#buff fortress two

[gameclam4]

hi edit to say i shot this video but i did not animate it! heres the og. i didn’t expect this shitpost to get notes lmao this was just a test to show my friends that i got my crt hooked up as a second monitor for my laptop (so no this is not on a vhs tape lol)

[mewfortress5]

This idea has been plaguing me for Reasons Unknown so take it or leave it. I think termina would be an enriching exercise in survival for the mercs

[dorpyscorpyy]

Hey guys new random headcanon droping

This is just something I thought of, so don't take it seriously but... what if Engineer and Soldier were distant relatives? (Since, well, Soldier's name already says it: "Jane Doe". Usually these names are given to people whose identity is undefined or who technically "don't exist in the marital status, I guess. Idk how American laws work lol) And well, I believe that Soldier doesn't have any parents so what's the possibility that he has anything related to the Conaghers? And also, their faces look...a bit similar to each other. (1 might be exaggerating here but let's be honest, Dell doesn't even look that much like his father lol)

Anyway, this is just a random thought I had :p

[monsterinthetrash]

They are at the beach so I have an excuse to make fun of scout (and draw buff miss Pauling)

[boimann]

since the on stream interaction between Medic and Saxton Hale I haven't been able to get them out of my head so now it's my new favourite crack ship.

I'm calling this ship "boiled eggs" (no I won't be tacking any criticism)

[mooniiify]

Lexiiiiii

I go insane thinking about the idea of Wriothsley when he was still imprisoned at the fortress as a prisoner, and hes ended up in a super sweet but also painstakingly angsty star crossed lover situation with the current Duke's son/daughter/gn!reader

It's forbidden but stolen glances and if he starts fighting in the pancration ring to try and show off to reader, and gets beat up and reader goes to tend to him and wriothsley protects reader from any other prisoners trying to overstep and mess with reader because of their negative feelings for her father and aaaa reader sneaks into their dad's office to find wriothsleys record because they can't believe he could ever hurt anyone then they find out and - RIP MY HEART OUT ALREADYY

the girl from the fortress and the convict | wriothesley x reader

word count: 4.3k cw: fem! reader, use of y/n, fluff and a lil angst towards the end, making out but nothing explicit, not proofread! notes: i think i got a little carried off with this request bc it SO GOOD thank you anon <3 this could've been longer but i was feeling a lil uncreative sorry, hope you enjoy it anyway!

She was no inmate, yet she was bound to a life in prison, wether she liked it or not. The Fortress of Meropede was all she knew, having been born and raised within the metal structure. There were few times where her father had taken pity on her as a child and brought her outside with him, though that was always only due to him having work in the overworld. Besides that, she didn't particularly like hanging around her father, anyway.

Her life was boring, but she was used to it. 

The inmates never interested her, mostly due to them always being older than her. It was to be expected, of course, due to crime rates among younger people much much lower, if not non-existend in Fontaine.

That was until when she was just seventeen, when she'd heard whispers of a young boy, supposedly around her age, being sent to the Fortress. She hadn't seen him yet, though all the rumours about him piqued her interest. 

It was about three months after she'd first heard of his inprisonment that she heard about him fighting at the pankration ring. She wasn't allowed there, her father would kill her if he found out, but what was life without a little risk? 

With a mask over the lower half of her face and her head low, Y/n managed to sneak into the rink with no trouble. She stood to the side, watching, making sure no one was approaching her. 

The spirits were high, chatter filling the arena. They were talking about the newbie who'd started climbing the ranks quickly, and that was when she'd first heard of his name. Wriothesley. She wondered what a person with such an interesting, noble name would look like. 

An announcer got on the rink, no mircophone since it was still, after all, a prison, yelling over to the audience. ''On the left corner, we have the beast that is he is in the rink, the monster he unleashes against those who dare challenge him, I want to hear your applaus for Dougier!''

A rather buff man appeared on the stage, his hands in the air as he enjoyed the praise. Y/n clapped along, still hidded in the back and trying not to stand out. 

Once the cheers died down, the announcer continued. ''Now, in the right corner, we have the newest rising star in the pankration rink, the one with iron fists, go off for . . . Wriothesley!''

Y/n stood straighter at the name, her eyes stuck on the rink. Up walked the youngest inmate she'd seen around. His black hair was tousled, his eyes icy like the vision that hung on his hip. His attire was simple, his boots heavy. She watched him as he pulled on the Cryo Vision and flung it to the side, it falling near the corner. No one dared touch it. Y/n wondered how no one has stolen it yet. 

The two fighters got into position, fists in the air. Y/n watched as the bigger man flung himself at Wriothesley, who expertly dodged before throwing a punch in his gut. He was moving so quick Y/n could barely follow, and before she knew it, the buff man was on the ground, knocked out. The announcer grabbed Wriothesley's arm and put it up, declaring him winner. 

Wriothesley seemed rather indifferent to his victory. He walked off the stage as the other man had to be hauled away, making his way towards the betting table where he was able to recieve his payment for the win. Y/n bit the inside of her cheek, watching as he waited for his coupons to be counted. 

She kicked off the wall she'd been leaning on, manneuvering through the people. She was planning to leave at first, then noticed the Cryo Vision still on the edge of the rink, Wriothesley seeming none the wiser. She contemplated for a moment, then seized the chance, picking up the vision and making her way towards Wriothesley. 

He'd just recieved his coupons when Y/n tapped him on the shoulder, mask down as to seem more inviting, holding out his vision. ''You forgot this.''

Wriothesley seemed stunned for a moment, staring in her eyes. Y/n was no different, taking a closer look to his face. There was a small scar under his eye that seemed to be almost healed, so it must've been rather recent. She couldn't help but wonder how he'd gotten it. 

He was the first one to shake himself off. ''Thank you.'' He took the vision, reattaching it to his belt. ''Sorry, I didn't catch your name?'' 

''It's Y/n,'' she said, holding onto her mask. ''I'll see you around, Wriothesley.'' 

''Hey, wait━'' 

She didn't. She walked away, her mask back on, convering the small smile on her face. 

The Fortress wasn't the biggest place in Teyvat, yet it took a few days before Y/n finally spotted Wriothesley again. He was at the canteen at the same time she was making her way there, sitting alone to the side. She understood, though. Everyone else was much older than them. It was weird. 

She picked up her food, the most appetizing one of the day, and made her way to Wriothesley with her tray. ''This seat taken?'' 

Wriothesley looked up, one of his cheeks stuffed with food. He quickly swallowed down his food, clearing his throat. ''No, go ahead.''

Y/n sat down, putting her tray down. She looked over at Wriothesley's, noticing he'd gotten the welfare meal of the day. It didn't look nearly as appetizing as hers. She looked down at her tray, at the bowl with mashed potatoes. Picking it up, she placed it on Wriothesley's tray. ''Here. Have at least one actually edible thing.''

Wriothesley furrowed his eyebrows, looking at her. ''Doesn't this cost, like, a bunch of coupons? Don't just give it to me.'' 

''Just accept the gift, will you?'' Y/n said as she picked up her fork. ''Call it the forging of our friendship, or whatever.''

Wriothesley quirked his eyebrows. ''Since when are we friends?''

''Since we, my dear friend, are the only people of our age in this hell of a place,'' Y/n said as she messed with her food with her fork. ''Trust me, I've checked. Unless you want to hang out with all the oldies, that is. I can gladly take my mashed potatoes back.''

''No, it's . . . it's fine.'' Wriothesley said, taking a bite of her offer, humming. ''It really is good. At least, better than anything else I've had so far.''

The rest of the lunch passed in silence, which Y/n didn't find awkward. Wriothesley opened his mouth a few times, as if he wanted to speak, but never went through with it, so neither did Y/n. At the end of their meal, both of them returned their trays, Y/n looking at him with her arms crossed and a smile. ''Same time tomorrow?'' 

''. . . Right.'' 

They kept up their silent lunches for a week. It was nice, finally having company and not having to bring her lunch back to her room so it wouldn't feel awkward with all the other inmates. Then, one day, Wriothesley finally dared ask her a question. 

''How long have you been here for?'' he asked, making Y/n look up at him. ''I mean, you seem oddly experienced about the Fortress, considering you're about the same age as me. You must've done something insane to have come here even before me.''

Y/n hummed, tapping her plate with her fork twice before answering. ''I've been here since birth.''

Wriothesley furrowed his eyebrows. ''What?'' 

Before Y/n could answer, she felt a looming presence behind her. Looking back, she made eye contact with Dougier, the same convict Wriothesley had beaten just a week before. He stood behind her with his arms crossed, but looking at Wriothesley. 

''Well, look what we have here. The newbie sweet-talking his way to the Administrator's daughter's pants.''

Y/n watched as Wriothesley's eyes widened slightly. It wouldn't have been really noticable if she hadn't spent the last week observing every possible expression and manneurism he would show in her presence. 

''I'm not sweet-talking myself into anything.'' Wriothesley's eyes narrowed at the man. ''I apologize that I happen to be a better company to some.'' 

''You━'' Dougier stopped himself before he could throw a punch at Wriothesley, then looked at Y/n. ''So, seems like after all this time, you've finally found yourself a boy-toy? I'm not sure how well your father would take that in.'' 

''What, are you going to go tattle-tale to my dad now? What are you, twelve?'' Y/n challenged, seemingly making Dougier even madder. 

''You little━''

''How about you leave the girl alone?'' Wriothesley stepped in before any filthy words can be uttered in her direction, crossing his arms in front of his chest. ''Do I need to send you running with your tail between your legs again?'' 

Dougier only scoffed, sent each of them a last look, then left. Y/n chuckled as she looked at Wriothesley. ''Thanks for that, but I had it handled.''

''Oh, I could tell, Miss Administrator's Daughter,'' Wriothesley said, leaning on his forearms on the table, eyebrows raised. ''Why didn't you say anything?''

Y/n shrugged. ''Not like we've really talked. But, you know now, so. Truthfully, I don't really talk to anyone here because they're scared of getting on my father's bad side, so they mostly avoid me, except to tease me, as you just saw. I don't really rat anyone out because I don't care.'' She looked down, playing with her food. ''Now's the moment to get up and leave, if you're also scared of the Administrator.''

Truthfully, she expected him to stand up and walk away. When she didn't hear any movement, she looked up and noticed him still rooted in his position, his eyebrows raised. ''What? You think I'm some sort of a coward?'' 

