#every fight against the cultists just gets skipped

[chaoticbooklesbian]

I don't want to work, I just want to play Baldur's Gate 3

[shitpostingkats]

Yu-Gi-Oh Review Roundup: 5Ds!

Favorite main character: Yusei Fudo

My favorite protagonist of the main three, by a country mile. Even with Jaden’s surprising season 3 growth and complexity, Yusei just. Hits different.

I attempted to put my finger on why for the majority of the series. Perhaps it’s the fact that for once, all of yugioh traditional protag tropes are finally in a character that harmonizes with them. Redeeming minor antagonists feels important, because it’s about the bigger picture dystopia, and the powerful elite at the very top who are the real enemy. And Yusei sees that. It’s less about him just being a swell guy who forgives easily, and more that he refuses to fight his fellow man. He’s kind, not in the vaguely heroic tell-don’t-show kind of way, but in the fact that he knows the trash collector by name. He genuinely believes in the good of humanity, and you sees that in how he just talks to people.

He also has the benefit of a stellar supporting cast that feels the most tight-knit of the first three shows. DM and GX had friend groups. 5Ds is about a family. One that cohabitates together, and works together, and banters with some of the most realistic sibling dialogue of the franchise. And, as the series takes pains to point out, Yusei is the one at the center of it, that he is the gear that makes this complex web all fit together. The found family vibes are excellent, in the same way a scrappy spaceship crew of morally dubious crooks is a family.

His deck archetype reflects this aspect; taking small and disparate monsters and bringing them together to make something truly menacing. Scrap and outcasts, Yusei collects them all. Every aspect of his character eventually boils down to a selfless desire to help people, from the traits that make him a protagonist, to his personality, to even what kind of cards he plays. But it’s a simple, believable kindness, one that grounds him and makes him feel real.

He is my autistic son and I love him so much.

Favorite antagonist: Kalin Kessler

An antagonist I seriously debated including in my reviews, even shied away from discussing as I watched through the series. Not because he is poorly written, in fact, far from it, but because his inclusion and character arc in this kids show I was watching for fun felt... well, a little uncomfortable, for me personally.

Suicide is a very serious topic, after all. What had me taken aback was two things: The very existence of a blatantly depressed and suicidal character in a childrens’ cartoon, and the unsettling realism of it. It is shocking. It is upsetting. Most surprisingly of all, it is so effective as a piece of storytelling, that I had to include it, despite the severity of the subject.

Still, allow me to give warning I would have appreciated in regards to Kalin Kessler: tw for discussions of suicide, depression, and self harm. If you want to skip that, scroll past this section. Kalin discussion ends at ‘Favorite side character’

Kalin, more than any other character in the show, is a living showcase of the severe damage caused by New Domino to the residents of Satellite. Disenfranchised since birth, constantly assaulted and belittled by those in power, before trying to take back some sliver of control and lashing out at the very world that oppressed him. Whereas Yusei builds his revolution through recruitment of the fellow man, Kalin’s degrading mental state does not afford him the luxury of allies. Instead, he seeks to topple the society through high grade explosives.

And that’s just the start of Kalin’s story.

His actual screentime is taken up by what occurs after his death. After dying in prison, he is recruited into a crew of undead cultists, all similarly wronged by society. Each of the dark signers correlates to each of the signers pasts, a sin they must grapple with and accept. And Kalin’s is by far the most personal. After getting not one, but two whole turbo duels against Yusei, Kalin is defeated. Yusei comes to grips with their complicated pasts, the dark signers are destroyed, and the world is saved.

These shows tend to feature a lot of antagonists getting redeemed and giving up their evil ways. Kalin’s arc in Crash Town goes the extra mile and shows what happens in between steps A and B.

Though no longer an explicit enemy by the time he makes his reappearance, Crashtown Kalin is still grappling with the things he did while operating under that label. In a way that’d kinda hard to argue with. I mean, that did happen. People were killed.

This is what gives Kalin’s depression and self-destruction such a painfully realistic despair. In media, it is often hard to portray the real helplessness of depression. Since we, as the audience, have a near omnipotent perspective and are usually a step removed from the actual situation, answers to existential questions seem obvious. You can’t really see what has the character so down in the dumps, because, to you, the answer of ‘just get over it’ seems so obvious.

“Was it really okay for us to take the life of THOMAS PUPPYKILLER, the inventor of KILLING PUPPIES?”

The audience isn’t likely to sympathize when your protagonist spends an episode angsting about that, even if coldhearted murder is a thing that most of us would legitimately have a hard time grappling with.

Real mental illness isn’t like that. It’s complex, stubborn, and makes choices feel nonexistent. Sometimes, it doesn’t even matter if an situation has an objectively correct answer, the mind will spin its tightening circles regardless. Which just feeds into itself, as one feels ever increasing panic at being unable to handle choices. It is a self consuming ouroboros, one that can make you feel isolated, numb, and powerless.

Kalin’s situation doesn’t have an objectively correct answer. He has committed several wrongdoings that hurt innocent people, for genuinely evil purposes. It’s not something that can just be made all better with a slap on the wrist and a positive mental attitude.

As someone with depression, the Crashtown arc was almost painful for me to watch. Like I’ve said, I usually love a good fictional character with fictional depression, but Kalin was just. One too few layers of abstraction for me. He felt almost too real, standing on the edge of his self inflicted punishment, Yusei screaming at him to just want to live, goddamn it, and staring out at a field of reminders for why he thinks he doesn’t deserve to.

But again, just as gut achingly realistic his descent into suicidal ideation was, so too is his stubborn climb out of it. As he spends more time with the kids of a fellow Crashtown miner, they come to rely on him for protection. So he lives to protect them. And then, shockingly (to him), they actually come to care for him. Kalin may not be able to live for himself, but he gradually comes to terms with the idea that that’s okay. That he can live for this person the kids see in him, because despite what his worst impulses tell him, he is still capable of being loved, even after all he’s done.

Sometimes, when you can’t even fathom the idea of loving yourself, in your darkest hours, it takes an equal amount of strength to accept being loved. And that, in itself, is a reason to keep on living.

Favorite side character: Martha

How many times in an action show is the main character grievously injured, down for the count with a sense of finality, when we cut to them, swathed in bandages, lying in a hospital bed. The doctor or nurse sternly tells them to get bedrest, and a parental character nags them with all sorts of “You could have died! You are grounded!” that our main character rolls their eyes through. Then, next scene, they’re sneaking out the window, right back off to saving the world, fractured wrist be damned?

When Yusei Fudo gets into a motorcycle crash and ends up with internal bleeding, but stubbornly tries to jump back into the action, his mom says “No.”

And this works.

This proves that Martha is singlehandedly the most powerful anime mother in all of yugioh, possibly in all of shonen television.

Her other feats of strength include being the backbone of her community, whacking police officers with wooden spoons, and being the mother of Jack Atlas. 

What works about Martha is the same thing that works about the rest of 5Ds Neo Domino citizens: their recurrence. Martha shows up again and again as the series progresses. She’s not some throwaway absent mother, the boys regularly visit her, there’s an entire sidestory in the finale surrounding her and the orphanage kids. She’s one of the characters that gives a face to Domino City, someone to remind the viewer that this city is made up of real people. 

With Yusei and Martha side-by-side, it’s easy to see where he gets his compulsive need to rehabilitate strays from. Like her son, Martha is consistently the one to reach out her hand to those in need, which gives us a strong sense of the legacy that Satellite has given him. There’s a very sweet subplot early in the Dark Signer arc where Trudge has to stay the night at Martha’s orphanage. Rather than being the uncivilized street rats he expected, he finds that Satellite is populated by a very protective community, and Martha leads him around, showing him the damage done to them by New Domino and how, despite all that, the majority of people living there just choose to be kind. It's one of the humanizing touches showing the breaking down of prejudices that makes early 5Ds feel very revolutionary. 

Also, there’s something very funny to me about the 2-4 episode lull where the plot is raging on in the background but Yusei’s just hanging out at home because his mom grounded him.

Favorite duel: Yusei vs Kalin, Jack vs Carly, Akiza vs Misty

Yup!!!! I’m copping out!

Let me explain why.

Each of these favorite duels of mine has been increasing progress on the part of the writing. The Yami vs. Yugi fight first proved that it can make real story out of big main character fights. The Yubel vs. Zane fight proved the same principles could be applied to secondary characters. Their next milestone?

Proving that you can have multiple compelling fights, back-to-back-to-back.

The tournament structure is one yugioh is going to return to for the rest of its life. And, while the Dark Signers arc is not a tournament, per se, it functions like one: sequential fights against an ensemble cast of opponents versus an extended array of protagonists, each quirky and personal, each with advancement into the “finals” on the line, and, most importantly, each taking place one after the other.

And, what surprised me is that I was on the edge of my seat for damn near all of them.

There’s never a release of tension, between duels, but neither is there an escalation. The energy of the show is allowed to ramp up to darn near its maximum, and then just. Stay there. For episodes on end. That is one heck of a feat, and one that will be vital for yugioh continuing to improve in later series.

It’s also wonderful that every one of the three duels is truly excellent, each wrapping up some character arc in both actionable and thematic ways. Yusei finally puts his oldest ghost to rest. Jack has a genuine human connection for the first time in years, and then owns up to the consequences of not being there for them, in much the same way he had to reconcile with Yusei, taking responsibility and turning down ego inflating power. And the Misty fight might be the least personal, but its still a thing to behold, Akiza coming to terms with the harm Arcadia caused and overcoming the trauma of her unwitting participation in it.

(Also, Sayer gets punched in the face.)

I just feel such a pride for this franchise, watching the writing grow with every installment. The shows on their own may be a bit of a mixed bag, but taken as a whole, there is some concrete, real improvements in its execution.

And that deserves to be celebrated.

Favorite arc: The Fortune Cup

Is The Dark Signers the single greatest arc in 5Ds? Probably. It is not my favorite, though. My favorite is the very first of the series. The introduction to this world.

And it is for that very reason that I adore the Fortune Cup arc so much. The world it paints in just a handful of episodes is truly stunning. The backgrounds are hazy and painterly, the satire the thickest it will ever be, and everything just has the right amount of grit to make it feel proper old school cyberpunk, instead of totally sleek and with LEDs every two square inches. The premise is equally well crafted. The conflict between New Domino and Satellite in stark relief, and we truly get a sense for how tough Yusei and his friends have it. While it’s certainly a choice to drop the themes of classism and xenophobia in the later seasons, and one I can easily see why it was made, I still have to admire the sheer depth added to the world by its inclusion.

The Fortune Cup also introduces us the idea of Yusei Fudo. Some of my favorite moments of his character happen in this part: His duel with a decried artifact deck to prove there’s no such thing as a useless card, his fight against the warden using a deck pieced together by all his fellow inmates, the spectacularly moving first match against Akiza. All bangers. All show off so perfectly what Yusei stands for. In fact, it’s so quintessential that, for the final fight of the series, the writing returns to its roots, and has Yusei end the series with the exact same thrown-away monsters he started it with.

It’s fucking perfect.

Greatest strengths of the series:

Themes. Hands down, themes.

I made a whole post about the omnipresent themes of past, present, and future here. I won’t rehash it all here, so instead I’ll just gush about how wonderfully those motifs resonate with the message of the show.

While not as blatant as its predecessor, 5Ds wrestles with, and subverts, its very tropes for the sake of telling an impactful story.

From the audiences’ perspective, everything about 5Ds, from the world, to the characters, to the villains, smacks of a classic doomed story. There are literal prophecies in play telling of mass destruction and death. The very last survivors of humanity time travel back just to tell our heroes “The future is dark.” Every qualified being with magical omnipotence speaks of a cycle, of inevitability. Yusei will die. The world will be cruel. The battle between light and darkness will continue ad infinitum.

5Ds blends two genres: dystopic cyberpunk and prophesied heroics. Two genres where it is very easy to tell the story of a tragedy, because things are predestined; things are unchangeable. Most of the time, when there’s a tragic bend to these, the story instead becomes about what our characters can do with their limited narrative. Short, brilliant, and kind lives that burn out, yet nonetheless, make a bright spot on their history: the heroes forestall the cycle for one more millennia. The revolutionary goes down in a blaze of glory that will inspire others.

And, with the magic elements of 5Ds representing the past, while the more sci-fi parts represent the future, the theme of time is as present as ever.

A more realistic, unwilling to break the tropes kind of story might choose to focus on the present. That yeah, things may have sucked and the future may be uncertain, but at least we have the now. And while 5Ds certainly has its fair share of celebrating the moment, it is not content to merely linger in it.

Yusei and New Domino are not bound by the narrative to be tragedies. Despite everything, despite literal travelers from the future showing up and saying “This will end in tears.” Despite being doomed by the narrative two times over, bound by the past, condemned by the present, and damned by the future:

Choose optimism.

The idea that you're insufficient, that it’s not enough, having clear and direct confirmation that you are going to fail. Keep moving forward anyway because. The hope that the world can change enough through just your own refusal to despair. The idea that tomorrow will suck, 100%, but you keep going because, what if it doesn't?

Betting on a loaded dice because it doesn't matter the odds, because the number you call out defines who you are. The choice to be alive, to be human, to feel joy, is the tiniest, most laughably naive decision you can make in a doomed world.

But, by choosing it, you refuse to die. And the world might change with you.

Weakest points:

When I first made a template for these reviews, I expected each of them to contain unique entries for almost every category; after all, each of these shows is so different, such wonderfully different flavors, that surely I could say something different about every one and still have room to spare.

Right?

If there’s one section I worry I’m repeating myself, it’s this one. While each of the ygo shows so far have given a plethora of characters and plots to praise, different strengths and visuals to unpack, in one place, it’s stayed frustratingly uniform: Its flaws.

Yes, there’s the tragic case of localization, as you inevitably always hear when it comes to the first three shows. I’m one of the staunchest dub defenders of them all. I love these shows to death, if that isn’t already obvious for the fact that I’ve spent literal pages discussing them in my imaginary lecture hall called the internet. If anything, I’m thrilled that so much of this show is available to me in the way that it is. While you might not expect it of me, I actually struggle quite a bit with reading and processing words. Until I started on my current adhd medication, watching anime subtitled wasn’t just a chore to me: it was straight up impossible.

The uncompleted dubs of GX and 5Ds are a bummer. The tone of the narrative sometimes grappling with itself is a bummer. The unaired final season of 5Ds that I was happily watching on Crunchyroll until someone decided to put a decade old show behind a paywall when I had nine freaking episodes left- sorry, still a little salty.

I find the discussion around the localized yugioh a tired caveat, but a frustratingly endemic one. What better way to summarize the arc of the first trilogy, than a compelling story, left unfinished, by the sheer damning fact that, simply put, the industry was still figuring itself out?

The most true criticism one can level against yugioh, at least of the shows I have seen so far, is that everything it does, other shows have done better. Each show in unique, bringing something fresh and exciting to the formula, yet never quite innovating enough to be something great.

Supernatural partnership, deconstruction of shonen tropes, bleak and fantastical worlds taken to illogical extremes; all of these are things that exist in other anime that focuses on them more directly. Usually with tighter writing. I found the shared duality of Yugi and Yami to be the most intriguing part of DM, yet it got frustratingly little time in the spotlight. Why not just watch one of the thousand and one ghostly mystery anime featuring a dynamic duo at its center? GX asks what we do when handed ultimate power and rulership over reality, but does it manage to say anything more profound on the human consciousness than say, Madoka Magica?

What mark does 5Ds have to leave on the worn road of cyberpunk, that staples like Ghost in the Shell and Akira haven’t already long cemented in place?

Why watch Yu-gi-oh?

I would argue, there’s one thing yugioh does better than almost any tv show I’ve seen.

Sincerity.

Watch yugioh for its earnestness. Its sheer commitment to its ideas, even if some of them never land. Because in this day and age, its hard to find any story as genuine, as packed full of obvious love, as this silly card game show.

Watch yugioh for its sincerity.

And because of the super cool dragons.

Most yugioh moment:

Crow letting everyone search for a missing Yusei for half an hour before thinking to mention he was kidnapped for ransom, because, in his words: “He didn’t want anyone to worry!”

[whatifyoulivelikethat]

you+me+the Devil, m | myg, jjk | summon

pairing(s): yoongi x reader x jungkook

summary: The Devil and his right-hand demon are forcibly yanked from Hell to encounter a power they've never seen before, a power that everyone thought was only a rumor. In chains and unable to break free, they are asked to give up part of their souls. And they do. For science. But, mostly, to fuck.

warnings: rated M (18+) for language - if you're religious, maybe skip this one; world building; short graphic descriptions of sexual acts; supernatural and horror (and it gets way creepier during the smut, you have been warned); non-idol!AU - Hell!AU; Devil!Yoongi x chaos!reader x Devil's right-hand demon!Jungkook and switches between their POVs; they don't have your best interests at heart and neither do you.

--

you and me and the Devil makes 3 prologue | the summoning | the collection | 666

-

there’s not a word for what i wanna do to you

One second, the Devil, also known as Min Yoongi, was frowning as he gazed up at his right-hand demon Jeon Jungkook, pondering the whereabouts of the missing soul-shards. The next second, the volcanic ground below him exploded, multiple giant red-black rings adorned with symbols and images creating a circle, expanding a larger and larger surface area, crackles of red lighting and tendrils of black smoke shooting everywhere. It consumed everything, bleeding into every nook and cranny of the throne room, saturating the air with summoning intent. It was happening far too quickly for the Devil to stop, the ground splitting and black chains shooting out, surrounded by a deadly ice-silver signature of the kind of magic you don’t bring home to your mother.

“Fuck–!”

That was Jungkook.

“Ah.”

That was the Devil.

