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snappedsky · 4 years

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Borderlands: Skies the Bodyguard 3

Rhys finally comes up with a plan.

*Links to previous and next chapter in reblog*

Chapter 24

Rhys and Fiona lead their ragtag crew through the Eridium lined tunnels to where they left the Crimson Raiders waiting. Along the way, Sasha grabs Skies’ arm, slowing her down a bit.

“Hey, so, why do those guys hate you so much anyway?” she asks.

“You mean, other than the fact that I worked for Jack?” Skies questions, “well, I did try to kill the Vault Hunters a couple times and I…” She stops, swallowing hard, and everyone else stops to look at her.

“I…tortured Lilith…”

“What?” Fiona gasps.

“What did you do?” Athena snaps.

“After Jack had her in the Siren collar, we realized any injuries she got healed instantly as long as she was getting Eridium pumped into her,” Skies explains, “so we…you know…kept injuring her…”

“Ugh, god,” Sasha groans, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Look, it’s not something I’m proud of,” she insists, “…anymore.”

“No wonder they wanna kill you so bad,” August comments as everyone starts walking again.

“Well, it’s not like I said I didn’t deserve it,” Skies mutters.

As they meet up with Crimson Raiders, Skies lags at the back of the group but she can still feel all their glares.

“Here’s my team,” Rhys says proudly.

“What the hell is that?” Brick grunts, pointing at Timothy.

“Um he’s an old doppelganger of Jack’s,” Rhys replies, “no big deal.”

“Every time we meet another of your friends, I trust you less and less,” Mordecai comments.

“Well, I mean, I just met him today so…”

“Athena?” Lilith questions.

“Hey,” she half-waves.

“What are you doing here?”

“I was training Fiona to be a Vault Hunter.”

“Yeah, she’s my mentor,” Fiona says proudly, “not much of a ‘Vault Hunter wannabe’ now, am I?”

While the others talk and acquaint themselves, Skies skirts around the group and slips in next to Zer0.

“Hey, Zer0,” she says, “thanks for uh, y’know, standing up for me. It was…really nice of you. I um…don’t deserve it.”

He stares at her second. “You deserve more than/ you think. When you grasp that things/ will get much better.”

She just stares back at him, speechless, before awkwardly clearing her throat. She looks away, opening and closing her mouth like the words just won’t form.

“This is the first time/ I have seen you completely/ speechless,” Zer0 comments.

Skies cracks up. “Yeah, I um don’t handle…nice words…well…” She takes a deep breath and looks at him. “Thank you.”

He flashes a ‘:D’ and she smiles back.

“You two sure are bonding,” Gaige remarks, interrupting them. “What are you like friends now?”

“Situational/ allies. Better we all get/ along than in-fight,” Zer0 replies.

“God, you are so mature and cool,” Skies comments.

“Zer0’s absolutely right,” Rhys declares, “we’re all working together here so we need to fight alongside each other, not with each other.”

“I’m not super comfortable fighting next to Jack’s old bodyguard and his replica,” Maya scoffs.

“Yeah, not to mention the guy who seems to want to preserve their history,” Axton adds, pointing at Rhys.

“I prefer to think I give people second chances,” he shrugs innocently.

“Hey!” Skies snaps, stepping out in front of the Crimson Raiders. “Would you leave Rhys alone? And Tim too. And everyone else here, for that matter. They’re good people.”

“Like you know what good is,” Salvador snorts.

“I’ve…been learning. Look, just…you can say whatever you want about me, but leave them alone.”

“Or what? You gonna fight us?” Axton laughs, “remember last time we fought, we totally whupped you. And this time, you don’t even have your fancy eye or laser arm.”

“Okay, first of all, you didn’t whup me,” Skies argues, “I would’ve won if my arm hadn’t exploded, which was Jack’s fault. So technically, he saved you guys.”

“Yeah, right,” Maya scoffs, “Krieg destroyed your eye, remember? You were so beaten after that.”

“Yeah! Eyeball slice and dice!” Krieg cheers, banging his buzz axe against the ground.

“I still had a chance,” Skies insists, “even without my ECHO eye, I could’ve blasted you all to mush.”

“Uh, Skies,” Rhys says quickly, grabbing her shoulders. “Could I talk to you over here please?”

“Oh, uh, yeah,” she replies and follows him away from the two groups.

“Sorry,” she says, “I was starting to get out of hand there.”

“It’s fine,” he replies, “I can’t expect you all to be friends. But listen, I do actually need your help.”

“If I’m gonna come up with a battle plan, I need to know what I’m working with,” he explains, “I know Zer0, but I’m not that familiar with the rest of the Crimson Raiders. So what can you tell me about them?”

“Oh, alright,” Skies nods, “well, Lilith and Maya are Sirens- that’s pretty self-explanatory. Mordecai specializes in long-range while Brick likes to be super close-up. Axton has a turret; Salvador really likes guns. Gaige has a killer robot and Krieg is…” She trails off as she watches him aimlessly bang his buzz axe against an Eridium chunk, shouting something about the ‘death shinies. “…Uh Krieg.”

“Alright,” Rhys nods, clapping his hands together. “I can work with this. Come on.” They join back up with the two groups, who for the most part have been getting to know each other, and he clears his throat, getting everyone’s attention.

“Okay, everyone, I have a plan,” he declares.

“We will be split into three groups, each with their own major focus. Fiona, Sasha, and Vaughn will be with me, and we will infiltrate the main power building so I can take over the facility.”

“What about the giant killer robot?” Sasha asks.

“That’s where the second group comes in,” Rhys replies, “Zer0, Athena, August, Brick, and Krieg will be piloting Gortys because they’re the best at melee. You’ll draw the Prototype out of the building and engage it in combat.”

“Maybe I’m missing something, but how are we supposed to pilot that tiny thing?” Brick questions, pointing at Gortys.

“You are missing something,” August replies, “just wait and see.”

“Uh um, I’m not super comfortable having strangers inside me,” Gortys stammers nervously.

“Well, Zer0, Athena, and August will be with you too,” Rhys points out, “and you like them, right?”

“Yeah,” she chimes but quickly deflates again. “B-but um I also don’t know how I feel about fighting an old prototype…of myself…”

“Oh, um…” Rhys trails off, not sure what to say.

“Don’t think of it as fighting an old version of yourself,” Skies says, kneeling next to Gortys. “Think of it as…fighting an evil older sibling.”

“Evil?” Gortys questions.

“Yeah. You’re the hero, it’s the villain. And you’ve gotta help your friends defeat it. You can do that, right?”

“Yeah! I’ll be the hero!” she beams.

“Hell yeah,” Skies grins as she stands back up.

“Alright,” Rhys smiles, “and while they’re fighting the Prototype and Fiona, Sasha, and Vaughn and I are taking the facility, everyone else will be on the ground dealing with the Guardians and those weirdos in the Jack masks. Any questions?”

“Yeah,” Mordecai replies, “how are we supposed to fight effectively when we’re all low on ammo?”

“Oh, we got that covered,” Rhys smirks and motions for everyone to follow him down the tunnels. He takes them on a short walking before stopping in front of a closed door. “I found this room when I was first exploring these tunnels. It should suit everyone’s needs just fine.”

He opens the door, revealing it to be a large storage room filled to the ceiling with ammo caches. Everyone’s eyes widen in awe, their mouths practically watering at the sight.

“This is almost more beautiful than all this Eridium,” Skies comments.

“Okay,” Lilith nods admittedly. “This might actually work. Let’s do it.”

Everyone cheers and races inside, like a bunch of kids at a candy shop.

#borderlands #borderlands 2 #tales from the borderlands #borderlands fanfiction #borderlands au #myocs #myart

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razorblade180 · 5 years

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Twin Snowflakes Pt11: Expedited Exam pt2

“ LET’S GO!”

All three dash at the same time. Valerie straight ahead, Summer to the far left end, and Nicholas around to the right. It only took a second before the Paladin awoke; it’s top right shoulder opens a hatch to reveal a minigun that has its laser sight on Summer. She raises her hand in glyph preparation but the Paladin immediately starts to fire the rubber bullets.

Quietly she sighed in minor annoyance. “No hesitation huh? This is gonna be fun” Summer starts running and raises her sword up before stabbing the tip against the track and erecting an ice wall. ‘No time to lose’ a wave of her left hand makes a trail of normal glyphs leading to one end of a track. Summer closed her eyes and took a slow breath in order to calm her nerves for a second before hoping in the first glyph and began sprinting at high speed. The minigun continued to follow her.

Valerie cracked a smile of excitement as she began advancing closer. ‘Looks like one of their measurements is on point so far. Time to test the others!’ Both her hands went up and passed her head to pull out both her tomahawks. The Paladin’s top left shoulder revealed a gun much like Atlas mechs use but bigger. A blue light gradually builds near the end of the chamber.

“Uh oh…” Valerie crosses both weapons to block as the stun laser fires directly at her. The beam bounces off of them and towards the sky but not before the beam sent an intense shock that made every muscle come to a screeching halt momentarily. A circular whole below the cockpit opened up to unleash a cannon that shot a single concussion grenade; exploding by her feet and pushing out a shockwave that sent Valerie flying several feet back.

“Val!!” Nick screamed as he continued to circle around the back. Attracting the attention of laser gun “Are you ok!?”

“Agh! That’s set to stun!?” She shook her body out then picked up her weapon to advance again.

Harriet can’t help but chuckle a little. “Goliaths take a lot of volts. Trust me, that’s the lowest setting but try not to get shot?”

“Well that sucks…”

The Paladin fires another grenade but Val points the left tomahawk straight at it. “You’re not the only one with hidden hatches. Val’s finger ran across the bottom near the middle of the handle and slid in between a trigger guard. A single pull of the trigger revealed an opening at the edge and a bullet flew out of the hollowed out handle then hit the grenade. Exploding it midair. Professor Port would’ve been proud. A second one gets fired and Val sidestep it then hurls it at the Paladin’s legs. The blade connects with both of them as it spins like a wild buzzsaw and then back into her hand. Not a scratch was made.

“I guess I need more force!” Val dug her feet into the dirt then pushed off with tremendous force. The mechanical right arm reeled back and swung forward. Both axes collided with a thunderous clang. The power behind the two attacks stalemating into a power struggle. Sparks come off of the clashing metal as Valerie refuses to budge. Val’s stomach drops as the left robot arm In her peripheral vision reels back. “Guys!?”

A white glyph forms under her feet and raises her into the sky just as the rest swings by. Valerie sees Nick on the other side of mech with his left hand casting the platform. “I got ya.” A volley of lasers fire rapidly his way but each one was dodged side to side at the last second. The gun pivoted along with him in an attempt to keep up; sparking an idea for Val. “Nick! Jump up high then drop fast!”

He doesn’t even question the command and leaps straight up into the air several feet; the gun still trained on him and ready to fire but that had been the point. “Summer!”

“I know.” She spun her barrel to gravity dust and made a black glyph that she moved to where he stood.

Nick’s entire body jerked back to the ground right as the laser fired right into the air. The base of the rotating joint was completely exposed and Nick understood what to do next. He lunged forward to it and wedged his blade underneath it. Valerie jumped off the platform and followed suit. The backside of both her axes were connected together to form a dual sided battle axe and she swung it like a baseball bat to wedge it in from the other side. The two pushed down their weight onto their weapon in an attempt to pop the gun out. Gritting their teeth and putting their all into

“Come….on…!!!” His arms started to burn.

“Budge you hunk of metal.”Her entire body finally limbering up and getting into it.

Summer continued to draw the minigun fire her way until it suddenly stopped. The entire Paladin stopped. A disturbing silence came over everyone as they also went still. Harriet slowly covered her eyes and tensed up. ‘This part always sucks.’ Her mind already thinking about the incident reports she was about to write.

The ground began to rumble violently at the Paladin’s feet. “Initiating thrusters”

Valerie’s face dropped. “Did it just say-”

The entire make blasted forward faster than anyone expected. A massive force of wind nearly knocked Nick and Valerie off of it. Both of their heads spinning are trying to process what had happened. As for Summer, one minute she’s supporting them from across the track. The next, she’s staring down the barrel of a canon a few feet away. “S..so fast.” A spell of panic came over her and she raised her sword across her body to block a grenade but it was a pointless move. The explosion knocked her on her back and myrtenaster 2.0 out of her hands. The shock knocked some wind out of her lungs but she has felt worse; taken worse.

Another grenade launched at her but she wasn’t about to get hit a second time. Summer quickly got up and dove out of the way towards her sword. ‘Come on, think damnit!’ She casted another gravity glyph on the side of the minigun and made it over turn so it wouldn’t shoot her. Ice dust remained faintly in the sword’s chamber; the technical advantage from its predecessor. Summer channeled it with gravity dust to form a dense orb of ice at the tip of her blade.

‘Keep it from reacting!’ She shot the orb into the canon to lodge the chamber then switched back to actual ice dust in a split second. ‘Keep it from moving!’ Summer stabbed the ground and unleashed a sheet of ice that trapped its feet.

“Way to go Summer!” Both her friends cheered at the split second decisions. Summer pulled her sword from the ground and platformed leaped up to them. Adding her blade as another wedge and attempting to pry the laser gun off with what strength she could offer. Which wasn’t much as the other two from the start. “Agh! This thing is creaking but not popping!”

“Let’s change that! You two ready!!?” Val shouted and glowed faintly

The twins smiled as they began glowing as well. “Yeah!”

“Then let my words reach you! We got this! We’re tougher than a bunch of tech so put your back into it!”

The three of them pushed down at the pushed down on their weapons in unison. Their body and spirits invigorated as they let out a yell. “AAAAAAHHHH! POP….OUT!!!!”

The joint finally gave out and popped out of the socket. Harriet couldn’t believe what she was watching. The sudden release of tension caught them off guard and all three fell off with it; undoing any active glyphs due to lack of concentration. The Paladin used its thrusters to break free then sped backward.

It pulled the ice orb out of the canon chamber and analyzed the area. While all three finally hit the ground. “Targets locked” six arching grenade shots went into the air Valerie and Summer were still dazed but Nick bounced back quickly.

“Oh no you don’t!”even glyphs formed over the leftover ice and molded into replicas of his sword. He grabbed one while the other six shot off into the air and countered the incoming attack while he charged forward. Moving out of the direction of his friends. “All eyes on me Wall-E I got a bone to pick with ya!” The gun turned to lock on him and unleashed a hail of bullets. ‘Rubber bullets are still rubber.’ He ran straight at it while spinning Mort Froide in front of him to deflect them. The ground started rumbling again and the Paladin rushed at him. Fortunately it’s movement’s were very straight forward and predictable. Nicholas slid underneath and slashed the bottom of it as it passed over.

The ice blade shattered on contact. ‘Sturdy down below too. The joints maybe? No, can’t budge those on my own. It's automatic so attacking the cockpit is almost pointless. Looks like I gotta make an opening.’ His eyes narrow in on where the laser gun was. ‘Or….’ he pressed his thumb against the hilt of his sword and it opened up a singular slot in it to place dust. Nick pulled out a vial of lightning dust and placed it inside, then closed it. “I refuse to fail.”

Val staggered to her feet along with Summer. Their ears rang and Summer’s head throbbed from the fall to the point she undid her ponytail to release tension.

Summer:You okay?

Valerie:A little dizzy but no sweat. We’re ready to go.

A wave of relief soothes the pain a little as their aura glowed again.Summer directed her attention across the field to see Nick invading fists and grenades exploding the ground. How long has he been fighting him? How was he still going? “We need to help. What’s he thinking going at it alone?”

“When did we get an audience?” Valerie said winded. People had filled the bleachers to half capacity. Summer looked at Harriet who simply shrugged. The girl was slightly unnerved by the new development but now was no time to focus on other people. She had a test to pass. “Val let’s-”

The crowd suddenly gasped, cutting her off and directing her attention back on Nick. The Paladin slammed it's hand to the ground and Nick dove threw the fingers then rolled up the arm. His hands gripped his blade brightly and engulfed it in a lightning glyph. He raised it over his head as he jumped and drove it down into the area where the laser gun was. The attack got an immediate reaction. Causing the Paladin to stutter and glitch. The minigun gun shot off random rounds with every pulse of electricity that went through it. Soon after, the robot itself began bucking in every direction like a wild Ursa; stomping its feet and shaking violently. Nicholas could only hold on for dear life.