Y/n smiled at him, genuenly for the first time since she'd actually met him. ''No, not really.'' 

She thought that from that day on, their relationship would blossom, in one way or another. That was, until she was called into her father's office later that same day, urgency written all over the guard's face.

She made it in, seeing her father in his chair. She's rarely seen him out of it, really. ''You called for me, father?'' 

''I hear you've been getting cozy with a new inmate.'' Her father took a smoke of his pipe despite the poor ventilation in his office. ''Wriothesley, isn't it?''

Y/n sighed. ''Look, I don't know what Dougier or anyone else told you, but Wriothesley and I are just friends.''

''You cannot be friends with convicts, Y/n.''

Y/n scoffed. ''If you haven't noticed, you've kept me stuck here my whole life. I don't really have much of a choice.'' 

''I have no time to deal with you. If you do not stop associating yourself with that boy, I will have no choice but to punish him instead.''

Y/n's breath hitched. She watched her father as he got back to work, essentially showing her the conversation was over. She opened her mouth, wanting to protest, but there was no point. She stomped out of his office, straight to her room. 

The next day, she went to the cafeteria to pick up her lunch. A note was stuffed away in her pocket, her eyes scanning the area, falling on Wriothesley. He was sat on their usual table, already waiting, his lunch untouched. 

Y/n walked over to the table, seeing the small smirk appear on his lips. ''Well, look who decided to━''

Y/n slammed her hand on the table, startling Wriothesley. ''I can't hang out with you anymore,'' was all she said before she walked away, leaving a confused Wriothesley behind. He watched her as she picked up her lunch, then made her way away from the cafeteria. 

He looked down at his tray puzzled. Something white caught his eye, just where Y/n's hand had slammed on the table. He quickly took it, looking around to make sure no one was looking at him. Unfolding it, he was met in a few sentences. The handwriting was rather neat.

Dougier ratted me out to my father, and he doesn't want us to hang out anymore. He said if he hears of us again, he will hurt you. I'll wait for you at the infirmary, Sigewinne won't tell on us, so we can talk later tonight. If you're willing to take the risk, that is. Since you're no coward. 

Wriothesley stared at the note, re-reading it a few times. He thought of Y/n and how cold expression had looked just moments before, but it all must've been a mask. He wondered if it was worth it. He'd only known her for a week. Was it worth risking making his life even more miserable for a girl he barely knew? They've talked twice for the whole time they've known each other. 

Y/n sat on one of the infirmary beds that night. Sigewinne was gone, treating someone in their own room. Her feet dangled over the bed as she waited, playing with an icy dagger she'd created with her own vision. When she heard footsteps approaching, she let it disappear, standing up. 

Wriothesley appeared atop the stairs, looking down at her. He stood there for a moment, staring at her before he made his way down. The two stood face to face, a little too close for comfort, normally. Each of their arms was crossed over their chests. 

''So.'' Wriothesley was the one to start. ''You father would hurt me if he finds me with you again?'' 

''Mhm.''

''Which means if we want to be friends, we have to sneak around?''

''Precisely.''

''What do I get out of all of this, if we don't count potentially getting my teeth knocked out of my mouth if caught?''

''Well, you get my amazing friendship, first of all, filled with my sparkling personality,'' Y/n explained, doing jazz hands for emphasis. ''And you also prove you're not a pussy.'' 

''Hm. Sounds like a deal.''

Y/n was rigth at the end. Their friendship continued, though descreetly. They no longer dared have lunch together, but getting dinner at odd times and eating it in the infirmary with Sigewinne was nice. Every time they would pass each other anywhere, each of them would be unable not to steal a glance at the other. Y/n wasn't required to work since her father gave her as many coupons as she needed, but she'd made a habit of visiting the work stations under the pretense of checking how the work was going, definitely not just to stare at Wriothesley. 

She was, after all, just a girl. And Wriothesley was kind, attractive, caring and funny. Everything she'd learned she wanted in a guy from all the books she'd read. 

Wriothesley had informed her he was fighting that night, so she'd snuck into the pankration ring again, back in with her mask. She watched as Wriothesley was once again declared victorious. His face was still rather stoic, his eyes looking over the crowd. Once he found her face, a smirk broke out on his lips, making Y/n roll her eyes. 

His next match he won again, though this time not unscated. Once he walked off the rink, Y/n rushed by his side, worry driving her, not caring about anyone seeing her. ''Are you alright?'' she asked as soon as she'd reached him. There was blood coming out of his mouth and he was clutching his side. 

''I'm fine.''

''You're not. Come on, let's get you to Sigewinne.''

Y/n used her vision to keep her hands cold as she held onto Wriothesley's side where he'd gotten punched pretty badly, trying to soothe him as best as he can. The infirmary was empty when they made it and Sigewinne worked her magic on him immediatelly, while Y/n cleaned the blood off his face. 

Once he was patched and ordered bed rest, Sigewinne left to attend other matters, leaving the two alone once again. Y/n sat on the bed next to him as he continued to lay, watching him despite his closed eyes. 

''Are you feeling better?'' she whispered in case he was asleep. 

''Yeah.'' Wriothesley's eyes opened and he moved to sit up, leaning his elbows on his knees. ''Thanks.'' 

''Yeah, no worries.'' 

The two stared at each other's eyes, slowly leaning in simultaneously. The moment their lips met, Y/n was glad she'd cleaned the blood off. 

Wriothesley's arms found their way to her waist, holding on. Y/n held his neck, pulling him closer, humming into the kiss at the satisfaction. When they pulled back, they rested their foreheads on each other's, eyes closed. Y/n moved one of her hands up to his cheek, caressing it as she spoke the words that were either going to ruin or make everything.

''You're not doing this because I'm the only girl available, are you?'' 

Wriothesley chuckled, his warm breath hitting her face, sending shivers down her spine. ''I'm doing this because you're the best girl I've ever met.'' 

Right. Wriothesley, unlike her, hadn't spent his whole life stuck here. She opened her eyes, taking a quick glance at the now fully-healed scar under his eye. She ran her thumb over it, unable to help the corners of her lips twitching up. Wriothesley also opened his eyes, seeing the smile on her face and kissing it right away, his lips matching hers. 

For the first time in her life, Y/n felt the thrill of life. 

From then on, it was sneaking off, stolen kisses and glances. They would be in a random hallway, away from praying eyes as Wriothesley would have her pressed against one of the cold, metal walls, his lips on hers as he held her tightly, keeping her legs wrapped around him. Y/n giggled into the kiss, at his touches, at the comfort he gave her. 

They were in the infirmary, laying on one of the beds, side to side. They faced each other, none of their limbs really touching, but it felt oddly intimate. ''Tell me something, Wriothesley.'' He hummed as a response. ''How is it in the overworld?'' 

''The overworld?'' Wriothesley looked like he was thinking for a moment. ''I mean, it's pretty nice, I think. Have you never been out?'' 

''A few times. Only to the Opera Epiclese and back, when I was really young. I don't remember much.''

''Hm, I see. I mean, I lived a little outside of the city, so we were always surrounded by nature, which was pretty nice. The grass was always green and there was a field of flowers my siblings and I used to like playing at. My favorites were the rainbow roses.'' 

''Oh, I've read about those,'' Y/n said. ''Never seen them, though.'' 

Silence fell between them. Wriothesley kept looking all over her face and seemed like he wanted to say something, but he kept silent. Regardless, there was some sort of a promise hanging in the air, though Y/n wasn't exactly sure what. 

She'd snuck into his room one night, thankful he wasn't sharing with anyone at the moment. His bed wasn't nearly as comfortable as hers, but laying on his chest felt much warmer than under her own blanket. He was playing with her hair, pressing the occasional kiss on the crown of her head. Y/n would've fallen asleep had it not been for the question that was plaguing her mind. 

''Wrio, I want to ask you something.''

''What is it, princess?''

Y/n moved to sit up on her folded legs, watching as Wriothesley followed, leaning his back on the railing behidn his bed. Y/n took a deep breath, then finally let her thoughts out. ''Why are you here? What . . . what was your crime?''

Wriothesley's face fell. He sighed. ''If I tell you, will that . . . change anything?'' 

Truthfully, she wasn't sure. His answer scared her. 

When he noticed her lack of responce, Wriothesley reached out, placing a comforting hand over hers. ''Y/n, I promise what I did, I did because I had to. And I promise that I would never, ever hurt you, alright?'' 

Y/n gulped and gave him a slow nod. She interlaced her fingers, not looking away from his eyes, waiting. 

Wriothesley nodded. ''Okay. My crime . . . my crime is that I murdered my parents.''

Y/n didn't react. She tried not to visibly, at least. She wanted to ask him why, what had happened, but based on the look on his face, she thought he'd shared enough for the night. She didn't want to pressure him further. ''Thank you for telling me.'' 

''Yeah . . . no worries.'' 

Regardless of his promises, regardless of the comfort he'd brought her just moments before, Y/n felt uneasy when she laid back down on his chest. She was laying down with a murderer. 

After she left that night, she couldn't bring herself to face Wriothesley. Of course she knew he'd been a criminal from the very beginning, they were in a prison, for Archon's sake, but she never would've thought someone like Wriothesley, someone that was so kind and gentle and nice to her, could ever take the life of another. She couldn't shake off the thought.

He was a murderer. 

She'd expected some petty theft, maybe tax fraud or something. She felt shivers every time she thought about his crime and couldn't bring herself to face him. Every time she'd see him at the canteen she would ignore him, picking up her lunch and running back to her room. 

A whole week had passed. She decided to take her mind off by going to the pankration rink, unaware that it was Wriothesley fighting that night. He'd won once again, but once he'd found her face in the crowd, he'd simply looked away and left, not even picking up his coupons. 

She felt like shit. She'd promised him things wouldn't change, that she would accept anything, yet here she was now, avoiding him like the plague despite him being truthful with her. 

Her father, the lazy person that he was, had decided one day that he couldn't be bothered to sort through some inmate files, sending Y/n to do it in his stead. She'd done it begrudgingly, doing as told. Her eyes were droopy until she reached a certain file, one with Wriothesley's name on it. Her eyes widened. 

