#b) it's easy to wind up in fights without class advantage

[hakunonon]

i love grail front.

love seeing the enemy servant engage with mine, get 2 crits in, and blow my servant the fuck out before i even get a turn.

[burnedbyshoto]

I really hate you

— Shinsou knows he shouldn’t trust villains. Especially villains who make his mind spin and stomach twist in joy. But there’s something about you that keeps him coming back for more.

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pairing: pro hero!shinsou hitoshi x villain fem!reader

warnings: 18+, smut, a little bit of juicy plot, pro hero!au, reader is a villain, betrayal, biting, marking, collaring, cursing, hate sex, rooftop sex, body liquids, angst

word count: 8,180

a/n: i like deception :) being a chem TA is pretty fun, except when im in lab for 8 am until 4 pm. listen,,, I also really liked this prompt I made last night because the one I had before wasn’t spicy enough for me anymore. I hope you enjoy though! like comment and share for the algorithm (jk been watching too many tikytokys)

kinktober day 8 main kink: collaring

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When the sun sets, and the moon is high in the sky, and the chill of the bitter cold winds raise ceaseless goosebumps on your arms, and the only people who are up are drunken businessmen and tiresome students, it is a common belief that this is when the freaks come out.

The freaks come out to play at night.

You are one of these freaks.

Heh.

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Shinsou nodded at his friends as he walked through the doors of the agency he worked at. Despite the power of his quirks ability, he was an underground hero (unless the ultra-rare occasion where they needed his quirk in the limelight); he was stationed within a large, well-known agency and was one of the founding heroes there at that. His ability to be hidden from the bright lights of the world were both easy and challenging; most of the world knew him as the kid from UA’s Sports Festival that went toe to toe with nearing number one Pro-Hero Deku. It both irked and embarrassed him when that event was brought up; on the one hand, it was true! He had nearly beat Midoriya during that final stage. Yet, on the other hand, their memories seemed to recall some crazy quirk-fueled fistfight where Midoriya had broken his entire body in the duration of their fight. 

‘No,’ he often found himself responding back to the gentlemen and ladies who would awe at his school-day adventures, ‘there was a fistfight, but Midoriya handled it without using his quirk except to snap him out of my quirk.’

They always looked embarrassingly horrified by their faulty memory when they pulled the clip up on Youtube, their bows quick in apology before they made off. 

But people recognizing him from that was rare as it gets, fortunately even with the large agency stapled to his alias, he was quite good at his job—a shadow in the night, an urgent whisper to the villain freaks who roamed the night.

“Ah, Shinsou-chan!” Kaminari pouted, his body draping over his purple-haired friend as Shinsou moved to change from his regular clothes into the black triple-weave kevlar of his hero suit. He had once sported a black cotton-like costume akin to Aizawa, but after many, many gun shootings and stabbing incidents, he figured he needed something sturdier. 

“What is it?” he asked, rising up from his bent position so that Kaminari couldn’t take advantage of his slouched form. 

Shinsou’s tired, purple eyes met the exhausted pair of Kaminari.

“Today was so hard,” Kaminari sighed, his lip still put into the stupid pout, and he slumped onto the bench behind Shinsou. His feet were spread before him, fingers drumming onto his directional equipment. “Since it’s winter, the night comes sooo much earlier now. I swear some weirdos really appear out of the woodworks when the night comes! Like just before I was going to make my way back here, I swear I saw Aizawa-sensei hanging out on the rooftops like some super-secret ninja, right?”

Shinsou frowned. He knew his mentor turned friend was actually on vacation at the moment in Hawaii. Something he thought, at the very least, was long overdue. 

“Aizawa is in Hawaii right now,” Shinsou quickly spoke, his hands buckling the belt on his pants, before moving to lace up his boots. 

“Oh fuck, I told Todoroki he was in Seoul,” Kaminari cursed, the palm of his hand hitting his forehead. 

“Good going, who knows what weird message or gift he’ll end up sending to Aizawa now,” Shinsou couldn’t help the small smirk from spreading on his face at that note.

After being accepted into the Hero Course over in UA, Shinsou couldn’t help but be initially disappointed when he was placed within Class 1-B — Class 2-B at that point — simply because his mentor was with Class 1-A. The initial disappointment didn’t last very long when he got to know the rest of Class 2-B better, and he saw that while 2-A possessed raw talent, 2-B were more well-defined with a much bigger take-no-shit mentality that he appreciated more. That and 2-A were being strangled by a new villain of the month far too often, and Shinsou just wanted nothing more than to graduate from high school. 

Still, his lack of enrollment in Class 2-A didn’t mean that he didn’t see the rambunctious, nearly intolerable group of twenty in class 2-A. As a matter of fact, he thought he saw them a bit more than he’d like. Aizawa was his mentor, so he understood seeing him around, but for some reason, 2-A was never too far away. As soon as Shinsou was admitted into the Hero Course and the two hero classes had weekly meals together, which meant that to him, just the slightest bit, 2-A felt like an unwanted, annoying, ugly stepchild.

So no, Shinsou could not tell you 2-A’s inside class jokes, but he knew a lot more about the forty other hero students than he’d ever like to admit. 

And through his knowledge, he knew that the ever so powerful Todoroki Shouto was an idiot, probably a bigger one than Kaminari.

“I hate that you call Aizawa-sensei just…” Kaminari trailed off, a disgusted shiver running down his spine as if it sickened him to remove the single formality.

“Aizawa,” Shinsou said once more.

“Stop.”

“Aizawa.”

“Hitoshi!”

“Aizawa.”

“PLEASE!”

“Shouta.”

Kaminari hit the floor, his chest heaving with fake, bitter sobs while Shinsou couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of his over-dramatic friend on the ground. He had to admit, Shouta felt weird on his tongue too.

“Stop making a huge deal about how Aizawa and I are closer than you are,” Shinsou half-joked half-told-the-truth.

He was more than well aware of his mentor’s former students trying to become even closer to their beloved homeroom teacher. All doing it in their own ways, all relatively unsuccessful because unknown to them (but not Shinsou), Aizawa already loved them all thoroughly, not that he’ll ever tell them.

“I DIDN’T MEAN TO SHAVE OFF MITTENS FUR!”

Oh yeah, that had lost a lot of love points for Kaminari.

Sighing softly, Shinsou placed his newly replaced coiled capturing weapon around his shoulders, and his artificial vocal cords mask onto his chest until he was off on patrol.

“Why’d you think you saw Aizawa?” he asked again, trying to finish the conversation so that he could leave. It felt like it was going to be a long night if Kaminari confirmed where his thoughts were already trailing. 

“Hm?” Kaminari finally looked up from his puddle of tears on the floor, tears streaking all over his face, small charges of electricity humming off it. He blinked once, twice, his eyes shooting to the ceiling as if the answer was there before his fist came down to hit his open palm in a flash of realization. “Oh, I remember! There was this person, obviously not Aizawa-sensei, standing by the edge of a building watching everyone below. Hair whipping in the wind and his capturing weapon fluttering around them!”

Just as Shinsou thought.

“Where did you see her?”

“Her?!”

“Where, Kaminari?”

“Uh… well, I guess by Gramps convenience store. Don’t tell me this is some super sexy megafan of yours! Wait… do tell me, or… no, I’ll get jealous if you’re having rooftop sex with — eh?! where are you going?! Hitoshi?!”

“My shift started two minutes ago,” Shinsou explained, one of his hands lifting in a wave as he exited the locker room, his heart hammering quickly, knowing just who he was going to need to track down tonight.

…

..

.

It was dark.

Shinsou’s eyes squinting as he hopped from one rooftop onto the other, his capturing device assisting him in clearing the dooming crevice. He wasn’t exactly the most physically threatening, and unfortunately, that also meant he wasn’t exactly the greatest at parkour type movements, although he was getting better. Maybe had he started to ask for earlier shifts, where he would be out when the sun was, he could get better faster.

It was tricky with only the moonlight to guide him, but that’s what he could get at the moment.

As he scuffled through the gravel rooftop of one of the abandoned buildings, Shinsou found himself squinting at the figure in the distance. The one perched near what Kaminari oh so fondly refers to as Gramps convenience store.

He studied the form of the picture still person, noticing if it wasn’t for the slight wind through your hair and twisting capturing weapon around your neck, he would think you’re a statue. But he knows better now, he’s known better for quite some time now. 

“What’re you doing out here, y/l/n?” Shinsou found himself speaking the moment he stepped behind you, hands shoving into his pant pockets.

You didn’t move, nor did you respond, your body still completely still while peering down at the empty world fascinated on who knows what.

“Y/l—”

“How can I help ya, Mindjack-senpai?” you interrupted him, your gaze still not removed from the world below the building. “I hear it’s supposed to be a busy night tonight.”

Shinsou paused, his brows scrunching at your words.

It was plain to see to Heroes that you were a villain, you did what you wanted when you wanted, whatever the price, but if there was one thing Shinsou had learned with this rather weird cat and mouse game the two of you played time and time again was that you didn’t lie. 

What was happening?

“A busy night?” Shinsou questioned, his quirk still unactivated, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to Brainwash an answer out of you anyways. “Where at?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know, Mr. Hero?” you teased slowly, and Shinsou had to deny the way that the way your head finally turned to lock eyes with his made his stomach clench.

It meant nothing.

Nothing at all.

“You know what happens when you slight me,” Shinsou couldn’t help but warn, the bandages on his neck rising under his command. But your eyes blinked slowly, lips spreading into a lazy, cunning smile.

“And you know what happens when you underestimate me,” you returned, fingers gliding against his old weapon — yes, old weapon. Just two months ago, just before your last arrest, you had viciously stolen it from him, your foot crushing his vocal cords while you managed to pry the weapon from his broken fingers. “Anyways, Mindjack-senpai, it’s a bit unethical of you, a hero, to be threatening me in such a way! I’m just a poor girl waiting for the love of my life to show up.”

“And have they?”

You blink, a soft giggle escaping your lips as you nod, “I got him right where I want him.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Shinsou snapped despite the lick of warmth against his chest and cheeks. “I’ll have you arrested again.”

Now, this has you turning from the edge of the building, you sit on the ledge of the building, fingers supporting your head as you stare at him without fear. Shinsou really fucking hated how fast you riled him up.

“Arrested? But Mr. Mindjack-senpai, didn’t you know?” you ask, the taunt evident in your voice, the twinkle in your eye devastatingly bright. “I’m a changed woman. I’m what you call a hero now. You wouldn’t arrest an innocent heroine, could you?”

“You’re hardly innocent,” Shinsou responded back smoothly and deftly, not at all yet entirely impressed by you. “I’ll believe it when I see it.” 

He blamed his deep impressions of you on the stupid black and purple attire you wore.

“Well, you know as well as I do that I just got out, but I feel like except what happened two days ago, I’ve really changed,” you emptily promise, pushing off the ledge, sauntering closer to Shinsou until he felt the tip of your nose brush against his. “I’ll make sure to think about you whenever… bad feelings come up.”

He prays you don’t see the scarlet flush on his face.

You’re already back at the ledge when he blinks, and he watches you raise two fingers to your temple in a mock salute as you wink at him.

“You didn’t hear it from me, but two blocks east, seven blocks south from the heart of Tokyo is where you’ll find trouble,” you inform him, dropping the salute as you turn to run.