‘We made the left arm vulnerable.’ Summer realized quickly and got to planning on how to capitalize on it. “Val, help Nick and keep that thing in one place. I have an idea. I just hope I can pull it off. Summer closed her eyes and bent down on one knee. ‘Concentrate…’ a giant white glyph with a sword sigil inside started spinning in front of her.

Val watched the girl start to sweat and tremble. She was pouring all aura she could into this next move.Val wasn’t about to make it go to waste. ‘Keep it still, gain it’s attention, Save Nick. Easy right?’ Her head swiveled back and forth until spotting the detached gun that had managed to land halfway across the track. ‘Let’s see if this thing can handle what it dishes out.’ Valerie took running. Hoping her idea wasn’t dead in the water by faulty wiring. The ground rumbled and rattled as the Paladin continued to thrash around to free itself from Nicholas. He could lose his grip any moment.She had to pick up the pace.

Finally she reached it after a few more minutes of sprinting. Valerie’s chest felt like fire and the crisp air made her throat feel like she had swallowed glass. Sports were her thing but sprinting a mile and a half? She’d rather bench five of herself. “Track huff... sucks huff… ” she grabbed a hold of the gun and tried to lift it. Slowly it started to budge as she took quick breaths to power through getting it waist level. “A one and a two and a-” she rocked her body back and used the momentum of it going forward again to swing her arms up and over her shoulder with the gun. The weight came down heavier than expected and made her knees buckled. It became too much and brought her down to one knee. If this was already extremely heavy then the thought of the recoil made Valerie shudder. “I swear if I don’t get an A….”

“NICK, YOU MIGHT WANT TO JUMP!”

“Huh?” The boy had completely focused on his own situation that the sight of Valerie with a bright, glowing gun pointed his way made him freeze up for a moment until his brain realized the insanity that was going on. Summer remained in the back. Long messy hair fell across her face and her exhaustion was clearly visible as her aura flickered; her eyes staring right at him that screamed “Move!”

“Oh crap!” He pulled his sword out and jumped off right as Valerie fired a shot. The single shot jerked the gun back violently and slammed against her shoulder. Forcing a scream of pure pain out of her lungs. Val’s right arm went limp as she grabbed it. The recoil popped her shoulder out of place but it might’ve been worth it. The beam flew right into the Paladin and caused electricity to crackle all over it. The minigun whipped around sporadically before going limp as well and burn marks ran over it. It’s right foot raised over Nick who wasn’t fast enough to dodge it. Harriet gasped and was about to reach the Paladin control but stopped herself as Nick made a platform above him for the foot to step on instead. Not just that, it kept it off balance. Valerie came sprinting towards him with her axe in one hand. A fierce look in her eyes as Harriet saw the girl reel it back and jump to the left leg. ‘Wait, don’t tell me she’s gonna-’

“FALL!! Valkyrie Drop!” Valerie swung downward with all her might and slammed her battle axe right next to its foot. The entire ground crumbled and cracked on impact. The weight of the Paladin caved the ground in; rendering it completely off-balance and a landslide of dirt to bury its foot. Rubble flew into the air then fell down like hail. Sizable dents were finally made on the media exterior; including cracks on the cockpit casing. Harriet felt her very soul leave her body. Never has anyone ruined the track area this much. Her only saving grace was hopefully Nick’s family would pay for some of the damage. Her job might depend on it! The boy in question rolled out from under the metal death machine and ran the opposite direction of Valerie to escape getting caught in the trap. Finally, it was one place. But not for long…

The heat of the thrusters on the right leg roared loudly as the Paladin tried to break free.

“Summer!!!” The two called her name in a state of adrenaline and panic.

Her summoning glyph glowed an intense white before disappearing, then reappearing right behind the Paladin. “Right...on time.” An Arma gigas sword forces its way into existence with its sword in hand. In one swipe the gigas slashes right through the damaged arm; making crash to the ground and creating a gaping hole to attack. “One more slash!” Summer screamed as the Gigas swung at the new weak. This was it. This was going to be the final blow. Was….

The Paladin was more adaptable than she expected. Than anyone expected. As if by command, it reached for its broken arm and used it to block the sword. A massive gust of wind came off the clash. The force of the impact was too great for the gigas arm. Causing it to crack slowly before fading away entirely. Summer’s face ran colder than the sweat running down it. Her heart nearly stopped at the sight of her failure. Then it only got worse. The Paladin ignored Nicholas and Valerie completely and threw its severed arm across the field towards her exact location.

“W-What?” She could barely speak, let alone move her body. That move took almost everything that was in her. All her strength, and most of her aura; yet it met nothing. Time seemed to slow down. The sound of the world growing silent. Summer could see a terrified look on her brother and friend’s face. They looked to be screaming something she was too tired and scared to even start comprehending. To her left was Harriet already halfway down the bleachers; racing to what was about to be on hell of a nasty hit. Yet it was unavoidable. Even Summer knew Harriet wasn’t fast enough to save her from this blow. That was fine though. It’s the consequence of being weak. You can’t expect to be saved all the time and Summer was tired constantly getting away with failure.

Her body trembled in frustration and fear. If she was alone then she’d probably be crying right now but instead she choked back her tears and quietly chastised herself for coming up short yet again. ‘After all that training, Nick’s talk about me being a cornerstone, this is all I could do again? Fall behind and let them down. Why…? Why am I so fucking weak all the time!?’ Her arms raised in front of her in a useless attempt to block some damage. Summer closed her eyes and braces for impact.

Don’t you dare sit there like an idiot! If you wanna save yourself then do it!!!!

The command resonated with Summer and her body moved like if she had just gotten out of bed; refreshed and limber. Both her hair and eyes lit up for a moment as she slammed her hands on the ground and formed a thick wall of ice in front of her in the blink of an eye. The mechanicals arm slammed into the wall and it came to a dead stop. The wall crumbled and Summer went back to normal before her aura finally broke. All fatigue and pain rushed back instantly. Along with blurring her vision. She stared at her reflection through one of the pieces of ice to see a version of herself with a familiar condescending smile. “Shi...va….”

Sigh, you’re such a lightweight it’s embarrassing. Don’t say I never did anything for you darling.

Exhaustion finally took Summer. She collapsed right as Harriet came over; blacking out in her arms. But not before giving a message for Harriet to tell her beloved team. Harriet looked at both of them and screamed. “Keep going! She’ll be fine!”

The two were uncertain at first before giving a nod and facing the robot which has completely freed itself and rescanned the area. “One of three combatants immobilized. Continuing examination for two and three.” The machine grabbed a piece of debris the size of a car at Nick while firing grenades faster than before at Valerie. Both took off running towards each other then straight down the middle of the field.

“You hanging in there Val?” The boy asked even the sight of her clenching her right shoulder and breathing heavily was giving him a pretty good answer.

“We’ve come too far to stop now. We’ll knock it off balance again and go for the opening. I’ll-”

“Look out!” Nick shoved Valerie out the way as a grenade landed where she stood and blew both of them apart. Nick tumbled back onto his feet with his sword ready. A wise decision since the Paladin rushed right at him again and swung a massive right hook. Nick jumped over then made a glyph midair to block an incoming grenade. The fist started coming back for a second attack at Nick but he made a second platform to jump over it again. This time he back stepped to get out of melee range ‘It’s gotten more aggressive. I need to...’ “Huh?”

There was no time for a well thought strategy in the heat of combat. Especially when the unexpected keeps happening. The Paladin was truly leaving nothing to the imagination. It grabbed the malfunctioning minigun on its shoulder and yanked it off. Throwing it at Nicholas to close the distance.

“No!” He screamed in panic as he tried making another glyph but was too slow. He put his sword up to reduce the blow but the gun still slammed against him; a piece of it crashed right into his ribs. Air left his body as pain shot through it while he fell to the ground hunched over and clenching his left side. Anyone near would’ve heard a few swear words slip out. He managed to look up to see the next attack but was surprised to see it heading towards Valerie. “Is it...agh, prioritizing most important threats as the fight goes on?” That had to be it. Without all it’s weapons it has to play carefully. It explained its attack patterns even from the start. Distance wasn’t the only factor. Whoever could or was causing the most damage was the main target; and right now the most threatening person right now had a wounded arm with no chance to recover.

Valerie groaned in exhaustion and frustration. She didn’t want to show it but she was even more tired than she let on. Between her arm and getting shocked, moving her body was becoming a chore. Not to mention how many times she has fallen to the ground hard. Valerie was in dire need of a break that would not come. She separated her battle axe back into two tomahawks and crouched at the ready. “I can do this. I can do this. I...can do this!” Her body glowed for a third time. Pain dulled and her mind became clear. “Come on!!!”

The canon launched a barrage of thirty grenades; the biggest one yet. She shot one and five exploded which dispersed the others in midair. Four fell to the ground away from her and she jumped in the air to hit one back. Two landed near her and blew her back but she recovered quickly. Above her head was six falling fast. ‘Shit..’ Valerie flung one axe into the air and detonated them with a chain reaction. She shot for more before the Paladin rushed at but Val dodged roll underneath it. One more fell right out of her line of sight and made her jump towards the middle when it exploded. The final five were falling right towards and she once again pulled the trigger on her axe to hear a click. Followed by no bullets.

“Tsk, I’m not done yet!” She threw this axe to detonate four of them. This time she put an extra hard spin on her axe that made it bounce back towards her to catch. The last got blasted of course and over her head. She faced the Paladin with a satisfied smirk and started aiming for the weak spot. “Time to fin-”

“Val, behind you!” Nick tried to shout with what air he recovered.

Valerie spun around and her smirk vanished into dread. The grenade was inches away from the laser gun She had dropped. Before she could move to safety it exploded. The shockwave blew up the gun into a mass electrical pulse that expanded almost instantly and hit Valerie. The excess energy ran through Valerie like a thousand tasers in water. She could barely get out an auditable noise as she stood stiff; her axe falling out her hand and the Paladin moving towards her.

Nick’s fingers gripped the ground as he tries to force his body to move. Pushing down the pain and refusing to let help another teammate in need. ‘Come on Nick! Forget the pain….just move man, move!!!! You’re a Schnee and an Arc so move!” A giant glyph formed underneath him….

Valerie continued to try moving but to no avail. She stood in agonizing pain as the Paladin stood over her and reeled it's fist back. Valerie would’ve been more unnerved if the shock to her system didn’t make her vision blurry and her body increasingly go numb from the pain . All Valerie saw was a gray blob getting bigger before the sensation of something caused her head to feel like it was spinning. Everything got really bright and fuzzy as she faintly felt pressure around her arms and legs. Then….she blacked out.

Nick placed her just outside the track near Harriet before walking back in bounds. His sword gripped tightly in his right hand. While his left hand gripped an Arma Gigas blade; Harriet watched the boy encased in armor take a breath and take a wide stance. “M..maybe we should stop? You’ve gotten farther than most. All of your skills are worth passing”

Nick turned around and shook his head. The only thing visible was his icy blue eyes behind the helmet. No, I’ll make sure we pass this right. That, and I’m really in the mood to scrap that thing now more than ever. His voice was low and almost like he couldn’t care less. Harriet could feel how pissed he was. No chance he was backing down now. “Heh, I’m rooting for ya.”

“Thanks.” He continued walking. Taking note of his surroundings. The severed robot arm and behind him where Summer got knocked out on the end of the track. The Paladin that was back in the middle of the field. Last but not least, the far end of the track that was now a rocky terrain of rocks and dirt. Then there’s him. Stepping back into the field in between the bot and arm. His entire body ached to the point that moving should be the hardest thing imaginable. It kinda was, but he endured. The Gigas moved his body. All he needed to do was endure a few more minutes. Or rather, that’s all he had left in him. ‘Can’t afford to waste a single movement. All or nothing. Just dig deep…’

The Paladin scanned the area one final time. “Two of three co-”

Nick didn’t care to listen and pointed Mort Froide to the ground. A blue glyph went over it and ten blades of ice came out the ground. He then pointed his blade at the Paladin and the ice ones homed in on it. “Let’s see what takes priority.” It shot one at each blade which caused another shock wave that dissipated any dust particles.This time he threw his real sword at it and it responded with a single grenade. “Bad move.” The same glyph ran over it right after the Paladin reacted. Ten more ice blades formed from the remaining dust left in the sword and flew ahead of it.. The Paladin tried to counter against the new numbers and in doing so missed Nicholas throw the Arma blade at a speed faster than the rest. It caught on a second later then turned to prioritize it. As it did, Nick summoned it back into his hand. Throwing off the counter. “I knew you’d go after the blade that actually cut you. Now look at ya.”

The machine went back to aiming at the ice swords. It only managed to shoot one grenade but it had gotten too close. The shock wave shattered the other swords but pushed the Paladin back with not only that blast, but the nine other grenades at the ready as well. The concentrated blast blew the canon and cracked the ground even more. Mort Froide landed straight into the dirt, blade downwards. “All out of bombs.” He raced towards it while grabbing his sword along the way. Once again the ground rumbled before the Paladin took off towards him as well.

Nick quickly slid between its legs and kept running in the same direction before it had a chance to turn around. The moment he made it to the edge of the ruined field he drove his blade deep into the ground and charged towards the Paladin again with only the Arma blade. The Paladin stuck its hand in the ground and turned itself around for another tackle. Harriet almost couldn’t watch out of fear that she’d see her student get flattened but fortunately, dodged to the side with no arm. Avoiding the extremely dangerous attack. It was like he was one of those bull fighters. However, this time was different. Nick spun around and extended his arm as he passed by it. Her eyes followed Nick’s line of sight back to Mort Froide that had a black glyph spinning underneath. He must’ve put gravity dust in during the first charge. She wondered why until a sinking feeling hit her stomach.

“Oh no…” The Paladin used the same turning technique but it uncalculated consequences. Nick wasn’t expecting the move but added to his plan. The weight of it along with the extra gravity was so too great and more of the ground collapsed; momentarily as Nick made his way to the severed arm. His body and aura reach their limits quickly. “Just a little more. Almost...finished!”

One final glyph appeared underneath the arm and spun rapidly. He looked behind him to see the Paladin getting up and perusing him once more. It quickly dashed across the feel while having its arm raised. Nick couldn’t help smile. “Catch!” The glyph burst and launched the arm up the Arma Gigas body came off of Nick while leaving the sword. It leaped into the air and rammed the limb hard enough to send it at the Paladin, disappearing as well. The Paladin used it’s only arm to catch the other instead of attacking;now it couldn’t swing down with how close it was. No more guns, distance was closed, and there was no room to dash forward. Checkmate. Nick willed his body to stand up and lunged upward at it. Driving his sword through one of cracks. “It’s Over!!!” He screamed with all his might as he poured whatever aura he had left into the blade and watched it grow bigger and until it was the size it was supposed to be; until the blade pierced through the other side.

Nobody made a sound. They didn’t even seem to breathe as Nick and the robot stopped completely. Slowly his grip loosened and he fell. Harriet quickly ran and caught him in her arms before he could land. Nick could only smile weakly before closing his eyes and passing out. Harriet looked backup as the sword faded away and the Paladin fell backwards, completely wrecked. Without warning, the crowd of students on the bleachers erupted in cheers and applause. It had been quite the spectacle. Yet Harriet could still only manage to look at him and his friends who were still resting on the sidelines. They actually did it. They passed.

Part 10

#rwby #rwby au #rwby twin snowflakes #rwby whiteknight #summer schnee #val valkyrie #renora #harriet bree #man did this take some effort!#this calls for a cookie #nicholas schnee #i usually dont ask for reblogs but if you would be so kind

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itwasalwaysjustred · 4 years

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prompt #014 - part

no pairings; introspection

content warnings: SHB spoilers!

If Nhagi’li had been asked to describe what his denser soul felt like, he would have been hard-pressed to find a good answer. On the surface, he doesn’t feel any different. His body doesn’t feel heavier, nor is any easier or more difficult to move how he wishes. He doesn’t feel like his opinions have changed, not on all the big important things anyhow, and he still takes all his meals the same way he always did. Thinking about that, though, he may be a little bit hungrier, but he’s not sure if that one is just a convenient excuse and actually a result of his new, beefier soul. For all intents and purposes, he’s still the same Miqo’te who left the Source to go do battle on the First.

Occasionally, though, he gets feelings that are his-not-his, as though something in him feels the need to voice its opinion on whatever it is he’s experiencing. It’s almost like having a conscience, if one’s conscience was formerly a buff Hyur man who played the tough guy to hide his very soft heart.