Should she read it? Was this invasion of privacy? But she had to. If she didn't find out why, what he meant when he'd said he'd done what he had to, she thought that she might never be able to approach Wriothesley again, despite the burn she felt in her heart every time she saw him alone to the side. 

She opened the file, her eyes scanning the words. They widened, dropping the folder on the ground as she ran out. 

She checked his room first, but he wasn't there. Not at the canteen, at his station or at the pankration rink. She finally made her way to the infirmary, where she found him with his arm bandaged as Sigewinne was telling him to be more careful. 

Y/n breathed heavily as she realized her search had finally come to an end, catching the attention of Wriothesley and Sigewinne. Sigewinne looked between them before making her way out, once again leaving them alone. 

Slowly walking down the stairs, Y/n couldn't bear to look at him, ashamed of what had happened. She pulled a chair to sit in front of him, looking down at his hand. ''What happened?''

''Sparring gone wrong.'' His voice was cold, but she couldn't blame him.

''I'm sorr━''

''You promised.''

''I know.'' 

Silence fell between them and, for the first time since they'd met, it felt uncomfortable. Y/n looked up, realizing Wriothesley had been looking her the whole time. She realized he wasn't going to say anything more. It was on her to fix things. 

''I came across your file.'' Y/n admitted, her voice quiet. She'd never felt so small under Wriothesley's gaze, the one person who always made her feel like . . . well, a person. ''I'm so, so sorry for assuming the worst. I . . . understand why you did it. And I'm so, so proud of you for stepping up for your siblings.'' 

Wriothesley looked down then, his fingers picking on his bandages. ''You could've just asked me. I would've told you.''

''I'm sorry.'' Y/n moved to sit next to him, taking his hand in hers, giving it a squeeze. ''You're such a kind person, I just couldn't wrap my head around it. I'm sorry. It's no excuse, I know, but Wriothesley, you're the most important person in my life and I just━ I can't bear the thought of losing you, but if you want nothing to do with me after this stunt, I'd understand.''

Silence again. It was starting to get unnerving. Wriothesley didn't move either, so Y/n gave his hand another squeeze, still to no reaction. 

It felt like an eternity when he finally squeezed back. ''I just think you're such an idiot if you think something so small could make me not want you anymore.'' Wriothesley finally looked at her, bringing his bandaged hand up to cup her face. ''Next time, just talk to me about it, yeah?''

Y/n felt relief wash over her shoulders. ''Yeah. Thank you, Wrio.''

At that moment, Y/n didn't know that in just a few years time Wriothesley would challenge her father for his title and would win, that his sentence would end he would be bestowed with his new title of Duke, that his sentence would be over and, despite his new responsibilities, he would keep his wordless promise he'd given her years ago and take her out to the world to see the green grass and rainbow roses and everything the world had to offer, if she so wished. That he would make her his wife and, despite the fact that she would still have ties to the fortress, she was finally going to be happy. 

No, she didn't know all of that. At the moment, all she could think about was how warm Wriothesley's embrace was and how much her love for him seemed to grow with each day. 

requests are still open!

[cerastes]

Are there any notable supporters you reccomend? I kinda ignore the class except for gnosis (and I do use scene and deep color in IS a bit) and I wonder if I'm actually sleeping on some fun units.

YOU CAME TO THE RIGHT NEIGHBORHOOD, MOTHER FUCKER, I LOVE SUPPORTERS.

Suzuran - 6* Decel Binder. The moral of Arknights is that children make excellent soldiers, and Suzuran proves this. Her two Talents are really good, as she serves as an incredibly potent SP accelerator for Supporters (+0.4 extra SP per second, so Supporters will charge 40% faster, herself included), and all enemies suffering from Slow (the actual status effect Slow, not the movement speed reduction effects one can find on Manticore or Chung the Hung, for example) in her range are also inflicted with 20% Fragile (so, they take 20% extra Phys, Arts and True damage from all sources). It doesn't have to be Slow inflicted by her, any Slow will do, so Angelina's S2 machinegun Slow will render an enemy vulnerable to an ass kicking quite effectively, as will Podenco's S2, and any source of Slow additional to Suzuran herself. S2 gives her an extra target on every attack, 2 extra targets with Masteries, alongside a minor Attack buff and, more importantly, infinite duration, meaning she can control more enemies at once and better prevent Slow Dilution (what I call when you Slow an enemy, then the next enemy passes them, making them the next target, and so on, diluting damage and clustering them; this isn't necessarily bad but it can be undesired depending on you strategy). Her spotlight stealer, however, is her S3, which expands her range, provides strong passive healing (so unhealables can be healed), doubles her Fragile Talent (40%), and Slows everything in range. Gnosis Fragile is bigger (50%) but he only maintains it in comparatively shorter bursts, Suzuran's S3 last 35 whopping seconds, and enemies that are Slow-immune are far fewer than Freeze-immune. This section is particularly big because, yeah, Suzuran just really does that much, she combos VERY well with other Supporters, can be slotted in any team, and just generally works, I'm not even a Suzuran fan, she's just that jacked.

Podenco - 4* Decel Binder, real name GODenco, also slots easily into any team, can switch to healing on her S1, or provide bursts of Silence, AoE Arts damage and Slow on good upkeep with her S2. She also provides a minor passive buff to other Supporters. If you need to Silence things, you think of the best Silencer, Lappland, but sometimes you need to Silence a LOT of things, enough that Lapp might get overwhelmed, well, that's when you use GODenco S2 and suddenly that entire cluster of 8 exploding spiders won't go boom no more. She's really good for Slow Dilution because of her single target into AoE skill, so she combos really good with AoE hitters like Artillerymen, Fortresses, Chain Casters, Qiu Bai S2, etc.

Shamare - 5* Hexer, a good execution support, as she applies 30% Fragile to enemies in range under 40% HP. Her main hat trick, however, is her S2, her signature Cursed Doll. At S2M3, the Cursed Doll, which you deploy on the field and it affects its tile and the 8 surrounding tiles, will provide an absolutely ungodly debuff of -50% ATK and DEF to all enemies in said range. One of the rare ATK% debuffs in the game, and in my opinion the best, it'll make even Gopnik hit like a wet noodle. What's more, since it's not an active skill, the moment you drop your Cursed Doll, Shamare will immediately begin charging the next one! With a charge of 30 and a doll timer of 15 seconds, her true charge time is 15 seconds. Basically, you can cycle 15 seconds of regular enemy stats and 15 seconds of halved enemy stats. This is legitimately insane. Since Shamare's stats are also unimportant, you can just leave her at E2Lv1 (unless you want her Module, which imo is not worth the lv2+ and I'd only get the lv1 if you really like her) so she can be a cheap and powerful investment.

U-Official - NUMERO UNO CAMPEAO DA PENTA

Quercus - 5* Abjurer. I'll keep it simple here: Her healing with Module is bonkers, and she provides Shelter (damage reduction%) to units in range above 70% HP, 60% with Module Lv3. S1 is her permanent Healer mode, toggable on a long cooldown, while S2 is her burst healing window skill, notable in that it provides SP to healed units throughout its duration. Quercus is sleeped upon, she's a REALLY strong Supporter that provides SP, healing and bulk.

Orchid - 3* Decel Binder. I include her here if you want to play Integrated Strategies, because she's always a good free pick there. She's the Slower that Slows.

Roberta - 4* Artificer. I include her here because my stream audience will disembowel me and chain my flayed corpse outside the Museum of Modern Arts if I don't, she's my meme unit. THOUGH, her Shield-providing, DEF enhancing tools can come in handy.

Valarqvin - 5* Ritualist. The IS4 free unit. Significantly stronger in IS4 due to built-in Necrosis Damage on autoattacks, but even outside of IS4, she can be useful for bursting or key enemy elimination with S2, as Necrosis is a strong effect with a built in, decaying ATK% debuff (again, rare) and unmitigated DoT (total of 12000 damage over 15 seconds, 800 dmg per second). Nothing so far in the game resists this, so go ham.

Angelina - 6* Decel Binder. Angelina's whole thing is that she's not a standout unit in any regard, but she can support practically every team, can so strong sustained damage and Slow against single targets with S2, strong multitarget Slow and reduced Weight for Shifting with S3, and passively increases party ASPD and gives them passive healing (works on unhealables). Angelina is kind of like a crowbar or a length of rope in that she's as useful as you can be creative with her, never as a stand out, but as a good brick in the overall house.

Ling - Limited 6* Summoner. Kind of an obligatory mention, but basically, God Mode. One of the gamebreakers, as she can produce 4-Block replenishable immensely powerful summons with multitarget equal to block, Arts damage, and damaging auras. Yeah. Even without that monster of an S3, she can sub Burst Damage and crowd control really well with S2. Her applications are insane, she's so strong that we can be here all day, so we won't do that, she's a very well documented unit.

Skadi the Corrupting Heart - Limited 6* Bard. Again, another well documented unit, but she can basically E3 your units with the sheer stat heft she provides through her S2 buff, can deploy an extension to this range with her Seaborn Summon, and if you really want to go ham, she can enter Microwave Mode with S3 so True Damage cook the shit out of anything, in addition to providing a really big Attack bonus to units in range while at it. Well documented unit so I'll keep it brief but yeah, godlike unit.

There's a few more, like Proviso and Scene, but that's enough for now. "Your forgot to mention--" I didn't forget, you do it.

I hope this helps, anon!

[jevilowo]

List of Tf2 inconsistenties that piss me off

Bc its 1am and im staying awake while beloved mutual Jo livetexts me while they watch venom (I'd tag them but they blocked tf2 tag)

The timeline presented in the Shakespearicles post. Just read it yourself its sosisoso frustrating

The claim in the Shakespearicles post that mankind gave up inventing until 1921. What do you call Radigan in the 1890s then idiot.

Different claims on Merasmus' age (older than the universe in doommates, vs 6000ish in the lore comics) (this means the universe is 5999ish i guess okay)

Scout claims in comic 4 that he met Ms Pauling 6 years ago. Medic claims the mercs have shared "at least" 8 halloweens together. Despite both of these, the catch up comics imply the gravel wars with our mercs only took place over one summer. The first two are supposed to be meta jokes I think (ms pauling debuted in the war update comic, 2009, 5 years before comic 4 [miscalculations again??], and the first scream fortress was also 2009, 8 years before comic 6) but come onnnn be consistentttt.

