#either in self defense (not likely) or to force him to reset

[the-crimson]

I just had a thought and… what if bbh doesn’t die but he loses himself so fully that killing him is the only way to stop him/fix him?

The behavior we saw from him today was… harrowing to say the least. Today is the first time in the entire 10+ months of the qsmp that I thought the eggs were not safe in his presence.

There were many times where my breath caught in my chest and my thoughts raced “is he going to…?”

Switching to a paxle while looking at Dapper’s bed and wondering how he could get the hat. Criting Richas twice with his sword. Following Pomme with bow drawn for several seconds several times. Idk if it was just me or the fact that the eggs are immortal rn but it felt like he hit the eggs a lot more than usual during battle. He’s usually super cautious about the sweeping edge but there was so much friendly fire today…. And the fact that he repeatedly talked about killing Richas and how Richas needed to die for stealing his horse. Usually something like that would be like oh haha so silly but… it worries me.

It seems like his body degrades through the night and slowly heals during the day only to be destroyed during the night again. More and more of him is being eaten away by his wounds and we are seeing that now in his change in behavior. We were all thinking he was going to die but what if it’s a metaphorical death? What if bbh loses everything that makes him who he is? His love, his protectiveness, his compassion… what then?

It’s already happening.

His lack of care for Pomme’s trauma around explosions. His total disregard for her distress after the nuke creeper incident. Yesterday’s stream ended in a somewhat similar situation. Pomme was upset and dug herself a hole in the ground. Bbh eventually followed her down and sung her what he remembered of Sunshine.

Today. He stayed at the top and tossed her some toast, seemingly completely unaware or uncaring of why she was upset.

He lost the song. He can’t sing to them anymore because he’s losing his ability to care.

What happens when their dad is a walking shell of his former self? What happens when he smiles and laughs and strikes them with weapons and wonders why they are distressed? He knows he is dying but what happens if he loses himself instead? What happens when his children are forced to kill him themselves?

I don’t know.

I don’t know

[heliianth]

@urunclesonic HELLO m going to try to speedrun this bc i could talk about it forever. but it will still be long bc im a chronic essay andy & also u asked so

ok. so. the ultimate lifeform. i we know or at least i think shadow is a character who has an extremely rigid self-image ("the ultimate lifeform") which makes it hard to connect with both others and himself. in sa2, the first thing about shadow we smack face first into is his ego, so the player is immediately under the assumption that this is the root of the image he's created—he's just stuck up, and thinks he's the best. the dark story works to prove this wrong by essentially setting up rouge as the person who makes shadow feel most vulnerable: she provokes him into defensive behavior (lying through his teeth, escalating situations as a form of running away, insulting her, threatening her, etc) by causing his real memories to come into conflict with his brainwashing. because rouge is immune to his stupidass posturing and has spent the entire dark story gnawing at his self-confidence, by the time the sonic/shadow 2 fight comes around he is essentially stripped of his ego and he knows it. and if "the ultimate lifeform" (his self-image) was actually about power and ego or whatever, his arc would be done there. but we all know that it's not, it's about responsibility

to shadow, "the ultimate lifeform" is a lot more about other people—their expectations, their desires—than it is himself. the "ultimate lifeform" isnt really defined by ability to chaos control, or speed, or strength, or anything. its a job. a tool. first to cure maria, then to destroy humanity as revenge, then to give everyone a chance to be happy. if i went over all the evidence or examples of shadow being almost incapable of forming an identity outside of what other people tell him i would be here for fucking ever

and the thing about sa2 is it never... fixes this? it touches on it (i mean ofc it does, it introduces it), but it never gives this aspect of shadow's character any real... closure? he starts out not knowing what autonomy feels like and dies not knowing what autonomy feels like. on a thematic level, the reason why sonic lives and shadow doesn't after finalhazard is because shadow is still stuck in the past, hearing maria's voice and unable to imagine a future for himself without any external directive. that's why him passing the torch to sonic on "the ultimate lifeform" front isnt really the satisfying culmination of an arc about ego, its shadow giving up because sonic is better at his job than him . WOW that sounds bad but its true

(there are other reasons why shadow dies of course but like, you see what im saying right?)

other games do attempt to wrap up this part of his character bc well... they kind of have to lol. but none really say the logical conclusion of it explicitly, which would be a realization that "the ultimate lifeform" is a meaningless nothing label which has been holding shadow back, and he either doesn't want it or wants to redefine it. like, him abandoning "the ultimate lifeform" is basically just an extension of his arc in 05. you dont even have to do lots of work to make it happen its already there. but the character regressed and now the accursed long-running franchise status quo rule demands any deviation from "standard shadow" has to be reset for the sake of newcomer accessibility

and i say a hypothetical scenario where this is addressed outright would be a metaphor (or whatever) for transgender shadow half jokingly and half seriously, bc when stories deal with identities forced upon a character only to be shed by them in a freeing manner later on it'll always have trans connotations whether the writer intends for it or not

i can write for like 6k abt how "the ultimate lifeform" is a shorthand for imposed identity and the fandom should care less about who it really is or if it means anything at all and more about how its like sonic hedgehog transgender matrix metaphor. but i need to write under 1k for 80% of my grade and its like pulling teeth

[pathfinderunlocked]

Shade of the Cursed King - CR17 Undead

Long live the king.

Artwork from Warhammer 40k, copyright Games Workshop.

And now for another multi-phase boss fight.

Unlike a normal cursed king, which is a usurper left undead as a mockery of its supposed authority, a shade of a cursed king is an actual king, cursed to undeath and often left in a tomb where the king’s soul retains its true authority and enacts it on any who dare trespass or oppose him.  This may happen when the tomb itself is desecrated and lost to time, or may happen if a necromancer tries to revive the king as an undead creature and control him.

This boss is designed to function with a specific magic item, The Black Throne, which is also a haunt.  The boss should be sitting on the throne when the players arrive.  When the boss arises from the throne, the haunt triggers, picking one player at semi-random to dispossess from their body and turn incorporeal.  As the boss alternates between forms, either that player or the other players will be able to deal full damage.

This boss uses legendary actions, a mechanic stolen from D&D 5e.  I use legendary actions for bosses a lot in my own games, but typically convert them to work within the normal rules of Pathfinder when I post them on my blog, changing them into immediate actions and attacks of opportunity.  For this boss, however, that just didn’t make sense.

I strongly recommend leaving the boss’s aura disabled until the fight starts.  If the players walk into the hall leading to the throne room and get affected before even opening the door, that’s not nearly as effective or dramatic.

This boss should swap between corporeal and incorporeal form pretty frequently, at least once per round.  Think of this as an ability that the boss doesn’t necessarily have control over, rather than trying to use it tactically.

If you want this boss to have a minion, I strongly recommend the giant undead bird pictured on its shoulder in the above artwork.  I’ve posted this as its own monster - the black hawk of the king.

Shade of the Cursed King - CR 17

The shade of the king howls with an echoing, cursed scream that seems to shatter the barrier between this world and the next.  For a moment, all of you can see visions of your own future deaths.  And then, the details are erased from your minds as the form of the king rises from his throne and explodes into dark energy, some kind of force pushing against each of your souls as if trying to eject them from your bodies.

XP 102,400 LE Medium undead Init +4 Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +29 Aura demanding aura (30 ft., DC 26, 1d4 rounds)

DEFENSE

AC 31, touch 18, flat-footed 28 (+3 Dex, +13 armor, +5 deflection) hp 241 (22d8+132) Fort +12, Ref +11, Will +17 DR 10/silver Immune undead traits Defensive Traits fast healing 15

OFFENSE

Speed (while corporeal) 25 ft. Speed (while incorporeal) fly 20 ft. (perfect) Melee (while corporeal) +2 earthbreaker +27/22/17 (2d6+15/19-20/x3) Melee (while incorporeal) incorporeal touch +20 (1d6 Wisdom damage) Special Attacks legendary actions, toggle corporeality

Spell-like Abilities (CL 15, concentration +20):     At will—Ectoplasmic Bestow Curse (DC 18)     1/day—Cleanse, Dispel Magic (self only)

STATISTICS

Str 28, Dex 19, Con —, Int 13, Wis 19, Cha 20 Base Atk +16; CMB +25; CMD 44 Feats Combat Reflexes, Ectoplasmic Spell-Like Ability (bestow curse), Following Step, Improved Critical (earthbreaker), Power Attack, Step Up, Step Up and Strike, Toughness, Armor Focus (full plate), Armored Hustle Skills Diplomacy +27, Knowledge (local, history, nobility) +23, Perception +29, Sense Motive +18, Stealth +15 Languages Common, Infernal, Necril SQ ghostly deflection Gear +2 earthbreaker, +3 mithral full plate

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Legendary Actions (Ex) A shade of the cursed king has three legendary actions per round, which reset at the beginning of his turn.  At the end of any other creature’s turn, a shade of the cursed king can use certain abilities by spending legendary actions.  A shade of the cursed king can only use a single ability in this way at a time, which may cost one or more legendary actions.

A shade of the cursed king can use the following abilities by spending the listed number of legendary actions:     1 action—Melee attack     1 action—Toggle Corporeality     2 actions—Ectoplasmic Bestow Curse     3 actions—Cleanse     3 actions—Dispel Magic (self only)

Toggle Corporeality (Ex) As a swift action or as a legendary action, a shade of the cursed king can become corporeal or incorporeal, at will.  His armor bonus to AC only applies to attacks from sources in the same state as himself - it applies to attacks from corporeal sources while he is corporeal, and applies to attacks from incorporeal sources while he is incorporeal.

While incorporeal, he gains a fly speed of 20 feet (perfect).

A shade of the cursed king cannot use his weapon attacks while incorporeal, but gains an incorporeal touch attack that deals 1d6 Wisdom damage.

Ghostly Deflection (Su) A shade of the cursed king gains a deflection bonus to AC equal to his charisma bonus, regardless of whether he is incorporeal or not.

Remain (Su) Once per day, when reduced below half hit points, as an immediate action, a shade of the cursed king can grant itself 100 temporary hit points.

Final Curse (Su) When a shade of the cursed king is destroyed, he unleashes a final curse on all living creatures within a 30-foot radius.  (Neither the incorporeal form nor the fallen body of a creature dispossessed by The Black Throne is considered a living creature.)

This curse slowly robs the targets of their minds and bodies, eventually transforming them into shadows.  All living creatures in the area must succeed at a DC 26 Will save or be affected by a curse that immediately deals 1d6 points of Wisdom damage and 1d6 points of Charisma damage.  The accursed creature doesn’t benefit from effects that remove ability damage.  Once cursed, the target must succeed at a DC 26 Will save every 24 hours or take this ability damage again.  Once the target’s Charisma or Wisdom score is reduced to 0, the victim dies and immediately rises as an undead shadow.  This is a curse effect, and the save DC is Charisma-based.

Demanding Aura (Su) All creatures within a 30-foot radius that can see a cursed king must succeed at a DC 26 Will save or be terrified into subservience. A creature that fails its saving throw is shaken and dominated for 1 round as if by Dominate Monster, and continues to make saves each round that it is in the aura.  A creature that succeeds is not dominated, but is still shaken while within the aura.

A creature that successfully saves is not subject to the same shade of the cursed king’s demanding aura for 24 hours.  This is a mind-affecting fear and compulsion effect, and the save DC is Charisma-based.  This can affect undead creatures, ignoring their immunity to such effects.

A shade of the cursed king can disable or enable this effect as a free action.

[scriptaed]

his side, her side finale | 00:00

genre: angst/fluff/implied smut; 

pairing: reader x jungkook;

length: 4.6k;

synopsis: a collective snapshots in time shared between two, whose fates were undeniably intertwined and futures would never come to be.

No matter how infinite the pages could write itself, in the way that he catches her stealing glances from across the room or the scalding spark imprinted on her hand by the touch of his own, there really are only three versions to every story: his side, her side, and the truth’s side; and in your unsolicited albeit self-justified defense, the truth is, what was once seemingly perpetual is now merely trivial. The imagery that once had you kicking and screaming into your sheets at night, the fleeting moments that were shared by both but valued by one, and the inevitably incessant burden of jealousy brought upon by a fervent want that could never be had could only have been falsified by a break—spatially, temporally, and heartfully. The mind can only tug so much at one’s strings; and yet, to be bent, only time could prove possible.

...and that time is exactly what is needed by all.

her side;

“Are you joining us for dinner tonight, Y/N?” 

“Huh? What?” your ears perk at the sound of your friend’s call. 

“Oh, there she goes again,” your other friend interjects with the roll of her eyes. You almost collapse when she swings a hand over your shoulder. “Are you sure you don’t want to get your ears checked?”

“No, but I might have to get my eyes checked,” you joke, despite pulling in all the performance points you could win with a disdainful scan up and down her less than professional attire. Thankfully, your act is gleefully extended by her cheesy gawk of an expression. Putting up a merciful pair of hands in the air, you laugh, “hey, in all seriousness, it’s not my fault you guys keep drooling over boys.”

“Uhuh, so you’re trying to tell us that boy talk is what’s putting you to sleep?” your friend’s accomplice crosses her arms, raising an accusatory pair of brows. 

“Yeah,” you say much too seriously so you throw in an airy laugh, “I mean, there’s more to life than boys, y’know?”

“Right, like…?”

“Like…” your voice trails off because, for some reason, your mind goes blank as you attempt to recall your lifestyle from your previous hometown. “Like… hanging out with friends! With you guys!”

“Gah! You’re only able to say that because you have dozens of boys chasing you around the office. Us, on the other hand, time just… it just keeps ticking…” the two of them sigh in synchronization and you feel the heat of her arms retract as she shakes the hand of her one and only sympathizer. 

“Psh,” you can’t help but grin throughout the frown elicited by their vivacious performance, “you guys have plenty of time. Just enjoy life for now and I’m sure you’ll find someone along the way.” 

“Wait, but seriously,” her voice suddenly rises from her previously sullen state, as does her head on her friend’s shoulder. She looks you dead in the eye, and, honestly, you almost feel as though your privacy had just been invaded. “You really haven’t ever liked anyone before?” 

“Uh…” you scatter through the disarrayed files that were your buried memories, eyes squinting at the sun that peeks through the clearing sky after a day full of rainfall. “Elementary and middle school don’t really count… too busy studying in high school… college was full of fuck boys I couldn’t care less for… and at work…”

The more that you hear yourself ramble, the more the reality of your lonesome future settles into the already burdened shoulders of yours.

“At work? You mean here? Or do you mean your last job?”

“Well,” you frown, trying to recall every male colleague that had piqued even the tiniest of interest in you; and as the two of your friends lean in, you start to lean back, despite the charging light bulb that flickers from the unlocked recollection of two years ago. “There was a guy who liked me and told everyone at work that he liked me, which I thought was really weird… nice guy, kind of a nerd, but I didn’t like him that way. Who else? Uh, hm—”

—bzzz. 

The vibration against your back pocket pulls the plug from your train of thought. 

“Aw man,” you hear your friends curse in the background, “just when we were finally getting her to spill something.” 

The name on your screen has your heart skipping with delight.

 Yezi [5:20 PM] Hey, I know you’re gonna forget, so you before you do, we’re having dinner together tonight :) 

“It’s okay,” your friend pats the back of the other, “there’ll be some cute enough boys for her at tonight’s barbeque, I’m sure.”

“Ah shit,” you curse under your breath, hastily typing a response before peering up at your friends like a deer caught in the headlights, “actually, guys, turns out I already made plans with my friend from home. I’m sooo sorry.”

“Oh, really?” the two of them gasp. “Isn’t that a two hour train ride from here?” 

“Yeah, so I really got to go now,” your phone tumbles into your bag as you begin to widen your strides like a woman on a mission. 

They shake their heads in unison, “no, no, it’s okay!”

“I’m seriously so sorry guys,” you say as you pant, the distance between you and your friends widening by the second and forcing you to whirl around as you pace backwards. “I’ll make it up to you next time and do whatever you guys want, okay?”

“Really? Anything?”

“Yeah,” your hands draw a wide, inclusive circle into the air, “anything.” 

“Even a blind date?” 

“You know what? Why the hell not?” you chime, whirling back around with your back on them and a smile hidden away. Skipping off into the opposite direction toward the train station, you exclaim nonchalantly, “new year, new me!”

Lately, either through a stroke of luck or a reset of a life in a new town, there’s been something spectacularly whimsical about tonight’s air; and when a zephyr passes by, lifting you to the tip of your toes to an invincible high and relaying the confuzzled whispers of your friends—

“—wait, it’s not a new year, it’s already April—”

—you finally acquire a two year long-sought sensation: golden.

-

“I can’t believe you almost forgot about our plans!” 

“Hey, I had a reminder set on my phone just ten minutes after your reminder” you quip with pursed lips, “and I still made it on time, didn’t I?”

“Yeah,” Yezi prims with a stern look plastered across her face, gesturing, “with your hair and clothes damp in rain and your face smiling like a wagging, clueless beagle.”

“Well… beagles are cute, so I’ll take that as a compliment?” 

She frowns, ignoring your remark, “did you not check the weather forecast?”

“I did.”

“So why didn’t you bring an umbrella?”

“I forgot.”

“Ugh, you forget everything these days,” she plants a palm to her forehead before returning to her plate, “well, I’m glad that at least you’re so carefree nowadays. You’ve finally settled into your new workplace, huh? You look so happy now.”

“You talk—” it’s difficult to speak with food being stuffed into your mouth “—as if I lost a loved one.”

“Well,” she grits her teeth, as if biting her tongue, and proceeds to slice the slab of steak, “I wouldn’t say that’s too farfetched.” 

Frowning, your words come out muffled through puffed cheeks, “whaddya mean by dat?”

“You can’t tell me you forgot about what happened last time you were in town.”