(There’s a faint ripple of indignation at that thought, and Nhagi’li bites back a smile.)

As much as he does enjoy these little reminders that his former-enemy-turned-ally is still there, Nhagi’li misses talking to Ardbert though, properly — or at least, as properly as one talks to a ghost that’s invisible to everyone else. Though he has shared so many of his trials with his fellow Scions and allies, there was something to be said about bearing the mantle of leadership through all of those times. It wasn’t even that they had to make all the important decisions; both he and Ardbert had had companions possessing far superior intellect than their own, after all. No, it was the fact that, at the end of the day, they were the ones who had to see things to their inevitable conclusions, no matter what the cost.

And that was something that only Ardbert had understood.

But he’s found another way to reconnect with this found part of himself, even if they can’t talk like they used to. The replica weapon sits harmlessly on the desk, freshly unwrapped, and Nhagi’li can feel the way it makes something stir inside of him. He’s never wielded one of these himself — in this body anyways — but he gets the feeling he won’t have any trouble picking it up. Ardbert, after all, had been quite handy with one of theses, and Nhagi’li feels it’s time he added it to his repertoire.

“C’mon then, I don’t have all day,” he mumbles under his breath, and feels his mouth curve into a smile that’s mostly his. His fingers tighten obediently into a familiar-not-familiar grip around the great axe handle. “Let’s go kick some ass.”

#ffxivwrite2020

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khtrinityftw · 5 years

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The Good, The Bad, and the Cards - A Brief Look Back at KH: Chain of Memories

It’s been 15 years since Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories was released, and while I adore this game, I want to look back and highlight 7 specific elements worthy of praise that still hold up to this day and 7 specific elements that aren’t so good and helped derail the KH franchise going forward, the “Franchise Original Sins” as it were. So without further ado, here they are:

Positive: The Card Map System - I really love the usage of cards when it comes to exploring each world. Through the different cards, you get to create your own customized dungeon to crawl through, and the incentive to battle in order to collect cards you need to progress further in the level is a good one.

Negative: The Card Battle System - Unfortunately, using cards in combat isn’t done nearly as smoothly, and they complicate battles way more than they should. This is especially bad in the original GBA version of the game, where the cards are hard to make out on the small screen and the tiny, cramped arenas that you fight in make it all too easy to get backed into a corner while trying to shuffle through or reload your deck. This game could’ve done better.

Positive: Sora’s Story - The main scenario of the game is superbly written by Daisuke Watanabe. Like I said in my video review, he took what he was given, which was virtually nothing, and turned it into something. Sora’s character has never been explored in as much depth as it is here, with all of his raw strengths and weaknesses on full display. His bond of friendship with Donald and Goofy, his strong romantic interest in Kairi, his tortured clashing with “Riku”, his animosity toward Organization XIII, and the interactions he has with Namine toward the end are all handled perfectly. It really reminds you of just why you love this guy.

Negative: Riku’s Story - Reverse/Rebirth, otoh, doesn’t hold up so well. It tries its best to give Riku good character development, but too much of it is focused on practically everyone but Riku, the lack of anything occurring in the Disney worlds means that the story feels too light on content, and the conclusion Riku’s character is ultimately brought to contradicts what was established in the original KH and only creates further problems down the line. What’s more, this was the start of forcing Riku down our throats as the deuteragonist of the series, which is a role he was never suited for and that he only gets worse in overtime. So yeah, not a fan.

Positive: Organization XIII - Primarily the members introduced in Sora’s story; Lexaeus and Zexion are more useful as plot devices than as characters. Not only are Axel, Larxene, Vexen and Marluxia all excellent villains in their own ways, but the villainous arc they are part of is the best-written one in any KH game. Watching them work off each other and against each other in this dark but easy to follow political intrigue plot is one of the game’s highest points.

Negative: The Riku Replica - Don’t get me wrong, this was a decent character with a decent arc, but the execution was way too over-the-top and overstayed its welcome. Between Sora and Riku’s story, you have to fight this asshole six times! That’s just ridiculous for any boss in any game! And then there’s what the whole “replica” concept he introduced was used for in subsequent games, since Nomura just loves taking the simple and making it convoluted.

Positive: The GBA Graphics - This is one of the best-looking GBA games ever, hands-down. The fact that full cutscenes with PS2-style graphics were actually able to fit on the cartridge is simply incredible, and Square should really be commended for pushing the system to its absolute limits.

Negative: Console Spread - COM marked the first time that a KH game was put on an entirely different console than before, being a GBA game released and set in between two PS2 games. This wasn’t too much of a problem back then, since COM was only needed to fully understand the purposefully confusing prologue of KH2 and it ended up getting a PS2 remake anyway. But after a while, the sheer amount of consoles that KH spin-off games that are necessary to understand KH3′s story with became ridiculous. At this point, the only way you can actually get the full KH series is to own a PS4. If you don’t, then you’re out of luck.

Positive: Disney Expansion - Because this game re-uses Disney characters and worlds from the original KH, Daisuke Watanabe got to expand on things that weren’t really delved into in that game. We get more on Aladdin’s character, more on Alice’s character, more on Peter Pan and Wendy’s characters, more on Belle and the Beast’s characters and relationship…and perhaps most notable of all, more on Jiminy Cricket’s character. The Disney worlds and characters that we saw in KH are all enriched by their memory-based appearances.

Negative: An Influx of OCs - The original KH only had four original characters: Sora, Riku, Kairi and Ansem (five if you are counting Xemnas from Final Mix). COM introduced nine new ones: Namine, Axel, Larxene, Marluxia, Vexen, Lexaeus, Zexion, Riku Replica, and DiZ. Again, this wasn’t a problem with the game back then, especially seeing as two-thirds of those characters get axed before the game is through. But it started the trend of Nomura introducing way too much OCs that come to overshadow all the Disney and FF characters. Worse still, he refuses to truly let any of them go, as all six of those dead characters end up coming back to life later on, as do the two who went on to perish in KH2. This results in an overly cluttered canvas by KH3, to the point where no FF characters can appear.

Positive: Set-up for KH2 - This game’s existence did for KH2 what the later Dream Drop Distance should have done for KH3 but didn’t: it effectively set the stage for the following game. It gave all of the necessary foreshadowing for things like Nobodies, the Organization’s true goal, Xemnas, Roxas, Twilight Town, Namine being Kairi’s Nobody, and DiZ being the true Ansem while the Ansem we knew being an impostor. It also removed five members of the Organization from the board, with the sixth slated for removal in KH2′s prologue, which left the villain roster at a much more manageable number for the game’s main scenario. COM truly feels like the middle installment of a trilogy: the shit that happens in it actually matters.

Negative: Too Much Rehash from KH1 - There is so much from the original KH that is on repeat in COM. Beyond the same Disney worlds and characters being re-used, the stories in those worlds and with those characters match the original KH’s beat for beat, except with themes of memory inserted in and all context to the larger narrative removed so that they feel like filler. Both recycling from the first KH and Disney world visits being filler were not so bad in this game, but when it kept happening throughout the rest of the series, players grew sick of it. Furthermore, beats from the first KH still transpire in the main storyline of the game: Namine is in a role like Kairi’s, the Riku Replica is in a role like Riku’s, Marlxuia is in a role like both Maleficent and Ansem while Ansem himself comes back for more fun darkness times in Riku’s story, and we get sequences of Sora being separated from Donald and Goofy (this time it’s flipped and he’s the one who turns on them), the trio making an “All for One, One for All” promise as they put their hands on one another, and Sora making a promise with Namine that has Kairi’s good luck charm at the center of it. It’s all a little too much familiarity.

Positive: Atmosphere - As much as this game rehashes the previous one, it has a markedly different tone. It’s darker, more foreboding, more eerie, more psychological and uncertain. The white walls of Castle Oblivion and the creepy music playing as you go through them floor by floor really helps to sell this, as does a lot of the dialogue, memory-based insights into the characters’ hearts, and twisted machinations of the villains. It makes COM, well, memorable.

Negative: Convoluted Writing - That’s right, it all starts here. The writing for the original KH was smart enough to not actively dwell on the more ponderous elements of its story, keeping the narrative to a simple presentation while leaving the deeper lore as stuff for the player to think and speculate about it on their own. But in this game, it starts getting pushed to the forefront. Memory and darkness are the central themes of Sora and Riku’s story respectively, and yet neither of them quite make sense the way they’re explored. Memory is repeatedly said to be an aspect of the heart, to the point where removing it altogether would shatter a person’s heart completely. Except that this is not only confusing to basic logic that says memory is an aspect of the mind, but it gets contradicted by the following game, KH2, where it states that Nobodies that have no hearts act upon the memories of when they had hearts. Then we have Namine’s powers and how it relates to memories, which is nebulously defined here and ends up ballooning to ludicrous godlike degrees in order to make certain plot turns happen in later games, and you end up retroactively questioning why she didn’t just fuck with the Organization’s memories and shatter them in order to escape captivity all by herself.

Meanwhile, darkness is completely rewritten so that it can be a good thing if Riku isn’t afraid of it and uses it for a good cause...except that this is literally what he did in the first KH and it corrupted him. Darkness was unambiguously bad and something that should not be used in that game, but now it’s being revamped just to make Riku into a special snowflake with uber-awesome darkness powers. Future games continue going back and forth on darkness on whether it’s good, bad or neutral, whether it’s a natural force that needs to co-exist with light or whether it’s the source of all evil in the universe. And I again must remind you that this is only the start of how convoluted the series gets with its stories! By KH3, the series has become an absolute clusterfuck where nothing really makes sense or amounts to anything. There’s no real depth anymore, just pretentious nonsense that Nomura confuses for depth.

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nadziejastar · 5 years

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NO FEAR: IsaLea is still subtly canon (ill take what I’ll get) and Skuld comes and they become a platonic trio. No Isa/Skuld or Lea/Skuld (writers could try to flip it on us). FEAR: Skuld eats up all the attention in the trio. Isa and Lea’s characterization gets reduced to one dimensional fanboys. Skuld paired up with Isa or Lea. We stick in forced pairing hell and there will be ship wars.

NIGHTMARE: The writers make Skuld and either Isa or Lea get married and have a kid. I don’t think push it THAT far. I dunno if they’ll truly go through with a romantic pairing. But I’m gonna lose hope and interest if they do.

Sora: Kairi, I’ll keep you safe.

Kairi: Let me keep you safe.

Well, if you ask me, Lea and Isa were already reduced to one-dimensional fanboys in KH3. Lea was more of a one-dimensional fanboy for different characters, though. And in future games, he’ll probably continue to be portrayed that way. I’ve already lost interest. The only hope I have left is the sick humor I’ll get watching all the characters get destroyed. Lea and Kairi’s role in the final battle was supposed to be saving Isa from Xehanort’s control. But since that idea was thrown in the trash, they had no real reason to be there anymore. Thus, they became totally irrelevant to the plot. Roxas conveniently arrived just in time to take Lea’s place, while Xion arrived to take Kairi’s place.

Saïx: You’re the fire that feeds Sora’s anger.

Kairi: No… Sora’s in danger because of me…

Kairi wanted to prove herself during her training. She wanted to keep Sora and the others safe for a change. And she does! She becomes a real hero instead of a damsel-in-distress. Psyche! She actually regresses to be an even MORE useless damsel than ever before!

Her new friend Axel doesn’t even react when she’s kidnapped. Kairi, who? Who cares about her? Roxas Stu and Xion Sue are here! Time for a big snuggly hug! But wait. Now there’s more Guardians of Light than necessary. Kairi is superfluous. How can we make her important? Well, I guess she can motivate Sora again? A-hyuk! How does her fight with Saïx go? Exactly like it did before she could wield a Keyblade, of course! She is simply the fire to fuel Sora’s anger…again.

Kairi: I’m training to become a Keyblade wielder like you. That’s right. No more waiting for you to come back from your adventures.

It’s okay. She still has a happy ending! While everyone else celebrates, she gets to imagine Sora is with her while crying to herself. Sure, everyone starts to worry as she’s hallucinating. But it’s okay. Sora will be back.

Donald: Kairi, you were great!

Kairi: Oh?

Sora: You are different, Kairi, but I’m just glad you’re here!

Kairi: You and Riku never came home, so I came looking for you.

Any minute now. She’ll just wait right here for him to come back.

Lea: Ah, I’ll catch up with ya in no time flat.

Sora: What? You wanna be a Keyblade Master?

Lea: Yeah. I mean, I came here to learn how to wield one.

Lea wanted to prove himself as a Keyblade wielder as well. He put himself at risk using the D.T.D just to find Mickey. All so he could become a wielder and find Isa. He believes that inside people’s memories, he can live forever. He spends the whole game training with Kairi in preparation for the final battle. Yeah…Lea was a pretty cool character.

Xigbar: Axel!

Lea: Axel? Please. The name’s Lea. Got it memorized?

Xigbar: You’re not supposed to be here!

Xigbar was right. Lea, you aren’t supposed to be here.

Axel: You kidding? Do you know how popular I am? I got loads of people rootin’ for me. Sorry, boss. No one axes Axel. Got it memorized?

That’s better.

Sora & Riku: YOU!?

Lea: Hey, thanks for the vote of confidence. You know, I was gonna come swooping in, Keyblade in hand! But I just couldn’t get mine to materialize. Must be in the snap of the wrist or something.

For some reason, Lea stopped caring about Isa, and his sole purpose in life became…Roxas…again. A character who he has…no ability to bring back, actually. Not even with his snazzy new Keyblade. So, what now? How can he still be useful?

Lea: You had your perfect little script, but you kinda forgot to write the sequel. Now, let’s find out what happens!

Few people realize that Lea—excuse me, AXEL— was breaking the fourth wall all the way back in KH3D. He knew exactly what would happen!And instead of braving the darkness, rescuing his friend, and becoming a hero…Axel gets benched. Literally. He gets to watch from the bleacher seats.

Lea: Promises to keep. I’ll always be there to get my friends back. What, bad timing?

Well, whaddaya know? It turns out that getting his ass handed to him was just the magic spark Roxas Stu needed to magically arrive and save the day. Axel fanboys over Roxas Stu’s sheer awesomeness! Roxas Stu smiles at Axel with a cool expression. Roxas Stu is back, so Axel has served his purpose. He tells Axel that his five minutes are up now. It’s HIS turn.

Xemnas: Ah, ever the rogue pawn. Knocked from the board early in the game. Utterly useless and forgotten.

Whoa, Xemnas can break the fourth wall, too? He sure called it ahead of time. But it’s okay. He is more than happy about it. He compliments Roxas Stu and Xion Sue for their amazing prowess with the Keyblade! Those two are old pros, unlike him, after all! A-hyuck!

Saïx: Do you know what happens to those who lose their true purpose? Inevitably, they destroy themselves.

This picture is a fairly decent representation of KH3′s Isa. He’s on his knees, alone, being looked down on by everyone. Lea is disgusted with him. He’s lost all sense of purpose…in the story, that is. If you think about Isa’s canon story, he and Lea try to rescue a girl that they barely know, and are not sure even exists. They become apprentices just for her, then get turned into Nobodies. They devote their lives to finding information about this girl, and they conspire to make Saïx Xemnas’ right-hand man. Saïx is so obsessed with this random girl, he drifts apart from Axel and becomes…a sociopath. Yep, that’s all folks. You were expecting a tragic backstory? Nope! There’s no intriguing human experiment plot! Just girl drama.

Maleficent: You see? It’s just as I told you. While you toiled away trying to find your dear friend, he quite simply replaced you with some new companions. Evidently, now he values them far more than he does you. You’re better off without that wretched boy. Now, think no more of him and come with me. I’ll help you find what you’re searching for…

Roxas Stu and Xion Sue observe with pity as Axel’s OLD best friend gets put in his place. As his NEW best friends, they are rewarded with brand-new DLC packs…starring them, of course. They were always special after all. The only Keyblade users in Days. But it wasn’t enough for them to simply steal Axel and Kairi’s first and only fight as wielders. Now they need MORE screen time so we can bask in their glory.

Axel: You let them reduce you to this?

Axel does break the fourth wall a lot in KH3. Well, he was actually doing it here, too. He’s not referring to Organization XIII when he asks this—he was talking about Square Enix and Disney. He’s asking Isa how he let himself get turned into such a pathetic character. And the answer is simple: Axel went off and made other friends. More POPULAR friends. So he got left in the dust. From a narrative standpoint, that’s exactly what happened.