Australian women had moustaches in the 1890s, but Mags doesn't? I've blamed this on long term Australium Depletion but its still annoying.

Saxton Hale claims its 2010 on the mannconomy update page, but the corresponding comic takes place in the 60s. I'm presuming this means the comic takes place on a different part of the timeline from Saxton’s notes but okay.

The crazy wild Australium retcon. So Sniper was created in 2007 to be australian. Then they invented Saxton Hale for Spy vs Sniper in 2009. Then people liked him so he became important. So in 2010, the engineer update invented Australium (although it was alluded to as early as the classless update a bit before that) and the corresponding comic claimed it made all australians buff. Despite this, in 2011 Sniper's parents were given very not buff, probably bc the artist was hella rushed at the time and had no time to reread the engineer update stuff. Then the comic writer remembered scrawny bastard Sniper was Australian, although maybe the regular writers were cooking excuses for that before then. So we got the New Zealand excuse in 2014 (im pretty sure), but that still didn't explain away his parents looking normal. Thus, my australium depletion theory. Valve should just hire me at this rate smh.

Silas Mann. They were setting him up to be somewhat important I'M SURE OF IT. They even retconned a mann co "quarterly concern" from the classless update to include his name for the engineer update! And they changed the cover slightly. Can't tell if this is a retcon or some abandoned "they tried to cut him out of history" sideplot thingy to explain how Silas became the Horsemann. I'm still holding out hope he returns in comic 7.

Abe Lincoln died two different ways and still became a mercenary? I excuse this as he faked his death a little too well (some blueprints imply it in the engineer update)

Speaking of, a coin claiming he invented the rocket jump despite MY BOY SHAKESPEARICLES. GAH.

This is just off the top of my head, mind you, and i haven't finished lore research. Expect many more grievances.

But yeah no in conclusion the writers need a calculator and also to consult each other more often so they don't contradict each other

[ladykailitha]

EddieHawk? *name in progress*

Listen, come closer. Steddie LadyHawke AU. I know, I know, it's been done before but they modernized it.

Picture this.

Sir Stephan as head of the guard for Bishop William (Billy) and they both fall for the beautiful and ethereal Eddie. He is the adopted nephew of Lord Wayne and crowning jewel of the small principality of Hawkins.

Sir Stephan and Eddie know that they can't wed under the eye of Prince Henry (Vecna) and Bishop William plan to run away together and elope.

Max not knowing that her guardian the Bishop is madly in love with Eddie, tells him of their plans thinking that he could help them get away.

The Bishop is enraged that they would even think of running away and with the help of the Prince place a curse on the pair.

Five years later and Robin, who is a thief and escape artist extraordinaire breaks out of the town prison which was said to be inescapable.

Sir Thomas, the new head of the guard and the Bishop's right hand man is intent on capturing her to find out how she escaped.

She just happens to run into Sir Thomas and the guard right where Sir Stephan was trying to make it back to the center of Hawkins to kill the Bishop and he accidentally rescues her.

But in their running, they move farther away from the Hawkins much to Sir Stephan's ire. When they stop for the night, even though there is still plenty of daylight left, Robin gets annoyed. She wants to get away from the bad men after, stopping now does not accomplish that. So Stephan tells her to leave.

Robin weighs the two options and stays with the buff dude with a very big sword. And strangely a beautiful raven.

Stephan tells her that if she sees a large wolf, run away. Don't engage. He will not be responsible if it eats her.

Robin is confused, there haven't been wolves in the area in decades. But she doesn't argue afraid he'll just leave her behind. He also tells her that when the sun sets to lay out the clothing in right saddle bag and do not talk to the man who comes to get them.

So she does what she's told.

Mostly.

She talks to the young man. Learns his name is Edwin, but everyone calls him Eddie. He's sweet and awkward. And if she was attracted to men, she might just fall in love with him.

The wolf appears and Robin is terrified. But oddly Eddie is not.

Come morning, Stephan is back and the beautiful man is gone. Stephan calls to the raven and he lands on Robin's arm not Stephan's. And ooh boy does that cause a stir.

"I'm gay you daft creature!" she hisses, "Go back to your master!"

Stephan laughs for the first time and the raven lands on Stephan's wrist.

But the guard has caught up with them and a stray arrow hits the raven. Stephan is distraught. Terrified.

He rides for miles, hard and fast to a small fortress. It's run by a group of outcasts. Max, El, Dustin, Will, Mike, and Lucas. All run out of Hawkins for one reason or another.

Max carries the heaviest sin by far.

Stephan yells at the gate. "Come down here and help him. Now!"

They all come running and Robin is confused.

While El and Will seek to heal the bird, Max and Dustin feed Robin. She's worried about Stephan. But Dustin tells her Mike and Lucas have him.

Robin catches Will and El covering the body of a naked Eddie with a wound in his shoulder right where the raven was shot. So she gets the truth out of Max and Dustin about the curse that binds them together but keeps them apart. At night Eddie is a human and Stephan a wolf, and during the day, Stephan is a human and Eddie the raven. Never can they see each other.

Robin is upset. That's horrible.

But the Party has a plan. They just have to get Stephan to agree to it.

Come morning the bird is fully healed and they set off again, Max and Dustin following behind. Stephan refuses to listen to their plan and insists his going to kill the Bishop will break the curse.

The bishop is tired of waiting and sends out a wolf hunter, Yuri to kill Stephan.

There is a harrowing moment that night when poor Eddie and Robin think Stephan has been caught in one of these traps, but thanks to the quick thinking of Max and Robin they kill the hunter in one of his own traps.

But it's too close for comfort. They need to end this and fast.

They travel all day, getting nearer to the city once again. When they camp at night, it's near a frozen lake that they had skirted that morning.

Only when the wolf attempts to cross it, he falls in. And with everyone's help and the big ass sword, Robin manages to save the wolf.

In the morning before the sun fully comes over the horizon, Robin makes a lean-to casting Eddie in shadow long enough for Stephan to be human long enough to see Eddie before he fully transforms into a bird.

Robin tells Stephan that she lost the sword in the lake and Stephan in his anger pushes her. She lands on the ground and he sees the great big gouges from where the wolf had scratched her helping him out of the lake.

He apologies and hugs her.

They make it to the town and Max insists that if Stephan waits until the eclipse to kill the Bishop the curse will be broke for sure. But Stephan can't trust her. Tells her to kill Eddie if he fails. If the bells ring, he's failed.

He goes in and with a sword he takes off a soldier he kills attacks Mass.

He kills Tommy but before he can kill the Bishop, one of the guards manage to ring the bell just as the eclipse starts. Stephan is gutted.

But before he can kill himself, Eddie comes running in human.

The Bishop is pissed and tries to kill Eddie with his staff, but Robin slides Stephan's sword to him and he kills the Bishop, ending the curse for good.

*cradles your face in my hands* Do you, you see the vision? Can you? Because I can.

[madarasgirl]

A Night for Hunting Ch 12 -The Feeling of Safety

T/W: Alucard (Ultimate) x F!Reader, Vladcard (that’s right, daddy makes his appearance), predator/prey, hunting, ruthless vampire king, romance, Romanian translations Words: 4855 On AO3

I am so excited to finally present this chapter! The premise was planned from the beginning and living rent-free in my head (happy to evict it at last) since I decided to extend this series months ago. I hope you like it! I am no history buff, but I did some light reading on Vlad and the contents of this chapter are also based on how Alucard behaves in Ultimate. A bit nervous, but I hope I got the feels right.

Happy belated Mid-Autumn Festival, fellow Chinese and (other nationalities) who celebrate this occasion! The full moon was beautiful.

Many thanks to @michi-tala for helping me with fine-tuning the Romanian phrases!  @alastorhazbin

“You really are a king?" You asked, incredulous. 

How could this be? A king should be the inspirational leader who guides his nation through strife and peace to glory, the shining star who navigates the tumultuous waters of diplomacy and the horrors of battlefields. A ruler with the intellect to create and uphold the laws, social institutions, and infrastructure to bring about prosperity. He should be someone well-versed in the art of war, yet mannered and cultured to mingle with others in his high society of privilege. 

In other words, someone not quite like Alucard The Boor, who was inflexible about negotiations, poorly socialized, and a stalker to boot. What kind of king had the time to stalk some peasant woman for two years just for fun?

You however had to reconsider your conclusions. The longer you stared at that cocky profile, the more obvious it became that if you squinted, there perhaps was something a little regal about him. He was certainly not lacking in intelligence. And sometimes he demonstrated highly sophisticated mannerisms when he felt like playing the gentleman. He even spoke like a snobby British aristocrat.

Alucard chuckled to himself quietly at your racing thoughts. His eyes closed at the distant recollection of his past. At nearly six centuries of age, he found himself often ruminating about the past, whether as a human or vampire, but when pondering his first life, it was like reliving someone else’s. He remembered the anger, pain, and humiliation vividly. There was regret about his upbringing and later decisions as voivode, even if there were those actions during his reign that were necessary for the survival of his country and Christianity, and parts of Europe continued to view him as a hero to this day. But it all happened so long ago, he barely felt anything anymore, except a faraway, numb regret. 

He was silent when recalling the fresh woodsy scent of the fir trees in his mountains. How he loved to ride through their forests with the wind in his face when he went hunting. His city Târgoviște possessed beauty beyond imagination, before he burnt it down and turned it into a desolate forest of corpses. Perhaps there was some melancholy when reminiscing about his homeland.

Warm fingers landed lightly on the sigils adorning the back of his gloves. Feline eyes opened to narrow slits to watch you looking at him with a questioning stare. It seemed you were finished with mocking his ways in your head.

Flattering child. Innocent little human. You know not of the monster you have involved yourself with, he thought.

“Cetatea (Citadel) Poenari sat atop the mountains. In its prime, it was an impregnable fortress with steep walls that offered a spectacular view of the forested canyon on the Argeș River. You would have appreciated its beauty.”

“Was that your home?” You asked.

“One of them. Its ruins are in what is now known as Romania.”

Wide eyes stayed on him before curving with merriment. “I think I would love to visit your old home one day.” Your wrist flicked in his direction to gesture at his dress clothes. “Did you look like this back then too? There’s no way you dressed this loudly then, right, Your Majesty?” You snickered while putting emphasis on his royal title.