But Shinsou wants his damn weapon back.

“Y/l/n, wait!”

“Yes—?”

You froze at the ledge, your eyes spacing out, and Shinsou sighed, moving to collect his weapon from you until you suddenly dove off the building, a burst of cheerful laughter on your tongue.

“Oh, I forgot to tell ya!” you screamed from the next building over, your fingers threading through the alloy metal cloths. “I got some earbuds just for when you’re around! They make your voice into electrical signals just for me! So guess what?!”

Shinsou didn’t need you to complete that sentence in order for him to realize what you had just gotten your hands onto.

As long as you wore those, his quirk was useless against you.

Despite knowing that a villain held the key to his demise as a hero, he chuckled, running a hand through his short purple hair.

You really were something.

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Shinsou never took himself as an especially suspicious person.

He figured he had days where he was suspicious of some people the correct amount, especially when they had the most painted on emotions he’s ever seen. Some days he was overly trusting and blamed tight smiles on something acute to nerves. Without meaning to brag, he felt like he was healthily suspicious of people, unlike others he knew who wouldn’t dare to interact with anyone new or would spill their darkest secret to anyone who would listen.

But there was something entirely, conspicuously suspicious with how you were behaving.

Winter had long passed, the long winter nights and graveyard shifts of endless freak encounters had worn a hole in his patience and boots. The spring season was beginning to end, and the warm days and nights of summer were setting on his skin.

Six full months of you, the first-ever villain he had fought as a Pro Hero, the first-ever villain to have openly flirted with him and to have him flirt back, being suspiciously… kind. 

Every shift of his, he would find you waiting for him on one of the regular rooftops. Every time he would check in with the database to make sure you weren’t wanted for some crime to find that you were innocent. Every time he would feel pissed off because you wore those earbuds that rendered his quirk useless and you somehow mastered the capturing weapon within weeks.

Now Shinsou didn’t pout, he really didn’t, but there were moments where you would appear from behind him, finger swiping down his spine as you effortlessly twirled around him, a stupid sly grin on your face as you held onto the collar of his hero costume.

“Don’t pout, Mindjack-senpai, I’m here now,” you’d purr each and every time.

He loved the dangerous purr to your voice, the way your eyes hooded over, peering at him through your eyelashes, but he knew better. He had to know better. It wasn’t that villains were terrible people per se; he’d learned a lot of villains were just thoroughly sick of being mistreated (and he had wondered what would have happened if he had been denied from UA… would he be one?). He knew that for the most part, you were quite harmless, merely sticking your nose where it didn’t belong, living a life to your personal laws and rules.

It didn’t make you evil, merely dangerous.

But he had a job to do where even if it was justifiable to beat the ever-living shit out of your sister's abuser, nearly murdering him in rage and refusing to calm down when Shinsou had arrived on the scene with the use of his quirk didn't hold up well in court. It had started this long chain of events where you had absolutely hated him for a time as you were forced to stay overnight in a jailhouse. And many horrible days afterward where you performed what Shinsou had thought to be illegal actions only to find that no, they weren’t. As a matter of fact, entirely legal because Japan had yet to update their codes. 

Long after he had discovered this, you had returned to actual crime, your physical ability growing by leaps and bounds as he ran after you after catching you doing something dangerously illegal. Shinsou was a proud hero and was incredibly proud of the impact he made as a Pro Hero, but it was clear as day, even to him, that he often let you slip through his fingers. Like a child opening their cupped fingers and wondering why the water had left.

He wasn’t sure what it was about you that made him act this way, but he certainly didn’t wish to find out.

“So what’s on the schedule today, Mindjack-senpai?” you asked, appearing from the shadows of the rooftop, not scaring Shinsou in the slightest as this was always where you greeted him. “Are we saving the Prime Minister today? Stealing — I mean, protecting those stupid bedazzled eggs in the museum? Perhaps solving an unsolvable case?”

“Smooth,” Shinsou snarked, his tired purple eyes piercing through your bright ones that seemed undoubtedly excited. “How many times do I gotta tell you that there aren't that many actual case assignments? Besides, most team-ups happen in the morning when I’m asleep.”

“Being a hero is so boring!”

“You’re not a hero.”

“Am too!” Shinsou snorted, turning on his heel and began walking away, listening to your footsteps running after him to keep up with his long paces as you cried that out.

“No.”

“Yes!”

“No.”

“Yes!”

Shinsou stopped, his eyebrow raised in slight forced annoyance but much more amusement, when you spun in front of him, hand on his chest, cheeks puffing with your heavy breathes.

“Look!”

Tilting his head back, Shinsou grunted when your phone was shoved in his face. “What is this?”

“Hero Commission Regulation Handbook, page fifty-four, Article three, sub-article twenty-three,” you chirped, turning your phone back to yourself so that you may read it correctly. “It states that besides attending hero school like a bunch of nerds, civilians have the option of securing internships with approved Pro Heroes and work side by side with them for six months! Once finishing their internships, said Pro Hero must simply sign my licensing papers and bam, a hero I’ll become.”

“And which sniveling hero did you get to do your dirty work?” Shinsou scoffed, not at all buying the notion that you of all people wanted to become a hero. A vigilante at best, an anti-hero much more realistically, and staying a villain as default.

“You,” you smirked, winking at him before turning on your heel and sauntering off, knowing full well the patterns of his routines. 

Shinsou sighed, but he let a familiar smirk fall on his face as he walked after you, enjoying the way you glanced back at him with your wide clear eyes. But that suspicious, gut feeling didn’t leave his core, no matter how sweet and beautiful he found your smile. 

“So, Mindjack-senpai, who are we apprehending today?”

“You want me to sign your paper this entire time, and you’ve been addressing me as senpai?” Shinsou commented, his weapon shooting off to a nearby building, snapping straight in his hand when it was ready. “Where are your manners? It’s Mindjack-sensei to you.”

He didn’t wait for your response, choosing to swing off the ledge of the building with no hesitation, but a part of him wished he could have heard the sound of your laugh he only seemed to hear through the streaming, far away air.

…

… 

While usually, Shinsou didn’t have actual cases during his patrols, this job, after all, was much more spontaneous than anything else, today was different.

Today was different altogether, really.

First off, he showed up to work when the sun was still up just to get his meeting intel down in time for him to be out on the scene in time. He had nodded plenty, silently taking in Creati’s information on the drug cartel they wanted to in the next few weeks take down for numerous charges. The creation of dangerous, illegal drugs, prostitution rings, robbery, and murder being the main ones. It was some bigger stuff, so they needed all the evidence they could get.

Shinsou stared at the faces of the more prominent names of the cartel, studying every crook, nanny, and scar on their faces as Creati simply ended with where they focused down onto where their drug creating facilities were at, but still needed confirmation. “They’re pretty difficult to get to without knowing where they are,” Creati admitted, handing him a GPS. “You’ll need this.” He would be the first to start evidence gathering; after all, his old classmates would begin tomorrow.

So he had left, going to the first hideout and finding out it was completely empty. Not a single spec of evidence remaining, not a secret door or trap to get him to where they could be hiding from sight.

So was the next.

And the next.

And the next.

Something sat weirdly in his stomach as he began walking towards the final one on his list, and he froze when he saw lights shifting and moving from around the building. Quickly, Shinsou hopped to higher grounds, his phone already out, ready to take pictures. He lay low to the rooftop, practically army crawling to get to place to place as he neared the windows on the rooftop, allowing him to peer in onto the building he was scouting to find precisely what he needed. 

The entire building was a drug production spot.

His eyes scanned the building floor, singling out ten of the twelve main heads on the cartel, and he smirked. Perfect.

“Whatcha doing here, Mindjack-sensei?” your voice whispered millimeters from his ear, and Shinsou bit his tongue harshly to keep the instinctual scream from ruining his covert operation.

He snapped his head over to you, eyes slightly furious, eyebrows knitted tightly as he looked to see you leaning toward him. You were in a different outfit today, completely black, drowning you out in the night. He blinked; even the capturing weapon he had still been unsuccessful in stealing back from you was pitch black.

“What’re you wearing?”

“Do you like it?” you asked, straightening up and twirling for him as if you were wearing a magnificent dress and not personally created ‘hero’ clothes. “Ah, I hoped you would! Sorry, I had to get rid of the purple. I just felt it made me look too cute, right? I know I can’t have villains falling for me like you had me falling for you!”

Shinsou did not blush, no he didn’t, “shut up.”

“So what are we looking for today?” you asked, pressing down onto the floor beside him. Your arm touching his as pressed your face towards the glass. “Is this a stakeout?”

“Less stakeout, more information gathering,” Shinsou grumbled, typing some needed notes onto a file on his phone. It seemed to him that there was plenty here for the drug making charges. “We’re trying to get their bigger names caught in the action.”

“Oh, I thought heroes just burst in whenever they wanted, that’s what they do in the movies. Plus, you always threaten me with being arrested with no evidence,” you giggle, shifting closer to the glass, smile wide on your face.

“After saying that, say goodbye to me signing off that paper of yours,” he grunted, slipping his phone back into his pocket while you scrunch your nose at him. Shinsou couldn’t help but stare at you as the palms of your hands supported your chin as you hummed some song he couldn’t recognize.

“Ne, Mindjack-sensei, did you get the big boss?” you asked, your finger pressed against the cold glass, and Shinsou frowned, returning his head to the glass.

Right where you were pointing was, in fact, the head of the cartel. He was horrendously scrawny, holding no sense of fear or malice, and Shinsou wondered what his quirk could be that he was in charge of an operation such as this one.

“Oh, his right-hand man came too! All twelve are here!” you cheered quietly as Shinsou took documentation on his phone, and that suspicious rock in his stomach finally made sense at this second.

“Y/l/n?” he asked, head turning toward yours, tired eyes glinting with emotions he didn’t know how to handle.

“Mhm?”

“How did you know there were twelve main members, and how’d they look like?”

Silence.

Shinsou’s lips pulled back into a snarl, his canines glinting as he locked eyes with yours that were wide with shock and disbelief.

“How’d you find me—?”

He watched you lean away from the glass, fingers shooting to your earpieces. And with the inkling of suspicion sprinting through his veins, the purple-haired hero still found that he moved too slow. 

BOOM!!!!

He blacked out when his body flew with the explosion.

...

..

.

Ringing.

Pain.

Numbness.

Shinsou could only hear ringing in his ears as soot and ashes fell down from the sky, falling on his body, coating his gaping, open mouth as he tried to breathe, trying to calm himself. Was he bleeding? Was he dying? Where was the explosion from? Were you okay?

His eyes blinked heavily, altogether so irregularly that Shinsou couldn’t help but feel he was out of his body when you reappeared in his sight. Your hand pressing to his cheeks sympathetically, eyes truly hurt as you shook your head, hand grabbing into his bloodied pocket to take his phone.

“I’m sorry,” your voice seemingly whispered, just loud enough for him to hear you through the ringing from the explosion. “You weren’t supposed to be here, Mindjack… these are the scumbags that hurt my friends and family. I couldn’t let them live. Plus… I didn't have a choice, they were competition.”

He spluttered, the warm goo of blood and saliva choking out of his mouth as he convulsed on the ground, his eyes watching as you went.