Riku: Take care of her.

Somewhere along the way, Saïx became part-Xehanort. The implication in KH3 was that he willingly became a vessel, since he wasn’t being controlled like Terra was, and Lea was disgusted at how he let himself get reduced to his state. So, he basically sacrificed his humanity JUST to find this random girl. Totally believable actions from a complex and multi-dimensional character, right? Then he became obsessed with power…or something? Meanwhile, Axel makes other friends. Saïx gets jealous and becomes a giant asshole, and now he has to redeem himself by getting replicas for Lea’s NEW bestest friends.

He then quietly fades away in the background, out of shame. It’s an utterly sad and pathetic story, really. One more fitting for a tragic villain than someone on the side of the good guys. I can’t decide which would be worse. Isa and Skuld actually getting together, and rewarding this horrible characterization…or Isa continuing to degrade himself for her while his feelings go unrequited. I remember how much I despised Riku’s character arc in KH1, and how pissed off I was during his ending scene. I was SO grateful that the future games stepped away from shit like this. But now, it’s back, I guess.

Roxas: You’re me, so you can feel what I felt.

Sora: No. Roxas, you’re you. We’re not the same. I wanted to tell you that. That you deserve as much as I do to be your own person.

Personally I doubt that Isa and Skuld will actually become a couple. I think Isa’s fate is to be the same as the Riku Replica. Naminé brainwashed him, and implanted false memories inside of him to make him think he was in love with her. He became obsessed with a phantom girl to the point where he wanted to kill his childhood friend, Sora. He finds out the truth about how their relationship was a fraud and never existed in the first place. Then he dies.

Then comes back! But…he sacrifices his only chance at having his own life. Like Isa, he did it “all for her”. In a narrative sense, he was sacrificed as a pawn in order to bring back Naminé. She needs the replica more (ie. is more popular) than him. And nobody needs him, since the REAL Riku is already around anyways. A faithful replica until the very end. Isa served the same purpose in KH3. His arc was sacrificed in order to concoct an excuse to bring Roxas and Xion back, and also to put the spotlight on Skuld from now on.

Riku Replica: So…it’s over. Hmph. Death doesn’t frighten me. Good riddance to a phony life. My heart was never real. I’m sure even what I’m feeling now is probably all fake.

Riku: What are you feeling?

Riku Replica: What happens when a fake dies—one like me? Where will my heart go? Does it disappear?

Riku: It’ll go somewhere. Maybe to the same place as mine.

Riku Replica: Tsk. A faithful replica until the very end. That’s…okay.

Riku Replica had a MUCH more dignified death in CoM. He rejected the fake memories he had. He resented the fact that he was a fake replica. He didn’t have to go to the Dark Realm or the afterlife. He was always a part of Riku. So ultimately, he went back to him. They had the same heart—they were the same person. I thought that was a fitting end, and his final words were quite compelling actually. KH3 plays up the fact that replicas are totally unique individuals, yet treats Riku Replica as being even more disposable than before. But it’s okay. He’s happy about it. A-hyuk!

#anti-kh3 #anti kh3

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captainkurosolaire · 6 years

Text

Prompt #11 : Checkmate

Black Sun vs White Moon

The Eclipse

(Flashback) The night before the storm begun his mind thought wandering looking up at the clouds. While he laid prone on his backside allowing the Sun to warm his flesh. He tried using his linkpearl to ring up Ayla trying to establish a connection. “Mo--..--<Static>” Would reverberate back he started checking everything, including his pockets to see if there was something jamming that wasn’t noticed or placed on him. He tried another linkpearl and continued, getting the same results. But something was intercepting every time. Hearing the same thing in return when others tried responding. Checking instead on A’yi but finding her still not home he decided to take a airship to The Dravanian Hinterlands and go mourn with her assuming she wasn’t taking it well. Getting to the sight there was a gravestone and a already buried A’gomine. He sighed kneeling down and instead of doing his usual traditional bad boy persona paid the respect. Lifting up his head and opening a hue the constellation of Cygnus was twinkling and vibrant flashing back a memory of her. Something felt ominously off. Baby Bat constantly hid inside his hat against the Sun only peaking out during the hour of Nocturnal. Then showed his usual signs of snickering away at the Captain though with his presence came, hers. Meeting inside the Cave was Pogo. One of the Oracles, that led A’yi to her dying Shaman before leaving that had a connection with her. -Poro- “Captain, you’re here seeking A’yi? I am glad you’ve come, much to tell, come inside for a moment.”

He hops into the cave. Giving a box addressed to him from A’gomine. Opening it a White/Golden Ship encrusted with Diamonds, Black Onyx and Rubies and the waves were made of the finest sapphires in a form of a replica with all of his own ship down to the flag. With it a note. -A’gomine- “Please take care of my A’yi, She loves you very much. I have bestowed her much power see too it she is seeking growth and the abilities to use it. Captain Solaire, I am sorry unfortunately the fates did not allow us to meet, there is a secret panel in the bottom of the boat with three small vials they are labeled should they come in handy for your journey. - All my love, A’gomine.” -Poro- “A’yi was drugged and taken from here, I should haven’t let her alone. Male Keeper from smell, with magical prowess who is very exceptionally skilled. He opened a portal and whisked her away to another dimension from my knowledge. My visions granted me that sight, she isn’t hurt currently and allowing her no freedom. The darkness she was put in is eating away at her own will. She has offered options to select her for death instead. Though he hasn’t budged with a single one, only adamant to destroy you. I haven’t a faint way to locate her maybe another here of my kind can assist you. The ward protecting you and Ayla was found and destroyed on your ship. Keep your strength, Captain.” He offered to hand him some food and drink along with A’yi’s room to stay and rest from the trip. -Kuro- “Thanks Froglet but I am off, No time to waste. If A’yi is set free, or you sense her get her to safety.” He’d bottle his emotion knowing that It was -him- His runic tattoo on his forearm staying asleep in the process still jet-black. Kuro would then do what Poro suggested and spoke with one of the elder oracles called Popo.

-Popo-“You follow, I lead you to what you seek.”

Was said in confrontation and he didn’t have a reason not to believe one of them yet.

Arriving at a cavern in the heart of The Dravanian Hinterlands in the section of the Ruling Quarter. He’d look around with a spyglass as they entered further in the darkness began steering away from the light. (The Dravanian Hinterlands ( 15.9 , 38.0 ) Z: 0.9)

The water was about ankle volume in height.

-Kuro-“You brought me to an empty cavern? This doesn’t sound like an ambush at all.” Said with sarcasm.

He’d start scanning around looking at the enticing aetherial crystals that were shoved like gems into the earthly surface stalactites of these same turquoise crystals hung above a big opening was left that peered outside. The outer area covered with glowing mushrooms alongside the pool.

Popo halted and turned.

Applause rang through out the cave in echos with hands clapping together delicately.

-Mysterious- “Excellent work Popo. You led exactly what you’ve preached fate. Now you can whither in peace.” (Battle starts gets more graphic)

Suddenly Popo combusted from the inside after full becoming a cryogenically frozen. The blood splattered all across Kuro’s attire.

Stepping out of the shadows was white.

-Kuro- “YOU, bastard… Using pawns and disposing of them, where the hell is A’yi?”

-Shiro- “Oh she’s in company of sorts more like misery, I could always answer your question with another… Why do you choose to still live rat? It’s because of your survival you mucked up everything, I thought Ul’dah was starting to do better with cleaning up filth but suppose that was to hard to believe.”

-Kuro- “I’ve lived because you’re what everyone claims you to be a failure. Your little extermination of all the Goldbrand and what was it? <Quote> “Thus ends the Goldbrand.” Seems you really fucked up with that one. Now we could spend hours quoting why the other one is going kill the other yadda, yadda, frankly. I’d rather cut to the action this is a parley to finally end things.”

-Shiro- “Fool, you’ve truly not changed. Remember what I did last time to your crew? I could’ve done that exactly 1054 in alternative plays currently, Only ten of those were narrowed down to let your crewmates not be buried in the depths of the ocean and vanquished, slaughtering everything you possess gets dull the second time around.

You’re supposed to be a Captain but not a single one of them can grasp team-work. Half of them can’t protect themselves, you know why? Because of your idea. Letting them be free like they aren’t pawns? Giving them options to fully develop and grow on their own terms in independence how absurd. Without telling them how to rule their lives or cutting down their weaknesses you allowed it to grow in your ranks. It’s because your own weakness rubs off on them.”

-Shiro- “You wanted to know where A’yi is?”

Shiro would pull out half of the clothed material of a dress and let it fall below Kuro’s feet. Letting him think she was slain.

Cold starring straightly in a deathly grin appeared ear to ear signaling the challenge

Kuro’s one eye up widely and his fist clenched to the point his nails dug into his palm flesh and blood droplets letting them ripple and bounce in the small pool. His forearm runic flashed brightly once showing signs of something steering from all the built up fury being suppressed. Kuro then drew his swords out of each scabbard and said not another word.

-Shiro- “Come show me, Is the Goldbrand really destined to survive or does it die like it was meant to? Channel that anger and use it show me what kept you alive. With your death, everyone will be better off I assure you.”

Shiro pulled out a scepter simply and took position his powerful icy blue eyes stared into Kuro’s one. Aetherial energy started forming faintly and started guiding towards Shiro ever enticingly. With his other hand he pulled out a rapier holstered.

The battle clashed begun as Kuro disappeared before Shiro and came down with an aerial strike after using a Ghost Step(Shukuchi) He’d be blocked by spikes of ice that formed from the pooled water that was frozen almost instantly breaking them instead. The ice then converted into a hand and reached out to grab Kuro attempting to freeze him solid Kuro quickly stepped outside of his boot. He then flipped and landed back into the soils of the cave. Kuro turned his back against Shiro in one fluid motion and pulled off his last leather boot off included and pulled something inside that -Clicked- Then threw his boot towards Shiro.

Shiro amused laughed at the desperation underestimating before an explosion from his boot combusted forth in point blank proximity. Kuro had a grenade prior to learning the fight was taking place.

-Shiro- “You mongrel just, WITHER AWAY!”

Some of the fabric sleeves of Shiro had been damaged of his pure white suit but he put up a fully fledged ice barrier in a solitary second.

Kuro remembering the words given to him by Ayla to not allow his brashness to override his brain, smarter, calculating, thoughtful and hold every card. He didn’t hold up on the advantage and threw down a smoke grenade right in front of him pulling the pin and fading inside it.

Shiro not laughing anymore realizing now that Kuro has actually grown and is a challenge took a duffel bag that was strapped around his waist and stuck the scepter in between his teeth. He poured out hundreds of bones and let them all scatter everywhere around becoming a yard. Then starting to speak a fast chant and holding three fingers forward, biting his own lip with his Keeper fangs to the point he bled then begun channeling a strange and potent dark aetherial source of energy that struck down in the skulls laid all around three skeletons started assembling from the necromancy art.

Speaking with a different dialect. <Kill him>

Shiro pointed the Skeletons that constantly cackled their jaws and teeth together and saw right through the smoke of Kuro who was seen. Shiro conjured three different ice shaped weapons for each resurrected crewmate one a spear, sword, axe. The swordsman skeleton struck at the known position of ‘Kuro’ In the midst of the slice through the wind the fog of smoke cleared and Kuro had successfully been cut in half.

Shiro saw Kuro’s aetherial energy dip down. Right before the skeleton could bask crackle in glory his skull was stepped in by another Kuro who jumped over the one cut in half and then turned into a puddle of water since it was a clone. With the leverage given by the skeleton he charged straight towards Shiro and had no way to block it this time one. The Skeleton Crew Mate with the Spear through his weapon and pierced Kuro in the gut again. Only for another clone to dissolve. Shiro starting to get frustrated looked around not having any luck before a falling Kuro came in from above in a swan another at the same time from behind.

Shiro quickly froze one of the clone puddles of water and created a ice controlling wall to close the one from behind in a curved wall formation . This allowed Shiro’s last Skeleton to attend with it. While focusing the one coming in with velocity from the swan dive removed the bottom hilt and brought out the chains and threw his sword before it left his hand fully grabbing the end of the chain and with it cut the scepter carried by Shiro which was brought back to his hand after summoning the skeletons. With the broke half of the scepter Shiro just simply forced ice to form and turn it into a custom weapon made of ice and impaled Kuro in the shoulder having him land right on the created weapon deeply.

Kuro was trapped and on his knees from the sudden impact scraping them against the soils of the ground. His trademarked hat flew off on it’s own in the form of baby bat eventually the bat freed itself flying to the ceiling of the roof and watching in distance.

Meanwhile the Skeleton with the clone dealt with a clone of Kuro who had an extra grenade and removed the pin of it with his tongue after being sliced disintegrating that Skeleton into bone dust and damaging the Ice curved wall.

<Narrator> While Shiro threw the duffel bags of skeletons bones and casted a Necromancy resurrection spell. Kuro had begun casting his jitsu <Ten-Jin-Chi-Sen-Bon> inside the layered smoke left behind his grenade. And created four clones that all lined up so they would come off as one image. He knew Ayla was expert at seeing aetherial energy he didn’t doubt Shiro could do it and which is why he needed to create a method to ensure a blow could land. The first one slain was a diversion while the second one also was. The other two spent time in the beginning helping the original Kuro climb to the top on the stalactites with his nimble Miqo’te capabilities. While the fourth one after finished being a footstep used a Ghost Step to get behind.

-Shiro- “Least you’re finally indulging my time.”

Shiro’s ice shattered before he could destroy it himself with Kuro striking it with his sword. Removing the shard of ice that was stuck in his shoulder and spewing blood risking the chance of blood loss. Kuro threw one sword straight towards Shiro and it was simply parried and kicked to the side from insane reactions it seemed like with just his rapier. The other katana being exchanged for Kuro’s good conditioned arm and shoulder with the chain still released he staggered to his feet but manage to stand openly.

His other side wasn’t too healthy but his other arm managed to make it to his eye-patch and ripped it off releasing a bundle of concentrated and stored aetherial energy with golden glimmers.

Shiro’s eyes looked away for a second from the exposure and stunned.

-Shiro- “Detestable, but yet you’ve developed far beyond my estimations.”

With Kuro simply chuckling manically followed by the slightest of a confident smirk felt a surge of his energy back. He saw clearly and was active in <Truesight> watching all the aetherial and disturbances. He tapped into <Echo> and dodged a flooding off harmful aetherial that had been forming. Which had been slowing down all the actions and flow of Kuro’s movements in the atmosphere it was dwindling towards stopping time.

Luckily from the Skeletons and knowing that Shiro could manipulate time only cause of A’yi's previous foresight Kuro had an extra chance.

Shiro had miraculously not even broken a sweat or hardly even left from his position since starting his impeccable defenses were fearful. One handed strikes were traded back and forth with Kuro’s one Katana(Death) competing against the Rapier(Mol’usa) of Shiro’s. Constantly deflecting and evenly matching one another but it seemed Kuro had the edge and actually made Shiro take a step back. They each took a different stance between while Kuro had used mixtures of kicks and dirty style fighting along with throwing needles from behind him. Shiro had place one hand behind his back and took on the stance of Noble fighting and began perfecting his parry rate he couldn’t actively slow down Kuro but was able to do the projections instead. Kuro would continue to show his unrelenting barrage of a real pirate by lobbing spit directly at Shiro face which had caught him directly in the cross hair and felt the need to mess up his stance during that Kuro took the opportunity to disarm Shiro’s Rapier and having it fly across the room finally it had seemed Kuro had the leverage as soon as the Rapier left the arm another fluid slash of the wind came towards Shiro’s face but Kuro’s blade broke in pieces.

-Kuro- “No way…”

Shiro simply smirked with sinister intent an entire barrier almost like sphere surrounded him of -Diamond Ice- Now Kuro was holding a half broken blade and was close in range Kuro had backed up as quickly as he could but during their engaging battle Shiro had begun taking the pools left by Kuro’s clones scattered all over and started making them connect all together in a gate behind. Cornering Kuro.

-Shiro- “CHECKMATE!”

He’d destroy the diamond ice barrier and send forth a perfect sweep of hundred, no, thousands of ice shards that all cut into the flesh of Kuro he blocked his face by using his arms to cover it up. Standing up with only adrenaline and willpower.

Shiro was left puzzled by the endurance displayed.

-Shiro- “You will die with your dignity intact. You may have one last word, this time, it’s in my nobility to offer you that.”