The black chains snapped around their bodies and bound them in an instant. Jungkook snarled and fought with all of his power, black wings flaring out that were instantly crushed and shredded by the enchantment, his curved black horns protruding from his head and being forced back by the power. In contrast, the Devil merely sat there. Yoongi knew he couldn’t stop it, not this kind of magic, if it could even be called that, so he didn’t try. He let the chains wrap around him and shackle him. Instead, he furrowed his brow and tried to trace the source, tried to find the purpose. In order to defeat an enemy, you must be informed. Yoongi lived by this philosophy, which was why he was the Devil.

He could not trace it.

That was very disheartening.

But he didn’t need to worry earlier, because the red-black summoning circle was closing in, and he would find out very, very soon who it was. He had nothing to worry about.

Yoongi was the Devil, after all.

-

You inspected your nails.

Matte black, pointed. You had just done them. You liked to look nice for your guests.

“Hm, the Devil works hard, but I work harder,” you chuckled.

-

This was not what the Devil expected.

Yoongi expected a dark cave, a crowd of hooded figures, lots of candles. Maybe a Bible or a Koran. Devil worshippers, Satanists, cultists, or whatever they liked to call themselves. He fully expected to fight, to kill, to maim, and to fucking enjoy it, because he was the Devil and he served no one.

That was the whole fucking point of leaving Heaven in the first place.

He did not expect this.

You.

“Oh? A new development.”

Yoongi had seen many things in his time. He thought he could no longer be surprised.

He was wrong.

You stood over the two figures chained to the ground, peering curiously at them. A plain black dress with a flared skirt and a lace high collar. Long-sleeved with small ruffled cuffs at the end. No socks or shoes, just long, beautifully sinful legs and pretty feet. Pointed, matte black fingernails at the ends of lovely hands. A single nail was on one of your full dark lips, small amused smile dancing on that pouty mouth.

Your nail pressed into your flesh.

Yoongi wanted to shove his dick into that mocking smirk.

Sharp, distinctive eyes. Unforgettable. Yoongi would not forget the eyes of the fool who summoned him anyway, but your eyes… They were different. They held no malice. No innocence either. No, your eyes were the greatest mystery of all.

They were an enigma, revealing nothing to the one who could tell everything.

Yoongi did not like this. He did not like how him, an all-powerful being, one who could poison the minds of all other beings, was being confronted with a human who seemed very not human.

You were holding something on the crook of your arm. He narrowed his eyes. A black plush goat-man with horns and an upside-down red pentagram stitched on his head. It had little leather hooves for feet and hands. Black leathery wings as well. Another common misconception of the Devil. As if he wanted to be an ugly goat for all eternity. Hmph. But there was something about the way you held it that made Yoongi think it wasn’t an homage to him.

No, you held it close to your breast, next to your heart, squeezing the plush goat-man’s little arm lovingly.

It made him ache with longing.

They were in a bedroom, on the floor next to the bed. Black sheets, fluffy blankets with white stars all over them. Black walls with posters all over them, cute animated characters, haunting imagery, various musical artists, sinful and innocent, a vast plethora that told him nothing of true intent. Modern, sleek furniture. A high-end desktop with multiple monitors. A nice flat-screen television. Many soft plushies of adorable and strange characters, stacked on shelves and in corners, both popular and niche.

Who was this person?

With every passing second, Yoongi was liking this situation less and less.

Jungkook was beside him, disheveled and disoriented, chained down with black. The demon sat up, growling in his chest, trying to exert his power.

“Who do you think–”

“Ah, little Satan, they shouldn’t talk until I allow them, isn’t that right?”

The Devil was not a fool. You were not talking to him. You were talking to the little goat-man in your arms. Yoongi heard a choking sound and he turned his head to see a very large black ball gag ramming itself in between Jungkook’s teeth, snapping closed with a black chain strap behind his pretty head. Jungkook looked livid, trying to bite through it, but Yoongi doubted he could break it.

You smiled at him.

Yes, indeed, Yoongi was liking this situation less and less.

In some ways.

Seeing Jungkook in a ball gag was a pleasant image.

“I didn’t expect it to turn out this way. I was aiming for him first,” you said to Yoongi, lowering the little goat-man and holding him by a hoof. Yoongi wasn’t sure if he wanted to rip apart the plush or be it. He decided that wasn’t important right now.

“Ah, well, this might be better,” you mused nonchalantly. Jungkook was still fighting his restraints, but neither you nor Yoongi acknowledged it. You crouched down, a delicate flash of inner thigh and black velvet panty in his view. Yoongi narrowed his eyes. You cocked a brow, smirk widening. “Two birds with one stone, no?”

You set the little goat-man in front of him.

Sat down, spreading your legs to squeeze the little goat-man with your inner thighs.

There was no question now.

Yoongi wanted to both be the plush goat-man and rip him to shreds.

“I’ll let you speak to me, Devil. You seem polite.” Conversational, calm. Not condescending, which somehow made it worse. At least if you spoke to him with hostility, he would know how to turn it against you.

“You have magic that doesn’t belong to you, human,” he said softly, a raspy renounce in his voice. He festered it with sweetness and warning at the same time, accenting it with a discerning stare.

You grinned.

Even he, the Devil, was unsettled.

“Nothing belongs to anybody. You only borrow it for a short while and then the powers far beyond even you take it back.”

Yoongi felt his heart drop and race at the same time. As he suspected. This was not the work of his father or some a wayward demon. Magic, power, illusionism, these were all words to describe things that could not be described. Entropy holds no bounds and there is no meaning behind it. It exists only to cause anarchy. For some reason, perhaps simply chaos alone, you, a human, was in possession of something even he could not control or understand.

Shit.

He stared into your eyes and they reflected his expression back to him. He tried to search for it, the desires within the heart, the small tendrils of pain that asked to be soothed, the soul begging to be freed. An ordinary demon could be fended off by a strong-willed human for a while, but Min Yoongi was no ordinary demon.

He was the Devil, even if he was bound by your chains.

You tilted your head at him, hair curling around your cheeks and lashes.

Yoongi could take even the weakest flame of desire and stroke it into a blazing fire. Even the holiest of saints could not fight him. Everyone wanted something, even if it was, disgustingly, in the name of his father. And humans, well, they were the masters of wanting things they couldn't have. Easily manipulated, even by each other. The Devil hardly needed to do anything at all. It was only a matter of whether or not Yoongi cared to do it and, most of the time, he didn't give a single shit.

You tilted your head the other way, smiling.

Yoongi did not find a maze or a barrier preventing him from the soul. He found the soul within seconds. It was there, all right.

The Devil just didn't know what the fuck he was looking at.

Why was your soul just you sitting there in the abyss, looking up at him with the same smile you were giving him right now?

And why did he feel nothing emitting from it?

He pulled back, looking into your eyes again. He did not like this.

You leaned forward and touched his horns.

His eyes widened as your fingertips brushed against the large curved black-red horns against the sides of his head. He hasn't even realized they had protruded. How? His horns were a sign of his power, a symbol he used for fear, for appearance, and for the moments of when he was exercising a great deal of his influence. Your fingertips brushed against the second set, the ones that bloomed upwards into wicked black-red spikes. Both sets? His soul-search had him reflexively procure both?

Shit.

He started into your eyes, seeing himself reflected back. Min Yoongi was the Devil. Emotion was no stranger to him. He harnessed it all, consumed himself in the passions and wonders of emotion. There were ones he felt less, simply because of who he was. For instance, there was not much that made him afraid.

You smiled.

Fear. He could feel it rise within him.

Yoongi grinned back.

Was this what he thought it was? He had heard of such things, rumors and whispers, even amongst the angels themselves. The hidden truth that Heaven and Hell belonged in a specific dimension or realm, Order. That there was another realm, the mirror, the reflection trapped, the unknown.

Disorder.

His kind, the high-above, and those between angels and insects, the humans, none of these belonged in the realm of Disorder. There were rumors that Order was merely a concoction of Disorder and that their realm could collapse any moment, erasing all of existence without a trace. Entropy was waiting for them all.

Yoongi understood now.

This was chaos.

The Devil was a master of desire. And a master of deliberately doing exactly what he shouldn't. He should not be tempted by a glimpse of chaos. His father would warn him to stay away from it.

His father could fuck right off.

Yoongi leaned forward, still bound, his horns disappearing. The chains clanged around him, his power rattling underneath. He wasn't doing it to fight them. He wanted to feel it. To understand what could not be understood, to touch the untouchable, because it was there, there right in front of him and he wanted it, he wanted it, and the Devil feeds off desire, even his own.

He wanted those lips.

You backed up.

The denial only made his desire stronger.

You left the plush goat-man sitting there right in front of him.

-

Jungkook was pissed.

Absolutely furious, jaw and head aching from this ridiculously large ball gag, fuming that he had no idea what was going on and that a single human was doing this bullshit. There was no way you were working alone. There had to be other beings behind this. He couldn't figure it out right now, but he would and he would tear them apart, right after he fucked your pathetic human body and tore you apart.

You must be a fool, thinking you could shackle him, Jeon Jungkook, the right hand of the Devil himself, the epitome of pure sin and free will.

He continued fighting the magic, trying to exert his strength, rattling the black chains, ice-silver lashes beating him back down. He tried to release his wings, but they were ensnared, pain shooting up his back. Jungkook cared not for pain. He had felt pain for millions of years. A few seconds was nothing. He tried to release his horns, but he could not, as if the very air neutralized him.

He was enraged.

Maybe would simply kill you so he could spend an eternity torturing you for your insolence.

Then the Devil's horns appeared.

How did he–?

Then you touched the Devil.

Jungkook wanted to scream.

He did, deep in his chest, muffled rage, jealousy, hate, all at once, and both of you ignored him, your fingers grazing Yoongi's horns, fucking smiling, looking unflinchingly into the Devil's eyes, and Jungkook wanted to erase you from existence, destroy every single shred of your soul for not groveling at the feet of Min Yoongi.

The horns disappeared and your hands hovered around Yoongi's head, fingers splayed out around the black hair like a shining halo.

Ironic.

The Devil leaned forward.

Don't you fucking kiss her, hyung!

But you moved away, backing up, gaze lingering on Yoongi before closing your eyes and reopening them slowly, a gradual shift to Jungkook's face.

He snarled at you through the gag.

He had you now. Eye contact and Jungkook could exert at least part of his power, the soul-search to find your deepest desires, your hidden gems, the calamity within that would call to him. He would find it and manipulate it, bend you to his will, turn you into his puppet. Play with you until you begged to die, only to find yourself in his arms once more, his plaything for all eternity.

All he had to do was find it.

You slid to your hands and knees, crawling to him. He felt it inside his chest, his own desire, watching the curve of your back to ass, his cock twitching at the sight, his mind conjuring images of your pretty body on a leash. Jungkook didn't have preferences when it came to bodies. A body was a body. In his hands, all bodies became prettier. You already had the base and he already had the wrath to want it. You stopped in front of him, the black skirt of your dress flaring out. He could see parts of your bare body.

Legs, knuckles, knees.

A small, amused smile on your lips.

Eyes that Jungkook searched valiantly, looking for malice, for innocence, for desire, for the darkest shadows and the lightest light.

Why couldn't he see anything?

This must be part of your magic. No matter. Jungkook had other ways. He was creative and cunning. You would break under his hand. He wouldn't stop until it was done. He was a demon that saw things through, even to his detriment.

His jaw was suddenly released from its prison, ball gag disappearing, fading into ice-silver smoke. He coughed, snapping his teeth, glaring at you.

"You dumb bitch," he hissed, violent resonance in his voice, oppressive and intense. "Do you think you humans are above us with your tricks and schemes? Kneel before those who invented such things."

You tilted your head.

Yoongi chuckled beside him.

Jungkook's brows furrowed. What–?

Your body trickled down like liquid, laying against the dark wood floor, looking up at him. Jungkook froze, maddening desire rising, infuriated at your face looking up at him, plush dark lips parted, hands on your chest, fingers spread out and molded to your flesh under the plain black dress. Sinking in, making him clench his jaw.

Your smile like a Cheshire Cat, eyes reflecting his rage.

Jungkook wanted to straddle your face and shove his cock into that smirking mouth, bulge your throat and cheeks with his girth.

"Is he always like this?" you asked, still not looking away.

"He pretends to be nice when he wants something out of you," the Devil answered calmly.

"Isn't that you?"

You still didn't look away from Jungkook. Why couldn't he find what he needed from your eyes?

"I'm always nice."

"That means you always want something out of someone."

Yoongi laughed, raspy and deep, the sound echoing in the bedroom, filling it up with his sound. Why couldn't Jungkook find it? His rage began to become infested with something else. Your eyes reflected only him.

Like a mirror.

No matter. The demons had other ways.

"Come here," Jungkook purred.

"I wouldn't do that."

That wasn't you. That was the Devil.

Your body lifted as if it was on a string from the center of your chest, fingers and black fingernails trailing against the dark hardwood, head tipped back, the line of your neck hidden by the high collar of lace, shielded from his hungry gaze. Legs curling up, skirt pooling around your thighs, his rage molding with carnal need, festering with something else.

Fear.

You rose to your knees, in prayer position in front of him, almost as if you were about to reach out and touch faith. Jungkook furrowed his brow, watching your presence near, wanting it, ready to coax or rip your desires from your lips themselves. It didn't matter if he was bound, it didn't matter if his black suit was torn up and ugly, it didn't matter if he was bleeding from his efforts to escape this magic.

You were still a human.

He was a demon and he would taint you.

Closer, your lids lowering, entranced by his spell. Jungkook smirked. Too easy. Humans were so, so easy. He craned his neck, lips parting, the palpable lust of his breath exhaling. So close to those pretty, dark, fuckable lips.

"You're really falling for it, hm?"

Jungkook paused. His eyes shifted to Yoongi. The Devil had turned his body to watch, clad in a tailored black suit. In contrast, Yoongi's was unmaimed, as he hadn't fought his restraints. The Devil had black hair like him, parted slightly, with shadowy dark brown, cat-like eyes that glinted with something sinister. Pale skin, almost luminescent. Exposed neck, elegantly laid black silk tie, unlike Jungkook, who preferred not to wear one. Lips that demanded you to plead for your life.

A body that made Jungkook want to sin for him.

That was the power of the Devil.

His eyes shifted from Yoongi to you, who had stilled in front of him. Hands beneath you and knuckles pressed to the floor like an obedient pet. What was Yoongi talking about? He had you right where he wanted you. And yet, he hesitated.

Then you spoke.

Delicate and calm, with no resonance. Human.

"I thought demons had free will?" you whispered. "That not even the Devil could control a demon."

Or was it?

Jungkook watched your lips form the words.

"If he is powerful enough, that is."

-

Yoongi didn't bother warning Jungkook anymore.

The Chaos knew what it was doing.

Clever girl.

-

Jungkook growled, leaning back a little, letting the passion of emotion course through him, wrath, lust, pride. Fear. All of it. Drawing from it, his power pulsing, singing through his muscles.

"Come here, human."

You had to crawl into his lap, his thighs against your thighs, hardness against softness, bringing your lips to his, sudden and sweet with your legs, knuckles, knees. Jungkook smirked, white teeth and canines flashing, urging you to him.

"What a good little girl,” he breathed softly. “I can be anything you desire. All you need to do is tell me."

Your eyes locked with his.

"A kiss, please."

He groaned at the small plea, finally getting it out of you, finally, and he would make you regret doing this, sow every seed of desire within you and reap it all, turn you into his pet on a leash. All he had to do was kiss you.

Jungkook kissed you.

He pressed his lips to yours, ravenous to consume what you had, eager to claim his offering.

You smiled against his lips, a small, amused smile.

It was instant, his hunger to your plushness, the rush euphoric and wild, immediate lust and power dominating him and now he could taste your tongue and fling open the doors, clawing for the soul within, the moment so close he could taste it, taste your moan sliding into his throat, his favorite treat, intoxicating in the way you sucked in his breath to fill your longs.

Jungkook arrived at the last gate, tearing through the door. Looked down into the abyss, triumphant.

You looked back up at him from below.

A small, amused smile.

A nothingness like he had never felt before.

Jungkook's eyes snapped open and widened, staring into the reflective glass of yours, his chest constricted. He had never felt this. Your lips still on his, tongue flicking, taking his breath, and then he felt a strange kind of compression, like everything was being pressurized, tighter, tighter, suffocating, and he gasped in your mouth, recoiling.

The kiss broke, your eyes still on his, lips shiny with his saliva. Your hand was outstretched, hovering in the air, fingers coated with black tendrils mixed with ice-silver, right above his chest.

Your eyes, void of anything but himself.

“What…” Jungkook breathed, hard cock straining against his slacks. “Are you?”

He didn’t understand. You were only a human. Only a human who had done a very stupid thing, summoning the Devil and his right-hand demon to your bedroom. Just a stupid, foolish human. You tilted your head. Lowered your hand and placed both hands on Jungkook’s thighs. He tensed. You pressed your fingers into his slacks, kneading the firm flesh underneath.

Where was your fear? Your malice? Your innocence?

Where was your desire?

He could only feel his own, rising, rearing its beautiful head, teeth bared and ready to strike as your fingers drummed against the fabric of his pants. You had tried to take something from him in midst of the kiss.

Part of his soul.

Jungkook narrowed his eyes. “What do you want?” he hissed, forceful and direct.

You stopped moving your fingers. He wanted to scream in dismay.

“Only a small thing.” Your lips curved into a gentle smile. “A token to remember our fateful meeting.”

Now, only now, did Jungkook not like this.

You removed one hand from his leg and Jungkook clenched his jaw, watching it rise, nearing his heaving chest, the black chains spreading apart, links snapping with ice-silver sparks, but he was still bound, still chained, and he did now know why and not knowing infuriated him. You stopped, right above his heart, the heart he forgot was there sometimes.

The true irony of this world was that angels gave up their hearts to serve the one above and demons kept them to serve themselves.

Jungkook felt it again, the compression of his insides, making his breath hitch and his teeth grind, the sensation unbearable. Your expression remained the same, the small, airless smile. Eyes reflecting his terror.

“I could take it just like this.”

