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besiegedhunter · 1 year ago

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So Red will going to get an alter, but what type of operator do you think she will be?

(I also would like to hear your ideas about Crownslayer, Lappland and Demitri)

Gosh I'll take a crack at it but I can't say I'm good at this lol may be rambly/long however so I'll put it under the cut

I'll go under the assumption that Alters won't be the same class as they originally were, which makes it both easier and harder at the same time.

For instance! Lappland! Musha feels natural cause she's already using Eastern style swords but she likely won't cause she's already a guard.

Lappland:

I'll mention parts of Zaaro's boss kit as possible features for her regardless of whether it's something that can be attributed to her or not.

Ambusher Specialist: This is actually my personal favourite option for her and only thought of it today

Lappland's S1 has an inbuilt dodge as well as Zaaro having a 30% physical and arts damage reduction

Lappland has Silence built into her kit and Zaaro has a health draining mechanic, an aspd reduction mechanic and a bind of sorts (operators can't be retreated)

Lappland has notably strong arts that could very well be used in a Ambusher's range (with a lord's range already encompassing much of an ambusher's range) and the way in which her arts are mentioned to degrade could explain why as an ambusher it has short range, doesn't go far and is used in short bursts as well as her being a melee fighter why she'd prefer to attack enemies closer to her

Zaaro's abilities could be used her skills, with his roar ability used to apply debuffs with a short range, his ability to use shadows (via IS-10) to manifest shadow wolves or possibly more to increase the range and maybe add some features like attacks that hit the enemies even when they leave Lappland's range

Other ideas are:

Arts Protector Defender: If they want to keep her melee orientated and have her use arts they could go for this. Her S1 already makes her somewhat tanky (though dodge tank) and Shalem's kit I can imagine them upgrading for her kit (health drain sounds fun for her and will come up but moreso multi-targeting arts snakes that are similar to her S2)

Duelist Defender: Similar reasons as Arts Protector but having her focus more on dps, finding ways to ramp up some aspects of her kit (debuffs could be used like Eunectes S1. Dodging as a different way to tank) and incorporating arts into her kit as a different way to deal damage rather than being a stat stick. As well as just being fitting name wise

Only thing with either of these is the idea of her using a shield cause idk what would be used (though with Leithania and Siracusa's relationship the idea of incorporating something like Czerny's piano or an actual sundial sounds fun). Like I like the mental image of her design being less sleek and more built up in the way that Texas Alter's swords are so huge and it's a thing for Duelist Defenders that she can keep her base look somewhat intact while still being a Defender

But one idea that... is an idea is having Zaaro as a shield. Like him just standing next to her, using his 30% damage reduction to tank hits while Lappland herself focuses more on dishing out damage with some help of Zaaro but that's a crack thought if ever I've thought of one.

Hexer Supporter: Again on the idea of her inflicting debuffs and using arts. I can imagine Zaaro working like Morte or Skadi Alter's seaborn. In fact I'd see it as a 6* version of Shamare like how Gnosis shares a lot of elements with Pramanix.

Mech-Accord Caster: Her S2 already has multiple projectiles and between her own arts, the possibly use of shadow wolves and Zaaro himself this could be a fun idea. Specifically I have that one cg of Zaaro in a smoke like form in my head or how Lappland's arts and E2 portraying wolves similar would work as a drone (just that as the drone they'd be attacking not with their own projectiles)

Incantation Medic: This is purely for my own entertainment (and cause I had this thought before Reed Alter) but the idea of Lappland being a ranged Musha, maybe incorporating a Geek Specialist/Fiammetta mechanic or incorporating a Warfaring S2 or even a Kal'tsit Mon3tr with her and Zaaro just sounds fun to work with.

Demetri:

Trapper Specialist: So it's curious because I feel this is the one I'm most sold on but it's really mainly based on similarities with Robin aka the case he has with him and the knife which I can't picture him as a melee unit with it.

Also in Il Siracusano he's close to Vigil (also ranged), has a more intelligence based role in the Bellone family (Consigliere) and an unassuming cover (Bartender) and appears to not be that much of a fighter as he doesn't dare to fight Lappland and loses to Wallach.

Which very much gives him the impression of someone who'd rather fight smart and use what's to his advantage as opposed to through strength or firepower (such as Vigil having to save him).

I also quickly read up and Demetri is the one who set up a car bomb and attempted to assassinate Penance and is frequently scheming. Which, isn't necessarily indicative of a Trapper but is him... setting traps and ambushes... so I think it works lol

Agent Vanguard: This is for a lot of reasons as the above, with him scheming and ambushing but it's also that if his knife is to be used as a melee weapon that it'd fit a Agent AND right? The Executor sign on him. What if he was intended to be an Executor but they ended up repurposing him into an Agent instead since they share similar mechanics.

Crownslayer:

So Demetri is the one I'm the most confident about whereas Crownslayer is the one I'm the least. Mostly because the two archetypes I thought would be best for her I really doubt now.

Those being Swordmaster Guard, because of her weapon of choice and the anime depicting her throwing knives which give me the image of Cutter and the Ch'en's own S2.

And Pioneer Vanguard, because she's acted as the Vanguard of Reunion and her frequency as a boss feels like a good translation into how Vanguards are what you deploy first and her smoke ability feels like Flametail's S2...

But yeah. There's already three of those.

And I don't rightly know what else she could be without saying that she will be a archetype that we already got recently. Not unless she's an Agent or some strange Charger Vanguard. I don't think she has the physical defense or fits as a Duelist Defender either.

So really lost for her.

And now:

Projekt Red:

With her there's less to work with than Lappland, nothing so concrete as to Demetri but a good image as opposed to Crownslayer. Like honestly I think Red could fit for a lot of things and I have a preference for what she'd be that other things are pushing me towards, though that's not to say I don't have other ideas.

Musha: This is my current choice because I think that the aspd buff, the penchant for lane holding/working on their own and survivability rather works with what we know of Red.

She's got an Outstanding in mobility and is noted as having a concise and brutal fighting style.

She's noted as being a Lone Wolf alongside Skadi. Her current archetype being meant for assassinating and working on it's own, as well as Fangs in general working on their own and in fact not allowed to work with others.

I also think that Red having dodge could work as it's survivability and similar to how Noir Corne Rathalos works with his two skills.

And even like Utage has a helidrop skill that would work with Red's base kit like how Specter Alter's S2 and S3 share features with her base as well as Gavial's S1 and others.

Also Red is rather squishy and Musha's have rather low def in exchange for high health and tenacity and I think that it just works with Red's lone wolf, fierce and fast nature as a fighter.

Could also make a point about Hellagur having an Outstanding in Combat Skill as well as Red but I can't picture her as anything other than a guard because of how good of a fighter is, how she's supposed to be able to hold her ground but also how she's not the most defensive character.

Only thing about Mushas is that I can't picture her with a Higashi sword and that honestly feels like a prerequisite if not having to be or know a Higashi character.

But I think that's dumb and want to see the mechanics of any class not be restricted to having to include certain design features.

Anyway, I could also picture her as an Agent (though I think it's too similar to her current kit) or a Duelist Defender due to it's... Duelist nature. And maybe certain Sniper classes, though I do hope that she is a melee unit just cause her module defines her as someone who doesn't try new things and I doubt Grandma taught her how to use many things.

...

Realizing now how biased I am regarding Red's archetype. I'll probably be wrong but I do think it ticks a lot of boxes lol anyway there's that. I might've rushed it at the end of Red's cause I've yet to do a ton of things but I hope this is good enough!

#asks

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alterhumanthings · 2 years ago

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Some Deitykin Memories 7

I said before that most gods didn't like me, and while I still remember this being the case, it wasn't true of everyone. I had a couple of close relationships with gods, and some with other deities, as well. I'll just put the god ones here, since they're the most clear.

These memories are hazy, but I enjoy remembering what I can. I don't remember anyone's names, by the way, so I've just made nicknames for them all.

Yellow

Yellow looked like a satyr, and while his lower half was covered in brown fur, the hair on his head was blonde, if it even was hair (sometimes my memories show it as fire or pure light).

Because of this, I think he had some sort of fire powers or sun/light powers. I also remember that he had some dominion over an art of fighting (something to do with swords??)

I believe that Yellow and I became close over the years, but our relationship didn't start off friendly. He was a prankster, and he picked me as a target for said pranks the few times I went to god/deity meet-ups.

I ignored it the first few times, but one day he literally pounced on me while I was leaving a meeting. He did it while I was walking through the forest, I hadn't sensed him (which was terrifying), and I freaked out, thinking someone had attacked me with ill intent.

I tried to swipe at him with my claws, but he was a fighter by dominion, and easily avoided them. That wounded my pride, if I'm being honest. Anyway, he reared back and laughed at me for "getting scared."

Juvenile stuff. I'm not certain, but I think he'd only been born a century or two before this, making him a rather young god, so it made sense, but I still found it annoying.

This was an escalation, and I was so peeved I decided to chase him. I wasn't going to hurt him, just scare him so he would leave me be in the future. But of course that didn't work. He turned it into a game of both hide-and-seek and tag. He was good at hiding. Better than I was at finding, certainly, but eventually I thought that he had run away for good because I really couldn't find him.

I wasn't used to being truly angry, and it had worn me out. I sat down to rest under one of the trees and just enjoyed the peace and quiet for a while. But then Yellow came back.

By that point, I was too tired to be that annoyed, especially since he'd brought food with him. Some type of reddish-yellow fruit that was both sour and sweet. It was a peace offering of sorts. I accepted, mainly because I loved food even though I didn’t need to eat it, and so we ate together quietly for a while.

That was the first interaction that ended on a somewhat high note. It must have gotten better from there, but all I have right now are small snippets.

I remember trying to bite him with the intent of actual harm this time but missing anyway because he was too fast. Why? I have no idea.

I swiped at him with my claws another time, only to have him Yellow laugh again and dance away, unafraid, just teasing me.

I have various memories of him ambushing me with hugs, and my reactions ranging from annoyed to uninterested to happy.

I remember resting on top of him. We were lying on the grass and the sun was warm on my back. He nuzzled my cheek like he'd done in a thousand times before, and even though I didn't have a mouth at the time, I did the equivalent of a smile.

This ones's especially fuzzy, but I remember a possible kiss at some point, as well. I don’t know if our relationship was romantic or platonic or in an in-between space that the human culture I live in now doesn’t have a name for, but I know I grew to enjoy his presence very much.

Wherever he is, I hope he's doing well.

#deitykin memories #deitykin #past life memories

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heylinhenchman · 1 year ago

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BACK INTO THE BALDY GATE w @oflostinfound

Oh it gets a little lengthy now cause we hit plot points and my brain is feeling wordy. Last weeks game.

We last left off at the goblin camp and of course Jurge had to make business with the locals before they got down to the dirty business. Not that trading with the Zhentarim or chats with Abidirak are any less dirty than goblin slaying.

Got Lovitars Blessing. Nearly lost it... as you will come to hear--

Lae'zel and Jurge having a little fling. Jurge considers it more friends-with-benefits than anything else, even if it's a step above what Lae'zel would call it (just satisfying her needs). She is his fighter levels trainer after all, he gets that kinda stuff just stirs that sort of emotion at times. And, hoo, she can lead and he can follow no problem. (anybody who can't gauge exactly what they're up to when they leave camp, get's an excuse of 'extra training').