Kuro in the distance mumbled something under his breath…

-Shiro- “Speak up!” He begun to form one last miniature ball of diamond ice to pierce a hole straight through the entire torso including the heart of Kuro he would be hollowed if it connected.

-Kuro- “Ma” … “Maa” “MAAHES!”

Shiro knew what that name meant he threw the projectile anyway thinking there was no time to react.

Kuro’s forceful situation bursted and brimmed his growth and aetherial pressure sky rocketed to new levels to the point it was boiling temperatures, his fangs extending and growling viciously having the stalactites starting to fall inside them. Baby Bat fled to go fetch and warn Ayla. Kuro’s forearm was engulfed and at the level of -Orange- Instantly. His hair grown out slightly up to his shoulders length and wildly messy.

He extended his hand and sharp claws included and caught the miniature ball of diamond ice like a professional catcher and insanely fast threw it back during that one throw he ran behind in speed not even Shiro was accounting for his Diamond Ice Barrier managed to absorb the orb but was cracked.

Maahes began burning clenching his fist and infused with his own aetherial anger striking in well traded blows of incarnate and unkempt rage furiously he was breaking his own knuckles and cracking them but was getting through the diamond ice with his infusion and mixture the more pain his aetherial pressure increased. His forearm reached -Red Orange- levels to the point all those who were bonded with him were sent a distress call the now flashing and glowing runic tattoo started covering his arm above the elbow.

He broke through Shiro’s almost invulnerable defenses and grasped his throat in one fluid motion and slammed down Shiro to the ground and started sliding his back against the soiled ground leaving a trail of his corpse being dragged and Shiro’s back being scraped peeling off the flesh, Maahes keeping his knees bent in the process and using his almost otherworldly strength to start cracking Shiro’s neck threatening to break the bones and slamming him against the caves, again and again, again…

More rubble begun to drop from the top of the caves and land into the pool splashing against everywhere. Maahes let constant roars out and began striking the ribs breaking a few of them with his hot fist. Then grabbing Shiro’s arm painfully and throwing him far having him slide across the pools filled of now obstacles barely clinging on.

The psyche of Maahes was visited with Kuro who was on the side.

-Maahes- “KILL.. I’LL DEVOUR HIM, HURT AYLA, MAKE PHELI DARK, HURT VESSEL, MURDER STAR GLITTER!?!”

Kuro would step behind the enraged Maahes who had been waken up and placed a firm hand on his supportive shoulder blade.

-Kuro- “Let me end this. It’s my responsibility he slaughtered my original crewmates, threaten to do the same again, Underestimating my crew and me as a Captain, Kept A’yi from me, along with everyone because I couldn’t be certain who he intoxicated with his darkness, distanced me from Ayla, preventing me from having my eternal ceremony. THIS ONE TIME I COMMAND YOU MAAHES!”

Kuro had forced himself to overpower Maahes for the first time ever the seal started retracting and Maahes in the psyche went to his chains and started being pulled back and laying down for his rest letting for once.

Meanwhile Moli’s heart-shaped pendant cracked.

Kuro gaining back control he felt the impact of the blood loss and all the injuries rushed and he collapsed before even taking another step.

Shiro had struggled but managed to endure the brutal assault one hand was entirely broken including the bones. His tail twitching entirely soaked from the water and starting to make it to his knee with his body feeling so intensely he only thought of one person.

-Shiro- “Moli..”

Shiro with his telepathy linked from Sha he tried giving a warning message to tell him the location so he could finish what was required.

Kuro’s hands were torn to the brim knuckles all broken his shoulder was bleeding worse. His feet included his own aetherial pressure from accessing Maahes had burned the flesh off his arms his fingernails were all bleeding some broken.

Shiro managed to stand and started waddling weakly towards Kuro’s prone body and started conjuring the last muster of his aether energy he managed to survive Maahes only by slowing down his movements and guiding basic ice to cushion him but it wasn’t enough. He coughed up blood and started turning the pool crimson waterworks.

Kuro fought to stand up too even though he looked terrible.

-Kuro- “One last blow decides this.” He forced one hand to roll up into a curled fist and started concentrating his focus into it to allow it enough energy to move freely.

They stepped in working and grunting and both trading growls and howls. Their thoughts wandering. Shiro had constantly thought about A’yi’s words it was distracting him about they might be able to manage to work together and defeat the Sea Lurkers.

Shiro with a diamond covered sword compared to Kuro’s one fist seemed like enough to beat the odds. He started gathering in the old ice around to try to recover and cover up wounds mainly on his back. Both shirtless practically and tattered bodies, battered clothes breathing and exhaling weakly.

Confronting one another the final discussion happened almost in range.

-Shiro- “You’ve got to be killed! I can’t afford to lose, Moli, Sha. I’ll set us free from slavery from the Sea Lurkers... Just who the hell do you think you are?”

-Kuro- “Allow myself to introduce you thoroughly, The name is Captain Kuro Solaire! residential ass-kicker at your service. I don’t give a damn about your reasons, I’m taking you down.”

-Shiro- “Killing me you’ll just end up becoming what you’ve spent your life trying to destroy. Maybe I should let Maahes have a bargaining deal by releasing him out of that seal just would take a touch of the aether…”

-Kuro-”Acting like I haven’t struggled with what’s inside me fighting for ownership? The only reasoning I am standing is because of the crew to this day. I don’t care how strong, cunning, or danger I fall into. I’ll STAND for them. Was only when I lost everything… When I gained it all. You my matie are about to learn what it means to be a real pirate.”

-Shiro- “So naive…”

Deep down Shiro was learning the true aptitude behind Kuro it wasn’t anything basic. Even though his powerful gaze could see aetherial fluxes.

He couldn’t have possibly predicted the full essence and the treasure buried inside the soul.

They each sized up one another and Shiro had the advantage slicing against the wind but doing it forcefully with his diminished supply of energy and wounds slowed down the pace he applied the pressure on Kuro’s end.

Kuro stepped in and with <Echo> saw seconds ahead and saw how he was ready to end things and was planning on stopping time with his buried emotions the fate of his life depended on it.

Only moving forward he looked with determination and each step of the torn up soles of his feet with blisters moved. He stared right into the range of the blade and while Shiro looked back.

He saw a man with no fear. The full result of training for years on end of being tortured and healed and repeated of walking into things in order to win. His presence was as if a skeleton with a scythe was prepared to behead Kuro and held it against his neck the same edge of that blade against the scar that Shiro had placed upon him all those years ago…

Shiro in this thought swiped and missed. Kuro had saw the angle of it where it landed and in that mix kicked the ankle of Shiro which had him tilt an opposite way allowing another blow to slice through the air but miss its target. Now out of Echo’s Kuro took the opportunity pull his feet upward and got a picture perfect shot to Shiro in a low blow, dirty and a foul play but a testament to the pirate code.

Kuro: This is for A’yi and my Moon Ayla along with anyone else who wanted to do this!”

When the blow landed.

-Kuro- “This is for my crew!”

Kneeing Shiro in the face and forcing the ice melded aetherial blade to shatter from loss of concentration.

-Kuro- “This last one…. Well... Is, just because, YOU PISSED ME OFF!”

With all the rest of the built adrenaline Kuro released a quick fired punch to the side of Shiro’s cheek and alongside his jaw breaking it and making it slam directly hard right into the smack of the ground thunderously with a full force of pow. Instantly knocking him out and rolling his eyes above Shiro’s head.

-Shiro’s Thought- “You were right foolish, A’yi…”

-Shiro’s Whispered Breath-“ I’m Sorr-eey, M-o-li...”

Another crack in the diamond heart that was forged with life energy for Moli formed.

Before Kuro collapsed he looked over Shiro’s prone and defeated body and raised his middle finger in the air with class before landing on his back with his own powerful thud barely hanging on with his wounds, debatable even worse than those given to Shiro.

The battle had concluded. (Since was a free writing day, I felt like shizz and need to recharge. I decided to just roll back something old, so excuse me for that. But still relates and pushes forward towards current drive even if this was 2 Sagas / 2 Years ago. Also didn’t copy the images over >< I might fix that later if possible)

#FFxivWrite2018 #pirate #noble #shiro #kuro #lol progression #old #flashback #You just got every anime ever #Filler episodes

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jack-the-dm · 6 years

Text

Pathfinder: Untold Wonders!

Chapter 1: Von and Ali

The firm oak door flung open with such ferocity the wall seemed to lose the battle, cracking at the point of impact. The abode was small, a mere two rooms, kept dark during the night while the residents were away. It was always a work in progress, but a certain someone never made it easy. So many years of living together made it a well known fact that idiot didn’t know his own strength.

“Ali! I’m home.” A thunderous voice boomed.

The reply was instant as the owlbear pelt over a crudely made sofa was flung into the air. The startled girl shot up, her horns catching the moonlight as they bent back along her skull like a natural headband before bending outward an inch at the base of the skull. Her void like black eyes zeroed in on the jolly intruder, “Do you have any idea what time it is?!”

The subject of her rage was an Orc like any other. Or rather, the picture of what the average Orc would look like. Standing three ticks under seven feet and weighing damn near three times the girl was a light green skinned slab of muscle. With two fuzzy straps hooking over his chest and into the belt of his black bull skin shorts, the grizzly bear pelt he used as a means of warmth and camouflage was drawn tight to the back of his neck. An axe hung from its place on his hip, bloodstains forever merged into the metal and giving it a misleadingly beautiful shade of crimson. His yellow eyes were bright and lively even as his younger companion scolded him. Dragged behind him were two deer carcasses, a leg in each hand. He heaved a shrug, “Uh... no?”

The girl, a young Tiefling of fourteen years, pointed a maroon skinned hand to the wall he’d just nailed with the door. Her long black hair hung well past her shoulders and her naturally blackened lips curled into a snarl, showing her sharp pointed teeth. Unlike the Orc, the girl wore genuine clothes purchased from the town twenty-two miles east. She didn’t have quite the same figure as most women her age. Living with an Orc since she was an infant had built up more muscle on her frame than a veteran warrior. She still had a feminine shape, but there wasn’t anything soft about her. “I don’t know either! Because you just broke the gods damned clock again!”

Sure enough, on the floor lay the various gears, pendulums, and annihilated birch casing of their clock. That had to be the fourth one in as many weeks. “Er, my bad. Well, I was going to town tomorrow anyways. Oh! Fern still owes me that favour. We can get a new one.”

“You’re not getting it, Dad. You’ve called that favour in seven times already!”

Oh. Oops. The Orc set a massive hand on the back of his neck, “Right, sorry. Guess I’ll need to pay full price then.”

Her palm slammed into her forehead, “Or you could stop kicking the door in.”

“My hands were full!”

__________________________

As the Orc settled in for the night, having butchered the deer and stowed the meat, a thought lingered in his mind.

‘She called me Dad again.’

It wasn’t as good a thing as most would think it. In his younger years, he’d been a prime raider. He’d killed plenty of people, stolen four times as much, and oh the amount of property damage. He was a true menace. That was the life for him. Not anymore though. He couldn’t afford to. With her under his care, he had to teach her how to be upstanding. He had to learn it himself there. Back when he’d even considered being a nice guy, he’d struck a deal with a local town that seemed to play out well for both of them. He would get as much as he could carry from his pillaging spree, but he wasn’t allowed to kill for it. He could erase the town twice over, but it would be rebuilt with his help come the month after. The townsfolk even began to see him as a neighbour. After about two years of that, he’d taken less to pillaging and more to helping around town. Well, on the crest of the third year, he’d gone to town, axe in hand, only to find it wasn’t there anymore. The friends he’d made and the town he’d come to love were gone, replaced by a burning replica. A flaming tower of a monstrosity was parading through the main road. The beast was a mass of flesh and bone fumbling along on all fours as it tried to avoid crushing the houses its mere presence set ablaze. He hadn’t taken much time to examine the scene, but he’d found her there, a bright red infant wailing among the carnage as he hunted for survivors. There weren’t any except her.

It was a strange course of events. He’d never seen a Tiefling in the small town before, never mind anyone of demonic origin. Last time he’d been there, old lady Meragei, an Elf so old he didn’t dare touch her lest she fall apart, had actually complained about the lack of children wandering about and how it made the place all the more dreary. He hadn’t known what he was supposed to do, but while the creature had its back to him, he took her and ran the entire fourteen mile trek without stopping. After that, things had only gotten worse.

With every day came a trial, every week a gamble on whether either of them would live. He’d done everything he could think of to keep them safe. Now, he was looking across the room at the fruits of his years worth of labour. He could honestly say he was happy having brought her up, but it was always a task. He had to make sure he left out most of the Orc culture and lifestyle. Not all his kind were violence obsessed or went giddy at the thought of blood, but enough were that it was rare to hear otherwise. He didn’t want that. It was bad enough she’d been born with demon blood in her heart, but that didn’t mean anything. Hells, he used to be a raider. Now look at them, two outcasts making a home for themselves.

__________________________

When the morning came, the two of them set out. She swung herself into the back of the cart as her father went to the front. It was small, but well made after seven tries. The Orc, Von, looped the leather straps around his chest and began to pull. As the cart started to shift and crawl down the path, Alissia found that she felt a little happy to be heading to town. It would take the better part of the day and they’d spend the night there, but she’d get to see people again. Being the only Orc and Tiefling for literally miles and miles, Von had set up his hut a long way off from anything and anyone. He’d said he didn’t like getting visitors and that it made the villagers feel safer when he strode into town. She wasn’t sure how much of that was true, but there was plenty he kept from her.

Growing up had been hard. She never wanted for anything, save for a few neighbour kids so she wouldn’t be left completely alone when her father went hunting, but in addition to that she’d grown up knowing they were different. He was green, massive, and a little on the slow side if she was so bold. She was lean, varying shades of red, and sported horns complete with a spaded tail. And her claws. Her fingernails were curved just so anything she grabbed felt them dig in, her toes too. His were not so, usually being down to the nub and usually broken or chipped. While she was certainly glad for them when eating and lacking a knife, it was just another difference.

She knew she wasn’t his daughter, but she didn’t know anything else and he... he refused to tell her anything about the day he found her or where or what circumstances convinced a barbarian like him to become a family man. She should count herself lucky, she knew that, but the lingering secrets kept bothering her.

The ride was mostly spent in silence, her hood down so she could feel the beaming sun on her cheeks. It felt good, really good. She was trying to balance a stone on the flat side of her tail, a sort of workout for it and a means of entertainment as far as she was concerned, when the cart came to a stop.

“Break time.” Von said, his deep voice resonating with a force she could never place. It always sounded like his voice came from his core rather than his throat. His bald head and bare back gleamed with sweat as he sat down on the dirt and put a towel over his face. She was forced to remember her own skin, dry of any moisture yet somehow being soft and near flawless. Just another difference between them. She hopped down over the side, the firm leather soles of her boots meeting the beaten dirt path, “Want me to try?”

He didn’t move the rag, “Ali, I know you want to help but-”

“I’ve gotten better! I’m stronger than I was last month.”

“So am I, Grukmelc. That doesn’t mean I want you hurting yourself pulling this thing.”

Grukmelc. That word again. It meant Fire-child in his native tongue, which she’d grown fairly fluent in. They rarely spoke common, only ever practicing when Von needed a reminder on the difference between bear and pear and likewise words. She crossed her arm in a huff, pouting more out of habit than anything. It wasn’t like he could see much through that. They stood there for a minute or two, neither surrendering their position, until Von got to his feet. She made to get back in, but he didn’t put the straps back on, “You can’t drag the cart, but you can start helping. Put the straps on and pull, I’ll get around back and push if you need help.”

She didn’t care that he’d just called her weak. Everyone was compared to this guy. Alissia beamed a sharp toothy smile and moved into position, looping her arms through the thick straps. They didn’t sit on her shoulders like they did for Von, but she wasn’t about to complain. She grabbed the excess and held it tight to her chest as she put a foot forward.

Nothing moved.

Von ran a hand over his bald scalp, “Mmhmm, thought as much. Alright, keep trying, I’ll push. I’ll match you so it’s your lead now.”

She heard him walk back and slowly the immovable weight behind her began to roll. One step, then another, and another. She continued to push, her shoulders creaking under the weight. True to his word, Von pushed only enough to get it moving. The pace was her own. The harder she pulled, the faster they’d go, but only as much as she could pull.