He turned his hand over to grasp your fingers in his. “You wish to see me? All of me?" His brow rose as he evaluated you.

The room chilled suddenly and you hesitated. His shadow was facing toward the light, reaching for you, and the silhouette was wrong. You’ve already seen his flowing shadows, extra eyes, and bats, as well as when he assumed the face of another man. Was there more? Something forbidding was in the air.

“Umm…not the bugs. Please never the bugs again,” you whispered, trying to keep the mood easy tonight.

The orangey-yellow in his eyes spun like molten gold as he petted your fingers before lacing your hands together. Alucard leaned towards you, and as he did, he changed. This was important. Somehow you knew what Alucard was about to show you was intimate, a secret he did not carelessly share with others. You stopped breathing as you watched his transformation happen before your eyes.

Raven locks lengthened until his hair was past his thighs, phantom wind making the ends billow in the air like they were alive. Gangly arms filled out, his chest growing broad and putting on hard muscle in seconds. His red duster turned liquid and flowed over the heavy armour that materialized, settling into a black cape that was as intangible as his tresses at the frayed, surging ends.  

His angular features grew wider at the cheeks, jawline becoming chiselled and covered with coarse stubble. The fiery gaze burned with wisdom and life experience. You had no words as you got a better look at this imposing man who now stood towering over you with his arms at his side.

"This was how I appeared as a human when I perished."

You stared at him from the couch, sitting with your legs in front of you in a “W.” Your mouth was parted as your eyes slid sluggishly over this dark warrior with disbelief. Power rolled off of him. It was in his bearing, the deadly grace with which he conducted himself, and the way the air was not quite right around him.

"You really are breathtakingly beautiful," you told him. 

Alucard purred at your praise and your skin tingled. His rumblings were deeper than normal and it was so unexpected despite his now stockier build. 

“...May I… touch you?” 

Golden-orange glinted with warmth as this stranger stooped down for you to inspect his new body. You tentatively brought your hand up to his face and stroked his cheek. Cold. This Alucard’s skin was still cool to touch. The texture though, that beard was so scratchy. You ran your fingers through his hair, which was as soft as you remembered, but now so long you didn’t even reach the ends with your arm fully extended. 

His name was an anagram. Alucard was a Romanian vampire. Your idiot brain finally made the connection that was in front of you this whole time.

“...You actually are Dracula?” The Son of the Dragon, a king and warlord from the Middle Ages. Probably one of the oldest –and strongest– of vampires.

“You are speaking to Count Dracula of Wallachia.”

You shivered at his voice. Even his accent was different, so foreign and exotic. It did things to you, but your mind had always been stronger.

If memory served you correctly, history did not have favourable things to say about the real Dracula. The Sir Impaler staked people, including women and children, for all sorts of reasons and no reason as well –as a gruesomely effective warfare tactic, for sport, and petty offences alike. He was the king who invited the sick and homeless to his keep for a feast and burnt them alive as a way to empty the streets.

“Yes, I commanded all of those acts in my past life.”

Fright blemished your features and you jerked away until Dracula’s gauntlet shot out to catch you and bring your palm back to his face. He took in the thin line your lips formed and the furrowed brows around your spooked gaze. 

“But that will not be a fate reserved for you,” he promised with a sombre expression. Your eyes searched his face to judge his sincerity, wanting more than anything to continue trusting him after learning his identity, even when forced to confront the reality of the nature of your relationship. 

It was wrong.

The king before you stood tall, his dignified comportment unwavering after the passage of centuries of grim tales told about him. He did not lie to you, nor did he offer excuses for himself. His noble features, proud and uncompromising, were solemn as you contemplated him. 

Alucard never lifted a finger against you.

The warlord’s wicked piety preceded him, his prestige vicious and calculated. Any means to achieve his ends, which left ruination in his wake. Everywhere he went, he sowed destruction and instilled fear, even amongst his own people. 

He was not mentally well.

If Alucard did not care for you, you would be worse off than dead. 

Yes, by showing how he was a murderous vampire, an undead hellspawn who didn't die when he was supposed to.

He was violent and dangerous. What in the world were you doing with him?

You had your wellbeing and that of your family to worry about. What if entwining your fate with his ended in trouble that somehow found its way to them? Even as Alucard, he could be sadistic, harassing and nearly driving you to madness long ago. He continued to enjoy aggravating you and at times made you angry beyond belief.

You should not be with him. Tears came to your eyes.

But time and time again, Alucard came to protect you and went out of his way to take steps ensuring your safety and comfort. He looked after you when you were incapable and let you in on secrets about himself.

You fought with yourself. Alucard and this stranger before you were in fact one and the same. For all his nefarious ways, he did have honour, in his own twisted way. 

You were past the point of right or wrong.

The heart was never rational. You wanted to remain with him. So with an uncertain quivering heart, you chose him too. You got on your knees and went up to this infamous veteran to huddle against his chest, needing to see if the sense of security you felt whenever Alucard was near was present with this form of his too. You couldn’t even look at him.

Vermilion flames smouldered gently without your notice.

A hand went delicately across your back to hold you close for several moments before tracing along your shoulder blades. An arm went around you and settled at your waist. Then multiple shadow tendrils wrapped you loosely around the ankles, thighs, and biceps. You shuddered at the electric contact with his darkness. Prickly stubble dug into your chin as this king claimed your lips for his own. He was as gentle as Alucard. It was comforting and eased your unsettled thoughts.

You finally pulled apart.

“You are timid with me,” he announced, breastplate vibrating with the bass of his voice. 

“Everything we do is new,” you said as you put your arms around an icy plated torso and watched the end of his cape twirl. His lips chased yours as you looked away again. Relaxing into his embrace, you whispered, ”I can’t believe you are real,” as if speaking louder would make him disappear like a mirage.

“The legends have a basis.”

He ran the backside of an armoured finger across your cheek. His expression was soft as you met his gaze again, nothing as severe as his rugged appearance suggested. The shadows enveloping your limbs flared.

“What say you? Would you like to be one of my kind?"

Huh? He meant…he meant turning you into a vampire? And offering you eternity?

Again you tensed. He was serious. The weight of his question hung in the air between you until you gulped and averted your eyes, nervousness tainting the air thickly.

"I suppose it is too soon to ask you this." The hand came to rest on your head where he ruffled your hair. You glanced up at him in surprise.

Dracula smiled at you. "My Darling."

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

The gleaming silver orb above loomed large, illuminating the navy skies with an ethereal haze. The moon was full, just like that first night, so clear you could see every crater on her surface. Your anxiety around Dracula gradually dissipated. He had a much quieter disposition than the normal him, but honestly, a break from his usual provocative ways was appreciated. He was still the same person, you reminded yourself. You began to close the distance between you incrementally and walk closer until you brushed his side with every stride.

It was not yet Halloween. Actually, it was nowhere near that month of haunting. Anyone who happened upon the pair of you would find his full body armour odd. It was mildly ironic for you to comment about Alucard’s unconventional clothing, only for his ‘true’ appearance to be just as outlandish for these modern times. What did you expect? It seemed the king captured people’s attention no matter what he did in whichever era.

The relaxing stroll was picturesque. For once, the streetlights functioned as they should and lit up the quaint storefronts without Alucard’s interference. The boulevards were clean and the summer air fresh, but clamorous with singing crickets. The engines of the occasional car rumbled in the distance and punctured the tranquility. The first vampire let you lead the walk, wordlessly following you through every turn as he sensed your worries ebb with each passing minute, enjoying the way you eventually bumped against him with each step. 

A warm breeze brought the perfume of the faint sweat trailing behind you into his sinuses. His vampiric senses were hyper-aware of your presence, such as how your little heart pumped hot blood through your veins with each thud while you continued to wander.

How he missed roaming the nights together.

Vampires were natural hunters. It couldn’t be helped. Orange gold deepened into a lustrous crimson as his pupils narrowed into predatory slits.

Alucard was no longer beside you. There was only empty space and silence when even the insects fell quiet. Spinning around to seek him, you heard heavy purring in your head as fallen leaves rustled about in a swirling circle around you. 

"What are you waiting for Dear? RUN." A pointy nose poked your ear.

Jumping at the familiar voice, you felt the solid presence of him sighing into your ear from behind as he purred and nudged you.

Oh? He wanted to play? You unfroze with a smile, not needing to be instructed again. You took off, but it was different this time. You were able to see your path well enough to not trip over yourself, rapidly finding a way from the streets where the stray vehicle still roved and into pedestrian side roads.

Unlike past chases, there was no panic or fear. Despite your earlier misgivings, you could barely even remember why you were terrified of Alucard stalking you after all this time together. As you zipped through the desolate night streets, your heart pounded with exhilaration the longer you ran. It felt good to set aside your worries for now and just enjoy your time together. 

Alucard, you are here?

The shadows followed you with ease in the corners of your eyes. The rich, sanguine glow to their edges was a dead giveaway. You laughed as you took a turn leading you someplace you've never been before in the dead of night. With the knowledge that Alucard was with you, the night became a game full of mystery and adventure. 

He caught you by the waist, hauling you back to his chest while the arm that held you slowly slipped up your torso until he seized your breasts. The wandering hands were metallic and frigid against your skin. 

“If this was a real hunt, it would have concluded. It'd be sensible to surrender yourself to me now.” 

You squirmed in his hold with a breathless titter, earning a hiss in your ear and a lick to your cheek before he let you go. You giggled and used the opportunity to slither away and scamper off.

You ran and ran from his harrying; repeatedly he would catch and wrestle with you before you were released. The most brazen event was when he suddenly appeared and let you run face first into him, then stroked languidly down your rear until you found your bearings and escaped. How he taunted you.

Eventually you came to a stop when your breath escaped in soft pants, shirt clinging with your exertion. You looked around for somewhere else to go and perhaps hide so your vampire had to search before bolting again when you didn’t find a spot to your satisfaction. You didn't know where you were going at all, just making turn after turn wherever you could –through unlit alleys and parks and crossing under bridges, until you arrived at a ravine to recover. 

The vampire was nowhere to be seen. You snickered upon hearing something drop and a crackle in the dark. "Y–you don't scare me anymore. Just come out," you gasped out. 