While doing camp business, Eath ran off and looted the place, much to Jurges surprised & approval. He then also assisted in the looting of the smokebarrel room, giving Eath MAD LEAPS (increased jump distance). Only after knocking out Priestess Gut of course, who Jurge then, also killed while knocked out and Eath wasn't looking. Because that's what they came there to DO is all...

Checked the back room, convinced the guard to let him do as he pleased for a time, discovered some routes, but decided to come back.... later--

Jurges blows up goblin children saving Halsin (and relishes it). And aye Halsins not mad we killed the druids,,, good to know. Minthara was a cinch, though the camp was aggro'd in the lack of consideration for the War Drums (oops). But Eath had a pLAN for Ragzlin.... Which, didn't work out but like, Jurge admires the eFFORT.

A battle atop the rafters was like nothin I've ever played before, I'd never seen Ragzlin also get up there. There was grease, oil, explosions, but rare be it anyone was flung below! Lae'zel rally spams Shadowheart, Shadowheart tanks blows, Jurge uses the lack of attention to assist Eaf in attackin--

Eventually we got em all. Oh but THEN---

Outside it was time for: THE BOYS. THE OGRES. At LAST. Time to USE THEM. But-- Jurge rushed outside and Eaf did not follow. Splitting the party, a cardinal sin. And IT PAID THE BLOOD PRICE. Nearly the whole team wiped, and when Eaf uses Withers to bring us back ah--- loviatars grace is gone. THIS CANNOT STAND. I likey my evil goddess buff.

Reloads. First of the Game.

This time Eath has a sense about stopping Jurge before he runs out. They should camp first, truly. Then ambush the camp from another angle. Lae'zel may whinge, but Jurge is down for a plan if it means he's not going to get As Hurt. This time they attack from the front of the camp, taking secret routes yet unknown to me. THIS TIME, Jack manages to be flanked by The Boys and the camp takedown goes much smoother.

For some reason the bald human true soul guy is just... running back and forth. Jurge thinks he must'a had too much to drink. Jurge is, incredibly disappointed one of The Boys died in battle, but not All-- for they charge him a steep penny to keep them on his side. Hopefully their next summon will end a bit more gruesomely...

Surprise Surprise: Halsin, still isn't mad about the druid slaying? We still get to have a party? Feels bitter sweet. Jurge isn't complaining though. Not like a certain vampire baby.

Made Astarion beg for Jurges 'fun' company before turning him down & got a dual approve-disapprove from Astarion. Fascinating.

Now with the goblin path cleared and Jurge continually looked toward as someone who will violently pull party reigns in a certain direction--- Lae'zel is giving him some serious side eye for saying he wants to take a trip into the underdark. After for so long being on her side about getting to the creche asap.

But Jurge says he can manage the underdark, and they've got double the missions for the detour: One to find some sussr blossoms; two to find this short cut to moonrise. Though he has some of his own priorities thrown in under the table: Finding some noblestalk and maybe the Zhentarim again (if it takes another overground detour though, he'll need better excuses for Lae'zel or... he'll just hang out with Astarion for a bit).

Down they descended into the Underdark from the Goblins Camp, into a powered up Selune Temple. Letting a Minotaur fry itself on the bars (Jurge: mmmmm jerky...), was surprised to learn via Eath once more that: You can STOP THE TRAP? I didn't know that. So much safer than just running through. Of course they did not leave the temple that night, nay, for that's end of the round. Camping in the temple for a quick rest.

IC Round 3 Goals: Find Sussr Blossoms; Find Noblestalk; Find Zhentarim; Hang out with Astarion; Resist Any Other Side Quests besides the ones HeeEEEe Wanted to go on (selfish) unless he's gonna profit; Avoid Lae'zels DisApproval; MaKE MORE SPEED POTIONS OOC Round 3 Goals: OH DEF FIND THE MYCONIDS. Start collecting boxes (they make good pathway blockage in the underdark). Grymforge DIRECTIONS at lEAST. Maybe the Icy Staff. Maybe. I was originally like 'dual wielding is just infinitely based' but now im like 'but yeah Jurge is a pole arm kinda guy, quarter staffs or halberds cmon--' Respec Jack so he is Fighter First & Wizard Second (cause multiclassing only counts secondary classes subclass features not the class features iSNT THAT WILD I want jack to hav armor)

#ooc.exe #bg3 spoilers (maybe)#[*rumbles* battles vs rp decisions make it all feel a lil 'this and then this and then this'#[yet still gave me sOME to talk about #[finally postin this fiinnee feasting day *neighbors dropped off food its delicious*#[im mostly invested in: THE BOYS. EATH GETTING THROWN FROM THE RAFTERS BY RAGZLIN. JURGE FINDING THE SMELL OF BURNING FLESH TASTY.#[also he lOVES SPEED POTIONS #[WHEWH #.[ ;w ; im livin

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egittae · 2 months ago

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For a professor of the Abyss, with no official contract tying him to the Church, it was rather often that Lambert found himself being asked for favors or help. He didn’t keep his presence a secret, instead going out of his way to communicate with the cardinals and other monastery authority that crossed the bridge separating the Abyss and the Ashen Wolves from the surface and the Academy for the sake of good relations. It was the institution’s good will that allowed those of the underground town to lead their anonymous, hidden lives while evading authorities’ hawk-like gazes.

But said requests were sometimes odd- case in point, the situation at hand. Fine, perhaps it made sense for the cardinals to have gotten out of their way to ask for his help considering what they would be handling. A shipment of sorcery material, in particular a number of staves that possessed bizarre magic never before studied. While Lambert was far from a reliable mage- if anything he was the opposite, he was still a man of the Abyss which meant he had access to information monks and scholars did not

“Aha, I have my own source of information, my boy! Though if I am being fully honest, I am not so sure either.” Lambert spared a glance to the young prince, the edges of his eyes softening. “I may not be well versed in magic, but many within the Abyss possess knowledge in all sorts of odd incantations and magic still unknown to us. Before we left I did try to ask some for information, but even then most seemed to not know exactly what the cardinals spoke about.” In the end, he sighed. “For this information to not have reached the Abyss…it is a tad odd, I will say.”

Leaves and twigs crunched under armored boots, his steps a steady gait as the duo continued to make their way through the woods. Where in any other day Lambert would’ve happily appreciated the forest’s silence, right now something about it felt oppressive instead. It was far too quiet, as if life around them chose to hide from an unseen predator prowling the area in hopes of escaping its eye. While the professor’s stance seemed calm and leveled, there was no doubt his attention was split.

After all, he wasn’t alone here. Dimitri may be a ferocious fighter and definitely strong enough to defend himself, but he was still the Kingdom’s sole heir.

And above all, his son.

While apprehension sat behind the composed ice of his eyes, Lambert smiled softly at the boy. “We both lack proper education in magic…I am particularly disastrous in it if I must admit, but I am sure we should be able to figure this one out. Let us just remain calm and focuse- oh, is that it?”

A box sitting in a glade, just as he had been all those moons ago? Just like that?

Blond brows pinched into a frown as Lambert remained still for a moment, watching not only the box but the area surrounding it for possible ambushes or traps- his search leading to nothing in particular. “...the area is empty, but we should remain alert regardless. This is…strange, to say the least.” For a box like this to be left alone even by thieves, then it meant something especially troublesome could be in there. That, or perhaps they just didn’t have a grasp of the items’ value.

Lifting the lid and cloth used for padding, the professor found…well, staves. Perfectly aligned, intact.

“This should be it, I believe.” No papers nor tomes detailing the staves’ characteristics, nothing. "Careful."

@blaiddllodi

hic sunt leones.

#hic sunt leones thread #[support] dimitri

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genshingorlsrevengeance · 2 years ago

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Ayaka with a Majima-esque S/O

Love these character asks! I'm throwing in Ayaka, because like Eula and Belmont, Lumine and Dracula, she's getting the all star treatment!

Though unlike them, I'll be giving you what Yakuza 0 gave Majima fans. PAIN.

This will be Part 1 of 2 since i only have the energy to write Ayaka tonight.

Post edit note: THIS TOOK 3 AND HALF HOURS HOLY SHIT

Honestly, dealing with the insane antics of her S/O is something she's grown accustomed to.

S/O causes all sorts of talk around the city due to their eccentric personality, becoming known as "The Mad Dog of Inazuma".

For example, always wanting to pick a fight with Itto in the most absurd way possible.

They have, to her knowledge, popped out of a barrel, dropped from a roof, used the Traveler's glider, and jumped out of alleys.

And whenever they sang the entire estate could hear their screeching, they weren't good at singing and they couldn't care at all.

And Archons help any Treasure Hoarder or anyone foolish enough to fight them.

The speeds of how fast they dashed past people with their knife was startling for a Visionless fighter. She wasn't even sure her vision could stand a chance if they took fights seriously.

One of the most memorable encounters in recent memory was Yae hiring S/O to ambush the Traveler and Paimon for a joke.

Ayaka could hear their voice only, which she couldn't deny was pretty funny.

(S/O) "AETHER-CHAN!"

(Aether) "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH-"

Yet despite all of this, that wasn't what Ayaka knew S/O as. It was who they were before that she remembered the most.

===

S/O first met Ayaka when they were on the run from the authorities and bandits alike.

They had stolen supplies, though the purpose was unknown.

Ayaka had pursued after the thief in order to bring them to justice, and found them entering some ruins in the middle of nowhere.

She walked in with her katana drawn, ready to arrest them before seeing a woman alongside them, huddled in a corner.

(Ayaka) "You there, what are you doing with that woman?"

(S/O) "Oh, I do not have time for this shit!"

Immediately getting into stance, they were completely unarmed and got in front of the girl as she backed up as far as she could.

Ayaka frowned and reached for her sword before the first swing was made.

Their punch was sloppy, going in a straight line for the head.

(Ayaka) Too easy.

Ayaka stepped to the side and reached for her sword before they suddenly pulled away and their foot hit the top of her chest.

She flew back a short distance and out of the ruins, completely caught off guard by their feint.

When Ayaka stood back up, she realized how hyper-focused their eyes seemed to be. Clearly they were no stranger to fighting.

She kept her distance and reached for her hilt again, ready to strike before they ran in.

As she drew it out, they slid underneath her swipe and struck with an open palm under her chin.

They spun around and struck with their hind leg as it shot straight up, kicking her into the ground again.

Quickly recovering from the fall, she disappeared into an icy mist and moved behind them.

Ayaka reappeared as her sword struck their back, staggering them as they fell onto the ground.

(Ayaka) "You are a skilled fighter, that much I will admit. But there should be no further need of violence, please surre-"

(S/O) "Shut...up!"

They got up, albeit slowly and tried their best to ignore their wounds.

(S/O) "You're not taking her, so tell the Treasure Hoarders to FUCK OFF!"

(Ayaka) "...Wait, what? Treasure Hoarders?"

(S/O) "You're...not with them?"

(Ayaka) "Of course not! I am Kamisato Ayaka, and I am taking you in for theft of my family's-"

(Woman) "S/O!"

The woman stumbled out the ruins and turned to Ayaka.

(Woman) "S-Sorry, I didn't mean to steal from you!"

(S/O) "Eh? The hell you mean you? You weren't even there!"

(Woman) "B-But you went there because of me...I-If you're with the authorities, then please!-"

(S/O) "Makoto, they can't help us! We can't trust any-"

An arrow hit the side of the wall, making all three of them look up in surprise, S/O immediately jumping in front of the woman named Makoto.