They carried on with Alissia at the head for a solid hour, sweat finally dotting her arms. Her legs shook with every step, every shuddering breath driving a spike through her chest. When the wagon stopped suddenly, she was jerked back and onto the ground, lungs fighting to get some air. Von’s shadow covered her form completely. He gave her a kind smile, his protruding bottom canines curled slightly, “That’s my girl. C’mon, vuruk, I’ll take it from here.”

Vuruk. Sweetheart. A smile graced her gasping lips. “How far did I go?”

“Half a mile. Not bad at all.”

It was slightly disappointing. She really had gotten stronger, but she was nowhere near the behemoth of a man he was. He’d already covered fourteen miles and it was barely noon, maybe some after. She tried to get back into the cart, but her legs refused. She just couldn’t do it again. She tried to hop again, but her legs buckled. She wasn’t even surprised when a large hand curled around waist and lifted her high into the cart. A different towel landed on her forehead. She’d done some fair work, her limbs asking what in all six hells she’d been thinking. The cart began moving again as she dragged the towel down over the rest of her face. She hadn’t done much, but the effort was hers.

__________________________

Twelve years later...

Von couldn’t help but smile at the memories. It was a reminder of a simpler time and a chance it could come again.

Across from him, Alissia sat with her greatsword in her lap, running a rag across the shining edge. She’d grown so much since then. She was taller than him now, nearly seven and a half foot. Her frame had grown out, her time and effort showing as her lean body had hardened with plenty of muscle. She wore it well though, adding to the height to make her seem like a bigger version of her fourteen year old counterpart. Her hair reached the middle of her back, the horns curving abruptly to follow the curve of her skull and to direct the flow down in a straight line. Her dark eyes had hardened over the years, the void like orbs growing weary of hardship. Her skin had darkened further to match her scarlet hands.

It was a beautiful feeling that swelled in his chest. He’d watched this little Tiefling girl he’d found in the middle of a slaughter grow into a wonderful woman. For so long he was sure she’d grow up to be like him, but his doubts were crushed when she began reading the training books an old Inquisitor had given her. He’d then been worried she’d become a bible thumper, but she didn’t take a god to worship. Instead, she chose to worship her moral code and somehow that had been enough for her to develop the strength of the inquisitions of old. He’d done right by her, raised her how she deserved and gave her as much as he could. She caught him looking at her and gave him a half smile, several stress lines disappearing in the lamp light, “Hey Dad. Sleep well?”

All this time and she still called him dad.

__________________________________________

Sorry for the format! I’m still working with it.

#Pathfinder #RPG #Homebrew

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athyrabunlord · 6 years

Text

LLSHP AU (S) - First Task

Main Story: [LLSHP AU - Yoshiko Tsushima and the Fallen Angel]

[Brief note about School Term] [other LLSHP AU stuff] [YohaMaRuby concept arts] [ChikaYouRiko concept arts] [KanaDiaMari concept arts] [Hogwarts Staff]

[FFN link] [Pixiv Link] [Translated to Chinese by plin2290]

Sequel blips: TriWizard Tournament series- [First Task] [Yule Ball]

A/N: As per twitter vote from a while ago, I’m starting with a blip in the SequelTimeline (hence the (S) behind the usual tag of LLSHP AU). This is part of the TriWizard Tournament series. I’ll try to keep them as consequential as possible, but the blips’ might be all over the place depending on my muse. We’ll see XD;

Note: This blip takes place a year after ch21 of the MainStory, meaning chikayouriko are FifthYears and yoshimaruby are ThirdYears.

“The Beauxbaton champion has drawn the Ukrainian Ironbelly.”

Ruby Kurosawa could barely hear the noise outside the tent. Everything is muffled except for the pounding of her terrified heart. The Hogwarts uniform has never felt so heavy, so suffocating on her body, and she has to loosen her scarf a bit just to breathe a little better.

Shizuku Osaka gives them a graceful courtesy and holds up the miniature Dragon for the officials’ view one more time. Before it could breathe fire like its real-life counterpart, a swift but powerful Freezing Charm tames the replica, which she then affixes onto her brooch like an ornament.

Composed and elegant, the black-haired Beauxbaton champion is just as what her school is known for.

“Please proceed.”

Leah Kazuno calmly takes a step forward and reaches into the bag to draw her opponent. The petite but imposing Durmstrang champion remains unfazed even as she reveals the miniature creature in her palm for the officials to see. The leopard-like beast has a body full of spikes akin to a cactus, and it is growling warily with its intelligent eyes glancing at its surroundings.

“The Durmstrang champion has drawn the Nundu.”

Ruby swallows hard. That’s another dangerous level-5 magical creature, one that requires teams of highly qualified wizards and witches to subdue! Just how insane is this TriWizard Tournament?!

While she is on the verge of hyperventilating, Leah taps the replica with her wand, stilling its movement through a non-verbal petrificus totalus. Scoffing, she coolly gives it back to one of the officials before smoothly healing her prickled hand.

Fearless and professional, the sharp-eyed Durmstrang champion is every inch the representative of her school.

“Please proceed.”

Ruby tries not to flinch as she places her hand on the hilt of the Kurosawa heirloom, desperate to rein in her composure. After one deep breath, she approaches the official and shakily reaches into the bag. A sharp sting almost makes her drop the miniature beast but she perseveres and holds it up high.

She blanches at the growling replica in her palm.

A human-like head, a lion’s body and a scorpion’s tail. It’s unmistakable what she has to face in the First Task of the TriWizard Tournament.

“The Hogwarts champion has drawn the Manticore.”

Her heart plummets and with it, strangely, so does her fear. A peculiar sense of numbness washes over her, a resigned sort of acceptance that this is her fate and she must overcome it. She glances down at her hand, where the miniature Manticore’s stinger had pierced her palm. The sight of blood, no matter how little, still makes her stomach churn, though it also boosts her confidence.

She had bled way more before, and she lived. She can and will do this. As if sensing her grim resolve, the replica grins up at her before hopping back into the bag.

The Minister of Magic clears his throat, garnering everyone’s attention, though she has difficulty concentrating on his speech. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Professor Koizumi gazing at her with concern, and so she stands up a little straighter and holds up her chin high. She will do her Head of the House proud.

“... that said, we understand these three creatures are highly dangerous and could not be subdued even by teams of trained Hit-wizards under normal circumstances. Therefore, these beasts were specially selected by our Board and collaborators. A warrior from the Goblin Nation, Arkus, has graciously offered his help should it be necessary to stop the Ukrainian Ironbelly.”

At this, a scarred and bearded Goblin bows brusquely, his stance just as regal and intimidating as the massive battle axe he is holding. Perhaps it is ingrained in her upbringing through the Patriarch’s lectures, for Ruby innately feels respect as well as wariness towards the small humanoid.

“And Mr. Scamander will also be on the standby to tame his Nundu, which he has kindly provided for this Tournament.”

Ruby nods at the amiable wizard, whom she has met a few times at the Estate as the Patriarch’s valued guest. Kanan and Mari have talked about him as well, having traveled around the world with the famous Magizoologist a few times last year.

“Last but not least, Professor Toujou of Hogwarts has already negotiated with the chosen Manticore, and the beast has agreed to act only within the rules of this Tournament.”

The ever-enigmatic Head of Ravenclaw gives Ruby an encouraging wink then, prompting her to smile back in relief. Everything seems to be well under control. While the Tournament is known to have caused deaths in the past, surely this one would be all okay with the way the Board arranged for various scenarios.

The officials then exit the tent with the Beauxbaton champion to debrief her, and the remaining adults follow suit to prepare the arena as well. Ruby suddenly finds herself alone with the scowling Durmstrang champion.

“How fortunate you are, Kurosawa heiress. I bet your Professor has already made a special deal for you to win.”

Leah’s expression is blank, her eyes carefully guarded, but her voice is as vicious as poison. Ruby turns to face her peer and she is vaguely aware that her legs are no longer shaking.

“No. She trusts me, and I trust her. Hogwarts will never resort to cheating.”

“Then what was that look of relief on your face?”

“Knowing that there wouldn’t be any casualties among the bystanders.”

Leah’s expression darkens. “Is that all? Aren’t you scared? I saw you shivering like a pathetic rabbit since the moment you entered the tent. You don’t belong here. You should forfeit, for your own good.”

“I’m scared, very scared.” Ruby couldn’t help but smile at the tremor in her voice. She really hasn’t changed much over the years, but she is also proud to acknowledge that she has become stronger too. “But I will not run away. The Goblet of Fire chose me for a reason. Thanks for being worried about me though.”

“You wish. I just don’t want you to ruin the prestige of this Tournament.” Leah snarls, her stance rigid and proud. “Think of the mess if there’s already death in the First Task.”

“Of course, I don’t want to die either,” Ruby’s grip tightens on the hilt of the sabre. “I… I’m scared of pain, I can’t handle it, but I know I can face death if things were to reach that point.”

“Oh?” Leah’s demeanor loosens slightly, as if she hasn’t expected such response.

“I’ve already faced it before.” The faint pink scars from sectumsempra are visible reminders of what she had experienced on that terrible night, but compared to what her precious friends and family have endured back then, this Tournament should be within her ability to handle.

She, Ruby Kurosawa, is Hogwarts’ champion after all.

========================

Judging from all the gasps, cheers and applause outside the tent, Ruby is certain that Leah has succeeded in her Task just as Shizuku had. Both champions did not take more than ten minutes to achieve their objective, which is to retrieve a wooden box that their respective opponent is guarding. Each of them is only allowed to cast five spells, whether it be a Charm, Curse, Hex and so on, and the box can only be moved through actual contact, not by magic. It is meant to test the champion’s resourcefulness, wit and raw magical power, as well as their physical abilities.

Ruby has no plan whatsoever.

Her knowledge of the Manticore is limited to what she has studied in her family library. All those articles talk of how extremely dangerous the violent magical beast is, of how its magically resilient skin render wizards’ spells useless and thus there have only been one or two recorded triumphs against such creature. How is she, a mere Third-Year, supposed to get past the Manticore’s guard?

She stares hard at her wand, hoping to draw strength and guidance from the Holly and dragon heartstring core. She wishes for her friends and her sister to be with her right now, instead of being in this tent alone with her paranoid mind. To be fair for each school, no one is permitted to make contact with the champion, not even their respective Headmaster. Earlier, Chika and You have already tried to sneaked in but were quickly dragged away by their House Head before the officials noticed.

Ruby would have welcomed the Gryffindor duo’s presence. Her bravado earlier has faded enough for the small critter part to emerge, causing her thoughts to sink deeper to the pessimistic end as the clock ticks by. It’s not because she doesn’t believe in her own strength but more because of the countless scenarios against such a terrifying opponent. She does enjoy the thrill of challenges to an extent, perhaps due to the duo’s influence over the years, so she tries to focus on that positive thought.

“Hogwarts’ champion, please enter the arena.”

Whimpering, Ruby wipes at her damp eyes one last time before standing up. With every step she takes, the fear is gradually left behind and that sense of numbness has returned once more. There is no running away now.

A thunderous cheer greets her as soon as she enters the Pit, which has been modified to accommodate the spectators and the Task. A quick glance reassures Ruby that various officials are stationed around the arena, especially for the guest section to ensure safety. Whatever happens between her and the Manticore will not affect the innocents.

When she walks past the student bleachers, she waves bashfully at the applauding Ravenclaws and searches the crowd for her future sister-in-law. She soon finds Riko and relaxes under her encouraging smile. The House of Hufflepuff is deafening in their cheers with, surprisingly, Professor Koizumi and Hanamaru being the loudest. Ruby could feel her ears burning, half embarrassed but half elated as well at such display of support from her best friend and Head of House.

As if not wanting to lose, Chika and You lead the Gryffindor section in the cheers with their flamboyant banners and Charmed fireworks. It’s over the top, really, but also so very like them. Ruby couldn’t but wave back just as energetically at the Head Girl and the Quidditch star. Passing shadows overhead prompt her to look up and smile at Pana and Lucifer. The two familiars are gliding and circling to keep with her pace, as if to act as her escorts. Fiery words of encouragement soar through the sky after them, providing entertainment for the onlookers. Ruby doesn’t have to glance at the Slytherin section to know that it is Yoshiko’s work, though her peers must have pitched in to help her control this Charm in order for it to work on such grand scale.

By the time Ruby reaches the Professors’ bleachers, she is smiling not just to reassure her friends but also out of genuine joy and love for them and her school. The Hogwarts staff are also clapping politely, some more exuberantly than the others. Dia looks tense but she is smiling as well, with a familiar golden cat draped on her shoulder and a large wolf head peering over the seat beside her. Kanan and Mari must have pretended to be Dia’s pets to sneak into this guest section. At Ruby’s hesitant wave, Kanan howls loudly and Mari swishes her tail like a flag, prompting Dia to frown and tug at her friends’ ears. Undeterred, the married couple continue to make a lot of noise and motions, making Dia sigh in exasperation.

The familiar comical interaction loosens Ruby enough for her to remember to bow in front of the Kurosawa Patriarch and her parents. The old austere wizard is not smiling and only gives her a brusque nod, but those who know him well can see the fierce pride in his eyes.

Shizuku seems amused at the lively display at her entrance, while Leah is wearing the darkest scowl ever. Both champions look disheveled, with Shizuku’s hair ribbon somewhat singed and Leah’s cloak having claw-shaped rips, but at least they appear mostly unharmed.

Ruby allows a quiet sigh of relief to slip past her lips. Her fellow champions made it through and there are no injured spectators. She nods at the panel of referees and the official standing just at the edge of the arena.

“Are you ready?”

With one brisk turn, she takes out her wand and takes one step inside the field of boulders and rocks. A cool brush of magic indicates that a powerful protective shroud must have been activated, keeping both combatants trapped within the arena as well as to shield the audience. At this point, all Ruby could hear are her quickened heartbeats and the sinister rumbling from the enormous beast at the other end of the modified Pit.

The Manticore is grisly to look at, like a creative project gone horribly wrong. Whereas the Sphinx appears majestic despite having a human head and the body of a lion, the Manticore is like a mutated and bloodthirsty version due to its wild mane and rows of sharp fangs. Its scorpion stinger tail is poised high in warning as it paces back and forth in front of the wooden box, her objective. Its powerful paws make heavy sounds on the gravel, its predatory eyes trained on her the moment she entered.

“So this is what I’m up against, a little rabbit,” the sentient creature’s voice sounds disturbingly human without any hint of a growl. “Ladies first then, so the show won’t be over too quickly.”

The insult almost makes Ruby smile in bittersweet nostalgia. Everyone tend to underestimate her and for the longest time, she had believed their evaluation to be true.

Not anymore. I’m not strong, but I’m not weak either. She could feel magic flowing steadily between her hand and her wand.

“I’m ready.” She tells the official without glancing at him. A hush falls over the arena but she could barely feel the eyes watching for. The Manticore is grinning at her, slowly licking its lips. A vague plan forms in her mind and she exhales deeply.

As soon as the wizard signals the start of her first Task, she raises her wand and shouts. “Expecto patronum!”

The amused beast barely moves even as the silver black jaguar snarls at it, an empty threat due to its intangible form. In spite of the confused murmurs in the background, Ruby finds herself smiling as the sight of her Patronus boosts her confidence. She is no longer alone in facing this terrifying monster.

“Wingardium leviosa!”

The huge boulders tremble from the Levitation Charm but only the medium-sized rocks actually float towards the center. The Manticore remains unfazed, even yawning tauntingly at the gradually increasing number of rocks gathering in the middle. Ruby keeps her arm steady in spite of the strain of such area spell and pours forth even more magic.

“Accio!”

Her third chosen spell summons the Kurosawa heirloom from outside the arena and she directs it towards the growing rock pile. The Manticore tenses at last, growling in anticipation and pawing at the ground. Just as the creature begins to run, Ruby yelps a string of incantations, moving her wand in sharp jabs.

The fourth and fifth spell is a combination of an advanced Transfiguration and a Charm, developed by You and herself under Professor Minami’s supervision. Ruby almost buckles from the strain of magical output but perseveres, willing and shaping the rocks into the image in her mind while the sabre acts as a focal point.

Rocks gather and morph around the the sabre, forming a long tail that eventually connects to a massive body with four limbs and an armored head.

Gasps and shouts could be heard from the audience and the Manticore stops abruptly, wary of the animated shape blocking its path. The grotesque replica raises its rocky tail, the sabre’s blade glinting under the sunlight, and lunges at its living counterpart.

