be cool.