“See you later, hero.”

He tried to yell at you to come back, that you were a coward, a fucking menace that he would destroy the next time he saw you, but his voice failed to work. Nothing was working except his pain receptors, his heart that kept shoving blood into his lungs that he kept spitting up, but he saw flashing white and red lights as unconsciousness sank its jagged teeth into his neck.

An ambulance was here.

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It took four months to recover from the accident.

His hearing had been fucked up. Not even medical quirks had managed to save his hearing entirely. But hey, it did get him the chance for Bakugou Katsuki to come to his room, called him pathetic, and showed off his own hearing aid that he had needed since his quirk had damaged his own hearing. Not to mention that for the past four months, he had been teaching him sign language just in case.

He wasn’t alone, it seemed.

But it was four months, and he had recovered fully.

The hearing aid he required in his left ear still made his ear ache in pain, and he found that he liked it much better shoved in the back of a draw than anything else. But he knew it was dangerous to be a hero without his full hearing. If it hadn’t been for Bakugou’s trial through this all and the help of Hatsume Mei to create a more appropriate hearing aid for heroes, he wasn’t sure if he would still be here — working that is.

But today — or well, night — was a new day, and he was going to push ahead. He could do this, no sweat, no problem. 

Well, that was until an all too familiar figure sat perched on a ledge on his usual route, legs swaying in the air as uncontrolled rage bubbled in his chest. It wasn’t entirely your fault, but a large part of Shinsou was embarrassed to have been caught up in all of this because of you. He had trusted you above all else even when his instincts yelled at him not to because he knew what it was like to be painted as a villain, and he had hoped by letting you in more, you would have changed. He thought you had.

But you hadn’t.

Not one bit.

…

…

You sat at the edge of the building, already having heard the loud crunch of Shinsou’s shoes against the gravel rooftop, but you didn’t turn around. You didn’t know how to face him, how to tell him that you were both sorry that he got caught up in your schemes, but that you weren’t sorry for what you had done. Those bastards had it coming.

“Give me one good reason not to push you off the building,” Shinsou growled, probably much louder than he intended. 

Instead of answering, you shrugged.

You hadn’t brought the earbuds that would keep you from being immune to his quirk, and you slightly feared what would happen if you gave in to the whispers of his words. Would you blackout in a daze before coming back to normal only when placed in the prefectures jail? Would he actually attempt to kill you? You had no idea.

But you turned on the ledge, looking at his tired purple eyes that shook with his anger and betrayal. You had done a number on him.

“So, now you can’t seem to respond back to me?” he laughed bitterly, his teeth bared into a way too fierce smile, one that made your heart thump and sent a shiver down your spine. “What game do you think you’re playing?”

You still didn’t answer as you planted your feet back onto the rooftop and stood up, watching as his binds flared to life. Dancing and weaving around him in a dangerous coil of fabric, like a frilled dragon lion lizard extending its skin in a warning.

“Should’ve taken you down with that first time I found you,” he spat, his eyes narrowing as you took steps toward him, and the weapon seemed to snap at you. “Did your sister pull the same bullshit on him as you did me? Is that why he became ‘psycho?’”

Now that one nearly got the response out of you as fury thrummed through your veins as you were suddenly nose to nose. You couldn’t help it, but you knew there was no point in explaining your reasoning for doing what you did because he would never understand; he couldn’t. 

So as his eyes flashed dangerously from your eyes, his breathing coming down harshly against your upper lip, the hatred he had for you (that was probably reignited from a year ago and make it double) simmered between the air between you and him. You couldn’t resist.

Your lips pressed against his in a simmering hot kiss. 

Shinsou shoved you away, as quickly as you had pressed your mouth against his, but you were back on him before he could utter a word. Only that this time, he kissed you back with scalding, burning heat. 

You never really knew how much smaller you were to Shinsou until you were on the tips of your toes to kiss him, his hands practically burning you as they gripped onto your hips, pulling you so close there was hardly any room to breathe. His kiss was hateful, spiteful, and full of unspoken passion the two of you had never addressed during the period that was good. It had been so good, but he was a hero, he would never understand.

His teeth bit harshly onto your lower lip, and you hissed, your fingers burying into his hair and tugging at the root of his hair as his tongue came and pressed dangerously against yours. His tongue was hot against yours, he was undoubtedly much more hotblooded than you were, and with his emotions heightened, he exhausted what. 

Tongues clashed against one another, but it wasn’t even a battle of dominance; it was a battle to find who surrendered. There was to be no joy or excitement for whichever tongue prevailed, just the burning of the tears falling down your face and the acid taste on your tongue as he suckled on your pink muscle.

Your eyes were partially opened, watching his angry yet blank purple eyes meet yours, neither one of you allowing yourself to give in to the pure elation and sensation this was bringing. No, he wouldn’t allow it, and you wouldn’t have it.

The stubble of his beard scratched into your skin repetitively, feeling like sandpaper against your own skin as the kiss deepened, consuming the both of you on a whole new level as your crotches ground roughly against one another. Hisses and groans couldn’t stop pouring from your collective mouths, both of you hating yet craving more from this all. You couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if he spoke to you like this, would he do something to you while you were like this? So when his massive, thick hand made contact with the underneath of your ass, scooping up your leg so that your covered cunt could now correctly grind into his hard cock, the weapon you stole from him a year ago bound around his neck, choking him, collaring him.

“I like my bitches chained up,” you mocked against his lips, but somehow, someway, Shinsou liked it. 

You groaned loudly at the way Shinsou gasped for air against the makeshift collar, your grin widening as you nodded your head, pulling away from his mouth as the grin became a smirk. “Didn’t think you wanted to talk when we were fucking?” you lied, teeth biting onto his lower lip and sucking on it as your hips oh so artfully bucked against his covered cock. You could feel the growing slick in your panties beginning to feel uncomfortable with the lack of proper friction, and your head lolled backward when he slammed your core against his, devilishly grinding against you.

He picked up your other leg and dropped the both of you to the floor, the uncomfortable gravel stone floor digging painfully into your back, but you could care less. Shinsou’s mouth was already back on your body, scratchy, scraping kisses placed on your neck, making you moan out, legs wrapping around his waist as you cant your hips upward to grind into him.

Unamused with the lack of his hands on your body, you took his arms that were planted at your shoulders and pressed his heavy palms on your breasts, avoiding the pissed look in his eyes as his teeth marked you painfully. You actually shrieked in pain. The feeling of his teeth tearing through the skin on your neck, while his finger kneaded and pulled at your covered breasts. It was unashamedly painful with how he played with your breasts. He seemed to grow happier with every sound of distress you made.

Fisting your hands back into his hair, you pulled him back to your face level, your eyes fluttered at the way his clothed erection carded perfectly between your sopping wet cunt. Blood stained his mouth, making his teeth slightly orange in tint, and you clicked your teeth in partial anger and pain as your neck throbbed. Slamming your lips back against his, you almost gagged at the taste of iron that soared through your senses as his tongue wasted no time to seek yours out. His lips and fingers were so ardent, manipulating your every body movement, cry of pain and pleasure as thrumming hatred for the stupid, stubborn hero above you still coursed through your veins. 

Sweat began to form at your temples as your lips gilded against his, your hips snapping up to meet his grinding hips, and an airy response keened from his mouth as you moaned loudly.

His incessantly grinding hips were making your legs shake with stimulation, your whines and whimpers for more opening like a flood gate as you finally stuck a hand between the two of you and shoved his pants to his knees. You dropped your legs from around his waist, and he assisted you in ripping your pants off from one side of your body, the fabric still clinging to your right leg, but you could hardly care. All you wanted was for him to plant his cock into your blazing heat and to fuck you, to claim you here on this rooftop that started and would end it all. You wanted him, his cock, and him.

“Fuck me,” you begged into his ear, and his back shivered with your words. You hooked your leg around his waist, carding his hot, throbbing cock against your soaked pussy, as you rolled your hips. “I want you to fuck me, fill me with his cock, and cum deep within me to show me just how much you fucking hate me.”

You cried out when his hand shot down to his cock to line it up with your squeezing, dripping hole, his mouth once again covering yours, kissing you aggressively, fueled with an emotion you could taste as bitter hatred. Your legs trembled as the tip of his cock continued to press against your entrance, not entirely entering it, not giving you friction to send you into a euphoric end. You could help the snarl that passed through your lips, your eyes angry beyond repair as the head of his cock continued to deny you. Whenever you tried to grind down, to force your walls around his cock, he went down with you, he wouldn’t allow it, and your cunt clenched against nothing as he gave you nothing.

Shinsou wheezes out a bitter chuckle, his hand raising his cock from between your soaked folds to slap his heavy, thick, and long length against your throbbing clit.

Hatred and desire soak your body, and you needily rub your clit against his cock, your hands shoving up his shirt to feel the scarred pattern of his back as you give him new ones that were produced by your nails.

“Don’t tease me, hero,” you snapped, fingers tearing into his skin to draw blood. “You fuck my pussy so good, right now, or I promise next time you’ll go out with that bomb too.”

That seems to do what you want because before those words settle on your nerves. His cock penetrates deeply within you, bottoming out entirely as your head thrashes back against the gravel of the floor, throbbing pain from that entirely ignorable because fuck, his cock was stretching you out. He was so thick, so fucking veiny that you could feel the pulsating veins on his cock pressing against your puffy, sensitive walls. You scream his name as the pleasure-filled pain pulses within you, your hips thrashing, wildly bucking in your attempt to calm from the sudden placement of his cock.

“Why are you so fucking big?” you splutter, a whining pitch to your voice as you clawed at his back, trying to separate your joined bodies but also trying to get even closer. “It’s so big, my walls feel like! Oh fuck, Shinsou, it feels like Imma split in two!”

It seems that Shinsou holds some great pride over those worse, because he growled deep in his chest, and his hips begin to fuck into you. It sends your hands to the base of his neck, clutching onto his skin with hope as you scream in pleasure, eyes rolling to the back of your head as the wet squelches fill the air and tickle your ears. The head of his cock keeps dragging against your spongy wall, brushing over your g-spot over and over again as if he knew where it was, as if it was common knowledge as he fucked you further into the gravel floor. It didn’t even hurt anymore, your skin singing with joy as his cock fucked you stupid.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck me!” you whined, and Shiinsou made an approving noise. 

He grunts as your cunt flutters and clenches around him, his balls hitting your skin in possibly bruising force and speed. And his pelvis crashing against your stings ever so slightly, but has you begging for more, sobbing for more.

Your vulgar words and moans are unstoppable at this point, your legs and thighs trembling as they are still circled around him, sometimes assisting you in coming up to meet his driving, drilling hips. You whine into his ear, your mouth pressing blind and sloppy kisses against his slick with sweat neck.

It’s when both his hands bring your hips up to him, his cock finally bottoming out entirely within you, does the most primal moan rip through your mouth. You convulse underneath him, trying to move as the head of his cock buries against your cervix, poking your womb with power and speed that has you swearing behind the blackness of your vision that this sensation brings. You can see the entire galaxy, the world lighting up when his cock leaves the thin wall, and you gasp, shocked that the heat and slick of your cunt is still going. You tremble underneath him, wordless cries pittering from your mouth while he bites on your earlobe.