(Treasure Hoarder) "S/O! Hand over the girl. You don't want to betray the boss-"

(S/O) "Boss can kiss my ass! Hey, Kamisato!"

Ayaka turned to face them.

(S/O) "If you're a good cop, then help me out here! I can explain later!"

(Ayaka) "Ready."

Deciding to help out these two then ask questions, they both quickly dispatched of every bandit after them.

Getting them to rout, S/O took a deep breath.

(S/O) "Thanks."

Makoto came out the door and began patching S/O up, making her confused.

(Ayaka) "What in the world is happening here?"

(S/O) "Mind if we go somewhere safer? This place got compromised cause of you...No offense."

(Ayaka) "Yes, I do suppose that is my fault...Makoto, is this man/woman holding you against your will?"

Makoto shook her head.

(Makoto) "No, they're the reason I'm still alive...!"

(Ayaka) "Very well, let us return to the Kamisato Estate. I would like to hear your full story.

And so, Ayaka was told a full explanation of what had happened with these two.

S/O was part of a crime group in Inazuma, though they made a deal with Treasure Hoarders.

Both groups collaborated to seek out a girl by the name of "Makimura Makoto" due to her supposed knowledge of an empty lot in Inazuma City with billions of mora hid there. They had been working undercover for years and now came close to reaching it.

Though when it was revealed that was in fact a lie, the Treasure Hoarders wanted revenge on the woman for wasting years of their lives on a wild goose chase.

As a gesture of good faith, the crime group S/O had been part of sent them to kill Makoto.

But they went against their orders, and went on the run with Makoto.

Their first approach was go to Inazuman authorities, but their group had corrupted officers working in the Tenryou Commission, and so they couldn't trust anyone.

Which led to S/O stealing supplies so they could survive, which now brought them here.

(Ayaka) "That would explain why some of the officers wanted you desperately..."

(S/O) "Yeah. Gotta say even though we roughed each other up, you're the first person I've met that's actually not an asshole."

Ayaka was slightly taken aback by their cursing, but she couldn't exactly blame them, considering their background and the circumstances.

They turned to Makoto, who was sleeping in a futon nearby.

(S/O) "...Poor girl's been exhausted. We've barely caught a wink of sleep since we had to keep moving."

(Ayaka) "How long have you two been on the run?"

(S/O) "Two weeks now. Though we gotta keep moving, they'll find out we're here eventually."

Ayaka now had gotten a better look at them.

They were dressed in a rather fancy-looking black suit with a white shirt.

It looked a bit too formal, considering they're a career criminal.

(S/O) "You keep staring at me. What is it?"

(Ayaka) "O-Oh. Nothing. By the way, if I may ask, where did you learn how to fight?"

(S/O) "...Just picked it up on the street. Came naturally."

Noting their reluctance to speak, she stopped pressing them.

(Ayaka) "Then I should let you rest. We can talk more in the morning."

S/O bowed before standing up, taking another look at Makoto, then leaving the room.

The next morning, Ayaka woke up early to check in on the two.

Makoto was still sleeping soundly, and managed to catch S/O on the way out.

(Ayaka) "S/O? Where are you going?"

(S/O) "I need to find a way for Makoto to get the hell out of Inazuma. They won't stop until they have her head."

(Ayaka) "What about the corrupt officers? The Hoarders and the-"

(S/O) "The hell makes you think I can do anything about that? Listen, I appreciate your help, but-"

(Ayaka) "I am the daughter of the Yashiro Commission, I'm sure that I can get the right people to help."

(S/O) "...Sure. But as long as I'm here, Makoto will never be safe. The moment she's out of here, I don't gotta hold back."

Ayaka was shocked by the man/woman's determination to get Makoto out of harm's way.

(Ayaka) "Is...Makoto someone important to you?"

(S/O) "Nah, it ain't nothing like that. Just isn't right to get a civilian mixed up in our shit."

(Ayaka) "That is surprisingly honorable, coming from a criminal."

S/O raised an eyebrow.

(Ayaka) "O-Oh, my apologies. I didn't mean to-"

(S/O) "Ah, just shut yer yap, I know what you mean."

Now it was Ayaka's turn to raise an eyebrow.

(S/O) "Alright, fine. Come along if you want to. You're sure she's safe here, though?"

(Ayaka) "Of course, I have my best man on the job, Thoma."

(S/O) "Guess I'll take your lead then."

Throughout the next few weeks, the two had begun an investigation looking into S/O's group, the Treasure Hoarders, and the corrupt officers.

It was a long, painful process with fights breaking out left and right, but the two had each other's back.

And every night, they came back to the estate with Makoto waiting for them.

(Makoto) "Are you two alright?!"

(Ayaka) "Nothing but a few scrapes and bruises, but we're okay."

(S/O) "Psh, speak for yourself! I got that guy's pole practically up my ass!"

Makoto laughed, putting the two at ease.

(Makoto) "Miss Kamisato, thank you so much for helping us again."

(Ayaka) "Please, just call me Ayaka."

(S/O) "Eh? Why the hell do I gotta keep calling you Miss Kamisato for?"

Ayaka simply gave them a smile, making S/O roll their eyes.

Over the course of the next week, S/O and Ayaka went through hell and high water to bring those responsible for the attacks on Makoto to justice.

S/O especially had endured beratings from all sides, from the officers, to their former gang members, to even citizens when the two strolled through the city.

Getting called things like 'Thug' and 'Degenerate', everyone scouring them due to bringing misfortune and misery to Ayaka.

But they let the insults and injuries roll off, they didn't care as long as Makoto was safe.

Ayaka had grown increasingly concerned for their well being. Sure, Makoto's safety was important, but S/O's was just as important as everyone else's.

Why didn't they see that too?

...

(Makoto) "Is S/O alright?"

(Ayaka) "They're sleeping in the other room. As far as I know, yes."

(Makoto) "It's just...over the time I've gotten to know them, they didn't seem to care much for themselves. They prioritized taking care of me before anyone else."

(Ayaka) "Hm, that seems to be right."

(Makoto) "Lately, that's changed."

(Ayaka) "Huh?"

(Makoto) "Actually, I think it's because of you. S/O comes in to speak with me when you aren't here, and complains how you're always nagging them when you're in the city."

Ayaka and Makoto giggled.

(Ayaka) "That sounds like them. Though, what do you mean by change?"

(Makoto) "Well they've actually been taking care of themselves. They're a lot more calm than angry, they've ate properly and got good enough rest! Well as much as you can in a situation like this anyway."

(Ayaka) "I'm glad to have had a positive influence then."

(Makoto) "I was worried they felt responsible for what happened to me, and they were gonna get themselves killed. But now, I don't have to worry. They've gotten better because of you."

(Ayaka) "I...I did that?"

...

On night they managed to catch a break with nothing to do, so S/O and Ayaka strolled by a Takiyoki stand.

The exhaustion had taken its toll on her, S/O noticing that, they decided to grab a treat before heading back to the Estate.

An older woman was behind the stand, giving the two a nod of acknowledgement.

(Woman) "Ah, Miss Kamisato! And the so called troublemaker for said lady."

(S/O) "Can't deny that I guess. Three please."

(Woman) "Coming right up."

S/O noticed Ayaka hadn't said anything yet, and realized her eyes looked heavy.

They turned back to the woman and shrugged.

(S/O) "Quick, yeah?"

(Woman) "Okay, okay."

A sakura petal had drifted onto her hair, and yet she hadn't noticed.

(S/O) "Hey, hold still."

Ayaka froze when she felt their hand run through her head.

They took out the petal gently and put a hand on her shoulder.

(S/O) "You alright?"

(Ayaka) "Fine. Thank you."

S/O smiled when she saw her relax, even if it was just a little.

(Woman) "Such a gentleman!"

S/O grumbled, though it was loud enough for everyone to hear.

(S/O) "Yeah right..."

(Woman) "He/She's a keeper, huh?"

S/O's eyes widened as they turned to the woman. Their voice sounded more panicked than they would've liked.

(S/O) "Less talk, more cookin', lady!"

(Ayaka) "They are a keeper."

They turned surprised to Ayaka, who smiled as she spoke about them.

(Ayaka) "They've gone through terrible things for the sake of a friend, yet he/she's still trying to help. If not for them, they would've never made it this far...and neither would I."

S/O was left speechless, both of them remaining silent for just a moment before Ayaka interrupted herself.

(Ayaka) "A-Ah, I bet they're delicious! They smell amazing!"

(Woman) "Don't they? I tell you what sweetheart, I'll throw an extra one for free!"

(Ayaka) "Really, are you sure?!"

S/O said nothing else, as a smile slowly crept onto their lips, looking at Ayaka.

...

The next night, tragedy struck.

After growing desperate enough due to the efforts of S/O and Ayaka bearing fruit, the Treasure Hoarders and S/O's former group raided the Estate.

Makoto was found bleeding out on the floor, and was taken by those still standing to find medical attention immediately.

Thoma and the others were left injured, leaving Ayaka and S/O the only ones to pursue.

S/O fuming with rage grabbed a dagger on the floor and marched out, Ayaka trying to stop them.

(Ayaka) "S/O stop, we need to come up with a plan!"

(S/O) "Yeah, I got one: KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF THOSE FUCKERS!"

Pushing her to the side they kept walking as Ayaka tried to stop them one more time.

(Ayaka) "Please, just listen to me!"

(S/O) "Everyone here got hurt because of me! They only want Makoto and I, they don't care about you all!"

(Ayaka) "What, am I supposed to leave you by yourself to fight all of them?!"

(S/O) "YES! I always have been by myself because of exactly this shit! Makoto might be dead because of me, and I'll be damned if you get killed cause of me too!"

Seeing the anger and sadness in their eyes, Ayaka said nothing.

But her worried expression is what somewhat calmed S/O down.

(S/O) "...Besides. Someone needs to make sure if I fail, they're brought down. If I'm not back by sunrise, send in the cavalry."

Ayaka would never forget the expression in their eyes as they left for their last holdout.

It was the look of a mad dog, ready to be unleashed.

...

The gates of the fort swung wide open as several bodies came flying through it.

The guards came rushing down to see what had happened. Though no one was dead, they were heavily injured with gashes and cuts all over.

And at almost blinding speeds, they saw a dark-dressed figure leap past them, tackling one of them to the floor as a boot was planted firmly into their face.

(S/O) "Like roaches to the slaughter...IT'LL TAKE MORE THAN FEW BUGS TO STOP ME!"

(Guard) "T-The hell's wrong with them?!"

(Guard 2) "They've got a screw loose!"

(Guard 3) "Shut up, there's over twenty of us and one of them! KILL HIM/HER!"

(S/O) "GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

...

The sun had begun to rise, Ayaka was ready to leave after S/O.

Until she saw a distant figure come walking back.

She held a hand to her mouth as they were covered in blood.

Whether or not it was all theirs or other's, she wasn't sure.

(S/O) "...They won't be going anywhere anytime soon. Make sure, they pay..."

Finally collapsing onto the floor, several guards from both the Yashiro and Tenyrou Commission were dispatched to arrest the attackers.

The news of what S/O had done singlehandedly spread like wildfire throughout Inazuma.

One of the most well known crime syndicates and Treasure Hoarders operating in the area was brought down to its knees by a single maniac.

The credit went all to Ayaka and her estate for bravely repelling the invaders, with S/O not mentioned once, though everyone knew the real story.

It wasn't fair to Ayaka in the slightest, but she couldn't say anything. Not without endangering S/O and hurting her family.

