#fs-chapter archive

[fallen-savior-mmz]

Fallen Savior Chapter 3;

As long as he's safe...-

X stood by Zero’s capsule, watching him as he slept.

The last conflict he had had with Omega left him needing longer repairs than normal, and their opponent would not wait for Zero to recover.

X knew what he had to do, but now being faced with the task at hand, he was having trouble finding the courage to do so.

“Axl, I’m sorry to ask you to do this.” X started, still looking down at his sleeping husband, his new armor looking so different than he was used to, yet still somehow fitting. 

Even with almost an entirely new body, he was still Zero.

“But you need to take Zero and run. You have an hour, gather everything you need, anything you absolutely have to take with you. You can’t stay here, and neither can he.” X finally looked to Axl, the young hunter staring in shock at him.

“X, are you crazy? Omega will kill you, and if he doesn’t, the Dark Elf will. You can’t stay here by yourself!” Axl exclaimed, incredibility written all over his face.

“There’s a chance that the Dark Elf could possess me, and use me to destroy everything. Zero is the only one who could stop me at that point, and I won’t be responsible for everyone’s deaths like that. Yours included.” he turned to face the reploid that he called family.

“I can buy you and Zero time to get away, to hide so Zero can repair himself, and so you can repair yourself too. But you have to leave now Axl, find somewhere remote, somewhere far away. You can’t tell me where you go, they could use me to find you. Leave here and save yourselves.” X finished, his heart breaking with every word.

Axl put a hand to his head, trying desperately to think of a way out of leaving, “X, I can’t leave you here, you’ll die! There’s gotta be another way, when Zero wakes up we can-” 

“AXL, THERE’S NO TIME!” X’s shout startled the young hunter, staring wide eyed at his father figure.

With a shaky breath, he walked forward, hugging Axl against his body.

“Axl, I’m not commanding you to do this. I’m not asking as your mentor, your leader, your father. Nothing like that. I’m asking you as your friend. Please, take Zero and hide, don’t return until it’s safe.” X stepped back, looking into the young reploid’s eyes.

Axl’s eyes watered, but he nodded, stepping towards Zero’s capsule to begin getting it loaded onto a transport for them.

X turned to leave, unable to watch the two people he cared about most in the world get sent away.

“X, what about you?” Axl called after him, his voice uneven as if he was trying to keep from crying.

X straightened his back, pulling himself together before turning to look at Axl one last time.

“As long as you both are safe, I’ll be fine.” he spoke with conviction, willing to do anything to ensure their safety.

As long as he’s safe.

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X cried out as he slammed into the ground, his armor sparking and melting where Omega’s plasma saber had sliced him.

The reploid with his husband’s face grinned wildly, holding his hands out to each side.

“X, why can’t you see what I’m doing? I’m trying to save you! Every single being on this planet is capable of sin and evil, you all cause pain and suffering!” Omega spun around, facing the setting sun.

X tried sitting up, his body protesting as he did. He just had to keep Omega monologuing long enough for his self repair to kick in, give him time to escape.

“If I kill everyone, no one can hurt anymore! You won’t hurt anymore X, I can free you!” he looked back at his opponent, his face split with a smile of pure glee.

“I AM THIS WORLD’S SAVIOR, X, I AM YOUR SAVIOR! I AM THE MESSIAH! LET ME SHOW YOU A GLIMPSE OF THE WORLD I HAVE ENVISIONED!” Omega called out to the sky, his head tipped back as he laughed.

The Dark Elf revealed herself above him, spreading her “wings” and opening her eyes.

X watched in horror as she opened her mouth, her scream piercing through his head. Everything felt like it was on fire, the pain so great that he thought for sure it would kill him.

He didn’t know when he had lost consciousness, merely realizing it when he finally opened his eyes.

Omega and the Dark Elf were gone, X was laying on his side in the dirt and rubble of whatever city this had used to be. It was well past midnight at this point, judging by how dark it was.

With a groan, X sat up, unsurprised to find his body protesting any movement at all.

“Alia? Are you there? I need a status report, where did Omega go?” the android pulled himself to his feet, his head throbbing from residual pain.

He trudged forward, not heading in any particular direction. He just needed some shelter, to get himself repaired a bit while he waited for evac.

X waited for a response, but was met with silence.

“Alia? Come in Alia, I need help.”

Nothing.

Panic began to rise in his chest, Alia was always there when he called!

“Maverick Hunter HQ, please respond, I need assistance.”

Silence.

X shuddered, his panic getting harder and harder to push down.

“....X….come in X…”

A voice came over his comm, not Alia, or a voice he recognized, but a voice nonetheless.

“Yes! Yes, I’m here, please, I need a report, what’s going on?” X was almost breathless with relief, leaning against some shattered remains of a wall.

“X? Oh thank god, we need help! Omega did something, we’re getting reports of mass casualties!” the mystery navigator sounded tearful, their voice breaking over the radio.

“W...what do you mean mass casualties…?” X’s words shook, panic taking hold of him again.

This couldn’t be happening. 

Omega’s words rang out to him, letting X see a glimpse of his world.

Was this what that meant?

“Hunter casualties are at ninety five percent, they’re all gone, they’re all dead! The commander, all the navigators, everyone’s dead! We’re getting reports of civilian casualties too, the numbers won’t stop going up! Reploids everywhere are dead!” the voice broke down, sobbing as they exclaimed their horror.

X fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face.

Dead?

Everyone?

Where was Signas? Or Alia?

Did this person really say all navigators?

“What’s the percentage of casualties all together…” X whispered, unable to make himself louder.

There was silence over the line for a moment as whoever else was there gathered themselves as much as they could.

“Reploid casualties en masse are at eighty-seven percent, they’re still going up.” The voice was small, clearly just barely holding themselves together.

“X...what do we do?” the voice asked.

X didn’t answer. How could he? What could he say? 

“X….please….”