You soon readjust to the numbing pleasure, the bruising pleasure, and pain that comes with his cock slamming against your cervix. The way that he thrusts up into you, stretching out your walls far more than you were ever used to.

 A pathetic cry escaped your lips when he rolled over so that you were now on top, your body bouncing as soon as it could against him. You keened and whined, feeling the top of his cock licking your cervix, and you spluttered.

“Fuck this angle, this angle and your cock!?” you stammered, fists curling into his collar as you rode him, his hips snapping up into yours with that same animalistic power and speed.

His pace is irreplicable, near maddening with every successive thrust of his hips. Each snap, each wet noise sends you close to the edge, your inner walls clenching and milking his length with greater power as your senseless cries fill the night sky. His grip on your waist will leave purple bruises later tonight, you just know it, but the fire in his eyes as you lock fazes is enough for you to be okay with it.

Its intensifying, deepening, fire erupting in your core as your cunt throbs.

Sweat, tears, and spit fall from your face, and Shinsou surges upward, kissing you with everything he can. It's a maddening escape of lust and need and hatred being exchanged, saliva spreading between you, covering your hot faces with slimy coldness, But you keep him close, your mouth drinking him in more, begging for more as your tongue sinks into his mouth.

His fingers rake down from your back. Past the curve of your clapping ass and onto your powerful thighs that helped in your action to claim his cock. Your joined mouths, both parted in silent screams, wordless begs for more, branding curses that spoke of his hatred for you, your hatred of his job.

Fuck this, fuck that, fuck, fuck, “fuck!”

You held each other impossibly close. Despite the barriers of shirts and armor separating your chests, you swore you could feel his hammering heart flush against your chest. A steady, consistent beat reminding you that this was a one-time thing, that this was yet another bomb with only one explosion to it.

“S-Shit!” his voice finally managed to escape from the makeshift collar, and you nearly sobbed at the sound of his gravelly, husky voice. 

You still hated him, you really hated him and his stupid deep voice. 

Your back arches as the control you had on collar suddenly slacks, as if you had never had it there, and his own noises of sex, of hatred, of pleasure fill and echo in your ear. You can hear him mumbling something in your ear, your head pathetically nodding, tears streaming down your face only you can’t seem to figure out why. The throbbing pressure in your stomach made you near uncomfortable as his cock sank and disappeared from your cunt, your walls' vice grip becoming tighter and tighter and tighter.

There’s vigor, untapped lust, pent up frustration as he rolls you both around, pushing you back into the gravel and dives his length into your wet, loud cunt without mercy. You were overworked, over thrilled, the pressure of your coming orgasm snapping into your every fiber of your being, your toes curling, and drool seeping from your lips as he growled. 

The noise seemed to resonate deeply in your own chest, and he pressed his sweaty forehead against yours, pathetic, needy noises escaping your lips as you stared into his angry, lusting eyes. And as he buried his teeth into your bottom lip, his nose scrunched in an aggressive snarl, he spoke with finality:

“Cum.”

You weren’t sure if you had suddenly fallen under the persuasion of his brainwash, or he just knew you were overfilled with pressure, but you went rigid in his hold, your eyes rolling backward, and your vision going white. You came in powerful waves, electric stimming vibrating through your entire body as your spongey, wet walls clamped around him, and Shinsou came in a guttural groan. His hips snapping into your with five last, robust, resounding thrusts until your trembling abdomen and thighs were stilled with his crushing weight.

 You could feel his hot cum pulsing and thriving deep within your cunt, and you panted heavily, your body feeling alarmingly weak as the both of you lay there. A puddle of cum, tears, drool, pain, longing, and hatred.

He lays on top of you, his chest heaving with his breathing, and you felt frozen beneath him. The pain of the gravel roof no longer adds to your pleasure but rather is stabbing you in pain. It’s quiet as you lay there.

He’s quiet.

You’re silent.

“Why’d you do it?” he asked suddenly, interrupting the silence that you hated.

“I can’t tell you,” you admit, voice thick and heavy with untold emotions.

“You know I’ll have to arrest you, right?” Shinsou spoke softly, but he didn’t move to capture you, and you didn’t move to run.

What was the point? It wasn’t as if there was ever a fighting chance for the both of you. The world would have never allowed it, so why bother?

“I don’t think you hate me enough to arrest me right now, sleep on it,” you softly chided, your eyes staring up into the universe, begging to know why they made you a freak?

“Not right now, you spent all my energy,” Shinsou admits, rising up from you, his soft cock removing itself from your humming core, and you looked away to keep from staring. “I really hate you though, y/l/n. I don’t like liars or pretenders.”

“Convince your cock of it next time,” you couldn’t help but fire back, your upper lip curling in your anger and hatred at the sound of his zipping pants.

Silence and a beat follow your words.

“I’ll tell you this now,” Shinsou spoke, turning on his heels, his tone was cold, distant, like a stranger who could care less for you. “Don’t let me see you again. If I do, I promise you, I’ll send your ass to Tartarus. We’re no longer on good terms.”

Anger, hatred, and fury course through your veins as you stand up, legs weak, but spirit wounded as you pull up your pants, uncaring of his cum leaking from your slit. 

“Don’t you dare show your face to me again! Next time I won’t save your fucking ass when I blow something up!” you snapped, the tears running down your face uncontrollable although your voice never gave it away. It didn’t have to though, he turned around one last time, and his eyes met yours, and the two of you glared and simmered. 

But, he didn’t bother to respond back as he disappeared into the shadows of the night sky.

You collapsed onto your knees, exhaustion finally catching up with you, and you realized his capturing weapon you had stolen was finally taken back by the rightful owner. You fell forward, the tears and silent sobs muffled by your bitten lip as you stayed on that rooftop for an hour. Crying like a freak.

Truth be told, you weren’t even sure if you ever hated him.

...

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Incoming Text…

Incoming Text…

New Text Message Received!

From Unknown:      ↳ Good job, y/n. Phase one is complete.

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #187

Today on Fate and Phantasms we’re making Yagyu Tajima-no-Kami Munenori, living proof that you can prevent spoilers by spoiling other things. Anyways, he’s an Inquisitive Rogue to defeat his foes with facts and logic, as well as a Samurai Fighter to defeat his foes with a goddamn sword because he’s in the saber class.

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

Next up: Domo Arigatou, Kaa-san Roboto

Race and Background

Yagyu beef is still a Human, but he’s a Variant Human for the extra skills. This gives him +1 Wisdom and Dexterity, as well as proficiency with Investigation to put that big brain to work. That’s not enough skills though, so grab the Skill Expert feat for another +1 to Dexterity, as well as proficiency with Animal Handling for your riding skill and doubled proficiency with Perception. I know we didn’t get regular proficiency yet, but it’s happening at level one so it’s fine.

Yagyu might have been as rich as a noble, but that doesn’t mean he was one. We’ve been using Mercenary Veterans for swordsmen for a while now, and I see no reason to stop now. This background gives him proficiency with Athletics and Persuasion.

Ability Scores

First up make your Wisdom as high as possible. Yagyu’s a clever boy, and wisdom-based skills are the more applicable part of that equation for you. Secondly, your Dexterity has to be good- Yagyu is a master swordsman, and he’s not exactly swinging a greatsword around. His Intelligence is also pretty solid, but it’s just lower since it’s not quite as directly helpful for the build. Yagyu’s Constitution isn’t half bad, he’s got to be tough to survive feudal Japan. That means his Charisma is pretty low- he’s scary, but not much else. That means we’re dumping Strength. He’s an old man, and we don’t really need it for the build.

Class Levels

Rogue 1: Starting off as a rogue nets us a couple extra skills, more than we’d get from multiclassing in later. Rogues start off with proficiency in Dexterity and Intelligence saves, as well as four rogue skills, like Deception, Insight, Intimidation, and that Perception we mentioned back in the Skill Expert feat. Told you not to worry about that.

They also get Expertise in two skills for double their proficiency bonus. Double down on Insight for more logic and Intimidation to put that logic to good use scaring the crap out of people. You also get a Sneak Attack once per turn, dealing 1d6 extra damage as long as you are using a finesse or ranged weapon and either A) have an ally next to your target or B) have advantage on that attack. It’s complicated, but we’ll make it real simple soon enough.

Oh yeah, you also get Thieves’ Cant. It’s a language.

Fighter 1: Okay, the underhanded stuff is done for a while. Bouncing over to fighter gives you the Dueling, adding 2 to damage rolls with a one-handed weapon, like a short-sword, which you can now wield since you’re proficient with martial weapons. You also get a Second Wind each short rest that will heal you as a bonus action. Taking a break when you need one is smart. You’re smart, so you take breaks when you need one. That’s the transitive property.

Fighter 2: Second level fighters can use all that break-taking to push themselves once per short rest, making an Action Surge to take two actions in a single turn. Fighting your hardest can also be the smart thing to do sometimes.

Fighter 3: Third level fighters get their martial archetype, and as a Samurai you learn to unleash your Fighting Spirit, spending your bonus action to gain some temporary HP as well as advantage on all your attacks for the turn. You can do this three times per long rest.

You also get History proficiency. It’s almost cheating given that you’re a historical figure, but hey, we had to get another proficiency here.

Fighter 4: Use your first Ability Score Improvement to bump up your Dexterity.  Your sword uses dex, your armor uses dex, it’s just a really good ability to improve upon.

Rogue 2: Going back to rogue lets you stuff even more into a single turn thanks to your Cunning Action, letting you dash, disengage, or hide as a bonus action. I’m not saying you’re faster than a monk now, but you could definitely keep up with one for a bit.

Rogue 3: Third level rogues get 2d6 in their sneak attack, and they get their roguish archetype. as an Inquisitive, you gain an Ear for Deceit, so your insight checks to determine lies always get die rolls of at least an 8. You also have an Eye for Detail now, letting you spot hidden creatures with perception or find clues with investigation as a bonus action. You’re really getting a lot out of those things, huh?

Continuing the bonus action train, you can use Insightful Fighting as a bonus action, forcing a contested insight check against a creature’s deception. If you win, you can use sneak attacks against that creature for up to a minute without needing advantage or a nearby ally. Your fighting spirit has limits, but you can use this one as many times as you need- just keep in mind you can only target one creature at a time.

Rogue 4: We’ve got more feats we want, so use this ASI to become a Defensive Duelist. Use your reaction to add your proficiency bonus to your AC for one melee attack, potentially avoiding the attack entirely. You need to be holding a finesse weapon, but somehow I don’t think that’ll be an issue for you.

Fighter 5: Fifth level fighters finally get their Extra Attack, letting you attack twice per action. You can still only use your sneak attack once per turn, but now missing once isn’t the end of the world!

Fighter 6: You get another ASI now, so lets grab Keen Mind to show off how clever you really are. Your Intelligence bumps up by 1, and you’re really good at keeping track of yourself in time and space thanks to knowing which way north is and the number of hours left until sunrise or sunset. Most importantly, you have a photographic memory of the last month.

Fighter 7: Seventh level samurai are Elegant Courtiers, giving you proficiency with Wisdom saves to prevent your emotions from getting the better of you. You can also add your wisdom modifier to persuasion checks now. I’d prefer that to be intimidation, but if you can’t talk your DM into that it’s not the end of the world.