So in the end, she chose to remain silent about the truth everybody knew, and had to make S/O's reputation suffer further.

Luckily, S/O and Ayaka received news that Makoto had regained consciousness, and the two went to visit her.

(Doctor) "While she will make a full recovery-"

(S/O) "That's all I need to hear, hey, Makoto!"

S/O slightly pushing the doctor aside, Ayaka bowed as an apology and joined S/O.

Makoto was on a bed and her eyes widened seeing the two approaching her.

(S/O) "Makoto, are you alright? Thank the Archons you're up and awake now!"

(Makoto) "..."

(Ayaka) "...Makoto?"

(Makoto) "I-I'm sorry...who are you?"

(S/O) "...W-What? S/O and Ayaka. You...y-you don't-"

(Makoto) "I'm very sorry, I don't recognize those names."

S/O and Ayaka's hearts dropped when they realized the eyes that looked at them was that of a stranger's.

She had no idea who they were.

(Doctor) "If I can borrow you for a moment? Sorry, we'll be right back."

Makoto nodded, but looked worried at S/O, the color leaving their skin.

Exiting the room, the doctor continued.

(Doctor) "She appears to have suffered trauma based amnesia from the shock of the attack. I...I do not know if she will recover."

Ayaka turned to S/O who's mouth was nearly wide open, not sure what to say.

After a moment of silence, S/O spoke up.

(S/O) "Will they make a full recovery? Physically, I mean."

(Doctor) "Yes. Within a few months I should say."

(S/O) "...Good. I gotta do something, so see her to the estate for me, Ayaka."

S/O walked away before Ayaka chased after them.

(Ayaka) "S/O."

(S/O) "Don't...Don't say anything right now Ayaka. I just need to be alone for a bit.-"

Ayaka ignored them and pulled them into a hug.

S/O stood still before accepting her hug, both of them not saying a word.

Ayaka let go and was beginning to tear up, while S/O tried their best to remain stoic, though the sadness was clear to see in their eyes.

(S/O) "...I'm still going through with my plan. Makoto can't stay in Inazuma. There's nothing left for her here but pain. And if she does stay, there's no telling if anyone else will go after her. The official report says Makoto dies, and we can get her out in peace."

(Ayaka) "But, what about you?"

(S/O) "...I've done my part. Let me see this to the end, please."

S/O wiped away the tears on Ayaka's face before walking to Tatsumi Island.

...

A week had passed and they managed to secure travel documents for her to travel to Liyue Harbor.

Ayaka, S/O, and a woman named "Haruka" walked to the docks as the boat prepared to take passengers.

(Ayaka) "Once again, I'd like to sincerely apologize for mistaking you for someone else."

(Haruka) "Oh, it's no trouble! But thank you so much for helping me get back on my feet!"

(Ayaka) "Anytime. It was a mistake on my part after all."

Haruka looked at S/O, but noticed they weren't looking at her.

(Haruka) "Um...will they be alright? I've noticed they haven't said anything this entire time."

(S/O) "..."

S/O shut their eyes when they heard her speak. Ayaka tried her best not to tear up.

(Ayaka) "Ah, don't worry. They're always like that. Have safe travels, alright?"

Haruka nodded and walked up to S/O, bowing.

(Haruka) "Ayaka said that you helped me a lot too. Thank you so much as well!"

(S/O) "...No problem."

Their voice was low as they turned away, making her giggle.

(Haruka) "No need to be shy."

(Captain) "We're taking off!"

(Haruka) "Oh, I have to go. Goodbye Ayaka, and S/O!"

Ayaka waved a sad goodbye as S/O walked away from the docks quietly without looking back.

As Haruka waved goodbye to S/O and Ayaka, she couldn't help but notice a pain in her chest.

...She must've been nervous from travelling overseas to live a new life.

...Right?

...

Ayaka walked up to S/O and she grabbed their hand.

(Ayaka) "Will you take a walk with me back to the Estate?"

(S/O) "...Sure."

Truth be told, she just didn't want to leave S/O alone.

At a time like this, being by yourself is the last thing anyone needs she thought.

She held onto their hand tightly as they walked to the Estate.

After a long duration of silence, S/O spoke up.

(S/O) "You don't gotta worry about me. As long as you and Makoto are safe and happy, then I've done my part."

(Ayaka) "And what about you? Don't you deserve to be happy too?"

(S/O) "...If it means getting others hurt, then no."

S/O let go of her hand and smiled wrly.

(S/O) "Besides, last thing we want is Miss Kamisato dating the "Mad Dog" right?"

Ayaka's eyes widened as tears began to well up.

(Ayaka) "...How long have you-"

(S/O) "About a month-ish ago. When we stayed up long in the night discussing our future. You kept mentioning me there with ya...Not exactly slick."

Ayaka laughed at herself as she put her head against their chest.

S/O raised her chin up and gently wiped away the tears with one hand.

(Ayaka) "At least let me do something about that nickname, I'll be sure to-"

S/O raised a hand and chuckled.

(S/O) "No. If they think I'm a mad dog, then let them. Besides..."

They looked up into the air.

(S/O) "Like I said before, now that Makoto's out of here, my job is done. I can now be whoever I want to be without fear of getting anyone hurt."

They turned to face her, sighing.

(S/O) "And that means you too."

(Ayaka) "Then...may I be selfish for just a few more moments? I'd like to show you something."

Ayaka took them to Chinju forest and performed a dance in the waters, S/O watching with a small smile.

It was probably the most beautiful thing they've seen...besides Ayaka, anyways.

When she finished her dance, her cryo vision shot small snowflakes into the air as the water formed into ice.

Ayaka gracefully stepped over to S/O and grabbed their shoulders gently.

The two looked at each other before pulling into a kiss, both of them staying connected for a long time.

S/O pushed Ayaka slowly away as the tears came rushing back.

(Ayaka) "...I don't want you to go, S/O."

(S/O) "It's for the best. If things settle down...I'll come back. I promise."

S/O held Ayaka's cheek with their hand for one last moment before walking away out of the forest, turning back only once.

(S/O) "See ya later, Ayaka."

Ayaka stood still as she watched them disappear into the horizon.

All of the pain they suffered, finally getting Makoto safe, and finding someone they loved.

S/O was rewarded with this?

Ayaka didn't move for another hour before returning to the Kamisato Estate by herself.

====

A month later, Ayaka began receiving news about the Mad Dog showing up on the streets, being a general nuisance but never causing any real trouble.

The most they ever got was fighting Itto for the hell of it, dressed like a weirdo with a leopard-pattern jacket and tacky pants.

The dagger they carried said to carry the souls of all who had wronged them in the assault prior, and now yearned to bathe in the blood of its enemies.

When Ayaka walked past them, a loud screech could be heard.

(S/O) "AYAKA-CHAN!"

Many of the guards surrounded her, fearing what this lunatic would do.

Meanwhile, Ayaka tried not to burst out laughing at their jokes.

But beneath the facade of a madman/woman, she knew how badly they were hurting.

And she was the only one who did.

#genshin impact headcanons #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact x reader #ayaka kamisato x reader #ayaka kamisato #ayaka kamisato x y/n #ayaka x y/n

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dndeed · 3 years ago

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Crit Role Miniature Rollout: C3E23 To the Skies

With Andrew Harshman

An archive and analysis of the minis used on CR.

Weregnome shenanigans, Great Orcish Bakeoff treats, skyships and skydiving, quite a variety of D&D activities going on in this Critical Role ep. And we got ourselves a new custom terrain set piece. @Minileed has done it again!

Fanfic authors, prepare to skyship your favorite characters, it’s time for Crit Role Miniature Rollout Campaign 3 Episode 23!

The List

Chest and Trove 5E Condition Rings

Mats by Mars: Badlands Tabletop Wargaming Play Mat

@Minileed Custom Sky Ship

Icons of the Realms: The Falling Star Sailing wheel

Arcknight Spell Effects

Axe N Shield Single Flyer Risers - Clear Mithril

LITKO Flying Figure Stands

Campaign 3 Party Minis Wizkids Sculpts

Waterdeep Dragon Heist #06a Merchant

Lords of Madness #06 Cloaker Ambusher

Eberron: Rising from the Last War #26 Cloaker

Fangs & Talons #14 Goliath Fighter

Critical Role Dwendalian Farmer

Tyranny of Dragons #34 Ballista

Icewind Dale Rime of the Frostmaiden #39 Avarice

Assorted scatter terrain

The Monsters

Skirath Hunter Lords of Madness #06 Cloaker Ambusher Mini images sourced from minisgallery.com

The texture sculpted into this model is impressive. All the scales and folds make this simple creature design a more interesting mini. I am quite curious about the monster this cloaker miniature represents, the skirath hunter. What’s their deal? Why are they attacking skyships? Were they maybe drawn to Bells Hells for some reason?

Skirath Hunter Eberron: Rising from the Last War #26 Cloaker

So I thought for sure this cloaker had cutesy lil’ trex arms holding lil’ daggers, but those are apparently mandibles are something. Furthermore, I’ve made another discovery, the name cloaker is very literal as these monsters have a false appearance ability to look like a literal cloak. What an incredibly specific ambush technique.

Next time you retrieve a jacket from your hallway closet, remember that a closet can be its own dungeon crawl. A one room, one combat 1x1 inch grid square dungeon crawl. No wait- the cloaker is a large creature, that wouldn’t even work. Since the cloaker is a 2x2 large creature, that means it measures approximately 10 by 10 feet in size! So like, they use their false appearance to look like a MASSIVE cloak? 10 by 10 feet, that’s not a cloak, that’s a circus tent. I gotta tell ya, I’m not so sure about this monster concept.

Moving onto the model itself. Not as much sculpt detail as the other cloaker, but the posing is quite good. The way the wings are arranged sells that billowy, floaty sort of vibe that I imagine a cloaker would have. The onscreen model looks a lot greener. Not sure if that’s the result of a repaint or of studio lighting.

The Nonplayer Characters

Xandis Icewind Dale Rime of the Frostmaiden #39 Avarice

This miniature paint job needs a few more colors. The character’s hair, head, and feather collar all just sorta blend together. I didn’t even realize this mini was of a tiefling at first. I thought they were a dragonborn or lizard folk. The color scheme is based directly on the NPC artwork from Rime of the Frost Maiden and I don’t think it translated well into Wizkids miniature form.

Gordi Fangs & Talons #14 Goliath Fighter

“Gordi the Goliath”, love the alliteration, don’t love the mini though. A bit of a wimpy looking goliath with a wimpy looking weapon. Aren’t goliaths supposed to be pretty hulking? This fella looks downright spindly by goliath standards. I dig the face markings though, that is very goliathy.

Terana Critical Role Dwendalian Farmer

Don’t be fooled by the pleasant exterior, this farmer mini is capable and ready to start the peasant revolt! A righteous model for certain. Super useful mini. Like how many villager prepainted minis are there? Not many. How many villager dwarf minis? Basically zero. And what’s even better, is that the farming implement looks vicious enough that this mini easily works as an adventurer mini. Solid paint and great sculpt to boot.

Khalil Benes Waterdeep Dragon Heist #006a Merchant

This model is back, having appeared last campaign as a denizen of Cognouza. Mighty fine merchant model. I like how this character is staring at the scroll in their hand as if to say, “What is this?” He needs a scroll of identify just to identify that scroll!