Axl....Zero...did they make it out? Were they okay? Nothing felt real, it had to all be a lie. Omega and the Dark Elf couldn’t have killed that many people remotely...could they?

In one agonizing moment, X realized that not only could they, but they did. Everyone was dead, they were all gone. Alia, Layer, Palette, Signas, Douglas, Axl…

Zero.

X fell forward and screamed until he couldn’t scream anymore.

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Was that a dream...or a memory? He couldn’t be sure. All he could feel was the pain of the memory as he floated in some void of awareness.

X drifted in and out of consciousness, hyper aware of the pain his body was experiencing in the moments of lucidity before blacking out again

He could feel someone touching him, something that made his mind recoil in disgust and rage. He didn’t want anyone to touch him, never again.

X really couldn’t do anything about that however, his body refusing to move. He supposed he would have to handle it once he could move again.

If he could move again. This might be the last time he was even alive enough to care. 

Only time would tell.

He drifted back out of consciousness.

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“Damn...that kid looks rough, is he the one you pulled out of the ocean?”

A voice woke X this time, his pain receptors flaring up to remind him that he still was very much NOT okay.

“Yeah, he is, and I’d show a little respect, Doigt, that’s no kid. That’s Mega Man X.”

Another voice, this one much closer. He must be the one touching X, another fact he was being made unfortunately aware of.

“Holy shit...that beaten up reploid is X? What about the one we saw makin’ that announcement this morning? Was that not X?”

The first voice, Doigt, sounded astonished. X wondered what he looked like right now to make them not recognize him.

“Cerveau...what does this mean? What are you going to do?”

A female voice this time, she sounded so solemn. 

X wanted to say something, to move, to do anything.

He wanted Zero.

“Z...ze…” his voice was hoarse, words not forming properly. It seemed that the beginning of his husband’s name would be all he could manage, as his mind faded into blackness again.

He didn’t hear his rescuers' responses.

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X’s eyes blinked open slowly when he woke this time, adjusting to the light directly above him. He didn’t feel as immediately panicked as he had when he woke on Weil’s lab table, but the fear was still there.

He turned his head as carefully as he could manage, trying to gauge his surroundings in case he needed to make another run for it.

He was met with a reploid’s face looking back at him, having the appearance of a middle aged human.

X grimaced for a moment, trying to get the pain in his head to dampen for a moment so he could attempt a conversation with this person.

“Well, good morning to you too.” the man huffed, folding his arms in front of his chest.

“What are you...doing to me…?” X’s voice was scratchy, either from trauma or misuse, he didn’t know.

“Saving your life, trying to put your organs back where they belong.” the man spoke, a note of sympathy lacing his voice.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say someone was trying to strip you for parts, and while you were still alive.”

X winced, sucking in a sharp breath at the memory of Weil’s hands pulling him apart. The memory felt too fresh in his mind still.

“Hey, shit I’m sorry, that wasn’t very smart of me. Look, my name is Cerveau. I’m an engineer from the lower districts of Neo Arcadia.” The reploid, Cerveau, drew the conversation away from X’s memories, bringing him back to the present.

“It’s fine. Just don’t touch me anymore. I don't want to be touched.” X mumbled, his face still tight from the phantom feeling of being opened up.

“Right, how am I supposed to repair you from here on then? You may be the legendary Mega Man X, but you aren’t immortal, and right now you’re a mess.” Cerveau snorted, looking X up and down.

X pulled a face, not particularly enjoying this conversation.

“I don’t want you repairing me, I want to be left alone. Go away.” X knew he was acting immature, but something in him really didn’t care. He was tired of being nice when he was uncomfortable.

“Yeah, that’s not happening. I don’t care who you are, Rocinolle and I can’t just let you walk around half dead. You need repairs.” the reploid reached for his tools, clearly ready to get started repairing X again.

“Don’t fucking touch me. I mean it.” X seethed, glaring at Cerveau.

“Look, I’m not real fond of you right now either. Your policies on mavericks and what classifies a maverick got some of my friends killed. A lot of reploids really don't care whether you live or die lately, but…” Cerveau trailed off, looking away from X for a moment.

“I can’t in good conscience let someone die when they’re clearly in need of help. So shut up and let me repair you.” He reached again for his tools, but gave pause when he saw X’s face.

“What do you mean by my policies on maverickism… ” X’s eyes were wide as he looked at the engineer, mind racing.

He hadn’t put any rules or legislation into place on Mavericks, he hadn’t done anything like that in over a century, not since the Maverick Hunters were still around.

Something wasn’t adding up, and X had a nagging feeling he knew who was behind it.

“Any reploid found participating in suspicious behavior was to be brought in for questioning and possible retirement under suspicion of maverickism. It’s been happening for a few years now, but it’s been steadily getting...worse…” Cerveau hesitated, watching X’s face morph from confusion to horror to sickened realization.

“Oh my god, you didn’t know did you...you had no idea this was happening…” The reploid sat back, his tools falling from his hands.

X turned to face the ceiling again, tears falling from his eyes,

“I’m such a fucking fool. This was happening right under my nose, and I was so wrapped up in my own pity, I didn’t even notice.” X hiccuped, his body pulsing in pain from the seal and Weil’s tampering.

Both reploids sat in silence, stewing in their own thoughts. Cerveau was the one to break the unpleasant void they had found themselves in.

“Well shit, there goes my justified anger. Guess we’re all fools then.” Cerveau chuckled darkly, moving to stand up again.

“If you won’t let me repair you, let me at least get the tools you need to do it yourself. I tried to patch out whatever virus that was that's tearing up your code, but nothing would work. I just patched the firewall that was messed with instead.” He explained, walking around the room and gathering various tools and pieces of metals.

“Whatever that thing is, it’s nasty. I’m sure you can feel it breaking you down. It’s gonna keep doing that until it either rewrites your code entirely, or kills you. It’s going to cause you a lot of physical pain, but I can help you fix th-” 

“No. I can’t mess with it more than you already have. I’m the only thing keeping her at bay. I’ll survive until I can get the original code back.” X interrupted Cerveau, sitting up and reaching for a soldering iron.