“Uh…?” you furrow your brows, tracing into a forgotten yet familiar field you had long neglected for your own wellbeing. Last time you were in town, last time you were working here, last time you went out on a company party, last time you walked through this town’s treacherously embracing frosty breeze, last time you were dining here, last time you got wasted, not just here but anywhere, last time you shed tears… all the last times of this town shared only one similarity, a similarity you had subconsciously left behind at some point in your transition between the past and the now. 

“Do I really have to say it myself?” she leans in, concerned. “I don’t want you bawling your eyes out again…”

Did she possibly mean… him?

“Jeon Jungkook,” she blurts, “there! I said it!”

Her utensils clatter onto her plate as she tosses her hands in the air in mercy, almost as if bracing herself for the storm after the calm, observing you intently but warily; that supposed storm, however and ever so fortunately, never arrives. 

“Oh,” you utter, words slipping from your lips like sand through a palm, “I’m not crying.”

“You’re not crying,” she confirms, astonished. 

“It doesn’t… hurt anymore?” you almost ask yourself. 

“It doesn’t?”

“It doesn’t,” you utter, shaking your head. Just as she’s caught off guard, you lurch across the table to pinch her cheeks, “but that doesn’t mean I appreciate you bringing him up during a perfectly lovely night!” 

“Sho—” she furrows her brows in combination to her squished cheeks “—he doesh make you shad shtill?”

“Well, he doesn’t make me elated,” you finally release her from your wrath, returning to stare downward at your food, “but I guess it makes me reflect fondly on the past. It’s kind of like a scar. I know how much it once hurt but I can’t feel it to the same magnitude anymore. Actually, instead, the happy, jittery moments are more vivid to me than the tears that were shed. Is that… odd?”

“Like… like what? Examples?” 

Like when his arm bumped into yours for the first time on the walk after work, like when he discretely went out of his way to ensure your safety across the bridge home, like when he enamored over the ‘ripped abs’ of a fully nude female character design of an upcoming project whilst you stood awkwardly with a set of breasts in full display for the two of you, like when the two of you escaped to become the aloof, static noise of an unbefitting party, or like when he held you in his hands and kissed you at the stroke of midnight, the butterflies live on—even today—to shield you from the dampened blows struck by dull weapons of jealousy, insecurity, and remorse. 

With time, the silver lining finally showed itself like a sun shining through after a stormy night. You’ve finally accepted the truths behind every weapon. She was pretty. They were pretty. She never wronged you. They never wronged you. They deserved his love. His heart belonged to whomever he desired. 

He never badmouthed his peers and, as blunt of a man as he was, he never pointed out your flaws, even if that meant you would later return home only to find mascara flakes on your cheeks. He treated women like a gentleman, as contradictory as it may seem from his appetite demeanor; and while you fell for him for that, you also cursed him for that very reason. He didn’t owe you anything… up to a certain point until the lines were too blurred to decipher between the truth, the deserved, and the faulty. Be it Ji-eun or Jennie, you’ve come to terms with his relationships. 

As much as your relations with him seemed to run on a fragile thread of fate, your time had run out and the window of opportunity had been shut—but hey, at least you had fun.

“Are you… smiling?”

“Hm?” you look up to find her staring at you in concern. Blinking blankly, you quickly clear your throat and retract the smile you had subconsciously adorned. “I am?”

“I… don’t know if I should be worried or not,” Yezi downs another glass of iced water and you’re about to follow suit until she almost chokes on her water, “hey—isn’t that Jennie over there?” 

“Jennie?”

You almost curse at Yezi for teasing you over bygones that should’ve been left as just that, but she really wasn’t lying. You can’t believe your eyes when you whirl your head around to look through the darkened tint of the restaurant’s window panes. You might have never really spoken to Jennie, but that figure is undeniably Jennie. 

“What is she doing?” you squint, struggling to grasp a clear vision of her silhouette under the dim, orange street light beside her. You could only catch a hint of her side profile but those cheeks and unique sense of fashion definitely belonged to her; on the other hand, the constant stumbling and the hand to her head, almost as if she’s about to collapse at any second, did not resemble her. “Oh, oh, hold on, wait, whoa—we should help her!” 

You scramble to your feet and bolt out the door whilst Yezi takes care of your abrupt leave with the restaurant staff. A freezing blast of wind welcomes you as soon as you step into the sidewalk but you waste no time. Abandoning the cold behind you along with the past, your mind is set on aiding the collapsed woman on the streets. 

“Hey! Jennie, hey!” you call out to her as you sprint to her side, dropping to the floor without caring to notice the shards of glass that consequently cut your knees as you carefully roll her limp body onto its back and away from the sharp hazards. The pain has you wincing and seething under your breath, but the conditions of the person lying before you has you even more concerned. Her skin is even paler than usual. Her chest rises and falls rapidly in an evident struggle. Your taps against her shoulder gradually become frantic shakes until all you can hear is your voice and the whispering commotion of bystanders behind you. “Jennie! Can you hear me?!” 

“Y/N!” you turn around to find Yezi peering down at you from above. “What happened?”

“I don’t know but something’s definitely not right,” you say as calmly as you could, “call 911. I’ll call her family.”

“Got it,” Yezi nods, immediately dialing the numbers on her phone but pausing in the midst of the ring to face you, “wait, do you know anyone from her family?”

Gritting your teeth, you frown as you dig into your memories, “...no, I know she might have had a boyfriend back then, so he might know, but I don’t know if they’re still together and I don’t even know his number…”

“Do you know anyone who might know her boyfriend then?” 

“Well…” 

The ending trails of your voice are whisked away into the returning wind of that fateful night. Hands gripping at your phone and eyes staring at the stranger yet familiarity of a name that glares off the screen, it’s an inevitable force that has you stupefied yet marveled at the revival of a tugging string that ties you to him through the strangest, most meandering paths. 

-

his side;

It was almost like a fever dream. Her name plastered across his screen and his eyes squinting through the glaring light that illuminates his room. It had been two years since he had any contact nor mention of her; and now, out of the blue, in the midst of a nap after gym session, she calls him for help. He couldn’t believe his ears when he first heard her voice, believing it all to be another one of those numerous dreams that had him regretting his past or questioning his choices. He shot straight up in bed, phone grasped and glued to his ears that blocked out the computer fan that ran in the background. 

Even now, after throwing on a sweater and jacket and bolting out the door in a state of rescue, he can’t quite believe his eyes; because there she sits on the hospital bench, in the signature slumped boyish manner and the confused blank stare off into the distance that still has him quirking a smile in remembrance every once in a while. In her favorite white blouse and her only slack of black dress pants, it’s almost as if nothing had changed, almost as if she had never left. 

It’s almost like time had bent to his incessantly subconscious pleas and reversed its works; but the almost will always be an almost, for as long as those hallmark vivacious eyes and those rekindled mien of ambition lives. As far as Jungkook knew, she left with a dreary heart and returned with a fiery purpose. 

Despite all that, he can’t help but notice the way she fidgets in her seat, nearly sinking and avoiding all contact the second his presence had been noticed. Instead of the sheepish flickering stolen glances of the past, he finds himself at odds with the way she fights to return the locked gaze of his eyes. She fought so hard that she might have forgotten how to speak, rendering a soft chuckle from his lips because the girl he endlessly dreamt of might still live after all; and for the first time in a long while, Jungkook has to put forth the effort to fill in the silence. 

“Why did you call me?” he asks plainly as he stands before her.

“Well, I didn’t know any of her friends except you…” he watches as she fidgets with her hands, gaze falling to the floor before returning to him, “are you going to visit her? I think the doctor should be okay with it if you’re her close friend.”

“No, Kai will be here soon,” he explains, finally bending down and placing the bottle of rubbing alcohol beside her on the bench. “I have other shit to attend to.”

“Oh, right,” she mumbles. The evident surge in annoyance amuses him that he just can’t quite wipe the smirk off his face. Turning her head, she continues, “you must’ve had plans with Ji-eun tonight. Sorry for the trouble.”

This is it. This is the moment that replayed on repeat like a broken tape in his dreams. This is his chance to mend the wounds he had inflicted upon the confessing girl who cried her eyes out on the cab home that one, indelible night. 

An uncomfortable silence fills the air with the exception of the unscrewing of a plastic bottle and the gentle return of the bottle against the metallic bench, which is then followed by another staggering silence. 

“We’re not that close and I’m not dating Ji-eun now.” 

The girl turns with the quirk of a brow, especially when she spots him kneeling before her with a soaked cotton ball. “W-Wait what? Wait, shit, ow.”

“I don’t talk to Jennie as much as you think,” he states as a-matter-of-factly and continues to gently pat the cotton against the wounds on her knees. After hesitantly placing a band aid over the wound—something he had never done for anyone else nor for himself who just “sucked it up”—he finally lifts his gaze to interlock with hers, observing intently as if to soak the reality of it all in now before the inevitable tape begins to replay for the near future. “I broke up with Ji-eun before you left.” 

“And...” she utters slowly, “why are you telling me this?” 

Just like in the pool on that one night, her challenging eyes never budge and neither do his.

“I thought the past you would’ve liked to know,” he states. Head tilting to the side as if to get a better look, he remarks, “shit, you don’t look away anymore, huh?”

“Why would I?” she quips, snorting and finally breaking contact to stare off to the side. “It didn’t matter if I knew or not. It’s not like we were a thing.”

“Really?” Jungkook hums, gathering the scraps of cotton and paper before standing to his feet with a genuine soft sigh. It’s hard to brush off the two year old sinking sensation in his chest for something so nonchalant, but he manages to do it like he always does with that stoic look on his unreadable face. “Cause I thought we were.” 

“What?” she gapes and he only gazes firmly back at her. “Why? It’s not like I… liked you.”

“Really?” Jungkook’s eyes flicker up at the ceiling for a brief second, lips pursing as he concludes the cards on the table: the unapologetic albeit risky truth or the defensive albeit purposeless self-deception. Unbeknownst to her, Jungkook had all the cards in his hands. 

“Yeah,” she mumbles, avoiding his gaze and shrugging, “and it’s not like you liked me.” 

Peering down at her from above, the boy’s crooked grin gradually settles into the silence along with the usual unreadable mien that he wears on the daily. “How would you know?”

Finally turning to return his gaze, she raises a brow at him before uncrossing her arms and standing to her feet. One step, two steps until she stands before him as close as she could recall on that night, she utters the one mutual truth of the night. 

“Because you never told me.”

The brief silence filled with tension seems to last an eternity, yet neither of the two could take their eyes off the other. A rush of thrill intermixed with panic floods his blood. His fight or flight system screams at him to obey the very laws he had followed all these years but his mind warns him that change is a necessity for this euphoric heat that radiates from this very moment. He’s never quite felt like this before: throat knotting and heart leaping nearly out of his chest. 

“Let’s—”

“—I need to catch the last train home,” she blurts, quickly taking a step back to distance themselves. 

Like a magnetic force that she is to him, her retraction almost pulls the breath from his lungs along with it.

“What?” he frowns, trying to steady his breath. “It’s 10 right now. My last ride is at midnight.” 

“Yeah, well mine is at 11 and I still have to walk there,” she shrugs indifferently to the entire ordeal—something that Jungkook takes to the heart. 

“What?” he mutters, “the station is right next to this hospital.” 

“What can I say? I’m a slow walker,” she prims, bowing her head and waving her hand to bid farewell. “Thanks for the band aid and all the help today. It was nice catching up. See y—I mean, take care.” 

He stands there in silence, too stunned by the constant turn of events. Distracted by the crestfallen weight in his chest elicited by his shattered hopes, Jungkook raises a hand in response to her pressed, upcurved lips. He can only mumble a seemingly indifferent, “...see ya.”

There she goes—as gracefully as she had reentered his life and as fleeting as she had left for a second time. All this time he knew his side of the story: growingly regretful, discovering a yearning he never knew was within his capabilities, and helplessly pondering over a past he could not change and wondering if she did the same. At some point in time, those feelings became a fragment in time and that person he wished she knew became a version of his present self. He moved on, he forgot the magnitude of the pain, but he never quite came to terms with what it all could have been. 

And all at once, the very moment he stands before her, the past him whomst he had perceived to be temporary comes flooding back into reality—flesh, fervent, and feelings of an immensity he could never have been prepared for—and if he were to be honest, he thought it would have been the same for her. 

He never really knew her side, after all; but at the very least, he desires to hear it from her, herself. She never missed him, she never thought of him from time to time, she never woke up from a dream of him so vivid that it felt so real that she was left with a melancholic loneliness in the air—those words would close the gap in his chest. 

If there’s one thing Jungkook had absolute control over at this very moment, it’s the last chapter of their shared novel in time and this is not the conclusion he imagined. 

Before he knew it, Jungkook finds himself sprinting down the train station. Across the coldly lit hallways, up and down the stairs instead of the ‘shitty, slow escalators,’ and cutting through the nearing midnight breeze of the platforms until the breeze finally brought him to the last unvisited area, his daunting final destination. 

Checking his watch, Jungkook’s chest heaves as he holds his hands to his knees in an attempt to catch his breath. It’s well past 11 now, nearing midnight, and he’s standing at the platform in the opposite direction of her new hometown. To the mere bystander, this platform really didn’t make any sense; but to Jungkook and his inkling, perhaps by a disheveled and desperate state, every twist and turn of the wind brought him right where he believes he belongs. 

Puffs of his breath mark the airy night as he watches his last ride pass by the rails before him. Every cart, every seat, he scans them all. No one. His heart sinks with each check, each flicker of the eyes, and he begins to curse himself for his state of delusion until the last cart of the train flashes by to reveal his finale. 

And as if by some sort of invisible string, life had somehow led him to her once again.

Because there she sits, across the wide yet surely crossable gap of the railway, legs crossed and hands folded in her lap, as if she had been waiting for him all this time. 

Jungkook stands there, stupefied by the works of fate, “why are you—”

“—hey, Jungkook!” she calls out to him, voice echoing across the vast, empty station. “What were you going to tell me back at the hospital?” 

Taken aback by her question, Jungkook chuckles to himself in utter amusement; and as if by the magic sifting through the night, the nearby tower bells ring across the remaining distance between the two at the precise stroke of midnight.

“Let’s date!”

The boy’s zestful holler resembles more like that of a cheerful proclamation, for the way he holds his hands to his lips before throwing them freely into the air garners a giggle from his spectator. His voice projection accompanies the bells, perhaps too softly and thereby physically undetected, but she could hear him nonetheless. 

“I liked you and I still like you so damn much, you dumbass!” 

After witnessing the boy’s courageous display, the words she’s been waiting for but never knew she needed until their paths crossed once again for a limitless nth time slips from her like second nature, almost as if she’s practiced it in her dreams all this time. Her loud proclamation, however, slips beneath the bells like an accompaniment to a ceremonious work of fate. 

The two of them stand on opposite sides of the platform, their confessions are far and wide and perhaps inaudible, but the dorky smiles adorning their lips as they gaze across at their inevitable final chapters serve to prove an undeniable fact. 

Whether by sheer will or by this invisible string, whether by his side or her side, the truth is: their eternities will be forever tied, forever golden.

[thethistlegirlwrites]

1. which ocs are the most touch-starved?

2. which ocs are most likely to be caught eating cheese at 3 am?

3. which ocs can, and do, go days without sleeping?

7. which ocs would feel super out of place at a formal event? which ocs are completely fine with it?

11. which ocs have to be reminded to take breaks?

22. which ocs are most flexible? which ocs are least?

28. which ocs like coffee more than tea?

33. which ocs can speak multiple languages? how many can they speak?

34. which ocs are clumsiest? which ocs are graceful?

45. which ocs have the best intuition?

50. which ocs speak fluent sarcasm?

Thank you for these!

From this list

which ocs are the most touch-starved?

Will and Jim. Neither of their families are big on touchy-feely affection, but they both are, so they're always awkward about it. Matti is a little more touch-starved during the course of the story because he misses his family's generous affection, but overall, it's Will and Jim.

which ocs are most likely to be caught eating cheese at 3 am?

Will or Matti. Their sleep schedules are totally off kilter and especially after a shift, they're likely to be very hungry. It's more likely they'd be going after any meat in the fridge than cheese, but if that's all they can find, they'll take the protein and fats.

which ocs can, and do, go days without sleeping?

Lina would do it for a story, if she is on a stakeout or has some deadline to meet. She has been known to be fueled entirely by coffee and spite for some of her bigger expose articles.

Will used to try and stay awake in self defense after some of the scarier incidents of sleepwalking. He was so afraid of what he might have done or what might have gone wrong that he tried to stay awake just to avoid having it happen again, but eventually he stopped trying because that only made things even worse when he finally did fall asleep.

which ocs would feel super out of place at a formal event? which ocs are completely fine with it?

Matti would feel incredibly out of place at anything fancy; he gets easily overwhelmed by too much noise and crowds, and since he grew up on a small farm, he doesn't feel confident interacting with people in these settings. Lina is able to blend in, even if they're not really her thing. Jim's family was fairly socially prominent, so while he's not really a fan of formal events, he's probably the one who is most likely to remember all the etiquette. Will would have to be forcibly restrained from hiding under a table to avoid dealing with the whole situation.

which ocs have to be reminded to take breaks?

Basically all of them, for different reasons.

Lina can get so wrapped up in a story she forgets everything else, and coupling that with deadlines and the serious impact of the stories she writes, it can be hard to convince her to take some time off. She kept Oreo partly because she got attached but also partly because he reminds her to take time off and deal with real life, and take him for walks which forces her to reset.

Will is just trying to keep his family from being mad at him, and get through school and get a scholarship so he can finally be out from under their thumb, so he tends to tie up all his time with either being helpful around the house or going above and beyond on his homework.

Matti ends up having times where taking a break really doesn't come up as an option. Farming tends to be very literally 'make hay while the sun shines' and if they're rushing to get a crop in before bad weather, a break isn't really in the cards unless there's enough people to tag team. If things aren't so demanding, Matti's better about resting when he needs to, but there are times he doesn't think it's an option.