The Ballista

Ballista Tyranny of Dragons #34 Ballista Mini image sourced from minisgallery.com

Not the most baller of ballistae, but it’s basically bearable. The sculpt and casting mold is kinda lazy. The trigger portion is extra wide for no reason that I can think of other than for ease of manufacturing. And the scaffolding on the bottom should have space between the pieces of wood, but they are just filled in with plastic. Overall, fine for a piece of terrain I suppose.

Closing Thoughts and Predictions

So with a custom vehicle this impressive, I can only assume we will see this skyship again. Not the wildest of predictions. That being said, if this is the only session to feature this ship, I would have such respect for Critical Role and for Matt Mercer. Wow, what a power move that would be. Such a mini flex.

See ya next sesh!

#critroleminiaturerollout

#criticalroleminiaturerollout #critrole #cr #critroleminiaturerollout #crspoilers

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bitsandbobsofwriting · 4 years ago

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Merlin accidentally becomes Legolas/Katniss/Merida… you know the type;

He may be shitty at sword fighting, but Merlin begins to use a traditional bow and arrow and… actually becomes very good at it??

I imagine the first time he does it, it’s a complete fluke.

The five knights, The King, and Merlin are on their way back from yet another (frankly, ridiculous) quest.

They have been, of course, ambushed by a group of bandits, twenty to their six (six plus Merlin, though no one bar Lancelot knows about his magic, so he isn’t counted as a fighter). Though the knights outweigh them in skill, their sheer numbers makes it a… challenging, fight (meaning that they are winning, but far too slowly for their liking, and no one wants to admit it).

Now normally, Merlin hides behind a tree or in a ditch, and performs his spells quietly without being noticed, slowly helping and speeding up the fight. Except this time, the Gang was in the middle of a barren, open field, the bandits had disguised themselves with magic until the moment they attacked, and Merlin was right in the middle of all the action.

Everyone worried for his safety. There was nowhere for him to hide here, so they had to keep an eye on him, lest he get hurt (and Arthur sulked, or kicked off, depending on how badly he was hurt).

With nowhere to hide (and no branches to drop, or roots to trip people with), and one of the knights throwing a glance his way every ten seconds, he couldn’t use his magic.

He was currently on his hands and knees, Leon directly in front of him, Percival to his left, holding off four attackers between them (Merlin would marvel at how impressive that was if he weren’t otherwise preoccupied).

He keeps trying to get to Arthur, crawling between legs and over the groaning, injured bodies of bandits (he made a point to land sharp elbows and harsh knees into the more… sensitive areas), but with everyone moving around so rapidly, and the vicious swinging of swords and axes and maces inches above his head, he kept getting side-tracked and blocked and almost knocked out.

With a frustrated huff, he notices yet another bandit rounding on The King. Said huff turns into a pained gasp when he realises that Arthur hasn’t seen him yet.

The bandit raises his weapon in the air, seconds from bringing it down on Arthur’s back, but Leon is right there, and there are no branches to drop on him, and Arthur still hasn’t noticed!

The noise is too loud, grunts and yells and clashes of metal drowning out any sort of warning yell that Merlin could throw Arthur’s way, and he scrabbles around on the floor desperately; hands raking through sharp grass and over bloodied bodies as he stares in horror at the triumphant smirk on the future-King-killer’s face.

Time seems to slow (no magic, just adrenaline) as Merlin’s hands find purchase on a smooth, curved piece of wood. He picks it up without looking, at first intending to throw whatever it is as hard as he can in the bandits direction, before something (magic, instincts, periphery vision, who knows) tells him to look down.

He obeys, and widens his eyes as he sees the longbow gripped tightly in his right hand, and a stray arrow on the floor next to his left.

Merlin is no expert, only having actually hunted once or twice back home in Ealdor, when he was younger, but that was just enough knowledge for him to know roughly how to notch the arrow and fire. He pulls the two up quickly, a plan formulating in his head:

Step 1) Notch arrow.

Step 2) Close eyes.

Step 3) Magic? Hope?

Step 4) Come up with some sort of lie that explains how he managed to make the shot from sixty yards away, through a crowd.

Thankfully, it would appear that Merlin’s bad luck has given him a rest today; the first three steps go off without a hitch (the fourth will come a little later, when the battle is over), but he doesn’t have time to congratulate himself before he’s thrown into the fray, the bandits now obviously seeing him as some sort of threat.

Arthur finally defeats his own attackers, looking behind him in shock to see his unknown enemy lying on the floor, gurgling up blood and grasping weakly at the arrow through his neck. His head whips to the side, trying to find whoever had made the shot; his bewildered gaze meets Merlin’s for only a second before the servant is dragged to his feet, and promptly punched in the face.

He stumbles back and can just about hear Leon yell something from beside him but he pays it no mind, righting his balance once again and swinging his arm back, before bringing it down harshly on his newest attackers head. The resounding crack echoes over the field as the wood of the longbow splits in two on the bandit’s skull, and he drops like a sack of potatoes.

The fight doesn’t last much longer, each knight taking advantage of their enemies' fatigue, and Merlin using his now broken longbow to whack them in the shins or trip them up when they weren’t paying attention.

He was sad to see it broken, but two of his closest friends literally owned a blacksmith's, and he had easy access to the Castle’s armoury; he could get a hold of another one easily enough, as long as he survived the journey back home.

The battle finally came to a close. Everyone was exhausted, and each of them was sporting more than one hefty bruise, but they were all alive and there were no serious injuries, so they could be grateful for that. After Arthur had counted his men, and generally taken stock of things, he traipsed tiredly over to Merlin, who had abandoned his broken bow in favour of cleaning a still weeping cut on Elyan’s temple.

“Didn’t know you had it in you, Merlin.”

The servant ignores him at first, biting his lip in concentration as he carefully wipes the grime away from the wound. It was small, so an infection wouldn’t be too worrying, but it wouldn’t be comfortable and would make the scarring worse, so best to avoid it if at all possible. He hums in satisfaction as he leans back on his heels, Elyan gives him a grateful smile, and Merlin finally throws a glance Arthur’s way, before focusing back on threading the needle in his hands; it would only need two or three stitches, thankfully:

“Hmm. I'm not fond of hunting, but we had to for food back in Ealdor. Except we didn’t have fancy crossbows or hunting dogs, so we had to make do with hand-whittled longbows.”

Arthur nods, frowning slightly:

“Still, if I’d known you were that good, I would’ve demanded you had a bow of your own; that way us lot wouldn’t have to spend so much time making sure you don’t get yourself killed.”

Merlin smirked and quirked an eyebrow, but doesn’t look away from Elyan’s stitches, whispering an apology at the man’s wince before he speaks slowly, concentrating:

“Careful Sire, that almost sounded like a compliment.”

Elyan snorts out a laugh, but Merlin tuts and lightly slaps his leg disapprovingly, and he stills again. Arthur rolls his eyes with a huff:

“As if. Hurry up, I want to get moving as soon as possible.”

Arthur wasn’t the only one that noticed Merlin’s outstanding shot, and over the course of the next few day’s journey home, he received a multitude of compliments from the other knights.

Including an hour long excited infodump about the history and use of longbows from Leon, which Merlin eagerly hung onto every word of, a fond smile on his face (Leon was a noble, and had it practically beaten into him to not ramble, so Merlin always did his best not to discourage the man. That, and the fact that it was actually very interesting, and useful, if he were to keep up this charade that he was an expert marksman).

When Merlin finally had a moment alone with Lancelot, a few days after they had gotten back, he burst:

“Please please tell me you know how to use a longbow??”

Lancelot raises his eyebrow from where he was sat on the bed in Merlin’s room. Merlin was staring at him with unconcealed desperation, and the knight chuckled as he answered:

“Why? It’s not like you need any more training, that was a cracking shot.”

Merlin huffed loudly, running his hands through his hair as he looked back at the knight:

“I used magic!! I closed my eyes so no one would see and I guided the arrow with magic! Now everyone thinks I’m some master marksman! This is bad. What if next time I can’t use magic, or what if someone notices that I have my eyes closed when I fire?”

Lancelot clamps a hand over his mouth in a poor attempt to stop himself from giggling, but he gives up quickly, bursting into laughter at the younger man’s panic. Said younger man fumes, sputtering as he picks up one of the knight’s discarded boots and throws it at him:

“It’s not funny, Lance! I’m being serious, this is an actual issue!”

Lancelot calms himself, rubbing the mirth from his eyes as he takes a deep breath:

“Ok ok, sorry. Yes, I can teach you to use a longbow properly. Have you ever actually used one before, or was the hunting thing a cover?”

The red fades from Merlin’s face slightly as he realises the other man is intending to help him, his panic lessening:

“Sort of. Yeah, I went hunting with a bow a couple times, but not enough to be that good at it.”

Lancelot sighs fondly and nods his head:

“Well, that’s a start at least. Come on, I’ve not got patrol until after dinner, and Arthur thinks you’re busy helping Gaius, so we’ve got a few hours.”

So I imagine that’s how it goes for a while.

After their last big adventure, Arthur was reluctant to head out as a group again, wanting to give everyone time to recuperate and get back into the swing of things.

Merlin’s skills with a bow were bought up constantly by everyone, news had even reached Gwen (who gave him a proud smile and a cute little dance to congratulate him) and Gaius (who raised an eyebrow, and had much better skill than Lancelot at holding in his laughter).

Gwaine, Elyan, and even Percival were desperate to set up targets and watch him shoot shit (their words), Leon wanted to talk about the specifics of technique and crafting, and Arthur... well. Arthur sounded like he was taking the piss, but there was something else in his tone that Merlin couldn’t quite pinpoint.

Affection? Pride?

Probably not, probably jealousy and annoyance that Merlin is so effortlessly good at something that Arthur himself was average at at best.

Merlin manages to avoid it for a while, showing his “skills” off, but he and Lancelot are running out of excuses, and Arthur is starting to accuse him of being a fake who got lucky. Normally, things like that didn’t bother Merlin, and technically Arthur wasn’t wrong... he had got lucky, and cheated with magic, but that wasn’t the point. It was nice for Merlin, to be good at something, really good.

He was good at plenty of other things. Magic for starters, though not even Lancelot knew the full extent of his power in that area. But he cooked well (shown by the fact that the knights always scoffed the lot), he was a good physician (shown by the fact that the knights trusted him just as much as Gaius when it came to treating injuries and sickness), and he was a BRILLIANT servant, if he did say so himself.

But he never got any actual praise for that. Merlin hated to think badly of the knights, his friends, but they only complained when Merlin wasn’t there, never praised him when he was. Well, apart from Lancelot. And that had just started a bunch of rumours that they were... uh... boinking.

(False. Anyone with more than two braincells could see that Sir Lancelot was head over heals in love with the newly-promoted Housekeeper, Guinevere, and that The King’s Manservant had an affinity for certain a blond prat-King.)

ANYWAY

It was nice for Merlin to have a skill that others thought worth complimenting, and with Lancelot monitoring his practice sessions, correcting any mistakes and offering congratulations whenever he did well, he hoped it wouldn’t be too long before he no longer had to come up with excuses.

Luckily, Merlin picked it up very quickly.

Despite being clumsy by nature (though Lancelot is starting to suspect more and more that it’s all for show), the dark haired servant can consistently hit bullseyes from fifty yards within a month. The further away from the target he got, the less astounding his aim was, but that was to be expected, and another month later he could successfully hit a moving target from seventy feet.

A training session, around three months after he started properly practicing, he finally “gave in” to Gwaine’s begging. Lancelot helped him set up a bunch of targets, and fetched a bag of apples to throw.