Rogue 5: Fifth level rogues get an Uncanny Dodge, using your reaction to halve damage from one attack. Defensive Duelist would reduce the damage more, but even enemies score natural 20s sometimes. Also, your sneak attack grows to 3d6. It’s been a while, just wanted to make sure you remember that.

Rogue 6: At sixth level you get another round of Expertise; double down on Investigation to be a clever boy and History to prevent your party from repeating it.

Rogue 7: Seventh level rogues can deal more damage with 4d6 sneak attack, and they can avoid consequences of using that damage thanks to Evasion. If you fail a dex save you only take half damage. If you succeed, you take 0.

Rogue 8: Use this ASI to max out your Dexterity, giving you the most accurate and deadly swordplay available to mere mortals. It also makes your AC good as a side effect.

Rogue 9: Ninth level inquisitives gain a Steady Eye, giving you advantage on perception and investigation checks as long as you move at half speed that turn. It’s not quite Reliable Talent, but it’s still pretty useful. This also means your sneak attack grows to its final size, 5d6.

Fighter 8: Use your final ASI to bump up your Wisdom for better Insightful Fighting, Wisdom saves, and perception checks.

Fighter 9: Ninth level fighters are Indomitable, letting you re-roll a failed save once per long rest. Even when you fail a wisdom save you succeed it, that’s how solid your mind is.

Fighter 10: Tenth level samurai get a Tireless Spirit, so if you start a fight without any Fighting Spirit, you get one back for free. Also, your fighting spirit gets a bit better, giving you 10 temporary HP when you pop one.

Fighter 11: Your capstone level is simple, but effective. Another Extra Attack lets you attack thrice per turn, up to six times with action surge.

Pros:

With a maxed out attack stat and plenty of attacks per turn, you can dish out pretty consistent damage, especially if you use your fighting spirit to fish for critical hits. 6d6 per turn without spending any resources is nothing to sniff at.

As befitting any rogue, you’re also very skilled out of combat, lending insight and knowledge to the party.

I know I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating- mixing a fighter’s health pool with a rogue’s damage reduction techniques makes for a very solid combo, especially when you throw Defensive Duelist in as well for an even higher AC and Fighting Spirit for extra health to chew through.

Cons:

You have great AC and some extra health in reserve, but that doesn’t change the fact that your HP is rather low for a front-line fighter. Your damage reduction makes up for it, but it’s something it has to make up for, you get me?

You’re too focused on your sword. It makes you really good with your sword, but not very flexible in combat. If you’re playing to character, you’ll have trouble with flying creatures and those that resist or ignore nonmagical attacks. (Assuming your DM doesn’t give you a magic weapon. Hopefully your DM’s nice enough to notice you’d be hosed without one, but for a guide like this it’s best to assume the DM gives you nothing.)

You need your bonus action to activate your fighting spirit, cunning action, eye for detail, and insightful fighting. Similarly, your reaction is split between opportunity attacks (which are super useful for rogues with their sneak attack), uncanny dodges, and defensive duelist uses. Basically, your main action is too simple, but everything else is really complicated for some reason, and you’ll have to sort all these options out for yourself.

Hey, nobody said being smart was easy.

[thefairyletters]

Showdown

Naruto and Hinata versus Sasuke and Sakura

According to stats: Naruto and Sasuke are almost equals, and Sakura is the most powerful Kunoichi, only second to Kaguya who is not a Kunoichi but a goddess. But if in Boruto, these two couples were to face each other for real (and not just spar) then it wouldn't be Naruto vs Sasuke while Sakura faces Hinata, contrary to what most of you may think.

Sasuke and Sakura have an extreme Intelligence advantage. The 3/4ths of the total brainpower in this fight would be coming from their team. Sakura is the second smartest shinobi in the Leaf village as an adult, only next to Shikamaru, and Sasuke is arguably a close third. It has been like that since their genin days. The amount of tactical planning going on from their side of the battle would be ridiculous. Naruto and Hinata are both the type to charge headfirst through sheer willpower and pressure, but this isn't going to work against any plan Sasuke and Sakura manage to think up. Brains are always one step ahead of brawns.

As an adult Sasuke shows us that he is capable of using the Rinnegan in far more versatile ways than he did in the war arc, when he was new to the power. He can jump dimensions, swap places with another body, affect the gravity around a person, throw immensely powerful genjutsus with a single glance, see any invisible barriers, predict movements, recognize patterns/codes/signals, and much more. Like holy shit y'all. You really think Naruto would preform as well as he did against war arc Sasuke now that Sasuke actually has a full understanding of his Rinnegan and frequently UTILIZES it?

Gravity and pull. Sasuke's Rinnegan gives him limited control of the gravity around a person or between him and another person. Using this, Sasuke has the ability to tap into some Deva path shit and yank Hinata towards him. It is immensely difficult to resist the pull, and someone as physically weak as Hinata would be easily ripped forward away from Naruto. Once they're separated, Naruto has no surefire way of getting Hinata back to his side and safe in enough time, because she would either be led right into a fatal punch from Sakura or a chidori or sword through the gut from Sasuke himself. Either way, if Naruto lets his watch on her slip even a little bit, she probably already dead or close to it. This could also be a support tactic. Sakura gets separated and is in danger. Using his Deva path pull Sasuke can drag Sakura out of a potentially dangerous situation and back to his side. Same works with the body swap. If Sakura is in a nasty situation, Sasuke can swap places with her in his Susanoo to easily tank a hit that may have killed her. That or he can swap her place with a rock if need be.

Two words: Summoning strength. Sasuke and Sakura hold two of the three boss summons in the three way deadlock. Naruto holds one. Hinata holds…nothing. It doesn't stop there though. Sasuke has at least two other powerful summons that we know of, and while they aren't as powerful as Aoda, they still give him some fair advantages. For example, Sasuke's hawk, Garuda, gives him an aerial advantage should he ever need to take to the skies as a countermeasure against Naruto. Naruto and Hinata have no summons who could reach Sasuke, and this gives him many solid opportunities. Sakura, on the other hand, has Katsuyu. Katsuyu can be spread out across the battlefield in various sizes to heal her allies wherever they may end up on the field. She could also be used in her original form to spit acid or protect the two from any taijutsu and most ninjutsu attacks. Katsuyu is stated early on to be extremely resistant to taijutsu and ninjutsu, and for fucks sake she can tank Pein's attacks with ease while protecting people inside, plus she survived Naruto's corrosive 8 tails chakra just fine. I see absolutely no taijutsu attacks that Naruto and Hinata pull getting through or truly damaging her, and Naruto would have to really put some effort into his more powerful ninjutsu techniques to take her down (also note that since Katsuyu has a very jelly like body type and is resistant to taijutsu and ninjutsu, Naruto's summons wouldn't be terribly productive on offense). But this leaves him wide open for counterattacks if he focuses too much on Katsuyu. And then of course Katsuyu can heal fatal injuries or at least sustain the life of a person fatally injured until help is given. The ultimate win for Sasuke and Sakura in terms of summoning.

Being an Active Shinobi is very important. Sasuke is an active shinobi. Very active. He is constantly on B through S rank missions, and Sakura has traveled with him on some of these. His teammate for this battle, Sakura, is still an active medical shinobi who easily accepts an S rank mission in the Retsuden novels and is originally dealing with part of it on her own before she teams up with Sasuke, who is also present. We have seen her fight in Boruto too. It shows that she is 100% still at her peak performance. Well, what about Naruto and Hinata? Hinata is a housewife who hasn't gone on anything above a C rank mission in years. She takes a B rank mission with her father and sister when Boruto is a toddler, and this is all we hear of it. She's rusty AF and doesn't have the experience nor mission bulk that Sasuke and Sakura have under there belt, nowhere NEAR it. Naruto is somewhat similar. He is, for lack of a better description, out of practice. He was only recently taking on S rank opponents in Boruto, and other than that he's been doing desk work and some minor shinobi guard training over the past few years. Sasuke and Sakura are more in shape and have more recent shinobi mission experience than Naruto and Hinata's combination, both by themselves AND as a team in a fight, which is immensely important here.

Everyone is always forgetting about how important Support can be. Sakura is a first class, kage-level healer at this point in the series. Her medical ninjutsu surpassed Tsunade's back in her own canon novel and is confirmed in the novelization of Boruto's movie a second time. Her ability to constantly heal or boost Sasuke's chakra in battle is important. Whereas while Naruto can amp up Hinata with a chakra cloak, Sakura can go even further. We see with Obito that Sakura can transfer her Byakugou seal markings with all it's chakra to another person she is touching, and in the Retsuden novels this is looked into further. By applying her seal to Sasuke, he becomes an absolute terror for even Naruto to handle. Imagine this: super fast shinobi w/ the Rinnegan abilities and Susanoo suddenly not only getting a chakra boost, but being able to automatically heal potentially fatal wounds completely over and over again for as long as the chakra exists. Sakura at this point has 15+ years of chakra stored in her Byakugou seal (we know this because she notes briefly in the canon novels after The Last that she has not stopped storing chakra and plans to continue doing so just in case she ever needs it). But let's say she didn't continue after that though. She would still have around 6 or 7 years of chakra in her seal. 6–7 YEARS OF CHAKRA. I don't care how much chakra you think Naruto has, it isn't anywhere close to the amount of chakra currently inactive within Sakura's seal, considering the fact that she could completely replenish Naruto's chakra with only 3 days worth of her general chakra. Sasuke would be a BEAST. Absolutely nightmarish on every level if this fight. And Sakura, so long as the chakra exists, would also be nightmarish - especially for those people who think Sakura and Hinata would end up dualing it out at some point.

Have we gotten to the whole dimension portal thing yet? Nope and this is a crucial winning point for Sasuke and Sakura. If in danger, in need of a new plan or simply to dodge away from a particularly crazy attack from Naruto, Sasuke can pull both himself and Sakura into a completely different space in the blink of an eye. He can also use this to jump around the space Naruto is in and really screw around with them. And if you're worried about Sasuke's chakra levels diminishing quickly, don't be. Once again, Sakura's Byakugou seal is the ultimate support ability. Remember that whole “she has at least 6-7 years of chakra even if she, for some reason, wimped out on her plans” spiel? Yeah…that's an easy fix. She helped Obito actually hold open AND SEARCH (people seem to forget that he had to use chakra to search dimensions) multiple dimensions when she only had 3 years of chakra in the seal, and even the she still had enough chakra left to reform the seal on her forehead soon after. Sooo…keeping Sasuke's chakra level high wouldn't be a problem. They can also use the dimensions for Sakura to heal and repair them both. Hinata can't heal and Naruto can't truly “heal" so much as his life force is just really strong, so they're at yet another disadvantage.

Terrain manipulation and swaps. This is where it gets really technical. Sasuke has the Rinnegan, and with it he can do serious damage very early on in the game when his opponent is not expecting such a rush. Try to imagine a scenario like so: Sakura winds up for a full power punch directly behind Sasuke as soon as the fight begins, or otherwise as early on as possible. She fires off the punch at Sasuke. Sasuke, at the last possible second he can manage, swaps his place with Hinata, and BAM. That's one down for team Naruto. Hinata would either be dead or close to it immediately after she hits the ground and stops. Same applies for a switch with Naruto. At that close of a range with literally zero time to dodge at that point, even Naruto would be fairly damaged from a point blank shot, and a damaged Naruto from the start spells bad news for Hinata - the girl basically fully depends on Naruto in the fight, she can't do anything to Sasuke or Sakura without his constant support.