“You idiot, did you not hear what I just said? It’s going to kill you, after putting you through hell and back. Is that what you want?” The engineer grumbled, pushing the equipment closer to X and turning it on.

“Yeah, I heard you, I just don’t give a damn right now. I just need to focus on getting back to the sanctum and fixing all of this.” X grunted, beginning to solder down the wires in his arm, one that had been shredded by the grenade. The wounds looked so old, hadn’t they just happened a day ago?

“How long has it been since you found me in the ocean?” X asked, wincing as the metal and wires began fusing. It wasn’t the first time he had done this, but considering the amount of pain he had been through recently, and the Dark Elf’s influence still harassing his code, he really didn’t find himself caring too much about the sting of heat and metal.

“It’s been about seven months, I honestly thought we were going to lose you there for a while.” Cerveau faced away from X, searching for something.

X paused, processing the absurd amount of time. Seven months? Had he really been gone for so long?

“I’ve...been gone seven months? And no one’s noticed my absence?” He turned to face Cerveau, his mind racing.

In all that time, the Dark Elf’s seal remained closed, how had Weil not busted it open at this point?

“They have a very convincing body double for you, X.” The man shook his head, his own world view being thrown.

“That bastard...I hate him.” X’s voice was dripping with venom, anger flowing through him. Weil truly was something else, and X wasn’t sure how much damage he had let the man get away with at this point.

“We’ll worry about that later. Since you won’t let me help fix you, and I’m guessing you won’t let Rocinolle help either, the least I can do is craft up some new armor for you. You can’t be walking around naked like that.” Cerveau stood, walking towards the door.

“Don’t make it white...I hate white.” X called after the engineer, earning himself a chuckle.

“What, should I make it red? Like the legendary reploid, Zero?” Cerveau called back, looking over his shoulder. X felt his whole body tense up, his husband’s name something he couldn’t say out loud.

“Don’t. Don’t say his name.” X’s voice was barely above a whisper, his hand clenched tightly around the soldering tool.

“Make it blue...I like blue. I miss it…” he wouldn’t look at the engineer. Tears dripped down his cheeks, landing onto his bare lap.

“You got it, blue it is. Your hair is really long too, do you want Rocinolle to cut it for you?” Cerveau’s voice was soft, clearly taking the hint that Zero was a big no-no subject to X.

“No, I want it to stay long. Thank you though.” X reply was final, willing his tears to stop so he didn’t make more of a fool of himself

Cerveau said nothing as he left the room, closing the door to his lab with a quiet click.

X put his tools down, reaching up with his one functioning arm and wiped his tears away.

I swear, I won’t let you make me cry over you anymore Zero. I will not cry over the past anymore.

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Dim electronic lights hummed and crackled overhead, the energy crisis becoming more and more dire everyday. The spartan lab turned personal quarters felt cold and unappealing, dirty silvers and muted greys covering most of the room. The only splash of color was the former leader of Neo Arcadia.

X rolled his shoulders, trying to relieve the pain there. It had been a while since the last flare up, the Dark Elf continually finding ways past his firewalls.

He hoped that nothing would happen today, their last few missions going a little rougher than he had intended.

Cerveau and Rocinolle had done a fine job creating new armor for him, his chest covered in a deep blue vest with an X on the front. His greaves and gauntlet-like armor had been replaced from that irritating white to rolling deep indigo. 

X was grateful that his helmet had once again survived the changing of armors, only slightly changed to remove the wings that Neo Arcadia had put there. He had made it a point as well to let his hair stay down, the long black locks drifting down between his shoulders. His bangs were so long that they fell from the front of the helmet, falling over his nose and peeking out from the sides of his face.

It felt right, donning blue armor again and letting his hair fall where HE wanted it to.

He stood, looking around the room. 

Maybe it was silly, for an ancient hero like X to have formed a resistance group against the people he was supposed to lead, but Neo Arcadia had forced his hand.

After months of recovering, gathering supplies and rescuing humans and reploids alike, he now had a safe haven for anyone fleeing from Weil and Neo Arcadia’s tyrannical ways. X’s departure from the city had opened the floodgates for even stricter and crueler rules against Reploids, to the point now where even some humans had begun to question the shady behavior.

X shook his head. There wasn’t really anything he could do to change that right now, his main concern was getting people out and getting them the help they needed.

Cerveau had begrudgingly become somewhat of a field medic, assisting Rocinolle in keeping any refugees healthy and in working order. Doigt...helped when he could, X found him more useful in helping run supplies through the base than at Rocinolle’s side. He was a fine budding engineer however, and definitely helped keep Cerveau from drowning in projects, X being his constant headache.

X regretted letting some reploids pick up weapons, but they needed to defend themselves, especially on rescue missions and raids. Young men like Colbor and Milan helped him with missions. It made him sick letting them fight.

He used that anger he felt as fuel to push through the pain of the Dark Elf and his still-healing body, determined to save as many people from his mistakes as possible.

With a huff, and an adjustment of his vest, X retrieved his buster from the table of his room.

He strode briskly through the hallways, lights flickering and the smell of dust filling his nose. Few reploids scurried around, attending to their own tasks to keep the Resistance base in working order. The single elevator in the middle of the base led out to the surface and below to the engine room.

X selected the latter, letting the mechanism lower him deeper into the base. If he wanted to, he could slide down the walls of the elevator shaft, letting the boosters in his legs help him descend faster like he did when he was younger. The thought instead left his legs aching, grumbling to himself that he was too old for that kind of crap.

The elevator stopped with a metallic groan, the doors opening with a squeal. X sighed, he supposed he’d have to look at that and make sure the damn thing wouldn’t fall apart with some unfortunate reploid still inside. 