Words that were spoken too soon. Trouble slid out of the shadows as several ruffians leered at you. Forcibly exhaling, you inched back at their appearances, ready to dash away in the direction you came from. Needles, used condoms, and other garbage littered the ground and the air was dank with the stench of old urine and vomit. So you stumbled into the derelict quarters of society’s undesirables, but you did not want their acquaintance.

"Leaving so soon, pretty bird?" One of the skinnier blokes sneered. He was covered in ugly tattoos.

“Why don’t you stay awhile and keep us company?” Another said. He was just as ratty as the first, but smiled as he approached. Their sinister intentions were clear as day, despite the false nicety.

“Yeah, we don’t often have the pleasure of such lovely companionship.” The third stood back where it was too dark to distinguish his features.

I do not appreciate others interrupting my hunt. Leave. 

The muted voice simultaneously thundered and the brutes shouted at the vacant surroundings.

“Who’s there?” 

“Piss off, wanker!” Tough words from the men, but you were already apprehensive not for yourself, but them.

The shadows at your feet bubbled up. 

“What the fuck?!” One of the hooligans hollered in shock at the mass of darkness that grew from the ground in front of you. He glanced back at his friends before squaring his shoulders.

The man crashed into an ancient conifer and was held there several feet off the ground, gasping for breath as he was slowly flattened –his face gave in first, the nose and lips crumbling inwards. It was as if he was submitted to the work of a hydraulic press. He heaved with effort to break free as his eyes bulged and his chest squeezed tight, unable to even scream under the crushing compression.

As you watched in shock, the death happened too quickly to process, yet like time slowed for you as well. His head popped like a gusher with blood jetting from both ears. You saw every detail as the ruffian's body was squashed by an invisible force until even his bones gave out and he became a splatter of viscera decorating the bark. Only a hand remained intact, but even that snapped at the wrist without a surface behind it to counteract the pressure.

You screamed at the crunching horror when it finally ended with a wet splat. 

Alucard rescued you yet again. He appeared nonchalant about his victim's barbaric demise, his stance at complete ease.

“!!!” Your would-be assailants were initially speechless as they jittered back at the supernatural display of violence.

One of the remaining men sniffled, swiping his nose as he howled,  “Arsehole!”

There was white powder dusting the ground and around their nostrils. They were high, which explained the ongoing aggression and bravado as knives came out. Your gaze flickered up to Alucard’s face.

You knew that maniacal grin, the one that reminded you of when you first saw him at work. No. All your fears about him resurfaced. You forgot how to breathe as you darted in front of him to cling to his arm. 

"You can't kill them!" You yelled.

Being with him was wrong.

He paused, the king's gaze sliding to yours with a bored expression. "Why?" He drawled callously.

He was violent and dangerous.

“Because you can't just go around killing people!"

"Why?"

Omfg did Alucard think he was the Terminator? As ridiculous as the exchange was, this was no movie. Alucard’s eyes narrowed as a savage aura flared and pulsed with danger when the remaining two men floundered backwards in jerky movements. Perhaps their sense of self-preservation was still existent.

Dracula’s baleful glare did not conceal his wrath. These worthless lowlives dared not only threaten you, but if it weren't for his presence, they would have violated you in the most disgusting of ways in this dirty scum hole. He knew it, because he could sense their base desires and the opportunistic evil that lay dormant within them. He too was a creature of the abyss who knew darkness when he encountered it. 

Unspeakable rage tainted his thoughts with promised violence. Their perverted longings were the ultimate transgression against you. It was unforgivable. You may be soft and kind, but he was not known for mercy. Rapists should be staked and displayed for others as a warning. 

There were millions of other ways he could end them and The Impaler started listing them. He could telepathically wipe their memories and order them gone, which was always the simplest solution when it came to nosy humans, but he wanted these ones dead.

He lifted his hand before you desperately caught it between both of yours and pushed it down, hoping to hold him back. Your stomach churned from his glower as you imagined what he was going to do to them. How many times was he going to shoot them? Or was he going to rip them apart with his bare hands instead? Would there even be anything left of them when he was satisfied with the mutilation?

“They didn’t do anything to me, I’m okay! Let’s just go home!” You pleaded.

“You do not get to decide who must die, draga mea."

"ALUCARD!"

"Alucard is not here right now." 

Wha-

The crimson gaze flicked back up at the interlopers and blazed with fury as the pair of imbeciles decided it was prudent to use your interference with his punishment as a means to flee. Their human movements were sluggish to his vision and reflexes anyways. He knew their intentions the moment they thought it, caught the twitching of muscles as they began to turn and run in slow motion. Cowards who could not even face their well-deserved execution.

So they should lose their legs first. 

They froze after mistakenly meeting Death’s gaze and receiving the order to remain motionless. The shadows licked at his feet and twisted, rising to whip about in the air. 

Shit. But –this was your vampire. At the same time, this was evidently someone else, a warrior. A king. How were you supposed to address him? Your Majesty? Dracula? That was his title and name. But what was his name? You were frantic. Think! What was it again?! 

"...Vlad…Please don't do this, I beg you…" Hauling all your weight, you threw yourself at him, the tears now falling freely as his tendrils stretched and lashed towards his latest quarries. How did it go from a beautiful moonlit walk together to this bloodbath?!

Through the fog of his ire drifted another scent beyond the putrid fear of his prey. Your fear. He saw the dread in your eyes. Countless others have made the same face while grovelling at his feet for mercy. You however, were not begging for yourself, but the remaining rotten swine behind you. He growled with displeasure at what you asked of him, the mind running feral with imagery of what he wanted to do, waiting impatiently for the miscreants to give him another reason to end them.

The Nosferatu glanced back at you. Your face was the same as that time, when he vanquished the undead that hunted you. He really was a monster. You were afraid of him. 

Upon realizing you had your vampire’s attention, you tried to reach him further. “Just…just take the blood of the one who's already dead. And then…" your voice cracked and dropped to a whisper. "Let's go home. Please."

He focused on everything that was you, on the salt of your tears and sweat overlying body lotion. Your desperation. In the background were the pungent stench of gore and the unwashed bodies of men. The king growled as he stared at you again. It was your second thoughts about what you were getting yourself into by being with him that did it. He snuffed out his need to kill as he came back to himself.

You were petrified about what was next, but Dracula won’t let you regret your decision to stay. He did not wish to prove your trust in him was misplaced or that your reservations about him were well-founded. 

“Since this is one of the only requests my darling little human has ever made of me, I shall grant clemency this time,” he snarled through razor teeth. The paralyzed men cowered at the demon in front of them, at last recognizing how close to Death’s door they came. 

"Vermin such as yourselves aren't worth the effort anyways." The unholy king’s eyes glowed with a hellish light. "Leave," he commanded. 

Under hypnotism, a ring of scarlet surrounded their irises and the thugs slunk away with a dazed expression. They were at last permitted to go through with their flight and disappear back into the bowels of London as his gaze bore holes through the backs of their skulls.

The danger passed. You were hiding behind the vampire, who felt your anxiety when his attention turned back to you. He could not fault your distaste for brutality and death. Despite his blinding fury moments ago, he was unable to maintain his anger with you. His expression lightened.

Silence. 

You licked your lips, trembling with a bone-deep fear you hadn't felt in a long time. “Are you not going to drink his blood?" Staring everywhere except at your saviour, you eyed the corpse of squished organs, bones, and flesh painting the vegetation.

"Do you seek your meals from the gutter?" He snorted, eying the pile with disdain. "Besides… you are more than enough." The vampire grinned, a single fang glinting in the gloom like he just told you the best inside joke.

Your eyes widened at the unexpected change in atmosphere from the offhand comment. Alucard and his mood swings. 

Taking a deep breath to soothe yourself, the tension was slow to leave you. You looked at him again. "Thank you for stopping," you told him with honest relief.

"Little one, you are safe when you walk the night with me. Nothing will harm you," he said as he faced you fully and brushed your cheeks gently.

You held his hand to your face, opening it up and leaning your cheek into the icy steel. He took a step to his right to block the view when you tried to examine the remains of the body turned into slush. A layer of clouds blocked the meager light of the moon so you couldn’t see it anyways. All you saw was the sunset in your vampire’s eyes.

You gulped. The eldritch power surrounding the vampire wrapped around you, and instinctively you knew it was cold, but you felt warm and safe on the inside. It felt like you were home. 

"I believe you." You took the single step to close the distance between you and pressed up flush against the vampire.

Affection kindled in those stunning eyes. There it was, behind the face of another man, this ruthless king, was the Alucard you knew and fell for. Your expression broke as you buried your face in his chest, needing reassurance as the mess that came to pass tonight caught up with you.

He was caressing your head again, tousling it to the beat of your heart when you peeked up at him with dewy-eyed innocence. Resplendent little human, he will shelter you from the horrors of the world.

"Luna vieții mele."

"Pardon?"

"Tu ești luna vieții mele."

You blinked in confusion, straining to try catching the gist of his words, but it was hopeless. Fortunately many Latin languages share some similarities. You were reasonably sure he mentioned the moon.

"Și fără tine, nu există lumină."

How infuriating. If there was something Vlad wanted to say to you, he could just do so directly instead of using a foreign language you didn’t understand for dramatic effect.

"What does that mean?"

He gave you a cryptic smile and offered his arm. “It is time to return." 

Yeah right, like hell it did. He said a lot more words than if he was just talking about going home. You stared at the outstretched arm of a gallant Medieval man, brows crinkling when he did not elaborate. It seemed you would have to figure out the meaning yourself.

You curled in to stay close to him, placing your hand on his arm and weaving your fingers around the crook of Dracula’s elbow so he could lead you home through the dark of night.

~To be Continued~

Ch. 13- TBD? "Stargazers in Romania"

Notes: Alucard really doesn’t like rapists.

Even knowing Alucard shapeshifts, it’ll take getting used to his other forms. It’d be weird if someone just accepts another body/face/voice/personality as their SO upon the first time meeting them, right? At least I think so. The Count is ‘her’ Alucard, for now at least.

This chapter isn't meant to be a character analysis of the historical person's actions, but more the reservations a rational person should have when deciding whether to stay as freaking Vlad III Dracula's SO.

It is admittedly a bit cliche that Alucard is always just in time to save the Reader from her demise, but in my other Hellsing work, she names him her “guide and guardian (angel).” The title is well-deserved.