Overall, we can go into arguments if whether Naruto is stronger than Sasuke or Sakura stronger than Hinata, but the truth of the matter is that it doesn't really matter. What matters is that Sasuke is at least competitively close in power to Naruto, and Sakura arguably the most powerful kunoichi in the series at the moment. Their power gap is extraordinarily close, so at this point it all comes down to who is best tactically suited and best prepared for this kind of nuclear fight. And honestly, with their ability to manipulate their surroundings and work more with the terrain and constantly replenish, there's no doubt about the victory. 80% of the time it'll be Sasuke and Sakura if they play their cards like they should.

Answer credits goes to Alex Hendrix, Quora

[cloudchaserandflitterexplain]

Cloudchaser and Flitter Explain: Defenders of Equestria Manes

Hehe, I knew you’d b—

Wait, you’re not?

Nope.

Okay, who are you and what’d you do with Cloudhcaser. You’re always excited for nationals!

Okay, you got me. I can’t wait! Everypony’s going to bring their best decks and the competition is going to be fierce and I’m going to win this year!

Now that’s the Cloudchaser I know and love, hehe. Well, we better get started with our last thing before nationals!

You bet!

Hi everypony! Are you as excited for nationals as we are? Because we’re super duper excited! It’s going to be the best nationals ever!

Definitely. Cause I’m going to win this time.

And to help you guys prepare a little bit for regionals, we thought we’d talk about the new Manes that Defenders of Equestria introduced, just in case any show up.

After all, you’re bound to see a few of them, right?

I dunno, actually. Some of them have powerful boosted sides, but they all have the same flip condition which can hurt their competitiveness.

Turn 1 troublemakers and turn 2 DFOs happen a lot nowadays. And both can seriously hamper a confront-to-flip Mane’s ability to flip. It might be a good idea to just stick with the Manes that don’t have that liability.

Or maybe you could not scare everypony off before we even start.

Sorry…

But it is something to keep in mind. Confront to flip is an easy flip condition on the play for sure. But on the draw?

Well, things can get dicey.

Sure, and that is worth mentioning. But I think most of these Manes are still pretty powerufl regardless!

Anyway, let’s kick things off with Rainbow Dash: Wonderbolt.

Look at her, achieving her dream. Maybe someday Cici will be a full fledged Wonderbolt too.

We can hope!

Anyway, Dash is an interesting card. At first glance you might think she’s an aggro card, as she helps you win Faceoffs. But, really, providing power to confont is more important than faceoffs, and there are definitely better Manes for that.

So maybe you think she’s a good farming Mane? Well, kinda, but she’s definitely not as good as Ambassador of Loyalty for that, who can dash up to problems for free and lets you play high req hasty cards like Thunderlane: Unsung Hero all by herself.

No, she’s actually a control card. Specifically, a troublemaker control card since she effectively gives your TMs +2 power. And she helps a lot with ties too, since each tie gives you another +2. So she’s actually pretty good at it.

Though the problem is she doesn’t do terribly much against other control decks or combo decks, since they don’t care about your Troublemakers so much. And a powerful Mane is usually key in those matchups, so she’ll suffer a lot there.

But, eh. She’s still pretty solid. And gives Blue a reasonable control Mane option, which it was lacking before. Maybe not the best, but hardly bad.

And absolutely great in limited, heh.

Like CIci said, Rainbow prefers a control strategy, though she can fit any role, really. And more specifically, she prefers strategies with lots of Faceoffs!

If you wind up going control, you’ll want to add some troublemakers. And maybe cards like Gilda: Feather Ruffler.

But if going more aggroy, you might want to try cards that care about winning Faceoffs, like Scootaloo: Most Creative, or Storm of Justice!

Meanwhile Farm will prefer lots of epics and cards that flip you extra cards, like The Brave and the Bold or Rainbow’s Epiphany.

And of course cards like Showdowns or Heart’s Desire work for any strategy, really! After all, more faceoffs mean more opportunities to benefit from Dash’s ability!

Now for problems, you’ll probably want to start with something easy to confront. Which is going to be true for all seven Manes today, so I won’t bother repeating that, hehe.

As for the rest, go with stuff that helps you with faceoffs! Ready to Fight is a great option, for example.

Anyway, I guess I’d say, she’s solid. Not the best Blue Mane we’ve seen, but hardly the worst. And that’s fine.

Well, that’s enough about our favourite new Wonderbolt. How about Applejack: Tooled Up?

Heh, amusingly enough, AJ is in the exact same boat as Rainbow. At first glance looks like an aggro or farm Mane, but is actually best at control. Flipping extra cards is a great way to protect your TMs.

But also like Dash, while this works well against aggro and Farm, she’s not so great against control or combo. Which can be a liability in such matchups.

Though AJ has the disadvantage of only helping you out once a faceoff while Dash can help you multiple times. In fact if there are multiple faceoffs between your ready phases, AJ can only help once while Dash helps out in all of them. So honestly I feel she’s a bit worse.

Unless working with chaos effects, I guess.

Not that anypony ever uses chaos effects, hehe.

Again, Cici was right on the money with AJ in that she favors control, but can be used most other places. As such, you’re probably going to want to use similar cards regardless of which Mane you choose! Even similar problems, though you’ll probably want Orange ones instead of Blue.

The main difference, besides colour of course, is that instead of wanting cards that give you extra flips you’ll likely prefer chaos cards. Or cards that care about chaos being flipped, like Tempting Offer.

But whichever choice you go with, you’ll have a Mane that’s really good at winning Faceoffs, which can help you out a bunch!

So next up would be…

Sigh, Pinkie Pie: Cruise Director.

Is it too much to ask for a new Pink Mane that isn’t absolutely awful?

Cici!

What’s really annoying is there were no Pink Manes in either High Magic or Marks in Time despite plenty of ponies wanting a new Pink Mane that would be a reasonable alternative to Vinyl. Not necessarily better, just an alternative.

And Cruise Director is so close. If she were Main Phase timing instead of Faceoff timing, she’d actually see play in some decks. Vinyl would be better in most cases, but she’d at least see play. There are definitely decks that would benefit from getting a free friend every turn.

But Faceoff timing is a joke. She doesn’t help when opponents challenge your Troublemaker, she only provides one power for problem faceoffs and the friend gets sent home taking up space afterwards.

And if Pinkie herself is involved, you’re guaranteed to not want to use her, unlike Dash who’s used automatically or AJ who at least has the possibility of flipping higher than a 3.

It’s just… really disheartening. And it makes me think we’ll never see a good Pink Mane again simply because Vinyl is too good.

Awww, Cici. Maybe there will be a cool Pink Mane in Seaquestria?

Maybe… I’m not holding my breath, though.

Anyway, Pinkie kind of also prefers control, since that’s the best way to get lots of Faceoffs to make lots of friends. And like AJ and Dash, she’ll want to pack several troublemakers.

You’ll also want to include some cards that take advantage of you having a lot of extra friends. Like Belly Flop or Party Hard. And some Showdowns probably wouldn’t hurt either, being a good way to get a 1 power friend into play for 0 AT!

Though you won't have a built in way of making the showdown easier, so you’ll have to be a bit more cautious than if you’re using AJ or Dash!

As for problems… that’s a bit of a toughie. Nothing specifically supports her innate ability. So I guess you should just go with whatever problems you feel help your strategy the most.

Fortunately, Pink has no shortage of good problems, many of which apply to basically any strategy! So I’m sure you’ll have no problem building a problem deck, even without specific direction.

Let’s just move on…

Yes, let’s! Attention students, class is now in session with Princess Twilight Sparkle: Professor Sparkle!

So would that make her Princess Professor Sparkle or Professor Princess Sparkle?

Uh, I don’t think you use both titles together.

Yes, Cici, I was jo—

You probably use the higher title by default, which would be Princess in this case, and only use the lower title in settings where it’s more appropriate. Like the classroom.

Though I suppose it’d probably be fine to use the higher title everywhere? Since, well, that’s maximum respect, right?

Um, I think you’re over thinking it.

Anyway, tell us about the card!

Oh, right.

Well, Twilight here is kind of weird in that she’s the exact opposite of Dash and AJ. You might think at first that she’s a control Mane, and you’d be right for limited, but for constructed? She’s absolutely a farming Mane.

Now, I’m not saying she doesn’t work for control. In fact, she’s fine at it, provided you have a steady income of AT and some troublemakers.

But given enough time, an aggro or farm player might actually be able to break through, given enough power. And spending all that AT protecting your Troublemakers might just bankrupt you.

Not to mention she has a similar problem to Dash and AJ in that she oes absolutely nothing against control and combo.

But don’t forget, she can give troublemakers less power too. All the way down to 0 power. Which makes it really easy to beat them! All you need is someone to challenge the epic. Even a frightened friend stands a chance when fighting a 0 power troublemaker, after all.

That being said, she does have some major weaknesses. Not only do you need to devote a lot of your deck to troublemakers, you have to devote a fair bit of space to generating a lot of AT.

And that’s on top of ensuring you can actually confront a problem with Twilight to flip her, as without her ability to make troublemakers weaker, chances are you’re going to have some serious trouble.

But I guess that’s true for all of these Manes, really.

And of course you tend to be a turn or two slower to actually start farming than the Ambassadors of Loyalty or Honesty. Which can matter a lot against control or combo.

Anyway, overall I think she’s probably one of the stronger Manes from the set, but I’m not sold on her taking any major tournaments anytime soon. We’ll see, though. She definitely has potential.

Regardless of if you go the control route or the farm route, Professor Sparkle definitely wants you to have a troublemaker based strategy. So make sure to pack at least 9 to make the best usage of her ability, possibly more!

On top of that, like Cici said, you’ll want to make sure you have some ways to get some extra AT, since you’ll be dumping a lot into the professor’s ability.

Cards like Zecora: Brewing a Plan or anything with Prepared would be good options for controlly builds, while cards like Heart’s Desire or Spike, Take a Letter might be better for the farmers. Though you can probably mix and match to a degree.

As for problems, well, Purple has a ton of problems that care about troublemakers, and you’d likely do fine with any of those. Alternatively, you could try and choose some problems that will help you gain AT. Entrance Exam, for example, is basically a free AT every turn, which is pretty useful!

No matter how you build her, though, you’ll definitely be ready to teach your opponent an important lesson about the importance of troublemakers!

But it’s time for the princess to give up the stage to our next guest: Rarity: Fashion Mogul, who will be teaching us about all the latest trends and crazes!

This just in, hats are in this year!

I am pretty sure Rarity never said anything like that.

Seriously, Cici? You don’t think Rarity likes hats?

Uh wait, we’re still talking about the game, right?

What do you think?

Er, um, anyway…

Unlike the Manes we’ve talked about so far, Rarity definitely has an obvious play style. Namely control.

Which is why it’s such a shame she’s not that great at it.

Now, okay. She’s not awful at it. Removing a key friend from a faceoff can be a huge swing for sure. Removing a Night Glider: Overpowering or a Thunderlane from a faceoff is fantastic. But a lot of friends right now have powerful come into play effects, so you can’t rely just on this.