Merlin put on quite the show, grinning at the uproarious applause he got from the knights when he hit every single bullseye, and every single thrown target. Thankfully the knowing, proud smiles between the servant and Sir Lancelot went unnoticed, and even Arthur gave him a clap on the back and an impressed nod.

The first time Merlin met the knights in the courtyard to find Leon holding a longbow and quiver of arrows out to him, he panicked slightly, but one reassuring smile from Lancelot boosted his confidence, and he took them with a quiet thank you.

(After the fifth time, Arthur huffed, and told him to just keep them. He was the only one that regularly signed them out of the armoury anyway, so it would just be easier if he just took possession of them.)

It settled everyone’s stomachs, knowing that not only did the group have a master marksmen, hiding in the trees and taking out enemies that they didn’t see coming, but that Merlin personally now had more than his frankly horrifying (or... horrifying as far as they were concerned) stealth skills to keep him safe.

And that (a master marksmen in the trees) is exactly what happened.

In the early days, it involved a lot of bruises; Merlin could fire well, but firing and balancing at the same time? Took some getting used to, and involved a lot of falling out of trees at inopportune times.

The knights, Gwaine and Arthur especially, laughed endlessly at that, but quickly stopped after a particularly tired and irate and bruised Merlin fired an arrow so close by Gwaine’s crotch, that it stuck his trousers fast into the tree just behind him.

At first, it was meant to be just as back-up; Merlin was no knight. He still refused to wear armour, and Arthur didn’t want his manservant to make himself a target... at least that was his excuse.

Really, it was because (as far as Arthur was aware) Merlin had never deliberately killed before. Even now, years into his Kingship, and even longer into his knighthood, Arthur hated killing; it made him sick, and took a lot of practice at compartmentalization before it no longer bothered him as much.

Merlin was his manservant, his (best) friend, the love of his life (secretly). He was not a warrior, he was not meant to kill, he was meant to be protected from that.

But alas, Merlin did not get the memo, and the first patrol he went on with his bow and quiver slung over his shoulder, he killed at least five bandits.

After the fight, it was Leon who approached him first, a concerned look on his face despite Merlin’s nonchalant expression as he checked over the string for wear and tear:

“Are you feeling alright, Merlin? You got a few good shots in there, you’re not feeling sick?”

Merlin looked up at the hand on his shoulder and the soft words, a confused look on his face:

“Why would being good make me feel sick?”

Leon tilts his head in sympathy, which just makes Merlin even more confused:

“The man you killed the other month was spur of the moment, protecting your King. But you... you killed a fair few men today, Merlin. I know that can be incredibly difficult at first, I just wanted to check in.”

The others had finally walked over to join them; Percival, Elyan, Gwaine, and Arthur looking equally concerned, whilst Lancelot hid his proud smile. Merlin just raised an eyebrow at them:

“You seem to be under the impression that I’ve never killed anyone before?”

Everyone (bar Lancelot) looks taken aback at that, and Arthur frowns whilst Leon drops his hand in shock. The King speaks slowly:

“Merlin, are you telling us you’ve killed people before?”

The manservant clenches his jaw at that and looks back down at his bow, resuming his checking of the string and its knots. He speaks lowly, and the knights can tell it’s not a topic he’s fond of:

“Hmm. It’s a tough world, Sire. I’ve done what I had to, to keep myself and the people I care about safe.”

At his dark reply, conversation stopped, and didn’t resume for the rest of the day as everyone contemplated Merlin’s words.

That is, until he was the first one to successfully catch dinner later that evening. At which he got an incredulous look from Arthur when he made it back to camp with his half of the patrol:

“I thought you despised hunting??”

Merlin didn’t look up from the hares he was skinning, and the rest of the knights tuned in, curious:

“No. I hate hunting for sport; it shows hubris and cruelty. Hunting for food is not only necessary and natural, but humbling, if you do it right and honour every part of the creature.”

Arthur, ever the eloquent one, stared at him blankly, and said, rather dumbly:

“...What?”

Merlin huffed, finally looking up:

“Going after helpless animals on horseback with crossbows and hunting dogs is like giving yourself a huge pat on the back for winning a tournament against an unarmoured, unarmed, unconscious opponent, and then calling yourself strong and brave for daring to fight in the first place. It’s an egotistical act of violence for no other reason than cruelty for the sake of cruelty.-”

The knights looks on him with shock, Percival and Leon at least having the decency to look a little ashamed. Merlin looks back down to the hares, and everyone notices the careful way he cuts at the fur:

“I’ve taken these lives to feed us as a necessity. The meat will be eaten, but that isn’t all. I’ll take the bones home for Gaius, the marrow is useful in a lot of medicine. The fur can be repurposed for winter gloves or socks. The organs and other bits that we won’t eat: I’ll take for the pigs in the farms, or the dogs up at the castle. In using every part of them we are... honouring them, in a way. As a thank-you for their... sacrifice.”

Arthur looks a little dumbfounded. As royalty, he of course had never really considered the waste that comes about with hunting, but Merlin, a farm-boy from a rural village who barely scraped by every winter? Of course he saw a deeper meaning in hunting. He would have to.

Elyan is the first to break the silence:

“You almost sound religious, Merlin.”

Merlin looks up at him, a strained smile on his face. As magic incarnate, he has a particularly strong, temperamental relationship with nature and her creatures, a bond that some might call faith. To be wasteful or cruel in any way hurts him in more ways than one:

“Not really, I just have respect for nature, is all.”

No one mentions the thinly-veiled insult, but everyone creeps closer, wanting to see the way he disassembles the creatures for future reference.

It’s been eight months since that first, perfect shot.

Merlin’s skills with a longbow had become a normal, expected part of The Gang’s experiences, but the knights never stopped praising and thanking him when he saved their lives (something that Merlin still hadn’t quite gotten used), and The King had apparently not stopped thinking about it for barely more than a second.

Yule was approaching quickly: Merlin, Gwen, and the Steward being constantly busy with preparations in the castle, the knights being run off their feet escorting emergency aid to the border villages for the harsh winter, and Arthur himself having every minute of the day taken up with speech writing, invite sending, and his other general King-during-Yule duties.

That however, was all to be expected, and of course did nothing to keep Arthur and Merlin from their annual traditions.

It wasn’t official, it wasn’t even spoken of, but the last evening of Yule, the night before the new year, the two of them always spent together.

The last feast of the year would finish, Arthur would stay to see his guests off, thank the staff for all of their hard work, and finally retire to his chambers, his tired manservant barely a hair’s breadth behind him. They would sit in front of the lit hearth (in comfy chairs that only they used), work their way through a jug or two of wine, exchange small gifts, and fall asleep in front of the fire. Their hands, dangling over the side of their chairs, seem to be creeping closer and closer with each passing year; though have yet to become entangled by morning.

This year was somehow no different, and very different, at the same time.

The King and his Manservant settled in their chairs, tired and already a little more than tipsy from the wine drunk during the feast. Arthur looked up at Merlin, the fond smile dropping from his face when he sees the other man’s features pulled into a contemplative frown:

“What’s on your mind, Merls? I don’t think I’ve seen you this serious since the start of the celebrations.”

Merlin looked up at him suddenly, his eyes wide, but he smiles and shakes his head:

“Nothing, nothing. Just thinking is all.”

Normally, Arthur would raise an eyebrow and let a scathing tease on the state of Merlin’s intelligence fall from his lips, but not tonight. This is the only night of the year that The King allows himself to entertain the idea that perhaps he and Merlin were more than friends, or at least could be. So instead he resumes his smiling, and looks back to the fire, taking another sip of his wine before responding softly:

“What about?”

Merlin hums, copying Arthur’s wine-sipping, before taking a deep breath:

“The future, mostly. You, me, Camelot. Secrets and truths, and when one might turn into the other. Soon, I think... yeah. Soon.”

Arthur huffs slightly in amusement. He knows that Merlin hides a great deal of himself, but he always becomes more cryptic after a few glasses of wine, like he desperately wants to say something and doesn’t have the power to stop himself from hinting at whatever it may be.

He asks his next question good-naturedly, a smile sweetened by wine gracing his face:

“The hell does that mean?”

Merlin lets out a short laugh, looking up at the other man:

“Oh, you know. Thinking about spilling all my deepest darkest secrets to you, at some point soon.”

Arthur snorts, saying, only for the sake of keeping up the charade they’ve built:

“You don’t have any secrets, Merlin. Certainly not any that are deep or dark.”

Once, Arthur would have believed that. Then, when he stopped believing it, he was angry about it, and now? Now, he finds he doesn’t mind so much. He is confident, he has faith, in both himself and in Merlin. He knows that those secrets are there, and Merlin knows that he knows, but that’s ok. Nothing either of them could reveal would tear them apart, at least not for long, so Arthur was happy to wait until Merlin was happy to share.

Merlin chuckled at Arthur’s response, shaking his head slightly before reaching down and picking up a small wrapped parcel that he’d stowed away before the feast:

“Come on, I’m a little nervous about your gift this year, so let’s get it over and done with.”

Arthur nodded, accepting the change in subject, and set his wine down so he could pick up the (much bigger) parcel by his own chair.

Merlin raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything. After the first gift-exchange happened, Merlin had put his foot down and made Arthur swear to not go overboard on the expense side of things. Arthur may have been a prince, and now a King, but Merlin was still just a servant/physician; he could hardly afford anything worthy of a King.

He had a feeling that Arthur might’ve broken his word this year, but where Arthur had likely gone overboard with expense, Merlin had definitely gone overboard with sentimentality.

They swapped parcels, Merlin placing the large, heavy box carefully at his feet as he gestured Arthur to open his first. Arthur got to it, tearing the paper off without a second of hesitation, and Merlin allowed himself to smile fondly at the child-like excitement on the blonde’s face.

Arthur’s brow creased as he dropped the paper to the floor, stroking soft fingers over the worn leather of an old, well-loved book. Merlin took deep, fortifying breaths as Arthur carefully opened the first few pages, butterflies in his stomach as Arthur’s eyes wandered the yellowed paper in curiosity.

The King looked up at him, amused confusion on his face as he asked:

“Is this yours? I didn’t know you could draw, Merlin.”

Merlin gulped, and shook his head as memories of the exquisite sketches filled his mind; detail-perfect renditions of the castle, the town square, waterfalls and knights in action and people that Merlin didn’t recognise (for the most part. Arthur evidently hadn’t gotten to any of the pages with young Uther on them).

“No, not mine. This one requires a little explanation-”

Arthur nodded, carefully closing the book and holding it protectively in his lap as he gave Merlin his undivided attention:

“-I mentioned off-handedly to Leon a few months ago that I thought the lack of... of paintings of the late Queen in the castle was odd.-”

Arthur gulped at the mention of his mother, but nodded with a small smile when Merlin paused:

“-He said that when she passed, The King had everything to do with her moved to the vaults. He couldn’t force himself to destroy any of it, but looking at it, day in and day out, was too painful. We found the keys, with the help of Geoffrey, and went down to have a look, see what we could find. We didn’t tell you about it because we didn’t want to disappoint you, in case we couldn’t find anything.-”

Merlin once again looked a little nervous at this, and reached a hand out towards Arthur. When the man didn’t flinch away (if anything, he leaned into it), he moved to grip his shoulder blade, running his thumb over the exposed skin at the base of The King’s neck.