*The next chapter will be delayed because I will be going on my honeymoon for several weeks. I’ll likely be able to fit in some writing time as we travel between countries. I’ll probably also be using that time to continue planning Part 2 of this story (we aren’t there yet). Yes that’s right, Millennium will feature in this fic, although I will only loosely follow the canon Ultimate events and be taking some liberties with how vampire things work.*

Buckle up, we’re only about half-way. I estimate there to be around 23-26 or so chapters in total to complete this fic, although later chapters will likely be shorter.

[yanderes-galore]

This was requested by an Anon.

Sort of similar to the other concept I did for him, just with a different pairing/intention. This became more self indulgent than I wanted, but I'm obsessed with the idea of such a badass guy going soft for you.

Yandere! Doom Slayer Concept

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Protective behavior, Violence/murder, Slight stockholm syndrome if you squint, Clingy behavior, Trauma, OOC Slayer I guess?

The Doom Slayer seems like he'd be an overprotective yandere for the most part.

He falls into one of my favorite dynamics, big buff superhuman falls for weaker darling.

He'd definitely keep you in the Fortress of Doom after meeting you, believing you aren't safe on Earth until the demons are rid of.

At first he'd probably be rather dismissive.

Based on what he's gone through, he isn't the most sane person.

He doesn't know how to interact with you for a bit other than checking in on you.

He knows after you've been on Earth you're quite shaken.

He's used to seeing demons everywhere but he has to get used to you being a bit more fragile.

His yandere intentions don't manifest until much later on, to you he just seems like humanity's protector.

A slayer sent to Earth to cleanse it of its sins.

Plus, like my previous concept, you grow close to him.

It's you being in the Fortress of Doom that allows you to see the Doom Slayer in his more vulnerable moments.

You've caught him rearranging his little collectible toys, holding back a playful snicker he couldn't hear.

You also watch him tinker with his praetor suit.

He enjoys it when you sit beside him while he tests components, simply asking about him and his mission.

Not like you get much, he usually likes to communicate through actions.

When he really starts to feel comfortable around you, he lets his guard down.

One time you caught the armored soldier slouched over, asleep surprisingly.

He doesn't usually sleep... or at least you've never seen him.

It must've been a power nap as when you tried to help him be more comfortable, he woke up to you.

He merely stared at you while you hovered over him, a gaze so gentle and full of concern....

Luckily his helmet hid his gaze-

Speaking of which, you rarely see the Doom Slayer without his armor on.

He hasn't been around people often, used to gore and tearing demons apart.

Which is why when he spends softer moments with you he acts so confused.

One time you saw him with his helmet off, you both looked at each other shocked.

Then you smiled.

"Y'know, you look nice without it."

He stares at you in surprise before changing his gaze.

You are the only recent human he's close to now.

Sitting with him in his station... seeing what he looks like.

Your compliment encourages him to take it off more around you.

It'll be awhile before he takes the full armor off, but the helmet is fine.

It weakens the barrier between you.

Such a simple action makes human contact so much easier.

The Doom Slayer isn't sure how to act when he develops softer feelings for you.

You give him such a gentle look, so much softer than his hardened gaze.

One time, you weren't thinking and lightly touched his exposed face.

You both freeze and you pull away.

"Sorry..."

"...No."

He didn't want you to pull away.

Next thing you know you simply sat by him, hand in his own.

You two could be the only humans alive and you wouldn't know.

All you ever see is him.

Can you really blame yourself for getting attached?

The Slayer himself thaws at your presence.

You make him, someone meant to slaughter, melt.

The first thing he does after his missions is look for you.

You're usually keeping things tidy while he's gone.

Then he greets you with a tap on the shoulder, putting the helmet down.

For the most part, around you he's uncharacteristically soft.

You give him comfort similar to what Daisy gave him.

His pet rabbit, yes, the Slayer compares you to his closest pet.

A small, gentle animal... meant to be held and cherished.

He may even hold you when he's comfortable enough.

You're all of a sudden picked out of your seat, placed on the cold metal of his armor.

He then ruffles your hair in calming patterns, sighing.

You have an effect on him.

Even more so when you hold his face, trying to share the affection.

For the most part, you may reciprocate to him.

He's the only human you have left....

It's when he gets overprotective that you distance yourself a bit.

He gets clingier, wanting you by him when he's around.

He even gets frustrated when he has to continue his mission.

The lack of personal space irks you.

Yet you also enjoy the Slayer's affections.

You just wish you could wander the station without him breathing down your neck.

It slowly becomes less about overprotective behavior and more just him exploring this fixation he has with you.

He pets you when he hugs you....

It's so weird to feel when he does it.

If he catches you no longer giving him those gentle looks or soft touches, it upsets him.

You saw him without his armor when you wanted to be alone once.

Like he was trying to make you more comfortable by being more casual.

Sighing, you give it a shot.

He calmed down when you laid on top of him, allowing him to take in your warmth and run his hands down your back.

The Slayer would slaughter every demon in existence for you.

The thought of such beasts hurting you...

Taking you away from his arms after he's tasted comfort...

It keeps him going.

That alone is enough motivation to continue his crusade.

He'd kill anything for you.

Just to have you in his arms.

You rarely see his yandere tendencies.

It's all taken out on the demons.

A Marauder commented about you once...

The Slayer didn't let him finish, a chainsaw shoved deep in his gut.

Rage fuels the Slayer.

Along with obsession, a craving for attention from you.

He's told you make him weak...

He responds by killing more and more hordes.

He's meant to be a gladiator, a fighter for demonic entertainment...

Now he's yours and he's happy.

What would make him happier is a kiss, a true unfiltered form of love from you.

He sinks further and further both into the army of demons, and his obsession for you.

He worries he'll scare you.

That you could never love a beast such as him.

Yet, you reciprocate mostly.

You encourage him to relax at the station with you.

He'd never give you up.

The demons would have to pry you out of his grasp if they wanted to take you away from him...

Although their claws would be cut before they got the chance.

For being what he is, towards the one he cares most about he is obsessive, protective, and clingy.

But in the situation of Doom Eternal, it isn't that bad.

He's all you have any way... how could you not soon grow to love him?

[dani-fox]

Tiny H0ly-Tea ramble

This is a rant/ramble post about a user named H0ly-tea's stupid post so if you dont want to read it you can go ahead and ignore this. Its fine if you do want see it.

if you do, click the keep reading bit but CW: slight mentions of transphobia.

Im sure im not the only TF2 tumbler user whos seen the post about 'i hate when ppl make the mers trans because its the 60-70s'

It would take you two seconds plus google to see that Transgender/transsexuality has existed for fucking years.

Transgender people existed years and years before the period where tf2 exists. Years that show many people who were transgender way before the term was made. The best example i can give is a transgender woman by the name of Mary Jones who was a transgender (male to female) African American sex worker who lived in the 1870s and the first recorded transgender reassignment surgery was in 1906 on a man named Karl.M Baer who was intersex but was dubbed female at birth at the age of 21 he came out as a male and underwent surgery at the age of 23. The term transsexual was created in 1907.

I got all that and even more from the first source. The first source is a Wikipedia article a free online source anyone can see. Here is the link to the article if anyone would like to see it: Timeline of transgender history - Wikipedia

This is also Team Fortress 2 were talking about here. This whole game takes place in a world where Australians are buff super-intelligent beings. -New Zealand is an underwater society. -The first group of mercenaries for the Gravel Wars consisted of both real historical figures like Abraham Licon as Pyro and American folk tales like John Henry as the Heavy -A martial called Australiem exists that makes people super humans. -Yetis,spycrabs,Pyro sharks, the weird tube snakes, pootis birds, and more weird animals exist in tf2 -An older than time itself Wizard exists and has beef with an American who can survive blasting his feet with a rocket. -Krampus and Santa exist. -Medic basically invented Mpreg, surgically removed souls, and can fucking do all these crazy medical experiments!

-Heavy Weapons guy can fist-fight bears twice his size.

-Scout can double jump and survive drinking liquified radiation.

-Pyro exists and he is probably not a human being.

-Demoman's eye socket is haunted.

-Aliens exist.

-SAXTON HALE EXISTS

-AND DON'T GET ME STARTED ON WILLIAM CHADSPEAR WHO INVENTED ROCKET JUMPING AND HOW SATION HALE BOUGHT THE ENTIERTY OF ENGLAND.

But apparently trans people is to unrealistic and 'Makes your unconvertible' according to the original user Like at this point just Amit you're transphobic and don't make shitty posts like this becuse your just going to get proven wrong with stupid saying like "trans people did not exist in the 60-70s"!

If you stayed this long for this ramble, thank you for reading over my big barf of words. I don't normally make these types of posts, i try to stay close to my art content. Also sorry for the shitty grammar or spelling. The American education system failed me lol

[hambrababy]

The Importance of Big Cool Sci-Fi Stuff

(This was originally posted on Blogspot on March 13, 2023)

I finished watching Turn A Gundam recently, and it’s already cemented itself as one of my favorite Gundam shows and anime in general. But one detail I appreciate is that, even with its Americana setting, it still works in some interesting, immense technological set pieces that give a great sense of scale to the show in the portions where it heads to outer space. To put it bluntly, I appreciate it when science fiction has what I like to call “Big Cool Sci-Fi Stuff,” both for the novelty but also realizing the unique potential the medium has to create a unique sense of wonder. 

A key plot point in the middle of Turn A is an orbital base called the Sackträger, which functions as a giant rotating space catapult flying around the Earth that docks and launches ships with enough momentum to overcome the Earth’s gravity and maintain inertia to reach the Moon. It doesn’t feature for many episodes, and in hindsight it mostly exists to set up the need for the journey to the Moon to take some time and thus more episodes.

But as a setpiece on its own, it’s really fun. There’s drama as the ship tries to position itself so the speeding catapult can catch it, which it only manages as Loran and Harry use their mecha to boost the ship’s thrust. The rest of the episode deals with the tension created by two enemy ships being docked so close that neither can risk attacking without destroying the station and thus their chance to get to the moon first. There are even moments where Loran and Sochie explore the size of the station with their mecha, with them and enemy mecha holding on to belted handles to traverse the immense structure. These details make the Sackträger a more unique and even characterized location with its different rules that affect the way the characters act, which also makes the episode more memorable on its own despite the location not getting revisited afterwards.