Not a threat, only a statement. Only a testament to the power within you, a power that Jungkook was beginning to think wasn’t something he knew or understood. The Devil could take souls. He could reap them, he could tear them, he could wring them dry. But not like this.

“I will give you a choice,” you murmured, hand retreating, releasing him from the uncomfortable pressure. “Because everyone deserves a choice, don’t they?”

The chains were lessening, slowly slipping off Jungkook’s body.

“I’ll let you give it to me willingly.”

Your hand on his pants caressed the fabric.

“If you have the power to take it,” Jungkook snarled. “Why not take it?”

Your other hand found his other thigh, squeezing lightly, sparks of heat flying through his veins. The chains slid off him, clashing into the hardwood floor and turning to ice-silver liquid that faded to nothing.

“I do not want to take.”

You stopped your touches and Jungkook wanted to scream.

“It will feel better for you if you give.”

He raised on eyebrow. “Considerate of you.”

You smiled wider. He stared into your eyes and only saw himself.

“What do you think, Jeon Jungkook, the Devil’s right-hand man?”

He felt the tendons on his neck tense, expression twisting into anger. You shouldn’t know his name. You were a human. You would only know if he told you directly. Someone else was behind this. Someone who wanted to kill him and the Devil, thereby putting Hell itself in imbalance.

“How do you know my name?” he seethed.

“You told me.”

What?

“When you looked into her eyes, you told her your name,” confirmed a deep, cavernous voice.

Jungkook started, whipping his head to the Devil beside him. No longer chained, simply sitting lazily on the ground, one knee raised to rest an elbow on it. Yoongi raised an eyebrow.

“Getting soft, Jungkookie?” the Devil taunted.

How…? Was he so absorbed in his own lust and deceiving you that he did not realize? He looked back at you. Your eyes lowered to his slacks and then back up to his eyes.

“Pants can always come off.”

Jungkook raised a hand, running it through his black hair, jaw set. “You are too greedy, human. Do you even know what you’re doing?” he sneered.

Your hands jerked down a few centimeters closer to his crotch, making Jungkook hiss. Your tongue slid out, feathering against the plush dark mauve of your lips. His cock throbbed with need, demanding to abuse the mouth presented. You leaned forward, putting more of your weight on him, welcome weight that Jungkook wanted all over him. He was a demon, after all. He was no stranger to carnal desire.

“I do,” you murmured softly. “You and me and the Devil makes three.”

Jungkook sharpened his gaze. “You couldn’t handle that, human.”

You said nothing.

You simply removed your heat and turned to the Devil, where Yoongi held the little goat-man plush by a single hoof, dangling it next to his lap, making your crawl into it to reach the doll. It was almost an innocent gesture, the way you took it and tucked it into your lap before looking up at Yoongi’s face, lips parted slightly, nearly curious, childlike awe decorating your features.

Jungkook growled like a hurt animal.

Your eyes shifted to him, looking at him under lowered lashes. Dismissive, vacant gaze.

“Yes or no, Jeon Jungkook?”

“Yes.”

The thin black string between you and him darkened, searing with ice-silver, a contract made. He didn’t even know the terms. He didn’t care. No human could outsmart him. And you, you must have been human once.

The problem was, Jungkook didn’t know if you were human anymore.

-

Yoongi watched your eyes return to him. The little black goat-man plush was tucked between your legs, pressed against your core. Slowly but surely, he was understanding. The original vessel was human, now tainted by someone, something, or simply bad luck. It made you something else entirely. You were a creature from the realm of Order polluted by the realm of Disorder. How long could this last? Would you die eventually from it? When you died, what would be left? Was the soul still there? Would he be able to collect it? Contain it? Study it?

Yoongi didn’t know the answers to these questions.

He wanted to know.

“Your turn,” you whispered to his chin, warm breath against his skin. “What is your answer, my Devil?”

Yoongi chuckled. “A shard of soul is all you ask for?” he purred. “What for?”

You tilted your head. “I want to complete my collection.”

The Devil doubted that. He doubted you wanted anything. Something was driving the entropy in a direction, a purpose given to the original human you long ago, and now you did it because it was the only thing left in the shell, a memory of a purpose, the human determination so strong that it could not be killed or erased, even though this body was now only a container for the power within.

The Devil had spent a lot of his time lately doing nothing. Nothing fun, nothing exciting, nothing worthy of his attention. Yoongi already knew everything there was to know about humans. He cared not for those above. But this.

This was new.

This was different.

This was something he wasn’t supposed to know.

He raised his hand, fingers tracing your jaw, staring into the eyes of Chaos. The Entropy. The Vessel.

You.

“I’ll be part of your collection, little one,” Yoongi purred.

And you will be mine, he vowed as the black string between you and the Devil glowed, ice-silver magic contaminating it with the power of Disorder.

-

part ii the collection. if you get in bed, someone will fall in love

--

masterpost

[beastenraged]

Unwarranted thought: I care about one (1) thing in all of Fairy Tail as of my watching of the first 50 eps of the anime adaptation. And that thing is Jellal Fernandes, but ONLY as a villain. The man got all the coolest villain tropes and the way I hear it he just decided to DROP the assassin's guild, political chessmastery, giant magic resurrection device, and deceitful seduction gambits after he took a bath in the ocean. I want to save him from the FT world. Get him away from the tiddies

I don't have any strong feelings about Jellal redemption, tbh. I thought Ezra/Jellal was kind of cute and was a bit more interested in Mystogan (done dirty, :( ). I do think how he acted after becoming good was very much built on what he learned as a villain (even if he tried to ignore it!) and his backstory so it made sense and we don't really know what happened in the 7 year time skip.

All of that being said, let's have some...never gets amnesia Jellal, huh? Because I think that was crap and really how the 'redemption' arc eve happens in the first place. Very long, under cut.

-in one time, one world, after the fall of the Tower of Heaven, Jellal falls into the sea and loses himself in it. He wakes with no knowledge of himself much later and well, you know the rest of the story from there.

-in another time, Jellal drags himself from that fierce ocean and remembers.

-he regrets, but in the mourning of wasted time and lost friendship, not from lives he destroyed. All those years, building that cursed tower as her slave, he thinks. Wasn't free at all.

-his magic is weak, stolen from him by the ocean, by the battle before the cold waters. he'll get it back, he just needs somewhere safe to recover.

-can't go to the Magic Council, they lie, too easy to infiltrate, he would know, seeing what he's done as Siegrain.

-Jellal may have been used as Ultear's puppet, using connections that her guild set up, but it was with his face. So he uses the Dark Guilds' resources to hide. Build his strength.

-in that time...well, there's a lot of people trapped in those Guilds, hmm. Just waiting to break free, for someone to gather them up.

-(Never forget that it may have been Ezra that cried out to start rebellion, but it was Jellal who kept that spark running.)

-He builds his own group, from the trapped. Ultear and her Dark Guild sought to use him, did they? Well, he'll tear them apart for stealing his freedom.

-Crime Sorcière takes a very different shape, in this Earthland.

So, from there, I think it would be cool for Ezra, strict believer in friendship and propriety of rules to protect people, to have the arch-nemesis of Jellal, who knows all too well how easy it is to lose friends and have rules turn against you.

Jellal still spends most of time fighting Zeref cultists and the big three Dark Guilds, because he's pissed at them for stealing his freedom and wants revenge. Maybe he's got more of a 'honorable criminal' aspect to him, with his charisma, giving protection to towns (towns like his own, before the cultists came) in exchange for resources.

But he's still an enemy, digging up Zeref stuff to use for himself and not hesitant in collateral damage when it comes to any Guild being involved, good or bad.

Throw in a running gag of Mystogan being mistaken for this big badass Dark Guild Master every once in a while, accidentally scaring off minions with this accidental identify theft.

[i-am-the-balancing-point]

🎃OC horror tag game👻

because I’m a bitch, I have decided to annoy you all with this OC ask game but I’m just gonna answer all of them unmprompted in one post hehe

everything you never asked about my Deputy Gigi under the cut

What is your oc scared of? Are they easily scared?

Gigi is unfortunately easily spooked but not scared. What she is deeply afraid of is not being truly liked/loved though. She is also scared of cutting herself and painful injuries (which really comes in handy when you’re a deputy gone rogue fighting a pretty powerful cult).

Does your oc have nightmares? What are they about?

Yes, mostly after arriving in Hope County. Especially after her first encounter with John. They are usually about being at the Seed’s mercy or them torturing/killing her friends. Faith never make an appearance though because in my Dep’s mind she is pure but Faith has other wais of tormenting her. She also occasionally gets flashbacks of what really happened at Jacob’s trials and it is not pretty. Especially after Eli’s death, she relives that moment almost every night.

How does your oc feel about bugs and spiders?

Strongly and not in a positive way. She hates bugs a little less than spiders but she’s not a fan of either. She occasionally gets those phantom tickles where she thinks a bug got under her shirt and it freaks her the fuck out.

How does your oc feel about blood and gore?

She was still able to keep her composure at it before arriving in the County but the brutality of the fight against the Peggies quickly broke her. By now she is traumatised enough to be able to shut her feelings about it out though.

Has your oc ever had a near-death experience?

It’s literally in the first ten minutes of the game. The helicopter crash was followed by many more though. (My poor traumatised baby...)

Has your oc ever witnessed a murder, or some other crime?

Being a junior deputy she has but she had been around herself before the job. She just never got caught. Now she has already severely injured, sometimes even worse, so many Peggies and unfortunately the occasional resistance member too.

How does your oc die? How old are they when they die?

I’m gonna skip this one actually :)

What would your oc do if they knew they were going to die in the near future?

Considering what happens around her all damn day, every day, she is constantly more aware of her own mortality than she would like so she tries to always let the people close to her know how loved and appreciated they are. She tries to not let things pile up until the next day which has cost her countless hours of sleep already but the fear of possibly not experiencing the next morning and therefore failing those who rely on her keeps her up.

If she knew for certain she would probably get her will up to date and all of that boring responsible adult stuff in order. Gigi is practical about it and doesn’t want to burden those left behind with organisational crap.

What role/archetype would your oc fulfill in a horror movie?

I really do wanna say final girl because she is strong and badass (and hot) but she is also stupid and horny so eeeeh ya know where that usually leads people…

Could your oc survive a horror movie?

Definitely. She is a fighter and the deputy after all so her training would benefit her. Once paranormal shit is added to the mix she’s definitely be one of the first victims tho.

Has your oc ever killed anyone? How many? Why?

Some Peggies despite being repulsed to killing. She does not kill if she does not absolutely have to. Taking a life is her last resort.

Has your oc ever engaged in cannibalism?

Not… knowingly at least. But Nobody knows what exactly Lunch Lady Jacob’s mystery meat slush is made of. Gigi hopes it was game or at least expired dog food…

Has your oc ever tortured/hurt someone else without killing them?

not tortured but definitely hurt her fair share of cultists. something she is most certainly not sorry for.

Does your oc have a signature weapon? If they don’t, what would it be if you had to design one?

ooooh I like this one! she takes her trusty baseball bat everywhere, it even sleeps in her bed. she is not too picky with guns (just takes whatever she can get her hands on as long as it works and she can find ammo for it) as she is most comfortable whacking the shit out of cult idiots with her bat anyways but she does at least carry one in her holster. can’t just show up with a knife to a gun fight after all…

Whats the worst thing your oc has done?

she deeply regrets the times she has hurt the people close to her, despite it being unintentional and it haunts her. especially now that Gigi doesn’t know if she will ever make it home alive... but the worst thing in her eyes is having killed someone. sure, they were Peggies but she believes few people truly deserve to be killed and they most certainly didn’t.

Whats the worst thing that has happened to your oc?

all of the shit going down in Hope County. first their fucking helicopter crashes, then her friends and coworkers do not only get taken hostage but are being tortured, and then she is suddenly herself captured by The Stinky Boys. not only once but multiple times. encounters with John always leave her feeling particularly tense due to past sexual abuse. (there is no way in hell he hasn’t found out somehow and purposefully torments her with his shitty sexual speeches.)

Does your oc have an enemy? How far would your oc go to stop them?

she’s got three. okay, four but she truly believes that Faith can still be saved. the brothers are too far gone but she does believe in humanity. she is not fond of it but she would definitely kill them if she saw no other option. she is pretty much already giving herself up piece by piece to stop the cult and protect the people of Hope County.

Is there anyone your oc would kill? Anyone they would kill for?

definitely the seed brothers. as I said, she is not happy about it but she will do what is neccessary if the circumstances demand it.

otherwise she has killed for Jacob, of course. many times. Gigi is eager to please, ambitious and competetive. even if she does not want that to show, not during her trials. but the conditioning has her too fucked up. she is also filled with rage and a naturally athletic motherfucker, despite not at all being in good shape.

If your oc were to turn into a vampire or a werewolf, which would they be, and what would they be like? If they already are one of those, what would they be like as the other one?

I’m skipping this. I do not really care about werewolves or vampires (I ONLY CARE ABOUT MOTHMAN)

Are there monsters (of any kind) in your oc’s world? Is your oc one? If not, how does your oc react to monsters?

not in the fantasy spoopy kind of way but she considers the Seeds monsters. anyone who could easil justify the death of another person is, just like abusers and any people who like to hurt and exploit others for their gain.

If given the choice to become a monster, would they do it? Would they give up their humanity for power?

absolutely not! their humanity is what Gigi thinks is the most important thing and soon all they will have left. she would never willingly give that up.

Does your oc believe in ghosts?

no. yet you can still scare her by pretending a place is actually haunted if you’re smart about it.

Has your oc ever been possessed?

by demon? no. by sudden and voilent feelings of horniness and dumb bitch desease? Y E S.

Has your oc ever summoned a demon?

Deputy Gigi has never (and probably never will, considering the cult has a death grip around the county) placed an order with baddragon dot com. She is a good christian woman after all.

Has your oc ever been kidnapped? How did they deal with the situation? How would they, if they haven’t?

BRUHHHH okay haha this is gonna be fun for me to write! soooo the first time she got captured was by John’s orders. lucky for them they completely blissed her up upon taking her because otherwise, she would have put up one hell of a fight – kicking, screaming, biting scratching. when shit is about to hit the fan Gigi won’t fight fair. the others wouldn’t either so why should she? but the thing about bliss is, if you do not completely overdose on it, it makes your head feel nice and empty, your limbs heavy as lead. when your mind is blank and you feel like you have been wrapped in the most heavenly rich blanket, there is not much fighting back you can do. you are lucky when the voices of those around you actually reach you. but if your brain will process their words is a different question.

the bliss is the only thing preventing Gigi from resisting her baptism when that dirty Peggie pos is pushing her down into the water. she is so high on it, she truly considers giving up and just letting go. letting them drown her right there. it could all be so easy! but the second John lays a finger on her to “cleanse” her again, and again, the rage it fuels in her helps her push through the high and struggle. at least she is able to resist, if only barely, but it does help her not give in to what the drug is so suavely suggesting.

we all know what happens after. good thing Jerome came to her rescue. good thing Wheaty and Eli did the same the first time Jacob got a hold of her ‘cause she is sure she would have perished among the bodies, too weak and disoriented to carry herself to safety on her own.

Gigi never wants any of this to ever happen again. merely thinking about what she was made to do to those Whitetails at the Veteran’s Center makes her stomach turn and heart drop. on top of that, she is certain she does not even remember half of what actually went down, up in the mountains but if she’s being honest, she would rather not know anyway.

while she despises the brothers to equal amounts, she appreciates Jacob not being as touchy as his youngest brother is. so when another bliss bullet rips first through the fabric of her jeans then through her skin, burying itself in her flesh, she starts to panic at the prospect of what John might do to her this time around. had she heard him torture Joey, tough, capable, smart, strong Joey, into finally saying yes to him only a few days ago over the radio... the last thing she feels before her mind goes blank is fear and a very sad glimmer of hope that she might at least be able to help her friend somehow, even if Gigi does not fully believe in it.

Johnny boy, our beloved, gives her her lust tattoo down in the bunker and while she is happy to see Hudson alive, she is absolutely not as thrilled as the Baptist is that he is having her coworker watch him violate the Junior Deputy in such a fucked up way. Gigi is glad that she is able to make an escape and swears to never let anyone see the scars he gave her on her hip but what’s eating away at her much more violently than the pain from what could barely be called a tattoo is the fact that she has not been able to free the others from the heralds’ grip yed. (Gigi is only the tiiiiiniest bit worried about the Marshall and he is definitely not top priority rn. She does not truly believe that faith is a bad person and would actually hurt him that bad, which is ... still a little naive of her to be fair.)

at this point she has almost gotten used to getting drugged and up being dragged in the capture of some psychopath brother. only almost though because, as gruesome as the trials are to her, she thinks the starvation Jacob subjects her to before them is just a tad bit worse. it makes her miss John’s touch in a way that makes her want to retch. at least she was never his hostage for long and Jacob leaves her in the cage for days. every time Staci walks by her heart hurts as if it is about to burst into a thousand pieces. John had hurt Joey badly but she was at least still... some version of herself. What was left of Staci is now barely a shell of what he used to be and she hates Jacob even more for it.

Sorry, I got carried away here. Gigi is, I would say, coping the best she can..? Some time after that something in her completely snaps tho. She goes from “I’m the Junior Dep, a respectable person who is here to protect people as a professional” in uniform to a crop top wearing, banshee-screaming hurricane and lets out literally every emotion she has ever experienced in the fight against the cult.

What would it take to “break” your character? What would destroy them completely?

honestly the bunker ending is probably up there. the people she tried to protect, the people she loves, are dead. she cannot be sure that the ones who actually have access to a bunker also made it there in time and now all that she has left is some sweaty stinky youth pastor psycho who wants to have a family with her.

Jacob starving her during all the stress is close to that though. it is somethign Gigi has never experienced and hunger can quickly turn a person.

Imagine your oc in a world based on their inner psyche, with physical representations of all their problems and life experiences. What would it look like? How would your oc deal with being in it?