Add to this the fact that she’s restricted to one faceoff a turn, and that she does nothing to Manes, she’s basically only useful against aggro or friend-based farming. She may as well have not have text against Mane-based farming, control, and combo, which is really disappointing.

So if you’re fine with an effect that’s powerful against one type of archetype, and even then only if they’re not using too many come into play effects? She’s probably fine.

In fact, I definitely recommend her as a good introduction to control decks for newer players since she’s focused on just one thing, and that’s fine.

But other than that, I don’t recommend her at all. Which is a shame since White has been crying out for a good control Mane for a while now.

Since Rarity focuses a lot on the opponent starting faceoffs, she’s a perfect fit for Troublemaker control. Which means you should definitely make sure you pack a few!

On top of that, cards like Cold Wave can help you win faceoffs when Rarity’s innate ability isn’t enough, while stuff like Discord: Captain Wuzz or It’s Gonna Work can help you get back troublemakers the opponent may have actually managed to defeat.

And if you’re using a bunch of events to protect your troublemakers, you may want to consider Eff Stop to get them back. Cici says he’s the best control card in the game right now.

Well, he is! I don’t think you can play control competitively without him, to be honest. He’s insanely strong right now.

Hehe, that may be an exaggeration. But he definitely has been cropping up in a lot of decklists recently. Probably for good reason!

As for problems, stuff like Fear Itself can help out a lot at denying the opponent the ability to confront problems even if they do defeat your troublemakers. And since you’re preventing your opponent from scoring anyway, why not toss in Blackmail? Nothing quite like free points!

Ugh. As an aggro player, I hate that problem so much. Sometimes it’s right to just not try and confront a problem this turn, but Blackmail makes you try so much harder than you might otherwise. It’s so annoying to have a clock ticking down like that.

Fortunately, Dilemmas help a lot with that problem.

They sure do!

Well, that just about covers Rarity. Let’s move on to Fluttershy: Nurturing Nature!

Absolutely! This is my favourite Mane of the set!

Paying 0 AT to put 3 or more power at a problem is fantastic. It’s been a staple of Princess Luna: Dream Warrior for over a year now for good reason.

Now, that being said, Dream Warrior is still generally better at this. Since Hasty Friends let her pull of DFOs she wouldn’t be able to otherwise, or join in the fight of a TM she otherwise wouldn’t have been able to. But Fluttershy is not without her advantages either.

For one thing, if the problem requires only as much power to confront as she has power, you don’t need to spend anything at all, while you still need to actually play a friend to move Luna. So there are cases where you can actually save AT.

And, well, the other advantage is that she’s Yellow. Which means she has a different skill set to draw upon than Dream Warrior does. Like Bunyip, who I put on my top 10 list for the set!

Unfortunately, that’s also a weakness. Yellow aggro certainly isn’t awful right now or anything but it feels a lot weaker than Blue or Pink at the moment, as it just doesn’t have some of the same tools…

But that’s not the point.

The point is she has a ton of potential. And I fully expect her to become a fantastic Mane if she can get the proper support. A lot of ponies have been overlooking her in favor of Thorax, but I think she’s the true winner here. Maybe not this set, but next set?

Well, I wouldn’t be surprised to see her performing exceptionally well.

Real shame about that flip condition. But fortunately, Yellow has tons of ways to circumvent troublemakers.

Of course, her other major downside is she doesn’t provide that power to faceoffs. Which makes DFOs a bit riskier. But that can be worked around in several other ways, like having high powered friends or using cards like Mob Mentality to reduce the opponent’s flips.

Basically there are solutions if you’re creative enough, and it’s usually a minor problem anyway as usually you have a reasonable advantage when starting a DFO anyway, so 3 less power won’t always matter.

Nurturing Nature, if you couldn’t guess by Cici’s undying love for her, prefers an aggro strategy. She wants to be confronting a problem every single turn, and possibly more!

As such, you’ll mostly want cards that help you confront. Be it stuff like Zephyr Breeze: Quitter, who has a great power to AT ratio, or cards like Conductor’s Baton, which give you lots of power. Confronting is the name of the game.

Though the real tech is to run stuff that makes it easy for Fluttershy to confront by herself. Double Diamond: Second in Command can power up your Mane permanently if you can discard him. And cards like Coloratura: Simply Rara can make big problems much more manageable for Fluttershy.

You’ll probably also want to include some measures to be able to confront even if your opponent is running interference. Be they Dilemmas, which Fluttershy is pretty good at confronting, or just stuff to get rid of the TM, like Turning Point or Battlesnakes.

As for problems? You probably want stuff that’s easy to confront. Concerning Cutie Mark is confrontable by herself, for example. And Equal or Else is pretty close!

If playing with two colours, try not to use problems with a Yellow req higher than 3, though, since this way you can confront with Fluttershy + any of your other friends, not just the Yellow ones.

And I guess with that, we’ve come to the last Mane for the day, Thorax: The Changed Changeling.

He’s… okay.

Hehe, you were pretty excited for him when you first saw him! You were planning lots of decks around him, as I recall.

Yeah. I definitely wanted him to work well. And, well, he kinda does. But the more I play with him and the more I play with Fluttershy, he just feels kind of lackluster in comparison.

On the one hoof, you can get him to huge power levels. Really big, really fast, thanks to cards like Rise and Shine or Furball that make multiple Friends for cheap. But on the other hoof, you still need to actually move him to a problem to do anything. And he can be disrupted really easily.

There are a lot of ways to make friends leave play, nowadays.

Still, he’s definitely not bad. And maybe I just haven’t found the right spot for him yet. Large Manes like Maud Pie: Rockin’ and Applejack: Ambassador of Honesty have historically done really well in the past. So there’s still potential for him to shine. But right now I’d just rather use another Mane.

Thorax is a bit unusual as he’s equally suited to both aggro strategies and farming ones, due to the fact that he can get so big.

Either way, you’ll want to make lots and lots of Friends!

A great way to do that if going the farming route is to use Princess Celestia: Raptor Raiser, who can provide you with a bajillion friends for just 3 AT!

Speaking of farming, if you do go that route you’ll probably want to prefer non-Villain epics to villainous ones, just because they won’t scare your tokens. This can make them a bit more difficult to actually farm, but keeping Thorax as big as possible is usually worth it.

Though don’t worry too hard if you do go with Villains. Since frightened friends still powerup Thorax! They may not have any power right now, but Thorax looks at printed power, which doesn’t change at all.

Speaking of which, this means you can go all out on power buffs too without worrying about decreasing Thorax’s power. Conductor’s Baton is going to be as great for Thorax as it is for Fluttershy, for example, as will other cards that benefit from you having swarms of Friends, like Changeling Citizens.

Oh, and don’t forget Zipporwhill: Pet Collector. Not only does she give you 3 Friends in one card, thus powering up Thorax 3 times, she also lets you keep all those Critters at home to power him up even if you ahve way more than 5 Friends!

Who knew that Changelings and puppies could get along so well?

As for your problems, feel free to use larger problems than you might be inclined to normally. Most Yellow decks probably wouldn’t want anything to do with Too Many Fluttershys’ 8 confront requirement, but Thorax is completely fine with it.

And large problems for you probably also mean large for the opponent, so not only are you not being hampered by it, but your opponent might not be able to DFO as efficiently as they’d like!

And that’s it, I guess. All seven Manes from Defenders of Equestria. Kind of a mixed bag, but Manes usually are.

Still, I think I’m mostly fine with them. None of them are truly busted, like we’ve seen in the past, but most of them are still fine.

Except for Pinkie.

Well, I still like using her. I can never have enough Friends!

Do you mean in the game or in real life?

Both!

Heh, yeah, I should have known that.

Well, guess that’s it for now! Bye everypony! See you all at Nationals!

Yeah! I hope you all show up! It’ll be great.

By the way, nice fakeout earlier. You actually had me thinking you weren’t looking forward to Nationals for a moment there.

Thanks. I practiced keeping a straight face in the mirror for hours.

But yeah, I am crazy excited! There’s going to be so many awesome ponies competing this year, and I think I’m in a great position to take the championship this time! I’ve put in so much time playtesting, and I think I’ve got some great tech. We’ll see what happens, though.

You can do it, Cici! You’re bound to win one of these years.

Don’t I know it.

Of course, I may just nab that title away from you if you don’t watch out. There we’ll be in the finals, staring each other down, knowing only one of us can walk away from the battlefield triumphant.

It’ll be the most epic game ever seen at Nationals ever!

Heh, I’m looking forward to it.

Course, that’ll probably never happen since I’m bringing my hat deck, hehe.

You goof. You’d do way better if you brought one of the decks I made.

Oh, I know! But I like playing hats at Nationals. It’s fun!

Yeah. It just wouldn’t be Equestrian Nationals without Flitter playing hats.

Awww, you big softie. I always knew you secretly liked my Hats deck!

Eh. It’s not for me, but…

Well, you just wouldn’t be Flitter if you didn’t take every opportunity possible to run your hat deck.

Nope!

And that’s the Flitter who’s been my best friend all this time.

Awww, Cici. You’re my bestie too.

Anyway, once Cloudchaser starts paying me compliments for playing Hats, I think that means we’ve rambled on long enough. Bye everypony!

Later!

[netherwar-rpg-blog]

Welcome to the Wardens, Dani! Your application for THE PROTECTOR has been accepted with a Santiago Cabrera FC.

I was really excited when we received an app for the Protector because I knew he would be such a core part of the Wardens’ group. After reading through your app, it was clear that you nailed this skeleton bio perfectly and really made it into your own fleshed out character with so much life! I couldn’t imagine a more perfect rendition of this bio. As a world builder, it is fantastic to see how you’ve really researched into the Vartheli culture and even showed it in your moodboard, Gonzalo’s background, personality and ambitions. The roleplay sample was a direct link to one of the headcanons mentioned in his skeleton bio and that was so fantastic to see because you clearly were thinking about how the Protector fared in that meeting with the dragon, and were taking all the details seriously. Eldris needs a man like the Protector in the growing times of darkness!

The application can be found under the cut. You have 48 hours to create a roleplay account (cannot be a sideblog) for your character and we will be updating our opening date soon!

O O C - I N F O

Name: Dani

Age: 22

Timezone: CLST

Activity Level: I’m in law school which means I might get some rough weeks every now and then but most of the time I’m super active and I manage to make time to do a few replies daily.

Extra: None, really.

S K E L E T O N - I N F O

T H E - B A S I C S

Skeleton Title: THE PROTECTOR

Name:  Gonzalo Alonso Casalis

Gender: Male

Age: 34

Class: Warrior

Faceclaim: Santiago Cabrera

C H A R A C T E R - D E T A I L S

Nationality: Vartheli

Appearance:

Tanned skin, golden under the burning sun of Varthal and deep, brown eyes that seem almost black, Gonzalo had always known himself to be a handsome young man; but before joining the Guild, he never had the chance to use it to his advantage. Being the son of a horse master meant the boy spent most of his time playing around with the horses in the dirt, hiding his good looks. Though this didn’t mean that both men and women didn’t notice, because they surely did.