He strode through the engine room, looking over the supplies, doing last checks before their mission. A young woman walked up to him, her long brown hair pulled back by a red headband.

“Master X, I have the latest information from the scouts, the refugee targets are three reploids, one child repoloid and a human girl.” The woman spoke, reading out from a small datapad in her hands. 

“What? A human girl? Why would a human be with a group of reploids to be executed?” X faced the woman, his brows knit in confusion.

“I don’t know, she was seen holding the little reploid girl, and she appeared to be trying to protect the other reploids. One of the Four Guardians apprehended her, according to reports.” She shrugged, looking distraught at the mention of the Guardians.

“Thank you Rouge, I appreciate the reports. I’ll be heading out soon.” X watched her leave with a dip of her head and a look of gratitude on her face, wincing at the subtle spike in pain in his body.

“And when you return, I’m taking another look at your back, Master X.” A voice chided behind him.

“Cerveau, I’m really not in the mood to hear you lecture me about this again.” X grimaced, turning to face the man as he walked out of his lab, Doigt trailing behind.

“Regardless of whether you’re in the mood or not, Old Man, you are still healing, and pushing yourself like this will only get you killed. After this mission, we’re looking at your back again.” Cerveau crossed his arms, the only one in the entire base brave enough to talk to X like that.

Probably because he had basically brought him back from the dead.

X sneered lightly at being called ‘Old Man’, but let it slide.

“I’ll get to my back when I damn well please, Cerveau. And if it kills me, then good, maybe then I can rest for a while without someone breathing down my goddamned neck all the time.” The android sassed back, turning and walking back towards the elevator.

He could vaguely hear Cerveau insult him before the door closed, Doigt waving goodbye and smiling sheepishly next to the engineer’s angry shouts.

X knew Cerveau was right, but he couldn’t really stop to care about himself now. There were too many innocents suffering because of his mistakes, and he would fix them even if it put him in the ground.

The elevator rode up the shaft, taking him to the Trans-Server room. When it opened, X made a note in his head again to make sure to look at it at some point when he got back and moved away from it.

Milan, the ever faithful young man, jumped up from his spot on the floor, the other reploids following suit, when they saw X step out.

“Commander X! We’re ready to deploy, Joan already gave me our report.” Milan trailed behind X, going over their own details of the mission they had received. 

X was reminded momentarily of Tria, walking him through their patrol route before being murdered in cold-blood in front of his eyes. That wasn’t a fun thought to have before starting another mission.

“Thank you Milan. I want you and your squad to deploy first. I’ll follow behind and get to the captives. Keep them busy.” X spoke, his buster humming as he prepared it for battle. He didn’t look Milan in the eyes as he gave him his orders, best to keep him at arm's length.

Milan nodded, signalling to his other squadmates to head through the Trans-Server. He watched them as one by one they deployed into Neo Arcadia’s holding cells, ready to engage with his city as ‘terrorists’. 

Once all of the reploids disappeared, X stepped forward, readying his buster. With a sigh, his boosters in his legs hummed to life, ready to dash immediately as he arrived.

“Transfer!”

A beam of light struck the android, and in a split second, he was gone.

[altocat]

FIRST SOLDIER EPISODE 2: CHAPTER 1

It's finally time! We were waiting FOREVER. I know you guys are very excited for Babygeal and Miniroth's first adventure together. So I'm recapping what you might have missed if you weren't able to see the chapter! Let's go!!!!

We open on the mysterious woods, a hooded figure staggering around wheezing and gasping. He's in some sort of ruins location. He drops a video camera cutting to images of sephiroth in fire and flashing forward to glimpses of scenes we'll see later in the story. We see Sephiroth, Angeal, and a Lucrecia-looking character named ALISSA. A new soldier ally? But she looks a LOT like Lucrecia so it's weird. A new friend? Or something...else?

Alissa is shown to be mentioning something about Sephiroth taking a magic sword (Masamune) and how it will empower him. Or, as she puts it, CHANGE THE WORLD. More clips from the trailer.

We cut to the present with Miniroth sleeping on the helicopter. Angeal disturbs his sleep like we saw before. It's still 1992 btw so not too much later than the Rhadore mission.

Miniroth is grumpy. Camera guy is here too--his name is Bachman.

Angeal is SIXTEEN also btw if you're wondering. Seph is prob 14 or 15.

Angeal keeps yapping and LMAO he's already talking about dumbapples. Miniroth is super annoyed and keeps blowing him off.

Angeal guesses that Seph has ever been lectured before and Miniroth FLASHES BACK TO GLENN. I'm already sad.

Bachman is reminiscing like this is a documentary he's looking back on. Angeal and Sephiroth land in September of 1992 into the ruins of Robio, on the southern tip of Wutai. Their objective is to find a bunch of missing soldiers.

Bachman is with the Shinra Records and Archives division. Sephiroth already hates being filmed. Bachman is basically there for propaganda reasons. Sephiroth WILL NOT humor his questions and is getting increasingly pissy.

Angeal is determined to find the missing soldiers no matter what. Four missing soldiers.

A monster appears! Sephiroth doesn't want to fight with the cameras rolling so Angeal steps in to fight for him. Angeal asks why Sephiroth didn't fight, Sephiroth says that Angeal had it handled. Bachman keeps hassling them for PR footage. Sephiroth was not informed about being filmed and is sulking. The guy is DONE.

They enter the Igara Forbidden Zone. It's a spooky place. Shinra thinks they're hiding something there. This is where the soldiers went missing. Angeal guesses there's some evil sort of entity in the area. Sephiroth is checked out.

Angeal tries to get Seph to cut loose. There's tension between them. Seph won't open up. The incident with Glenn really hurt him. He doesn't trust anyone.

Angeal spots something. It's a soldier and he's dead. Angeal is sad. He knew this guy and he was one of his friends. Angeal says they'll bring the body back later. They have to find the others.

They trek deeper into the Forbidden Zone. Angeal leads the way. ANOTHER body! That's 2/4 soldiers found.