Hell. Literal hell. Do not make me descibe the inner works of this woman. She and I already have enough problems to wade through.

Okey, this was a LOT of fun. (I hope the like three people reading this are enjoying it too!) If you would like to do this for your OC please feel free and tag me in it so I can see!!!!

[xaphrin]

If you care about this kind of thing: there are some spoilers in here for Shadows. Which may or may not make the final cut of the fic.

Also: I HOPE YOU FEEL BETTER SOON, FRIEND!!!!

“You know she’s going to say yes.” Jon reached into the fridge and pulled out a Cherry Coke from the back. “I don’t know why you’re stressing out over this.”

“What if she doesn’t though?” Damian sighed and let his head fall into his hands, groaning. He felt Titus nuzzle his hand and lick and his fingertips. A part of him knew Jon was right. After everything they had been through, after every discovery they had made about each other and their connection, he would be surprised if Raven said no. But still… there was that nagging fear in the back of his mind. It was like a constant whisper of all his flaws and fears. Maybe he wasn’t good enough for her - she was a demon, and he was just… what was he? Damian was still trying to figure that out. “What if she feels like we’re supposed to just be��� companions. Partners?”

“Dude. Dami. She’s literally dating you.” There was the pop-hiss of the can opening and Jon leaned over the counter, looking into his eyes. His too-blue eyes cut through Damian’s armor, exposing tender parts of him. “Aren’t you like her… familiar? Magical companion? Demon warder?” Jon sighed and wrinkled his nose. “What did Constantine call it again?”

“Soul Knight.” Damian rolled his eyes and ran his hand down his face. “A bullshit name that I’m pretty sure he came up with on the spot because he’s a damned idiot half the time.” 

“I mean… look.” Jon took a long gulp of the Cherry Coke and shook his head, giving Damian a flat stare. “You two are meant to be together. Even I think so, and you know I’m wary of magic. You found each other through the separation of space and time. You dove into another dimension to save her. You brought her back from the brink of death after you two saved the whole world together, and now you’re sitting here, whining over whether or not she’s going to agree to marry you.” He snorted. “After all of that, if she doesn’t marry you, I will.” Jon grinned. “I think I’d look good in a white dress.”

Damian gave him a flat stare. “Shut up.”

“Dami.” Jon let go of a low sigh, his expression surprisingly serious. “You are my best friend and I love you, and I love Raven. And I swear, if you two don’t get married and make all of this official, I will drag you both to the courthouse.”  

“Look here, boy scout. If I want to live in sin with my girlfriend, I’m allowed to do that.” Damian rolled his eyes and stood up. 

“That’s not what I mean and you know it.” Jon shook his head, obviously frustrated and annoyed. Not that Damian blamed him, Jon was probably pretty tired of skirting around the M word while Raven was around. “You moved her into your house the day she showed up from Azarath. You could have gotten her a perfectly serviceable hotel room nearby, but you moved her into your room. And then you and your family bought out a whole department store just to help her out. And then, you bought that ring barely a month after she showed back up on Earth. I’m just saying, you’re pretty much married already, and you’ve been thinking about doing this for almost a year. Just suck it up and ask her already.”

“Ask who what?” 

Damian jerked and saw Raven come into the kitchen, setting the groceries onto the counter. His eyes slid over her face before falling to the gnarled scar along her neck, the one he kissed every night. It was a reminder of sacrifices they had both made, and it made him shudder to think of all he could have lost. His fingers twitched, but he shoved them into his pants pockets, hoping he looked casual. Raven could see right through him if he wasn’t careful. 

“Nothing. No one.” Damian cleared his throat. “What did you want to do for dinner tonight? I was thinking Thai?”

“Damian wants to marry you.” 

Damian whipped around and stared at Jon, his mouth falling over as shock pooled through his system. In the back of his head, he could feel the rush of Raven’s emotions push past the barrier they had set up between them. He could feel joy and excitement and wonder and nervousness. But, most of all, he could feel her endless warmth of love pour into him. It was so heavy and so strong, that it nearly knocked the wind from his lungs. Swallowing the denial, Damian turned and looked at Raven who was staring at him with wide eyes and flushed cheeks. 

She looked beautiful. 

“He’s been carrying around your engagement ring for like… a year now.” Jon shook his head and downed the rest of the Cherry Coke in one gulp, putting the can into the recycling. “Just… for my sanity, and the rest of your family, just get married. Please.”

Damian’s head fell into his hands. “I am going to murder you, Jon. I swear to god.” 

“And with that threat, I’ll be going.” He passed Raven and kissed her cheek. “Nice to see you, Rae. I expect my ‘please be our best man’ text by tomorrow morning. G’night.”

Damian watched Jon leave the destruction he caused, and felt his heart skip beats. Why was he waiting? Raven was his whole world, the center of his very small universe, and he knew that he needed her like he needed air. Even if she said no, even if she wasn’t sure if she wanted to make this official, he still had her.  

Raven blinked and took a small, stumbling step towards him. “Is he… are you…?”

“I love you.” He said it simply, without gravitas, the way he had when he held her newly reborn form in his arms all those months ago. “I have always loved you. I know it’s just a title. I know that it doesn’t change the connection between us, that I’m your… Soul Knight.” What a dumb term. “But… I want you to be my wife, Raven. I want you… as more than just whatever we are now.”

He barely had time to react before Raven threw herself into his arms. He caught her around the waist and they tumbled down to the tile floor. It felt like the world faded at the edges of his vision, and all he could see was her. Just Raven. Her hands buried into his hair and before he could say another word, his lips were swallowed by her kiss. Kiss after kiss after kiss, until his head was spinning and he was gasping for air. 

“Yes.” She murmured against his mouth, smiling between kisses. “Of course, the answer is yes.” 

His fear dissolved, and Damian pulled her tight against him. She was real. This was real. This wasn’t a fever dream. He hadn’t lost her in another dimension. He hadn’t had to fight an army of cultists to get her back. This was all real. She was here in his arms, and she was going to be his wife. Mrs. Wayne. Damian groaned against her mouth and rolled her onto her back, pinning her hands above her head. She could have easily overpowered him, but she almost always let him take control of her pleasure.  

Damian kissed down the scar along her throat, whispering into her skin. “I was trying to have some valiant speech.”

Raven’s expression softened and she chuckled. “Mm? You can have your valiant speech later.” 

“Later?” He nipped at her jaw, pretending not to hear the obvious inflection in her voice. 

“Later.” She hummed as his tongue flicked along her scar. “After you thoroughly fuck your fiancee.” 

[ravnicaforgoblins]

Ravnica for Goblins

Bars & Taverns

It may be a Dungeons & Dragons cliché, but the reason is solid enough. Bars & taverns are a good place for characters to meet up, adventures to start, information to be gathered, and spontaneous fights to break out because the Fighter/Barbarian wants to hit something.

Seeing as Ravnica is only ever one person’s absence from descending into complete chaos, it’s very important to have places for its citizens to have a drink, have a bite, sing bad songs, and blow off steam. Whether you are an Izzet researcher looking for people to bounce invention ideas off of, a Rakdos cultist looking to build up your fanbase, a Boros wojek getting off a three-week shift in the Rubblebelt, or a Dimir agent eavesdropping on persons of interest; a bar can offer something for everyone. All the establishments listed below are canonical, aka from official Ravnica Lore, but in keeping with the tradition of said lore, there’s very little in the way of description and a good number of them exist outside the District 10 map you have to work with. Are you even surprised anymore? Anyway, here are some of the most intriguing watering holes to grab a drink in.

The First Vineyard

Located in Old Rav (Ninth District), one of the deeper & older areas of Ravnica, lies a Golgari tavern whose main claim to fame is that it is Ravnica’s oldest tavern. How old? Who knows. Considering the Golgari have embraced death, rot, preservation, and fermentation as a way of life, it’s a reasonably safe bet you’ll find the oldest and most well-aged wines in the entire plane in this spot. Some of these bottles are probably older than the Guildpact.

If you need to impress someone fancy and you don’t mind being surrounded by the smell of death, this is the place to go. Orzhov believe expensive taste coincides with great taste and thus place high value on objects of (predictably) high value. Hence they have pretty much cornered the market on the kind of expensive goods they value, meaning one has to buy Orzhov to fit in with Orzhov and one has to be Orzhov to afford to buy Orzhov. If you want to skip all that, this should be your first & only stop. This vineyard won’t break your bank, and a little prestidigitation is all it takes to prepare it for the most snobbish of advokists. As with most things Golgari, the recipient is always much happier not knowing where (or who) the cuisine came from.

Titan’s Keg Tavern

Also located in the Ninth District, in the burned-down & often rebuilt neighborhood of Merrytown, lies a pub designed specifically for clients of particularly advanced vertical prowess, aka, GIANTS. At least 4 different guilds include giants among their ranks (Boros, Orzhov, Gruul, Rakdos), and while the city has gone to notable lengths to accommodate these individuals in all city establishments, whether a chair can withstand one sitting down can still be pretty hit or miss. But not here.

This bar is the best place in Ravnica to find a giant, regardless of guild. This is also the best place in town to eat in silence without causing any fuss. Not because it’s quiet, it certainly isn’t (can you even imagine giant karaoke?), but because every patron in this bar is at least 12ft tall, smashes things for a living, and comes here so they can forget about little people for a while. If you are the little person who disrupts that, you are going to have a giant-sized tavern full of angry giant-sized GIANTS teach you some manners. And it doesn’t matter what level you’re at, 25 giants will kill you.

Just getting into this tavern can be an adventure. As the tavern’s main draw is that it’s built specifically for giants, not being one gives you a definite disadvantage. Imagine walking in and a 15ft-tall host (in a suit) asks you if you have a reservation. Imagine trying to muscle your way in passed a Giant in sunglasses who has skipped “bouncer” and gone straight to “splatter”. Imagine a heavily tattooed Bolrac Clan Smasher meeting you at the door with “Welcome to Giant’s Keg Tavern. How tough you?” Imagine a line scrawled on the entrance that says “you must be this tall to enter”.

The Smoking Wreckage

Located in the 4th Precinct of District 10 (huzzah, something actually on the map), the Smoking Wreckage is a (you might have guessed it) Izzet League bar. Expect mixology taken to places it’s never been before. Your drink may bubble, fizzle, explode, polymorph you into a viashino, trigger a wild magic surge, or teleport you into Ral Zarek’s personal laboratory. Or worse, it might get you drunk enough to try another one.

Most likely you won’t have to worry about bar brawls in here, the beer itself is far more dangerous than the broken bottle. Remember, the name isn’t just for flavor in here. This bar is still an Izzet facility and prone to spontaneous uncontrolled reaction; i.e. blowing up. The setup that makes all of this possible makes The Smoldering Wreckage just as much a laboratory as anything in Nivix, except with booze added to the equation.

And you thought Rakdos clubs were dangerous.

The Broken Toybox and Gore House

Speak of the Demon and his pubs shall appear. Hidden discreetly in Precinct 6 are Gore House, a club notorious even by Rakdos standards, and The Broken Toybox, a tavern/brothel that definitely doesn’t have anything strange going on in the basement. You don’t really go to either of these places for the food.

(Dramatic Voice) You go looking for trouble.

What can you expect at a typical Rakdos club? Blood, pain, fire, sharp objects, and entertainment that is guaranteed to take someone’s breath away. So for Gore House, expect that dialed up to eleven. This is where the heavy hitters of the Cult of Rakdos do their biggest shows. Judith the Scourge Diva, Masters of Cruelty, Blood Witches, and rising stars desperate to give the audience a show they’ll never forget, no matter how hard they try. Attendance is synonymous with madness; if you aren’t crazy going in, you will be walking out. If waking up with no memories of the night before next to a dead body and covered in someone else’s blood was a club, it’d be Gore House.

As for The Broken Toybox, if the name alone doesn’t steer you away, you may already be beyond hope. "Den of Sin” just barely scratches the surface. This is where the Cult brings your most twisted and depraved dreams to life behind closed doors with spiked chains on them. If you or a member of your party wants to go here alone, you might need to have a serious conversation with them. This is not a fun toybox. The only rational reason for delving into this dark sanctuary is trying to find something nasty. A Sire of Insanity lurking in the basement suites, a lead on Massacre Girl’s safe house, or an influential figure with dark secrets. You may wish you didn’t have darkvision after a visit.

Bitter End Tavern

Hidden within Avaric, an official Orzhov territory, but one harboring deep anti-guild atmosphere, lies the Bitter End Tavern. While not officially a Guildless-Only bar, you can definitely expect some nasty looks from the patrons if you are flashing any Guild insignias. It technically exists outside the Ten Districts, so put it wherever you want. Guildless don’t have a ton of lore, which makes this a good location for any storylines or NPCs you might have designed that don’t really fit in with any of the 10 Guilds or even Ravnica as a whole. You can basically hang a sign over the door saying “Homebrews Welcome”.

You might find ancient worshipers of the Nephilim gathered here, or groups plotting a coup against a powerful member of a particular guild. Sooner or later, any notable Guildless or Anti-Guild individual will end up here for a bite. Same time, you can also find large groups of people willing to help out other un-affiliated citizens navigate this confusing cityscape world. Heroes of the Precinct likely drink for free here, and they’re always willing to help someone in a bad place with no one else to turn to. A certain mad Voidwielder might also pop in for a nightcap between insane schemes as well. Or just your garden-variety NPC commoners in bulk, lest we forget half the population of Ravnica is Guildless.

[serararku]

Dust to Dust

The magic and allure of seeing dragons had long vanished. The entire trip to Ishgard was spent fantasizing about the great scaled beasts, soaring low over the earth while they belched fire and fury. She wanted to bring back the head of a slain dragon she felled herself, and perhaps a pack filled with its scales; mount that skull on the wall in her apartment, and bedazzle R’zevi with her fancy dragonscale cloak. Now, S’era would be a happy woman if she never saw another flying lizard ever again. 

Maybe if she was lucky she could find a handful of scales on the bridge and make a cute necklace.

Worst still, Ishgardian Index was… smaller than S'era expected. She's heard tales of great labyrinthine libraries stuffed to the brim with forbidden and long forgotten knowledge, rows upon rows of aisles housing countless books, grimoires, and tomes, and terrifying guardians that would make short work of any intruders foolish enough to tempt fate with their damnable curiosity. Yet when she arrived at the Index, it was no more than one curved hallway and maybe half a dozen rooms; still, with her reading level, this alone would take her a lifetime to peruse. The Barghest would return to Ishgard to pick her up in just over a week, and frankly she had neither the time nor the desire to sit here and practice reading for much longer than that; she had a purpose to fulfill, questions that needed answers, and a Tia waiting for her return. Thankfully she had a way to narrow down her search to better accommodate her time frame. 

S’era was nodding off in front of her recent book on Ishgard history. Thanks to the lessons of R’zevi and Pherond she was able to actually read the words, which in itself was exciting, but these books were insufferably boring. Page after page of fighting the Dravanian Horde, recuperating after their retreat, storing up supplies for the next attack decades later, and one again, fighting the Dravanian Horde; if it were up to S’era, she would have packed up and abandoned Ishgard after the first attack. 

Scraaatch… scraaatch… scraaatch…

Her ears perked up to the faint sound of something scraping against wood. She followed the sound to the adjacent wall, where all the books of the Ishgardian Index gathered dust. When her gaze drifted to the fourth shelf, the peculiar scratching stopped. “Rats?” S’era thought, perking a brow. “Would Ishgard even have rats?” Just as she returned to perusing this dreadfully dull book, the scratching returned- with a vengeance.

That terrible noise scraped behind almost every book and on every shelf, traveling up and down the curved hallway until it was almost deafening. “Huh?!” The Samurai slowly rose to her feet once the books began to tremble and fall out onto the floor, and her heart skipped a beat at the rhythmic mumbling coming from the walls.

"Shol uun. Veshe uun. Saal aneem-othola uun."

The shelves burst open with a piercing shriek- black talons and scaled fingers ripped through the wreckage and pulled the wall apart! Red twinkling lights flickered in the dark before the faces emerged into the light, the dragonkin snouts and malformed Elezen heads grimacing and gnashing their snaggled jaws! "NO! AAAH! AAAAAGH!" S'era stumbled back out of her chair, but the monster's outstretched hands caught both arms and pulled her toward its many hungry mouths. The largest dragon head opened wide as a tormented Elezen face shouted with a bone-chilling voice.

"MAKE US WHOLE!"

"BWAH-!" S'era snapped up from her nightmare and nearly jumped out of her skin. Frantically she looked around for any sign of that aberration, but there was none; only the pool of drool soaking into the wooden table, and the array of books she had combed through caught her attention. That, and the Librarian.

"I'm sorry to disturb your nap." The Elezen gave her an apologetic and empathetic smile. "This is all I could find to help your research. There are no books on this artifact you described. However, the late Alfont Vauvois mentions a gold disc in his journal here." 

“Late?” S’era asked, running her hands along her bristling tail under the table. “What happened to him?”

The woman set the weathered leather bound journal beside her, before calmly saying, “He went to investigate Bleakpoint Village about a month ago. Since he hasn’t returned, we have to assume the worst.”

The Samurai swallowed dryly as the Librarian walked off. “If he left for Bleakpoint before us…” She thought, grinding her teeth together while she plucked the journal off the table. “Was he a thrall in robes? Did we kill him? Was he one of those fused to that monster?!” Thinking about it only made her skin crawl; she could speculate all week if she wanted to, but the only way to know for sure is to return to that demented village. That wasn’t going to happen.

Instead, she slowly opened the journal and quickly skimmed the pages. Most of it was unreadable- sloppy handwriting, smeared words, and more than a few stains- hopefully from coffee. It was only the last few pages that truly piqued her interest.

I- -ust as I feare-. A c-lt devo-t in wyrm wo--hip resides in the --- If my calculati--- are correct there is - signifi--nt aether shift s---where in the snowy hills. These ---lots must be plannin- someth--g huge. I must ---d out -hat th--’re up -- before it’s -oo lat-!