The show has similar setpieces in the later episodes, from a drifting agricultural colony to giant lunar data pods, and this got me thinking about what these design choices all accomplish; it’s all Big Cool Sci-Fi stuff. Sci-Fi is easy to do as a generic coat of paint where there’s some futuristic vehicles, spaceships, or robots. But one potential that I love, most so with media dealing with space, is the freedom to play around with massive structures and scales, technological or otherwise, that are much harder to do in other genres. Fantasy comes close at points, but visual science fiction has the added benefit of getting to use advanced technology to add to the size of these things that makes them more distinct. Space stations and larger ships, advanced towers and fortresses, natural megastructures, ruins, or even astronomical phenomena like nebulae can all fit under the umbrella of Big Cool Sci Fi Stuff, though from my view it best fits more with technological structures.

A similar anime example that stands out to me is the Sveto city from Heavy Metal L-Gaim. Without getting into too many spoilers, the enemy capital of Sveto is a giant floating city that shifts around the surface of the oceanic planet Gustgal, but it also has huge sprawling foundations and corridors that give off a great sense of scale. Again, there wouldn’t be that much difference to the broad strokes of story if this was just a tech city on a continent, but these facets of its design give a great sense of the city’s technological and size scale.

Big Cool Sci Fi Stuff is fairly common across science fiction and especially mecha anime, from the Zentradi fortress in Macross, and even the Macross itself, the Babylon project in Patlabor, the space elevator in Orguss, the Buff Clan’s Gando Rowa from Ideon, and the Iserholm Forteess from Legend of the Galactic Heroes to name a few. It’s not just any regular space station or structure, but one whose size is made a point within the story and used to stage different situations. The technological-enabled size of all of these structures makes them interesting locations on their own and also gives way to many different aesthetics used to render their scale compared to everything else.

My personal favorite example from growing up was seeing the myriad illustrations from the Terran Trade Authority books at my grandparents’ house. I mostly didn’t bother reading the actual stories or descriptions a lot of the time because I was so enthralled by the detailed and colorful illustrations on their own, and many of them conveyed that sense of wonder to me by how immense these varying spacecraft and stations were.

Aside from just wonder, Big Cool Sci Fi Stuff can also evoke larger feelings of mystery and dread as well. From the immense size and near endless internal rows of the Borg Cubes in Star Trek, the hulking derelict ship at the start of Alien, the unknown giant lenses from Story of your Life/Arrival, or the immense innards of the Citadel in Half Life 2, these all use the smallness of the humans present to instill the size of the forces within that could possibly wipe out mankind. Even the Death Star in Star Wars works on that same logic in-story as a symbol of fear by being a massive, moon-sized station that dwarfs every possible challenger and can annihilate civilizations.

More than anything else, just seeing small humans or even large spacecraft and mecha dwarfed by these towering megastructures is an engaging experience because it’s something far beyond the normal scope of humanity. Even without going into the precise scientific details of how they work, and perhaps not all of them are entirely plausible, the sense of scale alone gives a great sense of wonder that’s really only possible in science fiction. Not every science fiction work needs Big Cool Sci Fi Stuff to achieve wonder on its own, but it’s always something I appreciate whenever it's worked in. 

[gracefireheart]

Lil' update time for my TF2 x PMD AU now that the poll for what pokemon the Mann brothers would be is over 💃

So, first off, it ended in a tie between the Regis and the Unovan Dragons (I'm not counting the Sinnoh trio 'cause one of the votes was from me, which I usually don't count). I guess the question for myself is: Do I want to have fun drawing them (Regis), or do I want to tear all of my hair out when drawing all that detail (Unovan Dragons)? Atm, I'm heavily leaning towards the former of the two, but I'll try and figure that out later.

A bit earlier, I was writing down lil' details about the mercs in this AU. Mostly what certain items some of them would know a lot/quite a bit about, to the point that they can probably make/grow 'em themselves or knows where to get it.

For now, I've written down that:

Engie knows a lot about all the different kinds of Orbs and can make quite a lot of them, especially the ones that teleports the user(s) or foes, changes the room / the whole dungeon floor or reveals it's map, or does some kind of status effect on the foes.

Spy knows quite a bit about the different kinds of Orbs, but mostly makes the ones he uses the most (such as Invisify to make himself invisible, Trapbust to destroy traps, and Radar to know where all the foes are on the current dungeon floor).

Demo knows how to make TMs or HMs, and can open treasure chests no problem (yes, in the games, you need someone to open (small) treasure chests for you lol). Maybe he knows a bit about what kind of buffs some of the accessories gives you, or maybe he could make pretty good juice from berries, gummis, and so on. Idk yet, so I gotta tinker with this one a bit more later.

Medic knows a lot about and can grow different kinds of berries. He also knows how to get Life and Reviver seeds, tho' the latter of the two is much harder to get a hold of. He also knows how to make medicine like Protein and Zinc, but it's not easy to make.

Pyro knows quite a bit about the other types of seeds and how to get them, especially the Blast seeds. Gotta have a fuckton of 'em for themself, Demo, Soldier, and sometimes Sniper to use.

Sniper knows a bit about the different kinds of seeds, but has a lot of knowledge about toss items (such as Iron Thorns, Silver Spikes, Cacnea Spikes, and so on), the latter of which he also knows how to get a lot of.

I still need to tinker a bit around this, as well as figure out some stuff for Heavy, Scout and Soldier. I also gotta work on the stuff they did before making the Fortress Guild, so uh yeah, I'll be working on this slowly but surely so I don't explode my brain 👍

Besides that, I have chosen what pokemon each of the Classic mercs are gonna be in my AU, which are all Gen 1 pokemon. I'd say most of them I've picked out a pretty good pokemon for, but y'know, with how lil' we know most of the Classics, I can't get it 100%.

I do want to draw 'em at some point- maybe like a duo-piece to my first TF2 x PMD AU drawing of the squad- so I won't spoil what pokemon I picked for most of them. I will say tho' that, yes, C. Engineer is also gonna be a Raichu (tho' I will probably try and modify his appearance a lil'), and I've already said it in the tags of a different post that C. Heavy is going to be a (potentially shiny) Nidoking- the pokemon of which I will ignore the canon height of in order to make him the tallest of his crew.

That's about it for now. Time for me to chill before I try drawing later 🚶

[ninesnowfang]

Ramble about Sniper in EO4

So i've been thinking more about Sniper in EO4 and how it's one of the most fun classes to use personally. It's an incredibly niche class that works on its own but (like Nightseeker) really enjoys having arcanist around for binds but for a whole different reason, sniper wanting the binds while nightseeker wants the ailments for their boosts. It being based on crits and letting their skills crit is stronger than people give it credit for, especially if you look at how high of a critrate you get just from one buff and a passive, 60% from lock-on and 20% from bullseye alone almost guarantees that you crit and with enlightenment it's just straightup double damage which stacks wonderfully with every normal buff since it's a damage modifier. Then you add snipe mastery which gives you additional crit rate per bind 30% at max level which could let you skip lock-on completely if you have a good enough setup to full bind the enemies, that also boosting divine shot technically but imo it's a waste to get rid of the binds when squall volley does the job just as well for LESS setup. If you do end up using lock-on with snipe mastery you only need two points for max crit rate with a single bind, the bind of choice usually being leg binds so squall volley surely hits even if the base damage% of squall volley is only 50% for a multi hit it's strong enough especially if you consider that the damage gets doubled from enlightenment crits, which a low roll squall volley's damage% outperforms a bushi's max hit multi slash at full HP (low HP bushi outdamaging it however but that's just bushi being bushi) The main Issue i have with sniper is that it really takes until level 20 for them to become decent, unlike other classes that come out swinging right away (nightseekeer, dancer, medic and fortress, Bushi and Arcanist if you do NG+) but that's still not too bad thanks to it being able to fulfill a utility role until then with the bind skills, they just won't do much damage wise at the beginning. IG what i'm trying to say is that i love how weirdly good Sniper is even if it's a little one note if you go for pure damage since you only really go for a bushi subclass and then just have the amazing utility of bushi subclass, while a supportive sniper goes for arcanist where having a main arcanist is just plain better

[trainer-sean]

Calico "One Cat Crew" Carlos

He/him

Straight

Son of the Pirate Mink, Calico Jacklynn and her two wives(you can thank Ivankov for how that happened).

Both of his Pama's(Papa Moms) are Feline Zoan users who have Awakened them, and when they did the deed... they did it in awakened form, which lead to all three parents dna being culminated into their child, as well as Carlos inheriting the Shapeshifting qualities of a Zoan user without any of the drawbacks(basically he can become Different Points/Gears of a Cat Mink, big Buff Body, Big bulky body, slim Swift body, rapier like Claws, etc. This also comes with the perk of being able to enter a lesser Sulong form).

(I edited the devil fruit power because I realized its powers and abilitys seemed more fitting of an awakening of it.) he ended up eating the Dupe Dupe Fruit, which allows the user to make copies of themselves. However, the devil fruit power does not pass on to the copys. And the Copies can be allowed to permanently exist after 24 hours has passed for all things copied.

He sails alone on a Fairly Massive Ship thats built more so to be a home then a pirate ship called "Byakko Shelter", mainly committing to his various hobbies(wood carving, Mead Brewing, Model Kits, model trains, etc.) using his devil fruit.

isnt really a Pirate, but has Crushed Corrupt Marine Operations(slave trades and oppressive tyranny) in the past to the point he was labeled one. Went with Cat Attack Pirates.

He has only just barely tapped into Haki, Observation Haki to be exact.

In his hands are the, Lab Lab fruit(basically what Bege Capones devil fruit but instead of a fortress/castle, its a sciences Labratory building, gives an intelligence boost),

Bump Bump Fruit(bumping into something multiples the force used onto the target by 10),

Neko Neko no Mi model: Lynx,

Lamp Lamp fruit(paramecia that allows the user to become a Lantern-person, morphing parts of their body into lanterns, or becoming smaller into a holdable lantern form, and fire manipulation),

Mold Mold fruit(a 'paramecia' similar to the Squelch squelch fruit, allowing the production of clay by the user, and the ability to mold and shape other things. Its actually another devil fruit thats name has been covered up by the world government, the Hito Hito no mi Model Prometheus, its true abilitys are to craft or reshape living breathing life from clay).

and the Burst Burst fruit(a Firework Logia). (Eaten by Calico Carter)