Bachman brings up the Rhadore mission. Sephiroth flashes back again to the FS trio being kind to him. Sephiroth lies about how close he was to them, pretending he never got emotionally involved. But even then, Sephiroth is upset af when they are called traitors to Shinra. It's weighing on him.

Sephiroth tells Angeal that he's a special soldier. He's the only one who can speak freely to Professor Hojo. He warns Angeal THEY'LL NEVER BE FRIENDS (lol). Hojo must have done some shit to Seph before this mission, since he's so closed off. Angeal muses that being around Hojo must have fucked up Sephiroth's personality.

A third dead soldier found. Sephiroth still doesn't want to fight when monsters show up. Peak Grumpyroth. Only one more soldier left to find.

Sephiroth says that the wound on the body was made with a blade, the same as the other bodies. A PERSON killed the soldiers, not monsters. Angeal wants Seph to help him out and share intel. Sephiroth is not being agreeable.

They take a short break. Bachman brings up being friends with soldiers and says that Seph keeps to himself. Angeal lectures on TEAMWORK. Seph blows him off again. Sephiroth brute forces his way through without teamwork.

Angeal says he always wanted to work with Seph. He says if they can't be friends then at least comrades? Sephiroth keeps depersonalizing himself. He keeps calling himself just a "weapon" or a "machine". Angeal is DETERMINED to be his friend no matter what. They can get stronger through bonds. But Sephiroth is still depressed and checked out.

Lol they talk about ninjas. Angeal has fought them in simulations.

FUCKING HOJO JUMPSCARE. Seph flashback of fighting in simulations with Hojo overlooking his training. Angeal's data was included to test how Sephiroth operates with a team. Huh. Angeal was apparently partners with Seph in those simulations due to rankings. LOL GEN NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO PLACE I GUESS.

Angeal senses something's not right about this place (NO YOU THINK?). They talk about Soldier Intuition. Camera man is literally just there for Angeal to talk to since Seph won't talk to him lol.

Seph says they're being watched. Sephiroth just senses it while blowing off the whole intuition thing. We see a spooky purple presence tailing them.

Another body! The final one! And they're alive! But suddenly an old man with an INCREDIBLE AMAZING SWORD shows up. Sephiroth says that the geezer is unworthy to hold such a beautiful weapon. It's the Masamune btw. In case that isn't obvious. And the old man's name is Swordsmith Masamune.

NAMELESS (Sephiroth's old sword) breaks during the clash (rip). The old man says that he's the master swordsmith of Robio. He brags about how COOL AND AWESOME HIS SWORD IS. And how no matter how long he's waited, no one has come to claim the sword as their own (lol till now). He then runs off.

The injured soldier stirs and removes their helmet. It's that Lucrecia-looking chick Alissa. Sephiroth IMMEDIATELY panics because SHE LOOKS LIKE HIS MOTHER SADRFGHJGFD

WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON ASEDRFGHFDS She asks if she looks like Sephiroth's sweetheart...or his MOTHER. AND THEN THE CHAPTER ENDS!!!!

But wait there's apparently extra content? Little glimpses. Hm...

Snippet 1: Angeal tells Bachman to take Alissa to safety while they gather their fallen allies. Sephiroth is still freaked out by Alissa. The mission wraps up. Bachman muses that there is no other soldier like Sephiroth. But the second he lost his sword...there were cracks in his psyche. Hm...

Snippet 2: Sephiroth is having a dream. It's his mother's voice and HOLY SHIT he's dreaming about seeing her im going to pass away. I'm going to die FUCK he's dreaming of having her with him and being in her life and hersdfdsdfs she makes him dinner and it's PUMPKIN SOUP AND I'M DYING HOLY SHIT HOLY FUCK ASEDRFGHJGFDSADFGHGFDSDSFGHFDS it's a fantasy in his head AND HE AND AND SHE ASDFGHFDSA I'm sobbing SHE HUGS HIM AND I'M ASDFGDSFD

Snippet 3: Angeal is thinking back to a memory with his father. It's Gillian's birthday. We see young Angeal with his dad and they're bringing out food for his mother enjoying a nice picnic. Angeal says he wants to do more cooking. Just some cute Banora lore mostly. Angeal is talking about enlisting. The extra wages will help his family. They toast in honor of sending him off. Angeal reflects on doing meaningful stuff with his life by joining SOLDIER.

END chapter. Whew. Holy cow. Super intriguing stuff. Who is Alissa? Why does she look like Sephiroth's mom? What's with the Masamune? Will Sephiroth EVER trust Angeal? ALSO HOLY SHIT WE GOT A CANON MOMMY ISSUES SCENE WITH Seph and Lucrecia I'm going to die.

[hppjmxrgosg]

Heyo, I really like your very competent and independent spiderman in Death before inaction. Do you have any fic favourites that have the same vibes that you would recommend?

Thank you for all the stories <3

Hey! Sorry this took me a minute to get to. Here are my spider-man fic recs 🫡

Incomplete. This one was a HUGE inspiration for me in writing DBI. Very tragic, very beautiful. Peter is very much doing it on his own in this fic, though, he has a bit more help than my Peter does (though probably not from who you'd expect)

Complete. This one is very good and part of a series (that is incomplete, unfortunately). I have only read this one out of the series. This one had me HOOKED when I read it on live updates. Peter is an adult in this fic, but very much living his "veteran vigilante" lifestyle.

Complete. Supercut is a series of works that was also a big inspiration for DBI. I am still working my way through all of them, but they are fantastic! Like DBI, the author has taken some...creative liberties with the MCU timeline. However, where I went back, they went forward.

Complete. Female Peter Parker. Super fun read! Competent Spidey fs, though perhaps a little more "familial support" and a little less "avenger bashing" than DBI.

Complete. Oh Kidnapped Peter Parker our beloved. And this time with friends!