Its movements are awkward and jerky but there is undeniable power behind each of its pounding footsteps. The real Manticore laughs haughtily when it tries to swerve around the slower clone and almost got slashed by its surprisingly fast tail. The two creatures crash into each other soon after, tearing and biting and gouging with the scorpion tail. The Manticore is undeterred by its opponent’s body of rocks, clawing and digging through the cracks, breaking the Transfigured creature from raw strength alone. For such a gigantic beast, it is nimble and agile, cleverly dodging the Kurosawa sabre instead of parrying it, knowing the blade would injure it whereas no magic could.

Ruby shivers instinctively from all that noise of the savage fight, though she manages to force her legs to move. She runs towards the boulders, ducking for cover when she hears a snarl rather close by. Worse comes to worst, she still has her wand to protect herself even though it meant being disqualified for using more than five spells. She could vaguely feel the tug of her magic animating the replica and, with a pained grunt, she increases the output towards her creation and wills it to endure the assault longer.

As soon as the boosted Transfigured beast collides against the Manticore, she dashes towards the end of the field. Many times she is tempted to look over the shoulder, to see if the monstrous creature is chasing her, to check if her creation is still standing, but flight mode is commanding her action and all she could to do is keep going.

Almost there.

Her lungs burn from the exertion and her throat aches from the screams she keeps fighting down.

Right there, on that patch of grass.

She almost stumbles at the abrupt cut of magic, indicating that her stone creation is no more.

She dives for the wooden box, tucking and rolling, just in time to dodge the Manticore’s tail slash. Panting, she glares up in defiance at the grinning beast. Its mane is wilder than before, covered in rubble that is doubtlessly from when it obliterated the replica, and its magically immune skin is unmarred by any of the replica’s attacks.

Ruby rolls to the side just as its massive paw comes down on her, sprinkling dust and causing the ground to quake under the force. Before it could pounce upon her though, a silver silhouette leaps in front of her protectively.

Startled, the Manticore could only stare at the proud black jaguar Patronus, which shimmers brightly under its caster’s fearless gaze. The stalemate lasts for a while but neither side relents. Ruby barely dares to breathe, her wand not raised but gripped tightly and ready for action.

“… it cannot attack me. I can just jump through it and rip your throat out,” the Manticore’s fanged grin widens when Ruby glares back even as her legs begin to tremble. “Yet, I find myself unable to move in awe of its power.”

From the corner of her vision, she notices the officials and Professor Toujou already on the standby. Ruby’s friends are all at the edge of the arena as well, blocked by the shield but their wands already poised for action.

The announcer takes a step forward and speaks firmly. “The champion has already acquired the wooden box.”

”Silence, human. You don’t look tasty, but you’ll do.” The Manticore sits down on its haunches and growls menacingly at the wizard who dares to point his wand at it. Professor Toujou clears her throat, prompting the Manticore to relax slightly and roll its eyes. “I know I know, don’t harangue me, Nozomi.”

Ruby blinks when the beast suddenly grins at her. “I concede, Kurosawa heiress.”

A deafening roar from the audience follows the Manticore’s words, drowning out even the official announcement of her victory. Tears well up in Ruby’s eyes but she barely feels them as she finds herself buried under her friend’s tackling hugs.

Miraculously, she has overcome the First Task.

============================

Ruby finds her mind drifting away to blissful peace as she licks at her lollipop. It’s one of her favorite snacks but it’s been a while since she’s indulged herself in the treat. As a Third-Year and a Prefect, she’s decided to cut down on her sweets intake in order to present a reliable, mature senpai image and so far it’s worked. She does miss being in the background though.

Ah, this tastes heavenly!

Smiling, she notices her steps are bouncier than usual as she walks down the empty hallway back to her Prefect dorm. Most of her Housemates are in the Great Hall, decorating the place for dinnertime, while her friends are preparing for the celebratory party later the night in Chika’s Head Girl dorm.

The Gryffindor duo had successfully rescued her from her peers, allowing her to take a little break in her dorm before having to socialize for the rest of the night. Indeed, Ruby isn’t fond of being under the spotlight even though her responsibilities nowadays require her to be. Thankfully, her friends are all very understanding of her, knowing that she needs a little breather. Chika and You claim that they’re going to raid the kitchen anyway, while Kanan and Mari must be catching up with Dia and most likely teasing her and Riko’s recent not-so-secret engagement.

As for Yoshiko and Hanamaru, well, hopefully they’re on speaking terms again. Ruby frowns at the thought of her best friends, wondering what the problem it is this time. They do argue from time to time, but those have all been harmless bickering, something Mari reassures her to be a form of flirting.

However, it feels like Yoshiko and Hanamaru have been keeping their distance, either avoiding each other or always sticking to Ruby so that they’re never alone by themselves. Just what had happened? Ruby would rather that they have heated arguments so at least she could play peacemaker, but this is something else entirely.

Sighing, Ruby ponders for the umpteenth time about romantic relationships. She does get envious of that special closeness she’s witnessed in her friends, of how happy her sister is with Riko and so on, but she also finds it stressful. There are so many things to think about, and she is doing fine being the supportive role within their group of nine without being attached to anyone.

What’s more to ask for, if she already has her friends and family?

Suddenly, she couldn’t move her legs anymore and, with her feet stuck to the ground, the momentum makes her bend over awkwardly. Flailing her arms for balance, the lollipop falls to the ground and is kicked away by a dragon skin boot.

Ruby peers up to find Leah glaring at her.

“You didn’t even sense me coming.”

Though slightly irked by the loss of her snack, Ruby is more unsettled by how angry her fellow champion looks. “W-Why have you used partial petrificus on me?”

“To test you - just when I thought you to be a worthy opponent! But look at you, your guard is pathetic,” Leah snarls as she paces around Ruby. Since there is no wand in sight, it must have been a wandless, non-verbal petrificus, implying the witch’s skill and power. “Beside, what was with all that earlier?”

“What do you mean?”

“That circus out there! All that cheering, even that dumb Manticore, being all buddy-buddy with one of your Professors! I knew it, there must’ve been a deal going on.”

Ruby says calmly. “I did not cheat, if that’s what you’re suggesting.”

Leah then aggressively enters her personal space, their faces now barely an inch apart. “The TriWizard Tournament is not a game.”

Even though the flight alarm is going off in her head, Ruby is able to keep her voice steady. “I know.”

“Then why do I feel like you’re holding back?”

“I’m not.”

Leah growls in frustration, this time taking out her wand and points it threateningly under Ruby’s chin. “My instincts have never proven me wrong, Kurosawa.”

Ruby winces at the derisive way the Durmstrang champion utters her surname but she maintains eye contact. The silent stalemate continues for a while, neither relenting. Ruby notices for the first time that Leah is actually shorter than her, despite the latter having such an intimidating aura that made her presence so much larger.

Leah suddenly whirls around to deflect a Jinx and easily parries another Hex. Without thinking, Ruby breaks free of the Body-Bind Curse and grips Leah’s wrist before the latter fires off an offensive spell.

“I’m okay, Hanamaru-chan, Yoshiko-chan, please put away your wands.”

Hanamaru looks wary while Yoshiko’s expression is dark, but both lower their wands as they briskly approach them.

“What did you think you were doing, to my friend?” Yoshiko’s husky and menacing tone jostles an unpleasant memory in the back of Ruby’s mind but she forces it away.

Leah ignores the newcomers and continues to glare at Ruby. “So, you can move. You dispelled my Curse non-verbally as well.”

Ruby neither admits nor refutes that statement. After that night at the Estate, they’ve all worked so hard on wandlessly countering Body-Binding Curses. She hasn’t encountered any situation she had to utilize this skill until now.

“Oi, I’m talking to you.” Yoshiko stomps forward and uses her superior height to glare down at Leah. A familiar Ashwinder slithers out from her sleeve and drapes around her neck like a scarf. Leah looks disgusted at the hissing snake and raises her wand the same time Yoshiko raises hers.

“Expelliarmus.”

Hanamaru now holds both of their wands, her expression shadowed by her glasses. “No fighting in the hallway, right, Ruby-chan?”

Ruby swallows hard. Her best friend is rarely upset but it is obvious that this is one such time. “R-Right. Guest or not, y-you’d have to follow the rules here, Kazuno-san. Yoshiko-chan, really, I’m okay.”

Yoshiko huffs and folds her arms, while Leah nods curtly, seemingly taken aback by the turn of events. If Ruby isn’t mistaken, she even looks somewhat impressed as Hanamaru returns her wand back to her.

“You got lucky, Kurosawa.” Leah yanks her hand out of Ruby’s grip, reminding the latter that she’s been holding it this whole time. “Heed my words - I will be the victor in the end.”

Ruby exhales tiredly, watching her fellow champion storming down the hallway with the fur cloak billowing behind her. Durmstrang seems like a stressful environment to study in, or is there more to Leah’s drive in winning the Cup?

“Are you okay, Ruby-chan?”

“Yeah, just surprised and exhausted,” she smiles weakly at Hanamaru, noting the deliberate space between her and Yoshiko. Her two friends aren’t looking at each other and the tension is thick. She also notices that Lucifer is nestled in Hanamaru’s hood instead of Yoshiko’s like usual. Seraph the Ashwinder flicks its tongue at Ruby’s questioning gaze and nods imperceptibly before hiding under its master’s sleeve once more.

Ruby sighs again. This is only the First Task, and there appears to be more to come, Tournament or otherwise.

#LLSHP AU #athyra writes #Triwizard tournament gaiden #kurosawa ruby #kazuno leah #diariko kanamari youchika yoshimaru #by the end of this blip I feel like I should name this series #The Melancholy of Ruby Kurosawa #XD!!!#poor woobie has so much on her plate lol #Leah just being leah #but yeah timeskip #it's a blip so the beginning and end def seem more abrupt #than a regular chapter would be #if I try to write the sequel like the main story #then it would never get finished XD!#yes PDP will make cameos as Beauxbaton #Shizuku cuz she's always been one of my fav N girls

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crimsxnflxwerz · 6 years

Text

Where I Belong

Rating: Not Rated [Rating May Change]

Summary: Nineteen years ago, a mage lost their child to thieves, a man found himself somewhere far from home, and a woman adopted an unusual orphan.

Today, Corrin fights to right the wrongs that have been done to their family, but they also fight the battle within themself to stay. To stay here, where they were raised, though their heart desperately longs for answers. What is this marking on the back of their neck? Why do they feel like they've never truly belonged here? Is there somewhere that they do belong?

Who is this man Chrom and what does he have to do with all this?

Pairing(s): Chrom/Robin, Other Minor Ships

Characters: Corrin, Robin, Chrom, Felicia, Lissa, Frederick, Other(s).

Tags: Nonbinary!Corrin, Trans!Robin, Trans Male Robin, Corrin & Robin & Chrom - family, Corrin is Robin & Chrom’s third child, That’s the wild headcanon.

Notes: This is meant to take place during the Fates DLC where Corrin and Felicia kill some ghosty soldiers that escape through a portal into Awakening’s world. If I mess up pronouns, please let me know. Even tho (they/them) are MY pronouns, I still get it messed up in writing sometimes! Anyways, thanks for reading!

“That's a forest.” Corrin said, peering through the small sliver of light. The area around the portal warped slightly, behaving more like a tear in fabric than the stable portals they’d seen before. Felicia clutched her skirt nervously, looking in over Corrin’s shoulder.

“It is, my Lord.” she agreed. “Not one I've ever seen before. Must be someplace far away.”

“Or,” Corrin backed away slightly. “Another world.”

The young Lord sighed, pinching the bridge of their nose. The castle behind them was silent, besides the occasional bird chirp from a critter that had accidentally flown inside. Corrin looked down the marble hallway they stood in, listened to the absence of noise, considering what they could do next. Felicia watched Corrin silently, before placing a hand on their shoulder.

“My Lord, we have enough time to spare. Those people in that realm, they might be in danger.” She said firmly. “The palace can survive a moment without you.”

Corrin took a slow breath in, their hand travelling to the back of their neck. Under their hand a mark burned ever so slightly. The brand has been with them since they were an infant, at least according to a letter from their mother. No one could ever figure out what the mark meant. They just assumed it had something to do with their transformations. No one had ever seen a person transform Into a dragon quite like that. Of course, there have been legends, and maybe it was only a matter of time with the families bloodlines.

But for Corrin it was just another thing to separate them from everyone else. They didn't belong in either kingdom, they didn't belong in this world.

Corrin looked towards the portal once more. Every time they stepped into foreign land, a weight lifted off their shoulders. As if something deep inside of them was pulling them away from their own world. Corrin wasn't hesitant about killing those beasts, they weren't cautious of entering this foreign soil.

They were afraid that they would find someplace better. Someplace where they belonged. And something inside them would just refuse to leave.

“Okay,” they said. “Let's go.”

The two of them stepped through the portal and into a forest. A few feet ahead of them the tree line broke, revealing a beautiful valley, divided down the middle by a sparkling river.

“How pretty,” Felicia idly commented. Corrin couldn't agree more. The air was heavy with the sweet smell of spring. Trees bloomed thousands of tiny, white flowers amongst their new leaves. A gorgeous assortment of plants filled the valley. Down near the river were some of the tallest cattails they’d ever seen.

Suddenly, a scream was heard to their left. They easily spotted a cleared path through the trees and hurried along it. When they emerged from the forest into a smaller clearing, they witnessed the partially visible soldiers that had escaped through the portal earlier. The creatures had cornered a maiden. She donned an elegant yellow dress, her blonde locks in high, wavy pigtails. She clutched a staff for dear life, likely confused by her faceless attackers. Corrin broke into a sprint, cutting down several soldiers in their way, Felicia following close behind.

One of the mage creatures raised a tome to strike the girl, when a large man on a horse broke through the trees and struck the mage through the chest with a lance. Corrin stopped in their tracks, watching the man with a lance carefully. He was built, riding a horse with an unrecognizable flag on it's flank, holding a long lance. The girl hopped up onto the horse, wrapping one arm around the man's waist and the other bracing the staff at her side.

Corrin was broken from their trance when Felicia knocked them back to avoid a mage attack. All four of them flew back into battle against the phantom soldiers, determined to clear the area.

Corrin stuck to using their sword for the time being. Especially considering the fact that they had no idea about the natives opinion of dragon blooded individuals. They didn't want to startle them either, throwing them off could be deadly in the heat of battle.

Then suddenly, a phantom soldier struck Felicia away with the broadside of it's axe. In an instant, Corrin was isolated, surrounded by soldiers, preparing their weapons for the kill. That's when they heard the sound of heavy footsteps coming up on them. Expecting a phantom knight, Corrin braced for the worst.

“Out of my way!”

A figure jumped over Corrin and brought his sword down heavy on the axe wielder who struck Felicia. The man's flowing white cape partially obstructed Corrin’s view, but from what they could see, he was taking out enemy after enemy in quick succession.

Corrin was shell shocked for a moment, before jumping back onto their feet and fighting back to back with the man that rescued them.

Eventually, all the soldiers were cleared out, leaving the ragtag group panting. Felicia was sitting on the ground, hand firmly grasping a wound on her arm. Upon seeing this, Corrin dashed over despite their weariness.

“Felicia! You're wounded!” They panicked. Their heart pounded in their chest. “Is it just your arm? Show me!”

Felicia shook her head. “My Lord, it's fine.”

“No, don't be like this,” Corrin clenched their teeth. They opened their mouth to say more, but was interrupted by a tap on their shoulder.

“I can help,” the blonde girl from earlier stood behind them, pigtails dancing as she bounced excitedly. “It won't be any trouble. Just let me see.”

Corrin looked to Felicia for approval. When she nodded, they backed off and let the girl do her thing.

“My name is Lissa, by the way.” She said, kneeling down to check out Felicia's wound. “Thank you for helping us.”

Corrin fell into a heavy blush as the gesture. They wanted to argue that they were the reason everyone had been in danger in the first place, but instead kept their mouth shut, unsure of what to say.

The man on the horse dismounted and approached them cautiously.

“I agree, you could have run off, but instead chose to fight, I compliment the mentality.” The man said. “My name is Frederick, by the way.”

Then the last one of the group clapped a hand down on Corrin’s shoulder and grinned.

“And I’m Chrom, Lissa’s older brother. It's a pleasure to meet the two of you.” He said. Then, awkwardly, “even though the circumstances aren't ideal.”

Corrin blushed again. They cleared their throat. “My name is Corrin, that woman with me is Felicia.”