S’era gulped dryly again, vividly recalling what those freaks had conjured from the depths of hell. She slowly turned the page and continued reading.

The Dragons--g War is finally over! This was supposed to be a time for c---bration! But cultists managed to sn--k in durin- the Dravanian Horde’s final --sault on Ishgard to steal the remains of Halault?! What else did Ar--bishop Thordan VI- keep secret from his --ople?! If w--- gets out that a ---ter necromancer’s corpse is back in the clut--es of his f--lowers…

No. I can’t let this stand. I will not let another tragedy befall my kin after a millennium of suffering! Someone h-- to do s-meth--g!

The Samurai looked over her shoulder at the random passersby and their quiet conversations; could any of them secretly be a cultist? Her paranoia crept up her spine and made every hair on her neck stand. She didn't want to draw any suspicion by constantly looking around, so S'era instead kept her ears pointed to the open area behind her. 

Several pages were completely unreadable, like someone came in and smeared something to destroy the ink. Yet they didn't account for a Miqo'te to use her heightened sense of sight to bypass their schemes; why they didn't just tear out the pages or burn the whole journal altogether was another mystery for another time. 

Bl--kpoint! Hidden in plain sight! With a hand--- of seasoned adventurers at -- side I'm conf-dent we can --d this horror before it be---s! Must use discretion. Must r-turn ---ault's corpse to the pit it belongs. I w--l --way- lov- --- Amette. -f I d-n't -ake it ba-- I-

The message suddenly cut off from a brown stain, but when S'era reached the last page, her heart dropped into her stomach. 

Blessed blood! Blessed flesh! Drink and feast for thou art blessed! Blessed blood! Blessed flesh! Drink and feast for thou art blessed! Blessed blood! Blessed flesh! Drink and feast for thou art blessed!

S’era slammed the journal closed and shot up from her seat. “Oh gods- that’s what they were chanting…!” She whispered with the slightest breath. “They were going to…?!”

“Is everything alright?” The Librarian asked, reappearing on the other end of the hallway. The Samurai managed to stifle her shock at her sudden return, but only barely; a part of her wondered if this Elezen was a cultist too.

“Y-yeah… but this journal doesn’t mention anything about a golden disc…” 

“Ah, I think I have something to remedy that.” She gave S’era the most disconcerting smile she had ever received, turned on her heel, and disappeared into the darkness behind the door. Now S’era was certain something fishy was going on around here.

“It’s time to get the HELLS out of this place!” Her conscience tugged on her tail and hastened her steps. S’era didn’t even bother putting the books back where she found them- all she feared now was the Librarian returning with a handful of ‘helpers’ to escort her to a grisly end. Staying in Ishgard alone was a terrible mistake- and now she was too paranoid to be of any use to the Ashen Wolves.

Her only choice was clear- continue her research away from potential harm, somewhere she would feel much safer. Preferably surrounded by people that would protect her whilst she slept.

---

Brief mention: @rzevi-tia-ffxiv​

[johnmurphysreddit]

Collected spoilers and predictions

And my steaming hot takes on them

Lexa comes back to tell Clarke it’s OK to move on.  

8/10 on the likely scale.  Could be the actress. Could be a tech handwavium.  

Lexa downloaded into Russell along with Sheiheda and they’ll fight for control of the body

And then Jason will say something incredibly awkward about his Ultimate Bisexual lead.  

Sheiheda is Cadogan

Scarred emo boy in a hood looked too young for that to me, but if Indra is about 50 and Sheiheda was an evil overlord when she was a girl and we’re 100 years post apocalypse when Cadogan looked about 40 in his anti-tech videos....  Eh, the timeline was broken this season anyway.  Continuity has never been a hard limit, and maybe that “each season is a movie” thing was to tell us this season’s even more off than others. 

Sheiheda is the Shepherd

TBH I don’t understand this theory.  How’s an emo teen murder boy from Sangeda who was on earth 50 years after the bombs simultaneously supposed to have lead a bunch of culty space mercs?  

Cadogan is the Shepherd.  The level 12s of his cult found the wormhole on earth and that’s why the bunker was empty.  

Intriguing.  

Cadogan is the Shepherd and they put him in cryo when his “tech is bad” philosophy conflicted with their use of mind readers, invisi-helmets, and wormholes that they got from the aliens. 

We’re 25% of the way into the season.  If we were going to see aliens I hope we’d see them by now or be focused on building tension around the “ooohhh aliens!” issue.  But yeah, I think they iced down the Shepherd when his philosophy was no longer useful but having him as a focal point was. 

Orlando was Cadogan. 

Unlikely.  Jason loves his own mythology and Orlando was a one episode character who’s dead now. 

Clarke and Bellamy will wormhole back to the destroyed earth and restore the soil with Monty’s algae

In what continuity are they the people most inclined or able to tend and restore the soil? 

Bellamy will be an amnesiac cultist when they find him and he’ll try to kill Clarke

My eyes just rolled so hard I saw my own brain, so yeah, 9/10 chance it will happen. 

The way wormholes work and the planets are shown positioned on the diagram Penance is running at normal time it just seems faster compared to Sanctum.  Sanctum is incredibly slow and Bardo is unknown.  Bellamy could be anywhere from a few years older than when he left to dead of old age. 

I don’t think Jason knows or cares how wormholes work and we’ve seen pictures of Bob looking well scrubbed but more or less the same as when he left but in a new outfit. 

Under the Sanctum is the slow one theory earth has had thousands or millions of years to recover and they can go back to a lush green planet. 

Gotcha.  And bumping this up to plausible.

No no no that’s wrong.  Earth and Sanctum are on similar time scales because we know Josephine and Russell’s age and.....

You guys are in too deep. “Time is misbehaving but there’s no time travel” means to me that counting the timeline is useless but no one is going backwards.

Bardo is Earth but after recovery time has passed.  Cadogan’s people won (sort of) and they did inherit the earth.  They were chilling in some other bunker still while the Grounder-Arker apocalypses were rolling. 

I think that violates Jason’s no time travel statement, but I’m here for the idea that there are still bunker people on earth who skipped the entire Grounder and power plant melt down phase. 

Bardo is on Earth inside a bunker.  Boom. No time travel. 

This theory is from reddit thus the hostility in the phrasing.  

Clarke and Bellamy use the portals to go back and stop the apocalypse. 

That would make a spin off about the apocalypse really awkward. Also when have Clarke and Bellamy jointly ever deescalated a situation? 

The timelines split.

I love infinite possibility stories but they don’t seem to be doing that. 

“The last war. A war to end all wars” is their attempt to kill Clarke.  Clarke is Athena. 

That would be a loud scream in the direction of BSG and I wouldn’t put it past them. 

Our heroes have been the bad guys all along.

I mean yeah.  Does anyone not know by now that “bad” is a matter of perspective?  If not the Sanctumites who would really like to go back to organic farming and only losing people occasionally instead of in bulk and by fire would like to have a chat with you. All that “my people” stuff was to establish that there are multiple sides to a conflict. 

It’s going to come down to a battle of Heda!Russell and the Sanctum collective against the Shepherd and his cult. 

I don’t care about any of that at all, so 9/10 likely. 

Gabriel and the Primes knew more about Bardo and the Shepherd than they’ve let on

We kind of got hints of that from some of Russell’s final dialogue about “ok you deal with it” and TBH I still don’t trust Gabriel.  200 years of intellectual curiosity just isn’t a strong enough reason for me to buy that he’s super zen as they’re hopping through time and space. 

They guy who kidnapped Gaia is Bellamy.

If Bellamy had an invisibility suit I can’t see him using it to grab Gaia.  Doesn’t matter if he’s brainwashed or not.  Gaia just wasn’t a major player last time Bellamy saw her.  It was an opportunistic grab and it doesn’t matter who does one of those. 

There are six planets. Sanctum, Skyring, Bardo, Nakara, Ethera, and one offline.  The offline one is Earth.

Maybe?  Where did these planet names come from. 

There are six planets.  Sanctum, Skyring, Bardo, Nakaro, Ethera, and one offline.  The offline one is ALIE’s world.  Or Ethera is ALIEs world.  Either way, ALIEs world is back in play. 

Sounds plausible.  

The cult is similar to the church in book 4 of the book series.

I don’t think Jason has read the book series and if he did he’s not going to admit it.  He may have had an intern give him notes on it so he can throw some kibble to people who have but I wouldn’t expect the similarities to run deep. 

Elligus 3 sold crew space to Cadogan’s cult, so we’ve got a coming conflict between the Elligus 3 descendants and the Cadogan people

Plausible.  The people on sanctum are, in part, Elligus 3 descendants so this is already set up.

(BTS gossip and spec)

NOPE.  Not getting into it.  But I will say that the excessive use of day rate actors and greenscreen may be keeping the budget per episode down but it isn’t enhancing my enjoyment of the season. 

They’re all going to disperse at the end.  No more “we’re the last of the human race.”  The human race can’t be stopped because it’s not in one location.

That’s very BSG. Steal from the best. 

Clarke will pull a lever and die at the end. 

That would be very on brand of her.

(character) x (character) endgame.

Every decision from the writing room at this point needs to be framed as “what gets them on a list to generate long term viewer dollars and relevance in five years.”  I don’t believe shipping is part of Jason’s calculation. Some people very strongly disagree.  We shall see. 

It’s all a dream / Clarke’s been dead since (point) / none of them ever left ALIEs world / they’ve all been in cryo in underground bunkers the whole time.

This could be done really well or really poorly depending on the specifics of how they handled it

That’s the end of my list but I know I missed a lot.  Comment or send me asks with others.  It looks like we’re in for a ride. 

[notworkingsposts]

Revelation (Parker x MC)

Special shout out to @politicallycorrectinnocentteen for this request for the @choicesjulychallenge hosted by @kinda-iconic .

This is the first time I'm writing for Parker so bare with me.

Tagging: @queerchoicesblog @kennaxval @strangerofbraidwood @crazypeanat @tornbetween2loves @politicallycorrectinnocentteen @brightpinkpeppercorn

@mind-reader1 (thought you might be interested)

Let me know if you want to be added or removed.

Several months had passed since Harper Vance visited Pine Springs, and all she could think about was Parker. Their plans always failed due to Parker’s duties as Chief of Police but they were determined to make the most of their short time together.

Harper happily sang along to the radio, her hands tapping along to the beat. The radio lost its appeal real quick, so she skilfully attached her phone to the aux cable while keeping her eyes on the road.  A devilish smile creeped on her face as “Lick - Joi” began to play. The last time she heard the song was with Parker, by the lake as they enjoyed a picnic and…more. She remembered how Parker immediately flushed upon hearing the lyrics, undoing the top button of his shirt. With a wink, Harper had moved closer, raking her hands through his soft brown hair, looking deeply into his hazel eyes. She ran a hand slowly over his broad shoulders, then down his chiselled chest. He took a nervous gulp, as she moved lower again until…

Violently, she was jerked out of her thoughts as the car skidded out and came to a stop. She inspected the vehicle only to find a tyre had blown out. To her disappointment, the local garages had a minimum waiting time of 3 hours. She bit her lip as she worked out how long the walk would take to Parker’s lake side cabin. 20 minutes, not bad right? Wrong! She wanted to be there yesterday. “Fuck it” she mumbled to herself and began jogging. As she reached the path leading up to the cabin, she struggled to breathe, her legs were covered in dust and she was dripping in sweat. With her last bit of energy, she pushed on, only to see Parker sitting on the porch reading a newspaper. He looked up, his eyes growing in concern, and before he knew it he was running towards her. Harper jumped in to his arms as their bodies collided, she wrapped herself around him and squeezed for dear life.

“Harper…what happened? Are you ok? What are you running from?”

Still at a loss of air she chuckled, “I’m…not…running…from anything. I’m running…to YOU. My tyre blew out and I couldn’t wait any longer to see you. I-”

Parker silenced her with a long kiss, which deepened by the second. They broke the kiss at the same time, leaving their foreheads pressed together as they gazed lovingly into one another eyes. The couple heaved a sigh of relief; the comfort of being together feeling like they were home.

———

The week went by in a blur; shopping trips, hikes, boat trips and of course spending each and every night as one. The night before Harper's departure came in a flash, so Parker wanted to treat his girlfriend to the perfect evening. He decided to keep the evening to his cabin as most places in Pine Springs was a reminder of the awful events which had taken place earlier that year. He paced up and down the porch, ruffling his own hair, going over every single detail. For some reason, he was working himself up, he took a seat and with a heavy sigh he forcefully placed his face in his hands.

“Ouch, that looked like it hurt. Want me to kiss it better tough guy?”

Vance grabbed Parker by both hands, forcing him to stand up while she peppered his face with firm kisses, finally ending on his lips. All the worry had left his face. He ran his hand down her arm until their fingers interlaced, and led her indoors. Harper gasped as she saw the three course meal he had prepared, lighted by a crackling fire and all of her favourite treats surrounded by rose petals. He let go of her hand, enabling him to move behind her; encircling his arms around her waist as he placed a gentle kiss to her neck,

“How did I do babe? Do you like it? If you don’t, we can-“

“Parker!!! Shush, this is perfect, anything is perfect with you. Even if we spent the night fighting off monsters, it would be amazing as I'd be with you”. 

With a smile, Parker moved them both towards the closet, fumbling as they moved together. He reached over to open the door and gestured for her to go in. She looked confused but followed his instructions as he would never lead her astray. He softly closed the door, their bodies pressed together in the small and dark space.

“Sooooooo…Chief? This is weird. What are we doing in here? Is this the awkward moment where you tell me you have a closet fetish?”

“Haha, no, but if I did would you be in to it?” He pulled her tighter against his body, their breaths mingling as one. “Don’t you remember? I put my hand here” he ever so carefully moved his hand to the small of her back. “ Then when you told me to kiss you, my heart skipped a beat and I couldn’t believe I got to do it for a second time. You brushed your fingers across my neck which made me go crazy. Even though we were hiding from those damn-murderous-cultist, at that moment, I knew you were something special and that I HAD to keep you in my life”.

Harper closed the distance, kissing Parker hard, “I love you so much Parker”.

“I love you too, let’s get out of here and enjoy the rest of our evening”. 

They ate, danced, laughed and enjoyed one another; mind, body and soul intertwined as one. The next morning was undoubtedly hard as they said their goodbyes - not wanting to let go. 

————

6 weeks later, they made plans to meet at a half way point. The excitement they both felt was uncontrollable; Harper even felt a little nauseous… 

Both of their faces lit up as they saw one another, taking large steps to close the distance. However, Harper came to an immediate stop, just a short distance away from her boyfriend and vomited. He offered her a bottle of water, while comforting her with loving strokes across her back,

“Are you feeling ok?”

“Yeah, I’ve been feeling a little sick over the last few days but I thought it was the excitement. I’m not sure what else it could be - I feel fine otherwise. My boobs feel a little tender as well, maybe it’s a bug?”

He shifted from foot to foot, mulling over all the possible illnesses, when it dawned on him, “Do you think…you might…erm…be pregnant?”

Vance looked up, searching Parker’s eyes, trying to read how he would take it if she was pregnant. She shook away those thoughts as she calculated the last time she was on her period, “I think we need to go to the store…”

After checking in to the hotel, Vance immediately took the test, set a timer and anxiously paced up and down the room. The timer went off but Harper couldn’t bare to look, so Parker slowly walked over, he looked down to see the Clearblue pregnancy test revealing the result. 

“Parker, what does it say?”

“...Pregnant”

[echoes-of-the-clockwork]

Book Two: Famine (Prompto x Reader) Chapter Seventeen

Prompto couldn't believe how close the cult's base of operation was to Old Lestallum. It explained why so many bodies were found near Fort Vaullerey and Lestallum. What shocked him even more was how no one noticed anyone entering or exiting the fort this past month.

As he crossed the bridge into Old Lestallum, he glanced back at the large structure and noticed how quiet it looked from the exterior. From where he stood, it seemed abandoned and lifeless. In actuality, it was now home to a group of murderers. Now he knew exactly why no one suspected anyone to be occupying an abandoned imperial base. 

Safely in the small town, he sighed in relief seeing the lights that kept the daemons from pummeling Old Lestallum into nothingness. He found a few hunters gathered around their truck and ran over. He decided to keep Fort Vaullerey a secret and asked his fellow hunters for a ride to Meldacio. Fortunately, they told him to hop in and they departed from the small town. He begged them to drive faster as he felt his concern for (Y/n) rise with every passing minute.

Arriving at Meldacio HQ, Prompto leapt out of the vehicle and shouted for Dave as he ran. He found the man at the small eatery and didn't waste a second, skipping right to the point. "T-The cultists... Their base is Fort Vaullerey!"

"Whoa!" Dave yelled over the frantic blonde. "Calm down, son. Tell me what happened."

"(Y/n) and I were captured by cultists. T-They took us to Fort Vaullerey. I managed to escape, but she's still trapped in there! We've gotta save her!"

Dave placed a hand on the young man's shoulder to calm him down. "We will bring 'er back, Prompto. I'll gather a group of hunters and we'll head out as soon as we're done with preparation."

As he waited for Dave to return, he paced back and forth frantically as he ran his hands through his blonde locks. He didn't notice Gladio or Ignis as his attention was solely focused on (Y/n). He felt someone smack him on the back lightly, stopping him from pacing. "Iggy just arrived and we both heard what happened. We'll get (Y/n) back, Prompto."

Prompto nodded while biting his bottom lip. He wanted to attempt to distract himself for a little while and looked at the advisor. "Hey, Iggy. Haven't seen you in a long while. How's the eyes treating ya?"

"All is well. The scars have mended and eyesight is intact. Minus a few repercussions of the elixir, all went well," the tactician responds. "A second chance at sight-granted by Pestilence."

"Glad to hear it," Prompto said. "I can't even imagine losing my eyesight."

Gladio smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. "If you did lose your eyesight, you wouldn't be able to see your "goddess" ever again."