Jim is slowly learning to take breaks when he needs them for his leg. He tends to overcommit to things, and then feels obligated to do them all even when he really doesn't want to. And his family never really listened to him about his physical issues, since no doctor could ever find out what they were. They eventually assumed he was faking them to get out of doing things he didn't want to, and forced him to go along to events and parties to maintain the family image and keep people from talking about him. He's slowly learning that that's not healthy, and how to set his own boundaries for what he can and cannot manage.

which ocs are most flexible? which ocs are least?

Lina and Matti are the most flexible, at least in personalities. Lina has to be, to live on the road the way she does, and Matti is just naturally the sort of person to take things as they come and deal with them.

Physically, it's Lina and Will. Matti is usually sore and stiff from farm work, and Jim's leg issues mean he's not likely to be doing anything even remotely demanding that might make him regret it the next day. Lina has been known to squeeze herself into distressingly small/cramped spaces to get what she needs for a story, and Will has more than once fallen off his bike only to jump back up and keep going like nothing even happened.

which ocs like coffee more than tea?

As the only actual human of the group, Lina is the only one who can drink coffee (or any caffeinated beverage) without severe repercussions. Everyone else either gets super weird or is basically allergic to it.

which ocs can speak multiple languages? how many can they speak?

Matti and Will both speak fluent German, it's their first language that they learned at home from their families. Lina speaks a bit of French, Italian, and can read some Russian, and she can also seamlessly imitate a lot of regional and city accents to fit in in places she goes to work on an article.

which ocs are clumsiest? which ocs are graceful?

Matti is clumsy around people. He's used to his family not really caring if there are random collisions or close contact, so he's not good at personal space. He's good around farm equipment to avoid being burned by the iron, though.

Jim is clumsy partly because of his leg acting up sometimes. He's also pretty blind without his glasses so if he doesn't leave them somewhere he can grab them first thing in the morning, he'll have to bumble through the house looking for them.

Will has random spates of just straight up lack of coordination, which is how he burned his arm as a kid. He's usually pretty okay, but some days he just spazzes out completely for no reason he can explain.

Lina is definitely the most coordinated of the group. She's good at avoiding being seen if she wants to be, and can sneak into places without getting caught.

which ocs have the best intuition?

Matti has a great instinctive sense of danger, but Lina is definitely the one with the best sense about when people are hiding something or what their true intentions are.

which ocs speak fluent sarcasm?

Answered here!

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #161

Today on Fate and Phantasms we’re making the leader of the Shinsengumi and (as of writing this) the only berserker we don’t personally own, Hijikata Toshizo! The good Vice Commander is a  Battle Master Fighter for his tactical prowess, as well as an Ancestral Guardian Barbarian so he can fight in that suit and summon the Shinsengumi to his side.

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

Next up: To the left! Take it back now y’all!

Race and Background

People might argue against this, but you’re still technically Human, giving you +1 Dexterity and +1 Constitution. (We’re using variant rules here.) You also get proficiency with Medicine. It’s been a while since you sold that stuff, but it’s like riding a bicycle. Probably. You also get the Charger feat, so now you can make a melee attack as a bonus action after using your action to dash. You either get  a +5 damage bonus to the attack, or you can shove the target 10 feet away.

You’re also a Soldier, giving you proficiency with Athletics and Intimidation, which you’ll get a lot more use out of than investigation. 

Ability Scores

You use guns and lighter swords most of the time, so your Dexterity has got to be high. That being said, your Strength also certainly isn’t bad either. His ironclad adherence to the way of the shinsengumi gives him a higher than average Constitution. You’d think that’d be wisdom but no, it literally makes him tougher. Your Charisma isn’t terrible, but you’re only really good at intimidating people. After that is your Intelligence- you certainly aren’t dumb, but you’re more of a practical learner than a book learner. Finally, dump Wisdom. You’re a berserker. A couple battlefield skills are tied to wisdom, but we’ll get something to make those a bit better later on.

Class Levels

1. Fighter 1: First level fighters get a fighting style, and being a Close Quarters Shooter will help you mix up your melee and ranged attacks by ignoring the normal disadvantage ranged attacks have when next to enemies. You also ignore most cover on creatures next to you, and you get +1 to ranged attacks. Your Second Wind also lets you stay on the battlefield for even longer, healing yourself on a short rest. The Shinsengumi never die, so keeping your HP above zero is a priority.

As a fighter, you get proficiency with Strength and Constitution saves, as well as Survival and History. You’re literally a historical figure, honestly that one’s just a gimme.

2. Barbarian 1: Bouncing over to barbarian right away lets you Rage as a bonus action, giving you advantage on strength checks and saves, a bit of bonus damage when making strength-based attacks, and you resist physical damage types, all for as long as you keep attacking or taking damage, up to a minute. You also get Unarmored Defense, giving you an AC based on your dexterity and constitution while in a snazzy outfit.

3. Fighter 2: Second level fighters get an Action Surge, letting you take an extra action in a turn once per short rest. We heard you liked advancing. Now you can advance while you advance.

4. Fighter 3: Third level fighters get their specialty, and as a Battle Master you can use your Combat Superiority by spending Superiority Dice, 4d8 that you get back on short rests. Commander’s Strike lets one of your allies attack as a reaction, and you add the die to their damage. Tactical Assessment adds the die to an Investigation, History, or Insight check, and Commanding Presence adds it to an Intimidation, Performance, or Persuasion check. You’re also a Student of War, giving you proficiency with one kind of artisan’s tools.

5. Barbarian 2: Going back to the barb gives you Reckless Attacks, giving you advantage for the turn in exchange for enemies getting advantage for the round. Pro tip: use your gun. You also get a Danger Sense, giving you advantage on dexterity saves you see coming. Dodging gunfire is very useful, even if you can shrug off a bullet.

6. Barbarian 3: Third level barbarians get proficiency in Perception thanks to your Primal Knowledge. You also become an Ancestral Guardian, letting you summon your Ancestral Protectors, the Shinsengumi, as you rage. The first creature you attack each turn gets bogged down by Shinsengumi agents, giving them disadvantage on any attack that isn’t against you. On top of that, if they still try to attack other creatures they deal half damage thanks to getting resistance slapped on their attack.

7. Barbarian 4: Use your first Ability Score Improvement to grab the Crossbow Expert feat. Or gunner, if your DM’s okay with guns. We don’t assume your DM’s cool here, so we’re just calling it Crossbow Expert. This lets you ignore the loading properties of crossbows, ignore disadvantage caused by people standing near you, and attack with a hand crossbow as a bonus action after you attack with your main action. You like mixing things up when it comes to taking down lawbreakers.

8. Barbarian 5: Fifth level barbarians get an Extra Attack each attack action. You also get Fast Movement giving you an extra 10′ of speed each round, letting you charge even further every turn!

9. Barbarian 6: Sixth level ancestral guardians get a Spirit Shield, spending your reaction while raging to reduce incoming damage to yourself or another creature within 30 feet of you. Most people hold back a bit when faced with bursts of gunfire. You are not most people, but still.

10. Fighter 4: Finally bouncing back to fighter nets you another ASI, making your Strength a bit better so your rage attacks can be more accurate.

11. Fighter 5: This level is very special; you get absolutely nothing. The extra attack you get this level doesn’t stack.

12. Fighter 6: Another ASI already? Grab the Tough feat for 24 extra HP now, plus 2 more HP each level up.

13. Fighter 7: Seventh level battle masters can Know your Enemy, spending a minute to read your opponent’s Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, AC, HP, or class levels. You find out if your target is equal, superior, or inferior to you in two of those areas.

You also get another Superiority Die and the maneuver Bait and Switch. You can spend 5′ of movement to swap places with a willing creaure (within 5′ of you, duh) without provoking any attacks of opportunity. For the round, you or the other creature get a bonus to their AC equal to a roll of the superiority die.

14. Fighter 8: Use this ASI to bump up your Dexterity for a thicker skin and more powerful gunpowder.

15. Fighter 9: Ninth level fighters are Indomitable, letting you re-roll a failed save once per long rest. I’d save it for death saves, you’re not exactly great at self-preservation.

16. Barbarian 7: We’re back in barbarian to stay now, gaining a Feral Instinct that gives you advantage on initiative rolls. You can also ignore being surprised if you rage first. You can also make an Instinctive Pounce when you rage, moving half your speed for free. Your catchphrase is “advance”, you’re going to be quick on the draw.

17. Barbarian 8: Use your last ASI to bump up your Constitution for a better AC and even more health. Despite your in-game stats, you’re a pretty tanky guy.

18. Barbarian 9: Your Brutal Criticals make you a terror of the battlefield, adding an extra die of damage when you deal a critical attack with melee weapons. You made your own martial arts style, it makes sense you’re good with it.

19. Barbarian 10: Tenth level guardians can Consult the Spirits, casting Augury or Clairvoyance once per short rest for free. That’s... not particularly in character, but I guess every police force has investigators.

20. Barbarian 11: Your capstone level unleashes your Relentless Rage. When you’d normally drop to 0 HP, you can make a DC 10 Constitution save. If you make it, you stick around at 1 HP and the DC increases by 5. The saves reset on short rests. You are the Shinsengumi, and the Shinsengumi will never die.

Pros:

Speaking of, you’re really tough. With over 200 HP, rage defenses, and the ability to abuse your range for three attacks each turn, you’ll be able to stick around for a long fuckin time on the battlefield. 

Your Ancestral Guardian skills and battle maneuvers give you a surprising amount of support utility for a barbarian/fighter mix. Spy on the enemy and protect your squishy party members, then go ham and give the rogue a chance to get another sneak attack in.

In a similar note, your battlefield control skills are surprisingly useful for how subtle they are. Bait and Switch is great for getting your allies out of sticky situations, or you can shove creatures away for a similar effect. Basically you’re exactly annoying enough to make enemies focus you, which is exactly what you want.

Cons:

One big problem is your focus on dexterity-based weapons for your damage. While there’s certainly nothing wrong with that, it does mean you’re leaving quite a bit of damage on the cutting room floor while raging. A few barbarian skills also aren’t really made to work with bows and arrows. Basically it makes reckless attack better, but brutal critical worse.

You’re also not great against magic thanks to your terrible wisdom. This is almost a defining feature of berserkers, but it’s still worth mentioning. Especially since it means your party might be fighting the near immortal death machine if you go up against mind-controlly enemies.

With no sources of magic damage, you might find fighting certain types of enemies pretty hard without the DM’s help. Unless your DM’s a huge prick that probably won’t be a problem, but I don’t know your DM, so it counts as a negative.

[yandere-daydreams]

Hello void, I will happily surrender my remaining right if I can just have some bastard todoroki and protective Bakugo.

It’s really just their natural states of existence, and while there’s nothing I can do about that, they’re nothing I want to do about it, either. Chaotic is their default setting, and I don’t plan on questioning that.

TW: Slight Dehumanization, Learned Helplessness, Mentions of Death, and Imprisonment.

~

There was still a layer of frost coating Katsuki’s shoulder, if you looked closely.

You couldn’t tell if he was purposefully ignoring it, refusing to give Shoto the satisfaction of seeing him shiver, or if his body temperature was naturally high enough for him to ignore the remaining ice he’d been pelted with. It soaked into your hoodie as you clung to his arm (Katsuki’s hoodie, rather – you’d been forced into it as soon as the chaos had died down), attempting to hide behind his bicep, pulling your legs onto the loveseat when that failed to make you feel as small as you needed to. Usually, you didn’t try to be this… touchy, but it wasn’t like you had a choice, in this situation.

You could still feel his hand around your wrist, his eyes burning into you, his fingers bruising your skin as he refused to let you budge. It’d been after the fight, after Shoto made his discovery, before this ‘sit down’. He’d told you not to talk to Shoto, not to agree with Shoto, not to do so much as look at the intruder, not unless Katsuki said it was alright. A threat hadn’t been included, but it was implied. You’d been shut in that closet far too many times not to know what would happen if you disobeyed him.

But, your curiosity still got the best of you. Enough to listen when Shoto broke the frigid silence.

“So, collateral damage was the best thing you could think of?” Shoto’s tone was flat, unaffected, leaning back in his chair as he spoke. It was genuine, even if Katsuki’s discontent growing more evident at the comment. “I mean, Support Heroes die all the time in natural disasters. One dying in a terrorist attack they wouldn’t have even been called to just seems… fake, y’know? Like a conspiracy or something.” He scanned over you, briefly. “I guess it was, though.”

“I didn’t plan it, moron,” Katsuki disregarded, crossing his arms and stripping you of your defenses, leaving you to lean into his side for any kind of a shield. “You weren’t there. You didn’t see this idiot run head-first into falling rubble,” He explained, nodding in your direction. “And you didn’t have to reset the dislocated arm they got, afterward. You didn’t have to lug their unconscious body back to somewhere safe, either. Anyone would’ve done the same thing. I was just doing my job.”

Shoto nodded, understandingly. “It’s your job to kidnap injured Heroes, now?”

“Shut the fuck up, Ice-For-Brains.” Without warning, a hand shot out, dragging you into his lap and bringing you front-and-center, despite Katsuki’s prior warnings. You reacted off instinct, burying your face in his shirt and turning your back to Shoto, but it didn’t seem to matter. Even with your vision obscured, you could feel a tug to the metal collar around your neck. Katsuki was as intent on showing off as ever, even if he tried to act like he wasn’t. “It’s quirk-canceling, see? And I’ve got a nice set-up in the other room, safety-proofed and all that shit. I’m doing this so (Y/n) doesn’t get hurt again. We came close enough once, I ain’t risking it.” He paused, if only to throw a glare at his counterpart. “Even if I have to lock you up to make sure of that.”

“It won’t be necessary.” Shoto was still curt, standing as he brushed off the remaining ash on his clothes. There was a burn-mark on his sleeve, a bruise on his cheek, but you could recognize him, even if the connection wasn’t personal. Vaguely, vaguely, he looked familiar. The two of you hadn’t been close, and everything before your… relocation seemed blurry. You’d been there, but barely. Like it’d been someone else living through it. Still, his touch didn’t feel bad as thin fingers carded through your hair, drawing you out of your self-made shell gently. Katsuki was never gentle. He tried to be, but he wasn’t. Shoto didn’t seem as aggressive, even if the victory was a small one. “Share, and there won’t be a need for conflict. That’s fair, right?”

“Share?” The question was incredulous, utterly offended. He pulled you a little closer, but didn’t move to push Shoto away. “They aren’t a fucking toy–”

“You don’t want to go to jail, do you?” You couldn’t help but perk up, your attention shifting to Shoto as soon as the words left his lips, consequences be damned. But, Shoto wasn’t looking at you, anymore, his neutral expression now facing off against Katsuki’s scowl. “You’ll be arrested, (Y/n)’ll be taken in for rehab, and I’ll be the one to take responsibility, both for not noticing my friend’s crimes and for the victim of his paranoia. That, or you just give me a key to whatever I’ll need, and we never talk about this again. It’ll be easy for you, considering the alternative.” He stopped, for a moment, thinking. “I could kill you, too. I don’t want to, but I could.”

Katsuki opened his mouth, preparing to spit out something vile, but he was stopped by a knock at the door, muffled sirens finally making their way through the thick walls. “Fucking cops,” Katsuki mumbled, a frown ghosting over the corners of Shoto’s lips. “It’s probably about the noise, my neighbors are nosey motherfuckers. How do you feel about a bad break-up?”

Shoto didn’t hesitate, shrugging as he straightened his back. “Works for me. My agency’s already got every department in the prefecture under a non-disclosure agreement.”

There was a nod on Katsuki’s part and Shoto moved to answer the door, but Katsuki stopped him with an obvious cough, standing with you still in his arms. You knew better than to try to walk on your own, by now, just wrapping your arms around Katsuki’s neck. Shoto might let you walk, but you’d never ask. He might let you, but if he was anything like your pre-established captor, he’d wouldn’t take kindly to a well-meant suggestion. “I’ve gotta put ‘em away first, unless you want to have the same conversation with the guys outside, too.” Again, Shoto glanced at the entrance, but Katsuki didn’t give him time to answer it. This time, he seemed more nervous than anything, shifting awkwardly as he continued.

“You should come, check everything out. You’ll… you’ll have to see how it works eventually, right?”

[summonerscenarios]

If you do angst, can you do hcs on Ophion, Oniwaka, and Zabiniyya in this scenario. They get kidnapped. The 3 guys are then shown loops of them and MC falling in love, but it shows that those loops end with them betraying and killing MC. Luckily, they get saved by MC and Co. How would they feel toward MC after being shown all of that?

ooooooh okay so this one has been a long time coming but I think it finally came out okay!!! Apologies it may have come off a bit more serious than intended but I do  hope that it’s okay~!

--------

Ophion

The kidnappers have definitely got either extremely accurate Intel or got extremely lucky to have managed to find the great Ophion in a moment of supposed weakness. Inevitably his overconfidence in his own abilities that gets him captured — he underestimated his opponents by assuming that their strength was merely in their numbers. And it is because of this that he’s unable to see the incoming onslaught of attacks, forcing his guard down long enough for them to charge in and bring him to his knees.

Ophion’s kidnappers make no attempts to hide their location — their movements would seem sloppy to anyone else as they transport him back to their destination, however by the time they arrive at the location in question it’s clear that it’s on purpose. They want someone to come for him, meaning that they plan to make this quick and that’s a dangerous game to be involved in. His restraints may keep him bound for now but he’s already testing them for weaknesses, waiting for the right moment to snap them off as he’s tied down in one of the building's many rooms.

Though he’s enraged over his capture he’s smarter than to waste his breath angering his kidnappers; instead he tries to get as much information out of them as he could, and surprisingly they’re more open to his questions than he’d first thought. They let slip about an orb and memories and it is then that they seem to decide that they have waited long enough. The orb comes into view, cradled in the leader’s arms as it is presented to Ophion, however the dragon has little time to observe the weird sphere before something begins to force its way into his thoughts.