“-We found... a lot. Old clothes and paintings mainly, some jewellery. But then I found that;-”

He nodded at the book in Arthur’s lap, and tightened his grip on his shoulder. Merlin spoke his next words so quietly that Arthur almost doesn’t hear him, a soft smile on his face:

“-your mother was quite the artist, Arthur. I knew you had to have it.”

Arthur gasped softly, his eyes widening as he looked down at the book:

“You... you think my mother drew these?”

Merlin smiled at him, moving his hand to squeeze Arthur’s wrist slightly, before dropping it entirely:

“Check the back page.”

Arthur took a deep breath before doing what Merlin said, handling the book with even more care than he had before now that he knows who it belonged to. He turned to the very last page, to see an inscription written in beautiful cursive. Merlin recited it aloud, having memorised the words weeks ago:

“My dearest son, my silly sketches are able to hold only a fraction of our Kingdom’s beauty. I know one day that you will see what I see, treasure it just as much, and make it your own. You have my support, forever and always, your loving Mother.”

Arthur bites his lip harshly, lifting the book to press his forehead against the words as he shuts his eyes tightly, though that does nothing to stop the tears. Merlin replaces his hand on The King’s shoulder as the man shakes. He sniffles slightly, putting the book back in his lap, though keeping his hands wrapped around it securely, as he looks to Merlin:

“Merlin, I... I don’t even know what to say. This is... amazing. I... Thank you.”

Merlin smiles, shaking his head slightly:

“Technically, it wasn’t even mine to give, it’s always been yours. But I thought it might make a nice surprise. There’s plenty of other stuff down there, I’ll show you in the morning.”

Arthur nods his head, wiping his tears as he carefully places the book on his side table and gestures to the box at Merlin’s feet. He was itching to scour through the book, dedicating every single line to memory, but whilst Merlin had been nervous about Arthur’s gift, Arthur was buzzing about Merlin’s, and he was desperate to see the man’s reaction.

Merlin huffs out a laugh, but picks the box up, noting once again how heavy it is. He sets about removing the paper, much calmer and more methodical than Arthur had been, with his face pinched in concentration.

He frowns in curiosity as he sets eyes on the wooden box. It had a hinged lid, and a logo that he’s certain he recognises burned like a brand into the corner. He can feel Arthur bouncing in his chair slightly, and looks up at him in amusement, laughing once again when he nods excitedly back down at the box.

He lifts the lid, and takes in a shocked breath.

Inside was a beautifully crafted long bow; the wood smooth and varnished and carved, and a leather quiver. The patterns embossed in the leather and carved in to the metal at the base, match those carved into the wood of the bow, and Merlin traces soft fingers over the intricate swirls, stopping with a teary smile at the Pendragon crest, carved just next to a Merlin bird.

He lets out a breath he hadn’t even realised he’d been holding as he looks up at the excited King:

“Arthur this is beautiful. Gods I almost don’t want to touch it, I feel like it should be on display behind glass.”

Arthur lets out a laugh, obviously pleased with Merlin’s reaction:

“Nope. It will be going with you every time you leave the city, and considering how much trouble we always seem to attract, I have no doubt that it will see a lot of use.”

Merlin laughs, closing the lid carefully and setting the box back on the floor, before launching himself bodily at Arthur. The blonde laughs, wrapping his arms around Merlin’s middle with no hesitation as the other man mutters endless thank-yous in his ear.

The servant finally pulls back, settling in his own chair again, and the two of them hope that the other puts the flush on their face down to the wine, and nothing else. They look to each other with wide grins on their faces, and Arthur breaks the stare first, taking another gulp of his wine before laughing jovially and speaking:

“Well. Here’s to an amazing year, and hopefully an even better one, starting in a few minutes.”

Merlin nods, lifting his own goblet to tap it against Arthur’s:

“Here’s to the past, that guides us-”

He gestures to the book on Arthur’s table:

“-and the future, that calls to us.”

He gestures to his new bow, and they both finish their wine off, a healthy flush to their cheeks and fond smiles on their faces.

They fall asleep in their respective chairs, the same as every year.

In the morning, they wake with pounding headaches, a promise of a golden future, and hands intertwined.

THE END!!

We love a cutesy/hopeful ending😌

Like always lads, you wanna write it out in full, go for it, credit and tag me✌️

Head over to This List to see what I’m working on next, and cast your vote!

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vampirecatprince · 2 months ago

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Spoilers ahead, but I'm gonna just record my thoughts as I read this

*chanting* MOON EGG. MOON EGG.

Oh! This is that red forest from the The Love You Want video!

FUKCIGN BNNUY

Oh- there's no dialogue. At all. Huh. I like the choice. It feels right.

WAIT A FUCKING MINUTE. THE DANCERS FROM THAT VIDEO. *points between them and the ambush fighters rapidly*

BROS FACE EXPLODED INTO... SOMETHING. (Ah- this is that flavor of cosmic horror!!!!)

Oh- exposition! First- this font is AWFUL to read? That said- ooh, there's some juicy stuff in here. So, lunar anomaly. I like this Director character however. He definitely reeks of tragic cosmic horror protagonist and I don't want to call it early... But Vessel vibes? I like the effort to make this guy feel very empathetic.

Also- looking directly at the moon is what happened to that guy. Okay. Also implies that the people who did the ambush are cultists of some sort which I also dig!

Okay- so I just rewatched the The Love You Want video and I think this arc is supposed to be that video, just in a more literal sense? I don't know if I'm making sense here...

Okay- looks like we're in a new story now.

Gotta say, I really love the spatter effect on Sleep in these moon shots

DOGGO!

Oh- I have a bad feeling about his bc doggo is not following them wherever they're going.

Oh.

OH.

HELLO MR CHOKEHOLD.

I stg- I am getting such specific vibes from him. Like- specifically, the No Face that chases Chihiro mixed with Dark Souls vibes?

OH- ITS MR THE SUMMONING.

jfc- I'm getting even MORE Adeptus Astartes vibes from this fucker /pos

This would be a badass anime battle ngl-

I know that this band is known for its brevity but I would love some explanation here /pos

Ooh- more worldbuilding. Okay- he's not just a "director", but a biologist of some sort. I know it's probably just technobabble that I'm not supposed to be able to make much sense of, but I enjoy that it is very technical sounding. Especially in comparison with how poetic a lot of this character's previous writing has been, it really establishes him as someone who knows what he's talking about.

I also enjoy the reluctance he has about what happening? His reluctance to accept the world that he's been thrust into plus the very scientific sounding jargon he's just used really grounds him as a real person and it's in very effective choices with character writing so far.

Okay- part three.

Oh. That's a lot of dead people.

Oh DAMN- I LOVE this double page before and after spread???? It is objectively a tragic and really well done spread but there's also a part of my brain distantly chanting meat moss meat moss meat moss

Ohhh- it's growing out of their faces?

OH! ITS THE TMBTE ANGEL.

Oh- their protective masks stopped working?

I think they were transformed? But these bug things have six eyes!!!!!!

More exposition! So it appears that the actual laws of physics and reality are beginning to breakdown somehow? Also - there it is! There's that nihilism and existentialism I associate with this genre! I do like that this character isn't having the nihilism crush him though. He's sure he's going to die, yes. But that's a reasonable assumption given his situation. But he's choosing to face whatever happens instead of giving up and I like that. A steeliness under what we've seen so far.

Part four!

Ohhh-beady hidden eyes and scribbling repeated text is never a good sign

Oh. Reality is BROKEN BROKEN. It's a STUNNING spread though! I can't wait to see people post the spreads from the digital version because I'd really love to see a version of this without the page spine in the middle.

Oh- I vibe with this.

Oh- I love this. I really love this? Them embracing and sinking and them the moon embracing a rotted out Earth? Ohhhhh it's sooo tasty??? THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WANTED.

Ohhhhh that last page at the end- Oh, my heart. "... will you let me keep my human fear"? This is some fantastic cosmic horror, holy shit.

I SO many questions, but in a way that I think was very intentional. And I really liked this! I like the character of The Director and the oddly sweet ending he got, especially for a cosmic horror protagonist? Like- he is broken now, he can never go back to what he was- but, he was treated with an odd amount of compassion by the entity. The idea that the world isn't dead, just... changed and he's somehow returning home even if home is something new and alien to him now is unusually compassionate feeling for this genre, but tracks with the vibes I've always gotten from this band?

I really liked this, honestly.

Damn- this cover is so clean

#sleep token #sleep token teeth of god graphic novel #teeth of god graphic novel #sleep token graphic novel

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skyloftian-nutcase · 2 years ago

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Link's Parents play Breath of the Wild! Pt 4

(@goosekee @artisticgamer)

Summary: Ten years after the Great Calamity, Link's parents have to save their son from death while also fighting to save the princess.

Part 1

<<Previous // Next>>

The Great Plateau - Oman Au Shrine

The couple moved in the darkness of nightfall. Their actions were both from a sense of urgency to help Link and a need to remain hidden - Abel still didn't trust the old man entirely. It was a risk, wandering around at night, as stal monsters of all sorts were more likely to rip from the earth and attack, but it was a risk Abel was willing to take.

The former knight carried Link on his back as his wife huddled close, bow and arrows at the ready. Though Abel was the superior fighter of the two, Tilieth had spent the last decade honing her archery skills for hunting and protection's sake. She could at least fire off a shot or two while Abel lowered Link to the ground and readied his sword if an enemy were to attack.

Link was light, lighter than he used to be. Abel could barely remember carrying the little knight, it had been so long ago. The last time had been...

The last time had been when Abel had placed Link in the Shrine of Resurrection.

He'd been so frail and broken back then, his hold on life so tenuous. Abel had carried him like he was made of glass, had held him so close he never wanted to let go. His clothes that he had worn that day bore so much blood from his son that he'd burned them, unable to even try to wash them.

Abel wondered if Link was lighter now because he'd been rotting away in that shrine rather than healing. But he knew that wasn't the case, he saw the improvement of the wounds. Still, his son looked so frail.

There was a rustling in the tall grass, and Abel froze. Tilieth noticed his change in demeanor and stopped moving as well, quietly trying to nock an arrow in preparation.

A squirrel stared at them a moment and then scurried into a tree, and the couple breathed again.

There were four shrines on the plateau. The forbidden shrine was the most dangerous and least accessible, so it was not one they were going to even attempt. The snow shrine was not difficult to reach, but the environment wasn't ideal for Link's weakened state. The cliffside shrine was... well, on a cliff. Abel wasn't keen on climbing with his son his back if he could help it.

Which left the one the old man had pointed out. Easily accessible, and easy to stage an ambush.

As the pair neared the Sheikah tower, Tilieth stared at in awe. "It's enormous."

Abel huffed quietly. "Try climbing it."

"I don't think my grip strength is that good," Til replied with a sheepish smile before growing serious. "Do you think there will be an attack?"

"I don't know," Abel answered honestly. "He practically said bring the Hero here with the slate and see what happens. Could be as untrustworthy as possible."

Abel looked her in the eye. "If you see him, aim for the head."

Tilieth swallowed hard, paling. His wife wasn't a killer like him; he shouldn't be asking her of this.

But he couldn't risk losing Link.

The shrine sat innocently, glowing orange and awaiting their approach. They crept silently, walking around the ruined entrance to the stairwell below.

"Can you believe it's all been buried?" Tilieth asked, looking at the dirt and water that had covered the stairwell since its collapse. "It's amazing how quickly nature takes back over."