Prompto gasped at the shield's words. "I wouldn't be able to bask in her beauty, her smile, o-or her-!"

"Legs?" The brute smugly grinned. "I told her how much you love looking at her legs in her normal attire."

"Wha-dude! Seriously?! Why would you do that?!" Prompto wailed. "She probably thinks I'm a creep now for staring at her legs..."

"You're her boyfriend." Gladio slung an arm across the younger boy's shoulders. "Pretty sure that gives you permission to look all you want."

"Unless the lady protests," Ignis added. "Do respect her privacy, though, Prompto. Keep the peeking to a minimum."

With the topic flipping back to (Y/n), the worry bubbled in his chest. He nodded with a frown, staring down at the ground. "I just hope she's okay. It's all because of Ardyn!"

"How so?" Ignis asked.

"They said a weirdo with a strange sense of fashion, velvet hair, and amber eyes provided what they needed to capture her. He's the only other person who knows (Y/n)'s a Horseman besides you, me, Gladio, Dave, and... Noct."

"Not surprised he's making another appearance after all the shit he did in Gralea. Wanna bet he's the one truly behind this cult?" Gladio inquired.

"It would come as no revelation. The chancellor may have sovereignty over the cult, but it seems to have its own volition to a certain extent," Ignis stated.

"If that bastard gets his hands on (Y/n), who know what he plans to do. If he knows how to incapacitate her, he must have some serious plans that require her status as a Horseman. We better hurry," the brute said.

"What of the other hunters?" Ignis asked.

"Dave knows where to go. We'll go ahead of him and infiltrate the fort. That way, we can locate and get (Y/n) the hell outta there."

Prompto agreed wholeheartedly to the plan. "Let's go."

The trio hop into Gladio's truck and leave Meldacio without saying a word to Dave. They drove through Old Lestallum and across the bridge Prompto trekked across a few hours prior. Parking the car at the base of one of the four walls that protected the fort, they disembark and scale a small hill before reaching the crevice the blonde had located during his escape. It was a tight squeeze for them, but they shimmied through and successfully infiltrated Fort Vaullerey without alerting any cultists.

"My assumption would be (Y/n) is being held underground," Ignis whispered to his friends as they hid behind a rustic, old machine.

"Where do we go from here to reach the underground facility, Prompto?" Gladio asked.

"Follow me," the blonde whispered back, taking the lead.

Using the various items the empire had left in the fort once they abandoned it as cover, they snuck past all the men and women without bringing attention to themselves. They found the door leading underground and descended the stairs.

"Damn. Didn't know this place had an underground facility," Gladio comments as they enter a large room littered with medical equipment. What caught their attention was the examination table in the middle of the room. It was engulfed in blood along with the medical instruments splayed out on a cart beside the metal table. Blood splatters were strewn across the lab's floor alongside streaks of blood on the tiled walls.

"T-This wasn't like this when I escaped," Prompto stuttered, swallowing the lump in his throat. "T-There was no blood... You don't think-?"

"We must hurry," Ignis urged his companions. Prompto nodded and they left the lab.

Down the narrow hall, they checked the cell block but found nothing. When they raced to the last door they had yet to check behind, they stopped when they heard voices from the other side.

"Well done, my boy," a familiar voice rang from the other side. "You did well in procuring a Horseman, especially the one I requested."

"Just give me what you promised," another voice hissed in vexation.

"Of course."

Ignis pushed open the door slowly in order to not alert the two men on the other side. He peered through the small slit and watched as Ardyn's form turned daemonic. His skin turned deathly pale and his veins were a pitch black, contrasting against his pale skin in a haunting image. Kael screams out in fear as the chancellor reaches out and touches him. The black substance dripping from the daemonic man's body lands on the cultist's arm and sinks into his skin.

Kael continue to screams as he feels the corruption slowly begin to infect his entire body. His skin slowly began to match Ardyn's along with his veins turning sable. Eventually, his screams were silenced as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and his body collapsed on the floor, lifeless.

"Bring her to the ship," Ardyn commanded a handful of MTs, his voice tinted with a daemonic tone before returning to normal. "Do be careful with my prize now. We wouldn't want her slipping off the needles and regaining mobility."

Prompto was the first to react. He flung the door open and shot all the MTs in the head, killing them instantly. Gladio and Ignis followed the blonde into the room, their weapons drawn and aimed at the chancellor. The man's features had returned back to normal as he spun around to face the trio with a smirk. "Ah, what a pleasant surprise! Quite an honor to cross paths once again, gentlemen."

"Shut the hell up!" Gladio growled, eyes narrowed in a sharp glare.

"What is this twisted plot you so desire?" Ignis hissed.

"A simple trophy to add to my collection. Such beauty is exquisite and only comes once in a lifetime," Ardyn coolly responds before his eyes flickered over to the blonde standing between the two taller men. "Don't you agree, dear Prompto?"

Prompto's only response was to shoot the chancellor in the head. He and the others were aware of his immortality after they tried to kill him in Zegnautus Keep years ago, but that didn't stop them from attacking.

Gladio and Ignis distracted Ardyn, granting Prompto the opening he needed. He dashed over to (Y/n) and tugged at the metal straps around her wrists and ankles, but they wouldn't budge. Remembering how the orb had granted him the ability to harness a small but powerful flame, he quickly took it out of his pocket and prayed he'd be blessed with the ability once more in order to free Famine.

"Hold on, babe. I've gotcha." He melted the metal restraints and briskly places the orb back into his pocket before it could burn his palm. As he went to catch her, he realized her body didn't collapse like he thought it would. "What is-?"

"Prom," (Y/n) grunted, desperately trying to fight through the paralysis. "The needles..."

His eyes widen and he checked the device once more. He saw the myriads of needles scattered across the device, buried into her arms, legs, and back. When he glanced down, he finally spotted the small splotches of blood on the floor. "O-Oh, Six..."

"Just pull me off," she reassured him through gritted teeth. "I can't feel or move my body."

Prompto nodded and placed his hands on her sides. He winced as he began prying her body off the needles. It was almost as if he was feeling the needles embedded in his own flesh as he removed the Horseman's body from the device.

Reaching a certain point, (Y/n)'s body slipped off the needles and into Prompto's arms. He hugged her tightly as he fell to his knees, his hands trailing across her back and feeling the numerous puncture wounds along with the droplets of blood. After a few seconds, he could no longer feel them knowing her body healed itself.

Prompto's eyes darted over to Gladio and Ignis when he heard both of them grunt in pain. Ardyn looked over their bodies for a few seconds before stepping over them. He stalked toward the couple, resulting in Prompto encasing (Y/n) in his arms protectively.

"Ah, true love," the chancellor smirked. "Tis quite beautiful. Unfortunately, I've no time for such pleasantries." The man's arm shot out and gripped Prompto's neck tightly before the young man could summon his pistol. Gasping for air, the gunslinger was forced to release Famine as he couldn't breathe.

Ardyn's grin festered as he used all his strength to toss Prompto across the room. His body slammed into the wall before falling onto the floor with a grunt. Seeing as the blonde was incapacitated for the moment, the chancellor bent down and snatched one of (Y/n)'s wrists. He hauled her to her feet and pulled her against him, her back reclining against his chest. "I must apologize for the abrupt departure for it was such a splendid reunion with you gentlemen." (Y/n) gasped as one of his hands tangled in her golden locks and yanked her head back. "But I have much more important matters to attend to."

Prompto fought through the pain and pushed his body up onto his hands and knees. He summoned his handgun and aimed it at the chancellor. "Let her go," he growled.

The velvet-haired man chuckled, keeping his hold on the Horseman. He lowered his head to her exposed neck and peppered it with kisses, taunting the young man. "Such porcelain must be treated with care. You, my boy, are far too reckless for such delicacies."

With feeling slowly returning to her body, (Y/n) felt a frightening chill creep down her spine when the man holding her finished kissing the side of her neck and trailed his tongue along the spots he placed his lips. She felt disgusted and desperately wanted mobility to return to her body so she could fight back and give Ardyn what he deserved. Morosely, the only thing she could do was stare at the ceiling while the man kept tugging her head back by grabbing her hair.

Ardyn tugged her body backward as he pushed open the door with his foot. He kept his eyes on Prompto as he dragged (Y/n) slowly out of the room before the door closed.

The blonde pushed his body off the floor and stalked after the chancellor with his gun held tightly in his hand. He ran out the door and after Ardyn, leaving Gladio and Ignis behind. He grabbed a potion from his pocket and used it to rid his body of the pain before running through the hallway after the man and the Horseman.

Emerging from the underground facility under Fort Vaullerey, Prompto immediately froze when he saw numerous of cult members surrounding him with their firearms aimed at his chest and head. From where he stood, he could see Ardyn boarding a drop ship with (Y/n) still held hostage in his grip. He could see feeling was returning to her body as she tried to use her legs, but she kept stumbling. Her (e/c) eyes locked with his own azure ones through the throng of men and women, fear and worry for him apparent in them.

"Do take care, dear Prompto!" Ardyn shouted over the engine of the drop ship as it slowly ascended into the sky.

He watched helplessly as (Y/n) was taken from him, anger and sorrow glinting in his eyes. He dispelled his handgun and watched as the imperial ship rose higher and higher into the dark sky. Before it was out of sight, his eyes widened in horror as a large blast of lightning erupted from the ship. It lit up the entire sky, grabbing everyone's attention.

Prompto took the chance and hid out of sight while the cultists ran around frantically as the drop ship exploded, sending a shockwave through the ground from such a tremendous explosion. Pieces of the ship rained down across the fort, fire consuming the metal shards. He heard all the frenzied cries of the men and women running around, but all he could listen to was his racing heart. He wanted to desperately find (Y/n), knowing she would've survive the explosion, and see if she was alright.

Peering from his hiding spot, Prompto watched as the cult members ran around. He built up his courage and decided to use their confusion as a way to search for Famine. "Please be okay..."

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh S2 Ep 41: It’s Mai’s Turn to Get Electrocuted

Hey guys, welcome to the Christmas Break.

It’s TV watching season, so lets watch some TV and over-analyze a 20 yo kid’s show, you in?

Odion, after suffering from a lightning strike and getting impaled by many pieces of that fake millennium rod he was holding gets dropped off in the only room on this blimp that has sheets. He also had the added shock of witnessing his brother morph into a somewhat evil-er dude with saiyan hair, which I dunno, I’d want to take a nap too, that’s a lot to deal with.

(And thanks to some reader input, turns out this Marik isn’t so much a ghost situation so much. I mean, I guess it’s more of a Season Zero --this is your deep down scary personality taking over-- type thing but it’s not like I really finished Season Zero so...We’re just rolling with it.)

Glad we have an actual hospital wing--confused as to why Bakura isn’t here.

But I guess lightning strike is slightly worse than having a bleeding stab wound for 12 hours. I mean I’m no doctor, maybe it is? Anyway, Odion is hooked up to all sorts of computers and life support although there aren’t any cords attached to him anywhere on his body. Not even one piss-yellow IV bag.

Check out the size of that IBM. This is what a widescreen used to look like.

The rest of the Yuge Crew are here although I’m pretty sure that’s not how hospitals work. Pretty sure you have to be related to drop on in directly after being put in intensive care but like, they are on a blimp so I guess it’s different up there. But also, this guy has abducted them once already and just tried to kill Joey for the second time, and now they are like “We’re basically on BFF family terms with this Odion guy, lets visit that bedside.”

Although, mind you, his real family is Marik and Ishizu, both of which have never said aloud that Odion is their brother. This family is sort of bad at life, TBH.

Since we’re barrelling right into a Mai arc we have to confront one of her 2 big Mai character conflicts--which is either “this is why I don’t get married” or “OMG I am going to die forever alone.” Which is interesting, because last time we hung out with her, we did whatever we could to keep her independent, while in this episode Mai mourns that being independent is the ultimate curse. Girl wants whatever she doesn’t have, pretty much.

Ah, Miss independent, never thought I’d get that song stuck in my head again. Thanks, Mai. Except in this version, instead of falling in love, Mai just makes weird friendships with jail bait teenagers. Why can’t she make friends with like, Roland? He’s her age. Or maybe this nice doctor? But whatever, age is meaningless on this show.

(read more under the cut)

Anyway, Joey has decided to tell us all about that dream he had but leaves out the parts where he dropped everything he owns, and then knocked himself over a desk onto his face, and then in the same dream Kaiba kinda walked in from off screen, dunked on him, and then walked directly off screen again.

Mai is deeply touched.

And then, because she is Mai, gets extremely offended immediately afterward.

I can keep hoping it’ll be Duke Devlin but like...as much as I want him to do more on this show, I really think the only people who remember Duke Devlin at this point are all the animators who were like “HOW many people are in this shot?! Why did we make a season where every scene is a freakin crowd scene!?”

*I know the shading on her ass was supposed to be attractive but it looks like nasty sweat stains*

(Also what the hell computer-machinery is supposed to be behind them in this scene?)

This one time where Joey doth protest too much is the first time we have ever, ever on this show seen Joey act less than vague towards Mai. During the dream episode he blushed, but I thought that was because of Serenity being there for her brother in his dream. I didn’t at all think that was over Mai at the time.

But I guess this is happening now? I mean people kept saying “yes, Joey and Mai will be a thing” and I was like “they better start building up to that because like...nothing is happening.” but this show’s version of building up to that was by just not being vague one single time.

Which in this show is a big deal, I guess. Because shortly after this event, Tea remembers that her character description sheet says “Is bossy AF” with red underline and was like “OMG I totally forgot and it’s been like 20 episodes since I did anything, I gotta hurry” and she just lost her lid.

I’m regretting more and more that joke I made that TeaxKaiba was way more reasonable than TeaxYugi, because sometimes when Tea goes ham she may as well be wearing a long spiky coat with boots leggings. Tea had two very different personalities way before she ever got possessed by Bakura. Like, Tea is kind of a monster actually, but we rarely get to see it because she gets completely distracted and cries a lot when it just feels like...the other half of her, the half that bit a guy once--like she legit bit a guy on this show--that side of Tea would just never cry over cards. Or cry, period. She sure wasn’t crying when she bit that guy!

This is mostly because I think the writers didn’t know how to write a girl like Tea since she’s a mix of a Season Zero Tea and this more old fashioned-’feminine’ version I think they were trying to turn her into for this series. It’s weird. It’s weird that this group of friends have nothing to say about these very abrupt changes in her behavior. Then again, it took them a while to notice the abrupt changes in Yugi.

Anyway, Joey isn’t done getting harassed by everyone he knows yet.

We have Marik trapped in a blimp in the sky and the entire Kaiba security force, why are we dueling him anymore? I mean I know why, we are contractually obligated to show lots of card content in this show to sell cards, but at this point I feel like maybe they should drive the blimp over international waters and resort to maritime law. Give Kaiba a gun.

Actually don’t do that, it would be bad. Don’t give Kaiba a gun. Give it to Duke or something, he seems stable enough. He seems like he’d be able to shoot somebody but not everybody, if you know what I mean.

And because it’s the Mai arc, we gotta have Mai duel next. There’s only 3 people left to go against: Ishizu, Kaiba, and Marik. I think. There’s so many people on this show. Tea isn’t playing, right? I mean I really do feel like like I’ve forgotten someone--maybe Shadi? Miho? So many people are on this blimp.

Whatever, I’ll just roll with it, if I forgot someone I’m sure they’ll show up at some point.

Mai sure is that girlfriend.

Anyway, lets see what Marik’s up to. Ah, he really is visiting his older brother after all.

That’s right--Marik has to play twice. I mean obvi the first Marik was Odion, but still, it just feels like it’s Marik playing twice.

Also can we please talk about Marik’s cargo pants obsession for a little bit? This arch villain is in CARGO PANTS. Like, they have puffy pockets. He figured out that the hoodie was a bad look, but then he was like “I’ll just cover my tum-tum, and then put on my khaki cargo pants with a sensible belt.”

It just sort of insinuates that Marik only owns cultist robes and cargo pants. Just those two things. Imagine if every pant in your closet was cargo pants. Just imagine with me. You’d go mad, too. Imagine you packed for a trip, a nice vacay on a blimp, and then you opened your luggage and you were like “oops! all cargo pants!” you’d fly home.

Marik looks like he’s going to Casual Khaki’s Friday at the office from about the stomach down, and then stomach up up he’s ready to join piccolo and fuse brains or whatever the hell goes on in Dragonball Z.

And Yugi and his friends are late to Mai’s duel because they are teenagers and also of course they would. This whole season was introduced with Yugi being chronically late to stuff.

The bathroom joke in this episode is canon, PS. I skipped a Season Zero episode where Tristan went to the loo and so Yugi held his spot in line and it took like 30 minutes before Tristan finally got back. Tristan’s epic poops have apparently been Yugioh canon since the very beginning.

I’m learning so much about the lore.

Now that Marik no longer has to hide who he is, he has decided that he’ll just use the Shadow Realm willy-nilly now. Although Marik did this without playing any cards at all, it doesn’t seem to register to Seto Kaiba that this is not a hologram. Maybe Kaiba sneezed when Marik summoned it and just assumed he missed a card play or something.

So now, for our gimmick!

Every time we fight in the Shadow Realm it feels like the rules are a little bit different, and Marik decided to make this duel a memory fight.

The Shadow Realm seems to eat on your greatest insecurities, and for Mai it’s feeling all alone. Not sure how that works once the duel is over--her friends will still be there, so like...she can just get a heads up on the one day they went camping that one time and then boom, friendship rekindled, I think. But for now, this is very scary for everyone involved.

But I mean at least she isn’t a playing card, or being thrown into a graveyard by being played as a card, or being devoured by gloopy blobs, or rapidly dying because of the exposure to the shadow zone. As far as Shadow Realms go this one seems kind of tame.

But I guess we shall see if somehow losing Tea will effect her story in any way.