The memories that begin to seep out of the crevices within his mind are new, or so he thinks — he recognizes the places and faces of those he’s seen before, and knows somewhere deep within himself that these memories are his own, and yet they couldn’t feel more foreign to him even as they click into place. Many come and go through this bizarre slideshow, but the one who shines above them all is of course you, his beloved spouse. He watches these moments that have passed yet don’t exist; of taking you into his arms, hearing you laugh as you relax against his broad chest, a content look of pure adoration on your face. Your skin feels real beneath his hand and lips as he relieves these memories of intimate moments you’ve shared together, recalling the eager smiles, the long nights and the quiet times of mutual understanding between you - it’s more than what he could have ever desired...

Your first death comes without warning. The moments leading up to it are lost under a sheer wave of memories as they filter through the correct ones to show him, and suddenly Ophion is now acutely aware of their intentions as he looks down at you unmoving form from his own eyes. You’re curled up as though mid crawl at his feet, one hand wrapped around his ankles and nails digging into the scales unwilling to release even in death. If it wasn’t for the pain he would have cast it aside as a lie, a mere illusion to wear away his spirit, but as the memories begging to pour in, further and further burrowing into his mind he realizes this is not a one time occurrence.

 More and more blood is spilt, it stains his golden scales a burning scarlet and his claws still hold remains of your flesh; every battle ends in a similarly brutal fashion seeing through to your demise at his own hands. You put up a fight till the very end, even mortally wounded you don’t give up, a testament to your devotion to a better future; in any other circumstance seeing you fight would light the fire of pride deep within his heart, but now? As he hears you cry and scream and beg and fight? It pierces deeper than any blade could hope to touch and it twists.

Ophion is appalled at his own actions - what could possibly have deluded this old self of his into believing that your death was just? What could it have possibly fixed? He isn’t privy to such answers, a move that he knows is intentional and suddenly the rage within him bubbles once again at the thought of his kidnappers. It is this that finally breaks him out of this death cycle, and he comes to alone in that same room, but not for long. 

You’re the one to find him first, and at the sound of your voice calling out to him Ophion’s head snaps up to meet your own; it only takes a few tries at his restraints before he’s free and almost immediately he takes you into his arms, ignoring the squeak of surprise it pulls out of you in favor of holding you impossibly close. Of course you laugh it off as his usual eccentric tricks however this time it’s anything but - his hold is firm but now keenly aware of how fragile you can be and his main focus is hearing your heartbeat, feeling your pulse and watching the rise and fall of your chest to assure himself that the you before him is truly alive — alive and unharmed.

He does his best to take these new memories to heart — they are valuable lessons of the errors which he was foolish enough to make and they are not ones that he will allow to take place again so long as there is breath in his lungs. However he does not come out of the experience mentally unscathed. In moments of silence his mind brings back these memories, the voices and screams being the most prevalent to worm into his thoughts. Ophion also finds himself hesitating to touch you; it’s as though your very body is glass beneath his claws, cracks blossoming across your skin visible to none but himself in his mind’s eye. It angers him more than anything to realize this hesitation, but he’s unable to shake it long after this event, as though his body waits for those memories to repeat themselves once again...

Oniwaka

Oniwaka is pissed. He’d barely even let his guard down for a minute and look where it gets him! He’s been in his fair share of scraps and knows that anyone with the balls to try and corner him in an alleyway is looking for a fight. The trouble is he’s so sure that he can take them on no problem that he doesn’t even realize just how badly they’ve got him pinned until he’s surrounded with his back to the wall. Obviously he’s not going to take getting kidnapped lying down and quite literally fights tooth and nail, dealing out some pretty heavy damage against his attackers before they finally manage to knock him down and out cold. 

By the time he comes to it’s clear he’s been moved somewhere else. He’s bound tightly enough that each attempt at deep breaths hurts and he doesn’t recognize the area; though it’s so suspiciously clean, sterile and well kept that it sets red flags off in his head almost immediately. It also doesn’t take him long to notice that he’s not alone in the room. The only other person in the room is looking at him without saying a word, which is even more unnerving than if they’d been openly mocking him about the situation. There’s a few minutes where there’s only silence. That damn, stretching silence that’s long enough that he’s on the defensive the moment that his kidnapper finally stands up.

He’s fully preparing himself for some kind of interrogation, waiting for the weapons to be drawn and blood to be spilt. He’s snarling at them trying to get them to back off when they reach back for something, pulling out some kind of black orb and before he can even snap at them asking what the fuck that is it just hits him.

Something’s tugging at the back of his mind, unlocking an empty space in his head and filling it up with information that feels like it should have been there all along. Oniwaka sees you. He remembers times spent together with you that he shouldn’t, times where you’re smiling and holding hands and pressed impossibly close where all he could touch and breathe was you - they’re times of love. And he remembers none of it. He knows that these are his memories but he can’t wrap his head around what he’s seeing - the two of you were together, in love even, and watching this all play out makes something in his chest swell that he can’t describe...it almost feels nice to know that you shared this kind of relationship, and could even share it again this time around.

The pleasant memories don’t last for long however, they’re all too soon ripped away from his mind and suddenly there’s betrayal and blood scarring his every thought when he realizes the outcome of this loop. You die, cut down by his very own blade and bleeding out right in front of him and he watches himself...do absolutely nothing. The ...other Oniwaka just watches you as your breathing slows and then your chest stops rising...your tears stop falling...the whimpers grow quiet...and just like that he’s alone...until it resets.

And that’s not the only time either. He sees it again and again, your death played out in so many different ways and places that he loses track, but all of them end with one glaring similarity - your death is his fault. It tears him apart from the inside out seeing the replays. He can feel your flesh breaking open beneath his weapon, feel you clawing at the hands wrapped around your throat, see the look of utter betrayal begging him for answers —Why? Why are you doing this?! Maybe it’s the kidnappers’ intentions all along or just pure misfortune but those answers don't come with these memories and this is probably worse than any other pain they could have inflicted on him- and the whole time this is happening that’s all he can ask himself. 

Why? What led to this point? Why did he betray you? Ruin your trust? Kill you?!

There’s no telling how much time passes between the first wave of memories and his rescue. By the time that you and the Summoners find out where he is and come to save him the kidnappers are long gone and his head is still reeling from the relentless assault of new(old?) memories. Oniwaka is uncharacteristically quiet, tuning out most of what is being said as he’s cut free; he’s glad that he can breathe easier now but the room still feels stifling with the weight of what happened there. When Oniwaka sees you approach him he tenses up and immediately steps around you, stating bluntly that they need to get out of here and walking right on ahead, much to the concern of you and the other Summoners.

You try to talk to him but you’ll get nothing aside from one worded answers and the occasional grunt. All attempts at conversation end up at dead ends and even though it kills him to see the hurt look on your face he knows that he’ll probably end up snapping at you if he tries to answer.

He completely cuts contact with you all for a long while after that, but checks on you from time to time when you don’t notice him. Oniwaka’s going to try and work through the memories that he’s got to deal with on his own and is torn between his promise of protecting you and the worry over what he could do to you if he gets too close. He’s seen it first hand what getting attached to you can lead to and he doesn’t even know what triggers it. Every time that he looks at his hands he can see your blood staining them no matter how many times he’s tried to scrub it away. The only thing he really hopes is that those Summoners can protect you more than he can, because he’s struggling to even trust himself around you from this point onwards. 

Zabaniyya 

Out of the three of them Zabaniyya would very likely be the hardest to capture. The flames he commands and the strength of his rule is perfectly tailored to his days of being a torturer and it would take many enemies, time and sheer luck to wear him down enough to be able to take him. He had only stepped away from the Aoyama guilds territory for a short while, having just seen you off from your visit and was on his way to return back when they had accosted him, swarming in abruptly and keeping him cornered off in a space small enough where his flames would not be as effective.Clearly they were waiting for this moment and had timed it carefully to leave room for little error, however he could not afford to let these people do as they pleased.

Zabaniyya doesn’t feel the hit that takes him out — and finds himself waking up chained down and restrained in a place unfamiliar to him some time later. It’s crude work but strong enough that his limbs are stiff and beginning to numb. There’s little time to wonder over the kidnapper’s purpose for taking him when the door on the far end of the room opens up and someone walks in - though from his position anything from the waist up is hard to make out. Their footsteps are calm but cautious; they’re smart enough to realize that even restrained he’s still very much a danger to them, yet the fact that they still continue to approach as though confident in their safety causes an unusual feeling to settle within him...apprehension perhaps? 

There’s a moment where the transient wonders if this is how those tortured by his flames had felt - waiting for an inevitable blow to come no matter how prepared they allow themselves to believe they are. Surely the reason for his capture has to do with his ties to you, as few would go through this length to use him as leverage against his own guild when there were many others easier to take. It is with this mindset that he resolves himself that he will not break no matter the pain that these captors intend to inflict on him. The only words he hears his captors speak is the hushed words of “Gotta make this one quick” before the orb comes into view.

The memories come suddenly. There is no warning, no command that starts the presentation of past loops but nonetheless they are there, worming their way through his mind and weaving into the missing gaps until the memories start to take shape. Feelings, touch, taste, noise - they all come along with the images of forgotten moments, and many things begin to click into place watching them play out before him. He’s surprised to find you so tightly woven into these sets of memories, and it jarrs him further upon realizing that it is clear the two of you have a relationship far deeper than a tool and a summoner. These newfound moments of intimacy stir up something within him; it’s greedy and fiery and it makes his fingertips ache to recreate what he sees before him. Seeing you smile and weave your fingers between his own, watching your mere presence that can light up an entire room focus directly upon his previous self as though he is the only one on your mind. It’s selfish but it’s something he finds himself wanting desperately.

However it is then that this train of thought is all but shattered once the endings begin to play. There is no happy ending, no pleasant outcome to allow him to fantasize about your perceived future together. The first time he held your dying body in his arms felt too horrific to be real; you were scorched, beaten and every breath is a struggle and yet you were still kind to him. You’d looked up into his eyes and told him you understood, even though you were hurting, scarred and scared. His previous self had enough decency to prevent you from suffering any further, but it was only the beginning of many. 

Each betrayal followed a similar pattern - the periods of bliss between them fluctuate from days, to weeks to mere hours before an event triggers the fight that sparks between you.It appears as though you are the only one caught in the crossfire, the other Summoners fortunately spared yet seemingly absent when you would need them most. Your deaths were almost always swift which he finds a twisted blessing, but the cumulative pain that you must have experienced over and over again at his very own hands no less destroys Zabaniyya more than any form of torture these kidnappers could have subjected him to.  

Zabaniyya only comes back to his senses once he hears voices, knocking him out of whatever stupor the orb had left him in. He recognizes it as Toji and Ryota, hearing them getting closer right as they open the door to find him, surprise washing over their faces before Ryota rushes forward to check on him and Toji calls out to the others that they’d found him. While still trying to gain his bearings he’s able to shuck off what’s left of his shackles and get to his feet by the time the other Summoners make it inside the room. He’s attempting to ease Ryota’s worries about being hurt as the boy swarms him in near tears when he feels a comforting hand pressing against his shoulder. There’s a single moment where he forgets what he’s witnessed as he looks up to meet your gaze, but as he watches your face melt from concern to relief it’s as though that warm hand scorches his very flesh and he tears away as though burned.

He’s failed you, that much is clear to him. Even if he were to argue that those versions of himself aren’t the person that he is now the fact that it happened in the first place is irredeemable enough in his eyes. He isn’t able to look you in the eyes the whole time; every time he looks at you he’s haunted by the stench of your charred flesh and those warm eyes looking at him in worry only aid in sickening him further remembering them hollow and void. The moment that you go your separate ways he’s steeled himself in the resolve that he refuses to allow these loops to ever repeat themselves. He still desires to be your spear, and devotes himself to the role of a tool for your use should you ever need it, but in every other sense he is completely closed off from anything beyond that. The reasoning of ‘if he doesn’t allow himself to fall prey to his own emotions then he will be able to keep you safe’ is the only way of thinking that he allows himself to entertain and in this he isn’t going to waver.

In the end he doesn’t tell you or the Summoners what he saw — he knows that he should, you deserve the right to know what exactly happened in those past loops, and yet every time he considers confessing to you his chest tightens at the thought of you looking at him as some kind of monster when you inevitably learn that he killed you. Surely you could never forgive him? Even if you did he’d never forgive himself; and so he keeps it from you as his own sin to bear, one that he will never stop punishing himself for.

[warsmith-38]

How I would do RWBY pt.8

Season eight.

Salem knows Cinder is coming back home.

Is patiently waiting for her to arrive with Myrmidon at her side.

Cinder shows up, hoping for mercy.

Salem suddenly has an inconvenient gap in her vocabulary when Cinder says that word.

Reminds Cinder that not only did she tell them her plan, she told them how to destroy said plan.

Cinder makes her excuses, “I had to. I didn’t have a choice. We can make another plan,” et cetera.

Salem decides to give Cinder one last chance after fucking up a plan that was older than she was.

Defeat Myrmidon and she can have her old position of number two again.

Myrmidon kicks the absolute shit out of her.

Cinder keeps making little mistakes, blames her new (metal) arm, and Myrmidon exploits every opening.

Myrmidon is sadistically playing with Cinder at this point.

Cinder pops smoke and runs the fuck away.

Myrmidon is stopped from chasing her, being told that Cinder’s execution can wait.

They must finish preparing Plan B.

She does in fact owe this latest plan to Cinder in a roundabout fashion.

The dramatics in Atlas have made Salem remember a little detail that has helped her in the past.

Nothing unites quite like a war.

The free peoples of the world either need a single enemy to face together or they need a factory reset apocalypse to recover from.

Either or, Salem isn’t picky.

The people will be all the stronger no matter which problem they have to overcome.

Ozpin getting directly involved is a snag, but she’s worked around him before.

Regardless of outcome she’ll go dormant for a few generations until most people forget she existed and then it’s back to work.

Her first target is Vacuo.

She would have preferred Vale, but she’s willing to compromise.

Grimm begin to swarm into Vacuo territory.

They had their own version of The Maginot Line, for all the good it does them.

Myrmidon is leading the charge and is the one that tears a big ass hole in their defenses.

Ozpin realizes that Salem has decided ‘fuck it’ on the whole illuminati conflict thing they’ve been doing.

Open warfare it is.

Ozpin has RWBY, JN(P)R, and SSSN sent to Vacuo to see if they can help while he calls the banners with the rest of his council.

RWBY, SSSN, and JN(P)R link up with the Vacuo Defense Force.

Meet the grimm assault with an assault of their own.

Fierce fighting pushes the grimm back to The Maginot Line.

Victory is at hand.

Everyone has a moment or two for a breather and conversations.

Then the second wave of grimm arrive.

They’re not acting like grimm usually do.

They’re using actual military tactics.

Feigning retreats, denying strategic points, and attacking weak spots you wouldn’t think would be weak.

The Black Myrmidon is directing them.

RWBY and JN(P)R have a go at her.

Myrmidon is giving a good fight, but it’s still eight on one.

Penny starts convulsing then starts attacking RWBY and JNR while saying she’s not in control.

Yang’s arm stops doing what she wants it to.

Suddenly nobody can land a hit.

Reminds people of old sparring matches.

Ren dumps his pistols and goes full kung-fu badass on Myrmidon.

Knocks off her helmet.

It’s Pyrrha. (Audience was meant to know because obvious. It’s more about the in story reveal)

She may be fucked up with grimm taint and looking like a mini-Salem, but it’s very much the Pyrrha they knew and mourned.

Everyone is stunned.

Grimm are starting to lose more ground.

Pyrrha sounds the retreat.

Grimm pull back and Grimm Blitzkrieg has been halted.

RWBY and JN(P)R are reeling from events.

Nora is inconsolable and even Ren is failing to hold it back.

Jaune is just quiet.

Penny is trying to help her new teammates as best as she can, but they’re only so much that she can do.

Ask Ozpin + The Council and EMN via video call if they knew anything about this. They didn’t.

Qrow theorizes that Tyrian was a prototype of what was done to Pyrrha.

A dead huntress revived and controlled via grimm corruption that emulates an aura.

Not only still capable as she was in life, still being able to use her semblance, and still as intelligent, but also being powered up by Salem herself.

The Council shudders to imagine an entire army of that.

To take their mind off of the thing, RWBY go scouting to see if they can find any sort of intel.

On mission they find a beaten and almost dead Cinder.

Ruby says there’s nothing to see here.

WBY say that she could have intel they could use.

Ruby says there’s nothing. To. See. Here.

WBY pick up Cinder and take her back to base.

Ruby wants it on record that this was munity from WBY.

Cinder regains consciousness and is genuinely shocked that they helped her.

Finally realizes that Salem does not give the faintest shit about her anymore if she ever really did.

Doesn’t really vibe with Ozpin, but wants to fuck over Salem as much as she can now.

Ozpin says he does not trust her, but does trust her desire for revenge.

Sends EMN, who are firmly on Ozpin’s side now (if only for self-preservation), as reinforcements and to try to help keep Cinder compliant.

Cinder tells Ruby not to worry.

After Salem is dealt with they can sort things out between them.

Cinder provides as much strategic and tactical advice as she can.

Her intel wins a few engagements and saves quite a few lives.

Despite this, Jaune says that he refuses to directly work with Cinder. Nora and Ren both mirror that statement.

They say that they’ll work with her intel, but can’t be held responsible for what might happen if they are left in the same room as her.

To them, the current situation with Pyrrha is actively Cinder’s fault.

It would have been less egregious if Pyrrha was just dead and not some insane zombie.

Penny volunteers to operate as the middlebot.

Ruby is on Jaune’s side and her clout helps keep Jaune at the strategist’s table.

The Myrmidon is spotted at a forward position without a large garrison.

JN(P)R take it on themselves to go to her despite everyone saying it’s bait.

JN(P)R fight through cursory amount of grimm and get to Myrmidon.

Conversation is mired with combat.

Nora says that Ozpin might be able to help her.

Pyrrha says that Ozpin ‘helping’ her is the reason she died.

Penny says that her team still love her and miss her.