Complete. That's right. MORE kidnapped Peter Parker. Put that guy in a situation. Let him beat people up. As a treat.

Series, Incomplete. I've only read some of these and it was many moons ago but from what I remember they were FUNNY. Definitely a touch more lighthearted than some of the other recs on this list.

Sorry this isn't a very long list, just the ones I could think of off the top of my head!

[arc-angel-o]

Too Sweet

Tags: Liz/Waitress, Figure Skating AU, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Mental Health Issues

Summary: That waitress at the rink maintains some normalcy when Mark stops skating with Liz and calls off their wedding.

[youmixxx]

Hello you all! I'm Youmi, and in case you have yet to learn about me, I've been around the FS community for a while, just not as actively as some other more prominent faces on Tumblr. I mainly focus on writing fanfiction, but I plan to extend my skill set in the near future.

Soft Glows is a fanfiction that I devote most of my time and energy to these days. And it actually has an official cover now! Credit goes to the lovely @zarvasace, who did a fantastic job on this book cover! Thank you so much for your contribution! It is very appreciated!

If you are curious, feel free to check out the fic! It is still in progress and will likely be for a longer time. I welcome anyone willing to hop onto this journey with me. It's the first bigger fic I have ever tackled, and I still have many plans that have yet to surface from the confines of my head! I'm excited about where else this piece will take me. It definitely holds a very special place in my heart!

[lesbiannancytruther]

hello lesbiannancytruther nation

leaving my target audience for this post but i figured i’d post it here cause!! who cares!!

if u happen to like my writing and gen v i have a silly little fic up on ao3 :)) mariejordan obvs

and true to form for me: its a circus au!

if that sounds cool u should check it out fs fs >:)

[thekamillaraincatcorner]

Chapter 17 of FS is up my friends!

If this is the first time you're hearing about my fanfic and want to read it then here's the summary and first chapter.

What if I told you that Catherine and the former moon sister never died but were captured by Dark Core? Rejoin the former sisterhood as they save each other from the pink hell that is Pandoria, kick ass, and readjust to the modern world.

[coldercreation]

I know many people have said this before but the way Nathan was characterized is so realistically good. I relate a lot to what Nathan goes through and honestly wish he was real so him and I can be friends. Thank you for writing CYE and the whole series in general. With the way you write Nathan, if you don't mind me asking, what is the reference you used for him because he was the first person that was accurate!

Aaa, thank you so much<3 I'm so glad you have found CYE and the series and Nathan relatable, it means a lot to me and makes me really happy!

I'm not sure what you mean by reference, but if you mean the mental health aspects I used to build his character, I do have some specific research points that could be helpful. I also just recently posted about my personal vitamin deficiencies that most definitely have affected the way I describe feelings in my writing. As in, no matter what the characters' circumstances are or what's happening to them in the story, I will use my personal experience with anxiety, depression, "how life feels" to describe their anxiety, depression, "how their life feels". So, like I said in that post; ignoring what is causing Nathan's anxiety etc. in the story, if you relate to how he FEELS and how I have described those feelings... feeling(?), I'd recommend checking your vitamins lol.

I wrote in the tags of that post: "The description of Nathan's experience could and would still be rather accurate, even if you don't have these physical health issues! Depression and anxiety etc from a deficiency is still depression and anxiety. + When I write Nathan I have a set of mental health “maps” or “guides” for his character (like C-PTSD and CEN and OCD). Yes I use my own feelings and experiences to describe his anxiety etc, but his character is built around these specific mental health markers / trauma research / symptoms etc (like C-PTSD and CEN and OCD). So I'm pretty sure Nathan's POV would still look very similar based on just that research and ignoring the stuff about deficiencies."

I mentioned some of those mental health/trauma/character marker 'reference' points for Nathan in those tags. I've done a lot of reading into these topics and refer to them time to time whenever I get more into a Nathan's POV chapter where these things get more relevant. There's a bunch of old posts about my research on this blog too if you scroll down... forever hahah! (Go to the Archive and scroll all the way down to November 2019, that way you should be able to skim over most of the text posts that have some of my research. There's more hidden behind a few of the photo posts so you'll have to scroll through a bit more if you want to find everything😅)

I haven't really identified or "diagnosed" Nathan with anything specific, as that didn't really feel necessary nor even right to me. I looked into what his type of childhood experiences etc. could lead up to in adulthood and how they could possibly present themselves, and started building his story around that, trying to 'match' the psychology with his experiences. Sometimes I've also flipped the script the other way; After learning about a 'symptom' described in the research, I've introduced it for Nathan's character, and after that also included the circumstances that would've/could've led to him exhibiting that symptom. Often I also just wing it lmao; my writing is not medical information even though I do try to research a lot. It's all fiction, but with a psychology / self-help like twist? Or something.

Here's some of the research points for Nathan's character building:

C-PTSD = Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Emotional Flashbacks

CEN = Childhood Emotional Neglect | This was a big character source!

OCD = Obsessive Compulsive Disorder | Nathan has some tendencies

4Fs – Fight, Flight, Freeze, and Fawn Trauma/Stress responses | Nathan's character is built around the Freeze type (in his childhood situation, the other Fs weren't really an option for him; couldn't fight back, couldn't leave, couldn't change the situation by behaving 'well')

General Anxiety

Social Anxiety

(Self) Isolation | I also read about Hikikomori, and later about the effects of the pandemic Lockdowns and how those have been affecting us.

Chronic Shame

Mother Wound

etc.

Hope that's helpful if this was what you meant! Thank you again, I'm so glad you've liked my writing xx

[stonesandswords]

The 4 Fs Of Richard Montlaur Maintenance

Fandom: Ted Lasso

Rating: Mature

Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Character(s): Colin Hughes, Jan Maas, Richard Montlaur

Summary: It may seem like 4 simple rules to please this picky Frenchman, but remember that this Frenchman is picky for a reason. For if he wasn’t as picky as he is, he wouldn’t have picked you to be worthy of the knowledge hidden in the maintenance manual.