When he came of age and joined the Arms Guild, turning him into a more proper, polished version of himself, Gonzalo started carrying his hair just above his shoulders: not long enough to be a bother, but long enough to feel the wind as he rides around Eldris, the feeling of freedom too important to him as it reminds him of home wherever he is.

Unlike his flashier countrymen, Gonzalo has always been more sober in his taste. He prefers red fabrics and warm colors, just as most of those born under the southern sun, but he keeps little jewelry on his person. At first it was due to the fact that despite his parents not being poor at all, they weren’t quite well off either, meaning such whims weren’t exactly available to him. Now, after years in his position as the right hand of Blademaster Dorn, he has simply grown used to simpler tastes. Gonzalo wears two gold rings, one on each of his index fingers, and five golden ear cuffs on his left ear. Every time a particular adventure marks him or he finds himself in need of dealing with a life changing decision, he gets a new one.

Finally, like every warrior, Gonzalo has his fair share of scars. Most of them are small and faded, bites and cuts all over his back, legs, hands, and chest from angry horses, angry creatures, and angry men. Most notably, he has one big scar trailing from his left shoulder all the way down to his elbow, made by a griffin’s claw as he tried to escape it’s clutches; and a shorter scar, almost a finger length long, following over the line of his collarbone to the middle of his neck, made by a blade when he was captured by bandits near the Spine Mountains. Gonzalo is quite proud of his scars, they tell tales of adventures and near death experiences, but by now all of the Warriors from the Guild and most of the Wardens have learned not to ask about the scar on his neck. He doesn’t like it, and he doesn’t want to talk about it. That’s all they need to know.

Personality:

[ + ] Adventurous – His family always said that Gonzalo’s heart beat as wildly as a horse’s; strong and steady and aching to stretch its legs and run off into the distance. The moment the boy was old enough to stir a horse by himself was the moment his parents started losing him from sight for hours and hours as he rushed into the forest, the lake, or the plains just to explore. That thirst for adventure hasn’t dimmed despite the years that have passed, and the man still finds himself surprised with every new place he visits.

[ + ] Curious – Apart from his adventurous heart, Gonzalo’s mind has always been bright and sharp. He doesn’t fear magic like many in the south and even less the great creatures that plague the forests and mountains.  Everything is a learning experience in his eyes, and like a child, his eyes always light up at the sight of a big and powerful beast or a mage’s work. Gonzalo always questions everything, reads a lot, and keeps an open mind to the unknown.

[ + ] Loyal – The Guild means everything to Gonzalo. He considers the warriors his brothers and would give up his own life for them without thinking twice. He never doubts them, which is why when Blademaster Dorn sent him to join the Wardens, he went willingly and without complaint. Now, he can see the importance of the Wardens and their responsibility to Eldris, so he puts the same dedication and trust in everyone who joins, treating them as brothers and protecting them with his own life.

[ + ] Genuine – Many join the Guild for the fame and respect the title entails, but not Gonzalo. He never cared for fame or power, two things that simply landed on his lap because unlike many others, he sought the greater good with no hidden agendas. Gonzalo has become someone people look up to; a man who breaks all fights in their ranks and mediates solutions with kindness and understanding of both parties.  He’s always true to his word and reliable whenever a problem arises. He has never broken a promise and he’s not about to start.

[ - ] Hot-Headed – Gonzalo has no patience for stupidity, rudeness, or cruelty and he is quick to take to arms or start a fight to defend what he believes is right. He’s a kind and fair man, which means he rarely accuses anyone without just cause, but injustice doesn’t sit right with him, and he’s not one to stand idly by when he is able to do something to change an unfair situation. He’s patient, but people have learned not to test his limits. He’s never lost a fight thus far, after all.  

[ - ] Naive – Despite his bright mind, Gonzalo has always been quite naive when it comes to trusting others. He believes in humanity, good hearts, and good deeds, so it isn’t strange to find him giving his money away on the streets or doing favors for those who seem distressed. He has always been very trusting, and even though he knows there are bad people in the world, he refuses to fall into cynicism, and doubt every person he comes across.

[ - ] Stubborn – “Stubborn as a mule,” his mother would call him, because changing Gonzalo’s mind has never been an easy task. He believes in authority and trusts orders given by those he respects, but when he believes something is right, be it religion, tactics or even the simplest things, it will take a good argument to make him doubt himself or his beliefs. Like every good soldier, he never disobeys, but that doesn’t mean he has to agree with the orders given.

[ - ] Apprehensive – If anything could possibly go wrong, Gonzalo has probably thought about it twice already. He knows his flaws and understands he trusts people too easily, which is why he’s so apprehensive and tense when it comes to any road set before him, always worried about those around him and fretting over any impending dangers that may lie ahead. Despite this, he isn’t a grim man at all. Most of the time he behaves quite charmingly, but he loves too deeply and protecting those he cares about is always on his mind.

C H A R A C T E R - B A C K G R O U N D

History:

Flying feet on fields of grass, galloping hooves, and yapping dogs at his ankles were the sounds of Gonzalo’s childhood. His family lived in a small town on the outskirts of Vessia, where his father raised the best war horses in all of Eldris; loyal and brave just like their horse master, and fit to endure the burning sun of the south and the freezing cold of the north. Gonzalo, his only son, was a wild little thing since birth, running before he could speak and always meddling in everyone’s business. Everyone in town adored the charming young boy, as well as the many pets that would follow him around.

His childhood was filled with big adventure and small indulgences. His family wasn’t particularly rich, but the fertile land provided food fit for kings, rich in taste and bright in color, and large expanses of land to explore. Gonzalo spent hours and hours on the back of a horse, feeling the steady rhythm of its hooves hitting the ground as he rode around Varthal, the warm wind blowing against his face. Sometimes, it made Gonzalo wonder what it would be like to fly.

It was no surprise that the boy took to a sword with incredible ease, feeling its weight like an extension of his arm as he wielded his newly acquired companion with the natural talent the Vartheli seemed to posses. It was the final piece that completed the boy and turned him into a man; a young man with a brave heart that beat wild and strong, aching to find his place in the world.

And so Gonzalo started searching. Adventures turned into long journeys, down to the end of the continent or up into the forests and mountains. It was during one of these journeys that he met a group of men, Warriors of the Arms Guild, fighting an imposing beast: a gryphon. He rushed to their aid, jumping from his mount to the beast’s back and landing the final blow to its neck. Once on the ground, the men stood quietly, watching him with curious eyes and smiles brightening, as they seemed to have a silent conversation, their heads nodding their agreement.

He received an invitation to join them the next day.

The Arms Guild was more than a group of heroes protecting people from harm. They were a brotherhood, a family that took Gonzalo in and embraced him like one of their own. He trained, bled, and fought, years passing by as he earned his position and title as Blademaster Dorn’s right hand. He was respected and trusted but never feared. Gonzalo found his place in the world among its heroes and even though his heart never stopped longing for adventure, for that great desire to fly, he knew where he belonged: protecting the people he loved.

Adventure, of course, sometimes came at a great price. A lesson he learned in one of his many journeys to the north. They were traveling through the Spine Mountains, shivering from the cold when Gonzalo saw it: a great dragon, black as the night, flying over them. It was the greatest moment of his life, the mere sight of the embodiment of such ancient power making all his journeys worth the wait. He ached to follow it, to see where it would lead them, but bandits took their moment of distraction to their advantage and ambushed them.

Only Gonzalo survived.

Life became simpler after that. He returned to the Guild to heal his wounds and continue with his task. Years passed and the persistent rumors of the members of the Guild wanting him to be their future Blademaster never worried Gonzalo until the day Blademaster Dorn approached him and ordered him to join this new faction that was forming to fight the threat of the Netherworld: The Wardens. He wanted to send their best warrior and rider to represent them, but Gonzalo only saw a new test, another step in his path to be what was needed of him so he simply bowed his head and accepted.

It was the start of a new adventure, and if the world needed a hero, that was exactly what he would be.

Reason for joining the Wardens:

Joining the Wardens was an easy decision; an order that Gonzalo followed blindly with a gracious nod of his head. Blademaster Dorn needed him there, their best warrior to face the greatest challenges, and since Gonzalo was his right hand and friend, he trusted the man to choose what was best for the Guild. It started out as a test, a way to prove himself once again among others, not those who already respected him and loved him like family, but a new group of heroes from every part of their land.

He couldn’t deny he was quite weary of it, like he would be of every new organization without an established code of honor, but it still felt like the right decision to make. It was a new adventure after all and despite how much Gonzalo loves the Guild and his brothers, the Wardens certainly sounded like an interesting thing to see.

Soon enough the Wardens became like a second family to him, a group of talented people fighting together to protect the world, an idea Gonzalo certainly agreed with. The South was blind to what was really happening; to the dangers looming over their heads and he would never run from those who needed his protection. He was no hero, but if their leaders were willing to ignore this, it would have to be their job to make sure peace returned to Eldris.

R O L E P L A Y - S A M P L E

Journeys through the Spine Mountains were always long, cold and tedious. They had been sent to Sorvim to mediate a religious disagreement that had been threatening the south for some time now and before things got worse, Blademaster Dorn had ordered them to pay the northern town a visit. Gonzalo liked the north, its colors so different from the brightness and the warmth of the south, but the green of its thick, imposing trees always made up for the colder tones that surrounded them now.

The rainy Targum Forest had turned into cold stone quite a few hours ago and now they found themselves right in the middle of the mountain range, the cloudy sky and softly falling snow making it difficult to tell how early or late it was. Still, they knew they had been riding for a long time, and it would soon be time to set up camp before the road got too slippery for the horses and the night too dangerous for all of them. Bandits often used that same passage, after all.

Gonzalo rode forward, leaving the rest of his brothers behind to scout the surroundings for a good place to camp when he saw it, or more accurately, felt it. The ground shook with a powerful roar, one that could only belong to some great, powerful beast, but not one he had encountered before; the sound foreign to his ears. He looked up, his eyes scanning his surroundings as his hand reached for his sword when he found the great creature flying overhead.

A dragon.

Its great wings flapped gracefully through the falling snow, as if it was used to the powerful winds that surrounded it. Gonzalo lost his breath, his eyes unable to lose sight of the menacing creature. No one had seen a dragon in ages. They were believed to be dormant until a dragonborn woke them and called them to their aid, but Gonzalo couldn’t remember the last time that happened. It felt like fate, like destiny to be the one witnessing such a moment and he couldn’t help but smile, brilliant and bright.

He turned his horse around quickly to inform the others, to show his brothers what he had just seen and ask them to follow the dragon to its nest when he heard it: screaming, slurs thrown carelessly and the sound of metal hitting metal. He galloped at full speed to reach them, to protect the people he had sworn and oath to, but when he reached them, only one of his brothers was still on his feet, surrounded by bandits.

The fight that followed was vicious, and impossible to win. They were outnumbered, and with one last blow the last remaining warrior was dead, and Gonzalo was down on his knees, bloodied and bruised at the hands of the bandits. He watched them, analyzed as he thrashed and snarled to break free from their grasp, but couldn’t.

“You’re coming with us,” the man said, and Gonzalo looked back up at the sky, feeling as if the world had stopped just for him, one last kindness so he could see the dragon fly away. He sighed and prayed to the Divine that they would deliver him from harm just once more so he could come back and follow the dragon’s path.

After that, everything went to black.

MISCELLANEOUS

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