Pyrrha says that they replaced her with a robot the first chance they got.

Ren tries to appeal to her sense of logic and morality that Salem is an evil shithead.

Pyrrha says that Ozpin is no better and would rather work with the one that brought her back to life and didn’t lead her to an early grave.

Gets to the point where N(P)R is down and Jaune is the only one standing.

Their duel is hard fought, but brief.

Jaune tells Pyrrha that he knows that even with Salem’s ‘enhancements’ she still won’t kill him.

If she does, then Pyrrha Nikos is still dead no matter what magic Salem does.

Pyrrha says that that’s one of Jaune’s worst plans ever.

He tells her to shut up and do it if she can actually do it.

Pyrrha is having troubles not talking and is clearly delaying herself.

Jaune is shouting ‘do it!’ Rorschach style.

Pyrrha doesn’t. Still gives Jaune a concussion to try and take him out of the strategic fight.

Jaune, when scolded for doing something so stupid, says that he now knows there’s still enough of Pyrrha in there that he believes he can plan around her style.

Now begins the wait for the next offensive.

Cinder has moment with EMN, trying to continue as was, giving them orders and such.

EMN call her a shit and say that they ain’t got to do shit she says. Neo flips her off double deuce style.

Cinder has moment realizing just how hated she is by everyone.

Gets sad, then angry, then sad again.

Ruby and Jaune have a moment talking about their time as team leaders.

Heavy is the head that wears the crown type of thing.

The assault happens in the middle of the night.

Salem herself is leading the charge, riding a huge-ass T-rex looking grimm.

Gives a great big ultimatum to the defenders.

Surrender and join her crusade or die.

RWBY get on the loudspeaker.

Call her a bitch.

Salem does not appreciate their humor and signals the assault.

Myrmidon directing the grimm was bad enough but Salem is terrifyingly worse.

Myrmidon was connected to a sort of grimm hivemind, but Salem directly controls said hivemind.

Salem hits them like a truck on steroids.

The defenders formed a strategy, sure, but that strategy was for Myrmidon.

This was preparing for a linebacker to hit you then getting hit by, y’know, a truck on steroids.

The defensive line is swarmed, ripped apart, and overrun with little effort.

RWBY is separated by the horde.

The fighting is desperate and vicious.

Plenty of jobbers are killed or taken away behind enemy lines.

Then it stops.

The grimm just stop moving for a moment and then they retreat.

Salem then tells everyone that she did this to prove that she could kill all of them whenever she wants.

Does kowtowing sound a little more appealing now?

All the people that were just taken are released to further the point that Salem can do as she pleases.

She gives them all forty-eight hours before her next assault.

She also says that she won’t be taking prisoners that time.

Everyone has a collective moment of ‘wow, we are fucked’.

Cinder has an epiphany and takes it on herself to force a conversation with Jaune.

Jaune is about to try (and fail) to tear her head off when she says that she might have the solution to their problem.

Fuck the grimm, fuck mitigating loss, they need to snipe Salem herself with everything they have.

They can’t permanently kill her, no, but dropping her should send a sort of mental shock to the grimm and stun them for a good amount of time and make them vulnerable.

Vulnerable enough that the large amount of experienced hunters and defense troops will have the breathing space to kill as many as possible before they even get back to their default state.

It’s not much but having a window of working space before Salem gets back up is better than nothing.

Jaune asks her how the fuck are they going to manage to even touch Salem to begin with.

Cinder says to leave that to team CEMN.

He tells her to tell him or else he’s going to call in Ruby.

The plan is to exploit Salem’s fear of Ozpin using Emerald’s hallucinations and Neo’s illusions.

Salem is rarely scared, but when she is she is panicky and rather cowardly.

Cinder has only seen it once when Salem believed that Ozpin had somehow snuck into her sanctum.

They just need her to panic for a moment and then hit her with the biggest single hit they can muster.

Jaune says it’s a longshot and with the remaining forty hours they have he’ll be thinking of a better one.

But, y’know, needs must.

The next day Jaune, having failed to think of another plan, tells everyone of Cinder’s idea.

They do not care for it.

Everyone is skeptical of Cinder’s intentions (even EMN).

Cinder reminds them all that Salem wants to kill her more than most of the people present.

Even if she lets the rest of them live, ha ha, Salem is probably going to take the time to brutally execute her just to make a point.

That or Myrmidon will.

Her intention is doing the thing most likely to keep herself alive, despite the risk.

Ruby is about to threaten her until Ozpin (via video call) tells them to go through with it.

It’s basically all they have and they can’t spend their remaining time bitching about without a plan.

With great reluctance, they begin to work out a proper strategy.

One hour remains.

Weiss and Ruby have brief conversation.

Weiss commends Ruby on her maturity of being able to deal with Cinder in a non-violent manner.

Cinder has moment with EMN telling them not to take unnecessary risks.

The plan relies on them more than it does her and if they fail/die then she does too.

She also, believe it or not, cares enough about them to not want to see them die.

Salem arrives early.

She didn’t lie about the time of her attack, she just allotted about half an hour for a speech.

She gets interrupted.

By Ozpin.

Ozpin says that it’s time to settle things.

Salem wigs out a little and shies back from the front.

This behavior is mirrored by the grimm.

Defense forces strike out.

Salem is trying to organize and fight but her terror of Ozpin is keeping her on the ropes.

Eventually gets annoyed enough to try and send grimm to attack Ozpin.

Can’t land a hit.

Gets angry enough to try and attack Ozpin directly.

Lands a hit.

The illusion breaks away, revealing Neo and Emerald.

She gets attacked by Cinder and Mercury as a distraction.

Ruby has Salem in the scope of her rifle (have we all just forgotten the sniper part of Ruby’s weapon?).

Ruby has a specialized incendiary round that she can infuse with her white fire in the chamber.

She designed and fabricated it herself.

Takes the shot.

It gets blocked by Myrmidon’s thrown shield.

Myrmidon begins fighting CEMN.

Salem realizes just what has happened.

She’s impressed. Incredibly mad, but impressed.

She orders a halt to the combat.

Says that they deserve a token chance for their effort.

She will take one of the defenders for a one-on-one duel.

She’ll even hold back on her more overpowered abilities to make it more sporting.

If they win she will end her assault (and probably go somewhere else instead or just come back later).

If they lose she will continue her swarm into Vacuo.

Ruby volunteers.

WBY say that taking more than two seconds to make the decision might be a good idea.

Ruby volunteers.

JNPR, CEMN, SSSN, and the rest all agree with WBY that-

Ruby. Volunteers.

Salem has Ruby swarmed with bat/bug/whatever type grim and carries her into occupied territory.

Deep enough that they shouldn’t be easily interrupted.

Salem tells her that what she did to Summer was nothing personal, and now with the grimm nuke failed, there isn’t any reason for Salem to be against her personally.

The Cabal could use a few more capable members.

She reiterates her points on Ozpin.

He just wants to dominate the world ‘for its own good’.

Can’t have wars if you no longer have the mental ability to think for yourself.

Offer freedoms that Ozpin could nor would never give.

Tells her that she recognizes Ruby’s personality type.

She’s in love with combat.

Ruby admits that fighting makes her happy, that kicking ass gets her engines running.

Salem offers her war eternal, the chance to be fighting and winning for all time.

Ruby, once again, calls her a bitch.

Says that fighting is pointless without a good reason, like peace, to give it a purpose.

Also says that after they’ve all finally beaten her, Ozpin’s next.

Salem thought that the offer wouldn’t work but had to try.

Salem boss fight.

Salem is able to form myriad magic weapons out of thin air and change her fighting style at random.

Ruby fights as hard as she’s ever fought before.

Salem is, to her word, holding back a good amount.

It’s not helping that much.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch.

Myrmidon and the grimm were left to just awkwardly stand around the battlefield.

JN(P)R tries to approach her but she (conveniently) approaches CEMN.

She was told not to continue attacking the defensive line, not the bitch that killed her.

JN(P)R is now conflicted.

They could go and help an ally fight an enemy.

The problem is that that ally is Cinder and that enemy is Pyrrha.

Myrmidon has her hands full until she starts using her semblance.

Magnetism vs a team where two members have metal limbs, you do the math.

Cinder tells her to leave the rest of them alone. It’s her she wants.

Myrmidon says that since they got involved, they die too.

This is what prompts JN(P)R to action, saying it’s more about helping EMN than C.

Myrmidon grows enraged, turning her attention to JN(P)R in earnest.

In fact, everyone is so engaged that they don’t notice a dropship flying past them overhead.

Ruby is growing tired while Salem has quite literally godlike endurance.

Salem commends her for lasting far longer than she imagined.

She hasn’t been this worked up in ages.

But all good things must come to an end.

Tells her to say hello to Summer for her.

Right as she’s about to deal the final blow she gets cut off with a dropship ramming (crashing) into her.

WBY file out and scold Ruby for agreeing to try and solo a fucking demi-goddess.

Ruby apologizes but points at the dropship that Salem just threw past them.

Salem amends the fight conditions to welcome the new challengers.

RWBY vs Salem.

First real fight against the main antagonist.

Challenging fight, magic bullshit, brutal close combat, the whole nine yards.

Sways both ways until RWBY gains the upper hand.

Culminates in a big team hit that finishes the fight.

Salem congratulates them and begins pulling the grimm back from Vacuo.

She says that this is not over and reminds them that, no, she was not fighting as hard as she could have.

They eked out a win by the skin of their teeth mostly because of Salem’s survival of the fittest/fight smarter not harder type ideology was being pandered too.

Salem is then swept away in a swarm of bat/bug/bird/whatever grimm.

Myrmidon abruptly pulls away from the fight along with the grimm, giving JN(P)R one last glance.

Ozpin finally shows up in person, tardy to the party.

Gets reports from everyone that Salem has turned the Grimmland’s southern coast into a deathtrap.

If they’re going to get at her through Vacuo they’ll need a lot to dislodge her.

Ozpin tells them that he never said they were going to get her through Vacuo.

Season eight done.

[undead-tale]

Little Known Fact

There was an original version of Undead Tale I wrote back in 2017 or even late 2016 (the dates are fuzzy at best).

It was completely different in tone, writing, character designs, plot... it was basically a different story but with a similar starting point.

I felt like drawing the Sans design from that version, now called "Classic", compared to the final design, or the "True" design, as I consider the current version of Undead Tale the true, final version.

Here is the drawing, and below that will be a list of all the changes and descriptions of the differences behind a read more as to keep the post nice to see if someone just wants to look at the art (the stuff below the read more goes very in depth, be warned, it's long).

Let's start from the beginning with what changed:

Both stories start with an outbreak stemming from the lab, however,

Classic does not have the backstory of a corrupted reset corrupting the amalgamates and determinations properties. The origins in Classic were never explored.

In the True version, the origins were explored, and the reason why the world is the way it is is also explored through Before the Reset.

In Classic, Undyne fights a massive amalgamate thing in the Lab in the very beginning of the story instead of slowly easing into the events of the outbreak, which True did.

Chara was never present in Classic, and also there was no controlling force of the corrupted.

Corrupted is a term only in True, Classic doesn't have a term to refer to the infected monsters.

Both stories have Frisk fall after the initial outbreak, but Frisk in Classic falls way earlier than Frisk in True (as far as I can see, the timeline of Classic, unfortunately, is not very clear)

Classic explores the surface and humanity above during the events of the Underground. In True, the surface is only seen when Frisk falls and after monster kind escapes. Humanity in True wiped itself out with a war where the details aren't known, and won't be explored, as it's not important. In Classic, there is an outbreak similar to the Underground on the surface which causes an apocalypse.

Both stories have Sans lose an eye, though, as seen in the image, the eye is swapped. Beyond that, there are differences in the two Sans.

Classic Sans is a silently hopeful character, different from normal Sans compared to True, who is basically normal Sans but with some darker tendencies and visions of past timelines (called moments in the story).

Classic Sans lost most if not all magic ability when he was struck by Undyne, resorting to using physical weapons such as pipes or any blunt weapon.

True Sans retains most magic ability, such as teleportation, time stopping, and bones, he just can't use them as often. He does lose Gaster Blasters however, as they would take too much magical energy for him to muster normally.

Classic's outfit has a fluffy hood and a zipped up, torn hoodie, compared to True, who is normal Sans with bandages wrapped around the left side of his skull.

Classic only lost his eye, True had the whole left side of his skull horribly mangled and fractured, which is why the bandage size of both is different.

Classic only has the bandage, True also has the device strapped to his ribs that connects with his soul to amplify the healing process.

True Sans has what are called "moments", where he'll freeze up as he sees a vision of a past timeline, either consisting of the Judgement Hall or of Snowdin which get worse until reaching a turning point in the story near the halfway point. Classic has no such things.

Moving on from Sans, let's go into the other characters in general

Papyrus in Classic retains some confidence, however, he is much more broken and emotionally torn, acting out of character at points (pretty much everyone in Classic is out of character).

True Papyrus is very much like normal Papyrus, only taking things a bit more seriously and being more cautious and concerned for his friends, due to his circumstances.

Classic Papyrus has a kill count of normal monsters, True, however, does not.

Classic Papyrus and Snowdin in general are enemies of the Royal Guard, due to a plot point where Snowdin and the Royal Guard enter a conflict.

True Papyrus and Snowdin are very much allies and apart of the Royal Guard, Papyrus being ranked Lieutenant, commanding all Snowdin units.

Undyne in Classic acts very out of character with the little time she appeared in, she isn't as confident, she's a lot more cold, and attacks Sans with intent to kill.

True Undyne is like normal Undyne, and her attack against Sans was completely accidental, as she meant to attack another character named Fang for kidnapping Sans and Papyrus.

Papyrus and Undyne fight with the intent of killing one another in Classic. In True, Papyrus fights to slow Undyne down and let Sans and Frisk escapes, Undyne fights to get past him and capture/kill Frisk, attempting to pass him with every opportunity, not wanting to hurt him. In True, neither were fighting to kill.

Classic Undyne exiles herself out of shame after her battle with Papyrus in Snowdin. True Undyne remains the Captain of the Royal Guard throughout the entire story.

Classic Asgore is seen too little to really judge his character, same for Alphys. True is normal Asgore but affected by circumstances, again, same for Alphys.

Mettaton in Classic is missing, while Mettaton in True is similar to his normal self, albeit more cruel and harsh when Frisk meets him, becoming a minor antagonist before having a change of heart at the end of their fight in the CORE.

Mettaton's disappearance in Classic would've tied into a plot point, which I'll explore later on.

Classic Toriel allows monsters from Snowdin into the Ruins during the outbreak, accidentally bringing it to the Ruins. No such event happens in True.

Classic Toriel is the most in character of the cast, remaining mostly consistent with normal Toriel. True Toriel is normal Toriel until she leaves the Ruins, where circumstances and events change her.

Classic Flowey is infected very early on, True Flowey remains uninfected and even becomes the controller of the corrupted near the end. In True, he is very much normal Flowey.

Classic Frisk is more like fanon Frisk (meaning she's just a soft little pacifist who wouldn't harm a fly. Glad I didn't continue with this in True, because holy hell that would've been boring).

True Frisk is much more of her own character, she doesn't want to hurt anyone, but she won't hesitate to fight when she knows she's in danger, plus her backstory and her motivations, along with having to deal with the trauma's shes faced later on.

True Frisk also older, being 10 when she first falls and being around 13 at the end. Classic Frisk is around 8 when she falls, if I remember right.

Classic didn't go far enough into the plot for Classic Frisk to even leave the Ruins or have to face inner demons and trauma. True Frisk is very, very different.

Classic Chara doesn't even exist. True Chara is corrupted determination in it's purest form, and is a prominent antagonist, controlling the corrupted at one point.

There are characters exclusive to both version. In True, Fang, Ferno, and the entire gang Fang leads are exclusive to True.

In Classic, the exclusive characters are Artico, Stitch, Rycher (pronounced ri ker for some reason), Carly (Artico's daughter) and Ethan (Artico's son). These characters were a part of a spinoff story called "A New Monarch", which was establishing a new kingdom/rival for the Royal Guard. They would've been antagonists later on, similar to the Saviors from The Walking Dead, if memory serves me right.

Rycher and Stitch would've had been in a relationship later on.

Another exclusive character to Classic is Flynn, who is the third monster Frisk meets after Flowey and Toriel (he was an OC I made on Undertale Amino years ago, my account on which has since been deleted)

There is one more Classic exclusive character named Charlie. I go more in depth on him later.

There are more Classic exclusive characters, but they're not notable enough to go into here.

Finally moving on from characters, we go onto the plot/setting

The basic plot of Classic goes like this (I won't do the same for True, as that is very, very long, and I'd like people to read it on AO3):

The outbreak begins, Asgore is escorted from the Capital as it falls. Sans and Papyrus fight back an attack from Snowdin, and set up defenses.

A plot point arises where the weather in Snowdin becomes harsh, to the point where monsters die outside the village or flee to the Ruins. One of the monsters is bit before hand, and brings the infection into the Ruins, infecting Flowey and beginning to spread there.

Members of the Snowdin Safe Zone steal from the Royal Guard, which causes the Guard to retaliate against Snowdin and assault the town, Sans and Papyrus fighting them back, killing many. This is the fight where Sans is almost killed by Undyne, who is then almost killed by Papyrus before he rushes to get Sans to the village.

Sans loses his eye, and Undyne exiles herself.

Frisk falls later on, almost get's killed by Flowey, but is saved and taken home by Toriel. This introduces the fact that Toriel's home is now full of monster survivors and that the rest of the Ruins has fallen.

Frisk takes time to heal, and meets Flynn.

In the Capital, within areas known as "Dark Zones" (pretty much ripping off Dying Light), new infected begin appearing simply known as "Them". This leads to the death of two monsters in a short story titled "Them". In True, these would be turned into the acolytes that appear at the end.

Sans and Papyrus receive a broadcast from MTT Resort begging for help, and decide to investigate. They then go to sleep on their way, and are split up, Sans being taken to the Capital while Papyrus is captured and brought to MTT Resort (don't ask, I don't remember why or how).