[zarvasace]

asdfghjkl; 😭

Okay so does anyone remember that little FS vampire AU that took over the end of my February? (it's here if you don't, about... wow about 12k long over 4 chapters, I did not realize how long that got.)

Anyway, Anonymity over there wrote a companion piece that's just really angsty and lovely. It's pretty short, and a bit poetic. It does mention a few heavy things, so heed the tags, but I do recommend this! Go give 'em some love!

[trialbystory]

Who wants a montage of a bunch of nerds hanging out at legally-distinct Disneyland? *This is an FS story, and it is currently FS week, but the amount of FS content in this particular chapter is meager. But there's reasons for that.

[fallen-savior-mmz]

Fallen Savior Chapter 1;

Prologue-

Neo Arcadia stood silent and intimidating in the raging sea below, its glowing tower and high walls protecting the last remaining humans and reploids on the decimated planet. The silver moon shone its dim light on the city, casting the stark, white and gold buildings in an eerie light.

Standing at one of the windows, overlooking his bone-white city, Mega Man X watched over the crashing waves with a silent eye. He had never truly felt at home here, hiding out in the waves with only trains and lonely highways being their connection to the land.

The ocean was somber, as if it was in mourning for its fallen comrade in the form of the Earth's soil.

So many lives had been lost, landscapes devastated, entire continents wiped from the map. X had seen it all, had lived through every disaster, and had been utterly powerless to stop it.

Omega, and the Mother Elf, cursed with the power of destruction, had descended onto the peoples of earth like a shadow of death, the accursed reploid wearing Zero’s face personally seeing to some of X’s greatest nightmares. They still didn’t know where the monster had come from, and why the newly named Dark Elf had been with him. X hadn’t had time to contemplate the idea either.

90% of the Reploid race, the very beings that X had helped create centuries ago, had been wiped from the planet. If they were an organic race, that would mean extinction, with not enough individuals being able to keep the species going.

60% of the humans had been lost, and they were avoiding extinction by a mere thread. X honestly wasn’t sure if the humans were quite out of the woods yet, only time would tell he supposed.

X shied away from those thoughts, they never helped on nights like these, where the stuffiness of Neo Arcadia forced him to his window, longing for his home and his friends.

With a huff, X pulled at his hair, adjusting the ponytail he was forced to wear at all times. He had never had hair long enough to pull it up like this when he was younger, he honestly hadn’t even thought it was possible for his hair to grow, seeing as how that was typically a trait of beings of flesh and blood. His father always left him with surprises however, and as the Elf Wars went from weeks to months to years, and the time for silly things like personal care went away, his hair had grown with the time.

Now, his raven black hair drifted past his shoulders when he let it down, and if he didn’t tuck his bangs into his helmet properly, they drifted over his nose, almost into his eyes.

X found he liked it down much better than when it was up. The ponytail pulled at his head and felt uncomfortable in his helmet, as inconceivable as that was. The armor already caused him great distress, like many things that the inner council of his own city forced him to do and wear. His armor was to be worn at all times, and his helmet could only come off when no one was around. 

“To keep up appearances, Master X! The people need to see their savior as perfect at all times!”

The android shuddered, remembering that particular conversation.

Halfway through the wars, following a particularly nasty conflict with Omega, X’s armor had been utterly destroyed, the shining blues and silvers being shredded and turned black with wear. New armor had been created for him, a push from what little governments had survived the fallout, giving X a more...ethereal feel. 

His blues that he had lived his entire life with were gone, a silly thing to mourn, but stripped away among the rest of everything X held dear. It was replaced with whites and golds, a false promise that X could save everyone, like some kind of angel or savior for the world.

It made X sick, this falsehood and promises of salvation. As if X was anything but a failure. His armor had been designed to adhere to his body as closely as possible, and had been polished to a shining white, like some beacon of hope in the plains of desolation.

Zero would have said it suited me…

X shook his head at that thought, the idea of his partner’s soft affirmations being the thing to finally tip him over into despair.

He supposed he wasn’t getting any sleep tonight.

“Greetings, Master X.”

There came another headache. Mega Man X cursed under his breath, turning away from his sulking window to face the largest stretch of a “human” that he had ever had the displeasure of meeting.

Dr. Weil approached him, one of the key members of Neo Arcadia’s parliament, and the oldest living human left on the planet. 

Living is not how I would describe him…

X schooled his thoughts into place, letting the tiny spark of pettiness well up and subsequently die inside of him.

“Good evening, Doctor. Is there anything I can help you with tonight?”

X spoke evenly, vaguely aware of the headache pulsing under his tight pony. He would do anything to be able to rip it out and let his hair flow over his shoulders. But, Weil would surely report his “Master’s” disobedience to the Council, and a lecture would surely follow. So much for being the leader here.

“Ah, I just wished to run some paperwork by you, there have been more and more reports of rogue mechaniloid and pantheons along our foraging routes. I know it is informal for someone as esteemed as yourself to take charge of patrols, but it may be necessary. The energy crises grow ever more dire, and the seal on the Dark Elf won’t hold forever.” Weil’s twisted grin remained on his face throughout his report, the paperwork in his hands holding more stress and dread than the man perhaps knew.

Or maybe he knew just enough, being the one who always seemed to be the bearer of bad news, and finding joy in his role.

X knew Weil enjoyed testing the android to see how far he could push X’s limit of stress management. Why he did, he would never know, seeing as how X’s survival and health were directly tied to the Dark Elf’s seal.

X had always kept the man as far from him as he could, but there was only so much he could do.

“I see...and this couldn’t wait until the morning? I’m aware of the good doctor’s rapport for diligent work, but I ask that the evenings be saved for myself.” 

X chided as professionally as he could. God how he hated this.

“My apologies, I was aware of your...nightly activities, but I felt that this should be brought to you immediately, seeing as how your duties have been shifted tomorrow so you can take lead patrol.” 