Abel hummed. He wasn't as philosophical as his wife and didn't bother thinking too much on it. To him it was just a reminder of death and misery.

Still no sign of danger, though, so at least that was something.

The pair finally reached the shrine, and Abel pivoted his hip so Til could get to the slate. Grabbing it, his wife followed his instructions and rested the slate against the stone.

Nothing happened.

Abel's nerves immediately went on edge. This was a trap, it had to be.

"Maybe... it needs to recognize that the Hero is here," Til wondered, eyes narrowed in thought. She reached over towards Link, and Abel crouched a little, eyes alert, so that she could grab their boy's hand and rest it on the smooth stone with the slate.

The stone glowed blue, making the parents jump in surprise.

The blue glow extended to a circle on the ground, and the slate read out Travel Gate registered to map.

"Travel Gate?" Til read aloud, growing even more bewildered, but Abel could see her curiosity peeking through as well.

Lastly, the shrine itself began to shimmer in a blue shade of light, and the slate said Access Granted as the stony entrance peeled away to reveal a small corridor that led to... nothing.

Tilieth took a hesitant step forward, but Abel was about to stop her when he heard stone and branches part way for something. Whirling around, the couple caught sight of two stalkoblins rushing towards them, weapons drawn. Til yelled out, grabbing an arrow as Abel pushed her back, the pair retreating into the corridor inadvertently.

Abel swore. What kind of situation had he put his family into, and now they had now escape route--

The floor shuddered, and blue light encased the family.

"What in the name of--" Abel looked down, distracted, and the floor started to sink just as the stal got too close. The blue glow held the monsters back, though Tilieth's arrow passed through with ease, separating a stal head from its neck. The beast's body scrambled, and that was the last they saw before the stony shrine consumed them.

"What's happening?!" Til asked nervously, her voice reverberating around them.

"We're being buried alive, that's what's happening!" Abel shouted back, trying to figure out how the heck they were going to get out of this.

Bright light pierced into the darkness, and suddenly they were no longer surrounded by stone walls, but were seemingly floating down from the sky on the small circular platform, a blue ring around them. The platform slowed to a halt on the floor.

They were in a large room with similar architecture to the Shrine of Resurrection. In the far corner was another pedestal with an information overhang.

Stepping off the platform in awe and wonder, the couple nearly jumped out of their skin when a voice boomed all around them, "To you who sets foot in this shrine... I am Oman Au. In the name of the Goddess Hylia, I offer this trial."

"Trial?" Til repeated. "Wait, uh... Mr. Oman Au, please! We're here for our son, Link! He's the Hero chosen by the goddesses, and he needs healing!"

Silence.

"I'm open to ideas," she sighed, looking at Abel.

The former knight eyed the pedestal. "We can start there."

The pair walked over to the pedestal, and after situating the slate on it, it wrote out Sheikah Slate authenticated. Distilling rune...

The same bizarre information exchange that occurred earlier happened again, and after the drop of not-water fell onto the slate, Abel leaned in to look at it.

"Magnesis?" he read.

Tilieth picked up the slate, examining it. "That's... you just said this was a map and a key."

"I guess it's more," Abel offered feebly, shifting Link a little.

Now what?

"Well, we came here to heal Link," Tilieth continued, glaring at the slate. "We're not leaving without an answer. Maybe this Magnesis can help him."

Pressing her hand on the rune in question, she gasped when it glowed red. "Look! The map changed!"

"What?" Abel moved to stand beside her, glancing at the slate. As she noted, the map showed the room they were in, but rather than as a map itself, it looked just like the room, like a painting. But... some objects were glowing reddish pink?

Tilieth moved the slate around and one of the reddish objects turned gold. When she moved away it changed back to its original color.

"It's... it's like it's highlighting it," she murmured, walking toward sthe object in question. A pair of metal doors that were strangely lying on the ground in the center of the room. "Magnesis... like a...!"

Taking a hasty step away, Tilieth pressed against the slate as it highlighted one of the doors, and a beam shot out of the slate, slamming into the door and raising it into the air.

"Til! What the heck are you doing?" Abel yelled, taking several steps away.

"This is what the rune is for, Abe!" she shouted triumphantly with a smile. "It can move metal objects!"

As she swung the door around, she started to bite her lip. "Though I'm not sure how to release it... let's try this...?"

Pressing the slate again, the door came falling back to the earth, and Abel yelled as Til had to jump out of its way.

"Easy there, Miss Sheikah Tech," he grumbled, bumping her with his hip playfully.

"Well, it worked," she offered with a laugh. "Come on, hon - we're going to beat this trial, and maybe that Omashu... Omaha... Omahau...?"

"Oman Au."

"That's it. He can tell us how to help Link."

Abel stared down the hole revealed by the missing door. "First let's figure out how to get Link down there."

Tilieth looked at it uncertainly. "Maybe... one of us should stay here with him? It seems like the stalkoblins can't get in."

Abel's gut churned at the thought, and he shook his head. "No. We're not separating until we understand this place better. There were Sheikah with us when we took Link to the Shrine of Resurrection. We don't have that luxury here."

Tilieth didn't bother arguing, seeming to be fairly ill at ease as well. Abel motioned for her to go down first, and once she was at the bottom, he slowly lowered Link down to her. His wife grunted a little under Link's weight, but with Abel still trying to bear some of it holding the boy's wrists, she managed to ease him to the ground for Abel to climb the ladder.

"I hope there isn't too much of that in here," she huffed a little breathlessly, holding Link to her chest and kissing his head. "Does... does he look paler to you?"

"It's the lighting," Abel said quickly, not daring to look and see if she was right. They had no way of helping him now and no time to waste to find the end of this trial.

Picking Link back up, Abel tried not to think about how limp his boy was, despite the pain he'd been in earlier.

Til was right. They were running out of time.

The couple moved quickly down the short corridor and up the stairs, leading to a wall blocked off with stone and a single metal cube.

"Well, that's an easy one to figure out," Til muttered. "Let's see if I can figure out how else to move this..."

With a flick of her wrists and a poke to the slate, the metal box flew upward, sending stone boxes in all directions. Abel hovered close to his wife, nervous at the destruction she was causing, and watched as she pushed several blocks forward.

Til paused from her actions. "Wait, I thought I saw..."

Gasping, his wife dropped the slate, pulling out her bow. "Abe! Abe, it's a guardian!!"

Abel felt his blood run cold. A guardian? What? Where?!

And then he caught sight of the metallic leg, hovering just out of view, hidden behind the blocks his wife had pushed.

"Wait," he whispered breathlessly, his heart racing. "It's a little one; it hasn't noticed us yet."

He remembered these monsters. The larger guardians could mow down armies with a single blow. But the little ones...

The little ones picked off the village stragglers.

Stealthily lowering Link to the ground, Abel told Til to wait for him, and he crept forward, sword drawn. The miniature guardian sensed his approach after a few paces, and he charged forward with a yell, vaulting off the stone block and slamming the metallic creature into the ground. His sword cut between its head and body, and the creature overheated, warning him to back away immediately before it exploded into small pieces of screws and gears.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he spat at the remains and bade his wife to come.

The pair moved in silence after that. The next step was simple for his wife to figure out, transferring a metal bridge to another platform before opening a set of metal doors.

When the doors swung open with gusto, the couple jumped at the sight beyond them.

A... box? Glowing blue and containing the withered remains of a Sheikah elder, seated in a meditative pose.

"Well that isn't unsettling at all," Tilieth said softly as she walked ahead.

Abel swallowed, unnerved. What if... what if this was what was going to happen to Link if he'd stayed in the other shrine?

He didn't want to think about it.

"It's a dead end," Til called from the room. Abel walked in to join her, looking around.

"So just us and the memorialized?" he surmised. "What sort of trial is this?"

"I don't know, but there's a platform in front of him," Til pointed out, bemused. "Are we supposed to pay our respects?"

"Well, who was it who spoke to us earlier?" Abel asked, looking around. "Someone has to be in here."

"Maybe the slate can do something," Tilieth wondered, glancing at the item.

Abel walked up the stairs slowly to the little platform in front of the entombed Sheikah. The closer he got, the more he realized there was something discernible in the barrier.

The Sheikah eye?

Abel leaned forward a little, and Link's hand fell forward as his arms hung over his father's shoulders. His fingers brushed against the blue barrier a moment, and the entire wall turned white. Gasping, Abel stumbled backwards, nearly falling down the stairs until Tilieth dashed up to steady him.

"What did you do?" she asked frantically.

Before Abel could answer, the barrier shattered, and the same voice from earlier boomed from the shriveled monk within.

"You have proven to possess the resolve of a true hero," it spoke. Abel and Til looked at each other, bemused, but before they could speak further, the monk continued, "I am Oman Au, the creator of this trial. I am a humble monk, blessed with the sight of Goddess Hylia and dedicated to helping those who seek to defeat Ganon. With your arrival, my duty is now fulfilled."

Abel's hopes rose. This... this truly was a Sheikah monk trying to help them! He was about to tell the monk of Link's injuries when he continued, "In the name of the Goddess Hylia, allow me to bestow this gift upon you... please accept this Spirit Orb."

With those words, a glowing purple orb emitted from the monk, bearing the symbol of the goddess, and it floated directly to Link, disintegrating on impact as light poured into the young fallen champion. Abel gasped as he felt Link twitch a little at the contact.

"May the Goddess Hylia smile upon you," the monk blessed.

"Thank--wait!"

Before Tilieth could finish saying anything, the monk... disintegrated right in front of them. The couple stood there in silence afterward, and then the room glowed brightly.

"Til?" Abel called worriedly before he had to close his eyes, and he felt the ground disappear beneath his feet, and--

And heard crickets and birdsong?

Opening his eyes as gravity pushed down on him once more, Link settled on his back, Abel saw Tilieth rubbing her eyes as the pair stepped outside into the early dawn light.

How did they get outside of the shrine?!

"What... just happened?" Abel asked.

"I... think the shrine kicked us out?" Tilieth tried to surmise. "Since we completed the trial. But--Link!"

Abel turned his head to look at his son, concerned. "What about him? What's wrong?"

"Put him down, let's see," Til ordered, and the knight lowered the boy to the ground.

Abel knelt across from Til as they both looked their son over. Link still looked frail, bone thin and pale. Til unwrapped one of his wounds and gasped.

"What is it?" Abel questioned.

"It's... it's not bleeding anymore," she said.

Abel furrowed his brow. "You had a dressing on it, I'd like to think it wouldn't bleed."

"He was bleeding despite the dressings!" Til insisted. "Abel, I... I think that Spirit Orb healed him a little bit!"

Abel stared at the wound, still horrific in appearance, but definitely not bleeding. The Spirit Orb had done that?

But... that was so little.

He shook his head. It was still better than what they were able to provide. But would three more shrines be enough?

Abel felt the realization sink into him like a stone.

There was no way four shrines would be enough to heal his son entirely.

Shrines like these are spread all over Hyrule.

Goddess above.

"Til... we have to find the other shrines," he said slowly.

Tilieth blinked, looking at him confusedly. "Honey, we know where the other shrines are."

"No," he shook his head. "No. We have to find all of them."

#tilieth remembers names as well as I do #link's parents play botw #and are slowly getting the hang of it #writing #I'm slowly parsing out their personalities and quirks and it's so much fun :D #I'm debating if I should write for each shrine on the plateau or just gloss over the rest but...#I'll probably write for all of them lol #who knows #breath of the wild #botw #legend of zelda #blood of the hero

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