Sans wakes up in the Capital on a high up roof and encounters a character named Charlie, who brings him to his group in the city hall. He teaches Sans how to survive in the capital later on.

Papyrus wakes up in MTT Resort, hung in the lobby by a rope around his neck with infected all around. He is saved by a stranger on a walkie talkie who begins to tell him what happened. He then tells Papyrus about a mysterious monster who will kill him upon sight, and then tells Papyrus to flee. Papyrus does so and returns to Snowdin.

Stitch and Rycher are brought to the cavern where the new kingdom is by Artico, meeting all the other characters listed in the "A New Monarch" section.

On the surface, an outbreak occurs (somehow, I don't remember), and soldiers move in to the city near Mount Ebott, called Sanctuary City, to save a doctor. The doctor kills himself (ripping off State of Decay: Lifeline).

Scrapped plot lines include:

Disclaimer: The details are very fuzzy at best with this, unknown/forgotten at worst

Mettaton Madness: An event where a group of monsters from Waterfall would have to contend with an army of defective Mettaton drones in the CORE. I don't remember much else about this. Maybe Mettaton would be involved? I don't know.

A plotline on the surface where a city is burning down and being pelted by meteorites or missiles (I don't remember) and a group of survivors have to escape.

Papyrus would die at some point, due to being bit. Sans would put him down. This would happen after Frisk left the Ruins.

Snowdin would fall at some point.

Undyne would have her own story about finding herself or something, I don't know, but I know I wanted to do something with her at one point.

The New Monarch and the Royal Guard would get into some conflict, maybe.

More characters would die I think, and maybe Soriel would be canon? I genuinely don't know and I don't remember. Like I said, everything about this section is fuzzy, as I didn't take notes and I don't remember half of this story anymore.

That's pretty much it.

These two stories are very, very different. If you want to know just how the True version goes, please check out the link to it on AO3. It's long, and it's actually finished compared to Classic, which is not publicly available now, but I might change that in the future. Classic won't be expanded on, and I won't write anything for it ever again. I'm not sure if I'll abandon it entirely, as I could still draw the characters from it, but in all likely hood it'll be forgotten.

True is a much better and more well written story anyway. Classic was just edgy and ripped off so many other zombie stories, and even other Undertale AU's, since it was slightly inspired by Axetale (I saw one video of it, really glad I didn't take many elements from that dumpster fire of an AU) and other fanon edgy content.

Overall, I'm proud of what I've done with the True story and I'm ecstatic to have gotten it finished and released, having people actually read it is so much fun.

I just felt like going into how Undead Tale really started, and the origins it had as an edgy Undertale story I wrote in 2016 - 2017 that really doesn't hold up at all anymore.

[slumberinglabyrinth]

a while back i did a review of the prison chapter in por and it was totally overblown and whatever but i kinda wanna do that again for (what remains of) radiant dawn so i guess i will

I'll be doing them in batches since this got long. In this post: 3-5 through 3-9

3-5: it's been two years and i forget why we have to defend this castle

this was a pretty alright map. the reinforcements were annoying but that's because I generally don't actually turtle all that much on defend chapters and as a result I was Right There whenever and wherever they showed up. I tried to grab the energy drop off the boss but the dude ran away from Heather the moment I created an opening and I didn’t want to reset so :^/

I moved provoke off of shinon and onto Brom for this and its... probably way too strong? like it wasn't a 100% draw rate but there were several turns in a row where he was the only person being attacked which is. insane. and also super fun lmao. I think it's a shame that the hostility mechanics in fe aren't as well documented; on some level it ruins the magic, but in cases like this where you're actively influencing it i think it'd be useful to know to what degree you're actually influencing it

disarm + steal is also a really neat/fun idea that would be a great way to counteract how i apparently will never have any money for weapons while playing as the greilgallia party crew 😔 (not to be confused with the greilgallia polycule, which disbanded around twenty years earlier) but I can also never get disarm to proc and half the things that i was able to get unequipped were too heavy for Heather to actually steal 😔

all around a decent map to ease myself back into playing rd with. I certainly could have played better, but defend maps tend to be easier and I appreciated that here

3-6: dawn brigade returns and promptly sinks into a swamp

god this map sucked. it's really hard to pick where to start with it but while i get that lore dictates that they need to only be fighting laguz right here it was probably the wrong gameplay decision with everything else that was going on. I think maybe making tigers have ~4 less str across the board would have been a nice start since I kinda needed to either never get hit by them at all or to kill them first.

several chapters later I’m also realizing maybe i should have like. started to use bexp lol

fighting laguz is also really weird in terms of like... because they have boosted stats while transformed so you can either kill them while they're untransformed (which is fairly easy but since they don't attack, you have to kill them during player phase which means one per turn per unit), deal chip damage (or none at all) to burn down their gauge so you can actually kill them, or try to power through their boosted stats and hope you don’t die in the process.

Because I hadn't used bexp and almost all my units were super weak, I mostly had to rely on the eff against beasts knife that you can buy in the bargain shop this chapter and also volug, who had enough def (even with halfshift) to not die in one round. Honorable mentions go to noland (a fitting name for this map), jill (with canto!), and zihark, who were able to help pick off untransformed laguz, and to micaiah, who could deal magic damage and actually damage transformed laguz.

this was also the first dawn brigade map! i know lots of people people dont like their maps after act 1 and while i was trying to go into this one with an open mind... yeah, they totally got shafted by this map design. it's not really their fault but this map sucked hard. I know that they generally did one of each class variant (fire mage, wind mage, etc.) and not have duplicates but I think that the dawn brigade would have benefited from another mage of some kind if only so you could have someone who could deal with all these goddamned cats

also bk shows up but since he's not a bonus unit i didn't want to feed him kills so i didnt really use him. maybe that was a mistake. also why couldn't he like. warp someone that wasn't the furthest away from the action.

3-7: hey so we heard you liked the previous map

Zihark is there? fuck this i'm reverting to a previous save and unrecruiting him

3-6: i forgot to mention that this map was a swamp map and also had darkness

I know I've mentioned that the similar map in fe6 (desert+fog) was actually kinda alright but this one isnt that at all. Playing through it a second time helped because i knew where enemies were spawning, but it was still more annoying than fun.

Swamps commit the cardinal sin of forcing everyone that can't fly (in this case: everyone but jill) to suffer massive terrain penalties. Deserts at least let mages move a little bit further (which admittedly wouldn't help much here since it's only micaiah and laura), but here everyone friend and foe alike (except Jill) moves slowly and it makes gameplay just grind to a halt which is never, ever fun level design.

Also Fiona just. could not move beyond the starting island. she couldn't even wade a little bit into the swamp like i did with ed and leo to attack at range and get laguz to untransform. they let you deploy everyone but it genuinely felt like i wasn't handed the tools to succeed at this map. always a great goal to have when designing a game

I don't know how to improve this map. unrecruiting zihark (by flying him up to the northeast with jill and having him talk to mordy/lethe) wasn't particularly difficult (battle saves make it easy enough to scout out where they were, and it's not like i'd ever feel bad about 'cheating' on this map) but... would a greater field of view actually help? would making it not a swamp actually help? would giving you more allied units that'll throw themselves in the face of danger with no regard for their own lives actually help?

I don't know.

3-7: but for real this time

Back to ikequest!

this map is... literally the same map as the previous one, but with a different map objective. and larger. and backwards. and not at night.

it's still a swamp.

Luckily, it's a survive map, and the vast majority of the enemy force does not have the time to actually reach you if you hide up in the corner.

Which is exactly what i did.

Here's the list of the optional units (ike and ranulf are mandatory, which sucks because i don't like using twinks cat laguz and ike's plot promotion feels miles away) I deployed and why I deployed them

Haar: to fly out and recruit Jill

Gatrie: to be carried by Haar and specifically to bait the single thunder mage in Haar's way (and help Haar clean out that area so Jill can be safely recruited). I gave him corrosion two maps ago and it actually fully disarmed a guy on this map! 🎊

Brom: stand near where the swamp ends and draw the handful of enemies that actually make it all the way there away from ike and ranulf and ulki and jaffar (who are auto-recruits in this chapter).

This map is. so incredibly easy to both beat and complete the (meaningful) optional objectives on. I missed a conversation between Ike and Micaiah (which requires you to travel all the way across the map that i just finished saying takes forever to traverse and do it in 12 turns), but as long as you unrecruit Zihark on the previous map (he's.... right in the middle of the main force so good luck if you don't) you can probably do this map first try with no deaths even if you haven't trained haargatriebrom At All

I think that kinda underscores a problem that intsys had with rd which was... it feels like they didn't really have a lot of time to fine-tune stuff? like you're going from the hardest (or at least most unpleasant) map to the easiest one this side of the tutorial and it just. doesn't feel good? like there's going to be some inherent difficulty in balancing a difficulty curve when you're shifting from party to party but. this was bad. really bad.

Also a side observation but it does actually say who units can talk to in battle prep which is pretty useful thing to have! you need to shift the stat spreadsheet allllll the way over, but it's there!

i promptly forgot about it by the time 3-10 came around and was like "hey i should just. have ike run up to elincia, see if they'll talk, and then reset" though lol

3-8: Less-than-Lethal Lava Land

A fairly standard lava cave map. My only real comment here is that it was kinda nice how they made the spots where you'd take damage fairly obvious while still making them appear as natural parts of the terrain. I think it was the durandal map in 7 but its "if you're on these at the end of the turn you'll take damage" tiles looked super out of place while the armads map on the other hand wasn't super self-evident and i'm glad they improved

3-9: still cant use lucia >:(

Another party shift (this time to Elincia), and there was some good use of ledges in this chapter!

Most of your units couldn't use them but it created alternate paths for the ones that could (Calill and Devdan). Previous maps tended to use them more as holes in your defenses than needed to be plugged, but it created ways to progress (and ways for reinforcements to catch up) that are usually reserved for flying units, except now you're interacting with the map instead of ignoring it completely.

I think I've yet to meet someone who genuinely likes ledges as a map element, though I think this map really drives home that the sole (inherent) problem with them is the accuracy modifications (which, as this map also demonstrates when the stairs near the end become a chokepoint, are actually present with all elevation changes). While the +2 damage dealt while on the high ground is reasonable, +50 and especially -50 to hitrate are insane and completely unnecessary modifiers. They should be half that if you even choose to retain both.

Anyway.

the absolute lack of a (player-controlled) healer in Elincia's party was also........ interesting. Annoying, but interesting. Why must allied clerics choose death?1

[fellwhite]

SwitchTale

(Im not sure if that name is taken and its just a temporal name, it will be changed later)

Tws: Genocide, death

Just a heads up, this will be a long post cause i have no idea how read more works in mobile, also i do not know if someone has had this idea before so bruh, anyway here we go:

Basically, the concept is that instead of Chara being the first fallen child, Frisk will be the first one to fall instead in an underground where Asriel hasn't been born yet, effectively swapping Chara and Frisk's roles

And also Asriel is still just a child on Chara's arrival and he will help them go through the underground

This idea was based mostly on Epictale! But in this case it's on the classic undertale. Epictale by @yugogeer012

Frisk being the first one to arrive made A LOT of changes in the underground, some of them being by example:Toriel and Asgore didn't get divorced or anything, but they have been separated for decades, some monsters being more passive, while others are more aggressive, a similar yet fairly different underground with new chara-cters and more.

I still haven't figured out a lot of stuff so yeah this will have plenty of plotholes or things that make no sans-e. But anyway

Characters:

Frisk:Attack 20 Defense 25

*The first fallen human

*A rather kind and passive human child who heavily dislikes humanity and loves their monster family,while most of the time they act very nice sometimes they can lash out revealing their not-so-friendly side,their metods to achieve what they want or to do what they think is right are a bit extreme sometimes,loves puns and dominates flirting, their favorite food is charamel and chocolate

Chara: Attack 30 Defense 20

*The last fallen child

*A sassy and almost creepy human child,they hate humans but they're a bit more nice to monsters, they love chocolate,hugs and golden flowers

*Asriel is their best friend

(Chara's personality will heavily change depending on the route)

*Toriel: Everyone's favorite goat mom, she stays mostly the same but she is more protective and better trained at fighting, her fight is significantly more difficult in all routes

Asgore: The king of the underground and a big fluffy dad, his fight is a lot more difficult since he feels even more guilty and he's more desperate to end this, he wields his good ol'trident and will sometimes use a knife, he fights in genocide too. Asriel is forced to stay on the entrance to the throne room by royal guards so you have to face the king alone

Asriel: Everyone's favorite fluffy boi, he becomes Chara's best friend in just a couple days and he will help them go trough the underground

He's against murder but he will protect Chara either way and might even take a life for them

In genocide he will disappear after Toriel's death

He's 12 years old

THE GREAT PAPYRUS: Paps is a former member of the royal guard and he is a lot more serious with his job, he still won't kill you and there's also a lot less puzzles on Snowdin because of his job and instead there's a lot more royal guards in the way (mostly dogs)

He still hates his brother's puns and still has great self esteem but he is more aware of many things,he has a bit of knowledge on timelines and resets thanks to Sans but he still does not know when a load happens

Sans: The funny bone man, brother of Papyrus and another member of the royal guard (against his will) Sans is one of the characters with the most changes, he joined because of Papyrus and now has 2 Defense and 2 Attack, still 1hp, still does a lot of puns but just like Papyrus he's more serious and he will fight you once before the fight with paps to prepare you (he can't be killed in that fight as he will dodge and he will use only some simple bone attacks). He fights you on all routes in the last corridor unless you're in neutral and you didn't kill Papyrus, he is not the last genocide boss anymore, still has gaster blasters and karma but both are used only in genocide

Mk:????

Undyne: More ruthless and negative, her fights are all harder but not too much, she is even more determined than before and bleeds during genocide route, her undying form is pretty much the same but the heart in her armor is constantly changing from green, yellow and to white

You'll depend on Asriel to survive

Alphys: Our number 1 lizard nerd

Alphys is another character that's pretty different, she's more confident but she still is very shy, she's also more less kind at the start so you'll have to make her trust you first, she'll be against you for a bit in hotland but she will start to help you once Mettaton tries to kill you with the chainsaw (which by the way it's an usable item here and you get it on all routes after the Mettaton fight, it's the second most powerful weapon only behind the true knife)

Mettaton: He's literally the same, in fact he's a bit easier but has a longer fight and a couple new weapons, in genocide his NEO form can take only 7 hits but the attacks are very long and devastating. Asriel stays out of this one as it's a 1v1

Napstablook: they're a little bit more confident but still incredibly shy, their fight is easier but takes a couple more turns and you will need Asriel to help you

Muffet and Grillby: They united their places in order to have a better chance for their businesses to survive, it worked out really well but they constantly fight. Muffet is the exact same but a bit more stressed and Grillby is more talkative, Muffet offers drinks now aswell as spiders, and the same goes for Grillby

Temmies: hOI

Red: yes baby Red is here too, she appears around the CORE with 2 dog guards (which she mentions on her original fight) and she's an main boss and character

W.D:????

There's some additional characters that i added, like Captain froggit, yes their name is literally captain so their position is quite convenient, and a few more here and there

Toby isn't here, instead there's a wolf with... An smiling face? (yep that's me)

A few additional changes:

Frisk is viewed as an mostly chaotic neutral and inclined to chaotic good, but in genocide this changes ti chaotic evil

Yes Frisk is the narrator and acts somewhat similar to Chara

Both Chara and Frisk use they/them, i personally view em both as female and nonbinary respectively but i'll leave it like this to avoid discourse or anything

Napsta is nonbinary and uses they/them and he/him, prefers they tho, i left them like that since i haven't seen much discourse about Napsta's gender so bruh

Sans and Paps are ??????'? sons

Since im no Toby Papyrus can use his special attack (which is a blaster here) but he will hold back by himself in his fight

Some notes:

There's some guard campaments and the royal guard headquarters, only the campaments are accessible but you can see the hq from far away

You can ask me any doubts or anything idm

There will possibly be a comic, plenty of art, a written version or even possibly a couple playable fights in the future, but it will be a while before that happens

Odds are it will be all written but im not sure yet, references will be on an individual post

The au name is subject to change

THIS IS MY FIRST TIME DOING ANYTHING LIKE THIS SO ITS A TOTAL MESS IM SORRYYYALCKAOFKAOC

[admiralty-xfd]

I don't know if you'll take it but I'll try anyway...Angry kisses post "En ami", please! :)

Wow, anon, you’re in luck because I have already done exactly this! Source: Culmination. Enjoy :)

She hates that she lied to him. Absolutely hates it. The thought of any kind of wedge between them is abhorrent to her. He seems to know she had very little choice, but he is hurt, betrayed. And she understands.

“He could have done something to you, Scully. He could have killed you!”

The car ride home from the fake offices of C.G.B. Spender has been an uncomfortable one. She appreciates Mulder’s protectiveness to a point, but his belief he’d been so close to losing her has ratcheted up to anger. She rarely sees him this angry, especially with her.

Even though she believes everything she did was the right course of action, now is not the time to be defensive. Now is the time to let him be angry, to ask for forgiveness.

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“Did you even think about how I might have felt? When I learned you were alone with him?”

“Of course I did.”

She stares at her hands in her lap. She wants to look him right in the eye and tell him she knew what she was doing, and he doesn’t need to protect her. But she doesn’t. He needs to feel this way right now, and she wants to give him what he needs the only way she knows how.

“I wish you’d realize I didn’t have much of a choice, Mulder. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you what was going on but the whole thing was on his terms. I figured we’d sit down, have a conversation like this, and you’d understand.”

“Well, I don’t. I don’t understand how you could go off with him and not tell me about it. Especially after… Diana.”

She can tell he didn’t really want to say it. She feels bile rising in the back of her throat. Even from the goddamn grave, this woman will not leave them alone. She bites her tongue to keep from saying something she’ll regret.