Weil dipped his odd, encapsulated head, his eerie grin piercing through what little remained of X’s comfort.

“I’m sorry, did you say my duties have been rearranged? Without any consultation with me? Forgive me Doctor, but you are aware of how dangerous it is for me to leave the city.” 

X grit his teeth to keep from yelling. His adopted way of speech driving him insane, he wanted to scream and shout about how absolutely ludicrous the idea was. 

Weil only shrugged, dipping his head again.

“Forgive me, Master X, but the decision is final. We feel it would be best if you protect the salvage teams tomorrow from any..stray threats.” 

With that, the doctor bid X farewell, and left.

The android remained standing at his window, his uncomfortable armor pinching his “skin” and his back aching from remaining ramrod straight.

This didn’t feel right, everything in X’s being was screaming at him that this was wrong. The further he was from the Dark Elf, the more strain on the seal there was. For safekeeping, he had remained solely in the inner sanctums of Neo Arcadia, putting as little strain on the seal as possible.

But now, every day, the Council seemed to be pushing their luck, forcing X farther and farther away from Yggdrasil, with Weil always being the one to give the final push.

This seemed too far. Much too far, this was a risk that they shouldn’t take.

What X would do to have Zero here...to have anyone here...

Mega Man X inhaled sharply at the thought, his disastrous thoughts finally doing him in. He would do the patrol, if only to shut the Council up. Maybe then, he could get some rest.

He retrieved his helmet from the sill of his brooding window, placing it on his head and waiting for it to properly come online. The helmet was the thing least modified about his body, even with the addition of little wings on it, the one thing that had remained a constant, the azure metal comforting in a way he hadn’t had in a long, long time.

If he was to leave Neo Arcadia, and possibly get himself into a fight, then he needed to be fast, and accurate. This meant a trip to the shooting range.

With one final glance, he turned from the ocean, heading inwards into the sanctum to prepare for his first trip out of the city walls in years.

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

“I delivered the message. He has been informed of his schedule change, and is leading the first patrol out of Neo Arcadia. Be prepared, we have one shot at this.”

“Approximately how long until he reaches the agreed upon point?”

“It shouldn’t take him more than half a day, if the convoy keeps its speed.”

“Understood...and Doctor?”

“What is it?”

“Are you sure this is the right thing to do? Master X has been as diligent as he can be to help humans...are we sure this is what’s best?”

“X has been humanity’s protector for a very long time. Using the Dark Elf, we could finally give him the utopia he has strived his whole life for. We just need to break the seal.”

“Ah...understood sir, thank you. We will move forward with the plan.”

The line disconnected as the doctor smiled, his plans falling seamlessly into place.

Soon, Omega will return, and the Dark Elf with him. I can finally achieve what I have been striving for since the start of the Elf Wars.

Foolish X...I can’t wait to see your corpse...

[ao3feed-silverv]

Sour Switchblade

https://ift.tt/BwuLizY gonnausesome_cheese

by gonnausesome_cheese

Johnny Silverhand and (my) V because they're the romance that we all needed 🙏.. and because I'm Keanu Reeve's controversially young boyfriend fs

Words: 1369, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/M

Characters: Johnny Silverhand, V (Cyberpunk 2077)

Relationships: Johnny Silverhand/V, Johnny Silverhand & V, Johnny Silverhand/Original Female Character(s), Johnny Silverhand/Original Character(s)

Additional Tags: Slow Burn, Slow Build, Slow Romance, Smoking, Alcohol, Cyberpunk, Street Kid V (Cyberpunk 2077), Female V (Cyberpunk 2077), Cyberpunk 2077 Spoilers, Inspired by Cyberpunk 2077

from AO3 works tagged 'Johnny Silverhand/V' https://ift.tt/BwuLizY via IFTTT

[alexseanchai]

ain't givin' in till I get enough (1049 words) by AlexSeanchai

Chapters: 1/1

Fandom: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov

Characters: Victor Nikiforov, Katsuki Yuuri

Additional Tags: Pre-Canon, Victor Nikiforov is a Katsuki Yuuri Fan, Mutual Pining, Community: fan_flashworks, Community: fandom_empire, Community: ficlet_zone, Podfic Welcome

Summary:

Viktor Nikiforov 2014–15 Competition Programs

• SP: "Katie Wants A Fast One", Steve Wariner ft. Garth Brooks

• FS: "Standing Outside the Fire", Garth Brooks

• EX: "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)", Whitney Houston

Theme: Desire

('The River' is too sad and lonely a song for Viktor to want to skate to, however much it resonates. 'Where Your Road Leads' by Trisha Yearwood is not sad, exactly, but the problem is it's not lonely. There is probably a copyright issue with using the lyrics he transcribed from that video clip as his theme for the season, but fortunately there is a much more concise way to put it.)

[crimsonbluemoon]

The Four Fs: Chapter Four

It's here! The final chapter of "The Four F's" is up for your viewing pleasure. Please make sure to comment and let me know what your fav parts were. Thank you for the support!

More stories to come, as well! Pairing: DNF Rating: Ex Chapter: 4/4

[ghostofnibelheim]

//So as I suspected, the new FS chapter completely demolishes my headcanoned background surrounding Sephiroth and the Masamune.

I've been mulling over it for a while and I think for the sake of convenience I'll just scrap all the cross-over elements from my Four Seasons verse. That includes the chapters with Munakata (Glenn has more or less overtaken that role), as well as any involvement for Saruhiko and GLaDOS. It's a lot of scrapping, but to be fair I never got to do much with them anyway. I have maybe two threads with Saruhiko that I will be dropping.

Fuhito is not really a cross-over character, but considering how strongly reliant he was on those characters and their plots, he kinda loses interest to me without them, so his blog might be archived too.

Not sure what to do with Red XIII's side in the verse yet. He could still work without Fuhito's involvement. We'll see.

Saru-mun\\