Depends on which Tea, in my opinion, but if we’re going for the normal boring one that only cries wellllllll I wouldn’t notice if she were gone, just saying. Now, if it’s the fun Tea that bites people and yanks their ears off their face, well being forced to lose my memories of her is what the writers do to me basically every episode of this show. Let Tea bite more people in the arm. Let that girl rage.

But all that will be for another recap where we can all watch Mai get Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind-ed as if a memory wipe hasn’t happened at least once to every single person on this show with the exception of Mokuba. And Mokuba was a paper card for like I want to say about 10 episodes, so...

Anyways, if you just got here I do have these in chrono order from s1 ep1, here is a link.

[thefloorisbalaclava]

if you are taking requests for Far Cry 5, how do you think Joseph would react to an African-American female doctor within the colony fixing him up after a dangerous altercation he has, and later finds that he has love for her? perhaps she gets a bit too close to him and he struggles with coming to terms with his emotions. she is timid, but isn’t without her wits. i’m sorry, i’d just love to see what your take on how the situation would play out! you can decide if it’s sfw or nsfw!

This was really interesting to write. I used a little time skip to make the feelings a bit more realistic, but who knows...maybe Joseph believes in love at first sight.

This starts in the doctor’s POV and the asterisks mark where it changes to Joseph’s :)

Warnings: none

They had taken her against her will, saying they were sorrybut they needed a doctor to help The Father because they just couldn’t losehim. She knew what had been happening in Hope County for a while now but shestayed neutral and kept to herself for the most part. Now she found herselfsitting between to scruffy looking men with rifles sitting on their laps. Thecar was going fast, way too fast, she hoped she would make it to the compound alive.She prayed—she didn’t know to who, but she prayed.

The car pulled into the compound and came to a stop and shewas pulled from the car in a way that had her snatching her arm away from theman. “I can walk,” she snapped. “You guys have rifles. Do you really think I’mgonna try to run?” She rolled her eyes and the men grumbled as they led her towherever this ‘Father' was.

She took in her surroundings as she walked surprised to findso many people that looked like her—brown skin, brown eyes…she just wasn’texpecting that to be sure. Most of them stopped and stared at her, eyeing hersuspiciously. She didn't blame them, she was an outsider and didn’t even know whatshe was about to see.

A group of people surrounded a small house and she assumedthat’s where they were keeping the injured man.

“Move!” someone shouted. “She's here to help Father Joseph!”The crowd parted for her like Moses parting the Red Sea and she made her wayinto the house. “Upstairs,” someone said quietly and she was quickly guided towhere she was needed.

Upon entering the room, she noticed at least five peoplekneeling by the bed sobbing and praying, but they all stopped immediately whenshe walked in.

“Can someone tell me what happened here?” she asked, makingher way over to this Joseph. Shelooked around and they all looked at each other and avoided eye contact withher completely. “Ooookay…”

“Just…keep him alive,” one of the men said, dropping the bagof her supplies on the floor at her feet.

“Okay, well, everyone needs to clear out…” They all stayedwhere they were. “Now.” They continued to eye her even as they were ushered outreluctantly. “Joseph…can you hear me?”

His eyes opened and immediately locked with hers. “Yes. Whoare you?”

“I’m a doctor.” She got right down to business, surveyingthe wounds and blood loss according to what was on the sheets. “Are youallergic to anything?” she asked and he shook his head as she put gloves on.“In a lot of pain?”

“For it is better tosuffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil.” Helooked weak but his voice was strong as he spoke.

She touched the larger gash on his side and he winced. “I’lltake that as a yes.” He looked at her and she shrugged. “Are you gonna tell me how this happened?” she asked thenthought better of it because he would probably only throw another bible verseat her. “You know what, forget it. I’m gonna patch you up, okay?”

“Thank you,” he said quietly.

“Don’t thank me yet,” she mumbled but his eyes were closedand his mouthed as though he were praying. Whateverhelps him through I guess.

She made quick work of it and not once had he cried out inpain or cursed at her like some of her other patients. She placed bandages onhim then stood, looking at her work. “There. Would you like something for thepain?”

“No, thank you.” He looked at her and saw her eyeing hisother scars—the ones he purposely received…his sins. “You think I'm crazy. Youthink we're all crazy.”

She removed her gloves and shook her head. “I’m not here tojudge, I’m here to help.”

“What a kind thing to say.” He smiled weakly and she smiledback.

“Rest up, Mr. Seed.” She sat in the chair in the corner ofthe room with a huff, proud of her success.

“Please call me Joseph.” He looked at the ceiling thenturned his head to her. “How did they get you here?”

“They had guns…very large guns. I’m smart enough to know notto fight men with guns. Besides, I kinda always wanted to see this place…to seewhat you are doing.” She was an honest woman and she felt no need to lie now.

“And what do you think?”

“Its…different. I understandwhat you want to do, what you’re trying to do but the way you’re carryingit out…” Her words trailed off and she shook her head. “The things I’ve heard…”

“I know what outsiders say about us but now you can decidefor yourself.”

“You-you should get some rest.”

“Are you a Christian woman, doctor?” Joseph asked and shehesitated. When was the last time she stepped foot in a church, prayed,confessed?

“I…don’t know.” His piercing stare forced her to look awayand shift in her seat.

“Well, you're a good person. You just helped me even afterhearing all sorts of horrible things about me.”

“I’m a doctor, Mr. Seed. It's my job to help people even thebad ones.”

“Joseph…remember?” He opened his mouth to speak again butthe door opened and he turned his head towards the sound.

“Father? You’re okay!” a cultist exclaimed and others beganflooding into the room. The doctor tried to speak up and tell them to let himrest but decided to sit there quietly.

“Yes, my children I am fine.” He turned to the doctor andshe smiled awkwardly. “Thanks to you.” The cultists turned to her and thankedher, blessed her for saving their Father.

“I’m just…doing my job.” She wanted to ask when she'd beable to leave but instead sat quietly in the corner until everyone left. Shestood to leave too but was stopped by Joseph's tired voice floating to herears.

“You’re leaving?” he asked, eyebrows furrowed.

“Just stretching my legs. I’ll be back to check on you in abit. Get some sleep.” With that, she walked out the small house and into whatfelt like another world. These people, this cult,had truly made their own community. If only they could do things legally and without bloodshed, maybejust maybe they would be more accepted.

“Excuse me, ma'am.” A man walked up to her and she tries herbest not to look afraid. “You’re the doctor that saved the Father, ain't ya?”

“I wouldn’t exactly say I saved him but I helped him, yes.”

The man dropped to his knees and kissed her hands, makingher gasp and look around embarrassed. “Thank you, ma'am. Thank you and Godbless you.”

“Oh. You’re…welcome.” She pulled her hands away and put thembehind her. “There's no need for that.”

“He'll be okay, won’t he?” The man stood and she noticed thetears in his eyes.

“He'll be fine.”

“And you’re staying, right?” the man asked excitedly.

“I-I don’t know about that…” Before he could say anythingelse, the doctor excused herself saying she had to go check on Joseph. Shepractically ran back to the house, closing the door quietly behind her. Josephappeared to be sleeping and she was grateful. She wasn’t sure if she couldhandle those piercing blue eyes and angelic voice at the moment. She couldunderstand why people hung onto every word he spoke and he hadn’t even saidthat much to her. She closed her eyes and rested, the adrenaline finallywearing off.

When she opened her eyes again, it was dark outside and shenearly panicked, not remembering where she was. She stood quickly and lookedover at the bed to find Joseph sitting up and looking at her.

“You looked so peaceful. I dared not disturb you.” A tray offood sat on his lap and another was on the small table in the room. “Are youhungry?” He gestured to the other tray and she wanted to say no, she should have said no, instead she walkedover and picked up the tray.

“Thank you and…sorry,” she said sitting down again. The foodsmelled so good and her stomach grumbled in agreement.

“Sorry for what?” Joseph asked, looking at her with those eyes.

“I shouldn’t have fallen asleep like that…”

“We all get tired, doctor. In your line of work, I suspectyou don’t get must rest at all.” He closed his eyes and she assumed he waspraying over his food so she waited for him to open his eyes to speak again.

“You’re right about that.” She smiled and he smiled back,picking up his fork.

“Please eat.”

And she did. They ate in silence for the most part. When heasked for her name, she gave it. When he made a joke, she laughed. She ended upmoving her chair closer to the bed and opening up about things that she neverwould have with anyone else.

*****

She asked questions and he answered, never shying away frombeing completely honest. Joseph wasn’t aware of the effect she was having onhim until she told him it was late and that she should go. He moved so quickly,he pulled some of his stitches and gasped in pain. She ran to his sideimmediately.

“Joseph, please be careful.” She helped him lay down, herhands as gentle as can be.

“You really are an angel,” he told her. He took her hands inhis. “God brought you here for a reason.”

“Your people brought me here to help you.” She paused for amoment but didn’t take her hands from his. “I've been wanting to ask aboutthat. Will I be allowed to leave?”

Joseph hesitated then gave her an answer. “You’re free to gowhenever you like. No harm shall befall you…but I do wish you'd stay the nightat least. You’re very tired.” He could see the gears turning in her head butshe would agree to stay, he knew it.

“Just for tonight,” she said. The only things stopping himfrom lifting his hands to the heavens were her hands and how perfectly they fitin his. Another's hands hadn’t fit in his this way since…

“I’m glad to hear it.” Just then, someone knocked and walkedin and the doctor pulled away as if they had been doing something scandalous.“Please find a bed where the doctor can lay her head for the night.” She walkedto the door and stopped.

“Thank you, Joseph.”

“I’ll say a prayer for you. Goodnight.” The door closed and hewas alone. He usually liked being alone; he enjoyed the silence. Tonightthough…well, he wouldn't mind having someone to talk to. And there was only onesomeone he was thinking about.

*A FEW MONTHS LATER*

She had stayed. He doesn’t know why but she stayed and hewas happy. His solemn sermons werenow peppered with little jokes here and there and laughter would ringthroughout the church. It was like music to his ears but nothing could competewith how he felt when he saw her smile.

Yes, it had only been a few months, but there was somethingabout her. He didn’t quite lust afterher but it would be a lie to say that he didn’t enjoy the way the white dressshe wore looked against her brown skin. He put himself in her path on purposeway more than he cared to admit if only to hear her voice and see her smile.

He was happy in her company and she seemed to be in his aswell, but the feelings he began to develop for her were dangerous. He toldhimself he couldn’t have such feelings because he a family and his children totake care of but was that just an excuse? Yes. The real reason he denied hisfeelings was because she probably didn’t feel the same way. There was no wayshe could…not towards someone like him.

He tried to come up with different reasons why he felt thisway towards her. She helped him in a time of need—that was a good one, but hehad been helped by many people throughout his life and hadn’t developedfeelings for them this way. She was different.Yes, but he prided himself on loving all people no matter what they lookedlike. No matter what reasons he came up with, there was always a way to counterit and Joseph found himself in a dilemma.

Maybe God was testing him. He had told her that God broughther there for a reason and she believed the reason was to help him—and it was,but what if it was to help him in more than one way. What if she was there tomake him a better man. That still didn’t mean he should have fallen for her yethere he was, pacing the floor trying to understand his own confusing feelings. Hewould be late for his sermon if he kept this up.

A knock on his door stopped his pacing and when he opened it,he smiled brightly…the doctor, his doctorwas in the other side.

“Its almost time for your sermon. May I walk with you?”Joseph had been surprised at how fast she acclimated to this community. Therest of them accepted her without question probably because she helped him, butshe also had a way about her that drew people to her. He was the same.

They had more in common than they both knew and as time wenton they would discover these things about each other. For now, he would behappy with the way she looked at him. He would be overcome with emotion when thesun shone behind her giving her the halo she so deserved. He would be happy asshe held her hand out to him and he took it. He would be glad to walk into thechurch with his hand wrapped around hers. He was unsure of what place she heldin his future but as long as she was there now, he was blessed.

[lilysrpgdungeon-blog]

Mysteries In Tabletop RPGs

Today I want to discuss my favorite sort of scenario to run in tabletop RPGs: the mystery. When your party needs to exercise not their brawn, but their brain. Today we’re going to how I go about designing mysteries, and techniques I use during play to make them more dynamic.

The first thing I do when I design a mystery is ask myself three questions: what does the Big Bad want? How did they go about getting it? And what mistakes did they make?

That first question is pretty self explanatory: what does the Big Bad want? Every good culprit needs a good motive. You have an advisor trying to become king. You have a cultist trying to summon Cthulhu. You have a fledgling vampire trying to free herself from her sire’s control. Whatever your villain wants, it’s likely something that they need to use subtlety to obtain. If your villain could operate openly, the adventure would be geared more towards an action campaign rather than a mystery.

Which leads us to the second question: how does your Big Bad try to get what they want? Your players are going to be investigating your villain’s actions, so you want to carefully plan out what they’re going to do to achieve their ends. Let’s use the traitorous advisor from the previous section as an example. He can’t just outright assassinate the king, because then the throne would go to his daughter and he’s likely be sent to the gallows. So, instead, he sends an assassin to a neighbouring kingdom to stir up a war. The king will tell everyone “I didn’t start this war! I don’t know what everyone’s talking about!” And that will turn public opinion against him. After that, the advisor could do a few things. He could plant the seeds of a rebellion uprising, or he could advise the king to use force to silence those who speak against him. Throw in a red herring here or there and have the king behead a perfectly innocent lord. Whatever your Big Bad is doing, all of their actions – and, by extension, your actions as a GM – should be shrouded in mystery.

And for the final step: what mistakes did the Big Bad make? This may seem like an odd question to ask. Why would your criminal mastermind make mistakes? Well, first of all, every person makes mistakes, but also, if everything went perfectly for your villain, your players are going to hit a brick wall hard, and we want our heroes to succeed! When it comes to mysteries, mistakes or oversights left behind by the culprit can be used as evidence. Evidence is the backbone of your investigation scenario, and a lot of care should be taken when designing them.

So, we have our villain, our motive, and the skeleton of our campaign. Now we just need to start putting everything together. This is segment does have some more general stuff you could really use when you’re designing any campaign, with some exceptions I hope are pretty obvious. First, I divide the campaign into quests – small, digestible chunks. Now, even if your mystery is spanning an entire chronicle, you want to end each quest with some sort of milestone. It could be a climactic action scene, like in most quests, but more often than not, a mystery milestone involves making some serious headway and discover something very crucial to the case. You could slowly reveal things like a motive or a murder weapon or something about the culprit. Obviously, you don’t want to reveal the culprit themselves until the last quest, but little tidbits are good.

Generally, it’s a good idea to design each quest so players don’t need to find every scrap of evidence to progress the story. When in doubt, rule of three! You can fill a scenario with as much evidence as you want (though too much may make your villain seem incompetent, and therefore less threatening), but in general the party should be able to progress the story with only three bits of evidence. Hopefully, every quest should naturally lead into the next. Or maybe players go off the beaten path, as players are prone to do. If they’re still headed towards the correct conclusion, stand back and let them have their fun! If they’re not, that could be when you introduce the failsafe I mentioned earlier. Don’t do it the moment things start to go off the rails, though. That gets very railroad-y. Wait for where it feels natural.

The last thing about designing mysteries is a more personal touch I like to do. It doesn’t work with every mystery, but it’s really handy when you can use it. Don’t have the quest where the mystery is finally solved be the last quest. After that, you generally want to have a big, climactic confrontation with the Big Bad! What qualifies a confrontation varies from game to game. This could range from a fight to a chase scene with the culprit trying to skip town. Like I said, this isn’t always necessary, and in games like Call Of Cthulhu a fight with the Big Bad is likely to end in TPK (though, let’s be honest, there are only a few things in Call Of Cthulhu that won’t end in a TPK), but it’s just something to really represent players hitting the climax! As fun as mysteries are, it’s hard to make piecing together clues feel as climactic as it is in video games like Dangan Ronpa or Ace Attorney, so having a more physical climax is a good substitute. Again, not strictly necessary, just something you may wanna think about.

So, now you’ve got the planning down and you’re ready to take your game to the table! But before you do, I have two little tidbits of advice you should probably keep in mind when running your mystery.

The first and, I feel, most important thing about a mystery: never hide important clues behind dice rolls. I know, dice rolls are the defining feature of tabletop RPGs as a medium, but here’s the thing about mysteries: the fun part isn’t finding the clues, it’s piecing them together. It’s like a jigsaw puzzle where you have to go on a scavenger hunt to find all the pieces. It’s missing the point of solving mysteries, and this is something I think the Trail Of Cthulhu conversion understood really, really well.

Second: take notes. Generally you should always be taking notes of what your players are doing – you can find potential plot hooks in them, or players might do something that will have major effects later down the line – but in mysteries, it’s doubly important. See, you and your players have a lot to keep track of. Sometimes players forget to write something important down in their notes. Then, when that thing becomes useful, you can see them struggling to remember it, like it’s right on the tip of their tongue.

Now, you could allow the session to grind to a halt and which the players flounder over something minor, but this is what is scientifically known as a dick move. At this point, it’s a good idea to remind the player of what they need. You don’t have to give it to them for free or anything – you could call for a memory check or spending Luck points – but the last thing you want is letting for your game to come to a sudden stop because a player forgot to right down where the one suspicious looking key was.

Also, sidenote: don’t be a smug douchebag with these reminders. I mean, don’t be a smug douchebag in general, but give players the benefit of the doubt. Sure, once all the pieces are in place, it’s obvious that the party needed to hold onto that nonsensical diary entry that turned out to be a coded map to the villain’s lair. But that’s because you’re the GM. You already know what the puzzle’s supposed to look like because you made it. Don’t ruin the story and everyone else's fun just because the players made a mistake.

[zydrateacademy]

Review - Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey

Some of my readers may recall that I found Origins to be lackluster, or at least my review gave off that impression. I believe one of my quotes was, “An extra year of work and this is all they could come up with?” I’m going to be honest, while I did have a good couple dozen hours on Origins I feel that kind of opinion was premature. I actually found Origins to be quite fun, and I would go on to play and beat it up to three times, including a full playthrough on my YouTube channel. Origins was fine and the combat was fun. Odyssey comes to us with a lot of the same ‘feel’. The combat is largely the same but with some tweaks, and I’ll get onto that shortly. I do have some vague gripes but I’ll attempt to salvage what little I know of the game’s story to start people off with.