“This is not even close to the same situation. I am not, and never have been, like her.”

Mulder stares at her, hard. “You’re right. You aren’t. I never said you were.”

He looks back at the road and grips the steering wheel. She doesn’t like the direction this conversation is going so she changes tack.

“I wouldn’t do that to you, Mulder. Never. You have to know that by now.”

He doesn’t say anything. She can see his jaw moving in frustration as he grinds his teeth. She knows he’s mad but she can’t help but find it thoroughly hot.

“I would hope that after all we’ve been through, you could trust me in this type of situation,” she says. “As your partner. That you’d do the same, and know I would trust you, if you were in my position.”

“Never. I’d never trust him.”

“But you did,” she responds quietly. She regrets the words even as they leave her mouth, but she’s said them now.

He pulls the car over to the side of the road, puts it in park, and shuts off the ignition. He turns to her. “What are you talking about?”

“You did. You trusted him enough to want to go to that Air Force base. You were headed there with her. You would have been killed, burned up with the rest of them. There would have been nothing I could have done about it if you hadn’t changed your mind.”

Mulder is stunned. But she’s right, and she knows he knows it. He doesn’t know what to say. The air in the car is still, and tense.

His face looks conflicted. “Everything he said to me made sense. It was the truth. About what happened to my sister, about the deal that was struck, all of it had to be true.”

“How is that any different than how I reacted? You trusted him. You believed him. Something in what he said made you believe him.”

“It’s not the same, Scully. You should have told me about this.”

“How is it not the same?”

“Scully-”

“Why are you allowed to act alone, but I’m not? Why, Mulder?”

“Because-“ he stops himself.

“What? Because why?”

“I don’t know!” He explodes. “It’s just… it’s just different.”

“Because I’m a woman? Is that what you were going to say?”

He shakes his head. She can’t tell if he’s lying. She hates when that happens.

“I’m so mad at you right now.” It’s all he can muster. She is unimpressed.

“Really? Great. I’m getting a little pissed off at you, myself,” she retorts. Nothing like a little misogynistic bullshit to further ruin an already horrible evening.

He grips the steering wheel with his fingers again, staring straight ahead. She laughs to herself and shakes her head, this situation such a metaphor for their own relationship. Stuck in this car together, facing the right direction but never getting anywhere. As always.

“It’s not because you’re a woman.” He’s still looking straight ahead. “I can’t tell you what it is. I don’t know how.”

“Well, by all means, please try, Mulder.”

He turns to look at her. There’s a fire in his eyes she hasn’t seen before. It’s anger, but maybe also something else.

Without any warning, he throws his body over the console and his mouth is on hers, moving insistently, fiercely. She wants him so badly that her hands go instantly to the back of his neck, pulling him in even harder. Her mouth opens for him for the first time and he does not hesitate. His tongue is aggressive and crushes her own. She feels the kiss throughout her entire body.

His hand moves with intent underneath her shirt and she can’t help her body from responding but just as quickly as this happened, she decides she doesn’t like what’s happening.

No, this is wrong, all wrong.

“Mulder.” She tries to say his name while his mouth is devouring hers, but either he isn’t hearing her or he’s choosing to ignore her.

She places both hands on his chest and pushes him off her, hard. “Mulder, stop!”

He pulls back, stunned. Her lipstick is smeared across his mouth and she tries not to like it. The last thing she wants is to stop but the only thing she can think of right now is that this is definitely not the way this should begin. He’s angry and confused, just as much as she is. There’s only so much self control they can exercise anymore. Something like this was bound to happen, she just wishes it were under different circumstances.

“Please, not like this. You’re upset.”

She worries they’ve fucked everything up irrevocably and she wants to make light of this as quickly as possible but her eyes are welling up. She doesn’t want him to see her cry so she turns away from him to look out the window.

“I… I’m sorry, Scully.” She can’t see his face but she knows him well enough to know he means it.

“Just take me home, okay?”

She hears the car turn back on and they start to move. They drive in silence for awhile.

“I shouldn’t have done that,” he says quietly. She still can’t bring herself to look at him. She’s not mad at him, there was nothing he did that she didn’t welcome in the moment. She’s embarrassed, and angry at the both of them for continuing to fuck this up over and over again.

“It’s fine, let’s just pretend it didn’t happen.” Like we always do, she thinks miserably.

Without any more conversation they arrive at her apartment. She’s so confused and upset and she wants him so badly she has to get out. She doesn’t want to leave things like this but she wants nothing more than to get out of this car as fast as possible. She goes to open the door and feels his hand grab her wrist gently.

“Scully.”

She turns to face him, eyes red. She hates that he’s seeing her like this. “It’s fine, Mulder. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He looks at her intently, his eyes are so sad. He looks completely miserable. “That wasn’t me. I… don’t know what that was. I hope you can forgive me.”

“There’s nothing to forgive, okay?” She’s trying to sound kind but firm. She wants to stop talking about this. “I’ll see you later.”

The car door slams behind her and she heads up the steps and into her building, not looking back.

She has never wished more for a reset button in her life. They’d been making such progress lately, she thought some way, somehow soon things were going to finally change. Now she worries it will never happen, not after this.

Did she make a mistake? Should she have just let it happen? Should she have just let him fuck her right there in the car out of anger? Why couldn’t it have happened a different way? What the hell is wrong with them?

Loneliness is a choice.

The words she heard herself say to Philip Padgett last year in a moment of vulnerability come back now to haunt her. She’d told him she wasn’t lonely but it was a lie. She’s chosen loneliness over and over again, all her life. And Mulder is choosing it too.

Why do they keep making that choice?

[whitherliliesbloom]

Illya leads the charge!

Selection: "Oh.. so it begins.."

The Warrior of Light as her wild card job. Asking someone who is typically more comfortable with healing to lead the charge would typically be a bad idea, but someone.. or something within her gives her the strength she requires to brandish her guillotine with ease. Perhaps it is only fitting then, that the hero seeking to bring darkness shall clad herself in the shadows. 

Illya’s WHM info here (x)

Weapons: Seeing Horde Guillotine / Antiquated Deathbringer

Passives: Illya as a Dark Knight has three passives. "Eclipse mastery" allows her to switch between two stances, Penumbra and Umbra, the effects of which are elaborated below. "Echo's whisper" gives a passive attack up buff. “Champion of the Dark” gives her a further boost attack boost against ‘light’ type enemies (sin eaters, lightwardens etc). 

AI behavior:

Illya will always start in her Penumbra stance or 'Original' state. Penumbra gives her a defense boost and a buff that increases the HP gained from any healing magic cast on her. In her original state, she is a semi-aggressive tank, preferring to focus more on defense and and keeping aggro. She cycles between cool downs religiously, and uses the blackest night when expecting a tank buster. She is quick to chase down any adds if they go after other party members, and will use the blackest night on any party member who are low on HP and are at risk of dying. 

Again, as she never runs out of MP, Bloodweapon is replaced with Dark Cure, a skill with a healing potency similar to Cure II that she can use on either herself or an ally.

The main gimmick of Illya as a Dark Knight is her Stress Meter, a meter that fills up as she takes damage. Damage absorbed by shields still counts as damage taken.When an ally dies, her stress meter fills by 20% automatically. When her stress meter reaches 100%, she automatically switches to Umbra stance, summoning her 'dark self'. Visual queues include a black aura that surrounds her for the rest of Umbra stance's duration, and her violet eyes change to red. Her voice lines are completely different, and her voice also takes on a more mature, deeper tone. Umbra stance switches out the buffs given by Penumbra stance to a massive attack and critical rate up buff and lasts 30 seconds while in combat. While in Umbra stance, she becomes extremely aggressive, focusing on attacking and using any available damaging oGCDs over using defensive CDs. Dark Cure is converted into an ability called Dark Mangle, an AOE ability that places a DoT on every enemy in a radius around her and does some damage.

Once 30 seconds of Umbra stance in combat has run out, she switches back to her Penumbra Stance and gains a debuff called "Emotional Exhaustion" that prevents her from switching to Umbra stance for 3 minutes, even if the stress meter is filled. Dying and reviving causes her to be reset back to her Penumbra state and still gain the Emotional Exhaustion debuff. If the entire party wipes, her stress meter will be filled automatically, and Emotional Exhaustion will wear off upon entering combat. 

Illya in both stances uses every oGCD like Delirium, Abyssal  Drain and Carve and Split upon coming off CD. Living Shadow functions the same for Illya as it does in game. However, while in Umbra stance, if a living shadow is summoned, it will take on the form of Illya instead of Fray. 

She will never use LB unless she is the only one left alive. 

Battle Lines (Penumbra): "Begone!" - randomly while attacking "Don't hurt him / her!" - when chasing after a mob that has aggro'd on an ally "Y-you hit harder than I expected." - after a tankbuster "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry!! I promised that I would protect you!" when an ally dies Illya can sometimes be heard breathing heavily or panting when she reaches 80% on her stress meter "Ugh! No! I can’t... hold on anymore.." - upon reaching 100% on stress meter. "Gods..it happened again, didn't it..?" - After switching back to Penumbra stance from Umbra stance

Battle Lines (Umbra): "From the darkest abyss." - Upon Umbra stance activation "I have you!" - performing a gap closer "Die already!" - randomly while attacking "Come back 'ere!" - when chasing after a mob that has aggro'd an ally "That all you got?!" - after a tankbuster "So time's up.." - when switching back to Penumbra stance

Death (Penumbra): "I failed everyone again..." "So this is where I fall.."

Death (Umbra): "S-shit.." "Curse you..."

Revived (Umbra stance will end automatically upon death, so she only has lines for being revived in penumbra stance): "I don't deserve such kindness." "Thank you.."

LB (Penumbra): "I have to stay strong.." - LB 1 or 2 "Lend me your strength just this once.. Peer into the dark!" - Performing Dark Force

LB (Umbra): "Don’t touch her!" - LB 1 or 2 "I'll be sendin' you to the pits of hell where you belong!" - Performing Dark Force

Victory (Penumbra): “I’ll sweep the area and make sure the coast is clear.. Everyone wait here, okay?”  “Good work, everyone!”

Victory (Umbra): “What a nuisance.”

Others:

Illya's normal idle behavior is the same as when she's a white mage, except instead of checking her bag's inventory, she begins examining her weapon and polishing it. She is even less talkative in this form, even towards Alphinaud, though she still does talk to him more than anybody else. She also does not make as many comments about flowers, mostly because she’s so focused on leading the charge and has less room to spare being distracted.

While in Umbra form, any poses or emotes Illya does will switch from a female lalafell base to male hyur. Umbra stance Illya will make zero attempt to respond to or chatter with anybody, though she does have some rare dialogue lines with the scions sometimes. NPC dialogues will also change when Illya is in Umbra stance. Alphinaud in particular seems resentful and at times even antagonistic towards Illya in Umbra stance. This changes depending on dungeon, though. Dungeons taking place at the start of ShB will have Alphinaud treating Illya in Umbra stance coldly, but he slowly begins to speak to her in a normal tone towards the end of ShB, eventually trying to treat Umbra stance Illya normally as he would the original in post-ShB. While idle, she will cross her arms and lean her weight on one leg.

Again, trust template is by @locke-rinannis​

[shanie-the-toyaddict]

Shanie’s Dream Fic: A Masterpost

The following is a Masterpost of all my various finished, started, and sketched out dream stories. They are listed here as the dreams originally were, not as the stories the dreams became. Listings are by Saga/Series, Story Title, and Month/Year of original dream. Also listed are the fandoms of the dreams and any specific warnings the fics might carry. For the record, this isn’t a post really for anyone on here. It’s mostly for my own records. I do have a copy on my cloud storage but I’m putting it here as well on the off chance anyone is curious. BTW: I’m putting this here so that I don’t have to list it every time. As far as the WWE dreams go. Absolutely NONE of them are Kayfabe compliant. That’s the problem with not watching the shows regularly. I don’t dream about the TV side of it often. The Zowens dream is close though. It’s sort of a hybrid. The rest? Well, all of them are some level of NKC, but some are not only non-kayfabe, they are straight up AU.  BTW2: In every single one of these stories involving me I am some manner of queer. I’m pretty sure in all but maybe one or two. I’m either wlw, ace, or both. NOT ONE of the first person dreams contains romance between me and another character. The best you get is a single platonic fake-relationship story. (That one did have a smut scene in it but it isn’t romantic.)

Anyway, list behind the cut!

ADVENTURES IN DREAMLAND Master Post

SAGA   A Family Beyond Blood

Part 1 Darkness Fallen (August 2019) I find myself trapped in a world where I died as a child. Now as a spirit I must find a way to restore the universe to it’s proper order. (Somehow my young death caused the entire universe to splinter) *McMahon Family and MCU Dream* Part 2 Death and Life on Planet Earth (August 2019)

Having saved the universe but not ourselves, I vow to do whatever it takes to return Shane to his rightful place with his family. *McMahon Family and MCU Dream*

Part 3 A World Restored to Fall (August 2019)

The universe has been reset again, and I have been returned to my proper timeline. Or have I? There’re odd happenings in a local bookshop and it’s up to me to figure out how to stop them *Original Dream Featuring IRL People*

Part 4 World War Winter (August 2019)

Nuclear Holocaust has occurred. The world is at war with the machines. As a soldier in the CAMP forces, I must leave everything I know behind and face down the android army. But, maybe there’s a familiar face or two in CAMP after all... *McMahon Family Dream* *VIOLENT*

Part 5 Of Queens and Kingdoms (August 2019)

The world is reset. AGAIN. This time, it’s me, Shane and Marissa in a new land where the middle ages and modern times are happening simultaneously and women are the dominant gender. And, somehow, I’m the bloody queen. *McMahon Family and WWE Universe Dream*

Part 6 Titans Reign (August 2019)

Having ascended to the throne and filling the royal court with WWE superstars, I must now find a way to rule over a land I barely know. Meanwhile, a sinister plot is brewing to put the patriarchy back in power. *McMahon Family and WWE Universe Dream*

SAGA That’s What Friends Are For

Part 1 Death of a Fangirl (and Birth of a Friend) (October 2019) [Only Published Story on List]

I find myself being given the chance to meet Shane. Unfortunately, my mental illness turns the dream into a nightmare and my life unravels. But don’t worry. Shane will save the day. He always does. *Shane O Mac Dream*

Part 2 With A Song In Her Heart (October 2019)

Shane has been ignoring my texts, so I hunt him down. My search finds me at a pride festival where a spontaneous song catches his attention a little too well. *Shane O Mac Dream*

Part 3 One Last Birthday to Celebrate (November 2019)

It’s Christmastime in Squirrel Hill. For some dumb reason, Shane McMahon has decided to visit me the day before his birthday. Naturally I surprise him with a present. The other surprise (getting caught in a domestic dispute) is far less pleasant. *Shane O Mac Dream* *VIOLENT*

Part 4 The Pink Rose (Not a Dream)

I survived the shooting. Waking up in a hospital, I find my mother and a room full of flowers from the WWE Superstars. But one flower, a lone pink rose, is unlabeled. Wanna take a wild guess who sent that one? *WWE Universe Story NOT Based on A Dream*

Part 5 Dreams and Demons (December 2019)

So, it seems that watching your friend nearly die in a hail of bullets isn’t the best for your mental health. At WrestleMania 37, Shane is presented with a choice. Me, or TV. Of course he chooses me, this is my dream, what other choice   would there be? *WWE Universe Dream*

[Are you starting to see why I never publish any of these. They are painfully bad self inserts and woefully self-indulgent. But they are also therapy, hence the writing]

SERIES   Trippy Shorts

Story 1 A Little Fall of Acid Rain (August 2019)

The world is ending – but only in NYC. I’m there. So are the McMahons. Destruction and danger abound. *McMahon Family Dream*

Story 2 I Know Who I Am (September 2019)

All of my favorites from TV, movies, music, and wrestling are turning up murdered. Each time, a cryptic message is left behind, written in blood. Can I figure out the connection before everyone I like is killed? *General Pop Culture Dream* *EXTREMELY VIOLENT AND DISTURBING*

Story 3 Fixed Points and Fixed Pairings [An Unfinished Symphony] (September 2019)

One night, outside the bar, I am approached by an older version of myself. She brings a time machine and a mission – go back to the attitude era and change time so Shane remains the heir apparent. But some people are just meant to be together, and others just refuse to listen – even to an angel from the future. *WWE Universe Dream*

Story 4 A Song of Summer [A Snapshot] (October 2019)

As an Agent of SHIELD, it doesn’t take a genius to see that Black Widow and Hawkeye are in love. So, through the power of music, I decide to try and hook them up. *MCU Dream*

Story 5 Journeys Beginning [A Snapshot] (December 2019)

One day at school, I find myself amid an alien incursion. But don’t worry, the Doctor is on the case. Also, Shane is involved because of course he is. *Shane O Mac and Doctor Who Dream*

Story 6 Arson, Murder, and Revolution (January 2020)

At a Hollywood LGBTQ party, I find myself caught in a plot by the Trump administration to commit mass murder. When it goes awry, revolution stirs and it’s up to me and several other progressive celebrities to light the fuse *General Pop Culture Dream* *VIOLENT*

[See, they aren’t all about Shane. Just... most of them]

STAND ALONE STORIES

Once Upon a Dream (August 2019)

I black out drunk in an alley one night and awake to find myself in a dream. It’s 1990 and I’m somehow a middle-aged black woman. Also sharing the dream is a young and angry Shane McMahon. Together we use the circumstances of the dream to fuck shit up for the NYPD. *Shane O Mac Dream* *VIOLENT*

The Many Deaths of a Tabhead (August 2019)

Five years after getting hooked on a new drug called Tabs, I find myself in an endless loop of getting murdered. The only way out is to survive. Too bad I have no memory, and everyone wants me dead *Original Story Featuring IRL People* *VIOLENT AND DISTURBING*

Champion of the Faerie Queen (December 2019)