Felicia waved at Frederick and Chrom. Corrin smiled fondly at her, before returning his gaze to Chrom.

The man felt oddly… familiar. He was a little taller than average, with royal blue hair, short and relatively kept. He had vibrant blue eyes, and a generous smile. Even though it looked as if he were trying to blend in with his somewhat tattered clothes, it was obvious by his sword that he was royalty. The sword was magnificent. A large, silver blade with gold accents and a decorated hilt.

“Your sword, it's gorgeous.” Corrin commented, waving towards it. “Are you royalty?”

Now, it was Chrom's turn to blush.

“Is it really that obvious?” He said, scratching absently behind his ear.

“Well, I've never known a common man to have such an elegant weapon.” Corrin explained. Frederick looked on warily.

“And you, your friend there called you 'Lord’. You must be royalty as well,” Frederick pointed out. “From where do you hail?”

Corrin blushed heavily again. It was very apparent on their pale skin. They glanced back at Felicia.

“Someplace far from here. I doubt you have heard of it.” They said. Frederick raised an eyebrow skeptically.

“Enough of that, would you care to join us for lunch? We were just making our rounds. I would be honored to have you.” Chrom said. “Just one meal and you may be off.”

Corrin bit their lip. Lissa just finished up with Felicia. The pink haired servant approached Corrin and placed a hand on their arm, nodding softly when they looked over to her. Corrin mentally scrambled for the proper words to display their gratitude.

“O-of course.” They stuttered. “I am quite hungry actually, and I would love to get to know you better.”

“Perfect!” Chrom said cheerily. “Onward then! We haven't got much daylight left!”

Chrom turned around to walk on, and as he did so, Corrin got a good look at his shoulder. On his exposed shoulder was a mark that resembled the mark on the back of their neck. No, not just resembled, an exact replica. Felicia felt Corrin freeze up, and she looked forward to try and recognize what had her Lord acting like this. She noticed the mark as well and raised her eyebrows, but stayed silent.

After a moment, Lissa nudged Felicia. She snapped out of her little trance and looked over to her.

“You comin?” she asked, motioning towards where Chrom was walking. Felicia nodded slightly, and pulled Corrin along as they began walking. Lissa hopped up on the back of Frederick’s horse, and the group caught up with their retreating prince.

As they passed beautiful scenery, Corrin waged an inner war with themself. Do they talk to Chrom? Do they pry into Chrom’s life? Why does he have that mark? Does Lissa bear the same one? Their head was so filled with questions, that they didn’t even hear the person trying to talk to them.

They felt a small shove that snapped them out of their own mind space. They frantically looked around and saw that Felicia stood next to them looking a little annoyed. She gestured to Corrin’s other side, and when they looked, Chrom was walking alongside Corrin looking a little awkward.

“Oh Gods,” they gaped, blushing hard at their own incompetence. “Were you trying to talk to me? I do apologize, I can get quite lost in my own head sometimes.”

Chrom simply laughed at that, and shook his head. “Oh, no worries! My older sister is actually quite like that sometimes, so I’m used to it.”

“Your older sister?” Corrin asked, taking their chance to learn more about the prince.

“Ah, yes, her name is Emmeryn. She is the Exalt of Ylisse.” he said, although then he made a soft noise and included, “ah, my apologies, you do not hail from here. Exalt is the title of the head of the royal family. Our parents passed ages ago, leaving a mess behind for us to fix. My sister, she is very strong, stronger than me I would say. She has been leading the way towards peace ever since she rose to power.”

“That’s good to hear. I come from a similar situation, actually.” Corrin said. “In my land, there are two warring families that just don’t see eye to eye. They knew peace once before, and I am striving to bring that peace back. It’s always been hard, since I empathize with both sides.”

“That must be quite a burden on your shoulders.” Chrom said. Corrin barely caught it, but there was a glimpse of a far away look in the prince’s eye. “It’s hard when you want to save everyone. That’s just not how it works in times of war, unfortunately.”

“Yes, I can agree with that.” Corrin said solemnly. Unwilling to let the conversation die, they finally mustered up the courage to ask. “I don’t wish to pry, but I was curious about the brand on your shoulder. What is it?”

“Oh, that?” Chrom asked, glancing down at his own shoulder. The mark was specifically exposed for people to witness. It must be important. “That is my--”

“Chrom! There’s someone over there in the grass,” Lissa shouted from atop Frederick’s horse, effectively interrupting what Chrom was about to say. “They’re laying down, I think they might be injured!”

“Show me.” Chrom demanded, and Lissa pointed towards a lone tree in a valley they had been traversing the cusp of. The prince started to move in that direction, waving Corrin on to come with him. “Let’s go!”

Chrom and Corrin dashed through the grass, the rest of the part following close behind. They eventually came to the tree that Lissa had pointed out, and found a sleeping figure. They looked like a young adult, probably male. In fact, they somewhat resembled Corrin, with their white hair and pale skin. It wasn’t often that Corrin saw other youths with such pure white hair. Corrin crouched down next to the sleeping man and leaned over him. He was dressed in layers, his outermost layer being a cloak that reminded them of a mage. Laying near them was a powerful looking tome.

“He doesn’t look injured, thank the Gods,” Chrom said finally. When Corrin looked back at the prince, they could see the hint of a blush on Chrom’s cheeks. That definitely wasn’t from the running. Once Lissa, Frederick, and Felicia caught up, they also cautiously observed the situation.

“Don’t get so close, my Lord,” Felicia said. She looked apprehensive, but the man looked like he was simply taking a nap. There was something in Corrin that drew them to him. They ignored Felicia’s worry and reached out, gently brushing the back of their fingers along the man’s cheek. Corrin heard someone gasp behind them, likely out of how bold the gesture had been. However, Corrin was more concerned with how the man stirred, slowly blinking his eyes open.

“He’s waking up,” Corrin said, backing off once the man was fully awake. Chrom and Lissa came forward to lean over him.

“Hello there,” Lissa said with a welcoming smile. Chrom also looked on warmly at the stranger.

“There’s better places to sleep than the ground, you know.” he said. Then he reached out his hand. “Here, take my hand.”

The man grabbed the tome lying near him almost instinctively before reaching for Chrom’s hand. When the prince pulled him up, he only stepped back slightly, so that the two nearly came nose to nose. The two blushed and looked away from each other quickly, Chrom laughing and scratching behind his ear.

“Uh- um, what’s your name?” Chrom asked, once Lissa and Felicia had stopped chuckling at the interaction. The mage rubbed his hand delicately, and Corrin noticed a strange mark there. It was kind of unsettling, three pairs of eyes watching from the man’s hand.

“My name is, uh,” he seemed to falter for a moment, before brightening up again. “R-Robin. My name is Robin. And you’re Chrom?”

“Y-You know who I am?” Chrom stuttered. “How’s that?”

“I dunno, it just came to me suddenly…” Robin flinched. “My head aches.”

Robin looked around where they were curiously. There was absolutely no recognition on his face. He looked rather lost, actually. Corrin blinked their red eyes at him. Robin turned his head and made eye contact with the young Lord.

“Do- do I know you from somewhere?” Corrin asked then, hesitantly. Robin’s eyes widened slightly, as if he were remembering something. He cleared his throat, holding his tome to his chest.

“Uh, uh, I don’t know,” he stuttered. “I don’t remember much of anything, actually. Other than my name, and even that is kind of foggy.”

“You don’t remember anything?” Chrom interrupted. The group fell silent. It was then that Frederick chimed in.

“Your robes, they resemble that of the Plegian people.” he said darkly. “Would you happen to be on their side, young mage?”

“I-I’m not sure what you mean. Who are the Plegians?” Robin asked, looking genuinely confused. Frederick was about to open his mouth to say more, when Corrin rounded on him with a fierce stare.

“Can’t you see he’s confused? We must get him some food and water, he might be famished,” Corrin said hurriedly. Everyone stared, shock apparent on their faces. “He has no memory, what of it? We aren’t helpless babes, if he is a spy we will find out soon enough. For now he is our ally.”

After Corrin’s outburst, everyone seemed to snap to attention. Chrom turned away and moved to speak with Frederick about something, and Lissa and Felicia came over to inspect Robin’s condition. Corrin stayed close to Robin. They were curious, but also wanted to help Robin out. Feeling lost and alone wasn’t fun, Corrin knew that personally.

When Corrin approached Robin, the man smiled kindly at them.

“Thank you for that, I’m feeling really disoriented.” he said softly with a chuckle. “It’s not fun to be drilled when you first wake up, especially if you have amnesia.”

“Oh yeah, amnesia, that’s what it’s called!” Lissa said. “I wonder if there’s some kind of potion or remedy to correct it…”

Robin chuckled again at the concept. “Maybe. I wouldn’t know, unfortunately.” Corrin laughed a little at that, too.

“It’s no problem, Robin. I know what it’s like to be the odd one out. In fact, my friend and I are just passing through.” they said. “Oh, we haven’t been properly introduced. My apologies, my name is Corrin, these two are Felicia and Lissa.”

Robin nodded at the information. “Just passing through? Where are you from?”

“Someplace far away, I’m afraid,” Corrin said, hesitant to reveal the location to even this man with no memories. “We found ourselves here after tracking down a few dangerous men. I felt it was my responsibility to make sure they didn’t harm anyone. That’s how we ran into Chrom.”

“Well, I’m glad that you’re here.” Robin said, almost shyly. “How much longer will you stick around?”

Corrin glanced over at Felicia, who was speaking softly with Lissa. She looked happy. Corrin turned back towards Robin and simply took him in for a moment. Something in their chest was screaming for them to stay, as if this was truly where they belonged. Maybe it was all coming together. The brand on Chrom’s shoulder, this fair-haired stranger. The rolling hills and serene fields filled with flora and fauna.

There was a darkness here, too. A darkness hovering over everything. It was like the moments before a bad thunderstorm when the hair on your arms stood straight up. In truth, Corrin knew they had to leave sooner than later, but when was sooner?

“I’m not sure yet.” They said. Robin gave them the sweetest smile, a hand gently squeezing their shoulder.

“Well, I hope that you enjoy the time you spend here, with this company,” Robin said. “And once you depart, I hope that we meet again.”

Corrin was a little speechless for a moment, before they shook themself out of it.

“Yeah.”

#gay chrobin #chrobin #trans!robin #trans male robin #nonbinary corrin #nonbinary!corrin #fire emblem awakening #fire emblem fates #nice #no one else was doing this so i jumped in #bye #my fic

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hellomynameiseril · 4 years

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New games in the second-tier network: Satoshi Nakamoto's game calls for the Lightning Network to brand-new heights

The Bitcoin Layer 2 network is appreciated for its speed and scalability, looked after really helps to implement some interesting new smart contract features. In this respect, the micro-transaction feature has also inspired electronic asset holders to develop and adopt Lightning System Programs (LApps). These apps possess subverted content material tokenization (using Y 'alls and LNCast) to privacy-friendly texts (such as LnSMS and Receive Text message). Although these earlier applications were mainly utilized as proof-of-concept prototypes, they did not have many advantages over centralized user-friendly applications. They produced new ways to circumvent the rules and conventions of the older entire world. Through these apps, personal privacy and sovereignty have been amplified as never before, and it is only a matter of time prior to the snowball effect and getting the focus of mainstream interest. 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I spent a lot more than 20 hours doing offers and listening to music. During this period, I had been rewarded with about 20,000 Satoshis.

"Super Bros" actor and Casa CEO Jeremy Welch is remarkably similar. This game will need you by way of a random journey and knowledge varying levels of difficulty. Occasionally your game is as simple as strolling in the recreation area. At other moments, you can be attacked by a band of goomba divided by many deadly traps. This adaptation of "Super Mario World" is fun and addictive-plus, you have a strong financial incentive to return and play it every day. Basically, gamers can wait for Satoshi factors to accumulate during the break, and simply earn back the entrance charge of 1 1,000 Satoshi. In fact, it is easy to suppose gamers in establishing countries might find a income source in "Super Bros.", just as some players nevertheless grow coins in "Wow." The distinction is certainly that BTC units are usually scarce and may become more valuable over time. However, games aren't all of candy or bitcoin benefits. The handle of the game is much worse than what you saw in the original Nintendo game in 1991. The jumping mechanism can sometimes become your worst enemy, and different levels can quickly become boring. Although "Super Mario World" is much more interesting than "Super Bros", it isn't built on a cutting-edge payment system that can provide financial benefits. You can find always trade-offs.

Lightning Network Edition Golf ball Battle

Just like the power struggle within the Netflix hit "House of Cards", Agar.io is a multiplayer video game adapted from "Taking in Crazy". It borrowed the system of "big seafood eat small seafood, small seafood will grow larger", and finally transformed it into circular particles moving on a big world map. On the other hand, the ball-to-ball battle on the Lightning Network is a challenge game where users must pay 1000 online Satoshi involves purchase membership. If you happen to eat another participant, you then will receive a prize of 750 Satoshi-so if your goal is to make BTC through the game, after that you have to eat at least two gamers on the map. From a technical point of view, there is absolutely no difference between Agar.io and Lightning Online. The only two main differences are reputation (the free game version is popular, with hundreds of players constantly competing) and financial incentives (that is more of a credit card applicatoin and growth concern). Once individuals understand the simpleness of the LApp, they will definitely become more ready to accept additional challenges. Some financial incentives can be used to unlock their abilities.

We played on the Lightning Network version of the ball game for about one hour, and there have been only two other players around. Soon, I eliminated one of these. After eating so many vibrant dots, I grew to become an unstoppable whale. Considering its multiplayer character, the game is quite boring if you have no competitors. You may occupy 25% of the game map, but you'll be looking forward to challenges and enjoyment. For me, this is an interesting lesson concerning the necessity of capitalism and competition (Once, I deliberately put into multiple circles to help other gamers eat my smaller sized part, and I could become bigger). Privileged function If Satoshi Nakamoto's video games become your day-to-day habit, and you desire to unlock the functions, then you have to pay a supplementary 500,000 Satoshi. After paying, you'll get the proper to vote for potential future development, and you'll be allowed to take part in tournaments, you can earn more bitcoins, and you will become a first-class citizen in the game kingdom. Paid users may also receive many customization features that distinguish consumer profiles from other profiles. On the one hand, users provide more support for developers, in exchange, users will get more rights. Furthermore, in "Super Bros", users will have 3 extra lives at the beginning of each game (in any other case each life will cost 500 satoshis), buying 1000 satoshis can increase the final quantity of bitcoin benefits. For example, usually you can earn 500 satoshis by the end of the game prize accumulation, so right now your Bitcoin accumulation prize should raise to 2000 satoshis. Somewhat, your expense in reduced account makes sense only if you are ready to spend lots of time enjoying LApps games. Interested friends can visit: My prediction Nakamoto's game is not commendable since it is a personal game based on creating consumer experience. Due to the complex platform supplied by LApps, interesting economic incentives, and the willingness to integrate other apps such as Joule and Blockstack, the LApps series has earned a location in the spotlight. There is sufficiently content to please make sure to everyone who likes retro video gaming, and you can find enough reasons for you to return to the past every day and go through the feeling of returning to the early 1990s. Furthermore, the survey shows that you will have more content in the future, and the community will determine the priority of developers. The LApps series is certainly not perfect. However, when you are in the Super Brothers or Lightning Golf ball Battle game, you will discover enough fun to overlook some bugs that require to be fixed. There is also a competent error reporting system, that i found to end up being quite responsive: I also exchanged some text messages with developers to provide feedback. Obviously, enough time I spent testing LApps is effective to both events: I got a small amount of Bitcoin benefits, and the platform has obviously become better. Gaming can be a multi-billion dollar industry that can take advantage of the integration of fast, secure, and personal payments. It is good to possess at least one LApp in a big company, but in the end the achievement of a project like Satoshi's game directly depends on our participation as a neighborhood. We use our period and satoshi to vote, and the dynamics of the change accordingly. Roldan said: "You want to build a more scalable platform that will allow us to meet up the higher needs of video game developers who want to add their work to Satoshi Nakamoto's game. Furthermore, we simply added our project to Product In Hunt, this will require some neighborhood support. Your responses can fundamentally influence our potential future in a very positive way. For those who have time to try these platforms, you should do so. Just like keeping a pet, you can have some longer fun and create the investment pay off ultimately. "

#free bitcoin game #my crypto heroes #rpg token maker #how to get free cryptocurrency

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