Also, there will be spoilers in this review. We return to Layla Hassan, the vaguely ‘rogue’ Abstergo employee that found Bayek and Aya in the previous game. Apparently there was a bit of a timeskip or there’s even more lore I’ve lost out on not reading the comics, because there’s some implication that she went full on rogue and is in hiding from Abstergo, now. I’m not even really sure what her motivations are anymore other than a more classic artifact hunt, from the precursor race that has haunted the series. She finds the spear of Leonidas which has the DNA of two siblings, which she can use to hunt through their memories due to an upgraded Animus, as opposed to digging through one’s own ancestors. I still find it a bit odd. In the first couple of AC games, it was implied that the precursor race and their technology was a mostly recent find and the two secret societies were practically scrambling just to get their hands on one. Here in Odyssey, we’re practically tripping over them. The main antagonists have one that is some kind of mind-reader. The spear of Leonidas turns out to be one. There’s a series of mini quests where you find a half-dozen “Apples of Eden”. Remember that? From The first three games? The entire plot centered around one, and now we get several!  So we’re put in the bodies of one of two protagonists, Kassandra or Alexios. Most sources I spoke to have chosen Kassandra, and there’s some consensus that her voice acting is stronger. I admit my choice is a bit more personal. I, like many people, are starved for proper female protagonists. Evie in Syndicate was plenty of fun but the game still forced Jacob gameplay on you from time to time. Playing as Aya in Origins was mostly a gimmick, only in naval combat (a precursor to Odyssey’s current style) and during some of the finale segments. She wasn’t customizeable, couldn’t change her gear or anything so again, mostly a gimmick. Yikes, this is a lot of negative for what is really a good game! Maybe I’m getting it out of the way? I did say there are several improvements, so let’s get down to the mechanics of the game. There’s a lot of them, now.

The combat is a lot more fluid and reminds me of the days in Unity where you actually had to think about how you fought. In Origins, I basically dodged everything and used the heavy attacks exclusively. That’s been tweaked here, as I feel Kassandra’s dodge is a bit shorter range and the full on dodge puts her much further away from the enemy that is desirable so you must decide what kind of dodge to use and when, but mostly it forces you to learn how to actually parry. Parrying has been in pretty much every AC game but this time it actually opens enemies up for combo attacks, wherein you can mix and match light and heavy attacks, and there’s eventually a perk to pick up to give you bonus damage if you do exactly that.

You have three kinds of damage trees you can actively focus on this time around. Between Hunter, Warrior, and Assassin, which are all self explanatory. Rather than keeping them all even, you can actually choose to focus on one style over another. I am personally trying to keep my Assassin and Warrior lines fairly even. Stealth is, as in Origins, incredibly powerful but you won’t be able to one-shot enemies anymore if you are under geared or have been neglecting your spear (which is your blade in the absence of the hidden one). Open combat is however, extremely common so I can’t imagine going full Assassin and being able to get much done. Maybe by better gamers than I.  Moving on, the world is... extremely large. I’m not sure how much larger than previous games they’ve claimed but it’s probably true. Adding to that fact is Fast Travel is only linked to Synchronization points rather than any and every city or major outpost. With a further lack of those, you’re forced to run or mount your way through the world and I’m here to tell you... you’re going to actually want to. Most of the world’s various points are in fact, relevant to something. Ancient ruins have tablets as loot that you’ll need to upgrade your ship. Alpha animal dens typically have high amounts of leather, mines have metals. Many points even have clues against cultists (which I’ll get into later), legendary gear or just fighting will lower the power level of the region which unlocks Conquests, a fun full-battle gimmick which again, I’ll describe shortly. Basically, there’s almost always a reason to actually explore a majority of question marks on your map as you’ll walk away with something that’s worth your time. Browsing my map just now, I can see I’ve skipped a few but I imagine something will take me to them in the future.

This game has a couple of new features that mixes things up. We’re in the Peloponnesian War, which reflects as an actual game mechanic. Every region is controlled by either Athens or Sparta. Your character is a mercenary and can choose to fight for either side at any time without any consequence, and you’ll be forced to after a certain point. I picked up a contract (which are constantly spawning quests, so there’ll never be anything to not do) that required me to kill three Athenian region leaders. Unfortunately, I had been favoring Sparta up to that point and all the regions within my level at the time were all controlled by Sparta. I had to kill and weaken my own favored people in order to shift the control so I could do it all over again against a different faction for epic gear and rewards. Doing all of this unlocks conquests, where are full on battles where you fight hordes of your chosen enemy faction while dealing with captains, bosses, and mercenaries that like to pop up during them. It’s probably the more fun of the new mechanics but I can already see it as just ‘going through the motions’ at a certain point, but they’re worth doing due to the amount of experience they offer.

Speaking of Mercenaries, the game has a bounty and “Wanted” system, reminiscent of earlier games. In games like AC2, your wanted meter affected how quickly Ezio got caught by patrolling guards. In Odyssey, you get hunted by enemy mercenaries which you can choose to kill or knock out and recruit them to your ship’s crew. There’s even an entire tier system as your character earns their way up a “tier” listing and eventually become the top dog. It’s all very similar to Shadow of Mordor’s orc hierarchies but it’s a less complex variant. They all have their unique names, backstories, and weaknesses but there are no over-bosses and nothing you can really do to manipulate their flow. You can only really control your bounty meter, which you can pay it off or kill the sponsor who hosted the contract against you. Beyond that, it lends to some interesting encounters. One merc helped me against a legendary animal quest, but more often than not they’ll come swarming when I’m trying to stealth or fight through an enemy fort, usually resulting me in fleeing. When they show up, it almost always complicates matters so unless you’re actively hunting for the gear they carry, it’s best to keep your bounty as low as possible.

Also having the same ‘feel’ as Shadow of Mordor’s orc mechanic is the Cult of Kosmos. I only found this story arc, maybe an entire fifteen hours into the game but that’s because I spent several doing nothing but exploring the map as my level allowed. Still, it’s a very interesting idea. Once you discover their existence you’re given an entire menu to hunt them down, and doing so is necessary to power up Leonidas’ Spear, alongside several very powerful legendary sets of armor. The idea is that you don’t have all of their identities unlocked and cannot track them all immediately (though it does give you a handful of freebies to get you started). Instead, you have to explore the world or actively investigate some of the clues they give you. This one is fairly straightforward;

However I once had one that said he was in a “Wolf’s Den” in a certain region, so I had to do some actual footwork. Another was near Athens and just told me to “help people nearby”, which turns out that I just had to do several side quests before their identity was revealed. So some of them are locked behind the story, you won’t get them all right away. It’s a very interesting way to go about it. As I said earlier about the world, you might just trip over some clues as you’re out exploring. While some cultists might be locked behind story, there WILL be some just actively wandering the world and you might not know you’re killing one until the “confirm cultist kill” message pops up. Next we have the naval combat, which I have mixed feelings towards. Black Flag is the series golden boy in terms of naval combat, and is one of the best games in the series if you can stomach the more lackluster main story missions (though the story was great overall and I liked Edward’s arc). While there’s certainly some complexity to be had in Odyssey’s ship combat, I still find it a bit more flighty and fast paced, but not in the best way. In BF, the ships felt... meatier. While not being slow, they were big and they hit the waves in a convincing manner. In Odyssey and even Origin’s own special segments, everything just hauls ass and cuts through water like it’s not even there. Even ramming is considered a major part of ship combat and frankly, I’d prefer the balancing flow of firing volleys and bracing against their own shots at the right time. You even get extra rewards if you manage to cleave a ship in two when you’re finishing them off.

I’d rather just shoot stuff, honestly. It still retains its enjoy-ability and I don’t at all ever hate going out to sea, I just don’t like more extended fights and I’m still not sure which of the three actions nets the most rewards; Cleaving, Boarding, or Shoot N’ Loot? I’ll figure it out eventually. So there’s a couple more of points of contention before I summarize.

It can be glitchy at times. I did a Spartan Kick againt an alpha lion for him to clip into the rocks. The game lacks the movement control Unity once had, so holding shift while trying to run away has Kassandra mount every brazier, stick or overhang which can lead to me losing more health than I’d like when fighting stronger enemies. There are some reports of people not getting legendary items (which only ever drop the once). You have to manually save, because right now it’s all cloud saved so if that gets lost or corrupted, you could lose dozens of hours of progress and that kind of thing causes gamers to quit. It’s not nearly as bad as Unity’s release but there are the occasional game breakers which I’ve yet to experience, thankfully. Finally, I’m a bit iffy on the leveling speed. Using very simple math based on my level and hours placed, I net around one level per hour. There was plenty of exploration within that but I was still actively doing stuff, clearing forts and the like. The world is massive and there’s plenty to do in general, I just feel like there’s a lot of footwork to get anything done. Since enemies scale with you (at 50, all regions will be at least 46, where the rewards cap out), I feel the level locked regions are a bit pointless. This ties into a current bout of controversy, so let’s dive into that before I summarize. 

Microtransactions are still a thing. People are exhausted but we expect it from Ubisoft. While it’s mostly cosmetic, there are sets of gear you can buy that have their own stats and bonuses as legendary sets have their own boost when you wear all five pieces. They aren’t any more powerful than other gear, though having a full legendary set right off the bat will certainly give you an edge. The main debate is that the scaling for endgame becomes a bit skewed and I’ve heard from some players that the last few levels are a hell of a marathon to level through. The story offers a permanent 50% experience and money boost (including a variety of cheaper, more temporary ones) which some reviewers have stated does actually make the game better. I imagine such a boost probably makes questing a better incentive and thus leveling quicker. One reviewer made mention of “Pay to play the game less” I find incredibly inaccurate and they probably haven’t actually played (because of course!). As an actual player, I will say the game is massive. The story is long, the regions are large, and you can’t exactly just sprint through the main story and ignore everything else. Especially when several of those “everything else” can be a lot of fun! Even at level cap, you’re probably still hunting those last few cultists, switching some regions to your favored faction, ekeing out those ship upgrades, getting money to fully upgrade your legendary set, or even finding a full legendary set that suits your playstyle the most if you haven’t already. There’s a lot to do and while offering a permanent boost for 20$ is certainly a bit scummy, the “pay to play less” is a horrendous misunderstanding of the game. The game is good! It’s an improvement on Origins in several ways and for once I actually enjoy exploring the variety of question marks that litter my map. I’m only halfway through the world, there’s so much I want to do, armor sets that I wish to acquire to suit my more stealthy playstyle. The world is gorgeous and photo mode has returned to accentuate that fact. There’s no assassin order nor are there Templars, just a cult you’re set out to destroy for some personal slights. You’re a mercenary and the world is yours. Odyssey will also be receiving some support and attention as they won’t be releasing one in 2019, so for a game we’ll be ‘stuck’ with for a couple of years, we’re in good hands.

[knightofbalance-13]

http://saltwukong.tumblr.com/post/173979310856/miles-luna-is-unequivocally-the-poster-child-for

Well then, let’s give you a bit of criticism yourself then.

Miles Luna is unequivocally the poster child for immature assholes who should not be in charge of other people or creative writing and the sooner people realize that the better.

Says the guy who threw a fucking fit over Scarlet being gay and calling it ‘insulting’ like a whiny bitch. (http://saltwukong.tumblr.com/post/174002001031/actually-let-me-say-this-clearly-no-praise-is)

Be polite in your criticism” fuck off. Miles is every bit as immature as his fandom who have famously taken every bit of criticism, no matter how it was phrased, as hate. Miles Luna and his rabid fanboys can fuck off.

Of course, rationally sitting down and explaining why something went wrong and showing it like in Faboover’s ‘Thoughts-RWBY Volume 4′ Series (https://www.youtube.com/user/Fal3oover/videos) is the same as flailing your arms around and crying like a child who was told no. I mean, only a whiny, immature, self obsessed, selfish, sociopathic piece of shit would say that because they are so far removed from what defines a human fucking being that the concept is foregin to them.

By the way, you seem to have uh, blocked me for criticizing you once (https://knightofbalance-13.tumblr.com/post/167961927725/a-girl-with-sparkling-lies-saltwukong). I mean surely, this must be a mistake. After all, why would you block me unless you’re even more immature than Miles?

I’m tired of dancing around this, I’m tired of being nice. I’ll be nice some other fucking night. All blind RWBY stans can fuck off. MKG can fuck off. Rip the goddamn veil off. Acknowledge that your favorite content has a flaw or five. Acknowledge that your favorite “writers” are people too, which doesn’t just mean they’re people with feelings, it also means they’re people with flaws, who are responsible for those flaws and doubly so if they refuse to work on them, and triply so if other people have to sit through the results of them.

Okay then!

Miles has a SEVERE tendency to put in more characters than necessary. I have said this multiple times.

The time skip retcon is an ACTUAL retcon and was fucking stupid. I have also said this multiple times.

And they need a professional writer on staff to teach them how this is all done. I have said this multiple times...

No veils here. I’ve always seen them as people with flaws....

But I guess you don’t want me to see them as people with feelings though.

Okay then, let’s test this out on you people:

You are a fucking coward. You sit there acting all high and mighty while you block everyone who might disagree with you because god fucking forbid any hurt your pwoor prwcious fweelings while you preach hate and destruction on a level that would make the KKK question their life choices.

You are also a fucking hypocrite, saying that Miles and Kerry should be held accountable doubly and triply so when YOU refuse to work on your flaws and I have to sit through it with you. And yet, YOU fucking hide like the cowardly little shit you are behind a blocklist because the mere thought of someone even saying in the most polite manner possible that your ego is fucking massive and wholly undeserved.

You’re also a fucking sociopath since you think that people sending Miles DEATH THREATS and ACTUAL HARASSMENT are JUSTIFIED and that Miles should eat up this shit without realizing that a skill a writer MUST have is discerning constructive criticism from DECONSTRUCTIVE criticism. But god fucking forbid someone post Sun hate in the sun tag when you can just ruin a man’s life (http://saltwukong.tumblr.com/post/173391967376/dont-fucking-post-sun-hate-in-the-sun-wukong-tag).

In general:

You’re all fucking bigots. I have not met a single RWDE poster who wasn’t racist, sexist or hetero/homophobic. Dudeblade outright thinks that the writing is bad because they’re white men, Soku thinks Jaune being white is a flaw, Invested In Your Future adamantly REFUSES to see a female character as anything other than in the right ect. 

You’re all fucking cultists. You people will regularly attack anyone with different opinions than you while preaching your opinions as right. You religiously hate on Miles and Kerry to the point I’m pretty sure youd hear their names if I said ‘satan.’ And you indoctrinate people into your line of thinking all the damn time.

And you are all fucking SHIT at your jobs. Name five flaws in RWBY? I can name FIFTEEN!: Villians need a bigger presence, Aura needs to be explained, more racism against the fanaus needs to be shown, the fight scenes need a LOT of improvement, Ruby needs more focus, We need to spend time in locations in order to get a better feel of them, show don’t tell, the Maidens need more clarification, Volume 4′s plots were messy, Yang needed more screentime in Volume 4, Salem needs more focus, they need to show Aura breaking more, Ozpin’s morality needs to be more defined, the actual retcon of Volume 4s time skip, we need more interactions between Ruby and Blake.

RIght fucking there, I just made a list THREE TIMES LONGER than what you asked for. Thing is, I didn't lie about them, they aren’t formed from my delusions, they have an actual Impact on the quality, they are reasonable for RT to handle and I didn’t use misinformation to make them. That’s ALL YOU PEOPLE DO. You lie out of your asses so much if I hadn’t left I would have drowned in your bullshit, you demand fucking shit that would contribute to NOTHING except your egos, you demand RWBY handle shit more than RT can handle (which is one of the biggest problems with RWBY) and you rely on people forgetting certain parts of the show to make them work. You people aren’t getting shit for pointing out flaws: you’re getting shit because you are so BAD at it that you make people want to forget about them and thus enforce the idea that RWBY has no flaws. That AND as someone who tries to be critical of RWBY, I have to deal with you asswipes.

Actually, let me repeat that for the hard of hearing: “the writers are people too” means they are as deserving of criticism as the rest of us, no more, and definitely no less.

So...none at all, considering you people think you’re all SO flawless and perfect that if anyone criticizes you, they MUST be wrong.

Let me inform you of something: You DON’T see them as people. You see them as fucking SLAVES, you arrogant stain on the face of the Earth. You see them as slaves that you can beat and abuse and harm and harass and belittle all while expecting them to do as you say. You people are so fucking removed from humanity that unless people think like you, have ZERO empathy towards them.

Start thinking critically.

How about you lead by example?

Oh wait, if you thought critically for even a single moment of your life: You’d realize that half the shit you say is fucking delusional, that you sound like a ravening sociopath with zero humanity in him, that you are surrounded by people who will turn on you in a fucking instant if you step out of line, that 99% of the shit you preach if applied to you would make your life miserable and that you have likely driven away anyone who actually cares about and isolated yourself in a cage of hatred that you have no one to blame for but yourself. And when that all hits you, you’d try to scream but end up choking on whatever fatty soda is in your gullet and you’ll die choking on it, cold and alone. So you completely turn off every single part of your brain that performs critical thinking because let’s be honest: Critical thinking requires self awareness and said stuff is basically LETHAL to you at this point.

... Oh what, you have a problem with what I am saying? Well, all I’m doing is following YOUR rules. I’m just treating you as YOU treat Miles. You OBVIOUSLY don’t want things like compassion and empathy applied to you because you’ve never even shown a capacity for such a thing, let alone towards Miles. You wanted this and now you have to fucking take it, because even you know no one listens to a hypocrite. 

Now how about you unblock me eh? Let’s see how you handle your veil being ripped from you.