Did you know that Marissa McMahon is the Faerie Queen and Shane is her consort? Neither did I. And, it seems, when war comes a calling, it’s up to me to save the McMahons and the country. But I’ve got superpowers now, so that helps. *McMahon Family, MCU, and DC Universe Dream*

To Earthquakes, Lovers, and Newfound Friends (May 2020)

In lovely SoCal, I’m watching a movie when an earthquake strikes. I soon find myself both blind and badly burned. The only hope I have to survive is a certain pair of lovers who just happen to be in the area for some R&R. *Zowens Dream*

Penny and Kicks vs The World (June 2020)

As a longtime WWE employee, I’ve been best friends with Shane for years. But in the fallout of Coronavirus, the public is looking for a scapegoat. Vince is more than happy to offer up my father. Now, the entire wrestling world is in turmoil and Shane and I are just trying to weather the storm. *WWE Universe Dream* *VIOLENT*

Virginia Gothic (October 2019)

In a world where my highschool sweetheart and I never broke up, we must forge a path on our own through hardship and rejection. But what is the meaning of the mysterious Jesus statue? And why is Bacchus being so damn shifty? *Original Dream Featuring IRL People*

Uzil (January 2020)

An mystical being from the horsehead nebula takes up residence in a little boy’s guinea pig. The miracles come quickly and soon they are inseparable. *Original Third Person Dream* (I wasn’t in this one)

The E-Manual (February 2020)

The end of days is drawing near. I have been chosen as a prophet of the end times by the Almighty himself. I must go out into the world armed with only scripture and a mystical magazine, trying to convert as many people as possible before time runs out. *A Mostly Original Dream* (Shane’s in the last two pages)

Seraphina and the Seven Wishes (April 2020)

The world is a video game and the McMahon’s are the Addams family. It only gets weirder from there. *McMahon Family Dream*

A Matter of Science (And Opinion) (May 2020)

I accidentally set fire to my apartment during a spell. I’m promptly arrested and call The Doctor as my defense. Sadly, the call is rerouted to Stormcage and SpongeBob SquarePants ends up on the case instead. This one is every bit as absurd as it sounds. *Doctor Who and SpongeBob SquarePants Dream*

A Revolution In This Century (Enter Me) (November 2019) The year is 2027. Climate Change has decimated the globe and revolution has reduced the Ruling Elite to food reserves. However, absolute power corrupts absolutely, and soon the new ruling poor become as ruthless as the 1% had been. In this horrible dystopia, I am a powerful government official who has taken on the McMahons as consorts for the sole purpose of saving their skins. *McMahon Family Dream* *VIOLENT, DISTURBING, AND A BIT SMUTTY*

Crystal Vision – A Dozen Birthdays (December 2019)

After showing kindness to an enchantress, I am given my hearts greatest desire – a place in Shane’s life. I am sent back in time to 2005 as a WWE Makeup tech and given 12 years in the life of my childhood heroes. But a lot happened in the WWE from 2005 to 2017 and not all of it good. How much can and do I dare change? *WWE Universe Dream* *Painfully NKC. Disturbing subject matter involved because 2007 is a thing.*

Dr. Slime and the Wondernerds (August 2019)

Three high school nerds find themselves in possession of a mysterious green substance. When it explodes during an experiment, they find they have been given superpowers. However, this is the real world and super-powered “freaks” get picked apart, not celebrated. Can the teens resist using their powers? *Original Third Person Dream* (I’m not in this one)

Planeswalking Like A Grecian (October 2019)

After death, Xena finds herself on the Astral Plane. Promptly running into Joxer, they must find a way to survive the dangers of the afterlife. But don’t worry. Gabrielle has a plan. *Xenaverse Dream* (I’m not in this one)

The Foresight Curse (June 2020)

The problem with knowing the future is that you usually don’t have the ability to change it. So when Radar O’Reilly realizes Henry’s fate the day before it happens, he has to spend the next day trying to drown out the feelings of dread and sorrow, if only for the Colonel’s sake. Funny thing though, sometimes fate takes a left turn and you get a second chance to say goodbye. *M*A*S*H Universe Dream* (I’m not in this one) Vampires, Wraiths, and Shades, Oh My! (December 2019)

In the middle ages, I am orphaned at a very young age by vampires and taken in by Vampire Hunters (AU Shane and Stephanie). Now a teenager, I fight alongside them to protect the world from the dangers of the night. *McMahon Family Vampire AU Dream*

WHEW! I’m pretty sure that’s all of them! I have so dang many dreams it’s hard to keep track of them all! Anyway, out of all of these, only a handful are finished, ONE is published (Death of a Fangirl) and a ton of them aren’t far past the sketch stage. So, this is my list. Every story on here I at least have sketched out. I doubt I will ever even bother writing many of these, but the intent is present.

[imagine-loki]

Giftless

TITLE: Giftless CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: 21/50

AUTHOR: nekoamamori ORIGINAL IMAGINE: 

Imagine that you are Stark’s niece and you secretly share a strong relationship with Loki since he entered the crew. One day you get hurt so bad during a mission that you are about to die.  Loki knows a spell that will save you and share his immortality with you but you and he will be linked forever sharing thoughts, pain, emotions…

RATING: T NOTES/WARNINGS: Underage reader (no sex!!)  Also on AO3 click here

A couple of quiet weeks later, Fury came to bother you while you were sitting on the couch in the common room with a book. “Kat, we’ve got some new recruits. Do you mind helping us out in the training room?” he asked.  You remembered that there had been some new super teens who moved into the tower.  It was teens who were most likely to gain powers after magic exploded into the world again.  

Fury liked having you work with the newbies.  They tended to get confused when you didn’t do what they were expecting you to do and, instead, acted like a victim actually does when they’re being rescued.  You tended to do things like run the wrong way, burst into hysterical tears and not move, or grab the nearest item to try to help.  The rookies learned a valuable lesson, you had fun, and everyone won.

“Not at all. I’ll be right there,” you replied brightly.  You had fun messing with the newbies.  Probably a bit too much fun if you were being honest.  Fury nodded and went back to his newbies to get them ready. 

You looked over at Loki who grinned, knowing exactly what you’d be up to, since he’d been training you for this. “Show them what you’ve learned, darling,” he bid you and stood to come along.  Of course he wanted to watch. You were wearing jeans and a t-shirt, an outfit that was just fine for this exercise. Your magical dagger sheath was secured at the small of your back, where you usually kept it. Loki didn’t like you to not have it, even in the tower.  

You did take your bracelet off and handed it to Loki.  “Can you put this in my jewelry box? I don’t want anything to happen to it,” you asked him. You knew the bracelet was delicate and expensive and you didn’t want anything to happen to it.  You were a lot more comfortable asking for small magics over the last couple of weeks, since Loki had finally convinced you that they were no trouble at all. 

The bracelet vanished. You wore it nearly all the time, so you felt kind of naked without it. You didn’t want anything to happen to it, though. “Thank you,” you said when the bracelet had vanished from his hand.

You walked together to the training room, waving to supers as you went. Loki took a seat on the sidelines to watch. There was a group of young teens standing in one corner being addressed by Fury. You walked over to them. “This is your helpless victim,” Fury told them, gesturing to you. You smiled, this was going to be fun. “Clint and his team will play the villains trying to kidnap her. You are to stop them from doing so. Kat, get into position,” he told you without more direction than that.  You didn’t need more direction. You’d done this a lot over the last few years. You nodded and took your usual spot about halfway between the two groups. 

Fury stepped off of the floor and the match began. The villains were wearing literal black hats. It was a running joke, but made for good identification during the matches. They came up to you and Clint grabbed you. The kids came running up from the other side, but they were unorganized and weren’t going to be very effective.  At all.

Self-rescuing princess time.

You pulled a dagger from the sheath at your back in a well-practiced movement and held it to Clint’s throat. He let you go in surprise. You pulled three more daggers in fast succession, throwing them with hard earned precision at the rest of the team. The kids just stood there shocked while you fought the supers on your own, holding them off with the skills you had honed over the last few months working every day with Loki.

Fury was laughing his head off at the confusion on both sides. “Enough!” he finally bellowed. You dropped your latest dagger and held up your hands. Everyone else was holding up theirs as well, acknowledging that the battle was over. “Peter, report. What have you learned?” Fury asked the leader of the kids’ team.  Peter didn’t live full-time with the team, he lived with his aunt nearby, but he’d been on more missions than most of them, since he’d had his powers before magic exploded in the world.

“Never mess with Kat?” he asked with a grin. That earned him a laugh from his friends, but a glare from Fury.

“While that is correct, that’s not the answer we’re looking for. Gail,” he picked on one of the girls, calling on her to answer next.

“Victims may not act the way you expect,” she answered obediently.  You had a feeling she’d heard tales from the other supers about your lack of cooperation during training.   

“Correct. Whatever the victim does, you must be prepared for. Don’t let her actions distract you from your mission,” Fury lectured them. They all looked in awe of the lesson and shamed at the same time for not doing it well the first time. Fury turned to Clint next. “And what have you learned?” he asked. Clint’s team was made up of all adults, well trained fighters.  They’d either been supers in hiding from before magic came back to the world, or had been among the first to gain powers.  Or in Clint’s case was one of the original six Avengers.

“Not to mess with Kat,” he chuckled, giving you a small bow. You laughed at that and nodded your head in a return bow to him. He sobered quickly and gave his real answer. “Just because we don’t use deadly force on humans doesn’t mean our opponents will hold to the same constraints,”

“Correct. You must be able to cope with the different motivations of your opponents,” he told them. “Again,” he ordered. You all went back to your spots and the drill started again. Clint was more wary of you this time. The rest of his team wasn’t. However, the kids got to you before Clint’s team this time. So you crumpled to your knees and started ‘crying’ hysterically, clutching on to whichever kid you could and generally being a nuisance and not helping. In the end, your hindrance broke the kids’ plan. Clint threw you over his shoulder and started walking calmly off the practice court.

“Enough!” Fury yelled. Clint set you back on your feet gently.

“You ok?” he asked, making sure you hadn’t gotten hurt somehow. Everyone was wary about hurting the girl without powers. You nodded and reassured him quickly.

“Peter, what is the lesson?” Fury demanded.

“She helped us last time!” Peter whined. You tried not to laugh at him.  Poor kid was about to get his ass chewed. “We thought she’d help us again!!” he whined more as if that would help him.  

“Don’t expect the victim to help you!” Fury yelled, sounding like a drill Sargent. His roar was impressive when he felt like using it.  And he felt like it then to make his point.  “Most of the time, they will do what she did. They will cry and not help you. Reset. Again,” he ordered and you all went back to your spots.

/Your turn/ you thought at Loki. He didn’t make any movement or reaction, but you felt the change in his attention.

The scenario started again. Clint’s team came up on you, beating the kids to you this time. “HELP!” you shrieked in you best damsel in distress voice. It was the ear-splitting scream of a horror movie victim.  

Loki teleported into the ring, standing in front of you defensively. You watched the amazing battle of illusions, daggers, and magic bolts thrown at Clint’s team. He was pulling his punches, though, dazing them instead of hurting them. Once they were all disabled, he turned to you and gave you a very thorough kiss.

“Enough, you two,” Fury groaned. “Lesson, Clint?” Fury demanded while Clint groaned back to his feet.

“Don’t mess with Kat,” he said again with a smirk when he was standing. You laughed and stuck your tongue out at him. He chuckled. “Be aware of connections and relationships. A sensible villain won’t go after a well protected target,”

“Again. Kat, defend yourself. Loki, sit this one out,” Fury ordered. You nodded and the scene was reset yet again.

The battle began and you realized that you were on your own. You don’t know what signal Fury had given to the kids, but they weren’t helping. This was going to end poorly. You threw daggers and tried to keep your opponents distracted, but you could only manage so long. They weren’t surprised anymore by your ability, which wasn’t that good yet after only a couple of months. You tried to move around the field, but one of them had covered the arena in ice. You would lose your footing if you moved too much. You planted your feet and called for help, but none came. Clint stomped over. You managed to keep him at bay with daggers and he went skidding away with a well-timed throw. He’d had to dodge it dramatically and got caught on the ice. 

You shrieked in pain when Electron, a super with electricity powers like Thor’s, got his hands on you. He forgot to pull his attack and you were hit full blast with his lightning. There was a hand-shaped burn on your arm from where he had grabbed you.

“Stop!” Fury shouted while you shrieked in pain, cradling your arm safely.

“Kat! I’m sorry!” Electron apologized as Loki rushed over. You were already on the ground, crying in pain. Loki knelt down next to you and placed his cold hand on the wound. You sighed in relief as Loki’s healing powers eased the pain quickly.

“Shh, love. It’s ok. You’ll be alright,” he promised. He healed the wound quickly, but you were still shaky and let him hold onto you for awhile longer.

“Kat! Are you ok? I’m so sorry,” Electron said again. You looked up at him and gave him a smile.

“I’m fine,” you reassured him. “It was an accident.”  You added that last part for Loki’s benefit as much as Electron’s.  You didn’t want him hurt for accidentally hurting you.

“Where are the lessons, here?” Fury demanded once Loki helped you shakily back to your feet.

“I’m still just human,” you replied dejectedly, your voice shaky.

“Yes. It’s not a bad thing that you’re learning to protect yourself, but don’t get cocky. You will always be at the disadvantage against supers,” Fury told you. He turned to Electron. “And you?”

“Don’t mess with Kat,” he gave you a tentative smile at the joke of the day.  “Even a human can be difficult to take down, but doesn’t mean we can lose control of our powers to take them down,” he answered more formally.  Fury nodded. 

“Kat, you and Loki are dismissed. Thank you for your help today,” you nodded and let Loki steer you from the room. You were exhausted and still shaky, so you didn’t argue when he led you upstairs.

“Darling, are you sure you are alright?” he asked, concerned. 

“That was just a lot of electricity,” you murmured. “Powerless humans are not meant to be lightning rods,” you grumbled. 

“I understand that more than anyone with the thunder god for an idiot brother,” he commiserated.  He swept you up into his arms and for once you didn’t protest. Even with healing you were shaken. “Come along, love, let’s get you to bed,” he said softly, gently. You could hear the concern in his voice.

“I’ll be fine, Loki,” you promised, though you doubted he believed you.  He put you to bed and tucked you in. “I’ll be fine, especially after a nap,” you repeated. “Wake me before you go on patrol?” you asked. He’d actually gotten an assignment other than guarding you.  

Loki was rummaging in your jewelry box. He came back to you a moment later and clasped the bracelet back around your wrist where it usually lived. You smiled up at him in thanks.  “Of course you will, now get some rest,” he bid you warmly.

*

A few hours later, you woke starving, but otherwise feeling much better. Loki was sitting in your recliner with a book. You smiled over at him. “Keeping vigil again?” you asked with a smile.

“Of course, my dear.” Your stomach growled and Loki chuckled. He offered you a hand and pulled you to your feet. You giggled at him and you went downstairs together to see what Helene had made for dinner. “I’m sorry I have to leave you,” he told you once you had finished eating.

“It’s alright, you have to work,” you replied with a warm smile. 

“Come on, Reindeer Games,” Tony growled from the doorway impatiently.  “You aren’t even dressed yet. We have to get out there for patrol.”

“I’ll get the dishes, you guys go on,” you told them. Tony gave you a hug and Loki gave you a kiss before they left on their patrol. You hoped neither of them would kill the other while they were out there. 

It was lonely in the compound that night.  Everyone was out on patrol, including your boyfriend. You had forgotten how lonely your life had been before him. You sat on our couch reading while you waited for them to get home. You left the news on in the background, praying you wouldn’t hear about an attack and they’d all get home safely.

It was around 3am when they finally returned. You ran to the door to greet them, so glad they came back safely. They both looked unscathed and they hadn’t killed each other.  It was a successful night.

“Your boyfriend is annoying,” Tony grumped at you before he went up to bed. 

You laughed. “What’d you do to him?” you asked Loki while the two of you walked up the stairs to your own rooms.

“I did nothing to him,” Loki replied with a smirk. “He was displeased that I teleported some robbers to the police instead of letting him punch them,” he shrugged. “I do not know why that is. It was much easier my way.” You laughed at that.

“I’m just glad you’re ok. I worry about you when you’re out on patrol,” you reminded him.

“And I worry over you when you are here alone,” 

*

A couple weeks later, you and Loki were out on a date. The next installment of the Avengers movies had come to theaters and you had both wanted to see it. Loki even wore the full Loki costume for the occasion, including the helmet. They were introducing a new character this film, so you actually got to dress up too. The new character was Sigyn, Loki’s wife. She was in the ads for the movie, so Loki could recreate her costume for you.

You tried not to think too hard about how the character looked almost identical to you.

“Look! It’s Loki!” fangirls and kids all called as you walked into the theater. You had a lot of fun signing autographs for the kids. They kept asking you where the rest of the team members were from the movie and you had to remind them that the team was spread out among different theaters. The movie was fantastic as always, as was dinner afterwards, which you had at a slightly more casual restaurant, so you could go in costume. You got more attention there and had to take selfies with all sorts of fans.

It was on your walk back to where you had parked your car that you met up with some of The Harlequin’s clowns. There were only two of them, thankfully. They approached and through their laughing you deciphered that they were demanding that Loki hand you over. As if that were going to happen.  “Are you up to this?” Loki asked as they came toward you, laughing psychotically. You nodded and pulled a dagger from the sheath you wore on your wrist instead of the small of your back that night. “I can send you home,” he added in case you weren’t confident.

“If we can’t handle two clowns…” you grumbled at him. 

He smiled proudly. “If you are injured, you shall be quite cross with you,” he told me.

“I expect nothing less,” you replied with a smirk.

The fight was over in less than a minute. Loki bound one up in magic. You fought the other with your dagger, which was not an easy feat in a long dress, but you managed and subdued the crazy laughing clown. You called for backup and they came quickly to collect the clowns.

After that incident, when it was clear that The Harlequin still wanted you for some reason, Loki was pulled from patrol and put back on guard duty. Neither of you minded in the least.